{eggs-periment}

We love hard boiled eggs in the house...

so much so that I have a little plastic container labeled in the refrigerator,

just for hard boiled eggs...

true story...OCD runs strong in these parts.

The last few batches had me frustrasted

with cracked shells and a general mess...

don't even get me started on peeling them...

In steps my ma,

she loves to try new things and she loves learning.

She read or heard from an egg guru (I know I made that up, but it fits)

that you should steam the eggs instead of boiling them.

I have seen people cooking them in the oven thanks to Pinterest,

but steaming, I was intrigued.

I tried it today people,

guess what?!?

It works beautifully!

Here's what I did...

Gather the eggs, a big pot, and the vegetable steamer

Add eggs and water to the pot

Put the pot on the stove for 15-20 minutes

(I turned the flame down a bit after the steam started up)

Remove from pot and rinse in cool water or dunk in an ice bath

Enjoy your easily peeled, beautiful, and tasty hard "boiled" eggs

So smart!

Just in time for dyeing all those Easter eggs!

You're welcome!

Until next time,

 

Joining Kirsten at We Are THAT Family

 

Homemade Chewy Bars

Last year (or was it the year before?) I found a recipe for homemade chewy bars.  I knew I had to try them!  I was thrilled that I found a recipe with ingredients that were whole foods and not preservatives and refined sugars. I followed the recipe exactly the first time I made them, but I was looking for a different consistency.  So I did what I always do and started tweaking the recipe to make it work better for us! 

After sharing with friends and family I think it is ready to share with you all!

So here you go!

Homemade Chewy Bars

3 cups Regular Oats

3 cups Quick Oats

3 cups nut mixture (I use coconut flakes, sunflower kernels, peanuts, chocolate chips)

3/4 cup Coconut Oil

1 cup Honey

1 1/2 cups Peanut Butter

Prepare your pan by greasing all of the sides.  

The pan I use is quite large, about 16x12.  If you don't want that much halve the recipe and use a 9x13 pan.

First measure out the oats and mix well.  I like using the different oats to help out with the consistency.

 

Next mix the nut variety in a separate bowl.  When I do mine I use about 1 1/4 cups coconut flakes, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 3/4 cup sunflower kernels, 3/4 cup peanuts.  You can add raisins or other nuts or fruit.  As long as it is three cups total you really can't go wrong!

In a stock pan mix the coconut oil, honey, and peanut butter over low heat until they are a smooth liquid.  I always measure the coconut oil first so my measuring cup as a little layer of oil to help get the honey out!

 

Turn off the stove and quickly add in the oats mixture.  

 

Once the oats are thoroughly coated add in the nut mixture.  Mix well, if you are using the chocolate chips they will most likely melt.  That's okay!

Pour mixture into your prepared pan.  Smooth out to the edges with a spatula.  Make sure the thickness is consistent throughout the pan.

Put in refrigerator to cool.

When cool slice into bars.  I make 32 bars with this recipe.  Wrap in a small sheet of plastic wrap and store in a basket in the refrigerator.  Ours usually don't last long, but they have been known to keep for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Pure Happiness

Yesterday I canned plum jam for the first time!

Let me just say it was wonderful and not too hard and totally worth it!

Z and I processed about 10 pounds of plums and came up with 26 pints!
I am in love with canning!

It is so amazing to know that we used the best ingredients in something that will be feeding our family for a whole year! You want to know what all the ingredients were for our beautiful jam?!? I know you want to!

Here's the list...be ready it's really long...

plums {From our backyard tree!! YAY!!}
demerara (raw cane sugar)
fruit pectin
water

Yup, that's it! No junk. No bizarre chemical compositions. Just the good stuff.

I am so excited. Now I have to get my hands on some concord grapes!

Well I am off to finish processing our beautiful plums that were grown with sunshine and water!



Have a great day!

Until next time,

Homemade Chinese Dinner

My family loves Chinese food, but I hate forking out $50 to eat out so I had to come up with a way to get our fix without breaking the bank. I googled Mongolian Beef and found a recipe to give me a launching point. I also use a friend's recipe idea to make our own version of lemon chicken. I am still trying to figure out how to make orange chicken, so if you know a sauce recipe let me know!

