Vacation: Is it worth it?

My extended family goes on vacation together at the end of July every year.  It's clearly the best time-choice considering that we go up into Canada and spend a week on a lake there.  Late July means less black flies, hot sun and warm water.

And yet no matter how hard we try, it's a crumby time of year to get away.  Every year, Jamey tries his hardest to take into consideration when we'll be away as he plants corn.  He plants different varieties and staggers the plantings, always attempting to hug either side of vacation week.  Instead, every year, we are up late the night before leaving husking, blanching, cutting, and freezing corn.

The tomatoes love to send us off on our travels, too.  It's as if they're using all our well-timed and planned energy against us and instead fight their darnedest to see us off.  And so, the day before we leave (when I should be packing) I'm washing, de-stemming and halving tomatoes to be thrown in the freezer for when I return.

Then there is all the preparations needed for leaving that has nothing to do with packing and preparing a week's worth of food to take along.  One teenage family friend to come and feed/water the pigs, ducks, chickens, and cat (and collect eggs).  A neighbor to gather mail, pick ripening corn and mow for us (they were so gracious to offer to mow).  A cousin's son to cut, bunch and put out sunflowers to keep Sam's business going (Sam paid him, of course) and not waste the yellow beauties.  Oh, and the hamster (did you know Sadie now has a hamster?) was passed to a friend to be hamster-sat (not to be mistaken for the action of sitting on a hamster).

I know that people who live on real farms rarely go anywhere and I completely understand why.

And then there's the coming home.  The long drive overnight to avoid traffic, lines at the border as well as bathroom and food stops (most everyone is sleeping).  After crashing into bed for a few hours of sleep, we're up working hard to unpack and make up for all the time lost while we were away.

My first order of business was to check on our peaches- were they still there?  Well, it appears that our strange carpet tacking strips did the job and kept peach-hungry critters at bay!

We harvested peaches and winter squash, picked tomatoes and peppers, tended to the animals, unpacked and did load after load after load of laundry.  Sam and I worked on getting more sunflowers out by the road.  The hamster needed collecting and we checked in with friends and neighbors who helped hold down the funny farm fort while we were away.

But it's not over yet.  The next several days meant batch after batch of tomato sauce, canning and freezing peaches, sticky floors, piles of dishes, tired legs and feet, and one dehydrated body (why do I always forget to drink when I'm working in the kitchen)?

So.  I pose this question to you.  For all the preparation before and all the catch up work after, is going away worth it to you?

For me, it is.  It's a hiatus.  It's a dream within a dream. It's time to reconnect with nature, family and myself.  And, truth be told...I'd do it six times a year if I could.

 view from the boat

 view from alone time in the cabin

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Worth It or Not? (IV)

Need some more dinner ideas that have been tried, posted about, tried and posted about again?  Well, that's what I'm here for (well...when the Spirit and recipes move me, that is).

Today we'll start with Pioneer Woman's Taco Pizza.  I must begin by saying that I didn't follow this recipe exactly.  I didn't have any fresh tomatoes.  Hello?  I don't see them until August.  I also didn't bother to slice up tortillas, fry them and sprinkle them on top.  Garnishes just aren't that important to me, although I'm sure they would give this pizza a nice crunch.  It goes like this...top your pizza dough with black beans mashed with taco seasoning, then shredded cheese and bake it.  Next, top with shredded lettuce and drizzle with a sour cream and hot sauce mixture.

Next time, I will increase the hot sauce amount- I could hardly taste it.  I also drizzled some of my thawed cilantro sauce on top instead of using fresh.  Jamey loved it and I was oddly more impressed with it two days later.  I was incredibly surprised that the leftovers kept well (with the lettuce on top and all).  Somehow the flavors blended better two days later.  Good thing- I now really like it:-).

PW's Taco Pizza:  Worth It if you need a new twist for the grown-ups on pizza night, which we did.

Next, I want to tell you about Simply In Season's Chicken Stir-Fry.  This really isn't a fair review because I'm reviewing my own review.  But, it's just delicious.  I made it again recently and thought you needed to be reminded of it.  It has one of the yummiest stir-fry sauces I've ever tasted.

Simply In Season's Chicken (or Tofu) Stir-Fry: Worth It One Hundred Times Over


Back a few months ago, I started reading Canadian Doomer.  She talks a lot about food preservation and preparedness and she's beginning to convince me that I may need to get over myself and buy a pressure canner.  Anyway, the other week she posted a recipe for Stuffed French Toast.  It called for no sugar (only honey) so I had to give it a try.  It was the perfect way for me to use up the bread crusts and eggs I had on hand.  Boy, was it yummy.  A drizzle of real maple syrup on top would have put it over the top- not because it wasn't sweet enough, but because I just really like real maple syrup:-).

CD's Stuffed French Toast:  Worth It, especially if you have some real maple syrup to drizzle on top.

Next up, is another PW dish, her Sour Cream Noodle Bake.  I tried this recipe because it looked simple and like something my whole family would like.  Both suspicions were correct.  The family liked it and it was easy to put together.  I wouldn't call it fabulous, but if you need another crowd-pleaser in your repertoire, this could be it.

 

PW's Sour Cream Noodle Bake:  Worth It if you need a crowd-pleaser that's easy and you're not up to being blown away by dinner.

Okay, this next one is a real winner.  I needed a baked ziti recipe to take to a church function, so I went searching.  There were going to be other baked ziti dishes there (this was the main course), so I thought finding a recipe that was a little different might give us some variety.  I was really pleased with this.  It incorporated spinach, pesto and sausage (I used ground sausage).  You make your own sauce with the sausage, canned tomatoes (I used stewed), pesto, etc.  You combine this with the cooked ziti/spinach/cheese mixture.  Now this is a crowd-pleaser that is fabulous.  Thank you Bon Appetit via Epicurious- Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes.

Epicurious' Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes (and Sausage and Pesto):  Worth It, Worth It, Worth It!

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Worth It or Not? (III)

Need some more dinner ideas that have been tried, posted about, tried and posted about again?  Well, that's what I'm here for (well...when the Spirit and recipes move me, that is).

The first one up today is Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas by PW.  I even went out and bought fresh mushrooms for this.  I substituted Monterrey Jack cheese for Fontina, but I did use goat cheese.  You MUST use goat cheese.  It makes these quesadillas roll-your-eyes-into-the-back-of-your-head amazing.  They turned out great- straight forward, easy to make and delicious.  My only regret was that I didn't make more.

PW's Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas: Worth It (over and over)

Next, I tried Jennifer Jo's Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Boiled Eggs.  Well, at least I tried to make it.  I ended up butchering it (sorry, dear), but it still came out amazing which says a lot for this recipe.  I didn't realize until I started dinner that most of my white potatoes had sprouted, so I had to use 1/3 sweet potatoes.  This added nice color but I was worried it would add too much sweet.  Thankfully, it didn't.  I also pureed the soup with my hand blender (thinking the kids would like it better this way) and it turned into the most thick and silky soup I think I've ever made.  I had no cream, so I used a combo of skim milk and sour cream which caused no harm.  I also stirred the grated cheese into the soup instead of garnishing with it.  The bacon and hard boiled eggs make the soup exciting but even without them (my kids passed on the garnishes), all three kids ate it right up.

So, as you can see, I hardly adhered to the actual recipe, but the heart of it remained and we all loved it.

My adaptation of JJ's Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Boiled Eggs:  Worth It

Lastly, I tried Zoë's Baked Lentils with Cheese.  This could be considered a Simple Meal Idea and since I haven't posted one lately, I'm going to call it that.  I loved how I was able to put all the ingredients into one baking dish, leaving me with no pots and pans to wash up.  This is another straight forward and easy recipe and it has everything you need- lentils, vegetables and cheese- another winner from Zoë.

Zoë's Baked Lentils with Cheese:  Worth It!

And, I'm happy to say that I'm not leaving out the duds- I just haven't tried any duds lately.  That's lucky for me and for you:-). Pin It

Worth It or Not? (II)

Read the first Worth It or Not? post here.  These posts include my impressions of online recipes I've tried.  I include flops and successes alike.

