Solar Oven Cooking

April 17th, 2012

I absolutely LOVE my solar oven. I don’t use any fuel so I am saving money and it doesn’t heat up my house to cook. My parents, sister and I all have one and have been experimenting with different recipes. Chicken is the favorite in our house.

On tonight’s menu – boneless chicken breasts with sun-dried tomatoes and portabella mushrooms sprinkled with Montreal seasonings and Rosemary Red potatoes with a spritz of extra virgin olive oil.Imagine the solar oven as a “no-plug in” crockpot. It takes about the same amount of time to load it up as a crock-pot and even the 10 year old can put on the reflectors!! You don’t add any water! It cooks in it’s natural juices!

April 17th, 2012 by Kris Mazy | Comments Off

Home-made fruit leather

March 1st, 2012

Berlyn gives his approval!

We have been recovering from upper respiratory infections and stomach flu… ARGH! It’s the pits when all 8 in our house get sick!! I have missed posting on my blog and other sites and am trying to get caught up finally!!!

There are a few things in my kitchen that I can not go without (at least now that I have them). They are my Excalibur Dehydrator and my Vitamix. Home-made fruit leather is so easy to make and there is no added sugar or dyes in them when you make them from scratch at home. (we even made home-made soup in my Vitamix yesterday for lunch – the Vitamix even “cooks” it for you!!!

Amazon.com Widgets

I add fruit into the Vitamix (KILLER BLENDER if you ever want one and MADE in the USA!) I added 8 pears, 1 pint of blackberries and 2 bananas along with juice from 1/2 of a lemon and a tsp of cinnamon… then blend until it is just pulp. You can choose any fruit that you like. Applesauce make YUMMY rolls too as does strawberries.

Then, just pour the contents onto the non-stick sheets and spread out evenly. Turn on the dehydrator for about 14 hours… and there you have it… Fruit leather!! I cut them into strips so now the kids have HEALTHY fruit by the foot! Store these in either jars or zipper bags

March 1st, 2012 by Kris Mazy | Comments Off

Happy Birthday Arizona!! Happy Valentines Day!! But most important, Happy Birthday to my Berlyn!

February 14th, 2012

Today is Berlyn’s 6th birthday… 6…. WOWWIE! Time flies! He was just born yesterday….

Berlyn wanted me to bring in goodies to his class. So last night, I stayed up and made Oreo’s on a Stick. Ahh… the life of a mom! Now, I know that they will already be totally sugared up because it is Valentine’s day too!

These are fairly simple to make.And take about 30 minutes to make 3 dozen or so.

Oreo Pops

Double Stuff Oreos
Lollypop sticks
Almond bark

Twist open each of the Oreos
Melt your chocolate in a double boiler – I have the Pampered Chef one and LOVE IT!
Dip the end of your lollypop sticks in the chocolate (individually) and press into the cream of the Oreo and replace the top of the cookie.
Once the stick chocolate has cooled (I did these in batches of 8), dip the cookies in the almond bark and set on wax paper to cool
Drizzle white almond bark on the finished products.

February 14th, 2012 by Kris Mazy | Comments Off

Donation to Berlyn and Horses with H.E.A.R.T.

January 20th, 2012

Many of you have followed our family struggle with our son Berlyn and his Autism. We have our good days and our bad days. Some days, the tantrums are out of control and he screams and scratches at his ears and face when he has a sensory over-load and lately he has started rocking again when he gets anxious. On his good days, he speaks well and asks a ton of questions. He brain is over processing.

He is high-functioning with PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder). In October, he finally wrote his name and that was something that his doctor said may never happen. SO, we are thrilled that between all of our hard work at home and in the classroom where he gets much needed one-one-one, he is succeeding.

We have been struggling getting him any therapists since our state health insurance was cut because our income was $0.17 too much a month. Insurance was too high for us to buy through Larry’s work. We are back to square one with that.

Our name was given to Horses with H.E.A.R.T., a local non-profit company in Chino Valley to get some therapy for him. This is not just any therapy, this is a horse riding program for special needs. Our goal is to raise $600 to pay for Berlyn’s lessons. $600 pays for the entire years worth of lessons for him (24 group lessons)

My sister Jen and I are are taking Berlyn to a bowl-a thon on Feb 11 along with a few of our friends to raise money for Berlyn and Horses with H.E.A.R.T.

Any size donation will help get him involved in this amazing program If you can, please donate $5 or $10. Checks can be made out to Horses with H.E.A.R.T and write Berlyn – BAT (for bowl-a-thon) in the memo line. (mail checks to Horses with H.E.A.R.T, PO Box 2427, Chino Valley, AZ 86323 or take them by Mazy’s in Chino Valley anytime before Feb 8th). If you do mail a check, please send us an email so that we can mark you down on our list of his goal.

Berlyn and
Horses with H.E.A.R.T

You can also donate online through PayPal and I will get your name on our list. (paypal email is kris@krismazy.com). All donations over $10 will receive a receipt for their 2012 taxes that will be mailed right after the Bowl-a-thon.

Donations need to be in on or before Feb 8th for Berlyn to get credit.

Here is more information on Horses with H.E.A.R.T

We thank you so much for your support in this for our AMAZING son!

January 20th, 2012 by Kris Mazy | Comments Off

Recipe from Jen – French toast with berry syrup

January 17th, 2012

My sister and her family are eating healthier and this is one of their favorite recipes. She and her family eat Ezekiel bread. My family grinds our own wheat for most of our bread. Both are healthy options. SWG bread referenced below can be found in most grocery store freezers (Health food store is way cheaper she tells me!!)

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French toast with berry syrup

A yummy breakfast or anytime meal! My children love this but the berries will stain clothes (or faces), so make sure you don’t feed it to your not so neat kids the morning of their school pictures

Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: 1

Ingredients

1 egg
1 slice SWG bread
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup water
A few drops of Stevia, as per your taste

Directions

To make the berry syrup: Put berries and water in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook until berries soften slightly. Mash berries in pan, add a few drops of Stevia and continue cooking on low until sauce thickens slightly.

To make the french toast: Mix egg, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a shallow pan. Place slice of SWG bread in egg mixture and coat on both sides. Heat a nonstick pan on medium and place bread in pan, flipping after a few minutes.

Put your french toast on a plate and cover in berry syrup