Chocolate Chip & Oats Pancakes

Chocolate Chip & Oats Pancakes

Ingredients: 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

egg

1 1/4 cups milk

2 tbsp softened butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup oats

Directions:

Blend flour, baking powder, salt, & sugar.

Stir in egg, milk, butter, and vanilla extract.

Gently mix in oats and chocolate chips.

Cook on lightly greased pan.

Top with a local syrup!

Enjoy!

Josiah loved them this morning! Mmmmmm . . . 

Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms

Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients: 

16 mushrooms 

1/4 cup bread crumbs 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan 

1/4 cup mayo 

tomatoes

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp oregano

basil

white wine (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Wash mushrooms and remove stems.

Finely chop stems and put in a bowl.

Add bread crumbs, Parmesan, mayo, salt, & oregano.

Mix well.

Place mushroom caps, face up, in a baking dish.

Drizzle mushrooms with white wine.

Stuff mushrooms with mixture.

Place a sliced grape tomato or diced tomato in center.

Sprinkle with basil.

Bake for 15 mins covered 

and 5-10 minutes uncovered until tops are golden.

Enjoy! 

Stuffed mushrooms will always be appreciated at a potluck gathering!

I've never seen a stuffed mushroom left on a platter. :)

Great with crumbled sausage or lump crab meat mixed in them, as well!

Chicken & Broccoli Pie

Chicken & Broccoli Pie

Ingredients: chicken, broccoli, cheese, whole wheat flour, milk,
butter, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano

Preheat oven to 450.

Bake 3 chicken breasts. Cool and dice when done.

In a large bowl combine 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp sugar, & 1 tsp salt.
Stir in 1/2 cup melted butter & 1 cup of milk.
Pour batter evenly into a lightly greased baking dish.
Bake for appx. 10 minutes until crust edges are golden brown.

Steam 4 heads of broccoli, keeping broccoli fairly firm.

Stir 1 cup of milk and 3 cups of cheese into a pot and cook on low,
stirring occasionally until cheese is melted.

In a large bowl mix melted cheese, diced chicken, and broccoli.
Add salt, pepper, & oregano.
Season to your liking.

Add sauteed onions, too, if you would like.

Pour chicken broccoli mixture on top of crust in casserole.
Sprinkle with some shredded cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese turns golden brown.

Enjoy!

Loaded Potato Soup

Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients: 

potatoes, sweet onions, milk, cheese, butter, bacon, green onions, salt, pepper

Dice 6-8 large potatoes with skins, and boil in a pot.
Meanwhile dice 1/2 an onion and saute with 1/4 cup of butter.
Once potatoes are soft, drain.
Blend potatoes with approximately 6 cups of milk.
Add mixture and onions to a large pot and cook on low, stirring occasionally.
Add 2 tbsp of salt and 2 tsp of pepper.
Stir in 2 cups of shredded cheese.
Season to your liking!

Garnish soup with shredded cheese, bacon, and green onions.

Enjoy! 

Fall Cookies

Beef & Barley Stuffed Peppers

Beef & Barley Stuffed Peppers

Local: ground beef, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, honey

Non-local: barley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, basil, oregano

Dice 1/4 of an onion and chop 2 cloves of garlic

and simmer in pot.

Add 5-6 tomatoes diced.

Add 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper,

& 1 tbsp of honey

Cook for 30 mins on stove top stirring often.

Meanwhile cook 1 lb ground beef.

After sauce has thickened, add ground beef and stir.

Add 1 cup of uncooked barley and stir. 

Cook on low covered for an additional 20 mins.

Slice 3 green peppers in half and place in a baking dish.

Fill bottom of baking dish with a thin layer of water.

Take 3 cups of the beef/barley mixture and put in a bowl.

Add 1 cup of grated Parmesan and stir.

Fill peppers with mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan and basil.

Bake covered at 400 for 30 minutes until peppers are soft.

Enjoy!

There will be beef/barley mixture left over.

You can serve it the next night in burritos.

You could also add corn/beans/okra for a yummy stew or goulash.

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Local: potatoes, cheese, butter, onion, chives 

Non-local: sour cream, bacon, salt, pepper, 

olive oil (optional instead of butter)

Chop 5-6 medium potatoes or 3 large potatoes

into hash brown size squares.

Dice 1/2 a sweet onion.

Butter a pan with 1/4 cup of butter or olive oil

and cover with potatoes and onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 20 mins, occasionally turning potatoes.

Put potatoes and onions in a casserole dish.

Add 2 cups sour cream, mix, and top with 2 cups of shredded cheese.

Bake at 400 for an additional 20 mins.

Top casserole with crumbled bacon (appx. 5 strips)

and chives.

Enjoy!

I like to prep this casserole in the afternoon, refrigerate,

and then bake for the last 20 mins right before dinner.

Serve with a mixed greens salad.

