by jphilo | Feb 9, 2018 | Show Notes
by Jolene Philo & Anne Fleck | Home Again
In this episode, which is a follow up to Sanity Saving Freezer Meals, Anne and Jolene listed many make ahead freezer ingredients. Their favorites, pictured below, include turkey broth, pesto, and pie crust.
Here’s the complete list of our favorite make ahead freezer ingredients along with links to recipes if we hae them. Last on the list you’ll find honey-oatmeal breakfast muffins, not really a freezer ingredient, but a recipe that make life easier at the Home Again house!
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by jphilo | Aug 31, 2016 | Uncategorized
In August, most of our meals revolve around what comes in our weekly CSA share and what’s in season at the grocery store. Since many fruits and veggies are available for a very short time, I’ve been cooking family favorite recipes rather than trying new ones. That’s why today’s post is a parade of the previously published recipes that have been prepared in our kitchen lately.
1. To use up tomatoes, sweet peppers, and jalapenos we’ve been making double batches of this delicious summer salsa. This summer’s new twist has been to cut the corn off two ears of sweet corn, microwave it for a minute, and add it to the salsa. How can something good for a person be so sinfully good?
2. 
Summer heat’s been great for the basil in my herb garden. I’ve lost count of how many batches of pesto we’ve made. We make non-dairy basil pesto, which is as tasty as the regular version.
3. 
Most of the pesto goes in the freezer to be used throughout the winter. But some of it gets added to pesto pasta, to which we add summer vegetables that need to be used: zucchini and grape tomatoes are two faves.
4. 
Peanut chicken stir fry is another summer favorite at our house because we can add whatever veggies are available. Our favorite is Joni’s Cashew Chicken, garnished with peanuts instead of cashews. You can find other stir fry recipes by typing “chicken stir fry” in the Gravel Road search box.
5. 
With peach season going strong, we’ve been eating a lot of peach pie for dessert. This morning I made two for supper with friends tonight. This fresh peach pie recipe can’t be beat.
So what’s cooking in your late summer kitchen? Leave a link to your favorite recipe in the comment box if you like.
by jphilo | Aug 15, 2012 | Recipes
Between helping with our friends’ wedding rehearsal supper and a day at the Iowa State Fair, the past week wasn’t conducive for cooking. So no new recipe this week. Instead, I’ll share some tips that will maximize the flavor of your summertime produce.
Tips for Choosing the Best Peaches
- Do not use California peaches if you live in the midwest. Who knows why – distance, picked too soon, whatever – but it’s hard to get good California peaches in this part of the world.
- In the midwest, the best peaches come from Missouri, Michigan, Colorado and Georgia, in that order.
- Smaller peaches are usually better than large ones.
- Choose peaches with a little blush and a lot of clear, yellow color.
- Let the peaches ripen in a bowl or paper bag until your kitchen smells just peachy. Then they’re ready to use.
- Peach season runs from early July to mid-August. It’s hard to get good peaches outside those time parameters.
Tips for Making the Best BLTs
- Wait until your tomatoes are really ripe to use them. Yes, I know it’s hard. But you’ll be glad you did.
- Slice tomatoes with a serrated knife. You can buy a tomato knife, but a steak knife works just fine, too.
- Slice sandwich tomatoes very, very thin when serving people who aren’t crazy about them.
- Slip the tomato between the lettuce and bacon so the bread doesn’t get soggy for your texture-sensitive eaters.
Tips for Easy Pesto Making
- When making basil pesto, put the oil in the blender and run the garlic through a garlic press before adding it to the oil. This will avoid chunks of garlic in the pesto.
- After adding the garlic, add basil leaves before adding the nuts or salt. The basil blends into the oil much easier this way. Add about a half a cup of basil at a time. Mix well, then add another handful of basil, mix, and repeat until all the basil is pulverized.
- Finally, add the salt and nuts. The salt won’t sink to the bottom and the nuts will grind beautifully.
There you have them. My top summer cooking tips. What are your secrets for working with summer produce? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Jun 27, 2012 | Recipes
Two summers ago, the weather was perfect for growing basil, and the fragrant herb was coming out our ears. So I dug out a basil pesto recipe my sister had given me a few years before and put it to good use. We froze oodles of pesto and for the past two years have used it instead of tomato sauce on pizza, as a spread for sandwiches, and tossed with pasta.
It. Was. Delicious.
Already this summer’s another banner basil year, so I dug out the recipe again, did some research, and came up with a non-dairy version. No was is this dairy allergy gonna keep me from enjoying the spicy spread. So, here’s the non-dairy version of the basil pesto recipe originally posted on this website in August of 2010.
It. Is. Delicious.
2 cups packed basil leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil
pinch of salt
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/4 cup bread crumbs (be sure the bread is made without milk or milk products like whey)
Pour oil in blender. Peel and slice garlic cloves into oil. Blend well. Add nuts and salt. Blend well. Add basil gradually, blending well between additions. When thoroughly blended, pour into a bowl. Add cheese and stir well. Use immediately or freeze in small plastic containers or ice cube trays. Once frozen pop out the pesto cubes and store a tray’s worth in a quart freezer bag.
*For those on a gluten free diet, omit the bread crumbs and double the amount of nuts.
Note: The picture above is a triple batch.
by jphilo | Jun 2, 2011 | Recipes
Today’s recipe is a winner on summer evenings when it’s too hot to cook. It requires some specific ingredients, which you can experiment with to get a taste you like. But the really secret ingredient is the 1950s era Sunbeam electric skillet picked up at a garage sale over 25 years ago.
My kids say perfect grilled sandwiches and pancakes require this specific skillet. My mother had a Sunbeam skillet, and her kids thought it was the best skillet ever – which explains why I snapped up my nearly identical one at that garage sale years ago. It also explains why Anne claimed her grandma’s old skillet when Mom broke up housekeeping a few years ago. (Sorry, you can’t borrow either one, but there’s hope for those who like eBay and garage sales.)
With all these disclaimers, you might be thinking about ignoring the recipe, but that would be a big mistake. Everybody who tastes these babies wants the recipe. It’s that good.
Grilled Turkey-Pesto Sandwiches
1 loaf Costco roasted garlic bread, sliced butter
1/4 – 1/3 cup basil pesto
sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
sliced smoked turkey, sliced (call Hiram if you need the recipe)
Heat the electric skillet. Cut the bread into thin slices. Butter one side of a slice. Spread the other side with pesto. Place the slice, buttered side down in the skillet. Layer cheese and turkey on the bread. Butter one side of another slice of bread. Layer it on top of the cheese and turkey, butter side up. Repeat the steps for more sandwiches. Grill until they’re golden brown on the bottom. Flip the sandwiches and grill until bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
