Homemade Made Simple

Cheddar Bacon Burger Meatballs

2019-01-12T09:05:00.002-08:00

Cheddar Bacon Burger Meatballs

Low Carb/Keto

With a baby on the way I have been meal prepping like crazy. We aren't currently following any specific diet but I am trying to prep meals that are low carb so that I don't have such a difficult time shedding the baby weight. Also, eating low carb just makes me feel better!

Feel free to size down this recipe if you don't want to make 50 meatballs! If you are dairy free or just prefer a different type of cheese you can easily leave the cheese out or switch it to something you prefer. If I were making these meatballs for just my husband and myself I would probably use blue cheese in place of the cheddar and even stuff a pickled jalapeño in the middle. I have one kid who is a little on the picky side and he would not go for those swaps but he does love these meatballs. If you don't eat red meat you could totally make these with part/all chicken or turkey. The pork gives them great flavor and makes them really tender.

I like these meatballs for their versatility. You could use eat these meatballs plain, cook with your favorite barbecue sauce or even use them for mini sliders.

Heating these up in your instant pot or other brand electric pressure cooker is super simple. In the bottom of your inner pot add 1/2 cup water. Place the meatballs (thawed or frozen) on top of the water. Carefully pour your sauce, barbecue sauce... over top of the meatballs being careful not to mix with the water at the bottom (some of it will mix and that's ok just don't stir). Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and let the pressure naturally release for an additional 10 minutes (or longer if you prefer). Carefully release the remaining pressure. If the sauce is too thin when you open the lid change your setting to saute and cook until it is your desired consistency.

To cook in a crockpot place your meatballs and desired sauce in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef or venison (I used venison)
1 pound ground pork
8 ounces thick cut bacon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup almond flour (you could use your favorite bread crumbs or ground oatmeal if you are nut free)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (can omit or cheese of your preference)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a cast iron pan (my preference).

Cut your bacon into small pieces and cook over medium low heat until the fat is rendered and it just starts to crisp. Don't crisp it too much because it will continue to cook when you bake them.

In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients except for the cheddar cheese.

Cut your cheese into approximately 50 1/4 inch chunks and set aside.

Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out the meat mixture and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Place a piece of cheese in the middle and wrap the meat around the cheese. Roll the meatball in your hands to form a uniform ball and place each ball on your prepared pans. You should get around 50 meatballs.

Once you have finished rolling all of the meatballs place the pans in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip all of the meatballs and return them to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

At this point your meatballs are cooked all the way through and you can eat them or freeze them.

Instructions without pictures:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a cast iron pan (my preference).

Cut your bacon into small pieces and cook over medium low heat until the fat is rendered and it just starts to crisp. Don't crisp it too much because it will continue to cook when you bake them.

Cut your cheese into approximately 50 1/4 inch chunks and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients except for the cheddar cheese. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out the meat mixture and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Place a piece of cheese in the middle and wrap the meat around the cheese. Roll the meatball in your hands to form a uniform ball and place each ball on your prepared pans. Once you have finished rolling all of the meatballs (you should get around 50) place the pans in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip all of the meatballs and return them to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

At this point your meatballs are cooked all the way through and you can eat them or freeze them.

Nutritional Information:

This information will vary depending on what meat you use. More specifically your brand of bacon. I just selected a bacon from the site I used. If you purchase a bacon with no added sugar your carbs will be even lower. The nutritional facts are per meatball.

Nutritional information provided from sparkpeople.com

Yogurt

2019-01-05T06:46:00.004-08:00

Yogurt

My family goes through gallons of yogurt a week. Yes, you read that correctly GALLONS. I use to use a yogurt maker that would only produce 6 or 7 1 cup jars at a time. This was essentially just a heated plastic base with small glass jars and a lid. Since then I have switched to using my instant pot and it produces consistent results each time and a much higher yield. In my area milk averages about $2 a gallon. The only other essential ingredient is a starter culture being a small jar of yogurt (around $1) or a purchased powdered culture which range in price.

It is completely possible to make yogurt without any fancy equipment, though you will need a thermometer. In this post I will give instructions on both methods.

You will need

* A nonreactive pot to heat your milk. Copper and cast iron are not recommended as they react with the milk and may cause curdling.
* A thermometer that ranges in temperature from 110 degrees to 185 degrees
* An instant pot or yogurt maker - optional
* Milk (must be dairy milk)
* A starter culture (plain prepared yogurt or a powdered yogurt culture)

Choosing a milk

As long as you use dairy milk you can use any percentage of fat you wish. Goats milk, cows milk, and sheep milk are all acceptable types and will each produce a different flavor. You can use anything from skim milk to whole milk and even include heavy cream. Personally I always use whole milk. Skim milk will be fewer calories but will also have a thinner consistency after fermenting. If you desire a thicker yogurt it can be achieved through straining. Adding heavy whipping cream to your milk will lower your carb ratio (from milk sugars) and also produce a thicker consistency. You may use raw milk, regular milk, or ultra pasteurized milk. There are some brands of milk including fairlife milk that are ultra-pasturized and filtered to remove lactose. Fairlife milk also contains more protein which produces a thicker yogurt but is significantly more expensive.

Choosing a starter culture

Not all yogurts are created equally. When choosing a starter culture choose a yogurt that you enjoy eating. Your culture will play a large roll in the end flavor of your yogurt. If I am using a store bought yogurt I tend to use Fage Greek yogurt as I prefer the taste over other yogurts. It is less tart but still pleasantly tangy. Choose a yogurt that does not have added sugars or stabilizers and has live and active cultures. When you make your first batch of yogurt save enough yogurt for your next 4 or 5 batches and then use a fresh starter. This is recommended as your yogurt strains may begin to weaken. I also really like having powdered starters in my freezer. They are convenient for when I forget to save any yogurt from my last batch and they also produce different flavors and textures. My favorite place to order yogurt cultures is from https://cheesemaking.com/collections/yogurt-making.

