Recipe

Cowboy Cookies

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The constant rain of this past week brought water into our basement, as well as water leaking into our family room from the ceiling.  With water coming from the top and bottom, I felt the need to indulge in some chocolate.  I mean really, is there any better way to reduce stress?  Nope…I don’t believe there is.

So, today I bring you last week’s chocolate fix:  Cowboy Cookies.  These cookies are filled with all kinds of sweet goodness, sure to lift anyone out of whatever summer slump you may be in.  Enjoy!

Cowboy Cookies

In an electric stand mixer, add 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter.  Mix until smooth.

Add 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.  Mix until sugars and butters are well creamed.

Next add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the blended mixture.

Then add 2 cups rolled oats, 2 cups coconut, 1/2 chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup health bits.  Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Roll the dough into golf ball-sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

“Oh, Jam? I Love Jam!”

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I think I love jam just as much as I love Friends…and what could be better than an entire Friends episode dedicated to jam?  Love it!  That’s why all afternoon, as my four year old and I worked in our strawberry-coated kitchen, I couldn’t help but hear Joey’s voice in my head repeating, “Oh, jam?  I love jam?”

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Yesterday, while my oldest was away at camp, my tiny sous chef and I worked with Pomona’s Universal Pectin, a wonderful low-sugar pectin (as we did in this post as well), and ended up with some absolutely fabulous results.  When making jam last year, we used the low-sugar recipe options included with the Pomona’s Pectin.  This year, we tried out two no-sugar options, taste tested them this morning, and yummy…delicious!

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The first recipe we tried was simply the cooked strawberry jam recipe included inside the Pomona’s box.  We used the honey sweetening option and it is delicious.  The second recipe we tried is from the latest issue of Taproot.  And oh boy, let me tell you, this recipe is amazing!  It is a strawberry-maple with vanilla jam recipe, specifically designed for Pomona’s Pectin.  And the best part about this fabulous recipe is the only sweetener is maple syrup.

Happy jam-making season all!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Crisp

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‘Tis the season of strawberry and rhubarb, and our kitchen is quickly becoming laden with these early summer lovelies.  This past weekend I played around a bit to come up with a variation to a traditional fruit crisp.  After some experimentation, I came up with this recipe that goes together very quickly, making it the perfect dish to bring to a summer picnic or backyard barbecue.

This crisp is not overly sweet, so it allows the flavors of the sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb to shine through.  Coupled with the rich, earthly flavors of the pecans and oats, this is a treat sure to please the masses.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Crisp

For the crumble:

1.  In a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup raw pecans.

2.  Add 2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg to the food processor.  Pulse 2-3 times.

3.  Add 1 stick of cold butter (cut into bits) and 2 tablespoons raw honey to the food processor.  Pulse until a crumble forms.

4.  Set aside.

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For the filling:

1.  Combine 2 cups strawberries (diced), 3 cups rhubarb (diced), 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 eggs (beaten), and 1 teaspoon almond extract in a large bowl.

2.  Add 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the fruit mixture.

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Assembling the crisp:

1.  Pour the fruit mixture into a 9X9 inch pan.

2.  Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit.

3.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the crumble is golden brown.

Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Honey-Sweetened Oatmeal Cookies

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Again, in an attempt to lighten our refined sugar load, I have been playing around in the kitchen a bit to find some alternatives to our favorite dessert recipes.  Replacing the granulated and brown sugars in traditional oatmeal cookies with local honey, created a wonderful cake-like cookie.  The floral taste of the honey, paired with the nuttiness of these local oats, makes this cookie one you just must try!

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Honey-Sweetened Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup butter (softened)

1 cup local honey

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and honey.  Then add the ingredients to the mixer in the order listed, being sure each ingredients is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Scoop out the dough by the tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.  Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Dairy Free Ice Cream

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The littlest Fagan just celebrated her 4th birthday, and this soon-to-be-chef had been planning her party menu for months.  At the top of her list was The Pioneer Womans’ Blackberry Chip Ice Cream.  Well, unfortunately for my tiny girl, a few days before the big shebang, we were told by her new doctor to avoid dairy and refined sugar.  Huh.  This placed quite the damper on our birthday party edibles.

