"Cream of Mushroom Soup" w/ Ground Beef

Joe and I like to have [a form of] stroganoff from time to time; a very basic ground meat version - it's one of our comfort foods.  The thing is... it's one of those "cream of" meals.

So, I set out to recreate that dish eliminating anything canned.

We didn't have our preferred egg noodles, so spirals sufficed in a pinch.

Here's what I came up with:



"Cream of Mushroom Soup" w/Ground Beef

       **and see below for an updated version**
1.5 lb. ground beef (or substitute stir-fry beef or chicken)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (whateverkind you like - I have white button mushrooms most readily available, so that's what I use)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp sage
½ tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
dash fresh ground pepper
¾ cup chicken broth (no packaged broth... I use homemade bone broth)
2 glugs red wine
Splash Worcester sauce (will have to find a homemade, non-bottled recipe for this)
2/3 cup cream or whole milk
2 T flour
½ cup plain greek yogurt

Brown the meat in the skillet, drain and set aside.  Saute the mushrooms in the butter until tender; set aside. Saute onion till soft then add garlic, stirring till just aromatic.

Add seasonings, broth, wine and Worcester sauce.  Bring to a simmer. Whisk flour into the cream/milk; add to pan and stir until thickened. Stir in greek yogurt, mushrooms and beef. Heat through. Serve over rice or pasta.

If you eliminate the wine, Worcester sauce, yogurt and meat, this could be a basic homemade "cream of mushroom soup" that you can use in other recipes and eliminate the MSG-laden canned stuff.

 

It's a keeper.

UPDATE (ingredients variation):

1.5 lb. ground beef (or substitute stir-fry beef or chicken)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 8 mushrooms - whateverkind you like - I have white button mushrooms most readily available, so that's what I use)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. butter or tallow
½ tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
dash fresh ground pepper
Splash Worcester sauce (will have to find a homemade, non-bottled recipe for this)
1 pint jar of beef broth (I used the pot roast broth left over from Sunday's pot roast)
1 cup of [runny] yogurt (for me, this replaced the milk/cream - as well as the greek yogurt - because my yogurt was homemade and turned out too liquidy)
2 T flour

Follow the same directions as above.  I liked this even better than the original.

the deleted ingredients...
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp sage¾ cup chicken broth (no packaged broth... I use homemade bone broth)
2 glugs red wine
2/3 cup cream or whole milk½ cup plain greek yogurt

Linking up with KellytheKitchenKop for Real Food Wednesdays.

Romans 1:17-18

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Feel free to download to your desktop.

For more Romans scripture pictures, click The Romans Project tab, above, and you'll find them all listed.  And to be sure you don't miss one... you can have posts delivered to your email by subscribing as indicated in the right side bar. Just add your email address!

Flax Seed Oil = Hair Gel (but that's not all!)

I saw this post the other day from Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, where she shares a recipe (with video) for a natural hair gel made with flax seeds.  She said it's for curly (and wavy)-haired girls (and boys), so I thought maybe with it's use, I could tame the wavy-frizzies I have and semi-retire the flat-iron, while I'm at it.

I had the flax seeds, and the only other ingredient is water... so off I went to the kitchen.

Sarah said the recipe is 1 cup of boiling water, to which you add 2 T. of whole flax seeds.  Let simmer for 10 minutes (no longer!), and strain.  Voila.

 This part takes patience...  it is thick and gooey. 

 Drip, drip, drip...  actually, it was more like ooze, ooze, ooze.

 

It's the consistency of egg whites.

 



 

 

It's very slimy and gel-like.

 

 

I used it yesterday after I washed my hair - just a quarter-size or so in my palm, and applied it while my hair was still damp.  I let it air dry and gave it a scrunch every now and then to encourage it's natural wavy-ness.

 

Turns out I'll not be retiring the flat-iron.  Yuck.  It didn't work for me. It may have reduced the frizziness slightly, but it was a bit crunchy.  Only a bit, but still... I don't like that at all.  I want my hair soft and be able to run my fingers through it - or a brush - without having to worry about messing up it's "style."

