One Pot Wonder Pasta Take Two

One Pot Wonder Spinach & Mushroom Penne

One pot pastas have been very popular. My original One Pot Wonder post has had tons of traffic. I loved this dish and so did my family so I decided I would change it up a bit and try out another version.

One Pot Wonder with Penne, Crimini, & Spinach

ONE POT WONDER SPINACH & MUSHROOM PENNE
Serves 4 to 6

16 ounces penne pasta
8oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 large bunch spinach
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
6 cups home canned vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place pasta, mushrooms, spinach, onion,  and garlic in a large skillet or dutch oven. Pour in stock. Sprinkle top with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle top with oil. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, until pasta is al dente and liquid has been reduced as desired. Stir several times throughout cooking to ensure all the pasta is cooked evenly. Add more stock if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

If you are using boxed stock or commercially canned stock you may want to reduce the amount of salt. You can always add more to taste at the end. I don't add salt to my home canned stock so I usually need a bit more.

I love this pasta! The starch from the pasta combines with the stock to make a wonderful yummy sauce for the pasta. This recipe is so adaptable with what you have. It is very healthy. You can use all kinds of veggies and whole wheat pasta as well. The best part is that it is so quick and easy! 

Shaun-ta's White Chicken Chili

Shaun-ta's White Chicken Chili

Okay, we all know by now that I am not a photographer and to make matters worse, I have a really dumpy camera! So trust me when I say it is soooo much better than it looks. This is my own version of chicken chili, I am quite proud of it. So if you are looking for something yummy for dinner, look no further.


Shaun-ta's White Chicken Chili

6 Chicken Thighs
1 Large Green or Red Pepper
1 Medium Sweet Onion
2 tsp. Cumin
1 Tb. Oregano
2 Cups Home Canned Chicken Stock
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
4 Cloves Garlic
1 lb. Cooked White Beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is how I did it. Place chicken thighs in the bottom of a 6 quart crock pot. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. At the end of the cook time remove the thighs from the pot and take the meat from the bone and add it back in. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Top with sour cream, jalapeno slices, and shredded pepper jack cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cook's Notes:
1. I chose to use chicken thighs, bone-in, because they are very flavorful and delicious, and they are very inexpensive. I rarely use boneless skinless chicken anymore. http://ourprovidentlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/meat-me-in-middle.html

2. I used green pepper, so this is a very mild chili. I was thinking of my children. But if you want some heat, use whatever kind of pepper you want, jalapeno, green chili, etc. I loved the bit of heat that the canned jalapeno slices brought.

3. Because I used bone in chicken I used part water, part stock for my liquid, because I knew the chicken bones would bring lots of yummy flavor to my soup. If you opt to use boneless chicken you will want to use all stock.

4. I added 1 Cup of my homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, this made it sooo yummy. Any green salsa would work, but you can find my recipe here:
http://ourprovidentlife.blogspot.com/2012/10/roasted-tomatillo-salsa.html
or the canned version here:
http://ourprovidentlife.blogspot.com/2013/08/green-tomatillo-salsa-canned.html

5. Because I came up with this recipe on the fly, I didn't have time to let my beans slow cook, so I cooked them separate in my pressure cooker and then added them into my chili when they were done about midway through the cooking time. You could choose to soak your beans overnight and them let them cook right in the chili, but you will need to increase the amount of liquid you use. I will probably try this the next time I make this. Yes I will be making it again and soon. Yummy! For more info on cooking beans check out this post:
http://www.ourprovidentlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/bean-cookin-101.html

6. As always, after I removed the chicken from my bones, I put my bones in a separate pot, covered them with water and let them simmer away for several hours. It only made about a cup of stock, but well worth it. I used the cup of stock later in the week for something else. You can of course always stick it in the freezer. I use up every bit of chicken every time. I never buy stock.

We all loved this chili! and it is on our to make again and again list. I hope you enjoy it too!

Green Tomatillo Salsa - Canned

Tomatillos don't have to be peeled just cored and chopped.

I loved canning Green Tomatillo Salsa! Unlike the tomatoes that are used in Tomato Salsa, you don't have to peel tomatillos. You just have to chop them up and throw them in. This is a lot less work and the results are delicious.


I followed Ball's recipe for Tomatillo Salsa. Which can be found here. I have also included it below with a few changes that I made.

