Sweet Sour Pork

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

½ Teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil

2 servings of pork

Grill Seasonings

½ Cup Water

½ Green Bell Pepper

½ Red Bell Pepper

4 green onions cut in 1” strips

½ Teaspoon minced fresh ginger

3 sliced carrots

1 ½ cubes fresh pineapple

2 Teaspoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar

½ Teaspoon Sumac

Add noodles if you like


 

 

On medium heat add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sesame seed oil. Cook chopped pork adding grill seasonings and water cooking till pork is tender and set aside.

Keep pan on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add peppers, carrots, ginger, and green onions. Cook for 5 minutes untill veggies are done. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, pineapple, and Sumac. Cook on low for 5 minutes. Add noodles if you want or serve over rice.

 

 

 

 









Lower-Fat Tacos

Previously I would fry my corn tortillas when making tacos. I have found a much better way and definitely less fat..
First I cook my meat in a large frying pan. I do add taco seasoning, the one with only herb ingredients in it not the additives.
Grate up your cheese or use slices like I do.

 

 

Cook corn tortillas on the grill with spray oil on both sides till done. Add meat and cheese to the centers and fold over.

 

Put lid back on and grill till crispy or however you like it. Remove and keep going. I can only do two tortillas at a time.

 

 

Add your fav salsa, lettuce, and avos. Enjoy

 

 

I also made quesadillas with cheese and left over meat. It made a great lunch.





Deck Update

Our new deck is finished. It took hubby 2 days. Now we have our chairs and tables. Fortunately, it has been fairly cool in the evening with a breeze in the shade of our RV. Yep, we also have the best neighbors around and a prime view. No one in the park has this view. Others have corner views but are subjected to stored RV's or the club house.

When there is shade you can find Steve and I out here in our wooden chairs or eating on our table after we BBQ.

6 inches off the ground and stakes in the ground for those gully washers

Best friends. The donkey follows these two horses

What a view!

Great neighbors. This calf must have had a very different daddy.

Long Time No Blog....

Work has been consuming me along with lack of energy living in my Tin Can.

Hubby said he should have thought about expanding our outside living space years ago. So as you can see in the pictures below how we have expanded our living space. Fortunately, the end of our Tin Can gets afternoon shade, which really helps in the Texas summers. Also notice the great view from our corner spot. It's prime real estate here in this RV park.

Hubby is buying our charcoal grill today. Personally I don't want gas flames on my food. I opt for wood charcoal. Yes, it cooks faster so you have to be careful. The key is how close the heat is to your food. This will be a learning experience since I plan on cooking most everything outside. I think "Grill It" with Bobby Flay's site will be my new bible for cooking. That man can cook anything on the grill. I don't think I will make sauces there, but will grill all my food after preparation. Key word
"preparation". Planning the night before is essential if you work during the week. Marinade and chop up anything you need in the morning so you can just come home and grill. Then set outside and read or drink some adult beverages.
These fields usually have black angus, but they are putting in a water line so the cattle have been relocated to the other field. Meantime, it's a peacefull picture don't you think?

There is a business in the back.

Front door entrance. Notice the step

View from the other side.

Rear view...its nice

Frugal Grocery Shopping

I can't believe how much folks spend on groceries. Most of these same folks complain about the price of their utilities, gasoline, or clothes in the store. There are a few things you can do to save money at a grocery store.
As for me, I make a weekly menu. If you are really smart you already have a list of recipes you have used over time. Here are a few secrets from a frugal shopper.

