trim healthy mama life.....

Hello again. I am not very good at keeping up with this blog. I am trying really hard at this but it seems my blog gets put on the back burner a lot! 

A week ago yesterday I started my Trim Healthy Mama journey. I have had the books for a very long time. I have read through all of them and even cooked a good many foods the THM way. I have never been fully committed to this way of life until last Monday when I got some lab results back. Let's just say it's time for a change! So, I started last Monday and haven't looked back. I am really enjoying eating healthy! No sugar! What! It has been over a week that I haven't had any sugar. That's really big for me. I have a hard time cooking really healthy with 7 other people living here also but I knew when I got the results last Monday it was time to change my way of life. I have been using Plexus also for over a year and love it but I never was really consistent with it either. I knew it was fabulous and  I knew when I took it on a daily basis I felt so much better. Well, as of now, Plexus and THM is my way of life. No turning back!

I am trying so many new recipes in my THM books here lately that I thought I would share them with you. They are wonderful. It feels so great to know I am eating the way I should to lose weight and get healthy. I am going to try to post at least two recipes a week. 

Here are two that I have tried recently and totally liked!

Minute Ramen Soup                 p. 125 in the cookbook

Orange Creamsicle Shake              p. 409 in the cookbook

I am loving this new norm and look forward to getting results that I know I will eventually see and feel!

Recipe - Day 8

RECIPES!!!!! I love recipes! I don't even know how many cookbooks, homemade and printed I have. I think I snapshot at least two to three a day with my phone.

 

The first one is a new recipe I tried yesterday. I haven't tried these yet but I am pretty sure they will be a hit.

 

 



 

 

 

 

PICKLED SWEET GREEN TOMATOES

 

16 cups sliced green tomatoes

2 cups sliced onions

1/4 cup pickling salt

3 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

4 cups white vinegar

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon mustard seeds

1 Tablespoon whole allspice

1 Tablespoon celery seeds

1 Tablespoon whole cloves

 

Wash and slice tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle with pickling salt and let stand 3 hours. Drain and rinse. Heat the sugar and vinegar and put the spices in a cheese cloth and add them to the vinegar mixture. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced tomatoes and onions and cook 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are translucent. Put in hot jars and process in a boiling-water canner, pints 15 minutes and quarts 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a wonderful recipe using blueberries of course! Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

BLUEBERRY POUND CAKE

 

 

 

1 cup of butter, softened

2cups sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt, (not in original recipe)

3 cups of flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pint fresh blueberries or 2 cups canned blueberries,

drained and rinsed

 

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Add yogurt and vanilla. Sift two cups of flour, salt and baking powder together and add it to the creamed mixture. Dredge blueberries in remaining flour and gently fold into batter. Pour batter into a buttered bundt pan coated with sugar and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

God Bless!



When chickens give you eggs....,

Our chickens have been blessing us for weeks with lots of eggs. So I decided to pickle some. I have pickled eggs before but used a different recipe. I came across this recipe and decided to try something different.

 

 

First boil a dozen eggs, I am using smaller eggs that our sweet little Silkies are laying.

 

 

While your eggs are boiling, mix together your vinegar, salt, sugar and pickling spice.

 

When this pickling liquid comes to a boil, add 1 large onion, sliced. Let your liquid and onions sit for 5 minutes.

 

Once your eggs are boiled, peel and stuff them into your jars. Ladle your hot pickling liquid and onions into your jars. I used pints.

 

Boil your jarred eggs in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Pickled Eggs

 

12 boiled and peeled eggs

4 cups vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 large onion, sliced

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon pickling spice

 

Boil your eggs and while they are boiling combine your vinegar, salt, sugar and pickling spice and bring it to boil. Turn you liquid off and add your sliced onion. Once you have peeled your eggs, pack them into your jars. Ladle the hot liquid and onions over your eggs. Boil in your boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

soup and a muffin recipe....

