Food Cookbook

I’ve been eyeballing the Empanada recipe in Nourishing Traditions for a while, but couldn’t set aside the time (or energy) to make them.  They aren’t complicated…per say…?  but because they have to be individually made an my family of six eats like a family of 10…well it wasn’t a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal for sure.  From start to finish I think it was about 2 hours with some additional…

If I am truly honest, I must admit most of my cooking skills came from watching Rachel Ray on 30 minute meals.  I have to say, I may favor other chefs on the network for their style or region of influence.  (My absolute favorite recipes have come from Giada De Laurentiis- I love the way she integrates her Italian heritage with her California local.  It keeps this rural southern woman feeling glamorous…

Every Friday I get to visit one of my favorite people on this huge spinning ball we call earth.  My Milk Farmer.  Well, to reduce him to that it almost a crime.  He is a good honest man, dedicated to the local real food movement.  I am honored to have created this loaf for him and his wife.  It is Raisin Walnut Bread, their favorite and weekly breakfast staple. Made…

During the cooler months I roast 2 chickens almost every week to take some of the pressure off life when it comes to fixing meals.  Now that the deep south is heating up, I am trying to use my oven a little less and send my husband out the back door to the grill.  I just found my rotisserie attachment and I can’t wait to use it on my whole chickens, but…

Our halls are decked here and we are taking a break from school, so I’ve been busy cramming my freezer with ready-to-go meals.  Today I stumbled upon some marked down organic boneless skinless chicken thighs.  I love thigh meat, it holds up to long cooking without drying out.  It will shred nice, but also will stay in nice chunks if you cut it up.  I am a big proponent of…

Who doesn’t love tacos?  I would literally fall over dead if I met some one!  I’ve been trying all sorts of homemade taco seasonings I found on Pinterest and think I finally came up with one my family loves.  It’s not too spicy, but some we tried along the way were.  But here’s the final recipe: Ingredients 1 cup of Chili powder  1/2 cup of Onion powder 1/3 cup of…

So many of my staple party recipes and treats this time of year involve biscuit mix.  But it doesn’t take a 5-year-old to turn that box of mix around and see the ingredients are all garbage.  For the sake of shelf-life, this box contains a whole host of preservatives and hydrogenated oils that noone needs to have.  But what about the sausage balls?  Ha Ha! Here’s how to whip up…

I started my day with two slices of my soaked bread, slathered with grass-fed, cultured butter, and raw local honey.  Does it get any better than that?  I should have had some raw milk, but I was too full!  Besides cleaning, packing, and school lessons, I’ve been trying to use all of the fresh food in my fridge or get it frozen or preserved. I made a batch of simple sauerkraut….

WARNING: Freezer Cooking is addictive!!  Freezer meals are all over blogs and Pinterest.  I can totally understand why.  I had done freezer cooking in the past, especially when I was nesting prior to one of my little love’s arrivals.  My third love was so late, I just kept cooking and freezing, I didn’t have to prepare a meal for a solid month after she was born.  That was such a…

8I didn’t make a meal plan this week.  In part, because of the chaos of the holiday weekend, but also some distraction on my part.  I was working hard to complete my 40 bags challenge before Lent was over.  And work in the yard, and…and…and.  So I must confess at the end of last week I started changing things from my plan, and then I didn’t even write one this…