Category Archives: Mix It Up Monday

Mix It Up Monday: Mix Week!

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

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from Tracey G.

Bountiful Pantry Pumpkin Chowder Soup Mix

Well, it looks like this particular mix, the Bountiful Pantry Pumpkin Chowder Soup Mix, is out of stock – it didn’t come up in my search on the KAF site in the soup mix area, so I accessed it via my account from when I ordered it. I did order it last fall apparently, so I’m wondering if it’s just a seasonal product maybe? Either way, I hate it when I buy and make a mix just to find out at the last minute it’s not available for whatever reason. Ugh. But persevere I must…

This soup was super easy to make. You provide just 3 ingredients: water, chicken broth & milk or cream. I used milk when I made it.

It cooks up nicely in about total of 40 minutes. They suggest if you want a creamier soup, that you pop it into the blender ⅓ at a time, and purée. I wanted to do that, but just used my immersion/stick blender for the job. And I didn’t make it completely smooth – it does have rice in it, so I wanted that to still be apparent!

This is an interesting mix. The flavor is sweet and spiced up as you would expect of pumpkin anything – you know, cinnamon etc. It’s good. And, I really enjoyed it, but it’s something for me that one bowl is good enough. Then I’m done. I have a bunch leftover that I don’t think I’ll eat, which bums me out. I may try freezing it. But it’s a soup I’d enjoy ordering out in a restaurant where I don’t have to deal with leftovers and whatnot.

I’d also say it’s one you’d have to try so you could decide on it, it’s hard to describe – but it’s very distinct. Hopefully if you ever do want to try it, they’ll have it back in stock!

from Kris B.

I am beginning to think that I should stick to story telling rather than baking because this post, like many of my recent ones, is about the story rather than the recipe.

As is the case with Tracey’s soup mix, I also ordered this mix for Ancient Grains + Cranberry Bread awhile back and it no longer seems to be available.  Unfortunately though, it is not just out of stock; it is not even listed in the possible King Arthur mixes anymore, which is too bad because the bread is good if you like cranberries and ancient grains – millet, chia, barley, and oats.

I remember buying this Essential Goodness Ancient Grains + Cranberries Super Slice Bread mix because I thought I could get bread with a variety of grains without having to buy and store all of the grains myself.  Seemed reasonable at the time.  Then, when I was ready to photograph the bread from the mix, I decided that the loaf itself looked rather boring.  I knew that I had cranberries and oats, but I’m not a fan of scattering loose ingredients around a finished product.  I decided that I would place the oats and cranberries in small bowls just to add a little extra color and texture to the photo.  When I went to tha pantry to get those two things, I realized that I also had chia, millet, and barley.  Apparently somewhere along the line I forgot the conversation that I had had with myself about not needing to buy all of those things.

After the parceling out of grains into little bowls for the photo, I noticed that I had used such a shallow depth of field that you can’t even tell what they are anyway. 🙂  I could have just as easily, and effectively, used popcorn, chocolate chips, and Rice Krispies!  Oh well…live and learn!

When I realized that I actually had all of the grains that are in this bread mix, I decided to go to the King Arthur Flour recipe search and see if they had a comparable made from scratch bread.  My search yielded:

Ancient Grains Bread 

Score!  Or so I thought.

Nope.  This is a yeast bread rather than a quick bread.  It doesn’t have cranberries.  And, it doesn’t give you the individual measures for each grain.  It relies on King Arthur Flour’s Super 10 Blend, a blend of spelt, millet, rye flakes, barley flakes, quinoa flakes, chia seed, amaranth, teff, buckwheat, and sorghum.  Though this recipe may be very good, it is meant to be a sandwich type bread rather than a snack bread like the mix.

I am disappointed that the Ancient Grains + Cranberry Bread is no longer available.  It is a tasty snack just out of the box, but also included on the box are ways to enhance the basic mix.  The standard mix calls for the addition of 4 eggs, milk, and butter or oil.  However, suggested alternatives are substituting Greek yogurt for some of the milk or bananas for all of it.  The addition of nuts and protein powder is also an option.

I wish that if King Arthur was going to discontinue a good tasting mix, they’d create a close make-from-scratch version of the recipe first!  Oh well.  It was good while it lasted.

Perhaps I can figure out a comparable recipe on my own.  I need to do something with all of those grains!  Stay tuned!

Mix It Up Monday – Pesto, Presto, Posto Part Two-O!

27 Monday May 2019

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from Tracey G.

When Kris was telling me of her recipe for last week’s post: Mix It Up Monday – Pesto, Presto, Posto!, I thought of this recipe and we’d discussed adding it to hers. But then I decided since it was actually a Throwback from our old blog, I’d post it for today on its own! It’s one of my favorite chicken dishes. Not only is it it so easy it should be criminal (as I state in my original post!), but the simple ingredients combine to make a sort of au jus/sauce that if I could I’d eat with a spoon by itself, lol!

I don’t think I have run across any recipe, ever, that has surprised me as much as this one. I never expected such flavor from such simple ingredients as are found in this recipe, in this combination. And it’s almost criminal how uncomplicated and effortless this dish is, lol, but yet, tastes like you put hours into it! It’s gone through some changes, and that sounds funny when I think about it, but it had a few other things as toppings along with the cheese, but I found that if I boiled it down to the basics, it was yummier and easier as less ingredients were needed to get it done.

