Your weekly assignment:  B for 3   Only 6 weeks to go!

This year my area has a BUMPER CROP of apricots. All along my street I can see these trees drooping--sometimes clear to the ground—with their load of soft orange goodness.  But it can be a little overwhelming.  There are only so many you can eat plain, and it’s nice to have more ways to enjoy them during the time they’re everywhere.  Last week’s post had a link to the Utah State University Extension’s pdf that shared how to preserve them. But we need more.  😊

Don’t have apricots?  Drive around town and look for apricot trees that aren’t being picked. Chances are that the owner would be delighted to have you harvest them; it spares him from having to step on, drive over, or pick up fallen fruit.

1- Eat them fresh!  They’re at their best when picked ripe from the tree, warm and dripping with juice when bitten into.

2- Fruit leather. Next to eating apricots fresh, this is my family’s favorite way to eat them. The photo above is apricot-cherry leather, using about half apricot puree, half cherry.

#3-8 Apricot nectar- puree fresh, pitted apricots with enough water to get them smooth, or puree canned apricots with their syrup.  Drink plain, over ice, with a few drops of vanilla or almond extra, with a drop of lemon oil, or a sprinkle of ginger or cinnamon.  Alternately, mix an equal portion of nectar with milk (try almond milk!), sparkling water, lemon-lime soda, or ginger ale. If you want an actual recipe so you can bottle it, see here.

9- Frozen. Halve them, remove the pit, and freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. You can pretreat them with a little lemon juice, citric acid, or a syrup of lemon juice and honey. Once frozen, transfer them to freezer bags and return to the freezer.  

10- Grilled.  This recipe calls for brushing halved fresh apricots with honey and butter, grilling, then topping with a drizzle of honey and almond whipped cream.

Apricot jam. 

11- The recipe from Ball canning jars uses a package of liquid pectin.

12- Apricot jam using instant Clear Jel instead of pectin.  This recipe can be frozen or processed in a boiling water bath.   Don’t want to use pectin OR Clear Jel?  Use the Apricot Preserves recipe, below.

13- Apricot jam using dried apricots.  Chop 1 cup (6 ounces) of dried apricots, and combine in a saucepan with 1 c. water and 1 ½ c. sugar.  Bring to a boil; simmer a few minutes, mash, and continue simmering until it thickens.  This will thicken more as it cools.

14- Apricot-pineapple jam.  My mom made a version of this most years that we had apricots.  The pineapple lightens the flavor and adds a nice sweetness.  This recipe gives an option for adding maraschino cherries; I’ve never tried it that way but it sounds good.  It also calls for canned crushed pineapple in syrup; using pineapple canned in juice will work fine too.     If you have liquid pectin, use this version.

15- Apricot preserves. These tend to be more fruity than jam, and the apricots aren’t pureed first.  Honestly, there’s a lot of crossover between jam and preserves. This one requires no pectin- only sugar and lemon juice. (fast versions! With dried apricots, fresh ones)


Apricot butter – the thicker, more deeply flavored cousin to apricot jam.

16- This one starts with fresh apricots and apricot nectar.  See the note above on making your own apricot nectar.  

17- This apricot butter cuts the cooking time down by starting with dehydrated apricots.  If you don’t prefer the kick from crystallized ginger, feel free to leave it out for a little different version.

18- Apricot BUTTER.  Dairy butter with dropped dried apricots, lemon zest, and honey whipped into it. 

19- A smoother Apricot BUTTER, with dried apricots soaked and pureed before being beaten into soft dairy butter. 

20- Home-bottled apricots.

21- Dried apricots.  Apricots may be dried in the sun, the oven, or in a dehydrator.  Instructions for all three methods can be found here.  

22- In smoothies. Use a handful of fresh, pitted apricots. A dash of vanilla or almond extract makes it extra nice.

23- substitute fresh apricots for fresh or canned peaches in almost any recipe.

24- substitute dried snipped apricots for dried peaches in almost any recipe.

