Creamy, Double Meat Rigatoni

As I've said before, I like to experiment with food. I've also said that I win some and I loose some. I think that the more you experiment, the more you get a feel for what will go together and what won't. It just takes time, patience and a loving family. :-)

So here is a new one and I will post the ingredient list at the end. I had some lean, natural beef along with some of our pork in the freezer waiting to be used. Grabbed them both and straight from the deep freeze and plunked them into the pan on med-low with a lid. The lid not only helps keep the heat in, it keeps the moistness in the meat and from scorching as well. I check on it every 3-5 minutes and "scrape" off the cooked portions and flip the meat over. When about 3/4 of the meat is cooked, give it a teaspoon or so of some good seasoning salt. Time to start a pot of water for the Rigatoni.

Meat Tip #1: If you don't do this, you end up with a super large and thick hamburger patty. It actually cooks pretty quickly with this method, so rarely will I take ground meat out to defrost if I'm just going to be cooking ground meat.

 This makes for a lot of meat, which I will only be using about 1/3 of for this recipe. The rest, I'm going to save. Meat Tip #2: Save your meat and have a little less grease the easy way - put a folded paper towel in the bottom of your bowl and it will soak up a lot of the extra grease.

I drain the meat remaining in the pan. If you are very concerned with fat, here is Meat Tip #3: Take a wad of paper towel and wipe the pan with the meat in it and it will absorb more fat still. To the third of the meat I have left in the pan, I add 3/4 of a quart of tomatoes that had been canned with garlic and basil. I don't worry about draining this though. I want all the flavor from those liquids. I also add about 3/4 cup of frozen peas and carrots. If I had just peas, I would have used that, but the carrots did add a simple sweetness. Hopefully your water is now at a boil, so add some salt and your desired amount of noodles. Personally, I use half a box for 4 of us. Set your timer!

This does NOT show the full 3/4 of a quart of tomatoes

Here is the full tomatoes - you can see all the liquid.

Let this simmer on med to med-high. We want to reduce the liquid, while keeping the flavor and nutrients from the water. Don't think you'll miss much? Take a spoonful of the liquids and taste it....you'd miss it. Promise.

You're going to stir this mix every couple minutes - more as it thickens. What you want to get to is about this consistency (mine took about 12 minutes):

Now for the creamy. I used one half package of light cream cheese, break it into smaller pieces and place the chunks around in the sauce.

Let it melt for a minute or two and then stir. Is your mouth watering yet? YUM! Mine is again as I write this down. Noodles should be just about done - drain the noodles when your timer goes off and add your fabulous sauce.

Now it's time for eating. D decided to me my sampler. He's become more adventurous as the experiments have gotten better. That and the promise that if it's bad, he doesn't have to eat it.

Thumbs up from D-man.

Now for the ingredient list.
Creamy, Double Meat Rigatoni

1/3 lb ground beef
1/3 lb ground pork
Rigatoni - good quality
1 tsp. seasoning salt
3/4 c. peas (or peas and carrots)
3/4 qt. stewed tomatoes with garlic and basil (or add those later)
4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese

Try it, you'll like it. Let me know what you think.

Yummy and Healthy Meatloaf - Resolution No. 1

Resolution number 1. Eat healthier this year. Yes, we get our own eggs and meats, but it's more than that. Less "junk" food and more greens ... you know those things - fruits and veggies. But how?

Here is one of those old fashioned family favorites. Add some creamy mashed potatoes (or this year, maybe creamy sweet potato/cauliflower mix) and it's comfort food through and through.

But it's not one of those food that you think of when you think of the word healthy. Personally, if you like meat, I think this is one of the more healthy versions by using Beefalo and spinach. 

