Tis The Season-Dehydrating Turkey

We always stock up on turkeys this time of year. At $7.00 a bird it would be silly not to. We ended up having our regular Thanksgiving feast and then the next day another turkey went into the oven. It seemed like a good idea at the time but as we started eating through the second bird, my family began to show some signs of~ "Enough already"(kindly of course). Oh, dear. Whatever were we to do with all of these scrumptious leftover white and dark pieces of heaven? 

Making jerky was our first thought but reading about how turkey can come out somewhat more brittle than beef, we decided to dehy it. Oh what fun!

This works well with chicken and turkey, but you will not want to use goose or duck or any other bird that has a lot of fat or prepares as greasy. Fully cook the turkey. Allow it to cool and remove skin and any extra fat. 

The recipe said to cut the turkey into cubes measuring 1/2 an inch. That did not work out for me at all. I cubed what I could, but there was also a lot of shredded and extra falling pieces that ended up on the tray. 

Layer turkey meat in a single layer on lined dehydrator trays. Set temperature at 155 degrees for 4 hours and then lower to 130 degrees for the rest of the drying time. The pieces should be hard and dehydrated all the way through.

 (***Remember, I can not direct you as to the full length of dehydrating. It all depends on your machine and your situation.)

To use your dehydrated turkey pieces: add 1 cup of boiling water to 1 cup of turkey. 

Use in soups, stews, and anywhere else you would use turkey!

Good luck and keep dehydrating!!!

Very Thankful

And another Thanksgiving approaches. I certainly have been counting my blessings as of late. As cliche' as it all sounds-Life really is too short.

17 days ago an intervention from God's hands to my heart  struck like a bolt of lightning. For as amazing as my life is and all the blessings I have received- I was sick. Sick in my body, mind and soul. The sickness (driven by anger and hatred) was driving me deeper and deeper into hell.

As my husband and I sat at our table that night 17 days ago, we both were struck with an overwhelming ENOUGH! Like hitting a brick wall-enough. Our eating habits, our drinking habits and every single one of our other habits had us driving straight off a cliff. Thelma and Louise was my past life and I knew at that moment, things had to change. Dramatically change.

So, we started our change. We dumped every drop of alcohol out onto the ground. Signed up for 2 different 30 day challenges (planks and abs). Settled on a couple of walking routes. Logged out of Facebook. That last one was really a leap of faith for us both. It has been the most difficult part of all for me. I miss some people from fb, but I don't miss the drama and hate that shot at me every time I logged on.

With so many changes I am starting to feel like a new person. In those 17 days I have lost 7 pounds plus a million pounds that have been hitching a ride on my back for far too long. I know I will never touch another drop of alcohol and when the 30 day promise is over, I will decide what I am going to do about Facebook. As for the anger? I am only human. I am a work in progress (as I know we all are) but I am not going to be wearing so much on my sleeve. People will need to come after me hard to get a reaction. Some will. I'm getting stronger every day. I can handle it.

So, Constant Reader~ Happy Thanksgiving to you. I wish you love and peace and joy and calm. Hold those you love close and hold yourself closer. You mean a lot to me! God Bless~

Kale Cubes

So with the continual growth of my leafy greens and the upcoming event of having to switch from summer mode (lots of free time) to work mode (not much free time) I decided it is time to switch from consumption to preservation. That is where the kale cubes come into play.

Directions:

Pick and wash kale leaves.
Remove center stem.
Chop leaves well.
Wilt in a pot of boiling water.
Drain and cool.
Pack the leaves tightly into ice cube trays.

The leaves will still contain water and you want that to help freeze the leaves, but if you find them too dry pour water over the top of the trays to ensure a well frozen kale cube.

I am planning to repeat this process with Swiss chard, collards and spinach-and I am sure as the kale keeps growing I will continue to preserve it in this way.

I plan to throw cubes into soups and stews, casseroles and smoothies.

Dehydrating Cucumbers~Who Knew?

Did you know? I thought dehydrating cucumbers would rank up there with dehydrating watermelon and water (a running joke in my house)! It can be done~oh joy! oh rapture! I have been drowning in pickle juice these past few weeks (NOT complaining) and then I stumbled onto these little nuggets. Who isn't looking for other options to preserve cucumbers this time of year?

