Recipes

Beverages

My fruit tea

Enough tea bags for a 2 quart pitcher of tea
1 can fruit juice concentrate(or in my case 12 oz of my blackberry concentrate)
2/3 cup sugar(more or less depending on taste)
water

So steep your tea bags like you normally would for your tea.  Pour the steeped tea into your 2 quart pitcher.  Add the fruit juice concentrate and sugar.  Stir it up so all the sugar dissolves.  Add water until you make 2 quarts of tea.  Chill.

Hot Cocoa 

1/3- 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 cups milk or 1 1/3 cups dry milk powder plus water to make 4 cups
1/2 ts vanilla
dash salt

Mix your sugar, cocoa powder,and dash salt in a pan.  Stir in the milk and continue stirring frequently while it warms to hot.  A whisk works best for this, but if you don't have one, no big deal.  Once hot, remove from heat and add the vanilla.  Serve hot.  If you have marshmallows, great.  A small peppermint stick would be good too.


Homemade convenience Foods


Cream soup mix

1 1/2 cups dry milk
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 ts salt

mix all together then cut in:

1 stick of margarine or butter.  store in an airtight container in the fridge.  To use for plain white sauce just use 1/3 cup mix to 1 cup of water.  If you want cream of chicken soup, use chicken broth, cream of mushroom: open a can of mushrooms and drain.   Add water to the mushroom liquid to equal 1 cup fluid. Then follow the rest of the recipe.  You can also add 1 cup of cheese and 1 ts yellow mustard to make cheese sauce.


Pizza Crust

1 1/3 Cups water slightly warm (about 105 degrees)
1/4 C dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp yeast
4 C flour

You can put everything into a bread machine on the dough setting or you can do it by hand.  If by hand; Take your water and put into a large mixing bowl.  Add your dry milk, sugar, oil, and salt.  Sprinkle your yeast over the top and let it proof 5 minutes.  Add about 2 cups of flour and whisk it really well, then stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can with a spoon.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead a couple of minutes (6-8) using just enough flour to keep your dough from being sticky.  Pour a little bit of oil back into your mixing bowl.  Take your dough and put it back into the bowl turning a few times to make sure you cover the dough well with oil.  Let rise in the bowl for about 25 min.  It won't rise too much, but punch it down and knead it a little more.  Cut into two crusts.  Press the crusts into the pizza pans.  This will take a bit cause you will press a few minutes and then let it rest a few minutes, then press some more til the pan is covered with the crust.  Put your sauce and toppings on and bake at about 425 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is good, bubbly, and a little golden brown on top.  This is even more economical if you use your own homemade tomato sauce.

Cuban Bread

5-6 cups flour
2 TBS yeast
1 TBS salt
2 TBS sugar
2 cups hot water

Put 4 cups of flour in your mixing bowl with your salt, yeast, and sugar.  Mix together.  Dump the 2 cups of hot (110-115)water into the bowl.  Stir 100 strokes or 3 min with a mixer.  Stir in asmuch remaining flour as you can with a spoon.  Dump out on the counter and knead dough for 8 minutes (you can do this in smaller batches of minutes at a time).  Shape into a ball and put in a greased bowl turning once to coat.  Let rise 15 min.  Punch down and divide into 2 loaves.  Shape each into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Slash an "x" in the top.  Brush with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.  I let mine rise a little extra here because I like a lighter loaf, but you don't have to.  Let rise 10 minutes at least.  Place a cake pan in the bottom of the oven and pour boiling water init.  Place the loaves in the oven and then preheat to 400.  Bake 40 minutes til golden brown.

Dinner Rolls ( This is what I use for Cinnamon Rolls, Gorilla Bread, and Raisin Bread)

4- 4 1/2 cups flour
1 pkg of yeast (or 1 TBS)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, shortening or margarine
1 ts salt
2 eggs

In a small saucepan, add your milk, butter, sugar, and salt.  Heat milk mixture just until the butter is just about melted.  While that heats up, put 2 cups flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix together.   Once milk is hot (120 degrees) dump into the flour mixture and add the two eggs.  Mix all together for about 100 strokes.  Stir in as much remaining flour as you can with a spoon.  Dump out onto a floured counter.  Knead dough 10-12 minutes adding just enough flour to keep dough from being sticky as you work.  Once dough starts to tear, it's time to stop kneading (or if the timer goes off).  Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover, Let rise no more than 30 minutes.  Punch down, shape into desired rolls.  Place in the pan you will use.  Cover and let rise until double.
Bake 350 degrees for 15-20 min or until golden on top.  Or you can just put the whole thing in the bread machine; liquids first, sugar, salt, flour, yeast being last.  Put on dough setting and go read a book.  Then shape how you want weather it's dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, or Gorilla bread

Self Rising Cinnamon Rolls

3 cups self rising flour
1/3cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup milk

In a mixing bowl place your flour and sugar (mix well)and cut in the butter until it make a crumbly mix.  Add milk and fold in until well mixed.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead exactly 8 times (  that's basically just to shape it well into a ball).  Roll out thin(about 1/2 inch) and rectangular.  Spread with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar.  Starting with the long side, roll up the dough and cut into "cinnamon rolls".  Place in a baking pan and bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Once out, you can milk 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 Tbs milk and 1/2 tsp vanill extract and pour over the top.

Wheat Thin Type crackers

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 cup Wheat Germ
3 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup oil
3/4-1 cup water
additional salt to taste

In a food processor, place all of your dry ingredients.  Pulse your food processor to mix the dry ingredients.  This will also grind up your oats some to make them less bulky.  After its mixed, continue to pulse your food processor while you slowly pour your oil in.  Add the water slowly the same way, only stop adding water when the dough forms a ball.  You don't want it too wet.  Divide the dough into threes.  With a rolling pin, roll each third thin, about 1/8 of an inch think.  I try to keep mine nice and square, but do it how you want.  They taste the same either way; square, round, jagged, etc. I also roll mine directly into a cookie sheet so I don't have to move them.  Once the dough is rolled out thin, use a pizza cutter to cut them into crackers. Sprinkle with salt and then lightly roll the rolling pin over them to mash in the salt.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool. This makes equal to about 3 boxes of wheat thins bought at the store.  Cost me about $1.


Sweetened Condensed milk

1 cup dry milk powder
2/3 cup of sugar
3 TBS butter or margarine melted
1/2 cup boiling water

The recipe says you can blend until smooth, but I mixed mine really quick in a quart size mason jar with a whisk (love whisks! the unsung heroes of the kitchen).

Pancake Syrup recipe:


3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tbs molasses (if you don't have molasses, use 3 cups of brown sugar in place of the granulated sugar and then skip this ingredient)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter flavor (I never buy butter flavor.  I just put 1TBS real butter in the recipe)
1 tsp maple flavor (I buy this at Walmart.)

Real simple to do.  Put everything into a sauce pan.  Stir well.  Cook it over med/low heat until it comes to a full rolling boil.  Turn off the burner, leaving the pan on the burner to cool.  Once cool, store in the fridge.  I like to reheat the syrup when I am using it on pancakes or waffles.  Just don't stir it.  It will make it crystallize a little.  Which honestly makes a great candy.  Ooops!  I outed myself. LOL

Chocolate syrup

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan, mix the cocoa, sugar and salt well.  Add the boiling water.  Cook 5 more minutes stirring constantly.  Cool slightly.  Stir in Vanilla. 

What I will usually do, cause I am lazy and don't like washing more dishes than necessary, is;  instead of adding boiling water, I will just add hot tap water.  Stir it once really well.  I bring the whole shebang to a boil and then turn the stove off, letting the syrup cool on the burner.  Add your vanilla then and store in the fridge.  Makes about 2 cups.  *** personal tip.  This is great served with fresh strawberries for a cool healthy treat, or have fun and have chocolate milk or ice cream sundaes.

Taco Seasoning

1/3 cup of onion powder (or 3/4 cup dried onion flakes)

1/2 cup chili powder

1/4 cup salt

3 TBS garlic powder

3 TBS of corn starch

3 TBS cumin

1 TBS-3 TBS cayenne pepper (depending on how hot ya wants it)

Mix all in a bowl and store, or you can do like I do and put it all in a mason jar and shake, shake, shake. 

*** Frugal tip.  When making your tacos, use 1 lb ground beef, 1 cup black beans, and 1 can corn in place of 2 lbs ground beef.  Stretches the meat and makes a healthier taco.

Season salt

8 TBS Salt

3 TBS Pepper

2 TBS Paprika

1/2 TBS Onion Powder

1/2 TBS Garlic Powder

Mix all in a bowl and store, or you can do like I do and put it all in a mason jar and shake, shake, shake.

*** GREAT ON OVEN FRIES!

Desserts/Candies/and Other Temptations


Butter Toffee Crunch

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbs water
1Tbs corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup semi sweet choc chips

butter a cookie sheet really well and sprinkle the nuts on the bottom. I tend to keep them clustered in the center of the pan because the toffee you put over them won't make it to the edges. Anyway, melt your butter in a pan (I use my iron skillet) and add the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stirring constantly bring to soft crack stage (290 degrees) keep careful watch after the temp gets to 280 cause it will A) rise the rest of the way pretty quickly and B) could burn if you aren't careful. Once it reaches the soft crack stage, immediately pour over the nuts in your cookie sheet. Sprinkle the choc chips over all.  Wait a second then spread the chocolate chips over the hot toffee with a spoon or knife. Let cool completely. Break into bite size pieces. This is the most wonderful stuff in the world!

