Homemade Noodles

I love homemade noodles with my chicken noodle soup, it can't get better than this.  This recipe comes from the Set for Life cookbook.

1 egg
1/2 scant teaspoon salt
2 T. water or skim milk
1 to 1 1/4 cups flour (wheat or white)

Beat egg, salt, and water or milk until frothy.  Add flour, and mix to make a medium-stiff dough.  Form noodles in a pasta maker or roll dough out to a very thin rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Dust with flour.  Cut into strips 1/4 inch wide.  Let dry, if desired.

Tiff's Tips:  I double this recipe when I make chicken noodle soup.  I also use half white flour and half wheat flour to make a delicious noodle.  These are quick and easy to make, plus you have everything in your food storage!

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

You all know Chad's aversion to mushrooms. But since stroganoff is one of his favorite meals, I have tried over the years to make a decent version of it. This recipe is our all-time favorite. We had it for Easter dinner today, in fact. This stroganoff is one way to Chad's heart. He loves it! And I love that it is a crockpot meal...so easy!

Original recipe found at Mel's Kitchen Cafe

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

2-3 pounds stew meat (or a 3-pound chuck roast, cubed)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup flour
6-7 tablespoons apple juice or water
4-8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I obviously leave these out and it is fantastic without them)
1/2 cup light or regular sour cream

Place the stew meat, salt, pepper and onion in the slow cooker. Stir to distribute the seasonings and onion. In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, Worcestershrie sauce, beef broth and ketchup. Pour over the meat. Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, combine the flour and apple juice in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to combine well. The roux should be thick but still pourable so add a tablespoon of apple juice or water at a time to thin, if needed. Pour the flour mixture into the slow cooker, whisking quickly to mix in the roux with the stew meat and juices and to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and stir. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir in ½ cup sour cream right before serving. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

the perfect hard boiled egg

I got this from www.oopsredone.blogspot.com

1. Place eggs in the saucepan, it does not matter if it is 2 or 12 eggs, this way works. Just cover them with cold water, not too deep. Do NOT salt the water. Place on burner on HIGH heat.

2. Place on burner on HIGH heat. Once they start to boil turn on the timer to 3 minutes.


3. When the timer goes off, quickly take off the heat, put on the lid and reset the timer to 26 minutes.

4. When 26 minutes are up, take to sink and run cold water over them for about a minute, let them soak a bit to cool off. They will peel best if you set them in the refrigerator for about 1/2 to 1 hour, but you can eat them now!


5. Never have gray yolks again!

Happy Easter everyone!

Universal Muffin Mix (Shortening free!)

Most universal muffin mixes and bisquick mixes (homemade) have shortening in them. Here is a great universal muffin mix that doesn't have shortening. It has many variations for different muffins. Original recipe found here.

• 18 cups flour 
• 5 cups sugar (or equivalent substitute) 
• 2 1/4 cups dry buttermilk or nonfat dry milk powder 
• 6 tablespoons baking powder 
• 2 tablespoons baking soda 
• 2 tablespoons salt 
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I reduce cinnamon to 2 Tbsp.) 
• 3 teaspoons ground nutmeg (I reduce nutmeg to 2 Tbsp.

• Combine ingredients and break up any lumps.
• To make 24 regular-sized muffins:. Preheat oven to 400°. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, beat 3 to 4 eggs. 
• 3 teaspoons vanilla.
• 2 cups water.
• UP TO 1 cup oil or butter.
• Stir in 5-1/2 cups muffin mix and any additional ingredients (listed below) just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
• Fill muffin tins full.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.
• Applesauce muffins: 1 cup applesauce omit oil.
• Apple muffins: 3 cups raw grated carrots 1 teaspoons gr. cloves 1 cup nuts or raisins sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture before baking.
• Apricot muffins: 1 cup chopped dried apricots.
• Banana muffins: 2 mashed bananas 1 cup walnuts (optional).
• Blueberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen rinsed blueberries.
• Bran-molasses muffins: Use only 3 cups of muffin mix. Stir in: 4 cups bran cereal 1/2 cup molasses 1 cup raisins.
• Butterscotch muffins: 2 (12 oz.) bags butterscotch chips 1 cup chopped nuts.
• Carrot muffins: 2 cups grated carrots 1 cup raisins 1-1/2 teaspoons allspice.
• Cashew muffins: 2 cups unsalted coarsely chopped cashews.
• Cherry muffins: 2 cups fresh or dried pitted cherries.
• Chocolate chip-fudge muffins: 1-1/2 cups cocoa 1/2 cup sugar 3 cups mini chocolate chips.
• Coconut muffins: 3 cups toasted flaked coconut (reserve some to sprinkle on the top).
• Cranberry-orange muffins: 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries 1 cup nuts 1/2 cup orange juice 2 Tb. orange peel.
• Currant muffins: 1-1/2 cups currants 1 cup chopped nuts.
• Date nut muffins: 1 cup chopped dates 1 cup chopped nuts.
• Eggnog muffins: 4 teaspoons rum extract 2 cups eggnog (omit water from recipe) before baking, top with mixture of: 2 Tb. sugar 1 teaspoons nutmeg 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
• Fig muffins: 2 cups dried chopped figs 1 cup chopped walnuts.
• Fruit muffins: 2 cups dried diced fruit.
• Garden fresh muffins: 1 cup grated carrots 1 cup grated zucchini 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves.
• Gingerbread muffins: 2 Tb. ground ginger 1/2 cup molasses 2 cups raisins.
• Granola muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add: 1-1/2 cups granola. Top with additional granola before baking.
• Grape nuts muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add: 2-1/2 cups grape nuts and 1 teaspoons allspice.
• Hazelnut muffins: 2 teaspoons ground cardamom 2 cups chopped hazelnuts.
• Incredible Cream Cheese muffins: combine: 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs. Drop this mix by Tb. onto top of muffins before baking.
• Jam muffins: 1-1/2 cups jam or preserves (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry) 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).
• Kisses and hugs muffins: 1-1/2 cups cocoa 1/2 cup sugar after filling muffin tins 3/4 full, drop one Hershey’s kiss into the center of each muffin, pushing down slightly until kiss is covered. Ice cooled muffins with confectioners sugar and water glaze.
• Lemon muffins: omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice use 4 eggs, 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
• Lemon-poppy seed: 2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant lemon pudding mix 2 Tb. poppy seeds use 4 eggs omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice.
• Mandarin muffins: 2 (8-1.4 oz) cans crushed pineapple (undrained) reduce water to 1 cup 1-1/2 cups shredded carrots.
• Maple muffins: 6 Tb. maple syrup, reduce water to 1-1/2 cups.
• Marmalade muffins: 1-1/2 cups orange marmalade, 1 cup chopped nuts (opt), 1 cup orange juice (omit 1 cup of the water).
• Mincemeat muffins: 1-1/2 cups mincemeat.
• Nutty muffins: 3 cups peanut butter chips 1/2 cup chopped peanuts.
• Oatmeal muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add 1 cup oats; use 4 eggs and up to 2 cups raisins or grated apples.
• Orange muffins: 2 cups sour cream,1 cup nuts or coconut (opt), 2 cans (11 oz. each) mandarin oranges, drain; use 4 eggs.
• Peach muffins: 2 cups fresh or one large can (drained) chopped peaches.
• Pear muffins: 2 cups fresh or one large can (drained) chopped pears.
• Peanut-butter banana muffins: 1 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup chopped peanuts 3 mashed bananas.
• Peanut-butter & jelly muffins: 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts; drop 1 Tb. jam into each muffin before baking.
• Pecan muffins: 2 cups chopped toasted pecans, 1 teaspoons maple extract.
• Pineapple muffins: 1 teaspoons ground cloves, 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained 1 jar (7 oz. or about 1 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped.
• Pineapple carrot raisin muffins: 1 cup each: grated carrots, crushed pineapple, drained and raisins 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional).
• Prune muffins: 1 to 2 cups chopped prunes 1/3 cup poppy seeds.
• Pumpkin muffins: 2 cups or 1 can solid pack pumpkin 1 Tb. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 cup each chopped nuts and raisins.
• Raspberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen whole, unsweetened raspberries.
• Rum raisin muffins: 3 teaspoons rum extract or 3 tablespoons rum before baking, top with mix of: 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg.
• Sesame seed muffins: 1 cup toasted sesame seeds before baking, top with mix of: 1/2 cup nuts 4 Tb. brown sugar 4 Tb. sesame seeds 2 Tb. flour 1/2 teaspoons each cinnamon/nutmeg.
• Sour cream muffins: omit one cup of the water and add: 1 cup sour cream 2 cups nuts 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (opt.).
• Strawberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped.
• Sweet potato muffins: 1 Tb. allspice 4 Tb. dry orange peel 2 cans (10 oz each) sweet potatoes, mashed, well drained (about 2-1/2 cups).
• Tropical treat muffins: 1 cup dried mango or papaya, chopped 1 cup chopped banana chips or 2 fresh mashed,
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped 1/2 cup coconut 1/2 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated.
• Vanilla muffins: 2 packages vanilla chips.
• Walnut muffins 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts.
• Wheat germ muffins: 2-2/3 cup wheat germ use 4 eggs 1/2 cup extra water before baking, top muffins with mix of: 1/2 cup wheat germ 2 Tb. sugar.
• Yogurt muffins: reduce water to 1-1/2 cups and add: 2 cartons (8 oz each) yogurt -- plain or flavored.
• Zucchini muffins: 2 cups grated zucchini 2 Tb. cinnamon 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).
• Plum muffins: 2 cups fresh or canned plums; chopped.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

This is my favorite wheat bread recipe.  I have compared it to other people's favorites, but it still comes out on top on my list.

This is the bread recipe that was our family's favorite. It is found in the Set for Life cookbook wriiten by Jane P. Merrill and Karen M Sunderland - you can find this anywhere, even at Desert Book (the authors are an LDS mother/daughter team). The book gives you three different sized batches of the same recipe, a regular batch, medium batch and small batch. I'm giving you the regular batch which makes 5-6 regular sized loaves; if you want the recipe to the smaller batches, just let me know.

14 to 16 cups whole wheat flour (1-0-12 cups whole wheat kernal)
2 rounded T. yeast
1/2 c. gluten flour
2 T. dough enhancer (sometimes I forget to add this and it works fine)
500 mg vitamin C (optional - I haven't ever added this)
6 cups warm water (120-130 degrees)
1/2 c. vegetable water
1/2 c. honey or sugar
1 1/2 T. salt

Grind your wheat into flour. Place 9 cups fresh flour into mixer bowl equipped with kneading arm (I use my Bosch). Add dry yeast, gluten flour, and dough enhancer. Pulse to mix well. Add water, and mix for 1 minute. Then turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sponge (sit) for 10 minutes. This is very important if kneading by hand. Sponging makes lighter bread and reduces kneading time. Next, add oil, honey/sugar, and salt. Turn on mixer, and quickly add remaining flour 1 cup at a time, until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. The amount of flour needed may vary. Knead 7-10 minutes with Bosch-or similar machine. If mixing by hand, knead at least 12-15 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Lightly oil hands. Divide dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Cover bread pans with saran wrap (spray saran wrap with pam - so as bread rises it doesn't stick to bread). Let rise until almost double in bulk, approx. 20-30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. When done, immediately remove from pans; let cool on wire racks. When it is cool, store it in plastic bags. I freeze my extra loaves. (Actually when I go to all the work of baking bread - I make a TON of it - because the clean up work is the same).

This recipe makes 5-6 loaves - 4" x 8 1/2".  It also makes great rolls. 

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have made these several times (found them here on Our Best Bites and they are easy and delicious, plus everything is storable! I am going to make them right now!

2 spice cake mixes

1 30-oz. can pumpkin

1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all together.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until done.

Tiff's Tips: My pumpkin was a less moist, so I added 1/4 cup of water.  On other change I made was, I use white cake mixes and add 1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the recipe.  I do this  because white cake mixes are less expensive than spice.  I stock up on cake mixes when they are 50 cents.  For me this recipe makes 32 muffins.

Puff the Magic Pancake

This recipe was taken from the cookbook, Sensational Snacks (a child's cookbook).

Ingredients:
4 tsp. butter
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp. powdered sugar

1- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray 4 custard cups (or I used aluminum fun shape cups) with nonstick cooking spray and put on a cookie sheet.  Place 1 tsp. butter in the bottom of each cup, then put cookie sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to melt butter to sizzling point.  Remove cookie sheet from oven and set aside.

2-  In a blender, whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Add flour, salt and nutmeg.  Blend until smooth.

3-  Ladle equal amounts of batter into the four cups, then return to the oven and bake 10-15 minutes.  You will be amazed to see how these pancakes "magically" puff while baking!

4-  Remove cookie sheet from oven.  Be careful!  The cups will be very hot.  Pancakes may be removed from the cups and served on plates.  Sprinkle each one with 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar and top with fresh fruit and/or syrup if you would like.

Tiff's Tips:  I doubled the recipe to make 9 fun shape cups.