Category: Recipes

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Perfect Apricot Jam

…without pectin.

 Mmmmmm….toast and jam makes me really happy.

I had to take a break from packing and painting and weed killing because some things…like apricots, just won’t wait. At the risk of losing them all, I decided to just drop everything and make some jam in my cute little kitchen.

I wasn’t positive that I even had everything that I needed because I’m still living in one house while working on the other, and I don’t have my kitchen totally set up yet.

As it turns out, I found what I needed. I also found a very simple recipe without pectin, that–short of burning the whole pot to a crisp–promised to be pretty much fool-proof. My kind of recipe.

So, you start with 8 cups of washed, pitted, and chopped apricots. 

 Mush them around a bit with a potato masher. You don’t have to go crazy with this part–just smash them enough that you release a fair amount of the natural juices.

Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I used bottled juice–but if you have fresh lemons, you can use them. Either way should be fine.

Now add 6 cups of sugar to a nice, deep sauce pan. Stir in the apricots and mix it well.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, continue cooking for about 30-40 minutes. Keep checking on it and stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the pan and scorch.

When it starts getting really foamy, I always add about a teaspoon and a half of butter–which usually calms it all down. You don’t have to do that–it’s just what I do.

Now I should have a lovely picture of pouring the beautiful jam into the jars, but since I was alone in the house, taking pictures of that process seemed like a good way to land in the emergency room.  SO…

you’ll have to believe me when I tell you that I poured the jam in the hot, clean jars and processed them in the boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Here’s my proof. That and…

this.

Gr Signature

5.0 from 2 reviews
Perfect Apricot Jam--Without Pectin
 
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:
: 5 pints
Ingredients
  • 8 cups chopped apricots
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 5 pint jars, lids and rings
Instructions
  1. Mash the apricots lightly.
  2. Add lemon juice and sugar.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
  4. Once it reaches a rolling boil, continue boiling for about 30-40 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and pour into clean, hot jars.
  6. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
  7. Let set for a few hours until cans seal
  8. :]
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:: Boston Cream Cake ::

Oooh-oooh. Boston Cream Cake in all it’s scrumptious glory. In a hurry? Need a dessert like…NOW?  Well, my friends, you’re in luck.

Easy. Quick. Yummy beyond belief.

And I mean it.

Oh, and don’t be confused–or alarmed by the pictures. We tripled the recipe–hence, three of everything. Your eyes work just fine.

Luckily, 3 fit in a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan just perfectly. About the right amount for this crazy crowd.

Boston Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups cold half-and-half cream

1 small package instant French vanilla pudding mix

1 loaf frozen pound cake, thawed

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

4 to 5 teaspoons hot water

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together cream and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

Cut cake into three horizontal layers.

Place bottom layer on a serving plate.

Top with half of the pudding.

Repeat layers.

Top with third cake layer.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa and enough water to reach desired spreading consistency.

Spread over top of cake, letting glaze drizzle down sides.

We served ours with fresh strawberries…

and it was gone in exactly 12 minutes of a hurricane-type eating frenzy.

It wasn’t my fault…but it was an incredible 12 minutes.

See for yourself.


5.0 from 1 reviews
Boston Cream Cake
 
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Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 cups cold half-and-half cream
  • 1 small package instant French vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 loaf frozen pound cake, thawed
  • ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
  • 4 to 5 teaspoons hot water
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together cream and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.
  2. Cut cake into three horizontal layers.
  3. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; top with half of the pudding.
  4. Repeat layers.
  5. Top with third cake layer. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and enough water to reach desired spreading consistency.
  6. Spread over top of cake, letting glaze drizzle down sides.

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Pineapple Angel Food Cake

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If you’re ever in the mood for a scrumptious dessert but don’t have much time to fuss around–you, my dears, are going to LOVE this one.

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Open 1 can of crushed pineapple and pour it into a bowl.

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Pour the contents of one dry Angel Food cake mix on top of the pineapple and stir.  Brace yourself, because something amazing is about to happen.

Be brave.

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When the pineapple juice mixes with the cake mix it starts to foam up and get all fluffy–like you whipped it for twenty minutes. But of course, you didn’t. Pour it into a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish.

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Now pop it into the oven and bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. When it comes out the top will be a lovely golden brown.

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But on the inside–well, just look at all those magical little pineapple pieces all mixed in there making it all so moist and heavenly.

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Oooh, it’s enough to make some people behave very, very badly.

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Indeed.

:}

Pineapple Angel Food Cake
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 can crushed pineapple
  • 1 box Angel Food Cake mix
Instructions
  1. Stir the pineapple and dry cake mix together.
  2. Pour into a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish.
  3. Cook for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.
  4. Allow to cool before cutting.

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Fruit Smoothie Bark

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Now, before anyone says, “What the…Christmas candy?” give me a chance to explain. This is not Peppermint Bark. In fact, this is a new tradition we are establishing for…Spring. Introducing Fruit Smoothie Bark.

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Made with tender, loving care and only two ingredients. Two bags of Guittard Choc-Au-Lait chips and one box of Jolly Rancher Fruit Smoothie candy canes. You could use any kind of candy canes that you like–Sweet Tart, Spree, Skittles–any of those odd flavored ones that you can never figure out what to do with because they severely have no business hanging out at Christmas time. Honestly.

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We chose the Fruit Smoothie kind because the flavors sound divine–and yes you can still get them from Amazon. We just happened to already have these in the cupboard and figured we’d better get creative.

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I mean, there’s just something wrong with throwing out pretty little candy canes just because they can’t find the right season to live in.

Here’s what you do~

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Melt the white chocolate slowly in a double-boiler.

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Crush up the candy canes to pieces the size of peas.

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Stir them into the melted chocolate…

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and mix well.

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Spread on waxed paper…

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to about 1/2 inch thick. If you put the wax paper on a cookie sheet you can move it to cool in the fridge. You can let it cool on the counter if you’d rather, but I think it set up harder and shinier in the cold.

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When it’s set–in about and hour or so, break into bite sized pieces and serve in a pretty, little serving dish then listen to people rave. A portable, bite sized fruit smoothie that you can carry in your pocket. Well, after you put it in a zip-loc bag, that is.

Seriously, it’s fabulous.

:}

5.0 from 1 reviews
Fruit Smoothie Bark
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 Bags Guittard Choc-au-lait chips
  • 1 box (12) fruit flavored candy canes
Instructions
  1. Melt the white chocolate slowly in a double-boiler.
  2. Crush up the candy canes to pieces the size of peas.
  3. Stir them into the melted chocolate...and mix well.
  4. Spread on waxed paper...to about ½ inch thick.
  5. When it's set--in about and hour or so, break into bite sized pieces and serve in a pretty, little serving dish