Lentils

People here the word "Lentils" and automatically they think of gross slimy glop that grandma used to try to make them eat.

They get a horrible wrap!

Lentils, a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family, are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. Not only do lentils help lower cholesterol, they are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. But this is far from all lentils have to offer. Lentils also provide good to excellent amounts of six important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein-all with virtually no fat. The calorie cost of all this nutrition? Just 230 calories for a whole cup of cooked lentils. This tiny nutritional giant fills you up--not out.

Looking for something different try Red lentils. I cook lentils in stock. I used organic vegetable stock they only take just a minute. I use them as a sub to pasta. Great for people who are Vegan, gluten-free, or on a low-carb diet.

They are so tasty! give them a try and take off there bad wrap.

Spring cleaning

Yes friends it is that time of year again. The warmer weather make us itch for change. We must cleanse the house the kept us tied up all winter. Thing you never noticed during the winter begin to bug you! then it hits! its the urge....SPRING CLEANING!!! it is almost at nagging as having the "nesting phase" during pregnancy. For the next couple of weeks every waking minute will be used for organizing, cleaning, pitching, painting, and scrubbing. Everyone does it...so don't fight it. but, i have some great tricks that will help you cut the time so you sit and relax.

here are some of my recipes for good cleaner that are natural and cheap!

things every home should have: vinegar, baking soda, borax, washing soda, olive oil, and vodka.

windows: vinegar and water..that is it! just use newspaper to wipe them down. please reuse old ones and not buy new ones.

woodwork: 1 gallon really hot water, 1 cup of white vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil.

this will clean all woodwork and wood floors. you can use essential oil instead of olive oil and make the house smell as you wish.

all purpose: 1/2 cup of borax in 1 gallon hot water.

China: 2 tbsp borax per sink load.

To freshen clothes mist newspaper with water and close them into a box. next day nice a fresh.

febreeze is expensive and not good for you home with all the chemicals. use this instead.

1 tsp. lavender essential oil,1/4 cup unflavored vodka, and 3 1/2 cups filtered water

Try to use micofiber towels whenever possible they clean super well and it cuts out paper waste from paper towels.

These are some of my favorite tricks around my home i hope they will help in your spring cleaning. Please don't forget to recycle and send your old clothes to charity.

Happy cleaning!!

Fillet of Beef Bourguignonne

So i wanted to start a new tradition of cooking a nice supper with nice china on Saturdays. I want to instill simple traditions that bring our family together and don't cost an arm and a leg.

The recipe for this week was Fillet of Beef Bourguignonne. thought i would share the steps. if you want the recipes you will have to e-mail me. Just in case it is copyrighted.

things you need. 3lb fillet, 1/2 pound mushrooms, 20 pearl onions, 8-10 carrots, 3 cloves garlic, beef stock, tomato paste, butter, olive oil, dry red wine, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and 2 tsp flour.
Pat your beef dry after cutting. dry beef brown better. brown on all sides in olive oil and pull out. keep the meat on the rare side. season beef with kosher salt and pepper. ( you can tell i drink while i cook..hehehe)
after you have pulled out the meat. brown your garlic in the leftover oil for bout 5 minutes

add 1-1/2 red wine and turn light to high and deglaze your pan. add stock, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 1 stick of fresh time, salt & pepper. boil for 10 minutes. strain the liquid and return to the pan.Add carrots and onions and boil on Med-high for 20-30 minutes until veggies are tender.

Cook the mushroom in 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. make sure you don't crowd mushrooms and NEVER add salt to mushrooms while cooking. it will make the super tough.

take 2 tbsp room temp butter and smash it into 2 tbsp flour until well mixed. add it to the stock and veggies and cook for 5 minutes. add your mushroom and beef and cook for 5-10 more minutes. serve right away. Do not overcook or your meat will be tough and enjoy!!!

i set a nice table. it might be just us but what they hey. you have nice china show it off even if it's just for one night. This is one of my favorite china sets. My Grandmother Yeo gave me the nice serving dish. and i found the plates at a flea market 6 for a $1.00!!

