Peach Jam

One thing I love about summer is that there are so many delicious fruits on sale! Seriously... $1/lb for peaches?? you betcha, I went and got 5lbs of peaches! 5lbs of fruit yielded 10 1/2pt jars of jam.  This has got to be the cheapest batch of jam I have made.

What you need:

• 4.5lbs of peaches; peeled & chopped
• 1/4cup lemon juice (bottled or fresh)
• 4.5cup sugar; divided
• 1 box Surejel No Sugar Needed Pectin
• 10 Sterilized jars and lids/bads

Directions:

1. Sterilize your jars.  I run mine through the dish washer and heat dry. Place the lids in a pot of hot water. 
2. Mush up your chopped peaches; you should have 6cups of mushed fruit when you are done.  
3. Mix in 1/4cup lemon juice making sure the fruit is well coated.  This will prevent the fruit from browning.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the pectin with 1/4cup of sugar.  This will prevent the pectin from clumping. 
5. Place the fruit mixture in a large pot.  Stir in the pectin mixture.
6. Cook over medium-high heat until it reaches a full/rolling boil (one that can not be stirred away)
7. Once the mixture has reached a full boil, mix in the remaining sugar.
8. Return the mixture to a full/rolling boil. 
9. Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving 1/4" of headspace.  Place the lid on top and tighten the band.
10. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 10minutes.
11. After the jars have been sterilized in the hot water bath, place them in a draft free area to cool for at least 24hrs. 

Today is my last day of funemploment.  After 6 long (but fun!) months, I am finally going back to work :) Hopefully I will still have time to craft, make jam, quilt, etc. 

Habanero Apricot Jam

Wow I kind of put this blog off :( but I'm back with a HOT new jam recipe! I got the Taste of Home Canning special issue magazine a few months ago and this recipe really caught my attention. It's not like any of the traditional jams I have made so far. So I finally tried it out. I obviously did not taste test this jam bc I can't handle spicy, but it got my husband's and one of my best friend's stamp of approval!

The recipe can be found online here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Habanero-Apricot-Jam
The recipe says it yields 11 half-pint jars, but I only ended up with 9.  Im not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I ALWAYS end up with 2 fewer jars than the recipe says it will yield!

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 pounds fresh apricots
• 6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
• 2 to 4 habanero peppers, seeded
• 1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered no sugar needed fruit pectin 
• 4 cups sugar

Directions

• Pit and chop apricots; place in a Dutch oven. Stir in lemon juice. Place habaneros in a blender; add a small amount of apricot mixture. Cover and process until smooth. Return to the pan.
• Stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
• For best results, let processed jam stand at room temperature for 2 weeks to set up. Yield: 11 half-pints. 

I normally use these awesome Italian canning jars but I ran out of the half-pint size and got these Kerr jars instead. I like the shape but hate the lid style (lid/band style). These are much cheaper though, so I'll stick with these for half-pint jars since its the smallest Kerr makes.

Here is the finished product!! Notice my new jars...

Pie Pops

Happy Father's Day! This year I made Pie Pops for my favorite 'Pops' :) hehehe

they're pretty easy to make, unless you make your own pie crust instead of going the store bought route i went... but I used homemade jam filling to make up for it!

Blueberry Cookie Tartlettes

So last week I went a little crazy with the blueberries on sale. I got WAY TOO MANY!! I made blueberry scones and blueberry jam last week but I still had about 4 pounds left. I had to come up with something to make before they went bad!

I popped into Williams Sonoma yesterday and saw a tartlette pan set and thought it would be a neat thing to try out. I could use it to make stuff for tea parties, appetizers for a dinner party or for little treats.

Making tart shell dough is pretty labor intensive so instead I used cut-out cookie dough :) this won't work for savory tartlettes but perfect for sweet ones like the blueberry ones I made.

What you need:
- 1 recipe for cut-out cookie dough
- 1 recipe for pastry filling (I used a cream cheese pastry cream)
- fresh fruit (blueberries here)

Roll out your cookie dough and cut out the tart shape. Place the cut dough on the tart pan and press it into the pan using the mold. Bake according to cookie recipe instructions.

