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!

Homemade Kettle Corn

Who doesn't love the kettle corn you can buy at the fair or other sporting events? It's just a little sweet and a bit salty - a combination we all go for. It is also very simple and inexpensive to make. It costs $5 around here for a bag of it from one of the food booths. I can make it for mere pennies and in a matter of minutes. It is an often requested snack around here.

It takes 1/4 cup hot oil, 1/4 cup brown or white sugar, and 1/2 cup popcorn seed.

It's helpful to have a Whirley-pop pan, but not necessary. (We found ours at the thrift store for $3.) You can just use a large pot with a lid and shake it over the burner until all the popcorn is popped.

When it is done popping, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle in a little salt while it is still warm. Stir to make sure the popcorn doesn't stick together as it cools. 

We use this as a snack often. We have also made batches to share with teachers or friends for gifts. It is great to give those who need a gluten-free snack or dessert. It is inexpensive,easy, and loved by all - what are you waiting for? Give it a try this week.

Homemade Kettle Corn
¼ cup oil	½ cup popcorn seed
¼ cup brown sugar, packed	Salt
Heat oil in bottom of a large, covered pan. We use a special Whirley-pop pan made for doing popcorn on the stove, but you can use a regular pan. Drop in 3 popcorn kernels. When the kernels pop, the oil is ready. Quickly add the brown sugar and popcorn seed. Replace the lid. If using a Whirley-pop pan, twist the handle until all popcorn is popped. If using a regular pan, shake the pan back and forth on the burner until all kernels are popped. Pour popcorn into a large bowl and add a little salt. Mix the popcorn with your hands as it cools so it doesn't stick together. You can use white sugar in place of the brown sugar. It gives it more of a popcorn ball flavor instead of a caramel flavor.

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 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.

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.

Storable Dinner - Taco Filling

Taco filling is a very easy meal to make with items that store.  For dinner tonight, I mixed cooked rice, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and leftover pot roast together in the crockpot.  I had the pot roast, cooked rice and black beans in the freezer just waiting to be used.  I then added a can of corn (drained) and a can of diced tomatoes.  To spice it up, I added a packet of fajita seasoning mix and some dehydrated peppers and onions.  I then added about 1/2 cup of water and mixed it all together.  I warmed it through which took about 2 hours on high and then dinner was ready.  We will serve it with tortillas and corn chips so my kids have a choice.  I always make a large batch because any leftovers freeze well for another day. Add lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream for a delicious and easy storable meal.

Dehydrated onions and peppers with a little water

Rehydrated peppers and onions - just microwave for 30 seconds to one minute to rehydrate

Seasoning packets are a good way to store quite a few flavoring options.

Here is the completed taco filling.

Store bought tortillas and corn chips have quite a long shelf-life so I always try to keep some on hand.  If we are out though, we love to make homemade tortillas.  I keep shredded cheese in the freezer and you can use homemade yogurt in place of the sour cream.  These are the changes I take into account as I plan the ingredients to store so I could serve tacos any day of the year!