An Old Family Recipe~Party Mix

For as long as I can remember my Mom has been making this party mix around the Christmas Holiday. This year I convinced her to share the recipe with me (probably because every time I was over there I ate quite a bit of hers!) I actually made this on Dec. 23rd, but with all chaos surrounding Christmas and New Years I am just now getting around to posting it. It's not that I haven't sat down to write this post, I just keep getting sidetracked (that tends to happen a lot with 3 kids!)

Although this is generally a Christmas treat for us, it is good all year long. And the best part- you can make a couple batches and freeze it! I still have a bag in my freezer and I plan to make another batch to get us through the winter months.

The original recipe is called Scramble and comes from the New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook which was in it's 4th printing in 1971.

Party Mix~ AKA Scramble:

2lbs mixed salted nuts
11ounces spoon size shredded wheat
10 & 1/2 ounces Cheerios
6 ounces crispex or crisp rice squares
7 ounces small pretzel twists
5 & 3/4 ounces slim pretzel sticks



2 cups Canola oil
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon Seasoned Salt


These are the original measurements from the recipe. I basically eyeballed it. For example: I believe the shredded wheat comes in a 16 oz package, so use about 3/4 of the bag and so on with the rest of the ingredients.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250F.

Evenly distribute the cereal and nut mixture between two large baking pans. If you try to do it all in one pan it will not cook evenly.





Mix up your oil mixture. I do mine in a shaker to ensure it all gets mixed very well. Pour the mixture evenly over the cereal and nut mixture.

Bake at 250F for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before putting into either storage bags or containers. It will fill roughly 3 gallon storage bags. You can freeze the bags you are not going to eat right away.


This is such a good snack mix, especially if you find the premade kind too salty, or do not like sweet snack mixes, like me.

*This recipe is from my Mom and adapted from the New Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, c1971.

Enjoy!

French Toast Casserole

Christmas morning is always spent at our house, since we have the kids and Santa has been here the night before leaving piles of gifts for them. My parents come over very early, we open our stockings, let the girls open their Santa presents, and then take a short break for breakfast. We dive into the rest of the gifts once the girls have eaten. Once all the gifts are opened and the coffee pot is drained, my husband makes mimosas and we go back for breakfast #2 or start on the leftover from Christmas Eve. Since it is a special day, I am always looking for something fun to make for breakfast instead of the same old cold cereal. Before my dairy issue started, I would make quiche-like breakfast pies with ham and Swiss cheese or egg and cheddar cheese. They are called Impossibly Easy pies and the recipes are from Bisquick. They were so good, but I stopped making them once I could no longer eat cheese. I have yet to try them with my "fake" cheese.
I have found that with 3 kids and all the excitement on Christmas morning, cooking is not really an option. I need something easy, something that can be put together the night before and popped in the oven that morning. I happened to come across the perfect recipe in my Family Fun magazine and I wanted to share it with you all. It really is so easy and perfect for Christmas morning.

French Toast Casserole:
Serves: 8
Total baking time:50-60 minutes

This was adapted from Family Fun Magazine. I did change it a bit though. I omitted the nuts, used light brown sugar, extra cinnamon, added a sprinkle of nutmeg to the top, and used vanilla soy milk. The method calls for 2 layers of bread but instead I made this in a large lasagna pan and did a single layer of bread so it was not at all soggy.

Ingredients:
challah bread (can be found in the bakery section)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon or to taste (I used a little more)
A pinch of nutmeg
8 large eggs
1 3/4 cups vanilla soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract




Directions:
1. Grease a large pan (such as a lasagna pan) with cooking spray of your choice.
Cut the Challah bread into 1 inch cubes. You don't have to measure, they just need to be around that size.

2.In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.



3.Arrange the bread in the baking dish. Try to have a single layer- it will cook better and will not be soggy. Sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar mix over the bread.




4.In a large bowl whisk together the eggs. Add the soy milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice), and vanilla extract, whisking until they are well blended.



5.Starting from the sides of the dish and working toward the center, pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on top. If desired sprinkle a little nutmeg over the top.



6. Cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. To save time I wrote the baking directions on the foil.



7. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 20 minutes covered, 30 more minutes uncovered, or until the top is slightly golden.I was still half asleep when I put this in the oven since my coffee was not yet done brewing.


To me, this tasted just like french toast. I will definitely be making this for Christmas morning, along with a few other things.

*Adapted from Family Fun Magazine.

What's Baking~Christmas Cookies

I have not yet baked one Christmas cookie. Seriously- not one. But that's not abnormal for me- I actually do not start baking until the week before Christmas. I like my cookies fresh for the Holidays and I don't like to over do it on the sweets for Christmas. Plus, I know for a fact that Santa's favorite Christmas cookies are peanut butter blossoms, and that he likes them made on Christmas Eve;-) We always save those for very last, and the girls help, since those are the ones we leave out for Santa.
So since this is the week before Christmas, we will get started on our baking. I thought I would share my Cookie Menu with you. We'll see if I actually get all of these done.

Traditional Favorites:
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Chocolate Chip ( my husband's favorite)
Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Fudge Balls

Cranberry Orange Bread (ok, so that's not a cookie)

Grownups' Favorites:
Double Chocolate Biscotti

Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Chocolate Cappucino Cookies
Raspberry Wine and Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies (and clementines- SO GOOD!)

Do you see a theme with the chocolate? I am actually a closet choco-holic-(Shhhh don't tell anyone.) And to help with that addiction I found dairy free chocolate chips at Trader Joes.

But, first things first, I have to make Rice Krispie Treat Christmas Trees for my middle daughter's preschool party tomorrow and wrap teachers' gifts.

As I make these cookies I will share the recipes. I cannot wait to start baking this week, especially with my girls.

Tastes Like Christmas~Cranberry Orange Bread

Ever since I can remember my Mom always made Cranberry Orange Nut bread around the holidays. It has always been my very favorite bread because the tastes in it remind me of Christmas. The cranberry and orange together with just a touch of sweet- so so good!
When I became a wife and mom, I decided it was time to make my own. However, I don't like nuts in breads. Plus children under the age of 5 should not eat nuts since they are a choking hazard, so I always eliminate them from any bread recipe.

The original recipe can be found on the back of the Ocean Spray cranberry bag. That recipe uses shortening but I don't like to use that if I can help it, so I use my organic vegan butter instead.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries


Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F and spray a loaf pan lightly with cooking spray.

1.Chop your cranberries in a food processor.

2.In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. (It will be a little more crumbly than creamy). Beat in 1 egg and the grated orange peel.



3.In another bowl combine the dry ingredients.

4.Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the orange juice. Gently fold in the cranberries.



5.Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan.


Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.



I made this on Saturday, and it was gone by Sunday night. I am going to make more today, and freeze a few of them to have through December. Although I doubt they will last that long!
If there is ever only 1 of my recipes you try, I hope it is this one. This bread really is THAT good!

Happy Cooking!

Flash Back Friday: Ginger Carrot Slices

I am going to start a new weekly post: Flash Back Friday. It seems I have a lot of new followers (thanks to my Twitter and Facebook) and I am so excited about that!! I want to make sure my newest readers get to see some of my favorite recipes from the past.

Today's Flash Back: Ginger Carrot Slices.



As you'll see from the post I got this recipe from a South African cookbook I borrowed from my dear friend, who has since returned to South Africa. I made these slices for my in-laws and friends of theirs that were visiting from France. I served them with an assortment of tea and coffee after an evening of wine tasting at the Williamsburg Winery. They are easy to make, not overly sweet, and not heavy like most desserts can be. I am going to be making these again soon!

On a side note: apparently I missed my 1 year Blog Anniversary-oops! (With 3 kids and a husband to keep track of, things like when I started blogging tend to pass by unnoticed.) According to my blog list, my very first post was on October 5th, 2010. I can't believe I have already been at this for one full year! In that time I have gotten to connect with some awesome Dairy Free Bloggers. In another post coming up soon I will list other Dairy Free resources and share which ones I follow most often. But, I do owe a HUGE Thank You to Dairy Free Betty- she has been so very helpful and supportive of my little blog and I am very grateful to her for that!

