Hey all,  I just went to this link off a friends blog and was so encouraged by it, I thought I would share.  I don't have any affiliation with this church, I just was touched by the video.  I pray it reaches your soul as well. 

Video that encouraged me today!

Also, I wanted to share a recipe that I made today that was nummy, nummy.  It was so easy and fast, it will surely become a family frequent favorite. 

Curry Quinoa and Garbanzos

Saute 1 Finely Chopped Red Onion in

1 tbsp Coconut Oil for about 4 mins.

Add 4 tsp. Curry Powder and

4 cups Filtered Water. 

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes. 

Then, add 3/4 c Finely Chopped Dried Cranberries

and 2 15-oz Cans Garbanzo Beans (rinsed and drained).

Heat till cranberries and Beans are nice and warm.

Serve and Enjoy!!!  It was sooooo simple and nummy. 

Let me know what you think. 

We had a very nummy lunch today and I wanted to share it with you all.  We named the recipe

 Amazing Pineapple Lentils

Soak 2 cups lentils in 4 cups filtered water for about 4-6 hours

Rinse and drain lentils and set aside.

Melt 4 TBSP coconut oil in  skillet.  Add and saute 1 chopped onion to oil til brown.

Add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 4 chopped garlice cloves and your lentils.  Saute on high about 2-3 minutes.

Add 2 cups water and 1 cup pineapple juice (or 3 c water) to lentils and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are tender. 

Remove from heat and add about 1 - 1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple.

Enjoy!!!!!  We just ate it  plain, but you can serve over rice or on tortillas.  That would taste nummy also. 

Tomorrow, we are having:

Bunny Salads--Pears for the body, cottage cheese scoop for the tail, strawberries for the ears, red hot     nose, on a lettuce bed for grass.  

Relish/Vegi Tray--Pckles, Black Olives, Carrots, Tomatoes, Celery, Snow Peas and Raw Green Beans

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter--just mix Balsamic Vinegar with some melted butter and pour over cooked asparagus.  Nummy

Mashed Red Potatoes--made with the skins still on

Vegetable & Tofu Shishkabob--onions, red & orange bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini cubes, cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, and tofu cubes

Whole Grain Dinner Rolls

Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Angelfood Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream on Top

Should be nummy! 

Between this latest snow storm, swimming and getting ready to celebrate TheBeans birthday, things have been a bit busy.  Being short on time, I threw some ingredients in the crockpot for dinner, let them simmer all afternoon on high (about 5 hours) and NUMMY.....a high point scoring dinner for the family. 

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Here is basically what I did:

Layer In A Crock Pot

2 Med. Orgainc Sweet Potatoes, sliced

2 Organic Carrots, sliced

1 Orgainc Red Pepper, sliced

2 Orgainc  Zucchinis, sliced

1 Small Organic Broccoli Head, chopped

1 Bag Frozed Organic Mixed Vegi's (with peas, corn, beans and lima's)

Cover this all with:

1 tsp each:  Organic Basil, Dry Mustard and Thyme

2 tsp Organic Chili Powder

16 oz Organic Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup Organic Nama Shoya (Unpasteurized Soy Sauce)  

2-3 Cups of Water

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We had this with some warm homemade sliced Kamut Bread and a side salad.  So easy, and so nummy.  I'll make this again in the near future.  Great meal for a cold snowy night and a busy afternoon.

If you try it, let me know what you think. 

This weeks recipe for the TeamBettendorf Cook-Along involves Soaked Beans--Nummy.  It was VERY easy and most delicious.  We enjoyed them for lunch today.

First, I used 2 cups pinto beans

I rinsed them thoroughly---

Put them in a bowl, added 2 Tbsp Whey, covered with filtered water and set them to soak for about 24 hours.  You don't need to do it that long---That is just what fit in our schedule this week. 

Next, I put them in the crockpot with 1 Tbsp sea salt and 4 crushed clovs of garlic.  I cooked then on low for about 14 hours.  Again, you can porbably do less time, this just worked for us this week.

When I started the beans in the crockpot, I also started soaking 2 cups brown rice in the counter (sorry, no picture).  I soaked the rice for about 10 hours.  Then, I put it in a pot with about 5 cups filtered water, 1 Tbsp butter and some dried green onions.  I brought it to a boil and then simmered on low for about 50 minutes, until all the water was absorbed. The rice finished about the same time as the beans.

I chopped tomatoes, chives and orange peppers.  I also sliced some cucumbers and orange peppers for some side munching.

Then, piling the rice, beans, and vegis high.  We were all so ready to eat.  We had been smelling the beans all morning and were getting very hungry to try them.  

Taking that first bite brought a HUGE smile.  NUMMY!!!!

Team Bettendorfs Beans and Rice recipe received our stamp of approval!!!

We will definately have this again!   We are looking forward to next week when we can try yet another new recipe.  Be sure to jump in and cook-along with us. 

I finally got to the store to get some nice fresh fruit.  So, for breakfast this morning we will have this plate of fresh fruit and some roasted walnuts. 

For the Roasted Walnuts, I basically did my version of Nourishing Traditions. 

1. Soak the walnuts for about 12 hours in filtered water and some sea salt. 
2. Drain them thoroughly.
3. Roast them for about 24 hours at 150 F, or until they are crisp and completely dried. 

Nummy and easy. 

Since I am in a cooking mood, I decided to take  pictures of my most recent adventure in making whey.   I use whey when I ferment my vegetables and make sauerkraut.  They taste soooo much better with whey.  You can use an extra Tbsp of sea salt if you don't have whey but it ends up way to salty for my taste.  

Anyway, here is how I make whey.  First I put a gallon of raw cows milk out on the counter for 2-4 days (depending on the temperature) until is it separated and pretty much a clump of curds.  (didn't get a picture of the milk gallon)

Then, I line a strainer with a dishtowel and dump the milk into the strainer.  Almost immediately, the whey starts coming out the bottom. 

You can see here my Kerr jar off to the side where I add my whey as it comes out.  I let it sit for several hours, until the dripping slows down.  

When the dripping slows, I tug at the towels sides, lifting it carefully and hold if for a few minutes.  Then, I put it back down in the strainer again.  Some people tie their towel to a rod and hang over the bowl.  Since I do a gallon at a time, it is a bit too heavy and too much for me to do this.  So I just pick it up occasionally and it resettles and starts dripping again.  By the end, I usually have anywhere from 1 - 2 quarts of whey. 

Here is a photo of some of the whey.  Some is clearer than others but it is all good stuff.   Oh, and the good stuff that is left in the strainer is nummy cream cheese.  I put that in a tupperware dish and refrigerate.  I add honey to some, pureed strawberries to some, fresh garden herbs to some......we love to spread it on stuff.  Nummy!

I am excited to be participating in the teambettendorf cook along.  Nourishing Traditions has been a favorite of mine for a couple years but I felt like I was going at it alone.  Now, teambettendorf has started a Monday cook along using Nourishing  Traditions (NT).  She is putting out methods, recipes and pictures to go along.  It is going to be a lot of fun as we all venture in this together.  Go check it out. 

This weeks is making chicken broth/stock.  Here is my attempt:

Organic Free Range Fred Bird ready to get going--

Washing Fred on the inside and out--

Quartered Onion to be stuffed in Fred Bird for cooking----

Fred Bird is in the crockpot ready to be cooked----

OK, so the bird is finished.  I cooked it in the crockpot for 10 hours on low.  Simple, simple. 

Next, I picked the meat off the bones (actually almost all of it fell off by itself).  It took about 10 minutes to do it all.  I got rid of the onions that cooked in the bird (into the compost pile) and sliced another one.  I also sliced 2 carrots and 3 celery. 

I left the juice from cooking the bird in the crockpot and added to it, 2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar, adn 2 1/2 qrts water.  The recipe called for 4 but that wouldn't have fit.  I was also to add a bunch of parsley but didn't have any.  Instead, I added about 1/4 cup dried organic parsley. 

Now the stock will stay in the crock pot on low until morning. At that time, I can strain  and be finished. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ok, it's the next morning and we get to finish off.  First, I pour the stock into a bog pot with a strainer in the middle to catch all the vegi's and bones.

Then, I poured the stock from the pot into a smaller container where it could sit and cool. (You can see the vegi's and bones to discard in the background)

And, finally, the finished product. 

My older two boys can't wait to get their hands on the chicken.  The Bean and I are a bit more hesitant since we haven't eaten meat in so long (me 7 years, thebean only about twice in 7 years).  I'll see what happens.  But, the stock, that will be yummy for all.  We'll use it for Chicken Rice Soup tonight.  I have had the rice soaking for about 8 hours so far.

Thanks teambettendorf 

OK, it's recipe time again.  We just had one of our favorite fall dishes and thought it was time to put up another recipe.  This one a vitamin packed "lasagna" recipe a friend of mine gave me and it quickly became a family favorite.    Let me know what you think.  My boys all gobble it up. 

Mega Vitamin Lasagna

• 3 med. sweet potatoes
• 1 pound fresh spinach leaves
• 9oz firm tofu
• 1 c ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil  (OR a layer of garden fresh basil leaves if you have them)
• 1/4c parsley
• several cloves garlic
• 32oz spaghetti sauce
• 16 oz mozzarella cheese
• 5 T wheat germ

1. Blend together tofu, ricotta, and herbs/spices. 
2. Layer in a 9 x 13 pan, sliced potatoes, spinach, filling, mozzarella, sauce. Repeat 2 times
3. End with sauce and sprinkly with wheat germ
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 60 minutes. 

NUM!!!

I served it with tossed salad and warm, sliced homemade rolls with butter, and a glass of raw cows milk.  Aaaahhhhhh!!! Good to the last bite!   God Bless!

OK, so here is the Granola I made yesterday morning.  You can many different variations with this recipe, like nuts/no nuts, dried fruit, raisins, coconuts. carob chips etc.  Just play around with it until you find your family likes.   We love this recipe and I have to make it once a week.  We generally have it with milk and berries  2 times per week.  We also love to put it on top of yogurt and  fruit.  Nummy! 

Mix in a large bowl:

• 10 cups Raw Organic Rolled Oats
• 2 cups freshly ground Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 cups Organic Wheat Germ
• 1 cup chopped Organic  Raw Pecans
• 1 cup chopped Organic Raw Almonds
• 1/2 cup Coconut, shredded

In a medium saucepan, mix

• 1 stick Organice Unsalted Butter (melt it)
• 1 cup Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Raw Honey
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 tsp Cinnamon

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.   Spread the granola in a large sheet cake pan.  Bake for 40 minutes at 275 degrees F., stirring every  10 minutes.  Let cool in pan and transfer to airproof container.  Enjoy. 

Just had to share a recipe that a friend got me started on a long time ago.  It quickly became a family favorite and is so versatile, it can actually be a different soup each time.  We call it Cream of Whatever Soup.  The base is always the same and in equal parts such as:

• Melt    6 TBSP butter
• Stir in 6 TBSP whole wheat flour
• Add    6 cups raw cows milk

That is the base we use for 4 people.  You could make less and use 4 TBSP butter/flour and 4 cups or more with 8 TBSP butter/flour and 8 cups milk.  You get the idea. 

• Bring it gently to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. 
• Then, add chopped "anything."

You can add as much or as little of whatever you have in the house.  Try onions, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, squash, fresh corn, celery etc.  Just be sure to chop it up VERY small.  Tonight, we added:

• 1 onion
•  4 small potatoes
• 6 medium carrots (fresh from the garden)
• 1 decent sized bunch of broccoli. 

Season to taste, add what tastes good to you.  I usually use about:

• 1 TBSP garlic flakes or 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 TBSP onion flakes (unless I add fresh, raw onion)
• 1 TBSP basil
• 1 tsp celery seed (unless I add fresh, raw celery)
• 1/2 tsp  pepper
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Let it come to a boil again, stirring often.  Then, lower temp to lowest setting and simmer for about 30 mintues.  About 5 mintues before serving, my boys love it when I add cheese.   So, often I shred up about

• 1-2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese or Monteray Jack Cheese (or whatever)

Serve hot with homemade rolls, crackers or oyster crackers.  Nummy.  Let me know what you think. 

We had such a marvelous day today.  Babysitting was wonderful today.  The baby was precious and my other child was in great spirits.  That makes for such a nice day.  My boys were excited about scouts tonight and got to work, straight away, on a project for this evening.  They were to make a collage about themselves for a couple different acheivements.  So, we pulled out the stack of old magazines and they go to cutting.  They poured over the magazines for at least 3 hours.  I was amazed at the attention this project received.  Amazing!  Shows what they are indeed capable of.  Even the 5 yr. old I babysit got into the project and made one of his own. 

After the cutting stage ( and after the baby went home), we were off the the store quickly to gather some poster board for the backing.  Back home again, they set to laying out all the many, many big and little words and pictures they had clipped.  HisCross found that he needed more to really fill the poster board in.  So, he returned to do some more cutting.  TheBean could have used a few more also but was satisfied with it just the way it was.  After laying it out, glue sticks were opened and their wonderful collages were assembled.  They really turned out so beautifully.  I will include pictures of them soon but the computer that I load photos on is misbehaving at this time so the photos will have to wait.  But, they really did turn out nicely. 

Scouts was wonderful.  My oldest (AtTheCross) helped lead some games and do the meeting with TheBeans den.  He did a great job.  He was very patient and gentle in his leading.  HisCross earned another Webelos acheivement is is getting closer to his Webelos and Arrow of Light each month.  He has also informed me that he wants his "Super acheiver," which is when you earn all the acheivements.  He's going to be a busy boy. 

Once home, it was time to tuck the boys into their nice comfy beds and read a couple chapters of our book.  We are currently reading  Teddy's Buttons  from the 1800's . 
 It is a Lamplighter book, some of our favorites.  The story is so sweet and challenging at the same time.  They love it. 

After books, prayers and kisses,  I was off to the kitchen to get some Sauerkraut going.  It is soooo easy to make and so much nummier than the stores.  

1. Shred up one head of cabbage into a large bowl.

2. Add a couple Tbsp of sea salt (or 1 tbsp sea salt and 1 tbsp whey--I just didn't have any whey tonight)

3. Add about a Tbsp of caraway seeds.

4. Hammer the cabbage for 10 -15 mintues to get the cabbage juices flowing.  You'll be able to tell when it's finished.

5. Pack the cabbage into a 1 qt canning jar.  Press it down with hand or mallet as far as it will go, forcing the juices to the top.

6.  Put the lid on and let it sit on your counter at room temperature for 3-5 days.

7. Transfer to the fridge and enjoy. 

This has been a busy couple days in the kitchen.  The boys have been busily creating all sorts of good things, along side me, to eat.  It's been hot and we have been opting to stay inside (though we hit the pool yesterday evening for about 1 1/2 hours to cool off (temps are in the 100's). 

So, what's been cooking?  The Bean made homemade granola Monday morning for breakfast (num!) with oats, pecans, almonds and more.  It was so nummy.  The boys like it ina bowl with milk.  I prefer to have some sprinkled on top of a bowl of yogurt.   For lunch, we made potato pancakes and served them with nice cold applesauce.   The boys devoured them.  We'll have to repeat this recipe again soon.  For salad, The Bean made an incredible salad.  It was made of homegrown romaine tomato, cucumber and red pepper. Then he added some green onions, shredded cheese, sliced hard boiled eggs and sunflower seeds.  It was truly a masterpiece.  I should have taken a picture.

Yesterday was HisCross's turn.  He made a cooling green smoothie for breakfast.  We use alll different stuff to make these depending on what we have.  HisCross choose romaine lettuce, celery, kiwi and banana.  We put them all in the blender with about 1 c filtered water and let her rip for about 15 seconds.  Num!  For lunch, we had homemade bread (which fell?  Hmmmm..) with egg salad, lettuce and tomato. Then for supper, opting not to use the oven (We are in a major heat wave right now and it is HOT), we made a scrumptious fruit salad with watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches and bananas.  We also made up some guacamole with avocado, tomato, onion, galic and lemon juice.  We had some tostitos to dip in it.  However, mostly we ate the fruit salad. 

Today is AtTheCross's turn.  We aren't having anything too exciting as we will have  3 extra children with us all day.  We are going for cool and simple.  Breakfast will be some more of TheBean's nummy granola (with milk for the boys and yogurt for me). We'll also have more fruit salad.  We made enough last night for leftovers this morning.  For lunch, we'll be serving up some vegi roll ups.  We use sprouted tortillas by Food for Life, romaine, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, sprouts, shredded carrots, sliced red onions and avocados.  I make a sauce of veganaise, mustard and honey which we like to spread on the tortillas.  It will be a nice cool lunch (It will be in the 100's again today).  Supper will consist of bean burrito's and salad.  We just make up some refried using pintos that have been soaking all night.  Atthecross will make up some tortillas with wheat flour and water, with a touch of honey.  We'll put out some homemade salsa (I need to get that done--tomato, red pepper, onion, cilantro and a jalapeno will make up todays batch), cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions and black olives and everyone creates their own.  These should fill everyones tummies before we head out to the pool for another evening swim. 

Have a blessed day.

I really enjoy learning new menus and ways of cooking that suit a healthier lifestyle.  So many of you wonderful bloggers put recipes on your pages and I thought I would share some recipes and techniques, as well. 

We are trying to soak our grains more and more, for health benefits.  Tonight, my youngest and I got the grains soaking for our pancakes tomorrow.  For this particular recipe, I use:

•  2 c. oats, uncooked
• 1 c brown rice, uncooked
• 2 c buttermilk
• 1 c plain yogurt (or keifer when I have it)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp raw extra virgin olive oil

My youngest put them all in the blender (we use a Vita-Mix), dry ingredients  first, then....

We turn the blender on high for 3 minutes to grind up grains, mix well, and get everything going.  Here the mixture will stay, atop my blender, until moring.

In the morning,  we add:

• 2 eggs

Turn blender on high again for about 1 minute, until eggs are mixed in well.  Then, add:

• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

Mix breifly.  Watch out because it gets to be a bit bubbly and rises a bit in the blender.  Then, it's time to make the pancakes.  You can leave them as is, add blueberries (which we are doing tomorrow), use a little butter and/or syrup.....Nummy! 

Enjoy!!!