Summer Is Near!

Hi everyone,
I haven't blogged in so long. I am still on my journey, life and
motherhood just gets busy sometimes. Well since I have had
such an awesome response from you all for my recipes, I will
continue to blog. I am still learning how to cook healthy and
wholesome and I'm having a blast doing it! This spring we have
 planted a small garden with 2 raised beds. Some things I have
learned along the way:

- My local county extension office has a service where
 they can test my dirt.
- The extension office has an almost infinite amount of
gardening resources and I was able to talk to a master
gardener.
- Finding organic soil can be challenging and it's good
to ask lots of questions.
- In my personal opinion- Say NO to Miracle GRO;
I think they put a lot of synthetic material in their
soil so the produce comes out unnaturally large and
abundant.
-ORGANIC is the way to go!
-I noticed a lot of Garden Soil in the bags at the
 store have warning signs
such as "Keep Out of Reach of Children" and
"Wear protective gloves"- Uh...Why?????

I went to a local nursery and told them I wanted an
Organic Garden. They had some farm-grade mushroom soil,
farm-grade topsoil, and compost that was suitable for my
raised beds.

I planted a little of everything in each: Beans, Greens, Carrots,
Onions, Tomatoes,Peppers, Celery, Cucumber, and
some herbs such as Dill and Rosemary.

Growing a garden with my kids is one of the
most joyful experiences.They get so excited to watch
the sprouts grow and become something
healthy. I love that they are so committed to go
out everyday and water the garden as well as see
what else may have popped up the day before.

Pecan Crusted Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Crusted Pumpkin Pie is an Applesauce Mom creation that
has been a big hit with my family. Most pie crust recipes call for
butter and shortening. My perfect Applesauce Pecan
Pie Crust is a great way to eliminate the use of shortening which
usually has hydrogenated oils and horrible preservatives such
as TBHQ.... This is also the pie crust I use for all other pies,
just leave out the pecans and it makes a great pie crust for
any occasion.

Perfect Applesauce Pecan Pie Crust.....
Ingredients:
*makes 2 pies

12 TBS cold butter
3 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBS sugar
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup pecans (finely chopped) *optional
6-8 TBS ice water

In a bowl, mix cold butter, flour, salt, sugar, oil, applesauce and

pecans. Add 6 TBS of ice water, then add a little bit more as

needed. I usually use 8 TBS... 

The dough should not be sticky....form it into a ball and cover the

bowl with a lid. Refrigerate for 30 minutes....

After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, roll the crust out and place
in 9 inch pie pans...

For the Pumpkin Pie:
*makes 1 pie double this recipe
for 2 pies

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 can pure pumpkin
6 oz. 2% organic milk

Blend all the ingredients together mixing the milk in last....

I like using 2% organic milk rather than using the canned

evaporated milk.....the pie comes out so much better!

Pour the pie mix onto the crust and bake 450 degrees for

the first 10 minutes. Then bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes

to 1 hour. Let it cool completely before serving (approx. 2 hours).

Mmmm.....the pecan crust gives the pie a subtle delicious flavor!

Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate this time of year is a must. At the grocery store,
I was reading the labels of all the hot chocolate boxes and the
hot chocolate that is found in the store has over 14 ingredients,
most of which I cannot pronounce. So I decided to
make my own:

Perfect Hot Chocolate:
*makes 2 servings

1 1/4 cup 2% milk
2 TBS cocoa powder
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a blender, mix milk, cocoa,
sugar, and cinnamon until the milk
is thick and fluffy.
In a saucepan, heat on low-medium
heat. Stirring constantly until it is almost
to a boil. Then serve hot.

By blending the milk, this hot chocolate
is thick and creamy, there is no need for
marshmallows!

Avocado Salad

Avocado salad is tasty, filling and extremely healthy...
I serve it as a side dish when I cook tacos, tostadas, or even
as a snack with blue corn chips. My mom serves something
similar but this is my version....

Ingredients:

1 large avocado
1 large tomato
1/2 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 handful of fresh spinach (finely chopped)
garlic powder
salt & pepper

Mix everything together and serve cold.

Vegetarian Night: Tostadas

I'm trying to cook vegetarian once a week, but
we still need protein so I'm attempting to find some nice
recipes that I make with beans. Corn tortillas are very difficult
to find in the store because most of them have preservatives
in them. I do find them in the international section and have
to read labels carefully to find the ones that contain corn,
oil, and lime.


First, make the beans. These take approximately 2+ hours
to cook. Or sometimes I cook them in the crock pot which
takes 4-6 hours. I do not use canned beans. Fresh, whole
pinto beans is what I use....

First, clean the beans by looking through them and making

sure there are no pebbles or damaged beans. (The instructions

on the back of the bag are helpful). Then, wash thoroughly.

Place beans in a large pot with at least 6 cups of water.

Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for approximately

2 hours. Make sure to watch the water, they soak it

up fast. Add 1/2 onion and 1/2 tsp salt while they are

cooking.

They are done when they are tender and a gorgeous
medium brown color.

For the vegetable topping:
 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 lb frozen corn
1 small onion
1 green bell pepper
1 medium zucchini squash
1 handful of fresh spinach (finely chopped)
1 clove of garlic
salt &pepper

In a skillet over medium heat,
cook all the vegetables together until
they are tender.

Fry the corn tortillas until they are
crispy. Add beans, cheese,lettuce and vegetable
topping to the crispy tortillas....

Very tasty....

6 Ingredient Meal: Meatballs, Rice, and Brussels Sprouts

My meatballs include vegetables in them that make them taste
flavorful and comforting. Here's how I made them:

Ingredients for Meatballs:

1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
1/4 bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 large carrot (finely chopped)
salt & pepper

In a bowl, mix the ground beef and vegetables
together. Roll into small balls. Then in a saucepan,
carefully place rolled balls onto the pan. Cook,
rotating them periodically,on medium heat until
they are cooked thoroughly.
*Helpful hint: they won't fall apart if you let
them completely cook on the first side, then
they can be rotated without falling apart.


Let's talk about the rice:

I know that brown rice is much
healthier than white rice. However, I
think that white rice is fine as long as it is
not smothered in butter or other fattening
sauces. I am completely against the boil in a bag,
and or 1 minute rice. Real Enriched Long Grain
White Rice is what I use. It takes approximately
20 minutes to cook.

Ingredients for Brussels Sprouts:

Brussels Sprouts
Onion
salt&pepper


And voila.....a whole meal that has exactly
6 ingredients but still has wonderful flavor!

Vegetable of the Week: Brussels Sprouts

This week I cooked Brussels Sprouts for the first time and
 wow, they were delicious! They are basically mini cabbages
and everyone in my family enjoyed them. I read about them
briefly but what I did  read is that steaming them instead of
 boiling them is much better because it keeps most of the
nutrients in the sprout. They help lower cholesterol, a good
fiber source and just all around healthy.
Here's how I made them:

1) Wash brussels sprouts thoroughly
2) Cut off the little stem at the bottom of each sprout
3) Slice them in half
4) In a pan, add a very small amount of water
5) Add brussels sprouts, onion, dash of salt & pepper
6) Cook brussels sprouts low-medium heat until
they are tender.

Yes, it's that easy.....