Steak Pizzaiola Burgers

Last night I tried out another recipe from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book for steak pizzaiola burgers. According to the cookbook, RR came up with this recipe for Donald Trump and she characterizes the burger as big, bold, and badass. I have to say she is right on. These were excellent, Kevin and I both thought they were awesome, and we'll definitely have them again. The recipe in the book is supposed to be 4 servings, but I cut it in half (using only one pound of meat) and still got 4 large servings out of it. I can't imagine only having 4 servings with two pounds of meat... that's a half-pound burger each... I don't think I could eat that.

I'll update later on with a picture.

Steak Pizzaiola Burgers
(pg. 125 of Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book)

3 Tablespoons EVOO
2 large onions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup dry red wine
2 pounds ground sirloin
1/2 cup pepperoni, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 Tablespoons butter
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
4 slices sesame semolina bread, about 1 inch thick (I just used some sliced french bread b/c that's what I had on hand)
1/2 - 3/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
8 deli slices provolone

Heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cover the onions with a piece of aluminum foil and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 2-3 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking until fully softened, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until it smells sweet and has carmelized, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits that may be stuck to the bottom. Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and reserve.

While the onions cook, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining tablespoon of EVOO. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the ground sirloin, pepperoni, parsley, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, then score the meat into 4 parts using the side of your hand. Form 4 large patties thinner in the center than the edges for even cooking and to prevent the burgers from bulging. Cook 4-5 minutes per side for medium doneness.

Preheat the broiler.

While the burgers are cooking, heat the butter and garlic together in a small pot over medium heat. When the butter melts, remove the pot from heat to infuse the butter with the garlic flavor. While the butter is melting, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them under the broiler until golden brown on each side. Brush the toasts with the garlic butter and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Place the toasts back on the baking sheet and top each with a burger. Divide the onion mixture among the four burgers and top each with 2 slices of cheese. Slide the burgers under the broiler to melt the cheese, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve the burgers with a knife and fork, and with your favorite salad on the side.

Creamy Parsley & Pistachio Fettuccine

Tonight I tried out a new recipe from my new Rachael Ray cookbook - The Big Orange Book - for creamy parsley and pistachio fettuccine. It was very tasty and I'll definitely make this one again. It'll be a quick work-night meal since I have lots of the parsley-pistachio pesto in the freezer... though I did make it fresh tonight since I am still trying to use up tons of parsley that continues to thrive in the garden. Kevin enjoyed this, too... and didn't even complain about spinach noodles! :) According to the cookbook, this is supposed to make you want to make out... we weren't really affected by it in that way, though. I'll update with a pic later.


Creamy Parsley and Pistachio Fettuccine

salt
1 pound fettuccine pasta (I used spinach fettuccine)
1 lemon
3/4 cup heavy cream (I just used 2% milk)
1 packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup shelled natural pistachios, lightly toasted
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 large garlic clove, grated or minced
3 Tablespoons EVOO
black pepper
(I added about 2 cups of chopped grilled chicken that I had in the freezer)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta, and cook to al dente.

Zest the lemon and combine it with the cream in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium-low until hot but not boiling.

Place the parsley, nuts, cheese, and garlic into a food processor. Squeeze the zested lemon into the bowl. Turn the processor on and stream in the EVOO with the motor running to make a pesto.

Drain the pasta.

Place the pesto in the bottom of a large pasta bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir the hot cream into the pesto, then add the hot pasta and toss to combine (I also added my grilled chicken). Adjust the salt and pepper.

Sweet Potatoes

This afternoon I canned 8 pints of sweet potato chunks for Carson. Canning them will save me lots of freezer space and some prep time in the future. I followed the method in my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. First I steamed the whole sweet potatoes for 20 minutes, then peeled them and chopped them into chunks. I then filled the pint jars with the sweet potatoes and covered them with fresh boiling water. Into the canner they went to be processed at 10 pounds of pressure for 65 minutes. I'll update later with a picture.

Recap and Meal Plans

We had some changes in our plans this weekend. We'd originally planned to just stick around the ranch and get some things done around the place. Instead, yesterday morning, we took a trip down to Ikea in hopes of picking up a dining room table they had on a great sale. We ended up getting it and were able to get some more Christmas shopping done while we were there. After we got home, we went over to my grandparents' house to visit and to pick up a trailer they were giving to us. We had dinner over there and had a good visit with my parents and grandparents.

Today I canned a load of sweet potatoes. I also froze some sweet potato chunks. I'll be doing more of them throughout the week. I never did get the apple pie filling done since we were gone all day yesterday.

This week I'm off on Tuesday for Veteran's day and Friday is my flex day. And we're taking it kind of easy this week and next weekend since I'll be gone Monday-Thursday next week to Toronto.

I picked up the new Rachael Ray cookbook that was released last week - The Big Orange Book. There are so many recipes that I've already flagged to make in the book - I think this will probably end up being my favorite RR cookbook so far. Many of the recipes in this book, I've seen her make on her 30-Minute Meals show, or have seen in her magazine, but there are tons of additional recipes that I've never seen. So I figured I'd give a few new ones a try from her new cookbook this week.

Sunday ~ creamy parsley and pistachio fettuccine
Monday ~ leftover salsa chicken in the form of tacos
Tuesday ~ steak pizzaiola burgers
Wednesday ~ sweet and sour stir-fry
Thursday ~ chili in the crockpot Kevin brought pizza home
Friday ~ chicken with brown rice in the crockpot leftovers
Saturday ~ maybe applesauce chicken in the crockpot with baked potatoes and peas roasted turkey, stuffing, and cornbread

I'm going to make some more applesauce this week and I'd really like to do a second batch of apple butter, but we'll see how much applesauce I get done first. And since I didn't get the apple pie filling done, that's on the list again this week. More sweet potatoes, as well.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Last week I made Salsa Chicken in the CrockPot from A Year of Crockpotting. This was very good, definitely will be a keeper. So easy, too. And I had the chance to use some of my home-canned black beans and home-canned salsa! We're having the leftovers this week, but I'll shred up the chicken and use them in whole wheat tortillas with some guacamole, sour cream, and cheese for a different kind of taco.


CrockPot Salsa Chicken

6-9 chicken thighs, or equivalent body parts (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs and they were quite large, so I only did 4 of them)
1 can rinsed black beans
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup frozen white corn (I used a 1-pound bag of golden corn)

Put your chicken in the crockpot; mine was still frozen. Top with the rinsed black beans, salsa, and corn.

Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. Cooking time will vary depending on whether or not your chicken is frozen, and how big the pieces are.

If you decide to use breasts, increase your salsa by 1/2 cup. Breasts are drier than thighs.

Peas & Cheese Tortellini

Last night I tried another Rachael Ray recipe that I'd seen in one of my RR magazines a few months back. But what tempted me to try it was a post I saw on Busy Mamas. This was very good - even Kevin liked it, which I was really surprised by since he always complains when I make anything with tortellini. I'll be keeping this recipe, but will probably add some meat next time and probably some carrots, too.


