Category: TOPICS & CATEGORIES

Things to know about Bread

This information from BetterReport.com
Visit that site if you want details about these tips.

It’s Made with 100% Whole Grains

Packaging should clearly say that the bread is “100% whole wheat.”

It Contains at Least 3 Grams of Protein

When grains are not processed, they keep all three layers of the plant: the endosperm, bran, and germ. But in refining flour, the bran and the germ are removed, taking away the highest concentrations of protein found in the grains.

It Has at Least 2 Grams of Fiber Per Slice

You should consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily as part of a balanced diet.

It Has a Moderate Amount of Sodium

Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure and dehydration, so look for a loaf with less than 160 mg of sodium per slice.

It’s Sourdough

The process results in a more easily digestible product, reduction of phytic acid content, improvement in nutritional value, and metabolic benefits through a lower glycemic index.

It Has a Short Ingredients List

A shorter list indicates a lack of additives and preservatives that may be found in less nutritious breads.

It Has Little to No Added Sugar

Look for bread that has 5 grams of sugar or fewer per slice. 

 

It Contains Nuts and Seeds

Healthy nuts and seeds can increase a bread’s nutritional value by being good sources of healthy unsaturated fats, fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds.

Pumpkin Pudding

Ingredients

  • ½ C packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 C cornstarch
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ C unsweetened dairy-free milk
  • 1 C pumpkin puree
  • 1 old banana
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
    • OR:  2 tsp CinnaSugar plus ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in a bowl, removing all lumps.
  • Add to a medium saucepan and slowly whisk in milk until combined
  • Mix an egg and banana with half the pumpkin puree
  • Put into saucepan, and whisk again until combined.
  • Add the other half and mix till combined
  • Place pot on medium-high heat and continuously whisk until mixture has thickened enough to coat a spoon, this will take about 5-7 minutes.
  • Remove pot from the heat and whisk in spices and vanilla.
  • Pour pudding into a glass bowl and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Serve warm or refrigerate an hour.
  • Serve cold
 

 

Pumpkin Soup 2023

Ingredients

  • 1 can white beans (15 ounce, rinsed and drained)
  • 1 onion (small – minced)
  • 1 cup bottled water
  • 16 oz pumpkin puree (NOT Pumpkin Pie Mix)
  • 16 oz vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme (or tarragon)
  • salt and pepper (optional, to taste)

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Blend white beans, onion, and water.
  3. Run blended mixture through a food mill using smallest holes
  4. In a soup pot, mix all ingredients
  5. Cover and cook over very low heat 30 minutes minutes.

100 Great Tips

This guy is extremely obnoxious, but knows his stuff.  Here are 100 tips, and GUARANTEED you’ll take away at least ten.  My favorites are shown below the video image.

      • For plastic wrap, use what is called a Cater Wrap.  Put extra large plastic wrap on the counter, set the container on it, and bring the ends up to cover the container.
      • Rest your steak for a full ten minutes, rather than five minutes.  This will give the juices more opportunity to reabsorb.
      • When shelling hard boiled eggs, roll them to fracture the shell, then soak in ice water for ten minutes.
      • When zesting citrus, hold the zester firmly, then rotate the citrus to remove the zest.
      • Spread Saran Wrap or waxed paper on the counter when peeling something.  To clean up, just gather the corners and toss into the garbage.
      • For a better sear, salt your protein and refrigerate overnight.
      • When trimming the fat cap off meat, put it into a container and then freeze. When you get about a quart, render it down, strain, and store.  Beef fat is pure gold.
      • To halve a massive number of cherry tomatoes, put onto a lid (like  a yogurt container) and top with another lid.  Cut in between lids to halve the tomatoes.
      • To hold your chives together, wrap a wet paper towel around the roots.  This will gather the stalks together for an even trim.  After you cut them, store them in a plastic bag.  The moist towel will preserve the chives.  When you are ready for more chives, cut the ends, the rewet the paper towel.
      • Use a mandolin for equal thin slices.  You can get an inexpensive one on Amazon for under $20.
      • To get your Sloppy Joe hamburger nicely sized, use a potato masher to get standard sized pieces.
      • Salt your sliced tomatoes before putting on your hamburger.
      • When you have wet dough on your fingers, just use some dry flour to rub most of it off, then wash with a bit of soap and water.
      • Use a 1/4 inch wire rack to dice hard boiled eggs into small equal pieces.
      • To make fruits and vegetables last longer, rinse 3-5 minutes in a bath of 3 parts water, and 1 part vinegar (or 2 TBL citric acid.)
      • Create a cartoush – NEED MORE INFORMATION – Use parchment paper or coffee filter, fold, fold, fold, fold, cut the point off, then put in our pot.
      • Something about garlic – WATCH THE VIDEO AGAIN
      • To shred chicken, use an electric mixer
      • Cook thighs, rather than breasts, for a moister chicken.
      • If your cooking oil gets too hot, just put some room temperature oil into the hot pot.

THIS IS NOT MY WORK, WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR THE TIPS

 

Easy Baked Chicken

Base Recipe Contributed by Patti Neill from Beatitudes Campus, Phoenix.

INGREDIENTS

      • 2 Chicken Breasts – Butterfly and pound flat
      • 1/4 C buter – melted
      • 1/2 C Parmesan cheese
      • 1/2 C Panko breadcrumbs
      • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
      • 10-16 oz marinara or Alfredo sauce
      • Mozzarella Cheese

Alfredo Sauce – – – – Marinara Sauce – – – – Scratch Marinara

      1. Preheat oven to 350º
      2. Line a baking tray with foil, then spray with cooking oil
      3. Mix together Parmesan, Panko, garlic powder
      4. Melt butter and pour into a shallow bowl
      5. Dip chicken into the butter
      6. Dredge into the bred crumb mixture, pressing into the chicken
      7. Place on baking tray
      8. Bake for 20 minutes
      9. Spoon sauce over the chicken
      10. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese thickly over the top
      11. Put back into oven for 10 more minutes
      12. Serve over cooked spaghetti and cover with more sauce and cheese

 

 

Crispy Parmesan Egg

  1. PREP for TWO PEOPLE
    1. Shred hashed browns – I prefer Yukon gold potatoes
    2. Shred 1/2 C mozzarella cheese
    3. Grate 2 TBL Parmesan cheese (even the green bottle is OK)
    4. Mix cheeses in a small mixing bowl
    5. Break one egg each in small bowls for quick deployment
    6. Put 2 TBL water into a small bowl also for quick deployment
  2. COOKING THE HASHED BROWNS
    1. Cook hashed browns in a lightly oiled skillet
    2. Flip till browned
    3. Put onto plate – the next step goes quickly
  3. COOKING THE EGGS
    1. Re-oil skillet
    2. Put half cheese mixture in two piles onto skillet
    3. Put one egg onto each pile
    4. Add the water and cover skillet
    5. Start timing two minutes
    6. At the two-minute mark, remove the cover
    7. Evaluate eggs.  Whites should be cooked – just barely though
      • NOTE:  They will appear to be less cooked than they really are.  Don’t cook for more than another 30 seconds, or the yolk will be hard.
    8. Use teflon spatula to remove eggs to the top of your hashed browns

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup salted butter cold and small cubed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips plus more for garnish

Instructions

  • Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper, then set them aside.
  • In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set this aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and cubed butter. Mix until the ingredients are just combined (it should be almost like a sandy consistency with lumps).
  • Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract to the mixture, and mix until everything is well combined.
  • Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix until there are no streaks of flour remaining. Mix on low or else the flour will fly everywhere. Be careful not to overmix, and remember to scrape the sides of the bowl if needed.
  • Gently stir in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
  • Take about ¼ cup portions of the dough (I use a spring loaded cookie scoop to help with this) and roll them between your hands to form balls. Place the dough balls about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Note: if you don’t have enough room in your refrigerator for a couple of sheet trays, just put all the cookie dough balls on one baking sheet and then once they’ve chilled, distribute them evenly on your other prepared baking sheets.
  • Put the cookie dough balls into the refrigerator and let them chill for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 300°F.
  • Once the dough has chilled, take the sheet trays out of the refrigerator and bake for 22-25 minutes until the cookies are puffed and the edges start to turn golden brown.
  • As soon as the cookies are done baking, transfer them from the sheet trays to the countertop. You can use the parchment paper to help slide them off the tray.
  • This next step is optional. If you want to really “fancy up” your cookies (as shown in the pictures) you can press additional chocolate chips on top of each one while they are still warm.
  • Allow the cookies to cool slightly before serving.
  • Serve slightly warm but let them cool completely before storing.

