Made a batch of bone broth yesterday from beef neck bones in the instapot. I had a cup with breakfast which was poached eggs over kale from the garden and some bacon. It was delicious.
Today, I am stripping down a chicken to make another batch.
High in nutrients and collagen, I will be drinking some with each meal to help with the inflammation in my thumb and to support my joints.
Do you make bone broth? What go to recipe do you make when your body needs some extra support?
We had some of our bonus kids visit us this week with their babies, and before they left this morning, I made them UFOs, or as some call it Egg In A Hole.
It is one of the first things I learned to cook when I was a kid. My mom had a cookbook with a section for kids, and this recipe was in there. Next, I moved on to French Toast. This is still the easiest way for me to cook eggs with the perfect runny center.
Now I make this recipe with Amish butter. Find the original recipe here.
I’m not super excited about how it looks, but the taste is spot on. Crusty on the outside, soft and tangy on the inside. I still have plenty of GF Sourdough Starter in the fridge to keep experimenting with.
Homemade greek yogurt is so easy to make and tastes amazing! You will never go back to store bought. There are several methods, but my favorite way is to let it sit in the oven for several hours with just the oven light on. The following recipe is from Live Eat Learn and it comes out perfect everytime.
The best part, you only need 2 ingredients!!
Since we do not have a dairy animal at the moment, I went with the best milk available at my local market.
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
(If using store bought for 1st batch make sure it has active, live cultures. Then keep back a 1/4 cup from each batch to start a new batch).
Directions:
Heat Milk: Place milk in a medium pot and heat to 185-200°F (85-93°C), stirring frequently to preventing a skin from forming.
Cool Bath: Transfer the pot with milk to an ice bath (I filled my sink with ice and water), to cool milk to 100-110°F (37-43°C).
Temper: Pour ½ cup of the warm milk into a separate clean jar or bowl. Mix in plain yogurt, stirring until yogurt is well blended. Add remaining milk and mix well.
Let Sit: Cover jar or bowl with a lid, wrap in a moist, warm towel to keep in heat, and place in oven. Turn on oven light to keep warm, and let the bacteria do its yogurt making magic for 4 to 8 hours (or overnight).*
Strain: You can eat the yogurt like this, or strain it to make Greek yogurt. To strain, line a mesh sieve with cheesecloth (or paper towels, coffee filters etc), and pour yogurt in. Place over a large bowl and let strain in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), until it’s reach a consistency you like.
Spending Sunday in the kitchen. Canning beans, making dog food, infusing oil with herbs for salve. While it looks messy, my heart is at peace. I am finding joy in slowing down and providing for my family in a way that is healthier, sustainable. I am learning skills to pass down to my kids and grandkids. God is truly blessing me in this stage of life and I am grateful. What is bringing you joy and gratitude in your life now.
I made cheese last night, which I was super excited about. I used it on fajitas that also had cilantro from the garden and homemade salsa. So this morning it seemed fitting to use it again. I fried avocado with bagel seasoning mix. I cut a bell pepper into slices to cut cook eggs in. Diced the scraps and added onions, sweated those down. Air fryed some some hash browns. Assembly: hash browns, peppers and onions, egg in pepper slice. Toppings: fried avocado, fresh queso blanco, cilantro.
It is a beautiful fall day here in SC. You know what that means…Pumpkin Everything! So let’s throwback to my Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites!
It was so fun to look back at this post. The new little pup is now a full grown 7lb dog who avoids mornings at all costs.
Our little Finn
And now we have 2 new girls. Velma and Skye. We have had them a month and their training is going great! We know they are going make awesome livestock guardian dogs.
Last week I harvested Basil. We had it fresh, I made pesto, I made a basil simple syrup and I dried the rest. What is your favorite way to preserve basil?
Sunday’s I love to spend the morning trying new recipes and creating a delicious brunch.
We bought some beautiful duck eggs at our local farmers market to enjoy this morning.
If you have not had duck eggs, they are pretty amazing. They have thick, hard shells. Vibrant yellow yolks and are super creamy.
Look at those yolks
A couple weeks ago, we went strawberry picking with our grandson so we have a bunch of sliced strawberries in the freezer.
Perfect to top some waffles. I used a a gluten free box recipe, so use your favorite recipe.
This would also be delicious on some ice cream or I am going to use the leftovers on some bread pudding I am making for dessert tonight.
To wrap up this delicious brunch, I topped the duck eggs with fresh parsley from the garden and grabbed some fresh mint for the strawberries.
If you do not have a lot of space for growing, herbs are great for container gardening and are a great place to start. Having fresh herbs on hand just elevates all your dishes.
Parsley
I thawed out some strawberries, mixed in fresh lime juice, powdered sugar and mint. Topped our waffles with our favorite bourbon aged syrup, then the strawberries.
The best syrupDuck egg with fresh parsley and waffles with strawberries and leftover pork tenderloin slices.
Poured a mimosa and had a wonderful, relaxing brunch at home with fresh, local ingredients. What is your favorite brunch?
Strawberries with Lime and Mint
Recipe:
One cup of sliced strawberries
(Fresh or thawed from frozen)
Juice of half a lime
1 Tsp powdered sugar
1 Tbp fresh mint (plus extra to garnish)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for 5 min. Serve as a topping to favorite brunch item or dessert. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Happy St. Patricks Day. To celebrate since we don’t have kids at home, I made grown-up Green Eggs and Ham. Thanks to Pesto, Spinach and Parsley we got our greens and for the ham, I used uncured, smoked ham. Perfect for today, or any day of the week.
My Trader Joe’s find this week….Cinnamon Bun Spread! So I knew right away French Toast would have you happen this weekend! I had some canned pumpkin in the fridge, so this delicious breakfast was an easy, delicious weekend treat.
1 serving: 2 slices gluten free bread (or your favorite bread) 1 egg 1 tsp Pumpkin puree 1 tsp Cinnamon 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice 2 Tbsps almond milk (or your favorite milk) Toppings: Cinnamon Bun Spread Powdered Sugar (optional)
Combine egg, pumpkin, spices and milk. Soak bread in mixture. Pre-heat skillet to med-high heat. Melt butter or add oil or oil spray to prevent sticking. Place soaked bread in. Cook until golden brown (about 3 min) flip and cook other side.
Top with Cinnamon Bun Spread and Powdered sugar and enjoy.