More Freezing Techniques for More Real Food!!

I don't know about you but I've been pretty busy around here. Always seems this way at the beginning of the school year. Getting the kids set up, starting back into routines, new activities & friends-- getting the house back together after the tornado of summer -- putting away outgrown toys and clothes (not something to be done unless all little people are out of the house!!) and lastly-- trying to get all the abundance of summer and fall produce into long term storage.

One of my all time favorite household tools that makes my life easier in this busy time is the freezer! I know I've spent what seems like an excessive amount of time extolling the virtues of the freezer, but when you are committed to eating real food, it is an absolute necessity! Even though I've talked about some of these in past posts, I'd like to kind of get everything combined into one entry here. Hopefully these techniques will help you  1) save time  2) save money and 3) eat better.

Let's begin with materials.  Its not necessary to go out an buy a vacuum sealer or any fancy gadgets. The main items I use are found in most kitchens: a small size baking sheet (you know the one that doesn't even really hold a dozen cookies but comes in the set anyways?), some wax paper and an ice-cream scoop (the old-fashioned kind with the lever that blops out the scoop) and a supersized box of high-quality zipper freezer bags.

Saving Time: My Favorite Convenience Foods

(note: I almost never cook for the freezer, I just make extra when I'm already making stuff!)



1) Pasta:  Cook your pasta as directed on the package. Drain thoroughly. Cool and pour into gallon ziptop bag. Gently press out excess air and zip closed. Lay baggie flat on its size on the baking sheet and freeze overnight. The next day, whack the bag on your counter gently until the pasta separates into its pieces. This works best with piece-y types of pasta-- penne, macaroni, wheels, bow-ties, etc.

To use: Scoop out desired amount of pasta into a microwave safe bowl. Cover with water. Microwave single servings for approx. 3 min. Drain water, top with pasta sauce, butter/parmesan or pesto!  This is a great way to get your kids off of that blue box junk and takes the same amount of time!

2) Mashed potatoes: Prepare potatoes as you would normally. Allow to cool completely. Use your ice-cream scoop to dish out approx. 1/2 cup servings onto wax paper lined baking sheet. Freeze uncovered overnight. Put frozen potato blops into gallon ziptop bag, press out air, seal and return to freezer.

To use: 1 scoop is a pretty good sized serving for a kid, an adult will probably want 2. Put scoops into a microwave safe bowl or plate and cook for approx. 1-2 minutes. You may need to add butter or milk if they have dried a little but wait until they are completely heated to decide. You can get surprised at how the texture changes when the temperature does. Pair this with a quick seared piece of chicken or fish and a salad and you've got dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes!!

NOTE: Any side dish with a scoopable texture will work well here-- I've had good success with cooled homemade refried beans, sweet potatoes, stuffing, as well as mac-n-cheese. Follow directions as above. If reheating something with cheese or a LOT of butter, you may want to reheat on low to prevent the sauce from separating.

3) Ready Meals: Double recipes when making casseroles and soups. My favorite freezer meals include Chicken Tortilla Soup, Taco-sagna and spaghetti. I just make as usual but increase the quantity. Then, I portion out the leftovers into either freezer safe containers or quart size baggies. My hubby, in particular, gets almost all of his work lunches this way. For him, I always put things into freezer/microwave safe containers. My favorite right now are by Pyrex. They are made of glass (so no yucky plastic!) and have a lid with a rubber seal. His food starts frozen but by the time he gets to lunch time, its pretty well defrosted and ready for the microwave. Since you can't safely take glass from the freezer to the oven/microwave, for at home leftovers, I'd use the baggies. Then, when I was reheating it, I'd be sure to put it in a microwave safe NON-PLASTIC container. You really don't want to be heating up your food in plastic-- this is when most of the chemical transfer occurs. I strictly stick to glass (I do have a LOT of vintage Pyrex and Corelle) or ceramic dishes for hot dishes or reheating.

4) Waffles, Pancakes and Muffins: These I know I've covered extensively. See assorted recipes here, here and here. I always make a double batch of these items.

To use: Waffles in particular are a popular weekday breakfast. Just like the ones from the store, you can take these straight from your freezer to the toaster. For pancakes, place in a single layer on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, flip each pancake and cook for 20 additional seconds. Add time as needed. Muffins also take 30-45 seconds to defrost, depending on size. My oldest actually likes muffins for his mid-morning snack. So, I send his frozen (to prevent breakage!) and by the time he gets to first recess, its thawed and ready to go!

5) Precooked meats. When the hubby is grilling, I always have him throw a few extra on. This is especially good with chicken parts and burgers. If you have grilled chicken in the freezer, and some mashed potatoes or pasta, you can get a dinner together in less than 10 minutes (which should beat the time it takes to pick up food!). Simply wait for food to cool and bag.

Saving Money: Things You Can Buy in Bulk and Freeze!

1) Any Bread Item: If you've found a bread, bun, bagel, pita, etc. that you like and its on sale BUY it! Bread items freeze beautifully! You can also, of course, freeze any homemade baked items! In general, I've found that these things will last a good 6 months or so without any noticeable freezer burn.

To use: If you are toasting, any of these items can go straight from the freezer to the toaster. If you want it defrosted right away, you only need 10-15 sec. in the microwave. Be sure to flip your slices after heating or you may end up with dry spots. The easiest (and most effective way) is to just put the package on the counter at room temperature for a few hours. This works especially well for loaves of bread.

2) Butter: I did not know until about a year ago that you could freeze butter! Now that I am trying to use pastured butter, which tends to be expensive, whenever its on sale, I buy as much as I can carry. Last time I ended up with 8 or 9 pounds. The check out clerk might look at you funny but it can definitely be worth it! Leave the butter in its wrapper and cardboard box. Stack 4 or 5 boxes in a gallon ziptop bag (just to prevent odor transfer and drying) and seal. This should last 6-12 months.

To use: Put the whole box of butter in your fridge overnight and by morning it will be ready to go. It should be completely indistinguishable from fresh. I have never been able to notice a difference in taste, texture or color!

3) Meat:  Of course we all know about this. My only advice here is to portion when you get home. It doesn't do you any good to have 3 lbs of ground grass fed beef if its all in one frozen brick. Separate it into useful units-- do you use it by the pound or 1/2 pound? Would patties be better? A little bit of work when you get home from the market (or the day after) will save you a lot of hassle (and probably wasted meat) when its in a convenient and ready to use portion.

To use: I will probably incite the ire of food safety personnel somewhere but for quick defrosting, I prefer the water method. I know you are supposed to defrost overnight in the fridge ideally but realistically, I might not decide what I feel like eating or cooking that night for dinner until an hour before. And if you've ever tried to defrost meat in the microwave, you know what a losing job that is-- all you are likely to end up with is cooked edges and a frozen center. So, for the water method, I take the meat in question and LEAVE it in its freezer baggie. I submerge it in a big pot or sink full of water (usually room temp/luke warm) for about a 1/2 hour. For chicken breasts and fish, this is usually sufficient. Big chunks of ground beef might take slightly longer.

Eating Better!

To get a variety of fruits and veggies, you can freeze at the peak of the season. This lets you buy at the best prices, get the best quality and often has higher nutritional values of canned or shipped out of season produce. Here are a few of my favorite techniques.

1) Fruit: Wash fruit and drain or pat dry. Prepare the fruit as you'd like to eat it- I usually leave berries whole, pit & peel peaches and plums, peel and halve bananas for example. Spread an even layer on a wax paper lined baking tray. Freeze overnight. Transfer to ziptop bag, remove excess air and seal.

To use: Fruit that has been frozen will have had all water/juice burst the cells. This means that this fruit isn't really suitable for out-of-hand eating. But it is great in cereals (hot or cold!); swirled into yogurt for a nice parfait; mixed into baked goods-- muffins, pancakes, waffles, breads; smoothies (you're just going to blend it up anyways!); jam/preserve making; desserts-- pies, tarts, etc. and you can make fruit leather as well.

2) Corn-- Cook first-- anyway you choose but I have to say I'm partial to grilling! After it cools, use a sharp knife to CAREFULLY cut the kernels off the cob. Put in a baggie and freeze!

3) Broccoli/ cauliflower: cut florets off stem, bag and freeze. I often get a better price buying bagged raw broccoli and freezing it over buying bagged frozen broccoli.

4) Fresh Herbs: rinse, pat dry and prepare as you would normally (de-stem, etc). Lightly macerate in food processor or blender with a SMALL amount of water or olive oil. Something like basil that I know will be going into an Italian sauce I'd use olive oil. Something like cilantro I might use water. You only want enough to keep it from getting pasty. Then fill up an ice cube tray with your mix. Freeze overnight. Pop out cubes and store in baggie.

5) Prepared sauces: A great way to save a lot of seasonal produce is to turn them into the sauce you use the most. Around this time of year, I'm making large batches of pesto-- freezing it in 1/2 cup portions. I also just got finished making about 2 gallons (not exaggerating!) of salsa! For that, I'm treating it like a soup. Pouring it into the gallon baggie, laying it flat and freezing overnight. When we want it, I'll defrost the bag in the fridge and pour it into a jar or container for use. This saves me having to buy a lot of expensive jars or containers AND it saves space by lying flat in the freezer!  Tomorrow I have a big ol' load of apples that I'll be turning into applesauce and doing the exact same thing.

Bag #1, there are 4 others stacked on top!

I'm sure there are more ideas out there and I'd love to hear about them. If you have a great idea to add to our freezer prep list , please let us know in the comments below!

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Date Night Dinner: Lemon Pasta with Capers & Artichoke Hearts

Hello All!   I guess I haven't posted in longer than it seems! I've been pretty busy with projects around here.... they are not quite ready for posting yet as most of them are scheduled as gifts! I've also taken up KNITTING! I took a 2 night basic class and I've been attempting to finish an "easy" 9 square pillow project kit I purchased 6 (!) years ago-- intending to learn then. I've just about got that sucker finished but I don't think its going to be suitable for public display. On the other hand I've gotten a lot of practice and learned a lot of technique along the way- thank goodness for the internet and youtube! I'm looking forward to finishing this up and moving on to something that hopefully won't look like the dog made it :P

I know Valentine's day was last week (as was our anniversary-- 13 years, yay us!). We went out for our anniversary but I opted to make something special for the whole family for V-day. I paired this up with some beautiful seared scallops (a special holiday splurge) that I seared off with nothing but a small sprinkling of simple salt and pepper. You could also do shrimp or grilled chicken or leave it vegetarian. Completing the simple approach was a nice side salad-- we dressed ours with a homemade blue cheese dressing but a vinegrette would also be good here. Paired with white wine for the grown ups and a sparkling apple cider for the kids, we had a special mid-week dinner that the whole family loved!

Note: For this recipe I actually had "extra" artichokes in the fridge (this is pretty much the ONLY time I've ever had this happen). So, I actually made the artichoke heart pieces BUT feel free to just grab a can from the store-- but be sure to NOT get the marinated ones!

