Honey Caramel Apples

These turned out really well. Very yummy! After stirring for 20 min. with the temp not moving above 215, I did end up having to turn it to a higher temp when bringing it to 255. Make sure you let it thicken enough or the caramel with melt off on to the wax paper. Twist each apple (after dipping it into the caramel) for a while until it cools enough to not melt off. You could have an older child help twist while you dip another.

Caramel Apple Recipe

Please be careful when making caramel apples, you will be working with dangerously hot, sticky, ingredients - I always put on an apron and make sure I have a closed-toed pair of shoes on when making candy. Be extra, extra careful if you have kids around. On the ingredient front, I typically go for a mild clover honey when making caramels.

6 - 8 small apples, unwaxed, cold


1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt


1 cup honey

Special equipment: candy thermometer, and lollipop sticks

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Push a lollipop or popsicle stick deep into each apple - in through the stem.
Fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice water and set aside.

In a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan heat the cream and salt until tiny bubbles start forming where the milk touches the pan - just before a simmer. Stir in the honey. Bring the mixture to a boil. Now reduce the heat to an active simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 15-20 minutes minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260F degrees. To stop the caramel from cooking, very, very carefully set the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water you prepared earlier - taking special care not to get any of the water in the caramel mixture. Stir until caramel begins to thicken up - you want the caramel to be thin enough that it will easily coat your apples, but not so thin that it will run right off. If the caramel thickens too much simply put the pot back over the burner for 10 seconds or so to heat it up a bit.

I tilt my sauce pan so all the caramel forms a pool on one side, and use my other hand to dunk and twirl each apple until it is thoroughly coated with caramel. Place each apple on the parchment lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool and set.

Makes 6 - 8 caramel apples.

What's UP!

What have we been up to?


*Savannah and Matthew went to the home school teen Halloween party.

Matthew went as Elvis! Sorry the picture is dark. Notice the chest hair.

Some of the kids. There where about 50 teens in all.

Savy went as an Egyptian princess. We had some black hair color but when we went to
spray it on it came out as no color at all.

Playing a game.

Savannah and her friend Shelby.

Prizes!

*Brady and Tanner have been learning about whales in science. They are so excited to go to Sea World in the spring.

*Justin learned to roll over from front to back last week (Oct 22, 2009). He has gotten so cute and chubby. He's 3 months old in 4 days and about 14 lbs.

Brady is so good with Justin and Justin loves him!

Brady reading to his younger brothers. Justin likes to read books.

*Matthew finished one mid term last week and got 100% on it and has four more to go this week.

* Savannah dissected a clam for science. (no pic)

* I've been hibernating in order to protect Justin from the nasty flu that is going around. I'm going crazy and am starting to wonder if a bout of flu would be easier then being locked up in my house for months.......but I will persist for the sake of the little chub.....and if they take me to the crazy house please remember to wash your hands when you get home, don't kiss baby on the mouth, don't take him out, don't touch your hands to your mouth, gargle with salt water twice a day, take your vitamin D3 and C..........................AHHHHHHHHH!

*Patrick learned to make mozzarella from our goat milk. A post will come soon to show his adventure but here's a picture until then. The cheese is very good.

* My house is a mess and I'm tired from not getting much sleep at night. I think Justin is taking an increase in milk because he wants to nurse all day and night. Luckily this only takes a few days so I'm sure to sleep tonight ; ) Ya right??!!

* Some unknown animal has been killing our chickens. Luckily, it's picking off the old ones. We have to lock the chickens up at night. We went out to lock the coop up last night and two were dead. We are now suspecting Duke (our dog) for these two deaths. We think he got the taste for blood on the last couple and went in last night and did the deed. If another animal would have been in the back yard the dogs would have barked crazily. We've got some fence fixing to do.

* Some of the French is starting to stick in our brains. My brain has a harder time now that I've had a baby. Having a baby, while you love them so much, just sucks all your brain power. Goodbye brain, I hope to see you in a few years.

Well that's it for now. I guess I'll go get ready to make pizza with all that goat cheese Pat's making.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Big Soft Ginger Cookies- Sabrina Cleverley

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1/2 c. butter or coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 3/4 c. honey
1 tsp. baking soda 1 egg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 c. molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine dry ingredients, mix well and set aside. Cream the butter and honey. Beat in eggs and molasses. Add to dry ingredients. Roll into 1** balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet 2** apart. Bake at 350* for 9 min.
Do not over bake.

Lemonade

Yummy Lemonade

Squeeze the juice out of 2-3 lemons into a pitcher (I think a pitcher is 2 quarts) Or you can use real lemon juice about 3-4 oz
Then add about 1/2 cup Agave (more if you like it sweeter).
Then fill the pitcher up the rest of the way with ice and water. You can also blend it all up in a blender for an icee.

Ice Cream!

We love ice cream in our family!! We have our own chicken so we don't worry about pasteurizing the eggs. If you'd like to pasteurize, mix the cream and eggs together on stove and bring it to 180 degrees. Cool and then follow the rest of the instructions.

French Vanilla Ice cream
2 cups of cream
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup agave or honey
1 tsp of vanilla
3 whole eggs

Pulse all ingredients into a blender and freeze in an ice cream maker

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cups of cream
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup agave or honey
1 tsp of mint
2 whole eggs
1 bar of dagoba mint chocolate candy bar or 1 cup of dagoba chocolate chips

Pulse all ingredients (except chocolate bar) into a blender, break the bar into pieces and poor all into an ice cream maker.

Banana or Strawberry Ice cream
2 cups of cream
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup agave or honey
2 whole bananas or two cups strawberries
2 whole eggs

Pulse all ingredients into a blender and freeze in an ice cream maker

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Mary Liechty

3/4 c. Butter (or half butter, half unrefined coconut oil)
3/4 cup honey 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon 3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs 1 c. raisins
2 c. oatmeal 1 1/2 to 2 c. whole grain flour
Cream butter and honey together. Add salt, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, and baking soda; mix well. Mix in eggs. Add raisins, oatmeal, and flour. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Easy Homemade Tuna Casserole

Easy Homemade Tuna Casserole - Mary Liechty

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Arrowroot powder
1-2 tsp Oregano (sometimes I use fresh parsley instead)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-2 tsp sea salt
2 cups milk (you can also use half milk and half chicken broth)
2 lbs wide egg noodles or spaghetti noodles broke in half and cooked. (I use Tinkyada brown rice noodles)
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
2 eggs
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add Arrowroot, salt, pepper, and Oregano, mixing well.
4. Slowly stir in milk.
5. Heat to almost boiling, stirring constantly, until thickened and take off burner (it will turn slimy if you're not careful)
6. Combine cooked noodles, white sauce, tuna and eggs in casserole dish.
7. Top with Cheddar cheese. Put the lid on (or tinfoil).
8. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Mary's Garden Salsa

Mary's Garden Salsa

I-28 oz can of Tomatoes (I use diced but you can use whole
peeled or raw tomatoes that have been blanched for
10 seconds and peeled and seeded.)
1 whole green bell pepper seeded and diced
1/2 an onion diced
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped (I love cilantro so I use a lot. You can use less if you don't like it)
2-3 tsp sea salt (salt to your taste)
2-3 cloves garlic (optional - put through a garlic press. If I'm in a garlic mood I'll put it in.)
1/2 Jalapeno Pepper if you like hot salsa (optional - I don't use these in mine)
Pulse all ingredients in a blender until well mixed and chopped.

Baked Beans

Baked Beans

3 cups dry navy beans
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
2 TBS honey
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup water

Place beans in a pot to soak over night adding 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar per cup beans (this makes so you don't get gas). Add water to cover by 2 inches. The next day cook beans on high until bean are tender (3-4 hours). Drain beans and discard liquid. Place beans in a crock pot. Add ingredients, cover and cook on medium. for about 1 hour.
Yield: 10-12 servings

BEEF & BROCCOLI STIR FRY

BEEF & BROCCOLI STIR FRY

1 tbsp. arrowroot
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 lb. beef stir fry
5 tbsp. oil
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper, crushed, dried
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. carrot strips
2 c. broccoli flowerets
1/2 c. beef broth

In bowl stir first 2 ingredients. Add beef to coat. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Drain, reserve marinade.

In large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper. Stir fry 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to large bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet. Stir fry 1 minute. Remove to bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add carrots and broccoli. Stir fry 2 minutes or until tender crisp. Remove to bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add beef. Stir fry 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add broth and reserved marinade. Stir constantly bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Add vegetables. Cook 2-3 minutes until heated. Serve over rice. Serves 4-6.

