ITALIAN SEASONING, TACO SEASONING & SAUSAGE MADE SIMPLE

These blends are ones that I use in recipes that call for Italian or taco seasoning. At the end of this post is a recipe you can use to make your own sausage in just a few minutes. Enjoy!

ITALIAN SEASONING
Italian seasoning herbal blend isn’t difficult to make. Just toss these few herbs together into a small jelly jar and store with your other kitchen spices. You can use this as a substitute for the herbs in the sausage recipe as well as for seasoning in other dishes such as spaghetti, homemade pizza and chicken. I don’t add salt and pepper to this blend, preferring to add it during the cooking process.

3 Tbsp oregano
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp marjoram
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp basil
1 tsp sage

Makes a generous ¼ cup
Keep in small glass jar with tight fitting lid


TACO SEASONING BLEND
Have you tired of adding maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, sugar, malic acid, silicon dioxide and soybean oil to your tacos? There’s a cheaper and easier way to get the taste you want without those chemicals. Make your own using 8 ingredients:

4 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
*2 tsp onion powder
*2 tsp garlic powder

Mix thoroughly and place in a small glass jar with tight fitting lid. Keep in a dark area to preserve flavor. Use for any meat that needs seasoning, including blackened fish. Usually 2 tbsp of this mix is enough for 1 pound of meat.
*Note: I often make this mix without the garlic or onion powder. I season my dishes to taste and add fresh garlic and onion when cooking.


HOMEMADE SAUSAGE
Homemade sausage is an easy way to avoid nitrates, nitrites, chemical preservatives, artificial coloring and flavorings. Not only that, it just tastes better! Ground turkey, beef, pork and chicken are available in many retail outlets or you can grind your own. It isn’t necessary to stuff the seasoned meat into casings. I think that making sausage patties gives you more flexibility when using them in meal preparation.

To make your own sausage, combine:
1 pound beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, peeled & finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp each: fresh ground pepper, cumin, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano & ginger
1/2 tsp each: basil, thyme, sage & sea salt

(Italian sausage option: Substitute 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning for the herbs listed.)

I roll these into 2 Tbsp patties and press them to about ½ inch thickness. This allows me to be sure they are cooked completely and not underdone inside. I prepare mine in a heated cast iron pan wiped with olive oil. They can be served in a variety of ways to suit your own taste.

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WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES, NO MILK, NO EGGS

These pancakes are a filling and nutrient dense breakfast to feed your family when the pantry is looking a little bare. They are light, fluffy and delicious enough to be a special treat.

The night before blend 4 cups of fresh ground whole wheat flour with 3 to 3 1/2 cups of water and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Allow this to sit overnight or for 4 to 7 hours.

Wipe a cast iron pan with coconut oil and heat it to a medium high temperature on the stove top. (I keep a shallow saucer of coconut oil nearby and wipe the pan between batches of pancakes.) Meanwhile, blend 4 tablespoons of ground flax seed into 1 cup of filtered water. Let this sit and add the following to the soaked flour mixture:

3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix this thoroughly and then add the flax seed and water, blending again. This batter may be very thick. Add more water if needed.

Check the heated pan. It is ready when a few sprinkles of water will dance on its surface.

Use an ice cream scoop to measure the batter onto the pan. When a bubble of air breaks the surface and remains open, flip the cake to cook on the reverse side. To keep the finished pancakes warm, they can be placed in a tortilla warmer or on a cookie sheet placed in an oven warmed to its lowest temperature.

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How to Make Your Own Facebook Banner

There are many applications that allow you to create banners on the new Facebook Profile. However, each application comes with limitations in your ability to customize or create. If you'd prefer to make your very own banner, it takes just a little time following a few guidelines.

The 'banners' that you see on people's profiles are actually images that are tagged with that person's name. The order that those images appear in are related to WHEN those tags were placed. The images appear in order from the most recently tagged to the 5th oldest one.

In order to create your own banner, you'll need to find an image that is horizontally oriented, or one that can be cropped to be oriented in this way. Once you have this image on your hard drive, you'll need to size it properly to begin creating your banner.