I used 4 smallish artichokes. To prep your own artichoke hearts, first cut off the stem as close to the base of the artichoke as possible. Then, using a firm hand, grasp a leaf and pull up sharply until it snaps off at the base. Discard leaf. Repeat until the leaves are very very thin and you should see a dent or wrinkle between the base of the artichoke and the tip. Cut all the leaves off at that point and discard. Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise (stem to tip) and use a small metal spoon to scoop out the fuzzy, thistle --the "choke". Discard. Cut each half heart lengthwise into 3rds or 4ths and toss into a pan of water. Boil until slightly yielding but not overly soft-- kind of "al dente" - 10ish minutes, depending on how big your heart pieces are.  Drain and set aside.

Recipe: Lemon Pasta with Capers and Artichoke Hearts

8 oz fettucini
2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp jarred)
3 Tbs capers, rinsed
14 oz can or pre-prepped artichoke hearts, drained
3 Tbs butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan

1) Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2) Zest 1 of the lemons, set aside
3) Juice both lemons -- be sure to remove any seeds that escape-- I like juicing over my tea strainer!
4) While pasta is draining, melt butter in emptied pasta pan.
5) Once butter is melted, add in lemon juice, zest, garlic, capers, and artichoke hearts.
6) Return pasta to pan and toss to coat. Add parmesan and salt to taste. Toss again.
7) Top with seared scallops, shrimp or chicken, if desired!

Lest you think I am super amazing, there was also a special dessert I made to go with this. Cute little heart shaped strawberry hand pies (all the rage all over Pinterest). Unfortunately, my continued struggles with pie crust and the fact that I only had whole wheat flour in the house yielded some cute but nearly inedible desserts. Thankfully I had purchased some vanilla ice cream to go with the pies. A scoop of ice cream and a sprinkling of chopped strawberries over top and it wasn't too bad.

As always, feel free to comment or leave questions below. I'd love to know how this recipe works for you!

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A Tale of Two Veggies.....

Last year, one of my goals in improving our eating was to include more fruits and veggies.  One way I was interested in doing that was by joining a CSA.

• Those of you who aren't familiar with them, a CSA is community sponsored agriculture--a farm shares type of investment in a local farm. You might pay a set amount for a whole season (and get proportional shares of the crops) or you might pay a subscription amount per week or box of fruits/veggies you get.

Unfortunately, I found that out here, there isn't much active farm left (except for orange groves). But, luckily there are a lot of farm communities nearby (say w/in 50-100 miles). I found a co-op that several farms contribute to and then you purchase a box (paying by the size & frequency). Its all organic and....... it comes delivered to the DOOR! How awesome is that?

We signed up last June and I decided to start small-- a less frequent delivery but a bigger box. I figured that way we'd get lots of variety and maybe enough extra fruits and veggies to put something away for later. We started with every other week but I was quickly finding that with 2 (and a half) eaters, we just couldn't keep up and I didn't want to keep composting it all. So, now we're at once every 4 weeks and that is working out pretty well for me.

One of the most interesting things I've been learning is what's in season--right here, right now. Its really helped me in the grocery store, as I can look at certain fruits and veggies and now I KNOW right off the bat that they've been imported (probably from Chile, our opposite season partner). I've also been learning A LOT about new fruits and veggies. In our box, you get what's being grown at the partner farms. So, quite frequently I've pulled everything out of my box and had to check the packing list just to identify one (or more!) of the items. I'll admit that most of these things are not particularly exotic but with a Midwest/farm based food heritage, my food exposures were pretty basic. Fruits were apples, oranges, bananas. Maybe some peaches or apricots or grapes for excitement. Veggies were iceberg lettuce, canned green beans, peas, corn and the like.

With each box, I've been trying at least one new thing-- some I've liked and some well...... not so much. But I have to say its been a great example to the little people to see Mom and Dad dive into trying all these new foods. We've had a LOT less arguing and complaining when we are ALL trying something new!

Today I'm gonna tell you the tale of two veggies (I bet you were wondering when I was EVER gonna get around to those!) that if you haven't tried yet, you won't be sorry! To those in-the-know, these are AMAZING! But I definitely never would have tried either if they weren't staring me in the face every time I opened the fridge. So, while I can't magically send some to your fridge to stare at you, I will instead send my encouragement to get out there and TRY SOMETHING NEW!!

First up: LEEKS!
 The first leek we had looked about the size and shape of a green baseball bat! It was HUGE!!!! I had NO idea what to do with that thing. And, I'll admit it.... I kind of dithered, then I delayed and then I put it off a bit more until.... OH DARN, too wilted to use. When our next box had 3 of them, I knew I couldn't let them all go. So I flipped on the computer and did some research.

 

What in the heck is a leek? It turns out its a relative of onions. They are kind of like green onions from the land of giants. I don't have a great love of onions-- I like their flavor but they don't agree with my digestion and raw is completely out of the question. So I was a more than a little nervous about experimenting with them. But I gathered my courage and I started subbing leeks into any recipe that I'd normally put some onion into and WOW! great (light) onion flavor and NO digestive problems!

How to prep a leek: As they are often grown in sandy/gritty soil, you will definitely need to rinse these well. It is usually recommended to rinse AFTER you cut since the layers are so tight. You can either do one long cut lengthwise and pull the layers apart to rinse (kinda like celery) or slice them thinly crossways and drop into a bowl of water. Let the grit settle to the bottom and scoop the floating pieces from the top. When you are cutting, you typically only use the white and light green portions.


Veggie #2: Swiss Chard
We've been getting LOTS of leafy greens lately -- lettuces of all types, radiccio, spinach and lately chard. I've seen chard called "swiss chard" and "rainbow chard". If you haven't seen chard before, it looks like a big spinach leaf with a colored stem--this can be either light green or colored with pinks, oranges or purples! When we got a bunch of these leaves, with each stem's leaf around the size of an elephant ear (okay, maybe a baby elephant....) I was certainly a bit nervous. I freely admit that big green leafy things do still make me a bit anxious (the lingering 5 year old inside me, perhaps?) I do like spinach occasionally but haven't gotten on board (yet) with the great kale craze that's going on and not having much for southern relatives, I've not had any experience with many other types of greens (collards and the like).

