Memphis Style BBQ Sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup onion
2 T garlic
2 T butter
4 T molasses
2 T mustard
4 T brown sugar
1 T worstechire
1 T paprika
1 T chili powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. liquid smoke.

Mix ingredients and simmer 20 min., or until desired consistency. Sauce will thicken when cold.

St. Louis Style BBQ Sauce

2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T yellow mustard
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. Ancho powder
3 T honey

Mix ingredients and simmer 20 min., or until desired consistency. Sauce will thicken when cold.

Light corn syrup substitute

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
dash of salt

Boil, cover and simmer 3 min., uncover and cook until softball stage. Store at room temp. for 2 months.

Ketchup that tastes like Heinz

1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 T sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and reduce to desired consistency. It will thicken even more when cold.

Biscuits

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup skim milk

Mix with a fork until everything is incorporated but don't over mix. Cut out biscuits and bake at 475 for 11 min.

Buns (Hamburger or hot dog)

3/4 to 1 cup warm water
2 T butter
1 egg
3.5 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1.25 tsp. salt
1 T yeast

Mix ingredients in stand mixer or by hand until it is soft and stretchy, or if using a stand mixer until it is not sticking to the sides anymore. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces, either round for hamburger buns or long for hot dog buns. Let rise one hour. Brush buns with butter and bake at 375 for 15-18 min.

Honey Wheat Bread (2 loaves)

2 cups warm water
2 cups wheat flour
1 packet yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup oil (vegetable or olive oil)
5 cups white flour

Mix ingredients in stand mixer or by hand until it is soft and stretchy, or if using a stand mixer until it is not sticking to the sides anymore. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double. Punch down dough and divide into two loaf pans. Let rise until 1 inch above pan. Bake at 375 for 30 min.

Yogurt Dough

This makes a light, flaky dough that can be used for many things. I used it for chicken pot pie. Mix into a doughy consitency and use right away.

1 cup butter
1 cup yogurt
3.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt

Ketchup

2 cans tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
4 T brown sugar
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1/4 tsp. all spice
1 tsp. salt
t tsp. molasses
2.5 cups water

Mix all ingredients and reduce to desired consistency. It will thicken even more when cold.

DiY Dishwasher Powder

Since making my own laundry soap was so easy and has been working wonderfully for us, I decided to try one of the homemade dishwasher powders. We have been using it for about 6 weeks and it works great! Our dishes are clean and spot free. We have so much milk residue on our dishes that I can assure you this recipe is thoroughly cleaning the dishes!

1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup citric acid (you can find this in the canning section)
1/2 cup kosher salt (or other coarse salt)

Mix everything and store in an airtight container. Use 1 Tbsp in the wash part and 1/2 Tbsp. in pre-wash per load. We don't have hard water and it works great with our dishes. Depending on your water quality, I have been told that results vary. You can look up alternate recipes if this one doesn't work for you. This was so cheap and it works better than the cascade packs we were using. Some of our sippy cups came out a little stinky with cascade and we haven't had a single stinky cup since switching.

Update: if you add a few drops of dishwashing liquid in the compartment with the powder, your dishes will come out super sparkly and crystal clear! If you add too much, the dishes will have a film on them.

On the right, a film from adding too much. On the left, sparkly dishes from adding dishwashing liquid.



DiY Laundry Soap

Recent screening of common laundry detergents revealed high levels of a variety of harmful chemicals in even those "free and gentle" detergents. Thanks Tide... Even eco-friendly, all natural detergents have questionable ingredients. The harder it is for me to determine the actual ingredients in something, the more likely it is there is something ridiculous in it. Just because something is derived from a plant does not mean it is okay! Plants can be highly toxic. The seventh generation detergent has so many questionable ingredients in it and many of them are derived from plant oils. There is very little know about these ingredients because they haven't been extensively used for long periods of time.

I am a huge fan of DiY. The Husband and Big Boy both have sensitive skin so I set out to make my own detergent that works and is what I would describe as safe and doesn't irritate their skin. I wanted simple, straight forward ingredients. I spent a lot of time looking at every chemical listed in each of these ingredients and didn't find anything questionable. I even looked up the MSDS's for every single one.  The fels naptha does have artificial fragrances though but since it is such a good stain remover compared to other options (kids = stains), I included it. I opted to make the dry detergent b/c it is easier and said to work better. This recipe is safe for HE machines.

My recipe:

1 - 4 lb 12 oz box of Borax

1 - 3 lb 7 oz box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda

1 - 4 lb box of baking soda

1/2 -  of a large bucket of Sun Oxygen laundry booster

3 - bars fels naptha laundry soap 

Total for all ingredients: $13.65

I used my food processor to pulverize the bars of soap (it needs to be small) and then mixed everything in a 5 G bucket. It took all of 5 minutes to make this detergent. I stored it in 2, 1 gallon screw top containers. You use 1 tbsp for small loads and 2 tbsp for large loads. My sun oxygen cleaner came with a 2 tbsp scoop so I threw that in the container of laundry soap and voila!

This recipe makes enough for 256 large loads or 512 small loads. Comparing this to the Tide Free and Gentle which is ~$12 for 32 large loads, I am paying 1/10 this amount for my DiY detergent.

I have been using the detergent for a month and I am giving it rave reviews!!! My laundry is soft and smells fresh and clean and even old, oily food stains on the kids clothes came out. The detergent is 1/10 the price of my old detergent and it gets out old stains my other detergent left behind!! It also doesn't bother the boy's skin at all. 

This recipe will make 2 of these. 

Lemon Mint Soap

This soap is soothing to the skin and smells so good! 

1 pound shea butter soap base
1/2 pound olive oil soap base
1/2 cup rolled oats finely ground
1.5 teaspoons lemongrass essential oil
1.5 teaspoons spearmint essential oil

Melt the soap base and cool slightly before adding petals and oil. Line soap box with parchment paper. Pour soap. Sprinkle top with rolled oats. When the soap is hard, cut into 4, 6 oz. bars. Wrap in plastic wrap and then cover in masking paper.

Sleepy Time Soap

This soap is great for kids and babies.

1 pound olive oil soap base
1/2 pound shea butter soap base
1/2 cup rolled oats ground to powder
1/2 cup dried chamomile flowers

Melt the soap base and cool slightly before adding petals and oil. Line soap box with parchment paper. Pour soap. Sprinkle top with rolled oats. When the soap is hard, cut into 4, 6 oz. bars. Wrap in plastic wrap and then cover in masking paper.

Lemon Your A.M. Soap

This soap is soothing to the skin and invigorating in the morning! The Husband's dry skin approves.

1 pound shea butter soap base
1/2 pound white soap base
1/2 cup dried calendula petals
1.5 teaspoons lemongrass essential oil

Melt the soap base and cool slightly before adding petals and oil. Line soap box with parchment paper. Pour soap. Sprinkle top with rolled oats. When the soap is hard, cut into 4, 6 oz. bars. Wrap in plastic wrap and then cover in masking paper.

Strawberry Jam for Canning

My jam is so delicious! There is nothing better than a healthy, tasty, guilt-free snack. Jam would not usually be considered guilt-free but the way I make it drastically decreases the sugar. So, here is my coveted recipe...

5 lbs strawberries or 1 large bag of frozen strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
8 tbsp low or no sugar pectin
2 cups sugar
1 cup stevia in the raw (the best brand of stevia in my opinion)

Prepare your canning jars by sanitizing the jars in the dishwasher on the bottom rack using the hot water wash/rinse or sanitize cycle. Alternatively, place clean jars in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes. The jars should be warm when you are filling them so they don't crack. Prepare lids by placing in simmering (not boiling) water for 5 minutes.

Wash strawberries and cut the leafy tops off. I make jam two different ways, chunky and smooth. Chunky jam is so yummy in oatmeal or yogurt, while smooth jam is kid friendly and great for PB&Js. For chunky jam, mash the fruit to desired consistency. For smooth jam, process in food processor until smooth. Mix half a cup of sugar with the pectin (the sugar keeps the pectin from clumping when you add it to the strawberries). Heat strawberries, lemon juice, and pectin to a boil that cannot be stirred away in a large pot. Add the remaining sugar and boil HARD for 1 minute with constant stirring to prevent burning. (I usually start getting my lids ready at this step). Skim the foam if you want to (I never skim the foam b/c I don't care if my jam is pretty in the jars). Test the jam for consistency using an ice cold spoon. The jam should jell in under a minute and it should be the consistency of, well... jam. Add the jam to jars leaving 1/4 inch head space and process in a boiling water bath with at least one inch of water covering the jars for 10 minutes. Leave undisturbed for 24 hours before testing the seal. Usually the seals start popping after a few minutes but some take longer.

This recipe yields 10 half pints of delicious, natural, chemical-free jam that is good on the shelf for one year. The best part is that it is only 12 calories/tablespoon and packed with vitamins!

Salsa Roja for Canning

This is the recipe I used for the salsa I made last weekend, copied from theyummylife.com. It is knock your socks off delicious! The Husband and I scarfed it down like starving, crazed people. We got 8 pints from this recipe, canned 7 and ate one right away. It took 2 hours from start to finish and cost about $20.Ingredients:

8 lbs. (approx. 32-40) roma/plum tomatoes
2 lbs. peppers (approx. 12 Anaheims plus 4 jalapenos is a good combo of flavor & heat, weigh and adjust quantity to equal 2 lbs.)
4 medium onions
8 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 cup bottled lime juice (for canning safety, don't use fresh)
1 cup cider vinegar (or substitute additional bottled lime/lemon juice for vinegar)
1 cup water
crushed red pepper flakes, optional (add to taste for a hotter salsa) Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Core and cut tomatoes in half. On large baking sheets, place tomatoes cut side down, peppers, quartered onions, & garlic cloves. Roast in preheated oven 30 min., removing garlic after 15 min. Skin of tomatoes and peppers should be blistered and partially blackened. Cover pan for 10 minutes; steam will make peeling skin easier. Remove tomato skins. Wearing plastic gloves, remove skin, seeds and stems from peppers (or leave seeds if you want hotter salsa). In batches, place onions, garlic, cilantro, peppers & tomatoes in food processor and chop to desired consistency; transfer to 5 quart pan. Add lime juice, vinegar, water, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. If any juices remain in roasting pan, add those, too. Stir together. Add crushed red pepper flakes to taste, if more heat is desired.FOR WATER PROCESS CANNING: Bring salsa to boil on stove top; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add to hot sterilized jars leaving 1/2" of headspace, and water process in water canner 15 minutes for half pints, 20 minutes for pints. Turn off heat, and leave jars in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and let rest undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
For canning safety:

--In order to ensure a safe pH level,do not alter the ratio of tomatoes to peppers, onions, lime juice, and vinegar. Seasonings may be adjusted, if desired.

--Follow jar preparation and processing recommended by the USDA; see canning safety guidelines at http://www.freshpreserving.com

 

Squash and Zucchini Casserole

This is probably one of the best summer squash casseroles I have ever had!

4 zucchini sliced
2 squash sliced
2 eggs, beaten
1 medium onion chopped
1 can cream of cheese soup
1 can cheese and broccoli soup
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced roasted garlic
20 ritz crackers

Boil zucchini and squash 10 minutes until tender. Sauté onion, butter, and garlic for 3 minutes. Add both cans of soup, eggs, zucchini, and squash. Heat through. Mix 1/2 cup Parmesan with half crumbled crackers and add to squash. Mix and add to 13 x 9 casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 until golden brown.

Fresh from the garden!!

I put 2/3 the casserole in a 8" x 8" casserole dish and the remaining 1/3 in a 5" x 7" foil pan for freezing since I knew we would never eat that much squash casserole before it spoiled. These foil pans are $0.97 for 3 at Walmart and they come with a cardboard top. Just write the cooking directions on the top and wrap in saran wrap or foil and it freezes for 4-6 months. They are perfect for freezing until I find a reusable alternative. Our squash is producing so much that I didn't really have time to research alternatives.

Since it is good information to know, the 8" x 8" casserole dish makes 9 servings at 116 calories per serving. The 5" x 7" dish makes 6 servings. 

Blueberry Jam for Canning

5 lbs blueberries or 1 large bag of frozen blueberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 tbsp low or no sugar pectin
2 cups sugar
1 cup stevia in the raw (the best brand of stevia in my opinion)

Prepare your canning jars by sanitizing the jars in the dishwasher on the bottom rack using the hot water wash/rinse or sanitize cycle. Alternatively, place clean jars in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes. The jars should be warm when you are filling them so they don't crack. Prepare lids by placing in simmering (not boiling) water for 5 minutes.

Wash blueberries. I make jam two different ways, chunky and smooth. Chunky jam is so yummy in oatmeal or yogurt, while smooth jam is kid friendly and great for PB&Js. For chunky jam, mash the fruit to desired consistency. For smooth jam, process in food processor until smooth. Mix half a cup of sugar with the pectin (the sugar keeps the pectin from clumping when you add it to the blueberries). Heat blueberries, lemon juice, and pectin to a boil that cannot be stirred away in a large pot. Add the remaining sugar and boil HARD for 1 minute with constant stirring to prevent burning. (I usually start getting my lids ready at this step). Skim the foam if you want to (I never skim the foam b/c I don't care if my jam is pretty in the jars). Test the jam for consistency using an ice cold spoon. The jam should jell in under a minute and it should be the consistency of, well... jam. Add the jam to jars leaving 1/4 inch head space and process in a boiling water bath with at least one inch of water covering the jars for 10 minutes. Leave undisturbed for 24 hours before testing the seal. Usually the seals start popping after a few minutes but some take longer.

This recipe yields 8 half pints of delicious, natural, chemical-free jam that is good on the shelf for one year. The best part is that it is only 12 calories/tablespoon and packed with vitamins!

Bread and Butter Pickles

We had a lot of cucumbers from the garden this week so I decided to make some yummy bread and butter pickles.

8-10 cucumbers (10 cups sliced)
4 medium onions
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cup pickling salt
2 cups sugar (I use 1 cup sugar and 1 cup stevia)
4 cups vinegar (5%)
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp celery seed
pickle crisp (optional)

Yield is 6 pints (I used 3 pints and 6 half pints so I could give some as gifts)

Wash and slice cucumbers, bell pepper, and onions (slice onions thin). Cover in water, add pickling salt and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Rinse thoroughly and drain. Heat vinegar, sugar, and spices to boiling, add vegetables and bring back to a boil. Loosely pack hot vegetables into hot, sanitized jars. Add pickle crisp if you want crisp pickles (sold in the canning section). Pour boiling brine mixture into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rim and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 min. Leave for 4-6 weeks for pickling. Chill before serving for best flavor.

Sweet Banana Pepper Rings

Our banana peppers are going strong so I made some pickled banana pepper rings.

14 Banana Peppers
1 medium heat salsa pepper
2 cups vinegar (5%)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed

Yield 2 half pints

Wash and slice peppers and remove seeds. Heat vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil. Loosely pack peppers into hot, sanitized jars. Pour boiling brine over peppers leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rim and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Leave for 2 weeks before eating for pickling.

Variation: You can make these "Sweet and Spicy" by adding a cayenne pepper or jalapeno to the jar.

Hamburger Dill Pickles

I bought a wavy knife just to cut wavy pickles. Yep.

10-15 cucumbers sliced
1/2 cup pickling salt for soaking
6 tablespoons pickling salt for brine
4.5 cups water
4 cups vinegar
mustard seed
dill seed
black peppercorns

Slice cucumbers and soak in water and 1/2 cup pickling salt at room temp for 2 hours. Rinse cucumbers thoroughly. Heat water, vinegar, and salt to boiling. Pack cucumbers into hot, sanitized jars. Add 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed, 1.5 teaspoons dill seed, and 2 peppercorns to each pint. Pour boiling brine mixture over cucumbers. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space to 1/2 inch. Seal jars and process in boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes. Allow 2 weeks for spices to infuse pickles before eating.

Old South Cucumber Lime Pickles

Sweet Pickles

10-15 cucumbers sliced into spears
1 cup pickling lime
2 gallons water
8 cups distilled white vinegar, 5% acidity
8 cups sugar
1 tablespoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon celery seed

1. Soak clean cucumbers in water and lime mixture in crockery or enamel ware for 2 hours or overnight.  Do not use aluminum ware.
2. Remove sliced cucumbers from lime water.  Discard lime water.  Rinse 3 times in fresh cold water.  Soak 3 hours in fresh ice water.
3. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and mixed pickling spices in a large pot.  Bring to a low boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Remove syrup from heat and add sliced cucumbers.  Soak 5-6 hours or overnight.
4. Boil slices in the syrup 35 minutes.  Fill sterilized jars with hot slices.  Pour hot syrup over the slices, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Cap each jar when filled.
5. Process pints 10 minutes, quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.
6. Test jars for airtight seals.
7. Ready to eat in 24 hours. Best if chilled before serving.

