Not So Impossible Taco Pie

Years ago, or 2, I owned a box of Bisquick.

Looking back, I guess I owe my family a huge apology.

While Bisquick is a busy mom's easy go-to meal, it's not the healthiest choice. I'm guessing that the Bisquick people are counting on the fact that mom is too busy to read anything but one of the recipes on the back of the box!

Now, you know I'm not going to leave you hanging, so take a looksie at the "ingredients".

Enriched flour bleached = chemically challenged used-to-be wheat flour

Partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil = quick to grow, GMO, rancid, trying to kill you fat

(And what does the and/or mean exactly~do they not remember which fat they used?)

Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate) =

1. Sodium aluminum phosphate is synthetically produced from aluminum, phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide. = a recycled soda can and lye. Mmmmm...

2. Monocalcium phosphate is in fertilizer. So is chicken manure. Enough said.

Dextrose = a simple sugar. Key word, simple.

Salt = bleached and mass produced

An apology may not be enough. 

I may need cold, hard cash.

The recipe that I used the most was the Impossible Taco Pie. Oh my, how we loved that pie. But if you need comforting meds to comfort your tummy after eating a comfort meal, it's probably not a comfort meal after all. 

In honor of the Impossible Taco Pie of years past, my daughters and I came up with a new taco pie.

Minus the aluminum can and the fertilizer.

~The Players~

2 lbs. ground beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning (or 2 Tb. homemade)

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies, diced

1 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup biscuit baking mix (Bob's Redmill, M.J.'s Budget Mix, or GF Biscuit Mix)

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack, colby jack, or pepper jack)

Garnish: diced tomatoes, sour cream, diced avocado, sliced olives, shredded lettuce

In cast iron skillet, brown the meat on medium heat. Add onions just before meat is done and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain.

Add green chilies. Combine beef mixture with taco mix. Spread into a greased (with butter) 10-inch pie plate.

Beat milk, eggs, and baking mix until smooth.

Pour over beef mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 400F. oven for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake another 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

Now is the fun part. Put the garnishes on the table and let everyone dress up their serving with their favorite taco "stuff".

Nothing impossible about that!

(As you can see from the pictures, our garnishes were rather slim. That's what happens when the mud slides over the highway!)

Enjoy!



Perfect Potato Patties

Hi. My name is Kim.

And I'm a kitchen gadget junkie.

IKEA is a favorite place for me to feed this addiction. So is Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target and even Walmart. It's an illness really. A disability if you will. This addiction of mine renders me completely helpless until it is fed. I quiver in anticipation when my 20% off coupon arrives in the mail and I look for any excuse to go to town, just so I can browse the can openers, oyster shuckers, toast tongs, and wooden spoons. I have strawberry hullers, paring knives, peelers, flippers and scrapers galore. And most of these I actually use on a regular basis.

Then there is the drawer in my kitchen for my impulse buys; the ones I'm completely clueless about. I call it the Land of the Misfit Gadgets.

Up until last week, this one was their leader.

But not anymore. This is a potato ricer and it now has a purpose. In fact, my family has declared this former misfit the new gadget king of the kitchen.

A potato ricer's job is to squeeze the cooked potato through the tiny little holes, leaving the excess moisture behind. The potato ends up looking like long rice, hence the name ricer. Potato gnocchi and mashed potatoes, without the lumps, are common uses for this device, but I've decided that it's a must for potato pancakes. 

Every potato pancake I've ever made has been from leftover mashed potatoes. In order for the pancake to stick together, I've had to add a lot of flour. This ends up tasting less like potato and more like dough, which does not make my family line up for dinner!  

Make sure you use organic potatoes whenever possible. As one of the dirty dozen, conventionally grown potatoes can carry as many as 37 different pesticides! Eww.

These are plenty good without the pesticide seasonings. Trust me.

Perfect Potato Patties

~The Players~

6 large organic russet potatoes

4 green onions, chopped

1 cup organic sweet peppers (another dirty dozen member)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine

1 egg

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup all-purpose flour or rice flour

1 t. paprika

1 t. sea salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

fresh ground pepper to taste

a good oil for frying~I used refined coconut oil (without the coconut scent)

Optional: applesauce or sour cream

Peel the potatoes. Cut into 2-inch sized pieces and place in pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are soft, but not mushy.

