All About the Pizza -- A Giveaway

I love pizza. I mean who doesn't? Which is why I am so excited to be one of 50 bloggers that gets to participate in the "Hodgson Mill's Build A Better Pizza."  recipe contest. I have some really yummy recipe ideas tucked inside my apron pockets. But I want your help deciding which recipe I will develop for my entry into the contest. And later after you feel invested in helping me choose, I hope you will go vote for my entry.

So, Hodgson Mill is offering one of my readers an amazing prize pack (especially if you love baking). You just have to tell me which recipe idea is your favorite and I will randomly pick a winner. 

Look at the goodies you can win! We will pick a winner on October 6th and reveal our pizza entry recipe with the most votes.


The Giveaway

One (1) 2lb. bag of Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour

·       One (1) 2 lb. bag of Hodgson Mill Organic Naturally White All Purpose Flour

·       One (1) 2 lb. bag of Hodgson Mill Yellow Corn Meal

·       Four (4) 8.75 gram packets of Hodgson Mill Active Dry Yeast

·       One (1) 2 lb. bag Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix

·       Hodgson Mill measuring cups

·       Hodgson Mill spatula

The Build A Better Pizza Ideas:

1. Chicken Pomodoro Pizza on a wheat crust. Fresh tomatoes, grilled chicken, white sauce mmmm!

2. Triple Cheese Triple Mushroom Pizza. Three kinds of cheeses and three kinds of mushrooms.

3. Meat Lover's Focaccia Pizza. All kinds of meat piled high on my herbed focaccia bread. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  Don't forget to come back on October 6th to see who won and my entry for the recipe contest.  

Dairy Free Cornbread

We love a good cornbread in our house. A good homemade cornbread that is thick, moist and sweet. But the best cornbreads are made with buttermilk and we have a lactose intolerant kid in our house. Most lactose free cornbreads can be a little crumbly and dry. I wanted the best of both worlds -- Moist and dairy free.

So I Googled and made some alterations. And we have a  winner. This was almost as good as my go to buttermilk cornbread. We used the lactose free Smart Balance spread. (love this stuff).

• 1/2 cup dairy free margarine
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 TB of vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Sweet & Sassy Lime Desserts

Happy St. Paddy's Day tomorrow. Oh how I love this holiday. Yesterday I had my annual lunch with friends where I served up some tasty green eats. It was a blast. This month for my online magazine we featured Sweet and Sassy Limes.

Lime is absolutely one of my favorite spring flavors. Of course I am going to ask you to visit the page for the whole article but I wanted to share the recipe for lemon lime meringue waffles with you here. My 13 year old son loves to make homemade waffles. I used this to my advantage one Sunday when I invited him to cook the waffles for our Sunday dinner. He wanted to take it up a notch. He found this recipe for lemon meringue waffles and I said Oh we need to add some lime to the mix.. Here is what we came up with. And they were just plain fun to make and eat. My husband said these taste like lemon meringue pies. So we should probably have eaten them for dessert but we gobbled them up for dinner.

Waffles
4 TB unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp double acting baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup sugar
Juice and grated zest of one lemon (separated)
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp of lime zest (optional)
1 cup of lime curd
Meringue (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar.

Pour the lemon juice into a large measuring cup that holds at least 2 Cups. Add enough milk to measure 1 ½ cups. Add lemon juice to a bowl with eggs and zest. Beat well.

Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Add butter.

Lightly spray your waffle iron and pour ½ to 2/3 cups of batter onto grids. Spread with a spatula if needed (this is a thicker batter). Bake according to your waffle iron’s settings.

Place finished waffles in single layer on cookie sheet. Spread lime curd onto waffles within ½ inch of the edge. Spread meringue on top of filling. Using a butter knife create swirls and peaks.

Bake waffles until the meringue peaks are browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.

 Meringue topping
6 large egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cup of sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl whip the egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Slowly (a tablespoon at a time add the sugar, while continuing to beat. Whip until meringue holds firm peaks and has a satin sheen.

