New Take on an Old Rub for Turkey & Chicken

I grew many of my own herbs this year, and have been trying to incorporate them into my recipes.  I previously put the recipe for the Best Turkey Ever on my blog, but these were made with commercial products.  Although this one has a commercial product in it, it also contains my own Italian Herb Mix and Black Sage.

The Italian Seasoning Mix is all dried herbs:

1 Part Rosemary-I don't like this much, but the herb mix isn't right without it.

3 Parts Oregano
2 Parts Marjoram
3 Parts Basil
2 Parts Thyme
1 Part Black Sage or regular if that is what you have on hand
1/4 Part Red Pepper Flakes or to taste-Grind this prior to placing in the other ingredients in the bullet in the next step.

Using the Italian Herb Mix:

It is great in spaghetti sauce.

2 Cans of Crushed tomatoes
1 Small individual serving bottle of nice dry red wine
1 scant Tablespoon of good cocoa powder (not a Nestle Quick type powder). I use Penzy's Spices; check it out here.  I use this in any tomato dish to amp up the flavor.
1 Teaspoon Sugar or equivalent of sweetener or choice
1 small onion ground in a blender-I don't want to see the pieces
2 carrots
2 or more cloves of garlic-to taste
1 Bay Leaf-Again I prefer the Penzys Brand, see it here

Cook this on low, in a heavy bottom pan for at least 1 hour so the herbs cook into the sauce well.  I will cook it until it reaches the desired consistency.  I use the heavy bottom to prevent sticking and scorching of the sauce.  You do need to stir this regularly to test the consistency.

This sauce is great warmed up, and improves after refrigeration over night.  It really is almost better the next day.  Serve over spaghetti.  Use in lasagna, or anywhere else you would use spaghetti sauce.

About Penzy's Spices.  I don't work for them, they don't pay me anything to push their spices.  I just appreciate good quality, and fair prices.  They have stores all over the country now, but I have been buying from them since I found them online in Chicago.  I bought 1 Pound of bay leaves from them.  I had no idea how much that would be, but everyone at work got some.  It is a massive amount of herbs.  I paid $15.00 for that then.  It would have filled over 50 of the regular spice jars, and the leaves would be broken and crumbled.  One ounce will fill a wide mouth quart jar and cost 7.30 now.  I use these for everything.  I just don't know how to cook without them.  LOL 

The most interesting part of this story is, that I tried to order some from them once and was told they didn't have any because they had to send the last order back to their supplier.  I asked them why they sent them back, and the lady said "He just didn't approve of the quality.  He wasn't going to sell that inferior product even if it meant he was going to have to tell his customers he didn't have any."  This speaks volumes for they type of herbs that are sold there.  I eventually got the bay leaves, and they were excellent.

Salad Dressing

This is good for Italian dressing with juice two lemons, or 1/4 C balsamic vinegar or 1/4 raspberry vinegar, and 1/2 parts oil; I prefer olive or canola oil.  I use 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Italian Seasoning Mix.  Shake until it emulsifies.  This is sooooo easy, and sooooo much better for you than the store bought stuff.  Keeps in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.  It really doesn't last long at my house.  We eat salads a lot.

Making the Turkey and Chicken Rub

I just hand crush the herbs before putting them into the spice grinder. (I use my Magic Bullet with the flat grinding blade for this.)  To this I add:

3 Tablespoons Italian Herb Seasoning
1 Tablespoon of Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 Tablespoon of parsley
1 Teaspoon of dried mustard
2 Teaspoons black pepper or pepper melange or to taste
2 Teaspoons onion powder

I grind this all together until it has a slightly fine grind, but don't make it a powder. See picture above for consistency.

To use on a turkey or chicken, spray the bird with oil, I used olive oil.  Rub the herb mixture on the outside skin.  Lift the skin on the breast, and rub the herb mixture under the skin directly on the breast meat. 

Place two bay leaves under the skin on each breast. 

Sprinkle some of the rub mixture inside the bird along with a bay leaf,  onion wedges, carrot, celery and a lemon or orange. Use just enough to loosely fill the cavity. 

Tie up the legs and cook as directed by the package. 

I put it into a shallow pan/dish with a wire rack to hold it off the bottom of the pan.  I put 1 can of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan.

I use a 350 Degree oven, and tent the bird with foil until the last 1/2 hour of the cooking time. 
Times will vary depending on the size of the bird.  I use the pop up timers for mine, but you can find all kinds of charts giving approximate times for the size of the bird.

WARNING:  This is not a complete guide to cooking poultry.  Please look up recommendations from the USDA here.

I hope you enjoy the Italian Herb Mix and Rub.  It really was a smash at Thanksgiving this year.  Everyone loved the rub, and said it was the best ever.  UhOh do I need to change the name of the other one to the Second Best?.

Thanks for stopping by.
Namaste
 

Time, Time, Time's Not on My Side; No It's Not!!

I was reading this article about how to keep your house clean in 15 minutes a day with weekends off.  Now my mind just screamed, "RIGHT!  No way could that be possible, and do a good job!"  The reason that I hate housework is because it takes so freaking long.  yada yada yada!!!  My mind was flying around a million miles an hour with all the reasons that this just couldn't be done.  Then it occurred to me that I was doing exactly what I shouldn't be doing.  If I want to do this properly, I need to eliminate the talk of all the reasons why it couldn't be done.  I would need to focus on the reasons and methods that would make this work for me.  I needed to figure out what was needed to get my mind into that space.  Then it struck me, it is really all a simple mind game.  I know you have all heard the old adage by Henry Ford, "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."  I do think though that there was a lot more than mind gaming going on there with me.

I have this thing with time that has been plaguing me for a long time.  I have the "There isn't enough time" syndrome.  I'm convinced that there just isn't enough time to do "ANYTHING"; coupled with lazy-itis.  I'm not sure which srtuck me first, or if they both manifest at the same time.  Either way, I just can't seem to get anything done, and boy do I have a litany of excuses to keep me from doing anything at all.  It goes something like this.

I'm to tired to do that

I'm not going to get it done, so why start

Look at all this "other" shyt that is left undone

Where will I put that (we just moved, which is itself another excuse)

Crap I have to get groceries; please beat me so I don't have to go do this

Going to the grocery store (mall, craft store, doctor; etc.) exhausts me

I don't have enough time to do that

There isn't enough time to do that

Where did the time go

How long is that gonna take?

Really there just isn't enough time

The old man will be home soon, so I just don't have time to finish that so why start

Where did the time get to

With so little time in a day, I'd rather play

Let me just rest a moment before I start that

I don't have anywhere to put that

I'm sure you get the idea.  As you can see these are all coming down on the negative side.  So I need to turn these all around to a more empowering litany.  However, I will need to check in on the lazy-itis syndrome first.  My mother always told me that I was lazy, but I have noticed that I have sufficient energy to do things that I really want to do.  So lazy probably isn't the real answer here.  It is more likely a lack of interest in the proposed activity that is causing the "laziness".  So now that we have identified the disease, we need to examine its etiology of this lack of interest.

I suggest that the real cause of this lazyitis is the lack of fulfillment that I got when I was a child from performing the "clean your room" activity assign by my neatnic mother.  She had her own litany of inadequacy that she would use on the results of my cleaning my room, and it goes like this:

Do you call this clean

You have no idea what clean is

How could you be done if 15 minutes (lol, a telling statement), it takes me a good hour to do that

You didn't put everything back where it was

What's that under the bed?

Let me show you how to do that

Oh just get out of my way, I have to do everything around here

She would proceed to redo everything that I had done.  This happened "every" time I would clean my room.  So I got so I would just go in, and bang around a while come out and tell her I was done.  She would scream her litany the whole time she was re-doing the room.  My activity or lack there of really, would save me time and keep her happy. 

So now it is time to change my mind about the rewards of cleaning.  I need a new litany:

I like to see my clean house

I like the smell of freshness left by the cleaning products

I like to invite people over to my clean house--this is a big one here

My husband likes a clean house--whoops, hit a snag here.  I really have little proof that he likes it clean, as he makes big messes and leaves them lay.  Strike this one

It is more healthy to have a clean house--LOL it works for me

I sleep better when it is clean-that's true

I like the mood reward of doing it

The satisfaction alone is worth the effort

So OK, that works for me...

Now the litany of time

I don't need to finish it all at once, just get it started

There is time enough to get a little bit done

If you need it, there is a place for it

15 minutes is a LONG time, you can get lots done

You have the rest of the day left after you finish the 15 minutes of cleaning

I will start now so it will be finished before the old man gets home

I'll take a break after I finish this

I feel good, like I knew that I would

Energy abounds

I am pure Energy

I am a powerhouse

I am a neatnik

I can do ALL things--LOL, well that really is the truth now isn't it.  Maybe this is the only litany that  needs to be remembered

OK, it's off to clean this mansion of mine.  Back in 15 minutes.

Namaste



Middle Class Creed Updated

I had to update this as I saw it on Pinterest and realized that something was wrong in the last sentence. I guess it pays to leave them sit a year before you post them. lol

Clearly I've been spending too much time looking at election adds.  I'm tired of all of it.  This is my desire.  I don't want to work 24/7/365.  I just want to work, have good healthcare, play with my family, be respected for who I am, live in a decent house, and eat good healthy food.  I'm good with that.  I'm generally happy.  Occasionally I just see things happening that are quite hard to understand.  I worked hard all my life; I enjoy that.  A place to work must treat me fairly, and I will work hard for them.  It's hard to put into words just what I mean here.  Some people just don't need to be rich to be happy, but they aren't ready to be someone else's slave.  I know there are those out there that will understand this.

Namaste
I am enough
I am health
I am competence
I am that I am

Perfect Snack or Hot Weather Meal

This article is beneficial to Fibromyalgia patients, but the energy benefits described here benefit everyone.  The almonds have plenty of magnesium and the apple delivers the malic acid. Which gives low energy the one/two punch, bang zoom a trip to the moon.

This is one of my favorite snack combos; an apple and 1 ounce of almonds, and I can turn it into an evening meal by eating 3 ounces of almonds, and carrot and/or celery sticks. This combo is loaded with vitamins, but the mineral magnesium and malic acid content is what makes it an excellent choice. 

The apple is, of course, what I consider a perfect food. I eat at least one apple a day, because it really can keep the doctor away. The peel should be left as the concentration of vitamin C and malic acid is just under the peel, along with most of the soluble fiber.

I have included a couple of tables with the nutritional values for both of these foods. It is not surprising that both of these foods get huge accolades from most nutritional experts and doctors. With the low ratio of calories to nutrients they are a good clean burning powerhouse. Magnesium is an essential mineral abundant in almonds, and malic acid is an alphahydroxy acid derived from apples and other fruits which makes this snack a good energy source combination.  Read More here.

This is a low calorie, high energy snack of the kind that will stick with you for a long time.  The sugar to protein ratio will have this moving through your system at a slow, steady pace to keep the energy level high.  There won't be that crash associated with sugary snacks, and there is no sodium if you get unsalted almonds.

I want to say something here about organic apples.  I always buy organic as apples are number one on the 2012 Dirty Dozen List for the highest concentration of pesticides.  The link leads to my pinterest and article about the Dirty Dozen here.  There are huge conversations about this between health care providers, dietitians, USDA, FDA and produce farmers associations, and they can't agree on this issue.  Frankly, I don't care what any of them say.  My own intelligence tells me what I need to do, and that is buy organic when I can afford it.  Other times, I will buy conventionally grown and wash it really well with a cleaner I make myself.  Cleaner Recipe here.  I buy the ones in the bags as they are cheaper, and have less wax on them.  The wax coating is to help keep them longer, but makes it harder to clean the pestisides off them.

Nutritional Value of Unsalted Almonds 1oz Serving-Snack Size

Macronutrients

Calories 170
Protein 6 g  12% DV
Carbohydrate  6g 2% DV
--Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
----Soluble Fiber 0.057g
----Insoluble Fiber 2.436g
--Sugar 2.0g
Fat  15g  8% DV
--Cholesterol 0mg  0%
--Saturated 1.5g 8% DV
--Monounsaturated Fat  10g--This is a good fat
--Polyunsaturated Fat 3.0g--This is a good fat
Vitamins
--Vitamin E 10 IU 35% DV
--Thiamine 0.06mg 4% DV
--Riboflavin  0.22mg 4% DV
--Niacin 0.95mg 4% DV
--Vitamin B6 0.03 mg 2% DV
--Folate 17 mcg 4% DV
--Biotin 6 mcg 2% DV
Minerals
--No Sodium
--Potassium 207mg 6% DV
--Iron 1mg 6% DV
--Calcium 75mg 8% DV
--Magnesium 84mg 20% DV
--Phosphorous 147mg 14% DV
--Zinc 1mg 6% DV
--Copper 0.27mg 14% DV

 Nutritional Value of one medium Apple

One Medium 2-1/2 inch apple, fresh, raw with skin

 

Calories 80

Carbohydrate 21 grams

--Dietary Fiber 4 grams

--Sugar 16 grams approximately

Vitamins

--Vitamin C 8mg

--Vitamin A 73 IU

--Folate 4mcg

Minerals

--Calcium 10mg

--Phosphorus 10 mg

--Iron .25mg

--Potassium 159mg

 

Sources

University of Illinois Extension

USDA National Agricultural Library

 

I put this here in hopes that my children and grandchildren will want to explore my blog, and find out what good nutrition is all about. However, this is also something that I like to do just for myself, and hopefully it might help others.

 

 

Quick Easy Sausage Skillet-Learn to Cook Series™

Quick Easy Sausage Skillet Meal

This one is so easy that I find myself making it a lot.  It is one of those base recipes that you can add all kinds of stuff to it to change it up a little or a lot.  This is a "Learn to Cook Series™" Recipe.

Base Recipe

• 1 package of smoked or Kielbasa Sausage sliced on a diagonal.  (change up™)  Unfortunately that doesn't show up here.
• I Can of Unsalted Stewed Tomatoes-can any flavor you wish (change up™)--I prefer the Kroger Brand, and I stock up when they go on sale.
• 1 Can of Rotelle or other tomatoes with peppers, this is a constant for me.
• One package of Frozen Bell Peppers-I prefer the Kroger Brand, and I stock up when they go on sale.
• One package of Frozen Onions-I prefer the Kroger Brand, and I stock up when they go on sale.
• 1 Cup water
• 2 Bay Leaves-I prefer Penzy's
• 1 Tablespoon Good Cocoa Powder-I prefer Penzy's. Trick of the trade for rich tomato sauce.
• 1 Small bottle of good dry red wine-or 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar. Trick of the trade for rich tomato sauce.
• 1 teaspoon of sweetener or equivalent of sugar substitute  I use Stevia Extract.
• Salt and Pepper to Taste, Some Change Ups™ will take less due to the change up™ ingredients. 

Mexicali Change Up™

 

 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1 & 1/2 Teaspoons of Cumin
1 Cup or Can of Beans--Any kind.
2 Cups Corn, peas, spinach, cabbage, celery to taste if desired, mix with other veggies.

Italiano Change Up™

 

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
2 Cups of Fresh or Frozen Veggies-Corn, Zucchini, Peas, We didn't like Green Beans, potatoes, carrots, or any mix; celery is good, but needs to be mixed with carrots and/or potatoes.  California mix really good.

Middle Eastern Change Up™

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Fenugreek

1/2 small head of purple cabbage

1 to 2 beef bouillon cubes-or equivalent powder or granules

I like to add chickpeas to this recipe

 

I'm looking for an Indian Change Up™ if anyone has some suggestions?

Some notes on the Change Ups™:

You can do just about anything with this you like.  It is one of those dishes that rarely tastes exactly the same each time, but always comes out tasting wonderful.

