Hearty Sausage and Red Lentil Soup

With the temperatures beginning to cool off, the warmth of a good hearty soup fills the need for dinner. Serve with some hot biscuits or homemade bread along with a green salad and you've got a full meal.

Crustless Quiche

When you need a quick dinner in a flash or something a little special for breakfast or brunch, this is the recipe to turn to. It is so versatile since you can choose whatever fillings you sprinkle on. I always sprinkle in a few dehydrated onions and green peppers

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

We've had a couple of chilly days even though the daffodils are blooming and the calendar tells us its Spring. This creamy chicken noodle soup is one of our family's

Apple Orchard Pancake Mix

I just developed a new mix to store in my pantry that allows us to enjoy the tastes of Fall. If you are lucky enough to have fresh apples on hand, you can leave the dry apples out of the mix and just add 1 large chopped apple to your pancake batter. 

Pantry mixes add convenience to my life, but they also work great as gifts. Add a cute tag and enjoy sharing the healthy goodness!

Apple Orchard Pancake Mix

For the mix, place the following dry ingredients in a ziplock bag or layer in a quart jar.

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white wheat flour)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk powder

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped dried apples

Add:

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

To make: Pour your mix into a bowl and add the wet ingredients. Mix well. Allow to sit about 5 minuets to allow the apples to re-hydrate a little. Add some more water if batter appears too thick. Cook on a hot griddle just as you do regular pancakes.

Asian Sesame Salmon

Here's a new recipe we tried recently and loved. I found it on my friend's blog here. The flavor was delicious and it was quick to put together. I made a few changes to the original recipe so I could make it with what I had at home. It was delicious. This makes a large amount. I actually only did half the recipe and used 1 lb of salmon. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Asian Sesame Salmon

1/3 cup honey

2 Tbsp dried, minced onioin, rehydrated

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp dried, minced garlic

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

2 lbs salmon fillets

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Place salmon in 9x13 pan.  Spoon  honey mixture evenly over salmon. Roast salmon in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting occasionally with honey mixture.

You could also wrap the salmon in foil packets and cook them on the grill. This is what we will be doing this time around since I don't have an oven hooked up right now with the remodel happening. Dry wall work is finishing up this week and then painting and flooring begin - we are making progress!

Pasta Primavera

This is one of our family'e favorite pasta dishes. It is quick to throw together and easy to double the batch. I use fresh carrots if I have them. When using fresh carrots, you need to simmer the sauce until the carrots are tender instead of turning off the heat and allowing it to just sit and re-hydrate the veggies. I also trade up the noodles sometimes using spaghetti noodles and sometimes fettuccine. 

This dish freezes well so I always double it and put the extra in a freezer bag. To use the frozen pasta dish, just thaw and microwave in a covered, glass dish until heated through, stirring occasionally. It makes for a quick and easy dinner with garlic bread and lettuce salad served on the side.

Pasta Primavera
Everything can be done in the time it takes the pasta to cook for a quick dinner any night.
1 can cream of mushroom soup	¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup reconstituted powdered milk	½ tsp dried, minced garlic
¼ cup dehydrated carrots	⅛ tsp pepper
2 cups frozen broccoli florets	3 cups cooked spaghetti
Combine everything but the spaghetti in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and turn the heat off. Allow to sit for 15–20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in pasta and heat through.

Dehydrating Plums

We helped pick my parents plum tree a few days ago. There are two things I love to do with their Italian Prunes (that's the plum variety they have) besides eating them fresh. I love the plum jam they make and I also love them dehydrated. They are so sweet and delicious. When my sweet tooth kicks in, I reach for a dried plum instead of a cookie or brownie. It fills the need for something sweet and is a healthy food choice. I have enough plum jam left over from last year so this year I dehydrated all the ones we didn't eat fresh.

I let the plums sit in the box a few days as we ate them fresh and waited for them to get a little soft. They are a lot sweeter when dried if you let them get really ripe.

Wash the plums. Split them open and throw the pit away. Some plums are not freestone varieties which means their pit is stuck inside and nearly impossible to remove without cutting away all of the fruit. Italian Prunes have a pit that comes out very easily which is another reason I love them. I will digress for a minute to discuss the difference between plums and prunes. They really are the same thing. A prune is a dried plum. They also name some varieties prunes because they dry better than other types of plums. That doesn't mean you can't dry the plums you have access to. I've dried other varieties and been just as happy. So don't worry about the name - just worry about weather the pit comes out easily or not.

Turn the plum half inside out. Just push up on it from behind. 

Lay these halves on your dehydrator tray.

Here is my tray full of them.

They shrink by about half after drying for about 24 hours. It usually takes that long to get them to fully dry. I like to get mine all the way dry so I can store them in a ziplock bag in the pantry. If you want to leave them a little more chewy, you can store your bag in the freezer. They look a little funny, but they sure are good and healthy - no sugar added - just sweet and delicious all on their own.

 There are positive health benefits to eating any fruit, but a recent study suggests that eating dried plums significantly increases bone mass and helps combat osteoporosis. For the full article click here. It's just another reason to grab some plums while they are still available at farmer's markets and fruit stands and get your dehydrator going.

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!

Making dried lemon/orange zest

Many recipes call for orange or lemon zest and I don't always have a fresh one around. The zest really adds a lot of flavor though so it is hard to just skip it in the recipe. I know you can purchase dried orange or lemon zest so a few years ago I decided to experiment with making my own. 

When you do have a fresh lemon or orange around, make as much zest as you can get. I spread it out on a plate. 

Leave the plate out on the counter overnight to allow the zest to dry. When thoroughly dry, package in a ziplock bag. Use about 1/3 of dried zest to replace fresh zest in a recipe. For example, when the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of zest, use 1 tsp of dried zest.

My kids have had a hankering for lemon poppy seed muffins a lot lately. I tried just using lemon extract, but the lemon flavor wasn't strong enough. I bought some lemons the next time I was at the store and now I am stocked up on dried lemon zest and the kids have loved the muffins I've made with it.

Ham and Corn Chowder

Who can resist a bowl of hot, creamy chowder on a cold winter night? This is one of our favorite recipes!

Combine onions, carrots, potatoes, and corn in 4 cups of hot water. Add bouillon. I used dry onions and carrots with fresh potatoes and canned corn. This soup is great using all dried vegetables as well. You just may need to add a little more water.

Whisk white sauce mix and 2 cups of hot tap water together in a bowl. For the white sauce mix recipe click here. I use the white sauce mix in all my cream soups - it is a huge time and money saver!

Pour the white sauce mix into the soup a couple of minutes before serving. Stir and allow soup to boil for 2 minutes to thicken.

Stir in cheese, ham, and bacon bits just before serving. Enjoy with a nice hot roll or slice of homemade bread. Oh, it's one of my favorite tastes of winter! There's no better way to chase away the chill of the evening.

Ham and Corn Chowder
1 cup chopped onions (½ cup dry)	½ cup + 2 Tbsp white sauce mix
1 cup diced carrots (½ cup dry)	2 cups hot water
2 ½ cups cubed potatoes (1 ¼ cup dry)	2–3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can whole kernel corn, drained	2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
2 tsp chicken bouillon	10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
4+ cups water
Cook vegetables in 4 cups water and bouillon until tender. Whisk white sauce mix and 2 cups hot water together in a bowl. Pour into soup. Stir until thickened. Stir in cheese, ham, and bacon bits just before serving. Using dehydrated vegetables may require more water. Add enough to make the consistency you like. I always use the precooked real bacon bits in this recipe to make it easy.

Dehydrating Peaches or Pears

I'm behind in getting these pictures posted. Hopefully, you can still find some pears. The best peaches are done for the year in our area, but you may be able to still find some nectarines and you can dry them the same way.

Wash the fruit. Slice and remove the core. Slice into thin pieces, trying to keep them as uniform in thickness as possible.

Spread out on your dehydrator tray.

Here is a close-up that allows you to see about how thick to cut them.

Dry for 4-6 hours until leathery to the touch.

Slice peaches in a similar fashion. My favorite peach variety to dehydrate is the O'Henry. They are so sweet!

Here they are all dried.

Remove the dry slices from the tray and store in a ziplock bag for a year or more. It is hard to keep dried fruit that long at our house. The kids love it! It is a quick and convenient way to send fruit in their lunches. It also works great in the diaper bag for younger kids. When my sweet tooth acts up and I go to the pantry searching for a treat, I often grab some dried fruit. It gives me the sweetness I am craving, but none of the empty carbs.

Tuna Noodle Supreme

We love the Creamy Broccoli Tuna Helper around here. I wanted to come up with a similar "from scratch" recipe that could be healthier for us. Here is what I came up with. It is simple and almost as quick as the boxed mix. The leftovers freeze well so double the batch if you'd like and save one casserole for another day.

Drop the dried peppers and onions in the water you will boil the pasta in. Add the pasta when the water begins to boil. Cook until tender.

Meanwhile, mix the sauce ingredients together.

Mix the frozen broccoli, noodles and sauce mix together in a glass bowl or casserole dish. Microwave until heated through. Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Supreme
2 cups small shell pasta	¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup dehydrated green peppers	1 tsp Dijon mustard
2–3 Tbsp dried, minced onion	2 cups frozen, chopped broccoli
2 cups plain yogurt	1 (5 oz) can tuna, drained
½ cup mayonnaise	Salt and pepper to taste
Cook noodles, dehydrated green peppers, and dried, minced onion in boiling water until noodles are tender. Drain. Meanwhile, stir all remaining ingredients together in a large glass bowl or casserole dish. Mix noodles with the sauce, cover and heat in the microwave until warmed through.

Fat Free Vegetarian Jerky

This is "heavy duty" provident living - some of you may be ready to try something like this though so I'm putting it out there. The youth committee at church asked me if I could figure out a way to make beef jerky and keep it in the budget for their pioneer trek this summer, I set out to figure it all out.

Inspired by this blog post by Chef Tess and a memory of my mom doing something like this long ago, I set out to make my own "wheat meat" jerky as my family calls it. Chef Tess shares many flavor suggestions for different kinds of meat, but none of them sounded like they would give me the "jerky" flavor I was after so I experimented and then asked for taste testers. The first batch had a very good flavor, but was a little too spicey for our taste. We were all amazed at how much the texture was just like jerky. It took a couple  more batches to perfect the flavoring. The youth loved it and were all amazed at how easy the process was!

Begin by mixing all the dry ingredients.

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and mix well.

It should pull into a ball.

Shape into a roast or roll tight into a few large hot dog shapes. For my first attempt, I did the roast shape. That is what you see here. For my later attempts, I did hot dog shapes. It really doesn't matter.

Wrap tightly in heavy duty foil. The heavy duty is a must. You will not get the same results with regular foil.

Be sure to twist the ends up tight.

Place in a crock pot and cover completely with water. Cook on low for 2-4 hours depending on how thick you've made your shape.

When done, it will hold together very well.

Allow to cool enough to handle and slice into thin pieces.

Place on dehydrator trays. You could try to do it on baking trays in the oven at a very low temp. You'll have to watch it more closely since your oven will have hot spots. Dry for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. You'll have to do some taste testing. You want them "jerky" texture not brittle like a cracker.

Wheat Meat Jerky

1 1/2 cups gluten flour or vital wheat gluten (as some people call it)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp paprika
4 tsp beef bouillon
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp water

Makes about 50 pieces

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients. Work it into a ball. Shape into large "hot dogs" or a "roast" if you prefer. Wrap tightly in heavy duty foil, being sure to twist the ends of the foil tightly to seal up the edges. Place in a crockpot. Cover with water and cook on low for 2 hours for "hot dog" shapes and 3-4 hours for a "roast" shape.

Remove from foil. At this point, the wheat meat can be frozen for later use. To make jerky, slice in thin pieces and place on a dehydrator rack. Dry for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 145 degrees F.