Category Archives: Healthy

Casseroles, Comfort food, Crock pot, Finances, Healthy, Main Dishes, Slow cooker

Ten Crock Pot Freezer Meals in 1 Hour

November 1, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 2 Comments

This post is about my newest addition to my Kindle offerings: “10 Crock Pot Freezer Meals”! You can see for yourself at my Budget Epicurean Kindle Author page. The eBook contains a complete grocery list, with the items categorized in order to easily breeze in and out of the store in minutes, as well as ten of my best & most loved slow cooker recipes, including Cranberry Spiced Chicken, Orange-Glazed Pork Chops, and White Bean Chicken Chili. I even added some handy, easy printables to label your bags, so you know what you have days or weeks later!

To watch the short video on how easy it is to shop for and assemble everything, check it out here! Of course ALDI was the store I went to (I just love them for their focus on providing the best prices over flashy ads or in store perks). I had my list in hand, and the total for everything that was going into these ten meals (minus just a few pantry staples) was $87. Given that each meal is made to serve 4, that is only $2.18 per meal!!

Of course, you can substitute as needed, such as if you have a hatred of a specific type of bean, swap it for a different kind, or if you do not eat pork, use chicken or beef instead. Definitely the highlight of the trip was finding this little bonus deal: $0.35 for canned, organic, reduced sodium black beans!!! Oh yeah, I bought 2 cases. That doesn’t count towards the meal totals…

The entire shopping trip took me probably about a half hour. And that is with writing down prices of things, and forcing my significant other, who was such a trooper, to take pictures and help me double check that I hadn’t forgotten anything. 🙂

http://www.amazon.com/Budget-Epicurean/e/B00KM8JR4U

Garlicky Sweet Lemon Chicken
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Orange-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops
Creamy Italian Chicken
Cranberry Spiced Chicken
BBQ Pulled Pork
Chicken Cacciatore
Classic Salsa Chicken
White Bean Chicken Chili
5 Bean Vegetarian Chili

As a reminder, you can purchase the nice printable ebook HERE.

First things first, I got everything organized. This means putting all the ingredients for each recipe into a pile. Some ingredients were used in multiple recipes, so I put those piles next to each other. Then I cut out the labels, and taped them onto a bag.

Next, take a cutting board, and for each recipe that requires dicing, chop up the peppers, or onions, or whatever, and place the raw veggies in the corresponding bag. It is best to get all that out of the way first. I actually ended up wearing goggles, because the onions were so strong and stung my eyes so that I couldn’t see for all the watering they were doing!

Next, take a can opener, and open up all your cans. Drain things like beans if you like, I didn’t even bother, just dumped the whole thing in there. Pour the canned goods into the bags. Any seasonings like chili powder or honey, pour those in next. Finally, open the meats (if using) and add those to the bags last. Be sure to keep meats separate otherwise so as to not cross-contaminate, and wash your hands after touching them.

Orange-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops

BBQ Pulled Pork

Crock Pot 5 Bean Vegetarian Chili

Salsa Chicken

Creamy Italian Chicken

Tortilla Soup

Spiced Cranberry Chicken

White Bean Chicken Chili

Garlicky Sweet Lemon Chicken

Chicken Cacciatore

Once you have your bags filled, you can take them to your freezer. Ideally, freeze them laying flat so that you save freezer space. You can also put any of these recipes straight into the crock pot, as I did with the garlicky sweet lemon chicken.

The day before you plan to eat one of these meals, just take the bag from the freezer and put it into your refrigerator. Preferably put the bag onto a plate or in a bowl, just in case it leaks or drips water as it thaws. The next morning, pour the whole contents of the bag into your slow cooker and cook as instructed. You can use each recipe’s suggestions, or serve with whatever you have handy. And there you have it! Ten meals that serve 4, from cans to freezer to cooked!

Freezer meals assembled and ready to go!

You can purchase this list of ten slow cooker, freezer-approved recipes, plus a complete one-page shopping list, serving suggestions, and printable freezer bag labels on Amazon!

Just search “Budget Epicurean”. Or visit this link: http://goo.gl/VtfKOq

I’m hoping to expand these meal plan offerings soon to include a vegetarian option, diabetic meal plans, gluten-free meal plans, and more! Please let me know if you have any feedback, questions, or something else you want to see in the future in the comments below or by email at budgetepicurean (at) gmail (dot) com!

