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Why I Always Have Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Herbs on Hand (and a Few Favorite Ways to Use Them)

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Fried Eggs with Vegetables and Ground Beef - topped with parsley.

Fried Eggs, Sautéed Vegetables, Ground Beef, and Parsley 

While I LOVE growing my own herbs for use in cooking, sometimes I’ve harvested one to the nub or simply don’t have enough of the one I need on hand to use. That’s when these lightly dried Gourmet Garden herbs come to the rescue. Just a note, this isn’t a paid for post or anything remotely like that – it’s just me raving about something I love and know you will too.

I have, in the past, bought those nice, cheap dried herbs in the supermarket – you know, the ones in the plastic containers that hang above produce? I honestly have never been completely happy with these herbs. I have no idea what happens to the herbs in the process of getting into our supermarkets, but they sure do lose their flavor along the way.

That’s why, last winter, when I wanted some basil for my favorite Italian vegetable beef soup, I grabbed a Gourmet Garden tub of basil. It cost a bit more but, by gosh, my soups are worth it! As soon as I took off the lid, I knew I had made the best decision. Besides, the initial extra pennies spent actually pay for themselves because these lightly dried herbs are so flavorful (tasting like they just came from your herb bed), you actually use less of them than they’re counterparts with the dry personalities.

Gourmet Garden Parsley

Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Parsley

I have used every single herb available in this line and do so regularly. Heck, I buy the parsley and basil ones every time I’m in the store – I use them that often.

Basil: The basil one is delicious in soups, pasta salads, and sauces. I also use it very often as an appetizer – I slice fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and roll up slices of prosciutto, salami, and/or pepperoni. I drizzle everything with Rachael Ray Balsamic Vinegar Reduction (Amazon link… also found in most grocery stores – it’s the absolute best on the market).  Then I top it all off with a sprinkling of the Gourmet Garden chopped basil. Delicious!

Parsley: I use this one on and with just about everything – especially potatoes and eggs. You don’t realize just how much parsley brings to the party until you send it an invitation. It’s healthy, adds a bright wonderful flavor to just about everything, and… come on, let’s be honest… looks marvelously high brow!

A quick and easy meal (one of those that you almost always have the ingredients for and comes together super fast) is pictured here – simply make your ground beef patties (seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder). When they’re through, set aside and keep warm. Sauté asparagus, bell pepper, and onion in the juices from the beef…. season with salt and set aside with the meat. Add your eggs and cook them either sunny side up or over easy. Unless your meat was particularly fatty (and do they even make them anymore!?), you’ll need to add a little butter, olive oil, or bacon grease to the pan before the eggs.

Who doesn’t love a quick, easy, flavorful meal?!

Fried Eggs with Vegetables and Ground Beef - topped with parsley.

Fried Eggs, Sautéed Vegetables, Ground Beef, and Parsley 

Quick and Easy Meal Ideas: “Nights Off” at Home with Less Stress and Less Mess

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Freezer Meals for Nights Off

I love cooking. I mean… LOVE LOVE cooking. Everything about it. In fact, most of the time I don’t even mind the time and effort it takes to clean everything up. I figure it’s a great opportunity to use up a few of the calories I just consumed.

Yesterday, my husband and I were out of town most of the day and went to a local restaurant for supper (more about restaurants in a minute) when we got back in town. Last night, it hit me… I missed my kitchen time.

Having said all of that, however, I find that some nights (usually once… sometimes twice a week), I just want everything to be as simple and easy as possible. I don’t want to be in the kitchen for 30 minutes to an hour making the meal, followed by another 30 cleaning it up. I want food on the table fast and dishes that can either be tossed or washed in record time. Basically, my comfortable chair in the den is calling me and I want as few obstacles as possible before I answer the call.

I call these my “nights off” because instead of the normal, full-fledge, photo-worthy meals I make, I either pull something out of the freezer I had made and frozen previously or I pull out something ready to roll, pretty much as is.

Everyone needs nights or days off, right? Can anyone who works 5 days a week imagine not having a day off?! No way. Having days or nights off keeps you sane, keeps you rested, and most definitely keeps you from burning out.

Reasons for Eating Home More and Eating Out Less

I have nothing against eating out on occasion. I mean, let’s face it, it can be fun. Letting someone else do all the work while you sit and let them bring it to you… sweet luxury!

However, eating at home is almost always healthier – especially if you have food allergies, are on a special diet, or have any of the many diseases that can be greatly effected by the wrong food. Even trace amounts of the enemy foods build up and can be very bad for you.

