*Recipe List*

 ♥These are some tried and true recipes from our home.♥

I want to encourage you to not be afraid to tweak them to fit your family. Substitute ingredients you dont like, use more or less of the ingredients and spices called for. And don't forget using different brands can make a recipe turn out completely different.
Tips for making my recipes

Dessert:
Cakes
Buttercream Frosting
Whipped Cream Frosting
Chocolate Pumpkin  Cake
Fudgy Frosting
Coconut Flour Cupcakes
Chocolate Lava Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Mt. Dew Cake 
Strawberry Shortcake
Pound Cake
Pumpkin Cake 
Pumpkin Roll 
Reese's Cake 

Rhubarb Cake
 
Pies
Apple Pie 
Freezer Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Strawberry Pie /Strawberry Rhubarb
Cinnamon Pie
Apple Pizza
Cobbler
Resurrection Rolls
Belgian Waffles
Clafouti

Brownies
Apple Crisp
Hummingbird Bakery Brownies

Snow Ice Cream  
Smores Nachos
Stuffed Strawberries
Strawberry Parfaits
Caramel Apples 

Candy:
Fudge
Peppermint Bark
Peanut Butter Truffles
Peppermint Crunch

Cookies:
Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars
Chocolate Thumbprints with Ganache
Christmas Cookies
Sweet Potato Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Turtle Cookies 
S'more Cookies 
Gingersnaps

Beef:
Chili
Carne Asada
Layered Burritos

Garlicky Beef Kebabs
Crock Pot Enchiladas
Teeny Tiny Tostadas 
Machaca 
Tamales 
Shepherds Pie 
Meatloaf
Donairs
Swedish Meatballs
Pot Roast
Burgers 
Taco Pasta 
Cheeseburger "Helper" 
Greek Beef and Orzo

Chicken:
Southwest Roll Ups
Fajita Quesadillas
Empanandas

Chicken Enchiladas

Yogurt Chicken
Chicken Fajitas
Apple Marinated Chicken
Taquitos 
Chiliquiles
Hungarian Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie

Flautas

Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs
Turkey Tips 
Lamb Marinade 
Rogan Josh Lamb Seasoning

Breakfast:
Pancakes
Pancake Mini Muffins
Carrot Cake Pancakes
Cinnamon Rolls 
Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Syrup
Baked Pumpkin Breakfast
Pumpkin Granola

Pizza:
Grilled Pizza
Chili Cheese Pizza
Pizza Rolls
Garlic Chicken Pizza 
Calzones

Appetizers:
Bruschetta
Chili Cheese Bread
Texas Caviar 
Layer Dip
Chili Cheese Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip 
Cheese Ball
Fried Zucchini
Artichoke Spinach Dip
Imitation Crab Dip
Easy Imitation Crab Dip
Taco Dip
Pink Salsa

Bread:
Crescent Rolls
Sweet Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Bread
Apple Bread
Dutch Oven Herb Bread
Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
Whole Wheat Bread
Pumpkin Muffins 
Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
Pumpkin Rolls
Cornbread 
Artisan Bread
English Muffins 
Zucchini Bread 
Dinner Rolls
Hamburger Buns

Snacks:
Popcorn 
Apple Dip with Cinnamon Chips 
Fruit Roll Ups
PB Apples
Jello Coated Popcorn
Healthy Halvah Balls

Condiments:
Chocolate Syrup
Salad Dressing
Caramel Dip 
Pico De Gallo 
Grilled Salsa
Fruit Salad Dressing 
House Seasoning 
BBQ Rub
Vanilla Sugar 
Taco Seasoning
Homemade Cheese 

Jams/Sauces
Cranberry Sauce 
Charoset
 Jam 
Plum Jelly 
Applesauce
Apple Butter


Pasta:
Homemade noodles
Skillet Spaghetti
Vodka Pasta

Baked Ziti
15 Minute Alfredo
Creamy Garlic Spaghetti
Homemade Spaghetti Os 
Personal Lasagnas 
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese 
Simple Tomato Sauce 
Lasagna
Semi-Homemade Ravioli

Potatoes:
Greek Potatoes
Potato Salad 
Potatoes and Kielbasa 
Scalloped Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Italian Dressing Potatoes


Other:
White Rice 
Pinto Beans


Black Bean Chowder
Black Beans and Brown Rice
Fish Tacos
Grilled Salmon
Spanish Rice 
Cilantro Lime Rice 
Cheesy Corn Dog Muffins 
Kielbasa over rice  
Fried Zucchini/ Grilled Zucchini 
Lentil Tacos 
 

