Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

so, you have your basic white bread now... what to use it for? how about some bread pudding! if i have some bread left over after a day or two, this is what i use it for. delicious and a lot healthier than traditional bread pudding. if you dont like apples, try this recipe with some raisins instead. this recipe serves 4.


APPLE CINNAMON BREAD PUDDING

6 slices basic white bread, cubed
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 an apple, diced
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. placed diced bread in a lightly sprayed casserole dish

3. add milk and mix well. allow to soak for 10-15 minutes

4. add sugar, diced apple, and cinnamon, mix thoroughly

5. bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees


you can view the nutritional content HERE. to make it a bit healthier, try doing 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup splenda.

EDIT: wow, i completely forgot to add vanilla to it! try adding 1/2-1tsp of vanilla extract, depending on how strong you want it to be

Basic White Bread

i've been making tons and tons of my own bread lately, a loaf every day or two, so decided that it is time to share my basic bread recipe! this is a VERY basic bread, but it still tastes great! i love having homemade bread around. for me, it is cheaper to make the bread than to buy it, since i buy my flour and yeast in bulk. if you buy your flour in 5 or 10lb bags, and buy single packages of yeast, it comes to around $1 a loaf. it is only about 20 cents a loaf for me, since i buy my flour in 25lb bags and yeast in 2lbs for $4. yes, that really is bulk! but i use it. my last lb of yeast lasted me about 8 months, now that im making bread daily it will be about 2 months a lb of yeast, and about a month and a half for a bag of flour. anyway, on to the recipe!


BASIC WHITE BREAD

2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (one package)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp applesauce

1. if using regular yeast, soak it in warm water for 10 minutes.

2. mix the dry instant yeast, flour, and salt in a large bowl.

3. mix the applesauce and warm water together in a small bowl (or yeast water)

4. slowly add the water mixture to the flour mixture. only add a little bit at a time, stirring well after each addition.

5. when all of the water mixture is mixed in, form the dough into a ball and knead for 5-10 minutes.

6. grease a bowl with cooking spray and place the ball of dough into the bowl, spraying the top of the dough lightly.

7. cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.

8. punch down dough, form into a log, and press gently into a greased loaf pan. allow to rise another 30-45 minutes.

9. bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

10. using potholders, tip the loaf pan upside down until the bread slides out. cool completely on a wire rack.


and as normal, HERE is the nutritional info! makes about 12 slices of yummy bread. much tastier and a lot healthier than the store bought breads that never seem to go bad. this recipe also makes delicious bread sticks. just form into small thin logs, brush with butter, and bake for 12-15 minutes, brushing with more butter when baking is complete.

i prefer to use this recipe instead of a sweeter or saltier one because this bread is VERY versatile. i can use it for just about anything at all, and it is delicious on its own as well.

Vegetable Curry Casserole

last night i bought a ton of vegetables (carrying 20lbs of vegetables uphill home was a great workout), and made a DELICIOUS casserole! the idea for this came from divan, love chicken-less divan. i wanted to use a variety of vegetables, though, and make it a bit healthier (canned cream of mushroom soup and mayonnaise are so insanely unhealthy!). here is what i came up with! i like mine with a strong curry flavor. you can use less if you aren't a fan of curry.


VEGETABLE CURRY CASSEROLE

5 medium potatoes
1 turnip
1 medium onion
3 carrots
1 stalk broccoli
4 cups cabby's cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup cabby's ranch dressing II
2 tbsp curry powder

1. dice all of the vegetables into 1/2 - 1 in cubes.

2. boil the potatoes, turnip, and carrots for about 15 minutes.

3. drain the boiled vegetables and place in a casserole dish along with the broccoli and onion.

4. mix together the cream of mushroom soup, curry, and ranch dressing. pour over vegetables and mix well.

5. bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


and HERE is the nutritional for it. it got a great score for optimal health! it is even better if you use a low sodium homemade broth for the soup, as i do. this is absolutely fantastic spooned over some homemade bread! hope you all enjoy this recipe, it is my new favorite. thought i was making a special treat, and found out that it is perfect for my diet! can eat it all i want!

and if you are interested, it costs about 60 cents a serving, if you use homemade broth (made from veggie scraps) for the soup, and buy the vegetables in bulk bags as i do. that is taking in the amount of ingredients used, it isn't counting the price of leftover ingredients if you have to buy all the stuff in larger amounts than what is used. if you buy all the vegetables separately, and buy the broth, it will probably come to about $1.50 a serving. still a pretty cheap meal!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

As with the ranch, the store bought cream of mushroom soup is just WAY too unhealthy for me, so i made my own. this recipe has two parts, i canned mine after the first section, then use that base to finish it as needed. this recipe as written yields 2 cups base, 4 cups finished.