I have been know to throw in some chia seeds to my dishes if they are not thick enough to suit me.  A few tablespoons does not change the taste but absorbs plenty of water.  It also adds lots of soluable fiber to the dish, and a great improvement for healthfulness of the dish.

If you are using dried beans soak the overnight per the instructions on the bag or box.

• Brown the onions and pepper mix.  Add sausage and brown a bit.
• Add both cans of tomatoes, beans, and herbs & spices of your Change Up™  of choice.  Let cook for a minimum of 1 hour covered.
• Add the Change Up™ frozen and/or fresh veggies and fresh.  Let cook for 10 minutes minimum, but check the water content as you don't want the dish to dry up during cooking.
• You can serve this over rice if you choose, or not as you so desire.  I don't usually serve over rice if I have put beans, corn and/or potatoes in the dish, as the corn & potatoes are enough starch, and the beans have enough fiber for me.

I hope you enjoy this dish.



*Copyright-This material may not be copied in whole or in part without permission of the author. Inquire below for information.
 

Learn to Cook Series™

"Learn to Cook Series™" Explained

Anything with this label will be a basic recipe with a variety of possible changes to make a completely different dish.  The difference will be in the seasoning and types of ingredients that will greatly change the taste of the meal, but will still use the same basic techniques of preparation.

This will allow you to experiment with the dishes, but also show you how to change things to create new tasting dishes.  These will help you develop the techniques for creating your own dishes using tried and true methods of basic preparation.

The series recipes will contain the base ingredients and methods, along with a variety of change up ingredients and methods for new dishes.  You will even be able to think of your own changes to the recipes to create your very own change ups for a totally new recipe.  Please share your change ups and experiences with us on the recipes that you "Change UP™".

Let's get cooking.

Namaste

Copyright-This marterial may not be copied in whole or in part without permission of the author.  Inquire below for information.

Sassy Apple Butter in a Crockpot

This was really simple to do.  I will be using this method all the time.  I found these apples growing in my new backyard, and didn't think much of them.  My sister-in-law, who grew up in the house, said the tree was there when she was growing up.  She thought that it had been there prior to the house being built over 65 years ago.  I found one on the ground, that the deer and ants hadn't attacked yet, so I cleaned it up and took a bite.  OMG what a treat.  They were sweet and just enough tart to make them ideal candidates for apple butter.  So I got out a recipe I was going to use someday, and started in.  I soon realized that about the only thing I could use from the recipe was the times for the crockpot.  So I decided to wing it with the recipe.  It turned out so well that I had to share this.

Tools:

• Apple Peeler & Corer-It can be done by hand, but this also sliced them thin for quicker cook down.
• 6 to 7 Jelly Jars, lids and rings
• Water Bath Canner-I have this sweet little granite ware one that works for 7 pints, and of course jelly jars
• Funnel, ladle, jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter, and clean towels.
• Large capacity Crockpot-I know they vary in size, so the amount of apples will need to be adjusted accordingly as will the spices and sugar.

Recipe

• About 10-15 pounds of apples-enough to totally fill the crockpot, as the apples cook down a lot.
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1 to 2 cups sugar or to taste-this will depend a lot on the type of apples used.  Sweet tart apples are best, and the web abounds in recommendations for this.  I have no earthly idea what kind of apples mine are.
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 1/4 scant teaspoon of salt-salt is not my friend
• 5 tablespoons bottled lemon juice-put into crockpot 5 minutes before turning off to can.

Process

Please consult the USDA home canning guide found HERE  My instructions are what I have used for years, and if this is your first time canning you must read this guide for safety precautions.  I insist on that.

I start this process a about 4:30 PM so I can turn my pot on by 5:00 PM.  Pack the crockpot full of peeled and sliced or cubed apples.  Combine the dry ingredients and pour into the pot.  There should not be any room to stir that in if the pot is packed.  Turn the pot on low.  Let this cook for a few hours or until you can stir it, and stir with a plastic or wooden non-reactive spoon.  "Metal will react with the acidy apples and cause a metallic taste in the applebutter. The same is true for tomatoes"

Let this cook on low overnight.  When you get up in the morning the house is filled with the lovely scent of apple butter.  Now is the time to taste the stuff and adjust the seasonings, if necessary.  Turn the crockpot on high, and cook for two hours or until it reaches the consistency that you prefer for your apple butter.  It will get a bit thicker when it is cold from the refrigerator.

Add the lemon juice about 5 minutes before completion of cooking time, this raises the acidity enough to allow for waterbath canning.  If this makes it too runny, just cook on high a while longer.

I use what is called a hot pack, which means that I boil my jars in the canner for at least 10 minutes before filling,  I actually just boil them 10 minutes, and pull them out of the hot water with my jar lifter, fill them, and return them immediately to the wire carrier in the canner.  The apple butter is also hot when put into the hot jars.  This method reduces the process time, and assures good sterility of the process.

I use a little saucepan to boil the lids for a minimum of 5 minutes, but leave the lids in the boiling water until I'm ready to use them so the seal is nice and soft for a good seal.

Fill the jelly jars with a plastic ladle using a funnel.  Clean the lip of the jar with a damp clean towel to remove anything from the sealing area.  I use a magnetic lid lifter to take the lids out of the boiling water, place them directly on the jar, and screw on the ring it should be tight, but don't have Hercules tighten it up for you, as a vacuum seal is created from the heating and cooling process.  You just need it tight enough to prevent water from seeping into the jar.