Salads and Sandwiches:
Balsamic Steak Salad
Harvest Salad
Open Faced Italian Sandwiches
Antipasto Salad

Champagne Salad 

Soup:
Chicken Stock

Tortellini Soup
Albondigas
Chicken Soup
Creamy Potato Cheese Soup 
Broccoli  Cheese Soup
Spaghetti Soup
Italian Chicken Soup

Drinks:
Egg Nog
Caramel Apple Cider
Orange Creamsicle Smoothie
Aloha Smoothie
Horchata 
Brazillian Lemonade 
Layered Drinks
Strawberry/Orange Julius
Mint Water 
Creamy Hot Chocolate 
Pumpkin Syrup/Pumpkin Steamer 
Party Punch
Vanilla  Rooibos Latte
Chai Tea
Hot Maple Cream
Vanilla Ginger Ale
Grenadine
Lemonade

Non Food:
Playdough
Hummingbird Nectar 

Branching Out with Jam

 Abigail wearing her "strawberry jam"dress, holding strawberry vanilla jam.

I have been making jam for a few years now. I started with raspberry freezer jam. We found we didn't like freezer jam much, and we also weren't huge fans of raspberry in general. So the next year I tried canning strawberry and blackberry jam.  That went really well so I stuck with what I knew for a couple years. Then I branched out to peach jam and plum jelly.

 This year I decided to try adding 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract at the end of cooking in both strawberry and peach jams and they were both HUGE hits.
The strawberry vanilla is AMAZING on ice cream, and the vanilla peach tastes just like peach cobbler according to my children! 

 I also mixed peaches and strawberries and made Strawberry Peach jam. This was my new favorite!

Strawberry Parfaits

You will need:
6 half pint mason jars
7 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
fresh strawberries
strawberry jam-optional

Cheesecake batter:
1 1/2 bricks of cream cheese
3 tablespoons of white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon juice from a fresh lemon


In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, lemon and cream until fluffy and stiff.

Line up the 6 jars.
Divide the graham crumbs evenly among all 6 jars.
Add a layer of cheesecake batter.
add a layer of sliced strawberries, and then add 1 spoonful of strawberry jam in each jar.


Then fill the jars all  the way with the rest of the cheesecake batter.  Garnish with fresh strawberries and chill until serving.

Happy Birthday Beloved!

We celebrated my dear husband's birthday this month. 

 We grilled homemade hamburgers

and served them with potato salad, baked beans, green salad and pink salsa. 

Pink Salsa is a favorite snack in our home. It is just cream cheese mixed with salsa, but it is so delicious!

 For his cake, I pulled the last of summer's strawberries from the freezer, and made Strawberry Shortcake.

Saving Money On Meals

Lately the amount of money people spend on groceries has come up a lot on message boards I am on, as well as in books and blogs I read. It has become clear to me that a lot of people are struggling because they simply do not know how to spend less on their groceries. I've come to learn a big reason why people are struggling to afford food is because they do not know how to make healthy, lower cost food items, so I am hoping to  share some ideas and tips to help anyone who may be in that situation.


To start, I've compiled a list of tips:


~Meal planning is essential -- plan around the foods you can get inexpensively where you shop.

~Add bread to your meals. It is filling and if homemade it can be a healthy addition to your meal.
Sweet Dinner Rolls
Whole Wheat Bread

Dinner Rolls 
Artisan Bread

~Drink water. You do not need to drink juice, soda or even milk as part of a healthy diet. Those things unnecessarily eat  up your grocery budget.

~Eat at home. I can often get a week worths of groceries for the cost of one meal out for our family! Here are my favorite restaurant copy cat recipes.

~Pasta, rice, potatoes, and beans are inexpensive meal fillers.Here are some of my favorite meals using cheap ingredients.

~Check when your grocer marks down their meat and be there when that happens....it can save a lot! (We shop at the Commissary and it is rare to find markdowns, but it may be an option for you)

~Save leftovers and eat those for lunch the next day. Wasted food is wasted money.

~Try to buy the produce that is on sale.
Lettuce is a cheap vegetable. You can also grow your own for even cheaper! Don't buy pre-cut lettuce. It's a better deal to cut your own up into salad. I cut my lettuce with a sharp knife as soon as I get it home, and put it into a gallon sized ziplock bag. It seems to help it last a few extra days for us.

Carrots, celery and cabbage are also usually very cheap compared to other fresh vegetables.Canned tomatoes and frozen spinach are usually very cheap as well.

