Oh So Good Banana Bread (Gluten Free!)

I have this great banana bread recipe. In fact, I had declared it THE best banana bread. It was clean and gluten free, which, let’s be honest, when combined can mean it doesn’t taste that great. But my friends and family will agree, it is darn good banana bread. You can get the recipe by clicking here. 

However, THE best banana bread requires the baker to create oat flour by putting all the dry ingredients in a food processor. I love my food processor, but the other evening, I was not interested in heading to the basement to grab it to make banana bread. Yes, I know this is slightly lazy. Okay, a lot lazy. But out of my refusal to grab an appliance, another great recipe was born. 

This recipe is STILL gluten free. While I am not gluten free myself, I dig being able to create for my friends who are. It still doesn’t have refined sugar. While I still love me some sugar, I enjoy finding good substitutes for my friends who try hard to cut extra sugar from their life. So if you are gluten free, watching your sugar, or you’re like me who really just loves a great banana bread recipe, I hope you give this a try. My husband (who doesn’t love banana bread) definitely went for seconds. And thirds. 

Ready? Let’s get baking!

Your Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (olive oil would do fine too!)
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups almond flour
  • ¾ cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt 
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts 
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips 

Your Steps for Great Banana Bread 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 quick bread pan. In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in oil. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the wet mixture. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips. If you want it to look extra beautiful, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until cooked through. 

  • Start with the best–a few overly ripe bananas
  • Mix up some wet ingredients
  • Add the dry.
  • Stir it up. It will be moist. That’s okay!
  • Baked to perfection. Freaking yum.

Looking to bake other delicious treats? Head on over to my baking page for more inspiration!

Baking

Tools of the Trade

There isn’t much you need for a quick bread, but I want to share out the tools I love when I am baking!

Oh So Good Banana Bread

Oh So Good Banana Bread (Gluten Free!): Clean eating doesn't have to be flavorless. This banana bread is to die for and is gluten free too!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 3 very ripe bananas mashed
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted (olive oil would do fine too!)
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups almond flour
  • ¾ cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 quick bread pan.
  • In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla.
  • Stir in oil. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the wet mixture.
  • Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.
  • Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until cooked through.
Keyword Banana Bread, bananas, Breakfast, Quick Bread
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Don’t Throw That Away Apple Scrap Jelly

Apple season brings everyone visiting the orchard, making fresh applesauce and maybe even a pie or two. With all the peeling and coring happening, you’ll be happy to know there is something to do with all those scraps that will result in a delicious outcome: Apple Scrap Jelly!

We bought our house about 11 years ago and promptly began to dig up the ground to put in gardens, bushes, and trees. Since then, we have planted a total of 16 fruit trees on our little slice of happiness. Developing trees takes time, and we are finally at the point where we are picking a few bushels of apples. Oh the joy! This means I am preserving the apples into apple pie filling, applesauce, and the like. A few years ago, I saw the piles of peels and cores knew there had to be something I could do with the “waste.” Enter Apple Scrap Jelly. With only four ingredients, you will likely have everything on hand to make it. It doesn’t even need commercial pectin! What a win! 

Do you have some apples you’re hoping to peel and core to make fall treats? Get another bowl, save the scraps, and be prepared to create another treat! 

Your Ingredients

  • a kettle full of apple peels and cores
  • water
  • sugar (½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down)
  • lemon juice (½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down)

Begin The Boiling

After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly. I generally keep two vessels going at the same time: one for my apples for sauce/pie/etc and one for the scraps. 

Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining (this is an estimate, it doesn’t need to be perfect by any means). This will likely take an hour or so.

Now, if I’m being real, I generally let water/apple mixture cool overnight in the refrigerator. Not because you have to, but because I don’t want to finish that day. 

Time for Jelly!

Either way, your next step is to separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add. 

Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Your end goal is to reach the gelling point. There are lots of tests for this, but I prefer the temperature test. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees. For me, the gelling point is 218 degrees. Don’t have a decent food thermometer? Check out the National Center for Home Preservation website for other ways of testing for the gelling point. 

It takes longer to reach the gelling point than I think it should. It also goes from needing 3 degrees to reaching the gelling point fast. You can get complacent while you are waiting and suddenly hit the temperature, so I am trying to warn you 🙂 

While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them. (If you want to simply place the jelly in the fridge after it hits the gelling point, that’s 100% okay. You don’t need to process it. However, if you want it self-stable, you should process in a waterbath canner.)

Canning Time!

Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water. 

Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner, placing on the counter. Listen for the ping of the lids over the next 12 hours. Sealed jars are self stable. If any jar doesn’t seal, simply place it right in the refrigerator. 

PS…To be especially awesome, have some fresh baked bread on hand to spread the left over warm apple scrap jelly in the kettle on a slice. Enjoy while the rest of the jelly is in the water bath. I promise, you’ll thank me.

Apples for sauce.
Scraps for jelly!
Boil away!
Strain the liquid from the scraps.
Press out the apple goodness!
Almost complete!
The color of that jelly is divine. Yum.

Tools of the Trade

A nice strainer is a must in a stocked kitchen!

