* Marv 'n' Joe *

Most of you have no idea what a Marv 'n' Joe is...nor would I expect you too. I learned about the greatness called a Marv 'n' Joe while attending college at USU (go aggies!). I had a super great roommate (hey Sara!) who worked at Hazel's (the yummiest bread store ever) at the USU Hub. She would make the best samples for people to try--and that was when I first tried the Marv 'n' Joe...and I never turned back (although I did also get the amazing cinnamon swirl bread, toasted and topped with cream cheese and raspberries quite a bit too...mmmm!). I remember plenty a time stopping between classes for a snack, getting up early to study and grabbing on of these to munch on...) Aside from the wonderful things I experienced at Utah State (my education, finding my hubby, amazing friends, spring breaks (what up Puerto Penasco!), football/basketball games, etc), I am so glad I found out about the Marv 'n' Joe!

For a USU history of the Marv 'n' Joe, click here!

* Marv ’n’ Joe *
The Marv 'n' Joe starts out with a slice of Hazel’s bread (any bread--white, wheat-cheese-etc), topped with garlic butter, a tomato slice, oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, and a slice of provolone cheese. Toast and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

(Mine is obviously not the exact replica (I didn't have the provalone cheese or the toaster oven--I baked mine in the oven til it was crispy-ish)...and it really didn't taste as amazing as I remember these tasting--but it was still delicious! What a great combo of tastes.)

* Canning Ground Beef & Beef Chunks *

The last day of canning week here! Today we are going to talk about canning meat...most specifically beef. We are so lucky that my in-laws are cattle ranchers. They are amazing people and they are so nice to provide us with beef throughout the year. We have a lot of beef in our freezer and I always rationalize that my food storage is in the freezer. This last year, I started thinking about what I would do if our power went out. All of the stuff in our freezer would go bad fairly quickly. So I decided to learn how to can some of our beef in case of an emergency!

I found a website called Preparedness 365 and it is awesome! She has recipes, instructions, and great ideas on how to be prepared for emergencies. Here are her links for canning ground beef & beef chunks.

* Canning Ground Beef & Beef Chunks *(I realize this picture does not look super appetizing but they really taste pretty good and think about how nice it would be to have your dinner meat cooked already!)
For the beef chunks, you could use steaks (I did all of my beef chunks out of round steak since it is a tougher cut of meat and this process is supposed to tenderize the meat very well), or roasts (which you could cook in a crockpot).

The process for both of them is pretty much the same. Always have your jars & rings washed (waiting in the dishwasher), & new lids (you'll have them heated in a bowl of hot water by the time you use them).

Thaw the meat overnight in the sink. Cut your steak/roast into chunks. Cook the ground beef or meat chunks by putting them in a large pot with a little bit of water. Cook until the pink is gone. Rinse the meat to get as much of the fat out of it as possible.

Pack meat into jars (quart or pint--whatever you have or want to use) up to the neck of the jar. After packing the meat in, fill each jar with boiling water or beef broth (I used the beef broth--it adds more flavor). Run a knife or small spatula around the edge to get air bubbles out and to fill in the cracks with the liquid. Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth, and put new lids & the rings on. They are then ready to process in a pressure canner. Always follow your pressure canner's instructions but a general guideline is to process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes.

After processing, allow the pressure on your canner to drop to zero before removing your jars. Place on towel and let cool (24 hours).

The ground beef is good for tacos, sloppy joes, spaghetti, chili, etc. The beef chunks would be great in stew, used in straganoff, quesadillas, etc...basically any ways you use your beef in!

* Canning Green Beans & Peaches *

Canning week...so fun! There really isn't much to tell you about canning green beans and peaches. Neither of them really have a "recipe" per say, but I'll let you know the process I used--it might be different for others! I'd love to hear any variations you use!

* Peaches *
(for great instructions and step-by-step pictures--this website is awesome!) A bushel of peaches (about 48 pounds) and will yield about 16-24 quarts or 32-48 pints (depending on how full you pack your jars). We got 2 boxs of peaches, about 1 bushel, but ate maybe half a box so we technically canned 3/4 of a bushel and got 40 pints of peaches.

