Roasted Asparagus and Garlic Pasta

Both of these recipes minus the shrimp come from my teammate mersaydees in the November 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. I am a huge fan of asparagus - I wasn't always though. Thanks to my mother-in-law it's now one of my favorite veggies. The garlic pasta was a huge hit as we like this kind of thing anyway.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan
(This recipe amount calls for 4 servings - I made just enough for me as I am the only one here that likes it - I am posting the 4 servings amount.)

1 1/2 lbs asparagus
1 TBSP vegetable oil
course salt
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Trim asparagus. On a rimmed cookie sheet mix asparagus with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure there is a single layer and sprinkle with cheese. Roast in the oven about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.

Garlic Pasta (with Shrimp - my addition)

8 garlic cloves
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup whipping cream
salt
pepper
1 lb angel hair pasta (measured dry)
parmesan cheese or romano to taste
2 TBSP fresh parsley for garnish OR throw in some dried parsley to add a bit of color

Mince the garlic and saute in the oil for a few minutes. Add cream, a little salt and ample fresh ground black pepper. Simmer for a bit to reduce the cream. Toss cream with hot pasta. Add lots of cheese to taste and parsley for garnish.
**I made this a main dish by sauting shrimp and adding it over the pasta.

Hamburgers and French Fries

We had this for dinner tonight and boy was it a hit! I love those drive-in hamburgers and that is what this recipe is. It comes from JanuaryBride who hails from Missouri, USA. She found it in a cookbook belonging to her grandma called "The Ozark Pain Killer and Hog-Lot Cookbook."

Drive-in Hamburgers
1 lb ground beef
1/3 lb ground pork (the original recipe calls for pork sausage)
2 cups soft bread crumbs
2 TBSP worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
10 hamburger buns, toasted

Mix all meat ingredients well. May need to add up to 1 TBSP of water to make the mixture stick better. Divide into 10 even portions and pat out very thin. Fry the burgers in a skillet until crispy and cooked through. Make sure the buns are toasted and serve immediately.


I found a french fry recipe that sounded really yummy so I decided to try it out to go with the burgers. This tastes a lot like the thick steak fries you would find at a restaurant. Now that I know how to make them - well....let's just say we have some competition! Peter J from Tasmania, Australia posted this recipe on recipezaar.

Greatest French Fries on Earth!

potatoes (how many depends on how many people are going to be eating)

oil for frying

Fill a saucepan with plenty of water and bring the temperature up to 145 degrees F. About medium - med/low on the stove top. Peel potatoes and make fries about 1/2 inch thick. Precook in water for 30 minutes. Drain very well and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat oil to 265 degrees F. Deep fry potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat oil to 375 degrees F. Again - deep fry potatoes until golden and done to your personal tastes. It's best to cook the fries in small batches. Serve immediately with some salt and your favorite fry sauce!

Ice Cream Pie

Mommy Diva was on my team for the November Aussie/NZ recipe swap this time. We chose this recipe and the one below from her posted recipes.

Ice Cream Pie
2 graham cracker pie crusts
1 3/4 quarts favorite ice cream (Or use half a carton from 2 different kinds)
16 oz cool whip

Soften ice cream until soft enough to mix with cool whip. If you are using two different ice cream flavors - use 8 oz of cool whip per flavor.
Scoop ice cream mixture into graham cracker shells. Smooth evenly. Cover with lid and freeze overnight.
Garnish with favorite garnishes and enjoy!
Pictured is Mint Chocolate Chip with hot fudge sauce. I also made Moose Tracks with hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce. I didn't get a picture to share yet because the boys had inhaled their dessert before I got around to taking a picture.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

This recipe originally was meant to "hide" such things as zucchini and carrots. Well....I already add such things to cookies/cakes/brownies, etc. so there was no point in "hiding" them. The chef who shared this recipe is Mommy Diva from recipezaar who is also from Oregon! She likes to make these into cupcakes and frost. I liked these brownie style.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and watch your kids inhale these with a tall glass of milk!
If they really, truly don't like zucchini or carrots - they won't even notice/taste the veggies in here. Then you really can feel "sneaky."

Macaroni and Cheese

Classic Macaroni and Cheese is the correct name of this so yummy, creamy mac-n-cheese. There was an actual macaroni and cheese cookoff in Portland either this week or last week with chefs from everywhere making their own creations. The requirement - using Tillamook cheese products! You can go to www.tillamookcheese.com then click on the recipes link. From there are many choices to choose from. If you click on the recipe link for Macaroni and Cheese there will be many choices to peruse at your leisure. After having done this myself....I opted to make the below recipe for my family. It was a winner!

Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I will tell you what I did to the recipe to make it work for my family. If you want the original - go to the website.

16 oz small elbow macaroni - cook per package directions and drain

3/4 cup breadcrumbs - either homemade or panko
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP softened butter
Combine these ingredients in a medium size bowl and set aside.

4 cups Colby Jack cheese shredded and set aside

In a large dutch oven melt 3 TBSP butter.
Add:
4 TBSP flour and whisk well. Gradually add 3 cups **whole milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in:
2 pinches of nutmeg
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (If your family doesn't like spicy - leave out. It adds a nice "kick.")
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Cook, stirring continuously until sauce begins to thicken. About 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 4 cups shredded cheese. Stir until smooth. Stir in pasta. Pour into 9x13 baking pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake uncovered until cheese is bubbling and the top is golden. Approximately 25-30 minutes.


**On the whole milk...
I don't buy whole milk. I like the powdered milk from the LDS cannery and found out I can make my own - which I did for this recipe. 1 cup powdered milk and 3 cups water in a blender makes the amount of milk needed for this recipe. Just thought you should know that. :) Maybe this helps lessen the fat content - not that you should be worrying about that if you are eating macaroni and cheese in the first place. Enjoy! This makes excellent leftovers as well. Hence the 9x13 pan. This recipe can always be halved.

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This recipe won a red ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!  The only change to the below recipe was the handful of fresh blueberries I threw in.  That's it!
Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina had this in her recipe files in our Aussie/NZ recipe swap this month. We had Mom and Dennis over and this was almost gone before I got a picture. It was that good!

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients until mixed well. Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan.
Topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over coffee cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce

This recipe was probably hands down the most favorite out of all the recipes I chose this month for the Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar. My teammate was I'mPat from Perth West Coast of Australia. Her original recipe she posted calls this Seafood in Lemon Cream Sauce. We don't like scallops so left those out and probably tripled the shrimp as we love those. She found the recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly After Work Fast. It is fast going to together. The kids all thought it was definite restaurant quality. Which is a HUGE compliment coming from them.

Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce
2 1/2 lbs large shrimp or prawns (I buy mine already cooked and if the tails are still on - just pull the shells off)
2 tsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp lemon juice
4 TBSP apple juice
1 1/2 cups cream
Parsley for garnish if desired
hot pasta
In a bowl - combine shrimp, oil and garlic. Let marinate for a couple hours.
Simmer lemon juice and apple juice in a pan, uncovered until reduced by half. Add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for a couple of minutes. Since my shrimp was already cooked - I added the whole bowl at this point and simmered until hot.

Cook up some asparagus and or sugar snap peas. Set aside.

When the shrimp is heated through - you will probably have to eat a couple just to make sure - Drain the sauce into the hot pasta. Mix well. It makes a fettuccine kind of dish. Serve shrimp over pasta and add vegetables.

Swedish Meatballs

I've only had Swedish Meatballs a few times in my life. I have enjoyed them the times that I ate them. So I was excited to try this recipe from Mom2Rose from recipezaar for the October 2009 recipe swap. She calls them Grandma Katie's Swedish Meatballs. I downsized for a family of 6. Her original recipe feeds something like 25 or more people.

Swedish Meatballs

a little over a pound of ground beef

8 oz ground pork

**6 strips bacon, crispy and finely crumbled
1 cup finely diced celery

1 large onion, finely diced

1/2 cup or so of breadcrumbs

--------

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

16 oz beef broth

I cooked my bacon in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until done. I drained most of the bacon fat leaving just a little. Save the pan with drippings and set aside.

Combine all meatball ingredients from the ground beef to the breadcrumbs in a mixer. Make sure it is well combined. Make golf ball size meatballs.

Using extra breadcrumbs - coat each meatball and place on reserved cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile - combine soups and broth mixing well to remove any clumps. Add just a little to a crockpot. Add cooked meatballs. Pour remaining sauce over meatballs. Leave in the crockpot for just a couple hours or so.

We served this over rice. A very yummy comfort meal.

Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Muffins

I made these yummy muffins over General Conference weekend. It was perfect snacking on these while we watched the speakers share their messages on the computer!
This recipe comes from Mom2Rose from recipezaar. She is from Michigan, USA and found the recipe on the Hershey's website.

Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Muffins
1 cup quick cooking or regular oats
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients gently in a mixing bowl. Pour into muffin tins lined with paper baking cups.
Bake 16-18 minutes. I was able to get 12 muffins from this recipe.

Crunchy Oat Cereal

What a great idea to use up all that oatmeal in my food storage! Jen T from New Zealand shares this recipe on recipezaar - I chose it as part of my recipe selections for the swap in September 2009. Use this recipe in the recipe below as well.

