Make It Yourself Monday!

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL MUFFINS
by: Albertina's Exceptional recipes

I LOVE Huckleberry or Blueberry muffins. I usually make them all year round and mix both berries in the batter. My in-law's live in an area where we can go pick Huckleberries, so it's a nice to treat to mix the batter with your traditional Blueberry muffins. Well, onto the recipe...

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
(makes 18 medium muffins)

Ingredients:
1 C. sifted white flour
1/2 C. sifted whole-wheat flour ( I used whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. fresh or frozen berries
2/3 buttermilk
1/2 C. butter, melted and cooled
2 Lrg. eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Streusel Topping:
1/4 C. Sugar
3 Tbl. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbl. cold butter, in pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Mix together the first 6 ingredients, then add berries to dry ingredients.
2. Combine buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla, and add flour to mixture.
Mix just until flour disappears.
3. Make Streusel topping by adding all ingredients, and cut in butter.
4. Fill greased muffin tin 2/3 full, sprinkle streusel topping on each muffin.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Christina

Make It Yourself Monday!

(picture from Taste of Home)

I haven't posted a "Make It Yourself Monday" in awhile, but I do have an easy Cheddar Drop Biscuit recipe from the Albertina's Exceptional Recipes cookbook. I got this cookbook from my Mother-in-law and the recipes in the book are fairly easy and tasty. I know it's not a Summer Biscuit, but it's light, slightly crunchy on the outside, and soft in the inside with cheese. It goes with anything from Steak, to Chicken, Pasta, or Salad dishes.

Cheddar Drop Biscuits from: Albertina's Exceptional Recipes (local)
Makes 10-12 medium biscuits

1 C. Sifted Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 Tbl. cold butter, cut into bits
1 1/2 C. Grated Cheddar Cheese (the best part!)
1/2 C. Milk (or Buttermilk, whatever you have.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift together first 3 ingredients. Add bits of butter and cheese to flour mixture. You could use a food processor but I just use a large Serving spoon. Stir in milk to form a soft sticky dough. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until pale golden brown. It's that Simple and they taste GREAT!!

Christina

Make It Yourself Monday

SANGRIA

One of my favorite summer drinks is Sangria.  It's incredibly refreshing on these warm summer nights, and is a great addition to any get together.  Even if you don't like red wine, I can almost guarantee you'll like Sangria.

The best part is that it's super easy to make, and you don't have to buy expensive wine.  We generally use Trader Joes Charles Shaw.  You know, 2 Buck Chuck  :)

 

Ingredients:

•1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz)

•1 Lemon cut into wedges

•1 Orange cut into wedges

*•Simple syrup to taste

•2 Cups ginger ale or club soda

Preparation:

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add simple syrup to taste. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice.

Addition ideas: sliced strawberries, peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot or two of gin, brandy or rum, a cup of ginger ale, citrus soda pop or lime

*To make your own simple syrup:

•Bring 2 cups of plain cold tap water to a boil. Stir in 2 cups of plain granulated sugar. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves completely.

•To test if the sugar is completely dissolved, use a metal spoon to scoop up a small bit of the syrup. Tilt it over the pan and watch carefully. You shouldn't be able to see any crystals in the liquid.

•Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then pour into a clean glass jar and store in the refrigerator.

 

 
Erika

Make It Yourself Monday

One of our favorite breakfast's during the week are PANCAKES!! I especially love Buttermilk Pancakes. Basically, I would hug BUTTERMILK if I could. It is a staple to most of my baking ingredients and makes everything so moist.

Buttermilk Pancakes II

(recipe from Burygold, found at Allrecipes, w/a few modifications)
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 TBL. & 1 1/2 tsp. White sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 C. Buttermilk
1/4 C. Milk
2 Eggs
2 1/2 TBL. Butter (melted, slightly cooled)


Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then mix all wet ingredients together in another bowl. Mix all ingredients together when your ready to cook these delicious pancakes!


Do you have a favorite pancake recipe you would like to tell us about? Leave a comment and link if you have one. I'm always looking for new recipes to try with the fam.


Christina

Make It Yourself Monday

With strawberries in season and lettuce growing like crazy in my garden (hopefully yours too!), this is a great way to eat fresh, local and in season!

This light and delicious salad uses whole heirloom lettuce leaves as a b eautiful and flavorful base for the delightful blending of sweet strawberries, creamy goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, all melded perfectly by a quick balsamic vinaigrette with toasted walnut oil.

Heirloom Lettuce Salad with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

From The Earthbound Cook

1 pint fresh strawberries, rinsed, dried and hulled

Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette

7 oz. pre-washed heirloom lettuce leaves

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Cut the strawberries in quarters, place them in a small bowl, and toss them with about 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Set aside.

Place all of the lettuce leaves in a large bowl and add 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to lightly coat the leaves, then taste and add more vinaigrette if needed.

Transfer the lettuce to individual salad plates. Top the lettuce with the strawberries, tasted walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese, and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a side salad.

Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes about 1/2 cup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons toasted walnut oil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the vinegar, mustard and both oils in a glass jar and seal the lid tightly. Shake the jar vigorously to combine. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste. (The vinaigrette can be refrigerated, covered , for up to 1 month. Let it return to room temp and shake vigorously before using.)

Erika

Make It Yourself Monday

COOKING WITH DRIED BEANS

Some of you may have noticed over the past couple months that I've been buying dried beans from Azure. I think everyone knows that buying dried beans vs. canned beans is way cheaper, but I'm sure many of you are like me...... intimidated by the idea.

I never was quite sure what to do with the dried beans, and the couple times I did attempt to use them were, well, unsuccessful. One time I tried cooking them for a really, really long time. Unfortunately, it took so long that I forgot to keep adding water and they eventually burned to the bottom of the pan. The other time I remember trying to cook them was in Costa Rica. I soaked them, but must have soaked them for too long because they fermented. Sparky beans are not good! :)

The Costa Rica attempt ended my experimentation up until a month or two ago. I decided to put a little more time into researching how to be successful, and found that it actually isn't that hard. In fact, you can do it too! I promise.

The trick to cooking dried beans is advance preparation.

• Measure out one cup of beans the day before you plan to cook them, and put them in glass jars. Empty glass jars (or bowls, whatever you have, just make sure it's big enough).
• Before you go to bed, fill them with 3-4 cups of lukewarm water. You want your beans to soak for 10-12 hours. Not much longer than 12 or you run the risk of fermentation.

• The next morning (or whenever 12 hours are up), drain and rinse the beans.
• Fill a pan with 3-4 cups of salted water, add the beans, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, bring it down to a simmer and set your timer for 30 minutes.
• At thirty minutes of cooking time, check the beans to see how they are coming. I've found that 30 minutes is about right for white and black beans. You may need a little longer for larger or denser beans like Kidney and Garbanzo beans.

I like to cook up a couple cups of beans at a time and freeze them in can-sized portions. To do that, here's a couple tips:

• Try to cook your beans until they are a bit al dente. For me, this has been a trial and error kind of process. If you over-cook your beans, don't worry, they will still be okay! You'll just have softer beans so don't throw them in the crock pot to cook all day :)
• 1 1/2 cups of beans is equivalent to one can.
• Add enough water to cover the beans before freezing them.
• Don't forget to label with type and amount of beans!

Erika

Keeping Balance

This week's Make It Yourself Monday post is not going to actually be about making anything. Honestly, I've been busy redecorating my house and getting ready for a garage sale. I just haven't had time or motivation to do much extra!

I ran across this article by the New York Times called The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In. It's so easy to get out of balance in our world of instant internet access, especially when you have it on your phone!

I also thought it was great timing with kids finishing up their last days of school for the year. I want to live a life of balance, but so easily get side tracked!


Erika

Make It Yourself Monday

Basic Pizza Dough

Bob's Red Mill Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:
4 C.White Flour, Unbleached
1 Tbl. Yeast, Active Dry
1-1/3 C. Warm Water (105-115 degrees)
2-3 Tbl. Olive Oil 1 Tsp. Sea Salt

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl stir yeast into warm water, add olive oil, set aside.

Sift flour & salt gradually into the bowl of yeast water until the dough is stiff. Let dough rest for about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining flour onto a dry surface. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Cover with damp towel & let rise for 2 hours.

Oil two 14" pizza pans. Sprinkle the pans w/a little corn meal, set aside.

Punch dough down & roll out into 2 thin or one thick dough round. Punch & pull dough to fill pan (s). Prick dough in about 6 places with a toothpick (or your fingers). Brush crust lightly w/olive oil (if desired). Spread sauce & your favorite toppings.

Preheat Oven:
450 degree & bake for 15-25 minutes (I did 22 minutes).

Verdict:

I really like Bob's Basic dough recipe. I usually make PW's Pizza dough, but prefer this one since it's less olive oil and not as sticky. Although, you knead Bob's recipe by hand, which is more work. Either way, there both great recipes and it's fun to try something new.

Christina

Make It Yourself Monday

I found a great recipe to make your own "edible" Playdough. My daughter Ava (3) loves playdough and has been playing with it for about a year. I thought it would be fun for us to make our own playdough that was also edible to eat.

Ingredients:

1 C. Almond Butter or Peanut Butter

1/4 C. Honey

2/3 C. Powdered Milk

You can go HERE to get the recipe I found.

Results:

One Happy girl! What mama doesn't love that?! Plus it's easy and it's only 3 ingredients.

Do you have some fun Playdough or Make It Yourself edible activities you do with your Kids? I would love to hear about them :)

Christina

Make It Yourself Monday

BROWNIE MIX IN A BOX (from scratch)

Okay, so you had to know this was coming after the cookie mix post. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? I blame pregnancy.

Actually, confession time. I made brownies from scratch for the first time just about a month ago. Yep, first time. I have since made them a few more times, knowing I was going to do a post on it. You know, research!

If you like moist, super fudgy brownies, than this is the recipe for you. They are yummy, and my entire family will vouch for that! And the best part is that the mix is literally only 5 ingredients long.

Brownie Mix in a Jar

Adapted from an All Recipes recipe

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• optional: 1/2 cup nuts or coconut flakes (I like coconut)

Directions:

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt cocoa powder and sugar and place in a quart jar.

2. Attach a tag with the following instructions: Brownie Mix in a Jar 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 2. Empty jar of brownie mix into a large mixing bowl, and stir to blend. Mix in 1 cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 3 eggs. Mix thoroughly. Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan. 3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely in pan before cutting into 2 inch squares.

The finished product.

Also, don't forget that this is National Teacher's Appreciation Week, and if you are looking for a gift idea, this would make a great one. To make it prettier, you could find a unique container to put the mix in or just layer the dry ingredients instead of mixing them together.

Erika

Make It Yourself Monday!

There are many inexpensive ways to make your own cleaning products. One place that I found many of the products above was the Dollar Store!

Ingredients to have on hand for making your own cleaning products:
Distilled White Vinegar (Dollar Store) $1

Hydrogen Peroxide (Dollar Store) $.59
Toothbrushes (Dollar Store) $1
Baking Soda (Trader Joes) $1.99 (yes, you could get a better deal on this but this is what I had already in my pantry.)
Lemon (Trader Joes) $.33
Final price: $4.91!

Quick Tip:
You can soak cleaning toothbrushes in Vinegar for 10 minutes or dip it in a littleHydrogen Peroxide to get rid of bacteria. Resource from "Green This" by: Deirdre Imus.

Make Your Own (Non-Toxic) Oven Cleaner:
1-2 C. Baking Soda
2-1/4 C. Water
1-2 tsp liquid dish soap (I'm using Seventh Generation)

Here's How:
Turn oven on to 200 degrees for 30-60 minutes

Turn off heat, make sure the oven is not too warm so you don't get burned
You could avoid this step, but it will help to loosen up the gunk!
Pour 1/4 C. Water on top of the oven
Pour Baking soda on top of the water
Then add a little more water & scrub!
After scrubbing, add liquid dish soap to 1 C. Water
Dip a washcloth into the dish soap water mixture & wipe oven
Then use remaining 1 C. Water to rinse off remaining baking soda & soap.

Before

After

Here's where I found my recipe, thanks A. Kairi!

I'm new to this "make it yourself cleaning stuff" so if you have some ideas or recipes to share, we would love to hear them. BTW, you will get quite a workout from this, and you won't be feeling sick from the fumes!

Christina

Make It Yourself Monday

DETANGLING SPRAY

I WISH I could find a picture of Aspen's crazy morning hair for this post. From about 3 to 5 years old, Aspen had close to shoulder length hair. Unfortunately, the pictures are buried somewhere in our computer photo archives.

So you'll have to take my word for it that his hair was far worse than this every morning. It was more like a fan shaped rat's nest. An Afro puff. Sometimes there would be the start of dreads in there. It was bad.

Because of that, I had to use detangling spray (and a lot of it!) every day to comb his hair out. One day, when I was out of spray and had forgotten to buy more, I decided to try making my own.

Here's how you can too:

• Fill a spray bottle with hot water
• Add a long squirt of hair conditioner
• Shake it up. You'll know you've put enough conditioner in when the spray is slippery (sorry about the visual!).

I've used that simple solution for years now. Hopefully it will work for you too!

Erika

Make It Yourself Monday

SEASONING MIXES

There have been lots of great sales on spices lately. That, and the fact that I am out of prepackaged seasoning mixes that I like to use, got me thinking about how hard it would be to just make up my own. Well, long story short, it's SUPER easy!

TACO SEASONING MIX

Ingredients:
6 teaspoons chili powder
5 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:
In storage container with tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients and mix well. Seal tightly.

To make taco meat: Brown and drain meat. Add approx. 2 TBSP of seasoning per pound of meat. To give it the "taco meat" consistancy, I like to add a little flour and water to the pan and bring to a boil. Once most of the liquid has absorbed, it's done!
For other recipes where taco seasoning is called for, just add it to taste.


RANCH DRESSING & SEASONING MIX

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry buttermilk**
1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender & blend until smooth. If you want to use this to make salad dressing, combine 1 Tablespoon of mix with 1 cup of mayo and 1 cup milk. Otherwise, use 1 Tablespoon of mix in any recipe calling for an envelope of ranch dressing mix.

**If you don't have dry buttermilk you can substitute by adding buttermilk at the time you make the dressing. No buttermilk on hand? Make your own buttermilk (what I always do!) by adding 1 Tbsp. of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

I used small canning jars to store the mixes in. You could also use ziplock bags or reuse old spice containers.

BEEF STEW SEASONING MIX

Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
4 teaspoons Oregano
2 tablespoons basil
4 1/4 tablespoons salt
4 1/4 tablespoons black pepper
4 1/4 tablespoons Garlic Powder
4 1/4 tablespoons Paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Celery Seed
4 1/4 tablespoons Onion Powder
2 tsp. rosemary

Directions:
Measure all ingredients into a large ziploc bag, Shake well. To use: Add 2-3 T. per 2lbs of meat.


FAJITA SEASONING MIX

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bullion cube
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions:

Measure all ingredients into a sealed container. Shake well to combine. This makes the equivalent of one packet of fajita mix. To Use: Add mix to 1 lb. meat and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 7-10 minutes until your meat is cooked through.




Erika

Make It Yourself Monday

Make Your Own Cookie Mix

Back in the days before I coupon shopped I never bought premade cookie mixes.

It seemed like a waste when it was so easy to make. Enter couponing and I soon found out I could often get them for free.

This is one of the things I've determined not to buy again, even if they are free or better than free. There are way too many ingredients I can't pronounce! Since I like the convenience of a mix, I decided to make my own. It literally took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish including clean up!

Just take your favorite cookie recipe (I made up Oatmeal Chocolate Chip) and package all the dry ingredients together. Label the package with the wet ingredients that need to be added, temp and time. Viola! You're mix is complete :)

Here's the recipe, if your interested.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Add these ingredients together and store in a bag or tupperware:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups oatmeal

When you're ready to make the cookies, add:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Erika