Freezer to Crockpot Cranberry Lemon Pork Roast

Freezer to Crockpot Cranberry Lemon Pork Roast

2-3 lb pork roast

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-2 tsp minced garlic

1 16oz can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp cornstach (added later)

Place all ingredients into a gallon ziplock freezer bag except for the cornstarch. Label bag with instructions to add 2 Tbsp cornstarch just before cooking. Thaw before cooking. Dump everything into the crockpot. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water and add to crockpot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice.

Homemade Fruit by the Foot

Here is a great family experiment that turned out fabulously!

I mixed sugar free jello with applesauce. I did about one quart of applesauce to one small box of jello, but really you can just do it to taste.

I then spread the mixture onto parchment paper as thin and uniform as I could get it right on my dehydrator racks. (I have a huge, old dehydrator that takes a while to get things done, but lets me do huge batches.)

I fit three quarts of applesauce in. We did three different flavors - raspberry, peach, and strawberry-banana.

Here is my big, behemoth! Without a thermostat, it doesn't do as well with evenly drying so I have to rotate the racks, but I can sure get a lot done. I had to leave these in all day and over night.

Here is my more common sized dehydrator with a thermostat. It probably would have dried a batch in about 6 hours so I could have completed just as much in the same amount of time I just would have had to refill it a few times - and worry about getting up after only 6 hours of sleep to turn it off. It also has round trays so the parchment paper would have had to be trimmed and it wouldn't do the long "fruit by the foot" I was imagining. I opted for the big behemoth.

When it was thoroughly dry and leathery, I cut it in long strips.

Rolled them up.

And packaged them all ready for school lunches. So easy, no sugar added, rolls of sweet goodness - 

The kids have been loving them!

Storable Lunch or Dinner - Meat Pasties

Meat pasties are basically single serving size meat pies. History tells us that miners used to take them in their lunches in place of a sandwich. It is one way to trade up the way you serve beef or chicken stew. I've done them with canned meats and dehydrated vegetables and they turn out deliciously! I also use items from my freezer sometimes. This time, I mixed frozen peas and carrots with hashbrown potatoes. I stirred in some precooked hamburger and then made a thick gravy using reconstituted powdered milk, flour, beef bouillon, onion, and garlic. I mixed all of this together for the filling.

Roll out pie crust (I always keep some in my freezer ready to go.) and place filling on top.

Fold over and crimp the edges well. Cut a few slits for ventilation. (These pasties can be frozen at this point for up to 3 months.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.

Enjoy with your favorite side dish - we opened some bottled fruit to make it an easy night.

Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce

Apple season isn't over for us until I have made some of this delicious chunky applesauce. It is so yummy straight from the bottle! We love to serve it over waffles for breakfast. It is also delicious served warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream for dessert. I love having a couple dozen of these bottles in my storage every year.

Begin by peeling your apples. Be sure to use an apple variety that will hold its shape after cooking. Some varieties are really only good for making sauce once they are cooked. My dad has red and golden delicious trees so I usually make this chunky sauce out of the apples we pick at his house. But many other varieties would work also.

Core and chop your apples.

Put the chopped apples in a pan of water. You want to keep the apples covered with water so they don't turn brown.

Drop a few vitamin C tablets in the water and let them dissolve. This also helps in keeping the apples from turning brown. You could use Fruit Fresh instead, but it is a lot more expensive and it never hurts to have extra vitamin C in our diet.

Once your pot is full, turn on high and bring to a boil. Cook until the apples are soft.

Drain, but reserve the juice so you can add some back if needed.

You'll add cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar to taste. I usually add about 1 tsp vanilla to a large pot and about the same amount of cinnamon. I then add sugar and taste.

Mix everything together with a potato masher. Mash some of the apples, but leave it chunky.

Here's my finished pot. I didn't add any juice back to this batch. The consistency was just right. Save the juice and let it cool down. My kids love to drink it.

Ladle into jars. Each pot only does 3-4 quarts. I store my bottles in the fridge and work on this project over a few days time until I have enough to fill my cooker.

Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Adjust for altitude if necessary.

