Mix for Six

About reading & a book review

2011-05-02T20:01:00.001-04:00

Before I so suddenly gave up on this challenge (the blog's sudden demise will be explained in the next few weeks :) ) I had decided to start a program called blogging for books. It's a Christian publishing company that sends readers free books for reviewing said books in return. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to do a monthly post that shared something interesting I'd read lately (in case you don't know, I like to read even more than I like to cook!)

So since I'd already committed, here goes my first book review:

I received Dragons of the Valley for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review:

I'm an avid reader and I've always enjoyed exploring new fantasy worlds. I was excited to give this Christian allegory a try. Unfortunately the first 5 times I picked up the book, I was unable to progress past the first two pages. I was confused, lost, and frustrated. A lot of new terminology is thrown at the reader right off the bat, and it was overwhelming to me. Fortunately I gave it one last try and forced myself to complete the first chapter.

After reading the first chapter, it was pretty clear this was not the first book in the series. Hopefully if you've read the sequel(s) to Dragons of the Valley you won't have the frustrating start I did.

That said, once I got into the meat of the book I was intrigued. I loved being able to picture all of the different people types, especially the sprightly kimen. Dragons, and sword-fighting and magicians, oh my! I'll definitely be looking into other books in this series.

I also enjoyed the interplay with the main few characters. I think the reader is most meant to relate to the Princess of the story and I do think that many female young-adult readers would agree. However I feel like there is plenty of masculinity to make it an interesting read for guys as well.

There was a HUGE Christian tie-in, and I feel like the author did a great job of relating many of the most well-known aspects of Christ & God in this book. It was unique to read it from a fantasy perspective, and she did a good job of keeping the story from getting too 'preachy'.

My main complaint is a bit of a spoiler, so please stop here if you've not read the book. I'm disappointed that the author felt that the Princess must find 'true love' to be fulfilled. I personally believe that God/Christ can be enough without a human love interest to fulfill a young woman's life. It was also 'tacked' on so close to the end, that it just felt like a last-minute edit.

Otherwise, if you enjoy fantasy novels and are interested in a unique Christian perspective, then I highly recommend this book to you.

Hot Artichoke Crab Dip

2011-03-15T11:40:00.002-04:00

I thought about this recipe all weekend. I knew it was going to be pricier than my average meal, but once we started talking about crab dip, I just had to get my fix.

I wanted to make it a mixer recipe, but the directions didn't call for use of a mixer. Mr. V remembered however that at the restaurant they whipped the crab meat before adding it. (FYI...I think you could just as easily skip this step)

This meal was a LOT of work. You could make it a little easier by buying pre-quartered artichokes, minced garlic and pre-shredded cheese. But it was so worth it. We sat down to eat and the smell just made us groan with pleasure. Mr V took one bite and started to grin. At first I thought he was laughing because I seriously goofed something up, but he said 'Some foods are so good they just make you smile to eat them' I have now been declared 'Master Chef' which is a pretty high compliment from someone who cooks for a living!

Ingredients: yield 4 or 5 servings
adapted from allrecipe's crab meat sycamore

1 6oz can lump crab meat, drained
11oz of quartered canned artichokes (3/4 of a can with enough left over for a pizza)
8oz shredded Swiss cheese (I don't care for Swiss, but go for it!)
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon shy of 1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper
Italian breadcrumbs
sweet paprika

Serve with lemon wedges and slices of French bread

Equipment:

Saucepan
Whisk
5 Ramekins (or a 9in casserole dish) on a cookie sheet

Directions:

Whip the crab with the whisk attachment (optional)

Layer the artichoke pieces in a solid layer over the bottom of your bake-ware

Evenly spread the crab meat over the artichokes

Completely fill your baking dish with shredded Swiss (don't pack too tight or the sauce won't run through later)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low
Add the garlic to the butter while it's melting
Whisk in the flour until smooth
Slowly whisk in the cream and stir until just starting to thicken (if it gets too thick you can add a couple tablespoons of milk until it's a pouring consistency)
Mix in the hot sauce, Worcestershire, parsley and salt & pepper

Pour over the shredded Swiss cheese, using a fork to poke holes in the cheese if you need to
Top with bread crumbs & paprika
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes until bubbly

Cost:


Artichokes	2.68
Crab	1.78
Swiss Cheese	1.75
Cream	0.98
Flour/Butter/spices/breadcrumbs	0.25
	7.44	$1.48 per serv.

French Bread

2011-03-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

Last week Mr V and I were reminiscing about the crab dip from one of the seafood restaurants where he used to work. It was sooo warm and rich and satisfying. They served it with toasted slices of French bread, cut on the diagonal to obtain more surface area for the dip. Garnish with a bit of lemon juice....divine! It was an appetizer, but I would order it for my main course.

It's been about 4 years since he worked there, and at least that long since I've eaten the hot crab dip. I thought I could find a similar recipe, but first things first, I'd need some French Bread. After much googling, I stumbled across this tutorial by Jaden Hair, complete with amazing professional photos and extra helpful tips.

It feels a bit silly and redundant to post the same information, but for the sake of the challenge here goes my attempt. In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend you visit Jaden's site.

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups bread* flour
2 teaspoon active quick rising dry yeast
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup bread* flour

* I used all-purpose flour and the loaves were still fantastic. My understanding is that bread flour has a more precise gluten content specific to bread, but it isn't necessary to go out and buy if you have all-purpose.

Equipment:

Mixer with beater attachment AND dough hook
Inverted cookie sheets or preferably a pizza stone
Sturdy bread knife

Directions:

Pour flour into the mixing bowl. Add the yeast on one side and the salt on the other
Pour in the warm water and mix on low with your beater until the dough starts to form a single mass

Switch to the dough hook and kneed on medium for 2 minutes. (I had to add a couple extra tablespoons of flour to get the dough dry enough to release from the sides of the bowl. Add any extra flour slowly so you don't make it too dry)
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes
Mix again with the dough hook for 3 minutes

Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean, lightly floured surface
Kneed by hand, incorporating an extra 1/4 cup of flour
Continue to kneed until you can form the dough into a smooth ball

Spray your mixing bowl with oil and place the dough ball inside, making sure the entire surface of the dough is lightly coated in oil.
Cover and let rise for about an hour and a half in the warmest area of your house
After the dough has risen, punch it down and form it into a ball again.
Preheat your oven to 450F and place your pizza stones or baking sheets inside

Split the dough into two evenly sized pieces and set one aside, covered with a warm damp cloth
Stretch out your working dough into a large rectangle.
Fold the rectangle in thirds over itself lengthwise
According to Jaden, you must 'karate chop' down the middle seam to seal in the air. This was my favorite part :)

Stretch out the dough lengthwise and then fold in half again length wise. Position so the seam is on the bottom and pinch the ends to seal in the air.
Let the loaves rise on a well-floured surface for another 30 minutes

Make 4 shallow diagonal slices on the top of each loaf to allow steam to escape while baking
Transfer the loaves each onto their own preheated baking surface

When placing the loaves into the oven, toss 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the oven (if your oven is electric). The resulting steam will create an amazing hard crust on the bread.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until the internal temp is around 200F

Cost:

flour	1.30
yeast/salt	0.10
	1.40	$.70 per loaf

Peanut Butter Eggs

2011-03-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

This peanut butter egg recipe was featured on allrecipes.com the other day, and it brought back childhood memories of splurges where my mom would buy one or two HUGE peanut butter eggs for us all to share for Easter. I couldn't wait to recreate this special treat, so I went on the hunt a bit early for Easter Eggs to use as molds. These basket ball eggs were the only ones I could find in a smaller size:

While still good, I was a bit disappointed by this recipe. It just seemed way too overly sweet, but this could be partially due to my using sweetened peanut butter. Also, I saw in the reviews that the plastic eggs made great molds for the peanut butter shapes, and that after frozen, the peanut butter eggs would tap right out of the molds....not!!! The molds ended up being mostly a waste of time. Just shape the pb dough by hand, or maybe even make bigger eggs as seen below:

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar - this ended up being around 3 un-sifted cups for me, but weigh if you can.
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Equipment:

Mixing Bowl w/ Beater attachment (I tried the whisk, but I think the beater would have creamed the butter & sugar better)

Directions:

Cream sugar, peanut butter, butter, milk and vanilla. (continue beating and adding drops of milk until the mixture is silky rather than lumpy)

Shape into small or large eggs and freeze for at least an hour

Dip in melted chocolate/butter mixture, or coat with the mixture if that's easier

Cost:

peanut butter	0.95
Sugar	1.25
Chocolate	1.25
Butter	0.41
	3.86

Thai Peanut Sauce

2011-03-10T20:58:00.000-05:00

Oooh what warm, hearty goodness. This recipe is absolute comfort food, especially with yesterday's home-made noodles. You don't need a mixer for this Thai peanut recipe, but it did assist in making an especially smooth sauce. It almost could have been a soup. Mr. V could not stop raving about this meal, even the next day. And at a total cost of $1.34 for 3 servings...what a bargain!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons peanut butter (the more natural, the more flavor...I'm trying to move toward more natural foods, but am being a bit hypocritical by using up the last of my processed stash)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 clove chopped garlic
up to 2 teaspoons hot chili paste (optional....I used a half teaspoon and it added a spicy flavor without much burn)

chives/green onions for garnish

Equipment:

bowl & wisk
small saucepan

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth

Cook on low until bubbling

Serve over noodles and/or chicken

Cost:

Peanut Butter	0.23
Honey	0.15
Soy Sauce	0.19
Chili Sauce	0.05
Garlic	0.02
chicken broth	0.25
	0.89

Udon Noodles

2011-03-09T20:29:00.001-05:00

I found this yummy looking Thai peanut sauce recipe today and it recommended serving over Udon Noodles. We certainly didn't have any, so I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided to see if it was something I could make from scratch. Sure enough! It's pretty simple. I'd never made noodles before, and these turned out a bit thick and lumpy, but still delicious. ESPECIALLY with the Thai peanut sauce.Yummmmm. Between the 2 recipes, the total cost was $1.10 (it would cost about .20 more cents if you buy your flour from the grocery store instead of a club store - or obviously more if you added chicken). Mr. V and I were both stuffed. It easily ~~should~~ could have been 3 servings - 4 or 5 if chicken was added.