I love my waterbath canner.

The shallowness of this stock pot makes boiling down go so much quicker. My go to kettle for jelly.

Apple Scrap Jelly

Don't throw away the apple peels and cores. Create a delicious apple scrap jelly with just a handful of pantry ingredients!
4.80 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Canning
Servings 12 per jar

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • a kettle full of apple peels and cores
  • water
  • sugar ½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down
  • lemon juice ½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down

Instructions
 

  • After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly.
  • Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining.
  • Separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add.
  • Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Heat to 8 degrees above the boiling point of water. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees.
  • While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them rather than storing in the refrigerator.
  • Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water.
  • Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to rest for 12 hours before storing.
Keyword apple jelly, apple recipe, apples, Canning, Jelly, Waterbath Canning
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other canning recipes? Check out my canning and preserving page below!

Canning and Preserving

Jess37 Comments

Happy Mistake Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Isn’t it grand when a “happy little mistake” turns out to be a delight? While I have recently adopted the mentality of “what’s the worst that can happen?” when I am cooking and experimenting (by the way the worst that can happen is I learn what DOESN’T work and I throw away a little food), it is always exciting when the experiment turns out to be the best case scenario. That happened for me a week or so ago when I set out to make pumpkin scones. Scones were not the result, but the sourdough pumpkin muffins I created were a hit! 

Let me backtrack A little bit…

I have a great standard scone recipe that I adapt for all sorts of flavors of scones. You can check out one of my sourdough scone recipes here. I generally modify the spices and maybe add some diced fruit or lemon zest. This time, I had freshly roasted pumpkin that I was excited to use and figured it would mix well into the scone recipe. Needless to say, it became a little more damp than I am accustomed to, and I knew scones would be a no go. 

A few minutes of thinking and a few additional ingredients resulted in a batter the perfect consistency for muffins. I allowed it to rest (like a good sourdough bread should do), and lo and behold, a light, full of spice sourdough pumpkin muffins were born. I was so excited to share it with all of you! 

As an aside, it may not be traditional to share the mishaps turned to beauty in the kitchen. I believe in being real in life and on social media, and man, cooking isn’t always pretty. We make mistakes. Burn things, forget the salt, add one too many eggs, or forget just how many cups of flour you put in (Seriously, I use the least amount of measuring cups possible so if that means I have to use the ½ cup 5 times, I am down for it. Sometimes I lose track though. What can I say?) Bottom line, being in the kitchen should be an adventure. Take chances, embrace the mishaps and love the learning. It’s the only way to get better. 

Now let’s get cooking!

Your Ingredients for Sourdough Pumpkin muffins

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves)
  • ⅓ cup cold butter
  • 1 ½ cups fresh, active sourdough starter
  • 1 cup fresh or thawed pumpkin puree
  • ¼-½ chocolate chips (optional)

Your Steps for Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with muffin tin liners. Combine all dry ingredients. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish. To that mixture, add starter, pumpkin, and chocolate chips. Mix by hand until just combined, making sure to reach the bottom of the bowl. Cover. Allow to rest 20-30 minutes. Scoop by ¼ cup full and fill muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test (a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean). 

Round out the fall flavor sensation by pairing your freshly baked muffins with some warm apple cider or maybe even a pumpkin spice latte. 

  • Dry ingredients..easy to measure!
  • Wet ingredients, starter and pumpkin, a great pair!
  • Mix by hand and let it rest 20 minutes!
  • Scoop into the muffin tin…
  • ..and perfection!

Tools of the Trade

If you’re baking, you need a great muffin tin. If you are fortunate enough to have a pumpkin to roast, I recommend a nice thick baking sheet lined in foil. Looking to get a new one? Check out the links below!

Roasted Pumpkin Recipe

Looking to roast your own pie pumpkin? Click here to get the recipe!

Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Sourdough discard mixed with fresh roasted pumpkin puree make for a delightful sourdough pumpkin muffin.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 16 muffins

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ⅓ cup cold butter
  • 1 ½ cups fresh active sourdough starter
  • 1 cup fresh or thawed pumpkin puree
  • ¼-½ chocolate chips optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with muffin tin liners.
  • Combine all dry ingredients. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
  • Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish.
  • To that mixture, add starter, pumpkin, and chocolate chips.
  • Mix by hand until just combined, making sure to reach the bottom of the bowl.
  • Cover. Allow to rest 20-30 minutes.
  • Scoop by ¼ cup full and fill muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test (a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

How Can it Be This Easy Home Roasted Pumpkin

I love everything about autumn. The jeans and sweatshirt weather. The leaves changing. All the smells. Fresh apples from the orchard and warm cider. I love all of it. I even got married in the fall so we could have the changing trees as a backdrop with mums in every bouquet. However, one thing I could never get behind was pumpkin spice. It just wasn’t my jam. I’ll just skip that flavor and jump to peppermint mocha, thank you very much. Then my mother in law introduced me to home roasted pumpkin, and it was a game changer. 

If you have never roasted your own pumpkin, get to the store and pick up a pie pumpkin. Or really, any small pumpkin. I am telling you, it’s SO good. And did I mention it’s easy? Oh, and you even get the seeds out of the pumpkin so you can roast them. Win, win, and win. 

