Sunday Supper: Loaded baked potato chowder recipe featuring #NewKnorrStock

Whats for dinner?

 That is the same question that seems to come up every evening.

Well today I decided to create as I was processing the harvest from the last week or so.

My friends over at Collective Bias recently had a social shopper insight study featuring Knorr Homestyle Stock. I was not selected for the study, but was inspired by all the various recipes I was seeing and I got 2 coupons for the stock and decided to give it a try.  I picked Chicken and Beef up at Walmart a couple of weeks ago but just now got to use them. I have to say for such a small package it sure packs a flavorful punch.

While the boys are off watching pumpkin launching at Heiser's Farms I decided to create.


Here is the recipe (the blog post was an after thought so I don't have a ton of pics this time)

8-10 small red potatoes washed and quartered
1 rutabaga washed a quartered
2 medium parsnips chopped
1 clove garlic peeled and chopped
1 packed Knorr Homestyle Stock chicken flavor
1 package turkey bacon chopped
1 1/2 cups broccoli cut small
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp butter
3 1/2 cups water (to mix with the stock)

knorr Homestyle Stock set aside

boil the water and dissolve the stock.
Add potatoes, garlic, rutabaga, and parsnips to the stock. Cook until very tender.  Pour off stock and set aside.

Loosely mash (I used my kitchen aide stand mixer and whip attachment to mash the vegetables leaving chunks)

In the original pan  add butter, bacon, and green onions. Cook on medium heat until butter is melted and bacon is starting to brown.
Add back in the vegetable mash, stir together slowly adding the chicken stock back to the pan to get a thick soup or chowder consistency.
Add the broccoli and warm on medium/ low heat.

Serve with dinner roll or favorite bread.
Enjoy!

While this recipe features a recently highlighted product this post was not sponsored by Collective Bias. The recipe is my own creations.

A Verse to share from @WomenofFaith: Over the Top #wofOTT

Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

I marked this verse on my phone during the Women of Faith event last weekend.  Someday we will be able to join in that mighty chorus giving glory and honor to the Lord God.

That weekend was the most amazing and powerful event I have been blessed to attend.
I am still going through all my notes and hope to share a long more indepth look at all the amazing things I heard later this weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

#Healthy Eating and #Coupons, do the 2 go together?

I am planning a couponing class at my local church and a question keeps coming up about healthy eating and coupons.
 "Can I coupon with a healthy life style?"
"I can't coupon because I'm vegetarian, can I?"
" I never find the coupons that will help me"

While I'm not a totally die hard healthy eater, I still coupon.

Can you maintain a healthy lifestyle and still benefit from couponing?  In one word, YES.

If you are on Facebook, follow your favorite natural food company for coupons.  Also your favorite chain restaurant may have online deals.
Also check with your local health food store. I know Parkway Foods a local healthy food store in McMinnville has a coupon in the Shop Local publication each time.

Follow some of the large coupon blogs for links to online deals as well as lists and match ups. I have found recently Almond milk, pineapple juice, Welches grape juice, and Silk brand coupons in the weekly slicks.

What are my favorite brands for coupons and healthy lifestyle?
Kashi is a huge one lately. Also Activia and Yoplait Greek yogurt seem to have regular coupons.

One thing to keep in mind, just because you don't have a coupon for the healthy foods you love doesn't mean you can't coupon.  I am able to save on other purchases allowing me to spend a little more on the healthy foods. Coupons are great for  laundry and dish soaps, paper products, feminine products, shampoo and conditioners, and even office supplies. Those savings still help the family budget which does two things for the overall health of the family: first makes sure I am getting the best deals all around and helps lower the stress level as we plan the family budget.

Something else to consider, you can save money by buying local and in season. No only does that add to the healthy eating, but you can get to know the farmers if you are at a local farmers' market or look into a CSA (where you purchase a plan and get farm fresh produce through out the season). Both are ways to introduce healthy foods to your family and save money by cutting a lot of the transportation costs from the overall price of your food.

One last thing, not necessarily a couponing but a good deal to consider, warehouse sales and clubs. I know Costco has started carrying a lot of healthy options. I recommend shopping with a notebook and calculator. Know your price per item if buying in large quantities.

A Healthy lifestyle can include coupons.

Sunday Supper: Thanks to AllRecipes.com for this dish

It is Sunday and I've been away most of the weekend at an amazing event, Women of Faith: Over the Top. I am still processing all the wonderful words of wisdom and the awesome friendships formed, more to come about that, however I am home now and still have 2 boys and a wonderful husband to feed. So, whats for dinner? That is where Allrecipes.com came in. I typed turnips and parsnips without pork in the ingrediants search and this recipes came up.

Roasted Root Vegetables With Apple Juice Recipe - Allrecipes.com:

Looked good so off I went to the kitchen to start dinner. I used home canned apple juice from last season and 1/2 cup of Chardonnay that we received the Carlton Walk in the Park this summer. I added red, white, and green onions to the mix of veggies because I had them and my boys liked roasted onions.

This is the main dish tonight. As a side dish I warmed up meatballs (from Costco) in a little of the apple juice/ chardonnay reduction.

This quick and easy dinner was made possible by our local community Gleaners program (I received turnips, parsnips, and rudobaga Thursday before I left for Women of Faith). I am so thankful that I am able to participate in Gleaners here in Yamhill County, it has helped me fill my pantry and freezer with local grown fruits and vegetables.
'via Blog this'

M&M's Candy Corn Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Fall is in the air and that means time to bake.
I love this time and year with all the baking and harvesting.
I also love trying new combinations to create yummy treats for the boys. This week I made pumpkin cake topped with caramel and white chocolate, but it wasn't just any white chocolate. Meet M&M's newest seasonal specialty, M&M's Candy Corn White Chocolate candies. These fun candies are available exclusively at Walmart . I picked up 4 bags on a trip to one of our local Walmart stores so I would have enough to do some fun fall treats.  Check out your local Walmart Halloween selection to try these and other M&M's candy.


