Author: maggielane

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Chocolate Quinoa Custard

140127_0000This recipe is gluten, dairy, nut and sugar free. This recipe contains eggs.

I’ve been making this for breakfast lately. It’s delicious, filling and high in protein. Try it!

Start with 2 cups quinoa. Soak overnight. Drain and rinse. Add enough water to a saucepan to cover the quinoa by about 1/2 inch. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed, the quinoa is transparent and the little curly tendrils can be seen on the side of each grain. Cool.

Next stir the following into your cooled cooked quinoa.
2 tbls. cocoa powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves

Mixture unset before it goes into the oven.

Mixture unset before it goes into the oven.

In a separate bowl combine
2 cups milk (substitute: goat, almond or coconut milk)
6 egg yolks (or 3 whole eggs)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or 3/4 cup honey)
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the liquid mixture to the quinoa mixture and stir to combine well. Pour into a greased casserole dish and cook at 350 for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the mixture is set.

It is best served warm. Add some extra maple syrup to taste and pour some cream over the top. It’s delicious!

140114_0000 fix

For leftovers you can reheat it with a little bit of milk or cream over the stove.

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New and Improved Chocolate Spice Toothpaste

130606_0000This is a paste version of my Chocolate Spice Tooth Powder recipe. My kids didn’t like the powder version much because the texture was dry and it wasn’t sweetened. This sweetened paste is quite tasty. First simmer a pinch of stevia leaf (maybe half a teaspoon), 2 cinnamon sticks in 1/2 cup of distilled water for 15 minutes. While this simmers, blend the powdered ingredients from the powder recipe. Turn the heat off the liquid mixture and let it cool a bit. Strain the herbs from the liquid and add two drops of clove essential oil. Add just enough of the liquid to your powder mix to make a thick paste (you might not need the whole amount of liquid so add a little bit at a time so that your end product isn’t too runny). Blend with a popsicle stick and store in a glass jar. Apply to your toothbrush using a popsicle stick. This does not have an indefinite shelf life like the powder does, but should last a couple of months if you use distilled water. I like to make a large batch of the powder since it doesn’t go bad and then make small batches of paste as we need it.

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Got 10 minutes? Homemade Tortilla Chips anyone?

Homemade flour tortilla chips.

Homemade flour tortilla chips.

I don’t buy regular tortilla chips because my children react to the oils that they are made with. So, necessity being the mother of invention, here is the 10 minute method to making your own using the oil of your choice. The key here is being able to coat the tortillas in oil quickly without having to take the time to fry them first.

Start with a package of your favorite fajita (small) tortillas (flour, corn or some other alternative grain). Coat a dinner plate in the oil of your choice (I like olive oil). Remove six of the tortillas and follow these steps. Don’t try to make sense of them by reading it. Just do it and it will flow. It’s really not hard.

Dinner plate coated in olive oil.

Dinner plate coated in olive oil.

1. Take one tortilla and lay it down in the oil.
2. Pick it up and place another tortilla up against the oily side.
3. With the two tortillas stuck together, lay them both down in the plate of oil on one of the dry sides.
4. Pick up the two tortillas again placing a third tortilla up against the side you just oiled.
5. Lay the three tortillas down together again on one of the dry sides.
6. Continue adding a new tortilla to the newly oiled side of your stack until you have used all six of your tortillas.You should now have a stack of six oily tortillas. So, step seven is….

7. Using kitchen shears (or a cutting board and serrated knife) cut your tortillas into quarters.
8. Arrange your triangles on a 12×18″ jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.
9. Sprinkle with salt.
10. Bake on 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Since every oven is different, start checking at the 8 minute mark and again at the 9 minute mark to be sure that they don’t burn. They will go from not browned to burned if you aren’t careful.

Eat up! We enjoyed this with Black-Eyed Pea Salsa on New Year’s Day. These also make yummy nachos as pictured below.

Nachos made with homemade tortilla chips.

Nachos made with homemade tortilla chips.

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Snow Day Activity: Indoor Sandbox

We pulled out the indoor sandbox today that we made this summer.
Works on snow days as well as blazing hot ones. So imagine the same kids pictured below playing today in long-sleeves and sweaters.

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What to do when you’re stuck inside due to snow,
single-digit temperatures and 30 mph winds?

Today we pulled out our indoor sandbox.

Spread a large sheet on the carpet (as pictured above).

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Raid the pantry for all the partial bags of old
beans, rice, lentils that hadn’t been used in ages.

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Dump them all in.

Instant “sandbox.”

We used the box that our building blocks are usually stored in, but you could also use a cardboard box, lego tubs, laundry baskets, dishpan, canvas storage boxes, an old suitcase or even a large plastic or stainless steel mixing bowl.

(Note: Obviously this activity would not be appropriate for babies or young
children who still put things in their mouths. Lots of choking hazards here.)

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Add some colored toys or manipuatives and you have an
instant sensory, color sorting game.

Grab some cups and spoons and start digging.

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Homemade Firecrackers

140101_0005Not really. They are more like a firecracker shaped hand-held pinata that you pull apart.

This Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa brought our kids a London tradition of Christmas Crackers like these which are basically paper rolls stuffed with prizes. So, I replicated the idea for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year. Our six year old made them all herself and the kids had a blast opening them and seeing all the stuff fly out on New Year’s Eve.

Here’s how to make your own.

The pieces of our homemade firecrackers.

The pieces of our homemade firecrackers.

1. Cut a paper towel roll into four even segments or cut a toilet paper roll in half.
2. Stuff with candies, chocolates, tiny pieces of cut up scrap paper or ribbon to serve as homemade confetti. The heavier the contents the better for the flying about the room effect.
3. Wrap the stuffed cardboard rolls with tissue paper (we used leftovers from Christmas).
4. Twist and tape the ends. Tie with ribbon (again save all those leftover Christmas ribbons).
5. Decorate with stickers, marker, glitter, etc. if desired. The grown-ups can help too. 🙂

On New Year’s Eve, put a kid on either end of your homemade firecracker and pull. Watch the stuff fly and be sure and yell “Happy New Year!” The scramble to grab the goodies ensues and then the cleanup at the end. But, it’s fun and a good family celebration. And if you don’t want to use edible treats even fun small toys that you have laying around the house will work – legos, puzzle pieces, toy coins, etc. Fill them up with whatever. It’s the surprise that is the most fun.

Pin it for next year. Copy this tiny URL: http://wp.me/pWQ7Q-ss.

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Black-Eyed Pea Salsa – Happy New Year!

Photo taken from Jan 2014 issue of Family Circle Magazine

Photo taken from Jan 2014 issue of Family Circle Magazine

I remember my grandmother making black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. She said it was good luck. I don’t think she really believed that. But, that is the superstition. Maybe her mother, Maggie followed this tradition and that is why she did it. Whatever the reason, I like eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day because it makes me think of my “Nanny.”

This year I found a recipe in a Family Circle magazine that appeals to my Texas roots and sounded like an interesting way to spice up a New Year’s tradition. I had hoped to link to the recipe on their website, but I couldn’t find it there. So, here it is taken from their magazine pages (January 2014 issue). Of course the measurements are theirs as I rarely measure anything. 🙂

1 – 15 oz. can black-eyed peas (rinsed and drained)
Note: I used dried peas, soaked, cooked and drained.
1 1/2 cups freshly diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced scallions
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 minced garlic clove
3 tbls. fresh lime juice
1 tbl. olive oil
1/2 tsp. each cumin and salt

Happy New Year to you!

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It’s Christmastime!!!

12.22.10 048I’m sure you’ve all realized it by now. It’s Christmas time!!!

Which means I’m winding up for Christmas…. decorating, shopping, crafting, baking, parties, field trips and special activities with the kids, cleaning for family visits, etc. And trying to stay healthy and well during all of it. It’s a busy time for me as I’m sure it is for all of you.

So, winding up to celebrate Christmas means winding down my blog a bit for this season.

But, even while my blog is taking a rest, you can follow me on my Facebook page to keep up what I find around on the internet.

Enjoy the holiday season and your family celebrations, and join me back in January for more weekly blog posts.

Best,
From Maggie’s Family to Yours

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The Home Remedy Maker’s Tips and Tricks

If you’re into making home remedies, you’ve may have a stash of herbs, clays, syrups, tinctures and essential oils.

Once you’ve had some experience making and using your own remedies to heal illness, wounds and improve ailments you discover little “tips and tricks” that aid you in your efforts. Here are some of the things that I’ve found work well.

9.27.13 046Administering herbal syrups and tinctures:

One of my favorite ways to administer herbal syrups and tinctures to my kids (otherwise known around our house as “drops”) is to use these nifty little measuring cup shot glasses. You can measure out the dose and your older ones can drink it themselves. If you’re concerned about letting your kids drink out of a glass cup, you can look for stainless steel condiment cups at Walmart and use those. They don’t have the measurement markers on the cup but they aren’t breakable. These little cups are also nice for mixing remedies as well.

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Injuries, wounds, scrapes, cuts, skin abrasions and irritations:

9.27.13 049Figuring out how to apply herbal salves, poultices, creams, clays, compresses can be challenging. Band-aids and gauze bandages will only go so far at holding those herbs in. I’ve found that my husbands old t-shirts cut into strips work the best for applying dried herbs, compresses and clays. You can roll the herbs into the cloth and then tie it around the affected area. It works especially well on arms and legs as a bandage and application for homemade herbal remedies. For injuries or issues on the hands and feet the cuff of an old sock actually is an excellent way to cover a wound or irritated skin with a salve, clay or poultice. You don’t have to tie anything and it holds everything in place. So save all those mis-matched socks and save the ones with holes too. Just cut off the foot saving the cuff. Kids socks work great around the hands and feet since they are smaller. Cuffs from adult socks are good for arms and legs.

