Freezer Peach Jam

Before you begin:

Have all your jam jars ready and waiting. Wash as you would any other dishes. I do mine in the dishwasher on high temp, as this also sterilizes them reducing the need to boil them. Use either sturdy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, or short wide-mouthed glass jars made especially for the freezer.

It's best to choose containers that are no bigger than pint-size; the jam will not set up as well in large containers.

3 cups fresh peaches, peeled and cut into chunks

5 cups sugar

1 pkg, Sure Jell Fruit Pectin (powdered, do not use the liquid form)

1 cup water in which to dissolve and boil the pectin

• Wash and peel the peaches
• Place it in a wide-bottomed pan and crush with a potato masher to a chunky consistency
• Stir in the sugar and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
• In the meantime, mix together the pectin and water in a small saucepan until the powder is dissolved; bring it to a boil over high heat, and let it boil for a full minute.
• Pour it into the fruit and stir for a couple of minutes
• Pour the jam into your containers, leaving a half-inch of "headspace" at the top
• Cover the containers and let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours
• The jam should thicken significantly overnight.  If it's too thick, stirring it will soften it up. If it's still too runny after 24 hours, pour it into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. It will get thicker as it cools, and you can re-bottle as before

Storing your Jam:

As the name implies, freezer jam is meant to be stored in the freezer. In fact, it will keep beautifully in the freezer for up to a year. You can also keep freezer jam in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Once you open a container of jam, you should use it within three weeks as well. Just remember never to keep freezer jam at room temperature, or it will spoil.

Fresh Peach Crisp

It's that time of year...the peaches are here!! (I totally didn't mean to make that rhyme and I thought of changing it but...) I love, love, love (did I say *LOVE*) that you can go to just about any local farm in the area and get fresh peaches. They are so juicy that the juices run down your chin on the first bite and we usually don't make it home without having downed quite a few! (We always keep a container of Handi Wipes in the truck for such adventures!) This is an all-time favorite dessert that I like to make with these beauties. Tomorrow I'll share my recipe for easy Homemade Peach Jam (we always run out of this mid-Winter)!

Ingredients

• 5 cups sliced peaches
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Toss peaches with lemon juice and water in a shallow 2 quart baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix to blend thoroughly. Cut in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Crumble over peaches to cover completely.
4. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

As an added bonus you can serve with a big old scoop of vanilla ice cream!!

Enjoy!

Deana

Sweet & Spicy Beer Nuts

Continuing on my mission to use up the beer that has been in the frig for-everrr, I tried these tasty little treats. I love pecan anything so this recipe is definitely a keeper.

2 cups Pecan halves

2 teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground Red Pepper

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup of Beer (I used a Lager)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.

2. Mix pecans salt, chili powder, olive oil, cumin and red pepper in a small mixing bowl. Spread on foil lined baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes or until you begin to smell them.

3. Combine the beer and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium high heat until it reaches 250 degrees with a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and carefully stir in nuts and any loose spices form the bowl. Spread coated nuts back onto foil lined baking sheet and separate any clusters.

4. Let cool completely and break apart any large pieces.

5. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 3 cups of nuts.

Cheddar Beer Burgers - Happy 4th of July

We had a few of our Twitter friends over Saturday evening for a night of food and fireworks. I wanted to come up with a new recipe for grilled burgers and these turned out totally awesome! The amounts in the recipe are approximate as I really don't measure anything when I am making things up!

1 1/2 lb. Ground Beef

4 oz. Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, diced into 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 cup Lager Beer (I used Yeungling)

1/4 cup fresh Cilantro chopped

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked Pepper Blend (I *love* the new McCormick Peppercorn Medley Grinder)

Preheat grill.

In a large mixing bowl combine all of the above ingredients. Form into patties with the centers slightly thinner than the outside edges to prevent the edges from overcooking before the centers are done.

Grill on lightly greased grill at medium heat to the *done*ness of your liking. Enjoy...we sure did!

Hot Dogs and French Toast? For Breakfast?

That's right! My husband and I are big fans of Adam Richman and the show Man VS Food on the Travel Channel. Recently one morning Jon decided to try something that he had seen on the show. When he described it to me, it...well....made me throw up a little in my mouth, lol! We had no specific recipe for this so this is our version of the above pictured breakfast food (I don't even know what to call it!!)

First in a small bowl beat an egg with a little milk. Take 2 slices of sourdough bread and soak both sides in the egg mixture. Fry in skillet (I always use my great Grandmother's well seasoned black cast iron skillet) with a little cooking oil on both sides until browned. Remove, butter and season with cinnamon/sugar. Set aside. Take two hot dogs and slice lengthwise making sure not to go all the way through. Open and fry these in the same pan with a little more oil added until browned and they just start to curl. Top with slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese (on the show they used swiss cheese which we didn't have on hand). Turn off the heat and place a cover over the hot dogs until the cheese is melted and gooey. Now here's the part that sounds really gross....spread the french toast with strawberry jam. Place the hot dogs on top of the french toast and dig in. The first bite may seem hard to place in your mouth but believe me (I tried this) it is REALLY delicious!!