via We Jammin’ – Christmas Morning Jam🎅
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We Jammin’ – Christmas Morning Jam🎅
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
The season is upon us! There is nothing like sweet treats this time of year, and gifting them is even better! This Christmas Morning Jam is the perfect compliment to fresh baked bread, toasted, and a delicious, rich cup of coffee on a sweet Christmas morning. You need this coffee in your life by the way 👉👉Click here
I made this jam for gifts, but kept some for myself too. Without further fanfare, below is what I did.
You will need:
2 pkg frozen strawberries ( I used 2 quarts fresh)
2 lb cranberries, fresh or frozen
8 c granulated sugar (yes, 8 cups)
1 1/2 box liquid fruit pectin (3 envelopes)
Cinnamon sticks to grate, or regular cinnamon dry spice
Whole Nutmeg, you will grate, or regular Nutmeg dry spice
*12 mason jelly and jam jars (8 oz size)
What now?:
- Place all the berries in a very large pot with the sugar.
- Cook long enough for the cranberries to break.
- Right here I used a potato masher to mush up all the fruit as the frozen strawberry pieces can be quite large. There will be a lot of foam, Like so much that I was certain I did something wrong. Before I add in the pectin , I skimmed the foam off the top.
- Add the pectin.
- Bring it to a **full rolling boil and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
- More foam, skim it off
- Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
- Pour into clean, ***sterilized jars, leaving 1/4″ at the top of each jar.
- Before capping the jars I grated the cinnamon and nutmeg to the top in each jar. Little Christmas extra somethin’ somethin’.
- Put on caps and process in a pot of boiling water, covering the jars, for 15 minutes.
- Let cool making sure each jar is closed securely – you will hear them POP.
Few Notes:
* I used these 👉jars
**a full rolling boil is when you can’t stir it to stop the boiling.
***I sterilize my jars and lids by first cleaning them, and adding to a large pot of boiling water for 15 minutes.
This was so easy really, and am sad I never thought to do it more often! Wishing you a sweet holiday filled with all good things!
Clicky stuff:
Spaghetti Squash❤
Let’s all not be afraid of the Spaghetti Squash. So beautiful, and rather easy to prepare -except maybe you need to be a cross fit superstar to cut this bad boy, I can tell ya that.
The pay off though, is oh so worth it.
Here is what I do. Thing is, this won’t be perfectly measured, and you can sub out a lot of this with what you have on hand. I’ll explain as we go. Trying to keep it brief. I cook like I talk. So it’s a story. Hang in there, the end is always better than the middle, much like all of life.
The best way to pick out a good spagetti squash is just to buy it. Just pick one up, place in your cart, and walk on. I do find that speciality produce markets have the best ones. Your local grocery store has produce that is every bit as good. I enjoy when the sign says, “Locally Grown.” We can’t support our local farmers enough, so whenever possible, buy local.
Next, you gotta cut that thing in half. A great way to start that is place it in the microwave, 5 minutes on high. Using oven mitts, remove it after that. Let it rest about 2 minutes, and somehow this works easily. If you are feeling mighty, just cut right into it.
With this round, I had a small accident, and the other half cracked in half. No big deal. You see how it all came together.
Clean out the seeds. Much like a pumpkin! Save the seeds though. They are delicious roasted. I roasted them right along with this squash, and I keep munching on them. Which I’ll show ya!
Once the seeds are all out, line a sheet pan with foil.
In a mixing bowl add:
1/2 olive oil
3 sprigs fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 bunch fresh Thyme leaves
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste.
**you do not need fresh. Jarred minced garlic, dried oregano and thyme are just as good!**
Brush the oil combo all through the cavity.
Place flesh down on sheet pan. Then, in the same bowl you mixed up the oil mixture, add seeds, a little more salt, and coat seeds. Add them around on the sheet pan. You can see the cracked one here, no big problem. I felt like a super hero cutting this thing anyway. A crack is not gonna stop me.
