How to Dehydrate Onions

Hi reader friends! Today's post is a quick and easy kitchen project. 

Recently, I found myself with more onions that I knew what to do with. I don't want them to go to waste. My freezer is full, so I decided to dehydrate them to use at a later time. The process is very easy if you would like to try it yourself.

All you need to do is peel and chop the onions into small, uniform sizes pieces, and spread them evenly on your dehydrator trays. Try not crowd them. The more space you can give the onion pieces, the better and quicker they will dry. I had to crowd mine more than I would have liked.

Turn your dehydrator on 135° F and let the dehydrator do what it does best. If you have a lot of trays, you may find your trays need to be rotated a few times during the drying process. Normally, the onions should be done around 10 hours, but mine had to run much longer since I had so many trays and so many onions on each tray. I highly recommend you dry your onions outside. You will know your onions are ready when they sound hard and dry moving in the tray and no longer feel soft. Move them to an airtight container to store them.

Warning! Don't give into the temptation to try one! You may find you aren't left with very many to store away! They are so good! They have the flavor of the fried onions you buy to place on top of green bean casserole. Yum! I only let myself eat a couple so I would have a picture to share with you and so I would have enough left to use in another project that I will try to share with you at a later date. 

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix

Hello, reader friends!

It's been a while since I've visited with you here! I hope life is treating you well with the chaos in our world today.

I wanted to stop in and share a simple and practical recipe with you. If you've been around a while, you know I have a strong aversion to using seasoning packets from a store, so I almost always make my own. I thought I had shared my recipe for my ranch seasoning before, but it turns out I never did, as I discovered after a search for it to share with a friend. So at long last, dear readers, the recipe has arrived for her maiden voyage! I hope your journeys with her her are beautiful and tasty. Don't forget to share your culinary adventure pictures with me!

Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix
1/4 c dried parsley flakes
1/8 c dried dill weed
1/8 c onion powder
1/8 c dried chives
1-1/2 T dried onion flakes
1-1/2 T garlic powder
1 T sea salt
1-1/2 t Goya Adobo All purpose
              Seasoning
1 t black pepper
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried basil 

Add all ingredients to a mini food processor. Process until dry ingredients are broken down well and form a consistent powder.

Use 1-1/2 t to 2 t of seasoning mix to replace a packet of ranch seasoning. Add more to taste.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Lemon Basil Shrimp with Pasta

Good day, reader friends!

I hope you are taking care of yourself and keeping yourself healthy during these crazy and trying Corona Virus days.

Have you found yourself in the kitchen more lately? I have! It feels strange having not been to a restaurant in so long. I was going through the freezer yesterday and found a bag of shrimp so I pulled it out to use today. After thinking a while yesterday about how I wanted to use it, I settled on Lemon Basil Shrimp with pasta.

I have to apologize in advance. This was one of those meals I just quickly threw together with no intentions of using it for a blog post. It was just so delicious and people started asking for the recipe, I figured I would write it out as best as I could. There is no "recipe." I will just tell you what I did.

First, I put my water on the stove with a good amount of salt to boil the pasta. As the water heated, I placed my non-stick skillet on another eye to warm. I also used this time to drain the shrimp that thawed in the refrigerator overnight. I also gathered the ingredients and spices I wanted to use. I pulled out bottled lemon juice (I didn't have fresh lemons on hand.), dried basil, salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. Once the water started to boil, I turned up the heat on the skillet to medium-high heat and added two tablespoons of butter to melt. I then added the noodles to the boiling water to boil for 8 minutes. Once the noodles were boiling in the water, I added the drained bag of shrimp to the skillet with the melted butter. I lightly salted it. I stirred it around until the shrimp slightly started turning pink. Then I sprinkled lightly with chili powder. I also added a good amount of basil garlic powder, and lemon juice (I used several good squirts- it depends on your taste). I continued stirring until the shrimp were mostly done. There was liquid still in the pan. Don't worry if this happens with your shrimp. The pasta will absorb any remaining liquids. I removed the skillet with the shrimp from the heat. Once the noodles were done, I drained them well and added the noodles to the skillet with the shrimp. To the noodles and shrimp I added a couple more squirts of lemon juice, a little more basil, and one more tablespoon of butter. I returned the skillet to the hot eye and continued to toss the ingredients until the liquid was absorbed and the shrimp and noodles were done. That's it! It is a very quick and easy dish to whip up! I hope you have a chance to try it!

How to Make Finely Ground Sugar

Good day, reader friends!

Don't stress!! I know it's the holidays and you are busy! I see those recipes you've been looking at that call for ingrients about which you aren't so sure! Here is help for one of those such ingredients!

Finely ground sugar is commonly used in European baked goods and candy. It is ground more finely that regular granulated sugar, but it's not as fine as confectioners/powdered sugar. I've never used it or seen it in a store personally, yet, I ended up needing it for a recipe I wanted to try.

