Potato Soup

This is one easy and economical make ahead soup. I know it's August, but make it now and pop it in the freezer for your thermos this Fall.  Chop, Boil, Simmer.  That's it.  One pot.  30 minutes.




Potato Soup
Fills 4 Pint Jars or 8 Half Pints

Ingredients 

2 yellow onions, diced
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
4-6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp salt (depending how salty your broth is)
1/2 tsp fresh ground peppercorn
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TB extra virgin olive oil

Garnish options include fresh chives, fresh herbs, additional olive oil or hot pepper flakes.  For a richer soup add in 3 or four tablespoons butter to the pot at towards end of cooking and stir until melted.

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a large pot saving the broth for last.  Pour in the broth until almost covering the diced veggies but not quite.  Usually about 5 cups does it for me.
Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on medium low for 20-25 minutes or until veggies are soft.
With a large spoon or potato masher, mash up a bit of the soup to create a creamier texture is desired.

If freezing for later cool completely then freeze in wide mouth mason jars leaving a little head space on top.

Whole Wheat Naan and Hummus

 

If there are two current staples in our lunch bags and picnics right now it has to be naan bread and hummus.  Whether you buy these staples in the store or make them yourself I find the fact they are freezable a huge bonus in taming the lunch making madness.

  

Whole Wheat Naan Bread
Adapted from food.com 
Makes approx. one dozen rounds

Ingredients:

1.5 cups warm water (105-115 F, basically hot tap water)
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
1 tsp sugar or other sweetener
1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
1.3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive or coconut oil
Optional: sesame seeds, ground peppercorn or hot pepper flakes

Directions:

Whisk water, yeast, and sugar together in large bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes.  You will know the yeast was activated if you see small bubbles forming along the edges of the mixture.  If the water was too hot or cold the yeast will not activate.

Stir in the flour, salt any optional spices now or save them to sprinkle on right before cooking.

Knead the dough a dozen turns or so right in the bowl adding more flour if it's too sticky.  The dough should be quite soft and almost sticky yet workable with floured hands.

Pour  2 tsp oil in a clean bowl, form dough into a ball and place over oil.  Turn dough ball around in the bowl a bit to coat in oil then place a damp cloth (or plastic wrap) over the bowl and let set in warm place for 30 minutes to rise.

When dough has risen place on a floured working surface.  Pull golf ball size pieces off and shape with lightly floured hands into 5-6 inch wide rounds.  You may also use a rolling pin at this point if you find it easier.

Cook naan rounds on an electric griddle heated to 400 degrees for 1-2 minutes on each side and parts are starting to brown.  I rarely use oil during grilling but have brushed on ghee afterwards if I am eating them fresh that day.

Store:

As with all homemade bread it goes downhill fast after a few days in the pantry.  One word: mold.  So if I am storing my naan for later I let cool completely on the counter then place in the fridge in a gallon ziploc bag.  If it's going to be longer then several days I place the bag in the freezer.  To reheat just pop in the microwave or oven for a few seconds/minutes. 

  

Basic Hummus

Not having a food processor anymore made me a little intimidated to try hummus in a blender but it worked.  I made five jars of it this week.  All at once and into the freezer they went.  Here is a great basic recipe over at The Kitchn.  If you have a food processor I recommend adding a roasted red pepper to your mix.  Or fresh spinach, garlic and herbs.  And if you know what's good for you will take that herby spinach garlic hummus and put it in the oven with cheese on top.  Drool, slurp.  Where am I?  Back to the boring basic hummus.

Because I store my easy beans with the liquid I use the liquid a tablespoon at a time to thin the hummus up to a desired creaminess in the blender.  Don't worry, my hummus wasn't too boring.  I added cumin to one batch, chipotle powder to the next, and just bought some ground sumac for next time.

If you don't have tahini paste no worries, it works without also.

Eat it, freeze it, put it on sandwiches, in your kids lunches, with veggies, by the spoonful.  Oh you get the point.  We've tried all of the above.

 

Food Prep - Cooking and Freezing Beans - Rice Cooker Method

Eating healthy on the go and retaining your sanity requires a bit of prep work.  This will look different for everybody.  I don't work outside the home so I obviously can spend more time in my kitchen. But these beans are manageable if your home a few hours in the evening and don't mind 60 seconds of prep work and pressing a button.  Not to mention it saves a lot of $$$ if you eat beans often.

How to Cook Dry Beans in a Rice Cooker:

Yes DRY and yes RICE COOKER.  I used to use my crockpot but when we sold everything and moved that was out the door.  The only appliance we've bought brand new for our current kitchen is a rice cooker.  Fly Guy made dinner one night and bought one as gift.  I said thanks but was screaming at him inside "we have an empty kitchen and you choose rice cooker?  why not crockpot, or mixing spoons, or coffee maker? argh!"

Turns out rice cookers are awesome.  More so if there is a 'slow cook' button on them.  It heats my kitchen less than the crockpot and cooks beans from dry to ready eat in about 3 hours flat.  No soaking required. So here is the rundown.

• Rinse a one pound bag of dry beans picking out any debris
• Place in rice cooker with water covering by a few inches
• Press slow cook button
• Turn off after 2 to 4 hours checking every 30 minutes after the 2 hour mark
• Fill approximately 4 pint jars with cooked beans and some of the liquid
• Let cool
• Freeze if not using in the next few days
• Use each jar in place of a 15 oz can of beans in recipes

Tips

• I find white beans get a little mushy and still buy them canned for now.
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) I sometimes add a pinch of baking soda to help soften them up.
• I can them with the liquid in the event I need it in a recipe (refried beans)  but it can be drained.
• Defrost frozen jars on counter overnight, in microwave, or a bath of warm water.
• Stir once or twice during cooking for more even results.
• If you add seasoning wait until the beans are cooked or it can alter cooking time or make beans tough.
• My rice cooker automatically shuts off after 2 hours and I just press the button a second time. 
• The longer beans have been sitting on the grocery store shelf, the longer they take to cook.  Buy beans that likely have a high turnover rate in the store.

There you have it.  4 cans of beans for around 25 cents each minus the metal can taste.  If you have a crockpot it's the same rundown but an hour or two more cooking time.

We use this model Aroma Rice Cooker.  The slow cook button is a must for this method!

Food Prep– Frozen Muffin Batter

If you give a moose a muffin... You know the story . Some mornings I feel like I have a herd of moose in my house. I couldn't keep up on the muffin front. I wanted leftover muffins for snacks and lunches without having to bake 100 muffins and then gag on the leftover banana smell in the pantry.

And then I came across a golden tidbit while reading Money Saving Mom.  You can freeze muffin batter raw!  It works, we've tried it.  

Just whip up your favorite muffin recipe and fill your greased or lined muffin tins as usual.  Place the whole pan in the freezer until the muffins are frozen solid.  Then pop them out and place in a freezer bag up to three months.  When you are ready to bake just add another 5 minutes or so.  Alternately you could place them in the pan to defrost in the fridge overnight and bake as usual in the morning.

We made a double batch of Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (minus some sugar) this morning. Baked one pan and froze the other for later.

Fly Guy has 1.5 hours to get to the airport when he's called on reserve.  As soon as that phone rings one of us can pop in some muffins which will be waiting fresh when he heads out the door.  Oh my meese are going to love me!