Category: Cooking

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Disease maintenance with food.

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I went for a surgical consult last week about removing the part of intestine that is infected by the diverticulitis. The surgeon 😷 didn’t seem like he was too willing for doing the procedure, reason being I have only had 2 flares in 2 months….granted all doctors I have previously seen (GI and all the ones in the ER) all agree surgery would be a great idea so I don’t suffer all the symptoms I do. He also was not happy about the fact I had been on antibiotics a week prior and was still having tenderness. He decided to put me back on antibiotics and put me on the surgery schedule tentatively in March. So I have decided to do more homemade dinners especially.

Friday I made a very mild red beans and rice, hubby added salsa chips. I made this from dried beans in my multi pot, adding in sautéed onions, carrots, bell pepper, celery and mushrooms, along with ham hocks, spice mix we like and water to cover.

Saturday I then made pork tacos. I took a picnic pork roast and put it in my multi pot to make it shredable. It was falling apart by the time I was done. Adding in the onion, carrot, celery and our goto spices and of course some water.

Sunday I made spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs, homemade meatballs. These meatballs were very tender and moist. I chopped up 2 pieces of white bread and added milk to moisten. I then added 2 eggs, chopped onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Then of course added hamburger meat and lastly 1/2 cup of oatmeal. Mixed the mixture and made into balls and then cooked in the oven. I removed them from the grease that was left over and cooled completely. Then while the pasta was cooking I made the sauce and warmed the meatballs in it. Adding the pasta to complete and a side of garlic bread.

Cooking · Eclectic · Handmade · Homemade · Life · Reality · thoughts

Soup….homemade….

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Homemade soup is always best. With my bout or flare up of diverticulitis I have to go back to clear liquid diet and work back to solid food. All last week I was eating or rather drinking my meals, pre-made soups and broths. Then I worked up to these….

In this flavor and creamy tomato 🍅 as well. They are really good.

Then to work up some more… so I decided to make my own chicken and veggie soup.

I sautéed celery, onions, carrots, bell pepper, and mushrooms with olive oil in my multipot and some spices. Then added chicken broth and a whole chicken, put it in pressure cook for 40 minutes and let it release for 30 minutes. I added 2 cans of navy beans and pressure cooked for another 10 minutes, quick release and ate.

It was delicious!

I am eating, slowly on solid foods but I couldn’t turn down a chance for a good tomato soup. So I am making my own tomato 🍅 soup.

Starting out with 2 types of tomatoes, onions and bell pepper with olive oil and my goto spices. Roasting at 350 degrees at 15 minute intervals, turning each time. When the skins of the tomatoes 🍅 are ready to come off I peel them off.

I decided, after talking to my sis-in-law and she mentioned tomato 🍅 bisque, to look at recipes for it. It had an addition of bacon, carrots and celery and they even used canned tomatoes, I feel if you’re going to make it homemade you have to have fresh tomatoes 🍅! So in addition I put in a batch of bacon, celery and carrots in the oven with olive oil and my spices to roast.

After blending the tomato 🍅 pan and putting it in my multipot to simmer, I blended the carrot pan and some tomato blend until smooth. Once that all was combined and heated thru I added 2 cups of heavy cream.

I snuck a taste, since I had just eaten lunch, and….WOW the flavor!! The bacon was the first thing I tasted, right after the tomatoes, then a smidge of everything else. It is good! Will have to remember all that I included!! 😋

Cooking · Eclectic · Interests · recipes

Carnitas…..Tortas and rice

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Multipot and my rice-cooker to the rescue! Spanish rice and pork carnitas made in about an hour…and voila, tortas and rice!! It was so yummy! 😋

Rice was easy….in the rice cooker, add amount of rice (I used 2 cups and 3 1/2 cups water), pieces of an onion (I have to keep them big to fish them out of hubby’s and sons serving…they are so soft and yummy I eat them up!), a heaping tablespoonful of tomato bouillon with chicken flavor, and either some garlic powder or some crushed garlic

Making the carnitas, I used my multipot on sauté on high and browned the pork in oil, (1 1/2lbs of chunks of carnitas) adding spices as I go. I added many spices, cumin, garlic, salt & pepper, oregano, adobo seasoning…whatever you want. Follow the pots instructions…I add a cup of water and set on pressure cook on high for 55 minutes.

So soft it can just be mashed with a spoon to be shredded up.

Toasted bread (badillos) on the griddle, bottom has refried beans, meat, avocado, tomato, lettuce, traditionally mayo on the top part of the bread, I like sour cream.

Sooo yummy!! 😋

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Been busy….

