Chili Dog Soup

Extended Shelf Life for: Hot Dogs and Onions Regardless of not remember exactly how this soup was made - it was SOOO simple.
Saute Onions and Garlic, maybe some peppers if they are on hand.
Add bite size chunks of hotdogs to the mix, heat them up, maybe make them a little crispy.
Add three large cans (if you're feeding a small army) of your favorite baked beans.
Add some V8 tomatoe juice, spicy or normal, your call.
This soup is also delicious with the Chili Spice Mix from previous posts.
Feeling adventurous? Add a can of corn...

Serve with cheese on top and a bread roll - it is perfect on a fall or winter afternoon with a group of dear and precious freinds. You'll be lucky if there are leftovers.

Maple-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Extended Shelf Life for: Grapes via the Dehydrator I cannot tell you anything about how exactly these cookies were made. Baking is an activity that, for me, almost always requires a recipe. However, a quick Allrecipes search brings up this recipe which I'm 99% sure is the recipe used for these cookies because my cookie cookbook is published by Taste of Home. Try it out - let me know if they are delicious...because in Laramie - when these rasins had an extended shelf life - they were Fabulous!

Chili Lentils on Homemade Tortillas

Extended Shelf Life for: Onions and Peppers (probably)
I have allowed entirely too much time to pass from the making of this dish to the posting of the recipe - however, there is a picture which means there is proof that I "saved" some food from being wasted and that is cause for making me happy :) What I do know is that this recipe is a combination of two I've previously posted: Indian Dal and Chili Spice Mix. Therefore, rather than using the spices which are called for in the Dal recipe, simply substitute your favorite Red Chili Spices, a few chili vegetables and prepare in the most sensible way you can manage.

I made the tortillas using the Master Mix, which is extremely easy but...I do not remember the full details. If I were to guess, I do believe you use about 2 cups of Master Mix and about 3/4 cups of Water. Ultimatley, you want a dough that is not too stick and runny, so add the water little by little. Create about 8 or so dough balls, let them sit about 10 minutes before rolling them out flat. Heat them up in a hot pan with barely any oil and voila - you will have homemade, delicious tortillas! Throw a little Mexican-style Dal on top, sprinkle with cheese if available and eat up!

Pepper-Pepper Stir Fry

Extended Life for: Bell Peppers, Onion and Celery This dish was a simple combination of ideas - one from our Valentine's Dinner and another from my resourceful, cooks brain. Having mae this meal over a couple months ago, I am left here with only a vague idea of what all went in, so here it is, more or less:

Begin preparing about two cups of brown rice before searing the steaks and stir-fying the peppers and onions. For the steaks, heat up some oil, coat one side of each steak in black pepper (pour pepper onto a plate, then place one side of the steak onto the plate...you get the drill). Cook steak to preferred doneness, remove from pan. Add additional oil if needed stir fry vegetables once vegetables are tender add steak in chopped up bits, serve on top of rice and ENJOY with a glass of red wine and a favorite friend.

Pork Green Chili

Extended Shelf Life: Tomato and Pork Loin

This is no different from the green chili recipe I posted a while back except for two things:

1. This pot had a much higher ratio of dumpster goods.

2. Rather than using fresh tomatillos, I settled for a tomatillo salsa purchased at Big Hollow Co-Op.

Creamy Mushroom Wonton Cups

Extended Life for: Mushrooms There is one use of a mini-muffin tin that surpasses all other uses -- the production of delicious, crispy wontons! The stuffing for these looked less than appealing and in all honesty, I don't much care for mushrooms, however, I served them in mixed company and received numerous compliments on the tiny little morsels. Here's to hoping they are palate pleasers to many!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil to saute
1 lb. Mushrooms, diced
1 lg. Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 oz. Cream Cheese
Spices of Choice; Salt, Pepper, etc.
Wonton Skins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350/375 degrees. Grease mini-muffin tin. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok, saute garlic, onion and mushrooms for 5-7 minutes. Season then add spices to taste. Melt cream cheese into the mix. Place wonton skins in mini-muffin tin add about 1 TBS of mushroom mix in the center, pinch up sides to look like a wonton and continue till all mini-muffin cups are holding a mushroom wonton. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy with good friends or at a potluck, preferably with CouchSurfers.

