Cornbread

Cornbread is one of my favorites. We love it with chili or baked beans.

Cornbread

2 eggs – lightly beaten
1 cup milk
¼ cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cornmeal
½ cup ap flour

¾ cup wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 tbs honey
1 tsp salt

Place in Bread machine on Quick bread/cake following manufactures directions

Or

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Mix until just blended the batter should be lumpy. Pour batter into a square pan and bake 400º for 20-25 min. Until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Chili

When the weather gets cold we love Chili and Cornbread! This version is quite mild but if you like spicy chilli increase the Chili Powder and/or add a hot pepper. Make this up in the morning and it will be ready for dinner. It is also very versatile change up the beans, liquid, and veggies however you desire. 

Chili

4 cups cooked beans*

3-4 cups liquid*

1 Barley

1 Onion

2 cloves Garlic

2 cups veggies*

1 cup Corn

3-4 cups chopped Tomatoes

1-2 tsp Chili powder

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Oregano

½ tsp pepper

¾ tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp cilantro

Coarsely chop the veggies, onion, and garlic. Place all the ingredients in the crock pot set on low for 6 hours.

Leftovers can be frozen and reheated. Defrost on the counter for 2-3 hours or in the fridge for 24 hours. Warm up on the stove top to serve.  

Below are some of the beans, liquids, and veggies I have tried and enjoyed in our chili. 

*Beans- Kidney, Pinto, Black, Navy, Garbanzo

*Liquid- Broth, Water, Whey, Bean juice

*Veggies- Eggplant, Zucchini, Carrots, Celery, Bell Peppers

Sour Cream

Well it took a few tries but I finally got a delicious batch of sour cream. It was actually my husband who figured out what I was doing wrong when he said maybe it needs to be kept warm. It was so simple I had completely overlooked it and now I am feeling very silly. Anyway I now know exactly how to create the most wonderful sour cream and although it will not save me as much money as the yogurt it is definitely cheaper to make my own especially when we are talking organics.

Sour Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup buttermilk*

In a pint size mason jar pour in the cream and buttermilk, screw on the lid and shake to mix well. Place in a warm area away from direct sunlight (I used my oven with the light on overnight) for 12 hrs. After 24 hours when it seems to be slightly thick place in the fridge and cool completely. It will thicken up a bit more once it is cool.


*I have read that you can replace the buttermilk with either sour cream or mock buttermilk, 2 tsp white vinegar plus enough milk to make 1/4 cup let sit for 10 min before mixing in to the cream. If I get successful results from either of these methods I will be sure to update.

Candy Corn

For the last 3 years we have been making our own candy corn. Conventional candy corn is often filled with chemical dyes, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and gelatin all things we avoid in our house. Although it is quite a process to make candy corn (the shaping and cutting is the longest part) it is well worth it. I must say it tastes so much better then store bought and it has the added bonus of not having any nasty chemicals.
Next year I think I am going to increase the honey and decrease the agave (which is really just a very processed sugar just like corn syrup). 

Candy Corn

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup agave nectar or corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla
5 tbs butter

1 cup sugar –the candy corn base will turn out the color of the sugar

Use white sugar for a real white base, turbinado sugar for a slightly off white base, and rapadura sugar for a brown base.

Natural food coloring

Sift together the powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.

In a saucepan combine the agave, honey, vanilla, butter, and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil for 5 min, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture to the agave/honey mixture. Mix well until fully incorporated a whisk works well. 

Let sit for 20 minutes or until slightly warm and easy to handle.

Place the dough on a large sheet of wax paper or other nonstick surface.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add food coloring to one section of dough at a time. Kneading the dough to work in the color until it is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth. Repeat with the other 2 pieces. If leaving a section white knead it until it is smooth but do not add any color.

Most Halloween candy corn is white, orange, and yellow but you can use any colors you like. 

Roll the dough into long ropes, dividing them as needed so the ropes are easy to handle.

Line up the dough with the other colors and gently squeeze them together to form a long rectangle.

Using a sharp knife cut the rectangle into triangles. The tips will alternate colors.

Smooth out the edges and dust or roll in cornstarch to make them a bit less sticky.

Lay them out in a single layer on a surface lightly dusted with cornstarch. If possible let them sit for 24 hours to dry out. Not many of mine ever make it this long! 