Easy Fudge


1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup water
1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar
1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
dash salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (if you have them)

In a small sauce pan heat together butter/margarine and water just to boiling, stirring to melt the butter/margarine.  Sift together (whisk together) dry ingredients.  Add the melted butter mixture.  Stir til well blended.  Stir in nuts if you have them.  Turn into a buttered 8x8x2 inch pan.  Chill several hours.  Cut into squares.

Whole Wheat Choc Chip cookies

1 stick butter
1/2 cup plain non fat yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 ts vanilla
2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup choc chips (chopped up if you can)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Melt your butter and add the yogurt, sugars, egg and vanilla.  Mix well.  Ina separate bowl mix up you flour, salt and soda.  Add that to your butter/sugar mixture.  Mix well.  Add in your choc chips.  Drop by tablespoonfuls on to a cookie sheet.  Dip a glass or other flat usable object into flour and press down the cookie just til flat.  Bake 10 min @ 350 degrees.  Remove from oven.  I mashed mine flat again gently once more as they cooled, but you don't have to if you don't want to.  Makes 40.


Chocolate chip Crunchy Granola Bars

4.5 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dry milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup oil
1.5 tsp vanilla or vanilla/butter flavoring
1/3 cup choc chips

Take your first 5 ingredients and mix together well on a cookie sheet (lined with a silicone baking mat or sprayed with cooking spray)
In a saucepan, mix the sugar, honey, oil, and extract.  Heat up on med heat just til boiling.  Pour over the oat mixture.  Mix as much as you can with a spoon (cause it will be hot FYI), and then lay the spoon aside and mix with your clean hands.  Spread out equally over the cookie sheet.  Bake in a 325 oven for 10 minutes.  Take out and stir well, spread evenly again and put back into the oven for 5 minutes.  Repeat, place back in oven for last 5 minutes.  Once removed, sprinkle the chips over your granola.  Cover it with wax paper and using a rolling pin, roll it flat, flat, flat.  Go ahead and cut into bars while the mixture is still warm or you won't be able to later.  Once cool, you can break the bars apart and store in an air tight container.


Flavored coffee creamer:

Sweetened condensed milk (what you just made)
1/3 cup additional sugar
1 3/4 cups milk preferably whole (cause it will be creamier)
1 Tbs vanilla extract - you can go nuts at this point.  Season it in whatever way you want. This is how you make your creamer your own.  You can use extracts of different flavors, or coffee syrups, spices like cinnamon or nutmeg.

You are gonna mix all this up in the order I have listed it.  There is a method to my madness.  The sugar added to the still warm homemade sweetened condensed milk will allow it to dissolve easier.  Now if you choose to use a powdered spice like cinnamon or Cocoa powder, adding them before the milk will also allow them to dissolve better.  Syrups and extracts can be added whenever.

This recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups of creamer.  You can reduce the fat by using low fat milk and making your condensed milk without the butter/margarine, but what fun is there in that!  Just kidding.
Maybe!


Breakfast Foods 


Low fat Biscuits

3 cups self rising flour
1/3 cup non fat yogurt
1/2 cup whole milk mixed with 1/2 cup water = 1 cup liquid
2 TBS Butter melted

Preheat oven to 425.  Put the Butter in a 9X13 inch casserole dish and put in the oven while it preheats to melt the butter.  Mix all remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Knead slightly to form a ball.  Roll out to an inch thick and cut out like you would normally.    Take the dish with the now melted butter out of the oven.  Pour the melted butter into a measuring cup leaving some to coat the bottom of the pan.  Place your biscuits in the pan and then pour the remaining melted butter over the biscuits.  Spread the melted butter around to make sure the top is covered.  Bake 10-15 minutes til golden brown on top.  Makes twelve good size biscuits.  Each has:  Calories: 140 , Carbs 25, Fat 3, Protein 4, and Fiber 1.


Granola

5 cups of oats(I use 4 cups oats, 1/4 cup ground flax seed, 1/4 cup wheat germ, and 1/2 cup walnuts)
1/2 cup dry milk
1tsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil( I use extra virgin olive oil)
1/3 cup honey(I use raw honey)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  In a sauce pan, heat the oil, brown sugar, and honey on a med low heat.  While that is heating up, take your oats(etc), dry milk, cinnamon, and dash salt and mix thoroughly in a greased cookie sheet.  Take the "syrup"and pour over your grains.  Mix as well as you can with a spoon, then put the spoon down and use your hands to incorporate it well.  Once mixed well put it in the oven for 10 min.  Take out of the oven.  If you want to put in raisins in it do so now. About 1/2 cup.  Stir those in then let the granola sit til it is cool.  Once cool,  break up.  If you don't add the raisins, then just take the granola out of the oven and let it cool.  Don't stir it.  Let cool then break up.


