tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56013804724979878742024-02-07T16:18:28.987-08:00Eating Naturallysixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-68633828604018964262011-05-14T15:00:00.000-07:002011-05-14T15:00:31.949-07:00Tostadas!!!These were so good!!!! My 14 year old son even said, "This is better than taco night!!" and that's saying a lot because taco night is a favorite around here!<br />
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Here's how it's made:<br />
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First, I made pico de gallo. I have a share in an organic Amish farm so I get a box of produce every week. They have been including <a href="http://www.mariatrebenherbs.com/ramsons.htm">ramsons</a> in the box this spring. I LOVE them!!! Like garlic, only better! I finely chop two organic heirloom tomatoes, a couple ramsons (bulbs and greens), a vidalia onion (because it's spring and I love them, but any onion will do), a handful of fresh cilantro, and a pepper (I like jalapeƱos, but I like it spicy). Stir and let sit so the flavors mingle. You could even make this a day in advance.<br />
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Then I took Ezekiel Corn Tortillas and fried them in a cast iron skillet. I put enough high heat safflower oil in the skillet to cover the tortillas. I heated the oil first. It must be very hot to keep the tortillas from becoming greasy. Once the oil is hot, I took tongs to place two tortillas at a time into the hot oil. I let them cook on one side, then flipped them, but they were completely submerged. Once they were crispy and a little browned, I placed them on a paper towel to cool off.<br />
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I heated up some organic refried beans, cut an avocado, and chopped up a spring mix that was also in the box.<br />
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I had everyone assemble their own by taking a tortillas, slathering on some refried beans, then topping with the spring mix, avocado, and pico de gallo. The kids added organic grated cheese to theirs.<br />
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Mmmmmmm.sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-12907198998420950632011-03-07T12:10:00.000-08:002011-03-07T12:13:02.937-08:00Fast Food??Are you a fast food eater? I LOVE fast food, BUT NOT in a fast food restaurant!!! I can't tell you the last time I ate at a restaurant like McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Burger King. Yuck!! <br />
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It's not that a hamburger is bad for you. IMO, it's not. Hamburgers *can* be a good meal. But NOT the hamburgers that those restaurants serve. Taco Bell has been in the news lately since their meat is mostly not meat. The other restaurants claim 100% beef. Sure. It is 100% from a cow, but it's washed with ammonia!! They don't have to tell you that ammonia is an ingredient because it's *only* washed with it.<br />
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Don't believe me? Check out this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html">article in the NY Times</a>!!!<br />
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How about the chicken? Nope, it's full of chemicals, too! Dr. Mercola put out this <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/08/do-you-have-any-idea-of-the-chemicals-used-in-fast-food-chicken.aspx">article</a> today.<br />
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So, how can I say I love fast food? I mean, I love food that is fast!<br />
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Today, I went to Whole Foods to buy ingredients to make tacos for dinner tonight. I had just finished teaching pilates at 1PM and was tired and hungry. While I was there I picked up a prepared Indian dal wrap and a root vegetable salad. Their salads are HUGE, so when I got home, I opened the wrap, then scooped out part of the salad onto my plate. The salads even come with dressing. Truly, it's fast, already prepared, healthy food. I would show you a picture, but I was too hungry to take one!!!<br />
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I am as busy as anyone else (as you know since I don't often find time to blog), yet I find the time to eat healthy ALL the time.<br />
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My latest crunch snack I grab when I feel like crunchy chips? Brad's Raw Kale Chips!!! Oh my! They are SO good!! My favorite is the nasty hot kale chips. Here's his <a href="http://www.bradsrawchips.com/">site</a>. The only problem is, I eat a whole $7.50 box whenever I eat them! Yikes! I am going to try (again) to dehydrate my own. I will let you know how when I figure it out.<br />
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My suggestion for when you are on the go and need something fast to eat is, look for a Whole Foods or other market that has a health food section with prepared foods. If there is not one to be found, look for a place like a Panera Bread that has salads and good quality bread. It's not organic, but it's comparatively good. Keep healthy bars in your pantry so you can bring one with you when you know you will be out for too long between meals. There are healthy bars as well as unhealthy ones. A basic rule of thumb, can you read the ingredients and do you know what they all are?<br />
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Do yourself a favor, cut out the fast food from fast food restaurants!!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-19907938204345343282011-02-26T19:54:00.000-08:002011-02-26T19:54:11.646-08:00Food combiningBefore I got sick with Lyme Disease and lost a lot of weight, I used to food combine because I felt more healthy and energetic, and also looked younger when I did. After I got well, I didn't start food combining again since I had trouble eating vegetables because of my poor digestion.<br />
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Now I seem to be tolerating all foods so I'm starting the food combining again. In the past week, I've lost five pounds all while eating good, healthy foods until I feel comfortably full. I was not overweight. It seems that most of the weight loss was bloat. I know last time I food combined, about 7 years ago, I usually was on the light side, and right now I'm closer to the normal part of my weight range. I don't care that I'm lighter or normal, but I do care about the increased energy I've been feeling for the past week, so I will continue with the food combining.<br />
