Shirley J Beef Stroganoff

I love Shirley J Universal Sauce.  It's the #1 product in the Shirley J line.  It's a great replacement for any cream based dishes and soups.  I've been wanting to try it out converting my easy hamburger stroganoff.  I finally made it.  We all loved it.  Not to mention is was super easy.  The hamburger was browned and the sauce made, right as the rice was finished.  The whole dinner was made in under 30 minutes.  That's my kind of quick meal.  The family agreed!

Hamburger Stroganoff--Shirley J Style

1 pound hamburger, browned
1 tsp. beef bouillon
3/4 tsp. Shirley J onion seasoning
4 cups water
1 cup Shirley J Universal sauce
1/2 cup sour cream

In large pan mix together water and Universal sauce mix.  Bring to a slow boil.  Add beef bouillon, onion seasoning and hamburger.  Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in sour cream right before serving.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Giveaway

The good folks over at Rhodes Bake-N-Serv were so good to us at the demo last month.  We had a fabulous time.  They showered us with gifts.  And now they want me to shower you as well.  They sent me a gift pack to giveaway to you fine readers.  It's just like the one I received that night.

Inside is a Rhodes apron, a coupon for free product and the Fresh Ideas with frozen dough cookbook.  I'm loving mine and can't wait to send you a gift pack for yourself.  So leave me a comment (or more--see below).  I'll be announcing the winner on Tuesday October 19th. 

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Giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, October 18th

Winner will be announced Tuesday, October 19th

Winner will be chosen by Random.org

Peach Freezer Jam using Instant Clear Jel

I think I've just about finished off my peaches.  Well... it's close now.  Not all of my kids like peach jam so I wasn't going to do any this year.  But when it came down to it, there were soo many peaches on our tree this year.  I decided to just jump in and get some done.

I started out using store bought pectin.  It turned out runny and used a ton of sugar.  Let's face it, jam is mostly sugar with a little bit of fruit mixed in.  Maybe that's why I like it so much.  After that first batch I went back to my old standby.  Which makes me wonder why I even picked up that pectin from the store anyway.  Oh yeah, it was on sale.  I can be a sucker for a sale. So back to the standby.  Instant Clear Jel.  Have you used it before?  I've used it for years.  It's an instant starch.  It can be used to thicken just about anything and it doesn't need to be heated.  I buy mine at Orson Gygi Company in Salt Lake City.  But you can also buy it from them online at their online store.  It comes in a 5 lb. bag that will last forever, especially when you use a few tablespoons at a time.  But it's much cheaper that way.

Back to the jam.  I lost track of how many bottles I made.  Every time someone would stop by I would give them a bottle or two.  Not to mention how much we've gone through.  I think my husbands had toast and jam every day this past week for breakfast.  We all love the jam made with instant clearjel.  No more store bought pectin for me!

This recipe works with any type of mashed fruit.  I also make it with strawberries.  Raspberry and peach combine to make  a tasty jam as well.

Freezer Jam

3 1/2 cups mashed fruit ( I do mine in the blender on very low for a short amount of time-not pureed)

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup lemon juice

3-4 T. instant clearjel

Mix clearjel with the sugar thoroughly.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Let thicken in bowl for 5 minutes.  Pour into freezer safe containers.  Stays fresh in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or freezer for 1 year.

Good luck making it last that long!

Dee-Dee's Recipe Roundup

Today I am featured over at Whatever Dee-Dee Wants.com on her recipe roundup.  For a full week she hosts different bloggers sharing a recipe.  It's a great way to get new recipes and meet new bloggers too.  She's featuring the Rootbeer Cupcakes I made last month.  You really should try them if you haven't.  I need to make them again. This weekend!

Check out the other great recipes this week with Dee-Dee too.  I can't wait to try a few of them myself.

Fresh Peach Dessert #2

Here is another dessert using Fresh Peaches.  Again I found it on the internet.  And again it was titled Fresh Peach Dessert.  It was a definite hit.  This peach dessert tasted sweeter and a little more dessert-like than the first Fresh Peach Dessert.  The graham cracker crust was a little more substantial too, or maybe just sweeter.  Either way,  I like this Fresh Peach Dessert better than the first one. 

I also think this would be good made with strawberry's and strawberry jello too.

Fresh Peach Dessert
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. white sugar
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
9 oz whipped topping
4 to 5 fresh peaches
1 (6 oz) package peach jello
3 c. water

Prepare jello with 3 c. hot water.  Put in fridge to cool.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar.  Press into a 9x13 pan.  In a bowl, stir sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla together.  Then fold in whipped topping.  Spread over crust.  Slice peaches on top of second layer.  After jello begins to congeal, pour over peach slices.  Refrigerate until top layer is firm.

This recipe found at cooks.com

Fresh Peach Dessert

In my quest for new peach recipes, I found this Fresh Peach Dessert from http://www.food.com/.  It sounded easy to make.  It was.  It did take a while to set up, which I thought it might.  So I made it the night before I needed it. It was delicious and a definite keeper!

Fresh Peach Dessert

crust

18 graham cracker squares (1 package)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 (6 ounce) package vanilla pudding mix (the kind you cook)

1 (6 ounce) package jello peach gelatin

4 cups water

1 1/2 cups whipped topping (cool whip)

3 cups peaches, sliced

In a medium sauce pan, combine dry pudding mix, jello powder and water.  Stir and heat to a boil. Let it boil for one minute.  Pour mixture into a bowl and place in the fridge to cool and thicken for about a hour.  Peel and cut up peaches and set aside.  Remove cooled Jello from the fridge and fold in the cool whip topping. Next fold in fresh fruit. Place back in fridge.

Prepare graham cracker crust in a food processor or blender, adding all 3 ingredients.  Place crust in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish or in 2 pie dishes and press down firmly.
Remove Jello mixture and pour into the crust. Place back in fridge to continue firming up, about another hour.

Fresh Peach Salsa

While searching the internet I found a recipe for fresh peach salsa calling for oil and vinegar.  It sounded good, but I kept looking.  There were a lot of recipes for peach salsa without tomatoes but I had a bunch of tomatoes I wanted to use too.  So I continued to search.  I kept finding the same recipe with oil and vinegar or at least one very similar.  It must have been a sign.  So I made it.  It was a hit.  Next time I would add more peaches and tomatoes though.  It had plenty of liquid and it could be stretched with extra peaches, tomatoes and onions.

Fresh Peach Salsa

3 firm peaches, peeled and chopped

1 T. lemon juice

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

6 green onions, chopped

12 T. olive oil

6 T. sherry vinegar

2 T. honey

1 T. canned jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)

1 T. cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a mixing bowl, toss peaches with lemon juice.  Add onions, tomatoes, cilantro and jalapenos.  Whisk together oil, vinegar and honey.  Pour over other ingredients.  If using within several hours, no need to refrigerate; otherwise cover and refrigerate.

This recipe was found at cooks.com and great-salsa.com