I was greatly encouraged when several sites on the internet described the flavor of chard as being like a mild spinach. I thought "okay, I can do that!". The best suggestion I read was to blanch the leaves before adding to your recipe-- apparently this will reduce any potential bitterness that may be found in these deep green leafies.

To prep chard: Rinse and pat dry individual leaves. Cut out (or yank) the hard center stem and discard. Chop leaves into manageable strips or pieces. I cut mine into rectangles about 2" x 1" and that worked well. Drop into a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well. Use any place you might use other cooked greens like baby spinach or kale.

I was so excited about chard that I've actually just planted 9 (!!) little baby plants into the beginning of this year's garden (along with some romaine and arugula). I'm very excited to see if baby chard tastes like baby spinach. I'll get to find out in a few weeks!!

Summary: Any place you would use an onion, you can use leeks. Any place you'd use a green like spinach, kale or collards, you can use chard.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it took an old favorite (scalloped potatoes and ham) which had little nutrient value (besides calories....) and really beefed it up. Loaded with leafy green chard and leeks, it actually resembles a balanced meal!

 

 

Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham with Leeks and Swiss Chard

(This was for a VERY large casserole, 14" x 10" x 3")

8 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (about 1/8 inch)
1 LARGE leek (white and light green parts) sliced thinly and cleaned
8 LARGE ribs swiss chard, ribs removed, chopped and blanched in boiling water 3 min.
8 oz cooked ham, cubed (about 1/2")
8 Tbs butter
8-10 Tbs flour
6 cups milk

1) In your casserole dish, arrange potato slices in a single layer. Add approximately 1/3 of your prepared leeks, chard and ham evenly over the bottom. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the layer.

 

2) Repeat step one 2 more times (for a total of 3 layers)
3) Spread any remaining potato slices over the top.
4) Prepare thin white sauce:

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan over med/low heat.
2. Sprinkle in flour, stirring constantly until all butter is absorbed and a paste forms.
3. Pour in milk and whisk to dissolve any lumps.
4. Cook over med/low heat until sauce begins to thicken slightly (it should be able to coat a spoon)

5) Pour prepared white sauce over entire casserole. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Cover casserole with foil.

6) Bake at 350 F for 60-90 minutes (until potatoes are cooked through and easily pierce with a fork or knife). Time will vary GREATLY depending on how thin your slices are-- the thinner you slice, the faster yours will cook!  Remove foil after 30 minutes of cook time. Replace foil if top of casserole begins to over brown. Enjoy!

Feel free to leave comments below. Have you tried either of these veggies? What did you think?

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Best of 2012

Doing a little end of year/beginning of year evaluations on myself. Overall I'm very happy with the changes we've been able to make around the house as well as our eating habits. There are still plenty of projects and goals for the new year, though!

Here are my personal favorite projects of 2012:

1) Dryer Woolie Balls: These had a minimal cost in both $$ and time. I still use them with every load of laundry (so pretty much every day). I love that I can add scent as needed, keeping a very, very light clean scent in our laundry w/o any softners or chemical additives!

2) Bye, Bye Papertowels: This project was also simple and cheap (is there a theme here?) I did have to go back and hem the cut edges of the washcloths I used, but that only cost me about 30 minutes or so of sewing. We keep these in a shoe box size bin right behind the kitchen faucet. Easy to grab and easy to refill. I have seen some people's "unpaper towels" projects with cute fabric on one side and terry cloth on the other side and then snaps on the ends. Then they roll the whole thing up on their paper towel dispenser. I love that idea but our little bin is soooooooo easy to refill (no snapping, no rolling) and if I hadn't wanted to cut the washcloths down to "select a size" paper towel dimensions (that we were used to using) there wouldn't have been any sewing at all. With a total cost of under $10, it also beats the pants of the cutesy ones. Now, I'll admit my cloths are just a basic beige (which thus far is hiding stains remarkably well) but no one is afraid to use them either as I've heard some people complain about with the fancy fabric rolled towels. I think the key to my long term success here is that I have a dedicated small bathroom size trash bin in the pantry to throw the dirty towels in. I have enough towels to fill my box 2x, so one set can be in use while one set is in the laundry.

3) Swapping coconut oil for processed vegetable oils: I wasn't sure if I would be tempted down the line to have a bottle of canola or vegetable oil on hand but once we used up what we had, I haven't needed to use ANY! Between olive oil, coconut oil and butter, I'm able to meet all of my cooking needs. No spray needed either! Silicone muffin liners have been a big help in this regard. I keep about half of my coconut oil in a oil dispensing bottle (that I got at the dollar store). I take the metal pour spout off and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and voila! liquid oil ready for pouring!



My Favorite Recipes of 2012:

We tend to go through cycles of eating a lot of one thing in particular and then getting into something else. But there are a few favorites that I tend to enjoy over and over again!

1) Muffins: I know I've done a few posts about muffins ( Pumpkin, Zucchini) but I also have a few favorites that I haven't posted up (like Banana nut).  I make a dozen or two with what ever fruit is on hand (or in the freezer) and use whole wheat flour. After they are cooked, I keep them in the freezer so they are always ready to go. They make a great, quick breakfast for me when I'm running late and  I also send them frozen with the little guy to school.  By the time he has is morning snack break, its defrosted and ready to go!  Right now in our freezer is whole wheat cranberry muffin with a cream cheese swirl. Yum!

