Taco Seasoning

This turned out to be one of the easiest and healthiest things I could do for my family.  I'm not sure if you have ever looked at the ingredients on a pre-packaged envelope of taco seasoning but it's pretty scary.  The stuff they put in there to make it last can't be good for you and the sodium is huge.

Here is an easy way to not only save money but do something really good for your body.  Okay, I'm off my soap box now.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

If you like it spicy, add 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Measure it all out and put it in a mason jar.  Give it a good shake and you now have delicious taco seasoning.  I like to make a lot at once.  The picture below shows what it looks like with 8 times the ingredients.  It sounds like a lot but it really isn't and it goes fast.  :-)

Favorite Dinner Rolls

We call these rolls Favorite Dinner Rolls because that's what they are, our families favorite dinner rolls.  They are super easy to make as you mix the dough in a bread mixer.  My husband loves them because he likes to make little sandwiches out of them for work the next day but everyone loves them fresh out of the oven too.  I always get a lot of compliments on how yummy these rolls are.

You will need:

1 cup almond milk (warmed)  (can substitute whole milk)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 Tbsp sugar
3 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Put all the ingredients in your bread maker and turn the setting to dough.  Sit back and relax while the bread maker kneads and does all the hard work for you.  After about an hour and a half your dough should be done.  It looks very puffy and will deflate easy when removed from the bread maker.  Never fear, this is normal.

Separate your dough into two halves.  Then divide each half into 8 pieces.  I do this by twisting the dough.  Shape into balls and place in a greased round cake pan.  Cover and let your little rolls rise for about an hour.  They will be pretty small before they rise.

This is what mine look like after the hour:

After about an hour, preheat your oven and bake the rolls for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown on the top.  Promptly remove them from their pan, pull them apart, and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Protein Bars

2 cups oats
4 scoops protein powder (I use Designer Whey in chocolate)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 banana
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Start by mashing your banana in a medium bowl.  Add peanut butter and mix it all together.  Next add oats, protein powder, flax seed, coconut oil, coconut, and water.  Mix it all together.  If it's a little dry and not sticking together well then add a little more water.  Stir until everything sticks together.

Line an 8" x 8" pan with aluminum foil.  Spread your protein bar mix evenly in the lined pan.  Using a rubber spatula press it into the pan evenly.

Melt 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips.  Spoon over the top of your protein bars and spread it evenly.

Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.  Remove them from the pan by lifting the aluminum foil out.  Let them thaw for about 30 minutes then cut them into 8 pieces.  I use a pizza cutter.

Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and store them in your freezer.  When you are ready to enjoy one, remove the aluminum foil and put it in your microwave for about 8 or 9 seconds.  They are kind of sticky so best not eaten on the go.

Peanut Butter

I'm not sure why but it just never occurred to me to make my own peanut butter until recently.  It turns out to be one of the easiest things ever and now I can save money and give my family something with no preservatives.  One jar of peanut butter will last us about a month and it stays perfectly in the fridge.

You will need:

1 can of unsalted shelled peanuts ( I buy generic, they are all the same)
1 can of spanish peanuts
2 Tbsp Honey (or to taste)
1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup Peanut Oil

The key to making peanut butter is the oil.  Truly.  If you don't add enough oil during the mixing process it will not stay creamy once you put it in your refrigerator.  It will be hard and crumbly and won't spread at all.  I add the oil slowly so I don't get it too oily.

Start by putting your peanuts in a food processor fitted with the large blade attachment.

Let it mix for about 3 minutes or so.  Add the oil, salt, and honey.  Keep it running and smooth out your peanut butter to your taste.

Your peanut butter should drip off your spoon.  If it's not then add more oil and/or honey.  Keep tasting until it tastes the way you want it too so you don't add too much.

That's it.  Then pour into a mason jar and store in your fridge.

