Why October is my new favorite month

Has it really been that long since I last posted?  WOW!

The end of August and the entire month of September has been a whirlwind of activity for me.  The beginning of the school year is a fantastic, stressful, wonderful, crazy time. 

I used to say that summer is my favorite time of the year.  It's warm.  It doesn't rain as much around here.  There is no pressure of a real schedule for the kids and I.  We see friends more often and have lots of barbeque dinners with guests all the time.  I love that time of year.

I have to admit though, as a teacher, October is my new favorite month.

September is spent getting to know everything about a new school year.  The class and I are getting to know all the personalities in room 262.  We are all adjusting to routines and procedures.  I am constantly adjusting to see what works best for my students.  They are constantly adjusting to see where my boundaries are and when I really will give out detentions.

As a new teacher, I am adjusting to all the teacherery things that come with a new school year.  Teacher evaluation requirements and working with the state's websites.  Attending workshops and staff training days are a new experience.  Figuring out all the forms that come with a new job was a special kind of frustration.  Most of all, trying to figure out a schedule that makes me feel like I am in control of what happens in the classroom without loosing control of what happens at the home front.

Now, October is a whole new story.

October is when the class has gone through it's initial adjustments.  The students know my boundaries, and I know most of their tricks.  I feel like I know their little personalities enough to be able to predict how a group is going to work.  I can say who is a good leader and who needs a little leadership.  I can see who needs a little word of encouragement and who needs a bit of alone time to figure things out.

October is when I start to feel really in control of my schedule.  I bring home less to grade over the weekends and spend more evenings walking with my family.  Most of the week I'm home early enough for some activity before I need to cook dinner.  Miracle of miracles, dinner is being served before 8pm.

October is a lovely month.

I still love summer.  But, October has a new place in my list of favorite things.

I know, I know, it's been a while.

Highlights of our summer include....

Our eldest graduated from eighth grade.  Oh goodness, I have a high schooler!!!

We went camping at Yellowstone.  This is the one and only beautiful picture I took.  Most of the trip it was raining and cloudy.  Though we did get to sit in the tent during a nice thunder and lighting storm!

Praise the LORD, my garden actually produced!!!  In fact, it's still producing.  I've been collecting produce almost everyday.  I am SO happy!

My husband is a nut.  He decided he needed to catch a seagull.  No seagulls were harmed during this interaction.  In fact, the seagull got it's revenge on my hubby by biting him repeatedly in the face.  The seagull was released to go and tell his buddies how much of a big bad bird he was. 

 

I haven't canned much and I've been busy working on my classroom and getting it ready for the fall.  Hopefully, I'll be posting a bit next week.  I'm going to be canning tuna and soups for lunches again.

 

See you all soon, I hope!

 

Three Bean Chili By The Jar

Today I'm canning chili!  I'm doing it by the jar so I don't have to make a huge pot of chili first.

The night before I put some kidney, pinto, and black beans to soak.  While I get all the prep work done for the chopped veggies, I put the beans on to simmer for 20 minutes.  I've found recipes that say to put the dry beans in there,  but I hate crunchy beans.  This way I know they will be cooked through.

In each pint jar layer....

1/2 peeled and chopped roma tomato
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup simmered beans
1/2 cup browned burger
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
2 Tablespoon green chilies (from a can)
2 Tablespoon tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup chicken broth

After all these ingredients were in the jars, I used a plastic spatula to go down the inside of the jars.  This got all the broth down into the air spaces between the beans and the burger.  I kept topping off the jars with hot water until it no longer went down into the air spaces when I used the spatula on the sides.  Then I filled each jar up to the 1 inch headspace line with hot water.  You could continue to use the chicken broth.  The amount I had heated up just happened to put 1/3 cup in each of my ten pint jars.

Process in a pressure canner for 90 minutes at 10lbs pressure (sea level).  Adjust process times accordingly for your altitude.

My inspiration for this came from here if you are interested in looking at their original recipe.