Using your picture editor, size your banner to 490 pixels wide by 68 pixels high. These overall dimensions can be divided into 5 equal segments that will fit together like puzzle pieces that create your banner. To divide your banner, select the upper left hand corner of your image and draw a box that is 98 by 68 pixels. Copy this selection and paste it as a new image and label it 'imageA'. Return to your original image and draw another box that is 98 x 68, position it's starting point at the 98th pixel from the left border of your image. Copy this section and paste it as a new imaged named 'imageB'. Return to the original image and repeat this process three more times.


Here are the starting pixel positions of each 98 x 68 segment of your 490 x 68 original:

98
196
294
and
392

Once you've created all five images, go to your social networking page and upload these five images. Place them in a folder together. Tag each photo in that folder with your own name moving from the last to the first. If the images are lettered A, B, C, D & E, then you will need to tag with your name in the order of E, D, C, B, and A. View your profile page or wall to see how the images look. If they are out of order, you may need to remove the tags and go through the process once more, saving after each tag. If you tag them without saving your work between each tag, the order can sometimes be mixed.


There you have it! You now have your own customized banner without having to share your information, current email address or friends list to acquire it.

If you'd like to use the banners I've made for my own Facebook page, feel free. Just add Kay Morrison to your friends list, browse through my photos and use any banners that you enjoy.

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GET RID OF TAB MARKS IN PASTED TEXT

I wanted to take the time to post a short note about something I found to really make my life a little easier. I enjoy sharing tools that make life easier!

If you've ever had to copy and paste text into a word processing application, you may find that there are numerous tabs scattered throughout your copy. Removing them can be tedious -- especially if you are working with a lengthy document!

I've found a handy way to solve that problem. Pull up your find/replace feature and type ^t into the 'find' text box. The “^” symbol is made by pressing the shift button while striking the 6 key on most keyboards. Follow this with a lower case letter “t”. In the 'replace' box hit the space bar. Activate the find/replace and the tab keystrokes will be replaced with a space.

After this, you may have too many spaces in your document. You can use the find/replace feature to correct this by placing two spaces in the find window and a single space in the replace window. Repeat find/replace until you no longer have a string of spaces making gaps in your document.

Easy Peasy!

ADDITIONAL HELPS:

Too many returns

To get rid of too many returns in your document, type ^p into your find box. Leave the replace box blank. Be sure you are using the replace option. For the first search click on the button 'Find Next.' If it finds one of the stray returns you wish to eliminate, click 'Replace.'

Continue to use the 'Replace' button throughout your text. In this instance, using the 'Replace All' button doesn't work well. You do have to move through the document and deal with each paragraph mark individually, but the search/find option makes it go a little quicker.

How can I tell where there are tabs and paragraph marks in my document?

There is a way to see what keystrokes have been made in your document. In order to see them, press the Ctrl key while you strike the * symbol. To get the *, you will have to hold the shift key and press the 8 key at the same time.

This is a toggle feature. That means that if you want to see the keystrokes in your document, you can press Ctrl+* and if you wish to turn the feature off, you simply hit Ctrl+* once more. I work with this feature on so that I can tell what is creating blank space in my document.

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NATURAL ANTISEPTICS

I’ve gotten some inquiries about natural antiseptics. Basically, an antiseptic is something that inhibits the growth of ‘bad’ organisms. Substances that kill pathogenic organisms internally are classified as antibiotic. Substances that accomplish this in surface applications are called antiseptic.A ‘bad’ organism would refer to those that are parasitic, meaning they rob the host of vital resources in order to reproduce. As the pathogen’s numbers multiply, the host’s resources are further taxed resulting in disease conditions. These organisms can be microscopic or large (like fungi). Some can live on inanimate surfaces for a time. Others thrive in living tissues.
An antiseptic will usually work by either killing the organism or preventing its growth or reproduction. Some antiseptics work primarily on bacteria while others target viruses. The benefit of natural antiseptics is that they are often more full spectrum in their action. In other words, natural antiseptics are often both antiviral and antibacterial.It gets a little complicated when you try to formulate a short list of natural antiseptics. The good news is that natural antiseptics are found all around you in many household foods, spices and pantry items. It would be difficult to find a home that did not have some natural antiseptic substance. The bad news (for me) is that it makes the topic VERY difficult to pare down for a short article.So, I’ll offer a brief overview. Keep in mind, these lists are by no means exhaustive. Some things I prefer to use more than others. These preferences are the result of research, availability, cost and my mood at the moment.Antiseptic foods you might have on hand include lemons, honey, pineapple, cabbage, carrots, onions and radishes. Spices and seasonings that are considered antiseptic include cinnamon bark, cloves, garlic, carob powder, ginger, horseradish, sage and thyme. For the antiseptic properties to be beneficial, most of these items should be used raw. Several of the seasonings can be utilized in the dry form.Herbals which are considered antiseptic include: myrrh, mullein, aloe, Echinacea, lavender, eucalyptus, St. John’s Wort, sweet clover, goldenseal, juniper, grapefruit seed extract, and tea tree oil.The third category of natural antiseptic is one I’ve named ‘other household items.’ Technically, these are substances that result from natural ingredients subjected to simple processes. However, in a pinch, and with some controlled conditions, you could produce your own version of them. They include activated charcoal, baking soda, vinegar, isopropyl rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, colloidal silver and molkosan.Of course, the simplest and easiest way to keep the skin free of pathogenic bacteria is by using clean, filtered water and well-made lye soap. Your skin is host to vibrant communities of bacteria, not all of them bad. There is a constant war being waged between the bad guys and the good guys. By regular hand washing, you help give the good guys an edge to keep your skin safe from disease caused by the bad guys. Pathogenic bacteria often feed on dirt. Soap removes the food source and helps depopulate the area of pathogens.Do avoid anti-bacterial soaps. Why? Because just as synthetic antibiotics can destroy beneficial flora in the human digestive tract, the result can be the same when used on the skin. Pharmaceutical antibiotic applications don’t just destroy the bad guys, but they kill the good also.This is an important consideration whether you are cleaning a wound or cleaning a counter top. Killing ALL bacteria means that you wipe the surface clear of even the beneficial organisms that help keep the bad in check. This leaves the area vulnerable to a renewed attack of pathogens as it has been stripped of its first line of defense: beneficial bacteria. Using natural antiseptics means that you help maintain a healthy balance just as you would by removing weeds from your garden while letting the cultivated plants remain. If you were to completely clear the ground without putting something in place of the weeds, the seeds from the weeds would soon sprout and take over the now vacant ground.

This video demonstrates how
plain soap & water effectively fights pathogens:

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CABBAGE LEAVES RELIEVE PAIN AND SWELLING

Cabbage isn’t just for slaw and sauerkraut – although those are wonderful uses! Cabbage leaves also have a proven history as a treatment for wounds and swellings.

An old Irish blessing reads, "May the leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms."

Ancient armies carried cabbage for use not only as a food, but as a wound dressing that fought infection. The explorers of the 17th and 18th centuries carried Vitamin C rich cabbage with them as a natural preventative of scurvy. On one of Captain Cook's voyages sailors injured in a storm had their wounds bound with cabbage to help prevent gangrene.

Cabbage leaves act as a diuretic, and they contain powerful anti-inflammatory compounds. Cabbage juice is rich in lactic acid, a known anti-bacterial. Applied to the skin, these compounds are remarkably effective at relieving swelling and the pain associated with it.

There’s not a simpler remedy for engorged and painful breasts than the application of raw cabbage leaves. Bruise a couple of cabbage leaves. Cap a leaf over the affected breast. Use a bra to hold the leaf in place next to the skin. Wear it for a few hours. Noticeable relief can be detected by the following day.

The leaf of the cabbage is an effective treatment for the pain of swellings due to sports injuries and strains. Apply ice and elevate the injured limb to curb initial swelling. Then apply the cabbage leaf compress two or three times daily until pain and swelling subside. You may want to hold it in place with a cloth bandage. If you’ve been slow to recover from a sprained ankle, this remedy is worth a try.

Arthritis sufferers can often reduce the amount of medication they must use or eliminate it completely with the application of a cabbage leaf dressing. The cabbage leaf helps eliminate waste products from the body.

Use leaves as a poultice on other skin conditions such as psoriasis, burns and ulcers. Flatten layers of cabbage leaves with a rolling pin. Wrap leaves around affected areas of skin until the leaves turn yellow. Change the leaves and repeat until the wounds heal. Between reapplications, clean and dry the wounds.

To apply a cabbage leaf dressing:
Use clean leaves and – if at all possible – ones that have been grown organically. Peel off the outer layers of cabbage and remove the hard stem. Bruise them slightly with a rolling pin or other hard cylinder. Use gauze or other cotton cloth to hold the leaves in place. An additional layer of plastic wrap can be applied, unless you are dressing a burn. Keep the cabbage wrap on the area for two to four hours. You may want to repeat the process, using new leaves. Some people apply the leaves at bedtime and keep the poultice on overnight.

If you are interested in reading more about how to use leaves as dressings, I highly recommend the book, COMFORT FOR THE BURNED AND WOUNDED by John W. Keim. At the time of publication, the author of this book had over 20 years of experience in treating wounds with natural dressings. In this small book, he details case histories and the results of various treatments. I have found his recommendations regarding the use of plantain leaf to be very valuable as a first aid application in various circumstances. He doesn’t claim to be a doctor, nor is he medically trained. However, this is a fascinating read whether or not you are in the medical field.

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THE EASY WAY TO COOK PERFECT BROWN RICE

Brown rice is a staple food which is rich in soluble fiber and can be combined with nutrient rich beans to create a complete protein. When money is tight and every calorie counts, knowing how to cook brown rice helps make sure you get enough nutrients to maintain your health.

Brown rice is less expensive when purchased in bulk. In addition to a lower price, you’ll also find that the overall quality of the rice is better. Bulk grains are often fresher. You will notice the difference in the intensity of the sweet smell when a large bag is opened. For storage, food grade buckets with tight lids are fine. My preference is to store it in a chest freezer. The cold keeps bugs away. A few bay leaves tossed into your grain bucket will help repel insects also.

For years, I had cooked brown rice using the absorption method. This involves placing rice into a pot of salted boiling water and cooking it for 45 to 50 minutes. Twice as much water as brown rice is used. This works well enough, but it is a bit of an art to get rice that isn’t too mushy because (as mentioned above) the moisture content of the grains can vary. Many people use rice cookers to automate this process, but the result is the same. Another drawback is that this process has the potential to create burnt rice if you lose track of the time or miscalculate the water to rice ratio.

There is a simpler way!

Because it is a grain, I soak brown rice. This isn’t as important with rice as with other grains, but I like the texture that soaking produces. To soak brown rice, measure double the amount of water as grain into a stainless steel or glass container. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for every cup of grain you use. Let this sit overnight or 24 hours. In a pinch, this time can be reduced without hurting the final product.

Once I’m ready to cook the rice, I strain it using a large strainer set inside a larger bowl. I repeatedly rinse the grain until the water runs relatively clear. You may notice little flecks and bits floating to the surface. Throw those away. You may not want to examine them too closely.

Here is a demonstration on how to rinse rice.
The cloudy water that you pour off of it can be used to water your plants.
I would skip using the rice cooker!

Re-fill your pot with clean filtered water, using twice as much as the measurement of soaked rice. Season the water with sea salt and any other flavorings you prefer. I like to use chicken broth. Bring this to a rolling boil and then add the soaked rice to the pot, giving it a single stir. Boil this uncovered for about 20 minutes if the grains have been soaked, 30 minutes if they are dry. Remove the pot from the heat and strain the rice from the hot water. Let the rice drain for ten to fifteen seconds. Return the rice to your empty pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Let the rice sit, absorbing the water that remains on the grains for ten or 15 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and serve. The rice will be fully cooked without mushiness.

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