FP Salsa Recipe

Here is my "not so secret" anymore recipe for food processor salsa, This salsa can be made with out the food processor, but using a food processor makes easy the task of cutting and chopping all the ingredients. This recipe will yield approx. 2 qts. of fresh yummy salsa!

8-10 Roma Tomatoes
1 sm-med purple onion
2 cloves of garlic smashed
2 large bell peppers ( colorful variety)
2 limes juiced and pulp removed
hand full of fresh cilantro leaves
3tsp. of Mrs. Dash "fiesta lime" seasoning <--- the secret
1tsp or more coarse ground sea salt

run the tomatoes, onion, bell peppers individually thru the FP. Scrap each into a large mixing bowl. stir to combine. Add in the seasoning and salt and lime juice and pulp. top with cilantro and mix thoroughly. serve chilled with your favorite tortilla chips.

Spring done sprung......

wow, I've been busy, Spring flew by in a wind of outside activities and soap making. I have been so blessed to be making and selling my 100% raw goats milk soaps. The garden is coming up nicely... and all the farm creatures are living out their lives in harmony. Frankly i feel like this little farm is a piece of heaven on earth. Home school will resume in September and that will be the first time i will be schooling two at once. Carly will be a big 1st grader and Leona will be starting preschool. Man, sometimes i find it hard to believe that my oldest is 7yrs old! But I'm sure I'll say that when she is 8 and 9 and 20.... so goes life right? So i bid you adue, and pray each of you is happy and healthy and living our your own bliss.
peace-love-happiness, Lyndsay J.

The Longest Winter

I have dreamed so many dreams this winter.. How the garden will be laid out, What fabrics i will use to style my little girls twirly skirts for spring's rompings around. I have dreamed much about soap making, which by the way, has proved to be a very fruitful endeavor indeed. I have spent many a dreary afternoon thinking of the millions of dollars i will make selling my soap to folks who love it so much its all they will wash with. I have also been spending much time reading and studding about the " back to basics" life stlye... The whole self reliant way of life is so intriguing to me. I have so many wandering thoughts about the days of old when ladies aprons were infact a part of their daily atire. When good food came from hands and stoves and not cans and microwaves. When children werent labled with syndromes and disorders, they were let to grow and thrive in their own way. When homeschool was the only school and times when mothers were the ones mothering their young. When I first became a christian, I was so intimidated by the proverbes 31 woman. How would I ever live up to her? At that time i couldnt sew. I burned popcorn in the microwave ( making popcorn was about the extent of my cooking ability) and i didnt know the first thing about managing finances or doing anything remotly worth while. But i am shocked as I stand back all these years later and re-read those verses and see that woman in me. I feel so full of the things I never expected i'd become. Thats the great thing about Jesus. He turns you into someone you never thought you'd be. But its good someone. A profitable someone. And encouraging someone. How lost i would be with out Him. So here is to spring and all the goings on of warmer weather. To being the best women and mothers we can possibly be and to living up to the expectations of God not man.

Oven fried is the new fried.

So my recipe for oven fried chicken has come up in two conversations this week. So i decided to share the wealth here. Now, If any one knows me, they certainly know that i loves me some fried food. There has been neary a nugget or fry that has stood a chance against this hungry tummy. But battling several diet related illnesses, fibromyalgia, and IBS. (TMI i know, sorry) I had to find an alternative for my fav. fried foods, with out loosing the flavor. I am in no way shape or form a health nut. In fact i struggle daily with my addictions with food. So all that to say, I'm just not the kind of person who wakes up and says today for dinner I'm going to stir fry some tofu and veggies and call it a night. I need that flavor explosion. hopefully in time God will heal me, but until then, i will make better choices, like doing oven fried night, instead of fried in Crisco night. Hope you likey.

Ingredients
4 or so boneless/skinless chicken breasts ( legs or thighs work too)
1 cup all purpose flour
2-3 cups crushed Kellogg's corn flakes.
1/2 T. lemon pepper seasoning
1t. sea salt
2 eggs whisked with 1T. water
2 T. melted butter or olive oil

Spray a baking tray with cooking spray
preheat oven to 350

trim and cut each chicken breats into two pieces, place pieces between plastic wrap and beat untill 1/2 inch thick. If you breasts are too thick they will not cook evenly

take 3 pie plates, and in 1, place the flour, in the next place the egg+water, and in the third place the corn flake crumbs and the spices and salt.

first roll the chicken in flour. then roll in egg, then in crumbs and then place on greased baking tray.

drizzle butter over the chicken on the tray, this will melt off and allow the chicken to become crispy

complete these steps for all the chicken pieces, and place in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, checking for doneness after 25 or so minutes, remove chicken immediately once fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.

Healing Heat... Rice Sock

I had a terrible pain in my neck and arm the other day, i think it may be some sort of pinched nerve, well any way, when i don't get a good nights sleep i end up with some sort or cramp or crick in some place or another, So i reached for the heating pad, that had burned out, it would not come on no matter how hard i frantically pushed the on/off button, so into the trash it went, i scratched my head as to what i could use for some heat relief. Then i remembered my good friend Karen who told me about these rice socks that she makes and uses for her family. Its really as simple as putting plain rice in a sock, and tossing it in the microwave until warm and voila! instant heating pad. But for those who spend their days looking for something crafty to do, here is a pattern and instructions on how to make your own stylish rice sock

cut two rectangle pieces of fabric one being 9"W x 12"L, and one being 9 3/4"W and 13 1/2" long


On the smaller rectangle press the fabric in hale length wise and sew the side and bottom shut. Fill a little less than 3/4 of the way to the top with rice, then fold the top inward to create a fringe free closure, press and sew the rice sack shut



On the larger piece, at the top, fold over and press to create a finished edge.

place right sides together, press and sew side and bottom shut. On both sides of fabric, near top, measure and mark the lenght of desired button hole. use your sewing machine and sew buttonhole on both sides of fabric. fold top over, and mark through buttonholes the placement of the button. attach button.

insert the rice sack into the slip cover, to heat up you new creation, simple place the rice sock, with out the slip cover in the microwave for 2 minutes or until warm, obviously you need to check the temperature before placing on your body, the rice warms quickly so start off with one minute and 30 sec intervals there after until desired warmth is reached. Can be used as an ice pack too! just plop it into the freezer for 30 minutes and apply to area!

home made bitter biscuts

so i found a recipe for home made bitter biscuts... I have a cranky teether, who naws on everything in sight....after the third box of super expensive teething cookies, that were all half wasted from being chucked across the room, or held out just long enough for the dog to get a good lick, I thought to my self " hmmmmmm, there must be a better way!" so thus is my story. Journeying into the land of frugal mother hood.Our Favorite Baby Cereal Cookie Recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs Shortening
1/2 C. sugar
1 egg
1tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp water
1 1/2 C. rice baby cereal

Directions:

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and water. Mix until well blended. Gradually stir in cereal.
Knead until smooth. Pat into rectangle. Cut into 12 1" bars, smooth edges so they will not be sharp. Place on ungreased sheet. Bake 20-30 min or until dry.
Store in uncovered container overnight. **Freezes Well**



You may need to add some flour to this mixture to stiffen the dough if needed. Add the flour by tablespoonfuls until a more firm and stiff dough is formed.

there were lots of other recipies find them all here at http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/teethingbiscuits.htm
granted you could get all creative and cute with some cookie cuter shapes and what not... but who's got the time sor that?

Baking With A Princess

Some of the most precious moments i have as a mother are doing some of the most common everyday things with my girls. Cooking and cleaning may seem like mundane tasks, I have been learning how to make these tasks fun and exciting. They have to get done no matter what, so why not work together. I have found that whatever it is you face with disdain, so will your children... Like Snow White said " whistle while you work" I realized how much time i had wasted shooing them out of the room, and plopping them in front of a video rather than including them in what i was doing. Now given that there is a time and place for children to have independent time. I think its a bit silly of some mommies who are obsessive baby holders or entertain their children all day so as nothing on the household list is able to be done. But the ability to include your children in the every day tasks that keep a household up and running is a fruitfully thing. The biggest goal i have every morning is setting out to make the best of the day no matter what has to be done. Every mama knows how trial-some doing things with a hand full of children can be. But on laundry day, we all gather in the laundry room, and my 7 year old loads the machine and measures soap and softener. My three year old helps shove the wash into the dryer, and we all help fold and put away. Errands are our biggest challenge, the in and out and here in there wear so badly on the children. I had the idea of drawing all our stops on a homemade map, labeled by stops 1,2,3 and so on. At each departure, i would ask every one to tell me where to go next. finding treasures and treats along the way. Baking is easily turned into the days math lesson... measurements, and how many scoops of something are easily adapted to any child's learning age. So hopefully this is a little encouragement for some struggling mommy out there. I know i get in a rut just like anybody... its good to have reminders and encouragement for the average parts of life.