Watermelon Jelly

Watermelon jelly.  Sounds dreamy right?  Fresh watermelon is the best thing in the summer.  Wouldn't it be great to have that flavor in the winter too?!

Earlier this week I was inspired by this post.  The color of that watermelon jam just screamed at me!  Oh, cool watermelon on toast!  That just sounded heavenly.  So, I decided to try it!  Here are my alterations and how it all turned out.

Watermelon Jelly
1 seedless watermelon
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons of low/no sugar pectin (equals one box)

The first step is to crush all the juice out of the melon.  I used my food strainer, but it was still some work.  You will need a total of 6 cups of juice.  I didn't quite use one good sized seedless melon.

Put the juice, lemon juice, and sugar in a big pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Stir constantly. Keep it at a rolling boil for five minutes.  Then add in the pectin powder.

Bring back to a rolling boil and keep boiling for another 5 minutes.  Keep stirring!

Ladle into prepared jars and waterbath for ten minutes.

This recipe made eight 4oz jars and one pint of jelly.

Now, I opened up a jar this morning for my toast.  MMMMM!  But not what I expected.  It was a very soft set.  Most of my jelly is because it is low sugar.  It has a very mild sweet flavor.  Almost like grape jelly.  I don't taste watermelon at all.  It is good though!  So, if you want a nice mild sweet jelly that is a beautiful pink color (pictures don't do it justice!), make some!  If you are wanting that sweet melon flavor...not so much.

My First Harvest!

WAHOO!!!

 

I finally got food from my garden!!

 

 

It looks like this was the year for me!  I am finally having some success in my garden.  All the plants are looking happy and healthy.  I harvested several heads of broccoli and two zucchini today.  MMM..I'm going to fry one of those zucchini up in butter with garlic.  Oh, heaven!  The other zucchini and broccoli will go into some Kung Pao Chicken.  I am unbelievably excited by this little basket of goodness! 

 

It's been crazy around here.  We just got back from our yearly family road trip.  This year it was Yellowstone National Park.  I'll put up a post soon with pics.  Plus, I've been trying to get all the stuff organized for my classroom.  So many fun things to come!



Summer is Coming!

Summer is coming!

 

For my family, that means camping, hiking, traveling, cleaning, canning, and relaxing.  We have many plans this summer and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the blog throughout.  I have added in the big project of getting ready for my first year as a full time teacher.  Lots of organizing, projects, and planning for me this summer!  I hope you will join me in our summer adventures.

May the Fourth be with my garden this year!

Well, we've made some progress!  Here is my garden area all tilled, fenced, and ready for plants.  I am SO excited!

My seedlings are all ready and waiting to go into the garden.  I even have peas actually ready to pick on the seedlings!  Plus, a friend gave me three grocery bags full of onion starts.  I'll need to find a good place for those to grow every year in my garden.

Spring has finally sprung.  We've had beautiful weather and I am looking forward to a sucessful garden this year!

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What's On Sale Wednesday : Green Beans

This week the local grocery store had fresh green beans on sale for $0.99 per pound.  This was the best deal in the produce section for me.

I bought six pounds of these little lovelies.

I know from past canning that I can fit about a pound of green beans in each quart jar.  Green beans aren't my children's favorite veggie, so six quarts will last us a while.

First step to canning fresh green beans is to cut the ends off.

 

I like to have cut green beans for canning.  I think they are easier to pack in jars when they have been cut.  So, I cut them into bite size chunks.  Then wash them up.  Also, as you are cutting and washing, keep an eye out for any brown spots.  Remember, the higher quality the ingredient is when you can it, the higher quality it will be when you eat it.



Once you have the green beans all cut and washed, pack them into your prepared jars.  Fill to the one inch headspace with hot water.  If you want to add salt, now is the time.  I don't add salt because we prefer to salt individually once everything is cooked.  Wipe the rims and place your lids and rings.
Process at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes for quarts.  This batch made five quarts and one pint of green beans.  It would have been six quarts, but I decided to use some of them fresh for dinner that night.

