"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the childrenof one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"
I've been searching the web for new fall recipes to try for our November meal plan. I wanted to add a lot of soups to help keep our budget low this month and easy. Here is a great little tutorial for a Corn Chowder that looks super yummy! I'm making it for dinner tonight and making just a couple changes. Since our family does not like a lot of spice in our food, I am eliminating the jalapeno pepper. Also, because we are dairy free, I am replacing the cows milk with coconut milk. Should be yummy!
When the month of October hit, so did my cravings for apples! I tried making an apple pie, apple oatmeal muffins, and this apple crisp. The crisp quickly won itself a spot in my "holiday baking favorites" list. (It's not an official list, just kept in my mind! haha... I should write it down!)
I found the recipe online and of course tweaked it just a hair to meet our dietary / allergy needs. You can find the original recipe at GlutenFreeMommy.
Apple Layer
7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I prefer to do half granny smith and half with a sweeter apple, like gala.)
A little bit of lemon juice for apples
Streusel Topping
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Directions
In a 9x13 baking dish, layer the sliced apples and toss with lemon juice. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and oats. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add in almonds and mix well. Spread this mixture on top of the apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.
*** I've also just recently tried this recipe replacing peaches for the apples. It was great and a hit with our guests! Omit the lemon juice and place four 14.5 oz. cans of drained peaches in bottom of pan and spread streusel topping over them. I also omitted about half of the cinnamon in the mixture as well. Enjoy!
The other day I had a partial can of pumpkin puree sitting in my fridge that I needed to use up so I looked online for a festive pumpkin muffin recipe that I could try. I came across this recipe on Food.com and was not disappointed! It came out yummy and moist!
2 1/2 cups Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 tsp. salt
1 cup oil (can mix half butter / half oil)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown sugar or sucanat
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup milk (I used Almond Milk)
2 Tbps. Pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs
Topping:
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans and almonds)
1/2 cup brown sugar or sucanat
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix together wet ingredients in separate bowl, then combine both bowls. Mix until smooth. Line 12 muffin tins with papers.* Pour batter into muffin tins. Sprinkle topping on muffins; pat down into batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
*This recipe makes a bunch of batter. I actually had enough left over after the 12 muffins to make two small loaves!
While doing a little more research on meal planning during the wee hours this morning.. thanks to being pregnant... I came across a few more helpful links that I wanted to add to yesterday's post.
Stephanie over at KeeperoftheHome has totally inspired me! Here are some posts she has done:
I spent many hours today pulling together our "21 Meals," a month's worth of menus, and I'm almost completed with our grocery lists for the month. I have one list for meat that I will buy at the beginning of the month (and also grains), and then four weekly grocery lists that will be for the veggies and fruit corresponding to that week's menu. I am so excited to see how the month of August works for us. As I mentioned yesterday, we are paid at the beginning of every month, so I believe this system will work beautifully for us!
I have kept my menu planning simple since I'm pregnant and our life is about to get busy as the school semester starts back up. (My husband is in seminary and I am actually hoping to take a class as well this fall.) In order to cut costs, I have one night a week set aside as breakfast foods (eggs, pancakes, etc...), one night a week as soups (mainly vegetarian), and one night as "fun foods" like homemade pizza, spaghetti, burgers, etc... This will allow us to have healthy homemade "comfort foods" as well as keep the budget smaller.
My husband offered to laminate my monthly meal plan for our fridge. It will be perfect because I can use a dry erase marker on it if I need to make any changes or keep track of where I am. Yay!
So, let me be honest... I've struggled more with food and food prep since being pregnant than ever before in my life! As of January (right before we got pregnant), our family changed to receiving paychecks once a month verses every two weeks. These two things coupled together, have proven to increase my struggle and fight to fix real food on a cheap budget for my family. Also, with the increased need for me to eat more consistently due to being pregnant (high in protein) and both my husband's desire and mine to have healthy, yet yummy snacks around the house to munch on, I've been at a loss as to how to meet these needs and desires.
However, with the realization that in about 4 months my whole world will be changing for the rest of my life, with the addition of our first baby, I realize I've got to get my act together and figure out how to plan out a months worth of food and menus... on a slim budget. It can certainly be done... but it's been so incredibly hard for me to wrap my head around!!! To the point that for the last few months, I've partially given up even trying. Sad to say! Yet, when I look at other young moms, they seem to be able to pull this off... including making necessary changes for their family's allergies and dietary restraints. What does it take??? A lot of planning, dedication, and willingness to be patient as you work it out for your own family.
So... this post is not about how I'm going to do it... but rather some resources that I've found while seeking how to plan out a month food budget (plus a few fun resources I found while searching). Hope this is helpful to the rest of you. Enjoy!
A look at Some Basics:
Passionate Homemaking - Grocery Budget - This is very helpful because she breaks everything down to what she buys from each store and food co-op each month. I'm still trying to figure that out as we are members of a food buying club as well.
Week of Meal Ideas (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) - from Keeper of the Home's Real Food Makeovers. Here is another family Makeover with helpful ideas, especially when trying to get your hubby to eat more real foods and less processed foods.
I'm sure I've seen this before, but I just came back across Passionate Homemaking's Natural Living 101 Resource List on various things like: soaking/sprouting grains, soaking methods for the dairy intolerant, guide to natural sweeteners, coconut oil benefits, soy, natural skin care products, plus many, many more links.
I've always been scared to trying soaking (except for the soaked/baked oatmeal that I make) because of my dairy/wheat intolerances. How do you soak a store bought mix of gluten free baking flour?
Soaked Spelt/Rye Sourdough Bread - While this sourdough recipe is not gluten free, it is wheat free. Interestingly enough, I've been able to eat spelt flour crackers before, so I'm hoping to try making spelt sourdough bread, in hopes that my body will accept it. How wonderful would that be to find a cheaper bread to make at home that both Kyle and I can eat!
Recipe for canning pickles... something I eventually want to try!
Info on Why Not to Eat Soy products! (Something us diary intolerant people find hard to do when so many dairy free foods in stores are full of soy! Another reason to make things from scratch!)
Monday Missions Checklist - ok, this is the first time I've seen this list (you may already be familiar with it) but I literally thought "WOW" as I read through her links included on this post. If you're looking for how/where to start with sustainable living/eating healthfully, definitely check out her links here.
Well... this should keep me busy for a while! I've got a lot of planning to do... hopefully it won't be too long before I'm able to post about it.
Here is a great new recipe I tried last night for "almondaise." It is from the Body Ecology Diet book, page 252. I was a little hesitant about how it would turn out before I made it, but as soon as it was done, I was hooked!! (Including, licking spoons, fingers, etc...) Even Kyle liked it and thought it tasted like "real" mayonnaise! They say in the book that it makes for a great veggie dip as well and I agree!
So here it is:
Ingredients: (yields 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 to 3/4 cup water (I probably ended up using about 1 cup for the consistency I wanted)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup organic, unrefined oil (flax or pumpkin seed)
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. raw, organic apple cider vinegar
1. Cover almonds with boiling water, allow to cool slightly. Slip off skins and have all other ingredients ready.
2. Place almonds in blender or food processor and grind to a fine powder. Add half the water along with garlic powder and seasonings. Blend well, then add the remaining water to form a smooth cream.
3. With blender running low, remove insert top and drizzle in the oil in a thin stream until mixture is thick.
4. Keep blender running and add lemon juice and vinegar. Blend on low 1 minute longer to allow mixture to thicken to desired consistency.
5. Scrape into a jar with a screw top and refrigerate. This will keep 10 days - 2 weeks.
I made my first batch of cultured veggies, coconut kefir, and coconut "cheese" last night. It took me about 3 hours to complete, not including the dishes!
I used the Marinara-Style Cultured Veggie recipe. I also consulted glued myself to this article with step-by-step instructions and pictures. My jars turned out beautifully, just like the recipe. It's really not that hard, just a little time consuming! Now they just have to sit for 4-7 days to finish culturing.
Next came the Coconut kefir. I enlisted the help of my strong husband to crack these things!
First he bored three holes into the tops of the young coconuts for us to drain the coconut water out of. Each coconut contains about 1 1/2 cups of sweet water. It's really quite yummy. After collecting the water, I heated it slightly, then added the Body Ecology Kefir Starter. In about 4 days we will have a great tasting Coconut Kefir to drink. It is highly nutritional for our bodies, especially for those of us who have a dairy allergy and cannot drink kefir made from cow's milk.
