Morgan's First Cake

She's nine years old and has helped in the kitchen for a long time now... but this time she wanted to do it HERSELF. She baked a yellow cake with chocolate icing and broke out the entire army of sprinkles and icing tubes for a topping. After all, a cake isn't a cake without sprinkles if you are a kid, right? The only thing I did was help her take the pans OUT of the oven and show her how to ice the cake briefly before she took over the spatula. She really did it HERSELF.

I think she did a fine job for her first time baking alone. We have yet to dig in to the cake (so I don't know what it tastes like), but unless it is horrible and I have to come back in to edit this post, I'll let you believe it tastes as good as it looks.

My favorite part of this experience was:

1. I didn't have to bake the cake myself. As my cousin said to me today, she can't wait until she can tell her daughter, "Cook for me, my minion!" Today the cake, tomorrow DINNER! I'm seeing many a night off from dinner duty in the future and it looks extra real good, baby.

2. I'm thrilled that the kids are wanting to cook (even if Kaden's only contribution to this particular project was sprinkles) - maybe they won't be as useless as I was when I got married and only knew how to boil water, pour cereal, make cheese-toast and cook hamburger helper. Already I think both of them have far surpassed my skills at 20. In fact, on occasion they will take turns making me breakfast - cheese toast and chocolate milk. That's multi-tasking, folks. When you are under 11 you should get allowance for stuff like that.

3. She decorated the cake for ME and her dad. Always a brown-nosing plus... especially when done on any form of chocolate.

4. She made me a card to go with it. And everyone knows I'm a greeting card junkie. Home made is even better. Maybe she needs an Etsy shoppe?

I'm sure she'll post about her cake on her blog, too. But not today. Because I'm all blogged out. Four blog posts in one day is enough to make anyone NEED cake. In case you wanted to check out those other blog posts, you can do so at these sites:

Sprittibee
Heart of the Matter (today's article won't be up until the 8th)
and
Homeschool Blog Awards

Oh, and I'll be hosting the Homesteading Carnival soon... next Monday, I think. I'm anxious to get my garden update added to that. The watermelon is going crazy! However, this Texas heat is really hard on the plants without rainy days in the mix. We had one day of rain recently, but 95% of the state is in a drought. Pray for us Texans to get rain if you think of it.

See ya, round.


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Technorati Tags: Cake, Dessert, Baking, Kids, Cooking, Food, Life, Chocolate, Family, Parenting, Motherhood

Freezing Meals, Enjoying Life, ... Loosing Weight

A friend of mine on an email list I was on told me about this neat software that helps you freeze meals ahead and only spend one day in the kitchen per month (or so) cooking. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks really promising. They also have books you can buy with recipes that freeze well.

The soup book looks interesting since I have been on a soup kick recently. A friend of mine made a potato and bacon soup for us when we ate at her house the other night and it was so filling and delicious! I hope I can get her to remember the recipe so I can keep it in here.

I also have the Carrot Cake recipe finally. If only I could find time to sit down and post it, eh? Oh, well - you don't really need a carrot cake. At least if you are like me and have about 15 pounds to loose, right?

Speaking of loosing weight... I'm on a CHOICE diet. No, it isn't a low carb, high protien, raw foods diet. It didn't come from a book or website. It is just a personal quest to "make better choices while eating". Eating to live rather than living to eat. So here it is in a nut shell:

THE RULE: Make 3 good choices per meal.

"I'll have salad instead of fries"
"I'll drink tea instead of coke"
"I'll use agave nectar instead of sugar"
"I won't salt the beans"
"I'll only have one taco instead of three"
"I won't go back for seconds"
"I won't have dessert after dinner"
"I'll eat two cookies instead of four"
"I'll get that on whole wheat"
"I'll half the meat in the recipe"
"I won't add extra cheese to my potato"
"I'll drink a glass of water 30 minutes before I eat so I won't be so hungry"
"I'm not going to skip breakfast because it jump-starts my metabolism"
"I'll eat some protein to prevent a carb crash"
"I'm going to eat turkey bacon so I won't have as much fat intake"
"I'll have unsweetened tea"

Whatever your "choice" is that is positive, just try to make wiser choices at meal time... and you can make small "deposits" in your health bank while loosing tiny bits of weight each time you sit at the table to eat. I already lost 4 pounds since starting this a week ago.

If you are doing something similar, I'd love to hear about it!

Carrot Cake recipe to come sooner or later!


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Technorati Tags: Diet, Soup, Meals, Planning Ahead, Weight, Food, Life, Recipes, Choices

Kentucky Hot Brown and Carrot Cake

Both of those look great, don't they? I posted about them on my other blog. Sorry for neglecting you in here. I just haven't had the time to update it lately. I will come back in with some recipes soon. I promise.

Do any of you have a good recipe to share for a Kentucky Hot Brown? I'd love one.

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Technorati Tags: Cake, Baking, Cooking, Kentucky, Eat, Food, American, Recipes, Sauce

8 Things from the Kitchen

All Things Hold Together tagged me a long, long, time ago... and I'm just now getting around to posting. Sorry, Charity! I'll try to be more prompt next time. If you want to go read her post about this... just follow the link on her blog's name.

8 Things From My Kitchen

1. Meat scissors. We eat a lot of chicken around here... well, when I'm cooking, that is. I absolutely love my meat scissors that I got at IKEA. I can easily cube, cut fat off of, or thinly slice chicken breasts for all sorts of yummy recipes in seconds without a slow, dull, dangerous knife. Speaking of knives... I really do need some new ones.

2. My pink Bialetti Dama. I've already talked about how we do coffee here at the Bee house. I threw out my coffee maker and we ONLY brew our Italian coffee on the stovetop. I love my little pink Dama (a gift from my husband... who uses it more than me, as a matter of fact). Mmmmm! I can just smell the lovely aroma of a fresh-brewed tiny pot of espresso! To make a great 888, you will also need a PRODUKT Milk Frother from IKEA - which you can pick up for less than 2$. Trust me. You need it. Say goodbye to Starbucks prices forever. Truth be known, my husband is the one who usually makes the coffee. He's such a sweetie.

3. Cookbooks galore. I love cookbooks. I have a bunch of them. Right now they are all on my kitchen counter taking up space... but I'm hoping my mother-in-law will give me an old buffet for the holidays that she has in her garage (she already said she would). Once I get it, I'm going to move my cookbooks to the drawers in the buffet. I always save recipes from the favorite things in all my cookbooks right here in this blog... so when I want to make something again, I don't have to search for hours in all the books (there are at least 50 of them). I can just look up the recipe online from where-ever I am. I also have a binder with a printed copy of my favorite recipes sectioned with tabs. That one will stay on the counter!

4. Home-Ec Classes. Each week the kids get to learn how to cook. I really had to learn everything I knew on my own - somehow I missed the in-home training that a lot of kids get before they get married! I don't want my kids to serve their spouses "hamburger helper" the first year they are married, so we try and always have one kid in the kitchen as we cook. They get to see what is happening, help gather up ingredients, and learn to cook for themselves. Sometimes they even cook without mom - fancy that!

5. Spices. I am known in my family as the spice lady. I have a ton of spices. I use them every time I cook. I love to use fresh herbs, but I probably have a bunch of things that are old and need to be thrown out. We like to cook international dishes a lot, so I require a lot of spices that aren't very usual to most kitchens: palm sugar, cardamom pods, sumac, Hungarian hot paprika, ginger and garlic paste, saffron... are just a few. I have a HUGE container of chili powder. We use a lot of that since I make home-made enchiladas at least twice a month.

6. Stacking Bee-Hive Measuring Cups. I found them in Fredericksburg at a womens' retreat one year while we were shopping. They are so cute... and so handy on the counter when you are in a hurry. I think I'll cry if they ever get broken.

