Spinach and Herb Mix

This dip mix is my version of Tastefully Simple's Spinach and Herb Mix.  I think I nailed it and now I don't need to spend 9$ on a bottle of spices.   What a great way to get spinach into your kids!

1/3 C dried spinach-dry on the counter or in a dehydrator.  1 bunch should yield the dried amount needed for this recipe.

2 T dried onion

1 T + 1tsp dried dill

1 tsp ground garlic

Mix together and store in a jar.

For yummy dip add:

2 T Spinach and Herb Mix

1/2 C real mayonnaise-don’t substitute

1/2 C sour cream or plain yogurt

Mix together and chill till ready to use.

For Chicken or Fish:

Coat meat with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Coat with Spinach and Herb mix and let marinate for 30 mins.  Grill or bake.

Herbed Roasted Chicken:

Add 1 T Spinach and Herb Mix to 2 T butter. 

Separate chicken skin from meat but don’t remove.  Rub butter mixture under chicken skin to coat.  Then rub remaining butter on top of chicken.  Salt and Pepper chicken.

Bake chicken in roaster, covered until done about 45 mins. at 350 degrees.  Remove cover to crisp skin if desired the last 15 minutes.

Holy Crap!

I can't remember the reason why I decided to prepare two completely separate dinners that night, but I was having one of those "I am woman" moments and decided it was doable.  Alan and the boys were out picking up the flags from the latest patriotic holiday the scouts are required to post flags for, and Sarah was playing outside with her friends.  I was in the zone.  Chopping and cooking, sauteing and steaming.  I don't remember even remotely what I was making.  I suppose the trauma blocked all of that.  All I remember is my favorite knife for chopping onions was dirty.  So, rather than wash it, I pulled out the giant chef's knife I rarely use and went at the onion with chef like speed.  Julia Child would have been thrilled to see me fly through that onion.  I have been practicing and am developing a feel for the rhythm.
I was so into the chopping, I failed to notice exactly what I had chopped that evening until I began scooping up the onions for the pot and noticed clearly, the tip of my finger laying on the cutting board!  I am sorry, I know that is graphic, but there it was.  Plain as day and mocking me for my chopping arrogance.  The blood came quickly after my brain realized what my knife had done to my finger. 
I have cut my fingers before and it has hurt, but this was epic!  My middle finger had a distinctive flat side where the tip use to be.  I had the presence of mind to remove the non-onion part of my recipe and grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure.  At this point you would have thought I should stop cooking, but I didn't.  I continued with my injured hand gripping a paper towel and raised above my head (to slow the bleeding of course) and my other hand continuing to cook.  I wasn't going to let all of my hard work go to waste! 
Sarah had come in from playing by now and was confused as to why my arm was raised over my head.  "What are you doing Mom?", she says.  "I cut myself, again."  The immediate look of recognition washes over her face and she asks me if I need help.  A sous chef!  Yes, I needed help.  Sarah was a champ and helped me finish cooking dinner.  The bleeding of course didn't improve with my first aid efforts and I started to get worried I had really done serious damage this time.  There are several nurses on my street and I wondered which of them I could call to assist me.
The embarrassment  because of my stupidity took priority over my gushing finger and I  refused to call anyone, let alone go to the urgent care.  I know how to handle this.  Cayenne Pepper stops bleeding!  I begin to search for the Cayenne and can't find it anywhere.  My plan is foiled.  How can I be out of the giant Costco container I have had for years!  I am going to have to tell someone about this.  I can't leave my dinner to go to the store because it isn't quite finished.  And, the bloody stump at the end of my arm might alarm the Walmart people.  I can't leave Sarah in charge of finishing dinner; she's eight.  I have to call Alan and confess to him what I did.  Telling Alan about my injuries is worse than getting sent to the principals office.  He has has too many calls from friends about me at the emergency room.  He never knows what is around the corner with me.  Or, how much it may cost us.
So, after a very matter of fact phone call assuring him it is nothing, Alan arrives home with a container of Cayenne Pepper.   The bleeding has been steady for about 30 minutes so I was getting desperate for it to stop.  After pouring the pepper into a small bowl, I dunk my finger into the without even thinking.    The tip of the human finger has some pretty powerful nerve endings.  When they are exposed just to air it is painful.  When Cayenne Pepper is applied to the exposed nerve endings... insert expletive here.  I have experienced all different kinds of pain and this ranks second after my kidney stone with child birth a distant third. 
My heart rate exploded and I had to leave the presence of my family.  The pain knocked the breath right out of my lungs.  Crying seemed appropriate, but the only noise that escaped my body was something like the yelp dogs make when you accidentally step on them.  I am pretty sure I was in shock but happily, the weather was still fairly cold outside and it seemed to help with the pain.  I proceeded to pace around my house for 20 minutes or more waiting for the pulsating pain to subside.  My neighbors have been considering my sanity and I am sure this episode helped them realize I am nuts but committed to my work. 
Cayenne Pepper is a miracle.  The bleeding stopped immediately and my finger healed up rather quickly.  I really am so cheap that I would put myself through all of this rather than pay a doctor.  Home remedy's do work, they just require effort.  It has been several months and the tip of my finger is still tender.   Our bodies are amazing and the layers of skin grew back so I don't have a weird, flat looking fingertip.  And, dinner was fantastic! 

