Never Fail - Slow Cooker - Overnight Oven Yogurt

About a year ago I tried making yogurt in the slow cooker and then wrapping it in towels on  the counter overnight.  After two failed attempts I gave up.  Recently, I found another recipe using the oven as the incubator so I gave it a shot.  It worked!  It is such an amazing feeling to check on what was simply warm milk the night before and find yogurt in the morning!  I have had success five times in a row with this homemade, slow cooker yogurt, so I figured it was time to share.  I can make plain or greek yogurt, skim milk or full fat and it's worked every time.  I've even had success making it without a thermometer, just by learning how long it would take to heat and cool the milk.  Making this yogurt at home is so simple and half the cost of store bought!  You can flavour it yourself (a drizzle of honey is my favourite), and avoid all the crazy amount of added sugar and additives in the store bought varieties.  Plus, making it from home has a longer fermentation process, and eating fermented foods is good for you!  (Try reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.)

I usually eat this yogurt with my Quinoa Applesauce Granola for breakfast, use it in smoothies, or make dressings  and sauces.  It's a great sour cream substitute.  My husband is slowly adjusting to it's tart taste, but the kids' palates haven't adjusted yet.  I will keep buying their favourite store bought flavours (Yami Vanilla and Yami Orange Cream) and do a gradual mixing of the two.

Thanks so much to Mindy, from Creating Naturally for posting the recipe that finally worked for me.
I've copied her recipe onto here, because she did such a great job making it so simple!

P.S.  If you want to make greek yogurt, simply strain it with a cheesecloth (or paper towel) lined colander.  Strain it over a bowl and save the whey to use as a liquid substitute in bread, other baking, or in your smoothies.  More whey uses here!

Homemade Slow Cooker Yogurt

Yield: 1 gallon of yogurt

Check out the notes at the bottom of the recipe for extra tips and tricks.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (full fat)

Instructions

1. Pour the gallon of milk in a 6 qt. slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on low.
2. Allow the milk to heat up to 180 degrees F. In my slow cooker this takes about 5 hrs. Every slow cooker is different though, so use a candy thermometer to check the temperature of your milk until it hits 180.
3. Turn the slow cooker off and allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees F. Again, use a candy thermometer to determine when it has hit the correct temperature.  (Lynn's Note:  If you are in a hurry, take out your slow cooker insert and cool it in a sink filled with ice water.  Stir gently, occasionally.)
4. Once the milk has cooled off to 110 degrees, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Remove some of the warm milk into a small glass bowl. Gently whisk the 1/2 cup plain yogurt into the warm milk in the small bowl until there are no lumps left. Gently whisk the yogurt/milk mixture back into the rest of the warm milk.
5. Pour the warm yogurt/milk into sterilized glass jars. (Lynn's Note:  I  just place the entire crock pot insert in the oven and then store it into containers later.) A funnel helps with this. Put lids on the jars and place them in the oven. Turn the oven off and allow the jars to sit in there for 8-12 hours (or overnight). This is the incubation phase when the yogurt cultures the rest of the milk and turns all of it into yogurt. If your oven has a light in it, leave it on while the jars are in there. This will help to keep the oven the right temperature.
6. After the jars have set in the oven for 8-12 hours, remove them and place them in the refrigerator to chill completely before using.

Notes:

• If a whole gallon of yogurt seems like a lot to you, you can cut the recipe in half.  This will affect the heating and cooling times, but the yogurt will still need to incubate for 8-12 hours no matter how much you make.
• I definitely recommend using whole milk for this recipe.  It makes the yogurt very thick and creamy.  I usually use raw milk, because that’s what we have on hand.  Any whole milk will work great though.
• If the milk goes a little past 180 degrees F when you are heating it, that is fine.  However, it must get to at least 180 degrees F.
• You can speed the cooling process along by cracking the lid on the slow cooker and/or by removing the ceramic part of the slow cooker from the part that generates the heat.  I usually don’t do this, but if you’re wanting it to be done faster it won’t hurt anything to speed it along.
• Don’t worry if your oven doesn’t have a light in it.  Mine does not, and it still always turns out great.
• If for some reason your oven is not available, there are other options for incubating your yogurt.  You can put the jars in a closed and sealed cooler with a pot of boiling/very hot water.  Or if you have a dehydrator with removable trays you can set the jars in the dehydrator with it set on about 115 degrees F.  No matter what you choose incubate your yogurt in, it needs to stay in the warm environment for 8-12 hours.
• If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can still make this.  Just heat the milk up to 180 degrees F in a pan on the stove instead of in the slow cooker.  Then proceed as directed above.
• I do not add any sweetener or flavor to my yogurt when I am making it.  If you want to sweeten it and/or flavor it, add honey, maple syrup, or jam (to taste) to the milk/yogurt mixture before putting it in the jars.  You could also add any extracts that you would like to use.
• The reason I don’t sweeten my yogurt is because we use it in baking and eating as a buttermilk and sour cream substitute.  We also enjoy eating it plain with applesauce or frozen blueberries.  It also makes an almost daily appearance in our smoothies, which are sweetened by the fruit that we put in them.
• This yogurt will last for several weeks in the refrigerator.
• Make sure you save 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt to make your next batch!