7. Scripture Verses on the fridge. My kids do their Bible Memory verses every week or every other week on index cards and we keep them on the refrigerator so that they have them handy to memorize. When they come down, they put them in a little index card storage box. It is fun to browse back through them and see how many we can remember later in the school year. I like to let them draw a little on each card, too. I love to have their artwork on display.

8. Grossamole. This is the gross Dean's Guacamole Dip my mom just bought. She gets the nastiest processed, fakie groceries sometimes. She stays with us a few days each week and while she is here there are usually strange items (that we would not eat) taking up residence in my fridge. Aside from the "Grossamole", we have leftover nasty ribs, runny mayo-potato salad from a grocery store, a small bag of fried chicken from some greasy spoon chicken place, and a bottle each of Fanta Strawberry, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Yuck. Yuck and more Yuck!

So there's my kitcheny 8. How about you?

According to Charity, this meme has no rules. So let us know what's living inside your fridge and behind your cabinet doors. Got "slime in the ice machine"? Any magic kitchen tools you want to showcase? Elves in your cupboard? We want to know.

Now, to tag some people (feel free to play along if you aren't tagged here... and feel free to not play along if you are tagged here):

Sheri of Shades of Pink (because I know she loves to cook)
Mrs. Happy Housewife (because her site is cooler than mine)
Elise at Simply Recipes (because "I love her, man!")
Toni at Wifely Steps (cuz she's really sweet)
Farmgirl Fare (because it would give me an excuse to go see her awesome photos)

Shoot me an email if you DO play along. I'd like to rummage through your kitchen with you.


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Technorati Tags: Links, Meme, Cooking, Home, Eat, Food, Personal, Homemaking, Domestic, Household, Food and Drink, Kitchen

Start Cooking

If you haven't seen this groovy site: StartCooking.com ... you've got to go check it out. It is a Blog and video podcast focused on simple cooking techniques and full of great recipes that you can make for your friends and family.

I'm going to add this link to my sidebar in here. Check it out!


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Technorati Tags: Links, Cooking, Video, Learning, Lessons, Recipes, How To, Instructional, Food, Tips, Baking, Kitchen

Red

Cherry Limeade. Not exactly your 'health'-drink... but when you are on vacation or on the go, they sure are a treat. I captured this one (after my daughter stole a few of the cherries) on our trip this past week. I thought I would share it for Thursday Challenge. Enjoy! I know I did.

In case you want one for yourself, you can get them at Sonic or Dairy Queen. This one was a DQ Cherry Limeade (and it had about 8 cherries in it!). Mmmmmm.

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Technorati Tags: Fast Food, Pictures, Photos, Drinks, Delicious, Photography, Thursday Challenge, Beverages, Good, Parenting, Foto, Softdrinks

The Coolest Cake Pan on the Planet

This is the coolest cake on the planet. How awesome is that! I just have to have one of these nifty Williams-Sonoma bee-hive bundt cake pans. The sweet-almond cake mix, candy bees and their little kid-sized busy-bee apron aren't bad either.


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Technorati Tags: cakes, bundt, baking, food, sweets, dessert, kitchen, cooking, yummy, cooking tools, neat things, delicious, nifty, stores

Honey Cookies (Better than Snickerdoodles!)

These cookies are better than snickerdoodles. If you don't know what a snickerdoodle is, you haven't lived. OH. YES. You don't believe me, do you? Honest to goodness, these cookies are THE BOMB. Like a golden treasure in a hidden cave, my children and I discovered the recipe for these wonderful cookies in a children's book. I wish I could give the author a great-big, Texas-sized hug... because these little sweeties are now my favorite cookies (well, at least they are right up there with Mexican Wedding Cookies for sure). Move over Nestle's Toll-House Chocolate Chips and Grandma's Oatmeal Doodles. There's a new bad-boy in town.