2) Whole Wheat Waffles: I got a new waffle maker for my birthday (thanks Bro!) and I've been making lots of waffles since then (probably 4 or 5 huge batches). I get around 20 or so waffles from my mix , so I'm able to stock up the freezer for a few weeks at a time. Both little guy and myself have been enjoying them immensely. The last 2 batches have had chocolate chips stirred in and then we use strawberry or blackberry jam on top (instead of syrup) and its soooooooo good! But I'm almost out and that means I'll be probably be doing a big batch this weekend. I'm thinking that I might have to do the next ones blueberry!

3)Whole Wheat Baking Mix: If you grew up in a certain generation, Bisquick forms the basis of a lot of quick breads, breakfasts and dinners. But when you are trying to avoid processed food, things in boxes with lots of ingredients are incompatible. I love that my version of the baking mix uses ONLY whole wheat and that it mixes up in the kitchen very quickly.

4) Spinach & Basil Pesto: Maybe its because I just ate some last night but I love this recipe! I made a giant batch months ago and I still have cups of this stuff (which costs an arm & a leg at the store) in our freezer. Last night I wasn't too energetic, so I boiled up some whole wheat pasta, sauteed a salmon fillet (cut into chunks) and tossed the whole thing with 1/2 cup of pesto, delish! The whole prep was maybe 10 minutes of work (and that was mostly skinning and deboning the salmon!)

I'd love it if you left a comment below to let me know what was YOUR favorite post of 2012!

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Real Food, Real Easy: 100% Whole Wheat Waffles

So, with the new year comes a renewed commitment (for most of us) to do better, health-wise. A simple easy start is to make sure that you are eating breakfast everyday! In our busy lives, I know it can be difficult to make good choices-- when you are short on time, do you skip a meal or pick up something in the drive through? Neither is a great option.  Knowing that I'm always pushed for time, instead of making things everyday, I make up a big batch of food on the weekend (usually Sundays). Then I freeze or refrigerate the leftovers and I've got a healthy grab and go breakfasts ready anytime!

This recipe is a great substitute for prepackaged frozen waffles. A few minutes at the waffle-maker and you'll have a week (or more!) worth of ready-to-go WHOLE WHEAT waffles. Plus the base recipe is a wonderful blank canvas for add ins. My favorite stir-in is chocolate chips but you can also up the flavor (and nutrients!) with any kind of fruit -- think blueberries, sliced bananas or strawberries. If you are in a real rush, consider topping the waffle with cream cheese or peanut butter for a less messy, eat-on-the-run meal.(plus it'll get you a nice bit of protein as well!)

Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Waffles

makes approx. 20 waffles (if 1/4 cup batter used)

3 cups whole wheat flour (I like white whole wheat by King Arthur or Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs baking powder
2-2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil (use refined to reduce "coconut" flavor)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Optional add-ins:
1 cup- chocolate chips OR blueberries  OR sliced bananas OR sliced strawberries


1) Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to incorporate.
2) Add liquid ingredients and stir until well mixed-- start with 2 cups of milk. Add more until batter is pourable-- it shouldn't be either runny or pasty. Stir in optional add-ins, if including.
3) Heat up waffle iron. Butter or oil compartments as necessary.
4) Spoon or scoop approximately 1/4 cup of batter into center of each waffle compartment. If you have a smaller waffle-maker, this should fill it up. If you have a GIANT belgian waffle-maker like mine, you'll see that my waffles aren't quite filled up. This is okay because one, full-size waffle was TOO big!

5) Cook until LIGHTLY browned and set. This is probably less done than you'd want if you are eating them out of the cooker-- you are deliberately slightly undercooking to ensure that they don't get too dark when you run them through the toaster to reheat!
6) Remove waffles and set aside to cool completely.

7) Package in gallon size zip bag or other airtight container and freeze.

To Reheat: Take waffle directly from freezer to toaster. Cook on normal toast setting (with defrost, if available). Top with butter, syrup, jam, diced fruit, cream cheese, peanut butter or anything else I've missed!

We typically alternate waffles with some of the whole wheat muffins I've made (and keep in the freezer as well). I've also taken to experimenting with whole wheat bagel making. With a constantly changing flavors and types of whole wheat pre-baked breakfasts, the family doesn't get bored of one thing or option. Plus I love knowing that no matter how hurried I get, there is always something I can grab that isn't full of empty calories or tastes like cardboard!

 As always, feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of the recipe or how it worked for you!

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Homemade Whole Wheat Sesame Crackers

I don't know about other people but 90% of my social life for the whole year seems to take place during the month of December. Sometimes this involves people coming over for a simple game night with snacks or it might be a more elaborate holiday dinner. There are also potlucks, cookie exchanges, open houses and more.

Sometimes its hard to figure out what to bring or make, especially if the event is very casual (like an open house or game night) or already has all the food covered (like a dinner party). If you are tired of bringing the same old bottle of wine, you might consider giving crackers and cheese a try. I know, I know. How can crackers and cheese be exciting? Well, how 'bout if you HANDMADE the crackers?

Its a simple and elegant solution. As an appetizer or dessert course, it is light and goes with any event. Plus, you'll be sure that at least ONE thing you are eating has some nutritional value (this is pretty much 3 ingredients: 100% whole wheat flour, olive oil and sesame seeds with a little salt & water). See? So fiber, healthy fats AND some key trace minerals, to boot! Plus its pretty easy to make, not much more difficult than holiday cookies AND if you are trying to keep the sugar consumption low, this could be a great substitute for those little sugar bombs!

Now, these aren't dainty and do well with stronger cheeses, either sliced or spready. I'm sure that like me, you'll appreciate having something sturdy that doesn't keep snapping off or crumbling all over! We've paired this up with blues, sharp cheddars and a wonderful cranberry goat cheese log.

For the crackers pictured, I've simply cut the dough into rough squares/rectangles BUT if you want to be more festive, any kind of cookie cutter would work well here and really give your crackers a professional appearance. Remember when rolling out the dough, you can NOT go too thin. When you think you have it as thin as you possibly can, make another pass and try again!

 

Recipe: Whole Wheat Sesame Crackers

adapted from this NY Times recipe

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted (black or white will work equally well)
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
4-8 Tbs water

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
2) In bowl of food processor, combine flour, sesame seeds & salt. Pour in olive oil and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Add water, 1 Tbs at a time until dough can be pressed into a ball. Amount will vary depending on your flour and weather. I typically use around 6 tbs.

3) LIGHTLY dust work surface. Divide dough into 2 even portions. Roll out and cut one portion at a time. Roll as thin as possible. The thinner the dough, the crisper (vs. crunchier) the final cracker will be.
4) Cut into desired shapes (use sharp knife, cookie cutters or biscuit cutter). Repeat for 2nd half of dough.
5) Place on prepared baking sheet, close but not touching.
6) Bake 15-25 minutes, until lightly browned. Time will depend on how thick your final cracker dough is and how full your tray is. Mine are typically done around 23 minutes with a medium thick dough (I'm working on getting it thinner!) and a very full tray.
7) Remove and allow to cool on wire racks.
8) Keep in airtight container approximately 1-2 weeks. However if you find them getting a bit stale, just pop them back into the oven for 2-3 minutes.

 

 

 

As always, feel free to comment below! I'd love to hear how this worked out for you!

 

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Spinach & Basil (Nut free) Pesto

This time of year always seems to be the busiest, doesn't it? Between end of year projects that need finishing up, holiday preparations & all the holiday celebrations themselves, sometimes it seems like we are always go-go-go-ing! I don't know why but this time of year always makes me think of pesto. Maybe its the green? In any case, this would be a great item to take to a get-together, party or pot luck. Its very festive and by virtue of being nut-free is a great dish to share with people who may have nut allergies!

This recipe is an easy prep-- especially if you have a food processor. You can still do it in a blender, but it might take a few batches (those leaves are very fluffy!) You will be amazed at how quick it really is AND you will have enough leftovers in the freezer for SEVERAL meals. Plus, have you seen the prices for premade pesto??? Do those people think its made out of gold or something?? Sheesh!

Now, I know traditionalists would argue that a pesto isn't really a pesto without the nuts (either pine nuts or walnuts or something) but I've found that the nuts aren't really necessary for a great pesto-y flavor. In removing them from the recipe, the costs are cut DRAMATICALLY and as mentioned above, many of us have family members & friends with nut allergies. This is a painless way to make a great dish that everyone can eat!

Recipe: Spinach & Basil (Nut free) Pesto

(makes approx. 6, 4 oz servings)

6 oz. baby spinach leaves
4 oz. fresh basil leaves (stems and flowers removed)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic (2 1/2 Tbs jarred crushed)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1) Add leaves, cheese, garlic and salt to work bowl of food processor. Pour in 1/4 cup of your olive oil.
2) Whirl mixture until nearly smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3) Pour remaining olive oil into the mixture, while processing, until completely smooth.
4) Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
5) Package pesto in 4 oz tupperwares, jars or plastic baggies & freeze for future use! Each 4 oz package will cover 8-16 oz of pasta depending on how pesto-y you want your dish!


Things to do with your pesto:

1) Use it as a pizza sauce on a homemade pizza. Just spread over prepared crust and top with cheese and toppings as usual. Makes for a nice change of an everyday food!

2) Mix a little with mayonnaise for a sandwich spread that will perk up the boring-est of chicken or turkey sandwiches! Add in a little tomato, sliced mozzerella or provolone and its even better. For total insanity, try grilling your sandwich or cooking it in a panini press!

3) Toss with cooked pasta (I particularly like penne). My preferred mix is about 4 oz of pesto to 12 oz of pasta. Be sure to leave a small amount of cooking water  (like 2 Tbs max!) to help spread the pesto evenly. If you forget to save some water, you can also use milk or cream for a richer dish!

Here is my favorite wintertime pasta dish, its very hearty and with your ready made pesto, it will come together in a flash!

Recipe: Penne with Shrimp & Cherry Tomatoes

12 oz penne pasta
4 oz prepared pesto
1 pint cherry (or grape or miniature plum) tomatoes, sliced lengthwise (see tip below)
1 lb peeled & cooked shrimp

1) Cook pasta as directed on package.
2) Defrost pesto (if frozen)
3) Slice tomatoes-- here is a trick I got from watching the Rachel Ray show-- use 2 deli tub lids (I had yogurt & sour cream, I think?) Put your tomatoes on one lid (edge up) and place the other lid over the tomatoes edge down. Holding the lid firmly (but not squashing the tomatoes) run your knife in the slot between the 2 lids. Voila! Lots of evenly sliced tomatoes, all done at the same time!

4) Cook or defrost precooked shrimp as necessary.
5) Drain pasta (remember to reserve cooking water or use milk/cream).
6) Toss pasta, shrimp, tomatoes and pesto together. Make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed and warmed throughout.
7) Serve with crusty bread and grated parmesan!

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Turkey & Rice Soup

Its leftovers time!!! By now, I'm sure you've worked through the turkey sandwiches, turkey enchiladas and turkey pot pies -- or whatever your favorite leftover recipes are. And..... you should be left with a beautiful set of bones. Let's make something awesome out of that!!

I made this yesterday-- it took me about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. I packaged up most of it for Hubby's lunches (that's technically what I made it for to begin with....) but kept a serving out for me. I had that today for lunch and not to be too conceited about it, it was the best turkey soup I've ever had! Probably had something to do with the fact that its the first time I also ever made my own stock instead of cracking open a box or can......

Of course, if you've already picked that bird clean or didn't get any bones in your take home bag from Grandma's house, you can easily do this with a chicken carcass (even from a grocery store rotisserie chicken-- we don't judge here!)

I used my ~4 1/2 quart soup pot but any good size pot will do! If yours is smaller, you might end up with a higher tidbits to broth ratio and vice versa for a larger pot. I got about 14-15 cups of soup out of this.

 

Recipe: Turkey & Rice Soup

1 turkey carcass (preferably with bits still on it)
2 stalks celery, chopped coarsely
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 small or 1/2 a large onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 bay leaves

1 cup uncooked rice (white, brown, wild or a mix, your pick!)
up to 2 cups extra turkey bits (if your carcass is particularly clean....)
extra carrots, celery & onions if you are squeamish

1) Put carcass into pot, fill until bones are covered with water (pretty much right up to the top). Toss in celery, carrots, onion and bay leaves.
2) Adjust heat to keep soup at a low boil/simmer.
3) Add water as needed to keep level near the top of your pot.
4) Cook for 2-3 hours (2 hours got me a rich, deep flavor & nice soft veggies)
5) Using a spider strainer or mesh collander over a bowl, strain all bones, veggies, bay leaves out of your soup-- KEEP THESE!!!!  Return strained stock to soup pot.
6) Pick through all the bones for edible, usable meat chunks (chop or shred if necessary). Discard all bones, gristle or skin. Return good meat to soup pot. I had a pretty meaty set of bones and didn't actually have to add any extra.  If you don't have enough turkey for your taste, add in some chopped turkey meat (no skin or gristly bits, please!).
7) If you aren't squeamish, continue picking through your strained bits and take your soft cooked veggies and chop them into bite size pieces. Return to soup pot.

•  If you don't wish to use the pre-cooked veggies, finely dice new celery, onion and carrots. In a separate pan, cook the onion and celery until softened. Put veggies into soup pot and cook until soft. (This could add up to an hour!)

8) Stir in 1 cup of uncooked rice. Simmer soup until rice is fully cooked (about 10 minutes)
9) Taste soup and add salt and pepper to taste (I'm not gonna lie here... its gonna take a pretty amazing amount of salt -- like 2 tsp or more!)
10) ENJOY!!

So the time breakdown for me was 2 hours of occasional minding while the bones simmered. About 20 minutes of carcass picking and cooked veggie recutting. A final 10 minutes for the rice to cook. Honestly the process was so painless that I'm embarrassed I've never done it before. This is probably the 3rd Thanksgiving that the Hubby has brought home the bones and they've always ended up at the bottom of the freezer for months until I finally threw them out. This year the in-laws made 2 turkeys so I have another complete set of bones to cook! Yay!! As an added bonus, if you are of a cheap thrifty nature, like myself, the total cost of this entire POT of soup was under $2. If you compare that to a can of Progresso, you are looking at $3 a can and this made 6-7 cans' worth. Nice!


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Quick and Easy Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Okay, I know I've been promising these for awhile. They are SUPER easy and this week is the perfect week to enjoy them. Nothing says "Thanksgiving" like pumpkin!!

 

To start with, you will need some pumpkin puree--- NOT PIE FILLING!!!! You can either crack open a can (I like the organic pumpkin puree by Farmer's Market with a bpa free lining) or you can make your own (especially if you are baking off some pumpkins for pies this week anyways....)

For a full batch, you will need 1 cup of puree but I usually make a half batch. That will get you about 12, 4" pancakes. For our family (2 adult eaters and one small child eater) that is usually plenty. Especially if its a side dish to eggs or fruit. If you have a bigger family or want leftovers (they freeze beautifully!) go for the full batch!

To make these, we are starting with our homemade whole wheat baking mix (or Bisquick if you haven't gotten around to it yet)

Recipe: Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes (full batch)

2 cups whole wheat baking mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie or apple pie spice mix (or just plain ground cinnamon)
2 Tablespoons sugar

1) Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add eggs and milk. Stir to combine. Mix will be slightly lumpy. Stir in pumpkin puree.
2) Heat griddle and grease w/butter or coconut oil. Cook on medium heat until bubbles on top surface of pancakes pop and stay open briefly. Flip and continue cooking until second side is golden brown.

3) Top with butter and maple syrup.


If you are looking for a little extra something to fancy these up, stir into the batter 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts would be nice) or flavored chips (chocolate actually goes well here but I happened to find an unused bag of cinnamon chips in the bottom of my baking supplies and they were AMAZING).

As always, your thoughts or comments are always welcomed below.

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DIY Whole Wheat Baking Mix

I LOOOOOOOVE  Bisquick.

Growing up, weekday breakfasts generally meant a bowl of cereal or piece of toast. But Saturday meant pulling the Bisquick box out of the cupboard, scooping some into a bowl, adding a dash of milk and an egg or 2 and cooking up pancakes or waffles or some other yummy carbohydrate coma inducing breakfast. If I'm brutally honest, pancakes made from scratch just don't taste the same to me..... which is kind of sad.

With the family's switch to real food, one of the obvious things to go was the box of Bisquick. I didn't throw out the old box but I really only saved it for "emergencies". So my Jumbo Box Store size package had actually managed to last me for the last 6 or so months. Sadly, we are down to the last scoop or so. I figured it was about time to really work on a good substitute. I had tried several 'from scratch' recipes for whole wheat pancakes (what's the point of redoing a recipe if you don't healthy it up a bit?) but I hadn't made any that seemed quite right to me.

Recently I had been put on to the King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour-(they are NOT a sponsor, I swear!)-- its a 100% whole wheat flour but naturally lighter in color and flavor. I've been using that in all my baking and its been a GREAT way of coverting all-purpose flour based recipes. So I thought I'd try to find a DIY Bisquick recipe and swap out the flours and see how it went. Unfortunately, most of the recipes call for shortening, which to me is about the MOST unnatural substance in the food industry. Certainly it is nothing I want to eat or feed my family. Luckily I found this base recipe that was 50/50 white/wheat flours and used butter! Score!!

So, I put together a half batch using 100% whole wheat flour. It came out great! I made a few plain pancakes and the rest of the batch became pumpkin pancakes (I promise I'm posting that recipe next!). The plain pancakes had all of the flavor of Bisquick that I really liked. They were soft, fluffy, buttery and deeeeeeeeeelicious!

I will say that a few years ago I had tried to do a home Bisquick mix and I had followed the directions and used shortening. I hated it. I never got the flavor or texture I wanted out of it. Using butter seems to be the key here, at least for me. As it does contain butter, I'd recommend keeping it in an airtight container inside the fridge. Some people keep it in the freezer.  In either case, unless you house is pretty consistently cool, it'd probably do best in the chill box somewhere.

 

 

 

100% Whole Wheat Baking Mix

• 5 cups whole wheat flour (see note above)
• 6 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt (only if using unsalted butter!!!)
• 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted), cold

1) Add dry ingredients to work bowl of your food processor.
2) Divide butter into 1 Tbs sized chunks.
3) Add to food processor.
4) Pulse until combined-- it should look like and feel like a dry mix. Resist the urge to over process or hold the button down, you'll just melt your butter and make lumps!

                        Use as you would standard Bisquick:

Pancakes: 2 cups mix, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs

Waffles: 2 cups mix, 1 1/3 cups milk, 2 Tbs cooking oil (coconut), 1 egg

Biscuits: 2 1/4 cups mix, 2/3 cup milk, drop or roll out/cut, bake 8-10 min @ 450 F on ungreased cookie sheet.

As always, due to flour variations (especially amongst whole wheat types) you may need to add additional milk or water to achieve desired consistency!


Please feel free to comment below and let me know how this worked out for you!!

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Real Food, Real Easy: Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

As things have gotten a bit busier and more stressful around here with the big guy starting kindergarten and the hubby having been on nights at work,  I admit my meal planning and recipe excitement has suffered quite a bit. There have been a lot of grilled chicken or fish with side of pasta, rice, salad, etc. type of meals and more pick up food than we've had in a good long while as well :(   

Thankfully, my hubby has been back on day shift for 2 weeks now! Its great to be coming out of the restrictions that come as a result of having a partner who sleeps when everyone is awake and away at work when everyone else is sleeping. Even his days off were messed up because his sleep cycles had to be maintained.

Now that he is back on days, I've got to get my act back together!! He doesn't really like to take sandwiches and I don't want to buy him things from boxes so that means that he either has leftovers or premade/prefrozen meals-- either of which he prefers to trying to cobble something together while getting ready in the morning (did I mention he leaves for work at a ridiculous 4:15 am???) Needless to say, I am not up at that time to make him something to take. So all of his food has to be ready the night before and withstand both travel and reheating.

I've been going over some of my favorite convenience foods and sorting out those that can be real food adapted easily and also finding some fun/easy freezer meals & grab and go items to help keep us more on track (and less likely to be picking up the phone to place an order at 5:15.....) So, I'm creating this new category-- its especially for things that either come together very quickly (like 30 min or less) or can be premade & frozen or thrown in the crock pot. 

This particular recipe is one of our long time family favorites. I got the recipe from my bestie and adapted it for my personally picky eating. It's a dish that gets a lot of appreciation as it hits all of the key cooking categories: 1) little to no prep  2) little to no supervision while cooking 3) tastes great   4) adaptable for a variety of tastes/allergies  5) freezes well!  6) high in nutrient density/low in calories.  7) uses mainly pantry staples.

To make this a real food recipe, very few swap outs were needed. For each of the canned items, I am using organic with no added sugar and low or no salt where possible. You can also use your own prepared beans or frozen corn. For the chicken, I am using a free range chicken. This is a great application for some of these tougher free range/pastured meats that do well after cooking on low heat for a long time. Instead of using the packets of pre-prepared taco seasoning, I am using a homemade blend of spices from this recipe. Finally, for the tortilla part-- you can purchase store bought tortilla chips (watch your ingredient lists) or simply fry up a few shreds of corn tortillas you have at home or omit them all together (as we often do).

Recipe: Chicken (Tortilla Optional) Soup

1-1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (still frozen okay!)
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn (frozen okay)
1 8-15 oz can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning (or 2 TBS homemade)

Add-ons:
Sour cream
shredded cheese
diced green chilies
tortilla chips or strips

1) Put chicken breasts into crock pot.
2) Open all your cans and dump into pot on top of chicken.
3) Add in seasoning mix. Stir. For a thicker soup, use only those liquids from the canned food. For thinner soup, add water to top off the crockpot.

4) Turn your crockpot on high and walk away for 6 hours.
5) Remove cooked chicken breasts. Using two forks, shred chicken. Return to crockpot. STIR.

6) Serve soup with personal add ons. I like to set up a buffet style bar with shredded cheddar, sour cream, tortilla strips, and diced green chilies.

Leftovers do freeze well or you can strain out the soup solids and make burritos or other dishes with them (like the quesadillas shown below!) to get some distance out of this one dish.

As always, feel free to comment with your thoughts on this recipe!

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