The June 2003 Issue of Chewin' the News from 30 Day Gourmet Freezer Cooking . . .

We are in the full swing of summer here at the Slagle house. For us that means Kaytee (18) is sleeping late and working full-time at our local Walmart 1-10 pm, Becky (15) is sleeping late and starting a babysitting job soon, Adam (13) is sleeping late and hanging out with his friends for basketball games in the park, and Jenna (10) is NOT sleeping late and getting her Soap Box Derby car ready for tomorrow’s race. Bob goes back to FedEx next week after being off work for 6 weeks after his brain tumor surgery. Life is almost back to “normal” – whatever that is! Soon the company will begin arriving – my sister and her family from Maine and my brother and his family from Alaska. I love summer! I love grilling out and eating sweet corn and making strawberry shortcake! I love going to the drive-in and sending my kids to church camp. I love walking the dogs at night with my friend Lisa. I love watching fireworks in Indianapolis and going to Dairy Queen. And I LOVE having food in the freezer so that dinner isn’t a hassle! I also LOVE having an office at home doing a job that I LOVE. Thanks to all of you for making that possible.

30 Day Gourmet is growing like crazy! Our website is receiving over 3 million hits every month. Our newsletter subscription list has grown to over 20,000. We’re not too happy with the current service that we use and so Curtis is working on making the newsletter an “in-house” project. You’ll be getting an e-mail from us soon asking you to update your subscription info. Thanks! Our staff is growing too. I asked everyone to send me a photo so that I can introduce them to you. Even though we are growing, we never want to lose that “personal touch”. Next month we'll let you meet the staff with photos and brief bios.

For our recipes this month, let’s think about what we need to have in the freezer to help us make it through the summer. Think about your summer routines, and the way you eat. What can you do to take some stress out of your summer?

These suggestions are just ideas to get you thinking about how your summer goes and what you can do to make meals and snacks less stressful. If you have any more ideas, please post them on the message boards, under Newsletter Chatter. Click here to post now.

On to the bonus recipes!

Granola Bars
This recipe is from the Freezer Cooking Manual. My kids and I love these! It is SO versatile… the flavor variations you can make are only limited by your imagination! I make two batches at once, since I can fit two 9”x13” pans in my oven at the same time. I got that great idea from someone on the message boards. Click here to read more great ideas about making Granola Bars from the message boards.

**Important Note!** Even if you have this recipe from your Freezer Cooking Manual, you'll want to check out the copy attached to this newsletter. After receiving various comments from cooks that they had trouble with this recipe, we've made some changes to it. Most notably, we added another egg, which helps the bars stay moister and hold together better. The other changes are in the Cooking paragraph. Check it out for better results on your next batch of Granola Bars!

Potato Salad
I’m not a big potato salad fan, but I like this recipe. Mix up the dressing ahead of time and freeze it. Then it’s just a matter of thawing the dressing and cooking the potatoes. To make it even easier, use redskin potatoes, and don’t peel them. Just scrub, boil and cube. The skin is very thin, so you barely notice it’s there. Or, if you want to use ‘regular’ potatoes, make sure you check the bag at the store next time before you buy potatoes. Look for potatoes with a thin skin… you can usually see some places where the skin is dry, loose and flaking off. These potatoes will work the same way for you, without having to buy red potatoes. Just make sure you don’t get potatoes with a thick leathery skin… it won’t be the same!

Macaroni Salad
Use the same basic dressing for the potato salad, add cooked macaroni, and you’re done! The best part is you can freeze the completed recipe! So you just have to thaw, stir and you’re ready to eat!

Broccoli Salad
You’ve probably seen a recipe similar to this on salad buffets in restaurants. Only this one is tastier! If you mix the dressing up ahead of time and freeze it, it’s a piece of cake to make!

Fruit Dip
This recipe is from my Freezer Desserts to Die For! e-book. It’s light and creamy, goes with most fruits and is easy to make. Freeze in foil muffin cups or 1/2 C. Gladware containers for easy single servings. You can also make it using low-fat ingredients.

Pudding-wiches
My mom used to make these when I was a kid. I think she got the recipe off an instant pudding box. They are so yummy! Great snacks to have on hand… everyone loves them! You choose the flavor of graham cracker and pudding, for a wide variety of combinations!

Don’t forget to check the message boards and the Recipe link at the top of our web pages for more recipes to help you through summer. I was going to make a list, but that could be just about every recipe on the site! Depends what your summer cooking needs are. Be sure to look for new recipe ideas on the site… we’ve got a bunch!! Have a great less-stressful summer!

CRAZY COOK’S STORY APRON WINNERS – chosen by Nanci from entries posted on the message boards or sent by e-mail to nanci@30daygourmet.com

Note: For those of you who read this and thought to yourselves “Hmmm. . . what ARE “new potatoes” anyway?” here’s a definition straight from the Food Network Encyclopedia. New potatoes are young potatoes (any variety). They haven't converted their sugar fully into starch and consequently have a crisp, waxy texture and thin, undeveloped skins. New potatoes are small enough to cook whole and are excellent boiled or pan-roasted. Because they retain their shape, new potatoes are particularly suited for potato salad. The season for new potatoes is spring to early summer. Potatoes of one variety or another are available year-round. Choose potatoes suitable for the method of cooking.

Our Cook of the Month contest is changing to the “Do a Good Cooking Deed” contest. Tell me how you use 30 Day Gourmet cooking to help others and if your story is chosen I’ll send you $25. Again, you can submit your story by e-mail or on the message boards. It’s okay to nominate someone else, too.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH $25 WINNER – chosen by Tammy, our message board moderator.