Getting Started

1 tablespoon prepared starter per quart of milk

1 package powdered culture per 1 - 2 quarts of milk

1 quart of milk = 4 cups

1 quart milk - 1 tablespoon starter

1/2 gallon milk - 2 tablespoons starter

3 quarts milk - 3 tablespoons starter

1 gallon milk - 1/4 cup starter

Make sure all of your equipment is very clean. In a non reactive pot add your milk. The pictures shown were taken of a 1.5 gallon batch. Heat your milk to 185 degrees, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Hold the temperature of the milk at 185 degrees for 5 minutes. This will denature the proteins in the milk and produce a thicker yogurt. Alternately you can heat the milk to 180 and immediately move to the next step. If you are using an instant pot (this will not work in the lux model) you can also hit the yogurt bottom until the display reads boil and wait for your milk to reach 180 - 185 degrees. I prefer the stovetop method because I find it to be faster and much more consistent.

In a sink filled with ice water transfer your pan and stir the milk until it is cooled to 100 - 115 degrees (or whatever the temperature indicated on your powdered starter). Whisk in your starter culture (yogurt or powdered) and transfer to your instant pot. Cover with a glass lid or your instant pot pressure lid and press the yogurt button making sure it is set to yogurt normal. Notice in the picture below the buttons that are lit.

Your yogurt should incubate anywhere from 6 to 24 hours. This tends to be a personal preference. I tend to set mine to be ready when I think I will be available to continue to the next step. The longer you incubate your yogurt for the more lactose will be consumed in the process. This makes the yogurt easier for those with lactose issues to digest. The bacteria is eating the milk sugars so the yogurt will be more tart the longer you go.

When your timer has finished your instant pot will read yogt for yogurt. At this point your yogurt should look thick and a spoon should stick up without being held.

If you prefer traditional yogurt with a thinner consistency then you can refrigerate the yogurt at this point and it is ready to eat. If you would like a thicker Greek yogurt you will need to strain your yogurt. I have strained my yogurt directly after the yogurt setting has finished though some bloggers will tell you that this disrupts the proteins. I have not found any mention of this in any of the dairy science books I have read. When you stir the finished yogurt it will start to release whey (this will happen in refrigerated yogurt as well. In the picture below you can see little pockets of yellow whey close to the edges of the yogurt.

Gently ladle your yogurt into a butter muslin (cheesecloth with very small holes) lined colander. If you do not have butter muslin use a clean thin woven kitchen towel. This draining process can be sped up by leaving your yogurt at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours or you can strain it in the refrigerator for several hours. Place your colander over a bowl to collect the whey.

After several hours you will be left with a thick yogurt and a lot of whey. Depending on the consistency you desire will depend on how much whey you will let release. If I want a really thick Greek yogurt I let half of the mass of whey release (1 gallon of milk will yield 2 quarts thick Greek yogurt and 2 quarts of whey). You an even strain your yogurt until it is a cream cheese consistency. This is known as yogurt cheese.

Once your yogurt is strained you can either put it in an airtight container and refrigerate it or flavor it. We like to flavor ours in small jars with chalkboard top lids so that it is easy to pick your desired flavor. They also travel well this way.

How to sweeten your yogurt

There are many ways to sweeten your yogurt but it should be done after you have made your yogurt and not before.

*Pure maple syrup

*Honey

*Monk fruit - liquid or granulated (zero calorie low glycemic, keto)

*Stevia - liquid or granulated (zero calorie low glycemic, keto)

*Sweetened condensed milk

*Sugar

*Simple Syrup

*Coffee Syrups (homemade, store-bought, or sugar free)

*Jello (regular or sugar free)

*Fresh Fruit

*Frozen Fruit

*Fruit Purees and preserves (homemade or store-bought)

*Fruit Curds (Lemon, lime, orange)

*Extracts (Vanilla, Peppermint, Lemon, Raspberry...)

Here are some of our favorite flavors:

Peppermint. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup with a couple of drops of peppermint oil.

Banana. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and a couple of drops of banana extract.

We have also used fresh banana but it gets brown and slimy fast.

Caramel. We either sweeten this with caramel coffee syrup (caramelize 1 c. sugar with 1/4 cup water

then add 1 cup of water and stir until dissolved) or a homemade caramel sauce. Instant pot dulce de leche would work well too.

Strawberry banana. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup then a couple of drops of banana extract and

strawberry jam.

Vanilla Bean. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla bean paste stirred in.

Lemon Curd (my favorite). Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and a dollop of lemon curd on top.

My youngest prefers squeeze pouches for their ease and the fact that they are mess free. For these we take some of the reserved whey and mix it back in until it is a drinkable consistency. He prefers his to just be lightly sweetened with maple syrup. I bought this pouches in amazon.

How long does homemade yogurt last

Unflavored I wouldn't hesitate to eat homemade yogurt that is a month old. The live bacteria and cultures are a great preservative. Flavored will be good for several weeks. Just use your best judgement. If it smells funny, don't eat it. If it is growing anything, don't eat it. If the color has changed, don't eat it.

Uses for extra whey

The leftover whey is still full of probiotics and protein. It is tangy and acidic and can be used in many different ways.

*stir some back into your yogurt for a thinner consistency

*freeze in ice cube strays and use in smoothies

*use in soups or when making homemade stock

*marinate and tenderize meat

*use in place of stock in recipes

*use as liquid in homemade beverages (lemonade...)

*use as a lacto-ferment starter

*use in place of milk or buttermilk in bread, pancake... recipes

*feed to your animals

*water acidic loving plants (blueberries...)

Yogurt without an instant pot or in an instant pot without a yogurt button

Follow the instructions above. Once your milk is cooled back to 110 - 115 and you have stirred in your culture place the milk in your instant pot lux and seal the pressure lid. Insulate with bath towels and let incubate for the desired time. Then follow the directions listed.

If you do not have an instant pot place your yogurt mixture in a heavy pot with a lid. Place the entire pot in your oven and insulate with bath towels. Leave your oven light on so that it produces a small amount of heat. Then follow the directions listed.

Chocolate Mousse

2018-07-25T16:57:00.004-07:00

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate is my weakness. I love that I can make this chocolate mousse and keep it in the fridge for when a craving hits, and even freeze the extras. This is a powerhouse of nutrients. Avocados contain 20 vitamins and minerals including potassium as well as heart healthy fats. This mousse is also full of antioxidants, as well as medium chain triglycerides from the coconut that actually help you burn fat and give you energy and increased cognitive function.

What other reasons do you need to eat this decadent desert!?!

Oh, and did I mention that it is stupid easy to make? I like to top mine with whipped cream and raspberries.

