Herbes De Provence

There's a lot of combinations of herbs that are used for Herbs De Provence. This is just what I've put together after trying a few variations.


Herbs De Provence

3 Tbsp thyme
3 Tbsp chervil
3 Tbsp rosemary
3 Tbsp summer savory
2 tsp lavendar
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp marjaram
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp mint
4 ground bay leaves

Taco Seasoning Mix

Raise your hand if you LOVE MSG in your food!! .... What? Nobody? Well, neither do I.. which is why I don't buy pre-packaged seasoning mixes. You're mostly getting fillers in those anyway and it's hard to **shine** as a good cook when you rely on them. I do, however, love things to be easy. Which is why I make as many of my own home-made mixes as possible. Here is the mix I put together for Mexican food. I call it Taco seasoning, true... but I use it for so much more! From Tacos to Macaroni and cheese. Enjoy!

Taco Seasoning

2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
3 tsp onion powder
2 tsp galic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. The flavor will be more potent than store-bought mixes so start with half of what your recipe calls for and increase according to your taste. I usually at least quadruple this recipe.

About 1 1/2 Tbsp Taco seasoning mix = 1 envelope Taco seasoning

Chocolate Cookie Mix

Mikes' favorite cookie is of the chocolate variety. So to simplify things and make it easier to bake cookies on demand for my man, I always like to keep this mix on hand:

Chocolate Cookie Mix

12 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 cup cocoa
2 tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
12 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in an extra large mixing bowl. Store in an airtight container or heavy duty plastic zip-top bags. Makes 12 batches of cookies. To use:

2 1/3 cup cookie mix
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
optional
1 cup chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, walnuts, white chocolate chips, crushed toffee, crushed peppermint candies, mini marshmallows or anything you like.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients until dry ingredients are completely moistened. Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for a couple of minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Brownie Mix

Sunday after dinner Mike naturally wanted some dessert. Being the lovely wife that I am, I told him, "You make it!" (Keep in mind, I had just spent my afternoon in the kitchen making our Sunday dinner.) He's a good sport so he starts looking for ingredients. Mike can make 3 things: Nutty Putty, brownies (from a mix), and frozen pizzas. For the Nutty Putty he needed Karo Syrup.. we were out. For the brownies he of course needed a brownie mix... we didn't have any. Since he didn't want frozen pizzas for dessert, we went without. So yesterday I made my own brownie mix. Of course I doubled the recipe to avoid any future sorrows. And I even turned some of it into somethig delicious for him!


Chocolate Brownie Mix

5 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 3/4 cups cocoa
1 cup dry milk

Combine ingredients. Store in an airtight container. Keeps at least 12 months if kept in a cool, dry place. Makes 3 batches of brownies.

For Brownies combine:

3 eggs
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups brownie mix

Mix unil smooth. Stir in nuts or chocolate chips if desired. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Serve warm.

Multi-grain Baking Mix, Waffles and Bread

I mentioned that I made some multi-grain flour (white wheat, rye, oats) with my new wheat grinder last week. Here is what I did with it:
I turned about 7 cups of it into some delicious multi-grain bread. No white flour, no white sugar!

Multi-grain Bread

 7 cups multi-grain flour (or whole wheat)
2 Tbsp Saf-Instant Yeast
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
2 cups warm milk
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine 3 cups flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add warm milk, honey, oil and vinegar and stir well. The mix will be about the consistency of cake batter. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Add 3 more cups flour and stir until incorporated. Dough should be pulling from sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto clean, floured or oiled surface and knead, adding additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and elastic. (I seldom, if ever, use the entire last cup.) Cover dough with a towel and allow to rest 5-10 minutes. Knead an additional 5 minutes then return dough to greased bowl. Let rise until doubled in size - about 45 minutes. Grease two loaf pans and sprinkle with coursely ground cornmeal. Shape dough into two loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Multi-grain Baking Mix

4 cups multi-grain flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

 1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup nonfat dry milkd powder

1/3 cup olive oil

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Drizzle oil over dry mixture; cut in with pastry blender, electric mixer or your fingers until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Multi-grain Waffles

2 cups Mg Baking mix

1 cup water

2 egg whites*

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp oil

Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

Push dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl, making a well in the center.

In a 2 cup measuring cup add wet ingredients except egg whites and mix thoroughly. Pour into the well and stir until moistened.

 In a small bowl whisk egg whites briskly until soft peaks form. Carefully fold egg whites into waffle batter. Bake in a pre-heated waffle.

As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." But I wish there were a way for me to let you all taste these waffles! Most people who don't like whole grain foods cite the density as their turnoff. These waffles, on the other hand, are so soft and light, moist and delicious. The trick is beating the egg whites seperately and folding it into the batter. Yum!

*You can substitute one whole egg, seperated. Add the yolk to the wet ingredients and beat the white as previously stated.

White Sauce Mix, Cream of Anything Soup, Vanilla Pudding

White Sauce Mix

4 cups Nonfat dry milk powder

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine

Put into large bowl and mix until it looks like coarse cornmeal. I wouldn't recommend using a mixer on this one as the powdered milk tends to puff all over the place. Just mix with your fingers. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container.

Cream of Anything Soup

4 cups water

2 cups White Sauce Mix

1 tsp salt

Combine and stir over medium heat until slightly thick. Add one or more of the following:

3 sliced, cooked carrots

1 package frozen spinache (chopped and cooked)

1 package frozen broccoli (chopped and cooked) and 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 potatoes, cooked and chopped, and 1 Tbsp chopped onion

1 can cream style corn and 1 Tbsp chopped onion

OR add your favorite cooked vegetable

For cream of chicken soup:

Substitute water for chicken broth and add 1 cup diced chicken

For cream of mushroom soup:

Substitute 1 cup water for liquid from 2 small cans mushrooms. Chop mushrooms and add.

Makes 6 servings.

Vanilla Pudding

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups White Sauce Mix

2 cups water

1 tsp vanilla

Stir sugar, Mix, and water over medium heat until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Cover, cool, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

White Sauce

For thin sauce use 1/3 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

For medium sauce use 1/2 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

For thick sauce use 2/3 cup Mix and 1 cup water. Yield: 1 cup.

Stir over medium heat until smooth and thickened.

Use White Sauce for the following recipes:

Cream of Anything Gravy

Prepare medium white sauce as directed. Add any of the following: 1 cup cooked ham (diced, 1 cup cooked chicken or turkey (diced), 1 can drained tuna or salmon, 1/2 lb browned hamburger or sausage, 1 cup shredded beef, 4 sliced hard-cooked eggs. Heat thoroughly. Serve over toast, biscuits, English muffins, rice or noodles. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.

(Add some seasonings such as Taco seasoning to your ground beef or Italian seasoning to the tuna and serve over egg noodles for your own version of "Hamburger/Tuna Helper".)

Creamed Vegetables

Prepare thin White Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables and heat through. Makes 4 servings.

Scalloped Vegetables

Heat oven to 325F. Prepare thin White Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables. Stir well. Place in ungreased 1-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cereal or bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

Cheese Sauce

Prepare thick White Sauce. Add 1 cup shredded American or Cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Pour over 7 oz cooked macaroni noodles for easy Mac N' Cheese.

Au Gratin Vegetables

Heat oven to 325. Prepare Cheese Sauce. Add 2 cups cooked vegetables. Stir well. Place in ungreased 1-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cereal or bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings. (Double sauce and add 4 cups cooked and diced potatoes. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped green onions and glop 1/2 cup sour cream over the top before adding cereal for easy "funeral potatoes")

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole, Ranch Dressing

Yesterday evening was another night full of cooking. I wanted to make some bread and calzones in addition to dinner. I wanted to use the leftover marinara sauce from Monday night and we ran out of bread earlier in the day anyway so I figured calzones were the perfect answer. The problem: They take too long to cook when I'm not starting dinner until after 5pm.. So I planned something quick and easy for dinner and while that was cooking I had time to make the bread and calzones that I wanted.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 box StoveTop stuffing (or 4 cups seasoned, dried bread crumbs)

1 can green beans

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In large skillet, brown chicken on all sides. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Cover chicken with water and boil until cooked through (about 15 minutes). Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions except omit butter and use water from cooked chicken. Open can of green beans and drain. Cut chicken into chunks and spread over the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Spread green beans over chicken and prepared stuffing mix over green beans. Mix soup and milk and pour over the top of stuffing. Top with cheese. Bake 30 minutes.

I cooked about 3 lbs of chicken so I'd have enough for calzones and possibly some enchiladas later in the week.Note the time- In the amount of time it took me to cook dinner, I was also able to have 2 loaves of sandwich bread ready to put into the oven as well as a loaf of cinnamon rhubarb breakfast bread AND one large calzone. I will add the bread recipes to another post.

Oh! And I also made some home-made ranch dressing for our salad.

Ranch Dressing Mix

1 Tb. dried basil

2 Tb dried minced onions

2 Tb. dried parsley flakes

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp garlic

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

2 Tb. sugar

1 1/2 C. dry buttermilk powder

Combine ingredients and mix well. To make salad dressing:

Add 1/4 cup above mix into a 2 cup jar. Add:

1/2 cup water. Mix well

3/4 cup mayonnaise and shake jar until thoroughly blended.

Makes 1 cup salad dressing.

          
To make vegetable dip:
 Add 1/4 cup mixture to 8 oz sour cream. Mix well. Add water to reach desired consistency if necessary.

All-purpose Baking Mix, Breakfast Puffs, Horchata/Rice Milk

I have a dilemma- We're not even into week 3 yet and I've already spent all but $28 of my grocery budget. OK, so that's not too big of a deal since I've already bought most of everything that we'll need for this month, but there are a few things we'll still need to buy: 5 gallons of milk, 5 lb chicken, and at least 2 dozen eggs. Lucky for me chicken has finally gone on sale for $1.49/lb.. But unlucky for me? I want to buy more than 5 lbs at that price! I also found a really good price on canned tomatoes again and I'd like to buy more vegetables before the end of the month. $28 doesn't go that far... So I need to again get creative.

I've decided to cut down on the amount of milk that we're buying and make some rice milk instead. I love rice milk! and so do my girls AND it's easy to cook with- but I'll still have to buy enough cows milk to sate my husband and son (boys are so picky!).

Rice Milk/Horchata

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice

5 cups water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

(For Horchata)
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup white sugar

Directions

1.Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. I used pre-ground rice flour (I borrowed my friend's grinder a few days ago) so I was able to skip the blender. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. The longer you let the rice soak, the better the flavor, in my opinion.
2.Strain the rice water into a pitcher through cheesecloth and save the rice bits to thicken rice pudding if you desire. At this point you've got your rice milk. If you want horchata:
3.Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving. Serve cold. 
 

The other thing that I did yesterday was to make some baking mix and some breakfast puffs. The baking mix is similar to Bisquick at a fraction of the cost and having some on hand makes it really easy for my 15-yr-old to throw together a batch of pancakes if I ask him to- which is NICE.

Baking Mix

9 cups flour

2/3 cup dry milk

1/4 baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 cup shortening, oil, or butter (or a combination)

Mix flour and other dry ingredients. Cut in oil or shortening with a mixer on low speed until the consistency of cornmeal. Store in an airtight container up to 6 months in the refrigerator and no longer than 3 months in the pantry. This recipe uses a 5lb sack of flour when doubled.

Breakfast Puffs

2 cups baking mix

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

For egg puffs: (Pick and choose all or a combination)

2 additional eggs

2 tsp milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1/4 lb chopped sausage, bacon, ham

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup chopped sweet pepper

salt & pepper for sprinkling

For cinnamon Puffs:

1/2 cup melted butter or olive oil

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 F. Grease 24 mini muffin cups. Mix baking mix, sugar, butter, milk and egg. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. For egg puffs, fill muffin cups about 1/3 full. Fill another 1/3 with your choice of vegetables, meat and/or cheese. Beat eggs into a measuring cup along with milk and pour over the top of each filled muffin cup. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

For Cinnamon Puffs: Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 10 minutes. Mix sugar & cinnamon in a bowl. Quickly roll puffs in butter/oil, then in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Makes 24 puffs. (I usually double this recipe and make a batch of each kind)

And easy way to pop the mini-muffins out of the tin is to use a small baby spoon. It doesnt scratch the teflon and it's small enough not to break the muffin.

Baked Potato Chips, Onion Soup Mix, Onion Dip, Pasta Salad, Salad dressing

Yesterday we had a barbeque at the In-laws house. Lucky for us, our food assignment was to bring salad and chips. My budget can handle that! I made pasta salad with home-made dressing, Baked potato chips and onion dip.

Baked Potato Chips

6-8 medium Russet Potatoes

1 Tbsp salt

Pam cooking spray (or vegetable oil)

water

Slice potatoes paper thin into a large bowl of cold water. Once potatoes are all sliced, drain water- refill with fresh water and add salt. Allow potatoes to sit for 30 minutes (This helps to remove excess starch from the potatoes). Drain water and arrange potato slices on a greased baking sheet in a single layer. I like to cover mine with foil for easier cleanup. Bake potatoes at 425 for 20 minutes, turning halfway through if desired. Depending on how thin you sliced your potatoes, you'll want to check them halfway through anyway to be sure they don't burn. Remove 'chips' as they become crisp. Some chips will take longer to crisp than others.

Onion Dip

8 oz sour cream (or plain yogurt)

8 oz cottage cheese

1/4 cup onion soup mix*

Combine and stir. Serve with homestyle potato chips.

*Easy Onion Soup Mix

3/4 cup dried minced onion

1/3 cup brown gravy mix

Combine & store in an airtight container.

For the pasta salad, I actually made some spinache pasta. Again, I'm sneaking some greens from the garden on this one, but I can't just let it go to waste! I won't get into the whole noodle making process again on this post- I'll save it for when we eat the Raviolis that I made along with the pasta salad noodles. (The recipe that I used made a LOT of pasta.)

Pasta Salad

1 lb cooked and cooled pasta

1 cucumber, diced

1 zucchini, diced

5 asparagus spears

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cup Italian Vinaigrette

1 cup shredded or chopped Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine ingredients and toss with salad dressing. Refrigerate overnight if able to combine flavors. Really you can use just about any vegetable that you'd like or have on hand. I like to make sure that I have at least as many vegetables as noodles.

Italian Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I used apple cider- it's what I had on hand)

3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil, or a combination

2 Tbsp finely chopped chives (or onion, or green onion. I use chives because I have so many!)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp dried basil

Combine ingredients in a large jar with a tight lid. Shake well. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

This is what was sent home with us from the barbeque: 2 steaks, 3 pork chops, 4 baked potatoes and 4 rolls. While I would love to eat this all up instead of our own food, I've decided that I'm not going to "cheat" so I will turn it into a few meals for some neighbors.

Lasagna, Bread, Noodles, and ...Hamburger Helper?

While cleaning out my refrigerator I found 2 zucchini that I’d forgotten about as well as 3 tubs of cottage cheese stuffed to the back of the shelf. So I decided that today after “work” I’d use the 4 pounds of ground meat (2 pounds beef, 2 pounds turkey) that I have in my freezer to make some lasagna for dinner. No… I’m not using all of the meat just for the lasagna. You’ll see..

Here’s what I’m starting with. See the yummy peppers? My friend gave those to me today so I’m going to throw those in. (I actually munched on one while I was cooking.. Sooo good!)

I wanted to snap a picture of the time so I could keep track of how long it takes me to get this done…

Normally I would think ahead for something like this and have the meat already defrosted, but since I didn’t, I will chop the vegetables while the meat is defrosting in a sink full of warm water. It’s ok if it doesn’t get totally defrosted, I can finish thawing it as I sauté it.

While I’m waiting for the meat to thaw a little longer, I’m starting a batch of noodles for the lasagna. I should have measured everything as I put it together, but I didn’t.. so I’ll guesti- mate for you..

3 cups flour, 2/3 cup water, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Put ½ the flour into a bowl. Make a dent in the center, and drop in the egg, water, and oil. Mix well- it will be sticky. Add more flour gradually until dough pulls from sides of bowel. Drop dough onto clean , floured surface and work dough until smooth and elastic. Now you need to let the dough rest! I like to let mine sit for at least 30 minutes- makes it SO much easier to roll out!

The meat is thawed enough, so now I’ll sauté it. Once the meat is all browned, add the veggies and cook until they are tender.

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I started a double batch of my “bread machine mixes” this morning before I went to “work”. [I don’t actually even have a bread machine so I figured since my sis had mixes I could just sub it with 4 recipes of my own. In this case I’m using my friend’s No Knead Bread recipe - just a couple changes but it’s good exactly as is. It is SUPER easy. Thanks for sharing Becca] Here’s what it looks like now after it’s been sitting for 12 hours.

It’s not something that you’d want to knead anyway…

Back to the lasagna… The veggies are now tender so my meat mixture is almost done. I just threw in some spices (1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp oregano) to finish it off and now I‘m ready to make my spaghetti sauce. I‘ll take about 7 cups of the meat mixture and put It into a 5 qt pot. To that I add 10 cans of plain tomato sauce (8 oz cans) and two cans of Italian-style stewed tomatoes. I also had just one small can of mushrooms in the pantry so I’ll throw that in too. The sauce will need to simmer for 30 minutes or so to thicken it up.

Three cups of the meat mix goes into a freezer bag. I‘ll use it down the road when I make chili.. Or something. We‘ll see.
 

- and look at the time! I’m not going to be able to have lasagna for dinner tonight (unless I want to feed my kids at 8:30.. Which I don’t) So I leave the remaining 1 cup of meat mix in the pan. I’ll add some Hamburger Helper to it and a can of green beans for dinner instead. (See, I really am eating canned veggies!)

 
Now, while dinner is simmering along with my spaghetti sauce, I’ll finish my noodles. The dough is nice and soft! Roll the dough out to about 1/8- 1/16 inch thickness. Then cut with a pizza cutter into nice wide noodles good for lasagna.
 
 

Back to the sauce. Looks good, but still needs seasoning. For a big pot like this I like to put in about ¼ cup Italian seasoning (or at least 3 packets spaghetti seasoning). Don’t forget the basil.. A lot of Italian seasoning doesn’t include basil. (I know.. How can they even call it Italian?)

Alright! Finally time to start assembling the lasagna. I made enough of everything for two lasagnas, but I only have one foil pan.. So I’m making my own pan with heavy duty foil and my 9x13 casserole pan.

You don’t have to pre-cook the noodles before you assemble the lasagna, but you can if you want to. (It takes more time and doesn’t, in my opinion, change the taste)

Ok, dinner is ready, lasagna is assembled and in the freezer.. Don’t forget to save your extra sauce for another day.

Also freeze the extra noodles for another meal.

Time to eat. Just one problem.. The kids all ran out the door so we played at the park and let dinner get cold. Ah well. We still ate by 7:00...

Oh and the bread… Here’s what it looked like before it went into the oven.

 
 

And just a note… It really is important to dust the pan with some cornmeal or course flour before you add the bread dough…

Whoops, just realized that I didn't include any recipes other than the noodles... so:
Meat mix:
4 lbs ground meat (I used 2 lbs beef, 2 lbs turkey)
about 6 cups chopped veggies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
   I used: 1 bunch green onions-from the garden
              about 8 large jalepeno sized sweet peppers
              2 small zucchinis
  (you can also use celery, spicy peppers, spinach, etc.. just make sure they're mild veggies that can be used in a variety of recipes)
Spaghetti Sauce
7-8 cups meat mix
10 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
    or you can use 3 (26oz) cans spaghetti sauce (like ragu, etc)
2-4 cans Italian style stewed tomatoes (I only used 2 because that's all I had)
2 cans sliced mushrooms (or 8oz fresh)
1 small can sliced olives (optional)
Easy Lasagna (x2)
2 tubs (16oz) cottage cheese
1 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
about 12 cups spaghetti sauce
24 oz lasagna noodles

For each lasagna: Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce onto bottom of pan. Layer in this order: Noodles, about 2 cups sauce, 1/2 tub cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Make two layers like this. For the last layer: Sauce, 1/4 - 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan. If you are freezing lasagna, there is no need to pre-cook the noodles. Just be sure they are completely covered with sauce. To cook, bake thawed lasagna covered at 400 F for 1 hour. Uncover, cook 10 minutes more until cheese is browned. (If cooking while still frozen, add at least 30 minutes to covered cooking time and do NOT pre-heat the oven first)