Jammy Cheese Spread

 

 

4 oz soft goat cheese

4 oz cream cheese

4 oz jam

Beat ingredients together until smooth. Chill before serving.

Apple Jam for Canning

to make 1 quart:

2 lbs apples, core removed
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Chop the apples into small chunks. Stir with lemon juice and sugar. If you want the apple pieces to maintain their size, cover the bowl and chill the mixture overnight. Otherwise, the apple pieces will break down a bit while cooking. Just depends on the texture you want.

Prepare a water bath canner and 1 quart-sized jar or equivalent of smaller jars.

Place the apple mixture in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. (This barely fits into my 3-quart cooking pan.)

Stir the mixture occasionally, watching for overflows, and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Cook until the apple jam reaches gel stage.

Immediately remove it from the heat and pack it into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, and seal with 2 part canning lids.

Process in the water bath according to your jar size and elevation:

                                                                Process Time at Elevations of
Style of Pack          Jar Size                0 - 1,000 ft     1,001 - 6,000 ft     Above 6,000 ft
Hot                Half-Pints or Pints        5 min             10                     15
                       Quarts                             10 min           15                     20
                    
Table from https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-fruits-and-fruit-products/apple-butter/
                    
Turn off the canner and allow the jars to sit an additional 5 minutes before removing them to a towel on the counter. Check for seals after a few hours, and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

 

Cake:
9 oz strawberries, fresh or frozen
2 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn starch
1 Tbls baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:
1/2 pound rhubarb, fresh or frozen
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease or line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

Purree the strawberries in a blender until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine strawberries with the rest of the cake ingredients. Stir until mostly combined, then use an egg beater to blend it together.

Scoop the cake batter into your cake pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a skewer or toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the cake pan.

While the cake is baking, chop the rhubarb into small pieces. Combine with the brown sugar in a small pot and cook over medium heat until it simmers, the rhubarb is soft, and the sugar is syrupy. If using frozen rhubarb, cook it enough to soften it before adding the sugar. The rhubarb should become mush.

Remove from heat and let cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, purree the mixture in the blender until totally smooth.

Spread the topping over the cake.

Classic Snickerdoodles

 

 

 

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil or shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Chop the butter into small cubes and combine with 1 1/2 cups sugar, coconut oil/shortening, and eggs in large bowl. Use an egg beater to cream the ingredients together.

Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, stirring until it forms a dough that sticks together. It may take a few minutes to mix in the chunks of butter.

In a small bowl, stir together the 1/4 sugar and cinnamon.

Shape dough into small balls. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with baking parchment.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. It is ok if they don't look completely baked. They will repose on the hot sheet and will stay soft instead of getting dry and crispy from baking longer. Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Chicken

2 cups chopped tomatoes (can be fresh or canned)
3/4 cup tomato pasta sauce
3/4 cup evaporated milk or cream
2 Tbls corn starch
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Add tomatoes and pasta sauce to a slow cooker.

Whisk together evaporated milk/cream and corn starch and add to the slow cooker. Stir in parmesan, onion, garlic, salt, basil and pepper.

Add chicken breasts and press down into the sauce.

Cook on low for 3-5 hours, until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F.

Serve over pasta, rice, or crusty bread.