HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHILI PEPPER POWDER

This time I used Serrano peppers but you could use any kind you like.  I've done this before with other peppers and they all come out great.

I cut the Serrano peppers in half and put them in the dehydrator.  I wanted this to be hot so I left all the seeds in too.

Serrano peppers start out green but if you let them stay growing they turn to red.  The red is hotter.  You can see I do have a few green ones too.  I just mixed them in with the red as it doesn't really matter.

This is the kind of dehydrator I have but all brands look a little different.

I do my hot peppers outside because the steam (that you don't even see) gets in the air and you will feel it in your eyes, nose and throat.  This of course causes watery eyes, runny nose and coughing.

I did 6 racks of peppers this time.  I started them out on low for several hours and then as they were pretty close to being all dry I kicked it up to high so I wouldn't have to leave the dehydrator on all night.

However, I did search on line and found out that you really can't over dry these.  If you want to rehydrate them, you may wish to be a little more careful but to turn them into pepper you are good to go without the worry of over drying them.

Mine took about 12 hours.  It would be faster if you turned up the heat.  Just be sure to follow the directions on your dehydrator as they are all different.

I ended up getting one quart and one 1/2 pint full of dried peppers.  Be sure to keep the seeds if you want your powder to be a bit hotter.

I tried to blend peppers up using a food processor before but they didn't get fine enough for my liking.  So I went out and bought a spice/coffee grinder.  This works wonderful and it was about $11 so, to me, it was fully worth it.

Again, I take the peppers outside to grind them up.  The powder will fly around and you will cough, get the runny nose and burning eyes much worse then even when you dehydrate them.  You may wish to even wear a mask. 

I didn't do this.  Being outside, really helps and I didn't need it.

Grind the peppers up in batches.  I ended up getting a full pint of Red Serrano Pepper Powder.  That's a nice amount.

This can now be used in soup, stews, salsa, as a rub or what ever you want a little kick added to your dish.

It's also a great and easy way to have all those peppers last a lot longer then if you left them whole and tried to use them up all at once.

This jar is going to my brother as he is the one who grew them.  I'm sure he will be thrilled to get this.

You can also do this with onions, garlic and about every type of veggie to make powders. 

SO THIS IS WHAT THE DOG IS THINKING...

Just a little something to make you smile.  Have a great day!  Don't forget to hug and love your dogs.

FLIP FLOP DOOR MAT

Isn't this a darling, bright and cheerful door mat?  It makes me smile every time I see it.

Even though I didn't make it, I think it would be pretty easy to do.  Can you tell what it's made out of?

Here take a closer look.  Does it remind you of anything?

It's made from flip flops!  Can you see the tread?  I think you could cute up your flip flops, wire them together and make your own mat.  What do you think?

This is what it loo likes sitting outside our sliding glass door.  You could make any design you wanted if you made your own.  You could even spell out your name.

Of course it's much quicker and easier to just buy it.  This one was found down at one of the little shops by the beach. 

Even though Summer is about over, I think we will leave this out all year.  It's cute, works great and makes me happy.

 

GOING TO THE LDS CANNERY

I'm not part of the LDS church but I do belong to a Meet Up group of people who prepare for emergencies or dastards.  The man who runs the group is Mormon and was kind enough to set up an outing for us to go the LDS Cannery in Fountain Valley. 

This was our 2nd outing there and I thought I would share it with you.

This is a big warehouse where you can go and pick up dry foods in bulk.  Things like dry milk, dehydrated carrots, potatoes, oats, beans, sugar and so on.  The cost is great!  Much better then even the big stores like Costco.

Inside the warehouse is a sterile room where you can go and break down the large containers of food into #10 cans. 

Before you enter the sterile room you must wash your hands, remove any jewelry, put on gloves, an apron and hair net.  If you have a beard you must wear a face mask too.

Here we are waiting to get started.  We all had a good laugh at how everyone looked.  We felt like we were in the old TV show I LOVE LUCY where she goes to work at the candy store.

It's actually a very easy and fun process.  The food comes in big bags that get opened in a large plastic container.  Then it's scooped into the cans and weighed.

Photo credit: Preparedness Advice Blog

 



We put in an oxygen absorber, put a lid on the can and then hand it over to the person who is sealing them.

 

The machine spins the can as it seals it and will stop when it is completely sealed.

 

The label gets put on the can.  The date is written down where the year packed is at.  This way you know how long this product will be good for.

 

Wow!  You can keep some things for 25-30 years once they are canned this way.  When you open them, it will taste the same as when you canned it.

 

When you are finished canning, you put in your order and pay for what you purchased.  If you buy 6 cans they put them in a box and you get two free plastic lids to reseal the cans when opened.  You can purchase more lids if you like.

