Archive for the ‘Grocery Shopping Tips’ Category

Fall Fruit & Vegetable Salsa Recipes

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Fall is the perfect season to incorporate fruit and veggie salsa into your meals. If you want to get really creative, Hearn Kirkwood is here to tell you how to make homemade salsa and what fall meals would go great with your healthy and flavorful salsa recipes.

 

Making homemade canned salsa is the prefect way to use fresh garden vegetables and fruits before the winter comes. Canning tomatoes, peppers, apples, peaches and more are a way for you to enjoy the farmers’ harvest throughout the year.

 

Canned salsa can be kept for a whole year if properly canned.

 

If you are a fan of tomatoes, a variety of tomatoes can be used for making salsa and peppers can be mixed in to vary flavor and spiciness.

 

If you are not a fan of tomatoes, you can create salsa with cilantro, corn, pineapple and a variety of seasonings.

 

Salsa can be eaten with chips, crackers, or breading. Salsa can also be used as a topping for any meal of the day or added as an ingredient in other homemade dishes.

 

To properly can salsa, you need to make sure that the jars are sealed properly once you have cooled them. To make sure this happens for every can of salsa, your salsa must be brought to a full boil and poured into the jars while the salsa is still hot. These hot jars should be sealed with lids that have been prepared properly.

 

The following are homemade canned salsa recipes you can try today:

Homemade Canned Tomato Salsa

 

This recipe can make 12 to 14 pints. More or less pints made depend on the actual quantity of vegetables used in the recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

 

-24 cups of skinned and chopped tomatoes.

- 4 cups of chopped onions.

- 4 cups of chopped green peppers.

- 2 Jalapeno Peppers (the spicier you want your salsa, the more peppers you should add).

- 5 tbsp. Salt.

- 1 tbsp. Pepper.

- 2 tbsp. Chili powder.

- 1 cup of vinegar.

- 6 cloves of garlic- minced

- 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste.

 

To remove the skin off of the tomatoes put them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds and transfer them to a boil of ice water.

 

The core and skin of each tomato should be removed.

 

Next, onions, green peppers and jalapenos should be chopped. Don’t forget to remove the seeds from the jalapenos prior to chopping.

 

Once chopping is completed, place the vegetables and salsa in a large pot. Put the pot over medium high heat until you see the salsa is at a full rolling boil.

 

As the salsa is cooking, prepare your canning lids and rings. You can do this by placing them in a saucepan with water covering them. Put water to a simmer. Turn off the heat after the lids have come to a simmer but don’t take them out of the hot water until ready to use.

 

Fill up your jars and place the prepared lids and screw on the rings to tightly seal them.

 

The jars will seal while cooling. You can make sure each jar is sealed by pressing down the center of each lid with your finger or thumb. If properly sealed, the lids will not move up or down.

 

Spicy Stone Fruit Salsa

Fruit salsa is quicker to make than vegetable salsa. One great recipe is the spicy stone fruit salsa. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare and makes for 5 servings.

 

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

 

- 4 peaches, chopped.

- 2 cups of cherries (pitted and chopped).

- 2 small or 1 large jalapeno pepper (diced).

- 1 lime, zested and juiced.

 

Combine all the ingredients and let the mixture sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Serve at your leisure.

 

These salsas can be served over fish, chicken, Greek yogurt and more.

For a great selection of nutritious and fresh foods, shop at Hearn Kirkwood, contact Hearn Kirkwood by calling410.712.6000 (Baltimore), 301.621.2992 (Washington DC), or visit our website!

Hearn Kirkwood is a privately held Food Service Distributor specializing in produce, meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood. Since our founding in 1946, we have grown from a store front on the downtown Baltimore Produce Market to a 60,000 sq. ft. facility. Hearn Kirkwood purchases 90% of our fresh produce direct from California, Florida, Texas, etc. with the balance supplied by local markets. We are located within one mile of Route 295 and I95 providing us with easy access to Baltimore, Washington and Virginia.

Hearn Kirkwood currently operates a fleet of 33 refrigerated trucks. Our service area includes all of Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware and Northern Virginia – with limited service to Fredericksburg, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Image Source: http://photos-ak.sparkpeople.com/nw/9/6/l969724957.jpg

Source: http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1501/how-to-make-homemade-canned-salsa.asp

Fall Recipes: Healthy Crock Pot Meat Dishes

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Fall is here and it’s time to take out the crock-pot. Fall recipes for your crock-pot don’t have to be unhealthy. Hearn Kirkwood has a few healthy crock-pot recipes to share with you to make delicious dinners throughout the fall season.

 

In a crock pot you can slow cook stew recipes, pot roast recipes, chicken recipes and goulash recipes, just to name a few hearty dishes that are very easy to prepare.

