Danielle asked: When you buy the 25 pound containers what do you have to
store them in?
I am a big fan of buying our grains in larger quantities to help save money on our food budget and keep things simple and organized. I find it especially useful to find a nearby friend to split these purchases as well, as our garage is rather small in our condo. Recently, my friend Samara and I split a 50 pound bag of Montana Prairie Gold wheat (which we highly recommend as one of the best whole wheat grain choices!) and it cost each of us just $15! We keep several large 5 gallon paint buckets in our garage for various grain and sweetener purchases (including whole wheat – hard and soft wheat, kamut, oats, sucanat, and spelt grains).
In the kitchen, we keep glass gallon jars which we refill regularly from our outside storage supply. This is Karis’ favorite task – refilling the glass jars with a measuring cup!
These five paint gallon buckets can be purchased new at your local Home Depot or home improvement store for around $5 each. You may be able to aquire them used at a more frugal cost from a local deli or bakery. Best to find ones that have a strong seal (o-ring) to keep as fresh as possible. Grain should be stored in a cool dark place.
I have made some additions to this recipe to add some further wonderful flavors! This is one of my favorite nutritious winter meals for any size family. A great way to stretch your meat for a frugal well balanced meal. You can even throw in some rice or quinoa as desired. It freezes remarkably well!
Shepherd’s Pie
8 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
8 medium carrots, cut into small chunks
1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
20 ou. can tomato sauce, diced or stewed tomatoes
2 1/2 tsp. sweet basil leaves
1-2 Tbsp natural sweetener (honey, rapadura or sucanat)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder or more fresh garlic
1 bay leaf or 1 tsp chopped bay leaf
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
3-4 cups total veggies – mushrooms, green beans, peas & corn, fresh or frozen
milk, butter & salt to season mashed potatoes, as desired (our favorite combination: 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp mayonaise, and 1 garlic clove)
1/2 – 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Boil and cook potatoes and carrots. Carrots take longer then potatoes, so I encourage starting with carrots and then adding potatoes after 10 minutes or so. While cooking, brown ground turkey/beef in a skillet adding onion and garlic when about half browned. Add remaining ingredients, except vegetables. Season as desired. Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add mushrooms, green beans, peas and corn, as desired in the last 5-10 minutes. Mash the potatoes and carrots once they are soft with a mixer and add milk, salt and butter to flavor. Layer the meat mixture in a 9×13 pan (or two 8×8 pans), followed by the mashed potatoes. Top with cheese and a dash of paprika (if desired). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
For the Freezer:
Combine and assemble all the cooked ingredients as instructed but refrain from baking. Cover and freeze as desired. When ready to serve, thaw and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. For our smaller family, I divide this into two 8×8 pans and freeze one for later. Yum!
Red raspberry leaf tea has been used for centuries as a folk medicine to treat canker sores, cold sores, and gingivitis in persons of all ages and anemia, leg cramps, diarrhea, and morning sickness in pregnant women, and as a uterine relaxant. Brewed as a tea it is the best known, most widely used, and safest of all uterine/pregnancy tonics. It tones the muscles of the pelvic region. It also contains vitamins A and B complex and many minerals, including phosphorus and potassium. It can increase fertility, prevent miscarriage and hemorrhage, ease morning sickness, reduce pain during and after birth, and also increase milk supply.
For a delightful and frugal homemade pregnancy tea, try this simple recipe:
Fill a quart size glass jar with boiling water and 1 ounce (which is approx. 2 handfuls) of red raspberry leaf. Cover and allow to steep for 4 hours. Strain the leaves, sweeten as desired, and enjoy! Refrigerate the remaining tea for future use. Recommended dosage is usually 2-3 cups per day.
Another helpful herb that you can add to the above combination or to alternative with would be nettle leaves. It is known to have more chlorophyll than any other herb. The list of vitamins and minerals in this herb includes nearly every one known to be necessary for human health and growth. Nettle is beneficial in aiding the functionality of the kidneys, nourishing mother and fetus, easing leg cramps and other muscles spasms, preventing hemorrhage after birth and reducing hemorrhoids, in addition to increasing the richness and amount of breast milk. According to the Wise Woman Herbal, “some pregnancy women alternate weeks of nettle and raspberry leaf brews; others drink Raspberry until the last month and then switch to Nettles to insure large amounts of vitamin K in the blood for the birth.” Nettle leaves can be brewed in the same manner as raspberry leaf described above or try a combination of 1 handful nettle and 1 handful raspberry leaf.
