Tired of canning tomatoes, running out of jars, but still have plenty in the garden?? Here’s a great recipe – just like those expensive cartons of tomato soup, but you control the ingredients and use up those sun-warmed garden tomatoes. I grow a flower box of basil just to use in tomato recipes like this.
Freezer Tomato Soup
1 pound onions -- thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
6 pounds tomatoes -- peeled and quartered
Homemade chicken broth or water, Add to Tomatoes to Make 13 Cups total
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil -- snipped
1 teaspoon thyme -- crushed leaf type
1 teaspoon Sugar -- or Splenda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce**
Cook onion in hot oil until tender. Stir in all ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 40 minutes, stir occasionally. Puree mixture with blender stick. until the consistancy you like, or run through your blender in batches after cooling some. I leave ours a little chunky. Cool, pour into freezer containers, ( I use quart freezer bags) and freeze.
To serve, thaw, cover and cook until heated through. If still frozen, cook as directed over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
"Yield: "6 Pint Jars" or 12 cups
COST in Summer 2010: Cost with garden tomatoes and basil is $ 6.05 or 68 cents per pint with purchased onions.
Per 1 cup Serving: 122 Calories; 6g Fat (37.4% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 634mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
**Louisiana Hot Sauce (800 299-9082) www.brucefoods.com is Gluten Free
Italian Style Pasta Salad
We love this delicious, summery salad. I have tomatoes, peppers, parsley and basil in pots in my patio garden, so I can make this salad from late June until frost. You can use wine vinegar instead of Balsamic vinegar, but if you haven’t tried the Balsamic vinegar, this salad is a good reason to try it.
Italian Salad
8 ounces Pasta -- Farfale or small shells
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 ounces fresh parsley and basil leaves -- loosely packed, washed
2 cloves garlic -- crushed
1 teaspoon oregano, to taste
1 can Black Olives -- halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper -- to taste
2 large Tomatoes -- seeded & chopped
2 large green pepper -- chopped
4 ounces monterey jack cheese -- cubed
2 ounces Parmesan Cheese -- shredded
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well.
Meanwhile, mince basil and parsley in food processor. Add oil, vindgar, garlic and oregano.
Toss pasta with dressing; toss in peppers, tomatoes, cheeses and olives; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover and let sit at room temperature up to 2 hours or cover and refrigerate. Toss again before serving.
Cost Summer 2010: $4.51 or 57¢ per serving if you use garden tomatoes, peppers, parsley and basil.
8 Servings Yield: "2 quarts"
Per Serving : 338 Calories; 21g Fat (54.3% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 219mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 1/2 Fat.
Italian Salad
8 ounces Pasta -- Farfale or small shells
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 ounces fresh parsley and basil leaves -- loosely packed, washed
2 cloves garlic -- crushed
1 teaspoon oregano, to taste
1 can Black Olives -- halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper -- to taste
2 large Tomatoes -- seeded & chopped
2 large green pepper -- chopped
4 ounces monterey jack cheese -- cubed
2 ounces Parmesan Cheese -- shredded
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well.
Meanwhile, mince basil and parsley in food processor. Add oil, vindgar, garlic and oregano.
Toss pasta with dressing; toss in peppers, tomatoes, cheeses and olives; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover and let sit at room temperature up to 2 hours or cover and refrigerate. Toss again before serving.
Cost Summer 2010: $4.51 or 57¢ per serving if you use garden tomatoes, peppers, parsley and basil.
8 Servings Yield: "2 quarts"
Per Serving : 338 Calories; 21g Fat (54.3% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 219mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 1/2 Fat.
Iowa - Tomatoes - They Go Together
The old joke is that in small towns, folks start locking their cars in August, so no one will leave any more bags of tomatoes or Zucchini in them. I don’t know if that’s true, but I have found that there comes a time in late summer when I couldn't give any more tomatoes to any of our friends or neighbors.
This year is no different. What started out as a too wet Spring and early Summer with stunted tomato plants, turned around by the middle of July and we started looking for more ways to serve and preserve tomatoes. Myrna’s favorite way to serve tomatoes is simply slicing them and serving them as a side dish. We like that too, but I also have some favorite canning and freezing recipes as well. We like tomatoes so well, I had a hard time just picking the best recipes to share.
When I got married, my husband was shocked to see me cover my sliced tomatoes with a thick layer of sugar; Myrna and I were raised that way – we even eat them cut up in a bowl with cream and sugar – just like peaches. That may come from having so many tomatoes growing up that we ate them morning, noon and night. I finally found another ally in the sugar versus salt wars – my sister-in-law, Bonnie, says she also grew up eating tomatoes with sugar, although sugar and cream was too much even for her!
