Category Archives: Food & Recipes

Snow! Homemade Wood Snow Sled

Last night a winter storm passed through our area and we received several inches of snow! We had fun playing outside and making snow angels but the snow was not sticky enough to make a snowman. We had planned to pick up a snow disc at Ace Hardware but when we stopped by they had already sold out. The forecast predicted 2-4 inches of snow to fall during the middle of the night so we went to bed looking forward to seeing in the morning how much snow stuck around. Continue reading Snow! Homemade Wood Snow Sled

True Food Kitchen: Too Amazing Not to Share

Because I am a clean eating enthusiast and an unapologetic foodie, I am constantly on the prowl for spectacular cuisine that doesn’t break my clean eating boundaries. My goodness, did I find a treasure when I discovered True Food Kitchen in the Buckhead area of Atlanta! This place develops its menus on the research and recipes of nutritionist Andrew Weil, M.D. The goal is to nourish with anti-inflammatory meals that taste amazing at the same time. Like I have been telling my friends, clean eating does not have to be boring – and True Food Kitchen proves that!  There’s something for every palate including Continue reading True Food Kitchen: Too Amazing Not to Share

Making Chicken Stock is Easier Than You Think

Have you ever tasted a soup with a depth of flavor that you just can’t explain?  Did it have an indescribable richness that you would love to duplicate?  Chances are the chef of that soup utilized a secret trick that has become less common ever since boxed and canned broths have become prevalent at the market.  Most likely the cook has an important but old-fashioned weapon in his or her arsenal – chicken stock made from scratch.  While the sound of this might initially seem too overwhelming or involved, I can assure you that making chicken stock is easier than you think.  I dare you to try it just once and you likely won’t be buying boxed chicken broth again.  It does take some planning ahead, but it is SO WORTH IT!  Not only is homemade stock delicious, it is incredibly nutritious as well. Continue reading Making Chicken Stock is Easier Than You Think

Best Brown Sugar Muffins

After playing with ingredients and ratios, I think I have come up with the best brown sugar muffins ever!  These are so quick to throw together, and the result is a moist treat that is yummy any time  of the day.  I have scaled this to make 24 muffins at one time so that we can eat twelve  immediately and freeze twelve for later. You won’t be disappointed with this recipe!

Continue reading Best Brown Sugar Muffins

Paper Pizza Prank – Your kids will love this!

Let me set up the story first and then I’ll explain the pizza prank.   Back when we only had three kids we used to frequently do homemade pizza nights.  We would spread out the dough and pizza sauce and then divide the pizza into sections using cheese for lines. Continue reading Paper Pizza Prank – Your kids will love this!

Lemon Garlic Kale Salad

Think your kids won’t eat kale? This super easy Lemon Garlic Kale Salad is a snap to throw together, and has quickly become a family favorite!  This is one salad that benefits from allowing the dressing to soak in a little. The olive oil actually helps the nutrients from the kale to be more bioavailable.   Use organic lemons and organic kale for a worry-free treat that you won’t soon forget.  I can’t keep this one stocked at my house, folks!  It is gone as quickly as it is made.  If you think your children won’t like kale, this is a perfect recipe to try.  My kids couldn’t be convinced to eat kale until they tasted this.  Now I have a 17-year-old daughter who can be found sporting an “I LOVE KALE” t-shirt.  And this is the recipe that made her a convert! Continue reading Lemon Garlic Kale Salad

Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

This Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup is light, bright, and deliciously satisfying.   Loaded with both flavor and nutrition, you can’t go wrong with this one!  Our children rarely all like the same meal, but they all give this one an enthusiastic thumbs-up!  Start with an organic, pasture-raised chicken and home-made stock.  You will be setting yourself up for an incredibly wholesome meal, minus the bad stuff that usually comes with chicken soups. Who really needs MSG in their soup anyway? The tumeric is what gives this dish it’s beautiful yellow color. The addition of quinoa gives a hearty and nutritional bonus.   This is truly a delicious, satisfying meal! Continue reading Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

Preserving the Harvest by Liz Porter

Many of you know that we have been attending classes at Lady Slipper Nursery on Saturday mornings.  This Saturday we had the opportunity to attend Preserving the Harvest by Liz Porter of Buckeye Creek Farms.  Liz led a fun, informative class and gave tips for both newbies and veterans alike.  She had excellent suggestions for tools, methods, and resources.  Specific topics discussed were pressure canning versus water bath canning, blanching before freezing, canning additives, and the canning of Continue reading Preserving the Harvest by Liz Porter

Early Harvest Salad

This Early Harvest Salad was a perfect addition to our Mother’s Day celebration. There’s nothing like eating a freshly picked salad 10 minutes after it was growing in the soil!  This salad was kindly harvested from the garden by Anthony for an extra special Mother’s Day treat. Sometimes the best salads are the ones where you head to the garden and collect a little of this and a little of that – whatever looks fresh and appetizing.  Such was the case with this salad. Continue reading Early Harvest Salad