Roast in a 425 oven, for 50 minutes. After that time, run a knife through the skin, if it’s easy, you are done.
Flake with a fork, and you have delicious spaghetti. SQUASH.
Makes a great side, can serve with homemade sauce, chicken alfredo – really anywhere you would use pasta, use this!
And these seeds? A crunchy little yummy snack. No more squash fear. Easy, fun, healthy, clean meal.
Stuff:
Build a Sauce, and Other Adventures. ✔
There is most likely not going to be any other adventures in the blog posting. It really is just about sauce. I am not an Italian cook. I will be completely honest, that up until a few years ago, I bought jarred or canned – store bought spaghetti sauce. What happened was I watched one of those Facebook videos that we all get caught up in, about a little tiny Italian lady, in a little tiny kitchen making sauce. The very next day I made sauce, and I have not turned back. Last summer I froze and jarred sauce from our garden tomatoes. Fresh as the day we picked them, made the winter seem less dark and tasteless.
Let’s get to the sauce of it all. Be a little saucy! Let’s build a sauce.
Here is what you need:
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped (about a cup and ½)
2 tablespoons EVOO
3 cloves garlic, minced or 3 tablespoons of jarred minced garlic.
1 tablespoon or to taste, Italian blend seasoning.
2 cups chicken broth
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 small carrots, shredded
Pinch red pepper flakes
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole nutmeg, grated
*Fresh chopped basil and Oregano (options)
1 good size green bell pepper, chopped
This is how you build these flavors to all mesh together. It is much like laying a framework for a home. You lay the foundation, build the house, and inside are the people you love. That’s this sauce.
Add your olive oil to large frying pan and heat on medium high. Add chopped onion. Sauté until tender. Add green pepper. Sauté until tender. Add mined garlic, sauté until brown, Add grated carrot, sauté until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Sauté some more. Add tomato paste to pan. Coating all the veggies. Sauté. Add Crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, more salt and pepper to taste, cook about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, cook 5 more minutes. Each layer is building flavor as you go. Now add grated nutmeg and stir. Add sugar, stir and turn your heat to simmer – cover pan, and simmer all the day long. At least 4 hours. The longer the better. Now all these flavors work together. Blend together for a delicious fresh sauce. Also, double or triple this and freeze it in bags for fresh sauce on hand anytime!
*Add your fresh basil and oregano to the sauce shortly before you serve it. If you add these fresh herbs to the simmering sauce, they lose the aromas and sweetness, and can become bitter.
This is terrific over regular pasta! Baked with lasagna. As a base for meat sauce.
I baked with **stuffed banana peppers recently.
**Filling and directions for Stuffed Banana Peppers:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, or turkey sausage
2 eggs
1 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs.
2 cups shredded cheese of choice
5-6 sweet banana peppers in varying sizes
Do this:
Place a 4 quart pot on stove with water to boil
Add meat, egg, breadcrumbs, 1 cup sauce to large bowl and combine well.
Cut a slit from top of pepper to end, creating a pocket. Clean our seeds. Leave tops on, because it’s kinda cute. Place peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes till tender, yet still firm. Odd choice of words but you want the crunch out. 5 minutes should do that.
Add about a cup of sauce to bottom of 13×9 baking dish. Add meat mixture into the “pockets” you created in the peppers, add to baking dish. Top with more sauce. Cover and bake in a 350 oven for 1 hour. Uncover, top with cheese, and place back in oven until the cheese is a nice melty goodness. About 15 minutes.
I guess there were a few adventures in there! ❤
Some Stuff to Click:🌠🍅
Kroger Online
Spice Hunter Spices
Spice World Garlic
Rebel Gardens on Amazon
Cento Products Online
Garden Lunch.
Garden Goodness.
Summer has the advantage of fresh from your backyard produce. There is nothing like right off the vine peppers and tomatoes. Fresh and light recipes for hot summer days are also part of those joys. Grilling or roasting fresh vegetables has become a staple in my meal plans.