Chunky Applesauce
Apples	Sugar
Vitamin C	Cinnamon
Water	Vanilla
Fill a large pan half full with water. Dissolve 3–4 vitamin C tablets into the water (or use Fruit Fresh to keep apples a light color.) Peel and chop your apples. (Choose a good cooking variety that will hold its shape when cooked. My parents have red and golden delicious trees so I usually use these varieties.) Add to the water. Make sure your apples stay covered with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer a few minutes until apples are tender. Remove from heat and drain most of the liquid off into another pan. I reserve the liquid to use with another batch of apples or to add a little back to my batch to get the right consistency. Mash warm apples just a bit with a potato masher. Add a little juice back in with apples, if needed to obtain the desired consistency. Sweeten to taste with sugar and cinnamon and just a touch of vanilla. Ladle into warm jars and process quarts for 20 minutes. Adjust time for elevation as needed.

Storable Breakfast or Snack - Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

This if especially for those of you with dairy and egg allergies - but they are so good, no one else needs to know they are missing these key ingredients!

Here's a quick and tasty egg-free, fully-storable muffin! I'm getting better at being confident about tweaking a recipe. I looked up a few recipes online for oatmeal muffins and then came up with this variation. I baked them up on a Saturday night to be ready for a quick family breakfast before early church meetings the next day. I also figured that if they flopped, it would give me a chance to throw something else together. Why did I doubt myself? They were delicious!

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup water

½ cup applesauce

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt         

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp oil (optional)

Soak the oats in the water for 10-15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups ⅔ full. Bake at 400° F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you choose to leave the oil out, the muffins just won't brown as nicely. They will still taste great.

Storable Snack - Apricot Fruit Rolls

Preserving season is in full swing around here. One great way to use ripe, fresh fruit is to make fruit rolls. The kids love them, but adults gobble them up as well. We got a fabulous deal on apricots. I know that my kids are not real fans of apricot freezer jam or bottled apricots, but I knew they would eat them as fruit leather - this is the old-fashioned term for fruit rolls. (I don't feel that old - we grew up calling it fruit leather and I've had to shift gears since they started selling them as fruit rolls.) They are really quite simple to make and very healthy.

Puree the apricots in a food processor.

You want them good and smooth - 

Add just a bit of lemon juice to help the puree hold its color.

Pour into a large bowl.

If you don't have fresh apricots, that's OK. I had some bottled apricots from 2004 that I needed to use so I drained the juice off and pureed them. They look just as good as the fresh. So you could use canned apricots or peaches and achieve the same results. This also means that you can make fruit rolls any time of year, not just in the late Summer and Fall when the fruit is in season.

I always add some applesauce to stretch the flavored puree. Applesauce is inexpensive and takes on the flavor of what you mix it with. You could also use pear sauce the same way.

Sweeten with honey or corn syrup to taste. If you use sugar, the fruit roll dries brittle instead of being pliable and will just break apart into fruit chips instead of roll up like you want it to.

I use a dehydrator to create fruit rolls. (You can do it in the oven, but it is much more difficult to keep a consistent low temperature without hot spots. You can search online for tips about using your oven.) You need to purchase the special fruit roll trays to go with your dehydrator. Spray the trays with oil before spreading the fruit puree on them. This will make them easy to pull off when they are done.

Spread your puree out very thin and as uniform in thickness as possible. Cover any remaining puree and store in the fridge until you have room in your dehydrator for another batch. I always wait until I'm all finished with my puree to wash the trays. Just re-spray and use again.

Stack all the trays on your dehydrator base and dry at 130 degrees for about 8 hours.

When they are done, they will not feel sticky to the touch, just dry and leathery. (These pictures are from a different flavor of fruit roll so that is why they appear red.) Peel them up carefully off the tray.

Cut in half using kitchen scissors so they can fit on plastic wrap.

Roll up 

Once you are finished rolling all your fruit rolls, store in a gallon ziplock bag or airtight container for a year or more or as long as you can hide them from the kids.

