Tag Archives: Cooking

8 Simple Zero-Waste Swaps In The Kitchen

by Texas Homesteader ~
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Did you ever wonder how you could eliminate single-use waste in your kitchen? Thankfully it’s easy to find simple zero-waste kitchen swaps.

Recently while entertaining family for supper, my sister saw me incorporating several zero-waste efforts. She exclaimed “Oh wow, I would have never thought to do that!”

It got me thinking, maybe I should share the various ways I’m able to reduce (or even eliminate) those single-use items in my kitchen. There are many easy ways I’m able to make zero-waste swaps for those things.

Here’s a list of single-use items I no longer buy. I’ve been able to reduce or eliminate these things completely:

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Easiest Homemade Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

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by Texas Homesteader~
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Occasionally we have need for breakfast sausage. But not really that often. So on the limited occasion that we need it we’ll typically buy it.

I’m always surprised at how expensive that little one-lb pkg of breakfast sausage costs! Especially since we have an abundance of ground pork in the freezer.

So I sat out to season our ground pork into homemade breakfast sausage. I settled on what I think is the simplest breakfast sausage seasoning blend.

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How To Make A Quick Honey Glaze

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by Texas Homesteader~

Are you looking for an easy sweet honey glaze recipe? You’re gonna love this. I’m not a big fan of spending time in the kitchen. This honey glaze is about as quick as it gets!

You know how it is – sometimes frosting is just a little too heavy on your cupcakes or sweet breads. I’ve opted for a sprinkling of powdered sugar in the past and that’s a good option for sure.

But RancherMan loves to have those breads topped with a little extra sumpin’. Enter this super easy honey drizzle – it whips up in about a minute! Check it out.

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Roasting Peppers On A Gas-Powered Stove

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by Texas Homesteader~

When the garden is pumping out those peppers I’m going through them almost as fast as they’ll produce. Jalapenos, poblanos, bell peppers, banana peppers – I love ’em all!

But we especially love poblanos and bell peppers. I’ve discovered that although they’re delicious in many ways, my favorite flavor is accomplished by roasting them.

But, you know – peppers are producing most prolifically during those hot & humid months of summer. I can’t stand the thought of turning the oven on high and roasting those peppers. Even for the delicious end result.

So when I’m making Chile Relleno or Creamy Hatch Sauce and wanting to use my garden peppers, I take the shortcut in roasting them. You like to use shortcuts here too? Check out this Homestead Hack, y’all.

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Quick & Easy Creamy Hatch Chile Sauce

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by Texas Homesteader~
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It’s hatch chile season, y’all! Recently I whipped up some quesadillas and topped them with this creamy hatch chile sauce that I made from scratch. It was simple, really. I only used hatch chiles, greek yogurt, garlic and olive oil. RancherMan is still raving! I’d say that was a success!

We try to buy hatch chiles every year. But before I toss them in the freezer, I remove the stems and seeds & peel the roasted skins (if they’re tough). Then I lay the chiles in a single layer and freeze them.

That means using my roasted hatch chiles is as easy as cutting off a chunk and proceeding with my recipe. Come see how I made this quick & easy Creamy Hatch Chili Sauce.

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Saute & Freeze Onions For Kitchen Convenience

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by Texas homesteader~

Almost every savory dish I cook includes sautéed onions and/or garlic. But although I’ve found a way to easily Preserve Garlic for cooking, I don’t always have fresh onions.

So I wondered, why not take this glut of Harvested Onions and chop/sauté them now for use later? (smacks forehead) why didn’t I think of that sooner??

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How To Easily Cook Instant Pot Pinto Beans

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I bought an Instant Pot last year and I absolutely love it. The first thing I ever made with it was Bone Broth. When I saw how quick & easy it was, I was HOOKED!

I’ve since learned to make my Homemade IP Yogurt – even easier than it was using the Stovetop Method. And I’ve even learned to make Cheesecake in my Instant Pot!

So to say I’m enamored with my IP is an understatement. It gets pulled out several times each week. A huge time-saver for me is cooking a whole bag of pinto beans. Come see.

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Instant Pot Boiled Eggs WITHOUT The Shells!

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by Texas Homesteader~

RancherMan & I enjoy a crisp salad filled with veggies almost every night. I’ve been making a Creamy Salad Dressing (filled with probiotics) for myself, and his favorite Thousand Island Salad Dressing for RancherMan.

After the lettuce is torn and added to the bowl, we pile on the extras. Chopped carrots, diced onion, sliced cucumbers, crumbled sharp cheese, etc. We also often peel a boiled egg and chop it up, sprinkling it into our salad as well for the extra protein.

Oftentimes this salad is so hearty it’s all we want for supper. And cool meals are a bonus in the heat & humidity of NE Texas summers!

But I recently read about a way to cook your eggs in an Instant Pot similar to boiled eggs. But the eggs are cracked and poured into a pan before being cooked. I’ve seen it called an ‘Egg Loaf’. Well color me intrigued!

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Homemade Meals Daily – The EASY Way

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~Texas Homesteader~

Many are surprised to find that I serve homemade meals every day. There are actually several good reasons for that. And none involve the words “Because I love to cook“!

Firstly, living in the country means there’s a limit to close places to go out to eat. And home delivery is certainly not even an option!

Secondly I know eating at home is a healthier option than the high-fat, high-sugar & high sodium options that tempt you at a restaurant. I’m able to serve a delicious homemade meal while still having control over any unhealthy ingredients in recipes.

Thirdly, it’s significantly cheaper to cook from scratch than to eat out, or even to utilize packaged convenience items sold in the stores. Being self employed means I’m extremely mindful of our budget.

But still it’s a surprise for many people, who ask:

“How in the world do you serve homemade meals every day??!!”

Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret – I use several shortcuts. And they could help you too!

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Different Flavors Dress Up Plain Pinto Beans

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by Texas Homesteader ~
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I enjoy cooking from what we already have in our freezers and pantry. But we’re eating good, y’all!

Recently I was looking through the pantry and I spied a large 2-lb bag of pintos. Aaaaah the lowly pinto bean. I wonder if I should cook a whole 2-lb bag of them? Will we get tired of them before they’re all eaten?

I decided to cook them up and see how many different ways we could enjoy them before our palates got bored. Come see!

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