I have written down my "healthier" version of the recipe below... but if you want to know the author's original one, you'll just have to read the book. Believe me - it is worth having on your children's book shelf. It is a very, very cute book indeed. The title? A Cow, a Bee, a Cookie and Me

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup real butter (or 2 sticks)

2/3 cup granulated turbinado sugar (you can buy it at Wal-Mart if your grocery store doesn't carry it)

2 tablespoons raw honey (plus a little extra if you like)

1 fresh egg yolk

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

1 3/4 cups half wheat, half white (unbleached and unbromated flour)

2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

Cinnamon and Sugar mixture for coating

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in honey and egg yolk.

In another bowl, sift together the cinnamon, salt, baking powder and flour (you can just use a fork if you are in a hurry).

Pour flour mixture into creamed mixture and blend into a soft dough. The dough will be pasty and not loose. Don't be afraid if it seems really thick - it isn't a runny dough. Once you have it completely mixed, it will look a lot better. Don't add any more egg or butter - even if you are tempted.

Shape dough into teaspoon sized balls (roll them in your hands) and roll them in in a plate of cinnamon and sugar mixture before placing them (spread apart nicely) on a foiled cookie sheet. Mixture should make about 30-40 smallish cookies if you can prevent yourself from devouring the dough (good luck!).

Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven and altitude. Take them out when you first see a hint of browning because they are better when they are soft (but not gooey). These cookies will get hard quickly, so if you like them softer, be sure to NOT bake them until browned and keep them in an air-tight container after cooling (that is, of course, IF there are any left over to store). Around my house, we usually eat them as quick as they come out of the oven.

You are going to thank me for this recipe. I promise.

Technorati Tags: Cookies, recipe, Baking, food, sweets, dessert, sweets, cooking, cinammon, yummy, kids, delicious, healthy, books

Hoppy Easter 2007

If you want to make these gorgeous eggs... find out how at my other blog where I posted about these groovy Easter egg sleeves.


Technorati Tags: Easter, food, eggs, holiday, spring, fun, traditions, colorful, crafts, children, religion, America, Christian, art, design, dye

Unlocking the Transfat Mysteries of Fast Food

Do you want to know how clogged your arteries are going to get after you eat that burger? Are you watching calories (or your waist line)? Here's a handy little book that is sure to make you wish you hadn't gone through the drive-through!

[I found this link courtesy of Natalie Jost who designed Franklin Publishing's website; as well as my other blog site.]

I sure could have used this little booklet back when I was sticking to my diet in January. Maybe I'll get back on the band-wagon in July at the mid-way point of the year (for those of us who are trying to keep resolutions, that is). Happy calorie counting! What you don't know could kill you!

I type this as I sip down the last of my McDonald's coke. Yes, I had fries with that.

For some more McDonald's humor, check out our McDonald's song that goes with the lyrics to "The Badger Song". Laughing may be a good way to work the grease off? Hope so.


Technorati Tags: fast food, food, eating, grease, eating out, health, habits, medical, calories, wellness, diet, America, trans fats, advice, information, nutrition

Blue Bell Ice Cream "Taste of the Country" Flavor Contest

This contest sounds like a real treat... especially if you love the home-made taste of Blue Bell Ice Cream from Brenham, Texas. [The cows think Brenham is heaven.] If you happen to be anywhere in the Blue Bell territory (a customer of theirs - see their map for specific details), you are qualified to enter the contest and design your own local flavor for Blue Bell.

In honor of the company’s 100th anniversary, Blue Bell Creameries kicked off a "Taste of the Country" flavor contest on January 1, 2007. The deadline for entry is not until April (postmarked by April 30th), so hurry and get your thinking caps on! They are asking customers to submit names of ice-cream flavors suggestive of their own state and local dessert traditions. This is one delicious contest that you don't want to miss! There will be 17 State winners and a Grand Prize winner! The winners will get a year's supply of ICE-CREAM... and the grand prize winner will enjoy a trip to Brenham for a factory tour... AND get to see their own flavor masterpiece packaged and sold by Blue Bell for a year! [Yipee! I want to go to Texas!]

For more information, entry forms and Blue Bell contest rules click here. Happy indulging...er, sampling and creating!


Buzz Words: contest, home, life, food, family, desert, ice-cream, kids, creative, yummy, America, win, flavor, children, fun, recipe, Spring, Southern

Coffee Snob: Why I Like Italian Coffee Best

My husband and I enjoy coffee. We often get Starbucks cards for Christmas because our relatives know we love to drink it. We have tried a great many different brands (from a great many various continents and countries). We like to eat international foods when we go out to eat (and even at home we cook international foods)... so sometimes we try new coffee and tea flavors to match our cuisine just for fun.

I was quite content to think that the coffee I had been drinking at international restaurants (even Starbucks) and at home was good stuff. However, a well-meaning friend of ours recently introduced us to some wonderful coffee that has trumped it all. We liked it so much that we got rid of all of our American and Mexican coffee at home that we previously purchased. No one can say we have never "given" at the office now. I am sure my husband's buddies at work are glad to have all those new brands to try... and since most of them probably have never tried Italian coffee, they won't know that the office stuff stinks.

You can guess from the title of this post what kind of coffee we were introduced to: Italian. I'm not sure the bean itself actually is grown in Italy. It is probably from the Mid-East. Yet the difference in Italian coffee (I believe) lies within the cooking methods and brewing methods. It is so sad that many Americans have never really had GOOD coffee before. It is interesting to note that there are oils in Italian coffee after you brew it. I have NEVER seen oil in American coffees (I have been told it is because the plant oils have been burned out by over-cooking of the bean). No matter what the reason is for the taste difference, it has surprised me enough to make me a believer in the Italian brand.

We bought a hand-crafted Bialetti Moka Express coffee maker that you use on the stove-top as well. I think cooking the coffee over the burner rather than percolating it has a lot to do with retaining the flavor of the bean. We are actually making espresso and mixing it with milk and sugar... a "caffè e latte" or "coffee with milk" - what you would simply call a latte here in the States.

My husband is now using a lot less sugar and cream because the coffee we are making is not as acidic and bitter. I am sure he is right (it does taste smooth), but I haven't given up on my hazelnut creamer just yet. I have been told that it is sacrilege to introduce flavored coffee creamer into pure Italian espresso (but that has not scared me off). I am sure that if I found a good hazelnut syrup, I would not mind just mixing that in with my frothy, warm milk. ...Anyone have a favorite hazelnut coffee syrup to recommend?

Italian coffees cost a bit more, but if you are willing to do some research, you can find it at a reasonable price. I found a place online where you can buy LavAzza for only $6.95 plus shipping. I like LavAzza decaf myself. Amazon's prices are considerably higher at over $20 dollars a can! Grocery stores where we have found it in Texas range between $9-13 dollars, but here in Arkansas, we found a store that carries a version of LavAzza (not decaf) for $6.99 (not bad since we didn't have to include shipping). Illy is another great coffee brand from Italy that is just a tad bit more expensive than LavAzza. I haven't seen a decaf version of Illy, but they may have one. I love the little silver tins that Illy coffee comes in.

While you are thinking about trying some Italian coffee out, you can stop in and read more about Italian coffee (and coffee in general) at LifeinItaly.com.


Technorati Tags: delicious, beverage, latte, drink, java, java, breakfast, Italy, Italian, yummy, coffee, American, reviews, grocery, Starbucks, caffe

Cooking Funk and Other Petty Blabberings

I haven't been in a cooking mood lately. Cereal for dinner, anyone?

I have been busy with school, co-op, and life... so we have eaten out quite a bit in the past week. Hopefully you will not let my silence in here run you off. Funny thing is; I really have no idea how many people really read this blog.... so I could be talking to myself in here. Who knows? I check my site meter regularly on my other blog, but this one gets neglected quite a bit. This is more of a personal blog to me... my own private digital recipe binder... without the hassle of storage problems (I move a lot, so packing all my cook-books is really back-breaking). This blog allows me to go anywhere that has internet access and be able to pull up my recipes and cook. I can also share my recipes with a simple link, rather than typing them over and over. I hope that someone out there is enjoying my favorite recipes and silly tips in here; but if not, I'm not going to cry about it.

This month I am also working as a team member at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Company Porch Blog (another reason I'm neglecting this blog). I'm the "Tip of the Day" tipster. Today's tip was from RIGHT HERE at Gathering Manna. I didn't take my own advice today, however.... I drank mostly carbonated beverages today (which is totally OUT of character for me).

I won't promise to get a recipe in here by Friday, but I HOPE that I can. Be sure to stop by at Sprittibee Friday for the lovely change of the seasons on my template in honor of the first day of autumn (Sept. 22nd) here in America. I just love the cooler weather. I actually saw people with light jackets on today! I am so excited for the leaves to turn... and they already have started!

Happy autumn and Happy Monday! God bless!


Technorati Tags: Food, talk, life, foodie blog, tips, advice, health, recipes, homeschooling, funk, cooking, rambling, personal

H is for Hungry

H is for homeschool. Homeschool Lunch.

H is for Heather. Heather's other blog, that is.

Click over to Sprittibee's Blog and join the Homeschool Lunch Photo Meme.

H is for HINT: You are homeschooling already if you are a saHm with a wee one. Learning begins at birth!


Technorati Tags: Food, Soup, Fun, Homeschool, Lunch, Share, Pictures, Yummie, Delicious, Meme, Photo, Letters, Tomato Sauce, H, SAHM

Dairy Sightings On the Net

Cow Abductions? Aliens who drink milk? Things couldn't be weirder at "Got Milk?" - so go and check it out when you have some time and available PC speakers!


Technorati Tags: Aliens, Food Blogs, Laugh, Milk, Bovine, Silly, Moo, Funny, Humor, Links, Fun, Cows, Dairy

Fridge-Shots

I've been inspired to join the fun - a refrigerator photo "meme" brought about by the ever interesting Wifely Steps Blog. I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you would like to participate, please leave me a comment and let Toni know that you're joining up so she can link you on her blog.

My current sad little refrigerator (owned by my apartment complex) has very little on it at the moment. I have to use the top for extra storage because the kitchen is so tiny. Normally, we would have everything put away in cabinets or our pantry. Our refrigerator broke down on us at our last house, so we bought a brand new one that we could take with us when we moved. Trouble is, we never bought a house here... so it is sitting in my father-in-law's garage collecting dust. I long for those double-doors and ice-maker. How nice it will be once we finally move back to Texas and have all of our belongings in one place again!


Technorati Tags: Refrigerator, Food Blogs, Fun, Photo, Blogging, Personal, Magnets, Family, Pictures, Home, Kids, Meme, Kitchen

Ezekiel 4:9 Breads and Cereals

Perhaps one of the coolest things in the Bible is when God comes down to "our level" per say... like the case of Ezekiel 4:9... when God gives Ezekiel a recipe for bread. Kind of makes you wonder why anyone would ever need to improve on the recipe when it came from the mind of God himself? Alas, we did... and white flour was born. White flour is definitely prettier, but very, very bad for your health. What you don't realize (if you are shaking your head saying to yourself right now, "I don't eat that much white bread. I mostly buy wheat.") is that white flour is also in breading for meats, hamburger buns at fast food joints, crackers, pastas and cereals! If you really add it up... probably all of us eat too much white bread each day.

So... this brings me to my new favorite breakfast cereal. I wanted to share it with you because it is really great. It tastes like grape nuts, but better. It's straight from the mind of God himself... yep - the Ezekiel 4:9 recipe. It's called Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cereal (Original Flavor). If you like grape-nuts, I hope you'll give the "live grain difference" a try!