25- substitute fresh apricots for fresh or canned plums in almost any recipe.

26- substitute dried snipped apricots for pitted prunes in almost any recipe, sweet or savory.

27- Use pureed apricot (or any other fruit) as a replacement for half of the butter or oil in muffins, other quickbreads, or cookies. 

28- Purees can instead be used to replace some or all of the liquid in a recipe.  2 cups of puree will replace 1 cup of liquid.

29- Syrup for pancakes, crepes, sweetener for drinks, over ice cream, or on other desserts.  Juice the apricots using a steam juicer, (or use apricot nectar) mix with an equal part of sugar (1 c. juice to 1 c. sugar).  Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate, freeze, or place in jars and process in a boiling water bath.

30- Apricot sauce. Use over pancakes, in crepes, over ice cream, brushed over cakes, used as a filling in the center of cupcakes, and also on broiled salmon, chicken or pork, fresh or baked on to make a glaze.  At its simplest, combine equal parts apricot puree with sugar; bring to a boil to dissolve sugar.  For a thicker sauce, stir 1 Tbsp. cornstarch in to the sugar, for each cup of puree, before boiling.  For extra flavor, to each cup of sauce, add any of the following: ¼ tsp. almond extract, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground ginger or 1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (or puree it with the apricots to begin with), a sprinkle of ground cloves, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, zest of half a lemon.  Garnish with candied pecans or almonds, chopped candied ginger, a sprinkle of cinnamon, or lemon zest.

Apricot quickbread (baking powder-raised bread)

31- Apricot quickbread using pureed apricots. This recipe calls for canned ones, but you can use 1 pound of fresh apricots instead.  Pit them before pureeing. 

32- Apricot quickbread using dried apricots.  There are many variations of this online. Some add dried cranberries, others add semisweet chocolate chips, some have nuts- pecans and almonds both complement apricot.  

33- Apricot-Almond Muffins- stir ½ c. snipped dried apricots and ½ c. chopped almonds into a 12-muffin batch of muffin batter.  After baking, dunk tops in melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and finely chopped almonds- or mix an almond glaze to spoon over the tops.  Almond glaze- stir together 1 Tbsp. milk or water, ½ tsp. almond extract, and about 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Add more water or powdered sugar as needed to make of drizzling consistency.
 
Apricot yeast bread

                34- My version, with orange, apricot, and pecans. I've got an awesome recipe somewhere for a seedy, dried fruit breakfast bread that includes apricots, and is served in wedges with cream cheese spread on top, but I'll have to look harder to find it.  Maybe it will get its own post.

                35- Bread machine version, with dried apricots, orange juice, and oats.

               36- Apricot Daisy Ring- a beautiful yeast bread in the shape of a daisy, with apricot preserves and a light almond glaze on top.  I love to bake it the day before and serve for breakfast.   The earliest version I’ve seen of this recipe came from a 1980’s Better Homes and Gardens “Breads” cookbook.
 
Cookies:

               37- Chewy apricot -almond oatmeal cookies, using dried apricots.  (includes tips on how to use dried fruit in general) 

               38- Jam-filled thumbprint cookies, using apricot jam or preserves, with or without chopped nuts.

Apricot bars.  There are different options, starting with either chopped dried apricots simmered in water, or using apricot preserves- but almost always on a shortbread-type bottom layer. 

               39- These Apricot-Oat bars from The Pioneer Woman use apricot preserves, brown sugar, and lots of nubbly oats.  

                40- This version also uses apricot preserves, but no oats,  Instead, it has coconut and walnuts.
 
Dinner

                41- Apricot-glazed moist Italian meatloaf. There are pureed apricots mixed into the meatloaf itself, too.  Again, the recipe calls for canned apricots; substitute a pound of fresh ones, pitted.  Reserve ½ c. of the puree to make the glaze.

               42- Apricot-glazed Pork Tenderloin, using apricot preserves, Dijon mustard, garlic, and thyme.

