DIY Dry Mixes

Have you ever read the labels on pre-packaged powders and dressings? You might notice that you don't recognize many of the ingredients. You might find words like silicon dioxide, ethoxyquin, maltodextrin, polysorbate 60, propylene glycol alginate and many others. Personally, I am a little uncomfortable ingesting ingredients that I cannot pronounce and have no idea what they are.

Luckily, there is a quick and easy fix to my dilemma.

I am going to make my own mixes.

Besides the benefits of knowing exactly what is in my powders, I am able to limit or completely omit salts and sugars. Yes!

All of the following mixes can be stored in jars or bags in a cool, dry cupboard for up to 1 year. Each recipe makes enough powder to fill one 250 mL mason jars.

Ready? Here we go!

Curry Powder

2 Tbsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup ground cumin

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground pepper

Pumpkin Pie Spice

3 Tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp allspice

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Seasoning Salt

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp ground black pepper

1/2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp salt

Blackening Spice

2 Tbsp paprika

4 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (omit or lessen if you don't want a bit of a kick)

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

Ranch Dressing Mix

4 Tbsp parsley

2 tsp dill

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp basil

1 tsp ground black pepper

Make Ranch Dressing

Mix together 1/4 cup milk with 1/3 cup mayonaisse. Once mixed, add 1 Tbsp of the ranch dressing mix. Use immediately.



Italian Dressing Mix

3 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp onion powder

4 tsp oregano

2 Tbsp parsley

4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp celery seed

Make Italian Dressing

Mix 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 tsp water, 1/2 cup hemp oil (or olive oil) and 2 Tbsp italian dressing mix.

Use immediately.

*Be creative with these powders. I use the blackening spice as a rub on fish to be used in fish tacos. I also use the italian or ranch dressing mixes in soups, stews and chili.

Peanut Butter

Here goes another easy peasy recipe. Seriously, did you know that in order to make peanut butter, the only ingredient you need is PEANUTS!!?? No chemicals, just peanuts. Yes!

The best thing about this recipe is there isn't a wrong way to make. So, get out your food processor and let's make some peanut butter.

Add shelled, unsalted peanuts to your food processor. You can use as many as you want. I used 4 cups of peanuts and ended up with over 3 cups of peanut butter. Sometimes I will shell my own peanuts, however, this time I used pre-shelled nuts.

Start up the processor. After a few minutes, your nuts will look something like the above picture. You may need to scrape down the side of the food processor a few times during this stage. Keep processing.

After about 5 minutes, your nuts will start to look like peanut butter. If you like it chunky, you can always stop at this stage. I like it creamy, so I'm going to keep going.

At around the 8 minute mark, your peanut butter will look like the above picture. Although it looks quite smooth, when I stop the food processor, the peanut butter holds it's shape. On the spoon (below) it stays quite firm as well.

I'm going to keep going. The more you process the peanuts, the more oils are released. It's really up to your personal preference regarding how long you process.

After 10 minutes of processing, my peanut butter is quite smooth and no longer holds it's shape.

On a spoon, it drips off quite freely. *Keep in mind, the peanut butter is loose right now because it is warm from the processing. When it cools down, it will harden a little bit.*

Now is the time you can get fancy with your peanut butter. You have many options. You can leave it the way it is or you can add some extra flavour to your butter depending on your preferences.

Here's a few ingredients I have successfully added to my peanut butter.

        - Salt

        - Cinnamon and honey

        - Maple syrup

        - Coconut oil and coconut flakes

        - Brown sugar

Get creative and make your own peanut butter concoction.

Above are 3 different types of peanut butter. On the left, I added cinnamon and honey in the middle, maple syrup and on the right, coconut oil and coconut flakes. All three mixtures are fantastic!

Place your peanut butter in jars and keep them in the fridge.

Colour Wheel Experiment

Make your own colour wheel using water in cups, food colouring and paper towels.

Simply fill 6 clear cups 1/4 of the way full of water.

Add food colouring to 3 of the cups (red, blue and yellow).

Make sure you use lots of food colouring in order to make vibrant colours.

Leave the other 3 cups with clear water.

Arrange the cups in a circle in order to resemble a colour wheel.

Place a piece of paper towel in between each cup.

Watch as the paper towel slowly sucks the water up and over the lip of the cup.

This process takes some time, so you may want to find something else to do for a while.

After a few hours, the paper towels have moved some of the primary colours into the cups that were clear in the beginning. The mixture of the colours creates the secondary colours (purple, orange and green)

Your kids will love watching the colours transform into new colours. My kids even requested keeping the colour wheel on our kitchen table as a centrepiece.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This is one of my no fail salads. It had been a hit at every BBQ or family gathering I've ever brought it to. I can't take credit for it though. My friend Lisa gave me this recipe a few years ago...thank you Lisa!

What You'll Need

Salad

3- 4 cups (approx) of baby spinach
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 - 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Dressing

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of mayo

2 Tbsp vinegar

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

Make It

Assemble the salad in a bowl and set aside. My measurements are really flexible for this part of the salad because it really all depends on your preference. I generally keep adding the fruit and nuts until I think it looks full enough.

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and keep in a separate container until you are ready to eat the salad.