Here are two recipes from my menu plan this week. The first one is The All- American Cheeseburger soup I made for Monday night. The second one is my Banana Bread recipe that I turned into muffins instead of a loaf. These two are very easy.

 

Little Ruthie Bug, as her daddy calls her with her bowl of All-American Cheeseburger Soup.

 

Not the best picture of the soup but you get the idea! I accidently deleted the other picture of it. Sorry! To lazy to go and find it!

All -American Cheeseburger Soup

 

1 pound of ground meat

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons flour

28 ounces of beef broth

2 potatoes, scrubbed and coarsely chopped

1 can petite diced tomatoes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 small can tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup whole milk

Toasted buns or rolls, we used croutons

Cheeseburger Toppings:

pickles, onions, mayo, mustard, ketchup

 

In a 6 quart Dutch oven, cook beef, onions, garlic and celery until tender. Sprinkle the flour on the meat mixture and cook for 2 minutes.

 

Stir in the broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat and cook about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

 

Stir in tomatoes, cheese, tomato sauce, ketchup and Dijon mustard. Cook on low until cheese is melted. Stir in the milk. Heat through. Serve with toasted buns and cheeseburger toppings.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

The next pictures are of the banana bread muffins I made this morning.

 

 

 

As you can see, the batter is very thick. That's ok.

 

Just scoop it into muffin tins.

 

This is the streusel topping I made for the muffins.

 

Just take little pieces of the topping and place on top of the batter.

 

Here is the finished muffin ready to eat!

Banana Bread Muffins

 

1 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1- 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1- 1/2 cups (about 2) mashed ripe bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

 

Streusel Topping:

 

2 Tablespoons softened butter

3 Tablespoons flour

1/4 cup brown sugar or sucanat

 

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your muffin pans. Beat oil and sugar together. Add your vanilla, eggs and mashed bananas. Gradually  beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in your chopped pecans.

 

Scoop your batter into the muffin tins and sprinkle your streusel topping on top of the batter. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Cool on baking racks for 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the meals I am cooking this week for my family. Stay tuned for the Chicken Skillet Lasagna I cooked tonight, it was a hit!!!

 

God Bless!

 



Yummy Homemade Chili for the New Year....

 

Well, I decided to use my new Lodge Dutch oven to cook our chili in for our New Year's Eve party tonight. My sweet family got this awesome gift for me for Christmas! I love those guys so much.

 

 

I thought I would share this really good homemade chili recipe with you just in case you would like to make some of this yummy, hot, goodness on an upcoming cold night.

 

 

 

Homemade Chili Recipe



 

 

2 pounds of ground meat, I used ground vension

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 can no salt added petite diced tomatoes

1 15 ounce can of chili beans

1 cup water

1/3 cup chili powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 - 1 Tablespoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup ketchup

 

In a large Dutch oven, saute your onions and garlic until translucent. Add your ground meat and cook until done. Add your remaining ingredients and cook on low for about an hour.

 

ENJOY!!!!!

 

 

GOD BLESS!

 

 

Day 2 - easiest peanut butter fudge ever.....

Today, my little Sadie bug wanted to help me make this peanut butter fudge. She is always the one that wants to help me cook. She has been wanting to fill the little plates on this Christmas tree stand I sat out on our table a few days ago. I have to say, we had fun making it but it didn't quite turn out like smooth, chewy fudge. It was very crumbly and brittle. I think I would change it up a little and add more milk or maybe a little cream.  I can't remember where I ran across this recipe. Anyway, here is the recipe!

EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER EVER

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the sugar and milk to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix well. Pour into a shallow dish and , your done! Let it cool and cut into squares!

Looking forward to Day 3! More cooking and hopefully decorate our Christmas tree!

God Bless!

2014 December Fun Days and Holidays....

December is here! We can't hardly wait for this time of year. Twinkling lights, baking cookies, singing and listening to Christmas hymns, wrapping gifts, drinking hot cocoa.

We love so many things about December and have so many fun things planned this month. Maybe you could join in on some of the fun.

Stay tuned because we will have lots of pictures to share, great recipes, crafts and more! We are also doing Christmas reading in our bibles. I know I am a little late posting all of this but I will post our scripture we are reading soon.

Here are the holidays and fun days for the 1st 25 days of December.....


Day 1 -  Decorate the inside of our home for Christmas.

Day 2 -  More decorating, putting up the Christmas tree and making No-Bake Fudge. Will share the recipe.

Day 3 -  Make some yummy microwave caramels. Not to fond of cooking in the microwave but my stove is out of commission right now.

Day 4 -  National Cookie Day! We will be making No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal cookies. Will share the recipe.

Day 5 -  We will be making No Bake Pecan Coconut Cookies.

Day 6 -  Make balls out of chicken wire and Christmas lights for outdoor decorations and go see a Live Nativity.

Day 7 -  Cotton Candy Day!

Day 8 -  National Brownie Day! We are going to make Nutella ones.

Day 9 -  Christmas Card Day!

Day 10 - Make some No Bake Oreo Truffles and if we have enough time, maybe some chocolate covered oreos.

Day 11 - Celebrate National Hot Cocoa Day. Its really this coming Saturday.

Day 12 - Make a Christmas Tree Hand Canvas and some fingerpaint canvases.

Day 13 - Ice Cream Day!

Day 14 - Make homemade wrapping paper.

Day 15 - National Cupcake Day!

Day 16 - National Chocolate covered anything day!

Day 17 - Make photo ornaments for the grands!

Day 18 - Make cookie baskets for our Christmas cookies and our annual Van Express Ticket Day!

Day 19 - Christmas Party with friends!

Day 20 - Bake lots of Christmas cookies!

Day 21 - Winter Soltice!

Day 22 - Deliver gifts to the local hospital to the children that are sick.

Day 23 - National Chocolate Day tomorrow! Make something yummy!

Day 24 - Christmas Eve Boxes and bake Jesus a birthday cake!

Day 25 - Celebrate Jesus' birthday and drink some homemade eggnog. Yesterday was National Eggnog Day.




As you can see, we are planning on having some fun this month. Maybe you can check back and see some of the fun things we will be doing!

God Bless!

oatmeal-pineapple muffins

This morning my 7 year old bug got up and wanted to make muffins for breakfast. This mommy couldn't pass up the opportunity of cooking breakfast with my sweet girl! Here is a photo and the recipe to these delicious muffins. Adapted from a baking cookbook we found at the dollar store.

OATMEAL-PINEAPPLE MUFFINS

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1 cup sugar or in my case, sucanat

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup of oats, finely chopped

8 ounces crushed pineapple, with juice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla and pineapple with juice. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda, salt and chopped oats. Mix thoroughly and spoon batter into muffin tins lined with paper liners. Top with a little of crushed pineapple if you have any left from using a large can like we did. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did this morning!

God Bless!

Couple of recipes

Here are two yummy recipes! I have no pictures because my computer and photos will not cooperate!

The first one is one of my favorites during the summer. I always make this one when my tomatoes start coming in and ripening on the vine.

The second one is also a summer recipe. It calls for yellow summer squash.


Try these, I promise you will not be disappointed!

Tomato-Leek Pie

1 pie crust

2 red tomatoes

2 yellow tomatoes

1 green tomatoes

1 leek

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mayonaise

1 egg

Salt and Pepper

Bake pie crust at 450° until golden brown. Slice tomatoes, place on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Slice the leek and saute in butter. Layer leek on bottom of crust. Top with tomatoes. Mix mayo, egg, cheese, salt and pepper. Spread on top and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.

Yellow Squash Pie

1 cup evaporated milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups cooked squash

1 unbaked pie crust

Cube and cook squash. Cool. In blender, blend milk, eggs, cinnamon and honey. Add the cooked squash and blend together in blender about 2-3 minutes. Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake on 400° for 10 minutes, then 350° for 35-40 minutes or until set. Set.

Blueberry Scones

These blueberry scones are delicious! Not all of my bugs eat and enjoy blueberries so I don't make these too often but when I do, they are so good! My husband's grandparents have beautiful blueberry bushes, so every year, we get alot of blueberries and freeze them. As of right now, we are enjoying blueberry jelly. I am thinking of baking some of these in the morning. Here is the recipe:

BLUEBERRY SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

1 cup fresh blueberries, (I always use frozen)

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I've used plain Greek)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest or lemon oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons coarse sugar, for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients until the mixture is unevenly crumbly. Gently mix the blueberries with the dry ingredients.

2. Stir together the eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon zest and almond extract. Add to the dry ingredients and stir very gently, just until combined. Dough will be moist like cookie dough.

3. Use a muffin scoop, jumbo cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measure to scoop the dough onto the prepared sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Brush each ball of dough with a bit of milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

4. Bake the scones for 20-24 minutes or until lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Try these, you won't be disappointed!

amish pickled beets and eggs......

Our little Bantam chickens have been laying pretty regularly. They lay small eggs and they are perfect for pickling. I recently found this recipe and thought I would give it a try. They look great, just curious of how they taste! Guess we will see in about a week. I tripled the recipe because I had more than eight eggs!

Pennsylvania Dutch Pickled Beets and Eggs

8 eggs (already hard-boiled)

2 (15 ounce) cans sliced pickled beets, juice reserved

1 onion, sliced

1 cup white vinegar

3/4 cups cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pinch black pepper

2 bay leaves

12 whole cloves

1. Place beets, onion and peeled eggs in a mason jar (if canning) or a non-reactive glass or plastic container. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size, non-reactive saucepan, combine sugar, 1 cup reserved beet juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaves and cloves. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Pour hot liquid over beets, onions and eggs. Cover and refrigerate 48 hours before using, if you are not canning.

4. If canning, place jars in canner and process for 10 minutes.

a yummy recipe.....

Just wanted to share a yummy recipe that my whole family enjoyed!

Pepperoni Pizza Chili

2 lbs. ground beef

1 lb. bulk ground sausage

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jar salsa

1 can chili beans(16 oz.), undrained

1 can kidney beans(16 oz.), rinsed and drained

1 can pizza sauce, (12 oz.)

1 pkg. (8oz.) sliced pepperoni, halved

1 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook beef, sausage, onion, green pepper and garlic in a Dutch oven over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in salsa, beans, pizza sauce, pepperoni, water, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle servings with cheese.

Enjoy!

what a blessing.......

Look at this......

What a blessing! Farm fresh eggs daily. Living on our homestead is one of the most fun and rewarding things I can think of!

We walk out of our back door everyday and we are in AWE! of God's creation.

I wanted to share a recipe that we really enjoy. We love using our fresh eggs in all of our recipes but this has to be one of my favorites!

I attended a cooking school last year that is sponsored by Taste of Home and came home with this wonderful recipe. I have modified it a little to our liking.

Huevos Rancheros

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped, optional

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 cup tomatoes, diced

4 to 6 eggs

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet and saute garlic, onion and green pepper for 5 minutes. Add jalapeno pepper, if desired and cook 1 minute longer. Add the remaining ingredients except for the eggs and simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until tomatoes softens.

2. Break eggs into pan in four to six places, depending on how many you use. Continue to cook until bottom of egg is set, and white is almost cooked, or approximately 8 minutes. Cover and cook briefly until white is firm and yolk is lightly cooked. 

We like our eggs very soft for this recipe.

If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

God Bless!

EASY ARTISAN BREAD

I have been wanting to try to make Artisan bread for quite some time now. We make all kinds of bread around here on the homestead but not Artisan.

I found a super easy recipe from here and thought I would give it a try. Well guess what? It turned out great!

Here are a couple of  pictures I took of it before I give the ok to devour it! That is just what happened. I don't think it lasted more than 5 minutes.

Here is the very easy and yummy recipe.

EASY ARTISAN BREAD

3 cups flour (calls for all-purpose, we use freshly ground hard white wheat)

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Add-ins: Cranberry/white chocolate/pecan

Cranberry cinnamon

Rosemary

Cinnamon Raisin

1. Put first 3 ingredients in bowl and stir until incorporated.

2. If you are going to use add-ins, put them in now.

3. Add the lukewarm water.

4. Cover the bowl with saran wrap. Set aside and let rest for 8-20 hours.

5. After dough has rested, flour a surface or a bowl. Wet hands and pat into a ball-try to get as round as you can. Let it rise for an hour.

6. Meanwhile, preheat you oven to 450 degrees F.

7. Place your pot into the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

8. After the bread has risen for an hour, take your pot out of the oven and place bread in the hot pot.

9. Bake for 30 minutes. Take lid off and bake another 10-15 minutes.

10. Let cool before slicing.

This is an awesome artisan bread recipe. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

God Bless!

a few happenings around the homestead....

We have been pretty busy around here lately. Tae Kwon Do testing, canning pears and baking up some delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.

Big boy just earned his advanced blue belt in Tae Kwon Do. We are so very proud of him. He works really hard in his classes and at home. Congratulations BIG BOY!!!


A few weeks ago, one of my dear friends called me and wanted to know if I was interested in some pears. Well, you know me, of course I was! The bugs and I loaded up and went to her home to pick them up. They had already picked them from the trees so all I had to do was go get them. She told me that they picked quite a few and to bring a good many containers with me when I come. I was shocked at the pears. I ended up bringing home five 5 gallon buckets full and 2 more large garbage bags full to share with friends. Now that's alot of pears.

I decided to put mine up in a light syrup, in quart and pint size mason jars. Take a look how pretty.

Another something we like around here is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. It is our favorite sweet bread around this time of the year. We love Autumn! We still have a little pumpkin left from last year in the freezer so I figured it was time to get it out and bake a little of this bread. I have one really picky eater and he even loves it. For him to know what it is and still like it, it really has to be tasty!

Here is a loaf, still in the pan. It didn't last long after I removed it.

Click HERE for this yummy recipe!

Right now my kitchen smells like apples. We are in the middle of canning apples that we got from an Amish farm in Illinois. I will keep you up to date on that and as soon as I finish with them, I will post some pictures and how to's on  canning apples. Until next time!

God Bless!

by far the best oatmeal icebox cookies

Today I have been doing a lot of food preparation for our vacation. With a large family, lots of food is needed! We usually take everything with us on our vacations. I do as much food prep, here at home before we leave. Today, I have been making lots of cookie dough. I triple our favorite cookie recipes and store it in ice cream containers in the refrigerator. It's a lot easier to make the cookie dough and take it with us than to take all of the ingredients with us an try to BAKE on vacation. We have two favorite recipes, Oatmeal Icebox Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. My friend shared the icebox cookie recipe with me a while back and it is by far one of the best ever!!! Thanks, Jennifer! Here is  the  recipe for one of  our favorite cookies. This is not the original recipe. I had to make it my own adding and changing a few things.

Oatmeal Icebox Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup organic sugar, or you can use 2 cups sucanat

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups fresh ground hard white wheat

3 cups rolled oats

Cream your butter, coconut oil, sugar and eggs together; add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a container and refrigerate. You don't have to refrigerate, you can drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

God Bless!

no bake granola bars

Today we are heading out to the Louisiana Homeschool Convention for a used curriculum sale. We will be leaving around lunch and won't be back home until after 5pm. I knew we needed some things yummy to eat to take with us. These no bake granola bars are one of our families favorites. Easy to make and a healthier option compared to other granola bars. Try them, you won't be disappointed!

No Bake Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups Crisp Rice Cereal

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sucanat

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

You can omit the chocolate chips and add dried fruit for a healthier bar.

Combine your cereal, oats and dried fruit if using other than chocolate chips. In a saucepan, heat the honey and brown sugar until boiling and then remove from heat and add your peanut butter and vanilla. Stir this mixture into the cereal and oat mixture and mix well. Oil a baking sheet and press this mixture into it. Be careful, it will be hot. If using chocolate chips instead of dried fruit, press your chips into the granola mixture. They will melt a little but it doesn't affect the final outcome. Let cool and them cut into bars.

Enjoy!



God Bless!

our first dewberries!!!

The bugs and I decided to go for a little walk down our driveway today and pick some flowers that are growing along the road. Take a look at what we found along the way.

DEWBERRIES!!!

How fun it is to go for a walk and find something like this growing and ready to be harvested to eat and enjoy. So, of course, we had to come home and make us a smoothie with these beautiful berries. It also gave us the perfect opportunity to try some of our kefir we have been making with our kefir grains. Here is the recipe we use to make smoothies. It comes out of the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.

Cultured Milk Smoothie

1 1/4 cups whole-milk buttermilk, kefir or yogurt

1 ripe banana or 1 cup berries(frozen or fresh)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 egg yolks

3-4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Smoothies made with good quality cultured milk make a wonderful snack, quick breakfast or strengthening meals for invalids. Unfortunately, most commercial smoothies contain soy protein powder and problematic sweeteners. Fortunately, smoothies are easy and quick to make at home.

Place banana or berries in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until well blended.

****We also add about 1/2 cup of our raw cream to this. It makes it real creamy.****

Looks like we will have as many dewberries we had last year if not more!!!

God Bless!



the most delicious soup EVER!!!

This has to be the most delicious soup ever. The other night I wanted to make soup for supper. Not just any soup. Something new. I came across this recipe for Chicken Gnocchi Soup on a blog that I follow. It sounded so yummy. I decided to make it a few nights ago and was very happy with the results. Here is how I did it. I had to double the recipe.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

1 lb. mini Gnocchi (I used regular)

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

4 ribs celery, finely diced

4 carrots, finely diced or shredded

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup greek yogurt (I used plain)

2 cups milk

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

14 ounces chicken broth

2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon parsley

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Drop gnocchi into a pot of boiling water and cook until it floats, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and oil and add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute until the veggies are soft. Add flour, stir and cook about 1 minute. Add the cream, yogurt and milk. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken.

Once the mixture has thickened, add the broth and return to a simmer. It will thicken again. Then stir in the cooked gnocchi, spinach and parsley and simmer until soup and herbs are heated throughout. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

This was really a good soup. I had my doubts about it at first. I have never eaten gnocchi but to my surprise, I really liked it. So did my whole family.

This soup, like most any soup freezes well. Make a huge batch and freeze for later!

God Bless!

yummy treat

Here lately, we have been making lots of homemade ice cream with our raw cow's milk and raw cream. We usually make either vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The other day I ran across a recipe for Raw Cookie Dough Bites on The Nourishing Home site I follow.

 I thought it might be a treat to make some of these to enjoy with our homemade ice cream. Boy,am I glad we did. They are delicious with the vanilla ice cream. Thought I would share this yummy treat!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

1/2 cup creamy raw almond butter
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
The original recipe called for ground flax seeds, I didn't have any, so, we just left that out.

In a large bowl, mix together raw almond butter, honey and vanilla until creamy and well blended. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut flour and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well to combine. Use your hands to knead the dough. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour. Scoop out tablespoon size portions and roll into one-inch balls.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

You can also use all natural peanut butter to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dough Bites!

God Bless!!!