Does anyone love pay day as much as I do? Probably so, but I think I get the most excited! Most people get a pay check every other week, or twice a month, or some even get paid weekly or daily. In our home, we get a pay check once a month, in the middle of the month.
It has been a hard adjustment for us, but for 11 years now, we have lived this way. I get all my grocery money and spending money in one lump sum instead of breaking it up over a couple times. I have really learned to have to plan what that money goes to.
Our grocery budget right now is $450. That has to buy all food and non food necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo and soap, etc. At times I don't feel like this money stretches as far as I would like it to, but I also have a great supply of food storage and toothpaste that I won't run out anytime soon.
I shop with coupons a lot as well and that helps me to stretch my money farther. So today, I will sit down with my calendar for the month, put in my menu plan for the month, my grocery list for each week, and then decide what other things I need, like fruits, veggies, shampoo and deodorant and see what things I can get on sale.
I also want to do some freezer meals and items this month, so I need to decide what things I need to buy for that and put them into my menu as well. Freezer burritos on the top of the list this month, as well as things for Saturday and Sunday lunches that sometimes we can't seem to figure out, as well as things for snacks for my kids.
Have you ever made something that you eat one and just can't get enough of it so you have to have just one more and one more? Brownies are my biggest downfall in this area, but I also love a good muffin! And not just for breakfast! And more than that, I love homemade muffins! I will also take one from Maverik but I hate to spend the money sometimes.
Today I'm going to share a couple of muffin recipes that are my favorites, I have so many, but a couple are always my go to and these also freeze great! I will usually double my recipe and then put the leftovers in the freezer where my kids can have one another day and my hubby will also grab a couple and take to work to have as a snack.
My all time go to muffin recipe, because it is super easy and I usually have everything on hand, is Poppy seed mini muffins. I love these because I can make them lemon or almond flavored and they are so moist and yummy!
My other favorite, that I haven't made in a long time, takes a few more ingredients, but it is a great bran muffin that is light and super yummy is the Mormon Muffin. If you are ever in Ogden Utah and need a yummy place for lunch, go to the Greenery Restraunt. It is at the mouth of Ogden canyon and has very yummy food and is well known for their Mormon Muffin with honey butter. I got this recipe years ago from a friend and have made it a few times. I do not know for sure if this is the actual recipe or just one that someone made up themselves. In any case, it makes a huge batch and they are so good!
What kind of muffins do you like? I'm just sharing these two today, but have others like banana muffins and pumpkin muffins that I will share at a later time.
Poppy Seed Mini Muffins
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 TBS poppy seeds
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon or almond extract
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased mini muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400* for 12-15 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 doz.
I usually make these normal size and double recipe and bake about 15 minutes. Minis I usually cook about 10 minutes.
Mormon Muffins
Muffin mix must sit in fridge overnight before baking. Muffin mix will last one week, covered and refrigerated. Makes 6 dozen regular size tin cups or 3 dozen large tin cups.
2 cups boiling water
5 tsp. baking soda
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 cups All bran cereal
2 cups 40% bran flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts
Add soda to boiling water and set aside. Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs slowly. Mix well. Add buttermilk, flour, salt and mix again. Add soda water very slowly. Gently fold in cereals and walnuts. Let sit in fridge over night. Spoon 1/8 cup into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. You can freeze baked muffins.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. Now I am off to get my menu ready for the month and get my shopping list done for the week. Have a great day!
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Beans, beans, the magical fruit!
Yep they sure are, in more ways than one! I have cooked with beans for a long time and love beans! I'm talking those dried beans that you can buy in the Hispanic food isle. Or the ones in cans are fine too. Pinto, black, red, pink, white, cannellini, garbanzo, kidney, etc.
Beans are so healthy for you! Not only are they a great source of protein, but they have half the fiber that you need for one day! They also have antioxidants, are low in sugar and are great for weight loss and insulin!! Does sound like a magical fruit, doesn't it?!
I realize for some people it's hard to cook your own beans, that's why they have canned beans that are already cooked for you, just open the can and rinse and put in whatever you want. Just be careful when choosing your canned beans. Some companies will add sugar or excess amounts of salt to make them taste better.
Sometimes I will just grab a can of beans for a meal when I don't have time to cook my own. Especially refried beans for burritos or 7 layer dip. I did notice yesterday when I opened a can of refried black beans that I didn't look at the label for, that it had more than just beans and salt, it had lard and partially hydrogenated lard! The latter ingredient is so not good for you! I was just a little upset! Why did my super healthy beans need to have such awful ingredients in it? Sometimes I don't understand why they have to do that!
Years ago when we were very poor, we couldn't afford meat very often. I didn't know how to stretch food very well as our family grew. My husband, on the other hand, was awesome! He would just say, throw a can of beans in it. I thought that was kind of weird, but the more I did it, the more we grew to love beans. We would have stroganoff with kidney beans, which sounds weird but is actually really pretty good!
Now I don't use beans quite as much, but I do still use only one pound of ground hamburger or turkey, or in our case now, ground elk, and add things to it to stretch it. I can feed all 7 of us on one pound of ground meat, mixed with rehydrated refried beans and some taco seasoning. This is how I make tacos. I always stretch it with beans of some kind.
Fresh refried beans are some of my favorite! We got an easy recipe from a friend years ago that I use often still. I usually double this recipe and freeze whatever I don't use for another meal. Here is the recipe I usually use:
Refried beans
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Wash beans thoroughly, remove any rocks or twigs. place in deep pot with 3 cups water. bring to a boil and slowly add baking soda to "de-gas" beans. Remove from heat, skim off foam, cover and let stand in liquid 1 hour.
Add 2 more cups water to beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring once, until beans are tender. Save 1 1/2 cups bean liquid for use during mashing. Heat 3 TBS oil in skillet over medium heat. Add cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups retained bean liquid. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Mash until smooth and cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Serve warm topped with 1/4 cup cheese.
Really easy recipe, but plan about 3 hours start to finish. I don't usually mash these beans, I have, but don't usually. I will just cook them and then scoop them out into quart size freezer bags and freeze for when I need them later. Or we will use them right away for chicken burritos. I will either leave them whole or mash them right on the tortilla if I don't want them whole. They work out great!
I also use this recipe for other types of beans as well. I have done black, kidney and pink beans as well and they all turned out great!
I also love soups and chili with beans! There are so many ways to use beans! Do you have any favorite bean recipes? Share yours with us!
Beans are so healthy for you! Not only are they a great source of protein, but they have half the fiber that you need for one day! They also have antioxidants, are low in sugar and are great for weight loss and insulin!! Does sound like a magical fruit, doesn't it?!
I realize for some people it's hard to cook your own beans, that's why they have canned beans that are already cooked for you, just open the can and rinse and put in whatever you want. Just be careful when choosing your canned beans. Some companies will add sugar or excess amounts of salt to make them taste better.
Sometimes I will just grab a can of beans for a meal when I don't have time to cook my own. Especially refried beans for burritos or 7 layer dip. I did notice yesterday when I opened a can of refried black beans that I didn't look at the label for, that it had more than just beans and salt, it had lard and partially hydrogenated lard! The latter ingredient is so not good for you! I was just a little upset! Why did my super healthy beans need to have such awful ingredients in it? Sometimes I don't understand why they have to do that!
Years ago when we were very poor, we couldn't afford meat very often. I didn't know how to stretch food very well as our family grew. My husband, on the other hand, was awesome! He would just say, throw a can of beans in it. I thought that was kind of weird, but the more I did it, the more we grew to love beans. We would have stroganoff with kidney beans, which sounds weird but is actually really pretty good!
Now I don't use beans quite as much, but I do still use only one pound of ground hamburger or turkey, or in our case now, ground elk, and add things to it to stretch it. I can feed all 7 of us on one pound of ground meat, mixed with rehydrated refried beans and some taco seasoning. This is how I make tacos. I always stretch it with beans of some kind.
