The Magestic and Amazing Frio River | Nature at it's finest

I just wanted to share a couple of beautiful shots I got. This photo is one of my favorites because I know this place so well. I have been visiting this river and this spot for the past 24 years of my life. We try to make at least one family trip every Summer and my best friend and I try to make a "girls" trip as well.

This is the Frio River in Concan, Tx

Many people may know the Frio by one of George Strait's songs called
"All my exes live in Texas"

or

they most likely know it from Garner State Park.

We always stay right down stream from Garner at Magers River Camp.

Mrs. Magers has long since passed away and her kids have taken over the property, split it in half and made their own personal changes to the place, as people tend to do when that happens.

None the less, we still love to go and make new memories and we will always have our older memories and pictures like these to look back on.

If you ever get the opportunity to make it to Texas, then I hope you get to checkout the Frio River.

It is so beautiful and majestic. Full of wild animals, sometimes wild turkeys and deer make their way through the river banks. You can sit on the edge of the water or in a kayak and fish for little perch, which are abundant and may nibble on your toes a little. There is hiking and 4 hour kayak trips, which I also have embarked on a couple of times. I love nature and the great outdoors. I love kayaking and fishing, campfires and cookouts. I love crossing the river at night by the damn and going over to the Garner State Park side for the Summer dances.  The Frio River area has all of this and more. The next time you are looking for a fun new place to visit or a cool place to take the kids on a family vacation, then I hope you remember this post and you give it a shot. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

 

This next photo was taken many years ago while on a road trip in the northwest part of the country. It was so long ago that I can't remember for sure the exact location but I'm almost positive that it was Washington state. A beautiful state with gorgeous mountains and rolling hills of amber. I love traveling to the northwestern part of America.
It reminds me just how small I am in this big old world.

 

Dream on Dreamers

Blessings to all

 

The benefits of living next to a produce store

I happen to live very close to a produce store, "Straight From the Crate", and I am very grateful.

I love fresh produce. Fresh fruits, veggies and sometimes some fresh baked bread.

It was a beautiful sun-shining Valentines day and I packed up the boys and we walked to the

store and grabbed a few items.

Lemons, strawberries, cantaloupe, onions, avocados, spinach, oranges, potatoes and a loaf of fresh baked bread. Just writing those words makes my mouth water. It is truly a blessing to have access to all these fresh yummy all-natural foods, especially when you don't have a garden of your own.

Another benefit of all this fresh produce is coming home and making a delicious batch of

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I used frozen corn, black beans, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, cilantro, topped

with avocados, cheddar cheese and crispy tortilla chips. I know I didn't get most of the ingredients from the produce store but sometimes it's just those one or two fresh items like avocados that inspire a meal like this. This is the kind of meal that reminds me of my home!

 

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces

– just good food from fresh ingredients 

- Julia Child

 

One of the biggest and best lessons that I have learned from eating well is the effects that it has on your body. Eating well isn't just a way of life, but it is a preventative from disease and bad health. Not only does eating all natural foods right from the earth make us feel good but it helps heal the body. Natural foods are full of healing properties. I whole-heartedly believe that. The Lord has provided us with all we need to live a healthy and satisfying life, all while preventing the many diseases that plague us.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

- Hippocrates, father of medicine,

If you don't consume a lot of fresh foods right now, I highly suggest trying out some knew recipes that involve lots of them. When I was younger I didn't eat nearly enough veggies and now I can't imagine not eating these foods on a daily basis. I feel so much better when I consume more foods that don't have a t.v. commercial and grow naturally. I feel great!

 

I've included some famous quotes that I really enjoy about eating healthy and caring for out body

 

Eat Food. Not Too much. Mostly Plants. - Michael Pollan, renowned food expert and journalist

 

Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.  Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce. - Michael Pollan

 

When we learn to eat properly we begin to rebuild our bodies and to fulfill our purpose on this planet to grow in health, creativity, wisdom, and compassion - Dr. Ann Wigmore

 

Check out my previous post on making homemade fresh Blueberry Muffins from Scratch!

Use your frozen blueberries



Happy 1st Birthday to my nephew

I am a little late on this post but you know what they say, "better late than never". My nephew had his first birthday on the 12th of February and we celebrated by gathering in Luckenbach at the Luckenbach Lodges with the sun shining bright. It was a beautiful day, beautiful weather and a perfect day for an outdoor party.

 

The Birthday Boy

Cousins

Brotherly Love

My sister and her big-little ONE year old

Brothers

All the boys want is Sugar Sugar Sugar

My sweet little angel enjoying the outdoors

 

It was a great First birthday!!!

 

Blessings

How to freeze berries

It has been such a gloomy and dreary day. But I got these fresh strawberries and a giant thing of blueberries on sale and I am washing them up good so I can freeze them. I love fresh berries and freezing them while they are in season or on sale is a great way to ensure their availability.

I can't stand to see my fruits and veggies go bad before I can eat them. For some reason I always forget about freezing them. Really, you can freeze just about anything. Think about all the varieties of food that fill the packages in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store. Green beans, corn, onions, squash, zucchini and everything else under the sun. In order to stock my freezer up and make sure that I don't waste any of my food, I am going to start taking half of my fruits and veggies and wash them and freeze them. I started with my berries that are so sweet and bright. I was surprised to stumble upon such good berries and at such a great price in January. I don't want to let these puppies go to waste.

Freezing berries or really anything is actually quite simple. First, I get a baking sheet and cover it with two layers of papers towels so that I can dry/drain the berries of their excess water after rinsing.

Take all of your fruit that you want to freeze and give it a good washing. I use a strainer and let them sit in the sink for a few minutes to drip off as much excess as possible. I then spread the fruit out over the paper towels to dry off. After a few minutes I turn the fruit over and try to get the other side too. If you have any paring or trimming to do with your food, this would be the time to do it. I usually cut out the core and take off the greenery on my strawberries before freezing them.

I then throw away the paper towel and use a silicone mat on the baking sheet to prevent the berries from sticking. This isn't necessary. I just happen to have one. You can place your berries directly on the cookie sheet. I wouldn't use paper of any kind because the berries may stick to the paper as they freeze. Try to separate your fruit as much as possible. Sometimes the berries will freeze together when they still have water on them. The goal is to try to freeze your berries separately so that you can use as much or as little as you want from your bag without them all being frozen in one big clump. That is why drying them on the paper towels is an important step. After they are washed, dried and spread out on the cookie sheet, you can then put the cookie sheet of fruit in the freezer for about an hour. You mostly want the berries to get pre-frozen enough not to stick together. After an hour, take the berries out of the freezer and put them into your freezer-friendly ziplock bags that have been pre-labeled with the date they were frozen and the name of the item. Then you can store them in your freezer for up to six months.

If you like smoothies as much as I do, then this will also make smoothie-making that much easier. A great idea for smoothies is taking this same concept but preparing baggies of pre-prepared fruit combinations for your smoothies. For instance if you love strawberry banana, then you can make a bag of already sliced bananas and strawberries for a smoothie. It's a great way to save time and to make sure that you have the fruits you want when you need them. Try this with spinach and yogurt too. Like I said before, you can pretty much freeze anything.

Happy Berry Freezing!!!

Blessings to all

Amazing Fredericksburg Peach Fruit Smoothies

Freshly picked Fredericksburg Peaches

Just imagine the most tender, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth, plump peach you can think of. That is what a Fredericksburg peach tastes like. And even more, that is what an Engel's Orchards peach from Fredericksburg, Texas tastes like. I literally cannot express how delicious these things are. I eat them every Summer and before the next one I almost forget how truly wonderful they are. Then the next Summer rolls around and I sink my teeth into one of their peaches and I remember all over again why these peaches are the best peaches I have ever had.


I love these peaches so much that I made a sweet and creamy fruit smoothie in honor of their amazingness. Not only is it full of sweet and delicious fruit but I also added some Vanilla Protein to mine to make it a little more healthy and a little more amazing.  However, you will feel like you are eating a big gallon of fattening ice cream because these peaches are so sweet that it's almost like eating candy. This smoothie is so delicious that I couldn't keep it to myself. I had to share it so that you too can partake in this sweet journey of peaches and creamy smoothieness. Plus, it's Summer and what a nice treat a homemade fruit smoothie is.

Without further ado...Here is how we do this

What you will need:

Gadgets:
A badass blender
A spoon
A knife
Cups
A mouth for tasting

Ingredients:
One Banana
About 5 Cherries (fresh if possible) pitted
One big Peach or two small ones
6 Strawberries
A cup of ice
1/2 Cup of natural coconut pineapple juice (I use L&A brand)
1/4 Cup reduced fat milk
3 Tbsp Sugar or Honey
1 scoop or 3 Tbsp Vanilla protein powder (optional)

First, get out the blender and plug her in. Then use your knife and cut up all your fruit (banana, cherries, strawberries and peaches) and toss them in the blender. Then add the juice, milk and sugar or honey. I use sugar because I don't drink a lot of sugary drinks and I'm cool with a little sugar here and there. As usual moderation and balance in everything is important. Blend all of this together on the puree setting if you have one. If not, the lower setting. Just to get it all pureed. After that you can add the ice and blend for a couple of minutes or until the ice is completely blended. Add the vanilla protein powder and blend, if you choose. It just adds a little something extra and turns the smoothie into more of a meal replacement smoothie. This smoothie is great before or after a workout. Once everything is blended, use your spoon to taste the smoothie and make sure that it is up to your standards and preferences. If it is too thick then just add a little more juice or water to thin it out. If it is too runny then just add a little more ice, a cube at a time. It should be pretty close to perfect. Pour into your cups and enjoy!

Fredericksburg Peach Smoothie

If this wasn't enough to convince you that Fredericksburg peaches are the best in the state if not the country, then I highly recommend that you get your little fanny on down to Engel's Peach Stand in Blanco, Texas. These peaches come straight from the tree in Fredericksburg, Tx and delivered fresh everyday. They are there all week. Engel's makes fresh peach ice cream and cobbler on the spot as well as carry a full variety of veggies and fruits. What a wonderful way to spend a hot summer day than to pack up the car, take a road trip and stop off for some fresh peach cobbler and ice cream. Make sure to buy a the big box of peaches. Trust me. Once you get home and realize that half the box is gone in the first two days, you will be thanking me that you bought the big box.

I hope you get a chance to get down to Fredericksburg, Texas and get a big box of peaches to make your own recipes and if you can't make then don't be afraid to experiment in you kitchen with different smoothie recipes. Smoothies are a great way to get lots of fruit and sometimes veggies in all at once. Most importantly, Enjoy your journey in the kitchen.

Blessings,