menu plan january i

Happy New Year!  I'm glad to be settling down a bit from all the holiday travels and celebrations.  It's a fun and festive time, but it also makes me feel a little bit stretched.  As a true introvert, lots of small talk and interactions tend to exhaust me.

Also, I'm glad to have a week of semi-normalcy before I dive into two weeks of intense study to start my Doctor of Ministry program!  I promise a full post on this later this week, so I can explain the details.

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or satsumas (in the winter)

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.  If I do any sourdough baking, though, we will use the excess starter to have sourdough pancakes.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  I would love to start messing with water kefir soon.

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  I made this cranberry upside down cake (with some substitutions) for Family Dinner last night and we have been enjoying it at home, too.

So, here's the menu for this week.  We have been enjoying the heck out of the half-hog purchase we made, and I'm getting excited to try to make a country-style pate out of the liver soon.

Sunday
-- lunch:  roast chicken, roasted acorn squash and brussels sprouts with a sorghum/cider vinegar glaze, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and bread
-- supper:  Family Dinner!  We had spinach-artichoke dip, chips, a skillet ravioli lasagna, salad, and afore-mentioned cranberry upside down cake.

Monday
-- breakfast:  don't tell!  We had leftover cake with homemade yogurt for breakfast.  :)
-- lunch:  going out with an old friend who's visiting from Detroit.  (Hi Julie!)
-- supper:  black-eyed peas with ham hocks, chow-chow, stewed kale

Tuesday
-- lunch:  egg salad on sourdough toast, cranberry sauce, kombucha
-- supper:  shepherd's pie with sweet potato topping

Wednesday
-- lunch:  leftover acorn squash soup, sourdough toast, cheese, cranberry sauce, kombucha
-- supper:  clam chowder, sourdough rolls, apple slices

Thursday
-- lunch:  leftover chowder, sourdough toast, cranberry sauce, kombucha
-- supper:  soy-sesame pork chops, Asian-style slaw of cabbage, green onions, and carrots, rice

Friday
-- lunch:  leftovers
-- supper:  margherita pizza with homemade mozzarella, assorted pickles (beets, cucumbers, carrots)

Saturday
-- lunch:  grilled cheese on sourdough, pickles, apples
-- supper:  roast chicken, green beans, roast turnips, sourdough rolls

Have the week you have, my friends.

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 1/5/15, Fat Tuesday 1/6/15, Real Food Wednesday 1/7/15, Pennywise Platter 1/8/15, and the HomeAcre Hop 1/8/15.]

menu plan december v

Did you survive the holidays?  We did - just barely.  :)  Here are the kids enjoying my big Christmas present from my grandmother-in-law:

Isn't it just like "parenthood" that within one day of getting an awesome new present, your kids think it's theirs?  Ha!

We are traveling to my sister's once again this week, just as we did over Thanksgiving.  My niece Sloane was born on New Year's Day (first baby of the new year at their hospital!), so her birthday party every year is a New Year's Day party.  We are going up to spend some time with my sister, my brother, my stepdad, and others!  Exciting.  I'm also excited to pack our own food for travel, once again.  That felt like a major triumph to me.  So, here are the eats I have planned this week:

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves (green rhubarb lately - yum!)
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or satsumas (in the winter)

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.  If I do any sourdough baking, though, we will use the excess starter to have sourdough pancakes.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  I would love to start messing with water kefir soon.

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  The kids and I made some coconut macaroons over the holiday, so we are eating those up!  

Sunday
-- lunch:  we had hamburgers and fixings, homemade sourdough buns, and sweet potato fries,
-- supper:  Calypso!  My favorite neighborhood take-out.  I have a post coming soon all about their callaloo.  The kids and I shared a half dark chicken with jerk sauce, callaloo greens, black beans, rice, and fruit tea.

Monday
-- lunch:  egg salad on sourdough toast, a big sour lacto-fermented pickle, a satsuma, and some kombucha.
-- supper:  breakfast for dinner!  Homemade biscuits, sausage gravy (we are trying the sausage from our recent half-hog purchase for the first time!), eggs, sweet potato & onion hash.

Tuesday
-- lunch:  tuna salad on sourdough toast, pear sauce, kombucha
-- supper:  meatloaf, turnip fries, maple-glazed carrots, sourdough dinner rolls

Wednesday
-- lunch:  on the road!  I'm packing acorn squash soup in a thermos, sourdough bread, raw cheese, kombucha, satsumas, and cookies.
-- supper:  we will be at my sister's - no idea!

Thursday
-- lunch:  New Year's Day!  I'm bringing along some black-eyed peas and ham hocks we have in the freezer and fix this quintessential Southern dish for good luck.
-- supper:  no idea, once again.  Party stuff.

Friday
-- lunch:  we will be back on the road.  If we have any leftover squash soup I will pack that.  Otherwise we may pack leftover black-eyed peas to eat alongside our bread, cheese, and fruit.
-- supper:  we will probably grab a pizza from either 5 Points Pizza or Pizza Real, which tie as our two favorite neighborhood pizza joints.

