2, 3, 5 Easy Dessert

Are you looking for the Tuesday feature "I canned a lOTT, now I'm baking in my Bistro"? click here

I think I've dug myself in a hole here. I've been cooking so much lately, the husband is starting to expect all these great meals all the time! AHHH! Sometimes, dinner is simply baked chicken with some potatoes and veggies. What can you do? Easy...whip up a great dessert that seems like you spent a lot of time on it. Shhh...he'll never know the difference!

Dessert for 2; 3 Ingredients; Done in 5 minutes

What you'll need:
1 box instant pudding
1 roll of Oreos (or 1/3 of a regular package)
2 cups milk

To begin, crush up the Oreos in a gallon size Ziploc bag.

Put 1/8 c (or 2 Tablespoons) crushed Oreos in the bottom of a small ramekin.

In a medium bowl, combine two cups milk with contents of pudding box and mix well with a whisk.

Fill ramekins with just under 1/2 c pudding.

Sprinkle more Oreo crumbs on top

DONE! Yes, that's right; you're done! Refrigerate until time to eat or serve right away. Now, you'll have some extra pudding and Oreo crumbs. I guess you could fix some for your kids. Or, eat the evidence. I'll never tell :)
When I make these for company that just shows up (we all have those friends), I make them in these double-shot glasses I have left over from the days I used to be able to handle two shots...of anything. If I'm really trying to impress, I'll garnish with a piece of orange rind, or a fresh mint sprig if I have it around. Kind of fancy for what we normally call Dirt Pudding!

Have a recipe to share? Link up here. 

This post was linked up to some of the parties shown here.

Apples in a Blanket

During Canning Week, I canned LOTS of apples....a couple of bushels worth actually. One of the things I canned was Apple Pie Filling. I snagged the recipe from Ott,A. The funny thing is, I don't even like Apple Pie. It's almost un-American. I know. I love the apples, just not a fan of pie crust. So now that I have jars and jars of pie filling, what am I going to do with them?

Back in my mom's Pampered Chef days, I remember her making something called Apple Braid. I can't remember the recipe, but I think it used crescent rolls. Because I'm too lazy to google and I didn't have any crescent rolls, I decided to just wing it.

What you'll need:

A jar of apple pie filling
1 can of biscuits
A couple tablespoons of flour
melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Open up the can of biscuits and work them into one big dough ball. Work in about 2 tablespoons of flour to make it easier to work with. Roll it out to a circle-ish form.

Dump the jar of pie filling in the middle and pull the edges up to the middle and press them together. It will kind of look like a football.

Bake for 15 minutes. Take out of oven and brush the melted butter on. Put back in oven for 3 minutes, or until golden brown all around.

Take out and let cool, slightly, then cut into slices. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Please visit my canning buddies below. We all "Canned a Whole LOTT, Now We're Baking In Our Bistro"

a Latte' with Ott, A   http://www.alattewithotta.blogspot.com

A Happy Valentine  http://ahappyvalentine.blogspot.com/

Gourmet Meals for Less  http://www.gourmetmealsforless.com/

From the Hive  http://mamabeefromthehive.blogspot.com/

Frog Belly Soup  http://frogbellysoup.blogspot.com/

Each Tuesday, we will be sharing recipes using the items we canned, so be sure to check back often! Did you participate in canning week and have a great recipe to share? Email me and we'll get you on our next list!

Have a recipe to share? Link up here. 

This post was linked up to some of the parties shown here.

Going Local Week: Eggs

So here in Indiana, it's Going Local Week. It actually started yesterday, but I was out and about picking up some local foods, so we didn't cook. One of my stops yesterday was at one of my family member's small farm. We almost exclusivley get our eggs from them. I have nothing against large scale operations. But if I can save a buck or two each week by having these lovely ladies provide me with a dozen or so eggs, then the husband and I can treat ourselves to a nice dinner out somewhere with the money saved.

Here's the dozen we picked up yesterday. Most of these gals lay brown eggs, but we do get the occasional green, and yes, blue. That's not photoshop my friend. That is actually a blue egg.

I love boiled eggs. The problem we have in our house is the dog. A couple of years ago, gypsy ate a snake. Yes, I know. Completely disgusting. She got incredibly sick. As it turns out, snakes are loaded with bacteria, many of which are very dangerous to dogs. She ended up with THREE bacterial infections and was off dog food for almost a month. The special diet was boiled eggs, cottage cheese, rice and Sprite cubes. She ate two tablespoons of the eggs/cottage cheese/rice mixture and one to two Sprite cubes every 2 hours, day and night. Let me tell you, that was a whole mess of boiled eggs...all of which were graciously provided by the chickens above. Anyway, now any time I make boiled eggs, she thinks they are for her and will maul you to get to one.