I don't really have a source as I compiled several how-tos after googling 'how to make udon noodles'.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Equipment:

Mixing bowl with beater or bowl and floured hands
Floured surface
Santoku or other flat-bladed knife (I used a really sturdy bread-knife that worked well)
Large pot of boiling salted water

Directions:

Pour flour and salt into bowl and turn the mixer to low speed (about 2 on KitchenAid mixers)
Slowly trickle in the water while mixing.

Let mix for about 5 minutes, making sure the dough is tacky not sticky
Dump the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap.

Fold the plastic wrap over on top, and smooth the dough into a disk.
Let sit for several hours

Unwrap the disk onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick

Fold the dough in half

Cut into strips - approximately 5 strips per inch
Drop into boiling water, being careful to not overcrowd.
Cook a few minutes before draining and serving

Cost:

flour	0.44
salt	0.01
	0.45

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

2011-03-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

I had decided to make Amish White Bread again, since we're out of bread. Ya'll almost missed out on a post! BUUUT I talked myself into trying something new and made Sweet Potato Rolls instead. These make a really soft, hearty roll. If you're expecting lots of flavor you'll be disappointed at first like I was. But these accompany flavorful foods well, and kick it up with a little depth of their own.

My main changes from the original recipe are: I doubled the recipe minus one egg (I'd run out) and I left the first rise for 3 hours instead of 1. Afterward the dough was falling over the sides of the bowl. I got so excited, I completely missed taking that picture.

We all really liked these dense fluffy rolls. In fact, I gorged myself so much that I was still full when I woke up this morning!

Ingredients:

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup sweet potato puree (canned or homemade)
1 cup warm water, ~ 110 degrees F
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
7 cups all-purpose flour

Equipment:

Mixer with dough hook
9x13 pan

Directions:

Combine water, yeast, and 2 tablespoons sugar in the mixing bowl
Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT the flour and stir till well incorporated

Slowly incorporate flour until the dough forms a ball and starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl

Remove the bowl from the mixer and coat the ball of dough in oil
Cover and let rise for at least 1 hour

Punch down the risen dough and let rest for a few minutes

Separate the dough into uniform balls and place in the pan.

Let rise until doubled
Bake at 375F until toothpick comes out clean ~ 20 minutes

Serve hot (though also good cold)

Cost:

Sweet Potato	0.75
Yeast	0.66
Sugar	0.08
Butter	0.5
eggs	0.5
Flour	1.03
	3.52	.15 c each

Corn Bread

2011-03-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

Looking through my cabinets/fridge I found some eggs and cornbread mix that needed to be used. I suppose hush-puppies or something might have been a more exciting choice, but out of sheer laziness I decided to make simple cornbread. This cornbread recipe would be even more fantastic cooked in a cast-iron skillet. It sill doesn't beat my favorite corn bread recipe, but it did the trick.

Ingredients:

7 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup 2 tablespoons milk
2 1/3 cup self rising corn bread mix

Equipment:

Bowl & Spoon or Mixer & Beater attachment
9 inch pan (round or square)

Directions:

Cream the butter & sugar

Combine rest of ingredients till well blended

Pour into greased baking pan
Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean

Cut & Serve. Enjoy!

Cost:

butter	0.58
eggs	0.25
sugar	0.12
milk	0.23
CornBread Mix	0.88
	2.06

Cream Puffs

2011-03-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

I had egg yolks left over from yesterday's Macaroons, so I started looking up recipes that use egg yolks. One of the top rated recipes was for pastry cream. *sigh* If you make pastry cream you can't NOT make eclairs or cream puffs or something. I really was too tired to make a trip to the store or make some complicated puff pastry recipe. I decided to look up a cream puff recipe and bookmark it for later. I had no idea that cream puff dough is so ridiculously simple! It made the macaroons look like hard work. I was quite a bit nervous that they wouldn't turn out, but they are puffy and creamy and taste just like something bought in a bakery. You have GOT to try this.

I've always loved cream puffs. Either the frozen ones from Sam's or especially if I can get them fresh from a bakery. I've been known to make myself sick on them, but not this time! This time I'm going to share.

Ingredients: yield ~ 25 large puffs

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 batch pastry cream

Equipment:

Mixer with beater attachment (you could use a bowl and whisk, but whipping in lots of air is key)
Cookie sheets
Piping bag and filling tip
Toothpick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F
Bring water & butter to a rolling boil
Stir in flour & salt until it forms a ball

Drop the dough ball into the mixer and start beating at medium speed
Keep the mixer running while adding the eggs - beat until they are incorporated and the batter is smooth

Drop tablespoonfuls onto the non-greased cookie sheets
Bake for 20 minutes then use a toothpick to poke a hole in each one
Turn off the oven and leave it cracked until the puffs are cool enough to handle

Pipe pastry cream into the bottom of each puff
Serve warm or chilled according to your preference

Tips & Variations:

If you don't have a piping bag/tip, you can slice each one in half and fill with the cream
Try a different filling, such as whipped cream, chocolate pudding, etc.
When piping the filling, hold the puff in your opposite hand upside-down - you'll be able to feel it start to expand as a guide to knowing when you've filled it enough
Try adding fruit or dusting with sugar or topping with chocolate

Cost:

Pastry Cream	1.30
Butter	0.66
Flour	0.15
eggs	0.50
	2.61	10 c each

Fluffy Macaroons

2011-03-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

Mmmm....I love coconut! I've made macaroons before, but never with an egg white base. These are fantastic! Light and chewy and ever so slightly sweet. This recipe was also incredibly easy and nearly fool-proof.

Ingredients: yield ~ 40 macaroons

14 oz bag of sweetened coconut
4 egg whites
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Equipment:

Baking sheets
Mixer with whisk attachment

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F and lightly grease the cookie sheets

Whisk the egg whites and salt at high speed until soft peaks form
Slowly add the sugar and extract (with the mixer still at high speed) until you get glossy stiff peaks

Fold in the coconut

Drop spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart, although they shouldn't spread
Bake for about 12 minutes or until just golden on top

Cost:

Coconut	1.80
Eggs	0.50
Sugar	0.10
Salt/Almond flavoring	0.05
	2.45	6 cents

Sweet Potato Dumplings

2011-03-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

The final picture is not the prettiest. The colors clash and, well, don't look very appetizing. But if you can look past this and give it a taste....ohhh. It's such warm, hearty, creamy comfort food. I've adapted the recipe from allrecipes, mainly because the original makes such a wet sticky batter, it's nearly impossible to work with. It's supposed to make a nice dough that you can roll out, and cut into little pieces to make gnocchi. I've not had any success with this, and the mixer unfortunately didn't magically fix the stickiness. You can just as easily drop spoonfuls of the batter into boiling water and accomplish basically the same result. Simply watch out for overcrowding in the pot so that the end result is individual bite-sized or smaller dumplings.

Ingredients: yield 3-4 servings

Dumplings:

2 cooked sweet potatoes (I like to boil because the skin falls right off. Baking also works well with a drier result)
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup parmesan

Balsamic Cream sauce:

1/4 cup of cream or cream cheese (I used Philadelphia's Cooking Creme - garlic...fantastic!)
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Equipment:

Mixer with beater attachment or bowl & spoon
A potato ricer makes a smoother consistency but isn't at all necessary
LARGE pot for boiling - the bigger the better

Directions:

Mash the potatoes into the large mixing bowl.

Blend in all the ingredients but the flour

Slowly mix in the flour until you've achieved a dough that sticks to itself more than anything else
Set a large pot of lightly salted water to boil

Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the boiling water. *don't overcrowd!*

Dumplings are cooked when they start to float.

To make the cream sauce simply mix all the ingredients over high heat, until warm and smooth.
Serve hot.

Cost:

Sweet Potatoes	1.50
Flour	0.50
Egg	0.12
Salt/Garlic/etc	0.10
Parmesan	0.15
	2.37
Parmesan	0.20
Cream Cheese	0.88
Balsamic	0.15
	1.23

Cheese Fingers - Possible Addiction Warning

2011-03-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

WARNING: Margaret V and Mix for Six blog cannot be held responsible for any obsessions or weight-gain caused by reading/making this recipe.

I really do feel the above warning is necessary. Within 5 hours of making these cheesy fingers I'd consumed 17 of them!!!!!!! And I had to FORCE myself to not eat the last 3. Interestingly the 2 year old who loves bread and loves cheese couldn't stand the texture. I didn't notice anything texturally odd, but this may have been due to the fact that I was inhaling them. Recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients: yield ~ 24

1 cup flour
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
6 oz melted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 water
dash garlic powder
dash Worcestershire pepper

Equipment:

Bowl & Spoon or Mixer w/ beater
Cookie tray
Clean, lightly floured surface

Directions:

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except the water

Slowly add water until a soft dough forms (it only took 3 tablespoons for me)

Tear off chunks of dough and roll into finger sized lengths

Bake @ 400F for 10-15 minutes until golden
Give away as many as you can before you taste one....because you may not be able to stop yourself!

Cost: - PRICELESS! (kidding....mostly)

Flour	0.15
Cheese	1.00
Butter	0.50
Spices,etc	0.10
	1.75

2-ingredient Chocolate Muffins

2011-03-01T23:09:00.001-05:00

The 2 year old and I spent 3 hours in the 'sick-room' of the Pediatricians office today. Poor baby is a mess! Pink eye, sinus infection, ear infection. Not only did he need cheering up, I needed a simple recipe. Can't remember where I first heard about this method of brownie/cupcake/muffins, but it is SUCH an easy recipe...and slightly better for you than traditional treats. It makes a stiff batter though, so I appreciated being able to use the KitchenAid to incorporate the flour more thoroughly.

I recently started using liners with my cupcakes/muffins because my pan has developed quite the 'worn and haggard' personality after so many years of abuse. These are called 'Stay Bright' liners since the aluminum coating keeps the batter from soaking into the outer pattern. Cool idea! This particular set is Christmas-y because I'm cheap and buy stuff on clearance, hehe.

Ingredients:

1 box of chocolate cake mix (easily convert to gluten free with Betty Crocker's new gf mixes)
1 can of 100% pumpkin

Equipment:

Cupcake pan
Cupcake liners (optional)
Mixer w/ beater attachment or bowl & spoon

Directions:

Dump ingredients into bowl

Mix on medium low speed until incorporated. The batter turns out the consistency of bread dough which is interesting.

Fill the baking cups. This batter doesn't rise much so fill up to the top. Also, they don't sink down while baking, so if you want a smooth top flatten them now with a spoon.

Bake @ 350 for about 20 minutes. You don't have to worry about raw eggs, so remove them from the oven when they are as moist or dry as you prefer.

Cost:

Cake mix $1.99 ($0.12 on sale)
Pumpkin $1.39 ($0.79 on sale)
$3.38
$0.28 each

Mayonnaise Biscuits

2011-02-28T22:28:00.010-05:00

You may have noticed the lack of posts lately....two weeks lately. My card-reader stopped working, and it was just so unmotivating to write posts without pictures. For the most part I kept up with the mixing challenge despite the lack of posts (I missed a couple days last week while I was nasty sick), so I'll be trying to catch up one extra post a day for the next couple weeks. In going through my photos it does appear that I forgot some crucial photos of the finished product, so bear with me if you will. I'll probably make these recipes again at some point and will update accordingly. Or you could make them, and send me the pictures....That's a fantastic idea, really!

Last week, right before I took a sick-break, I made mayonnaise. From scratch! REALLY easy, super cheap, and a lot less frightening than what store-bought mayo must be made of because this goes bad rather quickly. Today was day 6 and it's not recommended you keep it longer than 7 days, so I've been trying to finish it up. Ah la, Mayonnaise Biscuits. Only 3 ingredients, easy, and fun to customize.

Ingredients: yields about 24 biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour (or 2 cups all purp. flour w/ 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon baking powder)
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons mayonnaise

Equipment:

Mixer with beater attachment or bowl & fork
Cookie sheet(s)
Spoon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease baking sheets
Mix together all ingredients on low until lumps are gone (at the last minute I threw in some Parmesan and dried chives)
Drop spoonfuls onto the baking sheet
Bake for 12-14 minutes (until lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped)

Tips & Variations

Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once.
Add Parmesan & Chives, or Cheddar & Garlic, or a little cinnamon & top with jam

Cost:

Mayo	0.19
Flour	0.30
Milk	0.17
	0.66	less than $.03 each

Honey Mustard

2011-02-26T22:45:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Mr. V's help, we now have 20 pounds of chicken in our freezer - cooked, shredded & portioned. That's 2 solid weeks of nearly instant meals...yay! (Not that we'll eat chicken 14 days in a row. -Shudder!-)

I wanted to use some of our overabundance of mayo, but Chicken + Mayo didn't sound very appetizing. Luckily, you can turn mayo into honey mustard which is our favorite breaded-chicken condiment!

Ingredients: yield 1/3 cup

1/4 c mayo
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mustard (traditionally yellow, but I love deli mustard!)
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Equipment:

Mixer with beater attachment or bowl and fork
Pretty(or not) serving/storage bowl

Directions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly
Serve

Cost:

Mayonnaise	0.14
Mustard	0.13
Honey	0.11
Lemon juice	0.02
	0.40

Mayonnaise - DIY

2011-02-22T22:46:00.001-05:00

I once saw Alton Brown make mayonnaise from scratch....and I've wanted to attempt it ever since. We don't eat mayo very often though. I usually end up losing part of each jar to expiration - which is especially scary because store-bought mayo has a fairly long shelf-life. Home-made mayo, on the other-hand, is only good for about 7 days. But it's cheaper and less chemically plus it's easy to make only the amount you need.

Homemade mayo looks a bit more yellow than the store-bought stuff due to the eggs. Not entirely sure how they get commercial mayo so white?! If anyone knows, feel free to clue me in! In fact, Alton probably covered this in the episode I watched, but it was years ago and I don't remember.

Ingredients: yield 1 pint

2 eggs (1 separated)
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Equipment:

Mixer with whisk attachment
Seal-able container such as a canning jar

Directions:

Mix 1 egg and 1 egg yolk with the lemon juice, mustard, and salt.

Beat until foamy

With the mixer running as fast as possible without splashing, slowly pour the oil into the egg mixture. It should take about 3 minutes for you to blend in the full 1.5 cups of oil.

Pour into a container and store in the coldest part of your fridge for up to a week.

Cost:

oil	0.75
salt/mustard/lemon	0.10
eggs	0.25
	1.10	$2.20 / qt	compared to $3-5 per quart in the store

Washboard Cookies

2011-02-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

After The Puffies last Saturday I was still in the mood to make cookies. I wanted something dairy free that I could share with my sister, and that I wouldn't feel too guilty about sharing with the 2 year old as well. This recipe was posted by a 90 year old who enjoyed these as a childhood treat. Wow! I love history, so this piqued my interest.

These are plain but satisfying, similar to shortbread. They'd be great dipped in chocolate or perhaps topped with cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening or softened butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
sugar for topping

Equipment:

Mixer & beater attachment or bowl & spoon
Cookie sheets

Directions:

Grease the cookie sheets and preheat oven to 325F

Cream the shortening, sugar, and egg

Add flour and mix well
Use your hands to roll into walnut sized balls

Lay on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart and flatten with a fork
Sprinkle a generous amount of sugar on top
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges just start to crisp

Cost:

shortening	0.50
brown sugar	0.50
flour	0.25
egg	0.12
vanilla/baking powder	0.02
	1.39	.06 c each

Hazelnut Cups

2011-02-12T23:41:00.002-05:00

There's something so pure about little paper cups all lined up, just waiting to be filled. I fell in love with this picture. I think the gradiation gives it some character, though after my photography class this morning I can tell the lighting is all wrong. I haven't had much time to practice the photo techniques I learned, but I see a lot of things that need improvement. My main changes today are: 1) these pictures were taken with Mr. V's iphone since my camera is giving me trouble; 2) I only used the flash once; 3) I only cropped one photo. Typically I use the flash and edit every single photo even if only to crop it.

