Homemade Butter

OK, I seriously didn't believe it would be so easy.  I read a blog post HERE and thought I'd try it.  The comments below the post also have some interesting information.  Here's what I did:

1 pint of Heavy Whipping Cream

dash of salt

Hand Mixer (not a stand mixer - like a Kitchenaid)

I used a larger bowl than I thought I'd need and it turns out that was a good idea!!!

Beat your Heavy Whipping Cream for a long time!  First, it turns into whipped cream, which is great for desserts!!!  At that point, I added a little salt.  I have no idea how much, just a few shakes of the salt shaker.

Keep mixing.  At some point (around 20 minutes of mixing for me), you'll start to see a milky liquid separating from the solids.  The liquid is buttermilk.  You can save it and use it if you want.  Press the solid butter into a mound and you'll see the buttermilk seeping out of it.  Keep pressing and then pour out the buttermilk.  Run cold water into your bowl and press on the butter again.  Discard the liquid.  I rinsed the butter probably 3 times.

And now you have homemade butter.  You don't have to do the pressing and rinsing part, but your butter supposedly won't last as long in the fridge.

I ended up with about 3/4 cup of butter (or 6 ounces).  

Here's a quick price comparison of making my own vs. buying butter.

16 ounces of salted butter - generic brand - $2.27 = .14/oz

16 ounces (1 pint) of Heavy Whipping Cream - $3.39

So taking into account that 1 pint made 6 ounces of butter, it cost me about .56 per ounce.  However, I'm sure I didn't pay that much for my cream.  Plus, my butter tastes better and has fewer chemicals than store-bought.

  

Getting Healthy

We're getting healthy around our house.  It's about time!!!!!  We're not making a ton of changes all at once. I want to make sure we have the best shot at keeping this up.  Right now, here's what I'm doing:

• Eating up all the unhealthy stuff we have in the house.  I can't stand to waste it.
• No more soda at home.  Hubby and I will save soda for when we eat out.  (The kids don't drink it at all.)
• I am exercising in the mornings, hopefully before the kiddos wake up!
• I have eliminated coffee and switched to tea.  I know that a little coffee is not bad for you, in fact, there are some health benefits to it.  I tend to like a little coffee with my cream, though.  So I'll save tons of calories and money by not having to buy cream!
• Healthier snacks - for me, that means more almonds and walnuts and less junk.
• Fruits and veggies - we're getting close to being able to harvest some veggies from our garden!!!!  I'm making it a point to eat fruit with lunch every day.

My goal is not to lose a certain number of pounds.  In fact, I'm hoping I can stand to not get on the scale much at all!  My goal is to lose a couple of sizes.  My goal is also to just be healthier in general.  I'm reading a lot about superfoods and the science behind it is really interesting.  I want to change my mindset that food is for energy and being healthy and not just something that tastes good to fill up our bellies.

Organic fruits and veggies - They are expensive.  I was reading THIS article the other day.  It makes me sick.  So I think we will be switching to some organic produce.  We have a great farmer's market here, so I'm hoping I can find some good prices there.

4/20 Garden Update

On April 14th, my dog got into my garden beds.  She ate some sprouts and dug around in other beds.  So I've had to replant a lot of plants.  And now there is netting over every bed so that hopefully the dog will stay away!!!

My 4 tomato plants.  They each have a cage for support and there is chicken wire in front of this bed.

Zucchini sprouts!!!!  I need to pull out a few of these, but I'm waiting to make sure that biggest one stays around!

Squash sprouts!  Same thing with thinning these.

These sprouts are getting ready to move outside.  I'm putting them outside for a little while each day to get them used to the sun.  They are:  Forget-me-nots, lettuce, pickling cucumbers and zinnias.

These are still inside.  They are:  slicing cucumbers, 2 varieties of carrots, 2 varieties of lettuce, okra, cumin, and squash.

Garden Status

Well, I never did get the seeds I posted about below.  It's a looooong story!  Do NOT order from the place I linked in that post.

In the end, I was able to get pretty much the same varieties at a local garden center.

Here are 2 of my beds.  They have plywood bottoms and are on the deck because we are having some major landscaping work done in our backyard soon.  The sides are ugly because my father-in-law gave me some wood scraps.

Here are the other 2 beds.  The one with the new wood is my deeper box for potatoes and carrots.

Some of my sprouties!!!!  The biggest ones are snake gourds.  Luke picked them out.  The others are:  Green Zinnias, Dwarf Sunflowers, and Forget-me-nots.  Luke also picked out the Forget-me-nots because he wanted some blue flowers.

These are my 4 tomato plants.  From Left to Right:  Better Boy, Sweet 100, Early Girl, and Grape Tomatoes.  They just have stakes for now.  Pretty soon they'll need cages.  In front of the tomatoes will be:  yellow squash and zucchini.

In the top left 2 square are onions.  Next to those will be 2 varieties of cucumbers - Straight 8 and Natl. Pickling Cucumbers.  My husband only likes 1 kind of pickles in the world, the kind his grandmother made, so we're working on getting the recipe.  In the front row will be 2 varieties of leaf lettuce, dwarf sunflowers, and green zinnias.

Starting in the top left - Spinach, Multicolored zinnias, Okra, Forget-me-nots.

Bottom left - Parsley, Basil, Cumin, Rosemary.

My New Project ..... Gardening!

So I have a new project to obsess over ....... a vegetable garden.  I'm planning on using the Square Foot Gardening method.  My father-in-law gave me some scrap wood to build most of my boxes.  He even cut it to the size I needed!!!


I decided to use Heirloom seeds.  They aren't genetically altered and you can save the seeds and plant them the following year.  I just placed an order for seeds. A friend recommended Heirloom Acre Seeds.  Here is what I ordered:


Carrots - Tendersweet Carrot and Scarlet Nantes Carrot


Onions - Texas Grano 1015Y Onion and Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion


Cucumbers - Straight Eight Slicing Cucumber and National Pickling Cucumber


Squash - Golden Summer Crookneck Squash


Zucchini - Zucchini, Black


Lettuce - Salad Bowl Green Lettuce and Green Ice Leaf Lettuce


Tomatoes - Ace 55 Tomato and Grape Tomatoes


Okra - Clemson Spineless Okra


Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin - I thought these would be fun for the kids this fall


Cumin


Zinnia, Dahlia Series Mixture

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I still have to get everything else ..... a few more pieces of wood, herb plants (Basil and Parsley, maybe Cilantro), soil, weed cloth, some sort of cage to keep the rabbits out.


I really hope I'm not being too optimistic on this project.  I have a tendency to get excited about something and get in over my head.  I really want this to work ...... so we'll see!  I'll be sure to post before and after pics .... maybe even in progress pics, too!

Granola Bars

I put mini chocolate chips in these, but feel free to substitute raisins or other dried fruit.  You could even add nuts.

These are pretty sweet.  Next time, I might cut the brown sugar in half.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, chocolate chips and salt.

Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla.  Mix well.

Using your hands, pat the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges get golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes, then cut into bars or squares.  Don't let them cool completely, or they'll be too hard to cut.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

Oh.My.  I have issues with casseroles .... they rarely turn out the way I think they should.  Finally, I achieved success!!!!!!!  I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, and I modified it a bit to fit our family.  I've made it twice now and both times, everyone gobbles it up.  Last night, hubby actually said, "This is a really good meal."  He rarely says that, so I knew it was good!!!!!  (He usually says, "It's fine."  To him, that means he likes it.  It took me a while to figure out that It's fine really means It's good.  So for him to say It's good .... that must mean it's great!)

The original recipe is HERE.  I'll put it here the way I made it and I'll put some notes and thoughts at the bottom.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

• 1 (15 Oz.) Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 (10.75 Oz.) Can Cream Of Chicken Soup
• 1 C. Water
• 1 C. Picante Sauce
• 3/4 C. Uncooked Long Grain White Rice
• 1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 (11 Oz.) Whole Kernel Corn Drained
• 4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Halves
• Taco Seasoning
• Cheddar Cheese

Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread drained black beans over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Combine soup, water, salsa, rice, onion powder and corn in a bowl; pour over black beans.

Lay chicken on top and generously sprinkle taco seasoning on top of the chicken.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken and rice are done.  Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven until cheese is melted.

My Notes

- Instead of the 1 cup of water, next time I might try adding a can of petite diced tomatoes.  Maybe even the ones with green chilies.

- You can use whatever kind of salsa or picante sauce you like.

- I think this would be easy to put together ahead of time and just pop in the oven an hour before dinner.

- If you use brown rice, I'd probably add a bit more water.

- Cheese ..... again, use whatever you like.  Last night, I used a combination of mild and sharp cheddar cheese, only because that's what I already had.  Mexican cheese would be good, too.

- I think this casserole has a lot of possibilities to change it up a bit and to adjust the spiciness to what your family likes.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

I just wanted to post this so I don't lose it!  This recipe looks soooo yummy!!!!

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

BEST Brownies Ever!!!!!!

Oh.My.Goodness. I don't think I can ever bake brownies from a box again. Here's an AMAZING recipe!!!!!

BEST Brownies Ever!!!!!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tbl. salted butter
• 2 Tbl. water
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 9 x 9 inch square pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth.
   
3. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

A few notes ....... I used 3/4 cup semisweet chips and 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips because that's all I had on hand. The brownies still turned out great. I mixed everything in the pan I melted the butter in.

Also, next time, I'm going to double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan.

Broth - Beef and Chicken

I'll admit it. I'm a broth snob. I only buy Swanson broth. I've tried generic broth, and every time I do, there's congealed fat in the can. It grosses me out. So I buy Swanson. Well, I used to.

I've blogged about making my own chicken broth. I got 11 cups the last time I did it!!!!!!! That's about equivalent to 6 cans of broth. There's almost 2 cups in a regular can.

For beef broth, I use Better Than Bouillon. At my Kroger, it's $5.99 for each jar. There is enough in the jar to be equivalent to 19 cans of broth!!!!!!!! I think it tastes better than canned broth, too. So it tastes better, there's no waste from all those cans, and it's cheaper! It's a bit of a pain because you need boiling water to make the actual broth. But for me, the advantages far outweigh that!

Menu - Feb. 7-13

Now that surgery is over, I need to get back into the swing of menu planning. Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday - Not sure yet
Monday - Chicken Mozzarella, Pasta, Carrots
Tuesday - Pasta Fagioli Soup
Wednesday - Beef Stroganoff, Salad
Thursday - Chicken Tetrazzini, Salad
Friday - Pizza (made with Artisan Bread Olive Oil Dough)
Saturday - Going out, I think.

Liquid/Soft Diet

So my daughter is one a liquid and soft food diet for 2-3 weeks. She had surgery a few days ago for her cleft palate, so that's why. Here's my list so far of what she can eat.

Yogurt
Jello
Pudding
Smoothies - yogurt, milk, fruit - I may even sneak in some wheat germ
Mashed Potatoes
Baby Food
Carnation Instant Breakfast
Ice Cream
Applesauce - plain and with cinnamon

I'm trying to give her things that are healthy, but that she'll actually enjoy. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Parmesan Broiled Flounder

YUMMY!!!! This is one of my favorite meals. The recipe would work for any white, filleted fish. I've made it before with tilapia, but we prefer flounder. I buy the frozen flounder fillets at BJs. 



I'll post the recipe as I found it, but I usually end up broiling the fish for quite a bit longer. I keep an eye on it and adjust the time as I need to. The first broiling period is when the fish cooks and the second is getting the topping browned and bubbly.

It tasted a little different this time and I suspect it's because I used generic mayo. I guess I'll have spring for some Kraft mayo next time!

Parmesan Broiled Flounder

Ingredients
1 lb flounder fillets or other white fish fillets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Place fillets in a single layer on a lightly greased or pan sprayed, shallow oven-to-table type broiler pan. Brush with lemon juice.
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients to make the cheese topping mixture. Set aside.
3. Broil fillets 4 to 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. (Time will depend on the thickness of the fillets and temperature of your oven/broiler.).
4. Remove fillets from oven. Spread with Parmesan topping.
5. Broil an additional 30 seconds or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly (be careful to watch it, or it can burn).
6. Garnish with lemon twists and parsley, if desired.

Pioneer Woman's Ranch-Style Chicken

Oh.My.Goodness. This was sooooo good. But really, how can anything with bacon and cheese on top NOT be good?

I don't think I will make it very often, though. For one thing, it's fairly labor intensive. I am never on the ball enough to marinate something for any length of time. Then, you fry up a lot of bacon, then you fry the chicken, then you bake the chicken. So, lots of work. Also, the way the recipe is written, it's loaded with fat. I don't worry too much about low-calorie cooking, but I think we eat fairly healthy. Although, we'll see what my gallbladder has to say about this meal later tonight!!!!!

The best thing about this meal was that I got a LOT of bacon grease to start my bacon grease jar for the fridge!!!!!

Pizza Twist

Here's a favorite in our house! It's a Pampered Chef recipe. I'll put my comments in parentheses.

One major thing I do differently is that I use black olives and mushrooms. I do mushrooms in half and black olives in half of the twist. This makes the recipe complicated, but it's what we like. Feel free to adjust the toppings to what your family likes.

Pepperoni Pizza Twist

Source: The Pampered Chef
1 (3.5 ounce) package pepperoni slices, diced (I don't really measure the pepperoni, olives, or mushrooms)
1 (3.25 ounce) can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounce) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 (11 ounce) packages refrigerated French bread dough (I use Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf)
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix (This is supposed to be the Pampered Chef blend, but I just use plain Italian Seasoning.)
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce, warmed (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dice pepperoni. Chop olives. Snip parsley using kitchen shears. In a bowl, combine pepperoni, olives, parsley, mozzarella cheese, flour and garlic. Mix well. (For mine, I have to split this part up and do 1 bowl with olives and 1 bowl with mushrooms.)

Place bread dough, seams sides up, on smooth side of a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf. Spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle additional flour over dough.

Using roller (I don't use a roller, I just use my fingers), roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf. Spoon half of the pepperoni mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching to seal.

This is how mine looks since I do 2 different fillings:














Place loaves, seam sides down, in an x pattern on a rectangular baking stone or baking sheet. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure 8, keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of stone and leaving two 1.5 inch openings in center of twist.

Separate egg over a bowl; discard yolk. Beat egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough with pastry brush. Using serrated bread knife, cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling.

Grate Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and cool 10 minutes. Cut into 16 slices. Serve with warm pizza sauce, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings

Here's a little video on how to put it together ...
http://www.pamperedchef.com/public/us/pop_ups/twisttechnique.htm

Menu for First Half of January

Here's my menu for the next 2 weeks:

1/2 - Pepperoni Pizza Twist
1/3 - Ranch-Style Chicken - from Pioneer Woman
1/4 - Beef Stroganoff and Salad
1/5 - Chicken Pot Pie
1/6 - BBQ Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes
1/7 - Broiled Flounder and Salad
1/8 - Sloppy Joes w/ Tater Tots or Fries
1/9 - probably going out .....
1/10 - Spaghetti
1/11 - Salisbury Steak, Rice
1/12 - Oriental Chicken, Fried Rice, Potstickers
1/13 - Pork Medallions - from AllRecipes
1/14 - Garlic Parmesan Chicken
1/15 - Calzones

I'll try to post pics/recipes as I go ..... If you want a recipe before I post it, just ask!

Homemade Chicken Broth

Here's a great way to save some money and make some YUMMY chicken broth. We ate a Rotisserie Chicken today for lunch. There's tons of meat left over, too. Here's my "recipe":

Homemade Chicken Broth

Chicken bones, skin - basically, whatever is left over after you eat a roasted chicken
1 Onion - cut up in large chunks
a few Carrots - cut up in large chunks
Celery - if you have it. I usually don't have it, so I don't use it.
Spices - whatever you have - garlic cloves, a few black peppercorns

Put it all in a crockpot and fill up with water. Cook on Low all day, or overnight. Refrigerate the broth, then skim the fat off the top if there is any.

I usually freeze the broth in 1 and 2 cups portions and then I can use it whenever a recipe calls for it.

Lasagna

I made Lasagna last night for my family that was visiting from out of town. I don't make it too often for a few reasons ... it's expensive, it takes my little family FOREVER to eat a whole pan of it, and it takes pretty much the whole afternoon to make it. But it.is.so.good.

I really need to figure out a way to freeze half of it or something. Maybe I'll try one of these pans one day. I could freeze smaller portions maybe.

The recipe is from my friend, Becky. Here it is:

Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1 pound bulk pork sausage
24 oz. tomato sauce
12 oz. tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons minced parsley
24 oz. small-curd cottage cheese
8 oz. ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained (I use whole wheat noodles. Or use the Oven-Ready ones)
6 slices Provolone cheese (I usually use 12 slices because that's how the package comes.)
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella (I don't measure. I just eyeball this step when I do it.)

In a skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the next seven ingredients (up to and including the garlic). Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You can cook the sauce for longer or make it ahead of time.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, parsley, cottage cheese, ricotta and parmesan. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in an ungreased 13x9 pan. Layer with the following:

*Three noodles

*provolone cheese

*2 cups cottage cheese mixture

*1 cup mozzarella

*three noodles (I do an extra layer of provolone cheese after these noodles.)

*2 cups meat sauce

*remaining cottage cheese mixture

*1 cup mozzarella

Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce, and mozzarella. (dish will be very full) Cover and bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. (Serves 12)

***My Notes: Even when I let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting, it still runs all over the plate! Also, I use a special lasagna pan that's really deep because this recipe will definitely overflow a regular 9x13 pan.