Tag Archives: Gingerbread

A Mixed Up Tuesday In Texas

02 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Gingerbread Waffle Mix

It happens about twice a year…

Life becomes overwhelming.  It seems that everything that I do has a convergence of deadlines or requires extra time and it becomes literally impossible to get it all done.  I can only go so long on four to five hours a sleep a night before something has to give.  Unfortunately, what has taken the back seat lately is our posts here.  I am better about disappointing myself than I am other people, so I met all of my obligations to others leaving no time or energy for my work here.

Most of the time, Tracey and I are able to cover for each other when one of us is feeling overburdened by life, but her household was hit hard by they flu, first Harry and then Tracey.  She has been down and out for almost two weeks.  No fun!  Thankfully, because we are the bosses of ourselves, we simply gave ourselves permission to take a break.

Tracey and her family are on the mend, and I am whittling away at my obligations.  Things are settling down and we are both working our way back to a normal rhythm.  Thank goodness!!

In addition to not writing blog posts, I also have not been doing much cooking or baking of any kind.  Dinners at our house have been whatever I can cobble together from the bizarre assortment of ingredients in my pantry or that I can pull from the freezer and toss into the microwave.  It’s been a sad existence in our food world!

One night as I was digging past the assortment of partial boxes of different pastas lining the pantry shelf, I spied a King Arthur Mix for Gingerbread Waffles that I bought back before Christmas.  It may be springtime.  And gingerbread may be a holiday flavor, but it is what we had for a springtime dinner not too long ago.  I didn’t want the mix to go to waste!  And they sounded really good at the time!  The gingerbread flavor was just the comfort food that I needed.

I did, however,  buy it so long ago that King Arthur isn’t even selling it right now.  I’m hoping that it makes a return next winter because the waffles are really good!

To the mix, milk and butter are added.  The waffles are then cooked according to the instructions for your particular waffle iron.  I like my waffles crispy on the outside so I cooked them about nine minutes.  This mix made twelve 4″ waffles.  And just so you know, they freeze and reheat well in a toaster oven.  We may have had them for more than one dinner recently. 🙂

We ate our waffles with the traditional butter and maple syrup, but during our meal, I told Weber that I bet they would be awesome with some vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt and caramel sauce.  If you wanted to add a healthy touch, a little fruit with this dessert mix would probably also be super good!  I’m looking forward to the return of the gingerbread waffle mix next winter so that I can put the dessert version to the test!

I am traveling quite a bit over the next two weeks, so Tracey is on her own here next week.  We’ll be back together and on our regular schedule starting the week of April 15th when we’ll be sharing some new cake recipes.

Thanks for following along with us on our mixed up journey through life!

 

Mix It Up Monday: Big Tastes in Little Time

26 Monday Nov 2018

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from Tracey G.

Frontier Soups Virginia Blue Ridge Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This time of year, and all through the months, I love a good cup or bowl of soup. Sometimes though, like during the week, I don’t want all the work that can go into making it from scratch. The chopping & prepping the vegetables, which I normally love doing, I don’t love during the time crunched school/work week.

So with that in mind, I’ve turned to mixes a few times and probably been disappointed the majority of those times. They’re either too “mix-like” tasting or way to salty/high in sodium. This is the 2nd mix I’ve purchased on KAF’s website by Frontier Soups that I adore! The first one I tested a couple of years ago, the South Of The Border Tortilla Soup. That mix is wonderful as well, and it’s a favorite around here.

But, back to the Virginia Blue Ridge Broccoli Cheddar Soup Mix…

I was impressed to find no added salt – the amount in the mix they list at 20mg. Of course more would come from the other ingredients you add, but it’s fairly easy to control it. I used a no-salt added chicken broth, so that helped the salt content stay low and allow us to salt our own portions to taste. And I guarantee that I add much less than some mixes have in their total! Oh! I almost forgot to add that it is gluten-free, too!

All you need to provide is:

    Chicken Broth
    Heavy Cream or Half & Half
    Shredded Cheddar Cheese

So, to get it started you bring 4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth to boil and add your mix. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30 min. (They also give you some ideas for adding in some extra broccoli, cauliflower or spinach) Then, you stir in 1 cup heavy cream or half & half, which is what I used, plus I cup 4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese. Re-cover and keep on low heat for about 10 more minutes. That’s it! It’s ready to eat or for a thicker soup, you can use an immersion blender to purée it or use a fork to mash some of the veg. I liked it just fine as it was, I was happy with the thickness and texture.

It made a great lunch and would it would be a heartier meal if you add in some bread/rolls and a salad! And, I’d say we got exactly the servings the package stayed, about 4-5, which also makes me happy!

I will be ordering more of this soup mix to keep on hand, I highly recommend you give this one a try!

from Kris B.Gingerbread Mix

I am chuckling because last year, I bought this mix and the box said, “Gingerbread Cake,” but it gave an alternative for cookies.  I made the cookies.  This year, King Arthur has changed the packaging and is says “Gingerbread Cookies ” in big letters and offers an alternative for cake.  I made the cake.  I guess I really do have trouble with being mainstream. 🙂

For me,  pumpkin and it’s requisite spices say autumn and Thanksgiving while gingerbread says winter and Christmas.  Thinking about it, this gingerbread association is a little strange because growing up my mom never made gingerbread men cookies and I never made a gingerbread house until I was a mom and my girls wanted to try it.  Now, I love spicy flavor of gingerbread in almost any way, shape, or form…cookies, cake, waffles, pancakes…even gingerbread latte!  You’d think gingerbread was something I have been enjoying my entire life.  But, it’s not.

Because the cookies I made from the King Arthur Gingerbread Cake and Cookie mix last year were so good, I decided to buy the mix again and try the cake this year.  Not that I am surprised, it is equally as good!  To the mix, you simply add an egg, water, and vegetable oil.  The batter can be mixed easily by hand.  The cake then bakes in a lightly greased 9×9 pan for 35-45 minutes.  I baked mine in a 7×11 pan, which made for slightly thicker pieces.  It took the full 45 minutes to bake.  And boy does it smell good while it is baking!  Those 45 minutes were a treat for my senses!

The cake is nice and moist; really, it needs no kind of topping, though a little whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar certainly won’t hurt!  I’m a plain and simple kind of person when it comes to cake, so this is probably all I would ever add to this delicious gingerbread cake.  But, if you are more adventurous than I am, you might try topping your gingerbread with a bit of berry compote as well.

Whether you make cake or cookies, this mix does not disappoint.  In an hour, from start to finish, you will fill your home with the smells and your belly with the tastes of the season.  This is a great mix to have on hand “just in case” you have unexpected guests or need a last-minute gift.

A side not for you photographers reading…

I styled the gingerbread and took the shots like I normally do.  I was not thrilled with what I had gotten, but most of the shots would have been acceptable.  As is often the case, it is the final shot, the one that I hadn’t taken intentionally, that ended up being my favorite.  I hope I’m not alone in over thinking the process sometimes.

May joy find you during this holiday season!

Mix It Up Friday – Holiday Flavors

25 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by in Food Friday, Mix It Up Friday

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As we approach the hectic holiday season, mix it up takes on a whole new meaning! Decorating, holiday events, shopping, on top of all of the “regular” life’s stuff make for crazy times. Though we enjoy holiday baking from scratch, sometimes you need a “lifeline” in the form of a mix when it comes to an unexpected gift or a need for a last minute gift. With King Arthur Flour mixes, we are here to help!

This week, I am baking with King Arthur Flour’s Traditional Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix. What a versatile mix! Notice the cake or cookies in the name. It can be used to make either, or both.  And, as an added bonus, if you choose to make cookies, you have a choice between rolled and cut shapes, or drop cookies. This is almost certainly a “must have” mix to keep in your pantry just in case!

I probably should have ordered two boxes and tried both the cake and the cookies, but at the time I was ordering, I was in a cookie mood. Based on their delicious taste though, I do feel confident in saying that the cake would not disappoint!

It doesn’t get any easier than dumping butter, egg, water, and the package of mix in the mixer bowl and turning it on! If you make the cake, the recipe uses vegetable oil instead of butter.

As I said, I made the sugar topped drop cookies. I used a cookie scoop (approximately 2 TBS…it didn’t have a measure on it) and dipped the balls in King Arthur Flour Sparkling White Sugar. They are then placed on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet, flattened a bit, and baked for 12-14 minutes. I got two dozen cookies.  Mine were bigger than the box suggests.

Really, it doesn’t get any easier!

King Arthur Flour’s Traditional Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix

King Arthur Flour’s Traditional Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix – 6 pack

 

from Tracey G

I had bought this King Arthur Flour Cranberry Orange Scone Mix so I could compare it with the homemade version of Cranberry Orange Scones I’d made back in September. I wanted to see if a mix could be as yummy as a homemade version of the same item, and I am happy to report that yes, this mix performs admirably! It’s every bit as good as the homemade version – I have been thoroughly enjoying them! And, as per suggestion on the box, I made up a quick icing/glaze to gild the lily with and it just ups the “yum” factor in my opinion!

It’s a very, and I mean VERY simple mix to make. It requires a few ingredients from you, such as salt, butter, milk and an egg. The salt gets mixed into the mix, the butter then gets cut into it (I used my pastry cutter for that) and then you combine the 1/2 cup of milk with the egg, and add it to the dry ingredients in the bowl, and mix until just combined. At this point, you have two options, you can either use a scoop/spoon/measuring cup and make “drop” scones, or you can pat into an 8-inch circle and cut into wedges, 8 to be exact. I chose to pat mine into a circle, purely for the aesthetic reason – I like my scones shaped into triangles!

Now, you bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool for at least 5 before eating or glazing then eating. I chose to mix up some glaze, and, I then “glazed as needed”. Their glaze recipe on the box calls for powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. I chose to just go with simple glaze from powdered sugar, milk and a smidge of vanilla extract. And let me say it was pretty darn yummy with that, lol.

That about sums up my experience with the KAF mix for Cranberry Orange Scones. There’s really not much to report on the taste/texture other than they are easy to make, quick to bake and delicious to eat – I don’t think any more needs to be said!

King Arthur Flour Cranberry Orange Scone Mix

You can also check out the page they have for using any scone mix of your choosing to make some other yummy treats as well! Soc check out: “Scone Mix Magic”

I’d also like to add a little note here that in honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Kris and I have decided to add an extra little “goody” to our Sift Magazine Giveaway – have a peek at the post to find out!! We think you’ll like it! 😉

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