Refrigerator: Carrot Relish

I was surprised, this simple recipe is quite tasty and a great addition to many recipes.

 

I, first, saw Chef Susanne Duplantis on the short-lived Netflix Cooking Show Leftovers. A search found her website, Makeover My Leftover.

I will never be a real cook, so I depend on the advice and ideas of real cooks and chefs.

This is my first Chef Duplantis's recipe to try. Of course, I had to adapt the recipe based on the tools and ingredients I had.


Ingredients:

3-4 TBspns grated carrot, peeled
1/2 Tspn Lime Juice

Lime Zest*
1/2 TBspn sugar


Process:

Peel carrot with grater.

Grate carrot into a bowl.

Add the lime juice and zest.

Add sugar.

Stir ingredients thoroughly.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

 

Made a turkey lunchmeat quasidilla with one slice turkey lunchmeat, shredded cabbage and 1/2 TBspn carrot salsa. It was great.

 

Lime zest is grated lime peel.

Microwave: Mug O'Rice & Pineapple

Microwave: Mug O'Rice & Pineapple

(Adapted from: Baked Pineapple Rice by A Cookbook by Ted)

I mugified the original recipe because I am cooking for one.

 
Pre-preparation:

Sauce

3 TBspns Butter

3 TBspns Honey

In a small dessert bowl, add butter.

Cover.

Microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt butter.

Add honey.

Stir ingredients to mix well.

 

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

Cooked rice

Canned Pineapple chunks

Butter and honey sauce

 

Process:

Add a dollop of vegetable oil to mug.

Add a small layer of rice.

Add a small layer of pineapple  hunks.

Dribble a little of the butter & honey sauce over layer.

Continue to make layers until mug is almost full.

Top with a bit of the butter & honey sauce.

Put mug on a plate before putting it into the microwave to catch any overflow.

Cover with a saucer.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Leftover idea:

 

Skillet: Fried Rice and Pineapple with Shrimp and an Egg

 

Pre-Preparation:

 

In a baggie, add about 4 TBspns of small, thawed shrimp. Add a bit of lime juice and ground black pepper.

Close bag, shake a bit to coat all the shrimp. Let it sit in the frig for about 1 hour.

Remove shrimp.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

A Dollop of Vegetable Oil

3-4 TBspns Leftover rice and pineapple mixture.

3-4 Seasoned Shrimp

1 Egg

Ground Black Pepper (Optional)

Process:

Add a dollop of vegetable oil to a small skillet.

Add about 3-TBspns of rice and pineapple mixture.

Spread rice mixture over bottom of skillet.

Add 2-3 TBspns of small seasoned shelled thawed shrimp.

Add Ground Black Pepper to taste.

Stir ingredients thoroughly.

Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Uncover, stir mixture.

Crack an egg into the mixture.

Gently, and slowly stir the egg into the mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, gently push and pull small portions of the rice and egg mixture around on the bottom of the skillet. The goal is to scramble and cook the egg.

Cover skillet and let mixture cook for about 1 minute.

Uncover, stir mixture.

The egg mixture should be cooked.

 

OR

 

Make a:

 

Microwave: Mug O'Rice, Pineapple, Shrimp and Egg

Using the same ingredients as above, plus a dollop of Coconut Creme and consider Cilantro dressing as a topping.

Add a dollop of oil to a mug.

Add about 3-4 TBspns of Rice and Pineapple mixture.

Add Shrimp.

Add a dollop of coconut creme.

Add an egg.

Stir and whip the mixture vigorously.

Add Ground Black Pepper to taste.

Stir thoroughly.

Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

Tip contents into a bowl or onto a plate.

Top with some Cilantro dressing.

Carrots, Carrots, Carrots

Never thought I’d be so happy to see a carrot.

For some reason, I don’t recall, I, recently, grated one carrot. I don’t usually grate carrots.

But, I had been gathering carrot recipes and one, a carrot relish, required grated carrot.

But, instead of making the relish, I added half of the grated carrot to a can of salmon (drained) with a tablespoon of mayo and a bit of lime juice and made a salmon salad which I used to make a few mini sandwiches.

 

Then, I got the bright idea, let’s try using the remaining grated carrot in my version of Jack Monroe’s Carrot Cake Overnight Oats.

 

When I first made her recipe, I fell in love with overnight oats. But, where I live now, I can’t find canned carrots, a necessary ingredient in his recipe. I had tried sliced and cooked carrots but could not achieve the same taste.

When I used the grated carrot in a batch of "Carrot Cake Overnight Oats", the result was just about right.

