September 2012

Homemade hot pockets

Make your own hot pockets from scratch

I have been on a kick to create replica's of the prepared meals my kids love to eat. One day I created my own version of Hamburger Helper. My latest creation is making my own version of Hot Pockets. I just feel that making food from scratch is far better than purchasing packaged foods that unhealthy ingredients.

Start off greasing a baking sheet with a non-stick cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, spread four triangles from a container of crescent rolls on the baking sheet. You can make your dough from scratch if you want to, I just didn't have time this week. Next time, I plan to spend some extra time making my own dough.

How to sweeten your tea

Honey: A natural alternative

Sweetening your tea can be a great thing to do, but for some people they do not want to use sugar or some of the artificial sweeteners. This is when you may want to explore some one of the optimum sweeteners, which is not only helpful for sweetening your drink, but provides health benefits as well. The sweetener you should look into using is nothing more then honey. 

The first thing you will notice is that honey is a natural sweetener and something that is commonly recommended for use when you are fitting some of the various diseases and not wanting to use any of the artificial or sugary substances. 

News of bacon shortage overblown

There is no need for a bacon panic!

Last week a trade organization for pork producers sent out an alarmist press release threatening that next year may see a bacon shortage in the wake of this year's problems with the global corn crop. It's obvious if you scratch the surface that this is little more than a marketing gambit, and a successful one to boot. But that never stopped the presses before, and it hasn't stopped them since. Thus this week we have been treated to a rash of "Bacon Shortage Forecast" news stories that breathlessly describe a future in which there is no bacon.

The first and most obviously suspicious thing about this news item is that it comes from an organization whose sole purpose is to convince the public to buy more pork. The National Pig Association of the United Kingdom is hardly going to put out a press release saying "Bacon supplies are fine, there is nothing to worry about" or even "2013 may see slight increase in bacon prices." That's not the kind of thing that will grab headlines, and more to the point, it's not the kind of thing that will frighten people into buying more bacon.

Homemade granola bars

Tasty and free of ingredients you can't pronounce.

I got sick of hearing about ingredients in granola bars that were bad for you. Even the granola bars that I thought were all-natural, turned out not to be. I wish there was better standards in being able to declare something “all-natural.” There was really nothing left to do but to make our own granola bars so we know exactly what we're eating.

You will need the following ingredients to make your own homemade granola bars:

  •  
  • 1/4 c. butter
  • 1/4 c. local honey
  • 1/3 c. light brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. quick cooking oats
  • 1 c. Rice Krispies
  • 1 c. granola
  • ¼ c. raisins
  • ½ c. chocolate chips

Homemade pepperoni rolls

Great for serving during a football game.

I love football season. Not only do I love cheering for my Eagles, but I also loving having people over and serving some delicious football snacks. This week I'm making homemade pepperoni rolls. I don't know anyone that doesn't love a good pepperoni roll!

You will need the following ingredients to make homemade pepperoni rolls:

  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 pkg. pepperoni slices
  • 8 oz. Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
  • 2 pkg. crescent rolls

Best mini-meatloaves ever

Make three small meatloaves instead of one big one.

I love making meatloaf for dinner, but I got sick of it taking so long to cook. That's when I got the idea to create a few mini-meatloaves instead of one big one. This cut cooking time almost in half. Here is how I make them:

You'll need the following ingredients to make your mini-meatloaves:

  • 1 ¼ lb. ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 small onion diced
  • ½ small green bell pepper chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp. fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • Ketchup

Dress up your corn on the cob

Use more than just butter to add flavor to your corn on the cob.

Corn on the cob tastes great when smothered in butter, but you can give it a bit more flavor than that. I have a few different recipes I like to use to give my corn on the cob a little pizzazz so that my family doesn't get bored with just plain butter.

Ranch dressing corn on the cob: Once your corn has finished cooking on the grill, mix ¼ cup of mayonnaise with 1 Tablespoon of dry ranch dressing mix. Spread this yummy dressing over the corn. Let it melt a bit and eat away.

Parmesan cheese corn on the cob: Melt ½ stick of butter and mix in 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Drizzle this mixture over the grilled corn before chowing down. Sometimes I even like to sprinkle a little bit of pepper on the corn as well.