One of 'those' recipes

Have you ever had a hankerin' for a certain food/snack (in my case today, muffins) and didn't have all the right ingredients for the recipe you wanted to make?  Maybe it's just me?  I wasn't running to the store for the ingredients I didn't have, so I just made it up as I went along!  This is a culmination of about 2 muffin recipes and some stuff I just threw in 'cause it's all I had.  I didn't even have any muffin papers!!

I call it:  Your Favorite Jam Muffins

1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C applesauce
4 T  plain yogurt (or whatever you have)
2 eggs, room temperature
2 C white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 C Your Favorite Jam (I used homemade blackberry freezer jam)

In a large mixing bowl, mix the vanilla and the sugar together well.  Add applesauce and yogurt, mix.  Add eggs and beat into the batter until well combined.  Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized bowl.  Add flour mixture and milk alternately to the batter.  Mix until well combined.  Fold in Your Favorite Jam.

Fill (preferable paper lined) muffin tins to 1/2 full.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Top with butter and/or Your Favorite Jam of course!

YUM!!!  Enjoy!

Stuck

I'm in that spot again.  The one where I know I should be more organized about my weekly menu planning but just too lazy to do it.  Oh, I have ALL KINDS of justifications for it:  "It takes too much time away from my children." (that's my favorite one), "I never know what vegetables will be available at the grocery store.", "I don't have enough space in my new planner to write EVERYTHING."  LOL!

I am pretty good at at least doing a dinner menu.  I don't follow it day by day, meaning, the meal I had slotted for Wednesday I may make on Monday, etc.  I DO however, ensure that the menu I made for this week is used this week.  Planning a menu has saved us LOTS of money at the grocery store.  I don't wander around aimlessly, wondering what will sound good this time next week.  Doing that will put me in a bad spot.  I know EXACTLY what will sound good to me this time next week, cookies, crackers, chips, candy...I could go on and on.  If I have a list of things I need to make all the dinners for the week, I can just buy what I need and it helps me ignore the rest of the yummy stuff calling to me from down the baking isle.

I don't regularly plan breakfast.  I probably should.  It's become quite hum drum.  Most mornings my family eats sweet potato and eggs.  My son Luke also eats a cacophony of other things as he is working diligently on eating us out of house and home.  He is only 4.  I am in fear of what he will be able to consume when he hits puberty.  I shudder at the thought, and so does my checking account.  GEESH!

Lunch is usually ok because we just eat leftovers from the night before.  I am careful to make sure I make enough dinner to have lunch the next day.  It saves time, money and my sanity.

So back to planning breakfast (and probably snacks too).  My son is sensitive to wheat (gluten) and my husband has gone dairy free.  So the waffles, pancakes, egg and cheese omelettes and doughnuts are out of the question.  We don't eat cold cereal as the stuff is SO BAD for you, don't get me started...

What's a girl to do?!?!?  One can only do so many things with oatmeal before her family will surely start a mutiny.  **sigh** I am at a loss...bleck!

Whole Wheat

Many of us like the IDEA of baking with whole wheat flour for health purposes.  Sadly we have found that with the exception of bread making, using whole wheat flour makes most of our baked goods dry. 

I have found the PERFECT solution.  White whole wheat flour.  The brand is King Aurthur (which I love anyway) and I found it at Food 4 Less so it's not expensive.  The whole wheat flour we are accustomed to purchasing is called 'hard red wheat'.  This new flour is made with 'hard white wheat'.  The color is lighter and the texture is softer. 

I have used it for cookies, banana bread and muffins so far and I LOVE it!  You should give it a try!

Lace Cookies

Lace Cookies
a.k.a Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

Any of the following people will REALLY enjoy this recipe:

1.  People who like oats and/or chocolate chips
2.  People who like cookies
3.  People who THINK they MIGHT like cookies
4.  People who normally don't like to bake
5.  People who need to eat Gluten Free
6.  People who will want to try these cookies just because the word 'lace' is in the title.  ; )

This recipe is WAY simple to mix and cook.  Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.  There are lots of words in the instructions, not because there is lots to do...but because I want to make this as simple as possible.  Even if you don't normally like to bake because your baked goods never come out the way you intend for them to, this recipe is EASY PEASY!  Trust me!

