Family Supper Club

Classic Sugar Cookies

2010-12-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

I felt a little unprepared when I wanted to make Christmas cookies with the boys when I realized that I don't have a sugar cookie recipe! How can that be? Thank goodness for whole foods recipes! These are easy and fun! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups flour, plus more for rolling out cookies
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Method

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and shape into two discs. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out dough on a floured surface until (1/4-inch) thick and cut out cookies with floured cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.

Bake until just golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool and then decorate as desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Non-Suppers

2010-08-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just in case you need permission: Ten Guilt-Free Non-Suppers.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Repeat.

CHICKEN AND LEFTOVERS

2010-08-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today I got a whim to boil a chicken and make dressing - getting ready for Thanksgiving. Whether you boil, bake or buy a chicken there are several chicken salad recipes.

FRUITED CHICKEN SALAD:
1/2 C. mayo or miracle whip
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 C. chicken
2 med. stalks celery, chopped
1 C. grapes (green or red seedless)

Mix mayo, lemon juice, salt and pper. Toss with chicken and celery. Cover and refrigerate. Stir in grapes and serve in lettuce cups.
VARIATIONS:
Substitute mandarin oranges for grapes.
Omit grapes, stir in crumble bacon.
Omit grapes, add two hard cooked eggs, chopped.
Omit grapes, increase mayo to one cup and stir in two cups macaroni.
Double mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add both grapes, mandarin oranges
macaroni.

HOT CHICKEN SALAD:
3 C. cooked chicken (cubed)
2 C. diced celery
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 C real mayo
1 med. chopped onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms
3/4 C. crushed potato chips
1 lb. grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Saute celery and onion in small amount butter until tender. Add mushrooms, lemon juice and mayo. Mix in chopped chicken and 1/2 the cheese, stirring with fork so chicken won't get mashed.

Place in buttered baking dish and cover with remaining cheese and crushed potato chips. Bake 10 min @ 400 deg. or until hot and bubbly throughout.

*May be prepared ahead and refrigerated, however, baking time will need to be longer if chilled.

LAST RESORT:
You can always add store bought noodles and add to the broth. Serve with salad and you have a meal.

Roast Beef and Leftovers

2010-08-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Usually after we have a pot roast there is sufficient left over for a couple of meals. One of them is ROAST BEEF SALAD:

Grind the beef in a meat grinder together with sweet pickles and onion to taste. Then mix in Miracle Whip to taste - makes a tasty sandwich or on crackers.

Next day: OPEN-FACED ROAST BEEF SANDWICHS:

Cut the beef into small pieces and place on bread in a toaster oven.

Make a white sauce:
1 C. Milk
1 heaping T. flour
1 dab of butter

Bring to a boil, when thickened add salt and pepper to taste and put on the bread and beef. Then put narrow strips of cheese on top and toast. When served with a salad these make a good meal.

Make Ahead Cannellini Bean Chicken Bake

2010-08-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Did the "Make Ahead" get your attention?

My camera is broken so I am sorry I cannot show photos because this is a pretty casserole dish. I like this one and with cheese on it, the kids will enjoy it too. My recipe here is an adaptation of a recipe made for me by a friend, written down, made at home, then lost the recipe and now, I work from memory. I have been making it for several years. The original does not call for chicken. You can use leftover vegetables in this one...(there you go Brandi!) and just season it to be more Mexican or more Italian. Flexible. All ingredients are organic if possible although not noted. I think it is funny that people note that because there is not a taste difference but I said it anyway. To "make ahead" just prepare the ingredients into a mixing bowl, cover and refridgerate for hours or up to a day I think, then pour in oiled casserole and bake.

Gather:

9 X 13 inch casserole dish
Cheese grater
Large mixing bowl if making ahead
1 - 2 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 med. or 2 small diced onions
2 large or 3-4 smallish diced 1/4 " zucchini squash
1 large or 2 smallish diced crookneck or yellow squash
1 lb. ground chicken, beef or turkey
1/2 c. to 1 cup of any chopped green-kale, spinach, chard, etc. (I keep chopped greens that I freeze on a cookie sheet first, then scrape into a Ziploc and label, in the freezer to add to any recipe)
10 - 12 oz. of block Mozzarella cheese
2 cans or 2+ cups of cannellini beans (the Italian white kidney bean)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes undrained
Herbs- oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme
Sea salt and fresh medium ground pepper

In a medium skillet, saute' the onions until a little translucent. Remove to large mixing bowl or into oiled casserole dish if preparing to eat now. In same skillet, cook the ground meat and minced garlic until done mixing garlic well with meat so it won't burn. Remove into bowl or dish. In same skillet, saute' squashes until a little less firm or if you like them really mushy, saute' longer. Remove to bowl or dish. Add greens to bowl or dish. Add diced cannned tomatoes to bowl/dish. Add rinsed beans and herbs/spices to your liking. (Tonight I used 1 heaping tsp. dried oregano, 2 heaping tsp. dried basil, 1 heaping tsp. dried rosemary, 2 heaping tsp. dried parsley, 1 heaping tsp. thyme, 2 tsp. sea salt and, a dozen twists of ground pepper.)

Top with grated Mozerella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is not burned but veggies seem done and tender or soft. Tent with foil if cheese getting over done.

Make a salad to go along with it. You can also use different vegetables that you have on hand...if corn, then I would use the squashes but use the spices, cumin, chili powder, garlic and salt and pepper to your liking.

Hope someone likes this one! Thank you for letting me share it...gotta go make our salad now to go with it.

Leftover Help

2010-07-23T18:03:00.001-07:00

I am terrible about using leftovers!! Does anyone else have this problem? I keep them around for a few days and then guiltily toss them out. Or I'll defrost a pound of meat, use half, and forget about the other half until it's too late.

I want to work on my meal planning, and be more intentional about finding uses for leftovers and extras. I would love suggestions!

In an effort to improve, this is my meal plan for this week. I'm using the same rice 4 times, the beans twice, chicken 3 times, and mashed potatoes twice. Also splitting a package of ground beef between two meals.

Thursday: Beans, on bread and cheese. Fried potatoes.
Friday: Ratatouille and rice, fried okra (vegetables are from the CSA and my garden, rice is a mix of brown and wild; the ends of two different bags I found in the pantry.) Make lots and lots of rice.
Saturday: Bean burritos (from Thursday's beans, refried) for lunch; dinner out.
Sunday, family lunch: Minestrone, using leftover vegetables from throughout the week. Stuffed peppers with leftover rice, ground beef, and tomatoes from the garden. Mashed potatoes, just because I have a lot. Broiled peaches with whipped cream. Leftovers for dinner.
Monday: Eggplant parmesan (not a regular for me, but I have a LOT of eggplant!)
Tuesday: Fried rice, again with leftover rice. Add squash and bell peppers, maybe some pork and/or shrimp.
Wednesday: Shepherds pie, with mashed potatoes from Sunday and the rest of that package of ground beef.
Thursday: Roast chicken and potatoes.
Friday: Bowtie pasta with Spicy Romano Chicken (chicken from Thursday).
Saturday: Chicken and rice casserole (both leftover).

This list mostly covers dinners; lunch is typically leftovers or sandwiches. This feels good; I like to cook extra and get several uses out of something. And hopefully I won't be throwing much away! I hate that, but yet I find myself doing it ALL THE TIME. I've started pureeing leftovers for baby food as well. (Tonight the kids barely touched their ratatouille, so I just scraped their plates straight into the blender.) He's not quite ready for anything chunky, but they're in the freezer waiting for him.

Here are some other good ways to plan for leftovers:

1. Roast chicken and potatoes. 2. Make broth. 3. Potatoes in breakfast burritos. 4. Chicken in casserole or pot pie. 5. Soup from broth and any leftover meat; throw in leftover vegetables from other meals.

This one's from my mother-in-law: 1. Ham 2. Beans with ham. 3. Chili with beans. 4. Hot dogs with chili.

I never make the exact number of hamburger patties that we need; I always throw in an extra pound (or at least round up) and freeze the extras. Leftover ground beef can also easily go in tacos or pasta sauce.

Other ideas for cooked chicken? Chicken salad. Chicken enchiladas or burritos. Or on top of just about any pasta.

I need more!! How do you use up leftovers? How do you plan your menu to minimize prep work? I want to do more of this, so let's get creative!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-06-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow food lovers! Here's another favorite from my kitchen! I LOVE these cookies. It's egg free so it's fun to eat just right out of the bowl while there is a batch in the oven. (honestly, I eat it with egg too...) I'm spending the weekend with Traci and I'm going to make them for her and her fabulous children. They are going to love them...so will you! Make them! Tonight!

3/4 c applesauce
2 T coconut oil
3/4 c maple syrup
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c oats
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 package (or less...or more...I just eyeball it) mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix applesauce, oil, syrup and vanilla. Add cinnamon, salt, flour, oats, soda & baking powder. Mix together until "just mixed." Add chocolate chips and mix them in gently. Scoop 2 T sized globs of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use an iceceam scoop) Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the cookies are golden.
Makes 24 cookies (but they don't last long...)
Enjoy!

Creamy Ham Ziti

2010-05-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

I ate this pasta dish at a luncheon today - very good.

CREAMY HAM ZITI
1 pd. Ziti, Penne, orother medium pasta, uncooked
1/2 t. vegetable oil
12 oz. lean ham, cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup non-fat sour cream
1 10 oz. pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T minced fresh dill
1 T fresh lemon juice
3/4 t hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to pkg. directions. While pasta is cooking, warm oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the ham and red pepper and cook until browned. Meanwhile, puree the sour cream, spinach, milk, mustard, parsley, dill, lemon juice and hot sauce in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Add the puree to the ham. Heat to a simmer.

When pasta is done, drain well. Toss pasta with sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Enchilada Sauce

2010-04-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 onion chopped
3 T flour
1 T chili powder
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t ground cumin
1/2 t oregano
dried thyme
black pepper
3 1/2 c chicken broth (or veggie or beef...whatever works best for your enchiladas)
1 t honey
1 t fresh lime juice
1 t salt

In a large pan, saute onion and garlic with a few tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Add flour and dry herbs and spices and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Pour over your favorite enchiladas! Enjoy! It's SOOOOOO good!

Fried Mush

2010-03-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

This is not a fancy recipe or anything particularly new but it is a good idea..both frugal and very good for you. It is also fairly quick if you are prepared...especially when those little ones are hungry at your feet. ;-)

I have adapted this recipe from Nourishing Traditions, a whole foods cookbook developed by a chemist and a nutritionist who publish for the Westin A. Price Foundation. If you don't know who Westin A. Price is, please see this video for a brief biography on him and why his research is both important and interesting on traditional food ways.

The recipe:

After soaking organic steel cut oats in warm water and 1 Tbsp plain yogurt or kefir ( the ratio is one cup of grains to one cup of water to one tablespoon kefir/yogurt ) for 12 hours or more, and then cooking and then eating! Why do I soak my grains? In this video explaining soaking grains briefly, you will also get other ideas and a free muffin recipe that I have not yet tried. I did watch it and she puts rapadura sugar in these muffins...yum! Anyway, when you have leftovers of this porridge ( I always make enough for leftovers ) that is what you use for the fried mush.

Mix 1 1/2 cups oats with one egg lightly beaten and fry in iron skillet in butter until crispy or almost crispy. Serve with Cheryl's yummy maple syrup and butter drizzle on top. I could not find it but she posted it on this blog. I do not remember the ratio of syrup to butter...I just eye ball it from making it the first time.

We eat this usually the day after making oatmeal and I love to serve it with oven baked bacon on the side. Yum!

Festival Spice Muffins

2010-02-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

I made these muffins this morning from the Tassajara Bread Book and they are so yummy. They have a very light and pleasant flavor. I might make them tomorrow too...they are really good! Enjoy!

2 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t mace
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ginger
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c oil or melted butter
1/4-1/2 c honey or molasses (i used about 1/3 c honey)
1 1/2 c milk

Preheat oven to 400. Combine dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl combine the wet ingredients. Fold the wet and dry ingredients together with as few strokes as possible, just until the flour is moistened, leaving a few clumps. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake for about 15-18 minutes.

Mexican Taco Stew

2010-02-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

This soup is perfect for these cold winter nights. I served it with Mandi's cornbread. Enjoy!