Lower the jars into the canner and make sure the water covers the lids by about one inch.  Process for the recommended time stated in the canning guide above.

When the jars are done, I set them on a clean towel and let them air cool.  Be sure to leave plenty of space between the cans so they cool quicker.  Any that do not seal, as defined in the canning guide should be used within a month.  You will know if you have a good seal, as the lids will be concave a bit, and when pressed they will not give.  I'm always cautious, and any off smell will be a good reason the throw it out.

I hope you enjoy.

Namaste


















 

My Peace Prayer

This is a bit of a change for me.  I needed to do this to make sure that I keep this in mind.  I don't want to forget it.  This is the reason that I named the blog "It's My Choice" after all. 

The other day I was watching a TV program, and a brief commercial from a political party grabbed my attention.  I was so incensed by the acts portrayed in the commercial that I was thinking OMG those guys need to be taken out......  That is not what is needed, but it just proved to me that I need to get a grip on this.  Just after that I turned to an inspirational program, and don't you know that Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee the Sufi mystic was on.  During the interview he said some things that inspired me to create this prayer, and put it into an art form that I can keep in my journal.  I have also printed it and put it into a frame.  I just don't want that kind of thinking creeping back into my mind.

Again the old adage, that the world is a perfect reflection of the energy that you put out into the world hit me.  If I am putting out that kind of evil thinking energy, that is what will be reflected back to me.  I need to put out peace, joy, and happiness, so that is what is reflected and deflected to me.  Catch others happiness and make it yours, catch their joy and peace.  The more of us who practice peace, love, and kindness the more it will spread. 

I AM Peace, Kindness and Love.

Namaste

Assuring the Best Tasting Homecooked Foods

Care of Flours and Oils

Flour has oils in it, as do most plants based products, and when it is stored at room temperature for long periods of time that oil gets rancid, and gives it an off odor and worse, off flavor.  When you bake and cook with it, that off flavor will be noticeable in delicate flavored recipes, or recipes with only a few ingredients; like my Shortbread Recipe. The refrigerator extends the useful life of flour extensively. My nose is sensitive to this off odor, and you can probably smell it also. I can also taste when I am served food prepared with rancid flours.  The other thing that is important here is that rancid flours and cooking oils are not healthy.  See this article from the Chicago Tribune to explain it better.

One of my favorite tricks for keeping flour fresher longer is storing it in the refrigerator. I put it in a glass or PBA safe plastic canister. PBA safe plastic is simple, play by the numbers, use containers with recycling numbers of #1, 2 or 4, and avoid the others.  Some of my low use flours will get rancid if not used in a timely manner.  I try make those recipes that call for the special flours I have on hand to assure that it gets in and out quickly.  Good storage methods are a must when you use a lot of different types of specialty flours.  I noticed that the article specifically calls out whole grain flour as susceptible, but ALL flour can get rancid after a time.  If you don't use a LOT of flour, store it in the fridge.

I also use the fridge to store my cooking oils. This increases the life of the products, but they will still get rancid eventually so make sure you sniff the stuff before you use it, especially if you can't remember how old it is. I only use extras virgin olive and expeller pressed grape seed oils which are polyunsaturated.    These oils are highly susceptible to rancidity if stored at room temperature for a long time.  Although I use mine fairly quickly, I still store them in the fridge to be on the safe side.  I can tell when something is going rancid way before most other people will even notice it.  Although the larger bottles may look like a better bargain, if you don't use much oil, stick with the smaller bottles, and store those in the fridge.  I hate when I have to throw out unused portions of anything when they get rancid before I finish them.

Olive oil, as do most other oils, gets solid when cold, so I transfer it into a wide mouth canning jar for storage, and just use a spoon to dip it out.   You can also let it sit a room temp for a brief time and it melts pretty fast. Grape seed oil does not solidify in the fridge, but I have never explored why.

Here are some links to the benefits of Grape Seed Oil:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4821428_benefit-grapeseed-oil.html
http://familyfood.hiddenvalley.com/grape-seed-oil-cooking-tips-2985.html
http://healthybodydaily.com/doctor-oz-supplements/dr-oz-glucomannan-best-appetite-suppressants-to-lose-weight

Shortbread Done Right

Tips & Tricks

Ingredient Tips
Shortbread recipes are pretty simple, but there are a few techniques that make them great.  The first thing is to start with good "Butter"; real butter.  Margerine is noticably different.  This is not a recipe that you will make if you are worried about calories.  This is a simple indulgence, and very tasty. 

The second secret to really flaky, great textured shortbread is rice flour.  My recipe is made with one cup of flour, and it does pretty well with just all-purpose flour.  By substituting 1/4 cup of rice flour as part of the one cup flour, the texture is improved greatly.

Flour Freshness is important to this delicately flavored recipe.  Because there aren't many ingredients in the recipe the rancid taste of old flour will stand out, you need to be sure that the flour is fresh.  One of my favorite tricks for keeping flour fresher longer is storing it in the refrigerator.  I put it in a glass or PBA safe plastic cannister.  PBA safe plastic is simple, play by the numbers, use containers with recycling numbers of #1, 2 or 4 and avoid the others.

