Potato Pancakes

Canola oil, for frying
4 russet potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons salt, for seasoning
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper, for seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Use a cheese grater to grate the potatoes into a mixing bowl. Add spices, egg, and flour then mix together. Heat pan and oil to medium heat. Patty up into potato pancakes, then place in frying pan. Fry until golden brown.

Cutest Strawberry Shortcake!

1 Pack of Strawberries

1 Angel Food Cake (found in the bakery, around $3, and lasts for a week!)

1 Tub of Light Whipped Cream

Wash strawberries. Cut off tops, and dice up strawberries into chunks. Add them to a bowl, and sprinke a tablespoon or two of sugar on them (this makes the juices come out!) Slice a hunk of angel food cake, and dice it up into little square chunks. Get out your CUTEST glasses, Martini glasses are ideal! Drop in chunks of cake, add strawberries, and top it of with whipped cream!

Fun Strawberry Facts:

-Strawberries are in the same family of the rose flower.

-Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside. It is argued that for this reason, it cannot be considered a real berry, since berries carry seeds on the inside.

-If all the strawberries produced in California, in one year, were laid berry to berry, they'd wrap around the world 15 times.,br>

-The world's largest strawberry shortcake is hosted in the annual strawberry festival in Lebanon, Oregon.

-Ninety-four percent of U.S. households consume strawberries at least once a year.

College Kid Stir-fry

-Bag of Steamable Broccoli
-1/2 Onion
-Mushrooms
-1 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
-1 Boil-in-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice
-Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
-Any type of meat you prefer, it can even be frozen!
-Spices (Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder)
-Olive Oil (You can use Vegitable Oil too!) for frying

Put broccoli in the microwave as instructed on the bag. Go ahead and put a pan on medium to low heat with 4-5 tablespoons of oil. Cut up your onion, mushrooms, and begin boiling your rice, and your meat if it's frozen (not together of course). (Chicken or pork are two popularly used meats in stir-fry. They even sell pre-sliced strips of beef at wal-mart for this purpose!) For thawed meat, fry separately, then add to veggies.

Next, add broccoli, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and spices to the pan. Pour the desired amount of soy sauce to your veggies (Remember, you can always add more to your own plate!) Stir vegetables, until they are lightly sauteed. Add drained rice, to one side of the pan (scoot the veggies to another side, pulling half the pan off the burner.) Slightly fry rice, then mix alltogether.

Get your meat and cut up in chunks, or pull apart if possible. If your meat was boiled, fry in one side of the pan until brown, then toss in veggie mix. Stir alltogether.


Tips/Hints:
-For buying mushrooms, look to see if the caps are tight to the stem. The more "closed" they are, the fresher they are.

-There are many ways to make stir-fry. Another easy substitute is to buy a steamable bag full of mixed veggies, then add them to rice!

-Many people like eggs in their stir-fry, so mix it up!

Roast Beef Steak Sandwiches

1 Pack of Roast Beef

Buns (I prefer a big bakery roll, like an onion or kaiser roll)

Provolone Cheese

Mayonnaise

1/2 Onion

3 Tablespoons of frying oil

Salt

Pepper

Cut up your onion, french style is best. Open your pack of roast beef and cut into thin strips. Have a frying pan set to medium with your 2 tablespoons of oil ready to fry! Saute the onions and then toss in the roast beef (add salt and pepper to taste). Cook until browned and slightly crispy, then turn off the stove, pile your beef, and slap a slice of cheese on top to melt. Warm the buns in the microwave, then spatula the roast beef onto them. Top with onions. This is good with a side salad, cole slaw, or french fries!

Onion Tips:

To avoid the tears:

-Set the onions in COLD water before cutting.

-Cut around the bulb (the bulb is what emits the gas that makes you cry). You will cut out the end with the little roots sticking out in a cone shape which will cut around the bulb so you can just pull it out!

What to look for when buying:

-Look for onions with a shiny tissue-thin skin and firm, tight, dry necks.

-The bigger and firmer the onion, the easier it will be to cut. A wet onion is easier to peel than a dry one.

Fun Fact:

-To keep your automobile windshield from frosting at night, slice an onion and rub the windshield with the onion. The juice will keep it frost-free.

Grow your own!

Yes, I said it, grow your own! If you live in an apartment, have a house, have a balcony, deck, or porch, you can grow your own herbs or veggies! As a Lowe's Employee, I know the various products you can buy to grow your own little herb garden! Seeds are cheap, and planting season is right around the corner! Visit your local home improvement store (preferably Lowe's) and check out what they have to offer. Herbs like, Basil, Cilantro, Chives, Dill, Sage, or even fun stuff like, sunflowers, lavender, catnip, watermelons (which take up a bit more room), and various flowers are available for you to plant!

Here are some tips on starting your own home garden:

-Start with peat pellets. Peat pellets are little dirt plates that usually come in a greenhouse kit. Lowe's has many different kits, herbs kits, salsa kits, tomato kits, that you can buy, just add water, and grow!

-Greenhouse kits are great! When buying seeds, peat pellets, etc., you will most likely see a plastic little greenhouse kit in the same area. It is a where you start off your garden plants, and it's actually a little greenhouse with a plastic lid to provide the perfect growing environment for seedlings.

-Don't forget seed starting soil! Seed starting soil has specific nutrients for starting off a seed to help grow the healthiest plant you can.

-And of course a planter to plant your plants! Haha, seriously though, when your seedlings outgrow their greenhouse, you need somewhere to put them!

-After buying your peat pellets, seeds, planters, soil mix, follow the instructions on the packages. Just add water to the peat pellets, mix the soil with water, and ALWAYS use Lukewarm water on your seeds! To put in the planter or peat pellet, use a pencil tip to make the hole.

*This garden will provide herbs and veggies all summer long! You'll learn that veggies, herbs, and flowers make great gifts! People LOVE getting homegrown products, and knowing that YOU raised them will make you feel extra good inside! :)

**Below, Sunflowers are growing fast, and on the other side of the greenhouse, carrots are sprouting, but are much smaller than sunflower seedlings!

Spicy Chicken Salad

1 Head of Lettuce

Pack of Mushrooms

1/3 Purple Onion

2-3 Spicy Chicken Filets

Buy a pack of spicy chicken filets, Tyson has a really good product. Pop them in the oven as the instructions say to. Chop up and wash the head of lettuce, wash and chop up the mushrooms, peel and chop the onion, add baby carrots if you like too. Place everything on the plate. Once the chicken is done, chop it up in strips, and place on top of the salad. Serve with your favorite dressing!

Serving size: 2

*This is a really quick, healthy, tasty, and easy meal!

Awkward Asparagus made AMAZING!

Bushel of Asparagus
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash Asparagus, cut 1/2 inch to a full inch off the ends. Take out a sheet pan and cover with aluminum foil. Lay asparagus out on the pan and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, not a lot.. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder as you like. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like your asparagus, hard or soft. *I prefer mine to be a bit softer, the longer the asparagus cooks, the tips will begin to get crunchy, and that's my favorite!!! Serving Size: 2 Asparagus Facts:

-Asparagus is a member of the Lily family.

-After harvesting is done the spears grow into ferns, which produce red berries and the food and nutrients necessary for a healthy and productive crop the next season.

-The larger the diameter, the better the quality!

-Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.