Author Archives: aprilcball

Nacho Night and The Best Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix! (Sounds like a band name, doesn’t it?!)

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Who doesn’t like nachos?! We have nacho night at our house at least once a month (our junk food night), my husband loves it! As I’ve said before, I have a few nacho-type “cheese” recipes that I rotate for different types of food – nachos, bean dip, broccoli “cheese” potatoes,  enchiladas, tacos, etc.

I used this potato-based vegan Fake-Out Cheese recipe for this batch of nachos, along with my husband’s favorite fake meat crumbles (Quorn brand – mushroom protein crumbles – orange bag, freezer section at Sprouts), black beans, black olives, homemade guacamole (2 avocados and a packet of “Spicy Great Guacamole” – makes the best guac! Produce section, black packet), fresh chopped tomatoes, Tofutti brand “Better than Sour Cream” sour cream (buy at Sprouts) and salsa/hot sauce.

Yum... Nachos!

I’ve been making this Taco Seasoning Mix recipe for a couple of years now, I haven’t used store-bought taco seasoning since I found it. It’s easy to make and it tastes great! I mix this with the Quorn brand fake meat crumbles before I add them to the nachos, I dissolve 1 Tbsp cornstarch in 2 Tbsp of water then add it in at the end to thicken the sauce.
  • 2 tablespoons mild chile powder (for the best flavor do not reduce this amount) – I use chipotle or adobo chile powder
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 -3 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salt (or use 1/2 teaspoon white salt)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pinch cayenne (optional or to taste)

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients (double or triple if desired) .
  2. Store tightly sealed in a small glass jar until ready to use.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/kittencals-taco-seasoning-mix-76616#ixzz1Zzyh5kH8

The BEST Sangria using CHEAP wine

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Easy Sangria

I’ve given this recipe to many people and they love it every time! It’s not your typical high-maintenence sangria recipe either, you can use good ol’ $2 Chuck and no one will know the difference. I like to use the Cab or the Syrah but really, you could use anything you have open.

  • 1/4 tsp Stevia
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur – triple sec (cheap will do)
  • 1 (750 ml) bottle red wine
  • 1/2 – 1 whole lemon, sliced
  • 1/2 – 1 whole orange, sliced
  • 1/2 – 1 whole apple cored and sliced
  1. In a plastic container (with lid) combine sugar, lemon & orange juices, liqueur and wine; stir.
  2. Refrigerate for several hours.
  3. Pour into pitcher add lemon, apple and orange slices – you can add these before if you want them to soak up a bit of the booze
  4. Serve over ice.

Hello… My name is April and I’m a spice hoarder…

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I have a lot of spices, more than most people I bet. The thing is, I actually use them ALL!

My Spice Stash - Part 1

I use baby food jars to store them, they are the perfect height to fit into the kitchen drawer. I dream of a fancy spice organizer but in the meantime, this will have to do.

Spices Part 2

Here’s a bit more…

I need more baby food jars... and a bigger kitchen!

I order most of my spices from my favorite online spice store World Spice Merchants.  They have the freshest, best tasting spices and they are reasonably priced! Fresh spices make a huge difference in the way your recipe turns out, especially when you’re making Indian Food. I make a decent amount of Indian Food and I can really taste the difference. They also sell loose tea and tea accessories. I’m waiting for my shipment now – smoked sea salt is what I’m after this order!

How to make your produce (and most other food) last longer… yes, there’s an app for that!

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I buy A LOT of fresh produce and I don’t like throwing food away so I did a little research and found a website that explains how to keep foods fresh longer! There’s even an app for it now! It’s called Still Tasty and it’s something I use often.

For example: I received a bunch of basil in my CSA box today and I am unable to use it right away so I want to check and see the best way to store it. I enter “basil” into my app (you can do this on their site as well) and it explains how to trim the ends, place in a glass with a little bit of water and cover it with a bag. It says not to refrigerate or it will turn black. Perfect!

I’ve learned a ton about how to store food this way, I highly recommend this site as an everyday reference. You can look up almost any type of food too!

Healthy No-Bake Cookie Bars (Protein Bars)

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I’ve had a sweet tooth since this morning, for me that’s pretty rare because I’m not a huge sweets person. I decided to try these Healthy No-Bake Cookie Bars (also could be called protein bars) and WOW am I glad I did! I made a variation of these into cookies but I’ve never tried the addition of protein powder. These would be an awesome post-workout snack!

It only took me about 10 minutes to prepare the mix before pressing it into the pan. The recipe calls for Arbonne brand chocolate protein powder but I used my favorite Organic Nutribiotic Brown Rice Protein Powder and added 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder instead.

Ingredients (makes 20 bars):

Organic peanut butter, 1 cup
Agave nectar, 2/3 cup

1 cup chocolate protein powder OR 1 cup plain or vanilla protein powder with 3-4 Tbsp cocoa powder
Rolled oats, 1 1/2 cups
Ground flax seed, 1/4 cup

Instructions (10 minutes, plus cooling time):

In a small saucepan, whisk peanut butter and agave nectar over medium-low heat for 3 – 4 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and just beginning to bubble.

In a mixing bowl, stir together chocolate protein powder, rolled oats, and ground flax seed.

Pour peanut butter and agave mixture into dry ingredients.  Stir just until all of the dry ingredients have been moistened.  The mixture will be crumbly, this is okay as long as everything is moistened.

Press mixture into an ungreased 8 x 8 inch glass baking dish.  Once bars are completely cool, cut into 20 rectangles.  Serve and enjoy!  (I individually wrap them so that we can literally grab and go!)

I know, it looks weird but trust me these are really good!

They cooled pretty fast and I cut them into squares and put them in a container in the fridge. These are so good! My toddler LOVES them! I surprised her with a little treat with her afternoon snack and she was very happy!

Healthy No-Bake Cookie Bars

“1/4 of what you eat keeps you alive and 3/4 of what you eat keeps your doctor alive”

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If you’re a dork like me, and you enjoy food movies, you might enjoy “Food Matters”.