So, now I have ribboned or made curls, and grated another carrot and some of the recipes I hope to try are:

 

(Weird, my pictures came out too red.)

Carrot relish

Carrot cookies

Vegetable Skewers

And for the umpteenth time, maybe I will try Jack’s infamous Carrot, Cumin & Kidney Bean Burgers, with modifications of course.

 

Plus, there's more I want to do with a carrot, like:

 

Use curls, or diced or sliced carrots with sliced apples and cucumbers for a fresh salad.
Add carrot slices to DIY Pickles.
Add diced or grated carrot to macaroni salad.

Cut thinly sliced/julienned carrot, add to a bowl of raisins, almonds, and yogurt for a tasty salad.
Add oil and honey to a dish of carrot curls as a side salad.
Try making a Mug O'Carrot cake.

#Anti-Inflammatory-friendly

Stovetop and Microwave: Hug-A-Mug - Spicy Ramen Noodles with Leftover Chicken & Vegetables

Hug-A-Mug - Spicy Ramen Noodles with Leftover Chicken & Vegetables

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/chicken-yakisoba/)

 

Obviously, I adapted and reduced the size and ingredients of this recipe going from a bowl to a mug.

 

This is Not, Not #NotGerd-Friendly.

 

Use a large mug.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

A Dolllop of Vegetable Oil

1/2 Tspn Ginger powder

1 Tspn Onion flakes

1 TBspn Soy Sauce

1 TBspn Worcestershire Sauce

2 TBspns ketchup

1 Capful Hot Sauce

1 Tspn Sugar

2-4 TBspns Leftover Canned Mixed vegetables

2-3 TBspns Leftover Cooked Chicken, diced

2 TBspns Sauerkraut

3/4 Packet of Cooked Ramen Noodles

Noodle water

 

 

Process:

 

In a pot, add enough water to cover ramen noodles, bring water to boil, add noodles, cook for about 2-3 minutes until noodles are done. Drain and reserve some of the noodle water.

 

Add spices to mug, stir and mix well. 

Microwave for 30 seconds.
Add vegetables, chicken, sauerkraut.

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.

Add about half of the cooked noodles.
Add about 2 TBspns of noodle water.
Stir and mix all ingredients, thoroughly.
Microwave on high 1-2 minutes. 

 

This was an interesting recipe. It was much spicier than I imagined. 

 

But, it was a great recipe for leftovers.

 

 

Microwave: Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

This recipe adaptation was inspired by a recipe from @BudgetBytes. This a great recipe website. The author, Beth Moncel, writes in a fresh, clear, fun, informative style. Her recipes are always interesting and easy to make.

 

Also, I make miniature meals because as a single person, I don't need to make large meals. Plus, miniature meals reduces food waste.

 

As usual, I don't have all the ingredients. In this case, I was able to use several leftover items, so my measurements are a guess. Being frugal is a creative and adaptive process.

Microwave: Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-chicken-and-rice-skillet/)

Ingredients:

 

1 Cup Leftover Cooked rice

1/3 Cup Canned Salsa

2-3 Heaping TBspns Canned Mixed vegetables

1/3 Cup Cooked Chicken, diced

1/2 - 1 Cup Chicken broth (or use broth made from Chicken bouillon and water)

1 TBspn Crushed Dry Thyme

A few grinds of Black pepper

Plain yogurt

2-3 TBspns Mozzarella Cheese, grated (or use more if you desire)

 

 

Process: 

 

In a medium bowl, add ingredients, except the yogurt and cheese.

Stir and mix thoroughly.

 

Because, at the moment, I only wanted to taste the end result, I scooped out about 3 TBspns of the mixture and placed them into a dessert bowl.

 

Then, I microwaved it for 1 minute on high until hot.

 

After removing the bowl, I stirred in 1-2 ounces of plain yogurt and added cheese on top.

 

Then, I microwaved the mixture, again, for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese.

 

 

While it may not be clear, I made a larger batch than a dessert bowl and only microwaved a portion to make a miniature meal.

I can't say enough about the herb Thyme, I should use it more, it really makes this dish heavenly.

 

DIY Garlic Spread

This was a delightful experiment.

Where I live, often some of my spices like garlic powder, get clumpy, or dry and hard.

As I was cleaning out some drawers, I picked out that jar of hardened garlic powder I had hesitated to toss out. Hmmm, what if I made a garlic dressing using the hardened garlic powder?

