Caprese Salad

So easy and yummy!

1 Tomato (Diced)

1 String Cheese (Diced)

Dash of Salt

Fresh Basil (Chopped)

Balsamic Vinegar (to taste)

Mix it up and eat for lunch!

(Intriguing)Strog'noff!

The ONE thing that takes the longest in this recipe is

WAITING FOR THE NOODLES TO COOK!

Seriously.

Once you finish putting the sauce together,

you stand around and wait and wait for the noodles to be done! Ingredients:

Egg Noodles

1 Jar Canned Ground Beef (or 1 lb Frozen Ground Beef )

8oz Mushrooms

1 Small Onion

1can Cream of Mushroom soup

Salt/Pepper

Sour Cream

1.Start Boiling water for you noodles.

Once you ad the noodles to the water start the sauce as follows:

2.Dump the Canned Beef, Chopped Onion and Mushrooms and heat through.

(Cover with a lid - in THIS recipe, you don't want to loose the broth and juice to evaporation).

If using frozen beef, brown it first with the onions, then ad the mushrooms.

3. Ad Cream of Mushroom Soup to the meat mixture and mix well.

4.Once your noodles are cooked, drain them.

5.Pour the drained noodles into the sauce.

6.Stir it together.

7. Ad about 8oz of sour cream.

8. Stir it up and serve!

Hints: If your canned meat has salt added, you may not have to salt and pepper it much.
Be sure your noodle water has plenty of salt.
Be sure you season your sauce BEFORE adding the noodles and sour cream.
Make sure it has plenty of salt, adding the noodles will wash out some of the flavor.

Canning Ground Beef

A few years back I came home to find the freezer door had been left open for several hours after my children had helped themselves to ice cream sandwiches. It forced me to can meat, just in case my children ever left the door open again! I learned that I could always be just a little more prepared. So every General Conference Saturday, Kent's Market has a big sale. They mark down their 93/7 ground beef and chicken breasts to unreasonable prices.

When I had first heard of it years ago, you could get the burger $.99/lb!

SO, now on the Fall General Conference, I buy 50 lbs to freeze.

At Spring General Conference, I can a few pounds for the shelf!

I've read various Do's and Don'ts of home canning meats, there are varying opinions that I respect.

This is just how I do it based on my own research.

You may have other techniques that work for you. To can meat, it really should be the best quality meat, with low fat content.

When I can chicken and pork, I raw pack.

For ground beef, I cook it until the pink is gone.

Pack it into jars. Fill it full, then press it down. Fill it to the top and pack it in as firm as you can. Each jar holds barely under 1 lb of browned ground beef. Some jars end up with more "juices"

Just top off with broth OR I just use water. Leave your head room.

Load the pressure canner!

Meat HAS TO be pressure canned!

Process according to your altitude.

Pressure canning takes a bit of time

(60 minutes to heat up, 90 minutes to process, 60 minutes to depressurize)

so It's a great thing to do while I listen to General Conference on Saturday.

As you can see, in the end, some end up with more fat than others. What I like about canning meat is that you can have nearly fat-less meat. Much of the fat seeps out of the jars and is left in the processing pan, and what is left in the jar coagulates enough so that if I want to, I can scoop off the fat before using it!

Recipes for canned meat to come!

Rotating Food Storage Wheat

My Aunt is from Mexico and she makes the most delicious things! This is not her recipe, it's one her daughter made, but she just got it out of a food storage cook book. BUT this salad tastes just as much like my aunt made it as anything I have ever had! Bonus: it's a good way to rotate your wheat storage!

Basic Cooked Wheat Berries

(This basic recipe is good too, if you just ad some sugar and milk to make it 'oatmeal-ish" too!)

4 cups raw whole wheat

10 cups water

1 Tbs salt Oil

In a large Crock Pot (4 quart or larger) and fill with wheat, water, and salt. Cover and cook on low all night, 8-10 hours. Cooked wheat may be bagged and stored in the freezer for months

Fiesta Wheat and Bean Salad

1 green pepper, diced (Small/bean size)

1 orange or red pepper, diced (Small/bear size)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper cored and diced(if you like it hot, don't seed or core)

Juice of one lime

3 cups cooked wheat berries

1 can corn, drained (16 oz/ or frozen corn)

1 can black beans, drained (15 oz/or Black eyed peas)

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin powder

1/4 cup cider vinegar (I like to use red wine vinegar)

1 Tbs sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp salt Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Toss well.

Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

If you like it with more spice,

(and breath to boot!)

Add some chopped white onion or crushed garlic cloves!

You could also ad chopped tomato and diced avocado!