Homemade Rice Milk

As I have shared before, we have been trying to eliminate dairy in our house because of one of my daughter's allergy to it and because it is just overall a more healthy choice.  There are times, however, that you just want some milk for your oatmeal or cereal. We have bought soy milk, rice milk and almond milk, but they can get pretty pricey.  Well, I discovered that you can make these milks at home for a fraction of the cost and it is easy.  I shared some friends that I was making my own rice milk and they looked shocked.  "You make your own rice milk?"  They seemed impressed.  Well, once you hear how easy this is, you will find me very unimpressive. [wink]  AND you will think twice about spend $4 for a half gallon of it in the store.


Homemade Rice Milk

Step 1:  Cook up some brown rice.  I like to use my rice cooker, but any old way is fine.  Just follow the directions of the package.

Step 2:  Add 3 cups of your favorite water to your blender.

Step 3:  Add one cup of cooked brown rice to blender.

Step 4:  Blend.  Your water will turn white and milky fairly quickly.  I keep the blender running on high for several minutes to pulverize the rice thoroughly.

Step 5: Add flavorings if desired.  I usually add a squirt honey or agave nectar while the blender is still running.  If you like the vanilla flavor like they sell at the store, add a splash of vanilla extract, too.  You could even add chocolate if that's your thing.

Step 6:  Enjoy!  You can strain it if you want, but I don't find it is very gritty unstrained.  You can also just let it sit for a minute and let the things settle a bit.

See, I told you it was easy!  You can use this same technique for any grain based milk.  I plan on trying quinoa as another healthy alternative.  You can also use this method to make soy milk.  Just cook the soybeans and use them instead of rice.  You will probably find that you want to strain that, though.

Later I will share with you how to make almond milk as well as other nut milks.

I Have Gone Green

There is much talk about being "green" in our lifestyles. We can "save the planet" by recycling or using florescent bulbs.  I am all for being a good steward of the earth God has given us, but that is not what I am going to talk about today.  Let's discuss being good stewards of our bodies instead.

In a quest to eat healthier, hubby and I started on a new diet, a new way of eating.  We are using the Hallelujah Diet as our guide.  It is a plant-based diet with a goal that at least 85% of food intake is raw.  I have to tell you, this is a challenge and quite different  from our previous diet.  We had been eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and I was cooking nearly everything from scratch, but this is step further.  There is much less cooking and much more preparing of fresh produce.

Something we have begun to incorporate into our daily diet are green smoothies.  Although familiar with smoothies, I had never heard of a green smoothie before.  It is a smoothie packed full of fruit, but also leafy green vegetables such as spinach or kale.  Greens are packed full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and even protein.  But who wants to consume platefuls of greens every day?  By mixing them in a smoothie with lots of fruit, you get a sweet treat AND your greens. 

Since, we have started this diet, the green smoothies are what we seem to get asked the most about, so I thought I would share how we make them.  I don't use a recipe, but more of a formula:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid:  I usually use water, but you can use juice for a sweeter smoothie, or milk for a creamier one.  Almond milk is very tasty.
• 1 to 2 bananas:  They make it creamy and sweet.  You can use fresh or frozen.  We take over-ripe bananas, peel them, and keep them in a ziplock in the freezer.  Watch for reduced, brown bananas in your grocer's produce department next time you are there.
• 1 to 2 handfuls of greens:  Spinach is my favorite, but kale is tasty.  Sometimes I mix in some beet greens.  Put in what you like, the darker the green the better.  I avoid strong tasting ones like turnip greens because I prefer to taste the fruit not the greens in my smoothie.
• 1 to 2 cups fruit:  Whatever you like is good.  Red grapes are sweet and delicious.  Since it is winter, I have been using frozen fruit a lot.  You can find big bags of blueberries and strawberries.  There is also a nice blend of mango, peach, pineapple and strawberry.  Yummy!  This is a good opportunity to use fruit that is getting a bit soft to just eat.  I am not a fan of squishy kiwi, but they are delightful in a smoothie.
• Extras:  Some things I like to add to our smoothies are fresh ginger (a little bit goes a long way), milled flax seed, or a spoonful of nut butter ( good if this is going to replace a meal).  If the fruit I used was not very sweet, I may add some honey, or dates. 

Now blend away!  If you are using a lot of frozen stuff, you may find you need extra liquid to get this blended. If you have used a lot of berries, your smoothie won't be as green, but instead a bit more brown.  Don't worry, it will taste good.

Hubby takes a quart of this to work with him every day.  I usually drink some green smoothie at breakfast and often put it in my travel mug when I have to eat on the run.  Our day schedules have been pretty busy this year and often I am struggling to get my lunch in at home.  It is usually acceptable to bring a cup into a meeting, but not a meal.  Everyone assumes that I am just drinking my coffee, when often I am "eating" my lunch right in front of them.

Even if you don't want to radically change your diet, adding green smoothies will benefit you.  They are full of healthy goodness and will help to curb your appetite.  Victoria Boutenko in her book, Green for Life, talks about an experiment they did called the Roseburg Study where they got 27 people to commit to drinking a quart of green smoothie daily for a month.  They didn't change their lifestyle otherwise.  Then they documented the changes in their health.  It was pretty remarkable.

