Always a favorite, fresh ingredients and great taste. Chinese food made at home is always inventive (think about using up veggies in your fridge.)  You can serve this dish over lo mein noodles or steamed rice. While changing up the vegetables in this dish is easy - remember if using beef, to use rib-eye steak - its a quick cooking beef that will turn out super tender when you bite into it.  If you use any other cut of beef, you are more likely to have a 'tough chew'...I buy one nice, fat rib eye steak, and trim off any fat while slicing, perfect for this recipe.  We do like things a little more "spicy" around here so, I do serve this with a Red Hot Chili Oil on the side (gets sprinkled over dish)  It's quite yummy!  If you want to add a little flavor to your lo mein noodles, shake a bit of soy sauce on them after draining off all water & before serving... ~Enjoy! Diane 



Beef & Broccoli 

Ingredients: 
1 lbs Rib Eye steak, sliced thin
2 Tbs canola oil 
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 onion, sliced thin
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas
small can sliced water chestnuts
1 Tbs fish sauce or oyster sauce
a few dashes of soy sauce *to taste
salt & pepper *to taste 

Marinade: 
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions: 
Combine all the marinade ingredients with beef in a bowl, set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes. In the meantime, blanch broccoli and peas for 1 minute in a large pot of boiling water (you will use this pot to cook the lo mein noodles too.) Remove broccoli and peas and set aside, add in lo mein noodles and let cook (usually 4 minutes or according to your packaging) Lo mein noodles will "hold" well in water so, I drain off as much of the water after cooking that I can and leave a little bit for the noodles to set in while I prepare the rest of the dish.  In a hot wok, heat 1 Tbs of oil and stir-fry beef until it begins to brown, remove and set aside.  Clean the wok with a paper-towel, and heat the remaining oil.  Saute all the vegetables for a good 4-5 minutes. Add the beef back in, and season with the oyster sauce, any additional soy sauce, salt & pepper; *to your taste.  Serve over drained lo mein noodles. 

Recipe Adapted from: Cooks Encyclopedia: "Beef Chop Suey" 
Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 

     "Today’s modern pizza of tomato sauce and cheese can be traced back to an Italian pizzario, Raffaele Esposito of Naples, owner of a tavern called Pizzeria di Pietro e Basta Cosi. In 1889, he created a pizza for the visiting Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. He used tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese to represent the Italian flag’s colors of red, green, and white. The queen asked Raffaele what the dish was called and the smart chef replied, “The Margherita, after you, my Queen.”  ...{the} ball {of mozzarella} called fior de latte, or “flowers of milk.” Fresh mozzarella has a shelf life of about two weeks..."     -story from the Rogue Gourmet 

Cheese & Tomato Pizza { The Margherita } 

Pizza Dough: 
1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour *plus, extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 Tbs olive oil, plus extra for oiling
1/3 Cup lukewarm water

Topping: 
4-5 Thinly sliced tomatoes; romas work best
       or 1/2 Cup Chunky Tomato Basil Garlic Pizza Sauce 
6-8 oz fresh mozzarella ball, thinly sliced/torn 
3-4 Tbs fresh basil, shredded 
salt & pepper

Directions:

     Dough: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, stir in the yeast. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and water. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet using floured hands. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a slightly olive oiled bowl, turning once to coat top of dough ball and cover with plastic. Set in a warm, draft free place for about 1 hour until dough doubles in size. 

     Preheat oven to 450. Lightly olive oil a large baking sheet. 
Place your risen dough on a lightly floured work surface, punch down and knead briefly, then roll out into a circle - 1/4" in thickness. Transfer pizza crust to prepared baking sheet and form an "edge/rim" using your fingers. *if your tomatoes are extremely "wet" you need to pre-bake the crust for 8-10 mins in oven, remove and top with tomatoes, then mozzarella and sprinkle basil over the top with salt and pepper, drizzle with a bit of olive oil (and brush olive oil on crusts edge) and place back in the oven to finish up baking. Total Bake time is approx 25-35 minutes (crust should be golden and cheese melted and browned a bit) 
    You can finish pizza up under a broiler to get your cheese well browned the last 3 mins. of total cook time.

*If you use the chunky tomato sauce OR your tomatoes are less seedy/wet then no need to pre-bake crust.


Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 

A spicy twist on the Italian favorite. Here is an extra hint/tip - leave out all the tortillas and this makes one great Superbowl Football Party Dip!!  *just serve tortilla chips on the side for dipping!  

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
 1 (4 oz) can fire roasted diced green chilies
18  6-inch” corn tortillas  
3 cups shredded cheese, Mexican blend
6 oz can sliced olives, drained *optional 
1 tomato, seeded & diced 
1/4 small purple onion, finely chopped
Lettuce, chopped to serve with 

Sauce: 
1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup 

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F.
    In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add beef, and brown until no longer pink, drain and return to stovetop. Add spices, salt and pepper to skillet, add tomatoes and green chilies. Stir to combine. Allow to cook while you begin preparing the baking dish and the sauce. 
    Sauce, combine all sauce ingredients in sauce pan on stove top until well blended and heated through. Set aside for assembly. 
    Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Smooth 1/3 of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of baking dish (9x13). Lay 6 tortillas on the bottom of the pan, slightly overlapping until pan is covered. Spoon half of the beef mixture and 1/3 of the sauce over top of the tortillas, spread evenly, sprinkling half the cheese over the top. Top with 6 tortillas, repeat layering ending with tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese, tomato, onion and black olives.  
  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and lasagna is warmed through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped lettuce.  Serves 8.


Recipe adapted from: Gooseberry Patch Family Favorite Recipes
Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 

There is something about pasta, it's a comfort food all on its own.  Add in pasta StUfFeD with fresh ricotta and spinach, and it amps up your meal that much more.  This time I paired my pasta with a light and creamy Swiss cheese based white sauce.  Swiss and spinach go so well together, add in a pinch of nutmeg to this dish and you turn the ordinary into extra-ordinary.  Serve as great main course {or even use as a side dish}.  If I serve this with grilled chicken, I make sure to have a bit more sauce to serve with the chicken if people prefer...~Enjoy! Diane 


Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Manicotti {in Swiss Cream Sauce} 

Ingredients: 
10-12 Manicotti pasta tubes, cooked according to package
1-2 Tbs Butter, melted 
*pastry bag or quart sized plastic bag
 
Filling:
1 10oz package of frozen Spinach, thawed & drained
1 cup Ricotta cheese 
1 egg
6 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese 
pinch of Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper 

Cheese Sauce:
2 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs Flour
2 Cups Milk, warmed 
3/4 Cup shredded Swiss cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste 
pinch of Nutmeg



Directions: 
     Preheat oven to 350.
     Grease a 9x13 baking dish with melted butter. Set dish aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook Manicotti tubes according to package instructions or until nearly tender, remove and set on a plate to cool.  For the filling, place all filling ingredients except for the egg into a food processor. Pulse ingredients until well combined, then add in the egg and pulse again until it's a smooth paste.  I use a quart plastic bag and fill the bag with all the filling mixture, then smooth/smoosh all the filling down into one lower corner of a quart sized plastic bag, twisting bag at the top to create a homemade pastry bag.  Snip off the lower corner and use to fill each tube of pasta. ((I fill a bit into each end of the pasta)) Place each filled tube into the baking dish. For the sauce, combine the flour and butter in a sauce pan, stirring until browned and smelling slightly nutty.  Slowly add in the warmed milk, until mixture has thickened, lower heat and stir in the shredded cheese and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon the cheese sauce over the filled manicotti.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes. 




Recipe and Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 

Okrahoma *a guest post

Ingredients: 
5 pounds diced tomatoes, drained
4 ears sweet corn, cut off cob
2 pounds okra, sliced  
1 Tbs Lemon juice (while cooking)
canning salt, added to jars

Directions:
    Bring vegetables to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until broth forms, about 15 - 20 minutes. 
    Add 1 Tbs lemon juice, continue simmering 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 tsp canning salt to each pint jar. 1 tsp canning salt to each quart jar.
    Ladle hot mixture into hot prepared jars leaving 1-inch" head-space. Pressure Can at 11 pounds pressure (Dial Gauge)  *or according to your altitude 90 minutes for quarts, 75 minutes for pints/half-pints. Remove from canner, place on towel and cooling rack, in draft free area 24 hours, until completely cool. Remove ring, label & store. 

Makes approximately 6 pints or 3 quarts.

Recipe from: JD Provence 
Recipe comparable to: NCHFP Mixed Vegetables
Photo by: JD Provence for Canning and Cooking at Home