My New Waffle Iron - Safe And Easy To Use

I got this waffle iron a while ago, so I can't really say that it is all that new, but, it is the newest one I have, plus the best one I have ever had.

This one is easy to clean and the ceramic coating is the special feature I like about this waffle iron. No more Teflon in my food!

I got mine from amazon.com. I noticed that there are other ceramic waffle irons as well. I had been looking for something that doesn't have the non-stick coating on it. Someone suggested ceramic and I found this one. It works very well too.




This one is almost identical to the one I have. I love it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent and safe waffle iron. It is easy to clean.

There are many recipes for waffles on the Internet if you do a search for them. You can even find sourdough waffle recipes!

Never Put Water On A Grease Fire

House fires used to be way more common than they are today, but they still happen. Houses still burn down, even today, with all our technology that is supposed to protect our homes.

Here is a video explaining what happens when you put water on a grease fire.

Just saw this and thought it was pretty awesome. Also, it provides another good 'in the way guy' moment. If I was any good at video editing, I would totally edit him into other people's gifs.

Not all fires have the same reason for starting. We have electrical fires, grease fires, and fires due to carelessness. Occasionally, a fire can start when the lint is built up inside the lint filter.

If your oven catches on fire, shut the oven door and turn the oven off. You may be able to contain the fire inside the oven.

Make sure you take the lint off the lint filter in the dryer. I have seen 2 houses that burned down because the owners left the dryer going while they were gone.

If the fire is in the kitchen, I have heard that using flour can help put the fire out. I have also heard of using salt, but I don't know how you would do this.

Besides serious burns from a fire, the most destructive thing about a fire is the smoke. Birds are very sensitive to anything that is irritating to the lungs. They must never come in contact with smoke, but neither should we. Smoke inhalation is very damaging if not fatal, even to human beings.

If a fire is spreading quickly in your home, the best thing to do is call 911 immediately. Never leave cooking appliances on while not at home.

If you have a live Christmas tree in the house, use cool lights on it and make sure the tree is well watered.

Have a safe holiday season this year.

Tip On Protecting Glass From Breaking While Cooking

This might seem a little silly, but maybe it really isn't. I was taught from a young age, never to pour hot liquid into a cold bowl or cup, if it is made out of glass. Of course, I didn't always remember this and I have to be honest and tell you that I did break a couple of glass items simply because I forgot at the moment!

This rule obviously will also apply to the reverse; never pour cold water into a glass bowl or cup that is hot. The same thing will happen. The glass item will break.

Some of us have to learn the hard way. Not everyone was taught this. But now you have no excuse if you decide (or forget) that differing temperatures can cause glass to break! Keep this in mind next time you are tempted to pour hot or cold liquid into something made of glass.

Even a slow cooker you have to be careful with. I was doing that today, and did remember that there is a possibility that the crock could break if the cool water hits it. I poured the water on the items that were cooking so at least the water would hit the food before it gets to the crock. Everything turned out fine and the crock did not break.

Homemade T.V. Dinners

Remember the days when we had T.V. dinners? It was usually when we had babysitters or our parents were too busy to make dinner. Well now, we can have our T.V. dinners again, but with more of an accomplishment!

After dinner, I almost always have leftover vegetables, so I put them in a jar and save them in the refrigerator. I do the same with leftover meat and potatoes. Mashed potatoes make a great lunch addition.

Take small glass bowls and put the leftovers in them. When I was taking Home Ec, I was taught that the food on the plate had to be different colors and textures. This is somewhat easy to do if you have a variety of leftover food. You can use up your leftovers and at the same time provide a halfway nourishing meal!

You could even add leftover peach or cherry cobbler or apple pie to this dinner!

'The War Room' Movie And How It Applies To Us In Our Homes

If you have not seen The War Room, this movie is one you need to watch before it is no longer playing in your area.

Amazingly, the movie, in many ways, was not done by professional actors and actresses. The movie was very well done and professional. I thought the music in the background also was done very well.

The movie starts out with a family, a man, his wife, and their daughter. The man is harsh with his wife and very focused on his success as a career man. At this expense, the wife and daughter suffer. The marriage is going down the drain quickly. Each day gets harder and harder for the woman. That is, until she meets a lady named Clara, who is a prayer warrior.

Clara and the woman become friends, and basically Clara disciples her in the midst of her marriage difficulties and teaches her how to pray. The woman takes on the task of learning how to fervently pray for her husband, their daughter, and her marriage.

For a while, things continue to get worse in the marriage. But the woman continues to pray. I will not tell the rest of the story, but it is one you will not want to miss.

Here are some comments that people made who have watched the movie (Go to the link for all the comments.) I think the comments help get a picture of the main thrust of the movie, which was the importance of praying.

http://warroomthemovie.com/endorsements

This link gives some of the resources that you can have for your home:
http://warroommovieresources.com/

Here is the trailer for the movie:

Meatloaf Recipe With Ricotta Cheese

My family likes meat loaf but I never cared for it. I will make it because it is cheap, and can be nourishing, if you get the right kind of meat. It is fairly easy to make, as well.

This meatloaf has a twist to it though. Meatloaf doesn't have to be the boring blob you put on the table every week. You can embellish the meatloaf and each one can have a different personality!

Potatoes go well with Meatloaf with Ricotta

Meatloaf With Ricotta Cheese

*1 pound ground beef
*1 cup bread crumbs
*1 egg
*garlic salt, to taste
*herbs, spices, to taste (I like Bouquet Garni by Penzey's)
*1/2 cup barbecue sauce
*2 slices bacon, optional (use nitrate, nitrite free)
*1 cup ricotta cheese

1. Combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix with hands until thoroughly combined.

2. Add herbs, spices, and garlic salt

3. Pat mixture into a rectangle, 8" X 6" (If your meatloaf roll is not this exact shape, it will still turn out fine!)

4. Put ricotta cheese on top of meatloaf rectangle.

5. Roll up meatloaf roll, short side up.

6. Place on greased sheet or pan (I use softened butter to grease my pans with.)

7. Cut bacon slices in half and place on top of meatloaf. Put barbecue sauce on the top and smear it down the sides.

8. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Meatloaf Rectangle with Ricotta on top

Almost ready to go into the oven!

Homemade Chicken Soup or Broth With Gravy And Dumpling Recipes

I wrote this blog months ago on another blog, but have some additional ideas. When I make this chicken soup recipe, it is more than just chicken soup. I add all kinds of goodies to it while it is cooking. Some of the things I add are, lima beans (add during the start of cooking), rice, noodles (add last hour), small pasta, kale, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, snowpeas, and peas.

Here is an recipe for dumplings that I found originally in my old Betty Crocker cook book. I also found the recipe on the internet. I would make the dumplings during the last hour because when Betty Crocker was writing this recipe, she had never seen a slow cooker yet, and had no idea how long it might take for the dumplings to finish cooking. I would also turn the knob on high for the last hour if you are making dumplings. If you are adding brown rice, add that either in the beginning or middle of the cooking time, as brown rice takes a long time to cook.

This is the Betty
Crocker cookbook
I have. My mom
bought it for me
when I was engaged
with S & H
Greenstamps

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour (Use any brand of flour.

 If you can find organic, that is the best kind)

1 tablespoon parsley flakes, if desired

2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix flour, parsley, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut

in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until

mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by

spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew (do not drop 

directly into liquid). Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 

10 minutes longer.

Note: I do drop directly into liquid. I am not sure how you can avoid doing that!
The directions above are for stovetop dumplings, but I am sure I have made them
in the slow cooker. Just take into consideration the time factor, as the temperature
on the slow cooker is lower than a stove top.

Betty Crocker Recipe For Dumplings

Recipe for gravy

1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Dissolve cornstarch in water, and add to broth. Cook on medium high heat and stir 
periodically. Cook until mixture thickens and just starts to boil. 

You can take the following recipe, and just use it as soup. Make it a meal by adding some 
of the additions at the top of this page. *************************************************************************
Simple Recipe for Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

1 whole chicken (it can be cut up or whole)
3-4 cups water
1 bay leaf
2-3 carrots
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk
Garlic salt
Seasonings (I use a French type of seasoning) to taste

   Grease the inside of a slow cooker with softened butter or oil. You can also use a stove top pot to cook this in, but cooking time will be shorter and you will have to tend to the pot more often. If you have the insides of the chicken, like the liver and kidneys, throw them in the pot as well. Pour water over the chicken and in a food processor chop up the carrots, celery, and onion and place those in the slow cooker or pot along with the bay leaf, salt, and seasonings, if using. Set the slow cooker on low for about 6-8 hours, or longer. If cooking on the stove, cook on simmer or low boil for a couple of hours until the meat falls off the bones.
   Take the meat off the bones, after the meat has cooled off. Eat immediately or store meat and broth.
  You could use cut up turkey parts instead of chicken. You can use the broth to make soup or gravy to use in other recipes. Store leftover broth and meat in Mason jars and freeze. Broth and meat can be frozen together, or separately. If storing separately, add some broth to the chicken so it doesn't get freezer burn.
Some suggestions for chicken and broth:
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken rice soup
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie
Chicken and gravy
Chicken stew
Chicken and dumplings
Chicken and rice
Chicken and noodles
Chicken ala king