 

I purchased, carrots, milk, macaroni, rice, beans and apples this time. 

 

I'm already looking forward to going back again.  I had fun and got some great food for cheep.

 

The cannery is open to everyone.  You do not have to be Mormon.  You just need to call and set up an appointment. 

 

 

TRY SOME OF THESE GREAT IDEAS!

 

It's always good to look at things around the house that you can use for things other then what they were made for.

I got an email with my brother with these fun tips.  I'm not sure who took the pictures, so I can't give them credit.  But, I wanted to share them with all of you.

You may have seen or even used some of them before but I have a feeling some of them you have not dreamed of.

So many of us are trying our best to recycle and not have so much throw away trash.  This is a great idea to help recycle and also stay neat and tidy.

This would also work for many other things, like cupcakes, making chocolate in molds, use it for salad dressings, waffles and tons of other things.

I love this idea.  What a great way to keep your bagels fresh and tasty.

I always use a straw in my drinks.  I don't normally drink out of cans though.  But, sometimes if I'm going somewhere I will grab a can of diet Coke to drink in the car.  I will be using this idea for sure! 

I can't tell you how many times I put a straw in my diet Coke can and look down to see it laying on the ground because of the carbonation pushing it out of the can.  So this will be great for people like me.

I don't have a fancy car that has a seat warmer but I sometimes drive my sisters car that does.  I love the seat warmers and wish I had one.

Now there is another use for them.  This of course will work for any hot food.  Even if it's just going through a fast food drive thru.

I have to admit, this is one tip I have heard of and I even tried this before with cheesecake.  It works great.  For some reason I never did it again.

I'm happy to be reminded about it though so I can do it again.

This is something I have done several times and it really does work.  Not sure why or how.  I just know it does.

I love pistachios!  I do hate those shells that are hard to open though.  So, I'm going to do this for sure!  It's Mother Nature's way of helping us enjoy these yummy treats.

Well I don't eat round sandwich meat.  I don't eat meat at all.  But, I love this idea.  It just dawned on me that some of the cheese I eat is round so I can use this tip then.  I hate having a sandwich that gives you bites of only bread.  Don't you?

I wish I had known this when I went camping a few weeks again.  I would have tried this.  I have a feeling any chips would work.  Well, at least the ones that fried.  I think the oil in them would cause them to burn great. 

Well, I hope you learned a thing or two and will try some of these.  If you have tried any in the past, let me know how they worked.

I've linked up with Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.  Pop on over to get other great ideas.

DID YOU WIN THE GIVEAWAY?

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway for the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  I wish I had one to send to everyone.

The actual winner is Amanda Perez.  I have sent an email to her and hopefully she will respond soon.  If I don't hear from her, I will pick another random number and let you know if that person is you.

Thanks again and I hope you all keep canning. 

WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE GIANT ZUCCHINI

Have you ever grown zucchini and one day you go out to check on them and you find a giant one!  How in the world do they grow so fast?

Well, don't toss them out.  They are still very good.  I make several batches of zucchini bread from them.  You can make zucchini cake, bread, cookies and muffins. 

My brother is the one who is growing the zucchini this year and I asked him to let some of his get big for me to use.

Nope, not for anything I have already mentioned.  I wanted to can zucchini pineapple.  That's right!  You read that correctly. 

So what is zucchini pineapple, you ask?  Well, it's zucchini that taste just like pineapple and you can use it just like you would any pineapple.  It's also a wonderful way to use up all that zucchini and get your kids to eat it without even knowing.

Want to learn how to make it?  OK, then read on.

You need to peel you zucchini.  I cut mine up in smaller sizes as it's much easier to handle.

I used a knife but I guess you could use a potato peeler if you wanted to.

Now, take out all the seeds.  A mellon baller is easy to use for this.

Then cut up your zucchini into the size you want.  If you want to have "crushed pineapple" then just grate it up. 

I wanted chunks.

In a large pot add 46 oz. canned unsweetened pineapple juice, 1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice and 3 cups of sugar.  Then add your zucchini.

Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Fill your hot, clean pint size jars with the zucchini and liquid.  Leave 1/2 inch headspace.  Adjust your lids and process in a water bath for 15 mins.

Remove and wait for the ping sound.

The recipe actually calls for you to use 4 quarts of zucchini but I only used the one large one so I had extra liquid left over and I only got 4 pints of zucchini pineapple. 

If you use the 4 quarts of zucchini you should get 8-9 pints.

If you are like me and don't use all the zucchini you will be left with at least 1/2 the liquid and you can make jelly from it by adding pectin to it.  

I couldn't wait to taste this so I left one piece out to cool off and eat.  I was so shocked that it really does taste like you are eating pineapple and it even looks like it too.

Hope you will try this too and let me know what you think.