Magic Fudge Sauce

Have you ever had Magic Shell ice cream topping? My husband loves it! Here is a food storage recipe that is very similar to the real stuff (recipe not for canning).


Magic Fudge Sauce

1 Cup (6 ounces) Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Butter, cubed
3 Tbs. Evaporated Milk (1 Tbs. Dry Powdered Milk + 3 Tbs. Water)

Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds (opt.)

In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate chips, butter and milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Serve warm over ice Cream (Sauce will harden.) Sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate any leftovers. Sauce can be reheated in the microwave. Yield: about 1 Cup.

[From: Everyday Food Storage]

Pizza and Spaghetti Sauces

You can't tell, but the Pizza Sauce is on the left and the Spaghetti Sauce is on the right. At first glance the two recipes seemed nearly the same, but they are different.

Pizza Sauce—about 4 pints

3 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
10 lbs. tomatoes, cored, quartered
1 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. sugar

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. All remaining ingredients and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill; discard seeds and peel. Return juice and pulp to saucepan. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath for 30 minutes.



Spaghetti Sauce—about 4 pints

3 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
10 lbs. tomatoes, peeled, cored
2 sweet green peppers, finely chopped
2 tbsp. basil
2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill. Discard seeds and peel. Return juice and pulp to saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Pour hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath for 30 minutes.

[Note: I found that I like this spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce, although I would add a little more "Italian" herbs to the pizza sauce, maybe some thyme, too].

Mexican and Super Salsas

I was thinking about the salsas I made and that the recipe was in the canning binder. I realized last night that not everyone has that binder, so I am including the recipes here. In the picture the salsa on the left is the Mexican, and the salsa on the right is the Super. They actually look the same, it just looks different in the picture.

Mexican Salsa—about 5 pints

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, skinned, cored, chopped
3 c. onions, chopped
1 1/4 c. chili peppers, seeded, chopped
1 c. fresh cilantro, snipped
1 c. apple cider or apple cider flavored vinegar
2 tbsp. garlic, about 6 cloves, minced
1 tbsp. salt

In a 6-quart saucepot, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 30 minutes or to desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Immediately fill hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: boiling water bath for 15 minutes

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Super Salsa

20 c. tomatoes, peeled, cored
10 c. green bell peppers, seeded, chopped
10 c. onions, chopped
2 c. jalapenos, seeded, diced (use habanero peppers for hotter salsa)
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 tbsp. cilantro, minced
2 1/2 c. white vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes. Ladle salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath
—1/2 pints or pints 15 minutes

[Note: I did my own taste-test and both of these were good--both are kind of sweet. I will be looking for a salsa recipe that isn't so sweet, maybe made without vinegar. I am comparing the taste to Ortega salsa (what I had in the refrigerator)].

Fried Okra

Fried Okra--serves 4-6

1 lb. okra
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
2 c. cornmeal
vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash and drain okra. Cut off the tips and stem ends. Slice okra into 1 1/2" thick rings, and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt.

2. Pour buttermilk over okra. Stir well to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes;drain

3. In a large skillet or deep fryer, preheat oil to 375'. Place cornmeal in a separate bowl or shallow pan. Roll the okra in the cornmeal until well coated. Fry in the oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Garden Rice

Here's a quick little recipe to get you in the mood for growing a fall vegetable garden!

Garden Rice

*1/2 c. white rice
*1 c. chicken broth
*1/4 c. fresh vegetables (corn, peas, broccoli, Bok choy, green onions, etc.)
*fresh or dried basil or any herb that pairs with your vegetable

Mix all together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and cook until rice is done.

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day!

When I found out that today is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day, I thought it would be fun to find a recipe that you could can. But, this is what I found instead:

Canning Chocolate Sauces Unsafe

Brian A. Nummer, Ph.D.
National Center for Home Food Preservation, Georgia University
July 2003

Numerous recipes for chocolate sauces circulate on the internet and in newsgroups. Chocolate sauces are low acid recipes and are a risk for botulism food poisoning. Therefore any recipes that use the boiling water canning process are especially at risk. Furthermore, there are no science-based, tested recipes for chocolate sauces utilizing the pressure canning process in either the “USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning," the University of Georgia’s “So Easy to Preserve," or in publications from land grant University partners in the Cooperative Extension System.

Instead of canning, freeze your chocolate sauce.

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So, not to leave you suddenly craving hot fudge sauce, I have a recipe that you can pull from your food storage!

Hot Fudge Sauce--makes 2 cups

1/2 c. butter
2 unsweetened chocolate squares
2 c. confectioners sugar, sifted
3/4 c. evaporated milk

Over medium low heat melt butter and chocolate, then take off heat. Add 1/3 of the sugar and 1/3 of the evaporated milk, mix with a wisk until smooth. Add remaining sugar and milk, stir until smooth. Return to heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Pour into canning jars or other containers, let cool and close jar. [NOTE: this is not a canning recipe, the canning jars are just a cute way to give as a gift.]. Recipe can be doubled.

This sounds good to me!