Corinne's Farm-style Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground Beefalo
1 lb. ground pork 
2 eggs

1 1/2-2c. Panko bread crumbs (can use regular, but I like these)
1T. herbs de providence (good use for left over lavender)
1 T. parsley
2 tsp. chives
1-2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

and my secret ingredient they boys see, but call herbs ...
1/2 box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Now quick, go start your oven to 350. I don't worry about "preheating" for this, just turn it on now.
Take your rings off for this one folks - dig in and smoosh it all together with your fingers. I used to use the food processor, but it does make it tougher and is one more tool to clean. Think of it as PlayDoh. :-) Remember how much fun that was? I loved it. And yes, this reminds me of playing with the stuff. All you are going to do is incorporate everything evenly until it looks like this:

Pretty, huh?
I then take out my 2 long, skinny bread pans, separate it into halves and there you go...

Yes, they are old, well loved pans. The aren't pretty, but they get the job done. For the most part. Anyway,
Pop them into the oven for approx 35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.

What would meatloaf be without a sauce on top? Well, mine is a little different again. Would you expect anything less? I don't have an exact measurement, but it is approximately 1/2 cup ketchup to 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (the Asian version). That's it. Mix it up, pull your meatloaf out at 30 minutes to spread a little on top and check it's temperature. Here is mine done. Not a lot of sauce as you can see.

 Notice what else is missing? I don't know if you can see it in the picture or not, but there aren't the pockets of grease or even shrinkage of the meatloaf. Lean stuff! I'm going to do a photo blog of our bacon one of these days - it is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING like the stuff you buy in the stores. Even the high end stuff. But I digress - this is a lean, healthy version of one of my old fashioned favorites. Add some mashed potatoes and maybe some green beans and you've got a comfort meal worthy of sharing with company.  Bonus: you might have enough left over for meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow. Happy eating!

Comments? Suggestions? What are some of your favorite comfort foods?

Walnuts: Farm Made Treats

Walnuts are an amazing health food.  Walnuts are one of the best plant sources of protein. Nuts in general are high in plant sterols and omega 3 fatty acids (the good fats) that have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. Walnuts, in particular, have significantly higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids when compared to other nuts.

Today I made candied walnuts (and almonds & peanuts too). I've had them by themselves, in trail mixes and sprinkled on salads - which is my favorite way! I thought after making that caramel corn earlier this week that I would give it a try and make some candied walnuts. So here is what I came up with...

1/2 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt, Kosher preferred - omit if salted nuts
2-3 c. walnuts, almonds  or peanuts
Preheat oven to 100 degrees.

Melt water and sugar in pot. Once melted continue to cook over med-high heat for 3 minutes (until boiling). Stir constantly so it doesn't burn.

Put the walnuts in a large bowl and drizzle the syrup over a few tablespoons at a time and stir, stir, stir. The nuts need to be pretty well coated with the syrup mixture. Set them aside on a baking sheet or roasting pan lined with either parchment or wax paper. Put the rest of them on the baking sheet and put them in the oven. And turn the oven off. The residual heat will do the rest.

Set your timer for 10 minutes and take them out, stir them up and then flatten them so they are in a single layer. Let it cool enough that you will not burn your tongue and then try one. You now have a healthier treat instead of plain sugary candy.

Now give my salad a try ...

Mixed baby greens
Crumbled blue cheese
Crumbled bacon
Craisins and / or chopped apples
Candied walnuts
Citrus dressing - I like to make my own from orange juice, a little squeeze of lime, canola oil, salt and honey. Nope, no recipe. Each time it comes out a little different, but I always do it to taste.

Do you like nuts? What is your favorite recipe/food/way to eat nuts?

Farm made Christmas Gifts

Tomorrow is Christmas! I am so excited - almost as much as the kids. One of the things I so enjoy doing is making special treats. No, not fruit cake (although I have had some amazing homemade fruitcakes before), but treats everyone will enjoy. When one of our friends brought caramel corn to our weekly Family Life group, I knew exactly what I was going to do with all that organic popcorn we got earlier this year. Here is my version of Kristi's Caramel Corn.

