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Homemade Apple Butter!

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 Apple butter is easier to make than you would expect, so keep reading to find out how! Supplies and ingredients needed: apples (13-18 usually fill a crock pot) brown sugar (1 cup) regular sugar (1/3 cup) nutmeg (1/3 teaspoon) ground cloves (a few shakey shakes) cinnamon (1 heaping tablespoon) vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) crock pot blender or immersion blender knife and peeler (or an apple peeler and corer. I used this one this year and it was very handy!) mason jars (This recipe makes between 7-9 half pints. Example of jars . Use any size you wish.) *if you are planning to can your jars, you need the following: large stock pot (Big enough to cover the jars in water with at least 1 inch of water over the jars) a few dish towels jar lifter (I recommend this canning starter set . I believe it's a few dollars cheaper at Walmart) labels (Optional. See the bottom for a free download. Any 2.5 inch round label will work. I have these .) scraps of fabric (Optional. Just rip strips of fab...
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White Chicken Chili

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(no judging my non-fancy photog skills at the moment. These things improve over time, right? lol I'm more excited about the food than the pictures, anyway) So, this recipe is E A S Y  P E A S Y lemon squeezy. Let's get to the recipe! p.s. I try to do all of my grocery shopping at Aldi.  INGREDIENTS: 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3 chicken breasts) 1 diced onion 2 cloves of minced garlic 24 oz. chicken (or vegetable) broth  2 cans Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed)  2 4ox cans of green chiles (I did 2 mild) 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp cumin 3/4 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you wish, or none at all) small handful of chopped cilantro 4ish oz cream cheese, softened (I say 'ish' because cheese servings are purely subjective)  1/3 cup half and half (you can use heavy cream as well) TOPPINGS: sliced jalapenos sliced avocados sour cream freshly chopped cilantro tortilla strips & whatever else you want to add! So, le...
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Homemade Chili Seasoning

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                                                                   While shopping for the week, I was getting items for chili. I had noticed the last time I made chili that there was a fair amount of sodium coming from the seasoning packet and I thought surely that I could make my own seasoning mix and it could be a bit healthier, as well as save some $$$, while I was at it. Therefore, here we are with a recipe to make your own chili seasoning! This recipe seriously cost me like .21 ยข  to make. That is waaaaay cheaper than a $1-2 packet, that only yields one making of chili, and this recipe can make 3-5! Gather your spices and let's get to it! Recipe: 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder 2 Tablespoons Cumin 2 Tablespoons Paprika 1 Teaspoon Oregano 1 1/2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder ! 1/2 Teaspoons On...
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Homemade Taco Seasoning

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  Since I made homemade chili seasoning the other day, I thought why not try taco seasoning as well? It was SUPER easy and the sodium level difference is I N S A N E. I was looking on the back of a taco seasoning packet to see if the spices I chose were close to those that are in the packets... um, the packet contained 16 ingredients (my recipe has 8, just sayin') and there were only a few ingredients that I knew of without having to google the names.... I'm not sure why sugar is necessary in taco seasoning.. or cottonseed oil... So, the packet of seasoning from the store roughly contains 1,320 mg of sodium. Why is that even necessary? I normally could not use a whole packet of seasoning when I make tacos because of how salty the meat would be. This homemade recipe contains about 727 mg of sodium.  Ingredients: 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I do a heaping scoop on my measuring spoon) 1/4 teaspoon onion powder (I do a heaping scoop on my measuring spoon)...
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EASY Homemade Salsa

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                                                         This is my recipe for salsa and I'm sticking to it.  Ingredients:  1 can of diced tomatoes 1 can or rotel (or tomatoes with green chilis, same thing dude) 1/2 a lemon, or lime (I love to use lime, but we always have lemons in the fridge, so it works too) 1/2 an onion, chopped 1 spoon of garlic (about the same as 2-3 cloves. I like to buy the minced garlic in EVOO at Aldi. Super easy) About 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro (add more or less to satisfy your taste buddies) How to: You can pretty much mix up your ratios to make this salsa how you please, but I am begging you to not skip out on the lemon or lime juice. It will not taste the same.  Simply add all of the ingredients to a blender, pulse a few times, and viola! I think this salsa tastes best when ...
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Homemade Vanilla Extract

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 I had a lot of questions regarding the homemade vanilla extract I made, so I thought I could give all the details here for anyone who is interested in making their own!  I did a lot of research beforehand, so I'm just sharing what methods I decided to go with! I will link all the items that I can.  This extract needs to sit for 3 months or longer. I plan to give them as Christmas gifts, so starting them in August gives me plenty of time to allow the extraction to take place. You can always gift it right after making, just be sure to inform whomever you gift it to that it needs to sit for X amount of time!  Supplies needed: Vanilla beans (grade b, if possible. you need 1.5 vanilla beans per 4oz, so do your math according to the size containers you with to use. I bought these ) Glass bottles/jars ( I used these 4oz bottles ) Rum or Vodka (Your preference on which to use- it just needs to be 80 proof or higher. The higher the better for extraction purposes) Funnel Labe...
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