The "Farm" Essentials.....

One of the main reasons for starting a blog on our website was to share with everyone all of our favorite recipes, cooking tips and essentials that we use every day on "The Farm."  About 6 months ago I was introduced to the concept of using Essential Oils for our health, in our everyday cleaning and also cooking.  As a family we have greatly benefited from utilizing them in so many different ways, that I had to share a few of my favorites.  

My father has suffered from seasonal threats throughout his entire life.  He was constantly clearing his throat, especially during peak season.  My Dad now takes 1 teaspoon of local raw honey with a few drops peppermint, lavender and lemon essential oil, in the morning and evening.  His throat clearing is completely gone and he is off all of his other medications.  What a blessing this has been for him.

Living on "The Farm" we also have our share of bugs and my kids are constantly getting cuts and scrapes!!!  Anytime my kids get a bug bite or an owie, I put a little lavender and/or melaleuca on them.  It immediately stops the itching and takes the inflammation away.  Now, my kids run to me asking for some oils to put on their ouchies.

Lastly, I have looked for a dryer sheet for the longest time that are free from chemicals and that work well, but have been unsuccessful until now.  I now use 4 wool dryer balls in each dryer load with a few drops of my favorite essential oil on them.  Lemongrass and Lavender are my two favorite smells, but there are so many to choose from.  I also love to put a few drops of Purify or Lemongrass in the actual washer, especially with my stinky work-out clothes.  Our clothes come out smelling amazing and static free, but most importantly free from all of the chemicals that are found in dryer sheets.   

If you are interested in learning more about how to incorporate essential oils into your household please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.  I would be more than happy to assist you.  I have chosen DoTerra Essential Oils as they are a high quality Certified Therapeutic Grade Oil.  Please Click Here to learn more about essential oils.

Be sure to sign up for our Newsletter, I will post new ways to use Essential Oils on our blog on a regular basis.

Warmly,

Becca

Homemade Spelt Banana Bread

I absolutely love Homemade Banana Bread, however when I had to completely overhaul my diet, I was upset to think that I would not be able to eat baked goods ever again.  It is funny how God can use certain things in your life to draw you closer to him.  Because of this, I became really passionate about finding ways to make the foods I loved and grew up on, but also make them work in my new diet.  You can check out my full story of getting fit both physically and spiritually on 2 Chicks Get Fit.  My cousin Shannon is the one who started this blog and her amazing journey is what is mainly found on this site.   I have to say she has continued to inspire me with her strong testimony of faith in all that she does.  This is a blog about both of our journeys and how God has used us, but Shannon continues to fill our site with inspiration and a total dependance on God's leading for her life that is inspiring to me in so many ways.  

The reason I altered this recipe was to take an old staple filled with white flour and sugar, and use Spelt flour and coconut palm sugar as the sweetner to give this favorite a nice healthy twist.  This particular recipe is great because the flaxseed meal, oats and walnuts enhance the flavor, while the greek yogurt gives it a nice balance of protein.  This is perfect to enjoy for breakfast and is definitely something the kids will love too!

Enjoy!

Becca 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Spelt Flour- (You can use regular flour in place of spelt if you prefer)
• 1/4 Cup of Flaxseed Meal
• 1/4 Cup Rolled Oats - We use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats
• 1/2 Cup of Ground Toasted Walnuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/3 Cup of Canola Oil
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut Palm Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1/3 Cup of Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 Cup of Mashed Bananas - (2 Medium Bananas)
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup of "Enjoy Life" Chocolate Chip (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and position rack in the middle of the oven.  Lightly grease and flour a 5-by-9 inch loaf pan.  

In a large bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, oats, walnuts, baking powder and soda, and salt.  In a medium bowl stir together the oil, coconut palm sugar, eggs, greek yogurt, bananas, and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into loaf pan.  Bake about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let bread cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.  

Slice to desired thickness and serve warm.  

How to make the "Perfect" Omelette......

I have to say it helps when you live with an Omelette Chef, but my Dad makes the absolutely best "Kitchen-Sink" Omelettes.  The reason we like to call it a "Kitchen-Sink" Omelette is because whatever we have left in the fridge, goes in the Omelette.  In the summer we always have a ton of fresh veggies from our Farm Share at Good Work Farm, but we also always have a little bit of some sort of protein, like left over ground beef, some grilled chicken or anything else we can find.  The combination of all of these ingredients make the best and most creative Omelettes.  Since my Dad is not much of a blogger, I decided I would capture a few of his special techniques that he learned at the CIA and from several years of experience at the restaurant. 

We would love you all to share your favorite ingredients you use in your omelettes.

Enjoy!!

