Roasted pumpkin seeds: a perfect halloween snack
It’s almost Halloween! I love this holiday so much that I’ve actually visited two pumpkin patches so far, and bought more pumpkins than I honestly know what to do with. Maybe it’s because this is the first fall in several years that I haven’t spent in New York City, but I am obsessed with everything fall right now. Because guys, I’m in Virginia right now, and it is pretty.
Anyway, I recently massacred a pumpkin in a very Dexter-like fashion, so I’ve been (literally, at times) up to my elbows in the Halloween mascot. When Elizabeth and I were committing said pumpkin murder, one of the things we did was save the seeds, so we would have something to snack on during the next 80 hours we were spending pureeing the monster pumpkin I bought.
So while the food processor was working overtime, we made some addictive, delicious roasted pumpkin seeds, and it couldn’t have been easier.
Steak-umm Jerky – Redneck Cooking
One of my favorite meats is Steak-umm’s. These are pre-packaged sliced steaks that are thin and quick to cook. You can go straight from the freezer to the frying pan and have dinner in just a few minutes. You can put them on a bun and eat them like a burger, or make Philly cheese steak sandwiches out of them. They are great for tacos, spaghetti, or in a chef’s salad. Anything you can make with ground beef you can make with Steak-umm. One of my favorite ways to use them is to make jerky. This is a quick and simple snack to make that you can take with you on a hike or you can snack on it while watching football.
Jeff Love
Pop’s Authentic meat snacks – Redneck review
Whenever I go out in the woods to go hunting, fishing or hiking, I take along my back pack. I have everything I need in my pack to spend a night or two in the woods should something happen. It is a good idea that everyone do this when they venture out into the woods. Sudden storms or a wrong turn on a trail can put you in a position where you aren’t able to get out of the woods before dark and have to.
For the food I carry in my pack, I like to keep things that are light, take up very little space and will keep without going bad. I will carry a few energy bars, granola bars, Jerky, or meat snacks.
Six fun things to do with watermelon
You almost need nothing but a big, juicy slice of watermelon, dripping down your chin as you slurp it down, on this list. My only regret is that seedless watermelon has rendered the seed-spitting contests of my youth obsolete.
Sometimes, though, I just feel the need to get creative. Yeah, I know you’ve figured that out by now. There are some really fun and easy things you can do with watermelon that not only enhance the flavor, but keep you from getting bored.
Blackened tilapia with grape-currant salsa from Margarita Grill – Reverse Menuneering
Far be it from me to ever assume that northern New Hampshire wouldn’t have any good restaurants to choose from. Granted, they are few and far between, but isn’t everything up there? You have to drive 20 miles just to find a gas station, let alone a gourmet restaurant.
There are a couple of gems that we’ve enjoyed for years, though, in Glen and North Conway: Margarita Grill and Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery.
Every year when we go to Bretton Woods, we try to make it to at least one of these. In the past, we’ve always made it to both, but this year, since Margarita Grill was on our way home from Story Land, it won. Every year, I forget that Margarita Grill is not just your average Mexican restaurant. Everything they make has a unique flair and although the cuisine is scrumptious, the service is so fast that they get you out before your kid melts down, so it’s a win-win.
Join me as I re-create the meal I enjoyed so thoroughly it was nearly embarrassing: blackened tilapia with red grape and currant pica de gallo with roasted vegetable salad and honey rum black beans.
Snow cones – healthier, tastier, addictive!
A while back, during a rare spring heatwave here in the northeast, I posted a recipe for a healthy snow cone that we make here at our house, using frozen orange juice concentrate. Even though it has been anything but hot and sunny here lately, my son and his friend have been relishing a new snow cone recipe that they helped create.
When I say addictive, I’m not kidding. They each had three snow cones in a row one day, and we’re talking an overcast, 60-something degree day. Yeah, it’s been a fun June here in Massachusetts. Regardless of the weather, these new snow cones are a huge hit, both with the kid who is used to getting healthy things stuffed down his throat, and with the neighbor friend who is used to getting sugary treats.
These snow cones have no sugar in them — none! They are sweetened only with agave syrup which has been touted to be healthy enough for diabetics to use. The juices used are all detoxifying, purifying juices, great for your liver, bladder and digestion.
Crunchy mango salsa is simple and versatile
What are you waiting for? You’ve got to stock your pantry, fridge and freezer with crazy things like frozen mango, fresh herbs, lemon juice and sugar snap peas. Keep up! I know we seem to have weird things in our kitchen, but if you keep versatile foods like these on hand, you can whip up easy, healthy foods at a moment’s notice.
Like crunchy mango salsa, for instance. Keith was highly disturbed one evening when I was going to serve him orange roughy — gasp! — broiled with a bit of seasoning. Even the best of us are uninspired some nights (read: try cooking a gourmet meal with a four-year-old breathing down your neck).
Being the devoted wife, I set out to whip up something to make the fish palatable to my hard-working husband. A fruit salsa came to mind, and since I always have frozen mango in my freezer (thanks to Trader Joe’s and my penchant for mango cherry smoothies) this was an easy fix. I’ve since made this salsa many times, a little bit different each time. I’ll include my variations:
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