Misc. Monday - Grapes

When I made the butterflies for the school snack I was unsure how many grapes I would need to fill the bags. Needless to say I had more grapes than I needed and after Caden sat on them I needed to use them up. We decided to can them as I only buy US grapes and in the winter they can be hard to find. I'm even going to see if I can use canned grapes in 24 hour salad. They are super easy to do and when I can't find US grapes this winter we will still be eating grapes!

Canning grapes
What you need:

Ripe grapes (2lbs per quart)
light or medium syrup*
pint or half pint jars

Directions:
Ladle a 1/4 cup syrup into half pints or 1/2 cup syrup into pints. Fill with grapes leaving 1/2 inch head space. Finish filling with syrup, remove air bubbles, clean rims and place caps on. The grapes process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. 


*Syrup
Light syrup is 2 1/4 cups sugar to 5 1/4 cups of water
Medium syrup is 3 1/4 cups sugar to 5 cups of water

Directions: Combine sugar and water together in an appropriate size pot and heat until sugar is dissolved.

Misc. Monday - Turkey Dog Food

I have been missing for a few days as I have been fighting a RSD flare. We took it easy this weekend a just did a small batch of dog food. We love having it already done on busy nights and setting back jars for this winter.

Turkey Dog Food
What you need:
6 lbs ground turkey
4 lbs mixed veggies
5 to 6 cups of water

Directions:
Mix together the turkey, veggies and water together in a large bowl. (I do not cook the turkey before hand.) Fill the half pints to the bottom ring, about half an inch, wipe clean and top with lids.
Process 10lbs for 75 minutes
Yield 38 1/2 pints

Yes, I turned labeling jars into writing practice.

Misc. Monday - Ice Cream Cones!!

I teased you all a while back with a picture of a homemade ice cream cone that is gluten and dairy free. After much work and tweaking I am ready to share it with you. These cones are crunchy even the next morning and have such a light flavor you can't tell that they are gluten free. My neighbors who are not gluten free ask for them if I make dairy free ice cream and they are so good I was doing a happy dance last night. It was the first ice cream cone I had eaten in over a year since going gluten free and I was in heaven eating it last night. My kids loved waking up and finding them filled with fruit for breakfast and still just as crisp as they were when I made them.

Gluten and Dairy Free Ice Cream Cones
What you need:

1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose flour  
1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut flour
4 T butter or butter substitute melted
1 tsp Almond extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

You can leave them flat too!

Sift together the all purpose flour, hazelnut flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Make a hole in the middle and add the butter, eggs and almond extract. Mix to combine. Preheat your waffle cone maker (I have this one) according to the directions. Place a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half in the middle of the waffle cone maker and close the lid. Cook the waffles for one minute or until they are lightly brown. I have a pair of salad tongs that are flat which I use to pick up the edge of the waffle cone. Use the provided cone and roll the waffle cone into a cone shape using the table or counter to help. When cooled store in an air tight bag and take as much air as possible out of the bag. You can then serve them with ice cream, fruit or make them into camping cones. What are you going to try first?

Misc. Monday - Dog Food

Buddy and his dog food

We have a black and tan dachshund named Buddy who is just over a year old and lives for my boys. Buddy is a special dog as he is also gluten and dairy free. He is fed this way for several reasons, one of which is the reason that my kids feed him. Yes, they wash their hands but there still is that chance of them being cross contaminated. Another reason being the fact that Buddy loves to give kisses! We have discovered that kisses from other dogs can cause gluten exposure which is not a fun few days.

Not very pretty in the jar.

This past spring Buddy stopped eating his dry dog food, which was not like him. We tried a few sample for a more expensive dog food which he seemed to like, but soon after we bough the new dog food there was a recall on it. We looked and looked for another grain free dog food but we could not find one that did not have a recall on it. This is when we decided to make our own.
A few notes about homemade dog food.
Buddy is fed daily a dog multivitamin which I find at our local health food store.
Buddy gets snacks of raw veggies.
Dogs fed wet food will overeat because the food is there. This is why portions are important.
Buddy gets one 1/2 pint a day because he is under 20 pounds and active.

Beef Dog Food
What you need:
1 pound ground beef
2 pounds ground heart (my meat locker ground for me)
2 pounds ground liver (or other meat)
1-2 pounds of veggies frozen
water or broth
no more than 2 1/2 pounds cooked rice (We did not add rice to save on jar space. It is added when fed.) 

Directions:
Combine meat, veggies and water/broth together and mix. Pack into hot jars, wipe tops and put rings and bands on. Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes. This will make 19 half pints without the rice added. With the rice added it would be around 29 half pints.
The best part about this is you can mix and match meats and veggies to use what is on hand. Just make sure they are veggies that your dog can have!

Licking them clean!

Don't forget that I have a giveaway going on right now! Click here to enter. Remember for each entry you need to leave a separate comment on the blog!

Misc. Monday - Where do you can?

Watching kids play while the canner goes

Screen room and a great fan is key!

As some of you know my parents, my two boys and myself camp all summer. It is 12 miles away from home but it is another world where my boys are allowed to be messy, dirty and have fun. This also means that we can while we are camping all summer. The kitchen is nice but it gets crowded fast and the children are underfoot. My solution is to can outside. Yes, even when it was 100 plus outside but it keeps the heat outside, so inside says cooler.

Two at once!

Misc. Monday - How does your garden grow?

I love to grow plants. I guess I have a bit of a green thumb except when it comes to herbs. I can't seem to grow them but that is another post. I started from seeds and I wasn't sure those little seedlings would ever grow, but grow they have. Some of them are huge! In order to water them I have a rain barrel sitting to collect the water from the air conditioner. This will be very important in the new few weeks as Illinois is to reach a critical drought by the end of the week. What are you doing to help water your garden?

It is a jungle out there!

All shriveled up, Any idea why?

Ladybug!

Why are we molding?

Found this little gem hiding

Anyone know why they are turning yellow?

I love how different heritage tomato leaves look

More strawberry blooms!

This is a surprise

Miscellaneous Monday-Do you use parchment paper?

Welcome to my first Miscellaneous Monday! It has taken me a lot of thought to what I wanted my first miscellaneous Monday to be but I decided to write about my love of parchment paper. Since we have gone gluten free I use parchment paper on almost everything. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about any cross contamination with my old pans where gluten might be hiding. I also don't have to wonder if my grandma used the pan (she is not gluten free) and how clean it is.
The second reason that I have discovered a new love of parchment paper is the fact that sometimes gluten free baking can lead to sticky messes or a new recipe that does not want to leave the pan. This is where parchment paper steps in and saves the day. Today I made fresh strawberry and banana cookies that can be found here. They were really yummy but the strawberries caramelized if they were on the bottom of the cookie, which then stuck to the parchment paper.
 
I use If You Care unbleached parchment paper (I also have their muffin liners also) and I have never had a problem with it.
Do you use parchment paper and if you do what kind?