Baked Carrots

Baked carrots!

These are easy to make and easy to eat.

- Peel about 10+ carrots and cut them into sticks

- Place them one layer deep in a 9x13 baking dish

- Place a few pats of butter on top and cover with foil

- Bake at about 400 deg. for about 20 minutes, until they are as tender as you wish.

These always come out tender and super sweet. All of my kids will eat these even my daughter who hates carrots. My mother-in-law does it with both carrots and parsnips, also very delicious.

Quickly Ripen Avocados

Here is a tip to quickly ripen avocados.
Tip:
- Place 2-3 avocados in a paper sack overnight.

Here is a tip to ripen avocados even quicker.
Tip:
- Place a tomato or an apple in the paper bag with the avocados.

Here is a tip to use in an emergency only situation which "ripens" them immediately.
Tip:
- Nuke them. Prick the avocado all over with a fork and microwave it in 30 second intervals on half power until soft.


Due to an emergency situation I found myself in, I used this last tip. I put "ripen" in quotes because this does not actually ripen the avocado. It softens it enough that you can use it for guacamole or in another mix. The avocado has a very mild taste and doesn't work well on its own if used this way.

My experience:
The avocados softened in spots but I never got the entire avocado soft. It had an unpleasant smell, but this leaves once the avocado cools. I tried using a potato masher to smooth it all out, but it wasn't enough. I ended up using a blender (I couldn't find all the parts to my food processor) and pureed it a little at a time with mayonnaise (also in the recipe I was using). I made a terrible mess and it took a lot of time since it was for five avocados, but it did work and no one was the wiser.
I would definitely recommend just buying ripe avocados, but in this emergency it did work.

Bible Sandwiches

This is a tasty sandwich from my husband's youth. He used to purchase them from a local health food store that also operated a deli. This has long since closed and the recipe was lost. However, with a little detective work I was able to contact the new owners of the building and learned that they did have the recipe on file in their office. So, as a surprise to my husband, I made him Bible Sandwiches which we continue to enjoy as a family.

Bible Sandwiches

Ingredients:
- Avocado (mashed until smooth)
- Mayonnaise
- Sesame Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Spike*
- Shredded Cabbage
Mix all of these ingredients together to make a slaw.
- Fill wheat pita bread with the slaw
- Add Swiss cheese slices and any vegetables you wish.
We always use tomatoes but you can also add alfalfa sprouts, mushroom, cucumbers, peppers, ...


*Spike is a seasoning you can purchase at a health food store that gives this sandwich its distinct flavor. It is a mix of several spices and is available with or without salt (I do with).

When I was given this recipe no quantities were listed so I do it all to taste.

I use the bagged cole slaw mix available at local grocery stores for my shredded cabbage and I use one avocado per 1/2 bag. (2 avocados per bag, but I usually only make 1/2 bag at a time)

Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl mash the avocado.
- Add about 1/2 cup+ mayonnaise
- Stir in the seeds and the spike (again, this is all to taste)
- Add the shredded cabbage
- Taste, add anything you need more of (if it is too dry I add more mayonnaise or too wet then I add more cabbage or too mild then I add more spike, etc.)
- Fill your pita half with slaw, Swiss cheese and vegetables.

Yummy, trust me.

Check out the Keep Guacamole Green Tip

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 :)

Hash Browns

For a quick snack or meal try these hash browns.

Hash Browns:
- place a little butter in a fry pan
- grate a lg uncooked potato right into the pan, skin and all
- sprinkle with salt and add more butter as needed
- let it fry until golden brown and then flip
- salt this side as well.
- You're Done, when both sides are golden brown

I love them this way. The inside is a little sticky and the outside is crunchy.

Tip:
If you don't like the sticky, simply grate the potato into a colander and rinse with cold water.
Pat it dry and then add to the fry pan.

30 Minute Meal

From Mom:
Here is a dinner you can whip up in 30 minutes, if you have the ingredients.
Normally we have everything for it, except the walnuts - but I had some left over from Christmas as I didn't do as much holiday baking as I thought I would.

Shepherds Pie Grandma Lindeman Style

1 lb. hamburger browned w/ seasoning salt or salt & pepper
1/2 onion chopped - brown with the hamburger
add 1 can drained green beans
add 1 small can tomato soup

While the hamburger is cooking,
boil 2 cups water - when it comes to a boil add
1 cup mil
2 tb butter and turn off heat
2 c. instant mashed potatos - we use our food storage ones

Pour hamburger mixture into small brown pan
top with mashed potatoes and grated cheese
Heat in the oven until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

While the Shepherds pie is baking, you can make the salad


Waldorf Salad

1 stalk of celery per adult person - so I used 3
1 apple per person (adult) - so I used 3
wash and dice
1/3 c. chopped wallnuts
1/3 c raisins
combine all these together
1/2 c. miracle whip
1/4 c sugar
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar
mix the dressing together and pour over the salad and then stir the salad until coated.

YUM!
All done in 30 minutes

Super Easy Yummy Ideas #3 Potatoes

From Mom:

3. Baked potatoes -
bake some ahead to have for these easy things.
> a. add chili beans and cheese - yum
> b. dice up and fry with some bacon and onion - yum
> c. cut up and add milk, cheese, onion, ham - yum

Most of these things can be spooned into a flour tortilla to be eaten "on the run"

Fresh Celery

To keep celery fresh for weeks:

- wrap the celery in aluminum foil before refrigerating

Easy Way to Peel Potatoes

Do you remember Marianne from Gilligan's Island? Well, now she's teaching people an amazingly easy way to peel and boil potatoes in basically one step! Check it out!