Melon-Mango Fruit Leather

Extended Shelf Life for: Mangoes and Melon You need to have a semi-fancy Food Dehydrator for this recipe, once you have that, this is a fairly simple recipe to compose.

Dice melon and mangoes. Place in food processor or blender, add sugar or honey, puree. Pour mixture onto soup/fruit roll sheets designed for your dehydrator, dry until there are no sticky spots. Enjoy in place of High Fructose Corn Syrup Fruit Roll-ups!

Wine Marinated Mushrooms

Extended Shelf Life for: Mushrooms and Red Pepper

Truth be told, I do NOT like mushrooms. So, when I wake up to a box filled with mushrooms, some properly contained others on the lose, I have a moment of desperation - WHAT DO I DO??? Fortunately, anything boiled in wine is worth taking a bite of AND when you have multiple potluck situations in a week, it's quite simple to share the 'burden' or joy of these fun-guys...

Ingredients:

1 cup Red Wine

1 cup Rice Vinegar

1/3 cup Oil

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp. crushed Red Pepper flakes

1/2 Red Bell, sliced

1 lb. Fresh Mushrooms, stems removed

1 tsp. Oregano

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring the first 8 ingredients to a boil, set aside to cool. Add seasonings. Enjoy before a grilled burger or as a potluck appetizer.

Raspberry Coffe Cake Roll

Extended Shelf Life for: Raspberries

This is quite possibly the dish I have been most proud of and impressed with in the last couple of months. Easy. Beautiful. Delicious.

Inspired by a Mennonite cook-book and using the versatile Master Mix, I present to you the Raspberry Coffee Cake Roll.

Ingredients:

2 cups Master Mix

3 oz. Cream Cheese

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Egg, beaten

1/4 cup Milk

1/2 cup Raspberry filling or Jam (any fruit will do)

Glaze:

3/4 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp. milk to mix

Directions:

Mix first four ingredients together until crumbly. Combine milk and egg and stir into crumb mixture until moistened. Turn dough out on a flour surface and knead. Roll into a 12 x 8 inch
rectangle on waxed paper. Spread with fruit leaving a 1/2 inch margin around edges. Fold each side to the center, pinch ends to seal. Now, the tricky part, transfer to a greased baking sheet. Make 1 1/2 inch cuts about 1 inch apart on the top of cake, about 1/3 of the way through. Bake at 360 for 20-25 minutes. Pour glaze over cake while warm. Enjoy in bed with a hot cup of tea.

Note: If using fresh berries, simply heat in a skillet, add sugar to taste. As juices begin to escape add a cornstarch/water mix to thicken up berrie sauce, when the correct consistency and flavor have been attained, use as you would other perserves.

Skillet Pizza

Extended Shelf Life for: Mushrooms, Tomato and Onion Another great recipe inspired by none other than Vegetarian Times! With an abundance of produce, a craving for melty gooey-cheese, a lack of motivation to prep ingredients and a quick to fix home-made pizza crust using the Master Mix, this recipe is simply perfection in a cast iron skillet!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/3 cups Master Mix
1/4 to 1/3 cup Water

Filling: Your choice I used
1 1/2 cups Mushrooms and Onion, sauteed in garlic and oil prior to adding to the pizza
1 med. Tomato diced
1-2 cups Cheese
Itailan Seasoning to taste

Directions:

Combine Master Mix with enough water to make a soft dough. Knead in the bowl a dozen or so times. Roll or pat out into a circle or rectangle. Place dough on bottom of greased cast iron skillet or round cake pan. Add ingredients till they reach near the top lip of pan, cover in cheese. Bake in an oven at 425 for 15 Minutes or until done. Enjoy with a glass of wine and a tossed salad.