Garden Update

I have continued planting my garden and only have one or two more items to plant. I was lucky to get a warm day to plant and then a few days of cooler weather with some rain. Now the forecast is calling for sunny, warm weather. I'm hoping this helps my garden grow! The tomatoes are in and I'm looking forward to some BLT's! Last year I ate one almost everyday they were so good with those fresh garden tomatoes. I planted eight rows of corn which will give me enough to eat this Fall and then enough to cut and freeze for the winter. I planted four rows of beans and four rows peas which I can't wait for. Especially the peas, we go out and eat them straight of the vines. My oldest daughter couldn't get enough of them last year. Always makes you feel good to help the next generation appreciate planting and growing a garden and fresh vegetables. My youngest daughter, who's one, loved "helping" me plant. When I did the onions she crawled over, still hasn't gotten the walking thing down, and decided the onions would be fun to play with. She took up quite of few of them. Finally I had enough and took her in for my husband to give her a bath since the oldest dumped dirt repeatedly on her.
Now the fun begins. I'll most likely be out in the garden daily trying to keep the weeds down and keeping an eye on the plants.

Broccoli, Ham, Potato Soup

I love soup. I didn't grow up eating soup, our main soup was clam chowder and ramen noodles. Now that I have my own kitchen I'm starting to learn how to make it and what's out there. I first made this for my daughters first birthday party and since then I've improved the recipe.

Ingredients

3 medium peeled and diced potatoes
3/4 cup peeled and diced carrots
1/3 cup diced celery or 1/4 teaspoons celery seed
1/2 cup broccoli
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons corn starch
5 tablespoons potato flakes
3 cups milk


Directions

Combine the potatoes, celery, broccoli, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in corn starch with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Slowly stir in potato flakes. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Tips:
1. The first time I made the soup I didn't cut the potatoes or ham small enough. This time I made them smaller and the soup turned out better.
2. I didn't add the broccoli the first time I made it. It was originally ham, potato soup but I added the broccoli for some extra vegetables. I'm always up for sneaking more vegetables in. I didn't have fresh broccoli so I added frozen broccoli in and then just cut it up to smaller sizes.
3. The first time I made it I had celery which was great. The second time I made it, no celery. Which wasn't a disappointment for my husband since he's not a fan of celery. Instead I added celery seed which gave it a little more depth. The choice is yours.
4. We try to cut out salt wherever we can and I left the salt out of this recipe with no problem. The chicken bouillon has enough to sustain the soup. My suggestion, add natural sea salt if you need to. Taste it to see what you like.
Adapted from Delicious Ham and Potato Soup on allreicpes.com

Garden of Eaten

Along with cooking I love to garden. It takes a lot of time but when everything is growing and I'm harvesting my own vegetables it's all worth it. I do a lot of canning in the Fall, it's my busiest time of year. So far I've planted bell peppers, jalapeno's, carrots, peas, radish's, spinach, beets, and lettuce. We've also have fruit trees, apples, pears, and apricots. I'm excited for the apricots this year, I'm planning on trying to make my own apricot syrup. I made raspberry syrup last year and it was so delicious. I can't wait for raspberries to come on again so I can make more. This year I'm going to can jalapeno's for the first time. My brother introduced me to canned jalapeno's this last winter and I can't wait to have some of my own.
I love the satisfaction of growing and preserving my own food. It makes me happy to provide my family with food that I know where it's been and how it's prepared.
Stay tuned to see my garden grow.

One of my pepper plants in a wall of water. It's too cold for them to be without the wall of water right now. The sun heats the water and then the water heats the plants during the cold nights.

The garden spot. The stick is where I've planted to so far.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I decided to try making some strawberry lemonade cupcakes yesterday. The result? Not great. I'm going to have to play around with these. I made a strawberry cake that ended up being heavy, not the light and fluffy cupcakes I usually enjoy. That was the first thing to go wrong. When I attempted the filling, a lemon pie type filling, it ended up being very, very lemony. When I got to the frosting I thought everything would straighten out and I would be able to salvage them, wrong. I started off with my usual basic buttercream frosting and then added pureed strawberries, apparently too much pureed strawberries because I then had to add 10 cups of powdered sugar! The frosting ended up being alright but it was too sweet. The cupcake ended up being fine but delicious? No. I've been thinking about how to fix the recipe all day. Once I pick up some more cupcake liners I'll be back on this recipe.

