From scratch: Microwave popcorn

I am not sure that this can really be considered as a "from scratch" recipe or even really a recipe. I think of it more as a tip. And a really great and easy one.

 It has been a few years since I have bought microwave popcorn, but it was because it is cheaper and tastes better to make it on the stove. But I really dislike the mess it makes and I really dislike using that much oil when cooking it on the stove. 

Then I found this nifty trick!

Microwave popcorn:

You need a paper lunch bag, a 1/4 measure cup and popping corn.

Put a quarter cup of the popping corn in the bag and fold the top over a few times.

Put it in the microwave and cook for about 2 minutes or until the popping almost stops completely.

(It took me a few tries to figure out the perfect time on my microwave to not burn it).

Pour popcorn in bowl and butter and season however you like. 

I use one bag twice and it makes a full bowl of popcorn to enjoy.

ENJOY!

From scratch: Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I ate two slices of this loaf before I remembered to take a picture of it. Boy was it yummy! And the white stuff on the top is melted butter.

I really love making this bread because it doesn't take a whole lot of work. It does however take a lot of time. I would say from start to finish it takes at least two and a half hours. But like I said, it doesn't take much work, just a lot of waiting. But it IS really yummy and great for sandwiches or toast. When I got the recipe from a dear friend, her recipe made four loaves, but I have a Kitchen Aid and it doesn't hold enough to make a four loaf recipe. So this recipe will make two loaves.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Step 1:

2 3/4 cups of warm water

1/3 cup of honey (or sugar)

2 1/2 cups of flour*

1 Tbs of dry yeast

Mix together and let sit in the bowl for about 30 minutes or until it has risen and is bubbly.

Step 2:

To the mixture above add

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbs salt

Mix well.

Step 3:

To the mixture above add

about 4 cups of flour* (add more or less until the dough has cleaned off the sides of the bowl)

Knead it or let the mixer knead it for about 10 minutes. 

Step 4:

Oil hands. Remove dough from mixer and half it. Mold dough into loaves. Place loaves in oiled bread pans. Cover loaves with a damp cloth. Let them rise 1/3 in bulk for approx 35-40 minutes.

Step 5:

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Put on rack and butter the tops of bread and then let cool. 

(We rarely let it cool before we cut into it because fresh out of the oven bread tastes too delish!)

*I use white whole wheat which makes it a bit less denser than whole wheat. Sometimes I will do half white whole wheat and half bread flour just to make it a bit less denser. But use what ever you prefer.

From scratch: No-Bake Energy Bites (Cookie balls)

My kids call these cookie balls, and they love them. They are pretty yummy and really handy when needing a  filling snack on the go. And super easy and quick to make.

No-Bake Energy Bites

(Cookie Balls)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of dry oatmeal (I use quick oats)

1/2 Cup of peanut butter

1/2 Cup of ground flax seed or wheat germ (I use 1/4 cup of each)

1/2 Cup of chocolate chips 

1/3 Cup of honey

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (I make mine about 1 inch). Store in airtight container and keep refrigerator for up to 1 week.

From scratch: Fluffy pancakes & tasty syrup

For a while now, I have been searching for the perfect pancake recipe. It has been a hard battle, because seriously, every single recipe is different by just a smidge. Actually it was annoying, not really a battle. All I wanted in a pancake, was fluffy and buttery. Why was the perfect recipe so hard to find?

But guess what? I FOUND IT!!! Are you as excited as I am? You should be, especially if you really like pancakes.  I am not much of a pancake fan (but my kids are, I prefer french toast) and I LOVE these. They cook perfectly, they are so fluffy without being raw in the middle and they have the yummiest buttery taste. 

I found the recipe on allrecipes.com HERE.

Fluffy Pancakes

makes about 9-10

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of milk

2 Tbs white vinegar

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbs white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 Tbs butter, melted

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. 

4. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

(Batter will be super thick!)

5. heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.

6. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto skillet (the batter is so thick you have to spread out the batter a bit to get it to pancake size) and cook until bubbles appear then flip and brown the other side. 

~~~

Because syrup goes with pancakes I want to share my favorite syrup recipe. I have to say that I have NEVER bought a bottle of syrup in my life (well at least for my home). I grew up with warm home made syrup and I really hated it when I would stay the night at a friends and we would have pancakes and they would put a bottle of cold store bought syrup on the table to use. yuck! I have always just done the standard boil water, sugar and maple until I found this recipe. I have no clue where I got it, but I love it.

Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp of maple

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Boil water on the stove then add sugars and boil until dissolved. 

(Don't walk away or stop stirring, it will boil over very quickly and make a HUGE mess.) 

Take off burner and stir in maple and vanilla.

From scratch: Chicken Taquitos

These are seriously AMAZING!! And they are worth every effort that it takes to make them. This makes A LOT! About 40. I usually will cook all of them and freeze what we don’t eat. The frozen ones you can pull out and stick in the microwave or back in the oven for a bit. But they still don't last long, because they are too yummy to stop eating. I thought I had originally got this recipe from a PIN on Pinterest, but when my sister-in-law asked for the recipe, I couldn't find my exact recipe in any of the links. 

Creamy baked chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

12 oz cream cheese (softened in the microwave)

1 small can green chiles

1T lime juice

½ t cumin

1 t chili powder

¼ t garlic powder

3 T chopped cilantro ( I like it with this, Hubs doesn’t, so I don't usually use it)

2 T sliced green onions (optional, I have never added any)

4 C shredded cooked chicken**

1 C cheddar cheese

Small corn tortillas

Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1.       Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray

2.       Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so its soft and easy to stir. Add green 

chiles, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and/or green onions (if you are using them). Then add chicken and cheese and combine well. You can prepare all of this ahead of time and stick it in the fridge until you are ready to make them.

3.       Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat them in the microwave in between a damp cloth or 

paper towel. They need to be pretty soft or they will crack when rolling.

4.       Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla then roll it up as tight as you can.

5.       Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Make sure that none are touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a bit of salt on top.

6.       Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get 

golden brown.

**I have cooked my chicken in the oven or crock pot. (I am not a fan of boiled chicken) For the oven, all I do is put it in a glass baking dish (sometimes I line it with tinfoil) and cook on 350 until it is done, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is and how much is in the pan. Crockpot, I just put it in with a bit of water and cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours.

From scratch: English Muffin Bread

I love this bread, it makes the yummiest toast. It tastes just like english muffins, and I LOVE english muffins. This is a quick and easy recipe. I don't remember where I got it, off of a blog somewhere in blog land. 

english muffin bread

ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of warm water

1.5 packages of RAPID RISE yeast

1 Tbs of salt

1 1/2 Tbs of sugar

5 1/2 cups of bread flour

directions:

mix all ingredients together, then spoonful into two greased bread loaf pans. 

let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans.

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

From scratch: Pizza crust

On Friday nights we like to have a pizza picnic on the floor while watching a movie. We have loved making pizza from scratch this past year. It is so easy and so much cheaper than buying pizza. I have tried a few different recipes and the one I am about to share we have loved the most. It really is quick and easy and it tastes great. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com 

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1.5 tsp of active dry yeast

1 tsp of white sugar

1 Cup of warm water (hot water from tap)
2 1/2 cups of bread flour
2 Tbs of olive oil
1 tsp salt

directions:
1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. In a medium bowl (I use my kitchen aid) dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about ten minutes.
3. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for about five minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan. Add toppings and then bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

From scratch: Graham Crackers

We really love these!! They are really quick and easy to make so sometimes when I am in a pinch and need a snack for my kids but have run out of options because I need to go grocery shopping I will make these really quick. They take a little bit more than ten minutes from start to finish. I got the recipe from HERE at Little Birdie Secrets. 

They really aren't anything like the graham crackers in the store. They are more of a cookie than a cracker. 

Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup honey

directions:

1. mix dry ingredients together in med mixing bowl.

2. in a separate bowl mix together the melted butter and honey.

3. add liquid mixture to dry mixture, stir until combined.

4. drop the mixture onto cookie sheet and roll out.

(I use my SILPAT and I just flatten it out with my hand as much as possible because it is sticky.)

5. bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

6. Once out of oven (while still hot) cut with a pizza cutter into cracker size rectangles.

***Another reminder that these don't keep stored for very long because of the lack of preservatives (which is a good thing!).

From scratch: granola

So here is my first "from scratch" recipe post

I got the original recipe from the 100 days of real food blog HERE (this blog helped me a lot in our adventure to change our diet). I have simplified the recipe for our family as Mac has a tree nut allergy and I like the simple taste of just cinnamon. Hubs has added peanut butter when he has made it a few times, which is also really good. So I am sharing how I make it and if you want the full version with all the nuts and seeds and other spices then go to the link above.

We love ours as cereal with milk for breakfast and if I have some blue berries or strawberries I will put that on it. YUM!! Our kids love it! We will also just eat it dry for snacks. Although a bit messy that way. I don't make it very often, maybe every couple of weeks, because we go through a double batch in about 3 days. Yes, we love it that much. 

Granola

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups oats (we like to use quick oats)

2 tsp of ground cinnamon

6 Tbs butter

1/2 cup of honey

2 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchament paper (we use our SILPAT).

2. Mix the dry oats and cinnamon (and any other nuts, seeds or spices that you want) in a large mixing bowl.

3. Heat butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once butter is melted, stir in vanilla.

4. Pour hot liquid over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.

5. Spread granola mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer and bake for 60 to 75 minutes. (I like it at 60 minutes because I don't like it super crunchy). 

6. The granola will become crisp as it cools. You can store it in an air tight container at room temperature for up to two weeks***. 

***A little side note about making food from scratch is that it goes bad faster than food you would buy pre-made because there are no preservatives in it to keep it from going bad. 

from scratch!

I have talked a few times on here about changing our diet about a year ago but I don't remember if I have ever talked about what kind of change we made or not. The change came after a lot of research and praying and then realizing it was the change we needed to help with a few things in our family in regards to health. The diet change we made was to reduce the amount of processed food we ate.

I won't go into the reasons why processed food but it has been pretty life changing and will be a permanent life change for our family. We aren't extreme and just try to eat this way as much as possible. There are times when we will eat fast food although that is few and far between because I have never really like fast food ever and we don't like to spend our money there if we can help it. Our kids stay with grandparents and friends every once in awhile and I don't expect them to feed my kids this way. But at home we eat this way about 75 to 80 percent. To do this we make a lot of food from scratch and where once I was a lazy baker and cook I have started to really enjoy making things from scratch and finding  new healthy recipes to make for dinner. It is so satisfying sitting down to eat with my family and looking at our table and knowing what they are eating is healthy and will benefit them forever.

We are far from perfect at it and there are a few things that I know we shouldn't use and I just can't bring myself to change it out. But this whole process has been a slow one and we take this little by little. But with every new recipe I find it easier and easier.

The whole point of this post though is to share some recipes we use that have helped our transition into eating this way. A few of the actual recipes I won't share on here because they are not mine to share publicly, but if it looks good and you want to try it, please email me and I would love to give you the recipe. Also, since I realized that my list of all the recipes I want to share is a long one I will be just sharing one or two at a time over the next couple of weeks. I am so excited about this!!

To start off here is the list of the recipes I plan on sharing with you (although not in this order)...

-granola
-honey whole wheat bread
-muffins (blueberry and apple cinnamon)
-english muffin bread
-veggie stuffed peppers
-energy protein balls (cookie balls)
-pizza crust
-zucchini fries
-chicken taquitos
-homemade chicken nuggets
-graham crackers
-pancakes
-brownies
-taco seasoning
-baked cauliflower and broccoli
-green smoothies