Made my own AMAZING mayonnaise!

And I don't know if I'll ever buy mayonnaise in a jar again!

1 egg
2 tsp. vinegar (you can use more)
1 cup oil
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. salt

Put egg, vinegar, seasonings, and 1/4 cup oil in the bowl of a food processor.  (It's easier to scoop out than a blender.)  Process for a minute or so. With the machine still running, steadily add the rest of the oil. Process for another minute or so. Scoop out the yummy mayo into a container and store in the fridge.

The taste of the finished product will vary depending on what kind of oil, vinegar and seasonings you add. I preferred cider vinegar over red wine vinegar.  I've heard that white vinegar is nasty.  I also preferred a blended oil over plain canola oil; you can also use extra light oil.  I used seasoning salt.

The taste was so very superior over jarred mayonnaise.  And it was a lot cheaper to make too.  I guess there's the issue of the raw egg, but I'm taking my chances.  I suppose I could use a pasteurized egg in a carton . . .

We've gone to the dark side

I'm still in a bit of shock.

So pretty in the beginning!

I don't understand what's happening.

Look like whirled frog by the end.

But the kids and I find them surprisingly delicious and are drinking them several times a week.

Yes, really.

Recipe -- Homemade Ranch Dressing

I really need to be making these simple things at home.  They are fifty times more healthy, not much more difficult than opening an envelope and mixing with mayo and milk, less expensive than buying at the store, and I always have the ingredients on hand.

RANCH DRESSING

1 c. lite mayonnaise
1/2 c. buttermilk* FOR SALAD DRESSING OR
                           1/2 c. sour cream FOR VEGETABLE DIP
1/2 t. dried chives
1/2 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. dried dill weed
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder (I sub dried onion flakes and grind in my mortar)
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. black pepper

Whisk all. Chilling for 30 mins. before serving will give dressing time to thicken a bit.

*Buttermilk: put 1/2 T. vinegar in bottom of measuring cup. Add enough milk to total 1/2 c. Let sit five mins. before stirring and adding to recipe.

Fake Coffeemate--or is it real?

I love my coffee, and I especially love it with lots of creamer. Two bad things about creamer:

The ever-increasing price.

All of the nasty ingredients.

I figured I could do at least as well at home.

HOMEMADE CREAMER

14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk; I use the no fat and pay $1.50 a can at Walmart
1.5 c. skim milk
2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. vanilla flavoring syrup, optional, found in the coffee aisle (adds more not-so-great ingredients though)

Mix all together well. Cover and refrigerate. Stir before using, as the condensed milk will settle on the bottom. Keeps for a week or so.

It might not be much less expensive, but at least it doesn't kill me when my kids use it. And I'm still good with buying the Coffeemate when it goes on a good sale.

Swiss Granola

I have no idea what "Swiss Granola" really is; some kind of granola, I'm sure.

However, I first ate this "Swiss Granola" at a health food restaurant in Denver. Between the soy bacon, the fake eggs, the buckwheat pancakes and who knows what else, this was the only safe thing on the menu. I ate there many times over the years, but I never dared to try anything else. There's such a thing as too healthy, you know?

Besides passing as somewhat healthy, the best thing about this is its flexibility. Don't have a certain ingredient? You can substitute almost anything.



SWISS GRANOLA

(per person)

1 big scoop of frozen yogurt (or fruit ice cream)
1/2 banana, sliced
1/3 c. granola cereal (any kind is fine, I used to even make my own)

ANY combination of fruit, cut in slices or chunks--some of my choices include: strawberries, apple, cantaloupe, frozen blueberries, peaches, honeydew, grapes, raisins. I try to choose three just for a good variety.

---------------------------

I haven't had this in ages but just made it for my kids last month. It's been a huge hit, and we'll be eating a LOT of this over the summer!

And Holly makes dinner

Holly agreed to make our French Toast Casserole for dinner tonight. I've been wanting to get her in the kitchen more, and this was a great opportunity. While I would like to cook *with* her, I'm sure she appreciated that I was busy with Trevor and she was on her own.

It was a big hit with all of us. And we weren't just being nice. (Because we aren't that nice.)


FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

12 loaf of French bread, cut into 1" cubes
6-8 eggs (we used 8, I'd probably cut back next time)
2 c. orange juice
1 c. milk
4 t. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. salt

Topping:
2 T. butter
3 T. sugar
2 t. cinnamon

Place bread cubes into a 9x13 pan. Mix eggs, orange juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Just before baking, dot with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 for 50 mins. (Do not cover while baking.) Remove from oven and let stand 5 mins. before serving. Serve with maple syrup. (We forgot to use the syrup and we still loved it.)

Holly's Smoothies

Holly adapted this recipe from one I found in Sunset Magazine, so it really is her recipe. She makes these a lot, and they are goooood!

1 banana, peeled
2 c. orange juice
8 oz. plain yogurt
1 c. frozen fruit
6 or so ice cubes

Whirl all in blender until smooth. Makes two giant, or four regular, smoothies.

Homemade fruit and vegetable wash

I can't bear to pay $4 for a bottle of this anymore. After searching online, I came up with the following recipe:

1 T. lemon juice
1-2 T. baking soda
1 c. water

I mixed it up in my old veggie wash bottle. The baking soda tends to cake a little around the sprayer, but it's easy to rub off. This has been a great substitute, and I don't worry about "wasting" it since it's so cheap!

In the mood for food, part 3

I found this in an old Cooking Light magazine and fixed it for the kids' lunch today. When I told them I was making something "special," I got the typical enthusiastic response: "But I don't liiiiikkke peanut butter!" (stretch that into a big whine). And even better: "Oh," with that all-knowing tone of voice that's already determined to hate whatever the "surprise" is.

Mom's secret tip #14: If the kids are hungry enough, they'll eat anything.

So I kept them out running errands until a few hours after their regular lunch time.

GRILLED PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA SPLIT SANDWICH--Makes one

2 slices white sandwich bread
1 t. butter, softened
2 t. honey
1 T. creamy peanut butter
1/2 t. semisweet chocolate minichips
1/2 small banana, sliced
1 large strawberry, thinly sliced
1 T. pineapple jam

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Combine peanut butter and honey, spread over plain side of one slice of bread. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, top evenly with strawberry slices and banana slices. Spread pineapple jam over plain side of remaining bread slice. Carefully assemble sandwich.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add sandwich and cook 2 mins. on each side until lightly browned.

I don't know if they were just hungry enough to eat anything, if they were overcome with guilt for acting ungrateful, or if the sandwiches were actually good--but they oohed and aahed and ate every last bite (a couple of corner crusts excepted). When I asked if I should make these again, they both gave a resounding, "YES!"

According to the magazine, these are even supposed to be relatively healthy. Imagine that! 436 calories; 9.4g protein; 4.6g fiber; 3mg iron; 100mg calcium.

It was easy to make substitutes too. Instead of strawberries and pineapple jam, I used grape jelly, and 6 regular sized chocolate chips.

These were definitely a hit. I think.

What's Cooking, Part 2

What IS cooking?! When we were eating ham last night, I told the kids they could have the leftovers with eggs for breakfast. Trevor immediately asked if I'd make GREEN eggs and ham. This is something they both first "experienced" in preschool, and I've made green eggs on occasion--like St. Patrick's Day. But if they want to eat those horrid looking green eggs, fine with me! The trick to really green eggs is to skip the green food coloring all together. Use BLUE food coloring. The eggs still look green even after I added a bunch of cheddar cheese to the eggs. Even if I close my eyes while I eat, they still seem to taste different.


We have such amazing weather here. It was in the low 50s earlier this morning. It was storming in the mountains, and you can see the clouds in this picture over Pikes Peak. Shortly before noon, the clouds blew in--and out again. It's dropped about 20 degrees now, but we won't see any snow. I'm not complaining about that one bit!