To make the filling: mix 8oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and 1tsp of vanilla. Pipe into the tart shells and top with fresh fruit.

And there you have it! Simple and beautiful little fruit tarts. These would be perfect for a tea party :) or just about any party.

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Scones

Blueberries were on sale at Sprouts this week so I kind of went blueberry crazy. I walked away with 6.5lbs of blueberries.... Heh. I made blueberry jam on Wednesday so for tasty treat Thursday I decided to make blueberry scones. Mmm scones and jam... So here is the recipe. I'll do a jam post sometime next week. I still have about 2lbs of berries left so i need to figure out what to make next and fast!

Enjoy the recipe! These were a huge hit at Paul's office! A very simple, delicious scone. It wasn't too dry and not too sweete, just a perfect scone.

I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lemon, zest finely grated

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.
Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.
Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' until dissolved in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Stamped Cards

It's no secret that I love making cards :) most of the cards I make using die cuts and stamps but I thought it would be fun to try making some with just stamps!

I went to sprinkles cupcakes this afternoon and discovered this awesome paper crafting store next door. They had tons of different papers, stamps and crafting supplies. I was super inspired by some card samples they had on display. They overlapped stamps in different colors and heat embossed the image, super cute!!

So here is what I made :) so simple and so elegant. The heat embossing really makes everything pop. Loving it!

Homemade Triple Berry Jam

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

This year, Paul and I decided to do homemade gifts for Mother's Day.  I made Triple Berry Jam and he made Whole Wheat Bread to go with it.  Lots of time/energy/love went into the gifts, so I hope they will love it! I made the jam last weekend, just because it takes a lot of time to make and if it completely failed then I would have time to get a new gift :)

I have never made jam before but it was a lot easier than it seemed!  I got my canning tools and jars from my mom's work, but you can also order them online and it is a seasonal item at Walmart.  I found this super awesome website that walked me through how to make jam step by step: http://www.pickyourown.org/jam.htm

What You Will Need!

Ingredients
Fruit - Strawberries (6 cups), Raspberries (1.5 cup), Blackberries (1.5 cup)
(1) Box, No Sugar Needed Pectin - available at grocery stores
(4) Cups, White Sugar

Equipment 
(6) 8oz Ball Jars/lids
(1) HUGE pot to sanitize the jars after filling
Canning Kit: Jar funnel, Jar grabber (to pick up hot jars out of the boiling water), Lid grabber (not necessary)

Directions
Before you start making the jam, wash the jars in the dishwasher with heat dry to sanitize the jars! 

Wash your berries

Mush raspberries, 1 cup mushed.  I didnt mush mine too much, just enough to release the juices.  I like chunky jams! 

Mush blackberries, 1 cup mushed.  

Mush strawberries, 4 cup mushed.  

In a small bowl, combine the pectin and 1/4cup of sugar (this will prevent the pectin from clumping)

Put all of the mushed berries and pectin into a large pot, stir.  Bring to a HARD/ROLLING boil, and add the rest of sugar.  Return the mixture to a HARD/ROLLING boil and boil for 1 minute.  

While you are boiling the berry mixture, heat the lids in hot water to sanitize and gum up

Test the consistency of your jam.  Take a small spoonful of jam and place it in a cup of ice cold water.  Wait about 1 minute and take the spoon out.  Use your finger to test the consistency, if it is too runny, add more pectin. If the consistency is just where you want it, remove the berry mixture from heat and skim off the foam on the top.

Funnel the jam into the jars and tighten the lid.  Put the jars into a HUGE pot (or a Canner if you have one) of boiling water, making sure the water level is well above the top of the jars, and boil for 10min. Remove the jars from the pot and place on the counter overnight to cool.  

From the website: "Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok."

I made cute labels for my jam jars :) I cut a square piece of fabric and tied it to the top of the jar with some ribbon.  Then I stuck the label on the top of the lid using a glue dot.  

