Super Fast Bean Recipe: Cold White Bean Salad with Onions and Tomatoes

Here's one of my favorite bean salad recipes that I just shared one more time, so I thought I'd post it here on the blog.

Toss all this stuff together in a big bowl:

2  (14.5 oz) cans garbanzo beans (chick peas)
2  (14.5 oz) cans white kidney beans
1  (14.5 oz) can green beans
1 (14.5 oz) can sweet corn kernels
1 small can sliced black olives

1  red bell pepper chopped (throw in a yellow bell pepper, too, if you like them) 

1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 celery stalks, chopped

Dressing:
Bragg’s Healthy Vinaigrette (1/2 bottle) (I'm including this product because it's what I use, not because I'm getting any compensation for it.  It's just yummy and good for you, too.)


Make sure that everything is stirred together really well and that the dressing has coated every tiny bit.  Then cover with plastic wrap or a lid and let this stuff chill in the fridge for several hours.  Overnight is even better.

Reba's Notes:  

This is so fast it’s ridiculous. Sure, you have to chill the stuff and that's a delay -- and the longer you can hold out while it sits in the fridge, the better it tastes.

Still, this is so easy that my dog can almost throw it together and I cannot tell you how really, REALLY GOOD this stuff tastes.

Having some sturdy and tasty corn tortilla chips along side never hurt anything, either.  Hint.

And, it's cheap, to boot.  Makes a big bowl for not much cash (even less if you opt out of the olives and make your own dressing).

Now, I know that canned beans are going to have that issue of coming out of a can and we’re being warned that canned food may be exposed to toxins in the can linings. 

That’s not good.

However, I don’t have it in me to cook up all these different varieties of beans from scratch and I’m risking it. (You can also buy BFA-free canned food, here's a list of those brands - example, Trader Joe's).

It’s like a bean salad addiction, I’m ignoring the dangers to get my fix. This stuff is that good, boy howdy.

Hash Brown Potato Salad Recipe

Take a bag of frozen hash browns (1 lb., or 16 oz. size) and add them to a pot of boiling, salted water.  Let them cook for around 5 minutes, then test for doneness.  Done?  Drain the potatoes.

Let them cool.  Combine with your potato salad faves.  On Memorial Day 2012, we had:

mayo - couple of big spoon spoonfuls (say, 1/3 cup)
dijon mustard - 1 Tablespoon
salt
pepper

This stuff stirred together and then combined with the potatoes.  Let this set while you chop and do other stuff, say 20 to 30 minutes.

Television Benefit: Melissa D’Arabian and Her Ten Dollar Dinners – Great Food Fast and Cheap

Television.  It can be so good or so bad, depending upon how you use it.  I suppose this is true for most things, now that I think about it.  One of the great things about TV for me, at least, are the cooking shows.  I have truly learned how to cook from watching PBS shows like America’s Test Kitchen and other channel shows (I like Mad Hungry but I don’t follow it regularly).

However, there is one cooking show that I think stands head and shoulders above the rest, from a simplicity perspective.  It delivers on a promise to feed four a complete dinner for ten bucks and with good, tasty food to boot. 

It’s Ten Dollar Dinners with cook Melissa D’Arabian on the Food Network. 

What’s the big deal?

Well, the recipes don’t taste good, they taste great.  And they don’t take many ingredients.  (Good for time and for money.) And they are easy to put together.  It’s simple living in a kitchen. 

Now, you can follow the recipes online or in Melissa D’Arabian’s cookbook and that’s fine.  That will get you there.  There’s an added benefit of watching her TV shows, though.  Maybe more than one.

In her show, where she’s cooking a $10 Dinner on the TV screen, Melissa D’Arabian adds tips and tricks that are great and that you don’t get in the books or recipes.  Thinks like buy up Italian sausage when it’s on sale and freeze it.  Buy milk that’s about to hit its expiration date by going to the grocery store early in the morning (she goes around nine o’clock) – if your family drinks dairy. 

You get the idea, Dear Reader.

I am a big, big fan of Ten Dollar Dinners and Melissa D’Arabian and I think, Dear Reader, you might like what she’s doing, too. 

Poached Eggs: Cheap, Fast, and Easy to Cook

First things first, eggs have their critics but ignore them right now because poached eggs are a good thing to know how to cook.  And poached eggs are a great thing to have in your family menu plan. 

They are cheap.  They are easy. And poached eggs can be used in so many ways: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Here’s the thing:  they can be hard to do.  Some say.  I haven’t had a big problem – but I do a couple of things that help.  First, I never think I am so clever at cooking that I can just dump an egg into the water.  I always use a little cup to gently lower the egg into the pool.  One at a time.  Slowly.

Also, I don’t let the water boil … I let the water get just … about … to boiling, then the eggs go into the bath. 

And, I’ve done it without vinegar.  It will work if you don’t have vinegar handy.  (I’ve also used rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, whatever was in the pantry, and things turned out fine.  You so have a taste difference, but that’s not a bad thing.)

Here’s the deal.  Eggs are cheap. Poaching means no fat to cook them.  And the runny centers are KEY to how these things can spark up a salad or a sandwich. 

For more:

Here’s step by step instructions on poaching.

Here’s a recipe for a great salad using poached eggs.

As for sandwiches, I like a runny sandwich (wet, to coin a famous author of murder mysteries).  I like to take great bread, homegrown tomatoes, thinly sliced cheese, some dijon mustard or yes some Miracle Whip or both, lotsa romaine lettuce, and get all that ready for a poached egg to set on top.  Smush together.  The egg oozes.  It’s hot, it’s oh so good.  And doesn’t cost much. 

Yum. 

Homemade Dog Food Tip - Sneaking Veggies Into Their Diet

I've already posted about homemade dog food recipes (here) so I won't go into recipes here ... though from the number of hits that post has received since it was published, it's clear that a whole lotta people prefer to make their own dog food rather than buy the stuff in cans or bags at the local store (no matter how organic or natural or nutritious it claims to be).

I prepare homemade dog food for these reasons:  

1. I know exactly what my dogs are getting in their food,  no corn byproducts or rancid meat that the producers okay for pets but would not legally be allowed to serve to humans;
2. I can combat against the bad food allergies for one of my pets, keeping my pup happier and healthier and lessening those trips to the vet; and 
3. I pay less for dog food this way - a lot less.

Of course, this all sounds great until you deal with the reality of the Picky Pup.  I have one.  I've seen Mr. Finicky Eater turn his nose up to white chicken breast just as much as avocado or green peas.  Very, very frustrating.

However, I've found the secret to getting all the good things that he wants to avoid into his bowl and down the hatch, so to speak.

It's the Food Processor.  

Yes, call my dogs spoiled if you want - I don't care.  I think I have healthier dogs for it, and I know I'm paying less in food costs and vet bills.  You cannot imagine unless you've been there how fast vet bills can climb when your dog has severe allergies.

Rant over.

Here's what I do.  I take the fiber left from the juicer (carrots, apples, beets, spinach) and I freeze it until Dog Food Day.  If I don't have this readily available, or I want to add veggies that I haven't juiced - say green beans or peas - then I just use fresh.  Whatever is at the Farmer's Market - I just get a couple more handfuls while I'm there, thinking of the Dog Mash.

Once I have my veggies collected, I grab a huge pot (some might call it a cauldron of sorts) and throw those raw veggies in there with what I like to call "stinky meat."  These are cheap meats at the grocery - our local store serves a pretty big Asian community as well as an Hispanic one, so browsing around the meat department, I can find interesting meat -- Chicken Hearts, Beef Liver, Sweetmeats  -- that's going to be tough and strong.  With big flavor and aroma, this is key.

Not for every human palate, these choices, and something that needs to cook for awhile at a low heat to get tender.  (I saw chicken feet last week, but I couldn't go that far.  Too VooDoo-ey for me, and besides - not much meat there, right?)

Whatever looks good and has a good price, that's what I go with - and usually this stuff is free range, organic to boot.  (Reading that last phrase, fine.  At this point, I'm not going to be offended if you tell me that my dogs are spoiled.  LOL.  I love them, and I'm making no excuses here.  I think what I'm doing here is wise, not silly.)

This stuff goes into the pot with the fresh veggies.  No salt.  No pepper.  No spices.  Slow, slow boil.  Covered.  (No to the slow cooker, unless you like this meaty aroma wafting through your home.)

Once it's done, you're not.

Next step:  let it cool (or not, it's just easier on your hands if it's cooled off), and then throw this stuff into the Food Processor.  Let it rumble until you've got a puree that looks similar in consistency to the dog food they sell in cans.  You may need to do several batches, depends upon the size of the machine.

Store this stuff in an airtight container in the fridge -- it's really convenient for feeding the dogs during the week, and they don't know all those veggies are in there.

Extra tip:  if your finicky dog doesn't fall for this, then here's your secret weapon:  bacon.  Not a lot - but take a couple of strips and bake them till the bacon is soft, not crispy.  You want some of that fat on there.  Then, cut it into little bits and stir it thru the Dog Mash.  That ought to do it - and yes, it is a balance of bad old bacon versus good veggies....
 

Great Non-Dairy, Natural Sweetener Banana Smoothie (Stevia Recipe)

This is a fast and cheap recipe for a smoothie that tastes great.  Really great.  Doesn't cost much, doesn't take much time, and it uses up all those bananas before they go bad.  Bananas are so cheap, I like finding different ways of using them (like this post).

Reba's Banana n Stevia Smoothie

Night before: 
Break up bananas into chunks, about the size of a water bottle cap, and freeze them (a Ziploc works well here, because they tend to freeze into a blob, and you can bang that freezer bag on the counter to break the pieces apart).  These will last awhile in the freezer, so I have started storing a big bag of banana bits - just for this smoothie recipe.

Ready to go:
Take your Magic Bullet (or blender, whatever machine you prefer) and for a single serving put about 1/2 a banana's worth of frozen banana pieces into the container - it's best to put in the bananas first
Next, fill up the container with Unsweetened Almond Milk
Add a generous helping of Pumpkin Pie Spice (I always buy too much of this stuff, so it's great to find ways to use it up)
Add stevia to taste (I always use the KAL Organic brand).

Whirrrrr that thing until you've got pure liquid.

Drink up!  It's just soooo good, the almond and the banana and the spices.  No sugar, no dairy, just good stuff.

Raw Kale in a Salad? Yep. Tastes Great.

Kale is great for you.  Kale ranks as one of the "world's healthiest foods" primarily because it lowers cholesterol, fights cancer, and helps the body to detox.  Among other things.

I've always had kale steamed or well, ... steamed.  It's cabbage and I've always had it cooked the same way that I grew up with cabbage being cooked.  Which meant throw it in a pot or pan and basically boil it with some salt pork or bacon or something akin thrown into the pot for flavor.  Sometimes, some onion and garlic got in there. 

As I typed this, a light went off in my brain and I do recall using kale in a chinese-y sort of chicken soup awhile back.  Worked well, looked pretty. 

Raw Kale in a Salad Works Great

However, once again I was watching one of those televised cooking shows, and I stumbled upon someone using raw kale in a salad.  Now, they had to chop it into small shreds and then shruch it with their hands awhile to help break the cabbage down ... but it worked.

Now, a new and delicious way to make a salad, eat some kale.  Thought I'd share it with you:

1.  The recipe that got me started on this road:  Food Network Star Aarti Sequiera's Massaged Kale Salad.
(As of this post, this recipe has over 460 reviews and it's got a five star rating.  Guess other folk like this recipe as much as I do.)

2.  I also liked this raw kale salad from Epicurious, maybe it's the pine nuts -- and maybe it's the dried cranberries that I substituted for the currants b/c I didn't have any currants at the time. 

3.  Finally, I tried my own.  Did the marinade with lemon juice and EVOO like Aarti's recipe and the hands-on schmuching of the kale (julianned this time), then I added a touch of honey, along with a perfectly ripe avocado, a bit of red bell pepper, chopped in some scallions too.  Thru in some chopped walnuts because I had them.  This was addicting it was so good.   

Kale is really great stuff, I must admit.  It's colorful, it's good for you, it's cheap.    

In Search of the Best Ever Chicken Salad Recipe: What I've Found

Chicken salad sandwich for lunch
Source: Wikimedia - public domain.

I love Chicken Salad, and unlike some of my friends, I'm not committed to a single version (with grapes vs never with grapes; only white meat; chopped vs. torn; etc.) in my dedication to Chicken Salad as one of the best sandwich fixings on the planet.  However, there are some truly horrible versions of Chicken Salad out there.  You know; you've had that muck, too. 

So, I've begun my search for the Best Ever Chicken Salad Recipe (or five).

1.  The first one that I've decided must be on the list is Ina Garten's Curried Chicken Salad.  It's high in calories, and it's got chutney in it.  This, good bread, chilled white wine.  Wonderful stuff. 

2.  Another that I've found to be addicting is this mock restaurant chicken salad recipe from Real Restaurant Recipes.  Maybe part of the reason for this is its revelation of a bit of whipped cream getting thrown in the bowl -- but this tastes exactly like the stuff that I pay way-too-much for at the Ladies Who Lunch place downtown.  You know the place, you've got one near you.  Nice little breads in linen napkins appear as soon as you set down.  Mint leaves in your iced tea.  Lots of floral prints in the decor.  Clashing scents of expensive perfumes in the ladies' room.  This chicken salad is easy to make, and tastes great after it has had a chance to set awhile in the fridge.  I want some right now, just thinking about it. 

That's it for now.  As my search continues, I'll update this post till I have five recipes to share.