Apples, bananas  and at certain times of year oranges, are usually the cheapest fruit and kid favorites.

~If things are cheap locally for you (like berries here in NW Washington) buy them when they are cheap and freeze them! We get U-pick strawberries at around $1/lb and I pick and freeze and can as much as I can, last year 40 lbs! Then we can benefit from that cheap produce all year long.

Blackberries grow wild and are free! We also freeze and can those, and eat them for breakfast with a little homemade whipped cream for most of the month of August.

In October instead of carving our pumpkins, we cook and freeze those too. We use them for baked goods, desserts, added to breads, and even baked as a breakfast.

And the best advice I have received about "saving" on groceries was "Pray over your food and the entire situation. Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes!"
I pray before going into the store, that the Lord would guide me to make the best decisions and spend the money I have wisely. I have prayed that our food would "stretch to be able to share with others. The Lord has been so good to answer those prayers! Remember you can find more money saving ideas here

and this is one of my favorite blogs on saving money

Strawberry {orange} Julius at home

Orange Julius

8 ice cubes

1 ¼ cup orange juice

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg white

Blend until frothy

*replace OJ and ice with 10 frozen strawberries for a Strawberry Julius

Strawberry Pie

 

Strawberry  Pie:

1 cup white sugar

½ cup flour

3  pints strawberries-sliced

Pie crust

Mix sugar, flour and fruit in large bowl and let sit for 30 minutes. Pour into pie crust. Cover with crisscrossed pie crust pieces. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie:

1 cup white sugar

½ cup flour

1 pound diced rhubarb

2 pints strawberries

Pie crust

Mix sugar, flour and fruit in large bowl and let sit for 30 minutes. Pour into pie crust. Cover with crisscrossed pie crust pieces. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. 

Jam Season

It is finally strawberry picking, peach peeling, jam making time!

The three kinds I make every year, 

strawberry, blackberry and peach

The Recipe:
5 cups granulated white sugar
4 cups fruit (diced peaches, sliced strawberries, crushed blackberries etc)
6 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 Tablespoons Ball brand pectin
1/4 teaspoon butter to prevent foaming
Follow directions on pectin container.
 Or see my post on canning here

Preparing for the Fourth

Getting the house reading to celebrate Independence Day

 

Even the children helped with decorations!

A soup can covered with festive paper. Vintage style paper straws with festive holiday flags

 Pasted greetings on candy kisses, and spruced up the candy dish

 

Stuffed Strawberries (chesecake filling)

 Marshmallow Sparklers

 

Patriotic Pie

 

Watermelon Stars

 And the favors for firework watching

Stuffed Strawberries

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together until fluffy. 

Cut off top and bottom of strawberries until they are flat on both sides. Scoop a tiny bit from the middle, and squeeze in some filling.

Beautiful and delicious!

Picnic In The Park

Strawberries, french bread, Rondele garlic and herb, salami, marinated olives, marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts and green tea with honey. Yum!

A beautiful setting

And a bunch of goofy faces...

 This is what memories are made of!

It's not summer without...

Strawberry dip!

A super easy  tradition in our home!

1 jar caramel

1 brick cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

brown sugar to taste (maybe 1 tablespoon)

Blend together and dip freshly picked strawberries (or apples) into it. 

It is also yummy on homemade cinnamon rolls!

Bounty of Summer

Homemade Applesauce 
(makes 1 quart)

About 5 lbs apples-peeled and cubed, cores removed
4 strips of lemon peels (use vegetable peeler) (optional)
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup apple juice
sugar to taste

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to boil. Add water {or more apple juice} as needed to prevent scorching. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until apples are tender. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher (or blender for smoother sauce).

As with any apple recipe, this turns out best with a variety of different apples. I have no idea what kinds I used, I was blessed  all sorts from a friend’s yard. My first batch didn’t need any sugar but my second batch needed a little more than 1/4 a cup.
I canned 2 quarts and still have a ton of apples in my fridge. I’m hoping to get quite a  bit more canned before apple season is over!

It’s been a bountiful season! We picked strawberries, and froze about 20 lbs, and made 9 jars of strawberry jam. We picked and froze 10 lbs of blueberries, canned 16 jars of peach jam and and picked enough blackberries to make 9 jars of jam! (Most of these jars were given to friends and families during our California trip. I think I have 2-3 of each in our pantry). I’m still hoping to get some blackberries in the freezer too before this year is over. We’ve been enjoying them on our many hikes but never seem to remember a bucket to bring them home.

You crown the year with your bounty,and your carts overflow with abundance
 Psalm 65:11