Grandma Dora's Chow Chow

This is an OLD green tomato relish recipe my Great Grandma used to make.  When I've talked to my great aunts about this recipe they remember it fondly.  One of them said she liked it so much she would put it on her mashed potatoes.  Of course when I got it right on the first try, I had to mail a jar to her.  She was happy to get it.  I don't ever remember having this when I was little.  I still had my great grandparents when I was born, so I get the privilege of remembering them.  My dad remembers this relish fondly and was happy to have it again after all those years until I tried it.  Another relish that's good on hot dogs or hamburgers.  Get creative with its uses!  ENJOY!!

Grandma Dora's Chow Chow

Ingredients:
green tomatoes, ground up
1/3 cup pickling salt
3/4 head of a cabbage, ground up
6 onions, finely chopped
6 cups vinegar
7 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pickling spices
cheesecloth

Instructions:
Grind up enough green tomatoes, using a meat grinder or food mill with a fine screen, to fill a bread bowl about 3/4 of the way full.  I'm not talking any bread bowl.  I'm talking the old fashioned huge bread bowl that's about 12 quarts.  After you grind up all those green tomatoes combine with the 1/3 cup pickling salt and let sit overnight.  In the morning rinse and drain then add cabbage and onion.  Put in a stock pot and bring to a boil then add vinegar and sugar.  Put your pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag.  I just cut a large square of my cheesecloth making sure there are a couple layers of it and dump the spices in the middle.  Form a little pouch and tie another strip of cheesecloth around it to keep the spices inside the bag.  Simmer the whole mixture for 45mn to an hour.
Pack in jars and process in a hot water bath canner 10 minutes.
Makes about 12 pints.

Auntie Marcella's Cucumber Chow Chow

This is an old family recipe.  We love different kids of relishes and this was something my Mom made for my Dad because... well, she couldn't get Grandma Dora's chow chow the way Dad remembered it.  This is a GREAT way to use up all those cucumbers that you think are too big to do anything with.  Run them through a food grinder, you don't even have to peel them.  Very simple recipe and great on hot dogs or hamburgers.  You can also pour over cream cheese and serve with crackers as an appetizer.  Something to note - if you are using cucumbers that are large or very seedy/watery, you might want to seed the cucumbers before grinding them up so that the chow chow isn't quite as watery.


Auntie Marcella's Cucumber Chow Chow

Ingredients:
6 cups ground cucumbers*
2 cups ground carrots
2 medium onions, ground up
1/2 cup pickling salt
2 cups cider vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed

Instructions:
Run cucumbers, carrots and onions through a food mill or meat grinder with a fine screen.  No need to even peel the cucumbers.  Put in a large bowl with 1/2 cup pickling salt and let sit one hour.  Strain, rinse then let drain.  In a stock pot place the cucumber mix and the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes.  Pack in pint jars leaving about 1/4 inch headspace.  Process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Green Tomato Salsa Verde

Here is another recipe I got from a friend.  She had lots of green tomatoes left in her garden and looked up a green tomato salsa verde recipe online and tweaked it to make it her own.  Which I in turn tweaked myself.   I have lots of banana peppers in my garden and love to add them to my salsa, so that is one thing I added that wasn't in her recipe.  The best part about having friends who preserve is that they're almost always willing to share not only their recipes, but even a jar of their accomplishment.  Becky offered me a jar to try before I made it, but I'm a brave soul and figured if she said it was good, I would like it too.  I was not disappointed.  This was wonderful and I put it on my eggs for breakfast this morning.  Equally delicious with some chips.  Vayle (my 5-year-old) tried just a small bit and decided it was delicious so she had it with some chips with her dinner.

Here's a pic of Vayle helping herself to some more.

 

 

 Green Tomato Salsa Verde

 

Ingredients:

13 pounds green tomatoes, cored and quartered

4 onions, finely chopped (I use a Pampered Chef Food Chopper)

3 green peppers, seeded and chopped finely

10 jalapenos, tops cut off and chopped finely

10 banana peppers, tops cut off and chopped finely

3 cans chopped green chilies

3 tablespoons minced garlic

6 tablespoons pickling salt

5-8 teaspoons cumin, depending on how spicy you want it

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

3 tablespoons cilantro

2-3 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons sugar

 

Instructions:

After you've done all the prep work of washing, coring and chopping your veggies place them all in a stock pot.  Bring everything to a boil everything in the stock pot, except sugar, cilantro and lime juice.  After it has started boiling you can add the last three ingredients.  Simmer your mixture about 30 minutes; it will reduce quite a bit.  After you've boiled it shut off your stove-top and either puree the mixture in batches in a blender or if you have an immersion blender you can just put it directly in your pot.  Everything in my pot was too deep for my immersion blender to reach to the bottom, but if you make a smaller batch than this, it should be fine.

Fill your pint jars to about a 1/4 inch headspace, clean rims and place boiled seals over top and a ring.  Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.  I used the oven method and preheated my oven to 350 and placed all my jars inside the oven and shut off the heat to leave the jars inside for a few hours to seal.

 

This batch made almost 14 pints.

