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Discover How To Soften Strawberries & Save

William @ Plum Cookin' — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 17:47:06 +0000

Discover How To Soften Strawberries At Home And Stop Paying To Much

Once you discover how to soften strawberries at home and discover just how easy they are to make, storebought will just seem like you’re wasting your time and money.

Seriously, macerated strawberries are so easy to make that there is no reason to purchase sweetened and softened strawberries.

Making them yourself literally takes the same or even less time than thawing out a package of them from the grocery store.

What Your Going To Need

Strawberries. They can be fresh or frozen. As long as they are clean and the green stem and leaves have been removed, you’re ready to go.
Sugar
A bowl or two
A strainer (But only if you want to remove excess juice)

How To Put It Together

Add strawberries to a bowl.

Cover strawberries with sugar

Cover and let sit on the counter for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight.

Drain off and freeze for later use, any excess strawberry juice you don’t want to use in your recipe.

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How To Easily Make Dark Corn Syrup

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 19:27:39 +0000

Make Dark Corn Syrup At Home In Just A Few Seconds

Instead of Running To The Store

So, you just pulled out grandma’s favorite pie recipe only to discover every ingredient is in your pantry except dark corn syrup.

Your first thought is probably can I substitute light corn syrup for dark corn syrup? (Answer) Yes and No!

For the most part, it will work but the flavor and color will both be off.

No need to run to the store, you probably have the two ingredients you need to make dark corn syrup in the pantry.

That’s right, just 2 ingredients.

This is truly one of those recipes that are so simple you’ll wonder why you’ve bothered to buy it premade all these years.

Why Pay More

The best part is once you realize the ingredients needed to make dark corn syrup have a shelf life of (literally years after opening) you can stop paying through the nose for the ingredients by purchasing in bulk rather than those tiny bottles that cost a fortune. per oz compared to per oz in bulk

Indefinite Shelf Life

If you don’t have these two simple ingredients in your pantry, perhaps it’s time to rethink your pantry. Did you know that things like light corn syrup, molasses, salt, and white rice, among many other common ingredients found in the average pantry, when stored properly, will keep for years, (Even After Opening)

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Cook The Best Dry Pinto Beans On The Stove

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 04:26:27 +0000

Dry Beans Save You Money

Every 15 or 16-ounce can of pinto beans equals about 1½ cups of cooked beans, drained.

2 cups of dry pinto beans = 1 pound of dry pinto beans.

1 pound of dry pinto beans = about six cups (or 4 cans) of cooked beans, drained.

The cost of 1 pound of dry pinto beans is roughly the same (or less) than that of a single can of cooked pinto beans.

Officially, dried pinto beans have a minimum shelf life of one to two years, according to the USDA. Unofficially, they keep pretty much forever. Dried beans are considered non-perishable

2 Ingredient Pinto Beans

All you really need are just two ingredients to cook pinto beans

Dry Pinto Beans

Water

Cooking pinto beans on the stove is easy to do, tastes so much better than canned beans from the store, and as a bonus, it’s cheaper as well.

There are literally hundreds of other ingredients you can add to this simple bean recipe to make your special dish but not only are they completely optional, but they also don’t have to be added right away.

Not only are beans easy to make, but they are also nutritious, filling, and incredibly versatile! They can be used as a side dish or added to other dinner recipes like burritos, tostadas, soups, stews, and so much more.

I have been making this very simple pinto bean recipe for years. Then once I have the beans cooked up and ready to go, I can use them later in other recipes. This way I have all the convenience of those canned beans from the supermarket but for a fraction of the cost.

Once you start getting into a routine of making and having pinto beans cooked up and ready to go, they will quickly become a staple around your kitchen.

Optional Seasonings

Of course, there are a number of seasonings you may want to routinely add to your basic pinto bean recipe, (especially if you plan to eat the pot of beans right away) the most obvious being salt.

Salt helps to bring out and enhance the natural flavors of just about any food but it is not necessary for this basic pinto bean recipe. They will cook up and store just fine without a single grain added. Then you can simply add salt according to your other recipes later.

But, You Could Add:

1 teaspoon of salt and then adjust as needed.

1/2 onion diced or minced

3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic

How To Cook Dry Pinto Beans

Start By Sorting Your Beans

The easiest way to sort your beans that I have ever found is to spread a towel across the countertop. A plain white tea towel is ideal for this but any towel will work.

Then spread your beans out into a single layer on the towel and pick out any rocks, shriveled up, or even split beans and discard them.

My simple rule is if it doesn’t look like the other 500 beans laying there, it’s out of there.

Rinse Your Beans

Pour your beans into a strainer or colander and rinse with cold water to remove any small unseen debris from the beans.

Soak your beans

Place your rinsed beans into a jar or bowl and cover them with at least two or three inches of water. Cover the jar and leave it on the counter in a cool place out of any direct sunlight for at least 8 hours. Overnight works great. If you prefer to soak them in your refrigerator you can but the soaking time will take longer.

Soaking your beans not only allows them to rehydrate, but soaking also helps them to cook more evenly and cuts down on the overall cooking time.

Discard The Soaking Water

Once your beans have been soaked overnight you will see that they have just about doubled in size. Pour them back into a strainer or colander and discard the water they soaked in. I usually give them a quick second rinse at this point.

To Cook Your Beans

Rinse your soaked pinto beans, place them into a large pot and cover them with add about 2 1/2 quarts of fresh clean water. (This is also the perfect time to add any of those additional seasonings if you’re just planning to eat them tonight.)

Bring the beans to a boil, reduce the heat to a medium-low simmer, cover and cook for 2 or 3 hours checking the water level and stirring occasionally.

After about 2 hours give them a quick taste. They should be tender with a soft smooth texture. If not, let them cook for another 30 to 60 minutes or until they’ve cooked through to the level you are looking for.

Storing Cooked Pinto Beans

Short Term Storage

Your cooked pinto beans will keep for about 4 days in the refrigerator. For best results let beans cool completely and use an airtight container.

Long Term Storage

Your cooked pinto beans will easily keep in the freezer for at least 4 to 6 months. For best results in the freezer use freezer-safe containers or freezer bags removing as much air as possible.

A Few Ideas For Using Cooked Pinto Beans

Refried Beans

Add to Burritos

Taco Salads

Beans and Franks

Ham and Beans

Use as a side dish

Add To Salads

Add to Soups

Chili

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Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 13:00:20 +0000

Hard Boiled Eggs

A Personal Favorite

There are many ways to make eggs, but one of the most versatile has got to be hard-boiled because once you have a supply of hard boiled eggs in your refrigerator you can create so many other wonderful dishes using them.

Here are just a few simple ideas for using hard-boiled eggs

Deviled Eggs
Egg Salad
Sliced For Salad
Use in potato salad
Use in macaroni salad

So what’s the secret to making perfect hard-boiled eggs on the stove every time? Well, it’s the same for all boiled eggs whether you want them soft or hard boiled.

If you want to make perfect boiled eggs you need only to follow one simple rule, which is to never put the eggs in the water until the water is boiling. Then it is just a matter of tracking your time.

For hard boiled eggs with good firm yolks, you boil for 11 minutes, Anything under 7 minutes and you’ll still be in the soft-boiled stage.

Did you know you can also make hard boiled eggs in the microwave? With the right pots and pans that are truly designed for your microwave you sure can. Check out our quick 2-minute video to discover how.

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Easiest Ways To Save Green Beans

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 14:47:32 +0000

The Easiest Ways To Save Green Beans

For Long-Term Storage

There are many ways to save green beans, but as long as you have the freezer space, freezing is probably the easiest way. Plus you have the convenience of just grabbing a few beans at a time if that is all you need when using them for soups, stews, stir fry, etc.

Whether you grow green beans in your garden, pick them up at a local farmer’s market, or even just find a great special on fresh green beans at your local market, you’re going to need to find ways to save green beans and freezing is one of the best ways to preserve green beans for future use.

Freezing green beans does more than just keep them for later use though. When done right, freezing is one of the best ways to save green beans because it will bring a level of convenience to your kitchen that is hard to beat.

To properly freeze green beans you need to blanch them before freezing. This helps to ensure that they retain nutrients, color, texture, and flavor throughout their life in your freezer.

To create convenience you’re going to want to freeze them in a two-step process. Start by flash-freezing them in a single layer after blanching, then move the frozen beans to a large bag.

Taking this step allows you to freeze large bags of beans that are not all stuck together. Then you can simply take out a few handfuls at a time or the amount you need for dinner, rather than having to deal with a large clump of frozen beans.

Prepare Your Green Beans Before You Blanch Them

It is best to work in small batches so start with about a pound of beans.

Place a gallon or so of water on the stove to boil and another gallon of ice water in a large bowl. “One side of a clean sink works well for this also.”

Wash the green beans and break the stem ends of the beans. Green beans sometimes have a tough stringy thing that runs down the side. When you snap off the stem ends also bull any string from the bean. See the video for more info.

You can leave the beans full length if you wish but if the beans ate long enough you may wish to break them up into inch-long pieces. “It’s just personal preference here”

Another great way to save green beans is by creating french style green beans.

Blanching Green Beans

One of the ways to save green beans is by blanching them with a steamer or you can boil them. Personally, I find blanching by boiling to be one of the easiest ways to save green beans. Simply drop the beans into a pot of rapidly boiling water, then return to a light boil and cook for about 3 minutes.

Pro Tip: “Work in small batches, no more than a pound of beans to a gallon of boiling water.”Your water should return to a light boil within about a minute, if not you are overcrowding the pot, and should try fewer beans on the next batch.

The goal here is not to cook them all the way through but lightly. This will stop the enzyme process which otherwise causes a loss of color, flavor, and texture.

Cool The Beans

Lift the beans out of the boiling water and drain the excess water. Immediately place them into your ice water and allow them to sit in the ice water for a good three or four minutes to stop any internal heat from continuing to cook the beans. Then lift them out into a strainer and let them drain in a strainer for a couple of minutes to remove excess water.

Flash Freeze – Single Layer

Spread the blanched, cooled, and drained green beans out on a sheet pan in a single layer. It doesn’t need to be perfect but the less crowded the beans are the better your results will be. Place the sheet pans of beans into the freezer, undisturbed for at least an hour or two.

Long Term Storage

Remove the pans from the freezer and place the beans into large freezer storage containers or large freezer bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible, seal, and label the packages with the month and year.

How Long Will They Keep

One great reason freezing is one of the best ways to save green beans is because frozen green beans will keep for a year no problem. Yes, they are still okay to eat after that but at that but at that point, their quality will begin to decline slowly.

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How To Make Vinegar With Peaches – Easy

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 14:07:07 +0000

How To Make Vinegar With Peaches

Ever wonder how to make vinegar? Or better still, how to create fantastic, various types of vinegar at home. Or vinegar that you would likely never find on the big box grocery store shelves. This homemade peach vinegar recipe definitely fits the bill and is so easy to make. It’s very inexpensive and will keep pretty much forever.

Having unique vinegar flavors is one of those top secret chef hacks that make dressings, sauces, and even meat dishes from your home wholly original, and people will wonder how you did it.

There are a couple of ways to make peach vinegar. This recipe focuses on how to make it completely from scratch when you do not have a starter.

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