Who Doesn't Love the Smell of CITRUS?

Each evening in December as a family we read a scripture about Jesus Christ and then unwrap a Christmas themed book to read.  It's a lovely tradition and one my daughter who is 3 looks forward to.  (That makes wrapping all 24 books worth it.)  Some nights our stories are silly ones about Santa, or playing in the snow, and other nights the book is about the true meaning of Christmas. 

Last night our story, My Christmas Gift, taught my children that we give gifts at Christmas to represent the Greatest Gift Ever Given.  It's a sweet little story and teaches a wonderful message, in language even a 3 year old understands.

With some of the books I try to do an activity with Sarah the next day that ties into the book somehow.  I had written on the wrapping paper, "Make gifts for someone. Neighbors, g-parents..."  Now, I am not the most organized person and don't have these planned out ahead, so while I was in the shower, I rememered a simple little gift I made for my team-teachers one year.  If you purchased the citrus pack through BB this week or last, you are all set to make them. 

Purchase a cute Christmas mug.  (The $ store or Michaels always has some)  Then put a cellophane bag in it, fill with a sliced orange, sliced lemon, a few cinnamon sticks, and some whole cloves.  Tie it off with some ribbon and attach a note telling them to put all ingredients in a pot with some water and simmer all winter long.  They can continually add water and it will continue to smell amazingly for weeks and weeks.  It won't look as pretty but it will smell amazing. 

Nothing smells quite like it!!  MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm



Did YOU Know This About APPLES?

My in-laws were in town last week.  It's always nice when they visit.  Sarah Jane and Luke are enamored with their Grandparents. 

Whenever my mother-in-law visits she always travels on the plane with an apple.  Not just any apple, but a sliced apple.  She usually only eats a piece or 2 while traveling and puts the remainder in the fridge and nibbles on it here and there while she's visiting. 

One day we were getting ready to go on an outing somewhere and I threw a Fuji into the diaper bag for when my 3 year old says she's hungry again (5 minutes after breakfast).  She's big enough now that she can eat the apple whole but I used to take a knife with us or truthfully I would bite chunks off and hand them to her.  Gross really, but it worked!  Anyway, this time I asked Liz what she puts on her apples after she cuts them to keep them from turning brown.  "I rinse them in cold water after I cut it," was her VERY SIMPLE reply. 

WHAT?!  Where have I been these 34 years?  That's it?  Cold water? 

I tested it out right there and then and folks I am here to tell you that apple stayed lovely enough for my daughter to eat 2 days later.  Yes, it turns a little, and I mean a little brown, but still is perfectly edible. 

Try it out next time you are on the go.  And if you already knew this trick, why didn't you share it with me sooner? 

DOES IT REALLY LOOK LIKE SPAGHETTI?

Why, YES, YES it does!! 

Spaghetti squash is one of my favorite in the squash family.  In fact just the other day at the marker I really wanted to purchase one, but I resisted, and low and behold Bountiful Baskets made my wants a reality!  I love it when that happens. 

Can I make a suggestion?  No big recipe here.  Just serve it in place of noodles with your spaghetti.  I promise, it's the only way to go!!  

Let me know if you try it... 

**The recipe Lisa posted would be awesome with spaghetti squash. 

**In case yours didn't come with a directions sticker or you already removed it, here's what you do:  poke holes in your squash using a fork.  Microwave for a few minutes to soften it up a bit.  Cut the squash in half, lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Place face down in a dish with a shallow layer of water, cover with a lid, then microwave or bake until tender. Then use a fork to scrape the "noodles" out.  It always takes longer than the sticker says to cook, so just check it after 15 minutes (microwave) and then every 5 minutes or so from there. 

Pesto Pasta with Chicken and SQUASH

This year for St. Patrick's Day, I made Pesto for the first time ever. I was a little worried that my kids wouldn't eat it (it is GREEN after all!) but much to my surprise they loved it and it has become a household favorite and staple.

Now, here comes the embarrassing part. When I make my Pesto, I make it from a packet. I'm so sorry if that disappoints (or disgusts) you, but that's just how it is. Maybe one of these days, I'll make the real deal and make it from scratch. But for now, I'm just enjoying that it can be a simple, last minute meal that I have all the ingredients on hand for and that I know my whole family will love.