 

'Frog Puke' Salsa

The only credit I can take for this great recipe is that I have a friend that has gotten some garden produce from me since she wasn't able to get her garden in this year.  Other than that - this recipe is all Emily Gunnarson's.  She posted a photo (bottom of recipe) on Facebook of a cucumber-based salsa Verde and OF COURSE I had to have the recipe.  It was a bit time consuming, but then again, canning large batches of salsa or sauces typically is.  The result was worth it.  This is a wonderful vinegary-type salsa Verde that's great with chips.  Would be equally as good poured over a block of cream cheese, or even mixed with cream cheese, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, and served with crackers.  The name 'Frog Puke Salsa' came from Emily's son, Gus, who said that's what it looked like.  So the name has stuck. 
It's quite good - ENJOY!!

'Frog Puke' Salsa

Ingredients:
14-16 cups of cucumbers - peeled, seeds removed and chopped fine
3 cups tomatoes - blanched & peeled
2-4 jalapenos - chopped (spicy to your own taste)
1-2 banana peppers - chopped
2 1/3 cups vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 can green enchilada sauce (I used red because I didn't have green)
2 packets Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
garlic powder, lime juice and black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Peel cucumbers then slice lengthwise and scrape seeds out with a spoon.  Chop finely (I use a Pampered Chef Food Chopper) then dump into a stock pot.  After your tomatoes are blanched and peeled, remove the stems and throw them in a blender to puree, add jalapenos and banana pepper(s) and puree also.  Pour into cucumbers, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer about 20 minutes.  Pack into jars leaving about 1/4 inch headspace.  Process in a hot water bath canner for about 10 minutes or freeze in freezer bags.  If you don't have a canner you can place your jars in your oven.  Just preheat the oven to 350.  Put all your packed jars in the oven, shut the door and turn off the oven letting the jars sit inside the oven for a few hours hours or overnight. 

Emily's photo of her 'Frog Puke' Salsa.  She had green enchilada sauce on hand, so her batch is more green than mine ended up being.

 

Paleo Salisbury Steak....balls

I wanted to create a paleo version of a Salisbury steak and decided to just make them into meatballs.  After all, Salisbury steak is just hamburger made into a patty and kids like meatballs better anyways.  So this is what I got people!!  The kids LOVED them and I really enjoyed them also.  If you prefer not to use the paleo version of my recipe, you can substitute out the almond meal/flour for bread crumbs and arrowroot starch for cornstarch in equal amounts.

This is a paleo & clean eating option.

Paleo Salisbury Steak....balls

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup almond meal
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 can mushroom stems and pieces (or 1 cup fresh sliced)
1 medium onion chopped
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
2 cups beef broth

Instructions:
Combine beef, almond meal, egg, salt and pepper and shape into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Put EVOO in a skillet and add the meatballs.  Rolling them over to cook evenly on all sides.  Once they're cooked through remove from the skilled and put in a bowl.  Leave the meat pieces and fat (fat is good for you people) in the skillet and add the onion and mushrooms.  Sauté until onion is translucent then add the arrowroot starch mixing well.  Whisk in the beef broth and return meatballs to pan covering with the lid for about 10 more minutes to thicken the sauce and reheat the meatballs.  Stir every so often.  You can serve these over mashed potatoes or just with a side of Bacon Asparagus and Salt & Pepper Sweet Potatoes like we did.

Nutrition facts from www.fatsecret.com based on 6 servings.
1 serving equals about:  Calories - 338, Fat - 22.85g, Cholesterol - 113mg, Sodium - 515mg, Potassium - 372mg, Total Carbs - 7.25g, Fiber - 1.7g, Sugars - 1.52g, Protein - 24.97g

Salt & Pepper Sweet Potatoes

These are like CANDY to me.  I love when the sweet potatoes kinda stick to the bottom of the pan and get a bit crispy.  I scrape them off with my fork and just eat the pieces right out of the skillet.  This is my favorite side dish, paleo or not!  I could eat the whole pan.  Serious.  Super simple and the kids love them too.  I highly recommend trying these as your next side. 

This is also a paleo & clean eating option.

Salt & Pepper Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 1-inch chunks

1-2 tablespoons EVOO

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions:

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes.  Put in a skillet with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Cover with lid and shake around to coat the pieces with the oil.  Then add the salt and pepper.  Cook on medium to low with the lid on for about 25-30 minutes.  I just shake my pan roughly every so often to mix them around well. 

Bacon Asparagus

Really simple recipe that is so very delicious.  My 5-year-old picked out some asparagus to have as a side so I whipped out my nitrate/nitrite free bacon, cut up about 5 slices and threw them in my non-stick pan (one with a lid). 

This is a paleo & clean eating option.

Bacon Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 package of wrapped up asparagus, washed
5 slices bacon (I use Hormel Uncured Bacon - found at SuperTarget)

Instructions:
Take about 5 slices of bacon out of the package and cut into chunks.  Put them in your non-stick skillet (preferably with a lid) and cook on one side, flip over after cooking a few minutes then add asparagus.  Continue to mix them around in the pan until the asparagus is cooked through and the bacon has crisped to your liking.  Enjoy!!