Recipes

I'd love to get your favorite recipes also. Please share if you have a good recipe. We're always looking for something new and fresh to try!

Tomato Lentil Soup

Tomato-Lentil Soup Based on recipe in Woman’s Day - Soooo good!

Dice half a yellow onion and sauté with 1 clove crushed garlic in 1 Tbs. olive oil. In a pot, add 4 cups water and 1 cup rinsed sorted lentils, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper, onions, and garlic (I like to add chopped carrots and celery too). Bring this to a boil and then simmer for about 30 min. Add 3 c. crushed or diced tomatoes and juice (I blend my diced tomatoes before adding or my younger boys will pick them out). Add ½ c. sliced black olives (optional). Simmer for 30 min. or more to blend flavors. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Lentils are very nutritious. They are especially high in B vitamins, which I call the stress vitamins. This is a hardy soup and very filling. It doesn't have meat or dairy for those who avoid these.

I triple this recipe for my family so there will enough for lunch the next day.

Corn Bread

Mary’s Corn Bread

Mix: 2 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. cornmeal, 1 Tbs. baking powder, dash salt.

Mix: ½ c. honey, 1/3 c. oil, 2 eggs, 1 c. milk.

Combine all until moistened, but don‘t overmix. Bake in a greased 13” x 9” pan at 400° for 14-18 min.

These are yummy with honey butter.

Chicken Alfredo

This is another favorite of my kids.

Homemade ALFREDO SAUCE *

I chicken breast cooked and cut up
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot ( you can use 4 TBS flour but I like Arrowroot)
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth (if you don't have broth add another cup of milk)
3 tablespoons fresh or 1-2 tablespoons dried parsley
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Add Real Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and Arrowroot together. Add milk and broth all at once and blend well. Add the remaining ingredients and stir on medium to medium high until creamy.
( watch it carefully and take it off the heat right when it starts to thicken. Arrowroot will turn slimy if you cook it too long)

Add chicken and pour over brown rice pasta or rice.

Additional cheese can be added to the topping, if desired.

Caramel Corn

12 c. popped popcorn
4 TBS butter
4 TBS honey

Melt the butter and honey together in a small pot on the stove. Drizzle over the popcorn in a large bowl, stirring to coat. Spread out on two cookie sheets lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake in 325 degree oven 8-10 minutes.

This is my friend's recipe and it's our favorite. It makes crispy caramel popcorn.

Every Saturday night we have a family movie night and make caramel popcorn and nutritional yeast popcorn. My family did this when I was a child. I have such good memories of spending that time together that I wanted to continue it with my family. My mom was really creative making different flavors of popcorn. I loved those times and I love these times with my own family.

Zucchini Casserole

We made this for dinner today. It is so good!! We aren't fans of zucchini but everyone loved this (the younger boys picked out the tomatoes though). We even used our homemade mozzarella from our goat milk.

Zucchini Casserole - Diane Hopkins with a few changes

1/2 lb. hamburger (optional or substitute chicken)
4 medium zucchini, chopped
2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 cup cooked brown rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
4-5 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
Italian cheese (mozarella, parmesan, asaigo, etc.)

If using meat, brown hamburger in a large skillet. Drain and set aside. Put chopped zucchini in the skillet with a tablespoon or two of water, sprinkle with oregano, and cook over medium heat with a lid on the skillet, to steam it. When the zucchini is tender, turn the heat to low and stir in brown rice, hamburger, and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread this out evenly into a crock-pot. Put drops of sour cream on top of the tomatoes and cover with a generous amount of cheese. Cook on medium for about 2 hours. Serves 8. Nutritiously delicious!

Kefir

Cultured products of very much a part of our everyday lives. They keep your digestive system healthy so you can digest the foods you eat among many, many other things.

Both kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products...

...but they contain different types of beneficial bacteria. Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria that keep the digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that reside there. But kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt cannot match.

Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt, Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species.

It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir, which dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by penetrating the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and strengthens the intestines. Hence, the body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites.

Kefir's active yeast and bacteria provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods that you eat and by keeping the colon environment clean and healthy. Because the curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, it is also easier to digest, which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food

Meet our cute little Kefir grains. These are alive and grow if they are taken care of. They are part of the family! When they get big enough, we can share them with others who are looking for better health. Our grains came from a start that is hundreds of years old.

