It is a fact that earlier in the summer, my oldest son requested Ramen Noodles for his 14th birthday lunch.  Bleh.  I obliged because it was his birthday and because I could afford the 17¢ required to purchase the desired package of what can’t possibly be food since it only costs 17¢.  Asa completely understands why we don’t normally eat MSG covered cardboard – but doggonit – he likes the stuff and it was a birthday treat.

Our family used to make a great stir fry dish using Ramen Noodles “back in the day” before we began our healthy eating journey.  Asa has fond memories of that dish and was actually the inspiration behind this new version.  One day he simply said, “Mom – don’t you think you could just use spaghetti noodles and soy sauce instead of ramen noodles and make the Stir Fry taste the way it used to taste?”  Huh, well now why didn’t I think of that?

We tried it and WOW.  We all devoured it (which isn’t entirely shocking because “devour” is typically what we do around our table three or more times each day).  This dish is great for several reasons:

• It is very easy to make.
• It is completely healthy.
• You can make it a variety of ways, depending on which vegetables your family likes and has on hand.
• You can make it a meatless dish or add chicken to make it a complete meal!

Easy Noodle Stir Fry

2-4 cups fresh or frozen veggies of your choice (broccoli, carrots, peas, peppers, corn, zucchini, squash, etc.)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 clove minced fresh garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
10 ounces whole wheat spaghetti noodles
Soy sauce (to taste)
Sea salt (to taste)

 

Okay, totally not really.  But still.

Dear Velveeta,

I dearly love you.  I grew up eating you and some days, I really miss you.  I often visit you in the store, just in case you miss me too.  Have you seen me there, lingering by your shelves?

What exactly are you made of anyway?  Wait – don’t tell me.  I don’t want to know.  Reading your label makes me queasy, but when I mix you with a can of rotel, I could gladly grab a bag of chips and eat half the bowl.  You are delicious.  You are comfort food.  You are memories from my childhood.  And for goodness sakes you taste incredible alongside a cold glass of Pepsi.

But you are “processed cheese food”.  What in the world does that mean?  No wait - really – don’t tell me.  I don’t want to know.  I just want to eat you in ignorance so that I won’t know the full effects of what something such as you can do to the insides of my body. 

But alas, since my family began Our Healthy Eating Journey a few years ago, I chose to give you up.  I have a new friend now that has a striking resemblance to you, but one that doesn’t make me feel so sick inside. 

Those were some good times we had together – you, me and the Pepsi.  Please know that I’ll hold the memory of you forever in my heart. 

Insanely Yours,
Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers  

Well, now you know.  Velveeta-Rotel chip dip and I go way back.  I miss her.  I love her.  But there’s a new kid in town, one that is made from real food that I can trust not to turn my gut wrong-side-out.  I’ve been tinkering with this dish for the past couple of years and my family loves it!  It’s not quite as thick as the Velveeta-Rotel dip, but I would imagine that the ingredients that make that one thick are ingredients you and I don’t know how to pronounce.  Just lean over the bowl when you eat this.  A little dip running down the chin never hurt anyone.

Healthier Cheese Dip

1 pound ground hamburger meat (seasoned with Homemade Taco Seasoning if you like!)
2 cups salsa
1 cup cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Organic Corn Chips

Brown hamburger meat and season if desired.  Stir salsa and cream into the meat, stirring constantly while heating on medium heat for about three minutes.  Remove mixture from heat and add shredded cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.  Serve with Organic Corn Chips.  (You can stir in 1/2 cup sour cream or 3 ounces cream cheese if you’d like.)

Don’t leave me hanging.  I must know if you are friends with Velveeta too.  Do you love her with Rotel?  And tell me, is Velveeta a lovely name, or what?

Again, totally not really.

If all of the recipes in the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge turn out to be this easy…I’ll whip through the list in no time.  (But don’t get your hopes up.)

