Homemade Summer Sausage

 Homemade Summer Sausage, when I saw this recipe I knew I needed to try it.

I had made some years and years ago but then forgot about it. We all like summer sausage. Sue and I of course, like a German type of sausage as that is what we had growing up. I did make some changes in this recipe and made just a pound to see how we would like it. Well, it was gone in a day so now have to make a larger amount so there is some left. 

 It is easy to make and involves more setting and baking time than hands on time.

I made our rolls the size of our favorite round crackers. Do let it cool completely before slicing so it is nice and firm. I did decide to cut back on the liquid smoke the next time, just because my tasters wanted less of the smoke flavor.

Homemade Summer Sausage 1 Pound

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 teaspoon Morton’s Tender Quick

1 teaspoon kosher salt (non Iodine)

¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 

¾ teaspoon to one teaspoon mustard seed

¼ rounded teaspoon garlic salt (we like ours with a little more garlic)

1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

   Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours, mixing 4 to 5 times in the 24 hour time period. Remove from bowl and form into one log or 2 short logs.

Place logs on a broiler pan or cooling rack over a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.

Bake 7 hours hours at 170°F. Cool completely before slicing.
Enjoy with your favorite cheese and crackers. 

 If you decide to make a larger amount you can wrap well and freeze though salted meats keep for awhile without freezing.

Caramel Corn

One of the blogs I read and enjoy a lot is the Hidden Pantry by Diane Cosby. I was hungry for Caramel Corn and her recipe looked good and quick to make. I did change it just a little as I added peanuts to ours, but basic recipe is hers and so good. We enjoyed it a lot and while I popped the corn everyone was waiting for it to be done. This did not last long at our house so will make it more often this winter.

 Thanks Diana for a great recipe and blog. We enjoy both and I have used several of your recipes.

Caramel Corn

½ cup butter

½ cup light Karo syrup

1 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 quarts popped corn

 Preheat oven to 200°. Line a half sheet pan with heavy duty foil, and then spray with cooking spray. Set pan aside.

 Pop the corn and remove all the un-popped kernels.

 In a heavy bottomed medium pan combine the butter, Karo, and brown sugar and stir until it boils over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and boil for EXACTLY 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

 Quickly drizzle over the popcorn and stir to coat.  Spread in pan and bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes. Repeat until corn has baked for one hour. If you want nuts in the caramel corn add the the last 15 minutes of baking time. 

 Cool and break apart. Store in an air tight container if you have any left to store. We ate all of it, with five of us sharing it didn’t take long. 

* Do not add baking soda.

 Thanks again Diane for a good recipe we all enjoyed. 

Caramel Apple Dip

 If you like the Caramel Apple Dip you can buy in the store, you are really going to like this recipe. I have been going to

make it for a while, and today was the day. I had bought some lovely Honey Crisp apples one of our favorite eating apples and wanted something to dip them in. The store version has too much corn syrup in it and just too many chemicals.

 This was so easy to make, don’t stir it after you put it on the heat. It will sugar on you if you do. Stir it well before you start heating it and cook till it is dark amber in color. The recipe said 10 minutes, but mine took closer to 22 minutes. I don’t think I had my stove burner as hot. 

 This is the only recipe I could find that did not have cream cheese in it. I think the sour cream was what we liked the best as it cuts the sweetness a lot. Also most things that are sweet need a little salt to balance out the taste. At first I thought it was going to be too salty but as it cooled it wasn’t at all. Do not use table salt or if that is all you have cut back on the salt to ½ teaspoon or less. I never buy sea salt but use Kosher salt for the larger grain salt. It is a lot cheaper and works just as well.  Lyle thought this would work just as well on ice cream which is how he likes caramel so will try it that way. 

Caramel Apple Dip

About 1 pint

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

¼ cup water

¼ cup butter

¼ cup whipping cream (need the cream to make it smooth)

1 tablespoon sour cream

¾ teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt

 Have all the ingredients ready before you put the sugar mixture on the heat. Do not leave it on the heat and walk away.  

 In a 2 quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat over medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR after it is on the heat. Cook about 10 ten minutes or until sugar turns a dark amber color.

 Add remaining ingredients; beat with whisk until smooth. Pour into heatproof container.

Serve with sliced apples for dipping.

Will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

Homemade Cracker Jack

Myrna and I are old enough to remember when one of those small boxes of cracker jack was a real treat – and not just because there was a small prize in it.  We still like it because it’s not nearly as sweet as many coated popcorn mixes.  I used “Grandma’s” molasses in this – it’s a little sweeter than Brer Rabbit brand.  About the only thing wrong with this recipe is the difficulty leaving it alone!    I have also made it without the peanuts and it’s still good.   It's a great picnic or camping snack to take along.                                    

Homemade Cracker Jack

  4               Cups  Popcorn -- popped

  1               Cup  Peanuts -- shelled

     1/2         Cup  Molasses

     1/4         Cup  Sugar

Mix popcorn and peanuts together in a large bowl or pan

Cook molasses and sugar together until the mixture reaches 235° on a candy thermometer.

(You can test the syrup by letting some drop from a spoon into a cup of cold water.  The syrup is done when it forms a thread as it drops into the water).

Pour the hot syrup mixture over the popcorn nut mixture and coat evenly.  Cool and break into chunks with a wooden spoon.  (I poured mine out on a parchment-lined half sheet and separated it it right away).

In an airtight container, the mixture will keep well 4 to 6 weeks (so she says; we haven’t kept it that long).

  "Cheaper and Better"

  "40 Ounces"

Orange Cream Cheese Spread

  The Pillsbury New Simply from Scratch has a lot of good recipes. Some are very simple and easy, but  are so good to eat. 

  One of my favorites is Orange Cream Cheese. I don’t know if you would really call it a recipe, but I like to keep it in the refrigerator in the Fall and Winter when I often make  Quick Bread. It was with the recipe for Apricot Date Bread, but we like it with any quick bread. It is very good with Banana Bread which tends to be a little bland. 

  I have had new young cooks say that they can’t get the cream cheese to mix well.
The easiest way is to be sure it is at room temperature. After it is mixed, be sure to store in the refrigerator. Remove and let warm up before trying to spread, though the marmalade will help it stay softer. You could try other flavors of Jam or Jelly with the cream cheese though we like the tartness of the Marmalade.

Orange Cream Cheese

Mix 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese and ¼ cup orange marmalade.

Refrigerate until ready to use

Honey chex

Tried this recipe as a GF snack which is one of the things I miss eating.  These were major simple and good. I used half Corn Chex and half Rice Chex. 

 Using sweetened condensed milk made it easy as I did not have to cook a brittle. I would however recommend not doing this on a wet or humid day and maybe baking it a little longer. Next time, I am going to try some mixed salted nuts. My Grandson really liked these as they were not real sticky and he has braces so must be careful of what he is eating.

Do be sure to read the labels on the other ingredients you are using.

Chex® Brittle (Gluten Free)

Indulge in a lighter crunch and a distinctive taste you just can’t get from plain old peanut brittle.

8 cups Rice Chex® cereal

1 cup salted peanuts

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Spray two 15x10x1-inch pans with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, mix all ingredients until evenly coated. Spread in pans in single layer.
3. Bake 12 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about 15 minutes. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container.

Makes 20 servings (1/2 cup each)

Make the Most of This Recipe With Tips From The Betty Crocker^® Kitchens

Did You Know...

All the ingredients are mixed in one bowl, so you can easily enlist the aid of any children in the house when making this recipe.

Substitution

Two cookie sheets with sides can be used. No sides on your cookie sheets? Line them with foil, crimping the edges so the mixture won't slide off when going in and out of the oven. Using nonstick foil eliminates the need for cooking spray.

Cooking Gluten Free?

Always read labels to make sure each recipe ingredient is gluten free. Products and ingredient sources can change.

• Another recipe to try is this one only use Chex Gluten Free cereal instead of Crispix
  Christmas Brittle
  8 cups Crispix cereal
  1 cup walnuts
  1 cup pecans
  1 cup slivered almonds
  1 cup salted peanuts
  2 cups brown sugar
  1/2 cup white syrup
  1 cup margarine or butter (I used butter)
  ½ teaspoon baking soda
  Pinch of salt
  Pinch of cream of tartar
    Boil brown sugar, syrup and margarine for 4 to 5 minutes
  Add salt, cream of tartar and soda. Stir and pour over cereal and nuts. Put in 2 greased sheet pans (the wrappers from your butter or margarine work to grease your pan)  and bake 15 minutes at 300°F. Cool 10 minutes and break up. Can be stored in an air-tight container.

Cream Cheese Spreads

In the summer, I like these cream cheese spreads for simple sandwiches for lunch, to serve with crackers or with party rye slices.  Quick, simple, delicious.
I made this recipe because I had two ingredients to use up, olives and cream cheese.  This is the happy result.
Olive-nut Spread
8 Ounces Cream Cheese -- softened

½ Cup Olives With Pimentos -- chopped
1 Cup Pecans -- chopped
1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream or Mayonnaise
Stir together ingredients in a large bowl. Or pulse whole nuts and whole olives with cream cheese and cream in food processor until chunky. Cover and chill.
Serve with crackers or party rye bread slices or as a luncheon sandwich filling.
Yield: "2 Cups"             Cost in summer 2010:  $3.10

This is not Southern mayonnaise pimento cheese, but more like the pimento cheese in those little jars, which I love! Quick and easy, it makes a good spread for crackers or for quick sandwiches.
Pimento Cheese Spread

8 ounces Cream Cheese
2 ounces cheddar cheese -- shredded
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream
½ Cup Pimientos, Canned -- 4 ounce jar - drained
Combine cheeses & cream in food processor until fluffy. Pulse in pimentos. Makes 12 oz. cheese spread.
Yield:  "12 ounces"  Cost in summer 2010: $2.01