Mango Paco Challenge & Giveaway Announcement

I do so love a challenge. So when Your Own Home Store contacted me and challenged me to recreate my saucy egg and paco dinner (see here for the original recipe) with their Thrive food storage items, I was so excited to see if I could recreate these meals with freeze dried and food storage foods. After all, Pacos (pancake tacos) are a new favorite dinner in our house. It would be good to know I could whip up a unique breakfast completely out of my food storage.  Along with this challenge they are offering my readers a giveaway for a $50 in product of their choice from their Thrive products. More on the giveaway tomorrow.  Sorry for the teaser but I need a separate post just for the awesome giveaway.

So, I got an amazing care package on my doorstep full of these awesome foods to try from Thrive (A Shelf Reliance Product). Along with this remake of Pacos I will be reviewing all the following products over the next couple weeks, just so you can get an opinion on this product line. There are so many bulk food storage products out there. It is nice to get a chance to have a test run before you invest in them. A little note on price. All freeze dried items from any supplier are pricey. Thrive's prices seem to be in the same range as other freeze dried foods.

• Freeze dried yogurt bites (didn't even know you could store yogurt like this. I am the most excited for this product and will be buying some more for my own shelves)
• Freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese. (will be reviewing next week)
• Freeze Dried Mangos (used in Pacos)
• Tomato powder (review coming next week)
• Instant Milk powder (review coming next week)
• 6 Grain pancake mix (used for Pacos)

Wouldn't you do a little dance of joy if you got a package like that to try? Well I certainly did. So we got busy doing some testing. We found that the freeze dried yogurt nuggets are tasty to eat straight from the can. My kids like them for a snack along with the freeze dried mangos. But we also wanted to see how they did once we reconstituted them with water.

Time to make Pacos.
Prepare your filling ingredients first since they require some soaking time.

The yogurt takes a little experimenting and here is what I suggest.
Measure out 1/2 cup of yogurt nuggets. Add water gradually by about 2 TB at at time and wisk until smooth and desired thickness.

Chill for 10 to 20 minutes. It will thicken a little more when chilled.

My kids loved the vanilla yogurt. It was super sweet. But it was nice to see how much they liked it. So far this is our favorite item.

For the mangos: The mangos really need to soak for at least 15 minutes to lose their crunchiness. Measure out a cup of mangos and soak in a cup of water.

There really is no way I can say these tasted like fresh mangos. They don't. But top them on a pancake slathered with the yogurt and some of your favorite jam and they really are pretty tasty and tangy. I actually really like them as a sweet tangy crunchy handful in their original freeze dried stage.

For the pancakes (which turned out light and fluffy) we simply added water to the pancake mix.
Umm so easy. I threw in a pinch of cinnamon. Taking this on the next camping trip.

We flapjacked those pancakes and then filled them with the paco filling.
Yogurt first, some of our homemade jam (we like pear pineapple or strawberry) and then top with mangos and a pinch of cinnamon.

Despite the fact that this meal came from cans, the kids still loved these pacos.

Now come back tomorrow to enter the giveaway for the $50 in Thrive products.

Savory Pancake Bowls

We have a breakfast dinner at our home at least once a month. We rarely eat more than cereal, smoothies or toast for our real breakfast. But we will still love breakfast food. So we have Brinner. One of our favorite dinners is eggs and veggies baked in ham cups. So, when I saw this recipe for Savory Egg stuffed pancake cups in the Costco cookbook I had to give it a try. Their version is way more gourmet and that would have been awesome for the adults in this house that appreciate such things. But I was cooking for the picky kiddos who think mac and cheese is the most awesome dinner ever. I had to make the recipe a bit more practical. Although, I added mushrooms to my husband and mine's pretty little cups.

The original recipe called for Krusteaz pancake mix. I used the pancake mix I had on hand but I had to add a little more water to thin my pancakes out since it was a wheat pancake mix, This recipe needs a thinner pancake so that you can easily mold the pancakes into muffin tins.


Recipe
1 Cup Pancake mix
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 Cup water.
1 Tb butter
1/2 Cup chopped onion
1 Cup fresh spinach or mushrooms
6 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 Cup milk
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar or swiss cheese.

