Hate drinking plain water? Try this tip!

Take any citrus fruit. I've used everything from grapefruits, oranges, lemons, limes, pummelos, etc. Use a zester to get the zest off of the fruit. "Zest" is the colorful part of the skin of the fruit, not the white underneath, just the colorful part. If you do not have a zester, you can get the same effect by gently using the small-hole side of a box grater. You can also use a vegetable peeler or just a regular knife. Make sure you do not cut any of the white pith of the citrus fruit. If you are not sure which is which, taste it. Zest tastes like the fruit. Pith is bitter. Put the zest in your water. You can leave zest in a giant bottle of water for up to two days. Your water will continue to get the fruity and slightly sweetened flavor from the zest. For every 16 oz of water, I recommend 1/4 tsp of zest, but use it as much or as little as you like. Not only does this taste great, but it also gives your water a little Vitamin C. My favorite fruit zests to use are lemons and oranges.

Another way to flavor water is with cucumber slices. Slice any cucumber thinly and put three or more slices per 20 oz of water. Leave it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. The cucumber slices not only give your water a fresher, spa taste, it also infuses your water with Vitamin E. This small step turns your water into a power beverage for your skin. Use fresh cucumber every time you try this.

Neither of these water flavorers leave that gummy or sour taste that happens when you slice fruits and drop them in your water. And the best part? Both choices are virtually calorie-free!

Katie Brown's Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

I love finding recipes with typical "already-got-it" ingredients!

Katie Brown's Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

Meatless Monday Veggie Pasta Toss

8 oz Spaghetti
1 med Zucchini
1 med Carrot
1/2 T Butter
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
3 T Balsamic vinegar (I know...again)
2 T Parmesan
1/4 tsp Salt

Grate zucchini and carrot. Set in a colander or in cheesecloth to drain excess moisture. Bring two cups of water to a boil. Salt water as desired. Place uncooked spaghetti in boiling water. Let boil until al dente

Heat skillet on med. heat and put pat of butter in skillet. Squeeze grated zucchini and carrot to remove any extra moisture. Put in pan and stir until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and Parmesan and mix until well-combined.

Remove spaghetti from pot and drain. Toss spaghetti with vegetable mixture.

Enjoy!

*As a side dish, this should have four servings. As an entree, this should be about 2 1/2 servings.

Blue Cheese Rice Cakes w Balsamic Reduction

This is why you keep cooked rice on hand. You might accidentally make up a great recipe like this unplanned gem I created today:

3c Cooked brown rice
1/4c Blue cheese
1/4c Shredded Parmesan
1 Egg
1/3c Bread crumbs
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Pepper
1/4c Canola or vegetable oil
1/4c Balsamic vinegar

Combine first seven ingredients in food processor or use potato masher to mix. Pulse or mash until gooey. Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat. Test oil with 1 teaspoon of mixture to see if ready. If it sizzles, it's ready. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture at a time into skillet and cook on both sides for two to three minutes. Keep warm on plate.

Put 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan on medium heat. Cook until lightly boiling and then remove from stove. Let cool. Drizzle reduction over rice cakes.

Enjoy!

Cook it NOW!

I just realized today that waiting for rice to cook is the worst thing ever. Well, OK...war, famine, disease, etc. all worse than waiting for rice to cook, but I digress.

Anyhoo, my advice is that unless you have a microwave rice cooker, just cook all of your rice at once the day you buy it and freeze it in batches. That way you won't have to get the "Aw man...I've got to cook rice" blues whenever you check your menu planner.

A Tip for Tea

Here is a tip for brewing iced tea in case you haven't already figured this out yourself: brew the tea in your coffee maker! Why heat up your entire kitchen using a kettle or a pan? You can stick those bags of tea (or loose tea can sit in a regular coffee filter) in the same way you would your regular coffee. It brews faster and the flavor is just right. It is a great way to get the basis for iced tea while saving energy. I tried it, and now I'm hooked!

A Little Tip for Cheese Sauces

When making cheese sauce, many recipes want you to mix the flour and milk together while one or the other has been heating in the sauce pan. I recommend whisking the flour and milk together into a roux first. This way it not only drastically reduces the chance of having cooked flour lumps in your cheese sauce, but it also makes the step where you whisk in the cheese much easier.

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

16oz Miller Lite
1⁄3c Chicken Broth
4 Chicken Thighs
1⁄3c Pasta Sauce

Put all ingredients in crock pot with pot set on high. Cover and let cook for three hours or as needed. Discard remaining liquid.

Enjoy!

Budget-Happy Iced Coffee Recipe

I found this recipe in Food and Wine magazine, but I did some tweaking to drop the calorie content. This morning I tried F&W's newer, healthier cousin and the results were fantastic. The drink was rich, creamy and decadent without the guilt. And by the by, what I paid for all of the ingredients is just a few pennies difference as the cost of two medium-sized coffee drinks found in typical coffee houses.

24-HOUR RECIPE

Light Iced Coffee (July 11, 2010)

Part 1

4 ½c Cold water
½ lb Ground Dark-Roasted Coffee (I used Starbuck’s Espresso)

Part 2

2 oz Fat-free sweetened condensed milk
4 oz 2% milk
Ice

Stir water and coffee into bowl and cover with lid. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Strain mixture with fine mesh sieve. You can also just take the sieve of your coffee maker, float it in the opening of your coffee pot and let the coffee concentrate drip in this manner. Coffee concentrate can be kept in refrigerator for a week.

Pour 2 oz sweetened condensed milk in a glass. Add 6 oz of the coffee concentrate and 4 oz of 2% milk. Stir well and add ice. 1 serving

Variations:

Vanilla Iced Coffee: pour 4 oz of the fat-free sweetened condensed milk in a container. Place a vanilla bean into the milk and let it sit for an hour. Or you can add ¼ T of vanilla flavoring to condensed milk as a time saver. Follow the directions for making iced coffee.

Mocha Iced Coffee: use 2% chocolate milk instead of regular milk in iced coffee recipe.

Happy Hour Iced Coffee: Stir an ounce (or whatever amount makes you happy) of Kahlua or Bailey's Irish Cream into condensed milk. Use creamy liqueurs to keep the consistency of the iced coffee drink similar to the original recipe.

Enjoy!

There Is Hope for Over-Cooked Rice!

I let my curiosity get the best of me and dumped a bag of rice into my tiny crock pot. It escaped my mind that this rice would puff up like popcorn to the point where it knocked the top of my crock pot off. So I was stuck with partially cooked rice and over-cooked rice. Waste is not a virtue in my book, so I took that messed up rice and made rice cakes.

Redemption Rice Cakes

2 c Over-Cooked Rice
¼ c Fresh Basil
2 T Fresh Oregano
½ tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ c Vegetable Oil
1 c Bread Crumbs

Heat oil in small skillet on med-high heat. Process rice, basil, oregano, salt and pepper in processor until smooth (about 3 minutes). Put bread crumbs in a bowl or on a plate. Take ½ of rice mixture and place on bread crumbs. Using a fork, gently press down. Flip rice cake over to bread other side. Put rice cakes in hot oil, cooking no more than 40 seconds on each side. Serve with mustard or condiment of your choice.

Enjoy!