Using a potato ricer, squeeze potatoes through into a large bowl or the same pot that the potatoes cooked in.

Add remaining ingredients and mix together with your hands.

In a large cast iron frying pan, heat enough oil to measure 1/8" deep.

Form patties in your hand and gently place in hot oil, cooking for 3-5 minutes on each side. If the oil starts to get too hot, remove from the burner to allow it to cool off a little. Continue until all are fried. Keep warm under a towel until done.

Serve with applesauce over the top or a dollop of sour cream.

*My oil got a little too hot while I was trying to take pictures. Maybe there's a gadget for that?

Enjoy!





The Newbie on the Block

Last week I shared a picture of what I had hoped would become our family milk cow. Butterball was her name and I had high hopes for her.

Funny thing about life, all the wantin' and wishin' in the world isn't going to make something happen that's not meant to happen.

This has been a hard concept for me to learn.

A few years ago, after my morning prayer time in which I casually mentioned at the end, just before the "amen", that I would really like to have a milk cow, I looked out my front window and watched in awe as a Holstein-cross started walking up the driveway. In fact, I was so shocked that I called my mother to tell her that God had just answered my prayer IMMEDIATELY and wouldn't ya know, I now had a milk cow.

God doesn't usually work like that. But He does have a sense of humor.

That cow was not a milk cow. She was in fact, in heat. And we had a bull. She also belonged to a neighbor, who we didn't know had cows, and was scheduled to be picked up by the butcher in 2 weeks.

She was a cow on the run and I was left a blubbering mess.

Fast forward to last week and my hopes were high again for a milk cow. All I needed was for the owners to contact me with the information of where we should pick her up.

They never called.

Note to people using Craig's list to sell items, livestock or services...if you place an ad, please take it down when the item sells. It's very rude to leave it up and get people like me all worked up for nothing.

Then the unexpected happened. As I was looking around Craig's list in one last desperate attempt to find that ever elusive Jersey cow, a new ad popped up. In fact, it had just been posted a few minutes prior to me stumbling upon it.

And that my friends, is how God works.

Meet Waltzing Matilda Mook.



Very stylish farmgirl in p.j.'s and muddy barn boots with Tilly who doesn't seem to care what a farmgirl wears.

 

Tilly-mook, for short, is a 14 month old, registered 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 Angus heifer who came from an organic dairy farm. She may or may not be bred.

 

By this guy.

 

He is very protective of his women and was a little concerned that we were taking what appeared to be one of his favorites.

 

He was scary.

 

After a couple of days alone, we finally introduced Tilly to her new family.

 

They were not as excited about the newcomer as we were.



At almost 2, Angus still hides behind his momma!



After a little sniffing and circling, they accepted her into the herd.

 



And after copious amounts of hay, Tilly-mook accepted them right back.

 

 

 My father-in-law asked me how I liked my new cow. I replied with, "She's so cute!" He asked, "How can a cow be cute?"





You tell me.



This appears to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Even if it was 14 years in the making.

This post is linked to The Homestead Barn Hop.

Meal Plan for 4/11/11

Before I share this week's menu, I thought I'd share some highlights from last week.

The P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps~AMAZING.

 Chili with Lime Cream~AWESOME!

And the Vietnamese Beef Soup, Taco Pie, and Southwestern Cobb Salad?  NEVER HAPPENED.

We had a little bit of a bump in the road last week that prevented me from going to town.

Due to a rather unfortunate mudslide on the highway leading to town, I was unable to make it to the store. Somehow, sending my sick hubby over the logging roads on a 4-wheeler to retrieve lettuce, tomatoes and bean sprouts, seemed a rather cruel and unusual punishment, if not a little extravagant.

The truth is, I rather enjoyed being stuck at home. The slide gave us an opportunity to put our survival skills to work. It allowed us the chance to prioritize our needs in the event of an actual disaster. It showed us our strengths and weaknesses. The slide gave us a reason to improve and build upon what we've already started.

In the state of Washington, April is Emergency Preparedness Month. The slide was a good reminder for us to prepare for the unexpected. It also reminded us that it's okay to keep things simple.

Here's what's on the menu this week...

~Monday~

Kefir smoothies, GF Cranberry/Orange Muffins

Vietnamese Beef Soup (with beans I sprouted myself!)

~Tuesday~

PW Cinnamon Rolls (not gluten-free, but well worth it!)

Chicken Tortilla Soup, GF Cornbread (new)

~Wednesday~

Cheese & Chive Omelette's

Cincinnati Chili (using gluten-free noodles)

~Thursday~

Peach Kuchen (trying it with GF baking mix)

Beef Pot Roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans

~Friday~

Scrambled eggs w/ bacon

Taco Pie, coleslaw

~Saturday~

GF Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, coconut milk smoothies

Chicken Spaghetti (new), canned fruit salad

~Sunday~

Granola & yogurt

Elk Stew, European Peasant Bread

I will also be making Peanut Butter Dog Treats, Chocolate Waffle Cookies (I'll share the recipe!), and some homemade Caramel Corn. With rain in the forecast and a mudslide in the process of being cleaned up, I'm looking forward to a little homemade R&R.

For more meal planning ideas, visit Menu Mondays at Organizing Junkie.





Mapping Skills Should Not Be Learned at a Truckstop

Last fall, my youngest son started a new history program called, "Paths of Exploration" by GeoMatters. It is the first book in a series called Trail Guide to Learning.

Normally, this would be the time where I would say we burned out, Matty got overwhelmed, we didn't have enough time to do everything, or the curriculum became tiresome.

Normally.

But normal is overrated.

We are still head over heels for this history series! Today, Matty and I snuggled up on my bed to read "A Lion to Guard Us" and "Surviving Jamestown". My unusually squirmy son was so still that I kept having to check to see if he was still awake. He was not only mesmerized by the stories, but was very disappointed that we couldn't read the books until the end.

When we finished our reading for the day, it was time to do a mapping project. This is something that I haven't done a lot of with Matt because his fine motor skills leave a lot to be desired. Typically, his maps end up looking like Swiss cheese from all of the erasing he does trying to fit all of the labeling into the proper places. Even the ocean sizes never seem to be large enough to include the word ocean.

Mapping is an important skill. It is a skill that will be used throughout one's lifetime. Not being able to read a map could get one in trouble later on in life. For example, let's just pretend that a newlywed couple is on their way to a rattlesnake hunt. They leave from their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is on the eastern side of the state, and are supposed to head southwest to Waurika, Oklahoma, which is only barely still in Oklahoma. They travel at night since traffic will be light. The husband is the driver; the wife, his navigator.

If the wife has never given a single glance at a map, not one time in her entire 19 years of life, navigator is probably not the job for her.

Let's just say, for kicks, that the newlywed couple, after driving for what seemed like hours, come upon a sign that reads~

WELCOME TO ARKANSAS, HOME OF THE RAZORBACKS

This is when map skills would've come in handy.

A referee would've been nice too.

(And for those who can't remember exactly where Arkansas is, well, it ain't west.)

Disclaimer: Any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Just sayin'.

Because I love my son and don't want him to end up at some truck stop on the state lines of a state he had no intention of visiting in the middle of the night, I'm going to have to make sure he knows how to read a map.

Here's what we did today.

Using a map in the textbook, I placed a transparency sheet (for overhead projectors) over the map.

Then I used masking tape to tape the sheet to the top and bottom of the book.

It's important to use masking tape for easier removal.

Then with the wet erase pens, Matt traced the map.

You know the saying, "Hindsight is 20-20?"

Matthew actually tried to do the labeling himself, but because I hadn't thought to enlarge the map on our copy machine (the best homeschool tool available!), he ended up frustrated. Up until that point however, he was thoroughly enjoying himself, so tomorrow we'll do the same map again, but bigger.

Sometimes bigger is better.

* This method doesn't have to be used with any specific curriculum. It would be a great homemade program with just a children's atlas.



Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Years ago, when I was a young mother, we had a muffin shop at our local mall. I remember taking my small children there, parking the stroller, toddler leash, baby sling and other paraphernalia at the entrance and letting them have the muffins of their choice. Sometimes they would choose the double chocolaty chip. Sometimes they would choose the apple strudel-y looking muffin. And sometimes they chose whatever muffin had frosting.

Kids are finicky that way.