Simmering Tomatillo Salsa

 5-1/2 cups chopped cored husked tomatillos (about 2 lbs or 27 medium)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)
1 cup chopped green chilies (I used a combination of Jalapenos and green peppers.)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vinegar
4 Tbsp lime juice
4 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
I omitted the Red Pepper Flakes because I chose to use Jalapeno Peppers. 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until salsa reaches desired thickness.
Ladle the hot salsa into prepared jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims and put hot lids and bands onto jars.
Process jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.


Remember that it is not safe to change the ratio of tomatillos, peppers, onions, and garlic to the amount of acid used (vinegar and lime juice). The only thing that can safely be changed is the amount of spices you use. Always use an approved recipe when canning salsa.

Home Canned Tomatillo Salsa

You can also try my recipe for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa found here.

One Pot Wonder Pasta

So I know I promised more posts and my intentions were sincere and honest, but life has a way of changing things unexpectedly for most of us and that is what it did to our family. We got news a few weeks ago that we are moving to Arkansas. In fact, Jacob has already started a new job there, leaving Shaun-ta' behind to wrap up things in Texas and sell our home. (This is nothing new for me.) One thing I am truly grateful for this time is that I have a new home and so there will be no long nights of peeling wallpaper, endless painting, texturing walls and ceilings, etc. Yes, I am definitely grateful for that. But I have been super busy and I am 7 months pregnant, so by the end of the day I am beat, and I honestly have no desire to cook dinner by this point. But I still want to eat something delicious. It is such a dilemma. I ran across this recipe today, just by chance, or maybe by fate, because I really wasn't looking for a recipe. It was already 5:30 and I hadn't gotten anything out for dinner yet and I was thinking, "Oh, no cold cereal again." But then I came across this recipe for One Pot Pasta over at Apron Strings and dinner was saved. Dinner was done 20 minutes later and I mean done and it was delicious and healthy. I made a few changes from the recipe on Apron Strings but only to accommodate what I had in the pantry and garden.

Here is the original recipe:

ONE POT WONDER TOMATO BASIL PASTA
Serves 4 to 6 as an entree

12 ounces linguine pasta
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor)
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.
Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .
Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

One Pot Wonder Pasta

My changes:

I used 13 oz. of Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
I used about 15 oz. of fresh tomatoes from the garden. Yum!
I chopped up my onion and garlic. - The kids don't do big chunks.
I skipped the red pepper flakes, cause the kids don't do heat.
I only used 4 cups of Home Canned Chicken broth, because I used angel hair pasta I knew it would require a bit less liquid and cooking time.
I also added some fresh portabella mushrooms that I had on hand - a very yummy addition!

It turned out delicious and it was so fast and easy!

20 Minute Meal - One Pot Pasta

Guacamole

Use a spoon to easily remove an avocado from its skin.

I got a great deal on some avocados and I was really excited because that meant I could make guacamole. I really love guacamole, especially when it is made fresh. 

 First let me share with you the easiest way to peel and core an avocado. Take a sharp knife and run it all the way along the outside of the avocado lengthwise to the core. Twist both halves in opposite directions and gently pull them apart. You can pull the core out of the side it sticks to easily with your fingers. Now that you have two halves you can simply take a spoon and scoop out the whole half of the avocado. 

Slice the avocado while in the skin.

You can also slice or cube the avocado while it is still in the skin and then scoop it out the same way.

Remove the slices with a spoon.

See how easily the slices come out and you can make them whatever size you want. Before making guacamole I enjoyed some avocado slices on a turkey sandwich, so yummy!

So here is my recipe for Guacamole:

8 Large Avocados
4 Small Roma Tomatoes
1 Med. Sweet Onion
1-2 Jalapenos
2 Cloves Garlic
1 to 2 Tb. Fresh Cilantro
Garlic Salt and Salt to taste
Juice from 1 Lime

Fresh Homemade Guacamole

Chop the onion and garlic finely. I like to put mine in my mini food chopper so they are really fine, but if you like them bigger you can just hand chop them. Chop the jalapenos; then mash the onions, garlic, and peppers together with the avocados. Chop the tomatoes and cilantro and stir them in. Then stir in garlic salt and lime to taste.



