Recipe

Days are long and you’re tired.  Don’t go through the Drive-Thru to get greasy burgers.  Fill your Slow-Cooker quickly in the morning and you’ll come home to an amazing dinner.  As the days get colder and shorter, you’ll love smelling the scent of a home-cooked dinner.  Here are three of my favorites: Beef Stew 1 1/2 pounds Beef Stew Meat 12 small potatoes, cut in half 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bag baby carrots 2 Cups water 1 dried bay leaf Seasoning ( 1 1/2 teaspoons)  salt, pepper, your choice 1/4 cup water 2 Tablespoons flour Directions: Place top 7 ingredients into crock-pot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Mix last two ingredients and gradually stir into the crock-pot.  Cook on high for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Remove bay leaf. Serve. Chicken and Vegetables 8 Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) 2 Cups chicken broth 1 teaspoon salt ( or less for certain diets) 1/4 teaspoon pepper 8 oz. pearl onions (or chopped onions) 2 cloves, finely chopped 1 bag baby carrots (1 pound) 1 pound small button mushrooms 2 Tablespoons cold water 2 Tablespoons flour Directions: Add first 7 ingredients into crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Then add mushrooms.  Stir cold water and flour and gradually add to the crockpot.  Cook on high for 15 minutes or until it thickens.  Serve. Bean Soup 5 cans broth (chicken or vegetable) 20 oz Mixed Beans 4 medium carrots (2 cups) chopped 3 celery stalks chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon salt (or less for certain diets) 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained Directions: Cook in crockpot on low heat for 8-10 hours, or until beans are soft.  Then, stir in can of tomatoes and cook on high for 15 minutes.  Serve. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Affiliate link included. If you purchase through link I will make a very small commission, that keeps Homeschool Insight online. One of the best things about Fall is the Fall Festival Food.  With so many fall and Halloween festivals to choose from, I always want to find one with great food.  You know what I mean, the kind of food that isn’t good for you.  These are some of my favorites! But, wouldn’t you love to be able to make some of these at home?  Well, you can.  I’m adding my favorite Fall Festival Foods here with recipes for home-cooking.  What could be more fun? Caramel Popcorn 1 cup butter 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 quarts popped popcorn Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces  Recipe from AllRecipes Caramel Apples 5 Medium Apples 1 (11 ounce) bag of Caramels 2 Tablespoons water Insert one stick (from caramel bag) into the stem end of each apple.  Cover a large plate with waxed paper; spray with cooking spray. Place caramel in saucepan.  Add water; cook on med-low heat for about 3 minutes, or untils the caramel is completely melted, stirring constantly. Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if needed.  Allow excess to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples; place on plate.  Refrigerate for an hour. Recipe: KraftRecipes Soft Pretzels 4 teaspoons active yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees) 5 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 Tablespoon oil 1/2 cup baking soda 4 cups hot water 1/4 cup kosher salt (for topping) Dissolve yeast and 1 t. sugar in 1 1/4 cup warm water. Let sit for about 10 minutes. In large bowl, mix flour and 1/2 cup sugar and salt.  Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture.  Mix and form into a dough, if it’s too dry, add one or two more Tablespoons of water.  Knead dough for about 7 minutes, until smooth.  Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough there.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it double in size (takes about an hour). Preheat oven to 450, and grease 2 baking sheets. In large bowl, dissolve 1/2 cup baking soda in 4 cups hot water; set aside. When dough is finished rising, turn it out onto floured surface and divide dough into 12 pieces.  Roll each section into rope shape and then form a pretzel shape.  Dip each pretzel into baking-soda water and then place them on prepared pans.  Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in oven, until brown (about 8 minutes). Recipe: AllRecipes @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Disclosure: Affiliate link Since I started my healthier diet, I’ve been wanting to make Blueberry Scones.  For my birthday, my son and daughter-in-law gave me a beautiful Vegan cookbook.  The recipes and pictures are just wonderful!  This recipe is my favorite, so far!  When I checked the recipe, I saw that it had 1/2 cup of sugar and a sweet, sugary glaze.  I omitted the glaze and substituted the 1/2 Cups sugar with 1/2 teaspoon Stevia.  I was a little nervous about the stevia substitution.  But, these turned out to be heavenly!  They are slightly sweet and the fresh blueberries added another burst of sweetness. Here’s the recipe: 1 1/4 Cups Unsweetened Rice Milk (they suggest almond milk) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 3 Cups Organic Flour 1/2 teaspoon stevia powder (they suggest 1/2 cup sugar) 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder 1/2 teaspoon salt ( I used 1/4 teaspoon, because of Kidney disease) 1/2 Cup coconut oil (solid) 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 Cups fresh blueberries  Preheat the oven to 375, and lightly grease baking sheet with coconut oil.  Whisk together 1 1/4 Cups of Rice milk with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.  Let it sit. Combine the dry ingredients and then drop the coconut oil into clumps.  Use a fork or pastry cutter to work the coconut oil into the flour, until it looks like little pebbles. Making a well in the center, add milk mixture and vanilla.  Mix until almost blended.  Next, add blueberries and gently fold them into the batter. Shape the dough into scone shapes and place on the baking sheet.   Bake for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown.  Don’t overcook. These are light and fluffy.  They are the best scones I’ve ever eaten.  (If you like a very-sweet scone, use the real sugar or make a sugar glaze.)   Recipe adapted from The SuperFun Times-Vegan Holiday Cookbook Isa Chandra Moskowitz. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

July 2, 2017 Would you like to have a BBQ Sauce Recipe that you can count on to please everyone at the picnic?  I’m always happy to serve BBQ Chicken with this recipe, because I know that all the ingredients are real food. The ingredients are easy to find, and I keep them on hand on a regular basis: 1 Cup Ketchup 1/4 Cup water 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar 3 Tablespoons Oil 2 Tablespoons Paprika 1 Tablespoons Chili Powder 2 Cloves Garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder ( I use the powder) 1 teaspoon Cayenne (Or use less, if you don’t want so much heat)  I use 1/4 teaspoon Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and you will have a thick sauce.  I pour this over 6 chicken breasts or 2 pounds of tenders.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  After the chicken is tender, shred the meat and the sauce is the right amount to serve on buns.   For an easy, frugal picnic meal, try these yummy sides: Corn on the cob and zucchini grilled and a salad, fresh from the garden! Have a wonderful picnic!  I hope you’ll try my BBQ Sauce Recipe. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman