Homemade Pasta Sauce

Hi readers! Because my garden has been so successful this summer, I decided to make and can pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

I did use a packet of spices from the store, but of course you can use a mix of dried spices that you prefer. If mixing your own blend, I would suggest dried oregano, dried basil, onion powder, and paprika.

Here is my recipe for making and canning the sauce.

*Recipe yields 7 pints*

Ingredients:

6 lbs. fresh tomatoes, I used a mix of Jetstar and Roma tomatoes
Packet of store bought spices ("Mrs. Wages" brand, purchased at Walmart)
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 white onion
4 inferno peppers, or a different mild pepper of your choice (bell peppers or cubanelles are good for this too)
4 bay leaves
1 small can tomato paste

Canning supplies:
7 pint size Mason jars
Lids and rings, 7 each
Canning pot

Instructions:

Rinse your tomatoes. On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water almost to a boil (place burner on 7-8 heat setting.) Once the water is hot, start adding in your whole tomatoes. When the skin splits on them, remove them one at a time to a separate large bowl. Once they are all split, turn stovetop off. Let the hot tomatoes cool for a few minutes, then use your hands to remove the skins and a knife to remove the cores from the tomatoes. Put the chunks of skinned tomatoes on a cutting board and give them a rough chop so they are in smaller pieces. Remember these don't need to be very small or perfect, it is all going to cook down later. Also dice up the onion and peppers (after removing seeds.) Make sure these are smaller diced pieces.

Now add all of your vegetables, spices, sugar, and bay leaves into a large pot on the stove top. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 25 minutes. While this is cooking, add the tomato paste to thicken it. Stir occasionally while simmering.

Once simmered for 25 minutes, you will have a nice consistency. Fish out the bay leaves if you can find them. If not, and they end up in your jarred sauce, just remove them before eating. Now scoop your sauce into your Mason jars, fill to just below the mouth of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars with a napkin to remove any residual sauce or moisture. Put your lids and rings on snugly, and if canning now follow recommended canning instructions. Basically, you can do the canning process with a canning pot on the stove or outside with a propane hook up (like I did) but you want to can for a 40 full minutes before removing the jars. Also you want to make sure all of your lids pop. If they don't pop, do not store that jar in your pantry, just leave it in the fridge and eat within a week.

Here are some step by step photos of my pasta sauce and canning process.

Remember, you can make this recipe fresh and not can it, but just be sure to eat within a week of going that route.

Enjoy!

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Hi readers!  I've had a really busy last six months or so.  To keep you up to speed, I got married and we moved into our new house in October, and I have been working on getting my deck and garden spaces perfected.  I've also been cooking up some new things in the kitchen, which I'll share today.

When I started this blog, we had moved into a condo and my kitchen space was small but exciting for me, as that was my first home with Josh and I really got more interested in cooking and baking.  Now that we are in our forever home, I have a beautiful kitchen with more than enough space for us to cook together.  So although the "Turtle's Kitchen" has itself changed, the essence of the blog is still about finding inspiration to cook new things in whatever space you have and enjoying it.

We've been experimenting with creating the perfect homemade pizza, grilled wings, and burger seasonings.  I've been baking and coming up with at-home latte ideas now that I have an espresso machine.

So today I'll share my recipe for soft oatmeal cookies, as well as some photos of other things we've made in the last month.

Now for the cookies!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats

Instructions:

In a mixer, cream together the softened butter and white and brown sugars.  When this is creamed together, add the eggs one at a time while mixing slowly.  Now add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly. Next, add your flour and mix until just combined.  Finally, add the oats. I like the hand mix these in or just put the mixer on the lowest setting to stir them in.  You don't want to overmix here.

Now, get your cookie dough onto sheets  lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes.  The tops of the cookies should look golden brown.

Your final result will give you a slightly crunchy outer shell, but a soft and chewy inner cookie.

These serve well with a cup of milk or hot tea (most specifically, always my personal favorite - a cup of Earl Grey.)

Enjoy!

I recently bought a Tetsubin teapot, shown here.  It's a cast iron Japanese style teapot that is amazing for steeping and serving tea in a cute way.  You can find them on Amazon.com for fairly cheap prices.

Here are some of the other goodies we've made recently:

Homemade pepperoni pizza!

A new take on pork chops - pesto parmesan pork chops! With homemade pesto of course.

Vanilla & cinnamon latte!

Stay tuned for my posts in the near future!

Egg rolls

My mom found a Pinterest recipe for authentic egg rolls. We made them for the first time yesterday and couldn't believe how easy it was and how great they tasted! These egg rolls are the real deal.

You can add shrimp or pork, or make them vegetarian. You can also add different vegetables to your liking, such as bean sprouts or mushrooms.

Here is the recipe we used.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package of Cole slaw mix from grocery store
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1/3 lb ground pork
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Wonton wraps from grocery store, 20 count package
Canola oil for frying

Instructions:

Mince the garlic. In a skillet pan, add canola oil and garlic and cook on medium heat. Grate the ginger and add it to the pan. We used a food processor to shred the cole slaw mix more, so  that it was very finely chopped. After a few minutes of the garlic and ginger cooking, add the cole slaw mix into the pan.

Allow this to cook down for several minutes, stirring frequently. Now spread this mixture on to a baking sheet and let it cool. In the same pan you just used, cook your ground pork. We used a potato masher to mash the pork a bit so that it was in smaller pieces.

Take the baking sheet with your veggie mixture and tilt it to allow any liquid to drain out. Now add the cooked pork onto the baking sheet.

Lay out the wonton wraps. Mix the cornstarch and water to make a paste. One at a time, brush a bit of this paste onto all four edges of the wonton wraps. Angle the wrap so it is like a diamond shape with one corner towards you. In the bottom center of the wrap (as pictured) place a tablespoon of your veggie/pork mixture. Fold the wonton wraps tightly upwards until about half the wrap is rolled up, now fold in the two sides, and continue to roll.

Fry these in oil on the stove top for about two minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with some duck sauce or eat them as they are. Enjoy!

Rhubarb & Strawberry Bars

Hi readers!  I've been on a hiatus for a little while but I'm back with an awesome recipe full of fresh summertime flavors.  As you know, I love using fresh ingredients from the garden.  My parents have an area near their garden that's full of rhubarb.  I had never baked with it until today, but now I think I've found a new inspiration for summer desserts.  In a previous post, I showed you how to make homemade strawberry jam.  This recipe uses that homemade jam. If you don't want to make it, you can substitute store bought jam.

Here is my new favorite recipe for rhubarb and strawberry dessert bars:

Ingredients:

Base & topping crumble:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks cold butter

Filling:

2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Instructions:

Cut the cold butter into small pats.  Add this with all of the ingredients for the crumble into a bowl.  Use a pastry cutter to mix it and cut up the butter into smaller pieces.  Measure out one cup of this mixture and set it aside.  Take the rest of it and press it firmly into the bottom of a square baking pan (greased first of course.). Bake this at 375 for twenty minutes.

Now, while that's baking, we will make the filling. Peel the rhubarb. Dice up the rhubarb into small chunks.  Add the flour and brown sugar to this.  Mix until coated.  Now add the lemon juice, vanilla, and strawberry jam.  Stir until well combined. Simmer this mixture on the stove top for about five minutes, just to soften up the rhubarb.

When the base of the bars has baked, take it out and spread the filling mixture evenly onto it. Bake this at 350 for about twenty five minutes. When done, take this out and sprinkle the remaining crumble on top (the cup that you set aside earlier.) Bake for about fifteen more minutes.

Let these cool for about an hour before cutting them into squares.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Pepper Rolls

I tried this recipe for the first time at Thanksgiving, and I've been making it pretty frequently since then. This is an easy one for cheesy roasted red pepper rolls. You only need five simple ingredients! And altogether this takes about 20 minutes, most of which is the baking time for the rolls.

*Yields 8 rolls*

Ingredients:

Pack of crescent rolls, store bought
2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, diced
1 tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

On a nonstick baking sheet, lay out the crescent rolls flat. Once the cream cheese is softened a bit, mix it with the shredded mozzarella. Place a spoonful of this onto each crescent roll. Now dice your roasted red peppers and add a spoonful of these to each roll as well. Roll up your filling into the crescent rolls. This gets a bit messy but as long as they're rolled up they'll taste great. Now, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.

When they come out of the oven, sprinkle the grated Parmesan on top of the rolls while they are hot, so it sticks.

Serve up as a side dish or appetizer and enjoy!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Hi blog readers! I'm back with a super easy recipe for chicken parmesan. It's made healthier by the fact that it's baked and not fried. This great recipe makes two servings. 

 

Ingredients:

2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
1 cup breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
1 cup marinara sauce
Olive oil
2 cups pasta of your choice
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450. Drizzle a nonstick pan with olive oil. Cut chicken breasts into thinner slices, to make about eight pieces total. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with breadcrumbs, covering all of it evenly. Place chicken on pan and bake for fifteen minutes. While that's baking, boil pasta and heat pasta sauce on the stove top. After fifteen minutes in the oven, take the chicken out and sprinkle mozzarella cheese onto it. Put back in the oven for five minutes.

Drain pasta, place in bowl with sauce over it and top with chicken. Add extra parmesan cheese on top of desired.

Enjoy this easy and healthy chicken parmesan!

Chocolate Cream Pie

So tomorrow is Mother's Day, and I wanted to make something special for my Mom.  I remember her loving chocolate cream pie when I was younger, so I decided to make that.  Believe it or not, I've never made it from scratch (meaning, I've made it using a pudding mix and some Cool Whip, but that's it!)  So I tried my hand at making it today, and it is super easy to do.  No more pudding mix for me!  

Ingredients:

8 oz. Cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. Sugar
Mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate
Graham cracker pie crust 

A note on the pie crust -- you can buy one, or see my Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe from last Mother's Day for a recipe to make a graham cracker pie crust homemade (chocolate or regular works)!

Instructions:

You're going to need a mixer for this recipe!  In your mixing bowl, add the cream cheese (softened), the cocoa powder, the half cup of sugar, the milk, and the vanilla extract.  Mix this until it is a smooth and creamy pudding-like consistency.  It's not going to look as thick as store bought pudding or that from a boxed pudding mix.  It will be a little bit creamier.  Now, if you've bought the premade pie crust, pour the pudding into the pie crust and distribute evenly.  If you've made the crust homemade, just make sure it's cooled before you do that step.  Next, you're going to clean your mixing bowl and then add the heavy cream and the two tablespoons of sugar.  On a higher speed on the mixer, and using the whisk attachment, you're going to beat this together and let it go for about four or five minutes like this.  Just keep an eye on it and make sure you turn the mixer off when you see that it looks like the consistency of whipped cream and it has some peaks in it.  Now, smooth this whipped cream onto the pudding in your pie crust.  Make sure it covers the whole top of the pie.  Lastly, sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips or shave some chocolate on top.  All done!

Enjoy!