Fresh refried beans are some of my favorite! We got an easy recipe from a friend years ago that I use often still. I usually double this recipe and freeze whatever I don't use for another meal. Here is the recipe I usually use:
Refried beans
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Wash beans thoroughly, remove any rocks or twigs. place in deep pot with 3 cups water. bring to a boil and slowly add baking soda to "de-gas" beans. Remove from heat, skim off foam, cover and let stand in liquid 1 hour.
Add 2 more cups water to beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring once, until beans are tender. Save 1 1/2 cups bean liquid for use during mashing. Heat 3 TBS oil in skillet over medium heat. Add cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups retained bean liquid. Add 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Mash until smooth and cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Serve warm topped with 1/4 cup cheese.
Really easy recipe, but plan about 3 hours start to finish. I don't usually mash these beans, I have, but don't usually. I will just cook them and then scoop them out into quart size freezer bags and freeze for when I need them later. Or we will use them right away for chicken burritos. I will either leave them whole or mash them right on the tortilla if I don't want them whole. They work out great!
I also use this recipe for other types of beans as well. I have done black, kidney and pink beans as well and they all turned out great!
I also love soups and chili with beans! There are so many ways to use beans! Do you have any favorite bean recipes? Share yours with us!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Who needs pumpkin?!
I love anything pumpkin! For my freezer cooking class tonight, I made my very yummy pumpkin chocolate chip bars! YUM!! And to make them even better, there is cream cheese frosting to go on top!
Maybe you are wondering why I made these for the freezer cooking class. Well, there are so many different ways to freezer cook and one of them is making your own ingredients to replace the more expensive ingredients that are in the recipe and freezing them to use anytime you want!
Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to cook with and one of the more expensive things to buy for pies, cookies, bars, etc. So I like to make my own!
Where we live now, we live right on the famous fruit belt of Utah. This is one of my favorite things about living here! In the fall during harvest time, we can get so many different fruits and veggies that are fresh from the field. Corn and peaches are two of the top things that Brigham City is known for. This is, in the past, where I have gotten most of my peaches. You can get a half bushel of peaches for $10 on up, it is great! Then I can all the peaches and have my years supply. I do also freeze some to use in smoothies.
Sweet corn is one of my most favorite veggies! Yes, in my book, it is a veggie! Utah has some of the best and sweetest sweet corn, you don't even have to put butter on it, I like to eat it steamed and warm, fresh on the cob! I'm getting hungry already! This also makes for some awesome freezer corn that tastes so good even out of the freezer!
Anyway, we are talking pumpkin today. Around the end of September through October, our fruit stands will start to sell pumpkins. Pumpkins of all sizes and shapes! Perfect for decorating, carving and eating! Not to mention, the one stand I go to, has killer prices on pumpkins and ones that cost about $5 in the store than are a good size pumpkin are about $2-3! And sometimes they have them buy 2 get 1 free! Even better deal!!
So I like to decorate with them for a couple weeks and then I start cutting and cooking! I know they have pie pumpkins that are supposed to be sweeter than a normal pumpkin, and I bought a couple to see, and I didn't notice a difference, so I just use normal pumpkins, yes they are edible!
First I wash the outsides really good, then cut them in half and scoop out all the seeds and membranes (which you can dry and cook the seeds if you like pumpkin seeds), then I cut each half into quarters and fit into a 9 X 13 baking dish. Put some water in the bottom and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes or more at 375*. Check after 45 minutes and then check every 15 minutes after that until they are soft and puncture easily with a fork all the way through.
Take out of oven and left cook until you can easily handle them. Scoop all the fruit away from the skin, if it is cooked long enough it should come away from the skin really easily. Then I put the pumpkin into the food processor or a blender and puree until it's smooth.
Scoop out two cups into each freezer container or quart size freezer bag. Label pumpkin 2 cups on the outside and put into freezer.
I do 2 cups each because most recipes call for 16 oz, which is approximately 2 cups. Sometimes I have smaller containers and will do 1 cup in each as well, but mostly I do 2 cups in each.
Voila! You now have lots of pumpkin puree to use in your most favorite recipes! Just thaw in the fridge or in the microwave and add! One thing with homemade puree though, it does have more liquid than store bought canned stuff. It still turns out great, but if it is a problem for you, just drain in in some cheesecloth and that will thicken it.
So that's the scoop on my yummy pumpkin puree. Question? Leave them in the comments and I will answer you back! Thanks for stopping by!
Maybe you are wondering why I made these for the freezer cooking class. Well, there are so many different ways to freezer cook and one of them is making your own ingredients to replace the more expensive ingredients that are in the recipe and freezing them to use anytime you want!
Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to cook with and one of the more expensive things to buy for pies, cookies, bars, etc. So I like to make my own!
Where we live now, we live right on the famous fruit belt of Utah. This is one of my favorite things about living here! In the fall during harvest time, we can get so many different fruits and veggies that are fresh from the field. Corn and peaches are two of the top things that Brigham City is known for. This is, in the past, where I have gotten most of my peaches. You can get a half bushel of peaches for $10 on up, it is great! Then I can all the peaches and have my years supply. I do also freeze some to use in smoothies.
Sweet corn is one of my most favorite veggies! Yes, in my book, it is a veggie! Utah has some of the best and sweetest sweet corn, you don't even have to put butter on it, I like to eat it steamed and warm, fresh on the cob! I'm getting hungry already! This also makes for some awesome freezer corn that tastes so good even out of the freezer!
Anyway, we are talking pumpkin today. Around the end of September through October, our fruit stands will start to sell pumpkins. Pumpkins of all sizes and shapes! Perfect for decorating, carving and eating! Not to mention, the one stand I go to, has killer prices on pumpkins and ones that cost about $5 in the store than are a good size pumpkin are about $2-3! And sometimes they have them buy 2 get 1 free! Even better deal!!
So I like to decorate with them for a couple weeks and then I start cutting and cooking! I know they have pie pumpkins that are supposed to be sweeter than a normal pumpkin, and I bought a couple to see, and I didn't notice a difference, so I just use normal pumpkins, yes they are edible!
First I wash the outsides really good, then cut them in half and scoop out all the seeds and membranes (which you can dry and cook the seeds if you like pumpkin seeds), then I cut each half into quarters and fit into a 9 X 13 baking dish. Put some water in the bottom and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes or more at 375*. Check after 45 minutes and then check every 15 minutes after that until they are soft and puncture easily with a fork all the way through.
Take out of oven and left cook until you can easily handle them. Scoop all the fruit away from the skin, if it is cooked long enough it should come away from the skin really easily. Then I put the pumpkin into the food processor or a blender and puree until it's smooth.
Scoop out two cups into each freezer container or quart size freezer bag. Label pumpkin 2 cups on the outside and put into freezer.
I do 2 cups each because most recipes call for 16 oz, which is approximately 2 cups. Sometimes I have smaller containers and will do 1 cup in each as well, but mostly I do 2 cups in each.
Voila! You now have lots of pumpkin puree to use in your most favorite recipes! Just thaw in the fridge or in the microwave and add! One thing with homemade puree though, it does have more liquid than store bought canned stuff. It still turns out great, but if it is a problem for you, just drain in in some cheesecloth and that will thicken it.
So that's the scoop on my yummy pumpkin puree. Question? Leave them in the comments and I will answer you back! Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Cooking Stock
As I am typing this, I have chicken cooking in the pot! Not for stock, but for chicken burritos. I am teaching a freezer cooking class tomorrow night and am going to demo how I do chicken burritos. This is seriously my all time favorite and go to recipe for freezer cooking! You can do so many things with them, make them so many different ways, and they are super yummy!
