Tomato Soup (for canning)

Tomato Soup

10-12# Roma tomatoes
10-12 stalks celery
1# carrots
8 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 quart stock (such as chicken)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 cup butter
1 cup flour

Cut the celery, carrots, garlic and onions into large chunks and place in a deep stock pot.  Add the chicken stock and slowly bring the mixture up to a low boil.  Cut tomatoes into quarters and add to the pot, stirring periodically to avoid scorching. Cook at a very low boil for several hours or overnight.

Run the soup through a foley food mill and place into a clean stock pot.  Return to heat and add sugar and salt.

Cream together the flour and butter in a mixer.  Add a ladle of the soup at a time to the creamed mixture until it is thin enough to add to the soup.  Stir in the creamed mixture with a wire wisk to prevent clumping.

Ladle soup into hot jars.  Cap the jars and process in a pressure canner for 20 minutes at 10#

The Best Pasta Salad. Ever.

The Best Pasta Salad.  Ever.

1 pound spiral pasta

1 jar (14 oz) roasted red peppers, minced

1 pound feta cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

For the dressing:

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 tsp oregano

1 teaspoon Basil

1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh mint

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Cook the pasta just until done.  Do not overcook.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Add cold pasta to a large mixing bowl and add peppers, olives, and cheese.

Mix dressing and pour over the pasta mix, gently stirring.

Chill at least 4 hours, better overnight.

Crockpot Ranch Chicken

Crockpot Ranch Chicken

4 lg chicken breasts (with bone and skin)
1 onion, cut into 8 pieces
4-6 potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into fourths
2 cans Ranch Style Beans

Salt, pepper, and season the chicken breasts and arrange in the bottom of the crockpot.  Add the onion and potatoes; top with the Ranch Style Beans.  Cook on high for about 4 hours.

*Great throw together meal that you can cook all day.

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

4 quarts chicken stock (any good meat stock will do)

3 cups dried mushrooms

4 shallots or 1 small mild onion, finely diced

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup cold milk

6 T Clear Jel

Bring 1 quart of the chicken broth to a boil, and pour over 1 cup of the dried mushrooms.  Allow it to sit for 1 hour to rehydrate the mushrooms.

Finely chop the remaining 2 cups of mushrooms in the food processor.  

Melt butter in a large saucepan and add shallots.  Cook until lightly browned.  Add the stock and the stock & mushrooms; bring to a low rolling boil.

Mix the clear jel with the milk, and add to the soup mixture.

Ladle soup into pint jars, process at 11 pounds for 45 minutes.

To serve:  heat soup to a boil then add 1/2 pint of heavy cream.

This can be used in place of Cream of Mushroom soup for any recipe.
Yields 8 pints

Sweet Southern Cornbread

Preheat oven to 400º, place 3 T shortening or lard into a 12" cast iron skillet and place into the oven to melt.


1 1/3 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
9 T sugar
3 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk (or home canned goat milk)

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly by hand. Add the eggs and milk and mix until well blended. Remove the skillet from the oven and rotate to coat the skillet thoroughly with the oil. Add the hot oil to the batter and mix well. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until done.

Beautyberry Jelly

We've got these berries growing like mad in our woods, and picked 2 quarts of

berries. To prepare them, rinse and clean the berries, then put them in a heavy
pan and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil then remove from
heat. Cool berries, then strain through a cotton cloth.

To make jelly you need:
4 cups of the juice
4 T bottled lemon juice
1 packet pectin
7 cups sugar

Place the berry juice, lemon juice, and pectin into a heavy saucepan. Bring to
a rapid boil and boil for 2 minutes. Add sugar a bit at a time, then bring to a
boil again. Boil for another 2 minutes and test....when it sheets off a spoon
it's ready. Ladle into jars and process in a BWB for 5 mins.

Toast and Egg Cups

Toast & Egg Cups

Ingredients:

6 slices bread

6 strips of bacon or sausage patties, cooked

6 medium eggs

butter

country gravy

Thoroughly butter 6 holes in a muffin tin.  Insert a slice of bread by holding onto the corners and pushing the center of the bread into the tin.  Lay a piece of cooked bacon or sausage in the bread cup.  Crack an egg into each cup.  Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes until the egg is firm.  To serve remove each cup and top with a small pat of butter and cover with gravy.