If you are an “all things pumpkin” baked goods lover, the even better news is that roasted pumpkin freezes great. If you have a few tried and true recipes, pre measure the pumpkin you need for that specific recipe, place it in a freezer container or bag, label it, and you’ll be good to go the next time you want to get baking. Or you can be like my friend Britt and just eat it by the forkful as you stand around the stove, sipping hot apple cider. I won’t judge. 

Your Ingredients 

  • 1 pie pumpkin
  • Olive oil cooking spray (or any other means to grease the pan)
  • Salt and pepper or cinnamon and brown sugar (optional)

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife. Using a large spoon, clean out the insides and seeds. (I highly recommend separating the seeds from the pulp and placing them in another bowl. Cover with a little water until you’re able to roast them.) 

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the pumpkins cut side down. Roast for 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin. It is done when you can easily pierce the skin with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, scrape the flesh from the skins. You can totally puree it, but I just leave it in its natural form. 

From here, you have a few options:

  • Eat it straight from the skin. If you choose this option, might I recommend making it sweet or savory with a sprinkle of a little cinnamon and brown sugar or salt and pepper before you roast it? 
  • Measure it out for your favorite recipes and freeze it. Although many will say it only lasts a few months, I have had zero issues using year old frozen pumpkin.
  • Measure it out and bake right away. I often will roast one day and bake a few days later. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week in my experience. 

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? Or are you more of an apple cider kind of guy or gal?

Get the innards out!
Scraping, get it smooth!
Save those seeds to roast later!
Ready to cool…
All done!

Don’t have a favorite recipe? This is a great, indulgent pumpkin bread recipe from All Recipes.

Hoping to bake other treats? Check out my baking page by clicking the button below!

Baking

Home Roasted Pumpkin

You'll never want to buy canned pumpkin again after you've eaten your own home roasted pumpkin. Simple and delicious: plain, savory, or sweet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Preserving
Servings 1 pumpkin

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pie pumpkin
  • Olive oil cooking spray
  • Salt and pepper or cinnamon and brown sugar optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • While the oven is preheating, cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife.
  • Using a large spoon, clean out the insides and seeds, saving the seeds to be roasted later.
  • Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the pumpkins cut side down.
  • Roast for 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin. It is done when you can easily pierce the skin with a fork.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, scrape the flesh from the skins. For smoother pumpkin, puree it using an immersion blender.

Notes

Options for eating:
Eat it straight from the skin. If you choose this option, I recommend making it sweet or savory with a sprinkle of a little cinnamon and brown sugar or salt and pepper before you roast it. 
Measure it out for your favorite recipes and freeze it. Although many will say it only lasts a few months, I have had zero issues using year old frozen pumpkin.
Measure it out and bake right away. I often will roast one day and bake a few days later. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week in my experience. 
Keyword fall, pumpkin, roasted vegetables
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other great recipes?

Check some out below!

Jess3 Comments

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

With the garden game slowing down as we move into October, my sourdough game is ready to step up to the plate. Over the weekend, I pulled out my starter and had a lot of excess. And you know what? I hadn’t baked a batch of scones in a while. I looked around my kitchen to see what I had and my eyes were drawn to the bag of dark chocolate chips. Then the bag of unsweetened coconut. Finally, almond extract. What’s not to like?! And so, my dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones were created. 

While this recipe is specifically for dark chocolate coconut sourdough scones, it’s a flexible recipe with all sorts of variations. Maple pecan? You got it. Simple cinnamon and sugar? That’s great too! Look around your kitchen and play with the recipe, leaving the base alone. Who knows? You may just develop a perfect, one of a kind recipe that is to die for! 

Let’s get cooking! You’re about 30 minutes away from fresh baked dark chocolate coconut scones! 

Your ingredients

  • 2 ½  cups of flour 
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½  cups white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½  teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
  • ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • 1 ½ cups sourdough starter 

Glaze and Toppings Ingredients

  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil 
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract 
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed together-ish. It will look somewhat like sand. To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract. Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet. Mix in chocolate chips. Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter. Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference. Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown. 

Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones. (Hint: Recut the scones right after they come out of the oven.) Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing. 

  • Dry ingredients. Mix it up!
  • Cut up the butter and mix by hand!
  • Add some starter and a little extract.
  • Mix…mix…mix..
  • Add some chocolate chips!
  • Time for some glaze!
  • Yum!
  • And even more yum!

Hints and Tips for Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Love toasted coconut? You can toast all of the coconut (or just the topping) by spraying a small frying pan with cooking spray and heating over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut. Heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. It will go from perfection to burned quickly, so watch it. 

Looking for other sourdough recipes or hoping to start your own starter? Check out my sourdough page by clicking the link below! Maybe you just want to bake. I have some awesome sweet treats on my baking page too!