Preheat a lightly greased griddle to medium heat. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

Stir together panckake mix and batter (batter should be thin) Let stand for 2 minutes. Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. cook for 1 to 1 1/4 minute per side. ( Do not overcook your pancake)

Carefully place warm pancakes into muffin tins, forming bowls. Bake in oven for 4-5 minutes until edges are slightly crispy. Set aside.

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion for 3-4 minutes. Add spinach or mushrooms and cook for about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and drain well.

Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, milk and salt and pepper.
Scramble over medium heat until eggs are set. Remove from heat and fold in sauteed veggies.
Fill pancake bowls with eggs. Top each with shredded cheese.
Bake 7-10 minutes until cheese has melted.

12 servings.


Giveaway: My magazine Alive! Utah is having one awesome giveaway this week on perfect pantry and food storage foods by Shirley J. We are giving away $50 worth of product to one lucky winner. So go enter at http://aliveutah.com/ You do have to be a subscriber to my site. But it is free.

Baked Bunuelos A.K.A Cheese Puffs

RECIPE UPDATE: Flour added to recipe. Everything is correct now.
I loved these little Spanish cheese puffs. They make a tangy dinner bread that is very simple to make. However, it was a split vote in my house. Two of my kids did not love them. I think it was the undertone of Dijon mustard. However, I like the recipe because it is very pantry friendly. Plus they are pretty cute, those little buneulos.

This recipe comes from Spanish Food and Cooking by Pepita Aris

1/4 Cup butter diced
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup water
1 Cup flour
2 whole eggs plus 1 yolk
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Cup grated manchego or cheddar cheese.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees farenheit. Place butter and salt in a pan and add the water. Bring to a boil.

Add flour quickly to boiling liquid and stir immediately.

Beat mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a  thick paste that binds together and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat.

Gradually beat in the eggs and yolk into the mixture, then add the mustard, cayenne pepper and cheese. Place teaspoonfuls onto a nonstick or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350 and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden brown.

Potato Rosemary Waffles & Turkey Gravy

First, I need to take care of  a little contest business. Frieda won the dehydrated apple slices and the emergency kit. Yay Frieda! Frieda of Lovin' From the Oven loves food storage stuff and so I am so excited she gets this prize.

Featured Food Storage: Potatoes or potato pearls and turkey gravy mix.

This is one of those recipes that makes me smugly content that I decided to learn how to make good food with my food storage staples. Seriously, it makes me feel all gourmet (even though I am not) just to say I made waffles that were fragrant moist and tasted of rosemary mashed potatoes. These waffles and the gravy are proof that not every recipe that comes out of your food storage needs to be in a casserole. There are clever ways to use instant potato pearls and instant gravy packs can have their uses, especially for those of us who are gravy challenged. I rank making gravy right beneath ironing on my least fave list. If my mother -in-law is not standing mext to me in the kitchen making her completely delicious gravy or by the ironing board showing me how to iron the right way, I can guarantee that I am going to go for the shortcut. EVERY TIME. So please don't judge me over the gravy -- because the waffles definitely did not come out of a box. And they are pretty simple to make, especially if you don't have to toss the first batch because you didn't follow the directions. Ahem. . .

These really did turn out delicious and were a nice savory take on a waffle dinner. I used cubed deli turkey because I had stocked up on a big ole hefty he-man quantity of the stuff. But feel free to use canned turkey or chicken or fresh cubed turkey or chicken. The beauty of this recipe is how adaptable it is. In fact, in the true spirit of using food storage items, I exchanged the fresh mashed potatoes in this recipe with mashed potatoes made from potato pearls. I have every intention of making these again and again with both the fresh and the dehydrated version.


The Waffles (recipe adapted from Waffles From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan)


2 Russet Potatoes or enough to make 2 Cups of potato pearls rehydrated (mashed potatoes should be a little thinner consistency.)