Butternut Tomato Soup

Butternut Tomato Soup

Local: butternut squash, tomatoes, onion, garlic, milk, butter, honey

Non-local: seasoning (salt, pepper)

Cut open and bake butternut squash face up

covered with foil until soft.

Dice 4-5 tomatoes.

Scoop out squash and blend with diced tomatoes

and 4 cups of milk

Heat mixture in a pot.

Saute 1/2 chopped onion and 2 cloves of chopped garlic

in a 1/4 cup of butter.

Add to soup.

Add salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp of honey.

Cook on low for a couple of hours.

Add 2-4 more cups of milk while cooking
depending upon how creamy you want your soup.

Serve with biscuits, salad, or grilled cheese sandwiches!

Enjoy!

Sausage Whole Wheat Gravy

Sausage Whole Wheat Gravy

Local: sausage, butter, milk, whole wheat flour

Non-local: salt, pepper

Take 1 cup of sausage and cook in a pot on the stove top

until brown and crumbled.

Add 1/2 cup butter and melt.

Add 2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of  whole wheat flour.

Bring to a boil and beat quickly for appx. 3 mins.

Turn on low heat and continue to cook for 20 mins,

beating frequently.

Season with salt and pepper.

Gravy will thicken.

Yummy on open faced biscuits!

If I am in a hurry to serve breakfast,

I will put the gravy in the fridge for a few minutes

after I cook it to help it thicken.

Another Local Sausage

 

Chambers Mountain Meats

Blairsville, GA

Sold at the IGA in Cleveland.

$2.99 a lb

If you can't make it down to Mountain Fresh Creamery in Clermont,

the Cleveland IGA sells Chambers sausage.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Local: chicken, cheese, milk, butter, onion

Non-local: broccoli, rice, salt, pepper, basil

This is a super easy casserole that I like to make during the day

and pop in the oven in the evening.

Cook 2 (uncooked) cups of rice.

(rice: 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water)

Bake three chicken breasts on a pan until done.

Heat 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup of butter, and 3 cups of shredded cheese

in a pot on the stove top until melted.

Chop up half an onion and 3 heads with stalks of broccoli.

Chop up cooked chicken.

Mix onion, broccoli, chicken, rice, & seasoning in a big bowl.

(I used 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp basil)

Pour into a baking dish.

Pour melted cheese mixture on top.

It will soak down into the casserole.

Sprinkle 1 cup of  shredded cheese on top.

Cool, cover, and store in fridge until you are ready to bake.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 for appx. 30 mins.

Broil for a few minutes to brown top layer of cheese.

Enjoy!

This a simple recipe that doesn't used canned 
"cream of whatever" soup!

Kids will love it!

I recommend basmati rice or wild rice.

Jasmine rice may get too soft in this recipe.

Substitute any other vegetable instead of broccoli.

If you don't have chicken, leave out the chicken.

Organic Cacao Bars

Organic Cacao Bars

Local: milk, honey

Non-local: cacao powder, raw sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups organic cacao powder

1 cup milk

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

4 tsp vanilla extract

Melt coconut oil in a double boiler.

Add honey and vanilla extract, stir until melted.

Stir in sugar and cacoa powder.

Add milk.

Stir well until creamy.

Pour into molds or a foil covered pan.

Cool in freezer.

Cut out cacao bars.
Store in freezer.

Enjoy!

This is a semi-sweet cacao recipe.
These bars are rich and melt easily.

Add more honey and sugar for a sweeter bar.

Add another 1/2 cup of milk for more of a milk chocolate bar.

Use for eating plain or add to desserts
like chocolate chunk cookies!

3 Reasons to eat Cacao . . . 

1. High Concentration of Antioxidants: Cacao contains more flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, than any other food. That’s more antioxidants per cup than wine or tea! The presence of the high amounts of antioxidants can protect against damage by free radicals. Furthermore, the phytochemicals in flavonoids may fight diabetes.

2. Improved Heart Health: According to researchers, regular cacao intake may reduce blood pressure by thinning blood and relaxing blood vessels. The Zutphen Elderly Study (2005) found that flavonoid intake was inversely associated with coronary heart disease, and high systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

3. Mood Booster : There’s scientific research that explains why we reach for chocolate when we’re feeling down. Cacao stimulates the release of endorphins and serotonin, the two chemicals that naturally boost our happiness levels.

Blanching & Freezing

I am preparing for the winter . . . 

making soups & sauces and freezing them, 

and blanching & freezing fruits & vegetables.

Blanching is super easy!
The process kills the enzymes and bacteria,
but saves most of the nutrients in the food.

You just boil the fruits or veggies for a few minutes,
drain, submerge in ice cold water for a few minutes, drain,
put in an air tight freezer bag, and freeze.

Here are some great links about blanching & freezing
fruits & veggies:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/freezingfood/a/aa082101_2.htm

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/food-storage/prepare-freeze-fruit.html

http://pickyourown.org/beansfreezing.htm

I blanched some green beans to make a casserole
and apples to make a cobbler.

Green Beans

Apples

Freezer