Welcome to our kitchen that truly is the heart of our home! One of life's greatest pleasures is enjoying good food with family and friends. Here you will find recipes, tips for frugal cooking, how-tos for food preservation especially canning and anything else food related. Tea is brewing and warm cookies are fresh from the oven. Please sit a spell and enjoy your stay.
I am a wife, mother and grandma who enjoys the many aspects of homemaking. A variety of interests and hobbies combined with travel keep me active. They reflect the importance of family, friends, home and good food.
Cook ingredients that you are used to cooking by other techniques, such as fish, chicken, or hamburgers. In other words be comfortable with the ingredients you are using. --Bobby Flay
For Your Information
Please watch this area for important information like updates, food recalls, polls, contests, coupons, and freebies.
[March 19, 2020] - Effective Mar 17, this blog will no longer accept advertising. The reason is very simple. If I like a product, I will promote it without compensation. If I don't like a product, I will have no problem saying so.
[March 17, 2020] - A return to blogging! Stay tuned for new tips, resources and all things food related.
[February 1, 2016] - An interesting report on why you should always choose organic tea verses non-organic: Toxic Tea (pdf format)
Sticky Post - Warning: 4ever Recap reusable canning lids. The reports are growing daily of these lids losing their seal during storage. Some have lost their entire season's worth of canning to these seal failures! [Update: 4ever Recap appears to be out of business.]
The theme for Frugal Kitchens 101 this month has been bread. I've heard so many people say they use a mix for making cornbread. If you look at the ingredients there is under 50¢ total in the mix yet you are paying $2 or more! So each time you make cornbread you could be saving at least $1.50. If you want the convenience of a mix, mix all the dry ingredients together and store in a mason jar. Then when you want to make cornbread use your homemade mix and add the wet ingredients. I'm not planning on making cornbread in the next few days so found this video to show you how easy it is to make. I wrote out Dave's cornbread recipe for you. Following his recipe is the recipe I use.
Dave's Cornbread
1 c self rising flour ¼ c sugar 1 c cornmeal ⅓ vegetable oil 1 c milk
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly butter cast iron corn bread baking pans. Heat the pans before filling with batter to prevent sticking. Combine the ingredients. Pour into heated baking pans. Bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes.
Corn Bread source: Betty Crocker's Cookbook (old copy date missing). Pp. 49 with modifications by me (Garden Gnome)
1 c yellow cornmeal 1 c unbleached flour 2 tbsp organic sugar 4 tsp baking powder ½ tsp sea salt 1 c milk ¼ c shortening 1 egg
Pre-heat oven to 425ºF. Grease 8x8x2 baking pan. Place ingredients in KitchenAid® stand mixer bowl. Mix well. Increase speed to 3 for 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
2
food lovers commented:
Anonymous
said...
baking bread is one of those skills I've always thought about cultivating... though using a bread maker might not require much "skill." your recent tasty looking bread posts has me thinking that maybe I'll give it a go during winter break!
Hi and thanks for visiting :) Actually using a breadmachine requires a bit more skill than you would think and that is because the manufacturer's want you to think this way. Even when using a breadmachine you should never put the full amount of flour in all at once. What you should do is reserve at least 1/2 c of flour and use that to adjust the dough depending on the humidity levels that day. As the machine is mixing keep an eye on the dough and add in just enough of the reserve flour until the dough cleans the sides.
2 food lovers commented:
baking bread is one of those skills I've always thought about cultivating... though using a bread maker might not require much "skill." your recent tasty looking bread posts has me thinking that maybe I'll give it a go during winter break!
cheers!
scotty @ run-a-bout!
Hi and thanks for visiting :) Actually using a breadmachine requires a bit more skill than you would think and that is because the manufacturer's want you to think this way. Even when using a breadmachine you should never put the full amount of flour in all at once. What you should do is reserve at least 1/2 c of flour and use that to adjust the dough depending on the humidity levels that day. As the machine is mixing keep an eye on the dough and add in just enough of the reserve flour until the dough cleans the sides.
I hope you enjoy learning to make breads.
Post a Comment