*The dough can be used to make any shape you want- Try making little orange pumpkins out of the dough or just break off little pieces and roll them in to a ball for a much quicker way to make little candies.

Ground Lentils

I am not a fan of the fake meats. They are overly processed and completely unnatural plus I do not like meat or anything that is suppose to taste like meat. I do want to add more protein to our diet and my husband is a meat eater so I am working on some more meat like vegetarian substitutes. So this is my ground beef substitute it passes our families picky taste buds and has become a regular addition in our recipes.

Ground Lentils

½ cup Barley

1 ½ cups water

1 cup lentils

2 ½ cups water

1 cup walnuts

1 tbs soy sauce*

Place lentils and barley in 2 separate pots with water. Bring both pots to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to med/low. Simmer lentils for 45 min and barley for 35 min or until most to all of the water is gone. Grind the walnuts in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor. Pulse the mixture until well mixed, do not over mix you want it chunky not pureed. Spread the lentil/barley mixture into a large shallow pan and bake at 350º for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to evenly dehydrate mixture. Remove from oven when the mixture is very dry. Depending on how you want to use the mixture you may want it to be slightly moist.

I make it very dry when I am adding it to sauces but more moist if I want to make tacos with it.

 
Store the ground lentils in the fridge for a week or freeze in portion sized containers for 3-4 months. 

 *Try adding other spices, onion, or garlic to the mixture.

Ricotta Cheese

I can not beleive how easy it was to make Ricotta cheese. Another recipe that is super easy and will save me a lot of money, just like the yogurt. This is delicious with a little honey or fruit and wonderful in Lasagna!

Ricotta Cheese
1/2 gallon Whole Milk
4tbs Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt

Heat the milk and vinegar slowly, in a crock pot on low or over the stove in a heavy bottom pan on med low, until it reaches 180º. Be sure to use a thermometer to check the temperature. Slowly heating the milk should take about 30min-1hr.

Remove the milk from heat, or unplug the crockpot and let sit covered for about 2 hours until curds form. It will look like one big curd. Drain the milk mixture in a colander lined with cheese cloth. Drain for several hours until most of the liquid is gone. I like to drain the cheese over a large pot. The whey is great for cooking, use it in place of water in breads, rice, or most other recipes where you want to add a little more nutrients. 

Break the large curds into smaller pieces add 1/2 tsp salt or more depending on your tastes. Store the ricotta in the fridge for a week or freeze for cooking later. It will not unfreeze with exactly the same texture but it is still great for adding to baked items like lasagna. 

Ricotta makes a very yummy snack and can be used in the same way you would use cottage cheese. 

Yogurt

We love yogurt around here and for years we have been buying the large tubs of plain whole milk organic yogurt. I like plain  because there is nothing unneeded like colors, dyes, sugar, or flavorings in it, plus it is a lot less expensive. We love to make our own flavors with things like honey, vanilla, maple syrup, fruit preserves or homemade syrups. The kids love it with just a bit of honey but if you name the flavor we will come up with a way to make it. 

Recently though I started reading about making my own yogurt. This week I finally tried it and I was shocked at how easy it was and how much money I will save. I can make organic yogurt for 1/4 the cost of buying it!

Here is one of the best sites I found for detailed information on yogurt making.

Note: After 4 years of yogurt making I have added some extra notes and changes to this post from 2011. 

Yogurt

1/2 gallon whole milk*

2 tbs yogurt*

Crockpot Method:

Place the milk in a crock pot on low for 2 hours. You want the milk to reach 180-190º if you have a thermometer check the temperature. Unplug the crock pot and let cool slowly till 110º about 3 hrs. Again checking the temp is a good idea too hot and the cultures will die, too cold and they will not grow. 

Remove 1/2 cup of the milk and mix well with the yogurt. Then stir the milk yogurt mixture into the crockpot of milk, whisking helps to mix it in thoroughly. Wrap the crock pot insert in a thick towel and place in the oven with just the light on. The slight warmth from the light is suppose to help to keep the yogurt warm. Let the pot sit in the oven for about 8 hours (overnight is best).

Stove/Dehydrator Method:
Heat the yogurt on the stove using a thermometer to measure heat. Remove the milk from the stove when it reaches 180º. Let the milk cool until it reaches 110º. Be sure to use a thermometer to check the temp if it is too hot the cultures will die. Whisk the yogurt into the milk. Be sure to mix it well. 

Poor the milk into glass containers, quart size canning jars work well for this. Place lids on the jars and put them in a dehydrator set at 100-110º. Let it sit in the dehydrator for 12-24 hrs. 


When Finished the yogurt should be warm and thick. Eat it warm or pour into containers and refrigerate. It will keep for about 1-2 weeks in the fridge. I found it to be exactly the same as the store bought yogurt but some have said it seems slightly thinner. Be sure to save 2 tbs for your next batch. 
Over the years I have used many different yogurt starters and a few different types of milk. Both can make a difference in your final product. Using a really good pasture raised milk produces a better yogurt. You may need to experiment to find what you like best. 

I also froze some to see how it would defrost I will update with results when I defrost it. 
Update- It did not defrost well. The yogurt seemed to separate and was no longer creamy. I strained it through a cheese cloth though and made yogurt cheese which was very tangy and yummy!


* Be sure to use only milk that is not ultra-pasteurized and yogurt that contains live and active cultures.  If you are using Raw milk (the best) there is no need to preheat it. I find you get a thicker yogurt though if you heat raw milk to 110º before adding the yogurt culture. 


For a thicker yogurt
You can place the yogurt in a colander lined with cheese cloth to drain out some of the liquid for a thicker yogurt. Or drain out almost all of the liquid for a creamy yogurt cheese. 
Alternativly you can add extra cream to your milk when you are heating it for a thicker yogurt without straining.

Mayonnaise

Last week I got together with my friend Steph and together we whipped up some homemade mayonnaise. I was surprised at how easy it was and how delicious it tasted. My family loved it which made me so happy since we are picky about our mayonnaise. We love mayonnaise (especially Best Foods/Hellmann's) but I have not found any store bought ones we like that are not filled with GMO's or other nasty ingredients. I used my immersion blender and a wide mouth canning jar which worked perfectly!

Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks or one whole egg* 
1 tbs lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar (optional)
1/4- 1/2 tsp salt
pinch ground pepper
1 tsp mustard seed (optional)
1 cup vegetable oil*

Place the egg yolks in the bottom of a wide mouth canning jar. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Place the immersion blender in the jar and  begin to mix. Slowly pour in the oil a small amount at a time. Taking at least 1-2 min to add all the oil to the jar. As you put in the oil the mixture will start to thicken and become white and mayonnaise like. After adding all the oil if it seems thick add a teaspoon or two of water and blend. The mixture will thicken a bit in the fridge but not a lot so be sure to have it at about the right constancy. It will last for 1-2 weeks in the fridge.

Experiment with making it just the way you like it. A lot of recipes call for a small amount of mustard in it up to 1 tsp. Replace the vinegar with more lemon juice or add a clove of garlic for garlic mayonnaise. The best part of making your own is that you can create the right recipe for you.


*Be sure you are using only fresh clean eggs. I buy mine from the farmer and feel confident after talking with them that the eggs I use are safe for eating raw this way.

*We tried flax seed and grape seed and definitely liked the grape seed better. You want to use a flavorless oil. Olive oil has a lot of flavor and is good in combination with other less strong oils. Mixing 2 different oils can make for a good mayonnaise. Our favorite is half walnut oil half sunflower seed oil. Again it is up to you and your tastes. Try some different combinations and see what you like.

Red Lentils and Veggies

I am working more lentils and beans into our diet. I made this the other day with our Grilled Veggie Sandwiches. I worked great and will be added to our rotation.

Red Lentils and Veggies
1 1/4 cups red lentils
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cups chopped veggies (eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots)
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp dried thyme
pepper
salt

 Boil the lentils in enough water to cover them for 10 min. Drain and set aside.
Chop the onion, garlic, and other veggies. Heat butter in a pot. Gently saute the onions, garlic, and veggies.  Add the lentils, thyme, pepper, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Salt to taste.

Soaked Baked Oatmeal

This weekend I made a yummy oatmeal breakfast. My father said it tasted like an oatmeal cookie, like I said Yummy! The original recipe came from here. I liked the idea of the baked oatmeal but since reading the book Real Foods by Nina Planck I wanted something without refined sugar and vegetable oil so I tweaked it a bit. Here is my version of soaked baked oatmeal.

