Preserved Limes Part 1

Recently I shared how I learned that lemons can be preserved to have on hand for use all year long. I was happy to learn that you can do the same with limes. For this first post I will share how to get them prepared. To get this started here is what you will need:

8-10 Fresh Limes
1/4 cup (or more) Kosher or Coarse Sea Salt (do NOT use a salt with Iodine in it)
Quart sized canning jar (Sterilized)


First you need to thoroughly rinse and scrub the outside of your limes clean (I like using a homemade fruit and vegetable spray on mine). Pat each one dry. With clean hands cut the very tips off all but a few of the limes (reserve some to juice). Cut each lime into quarters (or cut until almost sliced through but leave intact). Next you want to put about a Tbsp. of the salt at the bottom of your clean and sterilized jar. Start adding plenty of salt inside the open parts of the limes (use a bowl to do this). Put the limes inside the jar. You can sprinkle more salt on the limes as you add them in. Be sure to pack the jar tight by pushing down on the limes with a wooden spoon to release some of its juices. Once you reach the top you need to add another Tbsp. of salt on top. You should see some lime juice in your jar. Now take those reserved limes and juice them so you can add that juice to your jar. You want enough juice to reach the top of your limes.


Last you should use a clean towel to wipe around the rim of your jar and put the lid on top. Sit this on the counter for up to 30 days to ferment. You should pick up your jar and give it a little shake every now and then to be sure it’s all mixed. There is NO need to refrigerate this until it has finished the fermenting process. I will come back with part 2 to share how my lemons turned out after 20-30 days, and talk about different ways they can be used.

 

© My Life 0utside The Box 2016-2018. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Batch {Bulk} Cooking with Pasta Sauce

I love making my own pasta sauce. To me the flavors are much better than any that I’ve bought off the store shelves. I normally make a double batch of it in my crockpot. This time around I decided to use a new friend: my Instant Pot to do the job much quicker. All I had to do was hit the saute button on the Instant Pot, add some EVOO to cover the bottom, then start sauteing the meat and veggies til done. If there is excess grease you just drain it and put the inner pot back in and add the rest of your ingredients. I set it on High pressure for 10 minutes and did a 5 minute NR then QR to let out the remaining steam. The results were not a disappointment :-)

I hope you check out my pasta sauce recipe here on the blog. It is totally customize-able to suit your own taste. In the ending note of the recipe I do share how to make it meatless as well as other things I do to sneak in more nutritious ingredients. Here are some different ways the pasta sauce can be enjoyed...

Ideas for Meat Pasta Sauce:

* Spaghetti
* Lasagna
* Lasagna Soup
* Use as a base for chili
* Serve over Spaghetti Squash
* Italian Stuffed Shells
* Stuffed Bell Peppers
* Baked Ziti
* Ravioli
* Calazones
* Baked Spaghetti Pie
* Stuffed Zucchini Boats
* Italian Sloppy Joes with Mozzarella Cheese
* Homemade Pizza
* English Muffin mini Pizzas
* French Bread Pizza Boats

Ideas for Meatless Pasta Sauce:

* Chicken Cacciatore
* Chicken Parmesan
* Ratatouille
* Chili
* Pita Bread Pizzas
* Homemade Pizza
* Use an immersion (stick) blender to smooth out and use as a marinara type dipping sauce. YUM!

No need to buy pasta sauce for different things if you already have some on hand. Are there any other tasty ideas for using pasta sauce that I didn’t list? Feel free to share them with me.

 


© My Life 0utside The Box 2016-2018. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

DIY Spreadable Butter

DIY Basic Spreadable Butter

Ingredients:
2 sticks of real butter (1 cup), softened to room temp. (I use 1 unsalted and 1 salted, but use your preference)
1/2 cup flavorless/light oil (EVOO, Grapeseed, Avocado, Canola, ect.)
1/4 tsp. sea salt (not pictured)
1/4 cup. cold heavy cream (optional- not pictured)

Directions:
In a medium bowl add the softened butter. With a food processor, mixer, or hand held blender stick, whip the butter to make it smooth (can take a minute). Add oil of choice (you can use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of the oils), salt, and thoroughly mix with butter until well blended (about a minute). Finally, add in the cold heavy cream and blend for a few seconds. Pour butter mixture into a container and close with an airtight lid. Your butter may look a little runny at this point. The butter spread needs to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to come together.

