Low Calorie Carbs

Do you love your pasta?

This tip reminds me of those low calorie candy bars that claim to have 30% less calories than the regular candy bars and also happen to be 30% smaller.

Tip:

Fill your plate with salad and sprinkle it with your pasta noodles. This gives you the taste of mouth fulls of those carbs we love but with the greens we need and without the calories we don't. It works for me and I love it. (I also sprinkle some ranch on top :)

Rewarming Rice

If you hate left over rice because it is always too dry...
I have found a solution.

Tip:

Keep the rice in the ziplock bag you used to store it in while you microwave it.

This keeps the moisture in and you can finally enjoy moist left over rice.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

The best make-your-own version of sweetened condensed milk is to mix 1 cup of evaporated milk with 1-1/4 cups of sugar in a saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and let cool. If you don't have evaporated milk on hand either, you can make your own by slowly simmering any quantity of milk in a pan until it is reduced by 60%, and then adding the sugar.

Obviously this is a tedious process. Sweetened condensed milk has a shelf life of about a thousand years*, though, so pick up one or two cans on your next trip to the market and you’ll never need a substitute again (it’s a good idea to turn the can over every two months or so, to keep the sugar well dispersed throughout the milk).

*OK, it's more like two years, but it's still a fairly long time....

Peanut Butter Cups

Ok, so I made Peanut Butter Balls today rather than cups. I was in a hurry and it was much faster than using the molds I have. None the less, I like to call them peanut butter cups.
This recipe uses the peanut butter cup filling recipe I posted earlier.

This recipe takes only four ingredients:
- creamy peanut butter
- butter
- powdered sugar
- chocolate chips

Tip:
If you don't have a double boiler (like me) to melt your chocolate in, just use two pans that slightly vary in size. Put your water in the bottom pan, Rest the tip of the smaller on the side(s) of the larger and Shazaam, you have your double boiler.

Tip: Once my chocolate has melted, I throw a few new pieces to the side in the pan to start warming up. They will be ready to use once I am ready for more and I don't need to keep waiting for the chocolate to melt. I only use a small amount of melted chocolate at a time to prevent scalding and drying of the chocolate but with this method I also always have a ready supply.

Peanut Butter Cups:

- Prepare the peanut butter cup filling and let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so to stiffen
- Melt the chocolate pieces (I use chocolate chips) in a double boiler
- Roll the filling into walnut sized balls while you wait for the chocolate to warm
- Drop one ball at a time into the chocolate and roll it with a spoon until covered
- Place it on wax paper to cool
- Repeat until all the balls have a thick coating of chocolate
- You can leave them out to set or place them in the fridge
- Once the chocolate has hardened, your Done!

These are delectable!

The No-Slide Bowl

I learned a new tip!

Tip:
Place a wet towel under your mixing bowl to keep it from sliding while you mix.

I tried it today and it worked perfectly. I was able to free up my other hand to use the spatula. It also helped my little daughter who needs both hands on the beaters in order to control them.

Tip:
When your done, you can use the wet towel to wipe up the counter where you worked.