Meatballs by the dozens... and dozens... and dozens

In a stock-the-freezer fit, I've made meatball mix that stretched out to about 8 dozen meatballs, two meatloaves, and a big pot of Pumpkin chili, currently in the crockpot. The mix made really delicious, although not 100% Core, meatballs and we'll have them ready for easy meals throughout late summer and fall. The bread crumbs and cheese are not Core, but only add less than a point per serving.

Here's the recipe I used (and be warned, this is a LOT of meat - you'll need a REALLY big bowl. You can easily halve or quarter it for a more reasonable quantity!)

Millions of Meatballs
8 eggs, lightly beaten
3 c. fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (I used Spring Hill's Old World Portuguese)
1/2 c. chopped parsley
15 oz. can tomato sauce
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t each dried basil, oregano, thyme, and marjoram
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
6 lb. ground lean beef
2 lb. ground lean pork

Mix together all the ingredients except for the meats and combine well. Gently combine with the meats, taking care not to over mix. Roll mixture into balls about
1" across (1 T mixture) and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

This mixture works well as meatloaf, too, but you'll need to bake it longer and you might want a sauce on the top. I added shredded zucchini to the mix for meatloaves.

One for dinner, one more for the freezer

Tonight we're having another of my endless variations on beans and grains, Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runners, and with that mixture I'm stuffing bell peppers for another freezer-friendly post-baby dinner.

The barley is from our grain CSA, beans from Phipps, and various vegetables from Full Belly. Served tonight with green beans from our CSA box, we've got a local dinner for now, and stuffed into peppers from Happy Quail, topped with a little cheese from Spring hill, we've got a local meal later. This recipe makes a HUGE batch of the barley and beans, but they freeze well and would make a great lunch.

Spanish-style barley with Scarlett Runner beans

1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 canned chipotle chile pepper and 1 t. adobo sauce
2 c. whole barley
2 c. crushed tomatoes (I used the tomato sauce that I made earlier in the week)
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. Scarlett Runner beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 T oil
2 c. corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 big handful of green beans, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 scallions, diced

Saute onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil. Add spices and saute another minute. Add barley and stir to coat with the onion and spice mixture. Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hr. 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, cook soaked beans in the pressure cooker. Cover the beans by 2 inches with water and add 1 T oil to prevent foaming. Cook under high pressure for 12-14 minutes.

Once the barley is cooked, add the beans, corn, green beans, tomatoes, and scallions; stir gently to combine.

***

I now have a moussaka, tamale pie, 3 quarts of tomato sauce, 1 quart of tomato-bean soup made from the tomato sauce, and the stuffed peppers in the freezer. I'll be doing my big batch of meatballs later in the week and the turkey early next week, baby willing, and hopefully will have 15-20 dinners ready to go.

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for me... and Apricots and Figs, too!

A friend e-mailed me yesterday to tell me that her peach tree was full of ripe peaches if we'd like some, and a neighbor offered her all the apricots off of their tree. Plus, she found a fig tree in a parking lot near her house. So Jax and I will be picking fruit this week to freeze for smoothies and fruit crisps throughout the year. Yum!!

Another local dinner last night was delicious but not especially photogenic. Last fall I froze a meal of chickpeas and barley in eggplant sauce with spinach (with chickpeas from Phipp's Country Store, barley from the grain CSA, and eggplant and spinach from Full Belly Farm.) Last night we ate that in pita bread with fresh basil from this week's CSA box and feta cheese from Spring Hill Cheese. So tasty! I served it with sauteed zucchini squash out of this week's CSA box as well. The pita was not from local wheat, but is from a local independent bakery. I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch.

Cherries! Strawberries! Peaches!

It's that time of year again! Fruits are sweet and plentiful, the farmer's market is crowded with so many wonderful, fresh foods, and Jax's chin is stained red from cherry juice dribbles. We bought peaches last week and they were gone in two days, so this week I bought even more fruit to hold us through - half a flat of strawberries, a pound of cherries, and more peaches - but I'm not sure it's going to last much longer than last week's delicious peaches. Jax and I had cherries for lunch and ate nearly the whole bag of them by ourselves. (I also had a glass of milk to round the meal out! haha!) Don't worry, though; we've got lots of vegetables to enjoy as well.

This week, our CSA box includes:
Carrots
Cabbage
Winter Savory
Fresh onions
Salad mix
Itty-bitty-teeny-tiny potatoes
Dino kale (I can only imagine that this will be a hit with dinosaur obsessed Jax!)
Strawberries

The newsletter that accompanies my veggies tells me that Winter Savory is used in beans, stuffings, soups, and with meats like chicken or turkey. Since turkey is planned in a few weeks for my big batch of freezer cooking, I'm going to hang the savory to dry and use it then.

