Honey Oatmeal Bread

           Honey Oatmeal Bread


1 and 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup quick cook oats
1 and 3/4 teaspoons salt
3 and 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons oat bran
2 tablespoons dry milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

*Measure out ingredients into bread machine and set to "dough".  

*Roll the dough out into a large rectangle (10x12) and then roll it back up, pinching in the ends.  

*Let it rise in a coconut oil greased bread pan for about an hour.  

*Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  

*Now here is my favorite part: Slather the top with honey and sprinkle on oats. Yum. :)

*You can also bake directly in the bread machine, set for a 2lb loaf.

Whole Wheat Bread With Honey & Molasses

Whole Wheat Bread With Honey & Molasses

• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp molasses
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/2 Tbsp yeast

Put the ingredients in order into the bread machine pan (see tips below), and press the dough setting.  

Tips

*Set the ¼ cup of honey into the hot water in the bread machine to help ease it out. *And use the same tablespoon for the molasses that you used first with the oil - it will just make life easier.

When finished, roll out the dough into a rectangle, approx. 10×12 inches.  If using small loaf pans, split this dough in half and roll to the appropriate size for your pan.

Roll the dough up long ways, and pinch the ends together. Put in a greased loaf pan, and let rise for 45 min – 1 hour.

Bake at 350* for 45 min. (30-40 min. for smaller loaves)

*You can rub butter on top right after it comes out of the oven for a softer crust.

Kombucha

Fizzy Kombucha

I hopped on the Kombucha wagon and ordered a baby scoby online.  Kombucha is a probiotic drink with so many health benefts that I don't even have the time to list.  Seriously, google it. :)

Ingrediants 

• 1 Kombucha Mushroom / S.C.O.B.Y / Mother Culture (Ebay $6)
• 3 Quarts of water
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 4 tea bags - Black or Green tea
• 1/2 Cup of finished Kombucha or 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar  
• 1 gallon glass jar (or a ceramic stoneware led-free crock)
• Bottles for your finished kombucha or small mason jars with unbleached wax paper for under the lid

Instructions

1. Bring one quart of the water to a boil. Remove from heat, add sugar & tea. Steep 15 minutes then remove tea bags.
2. Pour liquid into the 1 gallon glass jar and add the remaining 2 quarts of water.
3. Add 1/2 Cup of finished Kombucha or 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.
4. Put mother culture on top of the tea. Smooth side up. If you have several S.C.O.B.Y.’s, the lightest in color is the top.
5. Cover with a cloth towel & a rubber band around the top.
6. Ferment for 7-10 days in a warm and not-so-bright area. Make sure that the new culture has fully formed on top of the brew before proceeding to the next step.

Day One

 

Day Eight (when it's not freezing out we only have the wood stove going about every other day, so it's been brewing in a variety of temperatures)

Well hello baby SCOBY you turned into a big mama!  The kids got a kick out of this.  We had to do a taste test of course, and boy they did NOT like it.  Don't worry I told them, after it's bottled with our home canned grape juice for a few days and then chilled in the fridge, you will loove it.  Promise.  :)

Bottling Instructions

 1 tsp sugar

 1 Fresh/frozen strawberry

Grape juice to top it off

• Take the cultures out of the Kombucha and place them in a bowl, covering with 1/2 cup of Kombucha
• Put sugar and strawberry in the jars
• Fill the jars about 3/4 full with Kombucha
• Top off with fresh juice, leaving plenty of headspace
• Leave the jars out for 2-4 days before refrigerating (this second fermentation will make sure it's good and carbonated)

*You can add any type of fresh fruit or juice, this is just what I tried first, and it's really good.

AND YOU'RE DONE!

*You can start a new batch right away, or to save your cultures, put them in the fridge in a mason jar with the 1/2 cup of Kombucha.

Baking Day

I'm determined to get the most space possible out of my tiny little kitchen. We've already omitted the microwave, coffee pot, and toaster. All that's left is a toaster oven and the Vita Mix (which ain't goin nowhere cause that things amazin). And, the bread machine. So I came up with the brilliant idea of having a baking day. Instead of using the bread machine everyday or every other day, I can store it in the pantry and just bring it out once a week. Another perk is that I won't have to keep refilling my flour container! The bread can be frozen or refrigerated to stay fresh. I had fun doing it, and figure adding baking to my Monday laundry day will work out nicely since I'm home all day anyways.

These are the nine loaves I made on my first baking day. After the bread cools, I slice it up with my handy bread slicer and store them in plastic one gallon baggies that I reuse. I like making one and two pound loaves for different purposes.  The one pounders are a great size for the kid's school lunches, and two pound loaves are nice and big for the hubby's sandwiches, and also making toast..or french toast, one of our favs.

How to Make Sourdough Baguettes

  

• First step measure out all ingredients into your bread machine and set to dough setting ~

1 1/4 c. sourdough starter

3/4 c. warm water

4 c. white flour

3 Tbs sugar

2 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp yeast

• Second step, knead the dough a few times, and cut into half  (this recipe will yield two loaves).  Start with one of the halves and roll out into a big rectangle, flipping over every few times to help with the elasticity.  

• Here is a video for the third step, thanks to my sweet little helper. 

:)

• Fourth step, using a sharp knife cut three slits in the dough.  Cover and let rise on a baking pan for one hour.

• Fifth step, brush on a beaten egg for a beautiful finish and...
• Lastly Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.  The inside will be 190 degrees when finished, which takes exactly 23 minutes in my oven.

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

*Makes 12 rolls, done in 2 1/2 hours

§  1 cup warm water

§  1 beaten egg

§  3 Tbsp oil

§  3 cups bread flour

§  1/3 cup dry milk

§  1 tsp salt

§  3 Tbsp sugar

§  2 tsp yeast

Add ingredients to your bread machine in order listed and set on “dough” cycle.  When the dough is finished, knead a little more then pull off 12 equally sized pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or greased muffin pan.

*TIP: Flour your hands well before you knead and pull the dough. If it starts sticking to your fingers, don’t wash them, just rub more flour onto your hands.

Allow the dough to rise for 30 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 400*.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are browned. 

Fluffy Biscuits

Fluffy Biscuits

Deliciously moist, and takes only five minutes to mix up a batch of 24 ~ you will need that many because they are so good!

Ingredients:

4 Cups      Flour

2 tsp         Salt

2 Tbsp      Sugar

8 tsp         Baking Powder

2/3 Cup    Butter (melted)

2 ½ Cups   Milk

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.  Stir everything together in a big bowl.  Spoon into cupcake pan or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 15-17 minutes and enjoy! J

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

*Double Batch

§  1 package of bacon

§  1 c. finely chopped onion

§  1  c. chopped carrots

§  3 tsp olive oil

§  4 c. chicken broth

§  4 c. milk

§  ½ c. heavy cream

§  8 c. cubed potatoes

§  ¼  tsp. cayenne (red) pepper

§  ½ tsp. Tarragon

§  3 c. shredded cheddar

§  Salt & pepper to taste

Cook bacon till crispy; drain well on towel and set aside.

Add olive oil to medium or large saucepan and add the onion and carrots. Saute until the onion is soft, about 3-4 min. Stir in broth, milk, heavy cream, potatoes, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and tarragon.

Bring to boil; then reduce heat and simmer covered (with lid slightly off to prevent boiling over) for 15-20 min, or until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in shredded cheese until melted. Chop bacon and add that as well.

Using a potato masher, mash the chunks of potatoes gently, still leaving some small chunks.

Homemade Half n' Half

We used to buy the 64 ounce cartons weekly from Walmart.  Although the savings from making it at home isn’t huge ($1.19), it’s another item I get to cross off my grocery list.  Also there is the added convenience of being able to whip up a batch instead of running to the store, since we always have heavy cream on hand for making other dairy products.  It's just too bad we don’t have a milk cow YET... J

        Homemade Half n' Half

25 ounces Whole Milk

7 ounces Heavy Cream

Mix together in a glass jar and store in fridge.  Makes 32 ounces.

Price Breakdown:

50 cents Milk (2.50/gallon)

80 cents Heavy Cream (3.69/32oz)

Total $1.30 (32 oz)

Total $2.60 (64 oz)

Walmart Price List for Half n’ Half:

$1.90 (32 oz)

$3.79 (64 oz)

Homemade Sour Cream

Homemade Sour Cream

¾ c. Whole Milk

1 c. Heavy Cream

¼ c. Sour Cream Starter (which is just sour cream with live cultures saved from the previous batch)

Shake up ingredients in a mason jar and set out in a warm place for 24 hours then place in fridge.  Makes 16 oz.

Price Breakdown:

12 cents – Milk

92 cents – Heavy Cream

Free – Sour Cream Starter (saved from previous batch)

Total Cost for 16 ounces $1.04

Homemade Mayo

From start to finish (gathering ingredients to a tidy kitchen) this will take less than five minutes!  Homemade mayonnaise is delicious and especially nice for recipes that call for a cup or two...the stuff is expensive!

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 whole egg
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use my liquid measuring cup with a spout for easy pouring)

In a deep mixing container or bowl, add all ingredients except the last 3/4 cup oil.

Mix on low for 2 minutes.

Then, with mixer still running, slowly pour in the remaining 3/4 cup oil as a thin stream. (Pouring too quickly will cause your mayo to be runny.)

Continue mixing for a few more seconds, or until thickened; it doesn’t take long.

Dump mayo into a pint size mason jar and mark the date.  Mine stays great in the fridge for up to three weeks!

Makes 1 1/2 c. mayonnaise.

I picked up this old mayonnaise maker at my favorite antique shop.  The ceramic crock is the perfect size, but I use an electric handheld mixer (in place of the hand crank) so that I can still be mixing while pouring in the oil.

Homemade Vanilla Yogurt! Cream Cheese Too!

There are so many different yogurt-making methods out there that it took me a few try's to perfect it. My main goal was to create simple vanilla Greek-like yogurt, without a machine (aka just another contraption I will have to find counter space for). I also wanted to find a method where the yogurt could set in the actual jar it would be stored in, which is a time saver. And I didn't want to be limited to just one size jar, like the yogurt makers come with. I wanted to have single servings for quick and easy snacks (half pints) and quarts for filling up the kids LunchBot containers for school.

I tried the slow cooker method but it wasn't thick enough, just a pot full of runny yogurt. I also tried the stovetop/slow cooker combined method - cooking it on the stove and letting it set in jars in the slow cooker on "warm" with the lid cracked, but that was too warm and the yogurt came out a little curdled.

I was really skeptical of the oven light method - it seemed too good to be true - Prepare yogurt on the stove, pour it in jars, and let it set in the oven for 12 hours with only the light on to warm it. BUT IT WORKED! So simple!

Here goes ~

1 Gallon Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt (with live cultures)
1 Quart Heavy Cream
1 Cup Powdered Milk
3 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Sugar
Thermometer

• Set Yogurt out in medium sized bowl to warm to room temperature
• Heat milk and heavy cream to 180 degrees, stirring constantly
• Cool to 110 degrees (setting it in a sink filled with cold water works well)
• Stir in powdered milk, sugar, and vanilla extract
• Take out 2 cups of milk mixture and add it to the bowl of yogurt, mixing well.
• Stir yogurt mixture into milk mixture
• Pour into jars and set in oven for 12 hours with the light on.
• Finally, put lids on and chill in the fridge for a few hours before indulging. Our favorite toppings are honey, granola and fruit! Ta-Da!

A few tips ~
• Don't forget to set aside a small amount for cream cheese before adding sweeteners
• Save 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt in a separate container to use as starter in next batch
• Honey prevents yogurt from setting, so just add it in when you're ready to eat it. • I've read homemade yogurt stays good in the fridge for up to three weeks, but I wouldn't know because we go through it in three days! :)
• To make an even thicker yogurt, you can follow the instructions below for making cream cheese, except leave it in the refrigerator for only an hour instead of five.


Cream Cheese Instructions:
To make cream cheese all you need is a batch of unsweetened yogurt! And you should be able to whip that up in no time now! I like to set aside a pint of the cooled milk and add about a Tbsp of yogurt starter.
•Place a clean kitchen towel (I used a flour sack cloth) into a colander. Place the colander in a bowl that's big enough to hold it. Add the yogurt to the lined colander and wrap the cloth over the top to cover it. Leave it to drain for five hours in the refrigerator.

It's like magic!