Peas and Cheese Tortellini

1 pound frozen tortellini
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used an entire 1 pound bag of frozen peas)
2 tablespoons butter
5 scallions, white and green parts thinly slice separately (I just used one small white onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1 2/3 cups milk
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the tortellini until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, add the peas, butter and scallion whites to another large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. (I held off on the peas) Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the scallion greens and season with salt and pepper. (This is when I added my peas since we like them a little crispy and not over-cooked)

Stir the tortellini and 1/3 cup cheese into the sauce. Divide the pasta among 4 serving bowls and sprinkle with more cheese. (I did not sprinkle with more cheese)

Apple Cake

We are having a belated Bosses Day celebration at work today, so yesterday afternoon I decided to bake an
apple cake to bring in. Its a new recipe I found on RecipeZaar which sounded good and easy. We haven't cut into the goodies yet, so I'm not sure how it tastes yet... I'll update later with the verdict. UPDATE: It is very, very good! Very moist and flavorful, definitely a keeper!

Also, just a note... I updated all the posts with pictures... all the way back to the peanut butter brownies on 10/19!

Apple Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups finely chopped apples
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out)

Glaze topping for cake:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (only used about 2 1/2 T)
1/3 cup whipping cream (I used 1% milk)

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, oil, apple juice and vanilla. Stir in apples and nuts. Add the egg mixture to dry ingredients, just until moistened.

Spread batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes. (I wanted to use a bundt pan b/c I think they look nicer for presentation. I had to increase the baking time by about 12 minutes.)

In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter and cream. Cook and stir till bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Drizzle warm sauce over cake, when it has cooled for 5 minutes, so it can seep into the cake, keeping it moist.

Black Beans

On Monday, I canned two batches of black beans for a total of 20 pints (about a year's supply). I had bought about five and a half pounds of dry organic black turtle beans at the Whole Foods Market a couple of weeks ago (did not use them all canning these 20 pints... about 5 pounds probably). Canning beans is a very long process, but its really not that time consuming, if that makes sense. First I soaked the beans in water overnight (about 12-18 hours). Then drained them, rinsed them, and put the first batch into my largest stockpot (a 12-quart) and covered them with water by about an inch. You then bring them up to a boil for 30 minutes and remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, I filled the jars with the beans, then used a ladle to add the cooking liquid, leaving a 1-inch headspace. Then I processed the beans for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. And voila! Home-canned black beans! Not only does this save some money (using the organic beans, it ended up being about 30 cents per pint), but it will limit our exposure to BPA tremendously since the beans only touched the metal lid during the processing time.

Mac & Cheese

Last Thursday, I tried a new recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. My mouth was still quite tender and I had some trouble chewing things, so I figured mac and cheese would work well. I found this recipe on RecipeZaar and figured I'd give it a try. When I make homemade mac and cheese (which is pretty rare), I usually use a Giada DeLaurentis recipe, but this one was much easier and I think probably a little less fattening, too. It was good, I'll keep the recipe in my files to make again sometime.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat cavatappi noodles)
1/4 cup butter or margarine (I used light margarine and only about 3 T)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cubed (I used shredded 2% sharp cheddar)
1/8 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (next time I'll leave these off, I think)
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook elbow macaroni as directed on package.

While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.

Drain macaroni when done. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce and pour into ungreased 2 quart baking dish.

Mix together bread crumbs and parmesan cheese; sprinkle over macaroni and cheese.
14Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Recap and Meal Plans

I'm running a little behind with my blogging lately. I still haven't uploaded pictures and still need to update several posts with them once I finally do get them uploaded. And I'm late on this post. Just have a lot going on lately, plus I've been home from work since Wednesday afternoon (and not returning to work till Wednesday (tomorrow) morning this week) so I haven't wanted to be on the computer too much. I've done some canning - carrots and black beans (post to come later), some baby food making - carrots, and some baking - apple pie and apple cake (post to come later) during my time at home. I had hoped to do a lot more than that, but Carson keeps me very busy now getting into EVERYthing and traversing throughout the house. Carson and I have had some time to shop while I've been home, too. We went to the mall today with my mom and had lunch in the food court (and found myself really disgusted with the nasty, completely unhealthy choices in our mall's food court) - Carson thought he was a big shot having lunch on the road today. He's so funny. We've got a good start on our Christmas shopping and I picked up my sister's birthday gift today.

Anyway, this blog is supposed to be about food and cooking... so on with the weekly menu...

Sunday ~ Buffalo Wild Wings with my parents
Monday ~ leftover B-dubs
Tuesday ~ tortellini with peas and cheese
Wednesday ~ salsa chicken in the crockpot
Thursday ~ totally undecided here still... I need to look through my recipes and see what I have all the ingredients for already
Friday ~ I'm thinking maybe goulash in the crockpot
Saturday ~ totally undecided here, too... maybe applesauce chicken with baked potatoes since we didn't have it last week or else chicken with brown rice in the crockpot

I know I've said this for weeks now, but I WILL can a batch of apple pie filling at some point this week! :) I'm planning to make a trip out to Porter's orchard to pick up some more utility (the half-price apples that are perfect for canning) on Friday so I can do up yet more applesauce for Carson. I've still got the 26 pounds of pears in the fridge in the basement waiting until I can get to them - maybe this weekend, but if not they'll be good for quite a while longer in the cold storage. I've also got about 40 pounds of sweet potatoes to deal with - baby food purees, canning them in chunks, and freezing some fries and maybe some thin slices to make sweet potato chips. I'll deal with the sweet potatoes before I hit the pears. I'd also like to do some more baking this week. We'll see what time allows... considering we're already almost half-way through the week I'm doubting I'll get any more baking in till the weekend, if even then.

Canned Carrots

I decided to use up more carrots (about 12 pounds) to can some using the method in my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I'm running low on freezer space and figure Carson will be eating more and more solid forms of foods, so why not can them up. I first washed, peeled, and rinsed all the carrots. Then sliced them up and put them into a large stainless steel pot. Once I got all the carrots into the pot, I covered them with water and brought to a boil. I simmered them for about five minutes, till they were tender-crisp. I then used a slotted spoon to fill 9 pint jars with carrots, then covered them with the cooking water, leaving 1-inch of headspace. Into the pressure canner they went to be processed at 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes. They are currently finishing up their processing and returning down to no pressure.

Carrots for Carson

I used about three pounds of Michigan carrots to do up some carrot baby food for Carson this morning. I first washed, peeled, and rinsed the carrots. Then chopped them into large pieces and threw them onto a baking sheet. I decided to try baking them rather than steaming as I've done with the sweet potatoes and squash. This was on recommendation from some other moms on a homemade baby food message board. I guess baking them retains more nutrients than steaming them does, which I didn't know. I knew that steaming retained more nutrients than boiling, but didn't know about the baking. Plus, I guess it makes them even sweeter tasting, which Carson will love. I baked them at 300 for about a half hour, till they were tender. Then I ran them through the food processor with a small amount of water to puree them up and now have them freezing in ice cube trays. I have enough for probably 32 meals for Carson.

