lima-bean soup

When I was first married, my mother-in-love invited me over for lunch.  She made this very simple dish that was SO very yummy.

First, her simple recipe. Then, a hearty, family-filling modification.

Slice and cook 1cup polish sausage {aka. kielbasa}. Add 2cups frozen lima beans and enough water to cook {1/2-3/4 cup}. Simmer until lima beans are fork tender. Sprinkle with parsley; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cornbread. YUM.  

My modifications:
{sorry some of the pictures are kinda blurry.... I was in a hurry to get photos while I was cooking}

saute 1/2 onion and sausage...  {about 1 1/2 cups, chopped}

the amount of ingredients will be determined by your final serving size. I'll tell you how much I use to feed my family of 2 adults and 4 small children-one is 1. :)

3 cups frozen lima beans

1 TBSP chicken base/ 1 bullion cube/ or just use chicken broth instead of water

I do not always have broth on hand in the summer. I do not cook whole chickens or make stock when it is so very hot outside! But I'll be doing it several times through the winter! We have some kind of soup several times a week.

1 TBSP dried oregano

good shake of steak seasoning

or you can add some salt and pepper, garlic powder and paprika

4 cups water {or broth as stated before}

1 cup cooked rice {or about 2 tbsp dry rice}

keep on med-low for about 2 hours

or you can stick it in the slow-cooker on low and leave the house!

such a pleasant aroma for my hubby to come home to!

If your family are not "rice" people, add some cubed potatoes-just make sure the pieces are small enough to cook through at a low temperature.

Serve with fresh rolls, cornbread or just saltine crackers! We've done all three, and my children's favorite is the crackers. Hubby prefers cornbread, so we'll be having cornbread tonight!

mediterranean chicken

our supper one evening last week:

 4 chicken breast [not even thawed!]

1 small can stewed tomatoes + 

1/2 cup green olives--pureed

1/2 cup water

on high for 4 hours

or low for 6 hours

[in a slow-cooker]

YUM

green bean sauteed 

with garlic and ginger and bacon bits

our FAVORITE way to eat them!

pasta tossed with excess sauce from chicken

 serve chicken and sauce over pasta

with green beans on the side

=

SUCCESS 

this plate belongs to my pickiest eater!

and then she had MORE

Sometimes when I grab the camera at supper, one of my girls will ask: Mommy, why are you taking a picture of our food? 

I just laugh and say I'm gonna share it on the blog. Then they laugh. They think it is funny that I show people pictures of our food. 

What does your family say when you take pictures of odd things?

linked at:

RaisingHomemakers

noblewomen4christ/quick-tip-friday 

at home or on the GO

{almost} nutri-grain bars [original recipe]

My girls enjoy {nutri-grain} cereal bars [and the generic equivalents], but I really wanted to know that they were actually getting good nutrients out of it [especially when it was breakfast!], AND I was wondering about cutting the cost. So I googled it [lol] and found the above recipe to be the closest to something I was looking for. After making it according to that recipe, I made a few tweaks and made another pan -and they are [both] YUMMO!

breakfast {in a bar}: 

[preheat: 325. grease: 9x13. bake: 30 min]

[dry] stir together:

1 1/3 cup wheat flour

1 1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp each salt/baking powder

1/4 tsp allspice

[wet] mix together:

1 egg

1/2 cup [homemade] applesauce {what I used was homemade apple/pear butter}

1 tsp vanilla extract

[filling] 

10 oz [aprox 1/14 cup] jelly or jam [homemade is wonderful here] 

{I omitted the water and simply warmed it on the stovetop to help it be spreadable.}

1/4 cup mixed dried fruit and 2 Tbsp nut chopped {I used dry, roasted edemame as we have a nut allergy in the house.} 

directions:

combine dry and wet ingredients. proceed as the other recipe: 1/2 spread in the bottom of a 9x13 greased pan. spread out the jelly. sprinkle with the dried fruits/nuts. cover with other 1/2 of the oat mixture {the oat dough is quite sticky and is not really spreadable so it can be a slightly messy process}. 

bake at 325 for 30 minutes. can make 12+ bars depending upon how large you cut them.

Wrap individually in wax paper for easy grabbing. place in plastic bag/container. 

Currently, they have kept about 5 days at room temp, but I am sure they would keep longer in the refrigerator. though I am not sure you will need them to!

ENJOY!

I have not yet figured out the cost per bar [equivalent size to the prepackaged], but I do know that these TASTE so much BETTER.

linked up at

raisinghomemakers

[born of necessity] fruit cobbler

This creation was born of a desire for peach cobbler and no fresh peaches and no way to get any right then. {smiles}

so --use what you have!

[great for mid-winter 

when fresh fruit is not readily available]

1 can of sliced peaches 

[in natural juices and light syrup]

spread out in a 9x13 pan

cover with 1/2 [or so] cup of rolled oats

[not the quick cook kind]

looking yum already!

2-3 very ripe apples sliced thin

[about 16 slices per apple for me]

layer over the peaches and oatmeal

sprinkle your own mixture of cinnamon and sugar

[I like to make my own mixture so it can be more

cinnamony and less sugary than the store-bought]

and then for a extra special holiday flavor
I sprinkle about 1 -1-1/2 tsp allspice on it

for a topping I have used several different things

self-explanatory

my favorite was pie dough

and have also used a streusel type dough, 

but that's a LOT of oatmeal. 

cover with your desired [or available] dough

bake at 375 for about 30 minutes 

or until juices are bubbly

allow to cool at least 20 min

[yeah right!]

and consume.

My latest addition was about 1 cup of frozen blueberries sprinkled on before the dough topping. If you have a child that is fond of brightly colored foods... it makes the WHOLE oatmeal part very purple. {smiles} It was VERY yum.

And if you like it more fruity-use 2 cans of peaches or 1 can of peaches and 1 can of apricots or pears.

Serving options include: warm, ala mode [vanilla or REAL strawberry-YUM], whipped cream, with other fresh berries. 

ENJOY!

linked up at: DomesticallyDivineTuesday

Far East {inspired} Pasta

Well, 2 posts in one day.

 don't expect it to happen very often. 

*SMILES* 

 I call this "Far East {inspired} Pasta" because I am not entirely sure if you could actually label it "Chinese" or "Japanese" or anything, really. It has asian flavors: teriyaki & soy sauce, but could be used with Thai flavors or even Americanized with BBQ sauce. And, when it's made with just vegetables, it is made almost too quickly for pictures (but, really, I didn't think about posting it 'til it was done). 

Recipe:
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1 bag frozen mixed 'stir fry' veggies
1 tsp cooking oil
1/2 c favorite teriyaki sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce + 1/4 c cold water
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 - 3/4 c starchy water reserved from the pasta
1 egg

~  cook pasta according to package directions, but about 1 min. short of the 'al dente' cooking time, reserve 1/2 c of the water before draining  ~  put the pasta back in its pot

~  heat oil in skillet, dump in frozen veggies

~  allow veggies to cook until completely thawed & then crack the egg in the middle and stir till scrambled

~  add teriyaki sauce and soy sauce, turn heat to low at this point

~  mix corn starch & cold water to make a slurry

~  add pasta water, then add the slurry

~  pour veggies and sauce over the pasta and allow to sit over low heat for 5 min to thicken the sauce

~  serve!

garnish with toasted sesame seeds, add meat if you desire, change asian flavors for BBQ sauce or Italian dressing... or not.

I often neglect thinking about supper until it is quite late in the afternoon so these type suppers abound. Really, though, the only thing missing that would have been added had I thought about it earlier is some beef- which needs thawing first. 

Right now, I am praising the Lord that my husband even has a job. And we don't have to live on beans and rice-nothing against beans or rice, we have them frequently, too. But variety is the spice of life, right?

Also, I am enjoying the relative quiet and sweet chatter of sisters playing nicely. together. and I love knowing they will eat this. willingly.

 God is only good.