Homemade Staples and Make-Ahead Mixes

March 20, 2024, noon


Have you ever started to make a recipe and realized you didn't have any powdered sugar or started to make cookies and found you were out of brown sugar? I have a solution for that!

You can make these pantry staples and more from scratch very easily!

Here's how.....

Powdered Sugar
Put regular granulated sugar in a food processor and grind until the consistency you want. You can use this as-is right away. If you want to store the powdered sugar, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per 1 cup of sugar. Store in an air-tight container.

Brown Sugar
Put 1 cup of regular granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Add 1 teaspoon of molasses and stir until completely mixed. There you go! Store in an air-tight container.

Baking Powder
Combine 1 part baking soda and 2 parts cream of tartar. Store in air-tight container. That's all there is to it!

Homemade “Velveeta” Read More...

"Cream of" Soups

March 6, 2024, noon


Have you ever read the ingredients list on a can of a cream soup? Hold on to your chair! Here is a partial list for cream of chicken soup.....

Chicken Stock, Modified Cornstarch, Vegetable Oil, Wheat Flour, Cream, Chicken Meat, Chicken Fat, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Whey, Dried Chicken, Monosodium Glutamate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Water, Yeast Extract, Natural Flavoring, Beta Carotene For Color, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate, Celery Extract, …

Is a can of cream soup convenient? Yes! Is it healthy for you and your family? NO!

Thankfully, cream soups are easy to make. Here's how to make three “cream of” soups that are the most used store-bought ones.

Cream of ________ Soup

from RuthAnn Zimmerman
Makes: Equivalentof 1,10-12oz can of soup

3 tablespoons of fat (butter, lard, tallow, or bacon grease)
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely chopped celery, mushrooms,or chicken


Optional:...


Read More...

Valentines Petit Fours

Feb. 7, 2024, noon


Petit fours are small bite-sized cakes. The word petit four in French actually translates to "small oven." In France, bakers would bake their breads first, and then as the ovens cooled, they would bake smaller pastries. The lower temperature was called baking "a petit four" and thus, the cakes were named!

Petit fours are very expensive in bakeries! However, they are very easy to make at home. Your children will love this project!

Petit Four Cake Recipe
Yields 2 dozen approximately
4 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Separate eggs and whip egg whites until fluffy and set aside.
Mix egg yolks and water and cream in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Add sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat well.
Add flour and baking powder and beat until batter is smooth.
Fold egg whites into batter until smooth.
Gr...


Read More...

Homemade Tortillas

Jan. 31, 2024, noon


Tortillas are very easy to make at home and they have no ingredients in them that you can't pronounce!
Here's the recipe......
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup avocado oil
1 cup warm water
Mix all together and knead until it is smooth. Divide into 12 pieces. Roll into balls and flatten a little and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough sit for about 15 minutes. This is key. If you don't let the dough rest, the tortillas will shrink back when they are rolled out.
While the dough is resting, heat a cast iron skillet.
Roll each piece of dough until it is paper thin. Put in hot skillet and cook for about 1 minute on first side and flip and cook for about 30 seconds.
As they come off the skillet put in tortilla warmer.
Enjoy!

...
Read More...