Note: All references to salt in the recipes and tips below are to non-iodized salt. (I used Morton's Plain Salt, purchased at Kroger.)
Homemade LID-friendly pasta sauce
Several large whole tomatoes, thawed, cored and peeled (about a dozen, depending on size)
1 large onion, chopped
1 pepper (any color), chopped
Olive oil
Fresh garlic, minced
Dried herbs: basil, oregano, hot pepper flakes, parsley
Salt
Sugar
In a large pot, cook the onion in a small amount (~ 1 tablespoon) of olive oil over medium heat. When the onion becomes translucent, add the minced garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Then, add the tomatoes and peppers, stir. The sauce may look watery, but don't worry, a lot of the water will evaporate as it cooks. Then, add the dried herbs and salt. I started with two teaspoons of salt, a teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley, and about a half teaspoon of hot pepper flakes. To cut the acidity a little, I also added a big pinch (roughly a tablespoon) of sugar. Once this comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer. Cook 30-45 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes to the desired consistency.
Cooking dried beans
In a large pot, dissolve 3 tablespoons of non-iodized salt in ~ 4 quarts of cold water, then add the beans (which have been rinsed and sorted). Put the lid on the pot and let it sit overnight.
The next day, drain and rinse the beans, then refill the pot with clean water to about 2" above the beans. Preheat oven to 250, while bringing the beans to a boil on the stovetop. The oven should be ready about the time the beans come to a boil. Put the lid on the pan and bake for 1 hour. Then, turn the oven off, leaving the pot in the oven. Check every 30 minutes or so for doneness. Black beans were cooked perfectly about 90 minutes after I turned the oven off. Cannellini beans cook in about the same time. Garbanzos cook much more quickly. The key is to check them periodically. Drain the beans and store either in the freezer or refrigerator.
I like to freeze cooked beans in a gallon-size bag, since they'll keep for a month or two in the freezer, versus 3-4 days in the refrigerator. In recipes using commercially canned beans, 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans is equivalent to a 15 oz. can. This is a big money saver, since a 1 pound bag of dried beans is usually just over $1, compared to $1+ per can. A pound of dried beans can easily yield the same amount as 4-5 15 oz. cans.
Maple Pecans
1 cup whole or chopped pecans
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350. On a baking sheet, combine pecans and maple syrup. Bake 10 minutes. After cooling, store in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid. This is a small batch and very easy to make in a toaster oven.
Recipe adapted from the Maple Nut Snack in the Thyca Low Iodine cookbook.
Snack Mix
2 cups puffed wheat cereal
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
2 small boxes of raisins (lunch-size)
small handful of dried blueberries
small handful of sun dried bing cherries
Mix all ingredients together in a gallon-size storage bag.
How to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker
Start with a whole chicken, fresh or frozen, making sure you remove the giblet pack from inside the bird. Make 5 or 6 balls of aluminum foil using ~3" strips of foil and put these in the bottom of the slow cooker. The bird will rest on these so it isn't sitting in the juices while it cooks. Next, add chopped onion, carrots, whole peeled garlic cloves and pour in water until there's about 1" of water in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the bird breast side down on the foil balls, and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper and pop on the lid. If your bird is frozen, cook on high for 4 hours. If it's not frozen, cook on low for ~4 hours, checking after 3 hours with a meat thermometer. That's it!
Making broth from a whole slow cooker chicken
Save all the liquids from the bottom of the slow cooker and set them aside. When I make a chicken this way, I always pull the meat from the bones and discard the skin. As you pull the meat, put the bones in a stock pot. It's ok if there's some meat and skin still on them; it will add flavor to the broth. To the bones, add the onion, carrot and garlic that were in the slow cooker, refreshing them or adding more if needed. Add 8-10 cups of water (enough so that the bones are covered), along with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat slightly, cooking partially covered. Cook for 30 minutes and then allow to cool before removing the bones and vegetables. Add to the liquid reserve from the slow cooker. You could skim some of the fat from the broth when it's completely cooled, but I don't. Yields approximately 3 quarts of broth.
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