So there you have it.  As my husband says, we are becoming hippies with all this healthy living.  It is our running joke.  If being a hippy means feeling better and losing weight, I am OK with that!

Other green smoothie resources:

• Green Smoothie Girl
• Green Smoothies Blog
• Green Smoothie Questions
• Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health
• Green Smoothies Diet: The Natural Program for Extraordinary Health
• How Green Smoothies Saved My Life: A Guide for Using Green Smoothies, Uplifted Thinking, and Live Food to Enhance Your Life

Hummus!

A new family favorite in the house is homemade hummus.  We used to buy the ready-made stuff at the store, but it is a bit pricey.  When you figure that it is made up of mostly garbanzo beans (chickpeas) it is a fairly inexpensive thing to make.  We like it with tortilla or pita chips, fresh veggies, and I have caught my oldest just eating it with a spoon.  Hey, it is gluten-dairy-egg free and yummy.  Who can blame her?  This is the recipe out of the Vita-Mix Whole Food cookbook with a couple of tweaks. (Yes, we were blessed with a Vita-Mix for Christmas.  I am sure I will be sharing more about that later.)  Although this calls for canned beans, you can save even more money by buying a big bag of dried beans and cooking them.  It is super easy and then we bag them in individual portions and put them in the freezer for later use.

HUMMUS

• 2 (15 oz) cans chick peas, one drained, one with liquid
• 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds (or tahini)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste
• handful of fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped (optional)

Process all ingredients except the fresh herbs (if using) in a blender or food processor.  Once smooth add herbs a process just enough to mix them through (If you blend too much, your hummus will turn green.  Trust me; I know this from experience.)

You can get creative and flavor your hummus with roasted red peppers, spinach, or other herbs.  Use your imagination.

Tried the Mac'n Cheese!

Yesterday after lunch I decided to start a double batch of the Rice Cooker Mac n' Cheese that I posted the other day.  I didn't have any heavy cream, so I used a combination of half and half and whole milk which I did have in my fridge.  To make up the difference in fat content, I added about 3 tablespoons of butter to make sure it was plenty rich and yummy. 

Part way through the cooking time, the rice cooker started to sputter and spew liquid out of the vent.  Just when I thought that I would have to shut it down to prevent a big mess on the counter, it settled down and cooked just fine.  After the rice cooker was done and switched to warming mode, I added the cheeses and salt.  I didn't have any mozzarella, so I just used more cheddar instead.  After mixing it through, I shut the lid and let it go until dinner.

I was wonderful to have a a big chunk of dinner done and ready ahead of time.  I cooked some pork chops and broccoli to go with it for a quick and easy meal.  A real bonus was that part of the family wasn't home at dinner time and I just put the meat and veggies in with the macaroni in the rice cooker which kept it warm and ready until they got home.  No reheating and nothing was overcooked.  Loved that!

Oh, and the mac 'n cheese? It was delightful!  It was well received by all, even my macaroni-and-cheese-hating hubby! I am glad to have this recipe in my stash.

I am really falling in love with my rice cooker.  (This is the one I have.) It is not a fancy one, but it seems to work like a charm.  The other day when I was searching for rice cooker recipes, I noticed the Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook mentioned.  I placed it on hold at the library and already have it in my hands.  I see many yummy recipes in the future.  When I find some winners, I will be sure to share them with you.

Rice Cooker Mac 'n Cheese

Sounds kind of crazy doesn't it?  Who ever hear of making macaroni and cheese in a rice cooker?  I found this recipe on a rice cooker thread on the ChowHound site.  (It was posted by tbunny27...thanks tbunny!)  I am posting this untried, but I wanted to preserve it here for future reference because I fully intend to experiment with this.  Here's the thread, if you are interested:  Rice Cooker Recipes.   I also found another site with a bunch of recipes that sound pretty yummy at Food.com.

Rice Cooker Mac 'n Cheese

1 1/2 cup macaroni of your choice (shells, stars, macaroni etc)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 up chicken broth/stock
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/4 tspn Kosher/Sea Slat or to taste.
Combine noodles, broth & cream in rice cooker.
When machine switches to warm, add rest of ingredients & stir thoroughly until cheese in melted.
When switches to warm, its done.
The bottom will be browned like in the oven, so you can invert in into a casserole dish and sit back to rave reviews.

We have been making a lot of rice lately due to my daughter's food allergies and stomach issues.  She is happiest living on a diet of rice, veggies and fruit.  Who am I to argue with that?  I have been looking for some ways to spice up plain rice and cooking different grains.  My hunt for a Spanish Rice dish prepared in a rice cooker led me to this site.  Of course, the mac 'n cheese wouldn't be eaten by my oldest daughter due to the dairy, but the rest of the family would probably enjoy it.