This recipe makes quite a big batch (about 4 cups of guacamole), but if you ask me it is never enough. Jacob and I enjoyed it along side some chips, on top of some quesadillas, spread on a deli sandwich, and on top of a baked potato. They were all delicious. Super delicious and healthy. Plus, you get the benefits of eating raw onion and garlic.

This recipe comes from one of my friends that I worked with at the VA hospital in Salt Lake City. She also made some killer fresh Salsa, check out the recipe for it here. 

Spring Spinach Salad

 We have some spinach and lettuce growing in our garden right now that over wintered, yay! We are loving it! A few nights ago I made this delicious salad with a whole bunch of spinach and some of the beautiful leaf lettuce. The recipe was shared with me by one of my good friends. It is so yummy I can't keep it to myself.

Spring Spinach Salad

 Here is the original recipe:
1 lb. Spring Salad Greens
1 large bag Baby Spinach
1/2 C. slivered Almonds (brown in 3T. sugar & water)
1/2 package Craisins
1 Cup Grated Cheese
2 Cups Mandarin Oranges, Strawberries, and Avocado
Toss together well.

Dressing:
3/4 Tb. Poppy Seeds
1/3 Cup Sugar
3/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
5 Tb. or less of Mustard
1/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tb. Red Onion Grated
Put dressing on salad just before serving.

Jacob and I polished off the whole bowl ourselves.

I made a few changes to the recipe simply because I didn't have a few ingredients and of course I cut it in thirds, just enough for our family to eat. But as you can see we ate the whole bowl. Me and Jacob shared it because the kids aren't big on salad, but we did make them try it.  I couldn't stop eating it.  I didn't have any almonds so I threw in some sunflower seeds. I also didn't have any strawberries or avocado, but I wish I would have. No red onion for the dressing so I left it out, but it would have been a great addition. The lesson here is you can always adapt a great recipe to better suit the ingredients you have on hand. But next time I make this I am going to plan to have the other ingredients, because it would have been that much yummier. At any rate this one was a hit and I can't wait to make it again.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Minestrone

I haven't posted in so long but I have been sick with an icky sinus infection and so even though the weather here is nice and warm (we have even started planting our garden) I have still been in the mood for hot soup. Soup is always when of my favorites when I am not feeling my best. I also know that a lot of our readers still have snow on the ground where they live, so today I am sharing with you a recipe for one of my favorite slow cooker soups. This soup is delicious and makes for a great vegetarian meal.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Minestrone

4 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
4 Cups Tomato Juice
1 Tb. Dried Basil
1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp. Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
1 Cup Sliced Carrotts
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Cup Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
1 Quart Diced Tomatoes undrained
1 & 1/2 Cups uncooked Rotini Pasta
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese in a 4 to5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. At the end stir in the pasta and cook on high for 15 to 20 minutes until pasta is tender. Serve hot sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. If you prefer and sometimes I do, cook the pasta separately and stir it in to each individual serving. This way if you have leftovers you can store your pasta separate from your soup which will prevent it from getting soggy.

Yum! I love this soup, it is wonderful and extremely healthy. My favorite part is the mushrooms, they are simply delightful!  Enjoy!

Honey Oat Bread

One of the homemade breads we make a lot is our Honey Oat Bread.  It is a very delicious and light bread, it is great hot but we also use it  for sandwiches, french toast etc.  If you take it out of the oven when there are hungry mouths about the loaf can disappear by half in no time especially with some butter and homemade jam or honey on hand.

Honey Oat Bread with Sprouted Grains

This recipe also can be boosted up adding some other whole grains or even spices.  I have used this a a base recipe many times including adding sprouted grain, and adding a variety of whole grains. 

This recipe has some uses regular bread flour and a cup of whole oats.  You can also replace some of the bread flour withe some wheat flour to kick up the whole grain content.

Honey Oat Bread

1 Cup + 2 Tbls.  -   Water
2 Tbls.    -    Honey
2 Tbls.   -    Butter (we often use olive oil)
2 1/4 Cups   -    Bread Flour
1 Cup   -    Oats (whole not instant)
2 Tbls.   -    Dry Milk
1 1/2 tsp.   -    Salt
1 3/4 tsp.   -    Active Dry Yeast

Bake at 350 for 40-50 Minutes, will be golden brown.

Mom's Homemade Noodles

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, in my opinion, is not as good without homemade noodles in it. The noodles are in fact my favorite part of the soup and therefore they must be homemade. So I am going to share with you my Mom's recipe for homemade noodles. They are delicious!