1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1 large zucchini or summer squash, cut into small cubes
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup medium salsa

Brown meat in a large pot over medium high heat. Drain, remove and set aside. In the same pot, sauté onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add meat back to pot and sprinkle mixture with taco seasoning to blend. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.

Yummy pancakes

2010-02-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

(this is not a picture of the pancakes from the pancake recipe below. the ones in this recipe are so fluffy, it's crazy.)

I am in love with these pancakes! I've always been a Bisquick user, but these pancakes put the Bisquick ones to shame.

Thought I would share this recipe today in case you want to make them for your family in the morning. Much love and raving will be the result.

For regular pancakes...

1 1/2 cup flour (I used white, but next time I'm using wheat)
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 T sugar
1 1/4 c. milk
1 egg
3 T melted butter

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl. Then mix the two together.

For our favorite kind...banana/cinnamon pancakes...

1 1/2 cup flour (I used white, but next time I'm using wheat)
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 T Sugar
1 T Cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. milk
1 banana, mashed
3 T melted butter

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl. Then mix the two together.

I times this recipe by four (I'm feeding six of us). That way we have a bunch to eat for dinner (or breakfast), plus a few mornings worth of pancakes with the leftovers.

These are the fattest, fluffiest, most divine pancakes I've ever eaten.

Seriously Good Spice Cake

2010-02-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

I posted this also on our family blog but thought I mosey on over here and post it as well since I'm honestly not on the up and up with posting here.

I got this recipe from Tammy's Recipes.

There are a lot of great recipes on this site all made from scratch. I have to modify some ingredients, but overall I thoroughly love browsing through a lot of her recipes.

If you are ever in a "what in tarnation do I fix for dinner??" rut, check her out. The website is filled with lots of wonderful menu ideas.

There is even a recipe on how to make your own "Cream of Chicken Soup" so you don't have to buy the canned stuff. I've tried it in various casseroles when I can slip a casserole by Farmer J and the soup has turned out wonderfully.

Here is the recipe for the yummy spice cake. I honestly don't like molasses too much. But, it tastes good in this cake. I substituted the flour for 100% whole wheat flour and it was still really moist and yummy!

Oatmeal Spice Cake

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 100% whole wheat)
1 cup quick oats
1 cup brown sugar (I used organic)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened or melted
1 cup water
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses

Coconut Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (I used organic)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons light cream or whole milk (I used raw milk)

Instructions:

1. Measure all cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, and then for 3 minutes on high.

2. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool cake slightly.

3. To make coconut topping, melt butter in sauce pan. Add brown sugar and stir over medium heat until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add coconut, pecans, and cream. Spread topping over cake and broil cake for 2-3 minutes, until topping is bubbly and browned.

Enjoy!
Lynsey

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

2010-01-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

The whole family enjoys this recipe - also very colorful.

Broccoli Salad:
1 bunch fresh broccoli tips
1 head cauliflower (broken up) small pieces
1 red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 C. celery, diced
1 small jar pimentos

DRESSING:
1c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1 t. dry mustard (can use prepared)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix vegetables together and toss dressing in. Let set an hour or so before serving.

This makes a large salad - I sometimes only use half and you can save half of the dressing until ready to use with remaining salad.

Favorite Broccoli Recipes

2010-01-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Since broccoli keeps being on sale at the grocery store, I've been trying to find yummy reasons to buy it.

Here are three of my favorite things to do with broccoli these days. If you have other broccoli ideas, I'd love to hear them.

I don't have pictures of these recipes because let's face it...I'm doing good to get this stuff cooked up. I never remember to grab a camera when little hands are grabbing at their dinner.

Broccoli Salad Number One

Lynsey's recipe is delicious. Just wanted to vouch for that one.

Broccoli Salad Number Two

I got this from my friend, Ashley.

I could eat my weight in this stuff.

If anyone knows of a healthier way to "do the mayonnaise thing" I'd love to know your mayo ways.

2-4 bunches of Broccoli

1/2 pound bacon fried and crumbled

1 C red onion chopped

1C raisins

1 large block mozarella cheese cut in cubes

Sauce-
2 C mayo

4T vinegar

1/2 C sugar

Pour sauce over ingredients above.

You can cut this recipe in half, it makes a lot.

When we eat those salads, we usually have the salad and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Our favorite way to do grilled cheese these days is to use homemade bread and sliced cheddar cheese. Yum.

Whole Wheat Linguine with Broccoli

Here is the original recipe from the Whole Foods Cook Book if you want to do things by the book:

1 pound whole wheat linguine or spaghetti
olive oil
1 head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the noodles separate. Toast the pine nuts in olive oil and set aside. Cook broccoli in olive oil in a skillet on the stove for about five minutes. You may need to add a little bit of water as the broccoli is cooking to keep it from burning. Add garlic and red chili flakes. Saute one minute. In a large bowl combine the cooked wheat noodles and broccoli mixture. Add the tamari, cheese and pine nuts. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Now...

I made it that way originally and it tasted like a big pile of nothing. I was very disappointed.

So, I tweaked it a bit and this is now one of our favorite recipes. There are times when we eat it once a week.

I double this recipe when I make it. It makes enough to feed our family of 6 and then we have enough to eat for lunch for several days.

Here's the recipe I use...

2 pound whole wheat linguine or spaghetti
olive oil
2 heads of broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets
leftover cooked chicken breast (this is optional, but my family likes it with meat in it)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
10 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
1 bag or 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 bag pine nuts, toasted
10 tablespoons of lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the noodles separate. Toast the pine nuts in olive oil and set aside. Cook broccoli in olive oil in a skillet on the stove for about five minutes. You may need to add a little bit of water as the broccoli is cooking to keep it from burning. Add garlic and red chili flakes. Saute one minute. In a large bowl combine the cooked wheat noodles and broccoli mixture. Add the tamari, cheese and pine nuts. Add the lemon juice and lots of pepper. It's good when it's peppery. I don't add salt because the tamari or soy sauce is already salty.

Yum! Yay for broccoli!

Blueberry Heaven

2009-12-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

I posted this on my other blog, but just had to put it up here as well.

Here's a recipe for THE MOST DELICIOUS BLUEBERRY MUFFINS EVER! I am not kidding. FABULOUS! I am confident that I will be gaining a couple pounds over the next few days because of the remaining 10 muffins that are in my kitchen. I made them for Braelyn and me, but she decided she didn't like the warm, fresh blueberries that were oozing with flavor and deliciousness, and I'm not sure I am willing to share with anybody else...so I will be FORCED to eat the rest by myself. I feel convicted that these muffins cannot go to waste and are worth the extra pounds. Anyways, my dear friend, and former apartment tenant, Erica, gave me this cookbook, Cooking with Marie. Marie is the genius that put this blueberry muffin recipe in her cookbook. Enough gabbing...let's get to it:

2 cups flour (I used half white half wheat)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sour cream (I think this is where the magic is)
2 T fat-free milk (cause we're watchin' our calories ;)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12-cup muffin pan with butter or cooking spary.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt. Add blueberries and toss until coated.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg. Add sugar, butter, sour cream and milk. Whisk until combined. Fold into dry ingredients. until just combined. Do not over mix.

Spoon into muffin cups. I filled mine pretty much to the top. Bake for 25-30 mins. Let cool for a second and then dive into blueberry heaven! Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Hoppin' John and Skillet Cornbread

2009-12-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

My mother is superstitious. She is a Christian but, she is superstitious. (Sorry Mom, its true!) I have been brainwashed all my life that if I don't eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day, the year will not go well...rather it will not be a 'good' year. I guess you could add even more horrible thoughts to just what might happen if you skip on even just one spoonful of black eyed peas on New Year's Day. So, just so you will not be caught without them..here is my recipe from memory which I plan to make tomorrow if I manage to get out to the grocery store for black eyed peas......oh yeah, I have to don't I Mom?!

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 whole white diced onion
3-4 stalks chopped celery
fresh parsley
veggie bouillon or chicken bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 pounds fresh black eyed peas (plentiful in the grocery stores right now)

Saute the onions and celery in the oil until clear or tender. Add the bouillon to water per directions (better yet, use your own stock!) You want this to be like soup and not like stew. Bring to simmer (this may be about 10-12 cups of water with bouillon added) Once simmering, add peas and then cook on simmer for about an hour or so until peas are tender and flavors blend. Add the fresh minced parsley and, salt and pepper to taste towards the end of cook time.

Skillet Cornbread

Set oven to 450 degrees first.

Medium skillet
coconut or other high heat oil, including bacon drippings if you are a true Southern girl ;-)
3/4 cup fine to medium ground cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups buttermilk (you can sour your own milk with lemon juice by adding 2-3 Tbsps lemon juice to 1 cup milk and let sit for 15 mins. to sour)

With ingredients ready, put oil in cold skillet and place in oven for 10 minutes. Mix cornmeal, salt, baking soda with whisk then, whisk in buttermilk. Immediately, pour into hot skillet. I put the hot skillet, with an oven gloved pair of hands, on the oven door, then pour in mix, then lift with both hands carefully back onto middle rack of oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Place on table on top of a trivet/hot pad. (tell little ones NOT TO TOUCH)

Serve Hoppin' John in bowls and the cornbread with butter along side. Yum! Thanks Mom! By the way, Mom is a lot of fun, so we forgive her superstitions. Happy New Year!

Bread and Butter Pudding

2009-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Earth to Table, Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm, by Jeff Crump. It's a beautiful new cookbook that I picked up. This is the first thing I've made from it, and it turned out fantastic.

This is the original recipe, which serves at least 12. Definitely feel free to half it.

1/4 c dried currants

1/4 c dried cherries

(Note: I used a dried mix of raisins, cherries, cranberries and currants.)

16 cups cubed day-old bread, preferably real-butter croissants or brioche

(I used a big package of croissants from the HEB deli)

6 eggs

1 c sugar (I used white, but I bet brown would be tasty, or maple syrup)

3 c cream

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange

1/4 c chopped pecans, toasted

1/4 c maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place dried fruit in a bowl and cover with hot water; set aside for between 10 minutes and one hour.

2. Place bread cubes in a shallow baking dish (I used my largest skillet).

3. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Stir in cream, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest and orange juice.

4. Drain dried fruit and sprinkle over bread cubes, along with pecans. Pour in egg mixture, pushing bread down into the liquid. Cover with foil.

5. Place baking dish in a large roasting pan. Place in oven and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and puffed, about 15 minutes. Pour maple syrup over top.

Butternut Squash Pasta

2009-12-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

Let's face it. I am busy. I am still working on two little boys Christmas stockings (the TWO sewing machines I own are cranky and I have been trying my luck and patience and minute skills to whip one of them into to shape to do some simple but sturdy applique'...again, note to self, start Christmas crafting much earlier next year) ...not to mention the laundry piles and our dishwasher is temporarily out of service so we are hand washing everything.....so......I am not cooking as much as I would like to cook.

Boys eating pb&j as I type. I did toss in some french onion dip and carrots. Remember that...you can always serve raw veggies and fruit when you are busy and all the time for that matter. Easy, easy.

This post may not follow blogging etiquette (is there such thing?) at all. At the least, this is not creative or my creation. I am going to link you to another website that I saw a bit on some variety show while I was getting dressed this morning. So go here to get this quick and healthy pasta dish for your table tonight. (The link says Pumpkin Squash Pasta but you could use any good sweet squash in the same family.) It is going on my table tonight. We love butternut squash but Mama needed a quick way to use it. You may already have all of these ingredients in your kitchen right now. Hope this helps during these last days before the birth celebration of our Saviour.

Merry Christmas!

Dinner addendum: I did realize while making this dish that we would want more. I made basic baked chicken breast with bone in (already thawed out in fridge) with olive oil, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning..cover and bake for 45 mins. on 400 degrees. Also, some whole okra sauteed in olive oil with Bragg's Sprinkle and sea salt.

