Freezing, Preserving Apple and Pear Pie Fillings

With 4 plum trees, 8 apple trees and 5 pear trees, there are so many things one can do with all this fruit, other than feed the visiting deer. As for me – I’ve canned them, made yummy desserts, (my mother-in-law has turned me on to some awesome recipes), dried them, as well as simply eating them on the fly. But even after all that’s said and done, its not enough because there are so much left over. So what’s a gal to do?

Well check out this other way to use all that fruit – pear and apple pie fillings. Yes, you can preserve all that fruit for pies!! You can jar the fillings, freeze the fillings, or even make the pies and freeze them too. Woohoo – I’m on it !!

Here’s an apple pie filling recipe that I got from my Canadian friend Ardis. She makes over 50 pies and freezes them so they’re on hand when she goes visiting over the winter, or when her hubby Gary just … wants … pie … for … desert. Enjoy

ARDIS’S APPLE OR PEAR PIE FILLING
(Makes 1 pie)

7 apples or pears: peeled, cored and sliced (I cubed some of mine), place in bowl with 1 cup water and 1 tbls lemon juice to prevent browning
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Mix filling together. Remove apple/pear pieces from lemon water and add to the bowl of filling mix and coat thoroughly.

Freezing Methods

At this point you can either place the filling in a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer and freeze it as shown in the picture above. When it’s time to make your pie, simple thaw the bag of fruit and add it to your pie crust and bake your pie as usual. Or you can now make your pie crust, add the filling, add your pie topping, and put the entire pie in a zip lock bag and freeze it for later as shown in the picture below. Either way works wonderfully.

Baking A Frozen Pie

Turn your oven temp to 425 and bake the frozen pie for 15 min. Drop the temp to 375 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Simply scrumptious !!

So what’s on the agenda for tomorrow? Canning pie filling. Until then – enjoy 🙂

Take A Guess

Any ideas? Found this and many others hanging out in the garden.

Ok, I’ll spill the beans. It’s the remains of a Kale Plant. This is what it looks like when you only pull the leaves off the plant, leave the stem, and let it sit in the garden over the winter. Who’d of thought.

So hail to the Kale – check out the 365 day life cycle of these tasty strips of greens 🙂

Dandelions – They’re Free Food !!

Coming from the midwest, I know all too well about that nuisance weed the DANDELION; the one that grows everywhere you don’t want to see them – in your garden and in your lawn. First they flower – and who hasn’t been handed a beautiful bouquet of dandelion flowers from their children, and then they turn into “blowies” – and what child doesn’t like to blow the seeds everywhere. These weeds were a nightmare where I came from, so imagine my surprise when we moved to northwest and found them all growing in our lawn – acres and acres of them. Argh – motha nature your killing me !!

So then the dilemma – do I remove the weeds from my lawn and garden without the use of pesticides and pull them ALL by hand, or do I give in to nature and just live with them? Well that’s when I got to thinking. I know to landscapers these pesky dandelions are weeds, and to children they are flowers, but to gardeners … surprise surprise – they are food for the table! And that’s when I decided we are just going to live with them. The ones in the lawn will get mowed (and will save a lot of back and legwork), the ones that I don’t want in the garden will be pulled by hand (no biggie), and the healthy ones that I choose to keep (yup, I’m in charge) – will be put on my plate.

I’ve made a couple of dandelion dishes as you can see from the recipes below, one being a Dandelion and Watercress Salad (which I acquired from my supplement store) this one had a bit of a bite to it, and the other being a Simple Dandelion Side Dish (which was given to me by my farmers market friend) and this one was quite yummy. But after doing a quick search for other ways to use the dandelion, I found a good article called “Dandelion Greens – No Common Weeds” by Alana Sugar, which was packed with some great info and many recipes for this piece of greenery that grows just about everywhere. Check it out:

Renowned for supporting healthy liver function, you can find this wonderful plant in many combination herbal formulas as well. When it comes to good health and good taste, dandelion greens are a perfect choice providing calcium, iron, fiber, Vitamins A, E and K, and powerful antioxidants including beta Carotene and lutein. If you have never tasted dandelion leaves, you are in for a nice surprise but remember: Like many leafy greens, they can be a little bitter, but when properly prepared, you’ll be glad you tried them! (Try steaming them before sautéing for less of a bite.) Here are some delicious ways to start:

Purchase a blend of baby greens that contain dandelion; toss with your favorite dressing and enjoy.

Use it in salads in place of some of the other leafy greens. Try this delicious recipe for Butternut Squash and Kale Salad but be sure to use dandelion in place of some or all of the kale.

Sauté alone or with onions and garlic in olive oil or sesame oil; garnish with sesame seeds.

Chop the leaves and add to soups, stews, or a crockpot dish. Try this wonderful Seafood Soup with Kale and Potatoes, but use dandelion in place of the kale.

