Feed the Freezer and Pantry.

I can see the writing on the wall and hence I'm feeling the urge to stockpile. Plus I've just got that cooking feeling again. I've decided that I need to jar some of my own marinara sauces instead of spending $3.50 a jar for the store bought stuff. So this week I'm going to make a batch of various marinara sauces, some simple and some more fancy. I'm new to this whole canning/jarring thing so I'm just going to use a big stock pot since I don't have a canner. I however am going to invest in a pair of canning tongs.

Here's a great guide for how long to let your jars boil.... CanningUSA.com

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has lots of tips and guides on how to can and jar your own foods. They as well have trusted recipes.

Following their advice I'm going to use the "approved" recipes and then I'll make some of the non-approved recipes and freeze those instead. Lord knows I don't want to mess with botulism.

Non-Approved Marinara Recipes:

Basic Marinara Sauce by Tyler Florence

Heart Healthy Marinara Sauce by Giada De Laurentiis (I say healthy because it has yummy carrots in it)

And I plan on finding a good marinara sauce with mushrooms, since this is what we always buy from the store brands, but I'm going to have to wait and find a good deal on mushrooms.

In addition to the canning, I am going to make some homemade ice cream. There's just something about the thought of making it myself that gets me excited. I absolutely LOVE ice cream and the hubby and I got an electric ice cream maker as a wedding gift that we have yet to use. I always thought it'd be a time consuming, and expensive process but after doing some research on it it seems like a piece of cake, or wait maybe a scoop of ice cream!

Ice Cream Recipes:

Butter Pecan by Elise at Simply Recipes

Fudge Brownie Ice Cream by CookingLight.com

Better than Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream by Betty, the low carb guru (I'll be trying this one out for my hubby since he needs sugar free ice cream)


My goal by the end of the week is to have a stockpile of yummy ice cream and marinara sauce sitting in my freezer and pantry!

Turkey Bolognese

Menu: Turkey Bolognese and a ceasar salad with garlic bread sticks

Turkey Bolognese

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 pound shredded cooked turkey (preferably dark meat)
3 cups marinara sauce (frozen from a few weeks ago)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
   
2. Add the carrot and celery and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and saute 1 minute.
   
3. Add the marinara sauce.
   
4. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, stirring often. Stir in the basil. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. (The sauce can be made 1 week ahead. Cool the sauce completely, then transfer it to a container and freeze for future use. Bring the sauce to a simmer before using.)
5. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
   
6. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten as needed.
   
7. Serve with the Parmesan.

Now serve it up with some crunchy garlic breadsticks and a cool crisp ceasar salad. And viola!

Recipe and photo courtesy of FoodNetwork

Giada's Homemade Marinara Sauce

I found some great smoke mozzarella ravioli's at our local farmers market and I knew I couldn't just put my regular old Ragu spaghetti sauce on something so yummy. So I'm being adventurous and going to make a homemade sauce. We'll be eating the ravioli's on Tuesday night but in an effort to conserve time I'll be making the sauce Monday night.

Giada's Homemade Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

1. In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame.
   

2. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
   

3. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
   

4. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
   

5. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead.
   

6. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)