Greek Hummus Wrap

As I was eating Matti's Greek Hummus Dip one day, I was thinking how good it would be to make a wrap or sandwich with it.  Then not to long after that I came across two recipes somewhere that they had done that exact thing!   Like most wraps, you can add/take away the things you like but here was the main idea.

Hummus
Tortilla or wrap (I like the whole wheat tortillas)
Feta cheese
Greek salad dressing
Veggies
     carrots, shredded
     spinach
     sprouts

Spread it on your tortilla, roll and eat!

Apple Butter-Repost

Vera posted this recipe last summer for the delicious apple butter that my mom makes but after making 30 jars of apple butter yesterday and a phone call to my mom I wanted to re post this with a few tips and tricks.

If you wanted to make apple butter and not bottle it you can whip up a batch and just store it in your refrigerator. If you needed to use up some already sweetened applesauce, just reduce the amount of sugar and sweeten to taste

Marie

2 quarts of unsweetened apple pulp (applesauce)

4 cups sugar (I used a tad less)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy bottomed pan until it is thick enough to round up on a spoon and is sticky and a little glossy. My applesauce was thick already and didn't take long to get to that point.

To bottle: Pour hot apple butter into pint or smaller jars and process in a hot water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes.

*I read online that you can use your slow cooker for this, just prop open the lid or use a splatter proof shield. Turn on high for 30 min then turn to low until done. You might want to stir it occasionally so it doesn't scorch if your crock pot has hot spots like mine does.

Energy Bites

I found this on Pinterest and with all the bike riding I do, I thought this would be a great thing to freeze then put in a zip-lock bag to take with me! I would make them smaller (more bite-size). -Vera

makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

1/2 C nut butter (almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter. Anything will work here)

• 1/3 C Honey


• 1 C old fashioned rolled oats (you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)


• 1 C shredded unsweetened coconut (you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)


• 1-2 tsp vanilla


• pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt


• 1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations(optional)


• 1/2 C other add-ins (any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)

In a large bowl add the nut butter, vanilla and salt if needed. Use less vanilla if yours is very strong or more if you really enjoy the vanilla flavor and don’t buy an alcohol based kind. If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine. If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything. Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.

Examples of add-ins: Equal parts sesame seeds, poppy seeds and mini chocolate chips. Mix well. Once it’s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball. It is much easier and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.

If yours are too sticky you can consider adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky. Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.

Seven Kitchen Tips to Know

I found this on the Yahoo Homepage this evening and though I would share. I hope you find it helpful! - Vera

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Ironically, many of the following tricks for fixing common kitchen dilemmas aren’t widely known. But tuck them in your proverbial apron and you’ll have a far easier time resolving the following problems next time you face them:

1. How to Open Stubborn Pistachios
Pistachios are way too expensive to waste. Yet many of the delicious roasted nuts arrived in shells with little to no opening. Rather than attempting to bite them open or ruin your nails in a struggle you can’t win, next time try this foolproof method for opening stubborn shells: Take one half of a shell, stick it into even the littlest opening of an unopened pistachio, and turn the shell half like a key. The pistachio will pop right open!

2. How to Easily Remove Egg Shells Dropped into Eggs

It happens to all of us: You crack open an egg and a tiny piece of its shell falls into the bowl along with the raw egg. If you’ve tried to get it out with your finger or a spoon, you know the slippery dilemma you face. Next time, wet your finger with water before attempting to fish it out. You’ll be shocked at how easily it can be grabbed and eliminated.

3. How to Make Burnt Pots Look New Again
Considering how much a nice set of pots and pans costs, you’d expect them to be easy to clean. But even the best stainless steel cooking gear gets black with use and cooked-on remnants. If you’ve attempted to scrub them clean you have probably succumbed to the notion that they will never glisten again. But, if you spray pots with oven cleaner and leave them for a couple of hours the grime will wipe right off! Likewise stainless kettles.

4. How to Refresh Crystallized Honey

You know that jar or bottle of honey that’s hardened and crystallized on your shelf? It can easily be brought back to its easy-to-pour glory if you let it sit for 15 minutes in boiling water that has cooled for five minutes.

5. How to Soften Hardened Brown Sugar
Brown sugar hardens as its moisture evaporates over time in the cupboard. But you can easily re-moisturize it by placing the open sugar bag in a microwave with a cup of water next to it and zapping it on high for three minutes. Or you can place the sugar in a bowl, cover the sugar with a double layer of wet paper towels, and then cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and let it stand overnight.

6. How to Remove Stains from Wooden Cutting Boards
Can rings and wine and strawberries stains don’t help the style of your cutting board. To get out stains, try sprinkling the board with salt rubbing it with lemon. For more stubborn stains, try an abrasive antibacterial kitchen cleaner and scouring pad. For the toughest, reach for sandpaper! And of course wash thoroughly afterward!

7. How to Salvage Overripe Fruit

Fruit is expensive, yet it goes bad so quickly and easily. But you don’t need to toss your bruised or overripe bananas, peaches, or strawberries. The minute you see your fruit going bad, wash it, slice it, peel it (in the case of bananas) and freeze it in sealable bags. Then you have instant smoothie or pie makings anytime!

Lovely Salted Caramel Sauce

Made this one the other day in order to try and satisfy my craving for Traders Joe's salted caramel sauce (mmmmmm.....).
It's super easy....and little scary when you read the directions.
But it totally works and let's be honest...I've been eating it by the spoonful from the jar.
Enjoy!

Matti

For the recipe...go to the link here at Always with Butter.

Apple-Butter

My mom makes some amazing apple-butter! She and Melissa have been busy the last few days making all things apple. I asked Melissa to take a picture and text it to me, so I could put one up with this post.

2 Quarts Apple Pulp (you can use apple sauce)
4 Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove

Cook until thick enough to hold round in a spoon (not runny).
Can after cooked down (Process for 10 minutes in water bath.

BowTie "Lasagna"

I made this with fat free ingredients and it was WONDERFUL! My kids ate it up and even wanted seconds.
It also got a big thumbs up from the husband.

A good QUICK dinner when you want lasgna, but don't have the time or energy to actually make it!
-Matti

• 1 pound lean Ground Chuck
• 5 cups Bow Tie Noodles
• 3 cups Spaghetti Sauce (or Pizza Sauce, Whatever You Prefer)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)
• ½ cups skim Mozzarella Cheese
• ½ cups fat free Sour Cream

Fry ground chuck in small pan. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

After noodles are cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce. (I can’t guarantee your results on this, because I’m spoiled; I am a “home canner” and have the BEST sauce on my shelf, a home canned marinara sauce that I use for lots of stuff—pizza, spaghetti, and of course, THIS.)

Add your fried hamburger, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Mandarin Sweet & Sour Sauce

We just go this recipe from an old friend of my husband's family and immediately fell in love with it. -Brenda

8 cups tomatoes, stems removed, quartered & blended in blender (save out 1 cup)
4 cups onions, peeled & diced
3 cups green pepper, diced
7 cups sugar
3 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 - 20 ounce cans crushed pineapple, do not drain
1 cup corn starch

Place all ingredients except 1 cup blended tomatoes and 1 cup cornstarch. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer (low boil) and simmer for 19 minutes. In a separate bowl, blend 1 cup tomatoes and 1 cup cornstarch until smooth. Gradually pour cornstarch mixture into sauce whisking vigorously. Stir until thickened, about 3 - 5 minutes. Pour into pint jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in waterbath for 45 minutes. Makes about 6 - 7 pints.

Italian Cheese Bread

*use pizza dough recipe found here
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 Tlbs pizza seasoning
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 Tlbs Parmesan cheese
½ cup Italian salad dressing

Preheat oven to 500° with your pan inside. Roll out pizza dough & transfer to a hot pizza pan. Spread Italian dressing on dough, sprinkle salt & pepper over the dressing; add Parmesan cheese & pizza seasoning. Add mozzarella over top. Bake until brown, about 10-12 minutes. Best baked on a pizza stone if available.

*Any alteration to the toppings can really be made and the bread will still turn out great! I like to make them with a garlic butter and Parmesan to go with pasta. They always turn out delicious!

melissa

Miscellaneous Tips

By Vera
My aunt Karen sent me an email with these cooking and non-cooking tips. Hope you all enjoy!


Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic – at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Now, for some non-cooking tips!!!

Newspaper weeds away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass: Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away: To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Foggy Windshield: Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!


INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS: The heating unit went out on a dryer. The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new every day! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that.

Seven Wives Inn Granola

By: Matti
*This is a granola recipe that my mom, aunts and grandma have been making for YEARS. It is t0 die for! Plus, a lot less sugary than store-bought.

8 cups oats (NOT QUICK OATS!)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
8 oz whole, raw almonds
8 oz raw cashews
8 oz coconut
3 oz raw sunflower seeds (seeded, not salted)

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Heat water, oil, honey and PB until bubbly.
3. Add vanilla and pour over dry ingredients.
4. Mix well and spread onto 2 large cookie sheets
5. Bake @ 200 degrees for about 1.5 - 2 hrs, stirring occasionally while baking
6. Add raisins when cool.
7. Store in airtight container.

Three Day Emergency Food Kit

By Vera
I got this during an Enrichment Night while in Sierra Vista. Everything can fit and be sealed into a #5 tin can (at least I think that is the name of the can!). If you do this, do not forget to attach a small can opener to the top.

Ingredients:
4 Hot Chocolate
1 Fruit Juice
1 Instant Oatmeal
1 Pkg. Peanuts
1 Cup of Soup
6 Crackers
1 Can tuna
2 Granola bars
1 Applesauce
2 Fruit Roll-ups
1 Pkg. Ramen
2 Packs of Gum
7 Pcs. Hard Candy
Napkins
Spoons
NEEDED: 2 LITTERS OF WATER

DAY ONE
Breakfast:
1 Hot Chocolate
1 Granola Bar
Lunch:
1 Fruit Role-up
½ Pkg. Peanuts
Dinner:
½ Pkg. Ramen
2 Crackers
Snack:
Gum or Candy

DAY TWO:
Breakfast:
1 Hot Chocolate
1 Granola Bar
Lunch:
½ Pkg. Ramen
2 Crackers
Dinner:
1 Can of Tuma
1 Applesauce
1 Hot Chocolate
Snack:
Gum or Candy

DAY THREE:
Breakfast:
1 Hot Chocolate
1 Instant Oatmeal
Lunch:
1 Fruit Roll-up
½ Pkg. Peanuts
Dinner:
1 Cup of Soup
2 Crackers
1 Fruit Juice
Snack:
Gum or Candy