Whole Wheat Brownies

I experimented (as I am becoming famous for doing) on a whole wheat brownie recipe using bean puree. Knowing I was serving it to company, I played it a bit safe and didn't remove all the eggs and the fat. What I came up with is much more healthy than your everyday, average, run-of-the mill brownie from a mix. All the kids who were over devoured them and came back for seconds and thirds so I think I can count it a success. My kids didn't even warn them too loudly that I am always experimenting when company is coming over so be careful. (I did decide that next time I will cook it in two 9X13 pans instead of a jelly roll pan. It ran over the edge a little.)

Whole Wheat Brownies

4 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa

2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup black or white bean puree

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients until well blended and smooth. Pour batter into 2 greased 9x13 pans and spread evenly. Sprinkle mini-chocolate chips and English toffee bits on top. You could also sprinkle nuts, if desired. One of the kids who came over has a nut allergy so we left them off. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.

Storable Lunch or Dinner - Whole Wheat Tortillas

You won't think making tortillas is worth the work until you've tasted a homemade tortilla. If you are one of the lucky ones who has tasted a tortilla hot off the griddle, you will be more than just a little excited about trying your hand at this recipe.

Make your dough.

Divide it into balls.

Cover the dough balls with a moist paper towel for 1-8 hours. You read that right - it takes at least one hour for the gluten in the wheat flour to relax so the tortillas are easier to roll out. You can leave it longer though depending on the demands of your day.

Cut the edges off of a gallon size ziplock bag to create two heavy-duty pieces of plastic. Roll out each dough ball until very thin between the layers of plastic. This is where the kids have fun helping you. We've even had taco parties and our guests have fun taking turns rolling these out. You can place a bowl upside down over the top and cut around it to create perfect circle tortillas if you want to. We don't mind the homemade appearance. Cook on a hot griddle as you would a pancake. Fill with your favorite taco filling or turn them into delicious sandwich wraps. They also taste great in Mexican Lasagna.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
4 cups whole wheat flour	½ – ¾ cup shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour	1 ½ cups boiling water
2 tsp salt
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Rub the shortening in by hand until the dough is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until the water is all mixed in. Sprinkle with a little additional flour and knead with your hands until the dough does not stick to your fingers. Divide into balls about the size of golf balls and place on a tray. Cover with a moist paper towel and allow to sit for at least one hour or up to 8 hours. This makes them much easier to roll out. Cut the seams off a gallon-size ziplock bag creating two pieces of heavier plastic. Roll each ball out between the two pieces of plastic as thin as possible. Place a tortilla on a hot griddle. As soon as you see a bubble on top (in about 10 seconds) flip the tortilla over. Cook for about 30 seconds. Flip and cook the other side for an additional 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for one to cook. Continue until all the balls are done. Store your cooked tortillas between two kitchen towels to keep them warm and soft before serving. These freeze well.

Storable Dinner - Tamale Casserole

I flipped the order of the ingredients for this casserole to give it a prettier presentation. It is a family favorite regardless of the order of the ingredients! I had a good friend bring this over one of the times we had a new baby in the NICU. I knew that when my husband and all the kids liked it, I needed to get her recipe. When I read the ingredients, I was excited to see it was a "food storage" recipe and oh, so simple.

Begin by spreading out one can of chili in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Top with a layer of cooked rice and an additional can of chili.

Open two cans of tamales and remove the papers. (Usually found near the chili or on the Hispanic isle at our local grocery stores. I've only ever seen a Hormel brand.) Place the tamales in two rows across the top of the casserole. Drizzle any juices left in the can across the tamales.

Top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake or heat in the microwave.

You can do a 1/2 size batch in an 8x8 pan. Since this freezes so well, I usually do two when I am making it. 

Tamale Casserole
2 cans of tamales	Grated cheese
2 cups rice, cooked	Sour cream or plain yogurt
2 cans chili
Empty the cans of tamales into a 9x13-inch pan or two 8x8-inch pans. Remove and discard papers then cut into bite sized pieces. Spread evenly in the pan. Cover evenly with cooked rice. Spread the 2 cans of chili over the rice and top with cheese. Bake at 375° F for 30–45 minutes or heat in the microwave. Top with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt when serving. This freezes very well.