Everyone loves a big holiday meal. And most people love the leftovers. But it always seems that the one food item that lasts the longest is those mashed potatoes. They seem to linger around even as all the other food is disappearing. A lot of times they just do not get eaten and have to be thrown away. Maybe what you need is a good potato pancake recipe.

People may love them the next day, but after that, they may start wishing for something else, especially once the gravy is gone! A great way to use up those extra potatoes is to turn them into something entirely new-pancakes. You may find your family wishing there were leftovers of these.

To start the ball rolling, be sure you have on hand all of the necessary ingredients. You will need vegetable oil (canola, corn or a blend works just fine), salt and pepper to taste, flour, an egg, milk, onion, and of course, those mashed potatoes. For a different taste, you can substitute bacon drippings for the vegetable oil.

For four pancakes you need 2 cups of potatoes. Mix them with the egg, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/4 of milk, and 3 tablespoons of diced onion. More or less onion can be used depending on how much your family likes onion taste. After all the ingredients are well mixed, form into 4 equally sized patties. It may be easiest to form them on wax paper or tin foil as they are usually sticky.

Liberally coat a skillet or electric frying pan with your choice of oil or the bacon drippings. Let the pan get hot but not smoking, and then fry the patties for 3 minutes on each side. Press down on the pancakes with your spatula a few times during cooking. To prevent the spatula from sticking to the pancakes, spray it with a cooking spray. Pancakes are done when they are golden brown and hot in the center and the onions are tender.

Try getting creative if you like, by adding to the mixture bacon pieces, shredded cheese or anything else you think your family will like. Sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper to taste and serve. You can also top them off with additional things like sour cream, butter, gravy, melted cheese, hot sauce or ketchup. These side dishes are good compliments to chicken, pork beef or fish. Or they also make tasty appetizers.

This is the traditional American style potato pancake recipe. To spice things up, you can also try the German style potato hotcakes which use grated potatoes instead of mashed. These are crispier and more similar to hash browns.

Find lots and lots of recipes like this potato pancake recipe on Andrews pancake website. If you like you pancakes made with vegetables and salty you can also try ham&cheese pancake recipe. It’s delicious and none of the recipes are hard to make!

Any gardener that lives in a rural area can tell you that it is not the weather or the bugs that cause the most damage, it is the deer. These furry creatures not only eat virtually every plant in the garden but have the unique ability to trample down the surrounding ones while in the process of having dinner. Many of these gardeners have taken to using a homemade deer repellent recipe of some type in order to combat this ever-increasing problem.

The schools of thought regarding these recipes are very wide ranging, but the majority contains the same basic ingredients. The ingredients are items that may be found already in the home or a quick trip to the grocery store can secure everything needed to create your own. Without fail and no matter any of the other ingredients in one of these recipes, each one starts out with eggs.

The eggs in the mixture act as an adhesive, to keep the mixture on the plants for a period of time. The eggs will also help the mixture withstand some light weather conditions and the occasional spray from a garden hose. The entire egg is not wasted as many of the recipes will call for use of the shells along with the contents.

An effective repellent will not only assault the deer’s sense of taste but also their sense of smell. Many of the recipes will use items like Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper or chili powder to achieve both a bitter taste and a lasting odor to aid in preventing the deer from eating the plants. Garlic is yet another additive that will aid in the area of odor repulsion for deer and should be used in liberal quantities.

Household soap products may also be used to make an effective deer deterrent mixture. Ordinary dish soap, when mixed with water, then sprayed on the plants will create a lasting memory in a deer’s mind after taking just one bite. Deodorant soap, on the other hand, is a very effective tool in that the odor that it emits immediately sends deer off in another direction.

These mixtures are easily applied to any flower or vegetable by means of some sort of sprayer. Whether this is a simple trigger spray bottle or a larger capacity pump type sprayer, either will be very effective. Pump sprayers are fairly common around any home for anyone who has sprayed their own pesticides around their property.

The pump sprayer also cuts down on issues of tiredness or the cramping of a hand while covering a large area. When using the mixture that requires that the eggshells be left in, this may be applied by simply sprinkling it out of the bucket or pail. Both of these methods can be quite effective in ensuring that all of the plants get the proper coverage that they need.

A deer repellent mixture will only work if it has the rigth ingredients in it. All of these methods are eco-freindly and will not harm the deer or the plants in any way. The deer many give you a dirty look, but that is only because you ruined what was once considered an all you can eat buffet.