As always, your first step is to wash all your jars and rings. Leave them in the dishwasher to keep them warm until you are ready to fill them. Bring a large pot of water to boil. This will be the water we blanch our peaches in to peel them. Also, fill your waterbath with water and start warming it up on low.

Next you need to make your syrup to pack your peaches in. Peaches can be packed in light, medium, or heavy syrup or even fruit juice (usually grape juice).

Sugar Syrup
for a Light syrup: 2 cups sugar + 6 cups water
for a Medium syrup: 3 cups sugar + 6 cups water
for a Heavy syrup: 4 cups sugar + 6 cups

I used a light syrup for my peaches. I brought 6 cups of water to a gentle boil and then added the sugar to it and stirred until it was dissolved. Keep it hot until ready to use.

Next, wash and peel your peaches. Wash in lukewarm water. Dip the fruit in your pot of boiling water for 20 to 45 seconds. (I usually do about 8 at a time) Remove from the boiling water using a slotted spoon and put into a large bowl or pot of cold water and ice for several minutes. Keep doing this process until all of your peaches have been blanched and cooled in ice water. Once you pick your peach out of the ice water, the peel should slip right off...so easy!!!

Now, remove the pit and slice up your peaches however you want. You can cut them in half, quarters, slices, chunks, etc. (some people like to soak their peaches in a lemon juice/water mixture to keep them from browning...I don't worry about it because...well, it's just another step. But feel free to do so if you want to!) Fill your jars with the peaches leaving one inch headspace. Pour syrup over peaches being careful to leave the one inch headspace. Run knife or small spatula around the jar to get air bubbles out.

Wipe rim with clean cloth and place hot lid on jar. Screw on ring and put into water bath canner.and process 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts. Once processed, remove from canner and put on towel or cooling rack to cool completely (24 hours). Make sure jars sealed (if not, put it fridge and eat soon or reprocess it using a new lid) and enjoy!

* Green Beans *
(for great instructions and step-by-step pictures--this website is great!)We grew our own green beans in our garden but you can get them from a local farmer's market, grocery store, pick your own farms, neighbor, etc. Generally speaking, you need one pound of green beans for each pint or two pounds per quart. A bushel of green beans (about 30 pounds) will make 26-40 pints or 13-20 quarts.

As always, your first step is to wash all your jars and rings. Leave them in the dishwasher to keep them warm until you are ready to fill them. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to boiling. You will use this water to pour over the beans after you fill the jars. Fill up your PRESSURE CANNER/COOKER (different than a water bath) with 4 inches of water and start heating it up on low heat.

Next, wash your beans in cold/lukewarm water. Trim the ends and cut into smaller pieces, if desired (mine usually end up being about and inch long). You can cut them with a knife or snap them with your hands.

Pack your jars with the beans. Pack them pretty tightly and leave one inch headspace at the top of the jar. Pour 1/2 tsp. salt in each jar--this is optional but we like them seasoned. Pour water over the beans, being careful to leave one inch at the top. Using knife or spatula, run it around the edge of the jar to get air bubbles out. Wipe around edges of your jars with a clean cloth. Put hot lids (soaked in hot water for a few minutes) on jar and screw lid on.

Place jars in the PRESSURE CANNER/COOKER and add more water if needed. Put lid on pressure canner and twist to seal. Build pressure up to 11 pounds. Once the steam starts spurting out, let your jars cook for 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts. When the time is up, turn off the heat allow the pressure to drop to zero before opening your canner. Remove lid and place jars on a towel or cooling rack on the counter. Allow to cool completely (24 hours). Check to see if your jars sealed.

*NOTE*--technically, I do not have a pressure canner! We use a pressure cooker. I have seen a lot of resources that say that a pressure cooker will not work at well as a pressure canner (saw these after we bought it) but it has worked fine for me. We have not had any problems with getting sick or anything but it is probably best to stay on the safe side. If you are planning on buying a pressure canner...make sure it is a canner--not a cooker. Just to save you some money since we will probably have to invest in a real pressure canner some time soon :)

* Salsa and Tomatoes (for canning) *

Day #2 of canning week is about tomatoes! I love a good home canned salsa. There are so many amazing recipes out there but I picked this one because it made a smaller batch (good for us because we didn't have a major major amount of tomatoes) and you don't have the peel the tomatoes with this recipe (let's face it...I'm a lazy canner). This blog has step-by-step pictures directions...it was awesome!

* Zesty Canning Salsa *10 cups (6 lbs) chopped tomatoes
5 cups (2 lbs) chopped and seeded green bell peppers
5 cups (1.5 lbs) chopped onions
2.5 cups (1 lb) chopped and seeded hot peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Using a hand immersion blender, blend all ingredients to desired consistency (thus making it so you don't have to take the peels off). Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 20-25 minutes in a boiling water canner.
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I also canned 7 pints of tomatoes (not a whole lot but like I said, we didn't have an insane amount of tomatoes). I used the instructions found here and it was also great because she had great step-by-step pictures of how to do it! I also liked this recipe because the tomatoes are raw packed (although I do love good stewed tomatoes in recipes...) so I was able to complete the entire canning of tomatoes while my kids were napping. The instructions she gives are for a large amount of tomatoes and she packs them in quarts. I only packed them in pints so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

* Canned Tomatoes *
tomatoes
lemon juice (1 T. per pint-2 T. per quart)
salt (1/2 tsp. per pint-1 tsp. per quart)

Wash and core all of the tomatoes. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (easier to do it in "batches"). I submerged mine in ice water after blanching although her recipe didn't call for it. After blanching, peel skin off all tomatoes. Dice the tomatoes. Put lemon juice and salt in the bottom of each jar. (I did it as I was filling the jars because I wasn't sure how many jars I was going to get). Fill jars with diced tomatoes up to the neck of the jar. Top off with a few tablespoons of boiling water. Run knife or spatula around the edges of jar to get air bubbles out. Clean rims and top with new lid (heated in boiling water). Add rings and twist them so they are snug (not overly tight though). Process in hot water canner for 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts.

* Apple Pie Filling, Chunky Applesauce, & Apple Butter (for canning) *

To start of canning week, here are a few basic canning tips I've found useful (this is really only my 3rd year of canning so I'm still a newbie. Feel free to offer any tips or suggestions of your own or to let me know if I'm doing it wrong, etc.)

*Run jars and rings through dishwasher cycle to sanitize them. Leave them in the dishwasher until you are ready to fill them so that they will stay warm and clean.

*After filling the jars, run a small plastic spatula or knife around the jar sides and through the middle of filling to get air bubbles out of the jar.

*Heat water in a bowl in microwave until boiling. Put new lids in boiling water for a few minutes before putting on filled jars. Make sure the wipe the jar rims off with a clean dishcloth before putting the hot lids on them.

*Bring the jars in water bath pot to a boil and start timing them once the water starts boiling

*Place processed jars on a towel on the counter after they are done processing. Do not let a fan or open window blow cool air on the hot jars…they will burst.

*Lids should “pop” when they are sealed although not all of them will make that sound. After 24 hours, you can test the jars 3 ways to make sure they are sealed.
1) Push on lid. If it pops up and down, it is not sealed.
2) Using a metal spoon, tap on lid. If it makes a high pitched ping, it is sealed. If it makes a low pitched sound, it is not sealed.
3) Take of ring and pick jar up holding onto the lid. If it pops off, it is not sealed.
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Onto the recipes:

I found this apple pie filling recipe here. Random story about Apple Pie Filling: when I first moved to Idaho, a super nice girl by the name of Natalie befriended me. She taught me how to sew, can, etc. She is amazing! She gave me a similar recipe for canned Apple Pie Filling. It was the same as this recipe but didn't call for the 10 cups of water. Everytime I made it, it turned out SO THICK and gelled up. I couldn't figure out why until I looked up a recipe online and realized that the water had been left off the recipe. It still tasted good but it's definitely better with the water :)

* Canned Apple Pie Filling *
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. cornstarch
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
10 c. water
6 pounds of apples, washed, peeled and thinly sliced

Note: Slice apples into a solution of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to 1 quart of water to avoid discoloration. Drain the fruit well before packing in jars.

