Appetizers – On the Shorter side

Whiskey Apple Butter

4 pounds apples (about 12 to 16 medium)

2 cups water

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ cup bottled lemon juice (my Ball Book didn’t include this)

I added 1/2 cup to 1 cup of whiskey when I added the sugar and other ingredients.

DIRECTIONS

FIRST, LET’S PREP!

Core and peel apples, if desired. Cut apples into quarters.

NEXT, TIME TO COOK!

Combine apples and water in a large saucepan. Cook apples at a simmer until soft. Purée mixture using an electric food strainer or food mill. Measure 2 quarts of apple pulp; return apple pulp to saucepan. Add sugar, bottled lemon juice, and spices, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook at a gentle boil over medium heat until apple mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If mixture becomes too thick, add a small amount of water or apple juice for desired consistency. Remove from heat.

DID YOU KNOW?

To guarantee the most delicious preserved foods, always begin with the best-quality produce at its peak of ripeness.

NEXT, LET’S CAN IT!

Ladle hot apple butter into a hot jar leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process jars 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid, let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.

sourdough focaccia bread

200 g active sourdough starter (3/4 cup)
500 g bread flour (preffered) or ap flour (3 cups + 2tbsp)
340 g water, room temperature (1 cup)
8 g kosher salt
20 g water, room temperature (for folding)
65 g olive oil (1/2 cup)
2 tsp sea salt flakes

Instructions

Day 1

Mix your starter in 340g of room temperature water until it is dissolved. Then add flour and mix until everything is just combined. It’s ok if it looks scragly!
Cover and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
Add the 20g water and salt on top of the dough. Poke it in deep with your fingers and then slap in together in the bowl until just combined. The dough will be smoother by this step.
Dump the dough onto a clean surface. We will do the slap & fold: lift up the middle with both hands, fingers underneath, and thumbs hovering over the top. The ends will droop as you rise. You will slap the dough down so that it folds over itself. Imagine one of the ends touching the table first and then following the flow so that the middle that you are holding, folds on top. As you rise to flip again, you are going to grab the middle from the part that folded over. Keep doing this for 10 minutes it will help develope gluten and make it less sticky.
Find a nice huge sized container or even a large mixing bowl that is well greased. Dump your dough, cover well, and place in the fridge for 48 to 72 hours.

Day 2

Chill & Relax
Get your toppings together!

Day 3

Carefully, without gassing the bubbles, transfer your dough to a well-oiled baking sheet. Gently maneuver it with your hands to fit the baking sheet how you’d like. Cover with another baking sheet and place in a warm area to rise for three hours.
Preheat oven to 425° f. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and with oiled fingers dock the dough gently.
Decorate with your favorite toppings – pesto, apple and jalapeno is my favorite! When ready, bake for 30 minutes.
At 30 minutes, check the color of the focaccia, rotate, and leave in longer in the oven if you’d like a darker color.
Once cool enough to touch, remove from tray and place on a wire rack.
Hack – use scissors to cut off the focaccia to serve!

From:

72 Hour – Bubbly Sourdough Focaccia Bread

Salted Caramel Pear Butter

INGREDIENTS

4 lbs. Pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

1/3 cup apple cider

2 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice

2-1/2 cups dark brown sugar

2 tsp. Sea salt or kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

FIRST, LET’S PREP!

Wash pears under cold running water and drain. Cut in half lengthwise, core and peel. Coarsely chop. Place chopped pears, apple cider and lemon juice in a 4-6 qt. Crock-Pot®. Set the heat on high and simmer, covered, until pears have softened; about 40 minutes. Turn heat off.

Process pear mixture using an immersion blender, or in batches in the bowl of a food processor, until puree is smooth.

Combine pear mixture with brown sugar and salt in the Crock-Pot®; turn heat to high and place lid on a diagonal over Crock-Pot® allowing steam to escape at both ends. Simmer on high, stirring every 30 minutes or so, until puree thickens, darkens in color, and holds it’s shape on a spoon; about 3-4 hours.

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.

NEXT, LET’S CAN IT!

Ladle hot pear butter into a hot jar leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling-water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Water must cover jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed

https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=salted-caramel-pear-butter

Seafood Cornbread

This is a delicious entree or side dish that’s perfect for the Lenten season.

Ingredients

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Bread (or use your own, if you like)
1 cup butter (margarine)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (10 oz) can cream of shrimp soup
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb crawfish tails or crabmeat (you could use all three types of seafood if you wish)
Garlic powder, salt, black pepper and red pepper to taste

Directions

Make some cornbread from scratch, or prepare the packaged cornbread according to directions and bake. When the cornbread’s done, crumble it into a large, greased baking pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt margarine in a skillet, add chopped vegetables and sauté until wilted. Add soup, broth, shrimp and crawfish or crabmeat. Mix well and heat but do not boil. Add seasonings a little at a time, tasting and adjusting until you get the taste you like.

In the baking pan, on top of the cornbread, pour your seafood mixture a little at a time and mix; keep doing this until it’s all mixed together. You may have to add a little more moisture (broth) to the mix if it isn’t moist enough. Don’t add a lot at a time, you don’t want it to be runny, just thoroughly moistened.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until golden brown.

Crockpot buffalo chicken dip

–1 1/2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken (can also used canned chicken)

–2 cups blue cheese salad dressing (or ranch)

–1/4-1/2 cup tabasco sauce (I use Franks buffalo sauce instead)

–1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I like to also add blue cheese crumbles and then top with cheddar)

The Directions:

–dump everything into a small crockpot (or put an oven-safe dish into a large crockpot filled with ingredients)

–stir to combine

–cook on high 1-2 hours, or until cheese is completely melted and flavors are melded. Take care not to over-cook, or the salad dressing might separate.
–taste. if you want it spicier, add more tobasco. if you want it to taste more mild, add more dressing.

https://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2008/02/crockpot-buffalo-wing-dip.html

Air Fryer Spring Rolls

Rice Paper Wrappers
Veggies of choice – I used Carrots, Celery, Cabbage, and Spring Onions (green only if doing low-Fodmap) – wing it on amounts
dashes of miran and Umami powder – to taste

I chopped all the veggies on my mini chopper
Add to skillet coated with sesame oil
sprinkle with miran and Umami Powder
Cook on high a few minutes

Prepare rice wrapper (put in water)
Roll about 1/4 cup of veggies inside
I used parchment with holes on bottom of air fryer
spray with oil
Cook at 375 for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through

Salsa

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices
1 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed
1/2 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 lime), plus more as needed
1 or 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Put in blender or food processor

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-restaurant-salsa-in-a-blender-228222

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

▢¾ cup milk For dairy-free use unsweetened almond milk.
▢2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice
▢⅓ cup butter, softened For dairy-free use Smart Balance.
▢1 cup granulated sugar
▢2 large eggs For egg-free use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free egg replacer.
▢1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
▢1 ¾ cups gluten-free flour all-purpose flour with xanthan gum I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
▢2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
▢½ teaspoon baking soda
▢½ teaspoon salt
▢2 teaspoons gluten-free flour all-purpose flour with xanthan gum
▢2 cups blueberries Fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, do not defrost the frozen blueberries.
▢2 tablespoons turbinado or raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with gluten-free cooking spray.
In a large measuring cup, add the white vinegar (or lemon juice) to the milk and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes in the refrigerator to stay cold. (homemade buttermilk)
In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together with a mixer until fluffy.
Add in the eggs, pure vanilla extract, and pure almond exract and mix until combined and smooth.
Add in the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix together until fully combined and smooth.
Pour in the homemade buttermilk (milk and vinegar mixture) into the batter and mix until smooth. The batter will be thick. Do not over mix.
Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons of the gluten-free flour over the blueberries in a medium-sized bowl. Carefully stir the blueberries to coat them with the gluten-free flour.
Gently fold the floured blueberries into the muffin batter.
Using a greased ice cream scoop or measuring cup, scoop the batter into baking cups lined/cooking sprayed muffin tin.
Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the turbinado sugar (raw sugar).
Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for 3-5 minutes then move to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Store the completely cooled muffins in an airtight container.

GF Sourdough Discard Naan in Air Fryer

INGREDIENTS

2 cups gf all purpose flour
1/4 cup plain natural yogurt ( I use kefir instead)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sourdough discard

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together the yogurt, milk, and sourdough discard.
Slowly add the flour and baking powder into the liquid mixture. I needed more gf flour. Add salt as well.
Transfer the dough to a clean surface. Knead it for a few minutes.
Divide the dough into eight balls. Spend a few minutes tucking the edges down to the base of each ball.
Flatten each ball using a rolling pin. (I flattened each between parchment in tortilla press).
Place dough and parchment into air fryer at 400 and let it cook a few minutes.
Remove dough from parchment (parchment can burn, be careful) and continue to air fry until cooked through.
Repeat with the remaining balls.

Gluten free breadsticks

1 cup plus 2 tbsp self rising flour – can use gluten-free
1 cup non fat plain Greek Yogurt
cooking spray
Lowry’s Garlic Salt* (or a mix of butter, garlic, and herbs)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl use a sturdy spoon or your dough hook to combine 1 cup of self rising flour and the greek yogurt until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Sprinkle in extra flour if needed.
Dust a piece of parchment paper with self rising flour and gently press the dough into a rectangle shape, about 10 inches long by 5 inches wide. Use a sharp knife to cut at least 8 breadsticks. Spray the tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with the garlic salt to your desired taste.
Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden brown. Let cool slightly before enjoying!

Notes

To make self rising flour combine 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.If you don’t have Lowry’s Garlic Salt, simply combine 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp dried parsley and use as desired.

2 Ingredient Dough Garlic Breadsticks