Cooking With Food Storage - Tomatoes

Why store tomatoes?  So storing tomatoes might not be on the long term list of storage items but having them in the pantry certainly makes dinner time more delicious so they are a canned item I try to keep in plenty of supply on my shelves.
Everyday Uses:  Used in soups, sauces, chili, the list goes on.  And if you can grow them in your garden then you've got them in plenty during the warm months which makes them a very economical addition to your mealtime.  Or inquire at your nearest farm market about purchasing a box of canning tomatoes around August for filling your mason jars with for a wonderfully fragrant product. They also come in as an economical winner when purchased in bulk sized cans at just 2.7 cents per oz.

Favorite Recipes

Heather's Pantry Pizza Sauce (Recipe can easily be halved for just one pizza)

When buying pizza sauce for our "Friday Night Pizza/Movie Night" tradition that we began in our family years ago to reduce the price of our Friday Date Nights became too expensive for us I looked around for alternatives.  I found giant cans of pizza sauce that I could open and then divide into freezer containers in amounts we could use.  But some Fridays I ended up taking extra time trying to thaw the sauce since I'd forgotten to take it out of the freezer the day before.  That wasn't so great.  Finally, during an especially difficult time we were having after an emergency that caused us to put all of our financial resources in a different direction other than groceries in order to avoid debt we ran out of pizza sauce in our pantry.  Where there's a will there's a way.  The tradition must go on and so for several weeks I experimented with what I had in my food storage and then came up with this.  It is our favorite sauce coming in at just .21 (3 pizzas) to .32 cents (2 pizzas) per pizza depending on how many pizzas you spread this on (plus a few spices).  I've never gone back to store bought sauce and I never will.  Plus the plain can of tomato on the shelf is the most versatile to keep on hand and I like that.

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce (I purchase these by the case at Sam's Club)
2 tsp. minced garlic
pepper
oregano
Parmesan cheese

Open the can of sauce and stir two tsp. garlic into the sauce.  Pour out evenly on two to three prepared/oiled pizza crusts (or freeze half if only making one pizza).  Spread evenly up to the "collar" of the pizza with the back of the spoon.  Sprinkle lightly with pepper to taste.  Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan Cheese (bought in bulk at Sam's Club makes it less expensive).  Sprinkle lightly with Oregano.  Top with cheese and toppings of choice.  Bake according to instructions.
***  Find Pizza Crust Recipe and baking instructions under "Cooking with Food Storage-Wheat-Flour".
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Spaghetti Sauce - Yields about 5 1/2 cups

This was one of the few things I came into my marriage knowing how to make well.  This sauce may be a little thinner than what you're used to but the longer you simmer it the thicker it will be.  And it is delicious regardless of its consistency.  For about $5 (using meat I've purchased for $1.99 or less and bulk canned diced tomatoes I've purchased for $2.77) I multiply the recipe by 5 except for the meat and can make about 55 1/2 c. servings of pasta sauce.  What we don't use right away I simply freeze for a quick meal another time.  Use pasta purchased when it goes on sale, usually once a year for .49 a pound, and this meal is extremely economical!    Delicious too!

3-4 mushrooms or a small can of mushrooms
1/4 c. olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 c. onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage
1 Tbsp. flour
3/4 c. dry red wine (or another cup of water with a cube of beef bouillon.)
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6oz. can tomato paste (adds thickness but you can do without this)
1 c. water
1 beef bouillon cube.
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan and brown meat; saute onion with it until tender and golden.  Add garlic and heat briefly.  Toss meat mixture with flour.  Add cooking wine or beef bouillon and water.  Cook over high heat a few minutes.  Mix in chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon, water, salt, pepper and bay leaf.  Simmer over low heat uncovered 1 1/2 hours.  During last 1/2 hour of cooking, a few basil leaves or 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning may be added.

Serving Suggestion:  A loaf of homemade French bread and a garden salad.
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My Best Tomato Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes or 1 qt. jar of home canned tomatoes
5 c. water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 oz. pasta of your choice (broken spaghetti works well, orzo, bow ties, tortellini...)
1 8oz. block cream cheese, cut into cubes.
Optional; cooked and crumbled ground beef, ground turkey or Italian sausage

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute' for about 5 minutes or until translucent.  Add undrained tomatoes, water and bouillon cubes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture to desired consistency.  (You can blend small batches in a standard blender leaving the center off the top and covering with a folded kitchen towel).  Bring to boil again.  Reduce heat and add basil, salt, pepper and pasta to the soup.  Simmer until pasta is tender.  Add cream cheese cubes and stir.  Serve hot.

Serving Suggestion:  Grilled Cheese Sandwich and/or green salad

Cooking With Food Storage–Beans

I’m back to talking about beans again.  There are so many things to do with them (and I have so many of them).  Obviously the bean is one of my favorite foods to store and use.  I have already given tips for successfully preparing them in my previous post on “Perfect Beans”.  Now I have some real every day ideas for adding them to your diet and a few recipes and links to recipes as well. 

Why?  The economy of dried beans:
Last I checked, a small 1 pound bag of dried beans cost around $1.25  or more in the grocery store.  Part of that depends on where you shop and what type of bean you are purchasing.  I can buy some types of beans at Sam’s Club in bulk for 50 to 64 cents per pound.  Beans double in weight when cooked so you end up paying about 30 cents per pound of cooked beans bought in bulk or about 60 cents per pound for cooked beans bought as dry at the grocery store.  So the dried bean is LOTS cheaper than canned beans, either way.  (Prices for beans have gone up significantly in the past year so these prices I refer to may just be an example at this point). 
Every Day Uses for the Bean - The List:
- Meat substitute (Pinto and Black) for beef in Mexican recipes.  (It’s best to reduce your meat by half at first and substitute beans for the other half.  The body needs to adjust to all that fiber!  Then you can replace your meat completely.)  In chili, which already calls for beans, I like to use half the amount of beef and increase the beans to cover the meat that I did not put in.  Then I toss in the beans that were called for, as well.
-Meat substitute for Chicken (white beans and garlic can fool you).
-Soups
-Burritos, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Tacos
-Refried Beans
-Casseroles
-Beans and Rice
-Salads
-Bean Burgers
-Pasta Sauce
-Vegetable Dip
-Baked goods – there are recipes out there for pies and brownies.  I haven’t tried them so I’m not including them here.  If I do I’ll certainly let you know how that goes.
-Grinding them into flour
-Bean sprouts for salads
***Please keep in mind that when adding beans to your diet, they are good sources of protein but do not make a “complete” protein without combining them with another food.  Actually, very few plants are a complete protein by themselves.  If you google “complete protein” you can get a list of foods to successfully combine with the bean to form a protein.  There seems to be great controversy in the general public over complete proteins so I advise going to a reputable website such as the one that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) puts out on the topic.  For me, I like the rule of thumb that we drink a glass of milk when we eat beans or peanut butter to form a complete protein in our meatless meals but there are other ways too.
Here are some of my favorite ways to incorporate beans into the diet for both health and $ savings.  These are recipes that I have adapted to what is on my pantry shelves as well as to my own taste.  Enjoy!
Some Recipes:
Corn, Bean and Rice Salad – serves 4 (easily doubles)

Served cold, this is a low calorie food I like to serve as the main course although it makes a nice side too.  Easy to pack for picnics, the recipe makes great use of long term storage products combined with the fresh tastes of summer produce.  It is so delicious that kids at the lunch tables beg just to lick the lids or the spoons when I send this with my kids.  And just wait until you smell it with the fragrance of cilantro and lime.  You won’t be able to resist either!

1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 green bell pepper (or any sweet pepper)
1 celery stalk
1/3 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed (or prepared dry black beans)
1/2 red/purple onion
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt

1.)  In large bowl, combine rice, corn, bell pepper, celery, beans, onion and cilantro.
2.)  Add the rest of the ingredients over the rice mixture and toss to coat.  Refrigerate, covered, at least one hour for best results.
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Enchilada Casserole – makes 9x13 to feed a crowd OR two 8x8’s and freeze one!
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 cups Pinto beans (can mix in Black)
12 flour tortillas (store bought or make your own for further savings)
Prepare beans.  Mix cream of mushroom soup and enchilada sauce together with beans.  Put a little bean mixture into each tortilla.  Roll each up and line in greased pan.  Put remaining bean mixture on top of tortillas.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake 30 minutes in a preheated 325 oven.  Sprinkle top with black olives and/or sour cream if desired.
***Freezes well
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Easy Taco Soup
1 pound of ground beef or canned or prepared dry black beans
1/2 c. chopped onion or 3 Tbsp. dried minced onion
3 c. water
3 16 oz. canned tomato products (stewed, diced or sauce are all fine)
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans (or prepared dry kidney beans)
1 envelope (or recipe) Taco Seasoning
(optional; add one to two cans undrained corn)
Optional toppings include:
Cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped green onions, sliced black olives, sour cream, avocado
In a large pot brown ground beef and season with salt and pepper.  Add onion and saute until soft and translucent.  Drain excess fat.  Add water, tomatoes,  beans and taco seasoning.  Simmer covered, at least 15 minutes.  Serve with desired toppings.
Makes a great taco salad with leftovers so it's like a brand new meal and it helps spread the pot a little farther.
***Freezes well
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Refried Beans in the Crock Pot *** or use prepared dry beans  and jump to step 2. 
(No real measurement for beans here; just keep in mind they usually double in bulk and weight)
STEP 1:  Fill crock pot 1/3 full of sorted and rinsed pinto beans.  Fill with water until 3/4 full.  Cook beans on high for about 4 hours or until tender, adding more water if necessary.  Then drain, rinse well and mash.
STEP 2:  In a sauce pan cook 1 clove of garlic and 1 small onion in 1 Tbsp. shortening or oil.  Add mashed beans.  Add oregano and salt to taste.  Can freeze. 
Serving suggestion:  Top with cheese and/or salsa.  Tastes great as a dip or roll into tortillas.
***Freezes well
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More favorites:
Black Bean Burgers –  www.theprudenthomemaker.com

White Bean Alfredo Sauce –  www.theprudenthomemaker.com
This is one of my favorite inspirational websites.  Her recipes are easily located once you get there.
Beans Are Beans:
Beans have a very long shelf life if stored properly but a bean more than 10 years old is an “old” bean.  There is still nutritional value to your beans but they are more likely to be tough even after cooking.  For every cup of old hard beans add 2 1/2 c. hot tap water and 2 tsp. baking soda.  Soak overnight.  Drain and rinse twice.  Then cover and cook 2 hours.

White Bean Soup

Some bean soups that I’ve tried are just sort of “BLAH” but not this one!  It has very little meat to help flavor it but the vegetable and herb combination seem to work great together here.  And brining the beans first produce a “perfect bean” for your pot.  The recipe calls for chicken broth which I do not keep on my pantry shelf and do not have unless I have boiled some myself with bones left over from a former meal.  Chicken bouillon cubes work great, are easy to keep and inexpensive to purchase for making chicken broth but watch how much salt you add if you are using these since they are full of sodium.   One cube to a cup of water for each cup of broth you decide to add will do the trick.  Do not be afraid to double the recipe if you have a big family, a big pot and a freezer.  It will make a quick, easy meal just by thawing and reheating when you need it on a busy weeknight.  Pop it in the crockpot for those nights when everyone comes in at different times or your husband works late.
Serves 8
-Salt and Pepper
-1 pound (2 1/2 cups) any small white bean (cannellini, great Northern or navy)
-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped  (ham pieces would work too)
-1 lb. greens (spinach, Swiss chard, kale or collard greens)
1 onion
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth (or more if you desire a thinner consistency or need to stretch the meal farther)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary or shake in some dried rosemary
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
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*Dissolve 3 TBSP salt in 4 quarts cold water in large pot or container.  Add rinsed and sorted beans and soak in brine 8-24 hours.  Drain and rinse well.
*If adding bacon, use middle oven rack and cook bacon on a cookie sheet at a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, turning bacon after the first 7-8 minutes.  My oven tends to run on the cool side and I like my bacon crispy… just keep your eye on the bacon.  Cook longer or shorter depending on your oven and how done you want your bacon to be.  Cool on a paper towel lined plate and add 1 TBSP of fat to your heated stock pot.  Put bacon in fridge until later.
*On medium heat saute onions, celery and carrots in bacon fat.  Cook and stir occasionally until vegies are tender.  Add garlic and cook lightly.  Garlic turns bitter with too much heat.  Stir in broth, 3 cups water, bay leaves, rosemary and soaked beans that have been drained and rinsed again.  Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour or until beans are fork tender.  Stir in greens(frozen works fine), tomatoes and bacon.  Cook on stovetop until the soup is hot once again.   Discard bay leaves (and rosemary sprig if used) and season with salt and pepper to taste.    (Remember to add more chicken broth to your soup if you want to thin it).
Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite loaf of bread, dinner roll or biscuit and condiment of choice to round out your meal.  We like butter, apple butter or jam.
***Soup will taste even better the second day.

French Style Vegetarian Soup

I love this soup and soup is one of the most inexpensive and filling meals you can make.  Soup has the potential to be one of the healthiest meals to put on your table as well and this recipe is really the best of both worlds.  I tried it when I had more limited ingredients than usual and came up with this great combination of blended spices and vegetables for a large pot of warm and comforting soup.  Perfect for autumn but good anytime.  It yields about 12 generous servings and it will stretch farther if you have young children that don't eat as much... or who might be a little picky!  Serve with biscuits or a loaf of homemade French bread.

French Style Vegetarian Soup

Preparation:  ***Soak 1 generous cup of dried navy beans overnight***

 

 

*2 cups diced potatoes

*2 cups diced onion (substituting minced dried onion for all or part works too)

*2 cups diced carrots (buy in 5 lb. bags at Sam's Club at .25 per pound)

*1 Tbsp. Salt

*2 cups cut green beans (fresh, canned or frozen)

*10 oz. peas (frozen is best, or canned)

*1 cup soaked and rinsed navy beans  (You can use a 16 oz. can of navy beans if you must but dried   beans purchased in bulk is one of the cheapest forms of protein and will keep your costs down.)

*1/2 cup of pasta (broken spaghetti or even a cheese ravioli works well if you happen to have some)

*1 or more slices of stale bread  (a great way to use up those bread heels always in the fridge)

*Pepper to taste

*4 cloves garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder

*4 sundried tomato slices or freeze dried tomato chunks or 4+ Tbsp. tomato paste

*1 1/2 Tbsp. basil

*1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

*1/2 c. olive oil

 

Fill large pot with 3 quarts of water and add the 1Tbsp. of salt.  Simmer potatoes, onions and carrots in salted water for 45 minutes.  At the same time bring beans to a boil in unsalted water and let simmer for 45 min. to an hour.  Then add beans to the vegetable stock.  (Salted water makes beans tough.  Can be refrigerated at this point but reheat to boiling to continue). 

 

Add green beans, peas and spaghetti.  Crumble in bread.  Season with pepper.  Simmer 15 minutes. 

 

If using dried tomato product, rehydrate with a cup of boiling broth at this point.  Blend garlic, basil and Parmesan with tomato using a blender.  An immersion blender is the best and easiest to use.  Add olive oil a little at a time and blend.  If you have not added a cup of hot broth to your tomato mixture already, do so now and blend. 

 

Pour this tomato blend into the pot of soup and stir thoroughly. 

 

Enjoy!