Fast Friday - DIY Steam Bags

I love my local farmers market! I don't know about you but I have a local farmer who is organic and when we stopped in last Wednesday they had both pears and potatoes. Around here organic potatoes are hard to find so I bought a box of them. A few weeks ago there was a post on Facebook that was a link to make your own freezer bag potatoes. The link that was posted was this one and I followed the instructions given but with organic potatoes! I am so excited to try these come winter when it is even harder to find organic potatoes.When you go to use them just poke a vent hole in the bag when you warm them.

Steam Bag Potatoes
What you need:

potatoes (organic if possible)
Seal a Meal (or another similar system)

Directions:

Yes, Caden helped me take the picture.

Peel, cube and boil till almost done. You want to be able to stick a fork into them but still holding their shape. Drain and let cool so it is easier to bag. Place desired amount of potatoes in bag depending on how big of serving you want. I did both large and small bags for just family and holiday meals. Label and freeze for later!

Fast Friday - Butterfly Snack Bag

 I thought that this had posted on Friday but I guess that it didn't. So here it is a bit late. Sorry!

I had a hard decision to make on what to bring for the first full day of school snack for Cameron's class. I wanted something fun, healthy and I wanted Cameron to have the same snack as everyone else on the first day of school. Plus I figured if I brought in a healthy snack it would set the bar for all the other parents who are bringing in snack this week and next. I looked all across the internet and while there were many cute ideas, but only one I had time for. Cameron came home from school and said that it was a hit and the empty butterfly bags came home from school with each student.

Butterfly Snack Bags
What you need:
snack size zip top bags
pipe cleaners
assorted fruits and veggies

Directions:
Fill half of one snack bag with desired treat. Fold pipe cleaner in half and bunch up the pipe cleaner and twist to make a butterfly shape. Fill the other half of the bag with another treat. It really is as simple as that!

So cute!

Fast Friday - Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and his favorite cake is chocolate angel food cake. I did lots of internet searching and found this one from Lynn's Recipe Adventures. It turned out great except for the mistake I made. I assumed that the measuring spoon in the sugar container was a 1/4 cup but it was a 1/3 cup. So mine had a bit more sugar in it that it was suppose to but I couldn't tell the difference. I made dairy free chocolate whipped cream to go with it and it was a hit!

Dairy Free Chocolate "Whipped Cream"
What you need:
1 16oz Healthy Top by MimicCreme
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coco powder
1/2 cup powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Chill the box of Healthy Top for 1/2 an hour before starting. Empty the box of Healthy Top into the bowl of a stand mixer and add vanilla extract. Sift together the coco powder and powder sugar and add to the bowl. Using the whisk attachment beat mixture till soft peaks form. This will take several minutes on high speed. Refrigerate until cake is cool. Frost the cake with the chocolate whipped cream. 

And now for the winner of the canning book! It is number 13 Shannon!! Congrats! Contact me to the e-mail address under the contact me tab with your full name, address and phone number and the book will be on the way!

Fast Friday - Cantaloupe Jam

I can. There is no question about it but I have a new book in my collection which is food in jars by Marisa McClellan. What I love about her book is that it is small batches. Which is perfect for those who are starting out canning. The recipes can easily be done in a larger amount, which is what I did when I canned all the peaches. I used her peach jam recipe and it was my new favorite way to eat peaches. I had so many different ideas of where to start when I looked at the book because it is written to be used year round. With canning our own dog food we can year round but now I have easy ideas that I can make whenever I want.
The cantaloupe jam that I am writing about I made the other night and I knew it was one I would be repeating. I agree with Marisa that it does almost taste like a Creamsicle and it is something I will be making again and again this summer. I love this book so much that I am going to give a copy away to one lucky reader! The details are below but first the recipe.

Cantaloupe Jam
What you need:
2 1/2 cups chopped peeled cantaloupe
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tabelspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 3oz pack of liquid pectin

Directions:
Combine cantaloupe, sugar and vanilla bean in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes over high heat. Add the lemon zest, juice and pectin and return to a vigorous boil. Boil for another 3 to 4 minutes until the bubbles look thick. Remove the vanilla bean or you will be filling jars and come across it! Ladle into 3 half pint jars, wipe the top clean and apply lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Before you soak the pot clean, scrape and lick clean. At least that is what we do in my house!

Now for the good stuff! How to enter to win a copy of the book.
One entry:
Look through the preview of the book here and tell me what you would want to try first.
One entry:
Subscribe to my e-mail so you don't miss anything. Leave a comment saying you did so.
One entry:
Like me on Facebook and leave a comment saying that you did.
One entry:
Share the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter and leave a comment saying you did.

The contest will run through August 3rd and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner. Go!

Fast Friday - Bread Sticks

This is an easy one that I love to grab when I need a meal in a hurry. I even use frozen pizza crust if I really want to cheat. My kids love these as much as I do! I forgot to grab a picture before we all started mowing down on them! So there are a few missing bread sticks. As I am posting this Caden is yelling, "Yum! Pizza! I found Pizza!"



Cheesy Bread Sticks

What you need:
2-3 Tablespoons of butter substitute
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Dairy free cheese (I use Daiya)
Nutritional yeast (I love this stuff!)
Other toppings (pepperoni, onions, olives, etc) 

Directions:
Melt the butter substitute and stir in the garlic salt. Spread the garlic butter mixture onto the pizza crust and sprinkle on the nutritional yeast if using. Cover the pizza dough with the non-dairy cheese and any other toppings desired. Bake according to directions for the pizza crust. When done cut into strips and serve. We eat them as they are but they would also be good dipped into some warm pizza sauce.

What is your go to easy meal?

Fast Friday - Zucchini Jam

The original

My mom is the youngest of 7 kids and she has 4 sisters. When my grandma passed away the boxed up all her recipes and they have been traveling the country via the mail to each sister. My mom currently has the recipes and it has been so much fun going through all of them. One recipe that we came across was for zucchini jam. Since we have zucchini growing in our garden right now, along with getting some in our CSA, we decided to make some. This is my new favorite jam and I will be making several more batches this summer. I made a few small changes to the recipe as I don't use real Jello and I don't wax jars. The end result was perfection and Caden now calls it the yummy jam.

Yummy Jam!

 Zucchini Jam (aka Yummy Jam)

What you need:
6 cups grated zucchini, no seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package Sure Jell
6 cups sugar
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
2 3oz or 1 6oz package of Jello any flavor (I used Natural Desserts, which you can find here)

Directions:
Combine the grated zucchini with the lemon juice and cook till clear. This will take about 10 minutes. Add the Sure Jell, Sugar and crushed pineapple to the zucchini and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Add the Jello and stir till combined. Ladle into 12 half pints and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This is also linked to:

Fast Friday - Two new ways to use greens

I am a guest blogger over at Modern Alternative Mama with a post about two new ways to use greens. I have a CSA basket and one thing we have been getting is a lot of lettuce, so we needed a new creative way to use it all. Check out my post here and keep an open mind!

Fast Friday - Wasp - oops!

I'm going to leave the post under Friday but I realize that it is Thursday. With our summer days running together I really thought today was Friday. Wishful thinking right. Caden turned out all right but if you ask him he will say it still hurts and he is now afraid of every flying bug. Oh well.
As you can guess by the title we had a run in with wasp today. Which means I didn't get everything finished with the ice cream cones. They are coming I promise!
Caden got stung on the arm 2 or 3 times by a wasp today while playing on the slide. It swelled up really fast and as I ran around giving him Benadryl and putting baking soda on it, I was on the phone to a nurse at his doctor's office. The nurse said I did everything right (which is nice to know) and to just keep an eye on him as this was the first time he has ever been stung. The baking soda must have helped as he was soon back using his arm but it scared me to say the least. He is sleeping next to me right now and it looks like the swelling has gone down almost all the way so I think we are in the clear. What has been a scary moment for you?

Fast Friday - Cherry Syrup

So, cherries for a change I know. Cameron is cherry obsessed and always has been. The problem for us is most cherry anything has food coloring in it. I set out to make a cherry syrup that I could use in, well anything. Snow cones, pancakes, milk, baking and several other areas that I want a cherry taste. About a week ago I made the strawberry syrup out of Food in Jars cookbook and used that same idea to make cherry syrup.
Cherry Syrup
6 cups pitted cherries
7 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tsp almond extract

Such a pretty dark color!

Directions
Place the cherries and water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is dark red and the cherries are light pink. Pour the mixture through a few layers of cheese cloth; do not squish the cherries or your syrup will be cloudy. Return the strained cherry juice to the pot and the sugar, stir till dissolved. Bring the syrup to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes is done add in the almond extract and remove from heat. Pour into clean hot jars and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

It makes for really good snow cone syrup too!