You can find quality organic red raspberry leaf and nettle leaf in bulk through Mountain Rose Herbs.
Thanks to my friend Mandy, and the excellent resource of Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed. This book has some wonderful ideas for all natural brews and remedies for pregnancy issues, before and after, and natural remedies for infant related problems.
I am excited to annouce that I have finally had some great success with making homemade whole wheat bread while including the benefits of soaking the flour (why soak? read here). It worked for a while but then in the last few months it has been sinking terribly and rather dense (cold weather may have been contributing to this as well). I have been doing further experimenting and believe I have finally solved the problems (but don’t take my word on that!). I am absolutely thrilled! It was so light and delicious! My husband, who is really not a bread fan as I am, said it tasted very good (which is a first!). Check out my updated bread recipe here. This recipe includes both methods – soaking and not soaking as you prefer. It also includes options for dairy intolerant folks that still want the benefits of soaking!
A few helpful keys I have learned lately:
1. Less yeast is better to avoid over rising (thus I revised the recipe so!).
2. Dough enhancer is a excellent conditioner to make a more moist dough. (I love this dough enhancer sold by Urban Homemaker)
3.Your choice of bread pans is really important! According to Urban Homemaker, “Wider pans are often a source of “fallen” loaves as the heavier whole wheat dough cannot support itself over a wider surface area.” Your traditional store bought loaf pans or glass pans run wide. I have two of the pans recommended by Urban Homemaker here and they work great! They are approximately 10” long by 3” wide, but I believe the 8” size might be a better option.
UPDATED: Some may be concerned with the materials that these pans are made of. Is tinware safe? I inquired of Urban Homemaker as to the safety of these pans, and this was the response I received:
“The pans are tinware. They do have a very light non-stick coating on them, but they are not like teflon that peels. They should only be used for bread, greased with each use, and wiped out with a paper towel after each use. Tinware is NOT aluminum.
I have had mine for years and years and been very satisfied (about 15 years). I like the dark exterior finish which cuts the baking time, and I like the shape. I know that non-stick coatings have received a lot of bad press, but I think it is more applicable to when used as a skillet and there is stirring going on. Since the pan really just is like a mold, I don’t have the same concerns, but I don’t have any scientific research on this.” – Marilyn Moll
4. Rising in the oven is very beneficial to avoid contact with cold air – but don’t let it rise too high – just above the edges of the pan is important!
For a yummy homemade whole grain bread recipe, check it out here.
Welcome to our Nutritious Freezer Meal Carnival! So glad you could join us! Today we are joining forces in providing a selection of meals that are easily freezable to simplify your homemaking and time in the kitchen.
TO start off, here is a book recommendation if you are new to the world of freezer cooking, you may want to check out The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet: A Month of Meals Made Easy. This resource comes highly recommended by one of our readers with tips and ideas on making freezer meals.
Freezing Methods
There are several options for freezer containers.
1. One suggestion is to layer your baking pan with aluminum foil, and then fill with your contents. Once frozen, you can simply remove from the pan and slide the frozen contents into a freezer ziploc bag or another container of some sort (vacuumed sealed packages is an option here for extended freezer time). This will reduce the amount of space required for storage in the freezer.
2. Disposable aluminum pans are reasonably cheap, especially if you find them at your local dollar store. You can often find a pack of three for just $1. These are especially nice when you are making a meal as a gift for someone else (then they don’t have to worry about returning your pan). Cover your pan with aluminum foil followed by completely wrapping with freezer paper to avoid freezer burn. Freezer paper is necessary if you are planning on freezing for a longer length of time (more than a week), otherwise it can be skipped.
3. If you desire to avoid aluminum or disposable products, I would highly recommend investing in some glass pyrex containers with the plastic lids. These are very reasonably priced and are easy to freeze. They stack very easily as well. Costco sells a similar set for a great price as well.
4. At our house, I like to multiply pretty much every dish I make, but most commonly with casseroles. I will multiply the recipe to make one dish for the evening meal and freeze the other. This is a wonderful way to simplify and have a meal ready on hand for a busy day. I use pyrex glassware for these purposes or glass canning jars for such freezing purposes.
