Active Yeast vs. Instant Yeast

Click here for a good tutorial about using yeast in breads and the difference between active yeast and instant yeast.

Fun Tips for Making Life a Little Easier from thedailybuzz.com

I love these ideas! The whole list can be found by clicking here.

Posted on November 01, 2011 in Bed, Bath & Kitchen, Decor & Furniture, Organise & Personalise by Simone

Clever ideas: hull strawberries with a strawVia: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com

Why didn’t I think of that?! We guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems … some you never knew you had!

Clever ideas: use a walnut to heal furniture scratches Via: apartmenttherapy.com

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Clever ideas: keep a cut apple from going brownVia: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

Clever ideas: store bedlinen sets inside their pillowcasesVia: marthastewart.com

Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Cleaver ideas: wet wipe dispenser as plastic bag storageVia: savvyhousekeeping.com

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.

Clever ideas: baby powder to remove sand from feetVia: iheartnaptime.net

Add this item to your beach bag. Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily – who knew?!

Clever ideas: gift wrap storage on cupboard ceilingVia: flickr.com

Look up! Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor.

Clever idea: stocking over vacuum to pick up lost itemsVia: instructables.com

Gotcha! Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

Clever idea: box lid cupcake holderVia: realsimple.com

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

Clever idea: how to fold a fitted sheetVia: stephmodo.com

For those who can’t stand the scrunching and bunching: how to perfectly fold a fitted sheet.

Clever idea: magnetic bobbypin storageVia: sprwmn.blogspot.com

Forever losing your bathroom essentials? Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins (and tweezers and clippers) behind a vanity door

Clever idea: use shower caps to hold shoes when packingVia: realsimple.com

A tip for holiday packing. Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel!

Clever idea: muffin pan craft storageVia: familyfun.go.com

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Clever idea: bread tags as cable labelsVia: unplggd.com

Bread tags make the perfect-sized cord labels.

Clever idea: cook cupcakes in ice cream conesVia: kiboomu.com

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones – so much more fun and easier for kids to eat. Definitely doing this!

Clever idea: microwave your own popcorn in a plain paper bagVia: squawkfox.com

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag. Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

Clever idea: use a tension rod to hang spray bottlesVia: jengrantmorris.blogspot.com

Brilliant space-saver: install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles. Genius!

Clever idea: how to make heart-shaped eggsVia: 9gag.com

Win friends at breakfast with this heart-shaped egg tutorial. Aww shucks!

Clever idea: use upside-down muffic pan to make cookie bowlsVia: wilton.com

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila – you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream. Click here for recipe.

Clever idea: egg cartons for Christmas ornament storageVia: re-nest.com

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.

Cranberry Cinnamon Chip Bars from Our Best Bites

1/2 C (1 stick) real butter, melted
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 C shredded coconut
1 C cinnamon chips
1 C white chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/2 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour butter into a 9×13″ pan and spread with spatula to cover the entire bottom of pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter and spread into an even layer. Press down gently with fingertips. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over graham cracker crumbs. Continue with the remaining ingredients: coconut, cinnamon chips, white chips, pecans, and cranberries, sprinkling each in an even layer. Press down gently with fingertips over entire pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and slightly golden on top. Let cool completely before cutting.

Chocolate-Orange Swirls From Southern Living

Note: I love these cookies. They could use a little glaze on them either powdered sugar or orange.

Yield 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Preparation

Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed.
Remove half of dough from bowl. Add orange rind and orange extract to dough in bowl, and mix well. Remove orange dough from mixing bowl, and set aside. Return plain dough to mixing bowl; add melted chocolate, beating well. Cover and chill both portions of dough 1 hour.
Roll each half of dough to a 15" x 8" rectangle on floured wax paper. Place orange dough on top of chocolate dough; peel off top wax paper. Tightly roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at short side and peeling wax paper from dough while rolling. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Slice dough into 1/4" slices; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Chocolate-Cherry Swirls: Substitute 1/2 cup drained minced maraschino cherries for orange rind and orange extract. Add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour to cherry dough if it is too soft.
Note: To prevent flat-sided cookies, turn dough rolls halfway through the second chilling time. Dental floss makes cutting the dough easier.

Christmas with Southern Living 1999, Oxmoor House
1999

Sweet Potatoes from Taste of Home

I love the orange juice in this.

10-12 ServingsPrep: 15 min. Bake: 40 min.15 40 55 Ingredients

5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Marshmallows
Directions
In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add eggs, orange juice, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish.
Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until set. Top with marshmallows; return to oven until they just begin to puff and melt, about 5-10 minutes. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Helpful Hints - Alcohol Substitutes

by: Natalie Mitts
http://dining.byu.edu/mix/archive/helpfulhints/alcoholSubstitutes.html

If you are ever stuck on what to use instead of white wine or vodka in cooking, find the answers with this list of common alcohol substitutes. As alcohol is used in cooking to either add flavor or help marinade, many of these substitutions will yield similar results.

