Pear Crumble

So I seem to be on a canned fruit kick here. I had yet to use any pears in this little project of mine and since we had a high school classmate of Richard's coming for a few days I decided I just had to do something with some pears. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com



Pear Crumble:

2 cans pears, drained and sliced
2 tsp lemon juice

Topping:
3 Tblsp sugar
3 Tblsp oatmeal
2 Tblsp flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 dash ground nutmeg
1 Tblsp cold butter (I would use a little more next time)
2 Tblsp chopped nuts.

Place pears in a greased 1 quart baking dish. I used a 9" pie pan. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. In a bowl combine the sugar, oatmeal, flour, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add the butter and using a pastry blender or two forks work the mixture until it is crumbly. Sprinkle over pears and top with nuts.



Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

I used:
2 cans of pear halves

Fruit Cocktail Bread

I found several recipes for Fruit Cocktail Bread on the Internet. One sounded good but bombed terribly. I actually threw out both loaves. (Not everything I make turns out perfect).So for my second effort I tried this recipe I found on Cooks.com. It got great reviews, everybody loved it.

Fruit Cocktail Bread:

1/3 cup butter whipped
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 can (17 oz) Fruit Cocktail, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in milk. Add fruit cocktail and nuts. Add dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.



I used:
1 can of Fruit Cocktail

Asparagus Casserole

We love asparagus, I mean we really love it. So I spent some time trying to find a recipe for all my canned asparagus and I found this recipe on Cooks.com. Easy, fast, simple and it makes great use of the canned product.



Drain 2 cans of asparagus spears. Place in a greased 8x8 pan. Open a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup, pour into a bowl and mix it up to a spreadable consistency. I add a couple tablespoons of milk. Spread the soup over the asparagus, sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs.



Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and barely golden brown.



I used:
2 cans of asparagus
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup

Peach Crisp

Peaches are wonderful, especially ripe, fresh ones,,,,ah the many things I can make with them. However, we are dealing with canned, sliced peaches today.

Peach Cobbler or Peach and Berry Cobbler seem to be common recipes. I personally do not have any great love for cobblers. Maybe it is that I find the biscuit topping too dry or boring.

But I do love apple crisp so I decided to take my favorite apple crisp recipe and make a few changes. most obvious is replacing the apples with canned, sliced peaches.



Peach Crisp:

1 Tblsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cans of sliced peaches, drained
Sugar to taste

Topping:
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash baking soda
dash baking powder
2 Tblsp butter, melted

Grease an 8x8 baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl mix the peaches with the flour, cinnamon and add sugar to taste. We don't like generally sweet things.

Place peaches in prepared pan. Mix the topping together, except for butter. Once mixed well add the butter and mix until moistened. Sprinkle over the peaches. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

I used:
2 cans of sliced peaches

Stuffed Shells

Richard and I were grocery shopping the other day and while in the pasta aisle he started talking about how he used to make stuffed shells when he went on a boater's pot luck affair. That was all I needed to hear. We promptly picked up all the ingredients we did not have at home. A few days later I went to work, with some help from my wonderful sous chef Richard.

I cooked the shells per the instructions on the package. While they were draining and cooling I browned up some sweet Italian sausage (1 lb). When the sausage was cooked I drained off the grease and put it into a large bowl. To the sausage I added 3 cups of grated mozzarella cheese, 1 lb of ricotta cheese, 3 cloves of minced garlic and 1 can of chopped spinach which I had squeezed all the water out of. Then I stuffed the shells.



After I had all the shells stuffed I covered them with spaghetti sauce, I used two cans. I then sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese and baked them at 350 until the sauce was bubbling around the edges.



When I pulled them out the Parmesan cheese was a little golden brown in spots.



After we ate I had a lot of shells leftover so I packaged them into meal size portions and froze them for future use.



I used:

1 can of chopped spinach
2 cans of Hunts Spaghetti sauce with garlic

Pork Chops My Way

I love to "freezer dive" in my chest freezer because I am never 100% sure what I will find. In this case the last of our pork chops from Sam's Club. Being a very cool spring day I got creative.

3 pork chops
2 cans diced tomatoes with veggies
1 can French cut green beans - drained
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp dried Basil

Brown the pork chops in olive oil; using just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet. Add the tomatoes, green beans, wine and dried herbs. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix the dumplings together and spoon the batter on top of the pork-tomato mixture.

Cover and simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until the dumplings are done.

Dumplings:
1 cup sifted flour (sift then measure)
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp dried thyme





I used:

2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of French cut breen beans

Ideas for Using Canned Goods

Having been traveling for the last two weekends and not having a working oven in my kitchen at the time I have not made any really nifty or unique dishes but I have made a couple of simple ones.

One night I took a pork tenderloin, butterflied it, pounded it a little thinner than it normally is and set it aside. I drained a can of sliced mushrooms and then sauteed them in a skillet with a little olive oil and with 1/2 of a medium onion, diced, 1/4 cup diced celery and 3 cloves of minced garlic. I sprinkled a little bit of dried Thyme on. When the veggies were cooked I used them to stuff the tenderloin. I then closed it up so the veggies would stay put and secured it with toothpicks. I then put a dry rub all over the outside of the tenderloin and we cooked it on the grill. Richard really liked the veggie stuffing.

