BBQ Sauce Recipe

With summer finally "officially" here what a perfect time to refill my BBQ sauce inventory! There is nothing like a good homemade BBQ sauce, and it is fairly cheap and easy to make. I have made a few recipe's over the years, but I think this is one of my favorites. 

INGREDIENTS:
6 tbls Dark brown sugar
1 tbls molassis (or sub 1 extra tbls brown sugar) 
1 cup cider vinegar (white vinegar will work) 
7 tbls Worcestershire sauce
3 tbls Yellow Mustard

5 tbls honey

6 cups ketchup

7 tbls dry rub spice mix (1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/8 cup seasoned salt, 1/4 cup paprika, 1/4 cup smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder,  2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon celery salt, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon rubbed dried sage, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne)
**optional - liquid smoke 1/2 tsp per 1 cup sauce (so should be roughly 4 1/2 tsp)**
**optional - a pinch of cayenne pepper to add a little more kick**

DIRECTIONS:
1) Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. 
2) Stir well over medium heat, slowly bringing to boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 60 minutes.
3) Stir occasionally as it cooks.
4) Once it's thoroughly mixed and cooked for an hour, you can either store it in the refrigerator (it keeps for several weeks) or, of course, you can "can it". Because why would I be giving you a recipe for something if you couldn't can it? 

TO CAN IT: 
1) This recipe is suitable for water-process canning as long as you don't decrease the ratio of vinegar to other ingredients. 
2) Ladle your hot barbecue sauce into your hot prepared (sterilized) jars leaving  about 1/4" head space. 
3) Process half and full pints for 20 minutes in boiling water canner.

I always taste and tweak it according to what I am in the mood for when I am cooking it, but this is my base recipe. Taste as you go and you can change this recipe easy by adding more or less spices, sweets ect to suit your preferences!

Homemade fruit roll-ups (Fruit Leather)

I posted this on one of my other blogs but thought it was appropriate for this one as well! It was so easy my just-turned-4-year-old-daughter Jessalynne was able to help me make it. She added all the berries into the food processor, with my help "pulsed" the berries, then I poured it into the prepared pans, let her press the oven buttons and "bam!" then we just waited!

4 easy steps, Puree, Taste, Spead & Cook!

Puree: Puree all ingredients in a food processor. One amazing combination is raspberries with a touch of agave and almond extract. Holy heaven-in-a-food-processor. I froze all of our extra fruits from our garden (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries) so we pulled those out to make this delicious snack. We made two different kinds mixed berry (with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasperries) and one with just strawberry & blackberry. I added about 1-2 tsp of organic agave as well for a little sweetness.

Taste the mixture after it’s smooth and add more sweetener if you need to. You need to be able to pour this mixture, so if you puree your fruit and it’s pretty thick, just add a little liquid. You can add water, or fruit juice. Both silicone and plastic wrap work the best other materials cause the fruit to stick.

Spread Puree: Use an offset spatula to gently spread the mixture in an even layer. The more evenly you spread, the more evenly it cooks. You’ll want it about 1/8″ thick. Your puree should be thin enough that it pours, but thick enough to stay put where you spread it.

Cook: Set your oven temperature to the lowest setting. Mine is 170, many ovens will go down to 140. 170 works great, and it will be a little faster than 140. You’re basically just warming the air, helping the fruit dry faster. This is where you will have to be patient. It takes about 6-8 hours, sometimes longer, for it to dry. If you aren’t going to be at home and you don’t want to leave your oven on, just keep the oven door shut and turn it off while you’re gone. Turn it back on when you get back and it will just keep on drying. II made my batch in the evening So when I was ready to go to bed, I turned the oven off and turned it back on in the morning until it’s done.  (or you can cook it in a food dehydrator in about 1/2 the time).

You can test it by touching the center of the fruit mixture- it should not stick to your finger, and not indent when you touch it.The edges will cook faster than the center; if the edges look like they’re getting crispy, you can cut those off later, or brush them with a little water or juice during the baking process to rehydrate. Or if you overbake the entire pan, you can also brush with a little water until it’s pliable again.Most of the little rolls will stay rolled, but if they need help, you can always attach a little piece of tape, or a twist tie to keep them all bundled up.

They make yummy little treats in lunch boxes... Or healthy snacks (for Mom and Dad too!)

Since the drying process is long, fit as many pans in your oven as you can! We love to do all different colors and flavors and experiment with flavor combinations. It’s also a good idea to make lots because these will be gone in a heart beat.

Pressure Canning Refried Beans

Ok so last post I showed you how to pressure can whole beans, this week we are going to take it one step farther and make refried beans! Making and canning your own refried beans ends up costing you around $0.25 per jar rather than the $1.34 that they are at my local grocery store. Amazing savings by taking just a little time and doing it yourself, and they taste so good.

Ingredients needed
1/2 onion, chopped small
 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
 2 tablespoons minced garlic
 2-3 tbls tomato sauce
 2 teaspoons salt
 2 teaspoons black pepper
 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder

Directions
1) Wash your bean. Sometimes beans have small rocks in them so I sort them in a colander or strainer, this is a good time to give them a good rinse while your at it.
2) Clean and sterilize your cans and lids.
3) For preparing your beans you have 2 options.           
           1) Place dry beans or peas in a large pot and cover with water. Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Then drain. OR you can
           2) Cover beans with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat and soak 1 hour. Then drain.
**Then cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes.**
4) Fill your jars with the presoaked beans (and water) leaving about an 1-1 1/2 inches from the top. 
5) Mix everything (except the beans) in a small dish. Then distribute it a little at a time to all your jars.
6) Fill the rest of the jar with water leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Wipe the top of your jar with a clean cloth and place the lid & ring on the jars.
7) Process at 10 pounds pressure - Pints 80 minutes and Quarts 95 minutes. (For processing above 1,000 feet altitude adjust your times as necessary). Allow the canner to cool naturally.  

Spices are added & the jars are getting ready to go into the canner

Once you are ready to open them and use them, pour them out and using a potato masher, mash them up real quick. they can be used making burritos, as the base for different dips. I like them right out of the jar (not mashed up) on my taco salad. Enjoy :)

Pressure Canning Whole Beans - recipe

If you have ever been interested in wanting to try pressure canning, beans are a good place to start! They are so easy. Buying dry beans is much cheaper than buying canned beans, and by canning them yourself you get the best of both worlds, convenience and money savings!

After you have all of your supplies ready, it's time to get the pinto beans ready. 

Canning BEANS!

1) Wash your bean. Sometimes beans have small rocks in them so I sort them in a colander or strainer, this is a good time to give them a good rinse while your at it.
2) Clean and sterilize your cans and lids.
3) For preparing your beans you have 2 options. 1) Place dry beans or peas in a large pot and cover with water. Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Then drain. OR you can
2) Cover beans with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat and soak 1 hour. Then drain.
**Then cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes.**4) For pints use 3/4 cup of beans and 1/2 tsp of salt. For quarts use 1 1/4 cups of dry beans and 1 tsp of salt.
5) Fill the rest of the jar with water leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Wipe the top of your jar with a clean cloth and place the lid & ring on the jars.
6) Process at 10 pounds pressure - Pints 75 minutes and Quarts 90 minutes. (For processing above 1,000 feet altitude adjust your times as necessary). Allow the canner to cool naturally.  

Do not rush the cooling process as beans have protein.  You should never rush a canner to cool quickly especially when canning proteins.

**Stay tuned - next week we will make and can homemade refried beans!**

Wasted space under the stairs = New Canning Closet

 Canning Closet
I have never lived in a 2-story house before, and we had no idea what to do with this wasted space under our stairs? It had a very low wall that you had to squat to get under, then very tall ceilings... it just didn't make sense! I decided to do a little home renovating. It cost about $100 for all the supplies (wire shelves, paint, new molding, saw to cut out the wall, blade to cut through the metal studs and the drywall).  We debated wood shelves vs wire shelves and decided wire shelves would be lighter and sturdier for what I need.