Lastly, this was the exciting part... cracking the coconuts open to get the meat out. Thankfully, Kyle is a very patient man and proceeded to spend a while cracking open the coconuts with a screwdriver and hammer.
Here he is... patiently pounding away...
Here is the inside... look at all that yummy coconut. I scooped this out, rinsed it, and threw it in the blender with some filtered water and made a pudding / yogurt / cheese mixture (whatever you want to call it!). I then added another culture packet and allowed it to culture overnight, rewarding us this morning with a nice little coconut yogurt. The culture eats the sugar out of the mixture so those of us with Candida do not have to worry about feeding our yeast infection. Yay!
***Note: Today is day 7 and I opened my veggies and they are great! Definitely a very strong onion and garlic taste, but mixed with a salad or other veggies they will make for a great, healthy addition to our meals. My Coconut Kefir however, did not turn out so good when I opened it on day 4. I think I let it sit out too long and it turned almost into a coconut vinegar. SO... next time, I'm doing only 2 days!***
I've been struggling the last few weeks with dinner preparations after we get home from work. If we're trying to get out of the house, it's hard to wait for an hour to an hour and a half on dinner preparations! So, I've made up my mind to try some new crockpot recipes. My goal is to make Tuesday and Thursday nights our crockpot nights. We'll see how it goes!
So today I've been searching for some good, nutritional, gluten/diary free recipes. I have come across several that I want to try as well as one website that looks very beneficial. Check it out!
Today I threw in the crockpot some steak that I had in the freezer, along with potatoes, carrots, and onions. I have my crockpot cooking up at work and my plan is just to transport the crockpot with our dinner in it up to school tonight to meet Kyle to study. We'll see how it fares!
Last Saturday we helped some friends move into their new apartment here in Louisville. They have just moved up to come to Southern Seminary. We are very excited to have them here with us!
For breakfast that morning I made a new breakfast casserole to take over. I took a recipe from my new Taste of Home cookbook and tweaked it to meet our diary free needs. Click here for the original recipe. For those of you who know me well, you know that I normally will not eat pork. However, this recipe called for real bacon so I decided to bend and buy some... but only nitrate-free, non-hormone pumped bacon from Whole Foods. I bought 4 slices. Yet, when I cooked them, since I don't really know how to cook it, I burned it... :-( So I had to come up with a quick second option... I had some chicken breakfast sausage in the fridge and used that instead... but the bacon grease was still good so I was able to use that to cook it in.
My Version:
Friendly Brunch Casserole
1/2 lbs. Bacon or Sausage 1 medium chopped Onion 1 medium chopped Bell pepper 12 eggs 1 cup Rice Milk 1 package (16oz. ) Frozen shredded hash browns, thawed 1 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. Pepper
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, or sausage until browned. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion and bell pepper in drippings until tender; remove.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Stir in hash browns, salt, pepper, onion and bell peppers, and reserved bacon or sausage.
Transfer to a greased 13x9 in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 8 servings.
To start this year off, I decided to make my all-time favorite muffin recipe. It's so simple, yet so delicious! I substitute the flour for Pamela's gluten free baking mix, the sugar and oil for healthier options, and omit the wheat germ.
1 1/2 cup unbleached flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. toasted wheat germ 2 carrots, peeled and grated 1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1 cup raisins (craisins) 2 large eggs 1/4 cup oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly oil or spray 18 muffin tins. (I make 12 large muffins) In large bowl stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nuts, wheat germ and raisins. In another bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Combine with dry ingredients. Pour into muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes. These freeze well and can be made as small loaves instead of muffins.
Meals this week have been simple and we tried a new recipe that we've loved and made TWICE! The Mexican Style Salmon Patties that I mentioned we were going to try were a total hit! Except, ours didn't stay as patties and became just a salmon heap. Either way, they were delicious! One recipe lasted us two-three meals... and then another half batch from last night lasted us for dinner and my lunch today.
Here is Kyle's plate from last night... salmon, broiled squash, and leftover cornbread. All three of these turned into one big heap on his plate and was delicious! (And cheap!)
Something else that has been a hit for me is a recipe for oatmeal porridge that my friend Cassandra gave me. I'm not sure where the recipe originated, but my guess is Nourishing Traditions.