With a combination of the 2 year old's surgery Monday morning, our Lord's day keeping tomorrow, and Mr. V's no-S diet; I decided to make this years Valentine's treat a little early. Chocolate is always appropriate...I received some incredible Russian chocolates from Mr. V and returned the favor with these little treasures.

Ingredients: yields 12 small cups

Cups:
1/2 cup chocolate chips - the mini's melt quicker
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

Filling:
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons coffee liquor
1 teaspoon white sugar
4 tablespoons Nutella

Equipment:

Mixer with whisk
12 paper candy or mini-cupcake liners
small microwaveable bowl
spoons

Directions:

Combine the chocolate chips / oil in the microwaveable bowl

microwave at 60% power in 15 second increments - stirring after each 15 seconds until melted

Coat the inside of each paper cup with chocolate (about 2 teaspoons per cup) then let them set in the fridge for at least 5 minutes. I used a cookie pan to make the fridge transfer easier.

Whip the cream, sugar and coffee liquor until stiff peaks form. Then at a medium speed, beat in the Nutella. Also, fold in any chocolate leftover from the cups.

Spoon or pipe the filling into the chocolate cups.

Peel the paper off the cups, garnish & serve. You could also garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprig of mint, some heart-shaped red-hots, or...well anything really.

Cost: ~ $0.16 per cup

chocolate chips	0.62
heavy cream	0.75
coffee liquor	0.05
Nutella	0.50
sugar	0.02
oil	0.01
	1.95

How to make butter - one ingredient recipe

2011-02-10T19:56:00.001-05:00

(Pictures coming soon)

A couple years ago I wanted to learn how to make 'everything' from scratch. I tried making yogurt, butter, cheese, etc. The yogurt is the only thing I really stuck with as it is extremely cost effective and I had the equipment. But the butter....oooh the butter was amaaaazing. It was cool and silky and oooh so creamy. However it took 15 minutes of vigorous shaking cream in a jar. It simply wasn't worth the trade-off of mush-arms (at least not with a toddler who doesn't understand why mommy can't make supper because she can't lift her hands above her knees).

Now enter the KitchenAid! Scratch-made butter and full use of both arms!

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream - yields around 5oz. butter and 1/2 cup buttermilk

Equipment:

Mixer with paddle or whisk attachment

Directions:

Pour the cream into the mixer bowl
Turn to the highest speed possible while avoiding a splash mess - this was about 6 for me
Let the mixer beat for about 10 minutes

After 4-5 minutes you'll have stiff whipped cream
After 7-8 minutes you'll have buttercream that is starting to turn a pale yellow
After 10 minutes, the butter will suddenly release a ton of liquid. Continue beating about 30 seconds after this happens

Strain off the liquid (buttermilk - you can keep this for a couple days to cook or bake with). Any liquid left, can cause the butter to go bad quickly. Your best bet is to squeeze as much from the butter as possible.
Rinse the butter in ice-cold water and beat in the water for 30-60 seconds.
Repeat the draining & squeezing step
Dish your butter into a bowl, press into a mold, or shape with your fingers.
If rinsed well, the butter should keep refrigerated up to a week. You can also freeze it for a couple months.

Cost:

1 cup heavy cream = $.99

Compare to 5oz. butter @ our local Walmart right now = $.82

Amish White Bread

2011-02-09T19:27:00.003-05:00

(Pictures to come soon.)

This is my absolute favorite bread recipe. It makes delightful squishy soft rolls with just a hint of sweetness. It's loaf is also fantastic - dense enough to toast nicely and to withstand a layer of jelly without sogging up. My favorite way to serve Amish white bread is toasted with a generous smear of Nutella, though it also goes well with savory dishes. Just to give you an idea how popular this bread is - within 30 minutes of pulling it from the oven, 7 rolls were gone. The two year old begs for it as soon as he sees the pan.

As much as I love Amish white bread....I dread making it without a mixer. It's messy and coats your hands and arms and gets really difficult if you try more than one batch at a time. Thanks to the Kitchenaid that has all changed! (Hmm...that came out a bit like an infomercial) I easily whipped up a double batch with my trusty mixer, although it nearly overflowed the bowl. Now I just need to start practicing self-control....as those hot rolls sit there calling my name.

Ingredients: - makes around 45 rolls or 4 loafs

4 cups warm water (105 - 110 degrees F)
2 packets or 3 tablespoons dry active yeast
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
11 cups all purpose unsifted flour

Equipment:

Stand mixer with dough hook
4 loaf pans or 5 or 6 round cake pans
Baking spray

Directions:

Tips & Variations:

If your house is cool/drafty, let rise in a warm oven (not over 110 degrees F)
Reduce the sugar to 1/4c for a plain white bread

Cost:

Flour	1.76
Yeast	0.66
Salt	0.02
Oil	0.25
Sugar	0.19
	2.88

	0.06	per roll
	0.70	per loaf

Cheese Souffle

2011-02-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite mac'n'cheese recipes comes from Alton Brown, the 'science guy' of cooking. I'd love to know his fun sciency explanation as to why mustard powder is so crucial to all things cheese, but for now I'll just take his word for it! When I saw he had a recipe for cheese souffle and that it requires a mixer....this creation was born.

You may not have mustard powder, but I urge you to get it. It makes the most inexplicably delicious mac'n'cheese and I can't imagine this souffle without it. Here's a spice website generally cheaper and fresher than grocery store spices.

Mr V enjoyed it but he isn't obsessed with cheese quite as badly as I am. All but a small sliver of this dish was gone....I don't know how! It certainly wasn't because I gave up refilling my plate and just carried the whole souffle dish to the couch with a big spoon. (It was a smallish spoon)

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing the souffle
2 tablespoons parmesan - the cheap powdery stuff is ideal for this purpose...yay!

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of kosher salt
1 1/3 cups milk - heated
5 eggs - separated into 4 yolks and 5 whites. The whites can go directly into the mixer's bowl
6 ounces sharp cheddar, crumbled or shredded
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter - if humid environment

Equipment:

(From now on we'll assume you always need measuring cups and spoons)
Medium size pot
Whisk
Mixer with whisk attachment
Medium bowl
8 inch round baking dish with high sides - you could also separate this into individual ramekins, though this would change the baking time.

Directions:

Grease the baking dish with butter then coat with the Parmesan. Refrigerate the dish while you are preparing the souffle.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
In the medium bowl, combine the flour, mustard, garlic, and salt
In the saucepan heat the butter

Whisk in the flour mixture and cook for 2 minutes

whisk in the hot milk
turn the temperature to high and heat till boiling while stirring
once boiling, turn the temp to low

whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl and then temper them in

whisk in the chunked cheddar over low heat (I also used the leftover Parmesan from coating the baking dish)

This takes a while, but be sure to whisk until the cheese is completely melted.
Resist all temptation to drink this, or pour over hot noodles .... or was that just me?

In the meantime, beat the egg whites (with the cream of tartar if needed) into stiff peaks
1/4 at a time, gently fold the whites into the hot cheese mixture.

Pour the fluffy cheesy goodness into the baking dish

Bake at 375F for about 35 minutes

Scoop into your serving dishes and serve with a salad, veggies or something healthy (this way you don't feel as guilty while you're sitting on the couch eating the entire baking dish with your spoon)

Cost:

Eggs	0.62
Cheddar	0.56
Butter	0.12
Spices	0.03
Parmesan	0.37
Flour	0.05
Milk	0.3
	2.05

Whipped Sweet Potatoes - Attempt #1

2011-02-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't attach the wrong picture here. This is called making lemonade when life hands you rotten sweet potatoes. I had planned on making one of our favorite suppers - sweet potatoes with pulled beef and onions. Except I was especially looking forward to today's meal, as I'd never whipped sweet potatoes before and it sounded divine!

Unfortunately it wasn't until I served up the mouth-watering whipped concoction at 9:30p that I realized there were hundreds of strange little brown and pink rock-hard lumps all in it. I don't know much about the 'going bad' process of sweet potatoes, but this sure didn't seem right. As a result, I lost my appetite and Mr. V ate the beef & onions as tacos.


Planned ingredients

Potatoes prepped with balsamic sauce


Drooling deliciousness


My sweet potatoes are growing little brains...yuck!

I'll be headed to Harris Teeter tomorrow to complain. I just bought these on Saturday! I should have known better too, because I was picking from a disappointing selection of half-rotten fruit-fly-covered potatoes, but I thought I'd found a healthier section in a different part of the produce department.

I'll post the recipe next time when I try again :) It really is fantastic even when the potatoes aren't whipped. I can't wait to try them all light and fluffy!

Thick Stackin' Pancakes

2011-02-05T22:12:00.001-05:00

It's been a backwards day. We had pie for breakfast and pancakes for desert. The 2 year old had a long day, and his nap was postponed until 4pm. Turns out a late nap = early bedtime. Poor boy didn't even wake up for pancake supper. Don't worry, I saved him some!

I discovered today's recipe a few months ago, and I think it's our second favorite (only due to the lack of chocolate). It never makes quite enough, so today I doubled the batch with the help of the KitchenAid. Turns out it wasn't much help. I couldn't tell a taste or texture difference between hand-mixed and mixer-mixed; but since you have to dirty a mixing bowl anyway, I guess you'd might as well let the machine do the work.

Ingredients:
Makes about 15 small or 6 large pancakes

1.5 cups milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter

Equipment:

Fork or whisk
Measuring cup/spoons
Large mixing bowl (or mixer bowl and beater paddle)
Small bowl
Skillet
Spatula

Directions:

Combine milk & vinegar in the small bowl and let sit (sour) for 5 minutes
Combine the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl
Whisk the egg & butter into the soured milk

Pour the liquid mixture into the mixing bowl and beat until lumps are gone. I used setting 2 and it took less than 60 seconds.

Cook in the skillet on medium heat. I found cooking spray kept the pancake from browning correctly so I only used it on this first one.

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, I made the 2 year old a football (or possibly a squished baseball) pancake for tomorrow's breakfast.

Tips & Variations:

Add nutmeg or a dash of other spices to the batter. Cinnamon maybe?
Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.
Lay metal cookie cutters in the bottom of the pan and pour the batter inside to make shapes (or free-hand it like my foot/base ball)
Make your own syrup. Easy and amazing: 1c packed brown sugar, 1/2 c water, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite extract (I used rum). Cook until sugar is dissolved. You could make this in the microwave in a matter of seconds.

Cost:

flour	$0.29
milk	$0.34
vinegar	$0.02
sugar	$0.04
eggs	$0.25
butter	$0.33
	$0.94

Amish Custard Pie

2011-02-05T10:17:00.001-05:00

Last grocery trip I spotted some clearance cottage cheese. I thought it might be a good way to get my 2 year old to consume some protein as he likes both yogurt and cheese...and cottage cheese seemed like a nice blend of the two. Somehow it slipped my mind that he 'can't' eat lumps in his food....d'oh. This left me with 16 ounces of cottage cheese that had to be used by this weekend. I started hunting.

Using allrecipes' ingredient search I discovered this gem. I love Amish recipes (though I'm never certain how traditional they are). They're generally simple, affordable, and very satisfying. I made this yesterday, but we didn't try it until this morning for 2 reasons: Mr. V is on the 'No S' diet, which limits his sweets to weekends and special days. Also, the recipe suggests letting the pie sit for a day before eating.

I thought it was a bit decadent to have pie for breakfast, but didn't want to wait any longer to try it. Turns out this is a great breakfast pie. It's not too sweet, but rather refreshing with just a hint of lemon. It reminded me of a very soft, light cheesecake.

Ingredients: - I don't know what happened to my ingredients picture....and I'm way too lazy on a Saturday morning to gather everything together for another one. Apologies!

16oz cottage cheese

1 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 pinch salt

1 12oz can evaporated milk

1.5 cups milk

3 eggs - separated

2 9in pie crusts

Equipment:

Mixer bowl / whisk attachment
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Pie server
Pie pans
Spatula for folding

Directions:

Beat the egg whites on high. Picture to the left is after 30 seconds of 'whipping'

After 60 seconds

After 2 minutes...these eggs know who's boss!

Mix all the other ingredients together in a separate bowl, then gently 'fold' in the egg whites.

Pour into your pie crusts - I used a pre-made graham crust on the left, and attempted a crust-less pie in the pie dish on the right

Bake @ 425 F for 15 minutes then @ 350 for 25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. This was the perfect amount of time for the pie on the left, but the one on the right had much more custard and took a bit longer. The white 'break' in the middle of that one is from the several (8 or 9) times I tested it.

Cost:

graham pie crust	$0.99
cottage cheese	$1.89
lemon juice	$0.05
milk	$0.34
evaporated milk	$0.79
eggs	$0.37
flour	$0.05
Two Pie total	$4.48
Cost of each pie	$2.24

Pizza Crust - Fail

2011-02-04T07:31:00.003-05:00

I owe you last night's recipe. I decided to have a hot pizza ready for Mr. V when he got home from work around 9:30p. I've not had much success with pizza crust in the past, but thought surely with my KitchenAid I couldn't be stopped. I slightly adapted what appeared to be a simple crust from allrecipes.com. The crust was delicious and the pizza as a whole was fantastic.

Unfortunately it stuck like superglue to the pizza pan after it was baked. I think I should have followed my instinct to flour the dough and oil the pan instead of the instructions to only oil & dust the pan. After a long day at work, poor Mr. V had to stand at the counter slowly chipping off little pieces of pizza for supper.

Crust Ingredients:

1 pkg yeast - I used pizza dough yeast, but couldn't tell you the difference
1 tsp. sugar - I used brown for extra flavor
1 cup warm water - no more than 110 degrees F
2 1/2c flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
dash of garlic powder (optional)
dash of onion powder (optional)
dash of Italian seasoning (optional)

Toppings:

1/2 can drained spinach
1/2 jar sliced olives
1/2 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 jar pasta sauce
4oz mozzarella cheese

Equipment:

Mixing bowl
Dough hook if using a mixer to knead
Pizza pan
Measuring cup/spoons
Small skillet
Chisel for removing crust from pan (kidding....mostly)

Directions:

Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 F
In the mixing bowl, gently stir together warm water, sugar, and yeast - let sit for 10 minutes till foamy
Dump in the rest of the ingredients

Beat until smooth then let rest for 5 minutes

oil & flower baking pan

Stretch out the dough and smooth into a round
Let the dough rest for 15 minutes while prepping your toppings

Top and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven when cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden

Tips & Variations:

Oil & flour the pan, but also flour the dough. I also don't recommend a pan with holes for this recipe. I think that contributed to the sticking
Add some pepper or spice to the crust for a kick
If you have the time, make your own pizza sauce

Cost:

Crust

Yeast	$0.33
Flour	$0.36
Oil/Salt/Sugar		$0.10
	$0.79

Toppings

Sauce	$0.88
Olives	$0.45
Artichokes	$0.90
Spinach	$0.45
Cheese	$0.75
	$3.42

Pizza total	$4.21

$.79 for a pizza crust isn't too bad, considering the way you can customize it. At my local grocery store, a pre-made crust costs between $2.35 and $4.29. This pizza tasted better then most I've ever eaten. We loved the topping combo. If it hadn't stuck to the pan I think it might have been the perfect pie.