Saturday, February 25, 2012

Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Today  turned out to be a very productive day! I got quite a bit of canning done, cleaned my house, didi laundry,all those things that just  keep piling up on the TO DO List while your busy all week. Today I finally got the canner out & prepared to make my canned  apple pie filling. I just love because you can simply open a jar any evening for a quick dessert on top of vanilla ice cream...throw into a pie shell....spoon into bottom of cassarole dish for a quick apple brown betty...and even ontop of plain or honey greek
yogurt! There are just so many possibilities. Would you like my recipe?


First you cut up 3 large bags of granny smith apples. I had to suck it up & buy them because we moved this year & we dont have our awsome apple trees anymore:(
Thats ok whatever works! So I hand peel mine, some peopple prefer a peeler but I find they take longer for me. Then I use a apple slicer to make it snappy. Dont let any seeds get in there. Put them into a large stainless steel bowl and toss them in lemon juice & a couple teaspoons of citric acid to keep them from getting brown.


Pack them into clean, hot sterile jars leaving 1 inch headspace on top. Then pour your  sauce over top-again staying an inch down from top. Clean outer ring of jar with damp rag & then dry, making sure not to leave any sauce on edges so they all seal properly.


Then, simply process in boiling water covering jars/lids for 20-25 minutes.


Here they are after all the cleaning up, I was a bit messy today!! It will be totally worth it though. If you have any leftovers, dump caramel sauce into a cassarole dish toss in some extra apples and add you favorite apple crumble topping & you have dessert all ready for tonight without dipping into your beautiful jars!

Here's the Recipe:

Homemade Apple Pie Filling (Canned) Makes 12 Quarts

3 large bags of granny smith apples(or other firm tart apples)
8 cups sugar
2 cups cornstarch
5 teaspoons apple pie spice(pamperd chef) or mix cinnamon & nutmeg & pinch of clove
2 tsp salt
10 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. citric acid

Method:

*Combine in a stock pot the cornstarch,sugar,apple pie spice,salt, & water whisking well. Let thicken on medium and dont let it burn:)
*Peel,core, and slice apples, toss in lemon juice & citric acid in bowl.
*Bring canner to a boil 3/4 full with water
*Fill hot clean,freshly washed jars with apples to about an inch before top. Spoon over sauce to an inch below lid area. Clean tops(glass ring) and dry to be sure nothing keeps them from sealing!
*Bring an inch of water in a small pan to a boil ,remove from heat & add sealing lids.
*Twist on rings, but not too tight,but sealed well, and place into canner. Mine will do 6-7 at a time. Make sure they are not touching bottom of canner,and in some sort of metal rack with handles.
* Lower into boiling water and process for 20-25 minutes.
*Make sure jars are covered by at least an inch of water, go ahead & add a bit more if you need, just start timer for the 20-25 minutes at the time of boiling.
* Remove & let cool on a tea towel. Dont touch at all until they "pop" seal.
Makes 2 dozen approx.

Enjoy!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Fun Find

I just wanted to share a great recipe I came across on Pinterest !
I had a bit of a hectic weekend as the 2 baby bunnies I was setting my alarm for all night to supplement feed, ended up passing away. It was really sad. I needed to get my mind onto something positve...and As I was roaming pinterest I had to try this recipe I saw. I love all breads and this looked so easy, I thought my brain could handle it at that moment, and it was delicious!!

The recipe is :
English Muffin Bread BY: " One good thing" blog by Jillee
and she is right it makes AMAZING TOAST!! Hop over her to check out the great recipe!!



I used fresh honey from my neighbors hive and it was to die for!

She has other great recipes on her blog as well!
Cheers~

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Sad day

Last night I found out one of the bunnies in the last litter has lost use of his entire back end, its so sad ....Ive been up all night pinning the momma down to let it feed, as the little guy cant get to the nipple on his own and hes dehydrated & starving. I was devastated & hopeless, but was determinec to set my alarm for night feedings.. Then I found this...


 

Oh my goodness,how sweet! There is hope for this little life!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

How Bunnies Give Birth


Welcome to the bunny farm! Meet Mocha, isnt she pretty? Shes sweet,cuddly,kind, and very loving. She just has 12 babies! This is her 15 minutes afterwards resting. Shes worked very hard...


Bunnies give birth between 28-34 days after conceiving , a very quick pregnancy, Im jealous..lol.
The first sign of pregnancy obviously is weight gain, although sometimes they barely show it until a week before birth.


Our bunnies are inside when its -30 out, so we had to make an impromtu nesting basket. Whatever works they are very easy going!


