Trina's Kitchen

Whipped Topping

Written on February 23, 2010 at 8:05 pm, by Trina

Craving desert with whip cream on top I decided to make up a batch of pudding. However, when I went to my freezer to get out the whip cream there was none there.  I remembered a recipe I tried awhile ago making whipped topping out of creamer. I also remember not being real impressed with the recipe and was going to see if I could find a better one. I happened to look at our box of nonfat dry milk which had a recipe for whipped topping. I decided to try it and found it to be an easy recipe that took about ten minutes to make.   I used vanilla flavouring which gave it a nice flavour and with the 2 tablespoons of sugar it was not as sweet as regular whip cream.  The recipe did not say how long it would be good for so I did a little experimentation with it. I put in the refrigerator to see how long it would last before liquefying which was not long. I recommend that if you use this recipe to use it right away.  Next time, I decide to make it I am going to try using different flavouring such as mint to see if that will work.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 cup  cold water
• lemon or vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• mixer
• bowl

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix 1/2 cup of Nonfat dry milk with 1/2 cup cold water
2. Beat mixture on medium high speed with an electric mixture until soft peaks form ( around four minutes)
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract
4. Beat another 6-7 minutes at the medium high speed
5. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat 1 minute at medium high speed
6. Serve immediately

Artichoke Frittata

Written on February 22, 2010 at 10:34 pm, by Trina

I found this recipe on a box of garden crackers and craving something to put on my crackers I decided to give this recipe a try.  This recipe is simple to make and delicious. The original recipe is made to be served as a entrée for brunch or served as a appetizer.  I used as a mid afternoon snack and something for my husband and I to put on top of our crackers. The recipe itself was created by Marlene Sorosky Gray who is an author of several cookbooks which can be found online.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 4 eggs
• 13 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 lb Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup crushed Garden Vegetable crackers ( i used Busy Baker from our Dollar tree)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350′F
2. Spray 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl stir all ingredients together until well blended
4. Pour into prepared pan
5. bake for 30-35 minutes, until firm
6. Cool slightly before serving
7. cut into squares, serve warm

Makes 6 entrée servings

Can be baked up to 2 days ahead and refridgerated. Reheat in over for 5 mins at 375′F

How to freeze green beans

Written on February 21, 2010 at 8:35 pm, by Trina

My husband and I love green beans fresh out of the garden.  However, this last summer we planted more green beans then we could eat so we decided to freeze them so we had them to eat all winter long.  Since it is just the two of us I frooze in 1 cup individual packs using foodsaver bags. They are great for a quick and easy side dish or to use with various recipes. 

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• Green Beans
• knife
• bowls
• Measuring cups ( 1 cup)
• freezer bags or foodsaver bags

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Harvest beans the day of freezing to ensure freshness
2. Trim off ends of green beans and get rid of any bad spots
3. Cut into either halves or quarters
4. Rinse  beans to make sure all dirt is off, set aside
5. To Blanch: Bring large pot of water to a rapid boil, while this is coming to a boil fill a large bowl of ice
6. Dip beans into boil water and let cook for 3 minutes or until barely cooked
7. Remove beans from water and place in ice water for three minutes
8. Remove beans from ice water and place in bowl until ready to measure into bags
9. Measure beans into portions ( i do 2 cup portions per bag) place in bags
10. Label, date and freeze.

Trina’s crockpot spaghetti sauce

Written on February 20, 2010 at 8:07 pm, by Trina

I love spaghetti sauce and I created this recipe based upon the recipe that my mom made while growing up. Mix this with noodles and french bread you got yourself a great meal. This also can be frozen for quick meals during the week.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• crock pot
• frying pan
• 1lb ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can mushrooms
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic either minced or powered
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare crock-pot by washing and plugging in.
2. Brown 1lb beef or turkey in fry pan, drain fat
3. Place in crock-pot
4. Add the following ingredients 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can tomato paste, 1 can mushrooms, 1 can stewed tomato, and 1 cup water.
5. Mix ingredients together
6. season with Italian seasoning and garlic to taste
7. cook on low until sauce is cooked  (6-8) hrs
8. Pour on cooked noodles and add french bread

TIPS

Freeze leftover in small containers for quick and easy lunches.

How to freeze onions

Written on February 15, 2010 at 2:21 pm, by Trina

This last summer I bought a cheap pack of onion sets from our local retail store. For a pack of 100 in only cost me $1.00. I grew them in our garden and they turned out to be wonderful for using in various dishes and stir frys. However, with so many onions we had enough to save for quite awhile. Since we do not have a decent place to store them I decided to freeze these onions so that I had them to use all winter long.

This method of freezing allows you to put the frozen onions in a larger container so that you can take what you need. When thawed, the onions are have the consistency of sour kraut or relish. They work great in most recipes, stir frys or grilled to put on steaks.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• onions ( as many as you want)
• knife
• food processor ( If available)
• cookie sheets with wax paper
• freezer bags, foodsaver bags, or glass jars

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Spread wax paper on cookie sheets and set aside
2. Prepare onions by cutting off top and root, peel off outer skin and then wash off any dirt.
3. Next, chop onions into small pieces, this can either be done by hand or using a food processor or a chopper.
4. Lay out onions on cookie sheets so that are in one thin layer.
5. Freeze onions by placing cookie sheets in freezer. They should be frozen hard in a few hours.
6. When onions are frozen hard remove from freezer. They should now be easy to break into usable chunks.
7. Place frozen onion chunks in container of choice. Label, date and freeze.

How to make crab apple jelly

Written on February 13, 2010 at 12:43 pm, by Trina

Last fall my husband and I took a trip to a local apple orchard to gather apples for canning, freezing and of course eating. When there the owners of the orchard gave us copies of recipes for their crab apple jelly which they told us to go home and try it. A few jugs of cider, a few different varieties of apples and 5lbs of crab apples later we went home and began our project. The crab apple Jelly turned out wonderful and I use it for putting on toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, crackers and also put it on pork as a flavoring. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy as well!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 5lbs crab apples
• 5 cups of water
• cheesecloth or jelly bag
• 9 cups sugar
• sure jell

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove stems and blossom ends from crab apples. Cut apples into pieces. Do not peel or core. Place in large saucepan. Add 5 cups water or enough to cover apples. Bring to full boil. Stir occasionally. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Crush cooked apples, cover and simmer 5 minutes longer.
2. Place 3 layers damp cheesecloth or a jelly bag in a large bowl. Poor cooked crab apples into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed, hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. press gently
3. Measure juice ( add up to 1/2 cup water for exact measure Amount needed: 7 cups juice 9 cups sugar—follow sure-jell recipe for making jelly.
4. Process in a boil water canner and let sit for 24 hrs. Enjoy!

USES

Spread on toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers or use it to cook with

How to can applesauce with peels

Written on February 13, 2010 at 12:33 pm, by Trina

This year my husband and I made our first trip to an apple orchard and bought a bushel of pick outs which has made wonderful cans of applesauce. I took a classic recipe from the Ball Blue Book of preserving and adapted it to fit my families tastes. This is a great recipe to use for breakfast, side dishes or as a gift to give during the Holiday Season.

1. First, make sure you have your jars and lids ready and boiler canner ready. Next, using an apple slicer with corer, slice all your apples and cut them into chunks.
2. Next, put all the apple chunks into a large sauce pot, cover with water then cook until soft.
3. Once the apples are soft mash them with a potato masher.
4. Add 1/4 cup sugar and apple pie spice or cinnamon to desired taste
5. Bring applesauce to a boil (212 degree F) and stir to prevent sticking. Maintain this temperature and ladle into hot jars. Process pints and quarts for 20 minutes in a boiling-water canner

How to make pepper jelly

Written on February 8, 2010 at 1:44 pm, by Trina

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 7 sweet green peppers
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups apple juice
• 1 package pwdered pectin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups sugar
• green food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To Prepare Juice: Wash peppers, remove stems and seeds, Cut peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Purée half the peppers and 3/4 cup vinegar in a food processor or blender.
2. Purée remaining peppers and vinegar. Combine purée and apple juice in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight Strain puréed mixture though a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth.
3. Measure 4 cups juice. Add additional apple juice to make 4 cups if neede
4. To Make Jelly: Combine juice, powdered pectin and salt in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space
5. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Stir in a few drops of food colouring, if desired.
6. Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

How to freeze peppers

Written on February 6, 2010 at 5:50 pm, by Trina

I love  peppers fresh from the farmers market. I use them in all sorts of recipes and love to eat them cut up with ranch dressing. This year though I found some good prices on peppers and decided to freeze them so I have access to them all winter long. This article will give you instructions on how to freeze peppers storing them in vacuum pack bags

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• Peppers ( red, green, or yellow)
• Cookie sheets
• Freezer paper or wax paper
• Knife
• Foodsaver
• Foodsaver bags
• or freezer bags/plastic freezer containers

1. To start go to your local farmers marker and purchase several  peppers. Make sure they are in good condition by no bruises or bad spots. Look for ripe peppers.
2. Split them in half cut off the stem. Next, wash the peppers to get the inside stem off and the seeds.
3. Cut the peppers into strips or pieces depending on how you like them.
4. Put freezer paper on cookie sheet then lay out the peppers on the cookie. Repeat this process till all peppers are on the cookie sheets.
5. Place cookie sheets in freezer and let the  peppers freeze solid..By doing this the peppers will be easier to separate from each other. This will take several hours.
6. When the Peppers are frozen then place desired amounts in foodSaver bags. ( i used a cup per bag) then enclose bags
7. Put the  Peppers in the freezer and enjoy in all your favorite recipes.

USES

Peppers can be used for snacks, stir fries, mexican recipes or any other recipes asking for  peppers

How to Freeze Pumpkin for Pies, Bread and Eating

Written on February 6, 2010 at 5:42 pm, by Trina

This summer my husband and I attempted to grow pumpkins but only a few survived after something ate them from inside the ground.  We got lucky though and our neighbour  gave us some of his to use for decoration and when we were done we froze the pumpkin meat to use for pies, bread and general eating.   For convenience I froze in one cup portions to be used in recipes.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• Pumpkins
• knife
• bowls
• glass baking pans
• water
• food processor
• cookie sheets
• wax paper
• freezer bags

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds and save for roasting, then remove all the strings inside the pumpkin and discard. We put this in a bowl and threw it out in the garden. Also, preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Next, cut the pumpkins in half so you have four quarters. Scrape the pumpkins with a spoon so that all the strings are out and its just the meat left.
3. Place water in the bottom of the glass baking pans so that it will cover the bottom of the pumpkins. Place the pumpkins skin down and place in the oven. Cook at 300 degrees for one hour or until you can easily slice a knife though it.
4. When the pumpkins are cooked, let cook until you can handle them. Peel the skin of each pumpkin. My husband used a potato peeler to remove the skins.
5. Next, slice the pieces of pumpkins in small pieces and then process them in a food processor. Place the process portions in a bowl to store.
6. After all the pumpkin has been processed, lay out wax paper on cookie sheets. I portion mine into one cup portions and place on a cookie sheet.
7. Freeze pumpkin portions overnight. Remove pumpkin from cookie sheets and place in freezer bags. By double freezing the pumpkin you can place several cups in one bag or you can freeze them separately.

USES

Use frozen pumpkin as substitute for can pumpkin in your favourite breads, pies, bars, soups and recipes that call for pumpkin.