Orange Rhubarb Jam

Those of you that have Rhubarb growing in your yard or garden know the crazy amount of Rhubarb you can get! I have ONE plant and I am pretty sure it is going to take over my front yard.

What do do with all of this fresh Rhubarb?? I made some Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, but that is soooo expected. I found a recipe for Orange Rhubarb jam in the Ball Blue Book for Canning.

Let me tell you something, this jam is amazing. I. HATE. JAM. Seriously. But this stuff is like an orange SweetTart. Mmmmmmm...

The amount of rhubarb you choose to use is up to you. I will post the exact recipe, and you can go from there.

First you juice your oranges. You want to make sure you don't get any seeds in your juice (I know, duh!). It doesn't hurt to allow some of the orange pulp in. That just makes your jam more texture-y! Take some orange peel and scrape off the nasty white pith and slice it up nice and thin and throw that in, too!

Wash and dice your rhubarb. Do NOT use the leaves unless you want to make deadly jam.

Put this in your pot, bring it to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes with the lid on. This allows the rhubarb to soften a bit.

 

 



Next you will add the pectin and the sugar. I did not put a picture of the sugar because I didn't want to freak anyone out due to the HUGE amount of sugar I used in this batch. (about 7 pounds)

 

Put the sugar in and stir until dissolved.





 

 

See how much fuller the pot is after I added the sugar!!?! Once the sugar is dissolved, bring your mixture to a hard boil for 1 minute, making sure to stir constantly. Remove from heat, and ladle into hot jars. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

 

Let me say again that this stuff is super good.

 



 

 

 





Italian Beef Pasta

Those of you that live near Chicago know what I am talking about when I say that Italian beef is probably the best thing ever. Down here in Kentucky, you can't find Italian beef ANYWHERE!! So I generally make my own or stock up when I visit Illinois.

Last time I drove up to Illinois I got 5 pounds of beef from Portillos and all of the fixings. The bread doesn't last forever (sadly) and there is no near substitute for the bread down here. So when I have 3 pounds of beef in my freezer, I need to do something about it.

*Usually* I make my own beef for this recipe, which is step one. It takes several hours for good home made Italian beef. I cheated this time and used the beef from Portillo's. I will post the whole recipe in the wrap-up.

You will need pasta of your choice for this recipe. I made ziti and gluten free linguine in separate pots. The noodles can be made ahead of time or during the cooking process. 

So, at this point I have noodles and beef. I like to saute some green peppers and onions in a pan until they are just starting to sweat. If you like green peppers and onions, slice them into strips, throw them in a HOT pan with about a tablespoon of HOT olive oil, and salt and pepper them. Once they are cooked to your liking, remove them from the pan and set aside for a delightful pasta topper.

So now you want to make the sauce. The sauce is delicious and cheesy. I like to make it in the same pan I used for the peppers and onions. This gives it a little more flavor. You start off your sauce by making a roux. This is equal parts butter and flour. (I use gluten free flour. You can use corn starch, just half the amount of corn starch.) Allow the butter to melt, throw in the flour, and whisk!! Don't let the roux get brown, that will make your cheese sauce look very unappetizing.

The next part is my favorite. Here is where cooking gets fun. Physics and chemistry come into play...but I am a huge geek and appreciate things like that. Once your roux is made, it will be like a thick goo. You will need to add milk to the roux, which will make for a lumpy mess. Don't worry, just keep whisking! The lumps will disappear as the milk warms up and you will have a velvety base for your cheese sauce.

Here is where I like to add the spices, but it is up to you. If you have never made a cheese sauce before, add the seasoning at the end. I crushed in a clove of garlic, added salt, pepper, and a tiny dash of nutmeg. Then I added cheese. I like to use Asiago, Parmesan, Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Provolone. You can add whatever you like, but a white Italian cheese would work the best for this dish. **Keep in mind, if you are going to use the preshredded stuff, you will need to add much more salt to your sauce. Those cheeses are not that flavorful. Stir in the cheese, throw in some fresh parsley, and your sauce will be done! JUST KEEP WHISKING and you will be in good shape. Also, don't let your stove get too hot. I would say a medium heat is ok as long as you keep an eye on it. If you are not sure, go low and slow. I have no actual recipe for this, just follow the gyst and you will get it!

