Hamburger Stew

Hamburger Stew

Brown hamburger with a jar of diced tomatoes. *I used 2 pounds of burger and 1 quart homemade Mexican diced tomatoes.

Add lots of veggies of your choice. *I used 3 green squash and 1 orange squash, diced, 6 carrots diced, 1/2 a full bunch of celery, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 6 potatoes, diced. You can add whatever kind of veggies your family enjoys or you have on hand.

Add a complex carb or two. *I used 1 cup of hulled barley. You can use pearl barley, or lentils, canned beans or brown rice.

Add spices. *I used thyme, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion powder. I would skip the onion powder if you use onions as one of your veggies. You just have to taste to see if you have enough spice. You use enough salt to make it just right. If it's bland, add a pinch more salt.

Add more water. *I used about 2 quarts. I also added a couple of tablespoons of Frontier Naturals Beef Bouillon powder.

Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and let cook for an hour. Stir occasionally.

I serve it with buttermilk biscuits and raw milk.

Dry Beans Conversion Chart

I needed 96 oz of canned beans for a dish I am making, but I wanted to make it from scratch. This chart helped me convert the recipe.

One 15-ounce can of beans = one and one-half cups cooked beans, drained

One pound dry beans = six cups cooked beans, drained.

One pound dry beans = two cups dry beans.

One cup dry beans = three cups cooked beans, drained.

Baked Egg Omelet

I made this, doubled, for breakfast today. It's really good and very easy. I entered it (then copied it here) into my livestrong account and found that one serving has just 202 calories. I found the original recipe from Taste of Home.

Baked Egg Omelet

6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper, Black
1 cup Shredded Medium Cheddar Cheese

Place eggs and milk in the blender. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cover, process until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, until eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up omelet in pan, starting with a short side. Place seam side down on serving platter and cut into 1" slices. You can also add cooked bacon or sausage and veggies if you want.

Italian Diced Tomatoes

Italian Diced Tomatoes

Combine in a large pot:

12 cups diced tomatoes with the juice
6 Tbsp lemon juice

Bring to a low boil for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the following spice mix:

2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1-1/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp rosemary
3/4 tsp sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

Prepare pint jars. Make sure they are hot. Ladle in tomatoes till 3/4 full. Add 2 1/4 tsp of spice mix, and 1/4 tsp salt to each jar. Mix gently. Ladle in remaining tomatoes. If short of tomatoes and juice, use some boiling water to fill jars. Fill to 1/2" headspace. Remove any air pockets. Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. Makes 6 pints

Mexican Diced Tomatoes

This is on the stove right now. I finished off the 40 pounds of tomatoes purchased from the farmers market (along with some from my own garden) with this recipe. I'll use it in chili during the winter.

Mexican Diced Tomatoes

Combine in a large pot:

12 cups diced tomatoes with the juice
6 Tbsp lemon juice

Bring to a low boil for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the following spice mix:

1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp each ground cumin, oregano, garlic powder and coriander

Prepare pint jars. Make sure they are hot. Ladle in tomatoes till 3/4 full. Add 2 tsp of spice mix, and 1/4 tsp salt to each jar. Mix gently. Ladle in remaining tomatoes. If short of tomatoes and juice, use some boiling water to fill jars. Fill to 1/2" headspace. Remove any air pockets. Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. Makes 6 pints

Picante Sauce

This is on the docket for tomorrow. I found it at Great Salsa.

• 1 ½ Gallons Fresh Ripe Tomatoes (peel tomatoes by putting in boiling water for 15 seconds and then in ice water) hand chop and if tomatoes are watery - let set for a few minutes and drain off excess juice. This will make your sauce chunky!

Using a food processor chop the next 3 ingredients.

• 3 large onions
  
• 8 bell peppers
  
• 1 quart jalapeños
  

Measure the following:

• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
  
• 4 Tablespoon Salt
  
• 1 Tablespoon Pepper
  
• 1 Tablespoon crushed Red Pepper
  
• 2 Tablespoon Sugar
  
• 1 Tablespoon Salad Oil
  
• ½ cup Vinegar
  
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
  

Put all ingredients in large pot - bring to rolling boil - turn down heat - Cook 20 minutes.

Put in sterile jars and seal (boiling water bath for 10 minutes).

Makes approximately 10-12 pints.

Beef Stew for Canning

This is from Two Frog Home.

Beef Stew for Canning

• 3 1/2 lbs beef roast, cubed
• 10 Cups potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 5 Cups carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
• 2 1/2 Cups celery, chopped
• 3 Cups onions, chopped
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoons black pepper
• Boiling Water

Brown the beef in a pan with as little oil as is necessary. Combine the beef with the veggies in a large stock pot, add the spices, and cover all with boiling water. Bring it all to a boil again. Fill your jars leaving 1″ headspace – fill with the meat & veggies and top off with the boiling water. Process in a pressure-canner (check your elevation for correct pressure): pints should be 75 minutes, quarts should be 90 minutes. Yield is about 7 quarts.
Thicken it up, by adding a roux when you reheat it from the jar.

Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle Clone

These are excellent! I've made several gallons of them, even saving the brine in the cupboard for weeks, until pickling cukes came back into season. I found the recipe at Recipezaar.

Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle Clone

• 1 gallon cucumber
• 1/3 cup instant minced onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 6 heads fresh dill (or 6 tbsp dill seeds)
• 2 quarts water
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup canning salt

1. Slice cucumbers lengthwise into quarters, or slice into rounds, and add to jars along with the dill.
2. Boil liquids and seasonings to dissolve the salt then cool. Pour over pickles and let sit on counter for three days turning them occasionally, then refrigerate for up to a year.
   
3. Please do not try to use the regular grocery store cucumbers, they have wax on them and they will not turn out. You can use grocery store pickling cucumbers as they are not waxed.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni 2

This is more like the boxed version than my other recipe.

Add 1/4 cup butter to a medium sized pot. Melt over low heat.

Add 1 1/2 cup white rice and 1 cup fideo pasta. Saute till rice is translucent and fideo is slightly browned.

Add 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 4 cups chicken broth. Bring back to a boil.

Stir and cover. Simmer for 20-22 minutes, till rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed. Fluff before serving.