Add to this the fact that we are in a pandemic AND coming up on cold and flu season (not to mention all the bugs that show up as soon as the weather cools) – even the biggest fan of dining out has to admit – you are safer at home.

I honestly hate to say  it, but my experience lately is that many restaurants are kind of “going down.” I don’t know if they’re having trouble getting or keeping good help or if cooking is a dying art but, just in the last year, four of my five favorite restaurants (two locally-owned and two chain restaurants) have gotten so bad I don’t care if I ever go back. The one of the five that’s still as good as ever is a local authentic Mexican restaurant.

Stay strong, guys, stay strong!

Another reason to keep your pantry, refrigerator, and even freezer stocked is that (as this global pandemic has taught us) you just never know what lies ahead. It’s always better to be able to take care of yourself and your family without having to count on others. You never know when their doors will close.

(Continued Below…)

 

Tips for Nights Off Meals (As Many Times a Week as You Want Them!)

Frozen Meals

You may be like me and actually love to cook, but simply are human and want a night off every now and then. Or, you may be like one of my daughters who had (literally, y’all) rather go to the dentist than cook! Whichever group you fall into, the following tips and ideas will, hopefully, help you as much as they do me.

  • When you make soup, chili, or casseroles, make a little extra to freeze for a future meal. I have perfected this routine to where I always have at least two soups and one chili in the freezer and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Amazon has countless sizes and shapes of freezing containers (link to Amazon) – you’ll want to find a set with different sizes. This has been such a wonderful system for me. Soups and chili, in particular, taste like they were made that day.
  • Don’t think the freezer has to have just food you’ve made! As you can see from the sample pictures here, I’m a huge fan of Amy’s frozen meals, as well as her burritos. While I keep them on hand, primarily, for my lunches while my husband is at work, I have often fixed them for both of us on one of my luxurious “nights off.” The burritos are excellent with rice, a salad, eggs, or (simpler, still) tortilla chips and salsa. The frozen meals are even easier because the only dishes you mess up are your forks and glasses! Frozen pizzas, corndogs, fries (top with a can of heated canned chili and cheese and call it a meal)… the choices are limitless. Just be sure to always have your “night off” section of your freezer locked and loaded.
  • My favorite night off meal is actually one of my husband’s favorite meals – bacon, eggs, and a few vegetables cooked in the same pan (broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers… whatever combo you like). The one pan strategy helps with clean up considerably and, let’s face it, it doesn’t get any simpler than bacon and eggs.
  •  Oatmeal or grits is another filling, warm, comforting, and delicious meal. I could eat either of these all by themselves, but my husband loves a couple of fried eggs with his.
  • Never, ever underestimate soup and sandwiches – they’re filling, healthy, and most definitely perfect for your night off.
  • When possible, keep salad makings on hand and your favorite salad dressing ready to pour. Simply adding chicken, beef, boiled eggs, or bacon to a great salad makes a healthy meal.
  • Have you seen those little packets of instant potatoes? They cook in less time than it takes to brush your teeth and, frankly, taste darn good. They come in lots of flavors and varieties and are outstanding. Keep plenty of these on hands for accompanying deli chicken or soup or chili from the freezer. Soup and chili, both are great served over these guys.

Some people think certain foods are only “acceptable” for breakfast or lunch and wouldn’t consider them for supper. Well, that’s just nuts.  Breakfast suppers are downright addictive and traditional “lunch” suppers are right there with them.

I have seen some people schedule these types of nights and call them things like “cheat nights” or “lazy nights” – and scheduling them is certainly an option. For me, personally, however – I never know quite when the “My chair is calling me and I don’t want to be on my feet another minute!” mood is going to hit until it does… so, I simply have my options on stand by.

One final word about restaurants…

I actually put this post together because of something that I experienced last night at what was once a favorite chain restaurant. I ordered the grilled catfish as I normally do (along with greens and pinto beans). I took a bite of the catfish from the end… all seemed normal… ate some of the greens and beans… then picked up my fork and knife and tried to cut into the catfish. It would not cut… it was completely undercooked… as in raw. I literally could not cut through it.

Undercooked meats can host a whole world of trouble for a person – salmonella, food poisoning… and if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of either of these, you know how horribly sick they make you. I am very, very lucky that I only took a small bite of this fish that was all but flopping around on my plate.

Now I know for certain that, in the future, whenever I order meat, I will never again assume that restaurant cooks use food thermometers as I do in my own kitchen. I’ll also cut into the middle of the meat before even thinking about taking a bite.

As I said before, I don’t know why it is but a lot of restaurants are, collectively, getting worse. You just can’t be too careful – certainly not when it comes to your health.

Stay safe and stay well!

~ Joi (“Joy”)

Amy's Burritos

Chili Tips of the Trade and a Kitchen Tool You Absolutely MUST Have

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Chili with Fixings

Chili with the Fixin’s!

It’s that time of year again… Chili season!… and personally I couldn’t be happier. I love cool weather, crock-pot meals, homemade soup, and chili.

The more chili, the better.

The only problem one can run into, though, when you frequently make, serve, and eat chili is (if you aren’t careful) it’s easy to fall into a rut. I guess that’s true with any meal you make frequently, but in my experience, chili is the trickiest rut trap.

Below are some ideas I’ve accumulated over the years of being a raging chili fanatic. They’ll keep thing lively, tasty, and colorful while keeping you (and your chili bowl) out of a dreaded rut.

Meat Chopper Tool

Meat Chopper Tool Getting the Meat Chili-Ready

Chili Tips and Ideas

  1.  If you have chili as often as I do (especially during chili season), consider mixing up your recipe and/or ingredients fairly regularly – even if it’s ingredients you’ve ALWAYS used, try replacing it with something new OR simply add a new ingredient. Celery, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, red pepper flakes, finely shredded carrot… mix and match. Basically, have fun and get creative.
  2. Change up your seasoning mix or spices. My personal favorite chili seasoning mix (and the one I use probably 75 percent of the time) is Carroll Shelby’s (link to the mix on Amazon, but they’re in most all stores) but ever so often, I’ll simply use a combination of my own spices or I’ll use a gluten-free packet of seasoning I find in the store. Each gives its own unique flavor to your chili.
  3. When browning your ground beef (I prefer using ground angus or chuck but will basically use whatever I have on hand), use an inexpensive meat chopper (link to the one I use on Amazon). The one pictured above the Chili Tips is the one I use for soups and chilis and wouldn’t take anything for it! What makes this tool so perfect for chili (and soup for that matter)? My cooking philosophy has always been, “The more flavor combinations that fit on a spoon or fork, the better.” The smaller the meat…. and the smaller the vegetables… the more flavors will fit on your spoon. Simple as that.
  4. Don’t use water… use beef broth! Another one of my cooking philosophies is, “Water dilutes flavor… broths add flavor.” I use chicken broth (chicken chili, rice, boiling vegetables..) and beef broth almost daily, so we pretty much keep them stockpiled in the pantry. When making your chili, beef broth (or veggie broth when making vegetarian chili) is much better to use than plain old, flavor-diluting water.
  5. Have you ever set up a “taco bar” – complete with little dishes of tomatoes, cheese, onions, etc? Setting up a “Chili Bar” is every bit as fun and helpful. This way, everyone gets to add whatever floats their particular chili boat. Some ideas I love are: Fritos, freshly shredded cheddar (freshly shredded looks better than store bought, which looks like toy food), onions, green onion, scallions, sautéed onion, jalapenos, pickled jalapenos, rice, pasta noodles, diced chiles, red pepper flakes, sour cream, cornbread croutons (more about them in a minute)…. the options are almost endless. Corn dogs are also a fun, often unexpected item to include on a chili bar.
  6. Speaking of sour cream – I love it on chili all the time, but especially if it’s a little too spicy for my overly sensitive taste buds. Sour cream cools it down. A lot of people swear by adding a little peanut butter to their chili but, frankly…. well, I’d rather swear at it than by it!
  7. Using leftover chili for chili dogs is one of our favorite things to do. While warming the leftover chili, I use the meat chopper (link to the one I use on Amazon) mentioned above to give it more of a chili dog topping look. Sounds nuts, but, trust me, it’s darn good. Just be sure not to overdo it – you don’t want it looking like cat food pate.
  8. Using leftover chili is also perfect for chili burgers – simply top your burger with the chili (using the same technique for the chili dogs).
  9. Chili freezes very well – just warm it up with a little beef broth and it tastes freshly made.
  10. Cornbread croutons: Making cornbread, then cutting it into small squares is excellent on chili (especially if you add jalapenos to the cornbread). I also like to make fried cornbread (in the shapes of pancakes) and simply put them into the bottom of the bowl before adding the chili. Of course, you could always simply use regular cornbread to dip into your chili. The combination of chili and cornbread is outstanding – which is another reason corndogs are a perfect dinner guest for chili night.


