Canned Roast Beef

Can the right cut of beef and you will have roast that is tender, delicious and quick. I use it to make beef and noodles, (homemade egg noodles that I make with my mom) and for meat in a quick vegetable soup. It's also divine heated in the skillet with onion and peppers for hot roast beef subs. My mom has been teaching me to can and I have been having a ball with it. I have so many ideas to try! I shop around for the beef, when I find it on sale that's when I can. This recipe is for 7 quart jars because that's how many my canner holds. Always follow all the instructions that come with your pressure canner. In the summer months some towns will have canning kitchens at schools and etc. where you can go to can your goods. Check around to see if you have one in your area.

16 lbs. of raw chuck roast or rump roast.
salt
pepper
7 glass canning jars with rings and lids.

Wash the jars in very hot soapy water and let dry, I do not pack raw beef into hot jars. Trim most of the fat from the beef and cut into one inch cubes. (roughly) Fill jars with the raw beef but do not pack them tight, leaving one inch headroom at the top of the jar. I find I get between 1.8 to 2 lbs of beef in each jar. Add one teaspoon of salt to each jar and pepper to taste. Wipe the tops of the jars to remove any residue before you place the lids on. Make sure to follow your pressure canners instructions and remember to boil your lids before you use them. Cook at 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes, again following your canner's instructions. You will be glad to have this on your shelves!

Note: You do not add any liquid when you can raw beef, it makes it's own beautiful broth. I have always wondered how it would turn out if I added 1/4 cup red wine to each jar though...

Cinnamon Candied Popcorn

When I was a kid there were candy stores that sold different flavors of candied popcorn. Candied popcorn is like caramel corn but instead of a caramel coating, you would have some other flavor. I remember looking in the glass cases and there would just be a rainbow of colors. There was cherry and blueberry and my favorite, cinnamon. Oh, and the smell: it was divine, I remember it perfectly. Now, there is not a store like that to be found and my cravings have been going unfed. After sifting through a lot of recipes I finally came up with my own version. I've made it as one of my Christmas gifts the last two years and it is always the first thing that's gone. It's worth the work to make and will keep for a month or two in a ziploc bag. I hope that you give this one a try and let me know if you enjoyed it.

6 quarts of popped popcorn. (pop in a Stir Crazy or on the stove, do NOT use microwave popcorn.)
12 ounces of cinnamon red hot candies
sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. or 1 dram of cinnamon oil. You need oil, not extract, you can find it at www.lorannoils.com

Preheat the oven to 250º. Butter a large roasting pan and add the popcorn to it. If you want you can put the popcorn in the oven to warm while you are preparing the candy coating, but it's not necessary.
Pour the red hot candies into a 2 cup measure and then start adding sugar to the candies, stopping to shake it down into all the nooks and crannies until the sugar reaches the 2 cup line.
In a heavy skillet, bring the candies, sugar, butter, water, corn syrup and salt to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly for five minutes.
Remove from heat and add the baking soda and cinnamon oil. Stir well and stand back to avoid the steam that will come up from the oil, some people are sensitive to it. I like to add the oil outside if possible or open a lot of windows so that my house doesn't smell like cinnamon forever.
Pour over popcorn and toss quickly with a buttered wooden spoon to distribute the candy coating evenly.
Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and pour out onto parchment paper or a clean granite or marble counter. Break up the larger clumps as it is cooling and then store in ziploc bags or a plastic container once completely cool. If you like cinnamon, watch out, this is addictive!

An Outsanding Georgia Winery

I normally only post recipes in this blog but I thought that this was a food worthy subject. Last night a new acquaintance and neighbor of mine called and asked me to go to a wine and cheese tasting with her. It was very impromptu, but my dear husband was happy to watch the kids (God bless him) so I went. The tasting was held by the community we live in and among the different vendors attending there was a Georgia winery. What a treat the evening turned out to be.

Never having experienced a formal wine tasting, I was mesmerized. I knew that there were some vineyards in Georgia but, for no certain reason, I never tried any of their wines. Let me just say, I was very pleasantly surprised. The attending winery was the Boutier Winery. They have a store front in Acworth, GA, www.boutierwine.com, but their actual vineyards are in northwest Georgia www.boutierwinery.com. Being a Georgia winery they could hardly go without making a beautiful Peach Chardonnay, which for two consecutive years, earned a concordance gold medal at the Indy International Wine Competition. The Peach Chardonnay has also won best in class! They also earned a silver medal for their Elegance Vin Rouge, a unique blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and a bronze medal for their What a Great Pear, a pear wine aged in coffee beans.

Now, honestly, I never even knew that there was an Indy International Wine Competition, but I was still impressed! And, the proof is in the pudding, or in this case the wine, which was outstanding. Their Peach Ice Wine blew me away. I learned that ice wines are harvested right after the first hard freeze or frost to make the flavors more intense, or at least I think that is how they put it. The Peach Ice Wine had a chocolate aftertaste, and it was divine. Because of how it is made the alcohol content in the ice wine is much higher, almost elevating it to a liqueur so it would be great as a dessert wine or in place of a cognac or brandy. I tried some of their reds and whites and brought a bottle of their Cabernet Franc (2005) home for my hubby as an early birthday present. If you like strong reds, this one has a incredible fig aftertaste, I could not stop sipping it.

If you are any kind of wine connoisseur I highly recommend checking out any of your local or state wineries. If you ever hear of a tasting for one of them, I encourage you to go! You will not only be supporting local business but you will be supporting something that is made in America! And, it's educational. Great job Boutier Winery!

Betty's Caramel Candy

Plan on sharing these or plan on putting on 10 pounds, you decide! Buttery, caramel heaven!

2 cups sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup butter
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all the ingredients except for vanilla in a large pot. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook until temperature reaches 250, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 9x13 pan. When firm but not completely cool, flip out of pan onto parchment paper and cut into pieces with a pizza cutter. Wrap in wax paper or cellophane. I make turtles with these caramels but placing the squares on top on pecan halves and then letting them melt over the nuts in a warm oven. It is a lot easier than spooning hot caramel over the pecans!

Betty's Corn Chowder

This is my favorite homemade soup. It is so simple and perfect for a cold winter day. A one pot meal that you can have ready in about 40 minutes.

1 boneless ham steak, cubed
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 16 oz. cans of chicken broth
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, cubed
3 Tbs. flour
2 cups milk
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in a stockpot. Add ham, potatoes, carrots and onions and cook on medium to medium high heat for about 5 minutes, I add fresh ground pepper at this time. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add creamed corn and whole kernel corn and bring back to low boil. Taste for seasoning at this time, the amount of salt you will need depends on how salty your ham was. In separate bowl, slowly whisk milk into the flour so that you will not have any lumps. Add milk and flour mixture to pot, stir. Add cream cheese. Bring back to a low boil while stirring and breaking up the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese has dissolved, add the grated cheddar. Keep at a low boil, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender. Enjoy!

Betty's Cherry Pie

There is nothing like a mouth watering, cherry pie. I like this recipe because you can make it all year long since you don't use fresh cherries. Also, it does not have the traditional cornstarch goo that most cherry pies have. If you are feeling up to the challenge then do the traditional lattice top. If not, just be creative and cut a few shapes in the top crust before placing it on the pie. It will still turn out delicious. Oh, and bake on a cookie sheet or over some foil to keep any sticky messes out of your oven.

Pie crust for a double crust pie.
You can use my Grandma's crust recipe that I have posted or the refrigerated, store bought crust that you just unroll and place in the pie plate.
Milk
Sugar

Filling:
3 cans pitted sour cherries, drained.
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. orange juice
zest from one orange
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Gently stir all filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Make sure that everything is well combined. Pour filling into pastry lined pie plate. Place top layer of crust on and cut in several places to vent. Trim and flute edges. Brush with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool almost completely before serving. (If you can wait!)

Betty's Monster Cookies

These cookies will make a cookie monster out of you. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, they are the perfect. Most Monster cookie recipes make a very large batch but this one is nice because it just makes 3 dozen. You can double the recipe easily, but don't double the eggs, just add one more. Enjoy!

1/2 c. plus 2 Tbs. lt. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
6 Tbs. butter flavored vegetable shortening, like Crisco
2 eggs
3/4 c. peanut butter, I recommend smooth but you can use crunchy
1/2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. quick oats
1/2 cup m&m's

Preheat oven to 350 F. If you have the convection feature, I highly recommend it. Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar and shortening in mixing bowl and beat at medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs. Beat in peanut butter, corn syrup, baking soda and vanilla. Add oats, mixing on low speed. Stir in m&m's by hand.

Drop by teaspoon full onto an ungreased baking sheet. (I line with parchment, easier cleanup.) Bake at 350 F for 11 to 13 minutes or until just beginning to brown. let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and then move to wire racks or sheets of foil to cool completely before storing.