Left Over Turkey Fiesta Soup

fiestasoup

Turkey is one of those things that I love to cook – it is economical, easy, and can feed our family of six for several days. However, one can only eat ‘just turkey’ for so many days, right? So, I am forever trying to play ‘hide the _____’ {you know, it’s kind of like hide the ham at Christmas} Sometimes to create something new all you have to do is think of one of your other favorites – well, that just so happens to be Mexican!

A cup of this, a pinch of that – lets have a fiesta!

Left Over Turkey Fiesta Soup Recipe - Tired of playing hide the turkey? Put a spin on it and make it Mexican - lets have a fiesta!

Sharing my happy homestead’s turkey fiesta soup recipe after having had quite a few inquires about the soup which I featured on my Instagram feed –

Disclaimer;  I tend to cook without measuring and gauge more by taste so I will do my best to give an exact replica but, please note none of my recipes ever quite taste the same.

10 Maple Syrup Fun Facts Featuring The Polk-Around Farm

10maplesyrupfunfacts

photo credit; The Polk-Around Farm

I’m super excited to share my first “Black Friday Week” Feature with all of you – as promised I will be bringing you the ‘extra-oridary’ not just the ‘ordinary’ in the day’s ahead – hungry for more? Be sure to sign up for our Homestead Happenings Newsletter for additional bonuses, discounts, and other fun ‘extra’s.

Rise and Shine – it’s Maple Syrup Time!! Ya’ll I can not think of enough wonderful things to say about The Polk-Around Farm! From the most luxurious of honey to mouth watering maple candies  –  your tastebuds will be dancing with delight this holiday season.

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10 Fun Facts About Maple Syrup 

It takes 30-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Canada produces 71% of the worlds pure maple syrup.

Fake Maple Syrup {brands like Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth} are not actually made of maple syrup at all. They are made of ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, cellulose gum, and caramel coloring {sound yummy?} I can not emphasize enough the importance of learning to read a label.

Maple Syrup is graded solely by color – not taste!

Is all maple syrup organic? In theory yes, because the trees are plants in a wild environment. It just wouldn’t make logical sense to fertilize mature 100 year old trees – if the forest is responsibly maintained and cared for then there is little need for human interruption of a natural process. Hence, why organic certification is seldom sought after from reputable, environmentally sound, and sustainable farms like The Polk-Around Farm.

Your fridge is the best place for your maple syrup, it can keep for a year or more. If sugar crystals develop, you can warm the syrup to dissolve them.

Maple syrup is vitamin and mineral rich – no fake stuff here; containing calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and iron. And, a whole lot of yum, with every spoonful.

You can bake with maple syrup too. Use only three-forths the amount of maple syrup as you would sugar in any recipe – simply reduce the amount of another liquid by 3-4 tablespoons.

Maple syrup is such a treasure that it can only be made in the northern part of North America. Legend has it that the first maple syrup was made by an Iroquois woman, the wife of Chief Woksis.

The use of maple syrup is only limited to your own imagination – be sure to check out The Polk-Around Farm for maple cream, maple syrup, maple sugar, and more.

Think outside the box this holiday season – support a small family farm and let your tastebuds do the dancing.

Find the Polk-Around Farm on Facebook HERE

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Homemade Dairy and Gluten Free Ice Cream

Gluten and Dairy Free Ice Cream, Dessert, Sweets, Treats, Kids, Recipe, Printable

When we first discovered that our kids had a dairy sensitivity it didn’t seem like a big deal- I mean heck, how hard could it possibly be to ‘just‘ stay away from cheese? Ha, boy was I wrong- I will take our family’s gluten issues over dairy any day. Most dairy alternatives are just plain nasty and full of artificial highly processed ingredients.

However, somethings really do taste great dairy free- and this homemade dairy free ice cream is certainly one of those things. There are no artificial ingredients and in our home the end result is a happy child that gets to be just like all the rest.

(For your convenience affiliate links are included-if a purchase is made through these direct links it does help support this blog – no pressure to do so but if you do we thank you!)

Homemade Dairy and Gluten Free Ice Cream

Ingredients;
3 C. Dairy free milk of your choosing (I use 2 c. coconut and 1 c. almond)
1 T. Vanilla
3/4 C.Sugar (this can be adjusted depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 tsp.  Salt

You will also need; 
An ice cream maker (it is worth its weight in gold for how much you will be saving in the long run on those super pricy little cartons of dairy-free ice cream)

Gluten and Dairy Free Ice Cream, Dessert, Sweets, Treats, Kids, Recipe, PrintableDirections; 
Add milk, vanilla, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk or using an electric mixer blend until sugar is dissolved and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Carefully pour blended mixture into the ice cream bucket and churn until it has reached its desired thickness (ours takes about 20 minutes)

Place in a lid covered container and store for later use. I typically make a batch and let it sit in the freezer for a bit before serving to let it thicken/harden as the immediate product is typically quite soft. 

Top with your favorite toppings; chocolate, berry sauce, dye free sprinkles, or fresh berries. Serve and enjoy!
Printable Recipe