Ginger Tea Recipe - Natural Pain Relief that WORKS

I'm still drinking my homemade Ginger Tea - and it's still proving to be very effective as a pain reliever. Once again this weekend, I skipped it and my foot (tendon injury) woke me up with a sharp pain on Saturday night as I tried to move it against the sheets. Yesterday and today, I'm drinking my Ginger Tea and no pain. Just like I'm taking a pain pill - but I'm not.

For those of you that might like to try my Ginger Tea recipe for yourself, here it is:

Get yourself one big, fat hand of fresh organic Ginger Root.  Fat fingers, because you will want lots of meat left after you take off the bark.  Cut away the bark, and then cube the flesh of the root - maximizing the surface area that will be exposed to the water as it brews.

Boil yourself a big tea kettle of water and then brew (I use a cute tea pot that reminds me of the English countryside) three organic green tea bags together with the cubed fresh ginger.  Let it steep a long time.  Me, I let it go several hours because I want all that ginger to free itself into the liquid. 

Grab a pitcher that has a cover/lid.  Blend your steeped ginger/green tea with cold water in the pitcher, stevia to sweeten it to your taste.  Use all the steeped ginger from the teapot, or if it's too strong for you, then save some in a glass jar in the fridge -  a handy second batch when you're ready. 

I think the green tea helps with the flavor, as does the stevia.  Plus, they both are helpful in their own right (antioxidants, etc.) and that can't hurt when you're healing. 

For those of you interested in learning more about Ginger as a natural alternative to aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen, check out these sites:

University of Maryland Medical Center
(where the med school reports that ginger is "commonly" recommended for nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness, pregnancy, and chemotherapy, as well as a "digestive aid for mild stomach upset," (whatever that means) and as a help for "inflammatory conditions such as arthritis" along with heart disease or cancer.

Consumer Affairs
The consumer site references studies published in the Journal of Pain (as well as research done by several American universities), where ginger is recognized as a pain reliever in either its raw or heat-treated forms.  It also points to ginger as being a big pain remedy in Chinese medicine, and reports that ginger has both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 

Dr. Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil, the recognized alternative medicine practitioner who periodically shows up on PBS, also recommends ginger for pain relief.  All for the same sorts of things that the University of Maryland does -- nausea, muscle/arthritis pain, etc. 

Great Multi Grain Pasta Salad Recipe

That good-for-you brown pasta isn't the same in recipes as the yellow kind.  I still like the basic pasta (yes, even the traditional elbows) for a standard pasta salad, but I did monkey around and find a combo of stuff that seems to work pretty well with the hardy whole grain noodles.  Thought I'd share it with you, Dear Reader.

What You Need (Double This if You Want a Big Bowl of Stuff):

6-7 oz of whole-wheat pasta - e.g., 1/2 box of Ronzoni Healthy Heart 7 Grain Fusilli (the corkscrew kind)
1/2 cup good mayo (I like Hellman's Mayo for this)
1/2 container of plain yogurt
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1- 2 T balsamic vinegar  (I like this stuff, so I go for 2 tablespoons, you might not want that much)
stevia powder (I use KAL brand, it's just so much better than the rest) unless you have to use sugar (then 1 t of table sugar)
salt
pepper
garlic powder (shake in, stir, test it -- see if you need more.  I like garlic, so I put in more than most)
parm cheese -- grated (put it what tastes good to you, I like a lot of this stuff)
1 bell pepper (red, green, orange -- whatever is cheapest and looks the freshest, get a big one)
4 green onions - chop them all (green leaves n little white orbs)
handful (around 10) black olives, sliced into little circles
3 chopped hard boiled eggs
1 cup chopped grilled chicken or turkey -- great way to use up the leftover roto chicken you brought home from the store
celery if you've got it -- couple of stalks

Here's what you do:
Cook the pasta in boiling water, salting the water before you add the pasta but after it's boiling (saves your pot).  I add oil 2 the water here because I think it helps keep the noodles from clumping, but others will disagree with me.

Drain the pasta, and get it to room temp.  (In a hurry, throw it into the freezer while you are getting the other ingredients together)  You don't want to add hot pasta to the mayo, etc. -- messes things up.

In your big bowl, stir together the mayo, yogurt, oil, vinegar, and the powders (stevia/sugar, garlic powder, salt, pepper), shaking them in a bit at a time until you get the combo of spices the way you like it.  Stir this around till it's a smooth dressing for your salad (i.e., if you used sugar, you want it to dissolve). 

Chop up the veggies and the meat. Bite size.  Throw them into the dressing, coat them all up and then add the pasta, stir things around.

Fridge this puppy until it's nice and chilled. 

Tip:  I like to add the parm cheese to the hot pasta, and then the cheese sorta melts and coats the pasta.  This keeps that pasta from soaking up all the dressing later, which is great.  I hate to pop the top the next day, and see that the pasta has drank all the dressing/sauce/etc.  I do this all the time, assorted recipes.  Works like a charm. 

Easy Easy Slow Cooker Crockpot Chicken Recipe - Basic and Variations

It's hot and getting hotter here in San Antonio, so the time came to pull out the Slow Cooker once again.  Cooking in the Slow Cooker means the kitchen doesn't get hot.  Plus, it's easy clean up -- a one pot convenience, from table to fridge. 

Here's my basic Chicken and Rice recipe, that I mess with to get different kinds of dishes.  It may not be Food Network, but when people rave about it and ask how the heck you made something, then that's good enough for me.  Figure I'd share this with you, Dear Reader.

I take chicken breasts (boneless) (a friend used pork chops here, he liked it) - 6-8 large.
Thawed or frozen.
Put them into the Slow Cooker.
Add brown rice or wild rice, 1 or 2 cups.

I add I can green beans (or peas and carrots, whatever you've got) and I use the water here as part of the water to make up the 2 to 4 cups of liquid I need to go with the dry rice I just put it (1:2 ratio, rice:water)

I add spices.  These depend upon the veggies I have around.

Always salt and pepper.

The Variations ....

If you have mushrooms and onions, add them in and then spice it up with dijon mustard and a touch of cayenne. 
If you have bell pepper and tomatoes, then add them in and spice it up with Mexican spices:  chili powder, comino, add fresh cilantro at the end.
You get the idea.

Put it on the lowest cooking setting you've got.  Leave it alone for half the time.  Then check it.  If the meat is looking 3/4 done, then change to the highest setting (this will finish up the rice).  (My Cooker has six settings, Low (2,8, 0 hours) and High (2,8,10) hours; I start at Low for 10 and then change to High for 2).

Add any hot peppers you might like about an hour before it's done.  If you put them in too soon, they can take over.

When the rice is done, then turn the setting to warm.  Take a wooden spoon and break apart the chicken pieces into bite sized chunks.

Add lots of cheese and stir till melted.  Again, this will coordinate with your veggies and spices.  Swiss goes well with the mushroom and onions.  Cheddar is nice with the Mexican combo. 

You get the idea.

Now.  Make a nice salad.  Serve with some good bread and real butter.  Tea. 

Fabulous. 

Recipes for Homemade Toothpaste - It's Good for You

Why use homemade toothpaste?  Some do so because it's cheaper.  Some, because they want to avoid the flouride that's in most commercial toothpastes.  Others, because it's been shown to work extremely well (in combination with proper diet) in resolving gum disease (gingivitis, peridonteal disease). 

I did find one site where a dentist reports that using baking soda is bad and recommends Crest Original Toothpaste.  You decide, Dear Reader.

Here are some sites with several interesting recipes on how to make homemade toothpaste and tooth powder:

Tammy's Recipes - Toothpaste
(including cool flavors like cinnamon and peppermint)

Passionate Homemaking - Toothpaste 
(using Castile soap in several versions)

The Organic Sister - Toothpaste
(she includes aloe vera in her recipe)

Idea Queen - Toothpaste and Tooth Powder
(orange rind, sage, even powdered chalk are ingredients here)

Green Eco Services - Toothpaste and Tooth Powder
(hydrogen peroxide, salt, goldenseal, and lots of other interesting stuff in these recipes)

How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas

Once again, I've offered to bring goodies this weekend, and I'm really, really wanting to make my own flour tortillas this time. Now, I've got Mexican-American friends that have shared their expertise with me. I'm dense, I'm not a natural baker, my tortillas just never turned out right no matter how many notes I took as they gave their instructions.

I'm hoping to do better, because of this great video AbrahamDiaz19 has shared on YouTube. Not only is it easy to follow, it uses the stuff I've already got and I don't have to go borrow my friend's tortilla smasher-thingie (the silver metal tool that smuches the dough ball into a flat circle.

One caveat: I've been told that for truly authentic tortillas, you'd use LARD here, not the Crisco or the veggie oil. Just so you know.

All Natural Dog Biscuits That My Dogs Love, Love, Love

First, let me admit that my dogs have no choice: they have to live the Simplicity Lifestyle right along with me.  Which means none of those artificially-flavored bacon things, commercial dry food made with filler, well - you get the drift. 

This doesn't mean that they don't get treats.  Treats are big around here.  Even the word "treat" is very popular....

When I have time, I like to make the treats.  That way, I know exactly what goes into the batch, and I can cater the batch to their likes and dislikes.  Shocking though it may be, one of my pups isn't fond of peanut butter.  The other pup, finicky about fish.  You get the idea.

1.  My Source for Homemade Dog Treat Recipes

For the past few months, when I've looked for dog biscuit recipes, or other forms of treats, I've gone to Bullwrinkle.Com and combed through their big list of free recipes.  I do alter things a bit.  For example:

Fido's Favorite Treats (With My Alterations and Comments)

1 cup rolled oats
(I use Bob's Red Mill Organic Scottish Oatmeal, which I understand may be different from the rolled oats.  Why?  Because this is the oatmeal I keep in the pantry.)

1/3 cup margarine or butter
(Never, ever, ever do I use margarine.  Never buy this bad stuff.  I use unsalted butter. It's what's in the fridge.)

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cornmeal
(I use yellow or white, whatever I have on hand.)

1 tablespoon sugar
(I tried Stevia.  Didn't work well.  I tried honey.  Did okay.)

How to Bake Your Own Honeybaked Ham at Home

There's one of those Honeybaked Ham stores near my house, and it is a pretty darn popular place this week. You know why.

Well, what if you don't want to spend that kinda money but you crave that yummy honey ham? Simple. Bake your own. Here's how, and thanks to Howcast for the help here:

Limeade With No Calories and All Natural Sweetener (Stevia): An Option to Soda That's Good 4 U

Every once in awhile, I post here about stevia as a sweetener, because it's just so wonderful -- all natural, no calories.  So much better for you than those artificial sweeteners, and there are those that claim stevia has additional health benefits.  It's been used in Europe, Japan, etc. for decades - centuries - but the FDA hasn't been too accommdating to the marketing of stevia in the American marketplace until recently. 

Stevia is great for diabetics.  Stevia also helps with things like high blood pressure and depression, and Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Michael Murray are both big fans of stevia. 

When I first starting buying stevia, my only option were the bottles of loose powder or liquid at the local health foods store.  Then, Whole Foods and Sun Harvest started offing stevia in individual packets.  This was handy, but whenever I pulled the little green packet out at the restaurant, no one knew what it was. 

Now, TruVia and PureVia are in your local grocery store, brought to you by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, respectively.  And other brands of stevia are popping up, as well.  Heck, I saw a big box of individual stevia packets for sale at Sam's Club under its own "Member's Mark" brand just last week. 

Now, let's think about limes.  Green, wonderful smelling limes.  They have all sorts of health benefits.  Limes  help digestion, help to heal ulcers, and they can detoxify the body.  Limes had stuff in them that help your gums too (as does stevia).  There's lots more on the health benefits of limes on the web if you want to investigate this in detail. 

Which leads us to today's recipe. 

Reba's Really Fabulous NoCal Limeade - Tastes Great and It's GOOD for You

Gallon pitcher
Juice of 4 big limes, 6 smaller ones
Stevia to taste (I still use my KAL shaker bottle, and put in around 12 shakes)
Water
Optional: slice another lime into circles and float them in the pitcher
Serve in big glasses over lotsa ice

This is so easy to make, and it takes sssooooo great.  I've given it away in quart jars, tied with gingham bonnets on the top and a bottle of stevia looped around the top with a ribbon to friends who I think will like stevia if they try it. 

Image: Backyard limes, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Recipes to Use Up Those Bananas

Bananas - they go bad so fast.  What to do with them, other than making banana bread?  Here are some ideas, and I've tried to find some alternatives ( 7 - 10) to the usual sweet stuff:

1.  Banana Pudding
2.  Banana Fritters
3.  Berry-Banana Soy Shake
4.  Banana Coconut Cream Pie
5.  Banana Cookies
6.  Fried Bananas
7.  Banana Vodka
8.  Spicy Banana Zucchini Balls
9.  Sweet and Spicy Banana Salad
10. Cheesy Ham and Banana Cassarole (by Paula Deen)

Recipe for Kitchen Sink Corn Salad

Corn is great, who doesn't love corn?  It's one of those veggies that are great out of the can as well as fresh or frozen.  Handy - those old reliables that you can grab out of the pantry in a pinch.

I keep a bowl of basic corn salad in the fridge a lot of the time.  I consider it a base for lots of other things.  One big use -- I grab a cup or so and throw it into a bunch of romaine, add some onion and other goodies like avocado, dress it and there you go: fabulous salad, chock full of raw stuff in lots of colors.  Really healthy, really crunchy, really good. 

Basic Corn Salad

Here, combine only what will meld together well and hold up for awhile, on its own, in the fridge.  Right before serving, you add other things.  I usually double this, cuz I love to have this stuff around.