Making it was very simple. I used my coffee grinder for this process, but using a small food processor may work.

To make the finely ground sugar, simply place about a quarter cup of regular granulated sugar into the mill.

Pulse a few times until the sugar is broken down into very small granules. Just be careful not to over-process and turn your sugar into a powder.

Ta-da!

It's just that easy! Repeat the process until you have your desired amount of sugar.

Now, there is one less thing to stress over! Go enjoy your holiday! ❤

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Citrus Peel Candy

Good day, reader friends!

We have been doing our annual Chrsitmas Around the World activities the last couple weeks when we have been able, as we lost a dear family member last week.

One activity I wanted to try this year was to make Stollen, a traditional German Christmas bread. The recipe I wanted to try called for candied citrus peel. I've read that there is no comparison between the store-bought version and the homemade version, so I decided it would be fun to make our own. It turns out, I was correct! I thought I would share the process with you in case you would like to try it also.

I began with organic produce, and I would not make this candy without using organic fruit since citrus is a sprayed crop. The following picture shows the fruit I used. You can use any combination you would like, but make sure to stay close to the same quantity.

Next, cut the ends of each fruit, and cut the rind away from the fruit.

Cut peel into quarter inch slices, place them in a pot, add cold water, and bring them to a boil. Boil the peels for 15 minutes.

Drain the peels and rinse them with cold water.

Repeating this process one or two more times will reduce the bitterness of the citrus rind.

Next, add two cups of sugar and one cup of water to the rinsed pot. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar. I didnt wait for my sugar to completely dissolve.

Add the peels to the pot. Reduce the heat to maintain a slow boil, and stir often so that the peels do not stick or burn.

Continue to boil until the rinds start turning translucent and the syrup is thick.

Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove a few rinds at a time from the pot, letting them drain for just a few seconds. Place the rinds in finely ground sugar.  (Click here to learn how to make your own) Toss them around a bit to make sure they are coated well.

Move the coated peels to a drying rack. 

Let them dry on the racks for one or two days. The peels are now ready to use or store in the freezer.

I hope you get a chance to try them!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Good day, reader friends! Can you believe the holiday season is already upon us?? We have been so busy here this year that this holiday season has crept up on me! I still can't believe Thanksgiving is this week! Wow!

The other day I hunkered down and faced the reality of the approaching festivities, pulling out my Thanksgiving planning cheat sheet to begin my grocery list. I thought I would quickly share it with you in case you would like to make one to use this year and years to come.

I folded a sheet of printer paper in half long ways. On the left, I wrote my schedule of things that need to be done and the order in which they need to be done. On the right, I wrote my main recipes. This helps me check my ingredients and herbs at a quick glance as I make my shopping list before Thanksgiving. Not having to search and flip through recipes makes the process so quick and easy. On the big day, having my schedule and recipes for the day in the same spot and on one sheet of paper creates a little more calm and sanity for me. I say, " What's not to love about that?" I've loved it quite a bit the last few years! I hope it inspires you to create one of your own to fit your own needs!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, reader friends!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Fall Fun

Good day reader friends!! I pray this post finds you well! How has fall been where you are? It seems like fall here, like many other places, is having a bit of an identity crisis.

One day, though, the day was perfectly fall-like! It just so happens we had something really fun planned for the day.

Have you ever wanted to really do a particular fun activity, but that activity was not being offered anywhere near you? Such was the case with me earlier this year. I wanted to enjoy a big bonfire with friends. I wanted the young and old all together enjoying the company of one another, laughing and having fun while roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Since there was no such thing being offered, I decided to plan and do it at my home. We don't have to wait for others to offer an event, we can plan and host it ourselves! I was so excited to do this for our church family.

I also created a photo scavenger hunt for people to participate in during the afternoon leading up to the bonfire. I still am hearing stories and laughter about that event from those who participated. I even here the words "next year" in those conversations. That is so exciting to me that so many people enjoyed it so much and want to do it again! I believe God gives us ideas and creativity to bless others. I am so thankful He used my husband, my children, and me to bless our church family!

Here are a few clips from our day and night. The first three photos are just a few of the MANY photos from the scavenger hunts. These just happen to be the only ones I could use due privacy issues. The remainder of the photos are from the bonfire.

S'mores Kits

I tried to have enough variety to try to
Make everyone feel loved, blessed, and
Thought of.

The next picture is from the hotdog and chili table. The hotdog weiners were placed in a casserole dish for everyone to roast his/her own. I added a big pot of homade chili to complete the meal.

We wrapped utensils to make
Everything easier to hold.

The crowd arrived just before dark.

I hope you find something here that inspires you to bless others or that sparks that little "I can do that" inside of you! Don't let life pass you by! God has given you the gift of today. He has given you life! Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and make something happen that will create beautiful, fun memories all around you! You can give others that gift and receive your own amazing blessings at the same time! You don't have to be fancy or Pinterest perfect to have fun and create fun! Just get out there and do it! Much love to you all!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!