Oven Bakes Red Potatoes- Recipe

Today's dish seems so fitting with the weather. When did fall come knocking on our front door here in pure Michigan? Our summer has jumped all over the place temperature wise. Make up your mind Mother Nature! It really has me craving for a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks right about now. Or even these oven bakes red potatoes I am sharing with you below. 

These are a must make. I love playing around in my kitchen and adding fresh herbs together with meat and our vegetables. When this one turned out fabulous I just couldn't wait to share. You will notice I didn't tell you exactly how much herbs to use. That is because everyone has different taste pallets. Therefore add in however much you would like and enjoy. 

Oven Baked Red Potatoes

All you need is a bag of organic small red potatoes and 

a package of organic celery stalks. 

• Preheat your oven at 375 degrees while you begin your prep. 
• Always wash/ scrub your fruits and vegetables before slicing and chopping.
• Dice your red potatoes and cut your celery into thirds. 
• Combine in bowl.
• Drizzle 1-2 Tablespoons of organic EVOO oil and mix around. 
• Now add in the herb mixture. Sea salt, black pepper, basil, parsley, splash of garlic. 
• cook for about 20-30 minutes. Or until they start to look wrinkled and your can poke semi softly with a fork. 

Would You Like To CoHost Great Blog Train?! & This Months FEATURES!

This month was a blast on the great blog train hop! I really enjoy visiting the lovely blogs.

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The 17th GREAT BLOG TRAIN was a blast! - We all safely reached HAWAII - our destination. It was a wonderful trip with 57 boxcars!! We (the Engineers) would like to thank all of you for travelling with us and we hope that you all had a wonderful time!

The Giveaway Winner is: B.
(I have contacted the winner by email)
Congrats!!!

W   A   N   T   E   D  :

(Being a "Destination Cohost" means that you get to pick our next destination!!  It also means that you will post The Great Blog Train on your blog on the first Wednesday of whatever month you will be cohosting (1 different cohost per month).  We (the engineers or hosts) will provide you with the html code for the blog hop & for the Giveaway - all you will have to do is add into that post some information on the destination that you picked (like population, known for, location etc - basic family friendly facts) and add a few pictures.  Also, if you cohost we ask that you promote it on your social media sites) (We are now scheduling for November & December 2014).

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We are now featuring the top 3 Boxcars!  (These are the links that received the most clicks)

Chocolate Blueberry Muffins by "My Pinterventures"

Free Teacher Appreciation Printable by "Craving Some Creativity"

 

Friday Link Party#67 by "The Pin Junkie"

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Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies-Post Swap Program

Over the past couple months I have grown to know Angie from Gods Growing Garden. She has a tender heart for following God. Take a moment and visit her lovely blog. When you do you will find a variety of recipes and great information!
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Blog Motto:  Plant, Grow, Harvest, Preserve, Consume & ENJOY

We are all part of God's Growing Garden

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

This is my newest Cookie Creation using some blueberries that I just dehydrated (I know I know - the purpose of dehydrating is to store that fruit or vegetable NOT to use immediately - hahahaha).  The finely ground pecans and the lemon juice both enhance the flavor of the blueberries.

If you want to learn How to Dehydrate Blueberries (click HERE to view)

 

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter (at room temperature)

1/4 cup lemon juice

lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

dash salt (I used salted butter - if you are using unsalted butter then add 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of a dash)

1 egg

1 cup oatmeal (I used old fashioned rolled oats but you may use quick oats instead)

1 2/3 cups flour

1 cup dried blueberries (you may substitute blueberry juice infused dried cranberries - see below)

1/3 cup finely ground pecans

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

With an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl - cream together both sugars & the butter until fluffy (a few minutes).  Now add in the egg, lemon juice & zest & mix until combined.  Using a wooden spoon stir in the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon & the ground pecans and continue stirring until combined.  Finally stir in the dried blueberries.  

Drop by tablespoon full onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until desired color & texture is achieved.  Cool on a wire rack & then serve!

This recipe makes about 25 cookies.



SUBSTITUTE:  If you don't have any dried blueberries then substitute these "Craisins" - Blueberry Juice Infused Dried Cranberries by Ocean Spray
or any plain dried cranberry may also be substituted.

ENJOY!!




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Herb Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of the best part of fall are pumpkins and whats inside them. Every year look forward to roasting the seeds after carving the pumpkins. This year we tried another recipe we threw together on our own again. If you don't already know, we like to experiment in the kitchen. 

This years roasted pumpkin seeds were simple and delicious. Our girls devoured them and repeated it was the best recipe so far. Success in the mom book! 

Herb Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 

All you need is...

Salt

Pepper

Rosemary 

Parsley

Add any kind of herb you want.

How to...

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Clean seeds and add ingredients.

place on a baking sheet. I lay tinfoil down first.

roast for about 10-15minutes. Till their starting to get golden brown.

Chocolate Butterscotch Popcorn

Yesterday our three girls started to have mini meltdowns once the evening started to approach. As for any parent when your children starts to have meltdowns it can be stressful and exhausting. With that being said, I decided it was an easy diner for the evening followed by family movie night. And when your a house full of girls involving meltdowns, you have to add in the sweets. Our daughter's do not get the specialty of sweets in our house daily. I feel they get enough sugar from fresh natural fruit and their Grandma's and Grandpa's. So don't worry my daughters are not completely deprived from all sweets. Ha ha ha. 

Since it is almost October we decided on a Halloween Movie. As a mom I am already thinking in my head what snack can I prepare that's follows our family movie night theme? Popcorn! But popcorn can be boring so he sweetened it up. We came up with our own ingredients and called it Chocolate Butterscotch Popcorn. Plus It fits in perfectly with the season; fall. 

Ingredients

Popcorn: 2 bags. 

Chocolate Chips: 1/2 cup. But it really depends how much chocolate you like sprinkled onto your popcorn and chex mix.

Butterscotch Chips: 1/2 a cup as well. Same follows as above.

Chex cereal: 3 cups

Candy Corn: I'll leave it up to you how many you want to add.

Steps

*Pop the popcorn and lay out on wax paper. 

*Melt your chocolate and butterscotch chips and drizzle it it over the popcorn. Then add your chex mix an drizzle the chocolate and butterscotch again.

*Let it cool down. Takes about 5-10 minutes. I put mine in the freezer to speed up the process. 

*Once the chocolate is hardened put add it into a serving bowl and mix in the candy corn. 

Is your family a pop corn loving family like mine?!

Roasted Asparagus

Since My family has transferred over to a more plant based diet and trying to go as natural as we possibly can with our busy family life, I have been experimenting and searching for new recipes. Of course ones that our daughters would eat and not instantly say, "I'm not eating that" as soon as its in front of their eyes.

We haven't ate asparagus that often. I'm not sure why my family has grown to love it. Therefore I figured I'd find something simple to do with asparagus bedsides just steaming them. Of course first thought that comes to my mind in the grocery store is, I cant believe I'm buying asparagus! I don't remember eating much if any as a kid growing up. Maybe because my mother didn't care for it the way my father does. Or maybe it's because the way he liked it cook, "slimy" as I recall my mother saying. I have to admit now, I'm not a fan of asparagus when it's too crunchy either. Sorry mom! I like it in-between semi crunchy and chewy. That's why this recipe is great.

Roasted Asparagus

 Preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Prepare time: 5 minutes. Time roasting in the oven:15-20 minutes. 

Ingredients

(Add it all in a bowl so the asparagus is evenly covered. Then lay them on a flat baking sheet.)

1 bunch of asparagus.

1-2 tablespoons of veggie oil/or any healthy oil you chose to use.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of hemp seed. (optional)

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of flax seeds. (optional)

1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette. ( I choose 1 tablespoon because i'm not a high fan of the flavor.)

Candied Almonds Recipe

For one of our family Christmas gatherings I made the famous candied almonds. You know the ones that  you smell in the mall this time of the year? I have decided I wanted to make the candied almonds and show off my talent. I did not have a recipe yet, therefore I searched the Internet. There were some pretty complicated recipes out there, along with some simpler ones. First thought that came to my mind was, the the more ingredients the better it would taste right? Wrong, I found some shorter recipes and tweaked them a little into my own. They were a total hit at the party and my daughters loved them also. That's a bonus. These could even make great gifts for next year.

The Simple Candied Almonds

Ingredients

3 cups of whole almonds.

2/3 cup of water

1 tablespoon of cinnamon 

1 cup of white sugar

Cooking Directions

1.) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2.) Spread the almonds on on a baking sheet evenly. place them into the oven for 8-10 minutes. Or until they are lightly brown. They smell wonderful already once you take them out.

3.)While the almonds are in the oven browning, combine the mixture of water, white sugar and cinnamon on medium heat.

4.)Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce while stirring occasionally until it starts to look syrupy and thick.(This will take about 15 minutes.)

Careful the mixture will get very hot and sticky. Plus don't forget about the almonds.

5.)Stir in the almonds cup at a time. Make sure that they all get covered.

6.) Keep cooking the mixture with the almonds in while stirring continually until the liquid appears gone and leaves a sugar coating on the almonds. (This will take about 15 minutes.)

7.)Lay out wax or parchment paper and spread the almonds evenly with a fork as quickly as you can. Let them sit for about 15 minutes again till coating is hardened. 

8.) Enjoy!