Sweet Potato Cranberry Cheese Melt

I intended to contribute some sweet potato pie for a Thanksgiving Get Together in addition to the cranberry sauce. So much for intentions....

I had a lot of precooked sweet potatoes that desperately needed eating.  I had a lot of cranberry sauce leftover too.  (I made enough, we could of eaten it as the main course.)

I was worn out from eating and visiting the day before. Necessity is the mother of invention, so......


Sweet Potato Cranberry Cheese Melt

1. Mash cool to touch sweet potato in bottom of baking dish.  
2. Layer spoonfuls of cranberry sauce on top.
3. Dot with butter chunks.
4. Salt generously.
5. Layer white cheese of choice.  I used mozzarella, but a nice Jack or Havarti would work too.
6. Bake @ 300* for 20-30 minutes.

This taste ok cool and I ended up making some again for lunch to go the next day too.

Later incarnations involved coconut oil fried, white corn tortillas...even better!

See Ya In The Gumbo 
Heart and Soul Hop 
Scratch Cookin' Tuesday 
Simple Lives Thursday

Orange Whip

Sweet and simple.

Orange Whip (recipe fits a "personal sized" blender)

• 2-3 oz frozen concentrated orange juice (pulp free)

• fresh milk, skimmed or whole (this is a good recipe for hold up queen's milk)

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• ice cubes (optional, but help the whipped cream effect)

• 2 TBS cane sugar (optional, recommended if using vanilla)

• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (extra potassium and makes it fluffy)

• dash of vanilla (optional, make it a really small dash if not using sugar)

I few months back, I got myself a "personal blender" to fit my 60's era blender....you know the kind that's compatible with mason jars. ;)  I didn't want it, but pricing wise, it was almost the same as the replacement parts I needed.  I admit, it's handy and I like the spill resistant personal drinking lid....fits on a regular mouth mason jar just fine.  Great for sipping.

Anyway, this is one of those blended drinks that need to be finished shortly after making, so small batches are good.  (OJ will turn the milk into cheese if left to sit too long, not nearly as appealing. IMO.)  Leave extra room at the top for the whipping, a few inches at least.  The minuscule amount of cream on my current batch of milk is whipped and firm when prepared this way and makes it taste very rich indeed.

See Ya In The Gumbo
Gluten Free Wednesday
Scratch Cookin' Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Fat Tuesday

Hot Apple Cider II

This is last season's version: Hot Spiced Apple Cider 
 (I left out the coconut oil and sugar/cream of tartar this time....just didn't need it to taste "right" this time.)

This season the cider source is a little different and so are the flavors.
Here's this year's version:

Hot Apple Cider II
Apple Cider, about 1.5-2 quarts
OJ frozen concentrate, about .25-.5 cups
Mulling spice, handful
Sea Salt, pinch or 2
Gelatin, 8 TBS
Homemade Vanilla, short dribble

Add all the ingredients in order, leaving the vanilla until the very end. Make sure you sprinkle the gelatin slowly over the surface while the cider is still cool.  It may take a few passes for it to absorb the liquid.  Stir gently, declumping if necessary, and then add a medium low heat. Heat for an hour or so or until the whole house smells of sweet and spices, then the vanilla and it's ready to strain and serve.

Leftovers can be reheated or left chilled for a wonderful dessert (add some heavy cream to the mix before chilling or add whipped to the top) or a packable, light meal Spiced Apple "Custard" or Jello.

See Ya In The Gumbo

No Bake Cheesecake - GF

The original recipe: Rich No Bake Cheesecake

I replaced the whipping cream with sour cream, orange juice for the water in the filling.  The crust I made with cocoa butter (didn't have any butter) and chopped, dried coconut instead of crumbs and I added a little homemade baking powder. Oh and a little salt and cream of tartar, well, because I add it to almost everything.

Ingredients:

.5 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
2 TBS unflavored beef gelatin
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 TBS cream of tartar

Dissolve gelatin in OJ, then add the rest of the ingredients from the above group.  Heat, while stirring, until the liquid become translucent.  Let cool a bit.


16 oz cream cheese (softened)
8-16 oz sour cream
1-2 TBS coconut oil (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above ingredients in a blender or food processor, then add orange juice mix.

Crust: (Optional)
2 cups dried coconut, chopped fine in blender or food processor
1/2 cup cocoa butter
1 TBS arrowroot powder (optional?)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda

The To-Go Version

 Chop coconut as small as you can, then add in cocoa butter, then the rest of the ingredients.  Fill pie pan or spring form pan and bake at 350* F for 5 minutes.  Let cool completely. (If you make the crust first, you can stick it in the freezer to chill while prepping the filling.)

