To be honest, I don’t know that I will do this again. Mainly because my kids didn’t like the soup. I like it. When I blended the soup the next day my kids liked it better. Cooking it in the shell worked, but had some difficulties. I will share the process and to help you have success in your creative dinner making.

How to Cook Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin Shell

Choose Your Pumpkin

Choose a medium to large size pumpkin. You want the pumpkin to be big enough to fit all your soup fillings but small enough to fit in your pot or pan that you are baking it in.

Clean The Pumpkin

Wash the outside of the pumpkin. For cleanliness sake, we wash the outside of the pumpkin because we are using it as our bowl for out food.

Cut and Gut The Inside of The Pumpkin

Cut the top of the pumpkin off. Don’t cut to low or you will loose room for the soup. I cut the top off and the stem. I don’t want the stem catching fire in the oven and this also allows for a steam hole.

Saute Your Soup Ingredients

The recipe I used is a vegan veggie soup with jalapeno and coconut milk. The flavor was good but the texture did fit very well. It was too brothy and not creamy enough… I should have blended the bean with the vegetable broth to create a thicker, creamy texture. What every recipe you do try with your pumpkin shell make sure you saute and cook everything before putting it in the pumpkin. This will shorten the time you have it in the oven and assure everything got cook through. Especially if you are using meat.

Add Ingredients to The Pumpkin Shell

Pour you soup ingredients into your pumpkin shell. Broth, veggies, meat, beans. Leave any milks or dairy out until the end when its done baking.

Baking the Pumpkin Soup

Bake the pumpkin on the lowest rack in your oven at 375 degrees for 2 hours or until the shell is soften and the pumpkin is fully cooked. It may take longer depending on the size of the pumpkin. I did find out that at 375 my pumpkin skin did get a little brown so if you really want to avoid this maybe try 350 degrees for a longer time.

Scrape the Pumpkin And Serve

One the pumpkin is done baking, take a fork and scrape the sides of the soup from the inside getting the ‘meat’ of the pumpkin incorporated into the soup. Pour in your coconut milk or other dairy products your recipe might use. Serve your pumpkin soup from the shell and enjoy this fun meal!

Is Cooking Pumpkin Soup in the Shell Worth it?

Pros

There was too great benefits of serving the pumpkin soup straight our the shell. Number one was the appearance. It gets 5 starts for aesthetics. Secondly the pumpkin flavor in the broth was amazing. It wasn’t overpowering but it was defiantly there. It was a wonderful flavor but I do thing I could get that flavor with pumpkin chunks in a normal pot all the same.

Cons

It took a long time. Instead of just thought things into a pot and calling it soup this took a lot more prep work. Cleaning the pumpkin, with all the insides and seeds, took a good amount of work that in the end didn’t seem pay off as much as I wished it did. My kids loved making the soup with me but then wouldn’t eat it and that never feels good.

The texture with this recipe just did not work our quite right. The next day I blended the left over before heating it up for lunch and my kids ate some of it but not a lot. (I think it was may have been a little spicy for them).

Conclusion

It was very pretty and fun to do. More work for sure and kinda worth it. If ever I do this again it will be a different recipe. Something that my kids will enjoy, then maybe it will all be worth it for me.

How To Cook A pumpkin In the Shell

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Active Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Print

Materials

• 1 Pumpkin
• Large pot or deep pan
• Recipe and Ingredients

Instructions

1. Wash the outside of your pumpkin
2. Cut the top of the pumpkin off and clean out the inside from all the guts and seeds.
3. Saute you soup ingredients, then add them into your pumpkin shell along with your broth.
4. Bake the pumpkin for 2 hours at 375 degrees on the bottom rack of the oven.
5. Once the pumpkin is cooked take a fork and scrape the insides of the pumpkin without puncturing it.
6. Serve straight from the pumpkin and enjoy!

Vegan Pumpkin Spicy Soup With Coconut Cream

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Pumpkin Whole, or 3 cups cubed pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups cooked navy beans or 1, 15 oz can
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 bell peppers
• 1 jalapeno (seeds optional)
• 1 banana pepper
• 1 cup chopped spinach or kale
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Instructions

In A Whole Pumpkin Shell

1. Saute onions, bell peppers, jalapeno, banana peppers, garlic, spinach, mushrooms with the thyme, cinnamon and salt.
2. Pour into your cleaned out pumpkin shell. Also add the broth and navy beans save the coconut milk for later. (For a thicker, creamier broth, blend the broth and beans together before adding the soup)
3. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 2 hours.
4. Once the pumpkin is cooked take a fork and scrape the walls of the pumpkin without puncturing it.
5. Pour in the coconut milk. Serve and enjoy!

In A Pot On The Stove

1. In a pot saute onions, bell peppers, jalapeno, banana peppers, garlic, spinach, mushrooms with the thyme, cinnamon and salt and the cubed pumpkin a
2. Pour in the broth and navy beans save the coconut milk for later. (For a thicker, creamier broth, blend the broth and beans together before adding the soup)
3. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 1 hour.
4. Once the pumpkin cubes are soft turn off the heat and pour in the coconut milk.
5. Serve and enjoy!

The post Can You Cook Pumpkin Soup In The Shell? appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Why We Drink A Green Smoothie Every Day

As a mom I’m responsible for my kids health. I responsible to teach them and give them healthy habits to practice that will help sustain them so they can grow and thrive. So I do my best to make this smoothie something they will drink and enjoy without minimizing the nutrients.

I myself have epilepsy, and gut issues since childhood and after my last baby I gained a lot of weight and have had some major hormonal imbalances. So I curated this drink to fit my needs for healthy brain and nervous system, filled with vitamin B’s that help aid my hormonal imbalances, vitamin C and antioxidants that help with mine and my kids immune system and overall health all from real foods.

We’ve make a “healthy drink”, as my kids call them, faithfully every morning for the last month. It has not fixed all my problems but I have notice, in this small amount of time, drinking a green smoothie faithfully has lowered my crazy appetite, improved my PMS mood swings (Thank the Lord!), and given me more energy and better rest. My kids still got the flu that went around, I still get tired after long days, I haven’t lost any weight but I know healing takes time and a lot more work then just 1 smoothie a day.

All that to say, we are embracing our health one step at a time. Without overwhelm, bitter tonics or synthetic nutrients, but real food, easy to make, fun drink that doesn’t cost a fortune. I hope this recipe encourages you and help you embracing your families health with joy and peace.

This smoothie recipe can absolutely be adapted and I think everyone should adapt it in some way or another. My desire is to help you make a smoothie you enjoy and are able to drink every morning in order to add the nutrients you need to keep you strong and healthy.

Ingredients That Will Add High Nutrients To Your Green Smoothie

Chia Seeds 

2 tablespoons of chia seeds are full of magnesium (23% DV), iron (12% DV), phosphorus (20% DV), zinc (12% DV), thiamine (15% DV), niacin (16% DV), calcium (14% DV), fiber, protein, omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Chia seeds are also a great source for Essential Amino Acids. Chia seeds are beneficial to your heart, bones, and nervous system. They are also knows for the reducing appetite and food intake and can be effective for loosing and maintaining weight.

