Homemade Heinz 57 Sauce

I'm excited about this Pintober project.  This is one of my favorite sauces!  I love the stuff, but I never seem to have it when we have steaks.  I'll think about it and buy a bottle, then use it as ingredient in other dishes, and we're out of it again when I REALLY want it!

So, I was quite happy to find this Pin for a homemade version:  Homemade Heinz 57 Sauce Recipe

I doubled the recipe, because we all use it.  If there is any leftover, dubious, I'll use it in the meatloaf I am planning to make later in the week.

Here's all you mix together (this is double the original Pin)

1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp yellow mustard
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cider or malt vinegar
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Here's my Pin:  Homemade Heinz 57 Sauce

Here's the YouTube video showing this recipe:

(Quick update:  I wrote this post while I was waiting for my husband to come home from work.  He called me when he left the office to ask if I needed anything, and I told him that we were having steaks and needed some sour cream for the baked potatoes.  I had already made the sauce, so I didn't mention that at all.

Here's how much that we love Heinz 57...he picked up a bottle while he was at the store!!!  So we had the real stuff to do an actual taste test.  The homemade stuff was REALLY close to the original. There is a very slight difference in taste, but it was really good.  I'm glad that I have this recipe in my hip pocket now!)

Thanks, and welcome to my world!


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Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

I was really pumped to try this Pintober project!  I love Indian food, but I don't make it that often.  It's hard to do that with a family like ours.  As I constantly have kids from varying backgrounds at my table, I try not to be too exotic.  Sometimes, it's all I can to get kids to eat a salad, much less an entirely new flavor profile!

So, even though I received some strange looks when I served this dish, the name of it saved me. What could be scary about Butter Chicken?  Never mind that it didn't really look like butter...it has butter in the name...How bad could it be??????

Well, let me tell you...they loved it!!!!!  They even got seconds!  I served it over rice, and they loved it!!!!  I was very happy.

I sprinkled a few cashews on top of it right before it hit the table.  I think that was the clencher!  The next time I make it, I'll sneak in some veggies...wish me luck!

Here's the original Pin:  Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Here's my Pin:  Butter Chicken

Here's the YouTube video on my version:

Thanks, and welcome to my world!



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Regrowing Celery

I love this Pintober project!  I've actually been doing for a while now, and it's been so much fun.  I did this for the first time last spring and kept it going all summer long.  I planted it in the garden, but it didn't make it through the winter.  So this time, I decided to plant them in containers so that I can bring them inside during very cold weather.

I know that you've seen this before.  I have tried regrowing several vegetables, like lettuce, green onions, etc, but this is the one that has been most successful for me.  In fact, regrowing romaine lettuce is actually easier than the celery, but I don't really like the taste of it.  After the first few leaves grow, the lettuce begins to get bitter, in my opinion.

Celery, on the other hand...I LOVE regrowing this stuff!!!!!  It takes a long time, but I think it is well worth it.  When it's regrown, there seem to be more leaves than the ones you get at the store.  That works out well for homemade chicken stock, soups, stews, and good southern DRESSING!

Even though it takes a while, the smaller stalks are still great for using in salads or dipping in ranch! As long as the plant seems healthy, I take a few stalks here and there as it's growing.

Here is the original Pin:  Grow Celery Indoors

Here's my Pin:  Regrowing Celery

Here is my YouTube video on this project:

To regrow your celery, all you do is cut off the bottom and plop it in a cup of water.  Change the water every couple of days and watch the magic!  I usually start seeing leaves poke through the center within one or two days.  After the baby stalks are a few inches tall, just plant it in some dirt and watch it take off.  Generally, I wait a couple of weeks before planting them.

Don't worry if the outer stalks begin to look brown and dried out.  That is normal.  If they look like they are beginning to rot or develop an odor, you probably have too much water in the cup.  Just make sure that you have enough to cover the bottom of the stalk.  Or, you may need to change the water more frequently.

Don't be discouraged if it doesn't grow.  I'm not sure why, maybe the plant is old or something, but sometimes they don't grow...they'll just start rotting in the cup.  If it's not sprouting leaves in the center by Day 4, just toss it in the compost and try again with the next celery that you buy.

I know you've seen on the internet that you'll never have to buy celery again, but it would take A LOT of regrown celery to keep my kids happy!   Keep trying!

Thanks, and welcome to my world!


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Sock Baskets - Laundry Room Hack

This Pintober project falls under the category of "Duh!  Why didn't I think of that?"