Every morning as part of our breakfast I make a kefir shake. You need to start out slow because this stuff is very vigorous in getting rid of bad yeast and the die off from the bad yeast can make you feel sick. I started out as giving everyone 1oz and slowly added more every two weeks until the adults get one cup and the kids gets 1/2 cup. Kefir has a zing to it and is very sour so adding fruit is very important to getting kids to love it.

So every morning I strain the culture from the night before and put it into the shake. I take the kefir grains and put them into another jar and add 4 cups of milk and let it ferment on the counter for another 24 hours until breakfast the next morning. I do this every day. It's really easy. Kefir likes the same temp as humans do so you don't have to heat it up. Just pour it into the jar and forget about it until the next morning.

Kefir is very easy to digest even if you have allergies to milk. I knew a lady who was very sick and was terribly allergic to milk. Desparate to find something to help her ( she had tried just about everything else) she finally decided to try Kefir. She started slowly and eventually could drink several cups a day. After a few months of Kefir and changing her diet to a much healthier diet she looked great. I didn't even recognize her because she was so sick before hand, very thin and unhealthy looking. Kefir had helped heal her digestive system.

Our Kefir Shake Recipe:

2 cups of milk (if you can't drink unfermented milk, then don't add it. Maybe you can try water or a little juice?). You can also use goat milk if you prefer.

2 bananas

2 servings of frozen fruit (peaches, berries, pears)

2-4 Tbs of raw honey

2 Tbs of acerola cherry powder (I add this for a whole food vitamin C to help keep the family healthy. You don't have to add it)

I blend this together until really blended. Then I add about 5 cups of kefir and pulse it about 2 times.

It's ready and YUMMY! It has a sweet zingy taste.

Yogurt

People always ask me what kind of snacks we eat. If I can't make it at home, then I don't give it to my kids for a snack. For example, gummy bears may be good for a special treat but not as a snack and it's definitely not something I can make at home. Kids need snacks that are healthy and replenish the vitamins, minerals, protein, ect, that they loose while they are constantly running around. So when my kids say they are hungry, I like to give them something that is packed with nutrition so they're not asking me for another snack 10 min. later. I'll be posting some of the different snacks that we eat in the next few days.

Yogurt is a favorite snack around here. We make a gallon a week. This saves us money and helps us to avoid the sugar that is loaded in commercial yogurt. If it is fermented for 24 hours most people can eat it even if they can't drink milk. The good bacteria breaks down and digest the things in the milk that cause allergies. The longer it is fermented the more sour it gets. I find that 7 hours is perfect for us.



Yogurt is very simple to make if you have one of these thermal cookers. They are around $100 and worth every penny. Make sure you get a good one though. There are a lot of junky ones that don't retain the heat for 24 hours.

First, put the whole milk in the inner stainless steel pan. I heat the milk to 180 while occasionally stirring it. After it reaches 180, I put the pan into the sink with cold ice water until the temp gets to 110-120. I then put one cup of Brown Cow plain yogurt (you can get it at a health food store and it has plenty of live good bacteria) into the pot and stir it with a wire whisk. I then put the inner pan into the thermal cooker and let it ferment for about 7-8 hours. After it is done, I take the inner pan out and put it in the fridge over night. Walla....it's ready to eat.

I stir the yogurt until it's creamy and put it into these nifty cups. I then put some fruit with honey (I slowly melt the honey and fruit on the stove to keep it raw) on top and put them into the fridge. The kids each get 3 for that week. Yummy stuff, and with all that good bacteria for a more balance digestive system!!!



You can buy these in the canning section at the store or on Amazon. They are freezer containers but work perfectly for yogurt.

Broccoli, Cheese, Rice Casserole

Savannah made this tonight.

Broccoli, Cheese, Rice Casserole

3 cup of brown rice (not cooked)

One bunch of broccoli

Three slices of whole grain bread (made into small bread crumbs and seasoned with Italian seasoning)

½ onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

2 Tbs butter

3 cups homemade cream of chicken soup

1 pound of chicken (you can use more or less or none if you prefer)

Shredded cheese for topping (as much or little as you would like)

Cook the 3 cups of brown rice (this takes 45 min.). Steam the broccoli until bright green. Cook onions and garlic in 2 Tbs of butter until translucent. Put rice into a 9 by 13 inch pan. Pour the chicken soup, chicken, broccoli, onions on top and mix into rice. Next sprinkle the bread crumbs on top. Add cheese on top, cover and cook for 30 min at 375.