Here's how I make the Mongolian Beef:

1 1/2 -3 lbs cube steak cut into strips (depending on how many almost teenage boys you are feeding)
oil or lard
cornstarch
1/2 yellow onion sliced
1 TBS chopped fresh Garlic
1 TBS chopped fresh Ginger
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable broth (you could just use water)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 bunch green onions sliced

First I cut the cube steak with my kitchen shears. If I use a knife it just is a pain because the meat has been tenderized so much. I then coat the meat with the cornstarch and set aside.

Next I get the sauce going. Saute the ginger and garlic in a sauce pan for a minute or so with light oil, but do not let them scorch. Add the soy sauce, broth, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Set the sauce aside.

Brown the meat and onions in a fry pan. Cook until the meat thoroughly. Add the sauce and simmer for a few more minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly with the cornstarch from the meat. Garnish with the green onions. Ask your family to keep their fingers out of the pan until the rest of the meal is finished cooking.

Now for the Lemon Chicken:

1-2 lbs cubed chicken breast
2-3 eggs beaten
3-4 cups flour
garlic powder
seasoned salt
pepper
oil or lard

1 jar lemon curd
2 TBS honey
1/4 cup vegetable broth


In a ziploc bag add the flour, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper (add the spice amounts to your personal taste). In a bowl combine the chicken cubes and eggs until the chicken is completely coated. Add a few pieces of chicken at a time to the flour bag. Shake vigorously to coat the chicken. Add chicken to a fry pan and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan into a towel lined bowl. Repeat until all of your chicken is cooked.

While the chicken is frying you can work on the sauce. Add lemon curd, honey, and broth to a sauce pan. Heat until thoroughly mixed, but do not boil. You can leave the sauce to add to each dish or you can add the sauce to your bowl of chicken and mix is all at once.

Make up some steamed rice and a bit of broccoli and you have Chinese food at home! Enjoy!

Until next time,


This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Freezer Cooking

Just a quick update to my goals for building my freezer stash of breakfast foods for our busy school mornings. This morning in about 3 1/2 hours I was able to make 49 pancakes, 32 waffles, 45 pieces of french toast using my homemade wheat bread and get the kitchen completely cleaned (it was a wonderful lesson to be taught by my mom to clean as you go!). It feels so good to be able to check that off my list of things to get done before I head back to school!

So, in my freezer I have banana muffins, mini banana loaves, 1 loaf of strawberry bread, 1 loaf of banana bread, strawberry muffins, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, and french toast. I usually just take out a bag of muffins in the morning when I get up and they are defrosted by the time the boys are ready for breakfast. The pancakes and french toast I reheat in the microwave for about 1 minute 45 seconds on 70% power. The waffles crisp back up in the toaster oven beautifully. I also use the ready cooked bacon from Costco for a little protein. I usually also have some sort of fruit. The boys aren't big eaters in the morning, so I save their fruit and veggie servings for lunch, snacks, and dinner.

I really want to also make some smoothies in the mornings to get some veggies and fruit in the boys as they start their day. I always worry about the blender waking K, so I don't get it out in the mornings very often. It's something I am hoping to change as we all get on the same schedule for school this year.

I hope everyone is having a productive Monday! I only have two more things on my "to do" list to get accomplished for today! Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,

Raw Milk 101

We are just getting into trying raw milk for our family. It has taken me quite a while to get K to agree try it out, so I will be letting you know how it goes! We are fortunate enough to live down the road, well down the freeway, from Organic Pastures right here in the central valley. They put together a little video to let you know just how their products get from the "Grass to the Glass". I love how passionate they are about their business!



I wanted to share in case any one out there reading is in California. Organic Pastures has booths at farmer's markets and is available in several store locations.

In full disclosure I just wanted you to know I haven't received any compensation or products for writing this post, I just thought it was an interesting video and wanted to share!

Until next time,