Flax Seeds

1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds has thiamine (10% DV), Copper (9% DV) Manganese, (7% DV), Magnesium (7% DV), Phosphorus (4% DV), Selenium (3 %, DV), Zinc (3% DV), Vitamin B6 (2% DV), Iron (2% DV), Folate (2% DV). Flax seed is a great source for thiamine which is an important vitamin that help with our metabolism and cell function. Copper helps with brain development and immune health and helps our body’s absorb iron. Flax seeds is another great source for Essential Amino Acids.

I like to take both chia seeds and flax seeds together because one of them his high in iron while the other is high in copper. Copper helps iron absorb and along with protein they produce hemoglobin which transports oxygen in red blood cells.

There are so many other good combinations of vitamins and minerals that work together in just these two ingredients alone. We could go on but let’s move on.

Blackstrap Molasses

1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses can be powerful, manganese (37% DV), Copper (29% DV), Iron (25% DV), Calcium (15% DV), Potassium (8% DV), Magnesium (15% DV), Vitamin B6 (10% DV), Selenium (7% DV). These vitamins and minerals aid in the function of your nerves system, brain, blood and heart health, immune system and if you want go in more depth on the nutrients found in molasses read, “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

*My kids will not drink this smoothie without a banana if it has molasses in it. Banana’s are the only thing that I found that mask the strong molasses flavor.

Lemon juice

Lemons are most commonly known as a high source of vitamin C, they also contain fiber and other beneficial plant compounds but lets focus on vitamin C for a minute. Vitamin C builds up your immunity, it strengthens you immune system helping fight off bacterial infections, allergies and even cancer. This vitamin plays an important role in the formation of collagen, helps with arthritis, lowers cholesterol, prevents constipation, keeps blood from clotting… and more. Vitamin C is important and 1 lemon has about 40 mg or 50% your DV of vitamin C. Lemon’s are a great source in vitamin C but not the greatest, Oranges, bell pepper, strawberries, broccoli, kale, have even more. Lemons are more acidic than these other fruits and vegetables and therefore increases urine pH making it harder for kidney stones to form.

Spinach

1 cup of raw spinach includes Vitamin A (16% DV), Vitamin C (9% DV), Vitamin K (121 % DV), Vitamin B9 (15% DV) , Iron (5% DV), Calcium (2% DV), Potassium (4% DV), Manganese (12% DV), Magnesium (6% DV). Raw spinach also contains some Essential Amino Acids but not nearly as much as flax and chia seeds do. Spinach is known for its plant compound, Lutein and zeaxanthin that work together to improve eye health. It also contains MGDG and SQDG both components that help slow down cancer growth. Spinach also has nitrates that moderate blood pressure and improve hearth health.

Spinach also contains calcium and oxalates, too much of these and they can cause a build up creating calcium stones or kidney stones… But don’t stress to much over this, 1 cup spinach in your smoothie should not cause kidney stones. Three reasons why: 1. you are also adding acidic lemon juice making it more difficult for the stones to form. 2. You are blending with water making it easier for you gut to break down and regulate the both calcium and oxalate in a way that’s beneficial to you. 3. Its only 1 cups, that not over doing it. Don’t be afraid to eat healthy foods because of what might happen. Do your research.

Vitamin K can also seem controversy as it is essential in clotting blood. We obviously don’t want blood clots in our arteries or veins but we do want our blood to clot when we get a cut or laceration so we don’t bleed out. Vitamin K keeps us from bleeding out while Vitamin C keeps our blood from clotting when its not supposed to. Its important to have both of them to keep the right balance.

Honey

Honey helps make this drink drinkable. Its sweetness makes life better. Not only that but its full of antioxidants, antibacterial and anti-fungal. Honey helps build up your immune system and aids in fighting off colds and other viruses. Antioxidants protect cell’s from damage and in doing so protect you from cancer and heart disease.

Bananas

I have found my kids wont drink a smoothie unless there are banana’s in it. Bananas mask the molasses and spinach flavors just enough and sweeten the smoothie. One banana’s thankfully also are a great source of Vitamin C (12% DV), Copper (11% DV), Potassium (10% DV), Magnesium (8% DV) and more. Banana’s support your digestive system and aid you metabolism and are full of antioxidants. They are beneficial for heart health and the potassium helps regulate blood pressure.

Strawberries

1 cup frozen strawberries contain, Iron (9% DV), Potassium (7% DV), Magnesium (6% DV), Copper (12% DV), Manganese (28% DV), Selenium (3% DV), Vitamin C (101% DV). Strawberries are great for you immune system. They have lots of antioxidants and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. These sweet strawberries are known to slow down glucose digestion regulating your blood sugar. Strawberries are just one of the many berries that are so very good for you. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and also cherries, are all so very beneficial and can be substituted in this recipe

Learn more…

I hope you are encouraged and enlightened more than overwhelmed by all the information about the nutrients information of these ingredients. I hope adding a daily green smoothie to your day benefits you as much as it has me.

To learn more about the vitamins and minerals, amino acids and antioxidants that are in your foods check out “Healthy Healing” by Linda Page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn more about how food heals the body.

If you want quick way to find out nutrition value of a specific food go to https://www.nutritionvalue.org/. You can type anything in and it will give the nutrition values or you can search for a vitamin or mineral and it will give you foods that are a good source for that vitamin.

Green Spinach Molasses Smoothie

Yield: 1-2 Glasses

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Flax Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Blackstrap Molasses
• Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 Cup Frozen Spinach or 2 Cups Fresh Spinach
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (or to taste)
• 1/2-1 Banana
• 1 Cup Frozen Berries
• Water, fill to cover an 1/2 inch or so over

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to blender
2. Blend thoroughly so the flax seeds are completely ground. If you want to grind those up first you can.
3. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

other ingredients to try: greek yogurt, orange juice, pineapple or pineapple juice, kale, ginger,During the cold and flu season I also add elderberry syrup

I hope this green smoothie recipe encourages and helps you get the nutrition you need each day. Again, don’t be afraid to adjust the recipe and if you do share in the comments how it turned out!

The post Green Spinach & Molasses Smoothie appeared first on Embracing The Home.

I’ve been experimenting with putting molasses in just about everything, from smoothies, to banana bread to pasta sauce… After learning about how good and high in nutrients molasses is I have been adding it to our daily diet in different types of ways. To read more about the benefits of molasses click here!

Ingredients For Banana Nut Molasses Bread

Vegan friendly alternatives below

Bananas

Ripe bananas are best, they are the sweet and easy to mash up and make into breads. You can use unripe but they are harder to mash so you might end up with more banana chunks in your bread. Bananas are a great source of potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.

Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

I use Greek Plain Yogurt, I use yogurt in replacement for oils or butter in most of my muffins and bread. It has more vitamins and protein then oils and butter and less fat.

Eggs

Eggs are the binding agent in this recipe also adding 6.5 grams of protein per eggs. Whole Eggs also contain vitamin B12, selenium (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and stimulates the immune system) and iron.

