My Emergency Breakfast recipe

You know those mornings when you just can't hardly pull yourself out of bed, much less dress many little people, help make their beds, comb tangled hair...??? Oh and then there is breakfast.  I nearly forgot.  Now I am thinking  frantically, "what do I have that I can quickly put on some plates?" And what will fill them up?  Because almost worse than waking up, for me, is having a houseful of children who suddenly blood sugar crash from a weak breakfast.

My go to breakfast on these days is granola and yogurt. They all like it.  And I like it, for that matter.

But really who likes buying eight to ten boxes of granola a month?  I know I don't.  Seriously, it can be nearly depressing to go through a box of cereal in one morning!  So I decided to do something about this.

I had some criteria for my recipe.  No sugar added!  It had to be crunchy.  I wanted it loaded with healthy stuff(otherwise I don't see a whole lot of point to the effort).  And it had to be made in huge batches so it could be done every other week at most. 

After some work I have a keeper.  And the recipe's finalization coincided with the discovery of a natural food coop through some people at our church.  Thus, I now buy almost all of the ingredients at wholesale prices and freeze them in tubs.  I would highly suggest bulk buying if you attempt much granola making!

Without further ado....

Mix in a giant bowl:
4 1/2 C Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned)
2 1/2 C Steel Cut Oats (AKA Oat Groats: they are much better for you than rolled oats)
1 C shredded Coconut
1/2 C sesame seeds
1 C Raw Wheat Germ
3/4 C sliced almonds
1/4 C poppy seeds
3/4 C sunflower kernels
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tbs Cinnamon

In a four cup measuring cup whisk together:
1 C Honey (raw is best)
1/2 C Oil (I use peanut)
1/2 C real maple syrup
1 Tbs real vanilla extract

Pour the liquid into the mixed dry goods and stir very well with a wooden spoon.  Spread onto a large pan (I use the large stoneware bar pan from Pampered Chef) a thin layer of not more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.  This recipe makes three to four bar pan batches.

Bake at 300 for 35 minutes.  Note: if you do not use stoneware I might reduce the cooking time. 
Granola tends to not look done when it is actually finished.  It will burn fast and NOT taste very good.

Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan.  While cooling sprinkle with raisins, dates, craisins, or whatever fruit you desire.  Cut it into squares and let drop into a plastic container.  This gives the granola a nice texture with some crumbs and some chunks.

Happy crunching.

Saving on the Grocery Budget

I know I teased this on a previous post and have been intending to get to it....

Everyone wants to save at the grocery store.  We are no different.  Our children are growing and so are their appetites.  However, the paycheck has not really heard of this development.  So we adjust.

If you like to coupon and live where there is a Kroger or Roundy's store, try following my friend Jessica's blog: Mom For Him.  I don't spend much time on coupons, but she does have great updates on freebies and sometimes the coupons do save me some good cash.  Besides, I like her.

Back to the topic. Out of the blue one day (thanks, God) in January I had a thought.  "What if I could buy something we could eat off of for a whole week???"  Well, I worked through that over time and we tried a few things.

The general gist of what we do, at least once a month, is to buy a large bird or cut of beef (if on sale) and cook it and use the meat for 4-7 more meals.  This method is not easy for me.  I like variety in life.  So, I have to be creative (also not one of my great strengths).  However, it saves some money and does make dinner fairly simple for most of the week.

Here is a sample plan:
On the Thursday or Friday of the previous week buy a turkey (approximately 15 lbs) and thaw in the frig.

Roast in oven on Sunday or Monday.  Enjoy a "Thanksgiving Meal" that evening.  Simply mashed potatoes, veggies, and any canned cranberry sauce will do (I can about 40 jars a year...Ryan is an addict...and I do love my Grandma's recipe.) That same night pull all of the turkey meat of of the bones and put it in large storage container in frig.  Take ALL remaining parts of turkey and put them in a stock pot.  Now make your own turkey broth by halving this recipe.  Leave it on the stove until later the next day.

For the next three days we will enjoy some of these recipes:
Enchilada Casserole (simply grind up some of the turkey meat with a food processor or similar tool) My kids love this dinner!
Turkey Sandwiches and fresh veggies (dress these up with some cranberry sauce and homemade buns)
Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (see recipe below)
Turkey Tetrazinni (scroll to the very bottom and open PDF for recipe: it is delicious!)

