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!

Tortilla Bowls

I was on the lookout for tortilla bowls. So I turned to my favorite recipe website and found out how to make them in the microwave! I made these with my homemade tortillas. The family liked the idea but not the thickness these tortillas have. The shell was pretty hard and not crunchy like restaurant shells. I will be making these again with store bought tortillas just to see the difference.

Tortilla Bowls

This recipe comes from janem at recipezaar.com. She found it from "Healthy Heart One Dish Meals."

You will need:

1 tortilla per person

Line a 1 1/2 qt glass bowl with one tortilla. Prick a few holes in the tortilla with a fork. Microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on high or until the tortilla is crisp. Remove from microwave. Allow the tortilla to cool for a bit in the bowl before removing. Repeat for each tortilla.

Fake Pineapple

I have zucchini coming out my ears. Big huge ones. I already had 49 cups of shredded zucchini goodness in my freezer when I brought in 6-7 really big ones today. After browsing my favorite recipe site recipezaar.com I found a recipe that will be very useful. It's called Faux Pineapple. It is very tasty and can be used just as you would canned pineapple from the store.

To make this recipe you need:
16 cups 1/2 inch approximately cubed zucchini

46 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

1 1/2 cups lemon juice

3 cups sugar

yellow food coloring if desired

Mix zucchini, unsweetened pineapple juice, lemon juice and sugar in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Add yellow food coloring if desired.

Simmer 20 minutes.

Don't forget to put your lids in water on very low so they will be ready when you are.

Fill jars with hot zucchinipineapple with a slotted spoon. Then add liquid leaving 1/2 inch headspace from the top of the jar.

Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. Adjust time for your altitude.

This is what it looks like when you are finished. I was so excited. I did two batches and now have 22 half pints of "pineapple!"

You will have juice left over. You can either freeze it or fill jars to within 1/2 inch of top of jar and process in a water bath for 15 minutes.