Why i LOVE my Home Store.

To you, I'm a Shelf Reliance Consultant

to me....I'm a mother.
so excuse me while i gloat in my son's adorable-ness.

me: "hey bud, what should we make for dinner tonight?"
bo: "oh mom, can we please have some of the shwelf rewiance?..i LOVE that food!"

isn't that cute?

..wait...now before you go off believing that i deceive my kids in an effort to get them eating more vegetables..i don't. bo is fully aware that vegetables grow from seeds in the ground...and that they are not magically chopped and ready to eat.
but heck, maybe i don't need to spend my days teaching the kids about this.
perhaps the future will include all our groceries coming to our door, fresh, clean, chopped and delicious.
hmmm....maybe we ARE the future!

anyway, i'm off my soapbox
(for now)

the reason for this post was to tell you why i love my Home Store.

I love food.
(isn't it obvious?)
thus i am a fan of food blogs.
i found one a few years ago. it was simple home cookin'.
and since i'm simple...i was on board.
i would find a scrumptious new recipe on the blog and write down all the ingredients so that the next time i was at the store i would be sure to get everything i needed.
sometimes this method worked like magic.
everything was purchased, AND, i remembered where i had found the recipe and what i was planning to make with it.
other times it did not.

now things run differently,
no matter the blog,
no matter the recipe,
i have the ingredients on had!
i am confident NOTHING has gone rotten in the back of the fridge.
(cause it's not in the fridge, just our yummy leftovers are!)
i am certain the meal will be eaten, and possible cleaned up,
LONG before the suggested cook time.
and i just KNOW everyone at the table will enjoy!
so now, when i find something that sounds good..
i make it!
right then.
not after going to the grocery store.
or making a list for hours.
right then.

and i love that.

here's what we made tonight...

Potato Casserole, aka. Shepherds pie.

from Caviar Shmaviar.
clever, huh!

here is her recipe:

1 lb Hamburger
1 Can Kitchen Cut Green Beans - drained
1 Can Tomato Soup - not sauce, soup
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 Large or 4-5 Medium Russet Potatoes
2 Tbsp. Butter (or Margarine in my case)
Paprika

Mashed Potatoes: Peel potatoes, wash and cut. Put in a pan with water an inch above the potatoes. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium low and set timer for 15 minutes. Drain water and mash. Add a little butter or margarine and a little milk or lactose free milk :) Mash a little more.

Hamburger Mixture: While the potatoes are cooking, brown hamburger. Remove grease. Add beans, tomato soup, and salt and pepper. About 1/2 Tbsp of each. Place hamburger mixture in baking dish. Then add potatoes. Place pieces of butter or margarine on top of the potatoes and then sprinkle with Paprika to your liking. Cook on 350 for about a half an hour until it's completely warmed through.

I added THRIVE onions, while browning the meat...
THRIVE carrots
THRIVE peas, and
THRIVE green beans.
after reconstituting them together in the same bowl of cold water for about 3 minutes.
(and no, i didn't measure)

then i dumped it all in a stone to bake.
(now, i'm thinking some THRIVE corn would have been yummy in their too.)

put your mashed potatoes on top.
I added THRIVE sour cream to my mashed potatoes.
(how ever much sour cream powder you add, add half that much water.)

then spread some butter cubes on top, and some paprika!

walaa...bake at 350!

now, don't be a hater, give this good ol' fashioned casserole a shot. it won't disappoint.

you're gonna LOVE this soup!

My friend shared this recipe with me, and our family fell in LOVE with it.

so when we were craving some good ol fashioned comfort food,

{yet, there were very little veggies in the fridge}

we made it with THRIVE!

and the best part....

i didn't have to do all the chopping this time.

2 Tablespoons butter (THRIVE powder butter reconstituted)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped onion (THRIVE chopped onions)
3 carrots chopped (THRIVE chopped carrots)
2 stalks of celery (THRIVE chopped celery)
1 1/2 tablespoons of flour(THRIVE flour)
1-2 minced cloves of garlic
2 cups chicken stock (stock adds such a richer flavor, I use Swanson brand for both stock and broth)

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped cauliflower (THRIVE cauliflower)
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped (THRIVE potato chunks)
2/3 cup of milk (THRIVE instant milk reconstituted)
2 cups chopped broccoli (THRIVE broccoli)
2 heaping cups of shredded cheddar cheese (THRIVE shredded cheese)

Melt butter with salt in large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender (about 10 min) Add garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes {garlic burns easy} Then add 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, mixing well until veggies are coated. Add chicken broth and stock, potatoes and cauliflower, cook on med heat until potatoes are 1/2 tender {about 25 minutes}, add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

(using THRIVE will decrease the cooking time as well....best way to make this...taste test often)

If you like a bit thicker soup, I take a ladle of just broth at the end and mix with -2 tablespoons of cornstarch, whisk it together and then add back to the soup, let it heat up and soup will thicken.

Happy Cooking!!

Did you know?

Did you know we have Freeze Dried Cheese??

You better believe we do!

(with a 20 year shelf life i might add!)

Twice Baked Potatoes

2 c. THRIVE potato chunks

2 tsp THRIVE chopped onion

1/4 c. THRIVE bacon TVP

1 c. THRIVE cheddar cheese, rehydrated and divided

1/2 c. THRIVE instant milk, prepared

1/2 c. THRIVE sour cream, prepared

2-3 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

rehydrate and cook potatoes by placing them in to boiling water. add 1 tsp of salt and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash the potatoes, then add the other ingredients and whip together until creamy. Place mixture into large dish and top with additional cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown. Makes 4-6 servings.

we had this with dinner last night.

SO good.

give it a try.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy Halloween!!

I started a tradition way back when. chicken noodle soup before trick-or-treating! it was always something we looked forward too, but it took a long time!

now that the kids are older and the day is crazy busy, i was about to opt for a frozen pizza for dinner. but the hubby gave me the ol' "you're going to break tradition?" with the saddest looking face.

so i caved.

but i'm a lot smarter this time around.

Thrive cooked chopped chicken

Thrive celery

Thrive onions

Thrive carrots

Thrive potato chunks

and some frozen grandma noodles.

oh baby!

it was SO good.

took me a total of 18 minutes

(instead of the usual hour, and mostly cause we were waiting on the rolls to warm up!)

saved some time, filled some bellies, had a fabulous night!

Enjoy your halloween candy tonight!