Made these from peppers out of Mimi's garden!
Stuffed Peppers
4 Green Peppers
1 package of Lipton Fiesta Sides Spanish Rice
Cheese (if desired)
Slice tops off peppers. Discard seeds and veins so you essentially have a shell.
Prepare rice according to package directions.
Fill pepper shells with rice.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top if desired.
So easy my dad could do it without burning the house down!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Crunch Pumpkin Bars
This recipe came out of a cooking magazine I subscribe to. (Taste of Home Healthy Cooking) Enjoy!
Crunchy Pumpkin Bars
30 oz. pumpkin pie filling
12 oz. evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
6 oz. chopped pecans
1 c. melted butter
Combine pumpkin pie filling, milk, and eggs. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with cake mix. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour melted butter over the top. Serve with cool whip.
Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes.
Let set up and refrigerate. Yummy! It's like pumpkin pie, only better!
Crunchy Pumpkin Bars
30 oz. pumpkin pie filling
12 oz. evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
6 oz. chopped pecans
1 c. melted butter
Combine pumpkin pie filling, milk, and eggs. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with cake mix. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour melted butter over the top. Serve with cool whip.
Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes.
Let set up and refrigerate. Yummy! It's like pumpkin pie, only better!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Black Palm Cockatoo
Guess what I got to lay my eyes on last Friday? Yes, you guessed it! A real, live Black Palm 'Too! I feel like a kid on Christmas morning! I am so, so SO excited I got the opportunity.
I ran into Bird Fever up in Indy to get some loot for the fids. And I couldn't believe what I laid my eyes on.
They are incredibly beautiful in person! Pictures do not do justice. A member on BB described them as "prehistoric looking." That's the perfect description. That's why I love them! There's nothing like the beauty of a black palm 'too! And to see one up close in person is a really once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These guys are VERY rare. And NO, I'm not adding one to the flock! They're about a $20,000 bird.
I guess I can just admire them from a distance! *sigh
Also, I was really impressed with that store. They have a great selection of toys and food at pretty reasonable prices. It's definitely not rip-off city.
They also have a lot of birds in the store! I also got the chance to see a Greater Vasa Parrot. Another rare one. Man, they're gorgeous too!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sprouting!
Happy Labor Day!
I was always kind of intimidated by sprouting in the past. But a month ago, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I felt up to the challenge! And guess what...it's not a challenge at all! Now I haven't done sprouting with beans yet. They're a bit trickier. I might try legumes here soon and I'll do an entry on that. But this is easy and a great way for beginners to learn.
I ordered a sprouting mix from this website:
www.parrotsontheporch.com
I HIGHLY recommend this website. They have absolutely wonderful products. They have all kinds of great things, such as birdie bread and things to add into Birdie's diet. And they have great prices...you won't get ripped off!
I ordered the medium beaks sprouting mix since I'm sprouting for medium sized birds. They also have large and small if your fid is bigger or smaller. It's got lots of great things in it. This mix contains:
*Wheatberries
*Spelt
*Triticale
*Barley
*Brown Rice
*Kamut
*Fenugreek
*Millet
*Quinoa
*Pumpkin Seed
*Safflower Seed
*Hulled Sunflower Seed
Or you can go to the health food store and make your own mix. Whole Foods sells these ingredients and I know a lot of parronts who like shop there. However since I'm in Podunk, Indiana...we don't have Whole Foods. OK...I'm going to digress. We went into a Whole Foods in Plantation, FL while I was at Sheffield and holy mackrel! That place is too freaking cool.
OK...back to sprouting.
Supplies:
Alright, first of all you'll need a jar for your sprouts. I use a jelly or jam jar which you'd use in canning. It works perfect.
Now, you'll need a screen. I ordered this one off of the forementioned website. You can also find them at the craft store.
Now...let's sprout!
Step One: You'll need to soak your seeds overnight. Place them in the jar. Put the screen on, and put the lid on. Rinse several times until water runs clear. Fill the jar up and soak seeds overnight. Be sure to place your jar in an area that is cool and dry.
Good morning! Now what you have here is known as soaked seed. And you can rinse and drain this and feed this to Birdie. Soaked seed is very nutritious as well.