1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup milk or amount called for dehydrated potatoes.
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large eggs
1 Cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder.
2 sprigs of fesh rosemary, rosemary should be removed from stem or 1 tsp dried. Roughly chop fresh rosemary.

1 Packet of turkey gravy mix
2 cups of cubed or shredded turkey or chicken.

If using fresh potatoes -- Peel and wash potatos. Cut into small evenly sized pieces and place in pot of cold water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cok until fork tender. Drain and reserve about 1/2 cup of potato water. Set aside.

If using dehydrated potatoes or potato pearls - Measure out about 2 cups of potato pearls into a large bowl.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over low hat and saute the chopped onion just until barely softened. Pour the oil and onion over the potatoes. Add rosemary.

Add milk to skillet and heat on low until just before boiling. (small bubbles will form around edge of pan.) Add milk to potato mixture and whip or mash until smooth and slightly looser than normal mashed potatoes. If it is too stiff add poato water little by little.

Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the waffle iron and lightly grease. Preheat oven to 200 degrees farenheit.

Finish the batter by beating eggs into the potatoes.

Combine the flour and baking powder in a seperate bowl and then fold into potatoes using a spatula.

Spoon 1/2 cup batter onto waffle maker and smooth evenly to withing a an inchof the edges. Bake until brown and crisp. Keep waffles in oven to keep warm

Prepare turkey gravy while waffles are cooking. Make according to package directions.

Heat turkey in the microwave to warm up.

Top waffles with turkey and gravy..

Tip: It is spring and herbs are available at your local nurseries for the same price as a box of them costs in the produce section. Instead of buying a box of rosemary. Go buy a plant and plant it in your kitchen or outside for rosemary all season long.

Cinnamon Pull Bread

Suggested pantry item: Stock up on cinnamon this month. Don't buy that little jar. Buy it in bulk and then don't forget to use it.

Did you know cinnamon is powerful? It is absolutely good for you. A little bit goes a long way towards sugar balance and heart health. Cinnamon actually has a high dietary fiber content. That is why I don't feel too guilty about bringing you this tasty breakfast/brunch bread. It is easy to make and it is less fattening than it's cousin monkey bread. Yet, it is still a tasty little bite of cinnamon bread goodness. I actually got this recipe from one of my Library cook book finds: Cooking Smart For a Healthy Heart by Readers Digest. I have this sudden blood pressure issue and so I am trying to make, at least a token effort to address the hypertension that erupts when I am not medicated.

Any way, this was a hit with the family and there was something about rolling all those little golf ball sized dough balls that I found immensely satisfying.

A note on fat: Remember how I compared this to its much more famous cousin, Monkey Bread? Well, although this recipe contains 5 g of fat per serving, it only contains 1.5 g saturated fat. Pretty decent for a cinnamon/sugar breakfast bread.

Recipe

5 to 5 51/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 packets of rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups milk

10 Tb margarine

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (light)

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl.
• Heat milk and 4 Tb margarine in saucepan over medium heat until very warm (do not boil). Stir into flour mixture.
• Stir in egg and enough remaining flour (at least 3 1/2 cups) to form a soft dough.
• Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) I used my Bosch but feel free to hand knead.
• Melt remaining margarine and coat a 10 inch tube cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine remaining sugars and cinnamon.
• Pull off golf ball sized balls and arrange in a single layer in pan.
• Brush with half of the melted margarine and sprinkle with half cinnamon/sugar mixture.
• Repeat with a second layer.
• Cover with damp towel. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Bake until browned on top, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then unmold. Serve warm.

Cranberry Carrot Muffins

I watch the produce shelves, waiting for the day the cranberries will appear. Because it's virtually impossible to track down these seasonal gems the rest of the year I feel obligated to start using them the moment they make an appearance. So they are here and oh the plans I have. I got a special little sample package today from POM Wonderful full of pomegranate juice. I can promise you that the POM and the cranberries are going to get together soon but for now I whipped up some moist carrot muffins with sweet flavors of pineapple and tangy bursts of cranberry. I am afraid I can't tell you how many I ate by myself. What I can tell you is that I stayed true to the purpose of this blog and I experimented with one of my food storage items. I exchanged the shredded carrot for the dehydrated carrot pieces that have been waiting to be used. I am on a mission to learn how to use dehydrated carrots. These carrot muffins are a great pantry/food storage recipe. If you leave out the cranberries, the rest of the recipe comes straight from the pantry shelves.

Recipe adapted from recipe in Lunch Boxes and Snacks by Annabel Karmel

3/4 Cup flour

3/4 Cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup veggie oil

1/2 Cup sugar

1/4 of dehydrated carrots, re hydrated to 1/2 cup or 1 large carrot shredded

one 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, partially drained

3/4 Cup fresh cranberries or craisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin tin

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl beat oil, sugar and eggs until combined. Add carrot, pineapple and cranberries and mix. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour into muffin tins. Bake 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to wire rack.

Swiss Cheese Popover

I am always looking for a simple bread side for dinner. I want easy and I want variety. My husband actually whipped these up for Tuesday soup night and I really liked them. The Swiss cheese and egg added to this simple batter was delicious. To be fair my children did not love them. But we are still in the process of trying to convert them to Swiss cheese. My hubby liked the toasted cheese crust the best and I liked the interesting texture of these popovers.

Swiss Cheese Popovers
1/2 Cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 Cup milk room temperature ( we actually used reconstituted Morning Moos powdered milk and these turned out fine)
1 TB melted butter
1.2 tsp Dijon-Style mustard
6 TB shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir flour and salt in medium bowl. Beat egg, milk, melted butter, and mustard in a different bowl. Pour over flour and stir to form batter. Do not beat.

Grease 4muffin cups and fill each cup with 1 TB shredded cheese. Allow cheese to stick to sides of muffin tins. Divide batter between cheese coated cups. Top with remaining cheese. Fill empty cups half-full of water for even baking.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until popovers have risen and are golden brown. Remove from muffin tin and serve warm.

Buttermilk Herbed Biscuits

Featured Food Storage/Pantry: Buttermilk powder blend, flour, shortening

Suggested Storage Item: It is always a good idea to have extra shortening in your pantry. Check your pantry or add a pack of shortening to your grocery list this week.

I really am trying to be a more DIY baker. Homemade biscuits have been on my list for a long time. I am trying to keep from buying those refrigerated biscuits. I know, I know they are good. But we can do this ourselves and I love the idea of altering it to my tastes. I like to add a little whole grains to all my bread products. My husband doth protest too much at the grainier breads. He likes the colon sticking white stuff too much. But I do persist and eventually he will be entirely converted. Meanwhile, he did eat these biscuits that I flavored with some fresh garden herbs. I do love the marriage of rosemary and fresh bread. So, I added some rosemary and chives because they are abundant in my garden.

Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

1 Cup White flour

1 Cup Wheat flour

4 Tbsp powdered buttermilk blend (or 1 Cup buttermilk)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp sugar

1/3 Cup shortening

2/3 Cup water (If using liquid buttermilk omit the water)

1/4 Cup fresh herbs chopped (I used rosemary and chives)

Makes between 8 to 12 biscuits depending on size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine dry ingredients (except herbs). Cut in shortening or mix with pastry attachment in mixer until mixture resembles corn meal in texture. Add water (or liquid buttermilk) and mix until dough is pliable. Do not over mix. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead in chopped herbs. Knead for about 30 seconds. Roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured biscuit cutter or (a small punch cup) Place close together on ungreased baking sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown

Authentic Beef Sopes

Featured Food Storage: Refried beans, canned shredded beef, masa .
Suggested Pantry Item: Masa Harina or Instant Corn Masa Flour. A great item to have on hand for homemade tortillas or sopes.