Here goes:
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cup rolled oats (not the quick cook kind, get the 'old fashioned' kind)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt (or a pinch...whatever)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (don't go for broke and get the grown up chocolate chips, this dough is not substantial enough to support the big guys)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.  Place oats in a medium-sized bowl.  Stir in both sugars and the salt and blend to break up any lumps.

In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla extract and egg.  Stir this egg mixture into the oat mixture and add mini chocolate chips, mixing with your hands or a large wooden spoon to work in the ingredients.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on your cookie sheet.  Form the dough into 1 inch balls or lumps (don't get perfectionist on me here) and tamp them down with the back of a spoon to make the cookie flat.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned and the tops of the cookies are medium golden brown in color.

Cool well on the cookie sheet (about 10 minutes) before attempting to remove, using a spatula.

ENJOY!!

Mexican Pot Roast

I am trying a new recipe for dinner tonight.  It's called "Mexican Pot Roast".  It is a crockpot recipe and I LOVE crockpot recipes!!  I'll let you know if it's as tasty as I think it's going to be.  Here is the recipe:


Mexican Pot Roast

2 cups dried Pinto beans
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup (I make my own because canned Cream of Mushroom Soup has MSG in it.  The recipe for the homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup is below)
2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 can of Rotel
1 small can of chopped green chilis
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano (I used Mexican oregano)

Spray crock pot with Pam (I used olive oil).  Put the dried pinto beans in the crockpot and cover with water.*
Add 1 can of soup, the roast, the other can of soup, Rotel, chilis and spices.  Cook on low for 16-20 hours or on high all day.  You can also add potatoes and/or carrots if you prefer.  Once completely cooked, break meat apart, cool to thicken.  Serve on tortillas or over rice.

*I soaked the beans overnight to speed up the cooking process.  You can do it either way.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Compliments of my friend Denise Highfill

1/4 cup sliced (I dice them) mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley flakes


Saute the mushrooms in the butter.  Mix the flour with 1 1/2 cups of milk until smooth.  Slowly add this mixture to the mushrooms, whisking constantly.  Slowly add the remainder 2 1/2 cups of milk.  Whisk until smooth and bubbly.  Add salt, pepper and parsley flakes.  Remove from heat.  Soup will thicken as it cools.  Feel free to add more milk to reach desired consistency.  Makes the equivalent of 3 cans of condensed soup.

Update:  My family loved the recipe!  We will be making this again in the future for sure!

My new favorite "fast and easy" recipe

In one of the blogs I follow, I found my family's new favorite recipe.  It's a Sloppy Joe recipe that is not sweet!  Recipe can be found here.  I love, love this recipe.  Sneaking veggies into my recipes is one of my favorite things to do.

My husband of course is a big boy and will eat his veggies without this method, but my 3 1/2 year old son on the other hand, is another story.  We all love this recipe, it's quick, it's easy and it's pretty darn good for you.  I have used different veggies in this recipe and all have worked just fine.

I hope you give it a try.  If you do, stop by Hallie's blog and let her know what you think about it!

Hallie is also hosting a "Giveaway" of an L'Equip NutriMill Grain Mill in celebration of her 2 years blogging.  Stop by her blog and check it out!

Microwave Peanut Brittle with honey

I have used this recipe on two occasions and it comes out perfect EACH time so I thought I would share.

Normally I am not a proponent of using the microwave for cooking or even for warming food.  I use it VERY sparingly for multiple reasons I will not get into for this post.  If you are interested in some of the reasons, you can find them here. 

I also do not use corn syrup in any of my cooking or baking.  My family does not ingest corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup for again, a multitude of reasons but one of which is the following:  Most corn grown commercially is genetically modified to contain it's own pesticide within the corn itself.  So much so, that the FDA no longer categorizes it as food.  It is actually now under the category of pesticide.  I am NOT making this stuff up people...go look it up for yourself.  It is public record!  Crazy, huh??