My first idea for and attempt at making Homemade Tater Tots turned out great.  Then I tried them a second time…just to be sure.  Even better.  All six of us were so excited!  These look like a tater tot, feel like a tater tot and well (if I do say so myself) taste better than a tater tot (funny thing about fresh potatoes and healthy oil).

My idea was to try the homemade hashbrown trick.  Remember, I bake the potato, let it cool, shred it, then cook up the shredded potatoes into hashbrowns.  SUCH a fabulous and easy way to make nice hashbrowns.  And now…Tater Tots!!!!!!

Here’s how I did it…

Homemade Tater Tots

3-4 medium russett potatoes
Oil of choice (I used the very healthy and delicious Palm Shortening.  I’d also recommend Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil because it’s flavorless yet healthy for frying.)  (You can read my research based opinions on healthy frying here.)
Sea Salt

First, scrub and bake your potatoes.  Allow the potatoes to cool.  Peel the potatoes (and save the skins to make Potato Skins as described in Katie’s Healthy Snacks to Go ebook!).

Chop the peeled and cooled potatoes and throw them in a food processor to shred finely.  I’d recommend using the “pulse” setting if you have one.  You don’t want your potatoes to turn to mush.  Well, maybe you do, but I don’t. 

If you don’t have a food processor, you can always shred the potatoes
with a cheese grater…it’ll just take a bit longer.
And be careful to keep  your fingers away from the grater.
You don’t want fingers in your tater tots.  Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Next, heat some oil in a skillet (medium heat).  You  just need enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the skillet.  You don’t want greasy tots.  Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Use a small cookie scoop and pack in the shredded potatoes to make a nice firm ball.  (If you don’t really pack it in, the potatoes will just fall apart when you place the ball in the skillet.)  Gently set the ball into the skillet.  Allow it to cook thoroughly on one side before carefully turning it over.  Press the ball down slightly when you turn it.  Each side takes about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Remove tater tots once they look nice and crispy and golden brown.  You don’t want blackened tater tots.  Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.  Sprinkle with desired amount of sea salt.

You should eat these right away because you don’t want cold tater tots.  Well, (say it with me now) maybe you do, but I don’t.  

If you can possibly keep your family out of them…we discovered that these freeze and reheat very well!!  We used our toaster oven to reheat some leftover tater tots a day or two after I initially made them, just to test and see if these can be made ahead of time and YAY…it can be done!!

Just for fun, you may also want to check out the Homemade Tater Tot recipe at Finding Joy in my Kitchen.  She came up with a different way of making tater tots that looks pretty tasty!

Overall, I’d say making Homemade Tater Tots is easy.  Is it as easy as opening up a package and throwing the contents onto a cookie sheet?  No.  But it sure doesn’t take a lot of effort overall.  And then, if you make several batches and freeze some…you’ve got easy, healthy tater tots ready to reheat for a quick side dish or snack!!

Okay…one recipe down…fourteen to go.  Unless you count all the other ideas you challenged me with.  

Now, go bake some potatoes so you can hurry up and make some tots.  You don’t want to miss out on the delicious taste of fresh, Homemade Tater Tots.

Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

I did not grow up eating butternut squash (or any kind of squash for that matter).  I hadn’t a clue what to do with one until a few years ago.  They are, in fact, quite yummy.  But here’s the most exciting thing about a butternut squash:

You can use a butternut squash to make a pumpkin pie.  Or pumpkin bars.  Or pumpkin pie pecan squares.  Or just about any pumpkin treat.

It tastes exactly the same in a recipe and no one can tell a difference. 

Just for the record, I’m not trying to be deceitful by switching out the ingredients…just trying to use up what I have and I think it’s cool that these ingredients are interchangeable!  I will say that using squash to make a “pumpkin pie” sounds a little silly because a squash is not a pumpkin…but calling it a squash pie just doesn’t even sound good.  And so I will continue to use squash to make pumpkin pies and I will continue to call it a pumpkin pie and everyone will continue to eat it because it is so good.

