Zucchini Relish
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- This recipe was handed down from my grandmother, who was an amazing canner.
- This is by far the best sweet relish I’ve ever had. It works great in any dish, especially chicken salad.
- 10 Cups Ground (or finely chopped) Zucchini
- 4 Cups Ground (or finely chopped) Onion
- 4 tsp. Salt
- 2 Cups Vinegar
- 4 Cups Sugar
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Green Bell Pepper
- 1 tsp. Tumeric
- 1 tsp. Celery Seed
Mix zucchini, onion, and salt in large bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Rinse with cold water and drain.
To large pot, add zucchini mixture and remaining ingredients.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Process and seal in hot water bath.
Carrot Cake Jam
Pin ItMakes 8-9 half pints
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped applies
- 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple (undrained) or 2.5 cups fresh chopped pineapple
- 3 TBS lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 6 TBS Classic Pectin (or 1 box)
- 6 1/2 cups sugar
Combine all ingredients except pectin and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, add pectin.
Bring to a hard boil, stirring constantly. Add in sugar, bring back to a rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly. Skim if necessary.
Ladle into prepared jars. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
Gooey Chocolate Caramel Oat Bars
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The cookies are sooo delicious they are dangerous! The perfect combination of crispiness and gooeyness will have you eating straight out of the pan.
Gooey Chocolate Caramel Oat Bars
- 2 1/4 cups flour (divided)
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (packed)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups cold butter or margarine (I’ve found that margarine makes these softer)
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 jar (12 oz) caramel ice cream topping
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut margarine in with fork or pastry blender (I use my Kitchenaid for uniform crumbles). Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust. Mix caramel sauce with remaining 1/4 cup flour and pour over chocolate chips. Sprinkle with remaining crust and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.
Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate | A Perfect Creation
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It seems as every cold Friday and Saturday night, people randomly show up at the house. I’ve finally figured out that THIS is what they are after- our typical weekend beverage. The idea popped into my head one day after I’d consumed way too many cups of coffee.
This is the perfect recipe for any pumpkin fanatic. It works really well to make in the crockpot for large crowds. Just be sure to make a LOT, because it goes fast! The Coldstone creamer is definitely the make or break ingredient in this recipe. You can find it at many grocery and superstores.
As with any of my recipes, you can adapt this to your tastes and budget by using items you have on hand.
Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate Makes 5 Servings
- 4 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup International Delights Coldstone Coffee Creamer (you may substitute whipping cream and 1/4 cup sugar)
- 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
- 1/4 cup Packed Pumpkin (not pie filling)
- 1/4 tsp Maple Extract (or 2 tbs maple syrup)
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Mix together in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching. When heated through, ladle into mugs and top with whipped cream or ice cream.
Enjoy!
Note: This also makes AMAZING coffee creamer!
Perfect Pancakes
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One of the things I’ve always struggled with is making good pancakes from scratch. They were always dark, bubbly, thin, rubbery, or just about anything else you can think of that a pancake shouldn’t be. For that reason, I always resorted to a mix. It’s about the only thing (other than cakes) I’ll make from a mix- if that tells you how bad they really were.
I’ve been on a quest to develop the perfect pancake recipe, and I’ve finally done it! I’ve made these every day this weekend, on both the stove top and the griddle. I’ve not had a bad one yet! They are that evenly golden on both sides.
These can also be made ahead and frozen. You can also turn this into your own mix (instructions below the recipe).
Perfect Pancakes:
Makes 8 6-inch pancakes or 24 4-inch pancakes. Recipe can be easily halved for a smaller batch.
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted
Stir together milk and vinegar- set aside. Stir together dry ingredients. Mix in milk and vinegar mixture, eggs, and melted butter.
To freeze: Flash freeze on cookie sheet between layers of waxed paper. Once frozen, store in gallon freezer bags.
To make mix ahead, mix together:
- 8 cups flour
- 8 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp salt
Store in airtight container.
To use (4 large pancake batch), mix together 3/4 cup milk, 2 tbs white vinegar, 2tbs melted butter, and 1 egg.
Peanut Butter Brownies
Pin ItThis is one of my favorite desserts! Quick, easy, and very little mess.
1 stick margarine
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ cup flour
Pre-heat oven to 350. Place margarine in pie pan or 8″ x 8″ square pan. Melt in oven. Mix melted butter with peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Stir in flour. Pour into pan (no need to grease, the butter did that for you). Bake for 20-25 minutes- be careful not to overcook, these are much better a little gooey.
Tuna Patties
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Here’s a SUPER easy, SUPER cheap, and SUPER yummy recipe for you. I love to fix these for myself, the kids love them, and even the hubby will eat them.
- 2 pouches tuna (or 1 can-undrained)-free
- 1/8 cup water (omit if using canned)-free
- 1/2 tsp salt .001¢
- 1 tsp baking powder 2¢
- 2 tsp flour .05¢
- 1 egg 10¢
- 8 saltines, crushed 5¢
Stir together all ingredients in small bowl. Heat 2 TBS of oil in small skillet over medium heat. Drop mixture by heaping spoonfuls into oil.
Cook until browned on each side, around 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Total cost: 17¢ or 8.5¢ per serving
Makes approximately 2 servings, or 3 patties.
Philly Cheese and Ground Beef Casserole – 419183 – Recipezaar
Pin ItCheck out this recipe for Philly Cheese Casserole. It will use up those Grands biscuits that clutter up a couponer’s fridge!
Philly Cheese and Ground Beef Casserole – 419183 – Recipezaar
Smothered Chicken Casserole
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Here’s an easy one for ya. Everyone here loves this supper- even though they don’t like rice. Hrmm…
1 package Zatarain’s Smothered Chicken Rice Mix (75¢)
2 bone-in chicken breasts- boiled and shredded ($1.50)- see post below on boiling a chicken
1 can cream of something or homemade cream of something (50¢)
3 cups hot water
2 tbs + 1 tbs butter or margarine (5¢)
Chopped onions and peppers (optional) (50¢)
Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions, peppers, and 1tbs butter in small skillet. Stir rice mix and water into a 3 quart casserole dish (or 9×13 pan). Stir in cream of something, chicken, butter, and pepper mixture (if desired). Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.
Super easy and delicious! Total cost: $3.30
Boiling a chicken
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Boiled chicken.. not the best picture I’ve ever taken, but it’s still very interesting looking. In my defense, it is in the cooling process. Seriously.
I love having chicken in the freezer for those necessary chicken recipes, but I never tend to use it unless I’ve cooked it before hand. It’s too big of a pain to thaw out and cook for one recipe. Oh- and I try to avoid boneless chicken breasts. Bone-in are so much better!
So I’ve had two packages of bone-in chicken breasts in the freezer for a couple of months. I keep them in case of a chicken emergency, but our refrigerator freezer seems to freezer burn in just a few weeks, so I’ve got to do something with them. Our deep freeze is too full for this chicken. (Confession: I think I might be a chicken hoarder.)
Today, I thawed the chicken out and boiled it all. I’m going to use it in a few of our meals this week and refreeze the rest. IMPORTANT: When you purchase chicken, it typically says ‘Previously Frozen’ or ‘Fresh’ on the sticker. If it says ‘Previously Frozen’ and has thawed, you MUST cook it before refreezing. ‘Fresh’ is supposed to mean never frozen, but judging from the rock like mass that our ‘Fresh’ chicken comes in at the grocery store, our butcher didn’t get the memo.
Thaw your chicken in the refrigerator or microwave. I normally thaw mine just enough to get it out of the package. Wash thoroughly.
You can prepare it a variety of ways. I like to simmer mine in a stock pot filled with boiling water. You could also put it in the crockpot on low and let it cook all day. I’ve even baked it with a little water!
BROTH
Once it’s done, let it cool and separate from the bones. SAVE THE BROTH!!!! I put mine in quart ziploc baggies and lay flat in the freezer. If I don’t need to use the full bag in a recipe, I just smash it with a rolling pin and dump in what I need. It looks eerily similar to a chicken snow cone, which I do not recommend you feed to your children on a hot day.
You could also freeze it in an ice cube tray and then put into a baggie. A lot of people do this, but I’m curious as to how you get the chicken grease out of the ice tray.
If you’d like to make even more broth, save the skins and bones and place in the crockpot. Cover with water and add leftover veggies (ANY veggies you want), and a tbs of salt. Let simmer 4 hours on low. Strain and freeze.
Cream of Chicken Soup
3 cups milk (evaporated or regular)
1.5 cups chicken broth
3/4 stick of butter
1/3 cup flour
Salt and Pepper
Add milk and broth to saucepan, heating through. Melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Stir in flour. Add to the milk and broth mixture. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow to cool. Use immediately or pour into individual baggies and freeze. Makes 5 cups.
*Soup will be thinner than canned soup. If you desire it thicker, slowly stir in a cornstarch and water mixture and bring to a boil.