Spaghetti Sauce

My friend Sheri at Graham Family Ministries has a winner with this recipe!

• Pasta of your choice
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 4 8-oz. cans tomato sauce (can use diced tomatoes or mixture of both to equal 1 quart)
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon organic sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon ground sage

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook pasta of your choice according to package directions.

To make sauce: In a large saucepan, brown ground beef, drain.  Add the tomato sauce and spices and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve sauce mixed into pasta or serve noodles and sauce separately.

Serve with Parmesan cheese and/or cheddar cheese on top.


Mommy finally found a homemade spaghetti sauce I am happy about.  I have tried several and they have all been okay, but not great.  This one is super yummy!  Daniel and Ezra especially like this.  I am so glad that Sheri shared this recipe on her blog.  
Love Always,
Mommy

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

I saw this online and decided to try it.  Yum!

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped or 1 TB dried celery 

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth 

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix arrowroot powder with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

One chilly day a couple of weeks ago Mommy saw this recipe online and we decided to try it.  It was great!  All you children loved this.  Put enough cheese in something and everyone will enjoy it!  :)  Often we will bake up extra potatoes for Baked Potato Bar night.  Sometimes we cube the leftover potatoes and freeze them.  That makes this meal super fast to make.  If the potatoes are already cooked add them when you add the broccoli and everything will be finished cooking at the same time.

Love Always,

Mommy

Tea Party Mints

Found on Pinterest.  


4 1/2 tablespoons reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon mint extract
food coloring (optional) - i used a few drops of yellow to get a very soft butter color
6 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

Beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the mint and food coloring, if using, and mix until blended.  Add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a stiff mixture.  Form balls with about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture.   Flatten with your thumb or tines of a fork. Store in the refrigerator.


Mommy and Hannah made these for Hannah's 12th Birthday Tea Party.  They were very good and super easy to make.  I think Hannah and I ate a bunch of them before the party.  :)  These are definitely on our "make again" list. Yum!
Love Always, 
Mommy

That New Meal

Mommy modified from a recipe in Best of Country Slow Cooker Recipes
Originally called Beefy Au Gratin Potatoes


1 pkg. Au Gratin potatoes
Double of Cream of Whatever Soup (or two cans of cream of chicken soup)
2/3 C. milk
1 C. water
1 lb. ground beef
2 TB. dried, minced onion- rejuvenated
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Open package of Au Gratin potatoes, setting sauce mix aside.  Place potatoes in bottom of the crock pot.

In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, milk, water, and powdered sauce mix; stir well to combine.  Pour a third of the mixture over the potatoes.

In a skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain beef.  Transfer beef and onion to the crock pot.

Top with remaining sauce mixture.  Do not stir.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender.  Stir well and sprinkle with cheese.  Cook a few minutes longer until cheese is melted.

Mommy first tried this recipe a long time ago when we lived in Utah.  Daddy really liked it.  He asked if we could call it "That New Meal".  I said sure and asked why.  He said, "So when you ask if we can have that new meal for dinner I can say 'yes' and not have to try something different!"  :)  Mr. Adventure when it comes to food is not a title Daddy wears.  :)  I usually double this recipe but still only used 1 lb. of beef to take to church lunches.  It is a big hit. We all really enjoy this one.  All of you children really like this one as well.
Love Always,
Mommy 

Strawberry Whip Cream Frosting

A recipe from our friend, Rebecca Mastin

1 C. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 TB sugar

1 lb. strawberries, sliced and sprinkled with sugar then pureed

Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar until fluffy whip cream.  Stir in pureed strawberries.  Frost a white cake.  Yum!

Rebecca is a dear friend from Veritas Baptist Church.  Robert and she came over with their 3 children to spend the day with us.  Rebecca brought a white cake frosted with this yummy frosting!   It was so good!  Robert and Rebecca are sweet friends that the Lord has brought to our family.  We are blessed because they are in our lives.

Love Always, 

Mommy

Strawberry Jello Poke Cake

Our dear friend Jen Everhart's recipe

1 White Cake Mix

ingredients to make the cake

1 large package of strawberry Jello

water to make jello

8 oz. tub of Cool Whip

whole Strawberries

1. Bake the cake according to the directions on the back of the box.

2. Cool cake completely.

3. Poke the top of the cake with a fork.  Cake top will crumble!

4. Make 1 large box of jello according to the directions, skipping the refrigerated time.

5. Pour jello over the poked cake until cake is saturated with jello and top of the cake is red.  Usually have a little jello left over.

6. Place cake in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

7. Frost cake with Cool Whip.

8. Layer whole strawberries on top.

9. O yum!!!!

This is so incredibly yummy!  Jen brought this to church for dessert on the 4th of July.  She used blueberries for the stars and strawberries for the stripes.  It was adorable AND delicious!!!  :)  It was so incredible that Daddy went back for seconds.  The jello makes is so moist!  Don't slice the strawberries or they will "bleed" all over the cake.  
Daddy called me today and said, "You know what we need?" I said, "No, what?"  He said, "That strawberry cake!".  So, I just called Jen to get the recipe and here I go making the strawberry cake.  We will definitely need to keep all the ingredients on hand so we can make this when Daddy calls and says, "You know what we need?"  :)
Love Always,
Mommy

Frozen Pudding Pops

From Heavenly Homemakers

Make a batch (or two or three) of pudding.  This is an excellent homemade pudding to use.


Pour the pudding into popsicle containers or 3 ounce sized bathroom cups.  Each batch of pudding made about 12 Pudding Pop cups.  I found it easiest to put all the cups on a large cookie sheet for easier transport the freezer.


Allow the pudding to cool and set up (about 45 minutes).  Place a popsicle stick in each cup.


Put the Pudding Pops into the freezer for at least 4 hours.  I was surprised that it took quite a while for these to be frozen through and through. 


Mommy made these the other day for the first time and they were awesome!  I only made a single batch to test the recipe out.  Next time I will definitely make a double or triple batch! Even Daddy liked these!  We used the paper Dixie cups and found out that the paper stuck to the pudding pops!  A little hot water run on the outside of the cup loosen it right up and we were able to slip it off without any cup still stuck to our pop.  We found 1,000 popsicle sticks at Michael's Craft Store for under $5.  That's a lot of pudding pops!  :)  These aren't super sweet but they are so good.
Love Always,
Mommy

Creamy Pudding

Another great one from Heavenly Homemakers

Creamy Vanilla Pudding
2 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup real maple syrup (grade B is best for you) or honey
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 t. sea salt
1 T. butter
1 t. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup, arrowroot powder and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until pudding begins to thicken.  Stir over the heat for about 15 more seconds.  Remove immediately from the heat, and continue to stir until pudding is creamy.  (I use my whisk the whole time for stirring and find this works great!)  Add butter and vanilla and continue to stir until mixed.  Pour into serving dishes and serve warm, or chill for two hours and serve cold.


Chocolate Creamy Pudding
2 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 t. sea salt
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla


In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, sucanat or maple syrup, cocoa, arrowroot powder and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until pudding begins to thicken.  Remove immediately from the heat, and continue to stir until pudding is creamy.   Add butter and vanilla and continue to stir until mixed.  Pour into serving dishes and serve warm, or chill for two hours and serve cold.


Mommy has only made this to make Pudding Pops but boy is it good!  Even Daddy liked the Pudding Pops and they are much healthier than anything you could buy at the grocery store.  Yum!
Love Always,
Mommy

Dump Cake

Recipe from Donna Howard

2 cans pie filling
1 white or yellow cake mix
1/2 C. butter, sliced

Grease 8 1/2x11 inch pan.  Dump in pie filling.  Sprinkle cake mix on top.  Place sliced butter on top of cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

This is so delicious and comes together super fast.  I love this dessert.  My favorites are peach or strawberry.  Donna brought this to church and graciously shared her recipe with me.  I believe I first has this dessert in Turkey when Michele Nolan made it.  Everyone in our family loves this one!
Love Always,
Mommy

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

I found this recipe over and Heavenly Homemaker.

1 cup evaporated cane juice sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
dash of sea salt
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, baking cocoa, sea salt and water in a medium sauce pan.  Whisk ingredients together and cook on medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil.  Boil for one minute.  Remove from heat.  Allow mixture to cool for just a few minutes.  Stir in vanilla extract. 

This is a wonderful chocolate syrup.  I like to make chocolate milk and mocha frapps with this syrup.  I looked at the ingredients on the Hershey's chocolate syrup and about fell over.  That stuff is awful for you!  This is a much better alternative to all the additives and junk in the commercial brands.  When Mommy was pregnant with Jonathan she craved so much chocolate milk that Jonathan may have been made from it!  :)  Mommy always made the chocolate milk with this homemade syrup.  

Love Always,

Mommy

Mommy Mocha Frapp

Mommy Creation

3/4 C. milk
2 TB baking cocoa
2 TB organic sugar
1 tsp. instant decaf coffee
1/4 C. chocolate syrup (homemade preferable)
2 C. ice

Put all ingredients except for ice in the VitaMix.  Blend to combine.  Add ice and blend until smooth.  Enjoy with a straw!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mocha Frapp
Add 3-5 large fresh or frozen strawberries, stems removed


This is so yummy!!!  Mommy loves this.  I like Starbucks Frappuccinos but they are expensive.  This is a great way to curb my Starbucks "wanter" for a whole less money.  :)   The homemade chocolate syrup is much better for you than the Hershey's syrup and it tastes awesome.
Love Always,
Mommy

Raw Milk Yogurt

Mommy modified this recipe that was originally from the Nourishing Traditions book..

6 3/4 C. raw milk
3/4 C. powdered milk
2/3 C. whole milk yogurt, plain

Heat milk and dry milk in a double boiler to 110 degrees.  Add 2 TB of the warm milk plus 1 TB starter yogurt into each quart jar.

Stir or shake to combine.  Pour the remaining warm milk into the two quart jars and add an additional 3 TB of yogurt per jar.  Leave the lids off and incubate in the dehydrator at 95 degrees for 8 1/2 to 9 hours.

This yields 2 quarts of yogurt.

Raw milk yogurt is my favorite for flavor and nutritional value.  I am still experimenting with this recipe to perfect it.  I would like to try leaving the lids off and incubating it at 100 or 105 degrees to speed up the process and reduce tartness.  The recipe as written isn't very tart and is about a medium thickness.  Keeping the raw milk below 110 degrees insures that all the live enzymes are still alive.  This is so very good for you and it's yummy too!  Mommy has found the Nourishing Traditions book to be helpful although I am not convinced that everything proposed is exactly correct health-wise.  As with everything, if you choose to read the book, ask God to give you wisdom and glean what you can from it.  Don't worry about the rest!  :)
Love Always,
Mommy

Yogurt- Dehydrator Incubated

Mommy created from several different recipes

2 qts. of milk
2/3 C. powdered milk
1/3 C. whole milk yogurt with live cultures, unflavored

Combine the milk and powdered milk in a large saucepan.  Heat over medium heat to 180 degrees, stirring almost constantly.  (This takes awhile- 15-20 minutes or so.)

Pour hot mixture into a pitcher and let it cool to 115 degrees.  The quickest way to cool this down is to put the pitcher in some ice water.

Remove 1/3 C. warm milk mixture and combine it in a small bowl with the yogurt starter.  Stir until smooth and yogurt is dissolved.  Combine mixture with warm milk in the pitcher.

Pour into two 1 qt. mason jars.  Leave the lids off and incubate in the dehydrator at 115 degrees for 3 1/2-4 hours.  Put the lids on and refrigerator overnight to thicken.

Flavor individual servings with dried fruit, granola, pure maple syrup, fruit syrup, pureed fruit, honey, or all fruit jam.

I have found that it is much easier to flavor the individual servings of yogurt than to try and flavor a whole quart at a time.  Sometimes the flavoring will thin the yogurt, but that doesn't seem to happen when we flavor our individual servings.  Yogurt is very good for you.  It is something we should be consuming on a regular basis.  Mommy would really like to be better about having either yogurt or kefir a couple times a week.  I am so glad all of my children enjoy homemade yogurt so much.  It is good stuff!
Love Always,
Mommy

Crock Pot Yogurt

A fellow MOMYS posted this and I modified it a bit.

INGREDIENTS:
-1/3 cup of store bought, natural, active/live culture, full fat (not low fat or fat free) plain yogurt. (This will be your starter.  After your first batch of yogurt, you can use 1/2 cup of some of your homemade yogurt as a starter instead.)
-2 quarts of whole milk. Pasteurized and Homogenized is fine, but do not use ultra-pasteurized.
2/3 C. powdered milk

1. Pour the milk into the crock pot and turn the crock pot on low. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

2. Turn the crock pot off, leave the cover on, and let the milk sit for 3 hours.

3. Take a cup or two of the warm milk from the crock pot, and put it in a small mixing bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup of store-bought yogurt, or 1/2 cup of homemade yogurt as your starter.  Mix in powdered milk.

4. Mix the yogurt/warm milk mixture into the milk that's sitting in your crock pot.

5. Put the lid on the crock pot, then fold and put a heavy bath towel over the crock pot to insulate the leftover heat (leave the crock pot turned off), and go to bed.

6. The next morning, you'll have yogurt waiting for you in the crock pot. :-) Home made yogurt is thinner than store-bought.

7. Pour the yogurt into a container, cover it, and put it into the fridge. Let the yogurt fully cool down to the fridge temp.

8. Then, if you'd like to add fruit to your yogurt, put a few cups of chopped fruit (of your choice) into a blender, and blend. Then mix the blended fruit into the yogurt and return to the fridge to cool it some more.

More add in ideas:

Honey, cut fruit, jam, maple syrup, or granola are all nice additions as well.

