Pepper Jelly

Sometimes a random act of kindness develops an addiction and inspires you to make something.

One day when Lady and Bug were about 1, we took a trip across the bridge to IKEA. As I was putting the kids in the car, I noticed the two ladies in the tiny little car beside me trying to stuff very large items in...unsuccessfully. Their frustration was evident and I could hear them 

talking about what to do. Here's me in my huge vehicle with my 2 little ones and lots of space, so I approached them and offered to help if they were going anywhere east (Ikea is about an hour's drive west of my house). Turns out they lived in the same town, just a few blocks from me and we traded information and I packed their excess home for them. The stroke of luck was the woman driving was the owner of a local condiment company, Marilyn's, and I had no idea. After delivering the goods, she brought me to her garage (which turned out to be a huge kitchen...DREAM!) and gave me one of each of her products. One of those was her red pepper jelly, for which I quickly developed an addiction.

Auntie Ladybug and I have been consuming large quantities of this red pepper jelly with our cheese platters and wine, so I thought I would try my hand at some of my own. Now I'll admit, it's not Marilyn's but it's pretty great!

Red Pepper Jelly

3 & 3/4 cups Red Peppers

1/4 cup Jalapeno Peppers (red ones if you can find them)

1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Package of Pectin

5 cups Sugar

Chop Peppers in a very fine dice. Add peppers, apple cider vinegar and pectin to a large pot. Bring to a full rolling boil, constantly stirring. Add all sugar at once and return to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2" of headspace. Clean rims, add lids and rings and can in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. Let cool for 24 hours. Refrigerate or reprocess any unsealed jars. Note: Jelly will take at least a day to become firm, turn upside down after the jar seals to prevent chunks of peppers from settling.

Try this with crackers, cheese, and wine for a great night with friends! Beautiful on baked brie and a lovely Christmas hostess gift.

~Adel~

Big Batch Canned Pizza Sauce

I've been making so much pizza sauce that I thought I'd make a huge batch and can it this summer with all the lovely tomatoes available right now!

So, I used my regular pizza sauce recipe and quadrupled it so I could can a big batch. Turns out I may have to do this a few times...I've already used 2 jars.

Big Batch Canned Pizza Sauce

1/4 cup Olive Oil

4 Onions, diced

8 cloves Garlic, minced

14 cups Diced Fresh Tomatoes

1/2 cup Tomato Paste

6 Tbsp Honey

8 tsp Anchovy Paste

3 tsp Oregano 

1 & 1/2 tsp Marjoram

3 tsp Basil

1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Lemon Juice (add 2 Tbsp to each canning jar)

In a large stock pot, heat oil. Cook onion until it starts to brown, add garlic for 1 minute and then add tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then blend with a hand blender or carefully with a food processor. 

Sterilize and heat jars before filling. Add 2 Tbsp of Lemon juice to each jar before adding hot pizza sauce to jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Add lids and rims and cook in a water bath canner for 35 minutes. Let cool for 24 hours and any unsealed jars should be refrigerated or used immediately.

Get homemade pizza sauce without all the work of making sauce from scratch. Try it with Best Ever Pizza Dough for a fabulous family pizza and games night!

~Adel~

Big Batch Pasta Sauce (Canned)

I've been working on preserving things we use regularly to help reduce the amount of food we buy from the store in the winter. We love our pasta sauce, so I decided to skip the meat that I usually put in it and make a big batch to can so we have homemade pasta sauce without all the work at meal time.

 Big Batch Pasta Sauce

1 cup Olive Oil

3 cups Diced Green Peppers, diced small
2 Stalks of Celery, diced small

3 cups Onions, diced small

10 cloves Garlic, minced

21 cups (6-28 oz cans) Tomatoes, diced

2 cups (16 oz) Tomato Paste 

1 cup Red Wine

2/3 cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Salt

4 tsp Dried Oregano

2 tsp Dried Parsley

2 tsp Dried Basil

2 Bay Leaves

Lemon Juice

In a large stock pot, heat oil. Add peppers, celery, and onions and cook until onion starts to turn clear and brown a bit. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds before adding remaining ingredients except lemon juice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Sanitize jars, heat canning water, and prepare lids. Just before adding sauce to hot jars add 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice to each jar (lemon juice increases the acidity and therefore you can use a water bath canner instead of a pressure canner). Fill jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe rims clean. Add hot self-sealing lids and screw on the rims. Place jars in a boiling water bath canner and ensure water is covering jars at least 1". Return water in canner to a boil and cook for 40 minutes. Remove jars from canner and let cool for 24 hours. Any jars that do not seal should be refrigerated. 

