Sweetened Condensed Milk and Hello Again!

I recently enjoyed a little reunion with a couple of my very best friends from high school. It was fun to catch up and meet each other’s children and just see where we are now in life. As I described my life I’m sure there was some surprise on their end… and honestly, I get it. As an academia driven high school girl I pictured myself in board meetings or running my own company at this point in my life. I actually already had a family at that point (I was a teenage mom) and determined not to become a statistic. I talked often of making something of myself and stepping outside the stereotype. I also talked often of my very small opinion of those domestic slaves we call stay-at-home-moms. At one point I told my friend that my aspiration in life was to earn the Nobel Prize. Fast forward 15 years later… I am a homemaker.

And I love it.

Seriously. I love everything there is about my job. I love to budget and plan menus. I love to kiss boo-boos and change diapers. I love to go grocery shopping and pull weeds. I loved to teach my kids and create lesson plans (we home school). And I love to cook! Which constantly surprises even me since I was so lousy at it before I was married. I mean, I literally could not boil water. (How many times did I set off the smoke alarm by burning Teflon in an empty pot? I stopped counting after three.) Okay…In the interest of full disclosure I don’t love folding laundry or scrubbing toilets. I'm actually a terrible housekeeper, but on the flip side, I love that I have the opportunity to keep trying and learning and getting better.

Last night I wanted to make caramel brownies (my family calls them “Good Brownies”). As I got all the ingredients out I realized that I didn’t have any sweetened condensed milk for my favorite caramel recipe. No problem. My domestication has actually reached the point that I have a recipe for sweetened condensed milk. The night was saved! The recipe is super simple and I will add it to the end of this post.

But first, for those who are new to my blog (which is nearly everybody seeing as I haven’t posted in nearly 3 years…) I wanted to point out a few changes. I’ve decided to rename my blog “The Family Table”. To me, this is where all things domestic revolve. My family table is the center of our home. We share our meals, play games, do art projects, learn math and reading, and plan our days all around our family table. I want this blog to incorporate all of that! I am hoping to share with you fun things we do in our home school, housekeeping tips that I am working/struggling with, garden successes and failures, and of course lots of yummy recipes. In a world that sometimes devalues the role of the stay-at-home mom, basically I want to share with you all the reasons that I love my job. And incidentally, I wouldn’t trade it for a hundred Nobel Prizes!

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup dry milk

1 cup sugar

½ cup boiling water

¼ cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients in a sturdy, heat proof bowl and whisk until smooth. That’s it. You’re done. If you want it to be even easier, add the water and butter first into a good quality blender. Then add the sugar and milk. Blend until smooth. One recipe is about the equivalent to a 15 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk. 

Strawberry Jam & Strawberry Syrup

Strawberries!

Despairing over my strawberry patch full of still-green strawberries I finally bit the bullet last week and ordered a flat of strawberries from Bountiful Basket. Of course by the time Saturday rolled around, my stubborn berries began to turn red. (I guess all they needed was some competition!) No worries, of course. Between my girls and I, we can easily eat a pound of strawberries every day.. which is what we did. By the following Friday, between the purchased flat and my garden, I still had about a half a flat of berries left. Cue the telephone.. My sweet husband calls and tells me while going to a job site, he found some boy scouts selling strawberries for $5 a flat, should he get some? ... YES of course! 5 flats please! I was so excited! It's been a very long time since I've had enough berries to actually do anything with except eat. I love strawberry jam and sauces, but I'm normally never willing to sacrifice my fresh gems to the stove. Much as I like jam, I'd much rather eat a strawberry fresh and whole. MMmmmm But with my husband's purchase I needed to process at least some of the berries so they didn't go bad. 

We washed, hulled and froze about 2 1/2 flats for smoothies. The rest I turned into strawberry jam (and lots of it!) and strawberry syrup. Both are super easy and keep for about 2 years on the shelf when processed. (As if they'd last that long around here anyway!)

For Jam:

1. First, wash and hull 2lbs of strawberries 

 

 2. Now crush, mash or finely chop the berries. Of course I just pulsed them in my Vita-mix, making sure to still leave some chunks. 

3. Pour the berries into a large pot (5 qt. should do it)

 4. Stir in 1 box of regular pectin.

 5. Also add about 1/2 tsp butter to help reduce the foaming. Seriously, you'll be much happier if you don't skip this!

 6. Bring mixture to a boil. Have your 7 cups of pre-measured sugar ready to dump into the pot.

 7. Dump sugar in all at once and stir well. Bring mixture to a full boil once more and boil for one minute. Remove from heat.

 8. In the meantime, I've been keeping my clean jars in the oven at 200 degrees F so they'd be hot and ready when I need them.

 9. Pour hot jam directly into jars (use a funnel if necessary) and wipe the rims of the jars clean.

 10. Attach two-piece lids to each jar. Tighten gently; I usually tighten as much as I can then turn the ring back about a quarter turn. Also, before I started the jam, I poured boiling water over the lids in a bowl to help soften the rubber seal. Then I kept them in the bowl to keep them hot.

 11. Load the canning rack into a pot of hot, simmering water. It's best to start this pot at the same time you start the jam so you don't have to wait for it to heat up. 

For small batches of jam (or the last few jars of a big batch) I love using this small rack from Ball in one of my large stock-pots. It's so much nicer than my huge canner when I don't have a lot to do!

 12. Bring canner (or stock-pot) to a gentle boil and then process jars for 20 minutes. (Or 10 minutes at sea-level.) Remove from heat and then, using a jar lifter, move the jars to a draft-free area. Do not disturb for at least 12 hours.

 For Syrup:

Syrup is very similar in process with just a few changes to the ingredients.

Strawberry Syrup

4 lbs strawberries
1 cup Lemonade (not from concentrate)
you could also use 4 Tbsp lemon juice and 3/4 c. water

6 cups sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp. almond extract

Wash and hull strawberries. Mash (or puree if you choose) berries into a large pot. A 5 qt. pot will work, but it will be close. If you have a bigger one, use it. Add lemonade. Bring to a boil. Add butter and sugar. Return to a full boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add almond extract. Pour into hot, clean jars and attach two-piece lids to each jar. Process 20 minutes in a water bath canner.

Oven Pot Roast

Oven Pot Roast

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

ground black pepper to taste (I use about 1 tsp)

3 1/2 pounds rump, tip or crossrib roast

1/4 cup butter

1/2 envelope (2 Tbsp) dry onion soup mix (it's easy to make your own! click here for the recipe)

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine

Optional:

You can also add carrots, onions, celery & potatoes. Even if we don't end up eating them with our roast, I like to throw them into the pot for some extra flavor. Later I use them along with the leftover roast to make a super quick stew. Here's what I used:

1 lb peeled carrots chopped into large chunks

10 pearl onions
1 lb new red potatoes (from the garden)
2 stalks celery washed and chopped into large chunks

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 285 degrees F
2.In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and seasonings. Add black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.

3.In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish with lid. I use a 5 qt. Dutch Oven- this way I can use the same pot for browning, roasting and later making the gravy.

4.In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, water and wine; pour over roast.

5.Cover and bake in preheated oven for 4 hours or until desired doneness. 

To make the gravy:

Brown Gravy

2 cups potato-cooking water (If you didn't boil potatoes, just use 2 cups salted water)

about 2 cups roast drippings; I like to use the same pot that I've cooked the roast in- that way I'm sure to get all the drippings for the best flavor! (You may also use 2 cups beef broth + 1-2 Tbsp Montreal Seasoning)

¼ cup cornstarch or ½ cup flour

½ cup water

Heat potato water and drippings to a gentle boil. Combine cornstarch and water to achieve a smooth paste. Slowly pour, while stirring, cornstarch mixture into boiling liquid until desired consistency. Don’t pour too much all at once or you’ll get lumps! Also, if gravy is satisfactorily thickened before you’ve poured all your cornstarch into it, then stop!