Quinoa Applesauce Granola....aka "Mommy's Birdseed"

We've been traveling so much this summer that I've almost forgotten how to cook!  We've had some incredible trips - Sydney, Australia (our youngest daughter was granted a wish from the Children's Wish Foundation....that's a whole other amazing story in itself!), camping, CreationFest Music festival in Washington State, we ministered at a Kid's Camp in the Cypress Hills of Alberta, traveled to Yellowstone National Park, then across Idaho & Oregon states, and finally ended at Mount St Helen's in Washington.  What incredible sights we've seen!  However, I learned in Australia that eating out three times a day is actually quite tiresome, and "canned something or the other" while we're camping might be the easiest way to go, but it's not the healthiest!

I decided to get my "Mom Starting From Scratch" groove started again by making my favourite breakfast, "Quinoa Applesauce Granola", which the kids call, "Mommy's Birdseed".  There's no oil and no sugar added and it's amazing!  I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the back deck with my beloved early this morning enjoying a bowl with Greek yogurt and blueberries.

 I adapted my recipe from a blog called Food and Whine (thank you!), but skipped on adding any sugar, honey or sweeteners.  In my opinion, it really doesn't need it!

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 & 1/2  cups no sugar added applesauce

This recipe is just a guide!  You can add whatever nuts, seeds, or grains you like. You can also toss in dried fruit like cranberries, apricots or raisins after it has cooked and cooled.

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 250F.
2.  Combine ingredients and spread onto 2 baking sheets.  You can line with parchment paper if you
     wish.
3.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring granola every 10 minutes until it is golden brown. (Don't walk away
    from the kitchen and get busy doing something else!)
4.  Remove from oven and let cool on sheets. It will become more crispy as it cools.  Add dried fruit
     if you wish.
5.  Store in sealed container in cupboard.

This granola is so satisfying with some plain Greek yogurt.  Start your day with this and you won't find yourself craving a sugary mid morning snack.  It's also good cold with milk or even warmed slightly in the microwave.  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Applesauce Cinnamon Quinoa Pancakes

It's really hard to believe after a couple years of making pancakes from scratch, that I used to always buy the mix.  Plain, old, white pancake mix.  Buttermilk if I was feeling fancy.  Heaven forbid I wouldn't have any mix on hand on a Saturday morning...no pancakes for us!

But now, every Saturday I make my favorite  "Fluffy, Filling, Whole Wheat Pancakes"
My kids love them with syrup or warm sliced strawberries or bananas, and I enjoy them with apricot jam.  Lately though, I've been trying to experiment with Quinoa, other than as a side dish or as a salad. I did a Google search for "Quinoa Pancakes" and I found this "Whole Wheat Banana Quinoa Pancakes" recipe by Monique of Ambitious Kitchen.

I didn't have bananas on hand, since I have a houseful of monkeys that go through a bunch in about a day.  So, I tweaked Monique's recipe a bit and this is what I came up with.

Whole Wheat Applesauce Cinnamon Quinoa Pancakes
1 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup applesauce

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, applesauce, melted butter, and honey until smooth. Add wet mixture to flour mixture and combine.  If batter is too thick simply add a bit more milk; if it's too thin add more flour.
2. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter or cooking spray and heat over medium. Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto skillet. I use an ice cream scoop!  Cook until bubbles appear on top, about 2 minutes. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter.

Makes about 10 pancakes.

You can see the quinoa texture to these pancakes - but they still hold together like a fluffy wheat flour pancake.

We had these for supper the other night and I made it a treat for my girls with whipping cream, sliced strawberries, and chocolate sauce.  A bit of a splurge to balance out all that healthiness!  I really enjoyed mine with some plain yogurt & sliced strawberries.  So good!  The girls weren't fooled by the quinoa...you can definitely taste it and the texture is slightly different but nothing shocking.  Just like cornmeal pancakes have a different texture as well.  My eldest said they tasted "nutty" and my middle said they tasted "healthy".  My youngest didn't say much, but she didn't eat all of hers either.  However, they are VERY filling!  Before I started making whole wheat pancakes my kids would go through four.  Now they usually eat two.  They were full after only one quinoa pancake.  I'm sure the mountain of whipped cream had a lot to do with that though.

I'm hungry thinking about this now...good thing I have a few saved in the fridge...I think I'm going to have a snack!

Slow Cooker Oatmeal Leftover Makeover!

Here's a guest recipe from my friend, Trisha.  She's a married mom with an adorable 3 year old boy - and she also happens to love cooking from scratch as well.  Last year she went off dairy for the most part due to a sensitivity and has had a lot of fun finding new recipes along the way.

Isn't she gorgeous?  Trisha is so full of life!

She knows I love to hear new ways to repurpose, so she sent along two scrumptious recipes - Slow Cooker Oatmeal, and Leftover Oatmeal Granola Bars.  I can't wait to try these out!  Only one of my girls enjoys eating oatmeal in the morning, so I didn't relish the thought of making a big slow cooker pot of oatmeal, only to have it go to waste.  This recipe is the perfect solution!


