Frozen Breakfast Burritos

Something I've wanted to do for a while is to cook in bulk. This allows me to have more food ready more quickly. Today I went for it. I cooked breakfast burritos for my wonderful husband to quickly grab in the morning. This way, he can spend more time doing other things in the morning and not have to worry about making a healthy and filling breakfast. This also helps me serve him in other ways as he's getting everything together and getting out the door. I'm sure there are many wonderful recipes out there, but below is what I came up with! Enjoy!
Breakfast Burritos:

• 12 eggs
• About 3 medium sized potatoes
• 1 tube sausage
• 10-12 tortillas
• About 1 cup of grated cheese
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
• Salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika (depends how much you like!)

1.) Cook sausage in a large skillet (large enough to fit all the ingredients later). Once cooked, place on a plate lined with paper towels (to soak up grease) and set aside.

2.) Peel and chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Strain and set aside.

3.) Crack all eggs into a large bowl and add spices. (I also added a splash of milk here). Break the yolks and whisk them together. Set aside.

4.) Take the large skillet and saute the onion until tender. Add the egg mixture and cook/scramble the eggs and onion. When everything's almost cooked, add the sausage, cheese, and potatoes and mix it all together. Finish cooking and set aside.

5.) Take a tortilla and fill it with the egg mixture (I used a generous 1/2 cup scoop). Fold it into a burrito and set aside.

6.) Take each burrito and wrap in foil. Add these to a large freezer bag and toss in the freezer.

7.) Enjoy whenever! Great with sour cream & salsa!

Kombucha Update!

I am pleased to report that Jesse and I both have tried Kombucha brewed in the Bibee Household (Est. 2010). I bottled the tea (through a strainer and funnel) and put it in glass containers in the fridge. It is ....actually good. Not by itself, but it's good. We just put a little bit in some lemonade (Lemon-Bucha as Mary calls it I think), or even some juice. It does add flavor and it is yummy! The fizz is a great little addition as well. I'm still a little skeptical, but just wingin it.

Experimentation Galore!

Since I finished my classes at WWU, I've definitely had some time to do other things like be a wife, cook, read good books (like Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney), etc. I have been experimenting with different things like cake, meals, crafts, and weird things...like kombucha. Okay...I'm not a "fan" of kombucha, but why not try it at least? Kombucha is a tea with probiotic bacteria (similar to yogurt) aka "mushrooms". Sounds great huh? One can buy kombucha in the store for about $3 a bottle. It does have health benefits and some love the taste. Here's more about kombucha...as I don't know a lot about it myself, as I am a novice in the kombucha scene. About Kombucha! The Smiths were kind enough to share a kombucha baby with us...we rightly named it Simtherson. I "fed" this thing some more tea and sugar (who doesn't like that?) and it has grown quite a bit. Mary said to mix it with lemonade or juice and start out with a little at a time...I'm going to give it a whirl and I will report back!

Here is little Smitherson basking in its new batch of brewed tea...The disk below is the mushroom of bacteria...

(weird, I know)

I also have been working on some other things, maybe a little more "normal". One of my new favorite things to do is roast garlic in the oven. This is amazing and so easy to do! It's wonderful on chicken, spread over bread, in pasta...anything really.

Oven Roasted Garlic:

Take a bulb/head of garlic and chop off the top (about 1/2 inch or a little more)
Peel off a few outer layers.
Place in Garlic Roaster or in foil
Pour olive oil over the top, a good amount (about a tablespoon or a little less)
Sprinkle some salt & pepper (or other herbs if desired)
Add the lid to the roaster or close up the foil
Put in the oven (no need to preheat)
Turn to 350 and bake for about an hour
Enjoy!!

This is the end result...yumm!!

Another thing I played around with was making a cake from scratch...I don't think I've ever tried it before and I had about 5+ pounds of carrots that needed to be used. So, of course I made carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Below is the recipe:

Carrot Cake:

Mix:

2 Cups flour ( 1 cup white and 1 cup wheat)

2 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 t cinnamon

2 Cups sugar (organic/raw)

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups applesauce (replaces oil)

4 Cups grated carrots

3/4 Cup chopped walnuts

(One can add some raisins too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Grease (I use organic coconut oil) & flour dish, either two circle pans or one large pan

Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

Frost the cake and top with extra walnuts if desired

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Mix all very well:
2 (8oz) pkg soft cream cheese
1/2 C butter
2 C powdered sugar
1 t + a little vanilla extract

 Yum :)

The last thing...I promise!

I also experimented with homemade biscotti...very easy & very delicious!

Below is the recipe:

Almond Biscotti:

1/2 C soft butter

1 1/4 C sugar

3 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 C flour (1 cup wheat, 1 cup white)

2 t baking powder

dash of salt

1/2 C chopped almonds

2 t milk

Cream butter & 1 cup sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients. Divide dough in half. Spread into 2 12x3 in rectangles on foil or silpat baking sheet. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C of sugar. Bake @ 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and put on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Slice diagonally about 1/2 inches thick. Place cut side down on sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Flip to other cut side down and bake another 10 minutes. Turn off oven and open door to cool (leaving them in there). You can also dip in chocolate, or add other toppings! (adapted from this recipe)

These are delicious dipped in coffee :)

It's been a little while....

I know it's been a while since I've posted...you can thank Final Block for that! Jesse and I have been extra busy with work, school, and moving! We love our new place in Fairhaven (still unpacking) and will have to post some pics soon! Final block has been quite the whirlwind but it's almost done!! I can't even believe it! Jesse has been so helpful as I've been scrambling around, not sleeping much, and drinking lots of caffeine (yes, real caffeine)! I've had to put my cooking adventures on hold but cannot wait for summer to get back into meal planning and organizing!! :) For final block, we're each working with a classroom but focusing with two target students, one for math and one for writing. I'm up in Blaine (on the USA/Canada border) working with a third grade boy for math and a fifth grade boy for writing. I'm in the resource room and feel so blessed to be placed there because the students are great and my cooperating teacher is wonderful! I have many great stories of the kids (especially from the wa state testing these past two weeks)! My favorite thus far was from yesterday. Our third graders were doing the math portion of the MSP (used to be called the WASL when I was in school) in the resource room. One student was on a problem that asked him to round the number to the nearest hundredth. So following the directions quite literally, he drew many circles around the number. He was literally rounding the number. Even though he won't get any points for the answer...I am wishing he will get some creativity points :) I'm lucky to get to see this stuff all the time! Bless their little hearts, they try so hard! I have also received my student teaching placement, which will be in Bellingham in a kindergarten through 2nd grade resource room! I'm really excited to start student teaching, but am really looking forward to having some time off this summer!


Well I have no super exciting recipe to post...but I do have a link to a really yummy and easy Wonton soup! Enjoy!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wonton-Soup/Detail.aspx

Quick Cupcake Cookies

These cookies are good, very simple, and low fat/calories. I created/adapted this by wanting to make cookies out of a yellow cake mix I have had kickin' around for a while! They are a different texture than a normal cookie--more like cupcake/cookie-ish texture.


Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup peanut butter (or more)
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)


Put them by the spoonful on a silpat or lightly greased cookie sheet. They don't expand too much so go ahead and put as many little soldiers as you can on there! Bake @ 350 for 8-11 mins.


You can also use different types of cake mix or use something other than peanut butter. The great thing about this recipe is it's simple and you can mix and match the "flavor" with cake mixes.


Enjoy!

Healthy Muffins!

I decided to play around a little bit in the kitchen this morning! I was looking online for a recipe for healthy muffins and I found a good one but decided it needed some tweaks. Below is the recipe I made up and the link is where I derived this knowledge from :) You can omit or add ingredient as you choose! I know it looks scary because of all of the ingredients but it's pretty simple! Here it is:

Healthy Muffins! nom nom!
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

1 1/2 cups organic carrots (a few handful of baby carrots), shredded/finely chopped
1 cup organic spinach (couple handfuls), finely chopped
1/3 cup raisins
1 cup mixed nuts, chopped
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup stevia powder (or other natural sweetener)
2 eggs, organic, lightly beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup milk (I used 2% organic)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
a few teaspoons vanilla extract (I like a lot!)

*In a large bowl or mixer, mix together flours, oats, sugars, flax, cinnamon, baking soda & powder, salt. Add the milk, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla until well mixed. Add the carrots, raisins, nuts, spinach. *For the carrots, I placed a few handfuls of baby carrots in the food processor and let it do the work. I did the same with the spinach leaves and nuts and it worked great! Fill muffin cups (with paper liners or greased) about 2/3 full. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife comes out clean. Mine took 18-20 minutes depending on how full they were, but every oven's a little different!

I wanted a little sweet kick for the top so I made a little glaze out of organic powdered sugar, organic milk, and a little vanilla/almond extract. I just added everything until it tasted good! I wanted it a little liquidy so I could just put a few little drops on each muffin! A yummy touch! I hope you enjoy!

Here's the recipe I took my ideas from:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bran-Flax-Muffins/Detail.aspx

Attempt #2...

So, this is my second attempt at being a "blogger". So far all I can do is post things, but hopefully with Spring Break coming up I will spend some time learning about all this! 
Something I've been pondering:
What does it mean to really put our HOPE and TRUST in Jesus Christ? 
Well I found a woman who gave me a little glimpse of what this can look like. My Grandma. My grandmother has always been amazing but I have never seen her like this before. My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer and his health and life spiraled downward quickly. It all lasted for around 2 months, but the Lord was working in my grandma way before this, preparing her heart for what was coming. Watching my grandpa deteriorate was difficult but I was always amazed at how my grandma was throughout this time. I'm sure at times she was sad and scared, but she never seemed fearful. One could tell she wasn't hiding much, she was just confident. She knew the Lord was carrying her through this and that this was the plan He had for her and grandpa. She served my grandpa until his last day on earth. I would feel sorry (and still do sometimes) for my grandma many times -- just imagining what it would be like to go through this. The thing I started to notice was that she never seemed to feel sorry for herself. She loved God and loved grandpa and this showed in her words and actions. Her hope was deeply rooted in Christ. It wasn't there one day and gone the next. It was constant. She also trusted in God's plan for her and my grandpa. Though the rest of the family (including myself) seemed to fear and worry, she was always confident in her Savior and the promises He's given to those who believe in Him. What a beautiful picture that is! My grandpa said that he wasn't fearful to die because of this unfathomable promise! Wow! Because of this, my grandma was not fearful either. Driving home from Seattle today I really started reflecting on this and it clicked. My grandma knows what it means to trust and hope in God. Seeing my grandma before my grandpa's death, after his death, and at/after his memorial service yesterday, I realized what a solid woman of God she is! The most important part about this is it's not because of the great things she has done, but because of the great things Christ has done in her! She has her hope and trust in Him! Even though this is a tiny little piece of what this looks like, it has opened my eyes. It's hard to write about how amazing this is to witness, but I hope it encourages you (as it has done to me) to look deeper into what it truly means to hope and trust in Christ. It's a beautiful picture He has painted for me in my life and I had to share. Soli deo Gloria! (For glory to God alone!)

How do you work this thing?

So it's been on my heart and mind recently to start a blog. Why you may ask? Well, I want to share resources, recipes, and thoughts! I feel like God's really taught me a lot recently and I want to be able to share it with anyone and everyone! I'm new to this whole blog thing and I'm not sure how everything works (yet), so bear with me here! (I think I might start out by clicking on that little 'help' button at the top of my screen!)
To get started, I also want to share a wonderful recipe that is one of Jesse and my favorites! Salsa!!
We have played with this recipe a while and I think we got it down perfectly:

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes
2-3 garlic cloves
Cilantro (I use around 1/4 of a bunch, but adjust to your tastes) (wash!)
1 jalapeno (*make sure to wash with soap and water before)
Salt & pepper to taste (I use quite a bit)
Medium pinch of salsa
*Can add a little lime juice too! Little squirt will do it!
*Can add a little bit of onion, but onions are generally more for pico de gallo

-Put the can of diced tomatoes in a food processor and blend until there are no (or few) chunks
-Pour into a bowl and set aside
-Add garlic cloves (peeled) to the food processor and the jalapeno (I remove seeds, cut into large chunks)
-Add about 1/3 of the canned tomatoes with chilies.
-Pulse/blend until its all chopped into tiny tiny pieces
-Pour into bowl with tomato mixture, give it a stir
-Pour another third of the can of diced tomatoes w/ chilies into the processor
-Add the cilantro leaves (take off of the stems)
-Pulse/blend until smooth
-Add to mix, add salt, sugar, and pepper, and stir
-Give it a little taste (*Remember: all of the flavors won't be infused yet, so it will taste a little tomato-ie!)
-Blend rest of tomatoes in can and add to bowl. The reason I wait to add this last little bit is so if I need to add more of something (i.e. cilantro) I have some liquid to blend it with so it gets fully chopped!)
-Taste again!
-Enjoy! ( I would highly recommend the Organic Tortilla chips from Costco to assist this yummy-ness!)

Here's the original recipe we created it from!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/restaurant-style-salsa/