Warm stew on a cold day

When I started this blog, I thought I would be posting more recipes.  Everything has a life of its own, including blogs. This stew is one of those start it, and walk away kind of recipes.  Let it cool down and reheat and serve, it gets better each day.  This is the recipe in the original form, my substitutions with home preserved food will be in italics.  This is extra good in late summer, when the ingredients are fresher.

My shopping basket today.

PORK STEW WITH CILANTRO  from The Herbal Companion

3 lbs. boneless pork, cut in 1 in. cubes         or beef, chicken, or ground pork
1/4 c. plus 1 1/2 t. olive oil
1 bell pepper, chopped                                1/2 pt. chopped frozen bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 med. onion, diced
2  28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes                2 pts. salsa,  1 qt. whole tomatoes
2 lbs. potatoes, coarsely chopped
1  7 oz. can diced chilies                               1/2 pt frozen chopped chilies
1/3 c. plus 1/2 c. chopped cilantro            frozen cilantro pesto to taste
1/2 t. sugar
2 t. cumin seeds or ground cumin to taste
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Brown meat in large cast iron dutch oven, over medium-high heat in 1/4 c. oil for about 5 minutes.  Set meat aside.  In same pan add remaining oil and saute green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 c. cilantro for garnish.
Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add meat and its juices.  Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Frugality   –  Re-purposing of one time use canning lids.

Since I freeze quite a bit of our food in canning jars, I save the lids for re-use as freezing lids.  If you open the jars with a spoon you can save the lid in good enough condition to use it for airtight storage.

Slide a tablespoon positioned upside down, around the top most thread of your canning jar.  When it comes to where it feels like you can’t push it any farther, GENTLY pry upwards on the spoon handle.  This will break the seal, giving you an intact lid ready for another job.

Bartlett pears w/skins  2007

Canning rings also wear out, or can get rusty, even if I’m careful about washing and drying the rings after I’m done canning.  So I go through these also, and store rings and lids by size, labeled for freezing.