Cream of Chicken soup (homemade)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth



1/4 teaspoon onion powder


1/8 teaspoon garlic powder


1/8 teaspoon black pepper


2 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)


2 Tbs fresh chopped parsley


1 1/2 cups milk


3 Tbs of arrowroot powder (or corn starch)

In medium-sized saucepan, heat chicken broth, milk, and the seasonings until almost boiling. Keep stirring until it begins to thicken. Take off heat. It will get thicker as it stands.

Roast

A lot of my recipes that I've been posting are with beef. We really don't eat beef everyday. Maybe once a week. We actually try to eat meat only 2 times a week. Three years ago I hadn't touched beef for about 15 years. YUK! I didn't like it and it made me sick. It's a long story about why we started eating beef again. If you want to know ask me sometime : ) I will say that I'm very picky about what meat I eat. As a matter of fact I don't eat any meat unless I know it's organic, no hormones, or antibiotics. The beef we get is local and grass fed with no additives. It's has 50% less fat and less cholesterol.

In the winter we like to have a roast once a month. Here's how I prepare it.

The night before (if I remember) I'll put the roast in a bag with some fermented soy sauce and the juice from a couple of oranges. The next morning I put the roast (and juices) in the crock-pot on high for a few hours. About 1 1/2 hours before we eat, I put in some veggies. (potatoes, spaghetti squash from the garden, carrots, or whatever I like). I then cut some onions and garlic and sprinkle all over the top of everything so it melts down into the veggies and roast.

I serve this with a big green salad.

Refried Beans

Refried Beans David & Jennifer Edgecomb (with a little change from mary : )

Fill crock pot 1/3 full with sorted, rinsed pinto beans (about 5 cups). Cover beans with lots of water. Add 5 TBS of raw apple cider vinegar (this will stop the beans from causing gas and bloating. If you're not worried about it you can omit this step). Soak beans overnight or up to 24 hours. In the morning, pour off water and rinse well and then fill with enough fresh water to cover plus about 2 inches. Cook on high heat until very tender (4-6 hrs.). When beans are tender add to crock pot ½ chopped yellow onion, 1-2 cloves of fresh crushed garlic, 2-3 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. ground oregano, and 2 Tbs. butter (or other fat or omit if you don't want fat). Mash with potato masher for coarse beans or blend in blender for smooth beans. Keeps well in fridge for several days or can be frozen.

We make these once a week in the winter (it's too hot in the summer to cook them all day). We split them into about 3-4 containers and freeze. I pull these out if we need a quick meal during the week. You can use them with tortillas, tortilla chips, or just put some cheese and sour cream on top. Once you get used to these you'll never go back to canned refried beans.

Tortillas

This one is for Kelly (or whoever else wants it)

Homemade Tortillas

5 cups whole grain flour

2 TBS olive oil (or other oil)

1 2/3 cup warm water

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Stir together dry ingredients. Then add the oil and water. Break off a small piece and roll it out very thin on a floured surface. You may need to add more flour when rolling out if needed. Then cook them with a little oil in a frying pan until lightly browned on both sides. You can do this without oil if you prefer but I think they are better with the oil. This makes about 20 tortillas.

My family will almost eat these all up in one meal but if you have any leftover you can put them in a bread bag and get them out when you want. YUM!! Who said that whole foods don't taste good.

FYI- I don't always make these. Actually, I haven't made them for a while. They are very time consuming but yummy when I have the time.

Two Months Old

I can't believe Justin is two months old. He's so adorable. He is 11 1/2 pounds and chunking out....so cute : ) I love it when they start to get chubby. Savannah did another photo shoot. This child has so many pictures.

He's getting really good at controlling his head.

He's starting to learn to laugh. His smile is still so amazing to us.

He looks so much like Savannah did as a baby here.

The baby gets bored just sitting around so I have to entertain him by walking around showing him things. I took him outside and showed him a flower. He held it for a while

.....and then tried to eat it.

Look at those cheeks! You can just kiss them!

Looking at mommy. He's always been so alert and looks right into your soul.
And look, his eyes are finally white....no more jaundice!

Look at my chub!