Pineapple Stuffing Casserole, A Cheap Holiday Dish!

Do you need something inexpensive to make to take to your family holiday dinner? This is a great dish that I made last year, and the nice thing is that you probably already have the ingredients! It is also easy to double for larger crowds.

Pineapple Stuffing Casserole

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
5 slice white bread, cubed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9 inch pan.

Cream margarine and sugar. Slowly add eggs.

Add pineapple and bread cubes.

Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Great served with ham!

What do you do with green tomatoes?

It's that time of year when gardens are ending and gardeners are picking the last of their produce before the first frost. My garden produced quite a few green tomatoes.  I ended up making Green Tomato Mincemeat and Chow Chow.  Both recipes are excellent!

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Ingredients:

6 c. chopped apples, seeded
4 c. chopped green tomatoes
3 c. raisins
2 c. dried cranberries
3 c. sugar 1/2 c. vinegar or lemon juice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt

Directions:
 

Simmer ingredients until soft (about one hour). Ladle into hot jars and water bath for 25 minutes.

Granny’s Chow Chow

Chow Chow has traditionally been a fall canning recipe. It is a method to use up the last of a garden’s vegetables. Cooks have often added other ingredients like carrots or cauliflower. It can be used on hot dogs, hamburgers or with beans to add spice.

Ingredients:

24 medium green tomatoes
1 head of cabbage
8 peppers (any variety, green, red, sweet or hot)
2 large onions
5 cups white vinegar
5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons salt
5 teaspoons celery seed
4 teaspoons mustard seed

Directions:

1. Chop tomatoes and drain. Add to large pot.
2. Chop remainder of vegetables, add to tomatoes and mix.
3. In a separate pot, heat vinegar, sugar and spices until blended.
4. Add liquid to vegetables and mix. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Ladle into sterilized jars.
6. Water bath for 10 minutes for pints and 15 for quarts.

Canning Pumpkin!

When I first started using pumpkin I was concerned with the type I chose. That was until I tried a carving pumpkin and found it to work just as well in pumpkin bread as any other type. I have used them for the last four years. These seven quarts pictured were from one pumpkin purchased at Aldi's for $3.99. 

Here is how I do it: 

Cut it in half and scrape out the slime with a spoon. Save seeds to either bake for a snack or for planting next year. Cut the halves into a few sections. Take the sections and cut into slices about an inch thick. Cut the slices into small squares. Slice off the side of the square that has the skin. Not only is this the easiest way to skin a pumpkin but it is easier to compost the skin. Boil your pumpkin squares for 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and fill your jars. Pour clean boiling water over the pumpkin. Place your lids on your jars and put in pressure canner. For pints, 55 minutes at 11 lbs, for quarts, 90 minutes at 11 lbs. Just drain and blend or mash to put into your favorite pumpkin bread recipe! One pint generally equals 1 cup of pumpkin puree.

The Cost of Tomatoes

I am a newbie when it comes to purchasing tomatoes.  Of course I have bought a few at a time at the grocery store, but until this year I had never canned tomatoes and had no idea how to purchase larger amounts.  I had heard that people had success at the farmer's markets.  Our local community had a Tomato Festival at the Franklin Farmer's Market and I thought, "Okay this had to be the best place to buy good quality tomatoes."  It was a yuppie fest for people willing to fork out way more than I wanted to pay.  Sure the tomatoes were beautiful, but you could not find a tomato there at a reasonable price, most sold for $3-4 per lb.  Yikes!  So I went to Aldi's on the way home and purchased tomatoes grown in Georgia for about $1 per lb.  I like supporting our community farmers, but I don't want to be robbed.

My next attempt was at a farmer's stand in Franklin near the historic City Cemetery.  They sold beautiful boxes (about 25 lbs) of Amish organic tomatoes for $24. Wow, less than $1 per lb and these were beautiful.  Unfortunately, the following week they had raised their prices to $28 per box.

I then tried the farmer's stand on Old Highway 96 in Franklin.  They had gorgeous yellow and red Roma tomatoes for $22 a box. While that was still a better price, it was not the fantastic deals that I had read about online in the canning groups that I am a member.