Apricot Chicken-

                43- One-pot, 5-ingredient Apricot Glazed Chicken, using bone-in chicken thighs, apricot preserves or jam, onion soup mix, and French dressing (homemade options are included). I’ve seen a variation on this where you use Russian dressing instead of French.
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                44- Apricot chicken using boneless tenderloins, apricot jam, and dried apricots

                45- Apricot Glazed Chicken for One (or two).  Super simple, using one chicken breast, a tablespoon each of apricot preserves and French or Russian salad dressing, and a pinch of ginger.

                46- Apricot Chicken Stir Fry-- a kind of Sweet and Sour chicken—with boneless chicken breasts, apricot preserves, onion, bell peppers, pineapple chunks, garlic, ginger, and more. Cashews are an option. Serve over rice, couscous, or quinoa, or to the side of any of those, mashed potatoes, or cauliflower mash.

                47- Apricot Chicken using thighs or drumsticks, fresh apricots, ketchup, and apricot preserves.

                48- Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken- using bone-in thighs, dried apricots, lemon, onions, Dijon mustard, garlic, and thyme. 

               49- Moroccan Rice Pilaf, with Basmati rice, onion, dried apricots, dates, olive oil, chopped almonds, cumin, cinnamon, and other spices. It may sound odd, but it’s really good.  Sometimes I add a little diced smoked turkey. 


Apricots with goat cheese. This is a classic combination that can be done a few different ways. Don't have soft goat cheese?  Use cream cheese instead.

                50- Apricot-Goat Cheese Swirls- spread apricot leather with a layer of soft goat cheese.  Sprinkle with some chopped fresh basil, mint, or thyme if you have it. Roll up, wrap, chill for at least a couple hours, then slice.  Serve as a snack or hors d’oeuvres.

                51- Apricot-Goat Cheese Ball with dried apricots, rosemary and shallots


Apricot Parfaits

                52- Simple breakfast parfaits- pureed fresh halved apricots, poured over yogurt and sprinkled with granola. We’ve had these a couple times in the last two weeks.

                53- ‘Foodie’ Parfaits.  I don’t use alcohol, so would most likely use a little apple juice to replace the brandy.  And mascarpone is pricey, so softened cream cheese or Greek yogurt would stand in for it at my house.  And vanilla extract would be used instead of a scraped vanilla ban. But the fresh mint?  I’ve got a whole bunch of it growing happily on the ditchbank.

54- Apricot Cream Dessert. A fluffy, whipped-cream based concoction.

55-That last one is related to an apricot cheesecake my mom made often in the 70s; essentially, you replace the whipping cream with 16 ounces of EITHER cream cheese or cottage cheese, which gets pureed along with the apricots.  The whole thing is poured over a cookie crumb crust, graham cracker crust, or thin shortbread crust. (You bake the crust first, in a 9x13 pan.) Pour the filling over the top.  Sometimes she would spread pineapple topping (a 20-oz can crushed pineapple with juice, boiled with 2 Tbsp. cornstarch to thicken) over the whole thing once the apricot cheesecake was set.   Lower fat, lower sugar, and completely refreshing!

56- Apricot Cupcakes, using your choice of either apricot jam, or a filling you make with dried apricots, water, and sugar.

57- Apricot Cake, Aprikosenkuchen, a coffeecake. This cake fits in a 9” springform pan and uses two whole pounds of apricots.  It’s a delicious way to use apricot that are a little underripe, or mealy.  And it’s great when the fruit is fully ripe, too.    make your own apricot jam to brush as a glaze over the top: after pureeing half of the apricots, as directed in the recipe, set aside 1 Tbsp. of the puree.  While the cake is baking, mix this reserved puree with 1 Tbsp. sugar or honey, and bring to a boil in the microwave, about 45 seconds. Let it cool while the cake finishes baking, and brush it over top once the cake is out of the oven.
 
