Easy "potato" card

How about making this cute, cheap and easy to make "potato" card. Potato serves as a stamp after you can something from it with your craft knife or even a paring knife.

Draw a shape.

 Use a knife to cup the shape. Be careful!

Put some acrylic pain on it.

Stamp and decorate the card as you wish.

Soup week

It was supposed to be a soup week. But as always there were a few hold backs.

Monday - White chili
Tuesday - Split pea soup
Wednesday - Chicken tortilla soup
Thursday - Lentil soup
Friday - Hearty cream of chicken soup

On Monday, when I was about to cook dinner, I discovered that I didn't have any white beans. I usually always do. Beans are a staple in my house. I did have dry white beans, but seeing that it was half an hour before dinner, I had no time to cook the beans. So we ended up having a regular chili, that turned out delicious.

On Tuesday, I did make split pea soup. We don't eat bacon often, so having a soup with bacon is a treat. Unfortunately, half of that delicious crispy and salty bacon doesn't make it the pot :) Husbik (aka my husband) took the leftovers to work, and when he came home complemented my soup again.

On Wednesday, our family went to the nursery to look at the trees, so we ended up eating out.

On Thursday, I felt like pure vegetable, so we had steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with mashed potatoes and delicious grilled lemon chicken.

On Friday (aka today) I am making Chicken tortilla soup. So good!

It's been very hot the last couple of days, so I guess I should be surprised that my soup week didn't quite work out.

Here is the recipe

Split pea soup with bacon

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic

3 potatoes

2 bay leaves

1 ½ cup dried green split peas, rinsed

6 cups water

½ lb cooked ham, diced

6 slices bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley

Cut bacon into small pieces.  Dry-fry bacon in a large saucepan until crispy. Remove from bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the fat in the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer.

Add the split peas, potatoes, water, and bay leaf, raise heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes hour. Add diced ham and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Using a blender, puree HALF of the soup until smooth and creamy. Return to the pot with the soup and reheat if necessary until very hot.

Ladle into warmed soup bowls; sprinkle with crumbled bacon and parsley over tops. Serve. 

Chicken soup with rice

My kids and I had so much fun eating today's dinner. Daddy was with us too, but he didn't know what we were talking about. We checked out "Chicken soup with rice" book at the library and have read it a couple of times during last week. Today we made a simple chicken soup with rice. It was so simple, I am not even going to post a recipe here. However, the kids loved eating the soup. During dinner we made up different verses using the line "chicken soup with rice" just like the book did. Needless to say, the bowls were cleared.

Go and have fun with your food. Eat it together with your children. Nutrition for the body and family time for the soul - dinner doesn't get much better.

Christlike attributes

Today in Young Women we discussed how much need we have to develop Christlike attributes in us.

In 2 Nephi 31:16 we read:

"And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved".

To find true happiness, we need to live according to the plan that loving Heavenly Father prepared for us. Who lived the plan perfectly? Of course, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

My goal for this week is to learn more about Christ's attributes, so I can concentrate on developing them too - sincerely living, loving, and forgiving like He did.

I will use the a lesson from "Preach My Gospel". If you want to do it too, here is the link: http://lds.org/languages/additionalmanuals/preachgospel/PreachMyGospel___13_06_ChristlikeAttributes__36617_eng_013.pdf

Delicious Russian cookies with Dulce de leche

Формы для приготовления этого печенья бывают разные. Стандартная форма ОРЕШКИ. У нас форма,из которой получаются грибочки, белочки, и шишечки.
Наша форма используется на газовой плите или электрических комфорках, но бывают и электрические формы.





