Freezer Spagetti Sauce with FRESH tomatoes

Well don't I feel all proud of myself! I didn't grow up with the whole "grow your own stuff and can it" kind of family. Learning how to make bread, opened my eyes to a WHOLE bunch of "No way,I Can't do that's"...that NOW "I SOO CAN DO! "

After taking all of my squash and zucchini out and making 1000 uses of it... freezing most, next came those sad, big and little green tomatoes, that just didn't get enough time in Mr.Sun to turn red...so I stuck them on a big industrialized table in my dinning room, right by a sunny window.... and rotated them daily, and walah my little greenies were blazing red and juicy ready for what ever came next...and to be honest. I had. no . idea. what I really wanted to do with them. I have made salsa, but we prefer Mango Salsa...so THEN...I found this raz-ma-taz recipe..and I thought "here we go"...It was SO EASY..and D-Sang is it GOOD!
Now I have 22 cups of ready made Spaghetti Sauce , chillin' in my freezer!
I added 2 pounds cooked of hamburger, 1 pound of Sausage in onions and Garlic, the last hour of cooking.
I put 6 cups of the cooled finished product in Freezer Bags...and used some with our dinner.
For EXTRA cheesy YUMMO spaghetti, try putting your hot noodles on the plate, followed by a sprinkle of grated mozerella cheese, Spaghetti Sauce, and them another sprinkle of grated fresh Parmesan..just takes boring old spaghetti to a whole other level!


Ingredients

* 4 onions, chopped ( I used one and some dehydrated onions)
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped (In used a frozen bag of mixed , green red and yellow)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 16 cups chopped tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons dried oregano *or instead of all of these use a great Italian seasoning* (like from Costco and do 4 TB spoons) I also used some fresh Rosemary.
* 2 tablespoons dried basil
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 2 tablespoons Garlic salt
* 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Directions

1. In a slow cooker saute together the onion, garlic, green pepper, and vegetable oil. Cook until onion is transparent.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low heat. Stir frequently.
3. Let sauce cool. Pour sauce into quart size freezer containers. Store in freezer.

Stew in a Pumpkin!!! SPPOOOOKKY DIINNER for Hallows Eve!

Well Halloween is on SUNDAY...so the kiddies will be doing all of their fun stuff on Saturday, and that saves some fun family time on Sunday.
I found this recipe a couple years ago and really wanted to try it for Halloween, but usually that day is SO CRAZY ...I haven't done it on the actual day...
This is so Yummy...make sure you scrape the sides as you serve so you get the pumpkin yummieness is with the stew...I think a couple cross-bones bread sticks will make this dinner EXTRA yummy! ...For desert, I probably will do something simple like dirt-with worms cake!
Happy Halloween! ( I will post pictures next week)

Ingredients

* 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
* 1 cup water
* 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 2 sliced Zucchini
* 4 carrots, sliced
* 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon Rosemary
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
* 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
* 1/2 cup Brown Gravy mix (or more for desired thickness)
* 1 sugar pumpkin or Hubbard Squash (we grew this enormous fella)



Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Place beef in the saucepan and cook until evenly brown. Mix in the water, potatoes, carrots, green bell pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 2 hours.
2. Dissolve the bouillon into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
4. Cut top off the pumpkin and remove seeds and pulp. Place the pumpkin in a heavy baking pan. Fill the pumpkin with the beef mixture. Brush outside of the pumpkin with remaining oil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 2 hours, or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out some of the pumpkin meat with each serving.

Teriyaki Salmon

Such a YUMMY, Easy quick way to make a healthy dinner. With School starting and 7 kids in 9 activities...still Homeschooling some, three at Montessori, and six still at home, EASY , healthy FAST dinners are a MUST! My kids gobbled this Salmon up with brown rice and steamed veggies!

I found this and I may not go back to my regular go to Salmon marinade!
http://allrecipes.com

I doubled this and it worked for 4 Salmon steaks!

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon ground mustard
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 4 (6 ounce) salmon steaks

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag or shallow glass container, combine the first six ingredients; mix well. Set aside 1/2 cup for basting and refrigerate. Add salmon to remaining marinade; cover and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours, turning once. Drain and discard marinade. Place the salmon on a broiler pan. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade; turn and broil for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Brush with marinade.

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 fresh bay leaf
* 2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
* 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
* Salt and pepper
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
* 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
* 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
*

Relish:

* 1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped
* 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chili

This is SOUPER yummy, easy and easy to double or triple and freeze...stick the ingredients in a Freezer bag and WALAH dinner for three nights (or take one to a friend!)
I buy 3 pounds of Hamburger, brown it with one small fresh onion and 2 Tablespoons minced garlic.

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (
1/4 cup dehydrate onions
2 cups Pace Picante (or any other salsa) Mild, or HOT
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 1/2 Table Spoons chili powder
2 Table Spoons Cumin
pinch of Cayenne pepper (to taste)
3 Table Spoons Garlic Salt
1 can (15 to 16 oz) pinto beans with juice
1 can (15 to 16 oz) kidney beans with juice
Shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired
Sliced green onions, if desired


1. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
2. In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix beef mixture and remaining ingredients.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
4. Top with cheese and onions.

* For Freezing, I just build one soup in the Crock-Pot, and two more in Gallon Freezer bags set in bowls.
Throw contents in Crock pot, for about the same amount of time....or cook in a Pot if you are in a hurry!
YUMMY with tortilla chips or bread!

Zucchini Apple Pie

....So BRACE yourself cause your gonna be like "No WAY..and then I'm gonna be like "Way"!!!!This is such a FUN, sneaky way to get your kids (and Hubie) to eat their veggies... to be HONEST I read about this and thought "NO WAY"...This recipe had NO apples in it, I didn't think their was ANY way that someone could make Zucchini's TASTE like APPLE PIE....but my husband DID NOT KNOW the difference, and if I hadn't made the pie...I probably wouldn't have either. Give er' a try , this pie was REALLY good and I will plan on making it again REALLY soon!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/zucchini-apple-pie/Detail.aspx


Ingredients

* 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
* 2 large zucchini
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 pinch salt
* 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 pinch ground nutmeg
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Peel the zucchini. Cut into quarters lengthwise, then remove seeds and cut crosswise (as you would cut apples for apple pie). Toss together 4 cups chopped zucchini, lemon juice and salt. Place mixture into frying pan and cook until tender-crisp.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, nutmeg and flour. Add the cooked zucchini to sugar mixture and mix well. It will be a little runny, but that's OK.
3. Place filling into a 9 inch pie crust, dot with butter, and place top crust on. Bake in oven at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Peanutbutter Chocolate Chip Cookies FREEZABLE!!!

Makes:
5 dozen cookies

Packed with great peanut butter taste, these Betty Crocker's Best peanut butter cookies, and they rock my world...I really have to freeze them , or give them away ASAP...or these puppies can very easily become my breakfast , lunch and dinner of choice!
This is also another pack in the lunch snack for my kiddies to take to school!

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or wait until AFTER they are cooked and top with a Hersey's kiss..OR a Reese peanut-butter cup ...YUM!!!!

* Personal note - Sometimes the batter turns out s little dry, and the ingredients don't glue together well enough...I will add a teaspoon or so of veggie oil and it seems to help...I have even done this AFTER the chocolate chips have been added.

1. Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. ...Stir in Chocolate chips last.
2. Heat oven to 375ºF.
3. Spoon dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack. To make the cookies flatter...I will take them out of the oven and DROP the pan from about 12 inches high and it helps them settle;..make sure they are cooled before you take them off the pan.