Backyard Farmgals

I love hummus, it is one of those classic recipes that you can use a million ways, and I never feel guilty eating it!  It is also one of those recipes that keep your thighs thin and your wallet fat; hummus is really good for you and it costs almost nothing to make.  I usually eat this with a giant pile of veggies or I use it in sandwiches instead of mayonnaise.  It is great for crudites platters and holiday parties.  Hummus is really flavorful without even trying, so I have found it to be very popular at parties, especially if you mix it up and use one of the variations listed below. This is really fast and easy to make, you may already have all of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.  All you need is a food processor or a good blender and you are half way to hummus! HUMMUS Backyard Farmgals 2 - 16 oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) 1/4 cup liquid from the beans (about the amount in one can, measure it anyway...) 3-5 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 tbsp tahini

The big question on everyone's mind is: "what to do with all of that leftover turkey?"  The answer came to me today as I was racing to my car in the wind.  This is no ordinary wind, this is bone chilling, hot steamy bubble bath, no I'm not coming out of the house kind-of-wind.  In a word: SOUP!!!  I love soup, it is so nourishing and filling.  I am a chicken soup kinda girl, no creamy concoctions, homemade chicken stock and oodles of veggies really get me excited. After a Whole Foods run this afternoon, I found myself holding a package of organic whole grain soba noodles, and not a clue to what I might dream up with them.  I needed a fast, easy, farmhand filling dinner, and this soup just came out.  It was really good!  I had homemade turkey stock brewing on the stove, and that made all the difference.  If you haven't made your own stock, it is so simple.  I love that I can control what goes into it, and it tastes so much better than the store bought kind.

Do a turkey dance... Happy Thanksgiving!!!  I had to share these darling cookies with everyone.  My kids saw something similar to these, and I was forced to make them.  Actually, I couldn't wait to make them, they are so cute and make Thanksgiving a little extra special for my farmhands.  What is better than eating your very own sugar cookie turkey??? These are super simple, and really fun.  I love their legs!  And piping the frosting on instead of spreading it made life really stress free!!!  Simply use a good sugar cookie recipe and cut out rounds with a large biscuit cutter.  They can be whatever diameter you choose really.  Whip up a little cream cheese icing (recipe follows) and you are almost done.  I used candy corns for the feathers.  The white icing is piped on with a #11 round piping tip.  In two small bowls, tint a small amount (1/4 cup) of icing black and another orange.  Pipe the legs and beaks orange with a #3 round tip and pipe black eyes with the same tip

It's snowing...I have Bing Crosby singing in my head...and a sudden urge to spread Christmas cheer to everyone I see.  I know that next week is Thanksgiving, some of you may be thinking I am jumping the gun just a bit, but really, Christmas is something that should be in your heart all year.  Even Ebenezer Scrooge said, "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year".  There is a little farmgal inside my heart that tells me the world would be so much better if we followed Ebenezer's promise to himself to keep Christmas in his heart.  Imagine...it would be incredible...no sadness or hatred, only complete joy and love.  Sign me up!!! I had this crazy idea for presents for my neighbors this year.  I wanted them to feel the same spirit that I feel at Christmas.  I wanted to bottle Christmas cheer, wrap a ribbon around it, and deliver it with my heart wrapped around it.  Well,  I did it; I bottled the Spirit of Christmas in little jam jars!!!  It

Because it is snowing and because I have this little hibernation thing going on, I had to make something warm and yummy today.  Something that when I baked it, the aroma would permeate the whole house and fill my mind full of warm happy thoughts.  That something ended up being Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.  I have had this recipe forever and it is one of my favorite warm gooey bread recipes.  There is no shortage of chocolate...something that a farmgal needs every now and then...plus this recipe is a for sure crowd pleaser.  My boys all belly up to the bar for a big thick slice of this.  They love it warm, when the chocolate chips are still gooey and melted. I know that the title calls for sour cream, but I have also used Greek yogurt and it turns out equally wonderful.  So feel free to substitute with a good THICK  plain or vanilla yogurt if you don't have sour cream.  I use really good chocolate when I make this recipe, since it is the most stand out ingredien