How To Make Banana Jam
How to make banana jam
My preferred method of making jam is to water bath can it. If you make freezer jam and you lose power, your jam will defrost and go bad. Using a pressure canner to pressure can foods isn’t something I enjoy. If you don’t do it correctly, it can blow up. I learned how to water bath can about twenty years ago and it’s a method I feel comfortable with by now. My grandmother (and mother) used to make jam and jelly and pour paraffin wax over the top to seal it and keep out bacteria. This method isn’t recommended any longer because it doesn’t work as well as canning to keep it free of bacteria.
Author: Ellen Christian
Recipe type: Canning
Ingredients
2 cups of mashed bananas (about 5 small)
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice
Instructions
1- Fill the water bath canner with water and bring to a boil.
2- Wash the jars, rings, and lids.
3- Fill the jars with very hot water to sterilize.
4- Put all the ingredients in a pan and stir occasionally.
5- Let the jam boil for 5 minutes.
6- Ladle the jam into the jam jars. Leave ⅛ inch head space (clear space) at top.
7- Wipe the rim of the jar to make sure it's clean.
8- Put the lids and rings on.
9- Using the jar lifter, lower the jars into the boiling water & process for 10 minutes.
10- Remove from the water bath canner using the jar lifter and allow to cool completely on a towel on the counter.
Once your jars are completely cool, you will need to check to see if they sealed. If you press down on the top of the jar lid and the lid has no give up and down, the jar has sealed. If the jar lid is slightly raised or you hear a pop when you press the lid down, it has not sealed. Jars that have not sealed must be refrigerated. Jars that have sealed are shelf stable and can be stored in the pantry.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Recipe by Alli Shircliff
"You will never guess this rich, grain-free pizza crust is made with cauliflower instead of flour. Serve with your favorite sauce and toppings."
Original recipe makes 6 servings
1/2 head cauliflower, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1) Place cauliflower pieces through the feeding tube of the food processor using the grating blade; pulse until all the cauliflower is shredded.
2) Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover, and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to a large bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until cooled, about 15 minutes.
3) Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
4) Stir Italian cheese blend, parsley, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper into cauliflower until evenly incorporated. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet; press and shape into a pizza crust.
5) Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Viennese Crescent Holiday Cookies
Recipe by Debby Hawkins
"These cookies have been a Christmas family favorite for 20 years. Flaky and buttery, they are worth the effort. Almonds can be substituted for hazelnuts."Ingredients
Original recipe makes 4 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
1 cup hazelnuts, ground
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 vanilla bean
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, nuts, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla. Hand mix until thoroughly blended. Shape dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place sugar in a bowl or small container. With sharp chef's knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds, and mix them into the sugar. Cut pod into 2 inch pieces and mix into sugar.
Remove dough from refrigerator and form into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into a small roll, 3 inches long. Place rolls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and bend each one to make a crescent shape.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set but not brown.
Let stand 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets. Place hot cookies on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with prepared sugar mixture. Turn gently to coat on both sides. Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, coat with more vanilla flavored sugar.
Skinny Beef, Vegetable and Barley Soup
If you love a thick, flavorful, hearty soup, this one’s for you!!! Absolutely wonderful comfort food. I’ve included directions for cooking this easy, one dish meal either on the stove top or crock pot. Each 1½ cups serving has only 172 calories 2 grams of fat and 4 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. Serve with salad and you have a whole meal!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour on stove top
Cook Time: 7-8 hours on low in crock pot
Ingredients
2 (32-oz) containers Swanson’s reduced-sodium beef broth or your favorite
1 (14.5 oz) can Swanson’s reduced-sodium beef broth
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes, diced
¾ cup dried pearl barley, see shopping tip
1½ cups carrots, sliced
1½ cups celery, sliced
1½ cups onions, chopped
1½ cups zucchini, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried sage
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
Instructions for Stove Top:
1. In a large nonstick pot or pan, brown ground beef. Pour into a colander in sink and drain fat. Add beef back to pot. Pour in all the beef broth, tomatoes and barley. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, cover pot and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, celery, onions, zucchini and garlic to the broth. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, thyme, sage and fresh ground pepper. Cook uncovered 50 minutes
3. Stir in spinach leaves and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf.
4. This soup freezes great.
Makes 12 cups total: 8 main course servings (1½ cups each)
Instructions for Crock Pot:
1. In a large nonstick pot or pan, brown ground beef. Pour into a colander in sink and drain fat.
2. Place beef and all ingredients in the crock pot, except spinach. Mix together well.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or for on HIGH heat for 3 1/2 hours until veggies and barley are soft. Stir in spinach, cover and cook on high for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
Healthy Benefits
Pearled barley is high in cholesterol-lowering fiber and very low in fat. A single serving offers 11% of the RDA of iron and has a fair amount of folate and niacin.
Skinny Mexican Casserole
A cheesy comforting casserole that you can enjoy guilt-free, chockfull of veggies and whole wheat tortilla. You can’t beat that!
I know I should really be posting about some sort of peppermint-type hot chocolate but even during the holidays, I have a major sweet spot for Mexican-type comfort food.
No, wait, I actually have a sweet spot for Mexican food all year long, 365 days out of the year, especially when there’s a skinny version like this one here – chockfull of veggies, whole wheat tortilla, a layer of the creamiest refried beans, and of course, that cheesy, cheesy goodness.
And even though this meal is completely meatless, it’ll be sure to keep you full and satisfied all day. But be careful, you’ll want to help yourself to at least 2 or 3 servings before calling it a night!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles, drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 4 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) can Old El Paso™ fat free refried beans, warmed
- 1 (10-ounce) can Old El Paso™ mild enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in black beans, corn, chili powder and cumin until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in green chiles and cilantro; set aside.
- Place tortillas evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. Spread refried beans evenly over the tortillas, followed by the onion mixture and enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
This recipe doesn’t hit any home runs on any individual nutrient but it does cover all the bases. It’s a nice balanced meal with a good dose of potassium, iron, Vitamin C, and folate. But be careful with portion size because it is high in sodium!
Nutritional information provided by Jessica Penner, RD at Smart Nutrition.
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