The Search for Pomegranate Jelly

I love this stuff... and I can't remember when or where I first tasted it, but it was a long ordeal to find it... OK, not an ordeal, just a long time and a waste of a lot of sugar and juice...

First, I tried buying some made by Cactus Candy Company. My mistake was not reading the label to see that water was the primary ingredient. It was like eating red sugar, no taste at all.

The I decided to make some, how hard could it be? I used to make grape jelly, back in the dark ages. The first recipe I found claimed it won a blue ribbon at the Texas State Fair. Wow! I was impressed! So I made some. Cooked it, jarred it up, tasted it... yikes, it was so sweet I thought bees were going to congregate around it. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet, but I love flavor, too. I should have known better, Texans are big on sugar. Luckily it didn't make a lot of jelly.

Then I tried using less sugar, like some commenters on that recipe claimed they did. It didn't set up, it was like syrup. Then I tried a recipe made with Splenda. It didn't set up either, in spite of me using twice as much pectin. It was too thick for syrup, but not anything like jelly.

On the verge of giving up, I saw Pom Wonderful juice on sale at Costco. A new recipe search ensued, and..... VOILA! We have jelly! Jelly that is sweet, but still with the bite of pomegranate flavor. And it makes SIX JARS! I'll have jelly for a long time.

So, you need six 8-ounce jelly jars (or 12 4-ounce, or 3 16-ounce.... you get my drift)

You need a large pot to cook it in, at least 4 quarts.

You may choose to process the jars in a hot water bath for safety, and you'd need a big giant pot to do that in. More on that later.

Be sure you get the PINK BOX of Sure Jell.  It's for low or no sugar recipes.  If you get the regular stuff, it may not set up.

Pomegranate Jelly

Makes six 8-ounce jars.

32 ounces (4 cups) pomegranate juice
1 box Sure Jell for Low Sugar recipes
3 cups sugar, divided


Mix the Sure Jell with ¼ cup sugar, and add to pomegranate juice in a large pan. (4 quart or larger). Stir until dissolved and bring to a boil.

Stir in remaining 2 ¾ cups sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve.

When mixture reaches a *full, rolling boil, boil for one full minute, then remove from heat.

**Skim off the foam.Ladle in clean, sterile jars and seal with lids and rings.

***Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

NOTES:

* A full, rolling boil is one that doesn't stop bubbling when you stir it.  When mine started to boil, I stirred it some more to make sure, then set the timer, and let it boil for the full minute... then turned off the timer and the burner, then took it off the heat, so it probably boiled for 90 seconds.  Better too long than not long enough.

** I find it easier to skim off the foam after it's in the jar.  Use an iced tea spoon and rinse it with hot water in between jars.  It's easier than chasing the foam all over the pan.

Wipe the edges of the jar with a wet paper towel before you put the lid on.

*** Back in the dark ages when I learned to make jelly, we never processed it, it was just sealed with paraffin and that was good.  But, food experts recommend processing it for safety, so I supposed you should.   I have a huge canning pot with a rack to hold the jars.  You can put the jars on a cotton towel in a regular pot, just make sure there's an inch of water above the tops of the jars.   If you don't have a big giant canning pot, use shorter jelly jars in a stock pot.   You're supposed to leave the jars in simmering water for 5 minutes.

Remove from the hot water (use jar tongs!) and let them sit on a towel until room temperature.  Try not to disturb them for 24 hours, and they should be nice and set up (if you tilt the jar the jelly shouldn't move),

The lids will pop when the jar is sealed.  If a jar doesn't seal, keep it in the fridge.

If you have hard water, you should wipe the jars down with a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.

Easy Garlic Chicken

This is so good and so easy. No pictures, maybe next time I make it.


Easy Garlic Chicken

2-4 skinless, boneless chicken pieces
1/4 cup olive oil 
4 teaspoons crushed or minced garlic (2 cloves)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs*
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese**


1. Heat oven to 350F

2. Warm the olive oil and garlic to blend the flavors. The longer it sits, the more garlicky it will be.

3. Combine bread crumbs and cheese.

4. Dip chicken in oil mixture, then dredge in the crumb & cheese mixture.

5. Bake in shallow baking dish (8 x 8 for two pieces,11 x 7 is good for 4) until juices run clear when you stab it with a fork. (About 20 minutes for thighs, 25-30 minutes for breasts)


NOTES:

*It takes one slice of bread to make the crumbs. (I whirl it in a mini-chopper) If you don't dry it out, it makes a mess. (Drying the bread first is easiest, but you can also dry out the crumbs).   Normally I use old bread and make a bunch of crumbs, and keep them in a ziplock bag in fridge.  They last a looooooong time if they're dry.

**You have to use the dry cheese out of a can, not freshly grated cheese.

You can spread the rest of the crumb & cheese mixture over the top of the chicken before baking.