Pork Sirloin Roast

Horrocks had pork sirloin roasts on sale this week, so I changed my meal plans and picked one up to have for dinner on Tuesday. I got this recipe a while back from my SIL, Mary. I've made it a couple of times, but not since I've had this blog up and running. Its a very good roast recipe. I used a 5-pound roast, so we had lots of leftovers, which I shredded up and froze for BBQ pork sandwiches later on. (will update later with a picture)

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Fruit

1 medium onion, sliced
1 pork boneless loin roast
1 pkg. (8 oz.) dried fruit, chopped (I forgot to chop mine this time)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Put onion in crock pot. Place pork on top. Top with fruit. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over top. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.

I also added some sliced carrots with the onion. We had this with some homemade rolls from Kevin's mom.

Recap and Meal Plans

Last week I canned another huge batch of unsweetened applesauce. I still have some apples in the breezeway that I have to use to can a batch of apple pie filling - I'd planned to do that over the weekend, but just haven't found the time to. I dried some herbs from the garden (parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary), and froze some chopped parsley with a little water in cubes (great to just drop into soups in the winter for added freshness).

This week will be a little off since I'm having oral surgery to have my last wisdom tooth removed. So I'm having to think of some softer things to eat in the days after the surgery. Mostly new recipes this week - on Monday, Tuesday, possibly Thursday depending on the recipe I end up using, and Friday.

Sunday ~ football party at my Aunt Jeri's... we're doing a taco bar
Monday ~ meatballs with parsley and parmesan... haven't decided what will go with them yet leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday ~ applesauce chicken in the crockpot with baked potatoes and green beans pork sirloin roast with fruit in the crockpot with carrots and homemade rolls from Kevin's mom
Wednesday ~ oral surgery for me in the morning... so it'll depend how I'm feeling... either soup or jello for me most likely and leftovers for Kevin
Thursday ~ most likely homemade macaroni and cheese since I'll still have to be eating softer foods
Friday ~ tortellini with peas and cheese
Saturday ~ making a trip to Grand Rapids, having dinner with Mary, Justin, and Rebecca

I'll be taking Thursday off to recover from my surgery, and Friday is my flex day, so hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to do some baking or canning while I'm home. I'd like to make some carrot-squash muffins and maybe some cookies - freezing the majority of both. I bought some dry beans (pintos and black turtles) last week at the Whole Foods Market that I'd like to try soaking, cooking, and canning... maybe Thursday while Carson goes to my mom's if I'm feeling up to it. I'll first need to use up the 26 pounds of pears I bought last week to can some more pear sauce for Carson. Also need to get some more parsley-pistachio pesto made and frozen.

Baked Costa Rican Tilapia

Last night I tried one of Ingrid Hoffmann's recipes for baked costa rican tilapia with rice, black beans, and pineapple. It was pretty good. I'll probably make it again sometime, but with a few small changes. Kevin thought it was good and "edible" as he put it, but didn't care for so much lime. So next time, I'll use less lime. I think I'd sprinkle the tilapia with some paprika and freshly ground pepper before baking it next time, too. I used long-grain brown rice... and I'm still trying to figure out how to properly cook the longer cooking rice (I'm used to the instant/minute rice), so the rice had a little crunch to it. :) Other than too much lime, the flavors were great together. It was a fairly easy recipe to throw together, too. If I was to make this on a week night, I'd prep the rice/beans/salsa/pineapple mixture the night before to save a little time and a few steps.

Baked Costa Rican-Style Tilapia with Pineapples, Black Beans, and Rice

1 cup long-grain white rice (I used long-grain brown rice)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (I just used OJ from the carton)
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish (I substituted flat-leaf parsley)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (5 to 7-ounce) tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry (I used six smaller fillets)
2 cups jarred or homemade tomato salsa (used store-bought this time since I'm still trying to use up stuff I'd stock-piled in my pantry before I started canning)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (Eden Organic, the only canned beans with no BPA in the cans... plus they're local (Ann Arbor))
2 cups diced fresh pineapple (I used canned)
2 limes, thinly sliced

Combine the rice and chicken broth in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid, about 20 minutes. (brown rice takes MUCH longer to cook)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, oil, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, the garlic, and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Add the tilapia fillets to the marinade, turning to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, turning occasionally. (Don't let it marinate too much longer than 20 minutes, else you'll end up with ceviche)

Stir together the cooked rice, salsa, beans, pineapple, and remaining 2 tablespoons of the cilantro in a 2 or 3-quart baking dish. Remove the tilapia from the marinade, reserve the marinade, and lay the fish fillets over the rice mixture, overlapping if necessary. Pour the reserved marinade over the fish. Shingle the lime slices over the fish. (next time I'll leave the lime slices off) Bake until the fish flakes easily, is opaque, and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

Homemade Granola

I decided to make a batch of homemade granola this morning. I used my SIL Mary's recipe as a base and made a couple mods. I'm looking for ways to avoid buying cereal at the grocery store. I've recently read that Kelloggs is now using genetically modified ingredients in all of their cereals - I don't like that at all. And I'm just assuming that if Kelloggs has started, then the other large cereal companies aren't too far behind. There are some that I'm sure I'll still buy, like Kashi and some organic cereals, but I'd really like to limit the others. Not to mention, making our own granola will save us some money - which is always a good thing in these difficult economic times the entire country is experiencing.

This made our house smell so good as it was baking... well until I burned the second pan... and set off the smoke alarms - oops! :) I don't know how I burned it, really. I pulled it out to stir it and thought it could use just a couple more minutes to bake... so in the oven it goes for about two more minutes when I started smelling burning granola. Yeah, not good. But at least I got one awesome pan out of it! :) I tasted a little bit of it and it tastes so good! I'm excited to have this on hand. Here is Mary's recipe that I used and my modifications in parentheses. I'll update with a picture later on.

Granola

6 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used my home-dried raisins and cherries)
1 cup ground flax seed (I used golden flax seeds since I couldn't find the ground seeds)
3/4 cup wheat bran or wheat germ (I used 1 cup wheat germ)
3/4 chopped nuts (I used about a cup total of pecans and walnuts)
1/2 cup seeds (I used sunflower kernels)
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
(2 Tablespoons vanilla)

Heat oven to 300. Mix all dry ingredients, except fruit. Microwave honey for 30 seconds. Stir (honey and vanilla) into dry ingredients. Mix well. Spray large baking sheets with cooking spray. Spread granola onto pans. Spray top with cooking spray. (I sprinkled the top with a cinnamon-sugar mixture). Bake for 30 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times throughout. Add fruit half-way through. Let cool. Store in sealed container. Freezes well.

Weekend Recap & Meal Plans

We had a busy weekend filled with family fun. We met up with Kevin's entire immediate family on Saturday afternoon for a trip to a local orchard where we picked up some pumpkins and a half-bushel of McIntosh apples to do more applesauce. Today we've been busy catching up on household chores and preparing for Kevin's trip to Lafayette (he didn't go last week and is now leaving in the morning).

Meals this week may end up looking something like this... only one new recipe on the list (Saturday)...

