Spicy Chunky Ketchup

I made this yesterday to use as BBQ Sauce, it was so good that I put it on a hot dog today instead of ketchup and decided to call it Spicy Chunky Ketchup because it was the best condiment I had ever eaten on a hot dog. It was sweet and spicy and oh so good.

You begin by making The Blue Ball Book of Canning recipe for ketchup which I tweaked for my own taste:

8 cups crushed and peeled tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup sweet peppers
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 stick cinnamon (place in bag or closed tea strainer)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c vinegar
3 tbs corn starch melted in a little water

Put all items except the vinegar and cornstarch in a large pot and bring to a boil then simmer for several hours until all is cooked and the spices have melded in.

Let cool then liquify in blender.

Return to pot and add vinegar and cornstarch mixture

Bring back to a boil and simmer a few minutes until mixture thickens.

Now for the spicy part:

For each 2 cups of ketchup add:

4 tbs unsalted butter
4 tbs brown sugar
handful chopped onions (according to your taste)
handful chopped sweet peppers (according to your taste)
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes or more if you like it spicier
1 tbs chili powder
4 tsp lemon juice
2 tbs yellow mustard
2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp garlic pepper

add all ingredients and bring to boil, simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Caramel Sauce

I tried this recipe to day and it was sooo good. It can be used as ice cream topping, for apple dipping or any other thing that uses a caramel sauce. It was really easy to make:

Caramel Sauce


2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 (14-ounce.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup butter, softened - divided use
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar and water in medium, heavy-duty saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil, without stirring, for 10 to 14 minutes, tilting pan occasionally to keep color even until mixture turns a deep caramel color.
Remove from heat.
2. Stir in sweetened condensed milk (mixture will foam up); do not scrape sides of pan. Add half the butter, one tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in remaining butter and vanilla extract until smooth. Serve over ice cream or cake, if desired.

Makes 3 cups.

I didn't have any sweetened condensed milk so I make my own by wisking together 3 tbs butter, one cup milk, 1/4 cup light corn syrup, 3/4 cup sugar and a dash of salt in saucepan. Bring to a boil and decrease heat to medium high, whisk for 3 to 5 minutes depending on thickness you want.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

I made this today, it was tweaked to taste from several different recipes I found online. I think it is better than Hershey's and contains no preservatives.

Ingredients:

1/2 C. cocoa
1 C. water
2 C. sugar
1/4 C. light corn syrup
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together the cocoa and water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar and corn syrup and stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil and turn back heat slightly to continue boil but to not have the mixture boil over pan. Stir constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from stove and add salt and vanilla. Cool and store in bottle or jar in refrigerator.

Soft Sub or Hamburger Buns

This is a really excellant recipe to make either submarine rolls or hamburger buns:

Ingredients

3 /4 C. Scalded milk
3 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 C. Mashed Potatoes
1/4 C. Warm Potato Water
3 to 4 C. Flour (unbleached)
2 Tbs + 1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp. Salt
3 Tbs. Butter

Scald milk, melt butter, sugar and salt in hot milk and set aside.

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar in warm potato water (from boiling the potatoes for mashing), 110 to 115 degrees on instant read thermometer, sprinkle in yeast and proof for 10 to 15 minutes until foam climbs sides of bowl.

Place milk mixture, yeast and 2 cups flour into bread machine and use dough cycle. Let that mix then begin adding more flour a little at a time until you get a sticky ball. Let bread machine do the rest through the dough cycle.

After first rise in machine, remove dough onto well floured surface and gently knead a little more flour until dough can be handled. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Grease bowl and place dough then turn so all sides of ball are greased. Let rise until double, from 30 minutes to an hour.

Divide dough into the sizes and shapes you want. I used a half cup of dough to make 7 big hamburger buns. Let rise again until double another 30 minutes to an hour.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and internal temperature is 190 to 210 degrees.

Brush on butter on tops and sides to make the rolls soft. You can put on your favorite seed after this if you like.

Enjoy

Spaghetti Sauce Using Dehydrated Veggies

I made spaghetti sauce today for dinner tonight using my dehydrated tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic. It turned out really good:

ingredients:

3 cups dried tomatoes (or 4 cups peeled fresh tomatoes crushed with juice)
1/2 cup dried sweet peppers
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder (I made this by blending my garlic)
2 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tbs parsley
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp basil
water
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

combine all ingredients except parmesan cheese in pan cover with water and bring to boil. Turn back heat to a simmer and cook for several hours. I added water as it was needed through the process. Cool and then blend until liquefied and add cheese.