Sourdough Adventures
Baking

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones

Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sourdough Scones: Extra sourdough starter? These scones use it up nicely, making a subtly sweet breakfast treat!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 24

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups of flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cups white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
  • ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • 1 ½ cups sourdough starter
  • Glaze and Toppings
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Whisk flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and unsweetened coconut.
  • Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
  • Mix by hand, pinching the butter in your fingers until it’s mixed. It will look somewhat like sand.
  • To that mixture, add sourdough starter and almond extract.
  • Mix by hand, adding starter as needed to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients but not be wet.
  • Mix in chocolate chips.
  • Once you have a soft dough, cut into four pieces and form them into four discs, approximately 6 inches in diameter.
  • Cut these discs into 6-8 slices, your preference.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and just beginning to brown. Recut scones as soon as they come out of the oven.
  • Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put glaze chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl.
  • Microwave until just melted, about 30 seconds.
  • Stir in extract. Place chocolate in a plastic baggy, cut the tip, and drizzle onto scones.
  • Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Allow chocolate to cool prior to storing.

Notes

Love toasted coconut? You can toast all of the coconut (or just the topping) by spraying a small frying pan with cooking spray and heating over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut. Heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. It will go from perfection to burned quickly, so watch it.
Keyword chocolate, coconut, Scones, sourdough, sourdough baking, sourdough scones
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Jess1 Comment

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup

I’m telling you, I love summer and all that comes with that: swimming, warm skin, camping, gardening, and carefree days. But man, this time of year, I relish the beautiful fall weather. In Northern Wisconsin, this brings on duck hunting. When it’s duck hunting, I get to relish the enjoyment of cooking for a large crowd of hunters. Usually that means I throw together a few kettles of soup, and this year was no different. We had an abundance of root vegetables in our home and I couldn’t wait to cook with them. What resulted was a delightful Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup.

From the Garden…

We grew potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas this year. I wanted sweet potatoes, but oddly enough, I forgot I wanted them until it was too late (story of my life). So alas, the sweet potatoes were store bought. However, the ground protein was last season’s venison so this root vegetable soup was almost a fully “home harvested meal.” My absolute favorite and leaves me feeling crazy proud. 

Now, I recognize not everyone gets the opportunity to grow their own food. Totally okay (Although I am telling you, you should start. It’s the best for SO MANY reasons. I won’t start listing them here, even though I want to). The great thing is that all of these ingredients can be pantry items, which means you can throw it together anytime you are feeling soup without any special trips. How great is that? Ready to get cooking and put together a fantastic Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup? Let’s get to it! 

Your Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds ground protein (we use venison, but any ground protein would do)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups of each, diced: sweet potatoes, rutabaga, red potatoes, and carrots 
  • 1 1/2 cups diced onion 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried sage 
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 8 cups beef broth, divided

Your Steps

In a large Dutch oven, combine diced potatoes, rutabaga, carrots and 5 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, brown ground protein, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 

In the same large saucepan (I am all about minimizing dishes), begin to heat the onions and garlic, adding ½ tablespoon-1 tablespoon of oil if necessary. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon dried sage. Once the onions have softened (about 5 minutes), add butter. Melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour, making a roux. VERY slowly, stir in remaining beef broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, bringing to a boil before you add more broth. (Gluten free? You can 100% skip this and have a thinner broth). 

Once the broth has been fully incorporated, slowly add the onion mixture to other root vegetables. Stir in the ground protein and allow everything to come up to temperature. Give a quick taste test here, adding extra pepper or salt if needed. (I tend to get heavy with the pepper according to my kids, so I start light and almost always add a little more). 

Serve the Root Vegetable Soup!

Serve right out of the kettle with a fresh slice of bread and perhaps a salad. I don’t think I am wrong when I say it doesn’t get much better than homemade soup, sourdough bread, and salad. It might just be my favorite meal of all time. Comfort food at it’s finest!

  • Rutabaga: An underrated vegetable
  • Spoonful sized diced vegetables.
  • Ground venison, so lean!
  • Veggies, done with their boiling bath.
  • Get that roux going.
  • Flour and broth, thickening just enough.
  • A little sage.
  • Serve it up!

Tools of the trade

There isn’t too many tools here, but I’m telling you, nothing beats a good cast iron Dutch Oven for your soups, bread baking, and everything in between. I love my red kitchen, so this is a perfect fit!

Looking for other soup? Check out my recipes on my cooking page below!

Cooking
Sourdough Adventures
Print Recipe

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup

Finally Fall Root Vegetable Soup: Comforting and full of good for you vegetables, this soup will bring joy to your heart and your belly.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds ground protein we use venison, but any ground protein would do
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups sweet potatoes largely diced
  • 3 cups rutabaga largely diced
  • 3 cups red potatoes largely diced
  • 3 cups carrots largely diced
  • 1 ½ cups diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried sage
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 7 cups beef broth divided

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch oven, combine diced potatoes, rutabaga, carrots and 5 cups of beef broth.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
  • Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, brown ground protein, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  • In the same large saucepan begin to heat the onions and garlic, adding ½ tablespoon-1 tablespoon of oil if necessary. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon dried sage.
  • Once the onions have softened (about 5 minutes), add butter.
  • Melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour, making a roux.
  • Slowly add in remaining beef broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, bringing to a boil before you add more broth.
  • Once the broth has been fully incorporated, slowly add the onion mixture to other root vegetables.
  • Stir in the ground protein and allow everything to come up to temperature. Add additional salt or pepper as needed.

