home made coffee creamer...

Somehow mornings are just not the same around here unless I have my morning cup of coffee (...or two!)
In the past, I have bought those fancy store-bought coffee creamers; in all sorts of flavors and such. They are good, but I was never really crazy about all those extra-added ingredients...you know, the ones you can't even pronounce.
Just recently I came across a recipe for a home-made coffee creamer recipe. Needless to say, I was very excited and eager to try this out! Well, I did... and I love the results!
Now, I know this is not a fat-free, health food...but, at least I know what is in my coffee!

My usual store bought french vanilla coffee creamer has the following ingredients:

Water, Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of Each Of The Following Ingredients: Carrageenan, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Derivative), Natural And Artificial Flavors. *Sodium Caseinate Is Not A Source Of Lactose.


My home-made french vanilla coffee creamer has the following ingredients:

sweetened condensed milk
milk (cow or soy/almond/coconut)
vanilla extract

Home-Made French Vanilla Coffee Creamer

 

* 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

* 1 1/4 cup of milk (soy, rice, coconut can be substitued)

* 3 teaspoons of vanilla (more or less to suit your taste....I added less)

 

Mix all ingredients and pour into lidded container(s). Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

 

Enjoy!

home-made REAL fruit roll-ups

I don't know about yours, but my kids LOVE fruit roll-ups and fruit snacks!
Scanning the labels of store-bought fruit snacks is very disappointing, though.
High fructose corn syrup. Ick this and Ugh that!
So I was very pleased when I came across this recipe for home-made fruit roll-ups,
from Our Best Bites.


Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
 From ourbestbites.com



Ingredients

2 1/2 – 3 cups ripe or slightly over-ripe diced fruit

sweetener to taste: honey, sugar, agave, etc.

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

optional: seasonings, spices, extracts to taste



Instructions

Preheat oven to lowest temperature. 140° or higher. Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap, or a silicone baking mat (don’t use foil, parchment, or waxed paper), and spread to 1/8″ thick. Place in oven and bake for 6-8 hours, until center is not tacky anymore. Remove from oven and peel off of baking sheet. Cut into strips and roll in parchment or plastic. Store in airtight container or freeze.



Tips:

-All fruits will produce slightly different results. Strawberries and Raspberries are two of my favorites, that consistently produce good flavor and texture. You might have to experiment to find what works well. If you’re going to make a giant batch, you may want to test one first to make sure it works well.

- The addition of sugar or honey enhances the texture and makes the fruit roll ups a little more chewy than if you leave it out.

- If using plastic wrap, it will shrink a little as the fruit dries, so do leave a little extra around the edges. A silicone baking mat works the absolute best in my opinion.

thai tuesday

Last night I made Thai for supper. I had never made this recipe before and wasn't sure what everyone would think. Well, it was a hit, especially with the kids! So I know it is a keeper!



Vegetarian Pad Thai

2/3 cup chili sauce (can be found in ethnic or sauce aisle)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fish sauce (ethnic aisle)

1 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh (grated)

1/2 pound wide rice noodle (I didn't have, so I used fettuccine noodles)

4 teaspoons canola (or any oil you have) divided

1 package of tofu, drained and cut in 1" cubes (that is what I used. If you want this non-vegetarian, go for the meat- chicken would be awesome!)

2 egg whites

1 whole egg

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh bean sprouts (rinsed well)

3/4 cup cut up green onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

1/3 cup peanuts, chopped

1 lime

1. Combine chili sauce, brown sugar, water, fish sauce, and ginger. Mix well and set aside for now.

2. Cook noodles according to package. Drain.

3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in large skillet (or wok, if you have..I don't have one, yet!) Heat to medium heat. Add tofu and cook until all sides are browned. Do same with meat if you choose to use it. Remove from pan.

4. Combine egg whites and whole egg in small bowl. Wisk well.

5. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in pan, over med-high heat. Add garlic. Saute for about 20 seconds. Add egg mixture and cook until soft scrambled eggs. Stir in chili sauce mixture and noodles. Cook for a couple of minutes, blending well. Stir in tofu (meat), bean sprouts, onion and 1/4 cup cilantro. Cook about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle extra cilantro on top, along with peanuts. Serve with cut up lime wedges.

I served with:

Sweet & Sour Cucumbers

2 cucumbers, peeled and very thinly sliced

3 green onions, sliced thin along with 2 inches of green tops

2/3 rice vinegar (ethnic aisle)

1/3 cup white sugar

Combine all in a bowl and cover. Put in refrigerator for 1/2 hour, or longer. The longer you let sit, the better it will taste!





amish Chili Verde?

I have two favorite cookbooks, and both of them are Amish. Those Amish sure know how to cook, I guess!
One of my and my family's favorites, is from the cookbook Wholesome Sugarfree Cooking. The recipe is for Chili Verde (Green Chili Enchiladas). It is fairly easy to assemble and can be made ahead of time if you choose (actually, the flavors are better is you do so!)
So, here is the recipe.

Chili Verde

Sauce:
1/4 c. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper ( I don't add this)
3 cups chicken broth
2 (4oz) cans of green chilies, diced (now, you can buy them already diced- I buy mild ones)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt ( I leave out)
2-3 Tablespoons flour

10-12 flour tortillas
8 oz. Monterrey jack cheese

Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium, stir in flour, cumin, and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually pour in broth, whisk to remove lumps. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Cook on low and simmer for 30 minutes. The finished mixture should be fairly thick. Allow to cool slightly. Drench tortillas in this mixture (if you want, add refried beans, cooked chicken, etc. at this point!) and cheese. Roll and place in baking dish, side by side. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover ends to keep from drying ( I foil the entire dish, after 10 minutes remove the foil to brown slightly).
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

TWO thumbs up for Ellie

I had a rare moment this morning to channel surf. I landed on the Food Network to a show I have not seen before, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. What I liked about it was how the host, Ellie Krieger, explained all the health benefits of the ingredients she was using in her recipes. Later I found out that this is probably due to the fact that she is a registered dietitian!

One of today's recipes that I would like to try is the:

Radiance Fruit Salad

Salad:

-1/3 cup cantaloupe, cut into 3/4" chunks, about 2 cups

-1 (16oz.) container of strawberries, about 3 cups

-5 medium kiwi's, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks, about 21/2 cups

Dressing:

-3 tablespoons honey

-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

-1 teaspoon fresh lime zest

-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Place all of the fruit into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the honey, lime juice, zest, and mint. Right before serving, pour the dressing over the fruit and toss gently to combine.

Per Serving: Calories 120, Total Fat 0.5g (Sat 0g, Mono 0g, Poly 0g); Protein 2g; Carb 29g; Fiber 4g; Sodium 10mg; Cholesterol 0mg

Excellent Source of: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K

Ellie also has a web page you may like: elliekrieger.com