Two Spring Roll Peanut Dipping Sauce

Easy Spring Roll Peanut Dipping Sauce

    1. Sesame Oil in small soup pan – 1 TBL
      • Heat
    2. Granulated garlic (or garlic powder) 1 tsp
      • Stir
    3. Peanut butter – 2 TBL
    4. Hoisin sauce – 2 TBL OR
    5. Corn starch  and sugar (1 TBL each) suspended in
      Apple Cider vinegar and Soy Sauce mixture – 1 TBL each

      • Stir
    6. Water – 3/4 C
      • Bring to near boil
      • Stir till it thickens
    7. Crushed peanuts – 1/2 C
      Optional 1 tsp Sriracha

      • Stir in, and serve

Easier Spring Roll Peanut Dipping Sauce

    • 2 TBL Peanut Butter
    • 2 TBL Hoisin Sauce
    • 1/4 C Milk

Tips for Spring Rolls

    1. Spring roll wrappers should be dipped in water for no more than 5 seconds
    2. When wrapping, place wrapper rough side down or it will stick to the surface
    3. Don’t over-stuff your spring rolls.  Cut pieces to no more than 4 inches
    4. Common stuffings are
      • mint
      • cilantro
      • shredded carrots
      • bean sprouts
      • shrimp
      • shredded cabbage
      • vermicelli noodles
      • rice noodles
      • cucumber strips
      • shredded radish
      • asparagus spears

Tips and Tricks – July 2023

From AARP Bulletin

  • GROCERY
    • When buying berries in a plastic box, flip the box over.  They should not stick to the lid of the box – which indicates excessive moisture and may be molding soon.
    • Have two shopping lists:  (1) Critical things you need for the coming week and (2) things you may need in the next month or two – buy those items when on sale, and stock up.
    • Use a grocery store’s app whenever possible.  Most discounts are showing on apps, not necessarily on paper or on the shelves.
    • Try store brands.
    • Use online coupons
  • TRAVEL
    • Try Amtrak for shorter trips
    • Use night owl deals, and try to book flights on Sunday
    • Don’t buy your tickets at the last minute
    • Use Uber rather than car rentals
    • Comparison shop for vacation homes – AirBNB, Booking.com, VRBA, HiChee.com, etc
    • Watch for increased charges on Cruise ships
    • eMail independent hotels to negotiate price
    • Venture a mile or two from the main highway for lower restaurant prices.  You can also check RoadFood.com, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and FourSquare
    • Rent a timeshare from someone who can’t use it.  RedWeek.com, Koala and Timeshare Users Group
  • Use AARP Member Benefits
    • Restaurants:  Denny’s, Outback, etc offer up to 15% discounts
    • Target Optical, LensCrafters and Glasses.com offer discounts
    • Optum Rx gives discounts for prescriptions
    • Hotels give up to 20% off
    • UPS Store gives 5% off shipping
    • FTD and Proflowers give 25% off
    • 53% discount on Norton Identity Protection
    • Going in a group?  Call to ask for quantity discount
  • OTHER TIPS
    • Get Coffee Grounds for your garden from Starbucks
    • Use groceries as seeds:  Onions, potato eyes, scallions, celery bottoms, etc
    • Host a plant swap
    • Get a Culture Pass from your local library
    • Buy your own modem and router rather than renting from your provider
    • Tolerate ads on Streaming TV programs
    • Buy a used mobile phone rather than buying the latest and greatest
    • Get eBooks for free at loc.gov/collections/world-digital-library

Dahl Restaurant Gazpacho

From Arizona A to Z

  • 64 oz Campbells Tomato Juice (cold)
  • In food processor place
    • 1 C chopped celery
    • 1 C English cucumber
    • 1 C green pepper
    • 1 C red bell pepper
    • 1 C yellow bell
    • 2 jalapeno peppers – seeds and veins removed
    • 1/2 C red onion
  • Put in bowl with tomato juice
  • Add
    • 2 TBL tomato paste
    • 2 TBL lime juice
    • 2 TBL sherry vinegar
    • 2 TBL freshly minced garlic
    • 1/2 tsp Thunder Powder
  • Minced cilantro
  1. Put into bowl
  2. Put in pieces of avocado
  3. Drizzle with EVOO
  4. Top with cilantro

BBQ Chicken Thigh

Recipe from ThermoWorks.com

Bam Bam has years of experience in competition as well as BBQ restaurants, so he knows a lot about when chicken is done. For that reason, he relies solely on his Thermapen. Most home cooks and beginning BBQ-ers should monitor the internal temperature of the chicken throughout the cook. In this recipe, we’ve included instructions to use a leave-in probe thermometer to keep track of the chicken temps as they rise.

