Ripening Avocados in the Microwave?

Have you heard of this?  Turns out that it's a real thing.  I had an avocado I wanted to use and it wasn't ripened enough so I went to my friend google to see if there were some options.  I skipped over ripening it in the microwave a few times and then went back to read the comments because there was post after post suggesting it.

It's really easy and just a few steps:
- Prick the avocado with a fork or knife all around
- Microwave on low for 30 seconds
- Check to see how soft it is and continue this in 30 second low intervals until it's soft

Then you're done.  It's that easy.

There wasn't a big textural change but the avocado was warm... and that was a hurdle for me.  This method could be good when you're adding it to something that will be cooked like chicken avocado rolls or when you have the time to put it in the fridge and let it chill for a while. 

 I'm going to file this in the good to know category.  I anticipate there will be another time when I will want to do it again but I don't think it will be a regular thing.

Hope you have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Seeds!

Our annual family time of carving pumpkins truly makes this Mama's heart happy. I love that the kiddos pretend like they are going to be able to get the guts and seeds out without saying things like "Yuck!" and "Gross!"  This year was especially fun because Connor carved his own Pumpkin for the first time.  Emily was super excited about her pumpkin until Connor's and hers were next to each other and she realized his pumpkin was bigger. 

I love that there are so many options in how you can flavor the pumpkin seeds.  We haven't branched out into anything crazy.  We love the simply seasoned and extra crunchy.

Let's Get Crafty!
Step 1: 
We got about 2 cups of seeds from a couple of pretty big pumpkins.  We rinsed the seeds and tried to get them as clean as possible. 

Step 2:
Then I spread them out on a large foil lined baking sheet and let them set for about 30 minutes to dry some. 

Step 3: 
While the seeds are just hanging out - preheat oven to 325

Step 4:
Add the seasonings that tickle your fancy.  I sprinkled ours with seasoning salt and garlic powder and that was it.  I stirred it once and added more garlic powder... well... because... garlic powder is awesome.  :D

I've seen a lot of recipes that use a little bit of oil here too.  We did that last year and it was good.  We didn't do oil this year and I thought they were just as good.

Step 5:
Bake for 20 minutes.  Stir and bake another 10 minutes at 300.

The size of seeds plays a lot into how long you need to bake, but it's important to bake them enough.  We like ours a little extra crispy - so we may do it longer than what is really needed.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day!

Chicken Taco Filling from the Instant Pot

Hello Everyone!  This recipe for chicken taco filling was made at the same time as the beef recipe. The timing worked great so they could be cooling at the same time. 

I really like using the Instant Pot for shredded chicken because it feels like it holds its texture more than when we cook it in the slow cooker.  I'm envisioning we'll use these freezer packets similar to the nachos and enchilada filling that I mentioned with the beef taco filling.

Let's Get Crafty!
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4lbs)

1/4 cup taco seasoning
2 tablespoons chili powder

Sprinkle the taco seasoning on each chicken breast and add to the Instant Pot

Pour on top of the chicken and seal up the IP:
14 oz can tomato juice

Set your Instant Pot to the manual setting for 20 minutes

We ended up with 4 ziplocs of chicken taco meat to freeze.  I saw some other recipes that used red enchilada sauce in the beef taco filling and the chicken taco filling.  I think I'll give that a try next time to add a bump to the flavor.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Beef Taco Filling Freezer Packets

I didn't do my normal round of freezer meals before school started this year and I've missed having those go-to meals hanging out in the freezer for those busy days.  I've decided to mix it up some from what I've normally done. I did throw together a couple of my traditional meals but I'm also making a couple new recipes that are really just large batches of something we use regularly that will be nice to just warm up.  This beef taco filling is one of those recipes.  The places to use it in addition to tacos and burritos feels endless... salads, nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas, add a can of rotel and some velvetta for a quick dip.

Let's Get Crafty!
For the Beef Taco Filling:
Brown the meat (I did this in two batches):
4 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, diced
I like to take the cooked hamburger and strain it in a colander to get out most of the fat.

Mix together the beef seasoning:
2 cans tomato sauce, no salt added
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (add more to fit your taste... I added another 1/2 teaspoon but you might not need it if your tomato sauce has salt)
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix together the beef, onions and seasoning:
Add in 1 can of beef broth and 1 cup of water then bring to a boil

Once boiling - lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes

Let it cool before dividing it among bags.

We got 6 quart sized freezer ziplocs

when putting about 1 1/2 in each.

It made me laugh pulling out the ziplocs that had a date on them from last month.  These were labeled when we were dividing up our roasted green chile to freeze.  We ended up with a lot of extras like this.  :D

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day.

Freezing Cubes of Basil and Parsley

One of my favorite things each summer is to have several different herbs growing.  This summer we had basil, parsley, rosemary and chives.  Towards the end of summer into the fall as the weather starts to get colder - I always want to preserve those remaining herbs and time seems to get away from me before I can do anything with them.  This weekend I found myself home alone while Mark and the kids were antelope hunting.  I took advantage of that time by freezing my remaining basil and parsley.  I'm already trying to think of soups and stews these would be great to throw into.

Let's Get Crafty!
I started with basil and did the same process with the parsley.  Cut the stalks of basil and rinse them gently until you feel like they are clean. Since I was using low pressure - it took me a couple minutes.

Then pull the basil leaves off the stems and lay them out to dry (I let mine sit for a couple hours)

Puree with olive oil and distribute into ice cube trays.  How much olive oil to use is really a judgement call.  You'll want to make sure it's just enough to get get the puree going.

Divide the puree into ice tray cubes.  I used a small spoon so I could make sure to get as much as possible in the little cubes and not accidentally all over the container.  We didn't have any ice cube trays on hand and I decided to buy a couple to use just for this.  I'm going to store them with our canning supplies and hope that helps me remember not to buy new ones next year. 

I froze ours in smaller portions so I could use 2 cubes if needed, but I anticipate needing a smaller amount most of the time.

We got 12 cubes of parsley

We got 10 cubes of basil 

(It's hard to tell from the picture - but I used about 

half the amount of basil in each as I did parsley since it's

a stronger flavor)

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day.

Beefy Mashed Potato Comfort Dinner

Fall is definitely in the air... with beautiful changing leaves and cooling weather.  Times are busy with football practices and hectic schedules which makes satisfying comfort dinners even more important.  This is one of those to me.  The roots of this recipe is a stew but we made mashed potatoes rather than chopping up potatoes and cooking them with the meat.  I love to get a lot of the thick sauce to make sure there's enough for every bite of mashed potatoes.  

This recipe is also another ode to "Oh, Instant Pot... how I adore thee."

Stir together in the instant pot and cook on the Meat/Stew setting for 35 minutes: 

2 lb beef roast, diced into 1 – 1 ½ inch bite size pieces

1 onion, diced

1 can beef stock

1 packet of onion soup mix

1 cup carrots, sliced

After the cook time do a quick release.  Once the lid is open - switch the setting to saute and let it come to a boil.  This happens pretty fast since it's already very hot.  

Then mix together until there are no lumps:

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

a little bit of cold water 

Add this to the boiling sauce stirring constantly.  It will quickly thicken up.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day.