Russian Tea; A Family Recipe

One of the flavors of my childhood Christmas was Russian Tea.
 My mother would make it and we would drink it by the gallons. 
In my opinion it is even better than hot chocolate. There is nothing better to warm my insides after a day spent outside playing in the cold snow. 
I have no idea why it is called Russian tea. None of the ingredients have anything very Russian about them. This recipe was passed down from my Aunt to my Mom and from my Mom to me. And now from me to you! 
It has been a few years since I have had any of the tea made up for the holidays.  Recently Hunky Hubby reminded me about it, thinking the boy tribe would enjoy it. 
He was so right!  

Let me share the recipe, so that your family can enjoy it too.
* disclaimer:
This tea has no health benefits. It just tastes good!

Collect your ingredients:

I was able to find everything at my local Wal-mart store.

You will need:

4 Cups instant lemonade powder

2 Cups TANG

1 Cup instant unsweetened tea

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground cloves

Stir it all together. I like to mix all of my ingredients into a big bowl, and then transfer it to a storage jar.

I keep mine in a jar on the counter. Doesn't it look pretty? Sometimes I think it should be called tiger tea because of the stripes that appear when you pour it in a jar. 

Add about 3 TBS to a mug and fill with hot water.

Stir, and enjoy! 

The flavor is very citrusy and not very tea like. That's why my kids like it. But the spices add just the right amount of something to make it delicious. 

You can make a large batch and fill up mason jars to pass out to friends as Christmas presents. Trust me, they will thank you for it. 

Recipe: Mexican Rice

Did I ever tell you about the most amazing Mexican rice recipe I have ever tasted?

I don't think I did.

Because I am a loving person, I will share this recipe with you today.

I am fairly certain that I got this recipe from homesicktexan.blogspot.com.

I love this rice because it has so much flavor.  

So much Spanish/Mexican rice that I have tasted is just too blah. It tastes more like chicken stock than anything remotely Spanish flavored.  

Not this rice.  

It has copious amounts of tomato, lime, and cilantro flavors bursting out of it. 

Mmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

It is a perfect compliment to fajita's, taco's, quesadilla's, enchilada's, tamale's or any other Mexican dish you love!

You can practically see the flavor! 

Here is the recipe: 

Mexican Rice from homesicktexan.blogspot.com

1 C - rice

2 C -chicken broth

1 TBS - butter

1 TBS - olive oil

1 - small onion, diced

4 - cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C - tomato paste

1 TBS - lime juice

1/2 C - cilantro

1 TBS - cumin

salt to taste

-Add rice, broth and butter to pot.

-bring to a boil on High, stir once and cover

-simmer on low for 20 minutes

- remove from heat and keep covered for an additional 10 minutes

- meanwhile in a large skillet cook onion in olive oil until just about brown.  Add garlic to pan, stir and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in tomato paste and cumin. Cook for 1 minute. 

- mix in cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro. 

Season to taste and enjoy!

It is so tasty! 

You'll be glad you made it.

Trust me! 

These Pancakes Will Change Your Life - Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I'm being serious.  These pancakes quite literally changed my life.

I fell in love with the first bite and haven't recovered yet.

I ate them 3 weeks ago.

Just looking at the pictures is causing me to salivate and swoon. 

These pancakes are in no way healthy, or low calorie.  Which is why they taste so good! 

I cannot remember a food that tasted just as decadent, amazing, delicious, and satisfying as these pancakes.  The last bite was every bit as good as the first, except you cried a little because you knew it was over.

I am not exaggerating.

Try them for yourself.

These will be our new Christmas morning tradition.

They are just what I've been waiting for. The perfect blend of flavors and textures.

They are worth every calorie. 

They are also worth every dirty dish and extra step it takes to make them.

Be prepared to have your taste buds changed forever.

Mmmm - mmmm - mmmmm.

I got the recipe off a page on Face Book called Texas Recipe's.


Cinnamon Roll Pancakes: 

* I would cut this recipe in half if you are only making them for your family. 
This recipe makes an extra large batch. 


*for the Pancakes:
4 cups all-purpose flour
8 tsps baking powder
2 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
4 tbsps vegetable oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

*for the Cinnamon Filling
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

*for the Cream Cheese Glaze
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

To make the Cinnamon Filling:
Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end off or put in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off.


To make the Pancakes:
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir them together until everything is moistened leaving a few lumps.

Heat your griddle to exactly 325 degrees. You don't want these too cook too quickly, and you won't want your cinnamon to burn.

Make desired size pancake on greased griddle and then using the piping bag and starting at the center of the pancake, create a cinnamon swirl. Wait until the pancake has lots of bubble before you try to turn it. You will find that when you turn it the cinnamon swirl will melt. The cinnamon will melt out and create the craters which the cream cheese glaze will fill.

To make the Cream Cheese Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and cream cheese and then stir together. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk if needed to make
it a glaze consistency. 
Place pancake on plate, then cover with cream cheese glaze. 

Be prepared to be amazed.
Oh, oh, oh so good! 
Oh, and just to brag on him a little bit, yes Hunky Hubby did make these.  He is the breakfast chef after all! 
I know, I'm spoiled. 
Please don't hate me.

To Whom Much is Given

Here are a few photo's from our Thanksgiving celebration.

I think this is the first time I cooked the bird in my own home. I still had my mom to help me though.

Even though it would be an intimate dinner for 7, I wanted to make it special.  So I went to Pinterest and found these cute owls made out of paper sacks. 

I thought they would make cute place cards.

I put the boys, and my friend Megan, to work.

I think they let her do all the hard stuff.

It's really hard to teach chivalry.

Is there chivalry when it comes to cutting and pasting?

Seth had his duties, and Tate had his. Between the two of them, they finished them up. Although it's a good thing they had al day.

They were a pretty easy craft and they were made with things I already had on hand.  Considering how long I had  all of the supplies, they were basically free for us to make.

I think the little guys helped make our table look festive. I don't do center pieces. Although pretty, they are also annoying. Either you can't see the person across the table, or there isn't enough room for food.  I am a firm believer that people only do center pieces for magazine pictures and for those dining rooms that are always set but never used.

Since Wyat's cutting skills aren't up to snuff for circles yet and he needs to be monitored when glue is around, I made him my assistant baker. He strapped on an apron and had a ball mixing,

dumping,

and licking.

I figure that's half the reason you bake things in a hot oven. So it kills the bacteria.

Right?

This is my favorite. Just look at how cute he is, concentrating on getting the crust just right.

Sigh*

 We made a Walnut Streusel Pumpkin Pie that was a hit with the hubs, and not too complicated. We also made another dessert, because pumpkin pie makes me gag.
We made this beautiful Peach-Blueberry Crumble Tart.
It was YUM!
I got both recipe's from the Oct/Nov 2012 issue of Taste of Home Magazine.
I like that magazine a lot, but I like it's sister magazine Simple and Delicious even more.

Even though I'm the only person that gags on pumpkin pie, everyone wanted to try my dessert too. So I only got one piece. Don't feel sorry for me though. It was a good piece.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

I love that it hasn't been commercialized and we get together simply to enjoy one another's company and to express our gratitude for the year behind us and before us.

There was such abundance at our table.  Not only an abundance of food, which we had more than enough of, but family, health, love, joy, God, and so much more.

I couldn't help but think about those around the world who don't have as much as I do.  Those who would do almost anything to possess what I too often take for granted.  Those who, if were allowed to sit at my table would have gorged themselves sick on better food than they have ever eaten in their life. Or those who would have been sickened by what we throw away after we are done. Those who would have sat in tears at the opportunity to join hands with family.  Those who don't know the love of Christ.

I have so much.

The Bible says "Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required." (Luke 12:49)

I have been given much.

I need to give much. 

We all have something we can give. Whether it's a kind word, money, companionship, food, love or help.  There is some way we can give of ourselves, our time, our resouces, to another.

I'm going to spend this year praying about what God wants me to give.

And then I'll pray for the strength to do it.

Roasted Garden Veggies

Did anyone garden this summer?

Or maybe you are a fan of the local Farmer's Market? 

You may be wondering what to do with the abundance of amazing produce you have gathered from either your personal garden or from produce you've bought or been given from a neighbor. 

Let's be real, no one can eat all the zucchini that comes out of their own garden.  It needs to be passed along.   And passed along again, and again.

 

 

I am more of a summer squash fan myself. I know that there aren't many differences between a zucchini and a summer squash, but I love the bright yellow skins.  If you've been graced with an abundant crop of garden veggies, you may be running out of ideas on how to eat them. I thought I 'd share one of my favorite ways with you. 

I like to make a roasted vegetable medley. 

You can use almost any combination that you like.

In the pictures below you will see cauliflower, summer squash, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, broccoli, red potatoes, carrots, and onions.

 

 

I dice everything up, put it all in a bowl, and then drizzle olive oil on top. I mix it up so that all the veggies have a light coat of oil on them. 

Then I add the seasoning.

Some of my favorites to use are rosemary, garlic, salt and fresh ground pepper.  But you can add almost anything that makes you salivate.  I don't use measurements, I just sprinkle until it looks right.

 

Mix it all together really well. Then spread it out on a cookie sheet.  I usually bake it at about 375 to 400.  You do have to keep an eye on things so they don't get over done. Usually 20 minutes will do it.  I like my veggies cooked so that they are still al little crisp.

You could also package this all up in an aluminum foil packet and throw it on the grill.

Roasted veggies make a delicious accompaniment to any summer meal. 

Go gather up your fresh veggies and roast away, you'll be glad you did.

It's so good.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

                Jana

A Bowl Full of Yummy!

In my quest to eat healthier I learned that eating more fiber is a good thing.

So I went looking for some high fiber recipe's.

Did you know that dried beans have a good amount of fiber in them?

Since I like to feed my inner Mexican, I have always wanted a good Mexican rice and beans recipe.
I stumbled upon this recipe on the website, Home Sick Texan. 

This just goes to show you that sometimes it pays to read through that loooooooong list of comments at the bottom.  Because that's where I found this recipe.  Hidden down there in the comments list.  It was posted by a woman named Kelly and she credits the Houston Chronicle Newspaper.  Where it came from beyond that point, the world may never know. I'm just glad she put it on there, because it is sooooo good. 

I made the dish with bacon, but if you had smoked ham hocks, this would be a good time to use those up.  I think you could make it without the meat too and it would still be good.  I ended up serving these beans over white rice, I just thought putting them over Mexican rice would be too much.

PAPPASITO'S FRIJOLES A LA CHARRA (PINTO BEAN SOUP)
Makes about 1/2 gallon

3/4 lb. dried pinto beans
3 quarts water, divided use
3/8 lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch squares
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white onion
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
3 to 4 Tbsp. chopped cilantro, divided use
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (cominos)
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
3/4 Tbsp. salt
1 cup chopped Roma tomatoes

Soak beans in 2 quarts water 8 hours.

Drain beans and set aside.

In a 1 gallon heavy pot, cook bacon until well done. Do not under cook or it will look raw in finished product.

Add onions, garlic, 1 to 2 Tbsp. and chopped cilantro to hot bacon and cook until onion is transparent, about 10 minutes.

Add the drained beans, cumin and chili powder. Stir and add remaining 1 quart water. Turn heat to medium-low. Stir in salt. Cook beans slowly until fork tender, about 1 hour. Stir frequently to avoid burning the bottom.

Stir in tomatoes and remaining cilantro and heat through.

Serve in bowls.

Beans may be cooled to below 40 degrees, then reheated when ready to serve.

Source: Houston Chronicle newspaper
___________________________________________________________________________________

This dish was actually a hit with my kids, and my husband. I didn't even make any corn bread to complete the meal.
There was a chorus of mmm's and yum's all around the table as we filled our belly's with a bowl full of yummy.
A very satisfying feeling for a mama who wants some yummy and kinda healthy food to feed herself and her family.

Let me know if you give this recipe a try.  It has my five star (*****) recommendation.

I plan to go back to the Home Sick Texan website and try out that Mexican rice recipe.  I'll let you know how it turns out after I do.

5:09 PM