1 can corn - NOT creamed
1 stalk celery, chopped small enough so the celery bites aren't that much bigger than the corn kernels
cherry or grape tomatoes, uncut
1 cup olives, black or green or a combo of both, cut in half
1 bell pepper, chopped like the celery and whatever color you like

The Additions - aka the Kitchen Sink

Get a big bowl and put as many or as few of the following together as you'd like.  Sky's the limit.  Don't do everything on this list, some of this stuff is redundant (for example, canned jalapenos vs. fresh, pick one or skip 'em both). 

And remember, some of the best salads don't have any leafy greens (lettuce) in them! Then again, this stuff is great in a big leafy salad, too.  Can you tell I'm a big fan of corn salad?  LOL

After you've thrown your stuff together, dress it.  What salad dressing?  Use what you like.  Italian, Ranch, a simple oil-and-vinegar ... just remember, dressing is suppose to act like glue to hold this stuff together so it doesn't fall off the fork on the way to your mouth.  Don't over-glue. 


1 avocado, sliced
1 cup rice
1 can beans (drain them), whatever you've got - red kidney, white kidney, pintos, garbanzos, black, etc.
Couple of handfuls of crushed up tortilla chips
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch scallions
1/2 red onion
1 small can sliced jalapeno peppers, drained
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped small and seeded if you want to cut the heat
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Several shakes of that green canned Parmesan you have on hand for the kiddos
Red pepper flakes to taste
Big box of spring green mix (or bag, or handfuls)
Head of romaine, chopped
Bag of ready made cole slaw
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
1 small jicama, chopped
Asparagus, fresh, frozen, or canned, chopped into bite sized pieces
Artichoke hearts, cut into fourths
Hearts of palm, cut into bite sized pieces
Mushrooms, fresh, frozen, or canned, in bite sized pieces
4 radishes, sliced thinly

.. you get the idea.  Notice there's no meat here.  Although that can be added, too.  Go for it!

Recipe for Beer Biscuits and Easy, Fast, Homemade Drop Biscuits

I remember my mother's cousin, MaryBeth, made the best biscuits in the world.  She called them "Cat Head Biscuits," because they came out of the oven just about the same size as her cat Tabby's head.  We'd set at her table and eat those hot biscuits with fresh butter.  I'd have chocolate milk (made with real Hershey's Cocoa) and she'd have coffee. 

I've never been able to duplicate that recipe just right.

When I don't resort to the notorious canned fare from the grocery (eek!), I like to make the drop biscuits -- or those "biscuit-muffins" made with beer that I first learned about on Paula Deen's show on the Food Network.  What's so great about her recipe is that not only is it fast, and cheap, but it's so so easy.

Now, sure, MaryBeth's biscuits were the rolled kind.  But I'm sure that she'd think that Paula Deen's were just "mighty fine" too.  (MaryBeth said "mighty fine" quite a bit, right along with "bless her heart." With a long Texas drawl that we're not hearing much any more, sad to say.)



Paula Deen's Beer Biscuits - Muffin Tin Buscuits
(with my commentary)
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix together the following, don't stir too much:

4 cups biscuit mix (you know, Bisquick - don't try the imitations, they just don't come out the same)
1/2 cup sugar (you can use less if you want a less-sweet biscuit, though I don't know why you would.)
1 can of beer (not lite, not Fosters, not some trendy stuff.  The basic 12 oz can of Bud works just fine.)
2 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter (yes, unsalted butter!)

Now, pour the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake till the tops are golden brown. They come out really pretty, and yes, Dear Reader -- they do look like muffins.  They're kinda like Sunday Dinner Biscuits, they're so cute in a basket with a nice cuptowel to keep 'em warm.  You can add stuff to the batter if you want to mess with this basic recipe, too.  Like crumbled bacon and bits of cheddar cheese thrown in.  This is never bad. 
 
Reba's Drop Biscuits
 
Drop biscuits are easy, too.  But you don't roll out any dough and cut little circles out of it, and you don't use a muffin tin.  You make a dough and then drop it by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake 'em up. 

First, planning ahead, do two things.  Heat your oven to 450 degrees.  And, take a stick of unsalted butter and cut it into little tiny squares and stick those little squares in a plastic bowl and put this in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Really cold butter is better here, but don't let it freeze up and get hard as ice on you. Fifteen to twenty minutes should be fine. Unless your freezer is from NASA or something.

Second, put this stuff into a big mixing bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt

Now, take your butter squares and cut them into this bowl of dry stuff. Cut 'em by using a cool pastry cutter if you have one. (Since this may mean different things to different people, I've added an image of what I mean by "pastry cutter" - above.)  If not, use a couple of dinner knives and criss-cross the blades into the dry stuff, until you get those butter squares are cut up and you've got a bowl of crumby stuff. Big white butter crumbs.

Whew. Put some flour on your forehead so everyone will know you made these things from scratch. Important step.

Next. get yourself another bowl and put into it:
2/3 cup buttermilk (use real milk only if you don't have buttermilk)
1 egg.

Mix this stuff together with a fork. You can use a whisk if you want to be fancy.

Now, pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff. Stir. Don't stir too much, just till things combine. Again, don't get stir happy here.

You're almost done! Grab your biggest cookie sheet - you don't need to grease it up with all that butter in the dough - and if you want to add parchment paper, go on with your bad self. Not a must. Get a serving spoon (for bigger biscuits) and drop spoonfuls of the batter about 2 inches apart from each other onto the sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees until they're golden brown.  Yum. 

And yes, Dear Reader, both of these versions of biscuits freeze just fine. 

Image: Pastry Cutter 

Reba's Super Easy Cheese Sauce Recipe

You know that they serve cheese sauce in Heaven. 

You can pour this stuff over pasta, veggies, sliced chicken breast, biscuits ... heck, I've seen this stuff slurped up with a spoon out of the pot, but I'm not recommending this as a soup (although if you added a bit more liquid to it ... hmmmm)....

Anyway, here's my Super Easy Cheese Sauce Recipe.  Hopefully, you've got what you need in your pantry already for this.

1.  Melt 3T butter in a pot over medium heat.  Stir in the same amount of flour, 3 tablespoons, and throw in your seasoning.  Salt, pepper (say 1/2 teaspoon each).  If you're like me, you like some punch, so last week, I just shook in a nice bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning (because I love this stuff), and it turned out great.

Take the pot OFF THE HEAT while you're stirring this all together.  Make sure it's a thin goop.  No lumps.  Consistency should be similar to lemon curd.  (Now, this is why one of the reasons that I like a gas stove.  You just turn the knob, no more heat.  If you've got an electric stove, that won't work; you have to move your pot to another burner b/c the electric coil still gives off heat for a bit after you've turned it off.)

2.  Now, after you've proudly combined your butter and flour, turn the heat back on under the pot, a low to medium heat now, and slowly add in 1.5 cups of milk.  Pour out a quarter in at a time.  Stir, stir, stir.  Make sure your butter/flour stuff has accepted all the milk before you add more to the pot. 

And, this doesn't have to be milk.  It could be Half and Half.  It could be evaporated milk (the canned stuff in your pantry).  It could be part Half and Half, part milk.  It could be half evaporated milk, half water --- which was what I had on hand last week, and what I used.  Worked like a charm.  You get the idea. 

3.  Okey dokey.  Now that you have your milk combined with the butter/flour sludge, you have to let the heat do its miraculous chemical altering trick.  Stir, stir, stir while this pot is over low heat. 

Does this mean that you can't leave the pot to put the measuring cup in the sink, or the milk back in the fridge?  No.  Does this mean you can't go watch TV?  Yes.  Movement is important here, as is the low heat.  If you feel a film forming on the bottom of the pan, your heat's too high. 

Stiring is boring to you?  It's not going to take that long, get a grip!  Hum a tune, decide whether or not Rhett ever went back to Scarlett, pretend you're doing your own Food Network show and talk to the imaginary camera.  Just keep stirring. 

Before you know it, this stuff will be thick.  If you stopped now, you'd have white sauce.  But that's not what we're aiming for here, so throw in at least 1 cup of grated cheese.  If you don't want to grate the cheese, then cut it into small, small chunks.  Little squares that expose lots of surface area, so the cheese will melt quickly in the pot. 

And that one cup of cheese is debatable, too.  Me, I throw in more -- how much more depends on what I've got on hand.  A little less than one cup?  That's okay, too.  Hey, if you've got two kinds of cheese in the fridge, combine them -- as long as their flavors don't clash for you.  Keep stirring until the cheese is melted, and the sauce looks like you want it to look.  Smooth, thick, decadent. 

What kind of cheese should you use?  Something with lots of punch, no subtle cheeses here.  Sharp Cheddar is good, for example.   Blue cheese can be mouth-watering:  I've made this stuff with blue cheese and thrown it over some steak, and it was to die for.  Just remember, you want to grate your own cheese - none of that bagged stuff, because of the additives they use to keep the cheese from clumping.

There you have it.  Maybe this isn't the stuff of fancy French chefs, but it works for me - and I like it because I monkey around with this based on what I have in the house, and it always turns out so, so tasty. 

Plus it's easy - and yet, most folk think a cheese sauce is so, so hard to do.  Well, I won't tell them if you won't.