 

So... the gel went back in the fridge with me not quite sure what to do with it (wait till it turns bad and throw it out?).

 

 

Then I read a comment by one of Sarah's readers and she linked this post: Breathe Easy with Boiled Flax Seed Oil, where the article states, "Boiled Flax-seed Oil has the ability to clear the lungs of mucus, and help the body rid itself of disease."  I had an ah-ha moment!  It helps alleviate not just the symptoms, but the cause of cough and sniffles - exactly what I've been dealing with for two weeks (with no end in sight).  I figured it was worth a try since flax seed is good for me and the only other ingredient is water, what do I have to lose?

 

So, after a couple of suggestions in the article for incorporating it into recipes... off to the kitchen I go - again!

 

 

I modified the Icey-Orange Drink recipe to fit the ingredients I  had on hand (or preferred to use)... clementines instead of orange juice concentrate and raw honey instead of sugar!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup ice

1/2 cup filtered water

1/3+ cup (3 oz.) flax seed oil (flax seed goo!)

One large, peeled clementine (this latest box of clementines I have has very large fruit - if you have small (normal) size clementines, you might want to use 1.5 or 2 of them.)

1 T. raw honey

 

Add all ingredients to blender and mix well.

 

Pour into a tall glass and [actually] enjoy!  This is very palatable with a mild clementine flavor.  You'd never know gooey flax seed oil was there.

 

And - it works!  Within minutes, the sniffles were gone and the cough was greatly alleviated.  The symptoms stayed at bay for several hours, returning in the morning to a lesser degree.  So, I made more...

 

 

This time with fresh-frozen blueberries from summertime and milk.

 

1 cup ice

1/2 cup milk

1/3+ cup (3 oz.) flax seed oil (flax seed goo!)

2/3 cup frozen blueberries

1 T. raw honey

Add all ingredients to blender and mix well.

 

 

 

Mmmm, so since it's 29 degrees outside (and 60 something in here) I turned on my space heater, positioned myself in front of it, and savored this icey, summery treat.

 

I love natural remedies - and I didn't have to throw away my hair gel!

 

 

 

Linking up with the Clever Chicks Hop and the Homestead Barn Hop today.

 

 

 



 

Sowing the Tomato Seeds

It's been a snowy weekend. Not a lot has accumulated, but it's been a slow, steady fall.  Except for taking the dogs out, we pretty much stayed in.  We didn't even see the kids!  I'm still getting over the flu and so I've been rather lazy.  I had 24 hours of fever last week (or 2 weeks ago?), with sniffles and cough ever since.  A ridiculous cough that doubles me over! (I'll have more to say about that tomorrow.)

Anyway, one of the indoor things I did was sow my Big George tomato seeds.

I bought an organic starter mix.  I hope it makes them strong and healthy.

Kept in the freezer from last season...

I smeared the seeds on newspaper, just like Mountain Man Bob told me to do, "Not all clumped together so you can cut them out and plant them, paper and all, right in the soil."  Then dry them for a couple of days, and keep in the freezer.  He's the one that gave me that first big, beautiful, heirloom tomato four years ago... with an awesome story to go with it.  He always had the best stories.  He was one of the highlights of living in North Carolina those two years.

Just like he said... cut out and placed in the soil.  I put two in each cup... 24 seeds. ( I know - I want to end up with a lot.)

Planted, watered, covered, and ready to grow!

In the other cups I'll put plum tomatoes (a lot of those, too)  and a few cherry tomatoes.  I'm going to go peruse the Baker Creek website and see what they have for heirloom seeds in those varieties.  I have a seed catalogue from them somewhere... now, where did I set that down?  I'd prefer to thumb through than click through...  Hmmm.

