Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

I use this recipe all the time in soups and over potatoes or noodles!  Thanks, Meal Planning With Connie

Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup Substitute

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt, to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; add flour and whisk until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat; gradually add milk, whisking to keep smooth. Return to heat and bring to a gentle boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add salt.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

This makes about 2 cans of cream of chicken soup!   Thanks, Tammy's Recipes!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder**
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder***
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

Instructions: 

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

Additional Notes: 

*I use the broth from my oven-roasted chicken. Refrigerate broth and then take fat off the top. If you're using chicken bouillon + water for your broth, you may want to add a little extra seasonings, such as lemon pepper, extra garlic, or seasoned salt, since my broth normally has bits of those in it. You can also add bits of chicken, but if you have good rich chicken broth, you probably won't need any chicken in it.

**Or, diced onions (boil with broth for a few minutes)

***Or, fresh minced garlic (boil with broth for a few minutes)

Homemade taco seasoning

I ran out of my taco seasoning the other day and tried this recipe. This is how I usually quadruple it and I leave out the crushed red pepper and lessen the black pepper:

4 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbs. ground cumin
4 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. black pepper

Homemade "Cream of... Soup"

For so long I have rejected all my favorite casseroles because I didn't want to buy canned soups. I wish I had just tried making my own a long time ago! This recipe is extremely easy and flavorful. I usually cook two chickens and make tons of stock from them every month so I always have plenty of chicken broth on hand to make this. Creamed soup will undoubtedly become part of my monthly cooking to make throwing together casseroles a cinch! Many thanks to Katie@ Kitchen Stewardship for posting such a great recipe. You should really check out her post because she gives some tips and great recipes! I added a bunch of minced onions, garlic salt, and cheese to make a very flavorful cream of cheddar soup. It worked well in replacing the yummy sauce in our favorite Chicken Divane Casserole.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 c. whole wheat flour (can add more if you like a really thick base)
4 cups milk
2 cups homemade chicken stock (preferably condensed for added flavor)
Optional: Chopped onions

Method:

Melt butter over low heat. If using onions for extra flavor, saute in butter until limp. Add flour and whisk together until smooth. Cook 1 minute. Do not let it brown! Gradually add milk and chicken stock, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when sauce has thickened. This may take up to 15-20 minutes.

Options:

• Cream of celery: Sautee a stalk or two of chopped celery with the butter before adding flour.
• Cream of mushroom: Sautee chopped fresh mushrooms in butter.
• Cream of broccoli: Add chopped steamed broccoli to the soup after it thickens.
• Cheesy sauce: Add shredded cheese (sharp cheddar gives the most flavor) after removing from heat. Stir to melt.
• If you want to make a big batch of soup and have different flavors, you can always saute mushrooms or celery separately and simply add to the finished soup, one can-equivalent at a time.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients
Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
½ bell pepper
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 t oregano
1 t Italian seasoning
1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 T Coconut Oil
1 t salt and pepper


Directions
1. Stew tomatoes in large pot
2. Once soft, spoon tomatoes into food processor and add zucchini, bell pepper, garlic, seasonings, and oils.
23. Puree and store as you wish. I am not into canning (yet!), and so wish I was! I will store this sauce and use it for spaghetti, pizzas, lasagna or any other “Italian” dish!

Found at: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/09/homemade-spaghetti-sauce.html

Helpful hint: Make your own vanilla extract!

I did this last November and it worked great! Its healthier and saves money, too :)

Commercial vanilla extract usually has simple syrup (sugar water) added to the extract to give it a sweet aftertaste. You can do this if you want, but if you are using the vanilla for baking, there really is no need.

Ingredients
• 3 vanilla beans
• 1 cup vodka
• glass jar with tight fitting lid

Method
1 Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.
2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka.
3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.
Lasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.
You can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking

Easy Home-made Alfredo

I'm trying to make every thing from scratch these days so I was excited to find this easy alfredo recipe:

1 stick butter
1 1/2 pkg. cream cheese
1-2 tsp crushed garlic, to taste
up to 3 c. half and half (I just use my raw milk that has cream in it :)
3 oz parmesan cheese

Make it like a white sauce. Melt butter in saucepan over med/high heat. Add cream cheese, cut in small pieces a little at a time. Add garlic, heat and stir until smooth. Slowly add cream and parmesan cheese, constantly stirring. Cook about five minutes.

http://24hourmenu.blogspot.com/2008/08/karens-alfredo.html

Basic oil blend for salad dressings

I've been wanting to make my own salad dressing since we eat salads often and are utterly addicted to Ranch or Poppyseed dressings. So I was excited to find this basic oil blend that is super healthy and I can use it in any dressing recipe I find that I like. The basic proportion is to use 2/3 of this mixture to 1/3 of a type of vinegar (my favorite is apple cider vinegar :) I found this blend in THIS book.

Basic oil blend for salad dressing
I cup of coconut oil, gently melted
1 cup of expeller-expressed or cold-pressed sesame oil
1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in a glass jar, cover tightly, and store at room temperature

Using soaked grain in normal recipes....

...it just doesn't seem to work well. Any recipe that calls for soaked grain turns out beautifully, but any normal recipe turns out the wrong consistency. Generally, its too dense. But using soaked flour is so much better for ya! I've been pretty bummed that I can't make my favorite breads and cakes and cookies the healthy way, so I was really excited to find this tutorial on Nourishing Gourmet on how to sprout grain and then dehydrate it so it can be ground up and used in all my favorite recipes. Plus, it seems pretty easy. Just thought I'd share :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!

Don't let your decorations go to waste! Cook, puree, and freeze your pumpkin for yummy recipes all winter. And the seeds are the best part (at least my husband thinks so!) He likes the savory recipe the best, while I love the Halloweeny :) I got this great tutorial from this link.

Directions for Making Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients and Equipment

pumpkin (see step 1) a sharp, serrated large knife Cookie sheet

vegetable oil salt pepper, general herbs

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Clean the seeds

When you are carving your pumpkin, separate the seeds from the pumpkin flesh and strings. Wash them well (usually putting then in a big bowl of water and rubbing them between your hands is a fast way to clean them) and let them drain in a strainer for about 30 minutes, then spread them out on a baking pan. Now just use a hair dryer to dry them quickly! It is also time to start preheating the oven. Turn it on and set it to 275 F

Step 2 - Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and season them

Spread the seeds evenly over a cookie sheet and lightly baste the seeds with melted butter, margarine, or vegetable oil. There are many variations. Here are the most popular, in order or popularity:

1. Savory: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt and 2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
2. Lemony: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon 'Mrs. Dash" or lemon pepper
3. Halloweeny: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice.
4. Spicy: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper
5. Natural: 1 teaspoon sea salt or other salt, 4 tablespoons melted butter,

Step 3 - Roast the seeds

Heat them in a 275-degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes until golden brown. DO KEEP AN EYE ON THEM, checking every few minutes and stir about every 5 minutes. Some ovens run hot and it can be as little as 10 minutes or as long as 30 minutes to roast them. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot or cold.

For milder flavor, simmer the cleaned seeds for about an hour in salted water and fry in deep oil. Or mix a tablespoon of oil or margarine to each cup of nuts and roast them at 250 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes until they're golden. Sprinkle them with salt.

Basic White/Cream Sauce

Since a lot of my recipes use a basic white sauce, I thought I'd better post this so I can just link to it instead of typing it out all the time :)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. flour
1 c. milk

Directions: Melt butter in medium skillet over low heat. Add flour and salt and stir to paste. Slowly add milk until desired consistency is reached.

Makes 1 cup of creamy white sauce (thin)..

FOR VARIATIONS: MEDIUM: Use 2 tablespoons butter and flour for each cup of milk. THICK: Use 4 tablespoons of butter and flour for each cup of milk. CHEESE SAUCE: Add at least 1/2 cup of any cheese to the Basic White Sauce, stir til melted and blended well.