Making Vanilla!

 Alright, when I saw the my sister-in-law was making her own vanilla with a bottle of Vodka, I thought she was a little nutty.

Then, I went to the cupboard and looked at my imitation vanilla in the cupboard.  Ingredient list was Water, alcohol, vanilla bean extractives, and sugar.  Interesting! 

So, I went a did some looking at how to make a more PURE vanilla.  I checked out my sister-in-law's info and HER sister-in-laws info.  From there, I ordered my vanilla beans from Olive Nation.  I paid $13.46 total for 16 beans.  (Free Shipping!)

When I received the beans, it took me several days to get up the strength to go to the store and buy vodka!  When I did, I felt I needed to explain why I was buying it!  The cashier said, "Honey, I don't judge!".  But, I'm a God-fearin' woman, who doesn't drink this stuff!  I promise!!!  I'm sure after doing this a few times, I won't feel the need to explain, but this day I did...

I got home and put my stuff together!  I cut the beans long ways with my kitchen scissors.  And stuck all 16 in the vanilla.  I think I saw where you put 10 or 12 in but I got 16 so I thought I might as well use them all and maybe it will last longer!  You can continue to reuse your beans for several more batches of vanilla! 

After only a day and a half, this is what the beans looked like!

You should let the beans sit, for 4-6 weeks.  It has been ONE week for me so far, and it has darkened dramatically AND already smells heavenly!  I can hardly wait!

When are YOU gonna make yourself some???  :)

From Scratch...

It is a beautiful Fall week so far, chilly in the evenings, and daytime temps are very pleasant.

Lots going on still on our little farm, and so life rarely is at a stand still.  Baking and MAKING are difficult when life gets busy, BUT you make time if it's important.  Tuesday I ran LITERALLY all day, run to this place then this place, then do this real quick before I have to go here.  But when I got home, got kids in bed and realized it was 8:30 pm, I WANTED to have some Breakfast muffins for the next morning.  So I made them!  9:30 I pulled them out of the oven, and they were ready for the next day.  Crazy?  Possibly, and very likely.  BUT, important to me....

So here is a run down of what I made this week From Scratch...

• Pizza crust (this might be on each week, as we LOVE it!).  Made with homemade sauce, turkey burger, organic mushrooms, and cheese.  There is enough dough that I also make breadsticks, and my boys love 'em....
• Crock pot whole chicken (raised on our farm) broth, organic veggies.... (kept the broth)
• Chicken noodle soup, made with save broth, noodles, organic veggies.
• Pumpkin muffins (new one for us, I made it with fresh pumpkin from our garden!0
• Power Muffins (double batch)
• Granola.  Delish!
• Warm Cider, YUM! (Dump cider in a crock pot, add chopped apple sliced orange and cinnamon sticks, let simmer on low for an hour or more)
• As well as most dinners, and some breakfasts being put together with whole ingredients and made from scratch...

I have much more planned for today, like laundry soap!  I ran out and need to make a new batch!  

What are YOU making form Scratch?   Please share what you made this week, either by linking up or sharing in the comments!  If you'd like, you can also use the button above that says from scratch!

Thanks for sharing!

Recipe: Crock Pot Apple Crisp

I love Fall.  I love everything about Fall, well except for the EXTREMELY cold days...  But I love apples, which are in abundance this time of year.  And it makes me want to whip up some nice, warm crock pot apple crisp!  YUM!

I love fast and easy.  This recipe is great because you can fix it 2-3 hours before you are expecting company, and it is ready when you are!  I don't know about you, but when I have company, I want to pay attention to THEM instead of working in the kitchen!

So, I got this recipe from a book my sister-in-law got me a long while back, called "Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining".  Now for being recipes for entertaining, I STILL have to double this recipe.  And let me tell you, IF there are left-overs, they refrigerate well, and heat well for the next day!  It doesn't last beyond that in MY house.

So, here it is, the crock-pot recipe for Apple Crisp:

1 qt. canned apple pie filling, OR
    2/3 C. sugar
    1 1/4C. water
    3 Tbsp. cornstarch
    4 C. sliced, peeled apples
    1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
    1/4 tsp. ground all-spice
3/4 C. quick oats (I use regular!)
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/4 C. butter, at room temperature

-  Place pie filling in slow cooker, or combine  2/3 C.sugar, water, corn starch, apples, cinnamon and all-spice.  Place in cooker.
-  Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly.  Sprinkle over apple filling.
-  Cover.  Cook on low for 2-3 hours, (or will sit on "warm" until you are ready!)

**Makes 6-8 servings**

I haven't used the pie filling from the can, but the mixture above works very well.  The hardest part about all of it is cutting and peeling the apples! 

Hope you enjoy!

Recipe: Pancake Mix

I mentioned earlier this week that I have been working on finding food "mix" recipes that can make meal preparations easier and QUICKER, as well as staying healthy.  Well, I came across a recipe, and as always I change it up! 

I told my sons to be honest with me and to tell me if they liked these pancakes or not, and the response was with much enthusiasm!  They LOVED them!  Even my pickier son, who earlier asked why they were a different color, LOVED them!  I was happy to hear their reaction, then I tried it and it WAS really good! 

Also healthier than your typical store bought box mix!  Without further ado, here is the recipe!

Pancake Mix

4 C. All-purpose Flour (I use unbleached)
2 C. whole wheat flour (I used sprouted whole grain whole wheat)
2/3 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. baking soda

Makes 2 batches. 

Each batch makes 18-22 pancakes.

To make this mix:
- use 3 slightly rounded cups of mix
- add 3 eggs
- 1 3/4 C. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together with wire whisk and bake on a griddle with temp of 250-275 degrees.

*** We also added frozen blueberries after we poured each pancake on the griddle. 

YUM!  This mix is great to make ahead and them fix up in minutes!  Enjoy!

Recipe: Seasoned Rice Mix

Seasoned Rice Mix

I have been on a quest for easy lately in baking.  Some days it is just too much to spend an hour in the kitchen preparing food.  Sometimes all I have is 15 minutes, as I come in from the barn or squeeze that shower in for the day...  Because when kids come home at 3:30 pm and hubby comes home after that, the house is rockin' and we might be headed to soccer or something for church. 

It is tempting to buy one of those pre-made, high sodium meals when you know those busy evenings are inevitable...  But I JUST haven't been able to bring myself to doing it.  What I decided to do was make some healthier, pre-made things- even if I have to figure it out on my own!

The Internet is so full of info, so I started there first!  I have found several recipes!  Of course "revision" is my middle name, so I always tweak things a bit.  BUT, I am on my way!

One recipe I found, we have tried and approved!  It is a seasoned rice mix recipe.  It was GREAT with home raised chicken and veggies! 

The one PROBLEM with this recipe, is that I can't locally find any chicken bouillon that doesn't contain MSG.  I DID find some on Amazon.com that I am ordering.  There is THIS VERSION that is Organic and THIS little bit cheaper version that is not organic.  Both have no added MSG. 

So, on to the recipe!

Seasoned Rice Mix

3 C. uncooked long grain rice
6 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/4 C. dried parsley flakes
2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Combine and store in airtight container. 

To Prepare:  Combine 2 C. water and 1 Tbsp butter in sauce pan.  Bring to boil.  Stir in 1 rounded cup of rice mix.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Makes 6 servings.

I think it would also taste awesome to add some small chopped veggies like onion, carrot, peas, etc to this at the very end of the simmer!  It is cheap and easy, and healthy! 

Enjoy!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday! And starting today, we are going to be sharing again what we are making "from scratch"! I cannot WAIT to see what your making this week!

Our egg production has been down, A LOT. Let's say... to zero. ZERO. Zip. Nada... So baking our usual favorite treats, hasn't been happening. Which is a BUMMER!

BUT, I have been making this delightful new recipe, English Muffins! English Muffins are one of my FAVORITE breakfasts. I used to buy these because I didn't know that they could be made! Not by regular people anyways! And it is so simple!



I got my recipe from Happy Homemaker. Check it out HERE. The thing that takes the longest is the rise time! AND you make them on your griddle! LOVE IT!

What new and fun things are you making? Care to share??? We would LOVE to see! Link up if you can or share in the comments!!!

HEALTHY CAMP FOOD: Graham Cracker Recipe!

Sorry for the delay on posting. I had another virus on my computer, same as I got about 6-8 months ago. Thankfully I now have a program to get rid of that program, should it come around again! Thank you to my friend Richard!!!

I have been wondering for about a year now, how we can making camping HEALTHIER. It has been habit that when we go camping, we need a whole different menu of food. And I shutter at this! Chips, snacks, bottled water, fried food... We have always in the past gone for the prepackaged, pre-made while camping.

If you are like me, you want this to change!

My sister gave me a recipe the other day that got me thinking: Could we do a HEALTHIER CAMPING TRIP? I need your help friends! I need your healthy camp recipes!

I also, though, have one to share! The recipe my sister gave me, Graham Crackers! YUM! I literally could eat all of these myself. We made a double batch, and they lasted less than 5 days...

Graham Crackers
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour (I also make sure this is unbleached.)
1 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. untoasted wheat germ (I didn't have this but I used ground flax)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 C. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C. packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and honey. Mix at medium speed 2-3 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add the flour mixture until combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out until 1/8 in. thick. Cut into squares. Optional: press 4 small holes in the cookie to look like a "real" graham cracker.

Put Parchment paper on baking sheet, then add grahams. Place cooking sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then take out and bake for 8-9 minutes.

*** This can be more of a soft version of the real thing, unless you wanted to bake it longer. try it both ways. I liked the slightly soft better! Mmmm!

So, now I need YOUR help! DO you have healthy camp recipes to share??? PLEASE SHARE!!!

Homemade Weed Killer- All Natural!

As you all know, I have been trying to make steps towards more natural/ organic. And one thing I have fought my poor hubby on for 2 years now, has been Roundup. He is used to spraying big rings around anything that he doesn't want weeds to grow around. I personally hate the big dead rings of grass. But that wasn't the reason I have fought him on this chemical spray. I cannot explain it as well as this article does, so go check it out.

So after last summer, weed whacking everything, hubby said with all of the fences, he was going to use Roundup this year. I couldn't let this happen! So I did some searches and found several recipes on homemade weed killer. Hubby was skeptical. And I have to say I was also. Can a homemade mix ACTUALLY work better than a CHEMICAL?

YES!!!

We tested this out the other day, and the grass is DEAD!

Here's the recipe:

Homemade Weed Killer

1 gallon White Vinegar
1 lb. 10 oz. container table salt


THAT'S it! Mix these two together in a container. We let ours sit for a few days, to let the salt dissolve. Hubby sprayed the grass under the fence line and within 24 hours the grass was dead! Hubby said this is better than Roundup! YAY!

For tough weeds, you may need to spot spray them later in the summer.

COST? Hubby said it's more. I bought a gallon of the vinegar for $1.99 and you can get a container of salt for $.33-.50. SO our cost for a gallon was less than $2.50.

I hope this is something you are willing to give a try. And give up the other weed killer for this natural alternative. Do it for your animals, your kids, your water, your food...

Applesauce Cake

IN all of my recipes, you will notice I LOVE easy and healthy. I am a person that takes one project at a time, one NEW step at a time for my family. Because one step at a time makes it easier for ME to learn and to make things habit. But it also doesn't surprise my family with too much "healthy" all at once... Which would probably freak some of my family members out a little bit!

One step I haven't taken all of the way yet, is using whole wheat. My intestinal system, in the past, hasn't been able to handle too much whole wheat. But there is a taste change element that applies to the other members of our family. And whole wheat is a different taste!

But I found this recipe in one of my FAVORITE magazines, Countryside Magazine. I got this recipe from the new May/June Issue, which is not on the Internet yet. It was written and sent in by "Thunder Mountain Ranch, in Texas".

I tried it on my family, not expecting a lot. But it was actually VERY impressive! No one even had a clue it was ALL whole wheat! Here is the recipe:

Applesauce Cake

1/2 C. Butter
1 1/2 C. sugar
Cream together and add:
2 eggs
1 C. applesauce

In another bowl, mix:
2 C. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves (or ginger), add to wet ingredients.

Stir in 1 C. chopped nuts and 1 C. raisins (golden raisins) or chopped apricots.
Pour into greased floured loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour.


Be sure to lick the bowl, YUM! I used the ginger instead of cloves, because the hubby gets sick on cloves, and the ginger was very good!

Enjoy warm! :)

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Usually, the luxury items of life, cost us the most on our grocery bills. I am not only trying to become more sustainable and more healthy, but I try to keep all of it in a $70 a week budget (actually closer to $65). And in doing that, the "luxury items", either have to be left off the grocery list or we have to pay the price... I also think there is a WONDERFUL third option... Make it yourself! Like chocolate syrup! Mmmm! Chocolate syrup is wonderful in milk or on top of ice cream...

So, I found this recipe, I guess it is originally by the Tightwad Gazette. But you will find people (like me!) re-listing it all over the Internet... The only problem that I have with the recipe (or recipes LIKE this), is there is so much sugar!!! The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, and I also read about 152 lbs a year!!! So, I try to reduce our sugar intake as much as I can. And the thing I try to replace sugar with (in the NEEDED cases!), is honey. We use raw, natural honey. So, in the recipe listed below, I have replaced one cup of sugar with honey...

Chocolate Syrup

1/2 C. cocoa
1 C. water (I reduced the amount of water to 1/2 C. using honey)
2 C. Sugar ( I used 1 C. sugar, 1 C. honey)
1/8 tsp. salt (sea salt!)
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk cocoa into water until dissolved . Heat on high, then add sugar. Stir well while syrup starts to boil. Turn down a little bit, but keep a rolling boil. Boil 3 minutes. Add salt & vanilla. Stir well. Cool and store in refrigerator for several weeks.


Adding this to your milk for chocolate milk, you won't need to add much and you need to stir it a bit more, but oh my!!! It is good! I haven't had it on ice cream but have tasted it on it's own, and hubby says it tastes like fudge! It is a DELICIOUS alternative to the store bought!

Enjoy!

French Bread

For my son's birthday, I wanted to make him a recipe I found for Apple Cinnamon French Toast. But it called for French Bread. I had never actually made french toast with french bread before! So, I remembered that my favorite Grandmother Bread had several versions. So I went searching on Chickens In The Road, where the Grandmother Bread came from. And I found it!

Here it is! Delicious, and another favorite side for our family...

French Bread (this makes 2 loaves)

3 C. Warm Water
1 Tbsp. Yeast
1 tsp. salt (I use sea salt)
2 tsp. sugar (I use honey)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
7 C. Flour (I use unbleached)

Combine warm water, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil in large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the flour, one cup at a time until dough is no longer sticky. Knead the bread to combine the last amounts of flour. Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled (about an hour).

Sprinkle a small amount of flour on dough, then knead again. Take and divide into 2 loaves, about 12+ inches long. Place on greased baking sheet, add corn meal to the pan if desired. Put immediately into oven at 375 degrees (do not preheat oven). Bake for 30-40 minutes, until done.

Easy, delicious! I can't wait to make pizza on this bread! Enjoy!

Brownie Mix

Yesterday, I had a baking day without baking a single thing! I actually put together a few dry mixes. Brownie Mix being one of them.

Here are the instructions for a Brownie Mix:

2 1/4 C. white sugar
2/3 C. cocoa
1/2 C. chopped nuts (if desired)
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix these ingredients together well, or you can make a layered jar with these ingredients put in one at a time them pressed down for the "layered" look. I just mixed mine up and it fit into a quart sized baggie. On the baggie, I put these instructions: Empty mix into a large bowl. Add 3/4 C. butter or margarine and 4 slightly beaten eggs. Mix well until blended. Spread batter into lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until done. Cool in pan.

Enjoy!!! Mmmm!

This probably costs right around a dollar to make, or about the same as what a brownie mix would cost in the store (depending how you bought your. BUT, you know all of the ingredients! There are also ways to reduce the sugar. Like if you use honey (in the last step, not the dry mix part)! :) I made these today, with full-on sugar...

This is super easy, and a great way to make your own "convenience foods". I love it! There are DEFINITELY more to come! :)

Delightful Chocolate Wafers

In my stash of recipes that I find and write down on scraps of paper, in notebooks, and on index cards, I found this recipe. By the looks of the paper, I think I may have written it about a year ago. The source is unknown... friend, website, blog... I have no idea.

But here it is. Of course with this recipe, as with all of my recipes, I change SOMETHING. I don't know what my problem is! But in the end, these turned out WONDERFUL! Of course, in this recipe it calls for cocoa powder, and I only had a half cup, so I used unsweetened baking squares for some of the chocolate. Don't ask me how many, cuz' I have no idea. And I added more flour because of that too, because I used so many WET ingredients. I also substituted honey for some of the sugar. Anyways, here is the recipe, which is not exactly what I did, but I don't think I could do what I did, again!

Chocolate Wafers

3 sticks room temp butter
2 C. sugar (I used 1/2 C. honey and 1 1/2 C. sugar)
1 1/3 C. Cocoa powder (don't even ASK what I used!)
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C. Flour (I used unbleached white, but I don't see any reason you could not use wheat in it's place!)

With a mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium/ high speed for a few minutes until fluffy. Add cocoa and mix, until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Add flour, mix on low until dough holds together (should be somewhat firm). Form dough into 2 balls and wrap with plastic, store in refrigerator until chilled (about 3 hours).

To bake, make sure rake is in the center position in your oven. And preheat to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheet. I formed each ball into a tube shape, and then sliced off 1/4 inch slices. You could also roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then use a cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheet, and bake 8-10 minutes. (If cookies are thicker then 1/4 inch, you will want to bake them longer.) Let the Wafers cools slightly on the pan then place on a rack to cool.

The original recipe says it yields 3 dozen, but I actually got 6 dozen! So, I'm sure it depends on how big you make your circles around (mine were about 1 1/2- 2 inches wide).

But, enjoy these! I know I have! Right from the oven, delicious!!!

Homemade Pizza Crust

On Friday, we had company over and it was pizza night. I had my usual Jiffy Mix Pizza Crust, but we had to make 2 pizzas and decided to take a chance and try a new recipe for the crust. One I hadn't tried before.

I have to admit, the recipe appealed to me because it had honey in it! And we are going to try our hand at raising bees for honey this year... so I decided to try it! I altered it a bit ( no surprise!). It has a little bit of a sweetness to it, but it was very good! Hubby has been a little more picky on a few recipes lately, and he liked it as well.

I didn't get any pictures because I feel a little silly taking so many pictures of my food anyways, and doing it in from of company... well.... just didn't want to do it. So here it is, no pics but the recipe:

Homemade Pizza Crust

1 1/2 C. hot water
1/3 C. olive oil
1/3 C. honey
2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. yeast
4- 4 1/2 C. Flour (I use unbleached flour & add some wheat in place of white)

Mix together water, oil, honey, salt & yeast. Then add flour. Knead for 5 minutes. Let rise until doubled in a greased bowl, in a warm area. After rising, press into desired (greased) pizza pan.

This recipe makes enough for a Large thick crust pizza, or 2 medium-large thin crust pizzas.

Add toppings.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

***********

Slowly, I am trying to incorporate new recipes to make more from scratch. Come back and visit us on Thursday to share what YOU have made "From Scratch..." this week. I will share also all that we made this week also.

Like I mentioned last week, if you are new to starting to make more from scratch, take it recipe by recipe. One day at a time. And when you test the recipes on your family, make sure everyone likes it! And if they like it, you have ONE! Then try another one. Eventually you may have everything made from scratch! Or like me, you at least have a lot more things made from scratch than you did! :) One day, maybe I will have everything made from scratch... I'm just gonna work towards it slowly. Slowly with me, will make it more of a habit.

Just glad to have checked one more off the list... :)

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

In my quest recently for dry mixes, I found a Yellow Cake Mix Recipe! It's easy, which I am a BIG fan of! And it includes everything I actually have on hand... Then it can be stored for months, waiting to make you look good when you whip up a HOMEMADE cake....

Here it is:

HOMEMADE YELLOW CAKE MIX

3 C. Flour
2 C. Sugar (or you can replace with honey, if you add the honey when you actually MAKE the cake. DO NOT add honey to your dry recipe. I cannot guarantee your recipe will have a shelf life on it.)
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/2 C. Non-Fat Dry Milk

Combine and store on airtight container. (Enough for one cake mix)

Cake Mix Directions:
1 Recipe Cake Mix
1 1/4 C. Water (If using Honey, use only about 1/2 C. water)
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 C. Butter, softened
3 Eggs
(If you are substituting Honey for sugar, add the honey at this point. Add a little under 2 C. honey)

Place mix in a bowl. Add water, vanilla, butter & eggs (& honey?). Combine with mixer, then beat 2 more minute. Pour into grease & floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees.

8" or 9" cake rounds - 25-30 min.
13 x 9" pan- 40-45 min.
Cupcakes - 15-20 min.
Tube/ Bundt pan- 45-50 min.

**If you are baking with honey, make sure you take the temp down about 25 degrees. Honey browns more quickly then sugar does. Thanks Megan!!! :)

In the end, sprinkle the warm cake with a bit of powdered sugar, or with fresh fruit of some sort (strawberries sound DELIGHTFUL. I may pull some from our freezer....). Both sound wonderful...

I am making this as part of "From Scratch", our new link-up segment where we share what we have made from scratch this week!

From Scratch...

I am starting a new "segment" called "From Scratch...". During this time, I am going to share what I made from scratch that week. I will post recipes or links to recipes, pictures (when I remember to take them!), and I will list things that I made from scratch that week.

Starting NEXT THURSDAY, I want you all to join me! That's right! I want this to be an encouragement to all of you who are already doing a little of this, or to some who aren't doing any thing, but would like to! Or, if you just want to take a peak for a while and see what other people are making successfully from scratch, you are welcome to look! Like I said, I just want this to be an encouragement to bake and cook more from scratch.

Starting your meals or food from scratch is healthier (not all of the crazy additives and preservatives!), it can be cheaper, and it may not be as "convenient" at first, but by-golly, I think it's pretty fun!

I want to encourage all of you to have "Baking Days". This can be once a week, every couple days or every couple weeks. Whatever works for you and your family. Baking days can include making food from scratch, making SEVERAL things, possibly freezing some of those items for days down the road, when you can pull them out and have quick, easy, HEALTHY food. Having a baking day will help you not to "burn out" in the kitchen. Work for a few hours in the kitchen, once a week (or whenever you choose), then those time consuming food items can then be done for the week!

Last week, I made my homemade tortillas on Tuesday. I also made bread that day. I spent a few hours in the kitchen, and I had bread for the next several days, AND tortillas for our tacos on Friday and a new breakfast burritos that I got inspiration from Megan to make!

Today, I came home from the grocery store and made bread, and granola bars. Bread for the next few days and granola bars for snacks in days to come! I usually have 1 or 2 baking days per week, if time allows. We are a family of 6, and I do not want to be stuck in the kitchen all day OR everyday!

So, just like that, I will be sharing with you what I made that week, and YOU can share with us what YOU made! This is going to be meals also! If you made a meal from scratch or even a part of the meal from scratch, please share! Need some ideas to start off with? Here are some of my favorites...

You can link up to your blog OR you can just leave a comment in the comment section!!! Be sure to check out the comments! If you link up to your blog, feel free to use the button above (From Scratch...) or at least leave a link back to 8-Muddy Boots!

Are you excited? I am! See you all next week!!!

Dry Mix Recipes

As I posted yesterday, I have been trying to make more from scratch. And would LOVE to hear your dry mix recipes. I have done some searches and found some, but I want to hear from you recipes that you KNOW are good!

Then, WE can all have some encouragement to make our own! With ingredients that we know, and for things made from scratch by US!!!

So, please join in!

Here is one that I found for a baking mix. I use baking mixes quite a bit for fast meals, that are still good for you.

All- Purpose Baking Mix

9 C. Flour
3/4 C. Canola oil
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 C. baking powder
2 C. non-fat dry milk

Stir all together, until smooth. Store in airtight container. Refrigerate up to a month. Or freeze. Makes 12 C. Use as you would with Bisquik or Jiffy All- Purpose baking mixes!

I haven't tried this yet, but can't wait to try it!

What do you have???

Link up OR add your recipe to the comment section! THANK YOU!!!

Dry Mix Recipes NEEDED!

Tomorrow, I am asking you to all link up on this site, with your dry mix recipes. You know, like your Bisquik Mix, your taco seasoning mix, your country gravy mix... Any kind of mix that most people buy at the store in those little envelopes.

But, as you have come to expect (and LOVE!), I am not MOST people. I like to make things from scratch, when possible. And I HATE to look at a package of something, and see a bunch of words I can't pronounce, let alone know what they are doing in my food!

So, please share your tried and true mixes! You can either link up to YOUR blog, OR you can just put it in the comment section. Either way, we sure do appreciate it...

It would be nice to have all of those mixes made by YOU sitting in your cupboard, filled only with ingredients that you know! I know it makes me feel good! SO see you tomorrow!!!

Are You Looking to Start Making More From Scratch?

Baking.

I LOVE it. I find HUGE satisfaction in pulling a bunch of ingredients from the cupboard, mixing them together, baking them, and seeing my family DROOL over them. Well, not OVER them.

I also love trying to keep healthy ingredients on hand to make up these recipes.

The key with healthy, I think, is to start small. Start with one ingredient here, one there. I am not all "healthi-fied" (?), but I am slowly also making MY way there. Here are a few GREAT recipes for you to try out. These are family FAVORITES. Some are new, some I have posted before. And most are on the "SUPER EASY" list!

So, get your recipe cards and get to work! :)

• Baked Oatmeal - This is SO good. I don't like homemade oatmeal- AT ALL. But this is definitely one of my favorites. Can be make with blueberries or other fruits that you have picked and frozen during the summer! Yum!
• Grandmother Bread - I have tried MANY recipes for bread in the last year, because, well, I am in love with bread! So I was trying to find the perfect bread to make sandwiches with, and to serve as a side to a meal (hungry boys can get a little more filled up with bread!). This bread, in my opinion, is perfect! It can be cut thin for sandwiches, and can be cut thicker for a yummy side to a great home-cooked meal. Check out the varieties of this bread! Another favorite of ours (and it LOOKS pretty too...) is the Cornmeal Bread. YUM!
• Granola/ Granola Bars. (pictured above) I could eat these all day long! They are both the same recipe, with the addition of an egg for the bars. These are healthy, but they taste great! I have also tried many "healthy" granola recipes, and this one blows all of the others out of the water!!! My boys BEG for them as soon as I pull them from the oven.
• Homemade Potato Chips. This recipe was a trial and error that I came up with on my own. We LOVE potato chips but we don't like all of the extra junk that comes in those foil bags. This is SUPER easy, and another favorite. I am actually going to be trying this recipe with Sweet Potatoes! Should be yummy!
• Homemade Tortilla Shells. 5 ingredients. Super Easy. YUMMY & filling! Filling is a good thing around here. Feeding 4 hungry boys, it is hard to find anything that FILLS their bellies, in a good way! This is a recipe that I tweaked from a few other recipes, and it worked wonderfully!
• The Best Chocolate Cake EVER! Yes, it's true. I am a chocolate lover, and THIS is a wonderful cake. it is a sheet cake that is so tasty, you want to slowly savor each bite. My boy #3 asked for this cake for the last 2 year's birthday cakes. I could EASY make a food group out of this... :)
• Homemade Play-Dough- Not all recipes have to be food recipes! This is a recipe we do often, and the boys can help! They also LOVE playing with Play-dough, taking the cookie cutters and having at it! This smells great, lasts a long time and is pretty cheap to make. I recently found the cream of tartar (the most expensive ingredient) at Aldi's for $1 for a pretty nice sized bottle! We should be good for a while!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we have! These are just a few of our favorite things! :)

Also shared on www.LifeAsMom.com, Where readers are sharing their healthier recipes!

Canning Pumpkin... EASY PEEZY!

I never knew...

Never knew how EASY it was to can your OWN pumpkin! Never would have GUESSED that it was as easy as it is!

"Yeah, but Sarah, you, like, bake stuff and I just don't do that much baking...."

Oh come on! Trust me! If you know how to gut a pumpkin (like for Halloween?) and cut open a watermellon, TRUST ME. you are already halfway there! Oh there a 3 other things you have to be able to do~ turn ON your oven, turn on your water faucet, and turn on a timer. Can YOU do those things? I thought so! I knew you were a brilliant bunch!

So, how EXACTLY do you go from here:

To here:

TO HERE?

Take your pumpkin. Cut it in half. Dig out the guts (Keep some seeds for your garden next year! Or to eat! Also, don't forget to throw the "guts" on your garden for compost!). Lay your halves on a large cookie sheet (open side down). Put enough water in the cookie sheet to just cover the surface. Stick in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour (maybe a little more, if you have a huge pumpkin!). Take it out after the timer buzzes. Scoop out the pumpkin (throw the skin out in your garden too OR give to your chickens!). I used my mixer to "mash" the pumpkin. Then I used my pumpkin puree to make a pie. Use the recipe of your choice! SEE! EASY PEEZY! ;)

I also stuck the left-over pumpkin in our refrigerator for some of our favorite pumpkin recipes, like this. YUM-O! You can also "can" the pumpkin for use months down the road!

My sister got me some small baking (or pie, or REGULAR) pumpkins from Wal-Mart for $.05 a pound!!! WOW! She got me 9 pumpkins for $1.50. You CANNOT get close to that price in a can! That is seriously A PENNY for a large can of FRESH pumpkin! Sweet! It IS so easy, and great for you! Plus, you can say, THIS IS FRESH! I DID IT MYSELF!!!

Guess what we have having in our garden next year? Yeah, baby!