The Perfect Boiled Egg

Rumor has it that our pasture-raised eggs are hard to peel.

I would most definitely agree with that statement.

My girls love to eat and snack on boiled eggs and I'm delighted to feed them to them. However, I use to secretly dread making them because I never knew if they were going to "turn out" or not.

Through trial and error I believe I have found a way to boil and peel our eggs perfectly- as opposed to looking like you got the shell off with a hammer and a chisel.


Step 1: Place your eggs in a saucepan and cover with water about an inch about the eggs on HIGH heat. **IMPORTANT: SPRINKLE SEA SALT IN THE WATER.**


Step 2: Once your eggs begin to boil, reduce heat to medium (so that they won't crack) and set a timer for 9 minutes. Continue to let eggs boil on medium heat.

Step 3: Once timer goes off. Remove eggs from heat.

Step 4: Immediately place eggs into cool water and let water run over them.

Step 5: Lightly tap egg on the counter top to loosen the shell up.


Step 6: THIS IS THE TRICK: There is a layer of skin between the shell and the egg white called the "inner membrane". This tends to be a little thicker on pasture-raised eggs. But THIS is the trick. You have to find that skin and get under it and peel that off along with the egg shell. It should come off relatively easy once you find it and should pull the shell off at the same time.


Step 7: Find a sweet little helper. This really is a great way to get kids to help you in the kitchen. Once they get the hang of peeling eggs, its a piece of cake for them. My girls LOVE to peel eggs.


Step 8: The final product is shear beauty.




And tastes mighty delicious too!


AND you can also save the egg shells and use them as a natural plant fertilizer and sprinkle them in your garden.

Summer Lovin'....some favs

I love summer. Let it be known that I don't love 110+ degree heat though.

So far, our summer has kicked off pretty awesomely.

I shot these photos of the girls playing with their new wagon a few days ago. They were sitting in the middle of the yard eating strawberries by the carton when the sprinklers came on.

This turned into instant fun and much laughter. I stopped what I was doing and grabbed the camera to capture it all. Such a fun unexpected moment. One minute you are sitting in a wagon in the blazing heat eating strawberries. The next minute you are drenched from head to toe leaping over sprinkler heads- clothes and all.









Summer lovin'.

Speaking of summer lovin'. Here are some things I'm majorly loving these days (in no particular order):

- Doing 5 LOADS of laundry and not folding ONE pair of socks. I'm loving our laundry in general- pool towels and bathing suits.

- Jason's sister and her sweet crew are here for the whole summer- really loving that! There are 7 children on this farm so needless to say they are all plumb exhausted at the end of the day. They are leaving to be missionaries in Haiti beginning in August. The Lord has totally moved in this situation and has done amazing (Would you expect any less??) things during their journey. Follow their story by clicking on the link above to go to their blog. You will be blessed!

- I'm also really loving Chlorophyll....a.k.a. Liquid Sunshine, as my friend Mandi referred to it as. It's the truth. I think it deserves its own post so that is in the works. I've seen amazing results in just 2 weeks of adding this to my diet.

- Earth Balls. You must make these. They are so addicting and really good for you. The recipe is really flexible. The possibilities are endless! This is a good treat or snack to take with you or have on hand. They are pretty rich so you can eat two at a time and feel like you just had a real treat. They also go well with a glass of raw milk!

(loosely adapted from the Whole Foods cookbook)

1 cup organic peanut butter
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (I've used both of these)
2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup hemp hearts (you can substitute sunflower seeds or chia seeds)

Mix the peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, and cocoa powder together. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. Stir in raisins and 1/2 of the coconut . Put this batter in the fridge for about an hour until chilled. In a separate bowl mix the coconut and hemp seeds together. Get the batter out of the fridge. Roll the batter into small balls. Then roll the balls into the coconut and hemp seeds. Keep chilled until you serve it.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Seriously Good Spice Cake

I got this recipe from Tammy's Recipes.

There are a lot of great recipes on this site all made from scratch. I have to modify some ingredients, but overall I thoroughly love browsing through a lot of her recipes.

If you are ever in a "what in tarnation do I fix for dinner??" rut, check her out. The website is filled with lots of wonderful menu ideas.

There is even a recipe on how to make your own "Cream of Chicken Soup" so you don't have to buy the canned stuff. I've tried it in various casseroles when I can slip a casserole by Farmer J and the soup has turned out wonderfully.

Here is the recipe for the yummy spice cake. I honestly don't like molasses too much. But, it tastes good in this cake. I substituted the flour for 100% whole wheat flour and it was still really moist and yummy!

Oatmeal Spice Cake

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 100% whole wheat)
1 cup quick oats
1 cup brown sugar (I used organic)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened or melted
1 cup water
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses

Coconut Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (I used organic)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons light cream or whole milk (I used raw milk)

Instructions:

1. Measure all cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, and then for 3 minutes on high.

2. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool cake slightly.

3. To make coconut topping, melt butter in sauce pan. Add brown sugar and stir over medium heat until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add coconut, pecans, and cream. Spread topping over cake and broil cake for 2-3 minutes, until topping is bubbly and browned.

