All Natural – Minisliceoffarm

October 31, 2016

Garden Fresh Tomato Bisque

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This has been the month of soups, stews and comfort food!!! Fall is just a great time to sit back with a warm bowl of comfort food. After the Creamy Pot Pie Soup last week we went back to our childhood to the ultimate comfort soup meal Tomato bisque and grilled cheese on fresh baked bread!

I received soooo many requests for this tomato soup recipe so hope you love it as much as we do!!

**To Pin this recipe for later use the “Pin it” button at the end of the instruction section**

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh chopped tomatoes

1 large shallot or 1/2 mild onion chopped

1 cup broth or water

1/4 cup sherry (optional)

3 fresh thyme sprigs

6 fresh large (or equivalent small) basil leaves

2 Tbls olive oil

1 large clove garlic minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

Instructions:

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat

Add onions and pinch of salt and cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes

Add garlic and whole herbs with another pinch of salt and toss for 1 min

Deglaze with the sherry

Add broth and tomatoes

Simmer over medium heat until tomatoes are easily mashed

Mash tomatoes thoroughly with a potato masher

Simmer another 5 minutes

Press the soup through a fine sieve, stirring until all of the liquid is out of the pulp

Stir in the cream

Salt to taste and top with fresh cracked pepper

*Options:
Some like a higher broth/tomato ratio.
We’re using heirloom tomatoes and I like to let them shine,
but you could go up to 4 cups broth here. I would increase the herbs
if increasing broth.
If the soup is not hot enough after adding cream, you can return to
medium heat, but don’t bring to a boil or it might break.

October 20, 2016

Creamy Pot Pie Soup

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Hi friends!!! It’s been a while since we have posted on here. Here is an update 🙂 If you follow me on Facebook you know we are expecting our third child. I’m now 29.5 weeks along!!! Here is the current view of my toes LOL

Thank you for all the well wishes, support and love throughout this pregnancy!!!

Now on to the yummies!!

This week we got to enjoy a farm raised rabbit for our dinners. I can compare the flavor to the best chicken you’ve ever had. Its moist tender meat that has amazing flavor, its naturally lean and easy to find without hormones and grass fed.

It was so much food that we were able to spread it out to feed our growing family of 4 (soon to be 5!!) for THREE nights. **see below for photos of the two other meals and links to recipes**

Here is the recipe for one of the dishes we used it for Creamy Pot Pie Soup. This dish will work with Turkey, chicken or farm raised rabbit.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion diced
4 large carrots sliced into rounds
3 large celery stalks diced
2 large potatoes diced
2 cups of white meat diced small (or cooked and shredded); turkey, chicken or farm raised rabbit will all work in this dish
12oz of peas (I use frozen)
4 Tbs butter
4 Tbs flour
4 cups broth or stock (learn how to make your own here)
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill

Instructions:

In a warm pot on med-high heat, saute the onion with a pinch of salt and pepper in olive oil until translucent.
Add meat, carrots, celery and potatoes with another pinch of salt and pepper (we are layering in the flavors, adding a small amount of salt and pepper with every ingredient builds depth of flavor)
Sprinkle in the herbs and spices and saute for about 5 min to bring the heat back up in the pot.
Make a well in the middle of the pot and add the butter and flour.
Whisk the butter and flour together until its well incorporated and the flour is lightly toasted (about 5min) then whisk in one cup of the broth.
When its well incorporated stir in the rest of the broth. Bring up to a boil then cover and simmer for 40min on low (until the veggies are tender)
Increase the heat to medium, add peas and heavy cream then bring back up to a slow simmer. Stir until the desired consistency is reached (it will thicken the longer it simmers).
Taste for seasoning (Careful it’s HOT). Add salt/pepper and more dill if needed.

Enjoy!!

For more information on the first two meals from this farm raised rabbit follow the links below!

For Meal #1 we made Country fried rabbit. I used the oven “fraked” recipe (click here for recipe) in a large cast iron pan then transferred it to the oven.

