August 2005 Archives

1 pork shoulder or boston butt roast
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Place in crockpot the pork and the onion. Cover with water. Set on low and cook 8 - 10 hours.

Remove the roast when cooked -it should be just falling from the bone. Set aside.

Place some of the broth and the onion in a saucepan on the stove top and adding white rice (measure the broth and cook the rice in the broth according to cook directions on the package). When the rice is done taste it. Rice always needs salt. This rice should be a little wet, not drowning in broth, not soupy, but moist and delicious.

Slice some of the pork roast, dish up a serving of rice and a steamed vegetable.

The rest of the roast, using 2 forks shred the meat. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and pack each cup full of the roast. OR before filling the cups mix with some of your favorite BBQ sauce then pack in the cups. Freeze until solid. Put all of the cups in a large freezer bag, lable and date.

Each cup is the perfect serving for a BBQ sandwich. Simply remove the number of BBQ cups you need and thaw. Remove paper cup. Heat till piping hot and pack onto a nice bun.

I would serve the sandwiches with slaw, bread and butter pickles, chips and nice big glass of iced tea.

1/2 head small cabbage, shredded
1/4 - 1/2 small onion finely chopped
1/2 cup dill pickle relish
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
Salt and pepper
Duke's Mayonnaise

Mix the sugar with the vinegar and pour over the cabbage. Mix well. Add pickles, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. Use the maynnaise sparingly but start out with a good heaping spoonful. If you need more add it. This part is really how creamy you like your slaw. I don't buy those prepared mixes for slaw. I don't think the cabbage tastes the same in comparison to a fresh head you have shredded yourself. Sometimes I add carrot, sometimes I don't. The carrot doesn't really add anything but color.

1 lb large shrimp
Hoagie Rolls or a loaf of french bread cut into nice sandwich size lengths
Tartar Sauce
Lettuce
Tomato

Roll the shrimp in Zaterains southern seafood breader. Fry shrimp as directed. Split the rolls for each person and spread tartar sauce (or mayonnaise) on both sides. Fill with a layer of shredded lettuce and sliced tomato. sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Stuff the sandwich full of the hot fried shrimp.

Serve with fries and slaw -see my recipe below that I have posted before.

2 lbs ground beef
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup

Mix all ingredients. Shape into 2 loaves. Wrap in heavy duty Reynolds aluminum foil.

Lable and date. Place in the freezer.

When you are ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator. Place wrapped meatloaf on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While the meatloaf is baking peel 1 potato for each person eating supper and add 1 potato for the pot. Dice and boil until soft. Drain. To the hot potatoes add a dollop of butter, a nice spoonful of sour cream, salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk and mash well.

Steam a green veggie in the microwave. Usually a serving for 4 of any frozen green vegetable will cook to perfection in 7 minutes in a glass dish with a cover.

The great thing about meatloaf is that you can cook it the night before and reheat the package the next evening for supper and it will taste freshly baked.

4 fresh bell peppers
1 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove crushed garlic
1 1/2 cup long grain rice
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 8oz can tomato sauce

Cut the tops from the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Rinse. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in the peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and drain well.

Brown the beef, onion and garlic. Drain.

Cook the rice half of the recommended cooking time in boiling salted water.

Drain the diced tomatoes making sure you reserve the juice.

In a large dish mix the beef, rice, tomatoes and italian seasoning until well combined. Stuff into the bell peppers.

Mix the tomato sauce, the juice from the diced tomatoes and another 1 tsp italian seasoning.

Place 2 peppers in a freezer bad. Place half the sauce mix into a quart freezer bag. Place both bags into a 2 gallon size freezer bag. Lable and date the bag. Place in the freezer.

When ready to cook thaw in the refrigerator. Place the 2 peppers in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the top. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can also top the peppers with grated cheese near the end of the cooking time.

5 boneless chicken breasts, boiled
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
4 cups Ritz crackers
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 8x8 Glad Ovenware with lids

Cut chicken breasts up into small chunks. Coat a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray or butter. Mix together chicken, cream of chicken soup and sour cream.