Oatmeal Porridge
1 c. grains (oats) ( I use gluten free oats) 1 c. warm water + 2 tbps. whey, yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk
1/2 tsp. sea salt (I don't use salt) 1 c. water 1 tbps. flax seeds (ground)
Soak oats and one cup water, plus two tablespoons of whey overnight or 24 hours. In morning, boil water and add soaked oats. Bring to simmer and add flax seeds.
Now, here's what I add to the oatmeal that makes it simply AMAZING! While the water is boiling, before adding oats, I add one peeled and diced apple, one handful of raisins, and a few dashes of cinnamon. Allow them to boil for a minute or two, softening the apples, then I add in my oatmeal, flax seeds, and a handful of chopped walnuts. Cook until consistency desired, then serve with added honey (and butter if you like; that's how I make Kyle's... with a little added maple syrup on his).
This is by far one of my favorite breakfasts right now and it's so simple and cheap! Woo hoo!
Also, I haven't been able to use a lot of the yogurt that I made a couple weeks ago due to my dairy allergy, however, I've been saving it to extract the whey from the top to soak my grains in. Well, last night I decided to go ahead and separate the yogurt from the whey (which makes cream cheese) and then I could more easily access my whey.
My yogurt is in the cloth and that is the whey that dripped out overnight. Inside the cloth is now a thickened "cream cheese," which sadly, I cannot eat. :-(
On Saturday night I prepared Soaked and Baked Oatmeal for us to eat on Sunday morning. A friend had given me the recipe for it and she found it on Keeper of the Home's Blog.
I have to admit, Kyle and I LOVED it! It was super simple, and Sunday morning I only had to add a couple more things then throw it in the oven to cook while getting ready for church. I only made a half batch but we ate it for breakfast... and then snacked on it after church, plus had the remaining for dinner. (I know this was not very wise of us to eat so much in one day... but it was just that good!)
Soaked & Baked Oatmeal
12-24 hours before baking, combine:
1 cup oil (or coconut oil, or 1/2 coconut oil & 1/2 butter) I used coconut oil and butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup raw honey
6 cups rolled oats (I used gluten free oats)
1 cup milk
1 cup yogurt
Cover with towel and leave out on counter. (Yes! On the counter!)
The next day add to oiled 9x13 baking dish:
4 eggs, beaten
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (we want to add more next time)
Bake @ 375 for 30-40 minutes; until lightly brown. Serve w/cream. (We ate ours without cream and it was still fantastic!)
So I went into work this morning and my boss told me she didn't need me today because one of our doctors was out of the office. I left wondering what I should do with my day. It didn't take long before I decided to turn my day off into a baking day. I've been reading about other wives who devote a morning or evening to baking. I've been wanting to do this, so I can have muffins and breads stored in my freezer, but it's hard to do when I work a lot.
For several reasons, Kyle and I have decided to add animal products back into our daily eating routine, but in small amounts and only grass fed, free range, non-hormone pumped animals and dairy. Since the cost of this type of meat/dairy is higher, that will also limit how much we eat.
Because we are on the go so much of the time, sometimes it's hard to get enough food into us with just eating fruits and veggies. Because of this, I have been quite concerned that we are getting enough nutrition. I still do not know fully what I think about meat eating vs. vegetarian, but since I've been off of meat (and Kyle mostly) for about 2 1/2 months, we are going to try adding a little back in to see how that effects our systems. We will also be paying attention to energy levels, etc... I know that the two times I have eaten meat I feel heavy and loaded down. Not what I normally feel after eating yummy vegetables!
We are really seeking to find a good balance in nutrition and health. I have been reading A LOT about different styles of "healthy eating" and the one thing I find in common, whether it be vegan, vegetarian, or meat-eating, is to eliminate ALL processed foods from our bodies. That means: no white or brown sugar, no white flour, no caffeine, no boxed meals/cereals, etc... Many people take it down to not even eating any canned food. There are so many toxins and harmful additives (i.e. MSG) that are added to our foods without us even knowing about it. Or worse, we do know about it but continue to still eat it.
