Whole Wheat Pancakes by Steph

Love this recipe I got from all recipes.com. It takes a lot of butter but it tastes really good. We usually serve with Apple syrup(recipe also posted on this blog).

The Watsons ate this with us the night they were packing the truck to leave for Oregon. We sure miss those guys.

Ingredients:1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sal
t5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:
1.In a food processor or in a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, white flour, wheat germ or oats, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt
2.Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife, and add the butter to the flour-mixture. Mix until the mixture has a sand-like consistency.
3.Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, and add the buttermilk and eggs. Stir until the liquids are fully incorporated.
4.Heat a frying pan over medium heat and grease the surface with 1 tablespoon of butter or oil. Ladle the batter onto the surface to form 4 inch pancakes. Once bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, flip them over, and cook them on the other side for about 2 minutes.

Posted by Steph

Ham and Broccoli Quiche by Steph

Easy and Mostly Free for us since we are over loaded in eggs.

I usually buy a frozen pie crust. But it would be even better if I made a homemade wholewheat crust.

1-1/2 cubed ham or any meat Salami is sooo good
1-1/2 shredded swiss cheese
1 cup broccoli
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix ingredients in bowl. Pour into shell and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Posted by Steph

Pumpkin Muffins by Steph

3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1Tbsp baking powder
2tsp pumpkin pie spice
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 can(16 oz) pumpkin
3/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup real maple syrup
2/3 cup honey
2/3 milk or soy milk
chocolate chips(optional)
preheat oven to 400
spray muffin tins with cooking spray
mix wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
add wet and dry and mix well
fill muffin tins two-thirds full.
bake for 20 to 25 minutes. cool 5 minutes in the tins.
add wet and dry and mix well

Posted by Steph

Smoothies by Stace

This summer has made me a smoothie lover. I cannot get enough of them. Dustin has been making them for Boddhi -- as a quick, nutritious meal he loves to eat -- since he was very small, and Mike has been making them as an after school snack regularly, but I have never really been that interested in them until now (maybe it is a pregnancy thing). I love having them for breakfast or even as a mid-afternoon snack.

Here is what I am putting in my smoothies lately:

I use the magic bullet processor (comes with lots of different cups so each person can prepare their own smoothie while they wait).

I bought a bunch of organic frozen fruits (to use instead of ice) -- strawberries, peaches, mangoes, blueberries, but I enjoy using the strawberries the most.

For example this morning I used a half banana, 4 frozen strawberries, 1 T honey, 2 scoops of organic, whole milk yogurt, and filled the rest of the cup with raw milk. The result was a perfect blend of creamy, fruity sweetness. Boddhi wanted the same thing with added oranges (yuck!), but I obliged. He loved it and nearly drank the whole thing.

Dustin has used chocolate chips in Bo's (as a substitute for an ice cream treat), and he usually uses no sweetener. If you use 1 whole, ripe banana you really don't need the honey. Boddhi loves to help out -- chopping the fruit and putting it all in the cup.

Dustin really wants a juicer, and he says he would be more inclined to eat more green vegetables if he could juice them. This would allow us to make green smoothies (which I am very interested in) -- adding kale, spinach or carrots to our smoothies. No one around here eats enough vegetables, so I am all for the idea (just have to find one at a reasonable price).

I know Bob makes smoothies all the time too. Maybe she would be willing to add her favorite combinations to this post? Feel free to chime in Mom or Steph?

And to our (few) readers: what do you like to put in your smoothies?



10/09/2011 - Edited to add: We have been making different (superfoodish) smoothies lately. My favorite flavor combination is:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Super Smoothie

1 frozen banana
4 frozen strawberries
2 scoops whole, plain yogurt
1 heaping Tablespoon of raw organic cacao powder
1 heaping Tablespoon of coconut oil
1 teaspoon royal jelly
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
enough raw milk to cover the ingredients

mix it all in the magic bullet or blender -- tastes like a yummy chocolaty treat!

Dude makes this breakfast smoothie every morning -- he calls it the "green monster" (vegan)

3 cups or so coconut milk (he makes his own -- will post a link to this recipe later)
2 frozen bananas
2 T raw. organic cacao powder
1 T bee pollen
1 T spirulina powder
1 T liquid chlorophyll
1 T Maca powder
1 T Hemp protein powder
handful of goji berries
handful of cashews

Blend all ingredients and enjoy :)

posted by Stace

Recipe Links by Stace

Here are some great links I have been using lately:

Raspberry Ricotta Scones by Smitten Kitchen - I made these yesterday morning. OH SO YUMMY! I had mine with a cup of hot raspberry tea (great for pregnant women!).

Homemade Naan - Bobbie and I made this to take to the beach while on vacation. We whipped up some homemade hummus and made hummus sandwiches -- soooo good. We added greens and tomatoes to the hummus and rolled them up -- great beach food.

Fry Bread - I made this bread a few months ago because I had a craving for something savory. I cooked up some grass fed beef, homemade black beans and we made fry bread tacos ( I could only eat half of mine). We topped them with lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa and whole milk yogurt.

Pita Bread - I am always on the look out for bread recipes. I hate store bought pita bread, naan and tortillas, so I love to experiment with new recipes at home. Saves money and tastes soooo much better than the processed kind. I used this recipe when I made hummus sandwiches for the family a while back. We stuffed the pita with hummus, added spinach, tomato, olive and topped with whole milk yogurt (with some dill mixed in).

posted by stace

Baked French Toast Casserole w/Maple Syrup - by Mama Katie

This is a recipe that a friend gave to me from work. It was one of the dishes that was shared at our birthday breakfast. I think it was one of Paula Dean's recipes but with a few minor changes.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French Bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple Syrup

Directions:

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9x13 inch baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. (I do not leave overnight because it makes it soggy to me. I just prepare it 30-40 minutes ahead).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping (recipe below) evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Posted by Mama Katie

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal -- by Steph

Made this and the kids love it! Easy and Yummy. This makes a lot of oatmeal serves about 7.


3 Cups Apple juice
3Cups Water
3 Cups oats
1/2 t cinn
2 t lemon juice to balance the apple juice
Sprinkle of salt
Mix these ingredients and
Cook until firming up and ready.

Stir in 1/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter

Serve

Homemade Yogurt and Granola - by Bob

A couple of weeks ago Jovan requested some granola. He loves it, but it's kind of expensive at the store so I said, "I think I will try to make some." It is so good! After making that a friend told me she had been making her own yogurt so I thought I would give that a try and mix them up. I'm eating it right now and wanted to post this new masterpiece on our blog :) Hope others enjoy it too! The yogurt I made is plain but if you want sweet you can just add some maple syrup/vanilla or anything else you want. We use ours as a sour cream substitute and I like it with the granola since it's sweet enough.



Granola recipe

1 container of oatmeal ( 6 c - not quick or instant)
2 c mixed nuts and seeds (sunflower, sesame, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews)
1 c dried unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1tsp ground cinnamon (or to taste)
dash salt
1/2 to 1 c honey or maple syrup, or to taste
1 cup raisins or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350. Combine oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and sweetener in a bowl. Place on a sheet pan and place in oven. Bake for 30 min, or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Stir occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly. The browner it gets (without burning) the crunchier it will be.

Remove from pan and add dried fruit. Cool on rack stirring once in a while till it reaches room temperature. Transfer to sealed container and store. It will keep indefinitely.



Plain yogurt

1 quart milk (whole, lowfat, skim)
1/4 c commercial, unflavored yogurt
2 to 4 tbs sugar or honey (optional)
add milk powder for thicker yogurt

Place cold pasteurized milk in top of a double boiler. stir in sweetener if desired. Heat milk 180-200 degrees, stirring and hold for 10 minutes. Do not boil!
Place pot in cold water to cool rapidly to 112 degrees. Add commercial yogurt to mix. Pour into clean hot containers (mason jars) and place in incubator for 7-12 hours. Refrigerate immediately.

Incubation method I used. Cooler full of hot water.

Buttermilk Biscuits - by Momma Katie (Grandma Werth)

Momma Katie memories: I was a 19 year old stay at home mom trying to learn to cook, sew, crochet and be domestic. Your Grandma Werth and Aunt Sylvia were instrumental in teaching me some of these skills. This buttermilk biscuit recipe from Grandma Werth is the one that I used to make dumplings for my chicken and dumpling recipe. They were absolutely the best dumplings ever. Cracker Barrel comes close. I used it occasionally for just biscuits too.

Ingredients:

4 cups unsifted flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Blend in oil and buttermilk into mixture. Knead lightly till smooth.

For biscuits : Roll out onto lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick for biscuits. Cut and bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees fir 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

For dumplings: Roll out to a thick version of a tortillia and cut into strips. Save these to drop into your chicken dumpling broth.

posted by: Momma Katie

Homemade Waffles - by Stace

Momma Katie's waffle memory: This recipe started with my mom. I am not sure where she got it. I never remember not eating them, so she had to have used this recipe from the time I was very young. All that tried them loved them. I remember the smell of them cooking on her large square heavily used chrome waffle iron. She always melted the butter and heated the syrup to go on the waffles.

Stace's waffle memory: I remember mom making us homemade waffles for breakfast and sometimes dinner (a recipe passed down from her mother, that I now use every Saturday); she would stand above the waffle iron, passing out waffles to grabbing children below; we went back for seconds and thirds before she even sat down with her first. I always ate mine plain with butter—no syrup. They were that good.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3 T sugar
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
4 T butter (melted)
2 eggs (separate yolks from whites)
1 ½ cups milk

Directions:

• Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl, sift together or mix thoroughly
• Add wet ingredients (butter, egg yolks and milk) and stir (batter will be lumpy)
• Beat egg whites until fluffy
• Fold into waffle mix right before pouring
• Pour about a ½ cup of mix onto waffle iron and cook
• Top waffles with just butter or load them up with peanut butter, syrup and bananas. Some of our kids like them with chocolate chips, strawberries and whipped cream.

posted by Stacey