But never fear, dairy alternatives are here!  While big sis was at school, my little chef and I transformed our kitchen into a recipe test kitchen.  We tinkered away for a few days and came up with a fabulous dairy free, refined sugar free version of The Pioneer Woman’s ice cream.

I hope you enjoy this summer treat as much as we did!

Dairy Free Ice Cream

Put 1 cup blackberries (these can be fresh or frozen) and 1/2 local honey in a blender.  Blend until smooth and set aside.

Pour 2 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk into an ice cream maker.  Switch the ice cream maker on and allow to run for 3-5 minutes.  To the coconut milk, add 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Once the vanilla is incorporated, add the blackberry/honey mixture.

Allow the ice cream maker to run until you notice a creamy consistency begins to form.  Then add 3 oz. dairy free chocolate chips (we used these).  Run the ice cream maker until the chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream.

Store in an air tight container in the freezer until you are ready to eat.  (I suggest taking the ice cream out of the freezer about 5 minutes before you intend to serve it because the coconut milk tends to freeze pretty solid.)

Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Corn Sausage Chowder

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It seems that this is going to be a recipe-type week here at Making of a Home.  As we inch closer to the growing season, we have been eating lots of food from our larder, to make space for this year’s bounty.  Last night I grabbed bell peppers, sweet corn and chicken stock from our deep freeze and came up with this recipe from those ingredients.  This is a hearty soup that will put some meat on your bones during these damp, April-shower-filled days.

In a stock pot, heat 1/2 stick butter and 2 tablespoons flour over medium heat to make a roux.  Stirring constantly, heat this mixture until it turns a rich caramel color.

Add 1 diced red pepper, 1 diced green pepper, and 1 diced yellow onion to the roux mixture.  Cook the vegetables until the onions become translucent.  Be sure to stir often, scraping all of the roux-goodness from the bottom of the pan while you stir.

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While the veggies are cooking, cook 2 pounds ground sausage in a skillet.  Once cooked, set aside.

Add 1 quart chicken stock, 2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 pepper to the vegetable mixture.  Simmer, with the lid on, for 20 minutes.

Add the kernels from 4 ears of sweet corn, the cooked sausage from earlier, and 8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese.  Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour.

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Garnish the chowder with a dollop of sour cream if you desire.  Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Grandpa Dit’s Molasses Cookies with a Twist

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I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite think of anything better on a Monday morning than cookies.  So today, I bring you another of my Grandpa Dit’s recipes:  Molasses Cookies.

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(I just love showing pictures of my Grandpa’s recipe box…Doesn’t it just look like the type of recipe box a man would have…Made out of steel, splattered with rust marks?  Love it 🙂 )  I played around a bit with his recipe, to sub out the shortening he called for, with a combination of butter and coconut oil.  After some experimentation, and trial and error, I’ve come up with what I think is a really tasty molasses cookie that is bit different than the traditional molasses-filled treat.

Grandpa Dit’s Molasses Cookies

Step 1.  Cream together the following with an electric mixer:

1/4 cup softened butter

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 cup sugar

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Step 2.  Once creamed, add:

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 3.  Continuing with the electric mixer, add:

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup molasses

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Step 4.  Using a wooden spoon, mix in:

2 cups all-purpuse flour

3/4 cups rolled oats

Step 5.  Using a cookie scoop, drop the cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet.  Then use the back of a tablespoon and make a depression in each dropped cookie.  Sprinkle with sugar.

Step 6.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Please Pass the Butter

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Butter.  Who doesn’t love its creamy sweetness, with the hint of salt, as it melts over a hot roll or freshly baked muffin?

During my substitute teaching stitch, my oldest daughter and I had to leave the house quite early, and our normal routine of homemade granola or pancakes for breakfast was not really a feasible option.  We needed something fast, easy and delish.

So on Sunday afternoon, I whipped up a batch of muffins (I used this recipe). Then I froze the muffins so that I could pull out two the night before, allow them to defrost overnight, and then we had yummy muffins to eat in the car on our way to school.  But what is a good muffin without butter?

This is quite possibly the easiest way to make homemade butter.  Think elementary school when we all took turns shaking a baby food jar filled with cream until the butter formed.  Same idea.

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Simply pour some whipping cream in a glass bowl, and then mix it on high with an elective mixer.

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You need to beat it past the point of whipped cream phase.  You will start to notice a separation in the mixture.

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Once there is a clear separation between the butter solids and watery substance, place the butter in a fine mesh strainer or in butter muslin until all of the moisture has been drained.

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I like to then mix in a bit of salt.  And you are set to go!

Be sure to keep your homemade butter in a sealed glass container in your fridge.  It will stay good for about 5 days.

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So Fresh and So Clean

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Amid the hustle and hustle of the past few weeks, I ran to the linen closet to grab a bar of soap and some lotion and found the shelves that normally house these items to be completely bare.  So, we spent much of our St. Patrick’s Day afternoon making some new soap, lotion and deodorant.

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I used my favorite lotion recipe from this amazing book, but instead using olive oil as I normally do, I used a cold-pressed organic grape seed oil.  It ended up making a much lighter lotion, which I really like.

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A friend of mine steered me towards this great homemade deodorant recipe, and after wearing it in a multitude of situations, I have found it to work wonderfully!  In fact, I would even venture to say it works better than my organic store-bought deodorant.

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And last but not least on our to-do list: soap.  I created this recipe after researching those essential oils known for their anti-bacterial properties.  I hope you enjoy this soap as much as we do!

Making of a Home’s Anti-Bacterial Soap

2 pounds Melt and Pour Soap Base (I use this Goat’s Milk Soap Base.)

1/2 cup palm oil

4 eye droppers of Vitamin E oil

20 drops clove essential oil

20 drops lemon essential oil

10 drops rosemary essential oil

8 drops eucalyptus essential oil

5 drops cinnamon essential oil

5 drops tea tree essential oil

a shallow pot or saucepan

a glass bowl

wooden spoon

soap molds (You can purchase these at your local craft store or here.)

Fill the pot or saucepan half full with water.  Bring to a simmer.  Place the glass bowl in the pot of water to create a double boiler of sorts.  Place the melt and pour soap base, palm oil and the vitamin E oil in the glass bowl.  Stir with a wooden spoon until it melts.  Remove the bowl from the heat and add the essential oils and stir.  Allow the mixture to cool slightly (enough to thicken the mixture just a bit).  Pour into your molds.  Allow to rest until completely cool.  Remove the soap from the molds.  Allow the soaps to cure for about two weeks before you use them.

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Homemade Granola Bars

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As I mentioned on Monday, we are prepping for a winter hiking trip, so I’ve been trying to come up with some homemade snacks to bring along.  I wouldn’t want the troops to get hungry on our fun, little adventure.

While the girls busied themselves in the playroom yesterday, crafting all kinds of Valentine goodness, I messed up the kitchen a bit and came up with this granola bar recipe.  We all sampled the granola bars last night for dinner and agreed the test was a success.  Enjoy!

In a large bowl, mix together the following ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons seeds of your choice (I used Garden of Life’s Super Seed, but you could use flax seed, chia seed, etc.)

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened dried bing cherries

3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

Then, in a saucepan over medium heat,  mix together:

2/3 cup honey

1/3 apple sauce

Once the honey and applesauce mixture is combined, remove from the burner and mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour the honey/applesauce/vanilla mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Line a 13X9 baking dish with parchment paper.  Pour the mixture into the pan and pat down firmly.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan.  Cut into bars.  Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.