Avoiding the Food Rut: Tasteful Ways to Keep Your Meals as Colorful as You Are

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One of my favorite “secrets” of great cooking isn’t really much of a secret… it’s far too simple to qualify as a secret. It’s simply this – Keep things interesting and keep things flavorful.

I know how easy it is to fall into a cooking rut but food and meals are far too important to slip into such a rut. You want your loved ones to both enjoy your meals and to remember them – long after they’ve walked away from the table.  Which is why it’s a shame that any of us (and, let’s be honest, we’ve all been in the rut before – whether we set up camp or crawled immediately back out of it, none of us can say we haven’t laid eyes on the tasteless food rut!)

Below are just a few quick ideas to help you avoid the culinary pit of misery:

  1. Try new international cuisines. You could make one night of the week the one where you try new recipes – they might just become your favorites. When I home-schooled our three daughters, We’d “eat” our way through whatever country we were studying at the time. Friday nights were chosen to try different favorite ingredients and recipes from the region of the moment.  We often, understandably “Americanize” many cuisines of the world – but if you delve into the ingredients used IN these countries and the favorite foods of their people, you’ll uncover a whole new world of flavor. Literally. Find recipes online or check Amazon for regional cookbooks. Mark Bittman has a wonderful cookbook appropriately titled “The Best Recipes in the World” and it would be an IDEAL place to start.
  2. Try new sauces and seasonings. When my husband and I visited a favorite restaurant, I tried a sauce they had on the table (it’s the Cajun Power Garlic Sauce pictured to the left). It was so wonderful I checked Amazon then and there for it. Fortunately I found it right off the bat, tossed it into my cart, and had my own bottle on its way to my house before we even left the restaurant. Ahhh, technology.  I also recently came across a new favorite seasoning (Cavender’s Greek Seasoning) and I’ve been putting it on everything from Greek Fries to pork. Spend a little more time in the grocery store than usual – really look around (yes, beyond the salt, pepper, and garlic powder!). Try new seasonings, spices, herbs, produce, sauces, etc. It’s delicious fun AND it’ll make you a better cook.
  3. Watch the Food Network and Cooking Channel for inspiration. Okay, before going any further, I have to get this off of my chest: I miss the Food Network of old! I miss Emeril Live, Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, Good Eats, and Mexican Made Easy. Thank goodness for Farmhouse Rules and The Pioneer Woman – they’re two of the only actual “cooking shows” left. Everything these days is some sort of a competition or contest… and every contestant seems to speak in questions! Yes, I am the sort of nut that notices things like that – but, check them out. They do! “I’m going to make a roast? And it will have onions? And carrots? I love carrots?”  I honestly can’t even watch these shows, I spend more time arguing with them (Stop ending everything as a question! You either know or you don’t!) than is healthy. Sigh. Anyway, I miss actual cooking shows that are entertaining. However, if you can find Pioneer Woman and Farmhouse Rules (or elusive reruns of others), watch them for entertainment and inspiration. You can also find endless cooking videos online, of course. You can get a lot of ideas as well as good old-fashioned know how from watching others. EDIT: There are now endless cooking shows available through streaming as well as many excellent channels on YouTube (Sam the Cooking Guy and Cowboy Kent Rollins are two of my favorites… search for them on YouTube!) ~ Joi, 3/12/2022

Quick and Easy Greek Fries

Greek Fries

Infographic: 15 Easy Ways to Make Food Taste Better

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The infographic below (from British friends of the food blog… hence yoghurt instead of yogurt!) includes some great tips for making your food taste even better. I love these tips – several of which I personally swear by.

Below are a few quick tips from my own kitchen:

  1. When making a dish with multiple food components (stew, soup, salad…), chop the individual foods as small as possible. Sure, it’s more work (unless you use a food processor, Amazon link) but each bite will provide more flavor. After all, the more foods that can fit on a spoon or fork at once, the greater the flavor punch.
  2.  Ground Chuck simply tastes better than ground beef. There is no getting around it.
  3. In addition to Kosher salt and black pepper, a few seasonings I keep on hand at all times (as in I’m apt to run out of just about anything before I ever run out of them) are: Cumin, Montana Mex Chile Salt (as well as their Sweet Seasoning Blend), Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Pink Himalayan Salt, Seasoned Salt, and McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning (All Amazon links). Experiment with seasonings – go bold! Just do so a little at a time, because you can always add more, you can’t add less.
  4. Use herbs often and use herbs generously. I love growing my own herbs – even though there is a Battle Royale between me and raccoons – and they’re winning. Good thing they’re so darn cute! Rosemary, chives, parsley, and cilantro are my favorites but Basil and Oregano are fast-becoming members of the “in crowd.” Add parsley to scrambled eggs, cilantro to any and all Mexican-inspired dishes, rosemary to soups, and chives to everything else. Well, almost. Chives snipped onto fresh from the oven baked potatoes make all the cares of the world slip away.
Courtesy of: Quid Corner


