Trying to be healthier... Cornbread Makeover!

So, we've been trying to "step-up" 
being healthy even more than ever!

We've been trying to eat more beans, legumes, veggies and healthy fats and have tried to keep our "glycemic" index down as much as possible Monday-Fridays! 
On the weekends we do a little more splurging.

To keep our glycemic index down, 
I've been trying to limit using "unbleached white flour" in my recipes to only cookies and desserts, which means it has been a fun journey for me to tweak my bread recipes to use more whole wheat flour and I've also been venturing out and try using oat flour as well.
Since we purchase steel cut oats in 25 pound bags, I have an abundance of them and so I've been grinding my steel cut oats into flour and incorporating it into my baking.

Well, it turns out, you can't completely 
use oat flour in a recipe if you want it to turn out,
because oats don't contain gluten and so it behaves differently than wheat flours.  
However, after experimenting, I have been able to successfully replace oat flour for up to 1/2 of the whole wheat flour.

When I made up a batch of Bean Chowder for my family, it was just automatic that we would have a delicious pan of Corn Bread to go along with it.  
Cooked bean dishes at our house mean "Corn Bread"! 

So, I tweaked my Corn Bread recipe to use not only less sugar, 
but, less refined sugar. 
(took it from 1/2 cup white flour to 1/3 cup raw cane sugar)
(I buy these bags of Raw Cane Sugar at any of our local grocery stores in the Mexican Food Section.)

I also used one cup whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup oat flour 
and it turned out to be an absolute success!
It was very hearty tasting, VERY moist and delicious and it had my family begging me to make more!

I'll never 
make Corn Bread from unbleached flour again. 
Raw Cane Sugar, Whole Wheat and Oat Flour is how it will be made at our house from here on out.

Delicious Corn Bread 

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup raw cane sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup freshly ground oat flour

1-½ cups milk

Cream butter and sugar. 

Add eggs and stir.

Add in cornmeal, baking powder and salt and stir until just combined

Add flours alternatively with milk. 

Put in greased 9x9 pan.

Bake 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until lightly browned and toothpick inserted in comes out clean. 

(oven temps vary...check after 30 minutes). 

Absolutely delicious! 

ENJOY... 

being a little more healthy in your day to day life... 

one recipe at a time! 

(PS...I really enjoyed this site here for information about Oats) 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread...

Who ever came up with the saying that 
"Chocolate Makes Anything Better"
 was totally on to something. 

My sweet friend Katie dropped me off a loaf of  Chocolate Chip Banana Bread a few weeks ago. (here)

My boys just loved it
and I even had someone comment that they wanted the recipe for it, on the post that I did.
 So, I decided to take my Banana Bread recipe and just sprinkle on some Dark Chocolate Chips on top of the batter before I put it into the oven.

It turned out perfect and delicious 
and left my boys wanting for more!

I'm thinking that the addition of chocolate chips
to our Banana Bread is going to be something we'll be doing from now on!

Of course, I always use this helpful tip when any recipe that I make calls for one cup of oil. 

Banana Bread

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup oil

½ cup applesauce

2 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups mashed banana (or however much banana you have)

Mix together the above 6 ingredients 

Then add in:

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

After you have mixed this well add in: 
3 cups unbleached flour

Grease two loaf tins.

Pour mix into tins.

SPRINKLE batter with Dark Chocolate Chips (about 1/3 cup per loaf pan)

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. (or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean)

After you have pulled it out of the oven, 

remove from loaf pans  and  I usually put some butter on the top of it. 

Store in Zip-Loc bags...enjoy one loaf now and then freeze another loaf to enjoy on a different day.

I keep mine in the fridge until ready to serve.

THIS bread freezes well 

and is great to pull out of the freezer and slice up, 

add in an apple, string cheese or boiled egg 

and some carrot sticks and you have a yummy lunch.

Enjoy!

Homemade Onion and Cheese Buns!

 Anyone who knows me or has been following this blog, knows that I THRIVE on the challenge of doing my best to make the majority of everything my family eats from SCRATCH!  

I'm so excited that I finally perfected making Homemade Buns and 

WOW, they are so chewy and yummy and we will definitely not be purchasing store bought buns again, if we can help it.

 If you were to ask me what my favorite gourmet bread or bagel is, it is hands down, Onion and Cheese.

When my Ethan Kip asked for Salmon Burgers for his birthday dinner, I decided to try making homemade buns. 

So, I took my favorite French Bread Recipe and then added in dried minced onions to the dough and then shaped the dough into large rolls, topped them with a yummy cheese mixture of grated Parmesan and Asiago Cheese and WOW, they truly taste better than any bun you could purchase at any gourmet bakery.

AND the ingredients for the basic dough are less than $1.00 to make these.  

