Why Rice? Rice was always one of those boring foods to me. And I wasn't really sure how to prepare it well. How could I keep it from being sticky or turning to glue? And why was it so tasteless? While rice is not on the "basic" list for food storage items it is a cheap, easy to come by and easy to store item with a long shelf life of 30 years. So I started purchasing rice. I made friends with a woman from South America a good number of years ago who laughed a little bit at us eating potatoes like they ate rice. So I asked her for a few pointers because her rice was always so good.
Everyday Uses: Rice is a versatile side dish and can be included in any meal to take the place of a potato, as my South American friend pointed out to me. It is filling and while not a complete protein by itself it can be eaten with beans to form a complete protein. They compliment each other nutritionally in that way. My friend told me to heat my pot on the stove and put a little butter into the hot pot. Once it melted I could drop my rice into the butter, stir quickly to heat and coat the rice with butter but be careful not to let it burn. Then add in the water, bring to a boil before reducing heat, covering the pot and letting it simmer for 15 minutes. Then I would have rice perfection.
How much rice and how much water? Rice approximately doubles when cooked. And I need twice as much water as rice. So if I want two cups of cooked rice, approximately, then I cook 1 cup of rice with two cups of water. I made this harder than it needed to be for years. Really it's easy!
Still too bland and boring? Add 1 bouillon cube per cup of water you add when you go to cook your rice. Chicken or beef bouillon gives rice a nice added flavor.
Favorite Recipes
Red Beans and Rice (From Our Best Bites Cookbook)
I'm not a "down south" kind of girl where Red Beans and Rice are infamous and I resisted having anything to do with this dish for a long time. I'm from New York. But I have red beans and I have rice and this recipe caught my eye. When I came across an inexpensive bottle of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning in the store I knew I'd be trying this dish in my crock pot. If I love this dish anyone can love this dish!
1 pound dry red kidney beans, rinsed, sorted and soaked
6 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 lb. smoked sausage, quartered and cut into thin slices
1 chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. creole seasoning
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups water
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 c. rice
Combine all the ingredients except for the last 3 in a large crock pot and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low all day. You can also cook it on high until it starts to boil and then switch the heat to low.
When beans are tender, mash about 85-90% of them against the side of the crock pot. Replace lid and turn off heat. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water, vinegar and rice to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and steam for 15-20 minutes. Ladle 1 cup of beans into individual bowls and top with 1/2 cup of rice.
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Chicken and Rice Soup Mix (tastes like Mrs. Grass)
This is an easy shelf stable mix to keep on hand for thermoses packed in lunch boxes going out the door on chilly days. It's mild ingredients are good for those who have been feeling under the weather as well. I like to store this on my pantry shelf in a quart sized Mason jar.
Soup Mix:
2 cups dry rice
12 chicken bouillon cubes, ground up (hit with a kitchen mallet before unwrapping)
4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. black pepper
Toss this into a jar and toss to combine evenly. Yields 4 batches.
To prepare soup: In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water,1 Tbsp. butter and 2/3 cup soup mix to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender. Yields 2-3 servings per batch.
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More favorite recipes:
Corn, bean and rice is found here on my blog under "Cooking with Food Storage - Beans"
Rice is good for puddings, too!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
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 - Wheat (and flour)
What comes first? The wheat or the wheat grinder? When money is in short supply but you have a little bit to spend and need to choose how to use it to build your food storage this may become a real question for you like it did for me and my husband. If we have wheat and no grinder then how can we use the wheat? But if we spent all our money on a grinder but have nothing to put through it, it is a waste of money. Both arguments are valid especially when you can't purchase both wheat and grinder at the same time! But in the end we made the decision to purchase wheat first and not just because we hoped to know someone with a grinder nearby if desperate times came upon us!