Be a Better Cook Tip: Have “Focus Foods” Throughout the Year

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Grilled Cheeseburger Pizza

Grilled Cheeseburger Pizza

Apologies to the wonderful and legendary phrase, “Practice makes perfect,” but I have a similar phrase that I’m pretty fond of. While my phrase is only a legend in its own mind, “Focus makes perfect” will serve you well in or out of the kitchen.

Five years ago, I came up with a new type of New Year’s Resolution – a culinary one, if you will.   Each New Year’s Eve, I’d sit down and make a short list of foods or ingredients that I wanted to experiment with, learn about, and try to “perfect” in as many recipes and meals as possible.

Over the years, the following foods and ingredients have had the spotlight….

  • eggs
  • chili
  • potatoes
  • homemade bread
  • peppers
  • soup
  • salad
  • onion rings
  • omelets
  • bacon
  • pizza
  • grits
  • sweet potatoes
  • squash
  • pies
  • cookies
  • pasta
  • kale
  • meatloaf
  • fish
  • cheese

Last year, my focus foods/ingredients were salads, cheese, hamburgers, gluten free pies, and grits. I researched cheeses to the ends of the earth and back again and made a wonderful new friend that I don’t know how I ever lived without, Gouda. In experimenting with recipes for grits, I found that this Gouda character brought out the best in grits and they’ve been happy ever since.

Like all great couples, they bring out the best in one another. Awww…

I also tried different approaches with hamburgers over the past year and have determined that:

  1. Like most things, an Iron Skillet (capitalized out of respect) makes magic happen with burgers.
  2. A sprinkle of garlic powder along with the salt and pepper is also highly recommended.
  3. Sauteing onions with a lot of black pepper, removing the onions, then frying your hamburgers where the onions just hung out is amazing.
  4. A hamburger wrapped in a big leaf of Romaine or Leaf lettuce actually beats bread, in my opinion. You taste the burger more this way.

This year, my focus foods are a mix of “oldies” that have to be re-done (more on that in a minute) and a few new obsessions.

Since my body decided a few years back that gluten/wheat were poison (it’s melodramatic, that way), I have to now go back to a few foods I’d perfected with wheat flour and re-perfect them with gluten free flour blends. Talk about a challenge.

Gluten free flours have their own temperaments and everything I learned before has to be un-learned in order to learn a whole new approach to baking.  I’m not complaining, mind you. In the grand scheme of things, this is a tiny blip on the radar. Besides, I love a good challenge. Keeps me on my toes.

So, on my tiptoes, I’m going to revisit and refocus on…

  • doughnuts
  • cornbread
  • bread
  • pizza and strombolis
  • meatloaf

I’ve also added the following new obsessions to the mix…

  • salmon (I have suddenly become ALL about the taste of salmon)
  • sushi (the recent discovery of gluten free imitation crab meat has opened a whole new world)
  • sauces, dressings, and dips – the more of my own sauces and dressings I make, the more I vow never to buy pre-made again.
  • lemon, limes, oranges – I want to experiment with as many recipes calling for citrus juice and peel as possible. The flavor is so bright and vibrant, I’m excited to see where it takes me.

Finally, a few recurring favorites (old standbys) will also be focus foods because they’re like family…

  • eggs (if you love eggs, too, you’ll want to check out my next post – some very brilliant minds have made poached eggs as easy as frying an egg)
  • cheese
  • candy (fudge is a lifeline)
  • catfish

If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy some of your focus foods so much that you’ll carry them right over into the following year… and maybe the year after that. That’s my relationship with kale, soups, and salads. It seems that each year – whether I even write the words on my focus list or not, I find myself consistently looking for more ways to jazz up salads and soups and more ways to sneak kale into them and everything else for that matter.

You may look at my list and wonder, “Why so many?!”  Well, there are several reasons. First of all, having quite a few will prevent you from burning yourself or your family out on the same foods over and over again. Second of all, the more the merrier – it keeps things fun. I like fun.

Before we get much further into January, think of some foods that intrigue you – whether they’re new to you or even foods you’re already familiar with.

Remember, focus makes perfect – and perfect tastes darn good.

Lemons