When it is time to eat, add the dressing to your salad, slightly toss it and serve.

* The best thing about this salad is how versatile it is. Depending on what's in the house, I switch up the fruits and nuts. Mandarin oranges, pomegranates and blueberries are all great substitutes for the strawberries. Mix it up and enjoy.

All Purpose Cleaner

This homemade Cleaner is fantastic! I use it in my tub, sinks and toilets. I have even used it to get tough stains off of my counters and kitchen table. You can practically use it anywhere. It takes minutes to make and one batch lasts me about 3 weeks. Stick to making small batches as the paste will dry out after a few weeks.

What you'll Need:

3/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup castile soap (you can find this at most health food stores and in the organic sections of many large grocery stores)
1 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. vinegar

 

Make it:

 1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap.

 2. Add the water and stir with a fork.

 3. Add the vinegar and mix.

Store in a container with a tight lid. If you go to use it and it had dried out...simply add some water and mix it up.

Chia Seed Pudding

Cha cha cha chia. Sorry I couldn't help myself. Yes, today I made pudding out of chia seeds. Who knew they not only make growable pets, but they are good for you too!

I am feeling nostalgic today so check out this Chia Pet video.

Okay, back on topic. Did you know Chia seeds contain,

• 15 x more magnesium than broccoli
• 7 x more vitamin C than oranges
• 6 x more calcium than milk
• 3 x more antioxidants than blueberries
• 3 x more iron than spinach

WOW!

Time to make some pudding.

What You'll Need

3/4 cup of chia seeds (you can buy these almost anywhere now - bulk barn, grocery stores)

2 cups of almond milk (to make your own, check out my homemade almond milk recipe)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, finely shredded

1 Tbsp honey

Make It

Just dump all ingredients in a bowl, mix it up and let it set for a few minutes. It's that easy. The chia seeds absorb the liquids and they become almost jelly-like. Within minutes, it will be ready for you to gobble up.

Eat right away or place the pudding in the fridge for later.



Bagels

I have recently re-kindled my love for fresh homemade bread. My poor bread maker had spent roughly a year in my basement, but in the last few weeks has made my family 4 different loaves.

As my house was filling with the smell of baking bread last week, I began to think about the other types of carbs my family enjoys. Bagels are definitely up there on the priority list, though it had never crossed my mind to make my own...until now.

Besides the fabulous smell of bread baking in your oven and the chewy texture of this recipe, I was completely surprised as to how easy bagels from scratch were.

What You'll Need

4 cups bread flour

1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs coconut oil, melted (vegetable oil works too)

2 tsp instant yeast

1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.

Make Them

Mix the yeast and water together and set aside. Once all of the other ingredients are mixed, add the water and yeast combination and mix well. I prefer to mix this type of dough with my hands.

Place the dough onto the counter and knead it until it is nice and smooth. This should take about 10 minutes.

Separate the dough into 8 equal sized portions and roll them into balls. Allow them to sit for about 20 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Check out this video on rolling bagels. I'm pretty sure I didn't look like this when I shaped my bagels, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. Maybe one day I will be this efficient.

Roll out each ball into a snake-like line.

Wrap the dough around your hand and give it a roll to create a circle.

Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Once your bagels have sat for 20 minutes, and the water in the pot is boiling, it's time to boil your bagels. This is the step I had no idea existed when it came to making bagels. From what I have read, boiling bagels allows the crust to be thicker and chewier therefore, the longer you boil them, the thicker and chewier they'll be. Generally, you should boil your bagels for 30-60 seconds each side.

So, place the bagels into the boiling water, wait about a minute, flip them and wait another minute before taking them out.

Once the bagels are boiled, slightly dry them and then place them on an oiled cookie sheet. I used coconut oil, but vegetable oil would work too.

You can top your bagels with whatever toppings you'd like. I used sesame seeds on half of mine but you can also used chopped onion, poppy seeds or whatever else you can think up. I think next time I will add more toppings. I found many of them fell off in the baking process.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven, and after 8-10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another 8-10 minutes. That's it, they're done!

Let them cool for about 20 minutes and then enjoy.
Try making some homemade cream cheese to spread on these chewy bagels.

Recipe originally found at Homemade Bagels.

Cream Cheese

Why not?

Why not make your own cream cheese?

How hard can it be?

As it turns out, it isn't hard at all. All you need is whipping cream and lemon juice. What?

Try it now. You will not be disappointed.

What you'll need

2 cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Make It

Line a strainer with cheese cloth. Set the strainer over a bowl and set aside.

Make sure you have 3-4 layers of cheesecloth.

Heat the cream to 190 degrees F, over medium heat. Stir constantly.

Add the lemon juice and continue stirring.

The cream will eventually thicken up and should cover the back of a wooden spoon like in the above picture.  Remove the pot from the burner and let it cool for about 25 minutes.

Pour the cooled cream into the strainer, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Leave it in the fridge for about 8-10 hours or over night. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Place the drained cream cheese into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.

Now spread your cream cheese on a bagel and enjoy.

Recipe originally from http://www.mywoodenspoon.net/2012/09/diy-cream-cheese.html#.UFY_OtVB0_w