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Herbal Syrups

9.30.12 003Herbal syrups are a great, quick way to make up herbal remedies that you are going to consume quickly – for example, something that you would take every day or something that you would take a lot of during at time of illness. Since I can’t make glycerine tinctures any longer due to a family allergy, I’ve gotten pretty good at syrups. The shelf-life of a syrup isn’t as long as a tincture so if you need a longer shelf life then go with a tincture. If it’s something that you will use up quickly then a syrup will fit the bill and probably be cheaper to make than the tincture.

A syrup is basically a very strong tea that is sweetened with honey. Ready to get started? Here’s what you do….

Start with about 6 cups of water in a saucepan. Add in about 2 cups total of the herbs of your choice. (I use this method all the time for Well Drops and Cough and Cold Drops.) Simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Let the herbs sit. When cool strain off the herbs using a cheesecloth and squeeze out all the juice from the herbs. Pour the liquid back in the pan and add about 1/2 cup of honey (or more to taste). Turn the heat on and simmer again stirring to combine the honey. Reduce by half until the liquid measures 2-3 cups. Bottle in a sterilized glass jar (scald with hot water) and store in the fridge.

These will probably last about 2 weeks in the fridge. You will know if they have gone bad by the taste. Traditional syrups should last about 6 months or more but these require adding much more honey (typically a 1:2 ratio of honey to liquid) than what is appealing to my palette. If you want your syrup to last longer add more honey to your mix and boil if for longer after you add the honey in.

And here’s a helpful tip…. If you don’t think you’ll use your syrup up fast enough before it goes bad, freeze half of it and thaw it out when you’ve used up the first half.

Stay well and syrup making!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Many blessings from Maggie’s family to yours.
Wishing you a fun day full of family, friends and good memories.

Remember all your blessings and from whom they come.

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“And thus they found the Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to bless their outgoings and incomings, for which let His holy name have the praise forever, to all posterity.”
~ William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, Chapter XII

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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

11.28.12 042Need a good idea for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning? Try these delcious pumpkin cimmamon rolls. Make a double batch! They’re that good.

The base for this recipe comes from King Arthur Flour. I added pumpkin and milk in place of some of the liquid.

Recipe:
2 eggs
1 cup warm milk
1 cup of canned or pureed pumpkin
2 tbls. sugar
1 tbs. dry yeast
2 tbl. butter, softened (or oil)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbl. salt
3 cups of all purpose flour

Blend eggs, pumpkin and warm milk so that total mixture equals 2 cups. Add more milk of more liquid is needed. Add the sugar, yeast and oil. When active, add the whole wheat flour and salt. Then stir in the all purpose flour until the mix pulls away from sides of the bowl.

Sprinkle more flour on a clean surface and knead for a few minutes. Let the dough rest while you grease a bowl. Continue kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. Put the dough in the greased bowl and cover letting it rise until a finger poked in to the center bounces back.

Filling:
1 stick butter (at room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Roll it out…
Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Spread the butter all around leaving 1 inch around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the dough up into a long roll starting with the long edge. Butter and sugar your baking pan or cast iron skillett and cut into 1 inch slices. Place them in the prepared cake pan with a little space between them so that there is room to expand. Cover and let them rise for 1 hour.

Baking:
Place the pan in a cold oven and turn the temperature to 400 degrees for 15 minutes so that the rolls can finish their final rise. Then turn the temp down to 350 degrees for a bout 20 minutes. Check at this point and if the sugar seems to be getting too brown reduce the temperature to 325 and cook for 10 minutes more.

Turning Out:
Loosen the buns while hot and cover the pan with an updside down large plate. Invert the plate and baking pan to flip the buns out.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Morning!

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Decorate for Fall – Leafy Twinkle Lights

I love decorating for Fall. I don’t know why. It’s just fun. Pumpkins, colored leaves, orange and red and yellow. Here’s how we made our own leafy twinkle lights with clearance fall and Halloween items. 

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First, watch for a set of orange Christmas lights on clearance after Haloween. Then buy a set of paper leaves. Grab a set of all those twisty ties that are hiding in your kitchen drawer that you never use on your trash bags and color them black with a magic marker (see photo above).

 

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Poke a black twisty tie through the base of each paper leaf. Then twist them around your orange Christmas light strand in even increments (photo above).

 

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Hang it up and you have your own custom Leafy Twinkle Lights. A nice addition to your fall decor. The kids might enjoy helping you make it too.