Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Okay, we hardly ever eat ketchup so I've not really stressed about the ingredients of what I'm buying, but we've been exercising 30 minutes a day and watching our carbs and sugar.  The result... 2 lb weight gain.  Thanks!

So I am looking at everything!  Sugar is in almost everything and sugar is evil.  I think I've mentioned before that I don't have a huge sweet tooth, so cutting sweets is not a big deal for me, but finding out it's in almost everything I buy, just sucks.

So I'm trying to cut it out in places I know where it is.  Ketchup is one of those places.  I've searched pinterest and this recipe is very common out there.  I've made my own tweaks but that's how I "own it'  You need to do the same!  "Own it!".

Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients
2 6oz cans of tomato paste
1/4 cup honey (use your local honey)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 packet stevia (optional - I might leave it out of the next batch)
1/2 cup of water
Pink salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to taste.  Start with a 1/4 tsp of each.  You will need to add more to "own it!".
Additional Tracy "own it" ingredient was white wine.  Yum!  - We usually have chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon on hand which make great cooking add in!

Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 2 hours.  Taste and add more seasoning.  Mine was way too sweet when I tasted it but adding a few more shakes of the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper made it pretty awesome!

Use a funnel and slowly pour your ketchup in a container (preferably glass) and store in the fridge.

I had saved our last ketchup bottle to store my homemade ketchup.

I'll be on the lookout for a glass bottle or 2 for the next batch of ketchup.  I must note that the brand on the bottle that you see, is the the best store bought ketchup we have ever had!

Enjoy!

Waste Not - Especially the Wine!

Wine Cubes

I shared this on a previous recipe post, but I think it's a great idea worth re-posting

Honey and I enjoy a glass of wine (or two) here and there and sometimes honey can't finish his glass, and I may not want to finish his too (this happens only on occasion).  So I usually put the rest of his in the fridge and use it within the next day or so in a supper recipe.

But now I've started freezing any left over wine in an extra ice cube tray.

Now when I make spaghetti sauce or my "Tipsy Chili" I just pop in a few wine cubes instead of opening a new bottle.

You are welcome!

Cool Finds - March & April Edition

We love, love, love thrifting and antiquing. My honey especially loves it.

We found some particularly cool stuff last month and this month.

We are really loving the "Jetsons" style coffee maker. We picked this up for a steal... $8!!!

I also found two glass milk containers that I have been looking for but not willing to pay too much for. I lucked into a lovely one with some art work on it too!  I'm actually going to use these for our cream and almond milk so that is why I didn't want to spend too much.

The big blue thing is a wine cooler. It fits 2 bottles and has a neat container to freeze that goes between the bottles.

I have many copper molds in my kitchen. Some of the molds were my mom's and the rest I have picked up for next to nothing at thrift stores and flea markets.

We also ended up with loads of books. Only 6 are pictured here, but we totally lucked into some great books, including 2 antique books about the great composers.

What are some of your neat finds recently?  Please share!

Chicken Parmesan Dinner with Low Carb Side Options

This is one of my most requested dinners.  Honey is not picky and eats everything I make, but every now and then he asks for something specific, so I do my best to come through.

This is on the simple side, since I love simple things.  =)  I don't bother with breading the chicken.  This not only saves on carbs and calories but also saves on the mess.

Another great thing about this dinner is that I'm cooking for 2 but this makes enough for 4 servings plus a little extra for someone's lunch the next day.  Leftovers rock!

Simple Chicken Parm
Ingredients:
1 lb package of organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
block mozzarella cheese to shred(you can use pre-shredded, but we don't because of the added junk it has)
1 jar of organic tomato sauce (I think Walmart's brand is wild oats or something like that)
1 small can of tomato paste
garlic fresh or garlic powder
Italian seasoning blend
grated Parmesan cheese

Caprese Salad Side
fresh tomatoes sliced
sweet onion sliced
mozzarella shredded
basil
balsamic vinaigrette

Additional Sides (optional)
Dreamfields pasta for honey
Zoodles for me (organic zucchini)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a glass backing dish.  Add the chicken breasts and top with a little more sauce, garlic (fresh or powder), italian seasoning, and grated parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

Put the sauce in a small pan, add a can of tomato paste, season with garlic, italian seasoning, grated parmesan cheese, and of course WINE (just a little) and heat on low.

Then I went and had a glass of wine on the deck because it was gorgeous outside!  You can do something productive if you want.  

