Preserving More Than Food

Fall has come and gone since I’ve posted anything to this blog I so love. Ironically enough, this Fall was completely food-focused. I suppose that tends to happen when you decide to plant a bigger garden than ever before (and it was still small). Consequently, end of summer/fall is super busy!

I am so thrilled that I can now say I fully know how to can and preserve food. I don’t know how quick of a study I was, but my mom was always there to answer my texts, calls and repetitive questions. I remember being a little kid and my mom spending hours in her huge garden. The end of the summer was filled with days where she and her friend Pauline would get together and help each other can or freeze whatever was ripe at the time. My grandma and aunts did the same thing. I was over the moon this fall when my mom said, “Grandma would be so happy. She always hoped you’d learn how to can.” Growing and preserving our food has now become so important to our health and also our budget. But more than that, I feel like I’m preserving a little of our family heritage. It is hard work, but I love it.

My first artichoke!

Bounty!

Ready for sauce

Salsa

diced tomatoes

I had a lot of “help” :)

Pumpkin!

So here’s my tally for this year:
- 27 pints of salsa
- 4 pints of roasted tomatoes (frozen in 1/2 c. portions)
- 8 loaves of zucchini bread (frozen)
- 32 quarts of green beans
- 18 pints of diced tomatoes
- 22 cups of pumpkin (frozen in 2 c. portions)
- 6 cups of pesto (frozen in 1 c. portions)
- 1 gallon whole Roma tomatoes (frozen)
- 2 gallons cherry tomatoes (frozen)
- 21 quarts of marinara sauce
- 6 c. green peppers (diced and frozen in 1/2 c. portions)

We had a lot of onions, green onions too, and are still using them (we’re almost out!!). Our garden carrots are gone and we’re on the last of the potatoes (My mom and dad grow the potatoes – we just don’t have the room). We also grew & enjoyed a lot of delicious lettuce, mint, and chives. I didn’t keep track of the Anaheim peppers or jalapenos – we mainly used them as they were ripe. Oh, and I can’t forget my whopping 2 artichokes.

I’m already thinking of what I want to plant for next year, and have made notes of what I’d do differently:
- Goodbye artichokes. I’m sad to see you go, but we just don’t have the long growing season you need and your plants took up too much real estate.
- Less tomatoes
- More green beans, onions and carrots
- No peppers
I’ll stop there…this isn’t a gardening blog, now is it? Grin.

Writing this post brings back such fond memories. It is a grand feeling to step back and see your shelves full of food that is healthy and inexpensive. It must be a little like childbirth – you forget the labor and hours of hard work and instead relive the satisfaction of how it feels to pull a jar off the shelf and go make dinner.

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

Tags

beef, provolone cheese

This one of our “family favorites!” I’ve made these sandwiches for an easy dinner and also for several Super Bowl get-togethers. They are a huge hit! The meat slow cooks for hours until it is so tender you would never need a knife. Add some melted cheese and a buttery roll…it can’t be beat!

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches
3 to 4 lb rump roast (a Chuck Roast would work well too if you like more fat or marbling)
1 whole large onion, sliced
1 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 c. Sherry
1/2 t. salt
2 c. water
1 can beef broth or stock
Deli Rolls, plus additional butter (oh you know that’s right!!)
Provolone cheese, sliced

Place onions in bottom of 5 or 6 qt. crock pot. Set roast on top of onions. Combine garlic, soy sauce, sherry, salt, water and broth and pour over roast and onions in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. The meat should be tender and easily pulled apart. Remove roast to cutting board and slice meat (or if meat if falling-apart-tender you could skip this part).

Heat broiler. Slice open rolls and spread butter on them. Place on a baking sheet under the broiler for a few minutes (DON’T WALK AWAY!!) to very lightly toast the bread. Pull rolls out of oven and then add desired amount of oh-so-delicious meat to the roll. Spoon au jus over sandwiches, then cover with slices of Provolone and place back under broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.

Remove sandwiches from baking sheet, close ‘em up and place them on a plate along with a cup of the au jus.

Dip in and dig in!

Breakfast Burritos

Tags

cheddar cheese, eggs, potatoes, sausage

Hello again, dear Food Blog. It’s been so long. And how I’ve missed you. I sure haven’t stopped cooking. Life and all of its details can often come between me and my posting.

But enough about that, I made Breakfast Burritos! And not just 2 or 3. Nope. I made 15 and only stopped then because I ran out of tortillas. I could have made 3 more if I hadn’t run out!

Why would a person make 15/18 burritos at a time you ask? Here’s the long answer: Erik and I are both up and working pretty early every morning. I start around 6:30 and he starts at 7. Usually he comes downstairs by 8:00 and asks the kids and I what we feel like having for breakfast (I can hear my mom groaning now – neither she nor my grandma would have offered the choices, but we’re in the habit of doing so), then he makes breakfast for everyone. We’re all big on having protein first thing in the morning and frankly, we’re pretty sick of eggs being either scrambled or over medium. So to break it up a little, and also to give my breakfast-making husband a break, I took an hour on a Saturday morning and made fifteen-but-could-have-been-eighteen breakfast burritos.

Here’s what you need and how to do it:

1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage
20 eggs
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into a 3/4-inch dice
1/2 c. whole milk or heavy cream
1 green pepper, diced small
1/2 of a medium red onion, diced small
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 to 3 T. butter
2 to 3 T. vegetable oil
15 or 18 ten-inch flour tortillas
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste. Partially cover the potatoes with a lid – this helps them cook through a little faster before they start to brown. You can remove the lid about halfway through cooking to allow browning and crisping to happen. We want that to happen. Add the sausage to another large skillet and start to brown over medium high heat. After you have it crumbled up and it starts to brown (about 5 minutes), add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Give it a stir every so often. Continue to cook potatoes, stirring often enough to keep potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan but not so often that you don’t give them a chance to brown – it took about 12 to 15 minutes for my potatoes to get as crisp as we like them.

If you have a spare minute while the sausage mixture and potatoes are cooking, you can grate your cheese. You can also start cracking all 20 of those eggs into a medium bowl. Add the milk or cream to the eggs along with salt and pepper to taste, then whisk well.

Once the sausage mixture is brown and the veggies are tender, use a slotted spoon to scoop all of it into a very large bowl. When the potatoes are cooked through and as crisp as you’d like, spoon them into the large bowl with the sausage mixture.

Add some butter to one of the now-empty large skillets, then pour your whisked eggs in and cook over medium heat, stirring them often to scramble them. Once they are scrambled, add the eggs to the potatoes and sausage in the large bowl. Stir everything together to combine.

Grab your tortillas and layer them in damp paper towels. I heated half of them at a time, layering a damp paper towel between every 3 or 4 tortillas. It took about 2 minutes on high to get them as soft and pliable as I liked. You want them soft to keep them from tearing while you roll.

Time to roll the burritos! I searched for a decent tutorial on burrito rolling and this is the best one I could find. Watch it if you need to, if not – start rolling your burritos by taking a tortilla and laying it flat, spoon 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the filling in the center, sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top, then roll. Make them as fat or skinny as you’d like – whatever amount you use will obviously affect the amount of burritos you end up with. Just make ‘em how you like them!

Wrap each burrito in a square of foil, then place burritos in gallon ziplocs and freeze. When you’re ready for breakfast, heat a burrito in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, add your favorite salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro…and enjoy!

ETA: This recipe is inspired and adapted from a recipe found at the Ninth & Bird site.

Macaroni & Cheese

Tags

cheddar cheese, macaroni

I was never a fan of macaroni and cheese as a kid. Maybe because the only time we ever had it was with liver and cooked beets (sorry, Mom – I still just don’t get that meal). ??? The cooked beets would always run into the mac and cheese on my plate and well, ewww. And I won’t even start on the liver.

For most of my time as a mom, however, I have been in search of a good macaroni and cheese recipe. I’ve tried them all: stove top recipes, super fancy recipes, recipes with cheeses I didn’t know existed, recipes with Velveeta…yeah, I’ve been around the mac n’ cheese block, still not finding the right consistency or flavor, etc.

I’m here to tell you that I may have found it this time. Maybe it’s the chicken broth? Or maybe it’s the smooth, not-too-runny, not-too-dry consistency. Either way, this mac and cheese was a huge hit with the fam. It has the perfect combo of cheesy-ness without being overly rich. Enjoy!

Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb. macaroni
6 T. Butter
1 clove Garlic, Pressed
1 t. Dry Mustard
¼ t. Cayenne Pepper
6 T. Flour
1-¾ cup Chicken Broth
3-½ cups Whole Milk
2 c. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. Colby-Jack Cheese, Shredded
salt and pepper, to taste
Bread crumbs
2 T. butter, cut into little cubes

Put water on to boil macaroni. Once boiling, salt the water and add macaroni. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the butter to large pan and heat on medium heat until melted. Add the garlic, mustard, and cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until large bubbles form on the surface and the mixture is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the cheeses gradually until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and stir, breaking up any clumps, until well combined. Pour into a 9 x 13″ baking dish and sprinkle with desired amount of bread crumbs. Spread little cubes of butter over bread crumbs. (It will seem like it has far too much of the cheesy sauce, but don’t worry the macaroni soaks it up and it ends up “just right!”) Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Low Carb Pizza

Still going strong on my healthier eating habits, and I am getting results. With all the incredible, fresh food I’ve been eating, I’ve found that I really don’t miss the bread like I thought I would. But pizza is that one thing that I will always love (and still occasionally indulge on). But guess what? I found a recipe for crust that will blow your mind. As it turns out, cauliflower can be pureed and combined with an egg and some cheese to make a crust that really works! Who knew? I’ve adapted this recipe from Eat, Drink and Smile. It is brilliant in its deceptiveness, and totally worth the effort.

1 cup of cauliflower puree (see below)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1-2 cloves of roasted garlic*
salt and pepper to taste
a little drizzle of olive oil (optional)

*To roast garlic, smash the cloves first on a cutting board with the back of a chef’s knife. Then it will be easy to peel. Place the peeled garlic cloves on a baking pan and brush liberally with olive oil. Roast until golden. This is a perfect job for my convection toaster oven. Roasting the garlic takes the bite out, and gives it a rich, buttery flavor.

Crust:
Steam an entire head cauliflower (leaves and stems removed) for a couple of minutes until softened. Drain well, then toss it into a food processor with the roasted garlic for a couple of pulses, until it is nicely pureed. Depending on the size of the head, you will get 2-3 cups of puree. 1 cup of puree is all you need for one crust. But you might as well make several batches. Because one pizza is never enough.

Stir in the egg, cheese, salt, pepper and oregano into the puree. Spread onto a pizza pan that you’ve brushed with olive oil. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, then top with your favorite tomato sauce and pizza goodness. I used a homemade marinara, mozzarella, fresh parmesan, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Return to the oven, and bake for a few more minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the toppings are browned. Depending on the toppings, you might want to just run it under the broiler for a few more minutes.

I had kids inhaling this pizza, so it’s a good thing I made two!

Tuscan Baked Zucchini

Tags

ricotta, zucchini

4 large zucchini, halved
2 roasted, mashed garlic cloves*
1/4 c freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
2 tb roasted pine nuts, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1/3 c marinara sauce, plus more for topping
1 c ricotta cheese
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Brush a large baking pan with olive oil. Cut zucchini lengthwise. Scrape out the center to leave a 1/4″ shell. Reserve the center. Brush with olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes at 350. They should look like this:

Meanwhile, coarsely chop the reserved zucchini and artichokes, squeezing out the water. Mix with the cheeses, parsley, salt, pepper and oregano. Add the marinara sauce and combine well.

Fill each of the zucchini shells with the filling. Top with a drizzle of marinara sauce and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 until the filling is heated and the cheeses are melted.

