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good sites
I discovered a few really good websites over the past week or so. You may have already heard of or even visited these sites, but I wanted to share them anyway in case there are some who haven’t seen them yet. Here’s the list ~ they’re all live links, just click on the website’s name and the site should open in another window or tab:
- Food with Kid Appeal (Attison is an extremely difficult/picky eater ~ this site has some great ideas for encouraging little ones to eat good foods)
- Grass Point Farms
- Kellogg Valley Farm ~ this family-owned organic farm is local to me, and they don’t have a website as far as I can tell so this is a link to their Facebook page
- Cascadian Farm
- Natural Pantry/Wholeliving.com
- Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
- Whole Foods Market
- Wheat Montana
- Sunfood
I have a lot more links to share, but I’m going to try to list them in groups ~ so more link lists are forthcoming. Enjoy these for now.
If you have any good links you would like to share that are relevant to topics I like to write about here on my blog ~ organic food/living, kid-friendly things (foods, coloring pages, games, websites, clothes, etc.), mommy interests, Christian interests, couponing/simple/frugal living, homeschooling, etc., please send them to me. I’ll choose some good ones and add them to my future posts.
secret recipe for meatballs
This recipe for meatballs comes from a friend who married into an old Italian family ~ you know, the kind that lives on the east coast and can proudly say they have several generations of policemen and/or fire fighters who have faithfully served the residents of their city. The recipe has been passed down from generation to generation and family legend holds it was brought over “on the boat” by great-great-etc., etc. grandma when she immigrated to the US. This recipe was never to be given to anyone outside the family. Well, never ended when my friend and her old Italian family husband got a divorce. Then my friend couldn’t give it out fast enough or to enough people! Despite the fact that this is more of a revenge recipe than a secret one at this point, it makes the best meatballs I have ever had ~ and it makes a pretty good meatloaf, too!
1 – 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
seasoned bread crumbs (enough to hold consistence)
salt & pepper to taste
1/4c. Romano cheese, shredded
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon each ~ garlic powder, oregano, basil & parsley
2 – 3 eggs
2 handfuls water
Mix all ingredients; shape into balls. Place meatballs in skillet; add ingredients for sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Cook at light simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until meatballs are cooked through.
Of course the original recipe calls for homemade seasoned bread crumbs (made from toasted Italian bread with herbs ~ like the bread you get at Carino’s), freshly grated cheeses, fresh oregano, basil and parsley, and homemade spaghetti sauce. But I’m lazy and cheat by using packaged Italian bread crumbs, packaged grated cheese, dried herbs and spaghetti sauce from a jar. The meatballs still taste amazing.
Enjoy!
Edited later to add: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I don’t eat pork, so I honestly don’t know how this would taste or do with some Italian sausage thrown in. I’ve only ever made it with beef. Come to think of it, when my friend wrote out the recipe for me it didn’t mention anything about Italian sausage…
thanksgiving dinner
We’re pretty traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. Roger isn’t a HUGE fan of turkey, so I usually only make it for Thanksgiving. That way it’s still special and unique enough that he’ll eat it and enjoy it. 
Our menu generally consists of turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, gravy, dinner rolls, green beans, green salad and cherry cream cheese pie. I also make sparkling raspberry lemonade and hot cranberry apple cider. At times there are other additions, but these items are always present. This year I’m adding pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting (I got the recipe from a friend on Facebook).
Several years ago I discovered a recipe for a poultry brine that sounded so good I wanted to try it. We loved it, and have used it every year since. It’s a very simple brine: 1 cup kosher salt, 1 lemon cut into wedges, 1 organge cut into wedges, 1 medium white onion cut into wedges, 3 cloves garlic, 4 bay leaves, 1 Tbs. dried thyme, 1 Tbs. black pepper and 1 1/2 gallons (or more if needed) of water. Rub the salt into the turkey, and place remaining salt, lemons, oranges, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper into a large pot. Place turkey in the pot, then fill pot with water. Refrigerate overnight. Discard brine after removing turkey. Do not rinse turkey before raosting.
Another trick to make your turkey moist and flavorful: roast it breast-side down. I know, I know ~ all of the cookbooks and online cooking sites say you should tie up the turkey and roast it breast up. It does make for a pretty turkey, if presentation is what you’re going for. Personally, I don’t care about the presentation. We have always carved up the turkey in the kitchen, put the meat on a platter and put the platter on the dinner table. So presentation is not even in the equation for me. I want moist, flavorful turkey. Even without brining your turkey can be yummy, if you roast it breast-side down. That way all of the juices from the dark meat run down into the breast. You can even get away with NOT basting your turkey if you roast it breast-side down. That makes the turkey a snap ~ I’m all about easy Thanksgiving turkeys! I’m just sayin’…
One more recipe I’ll share today ~ cranberry apple cider. Yuummmm. This is another one of those items I save for the holidays, which only serves to make it all the more yummy! It’s simple, too: 2 quarts apple cider, 2 quarts cranberry juice, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 4 seedless oranges cut in half, 2 teaspoons whole cloves, 8 cinnamon sticks, 2 teaspoons whole allspice. Mix the apple cider, cranberry juice and brown sugar in a large pot or crock pot. Add the oranges. Put cloves, cinnamon, and allspice in a spice bag and add to juice. Simmer on stovetop for about 30 minutes or warm in crock pot for at least 2 hours (up to 6 hours).
I love to make special foods during the holiday season. My family seems to look forward to them just as much as I do. They’ve become part of our holiday traditions ~ traditions I hope will be passed down through more generations in the years to come.
chicken with basil cream sauce
Here’s an easy recipe that tastes amazing!
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream (half & half will do in a pinch)
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
8 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked al dente
fresh lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with bread crumbs.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add olive oil. Brown chicken on both sides in butter/olive oil. Remove chicken and place in glass casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
Saute mushrooms in skillet.
Add broth to skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir to loosen browned bits from pan bottom. Stir in whipping cream; boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat. Stir in Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper, and cook until heated through. If necessary, mix 1 teaspoon corn starch with 1/4 cup chicken broth and stir into skillet to thicken sauce.
Pour sauce over chicken, reserving about half. Pour reserved sauce over angel hair pasta. Serve chicken and pasta with lemon wedges ~ squeeze lemon over chicken and pasta just before eating. Enjoy!
from the recipe files ~ mexican chicken corn chowder
I’ve had several people ask me for this recipe, so rather than emailing it to just a few, I’m posting it for everyone to enjoy! My friend Cheri gave me this recipe; I don’t know where she got it, but I’ve made a few modifications of my own ~ you’re welcome to make your own modifications so it fits your family’s tastes.
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Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 C. chopped onion
- 1 – 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 TBS butter
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes + 1 C. hot water, or about 2/3 can (14oz) chicken broth
- 1 tsp. (or more, according to your tastes) ground cumin
- 2 C. half & half
- 2 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 (11 oz.) can Niblets corn (can also use creamed corn)
- 1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chilies
- fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, and hot pepper sauce for garnish
Saute onion in butter until it turns translucent. Add garlic, cook on med. low for about a minute. Add cut-up chicken; cook on medium heat until no longer pink inside. Add chicken broth (or bouillon + water) and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half & half, cheese, corn and chilies. Cook on low, stirring until cheese is melted and chowder is heated through (do not boil).
Offer chopped fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes and hot pepper sauce as garnish.
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There you have it! It’s a simple recipe, but WOW does it taste good!! It ‘s definitely not for one of those days when you’re feeling as though you should be eating low calorie, low fat foods though. It’s more of a comfort food ~ just forget about the fat and calories for one meal and ENJOY!
mexican chowder
Those two words don’t really go together, do they? Mexican + chowder. When I think of chowder, I think of the yummy bowls of hot clam chowder I would always order in restaurants every year up and down the coast of New England as we made our way to Maine for vacation.
I have been freezing all day. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees from yesterday to today (and the fibro is acting up a bit). So I’m thankful Sawyer has offered to make us one of his favorite dinners ~ Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder.
This is an absolutely fantastic chowder. It’s not at all bad for you (she said tongue-in-cheek). Since Sawyer and I like this soup so much, I thought I’d share the recipe with you. This is a recipe I received from my friend Cheri quite a few years ago. We’ve made some modifications, and this is our version of that original recipe Cheri gave me:
Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
1-1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
1/2 C. chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs. butter
2 chicken bouillion cubes + 1 C. hot water, OR about 2/3 can of chicken broth
1/2-1 tsp. ground cumin (feel free to add more ~ yum!)
2 C. half & half
2 C. shredded Colby+Monterey Jack cheese
1 (11oz.) can Niblets
1 (4.5oz.) can chopped green chilis
fresh cilantro, fresh tomatoes, & hot pepper sauce for garnish
Saute’ onion in butter until it turns translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, but don’t let it burn! Add cut up chicken; cook until chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Add chicken broth (or chicken bouillons + hot water, if using) and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover; simmer 5 minutes. Add half & half, cheese, corn, and chilis. Cook on LOW , stirring frequently, until cheese has melted and chowder is warmed through (don’t boil).
Offer chopped fresh cilantro, chopped fresh tomatoes, and hot pepper sauce as garnish.
I’m looking forward to warming up with some hot Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder tonight!
blogger friend school #10
Are we really on assignment #10 in Blogger Friend School already? Wow! I know I haven’t done all of the assignments, but I didn’t think we were that far along yet.
We’re sharing favorite Christmas/holiday cookie recipes this week. I don’t have pictures of my cookies like Tamara does, but you probably already know what these recipes look like when they’re baked! 
Blossom Cookies
1 3/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 bag Hershey Kisses
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking soda & salt. In a separate bowl, mix shortening, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, milk & vanilla. Add flour mixture a little at a time , mixing well after each addition. Form into small balls, and roll in (white) sugar. Bake for 6 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven; place a Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie, using the Kiss to slightly flatten the cookie. Bake 2 minutes longer. Cool on pan 2-5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
If you make these cookies, be careful. They are seriously addicting! I think this mix makes a couple dozen cookies ~ you’ll be surprised at how quickly they will disappear!
This next recipe was given to me by one of the best baker/cookie maker moms I’ve ever met. I know it’s not technically a holiday cookie recipe, but they truly are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had ~ the recipe merits being shared.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
1 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. granulated (white) sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 1/2 C. blended rolled oats (measured before blending)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/12 C. chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter & sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; blend well. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, blended oatmeal (oatmeal flour), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture; mix together well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Let the dough rest for a few minutes (if you’re in a hot & humid climate, you can place the dough into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes). Spoon tablespoon-fulls of dough out and roll into balls. Flatten with the back of a spoon. Place 1 to 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes ~ remove from oven before they begin to turn brown (unless you like crunchy chocolate chip cookies ~ if you like crunchy cookies, let them bake until they begin to brown a bit). Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
The second part of our assignment this week is to share a special memory about baking Christmas/holiday goodies. One of my fondest memories is from when Roger was a 1st lieutenant (or maybe he was a captain by then?) in the Air Force. We were stationed at Reese AFB in Lubbock, Texas. We couldn’t afford to go to Colorado (home) for the holidays, so we stayed in Lubbock. We hung out with our also “financially challenged” 1st lieutenant/young captain friends, who couldn’t afford to travel for the holidays either. My friend Stacey lived just down the street. That year Stacey decided that I needed to learn how to bake cookies. We spent a couple of days in her kitchen baking cookies. I think we ate the majority of the dough before it could ever be baked, made one enormous mess after the other, had a couple of good-natured cookie dough and frosting fights, and let our very young children eat way more sugar than they should have. It was the most fun I’ve ever had baking!
My verse this week is Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
thanksgiving recipes, part 3
When it comes to measurements in recipes, I’m usually precise. I have this thing about food ~ I like for it to taste good. I have pretty much taught myself how to cook; when I was a kid (actually, make that before I was married) no one told me that cooking would some day actually be an important skill. I took 1 home ec class in high school ~ and I only took it because I wanted “an easy, goof off class” for my last period during the last semester of my senior year. So basically I wasn’t in that class to learn, and nothing that was taught stuck with me.
Despite my natural tendency to be particular about things, I do have a few recipes that call for a dash of this or a pinch of that, and use terms like “about” and “around” when referring to measurements. These recipes are from my dad, and they are the traditional recipes I have loved since I was a kid.
I’m sorry that I can’t be more precise with the measurements in the following recipes ~ I’ll do the best I can, but really these are the kind of recipes you just have to try for yourself. Adjust for personal tastes as you go along.
The first recipe is for my famous turkey dressing. I took the basic recipe my dad gave me and built on it (ok, let’s be honest: I think I improved on Dad’s recipes, but don’t tell him that!). It took me a few years to get this one just right, but now everyone (including my father) thinks it’s the best dressing they’ve ever tasted.
Sloppy Turkey Dressing
1 pan homemade cornbread (do not use sweet cornbread ~ if you usually make your cornbread sweet, leave out at least half the amount of sugar you usually use. I only use about 1 Tbs. of sugar in my cornbread recipe.)
2/3 – 1 loaf stale Wonderbread
1/2 – 1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp. rubbed sage or a dash of poultry seasoning
2 eggs
4 – 5 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
8 – 12 C. chicken broth
Bake the pan of cornbread the day before; also spread loaf of Wonderbread out on cooling racks and allow to dry out (you’ll have to turn them over a couple of times so they dry on both sides).
Thanksgiving morning, in a large bowl crumble the cornbread into bite-size chunks and tear (break) the bread into chunks. Add remaining ingredients except chicken broth. Mix well. Add chicken broth, a few cups at a time, until dressing is a bit sloppy and the cornbread chunks begin to break down. Don’t add too much broth because the dressing will absorb some of the turkey drippings while it cooks.
After placing turkey in roasting pan, spoon dressing into pan around turkey. Bake/roast until turkey is fully cooked.
After removing turkey from roaster, spoon dressing into large baking dish. If the dressing is too moist, bake uncovered at 400 degrees until it has dried out enough. If the dressing is too dry, add more chicken broth and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
The perfect state of dressing sloppiness is up to your personal dressing preferences. I like mine a little moister than Roger likes his, but we’ve been able to come to a happy medium with this recipe.
The second recipe is an old southern favorite. As with dressing recipes, it has many variations. This is our tried and true favorite:
Sweet Potato Casserole
3 to 4 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut into chunks
water
salt
1/2 stick butter, softened
brown sugar
cinnamon
milk
mini marshmallows
chopped pecan or walnuts, optional
Place sweet potatoes into large stock pot. Cover with water. Add a dash of salt; boil sweet potatoes until tender (they’ll fall apart when you stick a fork into them).
Drain sweet potatoes in colander. Place drained sweet potatoes into large mixing bowl. Add softened butter and cinnamon (a hearty dash should do it); begin mixing with electric mixer on low. Slowly add 2 or 3 handfuls of brown sugar, increasing mixer’s speed slowly as needed. Alternate handfuls of brown sugar and splashes of milk; only add enough milk to smooth out the sweet potato mixture (you don’t want lumpy, chunky sweet potato casserole ~ it needs to be smooth like mashed potatoes). After a few handfuls of brown sugar and splashes of milk, stop mixer and do a taste test. Continue adding brown sugar if needed (mixing well between additions), until the sweet potato mixture is to your liking. Add a little more cinnamon too, if desired.
Pour/spoon sweet potato mixture into baking dish. Top with nuts and mini marshmallows. Bake at 350 degrees until marshmallows have melted and begin to brown. Serve hot; goes best with turkey and dressing.
If I make enough sweet potato casserole, my kids will snack on it for days. They absolutely love it.
Happy cooking!
thanksgiving recipes, part 2
Marilyn Moll (the Urban Homemaker) wrote this post about organic vs non-organic, frozen turkey. In it she mentions brining your Thanksgiving turkey.
We started brining our Thanksgiving turkeys about 6 or 7 years ago. We buy our frozen turkeys from the grocery store ~ usually Butterball. They’re already injected with a brine-like solution (we will not go into how bad this whole injecting things into my already non-organically raised turkey is). Even so, we have found that brining our turkey makes an incredible difference. Since we started brining our turkey, we have yet to have a dry, bland Thanksgiving dinner. The brining process has made a huge difference, and I don’t think we’ll even go back to not brining our turkey.
We have tried several different brines over the years, and have finally narrowed it down to this fail-proof brine that has a taste we enjoy:
Citrus Turkey Brine
baking soda
1 C. salt (we use Kosher salt, but chunky sea salt would work well, too)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 medium white onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves fresh garlic (the minced stuff from a jar won’t work)
4 bay leaves
1 Tbs. dried thyme
1 Tbs. ground black pepper
enough water to cover turkey
Sprinkle baking soda all over turkey; rinse turkey under cold running water, rubbing the skin with the baking soda then washing it away. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.
Rub about 1/4 to 1/2 C. of the salt onto turkey (do not rinse off); place turkey in a large bowl or clean bucket. Place remaining salt into medium bowl; add 4 cups of cool water, then mix with a whisk until salt is dissovled. Add salt/water mixture to bucket with turkey. Add lemon, orange, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper to bucket. Cover turkey with cold water; refrigerate overnight. Discard brine after removing turkey (do not rinse turkey again, though).
With this brine recipe, I don’t have to let the turkey sit for any certain amount of time after removing it from the brine ~ I can just put it right into the roaster and then into the oven.
I am not a turkey stuffer ~ we do dressing around the outside of the turkey rather than stuff it inside the turkey. I’ll share that recipe tomorrow. I have found that my dressing turns out better when it’s positioned around the turkey in the pan rather than in the turkey cavity.
Also, we cook our turkey upside down. The “presentation” of the turkey doesn’t matter to us~ our tradition is to carve the turkey in the kitchen then place the meat on a platter that is taken to the table. I have found, since brining and cooking the turkey upside down (breast down in the pan rather than up), we have had the most flavorful, moistest turkeys I could have ever hoped to cook.
Using this brine and cooking the turkey breast-side down has made all the difference. Before I started doing both of these steps, Roger was not a huge turkey fan ~ now he really looks forward to our Thanksgiving meal.
thanksgiving recipes, part 1
This recipe is for my youngest son’s favorite part of our traditional Thanksgiving meal ~ dessert (of course!). This recipe is so easy, and you won’t believe how good it tastes!
Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
1 (9-in.) graham cracker crumb pie crust
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (21-oz.) can cherry pie filling
Chill cherry pie filling in refrigerator.
In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffly (don’t skimp on this part ~ the fluffier the better). Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into prepared graham cracker crumb pie crust. Cover and chill in refrigerator 3 hours or until set. Top with chilled cherry pie filling before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
Mmmmm, yummy!