Whisk up these homemade spice blends to save money, starting with this easy Homemade Ranch Dressing mix recipe! I love, love, love my homemade taco seasoning mix. It's convenient, cheap and oh-so-tasty. And I'm mixing up a new homemade seasoning mix today...this time for ranch dressing! This past weekend I planted some lettuce and other cold weather veggies. I … [Read more...]
Spicy Cilantro Pesto
So last week I found myself wondering what to do with the giant bunch of cilantro that I bought at Jungle Jim's for just $.60. I used some of a dinner I made last weekend. But didn't want the rest to go to waste. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a pesto, and a spicy one...as I had about 30 jalapenos staring at my from the middle shelf of the fridge! This … [Read more...]
Using a Silpat Silicone Baking Mat
So I've been on a mission lately. You know the one...it happens every spring. Spring cleaning. Decluttering. Purging. And finding new treasures in the backs of shelves and bottoms of closets. One such treasure for me. A silicone baking mat. It was in a plastic tube. It had been in this tube since our wedding. Almost 9 years … [Read more...]
How to Freeze Strawberries
Yesterday at the grocery store, I walked up to the berry section thinking I would just grab one box of strawberries and one box of blueberries. Each were on sale for $2. Woot! But as I looked down, I noticed a bunch of the strawberry boxes with 10/$10 stickers on them. I grabbed 6 boxes and knew that I'd spend some time yesterday afternoon getting some into … [Read more...]
How to Chop an Onion Without Crying
So this has happened to every last one of us. At least once I imagine! After just one slice into one of "those" onions, and we beeline it out of the kitchen hoping to keep the tears at bay. But alas, it's too late! That pesky onion juice has done it again and the waterworks are a-flowin'. With just one slice. How in THE world am I supposed to finish chopping that … [Read more...]
Storing Yeast in Your Freezer
If you bake bread regularly, or you are thinking about starting, here's a little tip for you... Store your yeast in the freezer! It is certainly cheaper to purchase a jar of yeast than to purchase the strips. If you are planning to make more than 3 loaves of bread or 3 batches of dough for rolls, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls or other yeast bread, then … [Read more...]
How to Freeze Pizza Dough
Last weekend, I went on a frenzy in the kitchen. Batch cooking, cooking, bread making...so while I had the bread machine out, I decided to go ahead and run another dough cycle for pizza dough. I would then freeze the unbaked crusts in these little mini-deep dish pie plates...for when we need a quick dinner to the table. Plus, I recently bought some … [Read more...]
How to Cook Turkey Bacon
Bacon...bacon...bacon. Too bad it's so bad for you! Because it tastes soooooo gooood. We don't eat a lot of bacon, but when we do I try to use turkey bacon. Lean, lean, lean turkey bacon. But the problem with the "lean-ness" is that it doesn't release much fat to cook itself, like pork bacon does. I've tried cooking turkey bacon in the microwave on … [Read more...]
Pasta – To Rinse or Not to Rinse?!
To rinse, or not to rinse? That is the question. A very Hamlet-esque question for us this fine Tuesday morning! When to Rinse Pasta If you are serving it as a cold salad and you need to get it cold. Fast. If you are cooking a gluten free pasta that is rice based or corn based. This needs to be rinsed with as cold of water as you can get from your … [Read more...]
How to Freeze Meatloaf
Want to freeze that meatloaf, but you need your pan later in the week?! Or want to make double (or triple) batches on meatloaf night? Simply line the pan with foil and then add your meatloaf. Fold the foil around the meatloaf. And pop it into the freezer! After the meatloaf has frozen, take it out of the pan and place the foil-wrapped … [Read more...]