Friday Food ~ Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup

Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup
12 cups water
3 TB McKay's Chicken Seasoning (vegetarian chicken seasoning powder)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
1 can Worthington FriChik, chopped (vegetarian chicken substitute)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. sea salt
1 TB dry parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 16 oz. package ruffle noodles (or your favorite type)

Place everything except the noodles in a large kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and slow boil until vegetables are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Add the pasta and cook another 10 minutes or until noodles are large, soft and fluffy. Serve with your favorite sandwiches, like grilled cheese.

Wednesday Away ~ Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge is located in the Olympic National Park in Washington. During our vacation this past summer, we drove the Hurricane Ridge Road after my brother recommended it. Earlier in the day we had hiked in the Hoh Rainforest and visited Marymere falls. Olympic is an awesome park for hiking and even the views while driving were incredible. Hurricane Ridge had some of the best scenic views we had seen all day It was amazing! The weather was beautiful and clear that day, so I was able to capture the far distant views in this photo. I used the Velvia effect in Photoshop to enhance the colors. If you take a vacation to the North West, I highly recommend Olympic National Park, and take some time to explore Hurricane Ridge. We didn't hike up there, because it was the end of the day for us, but they do have some really nice looking trails, too.

Friday Food ~ Popcorn and Smoothies Night

I love to cook and eat wonderful foods, but it is nice to have a break from all the preparation and work that goes into getting a full meal on the table. So, one night per week we have popcorn and smoothies night around here!

Simple Smoothies

2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup frozen blue berries

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1-2 cups frozen strawberries

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

2-3 cups soy milk (or your favorite milk . . . you could even use juice like OJ or Apple Juice)

Blend until smooth. If you blender is having trouble processing all the frozen fruits, stop it 2-3 times and stir the smoothie with a spoon, or add a little more milk/juice as needed. I like my smoothies really thick . . . almost like soft serve ice cream! If you prefer a more juice-like consistency, then add more liquid or less strawberries. Make enough for 2 large cups, or 4 small cups. ENJOY!

Friday Food ~ Raspberry Lemonade in a Tea Maker

I love the Raspberry Lemonade they serve at Olive Garden, so my husband, Jason and I decided to try to make it at home! We used to make it in a pot with tea bags, but they Jason's parents gave us a tea maker for Christmas last year, so since them we've been making it in there. It's so much easier!

Raspberry Lemonade

9 Raspberry Herbal Tea bags

Lemonade mix = 2 quarts

Water & Ice

Add ice to the tea maker as you would to make tea. Add 2 quarts worth (enough powder to make 2 quarts) into the pitcher with the ice.

We use this kind of Raspberry Tea!

Place 9 tea bags in the "tea area" of the tea maker.

Add the correct amount of water as your tea maker requires. Push start!

Once the tea maker turns off, just stir the Raspberry Lemonade until it is well mixed and all the lemonade powder has dissolved. Enjoy!

Thursday Thoughts ~ Inspiration

Plato, The Republic

"Pindar: Hope, he says, cherishes the soul of him who lives in justice and holiness, and is the nurse of his age and the compassion of his journey, hope which is mightiest to sway the restless soul of man."


I praise God for the hope of heaven and eternal life! The time we spend on this earth is like a blink of our eye compared to the eternity God has promised us by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Our Heavenly Father made a way for us be saved from the death penalty our sins place on our lives. The penalty of sin is death, and that death would be eternal.

Romans 6:1-14 ~Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Thursday Thoughts ~ Psalm 23

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Friday Food ~ Granola

We love to start our mornings off with a hearty bowl of granola! Isaac even enjoys granola! I have seen so many different recipes for granola, and each one adds something unique. I took the recipe my parents gave me and the one from my mother-in-law and created this recipe! It works out really well, because we can both enjoy aspects of the granola we used to eat when we were growing up.

Granola

1 large container of old fashioned oats (approx. 10 cups)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup hot water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup oil

1 cup chopped dates

Mix first five ingredients in large bowl. Mix brown sugar, water, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and oil in small bowl. Combine all together, except dates. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir the granola ever 15 minutes during the baking time. Once you take it out of the oven, mix in the chopped dates.