Sooooo....the fact that I am posting a recipe for brittle and using the microwave is a very odd thing indeed.  However, I was able to find a recipe that at least did not use corn syrup, but used honey instead!!  It is a good tasting recipe, it sets up each time and my family loves it.  I use it for special occasions.  Today I made it for 2 special occasions.  #1 - Yesterday was my birthday and #2 - I am pregnant and CRAVING peanut brittle.  ; )

The recipe is as follows:

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
1 c. peanuts
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda

Combine sugar and honey in a 2 quart, microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high (100%) for 3 minutes.  Stir and microwave on high again for another 3 minutes.  Stir in peanuts.  Microwave again for 1 minute.  Stir in vanilla and butter.  Finally stir in the baking soda until light and foamy.

Spread onto lightly buttered jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.  Cool.  Break into pieces and store in an airtight container (if it lasts that long in your house).  YUM!

You can also find this recipe at cooks.com.  Use this link.

So I hope you try it one day.  If so...let me know what you think!

Raw Milk Rant

As many of you know, my family purchases and consumes raw milk.  For those of you who DON'T know, raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized so it still contains all the 'good' bacteria to help a person DIGEST it.  My son is lactose sensitive when he consumes pasteurized/homogenized milk.  When he consumes raw milk, he has no reactions whatsoever.

Due to the current FDA regulations, the raw milk dairy farmers currently have to test LOWER in e-coli and other cleanliness issues and bacterial than REGULAR milk you buy at the store.  (See comparison chart here:  http://www.realmilk.com/whichchoose.html)  Due to this stringent testing and re-testing regimen...the cost of the raw milk we purchase is almost $9.00 for a HALF GALLON.

The FDA continually fights raw milk dairies in our country stating that the consumption of such a natural product is harmful to us.  FINALLY an Iowa judge is getting the full explanation of the obvious BIAS the FDA has against this product.  I found it very interesting.  I have linked the entire article below, but for time sake, I have summarized my favorite part here:

"The two most recent reports pick up on arguments made frequently by raw milk advocates here that raw milk, comparatively speaking, isn't much of a public health problem.
The report for January included announcements from pharmaceutical companies about side effects for nine different commonly prescribed drugs; for example, that Ambien and Ambien CR "may cause a special type of memory loss...dependence...withdrawal....hallucinations, worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts." Symbicort, a drug for people with bronchitis and emphysema, "may increase the chance of death from asthma problems."

Concluded the FTCLDF filing: "These are all drugs that are approved by the FDA. It is irrational for the FDA to ban the interstate shipment or distribution of raw milk that does not have any of these symptoms or side effects yet allow these drugs to be sold in interstate commerce given the dangers they present."
The report for February cites 2005 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which report deaths from various public health problems. For example...4,649 deaths from obesity, 684 from sleep disorders, and 4,596 from motor vehicle deaths, among many others.
"Counsel for Plaintiffs could not find in these data any deaths associated with the consumption of fresh, unprocessed, raw milk and/or other raw dairy products." The filing also quotes Ted Beals, the Michigan pathologist, as saying "it is more of a risk for him to drive his car and obtain his milk than it is for him to consume his milk."

I believe that says it all.

Here is the full article if you are interested:
http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2011/2/24/how-dangerous-is-raw-milk-vs-common-pharmaceuticals-obesity.html

Homemade Fig Newtons

I had some leftover fig jam that I made last summer in my pantry.  No one was eating it on toast, so instead of just leaving it there to rot...I thought I would try my hand at homemade Fig Newtons.

I am VERY new to the world of pastries, so they didn't turn out PRETTY, but they are YUMMY!  I used this recipe with the exception of the fig filling as I already had fig jam on hand to use.  I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe.  It was fun and would be easy to make for someone who is good at working with and rolling out dough.

If I was going to use the filling for the recipe listed above...I would probably add a little bit of lemon zest.  Just my humble, personal opinion.  Lemme know if you try it!!

Make your own canned beef stew!

Darren and I borrowed a pressure cooker/canner last summer from our friend Mindy to do our canning as we had never done it before and wanted to get a feel for what we were doing before investing of one of our own.  Darren bought us a canner just a few days ago and we just HAD to use it.

We didn't have any veggies to can since it's not summer, but we found a recipe for canned beef stew that was super simple and CHEAP!  It will help to have some of these pre-made meals after the baby is born, so we decided to give it a try.