There are many home-made recipes to repel deer. Please visit our site at www.thebestdeerrepellent.com to check some out… You might like the rotten egg recipe or the Texas Pete… People developed some very unusual recipes to keep the deer away from their plants. Some work and some… I don’t know… try and see..

categories: deer repellent recipe,deer repellent,repellent,repellents,recipe,recipes,animal,garden,home

Kids should be having fun on Cinco de Mayo. Give them extra fun with games that will make the day even more entertaining. Adults even love games at parties, do let them all take part in the festivities.

Break the Pinata

Everyone loves a good pinata smashing. Blindfold each contestant when it is his or her turn. Spin them around slowly a few times then hand them the bat, rod, or broom. Guide them in the general direction of the pinata, making sure no one is in the way. You may want to either use a timer or count how many tries each participant gets depending on how many people line up to try.

The Mexican hat relay is another great game for using up any extra energy. You can pick up a couple sombreros at your local party store or draw a some on sheets of paper. Split everyone who wants to play into two even teams. Set each hat down at the far side of the room. Racing against each other, players must run to the hat, dance around it in a circle three times, and then race back to tag the next person. The first team whose members have all completed the task is deemed the winner.

Gather items together, hide them around the house, and have a scavenger hunt. Makes sure that the items are connected to celebrating Cinco de Mayo. You could hide sombreros, dried chili peppers, avocados or other exotic item for teams to find. Be sure to hide enough of each item for all the teams to find. Pairing up kids with adults makes sure everyone gets involved. Give them written clues to help them. The winning team is the first back with all the listed items.

Make a place for the kids to color pictures. Provide lots of Mexican themed coloring sheets and markers. Other fun things that keep kids occupied include maracas to shake, colorful hats and ponchos they can dress themselves in, and music they can play.

Cinco de Mayo should entertain everyone involved. Provide party favors for all who attend, young and old. Straw party sombreros, maracas or other fun items will help keep the atmosphere playful. Play some music and encourage your guests to dance.

Of course, you cannot forget the food and beverages. Every party needs food! Choose some of your favorite Mexican food. If you want to keep it simple, make finger food like nachos, salsa and chips or quesadilla wedges. Provide plenty of dip for everyone to enjoy.

Authentic Cinco de Mayo recipes can be fun for all. If you want to add an air of tradition to your dishes, add peppers, corn (maize), beans and other Mexican staples that are used in Mexican cuisine. Make it easy and have fun with your friends and family.

The main ingredient to your party should be fun. Cinco de Mayo planning is worth all the effort to see everyone is smiling faces as they enjoy all your hard work.

Mexicans love chilies so much they even use them to flavor their candy and ice cream! Not everything Mexican is spicy though. You can use fresh chilies, dried chilies or even reconstitute dried chilies to make really good Mexican recipes which taste authentic and are bursting with the unmistakable flavor of Mexico.

Waffles are a favorite treat in many countries around the world, either as snacks, desserts, or breakfast foods. The batter recipe may vary, such as whether it uses baking powder or yeast for leavening. The shape and size can also be quite different. Therefore, when shopping for waffle makers, the first thing one must determine is the type of waffle one desires to make.

Plate sized waffles with large squares are usually referred to as Belgian style waffles. True Belgian waffles use a yeast batter, but the term is normally used to refer to the physical characteristics of the waffle regardless of the batter. In addition to the larger squares, Belgian style waffles are normally thicker and crisper.

American style waffles are typically a thinner type, and the batter is usually made with baking powder. They can be shaped as rectangles, squares, or circles, and both the waffles and the squares are not as large as the Belgian variety.

Standard waffle makers are intended almost exclusively for the cooking of waffles, although some sandwiches can be prepared on them as well. A waffle sandwich is similar to a grilled variety, but the square marks will be embedded in the bread. Other styles feature grill plates that can be switched to make it possible to cook other foods. For example, a griddle plate may be used to make sandwiches, while a ribbed one expedites the preparation of meats. Additional waffle plates offer the cook the ability to make waffles shaped like cartoon characters or other objects.

Storage and operating space available need to be considered when shopping for a waffle maker. Some styles, such as those that flip the waffles, have more height than others. Naturally, the larger irons will also need more room to use or store.

Most cooks prefer a non-stick finish on the interior. This allows the food to be released more easily and makes clean up easier. A drip pan to catch the overflow of batter and an audible timer are also handy features to have. If you purchase a multiple purpose unit, such as one that can also grill meat, an adjustable heat setting is desirable. A light that lets you know when the proper temperature has been reached is another feature many cooks like.

Waffles can be served plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or topped with fruit and whipped cream, although butter and syrup are the most common choices. Most waffle batters are basically a type of cake batter, so virtually anything that would go well with cake works with a waffle. Ice cream, chocolate syrup, and even frosting are sometimes used as toppings. Some people also use a less sweet batter and use waffle makers to turn out a type of bread to serve with soups, stews, and salads.

Ben runs a website dedicated to waffle recipes that also has lots of tips on buying waffle makers. You can also find many different waffle recipes for those of you that already own a waffle iron.

I made my usual squash soup recently when I had some friends round to dinner… As I dished it up someone mentioned that they had been given a spicy version of squash soup and I was immediately intrigued. Having now tried out a spicy version of this soup I can safely say that I prefer it.

There’s a reason why soup is one of the nations favourite starters. For a start it is cheap and easy to prepare – it is generally no more difficult than slicing up some veg and cooking them before pouring in stock and boiling before you puree. Then you have all the health benefits – vegetables are usually crammed into soup giving you plenty of vitamins and iron but finally, and in my opinion most importantly, they taste superb!

Below is the recipe for squash soup, curry style. I have been very middle of the road with my selection of spiciness but obviously increase or decrease the heat of the paste as you see fit.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 sliced and diced onion, 2 butternut squash cut into cubes, 1 red chilli cut into small pieces (this is not compulsory!), 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tablespoon of medium curry paste, pint of veg stock and 7fl oz coconut milk.

Steps

1. Put a large pan on a medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot add the diced onion, garlic cloves and chilli. Gently fry for several minutes until they are soft.

2. Add the squash and continue to fry for 5 minutes. Stir through the curry paste and fry for a further minute. Pour over the stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil, and cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the squash is tender.

3. Transfer to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pan, add the coriander, and season well. Serve with plenty of crusty bread.

If you wanted to make the soup taste even better here’s a tip – the fresher the ingredients obviously the better the taste. If you have the time it might be worth planting your corriander or making your own stock. It can take time but if you are a keen chef you might be surprised at the difference it can make.

For more squash soup recipes click the link

One of the finest strategies to make a hot meal with beef is by trying the crock pot. This is also one of the simpler methodologies to cook soy beef as well because it doesn’t need a massive quantity of work on your side.

Just ask any person which has ever competed in a chili cook off. If you are a beginner to the arena of chili and want to get out of “the canned stuff,” then welcome. Even if you’re an old hat at making chili, welcome.

A medium sized onion sliced 8232;2 cans of kidney beans ( dark or light ) 8232;1 can of chili beans ( hot or mild ) 8232;1 can of diced tomatoes 8232;1 pound of soy hamburger ( to prevent cancer and coronary disease ) 8232;1 big can of tomato juice 8232;Approximately tablespoon of chili powder 8232;Salt and pepper to sample. When you have all the ingredients together, it’s time to get started.

Try it a touch by little until you achieve the consistency that you’re looking for. You’ll also try the Old school use of cornmeal. As you can see there are many way to make your chili thicker. The choice is yours and you want to experiment. This is fine typically and they do bring the “heat. ”

When the chili has finished cooking, simply stir and serve once it has cooled enough. You will be stunned at how great it tastes and your family will be enthusiastic on it too. If you like exotic food, than you would possibly like chili.

It looks like everyone has their own special recipe for chili, and each swears that theirs is the simplest way. There are such a lot of alternative forms that it is hard to tell you exactly the easiest way to make chili. There are chilies with meat only , others with beef and beans.

Cook the chili for approximately 35-40 mins stirring often. The reason why you need to stir it frequently is so that the beans do not stick to the base of the pan. If you scorch the beans, your pot of chili will be ruined.

There’s also an irritating miniscule debate among chili lovers about what “real” chili is and what it is not. What folks enjoy eating, or what they call it, is out of our control, anyway. It just appears unimportant, to me, to let something like that get to you. Some folk may even call it stew or soup.

Willium Gerter is a professional newspaper columnist who writes online in his spare time. View his newest website on kiwi calories to learn more about how to grow kiwi.

