I had some fresh herbs that I purchased a while back that were getting older – basil, sage, summer savory and flat-leaf parsley – and I didn’t want them to go to waste. Now normally, they’d go to waste. I wouldn’t have time to do it any differently. But this weekend, I put them in the dehydrator and let them dry out at 125 degrees F for about 12 hours. Now I have bags of dried herbs ready to be used.

I also had some apples that the boys wouldn’t touch. Actually, I wouldn’t touch them either. They came in a bag, which means they were pretty beat when we brought them home from the store. Ick. So instead of throwing them out, I whipped up some applesauce for the boys in about 30 minutes using this recipe. Now they have fresh applesauce sans corn syrup to snack on this week, and it really took no time at all.

It just took a little letting go of the “not enough time” syndrome.

And the best part? My 6-year-old told me, “Mom, I love it when you make things special for me.” So there you go. There’s my #1 reason for slowing down.

I cut up 4 apples, sprinkled them with cinnamon, and added water and sugar to the pan.

I then put the burner on medium and brought the mixture to a soft boil.

After about 15 minutes on the stove, I started to mash the apples in the pan.

After cooling, it gets a bit thicker and takes on the consistency of commercial applesauce but it’s way yummier.

After cooling completely, place it in a Mason jar and stick that baby in the fridge!

Homemade Applesauce

4 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 apples – peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

If you decide to make some, let me know how it turns out!

Sugarcrafter’s Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 or 3 crushed candy canes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add in the sugars and beat for another two minutes, and then beat in the vanilla.

Add in the eggs one at a time.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the dry ingredients gradually. Stir in the chocolate chunks and chips.

Spoon the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on to the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle on the crushed candy canes.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are brown and the centers are golden. (Usually when I’m baking these they never look done to me, but they are – and if I don’t take them out they’ll turn completely brown!) Remove them from the oven and let them rest for one minute, then carefully remove them to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

Merry Christmas!

Recipe and photos by Tracy at Sugarcrafter.

Emily from Curly Top came up with the glorious concoction that is PBU. It’s a budget-conscious lower calorie version of the peanutty stuff, but it’s a little too creamy for our tastes. We prefer the thick all-natural peanut butter with a rich peanut taste, so I modified Emily’s recipe accordingly.

PB Squared

1 cup all-natural peanut butter
1 cup vanilla almond milk

Stir, stir, stir.

That’s it! You end up with yummy peanut butter spread that’s easier on the body and friendlier on the wallet.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Geoff LMV

I started off with 3 recipes, and each was just a little different than the other. So I tweaked them and tweaked some more until I came up with what appears to be butter. It tastes like butter, feels like butter, and hasn’t spoiled yet, so it must be butter! You can learn from my trials and errors and make your own.

How to Make Homemade Butter

Start with a pint of cold heavy cream. Set it out on the counter 8-10 hours or overnight so that it comes to room temperature.

Pour into a ball jar container and fill about halfway.

The directions in one of the recipes I followed said to “pour one cup of cream into a pint jar”. Yeah, that didn’t work.

So, pour the entire pint of cream into a quart jar.

That’s better.

Shake jar once per second for about 15-20 minutes. Not vigorously or excitedly. Just steadily and thoroughly. Singing “Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your buttah!” is optional.

All of a sudden, you’ll hear a thud when you shake. It’s like magic. Butter has appeared.

Oh, yes. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Pour off the buttermilk into a pint jar and set aside for pancakes.

And if you need a good buttermilk pancake recipe, try this one.

Now, you want to rinse the butter clean of the buttermilk or else it will sour. The recipe said to pour water into the jar and shake, but I advise against this. Pour water into the jar to cover the butter, and shake gently the first time around. Pour off. Then, pour water on it again and knead the butter gently in the water with a spoon. Continue to do this for 4-5 rounds until the water comes out clean after kneading.

If you want to salt your butter or add other herbs and spices, now is the time to do it. Once you’re ready, place the butter on a large sheet of wax paper.

Wrap it up.

Cool in the bottom shelf of the fridge for a few hours. After cooling, this is what it looks like. Lots of yummy butter!

You can also use butter molds if you’re real fancy.

If you try your hand at making butter, leave a comment and let me know how it goes! And have fun!

I’m a huge fan of Ree Drummond’s blog the Pioneer Woman (more on that this Friday), so when I found out she unveiled a new website called the Tasty Kitchen, I was excited. Okay, a little excited. I’m an AllRecipes kinda girl. But then I noticed that the Tasty Kitchen had sections for gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free, and I was sold.

My youngest has a birthday in just a few days and I’ve been totally on the fence regarding the cake I wanted to make for him. I wish that I had noticed this delish-looking Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake before I committed to this equally yummy but gluten-clad brownie/cake combo. If I didn’t already have the ingredients for the latter on-hand, the Flourless Cake would win out.

There are lots of other allergy-friendly tasty recipes at the Tasty Kitchen (hmmm… aptly named). Take a look:

Grilled Chipotle Orange Chicken

Banana Sweet Potato Casserole

Gluten Free Bread

Chilled Pumpkin Pie Soup

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum, right? It’s enough to convert this AllRecipes girl.

Seriously, I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner. I think because the recipes were so cheap, I expected them to taste cheap too.  I admit it. I was wrong.

This evening, we made falafel and it was a total hit. Even the boys ate it, and that’s saying a lot.

Hillbilly Housewife Falafel

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups well cooked chickpeas; (2-15 ounce cans will equal 3 cups) drained well
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• oil for deep frying

Directions

Drain the chickpeas and place them in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the beans the same way you would mash potatoes. They taste best if they aren’t too smooth, so be sure to leave them a little chunky. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, parsley, garlic powder and eggs. Mix everything together until you have a sticky mass. Add the whole wheat flour and mix again.

Meanwhile heat at least 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees F. Shape the chickpea mixture into small balls about the size of walnuts. Drop them into the oil and fry them until they are brown and crisp. Drain them on paper towels or a brown paper bag. Continue until all of them are cooked. Makes about 20 falafel.

If you prefer to bake these instead of frying them, then here is what you do. Generously oil a cookie sheet. Using about 2 tablespoons per falafel, shape the mixture into small patties. Arrange the patties on the well oiled cookie sheet. Flip each patty over so that it is lightly coated with oil on each side. Bake at 450 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Check them after 15 minutes, but they will probably need another 5 minutes to be good and brown. Serve hot the same as you would fried falafel.

This recipe can definitely be tweaked to your tastes, so give it a try and let me know what you think!

Image Credit: Lorenia

My generous family all pitched in on this one. My aunt offered up her home and back yard pool for us and the guests, and Gram offered to purchase dinner items like hot dogs, buns, and drinks. We purchased plates, cups, chips, and made the ice cream cake. Our invitations were sent via MyPunchbowl,  so all in all, it was very inexpensive and lots of fun.

For starters, we let everyone swim for about an hour and a half. Everyone was having a great time just hanging out with one another, and it was very laid back and relaxed.

We then had a cannonball contest. I think that the hubby pretty much beat everyone out with his huge tidal wave jumps. The pool lost about 5 gallons of water with each one.

Next up, the limbo! Gram brought over an old broomstick and I downloaded the Chubby Checker limbo song so the kids could do the limbo. Some of them took it very seriously!

We ate dinner, then sang Happy Birthday and served the ice cream cake. I made it with this recipe and it was a total hit. It will definitely go into birthday-party-cake rotation for many, many years. Much cheaper than a store-bought cake, and tastier, too!

Everyone then gathered around to watch the birthday boy open his presents. He was spoiled rotten, and after we counted up all of the money he was given for his birthday along with his savings, he discovered that he now has enough money for a Class Republic Attack Cruiser. He’s been eyeing this for at least a year, and he’s so happy that he can finally own one.

Friends and family are so important, and it was really great to get everyone together. In fact, this group isn’t able to get together often. My aunt happened to be in from Panama, so she was able to be with us for the party. My dad was able to make the trip down from Franklinville, and the boys were very happy to see their Papa.

The birthday boy said it was one of his best birthday parties, and I would have to agree. If you’re being frugal, consider doing something similar for your little one. They’ll probably appreciate it even more than a conventional party.

Our oldest celebrated the big 1-0 yesterday and since his birthday party is not until next week, I made fudge brownies with chocolate ganache for him at his request. I used a store-bought mix, made a few tweaks, and made a homemade chocolate ganache to create the most rich and chocolatey brownie your taste buds have ever had the pleasure of savoring. Be careful, though. It goes straight to the hips.

THE BROWNIE CAKE OF DOOM
Serves an army.

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Supreme Brownie Mix, or another fudgy brownie mix
water, oil, and egg (amounts are on back of the package)
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies
1 c heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare brownies according to the package directions and stir in 3 oz of chocolate chips to the mix.
2. Bake in a 13×9 pan according to package directions.
3. Allow brownies to cool completely. Cut and stack on a plate if desired.
4. Pour heavy cream into a saucepan and heat to just boiling. (Cream will overflow easily, so keep an eye on it.)
5. Take cream off burner and add 9 oz of chocolate chips. Whisk until combined.
6. Pour over brownies and serve!

Total yum.

Happy birthday big guy!

I took the plums and combined them with cinnamon and honey for an unexpectedly good summer jam. I had roughly a pound of plums which made about 2 pints of jam. This was good timing, too. The strawberry jam I made in June is almost all gone! It was a hit with the family, and I liked the jam so much that I posted the recipe in the etsy shop.

I’ve read that jam-making is most economical when the fruit is free or purchased at a very low cost. The Angel Food veggie and fruit boxes make it incredibly affordable. In fact, this fall I might try my hand at carrot cake jam with fruit and veggies from the boxes.

I also posted recently about my yogurt making adventures and have quickly learned that the family doesn’t like plain yogurt as much as the store-bought, so I will be tweaking the recipe next time. However, they love the yogurt mixed with frozen strawberries and splenda, so it hasn’t gone to waste. Still, there was a good quart left as of this evening, and the yogurt is only good for a couple of more days. Solution? Chicken Tikka Masala!

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS
CHICKEN & MARINADE
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
4 long skewers

SAUCE
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken and bell peppers onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in tomato sauce and yogurt. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

The recipe is based on this recipe and was tweaked to use up a lot of our leftover yogurt. It’s probably not authentic with the changes but it was easy to make, extremely flavorful and the substitution of yogurt for the heavy cream made it a bit healthier. If you make it, let me know how it turns out!

There’s a lot going on this week and I’ll be posting more about all of that soon, but I thought it’s about time for an update on my goals. So far, reaching my goals is going very well! I’ve lost 4 pounds total, so a little slower than I wanted but I’m happy nonetheless. I’ve been really working on healthy stress relief techniques, and besides the original techniques I posted about earlier, I’ve also given up alcohol, probably temporarily but maybe forever. Who knows? It’s way too easy for me to relax with a glass of wine or three on a regular basis which, for me, can easily turn into an ugly addiction, so I’m giving it up for now. And I’m still working on the faith thing, but it’s getting better. I think this stuff just doesn’t get easy overnight. So, all in all, making progress!

For those of you wondering where Rebound has been the last couple of weeks, we’re recording tomorrow! Life kinda got in the way, but we’re back. Hopefully that won’t happen too often, but we had some pressing things that needed to be taken care of.

Lots of news, but there’s more to come. We’ve been busy bees!

I posted earlier about the best bread machine bread, and this is a definite staple in our house. In addition to this, I experimented with made-from-scratch bagels and yogurt this weekend with fantastic results.

BREAD MACHINE BAGELS
9 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 quarts boiling water
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
3 tablespoons poppy seeds (or your topping of choice)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place water, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.
2. When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Cut dough into 9 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your thumb. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Sprinkle an ungreased baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 1 minute, turning half way through. Drain briefly on clean towel. Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet. Glaze tops with egg white, and sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
5. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned.

Original recipe is here at AllRecipes.com.

These bagels were better than store-bought, much cheaper to make, and such a hit with the family that we will be making these again and again. The recipe is versatile as well. When making the dough, you can easily sprinkle in cinnamon and raisin for a sweet bagel, or add garlic and onion powder and top with sesame seeds for a bagel fit for the coffeehouse.

CROCK POT YOGURT

INGREDIENTS
Half gallon of milk
Half cup of yogurt with active cultures

DIRECTIONS

1. Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk.
2. Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
3. Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.
4. After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well.
5. Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.
6. Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.
7. Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.
8. In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
9. For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.

Original recipe is here.

This was fun because I really had no idea what to expect. Anytime bacteria is involved, I get a little nervous. However, when I lifted the lid to the crock pot this morning, I felt a bit like a sorceress. I had made yogurt, and it was tasty and wholesome. The family likes their yogurt on the sweet side, so we put splenda in it along with frozen strawberries for breakfast. Total yum.

This article is interesting if you’re thinking about making some pantry staples from scratch. They have taken the cost for a few staples and determined whether or not it’s more cost-efficient to make it or buy it.

If you make some of these recipes, let me know how they turn out!

In an effort to save money, Spence and I have started baking our own bread and this recipe is PERFECT. It literally takes 15 minutes of actual work, totally beats store-bought bread in texture and taste, and is least 50% cheaper than store-bought. If you have a bread machine, whip it out. Now.

BEST BREAD MACHINE RECIPE
12 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package bread machine yeast (I use Fleischman’s)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour (I use Better For Bread flour)
1.5 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)

DIRECTIONS
Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. Select Basic or White Bread setting, Regular size loaf, and press Start.

I’ve modified the original recipe just a bit.

Enjoy!

Strawberry, meet Basil. Basil, Strawberry.

We scored some lovely strawberries yesterday and I decided to make them into jam. (Strawberry Jam is my absolute favorite jam to make. It smells so sweet while cooking on the stove, and I try to make some every summer when they are in season to store up for the winter, although they rarely last that long.) On a whim, I set aside one-fourth of my recipe and added 7 fresh sweet basil leaves from the garden. I had no idea how it would turn out, but it soon because clear that it was a pairing that was meant to be. This jam is delicious!

The slight spicyness of the basil is the perfect compliment to the candy-like sweetness of the strawberries. I even tested it out on the hubby and two friends that raised their eyebrows at me until they put this crave-worthy concoction in their mouths. They’re all sold.

This morning, it went on a bagel with plain cream cheese and was still just as awesome as it was hot off the stove. I am absolutely loving it!

I also made some bread this week using this recipe from Mother Earth News. It’s super-cheap to make and stores in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Unfortunately, we go through it so fast that it’s not practical to make daily, but it has inspired me to pull out the bread machine for some made-from-scratch goodness that fits my on-the-go schedule.

13 cups flour + 6 cups water + 3 tbsp yeast + 3 tbsp salt = YUM!

I came across some Meyer lemons at the Fresh Market on an impromptu trip and quickly snatched up the last five. Using my own variation of this recipe, the five lemons made enough Meyer Lemon Marmalade for two pints.

Fresh in the pot…

Starting to boil…

Starting to jell…

In the jar. Yum!