Kitchen Tip - Covering Crockpots

I recently needed to cook a chunk of frozen pork roast in the crockpot. The meat wasn't big enough to necessitate using my large crockpot, but it didn't fit in my small crock with the lid on. My solution? Cover the crock with a bowl!




















I used a cereal bowl, and it actually fit perfectly - a seal formed, just like with using the lid. Usually I just put the lid on the best I can and squish things down as they thaw. This day, I was away from the house so it was unattended. The meat was ready to go by the time I got back and it fed our hungry silage crew well! I will be linking to Kitchen Tip Tuesdays over at Tammy's Recipes.

How Much Is Double Bread Dough?

I enjoy making bread-sorts-of-things from scratch, though I have a lot of practicing to do before I get very good at it. One thing that has given me pause is how to figure out when dough has risen to double. Usually it's in a bowl that is smaller at the bottom than the top, and my eyeball is not very accurate at measuring stuff anyway. Enter this tip from Alton Brown:



I use a container like this that is nearly the same size at the bottom as it is at the top. I also actually use a ruler to figure out how tall the dough is, and place a rubber band where the dough needs to get to be double. It's easy to tell at a glance as I'm walking by if it's there or not. Since there is a whole lot of air between the dough and the lid, I still use a piece of plastic wrap to cover my dough and make sure it doesn't dry out.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

A Few Canning Tips

It's been forever since I've posted for Kitchen Tip Tuesday, but this week I came up with TWO tips to share! (You'll have to come back next week for the second one.)

Though my garden seems to be calmed down a bit this year versus last year (or maybe I planted different stuff? Dunno...), I have been doing a fair amount of preserving. There are a few things that I've figured out from last year, my first year of canning, to this year.


1) Use rubber dishwashing gloves to protect your hands from scalding steam, blurping jam, hot jars, and anything else that can and will burn you. I figured this out the hard way when I was stirring strawberry preserves and it blurped up on my hand - and of course I had both sinks full of hot water warming my jars - a blast of cold water would have felt so much better!

2) Use plates instead of dishtowels to line your countertop. Last year, I used dish towels, and they ended up soaked from wet hot jars, and they soaked all the other stuff that cluttered my countertop (I get messy when I can, and cook, and bake...). By using plates, I keep the water contained, and they just go in the dishwasher when I'm done, rather than dishtowels that need to be washed and may end up stained. Plus, the good stuff that dripped off my funnel could be scraped into a jar and not lost.

3) I have also experimented some with using a propane cooker outdoors for canning. It gets the heat out of the kitchen, and since the pot is deeper, I stack jars on top of each other. (I'm not sure if that's a legitimate practice, but Laura does it, so I do, too.) I can't take credit for the idea of using the cooker outside, my friend Kim posted about it a while back. [And I can't remember if her blog is private now or not, so my apologies if you are not able to view it.] My canner rack doesn't fit in the pot, so I line it with a clean dish towel or a couple of dish cloths first. It is a bit more dificult to keep an eye on, but keeping that heat and humidity out of the house is quite worth it.

My tips from last year to help keep the heat out of the kitchen were:
* setting a fan in the doorway to blow cool air in (while Goose was in her room for quiet time) OR blowing the warm air out of the kitchen.
* dumping my hot water as soon as I was done with it (I would also recommend taking it outside to cool and then using it on your garden or reusing it the next time you can).
* taking my jars from the water bath into the bathroom to cool - I lined the tub with a towel and set them in there. I also put the pot in there until it cooled down.

Kim's post linked above also describes her experience with reusable canning lids, which I'm quite seriously thinking about giving a try next year. Especially since I always seem to run out of lids! Maybe if I took a count at the beginning of the year and planned ahead, I could avoid that... but I'm not sure I see that happening. :>)

So far, I have canned blueberry syrup, strawberry preserves, peach jam (from the Blue Ball book), some strawberry peach "jam" (it was kind of an accident), salsa (recipe at Kim's post above - make sure to wear gloves while cutting peppers!), and tomato sauce. I prefer to do enormous batches of tomato sauce, so I freeze the tomatoes until I have a lot. For smaller batches, I cook them down in the crock pot overnight with the lid off plus however long it takes to get down to the consistency I want; for larger batches, I cook them down in the biggest pot I have. This year, I have borrowed my dad's food strainer. You dump the sauce (or whatever) in the hopper, and turn the crank. The good stuff comes out one spout, the bad stuff another. I often send the "bad stuff' (seeds, skin, etc.) through one more time to get all the good stuff out that I can. And yes, this year I remembered to add lemon juice to my tomato sauce. I still need to make applesauce (no apples from my dad this year, sniff, so I bought some) and I want to re-do my spicy tomato juice from last year with the food strainer so poor hubs doesn't have to chew it as he drinks it.

