Free E-book today only!

Hey....free e-book from the Urban Homemaker called "Sensational Summer Salads"! Marilyn Moll has lots of great ideas for salads using whole, nutritious food! And besides, who doesn't need another good salad recipe! Free today only by using this link: http://tinyurl.com/urbanhomemaker

26 pages of yum!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I told you I would post the recipe for my chocolate chip cookies and so I shall! I decided to try the Eagle Mills flour and the cookies are the perfect test! You can tell if the flour is different with your favorite cookie recipe! Well! I LOVE THIS FLOUR! It works just like all-purpose flour but has the added benefit of the white whole wheat! The consistency of the dough was perfect. I was concerned because with whole wheat, sometimes you need to add extra liquid. Not so with this flour! It is a dream! So final product tasting....YUMMM! Just like the "normal" ones.

What a great way to get the "healthy" into your family's diet! I am sold!

I will be going to Costco today to stock up with more...it is $6.55 for 2-10 pound packages and they are going to keep stocking it. (Yes....I checked)

The other thing that I love is from Bob's Red Mill. It is Old Fashioned "Yellow D" Brown Sugar. It is a boiled dark brown sugar with an extra rich molasses flavor and small uniform crystals.

The small crytals are great...it creams perfectly without the gritty texture you get from some brown sugars. The taste is delicious. Very molasses-y without being way to strong. I use it in all my recipes that call for brown sugar.

I have also changed from using Crisco to Spectrum Non-Hydrogenated Shortening. WHY? Well...I have been doing some research about "good" fats and oils and learned how they process and hydrogenate fats and oils like canola, vegetable shortening. It is all a chemical process that I don't really want to have to deal with. For example, canola oil is pretty much poisonous until they refine it, bleach it and deodorize it...all chemically done. No thanks! The Spectrum shortening is better for your body because it is non-hydrogenated, has zero trans-fat and is made from Palm oil, which is naturally cholesterol free and a good source of monosaturated fat. It is vegan, kosher, gluten free and has less saturated fat than butter....and it doesn't go rancid like regular shortening. Oh, and did I tell you it's organic. It costs more but to me it's totally worth the price. You use it just like regular shortening!

Here is MY cookie recipe.

Shelley's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. shortening

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 pkg. chocolate chips-whatever kind you like..I use Ghirardelli.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the shortening and sugars till smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix up until it is fluffy. Scrape the sides down to make sure the whole mixture is smooth.

Mix the dry ingredients together and combine with the creamed mixture till smooth. Add the chocolate chips. Bake for 9-11 minutes depending on the size cookies. I used my smallest cookie scoop and did 9 minutes. My bigger scoop takes about 12 minutes.

Eagle Mills All-Natural Flour

I went in to Costco yesterday to get some flour and grabbed the All Purpose Unbleached flour that they had there. When I went to pour it in my canister today I noticed a difference. It is "a wholesome blend of White and Ultragrain flours".......so what exactly does that mean?

It is a mixture of white whole wheat and refined flour. So you get the benefits of whole wheat and the texture and grind of regular unbleached flour. It has double the fiber, increased antioxidants and phytonutrients, more vitamins and minerals, and a nice smooth texture. What's not to like?

I am going to try it out on my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and I will post the results.

Food Buzz!

I am now a "featured publisher" for Foodbuzz! Cool, huh? Check it out!

Strawberries!

I love strawberries! I wish we could get them fresh and local all year long..sadly not the case!

I thought these berries were beee-u-tee-fulll! My camera skills aren't great, but the subject makes up for my lack of skill!

Now...what to do with these red gems! Strawberry pancakes, waffles, shortcake, jam, cake? Wait and see what I come up with...And as always, I will share the love and recipes with you!

And yes...it totally bugs me that the corner of my window frame is schmutzy! Pardon my dirt!

I actually won something!

I am so excited! I actually won the Foodie Blogroll contest for a comment that I made. I have followed the Nourishing Gourmet for a while and one of her e-courses was offered as a contest prize. A Peasant's Feast: Nourishing Foods on a Budget is the e-course and I won! It is a $120.00 value ! I love the Nourishing Gourmet. I have been changing the way my family eats....slowly but surely. More whole grains, shopping locally for our food, raising our own hens for eggs, making bread, using good fats, etc. I am excited to follow the course and learn more about soaking grains, sourdough and other great things! WooHoo! Thanks to Foodie Blogroll and Kimi Harris of Nourishing Gourmet! I will keep you posted on my progress!

Chicken Taco Meat

I taught our Food Storage Fun class the other night and made this Taco meat in my electric pressure cooker! They are fast, economical and they taste super! I have a Cuisinart Electric pressure cooker and I use it all the time! It's not scary and works perfectly!

Chicken Taco Meat

1 family pack boneless,skinless chicken thighs

1 c. salsa

1/4 c. taco seasoning mix

1 small can diced green chilis

1/2 small onion chopped**

1/2 green pepper**

1/2 red pepper**

salt and pepper

garlic powder to taste

Put everything in the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Wait until you can open the lid...aka natural pressure release. Shred and use for tacos, burritos, taco salad.

*** I used freeze-dried onions, red and green peppers.

Pink Cheesecake Fruit Salad

Can I just say....this salad is fabuloso! I had to make something to take for a potluck after my last Master Food Preservers class. So, in a pinch, I found this recipes on a bunch of sites. Allrecipes, Changeable Table. Made it..love it! Super easy and really adaptable to the fruit in season, yogurt flavors, do whatever!

Pink Cheesecake Fruit Salad

2 small pkgs. cheesecake pudding mix
1 8 oz. container of cool whip (or equivalent amount of sweetened whipped cream) *I used cream.
1 32 oz. container of strawberry yogurt
Fresh fruit- cut into bite-size pieces * I used strawberries

Mix the yogurt and cool whip (whipped cream) together in a large bowl. Add the DRY pudding powder and combine together. Chill for about 1 hour. Add the cut up fruit and serve.

I think you could use raspberry or peach yogurt with the corresponding fruit and it would be yum!

Blender Wheat Waffles

I used to hate making waffles. I had a waffle iron with the little holes. It took forever to heat it up and clean it . So...I made pancakes on the nice electric griddle. The fam likes them waffles! My kids got me a Belgian waffle maker...bigger holes, easier clean-up! Now...since I have been making pancakes/waffles I have always used Bisquick...mmmmm, I love Bisquick, light and fluffy pancakes/waffles. Lots of good preservatives as well!

I have been trying to get whole grains in my family's diet without them knowing....sneaky, huh? This recipe fit the bill perfectly! I was a little worried about putting the wheat in the blender....but it works great! The waffles are light and delicious....and are 100% whole white wheat! I got this recipe from Crystal Godfrey's book, I Can't Believe It's Food Storage.

Whole Wheat Blender Waffles

*There are instructions by each ingredient that will help you use your food storage items. i.e. powdered milk or eggs. Feel free to use those substitutions...they work great!

1 c. milk (3 T. powdered milk + 1 c. water)

1 c. + 1 T. wheat kernels, whole and uncooked

2 eggs (2 T. dry powdered eggs + 1/4 c. water)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. oil

2 T. sugar

Put milk and wheat kernels in blender. Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt and sugar. Blend on low. Pour straight from the blender jar into a hot, prepared waffle iron. Close and cook. (These waffles take slightly longer to cook than regular waffles.)

Yum! Can be frozen and reheated for later. This recipes makes about 3 Big waffles....when seperated it is 12 little waffles!

Homemade Yellow Cake from My Kitchen Cafe

I made the yellow cake from my previously posted link....you know...the homemade yellow cake mix post! It went together perfectly....and it came out of the oven looking FAB! I give all the cheers/credit to http://www.melskitchencafe.com/.

Now....I am going to make her Tres Leche...3 milk cake from the yummy yellow cake.

Homemade Make-Ahead Yellow Cake Mix from My Kitchen Cafe

2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. cake flour ***See note below
1/2 c. nonfat dry milk powder
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
16 T. butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 T. vanilla extract
Process sugar, flours (or flour and cornstarch if making the substitution for the cake flour), milk powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. At this point you can freeze the dry mixture in a zip-loc bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.

***NOTE*** the recipe calls for cake flour, which I never have on hand so I substituted 2 3/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 Tablespoons cornstarch for the three cups of flour called for in the recipe. It worked beautifully.

To make the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice.

With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 c. warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
Two 9-inch layers 25-27 minutes
One 9x13 pan 35-40 minutes
12 cup Bundt pan 40-45 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-20 minutes

Now for the Tres Leche part of the recipe.
Bake the cake in the 9x13 pan and let it cool for 1 hour. Poke with the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer....all over...a lot. More holes=more syrup that will soak into the cake.

Milk Syrup
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut Look for it in the "mixer" aisle at the store.
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 t. vanilla extract...the good stuff please.
Combine all in a blender and process until smooth.

When the cake is cooled, spoon some of the syrup over the cake. Let it soak in and then continue spooning the syrup on top of the cake until it has all been used up. Not all of the syrup will soak in right away. That is ok...put it into the fridge covered with plastic wrap for 2 hours until the syrup is absorbed.
Slice the cake and serve with sweetened whipped cream, banana slices and toasted coconut, if desired.
MMMM! Heavenly!

Foodie Blogroll

Hey everbody...my blog was approved and accepted by Foodie Blogroll! I am official...thus the cool widget! It is a great site to follow if your a foodie like me!

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

I love the blog "My Kitchen Cafe" and I follow it religiously. Alot of my favorite recipes/ideas come from this super blog. So today,I opened up the blog to find a post for homemade yellow cake mix! I am so excited to try it...today is the day! After work, I am gonna bake a cake! And then I will post the picture of it.....should I use the Mango jam in it or should I do the Tres Leche cake with the coconut cream and sweetened condensed milk....so many choices.

Here is the link: http://www.melskitchencafe.com