Friday, June 17, 2011

Food Storage Friendly Friday - Meal Idea and Tip of the Week


The recipe suggestion this week is from make-a-mix.com and was sent in by one of our readers. This is a fun recipe to take camping and easy to prepare, but it can be served anytime. Check it out!

Fractured Tacos
Homemade chili or canned chili, heated
Tortilla chips or Fritos
Optional toppings for tacos:
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Chopped onions
Sliced green onions
Pickled jalapeƱos
Sliced black or green olives
Sour cream
Salsa
Put a bed of chips in the bottom of a bowl and top with chili. Then top with the topping ingredients of choice. *A good way to use up all of the broken chips that no one will eat.

It seems like lots of different fresh fruits and vegetables become available at the same time. Although it is fun to have such a variety of different fresh fruits and veggies available at the same time, it can be a little bit of a struggle knowing how to store them, especially if you do your shopping for a week or more at a time. Once you get home and try to find a place for all that goodness, it can be a little frustrating knowing where to store what. The best tip I ever received was to store things like the grocer does. If it is in a cooler at the store, store it in your refrigerator. If it’s on the shelf it may not need refrigeration if you have a cooler area. A root cellar works great for many fresh fruits and veggies if you have one. Here is a more comprehensive breakdown of where to store what!

In the refrigerator, keep . . .
Apples away from strong-smelling foods, so they won't absorb odors. If the fridge is jammed, you can also store apples in a cool, dark place.
Beets in the crisper; lop off greens before refrigerating and use them in a salad or cook like spinach and other greens.
Berries in a warmer zone of the fridge, unwashed, in a dry, covered container.
Broccoli in the crisper.
Celery in the crisper.
Cherries unwashed, in a plastic bag, in a warmer zone of the fridge.
Corn with husks on, in a warmer zone of the fridge.
Grapes unwashed in a plastic bag or their plastic clamshell, in a cool zone; remove spoiled grapes, a bad one can spoil the bunch.
Green beans in an airtight container in a moderate zone; don't snap off ends until they're ready to be used.
Leafy greens in the crisper. Keep washed greens in a plastic bag lined with a clean cloth or paper towels; loosely tie top of bag to maintain moisture.
Melons, when ripe, in a warmer zone of the fridge. Wash the outside of a melon before cutting to avoid the spread of bacteria.
Mushrooms unwashed, in a paper bag, in a warmer zone of the fridge. Never store in plastic, which traps moisture and leads to slime.
Peppers in a plastic bag in a warmer zone of the fridge. Leave whole, and unwashed.
Yellow squash/zucchini in a plastic bag in a warmer zone of the fridge. Leave unwashed, and use within 2-3 days of purchase.

Outside of the refrigerator, keep . . .
Avocados in a brown-paper bag; add an apple or banana to the bag to accelerate ripening.
Bananas in a fruit bowl on the counter.
Citrus fruits, lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit in a cool dark place. If it is too warm, store in the fridge if they start getting soft.
Onions in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place. Store them away from potatoes, since they can absorb the potatoes moisture and spoilage-inducing ethylene gas.
Stone fruits, including nectarines, peaches, apricots, and plums, in a brown-paper bag at room temperature to speed ripening. Refrigerate once ripe.
Potatoes in a cool place, away from light. Don't refrigerate, since the moisture will encourage sprouting.
Tomatoes always at room temperature but not in direct sunlight.

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