Change in the form of chocolate?

Recipes and Ruts-

Seems we all seem to get in them, don't we?

I know I have my favorite recipe for something and don't vary from it- mainly where baking is concerned. (Honestly I'm not one to actually follow a recipe otherwise- such the rebel, eh?)

For example:

Brownies

I adore chocolate, and brownies... can you get any better than one straight out of the oven with a cool glass of milk? (Chocolate chip cookies come in a close second in my book.) The ultimate comfort food.

I use two recipes for brownies normally. The "Fudge Brownie" recipe that makes a small glass square pan (so I won't eat more) from BHG's "New Cook Book" from 1989,

Or

The old time Betty Crocker's "Cooky Book" recipe from the 1963 edition (mom uses this one.)

It makes a 9x13" glass pan so I only do that one when I know the kids will devour most of them before I do.

Well...

Last night I had a brownie craving and made the BC recipe in (gasp) my Pampered Chef jelly roll stone pan! And... I iced them! The kids were in shock this morning when I revealed them.

"But these don't look like brownies, mom."

"These are different."

Sometimes change is good I think. The pan is a third gone already!

What's in Your....?

Thought that it would be fun to see what staples you keep in your fridge, freezer, pantry, spice cabinet, baking cabinet...

Today I'll start with pantry and see what items you always keep in stock.

(Things you think are wonderful and can't go without for long, etc.)

So....

Here is my PANTRY:

(I'm giving you a condensed list of course, but these are some things we love)

Nutella (Jac has to have his "chocolate sandwiches" for snacks daily)

Local Honey

Molasses for making yummy stuff

Muir Glen canned tomatoes and tomato sauce

(I like fresh but these are pretty durn good for canned)

Coconut Milk

(for arroz con guandules or curries)

Brown Rice

(I use DHC Japanese Germinated Brown Rice because I like the texture

but sometimes have Arkansas Brown Rice if I can find it local.)

White Rice

(I like a local brand, Par Excellence Premium Long Grain White Rice)

Herdez Salsa Verde

(This is awesome on anything, and for a quick taco/burrito/salad try it mixed with a broccoli slaw mix and lime juice and tomatoes!)

Black beans,

lentil beans of several varieties,

barley,

wheat germ

So what's in yours?

Fried Green Tomatoes

My tomato crop has been SLOW going. Still growing but still green.
Made my mouth water thinking about FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!

Step 1-
Wash tomatoes and cut into THIN slices (this is a key factor!) Make sure to use a SHARP knife or you could cut yourself. Dull knives make the blade slip and you get cut much easier.

Step 2-
Put cut tomatoes in milk or buttermilk.
In another bowl mix cornmeal, a bit of flour, salt & pepper, and I like to put some True Lemon powder to give it a tangy taste. Roll milky tomatoes in the cornmeal mixture and then place in hot oil.
*Make sure your oil is hot in an iron skillet preferably. Fry on both sides til done and drain on paper towels.


Enjoy! Nothing better....

Granola Girl

I love granola. I love making my own. I haven't quite found a recipe that I can go by all the time, but here's sort of the ones I follow (combined.) I do improvise with whatever I have in my cabinet at the time.

6 cups of oats or more (I use what's on sale, but Bob's Red Mill are my faves)

1 cup coconut (today I didn't have any)

2 cups wheat germ (sometimes I do flax seeds ground up or half and half)

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 package of sunflower seeds (didn't have these today)

1 cup of baby oats or wheat flour

1 cup dried fruit (more or less to taste, I'm allergic to most fruit so I use dates, cherries, or apricots)

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 cup molasses

1 cup honey

1 stick or less of butter melted

Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, (or whatever floats your boat)

Put all dried ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Then take a microwavable measuring cup and place wet ingredients in there plus butter. Cook til butter melts. You can use juice if you don't want the honey/molasses, or part juice. Pour over dried ingredients in bowl and mix.

Bake at 350, checking every 5 minutes to stir, until lightly browned. (About 20 minutes or so total.) Just depends on how brown you like it. (I like my crispy to stand up in the milk!)

Store in the oatmeal containers!

*I'd love your input on granola. Here is a post to my friend's recipe. She is a fantastic cook!

Liquid Laundry Detergent

Liquid Laundry Detergent
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
a bit of tea tree oil (to cut the mildew smell front loaders can have!)
1/4 cup or so of Dr. Bronner's Baby Castile liquid soap
4 cups hot water (first) then added about 8 more cups
**My mom pointed out that this makes a VERY concentrated soap.  It does!  If you use this recipe you'll only need a tablespoon or so for each load.  She uses quarts instead of cups of water in her recipe (same amounts of everything else)  and it makes a not-as-concentrated recipe that you'd use a capful of a normal washing bottle. I am using the quart method now myself because the other was overflowing!

I mixed it in a bowl with a whisk because the washing soda (soda ash) gets hot when it gets wet. (Luckily I knew this from my pool or I'd have probably burned my hands trying to get the clumps out.) I did put the end of it in the blender and mixed it there to try and get all the clumps out. Here are more recipes.