Soaked Baked Oatmeal

2 cups oatmeal

1 tbs whole wheat flour
1 cup yogurt
½ cup water

2 eggs
6 tbs maple syrup
1/3 cup melted butter or applesauce
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk

add in options

raisins

small pieces of apple

berries

chocolate chips

coconut flakes

Mix the oatmeal, flour, yogurt, and milk in an 8x8 pan. Cover and sit on the counter, allow the oats to soak for 12-24 hours.

Preheat oven o 350º. Mix the eggs and all the rest of the ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add the egg mixture to the soaked oats and mix well. Mix in any optional add ins. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm. 

Soaked Waffles

We are embracing the soaking method around here. First after a ton of reading I have found that grains that have been soaked are much easier for our bodies to digest plus we absorb more of the vitamin and minerals our bodies need when we are eating soaked grains. Second it is so nice to already have half the recipe done when I go to make something (especially in the morning). So in continuing to improve our morning breakfast I made soaked waffles. Yum! 

Soaked Waffles

2 cups wheat flour

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

⅓ cup melted butter

Soak flour in buttermilk for 12 to 24 hours.

Heat waffle maker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the flour mixture and stir till combined. Follow your waffle manufactures directions for cooking the waffles. Soaked waffles may tend to be slightly softer then non soaked. Placing them in a warm oven about 200º while making the rest of the waffles will make them a bit more crunchy.

Any leftovers can be stacked in a freezer container separated by wax paper and frozen for later.
Warm up frozen waffles in a toaster oven or oven set at 350º for 5 min.

*For fluffier waffles separate whites and yolks of the eggs. With an electric mixer in a clean bowl beat the whites till stiff and set aside. Add the yolks with the rest of the ingredients, mix well then fold in the egg whites. 

Some of our favorite waffle toppings include

Fresh or frozen fruit

Chocolate chips

Finely chopped nuts

Syrup
Homemade fruit syrups

Butter

Whip cream

Honey

Cream Cheese

Soaked Porridge

I have been on a mission to revamp our morning eating. Most days we eat a bowl of cereal, milk, and a cup of juice. It is easy and predictable plus it is immediate, my kids have never been ones to wait for food in the morning. Although we always have organic cereal it is not the most nutritious meal and is often times filled with sugar. So now I am starting the process of creating more go to easy breakfasts for our family.
This porridge recipe comes from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon although I adapted it slightly. She has many variations in her book but this is or favorite!


Soaked Porridge
1 cup oats, rolled or cracked (we use a 5 grain cereal)
1 cup warm milk
2 tbsp plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup water
Butter
Milk
honey, maple syrup, or turbino sugar

In a bowl with lid mix the warm water and yogurt then add the oats. Cover and let sit overnight or up to 24 hours.
In a saucepan bring 1 cup of water to a boil with an optional dash of salt. Add the soaked oats, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for 3-5 min.
When at desired consistency spoon out into bowls and top with butter, milk, and natural sweetener of your choice.

We have been adding berries, bananas, and or stone fruits to our porridge which makes it even better. Some almond slices or ground flax seeds are delicious as well.

*Afraid of using too much butter and or milk stop listening to the media and start researching for yourself. The right kinds of dairy organic, pasture raised, and full fat is actually incredibly good for you. Start your research with the book Real Food by Nina Planck and find out for yourself.

Nut Butter Drops

We make lots of drops around here. They are perfectly sized for snacks, freeze great, and travel well plus the kids love them. I have made these with almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter and sunflower butter.

Nut Butter Drops

¼ cup butter 

¾ cup rapadura sugar or brown sugar

½ cup nut butter
2 eggs 
1 tsp vanilla

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup all purpose flour  

¾ cup whole wheat flour 

2 tsp baking powder  

2 cups rolled oats

Optional Additions

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup coconut flakes

½ cup dried fruit

Preheat oven 375°. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar with a stand or hand mixer. Add nut butter mix until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time then add the vanilla and applesauce. Mix together the flours and baking powder in a separate bowl and then slowly add to the butter mixture. Stir in oats and any desired additions. Scoop tablespoon size drops onto baking sheet or stone. Bake at 375° for 10-12 min. until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack, serve slightly warm, store in an airtight container for 3-5 days, or freeze for later use. 

