I love food with Southwest flair. I could eat it every day of the week and not get tired of it. Enchilada sauce is not just good on enchiladas. It’s also yummy over eggs and in casseroles. Each batch yields about the same as a 20 ounce can of sauce. Read more
With pesto a little goes a long way for a delicious fresh flavor. It’s nice to have a jar of this mix on hand as a pantry staple, especially if you use Pesto a lot. Read more
Mix month is still going strong and I have a big line up for you next week! But for the weekend I wanted to show you some progress I’m making in the girl’s bathroom. In July, I’ll have a whole month of house projects and frugal nesting ideas for you–this is just a sneak peek :).
Smart Tiles generously supplied the tiles for this post (after I begged them) and I honestly thought I would have it up and ready for them in April. If you remember, the space looked like this–very green:
I stripped the wallpaper and the popcorn ceiling and was stuck with how to repair this:
…and many areas like it. I finally hired a drywall guy to rescue me. He was amazing and affordable and I wish I had called him months ago.
This week, I primed and painted the space. It is white, white, white…from the ceiling to the floor. To keep it from being boring and cold, I have lots of gold accents and dramatic floor to ceiling curtains planned. Plus texture from faux bamboo shades, terry cloth rugs, and hexagonal tiles. These, to be exact. #onsalenow
I chose these tiles because I want the space done quickly without messing with concrete backer board, wet saws, adhesive or grout. Yet, I needed something to look great, be durable, and create a waterproof area. I was not disappointed.
Here’s a before and after picture:
The sink will eventually be white too.
I made a video for you showing how they work :).
Syrup solutions usually call for 2 parts sugar to 1 part water boiled together for 1 minute. My husband’s mother used 2 cups brown sugar and 1 cup water. After we married I got the secret recipe and added 1/2 tsp of real maple extract to it to make it my own. Then I learned by adding a little flour, cornstarch, or glucomannan for thickening, I could reduce the sugar by half without missing any of the sweetness. This reduced sugar recipe (it’s hard to tell by the first ingredient, I know…) has extra flavor from cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a family favorite, especially around holiday time. Read more
Use this recipe in the place of any storebought boxed biscuit mix, such as bisquick. It makes biscuits, pancakes, waffles, cookies, impossible pie (both sweet and savory), scones, muffins, and more! Read more
Cake mix is a convenience food I buy, especially when it goes on sale. The delicious and effective chemicals in them give results I haven’t been able to duplicate by scratch. I’m sure it’s because I’m impatient and don’t separate eggs, or combine dry and wet ingredients separately.
It is probably also because I insist on using home ground whole wheat flour in everything I make from scratch. It’s really not good in cake….especially when compared to the box variety. It makes no sense I know. Using white cake flour would be a step up from going full force into a box mix. I’m a woman. I don’t have to make sense.
I’ve watched Cake Boss competitions where he criticized the contestants for cupcakes that tasted like they came from a box mix. “Blech, what did you do? Use a box mix?” I don’t understand the level of cake he’s on. Read more
This recipe is the brilliant masterpiece of my mother. It has been famous ever since it’s debut when I was a teenager and now we all keep a jar of it handy. Roast chicken is one of the easiest, affordable and most impressive meals to make. My favorite feature, is that it cooks nicely during church for a fast lunch once we get home.
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
½ t paprika
¼ t savory
¼ t thyme
¼ t garlic powder
Yield: 2 and 3/8 tsp
Rub the chicken all over with the mix and place breast side down in a roasting pan. (Breast side down makes the meat more moist, breast side up makes the skin crispy. You pick which one you want.) Surround it with peeled potatoes and carrot. Top with sliced onion and ribs of celery. Place a few cups of water in the bottom of the pan (miss the chicken, so you don’t wash off the rub.) Then bake at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours. (3 if the chicken is still frozen, with the bag of giblets in the center. . . 2 if you bothered to thaw it and pull them out.) I roast mine covered which is technically wrong…but it leaves more broth in the pan and keeps it moist.
Make gravy by pouring the broth from the pan through a strainer into a measuring cup. Heat the broth in a pan to boiling. Dissolve 1 Tbs of cornstarch or 1 tsp of glucomannan powder per cup of broth into enough water to make a smooth paste. Pour the smooth paste into the hot broth and cook and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbs pepper
1/4 cup Paprika
2 Tbs savory
2 Tbs thyme
2 Tbs garlic powder
Yield: 1 cup 3 Tbs
1 cup Chili Powder
1/2 cup Cumin
1/4 cup Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Minced Onion
2 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbs Sugar (or equivalent)
1 Tbs Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
Use 2 Tbs of mix to season 1 lb of ground beef, 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice (or 2 cans of tomato sauce), 2 cans of pinto beans and 2 cans of kidney beans. I don’t drain my cans. If you prefer to drain them, add more sauce or water to make up the volume in liquid.
Of all the mixes I use this one the MOST. I go through a quart jar full every couple of months.
The sweetener gives a bit of twang to balance out the spice. It’s the secret to a mix that tastes like the commercial ones, but can be left out if you’re against it. If you want yours super spicy add some cayenne, about a teaspoon to the whole jar.
If you buy your spices at Aldi, one bottle of spice is about 1 cup.
1 cup chili powder
1 cup dried onion flakes
¾ cup ground cumin
¾ cup garlic salt
1/3 cup sugar (or equivalent stevia blend substitute)
3 Tbs Paprika
Use 2 Tbs of mix for each pound of meat. You can also use this mix to make big batch taco meat for the freezer with the slow cooker bulk cooking method.