I'm planning a big freezer cooking session, as I mentioned before, and have narrowed the attack to two main foods: meatballs and turkey. I have quite a bit of ground beef and 2 1/2 turkeys in the freezer that need to be eaten. I will make dozens and dozens of baked meatballs with grains in them (maybe oatmeal?) to be used in recipes like meatball chili, shepherd's pie with mushroom gravy, unstuffed cabbage with whole rye, moussaka, sweet and sour meatballs, curried meatballs with wheatberries, and quinoa picadillo. I'll use the turkeys for turkey posole, turkey cacciatore, turkey, apricot, and chickpea tagine, turkey and rice (a la arroz con pollo), turkey adobo, smothered turkey and barley, and turkey soup. Vegetarian menus will be doubled over the next few weeks and packaged for more meals. So far, I've got a tamale pie and Persian split pea and barley soup with spinach (yummy!) in the freezer from double batches.

Many of these meals are done in the pressure cooker, which as you may know from reading the blog is one of my favorite kitchen tools. My last big batch cooking day was so smooth because I relied on the cooker - I would prep a meal while one was in the cooker, and as soon as the meal in the cooker was finished the next was ready to go in. This back-to-back cooking was super fast and efficient, and I'm hopeful that using that method, plus my crockpot, stovetop, oven, and a friend to help will make the meals come together quickly and easily.

A plan of attack and a daily menu

I have a few weeks until my summer classes begin, and I'm starting to hit the nesting phase of pregnancy, which can only mean one thing: organizing and cleaning the house. This week I'll be focusing on the kitchen, paring down the unnecessary stuff, clearing out the science projects growing at the back of the fridge, and making an inventory of the freezer and pantry so I know what needs to be used up. That will help with the next stage of the nesting plan: stockpiling freezer dinners for the post-baby exhaustion that will soon be coming.

I visited a friend of mine yesterday and she showed me her recent freezer cooking stash - neat rows of mac and cheese and pasta with tomato sauce stacked in individual servings, reminding me that my own stash of pre-cooked meals is pretty non-existent. When Jax was born, my mom made about a dozen frozen home cooked meals for us, and it was so convenient to not have to think about dinner for those first few weeks! My friend is going to come over one day in June and help me with a big cooking session like the one I did in September. It can't be done with a messy kitchen, and will be a good way to use up some of the grains and frozen meat.

I'm a few days behind on this week's menu plan since I went out to eat Sunday night, so we're eating the snapper tonight.

Daily Menu

Breakfast
Oatmeal
banana
2 c. milk

Lunch
Leftover tofu-veggie soup with rice noodles (I went out for Vietnamese food Sunday night)
1 c. milk

Snack
Watermelon

Dinner
Snapper
Roasted new potatoes w/olive oil
Roasted asparagus
Green salad w/olive oil vinaigrette

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies, 5-9 servings a day - yes
2. Whole grains - yes (oatmeal)
3. Milk, 3 servings a day - yes
4. Healthy oil, 3 teaspoons a day - yes
5. Protein - yes (tofu, fish)
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+ cups
8. (Prenatal) Multivitamin - yes

Tamale Pie

I made tamale pie for dinner and it was delicious! I made a variation on one that floats around the WW internet boards, adjusting for what I have and the flavors we like. I made an extra tamale pie and it's in the freezer, starting to stock for after the baby is born. When Jax was born, my mom made us a dozen or so home made dinners, all frozen in the same 8"x8" pan and stored in zip top freezer bags for easy stacking. It was fantastic to have dinner ready to go when we were too brain dead to actually cook, and it will be wonderful this time around to have Core friendly meals not just for me and Mr.M but for Jax as well this time! The tamale pie is the first of many double batches in the near future.

Tamale pie

1 c. corn meal
2 1/4 c. chicken or vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. chili powder

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine cornmeal, broth, garlic, and chili powder in a medium saucepan; whisk or stir constantly over medium heat until slightly thickened. Spread in a 9 X 13-inch baking pan, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
4 tsp canola oil
1 t chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t dry oregano
1 tsp salt
1 chipotle in adobo, minced fine, plus 1 t adobo sauce
1 quart tomato sauce (I used my home made CORE spaghetti sauce from last fall with lots of veggies)
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can or 2 c. diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can whole no-sugar-added kernel corn, drained
1 (16 oz) can or 2 c. cooked black beans
1 c. cheddar cheese (fat free for Core or count the points)

In a large skillet, saute onion, green pepper, carrot, and celery until onion is translucent. Add garlic and spices; toast briefly, stirring into the vegetables. Add beef and cook until brown, breaking up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon.

Add chipotle in adobo and sauce, tomato sauce, paste, diced tomatoes, corn, and beans, and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spread mixture evenly over the cornmeal mixture and top with cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

A full freezer makes a locavore happy!

I picked up the pork yesterday (thanks, Jen!) and am ridiculously happy about the nitrate-free bacon, ham, chops, ribs, and sausage in the freezer. We ordered from TLC Ranch and picked up the butchered, smoked meats at Los Gatos Meats. This place smells SO GOOD - my mouth watered just waiting in line! We got smoked ham and bacon, and next time I think we'll have them make more sausages like keilbasa, chorizo, and Italian links - we didn't get any links this time.

I made a delicious meal with the first 1 lb. pork sausage last night. It makes enough to serve 10-12 hungry people, so you could cut the recipe in half and still serve an average hungry family with just half a pound of meat.

Pasta with sausage and greens

1 t. canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 lb. pork sausage
3 bunches of greens (I used kale, swiss chard, and turnip greens, but any sturdy greens would work)
1/2 t. fennel seeds
1 t. basil
1 t. thyme
2 t. oregano
about 1/4 t. red pepper flakes, more to taste
1 quart crushed tomatoes
(NO salt needed)
1 lb. noodles like rigatoni or fusilli

Cook noodles according to package directions, pulling out at just before al dente.

Saute the onion and garlic in oil. Once translucent, add the pork sausage and spices, breaking up into small pieces as it browns. Once it is all browned, add greens in batches, stirring as they wilt. Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly to combine. Add not-quite-al dente pasta. Simmer for 5 minutes for the flavors to combine. Enjoy!

***

This week's CSA box includes the following:

Broccoli
Strawberry Daikon
Cauliflower
Karinata Kale (purple and pretty!)
Spinach
Leeks
Lettuce
Pomegranates

I'll be using the cauliflower and pomegranates in my Thanksgiving dinner. Since cranberries aren't grown locally, we'll be having a jelly made from quince, rhubarb, and strawberry with pomegranate juice mixed in. It is sufficiently tart and sweet for the cranberry lover in my house - Mr. M - and has that gorgeous red color that one expects to accompany their turkey. It does not, however, come from a can in jellied form, so there aren't any of the "can lines" that Mr. M likes so much. Maybe he can have "can lines" next year, haha.

At the farmer's market yesterday, I also bought sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts on the stalk (pretty!), the biggest bunch of celery I've ever seen, eggs, Old World Portuguese cheese (as a Parmesan substitute), a few apples, more of the Hare Hollow Blackberry-ginger balsamic, and the Scarborough Faire herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Today, I'm getting beets, Yukon Gold potatoes, sugar pumpkins, and onions at the Mountain View market. All that's left will be to pick up the turkey, already on order, and butter and cream.

This is the first year that I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner and my menu is set, my fridge is full, and I spent much of the day cleaning my kitchen yesterday. Today, we're cleaning the dining room and livingroom to accomodate our guests (we'll have a full house with 10 diners, ourselves included.)

Move over beef, the pork is on its way!

Awhile back, we ordered 1/6 of a grassfed pig from TLC Ranch, and it will be ready on Saturday! I'm ridiculously excited about having tasty organic, pastured pork stocked up in the freezer. I've bought several pieces of TLC Ranch pork at the farmer's market over the summer and it has been delicious every time. I also ordered 3 extra pastured, hormone free turkeys, as they're half the price of my organic chicken source, so we'll have beef, pork, and turkey at the ready for months to come. I still have some chicken from the last big stock up, too. Yes, the freezer will be full and we'll eat well!

As a preview to our Thanksgiving menu, I'll tell you that pork will make an appearance. I'm making a bacon, apple, sage, and caramelized onion dressing from The New Best Cookbook. This is the first Thanksgiving that I'm cooking, and the menu has been planned out for weeks. It is not Core (sorry to disappoint) but it will be a locavore meal, with everything sourced within 250 miles. Most everything is within 100, but my grains (and thus bread for dressing, rye rolls, and pie dough) are closer to 250.