Add all the grains, seeds, and nuts together.

Mix the liquids and sugar/salt together really well. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and mix. Dump onto dry baking sheets, and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes. Add dates at the end. Store in an airtight container.

Tues. News ~ Hummingbirds

I recently got a new camera, and used my 75-300 mm lens to snap this shot in our back yard! I plan to go outside this afternoon and try to capture some more images of hummingbirds! Hiding under our mulberry bush is the perfect spot to get photos like this one!

Did I mention, I absolutely LOVE hummingbirds! They are so beautiful and so interesting to watch. I got a hummingbird feeder last year, but was not able to really attract them because the season was off and the feeder's location was kind of hidden. This year, I was determined to set up my feeder in a way that will actually attract the hummingbirds! I purchased a shepherd's hook-style plant hanger, and used that to hang my hummingbird feeder in the left side of our flowerbeds in the back yard. We have had lots of hummingbirds this year and I have been so happy to see them! I make the nectar for them to drink, and it is very easy to do! You just put 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. So 1 cup of sugar for 4 cups of water. I boil the water, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Then I chill it in the refrigerator. When it is really hot, you have to change the nectar out of the feeder every day or two, because it will go bad. The solution keeps in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

I will soon need to put the feeder away, however, because they need to migrate south to warmer climates or the winter will kill them.

I am already looking forward to feeding them again next year!

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Subs with Potato Salad & BBQ Beans

My parents went on a cruise recently and stayed with us right before the trip and right after. The port where their boat departed from is close to where we live. They were traveling for their 45th wedding anniversary! AWESOME! Two of their best friends went on the cruise with them, and they also came and stayed with us on the last weekend after the cruise. I served this meal to all of them, and now I'm going to share it with you! Note: There won't be too many details on the sandwich, because a sandwich can be made so so many different ways --make it your favorite way!!
Potato Salad
8 potatoes
1 purple onion
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. horse radish sauce
2 large spoonfuls of sweet pickle relish
1 TB vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs (optional, and not included in the photos below)
dash of red and black pepper

Chop and cook the potatoes and let cool.

Chop the purple onion into really small pieces.

Mix all ingredients together really well. Chill until ready to serve!

Grandma's Barbecue Beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 can great northern beans

1 pkg Griller crumbles (vegetarian ground beef substitute)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

olive oil

Heat a pan at medium and add about 1-2 TB olive oil. Saute the onion and pepper until soft and slightly browned.

Rinse the beans.

Add the beans to the onion and pepper pan, and add all the other ingredients together. Simmer on medium-low for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a delicious sandwich of your choice. We had Vegetarian turkey subs, which included lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives, pickles, vegetarian turkey slices, and various sliced cheeses.

Tues. News ~ Little boy . . . Little fish

Is he a boy . . . is he a fish? It's hard to tell when our son gets in the pool!

Watching him swim and explore the pool has been one of my favorite memories from this summer. The first time I took him to the pool this season was with his two best buddies Amelia and Connor! Isaac has never been afraid of the water, and laughed and giggled last year when I took him swimming at our friend's pool. He was about six months old back then, and now he's 18 months! I didn't know what to expect, and so when Isaac took a dip under the water and came up laughing and excited, I was very surprised! Then he broke free from my hand, and went completely under with a kind of belly flop-like dive. Keep in mind, it's only about 1 foot of water, but I was still really amazed. He loves the water and wants to go swimming ever chance he gets. He's definitely part boy, part fish! The other day, he found one of his swimmy diapers in the diaper bag and followed me around the house saying "swimming, swimming, swimming"! I didn't have time to go that day, but we went with Daddy over the weekend, and he didn't want to leave. He even tried jumping (or scooting) off the edge of the pool into Daddy's arms, which he watched his neighbor friend, Thomas doing! I'm taking him to the pool later today! Gotta get into that refreshing pool while we can, because the season is drawing to an end as the start of another school year is around the corner. But that's another story for another day!

