Farm Fresh Kitchen

These meatballs were delicious! I'm craving them right now as I write this. There are some extras in my freezer so I may have to thaw them out this week and use them. Meatballs turn out better when you use two or three different meats, usually beef, pork and veal. In these I used beef and pork. You can usually find ground pork at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. This recipe can be easily doubled. Another hint...when I mix up the meat with the other ingredients I use latex kitchen gloves. The thick yellow ones work best. The meat is so cold that it will freeze your hands and be very uncomfortable to work with. The more thoroughly you mix them the better they taste. I usually mix everything up in the morning, let it sit all day and form the meatballs right before I cook them. This allows the flavors to combine for better taste. I'm on the hunt for a recipe for authentic marinara sauce with lots of fresh herbs that simmers on the stove all day, but until then I just use sauce from a jar. If I want to splurge I buy Rao's which is expensive but very good.

1 large egg
3 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
3/4 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl whisk together egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and water. Add meat, breadcrumbs and cheese and mix thoroughly with your hands. Form mixture into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 until meat is browned all the way through. To use in spaghetti sauce, place meatballs in sauce and simmer on the stove until heated through.

Here's another great dish I made recently. I get tired of traditional chili so this is just a little different, and delicious! The amounts here make a lot of soup. I always like to have enough for 2 or 3 days.

2 Tbsp oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
3 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2  4oz. cans chopped green chilies
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
1 cup half & half
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated

Saute onion, jalapeno and garlic in oil until tender. Add broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer. Add beans, chilis, chicken, half & half and sour cream. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Add about half of cheese and stir to combine. Reserve the rest of the cheese as a garnish when serving.

Life has been very busy around here but I finally found the time to post some more recipes. This recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond. She is my hero! I would love to have her life! Her cookbook is so much fun to read and her recipes look sooo good. She lives on a ranch out west with her family She works hard all day and then cooks enormous amounts of delicious food for her family. They all chow down and work off the calories on the ranch. I have to drive to the gym or power walk the surrounding neighborhoods to work off calories....boring!!! Anyway, here's the recipe. It's a little different from hers but I usually change things to my liking when I post here to avoid plagiarism. Oh...and the best part...I made my own homemade cream of chicken soup! I have included that recipe too. The Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for cream of mushroom but I didn't try making that. I refuse to cook with those "cream of" whatever soups.  I don't even consider them real food! Have you read the label on them lately? Yuck!!! Okay, here it is....

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, boiled and diced into bite-size pieces
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
3 cups (or 2 cans) cream of chicken soup (homemade recipe below)
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt
 Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste


Boil spaghetti until done and drain. In a large bowl combine spaghetti with diced chicken and cream of chicken soup. Add all remaining ingredients, reserving one cup of grated cheddar cheese. Stir until mixed well. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly. If the cheese on top cooks too fast, spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover (sprayed side down) and continue to cook until done.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

In medium saucepan, bring chicken broth, 1/2 cup of milk and seasonings to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the remaining 1 cup milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens. This is really easy and thickens up quickly.

Since my daughter has had a cold I thought she needed a pot of homemade chicken soup. I got busy in the kitchen today and tonight we had hot, delicious and kid friendly soup. My kids love chicken noodle soup but they don't want to see any onion, celery or pepper floating in it. They can handle carrots but that's about it. I really don't like soup out of a can. It's okay depending on which brand you buy, but there's nothing like homemade. It tastes so much better and is a lot healthier. Yes, I make my own chicken stock. This soup has nothing in it from a can. It is very time consuming and tiring but is so worth it. I make a huge pot of it because everybody has at least 2 bowls and I want it to last for a few days.

I finally purchased a 10 quart stock pot a few years ago because I was overflowing my 8 quart pot trying to make enough to last. You can always half this recipe if you want to make a smaller portion. I use 2 whole chickens or 2 packages of cut chicken pieces, either one works. The chicken pieces make it easier to pull the meat off the bones. The stock is chock full of onions, celery and carrots which makes it very rich and flavorful. You never need to add a can of store bought broth for extra flavor because it's not necessary. To make it kid friendly and healthy, I puree the vegetables that cooked in the stock and add it back to the stock. This adds a little nutrition and you can't really tell it's in there. Or you can skip this step and just have pure stock, meat, egg noodles and diced carrots. You can even skip the carrots because the stock is a combination chicken and veggie stock all by itself. Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 whole chickens or 2 packages of chicken pieces
4 stalks celery, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and quartered 
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
2 Tbsp. peppercorns
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 cups diced carrots
1 bag of egg noodles (size depends on how much soup you make and how many noodles you prefer)

Place ingredients in stock pot and cover with enough water to avoid boiling over (about 2 inches from the top). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove cooked chicken to a colander. Bring stock and vegetables back to a boil and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, while chicken cools.

