So, the kids have been tasked with making a soup for lunch each Saturday. Here is this week’s recipe.
Chicken Corn Chowder:
This meal works best with leftover, cooked chicken.
2 hours before meal time cook 1 pound of great northern beans with 1 tsp salt, 5 cups of water, 8 homemade chicken bullion cubes (5 cups of home canned, or store bought broth would work too) on High Pressure for 38 minutes. Quick release when done. Then add….
3-4 peeled, chopped carrots
3-4 ribs of celery, diced
1 cup diced onion
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen peas
1 tsp salt
4 shakes of black pepper
Dash of Cayenne pepper
Add 2-4 cups of water depending on how “soupy” you want your soup.
Cook High Pressure for 4 minutes. Quick Release.
Stir in chopped, cooked chicken and ½ cup heavy cream.
You could also add other optional vegetables like chopped kale, chard, or spinach.
These scones are moist and yummy! What a treat on a cold winter night.
Cranberry Orange Scones:
In a large mixing bowl combine the following:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat or whole spelt flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbls baking powder
Cut in 1/2 stick of butter.
Stir in…
2/3 cup honey
1 cup chopped cranberries
Zest of 1 orange (or lemon)
1 3/4 cups of milk
Mix the dry and wet ingredients until just combined. The dough should be wet and sticky. Turn out on to a floured board and form into a rough ball. Press the ball into a small flat rectangle. Lift the rectangle and fold over in half on itself in order to laminate the dough. Continue to fold and flatten it 5-6 more times. Press into a flat rectangle as pictured below and cut out your scones.
Bake the scones at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. This recipe makes makes about 16 medium sized scones.
As a side note, if you have made my fermented Lemon Cranberry Honey, it is great to pour in as the sweetener and chopped cranberries all in one. If you use it, you can omit chopped cranberries, honey, and orange zest, and just add 1/2-2/3 cups of the fermented honey instead.
I haven’t made this in ages. I used to make it every week for my husband’s breakfast, but since COVID the poor man has been mostly stuck with store bought cereal. Time to make another batch.
Granola:
First mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
6 cups oats (I prefer regular, not quick-cooking) Note: If you have an oat allergy, substitute spelt flakes for the oats. 1 cup coconut 1 cup chopped nuts (You can use any nut you like or have on hand. I usually use walnuts but almonds or pecans even work.) 1 tbls. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (optional)
Stir the dry ingredients until mixed well. Then mix in following.
Stir well until all the oats are coated. Put in a baking pan with sides and bake on 350 for 20 minutes removing at the 10 minute mark to stir. When you stir be sure that you are careful to pull it away from the sides as the honey burns easily along the edges otherwise. When it has cooled off, stir in 2 cups of raisins. Makes a yummy breakfast or snack.
This is NOT your canned chicken soup. I cringe when I think of the difference in taste of canned soup when compared to this hearty, soothing, comfort food. This is a recipe that falls into our regular meal rotation. It’s a must have whenever anyone is sick, and it’s easy enough, that I can ask the kids to make it if needed.
This recipe is works best if you have leftover chicken meat that is already cooked. I’m also partial to it when used with my homemade chicken bullion cubes. These bullion cubes are still one of my favorite things to make, and dissolve so well in the Instant Pot. But, fresh or canned homemade broth or in a pinch store broth works too.
This recipe is written for an 8 quart Instant Pot. For a six quart, reduce all the ingredients slightly. For example, rather than four carrots, use three, rather than three celery ribs, use two, etc, etc.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup:
Chop the following vegetables….
1 medium onion
3 ribs of celery
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
Turn the IP setting to Saute on the Medium setting. Add 1 tbls of oil and saute the onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and aromatic. Add the garlic and stir. Saute for 1 minute. Don’t let it burn. Turn off the Saute setting and add the potatoes.
Add 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, a dash of cayenne, and 5-6 homemade chicken bullion cubes (if using). Stir.
Next add 1 package of egg noodles. Do not stir to mix. This is important. It’s better to leave the layer of veggies on the bottom so that the noodles don’t stick and activate the Burn setting.
Now, add 10-12 cups of water (if using the homemade bullion cubes), or 10-12 cups of chicken broth. You want the level of the liquid to be just below (about 1 inch) the level of the noodles or about how to the 2/3 line. Again, don’t stir.
Lock the lid on the pot, set the valve to the Sealing position, and set the IP on High Pressure for 4 minutes. Keep Warm button should be off. Quick Release when done.
Stir in your shredded or chopped cooked chicken, serve with some biscuits or homemade sourdough bread, and dinner is done!
If you want a creamy sauce add 1/2 cup of heavy cream when you add your chicken. You can also add other vegetables at this point if you choose, chopped kale is a good choice, as is frozen green beans, corn, or peas.
Add this to brighten your day. Tasty, chewy, and sweet, with just a bit of lemony tang.
Lemon Blueberry Batter Bread:
3 cups sourdough starter
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup honey (or 3/4 cup brown sugar)
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix these ingredients together. Add the following….
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 – 6oz container of blueberries
Zest of 1 lemon
Any whole grain flour of your choice 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is the texture of a soft cream cheese or buttercream frosting.
Pour into two greased loaf pans (or you can use liners and make muffins instead). Cover with a damp towel and let it rise until the dough reaches the top of the pan.
If you use honey, bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 to avoid them browning too quickly like the loaves below. If you use sugar, bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Check for doneness using a cake tester. It should come out clean, or the interior temperature should register 200 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
Slather with butter and enjoy!
And if you want to learn more, check out Homesteading Family’s the Art of Homemade Bread course. It will teach you all you need to know about making healthy bread at home.
Are you ready for the easiest recipe you’ll make this week?
I’ve become addicted to this lemon cranberry honey. It’s sooooo good!
Here’s what you need:
1 package whole fresh cranberries
1/2 chopped lemon peel
Honey
Simply chop the cranberries in your food processor (or leave them whole if you want), cut up your lemon peel into little pieces or chunks, put in a jar, and cover with honey to 1” above the fruit level. That’s it!
You’ve now made fermented cranberry lemon honey. Just swirl the cranberries around 2-3 times per day or whenever you pass by the jar to keep them well coated as submerged. After a couple of days you’ll notice that the honey becomes more liquid as the fruit release their juices into it. You can begin eating it at any point, but the flavor is best after a week or more of fermentation time.
So, what’s actually happening here? The anti-microbial properties of the honey are acting as a preservative for the fruit long enough for the liquid to be released into the honey which then allows the honey to ferment. After fully fermented, which takes about 2 weeks (more like 4 weeks if you use whole cranberries) the this will last indefinitely in the fridge. If kept at room temperature it will continue to ferment and eventually turn to alcohol if left out long enough. I keep mine out on the counter, but it never lasts long enough to bother putting it in the fridge. We eat it up.
And feel free to play with flavors. I’ve also tried adding orange and cinnamon, but the lemon is my favorite.
This recipe makes a great jam substitute if you are trying to avoid sugar. I also use it in baking to make flavored biscotti or scones, or even as a flavoring or sweetener in my morning tea.
Just in time for Christmas and all your holiday celebrations. Give some delicious loaves as a gift. Visit the Bread Box Cottage Bakery page for pricing and availability.
Just in time for Christmas and all your holiday celebrations. Give some delicious loaves as a gift. Visit the Bread Box Cottage Bakery page for pricing and availability.
This is one of my go-to Fall recipes. It’s a great option for people with lots of food restrictions. And it’s delicious! Scroll down on my Allergy-Friendly page for the recipe.
Remembering Maggie Lane 