Freezer Tip

I may have posted this before but this is such a good tip I want to tell you about it again. When freezing things like sauces, tomatoes, pork and beans etc. Fill freezer bag with the amount you will need for one meal or what you will use in one recipe such as one pint of tomatoes or two cups of pork and beans (one can). Lay bag flat and press the ingredients flat while getting out all the air. This saves so much space in your freezer you won't believe it.

Really Good Spanish Rice

I also made Spanish rice tonight to go along with the burritos. It turned out really good, but I made way too much and froze the leftovers for two more meals. This is the recipe:

1 cup rice
about 1 tbs oil (whatever kind is your favorite, I just used salad oil)
one diced bell pepper
about 1/4 medium onion finely chopped
pint of tomato sauce (mine is homemade from last summer's tomatoes)
1 tbs taco seasoning

Saute onion and pepper in oil for a couple of minutes add tomato sauce and the taco seasoning and then rice. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Cover pan and stir every once in a while so rice is not sticking to pan. You may have to add water along the way if rice thickens too much before it is done. It took about 30 minutes to cook. The was the best Spanish rice I had ever made. Forgot to take a picture though.

Homemade Beef Cheese and Bean Burritto

I made these yummy beef, bean and cheese burritos from scratch and they were so good.

To start with you will need to make this taco seasoning recipe:

* 1 tbs chili powder
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder or granulated
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* 1/4 tsp cayenne
* 1/4 tsp dried oregano
* 1/2 tsp paprika
* 2 tsp ground cumin
* 1 tsp course salt
I make big quantities of this and keep in a jar.

Now make the tortillas from my earlier post on breakfast burritos. The recipe makes about ten tortillas.

Now for the mix for the inside:

I cooked two cups of pinto beans with water and polish sausage along with one tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper for about 5 to 6 hours or until beans are tender.

Brown 1 lb. ground beef with chopped onion, I used about a 1/2 of a medium onion. Drain ground beef and add 2 cups of the cooked pinto beans with 4 tbs of the taco mix and one pint of tomatoes. Cook until mixture thickens. Let cool.

ready your tortilla for filling. Place 1/2 slice of pepper jack cheese, a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese, and a spoonful of the beef and bean mixture, another pinch of the cheddar cheese and a spoonful of the mixture, continue until burrito is full and wrap in plastic wrap.

Now you can freeze them and take out as many as you need for later use.

I made some tonight. Put them in a oven pan and smothered them in a tomato basil sauce I had made last summer, along with more shredded cheese on top. I cooked in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. They were just great.

Home Made Pork and Beans

I have a bunch of dried white beans that I saved from my over-matured greens beans that I got from my garden last summer. I decided I would try making my own pork and beans yesterday. They actually turned out really great. I think possibly they could have been a little sweeter but since I'm only going to be using them to make baked beans which takes lots of brown sugar that won't really matter anyway. Here is the recipe I used:

2 cups dried white beans
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
16 oz tomatoes (I used my frozen ones from my garden)
handful onion flakes
clove garlic (mine was dehydrated and I crushed with the onions into a powder)
Pork (I used two pork steaks probably about 1/2 lb)
water

Combine all in large pot with enough water to cover beans by about 3 inches. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered until beans are tender and soup has thickened, you will have to continue to add water as it steams away. It took about 5 to 6 hours. This made about one quart:

World's Best Stew Better than Dinty Moore

I made this stew today for tonight's dinner and it was so amazingly good I wanted to share with anyone who loves Dinty Moore Stew, this is so much better:

1 lb stew meat
3 tbs. dehydrated onion flakes or one medium onion
clove garlic minced
potatoes pealed and cubed
carrots sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. corn starch dissolved in a little cold water
2 pks brown gravy

In large pan or dutch oven cover meat with about 2 to 3 inches water and boil with onions garlic and cornstarch until tender. Add water if needed during cooking to keep juicy.

When meat is tender add potatoes and carrots (I used 3 medium sized red and two handfuls of baby carrots sliced) and cook until tender.

Add the two pkgs of brown gravy that has been dissolved in cold water bring back to boil then to a simmer

Have this dumpling recipe ready to add:

Dumplings:

1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs soft margarine
1 cup milk

Mix together dry ingredients and cut in margarine until it looks like meal. Add milk and you should have a very sticky dough. If not add more milk.

Drop by spoonfuls on top of stew. Put lid on pan and cook for ten minutes. After 10 minutes cut through a dumpling to make sure they are done, if still doughy cook a little longer.

Enjoy your stew!!