My wife and I frequently pick up the gallon size cans of cheddar cheese sauce from SAMs club for use on Nacho Chips or in Macaroni and cheese meals for my grandson. We see the idea of purchasing the sauce this way is both economical and cost-effective however it is usually more than what we can use within a reasonable amount of time. Often the product will be opened for use in a couple of meals and then go bad while sitting idly by in the refrigeration.

After considerable thought we feel that we have a solution to this problem. We decided that canning the remainder of the cheese for some future time would resolve this issue completely. I must make mention at this time that the procedure I am about to present is not recommended by the USDA nor is it mentioned in the Ball Blue Book of Canning. According to the USDA, it is considered potentially unsafe to can products of this nature. In fact they often discourage the canning of homemade dairy products completely. It will be up to you to make your own decision as to what risks you are willing to take in order to can cheese products.

The procedure I will describe is for the regular cheese sauce and not the nacho flavored sauce commonly sold. We have as yet not tried canning the Nacho Cheese. I will need to see the complete ingredient list in order to determine the safe pH levels involved with the product. You can use either pint jars or the 12 ounce Ball Jars frequently sold at most popular department stores such as Wal-Mart. The 12 ounce jars are taller however I believe that they conduct heat a bit better than their pint size cousins.

To begin the process take the gallon can of Cheddar cheese and then pour it into a large pot. Place the pot in the oven on the lowest setting until it is fluid like in consistency. Add it to the sterilized jars and adjust the lids accordingly leaving one half-inch head space in each container. Process the pints in a boiling water bath canner for at least 60 minutes.

These can readily be used for macaroni and cheese, placed on baked potatoes or even used to make scalloped potatoes. Isn’t it time you prepared for those upcoming emergencies that we all see coming in our not to far future?

By Joseph Parish

There is nothing better than sitting down for a fine meal and be served a large helping of seafood risotto. This Italian staple can be made with a variety of flavors and its smooth creaminess never fails to impress. The interesting thing about risotto is that it was never intended to be this delicious, the entire dish was supposed to be a joke.

Rice was brought to Italy and Spain by the Arabs in the fourteenth century and it was discovered that the climate was perfect for the growth of the gain. Soon rice became a main staple of the region and there were many wonderful recipes that followed.

In 1574 there was a glass craftsman that was creating stained glass for a church that was being built. There was some question as to the materials he was using and he was being teased. As a way to get back at these people for teasing him, he made a rice dish loaded with saffron, intending to make them all sick, instead they all found it very tasty and risotto was born.

Later Italian seafood was added and Italian seafood risotto was introduced to the world. Today risotto is made with a variety of different types of rice; Arborio, carnaroli, padano, and vialone nano. These are short grain rice that has the high starch content needed to create seafood risotto.

To make a risotto you first sauté the rice with onions, garlic, butter and olive oil, then over a low heat you add white wine to the rice and allow the rice to absorb the liquid. Next very hot seafood stock is added in small amount and the heat is raised. Risotto must be constantly stirred at this point in order to release all the starch from the rice, once a creamy consistency is reached, the risotto is taken from the heat and cold butter is added in order to improve the creaminess.

For other forms of risotto grated cheese would be added, but in Italian cooking seafood and cheese are never mixed, so for risotto you add no cheese. Your risotto needs to be eaten while it is hot because as it cools the starch causes it to clump together. Also you need to cook your seafood risotto until it is just liquid enough to spread out on a plate, but is has no extra liquid.

Whether you decide to make your own risotto or head out to your favorite dining experience there is nothing that can touch the taste of the perfect risotto. The creamy rice and wonderful flavor is always the perfect beginning to the perfect meal.

Seafood risotto is considered one of the staples of Italian cooking, but do not hesitate to try other flavors, you know that a risotto is going to make your pallet happy.

By Smith Rodney

Common misunderstanding may dictate that Mexican cookery is tainted by the fast food lifestyle associated with many restaurants in the United States. Most of those skillfully promoted food brands can be rather predictable and if you’ve only paid the odd visit here and there you may have an inaccurate perspective of Mexican cuisine and be unaware of its diversity. If you were to pay a visit to the country itself and see how the locals eat, then you would realize that they have a assorted diet indeed. They don’t focus on basics but make sure that they have a choice of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, well-established in their daily diets.

You may be aware that Mexico has a hotter than average climate and the landscape is rugged and quite mountainous. Due to the climate there they are able to grow, naturally, a great variety of food and, generally speaking, the locals make sure that they harvest the fruits and vegetables when they are ripened to perfection. It’s out of the ordinary for them to use any ingredients that are older than just a couple of days and very little pesticides are used. The types of fruits and vegetables that grow changes with the seasons, providing a perfect variety of fresh produce all year round.

To say that Mexico is adjacent to the United States, the general choice of dishes is indeed varied. The country may as well be at the the other side of the world when you compare the average Mexican diet to the typical US diet. This is a result of a melding of cuisines through civilizations between the native Mexicans, the Aztecs and the Spanish settlers. It is because of this history that we now have such a diverse range of recipes, using ingredients that have gradually been gathered through the civilizations. As time passed by, traditional Mexican recipes were infused with a range of different spices and other ingredients, to eventually produce the recipes which we all know and love today.

Authentic Mexican cuisine is a world away from the fast food that is passed off as Mexican in a typical American snack bar. We can trace the roots of these foods back to the 16th century and as the Mayan and Aztec cultures blended and developed with significant Spanish influence, the choice of foods advanced correspondingly to meet the requirements of the people.

One other thing you may have observed if you’ve been to Mexico recently is the genuine warmth of the people and their propensity to have a really good time, especially when they’re dining together. Mexicans always like to celebrate and they make an event of every chance to get together and feast. While they may be renowned for drinking alcohol and a great selection of popular drinks have appeared from this vibrant country, if you sit down and look into all the possibilities when trying to come up with dinner ideas you will be truly amazed at the healthy options available to you.

By George Ramirez