But first, let’s talk about how to prepare a butternut squash.  There are other ways to make pureed squash, but here’s the easiest way I’ve found:

First, cut your gourd in half.  Or close to half.  Mine usually end up being quite lop sided. 

Use a wooden or a heavy duty metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff.

Place your squash face up in a baking dish and bake, uncovered for at least an hour at 350° or until your house smells squashy and you can poke a fork into your squash very easily.  See, look at the fork pokes:

Use a spoon to scoop out all the soft, cooked squash.  You can eat it just like it is…you can sprinkle sucanat on it, you can butter it, you can salt it.  It’s very tasty eaten in these ways.

Or…you can puree it.  Place all the scooped out cooked squash into a food processor or blender.

Process for just a few seconds until smooth.

Look, pureed squash:

Now you can feed it to your baby, feed it to your grown ups…or you can make these Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins.  Yep, not only can you make a Pumpkin Pie and other pumpkin treats with squash, you can make Sweet Potato Muffins.  Is this getting confusing yet?

Just last week I made a delicious “Pumpkin Pie” with butternut squash.  My father-in-law was still here at the time and he declared it the best pumpkin pie he’d ever had.  In fact, he declared it the first pumpkin pie he’d ever LIKED.  {grin}

Are you squash eaters at your house?  How do you like your squash?  Ever used squash to make something that calls for pumpkin or sweet potatoes?

Transitioning your family from white to brown food (rice, grain, sugar) can be a little bit difficult on the taste buds.  When we’re used to the white stuff, the brown stuff may seem a little heavy at first.  I know I’ve heard the opposite from some of you, but transitioning my family from white rice to brown was actually one of our easier transitions when we were on our healthy eating journey.

But first I had to learn how to cook the stuff.  Brown rice cooks a little differently than white rice.  And it takes 45 minutes?  Really?

One of the things I’ve learned throughout our healthy eating journey is that whole foods may take a little longer to prepare, but that doesn’t mean that they are more difficult to prepare.  I just have to plan ahead just a little bit better.  Yes, brown rice takes 45 minutes to cook.  But do I actually have to watch the pot and babysit my rice?  Absolutely not.  Start the rice a cookin’, set a timer, walk away and come back 45 minutes later.

Long story short:  Cooking Brown Rice is SO Easy.

Here are the basics of Brown Rice Cooking:

• Use exactly twice as much liquid as rice.  (For instance, use 2 cups of water with 1 cup of rice.)
• The rice will absorb all the liquid, so if you cook one cup of rice in two cups of water, once the rice is cooked, you will have two cups of cooked rice.
• Don’t bother your rice while it’s cooking.  It will get grumpy.  (Actually it will get sticky, and you may get grumpy.)
• Sea Salt is your friend.  Rice is a little bland without it.
• We LOVE our rice cooked in Chicken Broth.  The broth gives the rice excellent flavor and has really helped us transition to the taste of brown rice!

Here’s how to cook brown rice:

1. Begin by boiling your water or broth.  Remember, use two cups of liquid for every one cup of rice.
2. Once the liquid has come to a full boil, pour in the dry brown rice. 
3. Give the rice a stir.  Turn down the burner to a simmering heat level.
4. Cover the pot with a lid.
5. Set a timer for 45 minutes.
6. Do not stir the rice or even bother with looking at the rice until the timer goes off.
7. Remove the rice from the heat.
8. Salt liberally, or mix your cooked rice into your desired recipe.

I took several pictures to create a tutorial for you, but in just about every picture, the steam from the pot fogged up my camera lense.  It would have been a lovely tutorial.

See?  Look at the wonderful boiling broth.  With steam.  This was the least foggy of all the pictures. 
Don’t you just feel like you learned an awful lot by looking at it?

Sorry for the lack of tutorial photos.  Really though, even without pictures to look at, I do believe you can easily cook brown rice.   Then use it to make Rice and Veggie Stir Fry or Spanish Rice…or even add butter and salt and eat it plain!

Does your family like brown rice?  How do you like to eat your rice?

Remember that all comments left on these parade posts will be entered in the giveaway drawing!

It’s been months since I posted a High Five Recipe, so just in case you’re new around here…let me introduce you to this special recipe feature we have going on.  Are you ready? 

It is a fact that there are lots and lots of healthy recipes you can make which only take five or less (healthy) ingredients!  I’m talking about REAL INGREDIENTS too…not just “add a packet of this and stir in a can of that”. 

Real ingredients, real easy recipes.  I LOVE High Five Recipes!  You can scroll through all of these posts to see the other High Five Recipes I’ve posted so far!

This Roasted Italian Potatoes recipe comes courtesy of my friend Anne.  Remember last year when I put some of my homemade Italian Dressing Mix in her stocking?  What, you don’t remember?  Yes, my friend Anne and I exchange Christmas stockings.  Grown-ups needs stockings too ya know.  And because she and I love to live on the wild side, we put items in each others stockings that are incredibly outlandish like paper clips, pot scrubbers…and yes…Italian Dressing Mix.

Yes indeed, Anne and I create one great big rowdy party when we come together.

Anyhoo…after Anne tried the Italian Dressing Mix I had given her, she fell in love with it and keeps coming up with yummy things to make with it.  She is out to prove that Italian Dressing goes way beyond tossed salad.  See?  Told ya she was a crazy one.

Roasted Italian Potatoes

3 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed (or dirty, whichever way you like ‘em)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian dressing mix

Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces.  Toss ingredients together in a bowl until the potatoes are covered with olive oil and dressing mix.  Pour potatoes into a baking dish.  Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  If you like, you can broil them for a few minutes at the end of their baking time to brown them up a bit.

Now, I am creatively thinking about what I should put in her stocking this year.  Maybe some other great ingredient so she can come up with another high five recipe?  Perhaps something to do with, I don’t know…chocolate???

Not only does this make delicious homemade hashbrowns, it is a great way to use up an abundance of potatoes before they start sprouting.  Remember how I got 50 pounds for such a good price last week?  I plan on putting up several pounds of them into the freezer in hashbrown form.  That way, I’ve preserved some of my good organic potatoes, plus I’ve got EASY hashbrowns ready to pull out and cook up for breakfast or dinner anytime I need them!

Oh, and can you say “inexpensive”?  Yes, I thought you could.  These hashbrowns are so inexpensive, especially when you’ve taken advantage of a good deal on potatoes.  So let’s get started, shall we?

First, scrub your potatoes…as many as you want.   

Bake the potatoes.  I avoid using aluminum foil if at all possible in baking, so I always just place my scrubbed potatoes into a covered dish and bake them for about 1 1/2 hours at 350°.   Be sure to stab each potato with a knife before baking so you don’t have a massive potato explosion in your oven.  Unless you want a massive potato explosion in your oven.  Then feel free to leave them unstabbed.

Allow your baked potatoes to cool.  Peel the potatoes.

Shred your potatoes with a cheese grater.  They shred very easily because they are soft after baking.

See how lovely? 

At this point, you can either cook them, or freeze them.  To freeze them, lay them flat on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Put the cookie sheet into the freezer for a couple of hours or until the potatoes are frozen, then transfer them into freezer bags to cook up when you’re ready.  Oh so convenient!

I usually cook my hashbrowns in my electric skillet or in a cast iron skillet on the stove. 
I use a generous amount of butter, because I love the flavor butter gives my taters. 
I also use quite a bit of sea salt or onion salt.

If the hashbrowns are frozen, you can cook them the same way as if they were not frozen…it will just take a few more minutes.

