Foodie Friday!

I love our urban little city yard! It's small, no doubt, but that means it's easy to manage. Every summer we look forward to our cherry tree and our blueberry bushes! We get a good crop and are able to make a ton of stuff. Jam, sauce, and pie filling. This year was no exception! 

Our cherry tree went nuts on us!

See what I mean?

This was just one of about 6 bowls that we picked. We would head out in the morning to do our picking. This lasted about a week. We always save some for the birds and the butterflies too.

Along with picking means pitting. Jason did this...you can tell by the hairy arms. He literally sat in the living room on a camping chair and did this at the table while watching The Tour de France. For hours. Many hours. I'd say at least six!

Then he would cook them up over the stove and make jam. We usually follow the recipe on the Ball pectin box. We like that one better than the Sure Jell. Or maybe it's just a habit. We have used that one and continue to use it year after year.

Then we get the water going for the jars.

I love seeing all of these jars. The jam in the back and in the front...pie filling!

Beautiful!

Then the cherry sauce for ice cream. Jason made honey simple syrup and put the cherries in there. It is so good...I can't even begin to tell you!

We probably made enough pie filling for at least 4 pies. It'll be so nice to pull it out in the colder months and remember picking cherries on our 90 degree days!

We made about 4 batches of jam so we will have plenty for gifts. It's amazing!

At Christmas we'll bake homemade bread and give a loaf of that and some cherry jam to friends. It's such an easy thing to do and it all came from our tiny yard with the big cherry tree!

Have you canned before? If not, I really suggest trying it. It is very easy to do and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them or help you in any way I can!

Happy Summer!

Stacy

Foodie Friday!

Buffalo Pulled Chicken Sandwiches! These are really easy...great for summer or winter and it's a throw it in the crock pot and leave it sort of deal. When I say easy, I mean easy!

So here's what you need. 

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 packet dry ranch dip mix

1 1/2 - 2 cups hot sauce, we like Frank's

Crockpot!

Once you have these things this is what you will do...

And then this....

It will look like this...

Set your crockpot on low for 5 or 6 hours, or high for 3 or 4.

It will look like this when it's ready to be shredded...

Now get shredding. Two forks works great and takes about 5 minutes.

It will look like this when it's all shredded...

VOILA! Done! How easy was that? Now eat! I serve it with chips and a salad. Throw a little more hot sauce on it to taste and sometimes I put some blue cheese on my sandwich too.

There will be leftovers so you'll have something for lunch for a couple of days. 

Enjoy!

Stacy

Foodie Friday...yes, again!

I wanted to share a quick drink with you, before the summer is over, so today you are getting two recipes for the price of one. No that you pay to read this blog, but you know what I'm saying.

Last Fall I discovered this at Ikea. I knew I had to do something with it since pear flavored anything is my favorite! So I decided to make it as easy as possible. Hence, this is hardly a recipe, but more just something that you need to try at home when you're sitting outside in the heat.

I'm realizing it's hard to get a picture of a glass bottle. Sorry about that. I hope you didn't notice that my bottle of Absolut Pear is almost empty either. It's really not. That's just a weird reflection too. Umm, yes, let's just go with that explanation and leave it alone okay?

So all you do is mix a shot (or slightly more) of the Absolut Pear and the sparkling pear drink from Ikea. I won't even type the name of it because you know you can't pronounce it any better than I can! This beverage is like heaven in a glass. It's refreshing and light and I love it. If you don't like pear, you won't like this. It is slightly perfumey tasting. I love that. Also, if you don't have access to an Ikea, you can use any sparkling pear drink from the grocery store. I just happen to like this because it is less sweet.

Happy drinking!

Stacy

Foodie Friday

Our first Foodie Friday is going to be a recipe that I originally found here. It's exactly the recipe that I use, but I use basil instead of oregano. Either one would work. 

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

4 tomatoes, halved horizontally
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, or basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 F. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Top with parmesan, oregano, and salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until tomatoes are tender. I bake them for 15-20 until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

These are great served with a steak or chicken breast and about as easy as you can get. Tomatoes will be in season soon so you will have a new recipe to use for them!

For my next Foodie Friday I will have pictures of my own for a simple recipe you can make in the crockpot and eat for lunches and dinners for the week!

Stacy