 

Try the following easy crock-pot recipes today:

The Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

 

This mouth-watering recipe includes chicken thighs smothered in herb-infused tomato and wine sauce. Cooking the thighs without the chicken skin makes this meal a very healthy dish. You can serve your tomato braised chicken over pappardelle or brown rice. Steam broccoli to make this a complete meal.

 

The dish can serve up to 10 people and takes roughly 3 hours to slow cook in the crock-pot. Review ingredients and preparation directions  here.

 Middle Eastern Lamb Stew

 

If you love eating lamb, you will absolutely enjoy this brothy stew with Middle Eastern spices, fresh spinach and fiber rich chickpeas.

 

Lamb shoulder is one of those meats that tenderizes beautifully when cooked in a slow cooker. Best of all you don’t have to purchase expensive lamb leg because boneless lamb shoulder is the perfect stew meat and it doesn’t dry out during slow cooking. If you prefer to not use lamb shoulder, you can always slow cook lamb chops and debone the chops. Serve the stew over bulgur and a salad.

 

This lamb recipe can serve up to 8 people and takes 4 hours to slow cook. For ingredients and directions, click here.

Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy

 

For all the brisket lovers out there, this recipe was made with you in mind. The brisket is slow cooked with beef broth and onions to create luscious gravy. Serve the brisket and gravy with mashed potatoes and greens for a perfect dinner.

 

It takes about 6 hours to cook in the slow cooker and the recipe can serve up to 14 people. For more details click here.

 

For a great selection of nutritious and fresh foods, shop at Hearn Kirkwood, contact Hearn Kirkwood by calling410.712.6000 (Baltimore), 301.621.2992 (Washington DC), or visit our website!

 

Hearn Kirkwood is a privately held Food Service Distributor specializing in produce, meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood. Since our founding in 1946, we have grown from a store front on the downtown Baltimore Produce Market to a 60,000 sq. ft. facility. Hearn Kirkwood purchases 90% of our fresh produce direct from California, Florida, Texas, etc. with the balance supplied by local markets. We are located within one mile of Route 295 and I95 providing us with easy access to Baltimore, Washington and Virginia.

 

Hearn Kirkwood currently operates a fleet of 33 refrigerated trucks. Our service area includes all of Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware and Northern Virginia – with limited service to Fredericksburg, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

 

You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Image Sources: http://www.eatingwell.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/standard/recipes/MP7511.JPG

Source: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/slow_cooker_brisket_onion_gravy.html

4 Ways To Grocery Shop Healthier and Be A More Effective Shopper

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Looking to grocery shop healthier and financially more effective? If yes, this article will provide you information on four habits you need to start to become a highly effective grocery shopper! It is time to get started.

 

When shopping in the grocery store the worst thing you can do to your health and your wallet is spend money on cheap ingredients with empty calories.

 

One way to become a more effective grocery shopper is to pay in cash. When paying with cash the average shopper is less likely to buy processed foods, which makes the average shopper more likely to buy nutritious items. Credit card users buy more junk food and spend more on groceries.

 

Snack Before Shopping

 

Always eat before you shop. Hunger can affect your decision-making skills. When hungry you are more likely to make riskier decisions and you become less rational. You can improve your shopping rationality by eating fiber rich nuts before going to the grocery store.

 

Make a List and Check It Twice

 

Often when we do not plan, we tend to spend more time and money shopping. Make a list in advance to prevent yourself from impulse purchasing.

 

Use A Cart And Not A Basket

 

It is a wise choice to use a cart rather than a basket because a cart will not strain you like carrying a basket. A basket can become very heavy making shoppers more inclined to make quick grabs for junk foods and not pay attention to the ingredients on labels.

 

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover

 

Always ignore the front-of-label claims and read the ingredients. Just because an item says reduced fat does not mean it’s the healthiest choice. If the first or second ingredient of the reduce fat package is sugar, it is usually not any healthier than the normal product. You can estimate the best foods to eat by the number ingredients. The fewer the ingredients and the easier the pronunciation, the healthier your groceries will be for you.

 

You can shop smarter and healthier today at Hearn Kirkwood.

 

For a great selection of nutritious and fresh foods, shop at Hearn Kirkwood, contact Hearn Kirkwood by calling 410.712.6000 (Baltimore), 301.621.2992 (Washington DC), or visit our website!

Hearn Kirkwood is a privately held Food Service Distributor specializing in produce, meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood. Since our founding in 1946, we have grown from a store front on the downtown Baltimore Produce Market to a 60,000 sq. ft. facility. Hearn Kirkwood purchases 90% of our fresh produce direct from California, Florida, Texas, etc. with the balance supplied by local markets. We are located within one mile of Route 295 and I95 providing us with easy access to Baltimore, Washington and Virginia.

 

Hearn Kirkwood currently operates a fleet of 33 refrigerated trucks. Our service area includes all of Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware and Northern Virginia – with limited service to Fredericksburg, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

 

Source: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Shoppers