3 Quarters Today

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Food

Day 63/365: Hot Chocolate Recipe

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Day 63: Hot Chocolate

There is nothing better than hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Ok, hot chocolate with Reddi-Whip, that makes it better. Tell you a little secret, I will often sneak a squirt of it right on my fingers, but I always get caught, last week by my son. All I could do was give him a guilty look and a smirk.

Anyhow, back to the hot chocolate. My kids like Ovaltine, and I normally have it in the cabinet. But, this year I was given two bags of instant milk. I thought, what in the world am I going to do with all this powdered milk? So I put it in the freezer until I could think of something. It didn’t take long. As Christmas approached and I was thinking of what I could make as gifts an idea came to me.

Hot Chocolate mix! Perfect. Not only did I have lots of powdered milk, but I had three tins of Herseys cocoa.  Every Christmas I buy a new container for holiday baking, totally forgetting I had some from last year. Perfect! I looked on my favorite recipe site Allrecipes.com and found the recipe below. It was a hit in my gift bags.

Ingredients

  • 10 cups powdered milk
  • 1 3/4  cup powdered non-dairy creamer (you can use the flavored kind for a different twist)
  • 4 3/4 cup powdered confectioners sugar
  • 1 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk powder, confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder and creamer. Stir thoroughly.

For one serving place 1/3 cup cocoa mixture in a coffee cup or mug, add 3/4 cup boiling water (or milk for a richer taste). Stir to dissolve.

Although the recipe doesn’t call for it I would definitely sift the mixture. Almost all the ingredients have little itty bitty tiny chunks that don’t dissolve well and will sometimes give the final product “texture”.

Day 61/365: Easy Apple Muffin Recipe

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My Kids Titled me the Muffin Queen.

It is this easy muffin recipe that helped me earn that title with my family.

Easy apple muffin recipe
Day 61: Apple Muffins

Blueberry, Apple, or Chocolate Chip muffins, I can crank them out in 30 minutes whenever anyone wants a snack.  Here are some apple muffins and the very easy recipe that my daughter brought home from her Elmwood-Murdock high school foods class.

Apple Muffin Tea Pairing

Now, you can’t just eat a muffin without something to drink. This fresh apple muffin recipe is a perfect pairing to my Apple Cider Tea

But before baking your fresh apple muffins recipe, make sure you have the following ingredients. and supplies. When I sold muffins at our local farmers market , I loved using the wrapping papers below.

Stainless Steel Metal Measuring Cups and Spoons by Cooking Gods with Bonus Magnetic Chart. 12 Piece Stackable Metric Cup and Spoon SetStainless Steel Metal Measuring Cups and Spoons by Cooking Gods with Bonus Magnetic Chart. 12 Piece Stackable Metric Cup and Spoon SetRachael Ray Oven Lovin' Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin and Cupcake Pan, OrangeRachael Ray Oven Lovin’ Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin and Cupcake Pan, OrangeBob's Red Mill Super-Fine Gluten Free Almond Flour, 3 PoundBob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Gluten Free Almond Flour, 3 PoundHoffmaster 611120 Tulip Cup Cupcake Wrapper/Baking Cup, 2Hoffmaster 611120 Tulip Cup Cupcake Wrapper/Baking Cup, 2

Ingredients for Easy Apple Muffins

  • 3/4 cup Milk
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup apples
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg

Cinnamon Crumble Muffin Topping

  • 1 TBSP flour
  • 2 TBSP sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 TBSP butter

Easy Apple Muffin Directions

This is my Basic muffin recipe that you can customize to any flavor. For step 4 add in “special” ingredients of your choice. Such as blueberries or chocolate chips. 

I use a large liquid measuring cup and this is easy.

  1. Fill measuring cup with 3/4 cup milk. Add oil to the 1 cup line, add egg and mix.
  2. In a small mixing bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. Form a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Quickly mix with a fork about 20 seconds.  Batter will be lumpy.
  4. Add in the apples and gently mix them into the batter.
  5. Scoop into lined, or greased, muffin tins about 3/4ths full
  6. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl with a fork. It will be crumbly. Sprinkle on muffins.

Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes.

Depending on the size of your muffin tins or muffin wrappers, this easy apple muffin recipe makes 6-9 muffins.

 

Day 59/365: Mandarin Oranges

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Mandarin Ornages
Day 59: I love Mandarin Oranges

Yes, I love Mandarin Oranges. I would pick up a can at our local convenience store CD Express, in Elmwood, and eat them as a snack. Cheaper and healthier than chips don’t you think? The problem lately is the store no longer stocks them. But every time I stop in I walk down the aisle and look at the empty space where they used to be.

Before Christmas this past year we stopped in and and lamented the fact that I couldn’t get me Maradarin Orange fix.  She said she would get me some for Christmas. I smiled and said “OK!”

You read that right 6 lbs 9 oz of Mandarin OrangesWell,  Christmas came this year I received about five cans, or about 7 lbs total. Not only did Jen put four small cans under the tree but I got a HUGE six pound bulk size can as a joke. Hey, have your laugh,…I’m eating Mandarin Oranges.

At first I thought I was going to have to find recipes to use them all, but no, better my daughter and I we will have them gone within the week.

But, if you ever find yourself looking for things to do with Mandarin Oranges here are a few hints.

Chocolate Dipped Mandarin Oranges With Sea Salt

Spinach Salad With Mandrin Oranges

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart With Mandarin Oranges

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Mandarin Chicken Salad

Pork With Mandarin Oranges

Day 51/365: Home Made Chicken Vegetable Soup

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Again it’s soup time. I would call this Chicken Noodle Soup, but my son said it didn’t have the right kind of noodles and had too many vegetables, so it’s homemade chicken vegetable soup instead. Regardless, David had two servings, so it must of been pretty good. What more can I say about soup that I haven’t already said.

Homemade soup is ideal for anyone on a budget and who wants to save money. I buy raw carrots, celery, and onions, chop and freeze for easy use and then use frozen corn (better yet free farm corn from my neighbor), or add beans. When I find chicken on sale I stock up and put it in the freezer. Easy and economical.

  • Chicken $1.99/lb (3 lb chicken = $3.01 divided by 2 for another meal)
  • Onions $1.79 divided by 4 batches
  • Carrots $1.49 divided by 4 batches
  • Celery 0.99 bunch divided by 4 batches
  • Frozen Corn $1.00/bag divided by 2 batches
  • Seasonings (buy once use multiple times) $4.00

The onions, carrots and celery you chop and freeze for future batches of soup and the seasonings you can also use for future recipes. In the end you can make a over a gallon of soup for less than $5.00 a pot and less than 0.35 per serving. That is saving my friends.

I used some frozen chicken broth I had saved in the freezer (that reminds me I need to make some more) and just went into my refrigerator for the ingredients.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Homemade Chicken Soup

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe

  • 10-12 cups chicken broth (I don’t measure, I just what I have to fill the pot)
  • 1-3 cups Additional water (if you need it, I didn’t this time)
  • 4 chopped cooked chicken breasts (prepared and waiting in my freezer)
  • 1 cup carrots
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cup celery
  • 2 TBSP dried ground parsley (Grind in your palm to release more flavor)
  • 1 tsp onion powder (or include real onion)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 2 cups pasta (use whatever you have) Add last 15 minutes

Add all the ingredients together in the order listed above in a large pot, with the exception of the pasta. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for an hour. Add pasta, increase heat to med low and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Freeze leftovers for tasty meals later. My soup pot is rarely put away during the winter and my favorite freezer containers are the Ziplock Twist and Lock bowls. It is VERY important to have a secure lid when packing soup for lunch. I don’t want my soup spilling all over the car during my commute or in my lunchbox.

T-fal A92280 Specialty Nonstick Stockpot Stock Pot, 12-Quart, BlackZiploc Twist ‘N Loc , Medium Round, Containers & Lids, 2-Count (Pack of 2)The BrokeAss Gourmet CookbookFamily Feasts for $75 a Week: A Penny-wise Mom Shares Her Recipe for Cutting Hundreds from Your Monthly Food BillFreezer Meals: 39 Gluten Free Meals From Freezer To Crockpot Plus Shopping List To Save Time And Money-Cook On A Budget And Eliminate Gluten … Cooking, Freezer Crockpot Meals) (Volume 6)

 

More Homemade Soup Recipes

Day 45/365: Beef and Barley Soup

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Day 45: Beef & Barley Soup

It’s time for food again, specifically soup since it’s still winter. This is another version of my Beef & Barley Soup, each version varies slightly depending on what I have in the refrigerator as leftovers. I love soup, with a little planning it’s so easy, and simple. I keep chopped celery, onions,  carrots, pre-cooked hamburger  in the freezer along with frozen stock and it all goes in the pot together in less than 5 minutes.

The joy of homemade stock/broth. Stock is a bit heartier and gives homemade soup a hearty flavor, nice and rich. What I make is more like broth, but it accomplishes the same thing. You can buy chicken stock from the grocery store in boxes, cans, or even bullion cubes (only if your desperate on the cubes…) if you don’t have any prepared, but homemade is healthier, less salt, and I think tastier.

For those who haven’t saved or made their own stock it’s easy, really. I save chicken broth, potato water (from boiling potatoes for mashing), pork drippings, (just add some water to the juice at the bottom of pan), and lately even the drained water from corn. Okay, purist will say this isn’t stock, but broth, but I get wonderful results in the end, so who’s to say I’m wrong.

When I roast a whole chicken for supper I put the leftover carcass in a big pot, add water to the top, bring to a boil, then simmer for oh…an hour, maybe two. Sometimes I’ll throw in some celery or onions for added flavor, but it’s not necessary, especially since I’m putting all those ingredients in the soup. Then I pull out the bones and put the liquid and chicken meat bits in plastic containers (glad containers, ziplock, orange juice jugs, ice cream buckets, whatever I have) and store in the freezer.

Recently I had a couple pieces of leftover chicken that didn’t get eaten, a leg and thigh. I put them in a smaller pot and made 2 cups of stock. Easy, easy.

Now that I’ve covered stock/broth let’s get to the recipe, remember exact amounts are NOT crucial, soup is a magical food that is actually hard to mess up. More water can be added if the mixture is too thick.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups stock
  • 16 oz fine stewed tomatoes (I used my homemade with celery, onion, carrots)
  • 1 1/2 lbs cooked hamburger (I prepare 5 lbs ahead of time and put in 1 lb bags in freezer)
  • 1 cup green beans
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cup diced or sliced carrots
  • 2 TBSP dried parsley
  • 1 TBSP dried sweet basil
  • 1 tsp black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 tsp Lowrys Seasoning Salt (my daughter calls this “special salt”)
  • 1 cup barley (added the last hour)

Directions

Add all the ingredients except the barley, bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Then add barley. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes or until the barley is tender. Makes approximately 12 one cup servings. Eat, and freeze leftovers in single serving containers for later. If you have any.

When is it done? I tell my kids when you can smell it outside it’s done. My Marine son recently tested this method when he was home on leave. The aroma was driving him crazy inside, his sister came home and said “What smells so good? I could smell it from outside” Nathan declared. “Soups done!”

More Soup and Stew Recipes