Spices Over Yanda Blog (Previously Allyson's Attempt at Domestication)

 Here are four recipes that have been on repeat for me lately.  All of them use sourdough starter, are delicious and easy! Sourdough English Muffins You will need active starter for this recipe, so just plan ahead for that extra step. If you need help understanding about active vs. discard starter, I plan to do another post soon about his and I will come back and link it here. Ingredients 200 grams active sourdough starter 260 grams milk (warm) 300 grams all purpose flour 1 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda Cornmeal for dusting Instructions Feed your starter about 8 hours before. Note: This recipe takes very little effort, but takes planning ahead.  Start about 24 hours before you want fresh english muffins.  I will typically feed my starter the night before, mix my dough the next morning and make the english muffins that evening.  Or, feed my starter in the morning, mix the dough before bed and make the english muffins in the morning. Mix the starte...

 Hello friends! This Christmas was an awesome and unforgettable one for me.  I had all my children, grandchildren and both our moms in town!  Such a blessing! Since we are still currently living in our trailer (though we did make it out on our land), we rented a house for the week to host out of. With such a large group, I planned on cooking all our meals at home to save money and make sure we ate well.  We had some family members who only eat lean meats and others that don't care for sourdough anything, so I had to adapt a few things. Adapting and trying new things is fun! Of course one of the requests was for my overnight cinnamon rolls, which has become a tradition for Christmas morning.  Luckily, I was able to get the house a day early, so I could prep everything.  That made everything possible.  Here is the best overnight cinnamon roll recipe you will ever try and I have put it to the test for years!  I doubled the recipe using my bosch mixe...

 You guys! I have a NEW recipe for you.  It's so good and it was created out of a need to use some of my fresh Italian oregano from my garden. As some of you may know, Ray and I are currently living in our travel trailer as we make a huge transition in our life.  Instead of just emptying out the nest, we sold it! We bought a little piece of land and are currently in the planning stages of building a large metal shop with a small area framed out inside for us to live in.  We are super excited! With an empty nest and no nest at all, I have found more time to enjoy some of my hobbies.  I love to have fresh food to cook and the best place to get fresh food is to grow it yourself!  I don't have a lot of room to work with and anything I do can not be permanent.  Well, I found these grow bags and they have been amazing!  Here is my current garden: That's not all of it, but the majority of it.  I have onions, three kinds of lettuce, broccoli, cabbage...

 Hello friends!  If you are here because I gifted you some of my "love" sourdough starter, below you will find (hopefully) most of the information you are looking for to get started on your sourdough journey!  If you have just happened upon my page, welcome!  Hopefully you will also find useful information here. "Love" (my sourdough starter) is about 6 months old.  I started her at a really weird time in my life, because I currently don't have an oven to bake bread in.  However, that's for another post.  I bake at my daughter's house, my mother's apartment, and lately I have been making my loaves in my crockpot!  I also have made many other things with "love" and she has truly been amazing.  I'm so happy to share her! In your jar, is fed and active starter.  Here are your options: Feed it and use it for bread in 8-12 hours Get a larger clean jar, place it on your kitchen scale and then set it to zero grams. Pour the starter I gave you i...

Yes! You can eat delicious food and baked goods while eating a keto lifestyle!  I have tried many different recipes for cookies that work for keto, and so far these are the only ones that were REALLY GOOD! Here is the recipe I used. I really enjoy the sugar free chocolate chips from Lily's.  I'm including a link from Amazon , but you can find them most everywhere and it looks like Amazon is not a good source right now.  They are more expensive than regualr baking chips, but not too much more.  Maybe a couple dollars normally.  I did half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate. Comment what you think!  

  You will be so amazed at this meal!  Definitely put it on your next meal plan! I don't love vegetables and zucchini has never been something I would be excited about eating, but I found a new love for them as "zoodles".  You take a zucchini, cut off the ends after washing and use a spiralizer to make noodles (aka zoodles).  I do this ahead of time and keep in a container or baggie in my fridge until the night I need to cook them.  Then I put some butter and olive oil in a pan and sauté for just a couple minutes, add a little salt and they are good to go.  You won't believe it, I don't even realize I'm not eating pasta! The meatballs! Oh, my yum!!  I based my recipe off of this one , but here is what I did: 1.5 pounds ground beef (I used 88%) a few leaves of fresh basil snipped up small 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I used fresh grated) 1/2 cup crushed pork rinds 2 eggs 1 tsp. kosher salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. dried oni...

 You can’t go wrong with this recipe! It’s not even a recipe really, more just a way to throw good ingredients together to make great, healthy food! Boneless Chicken breast (pound to same thickness, cut into tenders) Or boneless chicken tenders  Salt, pepper, favorite chicken seasoning Broccoli (cut in pieces) Parmesan shredded cheese Butter Minced garlic Heavy cream I LOVE making this all on the outside Camp Chef flat griddle. It’s so easy and quick. And of course, I can’t live without my cast iron skillets. I have three, I’ll do a post here soon on those.  Season your chicken and throw them on the griddle to start cooking. Next put your broccoli on the other side of the griddle. Squirt some water on the broccoli and cover with a dome lid to let it steam. Once your chicken is cooked on one side, turn it over, check on your broccoli, mixing it up, maybe add a bit more water and recover to continue steaming.  After you flip your chicken over, now it’s time to start th...

 Hi friends!! One of the things that I have loved about having this forum is that it can change with me.  This week I was reminded how people do still reference my website and I want to make sure it's a good representation of me.  So I'm here to tell you and share ideas, products and recipes from our new way of eating! I say we, because it is very much an endeavor that both Ray and I are on.  He has been eating this way for over 18 months and has successfully lost over 80 pounds!! He looks and feels amazing! I'll let him do a post with his own tips and tricks because he does do a lot of things different than I do, but what I share is what is working for me and how I cook for both of us.  Ray does more intermittent fasting and has different goals than I do.  I have been eating this way for about 2 months and have lost 20 pounds!  I will preface this with the fact that I did have weight loss surgery 8 years ago and since then I automatically eat higher p...

 Today I am leaving my second child at college.  Cambria loves to cook and is adventurous with what she likes to eat.  I'm getting ready to take her shopping for her first groceries and I wanted to add a few of my favorite things to cook and bake on my blog so she can find them easy. Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients: 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) - melted 1/2 cup of white sugar 1/4 cup of brown sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 egg 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cups total of chocolate chips (do a combination of milk, semi sweet, peanut butter) Instructions: heat oven to 350 degrees mix the sugars and melted butter until creamy stir in the egg and vanilla just until combined add in the flour, baking soda, salt - mix until dough consistency - you might need to add more flour (sometimes the mixer will make this too creamy so I mix by hand) add in the chocolate chips and mix/stir until combined drop by spoonfulls onto a bakin...

 Hello everyone!  I hope this finds everyone well and that y'all have been cooking your hearts out!  I promise I have been cooking, just haven't been blogging! Ha! Quick update on me: I graduated college, work full time as a project manager for a small company that builds custom homes and I still find time (but not enough) to cook as much from scratch as possible.  Ray cooks a lot more these days and it really is a shared kitchen for us, which is definitely not a complaint. I think the most exciting news in my kitchen is the life long dream come true (ok, maybe life long is a bit dramatic, but it feels like forever) of me owning a Bosch universal mixer.  You guys.... it's LIFE CHANGING and I am over the moon in love with it!  Now don't get me wrong, my trusty Kitchen Aide is still plugging along and is a great mixer that will stand the test of time.  In fact, I am happily handing it down to my 18 year old daughter Cambria that is venturing off to colle...

It has been too long, but I (and Ray) are back and moving forward with some exciting changes and great posts in store for this wonderful page that is about to get revamped! First things first.  Be sure to read my bio update so you get all the information on which phase we are at in this wonderful thing called life. Next....the name change.  Allison is finishing up her online Business Management degree and as a project, we have started a fun, informative and hopefully productive and fruitful website.  Thus the name change to match up with that website.  Not much will change over here besides the name.  We will still have great posts about new receipes we are trying and various ways and methods of cooking and baking.  This blog will just be the idea and content portion of our website.  This is where the idea stemmed from after all! Sooooo, stay tuned! And....tune in often!

Update on my previous post: I'm enrolled to start school this coming semester, yay!! I'm very excited!  It's all online except one group meeting every Thursday.  I also have applied to be a substitute teacher this year just a couple days per week.  Yay again! It is a perfect fit I think. Everything else is on hold but I think that's pretty great progress! I've been looking for healthy breakfast ideas for hubby and I and this looks good to try. Overnight Oats in a jar I'll let you know how it works!

Ok so I totally don't know if anyone reads this blog.  I'm completely ok with that as it is mostly for me to keep all my ideas and recipes, etc. in one place that is easily accessible.  However, here is a quick update on me for those that are following and might be interested. I've had quite the past year.  I had weight loss surgery in September and have lost a total of 116 pounds over the past year.  Woot! I feel so healthy and energized and I really feel like I can do anything I want. Here are things I'm looking at doing and/or changing now: Going back to school.... :) Finding a part time job to supplement the household income refinishing the play structure in the backyard refinishing kitchen cabinets cleaning out the rain gutters (also looking into a rain collector barrel) switching my electricity to solar powered building a new kitchen table (here's the plans for that) I'm so excited! Life is so wonderful and I feel so very blessed.  I'l...

I know I have very few readers, but I'm ok with that.  This blog has been so valuable to ME that I can't imagine what I would do without it.  I can pull it up on my phone just by googling it and have all my favorite recipes right there with me in the kitchen.  LOVE it! That being said, I have to keep posting or I won't have what I need! haha! Last week was one of those weeks where no matter what I did, dinner just didn't get cooked.  We were busy and I didn't have good enough plans that could weather the schedule. This week WILL be different!  I have a great menu planned and have all my ingredients and it was a SPLENDID produce basket from www.bountifulbaskets.org so I'm READY for this week! (and it's a wee bit less busy which will also help) Here is my menu plan for the week: Mexican Lasagna Beef roast pressure cooker baby back ribs That's it because Thursday we have dinner plans and Friday is my new week to plan for.  I did cook Friday, ...

This is a recipe that I've used for years and everyone LOVES these! 6 week Refrigerator Bran Muffins 2 cups of water and 2 sticks of margarine Bring to boil in microwave (I usually do 6 or 7 minutes) Add 2 cups of Original All Bran cereal Let sit while mixing the rest In a large bowl combine the following: 5 cups flour 3 cups sugar 5 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. salt 4 eggs 1 quart buttermilk 2 tsp. vanilla 4 cups Original All Bran cereal Combine both mixtures together, cover and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Before baking you can add a small amount of brown sugar to the top if you like that taste. Mixture can last in the refrigerator up to 6 weeks.

I have THE best husband ever! Why? Well for a million awesome reasons, but today it's because he got me THE BEST PRESENT ever for Christmas... :D  An electric pressure cooker!  This thing is truly amazing and I haven't even used it that much yet! One reason why I really wanted this "new toy" is to cook the 75 pounds of dry beans I now have stored in my pantry. :)  I have many reasons for wanting to learn to cook beans.  One is to learn to use my food storage, second to eat better and third because it's cheap eating! One of my goals is to start replacing white rice and pasta in our menus with beans.  This could prove tricky and I will try not to do it all at once, but I think it's definitely possible.  The electric pressure cooker will help for sure because it takes the work out of cooking the beans. My oldest daughter is not a great meat eater.  She really doesn't care for it.  However, we do make her eat it because she hasn't found a protei...

I just picked up my www.bountifulbaskets.org basket and it was full of a lot of yummy goodies!  Some I know EXACTLY what I'm doing with and some I don't.  Here is what I got... Pomengrants, asian pears, red pears, oranges, tangerines, green beans, avacados, lettuce, cranberries, grape tomatoes, radishes, parsnips, rainbow carrots, turnips, eggplant, onions, large russet potatoes, yellow squash, bell pepper and red potatoes!!! Wowzer! (and all for $30, I got the standard basket and the hostess pack) Christmas morning menu includes overnight cinnamon rolls , bacon, eggs, toast and orange juice.  For lunch we mostly just snack but I like to have stuff we don't normally have.  The menu plan includes cheese varieties, crackers, summer sausage, fancy deli meat.  When we got the avacados this morning we knew we wanted to make guacamole and 7 layer dip.  Here are the recipes we plan to use: 7 layer dip Classic Guacamole Christmas dinner menu plan include...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SITE!! It is www.everydayfoodstorage.net and Crystal is quite literally my HERO!! Everytime I go to her site I learn more.  I have NEVER had a recipe not turn out that came from her site.  She has taught me how to use my food storage in so many ways that AMAZE me.  She saves me time, money and inspires me to continue cooking for my family!  Have I convinced you with how much I LOVE her and her site?!?!?! So here are some items she posted way back in September.  I remember seeing them but I just wasn't at a place where I felt I could try them out.  But, I'm ready now so here are the items I want to try, yay!! Oatmeal on the go bars (or muffins) Best ever pancake mix - When we went camping last month I wanted to take an easy pancake mix with me, but I really HATE using pre-packaged food.  I prefer to use my food storage and make my own.  I knew I could count on Crystal.  I mixed a batch of this up and it was ...

I need to take a Christmas cookie for our church function this Friday, I think these may very well do the trick, yay!!  Everyone LOVES anything smores related! Smores no-bake cookies My other good stand-by is snickerdooles, but I need to find the recipe, will come back and edit with that later.... Found it! It was actually here on my blog from 2009 just I didn't have it tagged... I love having my recipes on a blog, it's sooo helpful! Snickerdoodle cookies

I got some fun ingredients with my bountiful basket this week and I got A LOT of stuff.  I want to make sure I use it all, so I looked up some good recipes to try that use the produce I received.  Here are some things I want to try in the next week or so. All-Star Muffin Mix with cranberries and pecans (I only have almonds, wonder if it will work) Sweet Potato Fritters Not sure about the pinto beans, but think the fritters might go over pretty well with the family. Oven-Fried Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes - I like that this is a combo of both (which I did get both in my basket of produce) - I see maybe some hamburgers and fries in our near future, might need to tweak the menu a bit Sweet Potato, Corn and Black Bean hash - only because my husband would LOVE this. Baked Acorn Squash - yummmm I've also been looking up dutch oven recipes to possibly try while on our Thanksgiving camping trip.  :)  We'll see.... Fun cooking, yay! -Allison