Sugar free/ Dairy Free Granola (its good!)

4 Cups Oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raisins
2/3 cup raw honey
1 ts ground cinnamon
1 ts pure vanilla extract
dash salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a good size greased (with coconut oil)cookie sheet mix all of the dry ingredients reserving the raisins  In a small sauce pan take your honey and coconut oil and melt together.  Bring to a boil then remove from heat.  Add your vanilla to the syrup mixture.  Pour over your dry ingredients.  Mix well, using your hands when able to do so.  Spread evenly in the pan.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes, removing from oven to stir and re-spread after 10 minutes. After the 20 min, take out of the oven and stir in the raisins.  Let cool without disturbing.  Store in an air tight container.  If you need it glutin free you can substitute another grain for the wheat germ.


Breakfast Sausage

8 oz ground pork or turkey
2 TBS finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/4 -1/2 tsp Sage
1/4 tsp ground Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp salt


Main Dishes

Ham and Corn Stew

2 cans navy beans(or you can cook dried to make 3 cups)
3 cups water
2 decent sized potatoes, diced
2 cups whole kernel corn (or cream is fine)
2 stalks celery
8 oz ham
1 med onion chopped
1 tbs butter
1 regular sized tomato chopped
1 pinch dried parsley
 salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, melt the butter and put your onion and ham in to cook.  While that is cooking, put your beans, water, and potatoes.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Then add your celery, the onion and ham, and the tomato.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add pinch of parsley.  Let cook 30 minutes. Taste again to make sure you have enough salt and pepper.  Add more if needed.


"Hmmm I Wonder"  Enchilada Casserole:

1 lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
1 cup grated zucchini
1 can cream corn
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 ts salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 ts chili powder
1/4 ts garlic powder
1 ts cumin
dash oregano
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mixture of pepper jack and mozzarella)
2 oz cream cheese
Tortilla chips

I know, bear with me.  Brown the ground beef.  Add the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the shredded cheese and the tortilla chips.  Heat everything through to let the flavors meld a bit.  About 10 min.  Remove from heat.  Spread a layer of tortilla chips into the bottom of a 9X9 baking pan.  Spread about a third over the chips.  Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat layers using everything up.  Top with a couple of crushed tortilla chips and the remaining cheese.  Back at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Serve with salsa, and sour cream (Or plain yogurt)



Vegetarian Cooking


Seriously Simple Black Bean Burgers

1 15 oz can of black beans; drained
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 oz bread made into crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Worcestershire sauce

So I take my bread and put it in a food processor to make the crumbs.  Add your onion and run it thru the processor as well to finely chop it.  Add your drained beans, salt, and pepper (you can add more salt and pepper if you like) and pulse the processor until the whole thing is mixed together.  It is cool if your beans get mushed up.  You want this.  Some beans will be intact.  You want that too.  It will be really thick. Spray your pan with cooking spray.  Take 1/4 of the mixture and shape it into a patty like you would ground beef.  Place in the pan and dribble a little Worcestershire sauce on it.  Brown each patty until good and brown on each side.  Remove when brown and let cool on a wire rack.

Vegetarian Sausage Crumbles (can be used anywhere browned sausage is called for)

12 oz cooked TVP crumbles (Textured Vegetable Protein)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Follow the directions to reconstitute your TVP.  Measure 12 oz into a bowl while still warm.  Add the spices.  Mix well and chill overnight in the fridge.  These can be crisped up a bit by browning them a little more in a pan the next day.  They can then be added to an omelette, chili, sausage cheese balls, etc.  

Miscellaneous


Dog Biscuits

2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dry milk
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1/3 cup oil (or you can use bacon grease)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup water

In a mixing bowl, mix all of your dry ingredients.  Add the egg, oil, peanut butter, and water.  Divide the dough in half. Take one half and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into the size biscuits you desire.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Continue until all dough is used.  Bake in a 350 oven 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and then let them cool in the oven.   This makes a little more than what comes in a box of milk bones at the store.  It cost me $1.05 to make.  Less if I use left over bacon grease.  A 1 1/2 lb box of milk bone type biscuits cost $1.49 at Aldi.  This makes a little more than 1 1/2 lbs.  I make these after I have already had the oven on to make something else so no preheating and I am done when I just turn the oven off.