Category Archives: Favorite Recipes

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Posted by Mama Bear on February 11, 2015 1 comments

Parmesan crusted chicken is another easy favorite recipe in our house. It’s what’s for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:
1/2c mayo
1/4c grated Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4tsp Italian bread crumbs or croutons (I use Brenton gf herb crackers)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Combine mayo with cheese. Arrange chicken on baking sheet(I usually pound them a little if they’re thick) Evenly top with mayo mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake about 20min or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serves 4.

parmesan crusted chicken photo

Photo by alanagkelly

Mexican Lasagna

Posted by Mama Bear on February 1, 2015 None comments

Recipes that all my men, little and big enjoy and are relatively easy, healthy and inexpensive to make are always a big hit with me. This one is definetly one of those. I found it in a Taste of Home magazine years ago which the pages of are now well worn, crumpled and stained so I figured I would post it on the blog for safe keeping at to share with you of course. 🙂

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1/4c chopped onion
1 16oz can Refried beans
1 15oz can mild chili beans
1 14oz can mexican stewed tomatoes(drained)
1c salsa
1 envelope low sodium taco seasoning
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1-1/4c shredded Monterey Jack
1-1/4c shredded part skim mozz
3/4c small curd cottage cheese
1-1/4c sour cream, divided
9 lasagna noodles

Cook beef and onion over med heat until meat is no longer pink and drain. Stir in beans, tomatoes, salsa, chili and seasonings.
In a bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Mozzarella cheeses, set aside 1 1/2c. Stir cottage cheese and 3/4c sour cream into remaining cheese mixture.
Spread 1c meat sauce into a greased 13x9x2in baking dish. Later with three noodles and a third of the cottage cheese mixture and meat sauce. Repeat layers twice (dish will we full) cover and bake at 350 for 1hr
Uncover, spread with remaining sour cream. Sprinkle it’s reserved cheeses. Bake 10-12min longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 20min before serving.

You can also make this in the crockpot by layering it as usual and cooking it on low 4-5 hours.
lasagna photo Photo by jamesonf

Garlic Lemonade

Posted by Mama Bear on January 3, 2015 1 comments

We love to drink garlic lemonade especially when we’re feeling a little crummy. Lemon and garlic are great for detoxing, boosting the immune system and as an anti-bacterial.

Here’s all you need:
8 c water
1 1/2 c lemon juice (Costco has bottled organic lemon juice)
1 c sugar or preferably stevia or honey to taste since sugar lowers the immune system
5 crushed/pressed garlic cloves

Then just mix all ingredients together and drink warm or cold. Ta-da! 🙂

lemonade photo

Photo by Rob.Bertholf

Easy Peasy Bone Broth

Posted by Mama Bear on January 1, 2015 2 comments

Not only is bone broth loaded with tons of vitamins and minerals, it helps with digestion and boosts the immune system, its also super easy and inexpensive to make. Use the bones from healthy farm raised animals to get the most benefit. I usually make mine from organic whole chickens from Costco or the beef bones of our local farmers grass fed cows.
You can use your crockpot to cook the whole chicken or bone in beef, soup bones ect then after it’s done and we’ve eaten the meat or removed it, I throw the chicken carcass or bones right back in the crockpot and cover with water and add about 2 Tbs of Apple Cider Vinegar(the acv helps “leach” the minerals out of the bones) You can also add celery, carrots, parsley ect for flavor especially if you’re planning to just drink the warm broth but otherwise I wait and add whatever vegetables I will need when I cook the meal I’m using it for. You will want to let it cook for about 24hrs. If you see foam on the top in the first couple of hours of cooking, scoop this out. This is impurities that are coming out. I usually get little to none of this using the meat sources that we do. After it’s done, let it cool slightly and strain the bones and meat out so that all you have is the broth. You can keep this in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze it for later. The remaining bones that are left have been cooked so long I am able to feed them to the dog and chickens so absolutely nothing is wasted! So there you have it. Easy peasy, nutritious food for your family 🙂

broth photo

Photo by roland

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Posted by Mama Bear on December 31, 2014 None comments

IMG_5746I’ve mentioned before, I keep several egg recipes on hand for when our girls are producing more eggs than we can use in a regular day. This recipe makes an easy fun protein snack for home or a delicious twist on deviled eggs for a party!

Ingredients:
12 eggs
1/2 c mayo
4 slices bacon
2 Tbs finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbs mustard

Boil enough water to cover eggs. Place eggs in boiling water for 8 min. When eggs have finished boiling cover in cold water and let cool. Meanwhile cook bacon in large skillet. Crumble and set aside.
Peel the boiled eggs and cut in 1/2 lengthwise. Remove yolks and mash with mayo, bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving time.

Easy Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Posted by Mama Bear on December 26, 2014 2 comments

elderberry
I first learned about making homemade Elderberry syrup years ago from Donielle at Natural Fertility and Wellness. It is much cheaper than buying it and super easy. I usually buy our dried berries from Amazon or Mountain Rose Herbs. Elderberries contain high levels of A, B, and C and stimulate the immune system. Here is the simple way I make a batch for our family.

Ingredients:
•1 cup dried black elderberries
•4 cups of water
•1-1 1/2 cup raw honey (sometimes I make the liquid w/o the honey and just add it to our kombucha, juice or smoothies)

3-8 drops Young Living Essential Oils (not all essential oils are food grade)
I prefer 3 drop Thieves, 1 nutmeg, 1 clove, 1 ginger, 1 cinnamon bark and 1 frankincense for this recipe.

1.Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries.
2.Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
3.Discard the elderberries(aka throw out for the birds and our chickens)and let the liquid cool to lukewarm then stir in honey and essential oils.
4.When honey is mixed pour into glass jar and refrigerate.
5.Give ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the germies start to get you down, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

Homemade Ice Cream

Posted by Mama Bear on December 19, 2014 None comments

This is the absolute best and easiest homemade ice cream ever! We have been using this recipe for about 10 years and I always get asked how to make it so here you go.

Ingredients:
3 c sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
6 c heavy whipping cream
3 c milk
1 Tbs vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Pour into canister. Ta dah! 🙂

icecream

Favorite Potato Salad Recipe

Posted by Mama Bear on December 19, 2014 None comments

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and love it. It has a little extra twist of flavor and I think it’s delicious!

2 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes

6 eggs

1 pound bacon

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 cups mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2.Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
3.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4.Chop the cooled potatoes, leaving skin on. Add to a large bowl, along with the eggs, bacon, onion and celery. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for an hour before serving.

potatosalad

Easy and Delicious Fruit Salad

Posted by Mama Bear on December 19, 2014 None comments

I absolutely love this fruit salad. It’s super easy and delicious! Throw it together for a quick healthy snack or to take to a party.

All you will need is:
Bananas
Strawberries
Kiwi
1 can pineapple wedges w/ fruit juice (juice keeps bananas from browning)

And there you have it. Super easy and eye catching too. Enjoy! 🙂

…fruitsalad

Breakfast Casserole

Posted by Mama Bear on December 18, 2014 None comments

I absolutely love this breakfast casserole since you can put it together the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning. Since we have chickens now I like to have several recipes that use lots of eggs at hand for when we have an over abundance of eggs. This one is perfect for breakfast or brunch meetings and especially Christmas morning 🙂

1 16 ounce package breakfast sausage
12 eggs
1 10.75oz can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 c milk
1 32oz package of Ore Ida potatoes with onion and peppers
salt pepper and/or seasoning of your choice
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar
*I prefer to use a little more egg and less potato to make it lower carb and lower in nightshade plants(tomatoes, white potatoes, eggplant, peppers) which my body isn’t a huge fan of.

Place sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, condensed cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Stir in the sausage and mushrooms, and pour into the prepared baking dish. Mix in the frozen potato rounds.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

breakfast casserole photo

Photo by stevendepolo