And by the way, we did eventually purchase that heavy duty manual wheat grinder as a romantic anniversary gift to ourselves one year. I think that was the year we knew we'd been married a while. (Smile)
WHY WHEAT? So many reasons to store wheat. While whole wheat flour goes rancid before bleached white flour will, un-ground whole wheat has a long shelf life of 20 to 30 years if stored properly. And what got us to finally make up our minds to purchase the wheat first was this; you can still eat it cooked as cereal so it would sustain life even if we did not have the grinder. I'll include the recipe below. Wheat has so many versatile, healthy and filling ways to be included in your everyday diet once it is ground as flour too. And talk about fiber, this is fiber for breakfast at its finest. It is much less expensive than those cereal boxes of air at the store. As for flour, making your own anything tastes SO much better and a loaf of bread costs about .25 per loaf to make. Now there's some everyday savings.
EVERYDAY USES include wheat made into flour and used in recipes that your family already knows and likes. The taste is not totally unfamiliar and you know it is a good recipe. Muffins, pancakes, waffles, breads, cookies, brownies... the list of possibilities really is endless! Like beans, don't feel you must use 100% whole wheat, especially if your systems are not already familiar with that much fiber. Using half wheat and half white flour in your recipes gives excellent results. If you are using all whole wheat in your recipe that calls for leavening then do one of two things. Either use a recipe that was meant for whole wheat or make some allowances by letting it rise a little bit longer or using just a little more yeast. If baking powder is the leavening agent then increase baking powder by 1 tsp per 3 cups whole wheat flour. If baking soda is the leaving agent then no adjustments are necessary.
Wheat/Flour RECIPES:
Whole Wheat Crock Pot Breakfast Cereal (Serves 4-6)
1 c. whole wheat
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups water
*Optional honey, raisins maple syrup or brown sugar for sweetening
Cook together in crock pot 6-8 hours (overnight) on low. Serve with milk and choice of sweetener.
*** May be tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Pantry Half and Half Bread (2 loaves, this recipe easily doubles)
1 pkg. dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tps. instant dry yeast purchased in bulk)
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/2 - 6 c. flour (mix white and wheat, if desired)
*opt. 1 Tbs. sugar (helps yeast bubble and rise)
Add yeast to water and sugar if desired in a large mixing bowl and let stand a few minutes until bubbly. Add salt and flour and beat with dough hook until well mixed. Add flour if needed to make a dough that is not too sticky and you can knead easily. Use dough hook to knead or turn dough out onto floured surface and knead a minute or two until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl (or leave in mixer bowl removed from stand mixer) and cover with a towel in a warm spot until dough has doubled in bulk. This usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the warmth.
Punch dough down and divide in half to form two loaves. Place in greased loaf pans covered lightly with towel in a warm spot and let double again. They should look like loaves of bread at the time they go into the oven. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crust is browned. Cool a few minutes and then remove from pans to cool on racks. Slice and store in sealed bag/container. Stores well both in and out of the fridge.
***Freezes well***
My Favorite Pizza Crust (makes 2 large crusts, can easily be halved to make just 1 crust)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp. instant dry yeast purchased in bulk)
2 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
6 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cornmeal (per pie, approximately)
Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixer bowl. Add salt, oil and 2 1/2 c. flour. Use dough hook to mix ingredients. Add remaining flour using dough hook to knead until dough clings to hook and cleans the sides of bowl. Divide dough in half, sprinkle surface with cornmeal and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a circular or rectangular shape, depending on your pan. Place dough on your greased/sprayed pan forming a ridge along the edge to hold your toppings. Cover with a light towel to let rise for up to an hour if you have something else to do or brush with olive oil and top immediately with desired sauce and toppings.
Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
(See "Cooking with Tomatoes" for my favorite food storage pizza sauce)
Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Apple Oat Muffins (Makes 12 dozen)
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 c. peeled diced apples or 1 quart jar home canned sliced apples
2/3 c. olive oil
3 eggs
3 c. wheat flour (or half wheat/half white flour)
1/2 to 1 cup oats, depending on how moist your apples are
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. each cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice, 1 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins (or use paper liners). Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pour into tins and bake 20 -25 minutes. Refrigerate or freeze what are not immediately used.
*** These Freeze Well***
FLOUR TORTILLAS (makes 12) From Our Best Bites - Mormon Moms in the Kitchen
I had to include this recipe. They will save you dollars, are delicious and very versatile. They take a few extra minutes cook on the stove top but they will surprise you. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend this cook book.
2 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. shortening
3/4-1 c. hot water
In a mixing bowl with a dough hook combine flour and salt. Add shortening and combine until crumbly.
With the mixer running, slowly add 3/4 c. hot water. Mix until the dough starts tomcome together, adding more water if necessary; the dough should be about the consistency of Play-Doh.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over med. heat. While the pan is heating, divide the dough evenly into 8-10 balls. Roll balls as thinly as possible into circles.
Spray skillet with non-stick spray with each tortilla. Place raw tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook until large bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook the other side lightly. Do not brown or burn. Keep cooked tortilla on a large flat plate under a clean, light towel. Repeat cooking instructions until all tortillas are cooked. Serve/Use immediately. If storing, seal in plastic bag and try reheating in microwave briefly.
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Find recipe for Graham Crackers at www.food52.com
Find recipe for saltine crackers and more at www.theprudenthomemaker.com
And by the way, we did eventually purchase that heavy duty manual wheat grinder as a romantic anniversary gift to ourselves one year. I think that was the year we knew we'd been married a while. (Smile)
WHY WHEAT? So many reasons to store wheat. While whole wheat flour goes rancid before bleached white flour will, un-ground whole wheat has a long shelf life of 20 to 30 years if stored properly. And what got us to finally make up our minds to purchase the wheat first was this; you can still eat it cooked as cereal so it would sustain life even if we did not have the grinder. I'll include the recipe below. Wheat has so many versatile, healthy and filling ways to be included in your everyday diet once it is ground as flour too. And talk about fiber, this is fiber for breakfast at its finest. It is much less expensive than those cereal boxes of air at the store. As for flour, making your own anything tastes SO much better and a loaf of bread costs about .25 per loaf to make. Now there's some everyday savings.
EVERYDAY USES include wheat made into flour and used in recipes that your family already knows and likes. The taste is not totally unfamiliar and you know it is a good recipe. Muffins, pancakes, waffles, breads, cookies, brownies... the list of possibilities really is endless! Like beans, don't feel you must use 100% whole wheat, especially if your systems are not already familiar with that much fiber. Using half wheat and half white flour in your recipes gives excellent results. If you are using all whole wheat in your recipe that calls for leavening then do one of two things. Either use a recipe that was meant for whole wheat or make some allowances by letting it rise a little bit longer or using just a little more yeast. If baking powder is the leavening agent then increase baking powder by 1 tsp per 3 cups whole wheat flour. If baking soda is the leaving agent then no adjustments are necessary.
Wheat/Flour RECIPES:
Whole Wheat Crock Pot Breakfast Cereal (Serves 4-6)
1 c. whole wheat
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups water
*Optional honey, raisins maple syrup or brown sugar for sweetening
Cook together in crock pot 6-8 hours (overnight) on low. Serve with milk and choice of sweetener.
*** May be tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Pantry Half and Half Bread (2 loaves, this recipe easily doubles)
1 pkg. dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tps. instant dry yeast purchased in bulk)
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/2 - 6 c. flour (mix white and wheat, if desired)
*opt. 1 Tbs. sugar (helps yeast bubble and rise)
Add yeast to water and sugar if desired in a large mixing bowl and let stand a few minutes until bubbly. Add salt and flour and beat with dough hook until well mixed. Add flour if needed to make a dough that is not too sticky and you can knead easily. Use dough hook to knead or turn dough out onto floured surface and knead a minute or two until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl (or leave in mixer bowl removed from stand mixer) and cover with a towel in a warm spot until dough has doubled in bulk. This usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the warmth.
Punch dough down and divide in half to form two loaves. Place in greased loaf pans covered lightly with towel in a warm spot and let double again. They should look like loaves of bread at the time they go into the oven. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crust is browned. Cool a few minutes and then remove from pans to cool on racks. Slice and store in sealed bag/container. Stores well both in and out of the fridge.