This makes 7 pints.

These pickles are really sweet. Honestly, when I first tried them I didn't like them at all. I thought they were way too sweet. I put them in egg salad b/c they were the only pickles that were ready and I was shocked at how delicious they made the egg salad. I have also added them to tuna salad and they are so good! I would make them again, but just for salads.

Pepper Vinegar

I have seen this on countless tables. I have never actually tried it, but I had more peppers than I knew what to do with so I made it.

Cayenne, banana, and salsa peppers (any peppers will do, enough to fill the bottle you have)
2 cups vinegar
Peppercorns and mustard seed (as much as you like)

Pour seasoning into bottom of bottle. Stuff the bottle with the peppers. I added banana peppers for their pretty color. Heat vinegar to boiling and pour into bottle over peppers. Done.

This was really easy. I gave it a few days for the vinegar to mellow and the peppers to infuse the vinegar. I tried it on tuna salad and it was yummy. I have been informed it is good on veggies too! Either way, the bottle is pretty =)

For my fantastic Mom:

Sweet and Snappy Zucchini Relish

Where has this been all my life?? When I came across this recipe while searching something along the lines of "What the heck should I do with all this zucchini", I thought hey, that sounds like a weird thing to give someone. So, I made it, canned it, tried it, and immediately asked myself how I had gone so many years without this delicious relish. It has a peppery, oniony, sweet, and tangy flavor that is so yummy!

8 cups zucchini, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups cider vinegar
1.5 teaspoon dry mustard
1.5 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Yield: about 9 half pints

Combine zucchini, onion, and pepper in large nonreactive bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons pickling salt. Mix well and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Drain through a sieve, pressing out excess water. Combine drained veggies, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, pepper flakes, and tumeric in a large pan. Boil for 15 minutes. Blend cornstarch and water, then add to the relish. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Ladle into hot jars, wipe rim, and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

I will make this year after year. I admit that I ate a ton of this, just scooping it on crackers. It is very low calorie though (~11 calories/tablespoon), so enjoy!

Tangy Spaghetti Sauce for Canning

Do you have so many tomatoes you don't know what to do with them? Make spaghetti sauce!

3 medium onions, chopped 
2 cups green bell peppers, chopped 
3/4 cup hungarian wax chile, chopped (banana peppers) 
1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms, sliced, chopped, and drained 
3 teaspoons minced garlic 
16 cups tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped 
3 (12 ounce) cans tomato paste 
3 tablespoons brown sugar 
1 tablespoon dried oregano
 4 teaspoons salt (canning) 
2 teaspoons dried basil 
1 teaspoon black pepper 
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
2 tablespoons italian seasoning 
1/2 teaspoon cumin 
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup lemon juice

Yield: 7-8 quarts

Directions: 1) Add all ingredients to stock pot. 2) Heat to boiling. 3) Reduce heat. 4) Simmer, partially covered for 2 hours. 5) Stir occasionally. 6) After it has simmered, fill clean sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Put on cap, screw the band finger tight. 7) Process for 35 minutes for quart jars in a water bath. 8) ** You can also freeze in quart size freezer bags.

Fruit Cocktail

My Mom has a Bartlett pear tree and she gave me a huge bag of pears. I love Bartlett pears. They are so sweet and have a little twang to them. Of course, canning season is in full swing so I said "I can can that!". I bought a pineapple, peaches, grapes, and cherries to add to the pears for yummy fruit cocktail. Peel, core, and dice the fruit. Heat the fruit in either a syrup or fruit juice (I used white grape juice). Pack the hot fruit into hot jars. Fill with hot juice to 1/2 inch head space, wipe rim and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 20 min.

The kids loved the fruit cocktail and I think the tartness from the grape juice adds a little extra! Big Boy and Little Girl loved that there were bowls of fruit out and they kept walking by, swiping fruit.