Bag Closure Hack

This is so simple and yes, it works! Actually had a "duh!" moment when I saw it!

Just cut a notch out of the top of your plastic food bag, pour out what you need, then take the two side tabs left on either side of the notch and tie them together.

 You're welcome 😊

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Time Saving Scalloped Potatoes

I'm convinced that there is no way to take a good picture of scalloped potatoes. They're just plain ugly. But there is a way to cut cooking time in half!

Ingredients:

2 lbs new yellow potatoes, unpeeled

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Mrs Dash seasoning to taste (or salt and pepper)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Start by scrubbing the potatoes clean then slice them pretty thinly on a mandolin. New potatoes = no peeling (time saving!) And here's the trick ... place them in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Then gently simmer for about 5 minutes. Then drain.

Grease an 8" deep baking dish. Starting with some onion slices, layer onions and potatoes alternating as you go. You can also give a few shakes of Mrs Dash every now and then.

In a saucepan melt butter and whisk in the flour. Cook 1 minute then whisk in the milk and cook 1-2 minutes to thicken. Add more Mrs Dash to the sauce then pour over the potatoes and onions in the baking dish.

Top with cheese and bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes. 

Yep... ugly, but tasty 😋

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Potato Topped Meat Pie

Ugh... halfway through making two meat pies I realized I didn't have enough pie dough to top the second one. I quickly improvised with some mashed potatoes! 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs ground meat (beef, pork and veal trio)

1 medium onion, diced

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 apple, shredded

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

And enough pie dough for 2 pies, or in this case 2 bottoms and 1 top. Two large Yukon gold potatoes, microwaved then mashed with butter and milk. (Or even better, leftover mashed potatoes!) Anyhooo...

Put all the ingredients for the tourtière (meat pie) in a large skillet and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Roll out the dough and place in bottoms of 2 - 8" pie plates. Fill with meat filling then roll out the top dough, wet edges and top, crimping to seal. Score the top so the air can escape.

For the second pie, spread the mashed potatoes over the meat. You can run a fork over the top if you want to get fancy! And sprinkle some paprika all over.

Then bake both at 425°F for 25-30 minutes.

Delicious cross between meat pie and shepherd's pie!

Follow hotandcoldrunningmom on Pinterest. You can scan the pincode seen here with your phone if you're on a desktop. If you're on a phone just screenshot it, go to the Pinterest app, click camera. Then instead of taking a pic use the option to use one of your photos. Click on the screenshot you just took and go right to my Pinterest profile where you can follow me 🙂

Life Hack that you need to know about Rice!

This is totally COOL! And everyone needs a life hack that'll just make life a little easier...

I heard that I should soak rice before cooking it, so I had this Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice soaking in water. One cup of rice in about 3 or 4 cups of water.

I was only going to soak it about half an hour, but I forgot about it (Oops!) for 4 hours!  

Happy mistake because when I drained the water off I had perfectly tender rice ready to be heated and seasoned to taste.

Who knew?!?  It's a good thing!

NOTE: This method did NOT work with jasmine rice : (

Homemade Frozen Pizza

This is stupid easy!  Wish I had tried it years ago...

Use your favourite pizza dough, either homemade or store bought and par bake your pizza crust.

Place the dough on parchment paper, forming with your fingers.  When your oven temperature reaches 450 F slide it and the parchment onto a pizza stone or baking pan.

Bake for 5 minutes, or just until the top is dry looking.

Fully cool on rack. Remove the parchment when you can.
You can freeze it naked or topped. I chose naked ; 0

Place the pizza on a baking pan and freeze for 2-3 hours, then remove from freezer, wrap with plastic wrap and foil. 

I labeled mine, but I mean anyone can see it's a pizza right?

When you are ready to use your pizza unwrap it, spread the foil out and throw away the plastic wrap.  You'll use the foil to sit your pizza on. Top it with your favourites if you haven't already, and bake in a 525 F oven for 8-10 minutes. 

Check the middle...if it seems a little squishy give it a few more minutes.

Can't wait to try this par-baked pizza crust on a camping trip! There might even be a post about it !!

Easy Zipper Repair

If you have a zipper on your jeans that is broken and will not stay up then you need to read this!

Use a key ring and pass it through the little tab hole thingy.
(Does that thing even have a name?) If you have trouble with opening up the key ring just use a staple remover to hold the key ring open. 

Just pass the key ring through the tab, pull up the zipper and loop the ring around the button. Then do your pants up like usual. Works like a charm.

In a pinch you could also use an elastic band in place of the key ring.

Is that little tab thingy broken right off?  No problem!

Just pass the key ring through the link where the tab used to be and Tah dah!

You're welcome : )

Restaurant Style Fluffy Baked Potatoes

All this time I have not been baking potatoes the right way!
(Thanks for setting me straight Di)

Take your baking potatoes (russet are best) and scrub them clean with a brush. Pat dry.
DO NOT POKE SKIN.

Brush all over with olive oil and set on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. I used Himalayan pink here.

Bake at 425 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of your potatoes. When the potato is soft when you press it it's done.

Here's the cool part.....

When you take the potato out of the oven, drop it onto the counter from about 10" up. This makes the insides all soft and fluffy.

Make a slice in the top of the potato and squeeze the ends gently to open it up more.

Serve with your favourite toppings.
It's so simple, but it really does make a difference!

Laundry Jug Scoop

Need a large scoop for your dog food, cat litter or salt for that icy driveway? Use any large sized jug like laundry soap, softener or even a milk jug. While the milk jug might be easier to cut it might not be as sturdy as a laundry jug. It would be alright for scooping up something light.

Anyways, mark the jug where you want to cut it. Remember, the spout of the jug will be the base of your scoop. It's kind of like cutting off the bottom and corner of the jug under the handle.

Carefully cut along the line with a utility knife. 
Presto....you've got a scoop!

Household Hint - Defrosting the Freezer

What does this have to do with defrosting a freezer?

The lid !!
It fits perfectly in the bottom of my upright freezer.

It also fits in the freezer part of my fridge.  Just empty your freezer, turn it off and place a fan inside.

Sit the lid on an old towel. The lid will catch chunks of ice and water while the towel will catch the runoff from the sides.

You'll be done defrosting the freezer in about an hour (depending on how much ice you've accumulated of course)

Get all your Product out of those Pump Bottles !

Those pump bottles are convenient.  But doesn't it bug you when you know there's more in the bottle but the pump won't let you have any more of it.  Sometimes the top unscrews and you can turn it upside down to get the balance out.  But this method here lets you get every last drop out and some of your products cost you alot of money.  Who doesn't want to save money?

Get some kind of hack saw out, snips and a spatula. And don't forget the chopping board. (You could probably use a sharp knife instead of a saw)

When you start, be careful.  Get a little notch started before you go sawing away otherwise the saw might slip.

You could probably saw right through it, but I find it easier to snip the last bit.

Hmm.....look at that

Use the spatula to save all that product!

My jar was too little for all the lotion I saved.