Freezing Red Peppers

Look at this.  Sigh.  A picture of beauty.  They don't last long however, so you need to find a way to preserve these babies!  Here's my super duper easy peasy handy dandy tip on how to freeze your peppers:

Wash peppers.  Get out cutting board, knife and cookie sheet (or two).  Slice the peppers from top to bottom, get rid of all the seeds and the whitish parts.  Slice into pretty little strips.

Place your pretty little strips on a cookie sheet.  Try to do it in a single layer- I'm not persnickity about it, but they aren't crammed and piled in a mound either.  This helps them freeze individually so you don't have a big glob when you just need a handful for your recipe.  Take the whole cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for a good hour or so.  Mine were in there for 4 hours today because I had to leave for a bit.

When they're good and frozen solid, take the sheet out and use a scraper to loosen them from the pan.  Put them in zipper bags.  Here I have a gallon bag and a quart bag.  I guess this was about a dozen peppers.

Of course I used some right away in my zucchini stir fry.  Delish!

So that's how I do mine.  I usually use them all up by the time next year's harvest comes in, so I don't have to worry about freezer burn and whatnot.  Another great way I use my peppers (mostly the green ones) is the way my mother in law has always done hers.  I mince them real fine in my food processor and drain them (see my post with pics on Granny's sauce)   and put them in baggies.  Freeze them flat. Wonderful way to add the good green pepper flavor without it overpowering your whole dish. 

Sorry if there's typos.  It's late and I'm tired.  No time for spellcheck........

Homemade Tomato Sauce Step By Step

As promised, here are the pics. Sorry they aren't so great- I used my little Kodak point & shoot. Didn't want to get my Nikon dirty :) Also, I tend to over-explain. Hey- I like to talk!

Step 1. Blanch & peel tomatoes

Bring a pot of water to a low boil and imerse tomatoes for 30 seconds.

I happen to have a handy dandy basket.

Immediately plunge into ice water. I use my kitchen sink.

Core the tomato, then the peel should slip right off.


Squeeze the juice & seeds out (save it if you want for a juice or stock) Notice I am using the other side of my sink, throwing the peels and cores and juice right into the disposal. Then I toos the tomatoes into a big pot right next to the sink. Think assembly line.

Step. 2 Add chopped veggies and cook

Sometimes I continue on and make the sauce but sometimes I stick them in the frige and finish the next day. I mean, I am sometimes doing 100lbs of tomatoes at a time, so after peeling- I need a break! Anywho, whenever you decide to continue, chop your other veggies. I of course, use my handy dandy KitchenAid food processor. I mince my stuff pretty fine. Especially the celery. It gives it great flavor, but who wants a big ol' chunck of celery in their spaghetti or salsa?

Onions and celery

A little tip on the green pepper. When you chop it fine, it will be very juicy and foamy- especially if they are fresh from the garden. You'll need to drain them for a bit and squeeze out some juice.

Another green pepper tip. I usually work up 10-12 peppers at a time. I use some for my sauce, but the rest I like to put in ziploc baggies and freeze for other uses. Freeze it flat so it's easy to break off a chunk and toss into salad or pot of chili or whatever.

It thaws quickly since it's minced.

Okay I dont have pics of the next step- dont know why. But you have chopped your veggies and your tomatoes and have it all in the pot(s). Add sugar, salt, garlic and parsley. Cook cook cook it. I like mine to reduce by a couple of inches in the pot. The longer you cook it, the thicker the sauce. When you have it like you want it:

Step 3: Can it!
Notice my set-up: Hot clean jars, wide funnel, glass measuring cup for pouring into jars, flaps sitting in pot of hot water. Also you can see how much my sauce reduced by looking at the lines on the inside of the pot. So, you ladle the hot sauce into the hot jars, then cover with lid and screw on the bands. Place on a heavy duty cookie sheet.

Step 4: Process

If you read my recipe you'll see how I do mine. Choose whatever method you like and feel comfortable with. Here I have my 8 jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Granny's Sauce

This time of year I am asked over and over again for my Granny's tomato sauce recipe. I have decided to put it on here, and then when one needs it, they need only stop by to look it up :) I am posting the recipe today, but I will post step by step photos in a day or two so check back.

Now, a few things.
1. This sauce is FABULOUS. If you have made it before, or been lucky enough to have dined at my home when I have served it in some fashion, please leave a comment. Let the world know that I amnot the only one out there who sings it's praises.