Friday Food ~ Peach Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Many happy memories in my life involve pie. My Mom is the queen of pie making, and I only claim the title of pie princess, because she is still occupying that throne! This is originally my Mom's recipe, so I did not "make this one up" as I did the majority of the other recipes you will find on this blog of mine.

Oh, how I wish there was just one more slice of this left in my refrigerator right now. It was divine!
Peach Pie

crust
2 cups all purpose flour
2 TB wheat germ
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup ice water (ice to chill the water is VERY important)

filling
7-8 fresh peaches, or one bag of frozen peaches (this one was made with fresh)
1/2 cup sugar (the peaches were extremely ripe, so I didn't feel the need to add lots of sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup cornstarch

Peel and slice the peaches.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

Combine cornstarch mixture with peaches.

For the crust, mix the dry ingredients well.

Measure the oil, then put some ice in a bowl of water. This is very important, because the icy water will combine more completely with the oil than just tap temperature water. Hold the ice cubes back with your hand or a spoon as you pour water into the oil. Mix really, really well with a fork. That's the way Momma taught me, so that's the way I suggest you do it! ;-) (ha ha)

Mix the liquid with the dry, and don't mix it too much, because that will make the crust tough. Mix just enough to combine. Separate the pie dough into two equal lumps. Roll the pie crust out between wax paper.

Peel the top layer of wax paper off, and then lift the bottom sheet with the pie crust dough and dump it into the pie pan. Peel away the wax paper. Lightly touch the dough and press it to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Dump the peaches in.

Roll the top pie crust dough out in the same way, and then form pretty edges all around the pie pan. Cut slits in the top of the pie for the steam to escape while baking.

Enjoy!! I think I'll make another pie this week! It just looks so yummy and I love pie so much!

Friday Food ~ Old Fashioned Coleslaw

Old Fashioned Coleslaw

1 head cabbage, shredded

4 large carrots, shredded

1/2 tsp. salt

1-2 TB vinegar

1-2 TB sugar

1/2 cup mayonnaise (vegenaise works great in this recipe)

Shred the veggies, mix everything together. Taste and see if you like it! If it's a little too salty, at a tiny bit more sugar, and if it isn't tangy enough you can add a little more vinegar.

I love this stuff! If haven't tried it before, you can find it at a health food store or at your local Kroger.

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Greek!

I love Greek food! Some of my favorite Greek or Mediterranean foods to make are hummus and tabbouleh salad! We always serve hummus with black olives, kalamata olives, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and a side dish --either tabbouleh salad or seasoned curly fries.

There are thousands of recipes out there for hummus and tabbouleh salad. I took the best ideas I could find and came up with these two recipes . . .

Hummus
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup tahini
5 small cloves of garlic, (2 large)
2 TB fresh parsley
4-5 lemons, juiced
10 medium black olives
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
olive oil & paprika for garnish
1/2 -1 cup water


Juice the lemons!

Add everything to a food processor except the water!

Tahini can be found at your grocery store in the health/natural foods section or near the peanut butter and jelly where they have other nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter. It is made out of sesame seeds.

Blend in the food processor until it is smooth and thoroughly combined. If it is very, very thick, add some water and continue to process the hummus, adding more water until the desired consistency is achieved.

Next, up let's make some Tabbouleh Salad! It's such a fresh, tangy flavor to serve with hummus!

Tabbouleh Salad
1 cup Bulgar wheat
1 tsp. salt
2 lemons, juiced
1 pt. cherry tomatoes
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 TB olive oil
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

Make the Bulgar wheat according to the package, usually you just put the wheat into boiling water, then let it sit for 10 minutes until all the water is absorbed, but double check your package.

Chop some tomatoes! Summer time tomatoes are so flavorful, juicy, and just spectacular! Chop the parsley and green pepper, and mix it together with the prepared Bulgar wheat.

Tabbouleh Salad turns out so fresh and colorful! It makes a wonderful side dish with all kinds of Greek and Mediterranean foods!

I am getting a craving for some homemade hummus! I think I'll make this for our Friday night supper! Oh, and if there are any leftovers, be sure to use them up, because the flavors combine and become even brighter after it sets overnight!