Limeade Slush

This recipe is from my good friend, Heidi Bartlett. It's a great party punch. So light, refreshing, and completely simple to throw together at the last minute, as most of the preparation needs to be done ahead of time.

8 cups water

3 cups sugar

1 (12 oz) limeade concentrate

2 (12 oz) water

3 (2 liter container) Sprite

Boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add the concentrate and water. Cool. Pour evenly into 3 Ziploc bags and *freeze. For each bag of frozen mixture, combine with a 2-liter of Sprite.

* I typically like to freeze punch concentrates in a bunt pan, or other decorative shape to provide a nice presentation as it floats in the punch bowl. Don't worry about anything like this for this recipe, however. You will want to break up the ice with a knife so that it slushes up.

Whole Grain Banana Bread

Most banana breads are really banana cakes. They seem like they should be healthy, but they aren't. This one is exceptional, for taste and nutrition. It comes from a favorite blog of mine.

1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons kefir or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 medium bananas
2/3 cup barley flour
2/3 cup oat flour
2/3 cup soft white wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. Cut a 5x9 inch piece of parchment and place in the bottom of the pan.In blender place syrup, sugar and egg. Blend on low for 45 seconds. Add oil, kefir, vanilla and bananas. Blend again for 30 seconds. Place the remaining ingredients on top of mixture. Pulse until mostly combined, finish mixing with a spatula and pour into loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes.

Be sure to check the bread a couple times in the last 10 minutes for doneness. Press gently on the middle of the loaf, firm is done. When you remove loaf from the oven, let cool 5-10 minutes in the pan, then turn out on a wire rack and peel the parchment from the bottom.

Millet, Quinoa, and Corn Chowder Soup

This hearty chowder is a great way to add different grains into your diet. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. I adapted this recipe from "Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way," by Lorna Sass.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white and light green parts)
1 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt; plus more to taste
1/4 amaranth or millet
1/2 cup ivory quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
4 cups stock (chicken, turkey, or vegetable)
1 cup whole milk
2 Tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the leeks, celery, red bell pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the amaranth or millet and 3 cups of stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the quinoa and thyme. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook at a gentle boil, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, puree 3 cups of the corn kernels with 1 cup of stock. When the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, stir the corn puree and the remaining corn kernels into the soup. Add salt to taste. Reduce the heat and simmer until the quinoa and amaranth or millet are tender, 3 to 5 more minutes. When the quinoa is done, there will be no starchy white dot in the center of each grain, and some of the germs' "tails" may unfurl and float freely. On close inspection, the amaranth or millet will look like tiny opaque bubbles floating on the surface.

4. Stir in the milk and remaining tablespoon of butter. Add more salt, if needed, and pepper to taste. Divide into portions and garnish each with a little parsley.

The soup thickens upon standing; thin as needed with additional milk, and add salt to taste.

Loy's Grapenut Bread

Easy! Delicious! Nutritious!

Loy's Grapenut Bread

Serves: 10
Loy always has grapenut bread on hand and you'll drive a long way to find any better, if then.

4 eggs, beaten
4 cups buttermilk
3 cups sugar
2 cups grapenut cereal
8 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt

Bake 45 minutes at 350*

Mix all ingredients together until blended. Divide into 2 greased loaf pans. Sprinkle with additional sugar across top. Bake.

Prudence Pennywise

So I got to talking with my Visiting Teacher about cooking on a budget. Who knew, but her sister is Prudence Pennywise, a famous blogger with a natural knack for cooking. I checked out her blog today and was instantly hooked. The top recipe was for Chicken Curry Soup in the Crockpot. The picture looks amazing, curry is my favorite, who can beat the ease of the crockpot, and it's cheap! The other recipes look just as good. This will be one I check in on regularly.

Vegan Artichoke Dip

This is one we enjoy very much when watching movies. It is super creamy.

1 pound Fresh Spinach

3-4 Artichoke Hearts

1 Cup Cashews

3/4 Cup Water

2 Cloves fresh Garlic

1 tsp. Sea Salt

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Pinch of Cayenne (optional)

Process Artichoke Hearts and Spinach until chunky. In a blender, blend the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Stir the two together and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

So this has become our family's favorite recipe. You won't believe it's not cheese. After much trial and error, we finally found a recipe we can't do without. After one bite, you'll want another, and yet, it is so dense that a little goes a long way. This cake will last, and that's a good thing.

Crust

1 Cup Pecans

1 Cup Almonds

1/4 tsp. Salt

4 Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped

Filling

3 Cups Raw Cashew pieces, soaked overnight (or at least 3 hours)

1/2 Cup Agave Syrup

1/4 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Fresh Lime juice

1 tsp. Vanilla (preferably Danncy's Mexican)

3 1/2 Cups of Strawberries

3/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted

Strawberry Coulis (Fancy word for pureed sauce)

2 Cups Strawberries

3 Tbsp. Agave Syrup

In a food processor, fully grind almonds and pecans. Add dates and salt and keep mixing. A nice dough should form. Press into a cake or pie pan and set aside in a fridge. This solidifies the nut oils a bit. For the filling, in a good blender, combine cashews, water, agave, lime juice and vanilla. A VitaMix is ideal for this if you have one. If not, add the cashews a few at a time along with the strawberries until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down occasionally. Add melted coconut in a steady stream. Pour the filling right over the crust and smooth out. It will look like a smoothie that will never set. Let chill in the fridge for about 4 hours or more. We couldn't wait 4 hours so our center turned out a little gooey. It was still delicious though. When ready to serve, simply puree the strawberries and agave and drizzle over the cake. YUM YUM YUM!

Oat-Sun Burgers

My upbringing was PACKED with nutritious foods (something I'm trying to get back to). As wonderful as it is to eat that way, not everything was wonderful to taste! This one, however, I remember loving. For those of you wanting to introduce some healthier items to your menu, give this one a try! Pictures yet to come.

Bring the following to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

3 cups water
1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. sweet basil

Then add the following and stir:

3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds (may also use chopped pecans or walnuts)

Return mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and let set for 5 minutes. Form into burgers while mixture is still hot by pressing into a wide-mouth jar ring. Remove ring and repeat.

Bake at 350* on a sprayed cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Then flip burgers and bake 15 minutes longer on second side. Serve with gravy or in a sandwich. These can be made in advance and be frozen for later use.

Sun Oat Burgers

Taylor,

My mom made these years ago but could never find the recipe again. I was thrilled to hear that you have it and have been craving them ever since. Also a great recipe to make for our husbands who are trying to trim their waist lines. PLEASE PASS THE RECIPE!

Thanks!

Softest Play-Dough In The West

I'm kind of a Scrooge when it comes to play-dough. I have to admit I hate the stuff. It's selfish really. Play-dough is messy, you have to make sure kids don't eat it, it's something you have to play WITH them, and it's SO messy! That being said, I know that kids love it. I have gotten better. I just prepare myself for the task by setting aside a good chunk of time I can dedicate to playing with it with her, and clean up. I've made a few different homemade play-doughs and this is my favorite.

5 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 Tbsp alum or cream of tartar
6 Tbsp oil
4 cups boiling water
* To make colored play-dough - add food coloring to the water, or powdered tempura to the flour.

Boil water. Add oil. Stir in dry ingredients and mix well. Knead until soft. Store in an air tight container for months.