What are you preserving? Any tips for me?

Head over to Tammy's Recipes for more Kitchen Tips.

Peeling Onions

It's been a while since I've been inspired to post a kitchen tip, but as I was preparing pepper steak for lunch today, I realized that I've come up with a method of peeling the papery skin off onions that helps drive me less crazy.


Although I haven't always liked onions, I do like to eat them now - I finally realized I think they're MUCH better cooked than they are raw! I don't really like messing around with prepping them, though. I often use a mini chopper (think small food processor) or my big food processor if I'm doing something else with it, but it seemed I always picked onions where the icky papery skin was absolutely adhered to the onion, and I didn't much care for peeling it off, millimeter by millimeter.

My method is to cut off one end (I go with the non-root end, it seems to cause less crying that way) but I don't cut all the way through. I then use the flap I created to peel the layers, and I often remove the top layer of onion as well as it is frequently dried out at the top and yucky.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

First Attempt at Soaking Oats

Yesterday, I bought a quart of plain yogurt and used it to make whey, which I then used last night to make a double batch of soaked oats. This morning, I put about half of the oats on a cookie sheet to dehydrate as recommended and used the other half to make baked oatmeal. I adjusted my recipe by omitting the milk and applesauce, and only using two tablespoons of butter. I also cut the brown sugar down to half a cup.

The results on the soaked baked oatmeal? So-so. I actually thought it tasted sort of "raw" even though I baked it for the normal time. I'm thinking that using the dehydrated oats will make a big difference.

KITCHEN TIP:
I used my food processor to break up the clumps of dehydrated oats, and instead of trying to dump them out of the open "jar" (is that the right word?) of the processor, I left the lid on, removing the push-cap-thingie (where *am* I getting all these technical terms today??) and dumping the contents out the spout.

With my food processor, I have to loosen the lid (don't have to remove it entirely) in order to loosen the "jar". After loosening the bottom piece, I tighten the lid back on and remove it from the base. This has helped me avoid a number of spills!

And, to save on dishes, I made three different recipes of the power bar (Larabar knockoffs) from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship's Healthy Snacks to Go eBook. I seriously can't get enough of those things!! I was privileged to help edit it, and oh my stars, I am really enjoying the "fruits" of that labor. I'll be reviewing it soon.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Please check out my post for the Spring Cleaning Carnival Getting the Food Additives Out! You can link up your posts that have anything to do with food additives (see my post for different suggestions) and I am also giving away two copies of a CD by Jane Hersey of the Feingold Association of the United States called "What are all those funny things in food...and should I eat them?"

Preheating Quickly

Tammy wrote a post a while ago about saving energy while preheating your oven. When I came to the part about it taking five minutes for her oven to get to 350 degrees, I thought "lucky her!" Mine takes around ten minutes. So often, I don't bother to preheat, I just turn the oven on when it's time to put the food in and call it good. Occasionally I need to add a few minutes to the cooking time, but it works out.

Sometimes, though, I need the oven to be hot when I put food in. That's when I use my broil function to preheat! I found that it can get up to 350 degrees in just a few minutes that way. Of course, I don't recommend you do that with a pan in the oven unless it is a broiler safe pan - I don't have my pizza stone in there while it's on broil, for example. My stoneware was not expensive, so I fear they'd crack at high temperatures.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Organizing Pot Lids

This isn't a new tip - you've likely seen it before. But I had to read it a couple dozen times before thinking "huh, I oughta try that" and probably a few more after that before I actually went out and did it.

Use a dish drain rack. I found one that was small enough to fit in my lazy susan, which helped me better utilize THAT space, too. Anybody else have a great way of storing lids?

And, while I'm asking questions, I'd love to hear recommendations - I need to replace my teflon skillets because they are no longer non-stick, and I keep reading how lousy that stuff is for you anyway. Anybody using something they love?

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Silicone Basting Brushes

Something that I have found handy in the kitchen is a silicone basting brush. Here is one on Amazon that is similar to what I have - I put in the whole image link so you can see the price without clicking through:

I use it for oiling the waffle iron after it's already heated up (since I usually forget), they also work well to brush sauce on food when you're grilling - especially the long handled one, and you don't end up with bristles in your food like has happened to us with regular bristle brushes (blech).

The set I purchased has 3 brushes in varying lengths. The brush heads can be removed from the handle and both pieces put in the dishwasher. My brush heads have warped a bit but they still work great.

I did a quick search and found the set in a number of places. It's not the cheapest, but I have ordered from Miles Kimball before and I have been satisfied with their service. I also didn't click through to check shipping and handling on any of these, but I imagine that could be a stickler.

Other places I found that sell the brushes: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. (Whew.) Remember, I don't know anything about S&H at these sites, nor do I know anything about their policies. They just came up with cheap prices!

Another waffle tip - since I made a double batch of whole wheat waffles this morning with the intention of freezing the extras, I cooled the waffles on a cooling rack so the steam could escape. It helps the waffle retain a bit of crispness. We prefer to reheat them in the toaster so they really crunch back up!

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Freezing Potatoes

Happy Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Tammy's Recipes took a couple of well-deserved weeks off and I kind of got out of the groove. I've been meaning to post for a while on what I do with questionable potatoes from the garden, as well as providing tips on freezing potatoes. The caveat here is that I only am going to show you my method - it's the only one I use because we like it so well!

After my hubs digs potatoes, I sort them. All the good ones get set out to harden off per Laura at Heavenly Homemaker's directions. The ones that have some green on them and the ones that got cut by the spade are turned into mashed potatoes and frozen.

In the picture at left, you can see a lot of green on some of the potatoes. I make sure to cut all the green off as it is toxic, but the rest of the potato seems fine to eat. I also trim the cut edges, mostly because they got dirty and have sat for a few days by the time I get to them, so they're pretty icky. I also use any potatoes that have bad spots that I can cut away. Similar to tomatoes, I cut and sniff until I don't smell any "ick" - just potato and kind of a fresh dirt smell. :>)

I then slice up the potatoes and use my chop wizard to dice them. (I am not all that good with a knife, and this makes it go SO MUCH faster!) It is a bit noisy - it THUNKS as it cuts - so I sometimes take it in the laundry room to use while Goose is napping. I set up my ironing board at about pelvis high for the best leverage.

After dicing, I put the potatoes in a big pot with a couple of inches of water, cover it and bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Most people cover the potatoes with water, and that's fine, but I tend to boil them over when I do that. This way, the potatoes kind of steam. Make sure you stir, though - they'll stick on the bottom.

After that, I pretty well follow the guidelines for the Pioneer Woman's twice baked potatoes. I use some butter, sour cream, buttermilk, cheese, and bacon bits. One time I stirred in a packet of ranch dressing mix and it was really, really good! So this time, I did a search for homemade ranch dressing, and my favorite one was this one from Recipe Source. I don't do exact measurements, and I don't put in the other stuff, just parsley flakes, dried onion, dill, onion and garlic powder, and instead of the onion and garlic salt, I up the powders and add some seasoned salt. I then stir and have my hubs give it a taste. Remember that you can't take spices out, so start out on the low side.

I then divide the potatoes out into freezer bags and mark them with the amount and what all I put in. Last year, half my potatoes had the yummy ranch and half did not, so sometimes I would thaw one bag of each and mix them together.

These freezer bags are especially handy for thawing since they are reasonably flat and not too thick. If I don't plan ahead well enough, I put them in hot water in the sink and it doesn't take too long for them to thaw. To cook, I like to put them in a casserole dish and bake them, especially if I'm baking the main dish and am already running the oven. I prefer to bake them uncovered so the top can get browned and kind of crusty. Yum!


I'll leave you with a picture of some of the big funky potatoes we managed to grow this year. They look like one big potato with several smaller potatoes attached. After I wash them, I cut off the small potato offshoots and slice them separately, then proceed as noted above.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Freezing in Plastic

I'm a big proponent of freezing food, and also a big proponent of re-using containers, whatever they may be. However, did you know that when plastic freezes, it becomes brittle? This also goes for plastic bags (such as the ones with zip tops), to some degree.

This becomes a problem when you, say, drop something frozen on the floor (or against other frozen items). You have the hard floor meeting something frozen solid (and ice crystals can be SHARP!), with brittle plastic in between. Even pin-holes, which are almost undetectable, will let air in and moisture out, leading to frostbite if you put it back in the freezer. If you drop it while removing from the freezer, you'll want to take care in the way you thaw it because it could leak.

I was reminded of this while I was thawing frozen tomatoes to use in spicy tomato juice, salsa, and tomato sauce. I put the bags of tomatoes in the bath tub to thaw since I could spread them out and there would be no danger of condensation damaging the surface underneath. I picked one up, and water just *streamed* out of a hole the diameter of my pinky finger. I was pretty thankful it was still over the bath tub!

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Cutting and Freezing Jalapeños

The pepper plants in my garden continue to produce well, and I still have some blooms so it looks like we'll be getting peppers up until it freezes. (Which, based on the buzzing insects - locusts or cicadas, whatever you call them - may not be too far away!) I canned some jalapeños but I like to freeze some, too.

Kitchen tip: ALWAYS wear gloves when cutting jalapeños. Seriously. It is SO NOT worth the burn! You can get plastic or latex gloves similar to what food service workers wear that are pretty cheap, but they can be a bit flimsy. Replace them as soon as you notice them sticking to your hand - that means you likely have a leak somewhere. Wash your hands immediately. DO NOT rub your face, eyes, or anything else. If you wear contacts, I highly recommend removing them before working on the jalapeños just in case. That is the reason Alton Brown always wears glasses now.

If you do find yourself suffering from "jalapeño hands", you can visit this post by Newly Purnell for a number of suggestions for relief. (warning - some comments are a bit crass, and some contain swear words - that pain would drive a saint to drink, though . . .) It sounds like different things work for different people. Some that I noticed included:
* milk - I recommend pouring on a cloth or paper towel and applying that to the burning area
* rubbing alcohol (also pour on cloth and apply) and/or hand sanitizer
* rubbing the affected area on something made of stainless steel if possible
* paste made of baking soda and water
* Calamine lotion
* An anti-oil facial astringent or anti-oil acne cream containing benzoyl peroxide
* honey
and many, many more.

Actually, I'm thinking I might declare a pair of rubber gloves (like those used for washing dishes) for jalapeño use only, because I tend to use my left thumbnail and index fingernail to scrape out seeds and membranes, which eventually weakens the glove and that leads to a very high likelihood of jalapeño hands.

To freeze "whole" jalapeños, I cut the tops off, then run the tip of my knife around the top of the pepper between the flesh and the seed pod in the center, through the ribs, or membranes. I then make one cut down to the bottom tip. I open the pepper up, remove the seed pod, try to remove as much of the ribs as I can, and all the loose seeds. I then put them in a freezer zip top bag and freeze. Today I fit about 32 jalapeños per quart bag, though I could have packed a few more in if needed.

Hubs likes jalapeños but isn't crazy about cream cheese, so the standard jalapeño popper recipes aren't his cup of tea. A few years ago, I came across a recipe for Jalapeño Chicken Wraps in a Taste of Home magazine that Hubs really likes.

I found that in order to get the bacon as crisp as he likes it, I needed to pre-cook the bacon if I used the grill. I have also made them in the oven, and that seems to crisp the bacon better.

Enjoy your hot peppers - but do it safely! And for more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Help! Need a New Vacuum Sealer & Dehydrator

My parents are so generous to us; a few years ago, this manifested itself in a vacuum sealer. I didn't realize what a treasure it was until last year when I used it to vacuum seal some of our garden bounty. I loved it - but I found a problem right away. I didn't dry the green beans after blanching them, and some of the water seems to have gotten sucked into the motor and this year, it doesn't work at all. I'm REALLY disappointed, to say the least! But I have a couple of gift cards that I have tucked away for this purpose, so now I'd love to get your input!

If you have a vacuum sealer, what brand is it? What do you love about it? What do you not like about it? Is there something it doesn't do that you wish it did?

