In the kitchen by Frankie

Dry Onion Soup Mix
4 tsp. beef bouillon granules (or crush four cubes)
8 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp seasoned pepper

Mix well and store airtight.

The quality of your bouillon makes a huge difference. Please don't buy the run of the mill cubes or powder from the grocery store! They are full of unpronounceable, poisonous ingredients, including MSG. Frontier Natural makes a great, healthier alternative. I buy it through my food co-op: Azure Standard.

In the kitchen by Frankie

I just love this sauce...You can make it then cook a pork roast in it, then pulled the pork and serve on sandwich buns. You can do the same with beef. Or you can just use it as a BBQ sauce. Versatile and easy. just what I like!

The Best BBQ Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until smooth and hot, about 10 minutes:

1/2 cup sugar
8 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp minced onion
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup butter, cubed
6 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp prepared mustard

YUM!

In the kitchen by Frankie

Here's a yummy summer dinner. It's easy to put together and uses the abundance of cherry tomatoes many of us will have soon. I double this recipe for my family, and I don't begin cooking the pasta until the meat is halfway cooked. I serve it hot and don't want cool pasta.

3/4 lb farfalle pasta (bowtie)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb hot Italian sausage
3 tablespoons garlic, chopped
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves torn into pieces
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
sea salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.
2. Drain and toss in olive oil. Set aside. Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet.
3. Squeeze sausage from casing into pan, crumbling it into small pieces.
4. Add garlic and cook until sausage is browned and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.
5. Toss cooked sausage with pasta, basil, tomatoes, cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.

In the kitchen by Frankie

re's a meal you can make from entirely farm-grown/farm-made goods.

Extreme Veggie Scramblers

½ cup butter
¼-½ c chopped veggies: onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, celery, zucchini, garlic
12-18 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup chopped tomatoes
½ cup fresh shredded cheese

Saute veggies. Combine eggs and milk. Add veggies, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir in tomatoes when the eggs are nearly done. Stir in cheese. Serve hot.

In the kitchen by Wardeh

Hello! Mrs. Joe asked me to share my handy grain cooking chart with you! I keep it printed and taped to the inside of a cupboard and refer to it almost daily. Enjoy!

Looks like the table format won't be preserved by cutting and pasting, so I'll have to refer you to my blog post, which will look good when you print it. Just hit Ctrl-P and print and it will be automatically formatted (no sidebars, etc.)

http://gnowfglins.com/2009/07/06/grain-cooking-chart/

In the kitchen by Frankie

We love cool pasta dishes on hot, summer days. This one is excellent!

BLT Pasta

1 pound shaped pasta, cooked and drained
8 slices bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
2-3 tsp chicken bouillon powder
4 cups lettuce, thinly shredded

Combine the mayo, lemon juice, sugar and bouillon powder for the dressing.

Combine all remaining ingredients, except the lettuce. Chill if desired.

Just before serving, stir in the lettuce.

In the kitchen by Frankie

I enjoy the convenience of home canned beans. They taste ever so much better than store bought, and are super easy and inexpensive. I am canning another batch right now, so I will show you how it's done.

First, decide how much you want to can. I am making 14 quarts. Measure out 7 pounds beans (or 1/2 pound per quart) and soak overnight. I didn't take a picture of the soaking. I'll assume you know how to do it. I use a five-gallon bucket to soak this amount of beans.

Drain the beans and place them in your biggest pot, covered with fresh water. Bring them to a boil and boil, gently, for 30 minutes. This plumps the beans to just about their full size.

My husband set up this nifty outdoor kitchen for me to work on. Ain't he great!!

Put clean jars in the oven and bake them at 250 for 20 minutes or so. This sterilizes the jars. You can also run them through the sterilize cycle of the dishwasher or boil them.


Gather your ingredients and place into each dry jar:

1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 Tbsp chopped onion OR 1 tsp dried onion
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
a heaping 1/2 Tbsp chopped jalapenos
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp oregano

Put rings and lids into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until needed, but DO NOT BOIL.

Fill each jar with three cups of the beans and then add the hot cooking water to 1" headspace. If you run out of cooking water, plain boiling water will suffice. Use a small rubber spatula or other tool (I use a chopstick) to stir around the spices. Wipe rims with a clean washrag carefully to assure a good seal and top with lids and rings.


Add the appropriate amount of water to your pressure canner, add jars and process at 10 pounds for 90 minutes.


When done, allow pressure to dissipate naturally, then allow jars to cool on counter overnight before removing rings and storing.

All done!

In the kitchen by Frankie

Ro-tel tomatoes are a popular addition to many recipes here. A 10 oz can costs about $1.25, though! I found this recipe that works well as a substitute. This is a h.o.t recipe. I recommend canning in 8 oz jars. Any more in a meal would be much to spicy for me. However, I had large peppers. You'll have to decide how much is right for your family. Enjoy!

Ro-Tel Tomatoes
1 gallon ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large green bell peppers, chopped
8 hot peppers, chopped (I ended up using 6)
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Mix together and cook 45 minutes. Put into hot sterilized jars. Seal and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 18 1/2 pints.

Question and Answer- In the kitchen

Question by Carla:
Hello! I would very much like to learn to can food and I'm trying to research pressure canners. I have read that All American pressure canners have the advantage of not using a gasket, so it is one less part to replace.Does anyone have recommendations? Thanks!

