Monday, June 21, 2010
Mashed 'atatoes
Step away from the flakes!
This is one of the simplest things to make. Even the flavored ones like Butter and Herb and Garlic are just one extra step. It's not really a recipe, more of a format. Once you get that down you can do it in your sleep. I am a box-to-real-thing convert, so I know of what I speak.
- Start by taking approx 1 1/2 potatoes for each person depending on their appetite.
- You can either peel them and cut them into about 4-6 pieces or just scrub them good and cut them into more like 10 pieces. If you leave the peel on you need to cut them smaller so the peel isn't in too big 'a hunks.
- Put them in a pot (I use a 3 qt and can make enough to feed 6-8 people in that size pot, no need to drag out a huge one). Cover them with cold water and a hearty pinch of salt. Put them on high, bring to a boil and turn down, cover.
- This is the hard part (the waiting). This part will take about 15-20 minutes give or take. You want to take them off when you can pierce them with a fork and they kind of just break. If you cook them too long they will be watery (I can share a recipe to fix those also because I did it the other night when my youngest was having a meltdown).
- Drain and start mashing. You can use a potato masher or if you don't have one even a pastry cutter will work. They don't have to be perfectly mashed, a few chunks are good.
- Add butter and canned evaporated milk, if you are worried about fat content use the canned Skim Milk, it is still very creamy. Not an exact science, just whatever you like. If it's a full 3 qt pan I will had 1/2 stick butter and most of a can of milk. You can always add more. Just do it to taste along with salt (and pepper if you like).
DONE! You made mashed potatoes. If you follow this format you really can't mess them up. The other night mine were watery so I threw them in a Pyrex pan and topped with cheese and baked for about 20 minutes. I already had the oven going and we were waiting on our chicken to finish. The kids actually liked them better than regular mashed potatoes. I was afraid they were ruined and they requested I "ruin" them again.
If you like the garlic mashed potatoes, this is really simple. In the last 3-4 minutes of boiling throw in about 3 cloves of garlic. This will be mild even though it sounds like a lot, it might be the boiling. Then when you smash them up they will break up right into the potatoes, this is a very easy variation.
I also like to experiment with different spices in my cabinet. Greek Seasoning is one of my favorites spices on the planet. It's a combo of garlic, oregano, salt and some other yummy stuff. It is fabulous on chicken and really good in mashed potatoes.
If you like a twice baked potato but don't want to take the 90 minutes it takes to make them you can leave out some of the milk, add sour cream, handful of grated cheese, bacon bits and green onions or chives.
Please, try this! Your family will love you for it! It's oh so yummy and really not that hard!
This is one of the simplest things to make. Even the flavored ones like Butter and Herb and Garlic are just one extra step. It's not really a recipe, more of a format. Once you get that down you can do it in your sleep. I am a box-to-real-thing convert, so I know of what I speak.
- Start by taking approx 1 1/2 potatoes for each person depending on their appetite.
- You can either peel them and cut them into about 4-6 pieces or just scrub them good and cut them into more like 10 pieces. If you leave the peel on you need to cut them smaller so the peel isn't in too big 'a hunks.
- Put them in a pot (I use a 3 qt and can make enough to feed 6-8 people in that size pot, no need to drag out a huge one). Cover them with cold water and a hearty pinch of salt. Put them on high, bring to a boil and turn down, cover.
- This is the hard part (the waiting). This part will take about 15-20 minutes give or take. You want to take them off when you can pierce them with a fork and they kind of just break. If you cook them too long they will be watery (I can share a recipe to fix those also because I did it the other night when my youngest was having a meltdown).
- Drain and start mashing. You can use a potato masher or if you don't have one even a pastry cutter will work. They don't have to be perfectly mashed, a few chunks are good.
- Add butter and canned evaporated milk, if you are worried about fat content use the canned Skim Milk, it is still very creamy. Not an exact science, just whatever you like. If it's a full 3 qt pan I will had 1/2 stick butter and most of a can of milk. You can always add more. Just do it to taste along with salt (and pepper if you like).
DONE! You made mashed potatoes. If you follow this format you really can't mess them up. The other night mine were watery so I threw them in a Pyrex pan and topped with cheese and baked for about 20 minutes. I already had the oven going and we were waiting on our chicken to finish. The kids actually liked them better than regular mashed potatoes. I was afraid they were ruined and they requested I "ruin" them again.
If you like the garlic mashed potatoes, this is really simple. In the last 3-4 minutes of boiling throw in about 3 cloves of garlic. This will be mild even though it sounds like a lot, it might be the boiling. Then when you smash them up they will break up right into the potatoes, this is a very easy variation.
I also like to experiment with different spices in my cabinet. Greek Seasoning is one of my favorites spices on the planet. It's a combo of garlic, oregano, salt and some other yummy stuff. It is fabulous on chicken and really good in mashed potatoes.
If you like a twice baked potato but don't want to take the 90 minutes it takes to make them you can leave out some of the milk, add sour cream, handful of grated cheese, bacon bits and green onions or chives.
Please, try this! Your family will love you for it! It's oh so yummy and really not that hard!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Disinfecting - Fast, Cheap and Easy!
Countertops, bathrooms and laundry OH MY! Want to disinfect and clean without breaking the bank or breaking out the harsh chemicals? Try this: Take a Glass Sugar Pourer (approx $4-5), fill 2/3 with baking soda (maybe $1 worth), 1/3 with Borax (a few pennies worth), then add approx 5-8 drops of Tea Tree Oil (a few pennies worth). Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake that Cleaner!
I love to take this to my kitchen for my Countertops and even my wood cuttingboard topped island. Shake a little on and use a wet washcloth to rub it in. The borax will clean and freshen, the baking soda will act as a mild scrubber and odor eliminater, the tea tree oil will kill bacteria. What's not to love? I let it sit for about 10 minutes then squeeze a little warm water over it and wipe it away.
Don't stop there, take it anywhere you need to kill bacteria or eliminate odors like your bathroom, door handles, switchplates, etc. Of course you want to make sure it is safe for your particular surface. I don't have anything fancy like marble or granite so it's safe for pretty much everything in my house.
I hope this has demistified Natural Disinfecting for you all. Remember... It's cheap, it's healthy and it's really not that hard!
I love to take this to my kitchen for my Countertops and even my wood cuttingboard topped island. Shake a little on and use a wet washcloth to rub it in. The borax will clean and freshen, the baking soda will act as a mild scrubber and odor eliminater, the tea tree oil will kill bacteria. What's not to love? I let it sit for about 10 minutes then squeeze a little warm water over it and wipe it away.
Don't stop there, take it anywhere you need to kill bacteria or eliminate odors like your bathroom, door handles, switchplates, etc. Of course you want to make sure it is safe for your particular surface. I don't have anything fancy like marble or granite so it's safe for pretty much everything in my house.
I hope this has demistified Natural Disinfecting for you all. Remember... It's cheap, it's healthy and it's really not that hard!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
First Post
Ever wanted to try something but, it just looked too hard? What's on your list?
Oil Painting? Home Decorating? Raising animals?
I have recently started trying a few new things and I've decided to archive them here and hopefully you will try some of them, too.
First on my list was Cloth Diapering. I know, I know... why on EARTH would you want to do that? Well, now that you mention the EARTH, it's a very eco friendly choice. If that's not a reason why not for the health of your child? Do you really know what chemicals are in that sposie? I recently found out that it takes 2/3 of a cup of petroleum to create 1 disposable diaper... ONE. How many will a child use in their life? Thousands! So I took what I would spend on about 2-3 months worth of disposable diapers and invested them into cloth. Little did I know I would enjoy it as much as I do. I'm saving Money, saving his Butt, saving the Earth. So, it's cheap, it's healthy, it's cute and it's really not that hard!
Oil Painting? Home Decorating? Raising animals?
I have recently started trying a few new things and I've decided to archive them here and hopefully you will try some of them, too.
First on my list was Cloth Diapering. I know, I know... why on EARTH would you want to do that? Well, now that you mention the EARTH, it's a very eco friendly choice. If that's not a reason why not for the health of your child? Do you really know what chemicals are in that sposie? I recently found out that it takes 2/3 of a cup of petroleum to create 1 disposable diaper... ONE. How many will a child use in their life? Thousands! So I took what I would spend on about 2-3 months worth of disposable diapers and invested them into cloth. Little did I know I would enjoy it as much as I do. I'm saving Money, saving his Butt, saving the Earth. So, it's cheap, it's healthy, it's cute and it's really not that hard!
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