Dandelions- The Tasty "Weed" Is Good For You!

Dandelions. You either love 'em or you hate 'em.  In our neighborhood, Dandelions are considered a weed that must be controlled. I have to agree that lawns do look better without them but did you know that they are edible? On top of that, they are really good for you!

Excerpts from "The How to Herb Book"

The dandelion we are talking about really is that little yellow weed in your lawn. All its parts are used – the leaves, flower and roots. It can be used fresh in green drinks and salads.

• One of the best blood purifiers and builders available.
• High in vitamins and minerals, especially calcium.
• Contains all the nutritive salts for the blood. Dandelion restores and balances the blood so anemia that is caused by deficiencies of these blood salts disappears.
• The herb for low blood pressure, helps build energy and endurance.
• Overweight people when losing weight can become over acidic. These acids in the blood are destroyed by dandelion.
• One of the best liver cleansers. It increases the activity of the liver and the flow of bile into the intestines.
• It is fantastic for use in hepatitis.
• Increases activity of the pancreas and the spleen.
• Good for the female organs.
• Helps open urinary passages.
• Used to treat skin diseases.

To purchase "The How to Herb Book", Herbs or to read more about Dandelion visit:

When Andy and I heard about how good dandelions were for us, we experimented with the plants from our own back yard. We made a coffee substitute from the roots, cooked the flower buds in butter (they tasted like artichokes!), and ate the leaves in salads.  It was a lot of fun and the kids loved picking the flower buds for us to cook for them!

Check out this link on how to make Dandelion Coffee.

This link will show you a basic Dandelion Fritter Recipe.

And this final link will take you to a recipe for Dandelion Jelly!

The video below is from a collection called "Great Depression Cooking by Clara" This episode "Dandelion Salad" brought back the memories of our experiments with dandelions.  I love this sweet lady!

Before watching this video, pause the music on this website. You can find my playlist on the right.



Remember the saying, when life gives you dandelions, make a salad? Well, Ok. I know that's not the saying but next time you look out on your lawn full of Dandelions remember they are little miracles! God made them just for you so go pick 'em and make something delectable! And the best part is, they are FREE! You can't get much better than that!

;) Gruvinmom

Chicken Noodle Soup Anyone?

When I make soup, it's different every time. Tonight I made this Chicken Noodle Soup.  I boiled the chicken for hours (I don't know how long because I was busy today doing other things) with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, fresh sage, salt and pepper and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Then removed the chicken, strained the broth and blended the cooked vegetables in some of the broth, added the broth and the blended veggies back to the pot and let it simmer while I cut up some fresh carrot, onion & celery. Threw the fresh veggies on a roasting pan with some olive oil and about 5 cloves of garlic still in there "papers", roasting them till they were nice and brown. While the veggies were roasting, I shredded half of the cooked chicken.

I threw the roasted veggies into the broth simmering on the stove (after I removed the roasted garlic from their papers, of course), brought it to a boil and then added some spaghetti noodles to the pot (cuz I was lazy today and I didn't feel like making noodles). When the noodles were done, I took the pot off the heat and threw in the shredded chicken. Let it sit about 3-5 minutes and it was ready to eat.  In the end, I felt it needed more salt which I added but it still didn't seem right so I added some Braggs to it.

Everyone thought it was pretty good.  I thought it was ok.  I think it needed more flavor but I usually have trouble tasting my own food. Other peoples food always tastes better than mine!


;) Gruvinmom, at it again...

Savory Breakfast Bread from Cookingbread.com

I was looking for a replacement for the old breakfast casserole I used to make for company (By the way, I am so sorry I subjected you all to this nasty casserole, I hope you will all forgive me.) and found this wonderful bread. It is packed with protein and almost resembles a Quiche. My kids raved about this so it must be good, right? The first time I made this I didn't have ham or Gruyere cheese so I made it with onion, garlic, ground sage, rosemary, the cheese I had on hand (probably a "Mexican" blend) and spinach, omitting the mustard. The second time I made it, I replaced the ham and Gruyere with turkey sausage and mozzarella. I cut the fat by replacing half of the butter with canola oil. I think I can still do better than removing just half the butter though so the next time I make this I am going to try to reduce it even more. Gruyere cheese is supposed to be better for you but it is so expensive! I think a skim mozzarella works in this bread just fine.

Savory Breakfast Bread:
Source: www.cookingbread.com

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
• 1/3 cup chopped red peppers
• 9 eggs

• 1 cup soft butter
• 3 tablespoons mustard
• 1 1/2 cups chopped ham
• 2 cups Gruyere cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Method

Prep all your ingredients before hand, this will help to make sure things move quickly and to be sure you have all the ingredients. In a bowl combine the flour, thyme, chives, baking powder and red peppers. Mix together, in a separate bowl combine the eggs, soft butter and mustard. Mix till well blended. Add in the freshly ground pepper and stir. Pour the wet ingredients into a large bowl. Pour in half the flour mixture and mix just till blended. Add in the chopped ham and the cheese. Mix together. Add in the rest of the flour mixture and stir just till mixed. Do not over mix. Pour into 2 greased medium 8x4 loaf pans. Bake in a 375F oven for 30 - 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans.

Black Bean Burrito Bake from "Cheap, Healthy, Good"

Cheap, Healthy, Good is my favorite blog these days when it comes to planning meals around here. I picked this recipe from their recipe achieves for my last shopping trip and it was so good I had to make it for my sister-in-law who came for a quick visit last week. Actually, I only made the filling that we ate as a dip for chips.

The dish is pretty spicy and I suggest that you only use half of the chile called for if you make it for kids. My kids ate it anyway and they said they loved it but I heard a lot of comments about how hot it was. We will be making it again. It was a home run!

Black Bean Burrito Bake
Serves 4

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350°.

2) Remove one chile from can. Chop chile. Reserve remaining adobo sauce and chiles for another use. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes.

3) Place half of beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add chopped beans, remaining beans, and corn to sour cream mixture.

4) Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread salsa over tortillas; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.