Ингредиенты:

1. 2 яйца
2. 1/2 ст. сахара
3. 250 гр. маргарина или сливочного масла
4. цепотка соли
5. 1/2 ч.л. соды
6. 1 ст.л. уксуса
7. 3 ст. муки
8. грецкие орехи или пиканс
9. 1 банка Dulce de Leche (сваренное сгущенное молоко - продается в то же отделе, что и обычное сгущенное молоко)



Приготовление:

1. Масло растопить на огне, добавить сахар, соль, перемешать, остудить.
2. Добавить соду, погашенную уксусом, яйца и муку.
3. Тесто перемешать до однородной консистенции.
4. Из теста сформировать небольшие шарики, положить в нижнюю часть формы, прижать верхней частью и выпекать на низком огне до золотисто-коричневого цвета. Проверяйте часто, чтобы не подгорели. (После нескольких попыток можно лучше знать, сколько теста нужно ложить для каждого печенья, чтобы оно не вытекало по краям и не было слишком толстым. Я форму ничем не смазываю, так как в тесте много масла и оно не прилипает.)
5. Печенье вынять из формы и дать остыть. Обломать излишки теста для крошки.
6. Для начинки: измельчить остатки печенья для крошки и перемешать с измельченными орехами и Dulce de Leche.
7. Заполнить половинки печений начинкой и склеить.

Пальчики оближешь!

Our favorite Crockpot chili

I have never tried chili until I came to the United States. At first I wasn't too keen on chili, but a few years ago I made my own chili inspired by Robin Miller from Food Network. Everyone in my family loves it. We make it anywhere between twice a week to once in two weeks. Sometimes I make it vegetarian, and sometimes I add lean ground beef. It required minimal preparation and tastes yummy.

FOR VEGETARIAN VERSION, DO NOT ADD MEAT (and replace chicken broth with water)

Phelps Chili
Phelps favorite chili recipe – it is yummy and healthy!

Ingredients:
Each can is 15 ounces
1 lb ground beef, browned
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ jalapeno pepper, minced (can use more if you like)
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Can add some chicken broth if not enough liquid from tomatoes

------------------------------------------------
Monterey jack cheese (or you can use Cheddar cheese)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients until the line.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, top each serving with shredded cheese and cilantro.



Bon Appetite!

Homemade baby food (vegetables)

I make homemade baby food all the time.

This doesn't mean that I don't buy any commercial baby food. Sometimes commercial baby food is a great option. For example, my baby loves mango smoothies. Mango's are pricey and not always ripe enough. Also, when you are on-the-go, commercial foods are great, because they are sealed and won't spoil.

For most days, it is easy and cheap to make and serve baby food at home. I usually make pureed sweet potatoes, yams, squash, green beans, and carrots. I make a lot and then freeze them for easy meals. I don't freeze fruits, because I prefer them not cooked so they retain more nutrients. I just keep fresh fruit on hand.

Here is how I prepare carrots (this method works for other veggies).

First of all, you need a steamer. I believe everyone need to have one (not just for making baby food). It is very inexpensive.

So put it in your pot and fill the pot with water until it reaches the steamer.

Peel your carrots. (I buy a huge bag of organic carrots from Costco for $5.49. And make sure you use a vegetable peeler, because it saves a lot of time)

Cut up carrots into more or less equal pieces. I didn't do a very good job this time, so it took a little longer for thick pieced to become soft. Steam the carrots covered on medium heat until they are soft. Make sure you check if you have sufficient water in the pot, because it can burn. I burned my pots plenty of times, especially when the pot was small and I was destructed by something.

Put steamed carrots in the blender and fill the blender halfway with liquid from the steamer. It is better then water, because it has some of the nutrients from carrots. Blend until smooth. While blending, you might need to add more liquid.

When it is nice and smooth, fill clean ice trays (I bought them specifically for freezing baby food) with puree and stack them in the freezer.

When it is frozen, get them out (I slide a knife on one side of the cube to easy it out) and put them into freezer bags. It is wise to write what it is and prep day on the bag. Squash and yams, for example, are almost the same color. On the picture, I have a bag with pureed sweet potatoes.

When it is time to eat, take as many cubes as you need and thaw. I place mine into a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for about 1 minute.

My baby loves homemade food. I love it too, because with very little preparation, I have healthy vegetables for my baby's meals every day.

Try it yourself.

