A couple weeks ago, the readers at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends chose a cookbook from Gooseberry Patch for me to cook from. After I make 10 recipes from the cookbook, I’ll be giving a copy of the cookbook away! And the cookbook chosen was…”Dinners on a Dime!” Woohoo! What an appropriate title for me! 🙂

I took the cookbook with me to the hospital during George’s fiasco, and I had a lot of nurses asking about it! I can’t wait to share these recipes (and a chance to win the book), but I had to get home and back into the routine of things first.

So, yesterday I sent the boys off on the bus and I got to cooking…well, kinda. The first recipe I picked doesn’t take a lot of “cooking” expertise, but it’s just what I was looking for! Here we go:

Iowa Freezer Corn

You need:

• 16 c. corn kernels, sliced from about 30 ears corn
• 4 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 T. salt
• 10 1-pint plastic freezer containers and lids, sterilized (I used 3 1-gallon freezer bags)

 

 

Combine all ingredients in a stockpot; stir well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep from sticking or scorching. Ladle into shallow pans to cool; do not drain. Pack corn and liquid in freezer containers; freeze. To serve, simmer frozen corn with a little water until tender. Makes 10 containers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I used freezer bags, because my freezer doesn’t have a ton of room in it. This way, I could freeze my bags flat, then stand them up in the door! They take very little room, and I could put as much as my family would eat in a meal in one bag! Super easy, super delicious, and a great way to clean up our first batch of sweet corn.

Since an economical book was selected for me, I’ll break down the money spent on each dish, so that you can see just how reasonable each meal truly is!

Recipe #1 breakdown:

Corn – free (in our garden)

Sugar – on hand

Salt – on hand

Water – from tap

Total extra cost in meal??? Nothing, nada, zip. Just two hours of my time…and that includes picking, shucking and cutting off the cob.