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During this period of the covid-19 pandemic, I have begun ordering and purchasing produce from a local distributor. They have great prices and nice produce and I was even able to get yeast from them! One day recently, I ordered a bag of cilantro. It didn't sound like very much according to the weight of the bag. But, cilantro is very light apparently and the bag of cilantro that I got was HUGE! Knowing how quickly cilantro will wilt and get slimy, I tried to see if my daughters or son needed any. They all refused it, saying they had just purchased some! I started using it in salsa and every recipe possible, but I barely made a dent in that giant bag.
Fast Forward to my grandsons outdoor, socially safe birthday, where I sat having a conversation with Anita and her DL Julia, each 6 feet away from me, and I tell them about my cilantro dilemma! Julia, an excellent cook and baker, suggested that I could put the cilantro in olive oil and freeze it in ice cube trays! Then, when I don't have fresh cilantro in the house, I can just pop a cube of the frozen stuff in my recipe and it will still taste fresh! So, after I got home, I started looking things up about freezing herbs online. Isn't it amazing how many different methods you can find on there? I looked things over, and this is what I did:
I had one spare ice cube try to use to freeze my cilantro! In a food processor or blender, put 5 cups of fresh cilantro, stems and all and 3/4 cups of vegetable oil. If your blender won't hold that much, you will have to chop it in batches. PULSE the blender or food processor until the cilantro is chopped up and covered with the oil. I didn't want it to be a smooth cilantro puree, but to have leaves and bits of stem still showing. Then, I put about a tablespoon of the oily cilantro into each slot of the ice cube tray. I covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. The beauty of this method is that when it is completely frozen, you can pop out the cubes and store them in the freezer in a plastic bag and then reuse the ice cube tray for something else!
Now, after using 5 cups of cilantro for that freezing project, you would think my problem would have been solved, right? No way, I still had half of the cilantro left! Well, while I had been looking up ways of freezing my cilantro, I remembered noticing herbal salts. Cue binging light bulb! I began with the obvious, Cilantro-Lime Salt. OH MY GOODNESS! THESE SALTS ARE SO EASY TO MAKE AND SO TASTY! I believe I have found this year's Christmas gifts! The possibilities are endless! I am going to give you 3 Cilantro Salt variations. Under each initial photo I will give you ideas for their use and how I have tried them so far. I think a set of 3 types of salts would make a great gift, or use other herbs to make salts, such as basil or thyme from your garden and give a variety of different salts in that way! I used little Rubbermaid or Zip Lock containers to store them, or you could use shakers or canning jars. I also designed labels that I am sharing with you to keep track of what is what and to give them a cute look.
Cilantro-Lime Salt
Ingredients:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly. Then spread them on a sheet pan that has sides.
Place the pan, uncovered, into your oven set at its lowest heat setting. Leave it there for an hour or two until the cilantro and zest are completely dry. At this point you can start gathering the salt into the center of the pan, crumbling the big pieces of cilantro as you go.
This recipe filled 2 Rubbermaid 4 ounce containers as pictured. Then, I used Avery Address Labels #8160 to print little labels for my salts. Click the button for the PDF to print your own!
When I made the label for this one, I mixed up the onion and the garlic description on it, but you get the idea of why it is called CROG. This salt makes a great rub for any type of meat! I used it on salmon and it was fantastic. A little goes a long way to bring great flavor! I think on a beef roast it will be divine. I am trying that next. It would also be great on vegetables and in rice.
CROG Salt- A savory blend of Cilantro, Rosemary, Onion and Garlic
Ingredients:
3/4 c. loosely packed chopped cilantro 1 bunch finely chopped green onions, green part only 6 cloves finely chopped garlic 4 long sprigs of fresh rosemary, off the stem and chopped 1 c. coarse kosher salt Blend all together in a bowl as before and spread on a sheet pan. Because there are wetter ingredients in this recipe, it will take about 4 hours to dry well in the oven at the lowest setting. When finished, crush up the larger chunks into the mix. The tiny dry onion pieces will burst into powder! I may have had a little too much fun with that. I was able to get almost 3 containers of savory CROG from this recipe.
