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Watermelon Cucumber Cooler

16 Aug

I recently got a watermelon in my FarmBox, and since it usually takes a while to eat it, I decided to juice it instead.  We’ve also been juicing cucumbers, and I thought that those tastes might be pretty good together.  So, I did some searching just to make sure, and came across a recipe from Martha Stewart’s website for Watermelon-Cucumber Coolers.  I just made it minus the vodka, although with the day I was having, I could have used the vodka, I think!  My older daughter didn’t think it was sweet enough, so some extra honey would work, although my husband, younger daughter, and I, all thought it was perfect the way it was.

Watermelon-Cucumber CoolerWatermelon-Cucumber Cooler

What you need:

1 small watermelon, or about 5 cups of cubes of watermelon
1 cucumber
Juice of 2 limes, about 1/4 cup
2-4 tablespoons honey, depending on how sweet you want it
2/3 cup vodka, optional
Ice

How to make it:

Run watermelon and cucumber through your juicer.  If you don’t have a juicer, you can use a blender to blend each until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove pulp.

Combine lime juice and honey.  Add to the watermelon and cucumber juice.  Add vodka, if desired.  Serve in glasses over ice.

 

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Spaghetti Squash, Leek, Sausage, and Egg Bake

14 Aug

Yes, I really just put all those ingredients together in a sentence!  A little over a month ago, remember how excited I was to have a new favorite, Summer Squash, Sausage, and Egg Bake?  I’ve made it a few times since then, using just zucchini, and my family loves it so much, there are never any leftovers.  Well, my FarmBox has been offering spaghetti squash, which we love, and I wanted to try something new with it.  This worked perfectly.  Instead of sauteing zucchini and yellow squash, I roasted the spaghetti squash in the oven, then added it to the browned sausage and leeks.  Yes, leeks.  We have been buying leeks at the Farmer’s Market, and are tired of Potato Leek Soup, so I used one in this casserole.  Fabulous!  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of this one, we ate it as soon as it was ready, so you will have to use your imaginations.  But, I promise, it is fabulous!

Spaghetti Squash, Leek, Sausage, and Egg Bake

What you need:

1 pound sausage, Italian sausage or breakfast sausage
1 small leek, sliced as done here
1 medium size spaghetti squash
3 large eggs, well beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray.  Cut spaghetti squash in half, and scoop out the seeds and innards.  Place the cut side down on the baking sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until soft.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then use a fork to pull the flesh away from the peel.  Pictures on how this is done are here.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage.  Do not drain fat.  Add leeks, and cook until soft and translucent.  Stir in the cooked spaghetti squash and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together eggs, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour the squash/sausage mixture into the dish.  Mix in the egg and cheese mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until sides are bubbling and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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“Unstuffed” Cabbage Rolls

14 Aug

Ah, cabbage rolls.  Something I have always enjoyed, but just don’t get to make often enough.  I used to live in Peoria, IL, and there was a little Lebanese restaurant named Haddad’s that made cabbage rolls.  There is also a yearly festival held by the Itoo Society there, and they would sell cabbage rolls with their shish-ka-bob at the festival.  Since moving away over 6 years ago, I haven’t been able to enjoy their cabbage rolls again, so I have tried making them on my own.  I struggle with getting the cabbage leaves ready, so I’ve really only made them a couple of times.  Recently, though, I saw a photo floating around on Facebook with a recipe for Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, and I thought it was a brilliant idea!  And, kicked myself for not doing it sooner.  I did this on the stove top to avoid using the oven, but you could also make them unstuffed as a casserole, or probably even in the slow cooker.  I think we’ll be having this again, so I may try another cooking method next time.  This still isn’t quite as good as the other cabbage rolls that I’ve had, but it’s still very tasty!

Unstuffed Cabbage RollsUnstuffed Cabbage Rolls

What you need:

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked rice
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

In a large pot, brown the ground beef.  Stir in the diced onion and minced garlic, and continue to cook until onion is soft and translucent.  Stir in the cooked rice and shredded cabbage.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour over the meat and cabbage mixture in the large pot.  Add salt and pepper to desired taste.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

 

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Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

13 Aug

I got a lucky a few weeks back and was at Fry’s while they were putting out manager’s special whole chickens.  So, I got 2 whole chickens, each just a little over $3.  I put them in the freezer until I had time to get to them.  Since it’s still rather hot here, I decided to try making it in the slow cooker instead of the oven.  It was pure torture smelling this cook a ll day, and luckily, it tasted great.  I used green beans and carrots as the vegetables and ate them as a side to the chicken, but you could use any vegetables you prefer, or just do carrots and celery to add flavor while it cooks.  What’s nice about the slow cooker is that it keeps the chicken nice and moist.  You don’t even have to add any liquid at the beginning, the juices off the chicken will be enough to keep it moist while it cooks.  When it’s done, it just falls off the bone.  Yum!  After I got all the meat off the chicken, I put the bones back in the slow cooker and filled it with water to make chicken broth!

Chicken served with carrots and green beans, plus dinner roll

 

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

What you need:

1 whole chicken, 3-5 pounds
Vegetables of your choice, I used frozen carrots and frozen green beans
1 onion, diced
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Put vegetables and diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Remove neck and giblets from inside of chicken, and rinse both inside and out.  Generously salt and pepper inside of chicken.

Cut open garlic cloves and rub over all the chicken.  Place inside the chicken.  Set chicken breast side up on top of vegetables.  Squeeze lemon over the chicken and place the rinds inside chicken.  Then, place a few sprigs of rosemary inside the chicken, and place some rosemary leaves on top of chicken, along with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until a thermometer inserted in the breast reads 180 F.  Chicken should be moist and falling off the bone.  Serve with some of the vegetables, or sides of your choice.

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

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Farmer’s Market Finds: 8/8/2013

8 Aug

I missed the market  last week, but after I picked my younger daughter up from school, we headed out to shop.

Our first stop was for pork spring rolls from J’s Kitchen.  Since we were there a little later to the market this week, she didn’t have enough for a full order (12 pieces), so she substituted in pork wontons, which I hadn’t tried before.  They were great, along with the spring rolls.  We also had 2 bottles of water, making our total here $6.

While we were waiting for our food, we stopped and got kettle corn from Tata Ruben’s Kettle Corn.  He gave us a sample first, which convinced me to get the big bag over the little bag (which was $3).  The big bag was $6.

Next, we headed into the vendors.

Farmer's Market Finds: 8/8/2013

First stop was Gabe the Bread Man.  He greeted us with a smile on his face, happy to tell us how much joy baking brings him.  I think that’s his secret ingredient to his delicious bread; he bakes it with joy in his heart.  This week,  I got one of his new breads to try, Butter Top Italian bread.  You can see I tried some before taking this picture. It’s delicious, fluffy, moist, and a nice buttery taste without having to add any extra butter spread.  I will enjoy eating this a lot.  His loaves are $6 each.

Next, I picked up a 3 lb bag of organic jonalicious apples from English Apple Orchard/Arizona Apple Cider.  They always have free samples to try the variety before you buy, and this is the one we picked today.  This was $5.

We stopped next at the Elfrida Community Garden stand.  I got 1 pound of lemon cucumbers, something I haven’t had in a while.  I had one as a snack tonight, and it was perfect.  It was $1.50 for the pound.

Then, we stopped for truffles at The Sanctuary stand.  We picked Mocha flavor, and got 2, one for me, one for my daughter.  They were $1 each, so $2 for both.

The next stop was something I had wanted to try for a while, so we stopped to try SAS-Z Nuts pistachios.  I tried the salted and roasted variety, and decided to buy the 1 pound bag for $10.  He has other sizes available as well.

Finally, I got 1 pound of organic peaches from Grammy’s stand that were from Briggs & Eggers orchard. I haven’t tried them yet, but I’m sure they will be great like the ones in my FarmBox.

It was a hot one today, so we headed home after we’d made our round.  I have some ideas of what to try the next time we make it.

 

 

The Sierra Vista Farmer’s Market is held every Thursday from 10am – 2pm at Veteran’s Memorial Park.  To learn more, you can visit their website here or their Facebook page.  Every week they publish a newsletter with upcoming events and vendors they are expecting at the market that week.

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Trying something new: Lifeway Kefir

1 Aug
From the Lifeway Kefir Facebook Page

From the Lifeway Kefir Facebook Page

Recently, I was chosen to participate in a program through Influenster to try out Lifeway Kefir.  Now, I had previously heard of Kefir, but I had never tried it.  However, it was on my list of things to try, and this opportunity was perfect!

First, let’s start with a little background on Kefir.  From their About section on their Facebook page:

The Lifeway Foods story begins in 1986 with kefir, a milk-based cultured drink that is popular in Eastern Europe and is said to be more nutritional than yogurt. That year, Russian immigrant Michael Smolyansky began manufacturing kefir in his basement to bring the taste of his native country to the U.S. After Michael Smolyansky passed away in 2002, his daughter Julie Smolyansky assumed the role of President, while his son Edward Smolyansky assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Today, Lifeway is the country’s leading manufacturer of kefir, with multiple flavors and varieties that include lowfat, whole milk and organic versions as well as a children’s line, and a provider of other probiotic natural and organic dairy products for health-conscious consumers.

What I also like about Lifeway Kefir is that they make it using organic milk from grass-fed cows, also free of growth hormones and antibiotics.  Plus, looking at the ingredients list on the side of the bottle, I know what all the ingredients are and they use natural flavors and coloring.  That’s a big plus for me.

My store had limited products, but I chose to get the 32 oz Low Fat Strawberry Kefir.  I poured a small glass for myself, my 4-year-old, and my 6-year-old to try just plain.  We loved it.  My 4-year-old has recently become very picky, but is a big fan of yogurt.  She really liked this drink.  My 6-year-old is going through a bit of a fussy food stage, where some new things are icky no matter what, but she only had good things to say about it.  I liked the creamy, thick texture, and the strawberry flavor is right on.  It’s very similar to other yogurt smoothies that I’ve had before.  I think it’s great just plain, but I think it would also be good over cereal or granola in the morning for breakfast, or as an addition to a frozen fruit smoothie.

I’m hoping that the other grocery store in town has a bit more selection, and maybe even the Frozen Kefir.  The 32 oz was priced at $3.89 at my local Safeway, which I think is reasonable considering the price of other yogurt.  With as much as we enjoyed it, I’m hoping to get this into our monthly grocery budget to have on a regular basis.

Disclaimer: I received a voucher to purchase 1 Lifeway Kefir product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  All opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

voxbox-blogimage-popup2

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Baked Pesto Chicken

27 Jul

After Katie was born, my mom came and cooked for us and gave me some easy recipes.  One of the recipes was an Easy Parmesan Chicken; place chicken in a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce, cover with foil, bake, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, bake again until the cheese melts.  I had pesto in the refrigerator to use, so I followed the same instructions as my mom’s recipe, just using  pesto instead of tomato sauce.  It turned out really good, both my kids even liked it!  I served it over pasta.

Baked Pesto Chicken

 

Baked Pesto Chicken

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Spinach Basil Pesto or Kale Pesto or a 8oz jar of pesto
Shredded mozzarella Cheese
Cooked pasta or rice

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Place chicken breasts in baking dish.  Spread pesto over all the chicken breasts.

Cover the baking dish with foil  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove foil.  Top the chicken breasts with the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 5-10  minutes, or until cheese it melted and chicken is cooked through.

Baked Pesto Chicken just out of the oven

Serve over cooked pasta or rice.  I poured the oil and pesto from the bottom of the pan over the pasta first, then served it with the chicken.

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Grilled Beef, Potato, and Cabbage Packets

26 Jul

This week, I had picked a head of cabbage for my FarmBox.  I had thought about making Stuffed Cabbage Leaves or Bierocks, but decided that I wanted to try to make something different.  I was initially thinking of doing it all in a skillet, but then my uncle asked if I had tried grilled cabbage, and I started looking at recipes related to that.  I came across a recipe for Grilled Cabbage and Potato Packets, and decided to expand on it some, incorporating parts of the skillet recipe I had found.  Of course, as it came time closer to dinner, a storm rolled in, but it stopped soon enough to give me time to fire up the grill for this.  It was a bit of prep work, but I was glad for the food processor from my parents from Christmas.  I used it to shred the cabbage and carrots, and to slice the potato rounds.

Grilled Beef, Potato, and Cabbage PacketsGrilled Beef, Potato, and Cabbage Packets

What you need:

1 lb ground beef
1 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 cups cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup onion, diced
5-6 small red potatoes, sliced into thin rounds
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef.  Reduce heat to low, and add beef broth and garlic powder.  Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes to cook off the liquid.

Meanwhile, cut 8 pieces of aluminum about 16 inches long.  Each packet will use 2 pieces of foil to ensure the packet does not break while cooking, and you will have 4 packets total.

Start by layering 2 pieces of foil.  Put 1 cup of cabbage, 1/4 cup of onion, 1/4 cup of carrots, 1/4 of the potato rounds, and 1/4 of the browned ground beef on top of the foil.  Drizzle olive oil over all, about 1-2 tablespoons.  If desired, season with salt and pepper.

All food layered in packetGather up sides of aluminum foil, and close tightly.  I brought up the sides on the left and right of the picture above, then folded them together.  Next, I folded up the ends.  Repeat for the 3 remaining packets.  Place the packets on the grill over medium heat.

