What's On My Dish?

I created a food blog a while ago and am finally going to announce it here. Go to What's On My Dish? to read recipes and other food related posts there.

Ihave a calendar of my family's menu in the side bar. I planned out my meals back in January & February and it was great! I stopped doing it when the baby came but now I'm starting it back up again. If any of you want to plan out your meals, the easiest way to start is to just write down what you had for dinner each night, then the next month you can get your ideas from what you had last month, or start adding new things.

A few times people have asked for a recipe from me and I didn't feel comfortable giving them my personal blog address with the recipe. Now I can give them my food blog address. Please feel free to give anyone my food blog address so that my personal blog stays unread by just anyone.

This food blog is dedicated to my first set of dishes (pictured below.) I loved the dishes but after 7 1/2 years, it was time to let them go. I have now gone to plain ol' white Corelle Ware since they go with everything and are kid friendly. :)

Visit What's On My Dish?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

This recipe is derived from The Amazing Wheat book by LeArta Moulton. I have made some notes and changed the recipe name so it's easier to search on search engines. (In the book it's called "Anything Goes Cake" on page 170.)

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar or succanat OR 1 1/2 cups honey**
4 T carob powder or cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 T salt
3/4 cup cooking oil (I used canola)
2 T vinegar (probably apple cider vinegar, but I often use white vinegar)
2 t vanilla (a trusted friend told me to double the vanilla in recipes...always, so I did 4 t vanilla)
2 c liquid, mashed fruit or vegetable*

Mix dry ingredients, then add liquids. Mix together. Bake in ungreased 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. For 24 cupcakes, fill into cupcake liners, bake 350 degrees for 17 minutes.

*To this basic cake recipe, just about any leftovers can be added. Try tomato soup, mashed potatoes, vegetables or fruit, squash, etc. (The consistency will be a little different if the the fruit or vegetable is more liquid or solid, but it doesn't affect the taste. The main difference would be either a light fluffy cake versus a brownie texture.)
** NOTE: When I use mashed bananas, they are already sweet so I just put in 1 cup of succanat instead of 2 cups. (Judge according to your taste buds. You can eat this batter since it has no raw eggs!)

Homemade Enchilada Sauce & Bean Enchiladas

A few years ago, I found this recipe for Enchilada Sauce here. I've used it when I don't have a can of enchilada sauce on hand (which is almost always.) It's cheaper to make this stuff plus it's usually healthier.

Enchilada Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (I used "no salt added" tomato sauce)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Heat oil in large 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder; cook for 1 minute.
2. Add remaining ingredients bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Makes 3 cups sauce.
This is enough to make one enchilada casserole in a 9x13 dish.

Bean Enchiladas
When I make enchiladas I usually like to fill them with a bean mixture. Last night I used the following:
1 can kidney beans
1 can olives
1 small can of green beans (hide them and no one will know!)
1/2 package tofu
mexican seasoning (I used The Spice Hunter brand, and it's great!)
onion powder
a dash of garlic hot sauce (I found at Dollartree.)

Spray 9x13 casserole dish. Add a layer of enchilada sauce. Fill 8 tortillas with bean mixture and place in dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas ensuring to get all parts of tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and decorate with green onions or chives.

Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Broil for a few minutes afterward if desired to get the cheese crispy.

When I make this again I'm sure it will be different. The filling is never the same. You could add cheese to the filling to make it extra good but it's also extra fattening and costly. :) If you don't have canned beans you could grind dry beans and cook with boiling water to get a bean spread.

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Yesterday I discovered that your crock pot only works if you turn it on! I put the following recipe in the crockpot at 12:00 noon and then at 4:00 checked on it and realized that the crockpot was turn on "high" but not plugged in! I ended up switching to a casserole dish with foil and baking for 1 hr at 350 degrees, the took the foil off for another 10-15 minutes.

This food was pretty good, I'll make it again. I served this with tortillas and cheese, and the next day had it with nachos.

I found this recipe in the Albertson's ad last week. It came from allrecipes.com.

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Submitted By: Albertsons
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 4 Hours

Ready In: 4 Hours 10 Minutes
Servings: 6
"Juicy chicken with a Mexican flair. . .all served with rice and beans."

Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounce) Tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can Mild Green Chilies, undrained (I diced them)
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (I used brown rice, of course.)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained (I cooked some dry pinto beans earlier in the morning then used 2 cups of cooked pinto beans.)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I chopped the chicken to bite sized pieces)
1 (1 ounce) package chicken taco seasoning mix (I used 1/4 cup of taco seasoning)

Directions:
1. Combine tomatoes, rice, broth, beans, chicken, and seasoning mix in CROCK-POT slow cooker.
2. Cook on LOW setting for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Stir before serving.

ALT: Or put in casserole dish and top with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, remove the foil then bake for 10-15 minutes.

Frankenstein Soup AKA Split Pea Soup

Last night I made Split Pea Soup and tricked Salem into thinking that it was "Frankenstein Soup." He was so intrigued with the Frankenstein green soup with orange eyeballs (carrots) and white fingernails (onions.)

I got him to eat a small bowl of the soup by telling him the story of how I caught the Frankenstein and melted him into the pot. As he ate each spoonful I'd tell him more about my adventure of calling the Frankenstein hotline to find a Frankenstein to capture for the soup. His eyes were so big as I was telling him the story, he ran to the mirror to see if he was turning green like a Frankenstein (since you are what you eat!) It was pretty cute.

This tactic worked really well to get him to eat this soup but I'm sure it was a one-hit wonder. He'll be savvy to my scheme next time around.

Here is the recipe that I used, I got it from Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. I don't currently own this book so I check it out from the library pretty much every other month.

Split Pea Soup with Herbes De Provence
Serves 4 - 6

1 tablespoon safflower or canola oil
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano, and rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 large bay leaf
2 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 large celery ribs, diced
6 cups boiling water
2 cups dried green split peas, picked over and rinsed
.....
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
salt to taste

Heat the oil in the cooker. Cook the garlic over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, just until it begins to brown. Immediately add the onions and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another minute. Stir in the basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel, and bay leaf. Add the carrots, celery, boiling water (stand back to avoid sputtering oil), and split peas.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 6 minutes (I cooked it for 15 minutes, as that is what I found works best). For a hearty texture, quick-release the pressure by setting the pot under cold running water. For a smoother texture, allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape.

Remove the bay leaf. Stir the soup as you add the parsley and salt to taste. This soup will thicken considerably on standing. Thin as needed with water or stock.

I found this picture after googling the recipe, it looked just like this.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anything is better with chocolate! These cookies are whole wheat but they still taste great, I don't know anyone who would turn these down.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix together:
1 egg
1/2 c canola oil
1/4 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c honey

Add:
1/2 c water
2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda

Then add:
1 c zucchini
2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour*
2 c quick oats
1 - 2 c chocolate chips

Spoon & shape into golf-ball sizes. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. They will come out fluffy and delicious! :)

* Whole wheat pastry flour can be made by substituting a little bit of corn starch for whole wheat flour. Use 1 tablespoon of corn starch for every 1/2 cup of ww pastry flour. Example: I added two tablespoons of cornstarch in my 1 cup measuring cup, then filled the rest with whole wheat flour. Then I added one tablespoon in the 1/2 cup measuring cup and filled the rest up with ww flour. (1 1/2 c ww pastry flour = 1 1/2 c ww flour - 3 T corn starch.)
If I've confused you enough, then you can just add white flour instead, or just use all whole wheat flour.

The Burger Waffle

Have you ever tried to make veggie/bean burgers only to have them fall apart? Well, we have and it's a challenge to get the right consistency to make them stay together.

Darrell and I came up with a great idea...cook the veggie or bean burgers in the waffle maker! We use our traditional waffle maker (not the belgian waffle maker since we have both.) The end result seems to make it more sturdy to hold in your bun or even just on your plate. They might be able to hold up the test to an outside BBQ grill once they are cooked first in the waffle maker, then later reheated on the grill for a party.

We don't really have a recipe since each time it's different. It's kind of like making meatloaf, just throw whatever in there and it'll be good.

Here is a list of types of ingredients that we have used:
Beans - pinto or black, but I'm sure you could use any kind of beans. (I usually start with dry beans and cook them speedily in my pressure cooker.)
Grains - Bread crumbs, oatmeal, cooked rice/wheat/barley/etc.
Cheese - Just a enough to make it tasty
Egg - sometimes we have used an egg to hopefully gel the food together, but you could also use ground flax seed.
Spices - Montreal Steak Seasoning, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, whatever.
Condiments - Worcestershire sauce, A1, Vinegar, whatever.
Vegetables - You can either add whatever pureed or chopped veggies to the burger batter, or wait until afterward and just add it to your sandwich.

If you really need a recipe, there are a ton online. Just start with a basic recipe and make it your own by adding whatever is in your fridge or pantry. Enjoy!

Yogurt - Put a little culture in your life

Did you know that yogurt is extremely easy to make at home? I found out how to make yogurt by reading the book Super Baby Food when Salem was a baby. I made it once for him then found out he was allergic to the milk protein so I stopped making yogurt. (I could have used soy milk, but I didn't think it was as cost effective.) Now that Oaklen and Salem enjoy yogurt, I have started making it again. The price of a gallon of milk has gone up but it's still cheaper than buying yogurt. Plus, you control what goes in there.

In the book that I mentioned above, the author takes a couple of pages explaining how to make yogurt, there are many different ways or preferences, but here is my summary.

Homemade Yogurt

Things you'll need:
* Milk - You can use any kind of milk - skim, 1%, 2%, whole, resubstituted dry milk, diluted evaporated, cow's , soy, goat's, whatever.
* Candy (or Yogurt) Thermometer - Look for one that goes down to 100 degrees and goes at least to 185 degrees
* Starter - This can just be 2 Tbsp of already-made yogurt (make sure it says "live and active cultures"), or you can buy freeze dried bacteria culture at a natural foods store.
* Saucepan with water
* Clean quart glass jar
* A Place to "incubate" the yogurt - A warm place around 90 - 115 degrees F. I use a thermos, or wrap the jar in a towel and stick it on my back porch. You can also use an oven, heating pad, the sun, whatever.
* Sterilized spoon - I just get a clean/hot one from the dishwasher, or you can sterilize it in the boiling water.

Step 1 - Sterilize the milk to kill all bacteria
1. Pour a quart of milk into a clean glass mayonnaise jar.
2. Nest the jar into a saucepan on the stove top with water that comes halfway up the side of the jar. Put a yogurt thermometer into the milk (not the water) and bring milk to 185 degrees F.
3. From refrigerator , remove the starter (yogurt) and set aside 2 Tbsp in a bowl to let it come to room temperature while the milk is scalding and cooling.
4. Milk needs to rise to 185 degrees F.
(This takes about 25 minutes for me.)

Step 2 - Cool the milk to the incubation temperature for growing yogurt.
1. After milk is 185 degrees F, remove from saucepan and place in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Set your timer for 45 minutes to check on the yogurt. The yogurt needs to cool to 115 degrees F. (I usually have to let it sit there for almost an hour, but it's good to check it at the 45 minute mark.)

(Don't do what I did one time. I put the jar on the counter with an ice pack underneath. The ice pack got warmer and tipped the jar. I came in the kitchen and saw that the whole jar of milk spilled everywhere! I told myself that I wouldn't cry over spilled milk. :)

Step 3 - Introduce friendly yogurt bacteria (the starter) into the milk.
1. When the milk is 115 degrees, remove the jar from the fridge and add the 2 Tbsp of starter (yogurt.) (If you used skim milk you can optionally add dry milk powder to make the yogurt more thick and also add more nutrition.)

Step 4 - Let the yogurt bacteria incubate.
1. Put in a warm place between 90 - 115 degrees F. Do not let get too cool or too hot, keep it within those temperatures.
2. The yogurt will be finished after several hours (anywhere from 4-12 hours, the times will vary depending on how or where you incubated the yogurt.)

Step 5 - Refrigerate the finished yogurt
1. To test if it's done, touch the top with your clean finger and see if it's thick and pudding-like. It will also thicken a little when in the refrigerator. The longer you let it incubate the more tart the flavor.
2. At this point you can flavor it if you'd like, or just put in the fridge as plain yogurt.

Step 6 - Enjoy!
My boys eat the yogurt plain. I like to cut up fruit and add uncooked oatmeal and ground flaxseed for a good breakfast. I've also mixed some jam into the yogurt for a flavored yogurt snack. You can also use yogurt as a substitute in recipes for buttermilk, sour cream or mayonnaise.

