I thought it would be cool to share some Mother’s Day gift ideas for chefs. There aren’t many of us, but we are out here… 
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The Honey Hostess: Cranberry Apple Jelly
Hi Chewsies!
My cousin, {{The Lady}} has been trying to wrangle me into writing a post about canning for months now, so here it goes. =)
I make up a lot of my recipes (once you have this canning thing down, you will too) BUT ’tis the season for giving homemade canned goods as presents, and there are some staple recipes I like to use. Simply Recipes has an amazing apple butter recipe I use all the time and for the first time, I’m trying out Food In Jars cranberry apple jelly recipe.
Now here’s the secret people who can don’t want you to know…Canning is REALLY easy! Once you get the basics down, you just rinse and repeat for all of your other recipes. “And what are you basics?” you may ask.
Here they are: first, sterilize your jars. Wash them out with hot soapy water, rinse, and put them in an 200 degree oven until you’re ready to use them. Take your jar lids and sterilize them in boiling water. Make your jam (more on that below). The key to a good jam is pectin; pectin is your best friend. I try to stick with fruits that have a lot of pectin naturally (apples, cranberries, grapes) to avoid having to add the artificial kind later. Then comes the canning. You can buy a Ball Canning Discovery Kit if you’ve never done this before. The things to remember with canning are that the jars do not touch the bottom of the pot you’re boiling them in, there needs to be an inch of water over the top of each jar as it boils for 10 minutes, and finally, when the jar cools and you press down on the center of the lid, you know you did it right if the top does not move.
So I made some alterations to the cranberry apple jelly recipe, as you can see below. I doubled the water in the recipe because I wanted the final product to have to be more smooth (which means it just has to cook down a little longer) and I added orange and spices. I chose orange versus two lemons because cranberries are tangy enough, I wanted to keep the citrus flavor without making it too tart.
Cranberry Apple Jelly
Ingredients
8 cups of peeled and diced apple (approximately 5-6 large apples, 1/2 inch dice. Use a softer apple like a Golden Delicious. Firm apples won’t cook down as well.)
4 cups of whole cranberries
6 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 tsp of cloves
1/4 tsp of allspice
Instructions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot (use a big one, this jam will bubble) over high heat. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that develops on the top of the fruit.
Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the cranberries pop and the apples soften.
Stir constantly so that the mixture doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
Ladle into prepared jars (you can do this while it’s still hot), wipe rims, apply lids and process in a for 10 minutes.
And that’s it folks! You’ve canned! Label those bad boys, tie them up with a bow, and put them under the tree or into the mail. IT’S HANDLED!! 
CHEWS gifts made with love this season! Merry Christmas and Happy Canning!
M.W.A.H.,
The Honey Hostess
Nicole is an education policy worker by day, crafter, baker, and undercover homemaker by night. When she is not walking around D.C. in her Olivia Pope-esque coats handling things, she is in her kitchen covered in flour, after rolling, kneading, or canning delectable goodies.
Granny’s Sweet Potato Pie…kind of
This Thanksgiving I was blessed to not have to cook a full spread of “delectables”. We usually do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the potluck manner, but we decided to do it a little different this year and it worked out perfectly! It took alot of pressure off my aunt (the hostess) and us also. Buckaroo was tasked with preparing a {{Roast Beast}}.<----We love The Grinch, I couldn't help myself.
FOLLOW US on Instagram @ChewsyLovers if you didn’t catch that Roast Beast action…
I was tasked to make Sweet Potato Pie. Now under natural,normal circumstances I would have been bogged down in spirit by this daunting task. It’s not that I don’t know how to make them, but when I think about boiling potatoes, peeling them, being up to my elbows in flour, and obsessing about rolling out and crimping the most perfect buttery, flaky pie dough…I get overwhelmed!! “Ain’t nobody got time for that”!!!!
So after analyzing my recipe, I decided I could take a few shortcuts. This recipe had been passed down through my family from my grandmother, from her grandmother. My mom, aunts, grandmother, and cousins all make it in our various parts of the country every year because it’s tried and true. There are slight variations, for example some of them use vanilla, I don’t. Some of them only use two eggs, I use three. Some of them peel potatoes, but I already told you what I ain’t got time for ——> THAT. So this is my version. 
Now ^^^^ so you don’t forget, and so your friends can find this easy deliciousness…unless you’re a hater and want it all for yourself. Whichever you CHEWS, we’re cool with.
Granny’s Sweet Potato Pie…kind of
(Makes two 8-inch pies)
Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 cups of Granulated Sugar
1 40oz can Sweet Potatoes, drained (or 4 large Sweet potatoes, boiled, cooled,and peeled if you must)
3 eggs
1 12oz can of Evaporated Milk
1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Ready Made 8in Pie Shells (frozen section)
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the middle for even cooking.
2.In a clean bowl, cream butter and sugar together with a mixer until smooth. Add potatoes and mix until smooth.
3. Slowly add one egg at a time, combining well after each one. Add milk and spices and mix until combined.
4.Pour into both unbaked pie shells, distributing evenly. Place pies on the middle rack and bake for one hour.
It will be a lovely dark orange and the crust golden brown!! You can insert and clean knife or toothpick in the center to see if its done. Ovens’ true temperatures vary, but it shouldn’t need more than 60 minutes.
All I have to say about this pie is, I made two to take to dinner. I saw the family eat one, and by the time we were cleaning everything up, the other pie had miraculously DISAPPEARED…THE…WHOLE…PIE…I have a family member somewhere right now, who is reading this, and laughing probably partaking in this delicious pie with a cup of joe. Shame on you!
CHEWS to keep it simple and delicious this holiday! You have enough going on through the hustle and bustle of it all. This Sweet Potato Pie is dedicated to those who want homemade taste without breaking a sweat! Your secret is safe with us. We won’t tell granny if you won’t. Give us a TWEET @ if you’re going to try it for your family.
M.W.A.H.,
The Lady
Check out our post on Apps for keeping your recipes and meal plans in order to breeze through the holidays!! Pepperplate is our app of choice. What’s yours?