Gordon's Living Site

Canned pear preserves

There's been a pear tree in the back yard since we bought this place 10 years ago. I've never done anything with these pears because they are much too hard to eat even though they have a good taste. A friend of mine, Josephine, has been getting some for the last 3 years and making an outstanding pear chutney. that has been the only thing keeping the tree alive up until now. This year, I finally broke down and am making pear preserves. Gazillion recipes on the web but no real "how-to". So, I just took a general impression about the amount of pears and sugar and jumped right in. Let's hope this works well.
INGREDIENTS

• 6 lbs pears after peeling and slicing
• 3 lbs sugar
• 3 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 4 to 5 c water

DIRECTIONS
Peel pears and slice placing into a large bowl with lemon juice. Mix periodically to coat pears. Add sugar and ginger. Bring to a boil and let simmer about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to cook down. Use large spoon to place pears into pint jars and then fill jars with syrup to within 1/2 inch of top. Place into large pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes to process. Remove to cool and do not disturb overnight.

Mintie's Over the Top Mushrooms

Mintie made our dinner tonite. She used a recipe from Brookshires. Turned out really well. Was just able to save a little to take over to Mom.
INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 c herb-flavored breadcrumbs
• 1/4 c crab meat
• 2 T shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 3 T chicken broth
• 12 medium white button mushrooms, stems removed
• 3 T butter, melted
• 2 T red bell pepper, minced
• 3 slices mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp minced fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450F. Clean mushrooms and set aside. Mix 1st five ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken broth, and stir. Fill each mushroom cap with 1-2 tsp of filling. Flatten the top surface. Arrange stuffed mushrooms in a shallow baking dish with the stuffing facing up. Dab melted butter over each mushroom. Sprinkle minced red bell pepper over the tops of the stuffed mushrooms. Tear slices of cheese to cover all mushrooms completer. Bake 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Sprinkle with minced parsley to serve.

Homemade Granola

I've been snacking on some granola I bought at Sam's a couple of weeks ago. The stuff is really good. I looked at the various nuts and raisins and thought "I can do that". So, I stopped by Brookshire's and cruised the aisles to pick up some ingredients. I've just put it together and it's ready to go in the oven. Here's my granola:
INGREDIENTS

• 2 c oats
• 1 c sunflower seeds
• 1 1/2 c raisins
• 3/4 c peanuts, chopped
• 1/2 c cashews, chopped
• 1/2 c flax seeds
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c honey
• 1/4 c water
• 2 T brown sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix all the dry ingredients together by hand. Mix the wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Mix using a wooden spoon you've sprayed with cooking spray.
Spread into 9X12 baking dish you've sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Bake in oven 15-20 minutes.

I've found you probably need more honey than this to get this to stick together properly.

KC Masterpiece Style BBQ Sauce

It's Labor Day weekend and I thought I'd make some baby-back ribs on the grill Sunday or Monday. Of course, I need a great BBQ sauce and I want to make my own. I'm not making any changes to the one I found on the web except for doubling the quantity. Here's the original link: http://www.bigoven.com/138780-Kc-Masterpiece-Sauce-recipe.html.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 c water
• 1 1/2  c corn syrup (I used Karo)
• 1 c tomato paste
• 1 c apple cider vinegar
• 6 T molasses (I used sorghum cane syrup)
• 6 T brown sugar
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic

DIRECTIONS

• Combine all ingredients in saucepan
• Heat slowly to a simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours
• Cool to near room temp and place in frig overnite so flavors can meld before using.