Anyway, I'm not talking burritos today, I want to talk cooking homemade stock. There's nothing like a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup! And if you have the homemade noodles to put in it, it is even better, but even with just store bought noodles, there is nothing like a pot of chicken noodle soup! What's even better is when it is made with homemade chicken stock!
Stock is actually really easy to make! A couple Sundays ago, I cooked a turkey. Just a normal old turkey cooked in the roasting pan. It was super yummy and made for awesome sandwiches and turkey noodle soup!
Anyway, after that dinner, I cleaned all the meat off the bones, as best I could, then put the rest of the bones into my crockpot dish with all the drippings and put it in the fridge until I could cook it down.
The following Friday, I decided I needed to cook down that turkey. I pulled it out and put the dish into the crockpot, added enough water to cover all the bones, which was almost to the top of the crockpot dish, and turned it on. It probably cooked for about 6 hours or so on low.
I decided to use the rest of the turkey and made a yummy creamy turkey and rice soup. It was especially nice that I could just use the turkey stock that I just cooked! I ladled out 4 cups of stock and then added 6 more cups (I have a large family that loves soup), added my veggies and about 1 TBS chicken bouillon for a little more flavor and cooked!
When the veggies were tender, I added the creamy roué I had made with butter, flour and 4 cups of milk, added the chopped turkey and about 2 cups of precooked rice (left over from a previous meal). My kids loved it and my hubby raved about it all night! That's when I know I've made something really good!
Well, back to our turkey...When it has cooled enough to handle the turkey, you can finish cleaning the bones, there is usually more meat still on the bones. I just put this meat back into the turkey stock, poured it all in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you will notice it has kind solidified. This makes it much easier to handle! Skim the layer of fat off the top, mine didn't have much, since there wasn't any skin on the bones when I cooked it down. Then I ladled 3-4 cups of stock into 1 quart freezer bags. Labeled and froze! When I want to make soup next, I will just pull one out and add about 8 cups of water and have my broth for soup!
There are many different ways to make stock and with many different items! Make stock from any kind of animal bones: chicken, turkey, beef, pork. Or make some veggie stock with water and a variety of veggies. You can also add veggies to you turkey or chicken and it will add more flavor to your stock. It's not too hard, and with the crockpot, it's super easy!
Please share how you make your stock and how you use it in recipes! I would love to hear from you!
Anyway, I'm not talking burritos today, I want to talk cooking homemade stock. There's nothing like a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup! And if you have the homemade noodles to put in it, it is even better, but even with just store bought noodles, there is nothing like a pot of chicken noodle soup! What's even better is when it is made with homemade chicken stock!
Stock is actually really easy to make! A couple Sundays ago, I cooked a turkey. Just a normal old turkey cooked in the roasting pan. It was super yummy and made for awesome sandwiches and turkey noodle soup!
Anyway, after that dinner, I cleaned all the meat off the bones, as best I could, then put the rest of the bones into my crockpot dish with all the drippings and put it in the fridge until I could cook it down.
The following Friday, I decided I needed to cook down that turkey. I pulled it out and put the dish into the crockpot, added enough water to cover all the bones, which was almost to the top of the crockpot dish, and turned it on. It probably cooked for about 6 hours or so on low.
I decided to use the rest of the turkey and made a yummy creamy turkey and rice soup. It was especially nice that I could just use the turkey stock that I just cooked! I ladled out 4 cups of stock and then added 6 more cups (I have a large family that loves soup), added my veggies and about 1 TBS chicken bouillon for a little more flavor and cooked!
When the veggies were tender, I added the creamy roué I had made with butter, flour and 4 cups of milk, added the chopped turkey and about 2 cups of precooked rice (left over from a previous meal). My kids loved it and my hubby raved about it all night! That's when I know I've made something really good!
Well, back to our turkey...When it has cooled enough to handle the turkey, you can finish cleaning the bones, there is usually more meat still on the bones. I just put this meat back into the turkey stock, poured it all in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you will notice it has kind solidified. This makes it much easier to handle! Skim the layer of fat off the top, mine didn't have much, since there wasn't any skin on the bones when I cooked it down. Then I ladled 3-4 cups of stock into 1 quart freezer bags. Labeled and froze! When I want to make soup next, I will just pull one out and add about 8 cups of water and have my broth for soup!
There are many different ways to make stock and with many different items! Make stock from any kind of animal bones: chicken, turkey, beef, pork. Or make some veggie stock with water and a variety of veggies. You can also add veggies to you turkey or chicken and it will add more flavor to your stock. It's not too hard, and with the crockpot, it's super easy!
Please share how you make your stock and how you use it in recipes! I would love to hear from you!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
So I finally made a couple of beautiful loaves of whole wheat bread, with a lot of help from a dear sister in my ward who is a pro at bread making. I don't know what it is, I can make quick breads really easy and muffins and cookies and any other type of treats and especially meals, I can make no problem, I just seem to have an issue with bread. But this sister came over with her own fresh ground wheat and we figured out that we needed to start with less. So we did a half recipe, which made 2 big loaves and it turned out just beautiful! It even tastes wonderful!
So I learned yesterday how to make bread in my Kitchenaid mixer, so I plan to continue to make more! No more bread with high fructose corn syrup, and for so much less than store bought bread!
I also learned, that I DO need new wheat! I am almost to the bottom of one bucket that I have been working on for a while, so decided to check out one of the other 8 buckets in the basement and when I opened it, it was full of little worms and yucky stuck. It made me so sad to think I have been relying on all this wheat that is just full of yucky stuff. It was really weird though. So I will look through the other buckets and see if I have the same problem there and then we might be taking buckets of wheat to my mom and dad to feed to the chickens.
On a much better note, I found a Valentine's recipe in the "Relish" section of the weekly paper that I wanted to try. I love this section of the paper. It comes sometime during the week and has some very yummy recipes! This particular one that I made is Marbeled red velvet Cheesecake brownies. Oh my heavens, they are to die for! They were pretty easy to make. The only thing I was thrilled about was the tablespoon of red food coloring that goes into it, but that's how you make red velvet cake. I used all my red food coloring to get that much.
The recipe for these can found here. Wouldn't it just be so great to have a recipe recognized by a magazine or even an insert in the paper? That would be so heaven for me! I have actually considered publishing a cookbook. I have so many original recipes and so many more that I can come up with! Anyone know how to get that going? I need to type them all up and at least put them in a binder so they are out of my head and on paper where I can share them with others. Oh to be the next Racheal Ray! I love to watch her cook, she inspires me. But I don't think I could do a cooking show. There is still so much I don't know and need to learn about cooking. But to have a dream is a great thing!
Happy day to you all! Happy cooking!
So I learned yesterday how to make bread in my Kitchenaid mixer, so I plan to continue to make more! No more bread with high fructose corn syrup, and for so much less than store bought bread!
I also learned, that I DO need new wheat! I am almost to the bottom of one bucket that I have been working on for a while, so decided to check out one of the other 8 buckets in the basement and when I opened it, it was full of little worms and yucky stuck. It made me so sad to think I have been relying on all this wheat that is just full of yucky stuff. It was really weird though. So I will look through the other buckets and see if I have the same problem there and then we might be taking buckets of wheat to my mom and dad to feed to the chickens.
On a much better note, I found a Valentine's recipe in the "Relish" section of the weekly paper that I wanted to try. I love this section of the paper. It comes sometime during the week and has some very yummy recipes! This particular one that I made is Marbeled red velvet Cheesecake brownies. Oh my heavens, they are to die for! They were pretty easy to make. The only thing I was thrilled about was the tablespoon of red food coloring that goes into it, but that's how you make red velvet cake. I used all my red food coloring to get that much.
The recipe for these can found here. Wouldn't it just be so great to have a recipe recognized by a magazine or even an insert in the paper? That would be so heaven for me! I have actually considered publishing a cookbook. I have so many original recipes and so many more that I can come up with! Anyone know how to get that going? I need to type them all up and at least put them in a binder so they are out of my head and on paper where I can share them with others. Oh to be the next Racheal Ray! I love to watch her cook, she inspires me. But I don't think I could do a cooking show. There is still so much I don't know and need to learn about cooking. But to have a dream is a great thing!