This is the packet/brand that I use:

 

And this is what I do:

Pesto Pasta

1. Cut chicken breasts/tenders into bite size chunks.

2. Cook chicken in olive oil and fresh minced garlic. I also add a favorite garlic salt.

3. Cook through.

4. Meanwhile cook whole wheat pasta. I typically use spaghetti noodles because that's what I have on hand.

5. Follow the directions on the Pesto packet to mix your sauce.

6. Toss cooked chicken and spaghetti with the pesto sauce.

7. Serve and ENJOY!

**I like this recipe with bite size chunks/slices of SQUASH.  I add them to the cooked chicken and steam them for a few minutes until cooked through. This is a great meal to add veggies to because they kind of get "lost" in the sea of GREEN and you can "trick" your kids into eating them. (Though, at some point I always try and point out what they JUST ate. That way they can learn that veggies really aren't that bad!) You could add most any veggie; cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, shredded cabbage......It's kinda like this recipe. 

* This is such a simple idea that it almost seems silly to write down the "recipe," but I just LOVE meals like this. So simple, yet a healthy and delicious meal for your family in minutes. I hope you'll give it a try this week!

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

First off, sorry I've been MIA for the past week.  Between starting a new job, keeping up with the old job, and the Thanksgiving holiday, last week was a cuh-razy week.  I'll do my best to get back on track this week.

Second, have you all noticed how much I love this website?  One of my dearest girlfriends told me about it a couple of months ago and I sure am glad!  It is chuck full of awesome recipes.  I've pulled a lot of my recipes from there lately and have loved every single one.  She has a lot of great soup and bread recipes I've fallen completely in love with!

I pulled this delicious soup recipe off of her website a couple of weeks ago and was holding out for the day we got some of the makings . . and then we had couple of weeks of potatoes and celery so it worked out perfect!  It was so good and so easy I just might make it again this week.  We still have lots of potatoes and celery left!

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

 *Note: this recipe calls for already cooked chicken. I usually cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot with a little chicken broth the morning I make this soup, but you could also go ahead and cook the chicken in the first step with the onions and other vegetables that cook together.

 *Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter (I think next time I'll use olive oil...much healthier!)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced (I used 3 stalks)
1/2 cup diced carrots (I used 3 big carrots, which was a little more than 3/4 cups carrots)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I used red potatoes and left the peels on them)
1 cup milk (Mel says 1% is her milk of choice, but I used skim and it worked great)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese (I used light and it was perfect!)
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

Directions:

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

From our Homes to Yours...

Thank you for the support that you have shown us as we have started this blog.We are thankful to you for  reading our posts and trying the recipes that we share. It makes the time and effort worth it. Among our LONG list of things to be thankful for, we are thankful for Bountiful Basket and the opportunity it has given us to increase the amounts of fruits and veggies we are feeding our families.

To thank you for reading and commenting on our blog, we are doing a surprise GIVEAWAY today! We have taken the names of those who have left a comment in the month of November and drew one name randomly. The winner will receive 20 Debbie Meyer Green Bags. These awesome bags help keep your fruits and veggies fresher for longer! 

 And now, the winner......

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Aileen and Aaron Trost

Congratulations and thank you for reading! 

E-mail us your mailing address at basket411@gmail.com and we'll get those in the mail to you! 

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have the opportunity to share the day with those you love.

Best,

Kim, Lisa-Marie and Cindy

Basket411

Hold the Marshmallows, Please- SWEET POTATOES

 Call me un-American, but I do not like the traditional sweet potatoes that are typically served at Thanksgiving. You know the ones, they're covered in brown sugar and marshmallows. Ick. And for all these years (30 plus!) I thought it was the sweet potatoes I didn't like (cause heaven knows I like marshmallows and brown sugar.) Turns out that's not really the case. Bountiful Baskets has given me the opportunity (several weeks in a row sometimes) to experiment with sweet potatoes and to realize that I really DO like sweet potatoes. Just not the Thanksgiving version.

So, if you feel the same way, but just feel that it is un-American to have a Thanksgiving table without sweet potatoes, then please, try these! YUM! They are so fresh and light and I think they would make the perfect compliment to your Turkey!

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Chili Dressing

Recipe from my Reader's Digest Magazine

4 medium sweet potatoes- peeled and cut into large sticks

1 large onion, preferably red, sliced

8 tbs. olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tsp. chili powder or to taste

juice of 2 limes

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat oven to 400*F. Put sweet potatoes and onion on large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tbs. olive oil, toss to coat, and spread in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes are crisp outside and just tender inside and onions are soft and brown, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to dress.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 6 tbs. olive oil wit h chili powder, lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Toss warm vegetables with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature (or cover and refrigerate up to a day.)

ENJOY!