Zucchini Pizza

This was a big hit last night. I think next time I'll put on more artichoke heart- but even without much of it, it was great.



Zucchini Pizza
4 c. grated zucchini
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp. garlic salt (I just shook it over, so not sure on exact amount)
3 eggs, beaten
Mix all together and spread into well greased/oiled skillet*. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
Add whatever toppings you want and then stick back into the oven to heat through and melt the cheese.
We put on:
Pepperoni
Artichoke hearts
chopped fresh tomatoes
grated cheddar cheese (just a thin layer- to hold it all together)

* a 12" skillet worked best- the 10" one is more 'quiche-like', as it is thicker. If you are going to use pie pans, I would probably put it in two 9" pie pans. This sticks a little- it comes off the cast iron best.

This is a really inexpensive meal- if you have a garden, the only real cost is the cheese and toppings.

Chokecherry Jelly

About a month ago Brian's mom called and said there were some chokecherries where she takes her dog walking. I was ready to head out the door right then- but she said they weren't ready yet. So, since I didn't remember what chokecherries looked like, I asked her to call me when they were ready.
A couple weeks later she did. It happened to be a weekend we were going to be out of town, so I ran out and picked a big bowl full that Thursday when she called. They were in clusters, so pretty easy to pick.


This picture was taken about a week later, when I went back to get more- unfortunately, it was already passed the season and these are a bit wrinkled and dry. So I guess you really have to grab them when they are ready!


I brought them home, filled the bowl with water and let all the leaves, bugs, dried berries to float to the top so I could skim them off.
Then I put the rinsed berries into a large pot and filled it with water so it covered the berries. I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I set another bowl in the sink with a strainer over the top and poured the berries into it so all the juice went into the bowl. I let it sit for a while, dripping and stirred the berries a couple times.
I probably could have boiled them a second time to get more juice (from what I've read online, that's what our grandmothers did) but didn't think of it.
I measured out the juice to see how many batches of jelly I could make.
The chokecherries apparently have plenty of natural pectin.

I found this Ball pectin at Walmart for $1 cheaper than the Sure-Jell and they each had a $.50 coupon inside- so the next one was only $1./box. It was in the canning section, rather than the baking section where the Sure-Jell is.
It's a basic pectin- 4 c. fruit or juice, pectin and then whatever amount of sugar you want, up to 3 cups.
I think I used 8 c. juice, 6 c. sugar and one box of pectin.
I've used it with other juice now and cut down the sugar more, but chokecherries are pretty tart, so I used the maximum amount with them.

Cost-wise, this was great:
Juice: free
Pectin: $1.
Sugar: $1.
Yields 8 jars @ $.25/per jar (pint jar)

I got 4 batches of jelly = 16 pints of jelly.

Do you make jam/jelly?

Oven Dried Strawberries

Last year I dried some apples in the oven and they turned out nice. I use dried fruit in granola and thought I would try some strawberries this time, as I had quite a few. I really need a dehydrator though- it took way too long in the oven.
I found a good article on dehydrating fruits and veggies. I cut the strawberries to about 1/4" think and laid them on parchment paper which I had directly on the oven rack. I set the oven to 170 degrees (because that's the lowest it will go) and stuck a wooden spoon in the door to hold it slightly open.
Some of the strawberries dried faster than others- it depended on how thick they were. But the were all done after about 5 hours. I ended up with enough for one batch of granola- so not really worth it for me, but I had to try. I did turn them over once so they could dry on both sides. It was a time consuming job.

Peanut Butter Granola

I have to try this one out on Jesse... he doesn't like oatmeal or granola, but he loves peanut butter, so we'll see how it goes. Anyway, I think this is good.

Peanut Butter Granola
4 1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. additions

Heat the peanut butter and honey, so it's not so thick (microwave or heat over medium until warm). Mix in salt, vanilla and oats, coat thoroughly and then spread onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before adding dried fruit, or if you don't want chocolate to melt, etc.
I store this in the freezer if it's not eaten up right away.


Notice how this one browns more on top and on sides. I don't stir it while it's baking.







This variation has 1 c. Heath Toffee pieces added after it was cool.





This one I added:
1/2 c. Heath bar toffee pieces
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
While it was warm so the chocolate melted and it formed clumps of chocolate granola.

Breakfast "Cookie"

This is actually similar to Baked Oatmeal but easier to pick up and eat with your hands.

I've been trying to make alot of things for the freezer so when baby comes I won't have to cook much... and neither will Brian. :-) So I have quite a few different batches of this in the freezer now.


Breakfast "Cookie"
4 c. oats (rolled or quick)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 TB. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 c. applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp. vannilla
1 c. additions
Mix all together, bake in greased 9" x 13" baking dish at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Makes 12 square cookies.


Here's a few of my variations:

1 c. milk chocolate & peanut butter chips






1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. craisins







1 peach, chopped
1 plum chopped
a handful of strawberries, chopped
decrease milk to 1/2 c.

Fruit and Oatmeal Bars

I was trying to go for a Breakfast Cookie here- but this was so good, I think it qualifies more as "dessert". The one on the left is strawberry and the one on the right is cherry. I liked the cherry better- I think just the tartness of it.



Fruit and Oatmeal Bars
3/4 c. applesauce
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. jam or preserves (tart works best, if using a sweeter fruit, like strawberries, I would reduce the sugar to 1/2 c.)

Mix everything except the jam. Press half of the mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Spread the jam on, try to not to get it completely to the edge, or the jam part will burn slightly. Sprinkle on the remaining mixture. (I ended up doing 2/3 of the mixture on the bottom and 1/3 on top)
Bake for 16-18 minutes in 400 degree oven.
Wait about 15 minutes and then cut into squares.

Jams & Jellies

The boys like to brag about my jams and jellies... It makes me feel so good when I hear "My mom makes the best crabapple jelly- you're going to love it!" :-) Last year Stephen wrote a poem about our crabapple tree "giving my family delicious jelly".

And here I've been thinking of cutting the darn tree down... It's just that it makes such a mess and I only am able to get about 1/2 of the crab apples up and juiced before they go bad and then it's so hot to boil them and strain the juice... uff-dah! Cost-wise it is nice- obviously, the juice is free so then with the cost of pectin and sugar-

Juice: free
Pectin: $2.38
Sugar: $.68
Yields 4 jars @ $.76/per jar

Generic grape jelly (the very cheapest) is somewhere around $1.30 now and I use the "less sugar" pectin, so there is 1/2 as much sugar as regular jelly. (6 c. juice/4 c. sugar vs. 6 c. juice/7 c. sugar)
Of course when I make strawberry or other jams that we don't grow the fruit for, it's a bit more money, but if you compare it to the store, it's so much cheaper! And if you've never made jams or jellies before, I would encourage you to try it- it's quite simple, and doesn't take all that long to do the cooking part- maybe 30 minutes from juice to jelly in jars. The instructions in the pectin box are quite easy.



Over the last week we made: (R to L) Peach-raspberry: 1 batch, strawberry-rhubarb: 1 batch, apple: 1 batch, cherry: 1 batch, crabapple: 3 batches and strawberry: 2 batches.
I like to buy the Classico Spaghetti sauce and Adams Peanut Butter, because I can reuse the jars and lids- some of these jars I have had for 10 years and they still seal every time I make jam or jelly. On the green side- I don't have to throw away used jars and on the frugal side- I don't have to buy new lids all the time.