I have been searching for this recipe or even this item on a menu for the past 14 years. Once, a long time ago,my college roommate's sister-in-law made us these fried masa bowls filled with refried beans and taco toppings called sopes. I was in Mexican food heaven. I have searched every Mexican restaurant I have visited since then for a similar item. Did you realize you could have a craving for longer than a decade? I recently found sopes on the menu at a new restaurant in town and it is possible I drove my husband crazy with my excitement. However, they totally charred my shredded beef. I vowed to find the recipe myself. After an online search I discovered I needed that Masa Harina stuff. I grabbed a bag and lo and behold the recipe was on the back of the bag. Wow! If only I had known. So I rolled up my sleeves and made myself some of these delicious little sopes, that were loved by one and all in my family. I do however intend to leave them a little thicker next time when I roll them out.

For the meat, I actually used leftovers from my sister-in-law's crockpot shredded beef recipe but I fully intended to use the canned shredded beef in my food storage. I just didn't know I would have so many leftovers from the crockpot beef roast. I love the Costco shredded canned beef and that is why this recipe would be perfect to add to your food storage recipe arsenal.

RECIPE for 8 sopes
1 Cup Instant Masa flour
2/3 Cup water
1/8 tsp salt.


1 to 2 Cups shredded beef
1 can of refried beans or 1 1/2 Cups
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
tomatoes
salsa and sour cream


Combine water, masa, and salt. Mix thoroughly for about two minutes or until a soft dough forms. If dough is too dry add a little more water, a tablespoon at a time. Divide dough into 8 balls and cover with a damp towel. To form tortillas use a tortilla press or, as I did, place balls between two pieces of plastic wrap and press down with a heavy frying pan to form a ball appx. 3" in diameter and about 3/8 inch thick. I accidentally made mine too thin.

Cook each sope for one minute on a preheated ungreased skillet. Turn and cook second side until lightly browned.

Remove from heat and carefully pinch the sides on the first cooked side to form a raised rim about 1/4 inch high. Be careful, sopes are hot. Repeat with each heated sope. Heat 3/4 inch of oil or just toss in the deep fryer and fry sopes until light golden. Drain on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet kept in a warm oven.

Heat beans and spread on sope. Top with shredded meat and toppings.

Tip: Shredded pork or chicken are also great on these.

Peanut Butter Pancakes With Pancake Mix

Featured Food Storage: Premade pancake mix and peanut butter

I really wanted to try one of those peanut butter pancake recipes circulating the web. But I already have my premade pancake mix recipe in the pantry. I didn't want to make the whole batter from scratch so I wondered if I could just add peanut butter to my standard mix. A half cup melted peanut butter to this recipe made a perfect creamy peanut butter pancake. This is the second time I have made this pancake version in a week. An addition of three nephews to my already full house made these a perfect choice. I love that I can easily make this recipe in a few minutes by simply adding peanut butter to my fave pancake mix. My sister brought me a bag full of fresh picked Oregon blueberries. Peanut butter, pancakes, blueberries and syrup. An instant hit.

Recipe:
2 Cups pancake mix
1/2 cup melted peanut butter
1 1/2 cups water
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil

Melt peanut butter in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute,until more liquid. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and cook on hot griddle.

Herbed Focaccia Bread

Featured Pantry Items: Flour, yeast, olive oil, fresh grown herbs

I am never buying Focaccia from the store again. I don't need to. This recipe was so easy, so delicious and so adaptable. I am actually in danger of going on a focaccia bread making binge. This herbed version used a handful of herbs I gathered from my yard this morning and by 10:30 this morning I had Focaccia ready and made for tonight's other food storage friendly meal, spaghetti and meatballs. I slightly adapted a recipe from the Lion House International Recipes book. Tomorrow, after I have some article writing finished, I am going to try a raisin, cinnamon, pecan version. That is what is wonderful about this recipe. You can easily change your mix-ins and toppings. Sometime soon I am going to try a sundried tomato version. The possiblities are endless.

Herbed Focaccia

2 1/2 cups flour divided (I substituted 3/4 cup whole wheat flour for some of the white flour)

1 package or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup very warm water

2 Tb Olive oil

1 egg beaten

1/4 Cup olive oil

1 to 2 Tb fresh chopped herbs. (I used basil and rosemary)

1/4 freshly grated parmesan cheese

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour with yeast, oregano and salt in a large bowl. Stir in warm water and 2 Tb oil. Add beaten egg. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a stiff batter. This is where I substituted wheat for some of the white flour. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Brush a 13x9 baking dish with olive oil. Slightly oil your hands and spread batter into pan. Drizzle with 1/4 Cup olive oil and top with herbs and cheese. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size (30 to 45 minutes). Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool in pan on wire rack or serve warm. Cut into squares.

