January 2012 Newsletter

Product Highlight of the month:  Dehydrated Celery in #10 cans.  I picked up 3-4 cans this past year and finally opened one.  This is a great product to have on hand.  I grow lots of vegetables but have never grown celery.  I use celery in many soups, casseroles and in stuffing.  I just add a handful to the other ingredients and it softens as it cooks and you would never know that it was dehydrated previously.  And better yet…no chopping involved.

Equipment Highlight of the month:  Slow cooker.  This is not a new piece of kitchen equipment but I think many people don’t use it often enough. As so many mothers are so busy, and many work outside the home, it can be a dinner life-saver.  Early in the day you can throw a few cheap ingredients in and then forget it.  It is perfect for soups and stews of course…but it is also terrific for cooking cheaper and tougher cuts of meat.  Even the toughest meats cooked “low and slow” come out fall apart tender at the end of the day.  I always buy whatever meat is on sale and freeze it.  For dinner I often simply put the meat in the crock-pot and add a little water and a bottle of sauce or a homemade sauce/marinade and let it cook most of the day.  For dinner I just add some vegetable and a simple side of noodles, rice or stuffing and dinner is done! This is a much better dinner alternative than eating out all the time.  Restaurants are a major budget-buster!  Don’t have time in the morning?  Cook a meal in the evening after work. Take it out when you go to bed.  It will be ready to re-heat and serve the next day.

Tip:  If you have less than 6 hours to cook the dinner…turn the dial up to High so it will cook in about 3-4 hours.  If you have all day, you can cook it on Low and double the cooking time.

There are many websites now devoted to slow cooker recipes and tips.  A couple popular ones are www.crockpotgirls.com, www.crockpot.com and www.maceys.com and click on “crock talk” recipes.

  Crock Pot recipes:  Chicken Fajitas

Fresh or frozen, boneless, skinless chicken pieces                   1-2 onions, sliced

3-4 bell peppers, sliced                                                                 dry fajita seasoning

I place the chicken pieces, usually not even cut up, into the crock pot.  Add just a little water, maybe 1/2 C.  Sprinkle on a generous amount of fajita seasoning. About 2 hrs. before serving add the veggies.  Slice the onions into rings and separate.  Slice the bell peppers into ½ slices.  Place all the vegetables on top.  Total cooking time:  Cook on High for about 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.  Just before serving, remove the chicken and shred or chunk up.  Return to pot and stir.  Serve fajitas in flour tortillas with sour cream. Cheese is optional.

I do this same recipe sometimes with beef such as round steak which can be tough.   For the seasoning I use Montreal Steak seasoning.  Everything else is the same.  The beef just falls apart and makes yummy steak fajitas.

Lazy Crock Pot Meat

I place some chicken, pork or beef, whatever we have, in the crock pot.  Add a little water.  Pour a bottle of whatever kind of sauce I have on hand and let it cook all day or afternoon.  I cook some side dishes or vegetables to go with.  If I used a teriyaki sauce we will eat some white rice and stir fry veggies with it.  I don’t have time to be a gourmet cook or the money to eat out very often, so this makes for some healthy and affordable easy meals.

I stock up on the bottled sauces when they are on sale and I try to have a variety on hand.

Another way to stock up on fresh meats:  Canning

If you already know the basics of home canning/bottling and you have a pressure canner you can bottle your own meats.  This would become extremely handy if your power went out for an extended period of time.  The meat would already be completely cooked and ready to eat and would not spoil like the meat in your freezer.  Caution:  You must use a pressure canner for any meats!  You do not have to pre-cook the meat before canning but some people choose to.  Refer to the booklet that came with your canner or use the Ball Blue Book for instructions.  Take advantage of really good deals on meats and stock up with this method.  Store-bought canned chicken is usually well over $2 for a can of only a few ounces.  Doing this yourself would cost you much less than $2 for a pound.

Make a New Year’s Resolution toward preparedness

Resolve to learn a new skill such as sewing, dehydrating, canning etc. Grow a garden, pay off your debt, get some equipment, store water, earthquake proof your home……..