Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Sunday, October 14, 2012

12 Pumpkin Hunt 2012

Another year in search for the perfect pumpkins to fill our ghoulish home. Halloween has got to be our favorite family holiday. The mystique is just hauntingly magical.

Every year about this time, we pile into our van and head out to our favorite haunt, Bates Nut Farm.
Sophie and Lily Moon... doe and bear.


Lala looked on with such disappointment and embarrassment... "I hope my friends don't see this", she thought.
"Aaaargh! I can't work with these people! I'm outta here!!!" She screamed.
With pumpkins in tote, it was our que to head on out and eat. Eat what you say?
APPLE PIE!!! My-oh-my!!!

 Brrr! Nice and chilly... a lovely change from the heat back home. Lala got good use of her new coat and hat. She was very much out of character that day... walking around, waving and shouting "HI!" at every stranger that crossed paths. Strange. Not that I'm complaining.
*sigh*

Pumpkins? CHECK.
Bellies full? CHECK.
Time to head back home!
Ahhh... hot homemade chicken soup to end another great pumpkin hunt. 
Get the recipe HERE. Your belly will thank you.
Until next year...
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Sunday, September 9, 2012

0 fig butter

Yummy, delicious figs.
Fresh, sweet, smooth adriatic figs straight from my in-laws' neighbors' backyard. I've never had fresh figs before. Does Fig Newtons count? HA! Probably not. So when I had the opportunity to try these little jewels, it was a real treat!
The neighbors are on vacation and my in laws are house sitting. There is sooo much fruit, we can only eat so much of it and it would be a sin to let it go to waste. So what do I do when life gives me figs?
I make fig butter.
After some researching and a failed attempt. I finally found the perfect recipe for fig butter.
Tracy from Our Simple Life blog has this wonderful recipe and I tell ya...
this is one recipe I will keep FOREVER. Like all good things, this will take time... about 6-8 hours. You will need a crockpot to slow cook your butter and as much as I want tell you the recipe, I think it's best for the chef, herself to share her treasure.
I made mine over night. Waking up Sunday morning to the glorious smell was heavenly. 3 thumbs up from Mr., Sophie and Lily Moon. As for Stella? 
She gives it a wink.
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Sunday, April 29, 2012

2 Kelley's quiche with a side of dancing

Hey folks, it's Monday and you know what that means?!
Time for another yummy breakfast recipe!
***muppet arms in the air***
YAYYY!!!
So if muffins aren't your thing and you're lookin' for something savory, here's a dish that can be made the night before and ready to fill your belly in the mornin'. Oh... and if I had a pretty little apron like Kelley's, I'd be dancing too! ***tee-hee***

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Kelley from Casa Crafty here,  I don't tend to eat a big breakfast.  Mostly toast, fruit, yogurt, COFFEE.  You know the basics.  SO, when Venus asked me if I wanted to help out with a breakfast series, I thought about explaining to you how to use a toaster, but I thought maybe you had that down already...

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My name is
Kelley and I like to dance with a Quiche pan...

I do however have a ton of eggs.

This time of year sends my hens into a fever of production.  I only have a dozen, but they make a dozen eggs every 40 hours or so... What do you do with 4 dozen eggs a week?

You make Quiche!


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I make quiche in all sorts of ways.  The house favorite and specialty is Burn your Bum Quiche.  Lots of kale lots of chorizo... The beauty of quiche is its ability to resemble casserole.  You can make it with leftover bots from the week before, you can make it all veg.  But, you should stop reading now if you are vegan, gluten free, or some other restricted diet.  I don't know how to make quiche without eggs and cheese...

For breakfast I thought we should combine some classic breakfast foods.  Eggs, Bacon, cheese, yummy yummy crust...


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 What do you need?

well, the crust recipe I use is from Betty Crocker, a classic.
1 c flour plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c plus 1 TBL butter
water (about 2 TBL)


For your quiche innards you need:
1 bunch red chard
1 lb pepper bacon
1/2lb grated cheddar cheese

For your egg mix:
5 eggs
1 1/2c half and half


What's my method?  well first you need some "vintage" Beastie Boys ( I like Paul's Boutique)... start shakin' your booty, don't drop the quiche pan.  I used to use a plain ol' pie pan, until I found
this ceramic beauty at a yard sale.


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okay, lets get started...

Get a good bacon frying pan heated and make your bacon.

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Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

 While your bacon is workin' it, grate your cheese, wash, chop and spin or pat dry your chard.

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Start making your crust.  The key to flaky crust, I have discovered, is cold cold butter and cold water.  I put the flour and salt together in a bowl.  Then chop the butter into little cubes and blend it into the flour mix with a pastry cutter.  When it gets to a mealy texture I add enough water to get the dough to pull
from the sides, but not too sticky to handle.   Then on a cleaned, floured work surface, roll out your dough.  Now, I like to use my husband beater rolling pin.

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 Its super. He really should know better than to clean his guns when I am cooking, I really dislike the smell of gun cleaner. What can you do?

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Murphy always wants more cheese...

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Layer your crust in your pan, try to make it pretty...  Your bacon should be done, chop it into small pieces so its bite size.  Layer some cheese, then chard, then bacon, and then MORE CHEESE.

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Beat your eggs and 1/2 and 1/2.  Pour this mix onto the top of
all that layering. 

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Bake at 450 for 30 min then reduce your temp to 350 for 20 min.

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 who's gonna clean up????


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you want to cook this buddy until the egg is set, so test by slipping a chopstick or butter knife into the center.  If it comes up "clean" (not gooey), your quiche is done!

eat up

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eat lots

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enjoy!
Thanks for having me Venus!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

1 Jen's banana muffins & green smoothie

Mornings.
If you have kids, it can be more like "mournings", right?
It's a struggle in the morning. I for one am NOT a morning person and from getting the girls up and ready for school, to packing their lunches and with a baby surgically attached to my side, breakfast is the last thing on my mind.
Cereal and milk was the girls poison of choice, but now that they're older, their taste is more "sophisticated" thus concluding that cereal isn't going to cut it anymore. ***ugh*** I remember one morning, I asked the girls what they wanted for breakfast (I don't know why I asked when we all had was cereal), Lily replied "Mmmm... I want something savory".
"Eh?"
Boy, she stumped me there. HA! You should've seen me... in my pajamas, baby on hip, hair disheveled, yesterday's make-up still on, mouth wide open with a blank look. How horrible... all we had that was remotely savory was last night's leftovers. Fearing that she may go to school hungry, Lily was happy to eat soup. Phew! Sophie on the other hand, ate cereal (bless her heart).  So now both MR. and I make the effort of making the mornings more breakfast friendly.  
So I'm going to start a collection of breakfast recipes from friends and myself to fill your bellies with yummy goodness and get everyone off to a good start. If you have a recipe, I'd love to hear from you. The more recipes, the happier our tummies will be!
Our first breakfast recipe is from Jen of Our Happy Family Blog. A wonderful gal with three kids and a fourth one on the way.  I refer to her as the muffin lady. Seriously... she's got some yummy recipes and she was so nice to share her banana muffins with us. But it doesn't stop there... oh no! She also has a green smoothie recipe to compliment the muffins.
Man oh man... my tummy is rumblin' already...


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When Venus asked me if I'd like to do a guest post with breakfast ideas, I knew the perfect the recipes to share... I'm not a big fan of early mornings, but I do love feeding my family healthy breakfasts! We're big fans of muffins over here; they're fast and easy and using the right ingredients, nutritious too. I often throw in a batch of muffins while I'm cleaning up after dinner and leave them cooling on the counter overnight,  because it's just so wonderful to wake up to fresh, homemade muffins that you didn't have to get up early to bake! I serve them with a smoothie or some fresh fruit and it makes breakfasts a snap. 

These mini banana muffins and green smoothie are my go-to recipes, and a great way to pack some healthy food in my kids before we start our busy days!
via Our Happy Family

makes about 30 mini muffins


3 ripe mashed bananas
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
4 tablespoons water
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
optional: 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
Mash bananas in large bowl. Add ground flax seed and water and stir. Add honey and applesauce and stir until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder all at once and stir until well combined. Add chocolate chips or walnuts if desired.  
Scoop into nonstick mini muffin pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. 

via Our Happy Family

Green Smoothie


makes about 4 8oz smoothies


3 to 4 cups orange juice
1 banana 
1 1/2 cups chopped frozen fruit - I use mango, papaya, pineapple, and strawberries
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
a drizzle of honey 


Blend until liquified and enjoy!

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