Utensil Tips
I use the Brown Bag Shortbread Pans.  These have proven to be outstanding for shortbread, and you can put them in the dishwasher, what a time savings.  Most of the shortbread pans have intricate designs, and trying to wash them by hand proves to be very difficult.  A pie plate will also work for this, but does not give the same browning on the bottom.

Do not try to process this with a mixer; I don't care how fancy it is.  For one thing it makes the dough texture coarser, and for another the dough doesn't come together as nicely.  Quite a lot of uncessessary cleaning also.  This is sooo easy to do by hand.  All there is to clean is a bowl, spoon, and pan.  Oh yeah, and a measuring spoon.

Ingredients

 

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter at room temperature

¹/₃ Cup Powdered Sugar

¼ teaspoon Vanilla-I prefer Watkins Double Stregth Extract

¾ Cup All Purpose Flour-Make sure it is fresh with no rancid aroma-I like King Aurthur.

¼ Cup Rice Flour-Fresh with no rancid aroma-Bob's Redmill is what I use.

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 325° Farenhiet.  Spray Brown Bag shortbread pan with nonstick cooking spray; be sure you get good coverage of the surface so you don't have a sticking problem.  Make sure the spray is fresh and doesn't have a rancid smell.  Using any other method to grease the Brown Bag pan may result in areas of poor coverage due to the patterns in the pan.  A pie plate can be greased anyway you want.

 

In a small mixing bowl cream the powdered surgar, and butter together.

 

Add the vanilla to the butter & sugar, and mix thoroughly.

 

Add the flour and work it into the butter mixture.  When it comes together, I just pick it up in my hands an knead it by folding it in half, and squeezing it together; then in half again and squeeze.  I keep doing the fold/squeeze until I have a nice smooth dough. This can take a few minutes to do right.  I've been know to walk into the livingroom to check on the TV while kneading the dough. :)  You can use conventional kneading methods on a floured board, but my texture is lighter because I'm not incorporating additional flour into mine.

 

Place the dough ball into the center of the pan.  Press it out to the sides of the pan, try to maitian and even layer.  I make sure that I press all cracks from the edges of the dough.  Prick the dough with a fork all over, to allow steam to escape from the bottom of the pan.

Place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. 

When it comes out of the oven I run a knife around the edge of my pan to loosen the shortbread.  I place a dinner size plate over the top of the shortbread pan, and flip both of them over.  The shortbread will probably just drop out of the pan, but if it doesn't, wrap the plant and pan on the counter, and it will drop out.  If you didn't get enough nonstick spray, then some may stick in th pan.

I cut mine on the cut lines of my pan design, whick is 8 pieces as soon as it comes out of the pan.  A pie plate works for this also, and you can cut that into 8 pieces as well.  Cutting it immediately make a much nicer presentation than when it cools more.  If it is cold, all you get is a bunch of crumbs, and that looks, well...crumby.

This is so simple, and so good.  I make this when I deserve an indulgent treat.  My poor skinny hubby would like it more often, but my health just won't handle that, and I can't eat just one.  I'd be willing to bet that most people would have trouble just eating one piece.

I hope you enjoy.

Namaste

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

6 chicken breast halves or the equivalent of chicken tenders (I just fill the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan).

I pint of spaghetti sauce

½ bag of Kraft Finely Shredded 4 Italian Cheeses

2 bay leaves stuck in the sauce.

Instructions

Lay the chicken in the pan, this works with frozen chicken as well as fresh.  Sprinkle the cheese on the chicken and pour the spaghetti sauce on top.  I have used Ragu Spaghetti sauce when I’m out of my own or don't have time to make the fresh.

Bake for one hour at 350°F.

You can cut the sauce recipe into smaller portions, and make it fresh and use it without canning it.  It is really easy to make in small batches.  I rarely use commercial sauce anymore.

You can sprinkle parmesan cheese of this before serving, but I can’t get that past my nose, and I ate this after the pictures were taken.  Plain mozzarella cheese works on the chicken for backing, but then it isn't parmigiana.  I don't bread the chicken, as I wanted it to be low calorie, and low carbohydrate.

This is good with veal or eggplant.  

Food as Medicine:

This is very low carb, high protein, diabetic friendly and downright good.  This has an extra load of lycopene if you use the sauce recipe linked here.  Lycopene is a great antioxidant.  I like to think of my recipes as good preventive medicine.  Good eats, with good nutrition value.  Free range organic meats are best for you.  I can't help thinking that hormones that plump up chickens and cows, can't help but do the same to us.  The ratios of omega 3 to omega 9 are much higher in the free range animals.  The omega 3 is what is so good for you, and also found in Salmon.  Omega 9 is what will raise you cholesterol, but coupled with the higher Omega 3 and in lower proportions the impact is far less when eating red meat.  I am not a doctor, or nutritionist, but you can look these facts up on the web.  It is easy information to find.  Here is a link to one of my favorite places for grass fed and free range meats.  They deliver to where I live, and I get over into their neck of the woods on occasion.  I don't work for them, but the advantages are worth looking at.  It is also good for the environment.

I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Zucchini Boats

Ingredients

One Quart Italian Tomato Sauce, I use my own sauce

1 pound ground meat-beef, turkey or chicken

1 Cup Cheese, I used the Cheddar and Colby Jack for this photo, but mozzarella works great also.

4 Medium Zucchini

Preparation

Heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Brown the ground meat, and add the Italian Sauce to the meat.  I use really lean meat, but if there is lots of grease or water drain that off.  I have used almost any kind of canned sauce for this, but prefer my own home canned.  Keep sauce warm on the stove while prepping the other ingredients.

While the sauce is warming up, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise.  Use a melon baller to remove the seeds, and make the boat shape.  Be sure to leave some of the zucchini for the flavor.

Place the zucchini in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  I don't like to cook tomato sauce  in a metal pan unless it is coated with ceramic or enamel.  Tomatoes are acidic, and will corrode metal pans, and give your dish a metallic taste. Yuk.

Fill the zucchini's center cavity with the meat sauce.  And sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a fork stuck into the zucchini indicates that it is cooked completely.  The zucchini should be tender, but not mushy.  If the zucchini are really large, don't put the cheese on right away.  You really only want to melt it, so wait for the last 10 to 15 minutes to add it.  If you stick with the medium size, then I just add the cheese right away and save myself some time.

Since I'm a cheap date, I like to serve this with Riunite Lambrusco wine, and a salad made with my own homemade Herb Salad Dressing:

Juice of One or Two lemons, about 1/4 cup of juice
1/2 Cup of Good Light Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Penzey's Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder

If you like a sweeter dressing I use some Stevia Powder, just a small pinch, but sugar will also work if you don't have a problem with it.  I don't recommend Truvia or any Xylitol sweetener as this puts the flavor off.  I sometimes want some sweet, and other times not.

Place all ingredients in a jar and shake to emulsify the dressing.  If you add some citric acid (Fruit Fresh), or vitamin C crushed up it will last about one month in fright, but will last two weeks in the refrigerator with no preservative.  (Chemist meets Food Science.) Yes, I used the word "preservative", however, citric acid and vitamin C are good for you stuff; see the links.  It is all that stuff with the weird names, that aren't good for you.

I hope you enjoy these.  I grew one zucchini plant this year for the first time.  I have enough zucchini to feed an army.  I have frozen tons of it, and use it in everything I can.  LOL

Fresh Italian Tomato Sauce for Canning

It’s easier than you think.

INGREDIENTS

20 pounds of Roma Tomatoes[1]

2 medium onions

2-6 garlic cloves-to taste or Substitute 3 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Garlic-Garlic

Scant 1/2 cup of Good Olive Oil

2-187 mL Merlot Red Wine[2]

3 Tablespoon Italian Herb Mix-I prefer Penzy’s as it is very good quality.

2 Tablespoon Dried Sweet Basil-also from Penzy’s

4 Bay Leaves

2 Teaspoon of Ground Stevia[3]

2 Teaspoon Sea Salt-for low sodium users, but it is still marvelous,add to your              taste. You really don’t need any salt to can this.

Fresh ground pepper mélange to taste-black will be adequate if no mélange is available.

1 Teaspoon High Quality Cocoa Powder[4]

1 Teaspoon ground red pepper flake.  Just process with the flat blades of you magic bullet or other such grinder.

INSTRUCTIONS

Tomato Pereparation

Use the large jar on a magic bullet, or a blender.  I prefer the magic bullet as it pulverizes them better, but you can get more in the blender.  Clean the roma tomatoes, and take most of the seeds out ( don’t worry if they don’t all come out.) 

I leave the skins on the tomatoes, as they are pulverized in the processor. This dramatically increases the lycopene in the sauce; as the skins are where most of it is.  It also reduces the preparation time.  You won’t even know the skins are in there.  Along with a couple of bullets full I will throw in the onions and garlic, if used, to also pulverize.  That way all those finicky eaters will not even know they are there (read grandson here.)

I squish as many tomatoes into the jar of the bullet as possible, and shove the blades into the jar and whip it up.  If you are using a blender, don’t pack it in like that as it won’t process as easily.  There may be some small chunks, but they will cook down, and disappear. Pour this into a non-resistive pan, like ceramic, or enamel or Teflon (without scratches).  You do not want to cook tomatoes in a metal pot, as they pick up the metallic taste, yuk.  Tomatoes are extremely acidic, and will actually begin to corrode a metal pot, which is what gives it a metallic taste when cooked for as long as this sauce will need to cook.

Once all the tomatoes, onions and garlic are ground up, I add all the rest of the ingredients.  Let this cook uncovered for at least 2 hours or more, until it is reduced to a consistency that you like.  Make sure that you stir this occasionally as it might burn, but if the heat is low enough to prevent it from splattering all over the stove, then it shouldn’t stick or burn.  I will taste this about 1 hour into the cooking, and adjust the seasoning.  Make sure you let this cook in a while before going to the next step.

This is enough for about 7 pints.  You will process these according to the instructions found on-line from USDA or the Ball Blue book.  I will add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the can.  Some things to think of are removing the air bubbles with a knife or tool designed for this, by running it down the sides of the jar; fill jar leaving ½ inch head space.  Sanitize the jars and tools by placing them in the boiling water of the canner, I just leave the empty jars in the water until I’m ready to fill them. 

If you want to make more, just increase the seasonings accordingly.  I find this to be an excellent size for how my home garden produces tomatoes.  By the end of the season I will have about 28 pints, with very little effort.  I use an organic growing method, so my tomatoes don’t require enormous amounts of cleaning.  If you use commercially grown tomatoes, clean them well.  I would even remove the skins from those, just to reduce the amount of pesticides that I ingest.

