Farm to Fork

A cheap & easy meal that my family enjoys is purple hull pea soup.  I make it in the crockpot & I like to eat mine plain in a bowl with the broth.   It's a whole healthy meal in itself but you can make a pot of rice & cornbread to go along with it & it's over the top yummy!  The other night after class we made grilled cheese sandwiches to eat with it & that was good too.

Purple hull pea soup (Totally Farm to Fork or homemade version)

4 cups frozen purple hull peas (picked from the farm just down the road)
1/2 c. chopped green onions (from my garden & frozen)
1 quart chicken broth (I make & freeze)
pinch of cayenne pepper (from my garden, dehydrated & then ground up)

Put all in a crockpot & set on low for about 6 hours.

Done!

Of course you can make this with store bought ingredients & it's good too but there's just something special about knowing it all came from close by.

October 31st

Easy Meatloaf Dinner

Tonight we're having one of my favorite comfort meals.  Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, English peas, & apple crisp.  mmm...  It's in the oven right now & smells delicious. 
I make meatloaf several ways but thought I'd share the easiest recipe & the one I made tonight.

Easy Meatloaf

1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 egg
1/3 c. ketchup
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix all together in a big bowl with your hands until well combined. Place on broiler pan and shape into loaf. (broiler pan will make the grease fall underneath but you can use a regular pan too)
Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes or until cooked though.

Brown Bears

Saturday we went on a ghost walk through our downtown with some friends.  -It was a lot of fun & if you've never been on one you may be surprised how much history you learn. (on ours anyway)

Afterwards we all came back to our house and sat around the fire pit, ate good food, & chatted.

Earlier in the day I had made a pot of chili in the crockpot so we had that & then also smores and brown bears.  I had never heard of brown bears. They were really good & fun to make so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Roasting our brown bears.

Good flash on the camera because it was about 11:00 at night.

Amounts depend on how many you chose to make:

BROWN BEARS
crescent rolls in a can
some butter, melted
some cinnamon & sugar, mixed

On some dowel rods wrap the crescent roll down, like a spiral. 
Then roast it over the fire until cooked. You can feel it to tell if it's cooked through.
Carefully remove from the rod and dip in butter & then cinnamon & sugar.
Enjoy!

Thanks Ali for sharing this new treat!

Gluten free pasta

Of the several gluten free pastas we've tried the brown rice pasta is the BEST.  You can use it in place of regular pasta in everything I've tried so far.  We don't even taste a difference. It does look a little pale brown & not yellow/white but other than that it's good.
I must say that we've tried the ones made out of potatoes & a couple other things & we did not care for them. If you even barely over cook it, mushy, yucky, goo!

Something to think about

I read this today & even though I don't feel like the whole world is evil it really struck me.  I've been betrayed by people my whole life & this is how I feel too at times.


I don't have many friends.
Alot of people that I talk to, that I say hello to.
But I don't cosider any of them friends.
Friends implies that you know something about that person, that you trust that person.
But time and time again, you find out that even though you may think this, there will always be that one that will make you regret it.
Because though your enemies may be able to maim you, you can only be betrayed by someone you trusted, right?
And when you've been fooled into thinking otherwise for as many times as I have, you start to let it affect you.
You start to question everything and everyone, until you no longer know who you can trust.
And then, in one last resort to keep your heart, your soul, from breaking from the so many knives thats been put through it, when you lose all faith and the good of humanity, and that the world is all evil
You become what I have. A lost and bitter soul, longing for someone to prove you wrong...

Crockpot

My mom used to use the crockpot often, and so do I. Well, about once a week, sometimes more.  I would say it is probably my favorite appliance other than my mixer.
I have 4 meals on my 2 week meal plan I listed yesterday that are cooked in the crockpot.

Pinto beans (for a couple recipes)
Black eye peas
Crockpot BBQ pork
Creamy crockpot chicken & broccoli

I typically pick crockpot recipes for days that we plan on being busy.  However, a roast or a pot of stew on a cold day really makes the house smell warm & cozy.

For any beans or peas it is best to soak them overnight with a little lemon juice or whey then turn on the crockpot in the morning. BUT...if you forget that throw them in early and by dinner they should be done.  Add in any seasonings, especially salt,  or a little bacon or ham & delish!

BBQ pork- I just put in a pork roast and a bottle of our favorite BBQ sauce or homemade.

The creamy crockpot chicken is one I found on pinterest. If it turns out well I'll share that link.

I am a pinterest fanatic. There are lots of crockpot recipes on there that just look delicious! 

Monday

It's a cool, rainy, gray kind of day here.
I'm glad I got all the outside animals fed this morning because I didn't know it was going to rain.
We've done our daily duties & now I think I'll see if there's a good show on tv.
There's some gluten free blueberry muffins in the oven & they are smelling good!

I usually make my own blend of gluten free baking mix/bisquick, but my grinder is broken.  A good boxed one that I've had good results with is 'Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix.'  Gluten free mixes can be expensive and to have them not work is very disappointing.  I paid $6.55 for a 28oz. box at our local health food store.

2 Weeks of Meals

This post is mainly for my sister-in-law... :) I'm going to try to plan & shop for 2 weeks at a time. We went Saturday & have everything stocked for the following meals.

Breakfasts:
eggs
bacon
toast
tortillas
oatmeal w/raisins or blueberries
waffles
muffins
juice/milk

Lunches:
tuna salad, gf crackers, carrot sticks
soup and toast
left-overs
chef salad
-Also bought sandwich fixings & small bags of chips for the guys. Mostly they take left-overs.


Dinners:
chicken stir-fry, rice
bean & cheese quesadillas, chips, salsa
spaghetti w/meat sauce, peas
crockpot bbq pork, coleslaw
oven tacos, mexi salad
meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas
black eye peas, collard greens, rice, cornbread
creamy crockpot chicken  broccoli over rice, rolls, apple crisp
Mexican cornbread casserole, beans
bean burritos w/peppers, onions, cheese, and salad
salmon patties, macaroni salad
chicken broccoli supreme, rolls, jello

I did not buy any cokes. Drinks will be coffee, ice tea, water, & lemonade.
Cheese- I bought a 2 lb. block and divided it up into freezer bags. Burger & chicken the same.

Next week I will probably have to restock on milk, lettuce, and maybe some fresh fruit but that should be it.

My Favorite Oatmeal

Put 1 cup old fashioned oats in a small pot with 2 cups of water.
Allow to simmer for just a couple of minutes or until oats are done to your desired texture.
(I like mine to have a bite)
Turn off fire and put in 1 T. coconut oil, 1 T. brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon. Stir.
Put in bowl and top with a little milk or cream.

If I'm adding in raisins or fruit I do this when I start my oats.
Ones I like are:
raisins, dates, dried cranberries, diced peaches, diced apples, but my favorite is a handful of blueberries.

For me this makes 3 servings. 

Oatmeal refrigerates well so sometimes I make a big pot and just reheat it in the microwave. After you stir in a little milk it looks the same as fresh cooked.

Many people soak their oats overnight.  It is suppose to help with the digestion and I sometimes do this but usually I forget and don't.

Long-Cooked Healing Chicken Stock (or turkey)

Any time I bake a chicken I save all the carcass.  After pulling most of the meat off I place it in my crockpot. Fill it to the top with water & any veggies and seasonings I may have in the fridge. 

(parsley, basil, cilantro, garlic, celery, carrots, cabbage are the norms around here) I use some or all.  Fill the pot up to the top but mostly it should be water.
Turn the crockpot on low and allow to cook over night.  (12 hours or so)
Allow to cool a bit & then pour the stock through a strainer to have a smooth beautiful stock. 
You can now put your stock in the refrigerator and allow the fat to settle at the top and scoop it off if you like.  I usually don't though. This is good for you when your immune system is low.
Put into quart jars or freezer bags and freeze for later or use it now. 
If you freeze in jars make sure to leave a couple inches at the top for expansion or your jars will crack.
I usually take the bones & veggies and give them to the dogs.  The bones are so soft they won't hurt the dogs now and they love this special treat.

A big, beautiful, golden pot of stock waiting to be made into chicken & dumplings!

 

Chicken noodle soup

2 Quarts chicken stock (homemade long-cooked stock is best for the healing properties)
2-3 chicken breasts or boneless thighs
1-2 cups carrots (depends on how many you like)
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. parsley, chopped
12-16 oz. pasta

Pour stock into a big soup kettle.  Add chicken and vegetables. Boil until chicken is fully cooked. (Veggies should be cooked by then too.)  Remove chicken and chop or shred it up. Add back to the pot & bring up to a boil.  Add in the noodles and cook for about 10 minutes until pasta is tender. 

Serve up a big bowl of comfort!

This is my go-to meal when anyone in our home or friends are sick. The long-cooked chicken stock I make homemade and freeze in bags or mason jars in quart portions.

Look what was lurking in our dog kennel...

Yes, a really big copperhead snake!

I really don't like snakes.

And in true redneck southern fashion it has been skinned and is tanning on a board.

Who knows what they will do with it then. 

It's definitely not going up on the wall as living room décor.