Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower pizza goodness.

You might have seen cauliflower pizza crust recipes online or on Pinterest a lot lately. Originally I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been fiddling with it ever since. A cauliflower crust is a wonderful gluten free, low carbohydrate option and is so subtle in cauliflower flavor that it will please any picky eater. Like my three year old twins! Any toppings you normally like to put on your pizza will work on this one.  I do have to admit that the preparation can be a bit messy. If you opt to grate your cauliflower, it kind of goes everywhere, I had bits of cauliflower sprinkled on the floor, much to Chloe, the dacshund’s pleasure. I opted for a double recipe this time and used the entire head of cauliflower. I made a round pizza for myself and I used the Demarle goldfish tray for special fish shaped pizzas for the girls.

See, waiting for more.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Makes one 9″ pizza, I usually double the recipe and make one big rectangular pizza or one round and cute shaped mini pizzas for the kids.

CRUST:

• 1/2 LARGE head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup finely shredded cheese of your choice. I like the a blend of Mexican cheeses or cheddar. (or try another kind!)
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1-2 cloves fresh garlic
• salt and pepper

Top with your favorite toppings. I’ve tried Hawaiian and turkey pepperoni , both were super yummy.

Directions:

1. Shred the cauliflower into small crumbles. You can use a food processor if you’d like, but I think grating is the way to go.You’ll need a total of about 2 cups or so of cauliflower crumbles (which is about half a large head of cauliflower. If you have a Demarle round mold and an octagonal Silpat, place the crumbles in round mold, cover and microwave for 4-5 minutes. If using a conventional bowl, place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes. If you do not have a microwave, you can steam the whole florets and then grate them after they cool. This will change the texture, making it more of a puree. It will still taste yummy! Give the cauliflower a chance to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare you cookie sheet with nonstick spray. I like to use a Silpat or a Demarle flexipan, neither need cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower and the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the “crust” into a 9 to 12-inch round on your prepared pan or into your Demarle mold/flexipan of choice.  You can spray the top of your crust with cooking spray, it will help it get more brown, but I usually skip this. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and remove from the oven. If you’re using a flexipan or mold, unmold, place on a Silpat then add toppings. This will give you a crispier crust.

Baked and ready to top!

3: Top your pizza with your sauce and toppings of your choice! Be creative! Put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

The kiddos dinner!

I hope you give it a try!

Weekly Pinterest Success (yes, that’s singular)

It was a busy, hot week around here. I know that the rest of the country has been burning up, so our little heat spell is really nothing compared to the triple digits other people have been seeing. I will just say that high heat in the Pacific Northwest is great for a little while, but we tend to wilt a bit. Yes, we’re big wieners.

Since the week has been warm, it has limited my baking to almost zero and my craft room gets all the afternoon heat, so not too much on the Pinterest project front. I did have time for one fabulous recipe I discovered on Pinterest, a delicious honey lime enchilada recipe that I’ve been playing with.

My huge batch of enchiladas!

I have been following the recipe, except I have been playing around with what type of cooked chicken I’ve been putting in it. I made a huge amount of enchiladas on Thursday so I could try my two favorite fillings, rotisserie chicken and leftover grilled Margarita chicken (a great Weight Watchers recipe). I brought both types to girls night, hoping the ladies could give me a definitive answer on which filling was better. The votes came in at a tie, both were well liked. The grilled chicken was thighs only, so it was a little more moist. Also I marinated the meat overnight before I grilled it so it tasted like tequila and lime, amongst other things. It cuts the sweetness of the honey in the enchilada recipe. The rotisserie chicken soaks up more of the sauce and takes on a sweeter taste, but tends to be a tad drier because of the mixture of light and dark meat. Either way they tasted fantastic, but I must say I prefer the grilled margarita chicken. The zing of the lime and tequila, mixed with the smokiness of the grill. Plus, I just make extra chicken and get a big head start on dinner for the next two days! Yummy. I fully suggest following the link to the enchilada recipe, this is the second time I’ve made it and it always has rave reviews. Below is the recipe for my grilled chicken, my preferred filling.

Grilled Margarita Chicken.

Grilled Margarita Chicken from Weight Watchers (this is the single recipe, I suggest doubling or tripling.)

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 T tequila
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 t grated lime zest
• 2 T fresh lime juice
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 t chili powder
• 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients, minus the salt and pepper into a large ziploc bag. Add chicken, squeeze out air and seal. Turn to coat chicken. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, at least 8 hours, I prefer overnight.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray; preheat the grill to medium or prepare a medium fire.

Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off excess marinade. Discard the marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; place on the grill rack. Grill until cooked, 6-7 minutes on each side.

Serving size: one thigh, 5 points (old and new)

I hope you give this recipe a try and hopefully with the cool, rainy day we say today, maybe I can get something done!

Pretty please with a Banh Mi on top?

So, I have a huge favor to ask, please forgive me for a self serving request. I promise to follow this with an awesome banh mi sandwich recipe!

Recently I downloaded the  new Martha Stewart Craft Studio application available on the iPad. It’s an app that allows you to create and customize digital cards, scrapbook pages, thank yous and invitations just to name a few. It was free for a limited time so I snapped it up. Anything that allows me to be like a graphic designer without the  training to do so is a win in my book! I also found out they were having design contest and thought I would submit an entry. I was super surprised and elated to find out that my entry was selected as a finalist! I don’t think it was my design as much as my little cuties the prime subjects. I know, look at that nepotism shine, but they’re my babies, it’s expected!

See, this is the card I made. Aren’t they cute?

So my big favor is, to win the contest, Martha Stewart Living is having a popular vote for each card on Pinterest. If you are a Pinterest member and you go to the Martha Stewart Living profile and look for the Craft Studio contest board, you will find the above picture. All you need to do is repin it, that’s a vote! Or you can follow this link straight to my entry. Pretty please?

OK, now onto the promised Banh Mi recipe. I have been planning on blogging this one for awhile, it’s amazing. I can’t help but drool a little as I’m typing this. If you haven’t experienced a banh mi sandwich, it is a Vietnamese sandwich made on a baguette, an influence from the French colonists. It is filled with an assortment of grilled or cooked meats and usually has mayo, pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber slices and cilantro to name a few. They have been very popular lately and have been all over the food truck craze. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this recipe on Epicurious.

Prepare for some serious deliciousness!

Pork Meatball Banh Mi from Epicurious

Hot Chili Mayo

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 green onions, finely chopped (I usually omit this so I can keep the mayo longer in the fridge)
• 1 T hot sriracha (or a bit more!)

Stir all ingredients in small  bowl, season with salt. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. I like to leave out the green onions to prevent spoiling and keep the mayo in squeeze bottle in the fridge. It’s great on sandwiches and burgers!

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 1 T fish sauce (very important!)
• 1 T hot chili sriracha
• 1 T sugar
• 2 t cornstarch
• 1 t ground pepper
• 1 t kosher salt

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. With moist hands, use a tablespoon to portion meat, rolling into 1 inch meatballs. Arrange on baking sheet. Do ahead, can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. To cook. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add half the meatballs. Saute until brown and cooked through. Turning the meatballs often and lowering heat if browning too  quickly. Transfer meatballs to another rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Repeat with remaining meatballs. If you making a double batch (or even a triple batch) make sure to take out the first batches of meatballs out of the oven to prevent drying.

Quick Pickles

• 2 cups coarsely grated carrots (I would julienne these if you have a mandoline slicer)
• 2 cups coarsely grated peeled daikon (I usually omit this and sub in cucumbers)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 t coarse kosher salt
• 1 T Asian sesame oil

Toss ingredients in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour, tossing occasionally.

For bread you can use four 10 inch long pieces french bread OR for a variation I love to use Hawaiian sweet rolls and make meatball sliders. So yummy! Also you will want thinly sliced jalapenos and fresh cilantro sprigs for additional toppings.

This is the slider version. I loved the softness of the roll instead of the chewy french bread.

I hope you try the recipe, it is awesome. A big favorite in our house and great the next day! Thanks for the help!

Weekly Pinterest Successes

I have to say the point of a “weekly” topic is for me to be regular and post it on the same day each week, right? Well, it’s still Sunday, so I’m not too late, but  I’m sure cutting it close! This week my craft room was sadly forlorn, while I spent more time in the kitchen. I was able to try a few Pinterest recipes and they were all pretty successful. Goodness knows, I have had some failures, usually in the form of some sort of microwave mug cake.

The first one is a wonderful beef short rib slow cooker recipe, yes, you read me right, a slow cooker recipe. I find very few recipes made in a slow cooker fantastic. I don’t like the texture of the meat when it breaks down into a stringy mess. This recipe is a definite exception. I found the recipe at eat-yourself-skinny.com, a blog that focuses on healthier recipes and has a lot of calorie counts and weight watcher points for each recipe. I was able to get my hands on some beef short ribs, and I must admit I have never tried them before. Please, go look at the recipe, here’s the link. I popped these in and only changed a few things. I reduced the vinegar (to about a 1/3 cup), as my husband doesn’t like too much in his sauce. Also I was shocked to find I was out of sugar, *gasp*! So I reduced the sugar to a 1/2 cup of white sugar and then drizzled in some molasses. The ribs cooked all day, emitting tantalizing aromas throughout the entire house. My husband made some mashed potatoes to serve the ribs and gravy over. Yummy! This makes a lot of gravy! I have to confess that I actually had some mashed potatoes and gravy for breakfast one morning. You will not be disappointed!

The next recipe, I pinned quite awhile ago for some frozen s’more cups. I always try to make an ice cream type dessert for my husband’s birthday and I thought this would fit the bill. I used my Demarle muffin flexipan, as I could freeze the dessert in it and easily pop out the s’more cups. Otherwise you will need to use some sort of mini cheesecake pan, spring form pan or like item. I subbed in freshly whipped cream for the cool whip, as it is what I had on hand. They were very yummy and a wonderful cool treat for the warm week we’ve been having.

The finished product, I just had to try one!

The last recipe is for these broccoli cheddar biscuit cups sent to me by my friend as a good cooking with your kiddos recipe. I thought the recipe looked like a great starting off point. I made my own biscuits and opted for an herbed goat cheese filling, broccoli and parmesan on top. Even with my modifiers from the original recipe,  you can still do a “busy gal” version or an “over achiever” version. Here are both options for you.

Busy Gal

• 1 can of refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1-2 packages of boursin cheese (depending on how much you like)
• 2 cups broccoli (blanched and chopped)
• 1/4-1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Over Achiever

Herb Biscuits (from Barefoot Contessa)

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1t salt
• 1 t sugar
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter (I put it in the freezer for an hour then grated it)
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add grated butter and mix for a few seconds. Add half and half and combine on low speed. Mix in parsley. Dump dough onto a well floured surface or your Roul’Pat. You will be rolling them thinner than traditional biscuits since they will be stuffed into a muffin cup. Cut them out with a 2 and 1/2″ cutter. I made my biscuits ahead of time and put them on a cookie sheet in the fridge until dinner time.

Mmmm, biscuits!

Cheese filling

• 10 oz fresh goat cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1 t seasoning of your choice. I used Demarle’s Green Onion and Roasted Red Pepper herb blend
• Half and half to mix

With an electric mixer beat up cheese to break it up, add chives and seasoning. Mix in half and half slowly until your get a texture that can be piped or spooned. I put the filling into a ziploc bag and cut off the tip when I was ready to fill the cups.

You will also need 2 cups of blanched, chopped broccoli and 1/4 – 1/3 cup grated parmesan for the over achiever version. Baking and assembly will be the same for both recipes. Press dough into your muffin pan, if you’re using a metal pan, be sure to prepare with cooking spray. Cut tip off your ziploc bag and pipe cheese into each cup. Add broccoli and top each cup with some parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes for store bought dough and closer to 15 minutes for homemade dough.  Serve up to your picky kids and enjoy a lovely vegetarian meal!

I prepped everything while my girls were napping so we could assemble it together before dinner.

Press in biscuit dough into your muffin pan.

Pipe in cheese, there may be some leftover.

Topped with broccoli and cheese. Ready to bake!

Dinnertime!

I hope you will have a chance to try out a few of these recipes. The short ribs recipe will definitely be on our regular rotation and will be especially delicious in the winter months when a warm, comforting meal is in order. Enjoy!

Galettes with goat cheese, asparagus and caramelized onions

A few weeks ago my mother in law dropped by to watch my girls so I could escape get out for a bit. Whenever she comes over she always brings little treats and toys for the girls as well as my husband and I. I don’t think she can help herself and goodness knows we appreciate the little attentions. On that visit she brought a long a little galette she picked up at New Seasons, which I enjoyed immensely the following morning for breakfast. It was really so simple, caramelized onions, goat cheese and asparagus wrapped lovingly in some pastry dough. I thought for sure I could replicate it, the hardest part would be caramelizing the onions. Here’s what I did;

Caramelized Onions

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 3 yellow onions, peeled and sliced into half rounds
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy bottomed pot, add in the onions and thyme. Stir to evenly coat and cook over medium-low heat stirring occasionally. Here is where you have to be patient. You want the onions to cook slowly, if they brown to quickly you won’t get a good caramel on them. You want to be sure to stir them, but don’t hover over them. I made that mistake and what should take perhaps 30 minutes ended up closer to 50 because I was stirring too often and they didn’t stay still long enough to brown. After they reach a light caramel color, add your salt and pepper as well as your vinegar. The vinegar will de-glaze the pan and give the onions a deep caramel color. Store in your fridge for up to a week.  Here is a photo progression of my onions.

Fresh in the pan.

10 minutes.

20 minutes.

30 minutes

40 minutes. Now I’m ready to add my salt, pepper and vinegar.

All done and ready to eat! Yummy!

To make the galettes, I branched out from my usual pate brisee recipe and tried one with cornmeal from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. This recipe makes two 9″ single pie crusts. Enough for around 8-10 galettes.

Cornmeal Pate Brisee

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 t salt
• 1 t sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Place flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar in food processor. Pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse to a coarse meal, only a few seconds will do. With machine running add water in a slow, steady stream. I find a 1/4 cup is enough. You want it to just hold together. Turn dough out, split into two and flatten each into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour. I like to make mine the day before. You can freeze this recipe as well.

To fill, roll out dough and cut out circles. I use a 3 and 7/8″ cutter, but a small saucer will work too. Fill each circle with 2-3 tablespoons of onions, 1-2 ounces goat cheese and some pieces of asparagus. Fold dough around filling and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned. My first batch was a little pale, so I kept an eye on the second batch a little closer. I ended up rolling out one  half batch of dough and saved the rest for the next day. Each will make 4-5.

Using my Roul’Pat, less flour makes a more tender crust!

With filling, I skip the onions when I make this for my kids.

Gently fold dough around filling, leaving a small amount showing in the middle.

Bake on your Silpat for a crispy, flaky crust.

Yummy! I want to make another batch! What is great about these is you can make them with whatever is on hand. During the summer months when we have so many fresh ingredients available this is the time to experiment. Try tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella or perhaps a sweet recipe with fresh stone fruit and berries! Sweet and savory both work beautifully in the cornmeal crust! Enjoy and let me know what your favorite combination was!

 

 

Weekly Pinterest Successes (and maybe a fail)

When Pinterest became so huge, it became the bane of husbands and boyfriends everywhere. Finally a time suck for us woman (and some men too!) that could rival video games or World of Warcraft! Insert evil cackle here! With the vortex of time lost, it can be said that Pinterest, though time consuming is ripe with crafty ideas, delicious recipes, witty e-cards and a plethora of other goodies.  Since I’ve been on Pinterest for almost a year, I have  quite a few successes and failures under my belt. This week I limited myself to a couple of Pinterest crafty projects.

The first was a result of my husband volunteering to help with a friends wedding favors and me hijacking graciously volunteering to help. The bride’s approaching nuptials have her busy and stretched, so favors had her stumped and willing to throw in the towel. My husband suggested putting flower seeds in some sort of burlap like fabric and accented with a cute tag. Isn’t he a keeper! I then suggested that we try making DIY seed bombs, a form of guerrilla gardening. Seed bombs look like coca powder covered truffles but really contain clay, soil, flower seeds and water to stick it together. They can be thrown from your car window onto ugly freeway green strips and a little rain and sun later you get flowers! Or you could take your seed bomb and lovingly tend to it in a cute pot and enjoy the flowers on your windowsill, which is what we are going for with these wedding favors. I found the tutorial on how to make your own seed bombs here. I modified the recipe a bit, maybe to it’s determent because I need to make at least 200 of these bad boys. Instead of using straight flower seeds, I opted for a seed mix which contains only 20% seeds and 80% inert matter. So I thought I could reduce the amount of soil I put in and leave the rest as is. It was a messy project and I think it turned out ok, but I won’t really know until we plant a couple and see if they bloom. My first batch turned out a little hard and a few of them have started to mold. Hmmm. I don’t think this qualifies as a success or a failure yet. A little time and tweaking is in order. UPDATE: my wiener dog, Chloe found test plant seed bombs in the backyard and thought they were the best toys. My husband has since chased her down, extracted the bombs and replanted them. Maybe the dog slobber will aid in the germination.

Seed bombs.

Chloe or the seed bomb killer.

The next project was for my nieces’ birthday party. I bought a couple of over priced pillowcase kits (groan, next time I will cut my own!) that came with draconian instructions, confusing and no pictures. Imagine my glee when I found this tutorial by the Twiddletails blog on how to make the easiest pillowcases! She uses a burrito technique with french seams (aka no exposed seams) along with a lot of pictures! My type of tutorial! I made two pillowcases, so the first one was riddled with mistakes and took a long time to make. This is one of the repercussions of midnight crafting, I’m wiped so little mistakes have led me to have an extensive love/hate relationship with my seam ripper. The second pillowcase turned out beautifully and was done in no time. Now I can whip one of those babies out in 20 minutes. Think of the possibilities, Halloween, Christmas, flannel, cotton! So that last line wasn’t actually me, that was my mom. I think she is envisioning a closet full of themed pillowcases. Perhaps not, but at least now I have to tools to do so!

The finished product

Cute kid lunches!

If you have toddlers or had, you probably know how once they hit 2 1/2 they learn the word no and seem to use it profusely, especially when it comes to food. My now three year old twins always ask what we’re eating, then after I respond they follow up with a, “I don’t like (insert what’s for dinner).” So irritating. We never have a problem with breakfast, lunch is usually a fight and dinner, well,  I’m working on it.

Maybe you’ve seen some of the adorable kid food ideas out there or the amazing bento boxes some people make. Using these ideas, I needed to make these adaptable for what my kids like to eat, which is mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Really, all you need to make food a little bit more exciting is cookie cutters. A fun shape goes a long way with kids! I discovered that I have a lot of cookie cutters, it’s kind of a problem, they aren’t the easiest things to store! Mine are stuffed in a drawer with some baking items and then the overflow is in a huge hat box. I may need to trim these down a little bit, but since they are helping my kids clean their plates every day, perhaps I will keep them around a little bit longer.

As you can see, I have a few cookie cutters.

So here are a few of my kids lunches, If you have any ideas, please leave a comment! I’m always on the quest for new material for the girls!

Bears and fruit in a silicon cupcake cup.

Owlies.

Ladybugs with fruit flowers.

The very hungry caterpillar, our favorite!

Fish with a string cheese octopus.

The only way to eat snails!

This one was inspired by my seasonal allergies.

Ernie with a mango rubber ducky.

Carrots and rabbits.

Roar! Lions in the grass, I found these grass cupcake wraps at Cost Plus and trimmed them.

I was hoping I could get the sun to come back out!

An apple with a string cheese worm. Black sesame seeds make great eyes!

All of these were from the last few weeks, so you’ll have to wait a while before I can come up with another cache. Hopefully these will keep you fueled for awhile. Finally one last picture, with all this cute food for the kids, enter the reality for us moms.

This is my lunch.

Pie pops!

What another pie post? I know what you’re thinking, this lady is obsessed with pie. I do love pie, but I’m really just trying to use up all the strawberries I have taking up valuable fridge space! Since I had a few leftover after the jam  and the strawberry rhubarb pie. I thought I would whip up another batch and make some pies in jars to freeze. Nothing is more lovely than pulling a summer pie out of the freezer during those blustery fall days and baking it. Delicious smells and warm pie to cheer you up. I should have perhaps looked at my supplies before I started on this project, after I had already made my dough, I realized I only had 4 straight sided half pint canning jars with lids. Whoops, what to do with the extra filling and dough? How about pie pops? Have you seen them around?

As of late, there has been a large surge with anything associated with a pop. Cake pops, gourmet popsicles, marshmallow pops and now, pie pops. I think anything that comes on a stick is automatically infused with whimsy and charm, perhaps that is their allure. Don’t forget the portability and kid appeal, a huge plus to any mom or “big” kid on the go.

The finished “pretty” pic.

They’re so easy to make and only need a few modifications from a standard pie. One double crust pie with filling should make about 50 pie pops. In my case, it made 4 pies in jars, 2 crisps and 7 pie pops. I realized I only had 7 lollipop sticks, again to my point of checking your supplies before you begin a project!

Pies in jars, can either go straight in the oven or into the freezer!

For pie pops, you just need lollipop sticks and a 2 5/8″ dough cutter (I used my Demarle dough cutters) or like size. I like a fluted edge, but a round or even a heart would be so cute! I used the pate brisee dough from Martha Stewart, linked in my last post. An all butter crust has a little bit more workability and will hold together a little better when you bite into it. For a filling, anything will do, but I suggest you cut your ingredients a little smaller that you normally would. When you’re putting in only a tablespoon of filling, a half inch chunk of rhubarb can take up a lot of space! Just roll out your dough, cut out your circle and lay on your Silpat or a cookie sheet with parchment. Brush an egg wash on the circle then place a lollipop stick 1/2″ from the upper edge. Spoon a tablespoon of filling in the center of your circle and place your crust on top. I used a fork to press around the edge of each pop, cut about of vents, brushed with egg wash and baked at 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.  Ta dah, instant yummy on stick!

All baked and ready to eat!

I think the twins liked them!

Dancing in meadows of strawberry jam

Hood strawberries are in season in our area and being sold at every farmers market and pop up stands outside of Costco. What that means to me is JAM! This is my fourth year making and canning jam, so I still consider myself a bit of a novice. That being said, if I can can, you can can. Hee hee, can can.

Making jam is actually pretty easy, the prep, cooking and canning can be a bit time consuming and sweaty. But as long as you’re not doing it in an unconditioned house on a 90+ degree day, you can do it. My husband goes through an alarming amount of jam, like a pint every two weeks. His routine involves taking two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to work everyday. I’ve tried to entice him to take leftovers or letting me make him something different, but he won’t do it. I say he’s stubborn, he would say he’s consistent. This year I made my tried and true strawberry, strawberry vanilla and natural fruit strawberry (pectin free). The vanilla batch was especially lovely.

A few of my jamming accoutrement.

The thing with canning is unless you’re more than a novice, you really shouldn’t fiddle with the recipes too much. If something scary starts growing in your home canned food, it can make you very sick. I use the Ball canning book where each recipe is tried and tested, making sure there is a proper amount of acid in each recipe to inhibit bacteria growth. Don’t be scared to try, I would recommend checking out a few books from the library.

What you will need:

• Canning jars (canning is in, you can find jars at most major retailers or online)
• Canning tools (I bought a canning tool kit for less than $10 at Cost Plus)
• A big canning pot (again purchased at Cost Plus)
• A big pot to make the jam in (I caution against doubling a recipe, jam bubbles up, a big pot is needed)
• a few odds and ends you most likely have, big spoon, slotted spoon, knife, colander etc.
• A GOOD CANNING BOOK AND RECIPE (I’m not even trying to post a recipe, because I think it is important that you read the basics of canning to get started)

Please don’t be afraid, give it a try! Feel free to ask me any questions and I can try to answer them! I’m hoping to go beyond jam, I’ve tried mango chutney and canning peaches with success, but perhaps I will venture to pickling this year. With the resurgence of home gardens and people trying to save money any way they can, what better way than to make and store your own food!

Oodles of jam!

Now if your like me and you may have some leftover strawberries, what better way to use them then make a strawberry rhubarb pie! What makes this recipe super yummy is the brown sugar and cinnamon that are in the filling make it deliciously syrupy with a hint of spice!

Lattice-Topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (from Epicurious)

Crust

• One recipe of Pate Brisee pie dough (makes two 9″ pie crusts) I use Martha Stewart’s recipe

For the filling

• 3 1/2 cups 1/2 ” thick sliced trimmed rhubarb
• 1 16oz container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 t water (for glaze)

Make crust according to recipe instructions and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to blend. Roll out 1 dough disk on a Demarle RoulPat or a floured work surface. Transfer to your pie dish of choice. Trim dough leaving a 3/4″ overhang. Roll out second dough disk, cut into 14 half inch strips. Or you can eye ball it like me, they were not perfect, but I think it adds a rustic touch! Spoon filling into crust. I like to lay half of my strips on my RoulPat (a Silpat will work as well) then weave in the remaining strips. I then flip my lattice on top of my pie, trim the ends and fold over the edge of the dough and flute the edge. You can also lay the strips on your pie and weave them on there! Do what is comfortable for you!

Brush glaze over the crust, transfer pie to baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens (a glass pie plate = 1 hour 25 minutes, Demarle pie mold = 1 hour)

I promise you, you will not be disappointed with this recipe. I have tried several recipes for strawberry rhubarb, but once I tried this one, it has been my go to ever since!

What I enjoyed whilst posting this blog!

Muffin Tin Lasagnas

Lately, I have been a bit enamored with my muffin pan, just a bit. I’ve discovered that anything shaped like a cupcake is a big hit with my twins. They think they’re getting cupcakes for dinner and that’s fine with me. If you’re familiar with Pinterest, you’ll know that muffin tin meals have been widely circulated. This recipe is very flexible so you can adapt to suit all tastes and diets.

These are the bare basics of ingredients, but feel free to use your own sauce and add ins. I like to use cooked Italian sausage and spinach as well. Pork sausage has more fat, but tends to give you a more flavorful lasagna. I have used turkey and chicken sausages as well with good results.

I used my Demarle muffin pan, so I didn’t need to grease, but if you are using a metal pan, be sure to prep your pan with cooking spray! Place the gyoza (round) or wonton (square) wrappers in your pan. Next comes your sauce.

See look how easy this is! Layer in your ricotta, meat and spinach.

CHEESE! Then repeat, layer another wrapper and all your fillings. I like to use a mix of mozzarella and parmesan on the top. There are enough wrappers in your package to make two batches of lasagna. I like to freeze the second set so I have a second dinner later. If using a Demarle tray you can pop out the lasagnas once frozen and place in a ziploc bag, if using a metal tin, I would suggest leaving it in the freezer. I hope you have two muffin tins!

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until browned. If baking from frozen you will need to add at least 5 more minutes.

Feel free to go nuts with this recipe, this is just a starting point for whatever you can come up with. My friend and fellow blogger, Lula Harp, used egg plant instead of gyoza wrappers with equally delicious results. I’m actually looking forward to the summer zucchini season. I try to keep my eye on those pesky zucchini, but some always escape me and grow too big. I’m going to slice some of those oversize squash thinly and use them as noodles. Anyway I can sneak some vegetables into my kids diet is a win in my book! I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Muffin Tin Lasagna

• 1 package gyoza or wonton wrappers
• 1 16 oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 1 cup (or more if you like) grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (for top)
• 1 lb cooked sausage
• 1 cup cooked spinach
• salt and pepper to taste

Layer wrapper, sauce, ricotta, meat/spinach then mozzarella in your muffin pan. Repeat, topping with parmesan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. You will have enough ingredients to make two trays. Freeze for later or bake both for a crowd. These reheat nicely!

Who La La