Jack's Harvest

As usual, I cooked WAY too much food at Thanksgiving – this is really how Jack’s Harvest got started, I was making enough food for Jack to eat until college and realized that I better start giving some away before the freezer exploded!  I love Turkey Pot Pie especially when it is cold and rainy out like it is here in Atlanta today and as usual, I have found a way around the whole ‘I hate veggies’ thing by adding Jack’s Harvest Yummy Bunny Carrots and More Peas, Please to my sauce that way while they are picking out the whole carrots, they will still be getting their veggies!

This is a quick and easy way to do away with some of the 20lb turkey that I bought for a family of 5 (really 4 1/2 cause Jack had two bites!).

Turkey Pot Pie

6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup milk or heavy cream
salt, to taste
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 lb. frozen peas, carrots and onion mixture

4 cubes Jack’s Harvest Yummy Bunny Carrots
2 pre-made pie crusts or 9″ home-made

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat with the pressed garlic cloves. Whisk in the flour and cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually stir in the broth until absorbed. Add Jack’s Harvest Yummy Bunny Carrots, the milk or cream slowly, stirring constantly so that lumps don’t form. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, over low heat (low simmer) until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes (may be made a day ahead).

Thaw the frozen peas, carrots and onions for 15 minutes. (Note: If you’re unable to find peas, carrots and onion combination, use 12 oz peas and carrots with 1 whole fresh onion, chopped).

Lightly butter or spray with non-stick spray a deep dish pie pan or shallow casserole. Line the bottom of the pie plate or dish with one of the pie crusts. Add cooked cubed turkey and the vegetables. Pour in the gravy mixture. Cover with the upper pie crust and flute or crimp the edges, if desired.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

If you are looking for a great beginning to your Thanksgiving feast, look no further as we have your answer.  How about Butternut Squash Soup that takes oh, about 5 mins to prep.  I know with all the other elaborate dishes we have to get on the table having one that is quick, delicious and great with your turkey sandwich tomorrow is yet one more little thing to be thankful for!

Butternut Squashed Apple Soup

Combine the top four ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until heated through.  Serve in small bowls garnished with diced apples, creme fraiche and if you are feeling especially gourmet brown a few sage leaves in butter, dry on paper towels and add as a finishing touch.  Serves 4

I was reading one of my “bibles” FoodBusiness News (I know it isn’t People or Us, but for us in the biz – it is really informative).  The cover article has the new package for Hagen-Dazs (I don’t know how to put an umlaut on the a, but you know what I mean) which highlights the fact that their vanilla ice cream contains the following:  Milk, Cream, Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla Bean.  That’s right, I put a period at the end of those five ingredients.  That’s all ice cream should be no monosaturates, no high fructose, no carageenan, nothing that is impossible to pronounce or spell.  I love this article because it is also the premise behind Jack’s Harvest.  Simple, clean food made with the best ingredients doesn’t need anything added to it.  It is good because the raw materials are the finest available and we minimally process those ingredients for the consumer.

They go on to say that consumers are looking for goods that are refrigerated or frozen and that actually have an expiration date.  I have always been proud of the fact that our food expires.  It should, it is fresh and contains no preservatives.  I want my food to expire, if it can live in my pantry for years and years, it probably is nutrient deficient and not worth eating.

Furthermore, it states that consumers are also becoming wary of nutritionally enhanced foods with DHA, probiotics and the like.  We were considering adding DHA to Jack’s Harvest about this time last year and I was unable to deal with the fact that we would lose our 100% organic certification and this quote from the DHA manufacturer kept reverberating in my head – “it might get a fishy taste, we can’t guarantee that it won’t”  whatta whatta????  Jack’s Harvest tastes great because it tastes like it supposed to – peas are green and vibrant and have a hint of mint, not a hint of anchovy.  Connie and I have revisited this decision many times and each time feel that we made the right one.  Our food is simple, pure and 100% organic and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The great news here is that consumers are reading labels and getting educated.  We know that an educated parent is a Jack’s Harvest customer.  Keep it up and the food industry will be forced to bow to demand and start putting out simple, delicious and nutrient dense food that expires.

We often

Lip Smackin’ Sweet Potato Souffle

1 stick butter
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
2 eggs
2 cups JH Lip Smackin’ Sweet Potatoes (There are 8 oz in a cup so you would need 16 oz of baby food – that would be 1 1/2  bags)
1 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans

mini marshmallows (optional)

Mix first five ingredients in casserole dish. For topping, combine remaining ingredients. Cover souffle with topping and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees

We are so proud to be a part of these two great events.  The Grand Day Out promises to be so much fun for the whole family. 

Sunday, November 15th @ 3pm
GRAND DAY OUT
Tix $10 in advance for Adults & $12 at the door
Kids $6 in advance & $8 at the door
Email staff@play-2-grow.com

Connie will be there sampling Jack’s Harvest and we also particpated in the giveaways.  This event is organized by our friends at Play 2 Grow – the most amazing activity center for you and your child.  If you haven’t taken a class there, you need to!  Mark the owner is amazing and you will learn more in one hour than by reading every baby book on the market. 

On Monday we are going to be at the Harry’s Farmer’s Market in Alpharetta doing our sneaky chef cooking demo.  For those of you who are like me and have children who plain refuse to eat their veggies without turning the dinner table into a battlezone this is the class for you.  We will be focusing on creating healthy, declicious breakfast foods as if you can get their day started right you don’t have to worry so much about the rest of the day!  

Tricking a Picky Eater into Eating Healthy Foods!

10-11am Free

Every family has a picky eater (it might even be you).  Join Atlanta mom and co-founder of Jack’s Harvest frozen organic baby food, Heather Schoenrock, as she shares creative ideas for how you can use organic fruit and vegetable purees to give grown-up meals a boost of flavor and nutrition. Heather will also share tips for feeding your picky eater, including her “unarguable 12,” a survival technique to restore peace at your dinner table. Take home recipes and bring your own taste-tester along for delicious treats including 365 brownies (made with Jack’s Harvest sweet potato puree).   This event is free but registration is required.  Please call 770-664-6300 or email jennifer.smeth@wholefoods.com.

With our busy lifestyles and the many roles we play during the day it can be easy to forget about how important it is to take care of ourselves. Here is a great list of ideas for self-care – I am going to post on my refrigerator so that when I am feeling stressed (all the time!) I can look at this list and try another alternative to the Ben and Jerry’s!  Enjoy and find some way to care for yourself every day.

When we first thought about creating Jack’s Harvest it was a lark of sorts, we didn’t really put much thought into the business plan, mission statement or any of those “pesky” details.  We were focused on getting a product to market to meet the demand that was already present.  In our rush, we got our walls, floors and windows put in, but we really didn’t focus enough attention on creating a strong, solid foundation.  This is where we find ourselves today in the process of renovation and improvement.  We are working with a couple of consultants who are putting us through our paces so to speak and although it is hard and a lot of work in addition to the daily operations of Jack’s Harvest, I have no doubt that is is the right thing to do and a very important exercise.

We were asked the question what would we do if we found ourselves in the elevator with Bill Gates and wanted to pitch him JH.  Not as easy as it sounds.  We also created our mission statement.  The idea is that decisions should become easy either they support the mission or they don’t.  I’m thinking I could use a mission statement for my life.  Wouldn’t that be a great thing to have – here is my mission on this planet and all my decisions are based on this mission.  I think this should be a high school assignment and then we should all review this statement every couple of years to make sure that it grows as we mature.

We were honored to be interviewed by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and wanted to share the article with all of you.  I got a chuckle over the part where I told the interviewer Thornton that I might have to hang up the phone in a hurry as I was in carpool and would get in trouble if I got caught on the phone!  Link to the article First Steps

Wow have we had a busy November and it’s only the 5th of the month!  We are the cover article for the Atlanta Business Journal tomorrow.  I have to admit that I am pretty excited about this because it is a nod to Jack’s Harvest as a business.  We have really worked hard and learned a lot about running a business and this is a nice affirmation.

In addition, we are in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine this month.  Check it out!  So exciting!

It is time again for my favorite event for kids!  Baby Loves Disco.  This Saturday from 11-2 we will be gettin’ down to some great sounds courtesy of DJ Yvonne Monet and wearing our PJs to do it (how great is that concept, dancing, food and I get to wear my PJs, are you kiddin’?).  I will be there with my disco shoes on and some delicious mango and pear samples for the kiddos and big kids as well.  If you are looking for a great activity on Saturday, please come see me – I promise your kids WILL nap after this!  I do suggest getting your tickets in advance because these events do sell out.  Go to the website above to purchase on-line.  See you there!