Enchilada Sauce

Whenever I go out for Mexican food I always order the same thing: Cheese Enchiladas. Sure, I like other things on the menu. But I love enchiladas so it's a safe bet that I won't be disappointed when my food arrives. But really what it comes down to is that I'm in love with red enchilada sauce. It's good on eggs, it's good on tortillas, it's good mixed with beans and rice. So it's only natural for me to have my own recipe for the good stuff at home, right? You can use canned/bottled tomato sauce for the following recipe to speed things up a bit, but I haven't used any canned tomatoes in my house for at least a month. It's been awesome! (Thank you garden!)

Enchilada Sauce

10 large tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium onion
1 green chili pepper
1 carrot (optional- it helps sweeten things up a bit without adding any sugar)
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp red chili powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt

1.  Wash and remove stems from tomatoes and peppers. Peel onion. Place produce into the wet container of your Vita-mix in the following order: tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrot, garlic. Turn machine on Variable speed 2 and gradually increase speed until all the vegetables have been pulled into the blades. Use your tamping stick if necessary to push produce down. Turn speed up to high and process for 2-3 minutes. Pour into a 5-qt saucepan or Dutch oven.
2.  Cook on medium-high until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and maintain a low boil until mixture is thickened (about 20 minutes).
3.  Add spices, stir to combine. Continue to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until desired consistency. Makes 2-3 cups sauce.

*To make this sauce using canned tomato sauce, skip the first two steps. Use three 8oz. cans of tomato sauce.

**You can bottle this recipe if you'd like using a pressure canner. Process pints 35 minutes, at 15 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner. If you quadruple this recipe it will make about 6 pints sauce.

***As always, if you don't have a Vita-mix, just dice your vegetables (carrots, onion and peppers) and saute them in about 2 Tbsp olive oil until soft before adding to a traditional blender to puree.

Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe uses a pressure canner and a Vita-mix. If you don't have a canner, you can freeze this recipe in quart-sized freezer bags for up to 6 months with good success. If you don't have a Vita-mix, shucks for you. hehe, seriously.. you can just dice your veggies, simmer until soft and then puree in your blender until smooth.

Spaghetti Sauce
(makes about 3 quarts, or 6 pints)
4 quarts tomatoes (about 24 large)
2 medium carrots (or 1 large carrot), cut into chunks
3 stalks celery with leaves, cut into chunks  
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 medium green pepper, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp marjoram
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sea salt

Wash vegetables, remove stems and blossom end from tomatoes. You can peel your tomatoes as well if you desire. I never do. I have a Vita-mix. That I got for free. (Are you good and jealous now? ok, moving on..) Fill Vita-mix container about halfway with tomatoes. Start on Variable speed 2, gradually increasing to speed 6 until all tomatoes have been sucked into the blades. Remove plug from lid and, one at a time, drop in chunks of your other vegetables until container is about 3/4 full. Turn speed up to high and process 2-3 minutes until you see no trace of any chunks through the container. This high speed will pulverize any peels and seeds from your vegetables. Pour contents of container into a large stockpot (If you don't have a very large one, you can use 2 5-qt pots). Repeat process until all vegetables have been pureed. Heat stockpot to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium to keep a low boil until mixture thickens to desired consistency. This usually takes me about an hour. Again, be sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking. When you've reached your desired consistency, add seasonings and simmer another 10 minutes.

If you are pressure canning: Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, at 15 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

If you are freezing: Remove from heat and allow sauce to cool for about 30 minutes. Ladel sauce into labeled freezer jars or bags leaving 1-inch headspace. Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator before freezing. Keeps up to 6 months.

Use this sauce in lasagna, pizza, or over any noodle!

Enjoying some home-made pizza on the lawn. Yum!

Enjoy on some home-made gnocci. 

Cregg's BBQ Sauce, BBQ Pulled Pork

My sister's family came to visit us a couple of weeks ago and while they were here my brother-in-law shared his recipe for his BBQ sauce. This is some of the most delicious sauce you will ever have on your BBQ so it would be a crime not to share it! The night that he shared his sauce with us, I grilled some chicken and pork loin to go with it. That's right, we had some meat with our sauce. It's that good. You'll grill just so you can have something to go with your sauce! The rest of the sauce I used a few days later as BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. YUM!

Cregg's Delicious BBQ Sauce (aka the best sauce ever)

1 1/2 cups tart berries (He usually uses blackberries, but we subbed in rasberries)
24 oz tomato paste
1 1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Puree berries in a food processor or blender. If you'd like, strain the berries through cheese cloth to remove seeds. We didn't do this, but I would suggest this step if you don't like the crunch of the seeds. In a large bowl, combine berries with remaining ingredients. Add more cayenne pepper if you like it HOT or less if you like it mild. Use this sauce over grilled meat, as a marinade or add 3-4 cups of it in your slow cooker with a 2-3 pound pork roast. This recipe makes about 8 cups.

Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork

4-5 cups Cregg's BBQ Sauce
2-3 lb pork loin roast

Add pork roast to a large slow-cooker. Pour BBQ sauce over top of the roast, filling slow-cooker at least half way up the side of the roast (about 4 cups). Cook on LOW 7 hours. Shred pork with a large fork and return to cooker. Cook an additional 1-2 hours on LOW. Serve on toasted buns with a slice of sharp provolone cheese.

Peach Syrup

A couple of weeks ago I bought a half a case of peaches with my Bountiful Basket. They were rock hard when I brought them home so naturally, I set them out on the counter to ripen… and forgot about them! Within a couple of days (probably because it’s been so hot!) they ripened to the point of mush. They still tasted good but they were too soft to bottle traditionally and I knew we’d never be able to eat them all before they would go bad. So to Josh’s delight (my 15-year-old) I made syrup. This kid LOVES syrup (evidenced by the syrup to pancake ration every time he eats breakfast).. Which means we can always use more syrup in our food storage!

First, wash and peel the peaches. These peaches were so ripe I only had to dunk them into hot water for a few seconds before the peel practically melted off. Huge timesaver! I also just used my fingers to break them apart and remove the seed. They were so ripe they offered no resistance so no knife needed! Another time saver. Once the peaches were all de-seeded and peeled, I mashed them thoroughly (again I used my hands- it was fun!- but you can use a food processor or a masher if you’d prefer) and added them to two large pots. Each pot’s ingredients were as follows:

Peach syrup

5 cups pureed/mashed peaches
10 cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter (this helps keep mixture from getting too foamy- I don’t recommend going without it!)

Heat mixture over med-high heat until it reaches a full rolling boil. Boil 3-5 minutes then pour into prepared hot quart-sized mason jars. Wipe rims clean and seal with lids just until finger tight. Each pot makes about 3 ½ quarts. When jars are filled, lower into a water bath canner. Process 25 minutes (15 minutes for lower altitudes). Remove jars from canner and allow to sit undisturbed in a draft free area for 12-24 hours. Check each bottle for seal, remove lid and wipe clean before storing.

To peel peaches:

Heat a pot of water to boiling. Drop washed peaches into boiling water, 3-4 at a time. Allow to return to a boil (about 1 minute) then dunk hot peaches into a pot of icy water. Peel should slip right off of the peach at this point.

 

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, Green Chili Salsa, Corn Tortillas

This was dinner a couple nights ago. I'm getting a little behind on my 'blogging'. Turns out I only have time to do one maybe two things per day besides my regular dairly chores. So, a few days ago I went to my friend Stephanie's house and helped her make some Spinache Noodles which she used to make Lasagna. While I was there we also put together a batch of Green Chili Salsa. Here's how we made it:

Green Chili Salsa

1 bunch cilantro

5 cloves minced garlic (2 Tbsp)

6 tomatillos

1 large onion

1 green bell pepper

2 roasted jalepenos (double if you like it spicy)

2 cans diced green chilis

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp oregano

4 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cups hot water

Remove papery shell of tomatillos, wash and cut in half. Place, cut-side down onto baking sheet along with unpeeled cloves of garlic. Put under hot broiler for 5-10 minutes depending how hot your broiler gets. (Ours was perfect at 8 minutes). The skins of the tomatillos will brown and blister. Meanwhile, rinse and chop remaining vegetables. Remove tomatillos and garlic from oven. Peel garlic. Dissolve bouillon cubes in hot water. Add everything to a 2 qt. blender. Puree. Pour into medium saucepan and simmer 10-15 minutes to thicken.