Up here in cold and snowy Northern New England, the timing is just about right for starting seeds indoors.  Our last frost date is at the end of May, so Memorial Day Weekend is usually the garden-starting weekend for gardeners and the time when we get all our indoor seedlings moved to the ground.

Anybody else sowing seeds yet? Or based on where you live, maybe you're weeks ahead of me.

 

As I dream of Spring, I'm linking up with the Barn Hop this week...  go check it out. 

There's so many wonderful ideas, tips, encouragements and like-minded participants!

 

 

 

The Prairie Homestead

New Life On a Homestead

My Favorite Finds

An afternoon walk around the block.

For your Soul~
Rachel Wojo:  "To equip yourself for a wrestling match against worry, the Sword of God’s Word can defend like nothing else can. This is how we “set ourselves against”- this is how we resist the devil and make.him.flee."



Food and Farming~
Homestead Revival:  "I believe we are to take dominion over the earth and subdue it, but I do not believe that means destroying massive parts of it and then ask God to fix it. We are to be good stewards of the earth without worshipping creation itself."



In the Kitchen~
Weed 'Em and Reap:  All about sugar and healthy sugar substitutes!  Good read.



I revisited cousin Heikki's videos on YouTube.  They're so fun - I love them!  I wish he'd do more.








It looks like he has a CD out!  How I'd love to get my hands on one of those!!

Homemade Moisturizing Lotion Bars

I made lotion bars...

In the shapes of hearts because the mold was on sale at Joanne's (I bought the mold for the lotion bars before I ever dreamt of making the chocolate for Valentine's Day.)

The bees wax.  I'll never use this type of beeswax again (if I can help it).  It is way too hard to cut/grate.  What a pain!  I have used tiny beeswax pastilles balls in the past, and I'll definitely go back to those!!  Using this stuff was too frustrating to be worth it.

Here are the lotion ingredients.

Melt it down...

Pour it into molds. (I also made some pure coconut oil tabs while I was at it.)

And voila... moisturizing lotion bars.

Here are the ratios according to the recipe I followed:


Well... now that I'm trying to reproduce it, I can't locate the online recipe I used.  No surprise.  I didn't bother to bookmark it because I don't care for it.  (So why post it?... because you can learn from my mistakes).

This one had way too much beeswax to the ratio of coconut oil and cocoa butter.  It is supposed to melt like butter when applied to your skin.  This does NOT do that! 

I can use it, though.  It'll do until I can melt it down and add way more coconut oil and cocoa butter.. it's just not the luxurious lotion bar I was aiming for.

So those ingredients again are:

coconut oil
cocoa butter
beeswax
vitamin E oil (it is good for your skin, and also extends the shelf life)
essential oils, if you want (I didn't bother)

Stay tuned for an update with a recipe I love!

Romans 1:15-16

Offering you scripture pictures to enhance your memorization of The Romans Project - feel free to download to your desktop.

For more Romans scripture pictures, you'll find them listed in the right side bar. Just scroll down to the Blog Archive list. And to be sure you don't miss one... you can have posts delivered to your email by subscribing as indicated in the right side bar. Just add your email address!

Ice Sculptures in Woodstock

It was Ice Sculpture Weekend in Woodstock... and we went to go see.

Behind him was a huge hole in is head with the makings of a light bulb (the artist was still working).

Busy sculpture artists.

A castle...

 

Then, there were fun things to look at in the general store... LOTS of fun things!

Sweet little darling - head thrown back - as always when she's riding on mama's back, being a patient babe while we browsed.

His right foot was stomping every bit of snow along this picket fence.


And we're off to find dinner out...


Incidentals...

     When Kingston says his name it's "Kisston." I love that.

     Aria, at 15 months, knows how to work the iPhone.  I gave her mine - she turned it on, and scrolled through the apps!  Such a little smarty.

My Favorite Finds

Just sitting in the driveway playing with camera settings through the windshield while Joe scrapes ice off the rear window.

For Your Soul~
The Wellspring:  "We are a resurrection people. This is the joy we hold onto in the journey to the cross. This is the joy we fight for."



For Your Body~
The Prairie Homestead:  "The sugar in this scrub gently exfoliates the skin, the cooling sensation of the peppermint oil helps to soothe itchiness, and the oil moisturizes. Plus, the citrus/peppermint combo is totally invigorating– it will definitely wake you up first thing in the morning!"



In the Kitchen ~
Creative Christian Mama:  Simple Steamed Broccoli... Wow, this is simple and the variations sound tasty!



An exerpt from Facebook by Homelife Magazine~

Are you haunted by ghosts from your past? Do you dwell on mistakes or live with regret?

Do you live your life looking back?

If so, you may need a little reminder this morning that you, my friend, have been redeemed.

I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
... and your sins like a mist.
Return to Me,
for I have redeemed you.

(Isaiah 44:22)

 

Filmed in Windsor, VT a couple of days ago and posted to Facebook...  This beauty is desperately trying to break the hard-crusted snow in a effort to capture his prey.  He did finally get the little mouse.




 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts

Here's a little homemade sweet for my Sweet Valentine...



Since we're cutting out refined sugar (which is ridiculously unhealthy), among myriad other processed and refined foods, I was happy to find this idea for a homemade chocolate recipe that uses alternative, healthy sweeteners.

The recipe for this small amount (you can double or triple it for a larger batch):

3 T. cocunut oil
3 T. cocoa
1 T. sucunat (raw cane sugar)*
1 T. raw honey
real peanut butter (just ground peanuts)

Melt the oil in a double boiler with water simmering, add the sweeteners and mix well, add the cocoa and stir until it's well combined.

Spoon half of the chocolate into molds and let set in the freezer for about 20 minutes.  Top with a small spoonful of peanut butter and spoon the remaining chocolate over it, being sure to cover all of the peanut butter.  Place in the freezer again for another 20 minutes, or so.  Pop out of the molds and enjoy!

* I have made this previously with just honey - this is the second time trying it with sucunat.  I'm going to go back to using raw honey exclusively in this recipe, though, as the sucunat doesn't melt well.  That's why they're not pretty... all the sucunat settled to the bottom (the top once they were popped out of the mold).  Thankfully, they're still tasty!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Romans 1:13-14

Offering you scripture pictures to enhance your memorization of The Romans Project - feel free to download to your desktop.

For more Romans scripture pictures, you'll find them listed in the right side bar. Just scroll down to the Blog Archive list. And to be sure you don't miss one... you can have posts delivered to your email by subscribing as indicated in the right side bar. Just add your email address!

Our Snowy, Nemo Weekend

Many schools and businesses were closed on Friday in anticipation of the arrival of Nemo the Nor'easter.  It was a Snow Day for us at the PA Program.  I'm off on Fridays anyway, though, so... it wasn't a bonus day for me.

As is typical, the storm didn't arrive on time, or as expected.  It was late, and for us, lighter that predicted.

It brought just enough fluffy powder to make it an awesome skiing/boarding day on Saturday.  So, that's just what the big kids did... and we got to keep the little ones!  Yay!!

Sweet babe!

Supposed to be resting... instead, he's telling me tales.

Kingston took his sister for a ride in her "seat."  Sometimes she loves it, sometimes she wishes he would stop it.  This day she vacillated between the two.  They're looking out the front door at grandpa shoveling. Oh.... and he helped himself to grandpa's hat.

Kingston also played tug-o-war with Blaze using this empty paper roll.  It was a fun day playing with toys and watching The Little Engine that Could.  Mommy and Daddy came back exhilarated and exhausted.

The next day was even more beautiful!

Dog tracks!  Our dogs love to run in the snow.

Blaze, especially, will avoid the shoveled path and bound through the snow even if it's belly-deep!

The birds were singing to their hearts' content this beautiful morning.

Joe and I decided to get out and take a scenic drive.

But first....



(See?  Not too bad.  Those south of us got much more snow.)