Peach French Toast

Peachy Keen French Toast

1 6 oz container peach yogurt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Half loaf white bread

Combine yogurt, eggs, milk and vanilla in medium bowl and mix well.  Dip bread in bowl to cover, place on grill and cook 2-3 minutes per side.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional) and serve with your favorite breakfast side.

© Crackerberries 2013

No Bake Cookies

No Bake Cookies

In the summer no one likes to get the oven going.  These are a perfect cookie alternative.  The granola healthy version

2 cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

4 tbsp butter

½ cup milk

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole grain quick oats

2 cups granola cereal (Quaker Natural oats, honey & almonds)

Place sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring mixture constantly.  Add peanut butter, vanilla, oats and granola.  Stir well and remove from heat.  Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.  Let cool completely and harden.

Yield:  40 cookies

© Crackerberries 2013

Fig and Chicken Bake

Baked Fig & Basil Chicken

1¾ lb skinless chicken leg pieces

¼ cup fresh basil leaves

1½ tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

4½ tbsp brown sugar, divided

Kosher salt

2 tbsp cider vinegar

6-8 Kodata figs

Wash chicken and place in lightly greased baking dish.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Combine basil, garlic, lemon juice, ginger and 2½ tbsp brown sugar in food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour over chicken.

Combine remaining brown sugar, cider vinegar and 4-5 figs in processor and blend until smooth.  Pour over chicken.

Cut up remaining figs and spread around chicken.

Bake 375° one hour and 15 minutes.  Cool slightly before serving.

© Crackerberries 2013

Tuna Pea Wiggle

Baked Tuna Pea Wiggle

One of the easiest suppers I've made.

2 cups egg noodles

5 oz can tuna fish

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups frozen peas

1½ cups bread crumbs (2 slices)

½ cup milk

2 tbsp butter

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp ground marjoram

Cook and drained noodles according to package instructions. Drain tuna fish.  Mix milk and mushroom soup together.  Combine noodles, peas and soup together in lightly greased baking dish. 

Melt butter.  Toast bread, and break into tiny crumbs.  Combine bread crumbs with peppers and marjoram.  Pour melted butter over top and toss to combine. Spread crumb over top of noodles.  Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes until bread crumbs are browned and wiggle is bubbling.

© Crackerberries 2013

Sweet & Spicy Relish

Yellow Dot Hot Dog Relish

3½ lbs cucumbers, (8 cups, shredded)       

2 cups onion, finely chopped

¼ cup canning salt

Sprinkle onion and cucumbers with salt and add enough cold water to cover; let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.  I did not brine the cucumbers in ice water or salt water overnight this time.  Fresh picked out of the garden and processed.

1½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup red wine vinegar (only because I didn’t have enough cider vinegar)

2¾ cups sugar

½ tsp celery salt (only because I was out of celery seed)

2 Tbsp ground mustard

1 Tbsp mustard seed

1 Tbsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground turmeric

Drain and rinse, drain and rinse, drain and rinse cucumber mixture.  Bring vinegar, sugar, celery salt, ground mustard, mustard seed and turmeric to a boil.  Add cucumber/onions and red pepper flakes and return to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly and simmer 15 minutes, stirring often until mixture begins to thicken; spoon into hot sterilized jars, and process in boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Yield:  4 pints 

© Crackerberries 2013

Fig-Pear Preserves

Figgy Pear Preserves

The fig tree just keeps producing fruit and I just keep trying to come up with new ways to preserve them.  This one is very tasty and different.

4 cups chopped pears, the hard kind

8 cups chopped fresh figs, less ripe is better

1/3 cup lemon juice

6 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in preserving pot and bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2- 2½ hours until thick and brown.  Stir very often.

Spoon into prepared sterilized jars and seal in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Yield: 8 – 8 oz jars.

© Crackerberries 2013

Italian Pesto Chicken

Italian Pesto Chicken

1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

5 oz Jimmy Dean Italian bulk sausage

¾ cup smoked almond pesto (recipe below)

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 slices provolone cheese

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper

Sauté sausage until no longer pink, drain grease and set aside to cool.

Pound the chicken breast to 1/8 of inch thickness.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.  Spread pesto over chicken, layer one slice of cheese on each breast.  Roll chicken breast tightly, secure with toothpick if needed.  Cut each breast in half.  Dip in egg mixture, then in bread crumbs.  Place in lightly greased baking dish and cook at 350° 35-45 minutes. 

Smoked Almond Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves

4 cloves garlic

½ cup smoked almonds            

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp ground pepper

½ tsp kosher salt

Blend above ingredients in food processor until smooth.  Stir in 1¼ cup parmesan cheese.  Makes 2 cups and can be stored in refrigerator in tightly sealed container for up to two weeks.

© Crackerberries 2013

Rosemary Lemon Cookies

Rosemary Lemon Shortbreads

 

¾ cup butter flavored Crisco

1¼ cup sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh lemon balm leaves

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mince the lemon balm and rosemary leaves.

Cream together Crisco and sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs, lemon juice and leaves and beat until well blended. 

Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, and mix well then add to creamed mixture and blend well.  Dough will be thick. 

