Carnival #122

Welcome to the 122nd edition of the Make it from Scratch carnival. Before we get started, let me invite you to participate tomorrow in Firsts on the First. Every first of the month we share something new we have tried to make from scratch. We share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tomorrow I am sharing something that turned out very well. Please share your attempts at new things. Simply post about it, or use a post from earlier in the month, and leave your link tomorrow.

Now, on to the carnival.

GOOD EATS!
Stephanie presents Recipe: Garden Vegetable Calzones posted at A High And Noble Calling.

Dora Renee' Wilkerson presents Y-2K Hippie: 06/26/09 posted at Y-2K Hippie.

Make it from Scratch presents Au Gratin Sweet Potatoes posted at Make It From Scratch.

Katie presents Katie's Simple Cabbage Soup with Secret Super Food posted at Kitchen Stewardship.

SWEET!
Joanna presents Chocolate Buttercream Frosting posted at Joanna @ OneKrustyMama.

Carrie presents Devil’s Food Cupcakes from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes posted at It's Frugal Being Green.

Mama Bear presents Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp posted at Gotta Little Space.

Lisa Newton presents Savings With Sadie: Recipe Corner - Key Lime Pie - No Bake posted at Savings With Sadie


D-I-Y to Help the Cash Flow
Gin G. presents Sew Home Pursuits posted at Sense Scribe.

Bruno Vigneault presents Save on gas: convert your car to an hydrogen hybrid running on water! posted at Green Renewable Energy Technology.

Christopher X. Gerber presents Making Money with a Blog posted at Experiment: Gerbus.

Alvina Lopez presents Traveling Cheap When You’re a Student – Here’s How You Do It | MasterDegreeOnline posted at MasterDegreeOnline.

Alex presents Mom Birthday Cards Printable posted at Home Life Weekly.

HELPFUL INFORMATION
Grandmother Wren presents Knitting to Fit - Know Your Gauge ! posted at Grandmother's Pattern Book.

Yanic Arsenault presents Getting rid of bugs in your house plants the natural way posted at Adventures into green.

Carole DeJarnatt presents Presentation is Important When Selling Free Range Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

Thank you for joining us today. Next week the carnival will be hosted at Kitchen Stewardship. Submit your posts using the Blog Carnival form.

Mason Jar Peach Cobbler

I made this over the weekend for our local Heritage Days Festival. It was a huge hit and I'm sure it will be with your bunch too! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen-she's my hero!!!

Ingredients
2 cans sliced peaches drained
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
8 tbs butter
1/1/2 cups milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Drop 3/4 tsp of butter in 12 half pint mason jars. Place jars in a large casserole or broiler pan to help keep them stable. Place pan of jars in oven to melt butter. Cut drained peaches in large chunks and set aside. Mix dry ingredients with milk till smooth. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each jar. Evenly divide any left over batter among the jars till all the batter is used. Spoon 1/4 cup of peaches on top of batter. Bake jars 25 minutes or until to>ps are slightly brown. Dust with cinnamon sugar mixture is desired. Carefully screw lids and seals on immediately after removing from oven for self sealing jars.
Makes approximately 12 half pint jar servings.
Sealed items can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Jars can be kept for several days up to a week. Do not eat if item's color has changed or there are any visible signs of mold.

Tips and hints

Virtually anything can be baked and sealed in a jar. The trick is to fill the jar 1/3 of the way full for any rising breads or cakes to allow enough head room after baking. Quickly and carefully screw lids with seals onto the jars. As the sealed jar cools the lids will self seal. Remove the lids and seals to heat either in the microwave or oven. Serving food in a jar is perfect for picnics or family reunions.

Basic Canning Equipment

I originally posted this last year, but thought it would be helpful to post again for those who are new to preserving. For those of you who are new to preserving, feel free to ask any questions. I will do my best to answer. For those of you who are experienced canners, feel free to leave a comment about your favorite canning gadget, or canning tip.