Baking Bananas -- Banana Raspberry Bread and Whole Grain Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Part of the reason I bought so many bananas is because I love banana breads for breakfast. And I am going to freeze whatever we don't gobble up this week. And so I began my baking with these two recipes. I also made some banana chips that are going to go into my banana granola this week.

I also tried a new banana bread recipe which was originally Strawberries and Cream Banana bread. I threw in some raspberries and the tart taste blended perfectly with the sweet banana flavor. I was a little distracted by the raspberry seeds but the contrasting flavors made up for the seeds. I love this super moist recipe that uses sour cream to keep the bread from drying out.

I also did my standard banana muffins and threw them in the freezer for breakfast down the road. Everyone has their own banana muffin recipe here is mine: This recipe works just as well for banana bread.

1/2 Cup butter
1/4 Cup sugar and 1/2 Cup Splenda
2 eggs slightly beaten
3 medium mashed bananas
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 ts Baking Soda
1 C. Whole grain pastry flour
1/3 Cup Water
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 Cup chocolate chips (optional)

Melt butter and blend in sugar. Add beaten eggs and mashed bananas, blending until smooth. Combine flour, salt and soda in a separate bowl. Alternate adding whole wheat mixture with hot water. Stir in nuts or chocolate chips.

Bake in a 9x5 loaf pan or 12 muffin tins at 325 degrees.
1 hour 10 minutes for bread
Approx 20 minutes for muffins or until golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Tomorrow I am baking a batch of tropical banana bread and I will try to have that recipe up tomorrow night.

Crockpot Honey Whole Grain Bread

For Pots and Plots, Thoughtless Thursday roundup I decided to make my crockpot bread.

I have said it before; I am no bread baker master. But everytime I make this crockpot bread it is a success. Yes, it's round. But I get over that once I get my hearty homemade bread fix. Actually the round shape lends itself to huge pieces, each of which is enough for one sandwich when halved.

This bread is so easy to make. No kneading, no peeking under a towel to see how the iffy rising is coming along. I just mix it in my Bosch mixer and then pour it into a ceramic dish that fits in the crockpot. And 3 hours later: VOILA! Oh it's too easy.

This recipe comes from one of those supermarket stand crockpot recipe books, Slow Cooker Recipes I make one small change by adding dough enhancer.

2 Cups warm (not hot) milk (whole or 2%)
2 TB canola oil
1/4 Cup honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 package active dry yeast
2 tsp dough enhancer (optional)
3 Cups whole wheat flour, divided
3/4 to 1 Cup all-purpose flour. (I almost always end up using the full cup).

1. Spray with nonstick cooking spray a 1 quart casserole or souffle dish or other high-sided baking dish. In electric mixer combine milk, oil, honey, salt, yeast, dough enhancer, 1 1/2 cups wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Mix at medium low speed for 2 minutes.
2. Gradually add remaining wheat flour and 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup all purpose flour. Mix until completely combined. Unlike other bread recipes dough should remain sticky.


3. Transfer to prepared pan and add pan to slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours.


Remove from slow cooker and let stand for 5 Minutes before cooling on wire rack.

This week we had this bread slathered in melted cheese after a long night cheering at a little league game. Mmmm. Cheesy bread.

Homemade Graham Crackers/Cookies

And the winner is . . .
I did not get my snack post done on Monday because I have been trying out graham cracker recipes. I really want to figure out how to make my own graham crackers. I tried two recipes and I have one still to try. Here is the verdict. Recipe #1 was the winner with the kids, although it didn't really have that real graham taste it had a similar texture and the cracker/cookies were good enough that they disappeared in one day. They did, however, think they worked good as peanut butter smore crackers. My only issue with these easy to make crackers: The recipe only makes about a dozen crackers. I will definitely double next time. The second recipe I tried was not as big of a hit and it made a ton of crackers. Fortunately, chocolate fixes everything. It's going to be smore week here as we go through the 3 dozen crackers I have left over from the unfavored recipe #2.

I do think that if I invested in some actual graham flour the first recipe would gain that graham taste. I also want to try the recipe from 101cookbooks.com. It is a little more complicated but I will probably give it a try. You can find that recipe here.

Graham Cracker recipe adapted from Practical Preparedness by Tina Monson
1 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C plus 1 T sugar
1/3 C butter
2 T Milk
1/2 C oat flour (see oat flour note below)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T honey

1. Mix flours, sugar, and soda.
2. Heat butter and honey and stir until melted.
3. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Let chill for 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Press dough out onto ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and roll until 1/4 inch thick. The plastic wrap will keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
5. Trim edges and cut dough into 10 to 12 uniform rectangles.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until golden.
6. Prick crackers with fork as they come out of the oven and let cool completely.

Oat Flour Note
Oat flour can be pricey in the store. But you can make your own in about 30 seconds. Use a blender or food processor to grind regular oats into a fine flour like consistency.

Tip. For a healthy smore snack make a sandwich with peanut butter and dark chocolate.

Make Your Own Pancake Mix

I used to buy mixes, you know those shortcuts that make our life easy and convenient. Sometimes mixes are expensive and yet they are so easy to make for ourselves. They can also be a lot healthier when we leave out those extra preservatives. I ran out of my Krusteaz Honey and Wheat pancake mix on purpose. Instead of running to the grocery to stock up on more pancake mix I decided I could easily make my own. It was so easy I had the mix for six batches of 12 pancakes done before my kids even rolled out of bed this morning. And I am no early riser. Yes, I am still going to buy premade mixes but I am also going to start making some of my own ranch dressing, Easy Bake Oven cakes, magic mix and other mixes in bulk. I am very pleased with this pancake mix. They were actually tastier than the Krusteaz brand. I livened mine up with some sliced strawberries in the batter and on top. Strawberries were on sale this week and so I have a surplus.

Whole Wheat Pancake Mix from Practical Preparedness Cookbook by Tina Monson
1 C. Sugar
6 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3 C. White Flour
1/4 C. Baking Powder
1 1/2 C. Instant Dry Milk Powder
1 T Salt

Combine Ingredients in a large bowl. Mix Well. Store in airtight container. Makes 12 Cups

To make Pancakes
2 C. Mix
1 egg
1 1/2 C. Water
3 T. oil

Mix all ingredients well. Fold in 1/2 cup optional ingredients like strawberries or chocolate chips and pour onto hot greased griddle. Cook until bubbly on one side; flip and brown the other side.

Steph's Oatmeal Bread

I am so excited to share this recipe. I am no bread maker. I actually think I may have a bread baking phobia. But, I do believe you should be able to make your own bread, straight from your food storage or pantry. I am just still perfecting my technique. Luckily, my sweet sister-in-law is one of those people I consider a master bread maker and so I asked her to share her favorite bread recipe with this blog. I perused the recipe and I think it looks pretty simple (famous last words). I am going to give it a try. It does after all include one of my favorite pantry items, oatmeal. And I do so love homemade bread.

Steph's Oatmeal Bread

2 Cups boiling water
1 cup oatmeal
Pour water over oatmeal and set aside.
1/2 cup warm water
2 pkgs. Dry yeast
Mix together in separate bowl and set aside to rise.
Once oatmeal mixture has cooled down add yeast and mix together. Now add
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
2 Tlbs. butter (do not melt)
6 cups flour, added gradually.
Mix until dough does not stick to sides of bowl. You may not need all the flour.
Let rise until double in size.
Knead dough for a few minutes, then divide in half, put in two greased bread pans.
Let rise again for 1/2 hour.
Cook at 350 for 30-35 mins.
After bread comes out of oven spread melted butter on top of the loaves!
Enjoy!