Hi Everyone,
NOTES:
**On Christmas Day, we drove down to Oceanside and along the coast. It’s surprising how many people go to the beach on Sunday. ANYWAY, we got french fries AND zucchini fries. Of course, there was way more than we could eat. So I googled the best way to reheat fries. Frankly, I’ve always just thrown old fries away because they never taste as good.
Anyway, here is what I found. The Best Method to Reheat Leftover French Fries | The Kitchn She tested the oven, the broiler, pan frying, and the air fryer. Check out her results. I plan on trying the air fryer so I can continue to enjoy those yummy zucchini fries!
** A friend gave me a recipe for cornbread using canned corn and canned cream corn. I knew I had some cream corn someplace. The cans were dated 2012. Yep, 12 years old. Well, I opened them. The corn smelled and tasted perfectly fine. The cornbread was delicious. I took it to a family gathering and had a lot of compliments on it. We ate it cold for several days. It tasted like sweet cake. I’ve included the recipe below, although it’s not totally “food storage” because it calls for eggs and sour cream. Still, it’s yummy and will help you rotate some of those cans of vegetables.
GARDEN HAPPENINGS:
**I’ve already bought my tomato seeds for next Spring. I just couldn’t wait. Last year I planted indoors the end of January, so it’s still early. I live in Zone 9B. I can pretty much plant year round. But frankly, I don’t enjoy being outside in the garden when it’s cold. (Ok, California cold, not Michigan cold). Some plants do better when you plant them directly (peas, beans, potatoes, carrots, beets for example), but you want to get a head start on tomatoes, celery, squash. By starting indoors, you’ll get a harvest before the intense summer heat begins.
** At some point, you are going to want to sanitize your seed trays, planting pots, and grow bags.
** I’ve been out in the garden the past two days trying to tidy up my blackberry patch. It’s slow going because the vines have stickers, and they are sharp!!! Pruning, thinning out the plants, cutting out the ones that have managed to creep “out of line!” and tying last year’s vines up to the wire fences. Two days and not even 1/4 done. At least we’re having a few warmer days next week so I can continue to work on it.
THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: vegetables – 20 cans
Vegetables are available for $.50 at Winco. We eat mostly fresh, or frozen. I think there is more nutritional value in them. But, when vegetables are out of season, the price can be high, and canned vegetables are the next best thing. Remember: canned potatoes do NOT store well for long periods of time. I have found that canned carrots don’t last long either. I prefer dehydrated carrots and potatoes. Corn, beans, peas, tomatoes are your best bets.
MISC. PURCHASE: hand sanitizer, medical gloves, masks
The flu is going around. We’ve been lucky at my house and have managed to avoid catching it. I heard once that to avoid the flu you need to maintain a healthy immune system. Your body needs Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc. Religiously, I take C and D every morning and night, and Zinc every other day or so. Does it really work??? I’m not sure, but I’ve managed NOT to be sick for a very long time.
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:
Soft and Moist Cornbread
This recipe makes a 9X9 pan. I doubled it for a 9 X 13 pan.
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (BTW, these are also on sale at Winco for $.50)
1 can whole kernel corn drained
1 can creamed corn not drained
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. melted butter
Optional – and this is what makes the cornbread taste like cake:
2 eggs
1/4-1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. – 1 c. shredded cheese – I did NOT add the cheese
Mix. Cook at 350˚ in a greased baking dish for 45-50 min.
Enchilada Sauce
We are not fond of “spicy” food here at my house. When I use enchilada sauce, I usually mix it half and half with tomato sauce to lessen the spice. But I found this recipe for homemade enchilada sauce that I thought I could “tweak”.
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
15 tsp chili powder – same as 5 TB
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
You can see that by decreasing the chili powder and red pepper, I can lessen the sauce’s spiciness. Yay!
Ground Beef Gravy over Mashed Potatoes
I bought these on October 6
Mashed Potato Pearls – 28 oz. pouch 2pk Box : Grocery & Gourmet Food
They make the best mashed potatoes!
I thought they were kind of pricey (almost $30 for two bags), but you can see that it is 84 servings of potatoes, and all you do is add very hot water. ($.36 a serving)
And the best part is they are delicious! Anyway, here we are at the end of December and I’m still on my first bag.
For this recipe, you can use these instant mashed potatoes, fresh potatoes, cooked and mashed with butter, milk, and salt, dried potato flakes made with butter, salt, and milk. OR you can use dehydrated potato slices or dices that have been reconstituted and mashed.
For the gravy:
1 lb. ground beef (I have canned ground beef. It’s easy to do and if you want to try it, just ask me and I will help you)
1 onion chopped (about 2 TB dehydrated onion, rehydrated)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB olive oil
2 TB flour
2 c. beef broth
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain. Add the chopped onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic for an additional minute.
Sprinkle the flour over the ground beef and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in the beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 min, or until the gravy thickens slightly. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve the beef over the potatoes.
Marti Shelley