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Why should you eat yogurt? Here is what Dr. Sears has to say:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t045700.asp

10 REASONS YOGURT IS A TOP HEALTH FOOD

1. Yogurt is easier to digest than milk. Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. The live active cultures create lactase, the enzyme lactose-intolerant people lack, and another enzyme contained in some yogurts (beta-galactosidase) also helps improve lactose absorption in lactase-deficient persons. Bacterial enzymes created by the culturing process, partially digest the milk protein casein, making it easier to absorb and less allergenic. In our pediatric practice, we have observed that children who cannot tolerate milk can often eat yogurt without any intestinal upset. While the amount varies among brands of yogurt, in general, yogurt has less lactose than milk. The culturing process has already broken down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose, two sugars that are easily absorbed by lactose-intolerant persons.

2. Yogurt contributes to colon health. There's a medical truism that states: "You're only as healthy as your colon." When eating yogurt, you care for your colon in two ways. First, yogurt contains lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. Lactobacteria, especially acidophilus, promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon and reduces the conversion of bile into carcinogenic bile acids. The more of these intestines-friendly bacteria that are present in your colon, the lower the chance of colon diseases. Basically, the friendly bacteria in yogurt seems to deactivate harmful substances (such as nitrates and nitrites before they are converted to nitrosamines) before they can become carcinogenic.

Secondly, yogurt is a rich source of calcium - a mineral that contributes to colon health and decreases the risk of colon cancer. Calcium discourages excess growth of the cells lining the colon, which can place a person at high risk for colon cancer. Calcium also binds cancer-producing bile acids and keeps them from irritating the colon wall. People that have diets high in calcium (e.g. Scandinavian countries) have lower rates of colorectal cancer. One study showed that an average intake of 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day is associated with a 75 percent reduction of colorectal cancer. As a survivor of colon cancer, I have a critical interest in the care of my colon. My life depends on it.

3. Yogurt improves the bioavailability of other nutrients. Culturing of yogurt increases the absorption of calcium and B-vitamins. The lactic acid in the yogurt aids in the digestion of the milk calcium, making it easier to absorb.

4. Yogurt can boost immunity. Researchers who studied 68 people who ate two cups of live-culture yogurt daily for three months found that these persons produced higher levels of immunity boosting interferon. The bacterial cultures in yogurt have also been shown to stimulate infection-fighting white cells in the bloodstream. Some studies have shown yogurt cultures to contain a factor that has anti-tumor effects in experimental animals.

NUTRITIP: Yogurt - Good for Young and Old Yogurt is a valuable health food for both infants and elderly persons. For children, it is a balanced source of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and minerals in a texture that kids love. For senior citizens, who usually have more sensitive colons or whose intestines have run out of lactase, yogurt is also a valuable food. Elderly intestines showed declining levels of bifidus bacteria, which allow the growth of toxin-producing and, perhaps, cancer-causing bacteria.

5. Yogurt aids healing after intestinal infections. Some viral and allergic gastrointestinal disorders injure the lining of the intestines, especially the cells that produce lactase. This results in temporary lactose malabsorption problems. This is why children often cannot tolerate milk for a month or two after an intestinal infection. Yogurt, however, because it contains less lactose and more lactase, is usually well-tolerated by healing intestines and is a popular "healing food" for diarrhea. Many pediatricians recommend yogurt for children suffering from various forms of indigestion. Research shows that children recover faster from diarrhea when eating yogurt. It's good to eat yogurt while taking antibiotics. The yogurt will minimize the effects of the antibiotic on the friendly bacteria in the intestines.

NUTRITIP: A Chaser for Antibiotics Antibiotics kill not only harmful bacteria; they also kill the healthy ones in the intestines. The live bacterial cultures in yogurt can help replenish the intestines with helpful bacteria before the harmful ones take over. I usually "prescribe" a daily dose of yogurt while a person is taking antibiotics and for two weeks thereafter.

A 1999 study reported in Pediatrics showed that lactobacillus organisms can reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

6. Yogurt can decrease yeast infections. Research has shown that eating eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures daily reduces the amount of yeast colonies in the vagina and decreases the incidence of vaginal yeast infections.

7. Yogurt is a rich source of calcium. An 8-ounce serving of most yogurts provides 450 mg. of calcium, one-half of a child's RDA and 30 to 40 percent of the adult RDA for calcium. Because the live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium, an 8-ounce serving of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the same volume of milk can.

8. Yogurt is an excellent source of protein. Plain yogurt contains around ten to fourteen grams of protein per eight ounces, which amounts to twenty percent of the daily protein requirement for most persons. In fact, eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures, contains 20 percent more protein than the same volume of milk (10 grams versus 8 grams). Besides being a rich source of proteins, the culturing of the milk proteins during fermentation makes these proteins easier to digest. For this reason, the proteins in yogurt are often called "predigested."

9. Yogurt can lower cholesterol. There are a few studies that have shown that yogurt can reduce the blood cholesterol. This may be because the live cultures in yogurt can assimilate the cholesterol or because yogurt binds bile acids, (which has also been shown to lower cholesterol), or both.

10. Yogurt is a "grow food." Two nutritional properties of yogurt may help children with intestinal absorption problems grow: the easier digestibility of the proteins and the fact that the lactic acid in yogurt increases the absorption of minerals. And even most picky-eaters will eat yogurt in dips and smoothies and as a topping.

Perhaps we can take a health tip about yogurt cultures from cultures who consume a lot of yogurt, such as the Bulgarians who are noted for their longer lifespan and remain in good health well into old age.

Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute

I try to avoid certain bad ingredients, including MSG. In turn, this causes me to be creative when making certain foods. Most cans of cream of chicken soup have MSG so I make my own cream of chicken soup.

I have a grain mill and I grind white beans to make a flour. If you don't have a grain mill, get a cheap coffee grinder and it will do an okay job of making the flour. I gave this recipe to my friend who needs to be gluten free, she's addicted now! :)

I got this recipe from Country Beans by Rita Bingham. (I keep checking this book out from the library, it's on my wish list. :) )

Cream of Chicken soup substitute
1 3/4 cup water
5 TBL White Bean Flour
4 tsp chicken bouillon or soup base (find some without MSG)

Bring water and base to a boil. Reduce heat or lower heat and whisk in bean flour. Mixture will thicken within 1 minute. Cook on medium heat for 2 more minutes.

This mixture can be refrigerated up to 1 week, and used in place of canned soup. Up to 1/4 cup chicken chunks can be added if desired.

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The USU Extension division also has a recipe to use for a cream soup mix. I haven't used it but I'll include it since some people might not have white bean flour for the other recipe.

Homemade "Cream" Soup Mix
2 c powdered nonfat milk
3/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c instant chicken or beef bouillon (find some without MSG)
2 T dried onion flakes
1 t basil leaves
1 t thyme leaves
1/2 t pepper
Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Store in air-tight container until ready to use. Makes enough to replace 9 cans of creamed soup.
Cream of Chicken Soup: Combine 1/3 cup of cream soup mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Substitute for 1 can of soup for casserole recipes.
From USU Extension

Drop Biscuits

Salem loves to make these biscuits. They're fast, easy, & healthy. We just made them for lunch and they're great with any meal.

I make them "drop biscuit" style so I don't have to have the time or mess when rolling out the dough. The recipe can easily be doubled.


Drop Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup milk concoction*

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet (optional)
2. In large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt & soda. Using a pastry blender (or two knives or forks) and cut in oil until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add milk concoction and stir with spoon just until moistened.
4. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm. Makes about 10 biscuits.

* I say milk concoction because you can use whatever. I usually put half plain yogurt, half milk, plus a little bit of vinegar. You could also use buttermilk, milk with lemon juice or vinegar, all milk, all plain yogurt, or even water!

Notes:
1. You could also just do step #2 and make a homemade biscuit mix. Store in the fridge and use within a month. When it comes time to make the biscuits just add a cup of the milk concoction and bake. Or use the baking mix to make waffles, pancakes, or other things.
2. If you don't like the "healthy taste," you could easily change the whole wheat flour to white flour, or the canola oil to other oils, margarine or shortening.
3. If you didn't want to use the drop biscuit style, reduce the amount of liquid (milk concoction) to about 3/4 cup. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a round cutter or the top of a drinking glass.

Graduation Roll-ups & more

If you know me, you'd know that I'm not that crafty. I think crafts are cute, and many people do really cool things but when I do them I'm either too cheap or too lazy to do them as cute as everyone else.

Well...Salem's preschool teacher asked if I would bring some food tomorrow for his graduation. I debated about what food I should bring. Something healthy? Chips? Veggies? Cookies? Hmm...then I had some ideas! :)

Here is what I ended up doing:
Graduation Roll-ups
A tortilla roll-up with peanut butter & jelly. Then I tied some red yarn around it to make it look like a diploma!
I realize that I could have purchased some twizzler ropes and used those for the bow instead of yarn, but I didn't want to go to the store. You could also use curly ribbon, but I already had the red yarn. I was going to use whole wheat tortillas, but it didn't look as good so I opted for good ol' white flour tortillas. Although these treats aren't the #1 best health food, at least it's better than a cookie with 2 lbs of frosting on top. (Do you want a cookie with that frosting?) I opted for the classic pb&j since I knew the kids would like that. Otherwise you could fill the tortilla with just about anything if you wanted to do this for a graduate with more taste flexibility.

Here's another idea that I had in my brain, but I thought the roll-ups were a better idea:
Chocolate Graduation Hats
Put some chocolate Hershey's kisses in the microwave or oven to slightly melt but so they still hold their shape. Meanwhile dip Snyder's pretzels squares (they look like a grid) in melted chocolate. (Or any small square cracker.) Take the somewhat melted kiss and push the dipped pretzel a little bit onto the kiss and let cool.

Now you've got graduation hats! You could put frosting on top to make a little tassel if wanted.

Put your wheat to bed

A few nights ago, I put my kids and husband to bed, then put my wheat to bed! :)

Here's how I did it:
Cooked Wheat Berries - the easy way!
In a pot, soak 1 cup dry wheat in 3 c water for at least 8 hours. Bring to boil with lid on, then put the pot to bed! (Wrap in a blanket or put in a bed for about 8 hours, it will cook and still be warm.)

(I'm sure this would work for many grains.)
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I could go on and on about the wonderful world of wheat, but since I hope most of you already know how wonderful it is, I'll just give you some reminders. Here are a few things that I dug up:


Whole wheat flour is the foundation of good bread-making. It is an excellent source of Vitamin E, the B vitamins and others. It contains the highest amount of gluten of any grain. This becomes the elastic part of the dough and holds the yeast bubbles within the bread causing the bread to rise. The gluten in wheat is the only gluten that can be removed from the rest of the grain.

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Wheat - More than Just Bread

Yes, most people do just think of bread when they see the word "wheat," yet this is only one of hundreds of uses for the most versatile of all grains! Yes, it is considered the most important grain crop in the world -- providing 40-60% of the available energy and protein in developing countries. Because it stores so very well, it also is key to long term food storage. The purpose of this knowledge is to get you to understand the importance of having whole wheat in your diet. There are many reasons beyond the basic terrific nutritional benefits, but one of the most important is this: by adding high fiber whole grains to your diet will improve your health. Besides the nutritional benefits it is also tasty and good for you.

There are several types of wheat, but the most used are the soft and hard wheat. Hard wheat have the highest protein content and are best for bread making. They can either be winter or spring wheat, red or turkey or white (golden) in color. Soft wheat is best for quick breads, pastries, crackers, and cookies where protein content isn't as critical. White hard wheat makes exceptionally good bread -- a lighter loaf than the hard red wheat.

Whole Kernel (a.k.a. wheat berries). Soak wheat overnight then boil it which gives you soft wheat kernels. Prepared this way, they can be used for many things such as bulgur, popped wheat, pilafs, tabbouleh, meat extenders, cracked wheat cereals, bean substitutes, rice substitutes and noodle substitutes. Sprouted, wheat can be added to casseroles soups or stews, breads, muffins ... you name it.

Wheat conversions:
1 cup uncooked wheat = 2 cups cooked wheat
2 cups whole wheat = 3 cups ground flour
1 LB whole wheat = 2 1/4 cups wheat berries

Cowboy Caviar & Wheat Berry Salad

My friend Haley made this delicious salsa type dish. She calls it Cowboy Caviar. Here is her recipe:
Cowboy Caviar

6 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 TBS Hot Sauce (not Tabasco)
1 TB. Canola Oil
4 Cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper

(Mix above ingredients and set aside)

Drain and mix together:
1- 10 oz. peg corn
1-10 oz. black-eye peas
Add:
1/3 Cup green onions
2/3 Cup Cilantro
1/2 lb. chopped roma tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together. Best made a day ahead
Add 2 large avocadoes (chopped coarsely) right before serving.

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I loved the dressing so much that I figured that it would work for other things too. I made up this wheat berry salad and used the same recipe for the dressing. I changed a few of the ingredients or measurements for the rest of the recipe since that's what I had on-hand and in my garden. This recipe is versatile and you could put anything in there! :)

Wheat Berry Salad

6 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 TBS Hot Sauce (not Tabasco)
1 TB. Canola Oil
2-4 Cloves minced garlic*
1/4 tsp. black pepper

(Mix above ingredients and set aside)

Mix together:
2 cups cooked wheat berries**
1- 15 oz. can corn (drained & rinsed)
1- 15 oz. black beans (drained & rinsed)
3 green onion stems (chopped or cut)
1 handful of Cilantro (chopped) (about 1/3 cup)
2 roma tomatoes (chopped)

Mix all ingredients together. Chill at least a couple hours before serving.

* Add garlic according to your taste, tolerance, or your plans for that day! Serve this salad with gum or breath mints if needed! :)
** I used red winter wheat berries since that's what I have for most of my food storage. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, they're just the cooked wheat seeds. Most people use them to grind into flour. Here's one way to cook the wheat: in a pot soak 1 cup dry wheat in 3 c water overnight, after ~8 hours of soaking, bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 50-60 minutes. I'll do another post about more info on wheat.

Eat your greens a delicious way! Spinach Pesto Pasta

Tired of salads? Make sauces or dips with greens instead!

Tonight we made a delicious spinach pesto pasta. We don't really follow a recipe, Darrell just makes it up as he goes, he's a genius! :) Here's a rough recipe for what he put in it tonight.

Spinach Pesto Pasta
10 oz fresh spinach
2-3 garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt
plain yogurt (couple of spoonfuls)
dried basil

Mix ingredients in food processor, then toss with cooked pasta. Yum!

Lou's Rolls

My Aunt Loueine is famous for her rolls. She came to town years ago and made them for us. Like all good cooks, she didn't really measure or have a recipe, but I wrote down a recipe as best I could. I missed a few details so I've filled in the gaps from doing research on other recipes, but here goes...

Lou's Rolls

2 cups milk, scalded
2T yeast dissolved in 3/4 cups warm water with 1t sugar
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cups oil
2t salt
7 + cups flour (she used all-purpose flour)

1. Scald milk in microwave for 2 1/2 minutes
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water & 1t sugar (Warm water can come from the tap, it's about the same as "cool" bath water.)
3. Beat 4 eggs.
4. Pour milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, oil, and yeast mixture, mixing after each addition.
5. Add beaten eggs.
6. Add flour, stirring after each cup (the dough should be sticky.)
7. Put flour on flat surface to knead and add additional flour until dough is soft but not sticky.
8. Put in greased bowl, oil top of dough and cover with a towel.
9. Let dough rise until double in bulk, then punch down and let rise again.
10. Shape the dough into rolls.
11. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.
Delicious!
Makes 3-4 dozen rolls

Heather's Hummus

Heather's Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup Garbanzo Bean Flour*
3-1/3 cups Water
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Tahini (ground sesame seeds)
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Cumin, ground
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Bring 3-1/3 cups water to boiling on medium heat. Whisk the garbanzo bean flour into the boiling water. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Turn heat down to medium low and continue cooking 5 minutes. Let cool.

Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and mix until smooth. Then add the cumin, salt, pepper and slowly pour the olive oil and mix thouroughly.

* NOTE - I grind my garbanzo beans in my grain mill, but you can buy bean flour too, or probably just use canned or cooked garbanzo beans.

Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower

We bought a pressure cooker and have loved making great food in less time. I researched some recipes then came up with recipe on my own...yummy!

Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower
By, Heather Hendriksen

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
6 cups boiling water
1 1/2 - 2 cups dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
1-2 tablespoons mild curry powder (to taste)
3/4 - 1 head of fresh cauliflower, chopped (or 1 lb frozen cauliflower)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Put water on the stove to boil. Add a tiny bit of oil (1 tsp.) in pressure cooker, and saute onions. Remove onions and add trivet to bottom of pressure cooker. Add all ingredients (including boiling water) and stir well to be sure that no bits of onion or spices have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure (rocking steadily) and cook for 6 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for about 10 minutes, then quick-release the pressure (place the pot under cold running water.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape. Taste to see if more salt or pepper should be added.

Put cooked food into food processor to puree into a thick soup.

Serve with cheese if desired.