Gingersnaps

2009-12-17T05:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make gingerbread men with my little men and I found this recipe in The Living Cookbook (which I love)! I'll put the recipe from the book and then tell you what I did.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t ginger
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup honey (I used real maple syrup b/c that's all I had)
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
sesame seeds

Measure flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves onto wax paper. Beat butter, honey and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses, blending thoroughly. Stir in flour mixture. Shape dough between palms of hands, a level tablespoon at a time, into balls. Roll in sesame seeds. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Cheryl's modification:
After mixing all of the ingredients together I rolled out a hand full of dough at a time on the wax paper and used our handy dandy gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out little men. We also used a star at Jay's request. I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them for 8-10 minutes. They expand. So don't put them too close together. I think I put them about 3/4 inch apart and they were fine. let them cool or a minute or two and serve! They are a soft cookie and really yummy. The boys loved them. We didn't decorate them or even get a picture of them...they didn't last that long. Those cute little gingerbread didn't even stand a chance against my hungry people!

Marie's Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

2009-12-06T05:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know who Marie is but she makes one tasty pot roast! =) I put the roast in the marinade overnight and John was supposed to put it on to cook the next morning while I was at Traci's for G6 and W3 birthday party. Well, he forgot....
So it marinaded for 2 nights....maybe THAT was the secret! I used a chuck roast from Yonder Way Farm and it was fabulous! I'll stop gabbing on and on and just post the recipe so you can make it for your family! This is great weather for it! Ok...here it is!

Marie's Easy Slow Cooker Pot Raost

4 pounds chuck roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 packet dry onion soup mix (I used Frontier brand organic b/c the other brands have MSG as a main ingredient and it's yucky! Check your local health food store, they can hook you up!)
1 cup water (I used veggie broth - would have used beef but didn't have any)
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used a combo of sweet and red potatoes)
1 stalk celery, chopped

Take the chuck roast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat.
Place in the slow cooker. Place carrots, onion, potatoes and celery on top. Combine soup mix, water/broth, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in small bowl or measuring cup, mix well and pour over meat and veggies.
Cover and put in refridgerator for a night or two. Cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. The meat falls off the bone! It's so yummy!

Turkey and Wild Rice Casserole

2009-11-29T18:33:00.001-08:00

Use leftover turkey and cranberry sauce for this delicious meal!

Serves 8

Ingredients

6 cups water
Salt to taste
3 cups uncooked wild rice blend
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, hot
Ground nutmeg to taste
Pepper to taste
2/3 pound yellow squash, grated (with skin and seeds)
1/2 pound cooked turkey, shredded
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs (such as sage, thyme, rosemary or oregano)

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 9- x 13-inch casserole dish; set aside.

Bring 6 cups salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add rice and bay leaves and stir briefly; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves; fluff rice with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes more. Whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper; set sauce aside.

Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add squash, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. Add reserved cooked rice, sauce and squash and toss to combine. Add turkey, cranberries, walnuts, herbs, salt and pepper and toss again, just until combined. Transfer rice mixture to prepared dish and bake until hot throughout and just golden brown on top, 20 to 30 minutes.

t'afia's best cheesecake

2009-11-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Monica Pope, head chef of our favorite restaurant t'afia. I just asked her for her cheesecake recipe one night at the restaurant, and lo and behold she printed it out and handed it to me. She even said "sure, no problem" when I asked about blogging it. She's very cool. So, here you are. I had to scale it down to 2/3; she must use a very tall springform pan.

t'afia's best cheesecake

Crust ingredients:
2 cups nuts, usually walnuts, ground
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c flour

Cheesecake ingredients:
2 lbs cream cheese
2 cups sugar
3 T cornstarch
4 eggs
2 vanilla beans, scraped

My favorite variation:
substitute up to 1/3 of the cheese with goat cheese (chevre), or any other soft mild cheese

Other variations listed (just ideas, no specific directions):
Lemon-blackberry with pinenut crust; white chocolate with hazelnut crust; mandarin orange with pistachio crust; fig puree with walnut crust.

1. Press crust ingredients into 8" springform pan. Wrap pan base in foil. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. It will be lightly colored and puff slightly.

2. Cream the cheese with sugar and cornstarch, making sure all the cheese gets mixed in by scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spatula periodically. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Mixture should be very fluffy. (I've used vanilla extract and it works ok, but the real vanilla is nice and there's no faking the little black flecks. Quite charming. If you've never used vanilla bean before: just cut a slit lengthwise down one side with a paring knife and scrape out all the stuff in the middle. That's it.)

3. Bake in a water bath (roasting pan with boiling water to come halfway up the side of the pan) until lightly brown. A knife will not come out clean, but the mixture on the knife will not be liquidy; it will be gooey.

4. Cool at room temperature and then refrigerate a few hours before serving.

*This has a very smooth, creamy texture. If you want it firmer & denser, as some people like my husband prefer, skip the water bath. Bake it at 500 for 8 minutes, then open the oven door and let the oven cool to 200. Bake at 200 for an hour, or until the edges are set and the center jiggles like jell-o. Doesn't need to brown quite as much as the variation above since it's not done cooking yet. Prop open oven door with a wooden spoon and let it sit there one hour. Cool at room temperature and then refrigerate.

*Easy strawberry topping: Puree a few handfuls of strawberries (frozen work fine) in the blender with some lemon juice and sugar to taste. Or mixed berries. Or any berry you want.

*Let me know if you tinker with any of the variations! They all sound delicious.

*The original recipe, before I scaled it down: Crust unchanged. 3 lbs cheese, 3 c sugar, 5T cornstarch, 6 eggs, 3 vanilla beans. It felt audacious to modify her recipe, as if I know what I'm doing. But the original version spills over the top of my pan, so what's a girl to do?

Chicken (or turkey???) Enchiladas

2009-11-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

I posted this recipe on my personal blog last year, but I thought it might make a good disguise for leftover turkey. Keep it in mind this weekend!

(Don't worry, you don't have to make that many. That's a quadruple recipe. Yes, I'm a crazy person.)

Chicken Enchiladas

2T oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb cooked chicken, diced
2t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1 can rotel
salt & pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
(or cream of whatever. in a pinch i've used cream of celery or cream of cheddar)
1 cup sour cream
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
12 oz grated cheddar
14-16 flour tortillas

1. This time I tried chopping the chicken (gently poached, or buy a rotisserie chicken at the deli) in the food processor. I used the regular 4mm slicing disc and it turned out great! A timesaver, since I was quadrupling the recipe this time. Chop the onion first with the chopping blade and dump it into the skillet, then put on the slicing disk and do the chicken while the onion cooks.

2. Cook the onion in the oil until tender.
3. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, rotel, and salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes.
4. Mix soup, sour cream, green chiles, and 2/3 of the cheese.
5. Put a little bit of soup mixture into 9x13 baking dish (or a bigger lasagna pan, like 10x15, if you have it). Just enough to cover the bottom. This keeps the enchiladas from coming out too dry.

6. Make an assembly line. I don't recommend doing this part at the stove, as in the picture, unless you happen to enjoy cleaning your stove. Do as I say, not as I do.

7. Spoon 1T of soup mixture onto a tortilla. (If you want to use corn tortillas, you need to heat them to soften.) Don't use too much soup mix or you won't have enough left to go on top. Top with chicken mixture.

8. Roll 'em up. Don't cram too many in a pan or they won't get any sauce. 12 in a 9x13 works well.
9. Top with rest of soup mixture and rest of cheese.
10. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until warm, or refrigerate and bake later.

Beautiful, Yummy and (Shhh...Easy) Dinner

2009-11-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

Homestyle Roasted Chicken

1 lemon
2 sprigs rosemary
1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken
10 small red potatoes, halved
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 yellow onion, cut in 6 wedges
1 (1/2-pound) yam, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Pierce lemon all over with a fork. Place whole lemon and rosemary sprigs into cavity of chicken. Truss chicken with butchers' twine and place breast-side up in a large roasting pan. Arrange potatoes, carrots, onions, and yams around the chicken. Pour both and wine over chicken and vegetables, then drizzle chicken with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover chicken tightly with foil and roast chicken and vegetables for 30 minutes.

Reduce to 350°F. Remove foil and set aside for later use. Continue to roast chicken, basting periodically, for 1 1/2 hours more. Transfer chicken to a platter and set aside to let rest for 20 minutes. While chicken is resting, cover vegetables with reserved foil and continue to roast for 20 minutes more.

Carve chicken and serve alongside the roasted vegetables, drizzled with pan juices, if you like.

No Knead Dinner Rolls

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm (105 to 115°F) milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour

To get started, make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature. Put whole wheat flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a large bowl and stir well. Add milk, butter and egg and beat with a spoon until smooth. Add all-purpose flour and mix until fully incorporated and batter is smooth. Cover bowl and set aside in a warm spot to let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, lightly grease a 12-muffin tin with olive oil and set aside.

Stir the batter gently to deflate it. Spoon even amounts of the dough into each cup of the prepared muffin tin and set aside in a warm spot until the dough has risen just over the top of the muffin tins, about 1 hour more.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake rolls until golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Broccoli Salad {{Lynsey}}

2009-11-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

I've finally gotten around to posting an actual recipe here. Slacker!

But, I could not keep this recipe all to myself.

I’m addicted to this salad!!!! This is an original concoction of mine and I’m so pleased with how the recipe turned out.

It’s soooooo good. I make it and keep it in the fridge. When I have the urge, I open the door to my wonderfully awesome salad that is waiting to take me to broccoli heaven.

My girls love it too. They could eat broccoli and cauliflower right off the stem so I knew that they would love this salad. But, they REALLY like this salad.

Broccoli is in season right now, so this is perfect timing.

This salad is also super good for you and has nutritious ingredients in it. It was the perfect addition to our roasted chicken and rosemary & balsamic vinegar red potatoes. I had some leftover so the following day, I shredded up the remaining chicken and put it in the salad for lunch. That was delish as well.

I’ve had similar recipes that call for mayo and sugar for the dressing. But, since I’m mayo-a-phobic, that won’t work for me.

Here is the recipe:

Broccoli Salad

3 heads of broccoli cut up into florets
1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins if you don't have cranberries)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 cup shredded carrot (I peeled a whole carrot into the salad with a peeler)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Optional: shredded chicken for added protein (the picture is shown w/ chicken in the salad)

Dressing:
½ cup cold-pressed olive oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
4 T organic maple syrup
3 T whole grain mustard
1 lime squeezed
salt, pepper, onion powder

Cut up and add all of your veggies and nuts. Mix up dressing and whisk together so dressing is mixed well. Pour on top of salad and mix together. Yum!

sweet potato pancakes

2009-11-19T08:38:00.000-08:00

last night i made sweet potatoes for dinner. we had 1 1/2 leftover- so this morning we made sweet potato pancakes. these are light and airy, and very yummy.

here's what we did:

1 1/2 baked sweet potatoes (i'm pretty sure just one large one would work)

2 cups white whole wheat flour (this is NOT white refined flour- it is from the white variety of whold wheat)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

4 eggs

about 2 tsp vanilla

cinnamon

1 can coconut milk

*milk to thin*

put flour into a large bowl

in a food processor, whip up the sweet potatoes and coconut milk. transfer to a bowl and mix in oil, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs (already beaten). add the wet to the dry.

grease up a skillet and go to town. this made up 16 medium size pancakes for us. so i'll be freezing quite a few.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~side note: if you don't have coconut milk try a plain yogurt- that's just what i had on hand. pancakes are forgiving- go with what you have!~~~~~~~~~~

Stock

2009-11-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get more basic than this. A good stock is handy to have in the freezer and is the key to taking a lot of recipes from "OK" to something special.

Chicken Stock:

Anytime I cook with a whole chicken, I make a stock from whatever is left. If I butcher it before cooking, I'll save the back and use it raw. But even if I just roast the whole chicken, it works fine. Pick off the meat that you can use leftover and use the rest for stock. If you are buying chicken just for this purpose, sometimes you can find chicken backs for very, very cheap.

1 chicken carcass
1 onion, quartered (don't bother to peel or chop into tiny pieces)
1 carrot, or a handful of baby carrots
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1T crushed garlic
1T sea salt

Cut the chicken up into 1" pieces, chopping the bones with big heavy scissors or a meat cleaver. It's not the end of the world if you skip this step; it is messy and takes a few minutes. But the bone marrow is good for you, and more of it will get into your stock if the bones are chopped up.

Put everything in the crock pot, cover with water. Cook on low overnight. Let cool and freeze in 1-2 cup amounts.

I usually start this after dinner, getting it started while I'm doing the dishes, and leave it until morning.

If you need it the same day, cook in a stock pot on simmer a couple of hours. 30 minutes will do in an emergency, but longer is better.

Vegetable Stock:
Don't be afraid to chop into really large chunks. There's no need to spend all day peeling and dicing. 5 minutes hands-on prep time, max. From the Bittman book again.

1/3 c olive oil
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, cut into chunks
2 celery stalks, cut into chunks
1 parsnip, cut into chunks (optional)
2 potatoes, quartered
2 T crushed garlic, or 6 cloves
15-20 mushrooms, halved or sliced
Small bunch parsley
2-3 sprigs thyme
1/4 c soy sauce
10 black peppercorns
1/2 c white wine (optional)
salt & pepper

1. Best method: Preheat oven to 450. Coat onion, carrots, celery, parsnip, potatoes, garlic and mushrooms with oil. Roast until browned, about 45 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. Faster method: Brown same ingredients in a skillet.
3. Combine roasted vegetables with herbs, soy sauce, peppercorns, wine, salt & pepper and 2 quarts water in a stockpot over high heat. Put roasting pan on another burner with 1 quart water. Bring to a boil and scrape up any stuck food bits. Add to stockpot.
4. Simmer until vegetables are very soft. Strain and adjust seasoning.

Risotto

2009-11-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Risotto has a bad rap for being difficult. It really isn't. It's a bit high-maintenance in the stirring department, so I like to do as much prep work ahead of time as possible. Don't make this along with several other items that need attention during the last 10-15 minutes before serving. But it's mindless; just stand there stirring frequently. I can be doing that while I chat with guests or watch the kids color. Easily made vegetarian; one of my very favorite meatless dishes. I don't have a lot of vegetarian recipes that feel hearty without lots of cream and cheese. Risotto definitely feels like "real food," and it's even vegan if you use olive oil and skip the parmesan. For some reason this feels seasonal and appropriate to me year-round.

This is my basic recipe, combined from recipes in The Best Recipe and Mark Bittman's vegetarian cookbook (which I reviewed here). This is my favorite combination, but I'll list other versions below.

Risotto with Mushrooms and Asparagus

1/2 c dried porcini mushrooms
5 cups stock, veggie or chicken
Few saffron threads, optional
6 T butter
2 c Arborio rice
salt & pepper
1/2 c white wine
1 c chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 c grated Parmesan, plus extra for passing

1. Rinse the dried mushrooms, soak in hot water to reconstitute.
2. Warm the stock in a saucepan, keep it over low heat. Add saffron if using.
3. Heat 3T butter in dutch oven or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cook until soft.
4. Add rice and some salt, cook until glossy and coated, 2-3 minutes.
5. Add wine, let bubble away. Add 3 cups broth. Drain mushrooms, chop and add to rice along with half of the soaking liquid. Let simmer.
6. Meanwhile, saute the fresh mushrooms and asparagus in the other 3T butter over medium-high heat until lightly brown and almost crisp, about 7-10 minutes.
7. When the stock is almost evaporated, add more, a ladle (1/2 cup or so) at a time. This is the high maintenance part. You don't have to stir constantly, but don't leave it for more than a minute. It will stick quickly. Start paying close attention about 20 minutes after it started cooking. You want to taste frequently and catch it when it's "al dente." It should be tender and creamy but have a tiny bit of firmness in the center. This will take another 10 minutes or so. If you use up all of the broth start adding hot water.
8. Stir in the mushrooms, asparagus, and parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, with extra parmesan at the table.

Variations:
Basic: either chicken or veggie broth, no veggies added
Just mushrooms, no asparagus
Frozen peas: thaw and add in last 5 minutes
Carrots, beets, potatoes, broccoli, etc.: Briefly boil until barely tender, quickly saute in butter, stir in at last minute

breakfast cookies

2009-11-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

***the original recipe can be found at i have to say. thank you randi for such a great idea!***

i tried a modified version of these cookies the other morning for breakfast and they were delicious! the kids were so excited about the idea of cookies for breakfast!

breakfast cookies

2 ripe mashed bananas

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup liquid coconut oil

mix together

add

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (ww pastry flour optimal if you have it on hand)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

stir into wet ingredients (or just dump it all in the bowl together like i did)

next add

3/4 cup blueberries (i used frozen)

1 - 1/2 cups traditional oats

drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

very easy and very yummy! i think next time i'll add shredded zuc or carrot to up the nutritional factor. i always feel so accomplished when i can get a vegetable in before 9am.

Fish-House Style Green Tomato Pickles

2009-11-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Thought some of you might have some green tomatoes and this recipe is good with pinto beans. It will also give you a chance to can something simple.

FISH-HOUSE STYLE GREEN TOMATO PICKLES

2 qts. quartered green tomatoes

2 c. chopped onion (might want to use onion rings) 3/4 c. chopped hot peppers (see

note)

2 c. sugar

3 tbsp salt

2 c. vinegar

1 tsp celery seed

Put tomatoes, onions and hot peppers in large pan. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and put in hot, sterile jars and seal. (I place the lids in warm water and it seems to help with sealing.)

NOTE: For spicy but not hot pickles, reduce hot pepper to half (I used 1/4 c.) or less the amount called for and fill measure with chopped sweet peppers.

Pumpkin French Toast

2009-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm obsessed....seriously, I love pumpkin!

1/4 c flour (I used whole wheat pastry)
3/4 c milk
1/3 c pumpkin (use the rest of the can for pumpkin scones!)
1/8 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
3 eggs
1 T butter
9 slices of bread

Mix batter. Coat grill with butter. Dip bread into batter. Cook for about 5 mins on each side.

My Little Helper!

It's a thick delicious batter. Sooo good! Top with maple syrup. Here's a trick I just learned to make your expensive, real maple syrup last longer. Oh man, I'm in love!

From Health Begins with Mom
I melt butter in a small saucepan and add the same amount of maple syrup. (So, that may be 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of maple syrup if I need a 1/2 cup of syrup in the end.) As it heats through, I stir it vigorously until it is completely combined and a pretty light brown color.
Not only do I get to skip buttering the pancakes... who wants to butter that many pancakes anyway? The children get more syrup on their pancakes, but only half of it is maple syrup. And the syrup is wonderfully warm, sweet, and buttery. Yum!

Honeymoon Green Beans

2009-11-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

When Christian and I first got married - back before we became homestead-bound dairy farmers - we loved to take honeymoons. I think we took three by our first anniversary. Sigh.

Our third honeymoon was a week in a small backyard apartment on the North Shore of Oahu. We went out for some meals, but I also threw together a few in our little kitchenette. Our favorite one we named honeymoon tofu. Since then I make it more often with green beans in place of the tofu, as you really need the nice, dried (baked) tofu which is hard to find out here in rural Texas. Our green beans are growing like gangbusters, though, and we felt like honeymooners again last night as we tucked into this favorite. This is the first time I ever tried to measure ingredients, you may need to adjust slightly.

Cook a pot of rice and set green beans on the stove to steam.

While they are cooking, mix the honeymoon sauce in a small bowl:

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
a little less than 1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp jelly or jam, any flavor (on the honeymoon it was raspberry, but last night I used blueberry - it doesn't matter)

YOu may need to add a touch more water to smooth it out - just kind of eyeball it.

Top the rice with a portion of beans then spoon the sauce over. This is enough sauce to feed four. You might also try the sauce with cubed chicken - I imagine that would be good.

Hm. I just realize that fully three of my recipes here have been peanut butter based. How weird is that? I guess it must be my secret pantry weapon.

My 'Preventative Healthcare'

2009-10-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Found this little odd bright beautiful orange thing in the squash bin at HEB. Going to steam with Fuji apples and add little wee bit of brown sugar and butter and raw walnuts to go along with roasted chicken and another side veggie dish. Loaded with vitamin A. It is called an organic Kuri squash....I have never seen one before now. Here it goes....will let you know. I love food adventure.

Lamb Mafe

2009-10-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

We've had some beautiful grassfed lamb in the freezer for about a year now. We got it before I became a frienditarian, so that's why I hadn't really been in a hurry to cook it. ...didn't know what to do with it and wasn't going to eat it. Now that I am eating home and friend-raised animals, I thought it was time to dig out the goods.

Last night I thawed it out and made this recipe I found at foodtv.com

I halved the recipe to work with 1 pound of meat and added cayenne in lieu of the thyme. It was pretty good, but I would make some more tweaks next time - as noted in red in the recipe. Made with one pound of lamb, this feeds 3 adults.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large onion, minced
2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy and it was fine. I would use at least twice as much as called for next time - it wasn't peanutty enough for my taste.)
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 cups hot water
4 large carrots, scraped and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 sprigs fresh thyme (I used cayenne instead and would probably use fresh chiles next time. I also googled other mafe recipes and saw that some called for garlic and ginger. That would definitely up the yum factor in my opinion.)
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Other recipes I saw said you could add other veggies - eggplant seemed the best fit, but butternut was on the list, too. I was going to add okra, but picked my pods too late and they were too tough to use.

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until it is translucent. Add the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned on all sides.

In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter with the cold water and pour it over the meat. Dilute the tomato paste with the hot water, pour the liquid over the stew, and stir well to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the remaining ingredients, lower the heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Serve hot over white rice.

My husband and our friend who was over for dinner LOVED this. I liked it, but think the tweaks mentioned would make it even better. The recipe says this works with chicken, too.

I served this on rice and our sides were wilted spinach and grilled bread schmeared with fresh chevre. Delicious.

Linguine with zucchini and chickpeas....yum!

2009-10-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is super easy and super yummy! My family loved it!

Linguine with zucchini and chickpeas

12 oz linguine
2 T olive oil
3 small zucchini, cut into thin half moons
salt
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water, drain, and return pasta to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini ans 1/2 t salt. Cook, tossing often, until just tender, 4-5 mins. Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper and cook until heated through, 2-3 mins.

Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and 1/4 c of Parm. Divide the pasta among bowls and top with zucchini mixture and remaining 1/4 c Parm.

YUM!

corn bread

2009-10-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

it's that time of year. lots of soup, and with that soup, a skillet of corn bread. after lots of experimenting i have come up with a recipe that i love. as my dad would say "it's so good it makes ya wanna slap yo mama". yeah, he really says stuff like that. i should defend him by saying he (like myself) was born and raised in southern louisiana.

mandi's corn bread

1 C organic corn meal (really shoot for organic with any corn products- as it is such a heavily modified crop)

2/3 C whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 C milk

3/4 C plain yogurt (get a nice sour one- like a greek)

1/4 C organic coconut oil

1 T ground flax mixed in 3 T water (or 1 egg)

(i keep a jar of flax seed in the refrigerator and when i need some meal, i grind it up in a coffee grinder. the seed lasts longer than the meal.)

bake in a well seasoned and greased up cast iron skillet on 375' for about 15-20 minutes. that's when i start checking.

i would have taken a picture, but it was gone really fast.

because it's really good.

it's 'slap yo mama' good!

***disclaimer*** i am in no way encouraging slapping your mama - you hear that all you 3 year olds out there?

Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

2009-10-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

As soon as the weather turns cool around here, my boys start asking for Pumpkin Muffins. I agree, Cheryl...something about fall makes me need to eat pumpkin.

I can't wait to try the other two pumpkin recipes given on this blog. Here are some of our favs...

Pumpkin Bread
From Michele Smith

3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon (heaping)
1 tsp. cloves (heaping)
1 tsp. nutmeg (heaping)
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix shortening, eggs and pumpkin in large bowl. In another bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Then add a little at a time to the liquid ingredients until all is mixed well. Put in loaf pan and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Muffins
From Melodi Henry

2 1/2 c. sugar
8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
4 eggs
16 oz. can of pumpkin
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. nuts (opt)

Combine sugar, softened cream cheese, and softened margarine, mixing until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in pumpkin. Add combined dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased and floured muffin pans. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Crunch
From Jenn Bacak

1 can pumpkin
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t salt
yellow cake mix (butter recipe is best)
1 cup chopped pecan bits
1 cup melted butter
Vanilla Cool Whip

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Combine pumpkin through salt in a large bowl. Pour it into the pan. Pour cake mix over it evenly. Sprinkle pecans on top. Then drizzle the butter over it, and bake at 350 for 50-55. Golden bubbly. Serve with Cool Whip, and I have paired it with the Vanilla Cool Whip, which is a heavenly combination. I think Vanilla Cool Whip was made specifically for this dessert.

Do you have any favorite pumpkin recipes?