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

3 tablespoons butter, melted*

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

2 ounces dark chocolate, melted

1/2 cup sweetener**

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons powdered espresso (optional)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in blender and blend just until smooth. Do not over blend as this will cause the oil to separate from the avocados. Transfer into 4 dishes and serve or refrigerate for later. This recipe makes about 4 1/2 cup servings.

*for dairy free use all coconut oil

** for low carb/keto use a 1:1 sugar substitute. I used Lakanto monk fruit and erythritol blend. For paleo you can use honey or maple syrup.

Vanilla Rhubarb Syrup

2018-07-17T13:12:00.002-07:00

Vanilla Rhubarb Syrup

My favorite Potterhead and her parents had the opportunity to travel to London with Girl Scouts. They have been sending me pictures of all of the great food that they are eating. One picture they sent me was of a vanilla rhubarb soda. I just happen to have way more rhubarb than I know what to do with so I decided to make a syrup for Italian sodas, and it did not disappoint.

Ingredients:

4 cups rhubarb, chopped

4 cups water

2 cups sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup or sugar free sweetener)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Bring water and rhubarb to a simmer and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the rhubarb and water through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the rhubarb to release all of the liquid. You should have about 2 cups of pink liquid with no rhubarb pieces. Return the liquid to the pan and add the sweetener. You may use whichever sweetener you prefer. Return the liquid to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sweetener. Remove for the heat and add the vanilla extract. Cool and transfer to an airtight bottle. Refrigerate and use within a week or so.

To make an Italian soda layer ice, syrup, and seltzer in a glass (to taste). Add a splash of cream and a dollop of whipped cream to the top. Stir before drinking.

This syrup can be used any place you would use a pancake syrup or to flavor drinks such as homemade sodas or mixed beverages.

Baked Faux-tato (Cauliflower) Salad

2018-05-28T13:37:00.004-07:00

Baked Faux-Tato Salad (Cauliflower)

This mock potato salad is sure to be a staple this summer. It makes the perfect side dish for grilled meat and would also be great for a dish to pass. You can even make it days ahead.

Ingredients:

4 cups (about 2 pounds) cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4+ teaspoon sea salt
1/4+ teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup (3.5 ounces) shredded cheddar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If using frozen cauliflower thaw and drain. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 25 - 30 minutes until the bottoms start to brown, turning half way through. Let cauliflower come to room temperature.

In a bowl mix together the remaining ingredients except bacon, reserving some cheese, and herbs to garnish the top. Fold the cooled cauliflower into the sour cream mixture. Transfer to your serving dish and garnish with reserved cheese, herbs, and the chopped bacon. Cover the salad and refrigerate until serving.

Nutritional Information:

This nutritional information is calculated on 10 servings and may very depending on the brands you use.

Calories: 200 Fat: 19.5g Net Carbs: 1.9g Protein: 4.5g

Sweet and Smokey BBQ Sauce - Sugar Free

2018-05-23T10:38:00.001-07:00

Sweet and Smokey BBQ Sauce - Sugar Free

You don't realize how much sugar is in everything until you have committed to a sugar free diet. Unless you are willing to buy a lot of your food online (at a premium price) or don't mind artificial sweeteners (yuck), you will likely have to make most of your convenience foods and condiments from scratch.

This BBQ sauce has the same consistency of store-bought and is sweetened with a low glycemic, zero calorie sweetener. You can also customize it to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 roasted red pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon mustard

2 cups chicken stock or broth

6 ounces tomato paste

1 tablespoon chipotle powder*

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon powdered munk fruit extract or stevia extract

Instructions:

In a large saucepan heat the butter, onion, and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Return to the saucepan and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce may splatter. You can put a lid partly on the pan to catch the spatter, but the sauce needs to be able to reduce so give room for evaporation.

*Chipotle powder will make this sauce spicy. You can use less if you would like it only slightly spicy. If you would still like the smokey taste but no spice replace the chipotle powder with smoked paprika. For no smoke or spice use paprika in place of chipotle powder.

This will store for a month a more in the refrigerator or for several months in the freezer.

Nutritional Information:

Per 2 tablespoon serving. About 16 servings per recipe

Calories - 24 Fat - 1g Protein - 1g Net Carbs - 2.5g

Blue Cheese Dressing

2018-05-22T12:03:00.002-07:00

Blue Cheese Dressing

Keto/ Low Carb/ Sugar Free

Here's the thing. I don't actually like blue cheese, or so I thought. When my husband and I order wings he always gets blue cheese dressing and I get ranch. When we started the keto diet I wanted to try to make a blue cheese dressing to add to homemade wings. This recipe is sugar free and full of healthy fats. Oh, and it is delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

5.5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

Mix all of the ingredients except the blue cheese until combined. Stir in the blue cheese crumbles. This tastes best when it is allowed to sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before use but is great freshly made as well.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

2018-05-21T12:11:00.002-07:00

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I had originally tried to make chocolate cupcakes with almond flour but the texture was very disappointing. The final version of these cupcakes came out dense but moist. They are delicious enough to pass as a traditional cupcake too!

This recipe makes 6 cupcakes. When I make cupcakes I like to make at least two flavors and with our family trying to reduce sweets consumption (even if they are wholesome ingredients) I would rather we didn't have too many extra cupcakes in the house. Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple this recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sweetener (see my post on sweeteners)

3 eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons butter, melted and at room temperature

2 tablespoons almond milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Frosting:

4 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sweetener (see my post on sweeteners)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together the butters, sweetener, eggs, almond milk and vanilla. Add the remaining cupcake ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture in to 6 muffin tins lined with baking cups or greased and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a rack and allow to cool.

In a bowl whip together the frosting ingredients until light and fluffy. Top each cooled cupcake with frosting and enjoy. These can sit at room temperature for a couple of hours but should be refrigerated if you are making them in advance.

Nutritional Information

6 servings
Calories: 324 Fat: 27.5 Net Carbs: 5g Protein: 10g

Nutritional information calculated from SparkPeople.com

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Blueberry Frosting

2018-05-21T11:30:00.002-07:00

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Blueberry Frosting

Low Carb/Keto/Gluten Free/ Sugar Free

My husband's birthday just passed and I wanted to make a low carb cupcake that could pass as a regular cupcake. I wanted to crumb to be just right and the frosting to taste like more than just a sugar bomb. These cupcakes did not disappoint. Not only did my husband and I enjoy them, but the children and adults not following kept enjoyed them as well and didn't know they were low carb until I said so. I wanted until my mother in-law was done eating her cupcake to tell her that they are made with coconut flour! For years I have been trying to get her to eat coconut oil and she can always tell when I've snuck some in. Not this time though, she loved them as well. I did attempt to use almond flour in my chocolate cupcakes but I ended up pitching them and starting over with coconut flour. Coconut flour gives it the genuine cupcake texture, you need to use far less, and it is less expensive. That's a win all around!