Egg Salad

What you'll need:

• 8 hard-boiled eggs, diced (plus one for the dog)
•  3/4 cup mayo 
• 1 tablespoon ranch dressing
• 1/4 cup minced onion (We love onion so you may want to decrease this)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard 
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dill weed (or one dill pickle spear, chopped finely)

 As the link above illustrates, there are many opinions on how long to boil eggs. For me, I lay out my eggs on the counter and put a large pot of water on to boil. That will let the eggs slightly warm up while you're waiting for the water. When the water starts boiling, I gently put the eggs in and let it boil for 15 minutes. Then I turn the burner off and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Next, I take the pan of hot water and eggs and put it in the sink and turn on the cold water. I let the cold water run over the eggs for about 5 minutes, then put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until I'm ready to peel them.

In a large bowl, put in the eggs (peeled and diced) and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with a fork. To me, egg salad is better when it's had a chance to set and really soak up the flavors. It can also be eaten right away.

Don't forget to put your egg shells in your compost bin!

Do you have a great recipe you'd like to share? Link it up on my blog! No rules, just a fun way to share recipes.

This post was linked to some of the parties listed here. 
Make sure you take a peek. I don't just do this to satisfy the hostesses; blog hopping is how you meet all kinds of wonderful bloggers and make new friends!

Canning Creations

One more BIG thank you to all who participated in Canning Week! I hope you had a blast.

So now that you have all those wonderful jars sitting around, what are you going to do with them? Ott, A and I are going to start posting recipes using those great things we canned. If you would like to be a guest blogger on one of our blogs, please contact me or Ott,A and we will work out arrangements.

While I was canning my Peach Marmalade and Peach Honey, I also canned peaches. Just plain peaches. Have I told you how much I LOVE peaches? I don't discriminate against peaches of any origin, but I do have a favorite! I recently started getting peaches from Anderson Orchards. They are just amazing! They look, smell and most importantly taste wonderful! If taste is your only concern, they also have peach seconds. I used those while making peach butter. But that's another blog for another day!

Back to the topic....

Almost Unbelievable Peach Cobbler

What you'll need:
1 pint of canned peaches, drained
1 box cake mix-yellow or butter cake (gasp! Yes, I DID say cake mix)
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350

Pour drained peaches in the bottom of an 8 x 8 glass pan. Evenly sprinkle cake mix on top of peaches. You won't need the whole box, just about 2/3 of it. It really depends on how much cobbler you want with your peaches. If you like a thick upper "crust", then go ahead and use the whole box. Cut your stick of butter into several small pats and lay them evenly on top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 until the top begins to brown, 35-45 minutes, depending on how much cake mix you used. Let cool, slightly. The husband will throw a scoop of ice cream on top of his, but I prefer it just the way it is!

Even if you didn't join in on Canning Week, the best part about this recipe is you can just use fresh peaches! Just peel, pit, and slice them up in the bottom. This recipe will work with just about any fruit. We're right in apple season in Indiana. Cortland apples are my favorite to use in this recipe, but just about any apple will work.

What local products are you using? If you blog about your local foods, leave a comment with your blog address so we can all check it out.

Going Local Week (Indiana) is September 5-11. Celebrate by eating at least one meal a day featuring an Indiana product!

Canning Week Wrap Up

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Did you know that August is National Canning Month? And did you know that Ball celebrated it's anniversary this week? Gee, it's almost like we planned this or something!

It sure has been a great week! We're so glad everyone joined in on the fun. We had lots of great recipes you all shared with everyone. The canning post contest winner is over at Ott,A's page. Congrats to everyone who entered. Whether you're an old pro or a canning newbie, I hope everyone was able to find some useful information here. We'll keep the Facebook page up as a resource for everyone and future Canning Weeks (do I see a sequel coming??).

We had over 300 entries for the fabulous giveaways! And I know you're all waiting for the winners to be announced, so here they are:

Fresh Preserves Starter Kit #1

Congrats to Roberta Bales Davis! Her winning entry came from joining our Facebook page!

Fresh Preserves Starter Kit #2

Congrats to Christy from Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy ! Her comment is from Ott,A's post about Tomato Juice!

Ball Canning Guide

Congrats to Penny from Plate to Plate! Her winning entry came from her Linky Party entry for Canned Tomato Sauce!

Paula Deen's Recipe Journal

Congrats to Katie from Pinke Post! Her winning entry came from posting our badge on her site!

Apron/Potholder Set

Congrats to Siteseer from Where the Road Takes Us! Her comment is on Ott,A's Salsa post.


Winners: Please email me @ jenperfla at gmail dot com with your shipping information so we can get your great prizes sent out.

A HUGE thank you to Jane from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms for being our guest judge (and giving out her cookbook to the winner!!!) and promoting our canning efforts.



Don't forget you can also buy her book on Amazon! I just bought a copy for my mom. It was supposed to be a surprise, but if she reads this, then I guess she'll know it's coming!

 I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as we did!

Jalapeno Jelly

It's the last day of Canning Week...kind of bittersweet. I'm ready to get back to my regular blog, but we've had so much fun sharing our canning recipes, tips, and stories. When you're done here, make sure to check out Ott, A and her post!
Jalapeno Jelly?! Yes, you read that right. For those of you who have not tried it, it's really much better than it sounds.

What you'll need:
12-15 medium to large jalapenos
2 packages liquid pectin
2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar


First, stem and seed peppers. Place peppers into blender with 1 cup vinegar and run on chop setting until no large chunks remain.


Pour into large pot and add other cup of vinegar and sugar. Bring to a hard boil and boil for 10 minutes.



Add two packages of pectin and boil for one minute. Here's a handy trick I learned. Cut off the tops of your liquid pectin and stand them in a glass, or in a measuring cup. Because timing is so critical in jellies, this will really help!



Remove from heat, skim off any foam, and pour into jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in water bath.

Now that you have tons of it, what are you going to do with it? I prefer to eat this on wheat crackers with some cream cheese. Leave a comment below telling us how YOU like jalapeno jelly. 

Don't forget about the GIVEAWAYS this week! Today is the last day to get your chance to win. (I will take entries until 11:59 p.m. EST Friday-please note the linky contest will end at 4 p.m. today) Here are the ways to get your entries in:

• One entry for joining our Facebook page
• One entry for linking up in our Linky Party blog post contest (AND you'll get entered to win an awesome cookbook, which you can also buy on Amazon--makes a great gift)
• One entry for commenting on one of my posts
• One entry for commenting on one of Ott, A's posts
• One entry for putting our "Canning Week" button on your blog (please comment and let me know you did)
• One entry for Tweeting on Twitter (please comment and let me know and use "canning" as a tag) 

Remember those awesome prizes from earlier posts? Well, courtesy of Fresh Preserves, we now have TWO canning starter kits to give away!!

Peach Honey

When you're done here, make sure to check out Ott, A and her post!
Have you canned something? Did you link up to our Linky Party? There's a great prize for the winning post!

While you were peeling away making peach marmalade, did you save the skins? If you did, now you can make peach honey! I got the instructions for this while I was chatting with the folks at Adrian's Orchards. For some reason, I think they must have left out some old family secret because mine didn't turn out exactly the same as what they sell, but it's still darn tasty!


To preserve skins, put in bowl and cover with wet coffee filter and refrigerate.




You'll need at least two cups of peach skins. The more you use, the more peachy it will be.

In small pan, put in peach skins and add enough water so the peach skins are completely covered. Bring to a boil and them simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peach skins are soft and fall apart when touched. To get peach juice, strain using a cheesecloth. Or, you can pour it through a coffee filter.

If you don't have much juice at this point, add in some peach juice or apple juice until you have at least 3-4 cups. Return juice to pan and add half as much sugar as you have juice. So if you have 4 cups of juice, add 2 cups of sugar. Boil until it has the consistency of honey. I tested it out by dripping it onto a plate. Mine seemed to be taking forever to thicken up, so I cheated and added a little pectin; about a teaspoon of the powdered kind.

When it's the desired consistency, pour into jars, leaving 1/4" headspace, and process for 5 minutes.













What's that below?? Those are MORE of the prizes we're giving away! We have a matching apron/potholder set and Paula Deen's Recipe Journal! How do you get your entries in?

• One entry for joining our Facebook page
• One entry for linking up in our Linky Party blog post contest (AND you'll get entered to win an awesome cookbook, which you can also buy on Amazon--makes a great gift)
• One entry for commenting on one of my posts
• One entry for commenting on one of Ott, A's posts
• One entry for putting our "Canning Week" button on your blog (please comment and let me know you did)
• One entry for Tweeting on Twitter (please comment and let me know and use "canning" as a tag) 

Make sure you comment and let me know about your tweets and if you added our button to your page!