tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31097046145730617502024-03-21T15:30:52.942-07:00Scratch That. I'm Eating.Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-23343019024818955772013-06-15T12:32:00.003-07:002013-06-15T12:36:25.823-07:00Sweet Potato Banana Smoothie!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3ZEtdLPuqn8qeE7p7Ge-MsBszXPHUiE6WY_htlwTmEnHNOEhZmYUHg7HlE-NdApyI9FVdzZTHTwfBOD93kbnWMFP74j3YTNMDc1WyaFIRgFjmcOkdTxkuNb9xxlRv4QbSOLHChtiOVSx/s1600/sweet+potato+banana+smoothie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3ZEtdLPuqn8qeE7p7Ge-MsBszXPHUiE6WY_htlwTmEnHNOEhZmYUHg7HlE-NdApyI9FVdzZTHTwfBOD93kbnWMFP74j3YTNMDc1WyaFIRgFjmcOkdTxkuNb9xxlRv4QbSOLHChtiOVSx/s320/sweet+potato+banana+smoothie.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<u>Sweet Potato Banana Smoothie</u></div>
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1/2 cup frozen banana, sliced</div>
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1/2 cup frozen sweet potato, cooked and cubed</div>
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1/2 cup milk, or almond milk</div>
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1 tbsp greek yogurt, plain</div>
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1/4 tsp vanilla</div>
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1/4 tsp cinnamon</div>
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1/8 tsp nutmeg</div>
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dash of salt</div>
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water to dilute to consistency</div>
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*sweetener, optional</div>
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Add all ingredients to blender except water. </div>
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Blend until smooth. </div>
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It'll be pretty thick, like a milkshake, so next add water and blend again until desired consistency.<br />
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This recipe makes about 1 serving. That's the whole thing fitting perfectly into that glass! </div>
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*I absolutely love sweet potato and don't add any sweetener to mine. But sweeter is often more delicious, I just prefer to skip the extra calories here. If you add honey you may want to blend it with the milk before adding the frozen stuff. It always freezes in clumps when I try to add it all together--just sayin' :)</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-54625783400400343372011-05-15T18:50:00.000-07:002011-05-15T18:50:06.525-07:00Sun, Fun…and Sawdust<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QUIijkRnPMG3-qPXGQJWe64EiKsQiwZqpRb8NN_IFv5JuKI3zDZdVqXq-LmG5aWf8loj32W92PDvAAIbHWKToxq1eYNrvrJWfjnNy0GYdr5V51KMh_C3m6v0_Le8pJGYttKnPopO0wMR/s1600/sheep.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QUIijkRnPMG3-qPXGQJWe64EiKsQiwZqpRb8NN_IFv5JuKI3zDZdVqXq-LmG5aWf8loj32W92PDvAAIbHWKToxq1eYNrvrJWfjnNy0GYdr5V51KMh_C3m6v0_Le8pJGYttKnPopO0wMR/s320/sheep.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep are HILARious! <br />
...especially when they're coming for ya</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok. I have to admit it, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Life is still good…and so is food…there’s just a lot to accomplish, and so little time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m still baking, perusing sales, stocking up on my food storage, and making all kinds of fantastic mistakes. I’ve got a ton of new recipes, and even some pictures. But, with summer approaching and my new house being built it’s so hard to find the time to sit down in front of this pretty little glowing screen.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To alleviate the guilt, and a whole bunch of unnecessary stress I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to take a blogging break. So…here we be. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YqbO-nPtT2LAlCxnA-nrWz4HX72GR8yWzrXbvj4CQsgor8kFMjlIopKafKrynrptTH4UWgIZKdaxyy0qV1AeclXA1LCqvHIn6e-xjHH-XpP1l4dNPLjEqQ1LsXM6SfbrpDXX6CpnHxXn/s1600/canned+garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YqbO-nPtT2LAlCxnA-nrWz4HX72GR8yWzrXbvj4CQsgor8kFMjlIopKafKrynrptTH4UWgIZKdaxyy0qV1AeclXA1LCqvHIn6e-xjHH-XpP1l4dNPLjEqQ1LsXM6SfbrpDXX6CpnHxXn/s320/canned+garden.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made spaghetti sauce...so I could have pots for my plants</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1u0f5pFlyRZ2jw_uevHvXdZxK1GM7Wllqm0NY8FFvz4Yam0luU4xYfFi1Kw_X2cm0eCFzwU3T2HT8seBbSFe1vkLJxoiXSJZQmGJe9rhgXSsL-rxwj2-_tLY3scXMOl8ClLHxZSigYlLD/s1600/white+beans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1u0f5pFlyRZ2jw_uevHvXdZxK1GM7Wllqm0NY8FFvz4Yam0luU4xYfFi1Kw_X2cm0eCFzwU3T2HT8seBbSFe1vkLJxoiXSJZQmGJe9rhgXSsL-rxwj2-_tLY3scXMOl8ClLHxZSigYlLD/s320/white+beans.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I purchased 50lbs of white beans!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCuxUSmM-dVi_QRehQHOmVgZKssODNmAczcJI4syiQRUiFHj9SojqQ9iskwTeVK8eurBXS4MqRvw_pB2d8w0BraY4C27K-dlWYQeCPH6NAxzI0xVcjqFDrcW1bObaghceSxLdnNGljWkp/s1600/brownies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCuxUSmM-dVi_QRehQHOmVgZKssODNmAczcJI4syiQRUiFHj9SojqQ9iskwTeVK8eurBXS4MqRvw_pB2d8w0BraY4C27K-dlWYQeCPH6NAxzI0xVcjqFDrcW1bObaghceSxLdnNGljWkp/s320/brownies.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brownies = Therapy</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll be back in July (or maybe August), and ready to go with all sorts of craziness…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for stopping by…and I’ll see you again soon!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Eating!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-90926066881099484092011-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:002011-04-29T09:03:02.601-07:00I baked me some Spring-Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IZeKY6RTR-lWQnt6mlqcth26fOQPbb64rvXva5ttXnWimnrVGx40TCSs8TTXG7Z8NrUPIXurwnALB4zlJ2xGFgvH0a-i2BVle6GczNE82V6UtCs6KTjlPXQXcmDojYGQWWfDvwGsQNU9/s1600/blog-+cupcake5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IZeKY6RTR-lWQnt6mlqcth26fOQPbb64rvXva5ttXnWimnrVGx40TCSs8TTXG7Z8NrUPIXurwnALB4zlJ2xGFgvH0a-i2BVle6GczNE82V6UtCs6KTjlPXQXcmDojYGQWWfDvwGsQNU9/s320/blog-+cupcake5.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part of my original idea for <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/simplify-easter.html">Easter</a> was to bake some cupcakes. I had it all planned out. The Easter bunny would bring a trail of jelly-beans, and as the kids collected them we would save them for decorating cupcakes later that day. It would be the start of a fun family tradition. Well, as the holiday progressed that plan was quickly discarded; for several reasons, but mainly as a way to <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/simplify-easter.html">Simplify</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, since I had already purchased the cupcake papers I couldn’t let them go to waste. I decided that Spring can be just as diligently celebrated. It is a marvelous season, and so very anticipated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let the celebration begin!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT0DEwIXPNVQiKm5Jp8zbp3AEf61vXpzDoEnayoebd7hjjYULniov3q4fdugfRmRqjTtEq8H7pMfsp52Q37TXzj7NAIoDnnJxTQRPuDP0PJOwFqg6UTN3QzFUVXnxMUD0znve9D0S_Z-n/s1600/blog-+cupcake3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT0DEwIXPNVQiKm5Jp8zbp3AEf61vXpzDoEnayoebd7hjjYULniov3q4fdugfRmRqjTtEq8H7pMfsp52Q37TXzj7NAIoDnnJxTQRPuDP0PJOwFqg6UTN3QzFUVXnxMUD0znve9D0S_Z-n/s320/blog-+cupcake3.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok. I dug out a recipe from my <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/cinnamon-rolls-of-amazingness.html">hoard</a>. It was written as a cake-in-a-baking-dish recipe, so I modified it for <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes.html">cupcakes</a>. I also reviewed the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">altitude adjustment</a> information and made some changes from there. And there’s one more thing I did change. I have recently (yesterday) acquired (purchased) 50 pounds of WHITE beans…and I have been DYING to <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/moment-of-weakness-42-lbs-of-beans.html">use them</a>. So, of course, I ground some into flour and added them to the cupcakes!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjBKVmYhTVODbitIdaHsc9BF_HCRqDGmwdPipuUvIavMC7VmYfZstvpoyqqX6BswaaSGH3afcaHoAnR0tDE90ir0Xrdmk417xLBRCkEZSE_PcKaT5LFM991q1jCpoKl1xo1oRvmY-AHxV/s1600/blog-+cupcake1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjBKVmYhTVODbitIdaHsc9BF_HCRqDGmwdPipuUvIavMC7VmYfZstvpoyqqX6BswaaSGH3afcaHoAnR0tDE90ir0Xrdmk417xLBRCkEZSE_PcKaT5LFM991q1jCpoKl1xo1oRvmY-AHxV/s320/blog-+cupcake1.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As with any dessert in my family, there were mixed opinions. I liked them a LOT; they’re just like little peanut-butter-cups, only in a cake! My honey said they were good. Boys and Aunt L all loved them, and girl only ate the middles; she’s funny like that…then I had an explosion of cupcake bits all over my kitchen; which is usually an indicator that they enjoyed it…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiymWOpzCzWZcMclDO-dvpXJRAX-F7d6-UMAIJTtGiWCUPsDw98uVHUcrvoEdl3dU9y3wodfdme-0v07r0uka8WJBAKPEPmmTerwSV6OMNZg37-oztLqrzhbm2m1CmKskC3JYWxB2bTmq/s1600/blog-+cupcake6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiymWOpzCzWZcMclDO-dvpXJRAX-F7d6-UMAIJTtGiWCUPsDw98uVHUcrvoEdl3dU9y3wodfdme-0v07r0uka8WJBAKPEPmmTerwSV6OMNZg37-oztLqrzhbm2m1CmKskC3JYWxB2bTmq/s320/blog-+cupcake6.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the next few days the little’s managed to eat cupcakes for every meal, and snack time as well. I think they were a success!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did have a bit of indecision about how they should be stored. The frosting was a bit soft, so if I just covered them in plastic I envisioned the frosting would stick to it and make a big goopy mess. To solve that problem I put them in the fridge to harden the frosting. Then I covered them in plastic wrap. I thought it would be best to just leave them in the fridge because of the frosting. But the next morning, when they were cold they didn’t quite taste as good, and they weren’t as soft and fluffy. After that I just left them on the counter during the day, and put them in the fridge at night. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They taste SO delicious at room temperature…so, if you want to store them in the fridge make sure to pull them out in time to warm them up before serving.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy #2 decorated this one...isn't it cute?! he was SO proud of it!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipe:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes.html">Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/random-survey-how-much-do-you-budget.html">Survey</a> <-------don't forget the survey!</span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-75726038521076444632011-04-26T20:44:00.000-07:002011-04-26T21:28:06.416-07:00Rolled and Roasted<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m still a bit overwhelmed by the whole “<a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">altitude adjustment</a>” ordeal, and I haven’t been able to make myself sort through the information yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combine that with the Holidays, and other various circumstances, and life has become somewhat complicated—in a manner of speaking. So, I’ve been sticking with what I know. Or, at least, what I think I know.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpl0m4V6qZ9YnxBqDWUM-oLZyiZ1uJncRZV6c1sn2ILOjuyD3ksJhEgGcNbqg8599jJ9yJ2yoPajP0iBp_bbPv0EgZgfA-uQMZ5FPSQ4kc5WJ4EpuOCzxb1AX82pwr0sLB_7A-lBYVqvk/s1600/blog-+roast1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpl0m4V6qZ9YnxBqDWUM-oLZyiZ1uJncRZV6c1sn2ILOjuyD3ksJhEgGcNbqg8599jJ9yJ2yoPajP0iBp_bbPv0EgZgfA-uQMZ5FPSQ4kc5WJ4EpuOCzxb1AX82pwr0sLB_7A-lBYVqvk/s320/blog-+roast1.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have dreams and delusional expectations about how I’d like to conduct the Holidays…but, I’m learned enough to at least know how much I personally can handle. For now, I’m playing it very low key.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simplified = Good </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s how I simplified my Easter 2011, Celebration:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/simplify-easter.html">Simplify: Easter</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And these are my simplified Easter 2011, Foods:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Breakfast = Easter Bunny brought it (<a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">see previous post</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Party = Potato Salad (store bought)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lunch = Scraps (aka leftovers/cereal/misc)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dinner = <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/crockpot-beef-roast.html">Roast</a>, <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-dinner-rolls.html">Rolls</a>, <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/how-to-boil-egg.html">Easter (Deviled) Eggs</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYgihIyWFq0A8q9cZfl-qPFhnc01q74ZgTYzSC9RyTqGHvoY2f-cBvnYHwzZpnjCJhhmRTAOeLdbPZh9Ln3O6lmbz98pteZ4aAxYKGinLp4R0TfEaH2w2cbthB_Gp3sphxCsk9K5t1wRt/s1600/blog-+roast2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYgihIyWFq0A8q9cZfl-qPFhnc01q74ZgTYzSC9RyTqGHvoY2f-cBvnYHwzZpnjCJhhmRTAOeLdbPZh9Ln3O6lmbz98pteZ4aAxYKGinLp4R0TfEaH2w2cbthB_Gp3sphxCsk9K5t1wRt/s320/blog-+roast2.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the roast I just improvised a <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/crockpot-beef-roast.html">recipe</a>, using whatever sounded good. I’ve heard it said that it’s impossible to screw up a meal in the crockpot. Well, I will testify that it IS possible…in fact, I do it all the time. I think I am exceptionally talented in “crockpot ruining”. On occasion I get lucky, and it all comes together. <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/crockpot-beef-roast.html">This one</a> turned out pretty good, and was super easy…but, I’ll blame any unlikeable part of it on the altitude.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrF38leiPc1iInSr39TuMzbxjr0kXXEIH5VJkND25zkwbQ6PUXodR34n-NJdLmzjT9e89nxwd9fhFN9SMsFNCoh0jousTLjqjV0P2PnRAxmXvlqhnzw2nJZ3n2bdVhS1nGgkADKSvew1G/s320/blog-+rolls1.JPG" width="320px" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-dinner-rolls.html">rolls</a> are one of our favorites. They are soft and sweet, dense yet fluffy. I like them even better the next day, once they’ve softened from being in an airtight plastic bag. They taste just like the ones I can buy in a big bag from the Costco bakery. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ28nPHCo9I1NuQajM_e29nEeodKYmLuw_qtZRfWV43Sk1X0_7V4r3vx0dsE7F58cNgyi5SsjXEIgkPo46FImz4MV0xiHumb1vkU9TJl1DRFyCb1lBlm1wiEFIbWG9QEdDS_oLcdCuU5hk/s1600/blog-+rolls3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ28nPHCo9I1NuQajM_e29nEeodKYmLuw_qtZRfWV43Sk1X0_7V4r3vx0dsE7F58cNgyi5SsjXEIgkPo46FImz4MV0xiHumb1vkU9TJl1DRFyCb1lBlm1wiEFIbWG9QEdDS_oLcdCuU5hk/s320/blog-+rolls3.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was the first time I actually doubled the recipe, though, and it didn’t turn out as great. The problem was that I had to move the oven racks to fit both pans in at the same time. The rolls ended up browning faster than the middles baked. They were completely cooked, and tasted good, but some of them had more dense centers that were somewhat doughy tasting. I’m sure it’s related to the weather, <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">the altitude</a>, my decrepit oven, and the quantity I was trying to cook at one time. Step around my obvious handicaps and you should do fine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also have trouble with <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/how-to-boil-egg.html">hard-boiled eggs</a>. I can usually cook them fine, but the shells ALWAYS stick to the whites, and it’s a massacre to get them off. SO frustrating.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are the directions I used this time to boil the eggs; and also some tips. Mine mostly turned out alright, but about half of them still stuck to the shells…so, I’ll keep trying: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/how-to-boil-egg.html">How to Boil an Egg</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, keep in mind that water boils at a lower temperature when you’re at high altitude (along with a whole collection of scientific <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">altitude complications</a>). What that means is that the water isn’t quite as hot once it starts to boil, so food takes longer to cook.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/crockpot-beef-roast.html">Roast</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-dinner-rolls.html">Dinner Rolls</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/how-to-boil-egg.html">Boiling Eggs & Deviled Eggs</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Articles:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/aha-its-not-meits-you_20.html">Altitude Complications</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-easterinstant-breakfast.html">Easter Breakfast</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/simplify-easter.html">Simplify: Easter</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/tips.html">Tips</a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/random-survey-how-much-do-you-budget.html">Survey!</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-56937537244909918892011-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:002011-04-23T10:05:58.882-07:00Happy Easter!...instant breakfast<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I find it difficult to relax and enjoy the holiday if I’m busy in the kitchen cooking. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So…here is my solution to Easter breakfast!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCRiCy1ajgZXsNo5SO9-QZGEgtb_-CcOapn8gr-5uOGBLcZHgqodXGWYnwVED33HB58KjAhna2lN5OoZ7z89he4PYwhi6belaRCiqWAuspsEykN1pUG8J8WzLvd8UnDd7tPf566dXOm0V/s1600/blog-+easter1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCRiCy1ajgZXsNo5SO9-QZGEgtb_-CcOapn8gr-5uOGBLcZHgqodXGWYnwVED33HB58KjAhna2lN5OoZ7z89he4PYwhi6belaRCiqWAuspsEykN1pUG8J8WzLvd8UnDd7tPf566dXOm0V/s320/blog-+easter1.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Easy Directions:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Open box…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbYK_CDAY6KQlEb0ONNmT2uAIM2iIwsC59NwOb8pDKj-_ahKThijJt8AwBAbcmTV4M1bpPcG0Rlv9IRewk9ObOsLIDnboZUUOkHyqH2JDUOAL3mPw0d8P_PzQsyTuraTM1aEoVYoH7ZAN/s1600/blog-+easter4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbYK_CDAY6KQlEb0ONNmT2uAIM2iIwsC59NwOb8pDKj-_ahKThijJt8AwBAbcmTV4M1bpPcG0Rlv9IRewk9ObOsLIDnboZUUOkHyqH2JDUOAL3mPw0d8P_PzQsyTuraTM1aEoVYoH7ZAN/s320/blog-+easter4.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">…just add children!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAa7GZDsROEaJknKYdrDjr40oFMbbJ4wBDjAoFVNh8juU1ptZsHHWg1zpCM_Xz2bjc8MhQDhjBnleUjlsmpdHBriYsEqB7bSSQDV7b8t3gt5GVHYfOXbgcLSDqaI2d1ctdIpjbeCFzUuf/s1600/blog-+easter2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAa7GZDsROEaJknKYdrDjr40oFMbbJ4wBDjAoFVNh8juU1ptZsHHWg1zpCM_Xz2bjc8MhQDhjBnleUjlsmpdHBriYsEqB7bSSQDV7b8t3gt5GVHYfOXbgcLSDqaI2d1ctdIpjbeCFzUuf/s320/blog-+easter2.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5yRq-0ovlLsymN_8ubNOE27hy2lh0mrrG8R9RP4Lrh3wtDINe4nHkt053dQqgdOlF2JouLM5zp92jdFmw1WgXxcPakeDoxM3J7Z-6nzjJqdbcEoAFumdpG2ZzULiYu7VTonEcVKyhs9B/s1600/blog-+easter3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5yRq-0ovlLsymN_8ubNOE27hy2lh0mrrG8R9RP4Lrh3wtDINe4nHkt053dQqgdOlF2JouLM5zp92jdFmw1WgXxcPakeDoxM3J7Z-6nzjJqdbcEoAFumdpG2ZzULiYu7VTonEcVKyhs9B/s320/blog-+easter3.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Happy Easter!</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/random-survey-how-much-do-you-budget.html">Survey!!!</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-44700413970005912422011-04-20T14:45:00.000-07:002011-04-20T15:33:44.594-07:00Aha! It’s NOT me…it’s YOU!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As I have been wading through this disastrousness I’ve been dealing with, I finally decided to do a little research. As it turns out, my problem is neither myself, nor my flour! It is in fact the altitude (I’m above 5400 ft)…AND the weather! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(if you don't know what I'm talking about read my <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/seriously-whats-deal.html">previous post</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYv7e7x7fVBdvPknRTsyTcPF1R2wnyGuK2VDOKFApCpp8w41_PkKftNkHJc6bJBlkncUVqDXrXFjHGlQZUYkZuWRUk3KxlQ2qvC1BF-6rohuQ-Apdhu9RYJLBAVWjYNZ3THuZ1J3-Tc7uh/s1600/mountains1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="133px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYv7e7x7fVBdvPknRTsyTcPF1R2wnyGuK2VDOKFApCpp8w41_PkKftNkHJc6bJBlkncUVqDXrXFjHGlQZUYkZuWRUk3KxlQ2qvC1BF-6rohuQ-Apdhu9RYJLBAVWjYNZ3THuZ1J3-Tc7uh/s400/mountains1.JPG" width="400px" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I don’t know why I haven’t noticed before, but I’m assuming it’s related to the changing weather and the fact that I haven’t been a consistent baker. I have noticed that my cookies usually turn out more flat than I would like. And I’ve also gone through a lot of recipes that didn’t turn out as great as the reviews claim them to be; just figuring that I have a different opinion of what’s good or not good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve always noticed the “high altitude” adjustments on the back of cake mixes and I’ve heard little snippets here and there about altitude affecting baking. But, I’ve never really believed it, and I never realized that it could make such a profound difference. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I remember growing up in California, and the cookies we baked were always so tall and fluffy. I remember baking those exact same cookies in Utah, and being disappointed at their flatness. I never put too much thought into it other than I believed I had a faulty memory of those days when I was small.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This new realization is as equally frustrating as it is relieving. I found an article that explains all about baking at high altitude. There is so much information to sort through that I think my brain may explode. I’m going to have to rethink pretty much everything I know about baking, and start from “scratch”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I guess it’ll at least fit in with my theme here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So…here I go again…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here’s the <strong>article I found</strong>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/altitudebaking"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">High-Altitude Baking</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It explains all about altitude problems, the science behind it, and gives solutions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here’s a <strong>general chart</strong> that is a good place to start out, when baking at high altitude:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.highaltitudebaking.com/adj_recipes.htm"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recipe</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Adjustment Guide</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And here’s where you can <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>find <em>your</em> city’s elevation</strong></span>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic">GNIS</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(enter <u>your city</u> as Feature Name, select <u>Civil</u> as Feature Class, select your <u>State</u> and <u>County</u>, and <u>click</u> Send Query)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve listed some random <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Utah Elevations</strong></span>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Salt Lake City, 4222</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Tooele, 4862</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Herriman, 4993</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Draper, 4747</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">American Fork, 4632</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Elk Ridge, 5423</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Orem, 4764</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Provo, 4616</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Payson, 4747</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Richfield, 5351</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Cedar City, 5676</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">While your here, answer my <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/random-survey-how-much-do-you-budget.html">Survey!</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-6717198953979170702011-04-19T08:27:00.000-07:002011-04-19T08:28:19.661-07:00Seriously?... What’s the deal?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ok. There is very definitely a problem here. I’ve been having a bit of disastrousness lately, and it’s rather discouraging. It seems everything I make is horribly falling apart. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytvc3sUte2QkViOxo7UZoTej9Vitgh18RPGWBtgiZiIDj97wJGFa9-yxwZ7zLBxBtm7OvTfnPEsr_bQqXmk_dRnuFcuz_9fY_BceGNEXMnTOi6gIvkEAYZMhqkzC1mFXZXYbn19BPAaAR/s1600/blog-+crackle3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytvc3sUte2QkViOxo7UZoTej9Vitgh18RPGWBtgiZiIDj97wJGFa9-yxwZ7zLBxBtm7OvTfnPEsr_bQqXmk_dRnuFcuz_9fY_BceGNEXMnTOi6gIvkEAYZMhqkzC1mFXZXYbn19BPAaAR/s320/blog-+crackle3.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">First it was the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">waffles</a>, and then <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/wheat-bread.html">my bread</a> hasn’t been turning out quite right. I’ve made a few batches of <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/cornbread-cake.html">cornbread</a> that weren’t satisfactory. And I just tried a new <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-crackle-cookies.html">cookie recipe</a> that was a total flop. I can NOT figure it out, and it’s driving me nuts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have narrowed it down to 3 possible explanations:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#1. I am trying too hard, and therefore overlooking simple things </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">#2. The weather and the altitude (rainy & wet, and I’m also at about 6000ft), and </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">#3. The flour I’m using isn’t very good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’d like to believe it’s not the first one; I want to think I’m slightly competent. The second one is plausible, but I’ve been at this elevation for 5 years, and the weather is an annual occurrence...I think I would’ve noticed before… that just leaves the flour. I did buy a very inexpensive 25lb bag of generic brand flour around the time all this started. It’s a little disappointing to think that I can’t buy inexpensive flour, but at the same time it would be great to know it’s not ME.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I once made some really delicious “chocolate crackle cookies” from a box mix I got from Costco. I’ve been searching for a “from scratch” recipe to duplicate them, but haven’t had much luck. So, I found <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-crackle-cookies.html">this recipe</a> that seemed like it would be great, and ended up with these disastrous cookies. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9t8RIfqF72s2-3LOaBvtN1kQ6MEZGnxUOg17K1qu89g3jD7Tpxb91f6Nt4PJBmsq6YJQ6G5XouSUrBQ4ay-yo5bMCUuWSE7rapyD4rHVLd6SCMh1N0wCruC132FG9t5wN-IRWDN_UEDP/s1600/blog-+crackle1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181px" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9t8RIfqF72s2-3LOaBvtN1kQ6MEZGnxUOg17K1qu89g3jD7Tpxb91f6Nt4PJBmsq6YJQ6G5XouSUrBQ4ay-yo5bMCUuWSE7rapyD4rHVLd6SCMh1N0wCruC132FG9t5wN-IRWDN_UEDP/s320/blog-+crackle1.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">They tasted good, so I know they have potential, but they were like melted little blobs, sticky and shapeless. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got the recipe out of a “Lion House” cookbook, so they should ideally be amazing. I’m posting the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-crackle-cookies.html">recipe</a>, just in case someone else can bake without my inevitable curse. The picture in the book was way prettier than mine turned out.</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Related Recipe:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chocolate-crackle-cookies.html">Chocolate Crackle Cookies</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">Waffles with Blueberry Sauce</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/wheat-bread.html">Wheat Bread</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/cornbread-cake.html">Cornbread</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-35740440690128557162011-04-15T11:00:00.000-07:002011-04-15T13:12:51.361-07:00Lumpy little pillows of Delicious<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am in LOVE!...with Basil. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovkItWyp9G7QIvaPHg9Kysxl1EZ7Cmpv8fn3NejHRDGZXL5Dsy_HAPR2TBVSAzm6-TGU7xRFdreS8qeJrXSqF67HCfGgoyKBeaRMCgax3JnOwzT_dYfLTDNqY5gHWLMmD3f2W1XvuIeb8/s1600/blog-+ravioli6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovkItWyp9G7QIvaPHg9Kysxl1EZ7Cmpv8fn3NejHRDGZXL5Dsy_HAPR2TBVSAzm6-TGU7xRFdreS8qeJrXSqF67HCfGgoyKBeaRMCgax3JnOwzT_dYfLTDNqY5gHWLMmD3f2W1XvuIeb8/s320/blog-+ravioli6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few weeks ago I purchased a sweet basil plant, when Walmart first put out their spring gardening displays. I know I probably didn’t get the best price on it because it was a brand new display, but I was excited to grasp onto spring. I’ve wanted to use basil for a while, but never had any reason to. With my aversion to sorting through my hoard of recipes I didn’t have any current recipes that use basil. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, it’s just been sitting there…waiting…waiting for Mother Nature to say “come and play outside”. All the while, it’s been staring intently at me, taunting me with its existence.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I picked off a leaf, and smelled it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">OH. MY. GOODNESS! I LOVEd it! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I couldn’t stop smelling it…until the dog ran up to me and snatched it out of my hand (weird-o dog). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had already planned to experiment with some sort of ravioli for dinner, so once I smelled the basil I knew immediately it HAD to be in the ravioli.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9EB153lIWsYWQbNK3pfsNU6KfCa3SQLyKTAVJbwzf6GrSVoko5IiIkNSVM2dfg0tSxWGoiTU3RYY1h27CILyHkzZGTCenDx4zzQc5hIlXnvio3dIM6nyjKbqYT8RpYtU99T_3neFLRLQ/s1600/blog-+ravioli3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9EB153lIWsYWQbNK3pfsNU6KfCa3SQLyKTAVJbwzf6GrSVoko5IiIkNSVM2dfg0tSxWGoiTU3RYY1h27CILyHkzZGTCenDx4zzQc5hIlXnvio3dIM6nyjKbqYT8RpYtU99T_3neFLRLQ/s320/blog-+ravioli3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so it went, evolving from there. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simple. Sweet. Satisfying. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This may or may not be an <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chicken-and-white-cheese-basil-ravioli.html">original recipe</a>, but it was at least straight out of my head, without any written words to follow along. I used the leftover chicken from the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-and-sour-chicken.html">sweet and sour chicken</a>, and then cooked a few more chicken breasts on the stove, in olive oil. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknyQbTzonyTiZM3QPeqXiHJ72-RoqRHoUkrAURyCZEhY2tGnayum7gEuYoLlY9mQg6QcnbUb1GZcjM_vtqJe_MaryYjufhCA79nISiDKBg4w1VoiKZDKy_Wf6wfL0kWToZFNBEVXiEpld/s1600/blog-+ravioli4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknyQbTzonyTiZM3QPeqXiHJ72-RoqRHoUkrAURyCZEhY2tGnayum7gEuYoLlY9mQg6QcnbUb1GZcjM_vtqJe_MaryYjufhCA79nISiDKBg4w1VoiKZDKy_Wf6wfL0kWToZFNBEVXiEpld/s320/blog-+ravioli4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was my first attempt at raviolis, and they were horribly ugly…but in a cute, delicious sort of way. I made a bit of a mess at first, until I started to get the hang of it. I had to throw out the first few…my dough was too sticky and they sealed themselves to the counter. And I also tried to cook them all in the same pot, which was about twice as many as I should have cooked at one time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoQK-I0086wxE-AU-9KHPGvD-fWb5lI4aGUSynAZVWwWxY_OJ-bSFPBVvkZqNzSgoGcwlhESXXN23baO4iNoUyYnGRnBC4HE7Qb-fMkMLXf7X-Q_PiVId2Mkp-UdBiq1Q798dSf9nBkPg/s1600/blog-+ravioli5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoQK-I0086wxE-AU-9KHPGvD-fWb5lI4aGUSynAZVWwWxY_OJ-bSFPBVvkZqNzSgoGcwlhESXXN23baO4iNoUyYnGRnBC4HE7Qb-fMkMLXf7X-Q_PiVId2Mkp-UdBiq1Q798dSf9nBkPg/s320/blog-+ravioli5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh well, in the end, life is good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">AND! Everyone LOVED it! …weirdness continues to enjoy my life…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related recipes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chicken-and-white-cheese-basil-ravioli.html">Chicken and White cheese Basil Ravioli</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/homemade-pasta.html">Homemade Pasta</a> (basic recipe)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-42836833353582685482011-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:002011-04-13T15:36:53.783-07:00Who needs take-out? Not I, said the cat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5_xa8L7ylnZtybMGkJia8TNd86ZxztgNsE80xQeh2CTlOs34vzcqHufBnbk6n_r_rP5DtuAFHU2Y9RYZRN-yCkhnTll8XU2HS5YPw8L9nek4LeSnw5WXHu6qlo04Xo2541hp7kQp7dFy/s1600/blog-+ss+chick4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5_xa8L7ylnZtybMGkJia8TNd86ZxztgNsE80xQeh2CTlOs34vzcqHufBnbk6n_r_rP5DtuAFHU2Y9RYZRN-yCkhnTll8XU2HS5YPw8L9nek4LeSnw5WXHu6qlo04Xo2541hp7kQp7dFy/s320/blog-+ss+chick4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am not normally a big fan of frying foods at home. In fact, it’s taken nearly two days to recover from this one. I hate having grease splatter all over the place, and the smell of oil. But, that’s just me, I guess. Some people love it, and do it all the time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At any rate, I LOVE this homemade <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-and-sour-chicken.html">Sweet and Sour Chicken</a>. And so do my kids! And, of course, my honey loves it too. The savings are usually my favorite part about making take-out at home…but, for this recipe it actually tastes BETTER than our favorite local Chinese food place. The savings do increase my love for this recipe, as well. To feed my family our regular <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>take-out order we spend over $50. I roughly calculated the cost of this meal…same amount of food…and it was around $11. HUGE savings. Makes me smile.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICsXkt6gWn2ZZDF6uC8QikPEN9yHA-TzmdYtGNiSokg5p3zbRzJxW40N2qtkuihjUqQBM1dV5DejFwRcGd70aL44gHiKddLBR_QZi-gKezZ9yVccXUNTsEhHRlcLPnWN2QGjhpZ5ibcXs/s1600/blog-+ss+chick1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICsXkt6gWn2ZZDF6uC8QikPEN9yHA-TzmdYtGNiSokg5p3zbRzJxW40N2qtkuihjUqQBM1dV5DejFwRcGd70aL44gHiKddLBR_QZi-gKezZ9yVccXUNTsEhHRlcLPnWN2QGjhpZ5ibcXs/s320/blog-+ss+chick1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As far as following a recipe, this one is pretty straight forward, and difficult to mess up (even for me). I did, however, make an exerted effort to follow EXACTLY, each step…I’m still bruised from my bout with the waffles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And it went smoothly, and easy. The hardest part, for me, was cutting up all the chicken. It seems to take me forever to do that…but, that’s the same for me with any chicken recipe. So, if you are used to and comfortable with cutting up chicken this should be a breeze. Also, as I mentioned, it thoroughly greases up your kitchen. But, the leftovers are fantastic! So, make extras and avoid the mess later!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for stopping by…and happy Chicken-ing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFDxFnXylZS3-2zPliFAPckz3ms6qIkoMQny18GJVQcvPPz0pY1KmyqwhA4rM3yjWVoSmDzPazUbUswBsz3HdoLYu0NlAQg8VNn3i3Y3OWk89PasNF0FYe_LirC1A-v9KLFKvg-kQZbk3/s1600/blog-+ss+chick2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFDxFnXylZS3-2zPliFAPckz3ms6qIkoMQny18GJVQcvPPz0pY1KmyqwhA4rM3yjWVoSmDzPazUbUswBsz3HdoLYu0NlAQg8VNn3i3Y3OWk89PasNF0FYe_LirC1A-v9KLFKvg-kQZbk3/s320/blog-+ss+chick2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipe:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/sweet-and-sour-chicken.html">Sweet and Sour Chicken</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Newest tips added:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/ceramic-knives-my-thoughts.html">Ceramic knives</a> (just a word about them)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/comparing-prices-impossible.html">Comparing prices: the impossible</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-43895410053895462812011-04-11T08:36:00.000-07:002011-04-11T08:36:58.089-07:00Stupid-head Waffles of Death: it’s not you, it’s ME?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiendAo3gdw_Dp97F353oNJcLK3TsrN2sN5F_-jh76J0nXUNkqCL8xOL_knAQ4_mpSfg7dBrUsegAKoiY_JP0cVs0iM0fsDlqvIh_Qlnnh3KrCkrh8LuB5116gx7KhMB7Iw4TDbzJdySi_p/s1600/blog-+waffles2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiendAo3gdw_Dp97F353oNJcLK3TsrN2sN5F_-jh76J0nXUNkqCL8xOL_knAQ4_mpSfg7dBrUsegAKoiY_JP0cVs0iM0fsDlqvIh_Qlnnh3KrCkrh8LuB5116gx7KhMB7Iw4TDbzJdySi_p/s320/blog-+waffles2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am <em>seriously</em> ridiculous with following recipes. I cannot even <strong>believe</strong> myself sometimes. Do I really have to get WORSE, before I can get better? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today was an ultimate low. There was a pretty brutal showdown between myself and <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">this recipe</a>; name calling and everything. In the end I learned that fighting is not the answer. Can’t we all just get along? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I literally ruined FOUR double-batches of <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">waffles</a>. That would technically be EIGHT batches! The worst part is that this is NOT a new recipe. It’s actually one that I’ve made a dozen times, and my family really loves it. My girl has been begging for it for 3 days. I kept putting it off, as life tends to get in the way sometimes. I finally made a super-duper unbreakable promise to her that we would have them for dinner tonight. So I absolutely could not give up. No way. I even had her help me mix up the first batch. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">...an hour and a half later...I was dumping the 3<sup>rd</sup> batch down the drain and starting over; one last time. I had to grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and FOCUS. I was <em>going</em> to do it right. That was <em>it</em>. There would be world peace, and everyone would dance in the streets. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I COULD NOT BELIEVE myself, when I screwed it up a fourth time. Impossible! I really was starting to believe I was hallucinating.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So. I did not win this battle. And I came away from it pretty bruised and beaten. But. As they say, the war's not over yet. There is a bit of sunshine in the end here, though. I did at least make them “look” pretty. And the kids didn’t know the difference. I think all they care about is the blueberry sauce anyway. I thought they tasted alright, too, but through the sweat and tears and blood and pain it was hard to enjoy the moment. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6Hv8QRcykqnAA02KGq38QNjZ4rN1itDhLy2Xy7eBdmj05-1JYrsEc3_55aYOh6swiPOfoeGiwunT-M4nzgt_O-JFAlzncyoy0SrTFEPao9pCkesaOPvyvgJQ8u3xU0v_r9lL-Mk8LOk3/s1600/blog-+waffles5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6Hv8QRcykqnAA02KGq38QNjZ4rN1itDhLy2Xy7eBdmj05-1JYrsEc3_55aYOh6swiPOfoeGiwunT-M4nzgt_O-JFAlzncyoy0SrTFEPao9pCkesaOPvyvgJQ8u3xU0v_r9lL-Mk8LOk3/s320/blog-+waffles5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">can you hear them laughing at me?</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They may or may not have been delicious. I may never know. But, I do know, that the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">recipe</a> is a good one…and I have lived to fight another day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Here’s a play-by-play of tonight’s death-match</u>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Me</span> vs <span style="font-size: large;">Stupid-head-waffles-of-death-recipe</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Round 1:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recipe: beat eggs until light and fluffy. Then beat in rest of ingredients.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me: separate eggs, beat whites until fluffy. Add ingredients one at a time; mix after each.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WRONG!...baking soda wouldn’t mix in. floating around in chunks. Also too runny. Didn’t even try it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 point for recipe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Round 2:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recipe: same as above.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me: separate eggs, beat whites. Remove whites from bowl. Add ingredients to clean bowl, one at a time; mix after each. Add whites last; fold in.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WRONG!...batter was super foamy. Waffles sizzled and deflated as cooked. Very eggy tasting.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2 points for recipe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Round 3:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recipe: same as above (BOoooring)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me: beat eggs until light and fluffy (don’t separate this time). Add rest of ingredients; mix after each.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WRONG!...batter was very runny. Dripped straight out of waffle maker.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3 points for recipe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Round 4:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recipe: yep…same… AGAIN! (why mess with what’s working?)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me: (feeling defeated and exhausted)…OK, fine! We’ll do it your way! (…but do I? No. Of course not) Add all dry ingredients to bowl. Lightly beat eggs with fork, in separate bowl. Add eggs and oil to dry. Mix…Forms a dough ball! Then add milk, slowly….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wrong!Wrong!WRONG!....and the winner is: RECIPE!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The last time I did figure a way to patch it up good enough to end the torture. The batter was way too thin and runny, so I added more flour to it. That helped to thicken it up, and keep it in the waffle maker, but it made the waffles slightly less flavorful, and more dense. They were adequate, just not to my standards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>The moral of the story is</em>: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">FOLLOW. THE. RECIPE!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I hope you can do what I could not. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">link to the recipe</a>. GOOD LUCK! It’s a fighter…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(It’s actually a really easy, delicious recipe…I’m just insane)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">Waffles with Blueberry Sauce</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnItknUIJlseFWW4sXUqnU1BWcjhHi6V4RaF8pLv_WRlBiJTPCI5M41OqyR6O61IkIOtHtZddBdX3O32xgkdMFIuXtsHE-T_v4HLXEuyvnH5B11hOgnYYkkGGS0cZuca8wvGSVODAfFjz/s1600/blog-+waffles3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnItknUIJlseFWW4sXUqnU1BWcjhHi6V4RaF8pLv_WRlBiJTPCI5M41OqyR6O61IkIOtHtZddBdX3O32xgkdMFIuXtsHE-T_v4HLXEuyvnH5B11hOgnYYkkGGS0cZuca8wvGSVODAfFjz/s320/blog-+waffles3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the way, the <span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">blueberry sauce</span> is amazing! And I <em>didn’t</em> screw it up. I also used the leftover cream cheese frosting from the <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/frosted-cinnamon-rolls.html">cinnamon rolls</a>. Sometimes I can be brilliant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/waffles-with-blueberry-sauce.html">Waffles with Blueberry Sauce</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/frosted-cinnamon-rolls.html">Frosted Cinnamon Rolls</a> (use the frosting for the waffles!)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span><br />