Traci's Easy Crockpot Black Bean Soup

2009-10-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is certainly someone else's recipe that I cannot remember so since the measurements are approximate...I call it mine. ;-) I triple this for leftovers once or twice for a family of four.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry black turtle beans
3 1/2 cups filtered water
1 tsp powdered garlic
2 + tsp. sea salt or Real salt
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dehydrated onion (or saute' fresh onion and toss in..about 1 large or 2 medium or to taste)
1/2 cup cream sherry (with cooking wines/vinegars in grocery store)

Optional Garnishes: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream with added water to make a little more soupy and pourable, chopped cilantro

Put it together:
In crock pot, place washed beans and water. Simmer on low for 12 - 14 hours. basically, overnight.

Add the next five ingredients for the last hour of cooking. Before serving, stir in cream sherry (add more or less to taste), then garnish and serve. Add margaritas!? Eat....feel good. ;-)

This one is for you Traci!

2009-10-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am a little late posting my Beef Stew Recipe for you but thought I would anyway. (Lynsey's sounds fabulous!) I first made this when I was pregnant with Jay. It was the first meal that I was able to keep down and really enjoy during my first trimester.

Beef Stew
2 lb beef chuck or stew meat
1/4 c flour
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 1/2 c beef broth
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 t paprika
4 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
2 onions, chopped (don't think I did that much oinion)
1 stalk celery, sliced

Place meat in crock pot. Mix flour, salt, and pepper and pour over meat; stir to coat meat with flour. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Enjoy!

Prudence Pennywise

2009-10-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

I must share this other food blog with you. Turn up the volume too...I cook to this blog sometimes. ;-)
http://prudencepennywise.blogspot.com/2009/10/chicken-satay-with-red-curry-peanut.html

I have not made this recipe or any that she writes about but I love her blog!!

I would like to get links to other food blogs from the authors here. If you have one you happen upon or frequent that you feel MUST be shared because the blog or a seasonal recipe is soooooo good to eat or just a plain appealing blog..share it. If I am out of line Brandi, tell me! Share the food love blogosphere I say. Enjoy!!

A Little Fishy Lunch!

2009-10-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

I grew up on fish sticks and hamburger helper and sometimes the convenience and nostalgia of these meals are sometimes hard to pass up! While planning my menu last week I found this recipe and it's just like those fish sticks I grew up on....no, nevermind...these are better!

Oven-fried Fish Sticks

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly oil a baking sheet

Skin and cut salmon into strips/chunks (1 lb of salmon fed my family of 4 easily. I was worried that I didn't buy enough, but it worked out PERFECTLY)

3/4 c whole wheat breadcrumbs
2 T finely chopped parsley
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
Spread this mixture on a plate

Beat one egg in a bowl

Spread 1/2 c whole wheat flour on another plate

Dip each fish slice first into the flour, then into the egg, and finally into the breadcrumbs to coat.

Place fish on a lightly oiled baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes until the fish is cooked.

YUM!

Our side dish:

Sweet Potato Cakes

1 1/2 lb sweet potato, shredded

1/2 lb potato, shredded

2 t onion powder

1/3 c flour

1 egg

3/4 t ground ginger

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 pepper

Line baking sheet with foil and grease with olive oil. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until they are moist enough to hold together. Heat 2 T olive oil in skillet over medium -high heat and drop about 1 T of potato mix into the hot pan and flatten with spatula. Cook 2 minutes; flip, flatten, and cook 1 -2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and place on baking sheet. Repeat process. Keep the cakes warm in oven (about 300) until ready to serve!

I have also solved my "can't get a salad on our plate to save my life becaue I hate making them even though we all love to eat them " problem. I pre-make them and store them in ziplock baggies! I wash and chop lettuce and spinach, chop carrots, cut broccoli, boil eggs and they are ready to pull out and serve! (I don't store the eggs in the baggies though) It's been GREAT! We eat salad for lunch and dinner and loving it! The prep work takes about an hour (?) but worth the investment. This seems so simple but it's been the best thing to happen in my kitchen in a while. =)

Happy Cooking!

Mandi's Leftover Mustard Chicken Quesadillas

2009-10-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

I love this meal. Mandi, on this blog, introduced me to her homemade/invented mustard chicken about 1 1/2 years ago or so and to this day, it is one of my favorite meals...I don't get tired of it! Currently, I make it once a week or every ten days or so. However, this post is a leftover meal from her recipe. (Mandi, you may have to post it here!)

What you need:

Whole grain tortillas

Cold leftover mustard chicken

Cheddar cheese

Chopped raw baby spinach

In iron skillet, warm to medium, when warm, place tortilla in, on one half of tortilla - add handful of shredded cheddar cheese, a handful or so of spinach and two 1/4 inch slices of the chicken breast with all the good seasonings and skin on. After the cheese on the bottom layer looks melted, in a few minutes or so, then fold the other empty side over to meet it, half moon style as you see in the photo. Flip with a spatula and allow cheese to melt and insides to warm again for a maybe 10 minutes but do not burn the tortilla. It should just be a little brown with a bit of a crunch on the outside.

My sister gave me some little tartish limes from her own homegrown and loved lime tree and with a little more than a half cup of fresh lime juice and the juice of one orange, I added almost total 4 cups of cold water and three half droppers of liquid Stevia. I like it tart, but this is pretty tart so add another cup of water or so if necessary. YUMMY man! Great lunch. Hope you like! The lime/orangeade is taken from Cathe Olsen's Mixed Fruitade recipe.

take that blue bell

2009-10-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

for a little snack today we made milk shakes.

well...milk shakes, barnard style.

i threw two 10 oz bags of organic frozen fruit into the blender (one strawberry, one peach). i added milk to this, covering the fruit about half way up. then i squirted in some honey.

and of course added some fruit dyed sprinkles.

to this, my precious girl exclaimed "mmm...this is better than blue bell!!!". be still my heart!

I Have a New Favorite Sandwich

2009-10-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

While antiquing in Warrenton this Round Top season, a friend and I stopped at the little trailer at Clutters for a bite to eat. I have eaten at this great little spot before, but this time I had the most FABULOUS sandwich, a sandwich I am ready to declare my new favorite.

It is a goat cheese sandwich with tomato and basil. OH MY GOODNESS!

I have since made it at home. Spread a little softened goat cheese (I pop mine in the microwave for about 5 secs. so it will spread) on a slice of hearty whole wheat bread. Top with a tomato slice, some fresh basil, and I put a little fresh spinach on there as well. Then top 'er off with another slice of bread. AMAZING!!!!! I wish I would have taken a picture of my lunch today, but oh well...you'll just have to make it for your self.

Just Planted Some Swiss Chard...

2009-10-06T09:49:00.001-07:00

...as soon as it is ready, I will make my very favorite recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. I know it sounds a little weird, but try it before you decide. It is SO yummy. We eat it over rice or cous cous.

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch Swiss chard (4 cups sliced) - (use the stems. the crunch is fabulous)
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20-ounce can)
1/2 cup peanut butter – (I like using crunchy)
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional, but it really brightens he flavor if you have it)
salt to taste
crushed skinless peanuts
chopped scallions

In a covered saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. While the onions saute’, wash the Swiss chard. Remove and discard the large stems and any blemished leaves. Stack the leaves on a cutting surface and slice crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices.

Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in the chard, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco, and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste, and serve.

Most times I don't add extra peanuts, as I use crunchy PB. I also rarely have the cilantro in the season I make this, so I leave it out a lot. No matter what I do, it is always delicious.

Dry Erase Freezer Board

2009-10-05T19:49:00.003-07:00

Does this count as a product review? This is my meal planner/product review.

Okay, I am a visual person. Usually I like the visual part to be pretty but this is different. The truth is, I have run out of printer ink with all my homeschooling work I guess and the fact that I have an ink jet that is for people who rarely print. (Am I a nerd for printing my meal plan in the first place??) So...here is my dry erase board..the front of my freezer door! You can see the "B" for breakfast, "Prep" for meal prep/thaw type reminders, "L" for lunch and "D" for dinner. The top has the date and seven days of the week marked. It works..so far and is much safer than my original genius plan to "glue" my dry erase board to my freezer..uh, that would have been dangerous. As it is, this is front and center where I need it..at the fridge and near the pantry and kitchen. It does erase well too..however, my fridge is quite old and has marks and dings on it so I am not afraid to play with it like this. Tell me what you think!

Beef and Vegetable Stew?

2009-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Maybe this is not what I am to do but here I go....do you have an excellent Crock pot Beef and Veggie stew recipe? My husband loves stew and I want a crock pot meal this week. Can this happen? I know I could go online and search one out but wanted a tested one by friends...that would be better. If you have one, please post. This seems to be a great staple for the Fall season anyway so hope someone on our club has stew on their mind. Thank you and hope to reciprocate!

Thank you for the pumpkin scone recipe and the clotted cream..how perfect together!
-Traci

CLOTTED CREAM

2009-10-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

These recipes look good; I particularly love scones and thought I'd send the clotted cream recipe - maybe for a Sunday morning treat. You all may be able to get it but I live 100 miles from the nearest Whole Foods.

CLOTTED CREAM
1 C. heavy cream
1/3 C. sour cream
1 T. confectioners' sugar

Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form, remove from mixer and had whisk in the sour cream and confectioners' sugar. Store in refrigerator.

Pumpkin!

2009-10-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting cooler and suddenly the only thing that seems appropriate to eat is pumpkin! Here are two of my favorite pumpkin recipes. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill and serve with ginger snaps!

Pumpkin Scones

1 T oil or softened unsalted butter
2 T maple syrup or honey
1 egg
1 C mashed pumpkin
1 C whole wheat or barley flour
1 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t sea salt
3/4 t pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly oil a small baking sheet. Beat oil or butter, sweetener, and egg together until smooth. Beat in pumpkin until smooth. In separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Turn dough onto floured board and knead lightly until dough holds together. Form dough into a ball. Place in center of prepared pan and flatten to a circle about 1 inch high. Cut into 8 wedges but dont seperate them. Bake 15-20 minutes. To test for doneness, insert toothpick in a scone to see if it comes out dry. Transfer to rack to cool.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

2009-09-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is my first time to ever post anything and I am anxious to see how it appears in the blog.
I have really enjoyed looking at the recipes and applaud all of you for using "healthy" recipes (most of the time).

Quick and Easy Cold Pasta Salad

I use Garden Spiral Pasta and while it is cooking place carrot sticks and broccoli florets in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove and place in cold water.

1/2 inch slice of deli-ham cut into small cubes.

Mozzarella Cheese cut into small cubes (I used Colby/Jack in this recipe).

1 medium onion chopped.

When pasta is cooked, drain and add olive oil, (or canola oil), cider vinegar, and a few drops of red pepper sauce (all to taste).

I also add some salt and pepper.

This makes a good lunch pasta - one that my husband thinks is great!

Organizing the Family Supper Club

2009-09-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so have you made any recipes you have seen here? I have made some and have planned to make some others. But, what to do to keep this thing rolling?

I have decided to take an old binder, print out a cover to insert in the front and make a spine insert labeled in a pretty way, The Family Supper Club. This will be my collection of recipes that I have begun to print off of this blog. I love this chronicle of what we are eating while raising our small children, etc. If any are interested, I can save my cover, binder spine design and forward to you to start your own hard copy collection of recipes.

I discovered just now, that I can select the whole post for a recipe, paste in MSWord and then just delete the part that copies of the list of older posts, comments,etc. The part to delete is all at the bottom, so it is easy to select and delete. I save the recipe to the hd in a recipe folder but then wanted to have a hard copy out too for planning and keeping in my Master Meal Planning file maybe?? Hummmm...anyway, just wanted to share my ideas here. Happy baking to all!

Dumplings Alfredo, or, My Second Fail this Week

2009-09-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try handmade pasta. I've never done it before. Jonas had been sick all week, and so I planned to make his favorite, fettuccine alfredo. I've been curious about homemade pasta for awhile, so I thought I would give it a go.

Um, not so much.

I made them the same size as the dried noodles in the box. Just a guess. Who knew they would quadruple in thickness when cooked???

They really looked, and tasted, like dumplings.

Gross dumplings, not good ones.

I also could have titled this post "The Night We Ate Dinner Twice."

We ended up at KFC. I am not kidding.

