Pioneer Woman at Heart

Today I am sharing how I made these delicious breakfast "bowls" by starting with sweet potatoes. The first time I made these, I used organic hannah sweet potatoes, and this second time I used locally grown sweet potatoes (which both were very good). Prepare fresh spinach, by cleaning it, and then slicing it.  Set aside.  I used two bundles of fresh spinach.  Set aside Prepare homemade cilantro-lime sauce. In a food processer, mix 2 full cups of cleaned organic (or home grown) cilantro and: -1/2 cup organic plain Greek yogurt (I have yet to use homemade for this), plus more to thicken to your taste -juice from one lime (not the bottled kind) -1 small can of organic salsa verde (or homemade), or about 14 Tbsp.  (cut the recipe in half to reduce the amount, but we really like the sauce on this breakfast dish) -2 cloves of garlic, minced -about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper Process until smooth, and like I mentioned above, add extra yogurt to make your sauce as thick ...

I'm so tired, I forgot my blogger password this morning.  In my sleep deprived state, I also forgot to share how I made the black bean hummus.   First, I soaked a lb of dry organic black beans in water overnight.  I rinsed and drained, and cooked them. I used 2 cups of the cooked beans for the following recipe, and put the remaining beans in the refrigerator for breakfast burritos, and other meals.  You can freeze the extra beans for another meal as well.

I'm sitting in my kitchen, sipping some herbal tea, trying to be very quiet.  Hubby will need his sleep today more than ever.  Especially these next couple of days.  He's trying to be strong, but having been a "brother" to his nephew from age 4-5, he had a very tight relationship. I can't recall when his nephew wasn't there to help us in any predicament.  He never judged anyone that I know of, and was a very giving man and good father.  He held up the family for so many years, hosting get togethers at his house. I'm hoping the aroma of two large pans of stuffed chick pea shells cooling, doesn't wake Hubby up.  Thankfully, I had some help from a daughter with these.  The macaroni salad is already in the refrigerator, iced tea and water are in the car, and a bag of more food is waiting to be delivered tomorrow morning.  It's to help with the meal after the funeral.

I've never been one to eat oranges.  I'm not sure why, or maybe it was not introduced to me on a regular basis growing up?  Anyway, I am doing my best to be vigilant with all good foods this winter (on account of sickness on the rise too).  Clementines have made their way into my diet for the first time in a long time.  Regularly.  It's hard to find organic citrus this time of year too.  The store even cut back the size of bagged organic apples (so no canning applesauce yet). I have also realized, with my scale not moving for weeks, that I am not getting enough protein (or I'm building muscle right now).  I've been adding more to my breakfast and lunch now.  Black beans mashed with onion (cooked in the crock pot all day), topped with home canned yellow squash relish has been my favorite to eat with eggs lately. 

Saturday was a big shopping day.  We hit four stores to restock dog food, salt for the softener tank, organic meats, and so forth.  We had to make one stop for a new printer too.  We had the trunk filled, our stomachs were empty and screaming for dinner. Thankfully, before we left, I filled the crock pot.  It's my healthier version of Pasta e Fagoli.  I make this with whatever I have, and it always tastes good.  Some years I use tomato sauce and paste, with extra broth, but this time I used some tomato basil soup and paste.  The combination was delicious.  I just had to boil the penne noodles and add them when I got home.

We've been eating leftovers for a few days.  I cooked up a crock pot of organic black beans with onion, and those have been going fast too.  I really enjoy eating the beans with scrambled eggs, home canned zucchini salsa and a bit of cheese, all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla.  Youngest started doing this after school, and they really are delicious.

Hubby promised to do one job yesterday, so I opted for canning something quicker than tomato sauce related.  I used most of the leftover corn (off the cob) and picked some green and red peppers - corn relish. I've never canned corn relish before, but I think it will be versatile - omelets, fish, chicken, sausage, burgers.  

The pattern is real ly for a place-mat, but I call it a mug/snack rug for a foot ball fa n.  I just finished one for a Christmas present for hu bby.  These look pretty nice when they are finished. The pattern can be found at