Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Gnocchi
4 potatoes, the size of an adult palm
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt and Pepper
Sprinkle of nutmeg
1/4 cup of parmesan
2 cups flour

Peel, dice and cook potatoes, until fork tender. Remove from water, but do not toss the starch water.
Combine potatoes, egg, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in large bowl. Stir and then combine with a fork, such as we do pastry dough. Dump onto cutting board, press into ball and then flatten and lengthen. Cut vertically into multiple sections that can then be cut into 1/2 x 1/2 inch pieces. Take each piece and roll on a fork tine. Place onto cookie sheet. When finished with all the pieces, drop into starchy boiling water until they float to the top, remove. If you have enough that you do not need to cook all of them, place onto cookie sheet and flash freeze, uncooked ones. Drop into boiling water when ready to use.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

2 cups cooked chicken
2 celery stalks chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
2 T. oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour
1 T. oregano
3 cups milk
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups spinach
3 cups of cooked gnocchi
Salt and Pepper to taste


Combine celery and carrots in heavy bottom pot, cooked until tender. Add garlic and oregano. Sprinkle flour on top and stir around, add the milk and continue to stir until thick. Add the chicken broth. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add the gnocchi and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Enchilada's

1 can of enchilada sauce
2-3 cups of cooked, diced chicken
2 cups of Monterey Jack Cheese
2 cups of Cheddar Cheese
1 can of refried beans
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of salsa
8 soft shell tacos

Pour enchilada sauce into dish. Mix chicken, beans, garlic and salsa together and warm. Dip shells into enchilada sauce, place of spoon full of chicken mixture and top with cheese then roll the taco shell and place into 9x13 inch pan, repeat 7 times and then top with remain cheese and place in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cheese is melted on top.

White Bean Chili

This is so wonderful and smells heavenly. I have made it for years and have seen numerous websites prepare a dish very similar.

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 can of corn
3 cups of white beans, I prepare my from the dried version
1 can of green chilies
1 can of hominy
2 t cumin
4 T. garlic
salt and pepper
3 cups of chicken broth
1 small onion diced

Place all in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Or high 3-4 hours.

Ham and Beans, Crockpot

2 cups of cooked ham
1 cup of onions, chopped
Garlic seasoning
Pepper
1 bag of soaked Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained

Put all the contents into a crockpot, cover with twice as much water, cook on low for 8 hours


Serve with sour cream, cheese and j-peppers for extra zing.

YUMMMMM.

Carbonara

Fat on a Plate

1 pound of bacon chopped
1 large onion chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
3-4 T. minced parsley
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup of butter
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of white wine


Cook bacon until crisp, add onion, cook until translucent, add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add the white wine and chicken broth, bring to a boil. All the while cook a helping of Spaghetti. In a separate bowl combine eggs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. When spaghetti is cooked, drain, return to pot, add the bacon mixture, then quickly add the egg mixture while mixing around. Add butter and stir until melted. EAT!

Waffles: No flour

Yummy Yummy Waffles, that are so good you can eat them without maple syrup
1 1/3 Cups milk (soy, rice, cow)
1 egg
2 T honey
2 t. vanilla
2 T oil
1/2 Cup raw brown rice
1/2 Cup wheat berries
1/2 Cup steel cut oats

Blend above ingredients in a blender until smooth and thin, approximately 4 minutes. The mixture should be thin.

Then after rice, berries and oats are turned into liquid powder (ie thin mixture) add in:
2 t. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 t. salt

Pour 1/4 or less into each waffle iron square and cook according to waffle directions. I have not tried this recipe for pancakes, but I bet it will work just the same.

So Easy Lasagna

1 box of Lasagna Noodles
1 can of marinara sauce
1 pound of hamburger meat. (I cook my meat in large volumes and freeze in 1 pound sizes, so they are ready to go. )
1 large container of cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Salt/Pepper
9x13 pan

Cook Noodles
Combine mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Combine your meat and marinara sauce. Drain cooked noodles. Pour a small amount of sauce on bottom of pan, line with noodles, layer of cottage cheese mixture and then marinara sauce, noodles again, cottage cheese and marinara, then noodles and top with cheddar cheese. Bake in over 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until warmed through and cheese has melted.

How we feed our babies

Baby food in the jar, no way... We tried this with our first child, oh totally gross. Have you tried the baby food in the jar? So after a few jars of baby food, we decided there has got to be something better. What do you get with a miniature food chopper and adult food? Pureed baby food. This way the babies get a wide variety of food and you know exactly what they are eating. We add rice and oatmeal cereal to thicken up the runny pureed food and the babies have alot of variety. I must admit, it is so much cheaper that infant food, but maybe not as convenient for some, but it has not affected our daily routine. What has Soren consumed in the past month: cantaloupe, peas, green beans, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, nectarines, peaches, pears, apple sauce, and rice and oatmeal cereal.

How to: chop the food into small pieces to fit into mini food processor, then puree until thin and pour into bowel, thicken with infant cereal and there you have it. The mini processor is a snap to clean, the blade the bowe and the lid.

Garden Salsa

Cherry Tomato Salsa- Mild, kids will like

4 cups cherry tomatoes
1 large shallot, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 T minced fresh coriander
1 T white wine vinegar
1/2 cup green pepper
2 tsps fresh lime juice
¼ tsp salt
2 T. minced fresh Parsley


Corn Salsa- Warm
1 can corn or 4-5 ears of cooked corn cut from cob
1 can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced onion
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T. oil
1/4 t. salt

Sorry, no pictures, it was eaten really fast. I made burritos with pulled pork and these salsas.

Garden Produce

Cherry Tomatoes, galore. What to do with these red beauties?

• 3 cups of Cherry tomatoes, roasted: 350 degrees-15 minutes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T fresh oregano, minced
• 1 T fresh basil, minces
• 1/2 cup Monterey Cheese
• 1 Pound of Penne Pasta

Roast tomatoes, smash, combine with cooked pasta. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and enojoy.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

I guess from the title you can just about guess what I am about to write....... Well from the sore nipples post birth to the engorgement 72 hours later to the leaking, what else can go along with breastfeeding???? With not my first, nor second and not my third, but my forth breastfeeding experience I have now taken on a new understanding to teeth.... My other kids did not sprout their first teeth until 8 months and at this time they understood, bit means no food. Well good ole Soren has no idea that bitting leads to removal of the breast, I think he just understands that when he bites, mommy dances. Oh but those shinny new teeth are oh so beautiful and wonderful he just wants to use them. So the other day he got his first go at it, rice cereal and rice cereal with pureed necterines. YUMMY. Yummy may I repeat. I even enjoyed it. I must admit I have tasted everything that I have put in my children's mouths, I must repeat, everything that "I" put in their mouths. Yes even breastmilk and colostrum. This is how I figured I was pregnant with my 4th. Oh I will tell the story sometime. They do taste slightly different and to a nursing 14 month old, they taste quite different.

For lunch I search around the house and threw together a wonderful bean soup.

1 bag of 15 bean soup mix, throw out the package of spices.
1 small minced onion
3-4 T. minced garlic

Saute both and then add, 1 T. Thyme, 1 T. oregano, 1/2 t. red pepper flakes, 2 T. Balsamic Vinegar, salt and pepper, then simmer until beans are soft.

Ladle into soup bowls and place generous amounts of your choose of Cheese on top

Prep Day

Today was a late start to the day, we all stayed up and watch Nims Island, great movie.

I started today out with making 3 casserole dishes to keep my family feed while I am gone long hours Monday through Thursday. I am attending a Perinatal conference and have to leave my home each morning at 5:15 to get to the facility by 7:15. Oh my will I be tried, and my personal milk supply both at the breast and in the freezer will take a big hit.

I was able to can another 6 pints of beans and prep both lunch and dinner so that the afternoon was free to play.

The casserole recipes listed below, and they will keep in the fridge for a few days, otherwise they can be frozen.

Casserole #1 Tuna Casserole
3 Cans of Tuna
1 cup frozen peas
1 box of noodles, cooked

3 T butter melted with 3 T flour, add 1 1/2 cups milk to mixture, salt and pepper. When thick, add 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Pour over Tuna, peas and noodles,

Warm in oven 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. You can crush up Ritz crackers if you wish.

Casserole #2 Poor man's Lasagna
1 Can of Sauce
1 pound of Hamburger, plus cooked sausage that I had in fridge
1 box of noodles, cooked
1 T oregano
1 T Basil
1 bag of mozzerela cheese

You can add chopped peppers, pepperoni, squash, ect if you wish

Warm again in oven 15-20 minutes, 350 degrees.

Casserole #3 Tator Tot Hot Dish
1 pound hamburger, cooked
2 cans of green beans
1 can of corn
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 cans of cream of mushroom
1 cup of cheddar cheese

Mix above ingredients then place an entire bag of tator tots on top, cook in oven 350 degrees, 30 minutes or until tator tots are crispy.

Don't Cry Over spilt Milk

Well, where has the time gone since I last posted???? All I can say is that it has been busy, busy and more busy. I have canned, made more jam, preserves, work and wiped the floor numerous times since my last blog post.

Three days ago, my 2 year old reached into the Fridge and out came not only the juice jug but the juice as well, all over my floor, two towels later and no tears at this point I felt like I should just wipe down all the tile, 30 minutes later, I was done.

Two days ago my 4 year was helping himself to some juice but this time while pouring it into a cup, it ended up all over the counter and floor, needless to say, the floor was then again cleaned, this time by all of the kids and myself, 1 hour later. Yes I did say 1 hour.....Lets see, soap, rags, buckets and more soap, rags, buckets and of course bubbles.

Well finally I came to understand fate a little better in life at this time and knew that my daughter would soon spill something tragic on the floor, and of course today it happened, my tea all over the floor, from her coming and going out of the cup cabinet, she did not even know that the hit the tea pot and spilt it all over the ground, soap, rags, bucket... you get the picture.

I made cinnamon rolls from so dough I wiped up the other day from the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day, but this time did a spin on my own. I made the sweet bread and then turned it into cinnamon rolls, made powdered sugar frosting. Well 7 are missing from the photo. No I did not eat all, just 2... The kids had the rest, plus my mom and neighbor.

Some other photos of bread that I have made over the past few days.

Callah Bread

Crusty White Sandwich Loaf

We made the Sandwich Loaf for egg salad sandwiches.

8 Large Hard Boiled Eggs, shredded with cheese grader

1/3 Mayo

1 T. Dijon Mustard

3 T. Pickle Relish

1/4 Cup Celery, chopped small

1 t. pepper

1 t. salt

Oh Yes and the yummy jams and preserves, I have photos of some Kiwi Jam, peach preserves. I did make pear jam, but it did not make it into the photo.

And the pickled beets.........

Baking the Day Away

Oh I am so in love with my new book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I tackled more of the bread shapes today, enjoying one for breakfast and the other with dinner.

New Tea Pot Asian Beef for Dinner

I made a new dish for dinner. I placed a 2.5 lb pot roast in the crockpot when I was making bread this morning and it cooked all day. At dinner time, I began creating a new dish.

Asian Beef

4 Romaine Hearts, chopped

1 scallion, tiny chops

1 Cup of chopped carrots

Small handful of sesemae seeds

2 cups of shredded and/or chopped beef

Dressing: 3/4 cup chicken broth, 2 T. Peanut Oil, 3 T. Red Wine Vinegar, 1 dash of Soy Sauce and Pepper to taste, if you like more spice, add 1 t of red pepper flakes. Poor dressing over salad and serve with bread.

So the photo of the new Tea Pot is important, because we recently bought one and the bottom cooking portion developed a pin like hole in it. I contacted the company Copco and they gladly replaced the tea pot. I will standby this company from now on, because they stood by their consumer.

I made strawberry jam for the first time and amazingly it turned out well. I hope to make more in the coming days.

All in a days work

Today started early with some lawn mowing exercises. I moved the yard for the 3rd time in 4 years, I thought it was getting a little long even for GREEN people. Mowing was followed by filling the bird feeders, hummingbird feedings and weeding the 6 gardens. My 2 year old was with me every step of the way, his favorite part is to water when we are all done.

We finished the yard work, just as the crockpot had our Sweet and Sour Pork Chops done. All I had to do was cut up summer squash and cook some rice with almond silvers and we had lunch.

I thought since all the activity occured this morning we would hide out in the house today baking. We had some excess blue berries from my fathers generosity so I decided to make Blue Berry Buckle.

Cream 1/4 c butter, 3/4 c sugar, and 1 egg.

Combine 2 c flour, 2 t baking powder, and 1/2 t salt.

Alternate adding dry mix with 1/2 c milk total to creamed mixture.

Add 2 T flour to 1 pint blue berries and then fold into thick mixture.

Make crumb topping, by squashing 1/4 c soft butter, 1/2 c sugar, 1/3 c flour and 1/2 t. cinnamon with a fork. Sprinkle on to batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for approx 1 hour, start checking at 50 minutes with a chop stick or something thin. I recommened using a grease springform pan like you would use for cheese cake.

The kids make what they call Sushi Balls while I mixed up the Blue Berry Buckle.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

2 t. cocoa powder

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup coconut

1/2 mini chocolate chips

Combine all and refridgerate for 2 hours. Take a cookie spoon and drop into a bowl of coconut flakes (1c), roll into hands forming a ball, then roll in sesame seeds and flax seeds (2/3c) and then roll into cashews crushed (2/3 c). The dip measurements are approximate, as some kids can get more to stick to the peanut butter rolls. Place the Sushi Balls on the cookie sheet and then refrigerate to harden and then you can place them in a covered dish in the fridge to store.

Shopping Sale Day

Waking up to a thunderstorm, oh my favorite morning. Seems to be that the kids all enjoy staying in bed these days, so our first visitor to mom and dads bed arrived at 8:30, joy joy. We had breakfast then my daughter, my mother, niece and I made our way to the mall for shopping. Clothes for the coming school year. I can't believe that we are in the middle of July already.

I was able to can 6 more quarts of beans today. Stock piling for winter. I also enjoyed picking snap peas and eating some along the way.

Supper was started right after lunch today. I have a Moroccan Stew for the stove, but inspiration from the Crock Pot Lady, I transferred it to the crock pot.



Moroccan Beef Stew

• -1 pound chuck roast, chopped
• -3 carrots, chopped
• -1 Yellow Squash
• -2 pints of tomatoes
• -2 potatoes, chopped
• -1 can of chickpeas
• -1 zucchini
• -3 cloves garlic, minced
• -1/2 t. pepper
• -salt
• -1 t. red pepper flakes
• -1/2 coriander powder
• -1 t. cumin
• 1/2 cinnamon stick

Place all in crock pot and cook on low 8-9 hours. Serve with couscous, yum.

Birthday Party

Evidence of my domestic engineering, reusable gift bags.

Today started out very early, 6am in fact. I watered the gardens, fixed breakfast, and started the birthday party food.


The cake recipe was something that I have combined a few recipes to find the right mix of ingredients. The frosting was yummy homemade, which I made way too much of.


Cake Recipe:

• 2 cups flour
  
• 4 t. baking powder
  
• 1/2 t. salt


• 1 1/2 cups sugar


• 1/2 cup butter, softened


• 1 cup milk


• 1 t. vanilla


• 3 eggs
  

Frosting Recipe:

• 6 cups powdered sugar


• 3/4 cup butter, softened


• 1/4 cup shortening
  
• 6 T milk or more for consistency


• 1-2 t. vanilla


• Food Coloring: preferably gel

I decided late yesterday to make homemade pizza's, because Shafer loves pizza, so this is a must at his party.

We made pepperoni pizza, chicken, artichoke, spinach, Alfredo, and Parmesan cheese pizza, Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza, and sausage, mushroom and black olive pizza.

I put together an Alfredo sauce from trial and error.

• 2 cloves garlic, 1 T. onion powder, sauteed in oil.
  
• 3 t. cornstarch, 1/4 t. salt, pepper, basil, parsley, 1 1/4 cup milk, mixed and added to pan, heat until thickened on medium heat.


• Add 4 oz cream cheese and 3-4 T. Parmesan Cheese.

Busy Summer Day

Recapping what I tried to start yesterday but just could not find the time nor energy. My 4 kids and I started our day out trying to decided what to do. Since the weather was projected to be HOT, my kids don't like HOT, we decided to do a few craft projects until it cooled down. We headed to the Fabric Store and picked up a few different kinds of fabric, some to make into reusable gift bags and the other was fleece for a new blanket for Evan, son #1. He picked out black and neon green, ohhh. We brought the fabric home and cut strips and tied, the whole blanket took 1.5 hours to tie and cut and is a twin sized.

We played the rest of the afternoon outside. 3:30 arrrived and I did not have plans for supper. I opened up the deep freeze and searched though the milk crates of chicken, pork, beef, hamburger and fish, I selected thick cut pork chops. I defrosted them and tried to decide what to put on them. Well fruit always tastes good, but I have limited amount of apples at the present time. So I searched the pantry. This is what I am up with.

• 1 can of cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce
• 3 T spoons of crushed garlic ( we love garlic, and my father swears it keeps the mosquitos away)
• 4 pork chops.

I mixed the first 3 ingredients up and poured over the chops in pan, placed in oven @350 for 60 minutes. Served over jasmine rice with sugar snap peas on the side, YUM YUM.

Off to Sidney's softball game at the newest softball diamond in town, so there are no trees. Too much sun. I was crocheting a new washcloth out of some yarn Sidney found in my closet. The girls on her team were so intrigued that they paid way too much attention to what I was doing. Most of the girls said that they had never seen anyone do this. That saddened me! Sidney is learning to crochet with a very large hook but still does not have the dexterity down, but it is coming along quite nicely.