Monday, January 28, 2013

Recipe- Winter Kielbasa Stew

I made the best recipe last night, so I decided that I absolutely HAVE to share my recipe. I found the original idea for the recipe here, but substituted and changed several ingredients I had from my CSA share to make my own recipe. It is delicious!



Winter Kielbasa Stew

Ingredients

4-5 cups Kale- Chopped
2 Large Sweet Potatoes- Cubed
1 1/2 cups Carrots- Sliced
1 lb Fully Cooked Kielbasa
1/2 tsp Basil- dried
1/2 tsp Thyme- dried
1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
32 oz Chicken Stock (or Veggie)- unsalted

Directions

1) In a stock pot, combine the Kale, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Kielbasa.
2) Add the Basil, Thyme, and Ground Pepper.
3) Add the Chicken Stock (or Veggie) and stir to combine
4) After bringing to a boil, cook on low heat for 1 hr or until potatoes are tender.

Now, you could fix this in a slow cooker and cook it on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. I wouldn't recommend much longer than that though because the sweet potatoes will get all mushy.

I fixed this last night when the kids were going to bed with the intention of having it to eat this week. It makes about 8 cups, so I am counting that as 8 servings since it is easy to measure.

It was certainly delicious. The little bit of spice from the kielbasa and kale was nicely balanced by the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potatoes. It was quick and easy to make. And I have already had some from lunch today. Best of all, I was able to use the Carrots, Kale, and Sweet Potatoes from my CSA share, which really helped me use up my kale before it deteriorated. Enjoy!

Basic Nutrition Info
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 243
Carbs: 20g
Total Fat: 14g
Protein: 11g
Sodium: 579mg



***This recipe is the creation of Naturalized Mainstream Mama***

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Welcome 2013

Welcome, 2013!

Before we continue, I need to add a disclaimer.
I am not yet finished with 2012.

I still have the RACK 2012 post to get out.

I want to post our Christmas pics.

There is a litany of birthy and parenting topics that I have fabulous ideas on to do posts.

And yet....




Yep. Crickets.
They are all up in here, messing in my business.

But, I did get a new computer from Hubby for Christmas! So hopefully in the next week or so I will have it set up and that will make it easier to do things from home. :-)

I just wanted to pop in and say Welcome to 2013!

New Year, New You! Right?

Or in my case, I am striving for a continuation of the resolutions I set last year.

I have joined a local CSA, which is awesome. I have a half-share of the combination shares for the Winter season, so I am picking up fresh organic veggies, apples, a loaf of bread, a dozen cage-free eggs, and fresh cheese each week. All GMO free and as organic/natural as possible. I hope to do a post on the benefits of the CSA in the near future also. I am so pleased that I hope to do a full share during the summer season. Given that I cannot get Hubby to work with me to find an appropriate place in our yard for a garden where it will get enough sun and not get in the way, this is a good second choice to our own garden. I still hope to do some growing at home, probably different herbs and easy plants to supplement the CSA options.

I am also working toward weightloss/getting healthy. The CSA is helping with that. I'm back on MFP, aka MyFitnessPal. Actually, I logged back in on Sunday and it was the first time I'd logged in to the site in over 7 months. *hangs head in shame* But, I have renewed motivation and energy, so we are working in that direction again.

I'm not even going to try to renew last year's resolution to blog daily. We all know how that went. I think weekly is a more attainable goal. And it will start after I get my computer up and running. ;-)

As far as organizing, I am in a better place than last year. And have made leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, including joining a "Dustbusters" group on FB that a friend created for us to use to bounce cleaning/organization ideas off one another and lend support. That has helped me come across some really good ideas. And of course, Pinterest helps a lot.

And I have been more socially active in the last year. Mostly concerning birthy stuff, like going to birth socials and workshops hosted by Mama*ology. I am actually the Board President of Mama*ology this calendar year, so I am excited for that opportunity and the things we will be doing this year.

So there you have it. My non-resolutions resolutions for 2013. Which will be begin after I finish 2012.