I love making cupcakes probably even more than I like eating them. I have made so many variations and I always get raving reviews on how much my frosting tastes like real fruit. Well friends, that's because it always is real fruit! I usually simmer the fruit on the stove until it is concentrated but I have lost may batches that way. If you leave them for a couple of minutes they will burn quickly. This time I decided to roast them in the oven and I will never go back to my old method again!

Ingredients:

Blueberry Puree:

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 lemon, juiced

Cupcakes:

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup sweetener (see my post on sweeteners)

3 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup butter, melted and at room temperature

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

Frosting:

3 ounces room temperature cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter, softened

3 tablespoons blueberry puree

1 cup powdered sweetener (see my post on sweeteners)

1/2 lemon, zest

Instructions:

Zest one lemon, set aside. Juice 1 lemon and divide in 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In an 8x8 baking dish add the blueberries and 1/2 lemon juice and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until most of the juice from the blueberries has evaporated. Allow to cool and blend into a puree. Set aside for the frosting.

In a bowl mix together the butters, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla. Add the coconut flour, baking powder, sea salt, and juice and zest of half a lemon and mix for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture in to 6 muffin tins lined with baking cups or greased and bake at 375 degrees for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a rack and allow to cool.

Nutritional Information

6 servings
Calories: 205 Fat: 17.5g Net Carbs: 3.1g Protein: 6g

Nutritional information calculated from SparkPeople.com

Sugar Free Sweeteners

2018-05-15T17:31:00.005-07:00

Sugar Free Sweeteners

There are many sugar free sweeteners but I am only going to talk about the ones that I use. When I am looking for a sugar substitute I look for something that it natural, will not spike blood sugar levels, and is also cost effective.

Lakanto Monkruit Sweetener

This one is my favorite. It has the closest taste to organic cane sugar. This sweetener measures 1:1 with regular sugar, meaning you would use the same measurement when cooking. Monk fruit also called lo han guo is extracted from the seeds and skin of a fruit grown in Southeast Asia. Monkfruit is 100 - 300 times sweeter than sugar (check your concentration...we will talk about that in a minute) so to give this sweetener the bulk to be a 1:1 substitute it is added to Erythritol. This blend is not very economical though, it runs about $1 an ounce. Find it on amazon here. This blend does contain 4g of carbs per teaspoon, but as the carbs come from sugar alcohols which our bodies can't digest, they don't affect blood sugar levels.

Lankanto Liquid Monkfruit Sweetener

This is a very concentrated liquid so only a couple of drops will get the job done. It is easy to travel with and can be mixed into hot or cold beverages which is also convenient. This is great for using where your recipe doesn't require the bulk of "sugar". This option is also more economical. Find it here on amazon

Lankanto Pure Monkfruit Extract

As I stated above, monk fruit is highly concentrated. This brand sells 30% Mogrosides and 50% Mogrosides. The 30% is 150 times sweeter than sugar while the 50% is 300 times sweeter than sugar. I chose to use the 30% for ease of measuring. I have also tried other brands of monk fruit extract and I believe the Lankanto brand to be of higher quality. With 1/2 teaspoon being the equivalent of 1 1/2 cups sugar, a little of this goes a long way and it is very reasonably priced. Find it on amazon here

Erythritol Granules by Anthony

Erythritol is made from sugar alcohols. It is a zero calorie low glycemic sweetener. It does contain 4 carbs per teaspoon but these aren't counted as they aren't digested. I am very sensitive so smell and I do think this has a faint acetone smell when you first open the bag. Some people do also report a cooling sensation (like menthol) after ingesting. I have found that both of these issues can be resolved with a quick whirl in a blender. This breaks up the crystals and there is no longer a smell or aftertaste (in my opinion anyway). Erythritol is only 70% as sweet as sugar, so that is something to be considered as well. Find it on amazon here

Pure Stevia by KAL

Like monk fruit, stevia is much sweeter than sugar (100 - 200X). Stevia is an herb and is extracted from a plant that looks very similar to mint. Stevia is zero calories and does not affect blood sugar but it does often have a bitter aftertaste. This can be avoided by blending it with another low glycemic sweetener (monk fruit, erythritol...). Stevia is easier to find than monk fruit and usually more economical. When looking at stevia blends be sure that they are blending with a quality sweetener. Find it on amazon here

Whole Earth Sweetener

This is a blend of Erythritol, Fructose (which is somewhat questionable), Chicory Root Fiber, Stevia Leaf Extract, and Monk Fruit Extract. They are convenient for travel. It is zero calorie and 2g carbs though it does not say how many are from erythritol. Because the stevia is blended with other sweeteners it does not have a bitter aftertaste. Find it here on Amazon

Caramel Stevia by Vitacost

This is a blend of stevia extract, water, vegetable glycerine and natural caramel flavor. If you find natural flavoring to be questionable, this isn't the product for you. I like to blend this in my bulletproof coffee with some of my own blended sweetener (recipe below) and it gives me a caramel latte taste. If you don't mix this with another sweetener it does have a bitter aftertaste though. This is very economical. I have had it for over 2 years and I still have half a bottle. I also appreciate that it comes in a glass bottle with a dropper. 5 - 10 drops is all you need for a sweet latte. Find it on Vitacost here

Making Your Own Sweetener Blend

1:1 Sugar Substitute

You can use either stevia or monk fruit (or a combination) for this sweetener. It tastes very much like regular sugar. The measurements will depend on your concentration but for the products that I have I use 4 cups erythritol and 1/2 teaspoon monk fruit (or 4 teaspoons stevia).

Add the ingredients to a blender, stir to incorporate and then blend on low just long enough to make the crystals a little smaller. It should resemble table sugar.

Store in an airtight container and use as you would regular sugar.

Powdered or Confectioners Sweetener

In any quantity you wish, place the sweetener blend in a blender and process on high until powdered and fluffy. Store in an airtight container.