Use a small ice cream scoop to drop on ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake at 375º for 14 minutes.  YIELD: 4 dozen

© Crackerberries 2013

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie with Sage Pie Crust

Pie Crust:

4 fresh sage leaves, snipped very fine

1½ cup all purpose flour

¼ tsp kosher salt

5 tbsp butter flavored Crisco

5-6 tbsp ice water

Stir sage leaves and salt into flour.  Add Crisco and cut in until it resembles small pea size crumbs.  Add water, one tablespoon at a time and stir until small ball forms in bowl.  Roll out and line a pie dish with dough, crimping the edges.  Prick the dough all over the bottom and the sides with a fork.  Cover bottom with a piece of aluminum foil and place dry beans over to prevent crust from bubbling.  Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.  Remove beans and foil and bake another 5-7 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Filling:

2 pounds of Roma tomatoes (more or less…I chose more because I ate a lot of them while I was slicing)

1 medium onion, diced

4 fresh basil leaves, snipped

1 cup Duke’s light mayonnaise

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp bacon bits

Wash, core, and slice the tomatoes about ¼ inch thick and place in a single layer on paper towels and sprinkle with 1 tsp. kosher salt.  Let stand ten minutes.  Do not skip this step.  It rids the tomatoes from excess juices and the pie will be nice and firm and not a soggy mess.

Sauté onion in olive oil and a little salt and pepper just until onion is tender, 3-5 minutes. 

Combine mayonnaise and cheddar cheese in small bowl, reserving a little of the cheddar to sprinkle on the top.  Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel and creating two layers place tomatoes, onions, basil in pie crust.  Spread mayo/cheese mixture over top and place mozzarella slices sporadically over top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bacon bits. 

Shield pie crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.  Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let stand at least 15 minutes before slicing; this may be served hot, room temperature or cold. I’m serving mine with oven fried chicken.   A store bought crust can also be used.

© Crackerberries 2013

Boston Butt

Smoked Boston Butt w/ Sweet Tangy Marinade

½ tbsp liquid smoke

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme leaves

½ tsp ground marjoram

1 tsp onion powder

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

¼ cup cider vinegar

Place all ingredients in large zip lock bag and squeeze to blend well.  Add ¼ Boston Butt to zip lock back and let stand at least 4 ½ hours or overnight. 

Start a fire to get a good bed of hickory wood coals going in smoker grill.  Wrap meat loosely in aluminum foil.  Cook 2-2 ½ hours or until internal temperature is 165°.  Un-wrap the foil for last 15-20 minutes to brown up the Boston Butt and let stand 10 minutes before slicing or just pulling meat.

** If using a whole Boston Butt make the recipe times 4.  We only cook a quarter of the butt at a time. 

© Crackerberries 2013



Fig Preserves

Old Fashion Fig Preserves

So the fig tree is in full bloom with tons of figs.  I bet there are two three pounds every day.  It is not a problem, I love figs.  But as I was making room in the freezer, I came across 8 pounds (yep, eight pounds) of frozen figs from last year.  Nice problem to have, don’t you agree?  I figured I better get busy so here we go.  This preserves recipe is just as good frozen as it is using fresh figs. 

8 pounds figs, washed, stems removed, and quartered

¼ cup lemon juice

5 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

Place all ingredients in large preserving pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Simmer on medium-high to high heat, stirring often for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until thick.  Everyone talks about the gel stage being 220° but I don’t think the preserves made it much more than 205°.  You will be able to tell as it thickens. 

Once it is to the desired thickness, remove from heat and spoon into hot sterilized jars.  Process in hot water bath for five minutes; yield 8 ½ pints or 17 - 8 oz jelly jars

© Crackerberries 2013

Tomato Jam

Bread Machine

Jamming Tomatoes

 

I love my bread machine for quick experimental jams.  That's right, tomato jam...tomatoes, after all are a fruit.  This one is a definite keeper, although I am hoping it gels up a little more in a few days.

14 Roma tomatoes, cored and peeled (2 ½ cups mashed)

½ cup finely chopped cranberries (I mostly used these for the vibrant red color)

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 3oz package liquid pectin (my bread machine recipe calls for 2 oz of powdered pectin, but I didn’t have any so used what I had)

Place all ingredients in bread machine and select jam option.

Yield: 5 4oz jars

Note: this is not a breakfast jam for English muffins or biscuits, but more of a hot sausage sub condiment to tone down the spiciness of the hot sausage.  I believe it will also be good on meatloaf and pulled pork sandwiches. 

© Crackerberries 2013

Piccalilli

Piccalilli

What better way to pay tribute to National Hot Dog Day than to make a homemade batch of relish? 

6 cups small cucumbers, finely chopped, seeds discarded

4 cups diced onions

4 cups green/banana peppers, finely chopped, seeds discarded

4 cups green tomatoes, finely chopped, seeds discarded

2-3 red Chile peppers (optional – I just happened to have some and thought they would add to the color of the relish.

Soak chopped cucumbers overnight in ice water.  The next morning, drain and add the remaining vegetables and mix well.  Sprinkle with ¾ cup canning salt, place dish towel over container and let stand at room temperature for 4-6 hours.  Rinse, drain, squeeze out excess liquid.

1 quart apple cider vinegar

5 cups sugar

1½ tbsp mustard seed

½ tbsp celery seed

½ tbsp tarragon leaves

½ tbsp whole cloves

½ tbsp whole all spice

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ginger

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

Tie the mustard seed, celery seed, tarragon leaves, cloves and all spice in a cheese cloth and add to vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil.  Let it boil for five minutes then add veggies, turmeric, ginger and pepper flakes.  Return to a boil and simmer 15 more minutes.  Spoon into hot sterilized jars and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes; yield: 7 pints

© Crackerberries 2013