On that third day take any remaining meat and portion it into freezer bags labeled for additional meals to be eaten sometime over the next few weeks.

We have done this idea with chicken and cooked up two whole chickens one evening and repeated all of the above.  Chicken doesn't necessarily go as far, but is much more versatile in cooking and the recipes with it are nearly endless. 

So that is how we have been saving some grocery money. Now for the promised recipe: 

I made this soup recipe up one day and it turned out really yummy.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup Serves 6-8
3 C Shredded Turkey (or Chicken)
1 1/2  C Wild Rice
4 C Chicken or Turkey Broth
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (as much as I don't like to use this, it did add a slight richness and is quite spread out over a large amount of soup)
3 sliced carrots
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 onion, chopped finely
5 C Water
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes (I learned from a beautiful soupmaker once how much depth and beauty beef broth adds to a soup; I just haven't tried to make my own yet)
Spice with generous amounts of oregano, thyme, parsley, and salt.

Cook in slow cooker for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 on low. It may seem like a lot of liquid, but because of the rice the soup ends up somewhere between a cream and broth based soup thickness. 

What's Cooking?

I received an email recently asking about what was happening in our kitchen since these posts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 

I have not been trying many new recipes in an effort to simplify our evenings and in hopes of trimming the grocery budget.  We have found a way of saving some money, but it lacks variety.  No we are not eating rice and beans everyday.  And no, I am not going to post about it all here, today.  I need to gather recipes and don't have the time right now.  You will just have to come back again soon...

However, there are two new recipes which have become VERY popular in our house which I will write about today.

One is Turkey Sausage and Black Bean Soup. 

Yes, I do know it is nearly April. 

But seeing as how we are still up to our knees in snow and the heater is crying out for a break (as is the checkbook) you are getting a soup recipe.  Those of you who experience seasons other than winter can log this one away for November.

This soup is yummy, simple and versatile.  We double the recipe for our family.  I have used at least three different kinds of link sausage in it and they are all good (no, I did not use any breakfast sausage)!  I have also tried a few different kinds of salsa and as long as they aren't HOT, the soup is great for the whole family.  We really enjoy topping this soup with cilantro, cheese, and avocado.  Click on over to Kingdom First Mom to see the recipe.  It is excellent.

The other is Super Chocolaty Cake.  I am warning you!  Don't check this out if you struggle with chocolate addiction!  Let me say it again: Warning!

This 'cake' is unlike anything else I have ever made in under ten minutes.  There are very few ingredients, it is super easy, and absolutely delicious! 

I will make this on evenings when Ryan and I are going to watch a movie and enjoy a 'date night' at home.  I make the cake and put it in the oven while he begins the kid's bedtime routine.  Then I join them upstairs, help put the kids in bed, and we have a special dessert ready a few minutes later. If you want to add this one to your recipes check out Joely Thinks.  Joely is the daughter of Joy from Five J's, a homeschool mom with a very helpful blog.

Happy Cooking!
I am off to make Peppy Pizza Pasta....from Urban Homemaker, open the PDF at the bottom for the recipe.

Oatmeal Bread

I am one who does not like to cook the same thing more than twice a month.  We have moved so many times I nearly need my toes to keep track of how many.  However, our family has been eating the same sandwich bread for a couple of years now.  I suppose one could say we really like it...It seems very popular with guests as well so I thought I would share the recipe. I make this bread once a week and simply store the extra loaf in the freezer so it is fresh when we need it. I also make a yummy Cinnamon Raisin variation of this bread a couple of times a month (see the end of the recpe for how). 

Oatmeal starter:
1 1/2 C Oats (I use quick oats)
3/4 C Whole Wheat Flour (I like using stone ground fine)
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1Tbs Salt
3 Tbs Butter
3 1/2 C Boiling water

Additional Ingredients:
1/2 C Ground Flax Meal
1 C Warm Water
3 tsp Yeast
4 C Whole Wheat Flour
3-4 C All Purpose Flour

Stir all dry oatmeal ingredients together in mixing bowl.  Add butter and boiling water, stir till combined.  Leave for at least 30 minutes. 