Bacon-Cilantro Salt
Ingredients:
1 c. chopped cilantro, loosely packed 6 slices of crispy cooked bacon, crumbled. Cut off any fatty, not crispy parts. If possible, lower salt would be great. 3/4 c. coarse kosher salt. Like the other recipes, blend all of the ingredients together and spread them on a sheet pan. Dry in your oven with it set on the lowest setting. It took mine 3 to 4 hours to dry completely. Scrap everything together on the pan, crumbling even smaller as you do so. This recipe filled 2 containers.
The measurement of the ingredients is somewhat loose, and you can adjust them as you wish as you make yours. After making these recipes, I was able to bring down the amount of cilantro that I had to a manageable level. If you grow your own herbs or if you have access to a large amount of them like I do from a produce supplier, just think of the possibilities of making gifts this year! It was quick and easy with a great result. Now my mind is racing with other flavor combinations. Also, which containers did you like better? What other flavor combinations do you think would work well? Let me know in the comments!
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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!
I was recently reminded of this post and it made me wonder how much backyard camping has been going on during the pandemic. If you want some more ideas on how to enjoy backyard camping, I thought I would republish this article. I also came across another article that would be especially good for those of you who aren't experienced campers. It tells you all about purchasing tents and equipment that you might need as well as a couple of good camping recipes. The writer lives in the UK, and they have been experiencing extreme isolation there. But, compared to our Arizona backyard where we have already hit 106 degrees during the day, their UK garden is like an oasis! After you re-read this post, you will want to check it out here: Garden Camping, a wonderful escape.
This weekend, my husband and I and a couple of our kids are going camping. Our family has always enjoyed camping in the great outdoors! It is a great way to get out of the Phoenix heat! Later this month, I am going to our church's girl's camp again, so camping is really on my mind.
With summer here and parent's looking for ways to entertain kids, Backyard Camping can be a great way to do something fun without having to spend money on gas, but still helping the kids spend time out of doors. Plus, there is the added benefit of being close to a clean bathroom! Camping in the heat of the city, you ask? Well, that can be a problem in some places, (like Phoenix), but there are some ways to help with that! So, for this Fun Friday, here are our best ideas for a fun Backyard Camping Night!
Set up, Timing and Preparation:
Food Suggestions:
If you live where it is cool enough in the evening to actually have a fire pit fire, you can do a variety of things:
If you live in Phoenix, or somewhere else where it is too hot for a fire at night, you can do this:
Ways to Be Cool:
Camp Out Activities:
There are so many fun things to do when camping, whether you are in the woods or on a backyard camp out. Here are a few of our favorites:
Backyard camping is an activity the whole family can enjoy together, or just let the kids sleep on their own after the night's activities! Mom and Dad are right inside if they get scared! So is the bathroom! (Make sure they use it before they settle down for the night!) The memories you make with them will last a lifetime!
Be sure to visit www.yay.fish to see more ideas about camping in your own garden!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own.Thank you for your support! Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day!
I know that in some parts of the country people are still getting hit with snowstorms, but here in Arizona the temps are heating up. I am grateful for our swimming pool, and I am also grateful for smoothies! Not only is it hot, I am pregnant, so, It's super hot. A nice cool smoothie is a great way to get the nutrients I need and not die from the heat. I love buying up frozen fruit so I can toss it into my Ninja and enjoy a nice, thick smoothie. I've made several different kinds, but this breakfast smoothie was so delicious I had to share it with you. It was so thick it was like eating sorbet, but healthier! For this delicious breakfast smoothie you will need: 1 orange, no peel 1 banana 1 cup frozen mango 1 cup frozen pineapple 1/2 frozen chopped spinach 1 cup almondmilk Toss all of those ingredients into your Ninja or your Blender, or your Bullet, or whatever you use to blend up a smoothie and blend until smooth. That's it guys! That's how easy it is to make this tasty meal! I am about to go make myself another one, so enjoy! Use our links to buy your new favorite kitchen gadget! I love my Ninja because it really gets everything so nice and smooth so quickly! Don't forget to buy it and try! Happy, healthy, breakfasting!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!