58- Apricot Nectarine Shortcake with Vanilla Whipped Cream

59- Browned Butter Almond Cake with Apricot Whipped Cream; the whipped cream uses apricot preserves. And anything with browned butter and almonds is going to be a winner.

60- Almond Apricot Tart.  It’s a beauty, with an almond shortbread crust, rich filling reminiscent of pecan pie without the pecans, topped with halved apricots.  It’s served with freshly whipped cream.

61- Apricot Salsa.  Why not? Mango salsa is one of my favorites, the Granny Smith apple salsa I tried was great...


Are there more recipes?  Yes; I didn’t even make it to my hard-copy old cookbooks (Chez Panisse Apricot Sherbet or Apricot Mousse, plus whatever is in the 1958 Betty Crocker book…) , nor the hand-written 3x5 cards in the recipe boxes. There’s still Apricot Cream Soup, Upside Down Apricot Cake, Apricot Cobbler and Apricot Crisp, Apricot-Cherry Pie… 
But this will give you a good start!

Your ​Week 8 assignment-- Going off your  Inventory Shopping List and this week’s sales, buy the 3 months’ worth of as many different food items as you can (= Buy For 3) as your new budget allows.  Only 10 more weeks of this step!

This week's skill:
Did you know that you can bottle meat, beans, stew, and chili at home?  When you find a great sale price on meat, you can buy a bunch and save yourself a lot of money in future months!  For instance, a couple months ago I found boneless skinless chicken for $1/lb. I bought a case (40 lbs), froze about 10 lbs in meal-sized quantities, and bottled the rest.  The bottled chicken makes for quick meals, and I know exactly what was added to it.  In this case, that meant chicken and salt.  Other times I’ve put sliced carrots, celery, onions, and herbs in the jars with the meat, to have a great base for a quick, wholesome chicken noodle soup or pot pie. My food storage includes home-bottled chicken, beef, salmon, pork broth, chicken broth, black beans, pinto beans…

Did you watch the video at the top, on making bottled stew?  Do you have some of the dehydrated diced carrots from the Home Storage Center?  They're great for adding to canned foods.  It helps to soak them in hot water for at least 10-20 minutes first, so they don't soak up all the water in your jar while it cooks.

Meat, beans, and vegetables (except tomatoes) are in the category called ‘low acid’, compared to things like tomatoes and fruits, which are ‘high acid’, or contain higher acidity.  Higher acid foods may be processed using a big pot with boiling water to heat the jars and food, but low acid foods have to be heated to a higher temperature.  This means the only way to safely bottle them is with a pressure canner—a pressure cooker made to hold 7 or more jars at a time.  They start around $65 and go up from there, but you may have a friend who is willing to let you try it out at her house, or borrow it if you’re the confident type.  (I have one. It's very similar to the one in the video above. Come on over!)

Where can you find instructions on pressure canning?  Most pressure canners come with an instruction book and charts, and there are great resources online.
 
The first place to know is your local Extension Office.  In Utah, that’s the Utah State University Extension office, and somebody there knows the answer to just about any question you come up with on the topics of food, kitchens, preserving, budgeting, gardening, yard care, house and garden pests, and more. They’ll even test your pressure cooker gauge every year for $2.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/ has lots of canning information; one of its pages is this one.  It has instructions on canning
Chicken, Rabbit, Chicken or Turkey Broth, Chili, Meat (ground or chopped), Meat (strips, cubes, or chunks), Meat Stock, Meat and Vegetable Soup, Mincemeat Pie Filling, Clams, Crab, Fish (fresh or smoked), Oysters, and Tuna!

This page has info on how canning preserves food, how to make sure your food is safe, what jars, lids, and canners to use, how to know if the jars sealed correctly, canning food for special diets (including baby foods), and more.
 
Other good resources are The Ball Blue Book  and its online counterpart, https://www.freshpreserving.com/home

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

So Easy to Preserve    (388 pages of instructions and recipes from the Extension Office in Georgia)

There are lots more.  Look for USDA-tested recipes.
​_____________ 

Are you ready to try this?? It's great!

The sauce in this filling is from my great-grandmother, who I hear was an excellent cook. She lived in the ‘Mormon’ colonies in Mexico, left in 1912 to avoid Pancho Villa and other warring factions, returned after the Revolution, and earned money through millinery (making hats) and sewing.  Her last few years were in Arizona, where she cooked and sewed at the LDS Mesa temple.   This recipe was her enchilada sauce, only she used 3 cups of water and 3 Tbsp. chili powder when using it over enchiladas, since more liquid is needed for those.  

These are gluten-free if you use cornstarch and not flour in the filling.  Using shredded meat instead of burger makes these a little more authentic, but ground meat is awfully convenient.  Unless you happen to have some leftover roast available to shred.

Individual Tamale Pies 
Makes 12 muffin-sized ones, or can be made into a 9" pie pan

Crust:
2 c. masa harina  (OR use 1 c. cornmeal and 1 c. flour)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. coconut oil or other fat (oil, butter, lard, etc)
about 3/4 to 1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all together to form a moderately thick dough.  Grease 12 muffin cups.  Shape a ball a little bigger than a ping pong ball (3 Tbsp. dough), then press dough in a muffin cup, making a layer about 1/4"- 3/8" thick.  Repeat until finished.  Set aside.  

Filling:
2 cups cooked burger or shredded beef, pork, or chicken
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. butter, optional
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder or to taste
1 Tbsp. cornstarch OR 2 Tbsp. flour

 Mix together the meat, tomato sauce, butter, salt, sugar, and chili powder, and bring to a boil.  Stir the cornstarch or flour into 1-2 Tbsp. water,  to form a slurry.  Gradually mix the slurry into the boiling mixture, cook and stir until thickened, about a minute.  Taste it and add a little more salt if you like.

Spoon 1/4 cup of filling into each of the lined muffin cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is set and the filling just starts to bubble around the edges.  Let sit for a couple minutes, then remove them by placing an upside-down cookie sheet on top, then flipping the whole thing upside down (see slideshow below).  

Serve with plain or with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, or anything else that sounds good.

A quick way to have tender, barbecue pulled beef is to start by having a roast a day or two before.  

On Sunday, I cooked a nearly 4-pound roast.  Once it was done, and before my family could dive into it, I cut it in half.  The first half was carved into slices for dinner.  The second half went in the fridge for another day. I used some storebought BBQ sauce this time, but if you'd like to get a recipe for a simple from-scratch sauce, see Mom's Barbecue Sauce.


Today's version was served over fresh rosemary bread made with a little bit of orange marmalade mixed in.  That was a delicious combination- the bread, rosemary, orange, and barbecue!

Weeknight BBQ Beef

1 1/2- 2 lbs. cooked roast (you can use burger if you don't mind a different texture)
1 cup water
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce*

Combine in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid; simmer 30 minutes or until tender.  Shred meat using two forks.  The meat will absorb more of the liquid as it cools some; if it's too thick, add more water; if too thin, simmer a few minutes with the lid off to let water evaporate.

That's it!

*For a less sweet sauce, use 1/2 c. plain tomato sauce and 1/2 c. bottled BBQ sauce 

Why is it almost Taco Salad?  Because there's no tostada or chips with it.  If you want full-blown Taco Salad, just add some.  Pretend they're corn-chip croutons.  I didn't use those because of a sudden urge to make roasted potatoes and didn't want a lot more carbohydrates in the meal.  Besides, if I opened a bag of chips, the whole thing would disappear, and that's anywhere from $1- 2.50, depending on if we're using cheap tortilla chips or Fritos.  The potatoes, as our carb, cost about $ .50 instead.  Yum.

Almost-Taco Salad

 ½ lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. tomato powder
2 Tbsp. chili powder
Salt to taste
1 head of lettuce (or a half head each Iceburg and red leaf lettuce)
½ green bell pepper
½ red bell pepper
½ c. shredded cheese
1 tomato, cut in wedges
Optional: thin-sliced onion, sliced avocado, jicama cubes, cooked black beans, drained canned corn, canned green chilies....

Cook the beef until browned.  Meanwhile, wash and chop lettuce and veggies.  Put the lettuce in, then add the vegetables and most of the cheese; mix slightly.  When the burger is done, drain off grease, then add tomato powder and chili powder.  Stir to coat, taste and add salt if needed.  Spread out the meat on a plate to cool more quickly.    When it’s cool, top the salad with it and the remaining cheese.

My family thought it was good without salad dressing, but if you want something to drizzle on top, Ranch is a good choice- especially if you mix a little chili powder into it-, OR this:

Creamy Garlic Dressing:

¼ c. plain yogurt or sour cream
1 Tbsp. water or milk
½ tsp. garlic powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. dried parsley, optional, if you want it to look prettier

Whisk until smooth.
Serve with oregano-roasted potato wedges and vegetable sticks.

Swiss Steak was made, in the beginning, to be a budget-friendly main course.  You take a cheap steak, pound flour and seasonings into it, and braise with tomatoes and onions until the tougher cut becomes tender.


Cheap steak is still pretty expensive in my book.

Hamburger is cheaper, and results in something that tastes just as delicious, even if the texture is different than having a solid piece of meat.  That's OK with me.  I was a little doubtful about the 'tomato gravy' when I first saw the recipe, but it is superb!  
The original recipe came from America's Test Kitchen, but I've modified it a few ways...


Swiss Steak with Tomato Gravy
Serves 8

2 lbs. ground beef or 8 (4 oz) patties
salt and pepper
1 onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or flour
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes OR one quart home-canned tomatoes (OR one can diced tomatoes and one can of chicken broth)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme OR 1 1/2 tsp. fresh OR 1 tiny drop thyme essential oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh or dried parsley
Cooked rice or noodles

Set an oven rack to the highest position and turn on the broiler.  Shape burger into 8 patties (if they're not shaped already); set them on a rimmed baking sheet or in a 9x13 pan.  Set onions on the baking sheet too.  Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.  Broil patties and onions for 2-4 minutes or until they have a good browned crust at least around the edges.  Turn off broiler and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, put the cornstarch in a medium saucepan and stir in about 2 Tbsp of the juice from the canned tomatoes.  Stir until smooth, then gradually stir in the remaining tomatoes, plus broth if using it.  Add garlic and thyme.  Stir over high heat until it comes to a boil.  

After the meat has come out of the oven, add the parsley and pour the tomato gravy over top.  Return it all to the oven and bake 20 minutes or until done and tender. 
Serve over rice or noodles, spooning sauce over.

This roast was was tender, juicy, and bursting with savory flavor.
You can use the same ingredients with a beef roast, or even with a whole chicken.

 It was great for our Sunday evening dinner- it happily cooked itself while we were at church. I used a 6-quart slow cooker. This made enough for all 8 of us, plus some leftovers to pack in lunches.

So... I've listed the ingredients I used- but I rarely make this kind of food exactly the same way twice.  Use whatever vegetables you have- potatoes would be really good, but we had mashed potatoes on the side  this time.  With this roast, the mushrooms add to the savory flavor, and the small bit of tomato adds a boost- but you can leave them out anyway if you like.  Adding a tablespoon or two of tomato paste or tomato powder would have the same result. And if you leave out the mushrooms, consider adding a couple splashes of soy sauce or Worchestershire sauce to keep that meaty flavor high.  