Now on to the recipes…
Here are our family favorite recipes that freeze extremely well. With each recipe, you will find basic instructions on how to freeze it. One requires pre-baking (as marked), but most freezer recipes can simply be assembled, frozen, and then removed from the freezer and baked. Overall, both methods work well.
Homemade Pizza Crust & Spaghetti Sauce – I often make 4 pizza crusts at a time, using one for the evening meal and freezing the other three portions of dough. I also make a large batch of spaghetti sauce at a time and freeze in small glass jars for topping our pizzas. To keep things simple we don’t use a special pizza sauce, as the spaghetti sauce has a ton of flavor. I make a large batch not only for pizza but also to serve for spaghetti.
Chicken Curry- you can layer in a pan with brown rice or simply freeze the curry sauce on it’s own!
Shepherd’s Pie- one of my all time favorite freezer meals!
Soups
I have had great success freezing all my soup recipes. I simply cook as instructed in the recipe, allow to cool completely and then place in Ziploc bags or as I prefer, put into quart size or half gallon size glass jars. Make sure to allow at least 1 inch for breathing room.
Garden Chowder – despite the combination of multiple vegetables in this soup, it freezes just fine after being cooked.
Chili & Cornbread -I will often multiply and freeze both the prepared chili and baked cornbread for a future meal. We love chili topped with cheese on nitrate free hot dogs! A yummy high protein lunch!
Stocks
I like to make a large batch of chicken stock at a time and freeze in smaller quantities. I recommend freezing this in large Ziploc freezer bags. Glass jars just have not worked for me. They break too easily as the stock expands.
Desserts
I often like to prepare a batch of cookie dough for the freezer. This is a wonderful way to be prepared for last minute or unexpected guests. Simply pull the dough out of the freezer and bake! Yum! Our favorite recipe is the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies….they are not healthy but are a delicious special treat, easy to make and great for company. Ice Cream is another dessert that can be made ahead and frozen. Try our Coconut Ice Cream or Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
Now it is your turn…Please share your favorite freezer meal recipes and provide the link to your direct post with the recipe. Make sure to include a return link to this post! If you don’t have a blog, share your favorite recipe in the comments below!
Do you have any tips to share for freezer cooking?
Just a quick reminder that our nutritious freezer meal carnival is coming up this next Tuesday, January 20th! Let’s spread the word and have a full array of recipes lined up to share with one another.
With the use of Mr. Linky, come and link up to all your healthy family recipes that freeze well and any freezing tips that you would like to share. Here is an opportunity to start off the new year with a great list of nutritious meals to stock your freezer! The only request is that the recipes should ideally use whole and natural ingredients (we’re thinking healthy!), natural sweeteners and the like, but the carnival will be open to all submissions, as we are all in different stages of this journey to living more healthy. You can share any recipe from a main dish, soup or dessert that freeze well. Please also include clear freezing and defrosting instructions.
If you don’t have your own blog from which to share a recipe, feel free to come and post a comment during the carnival with your favorite recipe or two. Spread the word by using the banner! Looking forward to it!
Here is a yummy evening treat with a natural sweetener alternative! We love popcorn at our home as a frugal and delicious snack or dessert. My papa made popcorn all the time growing up and we loved it! We pop our corn by pouring a thin layer of olive oil, followed by a thin layer of popcorn kernels in a large pot, cover, and shake back and forth over the medium heat till the popping sounds cease. Top with butter and salt or the following caramel corn recipe and enjoy!
3 ¾ qts (15 cups) popped corn (no need to be exact with the measurements here!)
1/2 cup rapadura or sucanat (or brown sugar can be used, if desired)
1/4 cup honey
½ cup butter
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
In small saucepan heat your sweetener choice, butter, salt & vanilla, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around edges, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda. Continue to stir as you pour over popped corn till coated.
This is a hearty creamy vegetable soup that has been a favorite in our family for many years! It is a perfect meal for a cold winter evening and a great way to use those seasonal winter vegetables! You can mix and match the vegis as to what you may have on hand. This recipe was formally published here but has been revised and updated. A wonderful accompaniment to soaked spelt biscuits (which you can also make with any variety of flour) topped with butter and honey! Yum!