Brown Sugar Substitute

In a mixer (not a blender) or by hand combine 2 cups sweetener blend with 1 teaspoon organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses. It will be difficult to mix in but it eventually will. Store in an airtight container.

Blackstrap molasses does contain 20 calories and 4.7 carbs per teaspoon (which is pretty negligible once combined with the sweetener blend) but it does also contain significant amounts of calcium, vitamin B6, magnesium, iron, and zinc.

Vanilla "Sugar"

I love giving the sugar version of this for Christmas gifts and people love receiving it. It gives a really special taste to coffee or sprinkled on top of baked goods.

Mix together 1 cup sweetener blend and 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla powder.

Keto Bagels

2018-04-12T10:57:00.003-07:00

Switching to keto was probably most difficult for me because I love to bake. I make the majority of our food from scratch because it is something that I enjoy doing. The hardest thing for my husband is that he loves chips and bagels. I ran across a recipe for "fat head" bagels. The first time I tried them they had good flavor but they didn't look or feel anything like a regular bagel, so it was my goal to fix that.

Keto Bagels

These bagels taste delicious toasted or not. They also work great for breakfast sandwiches or for sopping up a runny yolk.

We make our own mozzarella, so I used fresh mozzarella in this recipe. It is difficult to shred, so I cubed it.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the mozzarella and cream cheese together. Heat in 30 second - 1 minute increments and stir to melt evenly.

I used my stand mixer the second time I made this recipe and it was so much easier. Combine your dry ingredients in the stand mixer. Then add your eggs and mix.

Mix together the melted cheese and the dry mixture. You may have to stop the mixer a couple of times to wipe around the bowl and remove the cheese from the hook. Keep mixing until all of the cheese is incorporated.

Make sure that every bit of cheese is mixed in or it will not cook correctly. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a log and cut the dough into 8 equal portions.

Roll the dough out into ropes and then bring the rope together to form the bagel shape.

Transfer each bagel to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Brush with egg yolk wash.

Add any toppings you would like. We added a spicy Italian seasoning mix and sesame seeds. Traders Joe's everything but the bagel mix would be great on these too.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until browned on the outside. Allow the bagels to cool on the cookie sheet and then store in an airtight container.

Keto Bagels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

2 tablespoons coconut flour

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 13 ounces of fresh mozzarella)

2 ounces cream cheese

2 eggs

1 egg yolk, beaten (+ 1tsp water)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. To a large mixing bowl or stand mixer combine the almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, and baking powder. Add the eggs and mix well. In a separate microwave safe bowl combine the mozzarella cheese and the cream cheese. Microwave until melted and stir until combined. Add the cheese mixture to the almond mixture and stir until completely combined. Be sure that all of the cheese is mixed in. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. This will help the dough firm and not be so sticky. Roll the dough into a log and cut the log into 8 equal pieces (if you would like large bagels only make 6). Roll each portion into a rope and attach the ends to make a bagel shape. Transfer the bagels to the prepared baking pan. Brush each bagel with the egg yolk and water mixture and top if desired. Bake the bagels in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer to an airtight container.

I can't be sure how long they will last because we eat them too fast. If you aren't going to eat the entire batch within a couple of days I would suggest cutting them and freezing them.

Nutritional Information:

Calculated from sparkpeople.com

Calories: 275 Fat: 22.2g Net Carbs: 3.9g. Protein: 14.6g

Chocolate Hazelnut Keto Ice Cream + My take on the Keto Diet

2018-04-07T09:15:00.001-07:00

My take on the Ketogenic Diet

Hello everyone! I know every time I post I promise to post more often and never do..... Well, I have decided to give the Keto diet a try. In case you are not familiar with the keto diet, the idea is to eat very few net carbs a day (carbs - fiber) in order to put your body in ketosis. When your body is ketosis it uses stored fat to burn energy rather than carbs. To obtain ketosis your diet will consist of 70% fat, 25% protein, and %5 carbs. There are many health benefits to a ketogenic diet but my reasons for giving it a try are to help lose weight, help with my anxiety (which has been worse than ever since the start of the new year), and clear my adult acne. I am only 4 days in, so by no means an expert but I know a lot of of my friends are curious so I wanted to share what I've learned. For a better description of the ketogenic diet visit this website. One of the most important things I have learned is to stay hydrated and take extra magnesium. You will lose electrolytes and need to replenish them. This is my favorite way to get magnesium. Listen to your body too. It will tell you if you need to eat, drink, or have a couple of berries for a little natural sugar (but not too much!).

The hardest thing I have found is that so many veggies are high on the glycemic index. Here is a list of low glycemic vegetables. Download a good keto app that will calculate out your macros for you (how much fat, protein and carbs you should be eating) and track what you eat. Before you even start, stock up on quick keto foods (sugar free meats such as bacon or cold cuts, hard boiled eggs, nuts, cheeses) and make at least one fat bomb recipe (these are a God send when you are having a chocolate craving). Also, if you are looking for a good sweetener, but don't like the bitter aftertaste that can come with stevia, monkfruit is a great option. Here are some that I like: This one measures 1:1 as regular sugar. This one is highly concentrated and travels easily. And probably most importantly have a support system. It can be a friend, a family member, a group on social media...someone to cheer you on.

Okay okay, without further ado; here is the ice cream recipe you are really here for.

Chocolate Hazelnut Keto Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups Cashew Milk*
4 egg yolks (save the whites for a different recipe!)**
1/2 cup hazelnut butter***
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 scoop powdered stevia (I like this brand)
1/4 - 1/3 munkfruit to taste - or other 1:1 sugar substitute (I like this one)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:
Beat the egg yolks and mix with the cashew milk in a bowl. Strain the cashew milk and egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer to get out any clumps of egg. Transfer the mixture to a pan and add the rest of the ingredients except for the hazelnut butter. Heat the mixture on high, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the hazelnut butter and stir until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to an air tight container and refrigerate until cool.

Churn your ice cream mixture in an ice cream maker (according to the manufacturers instructions) until it reaches a scoopable consistency. I use this one for small batches and one similar to this one for large batches or when I am making several batches in a row. If you don't have an ice cream maker, here is an article to help you.

You can eat the ice cream straight from the ice cream maker, or freeze it so that it is firmer.

*You can use any type of milk you'd like. This would work with cow's milk but as I am making a keto ice cream I didn't want the added sugar.
**If you want to make this vegan you could probably blend some silken tofu though I have not tried it, if you do please let me know.
**if you can't have nuts or don't like hazelnut feel free to substitute any nut or seed butter.

Nutritional Breakdown
This was configured using the TOTAL keto DIET app.
Recipe is (4) 1/2 Cup Servings
Calories - 254 Fat - 22.75. Protein - 7.5. Net Carbs - 4.2

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

2017-07-29T11:51:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, long time no blog.

I am constantly cooking but I never get time to blog. I am going to attempt to write down more of my recipes and blog them to make them easier to share. I think the biggest reason that I haven't blogged in a while (aside from not having time) is that I very rarely use a recipe. I know that sounds weird, but I just don't like following recipes. On the other hand, I have several friends that will not attempt to make something unless they have a recipe and unless they have every single ingredient listed.

I don't have time to be one of those bloggers that writes a novel for every recipe. Truth be told, I never read those recipes. I will try to post as many pictures as I can as I do enjoy seeing step by step pictures but I can only do what time allows.

Tomorrow we are hosting our cousin cookout. I believe I have 30 cousins who I rarely see, so I wanted to make something special.

Cake:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups pureed strawberry*

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
6 - 10 whole strawberries, washed and dried
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Chocolate Frosting
Remaining chocolate from dipped strawberries
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Strawberry Filling
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
1/2 cup sliced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8 inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.**

In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure the first is fully incorporated before adding the next.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour and baking soda. To the creamed butter, add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then stir in 1/3 of the strawberry puree. Alternate between the flour mixture and the strawberry puree, ending with he strawberry. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Be sure not to overcook the cake as it will lose it's moisture. Run a butterknife around the edges of the cake and turn out onto a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper immediately and allow to cool to room temperature.

Wash and dry the strawberries. Microwave the chocolate and cream until just melted (about 1 minute) and stir until smooth and glossy. Dip each strawberry and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm. Reserve the remaining chocolate and allow to cool.

Combine the remaining chocolate mixture with the butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and whip until smooth. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with the chocolate frosting. Pipe a rope of frosting around the edge of the bottom cake.

In a large bowl whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Stir in the jam and spoon onto the bottom layer of cake. Top with chopped strawberries and place the top layer of cake on top.

Using a small amount of frosting, "crumb coat" the outside. Move the cake to the refrigerator so that the frosting can firm up.

Frost the cake with an even layer, smoothing as you go. Arrange the chocolate covered strawberries on the top and use the remaining frosting to pipe swirls around the edge of the cake. Store in the refrigerator.

* I used about 3 cups of thawed frozen strawberries, blended.

** To cut a parchment circle, using a piece of parchment roughly the size of your pan, fold the parchment in half and then in half again. Next fold in half to make a triangle and fold one more. Flip your pan over and place the tip of the triangle in the center of the pan. Cut around the edge of the pan and unfold.

If you would like to make the cake a more appetizing color, add some red food coloring.

Also, it is easier to cut the cake if you leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Sushi

2012-08-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

Spicy Shrimp Sushi Roll:

Ingredients:

2 c. Sushi Rice (Recipe to follow)

1 tbsp. Olive or Avocado Oil

1 tsp. Salt

¼ c. Sugar

½ English Cucumber

1 tsp. (or to taste) Sriracha sauce

¼ c. Mayonnaise

½ c. + 1 tbsp. Rice Vinegar

¼ lb. Shrimp

Cajun seasoning (or whatever you prefer)

Nori wraps

Sesame seeds

You will need:

Bamboo sushi mat

Wooden spoon

Plastic wrap

Bowl of water

Sharp Knife

Prepare sushi rice as follows:

Rinse the rice in a strainer or colander until the water runs clear. Combine with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes (mine never takes the full 20 minutes so keep an eye on it). Rice should be tender and water should be absorbed.

After rice is cooked, combine the (½ c) rice vinegar, oil, sugar and salt. Cook in the microwave for 45 seconds, or until sugar dissolves. If the liquid is really hot, let it cool slightly. Poor the liquid over the rice and stir.

Line the counter top with plastic wrap. Fan the rice out on the plastic wrap and allow to cool.

Prepare spicy sauce as follows:

Mix 1 tbsp. rice vinegar with ¼ c. mayonnaise. Add sriracha to taste.

Now put your sushi wraps together.

Bring a small pot of water to boil with about a tsp. of your seasoning. Add shrimp and cook until pink. (One of the websites I read suggested doing this to make sure your shrimp don’t taste too fishy.) Strain from water and let cook. Cut shrimp in small pieces (I cut it in thirds) and add about half of your spicy sauce mixture. Set aside.

Prepare your cucumber by cutting it into small matchstick pieces. Set aside.

Line your bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Place a nori sheet on the plastic wrap, rough side up.

Wet your wooden spoon. Scoop up your sushi rice with the wet spoon and put down a thin layer of rice on your nori. Your rice should only be one grain thick. Use a wet spoon to smooth out.

Place a layer of plastic wrap over the rice and flip the sheet over so that the nori is on the top. (You do not have to do this but I like the texture better in my mouth when the rice is on the outside.)

Start about an inch from the end of your sushi and add a single line of your shrimp mixture. About an inch down from your shrimp add your cucumber in a line.

Now roll your sushi, tightening the roll with each turn.

Sprinkle sesame seeds over your sushi log.

With a wet sharp knife, cut the sushi log into 1 inch or so pieces. Once all of your rolls are finished place the extra spicy sauce in a sandwich bag and cut a very small hole in a corner. Dribble the extra sauce over the sushi.

ENJOY!

The second type of sushi (vegan) was filled with avocado and cucumber and a little bit of sriracha.

If you wanted to make a California roll you would follow all of the steps above and instead of filling the roll with shrimp and cucumber you would fill it will cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab.

Zucchini Brownies

2012-07-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Are you wondering what to do with that bumper crop of zucchini? I know there are a lot of uses for zucchini, and every year I am trying to find new ways to use it. I ran across this recipe on Pinterest (I know I'm not the only one here with a pinterest problem, and I will see you at the Pinterest Anonymous meeting...) and I slightly modified it. They are so delicious and healthy, and you won't even miss the flour, oil, sugar, and everything else that goes in to a traditional brownie. I did make these with dark chocolate and they weren't as sweet as I like my brownies, next time I may try milk chocolate.

Ingredients:

Hazelnut Butter* - 1 cup

Grated Zucchini - 1 1/2 cups

Raw Honey** - 1/3 cup

Egg - 1

Vanilla - 1 tsp

Baking Soda - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 tsp

Nutmeg (I like fresh ground!) - 1/2 tsp

Dark Baking Chocolate - 1 5.3oz bar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan (I like to use coconut oil, but you can use whatever you like).

Melt your chocolate. I melted mine in the microwave in 2, 30 second intervals. I was given a bar of Green & Black's Organic (pictured below), Dark Baking Chocolate with 72% Cocoa, so that is what I used.

In a separate bowl from the chocolate, mix together the egg and the nut butter. *You can use whatever nut butter you prefer. I had a container of hazelnut butter from the last time I went to Sauders, so that is what I used. Next mix in all of the ingredients, except for the zucchini. **We had a jar of Raw Pomegranate Honey,*** so I used that. Once you have mixed the ingredients well, add the zucchini. Spread in your greased pan and bake for 35 - 45 minutes. Mine baked for 42 minutes. You should be able to test the center with a tooth pick, and have it come out clean.

These brownies are amazing. You would never guess that they have zucchini in them. Stay tuned for more zucchini recipes!

***I use iHerb to order a lot of stuff that is hard to find in my area. They have really good, quality ingredients at a good price. I will look for my discount code and update this post so that you can get $5 off of your first order. If I haven't changed this, feel free to contact me and I will find it for you, if you are interested.

This recipe was adapted from http://www.delightedmomma.com/search/label/recipes.

Ricotta

2012-07-15T13:02:00.002-07:00

Do you buy your ricotta by the cottage cheese? The stuff that has been sitting on the shelf for a couple of weeks already, and has a shelf life for a month or more longer? Try this simple recipe. It is only two ingredients, and it is so easy and delicious. If you have never had fresh ricotta, you don't know what you are missing. It has a creamy, delicate flavor, and is so cost effective to make.

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 Gallon

Cider Vinegar - 1/4 Cup

Yup, seriously, that is it!

In a pan large enough to fit 1 gallon + some wiggle room, poor the gallon of milk. Make sure that you are not using a copper pan. The milk doesn't react well in copper. Poor 1/4 cup of vinegar in the milk. You can use any kind, but I prefer the delicate flavor of the cider vinegar. Heat the milk to about 180 degrees, stirring until you see little white flecks (curd) forming. Stop stirring at this point so that you don't break up the curds. If you do not have a thermometer don't worry, you should heat the milk to just below the boiling point. You will see the milk separate and all of the curd will float to the top. Let it rest for 5 minutes or so and then with a slotted spoon, ladle in to a strainer, lined with cheese cloth. If you do not have cheese cloth you can use a clean dish towel. Let the ricotta drain in the cheese cloth until it is at the desired consistency. Depending on what you are going to use the ricotta for will depend on how firm you want it to be. If you are using your ricotta in a pasta dish, drain for 10 minutes or so. If you would like it to be a little firmer, say for a cheesecake drain for 40 minutes or so. Now pat yourself on the back, you just made ricotta! Season as you wish. Use within a week.

Chocolate Syrup

2012-07-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

My kids will go through three gallons of milk in a week or less if you would let them drink chocolate milk all day. Most chocolate syrups you will buy at the store contain a lot of ingredients that most people probably can't even pronounce. I wanted to make a chocolate syrup that I didn't feel bad about my kids drinking. I found a lot of recipes that the number one ingredient was sugar, or corn syrup. I wanted to use a natural sweetener, so I thought I would try using honey and maple syrup. The results were great, my kids love it, and it is only four ingredients. It doesn't get much easier than that!

Ingredients:

Pure Maple Syrup - 1 Cup

Honey - 1/2 Cup

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 3/4 Cup

Water - 1 Cup

Combine and whisk all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on high to a boil and boil for one minute. Allow to cool and refrigerate. Really, its that easy! If you don't care if your sweetener is natural or not, you could certainly use regular old white sugar. You could also use all maple syrup, all honey, or even all agave nectar.

Tortillas

2012-06-20T07:17:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 Cup

All Purpose Flour - 1 Cup

Coconut Oil (Melted) - 1/4 Cup

Salt (I use sea salt) - 1/2 teaspoon

Warm Water - 3/4 Cup or less

I normally just use a recipe as guidelines. If you prefer a more whole wheat tortilla, use more or all whole wheat flour. If you prefer white tortillas, then use all all-purpose flour. If you don't think you like coconut oil (I just started using coconut oil and I LOVE it, it doesn't have a coconut taste if you use the expeller pressed like this one), you could substitute olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter. I did make this recipe with olive oil and I thought it could have used a little less than 1/4 cup.

To make your tortillas:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and the salt. Next mix in the coconut oil, making sure that it is fully incorporated.

Add in the warm water a little at a time and stir. Your dough should be very moist but not overly sticky. Add in just enough water to form a very soft ball.

Next, on a very lightly floured surface, roll your dough in to a log. Using a knife or a pastry scraper, portion the dough in to about 10 golf ball size portions.

Cover the portioned balls and allow them to rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. This will give the gluten in the bread time to relax and give a better consistency and taste to your tortillas.

After your dough has rested, and working with one ball of dough at a time, flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. This will form a little disc. Then with a floured rolling pin, roll each ball thin (between 1/16" and 1/8"). These will not rise at all, so the thickness you roll them will be the thickness of your final product. Continue with the rest of the dough, stacking them on a plate as you go along (they will not stick together).

After you are done rolling the dough, heat a large frying pan or griddle pan on low heat. Lightly fry each tortilla (don't oil the pan, I cook with stainless steal and there is enough oil in the dough for it to not stick) for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side.

These will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge, or freeze very nicely.

Granola

2012-06-19T09:32:00.003-07:00

I’m sure I’m not the only one that looks at my checking account and says, “where did all of my money go”. So one day I sat down and noticed that a large portion of my paycheck gets spent at the grocery store, considerably more than we even spend on car payments. In an effort to try to save some money on my grocery bill, and of course as always, make sure that my family is eating healthy, I decided to try to make most of what we eat from scratch. One of the first things on my list was granola. Here is what you will need, but feel free to switch it up. The only thing I tend to keep pretty constant is the amount of oats and sweetener. (Pictured is a double recipe.)