This year we tried our hand at planting Zucchini. We eat so much of it all year round, why not plant a few plants and see how it goes! So far, so good! Also tried a different pepper. The Shishito Pepper!
This is a very mild, small green pepper. So delish! I picked a few to taste, and decided to “grill” those in a cast iron grill pan, after marinating in this very simple veggie *marinate:
1/2/ cup Olive Oil
1 teas. Garlic powder
1 teas Onion Power
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning blend
Pinch red pepper flakes
Add vegetable of choice to bowl, add this marinate, and stir to coat all. Let sit for 15-30 minutes. For the Shishito Peppers – Heat a little olive oil in a wide sauté pan until it is good and hot but not smoking. Add the peppers and cook them over medium, tossing and turning them frequently until they blister. They shouldn’t char except in places. Don’t rush.
I used the cast iron grill pan. These can also can be added to your outdoor grill, using the same turning often, and medium heat.
*some notes on the marinate – This can be used for any vegetable. Roasting veggies in oven, grilling outdoors, even salad. Olive oil brings out the flavor, and the spices just add depth. I add fresh herbs to this from time to time also. Rosemary and Thyme are perfectly paired here.
Zucchini is indeed one of my favs! Another easy and healthy recipe to use up these garden goodies is Turkey Stuffed Zuke Boats!
**You will need:
1 lb ground turkey
½ onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbl Italian Seasoning ( or more, to your taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheese of choice.
And your Zukes! (1 large, or however many you desire to make!)
few sprigs of fresh parsley leaves, chopped, as garnish if ya want.
What you do:
Add a little olive oil to a sauté pan, heat up, and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, heating until sweating. Add ground turkey, brown until no longer pink, add crushed tomatoes and rest of ingredients. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, to merge all the flavors together. While the simmering is a simmering, slice the Zukes length wise, and clean out the insides to make boats, leaving enough on the sides to have a nice firm “wall.” Squeeze out excess water from the meat of the zucchini using a kitchen towel or paper towel. Add “meat” to cutting board and give it all a little chop, and add it the sauté pan with your ground turkey mixture, simmering 15 minutes more. During that 15 minutes, bring a few quarts of water to boil, add you zuke boats – *boil about 5 minutes, to make them a little softer.
*You do not have to do this, if you like your zucchini a little al dente
Line your baking pan with the boasts, and add filling to each boat. Fill pretty full, but not over flowing. Bake in a 375 oven for 30 minutes. Take out and add cheese to top, and bake about 15 minutes more, or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with some fresh parsley for effect!!
**some notes on this filling. This is a great base for a whole host of things. Spaghetti sauce, mixed in with eggs, soft taco filling, and even stuffed peppers. I usually will make 5 lbs or more of this at the beginning of the week, modifying the other ingredients to taste. I then will save the rest in a plastic container for quick meals for the week ahead. Again, adding fresh herbs to this is just a bonus. Try Oregano, thyme, and parsley.
A light and easy summer lunch.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
― John Steinbeck
Stuff:
Click for what is up with this Shishito Pepper?
Pickles.
Easy overnight pickles! No canning or anything.
4 small pickling cucumbers
3-4 sprigs fresh dill weed
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 gloves garlic: minced OR 1 tbl jarred
*1 1/2 tsp pickling salt OR kosher salt
1/4 black peppercorns
Pinch red pepper flakes.
*A few notes on the ingredients. I love the Private Selection Peppecorn Medley from Kroger. It gives a great depth of flavor to these. The Sea Salt is also fantastic.
Next:
Pack your clean dry jar (s) with sliced cucumbers and onion.
Mix the brine ingredients well. Until the salt and sugar feels dissolved. Others might heat this, you can, but definitely don’t have to.
Pour in jar, lid tightly. and shake!
24 hours in fridge and a delicious pickle chip awaits you!!
Stuff:
I grew Dill from seeds from Rebel Gardens.
