Monday, September 5, 2016

Cake Mix Pie Crust

I saw a video showing how to do this on the Duncan Hines site. I tried it with a spice cake mix and had great results! 

Ingredients: 
1 spice cake mix (or yellow)
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 Tbsp butter, softened

Mix all of the ingredients with your hands. Fold it multiple times until all the ingredients are incorporated. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Place in a pie pan. I filled my pie with my apple pie filling and crumb topping, but you could fill with anything. (http://workingmomwonders.blogspot.com/2013/10/dutch-apple-pie.html
Bake the pie at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. 

I cut the extra dough into strips and sprayed them with cooking spray. Then I topped with cinnamon and sugar and baked for about 12 minutes. They were delicious too. 


Easy Canned Tomatoes

My mom taught me this method of canning that eliminates the need for peeling the tomatoes and using a pressure cooker. It is so much easier and all of our jars always seal. 

Ingredients: 
Spaghetti Sauce:
1 large kettle of washed and quartered tomatoes
5-6 cloves of garlic
3 onions
2 large green peppers
3 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup oregano
3-4 Tbsp basil
Thicken with about half of a large can of tomato paste 

Salsa
1 large kettle of tomatoes washed and quartered
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 large green peppers
3 onions
5-6 jalapenos
3 Tbsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
Thicken with about half of a large can of tomato paste

Chili Juice
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 large green peppers
3 onions
3 Tbsp salt
4-5 stalks of celery
2-3 jalapenos
1 large kettle of tomatoes washed and quartered

Regardless which recipe above you want to make, the steps to can are the same. Start by washing and quartering your tomatoes. You will not be taking the skins off.

Add the peppers, onions, garlic. (Add jalapenos and celery if the recipe above calls for it.)
Using an immersion blender, chop up all of the ingredients and add the spices, salt, (and sugar). 


Boil the mixture, stirring frequently. Let it simmer for about an hour or until the tomatoes are cooked down. 


Make sure the jars you use are clean. Place the canning lids in a small saucepan of boiling water. Fill the jar with the hot tomato liquid. Wipe the top of the lid with a dry cloth. Immediately place the hot lid on top of the jar. Screw on the lid and immediately flip the jar over on a towel. 

Let the jars sit overnight. When you flip them over, they will be sealed. Every one of these jars settled using this method. 


Back to School Scavenger Hunt

We decided to bring some excitement to our last day of summer vacation by having a back to school scavenger hunt. 

Here are the clues:
Clue #1: Back to school, Back to school, Your hunt begins near Dad's tools. 
Clue #2: Dad hates screaming, But mom hates a mouse, Matt doesn't care, He moved into his own tiny house. 
Clue #3: Hillary is running, But so is Trump. It'd be HUGE, to go where Rachel jumps. 
Clue #4: It was a Christmas gift, And then David's smile reached far. But putting it together, led to cash in the swear jar. 
Clue #5: The hunt is almost over, It seems it came and went. Find your prizes In the family room tent. 

The final prizes were all the kids' school supplies, backpacks, and lunch boxes. 


Basil Pesto Chicken Bake


Ingredients: 
2 large chicken breasts split in half to thin
3 oz basil pesto
cherry tomatoes quartered
1 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the chicken breast in the dish. Spread pesto over the chicken breasts. If desired, place the cherry tomatoes on top of that (the kids preferred to leave the tomatoes off of theirs). Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over that. 

Top with Mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. 


Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 
This could be eaten plain or served with noodles.