Hey everyone! Stop by the Abingdon Farmers Market today for a Prudent Wife Live demonstration from 3-6, Tuesday, July 20! We will be making SALSA of every kind! Spicy Serrano Jalapeno Salsa, a milder Everyday Salsa, a luscious, cool Watermelon Salsa and hopefully Peach Salsa!
Tons of useful ideas on making fresh salsa and canning salsa! Terrific ideas on how to use it year round, to spice up even the dullest dishes with a new twist!
From Southern Living - the peach experts!
Peaches Year-round
Savoring the sun-kissed flavor of juicy peaches all year long is easy–simply freeze them at their peak. Freeze sliced, peeled peaches with or without a sugar syrup, depending on how you plan to serve them. Either way, add lemon juice or commercial powdered fruit preservative such as Fruit-Fresh to protect color and texture. Look for fruit preservatives in the produce or canning sections of your supermarket.
For jams and jellies or cooked dishes, such as pies and cobblers, freeze peaches without sugar, and thaw only partially prior to use. Thaw in the refrigerator about 6 hours or until peach slices can be separated but are still semi-frozen; use immediately.
As sugar syrup further helps retain color and texture, peaches frozen with syrup are the better bet for uncooked applications, such as served over pound cake or ice cream. Thaw syrup-packed peaches in the refrigerator 8 to 10 hours, and plan to use thawed peaches within 1 day.
Unsweetened peaches: Gently toss 4 cups sliced, peeled peaches with 1 Tbsp. powdered fruit preservative or a mixture of 1 tsp. lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. water. Pack into a 1-qt. zip-top plastic freezer bag, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Squeeze out excess air, and seal; freeze. Use within 3 to 6 months.
Syrup-packed peaches: Stir together 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or 4 tsp. powdered fruit preservative, and 1 qt. water until sugar dissolves. Pour 1/2 cup sugar syrup into a 1-qt. zip-top plastic freezer bag. Add 4 cups sliced, peeled peaches and additional syrup to cover peaches (about 1 cup), leaving 1 inch of headspace. Squeeze out excess air, and seal; freeze. Use within 8 months.
Haven’t we all seen the Topsy Turvy, upside down tomatoes and wondered how those would do in our garden! Yesterday, we picked up some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and can’t wait to plant them.
I want to try those hanging tomatoes, but consistently balk at paying the price they demand for what looks like an old tablecloth. Well, imagine my excitement when a little online research turned up some fantastic upside down resources that will help do-it-yourselfers grow a garden upside down!
I got all excited and was ready to try several of this, until I realized we have nothing to hang them from in this home, so it may have to wait until next year.
Here are the resources:
Enjoy - and let’s all grow some tomatoes this summer! We keep hearing after last years horrid tomato year, and the blight and tomato woes from coast to coast, that we should have a fantastic tomato season THIS year! To salsa!
I found packages of chicken on sale yesterday, 6 fresh chicken breasts, marked down to only $3 each!!! WOW!!! I bought 5 packages, which equaled 30 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for about 50 cents apiece!
There are so many options on what to do with them, I am about to explode!
Do you ever find a screaming deal at the grocery store, and stare at it, unsure of what to do? Well here are some great ideas on what to do the next time you see FRESH chicken marked down!
After clearing out the pantry and fridge, chopped up two chicken breasts, I stuck them in a delicious Rigatoni Chicken Veggie Soup! That was warm and quite filling on a cold winter day.
Being a die hard Southern California girl, who misses her barbequed chicken, decided to throw it on the grill. While cold outside, it was sunny and gorgeous! So we fired up the outdoor barbie, and threw 3 packages on the heated grill. Kind of strange to cook outside, when it was cold, but it added to the fun! The view from our back porch is gorgeous, rolling hills dotted with farms, cows strolling along.
After grilling the chicken breasts, I put them in a Tupperware container and sealed the lid for a few minutes. This lightly steams them, making them more tender. Then, chop into bite sizes, salt VERY lightly, and divide into freezer bags (I did 2 breasts per bag). Cool thoroughly, label, then pop into the freezer. I kept a few BBQ’d chicken breasts whole, and put them in bags.
These frozen bags of Barbecued Chicken are ideal for picnics in summer, just grab a bag of BBQ’d chicken and pop into a cooler. We pack veggies and hummus and have the perfect, flavorful meal that supplies lots of energy! Year round, BBQ’d chicken is easy to pack into a cooler for a healthy meal on a long road trip! Imagine that - real food - rather than pressed, hydrogenated, fried, chemical-ed up, mystery meat!
These tasty BBQ’d chicken breasts won’t last that long in our freezer this winter. We will probably use them to make soups and stews, put into a crockpot dish, a casserole or throw into tacos or taco salads, and they would work well in enchiladas, burritos, nachos and tostados if your family prefers those.
All in all, I got a fantastic DEAL on this chicken, and the vast majority of it is COOKED and ready to make into simple, healthy meals!
Tomorrow, I will figure out what to do with the other 2 packages, a whole dozen MORE!