Using Canned Pork and Beef

Many of us have purchased canned meat in the last year.  Two recipes I love use the Pork Chunks and Beef Chunks.

R. LeBaron shared this recipe with me and I love to use it when I am in a hurry:  We like this pulled pork better than any of the pre-prepared BBQ pork from the supermarket.

Quick Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1.  Open a can (or 2) of pork chunks.  (I like to rinse off the fat)  

2.  Pull apart with a fork.  

3.  Add your favorite BBQ sauce.  

4.  Heat or serve cold, alone or on bread. 

I adapted this recipe from one I found on the internet.  I love how quick cooks in the pressure cooker, but you could easily adapt it to the stove top.

Beef Stew 

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cans beef chunks
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 cubes beef bouillon
3 cups water
salt to taste

1.  Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until browned on the outside.
2.  Stir in water, bouillon cubes, carrots and potatoes.  Close the lid and bring to 10 lbs of pressure (standard if you don't have a regulator).
3.  Cook for 4 minutes.
4. COOL AT ONCE.
5.  Add beef chunks and salt and pepper to taste. 

Balsamic Black Beans

Just ate this for lunch and we all loved it!  You could definitely use your dried beans from storage and just prepare them in advance.

Balsamic Black Beans

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves, garlic
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, undrained
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

In a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add both cans of beans.  Add the oregano and balsamic vinegar.  Stir to mix well.  Raise the heat to medium-high.  Cook until the mixture begins to thicken (about 3-5) minutes.  Serve alone or with corn tortilla chips, sour cream, salsa, cheese, etc.

Easy White Bean Dip

 If you like hummus, I think you will like this.  It is really good served with chips or raw veggies.

1 can white beans
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a blade.  Blend until very smooth.  Chill and serve with fresh veggies, crackers, or chips.

How to make Homemade Corn Tortillas

 Step-by-step instructions and minimal ingredients.  Give it a try!

http://reallifefoodstorage.com/?p=275

Whole Wheat and Honey Cornbread

This is really simple and a great way to get some wheat into your diet.  Everyone in my family liked these.  We agreed it didn't taste quite like the cornbread we are used to, because of the wheat component.  We really enjoyed them and thought they were a nice addition to our soup.

Whole Wheat and Honey Cornbread

3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
2 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 8 or 9 inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Found on http://reallifefoodstorage.com/?p=263

Cabbage Casserole

3/4 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 quart whole tomatoes, (1/2 whole, 1/2 pureed)
1 cup instant white rice
1/2 medium-sized cabbage
1/2 c. water

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker.  Bring to pressure according to your cooker's instructions.  Once at pressure, cook for 5 minutes.  COOL AT ONCE.   Serve with garlic salt and vinegar, if desired.

Beef Stew

This is so easy and so good!

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 lbs cubed beef stew meat
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 cubes beef bouillon
3 cups water
salt to taste

 1.  Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium-high heat.  Add beef and onion and cook until browned on the outside.
2.  Stir in water, bouillon cubes, and carrots.  Close the lid and bring to 10 lbs of pressure (standard if you don't have a regulator).
3.  Cook for 16 minutes.
4.  When the 16 minutes are up, COOL AT ONCE.
5.  Remove the lid and add potatoes. 
6.  Replace the lid and bring cooker to 10 lbs of pressure again.
7.  Cook for 4 minutes.
8. COOL AT ONCE.
9.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Another pressure cooker staple in our home that could easily be converted to use home storage ingredients.

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef                       1 tsp parsley flakes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes            1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 c. water                                      1/2 tsp basil 
1/2 c. chopped onion                        1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 c. chopped celery                       1 tsp salt
1/2 c. diced bell pepper                    2 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic                                    1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (13oz) can mushroom, drained

Brown meat and drain.  Add all ingredients, except tomato paste, to pressure cooker.  Bring cooker to pressure according to manufacturer's directions. Cook 8 minutes.  Cool cooker at once.  Stir in tomato paste and simmer, uncovered, to desired thickness (sometimes I add a little cornstarch too.)  Serve sauce over spaghetti.

