My First Live TV Cooking Demo

Hi friends!  Today, I wanted to share about the first time I had a live TV cooking demo which was on March 12.  I was on Studio40 Live making an apple crumble with Pazazz Apples for a healthy St. Patrick's Day treat.  This was my absolute first time demoing anything on the TV!  I haven't even done a food demo since I did Pampered Chef probably 15 years ago and that was just in people's kitchens with their friends.

I was asked by Pazazz Apples to make their recipe on air.  (You can find the recipe HERE.)  Though I've never done this before nor had I ever even dreamt of doing it, I figured I should push myself and just do it!  Over the last year, I've really tried to push myself out of my comfort zone.  I'm told that only when we are uncomfortable do we grow.

You can view the video on the Fox40 site HERE.  Please note that I was extremely nervous!  I tossed and turned all night hoping that I would do a good job.  I was not at all prepared for the questions Lori asked me.  For some reason, I thought that I would just talk about the recipe but of course (duh) she wanted to have a conversation with me because that's way better TV.  Lori was so nice and helped me out so much in the segment.

A couple things I learned:
1. Simplify!  I did all the prep work the night before and tried to make the recipe as few steps as possible.  At one point I was scared that I wouldn't have enough to do in the 3-4 minutes but I was wrong.

2. It goes SO fast!  The whole show just flew by!  The show is 30 minutes long and it literally feels like 5 minutes when you are watching it from the set.

3. Wear what makes your comfortable.  I was going to try to wear a fancy outfit with shape wear and nice shoes but I ended up in a t-shirt, skirt, and flip flops.  I'm so glad I didn't wear fussy clothes or uncomfortable shoes when I already had so much to stress about.

I found fake plastic fruit in a bowl and was apparently really excited about it!

Completed Apple Crumble

Basket of apples

How have you pushed yourself lately?  Do you have tips on how to be less nervous on TV?  Let me know!



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EASY Instant Pot Beef Tips Recipe

Raise your hand if you got an Instant Pot for Christmas!  I've actually had one for a few years (my first Instant Pot post)  but this Christmas, I got an 8 quart Instant Pot!  Oh my goodness!  It's been such a huge upgrade.  We have a family of 5 and my boys are big eaters so this gift has been life changing!  Today, I'm sharing a recipe with you that my WHOLE family including the picky eaters like.

I've been making Beef Tips in the oven for years based on the No Peek Beef Tips recipe from Mommy's Kitchen that my friend Angie shared with me.  My family really enjoys the beef tips especially over egg noodles!  Over the years, I've adapted the recipe just a little.  My only issue with these before tips is the consistency of the meat.  Sometimes it would be tender, sometimes it would be tough, other times it would be dry and stringy.  I felt like I was doing the same thing every time but it was a crapshoot what the beef texture would be like.

One day, I had purchased some stew meat but it was too tired to make stew.  It was already passed 5pm so my usual oven method of slow cooked beef tips would not work.  I asked my hubby if I should try making the beef tips in the Instant Pot.  I scoured the internet and didn't find ANY recipes for Instant Pot Beef tips.  I thought maybe it was a dumb idea since no one had done it before.  But Dustin told me that if I didn't try it, I'd never know if it would be great.  FRIENDS, you should never doubt yourself if in your heart you know something might work.  And in this case, if it didn't, I'd just be out a few ingredients and we'd have peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.  But that didn't happen!  They were the BEST darn beef tips I'd ever made and everyone raved about how tender the meat was!

Instant Pot Beef Tips:
1-2 pounds Stew Meat
1 can Light or Heart Healthy Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 packet reduced sodium Brown Gravy Mix
1 packet Onion Soup mix
1 cup Ginger Ale
1 drizzle oil

Directions:
1. Turn your Instant Pot on Saute Mode.  Add your preferred oil to the pan.  Brown stew meat.  Turn off Instant Pot.
2. Add all other ingredients.  Stir until meat is coated.
3. Close lid and set Instant Pot to manual (or meat) for 9 minutes.
4. After 9 minutes, let Instant Pot naturally release.  If you're in a hurry, slowly release pressure after letting the meat rest for 10 minutes.  This helps the meat from becoming tough and dry.
5. Serve over egg noodle, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Now, I'm not saying this is the healthiest recipe but I did try to make some healthier substitutions.  This is a stick to your ribs comfort meal that is perfect for winter and fall.  We have it about once a month during the colder months and it's always a huge hit!

What are you making in your Instant Pot?  Let me know!  I'd love to try some new recipes!

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Southwest Bean Salad Featuring Jacob's Cattle Beans

Last month I was contacted by Slow Food Sacramento an organization that promotes "good, clean, and fair food for all."  They asked me to participate in a Mystery Ingredient promotion that would feature local farms.  If you know me, you know I love my local farms and farmer's markets!  I'm so grateful to live in the Sacramento area where I can buy so much food locally!  I accepted the challenge and waited anxiously for my mystery ingredient to come.

I was so excited to receive some Jacob's Cattle Beans from Elegant Beans.  I learned so much when I opened the package.  Did you know that there are beans that are almost extinct?  I only knew about nearly extinct animals.  I didn't realize that this also effected plants!  I also didn't even know that we had a local bean farm.  Elegant Beans and Beyond been farming in our area for 160 years!  

Onto the recipe!  I struggled a bit coming up with a recipe for beans since I really wanted to make a soup but it was 110 degrees outside so no one wanted to EAT said soup.  I decided to do a spin on a side dish I make that my family loves which is a dressed cucumber dish with lime and chili powder.  I used my Instant Pot (affiliate link here) to cook the beans and it was SO quick!  I was sent a cute sample sized bag of beans and I'm guessing it was a cup or so of beans?  I don't know.  I added 3 cups of water and cooked them for 40 mins and they were perfect!  No soaking, no prep work.  It was amazing!  

Here's the recipe:

3 C Jacob's Cattle Beans, cooked

1/2 a Cucumber, diced

1 Jalapeno, finely diced 

2 Ears of Corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 cup Grape Tomatoes, halved

1/2 a Lemon

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder to taste

Cilantro for Garnish 

Combine beans and vegetables in a bowl.  Dress with lemon and olive oil.  Season to taste.  Chill for at least 1 hour for the flavors to marry.  Serve with lemon and cilantro.  If you don't want heat, you could substitute the jalapeño for a Serrano pepper or even a bell pepper.

This is a great Meatless Monday meal since there is a ton of protein in the beans.  However, you could also serve it as a garnish to a quesadilla or other Mexican food.  This bean salad would also be great for a potluck since there's no dairy or mayo.  If you make this, please tag me in a photo!  I'd love to see what you think of it!  

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My Top 5 Pampered Chef Faves and a PARTY!

Hello!  I'm currently hosting a Pampered Chef party which you can join on my party Facebook group or you can shop directly through my link.  I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant and I love their products!  I just ran out of Italian Seasoning and I decided that I should just have a party instead of just ordering a new one because what fun would just ordering something online be?  I know, I'm whimsical, this is how I live my life.

I figured it would be fun to share my very favorite products with you.  Most of the products I have are from when I was a consultant... in 2005!  Can you believe it?  (I'm aging myself.)  It took me a while to figure out that I should buy quality items that last a long time.  Pampered Chef products have great warranties on them too!  Just be sure to save all your receipts.  I put them under my cutting boards, a consultant told me once to do that and I thought it was a great tip.

1. Coated Santoku Knife.  I bought mine when the ceramic line launched with Pampered Chef and I have no idea how long ago that was but I still have mine and it's still one of my favorite knives.  I love it for chopping vegetables!  

2. Garlic Press.  This is probably the most used specialty kitchen tool I have.  I do not have the patience to mince garlic and I hate the way my hands smell after.  I've probably had my garlic press for 12 years.  I still use it 3+ times a week and it's holding up great.  I will also press ginger in this press.

3. Vegetable Peeler.  You guys,  I went through SO many vegetable peelers before this one.  Fancy veggie peels even.  I hated all of them.  My friend told me to order the Pampered Chef one and I was unsure.  It didn't look like any special.  It looked plain and ordinary.  I ate my words.  I still have the original peeler I bought 12 years ago and I still love it.  No frills, it just works and that's all I want in my life.

4. Bamboo Spatula Set.  These are SO much better than regular wooden spoons.  The texture of the bamboo keeps them from staining and splintering.  Bamboo is not only sustainable but harder that traditional wood so these are great for breaking up meat when you are browning up hamburger or ground turkey.  I use these almost every time I cook and again, I have the same set I've had for 12 years.  The Bamboo Spoons and Bamboo Specialty Spatulas are all awesome too!  

5.  Large Round Stone.  I have a lot of the stoneware from Pampered Chef and I like all of it but I use my large round stone the most.  I love this for cooking pizza!  I don't like soggy crust and I feel like the stone really helps to get crunchy crust.  I also use this stone to bake biscuits and other bread type items.  I like the preheat my stone in the oven while it's pre-heating and that helps with giving things a nice crisp underside.  

Honestly, I could keep going on and on about these products!  I really love them!  The only reason I stopped being a consultant was that I didn't like cooking and cleaning in other people's kitchens.  This post is not sponsored.  If you purchase during my party through my link, you'll help me to earn some hostess credit but that's it.  I hope you found this post helpful!  

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Chicken Adobo Recipe

Hi friends! I'm beginning to feel like I want to take my blog in a different direction. I still want to post my paper crafting creations but I also want to start posting home decor, recipes and a bit about couponing. Hope that's ok with all of you and you'll still follow me!

Here's a recipe I got from my friend that I LOVE!! It's so yummy and my family really enjoys it.

Chicken Adobo (based off a recipe in the SF Firefighter cookbook)

1/3 c apple cider vintage

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp black peppercorns

3 pounds of dark meat chicken, bone in and skin removed

2 tbsp brown sugar

Combine first 9 ingredients in a pot and bring to simmer. If you like more sauce (which we do) double the liquid ingredients. Add chicken to pot and use spoon to cover with sauce, bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat, cover and cook for 30 mins. Uncover and cook for 15 more mins. In the last few mins add brown sugar (I use double because I doubled the vinegar and soy sauce) and stir in. Serve with white rice. (In my photo, the rice has the sauce from the chicken stirred into it.)