My Life 0utside The Box: February 2018

Wednesday, February 21

Wordless Wednesday 2/21/18~

I won a giveaway and was blessed with this little cutie!

Meet my Instant Pot :)

You and I will have lots of fun together :)

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Tuesday, February 20

How to Preserve Lemons (Part 1)

Did you know you can preserve a bunch of lemons to have on hand all year long? I had never heard about it until a few months ago. I could not wait to get a bag of lemons to test it out for myself. I read that they are good for more than just being used in Moroccan, Middle Eastern, or Indian dishes. There are so many other ways they are useful. To get this started all you need is lemons and salt. A list of things you will need are:

7-8 Meyer Lemons
1/2 cup Kosher or coarse Sea Salt (do NOT use any type of salt with Iodine in it)
Sterilized Quart sized canning jar (In the photo you can see I used 3 jelly jars)

First you will want to thoroughly rinse and scrub your lemons clean (I like using a homemade fruit and vegetable spray on mine). Pat each one dry. With clean hands cut the very ends off all but one of the lemons. Slice each lemon into slices (not too thin) or quarters.

Next you want to put about a Tbsp. or two of the salt at the bottom of your jar (I divided my salt up to about 2 tsp. per jar). Start adding your lemons. Be sure to sprinkle salt in between the slices/layers and pack that jar tight by pushing down on the lemons with a wooden spoon to release the juices. At the top you need to add another Tbsp. or two of salt on top. You should see some lemon juice in your jar. Now take that last lemon and juice it so you can add that juice to your jar. You want enough juice to reach the top of your lemons.

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 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. You do NOT need to refrigerate this until it has sat out for 30 days. I will come back with part 2 to share how my lemons turned out after 30 days and talk about different ways to use them.

Wednesday, February 7

Wordless Wednesday~ 2/7/18

My tea collection is really growing. Am I becoming a tea addict? LOL :-)

Crockpot Beef Stew

Homemade Crockpot Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 lbs. beef stew meat (can use a whole roast or beef loin cut into bite sized chunks)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup of chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Italian season
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2-4 Tbsp. of tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red (cooking) wine (optional)
1 cup frozen peas
4 Tbsp. butter, oil, or bacon grease
1/4 cup of flour

Directions:
First, you coat the beef chunks in flour and brown on both sides in a skillet with hot oil. I sometimes skip this step and just add my beef chunks to the bottom of my sprayed 6 quart crockpot. Next add in potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves. Sprinkle seasonings all over the top. Stir in tomato paste, broth, and red wine (if using). Cook on LOW for 7.5 hours. Stir in peas the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Roux: In a skillet or saucepan melt butter, or get the oil hot on medium heat. Stir in flour to make a paste. Take out a cup of the stew juices from the crockpot to add it to the flour mixture. Stir to make a roux. Add more water, broth, or juices from the crockpot if too thick. Pour the roux into crockpot with beef stew and let cook on High 30 more minutes to thicken. This serves well with some cornbread or crusted bread with butter.

*Note: Some people like serving their beef stew over hot rice so that's an option too. We like ours without it.