Ingredients

  • 8 Chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
  • ~6 Tbsp of your favorite chicken BBQ rub
  • 1–2 C your favorite BBQ sauce for chicken
  • 1 lb butter, plus a tablespoon for the sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat smoker to 300°F (149°C)
  • If you want competition-style thighs, trim them by removing the skin, cutting off any high-spots of fat from the inside of the skin, squaring up the meat and trimming off excess fat, and removing the ball joint of the bone.
  • Sprinkle the meat lightly but evenly with the rub.
  • Re-wrap the meat in the skin and sprinkle with more rub.
  • Even if you don’t do all the trimming, it’s a good idea to peel the skin back and sprinkle some rub underneath it. Skin is designed to keep things out. Put some rub under it to flavor the meat better.
  • Cut the butter up into small cubes and put it all in the bottom of an aluminum pan that is large enough to fit all the chicken in one layer.
  • Layer the chicken, seam-side up, on the butter. Cover it with foil and put it in the smoker for 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes has elapsed, remove the chicken pan from the smoker and let it sit for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the chicken from the pan and place it back in the smoker, inserting a Pro-Series® Probe attached to a leave-in thermometer such as BlueDOT®, ChefAlarm® or Smoke™. Set the high alarm for 175°F (79°C) and smoke the chicken.
  • Warm your barbecue sauce on the stove or in the smoker for a few minutes. Stir in the tablespoon of butter and remove the sauce from heat.
  • When the alarm sounds, verify the temperature with your Thermapen, then baste the chicken with the BBQ sauce. Alternatively, you can lift each piece and dunk it in the sauce before returning it to the smoker.
  • Cook the chicken for a final 10 minutes to set the sauce.
  • Remove the chicken from heat, allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Healthy Ketchup

In a medium sized stock pan add

    • 2 TBL peanut oil
    • 2 TBL butter
    • 1 whole onion
      • Caramelize onion low and slow (about 45 minutes)
    • 2 cloves garlic added @ the 40 minute point
    • 8 – 10 tomatoes – blanched and peeled
    • 1 C white vinegar
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • Simmer for 90 minutes – chop and stir along the way
    • Put into blender and puree
    • Pour into small clean canning jars
      • Keep in fridge for a few months
      • Freeze the rest

 

Green Tomato Ketchup

For food safety, it’s very important that you add citric acid to this Green Tomato Ketchup recipe to give it enough acidity to avoid any issues with Colostrum botulinum bacteria, which is a deadly neurotoxin.

Canned, this will last until next season.

Ingredients

  • 3 LB green tomatoes(200 mg)
  • 2 LB onions
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground dry mustard
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 C apple cider vinegar
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 12-16 oz tomato paste
    CHEESECLOTH BAG
  • 6 cloves
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig rosemary
    AT THE VERY END
  • 1 tablespoons bottled lemon juice (do not used fresh juice as it’s not acidic enough) or 1/2 tsp pure powdered citric acid

Step by Step

  1. Slice or chop green tomatoes and onions.
  2. Place in a large crockpot with pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
  3. Put the removable flavoring spices in a small cheesecloth bag and add to the pot.
  4. Pour cider over mixture.
  5. Cook for 6 to 8 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally.
  6. Remove cheesecloth bag and discard.
  7. Puree mixture with a wand blender or in a food processor or blender.
  8. Strain tomato mixture through a mesh strainer, or if you have it a food mill using the smallest disk available
  9. Return to pot and bring to boil.
  10. Add 12-16 oz tomato paste and whisk until smooth.
  11. If necessary, let simmer on low until thickened. I usually go about 3-4 hours.
  12. Add citric acid and stir until dissolved. Using a clean spoon, take a taste. If you feel the ketchup is sweet enough, stop. If not, add another 1/4 cup of sugar.
    CANNING
  13. Immediately fill six sterilized half pint jelly jars with green tomato ketchup, leaving 1/4-inch head space.
  14. Wipe the jar tops and threads clean with a clean paper towel. Place hot sealing lids on the jars, as you fill each one, and apply the screw on rings loosely.
  15. Process in boiling water bath in a deep canning pot for 10 minutes.
  16. Remove the jars and cool completely. Tighten the jar screw rings to complete the sealing process.
  17. After the jars of green tomato ketchup cool (don’t do this while they are still hot) check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, your green tomato ketchup didn’t seal and must be refrigerated and used within the month.
  18. Let jars of green tomato ketchup stand at room temperature 24 hours.
  19. Store unopened product in a cool dry place up to one year. Refrigerate green tomato ketchup after opening and keep for up to a month.

