World's easiest peach butter

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I like easy.  This isn't one of those blogs where I make something that looks perfect and then create a perfect looking label, with a link for you download your own.  Don't get me wrong I'd love to make perfect stuff with perfect labels.

This blog is about life.  REAL life. My house is a mess and I still don't have time to make a peach butter label.  Pass the sharpie.  Link to sharpie

Wait! I just changed my mind. This is a perfect blog, and I have the link to the best label ever.  This label is completely 100% customizable.  No more printing labels out for all your projects. This is a one size fits all job.  It isn't free though.  Sorry.  It's $1.64.  I know killer price.  BUT I'm not asking you to print stuff out all the time on special sticker paper and use up all your ink.  So actually, you're welcome.

Here it is:  link to most perfect ever label no printing required

Okay, on to the world's easiest peach butter.

1. Pit all your peaches, don't skin them, and no it doesn't` matter how many peaches you have.

2. Put all your peaches in a pot with some water and cook for a few minutes.  I used an immersion blender and chopped it all up.  Now you can't even tell you didn't waste loads of time skinning your peaches. And peach skins are really good for you.  Now the world's easiest peach butter is also a major health food.  Again, you're welcome.

3. Once it's all blended pour it all in a crock pot.

4. Add sugar till it tastes good.

5. Add cinnamon, cloves and/or nutmeg til it tastes good, or none at all. I added a little bit of all of them.

6. Cook in crock pot until you like how thick it is.  If you like how thick it is after you blend it you could just skip the crock pot altogether.

7.  Ladle peach butter into hot jars and top with hot lids.  Screw the lids on tight and set upside down for 5 minutes and then right side up.  The lids will seal.

8.  Use your most awesomest ever label AKA the sharpie to label your jars.

9. Remember we used the skins in this peach butter and therefore is a health food so be healthy and eat some everyday.

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Pomegranate-chokecherry jelly

One week ago...

Chokecherry jelly is the best jelly in the world. The perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made with homemade bread, creamy peanut butter, and chokecherry jelly. Any other kind of jelly and it's just not the perfect pb&j.

Present day...

I'm dazed and confused. I feel like someone pulled the rug out from underneath me. And that rug is called life.

My world is spinning and I don't know what to do or think.

There is a large possibility that I have discover a jelly that is even better than chokecherry jelly.

The loyal part of me wants to whisk this thought away and pretend I never thought it and say chokecherry is the best.

But until I make more chokecherry jelly and do the ultimate taste test there is no way to be sure. I'm going to go ahead and tell myself that the only reason this jelly is so good is because of the chokecherry juice.

While we wait on the official results of the taste test, I can say with 100% certainty that pomegranate-chokecherry jelly is defiantly a yummylicious jelly that should be consumed on a regular basis.

We bought a case of pomegranates from bountiful basket. After we got that lovely goodness home, I remembered something. I really do not like taking the seeds out of pomegranates, I'm highly irritated after doing just one. My kids always have to share a pomegranate because I would be impossible to live with if I had to pick all the seeds out of two.

And there I was, starring at a whole case of the things. It was not a lovely sight.  I almost cried just looking at them all.

My husband is fabulous.  Even though he really, really, really wanted to go organize his garage he took the seeds out of most of the pomegranates for me. I'm so blessed to have him.

After I made the juice I didn't really like the color or it, strangely enough it will a milky light pink.  It was still good tasting.  I had some chokecherry juice leftover in the freezer and I put that in with it and it made the color darker and less milky (don't ask me why it made it less milky, it just did).

Then I used the ball recipe for pomegranate jelly since there was a lot more pomegranate juice than chokecherry juice. My juice mixture is probably around 1/8th chokecherry juice.

3.5 cups pomegranate/chokecherry juice
5 cups sugar
1 package pectin

Mix the pectin in with the juice til it's all the way dissolved.  Heat to a boil. Mix in sugar, stir til dissolved and heat to a rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute. Ladle into hot jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Put on a hot lid and screw it on tight, set upside down for 5 minutes and then turn right side up.  The jars will seal and there is no need to process them.

If you prefer you can skip the whole upside down right side up business and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

I have actually started putting my jelly into pint jars instead of jelly jars.  It looks a little silly, but my kids are pb&j monsters! They go through a jelly jar full every week.  So I'm saving money on lids. My kids would love me more if our daily menu was:

Breakfast: pb&j
Morning Snack: pb&j
Lunch: pb&j
1st afternoon snack: pb&j
2nd afternoon snack: pb&j
Dinner: Quesadilla (and by quesadilla, I mean tortilla with melted cheese)
Post dinner snack: pb&j
Once a week I will switch out one meal with either a hot dog or cereal just to spice up life.

Ha! They just can't understand why I bother to cook meals and make them eat something different for breakfast, lunch and dinner.


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No process apricot jelly

I super love apricot chicken.  It's really good as leftovers on salads too with it's awesome fruitiness.  Back when we believed Cheyenne to allergic to peanuts I could not find apricot jelly without a peanut warning.  So I asked my mom is she had some jelly to spare.  She didn't but she had a bucket of apricots just chilling in her freezer she gave me...which is fantabulous of her. 

Even though I could buy it from the store I just don't want to.  I like making homemade stuff.  It makes me feel awesome.

Apparently apricot jelly recipes must be kept highly secretive because I had a hard time finding one.  Here is the recipe I used but since there doesn't seem to be a plethora of them I think it's worth repeating.  I like jelly recipes that use the juice amounts rather than the pounds of fruit so this is perfect.


Here it is...

7 cups apricot juice (unsweetened)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
9 cups sugar

I just dumped all of my (thawed)apricots out of my bucket into a pot and basically heated it up properly.  It already had lots of juice so I didn't add any water.


 

Then I strained it threw my cheese cloth. Your basic jelly making process, nothing special.

Combine the apricot juice, lemon juice and pectin and heat to a boil. Add the sugar and heat to a rolling boil. Boil for one minute.

Put it in your jars. Put on your super boiled lids and tighten those rings down tight.  Turn your jars upside down for 5 minutes. After that just turn the jars right side up and done!

My mom taught me this method(come to think of it why doesn't my mom have her own blog for all this stuff?!?). If you want to use this recipe but don't like in 'no process' method just put the jars in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.

My jelly turned out amazing.  We have already had peanut butter and apricot jelly sandwiches and I can't wait to make some apricot chicken!!