Soup's On

There is just something about the crisp air and the changing of the leaves. Our Lord is just so creative!

To celebrate October and the harvest season, I made a pot of vegetable beef soup & a few loaves of pumpkin bread. Doesn't it look delicious?

Usually when I make soup for dinner, I make some type of bread to go with it. Soup in itself is pretty hearty, but it doesn't seem like it holds my family over unless I add bread, like pumpkin, cornbread, or zucchini. Since I made pumpkin bread here, I will post that recipe below.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 beaten eggs

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1 t. nutmeg

2/3 cup water

2 cups (or 1 15 oz. can) of solid pack pumpkin

3 1/3 cups flour

2 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

Mix all ingredients in the order given, mixing thoroughly between each ingredient. Pour into greased loaf pans (It makes 2 larger loaves) filling about halfway through. Bake 45 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

This bread is so yummy! My husband likes to spread a little cream cheese on a slice, but I like mine plain.

Summer Kitchen

I often use my turkey roaster to bake in, especially in the summer. I don't like to heat up the kitchen and cause my air conditioning to work too hard which in turn causes my electric bill to climb even higher! My roaster oven really helps with this, but it still gets a little warm in the kitchen. Anyway, I had mentioned this to the MOMYS and someone suggested that I use it outside. I had never thought about using it outside! What a great idea!

I have a new summer kitchen :o)

My turkey roaster and grill...

My garlic bread on the grill

So far this week, I have made lasagna & garlic bread, enchiladas, and tonight I made pot roast with carrots. Other than burning one side of the garlic bread on the grill, it has worked out very well. Turkey roasters are fairly inexpensive anymore and aren't just for turkeys :o) I have also baked in it, which you can see here.

Summer kitchens should not be a thing of the past. They were originally used for helping keep the house cool. I think I like it...

Week of Strawberries Part 4, Strawberry Shortcake!

Ahhh...so refreshing. Strawberry Shortcake. You just can't get any better than this!

Here is my recipe for homemade shortcake. SOOO much better than those store bought shells!

Shortcake

2 1/3 C Bisquick
3 T sugar
1/2 C milk
3 T melted butter

Mix vigorously for 20 strokes (or in your mixer!). Spread into greased 8 or 9 inch pan (I use my round cake pan). It will be a little hard to spread, but don't worry, it doesn't have to look pretty...you are putting strawberries and whipped cream on top! Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with crushed berries (I add a little sugar to ours to take away the tartness) and whipped cream. YUM!

NOTE: This post has been sitting in my dashboard thing since June 10th. I kept waiting to post it so I could get a picture. I have made this at least twice (maybe 3 times?) and these people that live with me keep eating it too fast. :sigh:

Menu Plan Monday June 2-8, 2008

I sure hate those weeks that I don't plan! Last week was not fun, not knowing what was for dinner until time to throw something together. This week will be better!

Monday-Swiss Steak (in the crockpot)

Tuesday-Chicken/spinach salad (yummy in the warmer weather!)

Wednesday-Hot Beef Sandwiches (another crockpot) with Onion buns, spinach salad

Thursday-Lentil tacos

Friday-Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta

Saturday-welcome to the leftover buffet!

Last week, I did try some new recipes. I made yogurt!! It was super easy and the kiddos loved it! You can also use this same basic recipe to make cream cheese. You can find out how to make it on Keeping The Home. Emily tried the Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from here. They were really good! Definitely a keeper.

Check out lots more menus for other great ideas on menus and organizing in general from Laura at www.orgjunkie.com !

Bread Making

Traditional Bread

I tried something new today! Making homemade bread, without my bread machine. For some reason, I had a hard time finding a recipe without using a bread machine. We adapted one from here. It called for 2 Tablespoons of oil but we substituted one of those with 3 Tablespoons of Flax Seed. Since it was a recipe for a bread machine (one loaf), we made it into 2 smaller loaves. It turned out delicious! We ate it warm from the oven with butter....YUM! Are there any recipes out there that makes several loaves and uses whole wheat flour (at least some) and flax seed??

We are still making small changes in our diet for health reasons. Our journey started over a year ago and by making slow, gradual changes, it has been an easier adjustment for the family.