Sunday ~ we went out to eat to Ruby Tuesday with some of Kevin's family
Monday ~ leftover chili chicken soup since Kevin will be out of town
Tuesday ~ grilled cheese or something easy since Kevin will still be gone
Wednesday ~ chili in the crockpot
Thursday ~ italian wedding soup from the freezer
Friday ~ leftover chili
Saturday ~ baked Costa Rican style tilapia

I'm hoping to can more applesauce and still need to do some apple pie filling this week. Pears are on sale at Horrocks again this week, so I'll be picking up a bunch to do another couple batches of pear sauce, too. I feel like we won't be able to have too much pear sauce and applesauce on hand the way Carson loves the stuff. I don't think I'll end up being able to can enough, really. Right now we're going through about two pints a week! I also need to get my dehydrator back out and dry some more herbs from the garden before they're killed by frost. I think I'll do up some more parsley-pistachio pesto to freeze as well. My parsley is completely out of control still - I can't believe how abundant it has been this year! This should keep me plenty busy this week... and most likely probably won't all get done, but hey I can hope, right? :)

Peanut Butter Brownies

I tried a new recipe tonight from RecipeZaar for Reese's Peanut Butter Brownies. We're having a Brownie Bake-Off tomorrow at work to benefit the annual Harvest Gathering (a.k.a. for the Lansing Food Bank) and I decided I'd try a new recipe. I have a picture, but haven't uploaded, so I'll update at some point. I cut a corner out to try them (had to make sure they have a chance tomorrow - haha!) and they're pretty good. Some melted chocolate chips would be great drizzled across the top... but unfortunately, I used the last bit I had in the brownies.

Peanut Butter Brownies

3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 Sticks)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hershey cocoa
(I also added about a half cup of milk chocolate chips to the chocolate batter)

Heat oven to 350³F.

Grease 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

Add peanut butter to melted butter in large bowl; stir until peanut butter melts. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Remove 1 3/4 cup batter; stir cocoa into this part. Spread cocoa batter into prepared pan; spread remaining peanut butter batter over top.

Bake 30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan; cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

Chili Chicken and Veggie Soup

Tonight I tried out a new Rachael Ray recipe that I had seen in my latest issue of her magazine for Chili Chicken and Veggie Soup. Definitely a keeper! And will probably become a staple recipe for the day after I make crockpot roasted chicken, too. Both Kevin and I really liked this a lot. I added a few things - some finely chopped garlic while I was cooking the onion, and some frozen green peas. Its a very quick recipe - I was thinking of throwing it in the crockpot, but ended up cooking it in my dutch oven on the stovetop. It came together so fast. I did let it simmer on low for about an hour before we ate since Kevin was late getting home from work. I think that made the flavors meld together even more and it tasted even better after cooking for a longer period of time.

Chili Chicken and Veggie Soup

2 tablespoons butter (I omitted this and just sprayed my pan with olive oil spray)
1 onion, chopped (I used two)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder (I used more than this b/c we love the flavor of chili powder)
1 baking potato, peeled and chopped
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth (I added about 6 cups since I was making extra soup)
One 16-ounce bag frozen corn kernels
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat (I had about 3 cups)
One 10-ounce bag frozen green beans (just used some frozen beans from the garden)
Sour cream, for serving (we just ate it plain)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat (or spray pan with cooking spray). Add the onion (this is where I added the garlic), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potato and chicken broth and bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the corn, chicken and green beans (and peas for us) and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the sour cream.

Apple Butter

I canned my first batch of apple butter this afternoon. I used the recipe for Sweet Apple Cider Butter in my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - I'll have to update later with the recipe when I have the book with me. I tasted it as I was filling the jars and it was so good! I'm excited to have this on hand!

Weekend Recap & Meal Plans

It was a productive weekend in the kitchen as the harvest season is slowly coming to an end. As you can see from my previous posts this weekend, I canned a batch of pear sauce for Carson, steamed/pureed/froze some sweet potatoes (now have enough for about 20 meals in the freezer), steamed/pureed/froze some kabocha squash (enough for 12 meals in the freezer), and have a batch of apple butter processing in the canner right now. I also canned another batch of smooth unsweetened applesauce for Carson. I think I will try to can one more batch of applesauce for Carson this week and I'll be doing up a batch of apple pie filling to can as well. We'll be making another orchard trip next Saturday with the Holleboom family, so I'm sure I'll pick up more apples and end up doing more sauce, butter, and pie filling.

Kevin will be going down to Lafayette, Indiana for a few days this week, so there will be a couple of nights of meals on my own. I'm only trying out one new recipe this week (Friday). But otherwise, here's what I'm thinking for the week.

Sunday ~ grilled chicken marinated in italian dressing, grilled baked potatoes, green beans
Monday ~ grilled burgers from the freezer, corn, baked beans for Kevin
Tuesday ~ spinach-chive fettucine with meat sauce, garlic bread, peas
Wednesday ~ leftovers and piecing things together since Kevin will be in Lafayette
Thursday ~ leftovers and piecing things together since Kevin will be in Lafayette
Friday ~ Chili Chicken and Vegetable Soup with homemade bread (might try beer bread)
Saturday ~ we'll be eating with Kevin's family having crockpot roasted chicken, squash, corn souffle, peas, baked potatoes, cake, and ice cream

As far as the extra projects go, I probably will just use up the apples we have left to do more sauce and some apple pie filling. If I even get that done, I guess. I think I'll have my hands full being on my own for 3 days/2 nights, so probably won't have time for much else this week.

On a side note, I finally got my pics up of the curry, sweet potatoes, pear sauce, and squash.

Kabocha Squash

Tonight I made up a batch of kabocha squash baby food for Carson. I just cut the squash into quarters and put it in the steamer for about 20-25 minutes. The squash scooped out of the rind very easily - probably the easiest time I've ever had scooping the squash out. I ran it through my food mill with the medium blades, added some water to get the right consistency, and voila! Baby food! I kept out a small container for using this week, then froze the rest. I ended up with 24 cubes to freeze... so veggies for about 12 different meals for Carson. Not bad considering the squash itself cost me 50 cents! Which equates to about 4 cents per serving (which I think is about half of a store-bought container of the 2nd foods). So I paid roughly 16 cents for the same amount that I'd normally pay $1.29 for on sale... saving $1.13 per package! Actually, even more savings than that since I didn't figure in the portion I kept out to eat fresh this week... probably about 3 more servings there. What a steal!

Pearsauce

Yesterday, I did up a small batch of pear sauce for Carson. I made it just like applesauce. I used eight large Bartlett pears, peeled them, cored them, chopped them, and dipped them in a lemon juice-water mixture to prevent browning. Then I dumped them all into a stockpot and put about a quarter inch of water in the bottom. The pears released a lot more liquid than the apples did, so I ended up having a lot of juice (and dumped some out in the end). I cooked the pears for about 15 minutes till they were softened. Then ran them through my food mill on the medium blade. Then back into the pot, added about three tablespoons of lemon juice and heated up to boiling. I filled five half-pints and had about a quarter half-pint leftover for Carson to eat fresh. He tried it today at lunch and LOVED it - moreso than he loves the store-bought pears, I think. I was happy about that. I processed the jars for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath. Again, this will be a huge savings. I think that about 3 containers of the 2nd foods will fit into these jars. Two containers cost me $1.29 on sale - so lets say about $1.94 equivalent. Well, I got the pears for $4.45 , with five jars, that equates to $0.89 per jar. That's a savings of $1.05 per jar - I think that's quite good!

Sweet Potatoes for Carson

So I finally am going to cut back on buying commercially produced baby food. I've been buying Gerber Organic foods for Carson since he's started eating solids and have just been too lazy to try my hand at making some homemade baby food for him. Well last night I finally decided to give it a try. I peeled a sweet potato, cut it into cubes (about 1-inch size), and threw it in the steamer for 15-20 minutes or so. I didn't keep track of time, just kept an eye on the look and then tested it with a fork. Once it was cooked, I ran it through the food mill with my finest blades and added a little water to the pureed potatoes. We'll see how it goes over with Carson today. I kept it a little thicker than he's used to since he's old enough now to try out some thicker foods. So he may not like it too much at first, but he'll get used to it pretty quickly, I think.

Making a good portion of Carson's food will be a huge money-saver! One sweet potato produced quite a bit of puree. I'm going to do up another two sweet potatoes tonight and freeze them in cubes. Then I'll do up some butternut squash from our garden and some kabocha squash from the farmer's market. I'm also going to use some of the blueberries I froze this summer to make him some blueberry puree. Tonight or tomorrow I'll be doing up some pear sauce for him and canning it, too. So we should be on a good roll here with food for Carson. And soon enough, he'll be able to eat more and more of what we're eating, so that will be even easier.

Again, I have a picture, but its not on the computer yet, so I'll update later on in the week.

Crockpot Chicken-Veggie Curry

Last night I made another recipe from A Year of Crockpotting for Vegetarian Curry, only I added chicken to mine so I'm calling it chicken-veggie curry. It was so good, both Kevin and I really enjoyed it. I'll definitely make this one again sometime. It was different than a lot of the curry dishes I've had before, not as creamy, but it was still very tasty. I programmed mine to cook for 11 hours on low and then switch to Keep Warm, which it was on for about an hour and a half. I served it over orzo, but had planned to serve it over brown rice, but didn't realize it was going to take my rice an hour to cook until it was too late (I normally buy the minute rice stuff).

I took a picture, but haven't uploaded it yet, so I'll update later in the week with a picture.

Crockpot Chicken-Veggie Curry

2 cans drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (I used Eden Organic)
1 diced red pepper
4 tiny potatoes, or 1 regular-sized (I used about five small potatoes)
1/2 cup diced carrots (I added more - I used five stalks)
1/2 cup diced celery (I added more - I used three large carrots)
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic (I used five since I had two small cloves)
2 Tablespoons curry
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1 large can tomatoes and juice (next time I might keep some of the juice out)
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup frozen peas, to add later

Add drained and rinsed garbanzo beans to your crockpot. Cover with diced vegetables. (I added six boneless skinless frozen chicken tenderloins here.) Add spices. Dump in tomatoes, yogurt and broth. Stir to mix flavors.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or longer.

20 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen peas. Turn to high.

Serve over hot basmati rice and use brown rice tortillas or corn tortillas to scoop up. If you are not gluten-free, you can use naan, pita bread, or whole-wheat tortillas.

Weekend Recap & Meal Plans

On Friday, I canned a second batch of tomato sauce and I'll be doing a third batch this afternoon/evening. That will use up the tomatoes from our garden. I'm pretty happy with the yields we had this year - I was able to use our own tomatoes in quite a lot of canned goods and to eat in meals. I do want to pick up maybe a half-bushel of tomatoes from the local farmer down the street to do up some more chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. We'll see if I make it down there this afternoon, otherwise I'll stop by their place tomorrow after work.

Yesterday, we went to the Flushing Harvest Festival with my parents, grandparents, Aunt Jeri and Uncle Mike. It wasn't that entertaining, but it was still nice to get out and do something different. We had dinner and spent some time back at my grandparents' house afterwards. Today, I'll be finishing up the cleaning and laundry, prepping and canning another batch of tomato sauce, and hope to get out to the garden to clean things up a bit, while Kevin will be changing the oil in the Vibe, working on the Craftsman tractor a bit more, and helping Danny with his brakes.

As far as meals go this week, I'm going to try out a couple more new recipes (Monday and Thursday), so we'll see how they go. I love all sorts of different ethnic foods and I'm excited to try these out. Even Kevin thought they sounded ok, so I hope they taste as good as they sound.

Sunday ~ grilled texas broil steak, grilled baked potatoes, and corn on the cob change of plans, we just pieced things together. Kevin had Arby's and I just had a toasted english muffin with homemade raspberry jam, a string cheese, some steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and some applesauce.
Monday ~ crockpot chicken veggie curry grilled texas broil steak, grilled baked potatoes, and corn on the cob
Tuesday ~ grilled cheese sandwiches and italian wedding soup from the freezer crockpot chicken veggie curry
Wednesday ~ probably will eat at my parents since my Mom is watching Carson
Thursday ~ crockpot morrocan lentil stew/soup with homemade bread leftover chicken veggie curry
Friday ~ pork chops in the crockpot with smashed potatoes and steamed veggies We had pork chops on Wednesday, so I think I'll just throw together a quick pasta for dinner tonight instead
Saturday ~ TBD... depends on what the weekend plans evolve into

I'm working on cleaning out my pantry and using up a lot of the stuff in the freezers that have been in there awhile. I might try to do some baking this week to use up a few things - I think I might make some cupcakes to take into the Davison office and I'd like to make some bread. I'm also going to have Kevin stop at the orchard in Fenton on his way home one night this week to pick up some more apples so I can try making some apple butter. I still want to do more applesauce, some apple pie filling, and lots of apple butter... so I figure I should get on it before I miss the apple season.

Crockpot Coq au Vin

Last night I made coq au vin in the crockpot. I used the recipe from A Year of Crockpotting. I thought it was very good. Kevin didn't get home until almost 9:00 from work and had stopped to get fast food on the way home, so he didn't try it yet. He'll have it for lunch tomorrow, so we'll see what he thinks. I've had better coq au vin (made by an old friend in college who was from France), but I thought this was pretty good, too... especially since this could be done in the crockpot while I was off at work!

Crockpot Coq au Vin

6 to 8 frozen chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts)
6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon (I omitted this since I can't eat bacon)
8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms (I had white button mushrooms, so I used those)
1 cup baby carrots (I used extra, about four large carrots)
1 chopped yellow onion
3 cloves chopped or minced garlic
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup cheap red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon b/c that's what I had, but think it'd be even better with a pinot noir which is traditionally used in coq au vin)
2 large fresh thyme sprigs

Cook your bacon. Dump the frozen chicken into your crockpot and start layering in the rest of the ingredients. This is really a no-fuss preparation. Just throw it all in.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (mine cooked for 12.5 hours and was very good still). You could cook it on high for 4, but it won't taste as good. The flavors meld so nicely when cooked low and slow.

Serve with mashed potatoes or your favorite pasta. (Since it was just me eating last night, I didn't serve with anything, just ate a small piece of chicken and some veggies.)

Everyday with Rachael Ray Recipe Widget

Couldn't get it to fit in my sidebar for some reason, so thought I'd post it...

Enchilada Bake

Last night we had an enchilada bake for dinner. Kevin's sister, Julie, made this for us as a freezer meal after Carson was born. It was very good and I got the recipe from her. This was the first time I've made it myself and it was super easy to do. Kevin and I both love mexican food, but its not the most healthy of cuisines so I try to limit the frequency that we have it. I tried to use lighter or somewhat healthier versions of the ingredients called for in this recipe, but I know its still not the most healthy of recipes. Its a nice treat every so often, though. I made a little extra filling so that I could make an extra 8x8 dish for the freezer to have one night in a few months.

Enchilada Bake

1lb. ground beef (I used half extra lean ground turkey and half lean grass-fed hormone-free ground beef)
1 onion (I used a small one)
2 cups of salsa
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (I used a jar of organic black beans) (I also added a can of organic fat free refried black beans for a little extra protein and fiber)
¼ cup Kraft zesty Italian dressing (I used fat free)
1 packet taco seasoning (I use the 40% less sodium stuff)
6 8-inch flour tortillas (I used whole wheat)
1 cup of sour cream (I used light)
shredded cheddar cheese (I used about 1/2 cup of a 2% blend)

Line a 9x13 pan with foil. Brown meat with seasoning and onion. Add salsa, beans, dressing, and mix. Arrange single layer of tortillas on bottom of dish, cover with half of the meat mixture, then half of the sour cream. Repeat layers. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake additional 10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

Today I made some crockpot cheeseburger soup from A Year of Crockpotting. I had some Velveeta cheese that I needed to use up, so I decided to try this out. I added a lot more veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli and green beans - in addition to the potatoes, onions, and bell pepper that the recipe calls for. It was an ok soup. I expected it to be better. Maybe I shouldn't have used the lighter version of the cheese - it didn't melt very well at all. But it still wasn't the best soup. Don't think I'll make it again.

Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

4 cups chicken broth (I used organic free-range broth that I had in my pantry)
1 T dried onion (I used one small white onion, chopped)
1/2 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained on the stove top (I used about 3/4 pound of meat made up of half extra lean ground turkey and half extra lean ground beef)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used green)
1 cup milk
12 oz Velveeta, cubed (I used the ligher version made with 2% milk)
2 potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes (I used four small white potatoes)
2 small garlic cloves, minced
Tabasco sauce, optional (I left this out)
crumbled bacon, optional (I left this out)

Brown the meat on the stove top, and drain fat. Set aside to cool a bit.

In a 4 quart or larger crockpot (I used my 6-quart), add the chicken broth and milk. Stir in the onion flakes and minced garlic. Cut up the bell pepper and potatoes, and add. Add any additional veggies. Cut up the Velveeta and add. Stir in the browned meat.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until everything is good and melty.

Garnish with Tabasco sauce and crumbled bacon if desired.

Market Recap & Meal Plans

Kevin, Carson and I made a trip to the Swartz Creek farmer's market this afternoon. I picked up two quarts white potatoes, one bunch carrots, one bunch celery, a half-peck of green beans, four ears corn, and one large burgundy hardy mum plant (to plant in one of the flower beds). Only two more weeks left of the Creek market. I'm going to miss it! I never did get any okra last week, so I'll need to get some later on this week. I think I might also pick up a bushel of tomatoes to do up more sauce and chopped tomatoes. We use tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes so much throughout the year, so I feel like I almost can't have too much of that stuff.

As you can see in the posts below, I canned some chicken stock and applesauce this weekend. I did up a second small batch of applesauce this afternoon. I made this batch very fine/smooth, so Carson will be able to eat it now. I also blanched and froze some sweet potatoes into pre-cut fries and some fresh Michigan broccoli that I picked up at Horrocks last Thursday. I didn't get the tomato sauce canned this weekend. I think I'll put the frozen tomatoes in the fridge tonight so they're somewhat thawed by the time I get home tomorrow night. I'm hoping to prep the sauce tomorrow night and then can it on Tuesday evening. That will free up a ton of space in my freezers! We'll see what the remainder of the week brings with any preservation activities.

This is what I'm thinking for meals this week:

Sunday ~ crockpot cheeseburger soup and crusty bread
Monday ~ enchilada bake
Tuesday ~ some sort of pasta dish with chicken and veggies
Wednesday ~ crockpot coq au vin
Thursday ~ probably eating at my parents' since my Mom is watching Carson
Friday ~ TBD... depends on whether I'm in West Michigan or not
Saturday ~ TBD... possibly going to the Flushing Harvest Festival

Applesauce

This afternoon, I canned a small batch of applesauce. I only used up about half of the apples I bought at Spicer's last weekend, so I think I'll probably do another batch of applesauce tomorrow. I couldn't believe how easy this was! It didn't even take an hour from start to finish - so nice! I'm excited to try this. I think we'll keep the half-pint out for us to try sometime this week so that I can make any modifications when I get more apples and do more sauce. For this recipe, I did smooth applesauce using the largest blade on my food mill. Tomorrow's batch I'll also do smooth, but I'm going to use the finest cut blade on the food mill, which I figure will end up pretty much like baby food so that Carson can eat my homemade applesauce.

Applesauce
(Page 182 of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

12 pounds apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and treated to prevent browning
water
3 cups granulated sugar, optional (I left this out)
4 Tablespoons lemon juice

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the apples and just enough water to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 20 minutes, until apples are tender (mine took about 10 minutes, but my apple peeler slices the apples pretty thin). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Run the apples through a food mill or food processor.

Return to the saucepan. Add sugar, if using, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Maintain a gentle boil while filling the jars.

Ladle hot applesauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim, place lid and ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes (for both pints and quarts). Remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, remove jars, cool, and store.

Yields about eight pints or four quarts (though if you omit the sugar, your yield will be reduced)

Chicken Stock

On Thursday this week, I made a roasted chicken in the crockpot for dinner. After we'd eaten, I removed all the meat from the bones, pulled the foil from the crockpot, leaving the juices in the bottom. Then I threw in all the bones, the wings since we never eat them, and the innards (all but the liver) that I'd removed before cooking and put in the refrigerator. I then chopped up about four stalks of celery, three medium sized carrots, and two small onions to throw into the mix. Also a bay leaf. Then I just filled the crock up with water to about an inch from the top and put it in the fridge overnight. (By the way, I used a six-quart oval crock) On Friday morning, I put the crock in the pot on low and let it simmer all day. When I got home from work Friday night, I had a great stock in the crockpot. I then strained it to remove all the chicken, bones and veggies and put it in the fridge again overnight. This way I could skim the fat this morning very easily. Then I dumped it in a sauce pot on the stove and brought it up to a slow boil while I prepared my canning supplies. I pressure canned it at 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes (for pints - it'd be 25 minutes for quarts).

I almost always make stock after doing the crockpot chicken, but have always frozen it. Considering my freezers are stuffed, I figured I'd can it since I have the ability to do so now. I love having my own stock on hand for cooking. And having it canned saves the time of thawing the stock, which will be nice.

Farm to School

I've been following the recent farm-to-school bills that have been circulating in the State legislature. Since having Carson, I've become more aware of the food being served in our schools. It is enraging and disgusting to read about... to think about the garbage our schools are feeding our kids (not that Carson is in school yet, but he will be all too soon!). Anyway, the farm-to-school bills passed the House, now they'll move to the Senate. Being that the House and Senate rarely seem to agree on the same things (a democrat-controlled House and a republican-controlled Senate), we'll see where they go from here. I hope the Senate approves them and have emailed my Senator expressing my support and urging their support and fast action on the matter. If you'd like to do the same, or read a little more info, check out this blog from the Michigan Land Use Institute.

Weekend Preservation, Market Recap and Meal Plans

Considering how busy we were this weekend, it was a rather productive weekend for me in the kitchen. On Saturday, we took a trip to an orchard south of Fenton for a few hours with some of Kevin's family. I picked up some apples - a peck of Jonagolds and a half-peck of Galas. I'm going to make some applesauce from them and maybe some apple pie filling later this week. I was able to can the peaches I bought last week and can a batch of raspberry jam. I froze some more tomatoes from the garden (didn't have one ingredient for sauce, so had to put it off again). As well as blanched and froze a huge batch of green beans. I also made up a batch of parsley-pistachio pesto and froze it in cubes. I also picked up two quarts of strawberries from the Swartz Creek farmer's market this afternoon which I'll be hulling and freezing, I think... or maybe make a half-batch of strawberry jam, we'll see how I feel this week.

As far as meals this week, this is what I'm thinking...

Sunday ~ homemade vegetable soup
Monday ~ grilled chicken with steamed veggies (and creamed corn for Kevin) leftover homemade vegetable soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday ~ crockpot roasted chicken with steamed veggies grilled burgers from the freezer with steamed broccoli
Wednesday ~ will likely eat at my parents' house
Thursday ~ enchilada bake crockpot roasted chicken with steamed veggies
Friday ~ homemade chili from the freezer TBD... will save the chili for when its cooler outside
Saturday ~ TBD... maybe homemade pizza or maybe tacos

Its going to be a busy week, so I probably won't get too much done in terms of preservation. I definitely will be freezing the strawberries (or making jam), blanching and freezing okra (which I'll pick up on my way home on Wednesday at the farm stand down the road), and chopping and freezing bell peppers and jalapenos from our garden. Maybe do another batch of parsley-pistachio pesto to freeze. The only canning I'll probably do is the applesauce and maybe another batch of pasta sauce unless I decide to do a small batch of strawberry jam, too.

Raspberry Jam

This morning I got up early and canned a batch of raspberry jam. I picked up a few quarts of fall red raspberries at the Davison farmer's market a few weeks back and had crushed them and froze them. This morning I thawed them out, added some sugar, brought to a boil and canned them into jam. So easy and about an hour from start to finish... not bad at all. I'm so excited to have this jam on hand. I love raspberry jam. I'm not sure if raspberry or strawberry would be my favorite, they're probably tied. I'm sure I'll be making these jams year after year since they're just so easy and they'll be a big money saver, not having to buy commercial jams/preserves anymore. I ended up with one pint and seven half-pints of this jam, so combined with my strawberry jam, I think we're set for the year. (Although I actually wouldn't mind making up another batch of strawberry jam sometime.)

Raspberry Jam With No Added Pectin
(Page 23 of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

9 cups crushed berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, dewberries, gooseberries, loganberries, youngberries, or a combination of these)
6 cups granulated sugar

Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the berries and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Boil, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and test gel. If gel stage has been reached, skim off foam. (You can test the gel stage with a spoon, but the easiest way is to just boil the berries to reach 220 degrees, which ensures a gel stage once it cools - and it worked, too)

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim, center lid, screw band on to fingertip tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.

Canned Peaches

This past Thursday there was a big one-day-only farmer's market at the State Capitol. All Michigan vendors, all Michigan-grown produce, and all growers (no dealers!!). It was a great market. I actually was able to still find peaches there! I was so excited. They're Harmony peaches and they were huge! I bought one and a half pecks and canned most of them this evening. There were five of them that were still not quite ripe enough yet that I'm hoping to use to do up some baby food for Carson. Reading the instructions on canning peaches didn't seem like so much work, but it took much longer than I expected it to. And the peeling process was driving me nuts... for some reason, I was having a difficult time getting the peaches to peel after dipping them in boiling water. So I resorted to the old-fashioned method of cutting the peels off. Then I hot-packed the peaches, but they still floated up and have left a lot of room in the bottoms of the jars after processing. That bothers me, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Anyway, I think I decided that I probably won't do any canning with peaches for a long time... probably not until I have my own peach tree(s), thus making it more economical. With the price of peaches plus all the labor and frustration, it just wasn't worth it to me. I sure hope they taste good now! :)

Very Good Taste

Just for fun and b/c I have a little time to kill right now...

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (Google all the items you’ve never heard of)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (only if hooves count (in gelatin))
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Crockpot Sausage & Veggie Medley

Tonight I made a crockpot recipe. I haven't used the crockpot much lately and I've missed it! The crockpot makes having a good dinner so easy, especially during the week. But I have to try out the crockpot recipes that aren't supposed to cook for extended periods of time (like 12 hours) on the weekends. So tonight I decided to try this one and use up a bunch of stuff I had in the freezer. I got this recipe from A Year of Crockpotting. Its a pretty easy recipe, just throw together whatever veggies you have on hand with some sausage and let it cook. I used all frozen veggies, but I bet it'd be better with fresh veggies. And I used Jennie-O Italian Turkey Sausages - I think it'd probably be better with more of a turkey polish sausage or something along those lines. I'm not too crazy about sausage, but Kevin likes it. I liked the veggies, Kevin liked the sausage. I'll make it again, but will use a different type of sausage to see if I like it better.

Anyway, here's the original recipe with my comments in parentheses.

Crockpot Sausage and Veggie Medley

5-6 chicken or turkey sausage links
1/2 package of mushrooms
potatoes 1-2 medium brown ones or equivalent (I didn't have any potatoes, so I left these out)
few stalks of celery
some baby carrots (left these out since I didn't have any)
some brocolli
some cauliflower (left this out)
the amount of veggies really doesn't matter - it's completely up to you. If you have onion and bell pepper, use them. Sweet potato, eggplant, zuchinni, whatever; it's all good
2 cups chicken broth
handful of spinach (I used frozen and it was fine)
(I ended up with a combo of broccoli, onions, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach)

Cut all veggies into 2-inch chunks (mine were smaller than this b/c I used what I'd frozen from the garden or farmer's markets). Layer into crockpot, most to least dense. Add sliced sausage. Add broth and wine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Right before serving, add a handful of fresh spinach and cover for 10 minutes to wilt leaves (I just added frozen when I was throwing everything together).

