Julie Busha is the definition of inspiring. I've gotten to know her through my promotion of Slawsa... The most delicious condiment on earth and something I'm a true believer in. You may know Julie from the show Shark Tank where she presented her product Slawsa. Since then, the brand has taken off and it's become a go-to in my own kitchen. Seeing Julie's hard work and dedication to Slawsa is such an inspiration to me. I hope to be half as successful about what I'm passionate about as she is for her product. I asked her to share some of her holiday recipes with me, and as busy as she is, she still found the time. These are not Slawsa recipes but you can go to their website or search Slawsa recipes right here on my blog!
RECIPE 1: English Muffin Mix
STORY: The holidays can be a really busy time and sometimes the last thing you want to do after preparing a big Christmas Eve dinner is Christmas breakfast the next morning. This is one of my favorite recipes because I can make in bulk and then portion out to either store in the fridge for a few weeks (or the freezer for a few months). It's basically a breakfast egg mixture that you top on english muffin halves and broil.
So simple yet makes for a breakfast offering that is less than traditional. You can multiply the recipe easily.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 dozen eggs, hard boiled and chopped
- 1 lb of grated cheddar cheese (I've been using smoked cheddar with bacon)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 lb of cooked bacon, crumbled (you can substitute ham)
- 1 cup Mayo
- 1 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Spicy Mustard
- Hot Sauce (optional)
- Pepper & Garlic Powder, to taste
- English Muffins, sliced in half
- Parmesan Cheese
Mix all ingredients except english muffins & parmesan in large bowl (at this point it can be stores for future use). Place a generous spoonful of mixture on each half of an english muffin and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Place in broiler (but not on top rack) and cook until slightly browned. This will make approx 15 servings.
RECIPE 2: Cardamom Spiced Pear Jam
STORY: I'm probably better known for the abundance of blackberry jam I make and give away because we have tons of wild blackberries in the neighborhood and every summer (just like the trout), I'll pick, clean and vac-seal/freeze until the winter when I make jam to give mainly away (50+ jars annually). The Cardamom-spiced pear jam tastes a little more like the holidays and boy, does the kitchen smell good. I did learn how to "can" in my youth with 4-H (where I made marmalade) but I really didn't start doing all the jams until about 8 years ago when I realized we had this bounty of berries in my neighborhood I could take advantage of. Of course, since I've never been a big biscuit & gravy fan (which just seems really heavy to me), I especially like serving the pear jam on biscuits for breakfast, and of course, it makes a great gift for neighbors as well. It's unique and that's what I like about it.
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs of Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 cups Sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 1 Tbsp honey
In a large glass or ceramic bowl, toss the pears with sugar & lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Also, put a metal spoon in the freezer (you'll need that later). Transfer the pears & liquid to a wide, heavy pot and bring to a boil. Put the crushed cardamom in a tea ball and add it to the pot. Cook the pears over high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken and pears become translucent (about 10 min).
Remove pot from heat. Transfer 1/3 of the pears to a food process and puree until smooth. Do in 3 batches and place back into pot. Boil again over med-high heat until the jam is very thick (about 5 min). You can test by putting a small amount on the frozen spoon and freeze for 30 seconds. When you tilt the spoon, the jam should be thick and runs
slowly. If its too runny, cook longer and test again. Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey. Ladle into 3 clean 1-pint jars and let cool completely. Close the jars and store in the refrigerator for 2 months.
You can also do it with pectin to have shelf stable pear jam but just review the instructions on the pectin for pear. That's often easier and the cardamom ball can be still used in the cooking process.