Tag Archives: cooking thursday

{Recipe} Sour Patch Grapes (a.k.a. “Glitter Grapes”)

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{Update April 2, 2013) – Welcome Pintester readers! What can I say? Guess these just aren’t for everyone. If you think they’re gross, that’s OK. I think beets are gross. Tomato – tomahto, right? Anyway, if you try these and aren’t impressed, here’s a tip: put the grapes in a colander and rinse off the Jell-O powder and you’re left with plain grapes again. Also? If you use a different flavor of Jell-O (I used MELON, not lime), or sugar-free, they’re probably NOT going to taste like the original recipe. Just sayin’. And finally? Guys… it’s grapes and Jell-O. I think the expectations are a little too high, LOL… 

{Update June 26, 2012} – I am completely overwhelmed by all the pins for this blog post! I am so glad that so many people are enjoying these. And thanks for all of your great suggestions in the comments. I am definitely trying them frozen this summer! Since originally posting this recipes, I have made the glitter grapes with a few different flavors, but my favorite is still either Melon Fusion or Watermelon (depending on what I find at the store). I still have not tried them with sugar-free Jell-O, but I will try to get to that. In the meantime… thanks for visiting!

Jake’s Pinewood Derby was a couple weeks ago and our den was asked to bring fruit to the event. While it is super great that they are encouraging more healthful snacks at scouting events, I was racking my brain for some way to make fruit more exciting. It couldn’t involve skewers because, well… all those crazy boys were going to be running around. I could just envision one going right through a Wolf scout’s eye or something. Shudder.

Then I remembered a link that Dara had posted on Facebook. It was for sparkly sweet grapes. Perfect! I’d had sugar frosted grapes before and enjoyed them, but I have never felt comfortable with the whole raw egg-wash thing. It’s one thing if I’m making them for a small group of people I know well, but not for a community event. There are too many people with egg allergies these days. I’d hate to be the person who made someone sick. Glitter Grapes, however, do not require anything questionable. All you need are grapes and Jell-O.

glitter grapes
I went with green grapes and Melon Fusion Jell-O. I wasn’t sure how the color of the gelatin would effect the the overall color of the grapes, so I tried to keep it in the same family.

The first thing you do is thoroughly wash your grapes. Don’t skimp on the water. The grapes need to be wet in order for the Jell-O to stick to them.
glitter grapes

Next, pour out about 1/3 of the Jell-O powder onto a plate.
glitter grapes

Drop a handful of grapes into the powder and coat them on all sides.
glitter grapes

You can use a spoon if it’s easier. The powder tends to gunk up on your fingers (yes, “gunk up” is the technical term).
glitter grapes

Add more gelatin powder as needed and continue the process until all the grapes are covered. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
glitter grapes

And that’s it! I am calling them “sour patch grapes” because quite a few people thought I got my hands on some of the sugar they use on Sour Patch Kids. This recipe was seriously easy and seriously good. Believe it or not, people were actually looking for me so I could tell them how I made the grapes, LOL! And Drew overheard two boys from the Webelos II den talking about how good the glitter grapes were. He said, “If they inspired a couple 5th grade boys to talk about them long after they’re gone, I think you’ve got a winner.” Ha! 🙂 This will probably be my go-to picnic/potluck dish this summer. I’m sure other flavors of Jell-O are good, too. But I’m sticking with the melon!

Sour Patch Grapes (a.k.a. Glitter Grapes)

glitter grapes

1 pound of green seedless grapes, pulled from the stems and rinsed
1 3-oz. package of Melon Fusion Jell-O (NOT prepared)
Water
Directions

Rinse the grapes under water until all are clean and wet. Spread the gelatin mix on a plate, about 1/3 at a time. Place a handful of grapes on the plate and gently roll each grape in the gelatin powder until it is covered. Place the coated grapes into a bowl and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients until all of the grapes are covered. Place the bowl and let set in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, until the gelatin is set. The colder these are, the better they taste!

Be sure to visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to check out other delicious recipes!




cooking thursday: banana bread recipe

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Are you sick of winter yet? Because I sure am! It’s given me the baking bug, which is not good at all for my waist line. But I do love my afternoon “coffee breaks” that usually include some kind of treat. This week I thought I’d share an old favorite: my banana bread recipe. I’ve been making this for years and I’ve passed it along to so many people. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too! I think it’s particularly good toasted with some cream cheese spread across the slice.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 med. mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce as a substitution)
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts or mini chocolate morsels (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in med. bowl. Add remaining ingredients; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 60 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven to cooling rack.

Be sure to visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to check out other delicious recipes!

menu plan monday, 1.16-1.22

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It’s another cold week around here. Snow is supposed to start overnight and they’re predicting 3-5 inches which will then change over to freezing rain. Yay! (That’s a sarcastic yay, by the way.) Last I heard there will be about 1/2-inch of ice on top of the snow. I expect another snow day for the kids tomorrow.
Where’s that January thaw? Anyway… here’s what I’ve got going this week:

  • Sunday: Leftovers
  • Monday: Mulligatawny (from the freezer)
  • Tuesday: Roasted red pepper and tomato soup, beer bread, salad
  • Wednesday: Lemon chicken, pasta salad, steamed broccoli
  • Thursday: Turkey tacos, black bean salad
  • Friday: Make-your-own pizza on whole wheat crust, salad
  • Saturday: Steak au poivre, baked potatoes, steamed veggies

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

cooking thursday: recipe for cretons

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This year I am so excited to try lots of new recipes and share them with you! Over the last few years, some of my favorite recipes have come from online friends and Sandra has some of the best. Every Thursday she has an excellent recipe sharing feature — you should join in the fun!

For the first recipe of the year, I’m sharing a recipe that admittedly looks less-than-appetizing. It’s a breakfast spread called cretons that originates in Quebec. Drew’s grandmother used to make it and when he and the boys visited Quebec last summer, he reignited his love affair with this pork dish. He begged me to try making it, and although I didn’t know what it was really supposed to taste like, I gave it a try. I looked at several recipes online (everyone seems to have their own way of making this) and combined ideas and tweaked proportions until I came up with something that sounded right. As it cooked, Drew nodded and approved of the smell, and when it was finished he told me that it tasted like Grandma’s. (Whew!) Traditionally, this spread is served on buttered toast, but we discovered that it is supremely delicious on English muffins because the nooks and crannies hold the butter.

Cretons

cretons

1 lb. ground pork
1 med. onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (do not used seasoned)

Saute pork in a large pan until it is no longer pink. Add the onions and garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring to incorporate the vegetables. Stir in the salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute. Transfer pork mixture to a food processor and pulse until the meat reaches an extremely fine consistency.

Return the pork mixture to the pan and add the milk and bread crumbs and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Stir well to blend everything together. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is very tender and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and all the liquid is evaporated, about 10 min. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Transfer to a pretty bowl (though a Tupperware-type container is fine, too), and smooth the top with a spatula. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or a lid) and refrigerate until well chilled and firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Serve on buttered toast or English muffins.

Be warned: this pork pate is incredibly addictive. I didn’t plan on trying it because it looked and smelled a little weird to me, but because I made it I figured I needed to give it a try. I am fairly sure that the cretons is to blame for my holiday weight gain, LOL!

Be sure to visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to check out other delicious recipes!