Recap and Menu Plans

Well I didn't end up doing any preservation this weekend. Things came up with the family yesterday (when I was going to make a batch of pasta sauce) so I didn't get anything done in the kitchen that I'd planned to. I'm going to have to try to find room in one of our freezers to put the tomatoes that were ripe when I got home last week so that they don't go bad. Then maybe on Friday while I'm home or on Saturday when Kevin is back I can do a batch of sauce.

I went to the Davison farmer's market on Friday on my lunch hour (I was working in Davison that day). Peaches are pretty much done. No one had them by the bushel anymore. Still two vendors that had them by the quart, but that just gets too expensive to buy them that way and its not cost effective considering the price you can get a can of peaches for on sale at Meijer. I'm going to stop at the farm stand down the street by my parents' house on my way home this week to see if they still have them, but I doubt it. I'll have to wait till next year, I think. Oh well.

Kevin is going to be in Tennessee and Virginia this week for work. I think we have to drop him at the airport in the morning at like 5:00am and he doesn't come home till around 7:00pm on Friday night. So I probably won't attempt to do any canning during the week at all. Friday I'm home, so we'll see what I get done then, plus the weekend... though we are already having it fill up with things to do.

I'll be on my own all week for meals, so I'll just be piecing things together most likely. Today we're having a sausage and veggie mixture in the crockpot (I'll post the recipe and pic later when its done). I'll probably take leftovers for my lunch a couple of days this week and maybe eat it for dinner a couple of times, too. Wednesday my mom is watching Carson, so I'll eat over there. And next weekend we'll have something that creates lots of leftovers for lunches during the week again... not sure what yet.

Weekend Recap, Preservation and Menu Plans

This past weekend was a busy, yet productive one. We did drive by the Swartz Creek farmers market to see if the garlic lady was there, but she wasn't, so we didn't even get out. I think I'm going to have to call her to get some more garlic. Since I'll be in Texas till midnight on Wednesday night, I didn't want things going bad on me while I'm gone.

In addition to all the normal weekend cleaning and packing for my trip, I had a productive weekend of preserving summer's bounty. I canned a batch of pizza sauce, a batch of chopped tomatoes, made three huge batches of pesto and froze in cubes (two basil plants down finally, one to go!), blanched and froze a batch of green beans from our garden, and grated/sliced and froze four huge zucchinis and two medium-sized zucchinis (and I gave away two huge ones to my aunt and my mom). I'm beginning to understand why people allegedly leave zucchinis on neighbor's doorsteps, knock and run. I feel like they're never-ending right now. I have another eight zucchinis growing on my plants right now, and there are another four female flowers that will grow zucchinis. I guess this is what you call a bumper crop. I'm debating on whether I should try a zucchini relish, but I have no idea what to expect it to taste like.

In terms of meals this week, Kevin will be on his own, eating leftover grilled chicken and steamed veggies, pesto pasta, and food from the freezer. On Thursday, we'll probably just have something really easy, like grilled cheese sandwiches or something. Friday my Mom is watching Carson, so we'll have dinner with them. Saturday and Sunday are undecided still, as usual I'll make something that creates a lot of leftovers for lunches during the week.

I'm expecting to return home to lots of ripe tomatoes on my plants, so I'll probably can another batch of pasta sauce over the weekend. If I'm able to find peaches at the Davison farmers market on Friday, then I will also can some peaches. If the cool nights haven't damaged my last basil plant, then I will also make more pesto - though I really don't know if we even need anymore basil-pine nut pesto. I think I may also make some parsley-pistachio pesto, too, I think that would be excellent to use on chicken. We'll see how much time I end up having, though.

Canned Tomatoes

This afternoon I canned a batch of chopped tomatoes. Just simple tomatoes packed in water. I wanted to use up the tomatoes I'd harvested from our garden before leaving for Texas this week and my freezer is filled to the brim, so I couldn't freeze anymore of them. So rather than make another batch of pasta sauce, I decided to just chop them up and can them since it seemed a little less time-consuming. I ended up having enough tomatoes to do six and a half pints.

Tomatoes Packed in water
(page 354 of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

Tomatoes
Bottled lemon juice or citric acid
salt (optional)


Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until the skin starts to loosen or crack. Immediately plunge into cold water and slip off the skins. Remove cores and any bruised or discolored areas. Leave whole, halve or quarter. (I chopped mine into large chunks)

Place tomatoes in a large stainless steel saucepan. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Reduce heat and boil gently for five minutes.

Before packing tomatoes into hot jars, add lemon juice or citric acid to the hot jar (1 Tablespoon for pints, 2 Tablespoons for quarts).

Pack tomatoes into parepared jars, leaving a generous 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim, place lid, and screw band on to fingertip tight.

Place jars in canner and process pints for 40 minutes or quarts for 45 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.

Pizza Sauce

This afternoon I canned a batch of pizza sauce using another recipe from my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It was a pretty easy recipe, probably about an hour of prep time and an hour of cooking/canning time and not too labor intensive... the best kind of recipe in my opinion! :) It tastes pretty good from my taste test as I was filling the jars, too. I ended up with six and a half pints out of this, so quite a bit of sauce. We're looking forward to having homemade pizza this winter.

Pizza Sauce
(page 366 of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

13 cups fresh tomato puree (see note below)
1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Prepare the canner, jars and lids.

Place half of the tomato puree into a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Maintaining a constant boil, add remaining tomato puree, 1 cup at a time. Stir in lemon juice, oregano, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Boil hard, stirring frequently, until mixture is the consistency of a thin commercial sauce, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary. Wipe rim, center lid, screw band on to fingertip tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 35 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes and remove jars, cool, and store.

Notes:
You'll need about 9 lbs of plum tomatoes to make the tomato puree for this recipe.

To make a fresh tomato puree, pass quartered tomatoes through a food mill or Victorio strainer.

If you do not have a food mill, blanch, peel, core, seed and chop tomatoes. Place in a colander and let stand for 15 minutes. Discard liquid and puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade.

Feel free to add more oregano, pepper and garlic powder, but do not change the proportion of tomato puree to lemon juice.

According to the NCHFP/USDA, you can add up to 3 cups of low acid veggies to 22 lbs. of tomatoes and still BWB safely. So - according to the Ball CBoHP, on the chart on page 427, one pound of Roma tomatoes equals 1 1/2 cups of crushed or pureed Romas. This recipe calls for 13 cups of puree - or 8.66 pounds. Based on the NCHFP/USDA guideline, which basically allows 1 cup low acid veggies per 7.3 pounds of tomatoes, you could safely add 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. of diced onion and garlic and still BWB this recipe. Just use a tiny amount of oil to saute' the veggies to keep it safe.

(I ended up with about 14 cups of puree, so I increased the lemon juice by the same percentage. I added 1 cup of finely chopped onion and 2 Tablespoons of finely chopped garlic.)

Recipe says it makes about 4 pints, but I ended up with 6 and a half pints.