Fruit Leather

Fruit Leather - healthy, with no preservatives

Fresh fruit (apricots, peaches, berries, apples, pears,)

Water

Lemon juice or pineapple juice

(3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice or 1/4 C Pineapple Juice)

Wash the fruit. If you working with stone fruit take out the pits, chop the fruit. If working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. Place the fruit in a blender or a food processor with the lemon juice or pineapple juice and puree. (Feel free to mix fruit – like peach/pear, raspberry/pear….etc) Note: when working with berries like strawberries and raspberries – strain the puree through a couple of layers of cheesecloth to remove some of the seeds.

Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet you will not need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar, honey or agave (another option is to use jam to sweeten).

The purée should be very smooth.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with sturdy plastic wrap (the kind that is microwave safe). Pour out the purée into the lined baking sheet to about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.

Place the baking sheet in the oven; try to keep any plastic wrap from touch the sides of the oven or the oven racks. Also try to make sure that the plastic wrap hasn't folded back over on top of the purée. If this happens, the purée won't dry out. Heat the oven to a low 140°F. If you have a convection setting, use it, it will speed up the process and help dry out the purée. Let dry in the oven like this for as long as it takes for the purée to dry out and form fruit leather. We usually keep it in the oven overnight, so about 8-12 hours. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky, but has a smooth surface.

­ If you have a food dehydrator, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Some suggestions are to put the tray in a Barbeque grill, and leaving covered, in the sun all day. My Mom used to make it the traditional way of tenting the tray with a screen and leave it outside in the sun on a hot day.

When the fruit leather is ready, you can peel it up from the plastic wrap. To store it, roll it in its plastic wrap, put it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or freezer. My Mom used to cut them into 1” strips – the precursor to Fruit by the foot®

Yield: 3-4 cups of fruit yield about one baking sheet of fruit leather.

Have fun cookin'

Cyndi

Taco Soup

A few months ago - our Church group was learning about service and being prepared at a moments notice to be able to take in a meal to someone in need. We learned about Pantry Meals - these are easy meals that you can prepare with the food you already have in your pantry. I grew up calling them Food Storage meals - this was usually the food in the basement that was for emergencies only. Now that I am older and know, that food should really be rotated to prevent spoilage, it's good to have a few recipes to fall back on, and to use some of those darn beans.

This is another of my family's favorite soups - it also super quick and you can cook it in a Dutch oven or toss it in to a Crock Pot and let it simmer all day. 

Taco Soup

1 large can chili - or 2 regular size ones

1 can corn

1 can kidney beans

1 can pinto beans

1 small can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes (or a pint if you can your own)

1 Tbs dehydrated onions

1 package taco seasoning

Water as needed 

1 lb ground beef, browned

Tortilla chips

Shredded cheese (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Combine all ingredients - except the chips, cheese & sour cream in a Dutch Oven or Crock Pot.

Bring to a boil then simmer till desired flavor is reached. 

Serve with tortilla chips (add shredded cheese & sour cream if desired).

As I was preparing this today to take to a friend of mine - I thought of doubling it for their family and mine - I was looking at serving about 12 people with this - I decided to make 1 batch 1st and see how much it made then go from there - I promise you 1 batch is plenty - It filled my 6 quart oval Crock pot. If using a Dutch Oven this recipe would fill a 12" oven.  

This recipe calls for canned beans - I usually have the dried ones on hand - 1 cup of dried beans soaked in 3  cups hot water overnight will substitute nicely, just drain and rinse with cool water, before adding to your soup.  

Have fun cookin'

Cyndi

Spinach-Stuffed Chicken

This morning as I was lounging in bed, thumbing through the channels on TV and came across this program called Home Made Simple. I have seen this online before, but have never watched the program, so I thought lets see what they are all about - it was more or less a home improvement DIY type show with short cooking segments, and this was one of the recipes the featured. It really struck me and sounded so good and something different, so as I was out shopping today I made sure I had the necessary ingredients and whipped this up for dinner, and it really wowed me so I thought I'd share it with ya'll - sorry no pictures but you can check out their web site for their pics.Home Made Simple Of course I had to put my own spin on things and I added a teaspoon of dried minced garlic and seasoned the top with sea salt and some more minced garlic, and I didn't make the sauce because last year I bottled tomatoes with garlic, basil and onion, I also served mine with tortellini. All topped in Parmesan cheese, with a side of garlic bread.  

Give it a try, it is fairly inexpensive yet elegant meal. This one might even make a debut in an Dutch Oven soon.

Have fun cookin'.
Cyndi

Spinach-Stuffed Chicken

1 package (10 ounces) frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 
1/3 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese, softened 
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese 
4 thin, skinless chicken cutlets 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
Salt and black pepper, to taste 

Tomato Basil Sauce 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 white onion, minced 
4 cloves garlic, minced 
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes 
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped 
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 
Zest of half a lemon 

INSTRUCTIONS 
1. Heat broiler. In a small mixing bowl, combine spinach, ricotta and Parmesan. Mix well and set aside. 
2. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Evenly spread 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard on one side of cutlets, then top the middle of each with 1 tablespoon spinach mixture. Starting from the short end, roll the chicken tightly and arrange seam-side down on a baking sheet. 
3. Broil chicken until crust browns and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F, about 12-15 minutes. 
4. While the chicken’s cooking, make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add garlic, sauté for another minute, then fold in tomatoes, basil and parsley. Simmer until hot, about 2-3 minutes. Add lemon zest, salt and pepper. 
5. Spoon tomato sauce over chicken, then garnish with chopped basil and grated Parmesan. Serve with pasta—try spaghetti or penne. 

Christmas Pepper Jelly

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped jalapeno pepper

5 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin

Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the bell and jalapeno peppers. Mince peppers in a food processor. In a 5-quart pot over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Stirring constantly, add the pectin and let mixture cool for 2 minutes more. Now stir for 1 minute. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with sterilized lids. Secure lids with bands and turn jars upside down , and allow jars to cool slowly, creating a vacuum seal.

This recipe is great over cream cheese served with crackers, it is also great on chicken.

Christmas Pepper Jelly