1. ALWAYS make a weekly menu for dinner.
2. I also make a list of what we will have for lunch since both of us take our lunch to work.
3. Breakfast is easy as long as you have milk, eggs, butter (yes butter not lard), bread, and some sort of meat product. I buy Canadian bacon.
4. I look at the weekly ads for my local store and design my menu. If tomato sauce is on sale or hamburger design 3 meals that week around those ingredients.
5. Buy items on sale in bulk. If hamburger is on sale buy extra for the freezer. You don’t have to go to Sam's or Costco just get it there in smaller amounts. Wrap in foil and freezer bags.
6. Make your meals. It’s cheaper to make spaghetti sauce rather than grab a jar of it. Plus look at the ingredients. See my posts for various recipes WITH OUT PREP PACKED INGREDIENTS.
7. If you make spaghetti for dinner make enough for two meals and freeze the rest.
8. I have been making whole food meals for years so I do stock up on some items: flour, cane sugar, butter, baking soda, baking powder, spices, vanilla, and such.
9. Desserts for us are usually apples or some fruit. Occasionally I will make tapioca, jello, or apple crisp.
10. And the most important is KEEP TO YOUR L IST. You can find some things cheaper at the Dollar Store or Dollar General. Watch out not all items at the Dollar General are a good price. Make sure you read the ounces. ALWAYS compare items by weight or number of. Keep your cell phone or a calculator with you. (Divide the price by the ounces to find out $ per ounce) Some stores tell you the price per ounce.

 

After the grocery store, make sure you do your post grocery cleaning and storing. See my post on

Post Grocery Shopping

http://www.tincancooking.blogspot.com/2013/01/post-grocery-shopping-prep-work.html

 Keep the Grocer Honest.

http://www.wenchcrafters.blogspot.com/2012/08/keep-your-grocer-honest.html

BROCOLLI BEEF STIR FRY

Serves 2

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large frying pan or chicken fryer on medium heat.
Add:

1 sliced onion
1 large minced garlic clove
1 Tablespoon grated ginger (1tsp dry)
½ sliced bell pepper
½ C sliced mushrooms
Cook 5 minutes (if it gets to dry add a bit of water)

Remove from pan, set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ pound sliced beef (you a less expensive cut)
2 C beef broth
2 tablespoons lite salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Cook on low heat until beef is tender.
Take two tablespoons of liquid out and add 1 tablespoon corn starch to it. Add to pan. This will thicken the mixture

Add veggie mix, ½ teaspoon sesame seeds, and a handful of Canton Noodles. Mix and cover for 5 minutes until noodles are soft.

If you don’t want noodles serve beef mix over rice.

POST-GROCERY SHOPPING –PREP WORK

The work week can be busy enough as it is. By preparing your produce you can save time.

Here are some hints for post-grocery prep work that saves me time.

1.     ALWAYS wash produce when you get home. You don’t know who has touched your produce.

2.     Wipe off your cans and boxes. During flu and cold season these containers spread germs.

3.     Buy meat in bulk for the week and break it down covering it with aluminum foil and place in freezer bags. Always label your freezer goods and add a date. Note: Buying in bulk when an item is on sale

4.     Never wash off mushrooms. You can take a damp cloth and brush off the dirt or purchase a small basting brush or small soft painting brush and get rid of the dirt. Wrap them in paper towels and seal in bag.
Note: Mushrooms absorb water. When you cook them they release water as do onions.

5.     If you make salads during the week chop up the vegetables you use like carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and such. This way you just grab a handful of produce to top your salads.

6.     Leftover bread is buttered or brushed with olive oil and garlic then chopped up and made into croutons or toasted for bread crumbs.

7.     In winter or summer if I have to heat up the oven I use it for multiple projects.
Note: croutons, broiling peppers, cookies, bread, muffins for the week. I try to make all my dressings and sauces on the weekend or the day I grocery shop.

8.     I buy my oatmeal, flour, sugar, rice, nuts, and snacks in bulk. Make sure you put the new product on the bottom.

9.     Wash lettuce, dry off leaves, and wrap in paper towels the put in zip lock bag.

10. If you use cabbage for stir fry’s, soups, and slaw or mostly chopped up, slice cabbage and soak in water with 1 teaspoon salt. Drain on towel and wrap in paper towel and again store in plastic zip lock.
NOTE: ALL ORGANIC PRODUCE WILL GO BAD FASTER. EAT WITHIN A WEEK.

 Save paper bags for shipping paper or use the same bags next time you shop