Canning Green Beans and Potatoes

The Perfect Casserole Starter:
Add Cream of Mushroom Soup and dried onions and create a killer Green Bean Casserole.
Add Cream of Chicken Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Corn to start a Chicken Pot Pie.
Add Whole Chicken Breast and Cream of Chicken Soup for a great baked casserole.

1. Peel white potatoes and cube into 1/2  inch pieces.  Snap beans.
2. Boil cubed potatoes for 2 minutes. Set aside.
3. Boil green beans for 5 minutes.
4. Pack into hot steralized quart jars mixed half beans and half potatoes.
5. Leave one inch headspace. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional) to each jar. Cover with boiling water.
6. Process quarts for 40 minutes at 11 pounds pressure.

Freezing the Zucchini

I took out the food processor and shredded EIGHT cups of fresh zucchini.

Knowing that my two best freezer recipes for Zucchini require shredded zucchini, I am maximizing my time washing dishes by shredding it all at the same time.

2 cups of Zucchini go in each batch of Paula Deen's recipe.  I am making two batches.  Here is what I posted last June about Zucchini Bread:

"Zucchini Bread.  Make extra batches and freeze them for the holidays, house warming gifts, or when a friend has a new baby you can take over a breakfast dish for sleep deprived mom and dad.  I like hosting friends every year at Christmas for a holiday brunch. As with last year, I will already have one dish made and ready to thaw - the zucchini bread.  Paula Deen's recipe is my favorite:"
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zucchini-bread-recipe/index.html

I have already taken one loaf to a friend who had knee replacement surgery yesterday and the other three are in the freezer. (One of which is on hold waiting for Baby Covington to arrive!!!! It is a proven fact that a slice of zucchini bread in the microwave with a little butter can help with the raging hormones post-natal.)



The other four cups of shredded zucchini will be used in my meatball recipe.  Cook them, freeze them, then serve with whole wheat spaghetti and sauce in the fall on a busy night!!  Success!

From This Blog:

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer Meatball

Sneaking in zucchini, this kid friendly recipe is also healthy.
It is easy to make all four batches at once so that you can prepare dinner and freeze three batches for later. For each batch of meatballs you will need:

1 pound of ground turkey
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayo
1/3  cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup of grated zucchini (for all four batches you will need about 3 medium zucchini)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together.
Place a cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet. Form one inch meatballs and place them onto the cooling rack. This allows the grease to drip through the meatball and keep it crisp while baking.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are brown and hard.
Using a fork, lift the meatball off the cooling rack and place into a freezer safe container till ready to eat.

The meatballs will have cooked and formed to the rack and will leave lines. However, cooking them this way allows you to cook an entire batch at one time without using a lot of oil and smoking up the kitchen.

To serve: Thaw if frozen. Place meatballs into a large fry pan with a jar of marinara of your choice. Reheat over medium heat for 15 minutes or when sauce begins to bubble.  Serve over pasta.

OK, I get it! I'm overweight!

     I'm not oblivious, I know the obvious truth, and I also realize that because of a recent pregnancy not only is it unavoidable, but the fat is also centered around my belly. But, do not ask me "When is the baby due!"  Sunday morning while at work at Williams Sonoma a long time customer approached me, patted me on the belly and said," Oh Boy! Another?" In that awkward moment I just smiled and replied, "Actually, I just had him...about a month ago."  In reality it has been two months, but I did not want to reveal how crushed I was by this comment.  Saying one month gave me a better excuse.
    I don't know if it is because this is number two, or if because I am almost 33, or because I am sleep deprived and still recovering from a mastitis infection - but the weight is not coming off!  I taught 3-4 aerobics classes a week during my entire pregnancy and returned to the gym after only four weeks hoping that the weight would just start falling off.  With my first pregnancy, I was down 15 pounds the day I got home from the hospital and down another 10 after the first two weeks. Not the case this time.  I was only down 8 pounds after the hospital and only down 5 more pounds the first week. Then, I did not lose a single pound for the next month.  On Rex's one month birthday I resolved to get more serious. Apparently I am actually going to have to work at this. :(
     As a fitness professional I have always stayed active and have been in shape.  I also have always eaten pretty healthy. Minus my love for sweets, I am a great eater. But, this is a new world with new parameters. Starting at one month:

• I have to watch the sweets and carbs
• In addition to the three-four workouts I'm already doing per week, I am embracing Tabata.
• I am blogging about it so that I feel responsible for my results.  I feel like the world is watching and expecting to see results. Pressure! I need it. 

Tabata is a Japanese created workout plan where you exercise at a very high intensity for 20 secs. with a 10 sec. recovery for 8 repetitions.  This creates a 4 minute fat burning workout. After researching P90X and Intensity and learning that I can't afford to buy either program, they both incorporate this high intensity interval workout combing fat burning cardio with toning.  With all my experience and training, I'm smart enough to know how to do it and honest enough to admit I've never done it. Even in my cycling classes, although fun and challenging, I never get to the intensity that Tabata requires. I have seen many workouts "pinned" on Pintrest lauding a new 4 minute workout. That is not enough! I believe that these 4 minute workouts must be combined with an active lifestyle to see results.

My plan:

• To incorporate at least one Tabata interval into each class I teach at the YMCA: spin, step and toning.
• On days I don't teach, do a Tabata interval at home with Camilla as a "Dance Party" then take the stroller out or bikes out for family 'active' time.
• Worst case scenario because I am to busy to do any workout at all... do a 4 minute Tabata interval before I jump into the shower.

Here are the results:
Starting at One Month Old:     176 pounds

 

Two Months Old:               170 Pounds

It is quite embarrassing to share these photos with you.....but perhaps it will provide the necessary motivation to stay the course.