After about 20 minutes, start boiling the pasta water and prepare the sides by slicing the tomatoes and onions, shredding the mozzarella cheese (enough for your caprese salads and to top the chicken breasts) and give your veggeti a workout with some organic zucchini.

Once you get the pasta in the boiling water (about 1/2 the box), pull the chicken out and top each breast with mozzarella.  Put the chicken back in the oven uncovered.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and the put back in the pan and add some of the warm tomato sauce.

Microwave the zoodles for 1 minute on high.

The cheese on the chicken should be yummy, gooey by now and slightly browned.  YUM!

Time for presentation:

Assemble caprese salad on side of plate, alternating tomato and onion.  Top with shredded mozzarella cheese, pink salt and pepper, basil (if you have it) and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Add your pasta or zoodles and chicken breast.  Top with warmed sauce as desired.

low carb option with zoodles

Enjoy!!

"Stewed" Almost To Die For Roast Pork (Slow Cooker) Recipe

Based on the super easy "To Die For Roast"... My variation is also for the slow cooker.

I love my crockpot!  There I said it...

This is based on an excellent roast recipe, link above to food.com's recipe.

"Stewed" Almost To Die For Roast Pork

Note:  I did this recipe half and half.  I did a lower carb side for me and added mushrooms.  Honey doesn't like sweet potatoes or mushrooms.

Ingredients:
3 lb pork roast
1 packet Hidden Valley the Original Ranch Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix
1 packet Good Seasons Italian All Natural Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix
1 16 oz. bag of baby carrots
1 16 oz. package of baby bella mushrooms
1 small sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 large sweet potato cut into chunks
5 small/med red potatoes cut into chunks
3/4 cup white wine (I used chardonnay) - this is the "stewed" part.  hee hee
1/4 cup water

Here's the easy part... put it all in your slow cooker and set to low for 7-8 hours.  

After the roast was done, I sliced it up and emptied the veggies out of the pot with a slotted spoon.  I took the juice in the slow cooker and  poured it into a small sauce pan and made my own gravy from the flavored juice.  It was sweet and tangy.  Yummy, really.

additional note:  The original "To Die For" recipe adds a gravy mix to the slow cooker in addition to the other flavor packets... but I prefer to make my own gravy.

one more note:  I make a larger roast as I will freeze the other half and then re-purpose it into bbq... It's to die for... =)

Enjoy!

No Joke! It's National Drink Wine Day!

February 18th is National Drink Wine Day!  Who knew?  Of course this is not to be confused with National Wine Day, which is May 25th!

Just so you know, wine is my favorite fruit.  It makes me happy.  It also makes my cheeks and decollete flush, but that's another story.

I read today, that studies show that people that drank 2-7 glasses of wine a week had a lesser incidence of depression!  Something to smile about people!

Anyway... Cin cin (to your health)

Tracy's Tipsy Chili Recipe

Tipsy Chili!

I must admit, that until my mom passed away, I had never made my own chili.  Her chili was so yummy, why should I make my own?  Anyway, a while after she passed away, the search was on for her recipe.  I found it, and here it is.  

It's yummy!  

So from that recipe, I evolved slightly.  Basically, I season it as I like it, or rather as honey and Kelly like it.  They are my taste testers as to when it's done.  

I prefer to simmer my chili as long as possible, so I normally make chili on the weekends.  Today is an exception.  It's an after work chili that's been simmering an hour or so now, but it will be amazing re-heated tomorrow after everything marinates.

I did post a picture of the spices on Insta and FB to see if anyone could guess my secret ingredient.  So far, the guesses have been cocoa powder, coffee, bacon, and beer.  All great guesses and ideas!  Thanks Chrissy, Dawn, Cheryl, and Dawn!  My mom's secret ingredient was taco bell sauce packets!  Medium!  Try it.  She would be okay with me sharing!

Enjoy my super easy recipe and of course, "own it" and make it your own!

Ingredients:

1 1b. of ground meat of choice (I used organic ground chicken)

1 28 oz can of tomato sauce or puree (I accidentally got puree this time, but it just made for a thicker chili)

1 8 oz can of diced tomatoes ( I prefer low sodium if I can find it)

1 8 oz can of chili beans

1 8 oz can of black beans

Various spices:  (I am horrible at measuring) I always forget the bay leaf, so this recipe was with out it.  Wait, does anyone know what the bay leaf flavor is like? (squirrel)

chili powder - 2 shakes to start

garlic minced and/or garlic powder - lots of it

cumin - 3-4 shakes

onion flakes - 3 shakes

cayenne - 2 shakes to start

seasoning salt - 1 shake or none at all

sriracha (because I was out of of Frank's hot sauce) - a good squirt of sriracha or about 5 shakes of Franks to start

1 green pepper - chopped

1 sweet onion - chopped

1 tbsp of olive oil

I think that's everything!

