Homemade Poulty Seasoning

Remember how homemade Cream of Chicken calls for Poultry seasoning? (Probably not since the post got deleted and I currently don't have time to retype it.)  I didn't have any of that to make the homemade Cream of Chicken, so homemade seasoning it was.


Homemade Poultry Seasoning

2 tsp ground sage
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
3/4 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix. Store in air tight container

Whew, between that and the cream of chicken and the cooking, that was a lot of work for dinner.  I enjoyed it though.

Homemade Tootsie Roll

Every week my toddler and I have COOKie Tuesday. Two of our weeks have involved this simple no bake treat that little hands can help with.

Tootsie Rolls

3 Tbsp butter- melted

1/2 c cocoa*

1/2 c light karo syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c powdered milk

3 c powdered sugar

Mix in order.  Knead well.  Texture will be like play dough.  Roll and cut. Enjoy.

*For fruity tootsie rolls add 1 pk of Kool Aid instead of cocoa.  It is delicious too!

We actually halved the recipe because it makes a lot. This recipe is softer than store bought

Caramel Dip

So, caramel apples is a favorite October treat.  Well, where I live caramel is only sold in large expensive bags.

I thought of making my own but I did not have cream like many recipes call for.  I tried making some without it and butchered the recipe.

I know placing a can of sweeten condensed milk in a crock pot, covering it with water, and cooking it on low for 8 hours works. You can also boil it on the stove- always keeping it covered with water- for three to four hours.

Anyway, between failed recipes and limited time, no caramel apples in October.  We then received several apples for free and how to get dipping caramel crept into my mind again.  I did not want to wait 3-4 hours, constantly watching my stove.  I just wanted caramel and I did not want to run to the store, nor spend the money, for cream.

I then thought, "Wait a minute! I have half a dozen recipes for caramel popcorn. Surely one of those would work."

And it did!

Here is the recipe I based my caramel on:

Mixture1 1/4 cup brown sugar1/2 C corn syrup1/2 c Margarine1/2 can sweetened condensed milkDash of Salt

I halved the recipe (should have cut it in fourth) and did not cook it as long as I wanted caramel that was thinner for dipping.

Afterwards we had so much caramel left over, we made a small batch of sticky caramel popcorn.  Lots of treats. Just what everyone wants after Halloween, right?

Butter

Not that this is a money saver, but it is fun to try.

1 pint heavy cream
pinch salt

Pour in a quart size jar, with tight lid. Seal well.
Shake, shake, shake, roll, dance, whatever until the butter has separated from the buttermilk.  20 minutes or so.  Enjoy homemade butter!

For the buttermilk, you can make yogurt, bread, or cornbread.

Pizza Sauce

I like making homemade pizza, but my sauce was always too runny or too thick.  Recently I discovered the perfect consistency and the perfect amount of sauce for my pizza is to combined one can of tomato sauce with one can of tomato paste.

Now if I can just get the seasonings to perfection, then I'd have a full recipe to post on here.

Syrup

I love my thick buttermilk syrup, but I also wanted something for those morning when I just wanted pancakes from the freezer and no cooking involved.  My problem was my syrup is best fresh and other syrups I've tried have been runny.

Here is a common recipe on the internet

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp maple flavoring.

Boil for 5 mins. Stir constantly

I added about a 1/2 cup corn syrup to make it thicker and boiled it for just a bit longer.  I was satisfied that it was thicker than sugary water and similar to a store bought version. (Although store bought isn't all that good.)

I will be experimenting more with syrups later.  It is always surprising how much sugar (or fat) goes into many of the things we eat without much thought.  Making things from scratch makes you more aware of that- and me more conscious of my syrup consumption.

Cinnamon And Sugar

I once saw in the spiced section of a store a premixed cinnamon and sugar.  That was almost as laughable to me as jelly and peanut butter in the same jar.

I have heard a ratio of 4:1 sugar to cinnamon but I like a lot of cinnamon.  I probably do 1/4 cup sugar to 1 1/2 TBSP cinnamon.

Simply put the mix a container with lid, cover, and shake.  Tada!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Okay this post was a long time coming. I made this back in February.

This was another one of those things I was super excited to try until I found out how it actually cost more, not to mention all the time and dirty dishes, than just buying it at the store.  In fact, the week after I bought a pound of peanuts to try this recipe, the 32 oz (2 lb) jars of peanut butter went on sale for the exact same price of the peanuts.  How bitter!

Out of annoyance I did not buy the peanut butter nor did I make my own.  Of course we go through a lot of peanut butter at my house and it wasn't too long before we ran out of peanut butter and my toddler really wanted some. (Side note- I just found out peanut butter on a spoon can be a choking hazard for toddlers, oops. We've been doing peanut butter with raisins for a long time now.  Oh well, not like I can do anything about it now.)

Back to making peanut butter.  I figured it was the best time to make the peanut butter.  How hard could it be put some peanuts, oil, a little salt in a blender and blend and blend and blend.  My poor food processor (yes I tried it with that to) could barely take it.  Once it started smelling funny I tried a real blender, thus you get my opinion of making peanut butter in a food processor versus a blender too.   Luck you!

First the recipe

Homemade Peanut Butter

• 2 cups peanuts
• 1 tablespoon oil (peanut is recommended, I used whatever I had- no way I was going to spend more than I had too for my already too expensive peanut butter.)
• Some salt
• Honey if you want it sweeter.

If you want crunchy peanut butter I would recommend and food processor.  If you want creamy a real blender works better.

Put it in the kitchen appliance of your choice (toaster not recommended) and blend, blend, blend.  At first is is lumpy, and then it becomes more liquidy.  It takes about five minutes so prepared to stand and watch the amazing process of grinding a solid into a liquid.  Awesome, science.

After it is runny, place it in a jar of your choice, cover and store in the refrigerator.  It will firm up a little. Then eat!  It doesn't store as long as the stuff with preservatives in it of course, but it taste very similar.

My Conclusion- that was a pain to make.  If I lived somewhere where peanuts (and peanut oil) were three or four times cheaper than peanut butter itself it would be worth it. Or if I loved peanut butter and was in a country where they don't sell peanut butter (I'm thinking of you, Jacob) then I would be all for making my own peanut butter.  It's also a cool thing to know how to do, although not as cool as making your own brown sugar.  In the end, why dirty dishes and stand for five minutes holding the blenders lid on if going to the store is faster and cheaper.  Now I'm sad I missed that sale.

Cheesy Popcorn

Super easy and not too bad for you!

Cheesy Popcorn
Pop 1/2 cup of popcorn
Pour on a little butter/ margarine so that the cheese will stick
Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese all over it!  Eat up!

This was so good I caught my daughter licking the bowl!

And then it became a hat. Run away!

Brown Sugar- The Sweetness that began the blog.

For those that read the beginning of the blog, you will know it was my ignorance of not knowing how to make brown sugar that sent me on the journey to discover what else I could make from scratch. Since this was the recipe that prompted this blog, I thought it appropriate to make it the 100th post- and honestly I haven't made it until now.  I was a little sad to learn that it is not necessarily cheaper than buying brown sugar on sale unless you buy the ingredients in bulk. Ironic, I know.

The cheapest I have ever seen brown sugar was $.25 a pound.  That's right a quarter.  They didn't stay on the shelves for long. A sale like that is very rare.

If you want the satisfaction of making your own (and maybe save a few pennies) here it is:

Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Molasses (We like 1/2 Tbsp instead)
1 Cup Sugar

Blend with beaters or fork.  If you use egg beaters it will go faster but you will still need to use a fork to get the last bit of molasses mixed in.
In our family we have found we like even less molasses as this has a stronger flavor than store bought.  So halving the molasses cuts the cost down considerably.

Look how beautiful!!! I made that!

As excited as I was to make this, I have a confession, I don't normally blend my brown sugar when I do go the homemade route. Unless we are going to use it for something like cinnamon rolls or oatmeal, I just put a cup of sugar and 1/2 Tbsp into whatever I am cooking (such as Cookies!).

Evaporated Milk

I was making homemade cinnamon rolls when I realized we did not have any evaporated milk- which makes them so soft- so I decided to make my own.

Evaporated Milk
3/4 Cup warm water
1/2 Cup powdered milk
1 Tbsp butter

Mix milk and water in a saucepan, add butter and heat until melted.  You may be able to do this in a microwave, I don't know, I haven't tried.

If not using the milk right away store in the refrigerator.

Non Stick Spray (Brush On)

After my failed attempts to make non stick spray, one of my sister in laws told me of a recipe.
Not sure if it is cheaper than the aerosol spray can stuff, but it works great.

1 part vegetable oil
1 part flour
1 part shortening

Mix together and brush on pan.  Store in the refrigerator.

No bread stuck to pan!

Bread Crumbs

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in pan
Crumble 2-3 slices of bread in pan.  Stir
Add season salt, onion powder, garlic, a little cayenne pepper.  Whatever you want to flavor it with.
Cook until bread crumbs are crisp.

Baking Powder

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon corn starch (optional) put in if not going to use right away will prevent from caking and going bad.

Combine and store in air tight container.

Times by 6

2 Tbsp Baking Soda

4 Tbsp Cream of Tartar

2 Tbsp Corn Starch

Powdered Sugar

With the Holidays sugar is one thing we consume a lot of.  Here is how to make powdered sugar.

1 cup white sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch

Blend in blender about 1 to 2 minutes until fine.  If it is too grainy keep blending.

Yields 1 cup


It probably won't get as fine as store bought.  Also, only blend one cup at a time.  More than that makes it hard to get as powdery as you need.

Cooking Spray

So, I heard there was a great way to save money by making your own cooking spray.

The first recipe I tried was this:  
1 Part oil
4- 5 parts water

Mix in spray bottle or brush on

I baked banana bread and while both loaves came out easily, I was left with this.

Left was homemade spray

I added more oil to 50/50 put it in a spray bottle instead of brushing it on and baked cupcakes.
I got this:

Can you guess what row had the homemade?  This recipe is all over the internet, or versions of it.  Not sure what I am doing wrong.  For now I'm back to the expensive can of junk. Sad.

Sweet Peach Salsa

I enjoy salsa.  When I was pregnant it seemed I could not get enough of it.  If only I would have known how easy it was to make mine own.

I must admit, I don't follow a recipe, I just throw things in until I like the taste of it.  If I did have a recipie it might look something like this.

Peach Salsa
(All of these only need to be coarsely chopped so they fit in your food processor)
3-5  Roma tomatoes chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 tsp lime juice
2 TBSP Cilantro or more
1/2 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 small peaches (pitted and chopped)

You can add green peppers if you want instead of peaches for a spicier salsa. I'd omit the sugar for that too.

Place ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse until desired consistency and enjoy.  Refrigerating brings out the flavors if you can wait to eat your salsa.

Chicken Gravy

I was pleased with this recipe from Creatingnaturally.com

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth

That's all
I added salt, pepper, a little garlic, onion, and oregano to mine.

All purpose baking mix

1 c flour,
1½ tsp baking powder,
½ tsp salt,
1 tbsp oil or melted butter or shortening

I times the first three ingredients by like six.

6 c flour
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Salt ( I actually used less)

And store in container.  For each cup  your using use 1 tbsp your choice of fat. 

Season Salt

Found this on Top Secret Recipes

2 Tbsp Salt
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp corn starch

I added about an 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper as well.

Mix and store in a container with lid (A washed out spice container works best.)