Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Two Pinterest recipes

Here are two more recipes from Pinterest I tried, the first, scrambled eggs cooked in a muffin tin. They were good and easy but there is just something with the texture once they are cooked that makes them more like a quiche than actual scrambled eggs.
Basically you add whatever you want to the scrambled eggs, scoop them into the muffin tin and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

The second are sugared roasted almonds. These were amazing, delicious and addicting. They tastes much better the second day. Sadly, I can not find the recipe. I have this really bad habit of writing out the recipes that I like and deleting the pin or if I don't like the end result I just delete the pin but this time I think I deleted before I wrote it out. One day I will find the recipe again.






Coconut oil body lotion

I deleted the original source that I got this from, it was originally titled whipped body butter, I think. It's been so long since I made this and since I've posted anything that I honestly can't remember.

I personally don't like this lotion, I find it to be to greasy but I must admit it does work really well. My hands were softer, my feet stopped cracking but I just couldn't get over the fact that felt like I needed a shower after using it because of the greasy feeling it leaves on your skin.

You need one jar of coconut oil, don't melt it otherwise it won't work, just scrape it out of the jar with a spoon.
Essential oil
Vitamin E gel

Put the coconut oil in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy.
Add half a teaspoon of vitamin E gel and two drops of the essential oil. Mix together, put it in a nice container and it is ready to use :)



Best home made bread ever

I found this recipe on Pinterest (link to original website at the bottom) and I have to say that it is my new favorite recipe for rolls and bread. They are soft and flaky, melt in your mouth delicious and the recipe makes enough for 12 giant rolls and a big loaf of bread.

Here is the recipe
Ingredients

1 pkg dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp shortening
3 eggs
5 to 6 cups flour
3 pinches of salt
Instructions

Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water. Set aside in warm place to rise. It will bubble and rise up. While waiting for yeast mixture, cream 2/3 cup sugar with 3 heaping tablespoons shortening. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Sift 5 to 6 cups flour and 3 large pinches of salt. Add yeast mixture to creamed mixture, plus 1-1/2 cups warm water. Add flour until dough is right texture for bread. Turn into large greased bowl or pan, and let rise to top (will probably take about 2-4 hours or longer). Keep covered.

Once dough has risen, turn out onto floured surface. Coat generously with flour by turning and shaping. No kneading is necessary. To make loaves, just divide and shape into loaves. To make rolls, roll out to desired thickness. Then cut with a cup or glass. Place in greased pans, and let rise (will probably take about 2-3 hours).

Once rolls have risen well, bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes at 425° or 450°. It might not take quite that long, so be watchful that they don't brown too quickly; may need to cover with foil, so rolls can bake through.

Recipe from here.
http://www.mamabzz.com/2013/01/homemade-bread-rolls-recipe.html






Home made lollipops

So easy and fun to make, I might invest in a few molds :)

1 cup of white sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
Parchment paper
Sticks
Molds

Put all three ingredients in a pot, stir until it begins to boil. Once it boils slowly turn up the heat until it reaches 300 on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat immediately and once cooled to 275 add food coloring and candy flavoring stirring quickly.

Pour or spoon over sticks or into molds quickly as it begins to harden fast.

If using molds make sure to grease them first so the candy does not stick to them. Let them sit and dry for at least an hour before wrapping them otherwise they will stay sticky.

This recipe is not mine, I found it using google search unfortunately now I can not find the same blog I used. Once I find it again I will post a link.







Monday, October 22, 2012

Eggplant pizza

Quick and tasty supper :)

Slice eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, sprinkle with salt and place in a strainer over a bowl to drain all bitter liquid.

Rinse off and pat dry with paper towel.

Spray baking pan with olive oil, place slices on pan, brush with olive pile, sprinkle with salt. Drizzle tomato sauce or pasta sauce on top. Add thinly sliced mushrooms, thin sliced meat of choice, one slice of tomato, cheese and bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes until cheese begins to bubble.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and top with a spoonful of garlic pesto.

Pesto is optional but I like it. Although I would recommend not using basil pesto as the flavor is very strong and if you use too much that is all that you will taste.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Bread

Today was a day for cooking. I made some mini loaves of bread, and one bigger loaf. I love the mini loaves because they are the perfect size for sandwiches to be packed for work and school lunches. I also love that I have control over the ingredients, organic no additives or preservatives etc... I know exactly what we are eating.

I just used my basic bread recipe, it is a base that you can build off of, add cinnamon and raisins, dried fruit, whole grains etc... But today I just felt like making plain bread.

The recipe I use is simple, 1 package of active dry yeast, add 1/4 cup of warm water and 1 tsp of sugar to the the yeast stir and let sit for 15 minutes.

Add 2 cups of warm water, 1 tsp of salt and add flour kneading until the dough is no longer sticky, cover in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm spot for two hours.

Add more flour and knead a second time. Grease the pan you will be baking it in, place dough in pan cove and let rise for two hours. Bake at 400 for 40 to 50 minutes.

The dough should use at least 6 cups of flour otherwise it will taste strongly of yeast. The crust comes out of the oven very hard and crispy (hard as a rock lol) but softens as it cools. If you put it in a Tupperware container it softens even more.

My favorite mix for this is 40% whole wheat flour, 60% white, add toasted flax seed, sunflower seeds and any other seed / grain i happen to have in the house at the time.

Another good one is to spread the dough out, put Swiss cheese and slices of ham on top, roll it and bake. So tasty and all you need to do is cut off a piece and instant lunch :)

Home made hot chocolate mix

For the past two days here the weather has been horrible, cold and snowing. It shouldn't snow for at least another three weeks!

Because I don't really drink coffee and I ran out of my favorite tea I decided to make some hot chocolate mix. It tastes much better than the stuff that you buy in the stores and it's cheaper. I double the recipe and get roughly 80 cups of hot chocolate for $18. for that price I would only get 30 cups if I bought three boxes with 10 packs. I also used all organic ingredients. All ingredients are pronounceable and identifiable :)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups skim milk powder
2 1/4 cup powder sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 bag milk chocolate chips

Mix all together, add 3 tablespoons to a cup, pour boiling water over it, stir well to melt all the chocolate chips and enjoy!!!!