So, I got a small jar and filled it 3/4 with vegetable oil, then I scraped the garlic powder into the jar. Next, I filled the jar with apple cider vinegar.

With the lid, I closed the jar and shook it vigorously. I did not know what to expect. What I got was something like a thick garlic spread.

  

It didn’t taste bad. It had a milder garlic flavor than I expected.

The first recipe I used the garlic spread was in a marinade for Skillet: Shrimp Skewers with Vegetables and Fruit. It came out great!

Great Save!

 

Stovetop: Salmon Sliders

I was scrounging through my canned goods trying to figure out what I could make. I had a Costco can of salmon. Hmmm, let's look for a salmon recipe.

 

I quickly found a @BudgetBytes recipe for Salmon Burgers. As usual, I adapted the recipe, plus, I did not have all the ingredients. Where in the past, I would have been stymied, now, I am comfortable making adaptations and learning to use ingredients on hand.

 

Also, I reduced the "spicy" ingredients trying to make the sliders #GERD-friendly.

While I started the recipe in the afternoon of one day, I had to rush out to do an errand, so the mixture sat in the frig overnight which may have been a good idea.

I made sliders rather than cakes because I like small meals.

 

While I have made salmon sliders in the past, this recipe is different.

When I went to cook the sliders, I had a hard time "measuring" time to cook. But, I was patient this time and used my cell phone clock to measure 3-5 minutes. I washed some dishes as I waited. I determined one side was cooked by the brownness of the bottom before I flipped the slider over.

I wanted to use pumpernickel bread, so I cut two slices into small squares, spread mayo over them, added the slider then topped it with a DIY pickle relish.

 

I added a miniature side salad of diced cucumbers, apple and ribbons of carrot without dressing to this small meal.

In the end, I made six sliders.

This could be a more GERD-friendly meal, if you eliminate black pepper and hot sauce, and substitute the DIY pickle relish with greenery.

 

By the way, the pumpernickel bread was great. Any scrap bread went into the scrap bread bag in the freezer for future uses.

 

 

Stovetop: Salmon Sliders

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/wprm_print/41304)

 

Ingredients:

1 Small Can of salmon*, drained

1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

1 TBspn Mayo

1/2 Tspn Yellow Mustard

2-3 Tsp’s Onion flakes

1/2 Tspn Paprika powder

1/4 Tspn Oregano Optional

1/4 Tspn Thyme

1/8 Tspn Garlic powder

1 Capful Hot sauce

1/8 Tspn Black pepper 

 

Vegetable oil
A bit of butter
Mayo
1-2 Slices Pumpernickel bread, cut into squares 

 

Topping:
DIY pickle relish or get creative and add your own topping.

 

 

Process: 

Add salmon to medium bowl.
Add breadcrumbs, egg, mayo, mustard, onion flakes and spices. 

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.
Refrigerate 30 minutes or more.
Shape mixture into patties.

 

 

Add oil and butter to skillet.

Heat skillet to medium-high.

Once oil and butter is hot, add patties.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Check bottom, is it brown and crisp?

 

Once cooked, remove and reserve on a plate.

Spread mayo over 2 cut bread squares.

Add one slider.

Top with DIY pickle relish.

*Different brands of salmon will change the amount of breadcrumbs you use because some brands are more watery than others. Plus, the amount of salmon may affect the number of sliders you can make.

Frugal Cooking in a Hotel Room During the COVID19 Pandemic

International traveling in Pandemic Times has been interesting.

 

Got my first COVID19 test. Obviously, it was negative. I was relieved, 14 months of taking precautions paid off.

When I left, both my states were following similar COVID19 patterns of precautions, vaccinations, and reopenings.

 

In early May 2021, both states were partially reopened. It was interesting to see how individual businesses handled their own partial reopening. For example, in some the places I visited upon arrival like Popeye's and Chik-fil-la there was no in-store seating but at TGIF and other restaurants there was partial indoor seating. Each establishment had clearly marked methods for customer movements to maintain safe distances as well as mask requirements and bottles of hand sanitizers for customer use.

 

At the hotel, there was a minimal number of staff, I had to be my own bellgirl.

 

Sadly, my planning for this trip was poor in many areas and I paid a price for that mistake. But, it was definitely a learning experience.

 

While I knew I’d be staying at a hotel for awhile, I forgot to figure in food expenses and fast food here is expensive and not always healthy.