Butter Top White Bread

A family favorite, definitely.  This one is a little more time consuming but definitely worth it.  I adapted this recipe from one I found on Pinterest.  I also cut it in half to make only one loaf instead of two so this recipe can easily be doubled if you want. My poor little mixer can't handle kneading all that dough for 10 minutes so I only make one at a time.  If you're making it for a large dinner party definitely double it because it will be gone in no time.  It's also great bread for making garlic bread with.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/3 cup warm water (run your tap to hot)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 cup additional warm water (run your tap to hot)
5 cups all purpose flour (I tried to make this with wheat and it was just not the same)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the top when completed

Instructions:

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup warm water for about 5 minutes until it becomes frothy.

Add the sugar, salt, butter, additional 1 1/3 cup warm water, and gently mix to combine.

Slowly add 2.5 cups of the flour mixing on low speed until it's combined.  Continue adding the flour until you get to 5 cups.  It might become kind of dry at this point so if you need to add warm water to get a consistency that sticks together then do it 1 Tbsp at a time.  Switch to your hook attachment and let your mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.  The consistency at this point should be firm but not sticky.  It should not stick to the bowl of your mixer.

After kneading place your dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and place it in a warm place to rise for one hour.  Below are pictures of before and after rising for the first hour.

Now punch that dough down.  Roll it onto a floured surface into a 12" x 12" square, roughly.  Make sure the dough thickness is uniform throughout so there are no lumps in it once you roll it into your bread pan.  Roll the dough tightly from one edge, seal the edges by giving them a few pinches.  Tuck the ends under the roll and put it in a greased bread pan.  Try to manipulate the dough so it's really in the pan because it's going to rise a lot and if it's not even, it will lean to one side big time.  So don't be shy, push that dough into the bread pan until it lies evenly.

Next, cover it and place it in a warm place to rise for another hour.

Preheat your oven to 425 and put the rack at the very bottom of the oven.  Bake for 15 minutes and then cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning and bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove the loaf and turn it onto a wire rack to cool.  I like to put paper towels under the rack so the butter won't drip all over my counter top.  Brush the top of the warm loaf with the melted 2 Tbsp of butter.

Granola Bars

You will need:

3 cups oats
1/2 bag chocolate chips (or as much as you would like)
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk (it ends up tasting the same with non fat free condensed milk so I figure why not just use ff)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp ground flax seed

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Immediately cut into desired portions and let cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove from pan and wrap in aluminum foil.  Makes 14 bars.  More or less depending on how you cut them.

You can also add pretty much whatever you like.  Raisins, craisins, nuts, cinnamon, etc.  I tried butterscotch chips once at the families request and it didn't work very well because they don't melt like chocolate.

About Me

Today's the day!  So many of my friends have asked me to share recipes with them that I thought this might be a great place to store everything in one location for your viewing pleasure.  

About a year ago I'm at a MOPS meeting and I didn't expect it to change the way I see the food I feed to my family and myself.  It was a simple lecture on grocery shopping and gardening.  However the hostess changed me forever.  This is probably something she isn't even aware of.  I had heard of clean eating before but I never really thought about what it meant except maybe buying your food at Whole Foods instead of King Soopers.

Since she told me how she makes her own graham crackers, fruit roll ups, dried fruit snacks, and so many other things I never even gave a second though to taking off the shelf at the grocery store, my eyes have been opened and my kitchen has been a mess.  :-)  

So I love love love to cook.  I love to have my kids (and other people's kids too) in my kitchen learning how to measure flour or roll out the dough for bread.  It's therapeutic in a way for me.  One of my most valuable treasures I still own is a drawing my oldest daughter Elaine made for me when she was in kindergarten.  It's of me and at the bottom it says, "My mama, she lets me help her cook".  This sums me up perfectly and I love it.  I also love the crooked face she gave me, but that's a different story all together.

So I have been eating clean for a while now.  I make my own bread, bagels, cheeze-its, granola bars, graham crackers, dinner rolls, peanut butter, and a few other things.  :-) But I recently decided to add on to this lifestyle by expanding my knowledge into the realm of natural health remedies.  Why spend all this time making bread at home only to pump my family full of over the counter medicines and pain killers if I can find a natural healthy way to prevent illness in the first place.  Don't get me wrong please, if my kids are sick we are still going to go to the doctor.  My youngest has a peanut allergy and I will never leave home without an epi-pen again but if I can prevent illness in a healthy way and keep my kids out of the doctors office then I've done a good thing for them. 

Also know that I don't make everything and I am not a fanatic by any means at all.  I can only control a certain amount of the food my family consumes and this is where I have found a nice balance between trying to make natural foods at home, trying to buy organic when I can, and trying to keep my families immune system in tip top shape for a lifetime of healthy living.  We can only do what we can do.  :-) 

Whole Wheat Honey Bagels

This was one of the items we made today and it's a favorite a lot of people ask me for.  

Whole Wheat Honey Bagels.  

You will need:
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup warm water (run it super hot through your tap)
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Dissolve the honey in 1/2 cup warm water.  Add the yeast.  Give it a stir with your finger to saturate all the yeast.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes kind of frothy.

Mix together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 c warm water.  Mix on low until all the flour is moist.  Switch to the hook attachment.  Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.  The dough needs to be firm but not sticky.  You may need to add some more water to get to the proper consistency.  Add it slowly though.  Sometimes it will look kind of lumpy but never fear, just take it out of the mixer and squeeze it into a ball.  

Grease a large bowl.  A shout-out to my Pampered Chef friends because this bowl is awesome.  I love to use it for everything and here it is again.  Back to the topic, grease a large bowl. I suggest coconut or olive oil.  Using a spray like Pam takes the clean out of just about anything because it's loaded with so much junk so try to avoid it if you can.  Turn the dough a time or two in the greased bowl to coat the dough completely.  Cover with a damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.  I usually preheat my oven at 350 for about one minute then I turn it off a minute or two before the dough will go in so it's nice and toasty.

The next two pics show what the dough looks like before and after the hour has passed.

 Beautiful, right?  So now it's time to punch.  This is a favorite for us bread makers and their kids.  Lynne absolutely loves this part.  Except today... weird.  Anyway, give the dough a nice hard punch, cover it again, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Put a large pan of water on your stove and wait for it to simmer.  While your water is heating up roll your dough into a log shape on a floured surface.  Slice it into 8 as-equal-as-you-can-get-them pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball.  To make the bagel shape just stick your thumb right through the middle.  It might help if you flour your thumb first too.  Stretch it out until it takes the desired shape.  Don't worry about the size of it yet, they double or sometimes triple later in the process.  

Cover them again with your dish towel and wait for that water to finish.  Once it starts to simmer add 1 Tbsp of sugar.  Bring the water to a full boil.  Once raging, take two or three bagels at a time and plop them right in there.  Don't splash yourself though, ouch.  I let mine boil for about 2 minutes on each side.  Using my handy-dandy Pampered Chef (no, I do not work for them) skimmer, remove them from the water and dab them on a dry cloth so they don't drip.  Place your now very large sized bagel on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Repeat this process with the remaining bagels.  As a side note, some like to only boil their bagels for 30 seconds or so on each side.  It's a personal preference really so you find what works for you.  I find that letting them boil for a little longer helps them stay a bit chewier which is how we like them here.  

Bake at 420 for about 18 minutes.  Now as much as I would like to believe that my oven is perfect and heats evenly the fact is that it doesn't always do what I want.  It's not convection so I take my bagels out half way through baking and I switch them around from rack to rack.  I also turn the direction of the baking sheets so the front is now facing the back of the oven to ensure an even bake.

Remove once the tops of your bagels are a light golden brown color and let them cool completely on a wire rack.  

Now for the best part ever, watching my 3 year old devour one. Nothing feels better than giving my family something I made just for them and knowing it is good for their health.

Enjoy!!!