One More Recipe!!! *updated

Homemade Graham Crackers

Here's a recipe I got from my cousin's wife just this morning and I made them in like ten minutes and my kids love them.  They are especially good with a glass of milk!
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbl. brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (room temp.)
2 Tbl. honey
2 Tbl. milk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add the honey & milk. It will be crumby. I ended up mixing by hand but I bet a food processor would do the trick. Roll out on parchment paper until 1/4 in. thick and transfer to cookie sheet - paper and all. Score with fork and cut with roller. I made mine mini-sized and they are soo cute.  Bake 5 min. at 400 until lightly brown.

*For the life of me I CANNOT get them crackery in 5 minutes even though my cousin swears she can.  I must cook them for 10-12 minutes.  So, see which you like!

Scratching the Itch.

I love this picture of Peter.  He got into some Pero and somehow managed to get it perfectly on his face so he looks like an old hobo.  I love it but it has very little to do with this post...

In an effort to save loads of money AND still eat healthy - I have resorted to making nearly everything from scratch.  And in doing so I've been pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it actually is - AND that it really does save us several hundred dollars a month!  I also love the feeling that if I've got a few basic ingredients I can feed my family really well.   In making things from scratch I aim for not inferior, cheap food, but actually superior quality and taste; and for the most part I haven't been disappointed.   Most of what I make is so good that even if I win the lottery it's going to be hard not to continue to make it myself.  Here are some of my "go to" recipes and some estimates on how much moo-la they are saving me:


(I linked the recipe's original if I found it online - otherwise I note where I found it - the cornbread picture is not mine and was taken from the original site)

Just Like Wheat Thins(taken from Jamie's wonderful book)
These really are just like wheat thins and have great flavor except I haven't yet gotten them as thin.  Each time I make them they get better.  They cost around $.88 to make and yield nearly twice as much as you'd get in a 12 ounce box for around $3.


Ingredients
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c white flour
1/4 c sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 c butter
3/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c wheat germ


Sift the first five ingredients together.  Add the butter and process in a food processor.  Add the buttermilk, and process until it forms a ball.  Set it aside for 10 minutes.  Cut the dough into four parts.  Grease cookie sheets and sprinkle them with wheat germ.  Roll each piece out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt.  Cut into diamond shapes with a pastry wheel.  Baker at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool and put into a covered container.

Flour Tortillas (that don't need lard or shortening!)
 Once you taste these babies you'll have a hard time going back to the super unhealthy version you find at the store.  They're moist, soft, and healthy!  They can't cost me more than a quarter to make - and I double the recipe every time.

Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.
Slowly add the warm milk.
Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.
Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.
Makes eight tortillas.

100% Whole Wheat Bread
I already posted this recipe so I'm just gonna link to that...

I make this recipe about once every 6 days.  It makes 4 large loaves.  The bread I was purchasing before this that was of similar quality was $4 a loaf!  I think they cost me less than $0.50 a loaf.  Doing the math that means every week I save $14 on bread alone!







Pizza Dough(taken from one of my favorite cookbooks)
  I love this recipe and so does my family which means I make it at least once a week.  It makes two big hearty pizzas with chewy, tasty dough.  Because I buy my cheese at Costco in bulk - these pizzas cost me about a dollar a piece - including pepperoni!   Compare that with a large pizza from Domino's or Pizza Hut and I'm saving $14 a piece!  I make mine in a bosch which saves a lot of time since I can skip the double rise time.  The recipe below is the original by hand method.

2 1/2 c warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1 c whole wheat flour
5 c unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 scant tablespoon salt


    Pour the water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it.  Add the sugar, whole wheat flour, and 3 cups of the unbleached flour and stir briskly with a wooden spoon for 100 strokes.  Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.

    Stir the olive oil and salt into the dough.  Stir in enough of the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, to make a shaggy but kneadble dough; this will require almost 1 1/2 cups of flour.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough with floured hands for about 8 minutes, until soft, smooth, and springy.  Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a ceramic bowl and smear it around.  Add the dough, rotate it to coat it with oil, and cover the bowl with plasstic wrap.  Set the dough aside in a warmish, draft-free spot for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk.
    Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough for about one minutes, then divide the dough in half.  Knead each half into a ball and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Let the balls rest for 10 minutes, then proceed with your recipe. 
    Top it with any combination of sauce and toppings that you like and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 450 degree oven.  I bake mine on a pizza stone which makes some seriously great pizza crust.

Homemade Pasta
 As I've said before - this is some cheap but heavenly food.  I try and make it once a week as well.  I can pair with a tomato based homemade sauce, some pesto, or anything I've got on hand.  So good.





Click Here for the recipe

BEST EVER Cornbread
  When I say "Best Ever" I mean it - no matter how good the main dish is, this cornbread always steals the show - it's like eating cake for dinner.  It's all real food but I can't promise it's low in calories!  I'm not sure how much it costs me - I wish I could buy buttermilk in larger quantities than half gallon.  I can make my own cornmeal by grinding popcorn kernels - and it's good!  I've also made it with whole wheat and no one minded a bit!


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 





So there you have it!  Just about everything I make is from scratch but these are my basic staples that I use every week.  If you've got some other great from scratch recipes - send em to me!  

And before I forget, happy St. Patrick's Day!

p.s.  Our money saving goals have changed - we are now following Dave Ramsey's plan which means home buying is NOT in the immediate future.  But being debt free is!

Man cannot live by bread alone...unless it's 100% whole wheat.

People have been asking me about my bread recipe for a while now and I've been slow in getting it up here for a few reasons.  First, it's not my recipe - it's a recipe that you can find in a lot of places on the internet.  Second, it's specific to a Bosch mixer and since not everyone has one of those I didn't know if there was much of a need/point.  And third, I'm lazy since it's on paper only and I didn't want to have to type it up.  But my copy is getting pretty ragged so I figured it was time.


First off, in order to get things done I have to put the littlest one on my back - which I did today.  He likes it and except for when he pulls my hair, I don't mind it either.  I still have other little hands getting into the wheat though.  In fact, as I type my kitchen floor has a layer of wheat grains scattered throughout.

I go through this process about once a week(maybe 6 days) - making four loaves of 100% whole wheat bread.  We love it and I have gotten used to the trouble of making it.


I start by grinding my flour - flour that comes from the mill that Kevin Bacon danced through in the movie Footloose.  We just finished out first 45 pound bucket - it went quicker than I thought it would.  For every cup of grain I get about a cup and a half of flour - give or take.

 

Here you can see the ingredients(minus the flour) and my Bosch on the right.  I don't think I would be making bread this often if I didn't have a Bosch.  It's a workhorse and does an amazing job - I just add the ingredients and it does the rest.  Here is the recipe:

100% Whole Wheat Bread (Directions for Bosch Mixer, but can be made by hand)
(makes about 4 loaves)

5-6 cups hot tap water (hot to the touch;not hot enough to burn finger)
2/3 c. oil
2/3 c. honey
1/2 c. applesauce
2 tbsp. Kitchen Specialties dough enhancer
2 tbsp instant yeast
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
15-17 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour

Pour warm water into Bosch mixing bowl. Add approximately 5 cups flour on top of liquid. Then add dough enhancer, oil, honey, yeast, and gluten. Use the (M) momentary switch to mix well.

Add approx. 5 additional cups flour, and salt. Turn to speed 2. Continue ading flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading on speed 2 for another 5 minutes.

Oil or grease hands and counter. Divide dough into equal portions and shape into loaves. Put into well greased pans. Let rise till double in size. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Top of loaves can be rubbed with water or butter for shiny appearance. Dough can be used for pizza crust or cinnamon rolls.

If you don't have a Bosch mixer you use a Kitchen-aid but I would half the recipe because Kitchen-aid motors can burn out on the heavy load of this bread.  You can also knead it by hand but it will need a double rising time - once in the bowl before you put it in the pans.  

 And when they are all done I pull them out and put them on their sides to cool.  Once they're cool I put them in bags so we can enjoy them over the next several days.  If I know we aren't going to be eating much bread I'll throw a couple loaves in the freezer.

Pinching Pennies...

In an effort to buy a home this summer, Mike and I have finally decided to start pinching every penny and saving every dime.  Like, EVERY dime.  We sat down last week as a family to go over the budget and see if there weren't places we could trim the fat.  And boy was there a lot of fat to trim.    Here are some of the things we came up with with an explanation to follow:

• No More Eating Out
• Half Our Food Bill
• Lowering the Utilities
• Haircuts At Home
• Second Hand It
• Babysitters On Trade Only
• Giving More Back
• PRAY!

No More Eating Out
  Ok, so we eat out.  Not a ton but way more than either Mike and I did growing up.  It happens on crazy nights when dinner just didn't come together. And since we don't like eating fast food we then choose healthier and MORE EXPENSIVE options.  And those days have come to an end.  In their place will be simple dinners like oatmeal, waffles, sandwiches, etc.


Half Our Food Bill
  Now some of you may think this is INSANE but my food bills were pretty cushy.  I hear about those moms that can get their grocery bills to somewhere around $200 a month and I am just not even close to that.  I'm more like 4 or 5 times that.  Now, when you hear that number you may think our home is full of an amazing amount of goodies and treats but it isn't.  I just have always been a food snob, having a hard time buying much prepared stuff and cheap cheeses, meats, and breads.  But experience in the kitchen and some really great gifts have made it possible for me to continue to expect a lot of goodness out of my food without paying the high price.  Meaning, I am making a huge amount from scratch.  My mom gave me a wheat grinder about a month ago and so we have finally been able to make the whole wheat bread we like without ANY additives and fluff but for about a quarter(or more) of the price.  And Mike gave me that great pasta maker which makes for VERY inexpensive meals that are REAL food and healthy to boot.  And we also are making homemade pizza once a week.  And our pizzas are killer good - each one costing us less than two dollars to make.

Lowering the Utilities
  This one is pretty self explanatory.  It basically means wearing a sweater around the house and trying hard not to turn the fire place on in the evenings.  As well as being aware of turning off lights and fans when we're not in the room.

Haircuts At Home
  Oh goodness, heaven help us!  I am so not good at this one yet but I think the only way to learn is practice.  Or if anyone out there knows of any good books or friends willing to teach me on trade???

Second Hand It
  As many of you know I love to buy second hand furniture and books but I have not ever been good at buying used clothing.  I just get so overwhelmed by the racks of ugly clothes to find the desire to rummage through them to find things.  But I am going to have to get over it.  My boys just grow TOO fast.

Babysitters On Trade Only
  Ok, Mike and I LOVE to go out together and though we don't go out weekly we try to make it out at least a couple times a month.  And when you pay the sitter between $20-$30 plus $20-$30 more for whatever you did - that adds up!  So now we're gonna try and trade sitting.  And then go on free dates which should get easier as the weather warms up.


Giving More Back 
  I remember during a finacially tight period of time growing up my Dad said that we would be trying to save money and we'd also be giving more to the Lord.  We believe everything we have is a blessing from the Lord and as we give more of it to those in need we will be able to make better use of what we have.  Works every time.  Thanks Dad for always being such a good example of this!


PRAY!
  Last but not least - actually as a base for everything that we're doing we are praying.  We're praying that we'll be able to see ways in which we can save money.  We're praying that Mike's efforts at work will go well, as well as mine.  I'm praying that I'll be able to make healthy, yummy food and know how to make it cheap.  And we're praying that we'll find the house that is supposed to be our home.  I know that our Heavenly Father WANTS us to come to him about everything we need, desire, are concerned about, are happy about, etc.  

Here are some of my favorite verses from The Book of Mormon in Alma 34:

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

So in the end, it is good.  It is hard but it is also something we've needed to do for years.  And I'd love to hear how you pinch your pennies.

The Quickest Way to a Man's Heart is through his Stomach...mostly.

Yesterday I was driving by a bakery that has the old quote, "The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and it reminded me of the first time I heard that in high school.