 

For example:

Fast Food

$4.29US 1 Chicken Sandwich ($85.39MX @ 19.90)

$2.29 1 Lg Soda ($45.58)

$10.09 1 Bowl of Chicken Salad ($200.86)

$2.99 1 Can of Chickpeas ($59.52)

$2.69 1 Can Baked Beans ($53.55)

Groceries

$54.50 ($1084.91)

 

Sample Grocery Prices:

$1.89 1 Large Can of Greens

$1.99 1 Bag of Salad Greens

$3.89 1 Can Chicken (store receipt may be in error)

Not shown, 3 small bags of salad mixes and

2 cans of 7-11 beans.

 

While I had s/p, sugar, mayo, ketchup, and mustard from carryin meals, couldn’t decide whether to get a spice or which one. I knew I’d miss cinnamon but all I got was a small “lime” of lime juice. Will wait, maybe an idea will come to mind. Later, I used jelly as a spice.

 

Since I had not planned to “cook” in my room, I had to make do with items in the coffee/tea supplies and any carryin meal items as utensils, plates, and microwave containers. (Sadly, carryin materials equaled massive waste.)

 

 

I estimated with the groceries, I could make a minimum of 30 servings, including: fruit, chicken, sardine, or salmon timbales; scrambled egg bread puddings or sandwiches; overnight oats with fruit or jelly; soup and crackers; fruit parfaits; mug O'Banana cake; banana split; mini-cheesecakes; chicken or salmon crazy salads; salsas, fruit lassis; poached egg on plain bread; and more.

 

I was thrilled, my Chicken Timbale came out great, 2 Tsps canned chicken, 2 Tsps greens, 2 Tsps mushroom soup, 1 egg, 1 torn slice bread, pepper, lime juice, a dollop milk, microwave 3 minutes. Accompanied with hotel tea. Observation: the softer the bread, the more “pudding” like the Timbale.

 

 

 

Really proud of my in-room Crazy Salad with chicken, beets, pineapple chunks, Greens, and peanuts, with wheat crackers and a side of carryin dressing.

 

Those wheat crackers really came in handy. They made great snacks. Snacks are my weaknesses, so instead of chips, buttered popcorn or snack packs, the crackers were a better choice.

 

I got lucky, during my five-week stay, most of my meals were made in my hotel room. I kept my carryin and restaurant meals to a minimum. But, I did splurge, in the beginning, with hotel marketplace items. It took me awhile to figure out that the item selection was almost identical to 7-11 items but more expensive. Big lesson.

 

 

My favorite in-room meal was pineapple overnight oats.

 

You can see how useful the hotel soup cans were.

 

One thing I noticed was the taste of tap water in my state still tastes terrible, so I got an idea, get a bucket of ice and soon it will be water. It worked. The water tasted much better. Also, much better than buying bottles of water.

 

 

I enjoyed taking public transit, masks required. In this area of my state, public transit was readily available. But, I was very surprised that the subway was virtually empty every time I took a ride.

 

As the days passed, the state lowered their pandemic precautions, I could see the effects as more establishments began to hire more people and relaxed some of their precautions. By the time I left, the state had fully reopened and more people were going maskless.

Because I had come to get vaccinated and the timeframe for the 2-dose vaccine was longer than I expected, I did not stop wearing my mask or taking precautions.

I will continue to wear my mask and take precautions in my states until I am assured that the COVID19 pandemic is over. I do this to protect others.

 

 

After I got home, I revised my basic hotel groceries list for use at home and for any future need to cook in a hotel or rented room.

 

Basic Groceries:

 

2 Cans of fruit
1 Large Box of Raisins
2 Bananas

1 Cucumber
Can of Chicken
Can of Sardines
Can of Salmon
Can of Greens
Can of Mixed Vegetables

1 Lg Bottle of Salsa
1 Loaf of bread
1 Carton of Eggs
1 Carton of Oats
1 Jar of Jelly
1-2 Cans of Soup
1 Carton of Milk or Pkg of Dry Milk or
1 Carton Coconut Creme
1 Brick of Hard Cheese
1 Medium Yogurt
1 Box of crackers
1 Pkg Turkey lunchmeat
1 Pkg Veg Bouillon
1 Lg Pkg Nuts
1 Container of honey
Spices: Black pepper, Cinnamon, lime juice

 

 

Luxury Items:

 

1 Jar Peanut Butter

Chia seeds

1-2 Pkgs Cream Cheese

1 Jar Mayo

Cleaning Out the Frig

As I cleaned out the frig, it became obvious I had been saving a lot of DIY sauces and other liquid condiments.

 

 

 

Out of 13 jars, I wasn't sure what they all were. I could see the DIY Sour Cream, leftover pickle juice, leftover pineapple juice, leftover olive juices, DIY BBQ Sauce, leftover carry-in red sauce, and mayo dressing.

 

Refrigerator: Overnight Seeded Oats

Bananas! Thanks to some friends, I have lots of bananas!

I will be happily trying to make the new banana bread, puddings, cakes, bread puddings, cookies, and ice cream recipes I found.

 

In addition, I love using bananas as a topping.

 

I have also developed a fondness for overnight oats, thanks to Jack Monroe and others. The various seeds in this recipe make an interesting combination.

 

Refrigerator: Overnight Seeded Oats

(Adapted from: https://www.budgetbytes.com/make-ahead-seeded-oats/)

 

 

Pre-preparation:

 

First, make a batch of seed mixture:

 

Seed Mixture:

 

4 TBspns Flaxseeds

4 TBspns Sesame seeds

2 TBspns Chia seeds

2 Tsps Cinnamon

A Pinch Salt (Optional)

 

Other ingredients:

 Oats

2-3 TBspns Coconut creme

Water as needed

Or Milk or Milk alternative

 

Toppings: fresh, canned or dry fruit; or nuts; peanut butter; honey; jam; jelly; or syrup.

 

 

Process:

 

Make seed mixture.

Add a thick layer of oats on the bottom of a small bowl with lid.

Sprinkle some of the seed mixture over oats.

Add 2-3 TBspns coconut creme.

Add enough water to cover oats.

 

Or

 

Add milk or milk alternative to cover oats.

Stir the mixture thoroughly.

Add lid.

Refrigerate overnight.

 

Upon serving, add additional water, or milk, or milk alternative to moisten oats.

Add topping of choice.

#GERD-friendly @BudgetBytes

Toaster Oven: BBQ Chicken Rollups

This recipe is an example of how when I find a recipe that inspires me but how I must adapt the recipe when I do not have all the ingredients or the ability to follow the processes like making handmade rolls.

I laughed when I made this recipe because it is like making a sandwich except you roll up the contents in bread.

I agonized over using waxed paper or aluminum to cover the microwave tray to prevent the items from sticking. Isn’t wax paper or aluminum unfriendly to the environment?

During my recent dive into DIY crafts, I was shocked at the amount of waste material one person can accumulate.

I choose aluminum because it can be reused.

Note: this recipe has a few GERD-friendly touches. I try to avoid onions, so when a recipe calls for onions, I use onion flakes but the BBQ sauce and cheeses are not GERD-friendly.

 

 

Microwave: BBQ Chicken Rollups
(Inspired by: https://jamiecooksitup.net/2017/03/bbq-chicken-pinwheels/)

From a collection of recipes from: https://www.crazylaura.com/best-pinwheel-recipes/)

For 2 Rollups.

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread, flattened or two tortillas
4-6 TBspns leftover cooked chicken, diced
1-2 TBspns BBQ sauce
1-2 Tspns Dry Onion flakes
1-2 TBspns Mozzarella cheese, diced, shredded, or grated
1-3 Tspns Parmesan cheese
S/P to taste

Optional Topping: Cilantro dressing

Note: when using tortillas, double the amount of the other ingredients.

Process:

On a cutting board, lay 1 slice of bread.
Trim off crusts.
Use a rolling pin or a tall round glass to roll out the bread slice to flatten it. Roll until you have fully flattened and extended the slice.

In a bowl, add chicken, onion flakes, sauce, cheeses, salt and pepper.
Stir well to mix ingredients.
Add 1 TBspn of the chicken mixture at one end of the flattened slice.
Take that end and roll the mixture and bread forward until you reach the end of the slice.
Lay the roll with the closed side down on a toaster oven tray.

Follow the above steps again for additional BBQ Chicken Rollups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

When serving, offer Cilantro dressing as a topping.

 

 

DIY: Tech Fix for Fraying Cell Phone and Other Devices' Power Cords

 I ODed on watching YouTube DIY videos. While I tried to save the video links and make notes of some of the ideas in the videos in order to give credit, I can't find the video where I got this idea. It's a great idea to save the wear and tear on personal devices power cords.

Mine were in pretty bad shape and this repair has given them a longer life.

 

Basically, you wrap the cord tightly with a strong, thin string, or strips of cloth, or ribbon starting from the top and past the damaged area. I had to tape the top and bottom to hold it in place.

 

DIY Tech Fix for Fraying Power Cords

Original

 

Repaired

 

 

Original

 

Repaired