Earlier this week I chopped up two slices of bacon, put them and 1/2 of an onion which I had chopped up into a small saucepan. I cooked it, stirring occasionally until the bacon and onion were cooked. I drained off the grease and then added a can of young peas. I cooked them over low heat until the peas were heated through. This will also work with canned green beans.

Tuesday I get my new range which has two, yes two, ovens and five burners. I am very excited.

I was also thinking I may expand this blog to include was to use all the stuff I have canned here at home.

Chicken & Black Bean Quesadillas

Quesadillas,, I love them. So one afternoon I decided that since I had several multi-grain tortillas on hand and some Mexican cheese I would make some for my lunches at work for a few days.

You can use plain flour tortillas or multi-grain ones like I did
1 can chicken breast meat packed in water, drained and flaked
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion chopped finely
Ground Cumin to taste
Ground Coriander to taste
Cayenne powder to taste
2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese

Saute the onion and chicken in a little olive oil. Cook until the onion is translucent and the chicken is heated through, stirring occasionally. Add the black beans; sprinkle with the seasonings. Spoon onto the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. I got 4 quesadillas out of this.



Above, the cooked filling.



I made half Quesadilla since they were going to be for my lunch.



Once completed I wrapped them in foil. When I was ready for lunch at work all I had to do was unwrap them and heat them up. I had them with a side of sour cream.

Tuna Casserole

As a child I remember my mother making tuna casseroles for dinner. I remember them as being very dry and not very tasty. This recipe came out tasty and almost too moist. I think I'll add a little more pasta, or maybe a different type, next time. We thought it tasted better as leftovers than it did the first day.




cooked pasta or egg noodles- I used about 2 1/2 cups of macaroni
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 can peas-drained
1 can sliced mushrooms-drained
2 tuna-drained and flaked
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix everything together, except the cheese. Spoon into an 8x8 inch pan sprayed with Pam. Smooth out and top evenly with cheese. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbling.



I used:
2 cans of tuna
1 can of soup
1 can of peas
1 can of mushrooms

Chicken Florentine Casserole

I wanted chicken for dinner one night so I searched the internet for a Chicken Florentine recipe. I found one at All Recipes.com and made a few minor changes to it.




4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 tsp dried Basil
1 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 cup half & half (I mixed heavy cream w/ 2% milk)
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
2 cans (13.5 oz ea) spinach, drained and water squeezed out
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until no longer pink and the juices run clear. Set aside.

Raise the oven temperature to 400.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. While stirring constantly add the garlic, lemon juice, soup, basil, oregano, half & half and Parmesan cheese.

Evenly spread the spinach over the bottom of a greased 9x9 pan, top with the mushrooms. Pour HALF the sauce over the spinach & mushrooms; place the chicken in the pan and add the remaining sauce, Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.



What I did not mention above is that we love garlic in this house. Richard refers to it as a 4th food group. He is my sous chef and instead of 2 tablespoons of minced garlic he prepared an entire bulb. It was just a little too much. Otherwise the was very good. We each only ate 1/2 of a chicken breast with the spinach and sauce.

I Used:
1 can of soup
1 can of sliced mushrooms
2 cans of spinach

Chicken Pot Pie

As I mulled over what to do with so very many cans of veggies, soups, spaghetti sauce and beverage mixers (more on that later) I remembered that I had some leftover roast chicken in the freezer. It was a cold, dampy and rainy day so I decided to make a Chicken Pot Pie. My one comment is that I thought it was a bit dry but Richard thought it was perfect. For the crust you can use a refrigerated crust or make your favorite recipe. The dish I used was a 10" pie pan.

3 Cups Chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can sliced carrots, drained
1 can peas, drained (I actually only used 1/2 of the can)

Place the chicken in a medium sized bowl. In a skillet add the mushrooms and carrots, stir occasionally until most of the liquid has been cooked out. Mix into the chicken. Add peas, mix again and place in greased 10" pie pan.

In a saucepan melt 1/4 cup butter;mix in 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 tsp dried thyme. Mix until smooth; pour in 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth and 2 chicken boullion cubes. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then simmer for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over chicken and vegetables in pie pan.

Place crust on top; seal and cut slits in crust for steam to escape. Bake at 450 degrees until golden.



In then end I used:
1 can of carrots
1 can of sliced mushrooms
1 can of pease and
1 can of chicken broth.

Let's Get an Idea of What We Are Dealing With

Each of these three totes are at least half full of canned food. I mean asperagus, corn, creamed corn, spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and the list goes on.



Below is a shot looking into my hall pantry, or the blizzard pantry. The kitchen pantry (not pictured) is mostly everyday stuff.


Below is a shot of the hall pantry door. All those cans are soup, with maybe some chicken or beef broth mixed in.

Here We Go, Let The Adventure begin

A few months ago my other half, Richard and I took off for 8 months of sailing on our boat. Due to some well meant, but rather erroneous advice we arrived home with about 75% of our canned provisions still unused.

In addition to what we have left over from our sailing trip, we have a lot of food that we normally stock up on in case of a blizzard during the winter months. Yes, they can and do happen in our part of North Carolina. We actually had two this past winter.

So, in this blog I will post recipes and pictures of all the ways I am finding to use the food up. This does not include opening a can of vegetables and heating them up. That is just too mundane.

This picture above is only a portion of what I need to work my way through. Each of those crates holds about 32 cans, so roughly 96 cans above plus what I have in totes in another part of the house and what we have stored in our pantry.