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I’ve been busy since I last posted. Here are some things that I have done while away.

Here is something I love to make but my stomach hates me for eating too much of when I do. This is what I call barley risotto, it has onions, mushrooms, butter, chicken broth, leftover roasted chicken and yes barley.

Unfortunately my daughters kitty, Bruce, got down and sick, come to find out he has some chronic illness that if stressed enough will bring it on. Poor thing was sick for about a week and really loved medicine time…we mixed it with wet food. He is such a character.

We adopted this cutie, the stressor to kitty :(. Ended up being too much for our whole family, other critters included so we had to give him back. ;(.

Our sweet momma dog, Cleo, left us a few weeks after we got crazy dog. It was very hard for my hubby and I, especially my hubby since he had had her since a pup.

Our sweetie, Dexter, passed away a few weeks ago. Come to find out since ferrets have so much inbreeding they don’t live very long due to tumors or other illnesses. We think he had a tumor on his pancreas.

We got this cutie, Nutmeg, seeing that our other ferret baby seemed to be lonely and depressed due to his brother passing. She is alot of fun and crazy in a very little package. Lol

WIPS and projects is progress…

Will explain them more later! Bye for now!

Cooking · Eclectic · Hobbies · Interests · Life · Reality

Lentils recipe…my way

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I saw a recipe for lentils and liked most of it, minus the soy sauce, but adding a few more ingredients.

It was called Canal House Lentils recipe, but I made it my own.

Sauté leeks (that are chopped how you like and cleaned well), minced garlic, and chopped mushrooms in butter.

After about 5 minutes or so, add a tablespoon of tomato paste and sauté for a few.

Add a cup of lentils and 2 1/2 cups water and simmer until done. The directions say 45-55 minutes, mine didn’t take 30, Im still getting used to my stove.

Due to the over doneness of the lentils I added cream and a cup of cooked barley (cooked in 2 cups chicken stock until it adsorbed it all) to add depth and flavor.

I had seconds. Adding some cooked chicken would make it a whole meal.

Cooking · Eclectic · Essential Oils · Hobbies · Interests

Essential Oil Refrigerator and Microwave Cleaner

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Cleaning out a grimy microwave caked with stains or a refrigerator full of mysterious sticky residue is not a fun job. However, stains, spills, and other residue will soon be replaced with the lovely scent of Lemon essential oil with this simple Refrigerator and Microwave Cleaner DIY.

What once was a dreaded chore will soon be a simple task with a little help from vinegar, hot water, and doTERRA Lemon oil. Not only will this DIY save you time, but you’ll also smell the refreshing scent of Lemon each time you open the fridge or microwave.

Cooking · Crafting · Crocheting · Eclectic · Essential Oils · Hobbies · Interests · Life

Fridge Fresheners

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With all the different food items, it’s only natural to have a smelly fridge, right? Well, not anymore! These easy to make fridge refreshers are a simple, natural way to deodorize your refrigerator. Just place one refresher in your fridge each month for a fresh and clean scent every time you open up your fridge.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups baking soda

½–1 cup water

15 drops Purify

Instructions

1 Combine baking soda, ½ cup water, and essential oils into bowl.

2 Stir together.

3 Note: If needed, add more water until thick paste forms. The mixture should resemble damp sand.

4 Divide mixture equally into silicone mold.

5 Allow it to rest 2–3 days or until mixture hardens.

6 Once hard, place in refrigerator to help eliminate unpleasant odors. Store additional fridge refreshers in an airtight container until ready to use. One disk will last up to a month in your fridge.

Tip: Place under sink, in the shoe closet, or behind the toilet for additional freshness.

Fridge Freshness

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Homemade Marshmallows

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These are definitely something for a patient person to make. I also will have everything prepared more so than I already did. Recipe stated that in total to make them it would be 4 hours and 45 min….45 min of actually making and atleast 4 hours of sitting and cooling. Mine sat overnight. This is what they looked like, powdery. Homemade Marshmallows Recipe

My Texas themed cutters I got from our Tx store nearby….we live in Tx why not!! Lol

All done, packaged and ready to be bagged up with my homemade cocoa.

I wish I had taken a picture of the when all was done. Sorry!

Cooking · Eclectic · Interests

Pork Roast w/ Rice

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Last night this is what we had for dinner, pork roast with rice, granted we were supposed to have it Sunday night but…. I put the crockpot on warm instead of high. I mean who does that? Apparently me!

Well I put the roast in, 1 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup each of chopped onion, mushroom, bell pepper, and celery. It was falling apart. I put that over rice, it was yummy.