You can view the video of how easy the shopping & assembly is here:

Many many food bloggers and regular people alike love this method of cooking! It is hard to overstate how much time, energy, and cash you can save by cooking this way. If you’re already experienced with meal planning based on grocery store sales, or want to try coming up with your own recipes, here’s a great article from one of my favorite frugal sites, the Simple Dollar, fully explaining the process!

Beverage, Healthy, Informative, Less than 5

Morning Health Shot

October 29, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

One of the most consistent recommendations for better health is always to drink more water. It is almost certain the majority of people do not drink as much water as they need. (Take your weight, divide it in half, and that is how many ounces you need per day. For example, a 200 pound man needs about 100 ounces of water.) The next most common advice I have found is to drink lemon water, possibly with cayenne pepper and/or honey every day.

The reasons for doing so range from boosting the immune system to cleansing the liver, kick-starting the metabolism and weight loss to a burst of natural energy. Lemon juice itself has several health benefits associated with it. It is well known as a useful treatment for kidney stones, detoxifying with Vitamin C, reducing diabetes risk, and aiding in alkalinizing the body. Lemon is antioxidant, astringent, and contains boatloads of vitamins and minerals.

Cayenne pepper is recommended because it contains capsaicin, a spicy compound which stimulates the circulatory system. It opens capillaries, aids digestion, and helps to regulate blood sugar levels. It also kick-starts the metabolism and increases your internal body temperature, which can contribute to weight loss over time.

And finally, honey can also help in weight loss when consumed with warm water and lemon juice. Honey is packed with 22 amino acids and a number of valuable vitamins and minerals, many of which benefit the body’s metabolism. By regulating metabolic function, food is broken down and utilized properly, fat is converted into usable energy, and overall health is improved. Be sure to use local, raw, unfiltered honey whenever possible.

I gave this a try for 4 weeks. I could not handle the full-glass-of-warm-spicy-water, so I distilled it down into one shot. I know, the whole drink-a-big-glass-of-water is part of the deal, but I always followed it with a 16 oz glass of water. Here’s what I did:

2 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh when I had it, bottled when I didn’t)
1-2 tsp local honey
Pinch chipotle pepper (I didn’t have cayenne, but it is basically the same thing)

Mix those in a shot glass, down it, and follow with a big glass of plain water.

The results?

Well, the horrible taste of sweet/acidic/spicy does kinda wake you up a bit. Overall I didn’t notice a huge variation in energy levels, in the morning or throughout the day. Neither did I notice a big difference in how I felt, health-wise. This may be because I already eat a pretty nutritious diet full of things that help detox and alkalinize me, but I didn’t notice a big enough difference to stay with it long term.

How about you guys? Have you ever tried a lemon water/cayenne detox, or is it part of your daily life? What benefits have you seen? Please share your experience in the comments!

Healthy, Informative, Snacks

How to Harvest Sunflower Seeds

October 27, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Has anyone ever seen a field full of happy go lucky sunflowers and not smiled to themselves? These giant beauties can be seen all over farms and more recently suburban front yards soaking in the sun and brightening people’s days. Sunflowers are large, pretty, and one of the few species that really take heliotropism seriously! They turn their entire heads, leaves, and bodies to the sun and track it across the sky throughout each day.

Sunflowers are an abundant source of nectar as well, attracting friendly insect like bees and butterflies. All summer long these pretty, helpful creatures can find the nectar they are looking for in abundance. And when the sun starts to wane, so too do the flowers. They tell you when they are ready to drop seeds by tilting over, and the backs of the flowers and stems turn yellow, and then brown.

This is the sunflowers’ final gift: abundant, protein-filled seeds for all. Birds, squirrels, and humans all love these tiny seeds and seek them out. Luckily one flower can produce up to a half pound of seeds alone! Leave the seed heads on the flower, and birds will perch on the stalk to harvest. As they dry, seeds will fall to the ground where squirrels and other vermin can scoop them up.

To harvest seeds for your own use, drying & roasting or saving to plant next year, there are several options.

Place a paper bag over the seed heads as they start to droop. Let the flower dry on its own, and shake the bag every so often. Be sure it doesn’t get wet. As seeds dry out and fall they will collect in the paper bag.
Cut off the seed heads, bring them indoors, then hang them somewhere and place a bag over them. This ensures they will not get wet and no critters can interfere with your harvest.
Cut off the seed heads and scoop out the seeds by hand. This way you don’t have to wait for the seeds to fall out on their own.

