Nancy on the Home Front

Spinach Quesadillas – Quick Dinner

Are you looking for a quick lunch or dinner option that is also delicious? These Spinach Quesadillas might just do the trick! They are delicious, nutritious and quick and easy to make. Perfect for a last minute meal idea.

Every once in awhile you need a quick and nutritious meal that you can make using ingredients you probably already have on hand. I don’t know about you but I usually have tortillas and spinach in my fridge. Combined with some cheese and ricotta and you’re got a meal in the making! Quesadillas are one of those meals that just about everyone enjoys.

Spinach Quesadillas

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh baby spinach
4 scallions, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
6 flour tortillas (6 inches)
¼ cup light sour cream

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the spinach, scallions, tomato, lemon juice, cumin and garlic powder over medium heat until the spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat and stir in the Monterey Jack and ricotta cheese. In just minutes you have made a delicious filling.

Divide the spinach cheese mixture evenly among three tortillas. Top with remaining three tortillas. Heat a large skillet over low heat. Cook the tortillas in your large skillet, coated with cooking spray over low heat until heated through. Cut each quesadilla into four wedges. Serve with sour cream. Makes six servings! Perfect for the next time you need a quick and easy meal. If there are any leftovers they can be reheated in the microwave for lunch the next day. If you want a more complete meal mix up a salad and you will not go away hungry. Hope you enjoy these Quesadillas as much as we do!

Preserving the Harvest

Yes, our house is on the market and yes I still have a producing vegetable garden! After all I have no idea how long it will take to sell our home and I still believe in having a well-stocked pantry. Plus, I don’t want any of the harvest to go to waste! So how do I preserve our harvest? Here are a few ways.

Garlic: I just pulled our garlic and it is currently drying for a few days before I make garlic braids. I grow just enough to get us through until next summer!

Zucchini – There are many ways to use up zucchini. Two favorite ways are;

Zucchini Cake

Zucchini Relish

Tomatoes – I have already been enjoying the gold cherry tomatoes, which haven’t made it up to the house yet! When we have too many to eat I often will dehydrate the cherry tomatoes. I also make a terrific Tomato Basil Sauce and an amazing Salsa. Another favorite is my Oven Roasted Pizza Sauce, nothing tastes better on one of my husbands amazing pizzas!Herbs: I often dry herbs and as a result I have an abundance of dried herbs in my pantry!Herbs can also be frozen and used during the winter.

Beans: I love fresh garden beans and usually we eat most everything I grow but if there is an abundance I will either can or freeze the excess.Apples: We don’t have apple trees, but there are numerous orchards nearby. I love picking apples and every year will can up enough applesauce to see us through the winter. Homemade applesauce does not compare to the store bought version!

Leeks: I don’t grow leeks every year but when I do they usually do very well in our garden. There are several ways I preserve the leeks, either by dehydrating or by freezing.

Kale: Kale can also be preserved much like the leeks.

Peppers: If you have excess peppers in your garden or even if you don’t you can buy them during the summer months for much cheaper than in the winter. Buy them now and freeze them to enjoy this winter!

In addition to these methods of preserving the harvest I also do a lot of canning, both with a water bath and a pressure cooker. Check out my Top 20 Canning Posts for more ideas.

Whether you use your pantry or your freezer take advantage of cheaper prices during the summer months and preserve the harvest!

It’s hard to have a house on the market as I am really trying to eat from the pantry so I don’t have to move it all. At the same time it could take several years for us to sell out home and I don’t want any of that harvest to go to waste! Best way to avoid waste is to preserve the harvest! What are your favorite ways to preserve your harvest?

Cleaning with Castile Soap

I mentioned several weeks ago that one of my favorite cleaning products was Castile soap. Two items you’ll always find in my cupboard are Castile soap and vinegar! Both are great cleaning products.

There are just simply so many ways to use Castile soap in your household cleaning. Trusty Castile soap and distilled vinegar are all you need to clean and soften your linens. Just use ¼ cup of soap per load and ½ cup of vinegar with the rinse cycle.

Make an herbal dishwashing blend.

Essential oils in this blend have antibacterial, as well as aroma-therapeutic qualities. Plus it just smells so good!

Liquid Castile soap
10 drops lavender essential oil
8 drops rosemary essential oil
4 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Fill a clean 22 oz plastic squirt bottle with Castile soap. Add the essential oils. Shake the bottle before each use. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the liquid to the dishwater and wash as usual. Do note: this blend is not suitable for use in dishwashers.

Pine Fresh Floor Cleaner

Do you use a microfiber mop? If so try this natural formula for cleaning your floors. It works just as well as commercial pine solvent cleaners, but leaves a light scent more reminiscent of a pine forest than a bucket of chemicals. You can adjust the scent to your preference by increasing or reducing the amount of essential oil used.

