Broth is Beautiful and Healthy

A Guest Post from : My Mom!

I like to make homemade soups. All kinds of soup. I usually take the bones from a baked turkey and throw them in a pot with lots of water, cook it for a long time and then use the meat and broth for soup. I had no idea how good and healthy that really is.

I found the link to this article, Broth is Beautiful by Sally Fallon on my friend's blog, She Looketh Well. The article explains some of the awesome nutrients in broth made from bones and meat. And I quote, "Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain. " That makes me want to eat some soup almost every day! The article goes on the explain other good factors about broth.

So now I know that it is truly worth the extra effort it takes to make soup from scratch. Which reminds me, I think my broth is done so I'd better go tend to it!

Happy Eating,

Gloria

A Big Thank You to Mama for sharing this wisdom with us! :D Be sure to check out her blog, Gloria In Excelsis Deo, for more good stuff! :)

Madison's Chocolate Chip Cookies

A Guest Post from Madison


First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Second, get out your electric mixer.
In the bowl, put in 1 stick of softened butter, 1/2 a cup of brown sugar, 1/4 a cup of sugar (I used sucanat), 1 egg, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

The butter mixture being mixed up...

What it should look like approximately when finished.

Usually it looks a bit smoother though, and not as liquid. But looking like that is fine as well.
Next, in a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour (I use wheat flour), 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

*be sure to do this in a separate bowl. If you mix it in with the butter mixture, the cookies don't turn out as well.
*Stir this the mixture together.Next, measure out 1/4 of a cup of the flour mixture and put it in the butter mixture. Turn your electric mixer on.
Continue putting in 1/4 of a cup at a time.
*again, be sure to do it 1/4 of a cup at a time. The cookies don't turn out as nice if you don't*
After mixing all of the flour mixture together, the mixture should look like this:
Again, usually it looks a bit smoother, but this is how it turned out.

Next add 1/2 - 2/3 cup of chocolate chips. The reason I don't say 1 cup is because 1/2 a cup goes a very long way. But depending on how much you want, you can add 2/3 if you want.

Roll the cookies into balls about this big:
A bit bigger if you want to. Then, put your cookies in the oven:

Now all of your cookies are finished! Dig in, and be sure to drink a huge glass of milk with it. :)

Yum!This is my version of a recipe I found in a book called: The Mix-It-Up Cookbook. But I changed the amount of some of the ingredients. But mostly this is that recipe.Well, I hope you enjoyed the recipe and pictures! Trust me, these cookies are delicious!

In Christ,

~Madison

A Big Thank You to Madison for letting me share this recipe!! Be sure to visit Madison over at Her amazing blog. :)

Snickerdoodle Pie

A Guest Post by Emily

Recipe for Snickerdoodle Pie!!!
Hmm, what should I say about this recipe? Yum! Or how about, YUM!!!

It's pretty easy to make and the finished product is, well, Delicious!

Preheat oven to 350.

1 pie crust, unbaked and brushed with 2 tsp melted butter.

1 T sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon (sprinkle 1 tsp on crust).

Combine in saucepan: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 3 T water, and 2 T light corn syrup. Boil gently for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla. Set aside.

In mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter for 30 seconds. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tap cream of tartar until well combined.

Add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Slowly add1/2 cup milk and 1 1/4 cup flour.

Pour mixture into pie crust. Top with syrup mixture and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.

Cover crust with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 more minutes or until center tests done with toothpick.

Cool 20 minutes before serving.

Yum! Enjoy!

Emily

A Big Thank You to Emily for sharing this recipe! Check out her new cooking blog, Sugar 'n' Spice, for more fun stuff!

Canned Soup Substitution Recipes and Conversion Tables

A Guest Post from Rachel

Have you ever started to make something, say dinner or a batch of cookies, and found out that you were missing an ingredient? I have many times! My solution..quick, find a substitution! I like to keep a list handy (in my cooking notebook) of easy substitutions for those last minute cooking problems.

These are some of my favorite substitutions!
Evaporated Milk Recipe - This is my ultimate favorite substitution recipe! It is very versatile and can be used in just about anything! I have used it both in my baking and my cooking. I normally will use this in my homemade potato soup instead of using the real stuff. It really makes it creamy and you can't even tell the difference! The other benefit is that it is super quick to put together and very inexpensive! =:) (now all I need is one for sweetened condensed milk! I did find some good looking recipes for it on Cooks.com if you want to try them out!)

Creamed Soup Base(From: The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman)
We use this book because my dad has a gluten/wheat intolerance. We do not really keep up with it very much though. I like to use this mix to make cream of chicken soup and cheese soup for my cooking. I have lot's of casseroles that use this and we don't always have the canned soup on hand, or I just didn't feel like putting it on the grocery list again, etc. You make up the base mix and then you can add things to make the different soups. It works very well and the base keeps in the freezer for a long period of time. I usually double or triple the base recipe so that I have it on hand all the time. I then will double the actual soup recipe for my casseroles because we like it really creamy.

Base Recipe:
1 cup Dry Milk Powder or Non-dairy substitute (I use the milk powder)
1 cup White Rice Flour
2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onions
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp Powdered Soup Base (I use a dry chicken soup mix)
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Store in an airtight container (or ziploc) by your kitchen stove or on the pantry shelf (I keep mine in the freezer).
This mix is equivalent of 8 or 9 cans of soup (the 10-1/2 oz. size).

For the soups:
Cream of Chicken Soup:
In a small saucepan, blend 4 Tbsp. of base with 1/4 cup cold water.
Add 1 cup hot water (or chicken stock) and cook over medium heat, stirring until the soup thickens.
Cheese Soup or Sauce: Follow the directions for Cream of Chicken Soup, using 1/4 cup of the base. Add 1/4 cup extra water.
Stir in 1/2 to 2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese before removing from the stove.

To use in a casserole: If your casserole (scalloped potatoes, etc.) calls for canned soup and is to be baked more than 1 hour, just stir the creamed soup base with the ingredients and pour on 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups hot water. Since my casseroles take 30-45 min. or up to an hour, I don't do it this way.

Another handy thing to have in the kitchen is a list of weights and measurements conversions. It's always helpful for exchanging tsp. for Tbsp., turning ounces. into pints, etc.
Conversion Table
Conversion Calculator
Ingredient Equivalents and Volume Measurements
Measurement Equivalents
Ingredient Equivalents
Conversion Chart - Ingredient Equivalents
Blessings and Happy Baking!
Rachel

A Big huge Thank You to Rachel and her sister Jessica for letting me use these tips! :D visit their amazing blog Young Homemakers to learn more about these delightful young ladies.