Holiday Dinner Rolls

• ¼ C oil
• 1 C honey
• 3 C water
• 4 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 C whole wheat flour
• 3 C all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients in a dough thrower for ten minutes.  Cover and let rise for one hour.

Grease pan.

Dump dough out onto a floured board and knead well, then divide into 24 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and arrange the rolls in the greased pan.  Allow to rise for one hour, then bake at 350˚ F about 30 minutes.

Advertisements

Soup Stock

Soup stock is incredibly easy to make.

• Bones from meat (either raw or cooked, with or without meat on them)
• Water
• Vegetable trimmings (optional)

Basic, Easy Method:

Place bones in a roasting pan and cover them completely with water.  Cover the pan tightly and place it in the oven on 225F for 24 hours.  Remove from the oven and strain the broth.  Place broth in the refrigerator to cool.  The fat will rise to the top and solidify so that it can be easily removed.  Good soup stock (bone broth) will be gelatinous (like jello).

Return the bones to the pan and cover with water again, then cook them another day.  This stock will not be quite as strong as the first one, but it still delicious.  Mix the two stocks together. Either divide into serving-size portions and freeze, or can with a pressure canner.

Add salt to taste (it will take quite a bit) when you use the stock.

Pressure Cooker Method:

Place bones in pressure cooker and cover them with water. Do not fill the pressure cooker more than half full (read the directions for your pressure cooker).  Seal, add weight, and bring to 15 pounds pressure.  Cook at 15 pounds pressure for at least 20 minutes, up to one hour.  Turn burner off and let pressure drop on its own.  Strain the broth.  Place broth in the refrigerator to cool.  The fat will rise to the top and solidify so that it can be easily removed. Good soup stock (bone broth) will be gelatinous (like jello).

Repeat for another boiling. This stock will not be quite as strong as the first one, but it is still delicious. Mix the two stocks together. Either divide into serving-size portions and freeze, or can with a pressure canner.

Add salt to taste (it will take quite a bit) when you use the stock.

Variations:

Add vegetable for additional flavor. Since they will be strained out, this is a good use for clean ends, leaves, and peels.  For instance:

• wash celery, then cut off ends and leaves that would normally not be eaten and toss them into the stockpot. (Chop the celery stalks and refrigerate the pieces to later go into your soup.)
• wash carrots, then cut off ends and toss them into the stockpot.  Peel the carrots and toss the peels into the stockpot.  Cut up the carrot and refrigerate the pieces to later go into your soup.

When you prepare vegetables for cooking, wash them first and then save the trimmings. I try to keep a bag/container in the freezer to collect the trimmings so that I have some when it’s time to make soup stock.  Instead of throwing out the celery leave/ends, carrot peels, etc., save them to help flavor your future broth.

• Types
  • Turkey – after Thanksgiving dinner, pick meat off of the bones, then put the carcass back into the roasting pan, cover with water, add veggies if desired, cover the pan, and return to the oven.  You can cook turkey bones twice for a good, rich turkey stock.
  • Chicken – treat as turkey.  I try to break down the carcass and put it in the freezer. After I have a few carcasses, then I make one big batch of chicken stock.  You can cook chicken bones twice.
  • Beef – Some people like to roast bones in the oven for an hour before covering them with water to make beef stock.  Beef bones can usually be cooked 3-4 times.
  • Ham – ham bones can also be used to make ham stock.  They can usually be cooked thrice.
  • Fish – fish bones can be covered with water (like any other bones) and boiled to make fish stock.

Note: some people add a splash of vinegar to the water to help draw marrow from the bones, but it is completely unnecessary.  Beef bones, when cooked long enough, will end up with a hole in the center where the marrow came out.  Ideally, you would set the marrow aside when you strain out the solids, then add the marrow back to your soup stock.

Note 2:  This is how our ancestors made soup. It is apparently the “new” thing to make your own “bone broth” like grandma used to make.  So easy and delicious, you’ll wonder why you ever used bullion cubes 🙂

Bee Hoon

A great recipe from Malaysia

• 800 g meat (beef, pork, or chicken (about 3-4 breasts))
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 400 g rice noodles (I like to omit the noodles)
• 8 C shredded cabbage
• 2 C grated carrots
• 3-4 C bean sprouts (omit for child #5)
• 2 C bone broth (match meat)
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce or fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp sesame oil

Slice meat thinly and marinate for 30 minutes in 1/4 C soy sauce and 2 Tbsp sesame oil.

Soak rice noodles, if used, 30 minutes in hot water, then drain.

While meat is marinating and noodles are soaking, shred the cabbage and grate the carrots.  Set aside.  Combine bone broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

Fry meat with marinade, stirring as needed, until meat is cooked thoroughly.  Add cabbage and carrots to the pan and continue cooking.  Add bean sprouts, if used, and continue to stir.

Add noodles and liquid to the pan and cook, stirring, until completely mixed and noodles are soft and hot.

No-Bake Cranberry-Almond Bites

• 1 C almond butter
• 3/4 C honey
• 2 C thick rolled oats
• 3/4 C unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
• 2/3 C craisins
• 2/3 C sliced almonds

Measure almond butter into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.  Heat in the microwave until easy to stir (about 1 minute).  Add honey and heat briefly (about 30 seconds).  Stir together well until completely combined.

Measure remaining ingredients into a 3-quart bowl and stir.  Pour almond butter/honey mixture over and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Line a jelly roll pan with silpat or waxed paper.

Use a small cookie scoop (or measuring tablespoon) and form mixture into smooth balls.  To prevent sticking, wet hands if attempting to smooth the balls.  Makes 50.

Place in refrigerator until firm, then transfer to an airtight container.

_____

Each cranberry-almond bite contains:

83 calories
12 g carb
6 g protein
13 g fat
1 mg Na
147 mg K

Grandma’s Pudding

This can be made as either chocolate or vanilla.  It contains gluten, dairy, eggs, and sugar, and doesn’t really qualify for any nutritious eating-plan.  For a healthy pudding (GF, dairy-free), try this recipe instead.  Pudding like grandma used to make:

• 1/4 C sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 egg yolks (or 3 whole eggs)
• 3 C milk
• 1/3 C cocoa powder for chocolate flavor, omit for vanilla

Stir together dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients.  Mix well and cook in the top of a double-boiler until thick, stirring occasionally.  When thick, remove from heat and stir in

• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp butter

 

GF Biscuits

These do not taste like traditional biscuits.  The coconut flour makes them a bit grainy, which is fine because I eat these in place of cornbread with a nice bowl of chili, and the texture is perfect.

Preheat oven to 400.

Ingredients:

• 2 duck eggs
• 1/3 C olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp GF baking powder
• 1/3 C coconut flour

Beat eggs, then stir in remaining ingredients.  Spoon dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Form six equally-sized biscuit-shaped mounds.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Leftovers freeze well.

Nutrients per biscuit:

• Calories: 175
• Protein: 4g
• Carbs: 4g
• Fat: 16.5g
• Na: 88mg
• K:52mg

 

Apple Crisp 2-Ways

Here are two different variations on apple crisp.  The first is an old-fashioned crisp (grandma’s recipe).  The second uses no sugar or grains and is for when you’re trying to be a little more healthy.

Grandma’s Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350

Slice apples to fill an 8″ x 8″ square pan about 3/4 of the way full.  How many apples this take depends on the size of the apple, whether your slice them or chop them, and whether you want more or fewer apples. It’s not critical. I usually estimate around 6-8 apples.

Mix the topping:

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1/2  C flour
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon, optional

Do not over-mix.  It should be crumbly.  Just dump it all together and beat until little crumbly balls form; stop before it starts to look like cookie dough.

Spread the topping over the apples.  Bake for one hour.

* * *

“Diet” Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease an 8×8 or 6×6 pan.

Peel, core, and slice four apples.  The final weight of slices should be about 400g.  Pour 1/4 C orange juice over slices and stir well (I slice the apples straight into my pan and pour the juice on top, then put the lid on the pan and give it a good shake, then take the lid back off the pan).  Place in the oven for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, make topping.

Topping:

• 85g pecan pieces
• 90g sliced almonds
• 110g raisins
• 75g cranberries – defrost if frozen
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Whir topping ingredients in a food processor until well mixed.

Spread topping on top of apples and bake for 30-45 minutes until apples are cooked, being careful not to scorch the nuts.  Makes 4 servings

Nutrition:

• Calories: 435
• Protein: 9g
• Fat: 28g
• Carbs:  56g
• Na:  107mg
• K: 563 mg