And here we are – the ingredients. Yep. Just 3. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, prepared pesto and provolone cheese. Usually I use shredded, but thisall I could get my hands on were slices and it worked just fine of course, lol. 🙂

Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it’s preheating, time to put this together. Start by placing the chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking pan. The recipe calls for 4 breasts, but sometimes I only use 3 so I downsize my pan a bit.

Once the chicken is arranged in the pan, spoon the pesto over the chicken breasts. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup. I ended up using the whole 8 oz jar this time because I wasn’t thinking and contaminated it all with raw chicken by using the same spoon to scoop it out of the bowl and to spread it around on the chicken, lol. Normally I just measure out what’s needed and proceed from there. Oh well, the pesto is the best part and it was just as yummy with all of it as only a 1/2 cup, lol.

Once you get the pesto evenly spread on the chicken, it’s time to bake it. Usually takes about 35-45 minutes for the chicken breasts to be cooked thoroughly, but I always get out my meat thermometer and check at the end of 35-40 minutes or so to see where I’m at with doneness.

After you’ve baked your chicken and it’s the correct temperature for proper doneness (which according to foodsafey.gov is 165°F and can be found here: foodsafety.gov Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures), it’s time to put on the cheese! Now, here’s where I normally use the shredded provolone, but the deli-style slices worked just fine. Pop them back into the oven for 1-2 min or until the cheese is melted.

Once the cheese is melted and as browned as you’d like, pull it out and let it rest for about 5 minutes  (I’ve let it sit for 10 minutes before and had no ill consequences, lol) before serving.

I served this batch with a garlic-buttered noodle that had some green beans mixed in, it was a bit of overload on green, lol, but it’s one of the few vegetables Harry will eat these days, so I work them in a lot, lol. It is one of my favorite ways to do a quick side dish though, while the noodles are cooking I toss in a handful or two of frozen cut green beans, so that when the noodles are done, so are the beans and they’re already tossed together that way – and then you can season any way you like 🙂

Pesto Baked Chicken

serves 4

Preheat oven to 400°F

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 6 oz each

1/2 c prepared pesto

1 c (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese

Place chicken breasts in an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish, spoon pesto over chicken.

Bake, uncovered, at 400°F for about 35-45 minutes or internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 165°F. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Mix It Up Monday – Pesto, Presto, Posto!

20 Monday May 2019

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Mix It Up Monday has new meaning this week.

Tracey and I are beginning to think that we might need to redefine what a “normal schedule” is for us.  As hard as we work to plan our weekly posts and then execute that plan, it doesn’t seem to be working at all these days.  And we all know what they say about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results…

We are both in the midst of new babies in our world.  Don’t jump to conclusions!  I have a new grandson and Tracey has a litter of feral kittens at her house.  You’d think, since neither of us is solely responsible for the care of said babies, our lives wouldn’t be so disrupted by the newborn goings on, but they have been.  I was working to get through my final week of school last week while being distracted by our newest family member and Tracey has been working to confine the kitty population in her neighborhod and get them to an agency that will spay and neuter so that she doesn’t have more babies at her house.  And then there is her human boy, whose care she is responsible for.  I am only responsible for fur babies on a daily basis.

Even with all of the goings on, I have actually been cooking real meals  over the past week, though I haven’t done any baking.  I’ve done “necessary” cooking but not “fun” baking.  Unfortunarely, neither of us has any baked goodies to share with you this week.  In lieu of that, however, I am going to share my newest favorite recipe.

On Friday we went to spend a few hours with our new grand baby.  Since my daughter is recovering from a C-section and is still adjusting to the lack of sleep that comes with having a nursing newborn, I offered to bring lunch for us so she didn’t have to worry about playing hostess.  My daughter lives about 45 minutes from us – close in travel time, but far away enough that deciding what type of meal might make the trip best required a little bit of thought.  I decided that some kind of casserole would be best because that would also result in leftovers enough for at least another meal for her family.

A few months ago, I made the Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese recipe from the February/March 2019 issue of Allrecipes magazine.  This was by far the tastiest macaroni and cheese I have ever had! The addition of pesto takes the standard mac and cheese flavor up several notches.

My previous favorite mac and cheese recipe is Michelle Obama’s Mac and Cheese recipe that uses pureed cauliflower instead of the traditional roux for its cheese sauce.  This link has an adaptation of that recipe, which is amazing.  As a side note, cauliflower may be the most underappreciated vegtable there is, but that’s another story for another post!  When I have a chance, I want to try merging these two recipes…use the cauliflower base, but add the pesto.  I see no reason why it won’t work, no reason why the result won’t be macaroni and cheese perfection!

Though bacon is the first word in the title of this Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese, the bacon can be omitted without sacrficing the overall flavor of the mac and cheese.  It can easily and successfully be made as a vegetarian meal.  I usually make the recipe half with bacon and half without.

If you are a mac and cheese fan or a pesto fan, or, even better, a fan a both, I strongly recommend giving this recipe a try.  It is great for a family meal or a make-ahead dish for a potluck kind of event.  I’m positive that you wont be disappointed.

Bacon White Cheddar Pesto Mac and Cheese

 

Mix It Up Monday Throwback: Mom Made It – We Loved It!

13 Monday May 2019

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In honor of Mother’s Day, Kris and I decided to spend the weekend enjoying ourselves and the family! Kris got to spend time with her new baby grandson, and I enjoyed my two boys being home and acting their usual crazy selves! So, we decided it would be fun to go with a Throwback post – albeit it’s a mash up of two different posts, but it IS about a couple recipes our mom’s made, that for us, are the gold standard in these treats we love!

Hope you enjoy!

 

from Kris B.

