Food Storage Friday: Sweet Chilean Lime Beans and Rice

Recently I got a recipe exchange chain email from a friend of mine. I passed it on to several people in my address book including an old nursing instructor. She's currently serving a mission so declined to participate, but did give me this recipe for Sweet Chilean Lime Beans and Rice. I tweaked it so it worked well in my crock pot and had a stronger lime flavor. My husband (one of my toughest and most important food critics) loved it. This with a side of fruit makes a complete meal, but it would also go great as a side with enchiladas, tacos or chipotle seasoned and grilled meat. The lime and sweetness is subtle, but gives it a nice flavor. Honestly it has more of a pepper, garlic and onion flavor than sugar and lime.

Sweet Chilean Lime Beans and Rice
Food Storage Ingredients:
4 (15 oz) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
7 cups broth (chicken, vegetable, whatever)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons white sugar
2 cups brown rice or 3 cups instant white rice
salt to taste

Fresh Ingredients:
2 green bell peppers, seeded, 1 diced
2 yellow onions, quartered
2 cloves garlic 
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup champagne (I used sparkling red grape juice)

1. Put 6 cups of broth, beans and diced bell pepper in crock pot on high for one hour. 2. Blend onions, remaining pepper, black pepper, cumin, sugar, 1 cup of broth and garlic until smooth. Add to beans. 3. If using brown rice, stir into beans and cook for three hours. If not, just cook for three hours and add instant white rice ten minutes before done. 4. Half an hour before finished slowly pour in champagne (or juice) and lime juice. Makes 10 servings.

Notes: The original recipe called for instant rice. I really prefer brown, so that's what we used with my adjustment, but the instant white rice should work.

Homemade Salsa Revisited

 You may have noticed that my posts have been a little more sporadic lately. I'm still here, still buying and using food storage, still trying to do my small part to make the world a better place. Having a third child has sucked away all of my free time, even if she is my easiest baby yet. And in addition to sucking away my time and energy, she has also sucked away all of my pregnancy weight, so it's not all bad. So believe me I still have plenty more to say, I just don't have as much time to do it.
 Along with everything else that has been happening I found myself in possession of two boxes of beautiful tomatoes from my parents' garden (they tried to give me more than that.) After giving a bunch to the neighbors I decided that newborn or no, I really had to make salsa. I just did it crockpot style. That way I spent about 45 minutes chopping & rinsing ingredients, let it simmer for 6 hours and processed it for 20 minutes at the end. Totally doable.

Aren't they beautiful?

There is something so satisfying about home canning. It makes my house smell good and it means that I'll have yumminess in my pantry for quite awhile. 3 dozen tomatoes made 12 pints canned, plus 3 more pints that are in the fridge. (And I still have plenty of tomatoes.) For the recipe I used go here. Although instead of jalapenos I used the red Anaheims from my garden, and instead of the green Anaheims I used some green Hatch chiles from my thirty pound monster bag of a couple weeks ago. This made for spicier salsa than usual. That's ok, I like spicy food. Unfortunately we have discovered that baby really doesn't like it when I eat anything remotely spicy, and lets me know by giving back any tainted meals that she is given. Speaking of which I have laundry to do. ttfn

Green Chiles

So last week, a few hours after delivering Miss Cindy Lou-Who, I got online to order a Bountiful Basket (which btw was an awesome basket). One of the extras they had available was a 30 lb bag of Hatch green chiles. I love green chiles and my in-laws really love green chiles so I thought I would split a bag with them. My husband got up early Saturday morning to fetch our produce and I mumbled  "Don't forget our 30 lb bag of green chiles". He thought I said 3 lb bag of green chiles because there is no way I could have bought a 30 lb bag of green chiles. Oh, I did.

So Saturday morning I opened the bag and looked at a few of the beautiful chiles within. Fantastic. Sunday morning I noticed a small puddle next to the bag. By Sunday afternoon a good part of my house was permeated by a rotten earthy smell. My ox was in a mire of rotting chiles. The original plan was to bag and freeze the top half of the sack and give the bottom half (or more) to my in-laws when I see them later this week. I'm sure that's exactly what they want to deal with on the day of the wedding reception. Not to mention that I am not really keen on having my house smell like rot until we leave, or having it in my car. Gross.

 So to my in-laws "Happy-your-baby-is-getting-married-and-I-know-that-you-don't-want-a-smelly-bag-of-rotting-peppers"

  To everyone else I recommend that when cutting large quantities of peppers that you wear gloves, because even mild peppers have oils that can cause burning and skin irritation.

 I was disappointed that so many of the chiles had gone bad and that it caused such a mess. I would say about a third of them were rotten. Even so $19 for 20 lbs of green chiles is a great deal. In the future I will post multiple recipes showing how I go through my half of the peppers. But for now here is one of my father-in-law's favorites (he's from New Mexico and happens to know his chiles)

 New Mexico Chile Verde
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb pork loin (remove visible fat and cut into 1/2" chunks)
3 small garlic cloves, finely minced
1 red onion, finely chopped (optional)

8 T flour
4 T cornstarch
4 T water

28 oz Hatch green chiles (roasted, peeled, seeded and finely chopped)*
1-2 T chopped fresh jalapeno
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
4 chicken bullion cubes
1  14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

1. Saute pork in olive oil until pink is gone. Move pork aside in skillet. 2. Add garlic (and onion) and saute until sizzling. Put in crockpot on high. 3. In a small bowl make thickener of flour, cornstarch and water. After mixed thoroughly add to crockpot. 4. Add chiles and spices to crockpot. Bring to a low boil, then turn to low and add tomatoes. Simmer for at least an hour or preferably all day. Serve plain over rice, burritos, chile rellenos, chimichangas, etc. Freezes well. Serves 4-6

*His notes say 1 bag, which is about a quart ziplock bag, roasted.
For those of the vegetarian persuasion I haven't tried making this without the pork before, but the pork is such a small part of it I think that it would still taste great without the meat. I know my other chile verde recipe worked just fine when I left out the pork.

And when I wasn't washing, sorting and chopping chiles, this is how I spent my weekend:

I'm in love.

Food Storage Friday and Vegetarian Link-Up

 My husband has recently decided to be a vegetarian. And I sort of follow suit because I don't want to bother making two or three meals every night. Right now I find that if I go two or three days without eating meat I start feeling weak and nauseated (more so than usual). I also found that when I don't eat meat I don't gain weight, which I need to be doing right now. I don't need a lot of meat to fix the problem, a turkey sandwich will usually do the trick, but I have to have meat. Perhaps I will give it a more concerted effort when I am not trying to grow a person in my belly. For now I cook vegetarian meals at home and when we go out to eat, or sometimes when I'm at work I eat meat. (The kids don't really like to eat meat anyway, except for the occasional chicken nugget.) So I'm eating some meat, but not very much.
 So why go vegetarian? Here are a few bonuses about the lifestyle:

• It dramatically lowers your cholesterol and calorie intake.
• Cutting out the meat significantly reduces your grocery bill.
• Vegetarian protein sources are cheaper to store and last significantly longer in your food storage than canned or dried meat.
• Meat is unfortunately "fortified" with steroids, antibiotics and growth hormones. None of which I recommend taking without a prescription.
• It forces you to pay attention to think about what you are eating. While you are looking at the ingredients, it's more likely that you may be thinking 'Is this good for me?'
• Vegetarians live longer and don't get sick as often.
• Going vegetarian leaves a smaller carbon footprint.

 Here's the my vegetarian experiment of the week:

Crock Pot Pepper Pasta
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1/8 cup olive oil
2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
2 Tablespoons jarred, pre-chopped garlic
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 lb pasta, prepared according to directions

Fresh Ingredients:
3 bell peppers, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
6 Tablespoons shredded Parmesean

1. Mix everything except pasta and cheese together in crock pot. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours. 2. When sauce is almost done prepare pasta. 3. Season sauce to taste. Serve with Parmesean.

This stuff made my house smell wonderful. I served it over whole wheat pasta with green apples and french bread (in the interest of providing something I could guarantee my kids would eat.) I thought the sauce was a little thinner than I liked, so next time I may drain one of the cans of tomatoes. My husband loved it the way it was and used his french bread to soak it up.

Now I am well aware that giving up meat is a huge life-style change. I obviously can not say that I have managed to do it. But if you can reduce the amount of meat that you're eating, think of the benefits. You will save money and improve your health, (which also saves you money). It has taken a little work and experimentation, but I have found myself trying and loving many foods that I never would have thought of trying before. Vegetarian cooking has also given me a boost of confidence in my culinary skills. Where my husband works they go out to eat/order in pretty frequently, and usually he's more interested in my leftovers than what is available at local restaurants. Haha!  So this week I am inviting anyone out there to share their favorite vegetarian recipes. And if it includes rice, pasta, oats, potatoes, wheat or beans, all the better!

Food Storage Friday: Chicken and Easy Fresh Pesto

Last Saturday when I got my fresh herb pack from Bountiful Baskets, I knew that I needed to make some fresh pesto, and as I was eating it I thought 'Why haven't I blogged about this before?' It's so easy and delicious. Enjoy.

Chicken, Pasta and Pesto
Food Storage Ingredients:
10 oz pasta, prepared al dente
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons almonds, toasted
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Fresh Ingredients:
2 lbs of chicken
2 loosely packed cups fresh basil
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
dash of lemon juice
additional Parmesan for garnish (optional)

1. Marinate chicken overnight in Italian dressing. Or to make life easier follow these instructions. 2. Cook chicken as desired. Grill it, bake it, whatever pleases you. My favorite is to throw it in my medium-sized crock pot frozen and cook on low for 8-10 hours. 3. When you are almost ready to eat, puree almonds, cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and basil in a food processor to desired coarseness. 4. Spread over chicken and pasta.

Notes: The recipe that I originally based my pesto on called for salt. I feel like the cheese makes it salty enough, but if you like it saltier, by all means. Pesto traditionally calls for pine nuts or sometimes walnuts. I use almonds for two reasons. a) I do not like pine nuts or walnuts. b)Almonds are significantly less than pine nuts or walnuts. Once when I was a girl my grandpa took me up in the mountains to hunt for pine nuts. I decided that it was way too much work for something that just didn't taste that great. (The last time I was at Costco, a 3 lb bag of pine nuts was about $28. I'll stick with almonds, thank you.) I also keep a jar of pesto in my pantry, just in case. Since this is a meal my family is familiar with, we could get by on a meal of jarred pesto and pasta, but the fresh is much better.
 If you happen to have a large quantity of fresh basil (whether from your garden or your Bountiful Basket), you can make this and freeze it. Just leave out the oil and cheese and add those when you are ready to serve. Usually I make my pesto as I have spelled out above. This time I added a touch of fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary because I had them. Very delicious.

Food Storage Friday: Honey Mustard Chicken

I originally found this recipe in a grocery ad and added a few veggies to it. Although the recipe was for marinated chicken kabobs. I don't own a grill and I am not interested in broiling things in my oven. (Here in the desert it is already summer time.) So I threw everything in my crockpot, and I didn't bother to cut the meat up as small. I'm sure that if I had it would have looked more appealing, but I'll admit sometimes I'd just rather throw it in the crockpot and forget about it. It was still tasty.

Honey Mustard Chicken
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 tsp steak sauce
4 Tablespoons of mayonaise
2/3 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups prepared rice

Fresh Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken, cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1. Mix first four ingredients. (If you are making kabobs, use half to marinate chicken and half to dip chicken in after it's cooked.) 2. Throw all ingredients (except rice, salt and pepper) into a crockpot. 3. Cook on low for 6 hours. 4. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.

This was a total crock pot meal. I cooked the brown rice in my small crock pot, the chicken and sauce in my medium and baked the sweet potatoes in my large. 20 minutes of preparation, a whole bunch of leftovers and I didn't have to heat up my kitchen.

Food Storage Friday: Split Pea Soup

I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the recipe that really got me started. A little over a year ago I read I Dare You to Eat It by Liesa Card. I was in the middle of my third move in 8 months (long story), my husband is allergic to many fruits and vegetables (unless they're processed in some way) and he is aversive to most produce that he's not allergic to. Not to mention that my children are the pickiest eaters I have ever encountered. Despite these obstacles, Liesa had me convinced that I could use my food storage and it would bless my life. Now I was very comfortable with rice, pasta and oatmeal cookies, but  I decided that I would really test my boundaries- Split Pea Soup. So I bought a pound of dried split peas and made it. When my husband came home from work he asked what was in the crock pot. I told him and he responded “I’m excited. I love split pea soup!” “Really?” “Yes, it’s my favorite.” I was shocked. At the time I had known him for 14 years and I never would have guessed that. (His family still occasionally teases him about not anything that was the color green when he was small, not even mint ice cream.) I suppose it had never come up because I never made it, thinking he would never eat it.  I ladled it into bowls and asked my four-year-old what kind of sandwich she wanted for dinner. (At the time I had given up trying to get her to eat the things I normally make for dinner.) She said “I want what you guys are having.” AND SHE ACTUALLY ATE IT. I was so excited I emailed Liesa and we have been swapping food storage stories and ideas ever since. If my family can eat food storage, anyone's can. 

 Here's my version of the recipe. Last week I threw the ham bone from Thanksgiving in the freezer and used it for the soup, or you can use the ham flavor packet that comes with most one pound bags of split green peas. Not all bags come with it, look closely at the packaging.

Split Pea Soup

Food Storage Ingredients:

1 lb (2 cups) dried split green peas

2/3 cup dried carrots

1/2 cup dried onions

1 12oz can evaporated milk

1 15oz can potato chunks, drained and diced

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh ingredients:

1 cup diced celery

1 cup smoke spiral-cut ham, chopped

1 ham bone

8 cups water

1. Put water, split peas and ham bone in crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. 2. Add vegetables and cook on low for 2 more hours. 3. Saute ham chunks in a pan until edges are crisp. 4. Stir Worcestershire sauce, canned milk and ham into soup and serve.

I've made this with fresh carrots, onion and potatoes and they work just as well, but frankly my food storage is more convenient because there is less chopping involved. If you use fresh potatoes it's 2 medium, chopped, carrots- 2 cups, chopped, and onions- 1 small, chopped. I've also done it without canned milk because I spaced it one evening. It was still good, but better with the milk.

Thanksgiving Helps

I think I'm almost ready for Thanksgiving. In the past week I finally took down all of the Halloween decorations, bought a ham, found a Thanksgiving tablecloth on clearance for $1.75 (Wahoo!), and have been clearing space in my fridge to make room for pie. Today I'm going to rent a carpet cleaner (My carpet it looong over-due) as well as a couple of last minute produce items.  And I think that's it. Probably forgetting something. In the interest of not stressing about things that don't matter that much, I decided that I am not cooking a turkey. There will only be 6 adults and most of my family prefers ham anyway. (There will be a small turkey breast.) And ham can be cooked in my crock-pot!
In my internet searching I have found the following ideas that can help you make a great Thanksgiving meal.

• How to Slow Roast a Turkey in a Paper Bag- Someday I am going to try this.
• How to Carve a Thanksgiving Turkey- They make it look easy enough I feel like I could do it.
• How to Make Perfect Gravy-I'm going to try this. Making gravy is not a talent that I posses.
• Tropical Sweet Potato Casserole- This is my sweet potato recipe that turned out pretty well.
• Printable Thanksgiving Party Favor

And here's the post I wrote for Thanksgiving last year.

Food Storage Friday: Chicken Vegetable Chowder

There are six basic staples of long term food storage: rice, wheat, oats, pasta, beans, and potatoes. Potatoes are pretty darn easy to incorporate into your diet. To quote my friend Liesa "Mashed potatoes are the fast food of food storage." Anyone can add them as a side to a meal with very little effort. Mashed potato flakes can be stored for approximately 30 years. I am not a big potato person, however growing up my mom made this chicken vegetable chowder that I loved. Getting the recipe out of her is easier said than done, because she doesn't cook by recipe, more by taste and eyeballing it. So here is my version. To me, this is comfort food. :) If you wanted to, you could use fresh baked potatoes or even just mashed potato flakes. The point is to get your family used to eating these staples on a fairly regular basis.

Chicken Vegetable Chowder
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 (15oz) can of potatoes, drained
1/4 cup mashed potato flakes (or more if you need them)
3 cups chicken broth
1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

Fresh Ingredients:
6 cups of finely chopped vegetables
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon prepared honey mustard
1 cup cooked chopped chicken (I've done this many times with canned chicken too)
1 cup shredded cheddar
pepper to taste

1. Put vegetables, canned potatoes, onion, garlic and chicken broth in crock pot. Simmer for 2-4 hours on low. 2. Mash everything with a potato masher until potato chunks pea sized or smaller. 3. Add evaporated milk. 4. Add potato flakes to thicken to desired consistency. 5. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low until heated through (30 minutes or so)

Notes: I served these in soup rolls, but you can do as you please. For vegetables I generally use carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, but this time I used parsnips instead of cauliflower because I had them from my Bountiful Basket and didn't have a clue what else to do with them. My mom always used half and half for this recipe. I don't like purchasing half and half. The remainder of the container always expires before I get around to using, besides you can get the same creaminess from evaporated milk with fewer calories and less saturated fat. She also uses bacon grease mixed with flour to thicken her soup instead of potato flakes. Yes, I know it taste better, but I detest working with bacon. Period. Yesterday when my husband heated some of these leftovers for lunch he accidentally put a dash of balsamic vinegar in it. It made it better. When I got home from work he fixed some for me that I way and I agreed. Give it a try.

Food Storage Friday: Lentil Soup

So this week I tried something different, lentils. Lentils are high in protein, iron, fiber and folic acid. They cook faster than beans and when stored in #10 cans have a shelf life of approximately 30 years. Not to mention super cheap, I bought a pound bag for 98 cents. They're pretty much a super food, and a great way to add protein to your long-term food storage. Why is it that I've never had these things before? This recipe seemed like a good one to try because it includes so many food storage ingredients and it cooks in the crock pot.

French Lentil Rice Soup
Food Storage Ingredients
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
3 Tablespoons uncooked rice
1/3 cup dried onions
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup dried carrots
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

Fresh Ingredients
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
3/4 cup water
sour cream (optional)
pesto (optional)
parsley (optional)
dried Italian seasoning (optional)

1. Stir all but optional ingredients together in crockpot. 2. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. 3. Remove 1 1/2 cups of soup and puree until almost smooth. Stir back into soup. (Make sure that the blender is vented when pureeing hot liquids.) 4. Garnish as desired.

I will be the first to admit that this is not something that I'm going to crave in the middle of the night. I felt the fresh pesto improved it, as did the dried Italian seasoning. My husband likes it and has even chose it over leftover pizza for lunch one day. Sometimes you cook with food storage not because it tastes better than your alternatives (and sometimes it does) but because you're just getting comfortable with your options so if it comes down to "We are eating only food storage" you know what to do. I feel like this is one of those meals, but at least it's packed with lots of nutrients which makes me feel a little better about it.

Food Storage Friday: Homemade Salsa

When I think of food storage I think oats, beans, wheat, rice, potatoes and pasta. These are staples. Staples are important, they are your base. But it is also important to store things that help the staples go down a little easier. (Because no one wants to live off only the staples.) This week I invited a friend over and we made salsa. Salsa is almost a staple in our house. And I have a reputation for making good salsa. (A few friends were upset when I announced that I would be quitting my last job because I would no longer be bringing chips and salsa into work.) So here is the secret of my great salsa, which I learned how to make from my mom. I believe she learned how to make it from a friend when we lived in San Antonio.

Salsa

Fresh ingredients
18 tomatoes (give or take)
3 bell peppers (red & green)
6 Anaheim peppers
5 jalapenos
6 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
8 green onions
1 & 1/2 large bunches of fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons of lime juice

Food storage ingredients
1 Tablespoon of white sugar
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of salt

1. Rinse and chop produce. 2. Combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer uncovered until contents has gone down about an inch. (About an hour and a half.) 3. Taste frequently and add more ingredients as necessary. 4. Can according to canner instructions. Makes between 5-6 pints.

Now this is roughly the recipe that I use, but I never follow it exactly. Sometimes I'll throw in a yellow pepper or half a red onion or more hot peppers or more garlic. It depends on the potency and flavor of the produce that you have. Peppers vary in heat. Keeping the seeds in the mix gives it more kick. I always leave the seeds from at least a few of the peppers in. Once I decided to make "hot" salsa and put in 12 jalapenos with seeds. I tasted it before canning it and it had a fair amount of kick, so I labeled that batch "hot". I gave some to my in-laws who are big salsa lovers. When they opened a jar it was not hot, not even remotely. It was still good, but not hot. I don't know what happened, or why the canning process made that one batch weak, but it did. Years later, my in-laws still tease me about it. Whatever proportions of ingredients you use I believe that the secrets to a good traditional salsa are green onions, Anaheim peppers and lots of fresh cilantro.

The sugar is to neutralize some of the acidity of the tomatoes and the tomato paste is help give it the right consistency. If you don't have tomato paste you can achieve the same effect by just cooking it longer, but I'm all about cooking hacks to reduce my time in front of the stove. If you don't want to be hugging your stove for an hour or two, I have also thrown all of the ingredients in my crock-pot, left it overnight and canned the batch in the morning. It turned out ok, but not as good as batches that I have tasted and adjusted throughout the process.

My friend asked me if the flavor decreases over time. Honestly I don't really know. 30-40 jars of salsa lasts us a max of 6 months. Does it lose it's potency over time? Sure, maybe. We never wait long enough to see.

My friend and I were discussing whether or not making your own salsa is cost efficient. I figured that if you add my hourly wage x 4 (for chopping, cooking, canning & clean-up) + jars, rings and lids (which have to bought in packs of 12) + a new canner and canning tools (as it's not convenient to borrow my mom's anymore) +  the cost of ingredients (I find that fresh produce is more expensive in St George than anywhere else I have lived) ÷ 6  ≈ $31 per jar of salsa. Dang, that's expensive salsa. However, I will continue to make it for the following reasons. 1. I like making salsa. It's more fun to chat with a friend while working in the kitchen than it is to purchase mediocre salsa from the grocery store. 2. The cost will decrease as I won't have to purchase a canner, jars or rings again. 3. Although my garden was a failure this year, I have family and friends who have more tomatoes than they know what to do with and also know that I like making salsa. So the tomatoes were free, which are the most costly ingredient. 4. While I'm at work I also have to pay a descent amount for daycare, whereas while making salsa I can be productive and listen to them squeal in the backyard. 5. And of course, I make really good salsa. So, although I may do other canning projects in the future, I now no longer have any illusions that canning my own food is saving me money.

Giveaway: 101 Things To Do With A Slowcooker

 Years ago I attended a class on crockpots given by my neighbor, Janet Eyring. (She's not my neighbor anymore since I have moved.) She is the one who opened my eyes to what an amazing appliance the crockpot is. I heart my crockpot. (The only difference between a crockpot and a slow cooker is that crockpot is a trademarked name of the Rival brand product.) Recently I realized that May's almost over and I haven't done a giveaway yet. Let's fix that. I'm going to giveaway a copy of 101 Things To Do With A Slowcooker by  Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring. There are three ways to enter: 1 Become a follower of Secrets of Mom and leave a comment (If you are already a follower, just leave a comment saying so.) 2. Follow me on twitter and leave a comment here saying you did so. 3. Share your favorite crockpot recipe.  Giveaway ends May 31st. Best of luck to you!

 Here's a recipe from her book that she taught us in her class. It's so simple and delicious. It can also be found at her website along with a few others.

Easy Apple Crisp

 

2 cans (21 ounces each) apple pie filling
2 1/2 cups granola cereal
1 1/2 teaspoons  cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar 
1/3 cup melted butter

1. Spray the inside of a 3&1/2 or 4 quart crockpot. Dump in pie filling. 2. Put in remaining ingredients in the order listed. 3. Cook on low heat for three hours. 4. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
 *(I made this and then realized I was out of ice cream. And sorry the one pic I took wasn't great. It was late. Personally I like to eat it plain and cold for breakfast.)

The Crockpot is a Divinely Inspired Appliance

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my crockpot. It is one of those things that makes my life easier. Now that summer is approaching and I live in St George, I will probably be using it even more. Awhile ago I came across this blog: crockpot365.blogspot.com. One woman (Stephanie O'Dea) decided to make it a New Year's Resolution to use her crockpot every day for a year, and she kept going. And this is where she shares her results. And her's is not the typical throw some meat & cream o' something soup in the crock fare. She aims for healthy eating. All of her recipes are gluten free unless otherwise indicated. Looking through her recipes can help give you some ideas and help you out of a 'cooking rut', while saving time and money. She also wrote a book, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking, which is a selection of the best recipes from her blog. She has so many great ideas, it is going to take me awhile to try even half of the ones I'm interested in.

 Last night I made her BBQ Chicken & Cornbread. It was a winner with the adults. I think I'm going to make this the next time I have someone over for dinner. It was simple, yummy, satisfying and healthy too. My picky children wouldn't try it, but then they are ridiculously picky. My version is below. A couple things: I forgot to spray the crock before hand. You definitely want to spray your crock. Second, after I started making it I realized that I didn't have frozen corn, so I used canned corn. It was good, but I think frozen would work better.


BBQ Chicken & Cornbread
1 lb grilled chicken

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

1/2 red onion diced 

1 cup frozen or fresh corn 

1 carrot, sliced

1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (18 oz) 

1/4 cup hot water


 Cornbread topping:
3/4 cup corn meal 

1 1/4 cups of flour (I did not use gluten-free) 

1 cup milk 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 egg 

1 tsp baking powder (only if using regular all-purpose flour)


1. Spray you crock with non-stick cooking spray. 2. Mix first five ingredients. Pour hot water into BBQ sauce bottle. Shake it a couple times before pouring into BBQ mixture and stirring. 3. Mix cornbread topping ingredients. (It should be slightly lumpy.) 4. Spread topping over BBQ mixture. 5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until cornbread is done. (I cooked mine on low for 5 1/2 hours and then high for 30 minutes because I was getting impatient.)

Ways to save money that are good for the environment too.

1. Cook from scratch- There's a great deal of potential savings here when compared to eating out, buying packaged foods and mixes. And cooking from scratch is often healthier. Plus less packaging, less waste.
2. Start a garden- My husband and I were debating on whether are garden is actually cost efficient. Thus far we've spent $50 and gotten two miniature strawberries. But then there were a lot of up-front costs that we won't have to do again like garden tools. Perhaps this will save us money as we get better at it. I did make the argument that growing your own herbs is definitely cost effective and I have managed to successfully do that one.
3. Unplug your appliances- I've heard several times that you can decrease your power bill by 10-15% by unplugging your appliances when not in use. I am not about to unplug my major kitchen and laundry appliances when they're not in use. That is too much work. But unplugging computers and the TV at night is reasonable.
4. Check out home improvement rebates- A few months ago we had our attic insulation redone. Upfront cost- $860. Rebate total- $823. So it cost $37 out of pocket and is estimated to save us $290 each year on power and heating. We also got rebates for buying new energy efficient appliances (which we had to purchase anyway.) These are just a few examples. There are many other opportunities out there. See what you have in your area.
5. Plant a tree- If you plant it on the south or west side of your home and it provides any amount of shade it can decrease your air-conditioning bill, plus it increases the value of your home.
6. Make use of your library- I'm certain that I would save thousands of dollars if I went to the library as often as I go to Barnes and Noble. It's a weakness of mine, but I'm getting better.
7. Reuse plastic containers- I reuse Cool Whip containers to freeze vegetable purees. There are hundreds of other possibilities.
8. Get your kids to play outside- Turn off the tv and computer once in awhile. The exercise is good for them too.
9. Cook with a crockpot- These appliances are actually pretty energy efficient. And in the summer time they don't heat up the kitchen like your stove and oven, thus saving $ on your power bill.
10. Take care of your car- Making sure your tires are inflated can save money on gas. And maintenance is cheaper than replacement.
11. Have your kids color on both sides of the page. The little things add up.
12. Buy in bulk-This only applies to some things. I buy fruit, cheese, laundry detergent and baby wipes in bulk because I know that whatever I buy we'll use. This isn't a good idea if what you buy will go bad before you get to using it. Figure out the price per ounce and comparison shop.
13. Find alternative methods of cooking- Recently I went to a preparedness fair where they taught us how to cook using solar ovens and wonderboxes. I'm excited to give them a try.
14. Walk or bike when its feasible- Another thing that's good for your health too.
15. Reduce what you have to wash- I only wash jeans after they have been worn twice. (Unless they've been smegged.) It makes them last longer and it reduces what you spend on detergent, water and power. Plus it's that much less time folding and washing laundry.
16. Get organized!- Being organized can decrease what you spend on things that you don't need. Plus it can save you time and just make your life easier.

Happy Earth Day! Does anyone have any other great ideas that belong on this list?

Book Review: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

I received The Essential Mormon Cookbook: Green Jell-O, Funeral Potatoes, and Other Secret Combinations by Julie Badger Jensen as a wedding gift and in the years since then it has served me well. I find it amusing that so many times I have found a "new" great recipe in a cooking magazine, at a church function or from a neighbor and as it turns out the same or nearly identical recipe  to what was in this book all along. It's like this woman has been to every LDS ward function everywhere and taken note of all the good stuff.
 I love this quote from the intro "Written to gladden the heart, this book is meant to strengthen families and friendships and to encourage and inspire both new and seasoned cooks with confidence in their own abilities and creativity and to celebrate the good things which come of the earth..." Yes, that is what I believe cooking should be about! There are lots of great recipes in here, however I will put in the disclaimer that many of them are not what I would consider "healthy" or "low-fat". More like "comfort food". (But not all are like that.) A favorite recipe from this book that has been a hit with even some very picky eaters, is one that I've come across in at least four other places. That means it has to be good right? I changed it in that I put in the crock pot, because I love my crock pot. It makes my life easier.

Apricot Chicken
4-5 lbs of chicken (You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts, drumsticks, whatever you like)
1 cup of Russian dressing
1 cup of apricot jam
1 package dry onion soup mix
1. Combine last three ingredients in a bowl.2. Put all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours.3. Serve with brown rice. Serves 8.
If you don't want to make this in the crock pot you can bake uncovered in a casserole pan @ 350 degrees for one hour. I generally only make this when someone comes over because it makes way more than my little family can eat.

Easy Homemade Chicken Stock

I love soup. I eat it about once a week, spring, summer, winter and fall. (It's just something that MLM deals with.) I have a couple cookbooks devoted just to soup. And everywhere that I read says that to have really good soup you have to make your own chicken stock, which is a 8-10 hour process. I can just buy the canned stuff and deal with it. It occurred to me last week when I found myself with a chicken carcass, I may have better things to do than spend an entire day making chicken stock, but my crock pot doesn't! So I did some internet searching and compiled this recipe from a few I found using things that I had on hand. And it smelled sooooo good. This stuff is ridiculously cheap to make and is better for you than what you purchase in the store because lacks the salt and preservatives.

 Easy Chicken Stock
1 whole chicken carcass
4 large carrots chopped into quarters
1/2 bunch of celery into quarters
1 onion, quartered
1 twig of fresh rosemary
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lemon, sliced
6-8 cups of water (Depending on the size of your chicken, you want it to be just covered with water.)

Put everything in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove stoneware from pot and cool. Pour through a large colander into a bowl. Voila! Chicken stock. If you're feeling ambitious (and I was), you can take a few of the cooked vegetables and blend them with a 1/4 cup of chicken stock, then pour and mix it back into the big batch. (My family can use every vegetable I can sneak to them.) Pour it into plastic containers and freeze for later use.

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Mustard Custard Sauce.

I thought I would try making something traditional for St Patrick's Day, but then I have to work on St. Patty's and the last thing I feel like doing after working 12(+) hours is making a large meal. Nor is my family to keen on waiting for said large meal that late in the evening. Instead I made this yesterday and it turned out really well, plus it was very easy. (My husband loved this meal and my daughter ate it as long as the yellow stuff didn't touch her food.) I found the recipe on Cooks.com and adapted as I saw fit. (Sorry no pictures, because my camera batteries are dead and as I was preparing to take one I discovered I don't have any more batteries of the appropriate size either. :S)

Corned Beef and Cabbage
4 large carrots, washed and cut into four pieces each
3 lb corned beef briscuit with seasoning packet
1 large onion, quartered
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/3 cup water
1/2 head of cabbage, cut into wedges
Layer first four ingredients plus seasoning in crock pot in order given, carrots on bottom. Pour water over top. Cook on low for three hours. Add cabbage. Cook for three more hours.

I found this next recipe on That Went Well, and I have to say it is pretty tasty. The real reason I decided to make corned beef and cabbage is so I could try this sauce. My husband happily ate every vegetable that I put on his plate because he was dipping them in this sauce. That's extremely high praise in my house.

Mary Helen's Mustard Custard Sauce

2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp plain yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp white vinager
4 tbsp water
Low heat stir till thickened. It should have a pudding consistency.

BBQ Baked Beans

So last month when I did the pantry challenge, I discovered that I had a lot of canned pork in my pantry, and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. And I didn't ever do anything with it because the one thing I thought of required beans, which I discovered I was out of.  (Somehow I had never purchased dry beans before last week.) So now that we are doing regular grocery shopping again I thought I would give it a shot. When I was growing up, I remember my mom making these great BBQ beans with bacon and pineapple. I thought I could switch the can of pork for the bacon. So I called my mom for the recipe. She said "I don't know, just throw in some beans, some pineapple and whatever." Thanks, Mom for your detailed assistance. (I love you Mom!)
"Beans are high in fiber, low in fat". (The first person who can name what cartoon character sings that line gets a prize.) Beans also have protein, calcium, iron, folic acid, and phytochemicals. Plus they're cheap. Something I should probably incorporate into my diet more often. So here's my very first attempt at making BBQ beans, and I was actually rather pleased with the results, much better than I expected. Not as amazing as I remember my mom's being, but I liked them, and they were very easy to make. They do however, require a little prep beforehand. You can also easily make this vegetarian by omitting the pork/bacon.

BBQ Baked Beans
1 lb of dry beans-cooked and drained* (See below)
1/4 cup of dried onion
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cup BBQ sauce (the better your sauce, the better your beans)
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (21 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (14 oz) canned pork chunks, drained or 1 lb of sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
Mix all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours, or until beans are tender. Leftovers freeze well.

Cooked Beans
The secret to cooking beans so that they won't give you horrendous gas is to change the water and cook them long and slow. (Also eating beans on a regular basis decreases their ill-effects on the body.) I soaked mine overnight, then drained the water. Then I put them in the crockpot, covered them with three inches of water and cooked them on low for 8 hours. Then I drained and rinsed them again before adding them to the recipe above. This time I used a pound of red beans, but you could just as easily use white, pink, kidney or pinto.

The Verdict: My husband and I really liked them, and I now I have found something else I can do with canned pork chunks that my kids won't eat. We love variety.

Beef and Bean Burritos

These are so easy and a big hit with my family. The actual making of the meal is pretty quick as long as you have your meat ready from the crock pot. Leftover burritos freeze well and lack all the who knows what that you get from freezer burritos from the store.

Beef and Bean Burritos
1 roast (I usually use beef, but pork also works)
1 packet of taco seasoning (2, if it's a particularly big roast)
1/2 c water
refried beans (Made fresh or from a can, whatever your time table looks like)
burrito-sized tortillas
grated cheese- cheddar, mozzarella or pepper jack
Tabasco sauce (optional)
sour cream (optional)
enchilada sauce (optional)

1. Trim fat from roast as desired. Put roast in crock pot with water. Cover with packet of taco seasoning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (This depends on the size of the roast and desired tenderness.) 2. Put roast in a bowl and shred with two forks. It should fall apart pretty easily. Add about 1/4 c of seasoned water from the crock pot and stir into shredded meat. If a large roast add another packet of taco seasoning to the meat and stir. 3. Spread a 1/3 c (more or less) of beans on a tortilla. Top with 1/3 c of shredded meat. Sprinkle with cheese and Tabasco sauce as desired. 4. Microwave for 45 seconds to melt cheese. If desired top with enchilada sauce and grated cheese before micro waving.