Kitchen Tip Tuesday

When I burn something badly to the bottom of my stainless steel cookware (yeah, it happens), I boil a small amount of water then add baking soda. I let this boil for a short time, then dump it in the sink and, usually, the burned material comes right off.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy.

Recipe Binder

My first tip is to not heat up your house and cause your a/c to run over-time by using your oven during the summer! I use only stove-top and crockpot recipes during the summer. That plays a large part in how I organize my binder.

I hate meal-planning. I think it comes a close second to ironing in my dislike of household chores. Laziness is the mother of invention (I know that's not how it goes, but that's how it works in my life!), so I have created a recipe file system that makes the meal -planning job a bit easier.

I have used several different recipe file systems, but this is one that is working best for me right now. I use a three-ring binder with top-loading sheet protectors. This works well because the page protectors keep the recipes from getting soiled, it's easy to add a recipe in the right category, and my recipes do not have to be cut into any particular shape or format--I can clip them from a magazine, newspaper, or print a recipe and just slip it into a page protector.

I have my binder divided as follows: Cooked Chicken, Raw Boneless/Skinless Chicken breasts, Raw Chicken with bone-in, Vegetarian (subdivided into categories pasta, rice, beans, etc.), Ground Beef, Roasts, Round Steak, Steak, Turkey, Misc. In most of the above categories I have subdivided the recipes into baked, stove-top, and crock pot meals.

For example, when boneless/skinless chicken breasts are on sale, I go to the "Boneless/Skinless" tab, and if it is summer I look further to the "stove-top" or "crock pot" sub-category.

I used to keep a five-week menu plan all typed up complete with ingredients list and color-coded system to find each recipe, but I found that my life just didn't flow that way--we'd have leftovers to eat up, a special occasion would come up, we'd not finish the previous week's meal plan, those particular items weren't on sale that week, etc. It's a good idea if you do keep a stockpile of groceries and if your life is fairly predictable.

It works for me!

Baked Pancakes

I read about this idea recently and decided to give it a try this morning. It turned out great! I made my typical pancake batter, then poured it into a jelly roll pan and baked at 350 for about 8 minutes. The little indentations on the pancake are white chocolate chips--I sprinkled them on once I smoothed the batter into the pan.

Here is my pancake recipe:
Mix together
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon if you like

Mix separately:
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 Tbsp melted butter

Pour wet into dry and mix as little as possible.

Hints:

• I often place chocolate chips onto the pancakes as they're cooking on the first side. Smiley faces are popular with my youngest.
  
• I will crush a banana with a fork and mix with the wet ingredients if we have an overripe one available.
• I mix the dry ingredients together into freezer bags in assembly-line fashion and store in the door of my freezer so that I can make a batch very quickly in the morning.
• I use dry milk reconstituted with water for most all my baking.
• I've also read that whole milk can be halved with water for baking.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

My kitchen tip today is to buy several flexible cutting boards and designate them for vegetables, chicken, beef, etc. This avoids cross-contamination during food prep, as well as keeps your counters clean. I love flexible cutting boards because it is so easy to lift them up, squeeze the ends together to form a tunnel, and pour the contents into your pan or skillet without losing a drop.

Rolls

Since we're having Chicken Lasagna for supper this evening, I decided to make rolls today, and thought I'd join Tammy for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays by showing how I made cinnamon rolls out of the remaining roll mixture.

First, here is the roll recipe, from Marilyn Moll:

Fantastic Whole Wheat Rolls

2 1/2 Cups warm water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dry powdered milk
2 Tbsp yeast
2 eggs
6-8 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vital gluten
2 Tbsp dough enhancer (optional)

Combine warm water, honey, powdered milk, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Allow yeast to activate. Add eggs and 3 cups flour. Stir until thoroughly mixed; dough will resemble cake batter. Let rest until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Add salt, oil, and remaining flour until the dough just separates from your mixing bowl. Knead for 6-10 minutes.
Grease baking sheets. Pinch of 2-inch round portions and form into a smooth ball by pinching. (Marilyn suggests rolling the dough into an 8-inch rope and then tie rope into a single knot.) Place in rows on baking sheets, cover, and let rise until double.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter if desired, and remove to cooling rack.
Makes 2-3 dozen. Recipe can be halved for a smaller batch. But why do that when you can also make cinnamon rolls . . .


Roll out your remaining dough into a rectangle.
Spread with soft or melted butter.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar (or white sugar)
Roll dough lengthwise and use dental floss (I always figured this stuff had a purpose) to slice off portions, keeping them as uniform as possible.

Place in a greased baking dish and let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350 for about 10-15 min. or until golden brown.
For icing, mix powdered sugar with a tiny bit of milk and stir until desired consistency.

Now for the clean-up. Where'd my helper go?

Calorie-Count.com

Have you seen this? It's a site that will calculate Nutrition Facts on any recipe you enter! Then it will also allow you to see a nutritional information of each individual ingredient; its calorie breakdown, percentage of fat/protein/carbs, daily value, its nutritional grade and a nutritional analysis of the ingredient's good points.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

I am not a morning person, and do not necessarily enjoy cooking. However, I do not feel good about having my children eat cold cereal every morning. Even though I only allow a max of 10 grams of sugar per serving in the cereals we choose, "sugar" is usually the second ingredient listed, among a list of ingredients that I can barely read. That does not seem to me to be the way to get our day off right and enjoy maximum brain and body function.

I am attempting to remedy our cold cereal habit by instituting two baking days per week, where I can bake breads and muffins, as well as pre-assemble pancake and waffle dry ingredients that I can stash in the freezer for easy assembly in the morning. (I grind my own grain using a Vitamix.)

Today I baked Healthy Banana Bread, cornbread for our ham 'n bean supper, and assembled three waffle mixes for the freezer.

Here's the Healthy Banana Bread Recipe:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp EACH cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger
1 Tbsp buttermilk powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup wager
1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 3 medium)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In your mixing bowl, beat together eggs, oil, honey and water. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in mashed bananas. Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with foil for the last ten minutes of baking so the top doesn't burn.

Tip 1: I add a cup of chocolate chips to the batter. What?!? I can't be good all the time!
Tip 2: If you measure the oil first, the honey will slide out of the measuring cup much easier.