Vegetarian Pies

From Backwoods Home Magazine:



Vegetarian pies can be stuffed with a never-ending variety of nonmeat ingredients and most are simple to prepare. They can be made in advance and frozen, then removed and allowed to thaw half an hour before being baked. Very delightful when served hot, they lose only a little of their mouth-watering taste if eaten cold.


Dough:
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
4 Tbsp. olive oil
Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water, then allow to stand until yeast begins to froth.


In the meantime, combine flour, salt, and ginger in a mixing bowl, then make a well in the middle. Add the yeast, water, and oil. Knead into a dough, adding more flour or water if necessary. (Do not allow the dough to become sticky.) Shape into a ball, then brush the outside with a few drops of oil. Place on a floured tray or pan, then cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest in a warm spot until it becomes double in size.


Note: An equal amount of frozen dough will serve equally well for all the following recipes.


Potato and tomato pies
Eaten just out of the oven, these pies are simply delicious.
1 dough recipe
4 cups shredded potatoes
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small hot pepper, very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.


Make a filling by thoroughly combining all the remaining ingredients, then set aside.


Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.


Roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds, then divide the filling and place two heaping tablespoons of filling on each round, stirring the filling each time. (Preferably the filling should be divided into 20 equal parts.) Fold the dough over the filling, then close by firmly pinching edges together into half moon or triangle shape.


Place the pies on well-greased baking trays, then bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 20 minutes or until pies turn golden brown. Remove from the oven, then brush with olive oil. Serve hot or cold.
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Mushroom pies
1 dough recipe
4 cups thinly sliced mushrooms, thoroughly washed
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
1 medium sweet green pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne
Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.
Make a filling by thoroughly combining all remaining ingredients, then set aside.


Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds.
Follow the above recipe for making and baking the mushroom pies.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake



3c Original Bisquick
1c Sugar or Splenda
1/4c butter, softened
1c milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs


Topping:
1c whipping cream
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 c powdered sugar or splenda
1 tsp vanilla


6c sliced fresh strawberries (about 2 #)


Heat oven to 350*
Grease bottom and sides of 9x13 pan
Lightly flour
----
In a large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally.
Pour into pan.
Bake 30-35 min or till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool completely- about an hour
------
In chilled small bowl, beat whipping cream on high speed till soft peaks form: set aside.
In medium bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla on medium speed till well blended.
Fold in whipped cream
Frost top of cooled cake with whipped cream mixture.
Refrigerate if desired


Cut cake into squares and top with strawberries

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

makes 12 servings-
Cake:
2 1/2c biscuit mix
2/3c Splenda (or granulated sugar)
1/4c melted butter
3 eggs
3/4c milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp grated lemon peel (or orange peel)
1 1/2c applesauce

Glaze:
1/2c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or orange juice)

I have to be honest.. we didn't use the glaze and this bread came out moist and delicious.

Heat oven to 325*.  Spray bottom only of 9x5" loaf pan with baking spray with flour.
In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients except the lemon peel with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Stir in lemon peel.  Pour into pan.
Bake 45-50 min or till toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool 10 min.  Loosen sides of cake from pan with spatula.
Remove cake to cooling rack for 1 hour
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice with spoon until smooth.  Drizzle over cake.

Canned Sausage

I'm assuming that we'll be using ground sausage. This is real easy to home can. But you will need to use a pressure canner for safety and good results. Simply make your patties a little oversized, as they will shrink. Then lightly brown them in a frying pan until they start to shrink. Then pack them in a stack in wide mouthed pint canning jars to within 1 inch of the top of the jar. I add water to the fat they were cooked in and add about 3 Tbsp. to each jar. Be sure to wipe the jar rims very clean of grease; it will prevent the jars from sealing. Then place a hot, previously simmered lid on the jar and screw down the band firmly tight. Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (unless you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet and must adjust your pressure to suit your altitude, if necessary; consult your canning manual for directions) for 15 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.