 

**Remember, check the instructions on your pressure canner instructions for your altitude.  All of my instructions are for sea level processing times and weights.**

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Korgan's Granola Bars

These are my son's favorite thing to make on a weekend morning.  He is so proud that he can make breakfast for the family all by himself.  Plus, they are delish!!

1 1/4 cup flour
2 cups oats (we use regular oatmeal)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
chocolate chips (approximately a cup)
dried fruit (we use cranberries, I told you we love those little berries!)

Preheat the oven to 350*f.  While the oven is heating up, put the two sticks of butter in a small baking dish and let them melt in the oven.

Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and dried fruit in a nice big bowl until combined.

Take a 9x13 baking dish and line it with aluminum foil.  Make the aluminum foil extra long, that way once you have lined the dish, you can roll up the extra for handles to pull out the granola bars.

Squish all that granola bar goodness into the baking dish.  Then top with the chocolate chips and dried fruit if you want.  Just sprinkle them all over the top.

Bake at 350*f for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let sit to cool a bit.  Once it has cooled, just grab the aluminum foil handles and remove the whole thing from the pan. 

Cut and serve!

This batch was half with fruit and half without.

I've had this recipe printed and in my binder for years now.  Unfortunately, I didn't print out the URL to go with it, so I have no earthly idea where I got it.  If you know the original post/website, please share so I can give credit where it is due!!

Gardening...attempt number six...

I want to be a good gardener. I dream of luscious vegetable plants ready for harvest. I dream of eating and canning vegetables that I grew. Talk about knowing what went into your food! I really really want to learn this skill. So far, it's just not working for me.

First year of gardening....
I went all gung ho. I cleared a nice large area in my yard. Fought back the ivy and blackberries. Had a friend come down and use his tractor to till it all up for me. Worked in all the compost and good stuff I was supposed to do. I cared for my little plants all summer long. Do you know what I harvested?
Barbie vegetables. I had perfectly formed and ripe green bell peppers that would fit on a quarter. I had carrots that were smaller than my pinkie. The corn never made it past my knee.

Second year of gardening....
This year was going to be better. That last year was just a fluke, right? Well, it was better in some ways.
That year we added chickens into our yard. So, I required a fence around my garden. I did my best and put up a sort of a fence to guard my little plot. It was good! Everything was growing great! I had broccoli and peas and tomatoes all ready to harvest in just a few days. I would go out in the early morning and drink my coffee in the garden. One morning I went out and thought to myself, tomorrow is the day. I will harvest my vegetable garden tomorrow! Do you know what I harvested?
Nothing. That day while we were out of town, my chickens got into the garden. They ate EVERYTHING. I was left with skeletons of the plants. Carnage.

Third year of gardening...
Again, I decided to try with my little garden area in the yard. I would just have to be more diligent and keep those blasted birds out. I had just planted my seedlings and everything was going well. We went on vacation and I had someone come over to water my garden and care for the animals. That year we had record heat for our area. It just wasn't enough water for the garden. Even after I came back and started watering it more, the garden just didn't grow. What did I harvest?
Nothing.

Fourth year of gardening.....
This year I wasn't going to do the whole garden thing. The grass had taken over my garden area. We had more birds than before. Plus, we had vacation planned for the middle of summer again. Let alone I hadn't had any success yet. I was a bit discouraged to say the least. I wasn't going to do a garden.
Then my hubby brought home twenty four tomato plants! I had a virtual tomato jungle on my back porch. This was before I knew how to can anything besides jelly. I could cook with them, and hubby likes to eat them raw. We gave them away and many rotted right there on the plants. What did I harvest?
Tomatoes. Lots of tomatoes.

