What's for dinner? Vegetarian Taco's!

Since having my back surgery I've still been eating vegetarian meals while recovering. There are so many versions of meatless tacos and I thought I would share mine!

Ingredients:
2 ripe Avocado's
1/4 cup diced leek(you can you onion)
Shredded Mexican Cheese
Diced Black Olives
Cherry Tomatoes
Tortilla Shells

Directions:
Cut avocado's in half remove pits scoop out and mash in a bowl. Dice leek or onion and mix into mashed avocado. I added about 6 diced cherry tomatoes to this as well. Spread avocado mix on tortilla shell top with more tomatoes(if you'd like), diced black olives, and shredded Mexican cheese. Enjoy!

Easy to make and takes maybe 10 minutes tops! I'm aware if you are only making food for yourself then that's probably a lot of avocado. I only ate 2 taco's and used about a  tablespoon per taco so I will be using the leftovers for a snack later or lunch tomorrow.

What's For Breakfast? Kids Choice!

I like to think we have taught our children the importance of eating healthy. So once a week we let them choose our meals for the day. Yes, sometimes they need a little guidance and some days they choose things I wouldn't have thought to put together.
Usually when it's their day to choose breakfast they usually say pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast 👀 I was really surprised this morning when they said eggs, maple sausage, and bananas! Our children(ages 10 & 4) help cook most of our meals so I asked how I was cooking the eggs. I was thinking scrambled or dippy eggs but what they said was "make the sausage then make scrambled eggs DON'T wash the pan!". This goes to show that even tho they act like they aren't listening they really are.

What's For Dinner?A healthier option

I'm getting ready to have back surgery so my meals are more vegetarian but I promise you this is delicious! This recipe is even kid approve they plowed down 2 plates of it!

Ingredients:

1 TBS olive oil (I used vegetable oil it worked fine)

1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into 1 in cubes

1 TBS minced fresh rosemary 

1/2 tsp Pink himalayan salt

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth (I used vegetable)

1 (5oz bag) baby spinach 

1/2 cup half and half

1 (12oz) bag frozen cheese tortellini (I used the refrigerated ones from Walmart)

Instructions:

Heat oil in a 10-12 in skillet over medium heat

Stir in the cubed sweet potatoes, rosemary, and salt. Cover the skillet and cook stirring occasionally for about 5-7 mins until sweet potatoes are just starting to get soft

Add the broth stir it in add the spinach 1 handful at a time stirring until it wilts down before adding more.

Stir in the half and half then cover and bring the liquid to a simmer

Uncover and stir in the tortellini cook, stirring frequently for 10-15 mins until the tortellini are plump and cooked through

I also added red kidney beans but you don't have to :) This made enough to feed 6

What's For Dinner?

Tonight's dinner is simple and easy to make. Mediterranean Salad! Well, my take on it anyways.
Ingredients:
1 12oz box of bowtie pasta-I used the medium ones but you can use the small ones
1 can of sliced black olives(I'm sure you could use green ones and it'd be just as good)
1 English cucumber I sliced into thin slices then halved them
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
1-2 TBS of Italian herb mix

Dressing:
1/4 C olive oil(I used light but you can use extra virgin)
1 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice(I used a little more)
1 tsp  honey
3 TBS red wine vinegar

Slice cucumber, tomatoes, and olives ad to a large bowl(I used a salad bowl worked fine)
Cook bowtie pasta until done, drain, rinse in cold water for 20-30 seconds no longer, add to vegetable mix
For the dressing, I just mixed the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, red wine vinegar, and Italian herb mix in a bowl then dumped on the pasta vegetable mix.
Italian herb mix- basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and I add a little garlic to mine. I premixed mine I want to say it was 1 tsp of each(1/2 tsp for garlic) that filled an empty glass spice jar I got at Walmart.  Or you can buy the dry mix packet of Italian dressing mix I have made it with that before it was good!






You can certainly add cheese to it. I don't add it directly to the salad mix bc I don't like soggy cheese. From what I have heard feta is the most popular to put on this. However, feta is an acquired taste I leave it plain my kids like finely shredded Mexican cheese on theirs. This is going to be enough for dinner for 4 tonight and lunch for 2 tomorrow!

The Great American Farm Tour $1,000 Giveaway!

If you are a fellow homesteader like myself and follow Justin Rhodes on Youtube you know he is having a $1,000 giveaway. His family recently went on a road trip and visited big and small farms in all 50 states. They are having a giveaway worth $1,000 there are products from all farms and they are good!! If you would like to a chance to win this giveaway go HERE to enter. You do NOT want to miss this!

Do you need seeds for your spring garden? READ THIS!!

I just got an email from seedsnow.com  about this awesome deal! Today you will be getting FREE shipping on any order, a FREE 175-page organic gardening ebook with any purchase, and a FREE Tigerella tomato seed kit with any order over $20!! That is amazing!
As many of you know I have ordered from them before and will be starting my seeds soon. If you would like to see the seeds I received hit the home page on my blog.

 If you would like the above deal click HERE and use code: FS-FMTLA8

Chickens

Since we looked at our property we knew that raising dual purpose chickens was going to happen. We want to be more self-sufficient and eat much healthier and chicken is something we eat the most of. I have done so so much research into breeds, diseases, and common injuries it's a lot to soak in. I believe I finally found the chickens we want! How did I figure it out? Well, I knew we wanted to raise chickens for eggs, meat, to till, and to fertilize the garden. I had to calculate how many eggs we eat in a week. Some chickens don't lay as many eggs as others so that was something to consider when choosing a breed. We need about 2 dozen eggs a week.
Here was my starting list and how I narrowed it down:

Ameraucana- This is a breed that I was told would be best for my family. They are a large fowl but their main purpose is egg laying and only lay about 3 eggs a week.

Astralorp- This breed I hear amazing things about. How friendly they are and great with kids. They're a dual purpose large fowl that lays about 5 eggs a week. That is great! Except... they tend to be broody and we don't need a broody hen we don't want to hatch chicks and won't have a rooster(against our ordinances)

Orpington- Another breed I hear lovely things about and this one was hard for us to not choose. They're a dual purpose large fowl(some are bantams) that only lay about 3 eggs a week and get broody. 

Silkie- These gals are bantams who look like they just left the disco are more for pets. They aren't that great for laying(about 3 per week) or a meat bird. These were on our to purchase list(for a pet, not meat) but nowhere has them for the time frame we need or if they do you have to order a min of 15 Silkies. We want a total of 6 hens so that doesn't work sadly.

Red Star-  I really debated on these ladies I hadn't heard really anything about them anywhere. They are a dual purpose large fowl that lays about 5 eggs per week. I've really only come across the Golden Buffs which we will be purchasing 2 of these.

Speckled Sussex- If you have never seen a Speckled Sussex to me they are just so pretty! These gals are dual purpose large fowl that lay about 4 eggs per week. I'm aware they can go broody but I have also heard people say that theirs never have. We will be ordering 2 of these as well.

Rhode Island Red- Thru all of my research I have read the most about this particular breed. They are great for eggs laying about 5 eggs per week and meat. They don't really get broody and they are so friendly. We will be purchasing 2 of these as well.

Why choose different breeds and not just one? My husband asked the same thing! I want to get 2-3 different breeds that way when we are ready to order more chicks we know which ones we really like. I think the variety is nice! With the chickens, we will be ordering we will get about 28 eggs a week. 

What is your favorite breed?