Where I live a backyard garden is a common thing, but even here, I've noticed many new gardens go in this spring. Many existing gardens have also been expanded. Pressed by rising fuel prices and the rising food prices that are following, people are stretching their grocery dollars by raising some of their own food.

My garden is just starting to produce, and soon it will be time to break out the canning equipment to put away some of that harvest for the winter. I know many of you have expressed an interest in canning. I am no expert. The real experts are the folks at the USDA, but I am happy to try and help. Let's start with the basics.

There are three very basic items you need to begin canning. You need jars with sealing lids, a large pot for processing, and canning tables that tell you how long to process the jars.

Jars with Sealing Lids
You can find jars in a variety of sizes. The most common used are quart and pint jars. I find quart jars to be the most useful for my large family. I use pint jars mostly for hot peppers and pickles, though it is nice to have some pints of tomato sauce too.

Jars also come in wide mouth or regular. In my opinion, wide mouth are much easier to work with. They also are easier to clean, but they are more expensive.

Some people use recycled jars from spaghetti sauce or other items they have purchased at the store. I personally do not do this, and it is not recommended by the experts. I believe the logic behind this is that Mason jars are made to last the stresses of canning repeatedly. Jars used in the food industry may or may not be made as strong. Yet, I know people do can with them.

The most common type of lid is actually a two part lid. It is a lid with a ring. You have to buy new lids every year, but the rings can be used over and over. They are easy to use. There are other types of sealing systems using reusable rubber rings. I've never canned with those before, so I can't offer too much information on those.

Processing Pot
When you are canning there are two ways to process the jars. You can simply cover them with boiling water and boil for the recommended amount of time. The other way is to use a pressure canner. It is not recommended that low acid foods, like beans, be processed using the boiling water method. All foods can be canned in a pressure canner. I use both methods.

When canning with boiling water any heavy pot that is large enough to fill with enough water to cover your jars can be used. A water bath canner with a rack is much more convenient to use. They really aren't very expensive. I think a canner is a worthwhile purchase if you are planning to do a lot of canning that can be done without pressure canning.

Canning Tables
You need a resource to consult for how long to process your jars. If you buy a new canner, chances are there will be instructions with timing tables included. One of my older cookbooks also has tables. There are whole cookbooks devoted to canning. The most famous is probably the Ball Blue Book. Though a canning cookbook isn't necessary, it is nice to have as a resource. Besides basic instruction and time tables, it gives you recipes for different items. It can help when you are at a loss for what to do with the excess your garden is producing. Of course all canning tables are created based on the guidelines put out by the USDA. Their advice is available for free online.

These are the bare basics of equipment you need to begin canning. There are lots of tools and gadgets designed to make things easier. Before you run out and buy any equipment and gadgets, check around for used supplies. There are lots of people with shelves and boxes full of jars that they don't ever plan to use. Let family member know you are looking for canning equipment. Check on Cragislist. Ask on Freecycle. Look at yard sales. You may find all you need for free or a fraction of the cost of new.

I hope that was helpful for those who are new to canning. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help if I can.

Salmon Patties - Fish for a Tight Budget

I am not a menu planner. Instead I rely on a long list of recipes that my family enjoys, and a pantry that is well stocked with the ingredients to make those meals. Most of our meals start with simple, economical ingredients. My cooking may seem to some a bit old fashioned. In fact, my favorite cookbook was published in 1965, but my family is not complaining, and neither is my pocket book.

One thing that can be difficult to incorporate into meals on a budget is fish or seafood. We all know that fish is good for us. While I'd love to serve my family a nice grilled fillet of salmon on a regular basis, it simply is not in our budget. The much cheaper option is to use canned salmon.

For many years I avoided canned salmon. The thought of picking out all the bones was simply repulsive to me. Then I started noticing that most recipes did not say anything about picking the bones out. In fact, many actually stated that you should leave the bones in.