Canned Mushrooms

To can mushrooms, soak them in lightly salted ice water for 10 minutes. This not only helps clean them, but rinses out any hidden insects. Trim the dirty and tough parts of the stems, then rinse in cold water. You may leave small ones whole and cut large ones into convenient pieces. Boil three minutes in water. Pack into hot jars. Add a tsp. of salt to each quart or 1/2 tsp. to each pint, if desired. Fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with water mushrooms were boiled in. Put hot, previously simmered lid on jar and tighten down ring firmly tight. Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (unless you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet and must adjust your pressure to suit your altitude, if necessary; consult your canning manual for instructions) for 25 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts.

Crock Pickles

Crock pickles


To crock your pickles, line the bottom of your crock with dill and any other spices you wish. Add well-rinsed small cukes. Make a brine by mixing 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar, along with about 1/3 measure of salt (depending on what size crock you are using, use a gallon, pint, or cup measure). Pour on top of cukes in crock in a cool dark place. Weight down pickles with a plate. Remove the scum daily. When the bubbles stop forming, fermentation is complete. You may now can the pickles.


In the old times, folks just kept the pickles weighted down and skimmed off any scum that formed. In a cool, dark place, these pickles would usually last all winter. But sometimes they didn’t and would go soft and rot.


To can, dip out cukes and soak overnight in ice water, which removes much of the salt. The next day, pack pickles into hot jars. Strain pickle brine (if clear) and bring to a boil. Pour over the pickles, leaving 1/4'' of headspace. Process in water bath canner for 15 minutes. Then the pickles will last for a long, long time, without going soft or bad.

Canned cheese #3

As with butter, 11 pounds will fill about 12 1/2 pint jars -- or just over 3/4 pound per pint jar.


1. Cut up your cheese into cubes, or if it's frozen, just crumble it into a pan. Gradually melt the cheese, and add more to the pan as it melts. A double boiler works best for this since cheese tends to stick to the bottom of the pan if it's directly on the stove. This works best for smaller batches, unless you have a large double boiler or a way to keep it a good temperature while you fill the jars.
2. Sanitize your jars
3. Sanitize new canning lids according to package instructions.
4. When the cheese has melted and is hot enough, ladle, spoon or pour it into prepared jars. A canning funnel is helpful.
5. Wipe the rims of each jar clean, place the hot lids and bands, then hand tighten the bands.
6. Process 40 minutes in a boiling water bath. When ready, remove jars from water with a jar lifter. Leave undisturbed until completely cooled. Check to make sure all the lids have sealed before labeling and storing.

Canned Cheese #2

Canning Velveeta Cheese:



6 pounds of Velveeta cheese makes 7 pints plus a little extra.




1 1/3 cup milk powder


2 cups water


6 pounds Velveeta cheese


1/4 cup distilled white vinegar


1 Tbsp. salt


3 Tbsp. prepared mustard




Mix the milk powder with the water, then let stand awhile to get out all the lumps. Then cut the Velveeta into large chunks and put it in the top of a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler that big, put a little water in a large stainless steel bowl used for making bread, then put the cheese in a stock pot in the water. When the cheese began to melt, stir in the prepared milk. Keep the lid on the stock pot except when stirring occasionally. When it is all melted, I stir in the other ingredients.
Leave  the pot in the bowl of water, then ladle the sauce into hot, dry wide mouth pint canning jars, leaving about 1 inch head space. Place new lids that had been simmered according to instructions, tightened the bands. Do a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
The milk powder mixture is more concentrated that you'd normally make for milk, but since the recipe calls for evaporated milk, you can double the milk powder.

Canning Cheese

Take clean dry canning jars and fill each with cheese. Then place it on a rack in boiling water bath canner, to which you have already added some water. You want it to come about halfway up the jars. Any higher and it bubbles in if it gets to boiling. Then, as the cheese melts, add more. When all melted, remove the jars from the canner, wipe the rims, and seal the jars. Then proceed with the boiling water bath for 40 minutes. This is a great way because then you don't have extra things to clean and cheese isn't dripping all over.

Canned Butter

Canned Butter

1. To fill a pint jar, you need just over 3/4 pound of butter. (actually, it works out to .88 lbs. --- 11 pounds will fill 12.5 pint jars.)



2. Using a large stainless steel or good enamel pot, gradually melt the butter over low heat, stirring occasionally. You can use a big stainless steel pot  used to make jelly. Stir frequently. As butter melts, add more butter until it's all melted. Keep stirring frequently. Let it come to a simmer before pouring into the prepared jars.


3. While the butter is melting, put clean pint canning jars in a 250 degree oven for a good 20 minutes. I don't think this step is essential.
4. Sterilize canning lids according to directions. I simmer them in a little pan of water, and keep them hot until I need them.


5. When all the butter you are using for this batch has melted, and your jars have been in a 250 degree oven for at least 20 minutes, ladle the melted butter into the jars using a canning funnel if you have one. Leave 1/2 to 3/4 inch headspace. Stir the butter a little to keep it mixed and to keep it from cooling and sticking to the sides of the pot.


6. When all the jars are filled, wipe the rims well and place hot lids and bands. Screw down hand tight.


7. Process 40 minutes in a boiling water bath. When done, remove with a jar lifter.

8***. Instead of leaving the jars alone after removing from the boiling water bath, wait until they cool enough to handle. Then shake each jar a little every few minutes as they cool. This really works great to keep the butter from separating. Once the butter begins to stay consitent, you can put it in the refrigerator, still checking every 5 minutes and shaking. Do this until they solidify and won't shake anymore. Once the jars are cool and the butter is solidified, you can store on the shelf. 
Here is another method for canning butter:
1. Melt the butter as above; heat the jars and sterilize the lids as described above.
2. Instead of pouring the melted butter into jars at this point, continue heating and stirring until it almost boils. Stir frequently as it simmers for at least 5 minutes. Don't let it scorch. The butter separates as it heats, but then blends again as it is simmered and stirred.
3. Prepare your jars and fill as described above. Clean the jar rims, and place the hot lids and bands on the jars, and hand tighten.


4. After a few minutes, some of the jars will begin to seal. It is best to leave them alone a few minutes.  If you try to shake them as they seal, the lids might pop back up. However, they will seal again, so  just wait until the jars are cool enough to easily handle and have been sealed at least a few minutes before shaking. Continue shaking every few minutes, as above. When the butter remains more consistent in the jars, you can refrigerate and check every few minutes. Continue shaking every 5 minutes until the butter solidifies

So, it seems that you can either melt the butter, then do a boiling water bath for 40 minutes, or cook longer so that the butter simmers and don't do a boiling water bath. Either way, the jars will seal without much difference in the taste or texture. 

Instant Potato Sourdough Starter

Instant Potato Sourdough Starter


3 tbsp instant mashed potato flakes


3 tbsp white sugar


1 c. warm water


1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast


Combine instant potatoes, sugar, water, and yeast in a covered container.
 Let the starter sit on a counter for 5 days, stirring daily with a wooden stirrer.
On the morning of the fifth day, feed the starter with 3 tbsp instant potatoes, 3 tbsp sugar, and 1 cup warm water.
In the evening, take out 1 cup of starter to use in sourdough recipe. Refrigerate the remaining starter.
Every five days, feed the starter 3 tbsp instant potatoes, 3 tbsp sugar and 1 cup of water.
If starter is not being used in a recipe, keep it refrigerated and discard (or give away) 1 cup of starter after each feeding.


A friend's sourdough starter and bread recipe, this starter they had had for 2 years and it is still going strong.


Keep starter in refrigerator -- feed once a week. Add:


¾ c. sugar


1 c. warm water, and


¼ c. instant potato flakes


Set on counter (or in the oven) uncovered for a day or a night (8-12 hours)


If not making bread, throw away (or give away) 1 cup of starter. Put starter back in fridge and do not tighten lid... leave on loose.


If making bread, mix these ingredients in a large bowl:


1 cup starter


1 Tbs. Salt


6 cups flour


½ cup sugar


½ cup oil


1 ½ c. warm water


Stir together. Cover top of the bowl with a piece of oiled wax paper. Let it stand overnight or all day.


Next morning, or that night... push dough down with hand, divide into 3 parts... knead each part on a floured surface 20 times.
 Put each kneaded part into a greased or sprayed loaf pan. Let rise 4-6 hours or overnight.


Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from pans, brush with butter and cool.