Fifth year of gardening...
I actually had success with the tomatoes in containers on the back porch. So, I decided maybe container gardening was the way to go. I planted my seedlings into three big pots on the back deck. One pot had peas and radishes. The next had green beans and carrots. The third had strawberries. The first to die was the green beans. I don't know why. They just died. Then I didn't realize it, but the radishes went to seed. Evidently, this will give you rock hard woody radishes that you can't chew and taste like wood pulp. The carrots seemed all good. Until I pulled them up. Barbie vegetables again! The strawberries sent out little shoots everywhere. This was a good thing and I let them. I didn't expect to get much fruit off them this year. I wanted those shoots for new plants. The peas actually did well! What did I harvest?
Enough peas for my family to eat fresh off the vine, but not enough to actually cook. We also got a handful of tiny strawberries.

This will be my sixth year gardening. I am trying the garden space again. My hubby will be building a real fence for me this time to keep the birds out. I've started my seeds a bit earlier in the hopes that the plants will have more time to mature on the garden. I still dream of bountiful harvests with enough normal sized vegetables that I can actually can some of the produce. Here is a picture of my garden to be. What will I harvest this year?

***Update***
Hubby and I discussed it yesterday, and we decided to make the garden space even larger!  We are going to do the entire side yard.  That will effectively quadruple my garden space.  Anyone want to come help me move sod?

 

 

Turkey or Chicken Broth

I use a lot of chicken broth in my cooking.  I use it in soups, cooking rice, cooking beans, cooking noodles, and lots of different casseroles or one dish meals.  I don't like buying broth because I don't know how much salt or other additives are in it.  This is one of the things I really looked forward to making and storing when I bought my pressure canner.

Broth is one of those things that every home cook should have on hand.  The best news about this, is that broth is SO EASY to make!!!  Make your dinner, put all the bits you don't want to eat in a pan, fill it with water and let it simmer.  This works with chicken, turkey, beef, ham, and vegetables.  I'll tell you my whole process for turkey broth.

Cook a turkey dinner for your family.  Enjoy the dinner of slow roasted turkey and all the fixings.

Once your done eating, pick all the meat off the carcass.  The meat will go into your freezer, jars, or whatever you want to do with the leftover meat.  While you are picking the meat off, put ALL THE REST into your crockpot or stewpot.  I mean EVERYTHING.  Skin, fat, bones, all of it.  Fill the crockpot up right to the rim with water and set on low.  I let mine cook over night.

The next morning, take a skimmer or slotted spoon and take out as much of the bones and bits as you can.  Then put the crockpot into the refrigerator for at least a few hours.  The reason I do this is because I like to skim off the fat.  When it's cold, the fat all floats to the top and you can skim it off easily.

Once you have skimmed off the fat, it's time to heat it back up.  After you have heated it back up, you want to put it through a wire mesh strainer to get all the bits out of it.  The finer the mesh, the more clear your broth will be.

After the broth is heated back up to boiling, put it into your clean/hot jars for processing.  Quarts are processed at 10 pounds for 90 minutes. 

The only issue I have run into is that the ham broth came out very salty.  I am sure this had to do with the smoking process or other chemicals used in the ham.  I still use it, I just water it down and use it with things that taste better with salt (beans, potatoes, etc.)

Liquid Gold

Do you know what this is?

That, my dear readers, is blackberry cranberry juice.  This stuff is AMAZING.  I followed the same recipe as I did for the Cranberry Juice.  One cup of berries in each quart jar.  Top it off with hot water and add sugar.  I did reduce the sugar from 1/3 cup per jar to 1/4 cup per jar.  It still is a little more sweet than I would have liked, but it is delicious.  I am so excited by the idea of making my own juice at home. 

Cheesecake With Berry Topping

I love cheesecake. I mean I Really LOVE cheesecake! This is the dessert that I would look forward to as a child. It all starts with the buttery homemade graham cracker crust. Then the two different layers of cheesecakey goodness. Top it all off with your favorite fruit topping. Oh man. Heaven in a pan!

Crust
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (one package does the trick)
1/2 cup melted butter

Stir these all together, then squish into the bottom of your pan.

Cheesecake
1 lb cream cheese at room temperature (2 of those 8oz packages)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these ingredients until smooth.  Pour over the graham cracker crust.  Bake at 375*f for 30 minutes or until top is starting to brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Cheesecake Topping
2 cups sour cream (16oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

After the cheesecake has had it's 15 minutes of cool down, pour this topping over the whole cheesecake.  Bake at 475*f for 10 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake completely before serving.  Top it with your favorite fruit, chocolate sauce, or just eat it plain!!

Fantastic!

Oven Baked Chimichangas

This is a nice easy recipe that freezes really well.  One batch was enough for dinner for us one night, and several to freeze for lunches later.

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (browned)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can green chili peppers
1 packet chili seasonings
cheddar cheese (shredded)
burrito size flour tortillas
sour cream to garnish

After the beef is browned, add in the tomatoes, chili peppers, and chili seasonings packet.

 

 

Next, you are going to roll up your chimichangas.  I have pictures to show how I roll mine.  This gives them a nice shape for baking so they don't ooze everywhere.  The secret is to not put in too much filling!  Just a bit in the middle, then top with shredded cheese.

Fold up the sides.

Now fold the half closest to you over the top of the filling.

Tuck in the corners so they don't escape and the filling doesn't ooze out.

Roll the rest of the way up.

Place on a lined baking sheet folded side down.  Bake at 350*F until nicely browned and crispy on the outside.

Serve with salsa, more shredded cheese, and sour cream on top!

Any that you don't eat at this meal can be frozen individually for lunches later.  Simply put the cooled individual chimichangas in sandwich baggies.  Then put the sandwich baggies into a freezer bag to store.  When you want one for lunch, grab and go!  When I heat them up, I take them out of the baggy and wrap in a paper towel, then microwave for 2 minutes.  The paper towel helps to soak up some of the moisture from it heating back up.  Then the tortilla doesn't get all soggy.

 

Sourdough Pancakes

Oh man, sourdough pancakes.  So wonderful!!  The sourdough starter gives them a nice rise.  Thick pancakes without being doughy in the middle.  MMMM!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sourdough starter
3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix the dry and wet ingredients seperately, then combine.

Cook like any other pancakes over a low heat.  This recipe made 9 pancakes using 1/3 cup mix for each one.

Sourdough Bread

Here is the basic sourdough bread recipe I use.  It's so tasty!!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup starter
1 tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

You can leave the yeast out, but you will have to give your bread lots of time to rise.  I am impatient, so I add a bit of yeast.  This gives me that great sourdough taste, but a quicker rise.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour.

Cover lightly and let rise until doubled.

Punch down.

Shape into loaves.  This is the point where I put it in my greased loaf pans.

Let rise again until the dough is just above the edge of the pan.

Bake at 350*F until nicely browned.

A way to tell if the bread is done.  The outside is nicely browned.  Turn it out of the pan and give the bottom of the loaf a good thump.  The bread should sound a little like a drum.  A nice hollow sound means the bread is done.

Breadmaking is an art.  Sometimes it takes practice.  If your first couple of loaves don't turn out right, try again!  You'll get the feel for it!

Care and feeding of your sourdough starter!

I've recently rediscovered the joys of having a sourdough starter on hand.  This little jar of goodness lives in the back of my fridge, I drag it out maybe once a month for a stir and a feeding.  When I am ready for killer pancakes, flat bread, biscuits, or traditional sourdough bread I pull it out and put it to work!

I did not make my own starter.  I recieved a start from a friend.  I know she has had the same starter for years now.  There are plenty of recipes online, and even websites to order a starter from.  I don't have that info for you.  However, once you get a starter, I can help!

Housing:
Sourdough starter prefers a glass or ceramic container to hang out in.  A lid is a good idea, but it needs to not be air tight.  I use a glass crock with a non-sealing lid for mine.

Temperature:
I, personally, store my starter in the refrigerator.  This gives me the peace of mind knowing it won't go bad if I forget about it for a couple of weeks.  This does slow the starter down, and it will take a little longer in the recipes to do what sourdough does.

You can keep it on your counter if you know you are going to be using it often.  If you choose to keep it on the counter, feed and stir it at least once a week.