Notes

Gluten free? Feel free to skip the flour and butter roux. 

Jess1 Comment

For the Freezer Apple Pie Filling to Quick Apple Bars

Cortland, right off the tree. Does it get much better?

Garden season is giving way to orchard season and the apples are ripe for the picking in Northern Wisconsin. At our house, we have planted a few fruits every year over the last ten years, and have reached an “orchard” of about sixteen fruit trees, nine of which are various apple trees. I have to love my husband as he researches types of apples and makes sure we have apples through the whole season. A favorite go to recipe that I do every year is freezer apple pie filling. 

It’s a simple recipe with minimal work that fills your freezer with fresh apples so that you can enjoy and create pies and crisps all year long in ten minutes flat! Who doesn’t love a dessert that looks and tastes like you were in the kitchen forever, but really, you had it put together basically during the commercial break of your favorite show? (Does anyone even have commercial breaks anymore? I guess I am getting old 😉 )

In all seriousness, if you are a person who LOVES hitting up the local orchards, you need this apple pie filling in your freezer. It will bring back all the good memories and joy the orchard brought you and your family as you hit it up in your flannels and boots 🙂

Your Ingredients 

  • 6 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and sliced after measuring out your weight
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Your Steps 

Place sliced apples in a large kettle (I love my Dutch oven here). Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Stir into apples. Let the apples and spices stand for 30 min to allow the juices to flow. Stir in lemon juice. Place apples on the stove and heat over medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring often. This should take approximately 20 minutes. Pour into freezer safe quart containers (I love the Arrow containers I have linked below for this). Allow containers to cool with the lids ajar for 1-2 hours. Cover and label. Place apple pie filling in the freezer. When you are ready to use them, pull out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator 1-2 prior to using.  Keep reading for a great recipe that uses these delightful containers of apples!

Oh, and save those peels and cores! You can make a great apple scrap jelly with those. Get the recipe here!

Slice and cover in pure deliciousness!
Rest and cook it up!
Ladle into containers and freeze! That’s it!

Prepped in 5 minutes flat Apple Bars 

Ready to bake with this great apple pie filling, but not feeling a pie? Let me share what I love to throw together when I need a dessert and am short on time to prep. 

Your Ingredients

  • 1 ½  cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup oil (whatever oil suits you: olive, vegetable, coconut)
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 2 tablespoons milk 
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional) 
  • 1 tablespoon sugar 
  • 1 quart thawed apple pie filling

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is preheating, combine all the ingredients besides the pie filling in a small bowl. It will be moist. Using your fingers, press the crust into an ungreased brownie pan (8×8 or 11×7). If you don’t have that size, a regular 9×13 pan works just fine too! It will just be a thin crust. 

Spread apple pie filling evenly over the crust. That’s it. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. Twenty minutes was perfect when I used a 9×13 pan. 30 minutes if you use a brownie pan instead. 

If you are looking for a “healthy” apple bar, serve it up with vanilla Greek yogurt. But a scoop of ice cream right out of the oven would be delicious too!

Crust and apples. That quick!
Perfectly baked and served up before I could even get a picture!

 

Tools of the trade

This is my go to pan. I really appreciate that it’s between a brownie pan and a cake pan.

These are seriously awesome. They freeze well and double as leftover containers for us when we use whatever was frozen in them.

Cast iron may be heavy, but does it ever cook nice. I also adore that it can go from stove top to oven for all my baking and roasting needs.

Looking for other recipes? Check out the page below:

Baking

For the Freezer Apple Pie Filling

Sliced apples and five simple ingredients combine to make this perfect for the freezer apple pie filling.
4 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 4 pies

Ingredients
  

  • 6 pounds of apples peeled, cored and sliced after measuring out your weight
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Place sliced apples in a large kettle.
  • Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Stir into apples.
  • Let the apples and spices stand for 30 min to allow the juices to flow.
  • Stir in lemon juice.
  • Place apples on the stove and heat over medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring often, about 20 minutes.
  • Pour into freezer safe quart containers.
  • Allow containers to cool with the lids ajar for 1-2 hours. Cover and label. Place apple pie filling in the freezer.
  • When you are ready to use them, pull out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator 1-2 prior to using.
Keyword apple bars, apple dessert, apple pie filling, apple recipe, apples, dessert
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Apple Pie Filling Quick Apple Bars

Apple pie filling frozen in the fall provides the delicious base for these quick and easy bars.
4 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup oil whatever oil suits you: olive, vegetable, coconut
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg optional
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 quart thawed apple pie filling

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  • While the oven is preheating, combine all the ingredients besides the pie filling in a small bowl. It will be moist.
  • Using your fingers, press the crust into an ungreased brownie pan (8×8 or 11×7).
  • Spread apple pie filling evenly over the crust.
  • Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
  • Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your pan.
Keyword apple bars, apple pie filling, apples, dessert
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Jess12 Comments

From the Garden Midwest Harvest Soup

Summer is winding down in Northern Wisconsin and that means it’s turning to my favorite season. No, not autumn. Okay, I adore autumn. But with autumn comes soup season! A large kettle of soup, a salad, and some fresh baked sourdough bread just can not be beat, and luckily I love making it all. Since the weather dipped into the lower 30’s last week, I had to put together a new soup. I talked with my lady friends, and we christened it Midwest Harvest Soup. I think it is incredibly fitting. 