Packets on the grill

 

Cook for 15 minutes, then carefully flip the packets over and cook for another 15 minutes.  Carefully remove a packet from the grill and open (remember, it will be very hot and steamy when you open it), and check the softness of the potatoes and other vegetables.  If soft, remove all from the grill.  If not, continue to cook until potatoes and vegetables are soft.  Carefully open each packet and serve.

Grilled packet

 

If desired, serve each sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.  My daughter and I both had some with and without grated Parmesan, and it was good both ways, but with the cheese it had just an extra bit of flavor.

 

 

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Farmer’s Market Finds: 7/25/2013

25 Jul

We had another fun week at the Farmer’s Market!  This week, we went after Katie’s basketball camp with some friends, and then saw more friends there!  It was a busy week there again, lots of people.  Here is what all we got this week:

Farmer's Market Finds: 7/25/2013Leeks, lots of leeks again…my husband came along this week too, and he wanted more leeks for Potato Leek Soup.  It’s actually not too hard to make and I really like it too, so that makes meal planning easy for this week!  All those leeks he got for $2.50.

Asiago Bread from Gabe the Bread Man.  Haven’t gotten his bread in a while, but it’s so fresh and delicious, and no preservatives.  It was hard to pick just one, but I chose the Asiago this week, and hopefully will get to try another one next week.  Really nice guy too, he donates a lot of bread to local food banks as well.  He has quite a variety of breads, now including a gluten-free sandwich bread.  I haven’t tried it yet though.  This loaf of bread as $6.

Blueberry and Chocolate Mochi Cakes from Hana’s Japanese Bakery.  We had gotten her cookies previously, and they were really good, so we got her mochi cakes to try today.  These are gluten-free.  I tried a small piece of the chocolate one, it was really moist and tasty.  These were $3, so $6 total.

3 lb bag of organic apples from English Apple Orchard.  I can’t remember the variety and the bag isn’t marked, but they are good!  This bag was $5.

5 honey sticks, various flavors from Simmons Honey Ranchito.  Great deal at only $1 for all 5!

Lunch was at J’s Kitchen food truck.  What is in the box is the only leftovers.  We got 2 of her Veggie Spring Roll meals, which includes 6 spring rolls and a side of fried rice.  Delicious!  We also got 2 16 oz bottles for water, and paid $11.

After lunch, we stopped at Big Woody’s food truck to get shaved ice (no picture).  Katie got the pink cotton candy flavor, Sophia got the blue bubble gum flavor.  Great treat for a hot day!  The small is plenty big and $2.50 each, so it was $5 for both.  My husband got his lunch here today, he had their Big Woody’s Cuban, which he loved.  All beef hot dog with ham, pork, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickle on a Cuban roll.  I don’t remember how much it cost, but he says it’s well worth the money!

 

The Sierra Vista Farmer’s Market is held every Thursday from 10am – 2pm at Veteran’s Memorial Park.  To learn more, you can visit their website here or their Facebook page.  Every week they publish a newsletter with upcoming events and vendors they are expecting at the market that week.

 

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Farmer’s Market Finds: 7/18/2013

18 Jul

Our Farmer’s Market has changed venues!  Last week was the first week, but I was travelling home that day and didn’t get home in time for the market.  However, I was able to make it this week.  Wow!  There were so many vendors and people, it was great to see so much support for the market!   It was a little overwhelming to take it all in, but I managed to narrow it down to a few good finds and then we headed out.

Farmer's Market Finds: 7/18/20133 lb bag of organic Jonamac apples from English Family Orchard in Willcox, $5. They are small, but the perfect snack size for my girls since they take about 5 bites out of the big apples and stop.

2 lbs of leeks and 2 pounds of potatoes from Beatty’s Apple Orchard, $6 total.  I started at only 1 pound, but Dale has been begging for Potato Leek Soup, so we got 2 lbs.  It’s not enough potatoes, but I’ll get more when I head to the grocery store soon.

2 lbs cucumbers, 4 onions, 2 dozen eggs (not pictured), Tea Tree Lemon scented goat milk soap, and Tea Tree Lemon scented lotion from Basic Farm 7, $19.  I should be set on eggs for a while!  The cucumbers I’ll be making into pickles.

Fresh rosemary, $1.  I can’t remember which stand I got it at, but am all out of rosemary, so I’m glad I found it!

Excited to go again next week and see what all I can find!

 

The Sierra Vista Farmer’s Market is held every Thursday from 10am – 2pm at Veteran’s Memorial Park.  To learn more, you can visit their website here or their Facebook page.  Every week they publish a newsletter with upcoming events and vendors they are expecting at the market that week.

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