Homemade Mozzarella

You can easily double this recipe and save time!

Homemade Mozzarella

1 gallon whole milk (not ultra high pasteurized*)  - I use our own goat milk
1-1/4 teaspoons Citric Acid Powder (cow's milk recipe says 1-1/2 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet, liquid
1/2 cup cool water cool (divided in half)

salt to taste

Put the cool milk into a stainless pot, preferably a double boiler. Dissolve the citric acid into 1/4 cup of cool water. Stir into the milk. Bring the temperature of the milk to 88 degrees and remove from heat. Mix the rennet into ¼ cup cool water and stir into the milk for about 10 seconds.  Use the spoon to slow down the turning of the milk so it can rest.

Allow the milk to set for 10-15 minutes to coagulate. You should be able to press down on it and it should bounce back a little.  If you cut it with a knife it should break clean.  I always  start checking it at 8 minutes.

Using a large icing spatula cut into 1" grid vertically.

 Then use a bent ladle to cut to cut 1" horizontally.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

Place the pot of curds back onto heat and slowly bring the temperature of the curds to 108 degrees. Hold at 108 degrees for 35 minutes.  Since I use a double boiler it doesn't require much if any heat to hold that.

Stir every 5-10 minutes to keep the curds from matting together.

 They will slowly turn into a more curd like product.

Drain the curds into a colander for 15 minutes. SAVE THE WHEY for RICOTTA!!!
(While you are waiting fill a bowl with cool water. There needs to be enough to cover your cheese.) 

Place colander on a plate, sprinkle with salt.  I use about 1/2 teaspoon. Heat in the microwave for 50 seconds. Remove from microwave and work to mix the curds together. Return to microwave for another 25 seconds.

Divide mozzarella into the size you want.  Shape into balls.

 Place in cool water. Place in fridge until mozzarella is completely cool. 

I pat mine dry, then freeze on wax paper lined cookie sheets.  After they are frozen I use a vacuum seal system to put them in bags.  When thawed they are just as good as fresh.

Shredding the cheese....

for pizza!!

*The proteins in ultra high pasteurized milk have lost their ability to set into curds.

Homemade Sauerkraut

If you like sauerkraut you should try your hand at making your own.  It's easy to do and you can in it jars to have on hand for anytime.

Homemade Sauerkraut

In this ratio...

5 pounds cabbage

3 Tablespoons canning salt

As needed...Brine --1 quart water plus 1-1/2 Tablespoons salt (heated until salt dissolves, then cooled)

Buttermilk Waffles

Buttermilk Waffles                                                             Printable Recipe

1-1/2 cups flour 
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1-1/2 T lemon juice and rest filled to 1-1/2 cups with milk)
6 Tablespoons butter*, melted
2 eggs

In medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients.  In separate bowl mix together liquid ingredients.  Add liquid to dry and whisk until thoroughly blended (batter will be thick.)  For my iron I use 2/3 cup of the waffle mixture. Each iron is different so check your directions to get a good idea how much to use.  

Close lid and cook until it is as brown and crispy as you like it.  This time I made it in a special iron. If I use a round one I break the waffles into quarters, cool them, and then freeze them.  I toss them into a gallon freezer back and for a quick snack or breakfast pop in a toaster to heat.

V7 Vegetable Juice Blend

Make your own vegetable juice blend full of Vitamins A, C and E,  potassium, iron, and magnesium to name a few. Nothing added like the "natural flavoring" or citric acid that the store sold juice shows as ingredients.  You control the salt.  Notice mine is called V7 not V 8 as I did not use watercress which is listed as one of "their" ingredients.

 V7 Vegetable Juice Blend

2 quarts canned crushed tomatoes or approximately 2-28 ounce cans (use low sodium so you can control your own salt)*
4 celery stalks
2 carrots
1/2 beet (or 2 Tablespoons beet juice)
2 Small handfuls of spinach
4 small handfuls of iceberg lettuce
2 sprigs of fresh parsley
salt, as needed

Send all through juicer. (If you are using already juiced beets then just add that to the juice at the end.)  Mix, add salt to taste, and enjoy!

That is a 1/2 gallon canning jar in the top picture so that is how much what my juicing made. 

*You could use fresh tomatoes but I have not worked out the pound/quart ratio yet.  I hope to make some when our garden is ready to harvest and can some for later.

White Chicken Chili

Play with the seasonings as you like.  If you like it spicier add more chilies and/or cayenne.  If I were making fajitas I would add lime juice and onion powder so it's nearly the same chicken meat and you could use the same here

.

White Chicken Chili

olive oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-1/2 t cumin

couple dashes dried red pepper (cayenne) (more as you like)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 - 15 ounce cans Great Northern beans (white), undrained
2 cups chicken broth
4 ounce can green chilies, undrained
up to 1/2 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl add about 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil, seasonings, and chicken.  Turn to mix and coat. For best flavor grill chicken. Cut into nice size chunks.

Meanwhile, cook onions in a little bit of olive oil until soft.  Add broth and beans.

Stir in chunked chicken and cook for 20 minutes.  This will soften the beans a bit more and thicken your soup. 

 Stir in sour cream.

To serve, top with tortilla strips and more sour cream if you like.  

Fauxy Sauce (Soy Sauce Substitute)

I had a chef come teach me about spices and herbs and one of the recipes called for soy sauce.  My husband can't have soy so rather than have her come up with a new recipe I scoured the internet to find out what people subbed soy sauce with and worked out this combination of ingredients. Rather than call it Soy Sauce Substitute I thought it would be more fun to play on the word faux (meaning false) and call it Fauxy Sauce.

Fauxy Sauce - (said foy -like soy)

2 Tablespoons chicken or beef broth
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
dash white pepper
1-1/2 cups water
salt to taste - I used 1 teaspoon to start then added 1/2 teaspoon at the end as my broth was not very salty since it was homemade

Stir together all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil and cook until reduced.  I reduced mine by about half.  That is when I tasted it and added the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

This soup smells fantastic cooking all day.  If you want it on a week day and don't have time to caramelize your onions before you leave the house cook them the night before and put them in your fridge.  In the morning you can put it all together come home to a tasty soup.

Crock Pot French Onion Soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil

8 cups sliced onions

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup white Chardonnay wine

7 cups beef broth

salt, as needed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 Bay leaf

1 teaspoon Kitchen bouquet (aff link) (optional for color)

3 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water

Heat oil in large non stick skillet over medium heat.

Cook and stir until they begin to turn translucent, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with sugar, reduce to simmer and cook for, stirring often until brown and soft.  Should take about 30-40 minutes.  At first it won't seem like they are browning and then the color comes. Stir wine into onion mixture and cook for a minute or so. 

Pour beef broth into crock pot, add onions, bay leaf, thyme and Kitchen bouquet*. Stir.  You can add salt here or wait until the end after the soup has time to cook and mix flavors.

Cover and set on low for about 8 hrs or high for 4. When you are near serving time gently stir in your cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup. 

We served ours with grilled cheese sandwiches.  You could float a crispy piece of bread sprinkled with cheese on top and broil it. 

* I needed the Kitchen bouquet as my homemade broth wasn't very dark and I wanted more color. 

Mollie's Tender Chicken

Mollie's Tender Chicken 

(originally known as Parmesan Chicken but renamed by my niece)

1 cup plain breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons white flour

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

6-8 chicken breast strips (1/2 inch thick)

Oil for frying

Mix breadcrumbs, flour and Parmesan cheese together.  Put milk into a dish deep enough for dipping the chicken pieces.  Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture, then in the milk and then back into the breading mixture.  Press the chicken pieces with your hands at this point to flatten them a little.

Heat oil in a frying pan and heat to a medium high temperature.  Place chicken pieces into the pan and lower temperature to medium.  Fry pieces until chicken is done and pieces are a crispy golden color.

Baked Chicken Tenders

Baked Chicken Tenders 

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or a heaping 1/2 Tablespoon of dry

salt and pepper, optional

1/4 cup milk

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

olive oil or melted butter

(Additional ingredients for Garlic Lover's Version)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Slice chicken breast halves into nice strips or leave whole.

Dip in milk.

Then in mixture of bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and salt/pepper. For a thicker crust you could dip in dry, then wet, then back in dry.

Lay on greased cookie sheet.  Mist/drizzle with a little olive oil spray or drizzle with melted butter.
(If you are doing the garlic lovers version mix melted butter, garlic, and lemon to drizzle over instead.)

Bake tenders at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  If you do whole halves then bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy on a salad or dipped in your favorite dipping sauce (like Honey BBQ ) Great cold for school lunches.

Sausage Stuffed Squash

Sausage Stuffed Squash

1 butternut squash

Olive Oil

Salt

1 pound sausage (breakfast, pork, or Italian) You can even de-case brats to use.

1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

1/3 - 1/2 cup diced onion

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Cut squash in 1/2 removing seeds.  Core out the neck by scoring and using a spoon to remove to a cutting board to dice.  You will use this in the stuffing. Place large halves on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until soft.  

You are only going to reheat so be sure squash is as soft as you like.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, drizzle olive oil, add in onions, apple, diced squash, orange juice, and syrup. Cook until soft.

Add in sausage and cook thoroughly. Be sure to break apart the meat. Drain or pat off the oil if necessary.

 "Stuff" into squash halves.  I sprinkled Parmesan on the one on the left.  They enjoyed them both ways. Return to oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through. Careful not to burn your sausage. 

The little one enjoyed it enough to ask for it as leftovers to eat in her lunch she takes to school.

Granola

Granola is great eaten as cereal, sprinkled on applesauce, or parfaited (that's a word, right?) with yogurt and berries.  Mix and match your add ins to make it how YOU want it!

Granola

8 cups regular oats
1 pkg dried mixed berries (about 6 oz)
1 cup sweet shredded coconut
1/2 cup wheat germ
4 oz sliced almonds
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup honey
2 Tablespoons vanilla

That is the original recipe.  It can be switched up many ways.  My photos reflect a granola made without the berries, coconut, or almonds.  I instead used pecans and left out the others.  You can add milled flax, raisins, craisins, walnuts, whatever your heart/taste desires!

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separate the mix together.  Make sure all the dry ingredients are coated well.  Dump onto 2 large jelly roll pans.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees stirring every 5-10 minutes.   If you don't stir, parts of it will want to burn. 

Your granola should be a nice golden brown.  It will still seem sticky but will dry out as it cools.  As it cools I continue to stir it now and then. We store in the cupboard in a half gallon jar.  

My husband eats his with our homemade vanilla goat yogurt and frozen blueberries.

Pin it:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/273593746087249436/

Ham and Corn Chowder

Ham and Corn Chowder

drizzle of olive oil

1 cup onion diced

1-1/2 - 2 lbs ham, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans creamed corn

2 cups whole corn, drained (or you can use 1 can drained)

3-4 cups Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (use more or less as you like)

4 cups milk (or half and half)

6 Tablespoons butter

8 Tablespoons flour

Fresh parsley

Salt/Pepper (to taste)

Drizzle olive oil into soup pot and cook onions until translucent.  I try not to brown mine but it's ok if it does. Add ham and stir to heat through.

Add broth, both corns, and potatoes.  Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are done.  My Yukons take longer than russet potatoes and seem to differ each time.  You'll need to pull a piece out and test it.  

Add milk.  I use our goat's milk which is very creamy so you could use half and half or whole milk if you want a richer soup.  Otherwise 2% or less would be ok as well.  

While the milk in the soup is heating up make a roux in a small sauce pan.  This is done by melting the butter and whisking in the flour.  Let it cook for about a minute then whisk into the soup. This will thicken your soup.  If you use russets you could leave out some or all of the roux and just smash your potatoes with a potato masher. Yukon golds don't break down much so I needed the roux in mine. 

I added a sprinkle of fresh parsley on my soup the first time we make it and after that I added it to the whole soup. I didn't add salt to ours as the ham had enough.

Feel free to experiment with flavors as you like!