In a large pot, blend together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the water and lemon juice with a wire whisk. Cook and stir until bubbly and thick; remove from heat. While the filling cooks, slice the apples and add them into a solution of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to 1 quart of water to avoid discoloration. Drain the fruit well before packing in jars. Pack apples into clean, hot canning jars leaving an inch from the top of the jar. Fill with the hot syrup, leaving 1/2 inch space from the top of the jar. Remove air bubbles by running a knife around the insides of each jar. Close the jars with hot, sterile lids and rims. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 -30 minutes Use a jar tongs to remove the jars from water. Place the jars on a dish towel to dry and allow the jars to cool for several hours Check the seals to make certain the lids are sealed properly (the lids should be lowered in the middle and not move up or down)

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This next recipe is from my Grandma Williams (and my mom...after I lost the one from my grandma) I LOVE this stuff and so do my kids! It is so yummy and the pieces are cut into the perfect size for kids! I'm not sure why it is called "sauce" since it is definitely not "saucy"...it should probably be called Baked Apples. My grandma uses this as a side dish, in jellos, etc. My sister and I were also thinking you could use it in apple cake, cinnamon roll filling, etc.

* Chunky Applesauce *
6 quarts apples: peeled, cored, cut into chunks
2 c. water
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes until soft. Bottle and process for 25 minutes. Makes 8 pints. (on this one, I don’t worry about cutting the apples into a lemon juice/water solution to stop them from browning because you are going to cook them in cinnamon so they will turn brown anyways.)

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Lastly, apple butter. So so yummy! Ill be honest...I haven't technically made this yet. I am in the process of it as I type! The apples are cooking in the crockpot and it smells heavenly! I used the recipes found here and here (I found the allrecipes one first but used the second one for the canning directions)

*All Day Apple Butter *
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness. (can also puree with a hand blender)
Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate, freeze, or process in waterbath for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

A special thanks for my parents for providing us with the apples :)

* Canning Week! *

These past few months have been busy-busy-busy as I've been trying to "put up" some food for the winter. Canning is not necessarily "fun" but it is rewarding to see all your time and effort pay off. I love hearing the little "ping" of the canning lids as they seal...that sound is one of my favorites :) This week I'm going to post some of the recipes and directions I've used for canning this year. Here's the schedule for our
* Canning Week! *

Tuesday: Apple Pie Filling, Chunky Applesauce, & Apple Butter
Wednesday: Salsa & Canned Tomatoes
Thursday: Green Beans & Peaches
Friday: Ground Beef & Beef Chunks

Should be fun! Although this is really for my own sake (so nice to have everything written down in the same place), I hope someone somewhere will be able to learn something too :)

* Menu Monday (#6) *

Here's what's up for dinner this week:

Monday: Crockpot Fajitas & Black Beans
Tuesday: Salisbury Steak, Rice, & Veggies
Wednesday: Hamburgers/Hotdogs, Fried Potatoes, & Green Beans
Thursday: Pollo ala Crema & Salad
Friday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta & Cucumbers
Saturday: Tin Foil Dinners
Sunday: White Chicken Chili & Rice

* Menu Monday (#5) *

As you've probably noticed, we pretty much eat the same meals all the time. So this Menu Monday thing is probably going to get pretty boring for most of you but like I said in my first Menu Monday post, it will be so nice FOR ME to be able to randomly pick posts and have my dinners planned. So...in conclusion, sorry if this is boring for you all.

Monday: Taco Soup, Chips & Homemade Salsa
Tuesday: Crockpot Orange Chicken, Rice, Cucumbers & Tomatoes
Wednesday: Hamburgers, Fried Potatoes, Zucchini
Thursday: Poppyseed Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Friday: Stuffed Pizza Rolls,
Saturday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Tomato Soup
Sunday: Navajo Tacos

Also, I don't always stick to these meals. Sometimes I switch days, or some days I feel super lazy so instead of the planned meal, we have waffles or pancakes or something....just FYI.

* Crockpot Meatloaf *

Oh crockpot...why do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
I love that almost every meal I cook in you requires hardly any real prep work--I usually just dump stuff in and I almost always put all my meat in frozen...so easy! I love that my house smells yummy all day while you cook for me. I love that I don't have one of those "Oh crap, it's 5:00pm and I don't know what to make for dinner...again" moments when I remember to use you. I love you crockpot..."don't you go dying on me!" (name the movie)

When I saw the recipe for crockpot meatloaf (found here) I thought, really? Won't it turn out all mushy or weird cooked in the crockpot? Well, I'm here to tell you, my friends, that it turns out AWESOME in the crockpot! I halved this recipe and it was the perfect amount for our family dinner and for leftovers in the hubby's lunch the next day.