Pumpkin Cake with Caramel and M&M's Candy Corn
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
2 cups pumpkin pureed (I used home canned but you could also use a can of pumpkin from the store, if you use store bought omit the egg from the recipe)
1 jar Hersey's Caramel Sauce
2 bags M&M's  Candy Corn White Chocolate Candies 




before you start and just for less mess, I dumped the M&M's candies into a bowl and pulled out the yellow ones.


Place white M&M's in a bowl and cover with water to melt the candy coating off. Set aside to soak while you make the cake.


In mixing bowl combine Cake mix, 1 egg , and 2 cups of pumpkin. Mix on medium speed until everything combines.
Pour cake mixture into prepared 9x9 cake pan. (My pan is a newer non-stick so I didn't add anything but if you need to I would use a little spray so the cake comes out easier)


Bake at 350' until done (I check with a knife, when it the knife comes out clean then it is done)

Let the cake cool.


For this time I decide to make individual cakes so I cut the cake into 4 squares and set them on plates to finish cooling.


Once the cake is cool, cut each piece into a circle. (Let the kids have the cut off scraps to keep them happy)




While the cake cools, drain off the water from the M&M's that were soaking. Place candies in the top of a double boilers that is about 1/2 full of water. Heat on medium to medium/ low stirring occasionally to keep the melting even.  I recommend using about 1 cup of M&M's Candy for melting. This part of the project is a test of patience.
Once the candies are nicely melted  prepare a piece of parchment paper and gently form a circle to match the size of your cake. 

I used a jar lid placed under my parchment as a guide for the white chocolate.  Remember the candy is hot so please be careful.  The candy cools quickly so you have to work fast. I wanted to make sure it was close to the same size but it doesn't have to be perfect. If you are making a larger cake you may end up using more like 2 cups of M&M's melted down. 



With a small spoon gently cover the top of the cake with the caramel sauce, this is a nice glue to make sure the white chocolate stays in place. 
It doesn't have to be perfect and if it happens to drip a little on the edges that is O.K.










Gently place the white chocolate piece on top of the cake.  Let it cool and set up for a little while.


While those are setting up , take 1 cup of Orange colored M&M's Candy Corn candies and pulse chop them in a food processor.  You will end up with  cream and orange colored sprinkles. I used my Kitchen Aide mini chopper and pressed the pulse button about 4 times. I didn't hold it down as I was afraid it would start to blend the candy rather than chop it..




Using a small pastry brush, lightly brush the top of the white chocolate covered cake with water , just enough to make it sticky.  Sprinkle the chopped candy of the top of your cakes, allowing some of it to fall onto the plate for extra decoration.


Share with friends or family and enjoy this harvest season semi-homemade treat.

This recipe has been kid tested and approved!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #cBias , the Shop has been compensated but the recipe and opinions are mine alone.

Canning season is here

I started canning this season in early July... Thankfully the fruits and vegetables staggered themselves enough that until this weekend I've been able to keep up.  My husband and my youngest are great about using the Kabota tractor and the large wheel barrow to haul stuff to the back patio for me to work as much as possible outside to save heating up the house. I am also doing all my water bath processing on a propane burner as it heats up the water faster and doesn't use electricity.. My husband filled the tank for me and said, " Let's see how far that gets you then we will decide if we fill it again." I'm still on the first fill and nearing the end of the processing.

In an effort to save money and feed my family healthy foods I decided to fill our pantry with as much home canned produce as possible. I planted 13 tomato plants, 8 cabbages, 2 zucchini, a row of beets, a row of broccoli, Swish Chard, cucumbers, and lettuce.  The zucchini has been steadily producing fruit for over 2 months now and we have been cooking it in a variety of different ways, I also made 2 batches of pineapple zucchini.  I joined our local county gleaners program and have been blessed with blueberries, lots of cauliflower, cabbage, some corn, lots of yellow zucchini, corn, and a nice bag of garlic (not sure on the variety but it is smaller than the elephant garlic and a little zippier.). I was also able to purchase a little over 40 pounds of peaches at a discount through Gleaners so I filled jars with peaches in light syrup , dried a bunch , and froze some.  Until tonight I had been storing my empty jars on the top shelf in the pantry.  Tonight I pulled down the last 4 quarts and 3 half gallon jars in order to fill them with pears from my Parent's trees. I moved some of the jars around and put some over flow on top (extra vegetable relish and chili sauce). I will probably store the apple juice I made last week in half gallon jars up there as well.  I have a batch of sauerkraut on the middle shelf tucked back in the darker area fermenting (I checked it tonight and it appears to be doing quite nicely.)  I didn't get a picture of it , but I have 24 quarts of tomatoes (sauce, stewed, pureed) on a center shelf ready to make just about anything. I also processed 9 quarts of salsa for cooking and put it on the top shelf.  I have searched online for new recipes to try and always seem to return to the basics. I try and keep it simple with things I can water bath process. I love my steam juicer for fruit juice. The boys love the juice and if I end up with too much, I can make jelly during the winter. I am working toward a grocery bill reduction.. The goal being we only need to buy meat and dairy and get the bill down to $50 a week except for non food items and then watch for really good sales and coupons.