You can see Tammy's posts on vacuum sealing here:
Vacuum-Sealed Foods
Food Saving Without a Food Saver
Meatballs In Bulk, For the Freezer
Input Requested, Frozen Meal Ideas
Making and Freezing Pepperoni

And, while I have you here, do you have a food dehydrator? Same questions - what brand, what do you love and not like?

Tammy's posts on dehydrating can be found here:
Food Dehydrators
Preserving Food - What Do I Do?
Dehydrated Pears
Dehydrating Bananas
Banana Blessings
Onions, Onions, Onions
Cheaper Baked Beans

(Some of the mentions are in the comments.)

Other blogs I love that have sections on preserving: Bethany's section on Canning and Preserving and Kim's Sections on Canning and Dehydrating, Lori's canning, Sarah's Lacto-Fermentation Series, and it takes a bit more digging, go look at Laura's blog. (How about a canning catagory, Laura?!?) :>)

I'm anxious to read what you have to say!

Microwave Chex Mix

In the summer, I like to use the oven as little as possible. In preparing for our week-long car trip to Wyoming, I wanted to pack some snacks that would help keep us going without being too unhealthy or expensive. Homemade Chex Mix fits the bill (and is delicious!!) but running my oven for an hour in August is about the last thing I want to do. Kitchen tip: use the microwave to make Chex Mix! My basic recipe is the same:

Chex Mix
3-6 tablespoons butter (less is lower fat, more is yummier; I use about 4.5 T)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3 cups each Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex
1 cup pretzel sticks or mini twists
1 cup bagel chips or melba toast, broken into bite sized pieces if necessary

I measure all the cereal, pretzels, and chips into a gallon ziptop bag. In fact, I will sometimes measure it all out and just store it in the ziptop bags ready to be seasoned and cooked. (You'll need two boxes of wheat Chex to one box each of rice and corn and I think you'll end up with six total batches.)

Melt the butter in a cup or bowl, stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal, zip top closed, and shake well but gently to combine. Pour into a large bowl. Microwave on high for two minutes, stir. Microwave another two minutes on high and stir, then microwave one more minute. Bowl will be HOT! Pour out on newspapers (I cover them with a layer of paper towels) to cool and dry. Flavor improves as mix cools. Store in an airtight container if you have any leftover.

In the winter, I prefer to make the mix in the oven. I just bake it at 250* for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

And be sure to visit my give-away post - there's something for everyone!

Microwaved Scrambled Eggs

Sometimes it can be tough to get toddlers to eat enough protein. If Goose asks for eggs in the morning, I'm happy to oblige! The problem is that she wants eggs NOW . . . and though we're working on patience, first-thing-in-the-morning hungries are pretty rough.

To get breakfast on her high chair tray FAST, I use the microwave to cook a scrambled egg. I use a round glass dish, around four inches across. (I used to use plastic, but I think this method is pretty hard on them.) Grease it according to your favorite method, or whatever strikes your fancy in the morning - nonstick spray, bacon grease, butter, etc.

You can crack the egg directly in the dish and scramble it with a fork, or you can crack it into another bowl or cup, scramble, then add to the dish. The advantage of using a separate bowl is that you don't disturb the grease and the egg sticks a bit less, though I've found that either way I still need to handwash the bowl.

I start by microwaving for 30 seconds on high, then let the egg rest a bit to deflate. If it's a smaller egg, it may be cooked through; I usually give it another 10-20 seconds to make sure. (Runny eggs make me nervous.) Run a knife around the outer edge of the egg to loosen it from the bowl and tip it out onto a plate, then cut into pieces.

(EDIT: These are also perfect with cheese and bacon, sausage, or ham on biscuits or bagels! And now that Goose is older, I crack two eggs in the bowl and cook it for longer - a minute to a minute and a half, depending on size.)

And, if you're my Goose, holler for "sirup!" (a combo of honey and real maple syrup thinned a bit with water) in which to dip your toast and egg . . . then go to Tammy's Recipes for more kitchen tips.