Such a simple process and honestly didn't believe that this recipe would be anything short of a waste of time and ingredients. I am pleasantly surprised and just had to share with you, Constant Reader!

Process:


Peel and thinly slice cucumbers. I used my mandolin and the "thin slice" attachment.

In a large plastic bag put equal amounts of dried dill, garlic powder and onion powder.

Shake to coat all slices.

Place on dehy trays and dry until done. I set mine on 115 degrees for 7 hours, but remember what I said before~dry it until it is done. We all have different machines and situations AND you can never over dry!

My husband said the finished cucumbers taste like Italian dressing crisps. I love them and will do this again. Give it a try!

Enjoy and God Bless~

Cucumber Chips

Ahhh the endless possibilities of cucumbers! I have told you that my favorite pickle is the dill~ I have yet to set any cukes aside for that. Fear not, my harvest is still cranking along and as long as we don't get a frost in the next few weeks my next batch WILL be DILL!!!

I found a new recipe (new to me) that I have to share with you. Yummo! I did learn something about trying a new recipe... read it all the way through before you start. I have gotten rather lazy and decide that if I have all of the ingredients, I'm good to go. I was good to go with cucumber chips but the time frame through me for a loop. 2 days from start to finish! What? I was lucky this time because I don't start work until next week, but I would have found myself in quite a pickle if I didn't have today to finish up. Just a reminder for me!

                                                                Cucumber Chips

***The recipe said the yield was 3 pints, but I got 7~   3 pints using 6 pounds of cukes???***


Ingredients:

6 pounds cucumbers cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup canning salt
1 T. turmeric
1 quart plus 3 cups vinegar-divided
1 quart plus 1 cup water-divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 cube fresh ginger
1 T. mustard seed
1 tsp. whole cloves
2 cups brown sugar

Cucumber slices into a large bowl and sprinkle salt over the top. Mix thoroughly and set aside for 3 hours.

Drain, rinse, drain

Combine turmeric, 3 cups of vinegar and 1 quart water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over cucumbers. Set aside until cool. Drain.

Combine granulated sugar, 1 quart vinegar and 1 cup water in saucepan. Tie spices in cheesecloth or a spice bag and add to pan. Simmer 15 minutes and pour over cucumbers. Set aside for 24 hours.

Remove spice bag and pickles. Discard spice bag. Combine liquid and brown sugar in a  saucepan and bring to a boil.

Pack cucumbers in hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Ladle hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2 piece caps and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Enjoy~

Cucumber Jelly

Into making pickles up to my ears! (Not a complaint) I had 2 rather large cucumbers left over from my pickle chips I'm making today and I had run across a recipe for cucumber jelly the other day so ~ta-da!
This jelly is SO easy and tastes light and refreshing. My only regret is that I only reaped 4- 1/2 pints from this recipe. I will multiply it several times over next time around!

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers
4 T. lemon juice
2 T. white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 package pectin

Peel, seed and cube cucumbers.
Puree cucumber, lemon juice and vinegar until smooth. Strain to remove any pulp.
This should give you a yield of 2 cups of juice.

 Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.
Add pectin and return to a boil.
Add sugar and boil for one more minute. Remove from heat.
Pour into hot jars and water bath for 10 minutes.

Enjoy~

Squash Pickles- My New Favorite Sweet!

 

I am a true lover of the pickle. Dill, salty and crunchy are the characteristics that really excite me, but with the gigantic harvest of summer squash this year, I have fallen in love all over again, with sweet. I combined 3 different recipes and the outcome is phenomenal! They stay crunchy and are so sweet. I even used onions from my garden so all I had to purchase were the spices. Give it a try!

                                   Summer Squash Pickles

2 pounds summer squash
1 1/2 cups onion
1/4 cup kosher salt

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 cups water
1 cup vinegar

Thinly slice summer squash and onions. Mix them together and put in a bowl.
Sprinkle the 1/4 cup kosher salt over the top.
Cover with 2 hands full of ice and cover all with water. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add squash and onions and boil  for 10 minutes-stirring occasionally. 

Pack hot mixture into hot jars with 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and put on caps. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath. 

Enjoy~