One order always remained the same though. Mine. My favorite muffin was the lemon poppy seed muffin. It was large, fluffy, full of lemony goodness and loaded with poppy seeds, and for 20 minutes I was in total blissdom.

Of course my children spent their time dropping most of their muffins on the floor while  simultaneously spilling their apple juice, and I was usually breastfeeding discreetly under the table, trying to keep the juice from running up my baby son's nose. But with my muffin in hand, it was as close to a glorious 20 minute "break" as I was going to get while at the mall. 

Of course, as the children got older and the numbers increased, trips to the mall got fewer and farther in-between.

And then one day, the muffin shop closed.

The Atkin's diet murdered them.

Fast forward 19 years (*gasp!) and I have finally found my former bliss. Lemony goodness that rivals those good old mall muffins.

Minus the mall.

Can it get much better than that?

Since these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are gluten-free, I guess it can!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Level of Difficulty~Easy

~The Players~

2-1/3 cup gluten free flour mix

2/3 cup organic sugar

1 Tb. poppy seeds

1 Tb. baking powder

1-1/2 t. xanthan gum

1 t. unflavored gelatin powder (I use ChillOver powder from Mary Jane's Farm)

1 t. sea salt

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup expeller pressed coconut oil, melted (doesn't have the coconut taste)

2 large pastured eggs

juice of 1 lemon

1 t. vanilla extract

Lemon zest of 2 organic lemons

Preheat oven to 375F. Generously grease muffin pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients and zest until smooth.

Make a well in center of flour mixture and add wet ingredients. Combine until just mixed.

Divide batter evenly in muffin pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffin tops are lightly browned.

Makes 12.

Enjoy!

Meal Plan...on a Saturday?

So, normally I would post my weekly meal plan on Sunday evening.

Shoot, normally I would still be trying to figure out the weekly meal plan on Sunday evening.

But this week I've decided to be a little rebellious. I've decided to go against the flow, run toward the wind, roll away from the tides...you get my point. Yep. That's me. The rebellious one.

That's how I roll.

Are you buying into it yet? Yeah, me either. The reality is that this week I will be making a trip south to pick up my gorgeous, little granddaughter Madison. Maddie is going to hang out with Nana and Poppa for a few days while her parents and new baby sister attend an annual pastor's summit.

This means that for 3 days, I'll be in that special club known as goofy grandma land. Instead of a laptop on my knees, I'll be bouncing a curly haired, giggly 2 year old, who's pretending to ride the pony. Instead of watching another episode of House Hunters International, lost in the land of "what-if's", I'll be watching Tangled, caught up in the moment of "here and now". And instead of reading my must read book of the moment, I'll be revisiting Dr. Suess and gleaning as much understanding as I can from a Cat in a the Hat.



And my friends, that's how I really roll. ☺

Here's what's cookin' this week...

~Sunday~

Granola & Yogurt

Chili w/ Lime Cream (new)

~Monday~

Scrambled eggs & deer sausage breakfast burritos

leftover chili nachos

Taco Pie (will post recipe this week), tortilla chips, salsa

~Tuesday~

GF Cranberry Orange Muffins, Yogurt Smoothies

Toasted cheese and ham sandwiches, canned pears

P.W. Spicy Pulled Pork w/tortillas, raw veggies

~Wednesday~

Sourdough French toast

Tuna salad pita pockets, fruit

Fried Calamari, Pesto Crusted Baked Salmon, green salad

~Thursday~

Cheese & Chives Omelette's

Ham, veggie, cream cheese wraps

Southwestern Cobb Salad, sourdough bread

~Friday~

GF Blueberry Lemon Muffins (still new), Yogurt smoothies

Hawaiian Pizza Pockets (homemade)

Vietnamese Beef Soup

~Saturday~

Coconut milk, raspberry, peach smoothies, elk sausage

BLT's on sourdough

Braised Short Ribs w/Port Wine Reduction Sauce, steamed greens, baked potatoes

~Sunday~

Granola & Yogurt

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps, Brown rice, egg rolls 

A lot of these dinners are new to me. I am just (finally!) finishing up my online classes over at the Cheeseslave. This week, I will be starting a new class with her on "Reversing Food Allergies". If this class is anything like the last, I'll be learning tons of new stuff!

For meal planning ideas, visit Menu Mondays at I'm an Organizing Junkie.