Category: Recipes

Recipes

Thanksgiving 2018 – Our Menu

traci

Here is this year’s menu:

I’m also going to have some deviled eggs and veggies to snack on until it’s time to eat.

Here is a breakdown of when I’m going to make the different recipes so that I’m not going to be in the kitchen all day long.

Monday – Finish shopping for the perishable items. 
Make the white salad.  Hope I don’t eat all of the white salad.
Assemble the corn casserole.

Tuesday – Make the vegetarian stuffing in the slow cooker.
Make the pecan pie bubble up.
Make the whipped cream.  Make sure there is enough for the Imaginative One to taste test.

Wednesday – Make the pressure cooker mac and cheese.
Bake the pumpkin pie sheet cake.
Hope the boys have cleaned enough for us to go see Wreck It Ralph.

Thursday – Turkey
Bake the corn casserole.
Make the green bean casserole in the casserole slow cooker.
Make the stuffing in the slow cooker.
Warm the brown and serve rolls.
Make the mashed sweet potatoes in the microwave.
Take the boys to the senior center so they can help serve lunches.
Watch Moana with the boys.  (Their request)

Have a magical day,
Traci

Recipes

Swiss Heritage Center – Berne, Indiana – Part 2

traci

Swiss Heritage Center – Part 1

After we finished with the Luginbill House, we went over to the Cheese House.  We learned how they made the Amish cheese which was interesting.  Did you know they have to boil the milk in a copper pot and check the constancy later with a silver spoon?  It’s interesting how they knew how the metals interacted with the different steps of the cheese making process.

  • That post was  used to press down  the cooked milk to get the whey out.
  • The cheese maker’s room
  • The cheese maker’s room
  • The cheese maker’s room

Next we went over to the Apple Cider Press. When it was in operation, it was the biggest apple cider press in the United States.  It was not original to the Berne area but was moved to the Heritage Center from a place within 40 miles away.

The press barn was rather dark so I apologize for the quality of some of the photos.

F. William Hauenstein built this press during the Civil War.  The pressing beam was oak that at time was about 300 years old so it was already growing when Christopher Columbus arrived in the West Indies.

More info about the press

After visiting the Cider Press, we left the Heritage Center to go watch the glockenspiel at the clock tower.  Then we came back to enjoy the rest of the tour with Char.

Join me next time when we’ll visit the church and doctor’s office at the Swiss Heritage Center.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Hubby, Photography, Recipes, travel

Swiss Heritage Center – Berne, Indiana – Part 1

traci

Random photos of Berne, Indiana

As I previously said, Berne, Indiana really did not have a lot to explore.  If you wanted Amish furniture, you could certainly find it.  The clock tower and the architecture is wonderful.  It’s a small town so there is not much there.

There is one other interesting place.  That is the Swiss Heritage Center. Berne was settled by Amish and Mennonites immigrants from Switzerland.  They were being persecuted in their native country so they came to America.  Eventually they moved and settled in Adams and Allen County.  

We were pleasantly surprised when we got to the Heritage Center. They had a guide to take us around the grounds which was neat.  The guide was a 73 year old lady named Char.  She was a wonderful storyteller.  It was almost as though she was there when the American flag was being created or when the Amish were being persecuted in Switzerland.  Hubby kept wanting her to tell us more.

She had a golf cart for her to ride from place to place. There was a total of four guests plus herself trying to get on this golf cart more than once.  Some of the buildings were a small distance.  On a nice day, it would be a good stroll.  Not on the chilly and then rainy day we visited.

The first building we visited was the One Room School Room.  She talked about the reasons why girls were more educated than boys, the history of the American flag, and how many school buildings were in the county at one point.  

  • Ringing the bell
  • In Trouble

After we left the schoolhouse, we went to the Lunginbill House.  The Lunginbill House was the house of Peter and Barbara Luginbill. It was built in 1856 and moved to the Heritage Center in 1987.  