When ready to use, choose a butter knife to get out the desired amount. If your bread is hot or warm the butter will melt perfectly. If you find that your butter is not as soft as you'd like, just let it soften up on the counter a little then spread onto your bread/rolls as usual. This butter will last in the fridge for a couple of months. As you can see making spreadable butter only requires 2 parts butter and 1 part oil with another ingredient or two in the mix. This is so easy to make and you can add different flavors to your butter as well (see below).

I recently showed you how I made Lemon Herb Compound Butter. Now let me show you how I turned it into a spreadable butter using the recipe above as my guide.


Lemon Herb Spreadable Butter

Ingredients:
1 stick Lemon Herb Butter (1/2 cup), softened to room temp.
1/4 cup of oil flavorless/light oil (I used my Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 tsp. Preserved Lemon Puree
1 –2 Tbsp. cold heavy cream (optional)

Directions:
In a medium bowl add the softened butter. With a food processor, mixer, or hand held blender stick, whip the butter to make it smooth. Add oil of choice, Preserved Lemon Puree (see note below), and thoroughly mix with butter until well blended (about 1 minute). Finally, add in the cold heavy cream and blend for a few more seconds. Pour butter mixture into a container and close with an airtight lid. My butter looked a little runny at first so I sat it in the refrigerator for an hour or two to come together.


Notes: I did not use any salt in this butter since my Preserved Lemon Puree already has enough salt in it. If you don’t have preserved lemons you can add some packets of True Lemon crystals if you have that on hand. At first, I made compound butter but decided to go ahead and turn it into an easy butter spread that would go further. We enjoyed this spreadable butter over our dinner rolls during our Easter dinner.


Do you often spend money on spreadable butter? Have you tried making it yourself? You can save money by coming up with so many of your own different sweet or savory flavors. Some of our favorites are Garlic Herb, Lemon Herb, Goat Cheese and Chive, Parmesan and Pesto, chocolate butter made with Nutella, honey butter, cinnamon honey butter, or adding fruit jams for a fruit flavored butter. Why settle for plain butter when you can come up with so many flavors? Take your veggies, meats, muffins, pancakes, sweet breads, and bagels to the next level of yumminess!

 


© My Life 0utside The Box 2016-2018. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Uses for Leftover Boiled & Deviled Eggs

If you love hard boiled eggs, you will love the many ways they are useful. Here are a few different things to make when you have too many hard-boiled eggs on hand:

* Deviled Eggs (see recipe below)
* Egg Salad
* Potato Salad
* Cobb or Chef Salad
* Tuna Salad

* Make Scotch Eggs
* Make Pickled Eggs
* Slice in half and eat on top of Ramen Noodles
* Put a few whole ones inside of meatloaf before cooking it (when you slice the meat there will be slices of boiled egg in the center)

Now for a bonus recipe. You can adjust the seasonings to your liking but this is how we enjoy our eggs.


Southern Style Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:
12 hard-boiled eggs
1 Tbsp. Yellow or Dijon Mustard
3-4 Tbsp. Mayo
2 Tbsp. sweet or dill pickled relish (or do a mix of 1/2 dill and 1/2 sweet relish)
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
paprika for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Peel and cut 12 hard-boiled eggs in half. Lay them on a dish, plate, or any pan. Plop out yolks into a medium size bowl. Mash them up into fine crumbs. Add in all the other ingredients except paprika. Mix well then fill each egg half with the filling. Sprinkle paprika on top of each egg and transfer them to an egg dish. Cover with plastic wrap to chill before serving.

For a twist on these eggs. Try out my Curried Deviled Eggs.

If you have too many leftover deviled eggs, or you are just looking for something new. Try out these tasty ideas:

* Egg Salad sandwiches
* Tuna Salad sandwiches
* Chicken Salad sandwiches
* Ham Salad Sandwiches
* Use to make Macaroni Salad
* Use to make Potato Salad
* Add to a Chef's Salad
* Chop up and eat on top of crackers

 


© My Life 0utside The Box 2016-2018. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.