Rosemary Pork Roast with Vegetables
2 onions, quartered
3 lb. pork roast
4 tsp. salt, divided
6" sprig fresh rosemary OR 1 1/2- 2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
1/4 c. minced garlic chives OR use 2-4 minced garlic cloves
2 lbs. carrots
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered
1 tomato, cut in 8 wedges

Add the carrots, mushrooms, and tomato and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tsp. salt. Put the onions in the bottom of a slow cooker, then add the roast (mine was frozen SOLID).  Top the roast with garlic chives, rosemary, and 2 tsp. salt.  Add the carrots, mushrooms, and tomato and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tsp. salt.  Put the lid on, then cook on high 6 hours or until everything is tender.  If your roast wasn't frozen, it may only need 4-5 hours on high, or 6-8 on low.

Use the juices to make gravy, or just ladle them over the meat and vegetable as they're served.

My husband loves roast.  Tender, flavorful roast, cooked along with tender, sweet quartered onions and  carrots.  He remembers having this every week for Sunday dinner. 

He doesn't get it so often now, with the budget cuts of meat costing $3/lb!

Sometimes what I do make doesn't quite measure up to his fond memories, but this one did.  He raved about it for days.

This makes enough spice mixture  for a 2 ½ -3 lb. roast.  You can make a much bigger batch and save the extra it for future meals. You can vary the spices according to what you have and what sounds good.  This one is good on not only beef, but also chicken, fish, and pork.

Meat Rub- using essential oils
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 drop (or 4 tiny drops) garlic oil 
1 drop (4-5 tiny drops) oregano oil
1 drop (3-4 tiny drops) rosemary oil
2 tiny drops fennel oil (OK without but fantastic with)

I rubbed this on the top, then seared the roast only on the bottom.  To sear, put 1-2 Tbsp. oil in the bottom of a large pan, heat to almost smoking, and then add the roast.  Cook 2-4 minutes, until the bottom is well browned.  Add potatoes, peeled and quartered onions and carrots and sprinkle them generously with salt, 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt per pound of vegetables.  Add about 1 cup of water.

Cover and simmer (or bake at 350 F) for 3-4 hours, or until roast is tender, checking periodically to make sure the water hasn't all boiled away.

Meat Rub- using dried herbs
2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder 
1 tsp. powdered oregano OR 2 tsp. dried oregano leaves 

Put the rosemary and fennel in a small non-plastic bowl and grind them using the bottom of a glass spice jar or similar. (If you have a mortar and pestle, use them!)  Add the salt, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano.  Stir to combine, then rub the whole mixture over the roast.

photo courtesy of photos8.com

Hi everyone,

Does it always seem like too much of your budget goes to food?  Do you wonder what amount of money is 'normal'?  If so, go to the Official USDA Food Plans pdf.

This page will give you the 2010 averages, based on nutritionally balanced diets cooked at home.  Now that you see how frugal you really are, here are some tips to help even more; pick just one or two to try so it's not overwhelming. Then all that's left is deciding how that new-found money is going to better use!

Ways to eat well on less money:

*Buy on sale and get extras so you never pay full price.

*Buy the fresh fruits/veggies that are $1/lb or less.

*Find ways to throw away less- only serve up what you will eat, save wilted veggies in the freezer for soup later, re-purpose leftovers.

*Use meat mostly as a flavoring (mixed in with other ingredients), not as its own dish.

*Buy meats that you can get for $2/lb or less, or whatever is bargain-price for your area.

*When you buy meat, get a bunch on sale, then cook it all at once.  Package and freeze most of it for future, faster, meals.

*Buy flour, sugar in bulk, make more things from scratch.

*Keep your kitchen clean so you like being there!  (You don't need to do it all yourself!  Doing dishes 'all the time' causes depression for me- once I added that to my kids' job charts, I felt much better!)

*Grow a garden where you used to have some lawn- you get the same water bill, more food.  Packets of seeds can last 4-5 years if kept cool and dark.   Or split packets with a friend.  

*Make your own bread instead of buying it.

