PROJECT RECYCLE - USED MEN'S SHIRT

I confess to being a fabric hoarder. All these temptations to spend money.

Hobby Lobby and their 40% off coupons. Jo-Ann Fabric craft stores offering tempting sales.

Wal-Mart, and their fabric clearance.

Heck, I even bought some new fabric the other day at a thrift store.

But what if I stopped BUYING, and started RECYCLING?

Years ago, our ancestors made do with what they had.

It was not uncommon for a woman to only own one or two dresses. Children wore hand me downs that were altered to fit. Some didn't own shoes.

Little girls were taught to sew when they were old enough to hold a needle.

Not everyone could afford a fancy treadle foot sewing machine.

Many items were hand sewn...

SO, I've decided to stop being lazy and to challenge myself. I want to think more out of the box, and to use the resources I already have.

MY GOAL:

To see how many items I can create out of a man's medium sized shirt -- Hand sewn, and not a single scrap of fabric leftover.

MY SUPPLIES: 1 spool of thread.

MY TOOLS: Pin, needle, scissors.

                                        Can it be done?

I'll be posting my progress as each item is made. Come join me! You can check back here, or follow my progress on Facebook.

CHEESE BOWL - Gluten Free, Low Carb, and EASY CHEESY!

I've low-carbed off and on for years, but never THOUGHT of making "bowls" out of cheese.

Saw this recipe online and just HAD to give it a try. OH. MY!

 

I took an iron skillet, added just a dab of peanut oil and piled on some grated cheese.

 

As the cheese bubbled, I took a butter knife and smoothed the edges of the cheese, to form a better circle.

 What happens, is that the cheese bonds together (reminds me of the candy stage) and starts to harden. As it bonds, I continue to scrape the edges and shape. As it pulls together, it does shrink a bit.

ALSO, occasionally, tip your skillet over and let the excess grease drain, careful to not let the cheese (that hadn't bonded yet) slide around.

 As it hardens, I will add a spatula and start working the edges slowly, to "unstick" and to make sure it's firm enough to flip over.

 As your mixture is bubbling, if you hadn't already, get your bowl and plate ready.

If you are wanting smaller bowls, add less cheese to the pan, and set aside a cup upside down on a plate.

 Once you flip your cheese over, it will resemble a pancake. Let the fresh side harden just a bit and then lift with spatula and carefully center over bottom of upside down bowl.

The cheese is HOT, so grab two paper towels for each hand and very gently start pressing down the cheese on bottom of bowl, carefully guiding the sides into the shape of a bowl.

 Place the upside down bowl into the refrigerator, and allow to COOL. While this is cooling,
start on the next bowl, and repeat the process for each additional  bowl.

In less than 30 minutes, you'll be amazed at how FIRM your edible cheese bowl is.

The fun part is adding the ingredients.

We tried TACO SALAD.

I cooked a pound of ground beef and spiced it with:

Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Drained ground beef and added a large helping to the bottom of bowl, topped with diced Spinach and kale, and topped with tomatoes.

Since the bowl is already cheesy, I didn't top with additional cheese.

This is really quite a gourmet dish, and the cheese bowl is very rich.

My mind is swimming with more ideas. If you have any additional ideas for this bowl, pop on over to my Facebook page to reply, or comment below!

CHEESE BOWL - Gluten Free, Low Carb, and EASY CHEESY!

Augason Farms Dehydrated Vegetable Stew Blend - REVIEW

 

 

I didn't want to wait 20 years to find out if this Augason Farms dehydrated vegetable blend was any good, so here goes...

 

Keep in mind that this recipe is using all items that you would keep stored away for emergencies - without needing electricity or refrigeration.

 

This blend consists of:

CABBAGE

CARROTS

POTATOES

ONIONS

RED/GREEN BELL PEPPERS

CELERY

 

 

According to instructions, I added TWO CUPS of dry ingredients to a large pot of cold water and set to boil.

 

About 15 minutes later...

 

If you don't have your own home canned tomatoes, I recommend this commercial variety. You can find this on Amazon.com, or at Walmart (the last 2 places I checked.)

 

I prefer this brand, as it only contains ONE ingredient: FRESH RED RIPE TOMATOES.

Of course, if you have tomatoes already ripening in your garden, this would be more perfect!

Also, remember to STOCK UP on items you use frequently, as prices are rising and you're never guaranteed these will be available when you return to the store.

 

 

Next, add BEEF!

Since I'm focusing on recipes that don't require refrigeration (for a SHTF scenario), I am using my home canned ground beef.

 

Boil soup till vegetables are tender.

 

Season to taste! I used salt, pepper, red cayenne pepper, and garlic

 

 

 

Alright, let's RATE this soup based on the Augason Farm DEHYDRATED Vegetable Blend.

 

Spouse and I had this soup for dinner.

 

The vegetables came diced into tiny pieces, which would be very easy for a small child to eat.

As for texture, the cooked vegetables maintained their shape, with no sogginess. I had also sampled an uncooked piece and was very pleased with the strong flavor.

 

What also surprised me about this soup is the density. Just two cups of dehydrated vegetables, and the soup became thick!

 

This 2 pound can of dry vegetables could stretch into a lot of meals

 

With 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest in taste,

we rated this Augason Farm Vegetable Blend an

 

8.5

 

We are very pleased with this product and highly recommend this for long term food storage.

 

 

 

If you haven't already, feel free to visit my Facebook page - A Slice of Texas, where I regularly update!