Put filling in crust and chill for about 2 hours.  The filling makes 1 large cheesecake in a spring form pan or 2 pies....or 1 pie and 4 individual serving sized crust-less cheesecakes for "To Go" food.

Future variations:

• Using baking chocolate in place of some of the fat in the crust, perhaps with butter.  The crust had an awesome flavor and texture, but was a little bit firm for cutting a bite off.  (The first piece I thought I cut lifted the WHOLE thing out of the pan.)  Butter would be a softer fat when chilled.
• Using rice flour in part or instead of coconut.  Every once in a while, the dried coconut taste was too strong or slightly "twangy."
• Omitting or reducing the sour cream to make a summer weight cheesecake.  The flavor was spectacular, worked well, but I wanted a little more "cheese" in the cheesecake.
• Cherries! (Does that really need explanation?)

UPDATE:
This makes a fabulous brownie topping at room temperature, just add extra OJ. Seriously, it's good.

See Ya In The Gumbo

Orange Rice (Rice Cooker)

Ingredients:
(fits 4 cup rice cooker)

4 scoops rice (I used jasmine)
4 TBS beef gelatin
1 tsp cream of tartar
1-2 TBS sea salt

2-4 cups orange juice
4 TBS coconut oil
water to 4 cup line, as needed
Black pepper (optional)

1. Add dry ingredients in order and stir to blend. 
2. Add liquids in order to fill line, stir and cook. 
3. When done cooking, grind a light dusting of freshly ground pepper to individual servings.

Great for a snack or a side dish.  If you have a larger cooker, add an additional TBS of gelatin and oil plus 1/4 tsp salt and cream of tartar per scoop of rice.

Frugal Food Thursday
Savory Sunday

Ahhh....Breakfast!

Home Smoked Turkey Drumstick with Warmed Orange Cranberry Sauce

The leftover cranberry sauce was already in pyrex, so I took the legs sent home with me in a doggy bag and put them in a small pyrex tray and put everything in the toaster oven.  The default setting on my oven is 30 minutes at 300*, perfect for reheating just about anything.

The turkey was purchased from a local grower who raises them on pasture with non GMO feed.   This was a "runt" at 11 lbs.  My friend likes to brine her birds and her husband smokes them using a blend of real woods.  I think hickory and pecan were part of this years batch.  Good stuff...especially the dark meat!


Friday Potluck
Friday Food

Orange Cranberry Gelatin (updated)

This is what I intended to make: No Stir Cranberry Sauce

• At about 6 PM last night, I discovered that my apple juice concentrate was from 2007 and it smelled/tasted horrible.
• I substituted frozen grape juice, mixed all the ingredients together (including adding a stick of cinnamon and star anise, in addition to cloves) and waited for the cooker to come up to pressure.  It smelled SOOOO good putting it in the pot, I was really looking forward to it.
• About 15 minutes later, I SMELLED the steam releasing from the pressure cooker.  Not good, it was burnt! It's been so long since I used the cooker, I think the burner was too high AND the gelatin was too sticky.
• After waiting for the cooker to cool, we cleaned and scrubbed (baking soda works GREAT, BTW!) and started over.
• Second can of grape juice concentrate was stinky too, cardboard container instead of plastic like the first.
• The chickens ate well last night........

This is what I actually made:  Orange Cranberry Gelatin

Looks more like strawberries than cranberries, doesn't it?

It tastes wonderful.  The only thing I don't like about it is the muddy red color it has compared to the vibrant, bright red I get with apple juice concentrate.  The star anise and cloves didn't smell right with the OJ, so I left them out.

Ingredients:
2 - 10 oz bags cranberries
1 can OJ frozen concentrate
1 cinnamon stick

1.5 cups beef gelatin
1 cup cane sugar
1 TBS COT
2 large pinches of salt
1 cup Apple Cider
or
1/2 -1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar####

Heat first 2 ingredients on medium heat in a pressure cooker until OJ is melted.  Blend remaining dry ingredients together, then sprinkle on top of wet ingredients.  I added some apple cider to the top because it didn't seem "wet" enough. DON'T MIX.  Put lid of cooker and bring up to 15 lbs pressure, then remove from heat. Let cool naturally.

When safe to open, remove lid and much cranberries with a ricer/potato masher (circular press with small square holes).***  Remove cinnamon stick and chill until set.  Can be made ahead and served at room temperature or gently warmed.  Serve with Turkey or Ham!


#### This year I didn't have any apple juice/cider, so I experimented. I LOVED the ACV in the cranberries, perked it right up, gave it some personality, like a chutney. I may have added a little extra sugar, I don't remember.


***If you have issues that make small seeds a problem, go ahead and strain out the berries instead of crushing them.  You will get all of the flavor without the future discomfort.

Simple Lives Thursday
Full Plate Thursday 
Ingredient Spotlight: Cranberries

Orange Fig Sauce

Take the Fig Chutney and replace the vinegar with Orange Juice and leave out the sugar....unless you are using it for a dessert sauce, you don't need it.  Go easy on the salt too. Actually, we made an over salty batch of rice and so needed to completely remove it from the sauce. (Verbally teaching someone else to cook...2 handfuls PLUS beef broth was a bit too much, even for me.)

So you don't have to click to the other page....

Orange Fig Sauce
3/4 cup All fruit Fig preserves
8-10 TBS unflavored beef gelatin
1/2-1 cup Orange Juice (depends on desired thickness of sauce)
Pinch of salt (optional)

We poured generously over a slice of homegrown ham and a side of jasmine rice.

Simply Delish

Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Chocolate Drizzle

Ultra rich cherry cheesecake ice cream with a drizzle of homemade chocolate sauce

Do you see that?  That is a single scoop of ice cream.  Our family just doesn't DO single scoops.  This stuff is so rich and yummy, a single scoop is more than enough to satisfy.   It is a meal in and of itself.  Wow!

We had a birthday this past weekend and this is how we celebrated by request....we REALLY like ice cream here.

Cheesecake Base*, **
*this will need to chill at least 2-3 hours before using
**would make a fabulous fruit dip too

1 cup heavy cream (this is the stuff skimmed off the top of 3 day old milk for my non jersey cow)
1 cup sour cream (I used Kalona's from grass fed cows, Daisy would work)
1 cup cream cheese, softened (I used lowfat because that's what I had)
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 TBS Cream of tartar (the original recipe called for 2 TBS lemon juice, this did the job just fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla)
1/2 tsp salt (I used 20 rotations on my grinder, just guessing the actual amount)

Stick the above ingredients in a food processor or mixer and blend until smooth.  Resist the urge to eat it all right now.  I used a wide mouth quart jar for chilling.  It didn't all fit and I was FORCED to eat about an 1/8 cups worth.  Oh the sacrifices we make for our loved ones.

The Fruit Filling
2 cups Cherries* (mine were frozen)
2 TBS cane sugar

(add ons to the original recipe)
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 TBS OJ **
1 TBS Unflavored Beef Gelatin
1/4 tsp salt

*Sweet Cherry was the fruit requested, but almost any fruit will do
**I think I used more though, there were a few extra shakes in the container and I didn't want to return a mostly empty container back to the fridge.

I measured my cherries, then added everything but the gelatin and let it it for a bit.  I drained the juice off and mixed it with the gelatin in a small pan.  I heated it, stirring frequently, until the gelatin was dissolved.  I let it sit to cool, then added  back to the cherries.  I chose to chop my cherries at this point, but they could be left whole too.

At this point, we started getting a little impatient.  We didn't want to wait for things to chill and firm.  We wanted to eat yummies.....

So......

I mixed the filling into the ice cream maker with the base and stirred a few times and served.
This is what I got:

Still yummy and decadent, but not so pretty and not quite as good as when it was all the way frozen.  Two scoops was too much to eat at one time too, in my opinion.

Next time I'll wait for the individual ingredients to firm up, then fold in the filling and freeze until firm.....THEN serve.

Oh, the chocolate drizzle is this recipe: Homemade Chocolate syrup with Gelatin as thickener

Hearth and Soul Hop 
Made From Scratch Tuesday 
Gluten Free Wednesday
What's Cooking Wednesday
Garden Variety Wednesday

Nectarine Spritzer

I picked up some wonderfully smelly (in a good way) nectarines recently.  I was blog hopping and came across this recipe for fruity spritzer:  http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/2011/07/fruity-spritzer  It sounded wonderful, but no peach nectar here.

So I cut up a nectarine and plopped in in the food processor, added some cane sugar and cream of tartar and some sea salt.  I turned it on and added orange juice to my desired thickness and added a glug of aloe vera, just because.  I split a can of club soda between the glasses and poured the blend on top at the side of the glass.  This makes the two liquid turn over each other and blending better than if poured in the middle.  I couldn't find any strawberries in the upstairs freezer, so I grabbed a baggie of homegrown wild gooseberries for "ice cubes".  Yum!  They only thing I would change is maybe add a squeeze of lemon for a little more tart.

Nectarine Spritzer
Nectarine
Orange Juice (not from concentrate)
Cane sugar/C of T  
Sea Salt
Club soda or Seltzer water
Frozen fruit for chilling
Fresh Squeezed Lemon or Lime (optional)

Orange Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I modified this from the Joy of Cooking.

Mix in ice cream maker until slushy:
3 cups freshly ladled cream/milk
1-1.5 cups sugar
1-2 TBS cream of tartar

Add:
1.25 cups Orange Juice
1-2 tsp gelatin (optional)

Add at end:
.5 cups dark chocolate chips (Optional)

If you wanted to sneak some gelatin in, you could mix a teaspoon or two into the OJ ahead of time, heat it until dissolved and chill.

Orange "Julius", "Creamsicle" and Summer Eggnog

Some times it's too hot to cook and almost too hot to eat......on those days,  I like to make Orange "Julius"...a rich, nourishing, COLD meal in a glass.

Make your own rehydrating "Energy" drink

Refreshing "Energy" drink

Here is the "Energy" beverage I drink at least a pint of every day.

Gelatin Fruit "Custard"

I LOVE this recipe...you can alter the ingredients to make it for a snack/meal or make it down right decadent for a dessert. I use the gummy candy recipe with orange juice (not from concentrate) for a base. I use either a large pyrex casserole dish with a lid if I am making it for home consumption or smaller individual sized glass pyrex with lids for traveling. I am particularly fond of sliced peaches or strawberries, but have also used cherries, blackberries and blueberries.

Depending on the natural sweetness of your fruit, you may need to supplement with sugar and cream of tartar. A commercial peach might need 1-3 TBS of additional sugar/cream of tartar to equal the taste of a tree ripened peach off your own tree. Rapadura/Sucanat doesn't work well in this recipe because of the color and not dissolving well before it sets.

Layer fruit in the bottom of a dish (or dishes)
Sprinkle with pinch of unrefined salt
Sprinkle with OG sugar/cream of tartar mix as needed (1/4 tsp CT/TBS sugar)
Cover fruit with WARM gummy base
Add fresh milk or cream while stirring gently
You can include a dash of vanilla extract, if desired.

If you use frozen fruit, some of the gelatin will solidify faster than the rest making for some variation in textures that can be quite good. I use my own milk from my own animals in this recipe and like to preserve the enzymes by keeping it less than 118*, hence the emphasis on warm vs hot gummy base. This would apply to the fruit as well if it's raw vs canned.

Gummy Candy-NO CORN SYRUP!

Last fall, I started trying to add more gelatin to my diet, so did a search for corn syrup free gummy worms. I found something I liked at The Frugal Kiwi

I have since played with and modified the original recipe to my needs. Here is it's current incarnation....

Gummy Candy

3-4 cups fruit juice
1/2-1 cup cane sugar
2-4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup gelatin (1 cup = 16 TBS)
Dab of coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Fruit Juice concentrate (optional, but intensifies the fruit flavor)

Mix sugar and gelatin together, then add to cool juice. Less liquid will give a chewier "bite" but will also make it harder for the gelatin to dissolve...it's a fine balance. Give it time to absorb, about 1-2 minutes at least....more if using less liquid. Heat on low or medium and stir frequently. When the liquid is clear, not cloudy, then you can pour into greased molds. I used coconut oil....or you can just melt the oil into the gelatin. When I used ice cube trays, the recipe overflowed the trays a little, meaning the cubes ended up being all connected. That was good though, because it helped to get them out when they were cool. I now use a lasagna or boiler pan and slice into 16 strips or cubes so I know how many TBS of gelatin I am getting. Thin strips seems to have a better "bite" than thicker cubes, but it tastes good either way. : )

I have used OJ, Pomegranate & Lime, Cherry, Cranberry etc. for juices and they are all yummy. Some are naturally sweeter or thicker than others, hence the variation in sugar and liquid. Play with it, there are no rules....except to make sure there are no clumps BEFORE you heat the juice...or you will spend FOREVER trying to get them out later.

Someday......you know, when I'm rolling in extra funds......I'd like to get some molds for gummy candy making. I made one, ONCE, out of foil on my wire cooling rack. It made wonderful, thin, long "worms." It took longer to make the mold than to make the gummies and the foil was too delicate and tore in a few spots while I was taking them out, so NOT reusable.  Bummer.      

Edited to add:  The cream of tartar adds extra "tart" which my taste buds like and extra potassium, which my body likes.  You can ramp it up or down, as needed.