Happy day to you all! Happy cooking!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Creamy Chicken/turkey wild rice soup
What a weekend! Mike took our oldest son and went ice fishing with his brother, so I stayed home with sick kids that were running a fever, and coughing. So since I was home and needed some bread, I decided to try my hand again at making bread, which turned out to be the most awful bread I have ever made! I try to make healthy things for my family and a lot of times I don't succeed, which gets so frustrating! I did, however, make some tomato basil bread that is so very yummy and turned out fabulous, so I feel I did ok.
I decided to make soup dinner, since I love soup when it's cold out. This is paired with my tomato basil bread, it was so very yummy. Here is what I did to make creamy turkey and wild rice soup, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Creamy chicken/turkey and wild rice soup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup, or more, flour
4 cups chicken stock (4 cups water, 5 tsp. chicken bouillion)
4 cups milk
1 pkg. Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice with seasonings microwave pouch
2 cups cooked, dicked chicken or turkey
In large pot melt butter on medium high heat. Add flour and whisk to blend. Cook flour and butter a little. Gradually add chicken stock. Whisk and stir until thickens. Gradually add milk and continue to stir until thickens to desired thickness (may need to add some extra flour mixed with water to help to thicken more). While this is thickening, chop and cook chicken on chop precooked chicken or turkey and set aside. Heat the rice pouch according to directions to heat through. When soup is thickened to desired thickness, add rice and chicken/turkey and heat through for a few minutes. Serve warm with bread or crackers.
I received a pot of soup similar to this from a dear friend, which was very good, which I think was cream of chicken soup with wild rice added. It was very yummy, but I thought maybe I could come up with my own rendition, which I did.
This recipe is just a basic recipe. You can also add any thing else to it that you like, celery, carrots, potatoes, whatever you fancy. For this particular meal, I had some left over smoked turkey from Thanksgiving in my freezer that I pulled out and chopped up, so very flavorful turkey I think this soup particularly good. I also don't buy chicken stock from the store, I make it when I can, but that isn't very often, so I just use water and then Knorr chicken bouillion, which I think has the best spices and seasonings in it. It is my favorite. So other than the chicken bouillion, there is not any added salt in this recipe either, and it didn't need it! It was so yummy just the way it was. Definitely one of the best soups I have ever made! Hope you enjoy it too! Happy cooking!
I decided to make soup dinner, since I love soup when it's cold out. This is paired with my tomato basil bread, it was so very yummy. Here is what I did to make creamy turkey and wild rice soup, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Creamy chicken/turkey and wild rice soup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup, or more, flour
4 cups chicken stock (4 cups water, 5 tsp. chicken bouillion)
4 cups milk
1 pkg. Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice with seasonings microwave pouch
2 cups cooked, dicked chicken or turkey
In large pot melt butter on medium high heat. Add flour and whisk to blend. Cook flour and butter a little. Gradually add chicken stock. Whisk and stir until thickens. Gradually add milk and continue to stir until thickens to desired thickness (may need to add some extra flour mixed with water to help to thicken more). While this is thickening, chop and cook chicken on chop precooked chicken or turkey and set aside. Heat the rice pouch according to directions to heat through. When soup is thickened to desired thickness, add rice and chicken/turkey and heat through for a few minutes. Serve warm with bread or crackers.
I received a pot of soup similar to this from a dear friend, which was very good, which I think was cream of chicken soup with wild rice added. It was very yummy, but I thought maybe I could come up with my own rendition, which I did.
This recipe is just a basic recipe. You can also add any thing else to it that you like, celery, carrots, potatoes, whatever you fancy. For this particular meal, I had some left over smoked turkey from Thanksgiving in my freezer that I pulled out and chopped up, so very flavorful turkey I think this soup particularly good. I also don't buy chicken stock from the store, I make it when I can, but that isn't very often, so I just use water and then Knorr chicken bouillion, which I think has the best spices and seasonings in it. It is my favorite. So other than the chicken bouillion, there is not any added salt in this recipe either, and it didn't need it! It was so yummy just the way it was. Definitely one of the best soups I have ever made! Hope you enjoy it too! Happy cooking!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Goal update time!!
As you probably know by now, I love to cook and bake almost anything! The one thing I don't really like to bake is bread. It takes so much time to grind the wheat, because we like wheat, mix it all together, knead, let rise, and bake. Boy I sound like the little red hen, with no one to help me, but everyone willing to eat it. Haha! Anyway, I don't make bread all that often because it rarely turns out the way I would like it to. My husband even bought the big commercial grade 1 pound pans so I could make big loaves and do this every week so I am not buying bread with all sorts of yuck in them. I hate to say it, but I have only used those pans a couple of times. So I decided this week I wanted to make bread since I used the last of the store bought bread in my freezer and I am out of money until next week for groceries. So being the good little homemaker I am, I decided to make a couple loaves of bread for the week.
I looked through my recipes to try to find one that was easy. I ground lots of wheat for flour, and got my recipe ready. I have one that I got from a relief society activity years ago that was easy, with no kneading and it didn't have to rise long. So I made it up, but read the recipe wrong and let it rise in the bowl, then put it in the pans. Baked for 30 minutes, it came out so heavy and hard! So I decided to try again and read the recipe right this time and put it in the pans first, then let it rise, but even doing it that way, it was still heavy like a brick. The only thing I can figure is that it is my wheat, or using straight red wheat instead of white wheat is what makes the difference, I don't know. So I learned to make sure you read the recipe right, otherwise your bread turns out awful, but sometimes, even when you do read the recipe right, it doesn't always turn out.
This is when I get really frustrated and have a hard time making bread. My husband makes awesome bread, he does french bread and bagettes that are so good. I did come across a bread recipe that I made that turned out very good! I just happened to catch on one of tv channels here when I was trying to find something for the kids to watch. I made it and it turned out good, and was so very yummy! It is tomato basil bread, it is a yeast bread, but not a traditional double rise thing and it can be made in 1 hour, unlike other yeast breads.The recipe for this can be found here. I'm sure you can make other types of breads with this recipe to. Enjoy this, it is very good with spaghetti or a casserole.
As you probably know by now, I love to cook and bake almost anything! The one thing I don't really like to bake is bread. It takes so much time to grind the wheat, because we like wheat, mix it all together, knead, let rise, and bake. Boy I sound like the little red hen, with no one to help me, but everyone willing to eat it. Haha! Anyway, I don't make bread all that often because it rarely turns out the way I would like it to. My husband even bought the big commercial grade 1 pound pans so I could make big loaves and do this every week so I am not buying bread with all sorts of yuck in them. I hate to say it, but I have only used those pans a couple of times. So I decided this week I wanted to make bread since I used the last of the store bought bread in my freezer and I am out of money until next week for groceries. So being the good little homemaker I am, I decided to make a couple loaves of bread for the week.
I looked through my recipes to try to find one that was easy. I ground lots of wheat for flour, and got my recipe ready. I have one that I got from a relief society activity years ago that was easy, with no kneading and it didn't have to rise long. So I made it up, but read the recipe wrong and let it rise in the bowl, then put it in the pans. Baked for 30 minutes, it came out so heavy and hard! So I decided to try again and read the recipe right this time and put it in the pans first, then let it rise, but even doing it that way, it was still heavy like a brick. The only thing I can figure is that it is my wheat, or using straight red wheat instead of white wheat is what makes the difference, I don't know. So I learned to make sure you read the recipe right, otherwise your bread turns out awful, but sometimes, even when you do read the recipe right, it doesn't always turn out.