For the Freezer: Almost DONE! Daily Menu for September 17

I now have 16 meals in the freezer, and will be making the pot roast in the crockpot tomorrow. I'm so pleased with myself for getting it all done, but am even more impressed by the rockin' pressure cooker! I prepped the next meal while the last one was in the cooker, so it was easy to make a number of meals in short time. I finished 4 meals (2-4 meals of each, making 12 dinners) in about 3 hours. The crockpot kicked out another, and I had only one stove top meal on the list. Once I finish the pot roast and make it into shephard's pie, I'll have put about 6 hours into 16 dinners, almost entirely local and all organic. And, even better, on nights when I'm too busy to cook, we can eat a healthy, quick, home made meal. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Another Meatless Monday is upon us, and here's today's menu:

Breakfast
2 c. Clover milk
apple from a neighbor's tree

Lunch
Chickpeas with eggplant-tahini sauce, bulgur, and spinach (1 Point) - Chickpeas from Phipps Country Store, eggplant from Full Belly Farm, spinach from Salinas, tahini and bulgur organic, not local

Dinner
Black bean and rice burgers - beans from Phipps, rice from Lundberg
Zucchini from Full Belly Farm
Green salad with basil-olive oil vinaigrette - lettuce and basil from Full Belly, olive oil from Hare Hollow

WPA (Weekly Points Allowance) points used today: 1
WPA points available: 35
Activity points today: 2 (Walk Away the Pounds 1 mile video)
Activity points this week: 2

Daily 8 - the 8 Healthy Guidelines
1. Fruits and veggies - 5+
2. Whole grains - bulgur,
3. Milk - yes
4. Healthy oil - 1
5. Protein - yes
6. Limit sugar and alcohol - yes
7. Water - 8+
8. Multivitamin - yes

For the Freezer: In Progress!

I'm taking a break from cooking and cooking to tell you how it's going! So far, I have completed and packaged the sweet and sour lentils, un-stuffed cabbage, chicken cacciatore, and beef picadillo with quinoa. Meatball chili with pumpkin is in the crock pot right now. This evening, I'll finish the mushroom-barley soup, and will prep the stuff to go in the pot roast and chickpeas, which I'll cook in the morning. The shephard's pie will be the pot roast and gravy with extra veggies and a mashed potato topping, and I can make the mashed potatoes while the pot roast is finishing up in the crockpot tomorrow evening.

Right now, there are 8 meals packaged in the fridge. When I finish, there will be between 16-20 meals ready for me to defrost and enjoy when I don't feel like cooking. There will be no excuses for eating junk!

We went to Costco, Country Sun, and the California Street (Palo Alto) farmer's market this morning to get everything I need to cook more than a dozen dinners. I spent just under $80 and got eggs, milk, bread, spices, a jar of smoked ketchup made in Calistoga, and lots and lots of yummy local, organic veggies. I also spent about $40 last week for milk, eggs, salad fixings, and crackers. My total for the month is up to $272.24.

For the Freezer: Getting prepared

I did Once a Month Cooking ages ago when I was working full time, doing a monster cooking day and then just reheating meals throughout the month. It was handy, but the recipes I was using were certainly not healthy. I'm preparing to do a big batch cooking session on Sunday and Monday with Core recipes and local ingredients, a tasty and healthy way of having a home cooked meal even when I'm too tired to cook.

All of these meals will be prepared with locally grown, organic ingredients and will all fit the Eat Local Challenge that I've been so lax about following this past week! I think this will make up for my lack of cooking this week, haha.

Here's the menu:

Meatball chili with pumpkin (Crockpot) pumpkin adds a subtle sweet creaminess and plenty of fiber and vegetal goodness, but no strong pumpkin flavor
Pot roast (Crockpot)
Beef picadillo (Pressure Cooker)
Mushroom, and barley soup (PC)
Chicken cacciatore (PC)
Unstuffed cabbage with meatballs in sweet and sour tomato sauce (PC)
Chickpeas with eggplant-tahini sauce (PC)
Sweet and sour lentils with 5 spice rice
Shephard's pie

To get ready today, I'm cleaning the kitchen and going to the Grocery Outlet and Country Sun today. Mr.M will get the CSA box tomorrow while I'm at school and I'll visit the farmer's market on Sunday morning for any other fresh ingredients on the list.

On Sunday, I'll prepare a big batch of meatballs, mushroom barley soup in the pressure cooker, beans for the chili in the pressure cooker, chop veggies, and put the pot roast in the crockpot overnight.

On Monday, the crockpot will make the meatball chili, and I'll spend the day rotating meals in and out of the pressure cooker. Once it's all done, I'm sure I'll be exhausted, but I'll have two or three packages of each meal in the freezer and can relax about my school night meals for the next month or more.