Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Chicken & Green Beans with Peanut Sauce

I picked a whole big bowl of green beans from the garden today, parboiled them, and stir-fried them with some chicken breast. Over rice it was a super delicious and easy supper! And you could smell the peanut butter throughout the entire kitchen… mmmmm!

Chicken & Green Beans with Peanut Sauce - The Backyard Farmwife

Peanut sauce:

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

4 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Whisk it all together until smooth and set aside.

Just sauté some cut up chicken breast (about 3 or 4) until it is no longer pink. Throw in some fresh parboiled or frozen green beans and stir-fry them until they are hot. Add the peanut sauce and heat through. Serve over white rice.

Chicken & Green Beans with Peanut Sauce - The Backyard Farmwife

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

This is a simplification of a recipe I found on Pinterest. I am going to write it in steps so that no one will be as confused as I was when I made it. It has quite a few steps (but still less than the original recipe) and dirties quite a few bowls but, thankfully, it was worth it in the end… My quest for the perfect blueberry muffin may be over???

 blueberry lemon streusel muffins - The Backyard Farmwife

Step one: Combine 1/4 cup sugar and the zest of 1 lemon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Step two: Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl. Mix in 3 Tablespoons melted butter until it turns into pea-sized pieces.

Step three: Mix 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Step four: Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 1/8 cups sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup melted butter and whisk until combined. Whisk in 1 cup buttermilk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Step five: Take the lemon/sugar combination and sift out the lemon zest through a fine sieve, reserving the sugar for topping the muffins. Stir the sugary lemon zest into the flour mixture.

Step six: Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg/sugar mixture. Mix until it is just combined. The batter will be very lumpy. Don’t worry, you don’t want to mix it too much!

Step seven: Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, toss them with 1 Tablespoon of flour before folding in.

Step eight: Fill 12-15 prepared muffin cups. Top each with streusel and a bit of the lemon sugar. Bake at 425 for 17-20 minutes or until the tops are firm and golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and another 5 minutes on wire rack. Eat warm.

blueberry lemon streusel muffins - The Backyard Farmwife blueberry lemon streusel muffins - The Backyard Farmwife

Monday, August 19, 2013

Crock Pot Frittata

What’s easier than an egg bake? An egg bake you make in the crock pot! It only takes a couple of hours to cook, which makes it an option for supper or breakfast.

This is so easy that it hardly even qualifies as an actual recipe!

Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray because eggs stick like mad!

Sauté up your favorite combo of veggies. You only need to do it until they are a bit tender and a bit crisp. I did some green peppers, zucchini, mushrooms…

crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife

First I threw in a couple of good handfuls of baby spinach into the crock pot. Then I layered the other veggies on top. For a nice onion-y flavor, I chopped up a few chives from my garden. Lastly, I did some real bacon bits from Costco. I love those things!

crock pot frittata - The Backyard FarmwifeSprinkle the whole thing with shredded cheese.

crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife

In order to feed all 5 of us and use up my bounty oddly-sized eggs, I beat up 12 eggs to pour over the top. You could use anywhere from 8-10 large eggs.

crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife Cook it on low for 3-4 hours or on high for about 2 hours.

crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife Made a quick easy supper!

crock pot frittata - The Backyard Farmwife