This is when I get really frustrated and have a hard time making bread. My husband makes awesome bread, he does french bread and bagettes that are so good. I did come across a bread recipe that I made that turned out very good! I just happened to catch on one of tv channels here when I was trying to find something for the kids to watch. I made it and it turned out good, and was so very yummy! It is tomato basil bread, it is a yeast bread, but not a traditional double rise thing and it can be made in 1 hour, unlike other yeast breads.The recipe for this can be found here. I'm sure you can make other types of breads with this recipe to. Enjoy this, it is very good with spaghetti or a casserole.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Yesterday I set a goal to learn something new every day. I didn't realize just how difficult this might be. There is 24 hours in a day, where I am awake about 16 hours of that, you'd think that would plenty of time to learn something new, right? Well, time just gets away from me most days and before I know it, it's time to go to bed and I haven't accomplished anything I was planning on. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
Well, I did sort of learn something yesterday...In starting to get our taxes ready to be done, I have been adding up medical bills, gathering all the documents from mortgage and property taxes and then adding up all my business expenses and earnings, it's a huge job. So I learned, numbers are not my strong suit! I've always known this, but I do pretty well with all the day to day things that involve numbers and even having to figure discounts on products and things, I've done ok, but when I sit down to add up the final figures, I just get nervous and then hope that it all goes well at tax time and that we don't end up owing the government more taxes. So this is something I need to constantly work on, number figures and being able to add and subtract each thing that I need to to get the right answer. After seeing some of the homework my kids bring home, I might want to consider taking a basic math class sometime, just so I can help them when they have questions. It's just all crazy.
Now that you have an update on what I am learning, here is a yummy recipe that I make quite often. I think I found it on the ALL recipes app, but I have tweaked it quite a bit for my needs and tastes, so now I consider it my own. These are very yummy muffins that I double or quadruple to put in the freezer for my husband to take to work or my kids to eat in the morning. We just pop them in the microwave for 30 secs or less and they taste like they just came out of the oven. So here you are:
Banana chocolate chip muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 applesauce
1/2 plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together. In another bowl, combine egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Put in greased muffin cups and bake at 350* 12-18 minutes.
Baking time may vary. My regular size muffins cook in 12-15 minutes, but I think my oven cooks a little hotter. Also, I started using whole wheat flour to help make things more healthy and this four will fill you up more than white flour will, but to use all whole wheat, I think, would be really heavy. I have also made these with walnuts instead of chocolate chips. These muffins are pretty moist! the combination of a little oil, a little applesauce and some yogurt just makes these so yummy as well. I hope you like them as much as my family does! Happy Baking!!
Well, I did sort of learn something yesterday...In starting to get our taxes ready to be done, I have been adding up medical bills, gathering all the documents from mortgage and property taxes and then adding up all my business expenses and earnings, it's a huge job. So I learned, numbers are not my strong suit! I've always known this, but I do pretty well with all the day to day things that involve numbers and even having to figure discounts on products and things, I've done ok, but when I sit down to add up the final figures, I just get nervous and then hope that it all goes well at tax time and that we don't end up owing the government more taxes. So this is something I need to constantly work on, number figures and being able to add and subtract each thing that I need to to get the right answer. After seeing some of the homework my kids bring home, I might want to consider taking a basic math class sometime, just so I can help them when they have questions. It's just all crazy.
Now that you have an update on what I am learning, here is a yummy recipe that I make quite often. I think I found it on the ALL recipes app, but I have tweaked it quite a bit for my needs and tastes, so now I consider it my own. These are very yummy muffins that I double or quadruple to put in the freezer for my husband to take to work or my kids to eat in the morning. We just pop them in the microwave for 30 secs or less and they taste like they just came out of the oven. So here you are:
Banana chocolate chip muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 applesauce
1/2 plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together. In another bowl, combine egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Put in greased muffin cups and bake at 350* 12-18 minutes.
Baking time may vary. My regular size muffins cook in 12-15 minutes, but I think my oven cooks a little hotter. Also, I started using whole wheat flour to help make things more healthy and this four will fill you up more than white flour will, but to use all whole wheat, I think, would be really heavy. I have also made these with walnuts instead of chocolate chips. These muffins are pretty moist! the combination of a little oil, a little applesauce and some yogurt just makes these so yummy as well. I hope you like them as much as my family does! Happy Baking!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Tuna and Toast
Ok, so I know I have complained a lot in the past about my weight and not being the "right" size or not fitting into clothes. Well, I am really working hard to change my thinking from so negative to more positive. I have been working
on positive thinking and being accepting of myself in the moment.
No I am not the most positive thinker, especially when I put on a pair of pants and realize just how big my thighs are, when I can't really keep them up. But I just think, I need to work on tonig muscles and maybe even get rid of these jeans and find a pair of pants that are more straight leg than boot cut that hugs my thighs more. I have this little muffin top too. Yeah, I don't like to exercise, so it seems to hang over my pants a little. Although I did notice yesterday that my muffin top is starting to go away. I have been doing pilates about 4 times a week for the last two weeks and I am starting to notice it is toning my muscles and getting rid of the bulge. I even put on a pair of pants I got for Christmas that was a little snug at Christmas that didn't fit after I washed them, and they actually fit! I got them on and got them buttoned up, which I couldn't do a month ago. So as you can see, I have been very pleased with myslef and what little I have been doing.
Anyway, now that you know about my weight journey this year so far, I want to share with you what we had for dinner last night. It's probably not the best meal, or best for you, but it one from my childhood that I loved. It is tuna and toast. It is very easy with not many ingredients and it's just yummy, as long as you like tuna. So here you go:
Tuna and toast
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
3 cans tuna
marjoram
thyme
oregano
as many slices of toast as desired
Melt butter in skillet. Add flour and whisk. Let cook a little to thicken some. Gradually add milk stirring as you go. Continue to stir over med/high heat until thickened to your desired thickness Add drained tuna and spices and let heat through a few minutes. Serve over toast.
Now this is a big recipe that I use for my family of 7, you can always cut it in half if you need to. Also, when cooking I use powdered milk. I try to always have some milk made up in my fridge and that's what I use. Sometimes it doesn't thicken quite as well as regular milk in white sauces, so last night I opted to use just 3 cups of milk instead of 4 and it thickened great, I probably could have used a little more milk, but it still worked out fine. For my spices, I just shake them on until I think it looks good. It probably ended up being 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of each, but use whichever ones you want and however much you want. Sometimes I will also add peas right in the sauce, but last night we had them on the side.
This is something that I make when I can't think of anything else to make, since I always have tuna on hand and it is so easy to make. We love it, and with the spices it just adds more flavor and help to mask the tuna flavor, not that I don't love tuna! Happy cooking!
*Have a recipe for me to try or to revamp for you? Comment below, I love trying new things and making things so much better and more healthy! I will share with you my more healthy version of banana chocolate chip muffins soon, so look forward to that!
on positive thinking and being accepting of myself in the moment.
No I am not the most positive thinker, especially when I put on a pair of pants and realize just how big my thighs are, when I can't really keep them up. But I just think, I need to work on tonig muscles and maybe even get rid of these jeans and find a pair of pants that are more straight leg than boot cut that hugs my thighs more. I have this little muffin top too. Yeah, I don't like to exercise, so it seems to hang over my pants a little. Although I did notice yesterday that my muffin top is starting to go away. I have been doing pilates about 4 times a week for the last two weeks and I am starting to notice it is toning my muscles and getting rid of the bulge. I even put on a pair of pants I got for Christmas that was a little snug at Christmas that didn't fit after I washed them, and they actually fit! I got them on and got them buttoned up, which I couldn't do a month ago. So as you can see, I have been very pleased with myslef and what little I have been doing.