It's a very simple, very cheap solution to a problem that caused angst for everyone in the family. You see, we have this round laundry basket that over the years has been dubbed The Sock Basket.  In theory, it was supposed to be the one place where all of the mismatched socks would go so that they could be matched easily.

I hated it!  No one ever knew where it was, so it never contained all of the mismatched socks.  When I would work on the laundry, I never took the time to actually match the socks.  I'd just stick them all in The Sock Basket when I found it.  Then, no one, including me, ever took the time to sort through it and match anything.

If I couldn't find it, I'd just put all of the socks in the basket containing my clothes on the assumption that I would match them when I put my clothes away.  Unfortunately, that never happened either.  So then, eventually we'd have...like 3 sock baskets.

This brings to mind my favorite definition of insanity...doing the same thing every day while expecting different results.

So, when I saw this on Pinterest, I loved the idea.  I don't regularly shop at The Dollar Tree, but I am going to start.

I hope you enjoy this post and this video.  I am going to get more of these baskets for all of the bedroom closets.

Here's the original Pin:  Laundry Room Baskets

Here's my  Pin:  Sock Baskets - Laundry Room Hack

Here's the YouTube video:

Thanks, and welcome to my world!

Beef Stroganoff

This is one of my husband's favorite dinners.  I don't make it very often, though, and I think that I know why. I think of this as a cool-weather dish.  He'd eat it once a week if I would make it that much.  When I told him that I was going to make it, his eyes lit up.

My recipe isn't very traditional, but it is delicious.

Beef Stroganoff

1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (4 oz. each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced beef (steak, London Broil, tenderloin)
2 cups beef broth
1-2 cups water (or more beef broth)
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Worcestershire Sauce, to taste
Butter
Olive Oil
For serving, buttered egg noodles, sour cream, and grated parmesan cheese

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove onions to a bowl and stir in 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce and set aside.  Add beef to pan and cook until just browned.  Do not overcook.  Drain any liquid released from beef and save for future use.  Remove beef to a bowl and set aside.

Return onions to pan.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add more butter if skillet seems dry.  Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Add liquid that was drained from beef, beef broth, and enough water or extra broth to make a thin sauce.  Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  Return meat to sauce and heat through.

Remove sauce from heat and stir in 1 cup sour cream.  Serve over buttered egg noodles with extra sour cream and parmesan cheese.

If you'd like to watch how to prepare this dish, it's on my YouTube channel!

Thanks, and welcome to my world!


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The Joys of Being an Early Riser

When I was a child, the one day of the year that I woke early was Christmas.  There was something magical about those early hours.  With the excitement and anticipation of gifts from Santa and the glow of the lights on the tree, it was almost too much for my little soul to handle.

The rest of the year, however, I would definitely not be considered a morning person.  I've never been a light sleeper, so the efforts of others or alarm clocks to try to wake me in the mornings are usually not successful.  As a teenager and young adult, I was always rushing out of the door at the last minute for school or work.  I once even took a second-shift job so that I wouldn't have to get up early.

I would have thought that having children in my home would have made me change my late-sleeping ways, but it really didn't.  I still loved to hit the snooze button even though I knew my stepson had to get to school.  Luckily, he was really good about getting up!

Something changed about 7 or 8 years ago.  I don't know why, but I suddenly began waking up early automatically.  Not only did I start getting up early, but I began to ENJOY getting up early!

Now, I love getting up early!  I have coffee and get my head together before the day begins.  I spend time with my dogs, Teddy and Little Bit.  I think about any tasks or errands that need to be done, and I just enjoy the quiet.  The early morning has become MY time.

I usually get up at least an hour before the rest of the family, but even 15-20 minutes early is sufficient.

What are your thoughts?  Do you enjoy getting up early or do you enjoy sleeping a little later?  I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks, and welcome to my world!

Apple Nachos

This Pintober project was so good!  I used my Easy Caramel Sauce (Dulce de Leche) to make this simple dessert.  My guys loved it!

It was so simple, I'm almost embarrassed to call this a recipe!  All I did was thinly slice an apple and arrange it on a plate.  Then, I drizzled over my caramel sauce and store-bought chocolate syrup.

You'll have to excuse the picture...my kids started grabbing apple slices so quickly that I didn't get a picture.  This pic is a still from the video.  :)

Hope you enjoy this!

Here's the original Pin:  Caramel Apple Nachos

Here's my Pin:  Apple Nachos

Here's the video for this:

Thanks, and welcome to my world!