Blessed Beyond Measure
Recipes
Ughplant
Aug 30th
Our neighbor gave us some eggplant from her garden a couple of days ago. I have never had eggplant, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is what we got.
Our neighbor told me to cut it into thick slices and dip it in egg and then dip it into a breadcrumb/flour coating. Then fry it. I cut it up and this is what it looked like.
Now, I have no idea if an eggplant is supposed to look like this on the inside or not. Is this what it is supposed to look like? The seeds are all brown and stuff…
So anyway, I fried it all up. They looked a nice golden brown color and I didn’t taste them. I just put them on the table with our fish and salad. We each took one. I took a taste and it was totally disgusting! Ew! It was so nasty and kind of bitter. David hated it. The kids hated it. Even I hated it. Usually I try new foods and enjoy trying new things. But this is how I felt about it.
Does anyone know how eggplant is supposed to taste? Maybe there was something wrong with it and it was bad. In any case, it was pretty disgusting.
Quail Cove Farms
Aug 24th
We have become a little more health conscious lately. After reading some of the excerpts in a book called “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon, we knew some things needed to change. We have changed quite a few of our eating habits, and feel better and have lost weight, even. Some friends of ours told us about a Co-op that they buy stuff from and we checked it out. It is called Quail Cove Farms. Now, every month, we order good stuff from them. Today I got my hard wheat berries. This is what they look like:
Then, I put it into our wheat mill. It will grind it into flour.
This is what our mill looks like.
And here is the flour, ready to be baked into some bread.
The bread is really good. I will take a picture of the finished product when I’m done. It really doesn’t take very long to do–some of my friends say they could never do that, but it takes 2 minutes to mill the flour and about 5 minutes to assemble it in the bread machine. Then I press the buttons on the bread machine, and in 2 1/2 hours, we have a freshly baked loaf. I don’t even buy bread at the store anymore, except for special kinds. You can use this flour for pancakes and muffins and a whole bunch more. It is delicious.
Herbed Slow Cooker Chicken
Aug 19th
This is an easy, quick prep recipe that tastes wonderful! It is easy to double the recipe, and you can use thighs and drumsticks, too. Hope you enjoy it.
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 t paprika
- 1/2 t garlic powder
- 1/2 t seasoned salt
- 1/2 t dried thyme
- 1/2 t dried basil
- 1/2 t pepper
- 4 bone-in chicken breast halves, defrosted
- 1/2 C chicken broth
Combine 1st eight ingredients, rub over chicken. Place in slow cooker and add broth. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours.
Slow cooker
Aug 16th
I got this really nice cookbook from my neighbor. I have been using it a lot this summer, because I really hate to heat up the kitchen in the summer. It is so great to have a slow cooker. It’s like I put a bunch of stuff in the pot, mix it and let it sit for 8 hours. By the time David gets home, I have dinner and I feel like I haven’t even done much of anything. This recipe is the bomb:
Baked Potato Soup
- 6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
- 1/4 Cup butter
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 1 Cup whipping cream or half-and-half
- 1 Cup (4 oz.) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 1 (8oz.) container sour cream (optional)
- 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 4 hours, OR on low for 8 hours, until potatoes are tender. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, cheese and chives. Top with sour cream, bacon and cheddar before serving.
I left out the sour cream and bacon and it still tasted great. Like a real baked potato! It was yummy!