Ingredients:

Rolled Oats – 2 cups

Wheat Germ – ½ cup

Chopped Almonds – 1 cup

White Chocolate Chips – ½ cup

Raisins – ½ - ¾ cup

Pure Maple Syrup – ½ cup

Honey – ¼ cup

Melted Coconut Oil – 2 tablespoons

Ground Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 3 ingredients and toast on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once toasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly (if you mix the rest of the ingredients while the oats are hot, it will melt the white chocolate). Reduce the heat to 300 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the raisins and white chocolate. Line a 9x9 cake pan with tinfoil and lighting oil the pan with coconut oil.

Next combine all of ingredients in a bowl. Dump the mixture in to the prepared pan and press firmly in to the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Allow to cool and break apart, or cut in to squares. The tinfoil will help you pull the granola out of the pan easier.

Because this is not full or preservatives you will need to keep this in an airtight container and you should eat it within a week. Whatever you are not going to eat with in the week can be stored in the freezer.

Don’t be afraid to be creative with your granola. The possibilities are endless! My favorite is switching ground flax seed for wheat germ, dried cranberries for raisins, and leaving out the cinnamon.

Strawberry Jam

2012-06-18T12:27:00.001-07:00

When I decided that I wanted to make jam, I knew that I didn’t want to use any sugar or pectin, but I wanted it to be really tasty. So I found a recipe on one of my favorite blogs and modified it to my taste. You can certainly use sugar if you would like. The recipe is pretty basic, and then you can add other flavorings.

Here is a list of some sugar substitutes:

Honey

Agave Nectar

Maple Syrup

Molasses

This is where I purchased my jars. Most of the jars are able to be used for canning. I plan on giving these away as gifts, so I wanted to have some nice jars. The shipping is pretty high, so if you want to make an order it might be a good idea to do a group order with some friends.

http://www.specialtybottle.com/

Basic Recipe:

Fresh Local Strawberries – 3 pounds

Apple – pealed and shredded (apples contain a lot of natural pectin!)

Lemon – half

Sugar in some form listed above – 2 cups

Combine all ingredients and mash together. Heat on med-high heat until the mixture is boiling. Boil until the jam gets to the jelling stage (this took me about an hour), stirring frequently. You can test the jam by putting a plate in the freezer and spooning a small amount of jam onto the chilled plate. If you can push it with your finger and it is thick then it is good. At this point you can take the jam off of the heat and either ladle hot jam into sterilized jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes, removing from the water and allowing to rest for 12 hours; or you can let the jam cool, ladle in to containers and freeze. Because of the low sugar content of this jam it will only keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, but I don’t think that will be a problem. We have never been jam eaters, but since having made homemade jam, we haven’t kept a jar for more than 2 or 3 days.

Modifications:

Strawberry Maple Jam

Follow directions for basic recipe, using maple syrup as the sugar. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Process as listed above.

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

Follow directs for basic recipe, using agave nectar as the sugar. While cooking, split a vanilla bean down the middle. Scrape the insides from the bean and add both the bean and the insides to the jam mixture. Once you take the jam off of the heat, carefully take the bean pod out of the jam* and add 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract. Stir and process as listed above.

I purchased my vanilla beans from Amazon.com. They are really great quality and you can't beat the price. At the grocery store you will pay about $5 a piece for vanilla beans. Through Amazon I got about 50 (I think it was actually 52) beans for $24.99. Lets do that math. $24.99/50 = .4998, or about $.50 each. That is 10 times cheaper!

* Save the spent bean pod for another application. Just rinse off jam, allow to dry and store in an airtight container.

This recipe has been modified from this blg http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/05/10/how-to-can-some-jam-a-simple-method-without-pectin/

Honey Wheat English Muffins

2012-06-18T10:36:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Active Dry Yeast – 2 Teaspoons

Honey – 2 Tablespoons

Warm Water (around 110 degrees) – 1 Cup

Milk – 1 Cup

Butter – 4 Tablespoons

Whole Wheat Flour – 2 Cups

Bread Flour – 3 Cups +/-

Salt – 1 ½ Teaspoons

Cornmeal – ½ Cup +/-

Olive Oil or Cooking Spray

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, honey and 1 cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve the honey and yeast. Let sit about 5 minutes or until foamy on top.

While the yeast/honey mixture is resting, combine 2 cups of the whole wheat flour, 1 cup bread flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir well to evenly distribute the salt. In a second small bowl, combine the milk and butter. Warm the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter has melted.

Pour the yeast mixture and the milk mixture into the flour. Stir until combined. Adding 1/2 cup bread flour at a time, stir in more flour until the dough forms a soft, slightly sticky ball. Do not over mix as this will make your muffins tough. You may need to use more or less that the listed amount of flour. You can also use any combination of flours. I liked the bread flour because I feel like it yields a much softer English muffin.

I used my Kitchenaid mixer with my dough hook on the low setting and let it go for 5 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated in olive oil or cooking spray. Let rise until double in size. This should be about 45 minutes to an hour.

Punch the dough down, shape it into another ball, cover the bowl and let rise for a second time.

Punch down the dough again and lightly flour your workspace. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it is about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or round glass cut the dough into circles.

Place the cut dough circles onto a sheet pan that has been liberally covered in cornmeal. You don’t want to use too much because it will burn later, but you need enough for it to not stick to your pan. Do not crowd the pan as the muffins will expand in size and you will need to remove them without losing the air in them. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of the muffins. Cover loosely with a damp towel and let rise for the last time, about an hour.

Heat a large skillet over low heat. Spread a very small amount of olive oil around the bottom of the pan with a paper towel, or use cooking spray. Carefully transfer muffins to the skillet with a spatula, being careful not to deflate them. Cook the muffins, in batches, in the skillet until they are golden brown and crispy on each side. Do not rush this process. It should take about 5 minutes on each side. You will know when they are done if you can tap the top and it sounds hollow.

Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge so that they stay fresh longer. These also freeze beautifully. You can half this recipe if you would like. I usually end up with about 25 muffins.

My favorite way to eat these is toasted, with fresh ground all natural peanut butter and homemade jam, YUM!

Look back for my post on homemade strawberry jam!

This recipe was modified from http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/07/english-muffins-068-recipe-008-each.html