Using Egg Shell to Catch Egg Shell Pieces

The other day when I was cracking eggs for breakfast, a tiny piece of shell splintered off into the bowl of cracked eggs. If you've ever tried to fish such a piece out with your finger or a spoon, you know that the harder you try, the more the tiny piece seems to squirt away! But, if you take one of the egg shell halves and use that to scoop out the wayward piece, it's much easier to catch.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

This is my 100th post! I'm putting together some fun things for a BIG give-away, with something for everyone. I'll tell you that prizes include:
a homemade bathtub fishing game,
a homemade tag blanket,
a pair of baby leg warmers (can't believe I haven't told you about THOSE yet!),
a book on getting organized,
a household hints book,
a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding,
a beautiful set of tins to organize craft stuff (or anything!),
a pair of fairy wings,
a vintage-ish cookbook, and
a vintage sewing/craft sort of book
- and MORE! So please check back - I'm all excited!

Stacking Plastic Storage Containers (Tupperware, etc.)

My kitchen tip for today is how to stack plastic storage containers like Tupperware, Rubbermaid, etc. The natural tendency is to put the smaller containers in the bigger ones. But, if they are the same diameter (size across), they actually stack better if you put the taller containers inside the shorter ones!

I keep these in a drawer, and I can always tell when the toddler has rearranged them or someone else has put them away because the drawer won't close. With these containers, I can then put the stacked smaller ones inside the stacked larger ones, and my drawer will still close.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes. And for those of you who came over from Tammy's, I'd love it if you'd visit my post on keeping toddlers occupied in the car and give me any ideas you have. I've compiled a lot, but it's going to be a looong trip. Thanks!

Using Freezer Paper

Previous posts have noted that I like to brown, divide, and freeze hamburger, make ahead casseroles, make and freeze sloppy joes, freeze chicken in marinade, freeze raw chicken breasts, and now I'll show you how I wrap big hunks of raw meat for longer-term storage.

Many frugal minds agree that you can help your grocery bill by watching for things your family enjoys (and you use a lot of) to go on sale, then stock up as space and usage allows. I like to use my crock pot, and I've discovered that Goose loves to eat shredded pork, which was on sale last week. I bought several packages, and also some freezer paper and tape.

To prepare the pork roasts, I cut off as much fat as I can without wasting too much meat. (It isn't exactly wasted at our house - it goes to the barn cats!) North Dakota State University has a link which shows how to wrap meat for freezing. (Doncha know there, eh? Angela and Annemarie are probably the only people that will get that . . . ) I prefer the butcher wrap, myself. I then labeled with the type of meat, date frozen, and weight, and put four of them in the freezer. The fifth one went in the crockpot for tomorrow's lunch.

The original recipe comes from A Year of Crockpotting. My tweaks are as follows:

Crockpot Pork Sandwiches

3-4 pound pork roast (bone-in is fine)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup beer

Place meat in crock, sprinkle spices and brown sugar over it. Add Worcestershire, mustard, and honey, pour in beer. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (Steph did 12 hours overnight and it was a bit overdone but plenty edible). Serve over rice or pasta, or as we do, as sandwiches.

Since I'm cooking it overnight, I'll shred it in the morning, and refrigerate the drippings/juice so the fat can come to the top and harden, then I'll skim that off and return the meat to the juice.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.

Preparing Oatmeal for Toddlers

Learning to eat is messy business. When Goose was starting solids, I used baby rice cereal and baby oatmeal to thicken her baby food so it was easier to feed to her without it running everywhere. I use the same idea when I prepare oatmeal for her now - keep it thick.

I use less water for her oatmeal so that it stays on the spoon better on the way to her mouth. If I don't have enough water, though, it's a bit difficult for her to get on the spoon. It's a balance, and I don't measure the water; rather I eyeball it. Clean-up is much easier!

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes. And for those of you coming over from Tammy's Recipes, please visit this post that I wrote this weekend about cooking a frozen casserole and cheese buns on the grill!

Link Roundup, Mowed Lawn Version

Hubs mowed our lawn today, and I helped a bit. I think it's been six weeks that our mower has been in the shop (we think they lost our number, and since it wouldn't fit in the trunk of my car, *I* wasn't going to call . . .) - though Hubs has mowed a few times with the riding mower. Let's just say the garden is well-mulched now.

Kitchen Tip: Seriously, file this under "I can't believe it worked" - before Goose and I left for church tonight, I lit the grill on one side and put a frozen casserole on the other side. It was one of my baked spaghetti casseroles. By the time we got home (around two hours after I threw it on), the edges were warm enough to eat, though the middle wasn't quite hot. It was only in the mid 80s, today, too!

