How to make bone broth

                                      

Homemade Coconut Milk and Coconut Milk Yogurt

                  

Makes 8 cups of coconut milk

Delicious and fluffy pumpkin cookie or cake recipe

These are such amazing cookies! They are light and fluffy, almost cake-like and with an awesome spiced pumpkin flavor. Try this recipe out. They are amazing!       

Yes, I sampled the one on the bottom, just to make sure. :)

Brie Puffs (our family's favorite)

Recently, hubby and I went to a very fancy restaurant and went all out. After all, it was our first alone date for hours and hours for a long time (a friend watched the kids all evening and even invited them to stay overnight...wow). We could finally take our time eating and enjoying the experience (no offense, kids).

So we ordered an appetizer that sounded delicious, and it certainly was!

The following week, I got some brie and tried to make it at home: SCORE! We found another keeper!

This can be either an appetizer or a dessert. Totally delicious either way.

Ingredients:

- brie cheese, cubed (1/2 inch or so), 24 total

- raw organic honey (or any honey you have)

- 2 boxes puff pastry (about $3.50 each, found in freezer aisle), thawed

  Note: I will eventually make this from scratch, but it is good store-bought for now.

- sliced almonds (to taste) I used about 1/2 tsp per puff

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thaw the puff pastry sheets and cut into 12 squares each (for a total of 24 squares).

Have all 3 ingredients in front of you, ready for stuffing. Brie, honey, almonds.

Grab a puff pastry square and hold it in your non-dominant hand.

Put a piece of brie in the middle of a puff pastry square.

Drizzle some honey on top (we like a lot of it).

Add as many sliced almonds as you'd like.

Close the puff pastry up into a ball, making sure all the ingredients are "trapped" inside.

Place on cookies sheet or mini muffin tin.

Do the same with the rest until all 24 balls are made.

Put in the oven for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for 5-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Optional: You can drizzle more honey on top if you'd like.

Optional: This goes really well served with grapes.

They taste great at room temperature, but they taste best when warm.

Easy Crockpot Lasagna! Delicious and Easy

I confess, I love to cook, but I love my crockpot's cooking even more! haha
I am always on the look out for delicious and easy recipes for the crockpot.
Recently, I found one online and got it as an inspiration and ran with it. This is the website I got it from (click here), but I didn't really follow it. It had too many steps and too many ingredients for my taste. I am sure it is delicious, but I was looking for something that was more practical. 
This is definitely a keeper! Everyone loved my simpler version, especially me (less to do and less to clean)! But the best part is that this recipe made enough for two meals (family of four)! 

I LOVE leftovers! I'm all about practicality!

Ingredients:

- 1lb ground beef

- lasagna noodles

- 1 jar Müir Glen Organic tomato sauce (I used tomato and basil)

- 8oz mozarella, shredded or cubed

- 8oz cottage cheese

- 1 clove garlic, crushed

- pepper to taste

- salt to taste

- Italian seasoning to taste

1.  Turn oven on to 450.

2.  Put ground beef in oven-safe glass container in oven. I like the Pampered Chef round covered baker.

3.  Leave it in for 30 minutes. Stir (I like the Pampered Chef's mix 'n chop). There shouldn't be any pink or red spots.

OPTIONAL: brown beef on the stovetop, but it needs constant supervision.

4.  Mix ground beef (cooked) with tomato sauce.

5.  In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, crushed garlic and spices.

6.  Turn crockpot on to high. Pour 1.4 cup water at the bottom.

7.  Layer bottom of crockpot with broken-up lasagna noodles.

8.  Follow by a layer of the cheese mixture.

9.  Then al layer of tomato sauce.

10. Keep layering like that until both sauces are gone (about 3 layers).

11. Put lid on crockpot and leave on high for 3 or 4 hours.

12. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Stephanie's Squash Bread Rolls Recipe

This recipe is definitely a keeper!!! Trust me!

*** My personal notes are in red.

1 1/2 cups cubed winter squash (I have used acorn squash, butternut squash and sweet potato... all delicious)
1 cup warm milk (I use almond milk or coconut milk or heavy whipping cream)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast 
1/2 cup warm water (to activate the yeast) 
6 cups all-purpose flour (I use 1-1.5 cups sorghum flour and the rest is unbromated, unbleached flour)
1/2 cup white sugar (I use coconut sugar)
2 teaspoons salt (I use Kosher salt)
1/2 cup butter (room temperature) (I use ghee -clarified butter-)
Coconut Oil (for greasing) (can use other oils if you want)

Boil or roast any winter squash (acorn, spaghetti, butternut, etc.) and mash to smooth consistency (my favorite is butternut squash) (I steam the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes or roast the winter squashes for an hour at 450)

For the next four steps, I take the easy route: I put all wet ingredients in my bread machine and then all the dry ones on top. :)
In a small bowl mix yeast and warm water together
In large kitchen aid bowl mix dry ingredients: 5 cups flour, sugar, and salt together. 
Then add wet ingredients: yeast/water mix, squash, milk, and butter. 
After well mixed (about 2 minutes) slowly add the last cup of flour and kneed on a slow setting until well blended and supple


Lightly grease a large bowl and put dough in turning it to coat with the oil. 
Put damp cloth over dough bowl and let rise for about an hour (dough should double in size) (I just unplug my bread machine and let it rise in there)

Power baking pans (for non-stickiness) (I’ve noticed greasing them tends to burn the bottoms of the rolls)
Split dough into 12-18 rolls (depending what size you want) onto pans (They turn out huge. I like to make them smaller for the kids, so I end up with at least 24 rolls)

Put damp cloth over rolls and let rise again for 30-45 minutes
Preheat oven to 400F
Bake rolls for 10-15 minutes (depending on size rolls)
Enjoy!

Recipe by my wonderful friend, Stephanie Maxwell. Thank you for letting me share!