My next trip was to the Farmer's Market in Nashville.  The first warehouse type structure closest to the road had tomatoes for about $2 per lb.  Not a deal.  The second structure behind the first actually had boxes of tomatoes ranging from $12 to $16 per box and the lady was somewhat concerned for the "high" price.  Amazing.  So I bought an exceptional box of Roma tomatoes from Swafford Farms (TN) for $12.  It was around 30 lbs which was about .40 per lb.  Now that is a deal!

Hope this helps those on the lookout for tomatoes!  If anyone has a great place to buy produce locally, I would love to know!

Great Deal on Beans and How to Can Them!

Gordon Food Services is a local (and has national locations) food service distribution store that is open to the public. Ours is located in the Cool Springs area.  Mostly restaurants use it.  They sell 10 lbs of a variety of beans for $9.99. While I know I could just leave them dried and use when I need them, it is so inconvenient to have to remember to soak over night and not be able to just open a can to make chili. So I decided to can some and leave some dried.

I chose the easiest possible canning recipe - can the dried beans. I hesitated at first thinking it would not work, but they came out great! The box comes in two five pound bags. Using only about half of one bag (about 2.5 lbs) I canned 14 pints. All you have to do is put a half cup of dried beans in your pint jar, half a teaspoon of salt, and fill with boiling water. Pressure can at 10 lbs for 75 minutes (90 minutes if you add a meat flavoring). So easy!

Bruschetta in a Jar!

This is by far one of the easiest canning recipes I have ever done! I had an over abundance of yellow tomatoes.  It turns out that yellow tomatoes have a similar amount of acid to red but are sweeter which makes it seem like they are less acidic, per several university agriculture websites. However, since they are soaking in mostly an acidic fluid, color differences would not matter in either case. 

Bruschetta in a Jar

From Ball

Makes about 7 (8 oz) half pints

What could be more welcoming than warm, freshly toasted homemade bruschetta? Just spoon these zesty tomatoes onto a toasted baguette and garnish with grated cheese and a splash of olive oil, if desired.

You will need:

5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
9 cups chopped cored plum tomatoes (about 4 lb or 12 medium)
7 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE garlic, wine, wine vinegar, water, sugar, basil, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes or until garlic is heated through. Remove from heat.
3.) PACK tomatoes into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot vinegar mixture over tomatoes leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4.) PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

 

Marinara Sauce with Oven Roasted Tomatoes for Canning!

I admit it, I am a lazy canner.  I don't want to spend all day babysitting and stirring a sauce.  I don't even mind tomato seeds or skin, but you can still remove them for the recipe if you prefer.  This recipe will produce a thick sauce in just a few hours without having to worry about scorching or stirring.  It does not require pre-boiling of tomatoes or skinning.  You can also alter it to suit your tastes.  It is unanimously approved of in my house by my husband and kids so it is definitely a winner!

Marinara Sauce with Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 bushel of tomatoes (usually a box about the size of a case of paper and weighing about 25 lbs)
2 heads of garlic, cloves separated and outer skin removed
2 red peppers, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
sugar
lemon juice
herbs of choice (pepper, oregano, rosemary, garlic salt, red pepper flakes, etc,)

Clear liquid is what you drain.

Directions:

Wash and roughly cut up tomatoes.  Put in baking pans.  Add garlic cloves, peppers and onions.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until the tomatoes are all shriveled up and are floating in their own juices.

Here is the important part and will keep you from having to wait all day while your sauce thickens!  DRAIN your tomatoes in a colander.

Drained tomatoes.

Take your shriveled tomatoes and put in a large pot, measuring the amount as you transfer it.  For each quart (4 cups), add two tablespoons of each sugar and lemon juice.  You can use less sugar if you prefer, but we like a sweeter sauce.

Add your herbs of choice.  I added pepper, fresh chopped oregano and rosemary, garlic salt to taste and red pepper flakes.  Use an immersion blender to blend ingredients to a sauce-like consistency (or regular blender).  Bring to a boil.  Sauce should be thick.

Sauce just before blending.

Can in sterilized jars and water bath for 45 minutes.  My total was 11 pints but that can vary depending on tomato type. 

Canning Sweet Chili Sauce!

 

Sweet chili sauce cool after being taken from the canner.

This is a fantastic recipe! You can use it for chili or even over meatloaf. Locally, at a farmer's stand in Franklin, TN, I bought a half bushel of organic, Amish tomatoes for $24 which is less than $1 a lb.


Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 bushel of tomatoes (usually a box about the size of a case of paper and weighing about 25 lbs)
5 cups sugar
1/3 cup salt
3 1/2 cups white vinegar
7 large onions, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
5-6 hot peppers of choice, chopped
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1 teaspoon celery flakes or a few stalks of celery, chopped

Directions:

Remove skin from tomatoes by emerging into boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes and then plunging into ice water to cool.  Skins should easily peel off.  (Just a note - don't throw away the skins.  You can dehydrate them and ground them to use in soups, sauces or as a seasoning!) 

 

I used a Rival 22 quart turkey roaster to cook the chili sauce.  It is available at Amazon.

Roughly chop tomatoes and other vegetables.  Add to a large pot or electric turkey roaster.  Stir ingredients and simmer 5 to 7 hours uncovered or until it reaches desired thickness.  After about an hour of cooking when the vegetables soften, use an immersion blender to blend ingredients to a sauce-like consistency.  You will need to stir more frequently toward the end of cooking.

At the end of cooking, you should see a reduction of at least an inch from the original line when you began to cook.  More if you like it thicker.

Place sauce into sterilized jars and water bath 20 minutes.

Makes 20 to 22 pints.

Harris Teeter Shopping 8/7/13

 OOP: $17.69 (Saving 79%)

Today is the first day of school for my kids so I was near Harris Teeter for their Super Double Wednesdays.  While I did not have a plan together, I searched my purse for some decent coupons and came up with this! 

2 Reynolds Wrap, 3.59
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs, doubled
Final Price: 1.59

2 Bags Ripe Bananas, $1. ea (perfect for banana bread!)

Crest, 3.35
-$2/1 MF Catalina Q from Kroger, doubled
Final Price: Free

6 Met RX Nutrition Bars, 2.29 ea
-(3) $2/2 MF Qs (Walgreen's Vitamin Booklet), doubled
Final Price: .29 ea

Carmex, 1.59
-$1/1 MF Q (Walgreen's Cold & Flu Booklet), doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Breyer's Ice Cream, 2.50
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs, doubled
Final Price: .50 ea

7th Generation Dish Soap, 2.50
-$1/1 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: .50

2 All Detergent, 2.99
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs, doubled (NLA)
Final Price: .99 ea

Reach Floss, 1.69
-$1/1 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: Free

3 Regina Vinegar,  1.49 on sale (more canning!)
-(3) .50/1 MF Qs (tags on items), doubled
Final Price: .49 ea

Northern TP, 6.99
-$2/1 MF Q Catalina from Kroger, doubled
Final Price: 2.99

2 Orville R. Popcorn, 1.59 ea
-(2) $1/1 MF Q blinkies from Publix (this week), doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Heinz Ketchup, 2.19
-$1.50/2 MF Q Catalina from Kroger, doubled
Final Price: .69 ea

Total before sales/coupons: 84.99
Sales/Coupons: 67.30
OOP: $17.69 (Saving 79%)


 Also saw at Harris Teeter:

My mini rant...
Really?!?  It's pasta sauce.  Made from tomatoes.  This must have fairy dust sprinkled on it to justify nearly ten dollars a jar. 

Mango Salsa!

Aldi's has a sale on Mangoes this week for .49 each. Using Mangoes in salsa is amazing!

Mango Salsa - I doubled the recipe.

Mango Salsa

Yield: 7 to 9 eight ounce jars

Ingredients:

6 cups diced unripe mangoes (about 4 large, hard green mangoes or slightly under-ripe)
1½ cups diced red bell pepper
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro (or dried cilantro)
1 teaspoon diced or dried mint leaves (optional)
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger (Harris Teeter sells little frozen cubes of ginger cheaply)
1 cup light brown sugar
1¼ cups cider vinegar
½ cup water or lime juice  

Directions:

Peel and dice mango.

To the 6 cups of diced mangoes, add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and mix the spices. Reduce to simmering, and simmer 5 minutes. 