They start to madly pluck fur out of they're neck and stomach to create a soft nest for the babies to be born into. It amazes me every time, it goes so fast.  Both my mommas had their babies within minutes of the plucking festival.


Here she is with a soft chuck of her fur in her mouth preparing-dont worry! It doesnt hurt her at all, she has been waiting to do this!  Moments later the babies are born and she eats the sacs around the babies as they are born. It is normal and instintual to ignore the babies until nighttime after giving birth and staying on the opposite side of the cage from them.  She is protecting them from predators by not staying near them and drawing attention to them.


Do you see the size difference in these 2 babes? I had to intervene this time because Mocha had so many babues they were not all having a chance at nursing, the bigger ones got all the nipples faster & drank more.
I  had to intervene immediatly after day 4  after finding 3 babies with ribs sticking out. I kneeled on the floor & held the mother firmly against my chest with her feet on the ground and her belly between my legs holding her front feet firmly. I attached the ravenous tiny ones and forced nursing for them. This only happens with huge batches, because typically they would each get a nipple, but these poor things needed help.



and after only 3 weeks they look like this!! Isnt it incredible? Still blows my mind how fast they grow,totally amazing!


Have a great weekend!

Old Fashioned Baked Oatmeal


On of my favorite "bake the night before" school recipes is baked oatmeal.
The kids love it, its super quick and easy, and who doesnt love one bowl recipes!!




The kids helped, and picked there favorite fruit to add.



The smell in the house is wonderful as always....we doubled the recipe this time to get 2 trays because I have a teenager who eats me out of house and home it seems...or just a bottomless pit right now.



Heres the recipe if youd like to try it!

Baked Oatmeal

3 1/2 cups Oatmeal
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1 cup raspberries,strawberries or blueberries
1/4 cup vegtable oil
3 eggs
1-2 apples grated
1 cup applesauce
1-2 cups milk

Mix in order & spread into greased baking dishes-I use glass, and bake at 350 for aprox 30 minutes. Cover with wrap or tinfoil if eating in morning. Slice into squares & pour on creamo or milk, and brow sugar.
Enjoy!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Patiently Waiting for Spring On the Homestead


Today we went outisde to look around and plan our spring projects. The greenhouse has wood peices falling off everywhere from all the windstorms...the firewood pile will need refilled and refreshed by summer.
It was such a lovely sunny day but then we got totally distracted by something...


But then we saw all these super cute wild bunny ttracks and went about the property following them around. Boy these guys get around!


Followed them all the way down into the revine..


Deep into some bunny burrows and underground tunnel systems..



and deep down  inside the snow tunnels. These guys are so clever!


Even the kids and dogs knew they were on some kind of adventure!


The girls ended up finding 2 beautiful white fuzzballs bunny babies in one tunnel, but they were so quick there was no time for pictures...so we headed back to check on our pet bunnies in the house.
Our home sits up on the ridge above the beaver pond. Time to head home!

And these guys have doubled in size since I took this pic.


It was a really relazing and nice sunday.


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Watching....



No words needed....what is she watching...???

 

hmmmm, oh now I see....


Well he doesnt seem to bothered..back to supper!




Friday, February 3, 2012

Back To The baby Shower Planning


EEEKKK!  I have a couple weeks until I have to put on my sisters baby shower, and its so fun! A couple more things Ive been working on:


Sweet Goats Milk Soap Booties Favors

Mini rosebud soaps



I need to make about 16-20 Favor bag packages...now just to ribbon them up!


And since I made such a mess in the kitchen I pumped out soome of my popular guys Goats Milk soap in whitetail design, which I love! I make these custom order but need lots of advance warning for showers as I only have 1 mold! Later....

Linking TO:



Yippee its friday & shop talk

I so exicted! I thought I would share the fun news that I just recieved that my handmade natural Goats MIlk body Lotions & soaps are now available at the old picket fence tiny gift shop downtown! Thats so
exciting for me!!  Heres a peek of how shes got it displayed and set up in a cute little corner! These are my organic lip balms, and organic excema healing balms in the soap box!

These are the Goats milk body lotions below:
,

Her cute little display. Shes renovating this week and said shes going to give me  the whole glass rack so I better get busy!! So far Ive only sold my items at trade shows, craft fairs, and events such as that for the last 3 years. Im going to get my etsy shop sorted out soon but for now my items are available through my Whipped Clean facebook page!


Pure & Natural Goats Milk- Relaxing & Moisturizing Milk Bath...

Last but not least I thought i would share an early morning pic of a cyote watching me...the poor guy was limping pretty bad, and he wont last long in these winter conditions. He limped up the driveway & then got frightened when he saw me and flew away, but if you look close you can see him in the background starring at me:)
Have a fabulous weekend !