Picture it: the end of garden season. You are harvesting the last of your tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. Maybe you grew onions too. And it is also time to clean out the freezer because it is almost hunting season which means a new batch of venison to process and store in the freezer. You want to use it all up. This, my friends, is where a Midwest Harvest Soup comes into play. 

Before we begin…

Let me share that each year, we process our own venison. While doing so, we grind and combine some of it with pork butt 50/50 and mix in the seasonings that go with Italian sausage. We dig the mixture put together by Taste of Lizzy T. We freeze our version of Italian sausage in one pound packages and pull it out for all our Italian dishes; think: pasta, baked ziti, etc. It’s fantastic, adds tons of flavor, and keeps the fat down since the pork is only 50% of the mixture. You can bet that if a recipe of mine calls for Italian sausage, I am using this venison version. 

Is it cold where you’re at today? Or do you just love soup like me? Let’s get simmering up a batch of this delicious Midwest Harvest Soup to warm your bellies and your souls. 

Your Ingredients: 

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup finely diced onion
  • pepper, to taste (¼ – ½ teaspoon)
  • 2 cups chopped sweet pepper (any color) 
  • 1 cup chopped onion 
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon pepper 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 3 cups chopped zucchini, skins on
  • ½ tablespoon dried oregano
  • ½ tablespoon dried basil 
  • 5 cups beef broth (I dig Orrington Farm’s beef base)
  • 2 cups water
  • ¾ cup orzo 

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften. Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo. Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through. 

Of course, you should serve this Midwest Harvest soup with crusty, fresh bread and a side salad for good measure. But even if you don’t have those things on hand, a warm bowl of soup is delightful all on its own. 

Note

It will thicken over a few days, so if you are preparing this with the intent of eating it over a few days like I do, know that it will become more stew like in the coming days. If that isn’t your jam, you can always add an additional cup or two of beef broth.

Onions and peppers, oh my!
Chop some tomatoes, skins on.
Season those babies up!
Oh, those glorious vegetables, mingling together.
Meatballs complete, mess averted.
Serve it up!

Tools of the Trade

This broth base is amazing. It allows you to control the amount of sodium when you make your stock. It doesn’t get weird and clumpy like other stock bases I have used and is my go to in our home.

I ADORE my cast iron Dutch Oven from The Lodge. The enamel makes me worry less about rust and oh man, it just makes soups better.

Midwest Harvest Soup

End of the season harvests combine with orzo and Italian sausage meatballs to create this comforting and warm you soul Midwest Harvest Soup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup finely diced onion
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups chopped sweet pepper any color
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 3 cups chopped zucchini skins on
  • ½ tablespoon dried oregano
  • ½ tablespoon dried basil
  • 5 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups water
  • ¾ cup orzo

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper.
  • Combine Italian sausage, bread crumbs, onion, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  • Form into 1-1 ½ inch meatballs and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
  • Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add sweet peppers, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften.
  • Add tomatoes, zucchini, oregano and basil, cooking an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add broth and water. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil and add uncooked orzo.
  • Simmer for 9-12 minutes, until orzo is cooked through.
Keyword from the garden, Italian sausage, orzo, soup, soups and stews
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Kick in the Taste buds Cucumber and Pepper Relish

A blog or two ago, I wrote about my zucchini crop and how it is producing beautifully this year. I could copy and paste that paragraph and exchange each “zucchini” with “cucumber.” It’s been a CRAZY cucumber year. A year ago, I believe I grew enough to perhaps make one batch of pickles. This year, I can not keep up and have been giving them away. Gardening life, right? It keeps you on your toes. Because of this bumper crop, I have put together more than one batch of this fantastic cucumber and pepper relish. 

I don’t know about you, but when I hear relish, I think of that neon green stuff you put on top of Chicago style hot dogs. Not my jam. This, my friends, is not that kind of relish. Can you still eat this on top of hot dogs? Sure thing. But I will tell you what, I love this spice-ful relish on the side of any grilled dinner. So freaking good. 

I can’t quite figure out how to describe the flavor. The cinnamon, all spice, cloves, and mustard seed provide a depth of flavor that is unreal. It’s full of chunky cut vegetables that are slightly sweet from the brown sugar and sour from the vinegar. Let’s just say this, it’s a party for your tastebuds. 

One more thing before we get started! This is a great recipe to use up those cucumbers that “get away from you” in the garden. You know the ones, hiding under leaves until they are the size of your forearm. Since you are dicing the cucumbers, I reccommend cutting whole cucumbers in half length wise and then in half once again (as if you are making spears). Then you can cut out the seeds and dice from there. You’re looking for ½ inch chunks. 

Okay, I lied.

I have ONE more thing. This recipe does require time to sit. You will want to start prepping about 24 hours prior to when you want to actually waterbath can it. There isn’t a lot of actually work to do beyond the chopping, but know that you will need to plan ahead for this cucumber and pepper relish.

Let’s get canning! 

Your Utensils:

  • Water bath canner with rack and lid
  • Eight pint jars with lids and rings (wide or narrow mouth)
  • Large, non reactive kettle to cook the cucumbers and onions in the pickling brine

Before you begin…

If you’re new to canning, be sure to check out Ball’s Book of Canning or The National Center for Home Food Preservation for more detailed information. I will give you the low down, but it will be short and sweet. You will want to read up more, I promise 🙂

Your Ingredients

  • 8 cups chopped cucumbers 
  • 4 cups chopped sweet peppers (any combination of green, red, yellow, orange)
  • 2 cups chopped onion 
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric 
  • ½ cup canning salt 
  • 4 quarts of water, divided
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar 
  • 1 quart vinegar, 5-6% acidity 
  • 2 sticks cinnamon 
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed 
  • 2 teaspoons whole allspice 
  • 2 teaspoons whole cloves 

Combine chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions in a large, non-reactive kettle that has a cover. Sprinkle turmeric on top. Combine 2 quarts of water and canning salt, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Pour the water over the vegetables. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator. 

Rest Time: 3-4 Hours 

Using the cover of the kettle, carefully drain off the water. Pour remaining 2 quarts of cold water over the chopped vegetables. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator. 

Rest Time: 1 Hour

While vegetables are resting, place cinnamon, mustard seed, all spice, and cloves in a spice bag (I don’t have spice bags on hand, so I use a tea pot “fill your own tea bags” that I can seal. They work marvelously. I find them at the local natural food store.) If you don’t have anything on hand, these drawstring soup bags would work great! Place vinegar, brown sugar, and spice bag in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to help dissolve the brown sugar. 

Once 1 hour has elapsed, drain water off of vegetables. Pour hot pickling liquid over chopped vegetables and allow to cool. Cover and replace in the refrigerator one more time, likely overnight. 

Rest Time: 12-18 Hours

After rest time (I just reread that, and it made me think of being in Kindergarten. Ah, the simpler times 🙂 ), begin to prepare jars, lids, and rings by washing and keeping warm. I generally set the jars in the rack of canner and have it rest above the water.  Begin heating the water bath canner (make sure water will be at least one inch above jars once submerged). It is better to have too much water than too little. 

Remove the spice bag. Bring the cucumber and pepper relish with the vinegar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, be sure to stir so as not to burn to the bottom. Ladle into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rim with a clean, damp cloth, and add lid and ring, tightening to finger tip tight. 

Lower jars into the simmering waterbath canner. Cover, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, process for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude (since I am over 1000 feet, I add 5 minutes, but check online for your own location). Remove the canner from heat, and allow jars to rest 5 min. Remove from the canner and allow to cool at least 12 hours before storing jars. 

There is no need to tighten rings. In fact, it is recommended they are removed entirely while storing. Generally, I get between 5-6 pint jars with this recipe. 

  • Prepped cucumbers!
  • I love the color of the peppers.
  • All chopped and ready to rest!
  • Turmeric and water bath. Delightful.
  • A few of the key ingredients and their spice bag.
  • Trying to be artsy 🙂
  • Ready to go!
  • All canned and beautiful!

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

While you can truly can with any deep kettle and rack to keep the jars off the bottom of the canner, it is definitely easier if you invest in a few of the tools listed below!

Looking for more ways to savor summer in a jar? Check out the link below!

Canning and Preserving

Cucumber and Pepper Relish

A little bit of spicy. A little bit of sweet. This cucumber and pepper relish uses all those cucumbers you grew! A dance for your tastebuds!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Rest Time 22 hours
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Canning
Servings 12 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups chopped cucumbers
  • 4 cups chopped sweet peppers any combination of green, red, yellow, orange
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • ½ cup canning salt
  • 4 quarts of water divided
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
  • 1 quart vinegar 5-6% acidity
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed
  • 2 teaspoons whole allspice
  • 2 teaspoons whole cloves

Instructions
 

  • Combine chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions in a large, non-reactive kettle that has a cover. Sprinkle turmeric on top. Combine 2 quarts of water and canning salt, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Pour the water over the vegetables. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
  • Using the cover of the kettle, carefully drain off the water. Pour remaining 2 quarts of cold water over the chopped vegetables. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
  • While vegetables are resting, place cinnamon, mustard seed, all spice, and cloves in a spice bag. Place vinegar, brown sugar, and spice bag in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to help dissolve the brown sugar.
  • Once 1 hour has elapsed, drain water off of vegetables. Pour hot pickling liquid over chopped vegetables and allow to cool. Cover and replace in the refrigerator one more time for 12-18 hours.
  • After the vegetables have rested, begin to prepare jars, lids, and rings by washing and keeping warm.
  • Remove the spice bag. Bring the chopped vegetable and vinegar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, be sure to stir so as not to burn to the bottom. Ladle into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rim with a clean, damp cloth, and add lid and ring, tightening to finger tip tight.
  • Lower jars into the simmering water bath canner. Cover, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, process for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude (since I am over 1000 feet, I add 5 minutes, but check online for your own location). Remove the canner from heat, and allow jars to rest 5 min. Remove from the canner and allow to cool at least 12 hours before storing jars.
Keyword Canning, cucumbers, peppers, relish
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Easy Italian Zucchini Pizza Bake

Some years, my zucchini plants hardly produce. Other years, they can’t stop. This year, it’s an “other” year and I keep harvesting away! Fortunately, zucchinis have a great staying power and they can hang out on my counter until I am ready to cook with them. This week, I whipped up this Italian Zucchini Pizza Bake for dinner and everyone devoured it! 

In terms of prep, it takes a little bit of time so you will need to start about an hour before you want to eat. It does include a fair amount of wait and bake time, so don’t despair. You too can whip this up quickly. 

I love it because it is full of vegetables. If you’ve followed me for any time, you know I try to sneak extra servings of vegetables into most everything I cook for my family. If I am honest, my kids have been veggie lovers from day one, but truly, no one complains about the extra servings of vegetables. I mean, they do make fun of me, but that’s with love…I think. 

Now, if you are still harvesting zucchini, you must give this a try. In our household, we were in agreement that you couldn’t even tell that there wasn’t a carb in the dish, which is big win for my kids. (We definitely are not afraid of all the bread and pasta in our home). 

Enough talk. Let’s get cooking that Italian Zucchini Pizza Bake!

Your Ingredients

  • 4 cups shredded zucchini 
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs 
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan
  • 3 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar make a good combination), divided
  • ½ teaspoon each of: dried basil, dried oregano, and garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper 
  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage (we use Italian seasoned ground venison that we grind at home)
  • Olive oil 
  • ½ cup diced onion 
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic 
  •  15 ounces Italian seasoned tomato sauce (or 1 ¾ cup) 
  • ½ cup diced green pepper 

Your steps 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9 by 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. Place shredded zucchini in a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Allow the zucchini to sit for 10 minutes. Press out all extra moisture, the more the better. (I tend to quit early. It’s fine, but will leave you with a more watery bake when you’re done). 

Before I continue, a comment on the cheese. We have a great dairy nearby that does a 3 cheese blend of mozzarella, provolone, and yellow cheddar (80/10/10). That’s the cheese I use for this bake if I have it on hand. Feel free to play with this though. A true Wisconsinite knows that the cheese possibilities are endless. And if you aren’t a Wisconsinite, you may just be a Wisconsinite at heart 😉

Back to cooking…

Combine zucchini, eggs, basil, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, parmesean cheese, and 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese. Mix well. Press into the prepared 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat 1- 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add ground sausage (and if you can’t find ground Italian sausage, any ground meat will do. Again, play with it!). Cook until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Stir in tomato sauce. 

Spread meat mixture over the zucchini crust. Cover with remaining cheese and sprinkle diced green pepper on top. Feel free to sprinkle a little more oregano, basil, or even some parsley on top. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until cheese is melted. 

Now, you can 100% serve it here. However, I LOVE browned cheese. I always quickly heat up the broiler in the top of my oven to 450-500 degrees, toss my finished bake under it, and watch it carefully. Let it cook 2-3 minutes and your cheese will be PERFECT. Serve it up with, of course, some additional vegetables for a side and maybe some garlic toast if you need that carb. I know I do 😉 

Sprinkle with salt. Drip, drip, drip out the moisture.
Combine cheese, zucchini, eggs, and all the spices.
Pre-bake time.
…while the crust bakes.
Post-bake time. Yum.
Layer with sauce.
Cheese and peppers. Oh man..so close!
Just bake time, no broiler.
I’m telling you, broiler is the way to finish this guy up!

Looking for other ideas for dinner? Check out my cooking page below!

Cooking

Easy Italian Zucchini Pizza Bake

Zucchini is the star but you'd never know it's there in this gluten free Italian Zucchini Pizza Bake. Adults and kids alike will devour it!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups shredded zucchini
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • 3 cups shredded cheese mozzarella and cheddar make a good combination, divided
  • ½ teaspoon each of: dried basil dried oregano, and garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • Olive oil
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • ½ tablespoon minced garlic
  • 15 ounces Italian seasoned tomato sauce or 1 ¾ cup
  • ½ cup diced green pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9 by 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Place shredded zucchini in a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Allow the zucchini to sit for 10 minutes.
  • Press out all extra moisture, the more the better.
  • Combine zucchini, eggs, basil, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese. Mix well. Press into the prepared 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat 1- 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes.
  • Add ground sausage. Cook until no longer pink. Drain if necessary.
  • Stir in tomato sauce.
  • Spread meat mixture over the zucchini crust.
  • Cover with remaining cheese and sprinkle diced green pepper on top. Feel free to sprinkle a little more oregano, basil, or even some parsley on top.
  • Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Keyword Gluten Free, Italian, Italian bake, zucchini, zucchini pizza
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other zucchini Inspiration!

Check out any of the recipes below to help use up the rest of that zucchini!

Jess2 Comments