As a reward for my help Stephanie sent me home with 1 1/2 cups of our delicious concoction. So the next day I thought I'd get ambitious and attempt corn tortillas for my enchiladas.. I perused the online websites and found this simple recipe:

Corn Tortillas

1 3/4 cups Masa Harina

1 1/8 cup water

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high. Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

Hmmm... problem was that I didn't have any masa so I tried adjusting the recipe as follows.

1 cup corn flour (I ground popcorn- that's what I had)

1 cup white flour

1 cup water

2 Tbsp Lime juice

1 Tbsp red chili powder

1 tsp salt

Well... They turned out pretty tasty, but they weren't exactly enchilada worthy as they kept falling apart when I tried to roll them. I ended up using them for an enchilada casserole which I gave to a neighbor. Lucky for my family I made a backup batch of regular flour tortillas which is what I used for our enchiladas. Now as for the enchiladas:

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

1 cup onion, chopped (I used green onions from the garden)

1 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 1/2 cups green chili salsa, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I used Mozzarella and it turned out fine)
12- 6 inch tortillas.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, cook onion and green pepper in 2 T of the butter until tender. Combine onion mixture in a bowl with chicken and 3/4 cup green chile salsa. Set aside. For the sauce, in the same sauce pan melt remaining butter. Stir in flour and cumin. Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly (this will ensure your sauce doesn't have a weird flour-y taste). Whisk in chicken broth and cook until thickened and boiling. Whisk in sour cream, rest of salsa and half of the cheese. Stir until melted. Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into chicken mixture. Place about 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill tortillas with chicken, roll up, and place seam side down in dish. Pour remaining sauce over, sprinkle with remaining cheese, bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

You can simplify the sauce by using white sauce mix in lieu of the butter and flour. That's what I did and yes, of course, I made my own mix. I will post the recipe for the mix as well as several ways to use it in a later post.

Spinache Noodles/Raviolis, Marinara Sauce

Yesterday I was working in the garden until 6 o'clock without even thinking about dinner. When it finally dawned on me that my family might be getting hungry I hurried inside & cooked up the spinache raviolis that I made last week. (They've been in the freezer.) It made for a quick dinner- on the table in less than 30 minutes which is good since we were starting so late. So as promised, here's how I made the spinache noodles:

If you're lucky enough to have lots of spinache in the garden, pick & wash about 1 lb. If not, I think Costco has the best buy when you want lots of spinache. I used enough to fill my 5 qt pot . Add about 1 cup water to your spinache and allow to cook until spinache is limp & tender. Drain spinache and add to blender along with 2 eggs, 1 tsp salt. Blend until smooth then pour into a large bowl. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. I used about 4 cups- this will vary depending on how dry you were able to get your spinache.

Allow dough to rest (in a covered bowl) for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle flour over a clean surface and roll the dough thin (about 1/8 in.). You may need to roll 1/2 at a time. Cut into desired shapes.Add to boiling water & cook for 7 minutes or lay flat on a cookie sheet to freeze for later. If you're making raviolis, Cut nice wide rectangular noodles. Fill half the noodle with cheese and your choice of vegetables and/or meat. I used spinache and mozzarella cheese with some fresh basil from the garden. Dip your finger in a cup of water & rub the edges of the noodle before closing. Press edges together with a fork to seal completely. Of course, if you are lucky enough to have a ravioli press.. just follow those instructions. One of these days I'll get one. Along with a full-sized rolling pin... But for now I make do!

Easy Marinara Sauce

32 oz plain tomato sauce

1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes, plain or Italian style

*1 cup diced zucchini (optional)

1/4 cup diced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

2 Tbsp Italian seasoning.

Combine tomatoes, onions, zucchini and sauce in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling and then simmer at least 10 minutes to thicken. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook another 5 minutes. Serve over hot noodles or Chicken Parmesan. *you can also add diced carrots, mushrooms and/or peppers.

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Baked Garlic Fries, Fajitas, Barbecue Sauce, Garlic Toast

As promised, I made meals from Monday's leftovers and gave them to some neighbors. I'm lacking pictures of the cooked fries and the fajitas. I was hurrying out the door with them to be sure the neighbors didn't have to wait for their dinner and forgot to snap some pictures! Here's what I made:

Barbecue Pulled Pork

3 leftover pork chops (about 1 lb)

2 cups barbecue sauce

1 roasted chili pepper, chopped

Cut pork chops into 2 inch cubes. Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker. Cook on LOW 4 hours. Shred pork with a fork and return to slow-cooker. Cook an additional 1 hour. Serve on warm rolls with sliced cheese.  If you are using uncooked pork, cook for 7 hours on LOW, shred and cook an additional 1-2 hours. You can also use chicken or beef.

Barbecue Sauce*

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp dry lemonade mix (unsweetened Kool-aid works)

2 tsp lemon pepper

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp dried minced onion

3/4 tsp garlic powder

30 oz tomato sauce

Pour tomato sauce into a medium pan. Add seasonings. Bring to a simmer and then to a slow boikl. Cover partially leaving an opening for steam to escape. Boil 10 minutes to thicken sauce. Use as a sauce for baking chicken or pork or as a sauce to add to grilled foods during the last 10 minutes of grilling.

*This is a base recipe. You can add to your sauce depending on the flavor/spiciness that you like: 2 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp cayenne pepper..  Get creative- it's your sauce!

Baked Garlic Fries

6 medium potatoes, washed, peeled (if desired) and sliced into fries

2 large cloves garlic

1 Tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 gallon-sized zip-top bag

Peel and slice potatoes into a large bowl of warm water. While the potatoes soak (at least 10 minutes), Mince garlic into zip-top bag. Add parsley, salt, oil and water and then add potatoes. Shake to thoroughly coat potatoes with seasoning. Spread potatoes over 2 large cookie sheets being sure not to overlap. Bake 20 minutes at 425 turning potatoes halfway through baking. Serve warm.

Fajitas

1 1/2 large bell pepper sliced thin

1 large onion sliced thin

1 can chili-ready diced tomatoes, undrained

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 minced garlic clove

1 lb sliced beef or chicken (I used 2 leftover steaks)

1 Tbsp olive oil

If you are using uncooked meat, add that to the pan along with olive oil and cook fully. (If meat is already cooked, you can add it after the vegetables are soft.) Add pepper and onion. You can add 1/4 cup water if needed to keep vegetables from sticking to the pan. When onions are tender add tomatoes and seasonings. Allow mixture to boil about 5 minutes for sauce to thicken. Serve over warm tortillas. Garnish with chopped lettuce, cilantro, fresh tomato, cheese, salsa and sour cream if desired.

And what did we have for dinner? I warmed up a bag of the spaghetti sauce I made the first week and served that over spaghetti noodles. I also made some super easy garlic toast with the bread I made a few days ago.

Garlic Toast

1/4 cup soft butter

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

6 slices thick bread

Combine butter and seasonings. Spread over bread. Put under broiler on HIGH for about 5 minutes until bread is crispy. Serve warm.

Breakfast: W.W. Waffles, Blueberry Syrup, Vanilla Cream Sauce, WW Muffins

Blender Waffles


1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat kernels
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
¼ cup oil
2 Tbsp honey

Put milk and wheat into blender & blend on highest setting for 4-5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and blend on low speed. Pour onto pre-heated (375F) waffle iron and cook. (I , of course, doubled this recipe so I'd have enough for at least another breakfast during the week)

Blueberry Syrup


1 cup blueberries- mashed
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, heat to boiling and boil at least one minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir. Serve warm!



Vanilla Cream Sauce


½ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Combine and mix thoroughly .

While I had the blender out- already messy with batter I decided I'd make some whole wheat muffins as well. I think they turned out pretty good since every time I turned my back my baby (18 months) was on top of the counter digging in...
 
 

Whole Wheat Mini Muffins


3 cups wheat berries
2 cups milk
2 eggs
¾ cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Put milk, oil and wheat berries into blender & blend on highest speed 4-5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and blend on low speed. Pour into greased mini muffin pan. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. (Optional) While still warm, dip into a bowl of cinnamon sugar. Makes 48 mini muffins. Freezes well.