Pour half of this mixture into each of the Glad Ovenware pans and spread evenly.

Crush crackers and mix with melted butter. Spoon cracker mixture over each pan of chicken mixture. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Put the lid on pan, lable and place in the freezer. When you are ready to cook, thaw the casserole in the refrigerator. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

This is an excellent casserole to serve with a salad made of baby spinach leaves and dressed with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

You can also freeze the butter and crackers separately and add them to the top of the casserole the day you decide to bake it.

1 3-4lbs roast beef - I like a chuck roast
3 medium onions sliced thinly
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use a Phillipine soy sauce not kikoman and the other grocery store brands, they are too over powering for my taste)
1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup water

Spray the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Add the onions in the bottom, the roast and pour over the other ingredients. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

Remove the roast from the pot. Remove the onions. Drain the broth and put it in the freezer to cool so that the fat will rise and you can skim it off.

Using 2 forks shred the beef. Mix it with the broth and onions.

Line a muffin pan with muffin cups and pack each one full of the beef and onion mixture. Freeze until solid. Place the cups in a large freezer bag. Lable and date the bag. Each muffin cup is 1 serving for a sandwich. Take out the number of servings you need for a meal. Thaw and remove the paper cup. Reheat the meat until it is piping hot.

Fill a fresh bun with the beef and onion filling, add a slice of your favorite cheese. Serve with chips or fries or a steamed vegetable.

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
2 cans Hunts or Delmonte spaghetti sauce (yes, this is cheating)
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
12 American cheese slices
2 lbs pasta, I use rotini -the corkscrew pasta

Add the pasta to boiling salted water and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the pasta to cool and stop the cooking process. Set aside to drain well.

Brown the hamburger and the onion in a skillet. Drain well. Set aside to cool.

When cooled add the pasta, hamburger mixture and sauce in a large pan combining well.

Divide in half. Place each half in a 1 gallon freezer bag. Place 2 cups of the mozzarella in a small freezer bag as well as 6 cheese slices. In a 2 gallon freezer bag place 1 each of these bags all inside. Lable: "Crockpot Lasagne". Place in your freezer. This is 2 separate lasagne meals stashed for later.

When ready to cook, thaw 1 of the meals in the refrigerator.

Spray the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Add one half the meat and pasta mixture, layer on 3 of the cheese slices and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the other half.

Cook on low for 2 hours. Serve with a nice green salad and bread.

6 - 8 servings

1 lb stew beef
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp A1 steak sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 can whole tomatoes
water or broth

Mix the beef, worcestshire sauce, A1 steak sauce, salt and garlic powder. Coating the beef well. Set aside.

Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. Put in the potatoes, then the carrots, pour the meat mixture next, the can of tomatoes, the onions, cover with water or broth, then lay the bay leaf on top.

Replace the cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the bay leaf. Stir the stew to mix ingredients.

Keep a few boxes of jiffy corn muffin mix on hand and bake up corn muffins to go with the beef stew. A nice pot of white rice would be good too.

Put the leftovers in a freezer container, label, date, and freeze. You can also freeze any leftover corn muffins too. Leftovers make 1 or 2 meals to put in the freezer.

Pizza Dough

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (100�� to 110��)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine yeast with warm water. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix just until dough comes together. Turn the mix out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute. Shape into a ball. Place in a well-oiled bowl. Turn to coat with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place until dough has doubled. The dough is ready to use or you can punch it down and allow it to rise a 2nd time.

Pizza Sauce
1 can Hunts tomato sauce
1-2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp chopped basil

Simmer on the stove top to allow the flavors to mingle and to allow the garlic to loose the raw taste.

It is time to make pizza!

The week before vacation I had to decide what to do with all the produce from the garden. There was only one real answer. Freeze it or can it.

I made a giant stock pot of vegetable soup using all of the fresh veggies that came out of the garden. You can find the recipe here. Yeild: 12 quarts.

I stewed all the tomatoes that came out of the garden the weekend before. Yeild: 12 quarts.

I canned the whole tomatoes that came out of the garden the Thursday before. Yeild: 7 quarts.