Saturday
-- lunch:  grilled cheese on sourdough, French onion soup, lacto-fermented pickles, satsumas
-- supper:  roast chicken, green beans, sauteed cabbage, mashed potatoes, sourdough rolls

[Submitted to Menu Plan Monday 12/29/14, the Homestead Barn Hop 12/29/14, Fat Tuesday 12/30/14, the HomeAcre Hop 1/1/15, and Simply Natural Saturday 1/3/15.]

menu plan december iii

Anyone out there?  I'm having a hard time keeping up my motivation to blog.  The one thing that I want to keep doing is the weekly meal plans - mostly for myself!  I love the idea that if I keep this up for a year, I will essentially have made myself a year-long seasonal/local template for menus.  Great resource.

Huge news this week - our order of a naturally-foraging half-hog will be in!  So, I'm anticipating some chops or ribs or a roast later on this week, for sure.  Sometimes I feel like my whole life revolves around sourcing, preparing, cooking, and enjoying amazing homemade food.  And the really crazy part is that I enjoy it and don't feel that it is abnormal.  Lol.  Does this mean it's a calling?

Christmas jammies brought to you courtesy of Grandpa Mark and Grandma Rosalie.

On to the food!

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves (green rhubarb lately - yum!)
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or satsumas (in the winter)

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.  If I do any sourdough baking, though, we will use the excess starter to have sourdough pancakes.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  I would love to start messing with water kefir soon.

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  This week I made maple marshmallows from scratch, which we are also using as part of our Christmas gift baskets.  I will post a recipe this week!  Super easy and very satisfying.

Sunday
--lunch:  I made a meatloaf, braised kale, mashed turnips, and sourdough rolls
--supper:  Family Dinner!  It was our week to bring appetizer, so I did a caramelized onion dip.  I'll do a recipe on this soon, too.  Easy and delicious.  Served with kohlrabi sticks and kettle chips.

Monday
--lunch:  leftover kale pizza, home-canned cranberry sauce, kombucha
--supper:  black bean soup (minus chicken) with cheese quesadillas (raw cheese, homemade tortillas), home-canned salsa, sour cream, avocado, etc

Tuesday
--lunch:  Living Word Sunday school class Christmas party luncheon!  Can't wait.  One of the great perks of my job is getting invited to about 134890235 Christmas parties with awesome food.
--supper:  Korean beef with cabbage, steamed rice, homemade extra-spicy kimchi

Wednesday
--lunch:  out with some lady friends at PF Chang's!  Lettuce wraps here I come.
--supper:  salmon fillets with ginger butter, honey-glazed carrots, sauteed kale, sourdough dinner rolls

Thursday
--lunch:  leftover meatloaf, turnips, sourdough roll, kombucha
--supper:  pork chops!!  With home-canned pear sauce, sauteed cabbage, roasted potatoes, and sourdough rolls

Friday
--lunch:  egg salad, sourdough toast, home-canned cranberry sauce, kombucha
--supper:  acorn squash pizza on sourdough crust (sub goat cheese for gorgonzola) with homemade mozzarella cheese, ginger bug sodas

Saturday
--lunch:  tomato soup, grilled cheese on sourdough toast, homemade lacto-fermented chili-garlic dill pickles
--supper:  roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans from the freezer, garlicky kale salad, sourdough dinner rolls

What are you eating?  Anything amazing to share?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 12/15/14, Homestead Barn Hop #188, Fat Tuesday 12/16/14, Real Food Wednesday 12/17/14, and Pennywise Platter 12/18/14.]

menu plan december ii & real food challenge updates

December is in full swing!  The Real Food Challenge has also been going strong.  There was just one night in the past week when no one had thought about what we were going to have for dinner.  Someone brought home some fast food, and I went for it.  Bad idea.  Within hours, my stomach felt upset.  In the morning, I felt like my insides had rusted.  Also, my fingers and feet were swollen.  I've noticed that I'm very sensitive to holding water on my hands and feet if I'm not eating correctly.  It's kind of like my instant inflammation-meter.  Throughout this week, as I've been focusing on only putting things in my mouth and my body that will support health, my fingers have been been slim, and my shoes have started to be a little more loose!

So - onward and upward!  I've started giving away my homemade Christmas baskets.  My sister's family got theirs first, when we were there for Thanksgiving, and the church staff got theirs on Friday at our Staff Christmas Party.  I'll do a full post on them soon, but they have been so fun to put together.  I've been organizing them around a theme (Afternoon Snack, Chip & Dipper, Easy Entertaining, etc.) and including plenty of homemade and home-canned goodness.

Let's get to this week's eats.

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.  However, for the month of the Real Food Challenge, I'm probably going to stick to eggs.  If I do any sourdough baking, though, we will use the excess starter to have sourdough pancakes.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  I made a cranberry soda last week that is amazing.

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  For this week, I'm making a big batch of baked apples.  I used a standard recipe from my BH&G cookbook, but subbed sucanat for the brown sugar.  I'll do a recipe for it soon!

Sunday
-- lunch:  we had chicken wings!  I brought sweet potatoes to make oven fries, and carrot sticks with ranch dressing on the side.
-- supper:  Family Dinner.  We've had a few weeks off, and I'm excited to be reunited with everyone.  I'm bringing baked apples, as shown above.

Monday
-- lunch:  egg salad, homemade sourdough bread, cranberry ginger bug soda, home-canned pear sauce
-- supper:  Moroccan-style stuffed acorn squash (this has been a huge favorite lately!), kale salad

Tuesday
-- lunch:  same as Monday except with tuna salad and homemade sourdough pita
-- supper:  hamburger corn pone.  I will do a recipe on this soon, but it is a Southern dish that I was unacquainted with before moving to Nashville.  Basically think:  shepherd's pie, except with chili on the bottom and cornbread on the top.  It's ridiculously good.  Plus a vinegar slaw on the side.

Wednesday
-- lunch:  carrot ginger soup, grilled cheese on homemade sourdough with pepper relish
-- supper:  home-fried fish & chips with cod and roast potatoes, roast broccoli
Thursday
-- lunch:  same as Monday except with chicken salad (sensing a theme!?)
-- supper:  pork carnitas soft tacos with sourdough tortillas, home-canned salsa, sour cream, cheese, avocado, pickled cabbage & onion salad

Friday
-- lunch:  same as Monday, maybe with some home-canned cranberry sauce if I finish the jar of pear sauce
-- supper:  kale pizza with homemade mozzarella and sourdough crust, roasted sweet potatoes

Saturday
-- lunch:  leftovers
-- supper:  roast chicken, mashed turnips, sauteed turnip greens, maple-glazed carrots, homemade sourdough rolls

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 12/8/14.]

menu plan december i & real food challenge!!

I'm back!!  Thanksgiving and the wedding were awesome.  I will do a full recap this week, but here is a sneak peak of the kids at our lunch break on the way to my sister's house.  I got wise and packed a cooler full of awesome, nourishing foods.  The weather was merciful and we were able to get out at a rest stop, run and play and stretch our legs, and enjoy some raw cheese, homemade sourdough bread, raw milk, kombucha, satsumas, and veggie beef soup.  Way more satisfying than fast food.  And probably even faster.  :)

I think I caught Todd mid-chew.  He's usually much cuter than this.  

Before I get into our meal plan for the week, I want to announce my challenge, and invite others to join in!  I strive for a diet free of processed foods.  A diet that is supportive of health and also responsible to our environment and local farmers.  But we all know that life gets in the way.  I am not in control of every bite that goes into the mouth of my family.  And, to be honest, if I were - I would get a little crazy, I think.  I have that perfectionistic streak.  

However, I am in control of everything that I eat.  By that I mean that no one is holding a gun to my head and making me eat chips or popsicles or candy or whatever.  And for this month, I want to be extra-mindful of what goes into my mouth.  I have two main areas that cause me to struggle in this:

1)  I work full-time and often have to scramble to find something to eat for lunch.

2)  We eat most evenings with my amazing grandmother-in-law.  She is always open to me cooking, but getting all the ingredients there and prepped and ready after a long day can be challenging.

So, for the month of December, I'm doing a Real Food Challenge!  Every bite that goes into my mouth this month will be carefully considered.  You can read about what I believe constitutes real food here.  I would love to lose some weight and also feel healthier this month.  Does anyone want to join me!?  I know this is a hard month to do this kind of challenge, but it just felt like the right time.  Comment below if you'd like to join in for accountability.  :)

Now, on to the food!

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.  However, for the month of the Real Food Challenge, I'm probably going to stick to eggs.  Unless I make pancakes from sourdough starter.  (Sidenote:  I really need to update you on my sourdough journey!  It has changed a lot since that last link.)

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  For this week, I will make a brown rice pudding from some soaked rice.

Sunday
-- lunch:  we were on the road!  We had leftover Thanksgiving ham, raw cheese, sourdough bread, raw milk, satsumas, homemade cranberry sauce, and some leftover pumpkin-sorghum pie.
-- supper:  we had just arrived home and ate some leftover BBQ pork, potato salad, white beans with pepper relish, potato chips, and God knows what else.

Monday
-- supper:  ham & white beans, soaked cornbread, pepper relish

Tuesday
-- supper:  beef soft tacos with homemade taco seasoning, whole wheat sourdough tortillas, sour cream, raw cheese, pickled cabbage salad (going to adapt Deb's recipe a little), avocado, chopped tomato (can you believe I still have a few little green tomatoes that ripened on the counter!?)

Wednesday
-- supper:  shrimp in Thai red curry peanut sauce (recipe coming soon!), Asian green beans, soaked brown rice

Thursday
-- supper:  pork chops and cabbage braised in apple cider, mashed sweet potatoes, pear sauce

Friday
-- supper:  ham & pineapple pizza on sourdough crust with homemade mozzarella, marinated tomato salad

Saturday
-- supper:  roast chicken, roasted spiced cauliflower and oven fries, leftover pickled cabbage salad

What are you going to eat!?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 12/1/14, the Homestead Barn Hop 12/1/14, and Fat Tuesday 12/2/14.]

menu plan november iv

I've got one thing on the brain, folks, and that's seasonal fruit!  Thursday I received my shipment of eight pounds of organic cranberries and 2 gallons of fresh apple cider.  Friday I picked up my ten pounds of organic satsumas from Alabama.  I feel so rich in food right now.



Saturday I put up four pints of cranberry sauce made with sucanat and apple cider.  Recipe forthcoming!  So yummy.  Cranberry sauce is hands-down my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, and I really am a sucker for the kind from the can.  So I'm bringing at least one pint to my sister's for Thanksgiving this week.  I'm also bringing a chocolate-maple-bourbon pecan pie (swoon) and a sorghum pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust.  Those are already ready and waiting in the freezer for me.

I'm going to do a spiced cranberry jam soon, and also do my annual batch of satsuma marmalade.  Working with fresh, local, seasonal, beautiful produce just makes me so thankful to God for the perfect and magical workings of his creation.  Like for instance:  how did God know that during the winter, when immunity is low and disease abounds, that we need extra vitamin C from citrus and the ridiculous antioxidant power of cranberries!?  Fitting for this week of giving thanks.  :)

We are leaving for my sister's on Tuesday, and will take lots of food with us for the trip.  I'm hopeful that the weather will allow us to stop at a nice rest area, stretch, eat lunch, and not be so cooped up.

So the menu will look a little different this week.  I hope you enjoy the change of pace.

Sunday
-- lunch:  chicken salad sandwiches on sourdough with satsumas
-- supper:  pot roast with carrots & kohlrabi, mashed sweet potatoes

Monday
-- lunch:  egg salad sandwiches on sourdough (I've been making it with pepper relish instead of gherkins, and it is to die for), crudite with herbed yogurt dip
-- supper:  acorn squash stuffed with chickpeas and couscous

Tuesday
-- lunch:  on the road.  I'm packing veggie beef soup in a thermos, sourdough bread, raw cheese, apples, and milk for the crew.
-- supper:  We will be at my sister's!  I have no idea, but I hope it's something delicious.

Wednesday and Thursday are at my sister's.

Friday 
-- lunch:  on the road to Valparaiso for a wedding!  We will probably either bring some leftovers to munch, or stop somewhere easy with all four of our kids.
-- supper:   will be the rehearsal dinner for my friends Parth and Julianne, whose wedding I am so so so excited to be officiating.

Saturday

-- lunch:  who knows?  

-- supper:  the WEDDING!

menu plan november iii

We have returned from Retreat!  It was a cold, blustery, awesome time.  The kids love playing up there, and I enjoy having a break from the routine and breathing the fresh mountain air.  We even did a little hiking!

But now we are back to reality.  We are nearing the Thanksgiving holiday, and I'm excited!  We get a big shipment of 8 pounds of organic cranberries this Thursday, and I am so pumped to make cranberry sauce with natural sweeteners and can it up to take to my sister's!

So, down to the nitty gritty.  Here's what we're eating!

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  This week I'm making up a batch of brown rice pudding from some leftover rice.

Sunday
-- lunch:  we got away from the Retreat early enough to stop in Manchester
-- supper:  we are bringing an appetizer to Family Dinner.  We have been having a crazy challenge to try to use up this jar of red curry paste . . . long story.  Anyway, we made a red curry peanut dip and brought veggie sticks.

Monday
-- supper:  black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, Spanish rice with spinach

Tuesday
-- supper:  cheeseburgers on sourdough buns with fixings (tomato, onion, homemade ketchup, mustard, homemade kraut, pickle relish), cinnamon sweet potato fries

Wednesday
-- supper:  broiled sesame-soy salmon on a bed of wilted tat soi, steamed rice

Thursday
-- supper:  roast pork loin with apples, roast cabbage wedges and potatoes

Friday
-- supper:  pizza on sourdough crust with homemade mozzarella, ricotta, acorn squash, and pears

Saturday
-- lunch:  chicken tortilla soup



-- supper:  roast chicken, mashed potatoes, callaloo of mustard greens, fried green tomatoes

What are y'all eating?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday and the Homestead Barn Hop 11/17/14.]

menu plan november ii

We have an exciting week coming up!  Friday afternoon we will be leaving for our annual all-church retreat to the gorgeous Beersheba Springs Assembly.  It's a special, sacred place for us.  Jeff and I met just down the road and were married at the Assembly.  Even though our marriage is now over, Jeff and I remain close friends and celebrate the fact that we began our family at that moment in time at the Assembly.  :)

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  I think this week I will do some frozen yogurt using rhubarb jam I put up over the summer.

Sunday
-- lunch:  I'll bring up a pot roast from the freezer for dinner after church, along with some green beans, roast acorn squash, and stewed collard greens.
-- supper:  Family Dinner!  It's our week for dessert, and I'm still tweaking my pie recipes for Thanksgiving.  I'm bringing this sorghum pumpkin pie with this gingersnap crust.

Monday
-- supper:  fried green tomato sandwiches on sourdough bread with bacon & mayonnaise, homemade potato chips

Tuesday
-- supper:  meatloaf, kohlrabi puree, green beans, whole roasted cauliflower

Wednesday
-- supper:  tuna melts on sourdough with raw cheese, cauliflower & sweet pepper crudite with herbed yogurt dip

Thursday
-- supper:  stir-fried pork loin with bok choi & green peppers, Napa cabbage salad with Asian dressing and crushed peanuts

Friday & Saturday meals will be on retreat!

Enjoy the week.  What are you eating?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 11/10/14.]

menu plan november i

Here we are in November.  My kids made it safely through the sugar zone, one as a witch and one as a lobster.  They had a great time.  Never am I so glad to live in a walk-able, friendly neighborhood as on occasions like Halloween.

Our Fall CSA will end next Saturday, and I admit that I'm slightly glad.  Keeping up with all the veggies always gets a little onerous by the end of the season.  Here's what we are eating this week.

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  This week I made some brownies - a standard recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook but I subbed in coconut oil for the shortening and sucanat for the sugar.  They are great!

Sunday
-- lunch:  leftovers from a party last night at Memaw's.  Bratwurst, burgers, potato salad, baked beans, fruit, etc.
-- supper:  Family Dinner!  Main dish will be a stirfry and noodles, so we are bringing a Napa cabbage salad as something crisp and refreshing on the side.

Monday
-- supper:  acorn squash stuffed with couscous, chickpeas, and raisins

Tuesday
-- supper:  chili with ground beef, home-canned tomatoes and soaked beans + cornbread

Wednesday
-- supper:  panko-breaded cod fillets, roasted potatoes + cauliflower

Thursday
-- supper:  Napa cabbage wraps filled with ground pork, Asian-style green beans, steamed rice

Friday
-- supper:  Asian pizza on sourdough crust topped with wilted tat soi, leftover green beans



Saturday
-- lunch:  egg salad on sourdough, crudite with herbed yogurt dip
-- supper:  roast chicken, collard greens, mashed potato + turnip, fried green tomatoes

[This post submitted to Meal Plan Monday on 11/3/14.]

menu plan october iv

Halloween week!  I'm not a huge fan of Halloween . . . not for any principled stance about ghouls and goblins, but rather just because I'm lazy and finding costumes for everyone makes me feel stressed out.  Also, college kind of ruined Halloween for me when every chick used it as an excuse to make a "sexy" costume.  "Sexy" nurse, "sexy" bumblebee, "sexy" witch, etc, etc.  Barf.  Anyway, on to the food!

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item that we nibble on all week for snacks and desserts.  This week it was chocolate pudding - a perennial favorite, especially when we have extra egg yolks to use up.

Sunday
-- lunch:  it's our church's annual Commitment Sunday.  We celebrate with a lunch following worship, and this year it is mouthwatering:  pulled pork sandwiches with pickled cabbage and remoulade, gratin of green with Parmesan, jalapeno cornbread, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream cheese and orange syrup.
-- supper:  Family Dinner!  It's Jimmy's birthday dinner, and he requested mashed potatoes and brown gravy as a side.  Easy enough!  (When it's a "family" member's birthday, they get to make any requests they want for dinner.  This leads to some awesome meals - and interesting ones, such as when Vicki requested cheese, yogurt, raisins, and ice cream.)

Monday
-- supper:  white beans and ham with chow chow and cornbread

Tuesday
-- supper:  beef soft tacos with fixings (sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa) - I've been experimenting with masa and my new tortilla press to make corn tortillas!

Wednesday
-- supper:  coconut red curry shrimp with bell peppers and bok choy over steamed rice

Thursday
-- supper:  breakfast for dinner!  sourdough waffles, home fries, sausage patties, fruit

Friday
-- supper:  Halloween pizza + salad!  Look how cute this idea is.  Plus I love black olives.  Whenever I do a day of baking, I make four or five sourdough pizza crusts, parbake, and freeze - that way they are ready to rock when I pull them out of the freezer to top and bake.

Saturday
-- lunch:  creamy kale and potato soup, sourdough toast, raw cheese
-- supper:  roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, roasted butternut squash

What's up in your kitchen this week?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday 10/27/14.]

menu plan october iii

Fall!  It's really here!  Chilly mornings and warm afternoons!  Jackets layered over short sleeves!  It's great.  I really hate hot weather so it's wonderful to feel a nice cool breeze.  Here's what we're eating this week.

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink Berkey filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item for the week and we kind of nibble on that for snacks and dessert all week.  This week it is pumpkin pie with a soaked crust and sorghum.  I'm testing my recipe to bring to my sister's for Thanksgiving!

Sunday
-- lunch:  we always have lunch after church at Memaw's house (that's my grandmother-in-law). It was a Parmesan-crusted chicken with pasta, green beans, and crescent rolls.
-- supper:  Family Dinner!  It's our week for appetizer.  I'm bringing wheat crackers with cream cheese and some pepper relish I canned last week.  It's really yummy to pour the pepper relish over the softened cream cheese and then put it on a cracker.

Monday
-- supper:  lentil soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough

Tuesday
-- supper:  Korean beef from the Elliott Homestead with bok choy mixed in, over steamed rice

Wednesday
-- supper:  grilled salmon with green beans, roasted potatoes, and kale salad

Thursday
-- supper:  pulled pork on sourdough buns with warm potato salad, braised collard greens, and sliced tomatoes

Friday
-- supper:  BBQ chicken pizza on sourdough crust

Saturday
-- lunch:  butternut squash soup, sourdough toast, cheese
-- supper:  roast chicken, kale salad, green beans, mashed potatoes

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday and the Homestead Barn Hop 10/20/14.]

menu plan october ii

So, I'm gonna start posting menu plans.  Ya dig?  Let's do it then.

Some notes:  we literally always have one of two things for breakfast if we are at home.

1)  -- scrambled eggs from our Mennonite hens
     -- homemade sourdough toast/English muffins/biscuits
     -- raw butter we have been making from our Mennonite cow cream
     -- local raw honey or homemade preserves
     -- seasonal fruit from our CSA or something I canned like peaches, pears, or applesauce

2) -- pancakes
    -- raw butter
    -- real maple syrup
    -- seasonal fruit

Vicki usually requests #2.  If we have time, I'm happy to oblige.

Since it is so monotonous, I'm not going to put breakfast on the menu plan.

Lunches are pretty much always leftovers.  If I do some actual cooking for lunch, I will put it in the plan.  If not, just assume it's something unexciting.

For drinks, we always have raw milk on hand.  We also drink filtered water, kombucha, or homemade soda from our ginger bug.  Lately I've been drinking the buttermilk left after butter-making - yum!

Finally, I try to make one dessert-ish item for the week and we kind of nibble on that for snacks and dessert all week.  This week it is sorghum molasses cookies.

Our CSA has been cranking out beautiful squash that the kids love knocking on at breakfast (so weird, I know - they enjoy knowing that they are hard-shelled).  Pumpkin, butternut, acorn, carnival, kobocha.  Love them all, and especially the fact that they are less perishable than some of the other items we get!  So I don't have to use them up right away.


Sunday
--lunch:  ham & beans & cornbread fundraiser lunch at church
--supper:  eggplant parmesan with homemade mozzarella, pasta

Monday
--supper:  black bean and corn soft tacos with homemade tortillas, raw cheese, homemade salsa, home cultured sour cream

Tuesday
--supper:  shepherd's pie

Wednesday
--supper:  stir-fried shrimp and bok choy over rice

Thursday
--supper:  braised pork chops with apples and onions, roasted acorn squash stuffed with rice and raisins

Friday
--supper:  white pizza made with sourdough crust, homemade ricotta and mozzarella, red onion, butternut squash, and sage; sliced tomatoes

Saturday
--lunch:  vegetable beef soup, sourdough bread, cheese

--supper:  roast chicken, mashed potatoes, fried okra, sliced tomatoes

What are you eating this week?

[This post submitted to Menu Plan Monday and the Homestead Barn Hop 10/14/14.]

i love you a bushel and a peck . . .

Guys'n'Dolls?  Anyone?  Okay whatever.

I'll cut straight to the chase.  We've been buying bushels of apples for $22.75 from Bulk Natural Foods.  (I will do another post on BNF soon, but let it suffice to say that if you are in middle Tennessee and not taking advantage of this co-op, you are a fool!)

And what does one do with a bushel of apples, especially if one doesn't have a spare refrigerator or other cold cellar in which to store them?

One does what one can.

Which includes:  applesauce, pie filling, eating out of hand, dehydrating, cider.

First, a word about varieties.  We were able to pick from about fifteen different kinds of apples, and I had no idea what I was doing.  I knew that Red Delicious are often mushy, that Granny Smith are too tart for me to eat plain, and that the rest were somewhere in between.  For our first bushel, I ordered Cortlands.  I got the box, tore it open, pulled a rosy red fruit out to taste, and . . . it . . . mushed between my teeth.  Nothing more disappointing than wanting to crunch into an apple and getting mush.  But they made stupendous sauce and really good, thick, pectin-y cider.  They also had a creamy white flesh that dried really nicely.

Second go-round, I went with Cameos.  Got the box, ripped it open, picked one up, said a little prayer . . . and . . . CRUNCH!  Perfection.  Lovely, firm, crisp, juicy flesh.

For winter storage, I read up on how to keep them in a cooler in the backyard.  Apples need to be between 28 and 30 degrees for optimal lifespan, so a cooler in the shade in a Nashville winter is about right.  I packed them in layers between newspaper in a regular old Igloo cooler.  Make sure all the apples are good, because you know what they say about one bad apple . . . (it spoils the whole bunch, girl).

For sauce, you don't really need a recipe.  4 pounds of apples yields about 1 1/2 quarts of sauce.  From my first bushel, I put up 12 half-pints to give out for Christmas presents.  I just peeled, cored, and quartered 8 pounds of apples, added in a cup of water, and threw in a star anise and a few big chunks of fresh ginger.  I stewed it all until it was quite soft - maybe 2 hours.  At that point, the apples had fallen apart and the texture was just slightly chunky.  If you wanted it smoother, you could mash it or put it through a food mill.  I heated the jars, removed the star anise and ginger chunks, and funneled it into my half-pints.  Processed in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.  Done!  I'm getting ready to put up a few more quarts this week for family usage through the winter.

I'm going to make pie filling this week with this recipe:  spiced apple pie filling.

For cider, we are lucky enough to have friends from church with an old-fashioned cider press!  (Hi Elaine!)  We went up there a couple of weeks ago for supper and cider pressing.  Vicki Jo got to experience a hen house for the first time, and was totally freaked out as she helped collect the eggs.  The Cortlands made great cider, but the yield wasn't too high.  About a half bushel yielded only a half gallon of cider.  We tore through that in about two days!  Freshly-pressed cider is not even comparable to storebought pasteurized cider.  But I'll drink that too.  The Cameos are much juicier, and I suspect they would yield more cider if pressed.

And finally:  dehydrating!  I don't have a fancy-pants dehydrator, and even if I did, I would have nowhere in my dang house to put it.  But I can do one better:  a giant convection oven at my place of employ!

I do about ten apples at a time.  Peel, core, slice thin, lay out on parchment (made this mistake once - never again!), put into the oven on lowest temperature and high convection until nice and dry - about 3 or 4 hours.

These are so addictive.  Like potato chips but really good for you and packed with fiber and with no nasty oils.  I can tear through a gallon size bag by myself in an evening.

So!  Apples.  There you have it.  Buying in bulk is super-economical (I'm paying roughly 55 cents per pound, which is about a third what these varieties cost at the market), and makes you feel really homemaker-ish as you stock your shelves with stuff that you made!

[This post submitted to Real Food Wednesday 12/11/13, Unprocessed Fridays 12/13/13 and Fight Back Friday 12/13/13.]

basil + lime

We are into popsicles.  I've shared our chocolate pudding pops and strawberry creamsicles with you in the past.  I also make smoothie pops pretty regularly, which don't really need a recipe.  I just mix homemade yogurt, frozen bananas, and whatever berries or other fruit we need to use up in the blender, then freeze in our mold.

My other method involves making a flavored simple syrup and freezing.  You can get really creative on your flavors, since you don't have to worry about what texture the final product will have.  We have a nice big basil plant on the front porch, a gift from my mother-in-law and her massage therapist friend.  It screamed out to me to be combined with some lime juice.  It's sort of a Thai-inspired flavor combination.  Hmm . . . it would probably also be really good in a coconut milk base!

Here's how you do it:

Basil-Lime Popsicles
15 basil leaves
1/3 C sugar
1 C water
peel and juice of two limes

Combine basil leaves with water, sugar and lime peel (you want big pieces of peel so you can strain it out - don't grate it) in a pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.  Use a wooden spoon to bruise the basil leaves, so you really get all the flavor out.  After 15 minutes, juice the limes into the pan.

Strain it back into the measuring cup.  You should have about a cup of liquid.  Pour into mold, pop in sticks, and freeze.

And enjoy!

pancake pantry

If you aren't familiar with this Nashville landmark, you need to get down here so we can go!  On weekend mornings, lines wrap around the block in Hillsboro Village as folks wait to eat blueberry, chocolate chip, and other assorted pancakes, as well as crepes, Dutch babies, and the whole gamut of batter that can be fried on a hot griddle.

I don't do lines and waiting very well, so we generally skip the Pancake Pantry, except for special occasions (like your visit).  But I have been making pancakes a couple times a week, on mornings when I don't have to get to work.  They are mainly a vehicle for Vicki to get butter and syrup in her mouth.  It makes a good break from our regular breakfast of granola and milk.  We also have them probably once a week as breakfast for dinner, along with bacon or sausage.  Lately, we have been loving walking to the Farmer's Market, buying blueberries, eating some on the way home, and then dropping the rest into our pancakes for dinner!

This recipe comes from what is probably my favorite cookbook:  The 150 Best American Recipes.  It gave me my best recipe for high-heat roast chicken, taught me how to cook steak and salmon well, and never fails to provide solid recipes for both basics and fancy food.  I love this particular pancake recipe for a few reasons:

1)  I always have the ingredients on hand.
2)  It doesn't have sugar in the batter, which yields a better-tasting pancake, to me.
3)  It doesn't make an exorbitant amount of batter - just enough for a hungry adult and a toddler.

Here's what you need:

Pancakes
1 C AP flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 C buttermilk or scant 1 C whole milk with 1/4 lemon squeezed into it
1 egg
3 T butter
butter and real maple syrup, to serve

First, if you aren't using buttermilk, get your sour milk ready, so it can sit for a little bit while you prepare the rest.  Just squeeze a lemon quarter into the measuring cup of milk, stir a little, and let it sit.  All you're doing is providing acid to react with the baking soda so the pancakes will rise.  You can't taste the lemon in the end.

Second, begin heating a griddle or a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat.  Place the 3 T butter in there and let it start to melt.

Third, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add the buttermilk/sour milk and egg, and mix with a fork, just until it's all incorporated - don't overmix.  Pour about 2 T of the melted butter into the batter and stir it in with the fork.  Leave the remaining butter in the griddle or skillet to grease it.  Again, don't overmix.  Just until you can't see butter anymore.

Once a drop of water sizzles on the skillet or griddle, drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls.  I can get three at a time into my skillet.  When you see bubbles popping on top, flip them.  I usually get eight pancakes out of a recipe, with the last one being sort of a midget.

Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

puddin' pops

Vicki Jo has been loving her some popsicles lately.  We use our popsicle mold constantly, and I finally had the bright idea to buy wooden popsicle sticks so I could have more than four at a time in the freezer!  Now, I make a batch, stick in wooden sticks, and pop them out when they are frozen.  I store them in a plastic bag in the freezer, and make another batch!  There are three main varieties I make:  fruit flavors with simple syrup (look for a basil lime recipe soon . . . yum); smoothie pops with yogurt and fruit; and pudding!  I am always looking for ways to use up our weekly gallon of raw milk, and pudding is so nutritious and tasty (okay, minus the sugar . . . but still, it has egg yolks and milk!  And butter!).

So, first, obviously, you have to make pudding.  I make chocolate, but the flavor possibilities are endless.  I've toyed with different recipes, but the best one is just sugar, cornstarch, milk, egg yolks, chocolate, with some butter and vanilla added at the end.  After the pudding is done, I pour it into popsicle molds and freeze.  But you could just eat the pudding itself for dessert!

Chocolate Pudding Pops
1/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C sugar
3 C whole milk
2 egg yolks
6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 T butter
1 t vanilla

Whisk together cornstarch and sugar in a large saucepan.  Pour in milk and heat gently over medium-low, until the mixture bubbles.  Whisk frequently.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Pour in a small amount of the milk mixture to bring the eggs up to temperature.  Then pour the egg and milk mixture back into the remaining milk in the saucepan.  Bring it up to a boil, whisking constantly.  When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, pull it off the heat.  Add in the chocolate and stir until well-combined.

Whisk in the butter and vanilla. If you suspect there might be lumps, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve before refrigerating or freezing.

To make pudding pops, pour into popsicle molds while still warm.

To eat as pudding, pour into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate for several hours until chilled.

frozen s'mores

This is an old favorite recipe that I've been making for about six or seven years now.  (I ripped if off of adapted it from Real Simple, which I used to love but have discovered is neither real nor simple.)  I had kind of forgotten about it, but it was my turn to bring dessert in the family dinner rotation, and this is a good one to make ahead!  All the work is done beforehand, and then you just freeze until you're ready to serve.  I would caution against leaving the prepared sandwiches, with the graham crackers, in the freezer for too long (like over 6 or 8 hours) - because the crackers will lose their crunch.

I didn't make my own marshmallows this time (although you certainly can).  I tried to make my own graham crackers, but they didn't turn out well for this application - too thick.  I will say that my husband loves them as a snack on their own, though.  They turned out almost more like biscotti - great with coffee.  Look for that recipe to come your way soon.

Frozen S'mores
3/4 C whole milk
24 regular-size (not mini) marshmallows
10 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used chips because they are cheaper)
1 1/2 C heavy cream
24 graham crackers (or 48 square graham cracker halves)

Graham crackers not pictured because I was in the middle of unsuccessfully trying to make them.

Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil that overhangs on the short edges by an inch or two to make a "handle."

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and marshmallows.  Stir until the marshmallows are melted and it is blended thoroughly.

Remove from heat and mix in the chocolate until it is totally melted.  Place mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream in a cold bowl with an electric mixer or a whisk, until it forms stiff peaks and looks like . . . well . . . whipped cream.

Fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture, a spoonful at a time, being careful not to deflate all the cream.  Fold until it is blended and no traces of white remain.

Getting there . . . 

(By the way, if you want to stop here and just serve this for dessert, this makes a great fake-out chocolate mousse.)

Pour the mixture into the prepared 9x13 dish and freeze, covered, until ready to make sandwiches.  (Can be done the night before.)

When ready to make sandwiches, break whole graham crackers in half so you have 48 square crackers.  Remove the chocolate mixture from the pan using your "handles" and cut into 24 squares.  Place one chocolate square between two crackers, and serve!  You can freeze the prepared sandwiches for a few hours.  Be sure to eat fast - they will melt quickly!

Voila!  Excuse my husband's scary hand.

superbowl dip-off

For family dinner on Superbowl Sunday, the idea came about for a dip competition.  This is a crew that certainly enjoys a friendly (or not so friendly) competition.  So, we agreed that each person could bring one entry.  Savory dips would all be judged using Tostitos scoops.  Sweet dips would all be judged using graham crackers.  We created a rubric for judging including the following categories:  presentation, scoopability, taste explosion, creativity, and name (+ discretionary points for favorites).  We stewed over our entries for a few weeks.  And we gathered, some with hot dips, some with cold.  We served them one at a time, giving each person a chance to present and make some remarks about their dips.

There were some amazing entries!  We sampled eleven dips in all.  My favorites were: a Greek-style dip that layered hummus, tzatziki, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and diced cucumber; a buffalo-chicken style dip in a cream cheese base; and (I'm biased) my own entry.  I brought my sister's spinach-artichoke dip.  Every time we gather at my sister's house for a holiday or a party, I demand that she make her little mini Crock Pot full of this dip.  It is to die for.  It is great with chips, spread on toast, thinned and used as a pasta sauce, as a pizza topping . . . or just eaten with a spoon.  It's pretty simple and if you got crazy, you could make all your own base ingredients from scratch:  cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream.  Roasting the garlic ahead of time is an essential step that gives the dip a ton of extra flavor.  Also roasting garlic is super-easy and it tastes amazing in just about anything.  Next time you have the oven running, just pop a head of garlic in there wrapped in foil and let it get nice and golden and soft.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 C sour cream
1 10-oz box frozen spinach, thawed
1 head roasted garlic, cooled
1 14.5-oz can artichoke hearts (could also use 2 C frozen, thawed)
1/4 C chopped water chestnuts (about half a small can)
salt

To roast garlic:  take a head of garlic and slice it in half through the equator, so each clove is cut in half.   Place it on a small piece of tin foil.  Drizzle with about 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Wrap up tightly in the foil.  Roast at 350 or so for about an hour, until it's very soft and golden-brown.

To make dip:  Mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a large oven-safe bowl or casserole.  Press all the excess water out of the spinach using a fine-mesh sieve, or just by taking fistfuls of it and squeezing it over the sink.  Add it to the base mixture.  Pop the garlic cloves out of their skins (they slide out very easily if you pinch the bottom), and roughly chop them.  Add them to the casserole.  Drain the artichoke hearts and chop them roughly and add to dip.  Mix in water chestnuts.  Give everything a thorough stirring.  Taste and add salt as needed (remember that the chips will be quite salty, too).

If you're making this in a little Crock Pot, just set it to low and let it warm for several hours.  If making in the oven, pop it in at 350 for about thirty minutes, stirring halfway through.  Serve warm.

I forgot to take a picture of the dip in its original glory, but here it is with some chopped roasted chicken, resurrected into a pasta dish for dinner last night: