A Keeper for sure

YES....

it's me....for real....

i've been....well...a little busy

i had a baby...yes a baby...a real live baby girl....she's precious and adorable,

a keeper for sure......

don't forget I have twins too....goodness....who could forget....they're two

heaven help us...or me, probably them too...

and heaven knows we can't forget the five mcpunks above them....

two of them have jobs......i'm their taxi.....since one of them wrecked the car...when he was ditching....

but we aren't naming names.

i plan to be better, get a handle on things, even if it means leaving the whites sitting in the basket....

oh back up...i already do that...the hubs hates it...

but i did make a wonderful, delish, scrumptious and oh so easy chocolate lava cake....

the #1 mckiddo wanted it for his birthday.....it was only six days late....

he wasn't home...seriously i'm not that bad off....

it was not laborious or time intensive like some of the recipes....

only they (the Basalt Ladies) called it Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

either way it works!


1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 T cocoa powder
2 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup milk
2 T melted butter
1 cup nuts (optional)

Mix the above ingredients, spread in an ungreased square pan, 9x9x2. Stir together: 1 cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa, sprinkle over batter. Pour 1 3/4 cups hot water over the batter.  Bale at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  While warm, spoon cake into dishes and spoon sauce over, top with ice cream or whipped cream. (can easily be doubled)

and, um...it's good in the morning, cold, right out of the pan...the whipped cream needed...just hide the spoon or the kiddos think that they can do it too!

and a little shout out to my cuz and her mama......this yumminess is in a large family collection of recipes that my cousin typed out for her LARGE extended family and was gracious enough to share it with me.  Her mom is about the best mother I know!  She was like my own when I was growing up.....i often think of her when my mouth is agape at some action by one of my kiddos...and I wonder what I should do...besides screaming....

i'll be back though, for real....i've missed yall!

Afghan Chicken.......you won't be sorry!

Hello....Hello....

Anyone out there.....

No...I didn't think so.....my little unplanned hiatus...was longer then I planned....

And even now...half of me would rather be napping....something I have been doing a lot...

Something my body has required...or it refuses to function....

Incubating is more work then anyone knows...unless you have sat on the nest!!!

But here I sit, and must, must, MUST share a few of these recipes with you!

Our li'l family has decided...or rather, I have....that to eat healthier we need to explore other cultures and other ways of cooking......

Thank goodness!!!!  Boy have we found some simple and delicious ones!!!

AND..I have realized that often we over process, over cook and even over think our food....

but if it is good.....I will eat it!  HA!

The below recipes are from Afghanistan cuisine that I tweaked just  a little. When Mackdaddy was over in Helmand, he learned the simple goodness of their food and their hospitality....and my mouth waters just thinking of the first time he made it for our family.And it was so good I ate it today for lunch today! Along with yummy homemade pita bread (which my kiddos and hubs took for lunch today...stuffed with turkey and cheese) and yogurt dip!  Enjoy!!

YELLOW RICE with Carrots and Raisins

• 1 lb long grain rice, preferably basmati
• 4 fl oz olive oil
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1/2 diced onion
• 4 oz black seedless raisins
• 2 tsp char marsala or cumin
• 1/4 tsp saffron (optional)
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth 
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper

Directions

Dice carrots  and onions, or like I had to do...rehydrate some dried carrots from your food storage. Saute carrots and onions in  1 tsp sugar in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Cook until they are lightly browned (not semi- burnt like mine...since I stepped over to the neighbors!). Add  raisins (I prefer golden..sweeter) to the oil and cook until they swell up. Pour in Chicken broth and water, add rice long with spices. 

Boil the rice mixture until the water comes down, just past the rice, turn to low, adjust the lid and continue to cook for about 30 minutes. (Follow the directions of the basmati rice!  Best rice ever!!)

Mourgh (Afghan Chicken)

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lg Cloves garlic
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 1 1/2 c Plain, whole-milk yogurt 
• 1 c whole milk
• Juice and pulp of 1 large lemon, 3 to 4 tablespoons
• 1/2 ts Cracked black pepper
• 2 lg Whole chicken breasts, about 2 pounds

Directions

Long, slow marinating in garlicky yogurt tenderizes, moistens and adds deep flavor, so you end up with skinless grilled chicken that's as delicious as it is nutritionally correct. Serve with soft pita or Arab flatbread and fresh yogurt. Put the salt in a wide, shallow non-reactive bowl with the garlic and mash them together until you have paste. Add yogurt, lemon and pepper.Skin the chicken breasts, remove all visible fat and separate the halves. Bend each backward to break the bones so the pieces win lie flat.Add to the yogurt and turn so all surfaces are well-coated. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate. Allow to marinate at least overnight, up to a day and a half. Turn when you think of it.



To cook, remove breasts from marinade and wipe off all but a thin film. Broil or grill about 6 inches from the heat for 6 to 8 minutes a side, or until thoroughly cooked. Meat will brown somewhat but should not char. Serve at once.I ended up putting ti in the oven at 350 for an hour and then placing it under the broiler for a few minutes on each side since my grill was busy meting the pita bread!  The FAM loved it...even though they were skeptical!!!



If you would like more recipes, go here and if you would like more info on why basmati rice is better for you then brown rice, visit Sara's blog.


This post has been shared onThe Healthy Home Economist, which has fabulous posts on healthy eating!

Pickle Me Good!

WWWEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLL......................

That little vacation was longer then planned!  After hiking, hunting and camping for a week.....we returned home with a nasty stomach virus....or a case of nasty food poisoning from a sweet uncle that dumped in a gallon of ten year old vegetable oil in everything!  Whichever it was.....I hope to never revisit that experience and will politely decline the food....

On a much better note!!!  It has been two months since I put up  dozen bottles kosher pickles.....and after opening the first bottle... we have been flying through them!!  Or rather I have.....they are a constant craving!

So I want to share the recipe...especially since bountiful baskets is still supplying (or was last week) pickling cukes and for those that are in warmer climates (it took me a few weeks to find enough cukes! Sad but true!!  The recipes comes from my Aunt Diana...who is an amazing woman and a wonderful cook, and was like a mother to me!!  I love that her daughter, Lisa,  put together a recipe book from her recipes and many of my cousin's favorite.  They are tried and true, and make dinner even easier to conquer and you know that they will be good!

Let me know what you think!!

KOSHER DILLS
For crisp dill pickles; it is critical to soak the cukes in ice water for at least two hours and ensuring the water is at a full boil when poured over the dills.

Wash  the cukes and then let sit in the sink with cold water and ice, replenish the ice as needed.
Put about 1 1/2 inch of dill weed and 1 TBS of sliced/minced garlic in bottom of quart; arrange cucumbers on top. Pour 1/3 full of vinegar and finish filling with boiling water. Add 1 TBS of canning salt (not iodized) and 1/4 tsp alum and a small red hot pepper per jar (I had dried red peppers earlier on and just put about 1/2 tsp of the flakes in the jar.)  The are purty! too!

Clean the jar rim and top with prepared lids and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. (Let age 6 to 8 weeks)

I had to hide the dills at the back of he pantry because the kiddos kept bringing them out and wanting to EAT them!  But trust me, the wait is worth it!  I kept the smallest cukes whole, but also sliced some and made some into spear....their all GOOD!!!

And.....when you make the pickles yourself....they do not have sodium benzoate in them.  Something to think about!

Now if you excuse me....I need a snack!

Lover yer pickle eatin guts!