The recipe was simple:

potatoes
carrots
onions
garlic
celery
roast
thyme
salt
pepper
boiling water

You should take a look at some commercial canned beef soup/stew next time you are at the grocery store.  Most of the ingredients on the label, I cannot even pronounce!

You don't even have to cook the veggies since this whole concoction will "process" in the canner for 90 minutes.  We cut up all the veggies and meat, browned the meat.  Poured hot water over all of it.  Put it in some Quart Mason jars and then put them in our canner to do the rest.  90 minutes later we had 7 quarts of DELICIOUS beef stew all canned and ready for post-baby days!!

We did the math and even using Tri-Tip roast, the meals worked out to only $4.00 per quart/meal!  One quart feeds all three of us with leftovers!

Cheap, quick, fun project to work on together and good for us.  It doesn't get much better than that!!

Making Beef Pot Pies

Last night I made a roast.  Anytime I make a roast there are LOTS of leftovers (since there are only 3 of us).  We will eat them for a day or two but then the rest of the leftovers just go bad.  It's a sad waste of perfectly good food.  I decided this time I would make pot pies with the left overs.  My family LOVES pot pies!!

Basically I just took the leftovers, cut up the meat, potatoes and carrots and added some frozen veggies.  I used the soupy stuff that you always have when you make roast and I thickened it with some flour (you can use cornstarch if you prefer).  This makes a kind of stew.  Then, I make some pie crust.  Put the 'stew' in some oven safe small bakeware, cover with crust and bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.  Voila!  Dinner is served.  I made a BIG pot pie in an aluminum pie pan to take to a friend who is ill so her family would have dinner tonight.

Darren took some pictures of me working with the pie crust.

The candyman cannn...well, er...

Today was the day that my little sister Tammy and I went over to my mother's house to make Christmas goodies for family and friends.  On my list to make was the following:  Honey Peanut Brittle, Rice Crispy Treats and Chex Muddy Buddies.  My sister Tammy was making:  Chocolate Fudge, Cookies for the kids to decorate and Peppermint Patties.

The day started off not-so-good.  I followed the Honey Peanut Brittle recipe to the letter and it apparently never reached hard crack stage.  Soooooo, it STUCK to the waxed paper, NOT to be pried off.  The little, tiny bits that one WAS able to peel off would stick to your teeth so bad you just had to wait for it to dissolve.  Ewwwwww!  So I had to toss the whole batch!  **sigh**

So then Tammy proceeds to start her Peppermint Patties.  She started with the mint filling.  She accidentally put in 3/4 cup (instead of the required 1/4 cup) evaporated milk.  Sooooo...we ended up with a TRIPLE batch!  LOL!  Then she had all kinds of trouble with the chocolate coating.  It was thick and grainy...really weird.  Finally she got it to work.  The peppermint patties are a time consuming delicacy anyway...but a TRIPLE batch made it downright daunting!!  She's a trooper...she finished making all of it!

My Muddy Buddies were the easiest BY FAR!  Simple, and YUMMY!  I would HIGHLY recommend them!

My next attempt at Peanut Brittle was a microwave recipe my mother had.  It worked WONDERFULLY and I was pleased.  I made 2 batches of it and then called it a day.

I didn't make the Rice Crispy Treats as Christmas will not be celebrated at my mother's house until Sunday and I didn't want them to go stale.  All in all it was a good day...just not quite what we had planned.

Making memories!!

Gluten Free ideas

My son, Luke, is sensitive to gluten.  So, that makes the holidays a challenge as you can imagine.  I plan on making some rice crispy treats, some candied nuts and some energy bars (peanut butter, honey, carob and nuts/seeds) (recipe from my sister Cherie).

Does anyone have any other ideas???

A Jelly Ol' good time...

Yesterday my friend LaRee and I made pomegranate jelly and pomegranate/pepper jelly sweetened with honey and apple juice using this awesome recipe.  We have made jams/jellies with this recipe before and felt that this was going to be as successful as our past attempts...ummmmm, not so.

I woke up this morning and to my chagrin...the jelly did not set up.  NONE of it!  Oh well, I thought to myself...I guess we'll just have to use it as syrup or marinade or something like that.  Then LaRee calls me later in the morning, "Did your jelly set up?", she asks.  "No, it didn't.", I reply.  She then proceeds to tell me that she went looking around online and found a "fix it" recipe for jam/jelly that did not set up.

So I rush my happy little self over to her house, jelly and Luke in tow and we set about to re-do our jelly.  It was a funny experience (as all our endeavors together have been).  Now, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if it worked...if not...does anyone need pomegranate syrup??  LOL!!

Wish me luck!

Can you can, can, can?

The picture above is a small sampling of the canning I have done so far.  Left to Right:  Honey Fig Jam, Tomatoes, Pickled Beets, Pickled Green Beans

My friend, Mindy let me borrow her pressure cooker/canner.  I have been canning and freezing like a mad woman.  I have canned tomatoes, beets and pasilla peppers so far.  Will be doing MANY more tomatoes.  I have made some chili from my fresh tomatoes and froze it.  I have made home made veggie soup.  

It doesn't sound like a lot I'm sure, but I can assure you the task seems monumental at times.  We grew so much in our garden last year but much of it went to waste as it was not eaten or given away in time.  We did not have the foresight to plan to preserve any of our bounty.

This year we planted the garden with preservation for the winter in mind.  I would like to enjoy my summer harvest all year long!  Mindy said we could borrow her canner, to which I am very grateful as I had never used one before and didn't want to purchase one until I was familiar with the processes and the equipment.  I have been canning, freezing, pickling, fermenting, making jams, jellies and preserves.  

It's been very time consuming...but I am SURE I will be grateful for my efforts this winter.  Bon appetit!

Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized Milk...The Debate

So here's the low-down: Me and my family choose to purchase raw milk and raw milk products from REPUTABLE dairies/companies with a long track record of safe milk and/or products. My son is allergic to pasteurized milk and milk products, once this allergy was identified...we started doing our homework.

We have done IN DEPTH research into the pros and cons of raw milk. There are MANY health benefits to raw milk and it's products. True, there are nasty dairies out there selling nasty milk. BE SMART people!! Would you purchase your prescription drugs from the thug on the street?? I would hope not. Happy and healthy milk cows are grazing on grass in an open range, not standing knee deep in their own feces.

When I lived in OK (a state in which it is unlawful to TRANSPORT raw milk, it's okay to sell it, it's okay to buy it, you just can't TAKE it anywhere...hmmmmm) we purchased our raw milk from a dairy who came to the local farmers market. They had a cooler in their truck and they took us back there, all secretive like, in order to sell us their milk. I felt like I was a crack head trying to score some drugs! REALLY?!?!

Should the government be allowed to tell us what kind of food we can and cannot buy? Is there no personal responsibility anymore? Do we have to be handed our list of "options" and choose? I say no. The government already has it's hands in far too many cookie jars in my opinion. Please leave my food ALONE!

Our government's agencies have already deemed it perfectly acceptable to spray our food with toxic chemicals which are making farmers ill and the consumers as well. Do they really know what they are doing when it comes to food safety? Bagged spinach and lettuce is making people ill (and in some cases killing them) all over the country, should we not allow raw produce to be sold as well? Where does it stop?

We are far too removed from our food sources. We don't see where this stuff is being made, we don't know the people who make it. We can't even PRONOUNCE what it is made OF and we seem to be okay with that!!!

If you are dumb enough to run out into the middle of a busy street, you will be hit by a car. If you are dumb enough to purchase bad and or processed food, you are going to get sick. This is common sense people...a topic in which our government is completely discombobulated. Wise up.

If it comes in cellophane...it's probably not good for you. If it comes in a box...it's probably not good for you. If it comes from a dirty dairy...it's probably not good for you. I am not sure I can make it much more simple than that. (stepping down off my soap box)


*disclaimer: Yes, yes I realize this is a VERY heavy topic now-a-days and I could expound much, much more. We could debate this all day given the opportunity. This is just a simplified version of my belief on the matter. I will not un-friend you or even be upset with you if your opinion differs. I only ask you do your research and decide for yourself. Don't take someone else's word for it...PLEASE!