Slow Cooker Oatmeal
2 cups steel cut oats
6 cups water
3 cups almond milk (or soy, or dairy)
Cinnamon to taste
Raisins, almonds, dried cranberries or whatever else you think would be yummy in your breakfast oatmeal.
Slow cooker for 8 hours on low. If you can stir it - great, but who does that at night?

Now here's how you turn your leftover oatmeal into a delicious and nutritious snack!

Leftover Oatmeal Granola Bars

1.  Take whatever oatmeal is leftover from breakfast and add coconut flakes, more cranberries, nuts if you like, more cinnamon, a bit of sugar if you like (I don't think it needs it but some may), and as much quick oats or other dried grains as it needs to become sticky but hold together texture and use your hands to combine everything.
2.  Then line a baking pan with parchment paper (I used a 9 by 13 pan but obviously it depends how much substance you have an how thick you want them to be.)
3. And bake at 350. Here's the part that really has to specialize because the baking time depends on the thickness. They'll always seem a bit soft until they cool off but I bake them until they're quite dry on the top and don't squish too much when pressed with your finger or a spoon. It can sometimes take up to an hour.
4.  Let them cool completely in the pan and lift out the parchment and you're done. It takes some experimenting to get the texture the way you like. Some people prefer crunchy bars and others like chewy so it's up to you.

I love how my friend bakes these....just throw what you like in, squish it all together, and bake until done.   If you try this out, I'd love to hear how you made it work!

Bone Broth Twice Over...and over, and over...

About a year ago, I finally began making soup stock from scratch.  I was motivated by the fact that most store bought soups and broths are really high in sodium, and as my youngest daughter has chronic kidney disease, I'm always looking for ways to cut down on salt.  I was also inspired by old fashioned cooking - cooking that is frugal, simple, and resourceful.  Homemade soup is all of the above.

I normally make my soup in the crock pot overnight, strain it and then toss the bones.  Till I stumbled across this awesome article from The Nourishing Gourmet  on reusing your bones again and again for stock.  I decided to make some chicken broth using this method.  Normally, I buy chicken whole and roast two at a time in my big roasting pan.  We usually have roast chicken for supper that night (YUM!), and then I take the leftover meat and shred it or dice it and freeze it on cookie sheets before putting into freezer bags.  The frozen chicken is great to grab for casseroles, soups, salads or whatever other chicken-y dish your heart desires. 

Anyway, back to the stock.  I tossed the carcass in the crock pot, add some onion, celery, and carrots, herbs and put it on low in the crock pot overnight.  The next morning, I strained out the broth, took out the veggies, and then did the whole process over again.  While I didn't keep making repeated stocks till the bones dissolved into nothingness, I did make two batches of flavourful broth.  Who knew?  Most likely my grandmother and great grandmother....and it's the sort of things that I need to relearn.  Thanks, Kimi, for the great tips!

Great Use for Overripe Strawberries: Strawberry-Poppy Seed Dressing

I was a bit overzealous at the grocery store the other day and bought three packs of strawberries on sale.  We've been eating them every day, but I noticed that some of them were starting to get dark and mushy.  I was about to toss overripe ones out when I stopped myself and wondered, "Do I really have to waste these?"  They weren't rotten or moldy or anything, just not that "pretty" anymore.

We've been eating lots of delicious summer salads lately, and I was planning on making some poppy seed dressing.  A quick google search came up with a few great recipes that I pretty much morphed into this one!

Lynnie B's Strawberry-Poppy Seed Dressing

Wash and remove tops of about 6 large overripe strawberries.
Puree in food processor or with hand blender until smooth.
Add 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Blend together until smooth
Stir in 1 tbsp poppy seeds


Pour into jar or bottle and refrigerate.  So good over spinach or mixed greens with strawberries or blueberries!  Don't you just love summer?

White Bean, Cabbage, Carrot & Potato Soup

It's been a rainy weekend, so there was lots of opportunity to put my apron on and make a big batch of soup for my weekly "Sunday Stew Special".  I had a few potatoes left that were starting to go soft so I figured I'd better use them up.  This soup is a great budget friendly, good ol' classic recipe.  I've also been cooking with dried beans and lentils more and more and cutting back on our dependence upon meat for protein.  Plus, they're cheap, fill you up, have tons of fibre, and are SO GOOD for you!  I cooked up a big crockpot full of white beans earlier this week, so I had some ready to go for this soup.  I've learned it's better to cook the beans ahead of time, store them in the fridge or freezer, and then toss them into recipes as needed.

Anyway, here is what was on today's menu!

White Bean, Cabbage, Carrot and Potato Soup

2 T olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 head medium cabbage, cored and shredded
5 medium potatoes peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups slow cooked (or 1 14 ounce can) cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups veggie or chicken stock (you can learn how to make them from scratch here and here.)
3/4 t. thyme
salt and pepper to taste
20 fennel seeds

Saute the onions, carrot and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until softened -  about 5 minutes.

Toss all the veggies into the slow cooker except for the beans.
Pour the stock over all.
Season with salt and pepper, mix in the fennel seeds, cover and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.
Add beans and stir.
Serve with thick slices of whole grain bread.  This is a great bread dipping soup!

The fennel seeds are apparently supposed to help with the gassiness that can come with high fibre foods such as beans and cabbage.  I'll let you know how it goes.....

Results from the Brownlee Test Kitchen

10 year old - (when she came into the kitchen)  Mmmmm....something smells delicious!  (That was a positive sign!)  It's very potatoey.  I'd say it's a keeper.
13 year old - Does this have cabbage?  (When she was convinced by her 10 yr old sister that you couldn't even taste the cabbage she gave it a try).  It's not bad.  It's a typical potato soup.  Eh.  I guess it's a keeper.  (I was just happy to get some cabbage into my cabbage despising daughter.)
4 year old - More carrots please!  (Soup is one of the few foods I can get her eat more than a couple spoonfuls.)  I managed to convince her to try the white beans too.  She only ate a couple before stating,  I don't like those beans!  I'm accepting this one as a thumbs up from her though.
The Cook - This is tasty, filling, simple soup.  Good thing I enjoy it...I made so much that I've got a ton stored in the freezer.

As with all soups...use what you have!  Be creative with your herbs and spices.  Make a big batch, store it in small freezer containers and pull it out when you need a quick, healthy lunch or supper.  It's better than a box of instant Mac & Cheese!

"It's So Good You Don't Need to Put Butter On It" Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I've been absent from blogging after attending two 3-day conferences back to back - the first was on hearing loss (effective communication, learning & advocacy for my four year old) and the second was our denomination's annual Pastor's Conference.  All my good intentions for an "Everyday Active" have gone out the window this last week.  Regular exercise takes some serious commitment!!!  I admire those of you who don't let travel or change in schedule throw you off your routine.  **applause**

If talking about regular exercise is making uncomfortable thoughts rise up within you, here's something to soothe your pain....what's more comforting that warm, fresh, homemade banana bread straight out of the oven?  When we returned home from our Pastor's Conference we had about one hour before our house would be filled with a pile of young adults who we mentor weekly. And they are generally hungry.  Starving, even.  Some of them exist on pizza pops and "frozen whatever".  I must admit, it felt "back to my wonderful normal" to put my apron on and quickly make up something yummy and healthy  to feed people I love.

"It's So Good You Don't Need to Put Butter On It" Whole Wheat Banana Bread
 ½ cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups mashed very ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or dried cranberries if desired..I had neither on hand, but it turned out fine without.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Bake the bread for 40 minutes or until outside starts getting dark. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

This recipe that I found on a website called Breadtopia turned out fabulous!  I always struggled with burning the outside of my banana bread in order to get the inside cooked through.  I had never been told to simply cover with foil.  Duuuuuuhhhh.  I was patient and made sure to let it cool enough before slicing and it didn't crumble into a million pieces.  The entire loaf was gone in about 5 minutes and got rave reviews from even the pickiest eaters of our young adults group.  One of them was shocked that something with whole wheat actually tasted good and another said, "It's so good you don't even need to put butter on it!"  (Hence the name....)

So, if you still aren't convinced that whole wheat baked goods can be as moist and fluffy as those made with white flour I dare you to try this recipe.  And if you really need help making the switch from white to whole wheat, simply STOP BUYING WHITE FLOUR at the grocery store.  It's amazing how quickly you'll start loving baking with whole wheat.

"Anything But Split Pea!" Ham and White Bean Soup

I'm sure that there's many Split Pea Soup lovers out there.  Making a big old pot of it is as much a part of your post Easter traditions as snatching up discounted chocolate is.  At least I know that batch of homemade Split Pea Soup was a part of my childhood.

And I hated that soup.

To be fair, I haven't tried that mushy, pukey green soup in years.  Decades, really.  Although I know I have to conquer overcome that childhood trauma someday, I wanted to make leftover ham soup with something other than split peas.  So I compromised and decided on white navy beans.

White Bean Ham Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked white beans (or use canned if you don't like messing with dried beans).
4 cups veggie stock (I made some homemade stock the day before)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup raw potato, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
2 cups leftover diced ham

1 can of kernel corn

Place potatoes in veggie stock along with bay leaf.

Cover and bring to a boil slowly. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about till potatoes begin to get tender. Add cooked beans, celery, ham, corn and simmer till heated through.  

Season with salt and pepper.

Of course there's tons more things you can do with this soup - use a ham bone to make the stock, add carrots, canned tomatoes, onions & garlic - but I simply used what I had on hand and it worked great.  That's what I love about homemade soup, you just use what you have!

Maybe next year I'll try the Split Pea version....but then again my children ate this without gagging, so maybe I'd better stick with what works!

Linking up to:

"Kids Are Gone" Cabbage & Kielbasa Dinner

My oldest daughter hates cabbage.  It's really too bad, 'cause it's such a misunderstood veggie.  Plus, it's cheap!  And it lasts such a LONG time in the fridge!  Plus we're part Ukrainian.

But since she and her sister were invited out to a movie today with their friends, I decided to make something that they wouldn't mind missing.

Slow Cooker Cabbage/Potato/Sausage Dinner

Ingredients

1 small head cabbage, diced into large chunks 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Kielbasa turkey sausage cut in 1 to 2-inch pieces 4-6 potatoes, cubed 1 cup apple juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar pepper, to taste

Directions

Layer the potatoes, onion, cabbage, and sausage in slow cooker. Whisk together the juice, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar; pour over slow cooker ingredients.

Sprinkle with pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low for  6-8 hours.

Note to self:  When you leave the house make sure you don't accidentally unplug the the slow cooker or else when you come home hungry at 1:30 PM you won't find the food cold and uncooked and you don't have to wait another half hour while you fry the food up in the electric skillet.

At any rate, here's what the Brownlee Test Kitchen had to say:

Husband:  It's Ukrain-i-lish-ous - I like it.
Starving College Student:  I was a little worried at first about the cabbage, but the flavour of the sausage makes up for it - that's definitely the best part of the stew.
The Cook:  I like it - the cabbage isn't too soggy and it's flavour gets milder when it's cooked.  (I liked it so much that I had the leftovers later in the evening.)
Four Year Old: - ate nothing.  Her kidney disease leaves her with no appetite, which is made up for with a super high calorie formula mix she drinks....if I can get a few bites of food into her it's more just for the fun of it.

Super cheap, super easy, and I love it....but then again, that's probably the Ukrainian in me showing up!

Light & Luscious Whole Wheat Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

As much as we're all hoping for spring around these parts it's been rather elusive.  While my area just experienced rain & hail today, communities only a half hour from here got snow! 

Thus, it was a good day to bake.  And while I had visions of fluffy lemon meringue pie, or coconut lemon bars in mind when I bought a bag of lemons last week, I decided that muffins would be a better match for the weather.
I found a promising sounding recipe at GreenLiteBites and gave it a go.

I know a lot of whole wheat muffins can turn out rather dense and unforgiving.  This one is not!  You will really forget that it is made entirely with whole wheat flour if you follow the recipe, and don't overstir your batter.  I had to make a few slight changes to the recipe because of what I had on hand - here's my version.

Light and Luscious Whole Wheat Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

• 3 cups (150g) of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 squeezed lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds
• non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Mix together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside
In a medium bowl add the eggs, yogurt, honey, applesauce and lemon juice and zest. Whisk until well blended and a bit “frothy”. Mix in the poppy seeds.
Mix the sifted flour with the egg/poppy mixture until just moistened. Don’t over mix!
Distribute the batter in regular sized muffin tin cups sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for about 18 minutes.  Makes about 20 muffins.

I also made a lemon glaze to up the lemon ante a bit - I simply squeezed another lemon into 2/3 cup icing sugar, a tsp of lemon zest, added a touch of water to thin it out and drizzled over the freshly baked muffins.

YUM!  There's no oil, no butter and they are SO soft & moist just from the yogurt & applesauce.  A suitable substitute for a luscious lemony dessert on a cold and rainy day....

Homemade "Special L" Cereal Recipe.

Our family was away for the weekend, so there was no Sunday Stew Special, so I thought I'd share a recipe that I created recently which my husband has jokingly named "Special L".  The name has stuck! 

Back when my Mom was visiting, she went shopping and happened to pick up a bag of puffed rice cereal...well, frankly because it was dirt cheap.  But have you ever tried "Puffed Rice"?

It's like eating Styrofoam packing peanuts.  I really can't imagine anyone actually eating this as cereal, I think most people buy it to use in puffed rice cereal bar recipes.  I attempted to make a batch, from this recipe at Spark People, but they didn't stick together, and I didn't feel like trying another recipe that was loaded with corn syrup or melted marshmallows.  Instead, I crumbled up the failed cereal bars, and used it as a cereal!  It was a little on the chewy side, so I decided to give it another go see if I could make my own, yummy, healthy homemade cereal.  Those Kashi  and Muesli ones are crazy expensive.  But if you really enjoy those, you can easily make something similar on your own!  Here's what I did...

Homemade "Special L" Cereal Recipe
Mix together in a big roaster 8 cups puffed rice cereal with a cup each of your favourite add ins such as raisins, diced apricots, cranberries, slivered almonds, etc.
Melt a cup of melted butter & mix with half a cup of honey, stir until well blended.
Pour liquid over cereal mixture, fold gently till well coated.
Place uncovered in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, watching carefully and stirring every 5 minutes or so.  Don't walk away from this one!
If you want to add coconut, add halfway through cooking time, since it burns quite quickly.

Obviously, this isn't very exact - you need to watch and stir so you don't burn this.

I really like my homemade cereal!  It's a nice change from granola - a little lighter tasting.  Of course there's tons of room for creativity in this recipe - make it less sweet or more sweet, and add all kinds of seeds, nuts, and dried or dehydrated fruits.  Just toss in what looks good!  If you try it, let me know how yours turned out.

Sunday Stew Special - Burritos 911!

For some reason, on Saturday night I completely forgot that I needed to pull together something to put in the crock pot for Sunday's lunch.  It was probably because I was just plain old tuckered out from our scary shed clean out from that afternoon or because my oldest girl was having a friend sleep over so we were enjoying a late night movie & candy fest.

I actually slept in later than I normally do on Sundays, and it wasn't until half an hour before I needed to leave for church that I remembered, "Ack!  Lunch!  I have nothing in the crockpot!"  It was tempting for a second to think, "Well, we'll just do fast food lunch out today", but I quickly shoved that thought aside and rose to the challenge of a last minute crock pot meal.

It also happened to be one of those days where you seem to be out of everything in the fridge, all at once, but I did see that we had ground beef and sour cream.  I thought perhaps I could do some sort of easy beef stroganoff, but that thought didn't really appeal to me.  Then I noticed the container of salsa, and so the idea of something sort of Mexican came to mind.  So here is my thrown-together-completely-last-minute-Sunday-Stew-Special which we decided to call...

"Burritos 911"

Brown 2 lbs ground beef with a couple teaspoons garlic powder
Dump into crock pot and stir in a tub of sour cream and about 2 cups chunky salsa.
Heat on low a few hours.
Have husband pick up some tortillas on the way home.
Serve with grated cheese (we had mozza).

OK, so maybe my burritos weren't as perfectly folded and garnished with cilantro....or is that parsley?

Anyway, here are the results from the BROWNLEE TEST KITCHEN...

4 year  old - I like the cheese.  Can I have more fishy crackers?  Moommmmmmmy....I want more fishy crackers!
Husband - it's good.  A little too juicy though.
12 yr old - I'm not really sure.  A little messy.
Donny (starving college student #1 who had polished off his first burrito before I even had a chance to glance at mine) - It's nice and juicy.  And it's cool 'cause all the food is already all mixed together.  You don't need to make other dishes dirty. (which I heartily agreed with - oh, the wonders of a crockpot!).
10 yr old - I like it.  It's very juicy and a little spicy.  You should forget to make stew more often.
James - ( starving college student #2)  I like it.  It's even better with cheese. Everything is better with cheese!
The Cook - I'm just glad I was able to throw something together last minute.  And I like it better than the Irish Stew we had last week!

So there you have it, not quite a stew, but the Crock Pot still saves the day.

Sunday Stew Special #6 - Irish Beef & Potato Stew

In honour of St Patty's Day just a few days ago, I decided to make an Irish Stew.  Here's the recipe I used.

Irish Beef and Potato Stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 white onion, cut into large chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Irish stout beer (e.g. Guinness®)
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss beef cubes with flour to coat, then fry in the hot oil until browned. Place the carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic in a large slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the vegetables. Mix together the beef broth and tomato paste and pour into the slow cooker along with the beer.
2. Cover and cook on High for 6 hours or Low for 8 hours. During the last hour before serving, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water and then stir into the broth. Simmer on the High setting for a few minutes to thicken. 
3. Season with salt and pepper.

My husband was off to get his haircut yesterday morning and I asked him, "Oh, by the way, can you go to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of Guiness while you're out?"  "Uhhhhh...OK."  An unusual request from me, since neither of us drink, but he managed to find what the recipe called for.

It was late Saturday night that I realized I was out of carrots, so it became just a beef & potato stew.  Carrots for colour would have been nice, but it wasn't a deal breaker.

Here are the reviews from the Brownlee Test Kitchen!
12 yr old - The meat is sooo tender - I really like it.  Can I have some more?  You barely gave me any.
10 yr old -  It's alright, but I've never really had the desire to try ale.
4 yr old - Making a great shoulder shudder.  I don't like it.  It's too sour.
Husband - It's good.  The meat is tender, but the gravy is a bit sour.  Salt and pepper helps.
Guest (starving student intern from the college we had over for lunch) - It's better than what I would be eating at the cafeteria.  I'm not picky.  I don't have a very refined palate.  (Ummmm......I think that's a compliment?.....)
The Cook -The meat is amazingly tender, but I agree.  The sauce has a sour tang that I'm not keen on.  I guess I wouldn't make a good very good irish beer drinker.

Final vote - Three thumbs up, three down.  Maybe I'll make it again next St Patrick's Day.  Unless there are better irish stew recipes out there.  I'd love to hear if you have any!

P.S  One of my favourite parts of this meal though was the sourdough bread we enjoyed with our stew.  Have you ever seen flour stencilling?  Love it!

Japanese Themed Crafts and Baking - Fundraising Ideas!

When something as incomprehensible as entire villages, towns, and entire cities are literally swept away by an earthquake and resulting tsunami, it's easy to watch it all with a sense of helplessness.  But I am a firm believer in the fact that when everyone does what they can (even if it seems so very little!) it can accomplish a great deal.

Thus, tonight we had a simple fundraiser for Japan at our little, inner-city church's midweek bible study.  Anyone could easily do this after a sunday service at their church, or even during your workplace's coffee or lunch break.  We served green tea and green tea cookies before the teaching time and just asked for any donation that people could give.

Also, during our young adult bible study time we also served sushi and everyone brought their donation for that as well.  I spoke with the owner of a local sushi bar and he gave me a very good deal on some great sushi.  He was so funny, because I requested a party platter, and he asked, "Are they Canadian or Asian?  Men or women?  Aaaaahhh...I'll give you some of my beef teriyaki sushi."  Hee!  Hee!  I had no idea there was "cowboy sushi"!  It was very good, by the way.

My ten year old daughter helped me put together some very easy paper crafts.  (Why decorate?  Because it inspires people!)  We made a string of paper lanterns and also some simple folded fans which we gave out to at the end of the evening to remind people to pray for Japan.  I didn't have any Japanese themed paper, so I simply copied and pasted images and printed them out from this free site.

I loved the Green Tea Cookies recipe so I'll to share it with you.  I think I'd like to try it with Earl Grey and Chai Tea as well.

GREEN TEA WHOLE WHEAT COOKIES
1 Cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
3 green tea bags, crushed a little
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder

1.  In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and honey until smooth. Empty the contents of the tea bags into the mixture and discard the bags. Mix until well blended. Stir in the egg yolk and peppermint extract. Blend in the flour and baking powder. Divide into 3 sections, wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). On a floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough at a time to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch round shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies onto ungreased baking sheets spaced 1 inch apart.

3.  Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are dry, and the edges begin to brown lightly. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature when completely cooled.

Enjoy with a cup of tea, share with friends, or raise money for a great cause!

101 Bean Soup - It's Just Plain Hard to Cook With Beans

I'm sure it was almost a month ago, as I was perusing the bulk section that I decided to buy a bag of 15 Bean Soup Mix.  I finally used them for today's Sunday Stew Special.  Here's what I did.


Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced 2 carrots, diced 3 carrots, diced 3 tablespoons chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced 8 ounce package 15 bean  mixture, soaked overnight, drained & rinsed 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 cups vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon for a few minutes, then add carrots. Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and garlic; cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, and add beans & tomatoes in juice.  Pour Veggie stock over all and stir.  (I learned how to make Veggie Stock from my friend, Lisa.
2.	Cover, and cook 6 hours on low or until beans are tender. (6 hours wasn't long enough for my beans!) Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

We came home from church to the smell of a delicious bean soup waiting for us.  But when I took the lid off and sampled it, I discovered they were still hard.  Arrrgh!  I hurriedly put the beans in a pot to simmer on the stove, but it was almost an hour till they were tender enough to serve.  I'm sure by that point my family would have eaten rocks so they were just happy when they were called to the table.

It was served piping hot with whole wheat buns.  Here were the reviews from the Brownlee Test Kitchen!

Husband:  I like it.  It's good.  Really.  But yeah.... the beans are a little underdone.
Homestay Student:  I didn't even know they weren't done enough.  It's so good.  I love the spice.  I'm glad it has no meat; I was craving something not very heavy.
Grandma:  It's good.  The flavour is very nice.
10 Yr Old:  It's a little spicy.
12 Yr Old:  I haven't tried it yet, it's too hot.  The bun is good dipped in it.  (I never did get her opinion on the soup.  Actually, I'm not even sure if she actually ate any.)
4 Yr Old:  She didn't even make it till lunch was ready; she ate a bun and then had a nap.
The Cook:  I really like the mild spicy flavour, but how long do I need to cook these beans???  Maybe I should have done them in the slow cooker all night long.

To get to the bottom of my underdone lentils, I found a helpful article with great tips for cooking with dried beans.   I figured out what I did wrong -  cooking them in the acidic tomato juice actually means they will take longer.  The tomatoes should get added at the very end.  I'm not going to give up learning how to cook with dried beans yet!  I will conquer those stubborn little legumes!

P.S.  The reason I called this 101 Bean Soup is because when my youngest asked me what I was making, and I answered, "15 Bean Soup", she said, "You mean 101 Bean Soup.  Because there's 101 Puppies in the doggie movie."  Gotta love 4 yr old logic.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

During the long, grey, drizzly days of winter, one of the things my girls love is warming up with hot chocolate after school.  Some mothers make it from scratch with melted chocolate and milk mixed to sublime perfection over the stove.

I am not that mom.

I want to be able to put the kettle on, dump some powder into a cup, stir the boiling water in, and serve!

I've been buying this super sugary stuff for years.

Eek - do you see some of those ingredients?  All the things Dr. Oz would tsk. tsk.  (Side note, does anyone else find Dr. Oz as creepy as I do?  Or even worse, all the women that fawn all over him?)  Anyhoo, I don't need Dr. Oz to tell me that this is powdered stuff is the junk food of hot chocolate.  Sugar and Corn Syrup are 2 of the top 3 ingredients.  Cocoa doesn't even show up till fourth on the list.  It's even got hydrogenated soy bean oil.  (Hydrogenated oil = heart attack waiting to happen.)

Once this giant bin was empty, I decided to fill it with this homemade hot chocolate mix.  It is amazingly simple!

Mix:
2 Cups cocoa powder
3 Cups white sugar
12 cups powdered milk

This seemed pretty sweet to me, but I'm not gonna lie, my kids weren't too thrilled the first time they tried it, so I added  more sugar.  Over time I will gradually make it less sugary.