Pancakes

We love pancakes around here. They are an easy morning breakfast and a simple snack but my number one reason for loving pancakes is that it is one of the few meals that my husband can make without any help from me. He is our go to pancake man and it sure is nice to have someone else make a meal every once in a while! While delicious with maple syrup I love to make homemade fruit syrups for our pancakes.

Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oats finely ground
1 tbs brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups milk
4 tbs applesauce or oil

add in options
1 cup fresh or frozen berries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1tbs cocoa powder
buttermilk instead of milk

Mix together the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder if using. The dry mixture can be stored in an airtight container until ready to use.
In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, and applesauce. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. You want the dry mixture to be moist but still slightly lumpy.
Heat a large skillet over med low heat. Lightly grease the skillet with a spray of olive oil. Pour 1 tbs to 1/4 cup batter on to the hot skillet. Optional-sprinkle the berries or chips over the top of the pancake. Cook till the sides look slightly golden and the top is bubbly about 2 min. Flip the pancake and cook for an additional 1-2 min on the other side.

To keep the pancakes warm while I cook the rest I place them in a glass dish in the oven with the temperature set as low as it can be set.

Veggie Bread

I made this last week for our trip to Alabama. We used walnuts and cocoa powder this time and called it chocolate bread! It freezes wonderful and thaws quickly.

Veggie Bread
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup applesauce, oil, or softened butter- any combination will work as well
3 cups shredded veggies such ass zucchini, squash, or carrots
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Optional Additions
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans
1/2 to 1 cup dried fruit such as cranberries, current, or raisins
2 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Beat together the eggs, sugar, applesauce or oil until well blended add the veggies, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. In a seperate bowl mix together the flours, salt, baking soda, spices, and cocoa powder if using. Slowly add the flour mixture to the veggie mixture one cup at a time until blended. Stir in any nuts, fruits, or chips. Pour into 2 loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350º for 50-60 min.

Serving Ideas
For Breakfast or snack make the bread with nuts and chocolate chips. Cut the bread in slices and using peanut butter and sliced bananas make sandwiches.

For dessert make the bread using the cocoa powder and nuts. Cut the bread into slices top each slice with a small amount of homemade whip cream.

Top with cream cheese frosting for a yummy treat!

Egg and Cheese Pitas

I have been working on breakfast around here. We eat mostly cereal and the occasional pancakes but I want more variety. While on vacation I used what we had to make some delicious breakfasts for our family. The first combined a favorite for my kids and left overs from dinner.

Egg and Cheese Pitas
3-4 pita pockets
8 eggs
1 cup cheese
Roasted bell peppers or other cooked veggies

Toast or bake pitas just enough to warm them up. Cut a slit in the top and split the middle of the pockets set aside to fill later. Heat a large skillet over med high heat meanwhile crack eggs and whisk together until blended. Spray oil in pan to coat and add the eggs. Cook and mix till done we like our eggs well done here no slimy mushiness. Remove the eggs from heat add the veggies and cheese and mix well. Fill the pitas with the egg mixture. Add a bit of ketchup if desired.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

We have a rule at our house that we do not buy sweets if we want a sugar treat/dessert we must make it our selves. So this summer the kids asked for ice cream sandwiches and I was happy to help them make some. These are absolutely delicious and can be made as big or small as you would like. They take a bit of time and are fairly messy but well worth it in the end. We ended up with about 20 of them which I think is just enough to last us most of the summer.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs and then the vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Slowly beat into the butter mixture. Beat until well combined gather into a ball cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.
Roll out the dough onto a well floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Using the shape cutter from an ice cream sandwich mold* cut out and even number of shapes. Be sure to ave a top and bottom for each sandwich.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 8 min at 375º. As I took the hot cookies off of the baking sheet I gently pressed the shape cutter back over them to be sure they were still the correct shape. Some needed a little trimming before cooling and I put the mold impression on half the cookies before they cooled. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Putting together the sandwiches
This is where I am happy I had the molds. Using very slightly softened ice cream, it must not be too hard or too soft or you will end up with a big mess, follow the mold instructions to put together the cookies. Place them in a single layer on a freezer tray and freeze till solid. I put the tray in the freezer and the ice cream in a large bowl filled with ice. Each time I made a sandwich I would put it on the tray in the freezer. This way nothing melted during the process.

*We used some Tovolo Ice Cream Sandwich Molds to create ours. I am not one for using many fancy gadgets but these made the sandwich making quite easy and I would recommend them to any one making these. The recipe for the molds came with a brownie type cookie but I like these better. They took a bit more work but I think it was well worth it since I like a crunch in my Ice cream Sandwich.

Ice Cream

We love ice cream! Growing up my family made homemade ice cream at every holiday and family gathering. It is so much tastier then the store bought and very easy especially if you have and ice cream maker. With a good base the possibilities of flavor combinations are endless. Here is the basic ice cream we make it Philadelphia Style because It is delicious and a bit easier then making an egg custard ice cream. When we add egg yolks to the ice cream we do not cook them. We believe, after much research, that when properly handled fresh farm eggs (not the store bought junk eggs) are safe for raw consumption.

Basic Vanilla
1 cup milk
2 tbs- 2/3 cup sweetener
2 cups heavy cream
dash of salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In a small sauce pan stir the milk and sugar over low heat until the sugar dissolves. In a large bowl mix together the cream, salt, and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the cream stir till combined, cover and refrigerated for 1 hour. Place in ice cream maker following manufactures instructions. Makes about 4 cups ice cream.

Options
-Add 3-6 egg yolks to the cream mixture for added vitamins, protein, and nutrition.
-Use sugar, maple syrup, or honey as the sweetener.
-Replace the milk and cream with a combination of yogurt, sour cream, and or dairy kefir, the more cream in the mix the richer the ice cream. 
-Replace milk and cream with non dairy substitute which as nut milk or coconut milk/cream.

Flavor Ideas
Chocolate- Add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and up to 1/4 cup more sugar to the milk before heating.

Peppermint- Replace the vanilla with 1 tsp peppermint extract and add 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy to the ice cream following manufactures directions.


Pumpkin- add 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the cream before refrigerating.


Fruit- Instead of vanilla extract add 1 1/2 cups of mashed fruit or 1 cup of pureed fruit. Some good options are berries, peaches, plums, even melons will work. Depending on the sweetness of the fruit more or less sugar may be needed.

Mint/Basil- Add 1/3 cup fresh basil or mint leaves to the milk and sugar before heating. Let cool and blend until smooth before adding to the cream mixture. Add 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate to the ice cream following manufactures instructions on the ice cream maker.

Quiche

Quiche is so easy to make and freeze and can be made with any extra veggies you have on hand.


Quiche
Pie Crust
1 cup cheese
1 cup veggies
1 tbs flour
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk, cream, or combination of the two
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450º. Make pie crust and roll out to fit pie plate or similar dish. Line the pie crust with foil and cook for 8 min remove foil and cook an additional 5 min. Remove the pie crust from the oven and let cool.
Grate the cheese and chop the veggies. Mix together the cheese, veggies, and flour. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the cooled crust. Stir together the eggs, milk, and spices. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and veggies.
Bake at 350º for 35-40 min until set in the center. Let stand for 10 min before serving.

Quiche can be frozen before or after baking.
If frozen before baking- Bake as directed adding 10-20 min to the time.
If frozen after baking- Bake as directed for 20-30 min.

Brown Butter Pasta

This is one of our simplest and most loved dinners. I pull this one out a lot when one of us adults will be out of the house. It is even better when made with fresh homemade pasta!

Brown Butter Pasta
2 cups pasta
4-5 tbs butter
Mizithra cheese
Parmesan Cheese
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

Cook pasta in boiling water when there is about 4 min left in the pasta cook time add the peas. Melt and brown butter in a small skillet over med heat. Drain the pasta and peas and mix with the butter. Finely grate the cheese over the pasta. Serve warm.

Options-

add different veggies cooking in your desired way

instead of butter drizzle a bit of olive oil over the warm pasta

Flatbread

Flat bread is used a lot in our house. It can be topped wit any number of sauces and veggies and it also can be baked crisp and broken o make wonderful chips.

Flatbread
2 cups wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 tbs olive oil
1 cup cold water or thin veggie puree

Preheat oven and baking sheet to 400. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil and then the water stir well then pour out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth. Divide the dough into 8 equal size balls. On a floured surface roll each ball out until very thin.
Place on the heated baking sheet and bake for 3 min. Cook only two or three at a time depending on the size of your baking sheet. Remove and let cool at least 5 min before placing on toppings and cooking an additional 5-10 min.
If making chips bake the bread without toppings for 3 min then remove from the baking sheet and bake for an additional 5 min on the oven rack. When cool break into pieces.

Grilled Feta

I made this the other night it was from my latest issue of Real Simple Magazine. Our family enjoyed it so much I just had to share it. The magazine calls for pita chips instead of flatbread but the flatbread sounded good, plus it is slightly easier to make. The next time I have extra pita chips though I will be grilling up some feta for them.

Grilled Feta with Thyme
12 ounce piece feta
6 sprigs thyme
2 tbs olive oil
Flatbread

Place feta in the middle of a large piece of foil. Top with thyme and sprinkle with the olive oil. Fold the foil to create a small sealed packet. Grill the packet on a preheated grill med-low heat for 10-15 min or place the packet in a 350 oven for 10-15 min. Serve with Grilled flatbread broken into chip size pieces.

Make packet up to 1 day ahead and bring to room temperature before cooking.

Lentil Burgers

I made these the other day and they were delicious! Better then any other veggie burger we have ever had! I love that because I made my own buns and burgers I could make them any size I wanted. Not to big not to small just perfect for our family plus I now have 2 more dinners in the freezer.

Lentil Burgers
½ cup barley
1 ½ cups water
1 cup lentils
2 ½ cups water

½ cup walnuts
2tbs olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
2 tbs all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp spices
½ tsp salt

Boil water in two medium size pans. Add barley and lentils to the pans, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 min or until most to all of the water is gone. Mix the lentils and the barley together.

While the lentils and barley are cooking finely grind the walnuts using and food processor. Place the walnuts in a large bowl and set aside. Finely chop and sauté vegetables in the olive oil. Add the veggies to the bowl along with the flour, spices, barley and lentils. Mix and mash together until it forms a moist mixture that holds together but is not runny. If needed add more flour or veggie broth/water. Form mixture into patties. Freeze and store or Bake at 400° for 20-30 min.

Serve on Hamburger Buns with
Cheese slices, lettuce, spinach, tomato slices, onion, avocado, mayo, ketchup, relish. Whatever you like on your burger!

Bean Loaf Cupcakes

We have been enjoying this recipe for many months but just recently I decided to try baking it in the silicone cupcake holders I have. It worked perfectly to create little individual servings. I then cooked and pureed sweet potatoes to add as the "frosting" on the cakes.

Bean Loaf
1/2 cup seeds/nuts
2 tbs olive oil
One onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 bell pepper cut into small pieces2 cups cooked beans (we use black beans)
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs
3 tbs ap flour
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp. salt1/4 to 1/2 cup veggie broth, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350º. Set out 12 cupcake holders or spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with cooking oil and set aside. Grind seeds in a food processor and put in a large bowl. Sauté the onion, garlic, and vegetables in the olive oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients except the veggie broth. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much veggie broth as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny. Add more bread crumbs as needed if the loaf seems too wet. Press mixture into the prepared pan, or cups and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through and the top is crispy. Let cool in the pan for 10 to 15. Top with pureed sweet potatoes. Serve warm with a small amount of ketchup if desired.
The bean loaf can also be frozen after cooking and reheated in a 350º.

Pureed Sweet Potatoes
Wash, peel, and chop sweet potatoes. I usually do 2-3 at a time. Place in a large sauce pan along filled with just enough water to cover the potatoes and 1 tsp lemon juice. Place on stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat cover and continue to cook for about 20-30 min until the potatoes can easily be punctured with a fork. Puree in a blender or with a hand blender in the pot.

French Bread

I use this bread a lot for grilled sandwiches, garlic bread, and for fondue.

French bread (1 lbs loaf)
¾ cup + 2 tbs warm water
1 ½ tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
½ tsp dried herbs
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 c wheat flour
1 c ap flour
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 ½ tsp active dry yeast


Place ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed. Set the machine on the french loaf cycle with light crust.

Tomato Soup

I know the weather is warming up but I just finished making a wonderful homemade tomato soup. This is just delicious with a grilled cheese sandwich made on fresh french bread. I added left over cooked sweet potato we had in the fridge. A regular potato would be good as well.

Tomato Soup
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 ½ cups veggie broth
1 tbs basil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Chop all veggies. Heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add all chopped vegetables and sauté until onion is soft and translucent. Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes, broth, and spices Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Mix in the milk and puree the soup to your desired consistency. Remove from heat and serve.

Monkey Ice

In my constant effort to create healthier desserts for my kids I found a banana ice cream recipe. Really just pureed frozen bananas but it had lots of good reviews. I added a few mix ins and created what we call Monkey Ice. Soft bananas are perfect for this recipe. So when you have one or two bananas that get soft before you get a chance to eat them just cut them up and place them in a freezer container. When you are ready to make Monkey Ice they are ready for you.

Monkey Ice
4-5 cut up frozen bananas
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts

Set the bananas out for about 5-10 min. Place all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Place the puree in a freezer container. Serve immediately or freeze. I am not sure how long it will keep in the freezer ours never makes it more then a week.

Hamburger Buns

Oh how I love Veggie Burgers and they are even better on a homemade bun.

Hamburger Buns
1 ¼ milk slightly warmed
1 beaten egg
2 tbs butter
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ cups wheat flour
2 ¼ cups ap flour
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

Small seeds for the buns like poppy seeds or sesame seeds.

Use dough cycle on bread machine

When dough cycle is complete. Turn dough onto floured surface. Roll to 1 inch thick and cut out buns to desired size.
Place the buns on a baking sheet and brush with butter and sprinkle with seeds. Cover and let rise till doubled or about 1 hour.
Bake 350° for 9-15 min.
Cool and cut in half. Use fresh or freeze.

Sloppy Bobs

I recently made delicious meatless Sloppy Joes the original recipe can be seen here. Of course like all other recipes I tweaked it a little for our family preferences. So here is my version.

Sloppy Bobs
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 ¼ cup tomato puree1 tbs maple syrup
4-6 Hamburger Buns

Put lentils in small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water; cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft; drain and set aside.
Preheat a medium pot over medium heat; saute onion and pepper in oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and saute a minute more. Add cooked lentils and spices and mix.
Add tomato puree. Cook about 10 minutes. Add maple syrup heat through; turn heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Serve on Hamburger Buns.

Kale Chips

These can be a good snack or a healthy side dish. Yummy and crunch much like a potato chip.

Kale Chips
1 bunch of Kale
2 tbs Olive Oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt to taste

Wash and dry the kale leaves. Then cut and discard the hard middle stem cut or tear the kale into potato chip size pieces. Preheat oven to 300° F. Place the kale in a large bowl add the oil, parmesan, and salt and mix (your hands work best) until the kale is well coated. Place the kale in a single layer on a large baking sheet or 2 if you have a lot of kale. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the kale is crunchy. remove from baking sheet and let cool before enjoying.

Squash Drops

I made a Butternut Squash Risotto the other night and had left over cooked butternut squash. I decided to puree it and try making a drop recipe with it. They turned out wonderful and my kids are begging for more. 

I recently made this again but this time I used pumpkin puree and added 1/4 tsp ground cloves they were delicious!

Squash Drops

1 cup Butternut Squash or Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup rapadura sugar or granulated cane sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Optional Additions

½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup chocolate chips

⅛ tsp ground cloves (add with the rest of the spices)

Blend together the puree, applesauce, and sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredents except the flours and mix until well blended. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until completely mixed in. Depending on how liquid the puree was you may need to add up to 1/4 cup more of each flour for a total of 1/2 cup more flour. Stir in and desired additions. Scoop tablespoon sized drops on to a baking stone. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 10-12 min. Cool on a wire rack, serve slightly warm, store in an airtight container for 3-5 days, or freeze for later use.

Barley Baked Beans

I found this recipe in the Clean Eating magazine and made a few changes for our tastes. It turned out to be delicious!

Barley Baked Beans
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cups cooked navy beans
1 pear, chopped
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1 tbs honey
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups cooked barley

Saute the onion in olive oil over med heat for about 3 min. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic and saute for 2-3 more min. In a casserole dish combine the veggie mixture, navy beans, pear, spices, honey, and balsamic vinegar, and veggie broth. Mix well. Cover with glass lid and cook for 45 min at 325 F. When done mix the barley with the baked beans and serve warm.
We enjoyed a loaf of french bread with our meal.