***Freezes well***
My Favorite Pizza Crust (makes 2 large crusts, can easily be halved to make just 1 crust)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp. instant dry yeast purchased in bulk)
2 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
6 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cornmeal (per pie, approximately)
Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixer bowl. Add salt, oil and 2 1/2 c. flour. Use dough hook to mix ingredients. Add remaining flour using dough hook to knead until dough clings to hook and cleans the sides of bowl. Divide dough in half, sprinkle surface with cornmeal and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a circular or rectangular shape, depending on your pan. Place dough on your greased/sprayed pan forming a ridge along the edge to hold your toppings. Cover with a light towel to let rise for up to an hour if you have something else to do or brush with olive oil and top immediately with desired sauce and toppings.
Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
(See "Cooking with Tomatoes" for my favorite food storage pizza sauce)
Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Apple Oat Muffins (Makes 12 dozen)
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 c. peeled diced apples or 1 quart jar home canned sliced apples
2/3 c. olive oil
3 eggs
3 c. wheat flour (or half wheat/half white flour)
1/2 to 1 cup oats, depending on how moist your apples are
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. each cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice, 1 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins (or use paper liners). Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pour into tins and bake 20 -25 minutes. Refrigerate or freeze what are not immediately used.
*** These Freeze Well***
FLOUR TORTILLAS (makes 12) From Our Best Bites - Mormon Moms in the Kitchen
I had to include this recipe. They will save you dollars, are delicious and very versatile. They take a few extra minutes cook on the stove top but they will surprise you. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend this cook book.
2 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. shortening
3/4-1 c. hot water
In a mixing bowl with a dough hook combine flour and salt. Add shortening and combine until crumbly.
With the mixer running, slowly add 3/4 c. hot water. Mix until the dough starts tomcome together, adding more water if necessary; the dough should be about the consistency of Play-Doh.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over med. heat. While the pan is heating, divide the dough evenly into 8-10 balls. Roll balls as thinly as possible into circles.
Spray skillet with non-stick spray with each tortilla. Place raw tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook until large bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook the other side lightly. Do not brown or burn. Keep cooked tortilla on a large flat plate under a clean, light towel. Repeat cooking instructions until all tortillas are cooked. Serve/Use immediately. If storing, seal in plastic bag and try reheating in microwave briefly.
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Find recipe for Graham Crackers at www.food52.com
Find recipe for saltine crackers and more at www.theprudenthomemaker.com
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.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Letter Blocks
This was a fun gift for my 6 year old daughter and me to make for a couple of my little nephews for Christmas this past year. It was inexpensive as I already had paints, brushes and stampers as well as some of the wooden letter cutouts from a project I made two years ago. I did purchase some more of the letter cutouts and the blocks too. They were on a 50% off sale at the Hobby Shop when I picked them up and so I made gifts for two children for around $5.
I chose to make a set of blue blocks for one child and a set of brown for the other child. The letters were painted with dark or primary colors so they weren’t too feminine and were given “spots” just for fun. I thought both blue and brown would go with the boys bedrooms and if they got mixed up or chose to use them together during playtime they are easily separated once again. The blocks can be decorative on their dressers or a shelf when not in use and spell the boys names. They can also be played with and used to spell words of all sorts with the letters that are on four sides of the block. Perhaps these will help them learn to spell and write their own names.
On the ends I stamped on some painted shapes that are fun to look at and might give ideas for spelling games with the blocks. On the other end I stamped on words to make fun sentences or start a story. Of course it is double the fun when both sets of blocks are used to play with together. The paint is non-toxic if they do end up in somebody’s mouth but this is a good item for parent-child playtime anyway.
These were packaged simply in card boxes packed with brown confetti and wrapped with brown and white paper cut from bags and tied with rafia and gold wire. The labels tied onto the rafia serve as ornaments, made by my children, and utilize items that I had around from craft projects of previous years. These were simple to make and while they took several hours to put together they were a lot of fun to put together while spending time working with my own children. We hope the boys have a lot of fun with these blocks and enjoy looking at them in the years to come.
