by jphilo | Jan 26, 2018 | Show Notes
by Jolene Philo & Anne Fleck | Home Again
Anne and Jolene’s favorite games mentioned in this episode’s feature:
To whet your appetite, we’ve added pictures of some of our favorite recipes: Chili, French Stew, Chicken Tettrazini, and Egg Bake
Enjoy this list of our favorite freezer meal recipes, including links to most of them. More links will be available as more of our revised recipes are published on the blog.
Come Home Again every time a new podcast is added just by visiting your inbox!
by jphilo | Jan 21, 2015 | Recipes
Confession time…I’ve been doing a lousy job of remembering to photograph meals for the past 2 months. Blame it on Camp Dorothy frivolity in December. Blame it on the holidays. Blame it on being distracted by house guests. But wherever the blame may fall, recent food photographs leave something to be desired.
Like the above photo of Hearty Hamburger Stew. The picture is of a double batch. But you can see how much the Man of Steel, with a little help from me, managed to tuck away a good portion of it. This stew was hit and very, very easy to make. The original recipe comes from Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. The original cook book is out of print, but a revised version came out in 2007.
Hearty Hamburger Stew
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (2 1/2 cups browned)
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
2 cups peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 16-ounce can cut green beans, drained
1 16-ounce can cut corn. drained
3 stalks sliced celery
1 46-ounce can tomato juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed (I omitted this)
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown grown beef or turkey (I used a half pound of each) in a large dutch oven. Add onion, green pepper, and celery. Saute until tender.
Mix in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and freeze. Can be frozen and thawed for later.
by jphilo | Feb 12, 2014 | Recipes
When the man of steel and I get a hankering for marinara sauce, my modus operandus is brown a pound of hamburger, throw in a can of Hunts garlic and herb spaghetti sauce, and cook spaghetti noodles. Every time the dish makes an appearance on our dinner plates, the man of steel says the same thing while scooping up a second helping. “This is a really good batch.”
As a rule, I don’t mess with either easy-peasy or perfection. So I have no idea where the idea to make spaghetti sauce came from last week. For now I’m blaming it on the Polar Vortex. The weather phenomenon has become such a handy excuse for inexplicable behavior quirks I’m beginning to like the thing. So, compliments of the Polar Vortex, here’s the recipe for homemade marina sauce. It comes from Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg’s Once-A-Month Cooking, a cookbook I almost wore out when I was teaching and the kids were home.
Spaghetti Sauce
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 12-ounce can tomato paste
3 28-ounce cans Italian-style or plain crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1-16 ounce package spaghetti
In a large pot, brown the Italian sausage with unions. Drain fat. Stir tomato paste into the meat and onion mixture. Add water gradually to thin the tomato paste. Add remaining ingredients. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Serve pasta and sauce for supper. Freeze remaining sauce (recipe makes about 12 cups) in 2 cup containers or freezer bags.
by jphilo | Apr 25, 2012 | Recipes
This recipe for Balkan Meatballs has been a favorite with our family since Mom gave me Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg’s Once-A-Month Cooking cookbook in the early 90s. These meatballs are the ultimate comfort food and make a complete meal when paired with green salad.
Balkan Meatballs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 – 12 ounce package of frozen Reames Noodles
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat egg with milk. Mix in dry bread crumb, salt, sugar, and spices. Add beef, turkey and onion. Mix thoroughly. Shape mixture into balls the size of walnuts and place on broiler pan. Broil until lightly browned. Cool.
Cook noodles according to package directions. At the same time, melt butter in large skillet. Add flour, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk, stirring constantly. Heat to boiling and stir one minute until mixture is thick and smooth. Add meatballs; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Serve meatballs over the noodles.
Note: I usually make a double batch of meatballs and use 1/3 for supper, then divide the remaining meatballs into two quart freezer bag and put in freezer to use later.
by jphilo | May 6, 2010 | Recipes
Teriyaki sauce is a versatile addition to any cook’s arsenal. I use it for chicken stir fry (pictured above) and to marinate chicken breasts before broiling or grilling them. I haven’t tried it on pork chops, but suspect it would be great with them, too.
At the height of grilling season, the sauce is a great marinate for beef or chicken chunks used for shish kabobs. A little meat goes a long way when skewered on a stick with peppers, onions, pineapple, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Don’t throw away the marinate when the meat goes on the grill. Bring it to a boil in a saucepan and serve it over rice as a side dish. Yum!
This recipe comes from Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, though I reduced the amount of sugar in half. They also suggest mixing 1/4 cup in a pound of hamburger before grilling them for a fun flavor twist.
Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce 1 medium clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger or grated ginger root
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Mix ingredients together. Marinate meat for at least 1/2 hour before grilling. You can also put meat and marinate in a ziplock bag and freeze for later.