Answer by Frankie:

I borrowed an All American from a friend to learn with. I ended up buying two older (1970's) Presto canners. They were $15 and $35 respectively. The All American, though undoubtedly a wonderful canner, was difficult to use, for me. The lid has to be carefully aligned and clamped correctly. I had to have my husband do it. I prefer the much-easier to attach Presto lid. Don't get me wrong...if I found a terrific deal on an AA, I would get it in a second! Not having a gasket is an advantage, I guess, but it really is easy to get a spare gasket. They are only $10 or so. They last a very long time, treated properly.

Canning is a very fun hobby! You'll love having homemade food ready to heat off the shelf. I have only canned for a year, but I'll share all I've learned. Ask away!

In the kitchen by Frankie

Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread (three loaf recipe)

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cups honey
2 Tbsp yeast
2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2-3 cups white flour

Combine the first four ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. Add the whole wheat flour and mix. Let sit for 5-10 minutes till foamy.

Add salt, oats and white flour. Mix until the dough scrapes the sides of the bowl clean, adding more flour as needed. Knead for four minutes.

Form into three loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise till nearly doubled. Bake in
325 oven for 25-30 minutes. till done.

In the Kitchen by Mrs. Wallace

This recipe was on Homestead Blogger last fall, many tried it and everyone liked it. It calls for wrapped caramel candies, this time of year you can buy them, but they now have caramel chips year round which makes it easier.
I have a note that it made 4 half pint jars.


Caramel Apple Butter
3 lbs apples
1/2 cup water or apple juice
2 cups sugar
1/4 tea. ginger
1/2 tea. cloves
1 tea. cinnamon
21 caramel candies

Peel, core, chop apples.
Put apples and liquid in large pot. Cook on med-high until tender.
Remove apples and puree in food mill or processor. Discard leftover juice.
Return puree to pot or put in crock pot.
Add sugar, return to heat until mixture bubbles.
Reduce heat and simmer until thick.
Add spices and caramels.
Stir until melted.
Process in boiling water bath: 5 minutes 1/2 pts 10 minutes pts

In the Kitchen by Beth Joy

When I first started using herbs I didn't realize that just because herbs are normally really safe to use I had to use measurements... One of the first herbal tea's I made was a Chamomile tea with lots of Chamomile and Lavender! I put just about anything in that tea that sounded good to me! I gave some to my momma and sister a cupful and they were asleep within ten minutes! I learned after that to be more careful with my tea's but I still add just about everything I can think of!

Well this is the recipe I used for the Chamomile tea but don't worry I fixed the measurements!

Beth's Chamomile tea;
3-4 apple slices
2 tbs. Cinnamon
1 tbs. Chamomile
1 1/2 tbs. Peppermint

I just make it like coffee.. It will make 12 cups of coffee. I hope you enjoy the tea!

Replies:
Mrs. Wallace
Sounds yummy!

In the Kitchen by Frankie

Peanut Butter Fudge

1 lb powdered sugar
18 oz peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, but recommend a high quality brand)
½ cup white granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
½ cup water

Mix all together and press into pan. Use 8x8 for thick fudge or 9x13 for quite thin. This also works well rolled into small balls.


I served this to our extended family for our Christmas gift exchange party and it was a BIG favorite.

In the kitchen by Frankie

I have to admit, I have not made this yet. A batch was given to us, though, with the recipe, so I have enjoyed it. It was very good! I plan to make some for one of our Christmas desserts.

Soft Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup corn syrup
2 cups salted peanuts
2- 2 1/2 cups peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Butter a cookie sheet well and set aside. Measure out all ingredients before beginning, as you need to be able to add them quickly!

Heat peanut butter in a double boiler. Add the peanuts and cook until hot and creamy.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in the corn syrup. Cook nearly to hard crack stage (209 degrees). Use a thermometer. Just before the corn syrup mixture reaches 209, add vanilla, stir and when it reaches 209, turn off the heat.

Add the hot peanut mixture and the baking soda. Stir quickly and vigorously. Working quickly, pour onto buttered baking sheet and spread with a buttered spatula. Cool and cut into pieces.

Replies:
Dusti
That looks yummy- I've never made brittle- but my GFCF kiddos could eat it! Thanks!

Mrs. Joseph Wood
It does look yummy! This is a treat here in our home too! Enjoy!

In the Kitchen by Frankie

I'd
like to share today about one of my very simplest, but favorite-est
meal planning strategies. I created a form for my Home Management
Binder that makes planning much more simple.

I sat with my recipe box and a notebook and wrote down every meal that I make with hamburger as
the main ingredient. Then chicken, then fish, then vegetarian, then
bean and rice, etc. I typed it all up nice and added extra lines for
new meals we liked.

Now I have a great tool for those times I need to make a meal plan with just what's on hand. It also greatly assists my tired brain when I haven't planned (bad, Momma, bad!) and
it's nearing meal time. "I do have a package of chicken thighs. What
can I make with it?"

We rarely end up ordering pizza due to lack of a planned meal anymore.


Replies:
Mrs. Joseph Wood
This is a great tip! Thanks for sharing! :-)