Beautiful homemade jam!! and DELICIOUS TOO.  it was the best jam I have ever tasted.  Just the right amount of sweet/chunky a jam should have. I really home my/paul's mom will love our gifts :) 

If you have never tried making your own jam before, let me tell you... ITS EASY! really, you are just cooking fruit and boiling jars... no complicated cooking techniques/skills required.  nothing like making french macaroons :P there are so many fresh berries now and with summer coming up there will be even more fresh/juicy fruits to make jam out of! My next 2 jams I am going to try are Pineapple Jam and Peach Jam :) 

Here is the honey whole wheat bread that paul made

So here is the finished gift! I wrapped the bread in parchment paper and tied it off with some rafia.  I arranged the card, bread and jam in a cute little basket I got at Michaels.  

A basket filled with homemade goodies for our Mom's for Mother's Day! 

S'mores Brownies

This Thursday's Treat is the S'mores Brownie :)

I havent made brownies in a loong time.  So when I was at the store to get some brownie fixings, I found these...

They are marshmallow SQUARES! The perfect snacking size, like a cracker! Well the back of the packaging had a recipe for S'mores Brownies which I've never heard of or made before so here it goes!

What you will need!
(1) Package Kraft Jet-Puffed StackerMallows
(1) Box of your favorite brownie mix (I used Ghiradelli - yes I make box brownies I'm not ashamed)
+ Whatever ingredients you need for the brownie mix

Directions
Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box
Make the Brownie Mix as directed on the back of the box
Spread the mix onto a 9x13 pan
Bake for 20min (IGNORE whatever bake times it says on the box!)

Take the pan out of the oven, and cover the top with your StackerMallows.
Put the pan back into the oven for an additional 10min.

The marshmallows will puff up!

Remove the pan from the oven when the marshmallows are puffy and the tops are golden brown.

Let the pan cool completely, cut into pieces.  Before you eat one (or 5...) put it back in the microwave for a few seconds so they are warm and gooey!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM.  Enjoy the semi-homemade, easy peasy, done in 30min recipe!

Cupcake gift box

I forgot to sign up for my work out class and I ended up on the waitlist! Boo. So instead I did some crafting :)

I bought the Cricut "Sweet Tooth Boxes" project cartridge a few months ago on eBay for a steal! I just couldn't pass it up. Most cartridges have 2D diecuts. This particular one makes 3D boxes! This one has all kinds of boxes for treats like candy and cupcakes.

So today I made a cupcake treat box. This is cut at 10.5". I added some paper trimming to the sides, a stamp on the inside lid, and white ribbon to tie it shut.

I have some visitors coming in a few weeks and one is particularly fond of Sprinkles cupcakes :) I think I'll use this box to give them a cupcake when they get here.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Bacon Cookies

I have decided that every thursday, I am going to try a recipe for some kind of cookie/cupcake/candy/brownie/etc.  Something that I have never made before.  and then make Paul take them to the office :) Yes, I'm going to be "that" wife..

So to kick off my new TUBBY THURSDAYS series, I made DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BACON COOKIES.  yes.  chocolate + bacon.  Men love Bacon, Women love Chocolate, so a chocolate bacon cookie is a double win right?? I was super skeptical about how these would taste... but the reviews of the recipe online were pretty good so why not? So here we go...

The recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chocolate-chip-bacon-cookies/

What You Will Need!

6 slices maple-cured bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (not the same as chocolate chips!)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble.

Beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy and smooth. 

Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the chocolate chips and bacon. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

** So I did just what the recipe said, dropped cookie dough by rounded spoonfuls... and the cookies came out like THAT! ew.  little round mounds! the dough did NOT spread out while in the oven.  So after I placed my dough on the cookie sheet, I pressed them flat slightly **

Press your dough slightly flat and Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

TAH DAH!! beautiful looking cookies!

the cookie itself was PERFECT.  Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.  Perfect blend of bacon and chocolate.  this cookie is a MUST TRY especially if you or your loved one loooves bacon :) 

You're my favorite peep

I love snail mail, who doesn't!! it really makes my day when I get a card from a friend in the mail stuck between a pile of bills :P

I made these super cute simple cards that say "you're my favorite peep" on them. It's an easy and cute way to send a friend a quick note to say hi or I miss you or I'm thinking about you!