Most gardeners I know in Iowa raise plenty of tomatoes, to can for basic tomatoes, and tomato juice especially. Some adventurous canners make catsup or ketchup, stewed tomatoes, vegetable soup with tomatoes, and there are many, many recipes for spaghetti sauce and the newer popular favorite, salsa. I usually try to grow basil, parsley, peppers and onions just to pair with tomatoes.
Check out this link for good information on tomatoes.
Italian Style Pasta Salad
Homemade Tomato Soup
Tomato Pizza
Tomato Marmalade
Green Tomato Apple Pie
This year is no different. What started out as a too wet Spring and early Summer with stunted tomato plants, turned around by the middle of July and we started looking for more ways to serve and preserve tomatoes. Myrna’s favorite way to serve tomatoes is simply slicing them and serving them as a side dish. We like that too, but I also have some favorite canning and freezing recipes as well. We like tomatoes so well, I had a hard time just picking the best recipes to share.
When I got married, my husband was shocked to see me cover my sliced tomatoes with a thick layer of sugar; Myrna and I were raised that way – we even eat them cut up in a bowl with cream and sugar – just like peaches. That may come from having so many tomatoes growing up that we ate them morning, noon and night. I finally found another ally in the sugar versus salt wars – my sister-in-law, Bonnie, says she also grew up eating tomatoes with sugar, although sugar and cream was too much even for her!
Check out this link for good information on tomatoes.
Italian Style Pasta Salad
Homemade Tomato Soup
Tomato Pizza
Tomato Marmalade
Green Tomato Apple Pie
Basic Canning Tips
I have canned for years, first helping my mother, grandmother and older sisters, then as a young housewife on my own. There are some things that I have learned over the years that make canning easier for me, whether I’m canning a single batch of jam or buckets of green beans or a whole turkey.
Let me share with you –
1. A helper is great – husbands, older children, sisters, neighbors. Sharing the work load makes it go faster and you are sharing your experience with new canners and, if you’re lucky, learning from more experienced canners.
2. Get organized before you start. Read your directions, make sure they are up-to-date, and make a plan, at least mentally. If a cookbook tells you to water-bath something for 3 hours or just to turn jars over to seal, you need to get a current $5 Ball Blue Book.
3. Clear the decks. I stash some of my countertop appliances in my utility room if I’m planning a big session.
4. Plan on a “make-ahead” meal – perhaps a salad or simple sandwiches. No room to be cooking a meal when you have your canning in gear.
5. Keep your tools together. I store some of my tools in a old, covered 9 x 13” pan, then use the pan for my “filling jars” pan.
6. I put clean towels on trays or half sheets to set my finished jars on - I can move them around without disturbing the jars.
7. I keep the rings I plan to use handy in an old bread pan so they aren't all over the counter..why didn't I think of this earlier?
8. I like the long, plastic-ended tongs from OXO for removing jars from their sterilizing water. They won’t scratch the glass, and they are 12” long, keeps your hands out of the boiling water. I usually heat or sterilize my jars (according to the recipe) right in my canner while heating water for processing before filling them - saves room on my stove.
9. I also like a long nylon spoon like this one, a 12” Vollrath food service spoon – it goes in the dishwasher, isn’t reactive, and withstands 475° temperatures.
10. My next purchase is going to be a ladle with a hooked end – no more ladles falling in my jam! I've had my current one for 40 years!!
11. Try a big tea ball for a spice bag, I really like the big, 3” one I purchased, it will hold cinnamon sticks, etc.
12. If you are going to make jelly, I like a granite-ware jam pan – they carry them at Ace Hardware stores for about $20, or you can buy copper ones for $200-300! I can go through a lot of graniteware ones for that price. The wide deep pan cooks your jam or jelly down fast, and is high enough to keep it from spattering too much.
13. I now use stainless steel stock pots with glass lids for water-bath canning. I use a pressure canning rack in the bottom or a cake rack the right size. I like to see into the pan! I bought 20 quart ones from Walmart at a good price.
14. Use disposables. This isn’t necessarily the time to be accumulating sticky rags and dishtowels, I have a big roll of paper towels handy. I often peel onto a few thicknesses of newspaper on top of a large plastic grocery bag, and then I can wrap up the mess and carry it out to the compost or trash.
15. If I am “hot-packing”, that is, the product to be canned is hot, I put the pot in my stainless steel sink, put the “filling jars” pan next to it, and I don’t have to reach over a high pot to fill jars. Easier on the back and arms, and you’re less likely to make a mess.
16. Don’t be afraid to try pressure canning. Start by canning something simple, like green beans or even carrots you can purchase any time of the year. These are good items to practice on. Try canning just water the very first time. If I can do it, you can too.