I chose to make a set of blue blocks for one child and a set of brown for the other child. The letters were painted with dark or primary colors so they weren’t too feminine and were given “spots” just for fun. I thought both blue and brown would go with the boys bedrooms and if they got mixed up or chose to use them together during playtime they are easily separated once again. The blocks can be decorative on their dressers or a shelf when not in use and spell the boys names. They can also be played with and used to spell words of all sorts with the letters that are on four sides of the block. Perhaps these will help them learn to spell and write their own names.
On the ends I stamped on some painted shapes that are fun to look at and might give ideas for spelling games with the blocks. On the other end I stamped on words to make fun sentences or start a story. Of course it is double the fun when both sets of blocks are used to play with together. The paint is non-toxic if they do end up in somebody’s mouth but this is a good item for parent-child playtime anyway.
These were packaged simply in card boxes packed with brown confetti and wrapped with brown and white paper cut from bags and tied with rafia and gold wire. The labels tied onto the rafia serve as ornaments, made by my children, and utilize items that I had around from craft projects of previous years. These were simple to make and while they took several hours to put together they were a lot of fun to put together while spending time working with my own children. We hope the boys have a lot of fun with these blocks and enjoy looking at them in the years to come.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
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.
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*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.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Provident Living-December
We have had a very cold and very snowy month… we are wearing sweaters and layers to keep warm at home.
We found a bag of steamed broccoli and steamed red potatoes stuck inside our screen door one night when we came home from one of many concerts. My next door neighbor told me the next day when we saw each other that the food was from her, just as I thought. She sometimes brings home extra food from work parties and gives it to us since it is too much for just her. For lunch on Saturday I made a huge pot of potato broccoli soup and brought her a piping hot jar full of it along with some homemade French bread topped with apple butter and some pieces of holiday fudge, as well. She seemed very happy and admitted to secretly wishing for more of my soup she remembered me bringing her when she wasn’t feeling well some time ago. I was pretty sure this was NOT the same soup but it was delicious and used both ingredients she had given me and the rest was on hand in my pantry.
And by the word “pantry” which I use often, I am really referring to what I have on my shelves and in my food storage located in the basement rather than a traditional room off the kitchen. I live in a very small 5 room home with 7 people. I have an eat-in kitchen which is something like 8x15 in total with very little cupboard space. The shelving we built with lumber and hardware a number of years ago saves us in so many ways. It allows us to safely store “enough” for a large family who rarely dines out in a wet basement using the precious vertical space we have. I have grown very accustomed to running downstairs multiple times a day to what is really, at this point, an extension of my kitchen. My other reason for using the word “pantry” is that most people don’t completely understand the term “food storage” and when they do hear that term I get a lot of questions and usually they end up thinking we must be some sort of survivalist type family. Food storage, itself, is a different topic and I’ll probably cover more on that next month.
After a looooong battle with the dishwasher, extended warranty and the repair company the store sends out to fix broken appliances, the store decided to refund our 3 year old dishwasher purchase price to us in FULL and alleviate themselves of further repair work. They also offered to have installation of a new dishwasher paid for as well, though that won’t be necessary since ours is a portable dishwasher. The check arrived in the mail a week later.
Discovering last minute that my 11 year old was in need of a “festive” shirt for his holiday concert I went out and bought a beautiful red and black plaid button down shirt and a white sweater vest with a red insignia on the upper left front of it. Both look brand new, are brand name and I paid $4.50 for each item. While it’s not garage sale priced, it is a fraction of the original price and it was convenient too. After a quick wash, dry and press Tristan looked very handsome walking out the door that night in his black pants and black shoes. A Santa hat on his head matched quite well and he did indeed look quite festive for the occasion. While I was there I picked up a pair of pajamas, a sweater and another button down shirt with matching sweater vest from The Children’s Place that I paired together. I only paid a few dollars and this boy is sprouting so quickly that he really has had very little to wear since the temperature dropped. I figured I would not make him wait for Christmas buying this way and he really does need a few things NOW. To be honest, I’ve never seen the boy so happy to receive clothing.
