Jalapeños

Canned and ready to sit (please ignore all my other junk!)

Two posts in two days!  You guys are some lucky readers. I love, love, love jalapeños pickled for my nachos. Nothing quite like the vinegary, spicy tang these babies pop. If you love these as much as I do, give this quick and easy recipe a try. I can't stress enough that you will need to make sure to wash and sterilize your jars. 

Sterilizing Canning Jars

Wash all jars, rings and lids with hot soapy water. I dry my jars in my oven at 250 degrees. I just fill my cake pan with my jars for easy removal from the oven. Dry the metal rings thoroughly. The metal lids I out in a small pot with lightly simmering water on my stove. Just remove them as needed. 

Slice up all your jalapeños and pack them into your clean jars. Set aside. 

Next mix 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water, 4 TBSP canning salt, 2 TBSP sugar, and 2 cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil and stir until all the sugar and salt are dissolved. 

Pour the hot mixture into jar and seal immediately. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Tomato season and the question plaguing my mind is what to do with all that deliciousness.  Thanks to the recipe my mother in law sent, I have a delicious, never eat Campbell's soup again treat. 

What you need:

Tomatoes (chop them up, don't peel or anything else)

1 onion

1 carton low sodium chicken broth

Garlic salt

2 cans Rotel Tomatos with Chilies

2 tsp butter

2 tsp flour

Balsamic Vinegar

Sugar

Tools Needed:

Large Soup Pot

Skillet

Blender or Stick Immersion Blender 

Fill your soup pot with about 12 cups of chopped tomatoes. I really didn't measure, just chopped until it was full. Add a chopped onion and half the box of chicken broth.  I let the tomatoes cook down for about 30 minutes. At this point you could transfer to a blender or food processor but I'm all for minimum clean up. I used my handy immersion blender to purée EVERYTHING (seeds included) right into the pot. 

Next I mixed up a roux to thicken the soup. In a small skillet, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. Let it start to get bubbly. Then take one ladle of tomato soup purée and add to skillet while still whisking. When it's fully incorporated, add another ladle of purée and follow the same procedures. 

Next, begin whisking this into the pot of tomato purée. Once it is all incorporated, stir in approximately 3 TBSP of basaltic vinegar and 3 TBSP of sugar. Enjoy!

Poule au Pot

Tonight's dinner was simple, delicious and oh so healthy. Gene looked so confused by the vegetables I was getting as he had never heard of them let along had eaten them. The Poule au Pot is a simple French way of boiling chicken with a richly flavored broth. Hopefully next year I will have all these vegetables growing in our garden and not just the carrots and onions. 

You need:

6-8 chicken thighs

1 carton low sodium low fat chicken broth

4 carrots

15 pearl onions

1 shallot

4 cloves garlic

1 turnip, peeled & cubed

2 parsnips, peeled & diced

2 large leeks, chopped & rinsed very well (they can be gritty inside)

A dash of rosemary, thyme, sage & pepper

I turned my Ninja cooker to Stovetop High and seared the chicken 5 minutes on each side to brown the skin. Then, turn the Ninja to Oven and set it to 350 degrees. Add all other ingredients and our the lid on. Cook for an hour and 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. As it cooks it will reduce and leave a delicious broth that can be served over rice or egg noodles.