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</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-49874197851422812092011-04-09T22:11:00.000-07:002011-04-09T22:36:59.103-07:00Cinnamon rolls of Amazingness<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok. I confess. I am a recipe collector. I have a gigantic hoard of recipes; but the strange thing is that I don’t use them. I love to look through recipe books, food magazines, and cooking websites. I find so many fabulous recipes that I just have to add to my collection. My stash is so ominous that it’s exhausting just to think about going through it. Whenever I actually need a recipe I seek out a new one instead of relying on the ones I already have. It’s a very strange habit of mine, and I really need to knock it off and clear out the rubbish. I’m setting a new goal: Ok. By the end of the year, I will have sorted through my entire stash of recipes, discarded the Terrible’s, and organized the Fabulous. Yikes! Now I’m scared. Breathe….ok, ok…I can do it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6cyoLeR7mE6P2ITnMAIU4aygC2A70I5RcjJMfGyGGmEbM-SR0oTVIf9z5cGve-0dyoU7Bdkq0Btoy0Bhllw8H-NBbrXcCcXR6bEddGIsGvMTfAiaD5SI560ZeGgB9T3wlPqrb5pKbERh/s1600/blog-+cin+rolls5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6cyoLeR7mE6P2ITnMAIU4aygC2A70I5RcjJMfGyGGmEbM-SR0oTVIf9z5cGve-0dyoU7Bdkq0Btoy0Bhllw8H-NBbrXcCcXR6bEddGIsGvMTfAiaD5SI560ZeGgB9T3wlPqrb5pKbERh/s320/blog-+cin+rolls5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To start me off in the right direction I can officially say that today I tried something new, FROM my STASH! I’ve had this recipe for like 6 years. I even think about it sometimes, which is the weird part, because it’s not like it was one that was buried and forgotten. I just haven’t been able to make myself try it. In my defense, however, it’s only been a recent development that I’ve actually been baking and cooking regularly. With this new hobby I may actually be able to get through that stack of recipes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Drum roll…today’s recipe, #1 from the stash: <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/frosted-cinnamon-rolls.html">Cinnamon rolls</a>! And they were pretty amazing. I actually got a craving for them 2 days ago. I stepped out of my car in the Costco parking lot and was completely immersed in a sweet wave of fresh baked Cinnamon; but they weren’t on my list so I didn’t let myself buy any. And they were so worth the wait.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have a really (REALLY) hard time following recipes. I don’t know why, but I just can’t do it. I have to change the amounts, add or subtract ingredients, and I do it all in a different order. That is another habit I’m trying to break (one step at a time); I need to learn to follow a recipe the first time, and then make changes afterward. I must’ve been on a roll today--I did follow the recipe! EXACTLY. Word for word. And now that’s done, I can add my 2 cents.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSVnqv0Jh-BzGiKY833lzK9NClMgm-iOOVHodJpVqyVB3r2iJ3XEu4MXxbneHiY2AA0R7oaXNzRf-LoPyjY30b1vX78U65e2vsDXNJTSFWQ2owoItThL43b0nufJZ8xdK4JhWwyef8-So/s1600/blog-+cin+rolls4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSVnqv0Jh-BzGiKY833lzK9NClMgm-iOOVHodJpVqyVB3r2iJ3XEu4MXxbneHiY2AA0R7oaXNzRf-LoPyjY30b1vX78U65e2vsDXNJTSFWQ2owoItThL43b0nufJZ8xdK4JhWwyef8-So/s320/blog-+cin+rolls4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a link to the full recipe, with my changes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/frosted-cinnamon-rolls.html">Frosted Cinnamon Rolls</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And here are a few changes I made from the original recipe:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They didn’t all fit in a 9x13 baking dish, as suggested. Next time I’ll use a baking sheet instead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCe6BZda5Z8RZ5YOHtHSvlSxe3qFg2z1kVxYK3moAXz_-zZQcvvStWcvEh6FtQrssOUvoDPL5CUeaO431_y3OzeRAc5Xti292dYDTLSgFhKo4h4fGKis_P-6Z0Lq1nAHtXYQRTiFbJb5n/s1600/blog-+cin+rolls8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCe6BZda5Z8RZ5YOHtHSvlSxe3qFg2z1kVxYK3moAXz_-zZQcvvStWcvEh6FtQrssOUvoDPL5CUeaO431_y3OzeRAc5Xti292dYDTLSgFhKo4h4fGKis_P-6Z0Lq1nAHtXYQRTiFbJb5n/s320/blog-+cin+rolls8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was recommended to turn the pan over, fresh from the oven, so the filling would recoat the rolls. I didn’t have a problem with the filling dripping out, so flipping them just made a mess of my rolls; I won’t do it next time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also doubled the frosting because I LOVE a little roll with my frosting.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY9_nmFJaAF-1B4g199M6OmB2MORDewkCZiKIkLta2EeNGhrCk2l5UR5fr0lpWDbxz08Qg4Vs50pe9zAiCGnovKo1DtacBwyHkR4jT8mpFOmZc5isUpSYiLyYdXuaGV4lT3478AqPM2sN/s1600/blog-+cin+rolls7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY9_nmFJaAF-1B4g199M6OmB2MORDewkCZiKIkLta2EeNGhrCk2l5UR5fr0lpWDbxz08Qg4Vs50pe9zAiCGnovKo1DtacBwyHkR4jT8mpFOmZc5isUpSYiLyYdXuaGV4lT3478AqPM2sN/s320/blog-+cin+rolls7.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No forks required!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWnQW9AhqhMgaVmsOzwYnSkh2b25B6iSZF1rofq9zn43HDcOv-0QarpRg8v84jWh_Zso7cpjYXCFXWFy9hY-BazUEk2qfrBA2iRkW78iPnoW_0E94MsLffTSOUweUuzBVHadgEugKOkKk/s1600/blog-+cin+rolls6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWnQW9AhqhMgaVmsOzwYnSkh2b25B6iSZF1rofq9zn43HDcOv-0QarpRg8v84jWh_Zso7cpjYXCFXWFy9hY-BazUEk2qfrBA2iRkW78iPnoW_0E94MsLffTSOUweUuzBVHadgEugKOkKk/s320/blog-+cin+rolls6.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why fight it?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, even following the recipe exactly they turned out fabulous. Definitely a keeper, I’m adding it to the Fabulous. Even my honey agreed! And he can be quite picky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That's one down...five million to go...</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipe:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/frosted-cinnamon-rolls.html">Frosted Cinnamon Rolls</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-31109994194242293522011-04-08T18:47:00.000-07:002011-04-09T08:23:19.236-07:00Instant Dinner: Lunchables. Yep, homemade.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5kdwrhrov7G13b9RrLZBoqpJ31Z7dAFK3S4CSuKxo8BektpYOW-NOxhrtLZjEg4TBGdr8f_O11BNsRnxxvghPOWufmg9q4O9_h0rC_ORkwAEhXO21GIZbX9ekHv-vxB1edlbXDrig_Wb/s1600/blog-+lunchable.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5kdwrhrov7G13b9RrLZBoqpJ31Z7dAFK3S4CSuKxo8BektpYOW-NOxhrtLZjEg4TBGdr8f_O11BNsRnxxvghPOWufmg9q4O9_h0rC_ORkwAEhXO21GIZbX9ekHv-vxB1edlbXDrig_Wb/s320/blog-+lunchable.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve always thought store bought lunchables were such a waste of money. They're over-priced, the kids only eat a tiny portion of it, and all they really care about are the candies that come in it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sadly, I did give in to them for a while. It was a time that I was trying to edge away from “happy meals”, and fast food. It seemed healthier (and possibly cheaper) to buy food from a grocery store instead of a drive-thru window. It was for sure a step in the right direction. And, I’ve taken a lot more steps since then. I guess buying lunchables became a habit, engrained in their tiny brains. The colorful packages developed tiny voices, and they called out to my kids as we passed by them. It was a painful process to wean them off of the silly things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m always looking for simple and easy—to go along with cheap and healthy; hence the lunchable fiasco. Depending on the situation, each of these sought after qualities alternately take a front seat on my priority bus. If life were made of chocolate, and we were all butterflies in the sunshine I would put Easy, and then Simple, behind door #1. Followed of course by Healthy, and then last of all would be Cheap. I’m not cheap because I enjoy it. I’m cheap because it’s my nature. It’s my instinct for survival. It’s in my genetic programming even. So, in the end, cheap always wins out. But I find ways to make harmony among this chaos of decision.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRFT5EekiwS19VBkiWeajBgLRynITSXWUdx6HtSYJYSCKVfeCkvPoG18AAcDv29_YGtf1b91dCwR3gOiMtEHeiWM60P8szpLY52_Aao5jlU3OUCqOL0XAABW82wSW6cqKsci6Vt3N7lT5/s1600/blog-+lunchable4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRFT5EekiwS19VBkiWeajBgLRynITSXWUdx6HtSYJYSCKVfeCkvPoG18AAcDv29_YGtf1b91dCwR3gOiMtEHeiWM60P8szpLY52_Aao5jlU3OUCqOL0XAABW82wSW6cqKsci6Vt3N7lT5/s320/blog-+lunchable4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At any rate, I just wanted to point out an incredibly Easy, Simple, and less expensive--yet quick and somewhat healthy—last minute meal idea:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><strong>The Homemade Lunchable!</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are endless possibilities, but our favorite includes <span style="color: #f1c232; font-size: large;">American cheese singles</span>, <span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ritz crackers</span>, and <span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: large;">Turkey lunchmeat slices</span> from Costco. We always have these on hand, it’s always easy to access, and I buy it all in bulk, from Costco. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlfZ-tsVb6dRur296PQQMTmSYt7AMu_Kk62nSRuhb7B-c6VJla45cRxATl11BPN3asNTZxzFOpaosTwe8Pr6fIsdAHK0R97Icv5C6RU4wXwaogbv6VxEtQGgBqdp1wjj6uU7C-lXHMYb6/s1600/blog-+lunchable2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlfZ-tsVb6dRur296PQQMTmSYt7AMu_Kk62nSRuhb7B-c6VJla45cRxATl11BPN3asNTZxzFOpaosTwe8Pr6fIsdAHK0R97Icv5C6RU4wXwaogbv6VxEtQGgBqdp1wjj6uU7C-lXHMYb6/s320/blog-+lunchable2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All you really need is a <strong>cracker</strong>, a <strong>meat</strong>, and a <strong>cheese</strong>. Some kind of <u>sauce</u> is always good, and then you can get creative and add <u>veggies</u>, or <u>whatever</u> else you have in your pantry at the moment. Another of our favorites is <span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ritz</span>, <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">pizza sauce</span>, <span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">pepperoni</span>, and <span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">cheese</span>; just like a mini pizza!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have fun, mix and match…keep life simple, smile a little.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Best of all, my kids love it! AND they can even get it all out and assembled on their own. It’s almost like pressing an EASY BUTTON…</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AfzF7WuytxgysPry6-_KT8QCqiLF8p9A3QYTKQUjshsHkXV294zz7g89yD6jNXxtzYQI7Y1Gps9be6OCBmVgBG_iQARy9dJv_wSY4jHLloQx1FKNNQQ-kxkgmmaQ-ySCqo4kwSig6jPF/s1600/blog-+lunchable3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AfzF7WuytxgysPry6-_KT8QCqiLF8p9A3QYTKQUjshsHkXV294zz7g89yD6jNXxtzYQI7Y1Gps9be6OCBmVgBG_iQARy9dJv_wSY4jHLloQx1FKNNQQ-kxkgmmaQ-ySCqo4kwSig6jPF/s320/blog-+lunchable3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, we shall rename this delightful discovery...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hereby declare this meal to be so dubbed: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">Easy-Button-Instant-Dinner</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So let it be written, so let it be done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And we all lived happily ever after…the end</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(sorry, no recipe...just pictures and ideas)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Or, read my newest tip:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/deciding-how-to-shop.html">Deciding how to Shop</a>-the importance of Smart Shopping</span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-57386662734022713502011-04-06T13:05:00.000-07:002011-04-06T17:48:23.124-07:00A Leaning Tower of…OREOS<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And the best part is that I made them! And…and…and… from scratch!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pdpPzLHUvfhjhw8GlawKdhgf3WNEgvG4flDrB2HP8eBIW-u3FlMyhyBCUGMgV8y6s8WPdHKsjReii9h3aWlIGCgLo9qkcY24eh7OsrlaTz1dX66hmLP8OaGz8pXQnsXX_ZRMP76cmxDc/s1600/blog-+oreos3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pdpPzLHUvfhjhw8GlawKdhgf3WNEgvG4flDrB2HP8eBIW-u3FlMyhyBCUGMgV8y6s8WPdHKsjReii9h3aWlIGCgLo9qkcY24eh7OsrlaTz1dX66hmLP8OaGz8pXQnsXX_ZRMP76cmxDc/s320/blog-+oreos3.JPG" width="315" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These were ridiculously AMAZING. If you like Oreos—even a little--you HAVE to try this. It was the highlight of my week. They were so pretty, I felt like the proud mother of these things. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t stop smiling and admiring them. My kids are starting to question my sanity, as I ogle food and am constantly taking pictures. I can’t even explain how it makes me feel when I see these foods that I have created come together so perfectly. This is definitely getting a little weird. But weird can be good, and I’m ok with that; such is my life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve seen this recipe on several different blogs lately and in slightly different versions. I don’t know who to give original credit to, so in the sense of fairness I’ll just call myself a “recipe recycler” and share with you my own version. That way no one is sad, and all who have a similar recipe can feel equally credited.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It fits perfectly into my theme of trying to get down to basics and make as much from scratch as I possibly can. Oreos are often a staple in my home, and my honey and I like to enjoy them in the quiet of the evening, after the kids are in bed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a hard time eating them casually. Eating Oreos is sort of an event in itself, and it has to be done right, in order to maximize the ultimate Amazing-ness of this simple pleasure. For me, it has to be in the evening, once my tummy has had plenty of time to relax from dinner. Of course, the kids also have to be in bed, and all my evening tasks need to be finished. I settle under the covers with my honey, a neatly stacked pile of 6 cookies (store bought), and a half glass of cold milk. As perfect as perfect can get.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I made these amazing, perfect, gorgeous <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/homemade-oreos.html">cookies</a> yesterday afternoon. In the midst of my photo shoot the kids got home from school. Girl actually threw an impressive tantrum because “they look so good, I can’t stand it…I HAVE to have one!”… She carried on like that--screaming--for an entire hour. It was very exhausting, but I suppose I can consider it a compliment? Anyway, I made them all wait until after dinner so we could enjoy them as a family; sort of creating a new Oreo ritual.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After much anticipation, the moment of truth happened. And, surprisingly, they actually tasted almost as good as they looked (I say almost because I kept them in the fridge, and so they were a little hard). It also lost some of its magic because we were eating them on a full stomach. Very important to remember, do not eat them on a full stomach. Other than that, they were superb. Girl and boy#1 enjoyed them, boy #2 said “these are so delicious I could eat them all day, every day”, and boy #3 basically took a bath in his milk, while--with a blissful glint in his eye--devoured every morsel he could get in his mouth. He was completely immersed in the whole process.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These are so easy and so good. The cream filling is identical to store bought (except better, of course) and the cookie is so very close; not identical because of the texture, but as close as you can get at home. Right out of the oven they are crisp, but if you let them sit overnight in a sealed container they soften up. I almost fell over when I ate one this morning—they were that good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to buy another package of the real ones again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone has their own “Oreo ritual”...what’s yours?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPy525iaconMVmoJZpBffluwg6LF5JRXk-JbwG1bA0ckwYO0TCxAX-gfnY6ftqz6o-S_1vqAfXJGTrOeH7jfk3AYWrhdTZFWCXGOy6sZEzPQu0zBjdKPq74KefZzOSU5R-hI9L4nbWJeJ/s1600/blog-+oreos.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPy525iaconMVmoJZpBffluwg6LF5JRXk-JbwG1bA0ckwYO0TCxAX-gfnY6ftqz6o-S_1vqAfXJGTrOeH7jfk3AYWrhdTZFWCXGOy6sZEzPQu0zBjdKPq74KefZzOSU5R-hI9L4nbWJeJ/s320/blog-+oreos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Related Recipe:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/homemade-oreos.html">Homemade Oreos</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-11932466614812080202011-04-04T13:19:00.000-07:002011-04-06T07:32:44.319-07:00An Easy Classic, and Kid Friendly<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyrPtGUJ9CjekTpTvmHMD-n6waaW_BQ1b4mwI7sZlYLalnA9mMw0kt219byjlVjfwf2EUlGgUgUiHVvyPta7vfPHkyZVXMmt7hk59U5KLbOD5Knl-E0UwOIixo9cxpnw76ziSwcLfMUUo/s1600/blog-+crispy+treats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyrPtGUJ9CjekTpTvmHMD-n6waaW_BQ1b4mwI7sZlYLalnA9mMw0kt219byjlVjfwf2EUlGgUgUiHVvyPta7vfPHkyZVXMmt7hk59U5KLbOD5Knl-E0UwOIixo9cxpnw76ziSwcLfMUUo/s320/blog-+crispy+treats.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It never fails. When I buy something new, it doesn’t matter what it is, the kids think they need to have it, immediately. Waiting is painful, when you’re little. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few weeks ago I bought a large bag of rice crispy cereal that was on sale. I planned to make rice crispy treats, some day. I do that on occasion—buy something intending to do something with it eventually—and then years later have to throw it out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this situation kids did come in handy. My girl saw them right away, and wanted them for breakfast. I had to explain what they were for and that I didn’t want to open them until I was ready to use them. Of course, it was already stuck in her head, and this morning I finally gave in. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today would be the day I would use them. Today was the day she got to eat rice crispy cereal for breakfast. And now that the new thing isn’t new anymore I’m sure she won’t eat another bowl of it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But oh well, at least I got to spend some time with my boys, making something yummy. They were great helpers, and this is such an easy recipe that I let them do most of the work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipe:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/04/marshmallow-crispy-squares.html">Marshmallow Crispy Squares</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-49279993582445882812011-04-03T15:49:00.000-07:002011-04-03T21:25:56.486-07:00Will Work for Buns<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Life is an adventure, and every day is a lesson learned. In my food life I still have a long way to go, but there are a few things that are coming along nicely. Like buns, for example. Today I made the most amazing hamburger buns, and they were so worth the effort. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Weekends always seem to bring out the hamburger craving in us, and for some reason it usually strikes at the last minute when there just isn’t time to make buns. Often we improvise with <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/griddled-bread-buns.html">Griddled-bread-buns</a>, just plain bread, or we skip the burgers all together. This day was different. As my honey and I were waking this morning and still laying in bed, relaxing to the lazy day ahead of us, we felt the hamburger craving sneak in. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It wasn’t even 8am yet, so there was plenty of time for buns! And even plenty of time to have buns for lunch! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsYwuvQMwc9TLaT9DA8FrjRKUrJ1NsODN0V7YqT1hpHDy2w0goXWy44p-0SjJ1wXAEqQ_nhIsw-EMoFyFwJUs66oZtzDoDHHH9yy9A4lwyd14P6Q37-94qtahOVM0rDB3nBdSxsoOXAWW/s1600/blog-+buns1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsYwuvQMwc9TLaT9DA8FrjRKUrJ1NsODN0V7YqT1hpHDy2w0goXWy44p-0SjJ1wXAEqQ_nhIsw-EMoFyFwJUs66oZtzDoDHHH9yy9A4lwyd14P6Q37-94qtahOVM0rDB3nBdSxsoOXAWW/s320/blog-+buns1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-K8pvlx75tSvFF6OGb9km0hsngVswA-E4PTbOpwk_NghqV95EKd-uapfvagK9TPz5MIiCc9Zh9PDDpgDEzmJ-RIUa2lfaQtgvS-8VN43pYXoPfi4wnD5kepB5YKHzHK0FOnn3OVhm2IsS/s1600/blog-+buns.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-K8pvlx75tSvFF6OGb9km0hsngVswA-E4PTbOpwk_NghqV95EKd-uapfvagK9TPz5MIiCc9Zh9PDDpgDEzmJ-RIUa2lfaQtgvS-8VN43pYXoPfi4wnD5kepB5YKHzHK0FOnn3OVhm2IsS/s320/blog-+buns.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, that’s how I spent my morning: In the kitchen, with the family, and my dough. I decided to make 2 batches, so we would have leftovers, and while I was at it I made a huge batch of <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/black-bean-purple-tortillas.html">black bean tortillas</a>, to freeze for later. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCi9uUcXCuX8sWatopwm49mn0GEtSAqs0sC-jCCKe2d1Xq4TzfvHhhkKULwXKRZlCjy79YDF2Lj99UHAKhZPsOdq-aSU8U-Z4kVmhEVlaeZsXDGx6_8T9RVprZHTs7crL1_DsYHHT1wCWw/s1600/blog-+buns4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCi9uUcXCuX8sWatopwm49mn0GEtSAqs0sC-jCCKe2d1Xq4TzfvHhhkKULwXKRZlCjy79YDF2Lj99UHAKhZPsOdq-aSU8U-Z4kVmhEVlaeZsXDGx6_8T9RVprZHTs7crL1_DsYHHT1wCWw/s320/blog-+buns4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cooking from scratch is really a lot of work, but once you get the hang of it you can plan ahead, develop a rhythm, and make extras to freeze for later. Although frozen food isn’t the ideal, it is so much better (and cheaper) than store bought, and so much easier than slaving away in the kitchen all day, every day.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfwn7FFu4yWqQS40sWO3P8Dee33MKUV-BNeIbhe7u_BHuSxYQawZ4dpalSgvTOMVkRMUDzXZtePasVTOAq4xI8kMLdvxdqmtdmJofhwyUg4LOVz2f8xqlCmW1z-3WeQLspHyzDFFfkyn9/s1600/blog-+buns3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfwn7FFu4yWqQS40sWO3P8Dee33MKUV-BNeIbhe7u_BHuSxYQawZ4dpalSgvTOMVkRMUDzXZtePasVTOAq4xI8kMLdvxdqmtdmJofhwyUg4LOVz2f8xqlCmW1z-3WeQLspHyzDFFfkyn9/s320/blog-+buns3.JPG" width="282" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was so happy with my buns today, I just couldn’t stop touching them and smelling them. Delightful! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My honey made the burgers, as he does, and they were fantastic. Perfectly seasoned, nicely shaped, and cooked just right. They were juicy and tender. The kids all loved them and gobbled them up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What an amazing, delicious combination this day turned out to be. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh9_xESfNuVQZdyJTCa8IQcECrxIsuTXRjc30ri6xLql_egni2sD5_iJw2suKF0Fmkkk69wL2TDC2swH44OMXqznHaIBgW6HS8-jKHQ_PisokifNBezsCLG3qUMGvwdjwgutpeJ7TAJMJ/s1600/blog-+buns2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh9_xESfNuVQZdyJTCa8IQcECrxIsuTXRjc30ri6xLql_egni2sD5_iJw2suKF0Fmkkk69wL2TDC2swH44OMXqznHaIBgW6HS8-jKHQ_PisokifNBezsCLG3qUMGvwdjwgutpeJ7TAJMJ/s320/blog-+buns2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/hamburger-buns-from-scratch.html">Homemade Hamburger Buns</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/griddled-bread-buns.html">Griddled-bread-buns</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/hamburger-patties.html">Hamburger Patties</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/black-bean-purple-tortillas.html">Black Bean Tortillas</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-73695729207634557632011-04-02T15:02:00.000-07:002011-04-02T15:55:43.154-07:00Moment of Weakness: 42 lbs of BEANS<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I was out-n-about this afternoon I happened to stop by my local Macey’s grocery store. I don’t do this very often, as it is sort of out of the way for me, but I do like the store and they usually have pretty good sales. Today, it happened to be on my exact route home, and I had only 3 things on my list: milk, celery, and hair gel. I was focused, and determined to run in quickly and not deviate from my direct objective.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Haha, yea right.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been contemplating over the last few days about what would be the most effective way to shop. I was deciding between either 1. buying bargain items and finding uses for them, or 2. waiting for the items I use regularly to go on sale and then stocking up at that time. Well I had just come to the decision that I would go with #2, and buy only items on my list, and when I saw an item on sale that I regularly stock in my pantry (even if I have plenty at the moment) I will buy a bunch of it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first thing I saw when I walked in the store was a huge sale display of bulk food storage items! How could I not at least look? Since I had given myself permission to stock up on stuff, I was able to browse through quickly (without feeling guilty) and find the things I use that were at a good price. I ended up with: dried onion flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, yeast, wheat gluten, and a 42 lb bucket of Black Beans! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(oh yeah, I also did get the 3 original items on my list)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSmLv1Rl64LYVpKSnc2o8zf5JFkAM5d2FvblLCMyQatoeatSOGAiPMnDpMv_9_hzatbXT2B83TgqtVEwm6K8KKUPul4eifzkYDCurz9oj9OIYO0usKW09QHIIhEv-Z9mIAcsBd8-7-gDh/s1600/blog-+black+beans+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSmLv1Rl64LYVpKSnc2o8zf5JFkAM5d2FvblLCMyQatoeatSOGAiPMnDpMv_9_hzatbXT2B83TgqtVEwm6K8KKUPul4eifzkYDCurz9oj9OIYO0usKW09QHIIhEv-Z9mIAcsBd8-7-gDh/s320/blog-+black+beans+1.JPG" width="204" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am so excited! I know I was waiting to buy the beans at Costco, but I decided I’ve found a sufficient amount of bean uses to at least get me started. Plus, Costco only has Pinto beans, and I was going to need to find somewhere to buy Black Beans anyway. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZTspxHckNbZYpfXizm7TcJq6-ludoyZJZk48TUfr71KEhjkdkxAP5Bug1tD5JGYbRpgsPEsGCG5p8k5zOqNVd6wBuFQ7F0c8SpcrUlwGUarblFzYBcz83cCmKlrnMKW6uJ2bBICQfjJx/s1600/blog-+black+beans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZTspxHckNbZYpfXizm7TcJq6-ludoyZJZk48TUfr71KEhjkdkxAP5Bug1tD5JGYbRpgsPEsGCG5p8k5zOqNVd6wBuFQ7F0c8SpcrUlwGUarblFzYBcz83cCmKlrnMKW6uJ2bBICQfjJx/s320/blog-+black+beans.JPG" width="285" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, that’s my story. I did it. I gave in. And I’m pretty pleased at the moment. I paid $39 for the beans, so I’m hoping that’s a good price; I really have no idea. That would make them just under $1 a lb…but they are in a huge bucket that would cost at least $5-8 in addition, so that makes it a little cheaper. I’ll round it down to an even .85/lb. Now I’ll have to look around and see how much Walmart and Winco charge for Black Beans, just to make sure I got a good deal, and to know for future purchasing. I am so new to actually comparing prices that I really haven’t got a clue about what’s a good deal for most things. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I recently did some comparing between Walmart, Winco, and Costco for some items and made an unofficial (but official in for my own shopping needs) decision that Costco has the best deals in general, on name brand items. Some things I won’t buy generic, so I definitely buy those at Costco. Winco and Walmart are similar for generic brand items, but Winco sells more things in bulk than Walmart. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Basically, to summarize: I buy most bulk things from Costco, if Costco doesn’t have it and I want it in bulk I buy it from Winco, and anything I don’t need in bulk I buy from Walmart. I guess I will now have to throw in an occasional trip to Macey’s to see what they have on sale.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMyL8-b1mekRLVV8yt90VOR0c4lddvi3tpXE0bVSu3kEvGBPoMY0ikdkUQ3Mu_upXdd-y0U1n3ppeTE6dK2p55IytdM5hgRR5ivra2XwNXisCOflacqTC_YcoFHgUSndds4yakvF_dyXF/s1600/blog-+black+beans+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMyL8-b1mekRLVV8yt90VOR0c4lddvi3tpXE0bVSu3kEvGBPoMY0ikdkUQ3Mu_upXdd-y0U1n3ppeTE6dK2p55IytdM5hgRR5ivra2XwNXisCOflacqTC_YcoFHgUSndds4yakvF_dyXF/s320/blog-+black+beans+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Little hands love beans too</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-15240472972742292252011-04-01T19:39:00.000-07:002011-04-06T17:56:09.303-07:00Purple Tortillas: Best. Tacos. EVER!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beans and tortillas. It’s a natural progression in my search for bean uses, at least in my opinion. Today I made the most amazing, soft, and purple (black bean) tortillas. They were so soft. They were also really easy to make, and the dough was easy to roll out. My favorite part was the purple color, and being April fools day, my kids thought it was a joke!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0fEVzBnMYYiAqoI_MfaUd2I3vLuFRkVPX7K_KmjbSce5TxMxtk0RxUcp4vXO1ziUNDbMLmsyS4W2pULSEpLrmVPFDfNquBHsWzsLMNLJTCSRiqrK1MEr63yn7jfx0W9dEzG4-sale9h0/s1600/blog-+purple+tortillas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0fEVzBnMYYiAqoI_MfaUd2I3vLuFRkVPX7K_KmjbSce5TxMxtk0RxUcp4vXO1ziUNDbMLmsyS4W2pULSEpLrmVPFDfNquBHsWzsLMNLJTCSRiqrK1MEr63yn7jfx0W9dEzG4-sale9h0/s320/blog-+purple+tortillas.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Here are some tips for making tortillas</em>:</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let the dough rest before rolling</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Roll as paper thin as possible (thin as a dime)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lift and rotate the actual tortilla between rolls, to stretch and form the round shape</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cook on medium high heat, until bubbles form, then flip; will be softer if not overcooked</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Place a clean towel inside a gallon size zipper bag, and keep the tortillas in the towel while cooking the rest. This will keep them moist and soft and not soggy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Make a whole bunch at one time, to use for later. Store cooked tortillas in the fridge; or freezer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP9WLGikHxXEdfgIQU_2cU8tUWIRZ2cgnRcEH4mR1qmQ2mRyTuEE-S-HnRel9P_Dmjg6nswfNJds0pG5Ww-LC34CyYycceR_O9g1su7MgRIQYL34uK76_YdEQ7c8aVx3TbUAjVh0-nf_J/s1600/blog-+buns4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP9WLGikHxXEdfgIQU_2cU8tUWIRZ2cgnRcEH4mR1qmQ2mRyTuEE-S-HnRel9P_Dmjg6nswfNJds0pG5Ww-LC34CyYycceR_O9g1su7MgRIQYL34uK76_YdEQ7c8aVx3TbUAjVh0-nf_J/s320/blog-+buns4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I made black bean chicken tacos out of these purple tortillas, and they were SO amazing! The best tacos ever, even my picky kids ALL ate them, and asked for more. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yay for beans!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/chicken-black-bean-tacos.html">Chicken Black Bean Tacos</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/04/black-bean-purple-tortillas.html">Black Bean (purple) Tortillas</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-39049463410124628592011-03-31T10:53:00.000-07:002011-03-31T18:42:16.386-07:00Lazy to Learned: Pasta Dough<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I made a fantastic discovery. I have apparently been a lazy chef when it comes to making pasta dough. I have been putting all the ingredients in my mixer and expecting it to come out perfectly. Well, it has been a bit of a disaster, and I was becoming discouraged with the abilities of my mixer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok, the discovery: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last night, as I was laying in bed about to fall asleep (I know, it’s sad, I daydream about pasta) I had a sudden inspiration. I thought I should try to start out with only half the required flour, mix it up really good, and then add the rest a little at a time. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before; I guess I just wanted to get it done fast. This method is similar to how you make bread dough, and I’m quite learned in making bread dough, so it’s silly that I didn’t figure it out sooner. I think I assumed bread and pasta were different enough that they couldn’t be compared.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, I tried it out…and voila! Perfect. Yep, perfect. The mixer did a wonderful job. The pasta dough actually came together with the dough hook, formed a nice dough ball, and I was able to knead it fully in the mixer. Neat-o! I’m absolutely ecstatic. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that I have the method figured out I’m excited to work with pasta some more. I’m still on my bean path, but today I’m combining the two. I am trying a chicken white bean pasta noodle, and I’m going to serve it with a white bean cream of chicken soup. In the soup I am adding black beans and veggies. It should be interesting, if nothing else. I think it’ll be delicious…or maybe I’m just starving right now and so I would think glue is delicious?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll let you know how it turns out…and then I’ll post those recipes...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">OK, here's the update:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Boy #2 said "oh no not pasta, i hate pasta". to which i replied "this is a new one, i have to keep trying new ones until we find one you like". Boy #1 said "don't tell me we're having pasta for dinner". to which i replied "ok, i won't tell you"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">...in the end they all ate it, but didn't all love it. Boy #1 ate it all, and didn't complain, Girl actually asked for seconds, Boy #2 only finished his to get a brownie, and littlest only ate one bite--after much convincing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Myself, I thought it was pretty good (and my honey even had seconds). I served the soup over the pasta and enjoyed it, but it does have a somewhat distracting bean flavor (imagine that? hm), but once i put the pasta and soup all on top of a piece of garlic toast it was amazing. yum! so, be sure to serve it with garlic toast...and don't forget the brownies, in case you need bribes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Related Recipes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/cream-of-chicken-white-bean-soup.html">Cream of Chicken White Bean Soup</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/chicken-white-bean-pasta-noodles.html">Chicken White Bean Pasta Noodles</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/garlic-toast.html">Garlic Toast</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-bean-brownies.html">Black Bean Brownies</a></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-26241858659782561082011-03-30T20:54:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:39:26.783-07:00Discovering Beans<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few months ago I discovered a 25 lb bag of pinto beans for only $12, at Costco. I have been obsessed with that bag of beans ever since, but haven’t allowed myself to actually purchase it. I decided I need to learn to use beans before I can own that many of them. Up until the bean obsession took over I had no idea how to even cook beans. I usually have “pork n beans” in my pantry that I mix with ground beef—and some other stuff—to make <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/beans-and-meat.html">Beans n Meat</a>; which by the way happened to be my ultimate favorite meal as a kid (and my own kids love it too). I also have canned chili (with beans) that I usually serve on top of Kraft Mac n Cheese, as well as canned black beans that I mix with ground beef for <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/taco-salad.html">Taco Salad</a>. The funniest part is that I have ALWAYS had dry beans on hand…just never for eating. I keep thinking I will cook them some day; and they keep sitting there, winking at me…and then I end up making bean bags out of them (but I always buy more…I know, weird).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, in order for me to buy the hypnotic bag of beans I need to first figure out how to incorporate dry beans into my regular menu. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thus my journey begins…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve done some searching for uses and recipes over the last few weeks, but I’ve only started experimenting this week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Here’s an overview of what I’ve learned</em>: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beans are super good for you; they are full of nutrients, fiber and protein, and they are low in fat and salt. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I actually came across an article that gave me permission to put beans in my wheat grinder and make flour! I could hardly contain my excitement. I LOVE flour. In that same article I learned that you can substitute up to ¼ the amount of regular flour with bean flour, in a recipe. You can also add a few tablespoons to any dry mix to make it healthier. It’s great as a thickener for gravy or sauce, or you can just add water and cook for 3 minutes to make a quick and creamy soup; add pasta, veggies, extra beans, etc to make a quick meal out of it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another way to use beans is to cook them, and then puree them to use as a fat substitute in recipes. I’m sure you’ve heard of using pumpkin or applesauce in recipes. Well, beans can do the same thing! It reduces the fat, and also makes a more moist and fluffy result in brownies and muffins (don’t add too much, though, it will turn crumbly).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And of course there is the traditional use for beans, where you cook them and add them directly to the recipe. It’s best to soak before cooking to reduce the cook time. There’s an overnight soak method, and then a quick soak method where you boil for 3 minutes and then let soak for 1 hour.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I have merely begun this bean-ish adventure I have only a few bits of wisdom to share; I’ll add recipes and tips as I figure them out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Here’s what I’ve tried thus far</em>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-bean-brownies.html">Black Bean Brownies</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These were amazing. We LOVED them. But I am one who loves soft cakelike brownies, and that’s how they turned out. I haven’t been able to figure out how to get a moist brownie without a crispy top layer, until now. These were so soft….magical even. Littlest--who recently turned 3--casually ate 6 of them in one afternoon. He was too cute to be stopped.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/slow-cooker-bbq-pinto-beans.html">BBQ Pinto Beans (with chicken)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These were good too. I’m used to the texture of beans from a can, and the freshly cooked beans were more firm than I had hoped for or expected. I haven’t decided yet how firm they are actually supposed to be. I actually reread the recipe and noticed there is a little foot note that says to “reconstitute before using”, so I’ll keep working on that. The recipe was originally for just the beans, but I added chicken to it to make a whole meal. Definitely a keeper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/cornbread-cake.html">Cornbread Cake (with bean flour)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I served this with the BBQ beans. I have made it previously and the original recipe is fabulous! This time I tried adding bean flour to the recipe. Something went wrong, and it was a disaster. I don’t know if it was the bean flour, or because the butter didn’t blend properly before I poured it in the baking dish. I’ll have to try it again and see what happens.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/blueberry-muffins-w-white-beans.html">Blueberry Muffins (with bean flour)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I was in a hurry but really wanted to try these muffins. I distractedly rushed through the recipe and didn’t take time to figure out how I wanted to do it. They turned out really yummy, but I think they could be better. They weren’t quite as moist or fluffy as I had hoped, and all the blueberries sank to the bottom. I also used half wheat flour, which I love to do, but I think they’d be fluffier with all white. Adding it to my collection; gonna try it again.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQw7dYo_7Ggz8KQVjJOAJd5cCDE-LmW1xLaK5Lsph39BdyGMXC-F_1oao_chZQKQGrVFxPqbhGiZNP7u7iF2v2_wnuIvIhK4g71k8SxPwfY1hzd0w0clj40VqlauGrijvUisBebpWCCboA/s1600/blog-+muffin3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQw7dYo_7Ggz8KQVjJOAJd5cCDE-LmW1xLaK5Lsph39BdyGMXC-F_1oao_chZQKQGrVFxPqbhGiZNP7u7iF2v2_wnuIvIhK4g71k8SxPwfY1hzd0w0clj40VqlauGrijvUisBebpWCCboA/s320/blog-+muffin3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s all for now. I’ll add more recipes and tips as I go along. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until then, Happy Bean-ing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recipes from this article:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/beans-and-meat.html">Beans n Meat</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/taco-salad.html">Taco Salad</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-bean-brownies.html">Black Bean Brownies</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/slow-cooker-bbq-pinto-beans.html">BBQ Pinto Beans (with chicken)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/cornbread-cake.html">Cornbread Cake (with bean flour)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/blueberry-muffins-w-white-beans.html">Blueberry Muffins (with bean flour)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span></div></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-52213647763653282292011-03-28T13:56:00.000-07:002011-04-15T15:43:01.386-07:00Something about Homemade Pasta<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is a simple, basic recipe for homemade pasta: <a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/homemade-pasta.html">Homemade Pasta</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've used it the most often. It can be cut or shaped any way you like. I have a pasta machine with two different cutting heads: fettuccine and tagliatelle (flat spaghetti). I’ve also rolled it thin and used small cookie cutters to make animal shapes (fun!). </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh479p3LwM_y7CIF1hjbdUj3-KpA5p8G7ZYyFJ-Z5kZh6igBtUWyCeI3R7edZ19fOimsj2iEiCFjWvFenVYXkmRoOd-xSK9cWSNBTqLGpvgtLzR9ezGZkDLmlwgoH-gh1U6etXTahREliyJ/s1600/pasta5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh479p3LwM_y7CIF1hjbdUj3-KpA5p8G7ZYyFJ-Z5kZh6igBtUWyCeI3R7edZ19fOimsj2iEiCFjWvFenVYXkmRoOd-xSK9cWSNBTqLGpvgtLzR9ezGZkDLmlwgoH-gh1U6etXTahREliyJ/s320/pasta5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">About flour </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Semolina is the traditional flour used for pasta, but it isn’t entirely necessary. It is more durable for the rolling and cutting process, and can be pretty tough to work with. It also has a slightly different flavor than regular white or wheat flour, and for me it has taken some getting used to. You can make pasta fully with semolina, or you can mix it with other flours, or even omit completely. Try different combinations until you find one you like. Semolina is also difficult to find in most areas. I first found a tiny bag of it in the specialty flour section of my local Smith’s store. Then, a friend of mine saw it in bulk at Winco…so that’s where I buy it, and I keep it in my deep freezer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Making the dough</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is a traditional way of making pasta dough, where you put the flour on a flat surface, make a well/hole in the center and add the eggs and liquid. Then you gently beat the eggs with a fork, as the flour slowly falls into the egg and gets mixed together. You add more flour and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky. That seems neat, but I haven’t actually tried it that way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I just put all the ingredients into the bowl of my stand mixer. I start with the paddle attachment, and mix until it is well combined. Then I switch to the dough hook. It doesn’t work quite the same way as bread, so I’m still figuring out the details. I let it knead for a few minutes, then I use a spoon to scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl. The flour must be too tough for my mixer, as it never fully forms a ball. So, I continue like that, adding small amounts of flour or water as needed, until it’s smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Then I take it out of the bowl, and knead it by hand for a few minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After kneading, it is important to let the dough rest for a while, so the gluten will relax and be easier to roll out. Form the dough into a ball, and wrap tightly in plastic; I then leave it on the counter to rest. Some people say to wait 20 minutes, and some say an hour. I usually try for somewhere in the middle, depending on what else I’m doing at the same time. Sometimes I’ll even forget about it and come back an hour later, to find it patiently waiting for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rolling the sheets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After letting it rest you can begin to roll it out. Pinch off a small ball of dough, around the size of a golf ball, and then tightly recover the rest. If you don’t have a pasta machine you can do it by hand, it just takes a little more time, and can be a good workout for your arms. I purchased my pasta machine online before I ever tried to make pasta. But, it took so long to arrive that by the time I got it I had made 3 different batches by hand. It’s a good experience to learn to do it both ways. Either method you use you will still work with a small piece at a time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rolling--with pasta machine:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Using the palm of your hand flatten the dough to around less than ½ inch thick; in kind of an oval shape. Start with the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Turn the handle and start to roll the dough through the flattener. If it bunches up you can gently pull up on the dough that hasn’t gone through yet, to help it go more smoothly. Once it comes out fold the sheet into 3rds and repeat the process. Fold into 3rds one more time and repeat (so you will have run it through the highest setting 3 times). Don’t fold the dough the next time, and move to the next lower setting. Run the sheet through. Continue in this way, rolling through each setting, one at a time, until you reach the desired thickness. If at any time the dough bunches or tears, you can start over from the beginning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rolling-- without pasta machine: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Use a rolling pin to roll the small piece as thin as possible, to the desired thickness of the noodle you are making. It works best, for space, if you can roll it in a long thin strip, but doing it by hand usually ends up in a more rounded sheet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Set each sheet aside to dry, and repeat the process until all the dough is flattened. You can pretty much dry your pasta anywhere you like. I started out by laying them on long sheets of paper towel, on the counter, but then I realized I don’t need to waste the paper towels, and now I just put them directly on the counter. There are 2 separate drying times involved in making pasta. The first drying time starts once the sheet is rolled flat. It only needs to dry for about 20 minutes, so that it will be easier to cut and not sticky. Usually by the time I am done rolling out all the dough the first sheet is ready to cut. If it gets too dry before cutting then the sheet will be brittle and break into pieces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cutting the noodles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cutting—with pasta machine:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Attach cutter head to past machine. Line one end of a sheet up to the cutter. Turn the handle and roll the sheet through. This is usually easiest if you have someone helping you. I am never at a loss for extra hands, so it is easy for me. If you have to do it on your own, it just takes a little more fancy maneuvering. Pull the noodles out gently as they are cut, so they don’t bunch up, and then find a place for them to dry a second time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cutting—without pasta machine:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Without a pasta machine you can still have fun and be creative. It’s difficult to make uniform strips for spaghetti or fettuccine, but it’s nice for giving it a homemade feel. You can buy hand held pasta cutters (which I have never used), or you can use what you have around the kitchen. I have used a pizza cutter, a regular sharp knife, and even cookie cutters. Choose the size and shape depending on the dish you plan to serve it with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Drying/cooking the noodles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You can buy fancy pasta drying racks for this, but I’m cheap, and it can really be done anywhere. For long noodles I have draped them over the backs of the kitchen chairs, laid them flat on the counter, and I am considering using my clothes drying rack. For shorter noodles or shapes you can dry them on a plate, or on the counter or table. Be sure to move them around occasionally so they don’t stick to the counter or to each other (It’s ok if they stick together a little, they will come apart once cooked, or when they are completely dry for long term storage). Let the final pasta noodles dry for about an hour before cooking them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Homemade pasta cooks faster than store bought pasta, so it only takes about 3-5 minutes in boiling, salted water.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQE1pskniHOmgFO9eKLmgt2e1OJuH3sRvG6jc2P_40T4bCMYC7H8TIBQlObNLt_kWufYDS_ClY2fP4YJWSmAsiXKFtC39scyeafskg9rppYLKGuDFRo_sjoic2sFWw2zwVhZtghrofPGq/s1600/blog-+chicken+soup3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQE1pskniHOmgFO9eKLmgt2e1OJuH3sRvG6jc2P_40T4bCMYC7H8TIBQlObNLt_kWufYDS_ClY2fP4YJWSmAsiXKFtC39scyeafskg9rppYLKGuDFRo_sjoic2sFWw2zwVhZtghrofPGq/s320/blog-+chicken+soup3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Fo78Zidlt2sWJXefgT-vqpZcowZY5HQhve2nMiMFHm51eAF8_nTWjt0osLBeP601Qk0DFN3rJsiCUSpSfsbM0K1fzq_W7A4cCwuaFqPp3s4a6Z1qfJ-GN_DE6gtUBtp_7OeB7E3RsUE/s1600/blog-+choc+pasta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Fo78Zidlt2sWJXefgT-vqpZcowZY5HQhve2nMiMFHm51eAF8_nTWjt0osLBeP601Qk0DFN3rJsiCUSpSfsbM0K1fzq_W7A4cCwuaFqPp3s4a6Z1qfJ-GN_DE6gtUBtp_7OeB7E3RsUE/s320/blog-+choc+pasta.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Long term storage</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A lot of people make fresh pasta and then eat it that same day. I haven’t found a whole lot of info about how to store it for long term use (I’m sure there’s info out there, I just haven’t found it yet). To me, it makes more sense to make a bunch at one time and store it for later. If you make an eggless pasta (which is basically just flour, water, and salt--maybe some oil, and whatever seasoning you want to add) you can dry it completely and store it in your pantry. If the pasta has egg in it the reason it isn’t smart to store it in the pantry is because of the potential for salmonella. It is technically a food safety hazard. I bought a can of processed dried whole egg, and I’m planning on trying that in my egg pasta. If it works out to be tasty then I imagine it would be perfectly safe in the pantry. To dry the pasta for pantry storage let it dry completely. If you live in a humid area you will need to check it occasionally and rotate it so that it dries even and doesn’t mold. I just leave mine out over night and it’s completely dry in the morning. You can also use a food dehydrator if you have one. Otherwise, you can dry it to almost dry but slightly moist and soft, and then freeze it. Whether frozen or dry it still cooks the same. Frozen pasta may need an additional minute or two.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Packaging</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Packaging and drying are the two things I haven’t found very much info on. I’m still figuring them out. I made 1” long fettuccine noodles for chicken noodle soup and left them spread in a thin layer on the counter over night. They were dry by morning, and I just put them in a plastic bag in the freezer (they had egg in them). I made lasagna noodles and let them dry partly, then layered them on wax paper, gently rolled the paper and put it in a plastic bag in the freezer. I plan to completely dry some noodles (but haven’t tried it yet), and store them in plastic bags in the pantry. Basically, my strategy is that if you can put it in a plastic bag, then do it. I may also try glass or plastic containers with lids for in the pantry (but that would mean I’d have to actually buy some of those).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Pasta Update:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/lazy-to-learned-pasta-dough.html">Lazy to Learned: Pasta Dough</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Related Article:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/today-i-chicken-noodle-souped.html">Today I Chicken-Noodle-Souped</a></span><br />
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Related Recipes:<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/homemade-pasta.html">Homemade Pasta Recipe</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/chocolate-pasta.html">Chocolate Pasta</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html">Recipe Index</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/p/article-index.html">Article Index</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-18947769443947183692011-03-28T09:59:00.000-07:002011-04-03T18:45:33.553-07:00Today I Chicken-Noodle-Souped<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been trying for a long time to figure out how to make chicken noodle soup from scratch; especially since I’ve learned to make my own pasta. I have an aversion to recipes that seem complicated or have too many ingredients (or require ingredients that I don’t keep on hand). For some reason I’ve never found a simple recipe for Chicken broth, or soup, so I just haven’t gotten around to trying it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I use a lot of canned chicken broth for various things, and one day while I was reading through recipes--or blogs, or something like that--I saw something that talked about using chicken bouillon to make broth. I decided that would be a great way to have broth on hand, instead of taking up space (not to mention the expense) in those cans. On my next grocery trip to Costco I found a large bottle of powdered chicken bouillon. I was ecstatic, because I really don’t like those little hard cubes; they are a pain to work with. The kind I bought is supposed to be 1 tbsp = 1 cube.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From there I developed a plan in my head, to attempt chicken noodle soup. The end result was actually satisfactory. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPBqq736o7RY5lOO_ONwjlO71tU61VVrUnwUTpU8Z8q1F1JIlnuoQB1eM_dnZTtVXnKXnaghrBhwKd53XxRbT_o4DfOMZI3kKL8TGe_uriqBwHD2rnUl7UZtmJfsqAoicT0oZWM1peUac/s1600/blog-+chicken+soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPBqq736o7RY5lOO_ONwjlO71tU61VVrUnwUTpU8Z8q1F1JIlnuoQB1eM_dnZTtVXnKXnaghrBhwKd53XxRbT_o4DfOMZI3kKL8TGe_uriqBwHD2rnUl7UZtmJfsqAoicT0oZWM1peUac/s320/blog-+chicken+soup.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is how it went:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I planned several hours in the afternoon (on a Sunday) to work on this project. First I made the pasta dough, then I rolled it and cut it into fettuccine (I only have 2 pasta cutters to choose from), about 4-6” strips. While those were drying I started on the soup. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid44kqc-XBm4IdVN7xWCIynQhgOfMkfoPjoM2VKhC-9cRwClv1CSzywN7ChIrj6P7uWo2GDOl68xe8pJiJx-TivBuV-21OzbP0jNmTMjFGemV8mbNxiPL-tpmk4M9CSWXbcCtxyQqx4Fy7/s1600/blog-+chicken+soup3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid44kqc-XBm4IdVN7xWCIynQhgOfMkfoPjoM2VKhC-9cRwClv1CSzywN7ChIrj6P7uWo2GDOl68xe8pJiJx-TivBuV-21OzbP0jNmTMjFGemV8mbNxiPL-tpmk4M9CSWXbcCtxyQqx4Fy7/s320/blog-+chicken+soup3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got out a package of frozen chicken breasts (2/package) and put it in the microwave to defrost. Then I got a large pot (maybe 6 quarts? I’m not sure the actual size) and filled it about 2/3 full of water; put that on the stove to boil. Once the chicken was mostly thawed I cut off all the fatty pieces and cut each breast into fourths, so they’d cook faster. In the pot they went. I set the timer for 30 minutes (intending to check on them after 15, but I got busy). Once they were cooked I put them on a cutting board to chop into bite sized pieces. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I poured the liquid (I’ll call it broth now, because I think that’s what it is) through a strainer into a bowl, to get all the foam and bits off. There was a rim of foam stuck on the pot, so I had to wash it off before pouring the broth back in. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rest was easy. I put into the broth: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">all the chicken pieces, ½ lb frozen peas & carrots, 5 stalks of celery that I chopped up, and I meant to add a can of corn, but I forgot.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I then added seasonings: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp onion flakes, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, a pinch of garlic powder, 2 tbsp chicken bouillon, and 6 additional cups of water (to fill the pot to about an inch below the rim).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I let all of this come to a boil, and then turned heat down slightly to simmer for 10 minutes. After my timer beeped I added the noodles, and let those cook for 3 minutes (fresh pasta cooks faster than store bought). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Voila! Delicious chicken noodle soup…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, it actually was pretty good. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We did however come up with a few things to try for next time: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Up the salt to 3 tsp, it was lacking something until we salted our individual servings, then it was great. Cut the pasta to 1-2” strips, the longer ones were sort of difficult to serve. Boil the veggies longer, the celery was still a little crisp, and we like it soft. Don’t forget the corn, and maybe some fresh onions would be good.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXrruL6UO5uG1p7LKPR0cfNWytaR_NZfJ7XtFKG6C8AbiZ7Jk75jGRJGfSRqg52MYReSOXTyk2FiYtFyYQdTsqdiX979zWuJc7DnIfX2UCCRjJlDJM4m44UAinSMM5jhZ5eoVg4HIbJZq/s1600/blog-+chicken+soup2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXrruL6UO5uG1p7LKPR0cfNWytaR_NZfJ7XtFKG6C8AbiZ7Jk75jGRJGfSRqg52MYReSOXTyk2FiYtFyYQdTsqdiX979zWuJc7DnIfX2UCCRjJlDJM4m44UAinSMM5jhZ5eoVg4HIbJZq/s320/blog-+chicken+soup2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was pleased that the kids actually liked it! Well…they were sort of torn: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One ate it, but said he likes beef stroganoff better, one gobbled up the peas and didn’t cry when we made her take bites of the rest but ate nothing else, one was in LOVE with the broth and couldn’t stop dipping his bread in it and expressing how delicious it was, and the 4<sup>th</sup> child ate it all very quickly and with few words expressed that he enjoyed it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the end, I’d say it was a success!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is the recipe for the revised version:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/chicken-noodle-soup.html">Chicken Noodle Soup</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/homemade-pasta.html">Homemade Pasta</a> (basic recipe)</span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-2909788641898895412011-03-27T10:05:00.000-07:002011-04-03T18:40:40.802-07:00Perpetual Peppermint<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am in LOVE with Peppermint...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last spring I planted 2 little peppermint plants. I had wanted to do it the previous year, but by the time I thought of it there weren’t any plants left in the garden shop. So I settled for apple mint instead. The apple mint, while it is certainly interesting, wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for. So as soon as spring was near (last season) I made a specific effort to find peppermint as soon as they were available for sale.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I bought and planted 2, just in case; I think they cost around $3 each. I knew pretty much nothing about mint, or growing mint, or even cooking with mint…it just sounded neat. I plunged right in and gave it a try.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lots of advice I found on the internet said to not plant them in the garden, as they tend to “take over the world”, and they are better in pots. I didn’t really follow this advice. I just planted them out in the backyard in a corner, near my grape vines and irises. They didn’t get very big the first season, so I was ok with that. I also figured I would be using them so much that I would keep them under control. I think the key is to trim them regularly and keep them under control…or they just might become a weed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I enjoyed fresh mint tea all summer long. It was fabulous. I also collected and dried an entire quart size mason jar of mint leaves, hoping to get through the winter. Sadly, just as winter happened along, I dropped my silly glass jar, and of course it shattered. Boo. I had to make due with the apple mint I had dried (which wasn’t very much), and was actually pleased that apple mint does pretty good in tea as well. Not the same, but good enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok, fast forward to this week. Winter is almost done and a few days ago I went out and found my mint plants. They had already begun to grow. The apple mint needed a haircut, as I didn’t tend to it in the winter. So I trimmed off all the dead leaves and left just the stems and new leaves. The nice thing about apple mint is that it doesn’t spread as much as peppermint (although I have seen it try to put out runners occasionally) and the leaves seem to grow faster and are bigger. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two peppermint plants had taken different routes. One was small and compact, with all the leaves growing out of a general area, kind of like a bush. The other was putting out runners and reminded me of a viney plant you see in horror movies. Spreading its tentacles and crawling along the dirt in all directions. So I trimmed them both. The bush one I just had to trim off the dead leaves. The tentacle one had started to put down roots along the runners. I thought it was kind of neat, but also want to keep it somewhat under control. Without having any education or experience in the area of mint plants (or any plants for that matter) I decided to trim all the vines. I separated from the main plant the ones that had taken root. And the ones that were just loose I trimmed near the main roots. I will watch and see what happens. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m calling it an experiment in peppermint propagation (totally not related to my little dog, who also happens to be named Peppermint). I gathered up the runners I had trimmed off completely and am attempting to make starts out of them. There was a garden pot sitting on the deck that was full of dirt but no plants. I put the runners into the dirt, burying both ends (just in case), so they look like little arches; nothing fancy. Then it got really cold and started to snow. Looking out the window it appears as though the leaves are healthy and growing. I may be delusional, but it just may work!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKKQvWMEp2AycSGK_DzeyBPtM3CIyV6g7fPPO5HfEsBVYPl0VvOU5F04GMMlu7rsXR9erecOA4516KgPdu9R4FCqEtnR8R_J4vx8yQ6ZH5iW0HFR9n2zlwG2D5QPkaJd9Wpcif_GPhnMr/s1600/blog-+mint.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKKQvWMEp2AycSGK_DzeyBPtM3CIyV6g7fPPO5HfEsBVYPl0VvOU5F04GMMlu7rsXR9erecOA4516KgPdu9R4FCqEtnR8R_J4vx8yQ6ZH5iW0HFR9n2zlwG2D5QPkaJd9Wpcif_GPhnMr/s320/blog-+mint.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m hoping to take peppermint to my new house, so I’m trying to figure out how to do it in the meantime. I also have strawberries, raspberries, and sage that I intend to move as well. The grape vines I am still contemplating, and the blackberries not likely (I don’t love them as much, and I absolutely hate thorny plants). But it will all just depend on how much time I have and what else catches my attention this summer.</span><br />
<br />
Read more about growing and using mint:<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/homegrown-mint.html">Homegrown Mint</a></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-20409127853370656552011-03-25T19:07:00.001-07:002011-04-03T18:42:17.221-07:00Free Onions<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last spring I planted some onions that I had bought in a bunch from Walmart. They grew through the summer and were mostly all ready around the same time, near the end of summer. I don’t use a whole lot of fresh onions, so I had way too many. I used what I could, and just ignored the rest. I left them alone when I dug up the rest of the garden for winter.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Winter happened, and then once the snow began to melt, nearing spring, I started to see little green shoots coming up. Even though it’s now officially spring, the sun is still eluding us, and we keep getting random blankets of snow. Yesterday, we had a break in the snow, and it was warm enough to work in the yard for a little while. I dug up a few of the sprouted onions and realized that they had been making “babies”.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0VHRSygmpksQ79L2a4ZcZIyrpNZxGdD5FjPoSbpqha45GXKuXCYacgE8RPmmSC2OmmlxJn6EckrQbd7v9JWW6_uYoridmcmLXACU-nEFCzUTW-wNhYEaHx31xmLxLt05GlNeyAeniKHCR/s1600/blog-+onions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0VHRSygmpksQ79L2a4ZcZIyrpNZxGdD5FjPoSbpqha45GXKuXCYacgE8RPmmSC2OmmlxJn6EckrQbd7v9JWW6_uYoridmcmLXACU-nEFCzUTW-wNhYEaHx31xmLxLt05GlNeyAeniKHCR/s320/blog-+onions.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Congratulations to me! I’m a grandma!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Or, at least that’s what I think is happening. I separated the few that I had dug up and replanted them in another spot. Of course, it’s snowing again today, so I don’t know what they’re doing out there, but I’m thinking I may end up with a whole herd of “free” onions this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m excited to see how this will pan out…‘cause I’m all about “free”.</span></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-3152905904717211682011-03-25T18:50:00.000-07:002011-03-25T19:39:17.884-07:00Hamburgers with Griddled-bread-buns<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The same day that I tried to make ice cream with butter I also planned hamburgers for dinner. We had frozen ground beef, but no buns. I originally planned to make the buns (from scratch, of course) but ran out of time. So instead of making the buns I improvised. My honey took care of making the hamburgers—as he does--and grilled them on the outside bbq. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I pulled out my trusty (aka inefficient/gimpy) griddle. I used homemade wheat bread (that I already had on hand), buttered one side of each slice and toasted them on the griddle; as I would for grilled cheese sandwiches. After golden brown I flipped them over and lightly toasted the non-buttered side. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We served the buttered side facing out, and the unbuttered side touching the meat. It turned out pretty tasty, and was a good alternate to buns.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recipes mentioned:</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><u><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/hamburger-buns-from-scratch.html">Hamburger buns</a></u> (from scratch)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/griddled-bread-buns.html">Griddled-bread-buns</a></span></u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/grilled-cheese-sandwiches.html">Grilled Cheese Sandwiches</a></span></u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/wheat-bread.html">Homemade Wheat Bread</a></span></u></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/hamburger-patties.html">Hamburger patties</a></span></u></span></span></span></span></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3109704614573061750.post-5340203349688775092011-03-25T18:35:00.000-07:002011-04-03T18:38:46.615-07:00Vanilla Ice cream into bread<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other day I was running low on grocery money, but really wanted some ice cream. I have been occasionally making homemade ice cream and use a simple vanilla ice cream recipe that requires heavy cream, half & half, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Of course, I never have any cream on hand, it’s just not something that is easy to store; and I don’t use it often enough to justify buying it without a purpose. I remembered that I had found a substitution for heavy cream and decided I would try it out. The substitution is basically butter and milk. Well, you may be laughing already, but it sounded brilliant to me. So, I tried it out. I made sure the butter melted and the sugar dissolved and it was all blended together. I poured the concoction into my ice cream maker, and waited 30 minutes. Voila! Delicious vanilla ice cream. Haha, or something like that. It smelled and looked great, but--you guessed it--the butter separated and returned to a solid form, as butter does. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We actually ate half of it, and the kids only kind of noticed that it was a little strange; I had to throw mine out after a few bites that were full of tiny balls of grease. The other half, I decided to try another experiment with. I thought that maybe if I cooked it on the stove the butter would bind with the milk, and all would be rainbows and sunshine. So, that is what I did today. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You guessed it: didn’t work. Oh well, I tried.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hate to be wasteful and I felt bad throwing out this yummy smelling sweet liquid. So, i came up with one final experiment as a last resort to salvage. I’m not always smart enough to know when to quit and cut my losses. I threw together some more ingredients, without a recipe, and attempted to create some kind of bread out of it. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpllzq0V7a1KDUVQm8bCD7dPC4KeQ1hbN0t6qDilTBueHsAlxhAr6Y_fQmzyc_hQo11Q6azW514oVV6TuxLwvcs0YWrlnZi-lTzaT9KKZtUnNz3Mp-3R8Ku3rc9wsESlMxs8RXeUsY8opg/s1600/blog-+icecream+bread.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpllzq0V7a1KDUVQm8bCD7dPC4KeQ1hbN0t6qDilTBueHsAlxhAr6Y_fQmzyc_hQo11Q6azW514oVV6TuxLwvcs0YWrlnZi-lTzaT9KKZtUnNz3Mp-3R8Ku3rc9wsESlMxs8RXeUsY8opg/s320/blog-+icecream+bread.JPG" width="307" /></a></div><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Good news, it actually turned out pretty decent. Kind of like a white sweet bread…and if you pay close attention you can even taste a hint of vanilla ice cream! I’m not a huge fan of white bread (I think I’ve developed an aversion to its unhealthiness) so I probably won’t add it to my collection of regulars, but the kids sure liked it. I think they get tired of wheat bread, and consider white a treat (kind of like ice cream—2 treats in one!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here are the respective recipes (click to follow the link):</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2011/03/easy-vanilla-ice-cream.html">Easy Vanilla Ice Cream</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/heavy-cream-substitute.html">Heavy Cream Substitute</a></u></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><a href="http://scratchthateating.blogspot.com/2000/03/vanilla-ice-cream-bread.html">Vanilla Ice Cream Bread</a></u></span></span></span></span></span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11919344241305952972noreply@blogger.com1