Grandpa’s Ketchup

The Whitehouse Recipe is a fun part of history, and makes pretty good ketchup (or should I say catsup) but this variation has a few twists added by Grandpa.

  • 1 8 oz can tomato paste
  • 3-5 tomatoes – cut into pieces
  • 1 small onion (minced)
  • ½ tsp EACH dry hot mustard, nutmeg, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ground clove, salt, garlic powder, paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 TBL lime juice
  • 1 TBL soft brown sugar (packed) HOLD FOR LATER
  • 2 TBL apple cider vinegar – HOLD FOR LATER

Step by Step

  1. Combine all ingredients (except sugar and vinegar) in a large heavy pan
  2. Rinse can/jar of tomato paste into pan with 2 TBL water, TWICE
  3. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
  4. Cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes stirring often and carefully.
  5. Add brown sugar and vinegar and cook until it starts to thicken (10-40 minutes) stirring frequently
  6. Leave to cool a full half hour
  7. Run through a food mill’s finest settings for the ketchup
  8. Run through the next larger food mill screen for a nice spread for crostini
  9. Pour the ketchup mixture through a funnel into suitable bottles
  10. Use it as you would any commercial tomato ketchup
  11. Stored in the fridge this ketchup will keep for a month.

Note: Before Step 6 if you put it (while hot) into sterilized canning jars (and sterilized canning lids) you can store it for up to a year.

Whitehouse Tomato Catsup #1

This recipe was adapted from “The Whitehouse Cookbook” published in 1887 by Fanny Lemira Gillette & Hugo Ziemann.  Grover Cleveland was President of the United States at the time.

  • 16 oz tomato pieces (drained)
  • 1/4 onion (minced) and collected juices
  • 2 tsp TBL salt
  • 2 TBL brown sugar
  • 2 tsp mustard
  • 1 tsp alspice
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground clove
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar

Step by Step

  1. Blend tomato pieces, then run through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds.
  2. Mince onion, salt and brown sugar.
  3. Boil until quite thick
  4. Mix together mustard, allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, ground cloves, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg
  5. Blend with balsamic vinegar
  6. Mix vinegar mixture with tomato mixture.
  7. Bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes, stirring continually.
  8. Pour into sterilized canning jars with sterilized lids.
  9. I should keep for about a year

Easy Ketchup

  • Large can of ripe tomatoes OR 10 tomatoes – halved, salted and broiled until edges just start to blacken
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 large onion – minced
  • 1/2 red pepper – minced (seeds and vein removed)
  • 4 cloves garlic – minced
  • 1/2 C red wine vinegar (alt: cider vinegar)
  • 2 TBL brown sugar
  • 1/4 C EVOO
  • 1/2 tsp each:  Mustard, paprika
  • scant: Nutmeg, allspice, ground clove, mace, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Simmer until reduced and thickened
  • Run through a food mill
  • Store in the fridge for up to two months

Cavatapi and Cheese

    • 1 LB cooked Cavatapi pasta (screws)
      • set aside
    • 1 stick butter in hot skillet
    • 1/2 C AP flour
      • Cook together until it starts to brown
        • This is called a Roux
    • Put 6 C milk into a measuring cup
      • Add 1/2 C to the flour
      • Add another 1/2 C to the flour
      • Add the remainder of the milk and whisk together
        • This is called Bechemel Sauce
      • Add 4 oz Mozzarella, 4 oz Swiss and 4 oz Colby
        • This is called Mourney Sauce
      • Add 1/2 C Parmesan and 1 tsp Colorante
      • Cook together until it starts to thicken
        • Pour into slightly greased casserole
      • Top with a mixture of 1 C Panko, 1/4 Parmesan,
        1/2 tsp granulated garlic, and 1 TBL EVOO
    • Bake 25 minutes at 325º

 

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