I made a number of gifts to give away. I will do a post on these. Some were kitchen made gifts and some were from my craft area. All were thoughtful and took time and the reaction to the gift I did see get opened was a positive one. I’d planned on more homemade gifts to go around but time got the better of me. I have loads of ideas but I need to plan earlier and act on those plans early enough so those are my goals for next year.
My children took their own hard earned money, decided on a budget individually and they purchased or made gifts for family members. My youngest had just $6 and he got thoughtful gifts for everyone when he was taken shopping with his Dad. In fact I thought everyone was quite thoughtful with their gift giving.
Gift giving within our family was different this year as well. I made the suggestion to my husband to use the old adage “Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read”… and a surprise from Santa Claus. This year my husband thought it was a good idea. It forced some creativity and more thought put into the gifts we got each other than in previous years. Another plus; I thought it made gift giving easier because it seemed more organized. I also stuck fairly close to my original budget but with a Santa gift I ended up going over by just a bit on each person. We ended up finding some “unexpected” money to cover it though, so it worked out well.
I am currently trying to decide if I can successfully handle putting together a “Homemade Christmas” for next year. It is something I have thought about for several years but my schedule combined with having little ones at home has made that difficult to actually do. And I have received some resistance from my kids and husband suggesting this in the past. So I am thinking, thinking, thinking… is it feasible? My husband has some reservations about it so we may compromise and have Santa gifts that are not homemade. I already know that our budget will still be tight next Christmas so there is the added advantage of keeping costs down even WITH the compromise. Like I said, I have loads of ideas and need to harness the enthusiasm.
Finally, for the first year ever since having children we did NOT have professional portraits done of the kids or family. It was a money saving choice… a choice we made. Instead we had taken some pictures through the year that we thought could be “played with” and printed as 8x10’s with 5x7’s given to our parents. We finally sat down, picked out pictures and cropped them and sent them in for printing. We found a family package deal that gave us even more pictures in the package for less money than purchasing them without the package. This worked out perfectly because my brothers and sisters and I had decided that instead of choosing names for a Christmas gift exchange this year, which not all of us were participating in, it would be more meaningful to exchange pictures between the families and help us feel closer which is the real reason for gift giving within the family. The only cost is the print and the postage and some families are putting together family tree walls. We all live pretty far apart and we don’t get to see each other often. This helps the kids know who their cousins are. We can mount the pics however we want to and then replace with an updated one whenever they come along. I thought that was a pretty neat idea. For us, our 8X10 prints take the place of 10x13 prints. We ended up not being able to find 10X13 mats that would fit in our frames so we used a gift card and bought some nice 8x10 frames at 50% off after Christmas at the craft store.
That was my shorter than usual list for living providently this month.
We found a bag of steamed broccoli and steamed red potatoes stuck inside our screen door one night when we came home from one of many concerts. My next door neighbor told me the next day when we saw each other that the food was from her, just as I thought. She sometimes brings home extra food from work parties and gives it to us since it is too much for just her. For lunch on Saturday I made a huge pot of potato broccoli soup and brought her a piping hot jar full of it along with some homemade French bread topped with apple butter and some pieces of holiday fudge, as well. She seemed very happy and admitted to secretly wishing for more of my soup she remembered me bringing her when she wasn’t feeling well some time ago. I was pretty sure this was NOT the same soup but it was delicious and used both ingredients she had given me and the rest was on hand in my pantry.
And by the word “pantry” which I use often, I am really referring to what I have on my shelves and in my food storage located in the basement rather than a traditional room off the kitchen. I live in a very small 5 room home with 7 people. I have an eat-in kitchen which is something like 8x15 in total with very little cupboard space. The shelving we built with lumber and hardware a number of years ago saves us in so many ways. It allows us to safely store “enough” for a large family who rarely dines out in a wet basement using the precious vertical space we have. I have grown very accustomed to running downstairs multiple times a day to what is really, at this point, an extension of my kitchen. My other reason for using the word “pantry” is that most people don’t completely understand the term “food storage” and when they do hear that term I get a lot of questions and usually they end up thinking we must be some sort of survivalist type family. Food storage, itself, is a different topic and I’ll probably cover more on that next month.