Aside from sending my grandchildren things through Amazon Prime for their birthdays because of the free shipping, I am not a huge online shopper normally. I like to try things on and make sure that they fit. I like to look at and touch things in person to check quality, color, size and, all of those things. But, during the this time of quarantine shopping at home became more tempting. Not only that, ordering online helps some of the brick and mortar companies stay in business, enabling them to rehire their employees back to their stores when this is all over. So, I got on my computer and gave it a try and I'm incredibly happy with some of my choices!
My Most Favorite:
Do you have mainly solid surface flooring in your homes like I do? Well, sitting at home, day after day, I began to notice how much stuff, like grass, crumbs and dust, were easy to spot on my floors. I would vacuum or sweep and just a little bit later I would spy something else.
For years, I had toyed with the idea of getting a robot vacuum cleaner. I thought it would be great just to have one help me keep up with the little things that get everywhere, and especially along the baseboards and around the chair and table legs. Sitting in my house for so long, not being very busy, and doing quite a bit of organizing and cleaning actually pushed me over the edge and I started looking on Amazon to see how good of a price I could get on a robot vac. Surprisingly, they aren't really that bad! Well, some of them are, but there are some really good deals as well! To make a long story short, I ordered one and TA DAH! Meet Hazel, I call her my new pet!
Hazel is wonderful. I can't believe I have waited this long to give myself permission to buy her. It would have been so great to have a robot vacuum when I had small children or pets around. She is better than a pet. She picks up after herself and I don't have to feed her. This vacuum is actually made by iMartine. It is self docking, you can link her to Alexa and she has a remote that you can use to set a time of day that you want her to start cleaning or have her do certain areas or baseboards. Speaking of baseboards, mine have never looked so good! I can not believe how thoroughly she cleans all over and around the edges of my house. Not only that, she moves from solid surface to carpet and over thresholds with ease. I highly recommend this device to households everywhere! (You can name yours and give it whatever gender you like. We chose Hazel after an old TV show about a maid with that name.)
What I Want More Of:
Summer has hit Phoenix and I needed some cooler shirts to wear. Old Navy has been emailing me some smokin' deals during this quarantine, so I went and took a look. I ended up buying some jeans, a new hoodie for next year (It was a great clearance price), and a tunic tee! All of them fit, but my favorite by far was the Tee!
When I first pulled this Tee out of the packaging, the fabric felt cool! It is so comfortable and is long the way I like my shirts to fit. The price was great and I am thinking of ordering another one! Right now, when everyone is always wearing colorful legging, a plain Tee really is nice to have, plus it looks great with jeans. If you don't get emails from Old Navy with special offers, I highly recommend that you sign up! It was so nice having new clothes that I picked sent right to my door!
The Perfect Pick for Kids:
Not being able to be with grandchildren for their birthdays isn't fun and I am really glad that I can shop online and send them something special. One of my grandsons just turned 7, so I looked at Amazon and found him this set of walkie talkies for his birthday! He has a little brother who will be able to enjoy them with him, not to mention big brothers and sisters. They were delivered just yesterday and I am told that they are a big hit! I'm so glad!
These walkie talkies have great reviews. They have 22 channels and a range of up to 3 miles. They even have a flashlight!
I'm not ready to give up brick and mortar stores yet. I will be so glad when they are up and running again and their employees are back to work. It is always fun to meander around and see what you can see and also see what the product is really like when you make a purchase, and to have a real person to talk to and help you if needed. I feel like that is still always iffy when you buy on line. But, I am very happy with these things that I've shared! Have you made any online purchases that you really love? I'd love to hear about them!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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