1 gallon hot water
2 Tbsp liquid Castile soap
10 drops pine essential oil
5 drops cypress essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bucket. Dip a mop into the bucket and squeeze our the excess liquid. Clean the floor by working the sections, using short strokes and dipping the mop as needed. Rinsing is not necessary.

What are your favorite cleaning products? Would I find Castile soap in your pantry?

Dealing with the “Gimmes”

Our children may be grown with their own children now but I remember the days of “I need it!”, “All the kids have one!” and “Why not?” sound familiar? Remember dating with the “gimmies”? Every parent knows that when a child wants something, he’ll morph into a master negotiator. Your debating skills may be bolstered by a superior grasp of logic, but your child has unlimited time, energy and determination on his side. The answer may seem simple (just say no), but the reality is more complex. If your kids have grown up in a culture of plenty, the shift to thrift may be a shock; expect to wage an ongoing battle for some time. The good news is that if you model good old-fashioned virtues (waste not, want not), you can make an impression on your children – no matter what their age. Virtue may not win arguments, so keep the following tips in mind:

Emphasize how hard you work to earn your money and let your child know you must make decisions on how to spend it. The amount of money you have is limited and even grown ups can’t get everything they want.

Make a wish list for each member of your family and display it. Point out that in your family, needs – like food and clothing will be taken care of but wants like a new car, vacations or toys may take some time.

Encourage your child to explore making rather than buying.

Downsize your children’s birthdays to just include a few friends and family. If you routinely treat them to elaborate birthdays they may take such celebrations for granted. Instead of springing for the latest toy, consider a special family outing to celebrate a birthday.

Involve your child in thanking people for their thoughtfulness and gifts. When sending thank you cards, have your child dictate a message, color a simple picture or put the stamps on the envelope. Let your child know that it’s polite to express appreciation for presents, even if they aren’t exactly what they had in mind.

Make an effort to model delayed gratification. Most of all have patience, developing an appreciative attitude is a process that takes time.

Summer Drinks: See-Through Sangria

After a busy day of working in the garden I like to relax on our deck. I was looking for a refreshing summer drink to enjoy during the hot summer weather we’ve been having. A summer drink that was light and refreshing. This sangria gets its name because it is made with white wine rather than red and presented in a clear glass pitcher. Perfect for enjoying on a hot summer night.

See-Through Sangria

1 bottle dry white wine
½ cup orange liqueur
¼ cup sugar
1 unpeeled lime, thinly sliced
1 unpeeled lemon, thinly sliced
1 unpeeled orange, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 ½ cups halved green grapes
2 cups chilled sparkling water
Whole strawberries for garnishing

Combine the wine, liqueur, sugar and fruit in a large pitcher and refrigerate overnight.Before serving stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Pour into cocktail or wine glasses filled with ice and top off with sparkling water. Garnish with a fresh strawberry. Slice the strawberry partway, from the bottom up and place one on the rim of each glass. I also put a few frozen strawberries in the glass as well. There is nothing more enjoyable than sitting on the deck on a hot summer evening enjoying this light refreshing sangria. Serves 6-8

Exploring: Northeast Kingdom of Vermont

Once a year we have the pleasure of visiting a dear friend who lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. It’s always fun when you can visit a place that is in your own home state but is so different from where you live! It was not even an hour and a half from our house but it felt like we’d traveled to another time and place.

This old house that was once a part of a large dairy farm sits on the top of a hill with rolling fields in every direction. It is so beautiful. The white farmhouse and the green hills is classic Vermont.

While there we drove to the nearby town of Danville where there is a wonderful walking and bicycling trail that used to be the old railroad and is very well maintained. The views along the path were just amazing.

After a three-mile walk we stopped for lunch at the Peacham Café. Lunch was delicious and made good use of local food. Even the flowers on the table were freshly picked.

After our lunch we stopped at a local farm stand, WillowBrook Farm. The owners were picking flowers which they dry and sell. It was fun to see the variety of tomatoes they had for sale!

By the time we got back to the farmhouse there was just enough time for a swim. Nothing like a spring fed pond to cool you off!

It was a wonderful, relaxing two days away and always hard to leave this beautiful spot. Time to head home on our own private highway.We are looking forward to the day our home finally sells and we can move west, but I will miss visiting this very special spot. There is nothing like enjoying a change of scenery so close to home!

Exercise – Just Do It!

Did you know it takes less than an hour a day to be lean, fit, alert, energetic, healthy and optimistic for decades to come?

Nature is not a treadmill at the gym. It’s an ever-changing physical environment, so it should come as no surprise that a variety of different exercises and intensities do more good than a single, unvarying routine. Nature’s rule is simple – do something real everyday. Whether the exercise is long, slow and steady (an hour or two of vigorous walking) or shorter and more intense (running, swimming or using the exercise machines at the gym) is a lot less important than the “dailyness” of it, six days a week. So experiment with a variety of aerobic exercise and find an outdoor sport that you like: biking, kayaking, or hiking. Keep your heart rate in the high aerobic zone at the gym and in the low aerobic zone while exercising outside and you’ll get great results.

The sooner you start in life the better the payoff. It may seem exhausting to fit exercise into your crazy work schedule, but that’s looking at it backward. We are not tired at the end of the day because we get too much exercise. We are tired because we don’t get enough exercise! We are mentally, emotionally and physically drained from being sedentary. Study after study shows that we function better, with more satisfaction and less sleep when we’re fit. If you put any value at all on your quality of life, the time your spend exercising becomes a bargain.

When it comes to exercise, “I can’t afford it” is not a valid excuse. Check out some of the following ways to cut your gym bills or ditch them all together by exercising at home.

Try out as many gyms as you can before committing. Most facilities will happily give you a free day or a week pass for a tryout.

If you have a local YMCA near you that may be your best gym option. It doesn’t have to be a big fancy gym, even your local fitness center may have all you need and is usually easier on the wallet.

If there is a university in your area perhaps they offer a discount for the community members.

There are also many video programs or online programs if you are committed to working out at home.

Beachbody on Demand has a wonderful selection of workouts available online or you can purchase various workout DVDs. Everything from Yoga to Hard Core!

Make a commitment to start exercising today, even a 20 minute walk each day will help your body and your mind!

Coconut Chicken Salad

With the recent hot weather we’ve had I’ve been looking for recipes that are easy to make and don’t require much oven time. This Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe is just perfect, I adapted it from one of my favorite cookbooks, Skinnytaste, by Gina Homolka. It’s a great cookbook, and so far I’ve loved everything I’ve made from it!

Coconut Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp honey
4 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp water

½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/3 plus 3 Tbsp panko bread crumbs
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 pound of chicken tenders

Mixed baby greens
1 cup shredded carrots, about 8 cups
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced

Directions:

For the salad dressing combine the mustard, oil, honey, vinegar and water. Set aside.

In a bowl combine the coconut, panko crumbs and a pinch of salt. In a second bowl whisk the eggs.

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a nonstick baking pan with olive oil.

Season the chicken tenders with salt. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then in the coconut crumb mixture. Place the chicken on your prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray the top of the chicken with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake for 15 minutes more.

While the chicken is cooking prepare your salad. Divide the greens on 4 serving plates. Divide the carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers on the plates. When the chicken is done slice the pieces at an angle and place on top of the salad. Drizzle the salad with the dressing. Enjoy!

Gete-okosomin update

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while you might remember the heirloom squash seeds I received when we were in Keystone, South Dakota.

I was only given ten seeds so I planted four of them and had three plants sprout. These were transferred to my garden and have been carefully watched and watered. We’re having a terrible problem with chipmunks this year but so far they haven’t bothered the squash. I think they enjoy our blueberries more.

The squash plants are doing very well. We have neighbors that keep honeybees so the flowers always have a bee of two on them. The plants are just covered with flowers! I looked carefully the other day and was pleased to find numerous tiny baby squash and two good sized squash, I am hopeful for an abundant harvest! The vines are beginning to take over the garden and are spreading everywhere! I don’t mind. It’s amazing how much room three plants can take!We’ll be away for a couple of weeks visiting our newest granddaughter! It’s going to be fun to see what we come home to! I have neighbors that will be keeping and eye on the garden. Just hope no one decides to munch on the squash plants!

Using Leftovers: Homemade Pita Chips

I grew up in a very frugal home, my mom saved everything! My mother would never have thought to throw out food. It was repurposed into soup or used for lunch, but never thrown out. As a result of my upbringing I have always used leftovers. I also wash out plastic baggies and plastic cutlery for repeated use and when I get a chance I shop in thrift stores and garage sales!

Even before pita bread was a common grocery staple my mother was buying it. If we didn’t eat it up the leftovers were used to make pita chips. I often enjoy the pita chips more than the pita bread!

You will find endless possibilities for these simple chips, which are a great substitute for greasy potato chips and a thrifty use of stale pita bread!

Pita Chips

Pitas, cut in half crosswise and then split open
Butter or olive oil, at room temperature
Garlic salt
Dried parsley
(Other dried herbs of your choice)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spread each pita lightly with butter or olive oil and transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with garlic salt and parsley.

Bake the pitas for about 15 minutes or until browned. Watch carefully so they don’t burn!

Cool the pitas completely on the baking sheet and then break apart into tortilla chip size pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to five days.