I'm too lazy to peel and crush garlic cloves, I get minced or crushed garlic in a jar.

Don't be put off by how much oil this calls for, most of it doesn't even make it onto the chicken.   And a lot of it stays behind in the baking pan.  You need enough in the dish to coat the chicken piece.  Hold the chicken piece up and let most of it drain off before you stick it in the crumb mixture.  You could probably use half that amount and brush it on with a pastry brush. 

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This is calculated using half the amount of oil, since at least half shouldn't make it onto your plate.  This is per piece! Chicken pieces vary in size, so I don't know how they calculate it...average size? A normal serving is 4 ounces, uncooked.

Pumpkin Raisin or Cranberry Muffins

Yep, it's the green dishtowel again.   I need to get a blue one, or maybe an orange one.

These things were GOOD! I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but cake, cookies, and now muffins make my list.  Forget pumpkin spice latte and eat one or three of these.  With butter.

A lot of pumpkin recipes seem to be scaled to a size where you can use the whole can of pumpkin... but really, just put the rest into a container in the fridge,and make something else later in the week.

Be sure you're using the 100% pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie mix.

Pumpkin Raisin or Cranberry Muffins

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup raisins or sweetened, dried cranberries

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

coarse sugar

OK, there's no picture of the salt.  I buy Real Salt brand in a big bag, pour some into a shaker, and some into one of those Tupperware spice containers you see there, and then stick the bag in the closet.  It's shy, it won't come out for pictures.   That's oil in that shot glass, I don't drink... at least not at breakfast.

Heat oven to 400 F.  (375 if using a dark or non-stick pan) Grease a  6-well muffin pan, or use paper liners.  I like using the homemade pan coating for muffins, they slide right out.  I know it looks disgusting, but it works.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices.  Mix well.

Mix it with a wire whisk and it smooths out any clumps and keeps it fluffy.

Doesn't look like much when it's mixed, it's just sort of beige.












 

Add raisins or cranberries, stirring to coat with flour.

No food was harmed while the bowl was sitting on the floor for this picture...

 Add pumpkin, oil, and egg, and mix thoroughly.

Divide batter evenly among the wells, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

(Wow, I thought I had picture to put here... eh, too late)

Bake 20 - 25 minutes, test with a toothpick.  Serve warm.  Makes 6.   Could be doubled for 12.

HINT:  Stir the raisins into the dry ingredients before adding the wet stuff.   This helps to keep the raisins from clumping together, and from sinking to the bottom.

I used this on top, but you can use regular sugar, or leave it off.








This is the first recipe that I've tried the pan coating substitute on... I was able to pick up the muffin by the top and slide it right out of the pan, it was great.

Of course, they're better with butter!

The cranberry ones look just like the raisin ones... if you look at the sides of the muffins in these pictures, you can see (ok, you might see), the difference in baking them at 375 instead of 400 in a dark pan.  The sides are a golden brown, and not as chewy as the ones baked at 400.

It's a general baking rule to reduce the heat 25 degrees when using a glass pan, and since the advent of dark finish, non-stick pans, it's become the usual practice for those, too.

Muffins stick to non-stick pans. They also stick to paper cupcake liners. You have to oil them.  The non-stick pan is just easier to wash.


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Mom's Pancakes

Accept no substitute.  Not a pancake mix, not IHOP.   Nothing tastes right compared to these.

I must have asked my mom for the pancake recipe 15 times.  I did find the card she wrote out for me, entitled "Plain (but good) Pancakes"  with "Pancakes for Two" on the back side.   It's from an old Wesson Oil cookbook.

PLAIN BUT GOOD PANCAKES  

2 cups flour

6 Tablespoons baking powder

1/4 c. sugar – OPTIONAL (DON’T DO IT!)

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil 

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. 

Beat eggs, stir in milk and Wesson oil. Add to dry ingredients, beat to a smooth batter.

Drop by spoonfuls or (pour from pitcher) onto hot ungreased griddle. 

Bake until underside is golden brown and bubbles appear over surface; turn and bake other side.

Don't put sugar in them.   Syrup makes them plenty sweet, and sugar causes the outsides to brown faster, and then the middle doesn't get done.

I've made waffles from this batter, but it needs to have a little less milk.  Use 1/2 cup less.

You can sprinkle blueberries or bacon bits over the pancake, the raw side, while it's cooking.

Need less?  This recipe can be halved, my mom called it "Pancakes for Two."   

PANCAKES FOR TWO

1 cup flour

1 Tablespoons baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. 

Beat eggs, stir in milk and oil. Add to dry ingredients, beat to a smooth batter.

Drop by spoonfuls or (pour from pitcher) onto hot ungreased griddle. 

Bake until underside is golden brown and bubbles appear over surface; turn and bake other side.

If you have a two-cup liquid measuring cup (like a glass one), you can save yourself from washing a second bowl... measure the milk, add the egg and oil, and beat with a fork.

The oil is actually 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, which is 2 & 2/3, but you can eyeball it.   Use a tablespoon and fill it two and half times. Trust me, it'll work.

Reduce milk to 3/4 cup if you want waffles.

NOTE: Non-Fat milk is a bit thin, so your batter will be, too, so use 2% or whole.  If you don't have that, like I never do, use 1/4 cup half and half and 3/4 cup non-fat milk to make one cup that is almost like whole milk.

Buttercream Frosting - Back from Oblivion

C&H Sugar has a recipe for buttercream frosting on the box, and on their website.  DON'T BE FOOLED! It's not the original recipe that's been used millions of times over the last forty years. 

Apparently, the folks at C&H thought it was too difficult for us to cut a stick of butter into thirds, so they changed the recipe to use an entire stick, which is way too much.  It's greasier and just doesn't taste right.

Thanks to the internet, the original recipe lives on!  And I'll repeat it here just to be sure.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 lb. box (approx. 3 ¾ cups) Powdered Sugar

⅓  cup (⅔  stick)  butter, softened

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

In large bowl with electric mixer at low speed, combine sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until creamy. If needed, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

Frosts a 2-layer cake, a 13x9x2 sheet cake, or 24 cupcakes.

A few drops of food coloring brighten this up.   Sprinkles are good.   You can add cocoa powder to make chocolate, too.

This is so easy, there's no reason to use frosting from a can!

Mexican Rice, a Long Story

Easy Oven Mexican Rice

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)*
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup uncooked short or medium-grain white rice*
1 cup chicken broth*

2 Tablespoons tomato sauce*

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the rice into the casserole.  (I use a 1.5 quart Pyrex casserole with a lid)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent.   If the heat is too high, the garlic will burn and taste bitter.  Don't get in a hurry like I do and turn the heat up too much.

Stir in the chili powder and cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken broth and tomato paste, and bring to a boil.  Pour over the rice and stir.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

 

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 THE LONG STORY PART

So, I wanted some Mexican Rice to go with the chicken enchiladas.   I found a decent recipe, cooked in a skillet.

It was pretty good, but of course, it made a huge amount, so I tried a half recipe.   Thought it'd be better to use a smaller skillet.   It seemed to be going well until it came time to cover the rice for cooking.   The only skillet  I have with a lid is enormous, so I usually cover the medium-sized one with the lid from my soup pot.   It sits just inside and works as long as the recipe doesn't say a "tight-fitting lid", and it seems like all the lids now have those steam holes in them anyway...

But the lid hung over the edge of the smaller skillet, and I didn't think anything of it... well all the spicy, tomatoey steam condensed on the lid and ran to the edges and dripped out on the stovetop...

The next time I tried a recipe for oven-baked Mexican rice.  I was baking enchiladas anyway, so heating up the oven was no big deal.   It turned out even better!  And with some adjusting, I cut it down to two servings and used medium grain rice, which is more chewy and satisfying and tastes better, too.

When I first moved to Arizona, I couldn't find Silver Pearl rice anywhere.  My mom would bring some when she visited, and later I'd bring some home from California, once I stuffed 5 two-pound bags into my carry-on... But now it's available at Fry's, Hinode brand.    But the once red package of Silver Pearl is now a yellow package of Calrose.  But it's the same rice. 

This makes two GENEROUS servings.  It could be four servings if you were having some beans, too.  Or a salad, or a bunch of lettuce or something...

You will need a skillet and a covered casserole (or a baking dish and some aluminum foil.) 

An ovenproof skillet with a lid would work and save washing a dish...  but keep in mind that rice expands a lot when it cooks.  If the skillet isn't big enough it could get messy... 

*HINTS AND TIPS:

You can use more onion, garlic, or spices if you like.  Maybe throw in some chopped green chiles.  I wouldn't, but you could...

If you don't have chicken broth, use water and  1/2 teaspoon of salt.

I'm too clumsy to mince garlic... it's an invitation to cut my fingers.  So I buy it already minced.  Last time I bought it in a squeeze bottle, so I squeeze out a generous spoonful, probably closer to 2 teaspoons.

An 8 ounce can of tomato sauce has about 14 Tablespoons (it's 8 ounces by weight, not volume).  But.. you can freeze the rest!  Put 2 Tbls into each of six cavities in an ice cube tray and freeze.  Pop them out and store them in a freezer bag.   (I just pour the leftover sauce into the cavities to fill up 6 equally.  I realize not all ice cube trays are the same size, so you might want to measure, at least the first time.)

When using the frozen cubes,  It's best to thaw it out first, but if you forget, just pop the cube into the skillet with the broth, or pour the broth into a glass measuring cup, add the sauce cube, and microwave for a minute.

If you're making enchiladas, put this in the oven first.  It takes me about 10 minutes to assemble the enchiladas, so it works out great.   (They bake for 25 minutes, the rice for 35)

I could take some pictures, but honestly... it's just red rice.   Just eat it.

This is if you make two servings out of the recipe.  Like I said, if you're having beans or salad on the side, it'll make four servings.

Chicken Enchiladas

I always thought enchiladas would be hard to make.  They just look complicated... and messy.

And, I am always wary of recipes that don't give specific amounts.

But as I always say, if I can make this, anyone can!  I call these "Non-Scary Chicken Enchiladas"

I've tried to quantify the recipe as best as I can.  Next time I'll take pictures.

1 cup (about 5-6 ounces) shredded cooked chicken
4 tortillas (8 inch, "soft taco size") flour or corn
1 can (10 ounces) green enchilada sauce
8 ounces shredded cheese (a lot)
Chopped onions, optional
Small can of diced Hatch chiles, also optional.
Sour cream, also optional.
Vegetable oil


Heat your oven to 350 F. Oil up an 8 inch square cake pan.   Lining it with aluminum foil first makes it easier to get the enchiladas out of the pan.

Put the tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel.  Microwave 30 - 40 seconds until they are soft and pliable.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce into the cake pan.

 Take one tortilla and place about 1/4 cup chicken in the middle.  Spread it out in row.

Drizzle a spoonful of sauce on it, and top with a handful of some cheese.   The cheesier the better, in my opinion. But not so much that it'll spill out the ends. Throw in some diced chiles and onions if you like.

Roll up the tortilla, leaving the ends open.  Place it seam side down in the cake pan.

Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.  The should be nestled together in the pan.

Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas, and top with more shredded cheese.  The tortillas should be pretty well covered by the sauce and cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Top with sour cream, if that's you thing.   Green onions are good, too.

The spice level of this is directly related to the sauce you use.   And sometimes the sauce cans will fool you!  Check these out:

Looks the same when sitting on the shelf...

Fooled you!  There's a medium version, too, which I saw when digging through the cans on the shelf at the store.  Shoppers are such pigs.

Neither is devastatingly hot, but the mild allows you to enjoy the flavor without burning your tongue.

I serve this with Easy Oven Mexican Rice.

Actually, I don't serve it, I pull it out of the oven and say "Food's done!"

Crock Pot Peach Butter

When we lived in Montana, we used to buy apple butter from the Amish store down the road.  It was so good, and the commercially made stuff just doesn't taste as good.   I never thought about making it myself, but this is Peach Butter! Like apple butter, only better.

Four peaches, two tablespoons sugar, my favorite knife, a cutting board, and wait... what's my corn brush doing in there?  Well, it's soft, and perfect to scrub the peaches with.

I still hate recipes that say things like "4 peaches" because what size of peaches???  Tiny baby ones, or the one that kid James chases around...  So, I went to the Sewing Room of Doom and got the tape measure, and measured these babies around their fuzzy little equators.

They were between 8.5 and 9 inches around.  So, that's your average peach.

Cut the peaches vertically.

Pop out the pit, and use a small spoon to scrape out the icky stuff in the center.  Cut each half in four slices...

Then rotate it 90 degrees and cut four times again.  There's a jar lid in every picture...

Red is not a good color of cutting board to photograph a peach on.  I have a new white one, so better pictures next time.*

Do this for each peach.  Plop them all into the slow cooker, and sprinkle the sugar over the top.

My ancient (20+ years old) crock pot.

After four hours on low, remove the peaches (use a slotted spoon) and put them into a food processor or blender.

My ancient (1985) Lil' Oskar food processor.  I love that thing, and of course they're out of production so if I break it, I lose it.

Rev it up, be careful it's hot! (don't hold your hand over the vent hole in the lid)

Pour the peach puree back into the crock pot, and stir it up with the juices.   Cover, but prop the lid open with a wooden spoon to let the moisture escape.

This is the part that I can't measure or be specific.  The time it needs to cook now depends on how juicy the peaches were.  So, check it  and stir every 30 minutes until it's the consistency you like.   About 1-2 hours.

At this point you can add some vanilla extract if you like, about a teaspoon.  Or maybe two, taste it and see.

Pour into a jar, or other container with good lid.   This is a jelly jar, with my canning funnel in it... saves some mess.  But you don't need it.   Unless you're messy like me.

There's that jar lid again... bet you wondered why it was lying around.

The jars can be processed in hot water to keep in the cabinet, but I'm not crazy about doing that.  I just put one in the fridge and one in the freezer. 

This is so good on biscuits or English muffins.  Or toast.  Or anything.

* There, isn't this better?  I'll be sure to photograph chopping an onion or a potato on one of these...