Here is a breakdown of the cost:
6 cups of flour--.42 (7 cents per cup of flour)
2 Tbsp. yeast-- .17
3 Tbsp. Sugar-- .21
2 tsp. salt-- .06
1 Tbsp. oil-- .12
........................................
Total-- 98 cents for the dough

(add in grated cheese for the top and you probably have another .75)

I always purchase a few blocks of gourmet cheese each month when we do our grocery shopping so we can have yummy cheese to put on top of pasta dishes, or in Huevos Rancheros and salads.  

It really is economical 

 to purchase cheese this way because when you grate it up, 

you have A LOT of cheese to use.

Homemade Onion and Cheese Buns
Mix and set aside until bubbly:
½ cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp yeast

Mix the following together in a mixer:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
3 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups HOT tap water
1 Tbsp. Dried Onion Flakes

Add yeast mixture to above ingredients, mix well.
Add 2 cups unbleached white flour. (this will be lumpy).
Add 3-4 more cups unbleached white flour until you have soft dough...it should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (I add in 3 cups of flour and then add in more flour in 1/4 cup intervals until you have a nice soft dough)
Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl and let rise for one hour.  

Punch down every 20 minutes.

Punch down and then divide into 12 pieces
Shape into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise 30 minutes. 

Slash top of each dough ball with a serrated knife and brush with beaten egg white.
Top with grated Parmesan & Asiago Cheese (or whatever cheese you would like)
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (35 minutes)
Cool on baking rack and ENJOY having gourmet buns to use for burgers and sandwiches!

 Now you have one more "mad skill" you can add to your life that is SO yummy and most of all EASY to make,

better than anything that you could purchase at the store 

and you know exactly what is going in the dough for ingredients...no preservatives, or chemicals.  

Just basic food storage ingredients!
Enjoy impressing your family today, with amazing, delicious buns!

Delicious Oranges...so many yummy uses and a recipe!

 I am sad that this morning we enjoyed our last orange from the case of oranges I bought 2 weeks ago.  
It's one of the things I love most about this time of the year, is the GREAT prices on oranges...
it's such a frugal way to enjoy produce 
this time of the year!

 Since Christmas we have bought 4 cases of oranges and enjoyed every single one. 
You may ask how a family of four can go through so many oranges, but they all get eaten up in one way or another and here is how that happens: 

Cut up and eaten for daily snacks 
and daily lunch box additions...

Cut in half and JUICED...

 and served with weekend 
pancake and egg breakfasts...

 Kids just LOVE 
fresh squeezed orange juice...

Topped on MANY winter salads...

Added to many smoothies...

Used to make up some absolutely 
delicious family favorite recipes....

Poppy Seed Bread (here)

Carrot Cookies (here)

And one of our all time favorites

Orange Rolls...
and below is the recipe for that! 

Orange Rolls

2 Tbsp. SAF yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ cup warm water

Mix together and let stand while getting other ingredients ready.

1 cup scalded milk

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 eggs, well beaten

4 ½ to 5 heaping cups flour

Add butter and sugar to hot milk.  

Cool and add eggs, salt, and yeast mixture.

Add flour, knead well. Dough will be sticky.

Put in large bowl with a small amount of oil and coat well.

Let rise, punch down and let rise again.

Roll dough out like a jelly roll and spread with a mixture of:

6 Tbsp. softened butter

1 Tbsp. orange juice

1/3 cup sugar

grated rind of 1 orange

Roll up and cut and put on greased cookie sheet or in muffin tins.

Let rise until double and bake for 10-15 minutes in 400 degree oven.

Frost with cream cheese frosting while still warm.

(I cut mine apart after frosting and let them cool on wire racks so they aren't too doughy!

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

(4oz) 1/2 package light cream cheese

1/4 cup REAL butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla together until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and blend until creamy.

Oranges...whether eaten plain as a snack, 

or  juiced, topped on a salad, 

made into a smoothie, or added to recipes...

it's one truly one of the favorite winter time fruits in our family!!

I hope you and your family enjoy the 

WONDERFUL yummyness 

of citrus and oranges as well!

Cinnamon rolls...perfect for the weekend!

 YAY for the weekend!  

Truly my favorite time of the week, where there are two days in a row that we get LOTS of family time together.  

While most weekends are usually busy and running here and there,  

or, Tracy and the boys are doing a scout campout,

there are those weekends that come around once in a blue moon,

where it's relaxing and we enjoy each and every bit of the morning time together...

Such was the case over the holidays!

I got up and made a batch of these 

cinnamon rolls that come together SO quickly...

the aroma of the baking yummyness awakened my family 

and we enjoyed a morning brunch of 

Cinnamon Rolls, boiled eggs, fresh fruit and milk/juice.  

It was truly a picture PERFECT morning! 

(I originally got this recipe 16 years ago 

from my sweet friend Marie that I used to work with)

The yummy thing about these Cinnamon Rolls is they taste like 

"Maple Bars" 

that you get at the bakery, because I add in Maple flavoring to the frosting.