Cook them on one side for 4-5 minutes, then turn.  Try not to turn them too much so they don’t get mushy.  Cook until the potatoes are golden brown and slightly crispy.

Yum, yum, yum!  Ever since I discovered this hashbrown making trick…we have the most delicious hashbrowns.  Before, I had simply shredded a raw potato, then tried to fry it.  I always ended up with a mushy mess.  Blech.  The trick:  Bake the potatoes first.  It works so well!  PLUS, the baked potato does not turn brown and ugly like a raw potato does once you shred it.  

You can use this same trick to make and freeze diced potatoes or potato chunks.  Fry those up in butter and you’ve got some wonderful fried potatoes!

I finally figured out a chewy granola bar recipe that we like!  It’s easy and includes all natural sweeteners and ingredients!   These bars are way cheaper than store bought granola bars!  Plus you can customize it according to your family’s taste and allergies!  They can be easily wrapped individually to take in the car or packed in a lunch!

Now I will say this:  I don’t recommend going overboard on these (or any) granola bar.  Unsoaked oats can do a number on your digestive system.  I just wanted to create a recipe that will help our family avoid the granola bars at the store when we need a quick, grab and go snack to take to soccer games or on trips.  I consider these to be “compromise” snacks because of the unsoaked oats, but otherwise, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have finally figured out a yummy chewy granola bar!

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter or sunbutter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (or another oil of your choice)
1 cup oats
1 cup total of any combination of:  sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips

In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from heat and add one cup of oats.  Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of ONE CUP.  (I just got out my one cup measuring cup and poured in the ingredients until the cup was full.)  Pour in and stir well.

Stir well, then spread mixture into a 8×8 or 9×4 pan.

Chill for two hours, then cut into bars.

Wrap in plastic wrap for a quick grab and go snack!

Warm Vanilla Soother

3 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 T. arrowroot powder or corn starch
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup and arrowroot powder.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (I use a whisk) until mixture begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.  Stir until creamy.  Pour into mugs and serve warm.

Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top or add a dollop of whipped cream for an extra special touch!

Ever since I bought a gallon of vodka started my big batch of homemade vanilla, I’ve been experimenting with new ways to use vanilla extract.  Yum, homemade vanilla is so good! 

I’ve been working hard to put all of these vanilla recipes into a new ebook.  Plus…I’m creating a Vanilla Recipe Card Pack that will be downloadable and available for you to print off and give as gifts along with a bottle of vanilla.

I’m trying to get these out before Christmas!  We’ll see how it goes.  In the meantime, I’ll be giving you a few sneak peeks at Vanilla Recipes like this one!

Which vanilla recipe do you want to see next?  Homemade Vanilla Wafers…or Fresh Fruit with Vanilla Sauce?
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This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.

I seem to almost always over-shoot when I estimate how many potatoes to make for a holiday meal.  Just in case you also have a few leftover mashed potatoes…here are some ideas for ways to use them up:

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Leftover mashed potatoes
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (for every 2 cups of mashed potatoes)
Butter

Mix mashed potatoes and flour together.  Melt a little butter in the bottom of a skillet.  Spoon scoops of mashed potato mixture into hot butter and flatten a bit.  Flip potato cake several times to ensure than you don’t burn the sides…but so that the cake is heated through and through.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Leftover mashed potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream (for every 3 cups of mashed potatoes)
Shredded cheddar cheese (I use raw white cheddar)

Re-warm mashed potatoes.  Remove potatoes from heat and stir in sour cream.  Spread into a casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and heat in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Shepherd’s Pie

You’ll find the recipe for Shepherd’s Pie here. Just mix it up and spread the leftover mashed potatoes over the top.  So easy!

Have leftover sweet potatoes?

Stir them into these Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins!

These muffins taste as good as they look and smell!

Both mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes can also be frozen to save for another time. It’s wonderful to have frozen mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes ready to add to one of the above recipes!

Share how you use up your mashed potato and sweet potato leftovers!