2. This is really an all-purpose sauce. It consists of tomatoes, onions, green peppers, celery, garlic, parsley, sugar and salt. It can be used for chili, spaghetti, soup or salsa. For the former, you simply pour it in- maybe add a can of tomato paste. For the latter, I usually open a jar of sauce, add some chopped jalapeno and cumin. Sometimes toss in a can of (rinsed) black beans and some white shoepeg corn. It's so much more versatile to make 10 quarts of this sauce than to make 10 quarts of salsa.

3. It's a lot of work, but it's not crazy hard work, and it does take time. And I often do it over a period of 2-3 days if time is an issue. I sometimes wash and peel, and core all tomatoes one day, then refrigerate them and the next day, chop veggies, cook it down and put in jars. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

4. DISCLAIMER! This is my Granny's recipe that she has used for who knows how many decades. I myself have used it every year for 15 years. In this particular recipe, you do not use a boil water process method. You simply put them on a cookie sheet and put them in an oven for 20 minutes or so. However, you will not see this method used or recommended much at all. Some consider it unsafe, though I question wheter they have actually done it. I have read about it in many forums and it is considered dangerous and even unhealthy. If you read through the comments though, people who HAVE done it (most for over 50 yrs) will say "phooey". The Ball Canning Guide used to have it in their yearly cookbook. It makes sense to me that they may want you to ues the waterbath method as it encourages us to purchase water canners, special tools, gadgets and accessories. You don't need these for oven canning. So- use whatever method YOU prefer for the actual processing. I'm simply sharing how I do it. And for the record- I have NEVER had a jar break, not seal, or become tainted over the course of the year or two it may have sat upon my shelf. Never.

5. It's cooking, not baking, so feel free to add more onion, more sugar, less salt, less peppers whatever you like. The celery really needs to be in there for a crisp, fresh flavor, but you may want to grind it really fine (I do). Don't be anal about amounts. Go with the flow!

The Recipe:


Granny Jo's Tomato Sauce


25 peeled tomatoes (will follow up with directions on how to do this)
4-5 stalks celery finely chopped
3 onions chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped (I use minced from a jar sometimes)
1 green pepper chopped fine
Parsley (flakes or fresh)
1 cup sugar
2-4 TBSP salt

Chop tomatoes and place in pot. (I dont chop mine, I squeeze the juice out and discard it,then use a food processor and pretty much puree mine. Make it as chunky as you like.) Add the remaining ingredients and boil the hell out if it. I usually cook mine 1-2 hours. Let some of that water evaporate- it will give you a thicker sauce. That's why I squeeze the juice out of my 'maters as mentioned earlier. Then turn oven to 250. Fill HOT & CLEAN jars (I always have mine in the dishwasher ready to go) with sauce, cover with lids (that are soaking in hot water), then screw on bands and place on heavy duty cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. OR process in cool packer 10 minuutes. Let sit on countertop for a few hours and listen for the "pings" of the lids!

Let me know how it goes!!

Cute Hat Giveaway

So you know how you go to a site, spend some time looking around and get sidetracked by another site, then veer off into another direction?? I have actually gotten online to look for the name of a song and ended up buying a baseball bat! Not to mention I lost 3 hours of my life just tooling around. Sigh. Such is life :)

Well today I can't even remember where I began, but I ended up finding this giveaway. And I have been seeing giveaways like crazy. They have several ways of entering: "Like" them of Facebook, leave a comment on their blog, Tweet about it etc... You can also post about it on your own blog which is what I am doing. Or attempting to do anyway- we shall see how this works out. I am not very skillfull with computer stuff so much of it escapes me.

So check it out if you have a minute- VERY cute stuff!

http://http://www.indiespotting.com/giveaways-sales/win-cotton-blossoms-hat-giveaway/comment-page-1/#comment-2024

More wedding....

Can you even believe this view?!


The whole gang tightened in for this fun shot...

The kiss......................

This is precious- the groom wrote his vows and I was able to get a close-up while he was reading them to her. And that's when the tears started to flow.......for me.

I really like this shot because of all the body language going on. Dad's a little tense, Officiant (her uncle by the way) seems to be challenging the groom "This is my niece buddy, you better understand exactly what you are expected to do here", the groom is taking it very seriously and the bride seems to be nervous for her sweetheart. Maybe it's just me, but I'm feelin' it. ♥

Wedding at the Winery

Photographed a lovely wedding Saturday. It was HOT but there was a nice breeze on the hill from time to time so that helped. I don't think it is very professional for the photographer to cry...have to work on that. I didn't even know the bride & groom! What the heck!?

The bride's uncle officiated the ceremony so I was able to stand behind the wedding party and get some unusual shots. Erin was at the other end of the aisle and got the traditional views. She used a big zoom lens and I used my regular 18-55. Can't wait to see what E got- I love those mega-close shots! We were unable to get many of the couple alone after the ceremony as there was another wedding shortly after theirs, but we did get all the wedding party and family shots. We grabbed the couple and took them outside once we got to the reception site for a few sweet poses. It was a very fast-moving pace but I think we did quite well. We took over 1000 pictures combined, so now the editing begins........ Here's a few of mine:

I really like this one- looking over the groom's shoulder as she's coming towards him...

Painting Garden Stones

Made these darling Stone Snails for Mother's Day gifts. What a hit! Each rock is about the size of a dinner plate- give or take a bit. (The yellow one was quite a bit smaller) I purchased the rocks at a local nursery.

Start off with smooth, clean rocks. I wash mine really good with soapy water and leave them outside for a few days to dry. Bring them in the night before so they aren't too hot or cold to work with. When I am painting something, I usually do 3-4 so while I am working on one, the paint on the others is drying and by the time you're ready for the next step they are ready too.

Using Patio Paint, basecoat each rock. Allow to dry.

Okay I missed photographing a couple of steps because I wasn't blogging when I painted these, but I can explain. Very lightly, use a pencil to freehand the snail head. It's a super easy shape to draw so don't fret! Then to the right of the head, draw a swirl. Use a darker color (from the same color family of course) to shade and a lighter shade to highlight. I often just add white to my basecoat color for this step or just use white. Use pink to add a blush to the cheecks. Use black to form the mouth and eyes. Then add highlight dots in white. I use a stylus or the end of a brush for this step.

Use a sharpie marker to outline the whole thing. Then seal with a clear coat. Aren't they precious!? I gave one to each of my sisters for Mother's Day this year. Aby picked the blue one because her daughter Alyssa wanted it. Alyssa proceeded to name him "Bluie Jacquie". ♥

Town Ball

Just another reason to LOVE living in a small town.

My son has played baseball since he was in first grade. I noticed right off the bat (pardon the punn) that alot of the boys on his team- and the opposing teams- were my own friends' boys. A nephew of mine. My cousin's boy. That stuck up snob I always hated- her son too. Lots of people I went to school with had their boys playing. It wasn't a big deal- it was neat. And of course all the coaches were guys I went to school with. It was strange, all of us being "grown ups". It felt surreal. Something about me still felt 16 and we were all pretending to be parents. Anyway, we've (they've) all been playing for several years now. It's just so much fun. All these guys who played together as boys now have sons playing against each other. And for the most part, we're good sports about it. We cheer each other on. Last night I clapped when my nephew threw my son out at first. I told my friend Randy's boy he was looking good while he was throwing strikes to our boys. When Jake cranked a Grand Slam, lots of people on the other team were even cheering. It's a beautiful thing. It's kind of like a family.

Of course there's always the ones you can't stand. I can't help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when my son strikes out the son of that big mouth over there. That'll shut her up. Or when my BFF's boy knocks one out of the park off that boy who thinks he's so great- but only because his parents think they are so great and their $#!* don't stink. Ugh- no one likes them. And then there's the time I actually let out a big ol' "Whooop!" when a boy on the other team struck out- but it was pitching machine league and my pal Amy was mortified that I did that. She still ribs me about it. And once in a while she and I will sit and be like "Oh brother, here comes an out" when one of our own who isn't quite so athletic steps up to the plate. Isn't that awful? I'm not proud of it, but it's the truth. I sometimes wonder if I might end up on the ten o'clock news, having been involved in a little league brawl of parents. Oh yeah, it can be ugly. Again, it's like a family.

I love Town Ball ♥

Monkey Bread Recipe

My first attempt at adding several pics and text....

Ingredients:

3 cans biscuits

1/2c sugar

1tsp cinnamon

1 stick butter/margarine

powdered sugar (about 1 c)

milk (few teaspoons)

syrup

Combine cinnamon & sugar in medium bowl. Open the biscuits and tear each one in half. Drop 8-10 biscuit pieces into cinn & sugar mixture and roll. Place on greased bunt pan and repeat until all biscuit pieces are in the pan. Melt butter and spoon over the entire pan.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and invert onto a large plate. This part is tricky- parents better do that.

Make a glaze of powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over the hot bread.
Then drizzle with a little syrup.

Yum. Enjoy!!

Monkey Bread (Super kid friendly)

Quick. Easy. Cheap. Fun. Ingredients you already have. Delicious. Fancy looking. Kid friendly. Serves lots. What more could you ask for from a breakfast dish? Lilly made this today. Thought I would share the recipe. Enjoy :)

Cemetery Fun

I went to several cemeteries with my mom and two of my sisters today to place wreaths and flowers. What is normally a very somber and sad occasion turned into a zoo. Literally. Explain.

Ok, so all of these cemeteries are out in the country of course. On the way to one I spotted what I thought was a turkey coming onto the road, so I slowed down. Then came another one. As they emerged I saw that they were in fact peacocks- not turkeys! And would you believe there were 5 of them?? (I thought not, so I attatched a pic I took from my cell phone- disbeliever.) One by one they popped out of the woods an onto the road. So I started making bird noises- I'm really good, just ask my hubby who begs me to go turkey hunting with him so I can call 'em in. (Ain't happenin' Tommyboy.) All five of them came right up to my car but then I remembered that peacocks SCREAM like maniacs and are actually quite mean so I took off like a bat outta hell after getting the pic.


Our last destination was Prospect cemetery. This is where Granma Joyce and Grandpa Virgil, Aunt Char and the rest of mom's family is buried. It's always so nice and peaceful and there were lots of other people there today doing the same thing we were doing. So we're just walking along, all serious and grim and out of nowhere comes this herd of goats! Like 20 of them! Just racing through the cemetery aimlessly. I took off to get my cell phone from my car but they turned ran the other direction, so by the time I got back they were gone.

Seriously? Does this kind of stuff happen to other people or is it just me? It's like everywhere I go, something strange is going to transpire. Aby called me the Peacock Whisperer. LOL

Goin' to the Creek

Heading to the creek again today for another afternoon of frolicking and lazing in my fancy shmancy covered lounge chair :) Hopefully I won't have to deal with idiots who decide that they'd rather not pay the $5 to go to Shady Beach, and show up on our PRIVATE PROPERTY with their loud, rambunctious clan. Often with a yippy dog too. I actually had a guy yell at me yesterday because my dog was barking at him. "Ummmm- you're on his territory. Yeah, he may bite you." was all I said. Go away freak. Yes, I know it's a nice little place. But it's ours. I shouldn't have to go there and listen to other people's filthy mouths and deal with their dog (or kids for that matter) trying to get into my snack bag. And I sure as hell shouldn't have to pick up their trash! So frustrating. Oh well, I'm packin' heat so I should be ok. ;)

So, if you want to know how dumb I really am, I will tell you. I started this blog thing and got it up and running the other day. I have not been able to post again because I couldn't find the stupid thing! Alas, I bookmarked it and so here I am. Blogging part 2.

Now, I have to bragg about my nifty little gadget baragin from yesterday. Buzzed into Kohl's to take something back and of course couldn't resist the clearance section in the Housewares dept. I bought a little hand-held video camera (about the size of a point & shoot digital camera) regular price $89.99 for (get this!) $9.10 total!!! It's so stinkin' cute! It has a USB thingy to plug right into my puter so that's a HUGE plus. I am soooo sick of cords and plugs and wires and whatnots for gadgets. Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to play around with. I guess I can make little videos then upload them to Utube or wherever. Actually I am spotting a little icon here on my blog thingy so I guess i can do it here too. Neat!

I'm trying to figure out what to do with this thing. Use it for my rantings? Use it for posting pics and photog stuff? Or recipes? I have seen lots of bloggers do step by step recipes. Craft projects? Sigh. I dunno. I'm sort of a Jacqu of all trades (THAT would have been a neat name for my blog!) master of none. I think for now it will be a mish-mash of all. What do you want to see?

Virgin Voyage

Okay.........here I am. Blogging. First time. Don't know what to write about. I just decided to have a blog because lots of the sites I visit have contests and you have to have a blog to enter. Also, I do like to ramble on and Facebook only gives you, what, a paragraph? My stories often go much further than that, so I need more space.

I titled it after a gift my two BFF's bought me that read "Good morning....Let the stress begin!" and that pretty much sums up my life. Lots o' drama. Opening a can of dog food can be very dramatical (is that a word?) in my house. I actually thought "The Cussing Christian" as that really sums me up well, but thought better of it. I mean, what if Brother Bill reads it!? But I still like it :)

Looks like I have to add pictures and other stuff. Design it. Publish it. Whatever. I'm trying to be very internet savvy here and feeling like a country bumpkin at a black tie art show in New York. All these fancy schmancy, witty, cool, whippersnapper bloggers out there making me look stupid. Ugh.