Anyway, now that you know about my weight journey this year so far, I want to share with you what we had for dinner last night. It's probably not the best meal, or best for you, but it one from my childhood that I loved. It is tuna and toast. It is very easy with not many ingredients and it's just yummy, as long as you like tuna. So here you go:
Tuna and toast
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
3 cans tuna
marjoram
thyme
oregano
as many slices of toast as desired
Melt butter in skillet. Add flour and whisk. Let cook a little to thicken some. Gradually add milk stirring as you go. Continue to stir over med/high heat until thickened to your desired thickness Add drained tuna and spices and let heat through a few minutes. Serve over toast.
Now this is a big recipe that I use for my family of 7, you can always cut it in half if you need to. Also, when cooking I use powdered milk. I try to always have some milk made up in my fridge and that's what I use. Sometimes it doesn't thicken quite as well as regular milk in white sauces, so last night I opted to use just 3 cups of milk instead of 4 and it thickened great, I probably could have used a little more milk, but it still worked out fine. For my spices, I just shake them on until I think it looks good. It probably ended up being 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of each, but use whichever ones you want and however much you want. Sometimes I will also add peas right in the sauce, but last night we had them on the side.
This is something that I make when I can't think of anything else to make, since I always have tuna on hand and it is so easy to make. We love it, and with the spices it just adds more flavor and help to mask the tuna flavor, not that I don't love tuna! Happy cooking!
*Have a recipe for me to try or to revamp for you? Comment below, I love trying new things and making things so much better and more healthy! I will share with you my more healthy version of banana chocolate chip muffins soon, so look forward to that!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Super Bowl Partay!!
So how was everyone's super bowl? Ours was great, even though we don't care to watch the game. We don't follow football at all, never have. But it does give us an excuse to have a party with snacky foods. So here is what we had for our "super bowl" party: homemade chicken wings (nuggets), lil smokies, chili queso and salsa dip with tortilla chips, oranges wheels, carrots and celery.
Really easy meal to make. Most of the work I did Saturday night, so I just had to heat things and throw them together. Then chopping the veggies and oranges don't take long at all. Most everything was just out of a can, other than fruits and veggies. The queso dip was just half a block of velveeta cheese, a can of chili beans, and some salsa, heat in microwave, serve with chips. Lil smokies were open package, put in bowl, add BBQ sauce, heat. The chicken nuggets took a little more time, but were so worth it! Here is what I did for them:
Chicken nuggets
7-8 chicken breasts; cut into large chunks
4 cups buttermilk or evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper sauce, optional
Mix in a bowl and add chicken to marinade overnight.
(to cut chicken, I cleaned each breast, then cut into thirds long ways, then in half the other way. Made large chunks. I didn't have time to marinade my chicken overnight, so I just put it in the milk and let sit while I mixed up the breading. I also didn't have buttermilk, not something I keep on hand or think about until I need it, and I am stingy about using my evaporated milk, so I just did regular milk and added Tru Lemon, since I don't have lemon juice either. It worked out just fine. Work with what you have. And for the pepper sauce, I added some Asian red pepper paste.)
Breading:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 TBS paprika
Put in a ziploc bag and shake to mix. Then add chicken pieces, half at a time, and shake to coat. Place on baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until done.
Before baking, I did spray each chicken piece on the top with cooking spray, so that it would bake a little better and crisp up more. You can also fry these in an inch of oil at 350 degrees turning once, until golden. We like them that way too, but I hate to stink up my house with oil.
For the chicken wings, I left the chicken nuggets cool on the pan, then put them in a container over night in the fridge, so when you put your sauces on, they are cold and easier to work with. Then when I was ready, I split them in half, puting into two different, large bowls. I did a buffalo sauce in one bowl and a BBQ sauce in the other. Stir well to coat. Pur on a greased baking sheet and heat at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until they are heated through.
My hubby suggested even using ground chicken and making little nuggets then doing the same breading and stuff, that way they might be a little softer and easier to eat, or maybe cooking a little less would help to. For being the first time I have ever done anyting like this, it turned out great, we will definitely be making these again for our next party! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Sorry I didn't have pics, I couldn't find my camera when I wanted to take a pic.
Really easy meal to make. Most of the work I did Saturday night, so I just had to heat things and throw them together. Then chopping the veggies and oranges don't take long at all. Most everything was just out of a can, other than fruits and veggies. The queso dip was just half a block of velveeta cheese, a can of chili beans, and some salsa, heat in microwave, serve with chips. Lil smokies were open package, put in bowl, add BBQ sauce, heat. The chicken nuggets took a little more time, but were so worth it! Here is what I did for them:
Chicken nuggets
7-8 chicken breasts; cut into large chunks
4 cups buttermilk or evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper sauce, optional
Mix in a bowl and add chicken to marinade overnight.
(to cut chicken, I cleaned each breast, then cut into thirds long ways, then in half the other way. Made large chunks. I didn't have time to marinade my chicken overnight, so I just put it in the milk and let sit while I mixed up the breading. I also didn't have buttermilk, not something I keep on hand or think about until I need it, and I am stingy about using my evaporated milk, so I just did regular milk and added Tru Lemon, since I don't have lemon juice either. It worked out just fine. Work with what you have. And for the pepper sauce, I added some Asian red pepper paste.)
Breading:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 TBS paprika
Put in a ziploc bag and shake to mix. Then add chicken pieces, half at a time, and shake to coat. Place on baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until done.
Before baking, I did spray each chicken piece on the top with cooking spray, so that it would bake a little better and crisp up more. You can also fry these in an inch of oil at 350 degrees turning once, until golden. We like them that way too, but I hate to stink up my house with oil.
For the chicken wings, I left the chicken nuggets cool on the pan, then put them in a container over night in the fridge, so when you put your sauces on, they are cold and easier to work with. Then when I was ready, I split them in half, puting into two different, large bowls. I did a buffalo sauce in one bowl and a BBQ sauce in the other. Stir well to coat. Pur on a greased baking sheet and heat at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until they are heated through.
My hubby suggested even using ground chicken and making little nuggets then doing the same breading and stuff, that way they might be a little softer and easier to eat, or maybe cooking a little less would help to. For being the first time I have ever done anyting like this, it turned out great, we will definitely be making these again for our next party! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Sorry I didn't have pics, I couldn't find my camera when I wanted to take a pic.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Oatmeal muffins
As I have said many times, I love baking, but more than baking, I love eating and especially muffins! So here are a couple recipes that I got from my All Recipes app, but I have tweaked them to accommodate my family and to be a little mor healthy with less sugar. So here are a couple:
Oatmeal muffins
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
2 cups oat flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, applesauce and milk in a bowl until smooth. Stir flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt into wet ingredients to make batter. Fill muffin cups.bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
To make oat flour: put quick oats in food processor or in mill grinder to make flour.
These muffins are kind of heavy being all oats, but are yummy and filling. They also make at least 2 dozen regular size muffins.
Banana muffins
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (or about 4 bananas)
Chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine egg, honey, oil, yogurt, vanilla and bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Until done through.
This recipe makes at least 2 dozen regular size muffins. I make huge batches, then put then in freezer bags and put in freezer so my hubby and kids can pull them out and eat whenever they want. I will usually split this recipe and put chocolate chips in half and walnuts in the other half (kids like chocolate chip, hubby likes walnuts). These are a little different with the honey in them, but still really yummy. Enjoy!
Oatmeal muffins
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
2 cups oat flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, applesauce and milk in a bowl until smooth. Stir flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt into wet ingredients to make batter. Fill muffin cups.bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
To make oat flour: put quick oats in food processor or in mill grinder to make flour.
These muffins are kind of heavy being all oats, but are yummy and filling. They also make at least 2 dozen regular size muffins.
Banana muffins
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (or about 4 bananas)
Chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine egg, honey, oil, yogurt, vanilla and bananas. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Until done through.
