Fall is Here

     As South Dakota residents we have the opportunity to experience four seasons. To some, a blessing. To some, a curse. To me, a blessing I look forward to every year! Each season has it's ups and downs. To me autumn only has it's ups. At the first hint of fall, I get butterflies and a smile that I cannot get rid of. I love everything about fall, the colors, the decorations, the leaves falling, the start of school, pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, the need for a sweater, 60 degree weather, getting up early to elk hunt with Kade, canning tomatoes from our garden...the list goes on and on. Honestly if it's related to fall, I love it.
      I stumbled upon a recipe for 'pumpkin butter' earlier today. I was instantly excited, as I thoroughly enjoy apple butter. I made a batch this evening and needless to say...I love it. Surprise, surprise.

Ingredients

• 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree (about 3.5 cups)
• 1 cup apple juice
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon whiskey (optional)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

(I did make some modifications: instead of brown sugar I used artificial sweetener with a tsp of molasses and added 1/4 c. honey, I also cut back on the ginger.)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredient, except for lemon juice, in a large saucepan.
2. Bring mixture to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and let cool.
5. Pour into airtight jar(s) and store in refrigerator for up to 6 days.

I toasted a cinn. raisin bagel, mixed the pumpkin butter with a little cream cheese and spread it over the toasted bagel. TO DIE FOR! Also good with graham crackers! Gonna try it mixed in with some old fashion oats in the morning!
Enjoy!!

Cream of Anything Soup

       One thing in life that I'm passionate about is cooking. I love trying new recipes, and jazzing up old. I love cooking my "winter" meals, such as tator tot hot dish, creamy chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumpling soup, swiss steak, stroganoff. All of these yummy meals have one common ingredients...some type of cream based soup. Yes, I know...not the healthiest form of cooking. I recently stumbled on a recipe called "cream of anything" soup. It's a mixture of dry ingredients, when water is added viola! Cream of whatever soup! I had the chance to try it out on some tuna noodle casserole the other night, and it turned out great! This recipe is a great alternative to cream based soups. The sodium content is much lower than traditional cream based soup. Did I mention it's cheaper!? 

1 cup non-fat dried milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup bouillon cubes

4 Tablespoons freeze dried minced onions (I used the minced onions from Sam's Club)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme (I couldn't find the thyme so I used dried parsley instead)

1 teaspoon pepper

(For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup, mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Cook until thick)

 

Feel free to add ingredients as needed: mushrooms, chicken, celery, potato, etc!

Homemade Baby Food

     This past week, Ainsley turned 4 months old! Whew, how times flies! It seems like just yesterday we were spending our summer lounging around the house! With Ainsley turning four months old comes....REAL FOOD! We started to introduce rice cereal this week, which has been...best way to put it...MESSY! But Ainsley is slowly getting the hang of moving that little tongue around. Even though I don't plan on introducing vegetables and fruits for another month or so, I decided it would be nice to have a some food prepared for when we are ready. Also--fall harvest is here, bringing all sorts of delicious produce my way! I thought I'd take advantage of these yummy foods while they're ready!
Just as I did with Turner when he was a baby, I'll be making all of Ainsley's baby food. When it comes down to it, it's not that much extra work and in the long run it will save tons-o-money! Homemade baby food is frozen and can last up to 3 months in the freezer. There are obvious health benefits to making your own baby food. I won't go into detail, but I always kinda smirk when I see 'organic' baby food on the shelves in the store. Yes, the fruits and vegetables used in the baby food are organic, but then they are chalked full of preservatives and thickening agents. To each their own I guess. No judgments on my part, ya gotta do what ya gotta do! Whether you're making your babies food for the health benefits, to save money or just because you have some extra time on your hands..you're doing your little one a service!

I dedicated last weekend to start preparing baby food. I can honestly say nothing feels more comforting to me than having Norah Jones humming in the background while I'm cooking in my kitchen, sipping on a warm cup of coffee. Kade was in the next room playing with the kids, ready to lend a helping hand when needed. I remember thinking.."this is what is matters to me".  If you're at all interested in preparing your baby's food then, read on!

Required materials:
Fresh Fruits/Vegetables-(I chose to start with sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, peas, green beans, peaches and apples.)- I don't recommend canned, as the sodium content is high. Plus, if your going to make your little one their baby food by using canned, you might as well just buy baby food. Frozen vegetables are a better choice for produce not in season. I used frozen peas in this case.
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Food processorSteamer (or in my case, a pot of boiling water with a wire screen over the top)
Ice cube trays
Pint freezer bags
Permanent marker

1.Chop up your vegetables into chunks.
2. Steam vegetables until tender
3. Remove vegetables, make sure to keep the juice in the bottom of the pot. You will use this to add to vegetables to get the right consistency. ( the nice thing about making your own baby good, you get to choose the consistency that fits your baby's needs)

4. Move steamed vegetables into food processor. Puree and add water until desired consistency. Nice and thin to start introducing to your baby
5. Move pureed vegetable into an ice cute tray.

Top (Squash)

Bottom (Peas & Carrots)
6. After veggies are in tray, use spatula to smooth off the tops.
7. Freeze
8. After veggies are frozen, pop them out of ice cube trays. Might need to dip the bottoms in warm water to help them come out.
9. Place cubes of veggies in plastic freezer bags with label of food and date!


There it is baby food is less than 10 steps! Enjoy!

For the fruit, I didn't steam them... I just took about 5 medium apples/peaches and boiled them in about 1/2 c. water. Added the water and apples to the food processor. Worked like a gem!

Homemade Laundry Soap

With our wonderful new addition to our family, our monthly budget got...well...lets say a little bit tighter. So of course I'm always looking for ways to save money. This summer, I found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Since laundry detergent takes a large portion of my weekly allowance for groceries and household items,  I decided to try.

Laundry Soap:
1 c. washing soda (about 2.50 for a box)
1 c. borax (2.98 for a box)
1 bar soap (my recipe I found called for Fels Napa soap, but this soap has no smell, so I substituted with Dove soap)
(Borax and washing soda can be found in the laundry detergent aisle in your store.)

 Step 1. Grate your bar of soap using a cheese grater.
Step 2. Combine ingredients into container.
Step 3. Mix
--Yep, it's that easy!
1 tbsp./ load of laundry. I know this sounds like a small amount of laundry detergent, but that small scoop packs a powerful punch of cleaning power!

I tripled the recipe, making three batches. I figured if I'm making it, I might as well make a big batch!
I had the chance to try this on my laundry this afternoon, it turned out great! My clothes were stain free and smelled great!!