Tag: cooking

Good Water

Beverages

Shared by a friend many years ago, this is the “punch” I serve most often.


It’s lemony, but not lemonade.  It’s not just lemon water, either.  With a hint of vanilla, it’s delicious.  I’ve never served it to anyone who didn’t like it.  It’s clear in color so I never have to worry about spills.  It’s easy to make and I try to keep all the ingredients on hand.  The only thing I usually need to add to my shopping list is a couple of lemons.  I’m not kidding when I say that my family LOVES this drink.

That said, here’s the recipe.

Good Water 2 Tb. Citric Acid* 1 Tb. Lemon extract 2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 5 quarts water ice lemon slices In a punch bowl or other large container, combine water and sugar.  Add citric acid, lemon extract and vanilla.  Mix together.  Add ice and lemon slices.  Serve and enjoy!  When I am making this for guests, I usually make 1.5 batches.

Note:  Citric Acid is a product that can be purchased in some pharmacies.  However, I have found that I can get it for less money online.  A good  source I’ve found is the San Francisco Herb Company .  Simply search their site for “citric acid” and you’ll find it!  This product stores very well for a long time, so I purchase it by the pound and have it on hand.

Hopeful Homemaker

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Rice and Bean Wraps

Main Dishes

This recipe is one of the all-time easiest I’ve made.  It’s also inexpensive, fast, meatless and people really like it.  Oh, and it only requires one pan (easy cleanup!).  It’s one of those recipes that prompt people to tell me, years after sharing it, how often their family eats it.

rice and bean wraps
Ingredients:
1 box spanish rice mix 2 tsp. butter or margarine 2 cups water 1 cup salsa 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 can corn, drained flour tortillas cheese and sour cream for garnish Here we go.  Begin by browning the rice in butter.


Add the diced tomatoes, undrained, as well as the salsa.


Pour in two cups water.


Stir together.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until rice is tender.  Then add the kidney beans, corn and the seasoning packet from the rice mix.


Stir together and cook another 2 minutes or so, just to heat the beans and corn.


Remove from heat.  Spoon onto warm flour tortillas and top with cheese, sour cream, or whatever you’d like!


Serve and enjoy.

rice and bean wraps
My experience has been that children eat this meal well.  I’m  a big fan of using beans in recipes simply because they’re so good for us (did you know that red beans have more antioxidants than blueberries?) and because they’re inexpensive and easy to store.  I try to make at least one meatless meal each week (more often in the summer) and those meals almost always use beans as a source of protein, fiber and vitamins.

I’m also a believer in food storage.  We store a lot of things.  This meal is one of them.  I freeze tortillas and cheese, and everything else can sit on the shelf for a long time.  In other words, this recipe is a winner in many categories.   I hope you try it sometime!

Jennifer

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Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Desserts

For FHE on Monday night, I decided to try a different variation on our favorite homemade frozen yogurt recipe.

homemade lemon frozen yogurt
Delicious, and healthier than the recipe I’ve been using, this  batch contained no additional sugar.

Here’s what I threw together.

Lemon Frozen Yogurt 2 containers (32 ounces each) lemon yogurt 2 cups half and half juice of 2 lemons, or about 6 Tb. lemon juice Combine ingredients well in a mixing bowl and pour into ice cream maker.  Process according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Scoop frozen yogurt into separate container and freeze.

My family loved this yogurt, and none of them noticed that I didn’t add any sugar.  It was tart, but not sour, and very refreshing.  This yogurt would also be delicious with fresh berries of any kind, or if you wanted to sweeten it up you could serve it with graham cracker crumbs or cookies.  We just enjoyed it plain.

lemon frozen yogurt
I’m thinking that my future plan is to try all of our favorite frozen yogurt flavors without adding any sugar.   If this recipe, the most tart of them all, tasted fine then I’m sure the others will too!  I’m happy to be able to make it just a bit healthier.  I hope you’ll try it sometime!

Hopeful Homemaker

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