This is an easy yogurt that turns out well without a big failure rate.  This is a good one to use when first learning how to make yogurt.  I always add powered milk to my yogurt to thicken it up.  Enjoy!
Love Always,
Mommy

Creamy Noodles & Peas

Mommy Creation

Double batch of Cream of "Whatever" Soup
Thyme
1 tsp. salt
2 C. cheddar cheese, divided
frozen peas, cooked & drained
1- 8 oz. package rice spaghetti, cooked & drained
potato chips, crushed
optional- 1 can chicken breast or tuna, drained well

Make the Cream of Whatever Soup.  Add thyme, salt, and 1 1/2 C. cheese.  Stir in peas and pasta.  Stir in chicken or tuna if desired.  Top with remaining cheese and crushed potato chips.  Yum!

Mommy created this for lunch today and it was a hit.  Fast, easy, and delicious is my kind of lunch!  Enjoy!


Love Always, 
Mommy

Black Bean Soup

I found this over at Women Living Well. Mommy has modified it significantly.  :)


2 cans of seasoned black beans (drained, not rinsed) 
4 C. chicken broth  
2 Tbsp palm shortening 
1 cup chopped onion 
2 cloves of garlic minced 
2 tsp chili powder 
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt 
Rice, cooked

Cheddar Cheese, shredded 

In a large pot saute onions and garlic in oil until soft. Add the spices and salt; stir well to combine. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium and let soup cook for 15 minutes. Remove half the soup and blend it in the blender (or mash with a potato masher).  Pour back into remaining soup and stir well.  Serve over rice.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Yum!



February 4, 2011
I found this on Facebook this morning and I had everything on hand so we had this for lunch.  It was liked by everyone- even Hannah who isn't our soup gal.  :)  So, per Hannah's request- here is the recipe.  It was really good.  I foresee making this again in the near future.


UPDATE July 17, 2012
This is a wonderful soup and requested frequently around here!  All of you children cheer when you see Mommy making this.  It is so yummy!  


Love Always,
Mommy

Baking Powder Biscuits

Aunt Sheri Southerland gave us this recipe and it it our new favorite

2 C. flour
1 TB organic evaporated sugar cane
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 C. palm shortening
3/4 C. milk

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut in palm shortening.  Stir in milk.  Combine dough and knead 10 strokes.  Cut with biscuit cutter and place on cookie sheet sides not touching.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These are nice and fluffy biscuits that I make several times a week for Daddy for breakfast.  I like to make a batch x5 and store it in a container.  Then I just have to measure out 3 C. of mix and 3/4 C. of milk.  Super easy in the morning!  :)
Love Always,
Mommy

Big Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alana Potter gave this recipe to us and they are so yummy!

2 C. flour plus 2 TB flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 TB unsalted butter, melted
1 C. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yoke
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and slat together into a medium bowl; set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar until thoroughly blended.  Beat in the egg, egg yoke, and vanilla until combines.  Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball.  Hold the dough with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves.  Rotate halves 90 degrees and with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at the base, again forming a single ball.  DO NOT smooth uneven surface.

Pace balls, jagged side up, 2 1/2" apart on the 2 cookie sheets.  Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are soft and puffy (15-18 minutes) rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time.

Cool cookies on the baking sheets.  Remove cookies with a wide spatula.

These make HUGE yummy puffy chocolate chip cookies that are delicious.  I love that I can bake the whole batch at one time.  :)  These aren't good for you but they sure taste good!

Love Always, 

Mommy

Tator Tot Casserole (or Hash brown casserole)

Mommy modified recipe


1 lb. hamburger
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 batches of homemade cream soup recipe with 1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese added
tator tots or homemade hashbrowns

Brown the hamburger in an oven safe skillet (I love my cast iron one).  Add the cheesy cream soup and garlic salt and stir well.  Top with frozen tator tots or homemade hashbrowns.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and potatoes are browned.  Sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese and cook 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Very easy and yummy!


Homemade Cream Soup (2 cans)
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. flour
2 C. water
2/3 C. milk
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese


Melt butter.  Whisk in flour and chicken bouillon until smooth.  Add water and milk.  Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Stir in cheese.  


We have been ordering from Azure Standard and we just ordered 100 lbs. of organic potatoes.  We are making french fries, hash browns, and cubed potatoes for the freezer.  We have about 65 lbs. completed.  :)  I have been making my hash browns the way Laura at Heavenly Homemakers makes them here:http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/make-your-own-frozen-hashbrowns.  I guess I probably need to change this recipe name to hashbrown casserole as I haven't been buying tator tots lately.  I looked at the ingredient list!  :)

Love Always,
Mommy