How much can you save on bread?  Cost varies by recipe, but mine comes out to less than $ .50 per loaf ($. 42), including the electricity for baking, for top-quality whole-wheat bread.  (Well, frankly, the quality varies by week....)   If you eat two loaves a week, that saves you $200/year when compared to $2.50/loaf of bread.   We go through 6 loaves a week, so we’re saving over $600 per year.  Yes, a stand mixer and grain mill  definitely pay for themselves!  For the recipe I use, see Basic Bread on my website.
 
Yesterday the Teachers' Quorum (14-15 yr. old boys) came to my house for their weekly activity.  They've been learning about nutrition and safe food handling, so they all pitched in and cooked a meal.    Their handout included budget-friendly, adaptable, and fairly fast recipes; the kind that would be especially valuable when in college or on missions.  For these recipes, click on Quick & Cheap Meals.  The boys did great with them, I think you'll like them, too.   

Happy cooking and budgeting!

Barbecue Sauce on beef

(originally from 5/27/10)
Here’s a great idea from Meridian Magazine: 

 the “Emergency Preparedness Moment: 

What emergency preparedness activity would you like to do this week for your family? Make this a matter of prayer and you will be surprised at the promptings you can receive. These few minutes every seven days during Family Home Evening can help your children be ready for a variety of emergencies. Problem solving skills, first aid skills, putting together backpack 72-hour kits, or any other kind of creative endeavor shows your family you love them and teaches them how to take care of themselves in tough scenarios. What will you choose this week?” 

You could also find a minute or two while you're driving kids to school or activities. A little bit of time each week can help you cover a LOT of ground. If you need resources, some great ones online are http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/   http://ussc.utah.gov/publications/roots_earthquake_low.pdf    If you prefer a booklet you can HOLD, both of these are available, free of charge, at the city office building, from the city emergency planner.  Here in South Jordan that’s Dustin Lewis.  He’s happy to pass them out!

Maybe expand the “Emergency Preparedness Moment” into a “Self-Reliant Living Moment”?    See where the Spirit leads you in your quest… 

-Rhonda

 * * * * * * *
Mom's Barbeque Sauce       Makes about 3 cups

2   8-oz cans  tomato sauce (or 2/3 c. tomato powder and 1 1/3 c. water)   1   can/cup water (fill up one of the now-empty tomato sauce cans)   1 chopped onion (size is totally up to you)  or use a handful of dried
A couple sprinkles  of garlic   
pepper to taste   
3-4   shakes   of Worcestershire sauce   
1 Tbsp. vinegar, optional
Sugar, honey, or molasses to taste, anywhere from none to ½ cup

Simmer everything together until flavors combine, at least 10 minutes, or an hour if you have it, to let it thicken and become rich.  This will be even better the next day or later in the week.  Leftovers freeze well.  If using this with hamburger, you can cook the hamburger with the onion and then add the rest and simmer.

If you want to change the flavor a bit, add a spice or two. Some good ones for this are cloves (try 1/8-1/4 tsp.), oregano (about 1 tsp.), chili powder (1-3 tsp.), or Liquid Smoke (1/2-1 tsp.), mustard (1 tsp. dry, or up to ¼ c. of the stuff in a squeeze bottle), a dash of cayenne, a little Tabasco sauce. Basically any spice that you like!  Another idea is to use pineapple juice in place of the water.  With that one, try just a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.  Or use orange juice and honey with ½ tsp. ginger.

 

To make BBQ Beef, brown a roast in a couple tablespoons of hot oil.  Pork or chicken are also good.

Add all the Barbecue Sauce ingredients.  If you have a tight-fitting lid, or are using a crockpot, don't add the cup of water.   A little vinegar in the sauce will help tenderize the meat.  In this batch, I used 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 c. honey. 

When the meat is cooked and tender, remove the lid and boil until the sauce thickens enough to coat. 

Shred or slice the meat, then stir together with the sauce.  Delicious!  Just the right amount of sweetness for me.  Store-bought sauce is always too sweet, in my opinion.  I still buy it when it's cheap, but mix it with some plain tomato sauce.