Salmon Burgers

My quest for lean and mean continues. I’ve found that it’s really easy to cut out grains. Especially when there are wonderful options like this salmon burger. I used to think a burger like this required breadcrumbs. However, I’ve found that with a couple binding ingredients like olive oil mayo and a coarse grain mustard, the bread simply isn’t necessary. I’ve adapted this recipe from a favorite  Williams Sonoma cookbook called Eating Well. These burgers are simply amazing cold, topping an amazing salad with avocado. But they can also serve as main dish with a flavorful aioli.

1 1/4 salmon filet (make sure it is boneless and skinned)
1 tb olive oil mayonnaise
1 tb Dijon coarse grain mustard
1 shallot
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 tb (or so) of freshly chopped parsley
1 tsp tamari sauce (can substitute soy sauce)
salt and fresh pepper to taste (remember that the tamari is salty)
olive oil for the pan

Coarsely chop the shallot and put in a food processor. Cut the salmon into large pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse several times until the salmon has been cut finely. Put the fish into a bowl, and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Heat a non-stick pan, and brush with olive oil. Form fish into patties, and drop onto pan. Fry, about 4 minutes on each side, until they are nicely golden.

I am partial to these served cold, when the flavors have the chance to meld together.

Elena’s Salad

Tags

arugula, citrus dressing, low carb, paleo, salad

This salad has become a mainstay in my diet lately. It is inspired by my friend Elena, who has me truly energized about my fitness and food. The plan is working: I feel better, and my clothes are fitting differently. I’ve really made small changes to my diet. It wasn’t terrible in the first place. But eliminating sugar and wheat have made important differences for me.

Now that I am eating this way, I crave foods in this salad: creamy avocado, peppery arugula, delicious citrus dressing. Here’s how to put it together for 2:

2 large handfuls of arugula (you could use any mixed greens to taste)
4 radishes
1/4 of a large, red pepper
1/4 c of white raisins
1/2 of a cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, halved
small bunch of cilantro
sea salt & pepper
protein of your choice

Citrus dressing
juice of 1/2 orange, freshly squeezed
juice of 1 lime, freshly squeezed
3/4 c of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Combine the juices in a bowl. Using a whisk, slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking. The juices and oil should be completely emulsified together. Continue whisking until they combine smoothly. Season with salt and pepper.

For the salad, divide each of the ingredients between two dinner plates.

Start with a large handful of arugula, and give it a coarse chop. Your plate should look like this:

Chop about this much cilantro:

At this point, sprinkle the greens with about this much sea salt (it’s the secret ingredient)

Cut 4 radishes into paper slices. A word about this – your knife makes all the difference. I got a pair of Shun knives for Christmas. They make me look forward to chopping and slicing.

Dice the red pepper and sprinkle over both salads. It make such a pretty contrast against the greens.

Slice the avocado in the skin, then scoop out. Like this:

Peel stripes off the 1/2 cucumber with a vegetable peeler. Then cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Finally, cut into strips and dice. Like this:

Finally, coarsely chop the raisins. This little bit of sweet makes this salad special.

Drizzle with citrus olive oil dressing, and add a couple grinds of fresh pepper. Top with your favorite protein. I’ve tried albacore tuna, but I love this salad with cold salmon burgers.

BBQ Chicken Wings

Tags

barbecue sauce, chicken wings

I just posted the recipe for my husband’s beloved Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, and now I must include another favorite: BBQ Chicken Wings. If chicken wings are your thing, the possibilities are really endless. Use this method but change up the flavors. I should note here however, that I wouldn’t use this method for making Buffalo wings. For whatever reason, I think Buffalo wings are best when you dredge them in a flour/cornstarch mixture and deep fry them before coating them in sauce. But that’s another recipe for another time, yes?

Leave it to me to start talking about a different recipe instead of the one I’m posting. I just didn’t want to lead you astray. You’re welcome.

Back to the BBQ Chicken wing goodness…

BBQ Chicken Wings
2.5 – 3 lbs chicken wings
1/2 c. to 3/4 c. bbq sauce (see below for recipe, or use your favorite)
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. onion powder
1 T. canola oil
1 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Put the wings in a bowl or gallon sized ziploc bag. Drizzle equal amounts of canola oil and olive oil – about a tablespoon of each over the wings. Stir or seal the bag and toss the wings with the oil, making sure each one is covered. Place wings in a single layer on the cookie sheets skin side up if at all possible. Combine the salt, pepper, smoked paprika and onion powder in a small bowl, then sprinkle mixture over wings. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes*, turning once.

While wings are roasting, make the barbeque sauce or if you are using bottled sauce, sit back, relax and put your feet up for a bit.

Remove wings from oven. Place wings in a large bowl and drizzle 1/2 c. of BBQ sauce over wings. Use a large spoon to gently toss the wings and coat them with the sauce. Drain any excess fat off of the cookie sheets and put a cooling rack directly on the foil lined cookie sheets. Spray racks with cooking spray. Put the chicken wings on the racks, spoon some of the sauce over top and return them to the oven for 15 minutes. Stir them up a little or flip them over with tongs and then spoon more sauce on top. Roast another 15 minutes, or long enough to get the sauce baked in and looking tasty! Remove from oven and enjoy.

*Roasting time varies somewhat…at this point, you want them to be slightly crispy, about 3/4 of the cooked through.

If you like a wetter, more sloppy wing, add more sauce at the end, putting back in the oven just long enough to warm the sauce.

My Favorite BBQ Sauce (adapted from Pioneer Woman)
1 T. canola oil
1/4 c. onion, diced small
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 c. ketchup
1/4 c. + 2T. packed brown sugar
4 T. distilled white vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. molasses
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan and add onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until soft – be careful to not let them burn. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Stir and keep at a simmer while wings roast. Give it a taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

Tags

chicken wings, garlic, honey, soy sauce

It’s that time of year again…time for the Superbowl! I don’t know about you, but around here the Superbowl might as well be Christmas or Thanksgiving with as much attention as we give to planning and preparing the food. There are several must-haves each year and as tradition would have it, I wouldn’t miss making Honey Garlic Chicken wings. This recipe is Erik’s very favorite – that guy loves wings. Not surprising because I think most guys do. What is surprising, or even strikes me odd is that the men types that I typically watch the Superbowl with prefer varieties of wings other than Buffalo wings or Hot wings. Weird. At least it’s weird to me anyway. I thought for sure this year was my year to make Buffalo wings but Honey Garlic won out yet again. They’re just that good.

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

2.5 – 3 lbs chicken wings
2/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. honey
8 garlic cloves, minced
3 T. fresh ginger, minced
1 t. dried ginger
olive oil
canola oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Put the wings in a bowl or gallon sized ziploc bag. Drizzle equal amounts of canola oil and olive oil – about a tablespoon of each over the wings. Stir or seal the bag and toss the wings with the oil, making sure each one is covered. Place wings in a single layer on the cookie sheets skin side up if at all possible, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes*, turning once.

While wings are roasting, mix soy sauce, honey, garlic, and all ginger in a large bowl (big enough to hold all of the wings).

Remove wings from oven. Place each wing in the bowl with the sauce. Use a large spoon to gently toss the wings and coat them with the sauce. Drain any excess fat off of the cookie sheets and put a cooling rack directly on the foil lined cookie sheets. Spray racks with cooking spray. I actually piled all of the wings (they shrunk a bit after roasting) on one cookie sheet – at this point they don’t need to be in a single layer – but feel free to use two if you’d like. Put the chicken wings on the racks, spoon some of the sauce over top and return them to the oven for 15 minutes. Stir them up a little or flip them over with tongs and then spoon more sauce on top. Roast another 5-10 minutes, being careful to not let garlic or ginger burn. Remove from oven and enjoy!

*Roasting time varies somewhat…at this point, you want them to be slightly crispy, about 3/4 of the cooked through.

Each year I attempt to perfect the method and I may have nailed it this time. No more wings stuck to foil for me!! This method might seem a little fussy, but I don’t mind. It’s fun to see how much everyone enjoy devouring the little bits of chicken goodness…makes the effort totally worthwhile. Enjoy!