1 6oz box long-grain and wild rice mix, prepared according to package or
1 to 1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice/brown rice blend, cooked
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped or an equivalent amount of cooked dark chicken meat from making broth
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
3 ¼ cups chicken broth
5 Tbs butter
5 Tbs all-purpose flour (Can use gluten free flour/thickener)
2 cups milk
½ tsp dried tarragon
¼ tsp dried thyme
Black pepper & salt to taste
Directions:
Cook wild rice. I like cooking 1 cup of wild rice in 2 cups of chicken broth at a very low simmer.
Fry onion and garlic until soft. Add rice and chicken, chicken broth, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook over med-high heat.
In a separate pan melt butter over med-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Stir in milk and continue stirring over med-low heat for about 4-5 minutes or until thick.
Add the cream sauce to the soup mixture. Cook soup until heated through and serve!
1 onion, minced
2 red bell peppers, chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
salt
2 Tbs coconut oil
2 lbs ground beef
2 cups chicken broth
2 15.5oz cans pinto beans, rinsed
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained or put through blender for kid friendly
6 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
18 6” corn tortillas
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bell peppers and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and 1 tsp salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
Stir in the broth, beans, and tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ¼ cup of the cilantro and the lime juice. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
Spread one third of the beef mixture in a 9 x 13” baking dish. Layer 6 of the tortillas on top of the filling, overlapping as needed, then sprinkle with ¾ cup of cheese. Repeat to form a second layer. Spread the remaining filling in the baking dish. Cut the remaining 6 tortillas into quarters, then spread over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of cheese.
Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs cilantro before serving.
This is a soup that our kids love, and it's an AWESOME way to hide veggies that the kids or finicky adults like myself normally won't eat. It didn't sound too flavorful when I read the recipe originally, but it's surprising. This has no milk in it. It's blended, so the potatoes turn the soup into a creamy texture.
3 medium-large baking potatoes or 6 red potatoes, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 zucchini
4 Tbs butter
2 quarts chicken broth
A few fresh thyme sprigs, tied together or 1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
salt
Melt butter in a large pot and add onions and carrots. Cover and cook over low heat for 1/2 hour, or until the veggies are softened. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises. Reduce heat and add thyme and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are soft. Add zucchini and cook until just tender and 5-10 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Puree soup with a handheld blender or transfer to a blender in batches. Thin with water if needed. Season with salt to taste. If you are using homemade broth make sure to put enough salt into the soup, since homemade broth doesn't have any salt to begin with. Without enough salt this soup tastes bland. Serve with sour cream and homemade croutons.
I've tried adding squash to this recipe and it worked out. I'm thinking of trying other veggies like cauliflower or possibly a little rutabaga or turnips. I tried a rutabega, turnip and parsnip soup the other day, and that didn't go over too well with all of us, including myself. But, maybe if I sneak in smaller quantities in a potato base, it wouldn't be detected. We'll see....
Homemade chicken broth is one of the healtiest things you can make. It supplies a lot of minerals and gelatin into your diet. Not only that, but it tastes a lot bettter when making soups and sauces! I can truly taste the difference. This is also an inexpensive way of adding good minerals and vitamins into your diet. This has been a growing experience for me, since I don't necessarily like handling raw chicken. But, it's been such a wonderful part of our meals. It's well worth it!
Ingredients:
1 whole pasture raised chicken
4 quarts of cold water
2 Tbs vinegar
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
I usually double this recipe, so that I only make stock every 2 weeks. I do this job in parts, to make things a little easier.
Part One: Prepare everything the night before. I cut out the chicken breast meat of the chicken and put it into a freezer baggie to save for later. I then cut off the wings and legs. I chop all of the veggies. I put it all in the fridge for the morning.
Part Two: Dump all of the chicken pieces and veggies into a large pot with the COLD water and vinegar. Let it sit for 1 hour. This is a crucial step. The vinegar actually pulls the minerals out of the bones in the cold water.
Part Three: Bring the stock to a boil and skim off any skum that raises to the top. Reduce heat and cook for a few hours.
Part Four: My personal preference is to take the chicken meat off of the bones at this point once the meat is fully cooked, but not overly cooked. I then save this dark meat in freezer bags to put into soups, enchiladas, chicken salad sandwiches, etc.
Part Five: Put all bones and leftover pieces back into the pot and simmer for another 6-20 hours. At this point I strain the broth into another pot, let it cool and put it into the fridge overnight until cold. The fat raises to the top and will easily be spooned off the top. The rest of the stock should look like jello. If you used a single chicken, you should have one gallon's worth of broth. So, depending on how long you cooked down the broth, you may have a half a gallon, or a quarter of a gallon of boiled down broth. Divide the broth into baggies of your preferred quantity. I usually boil mine down to half the original water quantity. So, 2 cups of boiled down broth makes 4 cups of prepared broth. I put 2 cups in each baggie so that I can easily have a quart for my soups. I freeze the individual baggies and thaw in warm water.
Our kids love this! It's an easy recipe too, which can be made ahead of time.
TACO SOUP
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, undrained or add your own pre-soaked and cooked dry beans
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, undrained or add your own pre-soaked and cooked dry beans
1 can (15 ounces) whole-kernel corn, undrained or one cup frozen corn
1 can (28 ounces) stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes or your own quart jar of homemade crushed tomatoes. Store bought crushed tomatoes can be a little too thick for this recipe.
2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp cayenne powder
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
Cook hamburger and onion until well browned. In a pot, add the hamburger and onion, the beans, corn and tomatoes. If you are using stewed or diced tomatoes, you can blend them in a blender before adding them which is often more kid friendly. Then add the seasonings and extra water if needed. Cook for 30 minutes. Use extra salt/pepper to your own taste. Serve/eat with corn tortilla chips and sour cream.
I really recommend this book for your family! It's called "I Heard Good News Today" by Cornelia Lehn. I bought it used from Amazon for $15. You can see it on this link. We've only read 10 out of the 92 short stories so far, but each of the stories have impacted us! I'd have to say that Ryan and I tear up during the stories. It's a book of early missionary stories, of how the gospel of Christ first reached the different parts of the world. It's a book for children. Some of the stories include pirates which have been exciting for our little boys. Our boys have been sitting quite still with big eyes and hardly breathing. I really like this book because it's helping to implant the heart of a missionary into our children, and how God has a big plan for children.
This recipe has been amazing for our family. It takes good, but because of all of the good butter it fills everybody up until noon!
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit
Stir together butter, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover and let it sit on your counter overnight or for 8 hours.
Stir in honey, water, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Add raisins or other dried fruit. Pour into a greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degF for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
So we (Jakin, Jude, Gracie and I), were out on a walk. I no sooner said be careful about walking on the curb, that Jakin proceeded to fall and scrape both of his knees.
A little while later, I said "I am sorry you fell and scraped your knees, I know that really hurts."
Jakin then said, "Yeah, falling on the road or concrete hurts cuz it is hard. It doesn't cause scrapes, it causes blood".
I thought that was well stated!