Blackstrap Molasses

Full of flavor, nutrients and keeps my breads moist and delicious! Oh how I love molasses! It is so rich in so many vitamins and minerals and such a fun ingredient to add to my recipes. Molasses contains, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, copper and more. healthy for your heart and nervous system. Read more on the Benefits of Molasses here!

Flour

I use a combination of organic whole wheat and organic all purpose flour. Whole wheat is full of a wider range of vitamins and minerals such as, manganese, calcium and selenium, then all purpose or even enriched flours. It also has more flavor but is also a bit more dense. So I do half and half whole wheat and all purpose.

Oats

Not just for texture sake but I do love the texture of oats in my breads and muffins. Oats are full of fiber and also contain protein, thiamine, iron, phosphorus and more.

Sugar

You can substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup. Both of those would also add a lovely flavor to this recipe but I typically bake with sugar and save my honey and syrup for smoothies, pancakes, teas, oatmeal and such.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the chosen spice in order to add another layer of flavor to this recipe. Nutmeg, cloves or allspice would also be great additions but this recipe already seem complex with so many textures that I left those out for now.

Salt

Salt is going to help bring out all the flavor in this recipe. You can use table salt or pink Himalayan salt or another sea salt will also works great.

Baking Soda & Baking Powder

Both of these are a rising agent. The original recipe just had baking soda but as I adapted and added all these heavy grains I found the baking powder was also needed.

Chia Seeds & Flax Seeds

Chia and flax seeds are small but mighty. The Chia seeds have more iron, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus while flax seeds have more copper, thiamine, a B vitamin that help with metabolism, flax is also full of good omega 3 fatty acids. It is better to grind your flax seeds before consuming but not always necessary. I usually leave them whole for this recipe.

Walnuts

Walnuts are also full of both omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, they are also full of protein and they just taste delicious. You can substitute most any nut, almonds, pecans, hazel nut would be yummy. In the photos you might notice I added both walnuts and almonds this time.

Chocolate Chip (optional)

I could try to convince you that chocolate chip are a superfood by telling you about all the ways chocolate chips have reduced my stress and given me the endurance I needed that day but I don’t think I have to. I think you all know a little chocolate goes a long way. Although my kids and husband would prefer me to always add chocolate chip I only add it every so often as a treat. My way off making something ordinary, special.

Vegan Alternative Ingredients

• Yogurt/Applesauce.
  You can substitute yogurt for apple sauce at the same ratio and it will turn out the same.
• Eggs/Chia Seeds or Flax Seeds.
  Both of these are already in the bread but you must mix them with 1/2 c water and let them sit for a while before adding them to your batter. If you use the flax seeds for an egg substitute you will need to grind them in a coffee grinder first to get the correct reaction. You are looking to the seeds and water to get thick and gloppy, kinda like an egg.

How to Make Banana Nut Molasses Bread

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Because this bread is so moist with the bananas, molasses and yogurt plus the chia, flax and oats are holding on to water, you will want to bake this banana bread at a lower temperature for longer. Thus If the temperature is too hot you will burn the outside before the inside is done. Therefore this bread bakes for 60-70 minutes. Although a long time it does not dry out but stays moist.
2. Secondly, mash Bananas in a bowl, then add all the other wet ingredients. Eggs, yogurt and molasses. and put aside.
3. In a second bowl mix all your dry ingredients, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.
4. Now combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Pour into a 9.5×5 bread loaf pan or you can make muffins by pouring into a muffin tin. When making muffins or cupcakes I like to use these reusable silicone muffin liners.
6. Bake in loaf pan for 60 minutes at 300 degrees.
   Bake in muffin tin for 23-25 minutes at 300 degrees.
7. Check to see if its done by inserting a tooth pick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean it is done.
8. Finally, let the bread cool completely before cutting into it

How to Store and Freeze Banana Bread

This banana bread can be stored in a zip-lock bag on your counter for 3-5 days and in your refrigerator for 7-10 days.
You can also freeze a loaf but putting it in a freezer zip-lock bag. Be sure to remove all the air for save storage. Keep it in your freezer for 3-6 months. In order to thaw the banana bread out simply take it out and set in on the counter for a few hours or rather in the refrigerator overnight.

Banana Nut Molasses Bread

Yield: 1 Loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 3 Bananas
• 1 Cup Yogurt
• 1 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Molasses
• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Oats
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 3 Tablespoons Flax Seeds
• 1 Cup Walnuts
• 3/4 Cup Chocolate Chip (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mash Bananas in a bowl, then add all the other wet ingredients. Eggs, yogurt and molasses. and put aside.
3. In a second bowl mix all your dry ingredients, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Pour into a 9.5×5 bread loaf pan or you can make muffins by pouring into a muffin tin.
6. Bake in loaf pan for 60 minutes. Bake in muffin tin for 23-25 minutes
7. Let the bread cool completely before cutting into it. Enjoy!

The post Banana Nut Molasses Bread appeared first on Embracing The Home.

We love to eat our cornbread along with hearty bowl of Chili!
Click here for an amazing Vegan Chili Recipe

Ingredients Need for Cornbread

Flour

I buy my flour from Azure Standard. I buy in bulk Whole Wheat Bread flour and an All Purpose Flour and mix them 1 to 1 ratio in my flour jar. So for this recipe I am using about 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose. Growing up we would sometimes do this but most of the time we simple used All Purpose Flour. I personally wouldn’t go all whole wheat, my husband would not like it and whole wheat does absorb liquids differently, so the recipe may not work perfectly 100% whole wheat.

Cornmeal

So I also buy my cornmeal in bulk from Azure Standard. This cornmeal is coarser then most that you will find at your local grocery stores but they work the same. No matter if its fine or coarse cornmeal the baking process will be the same but the texture does change. So, depending on your taste and what you like pick your cornmeal accordingly.

Sugar

There is a whole cup of sugar in this recipe. This recipe is sweet, not too sweet, just delicious. I’ve honestly never had any other cornmeal that is so perfectly sweet without overpowering the other flavors.

Baking Powder

Baking powder is the best raising agent for cornbread. Baking soda also works but raises it too quickly and makes it crumbly. So baking powder best.

Salt

Salt brings out the flavor. Table salt is what I’ve always used for this recipe. If you prefer a coarser sea salt or Himalayan salt add an extra 1/4 teaspoon.

Milk

I always use regular old cows milk. I have made this recipe with rice milk before as well when I was out of regular milk. Rice milk is a little sweeter and the recipe needed to be cooked longer but it still worked out I just had to pay attention to it. So if you are wanting to substitute for a plant based milk I’d say go for it. Some plant based milks are sweeter so if you want to cut some sugar go ahead. Then make sure you check it after 25 minutes and possible keep it in the over for a few more minutes till the center is baked all the way. To check you can poke it with a toothpick. If it comes out clean its done.

Eggs

Eggs are a binding agent when it comes to baking. They also help keep the cornbread moist. If you are looking to substitute to make this cornbread vegan you can add 2 tablespoon chia seed to 2/3 cup water. Let sit for 15 minutes to thicken then add the milk.

Oil

I’ve used coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil and even butter for this recipe. This time around I used coconut. I did have to heat it to ensure that it was liquefied but it still works. Olive oil is what I grew up using for this recipe.

I buy my flour, cornmeal, sugar, oil, baking powder and so much more from Azure Standard. Learn more about Azure Standard by checking out “Azure Standard Review, Pro’s, Con’s, Price Comparison” or check out their website here, azurestandard.com. They are a great resource to high quality organic whole food in bulk.

How to Make Cornbread

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. This will be the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together with a whisk.
   
3. Mix in a suppurate bowl all the wet ingredients, milk, eggs, and oil. If you use coconut oil make sure you milk is warm so that the coconut oil doesn’t become solid again. I placed my milk and oil in the microwave for a minutes to come to the same temperature so they would mix well. This seemed to work but I still prefer olive oil for this recipe.
   
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients to make a batter.
   
5. Prepare a 9×13 glass pan by greasing it will a little bit of oil.
   
6. Pour you batter into prepared 9×13.
   
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
   
8. Take our of oven and let it cool completely before cutting into it.

This is seriously my favorite cornbread recipe and I could eat it all day. I try a lot of different recipes for things but this one never fails. It brings back childhood memories but its not the memories that make this cornbread good. Its the cornbread. Its so good and always has been.

The Best Cornbread

Yield: 9x13 Pan

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Flour
• 2 Cups Cornmeal
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Cups Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree’s
2. Grease a 9×13 glass pan
3. Mix dry ingredients
4. Mix wet ingredients
5. Combine the wet and the dry and mix
6. Pour into prepared 9×13
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes
8. Cool completely before serving

The post The Best Homemade Cornbread appeared first on Embracing The Home.

There are two key features that I want to note that make a vegan chili good. Flavor and Texture. Without meat both of these features can lack without paying special attention to your recipe.

Good Flavor is Number 1

Without the flavor that comes from meat we rely heavy on the seasoning for good flavor. To insure depth of flavor I make sure I have plenty of chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt & pepper as well as jalapeno, garlic, thyme, oregano and molasses.

For spice I have chili powder, paprika cumin, black pepper, and jalapeno. Each of these add little different level of spice and heat. The jalapeno being the hottest and the cumin more earthy and sweet. Each spice added a different type of spice and flavor.

Garlic, thyme, and oregano don’t add a whole lot of spice but they do add another layer of more earthy and warm, savory flavor. Adding herbs like this add much needed flavor to a vegan dish.

Molasses is such a powerful tool when it comes to flavor in the kitchen and also has great nutrition value. Molasses is described in so many different ways, sweet, bitter, savory, spicy, smoky, earthy, caramely, robust. How ever you want to describe this rich syrup is fine with me. Just know this, it adds so much depth to your chili and if you skip this 1 ingredient you will be missing out for sure.
To read more about molasses check out “Benefits of Blackstrap Molassess”.

Good Chili Needs the Right Texture

Dice your vegetables very small. The smaller the better in my opinion. I want the texture to be thick and hearty. I don’t want each bite featuring a 1 single vegetable like I would do in a vegetable broth soup.

Once all your ingredients are cooked and mixed together I also use my potato masher and mash up the chili a little to get a thicker more consistent texture. You can also use an immersion blender or take out a two cups and blend in the blender to create a thicker consistency. Just remember we are not trying to make a creamy soup. We just want to break up a few of the beans to release their natural starches to thicken up the excess liquids as your chili simmers. I find the potato masher works perfect for this job.

I simmer my chili for 30 minutes with the lid on but if your chili has a lot of excess liquids and its not thickening up the way you would like it. Simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Vegan Chili Ingredients

Beans

You can really use any beans you like, in the pictures you will notice I only used pinto bean but that’s actually quite rare for me. My 3 favorite bean to mix together for the recipe are pinto beans, black bean and kidney beans. I add 5 cups of bean or 3, 15 oz cans. One can of each bean works great.

I use dry beans most of the time. To convert dry beans measurement to cooked bean measurements remember 1/2 cup dry beans equals about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans equaling about 1, 15 oz can of beans. So to make this recipe with dry beans you will need 1 1/2 cups dry bean. 1/2 cup of each bean works great but you can choose any ratio you like.

Vegetables

Onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and a jalapeno are my 4 must haves for this recipe. I also often add carrots and zucchini or squash depending on what I have around. You can also add vegetables like corn or okra or sweet potato. Be creative with the vegetable you like. If carrots are two sweet for you taste when it comes to chili then leave them out or only add one carrot instead of three. You can also add more peppers like banana peppers or poblano peppers would be really good. Add the vegetables that you enjoy.

Petite Diced Tomatoes

Petite diced are my favorite tomatoes for chili. The normal diced is just to chunky for me, again I like everything to be diced small. The crushed tomato also work well. If all you have is normal diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes you can strain the juice into your pot and cut the tomatoes smaller or pulse in the blender a few times but don’t blend them into a sauce. You can also use fresh tomatoes if you have them. You will need 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes.

Spices and Herbs

This recipe calls for chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, and fresh garlic (or garlic powder). Using both spices and herbs creates more layers and depth of flavor. If you don’t have all these individual spices and you like to buy blends then you could to something like 2 tables taco seasoning and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning if that’s what you have. I’ve personally never tried that exact combination but I do tend to experiment with my seasoning a lot. If you are missing a spice or herb try to replace it with something similar so you don’t lose out on a layer of flavor.

Molasses

Molasses is so full of flavor you don’t need a lot to add nice rich layer to your chili. I use blackstrap molasses. You can use a light molasses or Grandma’s Molasses, those are easier to find in the stores but blackstrap has a higher concentrate of nutrients in each tablespoon. Blackstrap also has a bit more flavor to it. I use 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap, if you use a lighter molasses I would do 3-4 tablespoons.
To read more about how molasses is made and the difference between the different type check out “How to Make Brown Sugar” or “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

Toppings (optional)

Avocado, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, cheese, red onions, cilantro, limes, or cornbread. Your choice! My kids like greek yogurt and cheese, while my husband like cheese and cornbread, and I prefer avocados, cilantro and limes. Dec out your chili how ever you like or just eat it as is. It can holds it own.

How to Make Vegan Chili

1. If you are using dry beans, soak and cook those first.
   
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
   
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
   
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
   
5. Add spices and herbs, mix in.
   
6. Add tomatoes, mix in.
   
7. Add molasses, mix in.
   
8. Add bean, mix in.
   
9. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
   
10. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Its pretty easy and straight forward and always turns out so delicious!

TIP: How To Get The Seeds Out of A Jalapeno

If you like more heat you can leave the seeds and core in the jalapeno but in order to make this a little more kid friendly I take them out.

Vegan Chili with Molasses

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1, 15oz can pinto beans
• 1, 15oz can black beans
• 1, 15oz can kidney beans
• (OR 1 1/2 cups dry beans making about 4.5-5 cups cooked beans)
• 2, 15oz cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 cups frozen mushroom (or 1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms)
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic (or 2/3 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoons chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 carrots (optional)
• 1-2 squash or zucchini (optional)
• Other vegetables you like (optional)

Instructions

1. If using dry beans, soak and cook them first.
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any
   other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like
   carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
5. Add spices and herbs, tomatoes, molasses, and bean, mix together.
6. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release
   their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
7. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your
   chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the
   lid off.

The post Homemade Vegan Chili with Molasses appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Molasses is a by product of sugar cane or sugar beets just like granulated sugar. To make it you take the juice from the sugar cane or beet and boil it down. Once all the water is evaporated you are left with a syrup. This syrup is then crystalized and separated into dry sugar crystals and the remaining syrup which we call molasses!

To learn more about how brown sugar is made from the molasses and sugar read, “How To Make Brown Sugar” here.

Heads up! My post do contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Different Types of Molasses

As the sugar cane juices are boiled down the molasses and sugar are separated.

• After the first boil you get light molasses.
  Light molasses has the highest content of sugar of the three.
• The second boil a dark molasses
• And then the third boil gets you Blackstrap molasses.
  Blackstrap has the highest concentration of all the good nutrients.

Some of the more common labels to see in the store would be,

• Old Fashioned Molasses. Old fashioned hasn’t had all of the sugar removed (typically a light molasses) from it so it is a little sweeter but has a lower concentrate of nutrients then blackstrap molasses. Molasses can be bitter so the sweeter flavor makes it more popular for recipes and desserts and will work great for making brown sugar.
• Blackstrap Molasses. Blackstrap has more of the sugar removed, which makes it less sweet or more bitter. The benefits is in its richer concentrate of iron and other nutrients. Light and dark molasses have these same nutrients but as you continue to boil it down it becomes a thicker and richer concentrate of those nutrients.
• Unsolphured Molasses. If the sugar cane is unripe when the molasses is extracted from it, sulphur dioxide is added to preserve it. Unsolphured means that the molasses has not been treated with sulphur dioxide.

Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses

Blackstrap has a higher concentrate of all the nutrient benefits that come in molasses due to it being boiled down further than the other types. So lets look at the nutrient for 1 tablespoon.

Calories 50 g

Carbohydrates 13 g

Manganese 0.7mg (37 percent DV) – Fatigue, Brain Health, Digestion

Manganese is a mineral that nourishes the brain and nerve centers. It also helps with digestion metabolizing sugars and fats. Manganese helps with fatigue, nerve irritability, lower back pain and seizures.

Copper 0.6 mg (29 percent DV) – Blood Production and Health

Copper helps in absorbing iron, protein metabolism (converting food into usable protein), and helps with red blood cell production. It can also help keep your hair healthy with color.

Iron 4.7 mg (25 percent DV) – Anemia, Fatigue, Immunity

Iron helps produce hemoglobin with copper and proteins, hemoglobin then carries oxygen through the body in red blood cells. Similar to copper, iron will also help keep that color in your hair, along with bright eyes and strengthens immunity. Iron reducing fatigue, anemia and muscle weakness.

Calcium 226 mg (15 percent DV) – Bone Health, Heart Health, Nerves System

Calcium works to build solid bones and teeth. It also works with magnesium to aiding in cardiovascular health. Lowing blood pressure, helps blood to clot, prevents muscle cramping, and helps maintain your nervous system. Calcium helps with quality sleep and rest, reducing anxiety and depression.Calcium 226 mg (15 percent DV) – Bone Health, Heart Health, Nerves SystemCalcium works to build solid bones and teeth. It also works with magnesium to aiding in cardiovascular health. Lowing blood pressure, helps blood to clot, prevents muscle cramping, and helps maintain your nervous system. Calcium helps with quality sleep and rest, reducing anxiety and depression.

Potassium 334 mg (8 percent DV) Acid/Alkaline System, Electrolyte, Brain Health, Hormone Health

Potassium helps balance the acid/alkaline system in your body. It is an electrolyte and works with sodium (another electrolyte) to regulate the body’s water balance. Potassium helps oxygenate the brain and helps reduce anxiety, depression and stress. It helps keep a healthy hear, muscle function, energy, nerve stability, enzyme and hormone production.

Magnesium 60 mg (15 percent DV) – Nerve Function and Muscle Function, Kidney Health and Heart Health

Magnesium enhances the absorption of other minerals. It is necessary for nerve function and muscle function. Magnesium reduces stress and nerves, it helps calm twitching (nerves and muscles) and promotes endurance and exercise capacity. It also aids in the healthy of your kidneys and heart.

Vitamin B6 0.2 mg (10 percent DV) – Nervous System, Natural Diuretic

Vitamin B6 also known as Pyridoxine is a great help to the nervous system. It is especially helpful to those with epilepsy or convulsions, and carpal tunnel syndrome. It works as an natural diuretic especially during per-menstrual time, also helps with acne, and alleviates morning sickness.

Selenium 5 micrograms (7 percent DV) – Immune System, Blood Health,

Selenium is a powerful anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and stimulates the immune system. Working with Vitamin E it prevents fat and cholesterol build ups in the bloodstream by doing so it protects the heart.

All that to say, blackstrap is full of very good things!

If you want to know more about foods, vitamins, minerals and herbs that help heal our body I recommend “Healthy Healing” by Linda Page. It is a great resource for natural healing.

To summarize, the minerals and vitamins we receive from consuming blackstrap molasses helps aid our nerves system, brain function, blood function, immune system, and has electrolytes.

Molasses helps with fatigue and stress, menstrual relief, stabilizes blood sugar and slows down glucose, aids in digestion, can also be used as a stool softener. Molasses is an anti-imflammaotry and arthritis reliever. Its great for those who have epilepsy or heart arrhythmias. Its a natural sleep aid as well as increasing stamina and energy creating balance in your life.

There is so much good but how do I add molasses into my diet?

Easy Ways To Add Molasses Into Your Diet

Add It To Your Drinks

• 1 teaspoon to a tablespoon in your coffee
• 1 teaspoon to a tablespoon in your tea
• 1 teaspoon to a tablespoon in milk
• 1 teaspoon to a tablespoon in hot chocolate
• Pumpkin Gingerbread Molasses Smoothie
• Spinach Smoothie With Molasses

More Molasses Recipes

• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Molasses Vegan Chili
• Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
• Ginger Cookies
• Gingerbread Loaf
• Molasses Banana Bread
• Maine Molasses Cake
• Best Southern Baked Beans
• Sweet Brown Bread Rolls

There are so many more recipes out there that include molasses in them. So many of them sound delicious that I myself want to try to make but and most of them desserts. When trying to add nutrition to your diet its best to first find the easiest and healthiest way to add it. If its about flavor, try all the cakes and cookies and enjoy! If you are truly trying to add molasses to your diet to improve your health I encourage you to find a way to add it in at least 5 times a week. I personally have been experimenting with adding to my daily spinach smoothies. Finding the right combination that my kids will also enjoy has been the hard part. When I figure it out, I’ll share the recipe. *UPDATE, Here’s the recipe!

If you have some recipes featuring Molasses that you think I should try let me know in the comments below. I’m excited to continue to find new recipes and cook and bake more while improving my health.

Where To Get Blackstrap Molasses

Molasses is not very hard to find, but Blackstrap can be tricky. Our local Walmart carries Grandmas Original Molasses, but does not carry any Blackstrap. Often stores will carry molasses as a seasonal item for the holidays but its usually, again, not blackstrap. You may be lucky and have a local grocery store that carries blackstrap but if not try looking at the local health food stores.

Online is probably the easiest way to find it. Amazon has Golden Barrel Unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses among other good brands.

I get my blackstrap molasses from Azure Standard. I love the quality, the price and the bulk sizes. Azure Standard is a online store focused on high quality organic foods. Azure runs like a co-op and deliver monthly to a drop off location near you. Read my “Azure Standard Review” to find out more about Azure Standard.

The post Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Brown sugar is made of 2 ingredients. Granulated sugar and molasses. Simply mix 1 cup sugar to 1 tablespoon molasses and done. It truly is as simple as that. There’s literally nothing else to it.

Keep reading to find out more on Different Mixing Techniques, Different Types of Molasses, What is Molasses and How its Made, FAQ so you can improve your from scratch home cooking knowledge and skills.

Heads up! My post do contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

4 Different Mixing Techniques

There are some different techniques in the way you mix the two ingredients but no right or wrong, just preference. There is also different opinions on what you what type of sugar or molasses is best. All types of sugar and molasses work.

I’m sure you can probably come up with a few more ways to mix two ingredients and if you think of another way that works for you, great! Do that.

• Bowl and spoon. This techniques works great for small amount. If you just need 1 cup or 2 cups of brown sugar you can just quickly mix them together and add them to your recipe.
• Electric Hand Mixer. If you don’t want to mix by hand or maybe you have a need little be more then just a cup or two an electric hand mixer can be just the right tool for you.
• KitchenAid Mixer. Now if you are making a lot of brown sugar like I do you may want to use a bigger mixer like a KitchenAid. It will mix a larger quantity (6-8 cups) with minimal work on your part.
• Food processor. Because I use organic sugar that has somewhat larger crystals I prefer to use my food processor. It mixes as well as granulates my sugar just a little bit more. The food processor does do as much as my KitchenAid so I just do a few batches in order to fill my container.

Different types of Molasses

As the sugar cane juices are boiled the molasses and sugar are separated.

• After the first boil you get light molasses,
• The second boil a dark molasses
• And then the third boil gets you Blackstrap molasses.

Other names you will see for molasses are,

• Old Fashioned Molasses. Old fashioned molasses hasn’t had all of the sugar removed (typically light molasses) from it so it is a little sweeter but has a lower concentrate of iron then blackstrap molasses. Molasses can be bitter so the sweeter flavor in this molasses makes it more popular for recipes and desserts and will work great for making brown sugar.
• Blackstrap Molasses. Blackstrap molasses has more of the sugar removed, which makes it less sweet or more bitter. The benefits is in its richer concentrate of iron and other nutrients. Light and dark molasses have these same nutrients but as you continue to boil it down it becomes a thicker and richer concentrate of those nutrients.
• Unsolphured Molasses. If the sugar cane is unripe when the molasses is extracted from it, sulphur dioxide is added to preserve it. Unsolphured molasses means that molasses has not been treated with sulphur dioxide.

What is molasses? How is it made?

Molasses is a by product of sugar cane or sugar beets just like granulated sugar. To make sugar and molasses you take the juice from the sugar cane or beet and boil it down. Once all the water is evaporated you are left with a syrup. This syrup is then crystalized and separated into dry sugar crystals and the remaining syrup which we call molasses!

So you might be thinking that the brown sugar in the store is processed by not separating the molasses and sugar fully, resulting in brown sugar. Close, that’s possible but not how they do. The brown sugar you find in the store is more often separated completely, so that if fully a dry crystal, granulated and processed and then they add the molasses back in so that we have that fine texture of granulated brown sugar.

Raw sugar, turbinado sugar, and organic cane sugars are less refined resulting in a larger crystal (not fine and granulated) and holds on to some of the original molasses giving it a light brown coloring. Its not enough molasses to be considered brown sugar but not refined enough to be considered white granulated sugar.

FAQ:

How to keep brown sugar from getting hard?

To be honest I don’t experience this problem with brown sugar as much as I do with my organic cane sugar. This happens when the moisture from the molasses evaporates from the sugar and the crystals clump together creating a hard block of sucrose. This happens to organic cane sugars as well because the still have traces of molasses in them.

To prevent this from happening store in an airtight container capturing the moisture. If brown sugar is not filling up the container there could be too much air exposure causing the problem. You can place a layer of plastic wrap over the it to help retain moisture or keep the sugar in a Zip-lock bag. You can also purchase a nifty terracotta brown sugar keeper on Amazon. Terracotta holds on to moisture for a long time. So the idea is that you can soak the terracotta disc in water for 15 minutes and place it in your sugar. It will help keep the moisture in the container and you sugar softer for 3-6 months.

How to soften brown sugar?

If you have hard brown sugar in order to soften it quickly you can use the microwave. Measure out the amount you need in a microwave safe bowl and place a damp paper towel on the top. Microwave in 20 second increments until it is soft. Brake up any larger clumps with a fork as you go.

If you have the time and don’t want to use the microwave you can also place a slice of bread, or a few slices of apples or a terracotta brown sugar saver in your brown sugar for 24 hours. They will slowly add moisture back into your brown sugar and you will be able to break up any large clumps with a fork.

Is it cheaper to make my own or buy brown sugar?

Okay, lets do some math.
2lbs Great Value Light Brown Sugar: $2.57 – 8.0c/oz
2lbs C&H Dark Brown Sugar: $3.43 – 10.7c/oz

4lbs Great Value Pure Granulated Sugar: $3.24 – 5.1c/oz
4lbs C&H Premium Pure Cane Granulated Sugar: $3.73 – 5.8c/oz

12 fl oz Grandma’s Original Unsulphured Molasses: $3.66 – 30.5c/fl.oz

If my recipe is for every 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses and there is 8 oz in a cup and 1/2 oz in a tablespoon. My homemade brown sugar equation comes to S(8oz X 5.1c) + M(.5oz X 30.5c) = 56.05 cents per cup (8oz) of brown sugar. Divide 56.05/8oz = 7.0cents/oz for homemade brown sugar. The answer, its CHEAPER by 1 cent per oz.
If you don’t like my math feel free to challenge it in the comments. I enjoy figuring number and seeing how other figure these types of problems out.

Can I substitute molasses with something else to make brown sugar?

You can’t actually substitute molasses with anything else by mixing it with the sugar to get brown sugar. But you can substitute, in your recipes, brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.

What type of molasses should I use?

For making brown sugar it doesn’t matter. The lighter Old Fashioned molasses will create a lighter brown sugar you will need more to make it darker. Blackstrap molasses will get you a dark brown sugar with less. The sweet flavor of the old fashioned and the bitter flavor of the blackstrap doesn’t matter when you are mixing it with sugar.

When it comes to recipe like molasses cookies, ginger bread houses or molasses banana bread, the recipe might call for a specific type of molasses. Depending on the flavor you want you should use the correct molasses. Lighter molasses will have a lighter flavor, blackstrap has a stronger flavor. There are some tricks you can use if you don’t have the right one. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup light molasses but all you have is blackstrap you can substitute 3/4 blackstrap and 1/4 honey or maple syrup to lighten it up. If it calls for blackstrap and all you have is light molasses… You could technically boil it down and get a blackstrap but I usually just add another 1/4 cup of the or so of molasses and take out a little oil or butter, depending on the recipe, to even out the moisture.

Should you refrigerate Molasses after opening?

It is recommended that if you molasses is unsulphured you should refrigerate after opening. Personally, I didn’t know this until doing research this post. I have never refrigerated my molasses and I have never had it go bad. In the past I have left 1/2 used jars of molasses in my pantry for almost a year and it was still good. So should you refrigerate the molasses? Yes. Can un-refrigerated molasses keep in your pantry. Yes. Can un-refrigerated molasses go bad. Yes. Refrigerated molasses will keep longer, and safer.

Comment below if you have any other questions about brown sugar or molasses. You can also read more about the health benefits of molasses here. And follow along for more recipes featuring molasses. Have a great day and happy baking!

The post How To Make Brown Sugar appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Prepping the Chicken

If your chicken is frozen thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you plan to cook it. Maybe you didn’t plan that far ahead, instead you can put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and place it in a bowl or container of cold water for about 1 hour, replacing the water every 30 minutes.

If your chicken is fresh or once it’s thawed out, pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other seasons you like. I choose my seasoning based on what I’m serving my chicken with.

Here are a few examples of different ways to season for different meals.

• Chicken tacos – Taco seasoning, or chili powder and garlic powder with salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a little cumin and cayenne powder or some lime juice.
• Lemon chicken – lemon pepper seasoning, or garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and lemon slices.
• Chicken Alfredo – Italian seasoning or basil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes a little paprika or cayenne.
• Chicken with roasted potatoes – rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper.

You can also marinate your chicken in olive oil and your choice of seasonings in a ziplock bag for 2-24 hours in the refrigerator before you cook it. If you choose this way you don’t need to pay dry just place directly in the skillet to cook. Personally, I prefer to dry rub my chicken.

Cooking the Chicken

The trick to cooking good chicken is to sear it capturing the juice inside the chicken to keep it moist. After I’ve seasoned the meat I turn my cast iron pan on medium high with a little bit of oil. If you don’t have a cast iron pan don’t worry, you don’t need it to get perfect chicken but it does help. Get your pan hot. Place the chicken on the hot pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat. If using a normal skillet keep the heat a little higher. You want the chicken to have a deep golden sear on each side.

Once you’ve cooked the chicken on each side reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5-7 more minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. If cooking on a cast iron you can take off heat completely if the chicken breasts are small and let sit, covered, in the pan for 10 minutes. If they are larger keep them on low for at least 5 minutes before taking them off the heat. With your regular skillet you will want to keep on low longer (7-10 minutes) since it won’t hold on heat like the cast iron. After you’ve cooked it on low take off the heat completely, let it sit covered for another 10 minutes before serving.

Serving the Chicken

When the chicken is ready to serve I always pre-cut the chicken for everyone just to make sure it’s done all the way through before serving. I also have little kids who require me to cut the chicken so it makes sense. When cutting remember to slice against the grain. Not with the grain like I did in the photos, I always do it wrong but usually I’m cutting in cubes for my little ones. Cutting against the grain will keep it tender while cutting with the grain tends to make it tough.

Depending on how I’ve seasoned my chicken definitely depends on what I serve it with. Chicken and rice with broccoli is a favorite here. Chicken tacos with rice and beans. Rosemary Chicken and potatoes is another favorite. I could go on.

Whatever you serve it with I hope you enjoy it. And remember, cooking is a science but also an art. Feel free to experiment with seasonings, temperature and timing to make your perfect meal. Every kitchen and cook is a little different. Embrace your home by cooking your best.

Rosemary Chicken

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix all seasonings together in a small bowl.
2. Pat dry your chicken with a paper towel and rub seasonings on all sides of your chicken breasts.
3. Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat, or regular skillet on high. Add a little bit of oil to your pan.
4. Sear seasoned chicken for 4 minutes on each side.
5. Cover the chicken and reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breast.
6. Take off heat, leave covered and let sit for another 10 minutes before cutting the chicken and serving.

The post Rosemary Chicken Breast Recipe appeared first on Embracing The Home.

1. The ordering process
2. Delivery/pickup process
3. Their food quality
4. Price comparison to Walmart

A few things to note about Azure Standard before we get into the review.

Azure Standard runs like a co-op. They deliver their goods once a month to delivery drop locations throughout the United States. When you make an order you are committing to meet the delivery truck at the drop location and pick up your order straight off the truck.

Although Azure Standard is known and believes in the benefit of organic foods they do have some non organic products. And although they are known for their bulk quantity they also offer smaller or regular sized quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs.

The Ordering Process

How Azure Standards ordering process works is actually very simple. It works like any other online store, you search for items, add to cart, and check out. You can search by category, sale, or even by your previous orders. Then add your items to the cart and check out like you would anywhere else. You do need to have an account, (name, email, password) not unlike many places.

When searching for items Azure will keep track of previously purchased and item and that makes restocking my pantry quick and easy. Another feature I like is that I can add to my order after I’ve completed my order as long as its before the cut off date for shipping. Azure Standard only ships and delivers once a month, so I can add to my order all month long. They will not charge you for anything until it gets shipped out. The flip side of this is that if you forget to complete your order before the cut off date you have to wait a month to get your order. I don’t like when that happens.

Something else that has disappointed me is when I place something in my cart and then when I check out its out of stock. I do believe this is my fault for not completing the order earlier in the month when it is in stock, then adding more as the month goes on if needed. I think I can fix this problem by ordering earlier and not waiting till the last minute.

The Ordering Process Pros and Cons Summary.

• Pro – Easy and simple to navigate.
• Pro – Add Last minute items to your cart

• Con – Forgetting to complete order on time, results in waiting a month to get your goods. (I was 1 hour to late today and I have to wait. I might be more mad at myself…)

Delivery/Pickup Process

Like I mentioned before, Azure Standard delivers once a month to your local delivery drop off location. The location is hosted by a Drop Coordinator, they are often a local from your community who has the space for delivery truck to drive in and out of. On the day of the delivery, the delivery truck driver keeps in contact with the Coordinator on the their ETA and the Coordinator is responsible for letting you know what time you need to be at the drop location for a quick and smooth delivery. So far we have not had any issues with this system at our drop location. Our Coordinator has been great with the reminders and updates on time of arrival and we have always received everything we’ve ordered undamaged.

The Con to this system is that you have to be available at that time. If you couldn’t make it on time you would miss the truck and not receive your order. So far this has not happened to us. I honestly don’t know if our coordinator would be gracious enough to collect our goods for us, or if we would be able to send someone else in time to pick it up. I have heard of other peoples stories of someone forgetting a part of their order so their another azure friend grabbed it for them. I’ve heard that as you wait for the delivery truck you can make friends with those waiting with you and created a great community that helps you out if something goes wrong. Again, I have not experienced anything go wrong yet so I don’t know how it would play out. If I do have a horrible experience at some point I will be sure to update this post.

Delivery/Pickup Process Pros and Cons Summary

• Pro – Great communication
• Pro – Received everything undamaged

• Con – You have to work with their schedule

The Quality of the Foods I’ve Purchased

To be honest, I have loved it all! I’ve ordered a lot of dry goods, baking goods, like rice and beans and flour and baking soda. They have all kept so well in my food grade buckets and I haven’t found any contamination in anything. The only fresh produce that I have gotten has been organic apples that were on sale. I had heard these were hit or miss when it came to freshness but I took the chance and bought 20lbs of apples. There were some rotten apples in the mix but not many. I was warned so I wasn’t disappointed. So I made applesauce with the apples and my kids love it. Yes, I would order them again, but they would still have to be on sale. I have also ordered things like oats, raisins, frozen fruits, butter, elderberry syrup, and rice cakes and more and everything has been delicious and kept well.

Pros and Con for Quality of Foods Summary

• Pro – Stores wonderfully and tastes delicious.

• Con – I’m always nervous the fresh fruit will not be fresh

Price Comparison (to Walmart)

Walmart my not be the best comparison to prices against but we live in a small town and the Super Walmart is kind of all we have here. Walmart is where I shopped before discovering Azure so its what I price check everything from.

Here’s a list of some of my essentials. This will be the price for organic unless otherwise noted. (updated 5/8/25)

• Oats – Azure: 5lbs, $1.65 per lbs | Walmart: GV $3.58 per lbs
• Flour – Azure: 10lbs, $1.32 per lbs | Walmart: King Arthur, 5lbs, $2.32 per lbs
• Raisins – Azure: 5lbs, $3.23 per lbs | Walmart: GV not organic $4.58 per lbs
• Sugar – Azure: 5lbs, $1.57 per lbs | Walmart: GV 4lbs, $1.44 per lbs
• Brown Rice – Azure: 5lbs, $1.88 per lbs | Walmart: Mahatma 2lbs, $2.09 per lbs
• Black Beans – Azure: $1.78 per lbs | Walmart: Not organic $1.76 per lbs
• Rice Cakes – Azure: .55c per oz | Walmart: Not organic .80c per oz
• Peanut Butter – Azure: $7.12 per lbs | Walmart: GV, $4.68 per lbs
• Frozen Fruit (blueberries) – Azure: 5lbs not organic, $2.36 | Walmart: not organic, $2.98

Organic is typically more expensive but it’s something I don’t mind paying for because I do believe it is best. But when shopping with Azure I have not felt like I’m spending a ton more for organic healthy food. In fact, I’m saving money. If you buy the larger, 10lbs or 25lbs with Azure the price does go down as the quantity goes up, so I buy in bulk. I’m very happy with the prices.

I have never experienced any hidden fees, or shipping fee’s. Its actually the opposite, when you purchase certain items you receive Azure Cash Rewards. So when I go to check out often I have about $5 of reward cash I can use based of off my previous purchases.

To Sum Up

I have been very happy with Azure Standard and plan to continue shopping there for the bulk of my needs. The site is easy to navigate, communication on delivery/pickup has been excellent, the quality of food is wonderful and I’ve been saving money.

I highly recommend Azure Standard for anyone looking to purchase high quality, organic foods.

The post Azure Standard Review. Pros, Cons, Price Comparison. appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Where To Buy Bulk Food

Azure Standard is my number 1 place to shop. I love the clean, Non-GMO, organic food they offer. Azure Standard is an online whole food distributor. They skip the middle man and deliver your order to drop off location near you. You pick up on the day and time they deliver. For example, for me they deliver on the 1st Tuesday of every month around 6:00pm. Knowing this allows me to plan out my orders knowing my food needs to last at least a month long. Although most of what I order lasts us 2-3 months, some items, like dry beans, last us 6+ months.

There are other places to shop in bulk like Costco, AllBulkFoods.com, and many more… Each place differs a little on what they carries so you will need to shop according to your needs. I shop Azure for their Non-GMO organic whole foods.

Foods You Can Store In Buckets

• Dry Beans/lentils
• Rice
• Flour
• Oats
• Popcorn
• Sugar/brown/powdered
• Seeds (flax, chia, sunflower, etc)
• Salts and spices
• Pastas
• Even cereals

This list is not exhaustive but the more common items that are stored in buckets. You can store pretty much any pantry food in a food bucket. But just because they are in food grade buckets doesn’t mean they will last longer. Although most items that can be stored in a food bucket can last a good long time. Do you research the shelf life of the foods you want to store and don’t simply believe that because it’s in a food bucket that it will automatically stay good for 30 years.

Food Grade Buckets

Which buckets are safe for storing food? Can I just pick up some $5 buckets from Home Depot or Walmart? Regular $5 buckets are made with releasing agents that can be toxic. They are not ideal for storing food and the FDA advises against it. Luckily food grade buckets are not hard to find and are typically only a few dollars more. To know if your bucket is FDA approved look for the recycle number “1”, “2”, “4” or “5” on the bottom of the bucket.

Where To Buy Food Grade Buckets

You can buy Food Grade Buckets online easily, I like buying them from Azure Standard but you can also find them on Amazon, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, even some Walmart’s. The prices for Food Grade Buckets is typically only a few extra dollars around $6-8 per bucket but it’s the lid that often comes separate and is another $5-7. 

I’ve actually bought most of my buckets from our local donut shop. When we first started buying in bulk it was because we were trying to save money and spend wisely. So buying new 10 buckets with lids at $12 was money I just didn’t have at the time. So I went to my local donut shop and found they sold their used buckets for $2.50 with the lid. Most of their buckets were only 4 gallons and didn’t always fit 25lbs of flour or sugar in one but I worked with it. The goal was to save money while providing my family’s needs and it worked.

TIP: I will advise, when buying from a local restaurant or bakery make sure to avoid putting your flour or sugar in a bucket that had jalapenos, vinegar or something strong smelling in it previously.

Where to Store Your Food Buckets

Keep your buckets in a cool, dry location. You want to keep food buckets out of extreme temperatures. A pantry or closet inside the house is always the ideal temperature but they are often not big enough for your needs. Some  Basements and garages are typically perfectly fine. Sheds and carports are not ideal due to their lack of insulation.

Along with temperature you always need to consider moisture or humidity levels. You want to store your pantry foods in a dry location. Too much moisture can lead to rot, fungus and molds. Often people who store in a cool room or basement will invest in a dehumidifier to insure a safe room for all their goods. If the room you are planning to store in has trouble with moisture this may be something you will want to look into.

I store my bulk foods in my kitchen under my worktable.

Remember there is not one right way to store food for your family while providing for them. But there are multiple wrong ways that might lead to contamination and food waste. Avoid the wrong and be creative with the right ways to fit your family’s needs and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

The post How to Store Bulk Foods with Buckets appeared first on Embracing The Home.