Snappy Joes

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey-don’t skimp on the meat.  Cheap fatty hamburger will give you an inferior outcome.  You want the meat very lean. 

½ cup chopped red pepper

1 small onion chopped fine-use the food processor

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

½ cup BBQ sauce of choice-here is my recipe Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce

1 cup shredded carrots

6 oz green chili-I use the ones I canned and they are a bit spicier than the ones from the store.  

If you don’t have green chili add some tobasco sauce for a little kick.

Brown the meat with the onions first.  Add the peppers and the carrots and cook till soft.  Add the green chili and cook for a few minutes then mix in the tomato sauce and BBQ sauce.  Allow to cook for a few minutes to let the flavors combine.  The mixture should be think and round up on a spoon when scooped.  If you need to cook it longer and let it reduce then do so. 

Serve with hamburger buns or tortillas. 

Put an End to Cloudy Dishes

 I found this post on http://kitchenkneadsinc.blogspot.com  Kitchen Kneads is a wonderful store in Ogden, Utah that sells just about everything and anything you could want for cooking and food storage.  Thanks to them for the information. 

If you think your dishes aren’t getting as clean as they used to, you’re probably right! As of July 1, 2010, all the detergent makers removed phosphates from their detergents. This has caused a rash of washability complaints because the phosphates did a number of important things to help the detergent clean better.

For example, phosphate causes food to break apart and dissolve by removing the calcium that binds foods together. It also reduces spotting and filming during the wash cycle. Phosphate also helps break up and get rid of grease, helps control water hardness, and suspends soils within the wash water so they are not redistributed onto the plates.
The old-formula dishwasher detergents had about 30% phosphates. Now, with the phosphates removed, the calcium is free to run around inside the dishwasher slurry causing trouble.
But all is not lost. I have the solution. After being plagued with this horrible film that not only made my dishes look terrible, but also made them taste funny (glasses), I got fed up and went on a search for a recipe to make my own dishwasher detergent. I searched and searched and happened upon a recipe that goes as follows:

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda

(NOT Baking Soda. Washing soda can be found in the laundry aisle of some stores. I found mine at Macey's.)

1/4 cup Citric Acid

(Not as easy to find. The only place I know of to find it is at Kitchen Kneads. And even if I did know where else to find it, I wouldn't say because [come on] this is a Kitchen Kneads blog.) The citric acid is what creates that *sparkle and shine*. It basically does what the phosphates do.

1/4 cup Coarse Kosher Salt

(The salt is your scrubber)

Mix it all up well. Use 1 Tablespoon per load. That's really all you need.

As a rinse agent, forget the Jet Dry and just pour some vinegar in the rinse agent spot. It's awesome!

Not only is this an awesome dishwasher detergent, but it's also tons cheaper. The top 2 photos are what was plaguing me - a horrible white film that wouldn't even scrub off. These last 2 are what happened to the same dishes after washing them with this detergent. Amazing difference, huh?

*Note: You may have to wash your dishes a few times before the white residue is removed.

Posted by Kitchen Kneads at 9:05 AM