Apple Pancakes

Most whole wheat pancakes are actually half whole wheat and half white flour. This in my mind doesn't constitute a recipe as a whole wheat recipe. I was on the search for a 100% whole wheat recipe when my friend sent me this one. It's fantastic! We've been eating them so long that when we eat regular pancakes they just taste funny. I love the healthiness of these pancakes.

Tips:
1. This recipe makes a lot of pancakes. I typically cut it in half unless I want to throw some in the freezer for later. Makes breakfast faster when I can just pull out some frozen pancakes, heat them up and throw them on my kids plates.
2. I usually don't have buttermilk. I just add one tablespoon vinegar to one cup of milk.
3. I use extra virgin olive oil instead of other oils. It's a healthier oil.
4. If you want to throw in a tablespoon or two of flax seed I've done that too. Add some extra omega's and fiber. I just looked up the benefits of flax seed on WebMd and it says, "it can help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes."
5. If you've been eating the all-purpose, enriched, bleached white flour and you're wanting to switch over to whole wheat, don't do it all at once. Add a little wheat into your white until you are full wheat. Start by adding 1/4 and then 1/2 and then whole. If you jump into whole wheat you could regret your decision and end up spending extra time in the bathroom.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together pour onto hot griddle.

I love my griddle, it makes making pancakes so much faster!

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

I decided to make these cupcakes because my husband, J loves peanut butter cups. I had a dinner at my church and I signed up to take a dessert so what could be better than peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes? Before I went I asked my Dad if he wanted any but he said that he'd wait until after that there would be some left over. How were we supposed to know they'd all be gone? That almost never happens.
After having the S'more cupcakes under my belt, these ones went much faster. I already had in mind what I wanted them to be so it was just a matter of making them.
I just used a chocolate cake mix again, making it the way the box told me. I used a basic buttercream recipe and added in 1/2 cup peanut butter. I wanted the frosting to be a more mellow peanut butter flavor. Nothing overwhelming. The filling was my own creation. I used one cup peanut butter and then added some powdered sugar and milk. I wanted the filling to be creamy and I wanted the peanut butter flavor to be stronger so I used just a little powdered sugar. I didn't measure the peanut butter or milk. Just eye balled it.
After the cupcakes were cooled I took the steak knife and cut out a cavity in the cupcake. I put about a tablespoon of the peanut butter filling in and then put the top back on. After I filled all the cupcakes I melted chocolate chips and smothered the top of the cupcake. Then I frosted the top of the cupcake with the peanut butter frosting. After I frosted it I chopped up some peanut butter and chocolate chips and put them on top.
I had several people compliment the cupcakes, definitely a winner.

S'more Cupcake

I couldn't get the idea of these cupcakes out of my mind. I had to make them, I've even convinced my sister to make them and converted my mom to cupcakes with them. My sister who is pregnant has even dreamed of making these cupcakes. Let's just say, they've taken over my family.
I had never made cupcakes with a filling in them before so the idea was a little new and captivating. I HAD to make them, as I mentioned earlier. Since I have two little ones I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to baking so I used a cake mix out of the box. I didn't add any improvements to it just dumped the chocolate cake mix into the bowl and then followed the directions. I like my cupcakes to be bigger than the box says so I usually only get 21-23 cupcakes out of a box. I baked them until they were done and let them cool.
Then I got creative. I winged the next part and I have to say I did no measuring, sorry. I took a whole jar of marshmallow fluff (7 oz.) crumbled up some graham crackers and mixed them together. Then I took out a steak knife and cut the middle of the cupcakes out. On these cupcakes I didn't replace the top but you're welcome to. After the cupcakes were hollowed out I scooped the marshmallow/graham cracker mixture into the cupcakes.
I used a basic chocolate buttercream frosting for the top and then added a small piece of graham cracker and a chocolate chip for the garnish. I would have used a square of Hershey's chocolate but I didn't have any. I also added a small dollop of marshmallow fluff to the top.
In the future I'll try to measure things out for those who need precise measurements. I tend to throw things together and hope they turn out. Ask my husband, he's had to suffer through some pretty awful meals, including tuna fish taco's.