Pages From My Mama's Cookbook

[David In Indy]

If there is one scent I associate with Indiana more than anything else, it would be the smell of fresh apple butter simmering over a fire. Even today, one can still smell the spicy cinnamon scent of apple butter in the air during the autumn months. My mother made apple butter all the time when I was a kid. She would start it in the morning and allow it to slowly simmer all day on her stove. My grandmother sometimes cooked hers in a big kettle outside over an open fire.

I'm not that patient. Here's an easy apple butter recipe for the 21st century, and you don't even need an open fire or a big stove; just a microwave oven!

Apple Butter

You  will need:

6 apples; cored and finely chopped
1/2 cup of apple cider
2 cups of brown sugar; firmly packed
One and a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves


Place apples and apple cider in a one and a half quart microwave proof bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 15 minutes. Carefully remove plastic wrap and stir in the remaining ingredients. Return to microwave and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes more, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Serving suggestion: serve warm and pour over hot homemade biscuits.

Store unused apple butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This recipe makes about 2 pints of apple butter. 

[dot-matrix]

If there is one scent I associate with Indiana more than anything else, it would be the smell of fresh apple butter simmering over a fire. Even today, one can still smell the spicy cinnamon scent of apple butter in the air during the autumn months. My mother made apple butter all the time when I was a kid. She would start it in the morning and allow it to slowly simmer all day on her stove. My grandmother sometimes cooked hers in a big kettle outside over an open fire.

I'm not that patient. Here's an easy apple butter recipe for the 21st century, and you don't even need an open fire or a big stove; just a microwave oven!

Apple Butter

You  will need:

6 apples; cored and finely chopped
1/2 cup of apple cider
2 cups of brown sugar; firmly packed
One and a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves


Place apples and apple cider in a one and a half quart microwave proof bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 15 minutes. Carefully remove plastic wrap and stir in the remaining ingredients. Return to microwave and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes more, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Serving suggestion: serve warm and pour over hot homemade biscuits.

Store unused apple butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This recipe makes about 2 pints of apple butter. 

Oh this one brings back such memories for me David!  Every November my Mom would buy a bushel of Apples just to make Apple Butter. She made it in a big cast iron pot that belonged to her Mother before her.  My Grandma did it over an open fire too but Mom did it on the stove in the kitchen.  We use to wash and boil all the mason jars and the lids.  Then after the hot jars were filled with the hot apple butter put them in a water bath of boiling water  for 15 minutes to seal them.  I loved the popping noise of the vaccume forming and sucking the lid tight as they cooled on the counter top.  I just adore that time of year.  Teddy and I use to sit for HOURS and peel and core  apples.... but fresh homemade apple butter is the BEST 

[David In Indy]

Those are the exact same memories I have Dottie! We always helped Mom with the apple butter. And like your Mom, my Mom also canned most of her apple butter. I have all of her Ball canning jars in my kitchen but I don't can nearly as much as she did. I plan on doing some canning this fall though.


Here's another yummy recipe!


Baked Broccoli

You will need:

2 packages of frozen broccoli
1- 5 ounce can of sliced water chestnuts
1 can of cream of celery soup
1- 3 ounce can of onion rings
1/2 can of water (if the soup calls for it)

Cook the broccoli and then drain it thoroughly. Alternate layers of broccoli, chestnuts and soup in a one and one half quart casserole dish. End with a topping of soup. Bake at 300 F for 30 minutes. Top with onion rings about 3 minutes before serving.

This recipe will serve about 8 people. 

[Kelda]

see apple cider to me = alcohol - I'm assuming that is not the case!?!

[dot-matrix]

see apple cider to me = alcohol - I'm assuming that is not the case!?!

You're half right Kelda    There is plain Cider (non-alcoholic) anb Hard Cider (alcoholic).  You would use plain cider for Apple Butter or if needs be you can even use just plain apple juice.  But the Cider makes it more tangy.

[dot-matrix]

I made this tonight for dinner and was thinking you all might enjoy it as well.  This recipe is one my husband loves and is a good, low-fat, and quick fish recipe.


Cod with Italian Crumb and Tomato Topping

recipe yield:4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon olive oil
1  regular can of diced tomatos with Italian Seasonings
1  small can of sliced black olives
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 (5 ounce) fresh cod fillets  ( orange roughe, swordfish or any similar fish may be substituted)
1 egg white, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

In a small shallow bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, cheese, cornmeal, oil, italian tomatos, sliced olives, garlic and pepper; set aside.

Coat the rack of a broiling pan with cooking spray. Place the cod on the rack, folding under any thin edges of the filets. Brush with the egg white, then spoon the crumb and tomato mixture evenly on top.

Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is opaque all the way through.

Serve with rice or coucous and a fresh green veg or salad. 

[Shasta542]

OK--I'm going to the grocery store "after while" as we say here in AR!! And I am going to get the ingredients for David's Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwich!  I like all the ingredients---just never had them all mixed together! I'll get back to ya'll later and give you the results of my taste test.

[David In Indy]

Let me know how you liked it Shasta! It's one of those strange and weird things. It sounds disgusting, but the way the various ingredients mix and mingle together tastes very good. I've heard people call this a gourmet peanut butter sandwich, and I've even seen it appear on menus in some of the finer restaurants. But I think they taste the best when made at home!   

[Scott6373]

Pages from my Mama's cookbook?

Best used as lining for a bird cage...don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but she was the mother of 4 boys (well ok, 3.5 boys and .5 girls), she worked full time and if she was late from work I would open the LaChoy can.  That pretty much covers it.

[David In Indy]

I made this tonight for dinner and was thinking you all might enjoy it as well.  This recipe is one my husband loves and is a good, low-fat, and quick fish recipe.

I don't like fish too much Dottie, but Cod doesn't have a strong fishy taste, so I don't mind having cod for dinner sometimes. It has a very mild flavor. One of the Methodist churches here in Speedway has a fish fry about every 3 months and they serve cod. Sometimes I will stop by and pick up a bag of them and bring them home. My roommate LOVES fish. Besides, the proceeds go to a very good cause; funding the church and some local charities. I always put tartar sauce, lettuce and tomato on my fish sandwiches.

I'll give your recipe a try sometime Dottie.