"double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and caldron bubble..."

i would be ashamed of myself if i didn’t report my fabulous kitchen witchery that took place at the casa over the weekend. i know, i know…but everybody preps & cooks for hours on a saturday, right?! okay, so maybe or maybe not. let me just say, it made me extremely happy to experience it…i totally did a mason jar jig over it. yes…i have used my jars! & i welcome you all to phase 1 of my "mason jar meals"…well, sort of.

first, it’s so ridiculous & you may even shake your head at me. now, i’m no chef boyardee & thank goodness (for my boys) because the smell of “speghetti-o’s” make the masses run in these parts. but i love them! childhood fave & still to this point, but the hubs hates the thought of this classic permeating through the house…plus, the monkey (who won’t touch a kid-staple like mac n’ cheese) well, we all know what a picky thing he is! but, when i stumbled across this homemade (& then mason jarred) recipe for memories of childhood goodness, i got really giddy! *& it was proved “barf proof”per http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2011/10/barf-stops-here.html…hooray!

it goes a little something like this…

1/3 cup vidalia onion, minced fine
1 t. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups good beef stock

1/2 pound ground chuck
1 t. kosher salt
1 egg
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 t. dried minced onions- not powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

28 ounces canned peeled ground tomatoes
12 ounces "o" shaped or "abc" mini pastas
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 t. butter
kosher salt and pepper to taste

in a large pot sweat onions in olive oil, stirring often. once the onions are translucent, stir in garlic and cook for about one minute. add stock and bring to a boil. meanwhile in a large bowl mix- chuck, salt, egg, bread crumbs, dried minced onions, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese until well blended. drop by small balls (about the size of a hazelnut) into the boiling broth. boil 5 minutes. add tomatoes, pasta, cheese, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. stirring frequently simmer until the pasta is al dente. pour into 10 wide-mouth (8ounce) mason jars or other containers of choice. store in the

refrigerator until ready to eat. microwave to reheat. *(& youch…handle with care, just so you know!)

naturally, i omitted the meatball part & subbed the stock for veggie. holy cow, so good! (& i mean that as unbiased as possible) omg, the best part! monkey…l-o-v-e-s them! yes! i was so nervous; you’d thought i was running an oober fancy restaurant with a world renowned food critic!! seriously. crazy how hard we mommas strive to please, but i love it. & the heart singing pay-off is worth more than my weight in gold.

between me to you…if you burn the crap out of your onions in the sweating attempt (i don’t think they’re supposed to turn black) heck, it’s cool. take your pan off of the eye…mince ‘em up again & go for it (i did). also, i filled (5) 16 oz jars. it’s all about tweaking stuff, right?! & p.s. vegetable stock is insanely hard to find or there is like, one brand offered…the recipe i found post location was a no-brainer & super cheap & easy &  probably what you already have in the fridge waiting to brown & dumpster…it’s too easy; trust, i will not pay more than 5 dollars for veggie stock again! (not to sound cheap, but i hate to see food go to waste when it has many uses outside of being pretty)

you'll notice a jar is missing...woo-hoo, success! 

next on my list was something that i had always wanted to try. i have always been a super fan of…apple butter. it is one of the yummiest things that i’ve ever tasted, & my family loves it, so i knew i’d have to at least give it a go. coincidentally, we had gotten a new book in the children’s library, the budding chef (which is an awesome cookbook to share with your little one!) eureka! my sign. i went to the store & gathered the ingredients that i lacked in the cupboard. a crock pot recipe was behind this instant motivation…how easy would this be. upon closer inspection of this truly great recipe, i concluded that there had to be a simpler way (that wouldn’t take 2 or more days.) actually, i got confused half way through…surprise, surprise! hey, i am pretty savvy in the kitch, but huh? anyhoo, i hit the google “help me feel smarter quick” button on the ole laptop. a-ha moment. & i found a recipe that called for 98% of the recipe that i had intended for. & who can beat 9-ish hours? let the crocking begin! http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipe.aspx?rid=452

true to the original recipe, but again…used my intuition & this is what i got: (a duo-ecipe?):

3 lbs med sizes cooking apples (peeled & chopped)

2 tsp cinnamon

3 3/4 cups sugar

1 tsp ground cloves

stir all ingredients in crock pot. cover; cook on high for 1 hour and then on low for 7 hours, or until the apple butter is thick and brown. stir occasionally throughout the day. *stir, people, stir…i even smashed at times! apple butter will thicken as it cools. spoon into sterilized pint jars and seal. if sealed, will keep for 1 year.

*i didn’t have pint jars (or enough) for this recipe. but filled almost (3) 16 oz jars. it still had apple chunks, which we liked very much, but i guess another hour would satiate a less chunky desire. one is already dipped into & the other 2 will be distributed among smaller jars for tastings.  *don’t be afraid to play with it!

so, wow, this was my saturday afternoon/evening. yep, little ole me; don’t be jealous! all kidding aside, i adore this sort of thing. i do! listening to music all day in my kitchen, stirring up goodies in my stainless steel & ceramic “cauldrons!” (especially when it appeases the peanut gallery.) almost like i’m in my own little bubble…utopi-ash? hope that this inspires or delights or gives cooking lull –ishness ideas to someone out there! bon appetite! (& more delish mason shared ideas to come…eeee, i am way too smiley over this…someone come slap me!)