My Discovery of Ground Turkey

For years I have read that substituting ground turkey for ground beef is a healthy choice.  So, I trekked to the store and my jaw hit the floor when I saw the PRICE of ground turkey.  It was usually over $4 per pound.  Well, I stuck to my ground beef.  Then one day I was at my local Sam's Club and discovered that they sell two 20 ounce packages (5 pounds) of ground turkey for just over $10.  $2 per pound is less than even the cheapest ground beef unless you find a good sale. 

So, I decided to try it.  When cooked, ground turkey is much lighter in color than ground beef and does have a different flavor.  However, when you are mixing it into a dish, these differences are not very obvious.  One nice thing about ground turkey is the lack of fat that cooks out of it.  You can brown it and not drain it or use it in a dish like meatloaf and not worry about it swimming in a pool of fat.  Because of this, though, I find that I need to add a little olive oil to my skillet when I am browning it. 

So, you might be wondering what exactly to do with this stuff.  I have used it in casseroles and chili.  It makes wonderful seasoned taco meat, too.  I have also started making meatloaf with it which is quite yummy.  We use one 20 ounce package of ground turkey to make this and it feeds our little family of 8 with some leftover.  Although you can form it into loaves, I find that it is simpler just to press it into a 9" x 13" casserole dish like a big meat cake.  We cut it into pieces, like cake, to serve it. 

Turkey Loaf

A delicious yet healthy version of meatloaf made with ground turkey.  Could also be made with lean ground beef. Serves 8.

• 2 1/2 pounds (40 oz.) ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large eggs *
• 1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup applesauce (unsweetened) **
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese ***
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT the spaghetti sauce together.  Clean hands work best for this.  Press into a greased 9" x 13" pan/dish. (You can form this into several loaves, but I find that it is quicker and easier to just place into dish and cut like a cake to serve.)  Pour sauce over top.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes.

*To lower the fat in this recipe you can substitute 4 large eggs for the 2 whole eggs.
**When I am out of applesauce I have substituted ketchup, baby food, or cooked and pureed vegetables.
***May be eliminated if trying to keep this dairy-free. (Yes, sadly, this is now a concern in our house.)

The recipe can also be found here.

You can also make this and freeze it baked, half-baked, or unbaked.  If your family is smaller, you could make this into two loaves and bake one and freeze one for a future meal.  I love when I can make two meals for the effort of one.  What a bonus!  You could also make snack size meatloaves in muffin tins.  You could just bake them and eat them for dinner or bake them and freeze them for individual lunches or snacks.  You could pop one or two out of the freezer and microwave them.
Hope you enjoy!

The Recipe Cache

I have talked about menu planning before.  I have to be honest, I think it is a marvelous idea, but struggle to be disciplined to do it all of the time.  (I think there is a part of me that enjoys the creative process of making something out of the odds and ends in my pantry each day.)  One of the things I mentioned that is a good tool for me to aid in meal planning is having a list of tried and true recipes to refer to.  I have made lists, changed lists, and often misplaced lists.  Yes, organization is not one of my natural-born gifts. [wink] 

I decided to go at this recipe list thing a little differently.  I have set up for myself another blog site dedicated to my recipes. Every recipe I post is one that is tried and true in our household, meaning we have made once or twice and LOVED it or have made it dozens of times and it is an old standby. Most recipes are scaled to the quantity that I prefer to make which means they are probably more suited to a larger family. Each recipe is also categorized.  The category labels are linked on the right side of the site for quick reference. 

Although I made this selfishly for myself, I thought that it might be something that others would enjoy.  Right now, there are only about 20 recipes posted, but I plan to continue to add them on a regular basis.

So, the site is   The Recipe Cache

Chicken Feta Pizza

Yesterday, I talked about making your own crust for pizza.  Today I thought I would share a non-traditional pizza that I have been making and loving.  Normally I make this along with a traditional cheese pizza because that is what the younger set prefers. 

• Pizza crust of choice (I make homemade)
• Canned tomato sauce
• Garlic salt
• Cooked chicken, diced or shredded (leftover, canned, etc.)
• Feta cheese
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Herbs of choice (Herbs de Provence, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme...)

Form pizza crust.
Spread very thin layer of tomato sauce on crust.
Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Top with chicken, feta and red onion.
Sprinkle with herbs.
Bake at 450 F for about 12 minutes.

CHEAP EATS: Popcorn

We are still working really hard to keep our food budget down around here because, well, we have too. I can't go into debt to feed my family. One thing we utilize is popcorn – not that packaged microwave stuff, but the real kind. I have found that I can by a 50 pound bag of popcorn at my local warehouse club for about $16. Let me tell you, 50 pounds is A LOT of popcorn. Our last bag lasted us years. So what all do we do with it? We mostly just pop it up for snacks. The beauty about popcorn is that you can make it into both a sweet or salty snack. We pop ours up in a stovetop popper like this that we got as a wedding gift nearly 22 years ago, but you can just use something as simple as a big pot.