Now you can have homemade pasta sauce without waiting hours for the sauce to simmer.  You just need to add cooked ground beef and any other fixings you desire and you have an easy & fabulous spaghetti sauce.

If you're new to canning, basic canning instructions can be found at www.simplycanning.com.

~Adel~

Sunshine Hollandaise Sauce

I'm always disappointed with restaurant Hollandaise Sauce, I like mine with a little more zip. This one has a little tang and always leaves me wanting to lick the pot when I'm done!

Sunshine Hollandaise Sauce

1/2 cup Salted Butter (Room Temperature), cut in 3 equal parts

3 Egg Yolks, beaten

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp Water

Pepper

Melt 1/3 of the butter in a warm sauce pan on medium-low heat. Mix egg yolks, lemon juice and water in a bowl and pour into sauce pan. Mix quickly with a whisk to incorporate butter, once it starts to thicken, add another 1/3 of the butter and mix while it melts, once sauce begins to thicken again, add remaining butter and stir with whisk until it melts and sauce thickens again. Remove from heat, season with pepper as desired, and serve immediately. If sauce gets too thick or curdles, add a Tbsp of hot water and whisk until smooth. To reduce the risk of curdling use a double boiler. 

Great with a Sunshine Benny, veggies, fish or poultry.

~Adel~

Creamy Garlic Pizza Sauce

Sometimes I just want a creamy sauce on my pizza, chicken pizzas just seem so much better with a little creamy garlic sauce. Here's my favourite!

Creamy Garlic Pizza Sauce

2 Tbsp Butter

3 Garlic Cloves

2 Tbsp Flour

1 & 1/4 cup Milk

Salt & Pepper

dry mustard powder

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add minced garlic once bubbly and cook for 30 seconds before adding flour. Stir flour in and cook for about 1 minute. Add milk and stir until bubbly and thick. Season with salt & pepper  and mustard powder as desired. Add parmesan cheese after removing from heat and stir well. 

Makes enough for 1 large rectangular pizza or two 12" pizzas.

Make this sauce tonight for a delicious Creamy Garlic Chicken Pizza or make your favourite Pizza with my Best Ever Pizza Dough!

~Adel~

Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce

It's been hot the past week and the BBQ's been going, so I thought I'd share one of our favourite BBQ sauce recipes!

Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup Honey

1 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

8 cloves Garlic, minced

Mix together and use as a BBQ sauce or pour over chicken or ribs in the slow cooker or oven. 

I use it as part of my Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.

Quick, easy & delicious!

~Adel~

Pizza Sauce

I've been searching for a great pizza sauce, so tired of using bottled stuff from the store. I've tried many recipes, but they never seem to work out quite right. I added all the things I liked about other recipes and finally came up with this one. A bit sweet and a bit spicy - perfect for a pizza.

Pizza Sauce

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

796 ml Diced Tomatoes (28 oz)

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1 & 1/2 Tbsp Honey

2 tsp Anchovy Paste

3/4 tsp Oregano 

1/2 tsp Marjoram

3/4 tsp Basil

pinch Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a saucepan, heat oil & add onion. Cook until onion starts to become clear then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, anchovy paste, oregano, marjoram, basil, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and cook for 5 more minutes. Let cool. Blend the sauce to get rid of the lumps of tomato & onion. Tastes even better if you let it sit for a day before using. Makes enough for about 2-3 pizzas. Also makes great dip for pizza sticks.

Try it with Best Ever Pizza Dough for a delicious home made meal. 

~Adel~