Repeat: Strawberry Freezer Jam

In my early salvaging days I threw a batch of this together. It's quite possibly the most delicious jam I've ever had and it's SO simple to make. Just do it!

 Ingredients:

4 cups hulled Strawberries
4 cups Sugar
1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 7.5 oz. package of regular powdered fruit pectin
3/4 cups water

Directions:
Use a potato masher to crush the berries until there is about 2 cups of pulp. Add sugar and lemon peel, let stand for 10 minutes. Prepare fruit pectin in pan by boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add to berry mixture; stir for three minutes when mixture is no longer grainy. Ladle into half pint freezer containers, let stand for 24 hours before placing in the freezer for up to a year.

Lemon Marmalade

Extended Shelf Life for: Lemons!

I think lemons are the most joyful fruit available in the supermarket and hanging from trees today.

When the man a CouchSurfer came home with multiple bags filled with lemons, I was quite thrilled and being as it was 'canning' season, I went ahead and sought out a way to use up these joyful little gems in a way that they would just keep on giving.

I debated doing Lemon Curd in bulk, but with the addition of eggs, it seemed to difficult of a task and I opted rather for Lemon Marmalade. A choice I far from regret!

It was a bit tricky and time consuming and I'm not 100% certain that it is a recipe which is easily undertaken at high altitude, BUT it's still delicious and worth a shot.

Unfortunately, I can't recall exactly where I found my recipe so...just be thankful I wrote it down in my little recipe notebook!

Ingredients/Directions:

Combine 4 cups, thinly-sliced-unpeeled lemons and 3 quarts water in a large kettle or stock pot. Bring to a boil, boil for 20 minutes or until lemon peels are tender. Strain off lemon peels and re-measure water, making sure there is still a total of three quarts. Combine water, fruit peels and 8 cups of sugar in the kettle or stockpot and bring to a boil til it sheets or reaches 221 F, pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Enjoy or give as gifts.

Chicken Taco Soup

Extended Shelf Life for: Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Avocados, Limes

If I am truthful, I will let you know that I remember very little about the true way in which this soup came together and as is incredibly common in this kitchen, I have no idea what amount of what went in or stayed out, etc. And I realize that makes me a poor food blogger. But here's the thing, I believe, that sometimes in the kitchen, the most important thing is knowing what goes together, to know your personal preference for how much broth to have compared to the density of other ingredients and above all else, I think what is important is to use what you have, to use it well and enjoy the results as they are...this was a delicious soup and I'm going to tell you what goes into, but as for how much and exact measurements, let go of that and just let it come together, it's a soup for goodness sake!

Ingredients/Directions:
Inspired by Rachel Ray's recipe Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

 In a stock pot or dutch oven saute 1 chopped onion in a drizzle of olive oil until tender and translucent. Add 2-3 (or more) minced Garlic Cloves and 1 minced pepper of choice (or a couple and a variety if you like spice - we have handy-dandy roasted jalapeno ice cubes which I added at the end), saute for a couple of minutes, then push to the side. Add additional olive oil if needed and begin cooking 4-6 Chicken Breasts until juices run clear. At this point, I like to take a pair of kitchen sheers and a fork and cut the breasts into bite size pieces. Add 2-cups Home Made (or store bought) Chicken Broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Run about 10 tomatoes through a juicer (but not on the juicer mode...more like mincing/blending mode) or blender and add to boiling broth. Adjust liquid according to personal preference by adding water or broth. Season with, lime juice, salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder and cumin. Scoop into bowls top with Shredded Cheddar Cheese and slices of Avocado (or mashed avocado if they're a little ripe ;)).

Roasted Roots and Chimichurri

Extended Shelf Life for: Roots and Parsley

Roasted veggies are roasted veggies and honestly, I have no secrets...I could use some tips actually on how to get the perfect roasted veggies without waiting an hour and a half, but perhaps the answer to that lies more in leaving high elevation than anything else...or having a more efficient oven, who knows...

What I can offer however, is a recipe for Chimichurri - a sauce which I have dreamt about and considered for years, every time we receive an abundance of parsley, I think, hmmm, I should really try that recipe for Chimichurri sauce. Well folks, I finally have and let me tell you, totally worth it and honestly, should have been done a long time ago!

Ingredients/Directions:

In a food processor, blender or your awesome multipurpose juicer combine 1 1/4 cups Italian Parsley, 1/4 cup Olive Oil, 2 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano or Basil, 2 Tbsp. Onion, 3-4 peeled Garlic Cloves, 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar (or Red Wine Vinegar), and 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice - pulse in food processor or blender, or run through juicer until you reach a nice, saucy consistency. Cover and chill a minimum of 2 hours before serving, should last up to 1 week or a little more if you 'daring'!

Stir-Fry for the Man

Extended Shelf Life for: Mushrooms, Lime, Onion, Bok Choy

Sometimes, I go out to dinner with friends but still manage to throw something together for my man.

Unfortunately, I don't know how delicious this dish was or wasn't, but I can give you a quick run down in case you're in need of some stir-fry action.

This particular stir-fry began with sauteed onions, followed by mushrooms (add a touch of butter at this point because mushrooms are always better with butter), garlic and finally bok choy. We had some sweet and spicy Thai sauce leftover in the refrigerator which I used to add some kick and flavor, serve over rice and cross-your-fingers that it will be enjoyed while you head out to enjoy dinner with friends!

Juicer Favorites/Experiments gone Well

Extended Shelf Life: Apples, Grapes, Bok Choy, Carrots, Pomegranate

Since returning to Laramie, we opted to make a fairly grand purchase of an Omega J8500 Juicer and it has been revolutionary!

I'm confident you'll be seeing a lot of juicer related recipes popping up as we're discovering all kinds of uses for the appliance (if you're feeling a bit impatient and want to learn more now, check out this page about my experience with the Juicer).

For now, know that a combination of Apples, Grapes and Bok Choy is quite amazing!

Equally amazing is a combination of Apples, Carrots and Pomegranate.

Raspberry Banana Bread

Extended Shelf Life for: Raspberries

Ingredients/Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease one 9x5x3 loaf pan.

 In a small bowl (cereal bowl is reasonable) sprinkle about 1 cup overripe, mushy Raspberries with your 1-2 TBSP. of your choice sweetener. Let set.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups All-Purpose Flour , 1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder, 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda, 1/4 Tsp. Salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl mix together 2 Eggs, 1 1/2 cups Bananas, 1 cup Sugar, and 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil Add egg and banana mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moistened. Give raspberries a quick stir, breaking down any bigger berries, before folding into the bread batter.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and transfer to the oven where it'll work a bit of chemistry and magic over the course of 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Learn a little more and take part in some banana bread discussions here at Squidoo!