Inspiration Plantation-A fresh chicken field trip!

The other day I was reading a couple of blogs that I keep track of and noticed a link to a place near my house called Inspiration Plantation.  The reason it caught my eye was because they raise and process their own chickens for meat......AND they were processing chickens that VERY day! Being the ever adventurous girl that I am...I set out for the farm..with the husband at the wheel. Happy chickens were outside in a field...being chickens! Happy Chickens!
 I have wanted to see the difference in the taste of a freshly processed chicken and how it compares to store bought.  Inspiration Plantation raises 2 kinds of meat chickens...Cornish Cross-which are like the chickens you buy in the store....bred to have more white meat~~~And Heritage chickens-which are like the old-time chickens our grandparents used to raise.  They take longer to finish and have a smaller breast.
 We met the owners, Jen and Matt Schwab. They were so nice and explained the whole process to me!  I should have taken my camera to show you the set-up.  I decided to buy 2 of the Heritage chickens...$5.50 a pound and worth every penny!
They also have pork, turkey and eggs to sell. They are sold-out of pork and turkeys for 2010.


For Sunday dinner I made fried chicken.  What a great way to see the difference! And what a difference it was. When I opened the bags of raw chicken....there was NO YUCKY CHICKEN SMELL!  In fact, there was NO SMELL! WooHoo! I cut it up and fried it like my Grandma Kelin would have done it......It was delicious!!!!  The meat had texture...and that is a good thing! The flavor was fantastic!  I loved it and will buy more!


Check out their site and try some "REAL" chicken! http://www.inspirationplantation.com/

Creamed Corn-my Mom's way!

August is one of my favorite months. It is usually the best month  here in the Pacific Northwest for summer weather. It is also my anniversary and birthday month!  It is also the month for fresh, sweet corn.  I love corn in any preparation. Corn on the cob is so good simply prepared and eaten with butter, salt, and pepper.  If you want to go a little fancy-schmancy try the California Seasoned Pepper and Shallot Salt from Penzey's.  www.penzeys.com  It is a yummy variation.  My all-time favorite recipe is one that my mom made for me on my birthday at least 10 years ago.  I don't remember where she got the recipe..but it is divine.  It isn't low-calorie....but it's my birthday, right?  It combines fresh sweet corn with bacon and onions. Sauteed in a frying pan with a secret ingredient.....cream cheese!  Yum! I am making it tonight for dinner!

Creamed Corn-My Mom's way!

8 ears of fresh corn-sliced off the cob
1/2 pkg of bacon-cut into bite-size pieces
1 onion-chopped
1-2 T. sugar
1 brick Cream cheese
1-2 T. milk or half and half
Fry the bacon until crisp. Take out of pan and drain. Reserve the fat in the pan and add the onion and corn. Saute until the corn is done but still crisp. Add the sugar if needed. I usually taste it and then judge how much sugar to add...if any! Lower the heat and add the cream cheese. Stir until it is melted and incorporated. You may need to add a little milk/half and half to thin it down. Now.....add in the bacon. OMGsh! Nirvana.
Try to have some restraint and wait until it is cool to eat it! 
This should serve 4 people easy...or 1 girl on her birthday!

Blackberry Cream Pie

This pie is sooo good! Sour cream, sugar, blackberries. A yummy combo for sure!   Blackberries, marionberries, loganberries, blueberries...even peaches,  could all be used in this recipe.  I made it once and it was gone....they ate it all.   I even ate it and I am not especially fond of cooked blackberries.  Pretty easy to make....uncooked pie shell..add berries and the delicious sour cream mixture over the top. Bake and cool before eating!

Blackberry Cream Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
2 c. blackberries  *or the others mentioned
1 1/2 c. cugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream
1 t. vanilla
Pour the blackberries in the pie shell.  Mix the remaining ingredients and pour into the pie shell over the blackberries.  Add topping on the top.
Topping
In the bowl of a food processor place 1/2 c. of each of the following: sugar, flour, butter. Add a pinch of salt and pulse until there are nice crumbs. Sprinkle on the pie and bake.

 Bake @ 400 degrees for 15 minute. Turn oven down to 350 degrees for 20 minutes more.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

July is National Blueberry Month and in honor of it...I made a fresh blueberry pie. 
Blueberries have never been my favorite....I always have eaten them cooked in muffins or pie. I didn't like the taste or texture. BUT...I have decided that I LOVE THEM FRESH!  I can eat quite a few pounds if I am not careful. Which really isn't a bad thing because they are so good for you. Low in calories and high in antioxidants.  Anyway...back to the pie!
When we were in Idaho my Mom made a "FRESH" blueberry pie....not cooked. It had a graham cracker crust and was delicious.  I came home and tried to replicate it...and it was a delicious soupy-graham crackery mess.  I didn't thicken the glaze enough....so today I made it again and I think I've got it!  I made a good old-fashioned crust with LARD! (Gasp...Lard?) Yes..Lard! Try it out. The crusts are flaky and brown....recipe from an old "Farm Journal" canning and freezing book.
I used Instant Clear-Jel  as the thickener. It is a modified food starch that instantly thickens cold liquids.  You can buy it at the Wilco Farm Store, Decorette Shop or online.

Old-Fashioned Pie Crust

2 c. sifted flour
1 T. salt
2/3 c. cold lard * I put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so
5-6 T. cold water  *may use more or less depending on the humidity in the air
Sift flour and measure out 2 cups. Add salt and mix. Cut in the lard till it looks like peas. Add water a little at a time and mix with a fork till combined. Roll into 2 8 inch rounds.  Dock the crust with a fork and bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 9-11 minutes. Take out and cool on rack.

Fresh Blueberry Pie Filling
6 C. fresh blueberries  *Stemmed and all leaves taken out
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
1 c. sugar
2 T. INSTANT Clear-Jel
**IMPORTANT!  Mix the sugar and Clear-jel together. 
Put 2 c. of the blueberries in a saucepan with the fresh lemon juice. Heat the mixture until the berries are heated and then mash them with a potato masher. Add the sugar/Clear-Jel mixture and stir well.  Pour over the rest of the berries and mix till all the berries are coated. Pour the berries into the 2 cooled pie crusts. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

I LOVE Coconut! Sweet, creamy, yummy coconut! So, when I saw a post from MY KITCHEN CAFE I knew I had to try it. You marinate the chicken thighs in coconut milk with ginger and jalapeno. You also make a glaze for the chicken to make it sticky. It was yummy! I adapted the recipe slightly because I didn't have any red pepper flakes. I DID have some jalapenos and I grated them in to replace the pepper flakes. Next time, I will just slice them to get a little more zip! The chicken thighs are great because they don't dry out on the grill. The glaze I could have eaten out of the pan. I will double it the next time I make it so I have extra to pour over the chicken at serving time. I served it with what else....coconut rice and sliced pineapple.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

slightly adapted from http://www.mykitchencafe.com/

1 family pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 12-14)

1 can of coconut milk

1 T. freshly grated ginger....don't use the powdered stuff...real stuff only!

1 t. red pepper flakes (i used the jalapeno here....slice in a few rounds)

fresh ground pepper

Put the thighs in a ziploc bag and pour the other ingredients over. Put in the fridge and marinate. I let mine work for about 5 hours. Grill the chicken till almost done and glaze it with the following glaze until it is yummy and sticky! Serve with coconut rice.

While my chicken was working in the fridge I made the glaze.

Glaze

3/4 c. rice vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

3 T. soy sauce

1 t. red pepper flakes (again, I used a jalapeno round)

Mix all together is a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook down until the mixture is syrupy. Glaze the chicken the last few minutes of cooking.

Coconut Rice

I use a rice cooker to cook my rice.

4 c. dry rice

1 can coconut milk

3 c. water

That's it...let the rice cooker do it's work!

Grilled pineapple would be a great addition to this meal.

Idaho, Utah and Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here we are @ The Conference Center...my sister, Jana, Monte, Me, Brennan and my friend Melanie...taken by a nice tour guide. The big building behind messes up the shot for sure!

Whew....vacation is over. It was super fun. We went to southern Idaho and visited my parents....ate yummy food....fresh blueberry pie (I had never eaten fresh blueberry pie)....watch for the post on that one....Lava Hot Springs...Chesterfield...UTAH....warm and sunny...American Fork Harley Davidson, Grandma's Foods, Cabella's....cards ( I suck @ 5 Crowns....but it was fun)..Ryan and Ashley...SLC Farmers Market.....Caputos....Conference Center, Temple Square, Church History Museum....Deseret Book Flagship store ( Where I saw the Pretzel cookies)Lone Star Taqueria....wish I had some of their Pico.....fireworks...Hunter 16th Ward....can you say SUPER SMALL WARD! 26 ladies in RS and 4 of us were visitors! More cards....I REALLY suck @ Shanghai! Pack up...go home!

The cookies are my basic recipe below.....Melanie and I decided to add about 3/4 cup of crushed salted pretzels to the dough with the chocolate chips. Actually....Brennan did the mixing! MMMM!

Free E-book today only!

Hey....free e-book from the Urban Homemaker called "Sensational Summer Salads"! Marilyn Moll has lots of great ideas for salads using whole, nutritious food! And besides, who doesn't need another good salad recipe! Free today only by using this link: http://tinyurl.com/urbanhomemaker

26 pages of yum!