Peach and Tomato Salad

We were recently heading to a friends house for dinner and were asked to bring a salad.

I didn’t necessarily want to bring a traditional lettuce-based salad, so I went in search of something that made the most of what’s in season at the moment, like this Peach and Tomato Salad.

I came across this yummy sounding Summer Peach and Tomato Salad, and made a few adjustments.

I used frozen sliced peaches, mainly because I’m a bit lazy, but also because I didn’t want overly ripe peaches in the salad.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
  • 1 pound frozen sliced peaches, thawed
  • 1/2 pound Campari tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 pound heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons agave
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

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Salsa Recipe & Beginners Guide to Canning #CanItForward

This Saturday marks Jarden Home Brands fifth annual Can-It-Forward Day, which will be broadcast live online at FreshPreserving.com from 11AM – 4PM EST from the new state-of-the-art Jarden Home Brands headquarters in Fishers, Indiana.

 

An event celebrating the joys of fresh preserving, the -It-Forward Day webcast will have an integrated chat function where viewers can submit their home canning questions to be answered in real time. New this year, there will also be an exciting celebrity mason jar auction unveiled during the webcast!

 

To celebrate, I was sent a Ball Canning Discovery Kit (paid link), Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (paid link), Red Design Series Lids, and Ball Fiesta Salsa Mix (paid link).

 

My future sister-in-law is big into canning, and I’ve “helped” (a.k.a kept her company in the kitchen) once before, but the process of canning is really intimidating to me. I was told that if I can boil water, I can can, so I was both wary and excited to try this out!

I need to give a little shout out to my city, because the Mason jar was, in fact, invented and patented in Philadelphia in 1858 by local tinsmith John Landis Mason. So, this should be in my blood, right?

 

 

  • The Ball Canning Discovery Kit  is a great beginners kit; it comes with a canning rack that fits into most pasta pots, a recipe guide, and three jars. The kit is really affordable ($11.99) and allows you to assess if canning is for you before investing fully into the process.
  • My sister-in-law assured me that if I had a Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, I’d be just fine canning. So. WHEW. This book lays out each step of the process (and even tells you why you are doing it this way) to ensure a successful canning process. The step-by-step guides are particularly helpful as a beginner.
  • The Red Design Series Lids are normal lids and bands, just prettier.  🙂 The lids can only be used once during canning, so it’s helpful to have extras on hand. (You can reuse the jars and bands as many times as you want)
  • The Ball Fiesta Salsa Mix makes the process of seasoning salsa super easy. You just need fresh or canned tomatoes, a splash of vinegar, and the mix to make a yummy salsa!

 

I decided to make a salsa from the Ball Blue Book, but adapted it slightly to include the Ball Fiesta Salsa Mix. The recipe is simple, and is basically just cutting up the ingredients, so this post is more about the canning process than the actual recipe.

I am absolutely a beginner with this, but luckily was able to glean some tips from my sister-in-law and the Ball Blue Book, which I will share as well.

I also am giving away a coupon for a free case of jars! Details at the end of the post. 

 

Zesty Salsa (adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving)

Yields ~3 pint jars

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)
  • 4 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped (~2.5 cups)
  • 1 large onion, chopped (~2.5 cups)
  • 1 large jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (~3 tablespoons)
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup Ball Fiesta Salsa Mix

Gear:

  • Ball canning rack with lifter
  • 3 Ball Pint Jars with lids and bands (I used the Red design series lids and bands)
  • Large stockpot (at least 7.5 inches tall and 9.5 inches in diameter)
  • a non-metallic spatula (I ended up using chopsticks. They worked just fine)
  • A clean, damp towel to wipe rims of jars

Continue reading Salsa Recipe & Beginners Guide to Canning #CanItForward

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

I don’t know how this is even possible but I’ve never had Sloppy Joes before making this recipe. It was not in my family’s dinner rotation, my camp never served it, and I never came across it at a friend’s house when sleeping over.

Well, my wait is finally over! Traditional Sloppy Joes are made with beef but I for this Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes recipe, used a mixture of ground beef and Johnsonville Bratwursts removed from their casings.  The recipe is adapted from one I found on MyRecipes.com.

note: I was sent free coupons for Johnsonville products. Opinions are my own.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 (19-oz.) package Johnsonville Brats
  • 1 (15-oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 10 brioche buns, toasted

Continue reading Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Autumn Apple Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dijon Dressing

It’s September which means apples are right in their prime season! Although apples are available year-round, most apples ripen in the August-October time frame. I’ve had a craving for apples ever since September began so I was so excited when I was contacted recently about trying an apple variety called SweeTango that I’ve never had before.

SweeTango apples a variety bred at the University of Minnesota and are a cross between  the Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties.  The apples are crisp and sweet with a hint of citrus, honey, and spice and have a nice crunchy and juicy texture that’s perfect to eat raw. They have a beautiful coloring too — SweeTango is a blush apple with deep red coloration over a yellow breaking background. The variety first hit store shelves in limited quantities in 2009, and has since grown to achieve distribution across the U.S. and Canada. 

Photo Courtesy of SweeTango

I received two SweeTango apples in the mail and couldn’t wait to try them! One I saved for me to just enjoy on its own and the other went into one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had, Autumn Apple Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dijon Dressing! This salad is packed with a bunch of different textures and flavors which is what I really love about it. But the true star of the salad is the SweeTango apple!

Photo Courtesy of SweeTango

Ingredients:

Salad:

  • 2 cups red leaf lettuce, torn
  • 2 cups spinach leaves, torn
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 2 tablespoons dried cherries
  • 2 tablespoons golden raisins
  • the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 SweeTango apple, thinly sliced

Dressing:

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • a pinch of salt and pepper

Continue reading Autumn Apple Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dijon Dressing

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

As kids are going back to school (or may even be back!) and the “busy season” of work creeps closer, it’s necessary to find recipes that can be prepared ahead of time so that weeknight meals can be on the table as quickly as possible. My favorite tool for really yummy dishes that I can just reheat is my lovely slow cooker.

 

Cooking Light had a recipe for Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice that is perfect for weekend prep and weeknight meals. This particular recipe has a good amount of prep time before putting everything in the slow cooker so I’d suggest making it on a weekend versus a weeknight morning. (If you want to make this before work, set aside 30-45 minutes to get everything ready to put in the slow cooker.)

 

A couple of notes before I dive into the recipe. You actually soak the dried red beans in water overnight, so don’t forget to do that that night before you plan on making this recipe. Also, dried kidney beans apparently contain a toxin that is not killed at low temperatures (like in a slow cooker) so you have to boil them for 10 minutes before slow cooking. (Who knew?! Definitely don’t skip that step!) This recipe makes 8 servings so you can also freeze the red bean mixture for future meals if you won’t finish it during the week. Ok! Let’s cook!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried red kidney beans
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 oz andouille sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped poblano chile (~2 chiles)
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 (12-ounce) can lager-style beer
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne pepper)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

 

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Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

I’ve never fully understood traditional potato salad. Mayo on potatoes just doesn’t appeal to me, especially on hot summer days where you always seem to find it as a side at barbecues and picnics, which is why this recipe for Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad appeals to me!

I came across a whole grain mustard based potato salad from 1st & Fresh Catering a while back that had no mayo and was absolutely delicious. I’ve been meaning to try to make my own version ever since. So when our friends said they were having people over this weekend to barbecue, I knew exactly what I was going to make! (These poor friends of mine are always my taste testers for new recipes, from Cornbread to Brownies with Grilled Fruit. Hopefully they don’t mind!)

 

This recipe does include some Greek yogurt to keep the dish creamy but is fairly minimal. To kick the flavor up a notch, I included some of Healthy Solutions Spice Blends’ Salmon with Dill Spice Blend. The spice blend includes dill (of course), onion powder, and garlic powder along with some other spices that I thought would really complement the whole grain mustard. The result is a spicy potato salad that is sure to be a hit!

Note: Healthy Solutions Spice Blends sent me samples of some of their blends including the Salmon with Dill.

 

Ingredients:

Continue reading Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

Slow Cooker Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

I wanted to make an appetizer that travels easily so that I could bring it up to an engagement party I was attending on Long Island. Closet Cooking has a fantastic recipe for Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam that sounded perfect. I altered it to make it into a slow cooker recipe because I didn’t have time to keep something on the stove for 1-2 hours (I actually ended up making this overnight) and made it a bit less spicy.

The jam can be made well ahead of time which made it perfect for traveling!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (16 oz) package uncured center cut bacon
  • 1 large white onion, sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 cup brewed coffee
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped, plus a teaspoon of the adobo sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ground pepper, to taste

Continue reading Slow Cooker Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made these Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting for a lovely vegan bride-to-be for her bridal shower this weekend. I’m not going to lie, I was going to do a test run of these, and if I didn’t like them, she was getting normal egg-filled, buttercream-topped cupcakes. But. These are good. Really really good.

So when I did my test run, I passed them around to friends and family and conveniently left the word “vegan” out of the description until after they tasted the cupcakes. My “test subjects” didn’t seem too upset with my experiment, many went for seconds!