It was nice to share a nice meal with my family. boys didn't want to touch it but Zach and I sure ate it up!

Laundry Soap

I have had a lot of people wanting to know how I make my homemade soap. So, I thought I would share how to do it.

You need 3 ingredients: Borax, Washing soda, and a Fels-naptha bar. All of these are found in your local grocery store in the laundry isle. you can also find some of these at the local hardware store. If you can't find them, be nice and ask your grocer they will sometimes order what you would like.

It is best if you open your fels-naptha bar and let it dry out for a day. It makes it easier to grate up. you can use your food processor if you prefer. I happen to use a hand grater it takes a bit to do it this way and is the longest step. try to get it as fine as possible. another tip i found out is if you grate it large like you would cheese instead of zesting. let the shaving dry out for a couple days and you can crunch them up really fine. Go ahead and put your shaving in an air tight apothecary jar or screw top container.

To the shavings you will add 1 cup of Washing soda. It must be WASHING soda not baking soda. Also add 1 cup of Borax. Borax will usually be lumpy so i put it through a siv right over the top of the jar. you can put it in a plastic bag and just get the lumps out yourself.So to review. 1 bar of fels-natha grated, 1 cup of washing soda, and 1 cup of borax. easy at that.

To use: you will use 1 Tablespoon. i know that sounds CRAZY! but trust me. 1 tablespoon per load, use 2 Tablespoons for really dirty clothes. This soap will NOT suds.

Now i will be honest. this is great soap i will not lie! you will not need to use fabric softener. you clothes will be so soft and have Zero smell. 1 batch can usually do about 30-35 loads. i make double and it usually last me a couple months.

But, it still have some trouble getting whites white. so use a couple of methods. 1 cup of lemon juice in my white or 1 cup peroxide. but are great natural whitener.

Give it a whirl! find out if a all natural and eco friendly soap can work better then anything you have ever bought in your whole life.

Washing Machine blues

Most all homes now days are equipped with gleaming washers and dryers. Ours on the other hand does not. When Zach and I bought our home where not told a many of things. Papers already signed we didn't realize that our breaker box would not hold anymore after we had to put in a furnace. then we also realized on of two things. 1)there where no pre-existing hook-ups in the house 2) we would have to upgrade our box, run new wiring, and establish plumbing.

Well needless to say. Zach and I don't have that kind of money lying around. In the city of Moberly if you have any thing done to your home you have many steps. First you have to acquire a permit ($), then you have to purchase materials ($$), in the city of Moberly you have to use a licensed contractor ($$$).

That is why for almost the past 5 years we have resorted to the laundromat and my mother's home to do laundry.

If you have both of these blessed appliances in you home you are a lucky soul. But, as far as we are concerned we are tired of lugging our Dirty laundry around. what takes you one trips take me about 5 times as many trips. But, fingers crossed we might be able to get the steps going in the right direction. One day i hope to have the Nirvana of doing my delicates at home.

Finding my cooking passion (again)

I have decided to revamp my blog. I will be sharing some of my day to day things. As anyone knows nothing is boring at home. So i will be sharing the latest crafting, crochet, cooking, gardening, and etc. Plus my adventures of being a mom to 2 boys. i hope this will be a fun journey for you as it is for me.

so lets get started...... Finally! It has struck me, the passion for cooking again.

I dream of making sauces and new dishes again. I live to make my home smell of fresh herbs, garlic, and roasted veggies. The sizzle of meat as it sears to brown bliss and the tangy aroma that lingers in the air. to watch sauces reduce into a creamy pools of flavor.

It is strange to get a rush from going to the grocery store. To smell and feel the fruit and vegetables, to stand and take in the wonderful fresh aromas and colors. Going to the local butcher and selecting the freshest cuts to make for my boys. Going down the wine isle and reading the different wines and thinking of dishes to match them with. ( i have started drinking wine more) Its and adventure all it's own.

It's such a powerful thing to take a few items and chop, saute, grind, poach, bake, braise. And create a masterpiece to set on a flower tablecloth to be shared and loved. I don't only create food that is good for my family, I am cooking love, time, and memories....and I love it!