While we were in house, we learned about the typical day of the family, how they built the original house, and how they made soap back in the day.  Char also told stories about Barbara.


Join me next time for the cheese making shed and apple cider mill.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Recipes

Menu Plan Tuesday – Week of October 14th – Day 13 of 31

traci

I keep falling further and further behind on my Write 31.  I’ve mind mapped out the recipes I would like to share during the remainder of this year’s Write 31.  Last night instead of writing, I was cleaning out my pajama drawer and my wardrobe.

I could almost wear a different pair of pajamas for about 2.5 weeks.  While cleaning out the pajama drawer, I threw away some of the pajamas.  They were old and tattered.  No one would want them.

This weekend I also went through some photos of mine.  In 2001 and 2002, my mom, Tanya, and I went on two different trips to Hershey, PA.  On one of them, we traveled to Pittsburgh to visit family while on the other we visited Gettysburg and then Virginia.  I could not remember which trip was which one.

Speaking of those trips, one of the pajamas I threw away was a pair of American flag shorts.  I could wear them out and about back in those years because those trips were pre-kids.  Why did I still have those shorts?

Anyway I’m going to share with you some of the photos from the 2002 trip.  I did not know that a year later I was going to be a first time mother.

One of our friends lives/ lived in Colonial Beach, Va which is on the Chesapeake River.  We visited him for a few days.

While we were there, we visited George Washington’s birthplace.

We also visited a winery that was close to our friend’s house.

 

Here are some pictures from our drive home.  I thought the ice cream machine was cool.  You picked the ice cream and then it sucked it up.  So neat!

Anyway, thank you for walking down memory lane.

Now onto the menu for this week:

Sunday – Lentil loaf, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and roasted veggies

Monday – Mandarin “chicken” with rice

Tuesday – Pierogies and veggies

Wednesday – Minestrone Soup

Thursday – Minestrone Soup

Friday – No kids – Mini Freezer Pizza

Saturday – Out to eat

 

Happy Vegetarian eating,
Traci

 

Meal prep, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes – Day 12 of 31

traci

I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL for the past few days.  I’ve been exhausted and had ZERO writing bug.  Every time I thought about writing, I was like Nah!

So today I’m back with the writing.

On Thursday, I shared with you my favorite meat substitutes.  Today I’m going to share one of the ways I use the meat substitute.

One of our favorite meals is sloppy Joes.  So instead of eating Sloppy Joes with ground beef, I make mine with the meat substitute.

What you need:

  • 1 batch of the meat substitute
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 bell pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 sm. can of tomato paste (6 oz)
  • 1 sm. can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
  • yealow mustard
  • apple cider vinegar
  • brown sugar
  • chili powder
  • salt and pepper

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

-1 batch of the meat substitute 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil -1/2 bell pepper, finely diced -2 garlic cloves, minced -1 yellow onion, minced -1 sm. can of tomato paste (6 oz) -1 sm. can of tomato sauce (8 oz) -1 Tbsp. yellow mustard -2 tsp. apple cider vinegar -2 tsp. brown sugar -1 & 1/2 tsp. chili powder -salt and pepper to taste


Directions

  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, meat substitute, peppers, garlic, and onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the peppers and onions are tender.
  2. Turn the heat down to medium low heat. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and spices. Stir until combined.
  3. Cover. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. While it’s simmering, make sure you stirring it every so often.
  4. Serve on a bun with cheese if desired. Enjoy!

 

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

My favorite homemade meat substitute – Day 11 of 31

traci

As I previously said, I don’t like textured vegetable protein as a meat substitute.  The only one I enjoy is the Ground “Beefless” Beef from Trader Joes.

Sometimes I want to make one without any weird ingredients.  So I found a way to have a meat substitute with only 2 ingredients.

Mushrooms can have a meatly taste to them depending on how you cook them.

Cashews provide the “crunch” and texture you get with browned ground beef.

Vegetable meat substitute

It’s so easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes to put together.

So what do you need to make this meat substitute?

  • 4 to 5 cups of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup raw cashews

Combine in a food processor.  Pulse for 10 to 12 times until the pieces are minced but not pureed.

That’s all you need to make the meat substitute.  Pretty easy.

Tomorrow I’ll share one way I use the meat substitute.

Until then, happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

local eats, local sights, photograph, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

Boy, Was It Hot! – What I ate at the Outdoor Experience – Day 9 of 31

traci

During the first weekend in October, a local park has an Outdoor Experience.  Visitors can try out different outdoor experiences, watch dogs jump off a dock, and camp out, etc . . .

You never know what the weather is going to be like during this experience.  Sometimes it is cold, cool, or even wet.  This year it was record temperatures.  It was 80 some degrees outside.

The Imaginative One got super hot and didn’t feel good for a while.  He got some water and sat in the shade for a little bit and then felt better.

So what did I eat at this Outdoor Experience?

There was a lot of vegetarian options at the different food trucks.  Vegan quesadillas at one food truck, hummus and pita at the Gyro food truck, and a red bean and lentil burger at another food truck.  I chose one of my favorite food trucks to get my lunch.

I love Harvest especially the fries from there.  The fries are a mixture of russets and sweet potato with herbs and a sriracha ketchup.  Super yummy!

Harvest sign

Here is a list of what they had as choices.  As you can see there was 3 vegetarian options plus the fries.  It was a tough decision because I almost bought all 3 options.

Harvest sign 2

The Sprouts, Melt, and Black Bean and Quinoa Falfel Tacos were my choices.  I went with the Melt because you can’t go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Melt and Freies

As soon as Hubby saw my fries, he made a bee line to Harvest to get his own order.  I shared my fries with the Wee One.  He’s the more adventurous eater.  He also tried the sriracha ketchup.  Didn’t like it though.

I also got a frozen lemonade that I forgot to take photo.  I shared that with the Wee One.

The Wee One and Hubby went off to ride in the kayaks so I had the Imaginative One who got super hot.  We ended up getting food at a food truck called the McNasty.

McNasty

The Imaginative One was able to get a burger there.  I ate some Butter Pecan Ice Cream from my favorite dairy.

butter pecan

So that’s what I ate at the Outdoor Experience.

Do you want to see some photos from the experience?

Wee One and dogThe Wee One told me that all the dogs visiting the Outdoor Experience must be what Heaven is like.  He told me that he wants to be a professional dog petter as an adult.

Thank you random stranger who stood there while he got a photo with his dog.

Dog jumping – So cool!  One jumped 18 feet!

The Wee One kayaking.

 

Slack line

 

Very hot penguin – The Imaginative One told me he would quit if he dressed in a costume like the penguin on a hot day like Sunday.

penguin

High wire

White water

Now onto a serious matter.  As you can see all of my family members are wearing life jackets.  After the experience closed for the year, a man in his 50s went into the river without a life jacket.  They are currently searching for his body now.  Such a sad situation to a great festival.  Please pray / send good thoughts to that family.

Life jackets are important.  Please wear them.

Hope you enjoy my photos from the Outdoor Experience.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

Meal prep, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

Better than Restaurant Oven Home Fries – Day 7 of 31 (Sheet pan recipe)

traci

While I was sick with my gallstones last year,  I had one food that did not bother my stomach.  Okay, it did bother me if it was greasy but if it was cooked with no oil or grease, I had little to no problems.

Potatoes were my friend during those 4 months.  I would spiralize potatoes and then cook up like hash browns on the stove.

That is until I started to cook the home fries in my oven.  We love a roasted potato in the household so this made things so much easier.

Hubby might debate if these potatoes are better than the ones we get at a local breakfast place called Butter Cafe.  He adores their home fries.

