Homemade Freezer Jam

My mom has made this recipe probably since she married my dad. I have a hard time eating store bought Jam because of this! You can use any fruit you want for this recipe.

 Put your strawberries in a sink full of water. Cut off the stem and place in your blender. You want 3 cups of blended fruit.

 Add 5 cups of sugar to a big bowl. Add your blended fruit. Stir for 1 minute. Let it sit for 20 minutes.

 This is the only kind of pectin we use. Mix 1 package of MCP pectin with 1 c. water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute while stirring. Pour boiling mixture into fruit and sugar and stir for 2 minutes.

Pour your jam into freezer containers. Let it sit overnight on your counter. Put lids on and place into your freezer.

The Best Bundt Cake. Period.

A lady in my neighborhood made this for a church activity and I immiately fell in love! I am a succor for any kind of Bundt cake! She told me where she got the receipe: www.thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

5 whole eggs

1 package fo white or yellow cake mix

1/2 cup oil

1 package (small) instant vanilla pudding

1 cup half and half

1 t. almond extract

2 T sugar

2 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs well until foamy. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Prepare a bundt pan with spray oil and coat the pan with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour batter into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

To get cake our of the pain in one piece, allow it to cook for only 3-5 minutes. Then invert the bundt pan onto a plate and allow to cool and for the cake to slide out of the pan.

The recipe didn't have a frosting to go with it. I made a simple powdered sugar and water frosting. At the church activity, they made homemade whipped cream and put it on top of each slice.

Spicy Beef Tacos

This recipe is YUMMY!!! ( And not spicy like it says in the title) It is now me and my husband's favorite way of having tacos.  The meat is so flavorful!

If you are doing weight watchers it is 7 points for 2 tacos.

Ingredients:

cooking spray

2 cloves Garlic

1 pound of ground beef

1 1/2 t ground cumin

1 1/2 t ground coriander

3/4 t salt or to tast

1 1/2 c canned diced tomatoes with green chilies (or with jalapenos if you want it more spicy)

8 small corn tortillas

lettuce

cheese

salsa

anything else you want on your tacos

 Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add beef and cook until browned. After about 5-6 minutes add cumin, coriander, and salt. Once beef is browned add diced tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

 Place tortillas on a cookie sheet. Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray, lightly. Heat in oven at 300 degrees until slightly crisp but not too crisp that they break when folded. I think I had them in the oven about 3-5 minutes.

The recipe says add 1/4 cup of meat to each tortilla but that way too much for me. Make your taco and enjoy!!

Bunny Cakes

It has been a tradition in our family to have Bunny Cake for Easter. It just wouldn't be the same without it!! My mom decided 2 or 3 years ago that we all needed to know how to make them so now we get together every year to make them. They turn out SOOO cute!

Make a cake mix of your choice. Morgan and I (Krista) split a chocolate cake and yellow cake so our cakes would have both flavors. Make them in 9 inch round pans. When cooled down, cut the cakes in half and place them up against each other, with the flat part down. See picture above. Put frosting in the middle of the halfs so they stay together and on the bottom so it stays on the pan or cake plate.
Now frost and decorate anyway you want!

We cut the ears out of paper and color toothpicks black for the wiskers. We use those hostess cakes that are covered in marshmallow and coconut for the tail.

Enjoy!!

Happy Easter!

Veggie Enchiladas

I needed a quick meal and had no meat thawed and wanted enchiladas. I had no enchilada sauce so I got one Krista had made before and then made up my own enchiladas based on what I had and they turned out amazing.

Enchilada Sauce:

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth (can also use water)

1 8 oz can tomato paste (I used tomato sauce)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

-- Heat oil, flour and chili powder. Then add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring consistently.

Enchiladas:

2-3 c cheese

1 can black beans, rinsed

Spinach (as much or as little as you like. I did about 2 large handfuls)

1 can corn

3-5 green onions

1 tsp cumin

10-12 tortillas

-- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Leave a little cheese to add on top. Fill tortillas up with mixture in a 9x13 pan. Add enchilada sauce on top and add the remaining cheese. Cook on 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Grilled Pears a la Mode

We have been getting a lot of pears in our Bountiful Baskets and when we can't eat them fast enough, we tried making this. It is our new favorite.

5-6 pears

1 stick of butter (we did about 3/4 stick)

1 1/2 c brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Ice Cream

Cut the pears in half and put into a bowl.

Pour melted butter over the pears.

Add all the other ingredients to the bowl. Cover bowl and shake it all up.

Put the pears on the grill and cook 4-5 minutes on each side until crisp and soft.

Add ice cream to the pears in a bowl and use the extra butter sauce for the topping.

Freezer Hashbrowns

I'm surprised at how many people don't know to do this with potatoes. My family calls me frugile but I just think I am smart. I hate buying a 10 lb bag of potatoes (they are usually cheaper than a 5 lb) and only using part of it before they go bad. This is a perfect solution. It also saves on cooking time when all you have to do is brown the hashbrowns or french fries.

-Peel potatoes
-dice or slice them (you can size them for hashbrowns or french fries)
-put them in a boiling pot of water
-cook for about 10 minutes until they are semi soft. You don't want them falling apart
-Drain the water and put under cold water. Get a cookie sheet and cover with tin foil and spray. -Spread the potatoes on a single layer on the cookie sheet.
-Put in the freezer for about 2 hours until they are frozen individually. This will keep the potatoes from clumping and going mushy.
-Pull out of the freezer and put into individual freezer baggies. We do enough in each bag for 2 of us at a time.