Chocolate makes everything better.....

I've been writing this post in my head for two weeks now....


I've had to erase and edit, and start over, yes...even in my head!

I bawled through the first one, the morning after Utah's pioneer day celebration....

Whao!  I am that moved by the day.....that, and i am still pondering, ok, totally questioning, why the fam and I have yet to be able to fulfill our (my) dream...and hopefully that of my husband....and seek out our own green acres. Just like our pioneer heritage.....

We drove around a little farming/ranching community, that I have loved since we moved north...and can't seem to return down south.....

grammies sitting on the porch rocking, the tick and hiss of sprinkler hitting the the grass whispering in the wind, the cow dogs yipping after their little boys....gardens, thick and green, getting heavy with ripening pods...

I could go on and on....but I won't. Let's just say that my granma, was still finding my farm layout drawings when she was still with us.....

we had had a conversation about my layouts just a few weeks before she died...she asked me what I was doing to fulfill those plans that I had had in my head since I was at least 8....the brood mare barn (forget vampire books, I devoured every girl and colt book there was to be had), the apple orchards...treats for my horsey pals of course, the pastures, my house with the wrap around porch....and so on and so on.....i said it must not be meant to be...she told me nonsense, keep trying.....at least I had found my cowboy....she always found the positive!

my mr. says I want it too bad.....so the universe says no...really? serious??

i cried some more, when my city gone country cousin blogs that she has cows...I am happy for her, thrilled for her....i encourage her to get chickens...then wonder.....why not me?

could it be that we chose to have eight kiddos in a down economy and didn't have our education finished until we had half our family......(that's a hint peeps...finish school before...or not....whatever feels right! but i do encourage my girls to go to college, go on a mission, play, travel, have fun.....but if you fall in love at 18 and marry...so be it....but please wait.....that could be just two short years away....I'm not ready..I still have babies at home.....and I mean literal babies, I am not ready for grandbabies....yet)  is it because I am wishy washy

 could it be that my husband choose a vocation in public service because the ranch/farm was already crowded, and well.... working for the gov, stinks? but thank heavens for insurance!  could it be that it is just not meant to be, that i have a different mission in life then I want....

who knows, except the Lord...and He seems quiet on the subject.....

so like i do in all irreconcilable dilemmas...I think about food and how i would do it if i did have my white farm house and picket fence....so i will leave you with this recipe, homemade chocolate syrup, without preservatives or chemicals or corn syrup....

so far we have had it on ice ream and shakes, in milk, added powdered sugar to it to make a glaze for homemade donuts, recipe here......and yes, even by the finger full....why dirty a spoon my son said....needless to say it was a hit.....

see...chocolate does solve everything....i even put it in my chili...yep.....seriously! i will keep you posted about my dream....i now have a deadline, i put us on the waiting list for a miniature jersey dairy cow....how fun is that?  and a post for another time!

Chocolate Syrup

2 cups Powdered sugar (you can use granulated, but the syrup tends to be more coarse and grainy)
1/2 cup cocoa (imagine dark chocolate here too!)
1 cup water
1/4 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

mix sugar and cocoa together, then stir in water and bring to a slow boil, not to fast or it can boil over! Boil for three minutes. Take off stove and stir in salt and vanilla. As it cools, it will thicken. I stored it in a mason jar for the ease of dipping a spoon...aka...finger...

store it on the top shelf in the fridge..because it will go fast!!

just so ya know...I just made a fresh double batch and stirred it into my homemade blueberry shake....totally rocked! and i licked the pan when i put it away

thanks for listening to my woes, which are more then one, since I licked the chocolate sauce pan!
luv yer guts

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!