Crunchy Oat Cereal
1 1/4 cups large rolled oats
1 1/4 cups roughly chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds and walnuts)
6 TBSP maple syrup - the good stuff
6 TBSP butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and spread onto a large shallow baking pan sprayed with vegetable spray.
Bake for 30-35 minutes - or until golden and crunchy.
Let mixture cool before storing in an airtight container. May be stored up to 2 weeks in a cool dry place.

Use this cereal in the recipe below.

Breakfast Cranachan

Jen T from New Zealand is the chef for this tasty breakfast. She says it is a traditional Scottish recipe brought up to date - found in a "3 Ingredient Cookbook." If you like - add a bit of honey to make this a little sweeter. I liked it without the honey addition.

Breakfast Cranachan
Serves: 4
3 oz crunchy oat cereal (see above recipe)
2 1/2 cups plain vanilla yogurt
1 1/3 cups raspberries ( I used frozen) may also use any berries you like

Preheat oven broiler. Spread the cereal in a shallow pan and place under heat for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes. I found this to be a good amount of time compared to the 3-4 minutes in the recipe. I didn't want it burned.
Set aside to cool.
When cook - fold into the yogurt. Gently fold in 1 cup of berries. Careful! Don't crush the berries!
Spoon into 4 dishes. Top with remaining berries.
Enjoy right away!

Rustic Bread

I love bread. A lot. When I come across a great bread recipe - I like to pass it on to you guys. This recipe was one I chose from the September 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap at recipezaar.com. The chef who submitted this recipe is Sage from Ontario, Canada. She uses a bread machine. I do not own one so will post how I did the recipe.

This recipe starts off using Biga (pronounced bee-gah) - an Italain starter. Something similar to sourdough in that it sits overnight.

Rustic Bread

Mix in a glass or plastic bowl:

1 cup warm water

1 tsp yeast

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Combine with wooden spoon until smooth. The mixture will be bubbly. Cover with a cloth and let stand overnight.

Next day (remember to give yourself several hours for the dough's first rising)

Combine:

Biga

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 TBSP honey

2 TBSP butter, softened

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp sugar

1 TBSP salt

2 TBSP gluten

2 tsp yeast

I use my bosche to mix well. I let it sit for about 40 minutes. Then I added:

1 additional cup whole wheat flour

2-3 cups white flour - enough to make a soft, non-sticky dough

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise about 3 hours. It will take that long. Knead for a bit then shape into 2 long loaves. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Score the loaves and dust with white flour if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30-35 minutes. Bread is done when tapping on the top yields a hollow sound.

Carrot Cake

This recipe comes by way of Jen T from New Zealand. She found it in a "Taste" magazine in 2006 courtesy of the "Fat Dog Cafe" in Rotorua, NZ.

Don't mind my feeble attempts to decorate this cake. I didn't feel like messing with frosting so made carrots from gumdrops. I think it's a rather ingenious idea! :)

This is a very moist cake.

Carrot Cake - courtesy of the Fat Dog Cafe

1 cup vegetable oil (you could go 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup applesauce as well)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups grated carrots (this is where those grated freezer carrots come in handy)

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (plain - NOT shelled. )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat oil and sugar until well mixed. Add eggs and carrots. Mix thoroughly. Add in remaining ingredients.

Divide between two 9 inch round cake pans. Don't forget to grease and flour them. I forgot to flour mine and it was a bit tricky getting the cakes out of the pans in one piece.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cakes spring back after pressing lightly. Don't overcook.

Leave cakes in pans for 10 minutes before turning onto cooling rack.

Icing

This icing was a bit overpowering so next time I will use something different. I changed the porportions as well since I was making a layer cake.

12 oz cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup powdered sugar (I would use more of this next time)

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Mix icing ingredients very well. When cake is cool, fill in the middle and frost the cake.

To make the carrots:

I rolled out orange gumdrops in some granulated sugar until flat. Then I rolled up the gumdrops to shape into a carrot shape. The tops - I cut a green gumdrop in half and used scissors to cut almost all the way through to make "tassles" for the carrots. Very elementary.

Avocado and Chicken Melts

This recipe was chosen as part of my selections for the September Aussie/NZ recipe swap. The cook is Jen T from New Zealand. This was a very tasty lunch today. A real treat!

Her recipe calls to do the chicken differently than what I did. The post beneath is about chicken breasts. I did an extra couple with just breading and used half a chicken breast for this sandwich. So I am changing this portion of the recipe since I liked it so much.

Avocado and Chicken Melts
1 hoagie type roll per person
1/2 breaded chicken breast leftovers from next post, warmed
avocado slices
tomato slices
cheese

Cut roll in half lengthwise. Place under broiler just until toasted. Remove and layer desired avocado slices, chicken breast, tomato slices and cheese. Return to oven/broiler for a few minutes longer - just until the cheese melts.
Serve warm.

Easy Garlic and Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe comes from Jen T in New Zealand. She is on my team for the September Aussie/NZ recipe swap. This was a huge hit with the family. Russell especially enjoyed it. That's all that matters. Right?

This recipe serves 4 - so increase ingredients to suit your family's situation.

Easy Garlic and Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 chicken breasts

2-3 TBSP butter or margarine at room temp. but not melted

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup breadcrumbs (more may be needed)

oil for browning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter, basil and garlic. Set aside.

Cut a deep cut along each chicken breast to make a pocket. Fill pockets with the butter mixture.

Carefully dip each chicken breast into egg then breadcrumbs. Press the breadcrumbs into the chicken.

Brown the chicken in a little oil over medium high heat until golden brown on each side.

Remove from pan and place in baking dish sprayed with vegetable oil. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

I also made two extra chicken breasts without the filling - just breaded for other purposes.

Chicken Wraps

I had some leftover tortillas and leftover chicken that needed to be used. This is what I came up with for lunch a few days ago.

Chicken Wraps
1 tortilla per person
Chicken or tuna
mayonnaise
grapes
apples
walnuts
lettuce

Line the tortilla with lettuce. Mix up the chicken or tuna to suit your taste with some mayo. Cut up desired amount of grapes and apples. Toss in a handful of walnuts. Place some chicken salad on the lettuce/tortilla and roll up and enjoy!

All-In-One Breakfast

This picture doesn't do justice to the yummy breakfast this makes! I remembered to take a picture when the pan was already half gone! The whole family really enjoyed this tasty casserole on the first day of school back to school breakfast. This recipe comes from Laurlie41 in Indiana. The hardest part about this recipe is actually getting out of bed early enough to have the casserole ready before the kids leave for school!

All-In-One Breakfast
6 English muffins, split in half
1 lb bulk sausage
12 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese

Arrange english muffins in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan. Overlap as necessary so the muffins all fit. Set aside.
Brown sausage. Drain.
In a large bowl whisk eggs. Add in sausage, sour cream and diced chilies. Mix well and pour over english muffins. Press lightly to thoroughly moisten the muffins.
Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover pan and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes the next morning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Mediterranean Turkey Bagelwiches

This was made for the September 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap at recipezaar.com. The original recipe calls for turkey. I used ham - which in theory wouldn't make this a Turkey Bagelwich would it? Laurlie41 from Indiana posted this tasty lunchtime special.

Mediterranean Turkey Bagelwiches
hummus - your choice of flavor
bagels, cut in half horizontally - one for each person
smoked turkey, sliced (I used deli ham since that's what I had)
1 medium cucumber sliced
spinach leaves

Spread hummus on each bagel half. Layer meat, cucumber and spinach. Put the top of the bagel on. Serve right away!

Zucchini Salsa

I was on the prowl for a salsa that incorporated zucchini. I came across this one that is canned. All the better I say! Then I can enjoy for months down the road. Oh man is this good! Not too hot - the perfect temperature!

This recipe comes from Bergy in British Columbia, Canada. I "met" her through recipezaar.com where the recipe is posted.

Zucchini Salsa

10 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded

4 onions, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1/4 cup pickling salt

Combine above ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day: Rinse, drain well above ingredients. Put into a large stockpot and add the following:

1 TBSP pickling salt

2 TBSP dry mustard

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 TBSP cumin

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP red pepper flakes

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp black pepper

5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes, peeled

2 TBSP cornstarch

12 oz tomato paste

Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars, add lids and rings. Process in pressure canner at 5 lb pressure for 5 minutes.

Don't forget to leave a little bit out so you can enjoy right away!

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

These are some serious competition if your kids like the occasional chicken nuggets from either McDonald's or Burger King! This recipe comes from Sage in Ontario, Canada. She found it in a Canadian Living magazine. She is on my team for the September Aussie/NZ recipe swap.

