Resurrect the Stock Pot!

I've been making my own bone broth for a few years, which I started doing when I learned about all the health benefits that come from this broth. But I still learned several things the other day from watching this nine-minute video. Check it out!

As the video states: "Broths cooked over a couple of days, made from whole chicken, beef bones, or fish actually repair the same parts of our own bodies as the animal parts we ingest. These broths—the more gelatinous the better--not only cure the common cold, they also build strong bones, heal the digestive tract [much the way fermented foods do], cure arthritis, joint pain, strengthen the immune system, beautify the skin, and provide the body with every single mineral it needs for optimum health to protect against a variety of diseases—even TB, diabetes, ulcers, and cancer."

Oven-Fried Chicken

A couple years ago when trying to find a healthier "fried" chicken recipe, I came upon this recipe from Cooks.com and we all loved it! So it now qualifies as a Family Favorite recipe. 

As a bonus, I learned that paprika is not always just for garnish: Yes, the amount written below is correct.

Note: I ended up with a lot of extra dry mixture and am thinking that the chicken pieces the recipe author used were bigger than the ones I used. But I couldn't have fit any more pieces in my 9 x 13 dish. So now I either half the dry mixture or double the amount of chicken I use.

Oven Fried Chicken

8 boneless, skinless thighs (I used breast pieces)
2 Tb. paprika
2 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. butter

Combine all ingredients except chicken and butter. Melt butter in 9 x 13 baking dish.

Coat chicken with dry mixture and place in pan with melted butter.

Cook at 425 for 20 min. Remove from oven and turn chicken over.

Cook an additional 20 min at 425.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This Family Favorite recipe was created from a combination of my mom's recipe and others that I tried and liked, changing the process so that the filling is mostly cooked on the stove top and then finished up quickly in the oven (which is easier and faster for me and is a more sure way of making sure the mixture is completely cooked). 

My oldest kids still haven't learned to like green peppers, but one of them will at least eat a little of the pepper part, and both will eat the filling, which I make extra of. Ironically, the youngest eats it all.

Note: This would be an easy recipe to turn vegetarian, if desired, by omitting the ground beef and substituting vegetables, or just using the rice mixture.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

Bring 3 c. water to boil for rice. Once boiling, pour in 1 1/2 c. brown rice, replace lid lightly (allow for steam to escape). Add a bit more water, as needed, toward end of cooking.

Cook 1 lb. hamburger in skillet with 1 onion, diced.

Cut 5 green bell peppers in half and de-vein. Parboil in salted water for 5 minutes. Remove pepper halves from pot with tongs and place in 9x12" baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When hamburger and rice are fully cooked, pour both into a large mixing bowl and add the following:

1 tsp. salt (or more, if needed)
pepper, to taste
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. milk

Mix with spoon until well combined.

Spoon mixture into pepper halves until very full. Pour any extra into pan in between peppers. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese generously over all.

Place dish in oven and bake for 30+ minutes at 350 until heated through (and egg is completely cooked) and cheese is melted and slightly browned.

At any stage during baking or afterward, can also add sauce from below recipe or 1 can of tomato sauce (or ketchup, if desired--ketchup can sometimes do wonders with getting kids to eat stuff).

SAUCE (mix in small saucepan while heating gradually):

1 can tomato sauce
1 Tb. honey
dash of Tabasco sauce
1/2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tb. flour

Stir until well mixed, then heat until bubbly and thickened (a few minutes). Spoon over peppers.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

I've been trying for a while to find a good butternut squash soup recipe that my kids would like, and I think I've finally hit upon the right one. This comes from Taste of Home and I modified very little (just used chicken broth instead of the MSG- laden chicken bullion). There's just something so warm and comforting about the nutty, buttery flavor of a bowl of this wholesome, filling soup.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: 2 servings--so for a family, you'll need to double or triple this recipe

1/4 c. chopped onion
1 Tb. butter
3 c. cubed peeled butternut squash
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 c. water
1 can chicken broth (about 2 c.)
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1/4 c. evaporated (or other) milk

I also added some celery and shredded zucchini, which I needed to use up and also needed to disguise so my kids would eat it. Since this soup is pureed at the end, it's a great one to throw extra veggies into for added color, flavor, and nutrition.

In a small saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. 

Add squash and potato (and other veggies, if using); cook and stir for 2 minutes. 

Add chicken broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Cool slightly. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), process soup until smooth. Return to pan; stir in milk and heat through.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies (Sweetened with Honey)

After a friend of ours brought us these twice, I had to get the recipe. I've never been big "into" no-bake cookies, but these are wonderful! I did end up cutting down the honey a bit, since they were a little too sweet for me, and my family still loved them. They really hit the spot when I'm wanting something sweet and rich but without refined sugar.

Honey-Sweetened No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. baking cocoa

1 1/2 c. honey

1 c. peanut butter (we use Adam's, which is all natural and has no sugar)

2 tsp. vanilla

6 c. oats

Melt butter in saucepan and add cocoa and honey. Heat, while stirring, until smooth. Allow to cool a bit.

Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats, and mix well.

Pour into 9 x 11 and form until smooth. Chill in freezer.

Note: My friend likes to freeze, then cut and bag them, and keep them in the freezer.

Safe Sunscreens

As you know from this post and this one, I have recently been exploring safe skin products in more detail. Knowing how many chemicals cosmetics and sunscreens have in them has finally pushed me to make the transition from mainstream products to safer ones--products without cancer-causing ingredients.

I tried to find a sunscreen at my local stores that rates well on EWG's Database, but had no luck. All the sunscreens I found (advertised in huge displays, now that school is out) rate at least a 7 on the Database. (1 is super safe, 10 is the highest toxicity.) And knowing what I now know, I didn't feel comfortable with that. Especially if we're going to have to keep applying the product throughout the day! So I am now anxiously awaiting the sunscreens I ordered from drugstore.com, crossing my fingers they arrive before we leave for our camping trip. (When I did the price comparison, it was cheapest to order from them and get free shipping, rather than order from Amazon.)

After experiencing a continuous spray sunscreen last summer, I really don't want to go back to the regular lotion kind. The spray kind is so much faster to apply on arms and legs, and time is often of the essence when you've got three young children and yourself to cover. But when I looked things up on EWG, I despaired of finding a safe continuous spray, as all the safe products I looked at there were the typical lotion.

Then I found SafeMama.com. Looking through that great list of safe sunscreens, with details for each one, I found what I was looking for! I also found what looks like a great face stick sunscreen--which is another wonderful invention for children. I am so grateful for people who do all the in-depth research on these products and then lay it all out for the rest of us to make our own informed choices!