Rosetta Stone

OK - this has nothing to do with recipes or cooking, but I know several of us who'd love to win a copy of Rosetta Stone!

Blessings,
Jen

Now is the perfect time to give your child the gift of possibilities for the holidays with Rosetta Stone Homeschool — and you can WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program, language of your choice (valued at $249)!

Right now Rosetta Stone is having a special Holiday promotion on our Homeschool Edition program and we’d like you to help spread the word! Everyone can save up to $150 on Rosetta Stone Homeschool by visiting our website at http://www.RosettaStone.com/hsw1110.

By helping us spread the word you can win a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Level 1 program, language of your choice, valued at $249.

This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever!

Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this program, copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR post about this contest on your facebook page. Then go to the original page at

http://www.othersuchhappenings.com/2010/12/rosetta-stone-giveaway-yay.html and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post, and good luck!

Pasta heaven once again!

Ever since I had the skin allergy tests (that said I had no allergies - ha!) I've felt lousy!!  On top of that I've been frustrated with cooking gluten-free as the four gluten-free things we've tried have not been so great.  Now I'm a from-scratch-throw-it-together-and-it-usually-tastes-pretty-good kind of cook, so all these "bombs" are driving me crazy!  One of our tries was DeBoles gluten-free spaghetti.  Talk about gross!  Now for a pasta loving mama like me, this was not going to do.  Well, Kelly Cooper from Loving Life's Little Moments suggested Tinkyada pasta and it is heavenly!!!!  (THANK YOU KELLY!) 

I needed something fast for lunch (we're out of a lot of things) so I decided on taco mac, which is a spin off of chili mac (which my guys don't really love).  I just browned some burger (deer - blech), added 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce, taco seasoning to taste and my cooked Tinkyada elbows.  YUM!  You could top this with sour cream, cheese, black olives, and salsa.  I'm serving some corn chips and corn tortillas on the side. 

Finally a gluten-free dish we don't gag on!!

Blessings,
Jen

Book: Bake Deliciously! Gluten & Dairy Free Cookbook

I borrowed this book from the Dr.'s office and it is FABULOUS! Check it out!  Bake Deliciously! Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook

Jen

gluten-free

I'm on the hunt for yummy gluten-free recipes and general tips on gluten-free cooking.  Anyone have any to suggest? 

Blessings to you,
Jen

Double chocolate banana muffins

Had to get rid of some books...these got me through. lol  Very delicious!

1 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar (next time I will reduce this to 3/4 c)
1/4 c baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 c mashed ripe bananas
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 egg
1 c semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl combine bananas, egg, and oil; stir into dry just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 350 degrees 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.  Yield: 1 dozen or 6 jumbo sized. 

Pancakes

Tried out a new pancake recipe for dinner tonight.  They were mmmmmmmm.  Here goes.

1/2 c flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c + 2 Tbsp quick oats
1/3 c brown sugar (next time I'll try honey)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1 1/3 c buttermilk (I used rice milk and reduced it (sorry forgot to keep track of how much - it was at least 1/3 c less), so regular milk should be able to be subbed with no problem.)

Combine dry.  In another bowl, beat egg, milk, and oil.  Stir into dry.  Cook your pancakes as usual. 

They are more filling than regular pancakes and I loved the taste (I've been sick of regular pancakes for a while now as Jim likes to eat them every weekend.).  Enjoy!

Brunch Enchiladas

Bonnie's post of enchilada sauce reminded me that I haven't posted in a while and also made this recipe come to mind.  This is our normal Christmas morning breakfast and is one of our favorite breakfast meals. This recipe came from Taste of Home magazine.

2 c cubed fully cooked ham (I've also used bacon, sausage, and a combo of these)
1/2 c chopped green onions (I've used regular onion as well)
10 8" flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheddar, divided (have also used some pepper jack)
1 Tbsp flour
2 c half-and-half or milk (It works with both, but the half-and-half is better)
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp salt, optional

Combine ham and onions; place about 1/3 c down the center of each tortilla. Top with 2 Tbsp cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. In a bowl, combine flour, cream, eggs and salt until smooth. Pour over tortillas. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking (I often forget this step and it turns out fine.). Cover and bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 3 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  We like it with lots of salsa and sour cream!

Scare you off?

So, I was wondering, did I scare everyone off with all my talk of no canned/boxed/bleached/preservative laden foods?!  I'm really not as healthy as I sound. lol  My goal is to cut out all the junk and find a healthier way to cook.  Consider my goal  a combination of how people cooked before Campbells and bleached flours were established with a focus on less fat.  If you have a recipe you just love that has these things, post it anyway and let's see how we can revise it to be healthier.  I've done that with a lot of recipes I find.  Sometimes they are successful and sometimes not so much, but it's a starting point.  :-)  I'm not going to yell at anyone!!  lol  Let's learn together.  I'm begging for some activity from someone other than me!  lol 

Blessings,
Jennifer

Homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup

I realized I never got around to posting the chicken noodle soup recipe.  My chicken stock recipe is nothing special - just the norm - so I think I'll just skip it and just give you the homemade noodle recipe I use.  Those are what make the soup anyway!

2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 Tbsp milk (I use rice milk)

Mix flour and salt.  Combine eggs and milk. Pour liquid into well made in dry ingredients.  Mix until moistened.  Knead 8-10 times.  Roll out and cut. To make it easier, I use a pizza cutter.  Drop these into the soup and cook until tender, probably 10-15 minutes.

After you use these, you'll never be able to use store bought noodles for chicken noodle soup again.  Sorry!!

Biscuits!

This past week I went through all my Taste of Home magazines and clipped out all the recipes that suit our eating habits.  I tried this fast and easy biscuit recipe and really like it.  I love that it doesn't have shortening in it.  The texture is a bit between a biscuit and a roll, but they taste yummy.  I didn't have any whole wheat flour ground, so I used the Wheat Montana White (non-GMO and unbleached). 

1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c milk (I used rice milk)
1 Tbsp oil (I used non-GMO canola)

Combine dry ingredients. Combine milk and oil.  Add to dry.  Mix just until moistened. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 5-6 times.  Roll (or pat) out to 1/2" thickness. Cut with 2" biscuit cutter. Place on greased sheet (I used a Pampered Chef stone and didn't grease it). Bake 425 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Yield: 6 biscuits.