The other fail this week was the first time ever that Pioneer Woman has let me down. Baked Lemon Pasta was barely edible. The sauce was clumpy (in a curdled sort of way) and bland. I had made the quick unbaked version she mentions at the beginning of the post before, and it was good. That version is a keeper. The baked one with sour cream....not a winner. How can pasta and sour cream and butter and lemon go so wrong???

You can thank me for not photographing it.

Pasta in a cream sauce, gone wrong twice in one week? That's gotta be some kind of a record.

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-09-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like chicken pot pie?

This is a fun recipe because you get to do a little of everything: mixing biscuits, sauteing, and baking. And then it finishes in the oven, so I can clean up all of the other pots and pans while the pie bakes, and sit down to dinner with the kitchen already clean. It can be made ahead and baked at the last minute.

This is from The Best Recipe.

Ingredients:

1 recipe biscuit topping, to follow
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts and/or thighs
2 c chicken broth, preferably homemade
1 1/2 T oil
1 onion, chopped fine
3 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
salt & pepper
4T butter
1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 T dry sherry
3/4 frozen green peas, thawed

first, make biscuit topping:

1c all-purpose flour
1c cake flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
8 T butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
3/4 c buttermilk

1. Pulse first 6 ingredients in food processor. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with pea-sized lumps. (Note: this is the only time I ever use bleached flour. Lots of southern cooks swear by White Lily flour for biscuits, so here we go. I think they are a little lighter and fluffier.)

2. Transfer to medium bowl, add buttermilk, stir until dough gathers into moist clumps. Transfer to floured surface, roll to 1/2" thick. Punch out 2 1/2-3" rounds. (You should get 7 or 8, maybe some extra small ones from scraps). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Back to the filling:

1. Heat oven to 400. Simmer chicken in broth until done. Set meat aside and save broth. (I started with leftover chicken and skipped this step. I wasn't sure how much 1 1/2 pounds was; I used this amount and it was maybe a bit too much:

3. Increase heat to medium high, heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery; saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper. While vegetables cook, shred chicken. Transfer vegetables to bowl with chicken.

4. Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty pan. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook 1 minute. Whisk in broth, milk, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and simmer until thickened, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt & pepper; stir in sherry.

5. Add chicken & vegetables back to sauce, stir to combine. Stir in peas and adjust seasoning.

6. Make ahead option: At this point you may choose to cover and refrigerate overnight. The biscuit dough shouldn't be made that far ahead though. Reheat the filling before topping with the pastry.

7. Pour mixture into 9x13 pan, top with biscuits, bake until biscuits are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Oh, by the way, if you don't have a dough scraper, I highly recommend one. It makes cleaning up a mess like this quick and easy. Pie crust, biscuits, that sort of thing are much less intimidating if the cleanup is simple.

Gluten Free Dutch Baby/Pancake (Fruited Breakfast Torte)

2009-09-25T05:38:00.001-07:00

Do you want something pretty, impressive and ladylike for breakfast..pull up a stool..this is it!

Several years ago, I ate only gluten free grain if any grain, to rid myself of asthma and eczema..it worked! Although currently, I don't have to be so strict, I still rotate our whole grains so we don't get sensitive to any particular one..hopefully! So, here is a common breakfast food that I have made twice in the last two weeks and today, I got a helper to illustrate this tutorial. ;-)

Gather these tools:

pie dish

measure cups

cookie sheet

aluminum foil

Preheat oven 425 degrees.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter melted
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup cow milk or non-dairy milk
2/4 cups + 1/8 cup Bob's Red Mill GF All Purp Baking Mix (mostly garbanzo bean flour) or, whole wheat flour
1/8 cup ground flax meal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup raw honey (or more to taste..you will have to try this out to see how much sweet you want)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1-2 cups thinly sliced fresh fruit OR, 2 cups, drained frozen fruit

Put it together:

Melt butter and pour into pie dish. A big pool of butter is okay..trust me!

I always get an egg cracker helper wandering through the kitchen who wants to help. ;-) Combine the eggs, milk, flour, flax mean and salt until just blended. I did help him whisk them together, remove the eggs shells in the bowl, clean up the yolky pile of shells, etc.

Pour into the butter in the pie dish..right on top.
Place fruit in a medium size bowl, add the honey and lemon juice to the fruit and tumble until fruit is coated. (Note: Drain juice off frozen fruit first.)
Place the sugared fruit on top of the batter, either at random or in a spoke pattern.
Line cookie sheet with foil for easy spill over clean up. Put dish on sheet and bake for 20 minutes and check for firmness. You want it cooked but not hard. It will get puffy from the baking mix. If you only use flour, it won't get the pretty poof.

Serve with a dollop of plain or vanilla yogurt. This can be served as the main event to 4 or as an addition to sausage or other breakfast meat and would serve maybe 6 adults or more. (scroll back to top for finished torte from last week..this one is still in the oven)

Notes: You can use almost any fruit. We used raspberries for this one. If using apples, please cook on stove a little first to soften, after you have tumbled them in lemon juice and honey.

(Recipe adapted from More From The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman)

Steph's Casserole Experiment

2009-09-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

As you know, last week I made a modified version of a Paula Dean chicken and rice casserole. Happy with the result and intrigued by the possibilities, I committed to inventing my own chicken and rice casserole. Tonight, family and friends (I know...risky sharing my first original recipe with friends!) sat around my table and shared Steph's Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole. That's the official name.

The ingredients:
3 Cups Shredded or Cubed Cooked Chicken
1 Box Mexican-Style Rice (I used Uncle Ben's) Cooked to directions
1 Medium Onion, Diced and Saute´d in a lil' butter
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Green Chiles
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
Lil' Sour Cream (I used about 4 oz)
Lil' Cheddar Cheese (Whatever suits your fancy)
Directions:
Prepare ingredients. Dump it all together. Mix 'er up and pour into a 9x13. (I sprinkled a handful of cheese into the mixture and then sprinkled a little on top...for the hubs, you know ;). Bake for 25ish minutes at 350. Done.

Final Experiment Results: POSITIVE
To be honest, Casey ate the original casserole, but was definitely not encouraging me to make it again. I really liked it, but apparently, I was the only one. But as for Steph's Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole, he really enjoyed it and has approved it for regular meal rotation. YEA!

This was so fun and I really loved the final result. I served with salad, chips and homemade guac.

From Steph's kitchen to yurs...
Paula...you better look out, baby!

Turkey Taco Skillet

2009-09-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

I love this recipe. Traci made it for me last year when we did a once a week meal swap. I love it because I have done so many variations on this recipe and they are all easy and so good!

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 1/3 c tomato soup (or 1 can)
1/2 c salsa
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c water
2 c chopped spinach
6 flour or 4 whole grain tortillas cut into 1 in pieces
1/2 c shredded cheese

Cook meat in skillet until done. Pour off fat. Mix soup and sour cream in a bowl. Add this plus salsa, water and tortillas to skillet. Add spinach and boil for 5 mins Stir! Top with cheese.

Variations that I have tried:
Add black or pinto beans
Replace meat with black or pinto beans and rice
Leave out the tortillas and
Eat as a dip with tortilla chips
Soft taco filling
Topping for baked potato
Soup

This is simple and yummy meal! Enjoy!

A Pantry Classic: Gallo Pinto

2009-09-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our favorite pantry classic, gallo pinto. The national dish of Costa Rica, it is basically just jazzed up black beans and rice. In addition to being insanely easy to make, it is packed with protein and is probably the most inexpensive meal we have ever eaten and loved - even when using the "pricey" option of canned beans and tomatoes. If you start with dried beans I think you could make this for about 10 cents a serving. I shoud rename this "Recession Rice and Beans."

We always top ours with a fried egg. It's just a fact: every dinner is better with a fried egg on top.

Here's the basic mo-jam for my version of Gallo Pinto to serve 4:

Cook 1 cup of rice. (I use white beacuse it's faster and this dinner is usually made on nights when we get in late from barn chores.)

While rice is cooking, sautee in olive oil:

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped (or, even better, one giant clove of elephant garlic, diced)

When onions have sweat out a bit, add:

1 can black beans, drained well, but not rinsed
1 can Ro-tel, drained

Heat that through, simmer on lowest setting until rice is done. Dump the rice into the bean mix and stir well. Done.

I highly recommend the fried egg on top. You don't need more protein, but most people need a little more fat than what the olive oil provides. I also like to put a little smoked pepper on the egg. Yum.

I totally broke the yolks on the eggs last night, so no photos of this dish today. Maybe when I heat up leftovers, I'll manage to get one.

This is my super-basic pantry version, but in season I also like to chop and add bell peppers and/or use fresh garden tomatoes and chiles. Whatever. Go nuts.

I Found A Winner!

2009-09-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

I want to post each week what we actually ate instead of what I planned to eat, since what I plan and what we actually eat rarely end up being the same thing. I need one of those calendar/menu coordinators. I forget you can't be at soccer practice and cooking something complicated at home...at the same time.

Monday
Rotisserie chicken, baked potatoes, salad, homemade bread

Tuesday
White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook .

This soup was good…tasted like a fancy soup you’d order at the Olive Garden. It was very strong. The kids were good sports, but I don’t think this recipe will make a comeback in this house.

I roasted garlic in the oven for 30 minutes. Then squeezed it on top of sliced, homemade bread. I topped the bread and garlic with mozzarella cheese, then broiled all that in the oven for a couple minutes till toasty and melted. I liked the bread more than the soup! I learned how to roast garlic in my new cookbook. DELICIOUS.

Wednesday
Gumbo (chicken/sausage kind)

Thursday
Southwest King Ranch Casserole

This was a winner. It will definitely make it back on the rotation. It’s CRAZY better the second day. Up until the moment I ate it I was expecting it to have some red in it, even though I never put any tomatoes inside. It wasn't red...it was very green...but we liked it.

3 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 cups diced yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded cooked boneless chicken
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups bottled tomatillo sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 ½ cups sour cream
½ cup chopped green chilies, drained

I doubled this recipe. It fed us dinner and many lunches.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan. Add the onions, and cook them until they are translucent. Blend in the garlic, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Add the chicken, and heat through. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the cilantro.

To prepare casserole…

In a small bowl, combine the cheese.

On the bottom of an 8x81/2 inch pan at least 2 inches deep, spread 1 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Top with 4 tortillas overlapping as necessary. Spread half the sour cream evenly over the tortillas. Add ½ cup of the remaining tomatillo sauce, 1 ½ cups of the chicken filling, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and one half of the green chilies. Top with 4 more tortillas, the remainder of the sour cream, tomatillo sauce, and the chicken filling, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and the remaining green chilies. End with 1 cup of the cheese mixture sprinkled on top.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly on the surface.

This was yummier the second day. Also…it was too spicy. So, the next time I make it I’ll use less black pepper. I tasted the other ingredients and really think the heat came from the black pepper. We ate this with tortilla chips.

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Chicken, black beans, seasoned rice (I cooked fresh tomato, cilantro and onion in a skillet. Added leftover brown rice. Seasoned with garlic, salt, chili powder and cumin.) Topped it all with cheddar cheese. We ate this mixture with chips and salsa.

Sunday
Potluck at church. I’m taking chicken fettuccini alfredo, homemade bread and corn on the cob. Hope you all have a great week!

best oatmeal ever...

2009-09-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

sunday mornings are oatmeal mornings. mainly because sunday is bread baking day, and i use leftover oatmeal in my bread.

we eat lots of oatmeal around here, but our sunday morning oatmeal is my favorite. it is really hardy and delicious! here's what we do:

soak whole oats and nuts overnight (in different bowls) to neutralize the phytic acid (the bad stuff in grain that won't let you digest it properly or absorb minerals)
in the morning, rinse and drain the oats and nuts
put on the stove top with a little water (about half way up the pan) and set to boil, when it starts boiling turn all the way down and cover
while all that is going on start on the topping- place nuts (i usually use whole raw walnuts or pecans that i chop up) in skillet with some butter (or coconut oil) on a medium heat
add a touch of maple syrup and some black strap molasses
add chopped up apple or pear and a touch of cinnamon
let topping get all caramelized and delicious
serve up oatmeal in a bowl, add hot topping as well as some raisins and maybe a little splash of maple syrup
add one tablespoon of raw, virgin coconut oil

all those steps make me think that this is a harder process than it actually is. don't get caught up by the steps! this is actually a pretty quick breakfast!

and did i mention that it is sooooooooo-per delicious?

just ask buddy!