 

So at this point my pasta and sauce would be all ready, so I can just add the beef and be done. Notice I keep everything separate. This is for my gluten free-ers. You can throw the pasta back in the sauce if you want, you don't have to be as OCD as me!

If you are using beef from the deli, or if you are lucky enough to have beef from Portillo's, now would be the time to warm it up. Follow the directions for the beef you are using, or if you are using deli meat, get the rarest beef you can, slice it super thin, and warm it for 30 seconds in a pot of warm beef stock.

Now you can plate this delicious dinner! We usually do the pasta on the bottom, ladle on some sauce, add the beef (with some juice, yum!) and top with the peppers and onions.

If you want to make your own Italian beef, here is my best recipe. I don't really ever measure stuff when it comes to the crock pot, so sorry!

3-5 pound beef roast of your choice (the better the beef and/or cut, the better your finished product will be)
Large onion
3 cloves garlic
Large green pepper
Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Beef Stock
Red Wine
Worcestershire Sauce
2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper the beef. Put this in the crock pot. Add your beef stock. (I usually use whatever I have in the freezer. I save the juices and freeze for another use) Shake in some Worchestershire sauce, pour in some red wine, and top with the veggies and spices. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred the beef, and use this to top your pasta.

My test dummies

Here are the poor saps that have to try the food I make...

Cooper will pretty much eat anything I make.

Logan is my harshest critic. The dork. He gave the idea for the name of this blog. He suggested "Food That Makes Your Butt Get Big". My friend Cheryl modified it.

And Kyle, he has to eat what I make. Or else he has cereal.

Picky Chicken Satay

I love Asian food. LOVE it. However, I have become extremely allergic to seafood of any kind. Last time I attempted a dish that included soy sauce I had to chew some Benadryl as a last ditch attempt before the EpiPen. (The soy sauce had fish sauce in it...who knew?!)

Logan and Kyle cannot have anything with wheat in it, and a ton of sauces have wheat in their bases. So pretty much everything has to be made from scratch and labels read very carefully.

I made "chicken satay" last night. I wanted to make peanut chicken but Logan can't eat peanuts. I made the peanut sauce on the side.

The satay recipe is my own. The peanut sauce recipe is adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe on Foodnetwork.com.

This was really good! I served it with Jasmine rice (Don't. Use. Instant Rice.) (Ever!) and green beans with garlic and red pepper.

First, make the satay sauce. I used a blender for mine, and it worked out just fine. My sauce uses lemon juice, soy sauce (gluten and fish byproduct free), onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, ginger, coriander, brown sugar, vegetable oil. You may want to add cumin and fish sauce, but I leave those out. Cumin grosses me out and fish sauce is bad news. Blend all the lovely ingredients together.

I like to use chicken breast to make this recipe. You can use thighs, too. I really have an aversion to the frozen chicken pieces that come in a bag, so I just cut two bone in breasts into "tenders".

See how nice those look! Pour your sauce over the chicken (it will look like barf, sorry) and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Once the chicken has soaked in all the goodness from the marinade, you are ready to cook! You can totally grill the chicken if you want. I am sure you could bake it. I like to get a pan smoking hot and saute the chicken. Then the sauce caramelizes a little bit and the chicken gets a little crunchy, but still stays nice and juicy on the inside. Like I said, not great at the photography, so don't laugh at the next picture...

Notice the chicken is "dry". I made the peanut sauce on the side, the recipe will be in the wrap-up. This way Logan can have chicken and I don't have to make a whole separate batch. Also, when Cooper comes begging for food I can serve him a few pieces without any worry of a possible allergic reaction.

Recipe wrap-up for chicken satay

Chicken breast or thigh cut into "tenders". Use as much as necessary for your family. The sauce recipe makes enough.
1/4 cup lemon juice (you can use lemongrass, it is NOT the same flavor, but it will add a little tang)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (at LEAST! I added 1 T)
1 T. ginger
2 T. ground coriander
3 T. dark soy sauce
5 T. brown sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
(you can use 4 T fish oil as well)

Blend marinade ingredients together, pour over chicken, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Cook chicken how you desire.

