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cooking from scratch

Homemade Taco Seasoning

homemade taco seasoning

Since my days as a Pampered Chef consultant, I have loved taco seasoning. We eat a lot of tacos, taco dips, enchiladas, chilis, and other foods that use taco dip, so we go through a lot of it. I also have high blood pressure, and that pre-made taco seasoning is insanely high in salt. I’ve been looking for a taco seasoning recipe that tastes as good as my old favorite, and I’ve found one. You know I’m the first person to reach for convenience foods when necessary – pre-made pie crust, whipped cream, and ketchup are high on my list … Read more

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10 Uses for a Crinkle Cutter

how to use a crinkle cutter

I’m a simple girl. {cough, cough} I tend to use a few really awesome kitchen tools and often skip fancy, single-use gadgets. In all honesty, the crinkle cutter is a tool that I rarely use. I know lots of uses for it, and I do use it now and then, especially when I’m preparing something for Grace, but most of the time, I just grab my favorite knife. Anyway, Tiffany and Amber both asked me to help them out with their crinkle cutters, so here are some suggestions – 10 Uses for a Crinkle Cutter Ice cream. Wouldn’t it be … Read more

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10 Pizzas to Cook on a Pizza Stone

10 Awesome Pizza Recipes You Haven't Tried

Last week’s pizza stone post was so popular that I decided to do another one. Except I decided to focus on pizza instead of excluding it. My only rule this time? No pizza recipes that I’d ever made before. That means veggie ranch pizza is out. So is chicken bacon ranch pizza and the ubiquitous pepperoni. And also? No heart-shaped pizzas on this list. 10 Pizzas to Cook on a Pizza Stone *The bold title of each pizza is linked to the recipe on the original blog. If there is no link, the original post has been taken down. Southwest … Read more

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How to Make & Use Dried Beans – Stove, CrockPot, and Instant Pot Directions

How to prepare and use dried beans - Dried are healthier and better tasting than canned, and they produce less gas! There isn't really a quick method that makes beans soft and nice, but you can soak and store a healthy amount of beans overnight to cook the next day. Includes recipe for crockpot, slow cooker, and instant pot or pressure cooker. Great for simple and easy dinners!

  Did you know that beans don’t have to come in a can? Don’t laugh; I didn’t know until more recently than I care to admit. Dried beans are very easy to prepare at home. It’s also much less expensive and both tastier and healthier to buy dried beans and prepare them than it is to buy them in a can. You can find dried beans in one-pound bags at nearly every large grocery store, even at Walmart. You want to soak your own beans. Why? Because soaking the beans yourself begins to process the starches that make beans offensive … Read more

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Perfect Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Somewhere between my need to avoid unnatural food additives, my desire to cook and eat more like my grandma, and Joe and my attempt to live more frugally, I talked my husband into making our own bread. From scratch. It took months of convincing. After a lot of discussion with Amy Clark from MomAdvice, I posted a request on my local FreeCycle board for a bread machine. Only a few days passed before an offer came in, and Joe went to pick up the bread machine. And then it sat in our dining room for seven months, until the car … Read more

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How to Make Homemade Baby Food the Cheap & Easy Way

homemade baby food

When Grace was born, I wanted desperately to breastfeed. I had decided 100% that I would breastfeed. There was no other option in my mind. I didn’t buy any bottles, and I didn’t even read anything in my library of pregnancy and newborn books about formula. I was going to breastfeed. Grace had other plans. She wouldn’t latch on or suck. Ever. I put her to my breast every half hour for the first few days of her life, and she never ate. Joe and I drew several conclusions about the reasons behind Grace’s refusal to breastfeed, but they are … Read more

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