Tag: Homemade

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PSA: This Is the Reason Spring Mix Goes Bad So Quickly

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

If there’s one hard rule for grocery shopping that I believe in with all my heart and uphold without exception, it is this: NEVER buy “spring mix” salad greens. I don’t care what grocery store I’m at or how much it costs, experience has taught me that spring mix is an outstandingly poor investment. Whether you buy the bag or the plastic clamshell, it’s not uncommon for a portion of the container’s contents to already be wilted—or worse, slimy—upon opening the package. And even if your greens are in decent shape, how long do they realistically retain quality? Maybe 48 hours? 

My household goes through a significant amount of salad greens each week—in part, because we are big on salads, but we also like to have greens on hand to toss into pasta dishes or grain bowls, to top sandwiches, etc. So if I open a container of greens, a mere day after purchase, to find a load of slimy leaves oozing that smelly salad sludge all over the leaves that are still clinging to life, it’s a real bummer. 

Granted, no variety of salad green is entirely immune from this fate. Occasionally buying a “bad bag” of greens happens, regardless of what variety you opt for. But with spring mix, a frustratingly short lifespan feels like a near guarantee. Do I have data to support my [arguably harsh] assertion that spring mix is the worst? No, I do not. Anecdotal experience is the only justification I have to offer. 

If you love spring mix, I say—more power to you. Keep buying it. However, for those who can relate to my utter disdain for this ubiquitous blend of fragile lettuces, I hope this article can provide you with both validation and some useful information. 

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Here’s How to Tell If Your Ground Beef Is Past Its Prime

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

If you’ve stared at that package of raw ground beef in your fridge and wondered if you left it too long, you’re not alone. Meat, whether chicken, beef, or pork, is one thing you don’t want to consume when it has gone off: Even when cooked, there is the potential that it could cause food poisoning. You also don’t want to misinterpret the signs and throw out meat that’s perfectly fresh, thus wasting money and upending your dinner plans. So how do you know if ground beef is spoiled or safe to eat? And what does that gray color really mean? Read on to have all your ground beef questions answered once and for all.  

Allrecipes

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Oven-Roasted Ribs

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Learn how long to cook country-style ribs in the oven at 350 degrees F with this easy recipe that features a sweet and tangy homemade barbecue sauce. This recipe can be used for all types of ribs.

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Posted in From My Kitchen

How to Make Amish Friendship Bread

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Did Amish friendship bread make its way to your elementary school? If you brought home a gallon bag of wet spongy dough (similar to a sourdough starter), then you’re familiar with the concept. It’s a sweet tradition for sharing tasty bread with friends and family!

What Is Amish Friendship Bread?

Amish friendship bread is a traditional Amish recipe that’s gone mainstream. Its defining characteristic is its use of a sweet starter made from equal parts water, flour and milk, plus yeast. The starter takes 10 days to prepare. Once it’s ready, you’ll use one cup of your starter to bake a sweet bread topped with cinnamon sugar. Then, to embrace the tradition, give the remaining starter away to friends along with a recipe explaining how to make Amish friendship bread.

Ready to get started? Here are more Amish baking tips.

Taste of Home

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I Tried All 7 New Hidden Valley Ranch Flavors and This 1 Is—Dare I Say—Better Than the Original

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

If I could only dip my nuggets into one sauce for the rest of my life, it would be ranch. Specifically Hidden Valley Ranch—although I have tried every major fast food ranch and crowned a winner, too—which I’ve been dipping into and dressing salads with for decades. It was the only condiment in the fridge that was name brand when I was growing up, as I lived in a non-brand-loyal household of generic stuff. But I could tell a difference in how tangy, creamy, herby, and slightly sweet HVR was compared to other brands and unworthy substitutes.

I’ve made my own ranch—including seven different recipes for “cranch” in my cookbook Big Dip Energy—and love to, when I have time. But in a pinch, Hidden Valley is always there to save the day with reliable ranch. I’ve even used Costco-sized bottles to fill a ranch fountain for a birthday party. I never thought I’d love anything more than the original Hidden Valley Ranch…until the brand released seven new flavors in one incredible day. I was lucky enough to taste test the new flavors—and two kinda-new (Dill Pickle and Buffalo, released in April 2023) flavors—in different dishes, ranging from popcorn to pizza and lots of wings at an event in NYC. But after tasting them all again individually, I was shocked to discover that I liked one of the new flavors more than the original. And when mixed with another new flavor, it’s a dip of epic proportions.

For simplicity, I tried each of the new ranch flavors plain, with a ridged potato chip, and with a thin piece of carrot for maximum dip-to-dipper ratio. Below are my rankings, from last place to first place.

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