In measuring cup with the 1 C Warm water, dissolve yeast.  Add to oatmeal mixture.  Add in flax meal and stir with dough hook.  Add in Whole wheat flour and knead until well combined. 

Add in white flour 1/2 C at a time until the dough does not stick to the bowl but it is still moist and not too stiff. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise for one hour. 

Divide dough in two, roll each half of the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 10''x20'' rectangle (approximately).  Tuck in one inch on each long side and then roll the whole rectangle up from short side to short side so you have a 8-9'' long loaf. 

Place in greased bread pans.  Cover and let rise 45-60 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Tip bread out of pans immediately and cool completely.

For a variation I also use this recipe to make Cinnamon Raisin Bread which is very popular for breakfast around here.  I simply up the brown sugar to 3/4 C, substitute one C of the whole wheat with white flour and mix in two or three C of raisins before I add the white flour.  Then when I roll out the dough I spread butter on the rectangle, and sprinkle with white sugar and cinnamon.  Bake an additional ten minutes and you have breakfast bread!

Happy Bread Making!
Check out the 4 Moms Bake Bread for more bread recipes and tips.

Thanksgiving Favorite

Around our home cranberries are a huge favorite.  Ryan enjoys homemade cranberry sauce all year long.  Thus, when cranberries go on sale this time of year our kitchen is full of the little red berries.  The additional ingredient in our cranberry sauce recipe is from my grandma and the optional flavoring is my touch.

For each 12 oz bag of cranberries:
Boil 1 C water mixed with 1 C sugar
Once boiling, add washed berries (I go through them to throw out any bad ones)
Stir over medium high heat until most berries are popped.
Add 1 1/2 Tbs Tapioca and stir for a few more minutes on the stove.  Optional: Add some grated orange peel (About 1/2 tsp per recipe)

Now can or seal in container and refrigerate for 12 or more hours before serving.  I usually cook between 4-6 bags at a time because it fits well in a large pot.  Four bags will yield about 3 quart jars.

Enjoy!  The girls even enjoyed eating them raw...this astounded me.  Have you ever tried one raw?  They are TART.

Kitchen Happenings, Part 3

For the final installment of this series I will focus on the most recent big success in our kitchen.  As the weather is becoming colder (we actually had a full day of flurries last Friday!) soup is being added to the menu planner.  This calls for a lot of broth to be available.  For some reason, I have never made my own...it just sounded too complicated.  It turns out it is not! We were able to make a very large batch of our own chicken stock without much cost or time. 

I generally followed the recipe in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Falon.  First, start with a HUGE pot.  You could halve this recipe and use a more normal sized pot, but I wanted a large yield (this made 8 quarts for us, see below for more info).  I used my pot for boiling canned jars.

Start by filling your pot with 9 quarts water and 1/4 C vinegar.  Now, take your two whole chickens (roaster or fryer) and cut off the breasts and store in frig or freezer (depending on when you plan to use them).  No where are you going to find boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the price per pound of a whole chicken and you don't need that meat to make your stock. Now cut the chicken up into a few pieces.  You don't need to be a fancy butcher here. 

Time for the veggies.  Add to pot: 2 coarsely chopped yellow onions, 4-5 carrots cut in thirds, and 6-7 celery ribs, cut in thirds.

Bring it to a boil.  Simmer 18-24 hours.  Ten minutes before finishing add 1-2 bunches of flat leaf parsley.  Remove from heat and strain into containers.  I used canning jars which I later covered in plastic wrap and banded. Cool and skim off fat.  Freeze or refrigerate if you intend to use it soon.

A few notes:
1) I thought I was supposed to cover it while simmering.  I am fairly certain I was wrong!  If I had simmered it uncovered it probably would be a bit tastier, but I would have a smaller yield.
2) Save the shredded meat when you strain it for meals like enchiladas, salads, casseroles, etc.  I saved the carrots to mash up into baby food.
3) I cooked my stock for nearly 24 hours.  I will probably aim for 18 next time as it was very difficult saving the meat because the bones were wanting to crumble everywhere.  Hopefully with a little less cooking time the bones will stay a bit sturdier and I can save more meat. 

We will definitely be doing this again. It made a lot of meals for us and cost under $15 even with us buying all natural, hormone free, veggie fed chickens...I figured if I was going to go this route I would do it wholesomely.

Happy soup making!

Kitchen Happenings, Part 2

By: Heather
Well, this weekend was full.  In part, to some new adventures in an effort to cook more whole and natural foods.  We had one large success and one sad catastrophe.  Today I will let you in on the bad news.

Thursday evening I began a homemade starter for bread.  The convenient active yeast we have all come so accustomed to using is really not that great for us after all....go figure, a new food invention is not all that healthy of an idea.  Thus, using primarily the information on Sourdough Home I attempted to make my own whole grain starter.  The name implies sourdough, but that is only because this form of starter is most commonly used, these days, in sourdough bread.  It can be used in many healthy homemade breads. 

I fed my starter, as instructed, every 12 hours until this morning.  I was reaching the fourth day and was very pleased with the activity I was seeing in my 'science experiment' (as we called it).  For those who are more unfamiliar with this method, you are simply growing your own active and live bacteria with flour and water which after a week should be able to rise your bread.  This may sound odd, but it is the way it was done for a loooong time, before active yeast packets came into existence.  Back to the growing project: I kept it in the oven, with the light on, overnight as the temp in our house is a little low at night for optimal growth.  Can you see where this is going????

Yup, I preheated the oven this morning to make a batch of bread to go with our dinner.  With loaf pans in hand, I opened the door to the preheated oven....bummer!!!  Plastic wrap and 400 degrees....need I say more?  On to our second try.  Until then...the batter bread, with good oll yeast in it, was pretty darn good today....

It is a slightly sweeter bread than most other dinner breads, but very yummy.

Batter Bread (adapted from a recipe out of Hot Providence):
1 Large Tbs Yeast
3/4 C Warm Water
1 1/4 C Warm Milk
1/2 C softened butter
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
6 1/2 C all purpose flour (maybe more)

In warmed mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Add all ingredients other than flour and butter.  Whisk just slightly until mixed.  Add 3 C Flour and butter, mix with dough hook until smooth.  Add remaining flour and knead until smooth.  This dough is not one that will clean the sides of the bowl completely, but you don't want it extra sticky, either.  Cover and let rise about an hour.  Punch down.  Pour into two greased loaf pans.  Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  Tip out onto wire rack to cool.  Serve with honey butter (equal parts honey and very soft butter whisked together). 

Kitchen Happenings, Part 1

There have been a few new things tried in our kitchen lately.  This one was of the organization sort.

Does anyone else have a spice cabinet whose contents look like this? I would try to terrace stack them, alphabetize them, put the tall ones in back, so on and so forth.  It never really worked.  Either I had dominoes falling every time I pulled out a jar or I had emptied half of the cabinet before actually finding what I needed.

It has made me crazy for years, but I was not about to spend $20 for some fancy spice organizer that was too hard to expand or adjust for new spices.

I found a solution!  My brother gave me a birthday gift a year or so ago of a subscription to Rachel Ray's magazine.  In a recent issue they had this idea. 

It cost me a total of $6 for 30 containers at my local bulk store (I bought a few extras)!  I already had the labels and cut them to fit.  If you want to try this here are a few things we found to be helpful: 1) call the store ahead of time to find out if they will sell you containers and for how much, 2) do not use round containers; they waste space, 3) if the lids are recessed it helps with stacking, but you still need room for a label to fit, 4)save some of your nicer old spice containers; Ryan wanted them for organizing small screws and nails, and 5) I left cinnamon or crushed red pepper in their old shakers as I use them for sprinkling much to often.

Added bonuses: I cleaned out the spices that had been around much too long. In addition, I now have to use some sort of utensil (don't count on it measuring much in this kitchen) to add the spice to my cooking.  I have long known that it is not proper to shake the spice bottle over a cooking pot, as moisture is then introduced into the spice jar, but it was just too easy to do.

Next time we will post how our first attempts at making our own bread starter (without yeast!) and a chicken stock from scratch are going.

Soup for you?