Despite my admitted coffee addiction, I am not one of those who spends nine months of the year waiting for Starbuck’s to begin making pumpkin spice lattes, but I do spend a good part of the year waiting for fall so that I can make pumpkin bread.  There really is no reason that pumpkin bread can’t be, as Cookie Monster says, “an anytime food,” but I have always thought of it as a fall food, a fall food that I absolutely love. In fact, I prefer pumpkin bread to pumpkin pie ALWAYS.

This recipe is one that was passed down to me from my mother.  Perhaps I still associate pumpkin bread with fall because that is when my mom always made it.  When I was in college, she always sent me a loaf in my midterm care package. I have no idea where my mom originally found the recipe.  She gave it to me on a handwritten recipe card with no reference as to where she had gotten it. In all these years, I have never even tried another pumpkin bread recipe.  To my taste, this one is perfection. And honestly, I have never tasted any pumpkin bread anywhere that beats this one. I’m sure there are some tweaks that could be made, perhaps to make it a bit healthier, but I don’t think I am going to worry about that.  Some things deserve to stay the same; for me, this recipe is one of them.

INGREDIENTS

1 2/3 Cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

1/2 Cup water

1 Cup pumpkin

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Sift flour into a large bowl.

Mix in the remainder of the dry ingredients – sugar, salt,  baking soda, baking powder, and spices.

In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients, oil, water, pumpkin and eggs.

Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients stirring until they are mixed well.  Add the vanilla.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan or pan(s) of choice. This recipe works well in mini loaf pans or muffin tins also.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove it from the pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

I am lazy when it comes to washing dishes so it is always my goal to use as few vessels as possible when I cook.  Since this recipe uses 1/2 cup each of water and oil, it is “efficient” to measure them both into the same measuring cup!

Thanks for reading!

 

from Tracey G.

As Kris and I were getting ready for this “Friday’s” post, everything seemed to just go downhill in my camp, lol. I ended up having to take Harry to the after-hours clinic at our doctor’s office due to ear pain on Thursday evening after a miserable Wednesday night, and come to find out he’s got an ugly ear infection. So, the past few nights since, oh, Wednesday, have involved very little sleep, and every time I get something on a roll after he’s asleep, he’s awake and my work gets put on hold, lol. I am hoping that a couple full days on the antibiotic will start to see some improvement! Poor kid is miserable and the first day of school is Tuesday. What a way to start the year, the doctor wanted to see him back next Friday, so the first week of school he’s either going to be late on that day or absent depending on the efficiency at the doctor’s office, lol.

So, that’s my reason why Food Friday became Food Saturday for me as well!! 😉

Labor Day weekend reminds me of a special dessert my mom would make, not that she made it, every Labor Day weekend, because I couldn’t even tell you if she ever made it on a Labor Day weekend, lol – but simply because it did. Her birthday was just August 22, so I guess she’s been on my mind a lot. But anyway, the dessert would be the Stern Reunion Blueberry Torte, my mom was a Stern so was from her side of the family. I didn’t call it that because to me, and one of my best friends who I think loved it more than me (if that was possible!), it was simply known as my Mom’s Blueberry Torte, lol. The funny thing is, I’ve never made it. My friend requested it as a wedding gift, lol, a pan of it all for her that she didn’t have share – she  may have shared with her new husband, lol, I’ll have to ask her one of these days, but she’s made it through the years, and I can’t believe I never have. It’s not like I didn’t have the recipe, lol. I couldn’t even tell you the last time I’d even had it… So I knew it was time to make it.

As I was making it, I had to laugh – mom only made it for special occasions, holidays and whatnot, so I always thought it was labor intensive so therefore, saved for certain occasions – like the pecan tarts she’d make every Christmas, they were special because that was the only time of year we had them, lol. But the torte was REALLY simple to put together and fast, lol. I was reminded of the old Rice Krispies Treat commercial where the mom dusted herself with flour before she took the treats, wearily, out to the family as if it had been one of the most difficult things to produce, yet she and we knew it was one of the easiest. 😉 I knew mom more as a “cooker” instead of dessert maker/baker kind of person, so whatever she did make as a dessert, I guess would be her signature items, lol, like Blueberry Torte or Pecan Tarts. This truly was one of the things I grew up on, she’d made it ever since I was a kid, and eating it was a total blast from the past – and in such a good and yummy way!

The crust ingredients are: flour, brown sugar, vegetable shortening, butter and chopped walnuts.

Mix all of the crust ingredients together and press into the bottom of a 9×13″ pan. Then bake at 400° F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. While that’s cooling start getting your filling ingredients ready…

The filling ingredients are pretty simple too – the filling part is made up of: vanilla, powdered sugar, cream cheese and Dream Whip prepared per package directions. The “topping” is a can of blueberry pie filling. It’s about 2 cups – so if you wanted to make your own with fresh blueberries sugar, water and cornstarch kind of thing that’s the least amount you’d need. I do have a note in my recipe book to use 1-2 cans of filling, so the amount is another one of those things that can be played with to suit your taste 😉 Next time I make it, I am going to use more, likely 2 cans or make my own blueberry filling/sauce. Oh heck, for that matter, you could use whatever pie filling captures your fancy, I would like to try lemon and also make my own fresh peach filling to try on top…or even a raspberry….I guess I could keep going, lol. But you all get the idea. 😉

With a mixer (either handheld or stationary) combine the powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Then, prepare the Dream Whip according to the package directions. If you have the space, you can make the whipped topping ahead of time and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it.