The canning process makes the bones very soft. The bones give your dish and extra nutritional boost by adding calcium to your meal. I decided to meet the bones in the middle. I pick out the larger bones, but don't bother trying to get every bone out. It only takes a minute to get the big bones out, and honestly, those remaining bones do not change the texture of the dish.

Most often I use canned salmon for salmon patties. Making salmon patties (which can be formed into a loaf also) is like making a meatloaf. You can use a wide variety of ingredients, whatever you have on hand, to mix up a delicious and economical meal for the family. Below is a basic version to start with.

A couple of hints to be sure your patties make it out of the pan as patties, and not as crumbles:
Make sure your pan is good and hot before you put the patties in.
Do not flip the patties until the bottom is done. You will be able to see the brown on the bottom edges.

Carnival #121

This week the carnival can be found at It's Frugal Being Green. It is another good one this week. Lots of delicious recipe and frugal ideas and crafts. There are so many talented people who participate in this carnival.

Some that I found particularly interesting include:

Sugar Cookie Tarts

Cookie, cream cheese, and berries...what's not to love?

Beet, Carrot and Feta Salad

My beets are ready. My carrots almost are. Can't wait to try this!

Blackerry Cobbler

Can you tell I'm all about recipes to use what is in season right now?

Be sure to check the entrie carnival, and don't forget to thank our hostess.

Next week the carnival is coming home. I can't wait to get my sneak peak at the submissions. Hope to see you participating!

Au Gratin Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes is a staple in just about every southern kitchen. There are so many ways to prepare a sweet potato. Baked like a russet, candied in brown sugar, or even topped with marshmallows casserole style. We love them no matter how they're prepared. Today I'll share my newest recipe using this colorful and naturally sweet vegetable-Au Gratin style. I hope you love them as much as we did. Sorry there's no picture but the family just couldn't wait long enough for me to take a photo of the final product! They were THAT delicious!

Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes
8 ounces Velveeta Cheese
Heavy Cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into approximately 2 inch chunks. Toss in a large pot with enough cold water to cover the potatoes and bring to boil. Cook approximately 15 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. While potatoes are cooking, melt cheese and mix in enough heavy cream until you get a smooth cheese sauce. We like our taters really cheesy but you can adjust the amount of cheese and cream to your taste. Drain the potatoes, transfer them to a casserole dish and pour the cheese sauce over it all. Bake till cheese starts to brown. Serves 4 generous portions

Tips, Tricks, & Hints

No heavy cream? No problem, milk works just as well.
Add a tablespoon of sour cream for a rich flavor kick.
Change up the flavor by mixing different cheeses: cheddar, cream cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.
Cheese sauce too thin? Add a cornstarch/cold water mixture to help thicken it up.

Blackberry Freezer Jam

My seven year old daughter is becoming the family berry picker. Everyday she goes out to the patch of black raspberries to check and pick. So far, she is only getting a couple cups at a time, but soon the blackberries will be ripe and picking will become a family job.

I'm not complaining. I enjoy going out to pick. Often I will get up before the kids and sneak out to the berry batches to pick in the early morning peace and quiet. It is good for my soul. And the resulting berries are good for my taste buds.

One of my favorite ways to preserve that fresh berry goodness is with freezer jam. It is faster to prepare, and keeps more of the fresh taste than cooked jam. It does set softer, and of course requires space in the freezer. The recipe is in the Sure-Jell box.

3 pints blackberries (6 cups)
5 1/4 C sugar
1 box Sure-Jell

Mash berries with a potato masher one cup at a time. Add sugar to crushed fruit. Stir and allow to sit for ten minutes. Put pectin and 3/4 C water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Add mixture to berries and stir for about three minutes until sugar is dissolved. Pour into containers. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Keeps in the refrigerator for about three weeks or up to a year in the freezer.

I don't have many freezer boxes. I freeze most things in bags. Trust me, bags are not the way to freeze freezer jam. What a mess! Instead I used recycled food containers like cottage cheese containers. Works wonderfully. Just be sure to label your container!