We cut the super low wall out so I could walk through it, then finished the wall and put molding up so it looks like a entry way. My grampa is an amazing help for these little projects I find (by help, I mean I come up with a plan, and buy the stuff and he does all the work). All  I need now is a little light to go in there because it is pretty dark.
 Overall it wasn't very expensive, or hard to do. I honestly couldn't be happier with the outcome. It is one of my favorite little rooms in the house!

It all started when I got my pressure canner for Christmas... I started my first pressure canning project in January and was immediately hooked. I have had so much fun learning about canning, and building up my little emergency supply. With hurricane season approaching, I know there is a chance we might be losing power at some point and I will be prepared! I have several different soups, stews, chili's, spaghetti sauce, salsa, bbq sauce, jelly, beans and refried beans... I'm hoping to start building up my vegetable supply with my garden harvest this summer. Yay!

1 month in - Garden update!

Remember all those little seeds I planted, then transplanted? They are growing well!

Some of my seedlings average heights so far:
Tomatoes 3 inches
Carrots 1-3 inchess
Broccoli 2 inches

The broccoli is not supposed to be growing at all because of the heat outside, but it seems to be doing well so far. I have been keeping the soil wet, and providing partial shade as much as I can to it to help keep it a little cooler.

My 2 starter tomato plants are producing green tomatoes, and a lot of them. They have grown over 2 feet since I planted them!

My blueberries are not yet blossoming, but I haven't researched much on when they blossom in Florida... I might have to do a little research on that soon :)

My 2 cucumber starter plants are doing well, one of them is over 10 inches tall, the other is about 8 inches.  They are also almost long enough to start climbing their trellis.

Our starter strawberries are growing and we have a few red strawberries on them as well! I don't know if they will ever get all the way red because my kids keep picking them all before they have a chance to fully ripen!  I love that my kids are so excited about helping out in the garden, and they run out there often to see if there are any red tomatoes or strawberries ready to be picked.


 

My celery is growing well in the window seal. It is about  inches tall already! I have 2 stalks "re-growing" from the base  (see previous blog on replanting celery). I have it indoors because it doesn't grow well in heat, and is a cold weather vegetable. It is growing great so far in my kitchen window. I have had to aerorate it frequently to avoid mold growing because it is growing indoors it needs a little extra treatment. I water it just enough to keep the soil moist, about every other day.

Vertical Cucumbers

Well a little about cucumbers to start with, they are very easy to grow and are very prolific. They need to be planted in a section of the garden that receives full sun and has an evenly moist, fertile soil. With that, success is almost guaranteed.

Like other summer vine crops, cucumbers are heavy feeders and demand a steady supply of water. Work plenty of organic matter (compost, well-rotted manure) into the soil before planting to help it retain moisture and to provide the nutrients the cucumber plants will need throughout the season. 

I read an article recently about growing vegetables vertically. I really like this idea because it keeps all the produce off the ground and according to research, it dramatically increases yields because the vines receive better air circulation and more sunlight than vines on the ground. I am trying this concept out with cucumbers. 

My grampa helped me make a trellis for them to climb. We decided 5" squares should work well. I'm hoping it will gives the cucumber plant a little more light by having more space, and plenty of room to fall through the holes for growing. (We also made one standing vertical for Jessalynne's green beans to climb and gave it a little extra support). If the cucumbers grow well, I am anxious to try the vertical gardening with some other fruit/vegetables like melon and tomatoes. I read that tomatoes grow really well vertical (or hanging). 

2014 is my garden guinea pig year. My year of trial and error. I am hoping to be successful as a new Floridian, but I know it will likely take a few years to workout all the kinks of what works, and what doesn't. My planting/harvest timing is also going to be a huge experiment this year!

RIP Vegetables (thanks to my son...) LOL

So most people plant their garden and worry about deer eating their plants, squirrels swiping their produce, bugs infesting, maybe even different molds growing... Well I planted my garden knowing I would have a constant and consistent fight with my son. He loves the dirt, and he loves to "help". Here's a funny little story about my son helping me with my garden.