Everything else I sent to work with Steven to hand out to anyone at work who would take a bag. He took about 20lbs of tomatoes and gave them away. I just could not do any more with them. I was tired and still battling morning sickness.

When we came back from vacation Steven and I picked a 23 quart stock pot full. Tuesday Colby picked 2 grocery bags full.

This time I made spaghetti sauce and canned it in quart jars.

I was in the middle of scalding the tomatoes so that I could peel and seed them when I remember to get the camera and show y'all the process.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put in the tomatoes and leave for 1 - 2 minutes. I had 3 pots like this one to scald 30lbs of tomatoes.

Using a slotted spoon remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and submerged them in a pan of ice water. You will have to add ice as the hot tomatoes cause the ice to melt quickly -as you can see in the photo my ice disappeared fast. Not only because of the hot tomatoes but because the kitchen at the back of the house is not air conditioned. It was over 100 degrees yesterday. Add to that steaming hot pots and you can imagine how hot my kitchen was.

Once the tomatoes are cooled (just a couple minutes) the skins will slip right off. Cutting them in half and giving them a good squeeze and the seeds will come right out.

Squeezing also yeilds plenty of juice. I always save this to a pan and strain out any seeds that might slip through the collander. This is the clear liquid that seeps out of fresh ripe tomatoes and is known not as tomato juice but tomato water. I'll show you why at the end.

This is the first pot of scalded tomatoes cut and seeded. This is a 16 quart stock pot and when Colby and I finished it was 3/4 full of tomato meat.

On medium heat we cooked the tomatoes until they started to extrude more juice. To the pot we added our own favorite ingredients for spaghetti sauce:

2 cups chopped onion (I only use sweet vidalia onions from Ga.)
8-10 cloves garlic, crushed
5 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 tbsp finely chopped oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper

The sauce mixture simmered for approxiamtely one hour. During that time the jars ran through the dishwasher to sterilize.

The sauce was ladled into the hot jars right out of the dishwasher. Lids and rings were then screwed on hand tight.

The juice that came from the dripping tomatoes and the squeezing and straining of the seeds was brought to a boil and then poured into hot jars with lids and rings applied.

The jars went into the pressure canner where they were processed for 35 minutes at 10psi.

After processing the jars were removed from the canner and left to cool.

This morning the jars were cold to the touch and the lids had sealed. The tomato juice had separated so that you can see the real juice of a tomato, commonly known as tomato water. Shaking it will recombine the bits of tomato pulp and you can drink it or you can use it to poach fish in or to add to stock for soup or sauce. Many many useful things to do with tomato water.

The juice of the tomatoes in my jars in no way tastes like the tomato juice you buy in bottles at the store. Mine is not thick. It is not salty. It is not filled with preservatives or color additives. Tomato juice in its purest form is a delicious and refreshing drink by itself but you should try adding a dash of hotsauce and some vodka -the best Bloody. Mary. Ever.

Cost Analysis
Tomatoes from garden $0
Quart jars in stock $0
Herbs from garden $0
Spices in stock $0
Yeild: 5 quarts spaghetti sauce and 2 quarts tomato juice
Total cost $0

Being a frugal housewife pays off in so many ways!

-This winter we have our own fresh spaghetti sauce to enjoy.
-My kids will not be eating any preservatives or chemical additives.
-My sauce is 100% organic.
-The children learn a lesson of gardening, providing for yourself and NOT relying on commerically grown foods.
-They also get a lesson in food preservation.
-Steven gets to see my canner in action and how just turning the knob on the stove regulates the pressure in the canner.
-Shows him I can indeed adjust and keep that canner at 10lbs psi with little to no effort. (For the longest time Steven could not understand how I could regulate the the canner without different weighted vent regulator knobs.)

The weekend that I made the soup I also put a bushel of fresh white corn (Silver Queen) in the freezer. We ended up with 30 gallon bags of corn-on-the-cob. My kids love fresh corn and having summer goodness in the dead of winter sure is better than Green Giant nibblers. I am hoping this weekend to get 1 more bushel of corn to cream. Wish me luck!