As Promised....

I am not doing well keeping this blog up, I am sorry. I will do my best to be sure to post at least twice a week if not more from here on out.



Last time I had said I would share what we use for re-usable containers, and give you a couple of salad recipes.



I just LOVE our Laptop Lunches sets. Have you heard of them? Here's a photo:


What is so great about these, is not only are they perfect for you or your kids to use for lunches at school or work, but the little compartments come out and can be used alone to tote salads or other snacks, without having to take the whole thing.

For some reason kids also seem more willing to take snacks or try new things out when I serve them in this. These are also great for trips to the zoo or other outings. They have a handy carrying strap, and each person can carry their own, lightening the burden on mom or dad.

We use these on our hikes to carry our salads. We just take out the larger compartment with the lid and take those alone. These are so much better than baggies for the environment too!

One of my favorite salads is Tabouli. I use this recipe from Great Party Recipes. This is SO yummy! Kids might turn their noses up to it on first appearance, but if you can get them to try a bite, 9 times out of 10 they too LOVE it! So simple, and so yummy, and good for you too!

Kids and adults alike seem to like Cucumber Salad. It is kind of sweet and tangy.
3 Cucumbers(Peeled and sliced)
Salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar, preferably cider
1/2 red onion(sliced)
tomatoes(optional, but I like to add this!
fresh mint(just a touch, chopped).

Heat vinegar, sugar and onions in a pan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Put in a serving bowl and add the remaining ingredients! Easy and yummy! This one is great for barbeque's and potlucks, it is always a crowd pleaser!

Enjoy! I have a few more summer salad recipes I will share soon as well as a yummy vegetarian casserole recipe that even my meat loving hubby enjoys!

Fun, Easy, On The Go Meals...

My family has recently taken up hiking as a hobby again. It is a fun, healthy past time, and nothing beats being in nature!

The only two challenges for us have been toting a toddler along, and meals(we like to hike to a destination, eat, and go back) The meals were actually a pretty easy one to solve. For a main course nothing beats the ease of a wrap.

This past weekend I made one by spreading cream cheese over a whole wheat tortilla, then filled with chopped avocado, red onions, red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, shredded cheese, shredded carrots,and fresh spinach, and rolled it all up, sliced in two and wrapped in plastic wrap! Easy, and so yummy! I prefer not to use plastic wrap and opt for re-usable containers most of the time, but these wraps unroll and become messy, the plastic wrap keeps it all together!

Tonite we are going out again after hubby comes home from work. I am going to make wraps again, this time spreading smashed avocado over the tortilla, and filling with black beans, red onions, sprouts, salsa, and a little cheese.

The kids aren't always as thrilled with all the veggies, so I make a few extra with just the spread and cheese, or even PB&J!! You can also spread Almond Butter or other nut butter of your choice and thinly spread some thin sliced bananas, kids seem to like these!

There are no real recipes to these, just use your imagination and get creative! You can use cream cheese, avocado, hummus, or nut butters for your spread, and fill with what ever veggies, legumes or fruits you or your family enjoy!

Next time I will share some of our favorite salad recipes we like to take with us, and show you some of our re-usable storage containers!

Hits and Misses in the Kitchen

I've been cleaning out my kitchen recently and found some "had to have" tools that are now doing nothing more than collecting dust. Then of course on my over-cluttered counter-tops grace the tools I use most. I thought I'd share my "hits and misses" here and see if they match yours.

My first "hits" have to be my Crock Pot and Kitchen Aid Mixer:

If I had to pick just one of these to keep, I honestly don't think I could choose. They both get used nearly daily. With the mixer, I can also easily kneed bread dough and do numerous other tasks. The Crock Pot is great for keeping the kitchen cool in the summer as well as having hot soups or stews ready in the evening in the winters. Nothing beats the aroma of the food cooking all day!!

A third tool , I could live without if I had to, but really appreciate is my Rice Cooker:

Not only does this cook rice to just the right texture with very little effort, but it is great for steel cut oats or other hot cearls that take a long time to cook. I just stick the right amount of water and oats in when I get up in the morning, and by the time I am done with Yoga, it is ready to eat..."YUM!!

These next few, I am thankful I have, and use them fairly regularly, but could easily live with out if I had to are these:

I've shared before, that I pretty much just use my bread machine to mix and rise the dough then bake in the oven. I can pretty much do the same with my Kitchen Aid Mixer. But there are times where this is just more convenient.

My blender I use often to make smoothies or the Hillbilly House Wife's "Magic Shakes." Again, an appliance I could easily live without, but it is also one that when you do need it, there isn't much to replace it with.

The next one, I rarely use, but when I do I am so grateful I have it:

This is one that I bought for one specific purpose, and nothing else will suit that purpose, so I guess that makes it a hit. I use it to make cabbage juice. Cabbage juice heals my ulcers when they act up. I only need it once a year if that, but I wouldn't want to be without it. Cabbage juice is much more healthy than over the counter or prescription medications and seems to do a better job!

It is great for other juices, which are all good for you, but honestly, the clean-up makes it a hassle, so I rarely make anything else in it. If I didn't need the cabbage juice, this is something I wouldn't buy again.