Ideas for Use

I add ground beef to mine for meat sauce.  I make spaghetti and baked zucchini boats.  This is also good as a sauce for chicken or veal parmesan.  Recipes on the way shortly, just have to make them so I have pictures for the recipes. 

I always leave a little out for a meal instead of canning it all.  This is wonderful the next day; it actually improves with age, as do most tomato based sauces.  

Enjoy.  

---

[1] You can use others but they all have more water, so add a few more pounds of tomatoes, and longer cooking time. I did find that having some sweeter tomatoes like early girls and grape in the batch improved the taste a bit.

[2] I use two of the bottles from the small 4 pack bottles; the sauce is richer because of this.

[3] This is Green powder, but white powder if adequate if it isn’t available; this cuts acid in tomatoes without added calories.

[4] Use this in all your tomato based sauces, soups and stews to add a rich flavor to the sauce, but no chocolate taste.

The Perfect Reading Nook

Just a glimpse of my favorite nook in the house.  I love to sit there and read.  All of my friends wanted to know how I got the dog to pose for that picture.  Well it wasn't hard.  For one thing, it is also his favorite place in the house when his "Bad Daddy" isn't home; for another, the rug was made by "Bad Daddy", and has his scent all over it.  So there is not difficulty finding him rolled up there.

I wish the picture of the dog was better, but it gives the idea that I like.  I've got some other ideas to improve this picture, but need to wait for darkness to get them.  Aren't blogs wonderful, you can start a project and just keep adding to the process.  I love it.

This is my recharge station, and it is just so relaxing that I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night there.  Then I go to bed.  LOL.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by.

Good Deeds

Today I had the opportunity to watch someone perform a good deed.  I remember hearing somewhere about how good deeds just brighten everyone's day.  Not just the person for whom the good deed was done, but also for the person who performs the good deed.  What I found interesting in all of this is just how wonderful it made everyone in the store feel to see it happen.  I know it made my day.

The good deed was, a woman with a couple of small kids had ran out of money to pay for her groceries.  Now this wasn't a huge sum of money, and the woman behind her handed her the cash to cover the rest.  The look on the woman's face was worth a thousand words.  She didn't appear to be in desperate need, and said she could run home and get the money.  The other woman just said, "I hate dragging the kids all over, this will just save you the headache of doing that.

Every mother within hearing distance had to be feeling the thrum and thinking, Oh yeah take the money and be grateful for the effort.  I know that I always offer to help when and opportunity to aid someone who needs a hand.  It doesn't need to be money, but a hand with lifting and carrying things.  Putting an old person's cart back for them.  Shoveling the widow next door's sidewalk.  It doesn't take much, but it does so much for everyone involved.  I know it makes me feel wonderful when some youngin' does something nice for me.  Well it also might be and oldster who offers help too.

Thanks to all the do gooder's out there.  You make my day, in a really good way.

Namaste

The Best Roast Turkey “Ever”

I have been making this turkey for years.  I got the original out of the Meijer's Thrifty Acres add years ago.  I know that it was part of a spice company add, I think McCormick, but I have updated the processes a bit to keep up with the times.

Ingredients 

1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning

2 Teaspoons Seasoned Salt

1 Teaspoon Dry Ground Mustard

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

½ Teaspoon Pepper, Fresh Ground if you have it.

1-approximately 12 pound Turkey-Adjust seasoning for much bigger bird

2 Bay Leaves

2 Stalks of celery

1 onion, quartered

1 small orange quartered-I prefer the Florida juice oranges, and well washed

1 to 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil-I prefer a good expeller pressed olive oil

Instructions

1.     Preheat oven to 325°F.

2.     Combine first 5 ingredients.

3.     Wash the turkey and remove giblets.

4.     Place turkey on a rack in a shallow baking pan.  Shallow is 1 ½ inch sides or less, just remember they will make drippings, so you want to make sure that those are all caught.

5.     Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of dry seasoning mix from step 1 inside the turkey.

6.     Stuff bay leaves, celery stalks, onion and orange inside the turkey.

7.     Rub oil over the surface of the entire bird.

8.     Loosen the skin on the breast and rub 3/4 of the remaining rub under the skin, and sprinkle with rest of the seasoning mix on the legs, thighs, and bottom.

9.     Tie the legs together with bakers twine, and tuck the wings under the bird.  Wrap the small part of the leg with foil to keep it from browning too quickly.

10. Loosely tent with foil, I like the heavy duty type best.  Bake for 3 ½ to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180°F in the meaty underside of the thigh closest to the body.  Get close to the bone, but do not touch it.  If you have a pop-up device, so much the better.

11. Baste several times with pan juices during the baking time.  Remove foil during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

12. Let the turkey set for at least ½ hour before carving.  This gives you time to make gravy from the drippings and set up the food on the buffet or table.

Notes:  I have used lemons instead of oranges, and that was good.  I have placed a couple of slices of the orange and bay leaves under the skin, and this kept the breast a little moister during the roasting process.  I have added Teaspoon of ground bay leaves to the rub mix, which was really nice.

I tried roasting it breast down once, and we didn’t like that.  It didn’t do well in a roasting bag either.

I use the giblets to make broth for the gravy, and add pan drippings to that.