What you need:

  • 2 red potatoes or 4 to 5 baby red potatoes
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • olive oil
  • garlic powder or your favorite seasoning

Oven Home Fries

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 2 red potatoes, cubed, or 4 to 5 baby red potatoes, quartered or even cut into eighths
  • 1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 to 1 red onion, cut into chunks
  • 1 Tbsp. extra olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic powder or your favorite seasoning


Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place the potatoes, bell pepper, and onion on a rimmed baking sheet.
  3. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the veggies. Using clean hands or a spatula make sure the veggies are covered with the oil.
  4. Sprinkle the seasoning over the veggies.
  5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 425 degrees.
  6. Enjoy!

I enjoy using the onion salt from Trader Joes on my potatoes.

We love to use sriracha ketchup from Red Gold on our fries and roasted potatoes.

This recipe is not only vegetarian but also vegan. Score!

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

Meal prep, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

Sometimes You Need “Beef” Tacos – Day 6 of 31

traci

I’m teaching my students how to write narratives so I’ve been doing a lot of model writing for them.  A good narrative has a hook that gets the reader to want to read your story.  This is a skill that I struggle with when I’m writing my blog posts.

However it is important for a writer to have a hook so you can get the reader wanting to read what you have written.

Just like a writer needs to have a hook, sometimes you need a beef taco.  Since I’m a vegetarian, I don’t have the typical beef taco.

I’ve tried TVP which is textured vegetable protein but it usually turns into a brown soupy mess.  Yuck!  Not appetizing.

Then I tried the Beefless Ground Beef along with their soy chorizo.  It’s just the right texture.

“Beef” tacos get into my belly.

What you need:

  • a third of a package of Trader Joe’s “beefless” ground beef
  • a third of a package of Trader Joe’s soy chorizo
  • a third of a jar of Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce

  • Servings: 2 to 3 tacos
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

-1/3rd of a package of Trader Joe’s “beefless” ground beef -1/3rd of a package of Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, make sure you take the casing off -1/3rd of a jar of Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce (You may need a little more.) -tortillas (hard or soft) -Your favorite toppings


Directions

  1. Combine the “beefless” ground beef, soy chorizo, and enchilada sauce in a sauce pan.
  2. Cook on medium heat until heated through. (Add more sauce if you discover it’s not coated enough.)
  3. Enjoy on your a hard shelled or soft shelled tortilla with your favorite toppings.

This recipe is vegan before you add your toppings.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

Meal prep, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

Snack Boxes – The Hard Boiled Egg Version (Vegetarian Meal Prep) – Day 4 of 31

traci

If I don’t have a plan of what I am going to eat during the week, then I feel out of sync.

There are some weeks that I know that all I’m going to be able to eat is snacky types of foods.  Foods that I can eat while working at my desk or even sometimes between students.

Here’s one idea for a snacky type snack box.  I call it my Hard Boiled Egg version.

I’m a vegetarian but not a vegan.  I still eat dairy and eggs.

IMG_20180819_195639_995.jpg

What You’ll Need for these Snack Boxes:

  • Hard boiled egg(s) – Store bought or make at home – Instant Pot or oven method 
  • Hummus – Homemade or Store bought
  • Your favorite snacking veggie – sliced cucumber, snap peas, carrot sticks, celery sticks
  • Slices of cheese
  • Mini Croissants, crackers, or some other carb
  • A container to put the snack in, cupcake wrappers (silicone or paper), and small containers to put the hummus in

To assemble the Snack Box:

  • Place in the container.  I used the cupcake wrapper for the egg so that it was separated from rest of the food.  You can leave the peel on or off.  It really does not matter.
  • I put the mini croissant in a small sandwich bag to keep it fresh.
  • The hummus was placed in a small container that I purchased at the dollar store.
  • Use within 4 days.

When you make the hard boiled eggs, it is best to use the eggs that have been in your fridge the longest but are not expired.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci