baking mix recipe

this is basically homemade bisqu*ck and can be used in place of it in any recipe

- I have no idea where I originally got this recipe from, so I apologize in advance for not giving proper credit!!



9 cups flour

1/3 cup baking powder

1 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered milk

4 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 cups vegetable shortening



sift all dry ingredients

cut shortening into dry mix until it resembles coarse cornmeal

store well covered in a cool, dry place (fridge works well)



for biscuits: mix 2 cups baking mix with 1/2 cup water. mix and cut or drop biscuits. bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes - until golden brown.



for muffins: mix 2 cups baking mix with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 beaten egg, and 2/3 cup milk. mix and add in anything you desire (chocolate chips, blueberries, cranberries, or you could just sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top after you put the batter in your muffin tins). bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.



for pancakes: mix 2 cups of baking mix with 1 beaten egg and 1 1/3 cups milk. cook as usual for pancakes.



for waffles: mix 2 cups of baking mix with 1 beaten egg and 2 tablespoons oil and 1 1/3 cups milk. cook as usual for waffles.



enjoy!

pancakes for dinner

why are we having pancakes for dinner tonight?
well... Today is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the last day before Lent.

The reason that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent is that it is traditionally a period of liturgical fasting, during which only the plainest foodstuffs may be eaten. Therefore, rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, and sugar are disposed of immediately prior to the commencement of the fast. Pancakes are therefore an efficient way of using up these perishable goods, besides providing a minor celebratory feast prior to the fast itself.

So, its pancakes for dinner tonight at our house - although my dear husband sees pancakes for dinner as more of a fast than a feast, so he gets his choice of other foods as well - which includes bacon, eggs, sausage, potatoes, etc... :)

Just fyi - I make my pancakes (as well as biscuits, waffles, some muffins, etc.) from a homemade baking mix that is like bis*quick sold in the stores - although my homemade mix is significantly cheaper. If you'd like my homemade baking mix recipe just leave me a comment on this post and I will send it your way :)

victory: my dear husband loves my cooking

you know that you cooked a fabulous dinner when your husband is still talking about it the next morning!!! the vast majority of the time my dear husband loves my cooking, really! -this is something he is very happy about and i am very proud of!! on rare occasions, we have a very honest and open conversation any time he doesn't particularly like something... it goes sort of like this:
me: hey babe, did you like the [food] that i made?
dear husband: hmm, i'm still evaluating
me: well, let me know after you've had a few more bites.
(a little while later) me: so, what's your verdict?
dear husband: well, it's not my favorite.
me: can you tell me what you did or didn't like about it so i can learn to serve you better, seeing as though i will be cooking your food for the rest of your life?
dear husband: sure, [fill in his food comments here]

anyway... here is the recipe that he REALLY enjoyed last night. I have no idea where I got this recipe, so I am sorry to not give the original chef any props, but I would definitely recommend you try this!! (see my notes after the recipe)

German Style Pork Chops with Mushrooms
1 medium onion
1/2 pound mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 pork chops
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup dark beer
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. coarsely chop onion
2. in a ziploc bag, combine flour, 1/2 tsp thyme, salt, and pepper. shake to mix.
3. add pork chops to ziploc bag and shake lightly to coat. remove the chops and reserve the excess flour.
4. in a large skillet, warm oil over med-high heat and add chops. cook until well browned (about 7 minutes per side). remove chops and set aside to a plate (cover loosely with foil to keep warm).
5. in the same skillet, cook the onion, mushrooms, and garlic over med-high heat, stirring for about a minute. add 1 tbsp of reserved flour and cook until flour is no longer visible (about a minute).
6. stir in beer, chicken broth, and remaining 1 tsp of thyme and bring to a boil. reduce heat to low, add pork chops, cover, and simmer for eight minutes, turning chops halfway through.
7. uncover skillet and cook for another two minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chops are cooked through.
8. serve with noodles, or potatoes, or rice

sarina's notes (these all worked very well!!): we are out of fresh onions so i used dried chopped onion. i also used canned mushrooms instead of fresh. i only cooked 2 pork chops but used the same amount of sauce. i used boneless skinless fresh pork chops from costco. (we got them on sale, with a coupon and i put them in freezer bags to store!!) also, i didn't use the beer - definitely no loss in flavor there. i served it with rice on the side and fresh zucchini. ENJOY!

menu plan monday

monday
- breakfast: coffeecake, leftover strata
- lunch: chicken soup, fruit
- dinner: german style pork chops, rice, fresh corn on the cob, fresh green beans
tuesday
- breakfast: coffeecake (with more sugar topping)
- lunch: possibly chili, or something else which strikes my fancy, fruit
- dinner: chicken & broccoli macaroni & cheese (a new addiction), fresh zucchini
wednesday
not sure where we will be yet, but if we're home~ barbeque tri-tip (we didn't end up using it last week), chips, beans, fresh corn on the cob, some sort of fun fruit cobbler
thursday
leftovers day!
friday
- breakfast: coffeecake
- lunch: ?
- dinner: salmon, rice, fresh green beans, some other veggie we pick up at the fruit stand
saturday
- dinner: maybe getting together with friends... if not - cheesy fiesta chicken, beets, fruit
sunday
- dinner: leftovers or sloppy joes on biscuits, we'll see what happens, veggies, fruit

desserts this week: chocolate ice cream, oatmeal cookies, rice krispie treats

Meal Plan Monday

Ok, so some people do themes on their blogs, others are more random… I think ours will tend toward the more random side of things. This week I am playing along with Menu Planning Monday. Check out the site for more:http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/

*I do not promise to do this every Monday. Leave a comment if you want a recipe.

Menu Plan Monday … -- gotta love the farm fresh summer fruits & veggies --
Monday –
Breakfast: homemade "luscious orange loaf"
Lunch: leftovers (stuffed bell peppers for the dear husband, bbq chicken pasta for me), fresh fruit
Dinner: homemade shake & bake chicken breasts, homemade rice pilaf, fresh corn on the cob, fresh zucchini, fresh fruit
Tuesday –
Breakfast: orange Mennonite muffins & yogurt
Lunch: leftovers (steak & rice pilaf for the dear husband, salad for me)
Dinner: Roast with mushrooms from crockpot, fresh corn on the cob, fresh green beans, fresh fruit
Wednesday – (meatless – we have been fasting on Wed. in June until the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul on June 29)
Breakfast: orange Mennonite muffins (you see the trend … we acquired a LOT of free oranges)
Lunch: hmm not sure yet, maybe tuna salad for my dear husband and egg salad for me, fresh fruit
Dinner: homemade corn chowder, baked potato, fresh green beans, fresh fruit
Thursday – usually always a leftovers day…
Breakfast: orange Mennonite muffins & yogurt
Lunch: homemade chicken soup, fresh fruit
Dinner: leftover roast with mushrooms, homemade rice pilaf, fresh zucchini, fresh fruit
Friday – always meatless in memory of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for the remission of our sins
Breakfast: orange Mennonite muffins & yogurt
Lunch: leftover homemade corn chowder, fresh fruit
Dinner: salmon, either rice or potato, fresh veggies, fresh fruit
Saturday –
Breakfast: homemade coffeecake, scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit
Dinner: Chicken, Broccoli & Cheese Casserole, some other veggie, fresh fruit
Sunday –
Breakfast: I am thinking of making eggs benedict… we’ll see…, fresh fruit
Dinner: Barbeque tri-tip, homemade baked beans, fresh veggies, fresh fruit
Desserts this week: rice krispie treats, brownies, chocolate ice cream

the nice lady across the road that always has treats

I have always wanted to be the kind of wife/mother/homemaker that always has treats available for kids who come to visit our house. Maybe it comes from my childhood when my parents always supplied the neighborhood kids with sugar cereal after school and my mom always had a full-stocked candy jar on the counter.
My dear husband agreed to bake some oatmeal cookies with me the other day (usually he helps by being in the kitchen with me and occasionally measuring out some ingredients... I love when he joins me). The cookies turned out great! I have posted a recipe below. I am not exactly sure if this was the recipe we used, but its close enough. It yields about 4-5 dozen depending on how big you make them.
But back to my title: the nice lady across the road that always has treats. We now live across the road from a family with several little boys. They have found out that whenever they make it all the way up our driveway they are rewarded with treats from me. Most recently it has been a vanilla bundt cake with caramel glaze, oatmeal cookies on two occasions, and we even gave them 3 slices of my homemade cheesecake to share between them :)
I love being the nice lady across the road that always has treats (and by the way, my dear friend Emily gave me a candy jar for a bridal shower present and you can be sure that it is stocked and on my counter for any kids who come to visit)!

ENJOY!
Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups quick oats, uncooked)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening and granulated sugar until creamy. Add egg, water and vanilla; beat well. Add combined oats, flour, salt and baking soda; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.