This recipe makes at least 2 dozen regular size muffins. I make huge batches, then put then in freezer bags and put in freezer so my hubby and kids can pull them out and eat whenever they want. I will usually split this recipe and put chocolate chips in half and walnuts in the other half (kids like chocolate chip, hubby likes walnuts). These are a little different with the honey in them, but still really yummy. Enjoy!
Chicken cordon bleu and cobbler
Yum, yum! I love cooking and coming up with my own recipes! Chicken cordon bleu is one of my favorite dishes an you can make it home really easy and so much more healthy! And I love dessert, that is my one down fall, so why not try to make it healthy and easy as well! So here are my renditions of a couple of my favorites, these are my own original concoctions so there is no exact recipe.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
6 chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
Ham
Italian bread crumbs (or make your own with plain breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and dried basil)
2 eggs
Clean chicken breasts and flatten with a mallet or heavy pan (like I did). Cut ham into small cubes. On each chicken breast, sprinkle with dried chives and dried parsley, then add Swiss cheese and ham. Fold together to create a pouch and secure with toothpicks. Repeat with each chicken breast. Beat eggs and dip each chicken in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Place in baking dish and bake at 375 for about 30 mins, or until no longer pink inside. Serve with steamed veggies, potatoes, etc.
Peach-blueberry cobbler
About 6-8 fresh peaches
1 large container fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 strawberry cake mix
I have a pan set that cook like dutch ovens that I cook this in, so you can either cook in a Dutch oven or bake at 350 for about 20-30 mins. If you bake it, cut butter over the top.
Put peaches and blueberries in a bowl, add sugar and stir to coat. Let sit for about 10+ minutes. Put fruit in baking pan or dutch oven. Cover with dry cake mix and cook until fruit juices have bubbled through the cake mix. Serve warm with cool whip or ice cream.
I hope you like these recipes, they are very easy to make and are so yummy! If you like these and other recipes that I have shared, please pass along this blog and share the fun!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
6 chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
Ham
Italian bread crumbs (or make your own with plain breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and dried basil)
2 eggs
Clean chicken breasts and flatten with a mallet or heavy pan (like I did). Cut ham into small cubes. On each chicken breast, sprinkle with dried chives and dried parsley, then add Swiss cheese and ham. Fold together to create a pouch and secure with toothpicks. Repeat with each chicken breast. Beat eggs and dip each chicken in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Place in baking dish and bake at 375 for about 30 mins, or until no longer pink inside. Serve with steamed veggies, potatoes, etc.
Peach-blueberry cobbler
About 6-8 fresh peaches
1 large container fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 strawberry cake mix
I have a pan set that cook like dutch ovens that I cook this in, so you can either cook in a Dutch oven or bake at 350 for about 20-30 mins. If you bake it, cut butter over the top.
Put peaches and blueberries in a bowl, add sugar and stir to coat. Let sit for about 10+ minutes. Put fruit in baking pan or dutch oven. Cover with dry cake mix and cook until fruit juices have bubbled through the cake mix. Serve warm with cool whip or ice cream.
I hope you like these recipes, they are very easy to make and are so yummy! If you like these and other recipes that I have shared, please pass along this blog and share the fun!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Seriously I have not posted in almost a month and a half?! This is crazy! I am such a slacker sometimes, but I have also been very busy. July was full of camping and lots of family fun! I also participated in a bike ride for Parkinson's Disease. It was just very busy. Now we are into August and we getting ready to send back the kiddie to school. They start next Wednesday, I can't wait! Oh and the kids are excited to.
We started a neew adventure this past week that has worked out pretty good so far. We got a cat! Not a kitten, but a cat. He is older which is nice, as well as declawed and fixed. He doesn't seem to like the kids much and will just hide all day, but he comes out at night and will be with me and Mike, although Mike seems to not like cats at all. Oh well.
So for young women's last week we wanted to do something with the girls that they could make but not have to turn on the oven. So I decided on waffle iron cookies, homemade ice cream and hot fudge sauce. It turned out great and they were very yummy. So here is the recipe for waffle iron cookies:
Waffle Iron Cookies
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup flour
3 TBS cocoa
Mix sugar and melted butter with beaten eggs. Add vanilla. Stir in flour and cocoa. Pour in waffle iron 1 cup at a time. Cook 2-3 minutes. These are so yummy but very sweet, so you might want add a little salt so they aren't quite so sweet. But enjoy they are one of my favorites and very easy to make!
We started a neew adventure this past week that has worked out pretty good so far. We got a cat! Not a kitten, but a cat. He is older which is nice, as well as declawed and fixed. He doesn't seem to like the kids much and will just hide all day, but he comes out at night and will be with me and Mike, although Mike seems to not like cats at all. Oh well.
So for young women's last week we wanted to do something with the girls that they could make but not have to turn on the oven. So I decided on waffle iron cookies, homemade ice cream and hot fudge sauce. It turned out great and they were very yummy. So here is the recipe for waffle iron cookies:
Waffle Iron Cookies
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup flour
3 TBS cocoa
Mix sugar and melted butter with beaten eggs. Add vanilla. Stir in flour and cocoa. Pour in waffle iron 1 cup at a time. Cook 2-3 minutes. These are so yummy but very sweet, so you might want add a little salt so they aren't quite so sweet. But enjoy they are one of my favorites and very easy to make!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Pineapple cherry delight
As you know I love to make up and try new things. I was wanting to make something fun for father's day and wanted jello but it was much to late to make it. I decided to try to make a jello dish my aunt makes and it turned out pretty good. Try it for yourself.
Pineapple cherry delight
16 oz fat free cottage cheese
Small tub fat free cool whip
Large box sugar free cherry jello
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
Mix together, serve immediately or refrigerate.
The cherry jello and pineapple are just yummy together. Hope you enjoy it. Half of my family did, but most of them don't like cottage cheese.
Pineapple cherry delight
16 oz fat free cottage cheese
Small tub fat free cool whip
Large box sugar free cherry jello
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
Mix together, serve immediately or refrigerate.
The cherry jello and pineapple are just yummy together. Hope you enjoy it. Half of my family did, but most of them don't like cottage cheese.
Cream Cheese Bars
One of my favorite treats that I don't make very often is Cream Cheese Bars. I love making bars because you just put it all in one pan and bake instead of making each individual cookie. These are super yummy and you can't eat just one. The last time I made these I sprinkled butterscotch chips on with the filling and we loved it!
Cream Cheese Bars
crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of crust mix for topping. Pat rest of dough lightly into a greased 9 X 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and egg until smooth. Spread evenly over baked layer. Sprinkle with reserved crust mix. Bake for 15 minutes loner. Cool and cut into bars.
Cream Cheese Bars
crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of crust mix for topping. Pat rest of dough lightly into a greased 9 X 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and egg until smooth. Spread evenly over baked layer. Sprinkle with reserved crust mix. Bake for 15 minutes loner. Cool and cut into bars.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tenders taco casserole
For all those out there that like fish, like our family does, here is a yummy fish recipe. Even if you don't like fish, try it, you really can't taste the fish.
Tenders taco casserole
8-10 frozen fish tenders
1 15oz can chili beans, drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 TBS taco sauce
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
2cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sliced green onions with tops
1 med. Tomato, chopped
1 cup or more shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce (opt.)
Chili peppers (opt.)
Taco sauce (opt.)
Preheat oven to 375*. In a saucepan, heat frozen tenders, beans, tomTo sauce, taco sauce, chili powder and garlic salt to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Place chips in ungreased 9X13 dish. Pour tender mix over chips. Spread with sour cream. Sprinkle with onions,
tomato and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Serve with shredded lettuce, chili peppers and taco sauce if desired.
Now I don't drain my chili beans. I just cook it all together. It makes in have more sauce. This time I used Tabasco sauce for the taco sauce. It was quite spicy and very strong so I wouldn't recommend that, but I have used a Louisiana hot sauce and it was really yummy. Let me know what you think of this one.
