Jäger Frustic (Hunter's Breakfast)

I was introduced to this dish by my mother-in-law. She served it to her Bed & Breakfast customers and to her children. I've always liked the name because it reminded me of my German roots. When grandchildren came, it became a nostalgic dish in their grandmother's house. Each of the grown children have adapted it to their own families tastes. In my family we like garlic, onion and hot sauce in the dish, served with a side of fruit salad and orange juice.

You can find all of these ingredients (fresh potatoes) in Meyers Specialty Market.

 

 Cook your bacon until crispy.

The edges of this bread are crisp and dry - perfect for soaking up egg and bacon goodness!

  I like to have color in my food. I don't even think about adding the rest of my ingredients until i see the edges of my potatoes caramelized.

 Scramble the eggs with all of your salt and seasonings so it is seasoned evenly throughout the dish.

Wet all of the bread cubes with the egg and milk mixture to soften the bread.

When it's all cooked, you won't be able to tell the bread from the potatoes since they will have a nice coating of eggs and bacon throughout.

Jäger Frustic

Makes 4 servings

1/4 lb. bacon, diced

1/2 onion, diced (optional)

1 1/2 c. frozen or cooked diced potatoes

4 tbsp butter

4 slices day old artisan bread, cubed

4 eggs, scrambled

1/2 c. milk

1 tbsp dried chives

1 tsp garlic salt and herb seasoning

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook bacon on medium heat until crispy. Do not drain. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, then add potatoes and butter. Cook until crispy and brown on edges. Add bread cubes. Scramble eggs with milk and seasonings then pour over bread. Stir frequently until egg is cooked. 

What is Kefir?

 Have you heard of kefir? Some people describe it as a drinkable yogurt. I learned a lot about it from Cultures for Health.  I have a lactose intolerance and despite all of the health benefits of yogurt and how much I love it, I couldn’t tolerate it. I learned that the bacteria in kefir feeds off the lactose or sugars in the milk, which makes kefir 99.9% lactose free. I experienced great changes in my digestive system and I did not experience the negative symptoms that I have from regular dairy.

I start with some strong kefir grains that I ordered from Cultures for Health and I used a good quality milk. I don’t have access to raw or unpasteurized milk. I tried using organic milk from the grocery store but I don’t like that it is ultra pasteurized and my kefir grains started to weaken, such as they became smaller and they didn’t hold together as well as they did with other milks. The milk I prefer to use is a local milk, Shatto Milk. My grains are strong and large and my kefir is wonderful.

After my kefir has cultured for 24 hours, I separate it from the grains in a non-metallic strainer, using a non-metalic spoon.

I like to add fruit to finished kefir. I add a ¼ cup of fruit to 2 cups cultured kefir and refrigerate it overnight. In this kefir I used freeze dried blackberries. The next morning I put it in a blender. If my fruit has seeds or stringy, like mango, I strain it after blending it. You can add a sweetener of your choice. Drink 8 oz. daily for great digestion!

                        

Breakfast Anyone? Easiest overnight oats ever!

I love breakfast food! I have so many favorites! Blueberry scones, eggs and grits, homemade biscuits and gravy, veggie omelet, eggs Benedict, eggs Florentine, homemade pancakes, breakfast casseroles, crepes, root vegetable hash with bacon and fried egg……I could have so many blog posts of just my favorite recipes. However, if I start my morning creating dirty dishes, then I’m already behind the power curve. In my life right now, I need simple.  Breakfast is hard for me. I don’t like cooking breakfast. I’d rather sit down with an instant breakfast, a hot cup of herbal tea and read in the mornings. By instant breakfast, I mean, I don’t want to work by the sweat of my brow to get it, but hey, I’m on a budget and paying $3-$4 per serving for a family of 9 for a healthy breakfast is out of the question.

 My regular family breakfast staples are homemade granola, scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast, and oatmeal. I love the overnight oats. I like having them once a week or so and I like to make them in batches. If I don’t eat the whole batch in a week(two to four jars), then they go bad and I’ve wasted, time, food and money.

With Thrive Life foods, I can make overnight oat weeks ahead! All of your normally wet ingredients are now FD and shelf stable. Once assembled and stored in my pantry, the only work I have to do on a busy weeknight is add liquid and place in the refrigerator for breakfast the next day. 

