Harvest Time

Its takes two to carry this giant 5 pound zucchini. Tomorrow on my day off with the girls, I'm hoping to use it up with zucchini/banana/flax muffins, shred and freeze for later use and stir fry for dinner. Marcus brought this one home from a co-worker. I drove by some kids on the neighborhood corner with a lemonade stand yesterday and a sign that said "free zucchini". It's yum season around here!

Our garden is green and lush with lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. I'm hoping to spend some time making tomato sauce and canning tomatoes when they all go ripe in a few weeks.

The freezer is stocked with at least 20 pounds of blueberries and several jars of raspberry jam from berries that we picked at the local berry farm earlier in July.  Next up is picking blackberries for more jam and freezer desserts. Man I love summer.

Sugar and Spice Cookies

My favorite fall cookies are these sugar and spice cookies I have been making for a few years now. I made them again last week for Maryam's baby shower (more on the baby shower here). The cookies are subtly sweet and full of fall spice. I found it from the awesome Good Things Catered blog that is now defunct so I'm posting it here for the record.

Sugar and Spice Cookies with Maple Glaze 
adapted from my favorite cookies originally from Ashlee

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp orange zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp allspice
Powdered sugar, for rolling 

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes. 
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. 
-Add vanilla, almond, and zest. 
-Sift in flour, baking powder, spices and salt a little at a time. 
-Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
-Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
-Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes (4 minutes for mini ones).
-Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

Maple Glaze

(makes nearly enough for drizzling on a full batch of the sugar and spice cookies)

½ c butter

2 c sifted powdered sugar

2 tsp maple flavoring

2-4 T hot water

Directions:

-heat butter until golden brown; stir in powdered sugar and maple flavor; stir in 2-4 T hot water until smooth and the consistency you want

-if icing seizes/separates, use hand mixer to beat in the water or try hotter water

-pipe or drizzle on the cookies; cool overnight in single layer, then stack

New Plate

Harvard's School of Public Health recently released the new "Healthy Eating Plate". It looks like a great, simple picture of what we should be eating.

What do you think? I really notice the lack of dairy and the text says 1-2 servings/day.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I don't use my slow cooker that much. The recipes I used in the past were really heavy. This recipe changes all that and gives me confidence to try more. If you want an easy, healthy, tasty dinner recipe that even your kids will like, here ya go.

Note: There are a million versions of recipes with this same name, but this is the one I like :) It is very adaptable to substitutions with what you have. Don't have salsa? Use a can of diced tomatoes. You get the idea.

Salsa Chicken
1.5 lbs. chicken breast (can use fresh, frozen, etc)
1 jar salsa
1/4 cup water
1 can black beans
1 pkg frozen corn
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. oregeno
1 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper

toppings: (optional)
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
diced avocado

Put chicken in slow cooker and pour all the other ingredients on top. Give it all a good stir and make sure chicken is covered. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with forks.

When its close to dinnertime, cook some rice (brown is best). Top with salsa chicken mix and toppings.

Instead of rice, you could put this on top of a salad or in a tortilla. Enjoy!

Moroccan baby food

I really enjoy making the girls' pureed baby food and happily/sadly that is coming to an end as they are eating mostly table foods now. They are still enjoying the purees I have already stocked in the freezer. This recipe is one of their favorites (and I think it tastes good too!) I adapted it from here.

Moroccan Puree

peeled/diced sweet potatoes
baby carrots (I use the baby carrots because I don't have to peel or chop)
white beans (canned or cooked)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon
chicken broth or water (enough to cover about half the veggies in the pot)

1. Place all ingredients in pot and bring to boil on high
2. Turn to low and put lid on - let simmer for 45 minutes (or until veggies are very soft)
3. Using stick blender, blend to desired consistency

I don't use specific measurements for the ingredients, but try to use equal parts of the main ingredients. I save a bit in the fridge for 2 days worth and freeze the rest in single portions (silicone ice cube tray or muffin tin)

Hamburger Veggie Soup

I made this big pot of soup and am still eating it happily for lunch today. Now, that's a good soup! I think this is my 4th meal of this soup and it is still hitting the spot. Here is the recipe for the yummiest, easiest soup ever.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup
(Adapted from here)

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 6 to 10 cups water
• 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 bay leaves

Brown ground beef and onion together until meat is lightly browned. Drain off excess fat. Add all remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a boil.

Cover and simmer for two to four hours. Check periodically and add more water, if needed. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Makes 18 to 20 cups of soup. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Note: The original recipe from Money Saving Mom includes carrots and 4 cans diced tomatoes. I only had 1 can diced tomatoes so I added a can of tomato sauce as listed above and it turned out very yummy. This tells me that this recipe is highly adaptable so go with what you have and improvise.