A Brief Break

Just so you know, I may not post for awhile. My baby is due any day now. Once she comes I'm not sure how much time I'll have, especially since I already have a little toddler running around. Wish me luck and you'll hear again from me soon! I've got one more post for Makin' It From Scratch that I'm really excited about. So, stay tuned!

Makin' It From Scratch #6 - Sweet Treats

Sweet Treats

In honor of Valentine's Day, I had to put up a post about this. Of course there are a million dessert recipes out there, but I wanted to feature a few that were on the unique side.

1. Toaster Pastries (a.k.a. Pop Tarts)

Homemade Pop Tarts? Heck yeah! Here's a version posted on Chicken In the Road.

I gave these a try because it was just too tempting not to! I have to say that I learned a few things:

1. You need to roll out the pie crust as thin as you can without it being too difficult to handle. It puffs up a lot when it bakes and then you just end up with a lot of pie crust in one bite.

2. They need a lot of icing on top. (The sprinkles are awesome.) It helps to make the icing thicker too.

3. I like mine with way more filling. Pick a jam that you absolutely adore. Otherwise it's not worth it.

4. Try not to think that you're just eating pie crust and jam. It totally takes away all the enjoyment.

5. Make them once a year. After all you're eating pie crust and jam, for goodness sakes! That cannot be a good thing. However, it is far better than eating the store bought kind.

And if you prefer something more like a Toaster Streudel try out this recipe from Baking Bites.

2. Twinkies

Yes, folks, it's true! Something that was never meant to be homemade has crossed over. Of course the homemade versions won't last 2 millennia, but that's a good thing!

- Here's a recipe for twinkies.

- My friend, Holly, put up a post about her homemade twinkies - complete with special twinkie pan and cream injector! Impressive! (This post has some really nice pictures of the finished product.)

3. Donuts

I just made these yeast donuts featured on The Pioneer Woman and they were wonderful!

They are a little time intensive, but when I get the craving for a store-bought donut I can either make them myself, or ignore my craving because I can't wait the 8+ hours it takes to make these. Oh, but it is so worth it! (Try one of these donuts spread with Smuckers Raspberry Jam - if you don't have any homemade raspberry jam. I swear that Smuckers stuff tastes just like jelly donut filling...)

4. Marshmallows

When I found out you could make your very own marshmallows I nearly fell over in shock! Who knew???

Here's a recipe featured on Our Best Bites with some yummy variations like Cocoa and Peppermint.

5. Caramel Pop Corn

I had to put up my favorite caramel corn recipe from my friend Leslie. This is so super easy to make and so, so good. Perfect for watching a movie if you'd prefer something sweet over salty. (Or if you want some sweet and salty, try out this recipe for wonderful Homemade Kettle Corn featured on Joy the Baker.)

Microwave Caramel Popcorn
2-3 bags of popcorn (or 2/3 - 1 cup of popcorn kernels popped the way you prefer - air or kettle)
½ c butter or margarine
1 c brown sugar
1 ½ c marshmallows

Pop the popcorn in the microwave and pour into a bowl. (I recommend picking out the old maids). Melt butter/margarine, brown sugar, and marshmallows in the microwave in a glass dish. I put it in for 30 seconds at a time, and then stir until it is all blended and most of the sugar has melted so the mixture isn't grainy. Pour over popcorn and enjoy!

Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day! Get with some friends, bake some sweet treats and have some fun!

Makin' It From Scratch #5 - Breakfast

Homemade granola with almonds & dried cranberries

I'm a huge, huge fan of breakfast. So, here are a few various made-from-scratch recipes for breakfast wonderfulness.

1. Granola

Granola is so expensive, so I think it is totally worth the time and effort to make it yourself.

Here is a recipe for Granola that I've tried and tested myself many times. My toddler loves it and I think it makes a very impressive gift. :-)

It's also been fun making up variations like Banana Walnut (adding dried banana chips), Maple Pecan (I exchange part of the honey with real maple syrup), etc. Check out the flavorings at the store (like banana or maple) to see what flavors of your own you can create. The add-ins are endless. Just be sure that if you're using dried fruit, do not add the fruit in until after the granola is done baking. Otherwise the fruit turns into rocks.

2. Pancake Mix

I love homemade pancakes. The kind from a box mix or the freezer section just don't compare. Here are a few mixes you can make yourself.

- A Multi-Grain type of mix (I would exchange the corn flake crumbs for cornmeal)
- Plain Pancake Mix
- Pancake Mix using Whole Wheat Flour

One idea is to make and freeze your own pancakes and waffles ahead of time. I've done this before and it is so much cheaper, tastier and convenient than store bought frozen varieties - after the initial making of all those pancakes anyway. We just pull a few from the bag and pop ours in the toaster or the microwave in the morning and they're awesome!

It's important to make sure they're cooled all the way before freezing them in a gallon storage bag and to double wrap them to avoid freezer burn/frost. (I also add frozen red currents to the batter before cooking if I have them. You could try adding dried blueberries too!)

3. Biscuit Quick Mix

Mmmm! I love biscuits. The great thing about biscuits is that they're so versatile. I make biscuits for biscuits & gravy, egg sandwiches (keeps my craving down for the fast food kind), biscuits with jam - whatever!

I usually make mine using butter, but if you'd like to have a Biscuick-type mix ready on hand, you can make your own using shortening.

Utah Quick Mix*

Makes 29 cups:

5 lbs. flour - about 20 cups (You can probably exchange a portion of white flour for wheat.)

3/4 cup double-acting baking powder

2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. salt

4 cups shortening (does not require refrigeration)

2 3/4 cups non-fat dry milk

Makes 13 cups:

9 cups flour

1/3 cup double-acting baking powder

4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups shortening

1 3/4 cups non-fat dry milk

Stir baking powder, non-fat dry milk, and salt into the flour. Cut fat into flour mixture until all particles of fat are thoroughly coated and mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. This can be done with a pastry blender, fork or electric mixer.

Measuring mix for recipes: Do not sift mix. Stir lightly before measuring. Lift lightly into cup and level with a straight edge (like a knife).

Storage: When deciding how much mix to make, consider how quickly it will be used and if you have a large enough container to make and store 29 cups. Store in a tightly covered container, at room temperature for up to six weeks.

Basic Biscuits

Makes 18 - 2 1/2" biscuits:

3 cups Utah Quick Mix

2/3 cup water

Makes 6 - 2 1/2" biscuits:

1 cup Utah Quick Mix

1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 450ºF. Mix Utah Quick Mix and water together until a soft dough is formed. Knead dough 10-12 strokes on lightly floured surface. Do not overknead or the dough will get tough. Roll 1/2-inch thick. Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter or glass turned upside down, dipped in flour, or pat into a rectangle, and cut into squares. Bake on ungreased shiny baking sheet 10-15 minutes.

Variations: Add 1/4 cup grated cheese, 2 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley, or other chopped herbs or raisins to mix before water is added and mix as above.

*These recipes are taken from a booklet "Utah Quick Mix" published by the Utah State University Extension Office. (Family Nutrition Program Publication #102)

There are a lot of quick mix recipes out there, so if you don't like this one very well, I'm sure you can find another version.

Good luck and happy breakfast!

Makin' It From Scratch #4 - Personal Care

I know there are a ton of things you can make from scratch for personal care like lotions and soaps, etc., but I picked out 3 things that I thought were a little on the uncommon side that you might not have considered making for yourself before. I haven't tried any of these yet, but deodorant is on the top of my list because I've already saved the empty deodorant tubes.

1) Hand Sanitizer

Mix one cup of aloe vera (the plain stuff with nothing added to it if you can find it), one half cup of isopropyl alcohol, and a drop or two of an essential oil you like. Mix well, put it in a pump bottle, and you have a much cheaper alternative to Purell that’s basically the exact same thing.

2) Toothpaste

Just mix half a cup of baking soda, a tiny dash of salt, 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide, one drop of peppermint oil if you like it minty, and just a bit of stevia to make it sweet – stevia can be found at most health food stores – and just mix it into a paste.

(The hand sanitizer and toothpaste recipes come from The Simple Dollar blog.)

3) Deodorant

This is copied and pasted from Christine's blog of Hyde's Handmade Soaps.

1/4 c. baking soda
1/4 c. cornstarch
10 drops tea tree oil (it's cleansing)

you can just use that in a powder

or add 2 + Tab. of coconut oil for a stick
( I melted my coconut oil in the microwave)

Mix it all together and smash it in to an old deodorant container.
Coconut oil is hard at room temperature so you can let it sit and it will firm up
or I put mine in the freezer for a few minutes to make it hard.
If you don't live somewhere hot you can keep it in your bathroom. If you have a problem with it being to soft keep it in the refrigerator.
I hear you can use lavender oil as well.

All of these recipes sound simple and seem like good replacements. I'm not sure how the deodorant works in humid states, but it seems to work in a hot western state. I'm excited to try it out!

Have fun!

Another Bread Recipe & Progress Report

Note that I posted another bread recipe below on my post "Makin' It From Scratch #1 - Bread". It's for the Oatmeal bread in the photo and it's wonderful. The bread makes especially delicious toast!

Progress Report: I finished the last of my first batch of homemade instant oatmeal. I noticed that if you put it all in one container, some of the ingredients settle more than others (like salt). So, with the next batch I'm going to try mixing it really well each time before I take some out. I can see how doing this in baggies would eliminate that problem, but I find it's simpler for me out of a container.

Also, the Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Bread stayed really, really moist and wonderful. I stored it on the counter in a plastic bag and it hasn't gone dry at all like the 100% Whole Wheat Bread did. I think it might be the molasses in the recipe.

Makin' It From Scratch #3 - Laundry Soap

I have loved using my homemade laundry soap powder. We have cut down significantly on laundry detergent cost since we've switched to making it ourselves. And a bonus is that it does a great job in cleaning our clothes.

I found the recipe on Hyde Handmade Soap's blog (And by the way, she makes fabulous soap!).

Here's the recipe:

Laundry Soap Powder

3 c. Borax

2 c. Soda Wash

2 c. Baking Soda

2 c. bar soap, grated (I used a cheese grater with small holes - the smaller the pieces, the faster it breaks down in the water)

Mix all in a bucket (We keep ours in a large #10 can). Use 1/8 c. - 1/4 c. per load.

You can also add a cup of an oxygen cleaner (like Oxi Clean - I used a generic brand), but keep in mind that if you add bleach to your laundry you won't be able to use the laundry soap with the oxygen cleaner in there as well.

One note: for a half load I put in 1/8 cup of detergent, for a full load I put 1/4 cup. Another note is that your laundry detergent will smell like whatever bar soap you use. I bought a big pack of Ivory because it was inexpensive. So, that's what our laundry soap smells like. It doesn't seem to affect the end result though. Our clothes just smell clean. :-)

I also have a liquid laundry soap recipe. It's a little more involved (which is why I've just stuck with the powder), but my friend Clara swears by it.

Here's the recipe from her blog:

Liquid Laundry Soap

1 bar soap, grated

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

1 cup Oxy-Clean powder (optional, but we like it)

4 cups + 3 gallons Water

First, pour 4 cups of water into a pot on the stove and bring to just below a boil. Whittle or grate the bar soap (brand doesn't really matter.) into the water and stir until dissolved.

Put 3 gallons hot water in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour in the hot soapy water and stir. Add 1 cup Washing Soda and continue stirring. Add 1/2 cup Borax and stir, and finally add 1 cup Oxy-Clean and stir thoroughly.

Let the mixture set up over night. We usually get a thick gel layer on top of a watery layer and stir or shake it just before use. We get about 50 loads of laundry out of this.

(Check out their cost comparison and laundry test.)

Also, the blog "The Simple Dollar" has a post about the liquid laundry soap and has some great pictures and cost comparisons too. Go here.

Give it a try and have fun!


P.S. 7/27/2010 - Found another recipe that I plan on trying out soon:
http://mooberry-farm.blogspot.com/2010/05/frugal-and-fantastic-homemade-laundry.html

Blog Feature

I was doing research on making homemade bran flake cereal and came across this nifty blog. Check it out!

Healthful & Homemade