Tenders taco casserole
8-10 frozen fish tenders
1 15oz can chili beans, drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 TBS taco sauce
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
2cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sliced green onions with tops
1 med. Tomato, chopped
1 cup or more shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce (opt.)
Chili peppers (opt.)
Taco sauce (opt.)
Preheat oven to 375*. In a saucepan, heat frozen tenders, beans, tomTo sauce, taco sauce, chili powder and garlic salt to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Place chips in ungreased 9X13 dish. Pour tender mix over chips. Spread with sour cream. Sprinkle with onions,
tomato and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Serve with shredded lettuce, chili peppers and taco sauce if desired.
Now I don't drain my chili beans. I just cook it all together. It makes in have more sauce. This time I used Tabasco sauce for the taco sauce. It was quite spicy and very strong so I wouldn't recommend that, but I have used a Louisiana hot sauce and it was really yummy. Let me know what you think of this one.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Italiano Soup
1 lb. ground turkey
onion
12 cups beef broth
2 cans Italian tomatoes
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
brown and crumble ground turkey with chopped onion in pot. Add beef broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add macaroni noodles. Boil until noodles are done, about 10 minutes. Can serve with some parmesan cheese.
We loved this soup! I tweeked a recipe that I had to come up with this. Really quick and easy and a good way to use some of the many boxes of pasta from the sale a few weeks ago! The only thing we would do different next time is add Italian ground turkey instead of plain, it has more of a spicy flavor like sausage.
onion
12 cups beef broth
2 cans Italian tomatoes
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
brown and crumble ground turkey with chopped onion in pot. Add beef broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add macaroni noodles. Boil until noodles are done, about 10 minutes. Can serve with some parmesan cheese.
We loved this soup! I tweeked a recipe that I had to come up with this. Really quick and easy and a good way to use some of the many boxes of pasta from the sale a few weeks ago! The only thing we would do different next time is add Italian ground turkey instead of plain, it has more of a spicy flavor like sausage.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Taco Soup
Here is one of my own:
Taco Soup
1 lb. taco flavor ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
6 cups water
onion or dehydrated onion to taste cooked with ground turkey
1-2 packets taco seasoning
1 cup wheat berries
1 can tomatoes
1/2 can tomatoes and green chilies
This one is so easy! I just put everything in a pot and simmer until combined. You can also add peppers to this if you would like. If you don't want it quite as spicy you can leave out the tomatoes and green chilies and only use 1 packet of taco seasoning. We serve this with sour cream and grated cheese and crunch up totilla chips and put in or can use them to scoop up your soup. Wheat berries are also optional, I keep some cooked up in my fridge, and they just take on the flavor of everything else. We love spicy soup. Hope you do to.
Taco Soup
1 lb. taco flavor ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
6 cups water
onion or dehydrated onion to taste cooked with ground turkey
1-2 packets taco seasoning
1 cup wheat berries
1 can tomatoes
1/2 can tomatoes and green chilies
This one is so easy! I just put everything in a pot and simmer until combined. You can also add peppers to this if you would like. If you don't want it quite as spicy you can leave out the tomatoes and green chilies and only use 1 packet of taco seasoning. We serve this with sour cream and grated cheese and crunch up totilla chips and put in or can use them to scoop up your soup. Wheat berries are also optional, I keep some cooked up in my fridge, and they just take on the flavor of everything else. We love spicy soup. Hope you do to.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I know it has been so long since I posted last. Kids have been sick again and then I didn't have internet for 5 days straight, it was awful.
I decided I need to really lose some weight and stay in shape. I have been exercising now since the beginning of the year, but I guess I haven't really eaten that well since I haven't lost more than 5 lbs. and I just go up and down so much. I did Weight Watchers a couple years ago and decided I would try it again since they have a new fun program. It is different than when I did it last, but I am excited to start on the right path to a better me. I started today, so wish me luck. So for my recipe today, I'm going to share a favorite WW (Weight Watchers) treat that I got from a meeting. I love brownies and cookies and have a hard time stopping when I eat them. This is called Magic Brownie Bites, it has three ingredients, which seems weird, but try them, they are really good. They remind me of a Little Debbie brownie snack as far as the texture goes.
Magic Brownie Bites
1 brownie mix (9X13 size)
1 can black beans (w/o mexican seasonings)
water
Drain beans in collander. Thoroughly rinse beans and can - discarding all liquid. Return washed beans to their can (which is thoroughly washed out). Top off can of beans, to brim, with cold water. Puree beans and water in food processor or blender. Combine dry brownie mix and pureed bean mix. (DO NOT add oil or egg). Bake in sprayed 9X13 pan as box directs. When cool, cut into 72 rectangles. Each brownie bite is 1 WW pt.
I don't know exactly what the new points would be for this, I haven't figured it out yet, but even if you aren't thinking of doing WW this is still a great low fat, high fiber treat and you don't have to cut them this small, that's just what they recommend. Try it out and tell me what you thought of this recipe.
I decided I need to really lose some weight and stay in shape. I have been exercising now since the beginning of the year, but I guess I haven't really eaten that well since I haven't lost more than 5 lbs. and I just go up and down so much. I did Weight Watchers a couple years ago and decided I would try it again since they have a new fun program. It is different than when I did it last, but I am excited to start on the right path to a better me. I started today, so wish me luck. So for my recipe today, I'm going to share a favorite WW (Weight Watchers) treat that I got from a meeting. I love brownies and cookies and have a hard time stopping when I eat them. This is called Magic Brownie Bites, it has three ingredients, which seems weird, but try them, they are really good. They remind me of a Little Debbie brownie snack as far as the texture goes.
Magic Brownie Bites
1 brownie mix (9X13 size)
1 can black beans (w/o mexican seasonings)
water
Drain beans in collander. Thoroughly rinse beans and can - discarding all liquid. Return washed beans to their can (which is thoroughly washed out). Top off can of beans, to brim, with cold water. Puree beans and water in food processor or blender. Combine dry brownie mix and pureed bean mix. (DO NOT add oil or egg). Bake in sprayed 9X13 pan as box directs. When cool, cut into 72 rectangles. Each brownie bite is 1 WW pt.
I don't know exactly what the new points would be for this, I haven't figured it out yet, but even if you aren't thinking of doing WW this is still a great low fat, high fiber treat and you don't have to cut them this small, that's just what they recommend. Try it out and tell me what you thought of this recipe.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I am starting a new and fun adventure. I am now an instructor for Grocery Smarts. I am so excited to share with others what I have learned with coupon shopping. I will also be posting more of my shopping trips. If anyone is interested in helping me spread the word about saving money, let me know and we can arrange for you to hold a class for me to teach your family and friends how to save money.
The recipe for today is what we had last night, spaghetti, with a twist.
you will need:
spaghetti noodles
2 spaghetti sauce mix packet (we like western family)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can tomatoes
1 lb. ground beef or italian sausage (we use italian seasoned ground turkey)
1 container Philidelphia cooking creme Italian cheese and herb
Cook pasta, drain. Cook ground beef. Add in saucepan tomato sauce with 1 1/2 cans water, tomatoes and spaghetti sauce mix packets. Let simmer 20 minutes until thickened. Then add ground beef and cooking cream. Heat through. Serve over noodles with salad and french bread. Very yummy.
The recipe for today is what we had last night, spaghetti, with a twist.
you will need:
spaghetti noodles
2 spaghetti sauce mix packet (we like western family)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can tomatoes
1 lb. ground beef or italian sausage (we use italian seasoned ground turkey)
1 container Philidelphia cooking creme Italian cheese and herb
Cook pasta, drain. Cook ground beef. Add in saucepan tomato sauce with 1 1/2 cans water, tomatoes and spaghetti sauce mix packets. Let simmer 20 minutes until thickened. Then add ground beef and cooking cream. Heat through. Serve over noodles with salad and french bread. Very yummy.
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