Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

 

This is the recipe I’ve used for over 12 years to make Mexican Stewed Tomatoes.  It’s my ‘secret’ ingredient in Taco Soup!

Mexican Stewed Tomatoes (#2)

Yield: 7 quarts

Ingredients:

• 24 cups chopped tomatoes – I prefer Roma because they are meatier and have a great texture
• 5 cups onion, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups green pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups red pepper, chopped – I have substituted banana or green peppers
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 Tbls. dried parsley
• 3 1/2 Tbls. cumin
• 8 Tbls. chili powder
• 3 Tbls. oregano
• 4 Tbls. salt
• 4 Tbls. sugar
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large stock pot – or divide into two large pots.  Bring to simmering and simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors together.  During this time, prepare the pressure canner, jars, lids, screw bands, etc.  After simmering, ladle hot tomatoes into warm quart jars, leaving 1” head space.  Seal and place in pressure canner.  Process quarts for 20 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

  Tomatoes, waiting to ripen or be processed

  This is my tomato ‘set-up’.

  Strainer on the cooktop holds washed tomatoes; boiling water in the pot … tomatoes go into the water for 10 seconds to loosen the skins.

  Then, they are plunged into ice cold water to cool.  I peel and core the tomatoes.  Lucky laying hens get to peck at the skins and cores.

  Cored & skinned tomatoes.  I need this 6 quart container filled with tomatoes.

  Chopped onions, peppers, & garlic.

   Seasonings (some are already mixed into the vegetables.

   After simmering for 20 minutes.

   This is my mom’s All American Stainless Steel Canner – no rubber seals to worry about.  7 quarts go into the canner.  After processing, the canner cools on the stovetop.  It’s cool when I can unscrew the lid.  The jars will be removed to cool on a wood cutting board for 24 hours.  After that time, I label and store in the root cellar.     

* Now, obviously these simplified directions leave out a lot of pressure canning steps … I take for granted that if you are interested in trying this recipe, that you have pressure canned in prior years.  If this is your first go-round, I suggest either purchasing the Ball Blue Book of Pressure Canning or checking out your state’s extension website for complete directions.  Each year before my first pressure canning batch, I re-read the instructions for my canner.  Pressure canning involves attention to detail and you may want to prepare and can your first batch of produce under the supervision of an experienced canner.  However, acquiring experience in this method of canning can be a wonderful way to keep up an age-old tradition and it’s a great way to store excess garden produce.

**This recipe must be canned with a pressure canner because it includes low acid ingredients (celery, onion, peppers, seasonings).  It CANNOT be canned using a water bath process.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Who would’ve thought my whole crew would like this soup.  I made the soup because the cauliflower needed to be used and we really don’t care for the raw vegetable.  The soup was easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. 

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbls. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
• 10 oz. frozen cauliflower*
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 Tbls. flour
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add onion.  Sautee onions until translucent.  Add flour and mix thoroughly.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower; simmer until tender.

Use a slotted spoon to remove cauliflower from the pot into a blender.  Puree the cauliflower, then add back to the pot.  Mix well.  Add milk, salt & pepper.  Heat to a low simmer, being careful not to boil.

*I used fresh cauliflower.  As the vegetable is simmered in liquid until soft, using fresh meant simmering just a bit longer.

**My own touch was to add a bit of chopped parsley and shredded cheese on top.

 

Copyright © 2010 Leanne Ely, CNC  All rights reserved.

Keeping ahead of the green & yellow zucchini!

 

Coming up with different ways to use zucchini has been elusive.  Mainly because by the time I ‘find’ my zucchini they’ve grown to the length of baseball bats and the diameter of at least a softball.  However, if I can harvest every - or every other - day and get the squash when they are smaller, it’s much easier to keep ahead and use them up faster.  This dish is a take-off of a recipe I found in a magazine.  The seasoning is mild and not too spicy.

 

Mexican Spaghetti

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 8 oz. spaghetti, broken into thirds
• 1 Tbls. olive oil
• 5 or 6 small zucchini (I used both colors), cut into slices

Directions:

If you haven’t already browned the meat, do so now.  Drain it and set it aside.  Saute the sliced zucchini in the olive oil until softened & slightly browned.  Set aside. 

In a large skillet – I used my wok because it’s large & non-stick – combine the water, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, salt & cumin.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the spaghetti pieces; return to boiling.  Boil for 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the zucchini.  Cook an additional 4 minutes or until the spaghetti is tender.  Stir in the ground beef.  Serve immediately.

Peppers - Green and Purple??

While Jules was visiting, she also took the kids over to Grandma Green Acres' garden to make sure all the produce was picked.  Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres have been on vacation and left the kids in charge of the garden.  I haven't made it over, so was very grateful Jules took on this task.  They picked raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers. 

In our garden, they picked 13 zucchini - only one of which was still usable (the rest were quartered for composting) and tomatoes!!!  The tomatoes you see on the counter are from my sprawling tomato garden - and they are red.

The peppers were purple and green.  I haven't raised purple peppers before, but their flavor is very mild.  I cleaned and sliced all the purple peppers.  At the end, 9 bags of sliced purple peppers went into the freezer.  Of the green peppers, 3 were sliced and one was diced.  I used to blanche the peppers, but have since learned it's an unnecessary step. 

So, the raw peppers are bagged and Food Saver seals the bags for freezing.  Slick and easy.  Ready to go for a winter casserole or soup.  I do label and date the bags before freezing, BTW.

Loads of corn

I have never 'put up' this much corn in one year!  In fact, the amount put up in just this year probably tops what I've done in all my married years combined.  THANK goodness my sister was here last week to help with the last batches.  It would have been overwhelming for me alone.

1.  The first step is to clean the corn - basically de-silk and remove any damaged areas.  I wash in the right sink and transfer the cleaned cobs to the left sink/dish drain.

2. The kernals are cut off each cob.  I've found a sharp paring knife works best and is quickest for me.  I've tried other methods, but just prefer this.  I cut the kernals in a brownie pan and use a second pan to collect the 'cut' cobs.  The 'cut' cobs go into the compost pile.

3. I have a LOT of 'cut' cobs in the compost.  My compost has three sections, the cobs are dumped in the long term compost!  They'll take a while to decompose, but eventually I'll transfer them to the main pile.

4. One batch is comprised of 9 cups corn kernals, 3 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 Tbls. salt.  This mixture is brought to a boil, boiled for 15 minutes, then cooled.  I like to cool the blanched/cooked corn overnight and package it for freezing the next day.

5. My sister, Jules, and I made enough to create 8.5 to 9 batches, which we spread out between four pots.  One pot is already cooling in the frig.  Thank goodnes for a large cooktop.

6.  I was up early the next morning to package corn for freezing.  This is the first year I've frozen in 3 cup packages.  Our family is growing and the boys are eating more.  I also froze at least a dozen 2 cup packages to give to Jules - as a thank you for all the hard work!  I used the Food Saver, but you could use freezer bags.  You'll just need to use the corn more quickly.  I've found that the Food Saver preserves and protects from freezer burn for up to two/three years.  While nutritional content may not be as good the last year, flavor has not been an issue.

** I think this might become an annual event, because I cannot imagine doing this alone.  My kids just aren't quite old enough to do the cutting (they could probably wash/clean, but I'm picky about that task - I don't want to be picking out husk & silks from the cut kernals!).  Next year, I'll have to remind Jules to bring a cooler so she can take her portion home right away.

Saint Patrick's Day - Irish Boxty

In honor of St. Patrick, Patron of Ireland, we are having Irish Boxty for St. Patrick's Day on March 17. Boxty is a traditional Irish dish made of - go figure - potatoes! I haven't made this exact recipe before, but I have fried mashed potato cakes in butter. This is similar. While I cannot claim to have a trace-worthy hint of Irish in my blood, potatoes were a huge part of my Grandpa Earl's life. My mom's dad, Grandpa Earl is a potato farmer. At 95 plus years, he's still growing and harvesting potatoes. This root crop has been a part of every 'big meal' and many small meals in our family. Here's the recipe if you'd like to join us in sampling this Irish tradition.

Irish Boxty
Yield: 6

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups grated raw potato
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Add mashed potatoes and stir until combined. In another bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Mix the egg mixture into the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the potato mixture to form patties about 2 inches in diameter. Fry on both sides until golden brown (approximately 3 to 4 minutes on each side). Remove the patties to a paper towel lined plate. Serve while warm.

Freezing Onions

I haven't done this before, so I asked help from a friend who does this with 20 lb. or more bags of bulk onions. She mentioned that onions are really hot this time of year and that maybe I should consider wearing goggles! After purchasing about 10 lb. of onions from the food buying club in late January, I had intended to store them in my root cellar. However, during the two weeks of sitting on the boot bench waiting for me to find time, some had sprouted and two had completely spoiled.

Yesterday became the day to tackle the onions.

I started cleaning and quartering early in the morning and quickly realized this job would have to be done in spurts and inbetween tears! I could only do about 4 or 5 before needing a break. Needless to say, it was a long process and took all day to complete. I thought to myself, how in the world am I going to chop these when I can barely handle quartering?? And, where are the kids' swim goggles??



Thank goodness I remembered the handy food processer attachment on my blender. The first batch was chopped very finely - more my ineptitude at chopping the first time & not intended. The next batches were chopped to the size that I would normally use in dishes and soups.

My friend did recommend double bagging & then storing in a container. They are smelly and I don't want the smell to migrate to other foods in the freezer. So far, they are double bagged. I froze them on a tray last night and will remove them to a covered container for long term storage today. The onions are frozen in 1/2 cup packs (in a sandwich baggie) and then double bagged in freezer ziplocs.

It wasn't too bad, and I needed a good tear jerker anyway.