Recipes

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These recipes are all low sodium to help control blood pressure.

Blackberry Jelly
Bean Soup
Canned Tomatoes
Beans for Soup
Breakfast Cereal

Pickled Beets
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Sauce

Spiced Rice and Sardines
Oatmeal Cookies

 


Blackberry Jelly

Ingredients:

2 gallons fresh blackberries
5 pounds sugar

Directions:

Rinse berries in cold water. Crush berries very slightly and bring to a boil in a large pan. Strain berries through a coarse strainer. Pulp should pass through strainer but not the seeds. Mix equal parts juice and sugar in a large pan. Pan must be aluminum and not stainless steel. Boil juice and sugar mixture until two drops drip at the same time from the spoon and small cat tracks appear on the surface of the liquid. If mixture sheets off the spoon or if cat tracks linger, then it is cooked too much. Pour liquid into pint jars and attach lids with rings. Set jar upside down for the first minute or two to prevent mold from forming on top of the jelly. 8 cups juice with 8 cups sugar yield about 5 pints of exceptionally good jelly.

Submitted by: Jess Scott

 


Bean Soup (low sodium)

Ingredients: T = table spoon; t = teaspoon

2 quarts canned tomatoes (no salt added)
5 1/2 cups pinto beans, boiled (no salt added)
1 T olive oil
1 fresh diced onion (large)
1 fresh diced large green bell pepper
1 1/2 T lemon juice
2 t garlic powder
1 t oregano
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t red pepper flakes
no salt

Directions:

Heat olive oil in electric skillet. When hot, add onion and pepper and sauté until tender. In large heavy aluminum saucepan bring tomatoes to a boil. Add previously boiled beans, lemon juice and spices. Add onion and green pepper mixture. Bring soup back to a boil and then it is ready to serve.

 

Submitted by: Jess Scott

 


Canned Tomatoes (no salt added)

Ingredients:

4 gallons fresh picked tomatoes
no salt

Directions:

Bring to a boil about 2 gallons of water in a deep pan or metal bucket. Add fresh tomatoes in batches until skins loosen (20 to 30 seconds). Remove tomatoes from boiling water and dump into cold water. Remove skins from tomatoes and put skinned tomatoes into large aluminum dishpan. Mash tomatoes slightly by hand to get some juice in the bottom of the pan. Bring tomatoes to a boil. Put tomatoes in quart jars and fasten new lids with rings. Remove any tomato pulp from lip of jar before placing the lid to assure seal. Place jars of hot tomatoes on top of small canner rack in pressure canner. Add hot water up to shoulders of jars. This will help avoid the canner drawing juice from the jars. Cook in pressure canner for 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Carefully controlling the heat to maintain constant pressure will minimize the canner drawing juice from the jars. Tomatoes will keep for at least 2 years. Always boil home canned tomatoes before use.

Submitted by: Jess Scott

 


Beans for Soup (no salt added)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds pinto beans
no salt

Directions:

Put beans in a large heavy aluminum saucepan. Do not use stainless steel. Cover beans with warm water and soak overnight. Drain water from beans and then rinse again with warm water. Cover beans with hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. The pot has to be watched closely while bringing to a boil or the foam will boil out onto the stove. Once the pot has come to a boil and the heat is turned down the beans will simmer at a very low boil without much attention. Add hot water while simmering as necessary to keep the beans covered.

Submitted by: Jess Scott

 


Breakfast Cereal

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats "old fashioned"
1/4 cup raisins
1 1/4 cup nonfat milk

Directions:

Combine oats and raisins in cereal bowl.   Add milk.  Serve with an additional 6 ounces of milk and 6 ounces of orange juice. 

 


Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds
no salt

Directions:

Mash bananas.  Add applesauce. Stir in oats, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves.   Add raisins and almonds.  Stir gently.  Spray muffin tins with shortening spray.  Divide batter evenly in 18 tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  

 


Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 squash

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Take out seeds.  Use shortening spray on baking sheet.  Place the two halves of the squash on baking sheet with skin side up.  Bake for one hour.  Cool enough to handle.  Use fork to pull squash strands away from the peel.  Complete separation with a spoon.  Oven temperature of 425 is ok.  Then bake a little more than an hour.  Smaller squash takes less time.


Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of ground turkey (or less) (no salt added, low fat) Shop carefully here.   A lot of processors even salt raw turkey.
2 cans diced tomatoes 14 1/2 ounce each (no salt added)
2 cans tomato sauce 8 ounce each (no salt added)
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or less)

Directions:

Brown turkey in skillet. Put browned turkey in heavy saucepan. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and spices.  Simmer 30 minutes.


Spiced Rice and Sardines

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
3 cups water
1 pinch red pepper flakes (very small pinch)
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 can unsalted sardines 8 oz.

Directions:

If drinking water not available, choose running water and filter through neckerchief.   Bring water to boil before adding rice.  This is especially good after several miles carrying a pack.  Makes two servings.  Several cookings of this recipe can be easily carried in a pack. 


Pickled Beets

Ingredients:

1 pot of beets
3 1/2 cups vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:

Mix water sugar and vinegar in pan and simmer.  It doesn't matter how long.   Left over mixture can be kept in the refrigerator until the next year.  Cook beets just enough to ease the slicing.  Remove skins from beets and cut  into 3/4 inch chunks.  Pack beets into pint jars.  Add a slice of onion and a couple of cloves for variety of flavor.  Finish filling jars with vinegar mixture. Leave 1/2 inch head space.  Attach new canning lids.  Add water to canner up near shoulders of the jars.   Cook in pressure canner for 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.