I hope this inspires you to write a letter to a friend :)

Reese's Cupcakes

I made these for my husbands office. They are by far the BEST cupcakes I have ever had!! I always give away my treats and only keep 1 or 2 for myself, and I'm SO sad I didn't keep more of these :(

The cakes were chocolately/moist/chewy, the perfect cake. The peanut butter buttercream was amazing, went perfectly with the cupcake.

I found the recipe here: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/peanut-butter-cup-cupcakes/
Pretty easy to follow recipe. I would maybe half the frosting recipe. I ended up with a ton of leftover frosting. Will definitely make these again!!

Birthday Card

I kind of abandoned this blog for a while. I blame wedding stress and the honeymoon!!

I made a quick card earlier this week for my baby brother's 18th birthday. They grow up so fast *tear*

Its a 4x5.5 card. I used the Create a Critter cartridge for the frog and lily pad. I also used my cuttlebug embosser to add some texture to the background. And finally, used a stamp from my pink stamper's "That's punnylicious" stamp set (THANK YOU KAREN!!)

Psychedelic Birthday Cake (in disguise!)

One of my good friend's/co-worker's birthday is tomorrow, so I made her a birthday cake :) She requested a "rainbow" cake like the one I made for my birthday back in October.  I made the cake, expecting it to look like the one i made before... but it turned out looking more psychedelic than rainbow like! For the design, I decided it would be really cool to make it look like a simple/elegant birthday cake on the outside, and totally outrageous/fun on the inside.  Since her favorite color is purple, I decided to make it look like a birthday gift wrapped in purple wrapping paper, with a white bow.

Things you will need

• (2) Boxes of white cake mix ~there is NOTHING wrong with using cake mix :) 
• (2) cans of white frosting ~ I used white because I wanted to color the frosting later, but you could use any color/flavor you want
• (6) cups ~ i use disposable cups because it gets messy and its less dishes to clean!
• (6) plastic knives ~ disposable is best because its lightweight 
• (2) baking pans ~ for this I used 8" squares but you will see later rainbow cake works better with round pans! 
• (6) Food Color Gels ~ Gel works way better than liquid but I think liquid will work too
• Purple
• Blue
• Green
• Yellow
• Orange
• Red/Pink

1. Make the cake batter according to the directions on the box (make 1 box at a time!).  Pour the batter into the cups.  Divide 1 box worth of batter into 3 plastic cups, making 2 boxes will give you 6 plastic cups of batter.  

2. Dip your plastic knife into the food coloring gel until the knife is coated, this should be a good enough amount of coloring.  Stick the knife into the cup of batter, and stir until the color is uniform throughout the batter.  

Knife with food coloring gel on it, ready to mix the batter

3. Repeat step 2 for the remaining 5 colors

6 cups of batter in different colors

4. Pour a small puddle of batter into the center of the pan, one color at a time, on top of each other in order (purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink) until your pan is about half full.

5. Fill pan #2 the same way

Pans filled with batter!

6. Let the pan sit on the counter for at least 10min before you put it in the oven.  This lets the colors seep into each other.  Gently drop the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubble in the batter.

7. Bake according to the directions on the box.

8. After baking, cool the cakes completely

9. Gently remove the cakes from the pans by inverting them.  Level each cake (I dont have a fancy cake leveler, so i just eyeballed it.  Probably took off more cake than needed though...)

10. Squeeze frosting on top of the bottom layer, and place the top layer on top of the bottom one. Frost around the entire cake.

And there you have a beautiful rainbow cake! I decorated my cake with purple frosting.  I made a bow out of marshmallow fondant (i will save the how-to for another post). So Cute!!

Finished Cake!

So here you can see why its more of a "psychedelic" cake than a rainbow cake... it just doesnt work as well with square baking pans! it looks much more rainbow like in round pans.  Still looked great and tasted great though!!

 Happy Birthday, Erika!!