How to Make Refrigerator Pickles

These pickles are so yummy and they didn't last more than a couple of days in the fridge because my hubby ate them all up! This year we planted Boston Pickling Cucumbers. We had so many I just had to try pickling my own. These cucumbers are also very delightful by themselves. I'm pretty sure these are okay on my current diet plan.

Ingredient

5 cucumbers
4 cups of white distilled vinegar
5 cups of water
6 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of red pepper chili flakes.
*You can also add dill to this recipe. I, however, did not because we didn't have any in the pantry.

1.  Clean and wash your cucumbers. Once they are washed slice them length wise.

2.   Arrange your cucumber slices in your Ball Jar. 

• Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes per jar
• Add 3 cloves of garlic to each jar

3.  In a large pan, boil the water and white vinegar. Once it comes to a boil, ladle into each jar. Fill to the very top and put top on. Screw the ring on tightly. 

4.  Turn your jars upside down a couple of times and allow them to sit on the counter for 12 hours. Turn your jars again and allow them to sit upside  down for another 12 hours. 

Enjoy!

Guest Post~ Food Makeover: Pizza Edition

Hey everyone!! I'm so excited for today's first guest post here on 3 Wittle Birds! My friend Robyn over at Miss GM NO is sharing her Vegan Pizza recipe with you all today! Robyn is passionate about  REAL FOOD and is on a mission to change the food industry! You are going to love her! 

 

Food Makeover: Pizza Edition

Most of us think healthy pizza is just about as mythical as the elusive unicorn, but I am here to tell you you’re wrong!

It CAN be done.

Give your pizza a “BAKE-OVER”!  This vegan, gluten-free pizza is killer…and easy to make. Take a look at my recipe below and give it a try! ;)

Okay before I give you my secret recipe…. let’s get one thing straight.  Take the image of your typical pizza- the smells, the tastes etc and throw it out the window. You have to be open-minded people.  This is NOT going to taste identical to Lou’s, or Giordano’s etc. But just because it doesn’t taste JUST LIKE that, doesn’t mean it taste’s bad.  It is just different.  It’s also different in the fact that it wont pack on the pounds, in fact it will do just the opposite.  So take your pick.

MY version of pizza has nearly 1/3  of the calories, 1/2 the fat, 1/20  the saturated fat, 1/100 the cholesterol, less than 1/2  the carbs,  1/4 the sodium and 2 times the fiber as a typical thin crust Domino’s cheese pizza!  Yes- Domino’s Pizza has 100 times more cholesterol you read that right.  Crazy.  Talk about a heart attack in a box…. The ONLY good thing about this junk pizza is the protein but even that is a stretch.  It’s not healthy protein..

Let’s look at the breakdown for both!

Miss GM NO!’s Vegan Pizza ( for 2-3 people)
Ingredients:

4 Brown Rice Tortillas ( found in the freezer section at places like Whole foods)

1 Cup (approx) of Organic ( no added sugar) Tomato Sauce

1 Package Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese

To Taste: Organic Olive Oil, Garlic Salt, Italian Spices

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.  Place each tortilla on a foiled baking sheet and drizzle a bit of olive oil on both sides.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and bake until golden brown ( about 15 mins). You want the crust crisp!

Then,  put about 1/4 C. of the tomato sauce on each pizza and top with about 1/2 cup cheese.  Sprinkle Italian seasonings to your liking on top as well.

Please directly under broiler for about 5 minutes BUT please watch them!  Every oven is different.  **You will need to foil the edges of the pizzas as well because you don’t want them to burn under the broiler.

When they come out the cheese will look perfectly melted but a little more viscous than dairy cheese.  Just let it set for about 10 minutes to firm up before you eat.

Lastly, I like to sprinkle a little red pepper flakes on there for a little heat.  

Then Enjoy!!! 

Here is the nutritional info I created as well for one whole pizza. ( I combined all ingredients with the brands listed above and allowing for 1/2 T oil per pizza,  so if you chose different brands yours will vary):


Ingredients:

CHEESE:
(vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-gmo)
Filtered Water, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Inulin (Chicory Root Extract), Soy milk Powder (Soybeans), Soy Protein, Agar Agar, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor (Plant Sources), Carrageenan, Lactic Acid (Plant Source).
Contains: Soy

SAUCE:
Organically grown and processed tomato puree, organic onion powder and organic garlic powder.

CRUST:
Ingredients
Brown Rice Flour, Filtered Water, Tapioca Flour, Safflower oil, Rice Bran, Vegetable Gum, Sea Salt.

NOW… let’s compare my pizza to that Domino’s 10 inch thin cheese pizza….

This is for a whole 10 inch personal Domino’s THIN Crust cheese pizza:

 

PIZZA CHEESE:

Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Modified Food Starch, Cellulose (Added To Prevent Caking), Nonfat Milk, Whey Protein Concentrate, Flavors, Sodium Propionate (Added as a Preservative).

SAUCE:
Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Soybean Oil, and Citric Acid

THIN CRUST:

Flour (Wheat, Malted Barley), Water, Soybean Oil, Yeast, Salt, Dextrose, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate), Calcium Propionate (Preservative).

What is all that crap?! Monocalcium Phosphate? Sodium Propionate? Cellulose? Sodium Bicarbonate?   You can easily tell the difference between pizzas and how this fast food is NOT good for our bodies- inside and out.

Give your pizza a “Bake-over” and try this out!! Comment below and let me know what you think!

Sources: https://order.dominos.com/en/pages/content/nutritional/cal-o-meter.jsp#

Garlic Bread Butter Recipe

This is a recipe for the no fuss, simple cook!

One day I whipped this up and spread it on some fresh bakery italian bread. It was soooo delicious!!! You can use this recipe on a variety of things! You can use it as a breakfast sandwich spread, on potatoes and mashed potatoes!The possibilities are endless!

1 stick of butter at room temp (I use Imperials 1/3 less fat)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon Parmesan and Romano grated cheese blend (I love Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon basil seasoning

mix all the ingredients together and spead on sliced bread!

It's important that the butter is at room temperature to ensure the mixing of ingredients is even. You don't want it too soft or runny either. This will not spread as nicely.

If you're feeling experimental, try switching out the seasonings to create your own butter spread. You can go spicy or sweet!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

 

Pumpkin pie always seems to be too much after a heavy Thanksgiving meal. I like a little bit size and this cheesecake recipe is so yummy!

What you need...
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
18  prepared mini graham cracker crust (come in a 6 pack)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Whipped topping as desired

What you do...
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.
Enjoy!

Sloppy Janes!

I was looking at my pantry one afternoon, thinking of what I could make for dinner that evening when.....

I got an idea!!! I saw the Manwhich, but had no ground beef? Hmmm.... Chicken? Why not? Has anyone ever tried this before? I can't be the first...
This idea is so easy and great for entertaining!

What I used
5 Chicken breasts
2 cans of Manwich

Crockpot on low for 3 and a half hours.

With a fork shred the chicken while still in the crock pot.
Serve on a bun just like a sloppy Joe!


Yum!!