Fold the whipped topping gently into the cream cheese mixture until thoroughly combined…

…then spread the cream cheese filling, evenly, over the cooled crust. Now, at this point, had I read my little notes on the recipe, I would have read the suggestion from Mom that you can refrigerate the torte at this point for awhile – it would have made the pie filling easier to spread over the top. I battled the cream part wanting to be pulled into the pretty pie filling, lol, and that could have been avoided. 😉

I put the pie filling on in even lines/spoonfuls so that it can then be spread a little easier to cover the top. After you do that, all that’s left is to refrigerate at least 2 hours before you serve. Now, again, here’s a note on that – one that’s not in my book but that I discovered while eating this the same day it’s made – the crust is rather hard, lol. But, the next day, it was perfect, easy to cut and easy to eat. Next time I’ll remember that – and it even just tasted better, lol. 😉

Mom’s Blueberry Torte (a.k.a The Stern Reunion Blueberry Torte)

Crust:

2 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c vegetable shortening

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c chopped walnuts

Mix together the ingredients. Press into the bottom of a 9×13″ baking pan and bake at 400° F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Filling and Topping:

2 pkg Dream Whip whipped topping mix

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 cans blueberry pie filling

Mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended and smooth. Prepare the Dream Whip packages according to package directions. Fold into cream cheese mixture until well blended. Spread over top of cooled crust. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

(you can refrigerate the crust/cream cheese mixture layer before spreading on the pie filling, makes it easier to spread!)

Mix It Up Monday – It’s Cookie Time!

06 Monday May 2019

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from Kris B.

Vanilla White Chocolate Chip Drops

I love it when it’s cookie week in the Sifted Together world.  I like to make them.  I like to eat them.  And I like to share them.  When I take cookies to school to share with my students, I’m always surprised by how many of them are amazed at the fact that I actually make, from scratch with my own little piano-playing hands, cookies.  They are always most appreciative, though I think they’s be almost as happy, just not as amazed, with store-bought cookies.  They are starving college students, after all.

I am amazed at not only my cookie choice recipes lately, but my dessert choices in general.  I was always a “head for the chocolate” kind of girl – brownies, chocolate cake, French silk pie, chocolate chip cookies.  Not so much anymore.  Maybe my taste buds are finally maturing.  Who knows.  All I know is that I surprised myself when I really wanted to make the Vanilla White Chocolate Chip Drops for this week’s post.

Everything about these “drops”, from the ingredient list to the making and baking, is super easy.

INGREDIENTS

The slight oddity in this list is the use of bread flour, although there is a note that says an equal substitution of all-purpose flour will work just fine.  I can’t say that I’ve ever run across a basic cookie recipe that specifies the use of bread flour.  Perhaps the recipe’s creator needed to use up a stash of bread flour and gave it a whirl.  Who knows?  Anyway, don’t let that keep you from trying the recipe.  I used the bread flour because I had it.  I may try another batch with all-purpose flour just to see if I can tell any difference.

There are no fancy steps to the preparation of the dough.  The butter and sugar are creamed together.  The eggs are added one at a time.  When they are fully incorporated, the vanilla, baking powder, and salt are stirred in.  Finally, the flour is mixed in a little at a time.  The last step is to stir the chips in by hand.

I also about a 1/4 tsp of King Arthur Flour’s Princess Cake and Cookie Flavor.  One of the criticisms of these cookies on the King Arthur website was that they didn’t have enough flavor.  The Princess Cake and Cookie adds a hint of citrus.  The recipe instructs you to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least two hours and up to forty-eight hours.  It says that the chill significantly enhances the flavor of these cookies.  I refrigerated mine for twenty-four hours.  Their flavor is excellent!

Weber and I like this recipe as is, but if you are looking for a bolder flavor, this recipe can be a point of departure lots of experimentation.

Try:

  • Using different flavored chips – cinnamon, butterscotch, or chocolate
  • Drizzling the cookies with a flavored icing – lemon, orange, chocolate
  • Partially dipping the cookies in chocolate
  • Adding crushed peppermints or other candy pieces instead of chips
  • Experimenting with different extracts and flavorings

All this to say that this recipe is a fantastic basic recipe to get you started with thinking beyond the recipe card!

I hope your share your suggestions with us!  Happy baking.

from Tracey G.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from King Arthur Flour

It was funny because when I opened the KAF website to find a recipe for this week in the cookie section, this was the first recipe to pop up! And I didn’t look any further!

I love peanut butter cookies, this recipe makes 18, so I doubled it figuring the boys would eat a few and I’d still have plenty left for photos. Interestingly I’ve since found out peanut butter cookies are not one of Jeremy’s favorites, so now I have way too many cookies! I can’t be trusted with all these cookies. I’ve already had 3 for breakfast…

But, anyway, they couldn’t be simpler to make.

The ingredients you need are:

• Peanut Butter (they do say that the results aren’t as good with a “natural” peanut butter as with standard store-bought)

• Egg

• Brown Sugar

• Vanilla

• Salt

• Baking Soda

• Chocolate Chips

That’s it. You combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda & salt in your mixer and mix until it’s well blended. Next you add your egg and vanilla. Lastly, stir in your chips.

I used my tablespoon-sized scoop to place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350° F. When they’re done, you cool them right on the baking sheet.

For as easy as these are, the problem I had was deciding when they were done. The first batch that I thought was underdone, ended up being the just right ones compared to the subsequent batches I made. Not to mention I slightly flattened the other batches too much I think. Oh well, easy enough things to fix/adjust the next time!

These are really yummy, super easy and are earning a space in my recipe favorites book!

Have fun and cookie on!

Mix It Up Monday – It’s Mix Week!

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Frontier Soups Illinois Prairie Corn Chowder

I’ve had this soup in my mix stash for a while. Other mixes seemed to come along that I’d want to make, so this one kept getting put on the proverbial “back burner”. This week being kind of crazy with deadlines, I decided a nice easy soup mix that could take care of itself was the mix of choice. As I did have a couple of soup mixes to choose from, I decided this one was getting its chance!

I will admit I was a bit fuzzy on the ingredients needed – so, I made a few substitutions. were emergency ones and one that I’d planned on.

The first sub I made was in the use of a couple fresh cubes potatoes. I didn’t have any, so I searched the cupboard and found a can of cubed potatoes – perfect! I just waited until near the end of cooking before I added them so they wouldn’t turn to mush with the long cooking time.

Next, grabbed the 32 ounce carton of low-sodium chicken broth and dumped it into my saucepan. Then, I re-read the ingredients-I-supply list and I needed TWO 32 ounce cartons. Oopsies. I didn’t have two, just the one. So, I used 4 cups of water instead and hoped it would work out and not be too bland etc. It worked out wonderfully! I did not miss the extra broth at all!

The final substitute I made was using 1 1/2 cups half & half instead of the 2 cups of heavy/whipping cream it called for. It worked really well and I’d even be brave enough to try using milk next time to lighten it a bit!

As an optional ingredient, you can add corn cut from a couple of cobs, if it’s available. I didn’t do this but it would add another layer of yum to it!

It’s easy to make, if you use fresh, diced potatoes you cook them in the broth first. So, you add your 8 cups (64 ounces) of broth (or half water like I did, lol) and bring it yo boil, add your potatoes, and you let them cook a bit. Next your mix goes in and it simmers covered, for about 45 minutes. At this point you add your cream (or half & half as I used) and let it cook on low about 30 minutes. And then you have yourself a super tasty soup that you have to do very little in making it!

I will definitely be stocking this soup mix in my pantry, I’ve yet to be disappointed by one of these soup mixes, and this one is no exception! Give it a try!

Frontier Soups Illinois Prairie Corn Chowder

 

from Kris B.

Essential Goodness Super Grain Pancake Mix

I have this rule in the kitchen that I don’t buy one-purpose gadgets or appliances.  The reason?  I love such things; if I bought all of the “one-hit wonders” out there, I would need a kitchen ten times larger than the one I have.  Since, when I cook, we almost always have leftovers since it is just the two of us, I am developing similar feelings about food.  Food should work for at least two meals – breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner.  If something will work for all three, like pizza and cake, all the better! 🙂   Pancakes are that perfect food.  In our house, they may show up on the table for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack , or even dessert!

I almost always have some kind of pancake or waffle mix in the pantry “for an emergency” when I don’t have a meal plan or the day doesn’t go as planned.  At some point, I ordered a box of King Arthur Flour’s Essential Goodness Super Grain Pancake Mix.    The super grains are: sorghum, oats, teff, buckwheat, spelt, as well as chia seeds.  They are definitely packed with grainy goodness!

To the boxed mix, you add vegetable oil, milk, and eggs.  The recipe does not specify what kind of milk to use.  I ended up using a mixture of whole milk, because I had some that needed to be used, and almond milk.  Since I have never made these pancakes before, I’m not sure if this mixture had any affect on the outcome.  The ingredients are stirred together and poured by 1/4 cup measure onto a preheated griddle.

At first, I was  disappointed that these pancakes didn’t “fluff up” like typical buttermilk pancakes.  This may have been caused by my milk substitution???  However, because they are so packed with grains that once I tasted them, I didn’t feel cheated.  Just a couple of pancakes with the traditional butter and maple syrup topping or with syrup and the fruit of your choice were filling and satisfying.

The box made 20 pancakes.  This is 4-5 meals for Weber and me so I packaged and froze the extras, a bonus for busy days.  All I have to do is pop them in the toaster oven!  With a little fruit and whipped topping, one pancake will also make a filling and healthy snack or dessert.

As a bonus to a the healthy meal that these pancakes provide for us, the purchase of King Arthur’s Essential Goodness products help to fight domestic hunger.  Through their partnership with Feeding America, King Arthur has provided over 2.5 million meals.

Give this mix a try!  Feed your family a healthy meal and help someone who might otherwise go hungry!

 

 

 

 

Mix It Up Monday – Throwback Recipes: Lighter Carrot Cake

22 Monday Apr 2019

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Food Friday – Have Your Veggies and Eat Your Cake Too!

from Tracey G. 

Kris and I discussed doing occasional “Throwback” posts from our “training blog”, lol, the one that got us started on this team-blogging journey! So, every now and then we’ll pull in a recipe from Pixels, Plates and LOLs! Should be fun, because although some may not be King Arthur Flour recipes, they are all yummy and generally family favorites!

I made this particular recipe this past weekend for a treat – it’s been awhile since I made it, so everyone around here was happy to see it!! Enjoy!

This time of year gets me thinking carrot cake, lol. It’s not something I’ve always liked – as a kid it wasn’t my cup of tea, I didn’t like spiced cakes etc. It wasn’t that I minded veggies in my treats, not at all, I love vegetables in any form, but it was the fact of the cake being too “busy” with spices and potentially nuts in it too. (It’s also a recent thing that I like nuts in my baked goods, but still don’t like them in my cookies, lol) But then one day, it was like a switch flipped and I decided I liked carrot cake, lol.

I’d never made it myself, always just had it out or whatever, but a few years ago, when I was trying to lose the weight that came along with having Harry, I decided I wanted to make one. Well, I was appalled at the amount of fat that went into the average carrot cake recipe! Wow – I think one recipe I ran across had a full cup of oil in it, no thanks. Those recipes gave me sticker shock in the calorie information department, lol. And I didn’t have any canned pineapple around  – every recipe I ran across had pineapple in it. Then, I found this one. Now, I’ve modified it, of course, because while I may like nuts these days in my baked goods – I still don’t like raisins, lol. But I thought this sounded like just what I was looking for – a lighter version with no pineapple involved 😉

So, I made my first carrot cake. A light one at that too – and it was super yummy!! I was so happy with it, I could have my cake and eat it too! LOL Since then, I’ve made it into cupcakes and followed the recipe and made it in a 9×13″ pan. I like to do the cupcakes because then they are portion controlled that way, I am not tempted to cut a bigger piece which would throw off my per serving numbers. I can make the perfect 18 servings by making 18 cupcakes 🙂 I didn’t care for the cream cheese frosting recipe that came along with it, so I just used my favorite one, and lightened it up a little bit, best I could without losing its integrity.

First, you combine the first 5 ingredients – the sugar, eggs, egg whites, oil and applesauce, in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients – the flour,  spices, salt and baking soda (if using nuts, those will get stirred in later when carrots are added).

I like to use a whisk whenever I need to combine dry ingredients when I am baking, it’s easy and works well.

Next,  get your carrots ready – I use my mini food processor to shred up the 3 cups needed.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl, then stir in your carrots and nuts if using.

Pour into a 13×9″ baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray or line cupcake pans with liners and divide batter amongst them to make 18 cupcakes. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Whether it be in a 13×9″ pan or cupcakes, allow them to cool completely before frosting them.

Lighter Carrot Cake

preheat oven to 350°

1 1/3 c sugar

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

1/3 c canola oil

2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 c shredded carrots

1 c chopped walnuts, optional

In a large mixing bowl combine the first 5 ingredients until smooth. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt and spices; add to the egg mixture and mix well.

Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into a 13×9″ baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Frost as desired.  Makes 18 servings.

The Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I used for this batch is as follows:

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened (I usually use Neufchatel, but of course the store didn’t have any today, so it was the full calorie/fat deal today)

2-3 tbsp butter, softened

4 c powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2-3 tsp milk

In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and butter, mix until well blended. Add the vanilla; then add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add 2-3 tsp milk to get it to the desired consistency for frosting the cake/cupcakes. Makes enough to frost about  24 cupcakes.

All that’s left to do is enjoy! 🙂

Mix It Up Monday – It’s Cake Simple & Easy!

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

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from Tracey G.

Vanilla Cake Pan Cake from King Arthur Flour

I’d had my eye on this cake for awhile, in fact I’d printed it off to make for fun right before the flu struck. It never got made, so I was happy to see cake recipes come up in the recipe rotation! Finally! I’d get to make this cake!!

There is a chocolate version of this cake that I’ve made before and can be found in our post Food Friday – Cake Anyone? , and it’s called King Arthur Flour’s Original Cake Pan Cake. It’s super easy and yummy as well!

But, anyway, back to the Vanilla Cake Pan Cake! This cake was a HUGE hit with my boys and myself! The hint of almond extract really gives it a great flavor. Harry has asked for seconds each time we had it, as did Jeremy – and I’m here to say it didn’t last long around here! It was gone in 2 days! I was sweating it after I took the photos, hoping at least one turned out, because the cake was already history!

I did do a double-take when I read through the recipe the first time – the cake doesn’t use eggs, milk or butter! (And you can make it gluten free too!) My kind of cake when I’m interested in my cholesterol numbers! The frosting (optional) does use butter, but they state you can use a vegan version too.

The cake ingredients are:

*Flour

*Salt

*Baking Powder

*Baking Soda

*Water

*Vegetable Oil

*Granulated Sugar

*Cider or White Vinegar

*Vanilla Extract

*Almond Extract

That’s it! It’s mixed a little differently, combine all dry I ingredients, except for the sugar, in a medium bowl. In another small bowl (I used my 2 cup liquid measure) combine the water, oil, vinegar, granulated sugar and the extracts. Then, add that mixture to the dry ingredients, and pour into a greased 8″ square pan or 9″ round pan. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting or skip the frosting and serve warm out of the oven!

The frosting is super simple and yummy as well. My guys don’t like a lot of frosting (which really kind of takes some of the fun out of my cake decorating hobby!), and this makes the perfect amount for the cake!

The frosting ingredients are:

*Butter

*Powdered Sugar

*Salt (if using salted butter omit the salt)

*Vanilla

*Water

I combined the powdered sugar, salt and butter in my stand mixer, and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and enough water to make spreadable – that’s it! Frost the cake right in the pan – that’s one of the best aspects of this cake, it’s frosted and served right out of the pan!

This cake is SO easy! It’s one of those recipes that’s fabulous to have on hand for when you need a yummy cake fix now! And if you’re out of eggs, or milk or butter (or all 3!) it doesn’t matter – you can still make and enjoy this cake!

 

from Kris B.

Brown Sugar Sour Cream Pound Cake

After a crazy month or so, we are almost back on track…and it feels good.  I must say, however, that I almost postponed writing my part of writing this post to go bake Tracey’s Pan Cake.  It looks so cheerful and delicious!  But, I am being a good adult.  I’ll get my work here done first.  Then eat Brown Sugar Sour Cream Pound Cake.  And then maybe make and eat Vanilla Pan Cake. 🙂

Pound cake is probably my favorite kind of cake to both make and to eat.  I like the making of it because it is not a fussy cake in terms of ingredients or the making process.  It is a mix it up and pour it in a pan kind of cake.  If you want it to look fancy, you can make it in a fancy pan.  No expert cake decorating skills needed.  Pound cakes also are versatile when it comes to serving them.  Serve a pound cake with fruit, with ice cream or flavored whipped cream, glazed, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or plain.  None of these possibilities is a bad choice.

The one twist to this recipe is its use of brown sugar.  The recipe calls for light brown sugar.  I had only dark and that is what I used.  This gives the cake a slightly richer flavor…and a slightly darker color.

Ingredients:

  • butter
  • light brown sugar
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • sour cream
  • vanilla extract

To give you an idea of how easy and low stress this recipe is, I made it at 10:00 at night after a full day of work, book group, and having had only five hours of sleep the night before.  I can honestly say that I actually enjoyed the process.  This may be because it seems like forever since I have baked something.  It may also be because I was looking forward to eating a piece of cake.

The butter and sugars are creamed together for two minutes in a stand mixer.  The eggs are then added one at a time, followed by the baking powder, salt, baking soda, and half of the flour.  The sour cream is then stirred in and the rest of the flour is added.  A one-bowl recipe, another plus!

The batter is poured into a prepared 9 or 10 cup bundt pan and baked for 55-60 minutes.  My pan may have been a little too big because my pound cake was done in 55 minutes, which is unusual for my oven.  I always have to bake things for at least the maximum time suggested and often longer.  I’m afraid that if I had left this cake in the oven any longer, it would have been on the dry side.  As it is, it’s perfect!  The Brown Sugar Sour Cream Pound Cake has a great texture; it is full but not too heavy.  I would suggest checking your cake at the 55 minute mark, or perhaps sooner if you have a “hot” oven.

It definitely feels good to be cooking and baking again!  I had a small slice of cake after I finished the photos.  Yum!  I’m looking forward to a bigger piece with some berries for dessert tonight!

Happy baking!!!

Mix It Up Monday – Bonus Mix Week: French Herb Yeast Bread

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

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from Tracey G.

French Herb Yeast Bread Mix from King Arthur Flour

Yep, things are still a bit sideways for us two here, and we are hoping to be back in sync next week for some cake recipes! But until then, we decided to divide and conquer to keep some food posts going – last week’s Ginger Bread Waffle Mix from Kris going solo, and this week my Mix Week offering, (also solo!) of French Herb Yeast Bread Mix.

This year’s gift of the actual flu (I’m so glad we all had our flu shots last fall, or I think it could’ve hit us much worse!) really knocked me back. I had about 3 days of misery BEFORE it got to the day I spent in bed, with the ability to do nothing more than stare at the walls. I couldn’t even muster the energy/wellness to watch a movie or read! And after that day, the long slow climb back to pre-flu energy levels has been a hard one. I was so grateful when last week Kris offered to go solo, because for me, even the thought of making even a simple mix felt overwhelming. So it was a sign to myself that things were on the upswing when I felt like actually making something!

Granted, I still chose the easiest of all the mixes, and this French Herb Yeast Bread Mix definitely fits the bill for easy!!! The only things you actually have to measure is about 1 1/4 cups of water and either 2 tbsp softened butter or vegetable oil (I chose the oil due to my war on cholesterol), the Herbs De Provence are already in the mix!

I plopped the dry mix, replete with all the yummy herbs measured & added for me, and the package of yeast that comes with it, into my stand mixer with dough hook attachment. (Of course all can be done by hand!) I added the water and oil and let it mix & knead until it was smooth as directed. I covered the bowl and let it rise for the hour suggested. At that point you can shape to pop it into a loaf pan, or do what I did – a free shape on a baking sheet (I lined mine with a parchment sheet instead of greasing it).

It gets another rise of about 30-60 minutes, depending on room temp etc. Now comes the baking – into a 350° F oven for 35-40 minutes. It took the full 40 for me in my oven. And it smelled heavenly as it baked!!

It was really hard to wait for it too cool before cutting it & photographing it! I love bread, and it’s always a challenge for me to wait! But, once I was able to taste-test I fell in love! This is such a yummy bread! The balance of herbs, in my opinion (and Jeremy’s) is just right. Not unnoticeable and not overpowering. It’s fabulous sliced with some butter or even just plain. But I do have plans on turning it into a garlic bread for dinner tonight – toasted, brushed with olive oil and then lightly rubbed with a cut cloves of garlic! And I think next time I make it (definitely will be a next time!) I’m using olive oil in it instead of vegetable oil for a bit of a a Mediterranean-flavor twist! I may even have to buy some of KAF’s Herbs De Provence so I don’t have to wait for a mix to arrive to make this style of bread! But, the ease of this mix can’t be beat! Give this French Herb Yeast Bread Mix a try!

Mix It Up Monday – Blueberries!

19 Tuesday Mar 2019

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from Tracey G.

Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins from King Arthur Flour

 

Trying this recipe came about in a funny way – and I changed it slightly to suit my needs. Harry loves these little blueberry muffin bite-things from the grocery store, he can whip through a box in no time flat. Jeremy said I should just make my own – but there’s a problem with that as far as Harry’s concerned, they don’t taste like the commercially-prepared version he loves. (And “blueberry” textures are different)

I had recently purchased some natural Dried Blueberries (nothing added at all) from Nuts.com. I normally buy the Juice-Infused Dried Blueberries from there for snacking, but I wanted to try the natural berries for baking. When Kris told me what recipe she was making for this week, I knew now was the time to give my dried blueberries a whirl!

I set out to make my own blueberry mini muffins that Harry would like as much as the commercially-prepared version, without all the commercially-prepared additives. And that’s how I began my search for a recipe I could work with – enter

Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins. I looked through every blueberry muffin recipe they had and I settled on this one for its simplicity.

Here’s the list of ingredients:

  • butter, at room temperature
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • vanilla extract
  • King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • milk
  • blueberries, fresh preferred
  • sugar, for topping

The only differences I implemented are

  • 1 ¼ cup dried blueberries, soaked in hot water while I prepared the batter instead of any other blueberry versions
  • Increased milk from ½ cup to ¾ cup to offset the dried fruit
  • Used 1 tsp Lorann Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion AND about a ½ tsp Lorann Butter Vanilla flavoring

The batter mixes up really fast. Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs one at a time, then add the baking powder, salt and vanilla (or flavoring of choice of course!). Next you add the flour alternately with the milk. If preparing the recipe as written, they have you mash a ½ cup of the blueberries and add the mashed and remaining blueberries to the batter, stir just until they’re distributed evenly. For my version, I drained the now-soaked dried blueberries well and stirred them in.

Now it gets scooped into a muffin pan, and each topped with sugar then baked at 375° F for about 30 minutes for regular sized muffins. For my version, I used mini muffin pans and only sprinkled sugar on one pan of the 3. It makes 12 regular-sized muffins, and I got 36 mini muffins out of it, and baked them only about 20 minutes instead of the usual 30. I also used my tablespoon-sized scoop I’d gotten from KAF to get the batter into my pans and boy, did that make quick work of it!

These are so good! I love the texture, it’s a VERY fine crumb, a lot like the commercial versions Harry loves. For me, the dried blueberries worked wonderfully – they have a fun, slightly chewy, texture and great burst of flavor. Best of all I got Harry’s seal of approval – he told me I should package them up in plastic bags and call them Mom’s Mini Bites! I’m sure it was the addition of the Lorann Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion that gave it that just-right flavor that even I love!

I am definitely going to give the traditional, as-written  version of this recipe a try next time I make blueberry muffins, as I really liked this one my way, so I’m sure it’s good no matter what! It also has a fun provenance as well that they talk about in the intro of the recipe! If you’re looking for a lovely, simple and yummy blueberry muffin, do give Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins a try!

from Kris B.

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

As an adult, blueberries have become my favorite berry.  I’m not sure why or how that happened, I just know that it did. For some reason, I was in the mood for them recently.  Usually I’m perfectly happy to toss a few frozen blueberries on top of my yogurt, but I craved fresh ones and in something baked this time.  Muffins is what first comes to mind when I think baked goods and blueberries, but I wanted to try something different so I began searching for options.  I landed on this Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake.  Coffee cake and blueberries…a perfect combo!

Somehow I seem to forget how easy cakes are to make.  Basically, it’s mix up all the ingredients, spread the batter in a pan, bake, and then eat.  This cake is easier to make than my usual blueberry muffins; it involves less work since it does not require dealing with a muffin pan, liners, and properly portioned scoops.  I need to remember this tidbit of information the next time I have a craving for something sweet.  And the blueberries make it a healthy option, right?  They have antioxidants!

One of the things that drew me to this particular recipe is that it has a “traditional” cinnamon streusel-like topping.

STREUSEL

  • sugar
  • King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • cinnamon
  • salt
  • butter

The topping is mixed first and set aside while the cake batter is made.  Don’t tell anyone, but I mixed it and incorporated the butter by just squeezing it all together in my hands.  It works best and leaves one less utensil to wash!

CAKE

  • King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • butter
  • egg
  • vanilla extract
  • milk
  • fresh or frozen blueberries

There is nothing fancy about the cake ingredients.  It’s just basic cake stuff, meaning that you’ll almost always have the necessary ingredients on hand if you need to make a quick coffee cake.

The flour, salt, and baking powder are stirred together first.  In a second bowl, the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla are beaten together.  I was too lazy to get out the mixer so I beat them with a hand whisk.  It worked just fine!  The one mistake I made was using my larger mixing bowl for the flour mixture.  I needed to beat the wet ingredients in that larger bowl because the dry ingredients are poured into the wet ingredients alternatively with the milk.

Like Tracey, I also added a teaspoon of Lorann Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion

At this point in my process, my batter seemed a bit heavy and dry.  Because I often have problems with King Arthur recipes being more dry than I like, I added 3 extra tablespoons of milk and then folded in the fresh blueberries.  If I had been using frozen berries, I may have waited to add the extra liquid until after adding the fruit since frozen berries bring with them more liquid than do fresh berries.

The batter is then poured, or in my case spread, into a prepared 8″ or 9″ square or round pan and the streusel topping is sprinkled evenly on top.  The cake then bakes for 40-45 minutes.  That’s all there is to it.

Not only had I forgotten how easy cakes are to make, I’d also forgotten how much I enjoy coffee cake.  In the words of Goldilocks…not too sweet, not to bland, but just right!  This cake is perfect for a breakfast treat if doughnuts send you into sugar overload.  It is also great as an afternoon or midnight snack.  I checked each of these scenarios just to make sure.

Try it!  You’ll like it!

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