17. I think it would be wonderful to have an expensive pressure canner, but I can perfectly well with a 12 quart Mirro and a 16 quart Presto, both with multiple "jiggler" weights. I like having two - I can choose the size I want, or run both consecutively. Canning alone, it takes me too long to get a double-stacked canner filled, as I used to do when I had a bigger garden and family at home to help, besides being too heavy to handle. I bought my Presto at Walmart, specifically because it had the jiggler weight instead of a dial. I want to "hear" how the canner is doing, not stand around watching a dial gauge.
18. I keep my canners and stock pots on the top shelf in my pantry, and my canning tools in a nearby drawer. I can get canning at the drop of a hat without having to find my supplies.
19. I can all year round - I frequently can all of our meat and poultry, beans, soups, stocks and stews from January to March when my kitchen is cool and I'm going to be inside anyway. Then I am free to concentrate on garden produce in the summer. I also need less jars; I can use the empties from winter canning in the summer and vice versa.
Storage Ideas:
Keep those boxes. I use them to store clean empty jars in my garage, and I also use them to store full jars on my kitchen pantry shelves as well as for my additional storage. They keep the jars together, and keep them from getting tipped over. I can mark the boxes on the outside to know what's in them.
I use a "ring hanger" - two wire hangers twisted together - to store extra rings in addition to a couple boxes full. I like a heavy plastic bag with a reinforced handle area to cover them but make them readily accessible. I usually hang it on my jar storage rack or inside my pantry door. Be sure to remove the rings from your thoroughly cooled, sealed jars and carefully wash the jars, especially in the screw band area. This will prevent mold and rusting.
Make sure your shelving is STURDY. Filled and even empty jars weigh a lot, and a collapsed shelf will certainly make a mess!
I have also stored canned goods in the boxes under our bed or in other closets when I haven't had as much room. I keep a list of what is where.
Canning is a satisfying hobby – one that will make you more self-sufficient, let you control what is added to your food, and will also save you money, especially on specialty items like jams, relishes and pickles, your own or shared-with-you garden produce and meats and convenience foods.
Let me share with you –
1. A helper is great – husbands, older children, sisters, neighbors. Sharing the work load makes it go faster and you are sharing your experience with new canners and, if you’re lucky, learning from more experienced canners.
2. Get organized before you start. Read your directions, make sure they are up-to-date, and make a plan, at least mentally. If a cookbook tells you to water-bath something for 3 hours or just to turn jars over to seal, you need to get a current $5 Ball Blue Book.
3. Clear the decks. I stash some of my countertop appliances in my utility room if I’m planning a big session.
4. Plan on a “make-ahead” meal – perhaps a salad or simple sandwiches. No room to be cooking a meal when you have your canning in gear.
5. Keep your tools together. I store some of my tools in a old, covered 9 x 13” pan, then use the pan for my “filling jars” pan.
6. I put clean towels on trays or half sheets to set my finished jars on - I can move them around without disturbing the jars.
7. I keep the rings I plan to use handy in an old bread pan so they aren't all over the counter..why didn't I think of this earlier?
8. I like the long, plastic-ended tongs from OXO for removing jars from their sterilizing water. They won’t scratch the glass, and they are 12” long, keeps your hands out of the boiling water. I usually heat or sterilize my jars (according to the recipe) right in my canner while heating water for processing before filling them - saves room on my stove.
9. I also like a long nylon spoon like this one, a 12” Vollrath food service spoon – it goes in the dishwasher, isn’t reactive, and withstands 475° temperatures.
10. My next purchase is going to be a ladle with a hooked end – no more ladles falling in my jam! I've had my current one for 40 years!!
11. Try a big tea ball for a spice bag, I really like the big, 3” one I purchased, it will hold cinnamon sticks, etc.
12. If you are going to make jelly, I like a granite-ware jam pan – they carry them at Ace Hardware stores for about $20, or you can buy copper ones for $200-300! I can go through a lot of graniteware ones for that price. The wide deep pan cooks your jam or jelly down fast, and is high enough to keep it from spattering too much.
13. I now use stainless steel stock pots with glass lids for water-bath canning. I use a pressure canning rack in the bottom or a cake rack the right size. I like to see into the pan! I bought 20 quart ones from Walmart at a good price.
14. Use disposables. This isn’t necessarily the time to be accumulating sticky rags and dishtowels, I have a big roll of paper towels handy. I often peel onto a few thicknesses of newspaper on top of a large plastic grocery bag, and then I can wrap up the mess and carry it out to the compost or trash.
15. If I am “hot-packing”, that is, the product to be canned is hot, I put the pot in my stainless steel sink, put the “filling jars” pan next to it, and I don’t have to reach over a high pot to fill jars. Easier on the back and arms, and you’re less likely to make a mess.
16. Don’t be afraid to try pressure canning. Start by canning something simple, like green beans or even carrots you can purchase any time of the year. These are good items to practice on. Try canning just water the very first time. If I can do it, you can too.
17. I think it would be wonderful to have an expensive pressure canner, but I can perfectly well with a 12 quart Mirro and a 16 quart Presto, both with multiple "jiggler" weights. I like having two - I can choose the size I want, or run both consecutively. Canning alone, it takes me too long to get a double-stacked canner filled, as I used to do when I had a bigger garden and family at home to help, besides being too heavy to handle. I bought my Presto at Walmart, specifically because it had the jiggler weight instead of a dial. I want to "hear" how the canner is doing, not stand around watching a dial gauge.
18. I keep my canners and stock pots on the top shelf in my pantry, and my canning tools in a nearby drawer. I can get canning at the drop of a hat without having to find my supplies.
19. I can all year round - I frequently can all of our meat and poultry, beans, soups, stocks and stews from January to March when my kitchen is cool and I'm going to be inside anyway. Then I am free to concentrate on garden produce in the summer. I also need less jars; I can use the empties from winter canning in the summer and vice versa.
Storage Ideas:
Keep those boxes. I use them to store clean empty jars in my garage, and I also use them to store full jars on my kitchen pantry shelves as well as for my additional storage. They keep the jars together, and keep them from getting tipped over. I can mark the boxes on the outside to know what's in them.
I use a "ring hanger" - two wire hangers twisted together - to store extra rings in addition to a couple boxes full. I like a heavy plastic bag with a reinforced handle area to cover them but make them readily accessible. I usually hang it on my jar storage rack or inside my pantry door. Be sure to remove the rings from your thoroughly cooled, sealed jars and carefully wash the jars, especially in the screw band area. This will prevent mold and rusting.
Make sure your shelving is STURDY. Filled and even empty jars weigh a lot, and a collapsed shelf will certainly make a mess!
I have also stored canned goods in the boxes under our bed or in other closets when I haven't had as much room. I keep a list of what is where.
Canning is a satisfying hobby – one that will make you more self-sufficient, let you control what is added to your food, and will also save you money, especially on specialty items like jams, relishes and pickles, your own or shared-with-you garden produce and meats and convenience foods.
Super Quick Fruit Sorbet in Your Food Proccessor
I keep frozen fruit in the freezer just for this dessert, especially when I can buy it on sale. Use any purchased, unsweetened fruit or cut up and freeze your own fruit ahead of time. Even frozen melon works for a different taste.
I used mixed raspberries and blueberries for the photo, but strawberries or peaches are also good. You can double this recipe if your processor is large, like mine.
Add a couple of cookies and dessert is ready. We especially like the intense fruit flavor.
8 ounces berries, frozen unsweetened – or peaches, etc
2 tablespoons Sugar -- or Splenda
1/4 Cup sour cream or vanilla yogurt or heavy cream
Get out your regular or large size food processor.
Process the frozen fruit until chopped fine; add sugar and sour cream; process until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes; scrape frequently. If it looks too stiff, just process a little longer until it's ice cream consistancy. Serve immediately; or pack in refrigerator container until served. If kept several hours in the freezer, you may have to process it again.
3 servings
Per Serving: 132 Calories; 4g Fat (26.3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 9mg Cholesterol; 11mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates..
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
1/2 Cup Butter -- softened
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa -- Hershey's
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat for 3 minutes. Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until a soft, dark dough comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure the dough is fully mixed.
Pat HALF of the dough out in a 8" square on a piece of parchment paper. Cover with another piece of waxed paper and roll with a rolling pin into 1/4 inch thickness. Remove the top piece of waxed paper and cut out shapes with a 2 3/4" square sharp cookie cutter, but don't try to lift out the cut pieces of dough!
Lift the whole piece of dough on its paper and put it on a baking sheet. Freeze for an hour or until very stiff.
Heat the oven to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and remove the frozen cookie dough from the freezer. Using a thin metal spatula, carefully transfer each cut-out cookie to the cookie sheet. If desired, prick each cookie with a fork in a pattern.
Bake 7-10 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. Let cool for 10 minutes to firm up, then remove to a wire rack. Let cool completely before making sandwiches.
Sue's Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix ingredients and chill several hours. Stir to recombine, and process in an ice cream maker until thick, about 20 minutes. Freeze to ripen, 4 hours or overnight. See directions below.
Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 quart vanilla ice cream or less (about 3 cups)
1 batch of Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies
Turn about 3 cups of the ice cream into an 8" square pan lined with wax paper cut to fit with overlap on each end to help get it out. Top with plastic wrap and level ice cream - about 3/4" thick. Save the remainder in another container. Freeze the ice cream until very hard, then turn it out onto a cutting board. Using the same cookie cutter you used to cut out the cookies, cut or mark and cut slices out of the ice cream and sandwich between the cookies. Freeze the sandwiches on a cookie sheet until hard, then wrap up individually and freeze overnight. I used pre-cut waxed paper sheets to wrap them up.
This cost about $3.18 for the recipe or 36¢ each using homemade ice cream cut into 9 servings.
Pink Lemonade Dessert

The weather is hot, here. Just the right time to try this icebox dessert from Kraft.
When I went to buy the frozen lemonade I found Raspberry Lemonade and thought that it sounded better than Pink Lemonade, also used vanilla pudding as I really don’t like white chocolate. I followed the rest of the recipe but think if I make it again, I would add more pretzels or less butter for the crust.
It is quite good and easy to make and nice and cool to eat. Add a little red food coloring to perk the color up.
Fluffy Pink Lemonade Dessert with Pretzel Crust
The pretzel crust is a salty contrast to the sweet, fluffy filling in a pretty pink dessert
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 3 hrs 15 min
Servings: 12 servings
Crust
2 cups broken pretzels (about 4 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
Topping
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 boxes (4-serving size each) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 can (12 oz) frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 or 3 drops red food color
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Garnish
Lemon slices, cut into fourths
Heat oven to 350°F. In food processor bowl with metal blade, place pretzels and sugar. Cover; process 15 to 20 seconds or until finely crushed. With food processor running, drizzle melted butter through feed tube, pulsing to mix well.
Press crust mixture in bottom of ungreased 11x7-inch pan or glass baking dish. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese and dry pudding mix with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add lemonade concentrate and food color. Beat on low speed until mixed. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Fold in 2 cups of the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Spread remaining whipped topping over lemonade mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until set.
Cut dessert into squares. Garnish each serving with lemon or raspberries
Perfect Lemon Ice Cream
As a kid, our dad occasionally bought ice cream cones for us at “Eddie’s Little Store”, one of those original combination gas station convenience stores where the ice cream was “hand packed”. My very favorite was lemon, which they only had once a summer or so. This recipe lets me have lemon ice cream whenever. It’s delicious. I combined the idea of crushed lemon drops I saw somewhere with my favorite ice cream formula. This recipe doesn’t require any cooking before making ice cream; this is my husband’s preferred ratio of sugar to cream to half and half. Buy “pure” lemon extract for this for extra good flavor
We used to have a Cusinart ice cream maker and it worked well. We purchased the ice cream maker attachment for our Kitchenaid last year and it works just as well or better. I only have to store the container as the mixer is always out. Both require keeping the container in your freezer at the coldest setting at least 36-48 hours before making ice cream. I find a place for it in my freezer all summer, so it’s always ready. I also chill the ice cream mixture overnight, and then in the freezer until its a little icy around the edges. Don't get out the bowl until you are ready to use it. If you have a regular ice cream maker, multiply the recipe to suit and make it according to the maker’s directions. This is a "plan-ahead" dessert.
Lemon Drop Ice Cream
2 Cups Half and Half
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract -- pure extract
3 Drops Yellow Food Coloring
1/4 Cup Lemon Drops -- crushed
Combine ingredients, chill 3 hours or overnight. Process 20 MINUTES in the ice cream maker on "STIR". ONLY POUR THE MIXTURE INTO COLD CONTAINER AFTER IT IS ASSEMBLED AND RUNNING. Stir in the crushed lemon drops before packing into a quart freezer container. This will only be soft-serve frozen at this point. Freeze an additional 4-6 hours or overnight to ripen. Keeps up to a week well covered.
Cost Summer 2010: $ 2.25
Yield: "1 Quart"
We used to have a Cusinart ice cream maker and it worked well. We purchased the ice cream maker attachment for our Kitchenaid last year and it works just as well or better. I only have to store the container as the mixer is always out. Both require keeping the container in your freezer at the coldest setting at least 36-48 hours before making ice cream. I find a place for it in my freezer all summer, so it’s always ready. I also chill the ice cream mixture overnight, and then in the freezer until its a little icy around the edges. Don't get out the bowl until you are ready to use it. If you have a regular ice cream maker, multiply the recipe to suit and make it according to the maker’s directions. This is a "plan-ahead" dessert.
Lemon Drop Ice Cream
2 Cups Half and Half
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract -- pure extract
3 Drops Yellow Food Coloring
1/4 Cup Lemon Drops -- crushed
Combine ingredients, chill 3 hours or overnight. Process 20 MINUTES in the ice cream maker on "STIR". ONLY POUR THE MIXTURE INTO COLD CONTAINER AFTER IT IS ASSEMBLED AND RUNNING. Stir in the crushed lemon drops before packing into a quart freezer container. This will only be soft-serve frozen at this point. Freeze an additional 4-6 hours or overnight to ripen. Keeps up to a week well covered.
Cost Summer 2010: $ 2.25
Yield: "1 Quart"
Strawberry Cream Trifle
Wanting something cool to make and eat I decided to make a trifle. I didn’t have a recipe I really made one up as I went along. They turned out quite good, so will write this down while I still remember what I did.
The first thing I did was make the cream filling from the French raspberry pie recipe.:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 egg yolks (save your egg whites to add to a custard or scrambled eggs)
1 cup half and half (Milk would work)
1 teaspoon butter (not margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a small bowl place the sugar, flour, cornstarch and egg yolks. Beat until light and lemon colored. Heat milk in a double boiler just to under boiling. Too hot will cook your eggs. If you get it too hot, just let it cool for a few minutes. Slowly pour about a third of the milk into the sugar egg mixture stirring constantly. Pour this mixture back into the milk. Cook over hot water until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to keep a skin from forming. Cool.
While this was cooling, I washed and sliced up a 1-lb. box of strawberries. Saved about 5 to put on top. To the berries, I added 2 Tablespoons of cream sherry. Let these set to draw a small amount of juice.
Since I was taking these somewhere else, I decided to use Ziploc 8 oz. bowls with lids to put them in. Normally I would have put it in a straight sided glass bowl.
Next cut about 1/4 in. slices of pound cake, (Mine came from the bakery) put in bowl on bottom and up the side slightly. Next divide the strawberries and juice into the bowls, I ended up with 10- 8 oz. bowls. Pour the cream filling over the berries in each bowl. dividing as evenly as possible. Since I don’t like Cool Whip, I whipped a pint of whipping cream with 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Top each dish with the cream and a half slice of the strawberries you saved back. Snap on lids or cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in fridge until cold. If you have some left over, it is just as good the next day.
Cold Summer Desserts

Icebox Desserts go back to the early years of American cooks. They were often called icebox desserts as that was when your refrigeration was a block of ice that the iceman brought covered in sawdust and placed in your icebox. The iceboxes came in many sizes and were plain or very fancy for the wealthier homes.
We had a refrigerator for as long as I can remember however, one of our elderly neighbors still had a icebox in the forties when I was a kid and there must have been others in our small town as we still had a iceman. What fun on a hot summer day when he would come down our gravel street as he would usually chip off some ice for us to suck on after we rinsed off the sawdust. What a treat when it was so hot and dusty, and it was not something we got every day. Those blocks of ice lasted for awhile. Sue reminded me of riding on the back of the wagon and getting the seat of our pants wet. Great Fun! Sure glad for my nice refrigerator and freezer and that I do not have the fuss of emptying out the water and trying to keep things cold.
Still, Mothers as always coped with the things they had to. Much hardier than we are today.
Enjoy the recipes for cool things to eat. If you make them early in the morning or the evening before you won’t heat the house up and they will sure taste good for a snack or dessert after that evening meal.
Basic Recipes
Myrna and I think that one of the best ways to save money and become a better cook is to master making basic recipes at home instead of buying them. We’re not talking about making your own butter or curing your own bacon; although these are worthwhile endeavors, they are beyond the reach of most homemakers unless you live in the country.
We think that learning to make your own baked goods like pie crust, biscuits, muffins, cornbread, yeast breads, rolls, sandwich buns, and some basic stock and gravy and white sauce and some simple salad dressings will save you cash as well as getting rid of lots of bottles and little packets of stuff in your cupboard.
If you make your own basic baked goods, you will turn over your ingredients, like flour, shortening, oils, yeast, baking powder, etc. faster too. You also know what is in the products you are feeding your family.
The way to become proficient at baking, especially, is frequent practice. Grandma found that she could fill out skimpy meals with inexpensive baked goods and satisfy her hungry family. Works today too.
Here’s a list of recipes that are the ones we keep returning to for success.
-Baking Powder Biscuits
-Never Fail Lard Biscuits
Cornbread
-Texas Cornbread
-Honey Moist Cornbread

-Butter Buns
Muffins
-Best Ever Muffins
-Making Perfect Muffins
Pasta
-Homemade Noodles
-Basic Egg Pasta
-Homemade Noodles in Food Processor
Pie Crust
-Basic Pie Crust
-Lard Pie Crust
-Pie Crusts for the Freezer
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Whipped Cream
-Perfect Whipped Cream
Meringue Topping
-Meringue Topping

-White sauce or Béchamel
Cream Sauce Mix
-Cream Soup Mix
Chicken Stock
-Chicken Stock
Gravy
-Pan Gravy
-Kettle Gravy
Yeast Bread
-Making fast yeast breads with your mixer- hints
-Make It Yourself - fast homemade breads - hints
-Potato Bread - 2 loaves
-Potato Bread - 1 loaf in food processor
-White Batter Bread
-Master Bread Dough
-Simple White Bread and Buns
-Simple White Bread
- Simple White Bread Loaves and Pizza Crusts

-Whole Wheat Bread - 1 loaf in food processor
-Yeast Bread Baking Tips
Yeast Rolls
-Refrigerator Roll Dough
-Hamburger Buns
Salad Dressings
-Salad Dressings
Plum Jam
Plum Jam
4 pounds Plums -- red tart ones
6 cups Sugar -- 2# 12 ounces
1 1/2 cups Water
1/4 cup Bottled Lemon Juice
Pit and slice plums into 6ths or 8ths, then cut in half. Measure 2 quarts full. Place multiple shallow sauce dishes in freezer to use to check jellying. Sterilize your jars in the water you're heating in your canner.
Combine all ingredients in open kettle; bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly almost to jellying point, about 25 - 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking - about 215-216 °. If jelly wrinkles when you push it with your finger in your cold dish it is ready.
Pour, boiling hot, into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe rims and adjust prepared lids. Process 7-10 minutes in boiling water bath. Set on clean towels to cool.
Equipment: Open kettle, boiling water bath canner with rack, 2 quart measure, large metal spoon for skimming foam, instant read thermometer, large silicone scraper or spoon, jar lifter, lid wand, tongs for jars, funnel, ladle, ruler, pan with paper towels for filling jars, clean towels.
Cost August 2009: $4.99 or 63¢ per 8 ounce jar. (plums at 88¢ per pound and sugar at $3.99 per 10 pounds) - an 18 oz jar of the cheapest plum jam was $2.49 at Fareway, 18 ounces of this recipe equals $1.40. Commercial jam contains high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. I usually buy cane sugar.
Do not double batches. Use the large open kettle to cook down rapidly and keep splashing to a minimum. Read directions with your lids to prepare them.
Yield: "8 Half Pints"
Orange Marmalade-Ricotta Cupcakes
Orange Marmalade-Ricotta Cupcakes
Prep: 20 minutes, Bake: 18 minutes, Cool: 5 minutes.
Yield: Makes about 20 to 24 cupcakes
1 (18.25-ounce) package plain white or yellow cake mix
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Insert paper liners into 20 muffin cups; set aside.
2. Beat cake mix, 1 cup orange juice, and next 5 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula, and beat at medium speed 2 minutes or until batter is thick and well combined. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
3. Bake at 350° for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Brush tops of warm cupcakes evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice. Let cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to 3 days, up to a week in refrigerator, or (unfrosted) up to 6 months in freezer.
Fresh Mandarin Orange Marmalade

I don’t make a lot of Jam and Jellies anymore, but when I do it is often out of the cookbook The Complete Book Of Small Batch Preserving, copyright 2001. The recipes are good, the directions clear and they make as the book title states, small batches. This way they get eaten up in a household that doesn’t eat much jelly and jams and I can make a different kind when I want to. Check this link for the basics.
The recipe I am going to post is for a sweeter marmalade. Of course, now I do not a a jar on hand to take a picture of but it is really quite good for those who do not like the traditional bitter marmalades. Most citrus fruits contain a lot of natural pectin so you do not need to add more. The pectin is right under the peel which is why the oranges are peeled not just the outside taken off.
Fresh Mandarin Orange Marmalade
Makes 2 cups
3 Mandarin or clementine oranges (clementines are readily available most of the year)
1 lemon
1 cup water
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1. Remove peel from oranges and slice thinly. Place in a small stainless steel or enamel saucepan, not aluminum. Remove thin outer rind from lemon with a vegetable peeler and cut into thin strips. A scissors works well to do this or a very sharp knife.
2. Remove and discard white rind and seeds from lemon. Chop orange and lemon pulp finely in a food processor or by hand. Add to saucepan and boil gently for 20 minutes.
3. Add sugar, return to a boil and boil rapidly, uncovered, until mixture will form a gel, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat
4. Ladle into sterilized jars and remove air bubbles from jars. Wipe rims to remove any stickiness. Put on 2 piece sterilized lids. Place jars in canner. Water should cover jars by 1 to 2 inches, Cover pan and return to boil. Began timing when water return to boil. Process for 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner to a towel on a level surface. Let cool for 24 hours. Sealed lids will indent and you might hear them ping.
Tart Cherry Jam
In the middle of June, my brother-in-law, Don, called to say we should come to pick cherries if we wanted them. He has a beautiful old cherry tree, which was absolutely loaded with sour cherries. We picked three-quarters of a 5 gallon bucket that evening, and the next morning my husband and I pitted cherries for a couple of hours. We didn’t care if they were pretty, so we simply pitted them with our thumbs. Do this outside if you can, you’ll soon learn how to keep your hands around the cherry to keep the juice out of your hair, face, off your clothes, floor, etc.
That afternoon, I made 3 batches of preserves, using this recipe. The last batch didn’t seem to jel as well right away, but after 3 or 4 days, they are nicely set up too. Delicious!! Save the foam you skim off in a microwave bowl, nuke it about 45 – 60 seconds, and let it cool. It will diminish the foam and turn back into jelly you can use right away. Use a container about 4 times the size of the foam; it boils up.
A caution: don’t double the recipe, make successive batches. You don't have to clean up much between batches, just keep going. I keep 3 or 4 small dishes in the freezer for testing. Read your canning book on water-bath processing to refresh your memory before starting. I use a large, granite-ware “open kettle” or jelly pan for jelly, and it is much better than any stock pot for jelly and jam-making. The wide surface helps speed up the jellying process. I hang mine above the door on a nail inside my pantry so it’s handy. I place my towels for cooling on a half-sheet or large tray; then I can move the jars if I need to. Remove the rings and wash the jars carefully the next day, share and enjoy. You can read up on basic jam making here.
Tart Cherry Preserves
3 Pounds Tart Cherries -- pitted (about 2 quarts)
1 ¼ Packages Pectin -- Sure Jel, regular (Add 1 tablespoon from the second package)
5 Cups Sugar -- 2 pounds 3 ounces
Pit and weigh out or measure the cherries. Add to open jelly kettle. Weigh sugar and set aside. Measure out pectin, 1 package and 1 tablespoon**. Mix with 1/4 cup of the sugar.
Add the pectin mixture only to the cherries. Bring to a full boil, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
Remove from heat and test for jel point. If the jelly wrinkles after putting a teaspoonful on a dish that has been in the freezer and returned to the freezer for a minute or two, it is ready. If the jelly isn't ready, add another tablespoon of pectin powder, return to a boil and boil hard another minute.
Set the jelly off the heat and skim off the foam. Don't wait or cherries will "stick" to the foam. Then stir for 5 minutes to help prevent fruit from floating.
Pour, hot, into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe off the rim carefully. Seal with prepared lids according to manufacturers instructions. Process 7-10 minutes in boiling water bath. Set on clean towels to cool. About 8 half-pints.
Equipment: Open kettle, boiling water bath canner with rack, 2 quart measure, large metal spoon for skimming foam, large silicone scraper and spoon, saucepan for lids, jar lifter, lid wand, tongs for jars, funnel, ladle, ruler, pan with paper towels for filling jars, clean towels.
**There are about 4 tablespoons of pectin in the Sure Jel package.
Cost 2010 with free cherries: $2.91 or 37¢ per half pint.
A caution: don’t double the recipe, make successive batches. You don't have to clean up much between batches, just keep going. I keep 3 or 4 small dishes in the freezer for testing. Read your canning book on water-bath processing to refresh your memory before starting. I use a large, granite-ware “open kettle” or jelly pan for jelly, and it is much better than any stock pot for jelly and jam-making. The wide surface helps speed up the jellying process. I hang mine above the door on a nail inside my pantry so it’s handy. I place my towels for cooling on a half-sheet or large tray; then I can move the jars if I need to. Remove the rings and wash the jars carefully the next day, share and enjoy. You can read up on basic jam making here.
Tart Cherry Preserves
3 Pounds Tart Cherries -- pitted (about 2 quarts)
1 ¼ Packages Pectin -- Sure Jel, regular (Add 1 tablespoon from the second package)
5 Cups Sugar -- 2 pounds 3 ounces
Pit and weigh out or measure the cherries. Add to open jelly kettle. Weigh sugar and set aside. Measure out pectin, 1 package and 1 tablespoon**. Mix with 1/4 cup of the sugar.
Add the pectin mixture only to the cherries. Bring to a full boil, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
Remove from heat and test for jel point. If the jelly wrinkles after putting a teaspoonful on a dish that has been in the freezer and returned to the freezer for a minute or two, it is ready. If the jelly isn't ready, add another tablespoon of pectin powder, return to a boil and boil hard another minute.
Set the jelly off the heat and skim off the foam. Don't wait or cherries will "stick" to the foam. Then stir for 5 minutes to help prevent fruit from floating.
Pour, hot, into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe off the rim carefully. Seal with prepared lids according to manufacturers instructions. Process 7-10 minutes in boiling water bath. Set on clean towels to cool. About 8 half-pints.
Equipment: Open kettle, boiling water bath canner with rack, 2 quart measure, large metal spoon for skimming foam, large silicone scraper and spoon, saucepan for lids, jar lifter, lid wand, tongs for jars, funnel, ladle, ruler, pan with paper towels for filling jars, clean towels.
**There are about 4 tablespoons of pectin in the Sure Jel package.
Cost 2010 with free cherries: $2.91 or 37¢ per half pint.
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