Soooo easy and much cheaper!  And no corn syrup or hydrogenated oil either.  Dr. Oz would be proud.   (He may even smile in his condescending, creepy manner.)

A Valentine's Gift For You

Every year I bake heart shaped, sugar cookies with my girls, and then they invite a few friends over to decorate them the day before Valentine's. 

Baking cookies is a great excuse to wear my Minnie Mouse apron!

This year, for the first time, I made the cookies entirely with whole wheat, mainly because I've just plain ol' stopped buying white flour.  I wasn't sure how they'd turn out, since rolling whole wheat dough is a little tricky.

This girl LOVES to bake!

The verdict?  Awesome!  Way better than white, as they actually had some flavour, other than just sugar-y.  So my gift to you this Valentine's is the recipe!

Rolled Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and stir into the butter mixture a bit at a time, blending thoroughly as you go.
Pat the dough into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.
Lightly flour a cutting board, and roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out cookies with cookie cutters.
Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 F oven until golden, about 8 minutes.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

SOOOOO good.  Especially 'cause I used real butter.  We were having such a good time making a mess decorating, that I forgot to take a pic of the finished product.  Anyway.  Trust me.  Soooooo good!

Sunday Stew Special #4 - Candy Cane Goulash

In my bag of produce from our community's Harvest Box program, I was introduced to a new veggie, Candy Cane Beets.  When you slice them open they are so pretty - bright pink & white swirls, just like a peppermint.

I decided to use them for my Sunday Stew Special, with potatoes, ground beef, and sour cream.  Since I couldn't find any slow cooker recipe for this, I had to invent my own.

CANDY CANE GOULASH

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium candy cane beets, chopped
5 medium potatoes, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp thyme

Directions:
Scramble fry the ground beef, adding onion and garlic at end to brown.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, & thyme.
Pour 3/4 cup water in bottom of crock pot, adding beets, potatoes, & ground beef mixture.  Stir together.

I cooked it on low for 7 hours, but I found the beets a little undercooked, so 8-10 hours would have been better.  Stir a cup of sour cream into stew before serving.  Garnish with sour cream & sauerkraut if desired.

This was totally experimental, so I was sad to see that the nice, stripey pattern on the beet disappeared after being in the slow cooker.  The colours all leached and blended together, leaving the beet an odd grayish, purple shade.  Ah well.  Cover them with enough sour cream, and no one will notice.

We had some of our daughters' friends over for lunch, so they got to be part of the
Brownlee Test Kitchen Reviews:

Most of the kids had never tried a beet before.  They were pleasantly surprised!  I think they expected them to taste like turnips or brussel sprouts.

Husband:  I'm disappointed in the colour.  It's a good flavour combo, but I'd like it a little saucier.  He likes it saucy!
Homestay Student:  Speaking through her stuffed up nose, I'm not a really good person to ask right now.  I can't taste anything!    I like the texture though - nice and creamy.
10 Year old Daughter - It's really good, especially the sour cream.  It's a little undercooked though.
11 Year old Friend - I was giving her a second helping before I had even tasted mine, I love the beets! I'm sooooo hungry.  She ate three helpings.
12 Yr old Daughter - It's alright.  I like the beets.
13 Yr Old Friend - Holding up a potato, Is this a beet?  When told what the beets looked like she replied, Oh, I already ate one.  I liked it!  I thought it was a potato.  The flavours are really good together and I like the sour cream.
4 Year Old - While we were encouraging her to take a bite, one of the big girls said, It's so good - it taste like candy!  So she replied, It tastes like candy!  I pressed her to come up with her own answer.  It tastes like chocolate.  Ummmmm...sure.
The Cook - I'm sad the swirls didn't show up on the beets;  roasting would probably work better.  If I made it again , I would make a sour cream sauce and mix it right in with the ground beef.  I'd slow cook it longer too.

The Verdict:
4 Thumbs Up
2 Thumbs Down
2 Sideways Thumbs to try again.

Slow Cooker Chicken, Brown Rice, & Veggie Soup - Swimming Lesson Night Supper Salvation

I was able to get all three of my girls into swimming lessons on the same night, around the same time.  Miracle! However, that means we are at the pool from around 4:15 PM - 6:00 PM.  And if you've got kids in swimming lessons you know that they will be STARVING and needing food asap.  To avoid the, "Let's just hit the drive-through", I use my slow-cooker on those nights.   My friend, Lisa, shares how to feed a family a healthy diet on a tight budget, on her blog, Cardinal View.  It's all about using what you have!
Since I had a chicken stock & leftover meat from our roast chicken supper on Tuesday night,  I planned ahead what to make.

On tonight's menu:


Chicken, Brown Rice, & Veggie Soup
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups leftover chicken pieces
1/2 onion, diced
2 large carrots, cut into coins
1 celery stalk, diced
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup uncooked brown rice

Mix everything together in crock pot, heat on low about 8 hours or until rice is cooked.

Really, there is no real recipe for soup.  Use what you have - toss it in & heat it up!

Feed starving, chlorinated children, and enjoy.