Phelps ENCHILADAS

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

(Yulia Phelps)

There are a lot of ways to make delicious Mexico-originated enchiladas. This is OUR way.

Try it and you might be making it as often as we do.

You will need:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded - recipe follows - chicken cooked this way is very moist and flavorful)
1 can black bean (I add black beans for extra nutrients)
1 can enchilada sauce (We like Green Chile)

1 can green chiles (if you buy whole chilies, you will need to chop them)

8 oz Monterey Jack Cheese (half goes inside and half on top of enchiladas)

8 oz half-and-half
10 tortillas (I buy my tortillas uncooked in the refrigerated section in Costco. They are All Natural tortillas and have 44 per pack. When I come home, I divide the pack into four 1-gallon freezer bags - 11 tortillas each. Then I freeze them. When it is enchiladas day, I move one bag of tortillas into the refrigerator in the morning. It will usually thaw in time for dinner prep. It takes a couple of minutes to cook all 11 of them. Be careful while cooking them on the skillet - they can burn fast.)

cilantro

sour cream

Here is how to make them:

Cook the tortillas.

Mix these ingredients together (Remember half of cheese goes inside).


Add shredded chicken.

Make enchiladas by rolling filling mixture into tortillas.

Arrange them into 9x13 greased dish. Pour half-and-half (or more Enchilada sauce) over enchiladas.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheese right away and let it melt.

Serve them hot with chopped cilantro and sour cream (my husband likes to add a little kick with some hot sauce).

ENJOY!



Shredded Chicken for Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts

3 cups of water or chicken broth (or more if necessary)

3 clothes of garlic, minced

1/4 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

Mix together in a pot and boil for 20 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then shred it (either with two forks or hands).

Weekly menu planner

I have a goal of going grocery shopping only once a week. Most of the weeks I succeed. I am also not stressing out wondering what to cook for dinner every day. Why? Because I use a weekly menu planner.

I LOVE IT!

Here is how I do it:

1. I have a special menu planner book. Not just a piece of paper that can get lost easily.

I use it all the time. The only thing you need to do on any specific day is to look into it and know exactly what's for dinner.

Here is how mine looks like.

I downloaded a print out on Above all fabric. Then I printed as many copies as I needed. I think my book has all 54 weeks in it. I took my pages to a copy center (I used Stevenson Geneology center) and for pennies bound the sheets together into a book. EASY!

2. On Friday night I open a new page. I ask my husband what meals he would want to see on the menu. He usually says he doesn't have any specific requests. My husband likes pretty much everything I cook. Sometimes her will help me out.

When I first got married, I only had recipes from back home (from Belarus). I needed to learn how to cook here in America. I watched Food Network like crazy. I made a new recipe every day. After trying so many recipes for almost 4 years of marriage, I realized that I found favorites. So now it takes me only a couple of minutes to fill out the blanks in the planner.

3. Then I write down a shopping list. DO not go to the store without one. You will save time, money, and additional trips to the supermarket when you realize you forgot to buy something.

My lists usually consist of wholesome foods. Very rarely do I buy frozen dinners. I used to do that for a very short time, because my husband took them to work. They didn't taste as good as homemade foods and had tons of additives. Now I make and freeze lunches for my husband and we love it that way.

Sometimes I will open the book on a certain day and won't feel like the planned meal for that day. SO. I just cook a meal from a different day. You already have all the ingredients for that meal. A lot of the times I will live one day open without having any meal scheduled for that day. It covers left overs, possible eating out, and last minute dinner invites.

That's all. I hope it will be helpful to some of you.

Feel free to ask any questions or leave your tips.

The best and the easiest white rice

I have never been too good at cooking rice on the stove top. Guess what? I don't do it on the stove top anymore. I cook my rice in the oven. PERFECT every time.

My friend shared this recipe with me. Try it out and you will never go back to the stove top.

I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it.

It is really good for quick lunches or even dinner. Just warm it up before serving.

Oven-cooked rice

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp butter (unsalted)

3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/2 tsp salt

In a 1-quart casserole dish combine boiling water and butter; stir until butter is melted. Stir in rice and salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven about 35 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (I always set my timer for 35 minutes - turns out perfect every time). Fluff with a fork before serving.

Enjoy!

I am back

I am back from a long sabbatical and intend to do more homemaking blogging.

So come often and check it out.

Yulia

Borsch

I usually don't measure anything. Yesterday, I tried to take approximate measurements, so I could share the recipe.

I adapt the recipe to make the soup as thick or sweet as I am in the mood for.

Generally, I don't like sweet vegetable like beets and carrots, so I try to mask that sweetness. If you want to bring out the sweetness of beets in this soup, don't add vinegar (you can even add a tiny bit of sugar).

My husband prefers less liquid and more chewable stuff in his soup, so I try to cook the way he likes it. When I was growing up, however, we ate soup with more liquid.

It took about 1 hour to make yesterday. It will all depend on how big your vegetables will be.

I know my pictures are not very good, but that is what you get taking pictures with artificial lighting.

Also, this is the soup I MAKE. I am not claiming to have an authentic recipe. I know in Russia they add cabbage to borsch. I leave cabbage out.

Usually borsch is made with beef that you cook in water to make broth. I tried it a few times, and it is good, but I like adding homemade chicken broth into mine as well as homemade beef meatballs.


So here is the actual recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cans of beets, grated and liquid from cans (make sure you DON'T buy pickled canned beets - you need regular for this recipe - you can buy whole or sliced or even shoestring - I buy sliced, because I think more beets fit into a can when they are sliced - I also like to grate my beets - shoestring is really hard to grate - If you are not a fan of grating slices, buy whole beets by any means - you can also buy fresh beets and cook them in boiling water for about 40 minutes until they are soft)

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 bay leaves

2-3 Tbsp white vinegar

4 cups chicken broth (can add more)

4 cups of water

a few whole peppercorns (you can use ground pepper if you want)

salt (I use kosher salt, but it you don't have it on hand, just use regular salt)

For meatballs:

1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
bread crumbs
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Meatballs can be made adding other herbs or spices that you like.

Sour cream (for serving - I don't like Borsch without it)


Saute diced carrots, onion, and celery in a medium pot with a little bit of canola or olive oil on medium heat until tender. Make sure to stir to avoid burning.


Add chicken stock (I make my own chicken stock and keep it in the freezer, so I add mine frozen) , beet liquid, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and salt. When comes to boil, add diced potatoes.




It takes some time to cook the potatoes, so you'll have time to make meatballs. To make them, combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined (don't over mix). Roll meatballs and place on a plate.


When potatoes are tender, add grated beets.

I also add about 3-4 cups of water at this time.
When soup is boiling, add meatballs one at a time.

Let cook until meatballs are cooked through.


Plate and add sour cream to taste. You can sprinkle borsch with fresh parsley before serving.

Frank Asch - kids author we love

Frank Asch. I think he is a excellent writer. His books are so kind and simple, just like the children we read them to.
We took a few of his books from the library and read them over and over.
I wanted to share these two books.

"Just like Daddy" - this book is simple and funny.


"Good night, baby bear" - I love this book, because it's about mommy and baby relationship - care, kindness, and hugs.

Медовик or Honey cake

This is seriously the best cake I have ever had. Every time I make it for a party, my friends ask for a recipe.

This cake is easy to make and doesn't require any fancy ingredients.

Ingredient:

1 cup butter
3 Tablespoons honey
1 cup sugar (can add more)
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cup sour cream
1/2-1 cup sugar

Melt butter (I use a microwave). Add honey and sugar and mix together. Let it cool to room temperature if it is hot. Add eggs, flour, and soda and mix well.
I take two round cake pans; divide the dough into 4 pieces; I can't ever roll this dough, so I put one piece into a spayed pan and with my fingers press it in the bottom of the pan into an even layer. Repeat with the second pan. Put two pans into preheated 350 F oven and cook for about 12-14 minutes (it should be golden brown). Remove cakes from pans to cool down. Put the other two pieces of dough into pans (be careful not to burn yourself, since the pans are hot) and into the oven they go for 12-14 minutes.
NOTE: you can divide the dough into 6 pieces, but make sure to decrease the baking time, because they will bake faster and can burn.
I let all the layers cool down. In the meantime, place sour cream and sugar into a bowl and beat with hand mixer (this helps to dissolve sugar). Usual proportions are 2 cups sour cream and 1/2-1 cups of sugar. I try to use the least amount of sugar, so I taste it before I add more sugar.
Start assembling your cake. Place the first layer on a serving platter; liberally cover it with sour cream and sugar mixture; cover with the next cake layer; smother with sour cream mixture again... Repeat until all the layers are used.
You can leave the top plain or cover with sour cream mixture and crumbled cake.
Leave the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (the more the better) for layers to absorb cream.

NOTE: I LOVE DOUBLING this recipe to get a higher cake and have an extra layer for crumbling.

Don't worry about having left-overs of this cake. There either are not going to be any, or you will be glad there is a piece left just for you for after the party treat.

ENJOY!

Best homemade whole wheat bread and peach freezer jam

I've been making bread off and on ever since I got married.
During this time I have been looking for a great whole-wheat bread recipe, since my bread usually turned out too dense and dry.

When I was teaching at the Missionary Training Center, I was privileged to teach a wonderful couple - the Jacobs. Sister Jacob used to bring whole-wheat bread for me sometimes. It was delicious! Sister Jacob made bread for her large family on a regular basis and truly knew how to do it. Of course, I asked her for a recipe. It called for 11-12 cups of flour, and my poor Kitchen Aid would never handle that much dough. I read somewhere that you cannot just half recipes with yeast, so I haven't tried her recipe until yesterday. I did HALF it and bread turned out so soft and yummy, that I think I will consider this the best whole-wheat bread recipe.

I grind my wheat into flour at home. At first I used hard red wheat, but later followed the advise I received from some ladies that I met at the Lindon Cannery and started using white wheat for making my flour.

It is amazing how from something like this



you can get something like this



I also made peach freezer jam for the first time. I used regular fruit pectin (not no-sugar needed one), which required tons of sugar. But after all was said and done it turned out delicious. It stores in the freezer up to a year, so we will enjoy this jam even when it is cold and snowy outside. I like the fact that with freezer jams, there is minimal work involved.

From these



I got these



I really enjoyed snacking on this delicious toast yesterday. It is a PERFECT MATCH.



Here are the recipes if you would like to try this yourself.

Whole Wheat Bread (already halfed)

2 1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. oil (I use canola)
1/4 c. honey
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp gluten
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
3 c. more whole wheat flour

Mix well first 6 ingredients. Add yeast and mix again. Add the rest of the flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. Knead dough 5-8 min. and form into greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubles in size (about 1 hour). Bake at pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40-45 min.

Fresh Peach Freezer Jam

Find a recipe and all directions in the pectin box you buy. Recipes will be different for original and no-sugar needed pectin. Use all ingredients exactly like they are specified, otherwise jam will not set.

Children's books #1

Since Alisa and I love reading books, I decided to share some of our favorite children's books on this blog.

We have literally read hundreds of books together, and Alisa is not even two.
We have a lot of favorite books.

Maybe some moms out there are not sure which books to pick when they go to the library. I didn't, since I didn't grow up in the United States. But both my husband and I LOVE reading and it looks like we passed this love to our daughter.

We don't have any book order, so I will share them as we go.

"Little Blue Engine that Could" by Watty Piper

(taken from WIKIPEDIA) "The Little Engine that Could is a children's story that appeared in the United States of America. The book is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Some critics would contend that the book is a metaphor for the American dream.
In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain. Various larger engines, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating its motto: "I-think-I-can"."

Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack


A delightful book that can teach children about where eggs, milk, blanket, and a few other things come from; about animals and the sounds they make; and about the beauty of hugs.