Strawberry Jam

Do you know how hard it is to find a recipe for strawberry jam (or any jam, really) that doesn't include pectin? Or doesn't include huge amounts of berries? Ridiculously hard. However, I managed to find both!

16oz strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a saucepan, mix berries, sugar and lemon juice.

Stir over med-low heat until sugar is dissolved.

Increase heat to med-high and bring mixture to a rolling boil.

Stir frequently, mashing the strawberries as you stir, continuing to boil, until jam is thickened and bubbles completely cover the surface of the jam (about 10 minutes).

Transfer jam to whatever container you're putting it in (I used a large Tupperware snack cup because I sell TW and have it everywhere) and let cool to room temperature.

Store in refrigerator for about 10 days (or freeze).

That's it! Seriously! So easy. I'd never made jam before, but this might be a yearly thing!

I got the recipe from http://scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/quick-homemade-strawberry-jam/

It's Berry Season!

Charlie and I picked two pints of strawberries at the local U-Pick today. So of course, I had to use them. Because I know if I didn't, they'd end up being forgotten and going bad. Can't have that.

The next three recipes, which I will post tonight, are what I did with the strawberries today. I will post the link to where I got each recipe. And if I can manage it I'll post pictures. Haha.

It's Been Awhile...

I can't remember why I stopped updating this blog with recipes. I know it's been quite awhile since I put one here. I decided this evening that I was going to start up again, because recipes are fun. :)

Now I just have to figure out what new recipes I can put on here that I haven't put on yet. I still use a number of these frequently, but to be honest a lot of them were one-time meals. That's sad.

Oh well. I'll figure it out. You'll get to see some new recipes here soon, I promise! :)

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

Every single time I cook a whole chicken in the oven, I never cook it long enough and end up having everything else ready but not the chicken. Annoying and irritating to say the least. So when I got a whole chicken on sale recently I decided that when the time came to cook it, I was going to do it in the slow cooker.

I found this recipe here: http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/whole-chicken-in-a-slow-cooker/ and I modified the ever living crap out of it. What I'm going to post is what I actually did. I can't say if the original recipe is good or not, but I can say that what I did is absolutely amazing and I will do it again.

1 whole chicken
1 onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into inch-long halves/quarters
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Put onion and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker.

2. Rinse chicken in water (clean insides if necessary), pat dry with paper towel. Put the rub all over the outside of the chicken.

3. Place chicken on top of onions and carrots. Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours (I cooked mine for 6 and the leg meat was falling off the bone).

4. Transfer chicken to a baking dish and broil in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. Allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Herb and Spice Chicken

We found this recipe in the December 2014 issue of Today's Parent magazine, decided to make it today and absolutely LOVED it.

2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 chicken legs (or 6 thighs)
1 500g bag baby red potatoes, scrubbed clean
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped.

1. Stir brown sugar with salt, oregano, paprika, garlic and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chicken, pressing gently so spices stick to skin.

2. Arrange potatoes and carrots in a single layer in slow cooker. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Let chicken stand at room temp for 10 minutes before serving with vegetables.

NOTES: I don't have kosher salt, so I used regular table salt and only used maybe 1 tsp. I did not have baby red potatoes, so I used 3 regular potatoes, peeled and cut into baby-potato sized pieces. I also did not have 4 carrots left, so I used what I had, which was 2. And finally, we prefer a crispier skin on our chicken, so Alex took the tip in the book and put the chicken under the broiler for about 5 minutes after it was done in the slow cooker.

Taco Meatloaf

Two taco recipes in a row? Sure...why not! This one was a complete 100% experiment and I had no idea if it was going to turn out okay or not. It ended up turning out AMAZING. Super easy, and I'll definitely do it again.

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup sour cream
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1/2 cup (roughly) medium salsa
1 cup shredded cheese (I used marble but cheddar would work too)

In a bowl, mix the first four ingredients really well. Place in a loaf pan and shape. Cover with the salsa and bake in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the shredded cheese. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes (until cheese is melted).

I served ours with a handful of tortilla chips and Old El Paso Mexican Rice. It was delicious and we have leftovers for tomorrow, yay!

Taco Bake

I'm sure everyone has their own way of doing a taco bake. Prior to doing this tonight, I've always used the Old El Paso taco bake kit. But I prefer to do things myself and not use a kit, so tonight I made my own. It turned out AMAZING.

1 lb ground beef
1 package of PC taco seasoning
1 small jar of medium salsa
2 cups shredded cheese
1 container of sour cream
3 soft tortillas (large)
4-5 hard taco shells, broken in half

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large skillet, prepare ground beef with taco seasoning according to the directions on the package of seasoning. Once cooked, add the jar of salsa and about 1/2-3/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and some of the liquid has been cooked off.

In a 9" round cake pan, place one soft tortilla, followed by 1.5 hard shells. Spoon about 1/3 of the hamburger mixture on it and spread it out. Spoon and spread about 1/3 of the sour cream on top of that. Repeat two times, so that all your mixture and sour cream is gone. On top of the last bit of sour cream, put the rest of the shredded cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Cool a few minutes before cutting.