Blueberries, bananas and honey are now ready when you are.

If you are out of milk, no problem. 

Using yogurt bites in your overnight oats means you only add water. My daughter is lactose intolerant, so we omit yogurt bites and add half a can of coconut milk (also shelf stable) the night before. I like them cold, and my children like to heat them in the microwave.

Here is an easy recipe that I found on the back of a Costco size box of old fashioned oats which I Thrivalized.

Blueberry and Banana Overnight Oats

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup FD vanilla yogurt bites or blueberry yogurt bites

1/2 cup FD blueberries

1/3 cup FD banana slices

1 tbsp. FD crystallized honey

1 tsp. chia seeds

Add all ingredients into a wide mouth pint jar. Close with lid and secure tightly. Can be stored in pantry up to 6 months. 

To prepare, add 1 cup water, close with lid and shake to evenly coat fruit and oats. Place in refrigerator over night or 8 hours before eating. Heat in microwave if desired.

Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup FD vanilla yogurt bites

1/3 cup FD banana slices

3 tbsp. Peanut Flour

1 tbsp. crystallized honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. chia seeds

Add all ingredients into a wide mouth pint jar. Close with lid and secure tightly. Can be stored in pantry up to 6 months. 

To prepare, add 1 cup water, close with lid and shake to evenly coat fruit and oats. Place in refrigerator over night or 8 hours before eating. Heat in microwave if desired.

Raspberry Rolls

Raspberries are on sale this month! Professional bakers use freeze dried fruit in their baking so they can have ALL the flavor and none of the extra water.

I LOVE these raspberry rolls. They are the perfect blend of tart and sweet. The freeze dried raspberries don't add extra water, and so the rolls stay perfectly moist and not wet. The flavor from the fruit penetrates the roll dough and every bite is raspberry heaven.

I use double the butter of the cinnamon roll recipe to adequately refresh the raspberry powder. The lime is essential to balance the fruit and sugar.

These can be made up to 2 days in advance. Once cooled, cover tight with plastic wrap and they will retain moisture. Warm in a 250 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. The quality of flour in important for the flavor, texture and moisture. My flours of choice are King Arthur, Gold Metal Organic, or Thrive.

  

Sarah's Raspberry Rolls

1.5 doz. large rolls

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tbsp. yeast

1 cup canola oil

1 ½ cups warm water

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp. salt

5 ½ cups non-gmo flour, sifted or 5 c. whole wheat flour

Filling:

½ cup melted butter

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup Thrive raspberries, crushed and seeded

½ tsp. Thrive Limeade powder or 1 tbsp. lime juice

In a stand mixer, mix sugar, yeast, oil and water and let stand 15 minutes. Attach dough hook and add eggs, salt and flour. Once all flour is incorporated, knead 5 minutes. Dough will be very wet. Roll out dough to a 12 x 18 rectangle. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, raspberries and lime powder or juice with a whisk. Spread melted butter evenly over dough and then sprinkle on dry filling ingredients. Roll as a jelly roll. Too loose and rolls will have gaps, too tight and rolls will not rise and fluff. Cut with string and place on a large, parchment lined baking sheet or two 9x13 pans. Let rolls rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. For conventional oven, bake 10 minutes, rotate pan and bake for remaining 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Spread on icing with a pastry brush while rolls are slightly warm.

Icing:

For Raspberry Rolls

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted.

1 tbsp. butter, melted

½ tsp. Thrive Limeade powder or 1 tbsp. lime juice

2-4 tsp warm water

Whisk icing ingredients together. Add water to desired consistency. Icing should be a thick paste consistency. (slightly thicker than white glue)

Sarah's Cinnamon Rolls

 Once upon a time I operated an in-home bakery. I only advertised in my neighborhood and word spread quickly. I met many wonderful new friends through my little bakery. 

My number one selling baked goods were my cinnamon rolls. I only put a handful of items on my menu every week but cinnamon rolls were on the menu every week! I focused on whole foods and good quality ingredients. I used non-gmo or organic flours. I offered 100% whole wheat options in cinnamon rolls, sandwich bread, cookies and cakes, in addition to white pastry flour confections. I grew up baking with only whole wheat flour that my mother ground herself in our family electric wheat grinder and so it was only natural for me to offer these in whole wheat. 

These can be made up to 2 days in advance. Once cooled, cover tight with plastic wrap and they will retain moisture. Warm in a 250 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. The quality of flour in important for the flavor, tecture and moisture.. My flours of choice are King Arthur, Gold Metal Organic, or Thrive.

  

Sarah's Cinnamon Rolls

1.5 doz. large rolls

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tbsp. yeast

1 cup canola oil

1 ½ cups warm water

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp. salt

5 ½ cups non-gmo flour, sifted or 5 c. whole wheat flour

Filling:

¼ cup melted butter

1 tbsp. cinnamon (2 tbsp. for copy cat Cinnabon)

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup nuts

½ cup raisins

In a stand mixer, mix sugar, yeast, oil and water and let stand 15 minutes. Attach dough hook and add eggs, salt and flour. Once all flour is incorporated, knead 5 minutes. Dough will be very wet. Roll out dough to a 12 x 18 rectangle. Spread melted butter over dough and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar. Roll as a jelly roll. Too loose and rolls will have gaps, too tight and rolls will not rise and fluff. Cut with string and place on a large, parchment lined baking sheet or two 9x13 pans. Let rolls rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. For conventional oven, bake 10 minutes, rotate pan and bake for remaining 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Spread on icing with a pastry brush while rolls are slightly warm.

Icing:

Maple

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted.

1 tbsp. butter, melted

½ tsp. maple flavoring (this will darken the icing) or 1 tsp. maple extract

2-4 tsp warm water or milk

Whisk icing ingredients together. Add milk to desired consistency. Icing should be a thick paste consistency. (slightly thicker than white glue)

Southwest Chicken Pasta Skillet in a Jar

Southwest Chicken Pasta Skillet in a jar

 Adapted from Chef Todd

This has been a family favorite for many meals. You can add more of any vegetable. Also, you can substitute the sour cream and limeade powders with fresh sour cream and lime when you fold in the pasta.

-Layer in jar

1 cup FD chopped chicken

½ cup FD red bell peppers

½ cup FD chopped onion

½ cup FD sweet corn

2 TBSP FD green chili peppers

¼ cup Instant black beans

-Bag in jar

1 tsp. Chef’s Choice Seasoning Blend

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. FD cilantro

-Bag in jar

½ cup Veloute’

½ tsp. Summer Limeade Powder

½ cup Thrive sour cream powder

-From pantry

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced (optional, may use powdered)

1 tsp. hot sauce

4 cups water

1 lb. Pasta

1.     Cook Pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2.     Saute’ the garlic in butter. Add chicken, bell pepper, onion, corn, chili peppers and black beans. Add 4 cups of water and spices. Bring to a simmer.

3.     Cover with lid, simmer for 15-20 minutes until beans are tender.

4.     Once cooked, add in the Veloute’, limeade powder, sour cream powder and hot sauce with. Simmer 1-2 minutes while stirring.

5.     Fold in cooked pasta. Garnish with cilantro, diced avocado and tomato. Serves 6-8

Frosted Lemonade

Tonight, I enjoyed making frosted lemonades with my children. It's snowing outside and all I wanted was a frosted lemonade from Chic-fil-A. The closest Chic-fil-A to me is 30 minutes away. Their lemonade was the best lemonade I had ever tasted, until I tried Thrive's Classic Lemonade.

Thrive uses lemon oil to flavor their Classic Lemonade. You use your own sweetener, allowing you to indulge as healthy or not so healthy as you feel in the moment. A little goes a long way, as one pantry can makes 22 gallons!

We made two quarts of frosted lemon goodness. This is a seasonal item, released in June every year. It's still in stock, but that will only be while supplies last. Get it while you can, before you have to wait until June!

Frosted Lemonade

by Sarah Griesmyer

4 c. Vanilla Ice Cream

2 c. Ice

2-3 c. Water (less with soft ice cream, more with hard ice cream)

1/2 c. sugar

1 scoop Thrive Classic Limeade

Mix in blender on low speed until mixed. Turn up blender to med-high speed for 30 seconds until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves 6