Once chicken is cool enough to handle, tear it off the bone, shred it into bite size pieces and set aside. Drain stock into a colander set over a large bowl. You may need to do this twice using 2 bowls, depending on how much you make. Allow vegetables to cool in colander if you want to puree them, if not then discard them along with the peppercorns (do not puree peppercorns). To puree vegetables, place them in a food processor along with some of the broth and puree until liquid. Add back to the rest of the stock.

Add stock back to pot along with chicken and bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles and diced carrots. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until noodles are done and carrots are tender.

I haven't updated this in a while because I haven't cooked anything worth sharing lately. Life has been busy and our meals have been quick. They've still been healthy, just nothing fancy. I love to bake and do it whenever I have a chance. Since I was not interested in watching the Super Bowl I decided to make some muffins. I love pumpkin muffins and so does my family. We never get tired of eating them! I was very upset to find out there is a shortage of canned pumpkin. I went to several grocery stores and even called the company to ask them why I could not find any. They told me there was a shortage due to bad weather in the midwest during pumpkin harvesting season. I finally found some at a nearby grocery store and I was so excited! I went immediately and bought 10 cans. I might go even go buy more this week. It doesn't expire until 2012!

I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I try to use all fresh ingredients rather than canned. Yes, I have cooked pumpkins before and used the puree for baking and it was soooo delicious! However, it is very difficult and time consuming. You have to drain it and stir it for a whole day just to get rid of all the water to make it suitable for using in pies, breads and muffins. I think there is still plenty of vitamin A left in the pumpkin when it's canned so I use it quite a bit. Baked sweet potatoes are completely interchangeable with canned pumpkin but the flavor and consistency is a little different.

Somebody had asked me about turbinado sugar recently. I use it only when baking for our family because it is more expensive that refined white granulated sugar. It can be used in the same amount as white sugar in any recipe. It is healthier for you because it is still in it's natural state and retains some of the nutrition found in sugar cane, as opposed to highly processed and bleached white sugar. Click here for a good article on turbinado sugar.

Below are some images of the baking process. The first one is a picture of turbinado sugar for those who have never seen it. This shows you that baking muffins from scratch is so easy! I know it seems easier to buy a box off the shelf, add 2 or 3 ingredients and you're done. But the flavor and nutrition in a scratch made muffin is so much better. These are also lowfat because they contain oil instead of butter. I forgot to mention that I use aluminum-free baking powder, which is found in most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

Now for the recipe:


Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 16oz. can pure pumpkin
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper muffin liners. Beat sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. In another large bowl whisk together flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and beat just until blended. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Cool in muffin pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire baking rack to cool.

This is a new recipe that I created a few nights ago when we were told we would be snowed in for a few days. I adapted it from a slow-cooker turkey chili recipe. I changed it up a bit, gave it a new name and it was delicious!

Fiesta Chicken Chili

2 lbs. skinless boneless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 envelope chili seasoning mix (I have included a link to a healthy one at the bottom)
2-3 cups chicken broth (depending on how thick you like it)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Saute chopped onion, garlic and peppers until onion is translucent and peppers are crisp tender. Stir in chili seasoning mix, salt and pepper, then add chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Simmer slowly for about 15 minutes. Add corn, black beans and chicken. Bring back to a simmer and heat through for about 15 - 20 minutes. Top with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.

Cooks notes:
Chili Seasoning Mix
Chicken Broth

This is my first attempt at blogging. I love reading cooking blogs and have found many great recipes to add to my collection. I decided to research how to do my own blog and here it is! I hope you enjoy it. I'm still learning about using this tool so I may be slow at posting at first, but I hope to be an expert at it very soon!

Now, about my cooking style. I am somewhat of a health nut and I put quite a bit of thought and time into feeding my husband and two children. I've been the subject of a few jokes and have been told I have too much time on my hands. It's all in fun though! I believe that feeding the ones you love is a joy and a privilege and should not be taken lightly. I don't cut corners or purchase cheap ingredients or boxed and over-processed convenience foods. All of the recipes here will contain fresh, high quality ingredients. I use fresh vegetables and fruits, free range meats, organic dairy products, turbinado sugar and farm fresh eggs from our neighbor around the corner. On some recipes I will add Cooks Notes at the bottom with links to some of the natural ingredients that I use and any other useful tips.

I won't bore you by jumping on my soapbox, but I will leave you with this thought: You are what you eat! Foods that are consumed as close to their natural state as possible will give your body the vitamins and minerals that it needs to stay healthy. When they are cooked to death or processed and preserved for longer shelf life, then put in a box or a can they lose most of their nutrition. One of my favorite websites for nutritional information is whfoods.org. Check it out!