How to pop popcorn in a big pot on the stovetop:

1.Place 3 T. oil and 3 kernels of popcorn in pot, cover and place on medium-high heat.
2.When those kernels pop, add 1/3 cup of popcorn to the pot and make sure they are in an even layer on the bottom.
3.Remove the pot from the heat for 30 seconds. (Doing this brings all the kernels up to the oil temperature so they will pop at the same time.)
4.Place back on the heat covered.
5.As soon as you hear popping, shake the pot. Keep the lid ajar so that your popcorn stays crispy.
6.Once the popping has slowed to a couple of seconds between pops, remove from heat. And dump into a bowl.
7.Season as desired. If using butter, it can be melted quickly in the hot pot.

Seasoning ideas:
Salt (Obvious, I know!) Any salt will work, but popcorn salt is nice because it is so fine, it sticks well to the popcorn.
Cayenne pepper for a little kick.
Salt, Pepper and olive oil. This is a yummy combo that I learned from a friend. Drizzle on the olive oil, add salt and fresh cracked pepper. Toss the popcorn in the bowl and repeat. Yummy!
Parmesan cheese
Cumin
Spanish smoked paprika
Curry powder
Nutritional yeast
Garlic salt
Pizza seasoning
Seasoned salt
Cinnamon or cinnamon-sugar

I have also heard that you can add salt right to the oil as you are popping and it will be distributed all through the corn. I will be trying that.

Do you like things sweet? There are bunches of caramel corn recipes to choose from. I don't have a tried and true favorite that I can share with you, but here are some you can check out.

My favorite way to do sweet popcorn is kettle corn. I think it is way easier than caramel corn and just lightly sweet which I like. With caramel corn there are several steps. You pop the corn, make the caramel sauce, pour it over the popcorn and bake it. Kettle corn just takes one pot and just one step because you just mix sugar right into the pot with the oil and corn.

Simple Kettle Corn

¼ cup oil
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup popcorn

Place all ingredients into the pot and place over medium-high heat. Make sure you shake this constantly so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat when there are a couple of seconds between pops. Immediately dump into bowl. Done. Easy-peasy!

A really yummy variation on this is Cinnamon Kettle Corn. To make this, substitute red hots for the sugar. It makes reddish pink cinnamon flavored popcorn. I have often thought that you could probably substitute any crushed hard candy, but haven't tried that yet. I'm thinking butterscotch candies or maybe even leftover candy canes. Sounds yummy, huh?

Another great idea for popcorn is to use it in place of breakfast cereal. I have not tried this on my family yet. Breakfast cereal is something that I have cut from our grocery list unless I get a really sweet deal. Since they have been living with homemade granola or whatever I can pick up at the local food auction, this might seem like a fun treat. I think I will do some kettle corn style, but with ½ the sugar for a slightly sweetened cereal.

I'm sure if you think about it, you can come up with lots of great popcorn ideas. Here's a site with lots of unique recipes.

So, when searching for cheap eats, don't forget the popcorn. At just over 30 cents per pound, it is a great deal – especially if you realize that just 1 tablespoon of unpopped corn yields 2 CUPS popped. Try a new recipe and be sure to share your results and ideas in the comments.

Chili on the Cheap

Last Sunday, we had the family over to celebrate my youngest's first birthday. The timing of the day was such that I needed to come up with a lunch that could be ready to serve the moment we walked in the door from church. I came up with the idea of chili and cornbread because both could be made ahead. I took the chili out of the refrigerator and put it in the crockpot before we left for church in the morning and I made the cornbread the night before and quickly reheated it in the oven when it was time to eat.

The chili must have been ok because I had virtually no leftovers from my big pot of it. Even my brother-in-law who has proclaimed that he “Does not like chili” had two bowls. Because of this, my sister-in-law has asked for the recipe. Here is my dilemma...I didn't use one. You see, lately I have been on a quest to slash our grocery expenses drastically. I have discovered I can cook the cheapest when I don't follow recipes to a tee, but instead use what I have on hand or can purchase at a bargain.

With the exception of baking which is a bit of an exact science to make things rise properly, most cooking has a lot of play in it. I tend to read tons of recipes that I never actually use. I read them to try and understand the common threads that make up a particular dish. For example, when I wanted to make chili, I went to my favorite recipe site, All Recipes, and did a search on “chili”. Then I sorted these by rating so that I could look at the most tried and true and loved recipes. The recipes are quite varied, but if you look closely at what makes up the bulk of each recipe, you will notice that there are some trends. Most recipes are based on many of the same ingredients or at least the same types of ingredients. I noticed that chili tends to be made up of some sort of tomato base (whole canned tomatoes, tomato juice, etc.), chili powder, beans of some type, meat of some type, and then there are various extras that give each chili its unique flavor.

Now, if I just picked a chili recipe and then proceeded to go out and purchase all of the ingredients that I needed for it, it may not end up being any bargain. So, I looked at what I had on hand first and created my own recipe based on those things.
So here is my recipe:

TOMATOES:
These make up the base of the chili. I used a large (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes, a large can of crushed tomatoes and a (14oz) can of diced tomatoes. I did not drain any of them.

MEAT:
Most recipes have some sort of beef (ground, roast, etc) although I found several that also included some type of sausage. Since I didn't have anything on hand in this department I bought a couple of pounds of ground beef because it seemed to be the best deal and I know we love that in chili.

BEANS:
Most recipes call for kidney beans or chili beans which are already seasoned. My family members are not big bean fans even though I am trying to train them to be for the sake of saving money and eating healthy. I ended up using a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans because that is what I had on hand. I did use a little trick my friend, Angela, told me. After draining the beans, I put over half of them into my food processor and ground them up. This gives you the nice bean flavor in your chili without so many whole (obvious) beans themselves.

SPICE/HEAT:
I used chili powder which is what gives most recipes their standard chili flavor. I think I used about ¼ cup. I also added one fresh jalapeño, because I had them on hand to make pico de gallo. How much spice you use is up to you and your family's personal taste. I added some and then tasted. I have found that bottled hot sauce is really yummy, too, but I was about out of it last weekend.

THE EXTRAS:
There's quite a few extras that can go into chili. I read through several recipes, taking note of what I had on hand and what I thought would blend together without a clashing of flavors. I keep a fairly well stocked pantry and spice cabinet so I had quite a few things available to add to my chili.

Here is the list of what I threw in:

Onions! We LOVE onions around here, so I think I added two chopped yellow onions.

Garlic. We also love garlic and it can add a little kick so I think I used 4-5 fresh cloves, minced.

Cumin. 1-2 tsp.

Beef Bouillon. I actually used beef soup base, but 3-4 bouillon cubes would be equivalent.

Beer. It adds a really nice flavor to chili. I used a bottle of Budweiser that was hiding in the basement from who-knows-when.

Worcestershire sauce. I splashed some in. It was perhaps a tablespoon.

Brown sugar. I used a loose ¼ cup.

Apple Cider Vinegar. I used a splash – a tablespoon or two.

Cinnamon. I just shook some in. It was perhaps a teaspoon.

Fresh cilantro. I only added this because I had it on hand. It tastes wonderful and added pretty flecks of green into the chili. I used about ½ a bunch, chopped.

Salt. Add it to taste.

Black pepper.

THE PROCESS:
I browned the ground beef along with the onions in the bottom of the pot and then drained off the grease. Then I started adding in the rest starting with the tomatoes and working down the list here. I taste tested often along the way to make sure I was happy with the flavor. It is better to add too little of an ingredient if in doubt about it because that can be fixed.

After all the ingredients are in, it is important to let this simmer a bit for the flavors to blend together. In my case here, I let it simmer for an hour and then let it cool and placed it in the fridge. Then it had about 4 or so hours in the crockpot the next day. This made a good sized pot of chili.

I served it with fresh pico de gallo (which is something that my family has learned to crave), fritos, sour cream, and sharp cheddar cheese.

These are evil, but you must make them...

I made some of these babies on New Year's Eve. I had seen them on The Pioneer Woman's blog and then I got her cookbook for Christmas and they were in there, too, wooing me to make them. So, I did. YUM! I removed all the seeds and membrane from the jalapenos so there were barely spicy. The cream cheese cooled them sufficiently. Then, these are wrapped in bacon. Isn't everything better when it is wrapped in bacon? Well, there may be a few exceptions to this... but at the moment they all escape me.

Well, I made a bunch and had leftovers. I discovered them to still be pretty good reheated in the microwave. I put them on a paper towel to absorb any excess bacon grease and although not near as good as the fresh-out-of-the-oven version, they were still quite yummy.

Here's the evil part, though. This morning I was quietly minding my own business when I got this incredible craving in mouth for one of these babies cold right out of the refrigerator. I swear that I could here them calling me - tempting me.........................................yes, they are pretty delightfully tasty ice cold, too. Evil, I tell you! But you gotta try them!

Photo Credits: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Yummy Recipe to Try: Fudge Sauce

When I was a girl, still living at home with my mom and dad, one of the treats we would make is homemade fudge sauce for over ice cream. I am pretty certain that the recipe came from the side of the Hershey's Cocoa Powder can. I am fairly certain that was a pretty simple recipe with sugar, water, cocoa powder, and vanilla. The trick to getting it right was cooking it for the just the right amount of time and boy, was it yummy!

Just the other day, I stumbled upon this recipe for fudge sauce. It is a bit different, but sounds good, too. It does seem to have quite a bit more sugar, so I am sure the younger kids will like it.

Fudge Sauce

1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 T. butter
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups powder sugar

Cook until desired consistency.

The recipe did not elaborate on how to cook it. I suppose there would be no harm in just placing all of the ingredients into a small pot and cooking over medium to low heat. It probably should be stirred the whole time it cooks, perhaps with a whisk to keep the powdery ingredients from clumping. While you are stirring it would be easy to see when it thickens to the right consistency remembering that when the sauce is poured over ice cream it will cool and be even thicker.

If you try this let me know how it goes and if you liked it or not.

Cookin' with Gas

I'm cooking with propane gas! Like my stove uses. Sheesh! What were you thinking?

I'm gearing up for a fun Thanksgiving with my folks tomorrow by putting together some casseroles and baking some pumpkin bread saving just the food items that aren't as good prepared ahead like mashed potatoes and cranberry challah bread.

I realized that I did not have my sweet potato casserole recipe in my holiday planning notebook. So, since I had to type it up, I figured I would do it cute. I used a few things from my days as a digital scrapbook kit designer. Even though I did this fairly quick, I think it is pretty fun.

I decided that I would share this as a little freebie to anyone who is interested. You can download a PDF version of this here.

I am off to finish my cooking and do a spot of cleaning, too. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday of celebrating and giving thanks for our many blessings.

CHEAP EATS: Oriental Oats Recipe Update

Monday I posted about one of my favorite cheap eats, oatmeal. I included a recipe for Oriental Oats that I had found in my Le Leche League cookbook, but noted that I had not tried it. Well, it was a busy week and one evening I found myself wondering at 5:30pm what we were going to have for dinner. That recipe popped into my mind and I decided to try it.

I began mixing up the recipe although I wasn't exactly sure how it would actually turn out because I had never cooked anything quite like it. You mix rolled oats and eggs and cook them while you stir fry up some veggies. We used onion and broccoli because it is what I had handy. Then you add the veggies, some broth and soy sauce into the cooked oat mixture and cook it until the liquid has been absorbed.

This was a HUGE hit with my family! This actually shocked me because as I was cooking it, I kept getting grilled by my hungry children: "WHAT are you making? WHAT is it called? WHAT are you putting in that?" I explained it as best as I could and figured if they were hungry enough they would it it regardless. So, imagine my surprise when they couldn't get enough of it! The oat/egg mixture gets somewhat chewy and reminded me of the consistency of ground beef in the finished dish. Thank goodness I made some rice to serve this over or we wouldn't have had near enough. I will be doubling the recipe next time because my kids pigged it down. Even Patrick who is not real big on rice and stir fry type dishes really liked this.

Because of our recent budget constraints, I have been trying to make more meatless meals, but my family, especially hubby, sometimes feels cheated with these. I was really happy to find a dish that satisfied everyone and is very economical to make. I figure that entire meal only cost $2-3 to feed our family of 7. It also was balanced with carbs, veggies, and plenty of protein. Although meatless, it included eggs as well as the combination of whole grains and veggies which creates a complete protein. In all actuality, this cheap eating is probably going to help our health as well as our wallet.

Here is the recipe again:

Oriental Oats

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
4T. oil
2 cups chopped or sliced mixed onions, sprouts, mushrooms and broccoli
3/4 cup water
1 T. soy sauce

Combine eggs and oats in a bowl; mix well. Cook in 2 tablespoons oil in skillet for 3 to 5 minutes or until dry and separate. Saute vegetables in remaining oil in small skillet. Add to oats with water and soy sauce. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. May add 1 cup chopped meat. May substitute butter for oil; may substitute broth or stock for water and soy sauce. Yield 6 servings. (From "Whole Foods for the Whole Family" LeLeche League International)

Recipe Share: Garlic Mayonnaise & Herb Lemonade

Remember a while back that I shared a recipe for mayo. It didn't go over really well in our how because we used olive oil and it came out bitter. I have since learned that if you want to use EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil for those of you who never watch Rachael Ray), you must treat it with care and not use a blender or it will always turn bitter.

Anyway, I found this recipe in a book called "Lost Arts." You can see this book on my Shelfari down on the right. It sounds really yummy with the addition of garlic. I love garlic!

Garlic Mayonnaise

1 TBSP white wine or tarragon vinegar
1 large egg
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
4 or more (could use 6-7) clove of garlic
1 1/2 cups oil

1.Place vinegar, egg, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves in a food processor. Mush 'em up.

2. With macine runninh slowly, drizzle oil in through feed tube. Correct seasonings.

Makes about 2 cups.

Here's another recipe I found in that book:

Herb Lemonade

Herb Simple Syrup
2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
2 cups tightly packed fresh herbs
Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until suagar is dissoved. Reduce heat and add the fresh herbs. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Cover and allow to cool. (This will help to keep the aromatic oils from.) Steep overnight in the refrigerator. Strain and use as needed.

Lemonade
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup herb simple syrup
4 cups good water
Several sprigs of fresh herbs

Simply mix your ingredients, add ice and a few sprig of fresh herbs and serve.
Makes about 6 cups.


Enjoy!

Baking Lessons: Homemade Bread

I started trying to teach the kids to bake bread. Fortunately, it went a little better for us than the Swedish Chef. They learned how to create a "sponge", but then we ran short on time and I ended up finishing the dough and kneading it in the mixer real quick because we had to leave. I guess we will just take this one step at a time. We will be baking again on Friday and I plan to let them do some kneading. That's the fun part - watching it come alive in your hands!

Here is the basic recipe we have been using:

WHEAT BREAD

6 cups flour (I use 4 cups whole wheat and 2 cups bread flour) - divided
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
3 tsp. yeast
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
3 tsp. salt

Mix together 2 cups flour, water, and yeast. Let this sit about 10 minutes or until it gets bubbly and "spongey." (This is the sponge.)