You can see that each individual floret has turned into a seed. One tablespoon of sunflower seeds has 4.5 grams of protein! And one seed is capable of producing a giant flower next year which will give you thousands more seeds. Amazing.

The way I harvested the seeds is to simply use my fingers to gently rub the seeds back and forth. You can feel them loosening, and when they fall out. The easier & faster way to do this is to use a spoon to scrape the seeds out. Be sure you do this over a large bowl or basket to catch all the seeds. It does get messy.

Now you have a big basket full of seeds. Pick out any large petals, leaves, or debris. If you are saving seed to plant next year, spread them on a flat surface and dry fully for a week or so, then store somewhere cool, dry, and dark until next spring.

To roast your sunflower seeds, there are two ways to do it:

Rinse the seeds 3 times, and dry them in a salad spinner or on a large cloth. Place in a frying pan over medium heat with a pinch of salt, and shake them around over medium heat until they sound like pebbles rolling around.
Rinse the seeds & dry. Bring 2 cups water + 1/2 cup salt to a boil, and boil the seeds for 5 minutes. Spread them out on an oven-safe pan, and roast at 350 for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and being sure not to burn them.

Roasted sunflowers make a great snack, and if you grow the flowers yourself with nothing sprayed on them, you know they are nothing but organic, healthy protein! You can try using different spice mixes to liven things up too. Unfortunately you need heavy machinery to de-shell them easily, but you appreciate things more when you have to work for them. =)

Have you ever harvested sunflowers? What do you do with the seeds? Feel free to share in the comments!

Breads, Breakfast, Dessert, Healthy, Snacks

Cranberry Orange Muffins

October 20, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 1 Comment

One of the best things about fall is all the wonderful scents and flavors that come into season. Of course the powerhouse is Pumpkin Spice, undisputed king of the fall flavors. But I’m more of a fan of the littler-known seasonal delights, like nutmeg, fall squash, citrus, and cranberries.

And of course, cranberries & oranges go together like peanut butter and jelly in the fall. Cranberry & orange tastes great on chicken, pork, or fish, they go together in relish for your Thanksgiving turkey, or baked into bread, cookies, and of course muffins!

These muffins are light and moist, with a lovely sweet tang from the juice and the berries. Perfect for snacking, quick breakfasts, or midday snacks. These muffins can also be frozen in single layers and popped into baggies for an on-the-go treat later. Simply microwave or pop in a toaster oven for a warm fluffy breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 large orange
1 cup orange juice
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup fresh, dried, or frozen cranberries
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Step 1: In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, ) and in another bowl mix all the wet ingredients (egg, oil, juice). You can juice an actual orange for the juice if you have the ability.

Step 2: Grate the peel of one orange, and mix it into the wet ingredients. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients, and fold together until moist. Add in the cranberries. If you’re using frozen cranberries, thaw and drain them first so your batter doesn’t get too watery.

Step 3: Either spray muffin tins with cooking oil or line them with muffin papers. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into each opening. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are browning on the top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove your lovely muffins and let them cool enough to take out of the pan. Then enjoy at least one (or three, I won’t tell!) while they’re still warm. MMMM MMM! So delicious with coffee, hot tea, or some fresh hot chocolate.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:46]

Breakfast, Casseroles, Healthy, Main Dishes, Side dishes

Spaghetti Squash & Kale Stir Fry

October 18, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

For those who are unsure of trying new “health craze foods” like kale or spaghetti squash, let me assure you, they are SUPER easy to cook and incorporate into your repertoire. By now the interwebs are bursting at the seams with kale related recipes, so that’s a good place to start. You can pretty much use it anywhere you would use lettuce or spinach, sometimes coating in oil or steaming first since it is much more hardy in texture.

As for spaghetti squash, this baby is coming into its own in the fall. I have written before about my “spaghetti” and turkey meatballs, where you use the strands of squash just like noodles for the same texture but way more filling fiber and nutritious vitamins than wheat pasta. You can try starting this trick by using half-and-half squash and pasta, then working up from there according to taste.

Cooking a squash is as easy as 1-2-3 with a microwave. Simply cut the squash in half, and lay cut-side down on a plate in the microwave. Add about a 1/2 inch of water, and microwave 5 minutes. Flip the squash over, and microwave again. If it is soft when poked with a fork, you’re good to go, otherwise continue flipping and microwaving a few minutes at a time. When it is done, you can take a fork and drag it down the sides, pulling out the flesh in spaghetti-like strings.

Hence the name.

You can of course also bake it cut-side down in a shallow oven-safe pan with a little water, 45-60 minutes or until softened. These preparation methods work well for pretty much all types of winter squash as well, from spaghetti to acorn to butternut.

For this recipe, spaghetti squash, kale, and other yummy veggies come together in a warming, filling fall favorite. You can make this in a frying pan or in the oven, and once made can be stirred into omelets, served alone or with sauce, or like I did wrapped into a burrito!

Ingredients:

1/2 small spaghetti squash
Handful kale (about 1 cup)
2 slices bacon — optional
1 tbsp olive oil — if not using bacon
1/4 white onion, sliced
1/4 pint mushrooms
Nuitritional yeast
Sprinkle of sea salt

Step 1: In a frying pan, add the onions and bacon if using. (Otherwise, cook onions in olive oil). Cook 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and kale, and flip the bacon. Cook, stirring, about 5-7 minutes. Then add in the spaghetti squash. Cook until everything is heated through.

Step 2: Now you can enjoy as is, add some sauce, scramble some eggs into it for a lovely omelet, or wrap it up into a burrito!

Healthy, Informative

How To Ripen Green Tomatoes

October 15, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Sometimes, green tomatoes will fall off the vine or be pulled off in the process of harvesting ripe red tomatoes. And sometimes you need to harvest all the potentially edible green tomatoes before first frost kills everything. So if you have lots of tomatoes left on the vine, but all of them are nowhere near red, and you’ve already made all the fried green tomatoes you can handle, you may be wondering, can I speed up the ripening process?

The short answer is, yes you can!

You may wonder, do you need a specific temperature? Nope.

Do you need special equipment? Nope.

Do you need the whole plant? Nope again.

There are two ways to go about this that I have tried with great success. The first way is to wrap the tomatoes in newspaper, then place in a paper bag with an apple or two. Apples give off ethylene gas, which causes fruits and plants to ripen (and at too high concentrations, to die).

This is also why you should not store apples & bananas next to each other, as the apples will cause the bananas to ripen more quickly as well. Unless your bananas are green and you want to eat them immediately, then by all means, use the apple trick.

The second method, which the writer of InMyKitchenGarden agrees is far easier and does indeed work, is to bring them inside and simply set them on the counter until ripe.

Yup. Just like that. Done.

You may of course lose one or two to rotting, and they may dry out a bit the longer you leave them, but that’s okay. Older home-grown tomatoes are still far better than no tomatoes, and sure will be better than anything you can buy at the store months from now.

Since in Connecticut, first frost is predicted for this Sunday (heads up to anyone who hasn’t heard!) I will be out in the garden Friday or Saturday, loading up on anything larger than a marble to bring inside. A few will become fried green tomatoes (which I have totally fallen in love with!), another handful I’ll put some into paper bags, and others I’ll simply leave in a basket on the counter.

Then you can enjoy your green tomatoes through their various stages of ripening for weeks, and possibly months, to come. The speed at which they ripen will depend upon how close to ripe they were when picked, the temperature of your house, humidity levels, etc. and could take from a few days to a month or more.

As long as they aren’t mushy, liquid, or covered in black or white spots, they are still safe to eat. And if by chance they aren’t very pretty by the time they are red (or pink/orange/yellow) then you can try canning sauce from them, or oven drying them, and then cosmetics won’t matter.

Now go get those green tomatoes before Jack Frost does!

Finances, Healthy, Informative

5 Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

October 13, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

As summer winds down into the gorgeous chill days of fall, gardens are finally running out of steam on producing tomatoes. If you’ve read earlier articles you know how much fun I’ve had with gardening in my neighborhood this summer! Baskets upon baskets of these lovely red jewels. And now, sadly, my final harvest is coming to fruit on the vine, and soon I’ll pull up the plants before Jack Frost takes them away.

For those who still have one last bumper crop, or have a huge pile on the counter starting to soften, here are 5 ways to easily preserve tomatoes for all year round. From as simple as cut & freeze to the process of canning (made simple with my one easy trick!) there are lots of ways to put up what you have now for when it is no longer available fresh, and preserve the lovely nutrients inside.

Option 1: Cut & Freeze

The simplest of all: just cut up your tomatoes into halves or quarters, and toss into a freezer bag. Label and put in the freezer. Later, you can use these tomatoes in sauces, soups, stews, and chilies with no problem. If you want to remove the skins, simply defrost and the skins will fall right off! Or you can leave whole, or puree them with the skins on.

Option 2: Oven Drying

It is oh-so-easy to dry your own tomatoes! All you really need is a wire rack, a knife, oodles of tomatoes (preferably roma), and some time. See my article How to Make Oven Dried Tomatoes.

Option 3: Canning diced tomatoes

Canning your own diced tomatoes is a snap! As long as you have the time to invest, canning your own will create a much healthier, flavorful option than store-bought cans. Simply dice up your tomatoes, place in a canning jar, and process. Be sure to always follow the rules of safe canning whether using a water bath or pressure canning method.

Option 4: Canning pasta sauce

Canning pasta sauce is only slightly more involved than diced tomatoes in that you add spices to the jars. I added fresh basil, garlic salt, and dried onion. Read the full article HERE.

Option 5: Turn them into tomato products

If plain tomatoes aren’t your favorite, there are still SO MANY tomato-based products we use daily that you can make in your own kitchen. Give some or all of them a try:

Don’t Waste the Crumbs has a great DIY Ketchup Recipe
BBQ Sauce
Tomato juice for drinking (like V8 but with fewer preservatives!)
Salsa &/or relish
Tomato paste
Tomato Powder
Tomato Soup (can also be frozen/canned)

And there you have it, easy ways to preserve tomato bounty! Any home gardener who has weathered at least one tomato season has had more chopped fresh tomatoes than they could handle, and these are all tried-and-true preservation methods. Using these techniques you can enjoy the flavor of summer all year long.

Comfort food, Healthy, Main Dishes, Pasta, Sneaky Healthy

Sausage & Veggie Parmesan Alfredo

October 11, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 3 Comments

In the warm-to-chill days of autumn, we begin to crave more hearty, filling, stick-to-your-ribs kind of foods. Soups, stews, chilies, and pasta all sound wonderful as seasonal hibernation signals kick in. However, you probably don’t want to already start putting on your “winter coat” do you? I know it is pretty socially acceptable to gain a few pounds over winter, who doesn’t? With these filling foods, not much time outdoors, and lots of holiday treats, it is easy to succumb.

But not this time!

A lightened up parmesan pasta alfredo to the rescue! This recipe is intensely flavorful, with lots of meat to satisfy the carnos in the family,yet packed with good-for-you veggies for vitamins and fiber. With a homemade alfredo sauce, you get to control how much and what kinds of fats are included, and can amp up the vegetable content, to make a much healthier alternative to a frozen-bagged or restaurant meal.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes, and serves 2-4. If you don’t have the specific vegetables mentioned, feel free to substitute any kind you like, as long as you try to keep at least 2 cups’ worth.

Ingredients:

1 pound sausage links (or loose)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 large potato, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped
1 pound pasta (save 1 cup of cooking water)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup milk or cream
2-4 tbsp. butter

Step 1: In a frying pan, cook your ground sausage or links until browned, and pour off any excess fat. Add the potates first and cook with a lid for 10-15 minutes.

Step 2: Add the rest of the vegetables, in order of firmness/needed cooking time, and continue until all veggies are added and beginning to soften. Meanwhile, boil and drain the pasta.

Step 3: Add the pasta, water, parmesan, milk, and butter, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the sauce coats the noodles and thickens.

Serve and enjoy!

Appetizers, Healthy, Less than 5, Main Dishes, Vegetarian

Eggplant Parmesan

October 4, 2015 BudgetEpicurean Leave a comment

Ah, gardening debates. Every gardener most likely has very strong optionions on which heirloom tomato variety is tastiest, easiest to grow, produces the most. Which plants grow best together, which can help attract pollinators or repel pests. Who has the hottest pepper, the most productive beans, the biggest gourds. A question I chose to tackle this summer:

Which is better, purple or white eggplant?

Having never heard of white eggplant before now, this is a question entirely new to me. But as it turns out, eggplants used to come in only white, which is how they got their name. The small, white fruits growing on the vines looked like eggs hanging down. It is only recently that the purple cultivars became much more popular and well-known, such that when you think of eggplant you likely only think of the purple kind.

To decide the answer to this question, I decided to make some eggplant parmesan. This is a dish which many of my relatives have long loved, but I turned up my nose at the very thought. As I’ve grown older and my taste buds expanded, I decided to give this classic another try.

Everything tastes better to me when I’ve made it myself. And if it isn’t half bad, then I’ll give restaurant versions a second shot as well.