Homemade Lip Balm and Sugar Scrub

For some Christmas gifts the last few years, I've made homemade lip balm and sugar scrub to give to various people.

The lip balm I've found to be somewhat addicting and extremely moisturizing. Bottom line....it works.

A lot of lip balms and lipsticks out there sold in stores contain petroleum.

I've adopted a good rule of thumb over the years in regards to what I put on my body as well. If you can't drink it or eat it (as in, not die from it....who would enjoy eating lip balm??), it's probably not safe.

A good resource to look up the toxicity level in the products that you use on your body is the Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. You can look up virtually any product that is out there for hair, face, body, and baby. You will be amazed at the things you learn about common products you use every single day.

Did you know that your body absorbs 60% of what you put on your skin? That is a crazy number. If you put a clove of garlic between your toes, you would taste the garlic in your mouth in just a few short minutes.

The recipe I used for the lip balm was surprisingly found on Martha Stewart's website. I liked all of the ingredients that were used so I decided to give it a go.


Homemade Lip Balm:

3 teaspoons of grated unbleached beeswax (ordered mine from Majestic Mountain Sage)
5 teaspoons of carrier oil (sunflower, avocado, jojoba) I used avocado oil...has a longer shelf life and doesn't go rancid easily (see link below for a carrier oil resource)
6 drops of essential oil (I was going for "minty" so I used peppermint oil from Young Living)
1 teaspoon of honey

Melt the beeswax and carrier oil in the top of a double boiler. This is basically a metal bowl sitting on top of a saucepan with water boiling in the saucepan underneath the bowl. Stir really good so that the two combine. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Pour the balm into your container to cool. It will solidify back again once its cooled. I also purchased my containers from Majestic Mountain Sage.

For a good article that explains carrier oils and their shelf life along with storage, CLICK HERE.


The sugar scrub is also wonderful!

Cane sugar naturally contains glycolic acid which is a natural alphy hyrdroxy acid that exfoliates the skin.

Farmer Jason uses this stuff on his hands and it cleans all the dirt out the nooks and crannies leaving his skin smoother....not smooth, just smoother because he has really rough hands. I love em' though.

I adapted my recipe from this one and added a few things I knew that were good to moisturize and heal the skin.

Sugar Scrub- pictured above

50 % turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw (love the bigger sugar granules)
50 % vegetable glycerin (this can be bought at a pharmacy, I didn't have this so I used avocado oil)
small amount of aloe vera gel
7 drops of lavender essential oil
7 drops of neroli essential oil (rejuvenates the skin and has calming effects)

Mix everything together in a bowl, and put in a jar. How simple is that???? Really!

RuThIe {{8 months}}

Ruthie is almost 8 months!

I held off as long as I possibly could, but Ruthie is officially eating solids. She has been eating them consistently for about 3 weeks now.

She is enjoying real food quite well and momma is not enjoying the diapers. I had to call (on the phone) for backup for the first real food poop diaper I changed. I was so ill-prepared and did not know what to do with it. The poo was smeared into the diaper so flipping the turd into the toilet was not an option. Jason suggested I go out and get a water hose after it, but really, how practical is that every single poo diaper. And besides, it's really cold outside too.

Oh the joys of cloth diapers and motherhood. Poo is definitely a frequent topic of discussion.

No worries, I think I've got it figured out now, but I'm ALWAYS open for suggestions from cloth diaper mommas out there. Just don't tell me to soak them in toilet water. I ain't doin' dat!

I haven't given her grains of any kind yet, but so far she is eating....

carrots, potatoes, avocado, yogurt, meats, raw cheese, beans, peas, apples, pears, bananas, and I'm sure other things I'm missing.

All of these foods I'm either mashing up with a fork or pureeing them in a blender. I try to give her the foods as fresh as possible, but I've also frozen big batches in ice cube trays too. I wait until they've frozen all of the way through in the trays and then pop out the cubes into a big storage bag and put it back into the feezer.

Her little personality is really starting to come out. She is definitely laid back in every single way.

Funny thing happened....right before Christmas (about 7 mo) she was sitting up on her own unassisted. I know this is late, but I'm okay with that- she is my baby and sitting up leads to crawling, which leads to walking, which leads to driving, which leads to leaving and cleaving: hopefully on the farm of course.

Well, about a week later I went to take a photo of her sitting up and she wouldn't sit up. I guess she decided it was overrated or something. Since then, she will sit up, but she'd prefer not to.

Ruthie is just so darn sweet and is a total momma's girl. When I walk into a room, she knows it. And when I leave, those still in the room with her know it.

I found such an awesome resource for starting solids- "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron.


This book is filled with a wealth of information, practical tips, and wonderful recipes. I've thoroughly enjoyed flipping through it. I highly recommend it.

Here is a few photo of her first bite of food.


And here is one just because:).

{{rEcIpE}} Broccoli Salad

I’m addicted to this salad!!!! This is an original concoction of mine and I’m so pleased with how the recipe turned out.

It’s soooooo good.

I make it and keep it in the fridge. When I have the urge, I open the door to my wonderfully awesome salad that is waiting to take me to broccoli heaven.

My girls love it too. They could eat broccoli and cauliflower right off the stem (I can't even do that) so I knew that they would love this salad.

Broccoli is in season right now, so this is perfect timing.

This salad is also super good for you and has all nutritious ingredients in it.

I’ve had similar recipes that call for mayo and sugar for the dressing. But, since I’m mayo-a-phobic, that won’t work for me.

Here is the recipe:

Broccoli Salad

3 heads of broccoli cut up into florets

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

½ cup raw cashews

¼ cup chopped red onion

1 cup shredded carrot (I peeled a whole carrot into the salad with a peeler)

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional: shredded chicken for added protein (the picture is shown w/ chicken in the salad)

Dressing:

½ cup cold-pressed olive oil

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup red wine vinegar

4 T organic maple syrup

3 T whole grain mustard (I use organic central market brand)

1 lime squeezed

salt, pepper, onion powder

Cut up and add all of your veggies and nuts. Mix up dressing and whisk together so dressing is mixed well. Pour on top of salad and mix together. Yum!

How To Render Lard

****Below are steps to render your own lard.****

When people hear the word "lard", they mostly think bad things- fattening, unhealthy, bad for you, etc. Lard has developed a bad connotation over the years and has been replaced by things like crisco, margarine, vegetable oil, and canola oil.

I recently told someone that I was going to try and render my own lard for cooking. To that they replied,"I thought you ate healthy. Lard does not sound healthy."

So, this is attempt to dispell the myths that all fats are bad for you. All fats are not created equal.

"Today heart disease causes at least 40% of all US deaths. If, as we have been told, heart disease results from the consumption of saturated fats, one would expect to find a corresponding increase in animal fat in the American diet. Actually, the reverse is true. During the sixty-year period from 1910 to 1970, the proportion of traditional animal fat in the American diet declined from 83% to 62%, and butter consumption plummeted from eighteen pounds per person per year to four. During the past eighty years, dietary cholesterol intake has increased only 1%. During the same period the percentage of dietary vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortening and refined oils increased about 400% while the consumption of sugar and processed foods increased about 60%.2 " (The Skinny on Fats, Weston A. Price Foundation, see full article below)

Not too long ago, our grandmothers and their mothers all cooked and baked with pork lard and butter. In recent years, these two foods have been deemed "bad" fats and we've been dumbed down to thing that baking with margarine (which is one molecule away from plastic) and vegetable oil is better for us in some way.

As a matter of fact, when you hear the words "vegetable oil" one would think good things because of the word "vegetable". And "canola" certainly doesn't sound that harmful either.

Vegetable oil is made up largely of genetically modified (GMO) soy and corn. It is even used in paints, hydraulic fluid, and has various other industrial uses. Canola oil is made from a seed called the rapeseed. Sounds freaky, right? The name "canola oil" was given to make the oil more marketable. Rapeseed has high toxic amounts of erucic acid that is dangerous for human consumption. However, the hydrogenation of the rapeseed deems it safe for human consumption because it only has trace amounts of the erucic acid in it- yet its still in the oil. Canola oil is also an industrial oil that does not belong in the human body.

Here is a direct quote from an article "The Oiling of America" listed below to sort of sum this up for us.

"Most animal fats-like butter, lard and tallow-have a large proportion of saturated fatty acids. Saturated fats are straight chains of carbon and hydrogen that pack together easily so that they are relatively solid at room temperature. Oils from seeds are composed mostly of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These molecules have kinks in them at the point of the unsaturated double bonds. They do not pack together easily and therefore tend to be liquid at room temperature. Judging from both food data and turn-of-the-century cookbooks, the American diet in 1900 was a rich one-with at least 35 to 40 percent of calories coming from fats, mostly dairy fats in the form of butter, cream, whole milk and eggs. Salad dressing recipes usually called for egg yolks or cream; only occasionally for olive oil. Lard or tallow served for frying; rich dishes like head cheese and scrapple contributed additional saturated fats during an era when cancer and heart disease were rare. Butter substitutes made up only a small portion of the American diet, and these margarines were blended from coconut oil, animal tallow and lard, all rich in natural saturates."

To sum this up even further for us- our bodies know how to process naturally saturated animal fats and fats like lard, butter, coconut oil, and tallow. Foreign and ancient diets high in natural saturated fats have low risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancers. Seed oils our bodies don't really know what to do with because of all of the extensive porcessing and hydrogenation to achieve the seed oils.

"The relative good health of the Japanese, who have the longest life span of any nation in the world, is generally attributed to a lowfat diet. Although the Japanese eat few dairy fats, the notion that their diet is low in fat is a myth; rather, it contains moderate amounts of animal fats from eggs, pork, chicken, beef, seafood and organ meats. With their fondness for shellfish and fish broth, eaten on a daily basis, the Japanese probably consume more cholesterol than most Americans. What they do not consume is a lot of vegetable oil, white flour or processed food (although they do eat white rice.) The life span of the Japanese has increased since World War II with an increase in animal fat and protein in the diet." (Skinny on Fats, Weston A. Price Foundation. See below.)

After seeking alternatives to the modern use of crisco, vegetable oil, canola oil, and margarine I discovered the unique benefits of cooking with pork lard and raw grass-fed butter.

Here is a chart of of the best sources of obtaining good fats in your diet (taken from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon)

- Fresh Butter and Cream from pastured animals; preferrably raw
- Lard
- Beef, Lamb, Goose, and Duck fat from pastured animals
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Unrefined Flax Seed Oil in small amounts
- Coconut and Palm Oil

Second to Cod Liver, pork lard is among the top foods in obtaining Vitamin D in our diets. The key to benefitting from vitamin D in pork lard, is by rendering lard from pigs raised in natural sun light.

Commercially raised pigs never see the light of day. So, their lard would be low in Vitamin D, not to mention that animals store their toxins in their fat therefore making the diet of the pig extremely important during its life.

Lard is a stable fat that is largely used in baking and cooking. We have our butcherer save our pork fat (we sell this as well) so that we are able to render our own lard from our pigs raised on pasture and fed 100% USDA certified organic grains.

I've barely even scratched the surface here. The subject of fats in our diet is highly complex and somewhat scientific.

As with anything, you will run into information on both ends of the spectrum. Always consider your sources. If you are interested in looking into digging deeper into this subject, I encourage you to do so and not just take my word for it.

I've compiled a list of articles from the Weston A. Price Foundation- a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets.

The Skinny on Fats

The Oiling of America

The Great Con-ola

How to render your own lard on the stove top (you can also render in the oven):

1. Find a cute farmer willing to cut up your fat for ya!!! Just kidding. Not really:)

I have a hard time cutting up the fat since its a lot! So, Jason helps me with this step and for that I'm grateful!

Here is what it looks like in the package de-thawed.

2. Place cut up lard in a large stock pot. Turn to medium heat and let the pork fat do its thing. Keep in mind that it is pork, so a splatter screen might come in handy.

You will let pork cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes and stirring occasionally. Be careful not to overcook the pork fat because it will give your lard a "pork" flavor. Pork lard that is rendered correctly doesn't have a pork flavor to it.


3. Once the pork lard begins to float and look like this, continue cooking for about another 10 minutes watching it closely and stirring the pork fat.


4. Remove from heat once its done.

5. The steps I use for straining are....

Place a strainer in a bowl.

Triple line it with cheesecloth and pour pork fat and cracklings into the strainer lined with cheesecloth.


It should look like this after you've strained it.

6. Save your pork cracklings! These are good to use in bean recipes and cornbread recipes. Yum!

7. Use your jelly funnel to pour into glass jars.

8. Once it cools down to room temperature, place it in the fridge for storage. It should look creamy white once it has cooled down.

Crockpot 911

Okay. I need your help out there.

I feel uninspired in the kitchen. 

I'm all over the place in the rest of the house. For some reason, nesting is already beginning. I'm trying to figure out where to put this baby when he/she makes their debut. So this has lead to every single closet and piece of furniture (we have an old house without closets) untouched and organized. The days of closing the doors and forgetting the chaos inside exists are over.

But, the kitchen........oh, the kitchen. Its the most untouched room of my life right now. And if you know me or have been reading this blog, you know this girl loves to cook and loves food.......a little too much at times. 

I don't want Jason to have to lose his baby weight after this pregnancy is over also by being an innocent bystander of my drive-thru addiction. After the dinner we had tonight, things aren't looking so hot. Thanks Dairy Queen!

- Hunger Buster with cheese and fries

- Large Coke (I'm a big fat caffeine sinner when I pregnant. But, remember, I'm not drinking coffee)

- Deluxe Nachos (Jason and I split these for an appetizer. Doesn't everyone get an appetizer when eating fast food????)

- Banana Split Blizzard (YOU MUST TRY THIS. THESE WILL BE ADDED TO "THE LIST OF FAVS")

So, here is where you come in. I successfully cooked supper a few nights ago in a crock pot. It re-ignited my love for them. I put supper in at 2pm when I was feeling great and girls were asleep. When I started feeling icky when 5pm rolled around, supper was done. Amazing. I love that little round pot with the knobby.

I'm a fan of crock pots. The only problem I have with them is that most of the crock pot recipes are really really bad for you. I might as well eat from a drive-thru. Believe me, I can cook me some chicken spaghetti in the crock pot with the best of them. But, Velveeta isn't exactly great for you. Sorry if I just made some of you cry out there!

I'm on a mission to find healthy slow cooker meals. I'd love to know if any of you have any recipes that you love and want to share with me! Jason (aka.....The Food Nazi) will appreciate it. Don't be scared. I know we each have different things we've omitted from our particular diets. No worries there. Submit away. 

Maybe we can have the "World's First Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes Cookbook" and get rich off it together. That's a really long title. We'll have to shorten it, now won't we?

Homemade Pizza

(mommy & Kaylyn in our matching aprons)

A friend of mine in Brenham shared a wonderful homemade pizza crust recipe on her blog.

We had a blast making the pizza crust and a mess! I haven't quit perfected making pizza crust without a mess yet as this was my very first time to make pizza crust. I can't believe it has taken me this long!

Pizza is one of my FAVORITE things to eat. I've had a hard time adjusting to this not being a regular part of our diet as it was before our journey towards eating healthier.........except for the occasional trip to Cici's when daddy is working:). Sorry. I'm all about not cooking dinner on those nights and Kaylyn, Laney Rae, and I can eat A LOT for 10 bucks.

Kaylyn and I did an experiment. I mixed one of the crusts in my bread machine and she mixed the other by hand.......because it was a lot more fun for her that way! She made hers entirely by herself.

Honestly, the both came out the except making it by hand was much faster and rose a lot quicker.

Kaylyn decided to top her pizza with grass-fed beef (or meat pieces in her words) on one half and pineaple and ham on the other half. Jason and I topped ours with lots of veggies and grass-fed beef. We used an organic spaghetti sauce and organic cheddar cheese.

I must say, that this pizza was wonderful! I needed a bigger pizza pan because the crust made enough for a large size pizza which equaled to lots of crust on my smaller pizza pans.

This will be a regular in the Kramer home accompanied by family night with a good movie. We had a good time.

I hope you enjoy the recipe! You can read it from Mandi's blog HERE or believe. I love Mandi's blog! She is a neat gal complete with a chicken coop with laying hens in her backyard.....in the middle of Brenham. They are all about being urban homesteaders.

Here is the recipe below as well taken from Mandi's blog. And below are photos of our pizza night!

crust:

(loosely adapted from lucy burney's immunity foods for healthy kids)

preheat oven to 375'

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tsp instant yeast

4 tbsp oil

(i usually throw in half of a grated zucchini)

mix up the dough and let sit while you get your toppings ready. disclaimer: no babies were harmed in the making of this pizza crust. he stands there until i turn off the mixer and then dives in. Raw dough is a hot commodity in our house! Roll out the dough. Place on lightly oiled and dusted (i use corn meal) pizza pan (i'd use a stone if i had one!) Add pizza sauce (this night i used spaghetti sauce because it's all i had on hand). Layer on toppings- we always start with some sort of leafy green and put on whatever else we have lying around. This night we used peppers, tomatoes and basil. Add cheese (as my sister would say "mozzarella makes it swell-a). Bake for about 20 minutes (or until cheese gets golden)

When life hands you 'who dos'.......

I'm ready for the 'who do' drama to be a distant memory so that is the reason for a new post. Thanks for the uplifting words everyone!

I had several encounters with people from church who all dig my new hair....or lack there of. So, now I feel like a big drama queen for nothing. It looks like Kaylyn may get this trait from me after all. Pray for the drama to cease for both of us- first with me since she is obviously watching and imitating- yikes! But, that is another story.

After the initial shock, I'm liking my 'who do' more and more. Even though, I'm not backing down on the fact that it resembles nothing of what I asked for. My ex-stylist of one day still gets a big fat F- from me. And since my hair grows at a ridiculously slow pace, I'm thinking the style I was going for will be here in about a years time.

I really almost swore off haircuts completely- as in never ever again. Wouldn't my hubby like that step in the direction of the Amish people?!?! But, I just can't do it. My quest for cute haircuts will prevail. I will continue my search thanks to a few kind words from some local gals here in Brenham.

We all know that every farmer's wife needs a cute haircut, right? Not! But, I plan on breaking the mold a bit.

When life hands you 'who dos', bake some bread!

Random, very random. But, I had to tie these two together somehow. Bare with me!

I was given this awesome recipe from a friend and fellow blogger, Rachel (thank you!!!). And I can't quit baking it. Really, the term 'baking' is somewhat shameful to use. It should be more like 'pouring' since I pretty much pour it into the bread machine and it does all the work. Kaylyn thinks it is magic. I have to admit that I do to!

I thought my search for the perfect bread recipe would be never ending. But, it came to a quick halt after one whiff and taste of this carbo-rama!

You will notice that it doesn't have a ton of ingredients in it, which is just the way we like things around here. It has passed hubby and kiddo approval. I can't make this bread fast enough!

The recipe is from Hillbilly Housewife (how fitting, right?).

Whole Wheat Bread

• 1-2/3 cups warm tap water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 4-2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Measure the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Make a well in the flour and sprinkle the yeast into it. Set the machine to it's Whole Wheat Cycle. On my machine this lasts for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Press Start, and let the machine work it's magic. Remove the cooked bread from the pan after baking and allow it to cool before slicing.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy making bread is. Especially with this amazing bread machine..........



And my incredible little helper...........



KK has helped me measure all of the ingredients for each and every loaf thus far. She gets super excited when I tell her it is time to bake bread.

Another favorite thing of ours lately is using our wonderful coffee press we acquired from Heather (thanks!!) over the holidays. Coffee has taken on a whole new form in the Kramer home. Not only is this contraption simple to use and requires nothing but coffee and hot water, the coffee tastes incredible! I'm all about simplistic low maintenance kitchen gagdets....can you tell?

I look even more forward to my morning (and afternoon:) cup of coffee if that is even possible.

Good ole' recipes times 2

I've been trying to get even more creative with our recipe collection of healthy dishes.

I still have yet to find a good homemade whole wheat bread recipe without any white flour that can easily be made without a bread machine. But, then again I haven't really looked very hard either nor attempted to make a loaf more than once. There are so many out there. So, if you know of one feel free to pass it along. Jason will be thrilled.

In the meantime, we've come to like this Ezekiel bread. You can find it in your grocer's freezer in the health/bread section. The texture is a bit stiff for my liking, but the health benefits are wonderful. My search still continues for homemade bread.

However, I have successfully mastered an amazing homemade cornbread recipe that goes great with a pot of soup or chili on a cold winter's day.

Healthy Cornbread

1 cup of Cornmeal (Bob's Red Mill Cornmeal, Medium Grind- flour/baking isle)
1 cup Stone Ground Whole Wheat (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp Salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp of Sugar (optional- we use Organic Evaporated Cane Juice)
1 egg
1 cup Goat's milk (trust me here, it is good:)
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir really well making sure all ingredients are evenly dispersed. Coat a cast iron skillet with olive oil really well. If you don't have cast iron, use a glass dish (the next best healthy thing to bake with). Still coat the glass with olive oil. Pour cornbread mixture into skillet/dish and bake for 20 minutes.

The texture of this cornbread is amazing. And so soft too! We love this stuff with a touch of honey drizzled on top.

Here are a few other recipes that have been cooked, tasted, and approved!

Chicken and Cabbage Soup

4 cups of chicken (shredded and picked off bone)
4 cups of Organic free-range chicken broth
3 cups of water
6 red potatoes cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups carrots (shredded or sliced....which ever you prefer)
3 cups of chopped cabbage
1 white onion chopped up
1 bushel of chopped parsley
2 tbsp of garlic
Dash of red pepper (be careful not to add too much because it will be spicy)
1 tbsp of celery salt
Salt
Pepper

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Cabbage is soooooo good for you. The only problem is actually eating it. This soup is a great way to get cabbage incorporated into your diet and taste really well too! I'm serious. My house didn't STINK at all when I cooked this.

Chicken, Lime, & Cilantro Pasta

3 cups of chicken (cooked and cubed)
1/2 chopped white onion
artichoke hearts (not marinated in oil, but vinegar)
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 cup Organic free-range chicken broth
1 bushel of chopped cilantro
2 limes
1 tbsp Nutmeg
2 tbsp Garlic
Salt
Pepper
1 box Whole Wheat Penne pasta (we use Heartland)

Prepared chicken as you normally would. I cook mine in a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Sometimes I boil a whole chicken and pick it off the bone. It just depends what I have on hand. Boil noodles as directed. Place all ingredients except for broth and lime in a cast iron skillet and saute together on medium high heat for 15 minutes. Add broth and squeeze lime into the pasta. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir pasta and mixture together. You can always increase lime if you prefer more. Yummy!

Deliciously Healthy Salad Dressing

2 cloves of Garlic
Lime Juice (I like a lot!!)
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
One Part Apple Cider Vinegar
One Part Balsamic Vinegar
One Part Olive Oil

Whisk all ingredients together and serve over your favorite salad. Apple Cider Vinegar is AMAZING for your body. Read more about that HERE. We love this salad dressing. And this is a great way for me to eat ACV without having to guzzle it down.

For other healthy recipes, you view those from a previous post HERE.

Recipes with a twist

Over the years, my love for cooking has went from cooking 'all things terrible' to trying to turn that same passion into being creative and healthy in what I'm cooking.

There was a time, as in two summers ago, that our breakfast looked liked this. We went on vacation with some friends of ours. One morning while on this vacation, it was our turn to cook breakfast so here is how the breakfast went down.
Step one, fry a whole package of bacon in an electric skillet.

Step two, pour half of the good ole' bacon grease in a jar to save.

Step three, fry pancakes in the remaining bacon grease that is left in the skillet.

Step four, pour bacon grease that was in the jar back into the skillet to fry our eggs in.

Now, if that doesn't give you a bad case of IBS just reading that I don't know what will. Notice how all four steps involved bacon grease.

Our friends were in shock. They were even more in shock to find that this breakfast was a regular occurrence in the Kramer home. There were lots of things fried in bacon grease in our home. Along with many recipes that included processed foods, fatty foods, foods containing lots of sugars, and the list goes on and on downhill.

If it were awful, you can guarantee that we ate it. Velveeta was a staple food in our home. I took pride in seeing how many ways I could incorporate this fake nastiness into my recipes. Really, what IS Velveeta anyways?

When we got home from our vacation, we were convicted to the core about what our eating habits had turned into. We were living to eat and not eating to live. And we WERE NOT treating our bodies the way we knew the Lord was calling us too.

We were so unhealthy that it was affecting a lot of things in our lives. During this time, Jason also had the cholesterol of a 70 year old man and I had the hormones of a 70 year old woman. Our food was affecting every thing within our bodies.

Before you think that I have this diet down pat and it is a breeze let me just say this. For me, food is an idol the Lord has clearly shown me that I, well......IDOLIZE. It doesn't help that a hobby of mine is cooking and recipe searching. My television use to stay on the Food Network all day. I know, this is really bad. But, for real, I thoroughly enjoy cooking just like someone would enjoy playing a guitar, or knitting, or collecting postcards. You get the drift.

Food is a source of comfort for me. It makes me feel good. I get all giddy when I know I'm about to consume something insanely good and unhealthy at that. It's just so wrong.

Jason has been so patient with me and encouraging while I work through all of this by the grace and power of the Lord. It hasn't been as easy for me as it has for him. I still struggle. But, the motivation to honor my husband's wishes to cook healthy nutritious meals and also the command to honor our bodies has kept me hopeful.

Jason is definitely the more knowledgeable one when it comes to why we do what we do. If I can ever get him off that tractor, I will have him sit down and write it all down in detail. My brain has problems processing details so for now, you get the 'Lynsey's Notes'.

I was able to take his research and turn it into real live recipes.

For the most part, our diet consists of fruits, vegetables, meats, & whole grains. If it isn't in its natural state, we don't eat it. This means we have eliminated everything that is processed, homogenized, pasteurized, chemically altered, has sugar added (high fructose corn syrup), or whatever the case may be. We also try and eat grass-fed grass-finished meats & free-range eggs, thus the vision of Yonder Way Farm.

Also, if it is an option with certain products, we try and buy organic like in the instance of tomato sauces or chicken broth or frozen veggies. We do have a garden and try to incorporate what is in season in our recipes.

To simplify things, we just stick to the basic rule of 'is it in its natural state?' Unless we are fellow shipping with friends or it is out of our control or I digress and give into to temptation. The last one mentioned is no fun. I think it is at the time, but it is just a lie of the devil.

A lot of people have asked what actual recipes look like so I thought I would post a few. You won't see any fish recipes mainly because I don't like fish and we don't trust where the fish is coming from. But, mainly it is because I STILL don't like fish.

You will also see a lot of repeat ingredients. We pretty much buy the same things every week. I just try and change up the recipes a bit. It also makes for quick and easy grocery shopping. I know the products that we can eat and what we can't. We don't buy hardly any snack foods except for pretzels or organic cereal bars for Kaylyn to have. We try and snack on fruit instead. Jason is so nifty. He washes and cuts it all up right when I get home from the grocery store while we are still in the mindset and puts it in cute little baggies in the fridge.

We have found a few favorites that we love.

Brianna's is a staple salad dressing in our house. We love mostly all of her dressings and they are located in Brenham.

We buy our chicken from THIS local farm in Hempstead. They raise and process all of their chicken.

You will also notice that my recipes aren't too wacky and do not contain food that we cannot pronounce. It is just easier for us to take something that we like and try and find a way to make it healthy for you.

These aren't all of them. I try and make up new stuff like different stir-fry recipes or a meat and two different veggies.

On to the recipes!

Spaghetti

This is your basic spaghetti recipe with a few things changed up a bit like grass-fed beef, whole-wheat pasta, and homemade sauce because most every sauce you buy has corn syrup in it, which is what we are trying to avoid. You can eliminate any veggies you don’t like, but the more the merrier for us!

1 lb. Grass-fed Beef
1 Onion- chopped
3 Cloves Garlic- chopped
3 small cans of Hunts tomato sauce
1 small can of Hunts tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 package of mushrooms- chopped
1 green bell pepper- chopped
1 tablespoon of basil
1 teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper
1 tsp of Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic
1 package of Whole-wheat spaghetti pasta

Brown the meat in ½ of the chopped onion and ½ of the chopped garlic. Add the remaining ingredients- except the noodles. Simmer for about 30 minutes until all of the veggies are soft. While sauce is simmering, boil noodles until they are done. I serve this with Garlic toast using the whole-wheat sugar-free buns. Sprinkle olive oil over the toast along with garlic powder, basil, and dried minced onions. Broil for about 1 minute of until brown.

Burgers

These are a great alternative to regular burgers. You can add any of your favorite toppings that you like. I serve them with red potatoes cut up like French fries sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley.

1 lb. Grass-fed Beef- makes about 6 patties
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1 avocado- sliced
1 onion- sliced
1 package of mushrooms- chopped
1 tomato- sliced
Mustard or Organic Ketchup (one w/o high fructose corn-syrup)
1 package of Whole-wheat sugar-free buns
5 Red Potatoes for “fries”

Mix meat with salt, pepper, and garlic, Make meat into patties and cooked in a skillet. In a separate skillet, sauté the onions and mushrooms together olive oil. Serve on buns with avocado slices, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spicy mustard.

Chicken Soft Tacos

Delicious! Serve this with Spanish Rice & Black Beans. Recipe follows.

1 free-range chicken cooked & deboned
Salt, Pepper Garlic (let’s call this SPG for remaining recipes since it is on everything!)
1 can of Hunts tomato sauce
1 onion- chopped
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
Avocados- sliced
Tomato- chopped
Lettuce
Olives
Cilantro
1 package of whole-wheat tortillas

After chicken is finished, shred chicken up. Put back in skillet and saute for about 5 minutes with onions. Add tomato sauce and the remaining seasonings. Serve with all of the fixings above on whole-wheat tortillas and a side of Spanish Rice & Black Beans.

Spanish Rice

Brown Rice = Lots of patience. It takes about 45 minutes to cook brown rice, so I usually start this first.

1 cup of 100% Whole Grain Brown Rice
2 ½ cups of water
1 capful of vinegar (this is a tip that helps the rice get fluffy and not stick together)
1 sprinkle of salt
1 can of Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 can of Diced tomatoes- DRAINED
½ cup Shredded Carrots
2 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp of Garlic
1 tsp of Chili Powder
½ tsp of Red Pepper (optional- makes it spicy)
Salt & Pepper

Bring the water, vinegar, and salt to a boil. Add the rice and simmer on medium for about 45 minutes covered. Check and stir the rice occasionally so that is doesn’t stick to pan. When rice is almost done add the remaining ingredients and stir it in. Cover the rice back up and simmer a little longer until finished. Taste the rice and make sure that it is completely done. Brown Rice has a different texture than white rice, which is that it is a little firmer. You just want to make sure it isn’t still crunchy.

Chicken Parmesan

This is a great alternative to regular Chicken Parmesan minus the Parmesan.

4 Chicken Breasts
2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour
Italian Seasoning Blend (Mc Cormick)
½ cup of Olive Oil (or enough to cover the pan you are using)
4 small cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 small can of Hunt’s tomato paste
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon of basil
1 teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper
2 tsp of Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar
1 package of mushrooms, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic
1 package of Whole Wheat pasta noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse Chicken off. In a flat dish, put your flour and mix in the Italian seasoning blend. Put your olive oil in a skillet on medium-high to high heat. Let it get really hot so flour will stick to the chicken. Coat chicken with the flour mixture and place in the oil in skillet. Brown both sides, but don’t worry about cooking all of the way through. After chicken is brown, place in a baking dish. In the meantime, make the sauce to pour over the chicken by adding all of tomato sauces, seasonings, bell pepper, mushrooms, and sugar in a saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes. You can do this step while chicken is browning. After sauce is done, pour over chicken in the baking dish and place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. While chicken is baking, boil noodles. When everything is finished you will serve the chicken over a bed of pasta. Any kind of pasta is perfect. It depends on what you prefer.

Chicken Fajitas

Everyone has their own way of cooking fajitas. We use chicken tenders and marinate ours in pineapple juice and fajita seasoning for about 1 hour before grilling. Also, we use the typical onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. We substitute Whole Wheat tortillas for the regular ones and don’t use cheese or sour cream. Some good toppings to use are guacamole, cilantro, lime juice, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. We serve with Black Beans and Spanish Rice.

Tortilla Soup

This is one of our favorite soups. You can cook it a million different ways. The only thing that is different about this other than traditional tortilla soup is we don’t top it with cheese or tortilla chips.

1 free-range chicken cooked & deboned
2 cups of sliced carrots
3 zucchini
3 squash
1 bunch of chopped cilantro
2 cans of black beans- drained & rinsed
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 white onion chopped
1 bell pepper- cut in half for seasoning

Boil chicken in a soup pan for about 1 hour. Take chicken out of the broth and then let it cool. Pick chicken off of bone. Strain broth in a strainer and re-use for the soup. You will need about 6 cups of broth. Add all of the ingredients and chicken to broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Healthy Chicken Tenders

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add any seasoning that you like. The wheat flour makes them really crispy and easy to enjoy.

1 package of Chicken Tenders
2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour
2 tbsp of Complete Seasoning
Olive Oil

Wash Chicken. Mix seasoning with flour. Coat the bottom of the pan with Olive Oil and put it on high heat. Make sure it is hot before you put the chicken in. Coat the chicken in the flour and then place in the hot oil. Cook on both sides until they are a golden brown and crispy. We serve with a side of red potatoes and another veggie.

Pasta Fagoli Soup

3 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped onion
1 cup of julienne carrots
1 lb. of ground lean turkey meat
4 cans of beef broth
3 cans of Italian diced tomatoes
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp of oregano
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 can of navy beans (drained)
1 lg. zucchini cut into fourths
1 cup of uncooked whole wheat pasta- Ditalini

Saute celery, onion, and carrots in oil in soup pot. Add turkey meat and brown. Add tomatoes, basil, and oregano. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add broth, beans, and zucchini. Boil for 5 minutes. Then add noodles and boil until noodles are done.

Jason’s Excellent Chicken Beans

1 free-range chicken cooked & deboned
2 pounds of pinto beans in bag
2 cans of Diced Tomatoes
1 chopped onion
SPG
1 bunch of cilantro
1 whole jalapeno (don’t cut it up)

Boil chicken in a soup pan for about 1 hour. Take chicken out of the broth and then let it cool. Pick chicken off of bone. Strain broth in a strainer and re-use for the soup. You will need all of broth for beans. Add the remaining ingredients and boil for until beans are soft. This takes about 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally and check the firmness of the beans. Take jalapeno out before serving.

The BEST Salad

Leafy Greens (we buy Spring Mix & Spinach)
Shaved Almonds
Cranberries
Avocado
Carrots
Chicken
Brianna's Honey Mustard Dressing

All I have to say is 'Yummy'! We eat this A LOT. I never get tired of it.