1c. organic popcorn kernels, popped
1 1/2 c. organic butter
3 c. brown sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 1/2 t. salt, Kosher preferred
1 T. real vanilla, or the seeds from inside 1 vanilla pod
2 t. baking soda
1 c. roasted, salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Melt butter,sugar and syrup in pot. Once melted continue to cook over med-high heat for 5 minutes (until boiling). Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and add in soda and vanilla. It will foam a bit and "grow", but keep stirring - about 2 minutes. 

Start with the peanuts if your adding them in. Put them in a large bowl and drizzle the syrup over (approximately 1/4 cup) and stir, stir, stir. The nuts need to be mostly coated with the syrup. Set them aside on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Add 1/4 of the popcorn in the large bowl and drizzle 1/4 of the remaining syrup over the popcorn and again stir, stir, stir. Put it on the baking sheet and repeat. You will want to have a few pans to go in the oven as it makes the next step easier.

Set your timer for 15 minutes and take your pan out and stir. Mix up the popcorn and pop it back in the oven. Do this 3 more times (for a total of an hour in the oven) stirring each time. Remove from the oven the final time, mix the nuts in and let cool.

I put the popcorn in clear cellophane plastic bags and tied with a festive ribbon. If you are not bagging it up, don't expect for it to last long. My boys will go through a bucket of this stuff in no time flat!

What is your favorite Christmas treat? Enjoy the rest of your evening and Merry Christmas from Willows Edge Farm and the Logan home.

Easy Dinner Tater Tot Casserole

Here's a quick, easy and most importantly, tasty dinner. Because of family food allergies to MSG, we do things a little different around here. So here is my Tater Tot Casserole using our own pork and chicken noodle soup ( much more affordable version) instead of ground beef and cream of ... soup.

1/2 lb. ground pork
1/4 c. flour
1 can chicken noodle soup without MSG

Ingredients

1/2 can whole milk (or half and half)

1 c. shredded white cheddar cheese
1T. parsley
1/2 t. chives
1/4 t. celery salt
1/8 t. paprika
 1/2 bag tater tots
2 fresh eggs, beaten
optional, french fried onions
Side: Green beans

Brown ground pork, and if excess fat, drain off. Move off heat and sprinkle with the flour and stir until all pork is covered. Pour in chicken noodle soup, milk, cheddar cheese and herbs and put back over heat. As it starts to simmer, you will see it thicken. Stir it occasionally so it doesn't stick and burn.

Using an 8" x 8" pan, fill the bottom with the tater tots - pretty much half a standard bag. The tots can be frozen or thawed - it's a small dish and cooks well.  Break the eggs into a cup or bowl and scramble well and then pour over the potatoes and mix. Now take your pan with the mix and pour it over the tot & egg mixture. If desired, you can add french fried onions. We love them in our family.


Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes.
We served it this time with some green bean that we froze from this summer.


Here it is, ready to eat ... I couldn't get the picture soon enough. Everyone was ready to eat!

All the ingredients that are bold in the list are things that we grew here at Willows Edge Farm this last year.

Winter

While I've never been a big fan of winter - the cold seems to zap my energy, attacks my arthritis and I feel like hibernating - there are some things I truly love.

Garden d'Lights in Bellevue

Snow covered, evergreen trees.
Ponies playing (and eating) in the snow.
Pigs playing in mud - oh how they love that.
Christmas Eve services.
Christmas.
Christmas lights, decorations and music.
Seeing The Nutcracker.
Spending time with family and friends.
Caroling.
BAKING!
Sharing the baked goods.
Bellevue's Snowflake Lane.
Being silly. Or at least sillier. 
Hot chocolate.
Real apple cider.
Driving around with the kids all bundled up in their jammies with cups of hot cocoa, looking at Christmas lights.
Wrapping presents.
Opening presents.
Surprises.
This is just a start. I think I will keep adding to it, as writing it down makes me happy. What about you? What are your favorite parts of winter?

One of the best parts of winter though is December 21st (or 22nd) when Winter Solstice appears and the days start to get longer. Little by little, we have more sun. Can you hear the excitement in my voice? If you are like me and are excited about those longer days coming, try writing a list. It really does improve your mood.