I have three recipes to present to you this week and all three are keepers.  Here we go....

First off, I'll tell you about Pioneer Woman's Mexican Lasagna which is actually a recipe from her friend, Pastor Ryan.  This recipe makes A TON of food.  As I was making it, I kept thinking to myself that this was never going to fit into the 9x13" pan I had laid out.  The recipe said to use a "large casserole or baking dish".  I ended up using both a 9x13 and an 8x8" pan- and they were full to the brim even though I ended up using half of the beef, tortillas, cheese, corn, and green salsa the recipe called for.  I'm too thrifty, I guess.  Even with those cut backs, my pans were full.  The other change I made was that I used brown rice instead of Basmati.

Okay, so while I'm cooking up this mammoth of a meal, I kept wondering if it was really going to be all that good.  There were several different flavors going on- taco seasoning (I opted for the spice combo he suggested if you don't have a packet on hand), green salsa, and enchilada sauce.  I mean, it all went together, but I wasn't sure.

I still wasn't sure after the first bite, but I think it was my skepticism, because every bite after I enjoyed and Jamey raved throughout the entire meal.  Sam even ate it and he hates rice, beans and meat.  So, there.

Will I make it again?  Yes.  Especially if company is coming.  It makes a lot and the 8x8 bonus that's in my freezer will be perfect for some Sunday lunch.

PW's Mexican Lasagna:  Worth It.

Next, I want to tell you about Zoë's (from Whole Eats & Whole Treats) Asian Noodles.  I am a huge fan of savory peanut dishes and I've seen lots of peanuty-noodle recipes out there but none grabbed my attention like Zoë's.  This dish was delicious.  I even ate it cold out of the fridge the next day for a mid-morning snack.  I really did.  The one suggestion I would make would be to increase the amount of pasta by 1/4 pound.  There was plenty of delicious sauce, so I felt it could go just a little further.  Honestly?  Maybe I just wanted there to be more.  Sadie wished there was more, too.  As did Jamey.  And Miriam.  Sam, unfortunately, is not fond of pasta, the poor boy.

Zoë's Asian Noodles:  SO Worth It.

Last, but not least, is Deb's Black Bean Pumpkin Soup from over at Smitten Kitchen.  The idea of using some of my pureed pumpkin from the freezer is what drew me to this recipe.  The addition of ham intrigued me.

So, my first attempt at making this soup failed from the get-go because I forgot to thaw and cook the ham.   Minor detail.  The second day, my plans were foiled again because I know NOTHING (so it seems) about preparing meat and I cooked up pork chops expecting them to turn into the diced, cooked ham the recipe called for.

So.  The cooked pork-chop-looking-things went into the fridge and I commenced with the recipe hoping it would still be good.  I ended up altering it in several other ways as well, so I'll just give you my version below.

This soup was fabulous!!  You may not believe me, but I'm going to tell you something.  My 20 month old pushed her empty bowl to me and said, "More soup."  My eight year old, forever-a-skeptic at meal times, liked it.  My five year old liked it.  Jamey LOVED it.  And, I did too.  Also, a keeper.  We served it with toasted and buttered Oatmeal Rolls.

Deb's Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup:  Worth It, Worth It, Worth It!

Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup (Adapted from Deb's recipe which came from Gourmet Magazine, November 1996)   
Yields: about 9 cups.  Just a note- you can't taste the pumpkin in this recipe, but it helps bulk and thicken the soup and adds additional nutrients (as well as alleviates the frozen purred pumpkin content of your freezer).

3 (15 1/2 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint stewed/canned tomatoes, with juice
3 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin (I used butternut squash puree)
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tbsp. lime juice (bottled or fresh)

In a food processor, coarsely puree beans and tomatoes.  Set aside.

In a large cooking pot, saute onion and garlic in butter until soft.  Add the cumin, salt, and pepper and continue to cook until onions begin to brown. Stir in the tomato and bean puree. Stir in broth and pumpkin.  Bring to a boil and let simmer 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and lime juice.  Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

At this point, you can leave it a tad chunky or you can puree it further with your hand blender like I did.  I thought the kids might like it better this way- and they did! Pin It

Worth It or Not?