So, in trying to sift through what we feel called to eat and cook, Kyle and I have decided to rid our kitchen and baking routines from as many processed items as possible. Over the last three months I have been changing over the products in our kitchen to more healthy, holistic foods. I no longer cook with regular sugar but use Sucanat (evaporated cane juice), honey, and molasses. I've even begun to use coconut flour (which is gluten free and grain free) for some of my baking. We eat simple, whole food meals. We are also still seeking to incorporate a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, beginning the day with a fruit smoothie and having salads for lunches.
Today I bought one cage-free, vegetarian fed, non-hormone pumped chicken to boil down and use in several meals. Much of the reading I've been doing talks about the nutrition found in bone broths so, like any good ol' country gal, I saved my chicken stock in glass canning jars to store in the freezer and pull out for soups this fall. (I have great memories with my Mom of us boiling down a whole chicken together. Mom would teach me how to skin it, take out the insides, and then cook it. Thanks Mom for all the great cooking memories we've shared over the years. I kept thinking about you today as I cooked!)
Here's our yummy dinner. I substituted yellow corn tortillas for the whole wheat tortillas. We both gave it a 10 on the food rating scale! Yum yum!
*** I wrote this post last night but then I lost power to my computer so I didn't post it until today. I have an update about how I was affected by eating this way last night. Basically, I felt bad all morning! I felt so full (from trying several muffins + eating the new food [i.e. chicken and cheese] and my lips broke out again! We knew that I was allergic to wheat and oats, but we were wondering, before starting our diet, if I was also allergic to dairy. Sure enough, after eating cheese last night my lips broke out. The odd thing is that I usually don't break out with other forms of dairy... so I guess we'll have to start experimenting to see what all I'm really allergic to. For now, I've cut the cheese back out of our diets.) The next time I make this dinner it'll probably be without the chicken and cheese. But it'll still be super yummy! --Saturday night--
My Mom was asking me for my chili recipe so I decided to post it up here. I've kind of written it out before, but I keep making changes. :-) Here it is:
Michelle's Chili
1 can of Fireroasted Tomatoes* (with medium green chilies) 1 can Kidney beans 1 can White Northern beans 1 can Black beans 1 can Corn 1 chopped Bell pepper 1 chopped medium Onion 4-5 garlic cloves 4 Tomatoes (2 diced, 2 pureed) or one large can diced tomatoes and one small can puree** Cumin Chili Powder Sea Salt Water (if desired)
Saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic in pot. Add tomatoes and puree. Drain and rinse beans and corn; add to pot, then add seasonings. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4-6 servings
*Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes **Add as many tomatoes as you are in the mood for. I tend to add extra to help stretch it.
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used Pamela's Gluten Free Mix) 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) fat-free plain yogurt* 1 egg* 1/4 cup canola oil (I used EVOO) 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup chopped pecans
In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg, oil and honey. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and pecans. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray; fill three-fourths full with batter.
Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.
*I decided to go ahead and use real yogurt and eggs from grass-fed, non-hormone pumped chickens. I'm considering adding a few dairy products back into our diets... we'll see.
Tonight I was totally craving a salad for dinner... so, I ran to Kroger to by stuff to make a Greek salad for our dinner to go with leftover chicken spaghetti. I had never made Greek Salad for Kyle before but it was a hit. I must admit, it looked really pretty... thank you Rachael Ray! :-)
Here are a couple of pics...
Here's our Greek Salad. I was so proud of how pretty it looked that I had to show it to Kyle before dishing it up!
Here's Kyle's plate... a wonderful mixing of Italian and Greek food... yum!!! :-)
Want the recipes?
Here they are:
Greek Dinner Salad (Rachael Ray)
2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup EVOO Juice of 1 large lemon A pinch of allspice Salt and pepper 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped 2 plum tomatoes, diced 1/2 medium red onion, sliced very thin 1/2 seedless cucumber, sliced thin A handful of Pepperoncini hot peppers, chopped A palmful (2 tbps. or so) chopped fresh oregano 1/4 pound feta or flavored feta cheese, crumbled A handful pitted black olives
In an ovensafe bowl, cover the garlic with oil. Heat in warm oven or in microwave on high for 30 seconds until the garlic speaks. You are infusing the garlic flavor into the oil by adding heat. Whisk in the lemon juice and allspice, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
Combine the veggies into a bowl. Toss with dressing. Serves 2 for dinner, up to 6 as a side or first course.
