Comfort Foods---Artisan Bread

To me there is nothing better than fresh, hot bread. Along with soft butter, I could make a meal of it! But, I do have restraint and have never done that--although I have been tempted! The current issue of Mother Earth News has a great article on healthy no-knead bread. It is about the second book by Jeff Hertburg and Zoe Francois called, "Healthy Bread In Five Minutes A Day." Their first book was written about in Mother Earth News last spring; I made the recipe and then bought the book. The bread is super good! I haven't tried the recipes in the new article, but I am sure they will be just as good.

The bread is mixed up with a spoon--no knead!-- and set to rise. Then it is put into the refrigerator. When you want to have fresh, hot bread with dinner, just remove how much bread dough you want to use, shape it and let it rise; then bake. It's really that simple! And, the taste!! It is soooo good! The instructions cover every little detail, so don't get discouraged by its length. By the time you read through the information you will be a bread expert. The recipe is at towards the end of the article, but I would suggest you read through the information that comes before it. You can find this article here.

[The picture is from Mother Earth News].

Comfort Foods---Creamy Cauliflower Soup

This is another recipe from "Quick Cooking" and it is really good, too. It has five ingredients and is "ready in 15 minutes or less"--my kind of recipe! This recipe was submitted by Heather Kasprick.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 can (14-1/4 ounces) chicken broth
2 cups milk

Place cauliflower in a saucepan with 1 inch of water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine soups, broth and milk; heat through. Drain cauliflower; stir into soup.
Yield: 9 servings.

Canning---Meatballs

Penny left a wonderful comment a couple of days ago and shared what she has been canning. She has caught the canning bug like many of us, and has canned fruit, vegetables, meats and meals. She mentioned that she was going to be canning ground beef, and I told her that I have canned meatballs with great success (they go great with home canned spaghetti sauce!). Bill has a recipe for Italian Meatballs on out previous blog (see side-bar for link) and he likes to brown the meatballs before canning. My meatballs are raw-packed, so there is less fuss and cleanup. Either way--you're the winner!


Meatballs—8 wide-mouth pints

4 lbs. ground beef
1 stack of saltine crackers, crushed
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper

Have the canner heating while you make the meatballs. Mix ingredients by hand; make meatballs using a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon. I worked with one quarter of the beef at a time, with the rest in the refrigerator (it's easier to work with the meat chilled).

Put meatballs into the jars, leaving 1" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure
—pints 75 minutes
—quarts 90 minutes

[I'm sorry that I don't have a picture--we've eaten all the meatballs I canned!].

Comfort Foods---Fresh, Hot Dinner Rolls

NO KNEAD! I have been making these rolls for most of my married life (40 years--to the same guy!). They are delicious and very easy to make. And, the best part is that they are a batter dough, no kneading. They turn out just as good (no one knows the difference) to kneaded rolls. I have even put the ingredients into my breadmaker to mix up the dough for me and they come out perfect. To scald milk, heat it over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan (if heated too hot it will burn).

Basic Roll Dough

1 package of active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
* * * *
1 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg

Soften yeast in warm water (110'). Combine milk, sugar, shortening, and salt; cool to lukewarm. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour; beat well. Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually add remaining flour to form soft dough, beating well. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise till double (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Turn out on lightly floured surface and shape as desired. Cover and let shaped rolls rise till double (30 to 45 minutes). Bake on greased baking sheet or in greased muffin pans in hot oven (400') for 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen Cloverleafs, Butter Fans, or Bowknots, or 3 dozen Parker House.

[This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book; I got it as a wedding gift in 1969].

Comfort Foods---Cheeseburger Meat Loaf

I have never liked meatloaf, but my husband does, so I have tried many different recipes. The one that I found that I do like is the Cheeseburger Meat Loaf. It is simple and quick to make, and very tasty to eat! This recipe is from Taste of Home's "Quick Cooking", and was submitted by Paula Sullivan. I haven't made this for a while, so it will be what's for dinner at my house tomorrow!

Cheeseburger Meat Loaf

1/2 cup ketchup, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. onion powder
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. dill pickle relish
6 slices American cheese

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup ketchup, egg, bread crumbs and onion powder. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. On a large piece of waxed paper, pat the beef mixture into a 10-inch x 6-inch rectangle. Spread the remaining ketchup over meat to within 1/2-inch of long sides and 1 1/2-inches of short sides. Top with the mustard and relish.

Place four cheese slices on top; set remaining cheese aside. Roll up loaf, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side and pulling away waxed paper while rolling. Seal seams and ends well. Place loaf, seam side down, in a greased 11-inch x 7-inch x 2-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350' for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160'. Cut the reserved cheese slices in half diagonally; place on top of loaf. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
Yield: 6 servings.

[Picture is the same as in the "Quick Cooking" book for this recipe].

Comfort Foods---Magic Fudge Sauce

I have made this and given it as gifts this year! Although I don't eat chocolate, it sure smells good! I found this recipe on Crystal's Everyday Food Storage blog. The picture is from her blog, too--doesn't it look good?! This woman really knows how to use food storage in creative and yummy ways. This is one quick and easy way to satisfy a chocolate craving!

Magic Fudge Sauce

1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter, cubed
3 tbsp. evaporated milk

In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate chips, butter and milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Serve warm over ice Cream (Sauce will harden.) Sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate any leftovers. Sauce can be reheated in the microwave. Yield: about 1 Cup

Turkey Soup---Part Two

Looking at the Turkey Soup process I posted last time, it looks kind of overwhelming! Really it isn't, it just takes time. Basically all you do is cook the turkey in the canner, using it as a pressure cooker. Then you make the soup and can it just like you would any other food with meat. If you have help it goes much faster, too! So, don't hesitate to try this, maybe on a smaller scale, because it is soooo good!

Home Canned Turkey Soup

[These ingredients are approximate; you can also add other vegetables if you want, such as green beans, corn; rice and noodles are not the best for canning purposes, you can add them when reheating the soup].

Make sure your jars and lids are close by and ready to be scalded when the soup is ready to can.

about 25- 30 lbs. turkey (I usually get 2 turkeys free at Thanksgiving when I purchase other food at the market)
2 lbs. carrots, peeled, sliced
2 large onions, chopped
10 lbs. potatoes, peeled, cut into med-small chunks
3 bunches celery, sliced

Put the thawed turkeys into two large pressure canners (I have one and I borrow one). SEE THE CANNER BOOKLET FOR COOKING INSTRUCTIONS--DO NOT FILL MORE THAN 2/3 FULL. Add a few bay leaves if you want, cut up cloves of garlic, chunked onions, and water up to the "fill" line (this will make the best broth!).

Pressure cook the turkeys 60 minutes at 15 pounds pressure. Let the canner cool on it's own.

Remove the meat from the canner and de-bone. Cut into the size pieces you want.

Pour broth through a strainer into another large pot or soup kettle. Clean out the canners.

[At this point, everything can be cooled down and the canning can be done the next day].

As you heat the broth, chop the vegetables. Add any seasonings you want, just be careful as some herbs turn bitter during the canning process. I usually just add pepper (I add salt when I reheat the soup). In the mean time--start heating the water in your canners.

Add the vegetables to the broth and simmer 5 minutes.

Scald jars and lids.

Put meat and vegetables into the jars, fill with broth up to the "fill" line--there is a line on the jar just below the lowest lip, below where the ring will go--just under an inch of headspace.

Wipe the jars thoroughly to remove any turkey fat. Add lids and rings. Put into the pressure canners and follow the canning booklet instructions.

Pressure can the turkey soup for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.

This last batch of turkey soup made 28 quarts of soup, plus 2 gallons more of broth! This recipe can be halved or divided into fourths (use a chicken instead of a turkey!).


[I apologize, I don't remember where online I got this recipe, otherwise I would give the reference. If I remember it, I will put it here].

50 Things to Make With A Jar Of Pasta Sauce

Spaghetti and pasta sauce comes in many flavors and is a real comfort food. But, you can only eat so much spaghetti. If you have a couple of dozen jars of spaghetti/pasta sauce in your food storage, there are many more recipes using that sauce that will give you the versatility you want. You can go to the Food Network where they have a list of 50 recipes, each using spaghetti/pasta sauce--surely you will find several that your family would like!

Comfort Foods---Tomato Soup

I was visiting the Self-Reliant Sisters blog and saw this recipe for Easy Tomato Soup that sounded really good--besides being very quick and easy--and would be especially comforting on chilly winter nights. I have not tried this soup yet, but I will!

Easy Tomato Soup

3 jars tomato basil spaghetti/pasta sauce
1 quart whipping cream
2 (14-15 oz. cans) chicken broth

In a crockpot mix all ingredients together and cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.

This recipe takes just about as much effort as to open a can of commercial tomato soup, but I would bet this recipe tastes better! Because of the whipping cream, this soup cannot be canned. Cream soups can be frozen, although the cream might separate when it is reheated. If that occurs, the soup can be wisked or blendered, to remix.

[Picture is not of the recipe listed].

Home Remedy---Coughing

I am getting over a cold and last night as I was talking to my Mother on the phone, I got a tickle in my throat and I started coughing. I took a sip of water, but that didn't help. I took a bigger drink of water and even that didn't stop my coughing. My Mother said to put a little dab of salt on my tongue---it worked! I was amazed at how fast it worked! Give it a try some time and see if the salt helps quiet your cough!

Comfort Foods---Stew

Stew is an easy comfort food, one that can simmer on the stove or in the crockpot. I canned a few quarts of stew last summer and have enjoyed them this fall. Another "fast food" to have on hand! Just open the jar, heat, and thicken with a little flour or cornstarch and water. Add a homemade biscuit or hot bread and you have it made!

Comfort Foods---Turkey Soup

My son and I made Turkey Soup the two days following Thanksgiving. I had two turkeys just for this purpose (they were free with purchase of other food at the market). I ended up with 56 pints of the most wonderful soup! I have been down with a cold this week and have this soup to give me comfort as I work my way back to good health.

If anyone is interested in how this soup was made, just post a comment and I will share how we made it.

Comfort Foods

Because the weather is getting colder, and colds and flu are impacting our lives, our focus this month will be on comfort foods. One of the easiest kinds of comfort food is also a "fast-food"--home canned soups, stews and meals-in-a-jar. All you have to do is open the jar, pour the contents into a container, and either heat on the stove or in a microwave. Add crackers, biscuits, or a toasted grilled cheese sandwich for a very comforting and tasty meal. Here in California we are expecting several days of rain, starting this weekend. If you add working, holiday shopping, and kids in school, a nice hot bowl of homemade food at the end of the day will hit the spot.