BAKING SUBSTITUTIONS
Brown     Sugar:   2    Tblsp.                 Molasses, 1cup white sugar. Mix         unti      l blended.

 Butter:1 pound shortening, 1/2 salt, 1 2/3 c condensed milk, Whip     the shortening and alt. Add      the condensed milk a little at a time and blend.

Corn  Syrup  :1cup sugar and2 cups water   boil until thickened.

 1 egg=1 tsp              unflavored gelatin

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Pumpkin pie pancakes recipe from homegrownbliss.blogspot.com
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup pumkin puree
1 cup evaporated milk ( or any kind of milk)

1 tsp cinnamon


1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup whole wheat flour
Mix wet ingredients and spices. Add flour. Cook on heated griddle. Cut jack o'lantern faces.

Naan

I love Indian food so I have been making naan for years. It is an easy flat bead to make. Perfect for the campfire as well as the stove at home.


STEP 1: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

STEP 2: In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

STEP 3: At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

STEP 4: Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

Step 5: Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!

TIPS: For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet. I experimented with different skillet temperatures and found that a medium heat produces the most bubbles in the dough and does not burn the surface.
The above recipe I found on pinterest by budgetbytes.blogsopt.com

Smothie packs

I found this recipe for Smoothie packs on pinterest at  budgetbytes.blogspot.com we are ready for summer so as I find fruit on sale I have made up these packs.

Smoothie Packs:

INGREDIENTS		COST
16 oz.	frozen strawberries	$2.69
16 oz.	frozen raspberries	$4.15
16 oz.	frozen peaches	$2.69
4 medium	bananas	$0.86
COST PER PACK (MAKES 8)		$1.30

Fruit n' Flax Smoothies:

INGREDIENTS		COST
1	frozen smoothie pack	$1.30
1 cup	light vanilla soy milk	$0.41
1 handful	baby spinach	$0.53
1 Tbsp	ground flax seed	$0.03
1/2 tsp	cinnamon	$0.03
COST PER SMOOTHIE		$2.30

Lillac Jelly

I love to make different jellies so since I have lilacs in the yard I decided to try this recipe.

Lilac Jelly      makes 8- 4 oz jars

2 c. packed lilac flowers
2 1/2 c. boiling water

1. Pour the boiling water over the lilac flowers, cover and allow to cool. Allow the infusion to sit 8 hours, or overnight.

2. Strain the flowers from the liquid using a coffee filter, you should have about 2 1/4 c. liquid.

2 c. lilac infusion

4 T lemon juice

1 box Sure-Jell powdered pectin

4 c. sugar

3. Place the lilac infusion, lemon juice and pectin in a large pot. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a rolling boil.

4. Add all of the sugar at once, and stir to dissolve. Bring the jelly back up to a rolling boil for 1 minute.

5. Remove the jelly from the heat, skim the foam from the top (I got a lot of foam from this recipe) and ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Dandelion Jelly

Dandelion Jelly         makes about 5-8 oz. jars

4 c. dandelion flower petals, green bits removed
4 c. water

1. Place the dandelion flower petals in a pot and add the water, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes, then turn off heat and allow the pot to cool.
2. Use a jelly bag or coffee filter to strain the flowers out of the water, you need 3 c. of dandelion infusion, but may have some extra.

3c. dandelion infusion
1 T lemon juice
1 box Sure-Jell powdered pectin
4 1/2 c. sugar

3. Place dandelion infusion, lemon juice, and pectin powder in a large pot. Whisk together and bring this mixture to a rolling boil.
4. Add all of the sugar at once, stirring constantly, and return the mixture to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute.
5. Remove the jelly from the heat, skim the foam from the top and ladle into sterilised hot jars. Cover, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

I loved picking flowers when I was young. I also loved Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. So I had to save this recipe from The 3 Foragers.

frugal grape juice

I got this recipe from lehman's catalog and it is like the one my mother made. I got grapes from the fruit market a dollar for a large bag. So I thought I would try it.
Grape Juice (Quarts)
Ingredients per quart jar:
1/3 c. sugar
1 1/3 c. grapes
boiling water
Wash the grapes well. Using a funnel and ladle, pour sugar and whole grapes into hot jars. Fill jars with boiling water to 1/2 in. head space, then cover with lids and rings. Pressure can jars for 10 min. at 5 lbs. Allow to cool overnight before testing the seals on the lids. If any didn’t seal, refrigerate immediately.
The pressure from the canner causes the juice to squeeze out of the grapes and fill the jar. Most of the grape skins will fall to the bottom of the jar eventually, although it’s okay if some still float, they are easily strained out. A layer of sugar may harden at the bottom of each of the jars, but this will dissolve over time.

homemade granola/ cereal bars

Granola Bars

 Oats or cereal combined with your choice of other dry ingredients such as wheat germ, sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts, dried fruit, etc. to equal 4 1/2 cups.

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 T. butter or peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt*

*If your butter or peanut butter is salted, 1/2 tsp. salt may be too much.

 Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Cook the sugar, honey, butter or peanut butter and salt together until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Mix with dry ingredients and press into a wax paper coated 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Let cool completely... putting them in the fridge so that they're very cold when you cut them works well. Turn them out onto a cutting board. Remove the wax paper and cut them into bars.

I found the recipe here while searching other homeschool blogs and it looked so easy I wanted to try it.

Pickled Beets--Aaron wants these

  Pickled Beets Recipe for Aaron (this years garden project) original copied from allrecipes.com saved here for future use
  Recipe Yield 10 (1 pint) jars

 

Ingredients

• 10 pounds fresh small beets, stems removed
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon pickling salt
• 1 quart white vinegar
• 1/4 cup whole cloves

Directions

1. Place beets in a large stockpot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes depending on the size of the beets. If beets are large, cut them into quarters. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the beet water, cool and peel.
2. Sterilize jars and lids by immersing in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Fill each jar with beets and add several whole cloves to each jar.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, beet water, vinegar, and pickling salt. Bring to a rapid boil. Pour the hot brine over the beets in the jars, and seal lids.
4. Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes.

Nuts and bolts

Nuts & Bolts

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box of  Wheat Chex
- 1 box of Cheerios
- 1 box of Crispix
- 1 bag of Pretzel Sticks
- Peanuts 1.5lbs
- 1 botle of Worstershire Sauce (284ml)
- 2 Cups of Mazola or Canola Oil
- 1 tbsp Seasoning Salt
-1 tbsp Garlic Salt
- 4 large plastic freezer bags to store nuts & bolts in freezer (yum!)
-Aluminum pans for mixing and baking (I use two roasting pans that equal the width of my oven.
*The ingredients above filled the two roasting pan size that I used.

STEPS:
1. Mix all the cereals and peanuts into your pans. Use your hands to stir them together.
2. Add the pretzel sticks.
3. Combine your garlic salt and seasoning salt into one shaker. Equally shake the salts onto your pans. Use your hands to stir.
4. Pour your oil in equal amounts over the pans. Mix with a spoon.
5. Pour the Worstershire Sauce in equal amounts over your pans as well. Mix with a spoon.
6. Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees F. (Bake only 2 pans at a time if you are making a large batch or using more pans.)
7. Stir ingredients every 15 minutes while baking. Yes, I know it’s a lot, but it’s very, very important to stir well and often.
8. Leave the pans to cool down before storing in plastic freezer bags or plastic containers in the freezer until needed.
I was so excited to find this recipe as my mom used to make it for me at Christmas.

If at first you don't succeed try try again...

 I have only succeeded in making rocks every time I try to make bread but I still continue to try so when I found this dough recipe I thought I would try again.
I found this dough recipe here:

• 8 Cups of Flour (I prefer to use a combination of White Wheat and All Purpose Flour)
• 3 Tablespoons of Instant/Fast Acting Yeast
• 3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons of Sea Salt
• 3 Cups of Hot from the tap Water

Note: This recipe makes a large batch of dough (enough to make 2 large loaves).

I use a stand mixer with a dough hook.  I add 6 cups of the flour and the remaining dry ingredients.  I mix them for just a few seconds, then I add the water slowly as it is kneading.

Once you’ve added all your water and it has mixed in, you will need to add your remaining 2 cups of flour.  Depending on the humidity or alignment of the Earth, you may or may not need all of the flour.  Add flour slowly until the dough is “cleaning” the sides of your bowl.  You can knead this for as long as you prefer.  I just mix it thoroughly until it makes a dough ball on my hook and call it good.

Next, place your dough ball in a large bowl.  I spray mine with oil and make sure it coats the entire dough ball.  Cover with a warm damp hand towel to aid in rising.  Sometimes, I turn my oven on for just a few minutes and then turn it off.  I  place my bowl in the oven during the rise time.  Do not put your bowl or dough in a hot oven to rise, it could melt your bowl and cook your bread.  You just need a warm oven.  Use common sense here.

Once your dough has risen for 15 minutes, punch it down.  Divide your dough.  Shape it and you are ready for cooking. 

With this recipe you have two cooking options, which is another reason I love this recipe. 

Option 1 – Put your shaped dough in a COLD oven and turn it on to 400 degrees.  Check on it in 20 minutes.

Option 2 – Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  While it is preheating, cover your shaped dough and let it rise on the stove until the oven is ready.  Check on it in 20 minutes.

I love this recipe because it consistently yields good bread.  It freezes well and is quick.
I liked how the author "likes how it consistently yields good bread" This encouraged me to try again.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Pumpkin Dump Cake
15 oz pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix and put in greased 9 x 13 pan
Sprinkle dry yellow cake mix on top
Spread on pecans
drizzle on 1 cup melted butter
Bake 350 degrees for 50-55 minuets or until golden brown.

So easy and tastes like pumpkin pie.

crock pot recipes

Tammy's Crock Pot Potato Soup

Peel and Cube about  7 large  potatoes or 15 small ones (any variety)

1 box of chicken stock 

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2 T dried Parsley 

1 sprig fresh Thyme or 1/4 tsp dried

1 to 2 tsp. Poultry Seasoning (This is my secret ingredient)

1 1/2 cups of whole milk (or milk and whipping cream mixed)

4 tablespoons of butter

Add the potatoes, broth & seasonings, to your crock pot, along with more broth to bring liquid almost to the top of veggies. Set crock pot on high and cook for 6-8 hours until potatoes are cooked through. When the potatoes are cooked, I like to add potato flakes instead of mashing some of the potato soup. It makes a bigger batch of soup for our large family. While still having chunks of potato and creamy soup. See below for instructions on adding the potato flakes.

About half an hour before you serve the soup, scoop out about a cup of the hot soup broth and put it in a sauce pan, along with 1 1/2 cups of milk and 4 Tablespoons of butter, heat on medium high, stirring often until butter is mostly melted and milk is fairly warm. Then add the milky mixture to the soup and stir until incorporated. It is important at this point to turn down your crock pot, because you don't want the soup to boil after the milk has been added.(It might curdle)

If your soup is too thin you can add about 1/4 cup of instant mashed potatoes. This acts as a  thickener instead of flour. I always add more potato flakes.

I like to use any leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner  mashed potatoes and whipping cream to make a left over potato soup. the cream makes it thicker and richer. Sometimes I make extra just to do this soup. To do this I just add hot broth to desired soup consistency and stir in my spices. And heat up on low. Everything else is already in my left -over mashed potatoes-butter, milk, cream, potatoes.

I also double the recipe for our family. Leftovers make good lunches for work.

I found a crock pot recipe here andit inspired me to make over my old stove top version for the crock pot using her directions to see how it turned out. So the above recipe is a combo of my stove top recipe and the post I found.

Recipe

I found this recipe here. I think meatball subs sound so good. But I can't wait to try it with cream of mushroom soup instead of tomato sauce. I would have to double or triple this recipe as well.

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

No these meatballs are not made form porcupines, rather they look like porcupines once they are done cooking. 

Now, for my size of family I double this recipe and serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes and whatever frozen or canned veggie my kids pick out.  (usually corn)

• 1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 2/3 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Directions for porcupine meatballs
Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixture by tablespoon into 1 1/2-inch balls.

Place the porcupine meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the porcupine meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake porcupine meatballs 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Porcupine meatballs serve 4 to 6.

 

Breakfast for supper tonight

Tonight is breakfast for supper night at our house.I found a crockpot casserole I want to try. I modified it and here is my version.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

1 doz eggs
1 cup milk
1 bag (32 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 lb bacon, cooked crisp
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion (I omiited this since aaron is allergic to onions)
1 1/2 cup cheese - shredded (cheddar, jack, or both)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Spray inside of crock pot with nonstick spray. (I have a nonstick crockpot and I love it!)

2. Layer potato, bacon, onion, cheese 1/3 of each 3 times.(my crockpot is also huge so I only did one layer each-potatoes,cheese,eggs then topped with bacon and sprinkled with more parsley flakes)

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs with milk and seasonings.

4. Pour egg mixture over the ingredients in the crockpot.

5. Cook on low 10 - 12 hours, until eggs are set and thoroughly cooked.(The original recipe I saw and lost-was high for 4 hours so this is what I did, as I was starting this recipe at just after noon.)

(Hint-I saved and refrigerated my bacon grease to use in place of some of the butter in my bread machine bread as it gives the bread flavor.)

Last of summer-pickeled watermelon rind

When I was five years old my parents had a two acre garden and we had plenty of watermelons so my mom made this pickles. As I recall it was alot of work and we really didn't like them all that much. I know why my Dad had to help peel all those melons. It is a difficult job.It must be nostalgia or the desire to make food out of a what normally we would throw away but I took the watermelon we got at the farmer's market for $2.00 and set out to make the following recipe. My small melon made a double batch.

Pickling watermelon rind is a two day process. On the first day, prepare the rind by removing the green part, and cutting the rind into chunks. Place the rind in a pickling crock or a plastic bowl. Cover it with a brine made from one quart water, and 1/4 cup pickling salt. Place a plate on top and weight it down to keep the rind submerged. Allow it to sit in a cool place over night.

On the second day, drain and rinse. Cover the rind with fresh water. Boil until it is soft, and drain again. Meanwhile make a syrup of 1 cup vinegar, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 1/2 sliced lemon. heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the rind to the syrup and cook until the rind is translucent.

For each pint, place 1 cinnamon stick (about 2 inches long), four cloves, and 3 allspice berries in the jar. Use a slotted spoon to add the rind. Cover with syrup leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process pints in a water bath for 10 minutes. For quart jars, double the spices and process for 15 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes

Pumpkin puree for pies

Fresh pumpkin for pies is something I have been making for years. I find the small dark skinned pie pumpkins to be the best ones around here. So while at the farmer's market on Saturday we picked up 4 pumpkins for $2.00 to make into "pumpkin mash" to freeze in 2 cup portions. The USDA doesn't recommend canning pumpkin so we will be freezing ours. The kids love to wash the pumpkins. I like to roast mine in the oven but we are having unusually warm weather 80's in October is rare--enough to make me think global warming (Ok, not really!). So back to the ever popular crock pot. I use mine everyday or almost. We are saving the seeds to roast as snacks.I will freeze the pumpkin in 2 cup servings since we almost always have to double every recipe for our large family.

Autum Smoothie

Here's one I found for Aimee something like the one at McDonald's right now! And it is ok for babies 8 months and older too, mama to be.
The Autumn Smoothie

1/2 cup plain, yogurt
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of ginger
1 frozen banana

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until a thick consistency is created. 

recipe-maple syrup

I found this recipe here. I remember my sister making syrup one day when she was out and thought I might try it myself next time we run out. Did you know that the flavoring in most maple syrups sold in stores is really an herb called...Fennugreek and  most don't even contain maple sap. It smells like maple and tastes like maple but it definitely isn't maple. I t is supposed to be good for lactation. It also makes your sweat smell like maple syrup.

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

2 Tbsp. Karo Syrup

(This will keep the syrup from turning grainy over time.)

1 tsp. Maple Flavoring

Syrup Instructions:

Bring the sugar and water to a boil.

Add maple flavoring and stir.

Syrup will be poured into the jars at the boiling point

Here's the 2nd Recipe:

(This recipe makes a little thicker syrup.)

2 cups Sugar

1 cup Water

2 Tbsp. Karo Syrup

1/2 tsp. Maple Flavoring

Syrup Instructions:

Bring the sugar and water to a boil.

Add maple flavoring and stir.

Here's the 3rd Recipe:

(It's got a touch of CINNAMON!)

1 cup White Sugar

1 cup Soft Light Brown Sugar, Packed

1 cup Corn Syrup

1 cup Water

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cinnamon Stick, (broken in half)

Syrup Instructions:

Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan.

Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and CAREFULLY remove

the cinnamon stick and pour into clean sterilized jars.

Follow canning directions from here!

Canning Instructions:

If you are going to can pancake syrup,

you will need to bring the syrup to a boiling point

and then pour into clean sterilized jars

leaving about a 1/2-inch head space.

Wipe the rims of the jars to make sure that

they are clean and ready for the new, hot lids.

Simmer lids before putting them on the bottles of hot syrup.

Caution:

When you are working with hot liquids...be very careful!

I usually keep oven mits handy when I'm canning.

Place filled jars into a boiling waterbath canner.

Process PINTS for 7 minutes.

Start timing when the water returns to a boil.

Remove jars from canner and cool on a wire rack.

Cheeseburger Bake

Cheeseburger Biscuit Bake


1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion (I use the canned flakes)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
Dash of pepper
1 can pork and beans
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 tube (12 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits


In large skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup and pepper, beans. Spoon half into a greased 8-in. square baking dish; sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat the layers.


Place the biscuits around edges of dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 F for 18-22 minutes, or until the meat mixture is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

I saw this recipe on Redo101's blog it is from Taste of Home magazine. Since I had all the ingredients and it looked so good we are having it for supper tonight.