Kroger Private Selection Online
Turkey Stuffed Peppers💕
Turkey stuffed peppers💕
Filling is:
Ground Turkey, onion, 2 cloves garlic, (minced) Italian seasoning, salt , pepper, 12 oz. can of **crushed tomatoes.
**I had canned tomatoes from last Summer, so good!!
1 Cup brown long grain rice.
(Uncle Ben’s ready rice is so easy!)
Also added fresh oregano from our herb garden. Dried Oregano works too, or Italian seasoning blend. Shredded Cheese of choice.
Trim the caps off the peppers. Clean out.
Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth to the baking dish. This helps soften the peppers as they cook.
Add onion, garlic, salt and pepper to saute pan with olive oil. Cook until everything looks soft, add your ground turkey, and other seasonings and brown until done. Add the crushed tomatoes and cooked brown rice and blend all together well.
Fill peppers, tent your baking dish with foil and bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes.
Take foil off, add cheese of choice to peppers, and bake uncovered now 15 minutes more.
Done!!
Yummmm.💃
What is stuffed peppers, without mashed potatoes? I cheated and used the Green Giant mashed cauliflower. Is actually very good!!
Healthy Summer meal. Can’t wait to have peppers right from the vine soon!
Stuff:👇
Ahhh, Sweet Summer. 🌥
Dusting off the Winter is always something I look forward too. Or should I say shoveling out Winter instead? Either way, Summertime is full of color, green,light, longer days, and warm nights. You spend so much more time outside, and that brings a whole new wave of fun decorating. Almost anything can be used as you make your space yours.
Some galvanized buckets and a watering can, and old stool, some burlap as an accent, bring warm Summer like feelings with different color flowers . I never like to just set a pot out alone. The buckets add that old fashioned feeling. So easily and inexpensively, while creating a decorative touch to any place they sit. A piece of an old ladder filled a corner, with old seed sacks draping one of the rungs for that rustic touch. I found and old chair and draped another old seed sack over that as well. You can find these at most craft stores. Flower shops and farm supply stores have them as well. As a side note, they are great at Christmas too. Makes an interesting tree skirt for primitive and rustic decor lovers.
I found totally by chance this old Bicycle. It seriously was the find of finds for me! I love it. I cut a seed sack and put it in a bucket with these sunflowers from a craft show I went to a few years ago, and there ya go! So cute!! I may or may not ride that bike around my town. You just never know.
This wreath reminded me of a meadow. It’s simple and perfect for the front door. Rather that just hang it, I added a little jute twine as hanger. Rustic touches are so easy.
Porch sitting is what this time of year is all about. The porch at this house badly needs painted. I decided to roll with it as is until later in the summer heat and a good painting day to do that. Kinda has character with the chipped paint anyway.
It’s also easy to bring the Summer inside with just a few changes. Switched out the fake fire I had going for a beautiful rustic box of painted mason jars and hydrangea. This was a gift from a dear friend. Added lights and it filled that space perfectly for the season.
Bringing the Summer indoors too, creates a fresh feeling. Less is more this time of year, in most things.
Summer is also growing season. I am no farmer by any stretch. There is something so satisfying watching food grow from seed. From fresh herbs started in mason jars, to the beefsteak tomato from the vine. Simple joys of the Summer.
“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
—Henry James
Make your space your own, no matter where that is. Use what you have and fill it with color and warmth. Sit on a porch. Sip wine, waste time.
Eat your Cabbage, wear your shoes.🙋♀️
I love cabbage. Sometimes I crave it. Fried, boiled, salad, whatever. I was at our local produce market recently, and there was a whole bin of beautiful cabbage. Called out to me, so I grabbed some.
Live Love Fruit website had this lovely chart as to the health quality within cabbage. All I know is I thought about Cabbage and noodles ever since I placed that in the crisper.
There are a lot of cooks and seasoned kitchen magicians who will have a much more fancy way to do this comfort food staple. I’ll go through mine. It’s easy, quick – 30 minutes from start to bowl – with a few healthy alternatives, and seasonings.
You’ll need:
Head of green cabbage
1/2 sweet vadalia onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves, minced)
Turkey Smoked Sausage
Salt, pepper, butter ( Smart Balance) all to taste
Or…Mrs. Dash – or other salt free seasoning.
You’ll see what I mean about the seasoning here in a second.
Well, that picture came out blurry, and I didn’t realize that until I looked. Too late!! But, add your butter choice, onion, and garlic to your pan. Saute on high until things look a tad brown, then turn the heat down and let that all sweat. People say let your onions sweat and I think of the gym.
While all that sweating is going on, I cut up the sausage into bite size pieces and add to the pan, turn your heat back up, and brown them and toss around with the sweaty onion and garlic. Chop up your cabbage and add to the pan to cook. Stirring all that together in the pan.
It is here that you would salt and pepper that to taste. I use this Farm Dust seasoning from Weavers Dutch Country Seasonings. This stuff is fantastic. It has a wonderful balance of herbs and spices for veggies in my opinion.
Turn your heat to simmer as soon as the cabbage is looking softer, cover, and prepare the noodles.
” No Yolks ” are the bomb. Little healthier , and cook up quick, and are quite tasty.
Mix all together, and boom!! Cabbage and noodles comfort bowls coming right up!!
As a side note: I keep minced garlic around. Even though fresh garlic is just the best, this is so nice when you don’t have any. I have found Spice World has the best version.
Such a quick and easy meal. With a healthy touch if you are watching those things. The Turkey sausage is every bit as flavorful, and less fat is a good idea I suppose.
Eat your cabbage. Wear your shoes. It’s good advice.
✌💕
Stuff:👇
Weavers Dutch Country Seasonings
.
Nothing is ever old.🌻
I love when the weather breaks after Winter.
More birds are singing, the grass gets green, stuff grows, the sun seems to shine brighter, and just everything seems hopeful.
One of the things I enjoy about decorating is as seasons change. Another, is all the old things that seem new. I love old items. Worn things. Maybe things that have been around for years, or things that someone might be tossing away.
Nothing in my opinion is “too old.” Except maybe mascara. But that’s a different subject, for another day.
Several years ago, my husband created this headboard from old pallets from his work place. Just two. There was a lot of sawing and hammering, and I think a 12 pak.🍻
The results though of that repurpose, I just love.
That led to another and one after the repurpose of so many things!! An old gas grill turned into a potting table, an old discarded cabinet piece, tuned into a coffee table, a shutter he found on a burn pile, a railroad sign from a restaurant’s garbage heap, a telephone stand from the side of a road, an old wood ironing board found under a porch in a house we lived in, windows from construction sites. I could go on, but I feel out of breath!
Then there are things that remind us of others. Perhaps that are no longer here, but some things are still here.
My mom passed away a year ago. Here and there I have simple reminders of her. Her Blue Willow dishes for one. She loved those. Talked about them, told stories about them, admired them. I have a few sitting around. Gentle reminders of her smile. A gravy boat she once gave me, and an interesting pottery vase she gave me too. Little things, mean almost everything.
I experienced another loss, my Mother In Law, a few shorts months after my Mom.
Over the years, she gave me a lot of things.
I placed spring flowers in her Champagne Flutes she gave me. I also have her old jewelry box. Its worn. Inside it tells such a story of her, that I cherish having it.
Things around our spaces need to make us feel at home. We can surround ourselves with memories, warmth, joy, ups and downs, just from the little things. I remember looking at an old lightbulb that was in a tool box here at this house. I’m sure it worked, and someone flipped it on and off once. I wondered if it was on a porch, flipped on waiting for someone to get home. Maybe it was in a lamp as someone read the paper. Maybe it lit up a set of steps, flipped on so they could see going up, or going down. I used it. Nothing is ever really old.
Create the joy you want to feel, the memories you want to keep, wherever you call home.
💕