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It really has been amazing. I have the most energy I've had since I've been well.<br />
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Here are the "rules."<br />
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1) Only fruit until noon. I usually make fresh juice with various fruit, almost always including apples. Another frequent favorite is pineapple. If I can't juice or will be away from the house, I cut up a few apples and put them in zipper bags to carry with me. I need to eat the fruit throughout the morning so this is how I handle it. It's not the usual way of eating breakfast, you graze all morning. As much fruit as you want. This is a time of day when the body is cleansing and the fruit is easily digested, full of water and enzymes, and helps this cleansing cycle without the body needing to slow it down for digestion.<br />
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2) Never eat a protein and a starchy carb together. Yes, this is the tough idea, especially with our modern way of eating. I eat a lot of vegetarian recipes with carbs. I eat veggies with meats and eggs. I will start posting recipes like this. Here's an example of eating out. I had a half hour to eat before my son's game, so we went to Steak and Shake. Healthy, right? LOL. I ordered a salad with ranch on the side and a double cheeseburger with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, mayo and no bun. I cut up the burger and veggies and tossed it into the salad. It was very good. I felt good when I left, and that's saying a lot after Steak and Shake, LOL!<br />
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3) You must wait three hours past a carb meal or four hours past a protein meal to have fruit again. Then wait 30 minutes after the fruit to eat other food.<br />
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At first it is hard, I won't lie!! But, after a week on it .... I gave it a week trial .... I am sticking with it. I feel so much more energetic, I need fewer enzyme/HCL supplements when I eat, and I don't feel bloated at all. It is well worth it. Will I ever cheat? Yes. Probably once per week.<br />
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What about coffee? Well, I like lattes. On days I want a latte, I drink it at 12-ish. I eat lunch about 2. Technically, I'm not waiting long enough (four hours past a protein), but that's how I fit it in, and I don't eat a fruit. It works for me. <br />
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Be looking forward to these fulfilling, feel good, properly combined meals!!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-55471659050937592622011-02-13T15:45:00.000-08:002011-02-13T15:47:39.549-08:00Minestrone!!!!This minestrone is sooo good!!! I adapted mine from Hunter's minestrone on the Food Network <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/hunters-minestrone-recipe/index.html">(link)</a>, but as usual, mine is how I simplify the recipe even more. He serves it with grilled cheese with bacon and sliced apple ...... soooo tasty!!! Yum!! Especially easy if you buy already cooked bacon. I prefer to use natural bacon without all the bad stuff and Whole Foods just started carrying it in the meat dept. I used to cook my own to avoid buying the chemical laden version.<br />
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So, for the minestrone .......<br />
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First, put some water on to boil for the pasta.<br />
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I buy italian sausage from Whole Foods. If they don't have bulk, they will either cut it out of the links for you or make you a fresh batch. Don't give in and buy the unhealthy kind from the regular grocery, it's loaded with MSG, which is full to toxins.<br />
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I brown the sausage, about a pound and a half. I puree carrots, celery and onion in the food processor. Three or four carrots, three or four celery ribs, and a big onion or two small ones. I add that to the cooked sausage and stir around a bit. I throw in a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme along with either some rubbed sage or some fresh sage chopped. Once the soup is done, I take out the rosemary and thyme.<br />
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I add three boxes organic chicken broth. READ the boxes!! Lots of these chicken broths have "yeast extract", which is MSG and can make those of us who are sensitive get a belly ache.<br />
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I also add a couple spoonfuls of chopped garlic out of a jar. Yeah, the lazy way, but this is the easy way to make nice recipes, right? I'm no chef!!<br />
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I add a can or two of crushed tomatoes, depending on how it looks ..... and I add a bay leaf or two. Then three cans of cannelloni beans (or other white beans if they're out).<br />
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When the water is boiling, add the pasta (one package is good). Cook according to directions. Then pour the drained pasta into the soup. You want it to be a bite-size pasta. I use organic.<br />
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It's good topped with parmesan, but I usually forget.<br />
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This is great soup, looks impressive, and isn't tough at all!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_435055265"></span><span id="goog_435055266"></span>sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-27688261495585238342011-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:002011-01-27T10:39:41.030-08:00Chicken and navy bean soup!!!This soup was SO GOOD!!!<br />
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First I made chicken stock. I rinsed a chicken and placed it in a pot and covered it with water. I added chopped celery (maybe 4 large pieces), two chopped onions, and one chopped carrot. I would have used more carrots, but our bunny at them all without my knowledge!<br />
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I let that simmer for a few hours. It works best if you let it simmer for an hour, then remove the chicken. After it cools, take the meat off the bones and put the bones back in the broth. I usually put the bones back in in some sort of metal strainer (I use the veggie steamer that came with another pot), that way you can simply lift out the strainer to remove the bones. Then simmer for a few more hours, the longer, the more minerals you get from the bones. Removing the meat from the bones lets the meat retain its flavor and consistency better.<br />
