Kefir Smoothie

Our Kefir grains have been growing so quickly and we have been trying to keep up with them. Almost every morning for breakfast we have our Kefir. Here is one of the recipes we have enjoyed.

You will need about 2 -3 cups kefir

 (if you don't have kefir you can substitute yogurt instead.)

2 Spoons of Honey. 

2 Bananas

3 Strawberries

Cupful of Ice

1 Orange

Blitz together and Enjoy :)

If anyone is wanting some Kefir grains please let me know.

 We are growing to much for our family as it is.

Love 

~Marie

Elizabeth's Zuppa Toscana

Tonight I finally made Elizabeth's version of Toscana soup which I LOVE! She made it for us the last time we visited and I couldn't get enough of it.

 So I got the recipe from her and boy was it so so so so yummy on my tummy! Jon had 2 1/2 bowls. I will have to get some more around 12:00 tonight when my tummy starts to get the pregnant etchings again.

We cleaned our bowls good and clean :)

The baby loves watching the Dick Van Dyke show with us. He almost loves it as much as he loves his Kipper the Dog show.

He claps with the audience LOL!

When the theme song comes on in the beginning and the end of the show he jumps up and down to the music :)

Eliza's Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Package of Smoked Beef Sausage

1 Package of Bacon

5-6 cubes of Chicken Bouillon 

2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream * I used 2 1/2 - 3 cups of Half & Half 

because I was out of Cream

1/2 Onion diced and chopped

3-4 Large potatoes diced

1/2 bunch of Kale chopped

Directions:

Bring about 10 cups of water to boil, slice up potatoes and onion and add to boiling water, add chicken bouillon.

Cook bacon and sausage in separate pans, once cooked add to pot of soup, 

pour cream into pot and bring to a boil.

Serve with fresh cut  Kale.

Enjoy :)

Soup Week

I was kindly inspired by kindness Inspires the other day and decided to make her amazing meat ball soup.

My brother in law Benjamin was flying out to pick up their kitties and the rest of the Elizabeth's things. He was going to drive their car back. I served this for him. He loves soups just like Jon.

The Kitties and pup smelled the yummy meatballs cooking. 

The soup was so delicious. 

We ate the meatballs up so fast that we had leftover soup and broth so today Jon and I made cream of chicken soup and added avocado, a chicken carcass ( which we deboned), cream of mushroom soup, and lemon juice to the remaining broth. It was superb.

We have been enjoying such a cozy rainy Saturday. We were up early thrift shopping which is our Saturday fun now and then. I wish everyone a wonderful Sabbath. 

So much Love

P.S.

I had to say Goodbye to Elizabeth's Bay. He is going to be greatly missed around here. You hear that Elizabeth? His personality filled the house. He has the understanding of a human being and he knows it. 

Russian Borscht Soup

Ever since my family and I went to Russia we have enjoyed eating Borscht Soup. We had it at a restaurant in Moscow and ever since then we have been hooked. So my mom found it in a Russian cook book and passed the recipe on to me.

I don't know about you abut I have never really liked eating beets. I would eat them if they were served to me but I wouldn't enjoy them.

So I don't blame you if beet soup sounds gross. But borsch is more than just a beet soup. Its a beef / vegetable soup.

Here is the recipe for any of you who would like to make it.

1. A Bunch of Beets (3-4 chopped into sticks)
2. Potatoes (3-4 chopped into sticks)
3. Carrots (2-3 chopped into thin sticks)
4. A pound of beef (chopped into sticks once cooked)
5. Half an Onion
6. Cabbage (about 2 cups chopped into sticks)
7. Salt
8. Pepper
9. Cooking Whine
10. Sour Cream
11. Beef Bullion
12. Chicken Bullion

Now, you can add anything you like to this soup. It is your own preference.

I like to cook my potatoes and beets in a separate pot first. While they are boiling I chop up the beef. You can use left over roast from the night before, Or you can fry up some stew meat or whatever you have. I like to buy whatever is on sale at the store, usually I prefer stew meat. I cook this up in a separate pan and then I cut the meat into sticks and then I add it to the main soup pot. I pour a bunch of boiling water in the Soup pot and I add 3 - 4 chicken bullion's and 2 -3 beef bullion's.

I cut up carrots into sticks and add them to the soup pot.

After I think the beets are soft enough for me to peel their skins off, I drain the pot and start peeling their skins and then I cut them into sticks. I do the same with the potatoes. I add them to the soup pot.

Then I cut up cabbage and onions and place them in a frying pan with a nice slab of butter. I stir them and add a little red whine to them. I like to cook them in the same pan I cooked the beef so the butter and whine will eat up all the beef drippings.

Once all is added to the soup pot I just stir it and add some salt and pepper. You can always taste it and add more of whatever you like to your taste.

Serve with Sour Cream and Bread.

Enjoy this soup. We have been making it almost once a week. The beets are so healthy so Elizabeth has been chowing down for her baby.

Nigella Laswon's Christmas Cake

The delightful Nigella Lawson has a yummy Christmas cake that is perfect for a cozy winter evening.

We had tea with my Christmas cake last night. The cake wasn't at all hard or dry. The fruits I used were raisins, cranberry's and prunes. I zested a bunch of orange rind like Nigella suggested and that was delicious . I had to guess on some of the measurements because Nigella didn't say them in her video. I looked up boiled cake on Allrecipes web site and made that my outline. Nigella used a coffee liquor which I didn't have so I used some cooking rum and some strong coffee instead. I just eyeballed the amount of cooking rum, coffee and honey and coco powder as well as the fruit. It was a very yummy cake and I think you can tweak it as much as you want.

I loved the color of the cake with garland and oranges around it.

You can watch Nigella in action if you wish! She is so much fun and I love her british accent. She uses the best adjectives!

Dinner For Two

Well, I have  been  cooking for Jonathan, and I have been having a grand time of it. I have found that the smaller amount items of food in the fridge or cabinets tends to have a  better  tastier meal out come than if I had a lot of ingredients to choose from!

Last night I made tuna casserole with different items I found scrounging around my cabinets! I found a can of corn that I used, a bag of macaroni noodles, a bag of Potato Gnocchi's a can of tuna. In the refrigerator I found  some cheese, lemon juice and mayonnaise! It was a success!

I hope everyone had a grand time on their Labor Day Holiday! Jonathan and I went out to chinese, then we found a furniture store that we browsed through, (every thing was way too expensive) We had fun just looking! We were on our way home and I remembered that Saver's (Thrift Store) was having a 50 percent off sale on Labor Day from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 and we were just driving buy for me to remember! Jonathan found a nice pair of shoes for 4 dollars and I found two cute pairs of  shoes. One high heel and the other one flats! We had a lot of fun :) 

Yummy Bread Pudding

I made Nigella Lawson's Croissant pudding the other night! It was delicious. I didn't have any croissants so I just used bread. And yes, I made it for dinner!!

Friday Night Fun!

Nathan and Himilce came over Friday night for dinner!  We had a blast eating, talking, redecorating the walls with new pictures, rearranging the furniture. Himilce is a anterior decorator at heart! She refreshed my eye for house design!

The three boys and their computers! You can see Elon is being just like his daddy and his uncle Jonathan!

I served coffee in my tea pot and served it with my dessert!

Here is the recipe:

Take 1 package of Oreos and place them in a ziplock bag. Take you rolling pin and smash them all up till their like crumbs,

1 package cool whip, mix it with one small package of vanilla pudding, Take some frozen strawberry's and blend them in the blender with some lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of powder sugar. Take a spoon full of the frozen strawberry and place it on the bottom of your glass. Than add the custard and then the crumbled oreos. Repeat this process until you reach the top of the glass!  Enjoy!

Yummy Chocolate Cake

I made John Chocolate cake last night for fun! We needed a break from all the craziness going on around here, packing, cleaning etc. I was watching Sandra Lee the other day and I loved how she cut her cake and positioned it on the plate, she just cut it diagonally and placed it like you see I did above! I made a cream chocolate cheese frosting that turned  out wonderful! I invited Elizabeth and Cici over today for tea and cake! It was a beautiful rainy day for a tea party!!!

Scone Video

This "homemade" video is funny! 

ELIZABETH!!!!

I  made this for supper to night because I had made it the other day when I watched Nigella Lawson make it and I loved it so much  that I had to have it again! I wanted to post Nigella making it. Well what do you know but Elizabeth made the same dinner tonight and posted the video before I could!! Anyways here are the pictures. It was really yummy by the way. Thanks a heap Elizabeth! We really must be twins!!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

 I love Lemon Meringue Pie! My brother Nathan and Sister Himilce and baby Elon are coming over this afternoon, so here is a good excuse to make my favorite treat! I pulled out the recipe book to find my mothers pie crust recipe! Jonathan made the crust!!! I cheated and made the lemon filing from the cook in serve box. I love making the Meringue! I could eat the meringue all by itself!! Hopefully the pie turns out ok. It looks lovely! Himilce will have to leave her comment to report if it was good or not!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

John grilled chicken last night and he has been craving chicken salad sandwich, I found this recipe on the food network. It was wonderful!!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 stalk celery, chopped
DIRECTIONS
Place almonds in a frying pan. Toast over medium-high heat, shaking frequently. Watch carefully, as they burn easily.
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, and pepper. Toss with chicken, almonds, and celery.

Lisa's Monster Cookies

Well, what can I say? Himilce and Lisa has inspired me to bake! I used Lisa's cookie recipe and made some delicious cookies! I changed the recipe just a little since I didn't have m&m's. I added white chocolate chips instead. The are really yummy! Thanks Lisa and Himilce!