Solar Ovens

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Free batteries at Office Depot


If you have a business (even home business) or are a teacher, or homeschool; you can join the rewards program at Office Depot.  This week they have AA, & AAA batteries free after rewards.  This means you buy the batteries, & a few weeks later receive a certificate for that same amount to use at the store.  I do that & then buy the office/school supplies I would have needed anyway.  You can buy 2 a day all week!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Beef stew recipe for canning

I love beef stew!  I've tried this recipe, & it's delicious!  It's so wonderful to have the ease of opening a can of soup already made, but have it taste just like homemade, instead of that nasty stuff in cans at the store.  I'm canning some of this because of reports of beef prices going up later because of the drought.


Makes about 7 (32 oz) quarts or 14 (16 oz) pints

Traditional beef stew with potatoes, carrots, celery and more. Preserved in your pressure canner for when you want a homemade meal fast.

You will need:

4 to 5 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
12 cups cubed and peeled potatoes (about 12 medium)
8 cups sliced carrots (about 16 small)
3 cups chopped celery (about 5 stalks)
3 cups chopped onion (about 4 small)
1-1/2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
Water
7 (32 oz) quart or 14 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

1.) PREPARE pressure canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) BROWN meat in oil in a large saucepot. Add vegetables and seasonings to browned meat. Cover with boiling water. Bring stew to a boil. Remove from heat.
3.) LADLE hot stew into hot jars leaving 1 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 pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure 1 hour and 15 minutes for pints and 1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts, 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.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jalapeno Cilantro Lime Butter


1/2 cup butter
1 jalapeno (roasted & diced)
1 lime zested
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro

Mix all together.  Tasty!!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Strawberry Peach jam

Sooo yummy!  Although next time I'm going to cut the sugar a bit.




  • 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1-1/4 cups finely chopped peeled peaches
  • 1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
  • 5 cups sugar

Directions

  • In a large saucepan, combine the strawberries, peaches and pectin. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; skim off foam if necessary.
  • Process in canner.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Peach bread pudding with caramel sauce


2 cups fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and halved
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups hot water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups French bread, torn into small pieces

CARAMEL SAUCE
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon rum
If you prefer, you can omit the rum and use 2
teaspoons of vanilla extract in the caramel sauce
instead.


Directions:
Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Chop the peaches and lightly mash them in a
mixing bowl. Combine the sweetened condensed
milk and the eggs; add them to the peaches and
mix well. Stir in the hot water, melted butter,
cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir the French bread into to
the custard mixture until the bread is completely
moistened. Turn the pudding into the prepared
baking dish.
Bake until a knife inserted in the center of the
pudding comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10
minutes.
While the pudding is baking, combine the brown
sugar, 1/2 cup butter, corn syrup, and rum in a
saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and
simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until just slightly
thickened. Let cool slightly.
Remove the pudding from the oven and let it cool for
about ten minutes before serving. Serve warm with
the caramel sauce. Cool and cover any leftover
pudding and store it in the refrigerator.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Canning corn


After I'd filled my dehydrator, I still had most of the corn left.  Corn gets less tasty the longer after it's picked.  So I didn't want to wait all week to get it dehydrated one day at a time.  So I looked up corn canning instructions.  I chose a raw pack method because it was less steps.  Again, I wished I had an electric knife!  But I did get it all cut off.  I put it in the jars, added salt (1/2 tsp for pints, 1 tsp for quarts), added hot water, & processed in the pressure canner.  You can find charts online, but for my altitude I did 15 lbs pressure, 85 min for quarts & 55 min for pints.  I had 7 quart jars and 15 pints (this was 50 lbs of corn, after filling 3 dehydrators & freezing about 8 cups).  This was pretty simple & looks wonderful!  I think it will taste like summer when we eat it this winter!
I have an excellent frozen corn recipe I posted last year.  You can see it here:
http://singlemompreparedness.blogspot.com/2011/07/corn-on-cob-in-solar-oven.html