I went out to water my garden the other day, and I found some of my plants were missing! They weren't eaten, or missing parts of the plant. They were literally dug up with a hole left in their place. "What on earth happened to my vegetables!?!?" I asked knowing immediately who the culprit was... Brixton, my 2 1/2 year old. Oh boy! He dug up several of my plants and put them back in the plastic containers we brought them home from the store in... Clever Brick, real clever! Unfortunately, they were not salvageable and didn't make the "re-transplant". I did promptly throw all the old containers out so he wouldn't try to replant any other plants in them again!


RIP banana peppers, tomatoes and marigolds, you will be missed!

Transplanting seeds!

So I finally the last of my beds filled with dirt so I could transplant my little seedlings! I bought these little white garden stakes off amazon (100 for $6) and my girls helped me make tags for all the garden items so we would know what everything was. We just wrote on them with permanent marker. (UPDATE: after a week they started fading drastically). We then picked out our transplant plants that seemed to be "thriving" the best, and planted them in the garden. The kids got to help with the transplanting and watering. I have 2 large garden beds, 2 small garden beds and several pots. I am picking up more buckets/pots today.

What are we growing you ask? Well, as of right now, almost everything is organic. So far we have 2 rows of purple dragon carrots, 2 rows of regular carrots, 1 full tomato plants, 1 cherry tomato plant, 6 bell pepper plants, 1 sweet pepper plant, 2 cucumber plants, 1 watermelon plant, 4 strawberries, 3 broccoli, 1 cauliflower, 1 celery, 11 tomato transplants (roma and beefsteak), 4 green bean, 2 blueberry bushes, 4 marigolds, and 2 citronella plants (hoping to ward off some of our mosquito this summer). It's a pretty good start, right?

Spaghetti Sauce (with whole tomatoes) - Pressure Canning Recipe

I went to our local Farmers Market yesterday and I scored on tomatoes! They always have great deals, but I got a 30 pound box for $10. So I grabbed a few onions and peppers while I was there and decided I was going to make spaghetti for dinner, and do some pressure canning to follow.

I don't do a lot of measuring when I cook, I usually add a little and taste, add more and taste until I get it where I want it. I tried to get a rough estimate as I was adding spices and such so I could "create" a recipe to share. My suggestion is to take this "base" recipe and alter it to suite your families liking. Some people like mushrooms, some don't. Some people like adding red pepper flakes, others don't. I made a meat free sauce, so if you would like to add meat make SURE you alter your cook pressures/times as needed.

Great veggie additions to this sauce are mushrooms, sliced zucchini and sliced carrots.

Ingredients:
30 lbs tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped bell peppers
3 tsp garlic salt
2 tbsp oregano
1 1/2 tbls basil
2 tbsp minced parsley
2 tsp black pepper

**MEAT OPTION: 2-1/2 lbs ground turkey, beef or sausage cooked until brown (again make sure you adjust canning time if you add meat)

Yield: About 9 pints (we ate if for dinner so and I canned the rest so this is a rough estimate as well)

Procedure:
Prepare all of your cans, lids and rings in advance and have them ready to go.
1) Dip tomatoes cold water and slip off skins. Remove cores and quarter tomatoes. Boil 20 minutes, uncovered, in large saucepan. Put through food mill or sieve. I like my sauce a little chunky so I only blend about half my tomatoes and leave the other half really chunky.
2) Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered, until thick enough for serving. If you feel like this is too thin you can add a small can of tomato paste. If you feel it is too thick add a can of tomato sauce. As I said this recipe is very flexible to meet your needs.
3) Saute onions, garlic, celery or peppers, and mushrooms (if desired) in vegetable oil until tender. Combine sauteed vegetables and tomatoes and add remainder of spices, salt, and sugar.
4) Stir frequently to avoid burning. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Process for 25 minutes - If you are 0-1000 ft altitude process at 10 pounds pressure, if you are above 1000 ft process at 15 pounds pressure.

After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn you. Place jars on a towel on the counter, standing upright. Check them after 24 hours to make sure they have a good seal.