Cinnamon Rolls      
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 Tablespoons yeast
1/3 cup oil (I use canola oil)
1/3 cup sugar
Mix these ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes

Add the following ingredients to the above mixture
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
5-1/4 cups flour
2 beaten eggs

Roll dough ½ inch thick (on floured surface) and 
spread with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. 
(You can also put raisins and nuts if you want...the raisins make them SO good!)   
Roll up like a jelly roll and cut into slices.   
Place on a greased cookie sheet and  
let rise until doubled (about 1 hour)
Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. (until lightly browned)  

Frost with maple/cream cheese frosting. 
After frosting, I then pull my cinnamon rolls out of the pan and let them cool on wire racks so they aren't too "doughy"

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup REAL butter
4 (oz) cream cheese
1-2 capfuls Mapleine Extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Beat together butter, cream cheese and maple extract until light and fluffy.
Gradually add in powdered sugar, beating until smooth.  

Enjoy adding a little bit of FUN 

to weekend breakfasts with your family!

Family...good food...time spent together...

truly life's precious treasures!

Two Favorite Traditions at our House...

"The merry family gatherings - the old, the very young; the strangely lovely way they harmonize in carols sung. 
For Christmas is tradition time - traditions that recall the precious memories down the years, the sameness of them all".

- Helen Lowrie Marshall

Christmas is such a joyful time!
I am amazed every time, when I pull out my Christmas boxes, the wonderful memories that flood into my mind from yesteryear... memories, that I hadn't thought about all year, until I saw or smelled something from our Christmas boxes.

Such is the case for these ornaments. 

My Grandfather lost his wife my Grandma Laura when I was eight years old and shortly after she died, he remarried a wonderful lady named Ruth. We called her Grandma Ruth. 

She was VERY Victorian in her decor 

and these ornaments remind me of going to her house and seeing similar things at her house.

She also LOVED my Christmas Croissants and was SO excited when we would visit during the holidays and bring this tasty treat. She LOVED them and always asked me about how I made them, wanted the recipe, etc..

Clam Chowder and Croissants...
that's what you'll find us dishing up to eat on Christmas Eve at our house.

WARNING...
Christmas traditions and treats at our house are usually pretty decadent and not very frugal, but they are only enjoyed during the holidays and the holidays wouldn't be the same without them. 

So, this is the one time of the year that we splurge on goodies and calories!

With a little bit of work and planning
you can ENJOY some flaky, delicious croissants at YOUR house during the holidays!  

They are worth all of the work it takes to make them!
(Recipes below the instruction photos)

NOW,
for rolling out and baking them...

Croissants (we eat these every Christmas eve with Clam Chowder)
1-1/2 cups butter
1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp. Yeast
½ cup warm water
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 ¼ to 4 ¼ cups flour
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

Cream butter with 1/3 cup flour. Roll mixture between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12x16 inch rectangle. Chill at least 1 hour.

Soften yeast in warm water. Heat ¾ cup milk, sugar, and salt until sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm, turn into large mixing bowl.

Add softened yeast and 1 egg. Beat well.

Stir in 2 cups of the flour. Beat well. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix with a spoon. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough. Continue kneading til smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes). Let rest 10 minutes.

Roll into a 14 inch square. Place “chilled” butter on one half of dough fold over other half and seal edges. Roll into a 21 x 12 inch rectangle. Seal edges. Fold in thirds. Roll into a 21 x 12 inch rectangle. Fold and roll twice more: seal edges. Chill after each rolling.

Fold in thirds to 12 x7 inches. Chill several hours or overnight.

Cut dough crosswise in fourths. Roll each fourth into a 12 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges. Roll up each edge loosely starting from wide edge. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; point down, curve ends.  
Cover, let rise until double. (30 to 45 minutes). 
Beat egg with 1 Tablespoon milk. Brush on tops.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Clam Chowder
2 (6 ½ oz.) cans minced clams
1 large onion finely chopped (I sometimes put in 2 chopped onions)
4 large diced potatoes 

3 carrots diced
3 stalks celery chopped
1/4 cup butter
¾ cup flour
1 quart half & half cream
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Drain juice off clams and pour over vegetables in medium saucepan.
Add enough water to barely cover veggies and simmer in covered pan until veggies are tender. (about 20-25 minutes).
In the meantime, melt butter. Add flour , blend and cook for 1 minute. Add cream and cook. Stir until smooth and thick.
Add un-drained vegetables and clams. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

(it even tastes better if you cook this up the day before as it tastes better the second day after the flavors have seasoned)

I enjoy SO much the traditions that come 

with this most wonderful time of the year!
I've got my butter and flour rolled between waxed paper, chilling, 

ready to be made into yummy croissant dough tomorrow. 

Hope this finds all of you enjoying 

the wonderful traditions of your families 

and savoring and cherishing the 

"Merry Family Gatherings" 

that are abundant during this 
happy and joyful month of December!