Wipe rim and screw threads with a clean damp cloth. Add lid, screw band and tighten firmly and evenly. Do not over tighten.

Put the sealed jars in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. Boil them for at least 20 minutes.

Get it While You Can: Free Food Preservation Books at Amazon!

The first book is Food Canning: How To Safely Preserve Foods. It covers all of the safe canning methods in use today. Food canning is a great way to preserve the tasty foods you've grown in your garden so you can enjoy them year-round. It's also a good way to prepare for emergency, because canned foods don't have to be refrigerated.

The second book is Food Drying: Food Dehydration and Safe Storage. It covers food drying and dehydration, along with safe storage of your dried foods. Regardless of whether you're a food drying novice or a seasoned vet, there's something in this book for you. Buy it now and learn everything you need to know to get started drying foods.

You can download for free at Amazon HERE!

Summer's Bounty!

 

Peach Salsa!

This is my second year having a garden so I am still new to many things...like how busy you are starting mid July canning everything for the winter!  On top of that, we have several peach and apple trees.  The peaches have all come into season in the last two weeks so I have spent a ton of time canning!  I also know several locations for kudzu flowers, wild blackberries and crab apples which are now in season.  Here are a few pictures and a couple of amazing recipes!

Blackberry Chipotle Glaze

Spicy Blackberry Chipotle Glaze
Based on the original recipe at Driscoll's Berries

This is sooooo good! I wanted something other than a jelly for the abundant wild blackberries that proliferate much like weeds in my area. While jelly is great, there is only so much that you can use or give away! This glaze is excellent on meat or as a dipping sauce. It is spicy, but that is how we like it! 
 
Ingredients:

2 t olive oil
2 c diced onion
6 cloves garlic
4 T chipotle chilies in adobe, chopped
3 quarts blackberries (12 cups)
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
1 c sugar
2 t salt

Directions:

Cook onion in oil for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add chilies and cook for 1 minute more.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Purée in food processor or blender. Strain in fine mesh to remove seeds. This will reduce mixture significantly but do not be concerned, the end product is worth it!

Return to heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Ladle into 6 half pints. Boil in water bath for 15 minutes.

Peach Barbecue Sauce

Peach Barbecue Sauce
Recipe is adapted from the Ball Canning and Recipes website.

This stuff is fantastic! I plan on making this every year!

Ingredients:

12 c. (about 6 lbs.) peaches, peeled, pits removed and chopped
2 c. (2 large) red bell peppers, chopped
2 c. (2 large) onions, chopped
6 TBS. (about 9 large cloves) garlic, chopped or pressed
2 ½ c. honey
1 ½ c. apple cider vinegar
2 TBS. Worcestershire
4 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 tsp. dry mustard
4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a boil.  After ingredients have softened,  use an immersion blender to puree. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 25 minutes, longer if you prefer a thicker sauce.

Water bath for 15 minutes.  This recipe makes about 12 half pints.

Kudzu Flower Jelly

This recipe starts with a base of crab apples.  The great thing about crab apples (usually found free) or tart green apples (which you can purchase at the store) is the incredible amount of pectin found in them.  You can use these as a blank slate for any flavor you want to add.  It is a very versatile fruit.  If you go the route of the crab apple, you want to pick them before they are ripe and while they are still green (usually starting in mid-July). Kudzu flowers smell like grapes and add a wonderful flavor and color to this jelly!


Kudzu Flower Jelly

Ingredients:

Plastic grocery bag of crab apples
Half grocery bag of Kudzu flowers (more for darker color)
2 T lemon juice
Water
Sugar

Directions:

Clean the crab apples by removing the stem and the flower at the other end. If you let them sit on your counter for at least a day, the stems dry out and are easier to just pull off. If you get a stubborn one, when you cut the apple in half and it comes right out. You can also scrape the end flower bud off easily with your finger nail. (Just fyi, this can be done while hanging out with the kids watching television!)

Remove any blemishes on the apples and cut in half. As you cut in half, put the halves into a bowl of water to prevent turning brown.

Wash thoroughly the Kudzu blooms and remove the colored blooms from the stem. They come right off easily.

