Recipe Wednesday! Zesty Citrus...Slow Cooker Marmalade + Lemon Butter Cake

Hiya Folks! These are my kind of recipes - just a few ingredients, simple, classic and DELICIOUS! Just mix, cook and enjoy...wonderful smells to warm up your kitchen, and a taste of fresh citrus in season...what's not to like?

SLOW COOKER ORANGE MARMALADE

Ingredients:

4 large navel oranges
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

Directions:

Trim off the stem and navel ends of each orange.
Cut it in half and slice either by hand or in the food processor fitted with the 4mm blade into 1/8″ slices.
Place oranges, sugar and water in the crock pot.
Try to push the oranges down so they are covered as much as possible.
Cover and set on high and cook for 8 hours.
Remove the cover and set to low and cook uncovered for another 2-3 hours until the syrup is thick.
Spoon into jars and refrigerate.
Perfect on English muffins!

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LEMON BUTTER CAKE

Ingredients:

1 lb. salted butter
4 cups sugar
12 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 ounce bottle of lemon extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cream the butter and sugar together, then add in a single egg at a time, making sure to mix well after each one. Gradually add the flour. Mix in the lemon extract last and then pour into a large Bundt pan, greased and floured.

Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool thoroughly before eating. To dress it up, drizzle with a glaze made of powdered sugar thinned with a little milk and vanilla...and sprinkle with fresh lemon zest!

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"When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside."
~Wayne Dyer

"There is no blue without yellow and without orange."
~Vincent Van Gogh

Happy FEBRUARY! Time to plant! TURN that Phone Book into little seed pots

It's that time of year again you walk out your front door and there at your feet is a bag with a heavy phone book in it. Many people just toss them out but instead do something awesome with it.. make little seed pots!!!

"Ingredients"
(What you need:)

~ 1 phone book
~ 1 short and fat shot glass (if you want to make different sized pots you can do shot glass sized, wine bottle sized, etc)

"Directions"
(What you do:)

~ Start by taking a sheet of phone book, fold it in half.
~ Wrap it tightly around your shot glass leaving an overhang.
~ Fold in the overhang around the bottom of the glass, creating a bottom.
~ Press the shot glass onto a hard surface.
~ Slowly pull up glass leaving a little pot.
~ Fill with potting mix and plant seed.
~ Keep moist, ad wait for it to grow!
~ When ready to plant into the garden, plant the whole thing. (it will decompose)

*TIP* I use a dab of white glue if it looks like it won't stay together, or if
I use 2 thicknesses of paper.

Swimming in Applesauce? Clear the pantry shelves with these...

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Hello everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you as well! Due to our BUMPER crop of apples this year, we spent a lot of time this past fall CANNING applesauce! We use ours served as a chutney over pork, as a base for apple pies and crisps, on waffles and pancakes, stirred into hot oatmeal with cinnamon + nutmeg, and as a substitute for oil in recipes for muffins & quick breads to CUT DOWN on FAT! So here are two of OUR family favorite recipes to use up your stockpile too:

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SIMPLE APPLESAUCE PIE
(VERY old recipe!)

1 c. sweetened applesauce
(I stir in brown sugar to taste!)
1 c. whole milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten

Mix all ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 F for 35 minutes, or until custard is set. Cool, cut, enjoy!
Keep refrigerated.

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OLD-FASHIONED APPLESAUCE CANDY

4 c. applesauce
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. red cinnamon candies
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. cold water

Add sugar, cinnamon candies and applesauce to saucepot. Cook on medium, uncovered,
for 45 minutes. Soften gelatin in the 1/4 c. cold water, and add to pan. Cook 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into greased 8" square pan. Cool. Cut into squares, and dip each in granulated sugar. Store, covered, in a cool place for 1 day. Makes 18 pieces.

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AND, if you need to whip up applesauce first, try this:

CROCKPOT APPLESAUCE

Peel and cut a 1/2 peck bag full of granny smith (or similar) apples, and another 1/2 peck bag of a sweeter apple. Mix them together in a large crockpot, along with a bit of fresh lemon juice, a strip of lemon peel, and one cinnamon stick. To sweeten, you can add brown sugar and slowly bake down the apples to the consistency you like. Easy!

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"Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, drop a jar of applesauce."
~Natalie Goldberg

*sniffle* Rice Pudding to the Rescue! + Chicken Corn Soup, + brandy.....

When I'm sick I want comfort food...LOTS of it! Remember the old ditty about "feeding a cold, starving a fever?" I firmly believe in that! SO I'm doctoring myself with these old family standbys...

CREAMY YUMMY RICE PUDDING

(*ADD dried CRANBERRIES instead of raisins for a delicious holiday touch!*)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. (I like to stir in a pinch of nutmeg, too!) Serve warm.
We serve ours with cinnamon sprinkled on top! Good enough to make a grown man cry - and/or propose! ;)

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PA. DUTCH CHICKEN CORN SOUP

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) chicken
1 onion, chopped
4 quarts water
1 (10 ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped celery
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Directions:

In a large stock pot cover chicken and onion with water. Cook slowly until tender, approximately 1 hour. Remove chicken, let cool and remove meat from bones. Cut meat into 1 inch pieces, discard skin and bones (or, feed them to your cats!).
Cut corn from cobs if using fresh corn.
Add corn, cut up chicken, celery to stock pot and season with salt and pepper. Simmer soup for 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl make rivels by mixing together flour, salt, egg, and enough milk to form small crumbs.
Drop rivels into soup and add hard boiled eggs. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve hot.

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1. Per my Grandpa...ADMINISTER brandy just before bedtime...it really works on a cold!!! Our favorites are blackberry + peach.
2. Settle down + snooze away your sickness!

HAVE a wonderful, HEALTHY holiday season!

Recipe Wednesday! Celebrate with this EASY EGGNOG!

If you see a fat man …
Who’s jolly and cute,
wearing a beard
and a red flannel suit,
and if he is chuckling
and laughing away,
while flying around
in a miniature sleigh
with eight tiny reindeer
to pull him along,
then lets face it…
Your eggnog’s too strong!!!
(hee hee)

Set up a punch bowl full of this CREAMY goodness, and surround it with your favorite/festive holiday MUGS! We set up labelled SHAKERS of cocoa powder, cinnamon and nutmeg - a great way to use/display your Christmas salt shakers!

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EASY EGGNOG
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Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 quart milk, chilled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Nutmeg

Directions:

Beat three whole eggs and 1 yolk until very thick and light in color. Add 1 2/3 tablespoons sugar, beating in thoroughly. Stir in milk, vanilla, and salt and pour the mixture into glasses.
Beat remaining egg white until almost stiff, add remaining sugar and beat until peaks appear. Top each glass of eggnog with a spoonful of meringue, sprinkle with nutmeg and serve immediately.

*Refrigerate the eggnog right away, DON'T let it sit out!

*You can spike it with rum or brandy, but we like to use vanilla vodka!
Just add 2 oz. spirits to each 8 oz. glass. Just fab to warm you up after
shopping or wrapping!

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss."
~Robert A. Heinlein

"Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read."
~Francis Bacon

Bare tree? Fill it up with 101 IDEAS for crafting ornaments...

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Set up an ORNAMENT PARTY and make some with your friends and family! Grab that GLITTER and GLUE and get going! Now you won't have to hear the kids saying "I'm bored...."

Here's a few to sample....

#5...PUZZLED PIECES

#8...PEPPERMINT LETTERS

#18...PAPER PINECONES

#81...GLITTER SNOWBALLS

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AND the LINK:
http://www.everythingetsy.com/2011/09/101-handmade-ornament-tutorials/

HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!

Warming Trend...A spot of TEA...and Jelly Scones!!!

When the north wind blows and icicles are forming, it's time to curl up with a cup of hot tea, a wonderful book and these FABULOUS...

JELLY SCONES

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg
1/2 cup whipping cream (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
4 teaspoons jelly

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the egg, cream and orange peel. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
On a greased baking sheet, pat dough into an 8-in. circle; cut into eight wedges. Do not separate wedges. Make a thumbprint in each wedge, about 1/4 in. deep. Fill indentation with jelly. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.
(I often substitute sour cream for the half & half, since I always have it on hand, and it works great!!!)

*tip* BAKE THEM AHEAD + FREEZE FOR A FUSS-FREE CHRISTMAS MORNING BRUNCH!

"Kettle's on, cups are waiting
favorite chairs anticipating.
No matter what I have to do
my friend, there's always time
for you."
~Anonymous

And check out my fellow farmgirl friend JULIA'S site for a SUPERB selection of TEAS to buy for yourself or GIFTS!!!
www.turnerhilltea.com