*Crockpot Meatloaf *
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 lg. bell pepper, chopped (didn't use this...I'm not really a pepper person)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
2-3 lbs ground beef

Line crock pot with foil

Mix together the eggs, milk, dry crumbs, & onion soup mix. Add meat and onions (and peppers)and mix all thoroughly. Shape into loaf, put in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8hrs.

2 hrs before done you can put ketchup on top of loaf and let cook the last 2 hrs. (instead of doing just ketchup, I mix ketchup, mustard, and a bit of brown sugar together...so good!)

* Potato Slabs *

My husband loves potatoes...he's a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Therefore, I have to find new ways to cook them so I don't get bored of them (can you believe in live in Idaho?...I'm pretty sure real Idahoans don't get sick of Idaho potatoes). This is super easy and tasty. You could even serve them as an appetizer! Recipe found here.

* Potato Slabs *
2 Russet Potatoes
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
1/3 Cup Colby-Jack cheese
5 Slices Bacon, cooked and diced
Green onions for garnish (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Clean and scrub potatoes well. Slice the potatoes into 1/4″ thick slices.

Place potatoes on lightly buttered baking sheet and season each side with salt, black pepper, and paprika.

Cook for 30 minutes. Flip potatoes over and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and place a pinch of cheese and bacon on top of each potato round. Return the pan to the oven and cook until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Serve with green onions and sour cream, if desired.

* Homemade Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza *

When I worked at Papa Murphy's, there was a pizza there that I swore I'd never try. It was the Gourmet Vegetarian. It had zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, atrichoke hearts, & onions. That sounded ridiculously gross to me and I have to admit now that I WAS WRONG! Who knew that vegetables could taste so good on a pizza? (probably most of you out there) I decided to make it on my own last week and it was seriously so good! Try it out...you will enjoy it!

*Homemade Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza *(you will notice that mine does not have onions or mushrooms on it...I did not have those toppings so I didn't use them but I am sure they would've been good! Also, don't mind the pepperoni. My kids won't eat those veggies.)

pizza dough (I used my calzone pizza dough recipe...so good!)
white sauce (found in this post)
cheese (I used colby jack because that is what I had on hand. Papa Murphy's uses mozzarella on top of the sauce, and a mix of provalone and cheddar on top of the toppings, topped with parmesan cheese)
zuchinni (sliced)
artichokes (chopped into smaller pieces)
spinach--can use fresh or frozen. If using frozen, cook spinach until tender and drain.
muchrooms (sliced)
tomatoes (sliced or chopped)
onions

Make pizza dough according to recipe. Roll out onto pizza tray, sheet, or stone. Top with 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. white sauce. Top with cheese. Spread desired toppings (don't over do it on the toppings, Since they are vegetables, they have a lot of water/juice in them and too many toppings will make your pizza soggy). Top with more cheese. Bake (usually between 400* and 425*--depending on your recipe) for 12-18 minutes.

* Menu Monday (#4) *

Dinner anyone? Here is what's up this week:

Monday: Crockpot Meatloaf, Potato Slabs, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Tuesday: Costa Vida Chicken Tacos, Beans, Rice
Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, Green Beans
Thursday: Crockpot Round Steak & Gravy
Friday: Winger's Chicken, French Fries, Salad
Saturday: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Sunday: Creamy Corn Chowder, Rolls

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup *

One weekend while visting my parents, they made us a delicious breakfast of Gingerbread pancakes with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup. They recieved the recipe at a food storage enrichment night from Liesa Card, author of "I Dare You To Eat It" (she blogs here at this site). This recipe is SO SO yummy! You have to try it! It is worth the extra effort (because if you know me, you know I use the store bought Western Family maple syrup) and you won't be disappointed!

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup*
3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I used the substitution of 3/4 c. whole milk plus 3/4 T. lemon juice)
1/2 cup butter (I used margarine)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place first five ingredients in extra large saucepan. Bring to boil and cook for 7 minutes (mixture will foam like crazy), stirring to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

My syrup was a bit thinner and less caramelly than my mom's. I know it is because I used the margarine and the buttermilk substitution but it was still SO GOOD--although I think the real version is better.