Monday, November 2, 2009

Basic Cream White Sauce

Ok, after eating "clean" for so long those canned cream soups are really gross, I just can't do it, so here are some easy alternatives.

MEDUIM (1 cup)
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

THICK (1 cup)
3 Tablespoons butter
4 Tablespoons all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

THIN (1 cup)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Note: try arrowroot powder instead of flour. I even substitute the butter with Wildtree Butter Grapeseed oil to get a better fat in our diet.

Directons:
Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.
Blend in flour, salt, and dash of white pepper if desired.
Whisk in milk all at once. NO LUMPS
Cook quickly, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.

For cream soups add you flavor; use celery, mushrooms, asparagus, chicken, etc.

For cream of chicken soup you can use 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth.

You can also try it with shredded cheese to make a cheesey sauce.

Crockpot Apple Pie

Getting ready for the holidays...

8 tart apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup Jiffy baking mix
1 cup Jiffy baking mix
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter

Toss apples with cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Place in lightly greased crockpot.

Combine milk, softened butter, sugar eggs, vanilla, and the 1/2 cup Jiffy baking mix. Spoon over apples.

Combine 1 cup Jiffy baking mix and brown sugar. Cut the cold butter into the mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture over top of apple mixture.

Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours or until apples are soft.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten Free

1-2/3 cups GF All Purpose Baking flour (I like Pamela's or make your own)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla (make sure to use real vanilla)
1 large Egg
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a large cookie sheet or line with parchment paper; set aside.
Stir together the GF baking flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt; set aside.
In a large mixer bowl, beat butter (room temperature, not melted) with granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and egg; scrape sides of bowl frequently. Beat in flour mixture on low speed, mixing thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2” apart on baking sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes on center rack of oven or until lightly browned. Cool 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

You should get about 2 dozen cookies.

A good GF flour mix is 1 part brown rice, 1 part sweet rice, 2 parts sorghum, and 3 parts tapioca.

Mexican Fiesta Dip

8 oz. Wildtree Black Bean and Corn Salsa
8 oz. Cream Cheese
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Combine Wildtree Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Cream Cheese and Moz Cheese and stir well.
Serve with Tortilla Chips.

Warm Jalapeno Crab Dip

1 pd Crabmeat
1 Tbsp Wildtree Jalapeno Pepper Blend
1/4 pd Monterey Jack Cheese
1/4 Cup Mayo
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 1/2 tsp Crab Seasoning

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients into an oven safe dish.
Bake about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with bagel chips or crackers.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Marshmallows

7" X 11" baking pan
powdered sugar
6 packages of knox gelatin
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

1 Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup of water and set aside

2 Dust baking pan with powdered sugar covering all sides.

3 In a sauce pan bring 1/2 c of water and 2 cups of sugar to a full boil for 3 minutes.

4 Remove from heat and gently wisk in dissolved gelatin. Wisk slowly so it does not foam, otherwise it will be hard to see when the gelatin is all dissolved.

5 Pour mixture into mixing bowl, add salt, vanilla and mix until it has doubled and the mixture starts to form a large ball around the mixer blades. At this point it is very sticky.

6 Use a rubber spatula to place mixture into the dusted baking pan, spread it out until it is an even thickness.

7 Let set up for about 4 hours then using a table knife pry marshmallow edges away from the pan. You then should be able to remove the entire sheet of marshmallows and cut them into squares with scissors. Dust lightly with powdered sugar once they have been cut.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Fresh Food Tips

All Natural products are better for you because they don't have the nasty petroleum preservatives but they don't stay fresh as long.

You can keep Chips, Crackers & pretzels stay fresh longer in the freezer.

No thawing necessary

Friday, January 2, 2009

Clean....Cool Whip

Ok, Cool Whip is gross, hydrogenated, HFCS and the like. Try this....

Stabilized Whipped Cream used as Cool Whip

Chill 1 cup of whipping cream, beaters and mixing bowl in fridge

In a small bowl Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon cold water into 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
and allow gelatin to soften about 5 minutes.

Take gelatin container and place in a pan of simmering water about 1 to 2 inches deep. Remove once gelatin is melted and set aside to cool.

Whip whipping cream and as it starts to thicken add gelatin.

Hot Cocoa Mix

16 cups powdered dry milk
1 ¼ cup cocoa powder
5 cups crystalized cane juice or Sucanat*
½ tsp salt

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Keep mixture stored in an airtight container or zip lock storage bags. You can run the mix through blender a few cups at a time for a smoother finish to mixture. You can also 1/2 this recipe to make less.

For a gift package in glass canning jars and attach a card that says "For a delicious cup of hot cocoa, put 1/3 cup mix into a large mug, pour in bowling water, stir, and enjoy."

Sucanat is a natural form of sugar that can be found in health food stores or the organic section of your grocery store. It is closer to a brown sugar and a great alternative if you can find it.