Recipe wrap-up for peanut sauce

Let me start off by saying that this sauce is NOT good by itself, but delicious on the chicken. The flavors are amazing together. I encourage you to try it. Also, don't make this in a blender if you don't haver to. It makes a huge mess. Use a food processor, the smaller the better.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence's Peanut Sauce Recipe on Foodnetwork.com

1 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 t. Sriracha

2 T. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. lime juice

1/2 c. hot water

Blend (use the food processor!) first five ingredients together, adding hot water as necessary for desired consistency.

Serve on the side or pour it over the chicken and rice! I would suggest adding some chopped peanuts for a little crunchy fun in the food.

Tomato Jam

I have a garden, but my tomatoes have been really erratic this year. It is probably from the crazy lack of rain that we had. They have been ripening in batches, so I have been canning them a few pints/quarts at a time.

**Sidebar... For those of you that have never had fresh tomatoes in the middle of the winter, I am sorry for you. Let me encourage you to learn how to can tomatoes! Those chilis and sauces you are bound to make during those cold winter months will be so much better.

This last bunch of tomatoes I got were the ugly ones. There were a few nice ones in the bunch, but most were half ripened or the skin was ugly. These uggos are perfect for making tomato jam. The jam cooks down to an ooey goodness that doesn't discriminate.

Tomato jam sounds gross. It isn't. You can make it however you like. I am not a fan of sweet spreads, so I went savory. The basic components are the same, feel free to experiment! The tomato jam I made would be excellent on crackers with a soft cheese; or as a "topper" for chicken; or on a crostini.

Here are the basic steps, remember, you can add/subract anything you'd like when it comes to the spices.

WASH and chop tomatoes. The smaller you chop, the less chunky your jam will be. I like texture, so I do a large dice. I also leave the skins and seeds because they also encourage texturey goodness.

Dice up some onions. I will give you the exact measurements in my recipe wrap-up. I would say to dice these pretty small. They don't cook down as well as the tomatoes.

Here comes the fun part. Add in the spices that you want. I like to use saffron, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, marjoram, and herbs de provence. Keep in mind that if you do not bloom the saffron first, you will get an overwhelming stink when your tomatoes first start cooking. Don't worry, it will go away...the mixing of the tomatoes and onions and herbs will even out. I like to use chipotle pepper flakes because the smokiness works really well with the saffron. I also like to use the herbs de provence that include lavender. This sweet, flowery flavor is just perfect.

Now you just throw all this stuff in a large saucepan, adding sugar, lemon juice and salt.

Bring this to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Allow it to boil hard for about a minute, then reduce to a simmer and let it cook down. How far you want the jam to cook is up to you. I would NOT add pectin to this jam. It will just make it less fresh tasting later on. I had about 5 pound of tomatoes and got less than 3 full pints of jam. Once the jam cooked down I put it in jars and processed them in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Now I can store them and enjoy them whenever. You do not have to can your jam, you can just refrigerate and enjoy!

Here is the recipe wrap-up for 1-1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes. The "substitutable" ingredients will be listed in italics.

1-1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes
1/2 small onion, diced
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. kosher salt
pinch of saffron threads
pinch of marjoram
pinch of herbs de provence
pinch of crushed red pepper
pinch of fresh black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, boil hard for about a minute. Reduce to simmer and cook down do desired consistency. Stir every once in a while.

Are you going to try this recipe? Let me know! Did you make any changes? Do you have any suggestions?

New to this...

So, I have never done a blog before. Let me start out by saying, "I'm sorry." I may be an excellent cook, but I am not a great photographer. So my pictures may make the food look like something you would rather throw out.

Let me give you a little background. I grew up in Illinois, in a suburb of Chicago. I really never cooked until my family moved into a house that had the best kitchen ever. That started my obsession. A few years later we moved to Kentucky where a whole new world of culinary magic was introduced to me.

I started cooking and canning and planning giant dinners for our church. I started cooking with venison (ew) and making pickles. Life changed for me...some people still can't believe the "pioneer woman" I have turned into.

In our house we have some serious allergy issues. My son and my husband both have Celiac disease, so this makes cooking a little difficult at times. I am also seriously allergic to seafood of any kind, but the boys love fish. I am not going to claim to be a gluten-free master. I will post recipes with gluten-free alternatives if I feel like it. Most of the time I make two dinners...

I love to cook. I love to share my food. I am hoping this is a way to do that. Please feel free to leave comments, try the recipes and let me know what you think!