My menu and a few recipes!

2009-09-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

I did my meal planning and shopping yesterday and here's what I came up with.

Dinner last night: Chicken "pot pie" with crunchy brown rice (after reading Steph's post, I remembered this recipe that I found a few months ago and wanted to try. It's SO yummy!)

Friday:
B: Bagels and cream cheese
L: Sandwiches and salad
D: Dinner with John's family

Saturday:
Brunch with John's family
Afternoon snack: Kefir Smoothie and carrot sticks
D: TLM concert series at Molijaxx so not sure if we will eat at home or out....

Sunday:
B: Breakfast tacos (Great idea, Brandi)
L: Leftovers
D: (Potluck @ church) Turkey Taco Skillet

Monday: The boys go to John's mom's house for the day
B: Quinoa Porridge (haven't tried this one yet, I'll let you know)
L: J and I eat out :)
D: Leftovers or a sandwich

Tuesday:
B: Oatmeal cereal with granola
L: Pimento cheese sanwiches (2 c. shredded sharp cheddar, 2 oz jar drained pimentos, 1 t onion, 1/4 t. red pepper, Stir all ingredients until blended)
D: Beef and Quinoa meatball Pitas with Easy Marinara Sauce (it's #6)

Wednesday:
B: Applesauce cake (it's #1)
L: PBJ, carrot sticks, applesauce cake
D: Fussy Day Chicken (#2)

Thursday:
B: Granola and Applesauce morning muffins (havent tried these yet)
L: Picnic lunch
D: Crockpot Chili and cornbread

That gets me through the week. Happy Cooking!

H My Name is Heather

2009-09-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

I want to be like Mandi.

We're headed in her direction...eating more whole foods, learning to cook from scratch, but word to your mother, has it ever been the slowest journey ever.

Our family is getting there...slowly.

I have four boys and one husband.

No matter how "healthy" we get, we'll never pass up Cheetos or Blue Bell Ice Cream.

We like meat. I cook almost every night.

I homeschool all of our boys. Three boys I teach with books. They are learning things like history, math, creative writing and poetry. One boy I teach with constant supervision and a wooden spoon as needed. He is learning things like "how not to die" or "how not to seriously maim himself."

Our dinner table is filled with noise...some welcome noises...some noises that cause mom and dad to give "the look."

There are 6 of us to feed every night, and our table is usually filled with guests.

Needless to say, I feel like I cook for an army around here just about every night.

Thus the "slow journey."

Adjusting to eating healthier foods has required all of us...young and old...to learn to appreciate the food that God has given us. We've had a lot of retraining to do with our older kids...and for us as adults.

Eating may seem like a simple concept, but food can be a big deal round these parts. Adjusting our diets has meant adjustments in the hearts and souls that sit around our table every night.

I've had to learn how to keep some of our favorite recipes, but cook them with better ingredients.

I've had to learn to feed the masses without having to go out and get a job.

Lots of headaches along the way, but we're getting there.

Recently I bought the Whole Foods Market Cookbook.

I asked my family if we could all be brave...have an eating adventure one night a week.

"Can we try one new recipe a week?"

Yes. They all agreed it would be fun.

You know you're using the Whole Foods Market Cookbook when you walk into the grocery store and ask someone who works there...

"I need Swiss Chard. What department of this store will I find it?"

The produce section.

My oldest son was excited about eating Swiss Chard because it reminded him of "fat lard." He was excited to eat it until he noticed it looked like spinach.

I've had to ask the produce manager...

"What are Tomatillos?...should people eat those?"

I'll probably share which of these recipes will be ones repeat...and which ones we won't.

Excited to learn from all of you!

My Turn Now!

2009-09-17T04:53:00.000-07:00

I have been anxiously waiting to get a few minutes (or 20) to post about my eating, shopping, foodie habits and the time as finally come! It's 6:55 am and everyone is still asleep! So, here I go...A typical day of meals in my house looks something like this (and this is how I plan my menu that is posted on my fridge as well)

B: Cold Oatmeal cereal (plain oatmeal with raw milk...the boys love it, not really sure why) or english muffins with cream cheese and jelly, whole wheat pancakes, banana bread, or hot porridge (Nourishing Traditions recipe). Something easy and quick to get the morning going.

L: Leftovers, pasta, grilled cheese, salad sandwich or taco, or something Mexicanny with beans and rice

D: Some dinner staples are (I will post recipes too) Tamale Pie, crock pot chicken with either BBQ sauce or garlic and rosemary, Easy Mexican casseroles, or homemade pizza. I like easy but nutritious meals.

I work in the afternoons on Mon, Tues, and Wed so I try to put together a casserole or something in the crockpot before I leave so when I get home dinner is ready or just needs to be warmed for 20-30 minutes. I'm not great at side dishes though. I always forget that I should have a salad or veggie or bread or something. I focus on the main dish and am usually proud to get that taken care of! I'm working on it though.

One of my favorite cook books is The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook (Many thanks to Mandi!) All of Cathe Olson's recipes are quick, easy and I usually have all of the ingredients in my pantry. (Side Note: I'm not a vegetarian but her recipes are whole foods with no refined sugar, white flour, etc. and she packs in as many nutritious yummy foods in every meal.)

As far as shopping goes, I am a paycheck day shopper. I do my main shopping somewhere near the 1st and the 15th. I also do quicker weekly runs for fresh produce, things I forgot because I went with 3 kids...etc! I buy organic as much as I can. I am an ingredient reading mama. I'm still learning but it's a high priority to me to only put good things in my family's tummies. So anyway, my shopping list looks like this:

Please excuse the oil spot...
My list is in the order of my Brenham HEB and I leave it out and write things down as I run out or menu planning. I have a budget for each shopping period so as I shop I cross out the item and write the price so I can keep a running total. After each aisle, I add it up and put it at the bottom. I also have a place for things that I need to purchase from the health food store, order online or Co-op, and other errands.

I menu plan for two weeks at a time. I plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Tues-Fri. (on Mondays the boys eat at John's mom's house...so John and I eat whatever we can find when we get home from the music school) On Saturdays we eat brunch with John's family and dinner is usually out or with the family again and Sunday dinner is pot luck at church, so I plan for that too. I keep my menu on the fridge and try to follow it pretty closely. This is the only way we don't end up eating PBJs for dinner every night.

So that's the nitty gritty of how I run my kitchen and planning process. I'm so excited to hear stories from other kitchens. I feel like I have a lot of room for improvement and am open to sharing ideas and picking a trick or two...or three! Ok, so I'm off to plan my menu and head to HEB!

Recipe Review: Paula's Chicken and Rice Casserole

2009-09-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I was going to try a new casserole recipe from Paula Dean. Well, tonight I gave it a try and my comfort food craving was fully satisfied. I give it two thumbs up for taste and versatility, and a regular spot in the Cease Family dinner rotation.

What I really like about this recipe was that it was super easy to modify, and I modified a lot.
I used a rotisserie chicken and shredded the meat.
I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies that I had on hand, plus a handful of broccoli florets.
I cut out the water chestnuts.
I used cream of mushroom soup, about 3-4 oz. of sour cream and just a dollop of mayo. (One of the reviews suggested using sour cream.)
At the last minute, I decided not to add cheese, and topped it off with some Italian style bread crumbs instead. All that to say, you can go FULL Paula, or uh,...lighter Paula, and add veggies and such to your family's liking. I was very happy with the changes. And even happier when Braelyn cleaned her plate, save a few pushed aside peas and onions.

Next week, I think I'm gonna take this basic casserole and give it a whole new twist. I'll let you know how it goes...good or bad. What would this blog be without a few cooking experiments gone wrong?!

This week's plan

2009-09-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday is grocery day for me. I use this handy list:

It's organized in the order of our local HEB. I couldn't figure out how to post it here as a word document, but email me if you want it. (Props to Beth for helping me make the list.) It saves me from the frustration of getting to the end of the store only to realize, when we're all tired and hungry, that I forgot one thing at the far end. I'm really trying to get down to one grocery store trip a week, and eliminate that "other" trip for the few things I forgot. I keep this list out on the counter all week and mark things as I notice the need, and then sit down with it when I plan the next week's meals before shopping.

When our CSA picks back up next month, I'll do more planning around what I'm getting from there. Some weeks we get a LOT of produce, so that definitely takes some prioritizing in the menu. But for now I'm getting everything in one place, on one list.

On to the meals:

At least two days: turkey legs and roasted corn, baby. The fair is in town.

Day 3: Spicy romano chicken. This is a pasta dish that I copied and adapted from a restaurant. I'll put the recipe up for you; it's Justin's very favorite thing that I make.

Day 4:Stir fry. Lynsey's pork (chop or tenderloin), with some mixed peppers and broccoli, maybe asparagus, carrots, onion, peas, whatever else I have, over brown rice. I usually use a jarred sauce, but maybe I'll go from scratch this week. We'll see.

Day 5: Breakfast for dinner. I just made multigrain waffles (whole wheat, cornmeal and rye) from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food last week, but they were so good I want to make them again. Don't be scared of the grain; it makes them feel like real food, not so much like candy. Local eggs, some bacon and fried potatoes to round it out. I need a better waffle iron, though. Mine is tiny and took forever to cook enough waffles for everyone.

Day 6: Roast chicken. Again from Yonder Way Farm. Roast potatoes, asparagus & carrots with it. Rolls (maybe) and salad. I'll roast two chickens and use the extra in Day 7's meal. Make broth from both carcasses (overnight in crock pot). Save extra potatoes for breakfast tacos.

Day 7: Chicken pot pie. Will definitely put this recipe up; it's from The Best Recipe, my favorite cookbook. A lot of other people's favorite thing that I make. Hint: the homemade broth is important. Sorry.

Breakfast is always oatmeal or toast for the kids, and toast or tacos for me. (It used to be green smoothies, but I've not wanted them during this "meat & potatoes" pregnancy for some reason.) I make breakfast tacos once a week or so in a big batch and heat one up each day. Tortillas with scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage or potatoes, and cheese. Easy breezy.

Lunch is leftovers or sandwiches for the most part. Occasionally pasta.

How I approach menu planning:

I do this on my Mac lapbook, using iCal. This lets me see other appointments while I'm planning, so I know which days need a crock pot meal or something quick. This week, the stir fry will coincide with errands in Houston. It also lets me put several meals on auto repeat. Certain favorites are scheduled every two or three weeks indefinitely. Days when the kids have afternoon activities like gymnastics have a repeating cycle of low-maintenance meals, like crock pot, stews, casseroles, baked potatoes, etc. that are ready when we walk in the door. I also have "try something new" scheduled to appear once a month. So when I sit down to plan a week, two or three nights are already done automatically.

I like to plan for leftovers, too. Example in this week: leftover roasted potatoes make good breakfast tacos. Extra roasted chicken is good for the pot pie, or chicken salad, or casseroles. Last week I made beans and cornbread one day. We had bean burritos for lunch on two days, and then I refried what was left as a side for tacos.

Steph asked a good question about planning for weekends, and how to handle changes in plans without wasting food. I think it's a great question so I'm repeating it here. This was my answer, but I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts:

...a couple of [our scheduled meals] will rely on meat in the the deep freezer, so if we end up going out instead then i just skip that meal and the meat stays frozen. same thing with pantry staples like pasta. or just move everything forward a night. thursday is my grocery day, so if we went out unexpectedly then i move a meal to that night and plan one less meal for the next week. does that make sense? and sunday night is unreliable for me. i'll plan something, but usually i'm tired and don't want to cook, but don't want to go out either, so we have something fun and simple like nachos or pancakes. the system works better if i just go ahead and plan that, rather than plan a "real" meal.

If I move a meal from it's scheduled night, I just need to double check the ingredients. Fresh produce may not be able to wait 4 or 5 days, chicken may be past its prime by that day, etc. So I schedule those meals shortly after grocery day, so that if they get bumped I have some wiggle room.

Any other recommendations? I really hate throwing away food.

Any requests for recipes or tutorials? If I'm not great at it I'll bet someone on here will be.

Quick and Dirty

2009-09-16T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am happy to have this new blog and happy to meet some new mamas. I love knowing how others do this food thing at home. The farmers are interesting to me too. To get down to it and join in, here is my blog for more about me and my family.

First on the subject of food, I want to share a tip if you don't already do this. With little ones and only one pair of mama hands, I use a meal tray for our meals. I just started this practice anticipating leisurely tea times with my new tray (screech on the record player sound) Back to reality..I use it practically. Especially for breakfasts and lunches during the week. I load up our tray with our food in the kitchen on plates, napkins, flatware, drink glasses and water carafe for the table and vitamins or any condiments, sauces, whatever. The whole tray goes to the table, the kids help set the table from it and then when we are finished, reload and I haul it back to the kitchen. So have fun with that if you like it. By the way, I picked up this tray at Target for 20$ and it is made of bamboo..I love it and worth it for sure.

Those bottles (exception, the honey bear) are my dead kombucha tea and my dead kefir grains! Yes, the kombucha is no longer fizzy and the kefir got left for over seven days...so this is reality..I will restart the fermenting process again soon...I hope.

Okay, now for the food: Quick Green Eggies (common, easy meal in my house adapted from Cathe Olsen, The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, buy on her site: http://www.simplynaturalbooks.com/

Get out a medium iron skillet, set on medium heat on stove, warm up with olive oil or butter and then gather ingredients:

Five eggs in bowl, beaten (or, if short on eggs, use three and add a bit of water ;-)

Fairly well chopped couple of handfuls of spinach, kale, chard, bok choy

Dash of tamari

Scant tsp. of curry powder

Clove of garlic minced or through a garlic press as I do OR, use garlic powder ( I keep a foil bag from Froniter in my freezer for real quick cooking)

Put it together:

Mix up with whisk or fork all ingredients except the greens.

When butter melted in skillet, put greens in, let sizzle and spread out to an even layer with spatula

When greens look to your liking, a little softened, pour egg mixture in, push around until to your desired cooked level for eggs. Top with grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Plate up with a side of plain yogurt and applesauce in a small bowl OR, fresh diced fruits and hot chamomile tea with honey and cream. In the photo, I also added bacon, carrot bran muffins and cranberry orange muffins (Veg. Mother's Cookbook) that I prebake and freeze but that is another post. ;-)

Enjoy! If you find that you want to adjust the seasonings on this..you can!! Add more, leave stuff out....just get some green veggies in your little people right??? Let me know if you try this one or already do it. (hey, posting this took me 20 minutes..I think I can do this!!) -Traci

P.S. -made this a day or so ago and took a photo..I stack the plates but you can always have more than one tray. It would still save trips back and forth to the kitchen while you are wanting to keep their attention for morning bible study/homeschool. You know how they scatter if you are not prepared??....oy!

short cuts to whole foods

2009-09-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

cooking with whole foods doesn't always have to be a time consuming process. i wanted to share our lunch today to show that simple short cuts can save lots of time in front of the stove!
moonpie found snow peas at the grocery store this week and REALLY wanted them. how can you say no to that? i had thought to stir-fry them with some other veggies, but i found that i wasn't really in the mood for that much food prep. so we improvised.

first i started the rice around 11. the basic measurement i use for that is 1 cup short grain brown rice to 2 1/4 cups water. it takes about 45 minutes to cook (once it starts boiling turn the heat down and cover).

around 11:45 we headed to the kitchen to finish up lunch prep. by this point the rice was turned way low and all of the water was absorbed, so i threw the fresh snow peas on top and put the lid back on. i do this all the time! it is a quick way to steam some veggies without having to mess up another pan! i love this method. i do it with noodles and broccoli too.

while that was steaming, moonpie set to work peeling and cutting carrots into sticks. you could save even more time by buying the little carrots, but i always just buy the big 5 pound bag for juicing and snacking. works out to be cheaper for me.

buddy and i worked on the tahini peanut sauce for dipping the carrots and snow peas in:

3 T tahini
1 T peanut butter
1 t maple syrup
1 T brown rice vinegar
1/2 t coriander

mix with fork. (adapted from cynthia lair's 'feeding the whole family: cooking with whole foods')

when we were done with the sauce, i turned off the stove and plated the snow peas. then i added turmeric and kelp to the rice, plated that, and the raw carrots. i gave each person their own dipping bowl of sauce.

that was it! it was super easy- took about 15 minutes of actual hands-on time (that includes searching for the rice vinegar!). the kids really loved this meal. man, they will eat anything with that sauce on it!

happy eating!

-mandi

{rEcIpEs from a farmer's wife}

2009-09-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

*****See Mandi's awesome stir fry recipe below and Lisa's bread post. Delish! I just had a spare moment to post something and might not get to for a few days:). So here it goes.

Hi. I'm Lynsey. We live on a farm in Brenham, TX and raise grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and pastured chicken and eggs. We have three precious girls. Life sure is fun and full of excitement 'round these parts!

Food is kind of a big deal to us since our lifestyle is about educating and promoting our farm. You can probably guess that we eat lots of meat around here. So, I would classify my cooking style as healthful meat and potatoes. I have a farmer to feed who requires hearty healthy meals. This was a bit of challenge to me finding recipes to fill us up and be healthful.

I use cast iron to cook with for its amazing benefits which adds to the ambiance of farm life......or at least that is what I tell myself when I'm seasoning it everyday after use:)

I cook mostly all three meals from scratch. It seems to work for us too. I use only whole ingredients- whole grains, raw milk and butter, and organic if possible. Most meals consist of a meat and veggies or whole wheat pasta or brown rice.

I truly enjoy cooking. But, what I love most is taking recipes I use to love prior to changing our lifestyle and making a healthier version of them. Some things I've learned to make from scratch instead of buy in a can or box are cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom, spaghetti sauce, and cornbread just to name a few.

I'm still learning and a work in progress. I struggle with food (the bad kind....we all know that chili cheese dogs truly aren't good for us:) being an idol so this adventure to feed my family good things hasn't came without its challenges. I'm gaining victory in this area personally and see the fruits of my labor in my girls- they ask for fruits and veggies for snacks. Of course, my hubby is just smitten over the whole thing and loves to come home from a hard days work to a good meal on the table.

Sorry! I know this isn't a "Food Addicts Anonymous" blog, but I just wanted you to know where I'm coming from and a little bit of background. I've been on all sides of the food spectrum but I'm at a good place now- for me at least.

My FAVORITE kitchen investment was a good enamel roasting pan (like the one pictured above)- Martha Stewart enamel with cast iron underneath roasting pan- cherry red of course:). I purchased mine at Macy's last year and use it multiple times a week. It seems to make the best roasted chicken with very little ingredients added. Of course, I think our chickens are hands down the best I've ever had, so I'm a little biased. But, adding water, salt, pepper, and garlic makes the most wonderfully flavored roasted chicken.

I'm looking forward to learning from and with each of you!

What's Cooking at the Farm

2009-09-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

This is really just an introduction to future posts.

My name is Lisa and I am a farmer and cheese maker in a perfectly lovely family of two. While I love to cook, most days I have neither the time nor energy to make anything elaborate at the end of the day. I am the queen of meals from the pantry/freezer in 25 minutes or less.

I am a vegetarian with very limited exceptions for animals I have raised.

I almost never measure anything unless I am cooking from a recipe, so when I post recipes I will try my best to estimate ingredient quantities, but make no promises about accuracy.

Nearly once a week I totally cheat on dinner and heat up one of my favorite instant Indian foods. If I am feeling less than exhausted, I at least try to doctor up an interesting pot of rice. Last night I added garam masala and shallots. I guess it worked.

I am also big on photographing my food. Here is a typical summer meal at Blue Heron Farm: Garlic bread topped with homemade feta, garden tomatoes and basil. Like a french bread pizza only WAY better.

mandi's kitchen

2009-09-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

oh man- brandi totally busted me because i posted my meal plan for the week on my main blog! eeks! this 2 blog thing is going to take some getting used to. especially since i talk so much about food over on herban homestead. so, a brief look into our kitchen would reveal this: i spend a lot of time on food. i grind my own grain, buy local veggies, meat and milk, and eat whole foods. unless i'm at el charro t or a friend's house. then i bloom where i'm planted : ). bottom line is, we eat from scratch around here. i like the adventure of cooking this way- it works for us!
i usually plan 6 days of meals. because we eat out maybe once for lunch and once for dinner around here. so 6 days covers us pretty well. i plan so i can use the same ingredients over and over. you kinda have to do that when eating seasonally.
this week we are only in town through thurs., so my meals are planned through thurs. breakfast:

monday
b- pancakes
l- leftover split pea soup
d- veggie lasagna and salad
(soak oats for breakfast)

tuesday
b- oatmeal w/ walnuts and raisins
l- veg stir-fry w/ brown rice
d- salmon w/ pesto & noodles and salad
(begin starter for bread)

wednesday
b- eggs
l- picnic at the park
d- pizza night!

thursday
hit the road- maybe muffins for the road???

i am not a slave to the schedule, but this is the rough idea for this week. breakfast is usually a variable- for instance, i always have 25 pounds of oats and wheat on hand, so pancakes or waffles or oatmeal are always a possibility! yay for having a general store in my utility room!

this is pretty fun! i promise to do better in the future, brandi! : )

Hi, from Steph's Kitchen

2009-09-14T14:27:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about this blog! When Brandi sent out the email about it, I was literally sitting on my couch wondering what in the world I was going to fix for dinner this week. I have lots of staple recipes that are an easy go-to, but frankly I'm feeling bored with them. SO this was perfect timing. Just what I need to bring a little inspiration back into my kitchen.

For a little background on how I run my kitchen, I do try to plan out my meals for the week. This helps me buy just what I need when I go grocery shopping and it helps me resist the urge to
"just eat out." When I first started meal planning, I would plan a meal for every day of the week (minus weekends), but I just ended up wasting a lot of food. So now, I plan three meals per week, which gives us a little room for leftovers or to eat out if it's been an particularly long day. :) I haven't quite figured out how to plan for weekends, though. We so often go out with friends or go out of town, that I just don't cook much on the weekends. However, I have started doing a big Sunday lunch/dinner so I need to start factoring that into the plan. All that to say, I'm still figuring my meal plan out. :) Any suggestions meal planners?

This week is a little different for us because Casey is out of town for most of it. So with just Braelyn and me to consider, I'm taking this week a little easy. Here's the plan:

Meal 1: Build your own pizza. (Sometimes I do a homemade crust, but tonight, just Boboli.) This has become a regular meal around here. I put tomatoes, fresh spinach, basil and goat cheese on mine. I LOVE IT!

Meal 2: Eggs and biscuits. (I told you...simple.)

Meal 3: Chicken and Rice Casserole. Like I said, I was feeling bored and in the mood for a little comfort food, so I found this recipe on FoodNetwork.com by Paula Dean. :) Here's the link. I might make a few adjustments to the recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out.

So that's me and my humble contribution for the week. I can't wait to hear from all you foodies and supermoms (and dads) out there. Thanks Brandi, for getting this started. Fabulous idea!

A Week in the Life

2009-09-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'll go first. Here's a little about me: I'm a housewife with 2 kids, 5 and 3, and one on the way. We eat at home probably 5 or 6 nights a week. My cooking style leans to meat and potatoes, with real foods, local and organic as much as possible, but with a heavy dose of realism. Most days it's vaguely between Southern and Bistro, with a good amount of Italian thrown in for good measure. Here's what we ate this week:

Dinner last Sunday was French Dip. Monday was a potluck Labor Day cookout with friends; we took hot dogs, mac & cheese, and cupcakes. Tuesday was Denny's, and I'm a little embarrassed about that. We wanted to go out, and Brenham doesn't have a thousand options, and kids eat free on Tuesdays. So Denny's. Wednesday was baked potatoes, which the kids didn't touch. (Why??) Thursday I volunteered at the fundraiser for Betty's preschool; Friday I don't remember. Saturday was Mexican food out. Today's lunch with the family was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and chocolate cake. Tonight was chicken piccata from Joy of Cooking, which we all enjoyed.

So overall, maybe not the healthiest week ever. Onward.

Tomorrow is broccoli pasta. Start with steamed broccoli (leftover from today! Score.) Saute it awhile in olive oil with some red pepper flakes until it's pretty soft. Mash it up with a potato masher and serve on pasta with some parmesan and a little more olive oil. It looks a lot like a pesto. This is the only broccoli my kids will eat.

So, what are you eating?