This is by far one of my favorite salad dishes!!! It goes great with Greek wraps too! Also, I don't know that I have ever followed this recipe to the "t"... it's very flexible with what you have on hand.
Chicken Spaghetti (from a friend)
Whole cooked chicken, de-boned Box of spaghetti noodles (I use Gluten Free), cooked One small box of velveta cheese One onion Half bell pepper Evoo 1 can Mild Rotel w/ green chilies
Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until onion is translucent in saute pan. Add chicken and rotel. Place hot pasta in 9x13 pan, cover with chicken mixture. Cut up velveta on top of chicken and pasta and place in oven at 350 until all melted together. Stir and serve!
This is not the healthiest of dishes... but it sure is good comfort food! Yum!!!
I had a great time tonight with everyone at our Progressive Dinner. What fun! For those of ya'll who weren't there, we started off the night with everyone meeting at the church and loading up in the buss. Then, everyone drove over to the Joslin's house for soups as our appetizer. Next, we went to the Cook's home for the main course of tacos and mexican casserole. Yummy!!! Then finally, we went to Rose's home for dessert of homemade coconut and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and mexican cinnamon cheesecake. Ohhh... what a night! Bring on the calories!!! Yum-o! Every single one was worth it!!! :-)
Several people were asking for the recipes from the desserts so I thought I'd post them. Enjoy!
Line 9x13 pan with one can of rolls. Mix together cream cheese, one cup of sugar, and vanilla. Spread over layer of rolls. Line second can of rolls on top of cream cheese mixture. Melt butter and pour over top. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle on top layer.
Bake at 350 until golden brown (20-30 minutes).
Hot Fudge Sauce (Food Network)
1 cup of sugar 3 cups of cream 1/4 cup light corn syrup 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1/4 cup butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Put everything except the vanilla in a pot and bring it to a boil. Continue cooking until it looks like it's broken and separating (usually about 20+ minutes). WARNING: do not over cook! Take it off the heat, whisk in the vanilla; then blend it with a hand blender to smooth it out. Chill until ready to serve; then heat it up. Pour over scoops of ice cream, topped with whipped cream and chopped peanuts.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (by Tracy Vaughn)
1 gallon whole milk 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 can evaporated milk 2 cups sugar Splash of vanilla (approx. 1 tbs.)
At work last week, my boss' wife / office manager, Ann, brought in YUMMY snickerdoodle cookies for all of us. They were amazing! So thick and chewy... so, I asked Ann for the recipe and she sweetly printed it up for me. I thought I would share it on here so that ya'll can enjoy it too.
Almond Snickerdoodles
3 cups flour 2 tsp. cream of tartar 1 tsp. baking soda 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp. almond extract
Topping: 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon Mix in bowl
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a small bowl sift flour, cream of tartar and baking soda together. Set aside. Cream butter, add sugar, extract and beat. Add eggs, one at a time beating after each one. Fold in dry ingredients and mix well. Chill.
Fill ice cream scoop (2" across and 1 1/2 " deep) with dough and roll in the topping mixture. Do not flatten! Place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake 400F for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.
Ok ya'll, I've been wanting to post this recipe for a while and haven't gotten to it. But, since I'm home today from work because I'm sick, I thought I'd get caught up on some stuff. So... here is my all-time favorite muffin recipe. I've made it so many times... it's SO yummy! You'll be hooked! :-) I don't know who created the recipe... but hats off to whomever did!
Morning Glory Muffins
1 1/2 c. unbleached flour 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tbls. toasted wheat germ (optional, I don't use this) 2 carrots, peeled and grated 1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1 cup raisins (I use craisins... yum!!!) 2 large eggs 1/4 c. vegetable or canola oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 375o. Lightly oil or spray 12 muffin tins. In large bowl stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nuts, wheat germ and craisins. In another bowl stir together remaining ingredients. Combine with dry ingredients. Pour into muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes. These freeze great and can be made into small loaves instead of muffins.
They are heavy muffins and are great to grab out of the freezer for a quick breakfast when you're running out the door to school or work. I even like 'em cold.
Born and raised in Texas... but moved to Kentucky where I met and married my best friend. We were then blessed with two precious little daughters, ages 3 and 19 months. I love the Lord and I am so thankful that He has given me the blessing of serving my husband and daughters in our home!