1 Beaten Egg
2 Tb. Milk
1/2 tsp. Salt
All-purpose flour (or a combination or white and wheat flour)




Combine egg, milk, and salt in a medium bowl. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough (about 1 cup). Roll very thin on a well floured surface.

FYI: I usually make a double batch of noodles because well, we love them. So the amount pictured is doubled this recipe.

Use a pizza cutter to easily cut your noodles.

 Now you can do one of two things, you can either roll up your dough loosely and slice it into noodles or you can use a pizza cutter. The later is the method I use and it works really well. Depending on how long you want your noodles, cut your dough in half and then into strips.

It should look something like this.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Toss your noodles with a bit more flour and let them dry on your floured surface for at least 20 minutes before dropping into boiling soup.

I love homemade noodles. They are just so delicious! I also like the fact that I can use whole wheat flour in them and make them healthier for my family. 

Mom's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I am a bit slow at posting this, but as promised I wanted to show you what I did with what was leftover from the Whole Chicken that I roasted last week. I was pretty tired on Sunday night and I didn't want to deal with the rest of the chicken that night so I stuck the leftover meat in a bowl in the fridge and then I just took my chicken carcass and drippings and covered it with saran wrap and tossed it in the fridge for the night. This actually works well because in the morning it is very easy to skim off any unwanted fat. Mine didn't have a lot because I had removed most of the skin from the chicken before roasting it.

I dumped the whole carcass and drippings into a big stock pot along with everything else I had roasted my chicken with and then added enough water to cover my chicken well. You can add more carrots, celery, and onion if you like at this point and you may want to if you are going to freeze or can the stock, but I didn't because I planned to use it right away for soup.

Bring your stock to a boil and allow it to simmer for several hours. When it is done simmer strain out the chicken and other bits, leaving only the stock. I love using my stock pot that has the colander that fits inside of it for this because when it is done simmering I can simply lift it out of the stock.

When you are done simmering you should have something that looks like this. You know you have good stock when it has a rich yellow color to it. It should also smell and taste very chickeny.
Save your chicken carcass to the side and let it cool while you work on cutting up veggies for your soup.

My Mom's chicken soup always had carrots, celery, and potatoes in it. I loved it! It was my favorite meal that she made. One thing that I add to my soup is sweet potatoes. They really make it yummy! I don't really know amounts to tell you. I just chop and dump stuff in. But I had a large stock pot and pictured to the right is what I put into my soup.

About 5 large carrots, 4 stalks of celery, 5 medium sized red potatoes, and 2 medium sized sweet potatoes. Peel them, chop them, and drop them into your broth. Bring it all to a boil and then let it simmer until your veggies are tender.

While your veggies are cooking tackle your chicken. Take your cooled chicken carcass and remove any remaining chicken.

Mine didn't have much left, because I had removed most of it the night before. On the plate is what I removed from the carcass and in the bowl is what I had removed the night before.

Overall I ended up with quite a bit of chicken left over though. I dropped all of it into my yummy soup. But you could also make a smaller pot of soup and only use half of the chicken and use the other half in a casserole or enchiladas and then you get three meals out of one chicken. At this point it is really easy to stick the chicken in a freezer container to be used for later if you want.

Take your homemade noodles that you made earlier - find out how here- and drop them into your boiling soup. 

Let your noodles cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. You can see how they all float up to the top as they get cooked. At this point your soup is done and ready to enjoy!

Mom's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Here it is hot and delicious! It really is my favorite winter time meal.

 Now just a few things I wanted to mention in case you want to make this delicious soup without using a whole chicken. Any type of chicken on the bone will work. But remember that it is the bone that makes the broth rich and delicious and imparts that wonderful chicken flavor. So boneless skinless breasts will not cut it. But you can use thighs, wings, drummies, breasts, or a combination. A whole cut up chicken works great. You don't need to roast the chicken ahead of time either you can just dump it into your stock pot and allow the chicken to cook in your stock water, and remove the meat from the bones later. I will often do it this way and then divide the cooked meat up into several freezer containers for future meals.

Even if you are not going to make soup this is a great way to cook your chicken for other meals, because you can make a stock by adding carrots, celery, and onion to the water you cook your chicken in and then you can can or freeze the stock to be used later. I use tons of chicken stock and it is very expensive to buy in the can and is loaded with salt and preservatives. Much healthy and yummier to make your own!