Better than Grandma's Mashed Potatoes

I made these mashed potatoes using a recipe in my pressure cooker cookbook and my kids loved them.  In fact, they said, "These are even better than grandma's!"  That was a first for me, so I wanted to share.  Also, using the pressure cooker makes homemade mashed potatoes a snap.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs russet potatoes (peeled or unpeeled), diced
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth  (I use 1 1/2 cup water and 1 chicken bouillon cube)
......................
1 TBS margarine
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except margarine and salt and pepper in pressure cooker.  Close cover securely.  Bring to pressure according to your cooker's instructions.  Cook 5 minutes once the cooker has come to pressure.  Cool cooker at once.  Remove the lid.  Leave all liquid or drain off desired amount (I usually drain off about 1/2 of the liquid for our tastes) .  Add margarine and mash potatoes using a potato masher or hand mixer until desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

My sister shared this recipe with our Food Storage group and everyone loved the taste and the simplicity. It has become a favorite for our family!

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 15 oz can Black Beans, undrained
1 15 oz can whole Kernel Corn, undrained
1 12 oz can undrained Chicken
1 cup Salsa (I use Southwest Black Bean and White Corn)
2 cups Chicken Broth (OR 2 cups water, 2 bouillon cubes)
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Onion Flakes
Tortilla Chips

Combine all ingredients, except for chips, and bring to a boil. Add tortilla chips to each bowl and pour soup over the top.

Peach Leather

My 6 year-old and I just mixed up a quick batch of peach leather to put in the food dehydrator. Here is a recipe shared by Dani S. at our last food storage meeting. It can be used with a dehydrator or you can make it by putting it outside in the sun!

Peach Leather

1 Peel and remove seeds from about six peaches.

2. Slice into quarters and put in blender

3. Add 2 TBS honey

4. Blend

5. Cover jelly roll pan with plastic wrap

6. Pour puree onto jelly roll pan

7. Set outside in the sun for approximately 2 days ( I bring mine in at night) until the fruit leather pulls easily away from the plastic wrap

8. Roll like a fruit roll-up. Enjoy!

(Hint: I cover mine with a window screen to help keep pests away. However, pests are not usually an issue.)

PINEAPPLE (made from zucchini)

I have not tried this recipe, but after trying the zucchini apple pie, I am convinced that this could be really good. What a great way to use up an overabundance of zucchini and save lots of money on pineapple. Let me know if you try it and how it tastes!

Zucchini Pineapple

• 18 cups ground zucchini
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 (46 ounce) can pineapple juice

1. Bring juices and sugar to a boil.

2. Add squash and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Pack and seal in hot jars and lids. This should be processed using modern canning methods. If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, please go to http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_home.html for the current information. Similar recipes call for this to be processed in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

4. Makes 12 pints of crushed pineapple.

5. May be used as you would regular pineapple.

Found on Recipe Zaar. Submitted by Foxjen www.recipezaar.com/Zucchini-Pineapple-9531

Zucchini "Apple" Pie

In case you are overrun with zucchini from your garden or are lucky enough to be given a quantity by a friend, here is a recipe that received rave reviews from our food storage group--- Try calling it apple pie and see if anyone can tell it is not made with apples!

Zucchini "Apple" Pie
Contributed by Lori P of GJ

12-16 cups zucchini
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Crumb Topping
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup soft butter
Combine all ingredients and mix with a fork

Peel and seed zucchini. Cut into "apple" slices. In a pot, combine zucchini, lemon juice, and sugar. Cook until zucchini is translucent and tender. Add nutmeg and cinnamon. Add flour to thicken to desired consistency, about 3/4 to 1 cup. Pour into 9X13 pan (for fruit crisp) or 2 9-inch pie crusts. Add crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Amazing Pizza Crust Recipe

As promised to the Tuesday Night Food Storage Group, here is the "never-failed-yet" pizza crust recipe. I LOVE how everything dumps together, then just stir and let rise 10 minutes! Yes! Use this for breadsticks, calzones, pot pie pockets, etc.....

I usually double this recipe for a family of 5.

Super Speedy Pizza Crust

2 ¾ to 3 cups flour
1 c warm water (120° to 130°)
1 pkg (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast (note: does not have to be quick-rise yeast)
1 TBS vegetable oil
¼ tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, yeast and salt. Add water and oil; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Tear off small pieces and roll into breadsticks -OR- for pizza crust- Divide dough in half. Press each half into a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Prick dough generously with a fork. Bake at 425° for 12-16 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Spread sauce over crust and add toppings. Bake 8-10 minutes longer.