MUSHROOM SOUP BASE

8 oz mushrooms
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cup broth

slice the mushrooms and add them to simmering broth. stir in the garlic powder. simmer for 15 minutes.


CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

2 cups mushroom soup base
2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup flour

whisk all ingredients together in a pot. bring to a boil and boil for one minute. reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

the nutritional content HERE is for 2 cups of soup made with Swanson broth. i make mine with a low sodium homemade broth, so its a bit healthier.

Ranch Dressing II

this is my most recent homemade ranch, very low calorie and fat! the store-bought ones are way too high in fat for me, and have an insane amount of calories. this is a delicious and healthy alternative. using all dry milk and powdered buttermilk still turns out great!



RANCH DRESSING II

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
3 tbsp dry skim milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp basil

combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

you can view the nutritional information HERE. it says a tiny amount of regular salt... the site doesn't have onion salt listed. i used the same amount of sodium worth of table salt to make this nutritional label. the recipe yields about 1 1/4 cups worth, and the nutritional is for 2 tbsp.

Pizza Revised

soooo.... i changed my pizza recipe. i wanted to make it as low cal and fat as possible while still tasting good. here is my NEW pizza recipe! still makes a pan size worth, mine is cut in half to do 2 different sauces. the nutritional information is for 1/6 of the entire pan worth made with marinara sauce and cheese.


PIZZA DOUGH

1 package (2 + 1/4 tsp) yeast
3/4 cup water
2 1/2 cup flour (half white half whole wheat works great)
2 tbsp applesauce
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion salt

1. mix the yeast and water (at 105-115 degrees F), let rest 10 minutes. if using instant yeast skip this step.

2. combine the flour and spices in a large bowl

3. slowly add the yeast mixture and applesauce to the flour mixture. make sure you only add a little bit at a time, and mix well! or else your dough will end up dry and stiff.

4. knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky.

5. spray the bowl with cooking spray. place dough ball in bowl and lightly spray the top of the dough. cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest 1 hr, or until doubled in size.

6. punch down the dough and roll it out into the size and shape of the pan you are using.

7. top with 1 1/3 cup of marinara or 2/3 cup ranch dressing.

8. sprinkle 8 oz of cheese over the top of the sauce.

9. add desired toppings. my new favorite is mushrooms, onions, oregano, basil, and tvp soaked with spicy italian seasoning.

10. bake at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese browns at the edges.

and now you have your delicious homemade pizza! with all the suggested toppings, it comes to about 400 calories for 1/6 of the pizza. that is a lot better than what you get at the store or delivered! that is a pretty good size portion as well. i normally only eat 1/6- 1/3 at a time.

Baked Beans

so.. one of my husband's favorite foods is baked beans, but we rarely buy it because stores charge an arm and a leg for canned beans!

so ive been making my own the past 6 months or so. its great that i can control the ingredients, make them a lot lower calorie than the store-bought ones, and they are a lot cheaper! i make mine with pinto beans, cheaper than navy beans and tastes pretty much the same. the price of beans at my store went down, so it now costs me about 27 cents for 2 cups of finished baked beans!

yes, that IS cheap, just a tiny fraction of what the large cans cost. this is my diet version, low sugar and salt. still tastes delicious!


3 cups dried pinto beans
1 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
2 tbsp cup pancake syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp splenda
1 tsp salt
water or broth to cover


CROCKPOT BEANS

1. soak and drain the beans, then place them in a slow cooker (crockpot).

2. add all other ingredients, mix well, and cover with water

3. cook on low heat 8 hrs or overnight



PRESSURE COOKER BEANS

1. soak and drain the beans, place them in your pressure cooker

2. add all other ingredients, mix well and cover with water

3. place the lid securely on the pressure cooker, and process at 15 pounds of pressure for 50 minutes.

SALSA

need something to go with those chips? how about some homemade salsa! this is my quick and easy salsa recipe, medium spicy. cheap too. this recipe makes one quart.


GARDEN SALSA

1 28oz can of whole tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion
1/3 cup chopped jalapeno
3 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup dried cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup juice from tomatoes

1. mix all ingredients together in a bowl

2. blend half of the mixture and pour back into the bowl

3. chill overnight


that's it! quick, easy, delicious, and cheap! it costs me about $1.75 to make a quart, way cheaper than store bought! experiment with the spices to get different flavors, or try blending with some black bean for a delicious dip.

CABBAGE STEW

so, i ate pizza this morning, had next to no calories left for my diet for the day, and absolutely no fat! i was WAY over on fat, to tell the truth, so i needed to make something low calorie, low fat, but filling... cabbage stew! the above picture is the nutrition label i got after i plugged the recipe in at nutritiondata.self.com. that is for 2 cups of the stew! healthy healthy food! the sodium for yours may be higher, i used a low sodium homemade broth. i made a huge batch, so here it is halved. makes about 12 cups worth.



CABBAGE STEW

3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 head cabbage, shredded
6 cups water or low sodium broth
1 onion
1 carrot
1.5 cups drained kidney beans
1/2 cup potato flakes
salt and spices to taste


1. add the broth or water, carrot and potatoes to the pot. boil for 20 minutes.

2. add the onion, cabbage, and kidney beans. boil another 20 minutes or so, until cabbage is wilted and potatoes are soft.

3. add salt and spices to taste. i add parsley, celery seed, and salt.

4. stir in the potato flakes. add more for a thicker stew.

PIZZA!

2/24/11 EDIT: i changed my pizza recipe, see the revised version here.

I completely forgot to take pictures of the pizza this morning (hubby gets home at 830am, made it then), so i will add the pictures next week when i make it again. This is one of our favorite things to make, it equals out to cheaper than frozen pizza (about $1-$1.50 a pizza), and hubby likes it better than delivery! This makes two small pizzas with medium thickness dough.


PIZZA!

1 package yeast (2.25 tsp)
1 cup warm water
2 1/3 cup white flour
2/3 cup wheat flour ( or use 3 cups white if you don't have wheat)
3 tbsp oil

2/3 cup sauce
8 oz cheese

1. mix the yeast and water and let stand for 10 minutes. if you are using instant yeast, skip this step and just mix it with the flour.

2. add the yeast mixture (or just water if using instant) to the flour. add oil and mix well.

3. form the dough into a ball and knead for 5-10 minutes.

4. spray the dough lightly with cooking spray and place it back in the bowl. cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hr.

5. punch the dough down, then roll it out on a floured board. i roll mine out to the size of a 14x15in baking sheet.

6. place the dough on the baking sheet and spread over it your favorite sauce. i normally cut my dough into two, do one red sauce and one ranch.

7. spread cheese evenly over the top of the sauce.

8. add desired toppings. we normally do garlic salt, basil, and oregano.

9. bake on the lowest rack in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (longer if your dough is thick).

10. let cool a few minutes, cut, and enjoy!

Tortilla Chips

Wow, long time without posting again! As normal, i was sick for a long time, and not cooking much at all (4 months of bronchitis that ended with 2 weeks bedridden!). i am finally back on my feet, and cooking up a storm! only remembered to take pictures and write down one thing, but there will be tons more coming soon!

i have been doing a TON of budgeting lately, money is really tight so we are eating as cheap as we can. we aren't having to sacrifice much, though, as the foods i can make for cheap are things we love! so today's post is a cheap snack ive been making, and a lot healthier than the fried store versions! BAKED TORTILLA CHIPS! these come out to about 40 cents a batch, which is 1/2-2/3 of a bag at the store. super cheap for a great snack! ive been serving mine with a homemade salsa or bean dip.


MAKING THE TORTILLAS

2 cups masa harina (corn flour treated with lime)
1 1/4 cup water

1. measure the masa into a bowl, gradually add the water and stir til it forms into nuggets.

2. using your hands, form the dough into a ball, then separate into 16 pieces.

3. roll one piece of dough into a ball, place it between two plastic sheets, then press it flat with a tortilla press or other object
(i used an inverted coffee can lid, and pressed with my fingertips, feeling for lumps)

4. peel the top plastic off the tortilla, then flip and peel the other piece of plastic off.

5. brown on a skillet over medium high heat until bubbles form on top. flip and cook another 30 sec or so.

6. repeat steps 3-5 for remaining pieces of dough.



MAKING THE CHIPS

16 corn tortillas
1-2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. dip a pastry brush in the oil and wipe a thin layer of the top of a tortilla.

3. continue wiping a thin layer onto the tortillas until the brush dries on both sides, then re-dip. stack tortillas on top of each other as you coat each one.

4. after all tortillas are coated in oil, place a small pinch of salt on top of the top tortilla and rub in with fingertips.

5. repeat step 3 til all tortillas are salted, re-stacking as you finish each one.

6. using a large knife (chef's knife works great) cut the tortillas across the middle. turn 90 degrees and cut again, making quarters.

7. arrange pieces on a baking sheet, making sure that they dont overlap.

8. bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, longer if your tortillas are thick. repeat until all are baked.





Make sure to come back tomorrow for pizza day!