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.