Chop the leaves and add to salads. Try this recipe for Dandelion Greens with Warm Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Add chopped leaves to pilaf mixes. Great with quinoa, wild or brown rice!

Try them with feta cheese, sliced red onions and currants or raisins.

Cook them with legumes. Be sure to use some dandelion in this recipe for sautéed Greens with White Beans and Garlic.

Use them in place of lettuce on a sandwich.

Juice them…they make a great addition to your morning juice blend.

Here is a recipe for a Double Green Smoothie. Be sure to use some dandelion greens in place of some of the kale in the recipe.

Use them as a substitute for other leafy greens, in part, or all the way. This recipe for Baked Chicken with Spinach Pears and Blue Cheese is just dandy with dandelion greens and this recipe for Spinach and Arugula Stuffed Mushrooms is just as delicious with dandelion.

Try this recipe for Swiss Chard with Shallots, substituting dandelion for the chard.

Finely chop the leaves and steep in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and enjoy a cup of dandelion leaf tea.

So as you can see there are many uses for this common weed. And instead of trying to pull every last one from your landscape, why not enjoy what was given to us by mother nature. If it’s a taste that’s appealing to you, then start grabbing all those effortless growing greens you’ve got in your yard and gardens, because ya know what …. ITS FREE FOOD!!

Here are the two recipes that I’ve made and would recommend trying for your first go around with the dandelion. Enjoy 🙂

DANDELION AND WATERCRESS SALAD

This is an excellent source of calcium and vitamins A and C. The spicy ginger vinaigrette sweetly balances the greens’ tangy edge.

3 cups small dandelion leaves, torn
1 bunch watercress, roots trimmed
1 medium carrot, sliced thinly in half moons (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup slivered red onion
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Ginger Vinaigrette
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

Toss dandelion, watercress, carrot, onion, cucumber, and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk all dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then drizzle over salad and toss.

SIMPLE DANDELION SIDE DISH

A combination of dandelion greens, chopped onion, minced garlic, chile pepper, then topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

1 pound dandelion greens
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole small dried hot chile pepper, seeds removed, crushed
1/4 cup cooking oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Throw away the root and wash the dandelion greens in salt water. Cut the leaves into 2 inch pieces and cook them in a small amount of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Sauté onion, garlic, and chile pepper in oil. Drain the greens and then add to onion garlic mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Kale, Bacon & Egg Breakfast Sandwich

Hail to the breakfast of champs !!

If your still not on the Kale bandwagon by now, make a mental note to yourselves for next year “I must plant at least two kale plants in the spring”. They barely take up any space in your vege garden; they can be snuggled up against some flowers in  your flower beds; they don’t need much TLC to grow; and they’re ready to pick after 60 days and then as needed.  And yes I know, your probably sick and tired of hearing me rant and rave about how awesome this leafy green is but, oh what the heck,  I’ll say it anyways  … You’ve got to try this awesome green !!!

Ok, so all joking aside.  I’m not going to go thru the list of reasons why this plant is so good for your health and well-being. I’ve done that already and you can check that out for yourselves here and here. But this green isn’t known as Kale is King for nothing.  So please check out the health benefits at these links and definitely think about giving kale a try.

And speaking of giving it a try, why not start with this Kale, Bacon, and Egg breakfast sandwich. It is so easy breezy to make and only takes about 20 minutes tops.  Have a go at it and surprise the peeps in your family.   And as Justin Wilson (the Cajun Chef) used to say,  You’ll love it – “I Gawr-On-Tee” !!!  Enjoy

Kale Sandwich with Bacon and Eggs
Makes 4 breakfast sandwiches

8 kale stalks
4 slices turkey bacon
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1/4 tsp white wine vinegar
4 whole wheat english muffins (toasted)
Salt
mayonnaise or butter

Begin by cooking the turkey bacon in a medium skillet.

While turkey bacon is cooking, wash the kale and remove the large stems.  Cut the kale into 2 inch pieces.

Once bacon is crisp, remove bacon from pan and set aside on a paper towel to soak up any excess grease.  Sauté garlic and kale in any remaining turkey grease until kale is tender.  Add a little water to keep the kale moist.

Sprinkle with vinegar, then set aside

In another frying pan, cook up the 4 eggs just until the egg whites are no longer slimy (you want to keep the yolk juicy – that’s what makes this sandwich moist).

While the eggs are cooking, you can now build your sandwich.  Place the kale on the bottom portion of the muffin, then top it with a slice of turkey bacon (I cut them in half).  Top that with an egg and any left over kale/garlic mix.  Either coat the top of the muffin with some butter or some mayonnaise (I preferred the mayo) and then place on top of your sandwich.

Talk about yummy.  The reviews are in – this one is definitely a keeper (so says the hubby and my picky son) !!!  Enjoy 🙂