These cupcakes use dark chocolate (versus milk chocolate), and have no eggs, butter, or milk. And they are still super fluffy and moist. The best part, most of the ingredients are probably either in your pantry or really easy to find!

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen) adapted from the Curvy Carrot:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 2 oz vegan dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup sunflower oil
  • 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
  • 3/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons vanilla almond milk

Continue reading Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

It is too darn hot to be using the stove/oven, don’t you think? The grill is a great option for hot days, but we have recently been getting the most inconvenient thunderstorms right around dinnertime. I wanted to find some recipes that are perfect for summer but can also be made in a slow cooker so your whole kitchen doesn’t heat up. This one for Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches is really easy to make: you brown the chicken, line the slow cooker with onions and garlic, pour the sauce over the chicken, and let it cook for 3 hours. You’re left with a really tender pull-apart chicken perfect for summer evenings!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
  • 8 hamburger buns, toasted
  • radicchio, sliced

Continue reading Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Grilled Chicken with Tomato-Avocado Salad

I am in a grilling mood so there is going to be an influx of barbecue recipes on here, I think very few people will complain. We finally have a grill, but haven’t set it up yet (oops) so I am still making this recipe on my grill pan. This is a recipe from Cooking Light in the latest issue. I made a few changes just based on what I could find but the recipe is primarily in tact.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons 0% Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon  chili powder
  • 2 ears yellow corn, shucked
  • 1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  •  1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 sliced peeled ripe avocado

Continue reading Grilled Chicken with Tomato-Avocado Salad

Reuben with Homemade Sauerkraut

What do you do with left over Corned Beef and Cabbage? Make Reubens of course!
Because we still had some of the Creamy Horseradish Dijon sauce from the Corned Beef and Cabbage, I substituted that for thousand island dressing. Past that, this recipe is pretty traditional.
I still had half a cabbage left so I decided to make my own sauerkraut using a “fast” method so I could enjoy a Reuben with Homemade Sauerkraut today instead of waiting days for the sauerkraut to be ready.
Ingredients:
Sauerkraut:
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 a small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 a head of cabbage, roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup apple juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

Reuben:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • Left over corned beef, thinly sliced
  • Sauerkraut (recipe above)
  • Rye bread
  • Swiss cheese
  • Creamy Horseradish Dijion (recipe here), or thousand island dressing

Continue reading Reuben with Homemade Sauerkraut

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

It’s difficult to not associate barbecues with Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer is usually spent the same way summer began on Memorial Day: relaxing (preferably at a beach) and enjoying the company of friends and family while eating burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken. Well, there was no beach for me this weekend, but I was still able to “grill” despite the kind of crummy weather so that I still got my barbecue fix. Cooking Light has a surprisingly simple looking recipe for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches that I just had to try.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray

For the sauce:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses

Remaining ingredients:
8 sandwich rolls, toasted
Pickles, your choice

Don’t let the number of ingredients deter you from making this. It really is simple! The original recipe actually used dark brown sugar, but I had light brown sugar on hand. Feel free to use whichever one you happen to have. You can substitute chicken breasts for this, but thigh meat adds extra juiciness to the sandwich that you really don’t want to miss out tasting.
Begin by preheating your grill. I was stuck indoors, so I just used a grill pan.
Combine first 7 ingredients (light brown sugar through ginger) in a small bowl. I somehow misplaced my measuring spoons so I kind of eyeballed all of these ingredients. Don’t worry about getting the perfect amounts, it’s more about the proportion to the other spices.
Rub the mixture evenly over the chicken.
Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 180 degrees, turning occasionally.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Shred with 2 forks.
Set to the side for now.
Prepare your onions. If needed, slice your pickles. My boyfriend prefers sweet pickles so we bought the mini ones and minced them for an easy topping.
To prepare sauce, heat oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the next 5 ingredients (chili powder through ground red pepper) and cook for 30 seconds.
Add ketchup, vinegar and molasses.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
Stir in chicken and cook for 2 minutes, making sure the chicken is thoroughly coated in the sauce.
Toast the buns.
Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of the toasted roll.
Top with pickles if desired.
This recipe was promising from the start. I haven’t seen my boyfriend so excited for a meal I’m cooking in a long time; he even offered to help out! (He worked on grilling and shredding the chicken while I prepped and worked on the sauce, it really sped up the cook time). And this recipe really delivered. It tasted like it had slow cooked for hours, subtly sweet and spicy at the same time. I really don’t like pickles, but my boyfriend had his topped with pickles and said it really made the sandwich that much better.
This meal could easily be used in the winter months to remind you of the warmer weather. You could make this as I did on a grill pan, or to really enhance the flavor, you could cook the chicken in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.
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