Mexican rice is a dish that is served at every Mexican restaurant all over the world. This rice is flavored with tomatoes and spices and has become an expected dish with Mexican food. This has not always been true, however. Rice is not a native plant in Mexico. Rice was introduced to Mexico through the Philippines. When the Spanish discovered how well rice grew around Veracruz, rice became a permanent ingredient in Mexican cuisine.

Rice is traditionally served at midday in Mexico. It is usually served with beans or fish. The rice and beans you get in restaurants are not how they are served in Mexico. Learning more about traditional Mexican food will really open your eyes. Mexican cuisine uses rice in many ways beyond the savory rice discussed here. They also use it in cakes, desserts and horchata, a tasty drink.

In Mexico, rice is often served in a pilaf style. What this means is the rice is browned before being simmered in broth. The rice is seasoned by adding carrots, peas, onions and other vegetables while the rice cooks. In some parts of Mexico, a creamier rice may be served that is similar to risotto.

A traditional way to cook rice in Mexico uses a clay vessel known as a cazuela. Rice cooked this way gets an earthy flavor. Soaked rice is drained and then fried until a golden brown. Liquid is then added to the vessel so the rice can simmer until it is tender.

To get fluffy rice, rinse the rice in a colander until the rinse water runs clear. This washes off any excess starch that will make the rice sticky. Mexican rice should be as fluffy as you can get it. Soaking rice ahead of time decrease your cooking time and help prepare the rice to absorb the flavor of the broth and seasonings you add during cooking. In Mexico, they prefer to use a long grain rice that still has a small portion of the germ attached. Medium grained rice that is available in the United States works well for Mexican rice.

When you have leftover rice, just freeze it. Take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and spread the rice out in a thin sheet. Seal up the foil and place it in the freezer. When you want to use it again, just pop it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to reheat it. You do not need to thaw it first.

When you choose a Mexican rice recipe, follow the directions carefully for the best results. You may be adding ingredients like olive oil, carrots, parsley, and chilies. They will add a lot of flavor to your finished meal. Serve up your rice with a simply prepared fish or other entre.

Knowing how to make Mexican rice will really fill out your menu when you choose other Mexican entrees. The recipe is easy to do once you learn it. It makes a wonderful change instead of potatoes or pasta. It is a great choice when you want something different. Many people rate Mexican food as one of their favorites; when you can add this and other Mexican dishes to your menu, your family will cheer.

If you are a lover of fish and seafood, Mexican ceviche will definitely please you. This wonderful fishy dish is “cooked” with lemon or lime juice rather than with heat. You can enjoy ceviche as an appetizer, part of a salad recipe or as a main course and the recipe is simple to follow.

If you want to get the best swiss cheese available, “fine” is the type you should be looking for. A fine swiss cheese will be more expensive, but the quality of the cheese will truly be worth the cost.

Facts about the Swiss cheese

General any cheese having holes around it is referred as “swiss cheese” in United States. And it has become extremely common to attribute it to every thing around, for example “memory just like the swiss cheese”. In fact Swiss cheese is just the general name given to any cheese with hole around it. Swiss cheese can be produced anywhere be it, New Zealand, Australia, Canada or United States. For the matter of fact, currently the largest factory for making Swiss cheese in the world is at Ohio. Cheeses having holes are often simulating with the cheeses called as emmetal, which is made in Switzerland.

Few other varieties of holed cheese that are made in Switzerland like the Gruyere but the quality of Emmetal is incomparable to the finest of Swiss cheese. There is a lot of imitation in Gruyere, the holes made in this type are evenly placed and small. He shell life is also longer up to 10-12 months. The fat content is also more as it is made from cow’s milk but sweeter in taste. In case of Swiss cheese, it can be used for any meal for dessert, starters or appetizers and it also melts very easily.

Another type of cheese like the cheese from baby swiss is fine but it is manufactured keeping the government parameters like the quality of the pasteurized milk before the making of cheese and also its aging time makes it difficult to assertain the cheese. As the aging time is very less the holes are very small and it mild and sweet in taste.

In the process of making this cheese, the bacteria involved make the holes. Bacteria consume byproducts of other bacteria and lactic acid and then also excrete some amount of carbon dioxide gas. Bubbles are developed through this carbon dioxide gas and holes are formed as this cheese gets solidified.

How can this process contribute in picking the best Swiss cheese?

A fine swiss cheese will have larger “eyes,” and a greater flavor. The stronger flavor is caused by the longer aging time and the higher temperature, and these also lead to larger holes in the swiss cheese.