This last one is my only real big "miss." I really regret this purchase:

It is my Kitchen Aid Food Processor. It is great for what it is meant to be used for, but honestly I don't use it enough to justify it. It was quite pricey, and I could easily live without this one. IT is great for shredding the 5lb blocks of cheese I buy easily and quickly, but the clean up in my opinion makes it not worth it. I find myself using my old fashioned cheese grater more often than not.

There are plenty of other gadgets that I don't have, that I easily live without. There isn't any gadget I don't have that I long for. Really all you need are the basic hand tools and you can do just about anything you need in the kitchen!

Speaking of hand tools, here is one I think everyone should have!

A hand operated can opener. I once thought I could never, ever live without an electric one, and you know what? I have happily been living without one for about ten years now!! Where I live ,we lose electricity often, leaving our electric ones useless. So when it finally broke, I invested in a good Tupperware hand operated one, and haven't missed the electric one since!! I also love that the Tupperware one removes the lid safely without the sharp edges!

Well, those are my hits and misses off the top of my head. Hope this helps you as you make purchases for your kitchen.

Feel free to share your own hits and misses here!

A Better Burger

No recipe today, but I just had to share this!



I have been a Boca Burger fan for years. Actually, never caring for meat much to begin with, it really didn't matter what was between the bun, what I liked was all the condiments: Pickles, tomatoes, avacados, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, and red onion. If some really good cheddar cheese is available, I'll take that too, but forget that American Cheese stuff, no thanks...



Anyway after many rave reviews and recommendations, thanks to a new friends dinner invitation, I finallly got to try one of these:

This is SO yummy!! And unlike the Boca Burger, it actually has a taste! It is made from Sunflower Seeds, Black Beans, and other healthy, all organic ingrediants! Did I mention it was yummy? It really is!

I wont ever eat a Boca Burger again, it just wont stand up!

If you are looking to replace beef, this probaly isn't for you, doesn't resemble meat in the slightest, it has it's own unique quite yummy taste. I actually really love these, try them, I am sure you will too!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

While not the healthiest treat out there, this is by far one of the yummiest!! This is a great treat in the summer as it requires no oven. I have heard these referred to as Buckeyes as well. They are very similar to Recess Peanut Butter Cups, but much smoother, and quite frankly better! I use to be addicted to Recess until I made these, now I don't even like Recess!

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups peanut butter

4 cups powdered sugar

melted chocolate

I mix all the ingredients together in my Kitchen Aid Mixer(except chocolate) Then shape into balls and refrigerate for several hours.

For melted chocolate, I put 1-2 cups of chocolate chips in microwave bowl for intervals of 30 seconds stirring in between. Like many recipes, the secret here is the timing. If you over melt, it will become thick and unworkable. Wait until they are just starting to melt but still have a little shape, then take out and stir until smooth. Now it is ready to work with! I find it takes about 3-4 cups of chips to coat all of the balls, but I only work with 1-2 cups at a time as it may thicken if you take to long!

Dip each ball in chocolate and enjoy! Store refrigerated.

Bread Tricks

As gas prices continue to rise, so does the cost of everything else. One thing I've noticed in the store is the price of bread! I used to always make homemade bread, but as our lives got busy with our oldest son training for the Jr. Olympics and acquiring custody of an infant(now toddler!) grandchild, I started making short cuts in our lives including store bought bread. But at $4.99 and up for a decent loaf of whole grain bread, it's back to the grain mill for us!!

With the modern convenience of the bread machine, just about anybody can make a decent loaf of bread in little time at all. While I do use my machine often to make the dough, I rarely bake in it. The loaves come out shaped in such a way they aren't very usable for sandwiches. So what I do is either use my bread machine or my Kitchen Aid Mixer(one of my favorite appliances coming in 2nd only to my crock pot!) to mix and knead the dough, then I shape myself and bake in the oven.

I have found(thanks to great advice from my friends over at the Sonlight Forums!) that adding in extra gluten helps the breads texture for sandwich use as well.

Lately I have been experimenting with different shapes for hamburger buns, sandwich rolls, etc.. These are great for your Boca Burgers or Veggie Meatless Balls for Meatless Ball sandwiches, top with a little homemade spaghetti sauce and YUMMY!!

There is nothing better than a good homemade foccacia bread topped with tomatoes and served with a salad!

You can practically create a whole meal around a good loaf of bread. I prefer whole grains, but even if you use white flour, you are still making a far healthier loaf than what you could buy in the store(see my other blog for details of corn in our bread and other food products!)

While I really love soup and bread in the winter, it is also great in the summer if you utilize your bread machine for the baking, and crock pot for the soup, keeps the house from getting too warm!

You can experiment with different grains, or slowly switch grains until your family gets used to the taste and texture of whole grains. Most of the time, after they get used to the difference, they prefer it!

So, if you too are becoming alarmed and overwhelmed at the food prices these days, get out and dust off some of your appliances and experiment and see what you can make for yourself, that you have been buying up to this point. Not only will you find it more cost effective, it will be far more healthy guaranteed! Not to mention much tastier!