It's that time of year....
Cream of Broccoli Soup is one Ryan's favorites so I fiddled with this for quite some time.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbs Butter
2 White Onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs of broccoli, cut up in small bite-sized pieces and split
4 medium white potatoes, cut up
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 C Chicken Stock
3 C Beef Stock
1 C Milk
1 1/2 C Heavy Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste (generous w/ salt)
2 C Cheddar Cheese, grated and split

Melt butter in large stockpot.  Add onions and cook for 5 min, stirring.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.

Add stocks, 3/4 of the broccoli, potatoes, and nutmeg-bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Simmer gently, covered for 20 minutes. 

Puree soup to desired consistency with a blender (I puree it completely and then add the remaining broccoli to allow for some nice sized pieces) or immersion blender (return to pot if removed for pureeing).  Now add the remaining broccoli, milk, cream, salt, and pepper.  Heat through. Add 1 C of cheese.  Serve hot with additional cheese on top and your favoite bread (watch for some of our dinner breads soon or check out Nikki's Shabbat Bread-it's awesome if you have the time)

Yummy Chicken Pitas

This is one of our family favorites!  Also, the marinade is great on many other meats.  It is a combination of recipes from Better Homes and Gardens and my mom. Just add some fresh fruit or veggies and you have a great meal.

Makes: 10 half pita sandwiches

Ingredients:
Marinade
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 C EV Olive Oil
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 C white vinegar
1 large handful chopped cilantro
Juice from two limes
1 tsp: salt, white pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano, and cumin

Sandwiches
5 Pita rounds, halved and split (we like Honey Wheat)
1 1/2-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken cut into strips or bite size pieces
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
1 Tomato, sliced
10 small pieces of leaf lettuce
10 slices provolone cheese (halve if large slices)

Dressing
2/3 C Mayo
1/2 C Chopped Cilantro
3 Tbs Lime Juice
1 Tbs Salt

Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients.  Cut up the chicken and place in ziploc with marinade in the frig for an hour or more.  Combine dressing ingredients and keep cold until using.

Cook chicken along with about 1/4 C marinade in a large heated skillet over medium heat until cooked through.  Add bell pepper slices to pan and cook for about five minutes.  While chicken is cooking spread the dressing into the pita halves.  Stack up a slice of lettuce, tomato and cheese for each sandwich.  Once chicken and pepper are done scoop enough into each pita to make it about half full.  Tip each filled pita nearly flat to make room for the stacks of lettuce, tomato, and cheese to fit in alongside the chicken.  Serve and enjoy.

Baby Food

When Z was just born my aunt recommended the book, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.  It has been an invaluable resource.  The book has everything that a new mom needs to know about feeding their baby.  But more importantly it provides guidelines for saving money by making your own food, feeding your baby what is appropriate at certain ages, and providing the healthiest and most natural foods for your little one.  I have never purchased a jar of baby food and don't ever expect that I will, especially now.  However, I have been tempted.

Pureeing cooked vegetables has always been very time consuming and seems to make a hundred dirty dishes with all of the food processor parts, etc.  The blade would not evenly puree, I would have to do about eight batches, and it was too loud for the kids.

Well, last fall my parents asked what I would like for Christmas and later blessed me with one of my items that I really didn't expect them to.  I had asked for an immersion blender from Kitchen Aid, specifically the KHB300.  I enjoy making soups over the winter and was very tired of the "ladle the soup into the blender, puree, and pour back into pot" routine.  Also, I am forever wearing out blenders with fruit smoothies. 

It is a wonderful tool with soups!!! I can puree the whole soup or leave some chunks.  It also helped Ryan and I make about ten jars of salsa in one afternoon! Onions, tomatoes, peppers...you name it and it is chopped in about three seconds flat.  Obviously, I have enjoyed this small appliance.

But I did not realize it would also turn baby food making into a speedy, clean process.  I pulled out the beaker, popped in the cooked sweet potato, turned it on, added some water, and about one minute later I had over two weeks of baby food done with only two dirty parts.  No blade was in the way of scooping out the food, it was fairly quiet, and the motor isn't smelling like smoke after a year's use (this was my experience with my last two blenders).  It was glorious!!!

Five weeks of sweet potato cubes are in the freezer!