Monday, November 26, 2012

Easy Peanut Brittle

Mom's Easy Peanut Brittle. Photo by Bayhill


Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 1 cup white light corn syrup

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 teaspoon butter

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 -1 1/2 cup raw Spanish peanut
  •  
     
     
    Directions:
     
     
    1. Stir syrup, water and sugar together in large, heavy pan to hard ball stage (250*F- 265*F-- A little of this syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard ball).
    2.  
    3. Stir in butter and peanuts until golden brown.
    4.  
    5. Stir in vanilla and soda.
    6.  
    7. Pour into 2 buttered pizza pans, just shaking pan to even out mixture.
    8.  
    9. Cool and break into pieces.

    Sunday, November 25, 2012

    Turkey Casserole

    Ingredients:


  • 4 cups leftover prepared stuffing, divided

  • 1 lb leftover cooked turkey, coarsely chopped

  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise

  • 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

  • 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  •  

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    2.  
    3. Spray 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
    4.  
    5. Spoon in 2 cups stuffing, and top with turkey.
    6.  
    7. Combine 1/4 cup mayo with the cranberry sauce, spread evenly over turkey.
    8.  
    9. Combine remaining mayo, potatoes, and cheese in a large bowl, and spread on turkey, and top with remaining stuffing.
    10.  
    11. Bake 40 minutes or until heated through.
    12.  
    13. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
     

    Saturday, November 24, 2012

    Basic Potato Soup

    Potato Soup. Photo by Pismo

    Ingredients:

    SERVINGS: 6


    Directions:

    1. Peel, cube, boil, drain and "mush" potatoes to the consistency you like.
    2. In separate pan, melt butter, add flour and cook while stirring for about a minute or so.
    3. Add half the milk and stir until lumps are out of flour mixture.
    4. Add remaining milk and on med-high heat, heat to a boil.
    5. Stir almost constantly or it will scorch.
    6. After boiling, turn heat off and add remaining ingredients.
     
     
    Top with bacon, cheese, green onion, & sour cream for a tasty treat!!!!

     

    Saturday, November 17, 2012

    Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

    Here's what you need:

         2 1/2 cups - SUGAR
        
         1 cup - OLIVE OIL

         4 tablespoons - LEMON JUICE




    Here's what you do:

        Mix all ingredients well until a gritty paste forms. Spoon into a glass container with a lid and begin enjoying soft, smooth hands!!! You may have to stir ingredients prior to use after sitting for awhile, the sugar may settle.








    Wednesday, November 14, 2012

    Bed Bug Infestations are Increasing at an Alarming Rate

    Bed Bug Infestations are Increasing at an Alarming Rate| Smarter Households

    Autumn Potato Gratin




    Total Time: 40 min
     
    Prep: 5 min

    Cook: 35 min

    Yield: 8 servings
    Level: Easy

    Ingredients

    • 4 pounds mixed baby potatoes, such as Red Bliss, Peruvian Purples, and Fingerlings
    • 2 cups heavy cream, plus some to cover
    • 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
    • 2 sprigs each fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
    • 2 garlic cloves, cracked
    • Salt and pepper
    • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

    Directions

    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
    Halve the potatoes and toss them into a large baking dish and season with salt and pepper.
    Meanwhile, put the cream, butter, herbs, and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, to infuse the cream with flavor. Season with salt and pepper.
    Pour the hot cream mixture through a strainer over the potatoes, (discard the herbs and garlic), if there is not enough cream to go 3/4 of the way up the potatoes then pour some additional cream on top to make up the difference. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and top begins to brown. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
     

    Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip Recipe

    Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip Recipe : Paula Deen : Recipes : Food Network

    Tuesday, November 13, 2012

    Home Remedies for Colds

    Are cold symptoms making you feel miserable? Here are 12 cold remedies you can use right now -- at home -- to feel better.


    Cold Remedy #1: Drink plenty of fluids to help break up your congestion. Drinking water or juice will prevent dehydration and keep your throat moist. You should drink at least 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water daily. Include fluids such as water, sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. Your mother's chicken soup might help too! (Limit cola, coffee, and other drinks with caffeine because it acts like a diuretic and may dehydrate you.)

    Cold Remedy #2: Inhale steam to ease your congestion and drippy nose. Hold your head over a pot of boiling water and breathe through your nose. Be careful. If the steam burns your nose, breathe in more slowly. You can buy a humidifier, but the steam will be the same as the water on the stove. Moisture from a hot shower with the door closed, saline nasal spray, or a room humidifier is just as helpful to ease congestion.

    Cold Remedy #3: Blow your nose often, but do it the proper way. It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard, pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages, causing earache. The best way to blow your nose is to press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.

    Cold Remedy #4: Use saline nasal sprays or make your own salt water rinse to irrigate your nose. Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe:
    Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water. Fill a bulb syringe with this mixture (or use a Neti pot, available at most health foods stores). Lean your head over a basin, and using the bulb syringe, gently squirt the salt water into your nose. Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, and then treat the other nostril.
    To avoid exposing yourself to other bacteria and infections, it's important to watch what you put in your nose. According to the CDC, if you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

    Cold Remedy #5: Stay warm and rested. Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a blanket to stay warm if necessary.

    Cold Remedy #6: Gargle with warm salt water. Gargling can moisten a sore or scratchy throat and bring temporary relief. Try a half teaspoon of salt dissolved in 8 ounces of warm water four times daily. To reduce the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle -- such as tea that contains tannin -- to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick, viscous gargle made with honey, popular in folk medicine. Steep one tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot water; mix with one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before gargling.

    Cold Remedy #7: Drink hot liquids. Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration, and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat. If you're so congested you can't sleep at night, try a hot toddy, an age-old remedy. Make a cup of hot herbal tea. Add one teaspoon of honey and one small shot (about 1 ounce) of whiskey or bourbon if you wish. Limit yourself to one. Too much alcohol inflames those membranes and is counterproductive.

    Cold Remedy #8: Take a steamy shower. Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you're dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair nearby and take a sponge bath.

    Cold Remedy #9: Try a small dab of mentholated salve under your nose to help open breathing passages and help restore the irritated skin at the base of the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus, and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.

    Cold Remedy #10: Apply hot packs around your congested sinuses. You can buy reusable hot packs at a drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 30 seconds in a microwave. (Test the temperature first to make sure it's right for you.)

    Cold Remedy #11: Sleep with an extra pillow under your head. This will help relieve congested nasal passages. If the angle is too awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box springs to create a more gradual slope.

    Cold Remedy #12: Learn about natural remedies like zinc, echinacea, and vitamin C. People looking for natural cold remedies often turn to supplements. Many of these remedies have not been shown to help and some hurt.

    Zinc: While early studies showed that zinc could help fight off a cold more quickly, the latest consensus seems to be that zinc has a minimal benefit at best. According to the Food and Drug Administration, zinc nasal spray can cause permanent loss of smell.