Ingredients:

1 purple eggplant
1 white eggplant
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup breadcrumbs or crushed crackers
Olive or vegetable oil for frying

Step 1: Rinse the eggplants and cut off the spiny stem and bottom parts. If you like, peel the white eggplant. I did not. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. (I also saved the seeds. Cause that’s how I roll.)

Step 2: Dip the slices into flour and coat on all sides. Then dip into the egg, and again coat all sides. Finally roll it in the breadcrumbs or crackers. Place enough oil in a frying pan to coat the bottom and heat to about medium.

Step 3: Place the slices in the oil, and fry about 5-7 minutes on both sides. You want a nice crispy coat and a fully cooked interior without burning the outsides. Put on a plate to cool.

To go with the eggplant, I made some pasta and used my homemade pasta sauce I canned. I added a tbsp of turmeric to the sauce for additional antioxidant effects and nutrition. Hence the vibrant yellow color.

This was super tasty, and both the fiancée and our guest said it was the best eggplant parm they’ve had.

As for which is best? Turns out they were both delicious!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:45]

Do you have an opinion on white versus purple eggplant? Is there an eggplant recipe you’d love to share? Tell us more in the comments!

Appetizers, Finances, Healthy, Informative, Less than 5, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

How to Make Oven-Dried Tomatoes

October 1, 2015 BudgetEpicurean 2 Comments

Since between my own backyard garden and my generous neighbor who has a football-field-sized garden I still had a bumper crop of tomatoes, even after canning oodles of quarts and pints of sauce and tomato broth and salsa, I decided to try my hand at oven-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil.

Dried tomatoes in olive oil are delicious little flavor bombs to add to garlic bread for a simple bruschetta, toss into salads or pasta, or top a pizza. The oil itself can also be used in salad dressings or anywhere tomato-flavored infused oil would be tasty. Very popular in the Mediterranean region such as Greece and Italy, this preservation method has been around for a very long time, and I had bags of romas just begging to be bathed in high quality oil that was on sale.

But a jar can be quite pricey, up to $10 in the supermarket. It is far cheaper to can your own! You must invest in the jars and good-quality oil, but it is worth it for the superior taste and nutrition of using local tomatoes, and you can re-use jars forever.

All you need is some wire racks, an oven, and some time. If you have the oven on anyways, to make a roast or cookies, or perhaps to heat the house in the chill of autumn, this is the perfect project. This oven heat is conducive to drying many things, so you could also make a platter of dried apples or sweet potato chips at the same time.

There is some debate over the safety of dried tomatoes and botulism risk. It is possible that small droplets of water may stay inside the tomato and provide a medium for botulism or bacterium to grow. Obviously read up on facts and use your own best judgment when deciding whether to refrigerate, process, freeze, or store at room temperature. This article is not advice, just what I chose to do in my own kitchen with my own produce.

Ingredients:

40-50 tomatoes, Roma are the best for drying
2 wire racks (cookie sheets work too, you’ll just have to flip them halfway to make sure they dry on all sides)
2-3 cups extra virgin olive oil
1-3 canning jars, lids, & rings

Step 1: Cut the tops & cores out of the tomatoes, slice them in half, and push out as many seeds as you can with your fingers or a knife. Save the seeds for planting, drink them, use in a soup, or compost.

Step 2: Place the tomato halves on a wire rack or baking sheet, cut side up, and put into the oven at 200 degrees. Crack the door open if you don’t mind the heat to allow more air circulation. Let them dry for 1 hour, then flip them if using baking sheets and check the dryness levels.

Step 3: Take the completely dry tomatoes and begin packing them into sterile mason jars. The tomatoes are ready if they are rubbery with absolutely no water when squeezed, but you don’t want them so dry they are crunchy with no give. If you choose to use a vinegar dip, use tongs to dip each tomato prior to placing in a sterilized jar.

Step 4: Pour in olive oil to cover the tomatoes. Make sure they are completely covered. If you feel okay with it, you can now store your tomatoes this way in a dark cabinet, or in the refrigerator.

You may also choose to water-bath or pressure can your jars at this point. Totally up to you.

These little jars will store for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, and potentially up to a year in the cupboard if processed. They make lovely presents, if you can bring yourself to part with them. I recommend putting them somewhere easily accessible as you are likely to want to use them all up within days.

For ideas on how to use these, start here:

The fusion of food, fun, frugality, and curiosity.