Amaretto - almond extract, marzipan or orgeat flavor Italian soda syrup
Beer/Ale - beef broth, chicken broth, ginger ale, mushroom broth, nonalcoholic beer or white grape juice
Bourbon - vanilla extract, sparkling apple cider, sparkling cranberry juice or sparkling grape juice
Brandy - apple cider, apple juice, apricot juice, brandy extract, peach juice, pear juice, raspberry extract, water or white grape juice
Champagne - champagne extract + soda water, ginger ale, sparkling apple cider, sparkling cranberry juice, sparkling grape juice or sparkling white grape juice
Orange liqueur - marmalade, orange juice, orange juice concentrate or orange zest
Red Wine - apple cider, balsamic vinegar, beef stock, chicken stock, clam juice, Concord grape jelly, cranberry juice, grape juice, mushroom stock, nonalcoholic wine, pomegranate juice, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, tomato juice, vegetable stock or water
Rum - almond extract, apple cider, apple juice, molasses, pineapple juice, rum extract, vanilla extract, water or white grape juice
Sherry - apple cider, orange juice, peach juice, pineapple juice or vanilla extract
Tequila - cactus juice or cactus nectar
Vermouth - apple cider, apple juice + lemon juice + water, balsamic vinegar, grape juice, nonalcoholic white wine, white grape juice or white wine vinegar
Vodka - apple cider + lime juice, lime juice + white grape juice or water
Whiskey - the ingredient can be eliminated if the recipe only asks for a small amount
White Wine - apple cider, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, carrot juice, chicken stock, clam juice, ginger ale, mushroom stock, nonalcoholic wine, rice vinegar, vegetable stock, water, white grape juice or white wine vinegar

In general, when substituting extract or vinegar for an alcoholic beverage, use about half the amount because these liquids are more concentrated. Use water for the remaining amount when substituting with vinegar. Also add a tablespoon of sugar to decrease the bitterness of the vinegar. Extract is fine by itself in half the amount. When using nonalcoholic wine, add a tablespoon of vinegar to decrease the sweetness. If syrups are too sweet, dilute with water. For all others (juice, stock, water, etc.) substitute an equal amount of liquid. Small amounts of alcohol can always be omitted, but the dish may lack some flavor.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
1 batch sugar cookie dough
yellow and orange food coloring

Optional:
Sanding sugar, coarse raw sugar, or sprinkles
almond bark or white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions. Leave one as is and color one other portion yellow and another portion orange.

Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press layer of uncolored dough into bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough) or larger if desired. Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and smooth. Finally layer yellow dough and smooth on top. Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge. Or you can store the dough in fridge for 2-3 days before baking.

Remove plastic and slice loaf into 1/4 inch slices. Trim top of slice to make straight line. Cut each slice into triangle shape and dip top side in sugar if desired. Bake according to sugar cookie directions. Cool completely and then if desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.

Oat Pan Rolls

20 servings

2 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tablespoon salt
2-1/2 cups boiling water
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Additional butter, melted

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter and salt; stir in boiling water. Cool to 110° to 115°. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand for 5 minutes. Add oat mixture and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 20 pieces. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack; brush with melted butter. Yield: 20 rolls.


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 205 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 381 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Crock Pot Applesauce

(I usually triple this)

4 large apples (it's nice to use a variety: fuji, granny smith, gala etc.)

Juice from 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 c water

Peel and core apples. Cut into large chunks. Place apples and rest of ingredients on low for 4-6 hours. I like to add more cinnamon, more brown sugar and some nutmeg. You can taste it after it cooks and adjust the spices to your liking.

I like to can this applesauce, but it does make a small batch. So to do a large amount of apples borrow some crock pots and get them all working to make a larger batch to can.

Coconut Bread

(from my sister)

4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 tsp. coconut extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup coconut, shredded

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and coconut extract and mix well. In separate bowl sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix with wet ingredients. Stir in buttermilk and coconut. Pour into well greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 min. Makes two loaves.

Glaze:
(pour over bread after baking)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 T. margarine
1 tsp coconut extract
Combine the sugar, water and margarine in a pot and heat til boiling. Then add the coconut extract. Prick top of loaves with a fork and spoon glaze over top. If you put the loaf on a plate, the sides and bottom of the break will absorb the excess glaze that runs off.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
2/3 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract (you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon vanilla if you can’t find or don’t like hazelnut extract)
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 cup milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325°

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Set the mixture aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until smooth. Add the extracts and beat for another 30 seconds or so. Add the Nutella and beat until smooth.

With the mixer running, add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the milk, mixing until combined completely, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix completely. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes (and as long as 2-3 days).

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place them on the lined cookie sheet, allowing about 2″ between the dough balls.

Lightly press the dough balls with the bottom of a drinking glass and then bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are crackly on top and soft, but starting to set. Remove from the oven and allow them to stand for about 5 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

from melskitchencafe.com

*Note: for the smoked sausage, you can use smoked kielbasa or similar type smoked sausages. If you choose a leaner sausage, like turkey or chicken, you may need to add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pot in the first step when cooking the chicken and sausage together since the lean sausage won't render as much fat.

*Serves 6

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 pound chicken (about 2 average-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts or the equivalent of another kind of cut, like thighs), cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 ribs celery, chopped

1 medium bell pepper (red or green), chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (use a light hand with this if you don't want it overly spicy)

1 can (10-ounces) Rotel tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups hot, steamed rice

Just a tip: start cooking the rice while you prepare the rest of the jambalaya so it is ready to add in during the last step.

In a 4-6 quart pot, cook sausage and poultry over medium heat. Drain the grease (you may only need to do this if you aren't using a lean sausage), scrape the meat onto a plate and set aside. Melt the butter in the same pot. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the vegetables, basil and Creole (or Cajun) seasoning, and the Rotel tomatoes and sugar. Stir well. Simmer the mixture over low or medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are mostly tender (they'll continue to cook a few minutes longer in the next step). Add the sausage and chicken back to the pot, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and simmer 5 minutes longer. Stir in the hot, steamed rice until you achieve your desired consistency.

BYU Mint Brownies

BYU Alumni, this one's for you.
From the Sugar-n-Spice
Cougareat Food Court

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I love these! Our Best Bites has a great recipe for these. I cheat and buy a bag of plain frozen sweet potato fries. I put them in a big bowl and toss them with oil and the spices in the recipe and bake them.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Honey-Lime Dip
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 lb peeled sweet potatoes cut into 1/4″ match-sticks
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
1/8 tsp black pepper
*you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, parsley, and pepper.
Place sweet potatoes in a pile directly on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use hands to toss until all pieces are well coated. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on top and toss again with hands to coat.
Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer so that pieces are not touching each other. Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Use a metal spatula to gently flip fries and then return pan to oven. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until fries are starting to lightly brown and crisp. Remove pan from oven and cool 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Honey-Lime Dip
6oz container plain, low-fat yogurt
1 T mayo (low cal is fine)
1/2 T honey
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1 t parsley
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t kosher salt

Moving

Sorry for the lack of posts. We're in the process of moving. :)

Patriotic Pankcakes from Our Best Bites

Just had to share this idea. It's so fun!

Bread Sticks

This recipe is from Becky Stevens:

1 1/2 c warm water
1 T dry yeast
1 T malted milk- this is type of powdered milk (or can substitute powdered milk)
1 T honey
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
Salad Supreme seasoning (sold in the spice aisle)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Roll out dough on floured surface to about 3/8 in thickness. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salad supreme seasonings. Cut into 1 1/2 strips. (I use my pizza wheel)The length is up to you. Place on greased baking sheet. Let raise for 20 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Brush with melted butter while warm and serve.

* I use instant yeast that does not need to be proofed in water. So instead of dissolving the yeast in water, I just mix it in with the flour, salt, and milk. I mix the warm water and honey together then add them to the dry ingredients.

Easy Grilled Chicken

This is so easy, I'm not sure it counts as a recipe. Take chicken breasts and poke several times with a fork and put into a large ziploc bag. Then pour zesty Italian dressing in the bag and squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate chicken overnight in fridge. Then cook on an outdoor grill. The thinner the chicken breast, the more evenly they cook. I cut my chicken breasts horizontally in half to make two thinner pieces. This is best when grilled on an outdoor grill.

The Spice of Life

Just a quick suggestion for organizing all those little spice bottles- lay them flat in a drawer. I love being to see them easily when I pull out my drawer. Bigger jars of spices and cellophane bags are stashed up on my cupboards.

What I Add to Chocolate Chip Cookies

#1 I like soft chocolate chip cookies that are not flat. Adding a approx 1/2 cup of flour to a chocolate chip cookie recipe makes them soft and more of a mound than a flat disk. Bake a couple of trial cookies and if the texture isn't what you want, add a little more flour and bake a couple more til you get what you want.

#2 Cinnamon- oh it's so good. I never would of thought of adding this til I saw in it a recipe. I add about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of cinnamon. Gives the cookies a little more umph.