Help! Squash!

I'm already starting to have squash running out of my ears (yellow & zucchini)! I don't have near the freezer space that I had last year, so, does anyone have any recommendations on what to do with all of this squash? I've read that canning it makes it too mushy. Has anyone had any success canning their squash? Please send suggestions on how to preserve it and recipes for squash dishes would be good to have also. Thanks!

Tips For Next Thanksgiving

Okay, my busy, frantic, Thanksgiving morning, was my own fault. For one, I am the worlds worst procrastinator. Secondly, my daughter decided to paint my kitchen the night before Thanksgiving. Well, that would have been fine if I had not procrastinated until the last minute to start my baking. So, we were up really late and I'm getting too old for that. Thirdly, a lot of my recipes are just in my head, so, it was easier for me to do most of the cooking, than to try to tell anyone else how to cook them, while I was trying to cook something else myself. It might sound like things were too crazy to be enjoyable, but that's not really true. I'm not complaining. I had a great Thanksgiving and really do love all the work that goes with the preparations. But, I did get an idea that I think will be helpful for next year, to make things a little easier (besides not procrastinating to shop and get started). First, I should make sure every little dish has the recipe written down. Before we get started, place the recipe along with all of the ingredients that goes in it, in the pan that it needs to be baked in. This may sound like a really simple thing, but if you have people there trying to help who aren't familiar with your kitchen and recipes, this should make it a lot easier for them to help. Second, don't try to bake your pies and paint your kitchen at the same time.

Feeding Your Family Frugally

A lot of people are having to cut back on their grocery bills right now. Not just so mom can stay at home, but because dad has last his job also. As I was praying for different people in our church who are needing work, I started thinking about this, and about the ways I have stretched our grocery dollars. My husband is a meat eater so usually the first thing I think about in preparing a meal is what kind of meat to start with.
Some really inexpensive choices are:
-liver (we happen to love it)-fry it with onions, and eat it with mashed potatoes and gravy.
-canned salmon-make it into salmon patties or season it and bake it in the oven.
-ground turkey-I cook with the frozen turkey sausage because I like the flavor better. I think it's Jenny-O. Anyway, it's cheaper than ground beef at Wal-Mart.
-ground breakfast sausage-you can usually buy this cheaper than ground beef and it is great in spaghetti sauce.
-smoked sausage-great cut up either with sauerkraut(mix in some sour cream and it takes away the tartness), or fried with chopped potatoes, or in macaroni and cheese.
-a bag of boneless chicken breast-take out one or two piece of chicken at a time to cut up and eat in a soup, casserole or sauce.
-regular fat ground beef-according to the book "Nourishing Traditions" we don't really end up with that much more meat by buying a leaner meat, because the lean meat loses moisture while cooking. So, there is not a lot of difference in the amount that the two cook down. (The book also talks about the nutritional reasons to buy fatty meat, but I won't get into that, you'll have to read the book).
These are some of my favorites meats to cook with.
We also have eaten lots of beans, first as a soup and then what was left we made into refried beans and had lots of tostados and burritos.
We have also eaten rice every way there is to season it and eat it. Adding either cut up chicken or ground beef to make it the main dish.
I'll end with a couple of recipe ideas:
Hamburger-Rice Skillet
1 lb. ground beef, 1 med. chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper(opt.), 1 minced clove garlic, 1 c. rice, 1 16 oz. tomatoes, 1 8 oz. tomato sauce, 1 tsp. Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1 1/2 c. water, 1 tsp. salt.
Cook beef, onion, pepper, and garlic-add rice. Cook 2 minutes stirring. Add undrained tomatoes, tom. sauce, Worcestershire, basil, water, and salt. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, cover, simmer 25-20 minutes.
Garlic Chicken Spaghetti
Melt one stick of butter and saute 1 or 2 tsp. of garlic (to taste) , 1 tsp basil, and 1 or 2 cut up chicken breast. When chicken is cooked through, you can either mix it with cooked spaghetti and eat it like this or add 1 or 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (depending on taste and how far you want it to go), heat, and eat over cooked spaghetti. Oh, and don't forget to add some Parmesan cheese.

One Dish Dinner

I really don't know what the name is for this dish, but we love it. This is what I cooked for supper last night. First I sliced up a bell pepper and an onion. Next, I took a package of Italian sausages and cut each one in half lengthwise(opt.). I then cooked the sausage according to package directions in a large skillet. When the sausages were done, I removed them and put in the onions and bell peppers, and sauteed them until just tender. When they were ready, I took them out and heated some leftover brown rice in what little grease and broth were left in the pan. I didn't add seasoning to the rice, but, it would have been better if I had (garlic, cumin, cayenne). Next, I heated up the tortillas, I did use a different skillet for this but, I suppose I could have used the same skillet. I filled the tortillas with sausage, veggies, cheese, and sour cream. The rice went on the side. You may need to add a little water to the skillet during each step or oil whatever you want. And also, if you don't remove the skin from the sausage it will curl up. Now, only one pan to wash.

Who Likes Mincemeat?

My mother always makes mincemeat pie at Christmas. This year she was going to be out of town until Christmas afternoon, so she gave me the little box of mincemeat. Okay, this is not my favorite dessert, therefore, it was not real high on my already long list of things to bake. I have been staring at that box ever since, thinking there's got to be an edible way to not let it go to waste. That's where the internet comes in handy. I found this recipe on http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/ and it's actually, really good and low fat. It's for cookies, but, it was late and after the first batch it became a cake. It's good either way. Here it is:

Mincemeat Drop Cookies Low Fat Recipe

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup mincemeat prepared (inst. on box)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Cream oil and sugar 'til fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add mincemeat and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Mix well. Stir into creamed mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 18-20 minutes. Optional-I added a little cinnamon and about 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Everythings better with nuts (my opinion).