Spicy Blues Jelly

Blueberry picking time again!  This time Ken & Kailyn went with Kelsie and me, so we picked a ton of berries!  We even picked some bonus blackberries too.

Staying with our delicious and unusual canning recipes, I came across one called Kentucky Bar Fight, which not only had jalapenos, but also bourbon.  Sounds unique to me!  Here's my version, and a name change -

Spicy Blues Jelly
13 cups blueberries
48 oz blackberries, weighed
5 - 6 cups jalapenos
3 cups apple cider vinegar
3 cups bourbon
2 bottles of pectin, each 4.7 oz
26 cups sugar

Wash berries and jalapenos.  Seed and loosely chop jalapenos, and process in a food processor.  You want to finely chop, but not turn it into mush.  I added the blackberries to the last batch.  Put the processed jalapenos and berries into a large pot - an extra large pot.  This recipe makes a very large batch of jelly!  Add the pectin and bring to a boil.  Add the sugar and bring to a rolling boil.  Once it reaches this stage, set the timer for one minute.  Then pour into sterilized canning jars and process in a 15 min. water bath.  This jelly has just the right amount of kick - yummy with cheese.  We tried it with smoked cheddar and cream cheese tonight.

Blueberry Basil Jam

Berry Picking Time!
I heard about a cool place to visit in Broken Arrow - Thunderbird Ranch.  Kailyn was already scheduled to take the ACT, but Kelsie was up for some blueberry picking.

It was pretty crowded with families when we first got there, but the blueberries were plentiful.  We quickly got into a blueberry picking ninja zone and filled up 2 buckets! Now Thunderbird Ranch has this awesome deal - you share 2 and get one free.  At first I thought we would just buy our haul, but they were quite impressed when we walked to have our buckets weighed.  When I asked the owner how much he thought we had, he told me he bet about 15 lbs.  That's a ton of blueberries!  Kelsie and I decided to share, which means we got 5 lbs. of blueberries for FREE!

Quickly searching Pinterest... we decided to try to the blueberry and basil jam recipe... with a little tweaking, of course!

Blueberry Basil Jam
4 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 box of No Sugar Added Pectin
10 cups of blueberries
big bunch of basil leaves - we probably used a little more than one cup
zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of water

Mix the pectin and 1/4 cup of sugar and set aside.  Use a food processor and pulse the blueberries in 2 batches - chop, but don't turn it into mush.  Transfer each batch into a large heavy pot, but on the last batch save about 1/4 cup of the blueberries in the food processor.  Then add the basil leaves, zest and juice of the lemon, and the water - totally process this batch.  Add this and the pectin mix to the chopped blueberries in the pot and bring to a boil.  Add the remaining sugar and return to a boil.  now you need to get it to the rolling boil stage, and when it reaches this point - set the timer for 1 minute.

Make sure your water bath and canning jars are ready to go.

Put jam into jars, leaving about 1/4" head on top.  Put lids on and it's water bath time.  Once the water returns to boil, set the timer for 10 minutes.  Put the jars on a towel to cool and then listen for the joyous popping sound.

Ken's comment - this jam is mind blowing delicious!

Stir Fry with Honey & Soy Sauce

I found this original recipe on Pinterest, but I tweaked it a little (like I Love to do!).

Stir Fry with Honey & Soy Sauce
First make your sauce.
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1 cup of broth - I used vegetable
1 Tbsp of flour

Whisk the first five ingredients together.  Mix the broth and flour together, and then add to the rest.

Next is the stir fry.
I used these vegetables, but feel free to be creative.
1 chopped onion
2-3 cups of mushrooms
3 cups of broccoli
1 lb shrimp

Heat your stir-fry pan.  Cook your shrimp in a little vegetable oil and remove from pan.  Next add the veggies and a little more vegetable oil.  Cook until crisp tender.  Re-whisk sauce and pour into pan with veggies.  Cook until sauce thickens.  When it's almost ready, add the shrimp.  I added some rice and a little more freshly grated ginger.  Loved the flavors!

Cheese & Veggie Baked Rice

Since I'm on the topic of versatile side dishes... this one is also easy and can be changed up to compliment the main entree or theme of dinner.

Cheese & Veggie Baked Rice
2 - 3 cups of veggie mix - I used spinach, 1/2 red pepper & 1/2 onion, chopped
3 cups of cooked rice
8 oz. of Velveeta
3 eggs, beaten
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and spread into a lightly greased 10 x 6 baking pan.  I sprinkled a little shredded cheese on top to make it look even more delicious.  Bake at 350* for about 30 min.  Let rest for about 5 min. before cutting into squares.

