The plan for dinner? Soft tacos. I just knew I had flour tortillas in the freezer. So I got all of the other ingredients ready for a “make your own” style flour tortilla night.

I looked in the freezer. No tortillas!

What to do? To the Internet I go! I found this great flour tortilla recipe that I have been using ever since:

Flour Tortillas

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup warm water or milk

1. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.
2. Cut shortening into dry ingredients. (I have found a food processor works wonders!)
3. Add milk or water, working mixture together until a sticky ball forms.
4. Wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Divide into 8-10 ball (for small tortillas) or 6-8 balls (for large tortillas). Cover with a damp cloth.
6. Lightly dust work surface with flour and roll out each ball into a circle or oval about 1/4 inch thick. Don’t roll the dough out more than once or the tortillas will be tough.
7. Heat a dry griddle or non-stick skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Cook the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough looks slightly dry and wrinkled, and brown spots appear. Do not overcook or they will be hard. Butter and roll up and wrap in a damp towel to keep warm. Serve warm.

Sign in or join Land O’ Lakes to request a copy of their free holiday recipes brochure.

Anyway, I will admit, I am not very good using the barbecue outside. So in the past I have only cooked ribs in the oven (which came out fantastic), but since it is super hot outside, I didn’t want to heat up the house using the oven.

Crock-Pot to the rescue! My Crock-Pot even came with recipes, including Slow Cooker Ribs:

- Enough ribs to fill 1/2 to 3/4 of your slow cooker, cut into 2-3 rib segments
- 2-4 cups barbecue sauce
- 2-3 onions, chopped

1. Place ribs in slow cooker. Top with onion and barbecue sauce.
2. Cover and cook on Low for 7-9 hours or on High for 4-5 hours, or until meat is tender.
3. To serve, cut ribs between bones and coat with extra sauce as desired.

Now I am a pretty picky eater and I can’t stand the texture of onions, so I am substituting 1 Tbs. onion powder for the 2-3 onions.

Also, some recipes you will find say to brown the ribs first using the broiler and some say you don’t have to. Browning the ribs first reduces the fat and makes the taste of the ribs more in-depth… but it is not necessary to brown the ribs first.

Happy slow cooking!

I got two silicone ice cube trays and froze the yogurt into cubes! You don’t have to use silicone ice cube trays, regular trays would probably work as well.

But now we have yogurt cubes ready to go anytime we want to make a smoothie!

A local grocery store had Gala apples on sale for $0.37 per pound!! Needless to say I bought about 15 pounds! What do you do with 15 pounds of apples? Here is what we will be eating for weeks to come:

- Apple jelly
- Dried apples
- Apple pies

Now I am sure there are tons more ways to use fresh apples, but these three will best serve us. Here is how to prepare apple jelly, dried apples, and our apple pie recipe.

Apple Jelly
You will need:
1 – Ball No-Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
Fresh apples to yield 4 cups prepared, about 16 medium apples
4-6 Half Pint Jars with Lids and Bands

Optional:
Up to 3 cups sugar
Up to 1 cup honey
Artificial sweetener to taste

Follow instructions inside Ball No-Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin

Dried Apples
You will need a food dehydrator to make these and as many apples as you want!

Peel and core apples. Slice apples in to rings and place onto dehydrator. Turn on dehydrator and let dry overnight. *Tip: It is very important to get all of the peel off the apple because when the peel dries it becomes very sharp and can cut your mouth.

Apple Pie
You will need:
3-4 large apples
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
2-3 packets artificial sweetener
2 uncooked pie crusts
Butter

Peel, core, and dice apples. Toss them in a bowl with cinnamon and sweetener. Pour into bottom pie crust. Top with pats of butter. Lay second pie crust on top and seal edges. Poke top crust with a fork a few times. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Did you know that milled flax seed can be used as a fat substitute in most recipes? Plus it adds great fiber!

Generally, 3 Tablespoons of milled flax seed can replace 1 Tablespoon of fat or oil.  Also, 1 Tablespoon of milled flax seed + 3 Tablespoons of water can replace 1 egg.

Due to a medical thing, I am supposed to eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, so both of these substitutions work great for me! They are also great for those that have egg allergies. So for baking for someone with allergies, just replace the egg with milled flax seed and water!

Also, don’t give up if you’re results aren’t perfect the first time. Experiment, be healthy, and have fun!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 1/2 cups fat-free vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
2 medium ripe bananas, chunked
3 Tbsp. milled flax seed
2 Tbsp. honey

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix on medium-high speed for 45 seconds or until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.