Rainbow Cupcakes

For my husbands birthday I made the rainbow cupcakes that I showed a picture of in my "Make your own cookbook post" I had lest one of my magazines out on the kitchen table (I think it was a free copy of Parenting) and he flipped through it to show me these yummy cupcakes. Later that night I pulled the page out and put it in my binder cookbook. When his birthday rolled around I made them for him!

They were very simple to do, although they do take a bit of time.

All you need to do is

Mix up a white cake mix and then die it the 6 different colors with food coloring drops. Then layer the colors in the cupcake liners (the recipe says it makes 16 but next time I will try 12). Bake as directed and frost! Simple as that! While not natural at all they are very fun and if you have children learning colors or how colors mix together you can get them involved if you are brave enough!

Here are the food coloring amounts needed:

purple: 9 drops red 6 drops blue

blue: 12 drops

green: 12 drops

yellow: 12 drops

orange: 12 drops yellow and 4 drops red

red: 18 drops

Free Martha Stewart e-Cookbook

Get a Summer Grilling e-Cookbook from Martha Stewart.

Thanks Moms by Heart!

May Freezer Cooking Final Tally

This months freezer cooking day was a bit smaller than some other months, mostly because we still have a lot left in or freezer so we don't need much and partly because it is finals time so I could only eek out a few hours over the weekend to get it all done! I still think I have a pretty good list here!

Over the weekend and this morning I accomplished:

2 dozen Banana Blueberry Muffins

2 dozen Sausage Egg Cups

A batch of Chunky Granola

A batch of homemade Peanut Butter

4 pans of Freezer Mashed Potatoes

5 containers of Potato Wedges

** I also wanted to make some graham crackers but I ran out of cinnamon so they will have to wait until the next time I head to the store!

Freezer Cooking: Banana Blueberry Muffins

I also made Banana Blueberry Muffins for freezer cooking day! This is my second time making these ans I made a double batch, we love them!

Ingredients:

2 large banana(s)
6 Tbsp margarine
6 Tbsp Sucanat
1 egg
1 cup(s) Unbleached Flour
1/2 cup(s) whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup(s) unsweetened frozen blueberries

Instructions
1.Puree bananas in blender (1 cup).
2.Beat margarine and sucanat until light and fluffy. Mix in bananas and egg.
3.Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and lemon peel. Blend into mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
4.Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Coat lightly with vegetable spray. Divide batter evenly.
5.Bake at 375 F. 25 minutes.

Freezer Cooking: Potato Wedges

I got this idea from a Rachel ray episode I say a long time ago where she used vinegar and sugar to season the potatoes (I think she called them German style). I have made these potatoes many times before, but I discovered that I really like them frozen for 2 reasons.

1) I always love potato wedges on the second day more than on the first because they get crisper-freezing takes advantage of this because you cook them once now and again to crisp them up later.

2) The vinegar in the recipe is enough acid to prevent the potatoes from turning brown which can sometimes happen in other freezer potatoes recipes.

Ingredients:
5 lbs of potatoes cut into wedges
1 tbs of sugar
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
4 tbs canola oil
salt to taste

Directions:
Toss potato wedges in oil vinegar, salt and sugar until coated and place on 2 baking sheets. Roast at 450 for 1 hour our until potatoes begin to brown. Freeze in storage containers. When ready to eat, thaw and then bake at 350 until wedges are crisp!

Freezer Cooking: Freezer Mashed Potatoes

I used the recipe here for Freezer Mashed Potatoes, this time I used reduced fat cream cheese because I got it for free recently but usually I use laughing cow cheese in place of the cream cheese since I am on the Weight Watchers plan and usually have it in the house. These are wonderful!!! I have made them before and the first time I had hesitations about mash potatoes in the freezer, but they are very very good, you must try them....especially if you are a boxed potato person, because this way you can use organic potatoes if you like and really know what is going into your food but still have the convenience of heat and eat too!

Ingredients:
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & quartered
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces sour cream (I use reduced fat)
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons onion salt
0.25 teaspoons pepper
2 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Peel potatoes. Place potatoes in a crock pot. Add water until potatoes are covered. Cook on LOW 7 hours or on HIGH 4 hours – a fork can easily be poked through them. Mash until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, beat until fluffy. Place in 2 greased 8×8 pans, (I divide into 4 dishes because I like smaller servings of starches) dot with butter (I do this when baking-not when freezing). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Freezing Directions:
Do not bake! Instead, cover and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Double bake time if not thawed.

I covered them with saran wrap and then with foil after the picture before freezing.

Freezer Cooking: Sausage Egg Cups

As always I made sausage and egg cups again for freezer cooking day! I have said this many times, my husband eats them almost every day for breakfast (unlike me he is one of those people who loves having the same thing over and over again!) I adapted from the recipe here.

Sausage and Egg "Muffins"

Makes 18-24 "muffins"

Ingredients
•2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Evaporated Milk
•8 large eggs, beaten
•7 oz precooked turkey sausage links, diced
•1/2 teaspoon onion powder
•1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•4 cups 1/2-inch cubed Italian or French bread (about 9 slices)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Spray Muffin tin with cooking spray.

COMBINE milk, eggs, sausage, onion powder and garlic powder in large bowl. Add bread cubes, stirring gently to moisten bread. Pour mixture into baking dish.

BAKE for 30-35 minutes or until set. Serve warm or freeze in ziptop bag and defrost and reheat in microwave.

** One tip-if you have a silicone muffin tin, use it! This is one recipe where it comes in handy!

Freezer Cooking: Peanut Butter

I started out "freezer cooking" by making up my first batch of home made peanut butter. This is not going in the freezer, but I do a lot of my homemade batch cooking all at the same time and for me it all falls under the freezer cooking category regardless of where I store it!

I used Alton Browns Recipe here, and the peanuts I bought this weekend at the farmers market.

Ingredients:
15 ounces shelled and skinned roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Directions:
Place the peanuts, salt and honey into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (this took me a bit longer). Place the peanut butter in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months

We ended up with a nice amount for sandwiches plus 1/2 cup for the granola I made next! (recipe will follow) The taste was AMAZING! Plus it is so worth the 5 min of processing and 5 min of cleanup to know what is in your peanut butter, although I will say this was not a frugal recipe. I may be able to find a better price on peanuts somewhere but in this round I definitely spent more than I wold have on a regular jar of peanut butter.

Blackberry Strawberry Freezer Jam

If you keep up with what I buy each week at the grocery store you saw my huge blackberry purchase! I bought all those to make blackberry freezer jam! I use a modified blackberry freezer jam recipe that includes some strawberries because my husband hates seeds so I have to strain the blackberry puree so it is free of seeds but when I do this I loose the jammy texture. So to compensate I use some mashed strawberries for the texture. I really love it, in fact we had this for lunch today on our peanut better and jelly sandwiches.

Here is what I do:

Ingredients:

2 cups pureed and strained blackberries (about 3 pts or 6 1/2 pts)

2 cups mashed strawberries (about 1 pt. )
3 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1 box SURE.JELL For Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes Premium Fruit Pectin
1 cup water

Directions:

RINSE clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
Puree blackberries thoroughly, and strain through a sieve to remove the seeds) Measure exactly 2 cups prepared blackberries into large bowl.

MASH ripe strawberries in a bowl and Measure exactly 2 cups to add to the prepared blackberries in the large bowl.
MIX sugar and pectin in large saucepan. Stir in water. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 min. Remove from heat. Add blackberry/strawberry mixture; stir 1 min. or until well blended.
FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

**For containers I love to reuse jelly jars, I also find large baby food jars work well!

Freezer jam is a piece of cake and even people like me who are afraid of canning can preserve beautiful summer fruit...I highly recommend you give it a try!

Freezer Cooking- Finally Wraping Up!!!!

My freezer cooking was a bit more spread out this month due to our illnesses but I finally accomplished nearly everything on my list and then some...I did not get to the muffins or graham crackers, but I am going out of town tomorrow until Sunday ( I should still be able to blog) so they will have to wait until next week.

Here is what I accomplished:
Cook black beans-crock pot - for use in taco meat and Black Bean and Turkey Chili -DONE

Cook white beans-crock pot - for use in White Chicken Chili -DONE

Roast 3 chickens and shred the meat for use in other meals -DONE
Roast 1 lb chicken breast and chop the meat for hubs to use on "daddy night" meals -DONE
Cook 3 lbs ground turkey and 1 lb ground beef - some for Turkey and Black bean chili, some for taco meat, and some for spaghetti sauce meat -DONE
Cook Curry Lentils -DONE

Make Sausage and Egg Cups -DONE & recipe doubled
Make Blueberry Muffins *not done yet

Make Graham Crackers *not done yet

Make Granola -DONE

Added:

Chicken Stock-DONE

Chicken Taco Lunches for the Hubs-DONE

Sausage Egg Cups

I make this recipe every freezer cooking week (I usually double it), my husband eats them almost every day for breakfast (unlike me he is one of those people who loves having the same thing over and over again!) I adapted from the recipe here.

Sausage and Egg "Muffins"

Makes 24 "muffins"

Ingredients
•2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Evaporated Milk
•8 large eggs, beaten
•7 oz precooked turkey sausage links, diced
•1/2 teaspoon onion powder
•1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•4 cups 1/2-inch cubed Italian or French bread (about 9 slices)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Spray Muffin tin with cooking spray.

COMBINE milk, eggs, sausage, onion powder and garlic powder in large bowl. Add bread cubes, stirring gently to moisten bread. Pour mixture into baking dish.

BAKE for 30-35 minutes or until set. Serve warm or freeze in ziptop bag and defrost and reheat in microwave.

** One tip-if you have a silicone muffin tin, use it! This is one recipe where it comes in handy!

Granola

This morning I finally made the granola I had been planning on making with the organic raisins I got for free using swagbucks. It is WONDERFUL!!! But I did make one mistake. I mixed the raisins in with everything else and baked it all together rather than following the directions and mixing them after the rest of the granola comes out of the oven. They are not burned, but they are a little "caramelized" so I defiantly recommend following the directions!!!

I used Alton Brown's recipe and other than my mistake the only change I made was doubling the almonds instead of using cashews because we did not have any on hand.

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Chicken Taco Lunches

I also forgot to post what I ended up doing with all the extra chicken I had after making the things on my freezer cooking day list.

At the request of my husband I turned them into chicken taco lunches. I mixed the chicken, with beans and salsa and divided it into containers. Then I put a piece of plastic wrap over the top and folded 2 tortillas into quarters and placed it on top, put some cheese in a baggie and put it on top of the tortilla. Then you pop the whole thing in the freezer and it is a taco lunch kit ready to go!

Freezer Cooking Continued: Chicken Stock

I have been trying to finish up some of my freezer cooking list that I didn't get to earlier and I realized that I never posted this! Because it was actually an add on to my freezer cooking days. I ended up with 3 chicken carcasses after cooking my chicken so I decide it was time to make some chicken stock. I modified Alton Browns recipe:

Ingredients
4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs
1 large onion, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 gallons cold water

Directions
Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.
Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark Sent me brownie mix, cookie mix and a betty crocker spoon as part of my stirring up wishes giveaway. Things are finally getting back to normal around here since my son's bout of pneumonia and we finally got a chance to try them out! I decided to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies from the Betty Crocker website (although I did leave off the frosting because I did not have it on hand). They turned out wonderful....in my husbands words "I could eat 7 of these!" and I saw him taking a rather large large piece for his lunch this morning!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

Instructions:

1.Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.
2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting. For brownies, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

As a reminder Betty Crocker has teamed up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and right now through April 15th they are running the Give $5, Get $5 promotion. Here is how it works: from now until April 15th you can visit StirringUpWishes.com to donate $5 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help make children´s wishes come true and you will get $5 worth of downloadable Betty Crocker coupons.Also, for every specially marked Betty Crocker product purchase 10¢ will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000 and a maximum donation of $500,000.


Also don't forget that Betty Crocker products often have boxtops of education on them and my box of brownies also had a coupon inside. This will not be inside every box but if you buy one or you are the winner of the giveaway make sure you take a peek inside before you recycle your box!



These are defiantly a special treat for us not an every day snack, they are very rich, but they are oh so yummy!


If you have not entered yet don't forget to enter my Stirring up Wishes Giveaway it ends tomorrow!

Freezer Cooking - Progress Update

Even though I really wanted to skip freezer cooking day this month with all the illnesses this past week, I am happy that I have accomplished something in the kitchen yesterday and today! I am not done with my list so I will try to finish it over the next few days, but I think I did a lot in 2 days since I had so much going on and so much to catch up on still and I am really excited to use up all of our non organic-meat!

So here was my master plan for this months freezer cooking days and what I accomplished:

Cook black beans-crock pot - for use in taco meat and Black Bean and Turkey Chili -DONE

Cook white beans-crock pot - for use in White Chicken Chili -DONE

Roast 3 chickens and shred the meat for use in other meals -DONE
Roast 1 lb chicken breast and chop the meat for hubs to use on "daddy night" meals -DONE
Cook 3 lbs ground turkey and 1 lb ground beef - some for Turkey and Black bean chili, some for taco meat, and some for spaghetti sauce meat -DONE
Cook Curry Lentils -DONE

Make Sausage and Egg Cups *not done yet
Make Blueberry Muffins *not done yet

Make Graham Crackers *not done yet

Make Granola *(I will have to wait a few days on this because I am ordering organic raisins from Amazon with my swagbucks- I will post pictures of the recipe when I make it!)

Red Lentil Curry

I made this red lentil curry today as well, it turned out really yummy (I took a taste)! I did not add the milk I will do this when I reheat from the freezer, I am also considering adding yogurt in place of the milk.

Ingredients

1 cup(s) dry lentils, red

1/2 medium onion(s)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp table salt
1/2 cup(s) 1% low-fat milk
2 cup(s) water
Instructions

1Wash lentils several times.

2Heat oil in a pot and add chopped onion.

3When onion is light brown in colour, add the lentils and about half of the water.

4Stir.

5Now add curry powder, chili powder, mustard and salt.

6Simmer until lentils are cooked, adding more water of needed.

7Add milk about 5 minutes before removing pot from the stove.

8Split peas can be used instead of lentils.

White Chicken Chili

I needed 9 serving of this White Chicken Chili so I made 1 1/2 times the recipe below. I used 4 1/2 cups of the roast chicken I made and 4 1/2 cups of the white beans I cooked earlier. I also simmered on the stove top instead of using a slow cooker.

Ingredients
3 cup(s) roasted skinless chicken, chopped or diced
1 large onion(s)
2 clove(s) garlic
1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
3 cup(s) cooked white beans
1 tsp table salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp Ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Place chicken, onion, and garlic in crock pot. Add broth, beans, mustard powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook on low 5 to 6 hours. Place servings into bowl (If using tortilla chips put them in bowl first). Sprinkle with cheese and add sour cream.

Roasting Chicken

I roasted 3 whole Chickens today plus 1 lb of chicken breasts. The chicken breasts got chopped and put into Ziploc baggies for the hubs to use in the homemade hamburger helper style recipes he is in charge of on "daddy night." The three roast chickens were cut up. Some meat will be our dinner tomorrow night and some meat will go in the white chicken chili (post coming up next). I actually had so much meat left over that I am going to try to come up with a recipe to make for my husband for his lunches with the remaining!

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

I used 1 1/2 lbs of the ground turkey and beef mixture and 3 cups of the black beans that I made previously to make this Turkey and Black Bean Chili. (I needed 9 servings so I did 1 1/2 times the recipe- and I simmered on the stove instead of a slow cooker)

Ingredients
1 pound(s) Turkey, ground, regular, raw
2 cup(s) cooked black beans
1 cup(s) canned tomatoes
28 oz canned tomatoes, crushed
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp onions, dried
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp dried garlic
1/2 tsp Ground cumin

Instructions:
Cook turkey and add ingredients to slow cooker. Simmer on low for 4-5 hours