To go with it, I softened some butter in the microwave and stirred in some shredded mozzarella then some Garlic Bread Sprinkle. I spread that on some hamburger buns that were getting a bit old, and put them on the grill on low. Once the cheese was melted, the bread was sufficiently crispy on the bottom and it was good! I was glad to not have to use the oven, too.

****MAKE****
Don't know that I'll bother to make the stars, but I marked this post at Alphamom for the sidewalk chalk recipe.

Homemade bubbles, this time at Make and Takes. Another one here at Sparkle Power. And this one at Living a Better Life.

I've seen these little baby gifts around (this one at Kate's Kitchen), a little bag that will hold a travel case of wipes and a diaper, sometimes perhaps a travel changing pad as well. However, those of us who are in love with our cloth diapers would need a bigger bag! (and a wet bag of some sort . . . )

Had to double check - I found this finger paint recipe at Pepper Paints - I posted one a while back on poster paint.

These sun prints are interesting, but I found myself wondering if one couldn't do something similar with a dark colored piece of construction paper and a south-facing window, plus more patience and the ability to leave it be for a while. (The Light Garden)

No Time For Flashcards posted on making your own post office and toddler shopping list. Fun!

This huge indoor drying rack at Engineer a Debt Free Life provides an interesting alternative to a clothesline. It would be rather practical in the wintertime when one needs moisture in the house, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to sacrifice THAT MUCH space for it. Priorities, I suppose.

How cute is this sweet pea tipi?!? (or teepee - depends on your region, I suppose) (@ Chasing Cheerios) I love the idea of making something like that more or less permanent.

Solar ovens are fascinating to me right now (here's one at SolarNow.org) but refer to my casserole on the grill above and I wonder if I need it. Of course, we do have to buy the propane.

Make your own bath toys at Plum Pudding.

This homemade rain at Salt and Chocolate was so intriguing that I had to click through. Something tells me that if I put a swimsuit on Goose and handed this to her, she'd love it!

Very cute backpack made from a towel at The Idea Room (via Lori).

For the toddler/preschool/homeschool set: toddler activity bags and phonics bags here, here, and here (Chasing Cheerios and Muses of Megret).

****EAT****
More popsicle recipes, found at Tipnut.

I'll probably never make these, but these sweet burgers and fries are ADORABLE. (Bakerella, who else?)

I keep stumbling across Muffin Tin Monday where you serve your toddler's lunch in a muffin tin on Mondays per whatever theme they have. Wonder if Goose would eat better that way? She might be a bit young to be charmed by the concept. Today, she ate her peas and left most of her pizza.

These lollipop firework cake toppers are so cool! I'm thinking flowers . . . (@ Wisdom of the Moon)

****DO****
Our pantry is a large cupboard, which is more than many have. Still, if we ever build a house, I would love a walk-in pantry, and ideas on how to organize it are always a good thing. Scroll down the comments to the one from Kay Brooks for good info.

****DON'T DO :>)
Trying to resist adding to my reader: Teach Mama. Argh! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold out!

Food Substitutions

Since we live in the middle of nowhere, if I'm out of an ingredient, just running to the store isn't an option. Plus I do a lot of cooking during Goose's naptime, so I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted! Enter The Cook's Thesaurus.

I have used it for a huge variety of things - what the proportion of ingredients is for self-rising flour (since I don't buy it), how much molasses and white sugar makes brown sugar, what cuts of beef are similar to swap out in recipes, and the list goes on. I've found it especially helpful when a recipe calls for a rather exotic ingredient that I can't find or is quite expensive. Often I can discover a more common, cheaper alternative, or I can confirm that I can leave it out with little ill effects.

Categories it covers include:
Vegetables * Fruits * Dairy * Flavorings * Liquids * Grains * Grain Products * Baked Goods * Legumes and Nuts * Meats * Fish * Vegetarian * Baking Supplies * Fats & Oils * Accompaniments * Equipment * Miscellaneous

There is also a search box in case you're not quite sure where your ingredient falls. I've used this site a LOT and have never been let down!

Interestingly, I've found there are two web addresses that both point to The Cook's Thesaurus. They are http://www.switcheroo.com/ and http://www.foodsubs.com/. I usually type in the switcheroo one because I can remember it more easily.

Happy substituting! For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes.