Seaweed and Cheeto's

 

Is leaving butter out a good thing?

Growing up we always left the butter dish out on the counter. We used it daily and preferred the butter to be softened for our toast, English muffin or bagels. Mind you the butter didn't last long, maybe a week if that so it was always being replaced. 

Someone in a Facebook group I'm in asked if it was safe to be left out. I was always told that it was, but other's had different opinions so I did some research and found that butter does go bad if left out for too long. 

So due to the high fat content it is less susceptible to bacteria, which keeps it from spoiling right away. Most butters will last 14 days on the countertop.

So here's some tips...

1. Minimize light, heat and air exposure. Air exposure will oxidize the fat in butter, making it more susceptible to spoiling. Light and heat can also break up the fat molecules.

 

2. Keep it in an opaque, airtight butter dish. A French butter crock, the Butter Bell, will protect against all exposure. You just add water to the bottom and put the butter in the top half and then put the top on the crock. The water keeps the butter moist.

 

3. Leave salted butter out. Salt has preservative qualities and it also protects against bacteria, so the salted butter has a longer shelf life on the counter. 

Catherine Middleton's chutney recipe

 Makes 8 x 350g jars

Ingredients
1.8kg marrows, peeled, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
4 medium onions, peeled and chopped into small chunks
3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks
225g sultanas or raisins
225g stoned dates, roughly chopped
600ml malt vinegar
900g soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices, secured in a piece of muslin

Method
1. Put the chopped marrow, onions and apples into a large preserving pan, add the rest of the ingredients and the bag of spices and stir together, then place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently from 1 ½-2 hours or until well blended and thick.

2. Take the pan off the heat, cool and remove the muslin, squeezing the liquid form from the bag. Spoon it into sterilized jars with vinegar-proof lids, filling them to within 1cm of the top.

3. Ensure the rims are clean, screw on the sterilized lids and store in a cool place for up to 12 months. Once open, store in the fridge and use within 1 month.

Do Watermelons Explode?

Someone posted on Facebook that they had a watermelon explode. I went on YouTube and found a video of one exploding as well and was still skeptical about it.

How can a fruit that's made of water explode from too much heat?? I did some research and guess what Ya'll? They actually do!

Watermelons can actually explode from too much heat, but it's important to point out that heat isn't the only culprit, since bacteria and a faulty genetic code can also be to blame. They can explode from an explosive gene that is found in many heirloom fruit varieties. 

Mermaid Water

2 oz (60 ml) Spiced Rum 1 oz (30 ml) Coconut Rum 6 oz (180 ml) Pineapple Juice 1/2 oz (15 ml) Lime Juice Top off with Pineapple Juice Splash Blue curaçao Garnish with Lime Wheels

PREPARATION

1. Build a glass using ice and lime slices.

2. Pour in spiced rum, coconut rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, and blue curaçao.

3. Garnish with a lime slice.

DRINK RESPONSIBLY! 

Potato Salad

 I made a big bowl of potato salad to last us the week and it will for sure! On Friday or when this salad is gone, I'll be making a tuna and pasta salad. 

I love cold salads during the summer. There's nothing like coming home from work and having a nice cold salad with a glass of lemonade!

I always add in onions and celery to my salad for some crispness and the potatoes are cut in big chunks. 

I know folks have their preference for mayo, but I use Hellmann's mayo and French's mustard in mine.

I also like to add sweet relish to mine when I get some, I don't add it to the bowl at all because some don't like it, but I love it. 

 

Italian Sausage Soup

Another reason as to why I just love Instacart is they have recipes you can try! I got this Italian sausage soup recipe off of the Aldi's cart page. Here's the recipe! I doubled mine.

Ingredients

1 pound Italian sausage

1 clove garlic, minced

2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained

2 small zucchini, cubed

2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn

*I cooked my sausage and put everything in the crockpot as the sausage cooked then added the sausage after it was done. I added too much veggies though. lol I love my veggies!*

Directions

Step 1: In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

Step 2: Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.

Step 3: Remove from heat and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving

385 calories; protein 18.8g; carbohydrates 22.5g; fat 24.4g; cholesterol 57.5mg; sodium 1258.7mg. 

Italian Sausage Soup

Tastle coffee

This coffee is amazing. It's my new favorite instant coffee. I've used it in morning shakes and I've also added some to smoothies and milk shakes. I know the latter sounds weird, but it tastes good!

I have tried just about every instant coffee that I could find and disliked them all. They were too bitter and acidic or just tasted disgusting.  This magic elixir outshines them all!

I just received  mine yesterday and so fast. I've had 2 cups of coffee and added some to my vanilla meal replacement shake.  This tastes amazing in the shake.

Once the jar is empty then I'll be reusing ight add a bank. I'm literally about to ho buy 2 more so that I can add them to my back up coffee stash. I will be using one at work.

Here's how I make mine.. 

1.) Put one heaping spoon full of the Tastlé coffee into your cup. I always use a tablespoon for mine as I like strong coffee.
2.) Pour hot but not boiling water into your cup. I boil water in a tea kettle and then pour it in, I like my coffee hot, but usually wait a few for the water to cool before pouring.
3.) Add Sweetener or milk to your preference, stir and enjoy. I add my creamer into the coffee and it's all good. 

"With a premium blend of finely roasted beans, from the finest crops available, Tastle Coffee brings you the sumptuous taste of freshly brewed coffee without the hassle of traditional coffee machines. Our company strives to ensure the best quality roast, to maintain a superior tasting and satisfying cup of coffee every time. With a superior grade of Arabica beans, the raw green coffee is roasted to perfection to bring out the exquisite flavor and aroma. The coffee is then ground perfectly and brewed through a series of many sterilized percolators. Once roasted and ground, the coffee is brewed to specific quantities at 180 Degrees C with natural pure spring water. Tastle Gold contains Arabica coffee beans and uses a 'Freeze Drying' preservation process. This provides a much finer higher quality instant that dissolves much more efficiently, delivering the great taste that Tastle promises with every product."

Easy recipes for those on a budget

 For those wondering.

Ramen can be made with canned mixed veggies and canned chicken.

A hearty beef stew can be made with ground beef, cut potatoes, some broth concentrate, water, and tomato paste.

You can stretch spaghetti by doing double sauce, double noodles, and 1lb meat.

Cabbage and Italian sausage with 2 or 3 bell peppers and a tiny bit of water can make one hell of a delicious meal.

Cornbread is cheap.

Chop bacon into small slices and cook in advance.
Store in the fridge and toss into scrambled eggs.
Makes them more filling while stretching the bacon out further.

You can make a quality stir fry with instant rice or package ramen and a frozen bag of veggies.
A couple eggs really takes it up a notch

I have more but I'll have to think

Go ahead and laugh it up. LOL

So I wasn't going to post this, but I figured it would give you a giggle or two, but I do have a question.. Am I the only one who gags seeing an uncooked turkey and what's inside of it? I have never cooked or emptied out a turkey or stuffed one and I never plan to ever do it!

Mum needed help and I swear I thought I was going to be sick, I was gagging the whole time because it was just gross. I was handling it with a paper towel because I didn't want to get my hands all wet from the turkey juice.

Mom was laughing because I'm standing there gagging and muttering that I was going vegetarian next year. it has to be next year because I have sausage in the freezer that I really want to eat.. LOL 

OMG.... This stuff is amazing!!! Updated 12/19/2020

OK so here's the deal.. 
I was planning to write this review after I went through the first bottle.
This Snickers creamer is absolutely amazing.
I looove it! It tastes amazing. 
It's more like a syrup in my opinion, a thick syrup at that! 
They say you only need 2 or 3 pumps, but you actually need more than that to get the full Snickers taste.

Downside is the PUMP! OMG this pump is a pain in the booty!
When I put the pump on it took me about 10 minutes of spinning to spout for it to open up.
Word of advice, get the spout up BEFORE you put the pump on the bottle because once the pump is on it doesn't come off, yep that's right.. it doesn't come off, which to me is a HUGE issue because there's still creamer in the first bottle and I can't get to it!
Hello.. wasteful!

These pumps *need* to be designed to be removeable because I have two bottles and can easily use just 1 pump for both bottles if it were easier to be removed.
When it comes to removing the spout I did Google it and found this "You can remove the pump and it is easier with a pair of channel lock type pliers where you can squeeze the collar and turn it counterclockwise at the same time to release it.".  

Egg muffin bites

Sometimes you want a hearty breakfast that you can eat on the go or throw in your bag to take to school or work. Usually the most portable of breakfast ideas are carb and sugar loaded. These tasty breakfast egg muffins are absolutely amazing!

You decide what meat, cheese and vegetables you want to put it in making the combination possibilities endless. And since you make a bunch in advance you have ready to go breakfast options all weekend. Get the kids involved as well by letting them choose their own ingredients.

Ingredients

Spring onion as required

Chopped tomatoes as required

Onion as required

Cheese as required

Green chil
ies

Fresh coriander

Capsicum chopped as required

You can add chicken, beef, mince cooked., spinach, sausages, ricotta cheese and lots more as per your taste.

Eggs 6 beaten with 2 tbsp milk salt and black pepper to taste.

Method

Preheat oven at 200C/400F. Grease your muffin tin.

Add vegs of your choice along with cheese., pour beaten egg mixture on it.,

Place muffin pan on the center rack of a preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are light brown, puffy, and the eggs are set.

Let muffins cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin pan or cups. Loosen gently with knife if they seem to be sticking. Eat immediately or let cool completely and store in plastic bag in refrigerator or freezer. The Egg Muffins can be reheated in the microwave. Enjoy!!