Have you ever..

Ok, so I have been craving soup for a couple of days. And of course the one day I finally have time to do it, I have a bad headache. UGH..

Not to be thwarted, I pressed forward and made the soup, of course with help from my little guy. This soup was everything I wanted, flavorful, satisfying, filling, healthy, delicious.. it was so good hubby went and got a second bowl that was fuller than the first!  I served this with homemade sourdough garlic parmesan bread.

I do make my own bone broth, and that is what I used in this soup. Here is the post for Bone Broth.

Ok, back to this soup. I was a little worried after I tossed in the chopped turnip, it smelled a little bitter. But then I added another herb and that fixed it.

Flower soup

2 crimini mushrooms, peeled, stem and gills removed, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/2 rib celery, chopped fine
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped/diced small
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (herbs)
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken stock
4 ounces cream cheese or neufchatel cheese*
1 beef kielbasa (12 - 16 oz), diced and browned

Saute' mushroom in butter until golden. Add onion, carrots and celery (mire poix), and saute'/ cook about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower and turmeric and saute another 5 minutes. Add herbs and stir, add bay leaf. Next add stock/broth and garlic. Give a good stir and cover and simmer until veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf, puree soup.  Add cream cheese and let warm, add warm browned kielbasa, stir well. Let rest about 5 minutes over extremely low heat until cream cheese has melted in.

This soup was great! We could not tell it was cauliflower, and my lil guy ate it right up, and he was very happy there were not any potatoes in it.  I can not get over how yummy it was; I had 2 large bowls and wanted more because it tasted so good, but I could not even try it was so filling!

*I made this a second time, but this time instead of using cream cheese I used some leftover rice. So I did this by adding about 1/2 cup cooked rice to the soup when I added the stock. I let this all cook for about an hour, then pulled out the bay leaf and used my immersion blender and blended until smooth. WOW the flavor was still amazing, the texture was silky.  I love using rice in place of dairy in soups to make them cream and smooth.

November and December Challenge: Dec 1 - 7

OH MY HECK IT'S DECEMBER!!!!

I can not believe how fast this year has gone by! It has flown, and there are parts of it I wish we could spend more time in. We had a fabulous family reunion that was just amazing. We went camping, lots of fishing, learned how to cook fish very well. Learned how to heat smoke foods. New opportunities for adventure.. It has been fun, hard, exciting, and worth it.

What did you do with your turkey bones? As my hubby was carving the turkey, he put the bones into a crock-pot (WITHOUT being asked) then put in the baggie of veggies scraps from the freezer. Then he added a tablespoon of salt, covered the bones with water and set the crock pot on low. Again, I didn't ask him, I didn't let him know I was going to do this at any time. He just did it. I love my husband.

We ended up cooking this bone broth for 48 hours! It came out so yummy. So next we strained it and put it into jars to cool.
We are starting our December challenge with some different items. Now please remember, if you or your family do not eat something, do not buy it! Get something your family will eat. I use evaporated milk for making pumpkin pies, caramel and bread. We use peanut butter, tahini, and almond butter in our home. Chicken viennas my kids will eat out of the can after they are rinsed. I have also used a fork and mashed them on a plate (like a banana) then put them in our spaghetti sauce. For the ready to eat soups, grab the flavors you know your family will enjoy, my flavors are only suggestions.

#31: Evaporated Milk
#32: Nut Butter (peanut or almond or sesame whatever kind you can have)
#33: Can of Pineapple
#34: Can of Navy Beans
#35: Chicken Vienna Sausages
#36: Potato Soup (ready to eat)
#37: Can of sirloin burger with country vegetables soup

What is something you can think of to add to the list?

September Challenge Week 4: Sept 22 - 28

Last week I was able to get a lot of bone broth canned and put up. Whew, 32 # of chicken backs, makes quite a bit of broth!

I also made some "beef bouillon".. ya it doesn't smell or taste like beef bouillon. You take 3 cups minced carrots 3 cups minced celery and 2 onions minced, and half a pound of ground beef. You put it in a pan and slow cook it for about 3 hours. THEN you blend it smooth. Guess what. It just tastes like mire poix. You can not tell there is any beef in it. The people that reviewed that recipe, they must have no taste buds! So I froze some, and dehydrated some. So now I have cooked pureed mire poix in my freezer and in a baggie in my pantry, ready to add to any soup or casserole I desire.

So that is what I did in week 3. I canned broth, and dehydrated mire poix (celery, onion and carrot).

We are now in the last week of September. I am very sad with how fast this year has gone, especially the summer. The family reunion and vacation was not long enough, my growing season for my garden was not long enough. It really is sad.

So this week, I am putting some freezer meals in my freezer. Yesterday we made a yummy butternut squash soup, carrot rolls, green salad and then a berry salad for dessert. It was yummy. So this butternut squash was 6 pounds!!  So I put some cut up in 1-inch cubes in a freezer bag, added 1 quart of homemade chicken broth,a bay leaf, onion, garlic, potato chunks and some rice, and froze it. I will season it after it cooks a bit. But this will be a nice easy meal to put in my crock pot on a Sunday when I am not feeling with it.

I am also assembling some other freezer meals for my crock pot (cp) and instant pot (IP) on Wednesday. These can be thawed then cooked or cooked from frozen and are amazing!

Canning this week, or dehydrating has not yet been decided. So much is coming on! I could do apple pie filling, peaches (almost gone), more pears, pear butter (delicious!), zucchini butter (YUMMY), tomatoes, pumpkin, banana squash or any winter squash.

Part of the September Challenge

I am finally getting to my chicken broth. This is the broth I mentioned the other day. I am not canning it until tomorrow morning. BUT, I got the chicken backs baked! Our favorite seasonings on baked chicken are salt, pepper and paprika. Super easy, and super yummy!

Yes, I ate some of the cooked skins, delicious!

Then I through some mire poix (carrots, onions and celery), bay leaves, turmeric, garlic, salt and kale into my crock pots; today I used curly, dinosaur and purple kales.

I used 2 crock pots, that is why you get 2 pictures.

 

 Really pretty right? What next? I tossed 14 backs on to the pile of veg. 

This almost looks like some kind of fancy salad. Now I added water to cover everything.

My goodness, my mouth is watering just looking at that deliciousness. Now we have to wait about 24 hours cooking this on low. Sometime in the morning tomorrow or the next day I will strain the liquid, then can it in my pressure canner. My next batch will be smaller and will be for working on my recovery.

Now if I needed this because I was sick, or using this as a medicine during recovery, I would NOT can this. I would strain it, then put it in the fridge. The collagen (gelatin) and minerals in this broth are amazing for helping one to heal, and the canning process kinda kills them.

UPDATE: Ok, just pulled these out of the canner.

Chicken Stock

It was so nice the other day, after putting in a bunch of hours, and my sick kid feeling better, to have a nice sit down dinner with the family. We roasted a chicken, made some mash and gravy. It was delicious. After dinner, we took all the bones, put them in the crock pot and made bone broth.

For this wonderful bone broth it contained bones from one chicken, plus any dripping in the pan, any skin not eaten, bay leaf, some chopped carrot, chopped onion, chopped celery and some garlic. Along with a tablespoon of salt and then covered it all with water. Cooked this on low for 48 hours because I accidentally forgot about it. This happens when you have a kiddo that had a nasty virus, and the night we had our chicken dinner was the first day she was feeling better, and I took a few days to recuperate from lack of sleep.

Sometime during the last 2 weeks, my teenager decided he wanted to learn to make bread. He did great! The first time he made garlic mash bread. The second time just potato bread. Both times, all the rolls and loaves of bread came out beautifully!

And yes, these are made from a gluten dough. Yes these were FABULOUS!!! The smells were divine! So each time he made bread, it was a 6 loaf recipe, so about 9 pounds of dough. Great Grandpa and I are so proud of him. Great Grandpa was a master baker, and I am so thankful he taught me his skills before passing. Although we didn't use Great Grandpa's recipe (100 pounds of flour, 20 pounds of this.... 10 pounds of that.. I don't have that big of a mixer ).  For my little mixer, this was great. Some day  I might have the mixer of my dreams, a 60-quart Hobart, but for now my little Bosch will have to do.

Crock Pot or Instant Pot Challenge WEEK #2

Today marks the first day of week 2, November 8 to 14th. I am so excited, making my first butternut squash soup with a butternut from my garden! It smells great, dinner in in about an hour. I am going to throw some rolls in the oven to have with it, because soups need something dipped in them. I got this recipe from Taste of Home. I got the recipe out of a TOH book, and didn't know the reviews, but it smells good, and the little guy might like a cinnamon soup. Here is a sad picture of it cooking.

 So here is the Butternut Squash Bisque.

So I pureed the soup. That's what you do with bisque. BUT let me tell you my changes first. I followed the recipe, but honestly, the cooking in OJ in oven is a waste. LEAVE out the OJ and brown sugar. The apples add plenty of sweetness. I also added 2 tablespoons of short grain rice to the crock pot after I took the picture above, to thicken it a little, and give it a better mouth feel. I also added half a pint of home canned cannellini beans that I drained and rinsed to add some protein to the soup.

 THIS SOUP WAS WAY TOO SWEET!!!  Trust me, leave out the OJ and brown sugar. Don't bother roasting the squash in the oven first. DO NOT use 1/2 cup butter, it was too much. I doubled this and still only used 1/2 cup butter for the onions and it was too much.

The rice helped with the mouth feel, and the beans kind of toned down the sweetness. I might make this again, with changes. BUT I don't know. The cousin thought it was a warm dessert soup.

November 11th: Veterans Day..While in the morning I somberly remembered my Grandfathers, and their brothers who have served. I also remember our Angel girl.. who fought a different war, a war against Medical Discrimination and Gene Discrimination. Although I think of her daily, I was a wreck most of the morning.
Today we used our instant pot to "bake" potatoes. Then the piper mashed them and made "his special recipe" for garlic mash. They were delicious!

November 12th: BONE BROTH.. I make bone broth almost weekly, this time I accidently made it with too much water. I am used to having bones from 2 chickens in the pot, not one.. So I messed up. Owell, I just won't have to dilute it before using it. I got 4 quarts total, normally I get 4 quarts from 2 birds.

For dinner tonight I pulled some chili from the freezer that I made in the instant pot last month. Threw that and some shredded cheddar in some tortillas and fried them up in butter, DELICIOUS.

November 14th: LAST day of week #2, and wow Guess what I did??? I messed up!!  I forgot to read both sides of my recipe card.. So I tripled my recipe for Chili but... ok, so I tripled the meat, but I have to multiply everything else by 6 !! WOOPS  So ya..

I love this chili recipe. It is so yummy. I got this recipe from my sister, and I doctored it up a little. Hands down our families favorite chili, and we eat a lot of chilis.

Can you smell this? OMGoodness my mouth is watering.. I almost said my watering mouth.. either way.. let me wipe the drool off my chin. We usually top this yumminess with some shredded cheddar. The little one likes a little sour cream too as he doesn't like spice (except buffalo wings).

BEST CHILI EVER 

2 tablespoons bacon grease or oil

1/2 cup water

1 pound ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey or pork, whatever you like)

1 cup chopped onion (I use 1 whole small or medium)

2 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons cumin

4 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced (the more the merrier for us!)

2 - 15 ounce cans tomato sauce (or 1 - 29 ounce can)

2 - 16 ounce cans beans (pinto, cannellini, black, garbanzo, whatever you like)

2 cups bone broth, stock or water

Heat oil and water in a stockpot a minute. Gently cook meat with onion until no longer pink, and water has mostly boiled off. While meat is cooking, add prepared poblano and broth to blender, and blend to almost smooth. If you don't have a garlic press, then add to blender.  Add spices to meat and let warm for 2 minutes, then add the rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower heat, partially cover pan and simmer 45 minutes. Makes about 3 to 4 quarts

CROCK POT: Follow directions above until you have warmed spices. While meat is cooking, place beans, tomato sauce, 2 prepared poblanos and broth mix, garlic, oregano if you didn't put in with meat. When meat is done, add to crock pot, give a stir. Cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours, Low 4 to 6 hours. 

We also use this chili for making quesadillas: tortillas, chili and cheese.

We put chili on half the tortilla, top with cheese, fold empty side over the cheese and fry in butter on each side until golden brown.. My FAVORITE meal growing up.

It's dinner time!!!!!

 

CrockPot and/or Instant Pot CHALLENGE

I did this a couple years ago. This time we are doing it in November. I have both crockpots and instant pots. The challenge is to use your CP or IP for an entire meal, atleast once a week! This could be fun! Share what you make. Challenge starts November 1 and goes through the entire month!
I do not include bread in this, that can be baked in your oven. Get your favorite recipes ready, please share them after you make them in your CP or IP.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Now wait, you have to try this. Don't run away. I saw them make this last night on America's Test Kitchen, around midnight or so. It looked so good I dreamt about it!!  And to top it off, Bo ate 2 LARGE bowls!!!  My mom was in shock! She couldn't believe it. When he asked what was for dinner I said green soup. He was all, "All right! I love green soup!"  And he did! He couldn't get enough of it. BUT he is also the one I sent to the freezer to get the spinach, and well, he LOVES spinach. He won't eat a smoothie unless it has spinach in it!  Unfortunately I couldn't find the camera to take a picture of it. IF I am home for lunch tomorrow, I will try to get a picture of it..

Understand I have not been feeling well for about 3 months now. Lots of hospital visits, tests, and more tests.. it has not been fun. I am only able to be up and moving around now for about 10 to 30 minutes before the pain gets too much, which causes extreme nausea.
So I was happy to try to make this soup today. How long did it take me? 30 minutes. And I also got a spinach artichoke dip thrown in the oven too! I did that while waiting for the broccoli to cook for 20 minutes.
The spinach and artichoke dip is in the blog post with crock pot stuff and a butternut squash soup. I love spinach and artichoke dip.. So our dinner was very green today.. no really literally all green!! 

Just a warning.. I didn't really measure. I have noticed that lately our best meals have literally been thrown in a pan, and ready in 10 to 20 minutes. I just need to remember that my best eater is on his mission.. hence leftovers...which is good, I have something for lunch tomorrow.  AND so you know, I always taste things as I go when making so I can adjust seasonings and such.. I almost took the pot to my room so I wouldn't have to share.. Boy #2 was actually listening and said, "HA, she's taking the POT to her room".. we've been having lots of MJ/Pot jokes here because of the legalization thing on the ballot ...

Broccoli Cheese Soup
2 pounds broccoli, rough chopped; stem peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces*
2 tablespoons butter
Water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups Chicken Broth or bouillon**
1/2 onion, rough chopped
2 to 6 garlic cloves minced, depends on size
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan, or Romano, or Asiago cheese, fine grated
2 loose cups FRESH spinach***
Pepper to taste

Put butter into stock pot or dutch oven, heat up until it stops bubbling. Add broccoli, onions and garlic; saute a couple minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Cook about 20 minutes or until broccoli is soft; add spinach for just a minute. Puree' half of the broccoli mix in a blender with the cheeses. Then puree the rest of the broccoli. Return all puree' to the pot and add broth or bouillon. You may need to add water if still too thick. DO NOT BOIL.. Just gently reheat. Serve with buttered croutons.

*I used a bag of frozen broccoli. NOT 2 pounds, infact I don't know how big it was, maybe a pound. It was old too (shhhh).  Because I didn't have enough broccoli, I also added a cup of frozen fresh peas from my garden this year.
**I used 2 bouillon cubes and added them to the first batch of pureed veggies. And instead of broth I used water.
***I did not have fresh spinach. I used two large handfuls of frozen chopped spinach. Which I added right to the blender with the broccoli.

Also, I used Tillamook Garlic White Cheddar, about 2 ounces shredded equalled a cup; I also used Asiago cheese on the larger grind. We did NOT use the pepper, it did not need it, in fact it would have ruined it. I did not need to add salt either as the cheese did this for me.
The spinach dip was amazing as usual. I will tell you though that I prefer the Napolean brand of marinated artichokes. The brand I used tonight were definately inferior, very tough leaves to try to chop up and the marinade was different. Also I only used about 1/3 cup mayo and then put a splash of half and half in.. YUMMY!!!  My mom is actually allergic to mayo, so it was good I didn't have enough for the recipe. And I cooked it at 400 degrees to get it done quickly as I needed to lay down, and this way everything was ready at 30 minutes!  We had french bread with this, and for those who wanted it, I had strawberry freezer jam on the table for the bread for a "dessert"..

Crock-Pot Challenge Week 3

My goodness time flies, even when I am not working 40 hours a week :(  ...  Ok, well what did I make the third week? I honestly don't remember!  Pretty sad I know. I have been working on a few other things this week.
BBQ Pulled Pork
Ok, so I smoke my pork butts then freeze them for when I want to use them. So I pulled one out of the freezer and defrosted it in my fridge for 3 days, then threw it into my crock pot with some Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce (NO there is not any alcohol in it). Cooked it on low alllllll day. Then pulled it apart on plates and shredded it then put it back into the CP and mixed with the yummy sauce. Yummers!! Served this with Asian Cabbage Salad.

Well, then my Saratoga Jack Thermal Cooker came and I was so excited!!! Instead of making dinner in the Crock pot on Sunday, I made it in the SJTC !!!  WE had Butternut Squash Soup, Artichoke Spinach Dip, toasted bagettes and biscuits and for dessert mud made in the CP.  I love my Saratoga Jack Thermal Cooker. I will be doing a demonstration on it Nov. 5th at the Super Saturday.

If you look in the side bar, mud will either be under crock pot or desserts or chocolate. The soup this time is below, I never make it the same, and this was devine!

Butternut Squash Soup
1 large butternut squash, seeded and baked or roasted until fork goes through
1/2 sweet onion, diced small
2 TBS butter
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken stock
2 large baker potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3-4 cups water (optional)
2 TBSP rice, uncooked

While squash is roasting in oven (or baking) until fork can go all the way through easily, melt butter in large pot; add onion and let it sweat then start to carmelize. Add the garlic and let it also slightly brown and then add potatoes, chicken stock and bay leaf. Scrape butternut squash out of the it's shell into the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally so nothing burns and let boil for 5 minutes. Stir well, then sprinkle rice over the top. Place lid on top and put in outer liner. Before serving remove bay leave and puree with stick blender. IF too thick add a little water and again bring to a simmer.


Artichoke and Spinach Dip

2 cups parmesan cheese (I used a cheese shredder) OR 1 cup parmesan and 1 cup white cheddar
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze out the extra moisture
1 (14-ounce) can or jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic, minced (I sprinkled on some dehydrated garlic chips)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together parmesan (or grated cheese mix), spinach and artichoke hearts. Combine remaining ingredients and mix with spinach mixture. Pour into small pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cover and put in outer liner over full hot large pot. Serve with crackers or toasted bread.
***My kids literally licked the pan clean!

Blue Chip Group/Augason Farms Close Out sale!

IF you live in Utah, you are in luck, or if you are visiting. Blue Chip Group, now Augason Farms is having a close out sale to get rid of the old label. One of the awesome deals is Red Feather canned butter. This butter is amazing, and is good for 15 years!! So worth the sale price! They have quite a few things on sale, red wheat, oats, morning moos, spiff-y whip, potato stuff, dry cream of soups,  etc..  So if you are in Utah or going to be VERY soon, stop by Augason Farms in SLC. Get some stuff for you food storage for great prices :)

Japanese Pumpkin Soup (kabocha)

35 min

10 min prep
SERVES 4

1 lb japanese kabocha squash**
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup milk ***
2 chicken bouillon cubes*
2 1/3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper (to season)

Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds.
Place pumpkin on a plate and heat in microwave for one minute (optional).
Slice pumpkin thinly.
Heat butter in saute pan and cook onion slices until softened (or golden).
Add pumpkin slices to the pan and saute.
Add chicken bouillon and water and simmer vegetables until softened.
When cooked, whirl the vegetables and broth in a blender or food processor until smooth, or use a stick blender.
Return to the pan and add milk.
Heat the soup over low heat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*I use homemade chicken stock as bouillon has corn in it. Sometimes I add more liquid so it isn't too thick.
** It is hard to find a 1 pound kabocha. I usually use a 4 pound and adjust the recipe for that.
*** I use a half to whole can of coconut milk as Jaslyn is allergic to milk. This gives a wonderful creaminess.

Medically Compromised

Ok, I was going to write this huge article on the medicine world, the natural meds and herbology and natural foods. But my friend Kellene must have been reading my mind as she posted just before I got online! And her article is on almost all I was going to talk about. So here is Kellene's article. I am going to add to it it below, but please read her article first! Or mine might not make much sense.. Also, check out these awesome articles on Evaluating what your family eats and Raise Healthy Eaters blog. VERY good info!!

Ok, so now that you have read Kellene's article, I will go forward on my thoughts on this subject. First off, THANK YOU Kellene for writing what you have, and helping me with this. ok, ok, I'll get to it.. if I remember what I am writing about.. Ha HA.. ya it's been one of those days.

I am currently on a ton of herbs, vitamins and  meds.. Why?...
I went in for my yearly exam in July 2009. I hate these exams.  Four days later my doctor calls and wants me in immediately for more blood work.. I find out later it's because I have super low Red Blood Count and VERY iron poor blood, ok, not just iron poor, they couldn't find any.. AT ALL! In fact they wanted me to have a blood transfusion!! But my doctor knows me so well, she knew I wouldn't do that, so I am on some major iron supplements. Red blood cells are supposed to be a beautiful rich red, very plump circulars and shiny!..  Mine were, um, light pink, tiny and shriveled. They couldn't believe I could even get out of bed! 

Next, my white blood count was TOO LOW! My doctor wanted me in the hospital for a blood transfusion for the red blood cells, and wanted me in quarantine so I didn't catch any illnesses. She truly thought if my kids so much as sneezed I would get super sick and die.
Well, I didn't go to hospital, I didn't get a transfusion, and I didn't get super sick when my kids came down with influenza. Infact, I just got more tired is all. ok, exhausted!  I was in bed more than I was out, but I had 4 kids in bed with me, and I was the only one not sick with flu.

They still haven't figured out where I am bleeding to cause such a low blood count, but I finally after 6 months have my ferritin (iron stores) up to 2..WOO HOO A whoppin 2 !!  That's more than 0. But still you'd think it'd be higher.

Herbs I take??? lots!!  Iron complex (from my doctor!!), RRL (red raspberry leaf tea), cranberry (kidney infection that I have been dealing with since December '09), Adrenal support herbs, GSE (grapefruit seed extract) which is AMAZING!!!, Redmond Clay (to clean out buggies and toxins), Melatonin (to help me get to sleep as I don't very well), OXYGEN (for migraines, yes I include this in my HERBS as it is ALL NATURAL).

Meds: Synthroid for low thyroid
Vitamins: Multivitamin;  magnesium ; calcium; Ester-C

The hard part is trying to eat between all this stuff!  My goodness. So what to eat?  Well, as the WONDERFUL AWESOME IN YOUR FACE HONEST ABOUT FOOD  JAMIE OLIVER says, You are what you eat!! So what do I eat? Well, most of it is made at home from scratch. Whole Wheat bread (NO AP flour in it!!); avocados (we eat them like candy over here!); fruits and veggies; pastas, spuds, rice, homemade tortillas, meat, beans, beans, beans, quinoa, millet, beans, and um BEANS!! 
Yes I love LOVE LOVE beans!!!!  pinto, black, navy, lima, baby lima, cranberry, adzuki, anasazi, black-eyed, split green peas, lentils, etc.. Legumes are much loved here. Mostly by Dev and I. BUT everyone eats them! If I make taco soup or chili I make Peach's bread (millet bread! tastes better than nasty corn bread!) .  If I roast a whole chicken, I serve it with rice or spuds, salad. If I make baked lentils, I serve it with rice and whole wheat tortillas and toppings. Split pea soup gets honored with fresh french bread (ya, AP flour there owell...) and salad.  BBQ limas get served with roasted chicken and salad.  We do have desserts, but we limit them and what they are. Sometimes dessert is apples or oranges.

Brigham Young told us to eat wise. He warned us that certain foods would be detrimental to our health. We have been advised many times to eat veggies, fruits whole grains, and sparingly - meat. We do that here. I heard in California that a certain town has made it so you have to have a meatless day. I just laughed, how are they going to enforce that one? good luck. We do not eat meat daily, well unless you count eggs, but I am sorry we don't.. eggs are eggs. not a muscle (meat). I completely believe the food pyramid to be leading our country to obesity. I'm sorry but white rice and white bread are NOT healthy! They are pure starch and when they hit your saliva, become sugar! And I'm sorry but 11 servings of grains a day DOES NOT MEAN processed grains!! It means WHOLE GRAINS! Processed means turned into flour.

Ok, so what does food have to do with health? EVERYTHING! We did an experiment here. We served cold cereal that was corn free to our kids for a week. Guess what happened? Do you know? They got sick! Between the diarhea and other things it just isn't worth it! What do we do for breakfast? oatmeal, cream of wheat, eggs and toast, egg burritos, toast and tea, fruits, yogurt, granola, muffins, pancakes, waffles, egg mommuffins, etc.. all cooked at home. Burritos are made from just ground whole wheat flour or oat flour. Granola, again made at home. No we don't do juice often, it's just sugar and the fiber from a whole orange is better for them than a large glass of OJ. Plus it's better on their blood sugars.
Lunch: chicken salad sandwiches, or on lettuce; lettuce wraps; leftover soups; fruits, yogurt, veggie sticks, leftover dinner stuff; PBJ, stir fries, quesadillas...
It does matter what you eat. Eating better will improve your health. Sure it's not a fix all, but taking some or all of the processed foods out of your diet will help you a ton!

What about fats????  Margarine is not permitted in my home. for any reason. Why? Well, I have a problem with eating something that is ONLY ONE molecule different from plastic!!  Plus it is made with soy and corn, both of which we don't eat here. Unless you are a woman going through menopause, you shouldn't eat soy very often.  Why? VERY EXTREMLY high in estrogen. Infact they have found some children developing early due to soy! Like what? how about a 3 year old with breasts (both girls AND boys!!) and  5 to 8 year old girls with their monthly?!  Due to intake of soy!
Ok, so good oils:
Grapeseed oil, great to cook with, can withstand high heat
Olive oil, more for salads, high heat can actually make it toxic!
Canola oil, um ok, if you have to (we do as it's cheap), but rapeseed where they get canola poisons the ground
Avocado oil, if you can afford it, use wisely! This amazing oil is $$$$ but so yummy for you
Hazelnut or Almond oil, if no nut allergies is again $$$$ but very yummy
Coconut oil, Wow, yummy! good for you, they make different grades for cooking and baking
Palm Oil, I use palm oil shortening. It is solid at room temp, NOT hydrogenated, can be used instead of crisco.

I know there are more oils out there, but honestly I have only used the ones above. And the $$$$ I only bought once. What's in my pantry? Honestly? Grapeseed oil, olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm Oil Shortening, and Canola. I hate using canola, but right now my budget says I have to.

Well this has gotten long!!!  So do this for me. Change the way you eat, eat better.  Also, make sure you are taking your meds, herbs, vitamins correctly and at the right times!!  You know so they aren't cancelling eachother out like taking calcium and iron together, might as well throw both in the trash as your body will absorb nothing!  Take Vitamin C, or drink a high vitamin C drink with your calcium and iron to absorb them better!  So now that your butt is numb from sitting here reading this long post, get up, stretch, take a walk while chewing on some celery or carrots, and think about all this info.. Hopefully you didn't get information constipation, I hate that!

Rosemary Red Soup

One of my favorite springtime recipes!

Rosemary Red Soup
3 - 4 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
2 beets, peeled & chopped *
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 TBS fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dried**
1 TBS fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried
1 cup dried red lentils, checked for rocks or debri
2 bay leaves
6 cups water or stock

Heat oil in soup pot; add onion and saute' until soft. Add carrots and beets; saute a few minutes more. Finely chop or mince rosemary and oregano. Wash and drain lentils. Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves and water to onion mix; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Pure soup in blender or processor. Gently reheat before serving
* I roast my beets first and depending on size will sometimes use up to 4.
** We prefer FRESH herbs .. better flavor

Catch up from January and half of February

Hi this is info minus the sales info as they are now expired.  I'll start from the first email. :)  Lot's of info!!  Lisa

1.20 - 1.26.10

Hello All,

I am sorry I am late with this. This is just to inform you of some good deals at stores around us. I am late due to sick kids, sorry. Hopefully next weeks email will be better :)

 Not everyone knows of the prices of things at all stores, but I will do my best ;) I do not get to all the stores EVERY week. And I only go to Safeway, QFC, Albertson's and Fred Meyer if there is something that is a really good deal. Otherwise I mostly stick to Costco, Winco and DK.

This is not for you to run out and buy things you don't need, use, or eat. This is to inform you of things so you can choose what you may want to pick up during an errand or during normal shopping. The last 2 weeks saw some excellent prices on chicken at QFC, but not this week.. bummer.

Seed Catalogues:  Now is the time to order your free seed catalogues online. Many are already arriving in mailboxes. We tend to privilege Territorial Seed Company, Raintree Nursery, Shumways, Jung, and Johnny’s Seeds because they have seeds that work in our area.

I will eventually also be letting you know of prices for good deals at these stores:

Albertsons (there is one in Eastgate and also in Fairwood)

Champion Grocer (in the warehouses by the Park and Ride)

Costco  (I only go in once or twice a month, but somethings are cheaper here. sometimes.)

DK Market (behind walmart in renton)

Dollar Tree (Covington)  Where EVERYTHING is a dollar :)

Fred Meyer (they're sales are from Sundays through the next Saturday, so it throws me off sometimes. I will try to get FM sales out to you by Monday!)

PCC

QFC

Safeway

Walmart

Winco (usually they beat all the ads for albertsons, safeway, QFC and any other competition, even if only by a penny).

Champion Grocer:

This is where I get a lot of my grains. Jim will give you a quote on anything he can get in.

Costco:

Rice Dream $16/case

Butter

whole chickens

Dollar Tree:

Crest

Aquafresh

Colgate

Aim

Pepsodent

Floss

Dial Basics hypoallergenic soap 3 pack

Pear's Natural transparent soap

toothpastes

foil pans in 2 and 3 packs

canned goods

dial gold 2 pack

Trim fingernail clippers with emery boards

Trim toe nail clippers

Comet 25oz.

Rubbermaid take alongs 2-count

toothbrushes (assorted)

1.24 - 1.30.10

Good Sabbath to you all!  Today is the day Fred Meyer ads come out. Also I wanted to share some of our favorite things to eat using our food storage. I also have some food prices for costco, but I will be putting that into a word document and sending it out, and I will update prices I hope monthly. Also, I hope to soon also have Winco prices for you, as they do not do sales, they just try to price things lower than the competition. There are some good prices this time from Freddies !! 

Also, if you look in our ward cookbook that the Giffords help make, you will find some of my recipes. But one we use VERY often is the Oatmeal Muffin recipe (not sure if it is under my or Shari's name) but we use this ALOT.  It is a favorite. The flavor is soft and the crumb is delicate.

ALSO, I am working on possibly doing a Pressure Cooker Class, problem is,I don't want to use the church as their stoves haven't been very reliable for me. I will talk with Russ and see when I can do it here. When I do the classes, they will be small, most likely 4 to 8 people. Why? Space. I have a small house. I think my canners are bigger than the bedrooms! I will also be doing a simple water bath class too. Canning is fun for me. I love it.  I also love how I can control what is going into my food .  IF there is an interest for either of these canner classes please email me to let me know. There will most likely be a small fee as you take home some of what we can.

I am also planning a food dehydration class. Simple things the first time like apples and pears. Maybe fruit leather, although I don't like to make it and my kids won't eat it.  But again, I need to know that there is an interest.  I might talk to my mom and see if she will help me if there is an interest in fruit leather as hers is amazing and the only one we all like :)

What to add to your storage this week??   SOAP.... the soap you use to wash your body. IF you can get a 3 month supply that is great.. IF you can afford to get a 6 month to 12 month supply AWESOME!!  For my family of 9, we use only 3 bars a month! So I go to Dollar Tree in Covington and I stock up on our body soaps there. I can get a year supply for between 12 to 18 dollars, I can only use certain soaps because of allergies, so this is not bad.  Also, Costco carries large packs of bar soap.  I will get those prices to you in the next day or two.

1.27 - 2.2.10

Well Hello!! I have been trying ALL day to get this written. For some reason life came up and I didn't get to the computer. Well, it's ok, the bread is yummy and the rice pudding wonderful!  Have a few things here to show you from a couple stores, some recipes, and some thoughts.  OH so you know, all the recipes I share are tried and true. If I don't like them or Devon doesn't like them, we don't share them. I have very picky kids and I'll tell you, these are good recipes! Although I understand everyone has different tastes, and I do use some things that weren't common a few years ago (quinoa, pronounced  keen- wha .. and millet, yup the stuff they put in the bird cages.. both of these are SUPER high in protein).  We use our food storage daily, as we eat what we store. Out of my food storage this week we have used: 1 jar homecanned turkey, 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 2 pounds spaghetti noodles, 2 cups potato pearls, 1 jar apple butter, 2 jars strawberry jam, 18 pounds of hard white wheat, 3 pounds granulated sugar, 2 pounds brown sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 4 bouillon cubes, 2 pints home canned applesauce, 10 pounds all-purpose flour, 13 pounds oatmeal, 3 pounds calrose rice, 1 LARGE jar JIF (from costco), 1 cup shortening, 1/2 gallon canola oil, 4 pounds butter, 3 pounds chocolate chips, 3 TBS cinnamon, 1 TBS nutmeg, 1 TBS quinoa powder, 2 pieces crystallized ginger, 2 cans refried beans, 2 pounds cheddar, 2 pounds chicken breast, 5 TBS yeast, 2 quarts rice milk, 5 herbal tea bags, 1 cup hot cocoa mix..  It isn't hard to do. 

Save money when you grocery shop, meal plan and make a list!

Champion:

I sent out a separate email for some of the deals there. Also had hours listed on it.

Costco:

Rice Dream $16/case

Whole chicken (raw, 2 pack) $0.99 /#

Country-style pork ribs $1.99 /#

Kirkland BUTTER $6.85 / four pounds ($1.71/#)

Tillamook Cheddar  2.5 pound loaf $6.59     OR   5 pound loaf $11.69

Mozzarella 2-pound brick $4.69

String cheese  (60 oz  or 3.75 pounds)  $10.39

American Cheese $10.49

Vanilla (I think, I forgot) $6 or about.. for 16 ounces!!! gluten free!!

Red Star Yeast (2 lb.) $3 or $4

Dollar Tree:

Crest

Aquafresh

Colgate

Aim

Pepsodent

Floss

Dial Basics hypoallergenic soap 3 pack

Pear's Natural transparent soap

toothpastes

foil pans in 2 and 3 packs

canned goods

dial gold 2 pack

Trim fingernail clippers with emery boards

Trim toe nail clippers

Comet 25oz.

Rubbermaid take alongs 2-count

toothbrushes (assorted)

WinCo:

25# bag oatmeal (regular or quick) $10

 I'm sorry I haven't gotten the Costco price list done yet. Or the one for Winco.  I will tell you though that Winco and DK market beat the pants off Albertson's, Fred Meyer, Safeway (SFWY) and QFC in produce prices. Not sure if they will beat Freddie's navel orange price though, and boy are they sweet!!  We bought 21 pounds.. yes that is correct!! and we will be getting more before the week is over. They are so juicy and sweet you don't want to stop with just eating one! 

TIPS: Organize your pantry by dates. Farthest date out is the farthest date back in the pantry.. If something is dated for  April 2010, something else March 2010.. obviously you should use the march one first so put it in front of the april one.  ALSO, I know you have heard this before, but if you don't use the food item, even if it's a good deal don't buy it; It will just be wasted and all you did was waste money. Don't buy it if you don't like it, won't use it, never eat it.  Store what you eat and eat when you store. Do you store grains? Do you have a grain mill?  No reason to store a grain you won't use with out the proper tools!   By the way, do you  have a good can opener? Bottle opener? vegetable peeler? It's always canning season at our house, BUT I know I need 5 new vegetable peelers (yes 5 actually closer to 8 or 9, one for each kitchen helper). I love my can opener, it's a Swing-A-Way.. BEST one on the market, they carry them at Target, they used to have 2 sizes available but I'm not sure if that is still the case. I have 2 and need another (I'm sure one will be disappearing soon to the camping gear).

Food storage item for this week:   BEANS that you and your family enjoy.  split pea, garbanzo, adzuki, kidney, black, white, lentils.. Whether is it dry, canned or even powdered.. some great deals from some stores on canned beans right now. Don't know where to get something in bulk, email me. Pretty sure I have an idea.

IF you have any questions on where to get something, how to use a food item, how to bake, need a recipe, how to store, how to shop, how to make a meal plan etc.. anything please send me an email!   Preparedness is not just food!!  It's also clothing, communication (networking and friendships), travel, heat source, cooking sources, water, consumables (soaps, toilet paper, lotions)... Don't be afraid to ask, no such things as a dumb question. If I don't know, I will try to find out for you.   Thank you!! Have a great few days!

 Please forgive mistakes, it's late :)

1.31 - 2.6-10

 

Hello Everyone and Good Sabbath to you.

Freddies is letting me down this week. Not much going on there. QFC has them beat with a couple things, but I will let you know the best price for this store, previous emails for other stores, and you can decide where to go. Remember, do not make a special trip to the store to get a sale item, this is a waste of your time and gas! (time and gas = money). 

Also, I stopped into Champion this week, and goodness, I almost cried!  They had Kettle Chips Sour cream and onion for $1.00 per bag!  AND my favorite Montana Mills Prairie Gold (hard spring WHITE wheat) for only $26.50 per bag! He also had Montana Mills Chief Bronze for the same price (this is the wheat I use for bread).

For those of you who have not been to this store, let me forewarn you, this is a "Mom 'n' Pop" type operation. Nothing they carry needs refrigeration. Bulk items available!  Jim, and his mom run this store and it has been in Issaquah near 10 years or more!  And before that they were in Factoria. Jim is AWESOME!! (He was in an accident a few years ago and broke his jaw, he had to relearn to talk. So it seems like he isn't moving his mouth much to talk, well, because he isn't. BUT this man is truly a go getter!) I have been ordering my wheat from him for 3 years now. Remember I said mom and pop store, well, they remember you. AND they carry your groceries out to your car and put them in your car for you! It feels like a nice lil old town store. I love them. I will list some of the things they carry in this email as well, not with prices though, sorry I don't have a current list of prices, but Jim will get it for me no problem.

OH, by the way, did you fix your pantry ???  hmmmmm, I have been busy since Friday rearranging my kitchen. Jaslyn and I were a bit naive thinking we could start this at 8:30 am and be done by 2pm. We were going to get everything rearranged, then sweep and mop before anyone got home from school.... guess what?  By 3pm, we were done, but the project wasn't. Of course, I decided to go through EVERY cupboard and clean it out, and move things to other places and get rid of things I don't ever use, or haven't used. Didn't get rid of much. Why did I do this? Because I wasn't sure what I had anymore in my cupboards. Spices, sugars, condiments, herbs.. no idea. Infact, while cleaning one cupboard I found a jar of cloves that I knew I had but couldn't find when I was looking for them. I also found 3 jars of minced onions, 3 jars of garlic powder, 2 jars of onion powder, one jar of rubbed sage, celery seed (hurrah for coleslaw!), the last of my peppercorns (UH OH), 3 jars of wheat (yes, I ran out of white buckets so I used my canning jars) and some crystallized ginger. I also found a bag full of cinnamon to put into my large jar. Does this make sense to you? Probly not, unless you knew that I buy ALL of my herbs and spices in BULK at Winco or Champion.  I go through a lot of spices because I cook almost everything from scratch.

Ok.. I guess I should stop rambling. I have been rather busy in  my kitchen the last few days, and I am currently enjoying the wonderful smell of fresh granola (currently cooling) which is a surprise breakfast treat for the kids. OH, word of warning about Costco or Kirkland brand mac and cheese.. just don't buy it, turn away, run away, hide from it.. NASTY NASTY NASTINESS.. Thought we'd give it a try.. I gagged, Evelyn gagged, Denver gagged.. it went back the next day!

Sometimes buying at Costco is NOT a good deal, so keep an eye on that. Just because it's bulk doesn't make it a deal, remember grocery stores will sometimes have sales on Campbells and you can get them from $0.40 to $1.00 per can.. Just keep an eye out. I don't use campbell's as it is bad for Jaslyn, but Russ has it for when he is on his own for lunch. Or when I am sick in bed (quite often, but he only uses it for himself). Also, the garlic, onions and potatoes can sometimes be good prices, if you can't eat that much, see if someone will split a bag with you, or a couple of couples. You never know who else can not eat 20# of spuds! or 3# of garlic 

REMEMBER, Fred Meyer and Walmart sales are from Sun to Sat. Everyone else is Wed to Tues. Kind of a pain in the neck. SO, if you want that good whole chicken from QFC that was only $0.88/ pound, you have until midnight on Tuesday! Also just because it says 10/$10 at safeway (SFWY) doesn't mean you have to buy 10. Although if it is something you will eat, check the dates when you are buying it, will you use that much or more in a year or before the expiration date?? Think yearly, not weekly or monthly. IF we ate tuna, 10 cans would be good for 5 to 10 months for us. But we don't, we can and eat our own chicken :)  What about other conveniences?? Spices? IF you are looking to save money, sometimes making things from scratch is cheaper than buying convenience foods.

******************************************************CSA*********************************************

What is that? It is kind of like a farm co-op. You pay a monthly fee, and you can get 1 to 4 boxes of farm fresh produce either you pick up in town or have delivered right to your door!  GREAT STUFF.. here is the link to check it out. It is a little expensive sometimes, but it is the same great stuff you can get at the farmer's market. I have used this farm and love what they grow. And you can tell them what things you might not want like brussel sprouts or apples and what not. I ask only for stuff they grow on their farm. I love their beets and salad mixes. I am only offering this as many people don't know about it. You can call them with any questions. Or you can wait until the farmer's markets start up and check them out. They are at the Pickering Barn Parking  with other farm vendors (during Farmer's market which isn't yet). Their farm is in the Snoqualmie Valley.

http://www.fullcirclefarm.com

*****************************************************************************************************

Champion:

Kettle Chips (sour cream and onion) $1.00 each  (until supplies last)

Breakfast cookies (assorted flavors) 4/$1.00  (until supplies last)

Hard Red Spring Wheat (for bread)

Soft white wheat (cookies, muffins, no yeast things, also used for pastry flour)

Hard White Wheat (breads)

Split peas

Garbanzo beans (DRY)

Rice(s)

Lentils

Oats

Flours

Sugars

Spices

Canned goods

Juices

Soaps

BULK items (from 3/4 pound to 50 pounds!)

Candies

vitamins

baby items

pet foods (occasionally)

crackers

flaked grains (triticale, barley, rye, oats, wheats)

condiments

honey

jam

baking supplies

flavorings

homeopathic

nuts (roasted, salted, raw)

dried fruits

fruit logs

GLUTEN FREE section!!  AND MORE!!

Costco:

ground turkey $2.29/#

butter (kirkland, in the BOX so you get 4 cubes per box, and 4 boxes per pkg)  $6.85 for 4 pounds (only $1.71/#)

Rice Dream $16/case

Bananas $1.32/ 3 pounds

Sweet onions 5#/ $5

Tillamook Cheddar two and half pounds $6.59  and five pounds $11.69

Mozzarella two pound loaf $4.69

Garlic 3#/ 5$

EGGS: 24 ct = $2.99 ($1.50 doz.) OR 5 doz (60 ct) $6.59 ($1.32 doz) 

Vanilla $6.49 (16 fl. oz)

Campbells: chicken $6.49 (12 cans); tomato $9.99 (12 cans); cream of mushroom $9.99 (12 cans)

Kraft Parmesan $ 9.75 (16 oz)

JIF creamy PB $7.99 / (2) 48 oz.

Adams crunchy PB $6.99 / 80 oz

Mission Flour Tortillas $4.99 / 40ct (burrito size)

Evaporated milk $10.89/ 12 cans (12 fl. oz) = $0.91 each

What to add to your storage this week??? TOOTHPASTE.. ya know how aggravating it is to wake up to brush your teeth and the tube has been squeezed dry by one of your seminary students??!!!  grrr, and then they didn't replace it.... oh wait, my fault I didn't have any in stock. Watch for sales, but I know for a fact Dollar tree has some and it is only $1.00/tube.  Not the largest tube on the block, but it isn't the trial size. We have found that the large tubes are too hard to handle for littles and I don't like how big they are. take up too much room .. and they get really messy. But usually the price per ounce is still a good buy at Dollar Tree.

OOPS, again it's late.. why?? I have no idea. But please forgive spelling mistakes.. have a good couple of days!