Blackberry Buttermilk Sorbet

 

OH MY GOODNESS!  I thought this recipe was too easy and with all but two of the four ingredients already in my house, I had to try it!  Man is this one a winner!  Blackberries are in abundance in the South in early fall and we had tons of wild blackberries on our farm in Tennessee when I was a child.  I had a hard time picking them because I ate as much as I carried back to my Mama!  This is an excellent light treat that will be sure to please everyone and the color is just beautiful!

You'll Need:
2 cups blackberries (save a few for garnish)
1 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

If using an ice cream maker:

1 bag rock salt

1 small bag of ice

Place your blackberries in a bowl and mix with the sugar and pinch of salt.  Mix well and let sit for an hour.  Stop by and toss the berries to re-mix them with the sugar every 15 minutes.  Your final result will be a deep purple gooey mix.

Add your berry mix in your blender and mix until completely smooth.  I used my food processor, and it only took about 30 seconds.  Remove mixture from blender and sift through a very fine strainer or use cheese cloth and squeeze the berry juice into a clean container.  I did the cheese cloth method, and you really have to squeeze hard multiple times but it's completely worth it to have no seeds in your sorbet.

Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the blackberries and mix well.  Add this to your ice cream maker and churn for 25 - 30 minutes.  Your countertop electric ice cream freezer will stop turning when your sorbet is done.  If you have an electric ice cream freezer, you can chill your mix for 2 hours then put in your freezer for 4 hours.  I don't have an electric freezer, so our old trusty ice cream maker was to the rescue and was way faster!

This is the prettiest thing I've had walk out of my kitchen in a long time!  It's creamy, sweet and tangy all at the same time!  I never use buttermilk - ever - but I'll use it time and time again for this sweet thing!  Start to finish 1 hour 30 minutes.  

Feel free to make this with whatever fruit you like and you can substitute water for the buttermilk.  I'd even add a splash of lemon just for kicks but I will absolutely be doing this again and again!  Ya'll enjoy!

Apple Pie Baked Beans

 

Your family knows you better than anyone else in the world!  This recipe was a challenge from my best cousin, Becky, and she knows that I can't pass up a dare from her!  Apple pie mix in baked beans...who in the world thought of this!  I can't pass up a family dare so I took this one on and honey is it good!  The bonus on this is that I got my first cast iron Dutch oven and I LOVE HER! Mark this one in your favorites for Labor Day and any cookout that you want to show off for!

You'll need:

1 lb breakfast sausage (I strongly recommend Tennessee Pride Mild) 
1 red sweet pepper diced
1/2 small sweet onion diced (1 Tbl onion flakes are fine as a substitute)
1/2 bottle of bar-b-que sauce (your choice on brands - inexpensive is fine)
2 Tbl yellow mustard
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 28 oz cans of Busch's baked beans
1 can apple pie filling
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2-3 shakes of red pepper flakes

Dice your onion and red pepper then add to your sausage and brown the mixture until your sausage is well done and your veggies have cooked thru.  Drain and place this in your Dutch oven.

While your sausage and veggies are cooking, I recommend using a potato masher or a fork to cut up the texture of the pie filling so you don't have big slices in your beans.  I mashed mine into small tender bites.

Add your baked beans to the sausage mix in your Dutch oven then add your bar-b-que sauce, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, apple pie filling (all contents of the can) and your red pepper flakes.  

Mix the ingredients well and place them on your smoker at 275* for two hours.  If you don't have a smoker grill, you can use your gas grill or your oven - still 275* for two hours.

This makes one big pot of baked beans!  The sausage, red pepper and apples make for such a unique taste that your guests will rave about this!  My niece ate it twice today and she does not even like baked beans!  This one is a winner all the way back to my cousin in Tennessee!  Good One Becky!