Pie !

So included with my maple syrup were instructions to make this pie that my in-laws had while they were visiting Vermont. As you can tell, we have already enjoyed it :-) Recipe below:

Ok, my health nut speech, haha :-)
All sweets should be enjoyed in moderation. People do not get fat from eating a small piece of pie every week. When you choose to eat something sweet, eat something real and homemade and don't waste your calories on something prepackaged and overly processed. If you are eating real foods that come from mother nature on a regular basis, a treat every now and then will not hurt you.

Maple Dream Pie
(Makes 2 pies) or half the recipe for 1 pie like I did

Crust: (you can cheat and use pre-made shortbread crust, but this was really easy)
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped nuts (I used food processor)
2 sticks melted butter
Combine and bake at 350 for 20 minute. Let cool.

Then.......
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz softened cream cheese
Blend together and spread onto crust

Then..........
3 cups real maple syrup (don't you dare use the fake stuff)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
2/3 cup flour
2 tsp butter
Warm syrup in saucepan. In another bowl mix eggs, water, flour, salt. Mix into syrup and cook until it boils, stir constantly. Turn off heat and add butter. Cool and then add to the pie.

Then..........
Top with cool whip and chopped nuts (the recipe says whipped cream but I was afraid homemade whipped cream would "deflate" after a day or two.

Maple Syrup

My in-laws are from Vermont and recently visited there and brought me back a whole gallon of maple syrup. Yes ladies and gentleman, a whole gallon. I didn't even know they made such a thing until I became part of my Vermont family. This is the real stuff; no Aunt Jememiah here.

Here are a few fun facts about maple syrup:

- The sap used to make maple syrup is tapped from the trees in early Spring; when the days are warmer and the nights are cold.

-It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.

-Maple syrup comes in 4 types: grade A light, medium, dark, and grade B. Grade B does not mean an inferior product, it just means it is darker and has a stronger maple flavor.

-Light syrup comes earlier in the season, dark and grade B comes later.

-Native Americans were making maple syrup long before Europeans came to America.

-Maple syrup contains some vitamins and minerals. Pretty cool !

Pizza

Pizza from scratch. I made the sauce and the dough. Totally worth it :-)

Asian Night !

I love love love Asian food. There is an authentic Thai restaurant and a Vietnamese restaurant that my husband and I go to quite frequently. I am so blessed to have a husband that is as adventurous with food as I am. So anyway, I cook stir fry at home at least once or twice a month. I use all fresh veggies (except sometimes frozen in winter). I sometimes do chicken or beef but usually do tofu, and I make my own sauce. Also, we always cook real rice. No instant stuff allowed.

How long did this take? About 30 minutes, start to finish.

How much did it cost?
broccoli: 1.00
carrots: .50
1/2 box tofu: 1.00
1/2 cup rice: .10
cashews: .10
soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, honey, rice vinegar, cornstarch, orange juice: .50 (maybe)

Total: $3.20 This fed 2 people with no leftovers.

Scuppernogs

Do you know what these are? These are Scuppernogs and I sooo look forward to these every year. Scuppernogs are native to the Southern United States and come into season in late summer through the fall. I did a little research and found out that the name Scuppernog comes from the Scuppernog River which is in the Eastern part of NC. There is also a purple variety that tastes similar; they are called Muscadines. People around here make some wonderful juice and wine out of these things, but I love them just like they are. To me, they are so sweet they are almost like candy. And maybe I am wierd, but I get excited about eating things that only come in to season a short period (like local strawberries).

Scuppernogs are nothing like a regular grape. They have a thick skin and a soft, super sweet juicy inside. You can eat the skin but it is very tough and most people don't. There are also 3-4 seeds inside that you can either eat or spit out. Go to your local farmer's market and check it out!

Spaghetti !

My sweet grandmother gave me seven pounds of tomatoes from her garden (yes, I weighed them). Here is the spaghetti sauce I made tonight. Per a friends request, I'm going to start trying to post how much each meal costs and how much time it took me. Keep in mind these are only estimates and some things you don't really use enough to count, like salt and pepper. Also, if I only use part of something and save the rest for later, I will try to list the cost just for what I use. (Like $2.00 block of cheese. If I used 1/2 the block that would only be $1.00.

Time:

blanching, peeling and chopping tomatoes: 20 minutes

chopping veggies: 5 minutes

cooking meat: 5 minutes

So I would say prep time is about 30 minutes and cook time is how ever long you want to let it simmer. All day for me.

Cost:

Grass fed beef: 4.50

Tomatoes: free!

1/2 yellow bell pepper: 1.00

1 onion: .50c

4 garlic cloves, various spice from the pantry, olive oil: .50c

1 box whole wheat spaghetti: 1.00

Total: 7.50

This will feed 4-6 people, which means leftovers for me or frozen extras for another night!

What is Healthy?

Sometimes I get asked: " I thought you only cooked healthy food"? So here we are with my famous Country Style Steak. A staple of any Southern kitchen. So what is my opinion on foods like this? Enjoy in moderation; and use the best ingredients. This meal would only be unhealthy if you ate it every other night and consumed large portions. I made this gravy from scratch (milk, salt, pepper, flour, that's it), and used grass-fed beef that I get from a lady's farm in the same town where I live. I also made my own mashed potatoes with real butter and milk. You will never ever find margerine (fake butter) or instant potatoes in this house. I just do not understand why you would buy something in a box that is so so easy to make using the real vegetable. *Hint* I do not peel my potatoes. I buy the little ones and chop them up real quick, boil, drain, salt, milk, butter, the end :-)

Oh and by the way, this is my husband's plate, not mine. Just so you didn't think I was a pig :-)

What's for Dinner ?

Organic corn

Roasted blue potatoes (organic)

Homemade macaroni and cheese. So much better than that box stuff! And not too hard to make either!

Lemon Meringue

So tonight I decided to get creative and make a lemon meringue pie. From scratch (except the crust). This recipe is not hard at all if you know how to temper. Temper means to gently heat a food before adding it to a hotter substance.

I will post a picture of the inside once I cut it.