Feeding and Treats:
Once a month (or every week if out on the counter) you will need to feed and stir your starter.  Simply stir the starter, then remove 1 cup of starter.  You can use the starter in a recipe, or you can pour it down the sink. 
Add back in 1 cup of luke warm water and 1 cup of flour.
Give it a good stir!  Then place back in the fridge.

Each time you use some of the starter, just feed it then.  This will keep you in starter for eternity!  If you are like me, and want to share your starter, simply feed without removing any first.  This will build up the starter and you can dip out a cup to give to a friend.

Help! My starter is seperated and colorful!
Yep, it does that.  Your starter will seperate.  You will have a thicker goo on the bottom of the jar and a liquidy layer on the top.  That liquidy layer may even change colors.  It could be green, black, or brownish.  Any color is fine EXCEPT  red or orange.  If it turns red or orange, toss it.

Oh No!  I forgot all about it, I haven't fed it in months!
Well, what color is it?  If it is red or orange, toss it.  Any other color, you can revive it!

Reviving Your Starter
Take the container out of the fridge.  Let it warm up on the counter for an hour or two.  Drain off the liquid on top.  Take a cup of the goo from the bottom and set aside.  Clean your container out for your fresh starter.  Put your old goo into the fresh clean container.  While you are cleaning the container, put some water on to boil.  You want a nice fresh water without any contaminates.  Once it boils a bit, let it cool back to luke warm.  Think baby bath water.  You want to kick start the starter back into action.  Too hot, and you will kill it.
Stir in 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of the luke warm water.  Leave it on the counter over night to get started.
After it's night out, you can put it back in the fridge and go back to the normal care and feeding of your starter!

Cranberry Juice

I love cranberries!! 

I eat them in my oatmeal almost daily.  I like them in crisps.  I use cranberry sauce as the jelly on a PB&J sandwich.  Love those little berries!  I also love cranberry juice, but it's so expensive, and I don't like how much sugar it has.  I want to taste the cranberry, not the apple and pear juice!

I read a recipe online that says you can make a simple juice by putting one cup fresh cranberries and 1/3 cup sugar into each quart jar.  Then fill with hot water.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

 

After processing I just loved the colors in the jars as they turned into juice!

Look at those lovely berries!

Here is a jar of the juice the next day.  From what I understand, the juice will get stronger as you let it sit.  I was impatient, though, so I opened up a jar.  If it gets better as it sits, I'm in for some FREAKING AWESOME juice!!!  This stuff was great!

Just a note for your information...a 3lb bag of fresh berries makes 12 quarts of juice!

I did think it was a bit too sweet for me.  It wasn't as sweet as store bought juice, but I still wanted the cranberries to shine.  In my next batch I only put 1/4 cup sugar in each jar.

I did a few more jars using cranberries and blackberries.  I'll tell you how it turns out in a few days!

 

Cheesecake filled, chocolate covered strawberries!

The title says it all.  How could you go wrong with cheesecake, chocolate, and strawberries?

Ingredients
  20 Strawberries
  1 box cream cheese
  1 cup powdered sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 cup chocolate chips
  2 tablespoons butter
  2 cups whipped cream

Hull and core out the strawberries. Wash and set out to dry.
Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a mixer until smooth.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil.
Fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture. Place on tray.

Place tray of strawberries in freezer while you make the chocolate dip.
Using a double boiler, melt butter. Add in chocolate chips and whipped cream. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.

Dip each strawberry in the chocolate sauce and place back on the tray.
Place back in the freezer until chocolate is set. Approximately half an hour.

Spanish Rice

I put this together as a last minute potluck dish.  It turned out really great!  Then the leftovers came home and turned into a chicken soup. Gotta love multiple meals from one dish!

Spanish rice

1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth (1can)
2 cups canned diced tomatoes (1 can) undrained
2 cups cooked black beans (1 can) drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cumin

Melt butter in saucepan.  Add in rice.  Brown rice for a bit in the butter.  Stir in all remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Approximately 6 cups prepared.