• brown your ground meat in a non-stick pan (I can't find my orgreenic since the move, so I'm using the old T Fals for now).  I don't add spray oil or any oil.  Drain when finished if any liquid or grease ( sometimes, I season the meat with the dried onions and some garlic while it browns)
• while the meat browns, add 1tbsp of olive oil to your big cooking pot and cook the chopped green peppers and onions on medium heat.  (sometimes I go ahead and add a little garlic while the veggies cook)
  
• when the meat is done, add it to the pot with the peppers and onions
• add your canned puree or sauce, the tomatoes, and rinsed beans.  
• start shaking your seasonings
  

• add your secret ingredient... mine is... ta da!... 1/2 a cup or so of Cabernet Sauvignon!  I bet you were curious about the tipsy part of the chili (no, the cook isn't tipsy).  
• simmer for a few hours
  
• If you like, top with cheese, onions, and greek yogurt or sour cream.  Serve with cornbread, on top of rice, baked regular or sweet potato, with tortilla chips, or just in the bowl!  Sometimes left overs top a salad.  
• I'm hungry
• I'll take a glass of wine now... oh, beer is good with this too.

Enjoy!

Tracy's Vegetable Beef Stew Recipe

Let me start by saying that it is really, really, really cold here and it's supposed to be colder, in the middle of the night, when we leave for work.  This inspired me to make a soup or a stew for supper tonight and something that would warm us up for the next few nights.

"Honey, how about beef stew?" Honey replied, "ooo YES!"

I used to enjoy my mom's stew but the trick here... how did she make it (another recipe gone to Heaven with mom)?  Ha ha... well, this is where I picked up too many things at the grocery to make stew but in the long run, I think I have dinner for the next 3 nights and maybe some lunches too!  Basically, I have no idea how to make mom's stew or any stew, so I'll make Tracy's stew.  Of course this means it will be easy and fairly simple too!

Photo by Tracy Hilbun

Tracy's Vegetable Beef Stew

Ingredients:  This looks like 6-8 servings (maybe more depending on your bowls or honey's appetite)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (mine had peas, carrots, butter beans, green beans, and corn in it)
3-4 carrots, sliced
2 potatoes, sliced (peeled or unpeeled)
1 small onion, cut up in smaller pieces
10 (about) radishes, ends removed (I didn't go too heavy on these because I wasn't sure if they'd go over okay)
1 package of stew beef
8 cups of water
4-6 low sodium beef bullion packets
various spices and ingredients to taste:  garlic powder, pink himalayan salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, rosemary, *red wine cubes, half and half


Go ahead and get your 8 cups of water in a stock pot, add the bullion and start heating on medium high to mix the bullion.  After you get this set up, brown your meat slightly on medium heat with a small amount of olive oil.  While the meat is browning, add the dry seasonings to the meat.

photo by Tracy Hilbun

When the pot of bullion starts getting rumbly, add the bag of frozen vegetables, the rest of the fresh vegetable ingredients and the stew beef.  Gently stir it up and add 4 frozen *wine cubes (not quite a half a glass of red wine) and a little half and half to make a pretty color (maybe 1/4 of a cup?)

Photo by Tracy Hilbun

Put a lid on the pot and let this simmering on a medium low setting for about 4 hours.  We cleaned up the basement and moved boxes around while mine cooked.

Photo by Tracy Hilbun

Honey said this was really good and enjoyed this served with crusty sourdough bread with grassfed butter.  It was pretty good.  Although I took a chance with the radishes, they really were nice blended with all of the vegetables and flavors.  

Note:  You may prefer a thickened broth and I think that would be awesome too, but I went for the thinner broth this time.  

Enjoy!

*Wine Cubes

Okay.. every now and then, honey and I have a glass of wine and for some reason, he doesn't always finish his.  I don't always want to finish his too, so I freeze the leftover wine in an ice cube tray to use in my spaghetti sauce or whatever I want to add it to, like tonight's stew.  You can also do this with your leftover coffee!  I've seen those used in mixed drinks, like with Irish Cream!  I'm thinking white wine cubes with small pieces of fruit would make a lovely compliment to a glass of white this summer.  Just thinkin'

Photo by Tracy Hilbun