Thursday, March 25, 2010

Monster Cookies


Yet again another flour free food.  I am not sure why these are called monster cookies except that the recipe calls for them to be big, and I think the ingredient possibilities might make them monsterish?    Anyway they don't call for flour which is why I made them.  I have been making these for years and use them especially when I have to make cookies for someone I know can't eat wheat.   I made these simply with chocolate chips but the recipe suggests all sorts of stuff from raisins to m&m's.  It's all up to you.  I don't remember where I got the original recipe from and all I have is a list of ingredients.  So I will do my best.  Also I always cut this recipe in half.

Monster Cookies

6 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
1 Tbls vanilla
1 Tbls corn syrup
4 teas. baking soda
1 cup butter
2 2/3 cup peanut butter
9 cups quick oats
any mix-in's you want, raisins, choc chips, m&m's, etc.

Preheat oven to 350deg.  Beat eggs, add sugars, vanilla and corn syrup and beat with eggs.  Add baking soda and stir.  Beat in softened butter and peanut butter.  Stir in oats.  Stir in other things.   drop onto cookie sheet in desired size, I wouldn't make them too small.  I do a large rounded tablespoon.  Bake 12-15 min.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Experiment Day

My husband decided he needed to at least try to avoid wheat for at least a week, if not forever.  I really hope it doesn't come to that.  Gluten free appears to be so expensive.   Anyway, in order to help with the first week anyway I decided to try a few different things so he can get some carbs on his no-body-fat body.  Yup the great wife that I am, I have sacrificed myself and taken ALL his fat and claimed it for my own.  Seriously the poor guy is skin and bones.  I on the other hand am more like skin and fat, I don't even think I can find the bones through all that anymore.  Anyway he has a 50K race this weekend and needs those extra few carbs. (30miles, ya, I know, I only hope my kids don't get those weird genes)  SO  as I was shopping today I checked out the various 'special' flours.  Most recipes I have found for gluten-free bread call for a variety of those flours all mixed together. (tapioca, garbanzo, brown rice, etc.)  But the prices are sky high for a tiny bag.  That would make two batches of, say, biscuits about $8.00.   YIKES!  But you have to buy all the flours at an average of $6 a bag.  Let me see.... add the five..... carry the 2....= Yup, not going to do it until it becomes a life threatening issue.

So, being the frugal person I am, I decided to try and whip up my own rice flour and see what I come up

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

We never have pancakes for breakfast anymore.  This started when I used to make weekend breakfasts, but with working we stuck to cereal for weekdays, much faster.  But my son started complaining that he didn't want pancakes, he wanted cereal.   I have recently figured out why.  He was in daycare and they fed them breakfast.  Pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, sausage, the works.  My son was famous for wanting seconds.  No surprise, because he's a big kid.  So that is probably why on the weekends he thought cereal was special.  Rather than putting up with the whining, I gave in and weekend breakfasts were no more.

Now we do pancakes for dinner.  We used to do it once a week, easy and quick.  I would trade off between pancakes and waffles or German pancakes.  Who doesn't need a built in meal in their weekly menu that A) is easy. B) is quick. and C) everyone will eat.  I don't make it so much anymore but now that I said that, maybe I need to go back. 

I usually make a nice multi-grain/wholewheat pancake.  Very hearty.  But this night I was craving big fluffy, probably fattening, pancakes.  I was also craving broccoli salad.  Let me say, the pairing of broccoli salad and big fluffy pancakes is not the best.  Not only was I nutritionally cheating with both items, (It's healthy, it has Broccoli in it) but they did not compliment each other at all.  Even the bacon in the salad could not help with that.   But what can you do when you have two distinct cravings in one day?  No, not pregnant.

The batter is wet but you can just see it rising in the bowl there is so much going on in there.  Even though I made less batter than usual, as in 2 cups of flour/stuff vs. about 3, It made more pancakes.  No they weren't as filling but as I said before they were probably worse for me.  BUT SO YUMMY.  So here is the recipe I followed for the pancakes.  I did not have buttermilk on hand, so I added about a tablespoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon and a half (who really measures?) of cream of tartar to my milk and let it sit for several minutes. 

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl.  Add all wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, and oil)  to a separate bowl and stir just until blended.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until combined.   Do not over mix, batter will be lumpy. This is good for pancake batter to be lumpy.
Heat stove to medium low.  Drop about 1/4 cup of batter onto heated skillet.  Use the back side of a spoon to help even out the batter.  Cook on first side until bubbles begin to form on surface and underside is golden, about 2 minutes.  Flip over and cook until golden brown and center springs back when lightly touched.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Granola Bars



My kids love these homemade granola bars.  I like that they are made with ingredients I can see and choose.  However these are very sweet and I wish they weren't so much.  I've tried leaving out some sugar but they don't hold up as well.  My littlest loves them with mini-m&m's, this time I didn't have any.  I used chocolate chips and chopped peanuts and substituted a bit of oatmeal with rice krispies.  If you like raisins or crazins or other dried fruit that would work as well, perhaps with a bit of cinnamon.  The recipe for these is also in my neighborhood cookbook.

Granola Bars

2/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 teas. vanilla
4 cups quick oats

Preheat oven to 350deg. Melt butter and stir in peanut butter.  Add corn syrup, brown sugar and vanilla.  Mix in oats a bit at a time.  Then add other ingredients, m&m's, choc chips etc.
Press in 9x13 pan and bake 14-16 minutes.
I find it easier to line the pan with foil or the like to remove the whole batch from the pan and cut.
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