Step Two: If you're not going to do soaked seed, rinse and drain the sprouts. Rinse and rinse until the water runs clear. *TIP If you live in an area where mold is common or there's high humidity, I strongly recommend rinsing your sprouts with a touch of apple cider vinegar. Some people I know use grapefruit seed extract. I personally prefer apple cider vinegar. It's also a great thing to add into your bird's diet because it helps balance out the flora in their digestive system.
Repeat this rinsing process about 3 times a day. I do it when I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner so I don't forget.
You should start to see sprouts appear within the first day and by the second or third day, they should be ready.
javascript:void(0)
Sprouts after 2 days
Keep in mind that when the tails on the sprouts reach more than 1/4 of an inch in length, that they will begin to taste bitter to Birdie. What I do is soak my mix on Friday night and rinse on Saturday, Sunday, and by Sunday evening, my sprouts are ready.
Store leftover sprouts in the refrigerator for up to one week.
What if my seeds don't sprout?
If they are not sprouting, toss them out! They are dead and shouldn't be fed to your bird. Your sprouts should have a nice, earthy smell to them. If you try to sprout dead seed it will just decompose and get nasty.
TIP #2: I wouldn't leave the screen on throughout the day, just when rinsing. Because the metal screen will rust where the lid comes into contact with it.
Have fun and hope your fid enjoys his/her sprouts as much as mine do!
I was always kind of intimidated by sprouting in the past. But a month ago, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I felt up to the challenge! And guess what...it's not a challenge at all! Now I haven't done sprouting with beans yet. They're a bit trickier. I might try legumes here soon and I'll do an entry on that. But this is easy and a great way for beginners to learn.
I ordered a sprouting mix from this website:
www.parrotsontheporch.com
I HIGHLY recommend this website. They have absolutely wonderful products. They have all kinds of great things, such as birdie bread and things to add into Birdie's diet. And they have great prices...you won't get ripped off!
I ordered the medium beaks sprouting mix since I'm sprouting for medium sized birds. They also have large and small if your fid is bigger or smaller. It's got lots of great things in it. This mix contains:
*Wheatberries
*Spelt
*Triticale
*Barley
*Brown Rice
*Kamut
*Fenugreek
*Millet
*Quinoa
*Pumpkin Seed
*Safflower Seed
*Hulled Sunflower Seed
Or you can go to the health food store and make your own mix. Whole Foods sells these ingredients and I know a lot of parronts who like shop there. However since I'm in Podunk, Indiana...we don't have Whole Foods. OK...I'm going to digress. We went into a Whole Foods in Plantation, FL while I was at Sheffield and holy mackrel! That place is too freaking cool.
OK...back to sprouting.
Supplies:
Alright, first of all you'll need a jar for your sprouts. I use a jelly or jam jar which you'd use in canning. It works perfect.
Now, you'll need a screen. I ordered this one off of the forementioned website. You can also find them at the craft store.
Now...let's sprout!
Step One: You'll need to soak your seeds overnight. Place them in the jar. Put the screen on, and put the lid on. Rinse several times until water runs clear. Fill the jar up and soak seeds overnight. Be sure to place your jar in an area that is cool and dry.
Good morning! Now what you have here is known as soaked seed. And you can rinse and drain this and feed this to Birdie. Soaked seed is very nutritious as well.
Step Two: If you're not going to do soaked seed, rinse and drain the sprouts. Rinse and rinse until the water runs clear. *TIP If you live in an area where mold is common or there's high humidity, I strongly recommend rinsing your sprouts with a touch of apple cider vinegar. Some people I know use grapefruit seed extract. I personally prefer apple cider vinegar. It's also a great thing to add into your bird's diet because it helps balance out the flora in their digestive system.
Repeat this rinsing process about 3 times a day. I do it when I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner so I don't forget.
You should start to see sprouts appear within the first day and by the second or third day, they should be ready.
javascript:void(0)
Sprouts after 2 days
Keep in mind that when the tails on the sprouts reach more than 1/4 of an inch in length, that they will begin to taste bitter to Birdie. What I do is soak my mix on Friday night and rinse on Saturday, Sunday, and by Sunday evening, my sprouts are ready.