Back in the day I had this amazingly beautiful friend, Kristi - in fact, if she had introduced me as a friend back then I would have felt seriously honored(we're still friends and she's still beautiful by the way).  Anyhow, at this same time I had a MAJOR crush on this guy named Frank.  Now, Frank was beautiful,  cool, and played some sweet guitar and sang in his band.  So, I went to my friend Kristi for advice since she was always surrounded by several admiring boys.  She said to me, "Megan, make him some cookies."  And I thought, "Really?"  And she replied with that great quote and it sounded like such a gem of wisdom I did that exact thing.  I made him cookies and she took me over to his house.  Now, you must know that I hadn't ever talked to this guy- I only knew where he lived by looking his last name up in the white pages.  Luckily he had a more uncommon name though I remember feeling nervous that it wouldn't be his house.  Anyhow, I knocked, handed over the cookies and said, "I made these for you."  He was VERY surprised and probably slightly weirded out and said, "Uhh...thanks."  And then I said, "Bye!"  And ran back to the car where Kristi was waiting.  And that was it.  I waited for his stomach to be enchanted by my amazing cookies and to communicate with his heart how much he loved me and was attracted to me.  Unfortunately, it never happened.

Now, I'm sure Kristi had the best of intentions.  She must have thought, I make cookies and yummy stuff and these guys are all over me.  But she was mistaken - it wasn't the cookies - it was the fact that she was a cute, smart, fun cheerleader.   And I was a flat-chested, obnoxious tomboy who was OFTEN mistaken for her older brother.  

Now though, I see that one way to my husband's heart is through his stomach.  But even more his eyes - no, I don't mean that - I mean when he comes home and the house is clean, dinner's cooking, and we all appear pretty happy.  Who wouldn't love to come home to that?  But even when he comes home and the baby is dirty and crying, as am I and the house...he's pretty darn great.  He jumps right in and helps out.  Anyhow, the best way to MY heart IS through my stomach - especially when it's REAL FOOD.  I recently ate out at Pizzeria Seven Twelve  and the whole meal was sort of like foreplay.  I couldn't stop saying "Ohhh, mmmmm, oh my gosh, mmmm"  It was REALLY REALLY good.  Go there.

Also, a friend of mine has been keeping this blog on food that I like and has recently asked me if I wanted to start contributing on it.  And I accepted the invite since try as I might not to, I love love love to add more blogs to my list of things to do.  Anyhow, later today I am going to post about the yummy, made from scratch but easy black beans and rice we're having for dinner.  Till then...

p.s.  I am redesigning that blog for her.  Isn't it cute?  Do you want help redesigning your blog?  I just might be into that...

p.p.s.  Here's Pizzeria Seven Twelve's blog if you're into that...

Yummy, Healthy, & In Season: Mom's Baked Squash with Applesauce

I am a pretty big believer in eating in season and buying locally grown produce.  I owe most of that to this guy and this lady.  Not that I don't still buy ridiculous amounts of bananas every week but still I try and what I can.  And I KNOW a little makes a difference.  Anyhow, on to the point.  Here is a GREAT food that can meet all of the important criteria.  This recipe is something like the one from this book.  I love to eat it on cold afternoons or in the evening with I'm trying to refrain from the amazing cookies my husband always bakes.  It's like a great mix of apple & pumpkin pie - except really healthy!

Mom's Baked Squash with Applesauce

1 acorn squash
2 tablespoons of cider jelly, apple jelly, or currant jelly(I use apple butter)
salt
1 cup of applesauce
cinnamon & sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Half the squash from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds.  Cut a small slice from the bottom of each half so the squash will sit flat as it bakes and place them in a casserole or baking dish with a lid.  Brush the jelly over the flesh of each half and then sprinkle with a little salt.  Cover and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the flesh is just tender.  If liquid has settled in the cavities spoon it out and then fill with applesauce.  Bake for 10 more minutes or until the applesauce is warm.  Sprinkle with copious amounts of cinnamon and sugar and enjoy!

REAL Food and REAL good advice...

Last year I read both "In Defense of Food" and "An Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and even did a week long eating experiment based on them.   And even though I try and keep it up I am finding that time has faded my memory of the recommendations and guidelines set out in the books.  That's why I was so happy to find this book at the grocery store the other day.

It was great because I went through the produce section, picked up some bananas, carrots, and apples and then moved on to the rest of the store.  It was on my way to the meat that I stopped to look at the books and saw this.  I grabbed it, thumbed through it, and asked my oldest son to read the chapter headings out loud to me as we shopped.  The book is laid out in small chapters; each one listing a guideline with an explanation following.   As we walked the aisles he was saying things like, "If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't" and "Eat only foods that will eventually rot" and it made us all really consious of what we were buying and it also made us really anxious to go home and eat some good REAL food.

  Needless to say, because of the book, we turned around and spent a lot more time in the produce section of the store.  I love Michael Pollan's work and if you do too than this book is the perfect thing to keep hanging around in your kitchen or in your bag to remind you of how we really need to eat.  And to remind you that how you eat shapes what the landscape around you looks like.


p.s.  go check out that last link to Michael Pollan.  His website has some great links and info on it.

Crock Pot Craziness...

I am a Mormon and Mormons have a tradition of fasting for two meals the first Sunday of every month. The fasting has at least two purposes. First off, the money we would have spent on those two meals we give to those who are in need, and secondly, fasting puts you in a much more humble(albeit sometimes grumpy) state of mind and opens up your heart a lot more.


Anyhow, it's really hard to cook when you are hungry so I know I should try to find good crock pot meals that will not only be tasty but will require very little time in the kitchen. But I often find that the meals are uninspired, unhealthy, old fashioned or all three.  So a couple of weeks ago when I got this forward I was so so excited.

Mike passed along a forward that had a LONG list of crock pot recipes.  And remember how I said I don't like to cook with a lot of canned goods - especially cream of you name it's?   Well, these recipes are are actually pretty free of stuff like that and much more exciting than the standard fare.  Today we had a cranberry pork loin and it was amazing. I mean AMAZING(well, do I have been fasting all day so...)! So here's the link the long list of recipes(well over 300) that I got in that forward:

CROCK POT RECIPES!!!

Kitchen Appliances are Like Workout Equipment...

...they often end up covered in layers of dust and taking up space.   So I didn't consider getting a pasta maker until my best friend Marisa got one for her birthday and was crazy about it.  During the summer we had dinner with them - we provided the homemade pesto and she provided the pasta.  And I am so not exaggerating that that meal is one of the best on earth.  So this Christmas Mike got me a pasta machine.  And I love it.  I mean LOVE IT!

Last Sunday was the maiden voyage and after making some trial pasta to send through and clean the machine with we made some of the best food EVER.  I used Marisa's recipe which is so so simple that it's hard to believe it is going to taste good but have faith, my friends - it is the best.  Man, how many times can I use the word "best" in this post?   Anyhow, this is some good eating, people!  And it takes so few ingredients and just a little bit of time.  Now, my mother-in-law thought I was a little crazy to want to make my own pasta but my favorite part of cooking is the process.  I don't get much enjoyment out of opening a bunch of cans and dumping them all into a pot - not that I don't do it every once in a while because I do.  But I find real joy and satisfaction in kneading dough, chopping vegetables, simmering sauces, and now, making pasta.

Here are some pictures of the whole thing....

First off the simple simple dough.  At Marisa's urging I start by mixing it together with a fork until it had come together and then using my hands.

Then you knead for ten minutes until you've got this...

Next you MUST let it rest for at least 20 minutes.  If you don't it won't be the right consistency and won't roll out like you need it to. After that you can get started.  You want to start the rolling on the widest opening and slowly work your way down.

And can I tell you how much my kids loved doing this with me?  It was like a little workshop of pasta making elves - it was great.

And check out those linguine noodles! Aren't they beautiful?

After we finished each piece of dough we hung it on the drying rack Mike also gave me.  It's not necessary to dry it.  You could throw it right in the pot but I was making several batches so we hung it on there until it was all done.  You could also store it in the fridge or freezer but it's best fresh.  Then you throw it in some boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes and voila - you've got an amazing meal made from scratch that will impress even the snobbiest of foodies.