I Won A Bread Cookbook!

Hi everyone, well I am so excited about winning this cookbook on bread making.....I won the book over on
http://erecipecards.blogspot.com/  You should go on over and check out his blog....he has some great recipes to share with everyone....when the book gets here I will be sharing not only the recipes but my experience and thoughts on them as well....even the bad ones (you know those that don't turn out so well) I have decided that I will try all the recipes in the book and post about them as I make the breads....this should be a fun and I am sure challenging effort on my part....and I am looking forward to baking bread and sharing this adventure here....of course I will still be adding recipes for other good eats as  well....hope you join me for the journey....

Until next time,
Wendy

Christmas Pickles

Today I wanted to post about my moms Christmas pickles.....they are so yummy and fun! They are made with the end of season large cucumbers from your garden......ours are just beginning to get ready for the last picking and we will be making more of these wonderful pickles.....recipe is below.......

2 gallon large cucumber spears 
2 cups lime
8 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup vinegar
1 TBS alum
1 small bottle red food coloring (you can also use green)


1. Peel cucumbers, cut into spears...Remove all seeds....

2. Place in lime water to cover...Let stand 24 hrs. Drain.

3. Wash in cold water 3 times until lime is removed.....
Put in ice water and leave to soak for 3 to 4 hrs. drain

4. Mix vinegar, alum and food coloring....Pour over cucumbers and add plain water to cover pickles....Heat and simmer for 2 hrs....drain.


5. Add pickling solution below:
   2 Cups vinegar
   2 Cups water
   1 package redhots candies
  10 cups sugar
   8 cinnamon sticks


Bring pickling solution to a boil.....pour over cucumber pickles......cover tightly and let stand overnight....Drain and re-heat syrup and pour again over pickles.....Repeat this process for 2 more mornings....On the 3rd morning heat cucumbers in the liquid to boiling(make sure they come to a rolling boil and boil for at least 5 min)....Pack in sterile jars and seal by turning them upside down........


The longer these sit the better they are at the holidays.....the flavors are so good and the reaction to red and green pickles are a lot of fun.......


printable recipe
 

Enjoy!
Wendy

Salsa

My family loves salsa and can eat salsa and chips as a meal! Seriously, we love it that much......I learned to make the best salsa when we lived in TX.....we had some of the best Hispanic friends that taught me to cook some of our favorite dishes......I will be posting those here along the way.....I made salsa the other night and decided to post my recipe here.....

Salsa Ingredients: 
2 to 3 lbs roma tomato's 
2 bunches fresh cilantro stems cut
1 bunch fresh green onions trimmed
4 to 6 jalapeno peppers
juice of one lemon or lime
1 lg can crushed tomato's (or you can make your own crushed if you have time)
1 lg can diced tomato's or six large tomato's cored and chopped roughly ( I use canned tomato's in the winter when fresh tomato's are not as good)
1 can rotel or make your own
1 1/2 heaping tablespoon garlic  (add more or less for your taste this is what we like) if you use fresh garlic roast the garlic before using and use the whole head of garlic in this recipe....
dash of cumin
garlic salt to taste
Morton's nature season to taste

Method:
In a non-stick pan sprayed with pam place the roma tomato's and the jalapeno peppers and char on med hi heat.......turning until all sides are charred and the tomato oils are released....let jalapenos char until they become translucent......what you don't use in the salsa you can eat later.....

Put crushed, diced and rotel tomato's, onion, cilantro, garlic, lemon or lime juice and seasonings in a food processor.......pulse until everything is chopped to large pieces.....add charred tomato's and one jalapeno......process until the desired consistency that you want......you may have to do this several times as this makes a huge batch of salsa.....if needed add more salt to your taste.....this is pretty spicy and you can omit the jalapeno or add more according to your taste for heat......pour into serving dish and serve with chips of your choice.....this is also good on chicken, tacos and fajitas.......enjoy


printable recipe

Until next time,
Wendy

Pumpkin Stew

I thought I would kick off my food blog with a  great fall recipe......Pumpkin Stew! This stew is so yummy and very filling......if you don't like pumpkin you could still use the recipe just omit the pumpkin.....

Pumpkin Stew/Soup:

1 large pumpkin: open the top and clean out all seeds and strings. Rinse and cut about 2 cups of pumpkin from the shell....be sure and not cut a hole in the sides of the pumpkin....or remove too much flesh....the sides need to be stable while it cooks.

2 large cans of chicken broth

1 large yellow onion coarsely chopped

3 large carrots chopped or two cups baby carrots

1 large can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 can sliced white potatoes drained and rinsed

3 stalks of celery chopped (you can use less if you don't like celery)

1 stick of butter

2 cloves of garlic crushed

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon cumin-this gives a nice smokey flavor you can omit this if you like

Heat oven to 400 degrees F while you prepare the soup.....when you put the pumpkin in the oven turn the heat down to 350 degrees for 45 minutes......

In a large dutch oven melt butter, add onion and celery and cook until translucent. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil...let simmer for 15 minutes......pour into the prepared pumpkin and place the back onto the top.....place on baking sheet.......rub olive oil or vegetable oil on the outside of the pumpkin and place in the over for 45 minutes or until the inside of the pumpkin is soft......when you check to see if it is done make sure you do not poke a hole through the pumpkin or your juice will drain out....I usually put my pumpkin in a roasting pan to cook just in case it springs a leak...so far I have never had that problem......remove the lid and dip out the soup scraping the sides if you want more pumpkin in your bowl......this soup is very good on a cold or rainy day.........add a green salad and some rolls or cheddar cheese and garlic biscuits and you are good to go........

I have also added ground chuck, leftover grilled steak and it just tastes heavenly.....if you try the recipe let me know how it turned out for you.....or if you tweak it so I can try it also.... 

printable recipe

Until next time,

Wendy

Welcome!

Welcome to my new foodie blog! I am asked for recipes all the time, so I decided to start a food blog.....my hope is that you will enjoy the food and recipes that I share here.....if you try something please come back and let me know how you liked it.....

Until next time,
Wendy