For Meal #2 Farmer J smoked the remaining meat for Smoked rabbit Taco Tuesday. He made it with a side of guacamole (click here for his amazing guac recipe)

^^Click here to pin the Creamy Pot Pie Soup for later^^

August 4, 2016

Canning green beans the easy way!

Farmer J is always talking about his mamma’s canned green beans. For him that flavor brings him right back to his childhood. When we started canning we processed ours exactly how she did … I was blown away by how beautiful they were and the delicious fresh flavor!

Here is how to do it:

Wash and snap your green beans.
Raw pack the green beans in sanitized one quart jars.
Add one teaspoon of salt to each jar.
Pour boiling water over the green beans leaving one inch head space.
Remove the bubbles from the jar by running a spatula or butter knife along the inside wall of the jars.
Add sanitized lids and rings then tighten finger tight.
Pressure can the jars 10lbs for 25min. *adjust the weight for your altitude if needed*
Use caution when removing the jars from the pressure canner as they are HOT!
Allow to cool completely before labeling and store in a cool dark place.

Let us know in the comments below if you would like some of our green bean recipes!!

April 14, 2016

My mamma’s banana bread recipe

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Mom always made the BEST banana bread! Every weekend the house smelled amazing and we couldn’t wait to dive into that delicious sweet bread. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp Baking powder
¾ tsp Baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
½ Tbs vanilla (learn how make your own vanilla here)
¼ cup yogurt (learn how make homemade yogurt here)
Walnuts or pecans (optional)

Crumble Ingredients (optional):

3 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbs butter, softened

Instructions:

Preheat oven @ 350
Sift flour and add in baking powder, baking soda and salt
In a separate bowl, combine sugar and butter and mix well
Add eggs to sugar/butter mixture and beat until well incorporated and you get a soft texture
Add yogurt, banana and vanilla to the egg/sugar/butter mixture and mix well to combine.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat well to combine.
Pour entire mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan
In a small bowl, mix together crumble ingredients (sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter) until mixture becomes crumbly (I use a fork to combine)
Sprinkle the crumb mix on top of the loaf
Bake for 25-30 min or until you can insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean
Let cool before slicing and enjoy 🙂

^^Click here to pin this recipe^^

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February 19, 2016

How to sooth dry peeling lips in the winter!!

Continuing the #DIYBeauty series … I do this on most winter nights before bed. Some nights only steps 1-3 are needed (always follow up with lip balm). Other nights all 7 are a MUST! Hope this helps you too!! Enjoy 🙂

Winter is so harsh on our skin. Dry peeling skin and lips are so hard to control this time of year so it’s a constant battle! Here is one way I’ve been able to control pealing chapped lips.

You will need:

Wash cloth
1 “drop” coconut oil
1 “pinch” sugar

Instructions:

Get the washcloth wet with very warm water and wring out all the excess water.

Hold the warm damp washcloth on your lips for one full minute (this feels so good!!)

Use the wash cloth to wipe away some of the dead skin.

Massage one drop of coconut oil onto the lips (I lightly swipe my ring finger over the solid oil. What melts onto my finger in one swipe is enough for this)

With the oil still on your finger, dip into sugar and massage the “pinch” of sugar onto your lips sloughing away the remaining dead skin.

Wipe off lips with the wash cloth

Follow up with your favorite lip balm (or another “drop” of coconut oil). Note: Don’t skip the re-moisturizing step. It is very important to reintroduce oils back into your lips/skin after exfoliating.

February 15, 2016

Lentil soup and financial security

In early 1990 my father decided to open his own business. It was a small grocery store with a two bedroom apartment on top for us to live in. I didn’t know it back then but our average income was about $400/month. When I found that out as an adult I was blown away!! How could a family of 4 survive on so little?!?! And how did I not know?? Our table was always full of nutritious food. We always had nice warm clothes and a spotless house. We didn’t want for anything … it just didn’t make sense how we could have so much on so little.

Then I really thought about it. Mom was a grocery shopping, coupon clipping, bargain finding queen. Standing at the register with her as a little girl I remember she always paid in cash. She shopped for fresh seasonal ingredients and supplemented lentils and beans for protein a few times a week. She bought whole chickens and showed me how to break them down to the more expensively packaged “boneless skinless” pieces, how to use every part of the chicken for stock/broth, and how that can make several meals. She always cooked and never let a drop go to waste. She would do leftover upgrades and leftover buffets often.

Lentil soup was a big staple in my childhood and as an adult it brings back great comfort on cold winter days. It tastes extra special knowing it was one of the many meals that helped build a strong financial foundation for our family. The recipe below will yield about 10 servings for less than $0.77/serving!!

Here is my mamma’s yummy Lentil soup recipe… Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 cup red lintels
1 medium onion chopped
2 large carrots shredded
3 Tbls olive oil
1 Tsp cumin
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
6 & 1/2 cups of water (or broth … learn how to make it here)
About 1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
Sumac (optional)

Instructions:

Rinse lintels with water and drain (at least twice).
Sauté onion and carrots in olive oil on med-low heat until translucent (not caramelized, about 3-5min).
Stir in lintels and cumin and stir around to bring out the flavors for about 3 min.
Add the water, and cayenne pepper then cook over medium heat for 30 min.
Add the salt to taste (and more water if its too thick) then cook for another 5min.
The soup will be ready to eat at this point.
To make it creamy, a recommended (but optional) step is to purée with an Hand Blender.
To serve, ladle into bowls (optional – sprinkle a little sumac on top for extra flavor)

February 10, 2016

How to make butter in less than 60 seconds

We had a little fun on our snow day yesterday and made some butter. Here is how we did it 🙂

Ingredients:

Heavy whipping cream (you can make this with as little or as much as you like as long as the whisk can reach the cream to whip it)
Mixer

Instructions:

Pour heavy cream into mixing bowl.
Slowly bring the mixer to high speed (so it doesn’t splash everywhere)
Let it go until the butter separates from the buttermilk (it will splatter, see video)
Press out the liquid and drain.
Rinse butter with sold water until water is clear.
Press into a butterbell or container of your choice.

February 8, 2016

Homegrown Turkey Meatballs

Our free ranged turkeys did really well this year. They were very low maintenance, and lived off the pasture so didn’t cost us much to maintain. They also gave us lots of fresh meat …

… here is one of the ways we used the meat for appetizers, Meatballs with a gravy dipping sauce. These will work in a tomato sauce over pasta as a main course too! Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey

1/2 medium sweet onion

5 cloves garlic

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

1 TBS dry sage (or 2 TBS fresh)

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

Mince the onion and garlic (I run them through the grinder with the turkey).

Finely chop the sage, rosemary and thyme.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with hands until well incorporated.

Hot handle holders

Preheat cast iron skillet to 350 degrees.

Add a small amount of oil to the pan, just enough to coat the bottom.

Form 1 to 1-1/4 inch meatballs lightly packed and place in hot skillet (don’t overcrowd).

Cook for about 2 minutes, or until browned and turn over to brown other side.

Move browned meatballs to a baking dish and finish in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees internal).

To serve as appetizers add a dipping gravy (recipe can be found here).

February 8, 2016

Turkey Gravy dipping sauce

This delicious gravy pairs very well as a dipping sauce for our homegrown meatballs.

You can easily use this as a pour over gravy for potatoes and roast turkey by adding a little more broth to thin it out. Hope you love it as much as we do!! Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

2 TBS butter

2 TBS flour

2-3 cups of broth (you can find the recipe to make your own here)

½ tps rosemary

½ tsp thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute.

Whisk in broth, enough to make the gravy a little thinner than you would like it to end up.

Add the spices and bring down to a simmer.

Allow to simmer 5 minutes. Thin with a little more broth if needed.

Pore into the middle of a decorative serving dish (I use this multi-use serving stand on a daily basis) and arrange the meatballs around the sauce.

February 7, 2016

Homegrown turkey meatballs promo

Full recipe coming ~~Monday~~ (*update* recipe is now posted here)!! 🙂

YouTube recipe preview