Newest Friend

In honor of Valerie's newest addition, Bethany Lynn, we are displaying a baby-friendly recipe this harvest season. If you are in the Fort Wayne area we strongly recommend Cook's Orchard for all your apple purchases.

Freezer Applesauce

In your crock pot (the largest you have) place:

about 10 apples cut up (skin or no skin)
3 c of water
cinnamon
1 t vanilla

Cook on low for up to 10 hours or to the consistency you enjoy. Stir to smooth and place in containers (not ziploc bags) to freeze. Good for 3 monthes.

Valerie also peels, slices, cores apples for ziploc bag freezing in portions equal to one apple crisp. It works great!


Happy Harvest!

Friendship Foods Booklets Available for a Limited Time

For a limited time, we are offering a Starter Kit and Pre-Selected Menu Booklets to help you get started on freezing meals for your family! Here are the details:

Starter Kit - Contains everything that we would go over in a class - including freezing and budget tips, what to freeze, our cooking method and 3 recipes and "cooking day" list. This is a great packet of information if you have been interested in Friendship Foods but not able to attend or book a class. The cost for this starter kit is $20.00.

Pre-Selected Menu Booklets - Contains 3 recipes, grocery, prep and cooking day lists. Everything you need to put meals in your freezer! These are $5.00 each or all 3 for $12.00. The options are as follows:
Beef Menu - Stuffed Pepper Soup, Sloppy Joes & Taco Pizza
Chicken Menu - Baked Chimichangas, Honey Chicken Stir-Fry & Chicken Carrot Pilaf
Lunch Menu - Stromboli, Italian Beef Sandwiches, & Pizza Roll-Ups

To place an order please send a check payable to Valerie Crumbley at 423 S Indiana St, Warsaw, IN 46580 and include a description of what you are ordering: Starter Kit, Beef Menu, Chicken Menu, and/or Lunch Menu. Don't forget to include to what address you would like us to send the packets!

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have. And we would always love to hear about your freezing/"cooking day" experiences. Drop us a line at anytime at friendshipfoods@hotmail.com.

Class Filled, Other Opportunties Available

We received word through Neighborhood Connection that our class on September 3rd has been filled and is now closed to new registrations. However, if you are still interested in learning more about Friendship Foods, please email us at friendshipfoods@hotmail.com and we would be happy to work with you to set up a personal or group class or consultation.

Newest Expansion Project

Well, we here at friendship foods are happy to announce our latest growth opportunity. Valerie and Katie are both expecting new family members in the next 6 months. Valerie's little one is due in mid-November and Katie's addition comes at the end of February. Our families are so excited to share our news with you.

Because of our recent "growth" we are offering only one class through Neighborhood Connection this year and we just found out it is filling up fast. If you are still interested in gaining more recipes, tips, and know how to transform your kitchen (and haven't attended our class before) sign up soon. You can register online by going to neighborhood-connection.org and clicking on courses offered. As of this week there are only 7 spots left for our last class through the wonderful people at neighborhood connection. We hope to see you all there!

As a side note we are still offering personal and group consultations as well as small classes in churches or small groups. Thanks for all your overwhelming encouragement!

Summer Harvest

While Valerie and I still are trying to figure out gardening we have enjoyed the harvest of other people's labor recently. Our girls picked strawberries and we processed them for the first time like this--trust us, it's fabulous.

4 C sliced strawberries
1/2 C sugar
1 T cornstarch

Mix this all together on a stovetop and let cook on medium for about 4 minutes. It will get a darker color and thicker texture. Then, simply freeze in a hard sided plastic container. We love it on biscuits, waffles, pancakes, ice cream, and shortcake.

It's Grill Season!

And boy are we glad. Nothing like not using your oven to keep your cool. This is a great marinade that you can freeze with the meat. Just thaw in your fridge and grill til the charcoal can't take any more....

Lemon-Garlic Marinade good for 1 1/2 lb

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 clove of garlic cut up small
1 T salt and pepper
1 t. ground cumin

Whisk together and marinade for at least 30 min if you are not freezing

Happy Grilling!

Just a fun snack!

This isn't a recipe that can be frozen but a fun snack we wanted to share with you.

Apple Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

6 flour tortillas
3 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 med Granny Smith apples, finely chopped
1 C firm pear, finely chopped
1/2 C quartered red grapes
1/2 C chopped celery
3 T orange juice
1 T brown sugar

Cut tortillas in wedges. Cover in sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 4-5 minutes until crispy. Combine all other ingredients and mix for salsa. Serves 12.

Radio Interview

On April 30, we did a short interview on WBCL describing a little bit about Friendship Foods. If you are interested in listening to it, it can be found at http://wbcl.org/MidMorningArchive.asp.

Cooking Day

The food pictured above shows what we prepared this morning in 2 hours for $55.00 ($27.50 each for Valerie and Katie). Now we each have at least 9 meals to freeze and serve at our convenience. From Taco Pizza to Chicken Penne Pasta we prepared a variety of healthful, tasty meals.

Part of what we do at Friendship Foods is instruct and enable other people to apply this to their own family. If you're curious or have any questions, feel free to contact us at friendshipfoods@hotmail.com.

Budget Help

For all of you cash-strapped cooks out there, we would like to spread some of our magic your way. No gimmicks or running to 80 different stores to save 50 cents for us, these are just simple, easy to follow tips.

First, always focus on the cost of your meat. This will make or break the cost of your meal, so take your time before you buy. When you see a good price, stock up and then remember to use it!

Second, try to use what you already have. No one benefits (especially your budget) when items are in your pantry or deep freeze for years.

Many grocery stores have a special area for produce that is almost bad. These items work great when chopped, washed and frozen.

When we are careful with our money, it can benefit more people than you can even realize. You can do it!!

Flu Bug Beater

Both of our families have been hit with a nasty flu bug. We are convinced this recipe has magical powers. Like all of our recipes this freezes well and is forgiving, so add or modify ingredients as you need to.

Chicky Noodle Soup

1 1/2 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
4 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
1/2 onion chopped
8 cups chicken broth
1 box Barilla Campanelle noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of these in a pot and simmer all day (or use your crock pot). Wellness is coming.

A Favorite Recipe

We found this recipe a while back and our families have both enjoyed it.

Barbe Cups - makes 20 cups
1 1/2 lbs ground beef, browned
1 C BBQ sauce
1 T minced onion
2 T brown sugar
20 refrigerated biscuits in a tube
2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients together and simmer for flavors to meld.
Freeze in two small tupperware containers.
To Serve: thaw meat and spread one biscuit out and put in cup of muffin tin. Spoon meat mixture in middle of each biscuit. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake according to biscuit directions on tube or until golden brown. Can also serve on buns like sloppy joes.

Journal Gazette Tells Our Story

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette featured an article in their paper yesterday about us. It gives some information on our story, our business and the classes that we are preparing to give in Fort Wayne next week and next month. Check it out at: http://www.journalgazette.net

(Photo was taken by the Journal Gazette photographer Dean Musser Jr.)

Classes Offered

We will be giving an introductory class available through the Fort Wayne Community Schools Neighborhood Connection Program. These classes will be given on February 25, 2008 and March 26, 2008. Click on "Courses Offered" at www.neighborhood-connection.org and check us out under the culinary class section for more information.

Recipe Help

Sometimes finding recipes to freeze is tricky. Here's our four-step method to help get you on your way:

1. SEARCH
Use your library, used bookstores, and garage sales to find used cookbooks for cheap. Also look for Taste of Home or Simple & Delicious back issues.

2. SINGLE OUT
On a post-it note stuck to the cover of your cookbook, write the name and page number of recipes that seem good to try.

3. SELECT
Narrow down recipes based on what's on sale, budget, and what will freeze well.

4. SAVE
Save only the recipes your family likes in a database, index card, filing system, etc whatever is easiest for you.

If recipe selection still is overwhelming, feel free to use our services for tried and true meals that freeze well and are delicious.