Saturday, March 15, 2008 Using Quart Jars WIth Your Blender!
I recently ran across a wonderful kitchen tip that I had never thought of....using a quart jar to blend things up with your blender. This would be great for blending up small batches of things...or doing smoothies in quart sized jars. All you do is screw your blender base with the blade onto a small-mouth quart jar (after you put the ingredients into the quart jar you want to blend up). Then put it on your blender and blend it up. This would work great for chopping some nuts too. I'm sure you could think of many ways to use this!
Have fun! |
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007 My Own Cookbook!
Over the past couple weeks I have been having fun putting together my very own cookbook! I started a notebook a couple years ago and have it crammed full of recipes I got from the internet, recipes given to me by friends or family, etc. But there was no order to it and it was hard to find my recipes. So...I decided to embark on a huge project...organizing all my recipes into a notebook with dividers. Another reason I am doing this is so that my sister can have a copy. She recently moved into her first home and is in need to some "tried and tested' recipes. So I told her I would give her all my favorite recipes. I am finding I had more than I thought! My notebook is getting kind of thick.
Here is how I am doing this: Every recipe has its own page (some are more than one page). All recipes are slipped into sheet protectors and placed under dividers in my 3-ring binder. My categories are Breakfast, Lunches & Dinners, Breads, Desserts, Salads, Homemade Mixes, Homemade Cleaners, Canning & Freezing, and Miscellaneous. I am also including in this "cookbook" information on ingredient substitutions (healthy alternatives to make recipes healthier). I want this cookbook to be a gold mine of information that will make it easier to prepare healthy meals for my family.
I have typed up all my recipes in Microsoft Word and saved them under categories in my Recipes folder under my Home Management Binder folder on my computer. It is a great way to organize my recipes and will make an easy way for me to print out another copy later for my sister. I also plan on making copies for my children later to take with them when they begin a family of their own.
It is so nice to have all my favorite recipes in one place. It also makes meal planning easy. I can turn to my Lunches & Dinners section and choose meals for the week.
Why not put one together for your family? |
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Saturday, November 3, 2007 Tip for Cleaning Your Crockpot!
I like to use my big crockpot to brown 5-6 pounds of hamburger at a time. If you have never done this, it is so easy! I put the hamburger (frozen) in my crockpot, sprinkle on some garlic powder and dried onion flakes, put the lid on, and turn it on low. Every so often throughout the day take a spatula and break up the hamburger and stir it up. Once the meat is cooked, I put a strainer over top of a large pot and dump the hamburger in the strainer. This strains the grease into the pot. I set the pot aside and discard it later, then rinse the hamburger (in the strainer) under cold water. I then put 2 cups of browned hamburger in each freezer bag and put in the freezer for meals later in the week. Note: 2 cups of browned hamburger is the equivalent of about one pound of raw hamburger.
Now...for the reason for this post...for some reason after I use my crockpot to brown the hamburger, it leaves a brown scum stuff around the sides of the crockpot. I think it is from the grease or something. I tried to scrub and scrub, but it wouldn't come off. I tried an SOS pad, but it was scratching the paint on the crockpot. Well..today I had an idea. A couple weeks ago I was using some new recipes for making chicken stock, and it had you add some white vinegar to the broth and bones left in the crockpot to cook overnight. I noticed the next day when I was washing up the crockpot after I made the chicken stock that all the brown scum stuff was gone! So, today after I used my crockpot to brown my hamburger, I decided to try running some very hot water into the crockpot and adding some white vinegar. It worked! I just dumped in a little and used my scrub brush and it all came off without hardly any effort! I imagine that this would work on any of your pots that have scum stuff on it. Give it a try!
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Kitchen Tip - Use Your Freezer Wisely!
I just wanted to share something that I have been doing that has been working out just great for me! I made up a form on the computer with "Freezer Meals" at the top, with just some lines down the page with a check box beside each line (you can do this by using the bullets command and choosing the check box option). I have this list posted on my refrigerator, which sits beside our small chest freezer. Here is how I use it:
- Whenever I have leftovers from a meal, I put it in a freezer bag or container, add the items to my Freezer Meal list, then put it in the freezer.
- I also use this list to keep track of meats that I have in the freezer, such as hamburger, pork, ham, etc. That way you know exactly what you have.
- Keep a ziplock freezer bag with leftover veggies from your meals (you know that bite or two that you hate to throw out, but not enough to save). Keep adding to the bag and when you have a good amount, use it to make some vegetable beef soup! Add your chicken or beef broth and your cooked meat and put in the crockpot to heat all day. Yummy!
- Also use this list to write down any whole meals you have prepared and frozen. Some casseroles are easy to double and will give you two meals worth of food. Freeze half and you will have another meal to pull out later!
When I sit down each week to do my menu planning for the coming week, I look at this Freezer Meals list and try to incorporate some of the items into meals for the week. For example, I have some leftover black beans and rice that I froze. I could use this as a starter to make some taco soup by adding some corn, sauce, cheese, etc. to it. When I use a meal or items from the freezer, I cross it off my list so I know it is used.
If you are like me, in the past I have just put any leftovers in the refrigerator to eat up later. Well...that "later" never came and our nice leftovers found the trash after a while. I am finding that I need to just immediately freeze any leftovers and that way they can be used later and not be wasted. This also prevents things from being lost in your freezer forever and getting freezer burn before you use it.
This simple practice is working out great for me. It feels so good to be a good steward of our food...and it helps on the grocery bill too! It is fun to see how many meals I can prepare from things in the freezer and things I have on hand. Why not give it a try! |
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