Drain your bowl of crab apples and put in a large pot. Add the blooms. Fill pot with water to just above the apples and blooms.

Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to simmer. Cook until apples a mushy (about 30 to 45 minutes). Using a potato masher or spoon, lightly mash the apples to help release the pectin.

Start your canner and water to boil. Mine takes about an hour to get to a boil so now is a good time to turn it on.

At this point, you can drain your mixture using a jelly bag over night, however, I am too impatient for that. Start with a spaghetti strainer and strain the large part parts out of your mixture. Add the leftover apple mush to your compost. Then move to a fine mesh strainer and strain juice twice. Finally, put coffee filters into your spaghetti strainer and then strain the juice. This takes about 10 minutes which is much easier than waiting overnight and works just as well.

Measure your juice. For every cup of juice, add a cup of sugar (or 3/4 cup if you prefer less sweet). Add two tablespoons of lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stir often.  Boil until the mixture reaches 210°F on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount placed on a plate that has chilled in the freezer turns to gel. It should wrinkle on the surface and leave a trail if you run your finger through it. This should take about 20 minutes.
 
Fill your jars with the hot liquid and boil in a water bath for 10 minutes.

With this recipe, I produced about seven half pints.

Shopping at Harris Teeter, CVS & Walgreens!

 It's been a busy day!

 OOP: $3.60 (tax only, saving 92%)

CVS:

This was two trips combined.

16 Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioner, 2.50 ea
-(8) $5/2 Any Clairol Product, July PG
Final Price: Free

OOP: $3.60 (tax only, saving 92%)

 OOP: $20.22 (Saving 81%)

Harris Teeter:

Mid TN Harris Teeters have Super Doubles every Wednesdays!  Love it!  I will enjoy it for however long they do it as Harris Teeter is in the process of being bought by Kroger. :(

Milk, 2.97

6 Met RX Nutrition Bars, 2.29 ea
-(3) $2/2 MF Qs from Walgreen's Vitamin Booklet, doubled
Final Price: .29 ea

 

YoCrunch Yopa Yogurt, 3.49
-1.50/1 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .49 

 

2 Ester-C Vitamins, 10.89 BOGO

-(2) $2/1 MF Qs from Walgreen's Vitamin Booklet, doubled

Final Price:  1.45 ea

 

Electrasol Tabs, 4.95 BOGO

-$1.50 MF Q from Kroger homemailer, doubled

Final Price: Free

 

6 Furmano Tomatoes, .68 on sale

-(2) $1/3 IP Qs, doubled

Final Price:  .01 ea

 

2 Alexia Sweet Corn, 2.00

-(2) $1/1 IP Qs, doubled

Final Price: Free

 

4 Mueller's Spaghetti, $1.00

-(2) $1/2 IP Qs, doubled

Final Price: Free

 

3 Bumble Bee Tuna,  3.49 BOGO

-(3) $1/1 MF Q blinkies, doubled

Final Price: Free

 

International Delight Coffee Creamer, 3.00

-.55/1 IP Q, doubled

Final Price:  1.90

 

2 Cheerios, 3.49 BOGO

-$1/2 IP Q, doubled

Final Price: .75 ea

2 Golden Grahams, 3.49 BOGO

-(2) .85/1 IP Qs, doubled

Final Price:  .05 ea

Chicken, regularly abt 16.00, on sale 5.66

Total before sales/coupons: 104.64

Sales/Coupons: 84.42

OOP: $20.22 (Saving 81%)

OOP: $1.87 (saving 86%)

Walgreens:

3 Walgreen's Hydrogen Peroxide, 1.29 ea
-3 for $1 Walgreen's Q in store circular
Final Price: .33 ea

Walgreen's First Aid Bag, 4.99
-Free First Aid Bag WYB 3 First Aid Products (Hydrogen Peroxide, auto deducts at register)
Final Price: Free

4 7up Ten 2 Ltrs, .88 ea
-(4) .75/1 MF Qs
Final Price: .13 ea


Total before sales/coupons:  $13.53
OOP: $1.87 (saving 86%)

Nature:

Picked 6 Quarts of wild blackberries in the last two days to can blackberry pie filling!
OOP: Free!