Let's play a little game called "Worth It or Not?"  It will be really easy.  I'll give you the answers and everything.  Below are some online recipes I've made recently.  Some I'll make again and one I will not.   Here we go!

The first recipe I want to talk about is Mama Pea's Swiss Steak.  We have year old venison (not fawn-meat, folks, it's been in the freezer for a year) that needs using up and when I read her post on "guaranteed tender" venison, I knew I had to give it a try.  OH. MY. WORD.  Please make this recipe.  It's our new favorite way to eat venison.  It was tender and, oh, so tasty.  The gravy was so delicious it made even the mashed potatoes yummy.  So there.

Mama Pea's Swiss Steak:  SO Worth It 

Next, we have Pioneer Woman's Chicken Cacciatore.  It was one of the most beautiful dishes I have ever made.  Really now.  I have this gorgeous off white platter that an aunt gave me for Christmas years ago.  Trying to be like PW herself, I plated the entire pot of pasta and topped it with the entire pot of cacciatore, sprinkling it with parmesan cheese.  It was lovely.  Would you like to know why I did not save the lovely photographs (they were lovely, by the way)?  Yep.  It was a flop.  The dish looked the part, but it tasted flat and not just an it-needs-more-salt kind of flat.  Sorry, P-Dub.  Not this time.

PW's Chicken Cacciatore:  NOT Worth It

Pioneer Woman redeemed herself with her Chicken Tortilla Soup.  This was amazing and easy to make.  We even had some fresh cilantro on hand (a rare, rare occasion) and that made it, well, even better than it already was.  I used flour tortillas and less chili powder (for the kids' sake).  It was delicious and another keeper.

PW's Chicken Tortilla Soup:  Worth It

The last recipe comes with a little story (surprise, surprise).

It was my dear Sadie's birthday this past week and we were going to celebrate with extended family over the weekend.  Sadie loves "noonles".  Okay, she can say "noodles" now, but she used to say "noonles" and I loved that.  She also loves meat.  To Sadie, meat is all the same- she doesn't bother differentiating between the kinds.  We were going to be at my sister's house, so she and I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs with myself contributing the meatballs (and the cake- Sadie chose ice cream sandwich cake).

I've never made meatballs before.  Don't seem so surprised.  We don't eat very much meat around here.  I found a recipe over at Simply Recipes (here).  The recipe said it served six.  There was going to be ten adults and four children (and two babies who don't eat meat yet), so I decided to triple the recipe to make sure I had enough.  The recipe did not indicate how many meatballs each person should eat.

Would you like to know how many meatballs I made?  About 140.  Here.  I'll prove it.

They were really good and I'm glad I made so many because now I have a bunch in my freezer that I can thaw and add to sauce some evening when I don't feel like making something involved.  The family agreed that they are winners, so I'm sharing the recipe with you below.

Simply Recipe's Meatballs:  Worth Every One

Turkey & Sausage Meatballs (adapted from Simply Recipes)
Serves "6" according to the original recipe, but I'd say quite a few more.

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 pound bulk sausage
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 eggs
3/4 cups plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp. salt
1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Place all ingredients (except for the oil) in a large bowl and mix well with your hands.  Form into 1-inch balls  and lay them on a greased cookie sheet (because you need a place to put them).  Don't make them bigger or they will not cook evenly/properly.

Heat a frying pan to medium to high heat and add olive oil, turning your pan to coat it.  Lay in meatballs, but do not crowd them or place them two-deep.  Do several batches if need be.  Brown the meatballs on each side, watching carefully so they don't burn.  You do want them crispy, so find the happy medium between just light brown and burnt.  Once all sides are browned, set them on a plate topped with a paper towel.  Repeat until all are browned.  *They aren't finished/cooked through so don't eat one yet even if they smell heavenly.*

 

Bring tomato sauce to a boil, add the meatballs and let them simmer in the sauce for 45 minutes.  Now, you may eat them:-).  I made these the day before, let the cool completely after browning, refrigerated them overnight and simmered them in the sauce the next day.  This worked just fine.

Game over. Pin It