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Refrigerate the meat.<br />
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About an hour before you want to eat, take out the bones and add rice. I added two cups of organic brown basmati rice. About 20 minutes before we were ready to eat, I added two cans of rinsed navy beans, the chicken, and some chopped collard greens.<br />
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Very tasty!! It even works well for leftovers!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-30016727462955967392011-01-27T10:32:00.000-08:002011-01-27T10:32:15.904-08:00Chili pie!!!This one is a real crowd pleaser and it's SIMPLE!!! And can be made ahead.<br />
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First, make chili. We've talked about making chili here, before, but here's how. Brown ground beef (or ground bison, turkey or whatever) and chopped onion. Pour off excess fat. Add cans of crushed tomatoes and cans of rinsed chili beans. I use 2 1/2 pounds meat, 2 onions, 2 large cans of organic crushed tomatoes, and 4 cans of Westbrae organic chili beans. Add seasonings. I like adding chili powder, chipotle powder, and some crushed garlic. Let simmer. The longer it simmers, the better!!<br />
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You can even make the chili in a crock pot, but be sure it's lead free! I put mine inside my 250 degree (upper left) oven in my Aga.<br />
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When you're ready to serve, crush some corn chips into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. In an effort to avoid GMO corn, I use organic corn chips. My family considers the "real" recipe to call for Fritos, but as far as I know, they still don't make an organic version.<br />
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Top the chips with chili and grated cheese. In the picture, I've topped it with organic monterrey jack, but cheddar is also very good. <br />
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This is a favorite for kids and adults alike!<br />
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It's the new year tomorrow, so you MUST have black eyed peas. My family comes from the south (yes, Florida is the south and yes, my family actually has been native to Florida since about 1900 ..... thanks a lot Mom and Dad for moving to the Midwest!! Not!!). Anyway, in the south, black eyed peas are the New Years' meal. I always find it funny when people in the north don't know this, but I know some of them must because of all the cans (yuck) of black eyed peas at the grocery store.<br />
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Obviously, I want you to buy a BAG of peas, not a can, LOL, but please leave one on the shelves for me. These beans are easy to cook because they require no overnight soaking. Traditionally, you need a hog jowl, and this is what I usually use, but I have a nice ham bone this year that I will use instead. There is still ham left on this bone, so that will add some meat to our peas. I'm excited. So are the kids; they're already talking asking when we are having them. If you can't use a hog jowl, I guess you can use bacon, but a hog jowl is the traditional way.<br />
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Rinse the beans, put them in a pot of water (as much as directed for the amount you're cooking), add the ham bone and some chopped onion (one or two onions) for flavor. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours (or as directed on the bag of beans). You may also add garlic or other spices you like. Don't add the salt until they're finished cooking. I also like adding some Bragg's Liquid Aminos for flavor.<br />
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I will most likely cook the ham bone for several hours before I add the beans. Bone broth is very nutritious, so I want to take advantage of having this ham bone. Sometime I will have to tell you more about bone broth.<br />
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We sit around and eat these all day. They have been eaten in the south for generations on New Year's Day as a symbol of good luck and prosperity.<br />
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! As my Biggie (my great-grandmother) would say - "Peas for peace, jowls for joy, and greens for wealth"sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-19968287156011214812010-12-20T16:35:00.000-08:002010-12-20T16:35:57.910-08:00Pasta!!!Today was a very busy day. Christmas is coming up this weekend, so I had so much to do, and taught pilates on top of that!<br />
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I bought one package of cheese tortellini and two packages of beef/spinach ravioli out of the freezer at Whole Foods. I also bought a package of organic arugula and a tub of shredded cheese (three cheese blend).<br />
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This is so simple, I'm almost embarrassed to post about it, but I got such good comments about the dinner from my husband and kids, I have to!!!<br />
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Bring water to a boil. Dump the pasta in the water. I did not time it, but the time is on the package. <br />
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While the pasta was boiling, I rinsed the arugula and used my lettuce spinner to get some of the water off. In the bottom of a salad bowl I poured some olive oil, the juice of a whole lemon, some maple syrup, and some roasted garlic from a jar and mixed with my wooden salad spoon (I have a wooden salad spoon/fork set for serving). I dumped the arugula in the mixture and tossed. <br />
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I scooped out a piece of tortellini and ate it to see if it was done, and it was, so I drained the pasta. I dumped it into a bowl, then poured olive oil over it. I added dried oregano and tossed.<br />
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I topped the pasta with shredded cheese when I served it. You would have thought it was a gourmet meal I spent the afternoon on!!! My family thought it was very tasty and elegant!!<br />
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I bought a package of organic, free range chicken legs. We all like the dark meat, and legs are a cheaper way to feed a big family. I buy the large, family size package, which is an additional $ off.<br />
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I rinse the chicken, then place it in a greased, glass Pyrex baking dish. I cover the chicken with olive oil, then spices. I read this <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/08/adding-spices-to-meat-helps-decrease-damage-when-you-cook-it.aspx">article</a> by Dr. Mercola a while back, and use those spices for meat because they taste good and they have health benefits. The day the picture was taken, I generously sprinkled paprika and Todd's Dirt on the chicken because I felt like something spicy and simple.<br />
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I cooked the meat uncovered at 350 degrees for about an hour. If the chicken is watery, at some point you might want to pour off the water so the skin can crisp up.sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-7999956066049082062010-12-18T10:54:00.000-08:002010-12-18T10:54:00.433-08:00Gorgonzola mashed potatoes!!!Oddly enough, one of my kids' favorite dishes is gorgonzola mashed potatoes! Weird kids! I will ask what they want for dinner when I'm on my way to the grocery, and they'll say "A big bowl of mashed potatoes, that good kind with the cheese."<br />
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I used a bag of red potatoes. I cleaned and halved them, put them in a pot, and filled the pot with water, enough to cover the potatoes. I boil the potatoes until they are soft (I check with a fork). Then I dump the water off, add a stick of butter, a tub of gorgonzola cheese and enough milk to be able to mash them. I never peel potatoes, and I always mash them by hand. It's always a rougher mashed potato, but it's the way I prefer them.<br />
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I used to buy pre-cooked, organic bacon with no preservatives that was already chopped up, but Whole Foods stopped carrying it (it's too convenient I guess, grrrr). So, I buy a small package of organic bacon with no preservatives and cook it while the potatoes are cooking. I let it cool before I chop it up.<br />
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Once the potatoes are mashed, then I throw the bacon in and stir it around. Seriously, my kids would eat it alone for dinner. I served it with chicken and green beans. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zYqy906b4Hkkh1LhCusvYIULTNvulEHLkX58D3BTfqTBY7jsMOsBqNkUrzPjlDZqSsHT0equfMJ73S0tuqwIsTXfYi6fHvw3-XUeua1SbG23qcuDXKObSJ-7UWZ5M8rY7soDv3ZFsjk3/s1600/165070_1715252891633_1547540245_1702517_3120532_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zYqy906b4Hkkh1LhCusvYIULTNvulEHLkX58D3BTfqTBY7jsMOsBqNkUrzPjlDZqSsHT0equfMJ73S0tuqwIsTXfYi6fHvw3-XUeua1SbG23qcuDXKObSJ-7UWZ5M8rY7soDv3ZFsjk3/s320/165070_1715252891633_1547540245_1702517_3120532_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-60021916883599624492010-12-14T06:59:00.000-08:002010-12-14T07:00:41.032-08:00Pot roast, attempt #2As you know, I tried making pot roast a couple weeks ago, and it was very good, but wasn't the recipe I wanted to try. <br />
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Sunday they were calling for snow to start at 1 PM. I hadn't been to the grocery in a while because I had been so busy Christmas shopping all week (thus no posts here, sorry!), so like everyone else, I had to stock up before the snowstorm. My oldest daughter took most of the kids with her to Kroger because most of the Kroger stuff is stuff they need - shampoo, school lunch food, pencils, etc. <br />
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I went to Whole Foods with my youngest. While I was there I thought I'd buy ingredients for the pot roast I wanted to make, but of course I didn't have the recipe with me. Perfect for this real life cooking blog, huh?!<br />
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So, I bought a pound of buffalo and a pound of 100% grass-fed beef, both cut into stew meat. I bought carrots and potatoes. I already had onions and garlic at home. I should have bought beef broth, but didn't think of it.<br />
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Sunday we had chili for dinner. I have my chili recipe on the blog a couple times already, so I'm not posting it. I didn't do anything special with it. Sometime I will change it a bit and post it again. Monday I made the pot roast.<br />
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I dug up the recipe card I had picked up at wine tasting and realized this recipe isn't even what I would refer to as pot roast. Hmm. It's a regular roast in a roasting pan with veggies in the bottom of the pan. That's not a pot at all!! No chance of being able to make the recipe this time either!<br />
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Now, to make up my own recipe ..... I put about 4 tbsp (didn't measure, not important to measure) whole wheat flour with rosemary and thyme (maybe a tsp of each? probably a little more) into a big stainless steel bowl. I put the meat cubes into the mixture and stirred around. <br />
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I heated some ghee in the pot, then added the coated meat and the extra flour into the melted ghee (clarified butter). I let the meat brown while I cut up the carrots, potatoes and onions. I also spooned in some garlic from a jar into the pot with the meat.<br />
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I stirred the meat in the pot a couple times to allow it to brown on all sides. Then I added a little water to the pan and scraped the bottom to get the tasty brown stuff mixed in. Next I added all the veggies off my cutting board, poured in a little red wine, then added enough water to cover (I wish it had been beef broth). <br />
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I brought it to a simmer then moved it to the 250 degree oven (you can leave it at a simmer on the stove top) for a few hours. It was good, everyone liked it. A little plain for us, but it was good. I served it over a slice of bread because it was really juicy, the bread soaked up the juices a bit.<br />
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Maybe next time I'll finally try out that recipe!!! LOL!! But it's not really a pot roast ......<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-4646891367827053242010-12-06T19:00:00.000-08:002010-12-06T19:01:46.308-08:00Sweet potato casserole!!I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!!! I know I've been delinquent in writing about our eating, I'm sorry. We had out of town company for a few days around Thanksgiving, then I just got busy.<br />
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I won't tell you about the entire dinner, but I do want to share a couple of my favorite recipes. The first is sweet potato casserole.<br />
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I don't have a link to give you to this recipe because it is from First Magazine about TWENTY years ago!!!! Their website is http://myfirstforwomen.com/<br />
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Sweet Potato Casserole, serves 8<br />
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4 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams<br />
12 tbsp. butter<br />
2 eggs<br />
3/4 tsp. cinnamon<br />
1 cup flour<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
salt<br />
1 cup chopped pecans<br />
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Butter a 2 qt. baking dish. Peel and quarter potatoes. Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil in a large pot of salted water. Cook until tender (15 min.). Drain and mash. Melt 4 tbs. butter in the hot pot. Stir in potatoes, eggs, cinnamon, and mix well. Place in prepared baking dish. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt remaining 8 tbsp. butter. Combine flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir in butter. Add pecans and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over potatoes. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 min.<br />
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This recipe is soooo good!!! One year I made a different, and quite excellent recipe and everyone threw a fit!! It didn't have the pecan topping!!!! I make this in a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish so that it's "flatter" otherwise the topping is too thick and not everyone gets some because the potatoes under the topping are also too thick. I make 1 1/5 times what's called for because I'm always cooking for about 14 on Thanksgiving.<br />
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More recipes to come .....sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-89051180049925067622010-11-21T13:15:00.000-08:002010-11-21T13:15:16.326-08:00Grilled cheese and avocado!!!Today reading Facebook I saw a friend's post that said she had eaten a grilled cheese sandwich with avocado for breakfast. It sounded so good, I had it for lunch!<br />
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I just melted some butter in my cast iron skillet. I places two slices of Ezekiel Bread in the butter and topped the bread with mild cheddar cheese. Once warm and once they had sopped up some butter, I put together the two slices of bread/cheese together like a sandwich and cooked until the cheese was melted and the bread browned.<br />
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After I took it off the heat, I added avocado slices and almond butter, salted, reassembled the sandwich and enjoyed. <br />
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A quick, easy lunch!!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-12348727984612205492010-11-21T13:08:00.000-08:002010-11-21T13:09:46.895-08:00Chicken soup!!!You will find out this winter that chicken soup is one of my favorite things to make. Friday I went to Whole Foods and bought stuff for chicken soup .... just a bunch of things I felt like eating - a whole chicken, carrots, onion, celery, already chopped cabbage, and sweet potatoes. I had a jar of roasted garlic at home.<br />
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When I got home, I melted butter in the pot over medium heat and added four, small, roughly chopped onions. I cooked the onions until they were caramelized (very brown). Then I added a lot of garlic, the chopped carrots and celery. <br />
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I rinsed the chicken and added it to the pot, then filled it with enough water to cover the chicken. I brought it to a simmer and simmered for about an hour. <br />
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After an hour, I removed the chicken, let it cool, then took off all the meat. I put the bones back into a metal strainer (actually the steamer out of my pasta pot), then put the basket into the soup to let the bones simmer longer.<br />
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Several hours later, I added back the chicken and added the diced sweet potato and the chopped cabbage. I let it cook about a half hour longer. <br />
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The picture is what it looked like when I added the final ingredients. It was sooo good!! And I made enough to last a few meals. I did not put a lot of seasonings into this one. With the sweet potatoes and the caramelized onions, it tasted sweet. If you must have herbs, I would add thyme, but I think all it really needs is just a little salt.sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-43319188905710222972010-11-21T12:53:00.000-08:002010-11-21T12:53:24.259-08:00Beet salad!!!Sorry I've gotten behind on posting .... I'm certainly not behind on EATING!!!!!<br />
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I have to post a picture of a beet salad I had at Oceanaire, a restaurant in Indianapolis -<br />
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On the bottom are roasted red and yellow beets. They are topped with thinly cut apples and gorgonzola cheese. Wow!!!! It was SO good!!!! I am going to try to duplicate this. Yum! I will let you know how it goes ......sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-17750420054527493212010-11-17T08:25:00.000-08:002010-11-17T08:25:01.248-08:00Buffalo steak!!I'm eating a lot of buffalo lately because it's much higher in iron than beef. Heme iron from meat is more readily absorbed than iron supplements or iron from veggies, so I include a lot of red meat in my diet. Buffalo is a very healthy red meat.<br />
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Yesterday I needed an iron boost, so I bought a bison ribeye. I took my cast-iron skillet, melted some butter, and placed the steak into the melted butter (after rinsing the meat, of course). I topped the steak with organic roasted garlic out of a jar. I cooked for 5-6 min., flipped, then 5-6 min. more.<br />
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I cooked mine on the floor of the 450 degree oven to avoid having to clean up splatters on the stove-top, but it can also be cooked on med. heat on a regular stove.<br />
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It was perfectly med. rare and tasted GREAT!!!! I had a glass of Layer Cake shiraz with the steak and some dark chocolate for dessert.<br />
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I made buffalo chili for the kids (same as last time, so the recipe is already posted), and hubby was out of town. I had the leftover chili for lunch, ti was great, too!!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-20991918479516871822010-11-15T14:37:00.000-08:002010-11-15T14:37:23.209-08:00Enchiladas!!!Tonight we're all eating in shifts because of everyone's activities. Those of us who are at home together, eat together.<br />
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I usually use corn tortillas for enchiladas, but I was shopping at Kroger today and they don't carry organic corn tortillas. We won't use non-organic corn because almost all of it is GMO, so I used tortillas I had at home. I needed to use them up anyway .... they were a mix of Ezekiel, spelt, and organic wheat.<br />
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I like La Preferida authentic beans. They are made with lard so have a wonderful flavor. I never use non-fat beans ... ewww. :-D I also used organic, grated cheddar cheese and enchilada sauce. Whatever brand of enchilada sauce is fine, just be sure you can pronounce all the ingredients. ;)<br />
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This is soooo easy!! Just open the cans of beans, place the beans down the center of the tortillas (be sure to use enough, this is the filling), then roll up the tortilla. Place in a greased baking dish. Use a baking dish that is large enough to hold all your enchiladas, but small enough that the enchiladas fill up the dish.<br />
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Top with enchilada sauce. Bake at 350 until warm, about 30 min. Take out of oven and top with grated cheddar. Heat for an additional 5 min, take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 min. Serve.<br />
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I made two dishes ..... one for the first shift that has already eaten, and now the second dish is in the oven cooking so it will be ready for the others who are eating later.sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-11042010738781665592010-11-12T07:01:00.000-08:002010-11-12T07:01:00.188-08:00Beer can chicken on the grill!!!It's been such a beautiful week with weather in the 70's that we decided to grill out. Cooler temperatures are not the only reason people don't grill out in the late fall ..... it also gets dark early!! So, yes, we felt like we were cooking out past 10 PM, but it was worth it.<br />
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Beer can chicken is GREAT!!! The beer keeps the chicken very moist and the spices make it very flavorful. I bought whole, organic chickens from Whole Foods, two of them because I'm always feeding a crowd.<br />
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Now, when you grill, it's "man's work", LOL, so my husband had to rinse the chickens, then he held them while I poured safflower oil over them. He rubbed the oil all over the chicken to coat it. Then I sprinkled Todd's Bayou Dirt over them generously. Next, you open the beer, pour out (or drink) 1/3 of it. Then you stand the chicken up on the beer can.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47KhaotWkmW-BFfmnB2yun1wkpN1tJ1mER8h2i8wzBZ4wz5Jihl5s9sdZ2CMrk0bs34iAE5I8LV8rYhXBVWvs1dcqPgh0G2SZWmo-edenNr8MxhR20v6g7VmqKb3_jJd9M-TmqFAgqpwO/s1600/Bayou+Dirt+3.25+Bottle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47KhaotWkmW-BFfmnB2yun1wkpN1tJ1mER8h2i8wzBZ4wz5Jihl5s9sdZ2CMrk0bs34iAE5I8LV8rYhXBVWvs1dcqPgh0G2SZWmo-edenNr8MxhR20v6g7VmqKb3_jJd9M-TmqFAgqpwO/s320/Bayou+Dirt+3.25+Bottle+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
We took the chickens outside to the already fired-up grill. We use a charcoal grill and use real charcoal, not that chemical-laden regular stuff.<br />
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While we were walking out, I asked my husband if he poured out a third of the beer ..... he stopped walking, and said he hadn't even OPENED THE CANS!!!! LOL! So we went back inside, he stabbed the cans with a skewer through the opening in the top of the chicken.<br />
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Then we put the chicken on the grill and it took about an hour to cook. Use a meat thermometer to be sure you bring the chicken up to a safe temperate. And as always when grilling, take all the plates/utensils that touched the raw meat inside and wash.<br />
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While the chicken was cooking, I cooked about 8 slices of bacon and put on some green beans. I used two bags of the thin kind (not french cut) from the freezer case. I poured both bags into the pot, poured over some beef broth I had in the refrigerator, then filled the pot with enough water to just cover the beans. I threw in a couple slices of raw bacon for flavor. I brought it to a boil, then simmered in the 250 degree oven (or just turn down the heat on a regular stove).<br />
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I also cut about 8 potatoes in half, skin on, placed them in another pot, covered them with water, and brought it to a boil. I simmered the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until a fork would easily break them when stabbed. I left the potatoes in the hot water until the chicken was done.<br />
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Once the chicken was done and hubby was cutting it up into parts, I poured off the hot water from the potatoes. Added a little less than a stick of butter (it was what was on the butter dish), the previously cooked bacon that I had cut into small pieces, a tub of gorgonzola cheese pieces, about a tsp. of roasted garlic out of a jar, and then mashed the potatoes with a hand masher. I added whipping cream (the kind that comes in a milk carton), as needed. I think it was about 2/3 of the pint container. This is my own version of a recipe I saw on the Food Network.<br />
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On the table, there was a sliced loaf of pretzel bread and some butter to go along with dinner. This is a wonderful dinner .... very tasty.sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-15453333093646509522010-11-10T09:10:00.000-08:002010-11-10T09:14:20.080-08:00Lunch - polenta and sun-dried tomatoesToday for lunch, I sliced some pre-made polenta, browned it in melted butter in a skillet, then topped it with sliced sun-dried tomatoes that were packed in olive oil. Be sure to drizzle on some of that tasty olive oil! Mmmmm. <br />
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I'll have to tell you about my cast-iron skillets!!! I love them!! They're the best! Next post .....sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-46400158795345840172010-11-10T09:01:00.000-08:002010-11-10T09:01:47.409-08:00Lunch - quinoa and beansYesterday for lunch I had quinoa and beans. I used the red quinoa. I don't know that it tastes any different, but I thought I'd try it. I always buy the pre-rinsed. It's only pennies more expensive and is worth it to save the hassle, otherwise you have to rinse it to prevent it from tasting bitter.<br />
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I put the whole bag of quinoa in my rice cooker with almost 4 cups of water, and 3 cups in the bottom reservoir. <br />
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Once it was done, I doused it with olive oil and some butter (I like them together because it's a bit creamier than just olive oil). I rinsed a can of salad beans and served those on top of each serving of quinoa. <br />
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Quick, easy, and healthy!! High in fiber, protein, and iron!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-63940518957414950602010-11-10T06:13:00.000-08:002010-11-10T06:15:58.695-08:00Pot roast, attempt #1Last Friday hubby and I went to Whole Foods for their wine tasting. I love it both for the tastes of wine and the samples of food. This time they had a pot roast at the meat department station. It was SO good!!! I picked up the recipe because I knew I had to make it at home!!!<br />
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Yesterday was the day ..... I got online and went to Whole Foods website. I found this recipe - http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2324<br />
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I went to the store and bought all the ingredients. I bought 2 3/4 pounds of meat, half grass fed beef, half buffalo. I bought the already cubed kind because that's how I like my pot roast. I don't like making a whole roast, though maybe I should try it that way sometime. <br />
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I bought 7 large carrots, a bag of potatoes, two cans of tomato paste, and two boxes of beef broth, all organic.<br />
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I mixed 6 tbsp flour (more than double because there's more surface area with the cubed meat), 3 tsp. dried thyme, and some salt and pepper, heavy on the salt. I also added garlic powder. I didn't see the garlic cloves the recipe called for, but I thought that it needed garlic and that this was a good place to add it.<br />
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I rinsed off the meat cubes. My husband used to work at a grocery and a few times worked at the butcher shop in the grocery .... he says ALWAYS, ALWAYS rinse the meat, so I do. Then I put the meat cubes into the flour mixture and stirred it around.<br />
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I heated up some oil in the pot I was going to cook the stew in, added the meat, and browned as directed in the recipe. I scraped the bottom of the pot. Because both grass-fed beef and bison are low in fat, there was nothing to pour off.<br />
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I cut up all the veggies as directed (Wow! I followed directions with that part!!) and added them, the broth, and the tomato paste to the pot and stirred.<br />
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If I had a crock-pot, I would have put all the ingredients there, but since I'm using my Aga, I left them in the large, cast-iron pot. I put it in the 350 degree oven because I made it at lunch time and not in the morning. I would have used a lower temperature if it had been the morning.<br />
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I checked on it about 3:00 because I needed something to eat before I went to teach pilates. I could eat it, but the veggies were still crisp and the meat still firm, not what you want for pot roast, but it tasted great!!<br />
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My husband was supposed to feed it to the kids about 6:15 when two of them got home from band. He saw me making this at lunch, but I guess I never told him to EAT IT!!! So ...... it sat in the 350 degree oven until 7 PM when my daughter got home from teaching her pilates classes (yes, we both teach pilates!!). <br />
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When I found out at 7:45 that hubby didn't feed it to the kids and called home to see if they ate it (you can't smell food cooking in the Aga because it vents outside, so they wouldn't have known it was there), my daughter said yes, and that she put it back into the oven she got it out of instead of just the warming oven, so it continued to cook. Argh! But she did comment that it was GREAT!!! They LOVED it!!<br />
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I got home about 8 PM, and by then it had cooked a bit too long. It tasted wonderful, but lets just say, I was glad I was not having dinner guests because by this time it was not pretty. The meat had fallen apart so much my husband thought it was a vegetarian dish. Five hours earlier, the meat was not cooked enough, so next time maybe 3 hours less cooking time, two hours more than what it was at 3, haha.<br />
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Oh, and on top of all this, when I was gone, I found the REAL recipe for the pot roast I liked at wine tasting in my purse. NOT the same recipe at all!!!! Next week, be looking forward to the pot roast I liked at Whole Foods! Tonight's dinner, leftovers. :) Leftovers are great because in combination with not teaching pilates today, I have the whole day to get my painting project done!!!<br />
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I served the pot roast with Whole Foods pretzel bread and butter. Yum!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-26072777094901319022010-11-07T15:10:00.000-08:002010-11-07T15:10:32.489-08:00Quick dinnerToday we all went for a long walk to enjoy the beautiful fall. All of us were beat when we got back plus it was close to dinner-time, so I went to Whole Foods and looked at their prepared food case.<br />
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I bought a sweet potato/potato mix and corn fritters there. I bought an already prepared, raw meatloaf from the butcher, and some frozen, french cut green beans in the frozen foods.<br />
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I came home and put the meatloaf in the 450 degree oven. Remember, my stove is always on, I thought it would cook faster in the hot oven, and with the soft heat of the Aga the increased temperature won't cook it all wacky. In a regular oven I would cook it as directed.<br />
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I put the corn fritters and potatoes in a greased, Pyrex baking dish. They are warming in the 350 degree oven. To grease the baking dish, I just poured in a little olive oil, then rubbed it around with a small paper towel.<br />
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After about 20 minutes, I will start steaming the green beans in a pot with a steamer under the beans. I will cook them for about 20 min. because I like green beans a little on the soft side.<br />
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I will butter both the potatoes and the beans.<br />
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Simple!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-19362237145904374912010-11-04T16:24:00.000-07:002010-11-04T16:24:18.087-07:00Buffalo chili!!!I have been anemic lately (long story, but basically they were out of my iron supp so I tried another one that didn't work), so I've been eating more buffalo because of its high iron content. It's lower fat, calories and cholesterol than beef, and it's higher in protein, iron and B12.<br />
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I browned then drained 2 1/2 pounds of ground buffalo in a large cast iron pot. I added chopped onions (2 small) and carrots (a couple handfuls of baby carrots). When meat was brown and veggies softened I added two 28 oz. cans of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and four cans of Westbrae chili beans (rinsed). Also, chili powder and chipotle powder.<br />
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I heated it up and let it simmer for a few hours, it can be stovetop but I put it in my 250 degree Aga oven.<br />
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The kids had theirs over top of corn chips topped with grated pepper jack cheese. I had mine with just chili and pepper jack. YUM!! And a very easy dinner to make. It's unnecessary to cook for as long as I did, but the flavors do seem to be better if you can.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkxIbxx_ktS1kOKGWrKJGbnAKlBHjG6O2VL6eUcpsi-iuReSuzMmVyWPrLKX6TEP5aplbj8ZssWZZyPiJfhLD1aLeDRgoOAe6Ts7ctVRSRbsDhOl3y4z7p8OT_pfRMOKmcNux2Ut0env-/s1600/74061_1648813110680_1547540245_1586620_5450876_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkxIbxx_ktS1kOKGWrKJGbnAKlBHjG6O2VL6eUcpsi-iuReSuzMmVyWPrLKX6TEP5aplbj8ZssWZZyPiJfhLD1aLeDRgoOAe6Ts7ctVRSRbsDhOl3y4z7p8OT_pfRMOKmcNux2Ut0env-/s320/74061_1648813110680_1547540245_1586620_5450876_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-52265522771484490062010-11-03T15:43:00.000-07:002010-11-03T15:43:19.785-07:00OatmealSo today I was busy painting all day (and I will be busy with this project for the next couple weeks), and I didn't make it to the grocery.<br />
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I thought, "Great, I'll make pancakes!" But no such luck, but I did have a bag of oatmeal. I use Bob's Red Mill oats. I put 4 cups in a pot with 8 cups cold salted water. I heated it to a simmer while stirring so it didn't stick to the bottom. Then I lowered the heat and let it cook a while longer.<br />
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We ate it with real organic butter, grade B maple syrup (it has more flavor than grade A), some had a touch of milk. Very tasty and everyone loved it!!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601380472497987874.post-18126582604960833612010-11-01T18:10:00.000-07:002010-11-01T18:15:17.091-07:00Taco night!!!I've been out of town, so haven't been cooking lately. It was so nice staying at my friend's house and waking up to warm coffee every day. Why is coffee so much better when someone else makes it??? LOL!<br />
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So, tacos ..... I bought blue corn tortilla hard taco shells from Whole Foods. Also, grass-fed beef, refried beans, butter lettuce, roma tomatoes, cilantro, garlic-cilantro salsa, and grated pepper jack cheese (almost all of that organic). I had a cucumber left from the ones we bought at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago.<br />
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I was taking a pilates class at 6:30 and my kids didn't get home until about then, so I browned the ground beef before I left and put it in the warming oven. I took the refried beans out of the can into a cast-iron pot and put it in the 250 oven to heat up while I was gone. The Aga makes things more convenient to make things ahead of time, but you make everything basically the same way even if you don't have one. :)<br />
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To brown the ground beef I just put it in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and used a spatula to break it up while it was cooking. I salted it and added some chipotle seasoning and cumin. When it was cooked, I blotted it with paper towels because there was little liquid to pour off and I could see it was greasy.<br />
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When I cooked the beans, I added a little bit of water to them so they were easier to stir. Once they get warm, they are easier to stir, so not a lot of water. You can also heat these up on the stove-top, but be sure to keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom .... and if they start to "boil" they splatter all over the place.<br />
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Be sure to chop up the veggies small. I let everyone assemble their own, it's just easier that way.<br />
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This is one of our favorite dinners!! And it's SO easy to make!sixhungrykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704742070484968927noreply@blogger.com0