I promise to do future post on canning and freezing stock. I use several methods depending on what I want to use it for.

That is all for now, I hope you enjoy making and eating my favorite meal of all time! Thanks mom, for teaching me how and always making this for my birthday when I was a kid!

Using a Whole Chicken

Whole Chicken ready for Roasting

When I got married over 8 years ago, bone-in chicken was foreign to me. I don't remember my mom ever using it very much. We usually had boneless skinless chicken.  At least that is what I remember having as I got older and started learning to cook. Now in my home you rarely see boneless skinless chicken it is bone-in all the way baby. Over the years I have become more accustomed to cooking and utilizing a whole chicken. I try very hard to get the most out of one little bird.  One chicken usually provides two to three meals for my family of five and costs me between $3 and $4. It is much more cost effective than using boneless skinless chicken and I think it is actually a lot tastier too!

One way that I prepare a whole chicken is just to roast it up in the oven. I clean the bird out well and then stuff it with some yummy aromatics that usually include celery stalks, carrots, a quartered onion, 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, and some fresh herbs from the garden ( parsley, basil, cilantro, etc.) I usually remove most of the skin from my chicken too, this just makes it a bit healthier, and I have never had a problem with dry chicken. I rub down the top with olive oil and then add some seasoning, whatever you like. I am a fan of sage, season salt, black pepper and thyme. But I change it up depending on my mood. Cover the whole thing with foil and pop it in a 350 degree oven for a couple of hours, depending on the size of the bird. Just check it with a meat thermometer, but don't cook it too long or it will get dry. It comes out delicious and yummy. We usually eat this chicken along with some roasted or mashed potatoes and some steamed carrots or cabbage. But we never eat the whole chicken so then I use the leftovers for another meal or sometimes two depending on what I make. In addition, the chicken carcass along with the juices and aromatics are further cooked down into stock to be canned, frozen, or made into soup. One of my favorite second dishes to make with this chicken is my mom's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. In the next couple of days, I will share my recipe for this tasty soup along with some other ideas for utilizing your leftover chicken. If you haven't ever tried using a whole chicken give it a try.

A Winter Favorite: Italian Farmhouse Soup

Italian Farmhouse Soup: Winter Vegetarian Favorite

A few weeks ago we had some friends for dinner and I made this wonderful winter favorite. We absolutely love this soup. It is hearty, warm, and delicious. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.  I am sure it will become one of your favorites too.

Italian Farmhouse Soup

2 Tb. Olive Oil
1 Onion, Chopped
2 to 3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 to 4 Carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
6 oz. Rutabaga, peeled and cut into large chunks
7 oz. Turnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 Quarts, canned diced tomatoes
2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Salt
6 & 1/2 Cups Vegetable Stock
1/2 Cup Dried Small Macaroni
1 - 14 oz. Can Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tb. Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic, cook over low heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the carrot, turnip, rutabaga, tomatoes, herbs, and salt. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add the pasta and kidney beans to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes until pasta is tender. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

After we discovered this amazing soup we started growing Rutabaga in our garden. It is so delicious! We also usually have turnips growing too, but if you don't have either of these just use whatever root or winter vegetables you have available.

I didn't have any turnips when I made this batch. So I threw in a small butternut squash and a large sweet potato, along with my rutabaga and carrots. It turned out awesome! So yummy! Served with homemade French Bread, it makes the perfect winter time meal.

Shaun-ta's Two Bean Soup

Yum! This is what I am having for lunch today. It is leftovers from last night's dinner and it is was really good last night, but better today!

My 6 year old had a Christmas concert last night so I just had to whip up something quick and easy for dinner and this is what I came up with.

Two Bean Soup - Delicious Vegan Recipe

1/2 lb. Black Beans                          
1/4 lb. Pinto Beans                           
1 Quart Diced Tomatoes                   
1 Can Corn (undrained)               
1/2 Jar Salsa     
2 tsp. Cumin                           
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Mexican Oregano
1 Med. Onion, Chopped
2-3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

Rinse beans and cook them in your Pressure cooker (don't drain the juice after cooking). In a skillet saute the onions and garlic in a bit of oil. In a stock pot combine the cooked beans with their juice, the sauteed veggies, tomatoes, corn, salsa, and spices. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Add more salt if needed to taste.  I also added about 3/4 Cup of refried black beans that I had in the fridge to thicken it.  But you can also take out about 1 Cup of the soup mixture and put in a blender and puree. Then add this back into the soup to thicken it. You can also use canned beans put don't drain them, make sure to include the juice, it has great flavor. I served this up with some tortilla chips for dipping. It would also be great topped with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Homemade Stuffing

A couple of weeks ago I made a couple loaves of bread that just didn't raise well. I am not sure what happened. My sweet little baby girl was helping me so maybe I didn't measure the yeast right, not sure, but I didn't want it to go to waste and I knew that it probably wouldn't get eaten, so I decided to make some homemade stuffing out of it. It worked great, so I thought I would share it with you since Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner.

I started by slicing and cutting my bread into cubes. I tried to make them as uniform as possible, so they would not only look pretty but toast up evenly too. I did a pretty good job (I even fooled Jacob who suspected they were homemade, but wasn't sure because of how evenly cut they were.) Yay, for me!

I put all of my bread crumbs into a large bowl. Then I drizzled them with about 3 to 4 Tb. of Olive Oil and tossed them to coat using my hands. Then I added some seasoning. I used garlic salt, onion powder, sage, rosemary, and some thyme, just typical poultry seasoning, but you can use whatever suits your taste.

I laid my bread crumbs out onto a baking sheet (I only did one loaf at a time). Then I baked them in a 375 degree oven until they were crispy and golden. It took about 30 minutes. Just watch them closely so you don't burn them.

Homemade Whole Grain Stuffing

Yum! They turned out great. Use in your favorite stuffing recipe or they would even be great as croutons. This is a great way to make stuffing more nutritious because you can use whole grain bread and it is also much cheaper than buying it in a box.

Pumpkin 'n' Black Bean Chili

Pumpkin 'N' Black Bean Chili

1 Medium Onion, chopped
1 Sweet Pepper, any color, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tb. Olive Oil
3 to 4 Cups Chicken Stock
1 lb. Black Beans, cooked
2 & 1/2 Cups Cooked Turkey, Cubed
(canned turkey also works great)
2 Cups Pureed Pumpkin
2 tsp. Dried Parsley
1 Tb. Chili Powder
1 & 1/2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 tsp. Salt

In a skillet, saute the onion, pepper, and garlic in the oil until tender and translucent. Combine sauteed veggies with remaining ingredients in stock pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour until heated through and flavors have combined. 

You can also make this in the crock pot and let your beans cook along with everything else. I just soak my beans overnight and then drain them and toss everything else in and let it go on low for 6 to 8 hours or until the beans are tender.  Two things that I notice about doing it this way is 1. You have to increase the amount of chicken stock you use to 5 to 6 cups because the beans soak up a lot. 2. This makes a lot thicker chili, which Jacob loves, and I don't mind either, but I personally think it overpowers the pumpkin a bit to do it this way. You just don't get the same pumpkin flavor even if you increase the amount of pumpkin. You get more of a bean flavor. Both ways tasted really good, but I think I prefer to pre-cook my beans so that the pumpkin flavor really comes through. 

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

3 Cups Whole Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Milk
2 TB. Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Pureed Pumpkin
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar (for the top)

In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients, reserving the 1/4 Cup of brown sugar for the top. Spread into a greased 9 x13 pan. Sprinkle the reserved sugar on the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with warm milk.

If you like oatmeal you will really enjoy this. I love it. It is best with warm milk though, but I like everything hot, Jacob says that I like everything molten lava temperature. What can I say it is true.

I discovered this recipe for Baked Oatmeal here. Check it out to see all the different varieties of Baked Oatmeal you can try. We have made several and they have all been yummy! The original recipe calls for quick oats, but I prefer Old Fashioned Oats. You can use whatever your family prefers.

Amish Pumpkin Pancakes

Amish Pumpkin Pancakes

1 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
2 Tb. Sugar
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1 Egg
1 & 1/4 Cups Milk
2 Tb. Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Pureed Pumpkin

Combine flour, soda, sugar, and spices. Combine egg, oil, pumpkin, and milk; add to flour mixture, beating until smooth. Bake on a hot, lightly greased griddle. Serve with butter and syrup. Yum! We love these!