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

Sauce:
1/3 cup regular or light mayonnaise
2 TBSP Dijon or regular mustard
1 TBSP honey

Combine well in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (I use the stuff in the can )
1 cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs ( I used breadcrumbs)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp paprika

Cut chicken into strips not larger than 1 1/2 inches wide. I don't worry about the length too much.
Whisk egg and garlic together in a pie plate.
In a ziploc type bag combine cheese, breadcrumbs, oregano, salt, pepper and paprika. Close and shake to combine really well.
Dip chicken strips into eggs and let excess egg drip back into pie plate. Toss several chicken strips at a time in breadcrumb mixture to coat well.
Place on greased baking sheets and spray lightly with vegetable spray.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes - until golden, crispy and no longer pink.
Serve with dipping sauce or BBQ sauce.

The kids absolutely loved it! I didn't think they would like the sauce either but two of them really did.

Canning Beets

Canning beets is a simple process. You pick your beets. Cut off the leaves leaving about 1 inch. Some people actually eat the leaves and like it. I am not one of those people.

Place your beets in the sink. You or another lucky soul in your house will get to scrub the dirt off each beet.

Place scrubbed beets in the next sink over.

Fill a very large pot about 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil.

When water is boiling - add enough beets to fill the pot while still being covered with water.

You can fit quite a lot in as you can see.

Put the lid on your pot - but not all the way. Otherwise beet water will spew forth creating a smelly mess. Turn a timer on for 20 minutes. You placed the beets in the boiling water so the thick outer skin will be able to slip off fairly easily.

After 20 minutes scoop out the beets and place in a bowl.

Dump the bowl contents back into a cleaned out sink. Repeat the boiling water step for all remaining beets.

Now is the time to get your lids ready. Most pressure canners will comfortably fit 9 pints at a time. So place 9 regular mouth lids in a small pan and cover with water and turn the burner onto warm. They might be there awhile.

With the freshly boiled beets - I like to use a paring knife to get the outer layer of skin off. It should come off fairly easily. If not - just peel it with your knife. Make sure to cut off the top and the bottom of the beet as well.

Cut into cubes or leave small beets whole and using a canning funnel - start filling your jars.

Fill your jar leaving 1 inch headspace. (This means from the very top of the jar.) Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and fill the jar with fresh boiling water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar. Put on your lids that were sitting in the small pan of water and the rings.

Before placing jars in your pressure canner make sure there is about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the canner.

Place the lid on your pressure canner. The heat will be on high. When steam starts coming out the hole in the top - time for 7 minutes. This is called venting.

Place the pressure gauge over the vent and bring the pressure up to recommended pressure for your altitude. At my altititude it is 10 lbs pressure. You will want to slowly turn down the heat as well - watching the pressure so it doesn't go lower than the recommended pressure for where you are. Process pints for 30 minutes and quarts for 35 minutes. When the time is up - turn off the heat. Leave the pressure canner alone until the dial goes back to zero. Then you may safely remove the pressure gauge and open the lid.

Using this handy canning accessory - lift the jars carefully out of the canner and place on a towel on a counter or table to cool. You will begin to hear popping sounds. This is good. This means your jars are sealing.

The day after you can anything - make sure you take the rings off your jars and wash the rings and the jars in hot soapy water. Let them airdry and return the rings to your jars. Label your jars and store. Enjoy your hard work for months to come!

Blackberry Pies for the freezer.

Blackberry season isn't a very long one. I thought I might be out of luck this year. The area we usually go to was mowed down and sprayed. As luck would have it....we found some bushes farther back and picked enough so far for 3 freezer pies.

First: pick your berries.

Next you need to rinse them off. Make sure they are well drained.

For Blackberry pie filling you need:

4-5 cups of blackberries (I went closer to 5 - personal preference)

1/4 cup flour

3/4 - 1 cup sugar

A dash of cinnamon if desired

Mix gently until combined.

Now for the tricky part...this was the first time I did it myself - saw the idea and went for it.

Line a pie plate with saran wrap. It would be a good idea to spray it with vegetable spray.

Pour your blackberry mixture into the pie plate. Put in your freezer overnight.

The next day take out the pie plate. With saran wrap - you will probably have to wait for a few minutes before it will loosen enough from the pie plate to lift out the entire "pie." This was my experience.

So - I am trying alternative number two. I did foil today with vegetable spray. I will let you know how it turns out tomorrow. I think it will be better. Well with this method I still had to let it sit for a little bit for the foil to loosen from the pie plate. Maybe because it's glass? Not really sure. So....keep that in mind.

Okay. Third time is a charm. I did it this way...

first line your pie plate with foil. Then with saran wrap. Spray the saran wrap. When the berries are frozen - the "pie" will slip right out of the pie plate! Bingo - I knew it would work out sooner or later!

I put foil over the tops of the frozen saran wrapped "pies" and put one pie each in a gallon ziploc bag. Back into the freezer they went. Now when I want a blackberry pie all I need to do is make the crust, add the berries and bake!