1/2 chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1 cup each diced potato, celery, cauliflower, carrot and broccoli
3 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or just 3 cups of chicken broth to replace water and bouillon)
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup flour or arrowroot powder
2 cups milk
1 Tbls minced fresh parsley
1/8-1/4 tsp of each the following spices: paprika, coriander, ground mustard (increase as desired)
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (can be adjusted as desired, as I rarely use more than 2 cups of cheese)
In a Dutch oven or large pot, saute green pepper, onion and butter until tender. Add vegetables, water, bouillon, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Combine flour and milk until smooth; stir into pan. Allow to thicken at a low temperature. Add the parsley and other spices. Just before serving, stir in the cheese until melted. Yield: 6-8 servings. This chowder freezes very well also! Just allow room for expansion.
I am in new year cleaning and nesting mode lately. I love reorganizing and simplifying at the beginning of the new year. I have talked previously about the ease and safety of using glass canning jars for all your kitchen storage. They work great for all varieties of leftovers for the fridge, leftovers for the freezer, and for general food and grain storage. I absolutely love glass storage! Canning jars are very frugal to come by, and they are simple and elegant. You can find them in Pint, Quart, half gallon, and gallon sizes (Azure Standard also carries the gallon size). Craigslist, goodwill and garage sales are great places to find used jars for the best prices.
I like to save all glass jars from store-bought purchases so I have multiple sizes and shapes, but the standard wide mouth canning jar is best for ease of removing contents (avoid the narrow mouth jars if possible – just too difficult!). Wide mouth also gives the ability to stack them more easily in the refrigerator. Just this past week I stumbled upon the product I have been looking for awhile…plastic wide mouth jar lids! Yes, this is the solution to the natural rusting process that takes place with the standard metal canning lids and rings, and this simplifies it into one lid rather than two pieces. You should have seen my excitement!
Where to find? You can find these nifty plastic lids at Fred Meyers in the canning section along with all their other canning supplies. The cost? Just over $3 for a box of 8 lids. You can also find them online at Amazon:8 Pk Wide Mouth Plastic Caps. Note: these are not to be used for canning, but only for storage purposes. And don’t worry about the plastic – it’s a #5 plastic and does not come in contact with your food unless you fill your jars completely to the brim.
I highly recommend this product as a means of getting simplified and organized in your kitchen storage this year!
What kind of cookware do you use on a daily basis? I use a cast iron skillet for sauteing, but what do you use in place of non-stick stock pots, sauce pans, and for just quick warming something up on the stove?
Carefully evaluating the best options for your cookware choices is very important, as they will be in daily use in most homes. The chemical Teflon in non-stick surfaced cookware is being considered to be a potential health hazard when overheated. It is designed only to withstand low to medium heat, but more often than not, the pan will get overheated and you will be exposed to the fumes from the Teflon.
I am a big fan of buying our grains in larger quantities to help save money on our food budget and keep things simple and organized. I find it especially useful to find a nearby friend to split these purchases as well, as our garage is rather small in our condo. Recently, my friend Samara and I split a 50 pound bag of Montana Prairie Gold wheat (which we highly recommend as one of the best whole wheat grain choices!) and it cost each of us just $15! We keep several large 5 gallon paint buckets in our garage for various grain and sweetener purchases (including whole wheat – hard and soft wheat, kamut, oats, sucanat, and spelt grains).
Red raspberry leaf tea has been used for centuries as a folk medicine to treat canker sores, cold sores, and gingivitis in persons of all ages and anemia, leg cramps, diarrhea, and morning sickness in pregnant women, and as a uterine relaxant. Brewed as a tea it is the best known, most widely used, and safest of all uterine/pregnancy tonics. It tones the muscles of the pelvic region. It also contains vitamins A and B complex and many minerals, including phosphorus and potassium. It can increase fertility, prevent miscarriage and hemorrhage, ease morning sickness, reduce pain during and after birth, and also increase milk supply.
Welcome to our Nutritious Freezer Meal Carnival! So glad you could join us! Today we are joining forces in providing a selection of meals that are easily freezable to simplify your homemaking and time in the kitchen.
3. If you desire to avoid aluminum or disposable products, I would highly recommend investing in some 
Jen asked:
