Soak & Double Those Skewers

The most common skewers are the wooden bamboo skewers.
When you are using wooden skewers- the most important
tip is that you want to soak them in a water.
Soak them for at least 30 minutes. If you're

really in a hurry... you might be able to get away with 20 minutes-
but I really recommend 30 minutes or more. Soaking them in
water prevents them from burning when you grill them.
If your not grilling- don't worry about the soaking.

You can put any type of meat on bamboo skewers.
You can also skewer veggies and even fruit.
When you skewer smaller items that are going to be grilled...
use 2 skewers so that the food doesn't spin when you
try to turn the skewer over- especially when it comes to shrimp.

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy...

When you buy your fish or any type of seafood-
beware of soggy seafood. Fresh fish should be firm and shiny,
not slimy or soggy.
If you are buying the whole fish rather than a fillet-
you want to look your fish in the eye, making sure the eyes
are clear which indicates a recent catch and freshness.
Cloudy eyes in fish usually indicate that it's been on the
shelf for many days. Fresh fish should be vibrant and
almost glistening to the touch. Fishy fish is also not good.
Even though you are buying FISH... if it smells fishy...
don't buy it. It has gone bad. Don't buy fish or seafood that
is being offered at a bargain either... unless you are getting
a bucket of something by the shore somewhere-
seafood usually isn't going on sale unless it's getting older
and the store wants to get rid of it. Save the sales for the shoes!

Compost Your Scraps!

I have 2 composts while living in an apartment.
I have this silver little one that stays on the floor by
the trash can. and a 2nd one... a metal bucket with a
lid from Ikea.com which is bigger but still small enough
for an apartment.

I started one in the winter, by simply taking soil from
3-4 old plants that had died from freezing from being
on my balcony. And I started to add raw scraps from food.
The most common things that go into my compost are-
carrot & potato peels, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grinds,
onions skins and fruits that might go bad.
My soil in these composts have turned the soil very dark,
rich and healthy... I'm just waiting to get some plants to use my
recycled soil that is full of nutrients.... hmmm what
kind of herbs should I plant....?

Just make sure your bucket has a lid. A lid that will be
tightly sealed. There are many different types of composts...
for example some people actually buy bugs/worms to add
so the vegetation breaks down even more quickly...
I've found that you don't have to do that... just make
sure your lid is closed on your bucket and leave it alone...
just take a little shovel and mix the soil after about
2-3 weeks of decay. Don't be surprised when you take a
sneak peak in a week or so... just remember the soil is breaking
down and the food and it is decaying.

Plan Your Meals By The Week!

Keep a little more organized by....
planning your meals a week at a time.

make, buy, design, craft, be cReAtiVe
and have a list of what you're going to eat
for dinner for the week...
if you're home during the day... try all your meals...?

Some pros for writing and making your weekly list are:
~being organized,
~not having to say "what am I going to eat?" every single day
~being able to have a more productive grocery list
so you don't buy everything in sight or have to go back
daily b/c you forgot something
~getting up and starting the day off knowing what's for dinner
~being able to eat something different everyday and the stuff
you like or want all because you took 5 minutes to think about
dinner for the week
~lastly, it makes you a little more aware of what you are eating

Oh, & You Forgot Your Reusable Bags AGAIN!

I know, you want to use those reusable bags you got
for free or paid 99 cents for but if you are like me...
you seem to forget them.

Some people say to just keep them everywhere, a few in the car,
one near your purse, one near your door, near your keys, in the garage...
but that can also get annoying having bags everywhere.

For me, I have 3-5 bags and I keep all but one in the car.
I have one hanging right by the door where my car keys are.
I also have gotten into the habit of writing "bring bag" on my grocery
list as well which seems to help!

Dairy Tips

If you can, try to buy milk in cardboard cartons or
non-translucent jugs so that light doesn't seep in, which can
cause milk to spoil more quickly. Store milk in the refrigerator
that is set below 40 degrees, and don’t store it in the door.
Items stored there are susceptible to warm air that enters
the fridge each time you open it.

Discard any unused milk after one week from
opening it, no matter what the sell by date is.
(Milk can be frozen for up to 3 months)
Ice cream has a shelf life for about 2-4 months,
as long as the freezer is set at zero degrees.
Yogurt is best used within 7-10 days from when you purchased it.

Butter is safe in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for about
1 month and may be frozen for about 6 months.

Hard cheeses like Gouda (pronounced -"who-da" not Goo-da),
Swiss, cheddar etc... will keep for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.

If your block of cheese has mold in it... cut 1 inch around
the mold area, the rest is safe to eat for up to a month.
Cream cheese will keep for about 2 weeks,
Ricotta cheese will keep for about 5 days,
and cottage cheese will keep for about 15 to 20 days.

Tilapia with Tater Tots

This tilapia dish is good for people who are
not so keen on fish... and for people
who enjoy fish- even better!

Ingredients:
1 frozen bag of tater tots thawed
4 cloves of smashed garlic
olive oil
1/4 cup diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes halved
6 or so slices of roasted bell peppers diced up
3 scallions chopped up
several olives diced up (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (you can used dried)
4 or 5 tilapia fillets (fresh or frozen- thawed)


Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Drizzle olive oil in a pan and fry the tilapia until slightly golden.
Take the slightly cooked tilapia out of the pan and put
tilapia into the pan you're going to bake in the oven.
Cook the hash browns with garlic and salt in the same pan you
just used for the fish with olive oil until golden brown.
(use a potato masher or spatula to flatten most of the tater tots)
Add the potato on top and around the tilapia in the oven-safe
dish/pan along with the tomatoes, scallions, parsley, roasted bells.
Bake in the oven until crispy.
( I like to turn it to broil for the last 5 minutes or so.)