     - Becca

Tips for Making the Perfect Omelette:

Step 1:  Check your fridge to find out what left-overs you have to use in your omelette.  

Step 2:  Once you have all of your ingredients, dice up all of your veggies, cheeses and proteins ahead of time and leave them laid out on the cutting board until you are ready to use.  According to my Dad, this is called a "mise en place" which is a french culinary phrase, meaning putting everything in its place.

Step 3:  Whisk your eggs together until they are light and fluffy.  As a rule of thumb, use 3 eggs per person.

      *Tip:  The fluffier your eggs are after whisking, the fluffier omelette will be.

Step 4:  Use a well seasoned steel pan or a non-stick pan.  Pre-heat the pan over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes and then add in butter.

Step 5:  Lightly sauté all of your veggies and meats for about 2-3 minutes.  

     *Tip:  Never overload your omelette with too many ingredients, unless you plan on adding more eggs.

Step 6:  Add in your eggs and swirl the eggs in the pan so they are evenly distributed throughout the vegetables.  Let sit on heat until the omelette is no longer runny, but congealed.  

Step 7:  Flip the omelette to the other side.  

     *Tip:  Before you flip your omelette, using a rubber spatula run it around the rim of the      omelette just to loosen from pan so it does not stick when you go to flip it.  Using a front to back motion, flip the omelette towards you.  This will take some practice.  :-)

Step 8:  Once your omelette is flipped, remove from heat, add in your cheese and put back on the heat.  Using your rubber spatula, flip the omelette half way over so you now have a semicircle. Turn your heat to low, put a cover on it until the cheese melts.

Step 9:  Remove from heat and plate to serve.

Every Thursday is Mexican Inspired at "The Farm"

I love true authentic "Mexican" dishes.  Every Thursday we have some sort or Mexican inspired dish at "The Farm."  The kids love homemade Guacamole and although traditional Mexican food can be high in carbs and fats, this is a nice healthy twist.  For our kids we take the turkey filling and place in a brown-rice wrap with some raw cheese to make quesadillas.  We simply heat up the quesadillas on the stove top with a lightly olive oiled non-stick pan.  We also love to just eat the guacamole, however instead of chips we use baby carrots or plantain chips to avoid all of the extra fat and carbs in the corn chips.  Although I have to say that every once in a while a good tortilla chip with guacamole is something we all cannot resist.  

This is a great, fun, easy meal that the whole family will love!!

-Chris

Stuffed Peppers with Fresh Guacamole

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers (colors of your choosing), halved and seeded
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 14.5 oz. can low-sodium refried beans
• 1 pack low-sodium taco seasoning
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 2 cups Salad greens for the top, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. In a large-rimmed pan add the olive oil on medium heat.  Add ground turkey and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until no longer pink.
3. Follow taco packet instructions and add to the turkey.  Simmer for 5 mins.
4. Add the refried beans until combined, then turn off the heat.
5. Spoon turkey mixture into halved peppers and place them in a deep rimmed baking sheet. Cover the top of each pepper with the shredded cheese.
6. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the sheet pan and put in the oven.  You don't have to cook them long.  Depends on how you like your peppers for al dente bake them 10 mins. 

For the Guacamole:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1 lemon, 1 lime, both squeezed
• 1 large tomato, diced
• handful of cilantro, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine avocados and lemon/lime juice
2. Combine remaining ingredients.

For the Chipotle Cream:

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbs. chipotle sauce
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients.  Consistency should be not too thin, not too thick. Adjust amounts as needed.

To plate- set 2 peppers on the plate, then guacamole, greens, drizzle chipotle cream on top.  

Enjoy!!

The Best BBQ Sauce - Perfect for July 4th Weekend

This truly is one of the best BBQ sauce's we have ever tasted.  I made this for the first time last summer and we put this on everything and dipped everything in it as well.  This recipe is adapted from one of Bobby Flay's recipe's, I just modified and added a few additional ingredients.

Perfect for grilling this 4th of July weekend.  Enjoy!

-Chris

Our Favorite BBQ sauce

Yields about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tbs. canola oil
• 1 large white or yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted adds another dimesion)
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c. dijon mustard
• 1/4 c. whole-grain mustard
• 1/2 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 tbs. prepared horseradish, drained
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 1 tbs. chile powder
• 1 tbs. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. chipotle pepper
• 2 tbs. chipotle sauce

Instructions:

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed medium pot.  Add onion to cook until soft (about 3-4 mins.) Then add garlic and cook for another minute

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally

Drop to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes

Puree the sauce either with an immersion blender or food processer.

Plan Ahead Tip:

• The sauce will keep for 1 week in the fridge stored in a tightly sealed container