Old Time Knowledge

This SCARY OLD RECIPE isn't as bad as the "New Twist Dish." The ingredients did seem a little weird together, but the end result wasn't weird at all. In fact, I mentioned a change or two I'd make to improve this recipe for today. Watch the SCARY OLD RECIPES playlist throughout October here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m3Olo3inSw&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a4Fc1f5OYs0Nydl9DOUjwBE

Out of all the gross, scary old recipes from the 1960s and 70, this has to be one of the worst: Betty Crocker's "New Twist Dish" from the Dinner in a Dish cookbook. Originally printed in 1965, my edition of the cookbook was from the sixth printing in 1972. I'm not going to list the full recipe in the description. I want to keep up the suspense! Just watch the video and you might be just as horrified as I was when you see the ingredients that get added.

I have picked out 13 recipes that will get published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in October. These are either scary recipes with weird combinations that no one would eat today or they're recipes with titles that are perplexing. Aspics, weird casseroles, party loafs, and all kinds of other 1960s and 70s culinary oddities!

You can learn how to make real, homemade French Toast without milk, or vanilla extract, or cream, or cinnamon, or anything extra. This is an OLD SCHOOL recipe for how to make French Toast. This is exactly how my grandmama makes it and it's delicious and perfect. The only ingredients you need are bread, eggs, salt, pepper (yes, really... trust me!), and butter, and of course your syrup or topping of choice. You can add a splash of milk or water to your eggs, but it's not necessary! It can make your eggs go farther if you want to use less eggs in your French Toast.

Preserve your harvest with this delicious Summer Soup recipe. Full description is below. Find my full playlist of canning recipes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoRtr4JpTE&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a5f2mdQmSL6D0848NhgLy5O Get a 10% discount on ForJars lids with my coupon code OTK10: https://bit.ly/OTK10ForJars Summer Soup is a very traditional eastern NC soup. It may be popular elsewhere, but I'm from here so this is what I know. This is an ideal way to enjoy the fruits of your garden harvest and even have them in your pantry through the winter. This soup uses a small amount of ham for seasoning and it is SAFE as it is using the same ratio of ham to vegetables as you will find in the tested safe recipe for Split Pea with Ham soup. Some say that you can never can ham, but if you follow the principles in the tested recipes, you certainly can can ham —but just know what you're doing. This is not something that brand new or inexperienced canners should do, but modifying recipes with the same content principles is how we wind up with so many canning cookbooks with lots of safe recipes. In this video I'm canning 9 pints. The ingredients are: •just under 2 cups of ham • corn • okra • green beans • fresh (or frozen) lima beans (not dried lima beans) • tomato • salt I also use a weighted gauge (regulator) on my canner. Here is an affiliate link if you're interested in checking it out. This will help you listen to ensure your canner is at the right pressure without having to keep your eye on the dial gauge the whole time. https://amzn.to/3LGHqcw Here are other tested canning recipes that use a small amount of ham or other cured meats: Canning Split Pea Soup https://ucanr.edu/sites/mfp_of_cs/files/312455.pdf Baked Beans (Bernardin - Canadian division of same company as Ball) https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/baked-beans.htm?Lang=EN-US Salt Pork National Center for Home Food Preservation https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_baked.html Pork, ham, or bacon Bean Soup (Bernardin - Canadian division of same company as Ball) https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/bean-soup.htm?Lang=EN-US

Let's can and chat! I'm pressure canning beef stew again (raw pack) for fall canning, and in this video I thought I would just enjoy have some chit chat about plans I have coming up for the channel, as well as what I've been doing to have my pantry and kitchen prepared for the months ahead with continued inflation and possible shortages. I mentioned a few links I would share in this video. ForJars bulk canning lids - Get 10% off with coupon code OTK10 https://bit.ly/OTK10ForJars Holiday Series Playlist (great recipes for Thanksgiving & Christmas season) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNsLsoOol1g&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a4wv2xCsN8zZXYZWqSVFfWC The Smuggler's Gambit (Book 1 in my 7 volume series - more books to come) https://amzn.to/3qFrnlV In-Depth Pressure Canning Beef Stew video https://youtu.be/QbZHWSDG5Bo Ball Canning recipe for Beef Stew https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=easy-beef-stew-pressure-canning

Crispy, lacy cornbread is so easy to make. You don't even need a precise recipe. You just need to understand the principles of how it's made. You're using regular corn meal, salt, and water. If you like sweet cornbread, you can also add sugar. Some people call this hot water cornbread, but we never bothered with using hot water to make this. It turns out the same with room temperature water. The main thing to remember is make a batter that you like the taste of and then thin it out to make a crispy cornbread. The thicker the batter, the thicker (and chewier) your cornbread will be. The thinner the batter, the crisper and thinner the cornbread will be. Learn how to make eastern NC style collards and cornmeal dumplings here: https://youtu.be/MFMT5sz5fNY More traditional, old-fashioned, southern recipes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFMT5sz5fNY&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a6LbnIJGxmNHjwsWyDC95zm

This easy Lemon Chicken Piccata Recipe is one of our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE things to eat for supper. And it's so easy! I use one pan and one pot for everything. This recipe does call for capers, but if you can't find capers or you're just skeptical about them, you don't have to use them. I do recommend them, though. They make this dish extra special. Here's how to make it. INGREDIENTS For the chicken: • Boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced (I use about 1 lb for this recipe) • 1/2 cup flour • 1/4 tsp. salt (+ more to taste when done) • 2 Tbsp. olive oil (+ more if needed) For the sauce: •1 tsp. minced garlic • 1 cup chicken broth (I use chicken stock base + water) • 1/4 cup lemon juice •3 Tbsp. butter •2 Tbsp. capers, drained Also you'll need a box of your favorite pasta (I use angel hair) and a jar of your favorite pasta sauce. (I like Bertolli Garlic & Olive Oil.) You also might need a little bit more olive oil to ensure your chicken is all cooked through, as well as some salt to taste for the chicken. INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 180º F (or no more than 200ºF) to keep chicken warm once it's cooked. 2. Mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup salt then lightly dust diced chicken. 3. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in skillet and cook chicken until done. Don't crowd the pan. Cook in batches and keep cooked chicken warm in oven. 4. Once chicken is done, use same pan on low or medium low to heat garlic until fragrant. (Note: If pan has a bunch of oil in it when you're done cooking chicken, blot some out with paper towels. If the bottom of the pan has too much flour stuck to the bottom so that the whole bottom of the pan is brown, you might actually need to clean the pan a bit before adding a bit more oil. Too much of anything is going to make a less-than-pleasant sauce.) 5. As soon as garlic is fragrant, add 1 cup chicken broth and continue to stir, breaking up bits of flour at bottom of pan. Continue cooking until it begins to thicken. Once thickened, add lemon juice. Stir and continue heating. Just before you're ready to serve, add butter to melt and and add in capers and heat through. 6. Heat up pasta sauce in a separate bowl. 7. Once pasta is cooked, assemble everything and serve. Pasta with pasta sauce. Chicken beside it with lemon caper sauce. Enjoy!

For USDA guidelines on canning dry beans, go here: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html You can get 10% off and try out ForJars canning lids for yourself by clicking here: https://bit.ly/OTK10ForJars This review of ForJars canning lids may help you make a decision as to whether or not you want to spend your hard-earned money on this product. I know my mind is made up. Some backstory: I've had more than more jar failures than I care to count over the last year or so — and with Ball lids, no less! I don't know what is going on with them lately, but their product is just not up to the standards that I've long come to expect from them. I wanted to try out a different brand —and put this different brand to the test on some totally new jars from the same case in which I had a few failed jars when I canned potatoes a month or so ago. I thought it would be good to put aside the unused (brand new!) Ball lids and rings that came with them, and use ForJars lids instead. So, how did they turn out? You'll see in the video! For more canning videos, visit this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoRtr4JpTE&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a5f2mdQmSL6D0848NhgLy5O&ab_channel=OldTimeKnowledge

I have so many cookbooks with recipes for Watergate Salad (and the many names by which it is known). In this video, I show you how I make Watergate Salad and I explain the variations that you can make to have a recipe that is perfect for your palate and that is truly you're own. Here's what I use: 1 jar pineapple (do not drain liquid) 1 box Jello pistachio pudding mix 1 container Cool Whip Marachino cherries crushed pecans Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour. To make more decorate before serving, drain some cherries on a paper towel and add to the top and sprinkle on a little bit more crushed pecans. This is a great recipe for church fellowship meals, family reunions, or anytime. Here is the chopper I use (made in the USA) https://amzn.to/3Ps0fQZ Here are more delicious desserts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a62-vRZFJ6zBym2lLRqlR5d

This is the easiest jam recipe ever! It's a one-to-one ratio of crushed berries to sugar. You'll love this homemade strawberry jam recipe! In this case, 4 cups of crushed strawberries (about 2 lbs fresh) to 4 cups of sugar. Yield: 5 half-pints Here's my chopper (Made in the USA!) https://amzn.to/3PI7p4l You might also like this Peach Jam video https://youtu.be/VJoRtr4JpTE More favorite canning recipes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoRtr4JpTE&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a5f2mdQmSL6D0848NhgLy5O

These are the BEST EVER Cheddar Cheese Biscuits! (Use any kind of cheese you like!) They are sure to impress your family & friends! 😍 You like Cheddar Bo biscuits from Bojangles? You will LOVE THESE! I'm not even kidding. These are made differently than the fluffy biscuit video you might have already seen. You will have to handle the dough a little bit more, but don't let that worry you. These biscuits are meant to hug right around that melty cheese on the inside. INGREDIENTS 2 cups self-rising flour (I love Daily Bread self-rising flour) 5 Tbsp. cold butter 2/3 to 3/4 cup milk Enough cheese to go in all the biscuits INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 475º and make sure it is up to that temperature for at least 20 minutes before you are ready to bake. 2. Mix together all ingredients, beginning with flour and butter, then add in the milk. 3. Work dough until it is all together in a nice ball. You aren't kneading it like you would yeast bread, but you do need to press the dough together so it's all sticking and holding together well. 4. Pinch off a ball of dough, flatten it on your hand, and press some cheese in the center. Pull the edges of the dough up around the cheese and pinch together before putting the seams face down on your baking pan. 5. Once you have all biscuits on pan ready to go, bake them for about 10 minutes or until tops begin to brown. 6. As soon as you take biscuits out of the oven, brush tops with butter. 7. Wait about 5 minutes or so before serving. Enjoy! Here is the grater I use: https://amzn.to/3QGSPeC Here are some of my other biscuit videos: How to make Perfect, Fluffy Biscuits every time https://youtu.be/lt8oX4h0W6A Sweet Potato Biscuits https://youtu.be/i0zlKolt0DE Traditional Buttermilk Biscuits https://youtu.be/rAJHhUAEUMc Sausage Gravy & Biscuits https://youtu.be/5-p1T_bRMYk

This is the BEST REFRIED BEANS RECIPE that you’ll ever have. These are so easy and economical to make. At the most basic level, all you need are some cooked pinto beans and a little bit of oil or fat (I use bacon grease). I also like to add a tiny bit of finely diced onion. See how I make the most delicious refried beans ever and be sure and share with your friends. There is no need to pay extra to buy factory-produced refried beans when they are so easy to make at home. Also, I'm tagging @Poplar Preparedness because it was totally after watching one of his videos the other day that I decided to make this one. I hope he sees this and can learn how to make refried beans at home so he can enjoy all those pinto beans he has stored up! In this video, I also mention earlier videos: Canning Pinto Beans (with Dollar Tree Lids) https://youtu.be/R6rWJ155BuI ACP (includes Mexican style rice) https://youtu.be/OBd3mEqoxV0 Chips & Salsa https://youtu.be/qpDEC4eCMRY

I didn't plan to make a video about canning collards with seasoning meat, but when I started making this batch of collards to make use of what's coming out of my garden, I decided it was a great time to answer a viewer request. Initially, this was just going to be about cooking collards with a DIFFERENT meat than I normally use for seasoning. Typically I use streak of lean (salt pork) or ham hocks, but this time I decided to try using side meat. The flavor of the broth from the side meat is good, but I did have to add salt, whereas when I use ham hocks or streak of lean, I typically don't need to add salt. While I didn't intentionally add the meat that I used in this video to the jars, you would use the same process if you were using a better meat (like ham hocks or streak of lean) —assuming you are using quart jars! The processing time is the same for collard greens AND meats so 90 minutes per jar. If you wanted to add meat to pint jars, you'd need to process them for 75 minutes instead of the 70 minutes that you would typically process collard greens. Here is the guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation about canning "Spinach and other greens": https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/spinach_greens.html I do have two other videos about COOKING collards eastern NC style. We typically cook collards and make corn meal dumplings (and often potatoes) to go with them. DELICIOUS! And it can be a meal all on its own. Here are my other collard cooking videos: How to make collards with corn meal dumplings and potatoes https://youtu.be/MFMT5sz5fNY How to make eastern NC style collards and corn meal dumplings (the first ever video on this channel from May 2020!) https://youtu.be/eYaDkLrny5g Here is an affiliate link to the PRESTO REGULATOR I use with my Presto Pressure Canner. https://amzn.to/3QdmBHy If you have a hard time finding ham hocks where you live, you can the same brand that I buy right here: https://danlbooneham.com/our-products.php

Tacos de carnitas with salsa verde is one of my very favorite things, so when I first tried canning Ball’s Roast Pork in Spicy Broth recipe, I was super excited. This is a super easy and convenient way to have pork carnitas in your pantry ALL THE TIME! Here is the recipe from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving https://amzn.to/3NpBc17 (affiliate) Here is the link to the regulator that I use on my Presto pressure canner. https://amzn.to/3tcpYVA The recipe makes about 6 pint jars or 3 quarts. INGREDIENTS (and what I do differently) 3 lb. boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes 4 tsp. salt, divided (I don’t divide my salt, I only add salt to broth) 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1 Tbsp canola oil (I don’t use this) 2 qt. chicken bone broth (I just used water + chicken bouillon) 1 8 oz onion, halved then sliced into thin slices 2 Tbsp. dried crushed red pepper (I think I only use 1 Tbsp) 1 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano 3 garlic cloves (I use about a Tbsp or so of minced garlic instead) INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 425º. 2. Roast pork cubes for about 30 minutes or until it’s beginning to brown. 3. While pork is roasting, make broth with all the other ingredients. 4. Bring broth to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 5 minutes. 5. When pork is ready, time to get everything in jars. Add pork first, then broth. (I get onions from broth first to ensure even distribution, then ladle the broth on top.) 6. Debubble jars. 7. Clean rims of jars with vinegar, add lids and rings. 8. Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes at the appropriate pressure for your altitude. (See this chart https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/strips_cubes_chunks.html) 9. Once jars are done processing and pressure in canner has naturally dropped to zero, leave jars in canner for 10 minutes before removing them from canner and cooling them. Be sure once your jars are down to roon temperature that you remove the rings and wash the jars before storing them in your pantry.

We LOVE this no-boil lasagna recipe. You can use regular lasagna noodles. You don't have to buy the "oven-ready" kind. I first learned about this decades ago because my aunt used to make it for family reunions. I couldn't believe it when she told me it was the recipe from the back of a Mueller's pasta box! Here is the full recipe, exactly as it appeared on boxes of Mueller's lasagna decades ago: INGREDIENTS 8 oz. (1/2) package Mueller's® Lasagne, uncooked 15 oz. Ricotta cheese or 2 cups cottage cheese 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 2 eggs, lightly beaten 6 1/2 cups (52 ounces) of your favorite pasta sauce 1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage, cooked and drained 1 tsp. parsley flakes INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350º 2. In medium bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs; mix well. 3. In separate bowl, add browned meat to pasta sauce; mix well 4. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce mixture in 9" x 13" pan 5. Place 1/3 of the uncooked Lasagne noodles over sauce. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over noodles, top with 1/3 of meat sauce mixture. 6. Repeat layering. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce mixture. 7. Cover with foil. Bake 55 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with reserved Mozzarella cheese and parsley flakes. 8 Bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving. ENJOY!

I love this old fashioned buttermilk pie recipe! This quintessential southern pie is a perfect spring or summertime dessert, although it's delicious anytime! It's super easy to make. You really can't get it wrong! And you just need a few ingredients. Some people keep this refrigerated (like myself). Others keep it out on the counter. Do what you like, but regardless of how you store it, I can't imagine it will be around longer than a day or two! Here's how to make this delicious old-fashioned, homemade buttermilk pie. INGREDIENTS 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 cup buttermilk 2 tsp. vanilla 1 Tbsp. flour 1/4 tsp. salt INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350º. 2. Mix together all ingredients. 3. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350º for 50 minutes. 4. Turn oven temp down to 325º and bake for an additional 10 minutes. 5. Take pie out of oven and let come down to room temperature and chill before serving. (This pie should not be eaten hot. It's much better when it's cool.) Enjoy! Here's how I make homemade vanilla extract: https://www.oldtimeknowledge.com/make-your-own-vanilla-extract/

I have had a bad experience with a metal raised garden bed, so I was skeptical when I was first approached by Vegega to review one of their garden beds. Nevertheless, I went into it with an open mind. Even once the box had arrived, I could tell it was different than the other one I had. It was HEAVY. In this video, I show you the 9 possible configurations for this bed from the garden bed's instructions, how I chose to assemble it, how I filled it with cardboard, compost from my own garden, collard leaves, garden soil, and covered with a layer of straw mulch before adding plants. I am definitely going to want more of these. No wood to haul home from the hardware store. MUCH taller than my regular raised beds (which I do love, because my son built them for me). MUCH sturdier than other metal raised beds I've seen (and used!). I like these so much I signed up to become an affiliate so I can offer you a *discount code* to order one for yourself. Go here to check out the beds they have. https://www.vegega.com/?ref=OTK If you decide to buy something, here's a coupon code that will get you 10% off your order: OTKGARDEN

I love canning, but I also love dehydrating. I bought my dehydrator in 2020 and since then I have dehydrated tons of things for long term food storage that are staples in our family's menu. In this video, I show you some of those items: •Diced Potatoes O'Brien (breakfast potatoes) - from frozen •Mixed Vegetables - from frozen • Garden Peas - from frozen • Peppers & Onions - from frozen • Scalloped Potatoes •Mushrooms I also talk about dehydrating your summer's harvest from the garden, as well as delicious dehydrated snacks like fruit leathers. I'll include some affiliate links below for products I recommend. This is the dehydrator I have: https://amzn.to/3vQLa51 This is a great budget-friendly option: https://amzn.to/38YSouI I use these in my dehydrator for making things like fruit leathers: https://amzn.to/3kPe9jy For all things dehydrating, I HIGHLY recommend @The Purposeful Pantry . She has wonderful advice, tips, and tricks about dehydrating — things you should and can do, things you should avoid, etc. Also, lots of items you may never even have thought to dehydrate.

I rearranged my freezer a couple of days ago and found some country sausage I bought last winter — a 5 lb box of rope sausage — and I decided to take out it out of my freezer, remove it from the casings, fry it up, and pressure can it. This will be a great shelf-stable meat to have on hand. I decided to can it in smaller jars — mostly half-pint jars, but also a couple of 12 oz. jars and a single pint jar. Why? Because a lot of times when we use sausage, we just need a little bit and end up freezing the rest anyway. This way, I just take down the amount I need from off the shelf and dump it in a pan, fry it up, and there's no worrying about how to store what we're not eating right then. For more canning recipes, check out my playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoRtr4JpTE&list=PLcyZYj2Dr9a5f2mdQmSL6D0848NhgLy5O&ab_channel=OldTimeKnowledge

This chili recipe comes from a 2003 Ball Bluebook. The most recent versions don't have this, but it's a classic and so delicious! The recipe says it yields about 6 pints or 3 quarts, but the way I make it, I wind up with 10 pints. Your mileage may vary! INGREDIENTS 5 lbs. ground beef (I use 80/20) 2 cups chopped onions 1 clove garlic, minced (I use a couple of heaping Tbsp of minced garlic) 6 cups canned tomatoes and juice (I use two quarts of my home-canned Roma tomatoes and I added an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce) 1 tsp. cumin 1 1/2 Tbsp. salt 1/2 cup chili powder 1 hot red pepper, finely chopped (optional -- I don't use this) 1. Brown meat and drain off fat. 2. Add onions and continue cooking. 3. Add remaining ingredients, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. 4. Fill jars and process in pressure canner at your required altitude for 75 minutes for pints or 90 minutes for quarts. To learn about your altitude and for other canning basics, go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html

Stock up while you can! Between inflation and food shortages, before you know it, comfort foods like beef stew could be a luxury! Pressure can as much as you are able in case high prices or shortages make it no longer an option — or at least not for a long while. I am using my 23 Qt Presto Pressure Canner. They're getting hard to find, but here is a link to them on Walmart's website. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-23-Quart-Aluminum-Pressure-Canner-and-Cooker/2625289 As I mentioned in the video, I use chuck roast for my beef stew. For vegetables, I use carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes. I season it with thyme, salt, pepper, and beef bouillon, then I add water to all ingredients to fill the jars. I will be including this and other recipes in the next issue of my PDF newsletter, which you can subscribe to by going here: https://bit.ly/otk-subscribe If you'd like to visit my Amazon store for more recommendations, go here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/oldtimeknowledge

Here's my 2022 Vegetable Garden Tour where I'll show you what I'm growing in our garden AND how you can make 100% FREE FERTILIZER. (Hint: This is not about making compost!) Those of us who keep a well-stocked pantry AND grow some of our own food will be glad we did as we get further into the challenging year 2022. I've been talking on this channel about stocking up and being prepared and the importance of growing a garden. Growing your own food is a great way to offset the economic impacts of inflation and the serious problem of food shortages. In the video, I mention Robbie and Gary Gardening Easy channel a few times. Here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/c/Robbieandgarygardeningeasy To subscribe for FREE PDF downloads of preparedness tips, go to https://oldtimeknowledge.com and look for the popup. (Or, you can just go here: https://bit.ly/otk-subscribe)

Dollar Tree canning lids–do they work? Food shortages are a thing in 2022 and emergency preparedness is more critical than ever so I've been pressure canning even more than usual lately. When I saw canning lids in the Dollar Tree I knew I had to test them out. If they work, it's a great option for canning at a super low price. If they don't work, it could be a disaster if someone canned with these and they didn't seal. I've run the test so you don't have to! Find out in this video what my experience was with Dollar Tree canning lids.