Category: Cooking hints/how-tos

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Sun Tea and One Time Meetings

Making Sun Tea is just fun!

My first experience with sun tea was in college while I was on Campaigns Northwest, 1979. We stopped in Ontario, Oregon just over the eastern Oregon border for the night and church the next morning. As was our custom we stayed all night with host families from the church of Christ. I stayed with a family in Vale, Oregon on their ranch. The house had many windows facing out over the land and on the deck railing sat a gallon jar of sun tea. They were a sweet family. I enjoyed seeing their land and seeing them work the cattle, and just getting to know them a bit. This was just a one night stop yet they hosted a stranger for the night and treated her like family.  So never underestimate the impact of one time meetings. Memories of those meetings may well follow you through your life and to eternity.

I am in the sunny south and I must tell you it is iced tea drinking time! Mid 90’s today.  It is very simple to make and may seem funny for me to give instructions. Regardless,  I will share how I make sun tea.

To make a gallon of sun tea you will need:

1-gallon glass jar with lid

1-gallon cold water

2-3 quart size or 6-8 regular tea bags

Fill your gallon glass jar with cold pure water. Add 2-3 quart size tea bags (depending on how strong you like your tea) We like 3  the best. Place the lid on the jar and set it in the sun to brew. Depending on your season, temperature, and the direction of the sun it may take 1-5 hours. Mine was ready in an hour or so. However, I live in the sunny south and it is summer! After your tea is ready you may sweeten it with honey,  sugar or any sweetener of your choice.

 

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Grandma’s Kitchen Hints

Easy Clean Up for Dropped Eggs

Dropped an egg? What happens when you drop an egg on the floor? You have a slimy mess to clean up. An easy way to clean up a broken egg is to sprinkle it liberally with salt around the edges. It seems to congeal it and then it will wipe up easily without smearing all over the floor.

Buttermilk

Most people do not keep buttermilk on hand. I know this may come as a shock but a lot of people do not drink buttermilk or eat cornbread with buttermilk. What do you do if you have no buttermilk?  Or you do not want to buy a carton of buttermilk for one recipe. Sour one cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice! It works well. I have used this for years. However, I happen to love baking with real buttermilk. The best recipes use buttermilk!

Self-Rising Flour Substitute

A recipe calls for self-rising flour and you have none? What do you do? Run to the store? No! You can make self-rising flour and continue on with your recipe.

1 cup flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

 

These are the ones I use frequently. More to come…….

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Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

There are many reasons to make your own seasoning mixes. First, it is much more economical to put together your own seasoning mixes. You should check for places that sell herbs and spices in bulk for added savings. You may want to divide the cost with a friend. You can make a whole lot of taco seasoning in a few minutes and save some money too.  Secondly, you know the ingredients and can adjust for those who have allergies. Many taco seasoning packets have gluten in them.

Today I will share a couple of Taco Seasoning recipes.

Taco Seasoning Mix (Recipe I believe originally came from Gentle Spirit Magazine back in the early 1990’s )

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons minced onions dried

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch ( I would omit this)

 

This was the original recipe I used. I multiply this and keep it in a glass jar.

This will season 1 lb. of ground beef which has been cooked and drained. Add 1/2 cup of water and original recipe of the seasoning blend. ( About 2 Tablespoons) Simmer 10 minutes.  This will make enough meat for 8-10 tacos

Here is the latest recipe I have started using. You can find it at the web address below.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

https://neighborfoodblog.com/2015/04/taco-seasoning-recipe.html

I still multiply it and keep it stored in a glass pint jar. It can be used to season taco meat or chicken or pinto beans.

 

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Once a Month Cooking

Once a Month Cooking, Freezer Cooking
Once a Month Cooking, Freezer Cooking.

Many years ago, in fact, it was October 1991, I remember the time very well. I decided to try Once a Month Cooking, some call it Freezer Cooking. I assume that most people have heard of this but just in case let me explain. You plan your menu, shop, and cook your dinners and freeze them for the month. For me, this turned out to be a huge money and time saver. You may need more hours in the day or you may need more money at the end of your pay period. This worked well for me. All of my experience with Once a Month Cooking was for a large family. I recently had the opportunity to help a family member put meals in the freezer for her parents who were experiencing some health problems. I had considered recreating my original recipes from the 1990’s and compare prices with today’s prices. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet but I may soon. I did have the opportunity to do this for two people. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out just how much food two people would need. Even though most of my family are grown now I still cook for  5 people most of the time and we have leftovers. So this was an experiment.

This is what I cooked.

3 Chicken Pot Pie

3 Chicken Broccoli Casserole

3 Italian Pasta Bake

3 Black Bean Soup

3 Chicken Fajitas and Rice

3 Taco Bake

3 Cheesy Stuffed Shells

3 Cabbage Casserole with beef

3 Beef Veggie Soup

 

Total Cost Including freezer containers:   $118.20

Pretty good! Have you tried freezer cooking? If so share your experiences with me.

 

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What Do You Do With Leftover Turkey?

What to do with leftover turkey.
What to do with leftover turkey. Turkey butternut squash soup!

What do you do with leftover turkey? Do you need some ideas?  In my area, a turkey was .59 cents a pound leading up to Thanksgiving. So why do I mention that? Because my family will be eating a lot of turkeys even after Thanksgiving Day. I thought it might be interesting and helpful to share what I have made with leftover turkey and maybe just maybe if I am lucky a few of you will share what you make. With 8 turkeys in the freezer, I might need some help!

Turkey Tacos/ Nachos ( no recipe) I just shredded turkey and seasoned it with taco seasoning. We had a nacho bar for dinner.

No-name Mexican casserole in my large iron skillet. I chopped leftover turkey, added some homemade salsa, black beans, kidney beans, white hominy, and topped it with cheese. I baked it in the oven until it was hot and bubbly. It made a quick and easy meal.

Turkey Stir-fry. I chopped onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, broccoli, and turkey for a stir-fry meal. I used a bit of hoisin sauce and soy sauce to flavor it. One of my kids cooked rice to go with it using bone broth instead of water! Yummy!

White Turkey and Sausage Chili.  I used a Publix recipe for this. You can find it at http://www.publix.com/aprons-recipes/white-turkey-and-sausage-chili

Turkey Wild Rice Soup I started making this soup several years ago. The recipe is from http://www.kitchenparade.com/2010/03/chicken-turkey-wild-rice-soup-recipe.php 

Turkey Broccoli Casserole. This is very similar to the freezer meal that most of my friends and  I have made for years called Chicken Broccoli Casserole. You may top the mixture with cheese and serve over rice or top it with a boxed stove top stuffing mix and bake until hot and bubbly. If you really need a recipe for this I will be happy to share it.

My creative husband also made Turkey Cakes similar to Salmon Patties.

Homemade Bone Broth is easy to make and has many health benefits. We make ours in the crock-pot by covering the turkey (or chicken) bones with water, we add some celery leaves or a stalk or two, some onion, carrot, and a Tablespoon or two of vinegar. We cook it on low for almost 24 hours. Take out the bones and strain it with cheesecloth or a fine mesh colander. Put it in jars and refrigerate.

Let me know what you make with leftover turkey!

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Update on My Kombucha Making

What is Kombucha? Kombucha is a fermented drink. Non-alcoholic! Fermentation has many benefits. It breaks down hard-to-digest substances; it leaves beneficial lactic acid and other healthy substances, it preserves food and makes it taste better. It benefits our overall health.

In August I took a Kombucha-making class from Ann Green, of Bread, Stock and Barrel. I have now divided my first SCOBY ( an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and I have started three more batches of Kombucha. I let my first batch go a little longer while I looked for jars* that would be appropriate for my other batches. My first batch was a little on the vinegar side. The earlier you drink it the sweeter. I think my favorite has been to drink it after 8-10 days of fermenting.

I used most of the first batch to make second fermented kombucha. I added kombucha to my bottles**, added some juice, left some room at the top and sealed it. I left it in a dark place for a week. Fizzy Kombucha! For my next batch, I decided that I would strain the Kombucha I put in the bottles for a second fermentation. I think I prefer that. The pressure can really build up so do not forget your second fermented batch. Two weeks max at room temperature and then refrigerate for up to a year. So far grape is my favorite and tastes like sparkling grape juice. I think most of my family prefer the plain Kombucha second fermented. I really like it too.

Here is the recipe I received in my class.

Kombucha

1 gallon-sized jar preferably with a large mouth

cotton cloth and rubber band

SCOBY

2 Family sized tea bags, 6-8 regular, or 3-4 teaspoons loose (green or black preferably organic)

1 cup of sugar (any you prefer)

1-gallon filtered water (no chlorine)

Brew your tea with 6 cups of water. Steep 10 minutes and add 1 cup of sugar (don’t skimp) and stir until dissolved. Allow your tea to cool to room temperature to avoid killing your SCOBY. When it is cool pour your tea into your jar and fill with your SCOBY and 1 -2 cups kombucha from your previous batch. If needed fill the space with your filtered water leaving 1-2 inches from the top. Your SCOBY may sink to the bottom but will float back to the top in a couple of days. Place the towel over the top and secure with a rubber band, NOT THE LID. Place the container in a warm, dark place and leave it for a week or more. If you like it sweeter, leave it for 1-2 weeks. If you like it more vinegary leave it for about 3-4 weeks.

I am feeling more comfortable with my Kombucha making. It is very easy to make.

If you have any questions please post them below. If you are a Kombucha maker please chime in with your tips, favorites, or any recipes.

 

* The best gallon size jars I have found are at Walmart with pickles in them 🙂 A gallon jar of pickles is half the price of an empty gallon jar.

**Also, for the second fermenting I bought bottles on Amazon, Grolsch swing top bottles and a couple of bottles from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

You may reach Ann Green at  www.breadstockandbarrel.com

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Cooking Without Recipes

I enjoy looking in my fridge or for that matter other people’s too! I have a friend who likes me to cook with her. So when I am at her house we look in her fridge and pantry and create something from what we find. We have a lot of fun in the kitchen pounding chicken breasts and cutting up veggies. I have been creating meals using whatever was on hand since childhood. It helped that I grew up on a mini farm and we had a lot of choices. Although sometimes too many cucumbers 🙂 We didn’t run to the store all the time either. I love to cook and sometimes I get in my head a certain thing I want to cook. It may not make sense at the time if I have a fridge full of food and meals which have been planned.  I try to practice self-control. This year we have been blessed to meet Farmer John! He is new to farming and has tried several things. We take some of whatever he has. As the season is nearing an end I was looking at what we had purchased from Farmer John and decided to create some meals using those things.

I did not write down a recipe but I will share what I did do. I did NOT measure anything.

First I will share the ingredients I had. Mini eggplants, zucchini, onions, green peppers, fresh basil, store-bought pasta sauce, ground beef, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, rice, etc.

Preheat the oven 350°. I cooked the ground beef with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms and drained it after it was done. I placed pasta sauce in the bottom of two pans. Then to one pan I added a layers of slice baby eggplants, zuchini, meat mixture, sauce and cheese. On the top I spread sauce and mozarella and sprinkled the top with paremsan. I baked it in the oven for a while and then took it out and covered it with foil. I cooked it for about an hour total. I wish I had covered it from the beginning and taken the foil off for the last 15 minutes. I also wish I had added more sweet basil. It turned out YUMMY!!

 

For the second pan. I cut the tops off of the green peppers I had and cleaned them out. I placed them in the bottom of the second pan. I added some cooked rice to the leftover meat mixture and stuffed the peppers with the mixture. I then covered them with sauce and sprinkled with parmesan. I baked it in the oven at 350° for almost an hour. Remove the foil. (See I learned something !) Sprinkle more parmesan on top! Enjoy!

 

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Fermenting Foods

About 3 years ago my husband was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. This began a close examination of the foods we eat. My non-cooking husband started making homemade mayo, ketchup, pickles, saur-kraut, bone broth and now he has begun fermenting foods. He has made several batches of saur-kraut, fermented tomatoes, peppers, saur-kraut, and cucumbers. I grew up with pickle and saur-kraut making but fermenting is a new thing for me.

So what is the difference between pickling and fermenting. My understanding is that pickling is preserving by acidity. Fermenting is a specific process of preserving but uses lactic acid (Lacto-fermentation). In her booklet, Cultured Beverages, Ann Green of Bread Stock and Barrel, says, “Fermentation began with creation – bacteria and/or yeast and vegetables, fruits, dairy or animals were all that was necessary. Man has had the joy and thrill of discovering and cultivating various combinations of these elements to produce such things as wine, cheese, chocolate, bread, pickles, and even …kombucha.”

What happens in the process of fermentation? Again quoting from Ann Green. “In every case, lactobacillus bacteria and sometimes various strains of yeast eat the sugar and starches found in the medium and replace the sugar and starch with lactic acid. In the process, many vitamins and minerals are increased, the food, juice or milk is made more digestible and sugar and starch are either eliminated or reduced. Antioxidant and anticancer substances may also be produced or enhanced. The bacteria are also very happy to eat the sugar and starch and reproduce to create what we call a “probiotic” beverage or food.”

There are a lot of resources available online for free about fermenting foods. Check it out! Let me know if you ferment foods and what you have found helpful.

***You can find out more about Ann Green at www.breadstockandbarrel.com or on Facebook  – Bread, Stock, and Barrel

 

Fermented saur-kraut
Bone broth

 

 

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Chicken Enchiladas

 

My First Chicken Enchilada Recipe from the 90’s

1 whole chicken, cooked and cubed (or to save time and maybe money buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked)
4 ounce can of chopped green chilies                                                                                         1 teaspoon salt
20 ounces green enchilada sauce
6 ounces of evaporated milk
1 can cream chicken soup
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar, grated
12-24 flour tortillas or gluten-free tortillas(SEE NOTE)
Rotel tomatoes, chopped

Mix chicken, chilies, salt, enchilada sauce, evaporated milk, soup and 1 cup of cheese. Warm tortillas. Fill with 1/4 c. chicken mixture. Roll up, seam down and place in baking dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Pour Rotel tomatoes into the remaining mixture (if there is any); pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with 2 cups of cheese. Bake in preheated oven 425° for 20 minutes, until bubbly. It is best to put them in the oven immediately to avoid the bottoms becoming soggy.

Enjoy!

GLUTEN-FREE:

Since several family members have become gluten intolerant I tried a batch with Mission’s gluten-free tortillas they were a bit too soft on the bottom. Two ideas for making this better.  One would be to lightly char them or two to make the filling in a casserole dish or slow cooker and let each one fill their own tortilla shell.

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Making Kombucha

Cultured Beverages by our teacher Ann Green
Class time
My kombucha

Tonight I took a class in making kombucha, beet kvass, and ginger beer! It was really interesting, informative, and so simple. I am excited to have my first scoby ( an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and my first batch of kombucha fermenting. We had an education portion, sampling, and making our own kombucha start to take home. I will update down the road and let you know how this adventure progresses.