Category: Recipe of the Week

Reader “Cord” kindly sent us this recipe for baked Spaghetti Squash: Directions Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Wash one or more spaghetti squash. Trim the ends. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Clean out and discard the seeds Place upside down in pan with 1/2in water Bake on center rack at 375 dregreees F for 40 minute or until tender. (Usually the outside of shell will indent easily.) While the squash bakes: Cook up ground sausage in a frying pan – enough to top the amount of squash We like to spice it up with salt, pepper, onion, green pepper, garlic …

Reader L.M. kindly sent us her Sweet Potato Soup recipe, one of her fall favorites. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 cup roughly chopped carrots 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (can be reduced for low-salt diets) 1 teaspoon black pepper (or less, to taste) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, to taste) 7 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons salted butter Toppings 1 cup …

Looking for a use for some of your baskets of recently-harvested apples? Reader Newell in Northern California kindly sent us his recipe for skillet-baked apple crisp. Yum! Filling Ingredients 6 large (or 8-to-10 small) baking apples, cored and sliced 1/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1 tablespoon corn starch Topping Ingredients 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 full stick) unsalted butter Directions Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium …

Reader Alicia J. kindly sent us her recipe for some tasty fruit leather rolls. She included several variations for different types of fruits. Take special note of the use of lemon juice to prevent browning, for any fruit leather than includes bananas or apples. Ingredients 1 1/4 pounds (about 5 cups) of chopped fruit. A few of of these should be first peeled. (See below.) 3/4 cup granulated white sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice Directions Pre-heat oven or dehydrator to 200 degrees F. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add the lemon juice to …

Reader Sue H. kindly sent us her recipe for tomato catsup. Because tomatoes are fairly high acid and this is sweetened with sugar, this recipe may be canned with a water bath canner. Ingredients 5 lbs tomatoes – cored and de-seeded. 1 large diced onion 3 cloves garlic ⅓ cup sugar ¾ cup white vinegar ¾ tablespoon salt ¼ tsp celery seed ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp paprika ¼ tsp cloves Optional: A bit of black pepper   Catsup Cooking Directions Prepare your tomatoes. Sauce variety tomatoes have less water content per pound, so you won’t have to cook the …

Reader Phil in Utah kindly sent us his recipe for his dry pancake mix. Each batch of the dry mix makes enough for about four meals of five pancakes each. To use, just measure out one cup of the dry mix and add the moist ingredients. Presto! Dry Pancake Mix Ingredients 4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon salt To Prepare Pancakes Combine and mix briefly: 1 cup of the above-described dry pancake mix 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon cooking oil or melted butter Bake these on …

Reader Karen D. kindly sent us her recipe for a Carrot Bread that is a great use for your stored hard red winter wheat, if you have a grinder available to make whole wheat flour. This recipe can be baked three different ways: In loaves, in a Bundt pan, or as muffins. Ingredients 2 C. Packed Brown Sugar 1 C. Cooking Oil 3 Eggs (or substitute 3 T. powdered eggs and 1/3 C. Water) 2 C. Carrots, Finely Grated (or substitute 1 C. dehydrated carrots. Chop them in a blender before re-hydrating to reduce their size.) 1 C. Crushed Pineapple, …

Reader Pete S. kindly sent us his recipe for a summer garden pasta sauce. Pete says:  “I like a lot of garlic, but you might want to tone down the garlic and garlic pepper, if you aren’t garlic fans.” Ingredients 1 pound pasta — preferably small diameter tubular pasta, but larger diameter or spaghetti can be substituted 1 cup sliced yellow summer squash 1-1/4 cup sliced zucchini squash 3/4 cup sliced green onions 1 cup julienned bell peppers (green or yellow) 1 cup julienned sweet red pepper 1/4 cup butter 4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly (depending …

Reader Lisa in Wyoming kindly sent us a pecan pie recipe that uses honey.  There are chopped pecans in the pie filling, and pecan halves in the topping. Pie Filling Ingredients 1 cup chopped pecans 4 large eggs 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch diameter) Topping Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 3 tablespoons honey 1-1/2 cups pecan halves Directions Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Prepare the pie filling ingredients: In a large …

Angie kindly sent us her recipe for a hearty beef and white bean soup. This makes good use of your stored dry white beans, or canned beans. Ingredients 2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubed pieces 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups sliced or chopped carrot 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated 2 tablespoons Canola oil, divided 2 cups water 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried sage 3 or 4 whole bay leaves 32 ounces beef broth 5 cups of dried white beans, soaked overnight. These should …

Anne kindly sent us her favorite recipe for delicious oatmeal cookies.  It works well with bulk storage oatmeal. There are variations for cinnamon, chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts. Ingredients 3 cups rolled oats (Standard, steel cut, but not “quick” oats) 1 cup butter, warmed to room temperature 1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed 1/2 cup white sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt Optional Ingredients 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1-to-2 cups raisins or chocolate chips, or 1-to-2 cups chocolate chips, or 3/4 cup chopped …

The following is a Grayling á la Redwall recipe suggested by our #1 Daughter, Eloise. She is a great fan of the Redwall fantasy book series by the late Brian Jacques.  She notes that this recipe can be used for several other type of freshwater fish, and that many other berry wines can be substituted. This serves six adults. Ingredients 4 whole 1-pound graylings–or other freshwater fish–filleted 2 c. butter 4 tbsp. minced garlic 2 lg. white onions 2 bunches fresh rosemary 4 tbsp. thyme 2 c. chopped beechnuts 2 c. honey 4 c. fresh cream 1 bunch mint leaves …

Reader Bob. C. kindly sent us one of his favorite recipes, for Fruity-Oaty Bars. The name was inspired by the fictional wave commercial in the movie Serenity. His recipe starts with a basic granola bar, and then he offers several variations–including his favorite Fruity-Oaty variation. Bob says that his Fruity-Oaty variant “…provides tremendous strength and endurance, for terminal situations. They make a man out of a mouse. These are the best bars in the ‘Verse.” The recipe can be doubled, if you have an extra large mixing bowl, and a deep sauce pan. Ingredients 1 cup flour (whole wheat or …