Store leftover sprouts in the refrigerator for up to one week.
What if my seeds don't sprout?
If they are not sprouting, toss them out! They are dead and shouldn't be fed to your bird. Your sprouts should have a nice, earthy smell to them. If you try to sprout dead seed it will just decompose and get nasty.
TIP #2: I wouldn't leave the screen on throughout the day, just when rinsing. Because the metal screen will rust where the lid comes into contact with it.
Have fun and hope your fid enjoys his/her sprouts as much as mine do!
Best Ever Pumpkin Bars
These are courtesy of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. I guarantee there's no better pumpkin bar recipe out there.
Best Ever Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. oil
15 oz can pumpkin*
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon**
1/2 t. ground ginger**
1/4 t. ground cloves**
Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2-3 t. milk
1 t. vanilla
4 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 15 x 10 x 1 pan with cooking spray.
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Spread into pan.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and bars spring back when touched. Cool completely.
For frosting:
Beat cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, about 1 c. at a time on low until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over bars. Sprinkle with pecans.
Store in the refrigerator.
*Be sure to get canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling!
**You can substitute 2 1/2 t. of pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Best Ever Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. oil
15 oz can pumpkin*
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon**
1/2 t. ground ginger**
1/4 t. ground cloves**
Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2-3 t. milk
1 t. vanilla
4 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 15 x 10 x 1 pan with cooking spray.
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Spread into pan.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and bars spring back when touched. Cool completely.
For frosting:
Beat cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, about 1 c. at a time on low until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over bars. Sprinkle with pecans.
Store in the refrigerator.
*Be sure to get canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling!
**You can substitute 2 1/2 t. of pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Crescent Rolls (Pics included)
This is the same dough recipe from my Yeast Rolls post back in February.
I'm using the same dough, different roll.
Roll Dough
1 package active dry yeast*
1 1/4 c. warm water
1 c. scalded milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening (Crisco butter flavor works great)
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 egg
Soften yeast in water. Combine milk, sugar, shortening,& salt. Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 1/2 c. of flour and beat well. Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually beat in remaining flour until a soft dough forms. *TIP #1: To keep dough from sticking to your hands when working with it, wet your hands down with water.
Put your dough in a greased bowl, also greasing the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is double in size.
Dough before
Dough after 1 1/2 hours.
*If you can't find yeast packets at the grocery store, you can just buy a jar of yeast. 2 1/4 t. of yeast = 1 packet. Be sure to refrigerate after opening.
OK. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface. And lightly means lightly! No one wants to eat yeast rolls that have a coating of flour on them. Ick.
I found it easier to split the dough into 2 sections. Roll into a 12 inch circle. Cut dough into 8-12 wedges. Brush with melted butter.
Starting with the big end, roll your triangle up. Place with the flap down on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Set aside and let rise for 45-60 or until nice and big.
Preheat oven to 400. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
Makes 2 dozen rolls.
I'm using the same dough, different roll.
Roll Dough
1 package active dry yeast*
1 1/4 c. warm water
1 c. scalded milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening (Crisco butter flavor works great)
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 egg
Soften yeast in water. Combine milk, sugar, shortening,& salt. Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 1/2 c. of flour and beat well. Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually beat in remaining flour until a soft dough forms. *TIP #1: To keep dough from sticking to your hands when working with it, wet your hands down with water.
Put your dough in a greased bowl, also greasing the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is double in size.
Dough before
Dough after 1 1/2 hours.
*If you can't find yeast packets at the grocery store, you can just buy a jar of yeast. 2 1/4 t. of yeast = 1 packet. Be sure to refrigerate after opening.
OK. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface. And lightly means lightly! No one wants to eat yeast rolls that have a coating of flour on them. Ick.
I found it easier to split the dough into 2 sections. Roll into a 12 inch circle. Cut dough into 8-12 wedges. Brush with melted butter.
Starting with the big end, roll your triangle up. Place with the flap down on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Set aside and let rise for 45-60 or until nice and big.
Preheat oven to 400. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
Makes 2 dozen rolls.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Gizzy's Cold
Well, Gizzy hasn't been feeling to well lately. Monday she started wheezing. So I called the vet and we got her in ASAP.
She's got an upper respiratory infection. But it was caught early and didn't get into her air sacs, nor is she having a runny nose, which is a good sign. Had it got down in her air sacs, we would have been in big trouble. For the non-bird people reading my blog, when birds get sick, it's a lot more difficult for them to get over it than other pets. They do not do well with illness.
She got a shot of Convenia plus she's on Baytril for the next two weeks. Luckily, Dr. Hall was able to put the Baytril in a water solution that I can put in her water so that I don't have to fiddle with giving her meds orally. It causes a lot of stress + it's very tricky. I've never adminsitered meds orally to a parrot and now is not the time for me to learn!
She's so far doing pretty well. I've not heard much wheezing out of her the rest of the week. She's been sneezing here and there. I've been keeping her warm and covered up. Plus, she's eating really well and has a great appetite.
So where did she get this nasty cold? Hard to tell. I personally think she got sick from that nasty place I was at in Kentucky. The place was filthy when I moved in. I had sinus troubles during the time I was there, and I'm sure it wasn't good for Gizzy either. The stress of the move obviously wasn't helpful at all as well.
But now she's back home and settled in. She loves getting cuddled up in my big pink fuzzy bathrobe every morning. I have to let her out first thing so she can have her morning cuddles or she gets cranky.
I'll keep everyone posted on how she's doing.
She's got an upper respiratory infection. But it was caught early and didn't get into her air sacs, nor is she having a runny nose, which is a good sign. Had it got down in her air sacs, we would have been in big trouble. For the non-bird people reading my blog, when birds get sick, it's a lot more difficult for them to get over it than other pets. They do not do well with illness.
She got a shot of Convenia plus she's on Baytril for the next two weeks. Luckily, Dr. Hall was able to put the Baytril in a water solution that I can put in her water so that I don't have to fiddle with giving her meds orally. It causes a lot of stress + it's very tricky. I've never adminsitered meds orally to a parrot and now is not the time for me to learn!
She's so far doing pretty well. I've not heard much wheezing out of her the rest of the week. She's been sneezing here and there. I've been keeping her warm and covered up. Plus, she's eating really well and has a great appetite.
So where did she get this nasty cold? Hard to tell. I personally think she got sick from that nasty place I was at in Kentucky. The place was filthy when I moved in. I had sinus troubles during the time I was there, and I'm sure it wasn't good for Gizzy either. The stress of the move obviously wasn't helpful at all as well.
But now she's back home and settled in. She loves getting cuddled up in my big pink fuzzy bathrobe every morning. I have to let her out first thing so she can have her morning cuddles or she gets cranky.
I'll keep everyone posted on how she's doing.
Update + Peachy Shrimp (diabetic friendly too!)
Hi friends. I know it's been a month since my last update. The past month has been really really bad for me. Just a total zoo. BUT I'm back and I will TRY my hardest to get on here very frequently and update. I said that once before but I MEAN it this time! I've got plenty to blog about...lots of new recipes + bird things.
My mom made this shrimp tonight for dinner and it was DE-LICIOUS! And it's so easy my Dad could make it without burning the house down. And...it only takes like 6 minutes.
Peachy Shrimp
12-15 raw frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, and no tails
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 jar sugar-free peach preserves
1 t. Worschetshire sauce
1 T. soy sauce
4-5 dashes hot sauce
Thaw out shrimp according to package directions.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add shrimp. Cook 3-4 minutes per side. You know when the shrimp is getting done when it starts getting pink in color.
Combine the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl. Blend well. Once shrimp is done, use a basting brush and brush the shrimp with the glaze.
My mom made this shrimp tonight for dinner and it was DE-LICIOUS! And it's so easy my Dad could make it without burning the house down. And...it only takes like 6 minutes.
Peachy Shrimp
12-15 raw frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, and no tails
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 jar sugar-free peach preserves
1 t. Worschetshire sauce
1 T. soy sauce
4-5 dashes hot sauce
Thaw out shrimp according to package directions.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add shrimp. Cook 3-4 minutes per side. You know when the shrimp is getting done when it starts getting pink in color.
Combine the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl. Blend well. Once shrimp is done, use a basting brush and brush the shrimp with the glaze.
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