It is extremely hard to come across the best Swiss cheese that isn’t sliced in the US. As cheese having holes often gets caught in the machinery used for slicing that can cost the company both money and time. Hence manufacturers of Swiss cheese in the US make Swiss cheese that is best on its package but lesser aged and flavor as compared to the imported Swiss cheese.

How to make cheese info. Learn more info.on how to make swiss cheese fondue.

I’ve recently been home to my mother’s house, and she cooked me a fantastic meal with a great starter – namely squash soup. I’ve never had squash soup before so I asked her how she made it and it turns out to be family secret. However, since it was so delicious I’ve got her permission to now blow the secret wide open and publish the recipe online!

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

Three pounds of squash, two tablespoons of maple syrup, four cups of chicken stock (or vege stock if you prefer), two garlic cloves, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a large onion, three tablespoons butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper

Firstly, we need to get the squash ready. Using a normal potato peeler, remove the skin. Then cut the squash in half and using a large spoon remove all the seeds from inside the squash. Now simply chop the squash up into fairly big pieces for later.

Now you need to peel and slice the onions into small pieces. Do the same with the two cloves of garlic. Now, get a large pot and preheat it to a medium heat. Once warm, add the butter and coat the bottom of the pan as it melts. While the butter is melting, add to the pan the onions and cook them for around five minutes, ensuring the onion doesn’t get hot enough to brown. Now add in the garlic and cinnamon and cook for another thirty seconds. Finally add in the chopped squash and chicken stock, put the lid on the pan and cook for a further 25 minutes.

The squash should be fully cooked after 25 minutes, so keep checking until you are sure. Once you’re happy the squash is cooked blend the mixture into a fine, smooth soup, add the maple syrup if required, blend some more, before finally dishing up to individual bowls and serving!

Check out my squash soup recipe online, download the recipe and share with others – click the link!

Without a shadow of a doubt, the most frequent New Year’s resolution in the West is to lose weight. However, it is also the first New Year’s resolution most apt to be broken! Losing weight is not difficult in theory, but practice is oh, so different. This is because it involves lifestyle changes.

Our bodies change as we get older and typically our level of activity decreases too. Maybe, we get an office job with a promotion, whereas we used to work ‘in the field’. But people in general, do not adjust their diet to match their variation in circumstances. We sit behind our desks or in retirement and think we can still eat and drink like we did twenty years ago. Big mistake!

Luckily, there are dozens of diets available to help us attain our weight loss goals. There are the traditional calorie counting diets, as advocated by Weight Watchers; there are the ‘new era’ diets like Atkins, which have us counting carbohydrates and there are no end of fad diets which are frankly not worth wasting time talking about.

The choice of which diet you would like to follow is all yours, of course, but it is well worth exploring the main types of diet to see which one will agree with you. Then you must determine whether you will require the help and encouragement of a weekly visit to a club or not, or whether you can get that companionship from an online club of slimmers, where you talk to fellow slimmers in the club forum online.

It is also worth fixing in your mind, why you want to diet. Is it to look better? Or to feel more at ease in yourself? Or is it for health reasons? Or all three? Have a think about your reasons and let them motivate you. Whenever, you feel like packing it all in, remember your motivation. Get a book and journal your progress, but first write your motivation in bold capitals on the front page or cover. Keep it in front of you and read it out loud to yourself every day.

Consult some of the slimming sites online and work out a few key statistics like the average weight people are for your height, sex and body type and your BMI or body mass index. Write these figures on the first page of your book too and use them as the eventual goals.

You could produce a graph and plot your weekly weight to see how you are doing. Set realistic goals and targets. You can get loads of free information from the Weight Watchers and Atkins websites or / and go to see your doctor for advice and leaflets.

Aim to shed something like 10-20 pounds in the first month and eight to ten per month after that. Go slowly and aim to go slowly, because then you will hit your targets and you won’t feel like giving up. When you get within five to ten pounds of your target weight, assuming that you have lost a lot of weight, throttle back a little and allow yourself a little more leeway. Drop your target to one pound a week, so that you will get a feel for ‘eating normally’.

The dreaded exercise; you have to face it, you will have to do more exercise, but two times thirty minute walks a day is ordinarily enough. You could swim once a week too or get an exercise machine, if you are tied to the house by family.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with how to lose weight online. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?