Submit your recipe for the Recipe of the Month contest!
You too can submit a recipe for this contest! Just post it on our Cook’s Corner message boards under the appropriate recipe category. All submitted recipes are considered, as long as your profile contains your email address so we can reach you. The winner receives a check for $25.

Our June Recipe of the Month winner is Jodi L. Wollitz from Michigan. Jodi’s winning recipe is for Fresh Lemonade Concentrate. What a perfect summer recipe! I don’t drink much lemonade but this recipe could certainly change that! It reminds me of the lemonade you get from the stand at the county fair.

I’m too far north to have access to citrus trees, so we stopped at a Farmer’s Market in NC on the way back from vacation so I could get some fresh lemons to make this recipe. I only wish I had bought more! This was a big hit with my family, as they all love lemonade.

Jodi’s original posting of the recipe on the boards said to freeze the lemon juice in 1-1/2 C. portions, and then thaw it to make the concentrate. Both of us tried the recipe by making the concentrate and then freezing it with great results, so I’ve changed the recipe to reflect that. My freezer bag of concentrate thawed rather quickly. If you have a large mouth pitcher, you could easily let the concentrate thaw until slushy, dump it into the pitcher, add water and stir. It would finish defrosting quickly as you stirred it. Give this quick and easy recipe a try… you’ll be glad you did! And so will your family, friends and neighbors, if you decide to share with them!

Let’s meet Jodi, our winning cook.

Thank you, Jodi! Instead of the $25 prize check, Jodi chose to receive some of the e-books from our store. Enjoy all those new recipes and ideas, Jodi! To have your recipe considered for our Recipe of the Month contest, submit it under the appropriate category on our message boards.

I was wondering about the recipe contest. I submitted a reply under Assembly Day stories to a request for brisket recipes. It was early in May. Was it considered for the May contest? If not how do I submit it again? Thanks, Cheryl

I’ve gotten quite a few emails recently similar to this one, so I thought I’d give you all some more info the Recipe of the Month contest. Recipes are chosen from our Message Boards. We have a category called Recipe of the Month Contest Submissions, but have asked that you stop posting to that category. The link for that category seems to have gotten on a ‘contest’ list, and we were getting a lot of recipes posted by one-time visitors, and the recipes weren’t freezer friendly. It’s on my “To Do List” to get the recipes posted there moved to the correct category, and then we’ll delete that category.

I check the message boards at least once a day for new posts, so I see everything that’s posted. All recipes, regardless of the category they’re posted under, are eligible for the contest. Also, regardless of when the recipe was posted, it’s eligible for the contest. So there’s no need to resubmit your recipe if it hasn’t been chosen yet.

I’m always looking for recipes that seem like possibilities for the contest. Sometimes I print out a recipe as soon as I see it, because I think it has good potential. Other times I go searching the site for recipes that go with the theme for that month’s newsletter. Once I have a potential recipe, I prepare it, and then get comments on it from my family, and occasionally my neighbors too! Sometimes I prepare a couple recipes and choose the best one(s) for upcoming months. If my judges deem a recipe ‘just ok’, then it’s back to the boards to find another one. I try to look for recipes that will appeal to a wide variety of people. Posted recipes should have freezer directions, obviously. So post your family’s favorite freezer recipes on the boards, and have a chance at winning!

Click here to check out the whole list with contact info on the website. Many of our consultants now have their own web pages on the 30 Day Gourmet site. Their pages include contact info and scheduled seminars/classes. Please contact them if you’d like a 30 Day Gourmet speaker for your local group of frustrated cooks!

Interested in becoming a consultant? Looking for a way to make a little extra money. Our program is very “laid back”. No minimum party requirements, no paperwork to file and no pink Cadillac giveaways☺. But you can make good money talking about something that you love to do and something that a lot of other people haven’t figured out yet. What could be easier?
Click here for more info.

Lots of our consultants and “regular” cooks are being featured in their local newspapers as word about their “unusual” cooking plan spreads. Please let us know if you one of them! We want to add links on the site to any 30 Day Gourmet related news media. Thanks!

Recent features:
Cindy Clark, Iowa e-book author of Freezer Cooking for Daycare Providers and Busy Parents was recently featured in an article in the Tribune and the Fort Dodge Messenger.

Christi Gillentine, e-book author of Freezer Cooking on a Budget cooked up Tex Mex Steak Burritos on Tulsa’s KOTV Channel 6 Noon News June 9th. Her segments have been such big hits that the producers have asked her to come back every 6 weeks or so. We will keep you posted on the dates. Oklahoma cooks tune in!

Wisconsin 30 Day Gourmets tell me that our cookbook was highly recommended on a recent show on Wisconsin Public Radio. If anyone has details (name of show, air date, host) please let me know. Thanks!

Chicago Tribune – I just got off the phone with a food editor from the Chicago Tribune who had a reader question about freezing meats in marinade. My “answer” and our contact info should appear soon.

www.cheapcooking.com
Ellen, our “Do a Good Deed” winner has a cooking website you should check out. Her site has recipes, tips, and a wide variety of info. Including how to start a price book, so you can keep track of what your groceries cost. If you’re interested in cutting costs in the kitchen, check out Ellen’s website. I’m sure you’ll find some ideas to help you!

Nanci will be doing a seminar at the LaLeche League International Conference in San Francisco. If you’re planning to be there, stop by. Seminar is on Saturday the 5th from 2-3 pm.

Nanci will also be speaking on the 26th at the Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana from 10 am – 12 noon. Cost is $20 and includes a 30 Day Gourmet Freezer Cooking Manual. To register, e-mail Kellie Lyday at kellie@mount.org.

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