Once you've tried this, you'll see all the possibilities for changing this recipe up.  I think mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes.... Oh, I could go on and on.  Delicious!

Easy & Delicious Baked Tomatoes

Need a quick & yummy side dish?  This recipe is perfect.  I made it tonight with baked Parmesan fish and couscous.

Baked Tomatoes
tomatoes - I used 3
olive oil
salt
pepper
shredded cheese - I used Asiago
sprinkle of spice mix - I used an Italian blend

Heat oven to 400-425*.  Cut tomatoes in half and place on baking sheet with a lip (help save your oven from juice).  Drizzle with a little olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste.  Place a small mound of cheese on top and sprinkle with seasoning mix.  Bake for about 20-25 min.  Let rest for about 3-5 min.  Those tomatoes will be hot!

This recipe can be totally versatile - tonight I made an Italian version, but simple switches could make it a great side dish for Mexican, Greek, etc.

Birthday Surprise for Ken!

The girls and I planned the perfect birthday surprise for Ken - you only celebrate your 50th birthday once, right?!?  How about an extended weekend trip to New Orleans?!?

I love to play "If You Would Rather" game when trying to figure out just the right gift for someone.  Earlier I asked Ken if he would rather have a party or an experience for his big 50.  With his answer... I started working on my plan.  I thought about going somewhere different, maybe with a beach.  But with Ken's schedule, I was worried about plane schedules.  We had just taken a road trip to San Antonio during Spring Break, so I started looking for someplace great within a 10 hour radius.  Turns out New Orleans is really about 10 1/2 hours, but it held so much promise.  When I asked the girls, they were totally on board.

I created a Google doc and planning began!  I picked a funky cool, hip hotel - Old No. 77, which was an old cannery restored to a hotel.  It's not on the French Quarter, but close.  Turns out it was in a perfect location, and we were able to walk everywhere.  I talked to Ken's receptionist to see if she could keep Tuesday open because we would be driving back and Ken wouldn't be in the office.  She worked her magic and he had no idea!  When he came home Friday after work I asked him how his day was and he said busy. I told him then he deserve a break and the girls and I are kidnapping him for his 50th Birthday Celebration Weekend!

Here's how it went down:

Friday - Ken's at work, while the girls and I pack.  We also drop off Kricket at my sister's.  Ken comes home & SURPRISE!  We drive to Little Rock.  I was going to try to make him think this is where the weekend trip was going to be, but he knew better and figured it out.

Saturday - headed towards NOLA, with a side stop in Vicksburg, where we went through the National Park.  By the time we finally got to New Orleans, we were hungry.  PoBoys from Mother's!

The next morning was an early one - we had tickets for a swamp tour with Cajun Encounters.  Great experience - tour guide was one of the best, weather was perfect, and we got to see gators and wild boars.  It's about an hour drive there, so when we got back it was definitely lunch time.  This time it was muffalettas at Johnny's.  We went back to hotel for a quick nap because we had another tour lined up for the evening - ghost tour.  Kailyn did an awesome job arranging this one!  We met James at 7:30 in front of the St.Louis Cathedral for our ghost tour.  After the tour we grabbed a sweet treat at Cafe du Monde, because you can't go to New Orleans without eating beignets.

Monday was our last full day, so we let Ken make all the decisions.  He chose to visit the National WWII Museum.  Highly recommend this museum!  We each got a dog tag, which connected to a real WWII veteran.  You go through the exhibit and check in to follow your soldier's story.  The only downfall was we went on Memorial Day, so it was super crowded.  We went back to the hotel to get all dressed up for our fancy dinner.  Ken chose Emeril's New Orleans.  Seemed a little cliche, but if you're going to eat at an Emeril's restaurant, why not pick the place that started his culinary career.  Everything was delicious!

Next day... before we headed back home... we had to have beignets just one more time.  We decided to try Cafe Beignet because Alton Brown claims these are truly the best.  It was a cute little cafe and the wait time was longer.  It was a mixed bag on our official beignet critique - 2 of us enjoyed Cafe Du Monde, while the other 2 agreed with Alton.  On the road again!  We enjoyed pizzas at Wildwood Pizza in Alexandria.  We got home a little later than expected - terrible storms in Texas.  Good thing we didn't have to worry about plane - Dallas airport was closed because of flooding.

It was a fantastic little extended family vacation time & celebrating sweet Ken's 50th birthday - a win/win in my book!