Dried Pears

The Bountiful Baskets had pears in them! I am planning on canning some, but decided to try and dry a few!

They turned out really good, and what a great snack!

I always forget I had a food dehydrator and I am going to have to try this again.

I even have a tray to make fruit leather!

Dried Pears

(from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving)

• Choose any variety of pear and allow to ripen. Wash, peel and core. (I actually got lazy and didn't peel all of them and thought they were fine!)
• Cut into 1/2 inch slices, quarters or halves. (I used my mandolin, so great!)
• You can pretreat by dipping if desired. (I didn't do this, but you dip the fruit in a lemon or lime juice. 1 cup juice to 1 quart water. soak no longer than 10 minutes, drain.)
• Dry at 130-135 degrees until leathery with no moisture pockets.

Sloppy Joes - Pioneer Woman Style

This is now my new favorite Sloppy Joe recipe!! It was very flavorful and it was very simple. I even made it ahead of time and put it in my small crock pot on warm so it was ready after the soccer game! I halved the recipe for my family and had plenty!

The boys loved them and this is definitely my new keeper recipe!

Sloppy Joes

(the pioneer woman)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 whole large onion, diced (I cheated and used dried onion flakes)
• 1 whole large green bell pepper, diced (I didn't add this because of the kids)
• 5 cloves garlic minced (I only had 1 clove, so I added some garlic powder too!)
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup (I added a little more than that)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• worcestershire sauce to taste (I didn't add this)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (optional, I didn't add this)
• tabasco sauce (optional, I didn't add this either)
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Kaiser rolls, or whatever buns you have
• butter

Add butter to large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard.

Add beef back to the skillet and add onions, garlic, and green pepper. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegies begin to soften.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add the tomato paste, worcestershire, and tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls, topping with a slice of cheese if desired. ( I did this and it was really good!)

Serve hot with chips!

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

I found this on Jamie Cooks it Up and it turned out really good! Sometimes I think pasta salads lack flavor, but this one had good flavor and was a great summer meal. My kids ate hot dogs, but I think they would have liked this if they tried it!

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

(www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com)

• 1 16oz pkg multicolored pasta
• 1 small can olives
• 3 large carrots
• 1 green pepper (I didn't have one so I cut up a cucumber)
• 1/2 bunch green onions (I didn't add these because I didn't have any)
• 2 tomatoes (or 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes)
• 3/4 cup pepperoni
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Johnny's Garlic Seasoning (I just minced 1 clove of garlic)
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (I just used the Italian I had on hand)

Boil up your pasta and cook according to directions. Rinse in cool water and set it aside in a large bowl.

Chop up your vegies and pepperoni and add to your pasta bowl.

Add all other ingredients except your Italian dressing to the pasta and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Just before serving, pour the Italian dressing on to taste! (I sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top of the individual bowls too!)

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I was surprised to find in the cookie section we had no recipes for no-bakes! These cookies are not always my favorite, but are great when it is summer and you don't want to use your oven! I found this recipe on http://www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/ and they looked so yummy I had to make some! They are just as good as I remember and a great easy treat for the kids and all their friends!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Jamie Cooks it up!

• 4 cups sugar
• 6 tbsp cocoa
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I only had creamy and used that)
• 6 cups quick oats (add 7 cups if using regular oats)

Put the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt in a large saucepan. Over medium high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it comes to a boil, start stirring constantly for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add your vanilla, peanut butter and oats. Stir in around until it is all incorporated. (I added the vanilla and peanut butter and then stirred until the peanut butter was melted. Then I poured this on top of the oats in a bigger bowl and stirred it all together.) It might be a little thin at first, but it will set up!

Drop by large spoonfuls onto wax paper. If you don't have wax paper, just spray cooking spray on cooking sheets and that will work too! Let the cookies cool and set up for about 20 minutes, then you are ready to eat!!

Makes 36 large or 70 small cookies!

Oatmeal Crispies

I thought these were very good oatmeal cookies! They were great because you can freeze or refrigerate the dough. I always love cookies when they come out of the oven and then they just are not as good! This ensures that you can make a few and then make more later when you want that hot cookie again!

Oatmeal Crispies

(from the pioneer woman cookbook)

• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups rolled oats

Finely chop the pecans. Use a knife and with a rocking motion cut them, or I just used my food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening and sugars. Beat together until combined.

Lighting beat the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Add the egg mixture to the shortening/sugar mixture. Beat to thoroughly combine.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, stir until combined.

Dump in the oats and pecans and stir to combine.

(Variations - add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, or add chocolate chips)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half on a sheet of waxed paper and form a roll 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrapping the waxed paper tightly around the roll.

Chill the rolls until ready to use, up to one week. (or in the freezer for up to 3 months)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the dough and slice the rounds about 1/2 inch thick. If dough is frozen, you don't need to thaw, just add 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!!

Honey Jelly

Ever heard of Honey Jelly??? I hadn't until this week when we went to the Dentist and we were shared this jar!

It tastes just like honey but spreadable! I had it on toast and it was great! My boys had it on their peanut butter sandwiches and they didn't know any different!

I found this recipe on the internet and I am planning on trying it sometime soon!

Honey Jelly

(from www.ichef.com)

• 1 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup liquid fruit pectin

Heat honey and water to boiling, stirring constantly. Add liquid fruit pectin and bring back to boil. Allow to cool in jely jars.

(from a Homemaking Booklet, Mormon Church, 1978)

Citrus Salad and Sugared Pecans

After a long adventure up in the mountains this summer, I am officially back and ready to try new recipes again!

I made this salad a few nights ago and it is one my mom makes that we enjoy!

It is light and fresh for summer time and my most favorite part about it is....

putting the sugared pecans on top! They are sooo yummy that I always make extras to just eat! I don't know why I don't make these more often, probably because I would sit and eat them all day!
Citrus Salad
(from my mom and ???)

• 8 cups lettuce
• 8 cups romaine
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pint strawberries, halved
• 1 orange, peeled and cubed
• 2 avocados, sliced

Citrus Salad Dressing

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest

Sugared Pecans

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pecan halves

Mix sugar and pecans, cook over low heat until sugar melts, stirring to coat - spread on tin foil to cool.