Category Archives: Natural Mamma’s Recipes

Corn Chowder – A Recipe Perfect For Those Cold Winter Days

January 27, 2012 The Natural Mammas 2 Comments

Homemade Corn chowder is a nice, comfort food of a soup. Its rich, homey tastes all blend together for a wonderful bowl of soup that will warm you up from the inside out on those cold, dark winter days.

Soups can also make a nice way to extend your cooking as leftovers are so easy to heat up.

They can be great to take to friends who are ill, nursing a loved one back to health, enjoying their baby moon, or even to a pot luck too. They freeze well and are easily transportable in a crock pot or even simply put into glass jars and re heated wherever you’re going. Because most people, even kids enjoy a simple soup like corn chowder, it’s a vegetarian soup, and its even easy to make vegan, this soup in particular is perfect for all these occasions and more!

As far as the corn chowder recipe that follows – its incredibly easy to make, pretty quick for a soup, and comes out perfect every time! Enjoy it with a fresh green salad and some tasty homemade bread or croutons for a naturally delicious meal that will keep your belly full and warm even when its cold outside.

Corn Chowder

Recipe Type: Soup

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

4 T butter
2 large onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced (more if you like garlic)
5 C vegetable stock
3 medium potatoes chopped
1 C (8oz) creamed corn
2-3 C fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 C cheddar cheese
1/4 C milk or cream (optional)
Fresh chives to garnish

Instructions

Heat butter in large sauce pan and add onions and garlic to cook for about 5 min.
Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil
Add potatoes
Simmer uncovered 10 min.
Add the creamed corn and corn kernels and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min
Stir the cheese through
Add cream or milk
Garnish with chives and serve

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Homemade Hot Cocoa Recipe By The Cup

January 3, 2012 The Natural Mammas 2 Comments

We love hot cocoa in the winter and I find it easier to make it homemade. Its a simple recipe and filled only with a few ingredients; as opposed to many of the “just add water” kinds. Plus its just plain tasty!

Here’s a recipe for 1 cup. Just adjust the ingredients for the amount of hot chocolate you need to serve your crew.

For extra fun you can make a bit of homemade whipped cream, natural marshmallows, or whatever toppings you enjoy with your mug of hot chocolate.

Really though, this homemade cocoa is just amazing all by itself too! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix By The Cup

Recipe Type: Drink

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 T cocoa powder
2 T sugar
2 T water
1 C milk
vanilla (optional)

Instructions

Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a pot and heat on low stirring constantly.
After about a minute or two add the milk and vanilla.
Stir over medium heat until the hot cocoa is at a warm temperature. Don’t boil though.

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Peppermint Bark Recipe Featuring All Natural Candy Canes!

December 18, 2011 The Natural Mammas 1 Comment

We originally received the basics for this recipe from a family member one Christmas. They sent a nice tin of Peppermint Bark and attached the recipe as a lovely homemade gift; we all decided instantly we LOVED it!

The combination of the two different chocolates plus the candy canes – Fantastic!

But, the candy canes for sale in most stores these days are filled with High Fructose Corn Syrup, colors, dyes, and flavorings; not something I’m generally into. We really wanted to make this Peppermint Bark Recipe for our friends and family though the following Christmas so, off I went on a hunt for some more natural alternatives.

Thankfully, I found some!

There are natural and organic white and bittersweet chocolate chips available, and we found Organic Candy Canes too! Add to that a bit of organic peppermint extract and the end result is a much more natural Peppermint Bark recipe.

During the Holidays though money can be tight. And, if you’re giving this recipe to a lot of other folks as part of a gift, it may just be too much to spring for all natural ingredients.

To me, its the thought that counts overall and, if you can afford to buy the all natural (and often more expensive) ingredients great, if not, there’s no reason not to make this fantastic Peppermint Bark Recipe any way you can because it’s really easy and really amazing!

Peppermint Bark Recipe Featuring All Natural Candy Canes!

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time: 2 hours 30 mins

Total time: 2 hours 30 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

12 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate (I often use semi sweet chocolate and it tastes great too)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract divided (can use more to taste)
12 oz chopped white chocolate
3/4 cup chopped candy canes divided

Instructions

Line an 11 x 17 in baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler (aka a big pot with some water in it, then a sauce pan inside that w/the chocolate in it) stirring constantly.
Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
Spread chocolate evenly onto the prepared sheet using a spatula and chill until set – usually about an hour or so. Be sure its really set well though.
Once bittersweet chocolate is set melt the white chocolate in the double boiler. Add the other 1/4 t of peppermint extract as well as 1/2 of the candy canes.
Now, spread the white chocolate mixture over the set bittersweet chocolate being sure to spread to the edge of the pan with a spatula.
Sprinkle remaining 1/2 of the candy canes over the entire sheet of peppermint bark.
Chill until set, about four hours or, preferably, overnight. Once completely set, break into pieces and serve. Keep cold unless eating and the Peppermint Bark will keep in the refrigerator for 5-6 weeks.