Mix in remaining ingredients and knead until the dough becomes springy and elastic. It is hard to describe when the dough is right. You should be able to stretch the dough into a thin "windowpane" when you are done. I usually use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer and knead for about 10 minutes. It can also be done by hand, but it will take a bit longer.

Form dough into a ball and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap to rise. It needs to double in size which will take several hours.

Scrape risen dough from bowl onto a floured surface. Deflate it and press out air bubbles. Use a knife and divide dough in two. Form loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Cover and allow rise again.

After dough has nearly doubled in size bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. When the bread it done, the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom and it will be golden brown.

Let cool in pans fo 5-10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack and let cool fully before cutting if you can wait that long. We usually lose control from the smell and cut it while it is still hot. The slices aren't as pretty, but there is nothing like eating a slice of steamy, hot bread.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Domesticity: Homemade Mayonnaise

We scraped the bottom of the Hellman's jar today at lunch while making tuna salad and I got the bug to try my hand at making homemade mayonnaise. As I have shared before, we have been trying really hard to eat more healthy and cheaply. I figured this might be a great way to do this. I had read a recipe in the book, "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon (which is listed in My Library down on the right side of this page). It uses olive oil. Most store-bought brands seem to use soybean oil. Since we suspect my little guy may be allergic to soy, I like the idea of having a mayo recipe that is not soy-based. I will say that unless you are big fan of the flavor of olive oil, substitute something else. We found this to seem very bitter from the oil so we added additional lemon juice and a bit of honey. That was enough to temper the flavor and we did not notice that bitterness in our tuna salad. The book says that you can substitute sunflower oil if you don't like the strong flavor of olive oil. The book is not a big fan of vegetable oil and therefore does not suggest it, but I think my basic canola oil would work just fine, too.

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 whole egg (at room temperature)

1 egg yolk (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon Dijon-type mustard

1 1/2 tablesppons lemon juice

1 tablespoon whey (optional - we didn't have any to use)

3/4 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil or expeller-expressed sunflower oil

Generous pinch sea salt

In your food processor (we used a blender), place egg, egg yolk, mustard, salt and lemon juice and optional whey. Process until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add oil very slowly with the motor running. Taste and check seasoning. You may want to add more salt or lemon juice.

If you have added whey, let the mayonnaise sit at room temperature, well covered, for 7 hours before refrigerating. With the whey added, mayonnaise will keep several months and will become firmer with time. Without whey, it will keep for about 2 weeks.

We will continue to use this and probably try this recipe again with a milder oil. I have been trying to have the attitude of "why buy it if you can make it" when it comes to our menus. It is definitely a mental adjustment. You walk through the stores and are surrounded by processed foods. I wonder how good all of these foods filled with unpronounceable ingredients are for us. I am slowing trying to wean us away from all of this and cook from scratch using more basic staple foods. While this may require a bit more time in the kitchen, it seems to make grocery shopping simpler. I spend more time selecting fewer better-quality ingredients. Then we also suppliment with visits to a local farm stands. Just today, I swung by a farm stand on our way home from dentist appointments to get fresh eggs. They also had some locally-made, no sugar added apple syrup which was reasonably priced so bought to try on pancakes. She also had some red onions which were a bit past their prime, but what do expect in March in Indiana. I couldn't find a price, so I asked her about them. She said she was embarassed to sell them in their condition and gave me a big bag full for free! Ya' gotta love that. I am thinking that we may have to make some french onion soup for dinner. It will be cheap and oh so yummy!

Homemade Eggrolls

We attempted a new culinary experience last night. We made homemade eggrolls. It was fun and pretty easy, so we will probably be attempting it again. What made me decide to do this? I was shopping for some bean sprouts to throw in a salad and right next to them in the produce department was this package of eggroll wrappers for $1.19. I bought them on a whim. Then they sat in my fridge for several days while a contemplated what I was going to do with them and what was I ever thinking when I bought them. There was an eggroll recipe on the back of the package and I decided that I would buy the necessary ingredients next time I was at the store.

Amazingly, the whole process of making these was fairly simple. The hardest part of making the filling was cutting up all of the ingredients really small. I used a Salad Shooter for the cabbage and carrots and some kitchen shears for the chicken.

Here is the recipe:

EGGROLLS
1 lb. lean ground beef, pork chicken OR firm tofu drained and crumbled (I used chicken)
1 tsp. minced ginger
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1/4 lb bean sprouts
1/2 cup shredded carrot
3 green onions
2 TBSP Oyster Sauce
1 pkg eggroll wrappers

FILLING:
Stir-fry meat or tofu and ginger in a wide skillet over high heat until lightly browned. (2-3 minutes)
Add vegetables and cook 2 minutes.
Stir in Oyster sauce.
Let mixture cool.

MAKING THE EGGROLLS:

Use 2 TBSP filling for each roll.
Follow folding instructions.
Deep fry at 350 degrees a few at a time, turning occasionally, until golden, 2-3 minutes.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve warm with mustard and catsup or sweet and sour sauce.

I don't have a deep fryer, but used my big cast iron skillet with about an inch of hot oil. I made some homemade sweet and sour sauce, but I won't share the recipe because I was less than thrilled with it. It tasted too strong of vinegar and didn't thicken up well. I am not sure if I messed it up or if it was the recipes fault. For now, I think I will just blame the recipe. ;-)

Assembing these babies was fun and easy. I got Elizabeth to help me and found that she is a much prettier eggroll maker. (And her egg rolls looked better that mine, too!) I followed the filling recipe rather loosely and made way too much for one package of wrappers, so I guess I will have to buy some more and do it again!

Interestingly enough, there was a recipe for Cannelloni using the eggroll wrappers inside the package. Sounds like another fun recipe to try.

Praise for AllRecipes.com

As I mentioned in my earlier post, it is my daughter's birthday. The tradition in our home is that the birthday child gets a special birthday breakfast in bed. Last night as I was brainstorming what that would be and remembered that I had homemade cinnamon rolls in the freezer that I made around Christmas. I pulled out a pan to thaw and planned to bake them and whip up some icing in the morning. Well, this morning I put the rolls in the oven, opened my cabinet only to find there was NO POWDER SUGAR in the house. It's kinda hard to make icing without it. So, I didn't panic, but instead went to my trusty computer and visited my favorite recipe site: http://www.allrecipes.com/. I did an advanced search for icing specifying that I didn't want powdered sugar as an ingredient. I came up with this delicious Brown Sugar Sauce. (For the record, I left out the brandy. I figured I didn't need to get the kids sloshed first thing in the morning ;-) It was perfect on the rolls.

This is not the first time AllRecipes has helped me like this. I just recently came up with two great granola recipes that contain no nuts. Nutless and peanutbutterless granola recipes are hard to come by but are a neccesity in our house because of my son's allergies. I came up with two keepers that I can use to replace our store-bought bars and cereal. Yay! If you always pick well reviewed recipes, you will almost always have a winner.

In case you are interested, here are the granola recipes:

Playgroup Granola Bars

Cinnamon-Raisin Granola

And here is the recipe I used for the Cinnamon Rolls compliments of the Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Recipe Share

My online friend, Cardee, is hosting a fun blog challenge. Her challenge is to share a simple tried and true dish that you might take to a potluck. Now, I have never taken this to a potluck, but I am on a casserole ministry that takes meals to the families of new moms at our church. If the family has other children I always bring Hot Dog Pie. I know that this may sound unusual, but let me assure you that it is delicious. I have never known anyone, kid or adult, who doesn't like it. This is a recipe that my mom deserves credit for. I think it came from a Pillsbury cookbook she has had since I was a child and she has made this for as long as I can remember.

Hot Dog Pie
1 can Crescent Rolls
8 oz.. Monterrey Jack Cheese
12 oz., Hot Dogs or Sausages
Salt & Pepper
2 Eggs
2 T. Parmesan Cheese

Press rolls into a pie crust, saving a few triangles for on top of pie.
Combine eggs and Parmesan cheese. Add sliced, meat and cubed or shredded cheese and mix. Pour into pie crust and decorate top with lattice using reserved crescent rolls. Flute edges. Bake @ 325 degrees for 70 minutes or until knife inserted 2” from edge comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.

I usually buy an extra can of cresent rolls because it can be more of a challenge with just one can. With 2 cans, you will have extra. Actually, I usually double this and buy 3 cans and it is about perfect. I almost always use the hot dogs, but my mom will use little smoky links and serve it for brunch. You know, just to class it up [grin]. Either way, it is wonderful.

As you can see, I have typed this recipe up on a cute little sheet that you can download and print out. There are two versions. One is the original, but the second one is the "de-fattified" version. (Yes, that's the technical term.) A few years ago, I was in First Place and we had a challenge to take a favorite recipe that wasn't so healthy and improve it. (And lets be honest, this ain't the most health conscious recipe!) This second version uses Healthy Choice hot dogs which is what I usually use anyway because they are yummy, not too expensive, and contain way less fat. It also uses canned (refrigerated) pizza crust in place of the cresent rolls. This cuts out a ton of fat, but I have to say is not near as tasty. Even using reduced fat cresent rolls kinda ruins the recipe for me. Perhaps that is because I grew up eating the full fat version and it is just plain yummy. I have even tried filo dough in an effort to cut the fat, but was unhappy with the results. So substitute at your own risk. Now, my mother hates dinking around with the cresent rolls for this. She doesn't like piecing them together to make a crust. So, when she made this for all of us at Christmas, she substituted regular pie crust. Now, I harrassed her that it just wouldn't be the same, (and it wasn't), but...it was still really good. I don't know that there is any less fat in a pie crust (she used the Pillsbury ones that you unfold and lay in your pie pan), but it is just a bit easier.

You can download a full-sized (8 1/2"x11") printable version of this here.

Be sure to check out Carla's blog for more recipe shares.