After a looooong battle with the dishwasher, extended warranty and the repair company the store sends out to fix broken appliances, the store decided to refund our 3 year old dishwasher purchase price to us in FULL and alleviate themselves of further repair work. They also offered to have installation of a new dishwasher paid for as well, though that won’t be necessary since ours is a portable dishwasher. The check arrived in the mail a week later.
Discovering last minute that my 11 year old was in need of a “festive” shirt for his holiday concert I went out and bought a beautiful red and black plaid button down shirt and a white sweater vest with a red insignia on the upper left front of it. Both look brand new, are brand name and I paid $4.50 for each item. While it’s not garage sale priced, it is a fraction of the original price and it was convenient too. After a quick wash, dry and press Tristan looked very handsome walking out the door that night in his black pants and black shoes. A Santa hat on his head matched quite well and he did indeed look quite festive for the occasion. While I was there I picked up a pair of pajamas, a sweater and another button down shirt with matching sweater vest from The Children’s Place that I paired together. I only paid a few dollars and this boy is sprouting so quickly that he really has had very little to wear since the temperature dropped. I figured I would not make him wait for Christmas buying this way and he really does need a few things NOW. To be honest, I’ve never seen the boy so happy to receive clothing.
I made a number of gifts to give away. I will do a post on these. Some were kitchen made gifts and some were from my craft area. All were thoughtful and took time and the reaction to the gift I did see get opened was a positive one. I’d planned on more homemade gifts to go around but time got the better of me. I have loads of ideas but I need to plan earlier and act on those plans early enough so those are my goals for next year.
My children took their own hard earned money, decided on a budget individually and they purchased or made gifts for family members. My youngest had just $6 and he got thoughtful gifts for everyone when he was taken shopping with his Dad. In fact I thought everyone was quite thoughtful with their gift giving.
Gift giving within our family was different this year as well. I made the suggestion to my husband to use the old adage “Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read”… and a surprise from Santa Claus. This year my husband thought it was a good idea. It forced some creativity and more thought put into the gifts we got each other than in previous years. Another plus; I thought it made gift giving easier because it seemed more organized. I also stuck fairly close to my original budget but with a Santa gift I ended up going over by just a bit on each person. We ended up finding some “unexpected” money to cover it though, so it worked out well.
I am currently trying to decide if I can successfully handle putting together a “Homemade Christmas” for next year. It is something I have thought about for several years but my schedule combined with having little ones at home has made that difficult to actually do. And I have received some resistance from my kids and husband suggesting this in the past. So I am thinking, thinking, thinking… is it feasible? My husband has some reservations about it so we may compromise and have Santa gifts that are not homemade. I already know that our budget will still be tight next Christmas so there is the added advantage of keeping costs down even WITH the compromise. Like I said, I have loads of ideas and need to harness the enthusiasm.
Finally, for the first year ever since having children we did NOT have professional portraits done of the kids or family. It was a money saving choice… a choice we made. Instead we had taken some pictures through the year that we thought could be “played with” and printed as 8x10’s with 5x7’s given to our parents. We finally sat down, picked out pictures and cropped them and sent them in for printing. We found a family package deal that gave us even more pictures in the package for less money than purchasing them without the package. This worked out perfectly because my brothers and sisters and I had decided that instead of choosing names for a Christmas gift exchange this year, which not all of us were participating in, it would be more meaningful to exchange pictures between the families and help us feel closer which is the real reason for gift giving within the family. The only cost is the print and the postage and some families are putting together family tree walls. We all live pretty far apart and we don’t get to see each other often. This helps the kids know who their cousins are. We can mount the pics however we want to and then replace with an updated one whenever they come along. I thought that was a pretty neat idea. For us, our 8X10 prints take the place of 10x13 prints. We ended up not being able to find 10X13 mats that would fit in our frames so we used a gift card and bought some nice 8x10 frames at 50% off after Christmas at the craft store.
That was my shorter than usual list for living providently this month.
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