Great article to read about Ezekiel Bread in case you aren't convinced yet: Ezekiel 4:9 bread
Now sprouting in a freezer near you
BY KIRSTEN MARCUM

Technorati Tags: Food, Food Blogs, Recipes, Delicious, Maker's Diet, Christian, Health Foods, Bread, Breakfast, Health, Cereal, Yummy

Ongoing Butter or Margarine Battle

This is a picture of my daughter when she was five. We made butter during our study on medieval days and had a feast in our garage in costume. The butter that day was super... and everyone had a hand in shaking the jar to make it. We just put a marble in the jar and it took about one-hundred shakes for the heavy cream to turn into this nice white lump.

I found an article on the internet that was written in 1997 about butter and margarine (and oils), and while outdated a bit, it's message is true still today. I haven't found a better article (even though the emails on the topic are shorter and some a lot more fun).

You will go to many sites that argue in the margarine and butter battle, claiming that the other (depending on which side they take) is faking data or lying outright.... but the facts remain. While butter is not necessarily a fat that you would want to use a LOT of, it IS a natural fat. Margarine is NOT a natural food. The animal and insect world attest to this fact. They won't eat it. We're the only suckers who will.

The more we tamper with foods (refining, hydrogenating, using toxic solvents, caustic soda, preservatives and defoamers in the processing/extracting), the worse our health seems to get. History and statistics don't lie. Refined foods are really bad for you. God made them the way they are on purpose. They go bad quickly because they are NATURAL foods. Creating longer shelf-life is what refining is all about. It is about businesses making more money - not about adding vitamins for your health (which is only a gimmick to get you to BUY, BUY, BUY). Don't believe the lie. Eat as natural and organic as you can. Each bite will bless your body.

I'll get off my soap box now. Please stop over and read the article: The Margarine Hoax (or print it and read it later, it's really long!).

Technorati Tags: Opinion, cooking, Recipes, Cook, Cuisine, Healthy Living, Body, Diet, Food, Butter, Health

Making Your Own Yogurt

If you like Mid-Eastern and Lebanese dishes, you'll probably need to have plain yogurt on hand to make them. Indian dishes go smashingly with yogurt, and there are numerous yogurt drinks that are popular as well. This link was passed to me by a fellow homeschooling mom. Check it out and let me know how your home-made yogurt experiment goes. I think this would be a fun and educational recipe for the kids!

Apology and Links

I am trying to get Heather's recipe for Apple Crisp with Yams for breakfast. I have one last Yam from the holidays that needs to be eaten. I'll post it when she emails me back. I've been trying to get it since last July, though... so maybe I should move on with other recipes of interest?

We had Falafels in Pita pockets with lettuce, Shwarma Sauce & tomato slices Monday night. You really don't need a "recipe" for this, but I will post the Shwarma Sauce recipe soon, since my husband made that. I use the "telma" brand of Falafel mix, and we love them! In case you don't know what a Falafel is, it is a round fried ball of herbs and mashed, seasoned chick-peas that is a wonderful vegetarian substitute for meat that fills you up. This is a favorite food in the Mid-East and Israel. We also had Hummus & Olives on the side.

Tuesday night, we had blackened Tilapia, Cajun Chicken breasts, Green Beans, Peas, and Jambalaya without the meat (seasoned rice - Zatarain's Mix).

Wednesday night, we broke down and went to Jason's Deli, where we had Baked Potatoes, Salad, Ranchero Wraps, and French Onion Soup.

Last night, I cooked Tacos, Home Made Spanish Rice, and Refried Beans. I am not sure I want to share my Spanish Rice recipe... it is my prize possession. My grandma handed it down to me. I have made it many different ways, and last night I added a secret ingredient that really changed the flavor and made it taste more like a Spanish friend of mine makes it.

Tonight, we are having Tilapia again... not sure how we'll cook it. We've really been shunning the beef and chicken, and have been very much more keen on fish lately.

I apologize for not coming in here more often to post recipes... Hopefully I can get a few posted next week. We're eating at home almost every night now, so I've been more busy cooking than ever.

In the mean time, enjoy my updated sidebar links. I included a few that were passed on to me via email.

Happy Cooking!