Until next time: Happy Cooking!

Fresh From the Oven: Focaccia Bread

I am a carb fanatic. There I said it. I love bread, potatoes, pastas. For a long time I have wanted to learn to make my own bread since so many store bought ones contain dairy. That and there is no better cooking smell than that of bread baking in the oven. I am not sure what's been holding me back, but most likely it's simply been the amount of time it takes to make bread. With kids (especially 3), time is at a premium most days! My favorite brand of flour is the King Arthur brand, mostly because I can buy it in bulk. One day I stumbled across their website, which is a wealth of bread recipes. Any kind of bread you would ever want to make- the recipe is there. It's a very well laid out website, the instructions are very easy to understand, and there are tips from others that are extremely helpful.

I served this with our Sunday dinner of my Homemade Spaghetti and Meatsauce.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
Dried herbs of your choice (I used garlic powder and dried Rosemary this time)



Directions:
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.



4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.

6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.



7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


(Not sure why this picture turned out bad, other than I am still learning how to use my new fancy camera)

This was so good and sooo easy! It will definitely be a staple in our house from now on! Next time I am going to change up the herbs and spices and see what I can come up with:-)

This recipe is directly from King Arthur Flour's website. Changes I made were the garlic powder and dried herbs

"Utterly Irresistible" Pumpkin Doughnuts

To be honest, I have never really been a fan of doughnuts. I don't like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Doughnuts- the thought of both of those gives me a stomachache! Really think it's because I don't like glazed baked goods. They get gooey, and are far too sweet and sugary. I have a very limited sweet tooth- I much prefer salty treats to sweet ones. I do, however, like cake doughnuts-baked in the oven, My mother in law has a delicious recipe for apple cinnamon ones that I used to make all the time, but unfortunately they contain both milk and yogurt so I have not made them in a long time. I have also not found a yogurt replacement that I like. Every time my girls see my doughnut pan they ask me to make some homemade doughnuts for them. I found a great recipe in my "Deceptively Delicious" Cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld.
I actually came across this a long time ago and my girls have been asking me to make these for a while. (Can you tell that I mainly cook for my kids?) The other day we had a free afternoon, and I had all the ingredients on hand. So while the littlest one napped, my girls and I played in the kitchen and had a good time baking.

This is a super simple and quick recipe and these are healthier than other store bought doughnuts! There is only 1/2 cup of sugar, no trans fats, and there are "hidden" veggies too! The whole idea behind this cookbook is to find ways to add extra veggies to kids' meals. This recipe adds sweet potato, along with the pumpkin. I always have some veggie purees on hand in the freezer. I freeze them in 1/2 cup servings to use in cupcakes, muffins, breads, pancakes, and waffles. I have also added some to sauces- back when my middle daughter went through her picking eating phase.

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 large egg white (You could easily make this vegan by using a vegan replacement for the egg.)
1 tablespoon dairy free margarine, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar for dusting the doughnuts (optional)



Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
I LOVE my doughnut pan! I actually have all sorts of specialty pans for baking- animal shapes, Christmas shapes, special shaped cake pans, and more. I think when you have kids, they are a must have for baking. The kids really love when you put that effort into treats for them.


2.In a mixing bowl combine the sugar, pumpkin, sweet potato, soy milk, egg white, melted margarine, and vanilla.



Beat together until combined.
She thought it was great fun to get to operate the mixer!






3.Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well.








4. Pour the batter into either a gallon sized plastic bag or a pastry bag. I happen to have a ton of pastry bags with my cake decorating supplies so I used one of those. But plastic bags work just as well.



Cut the bottom tip off the bottom of the bag. Squeeze the batter through and into the doughnut molds.

My oldest took this picture.


5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.



6.Let them cool on a rack. Once cool dust with confectioner's sugar ( if desired).




We made these two days ago and they were gone by yesterday afternoon! I have been asked to make more today, and will probably double the recipe this time. My oldest loved them so much she has asked me if we could play around with this recipe and make some apple cinnamon ones too. If that experiment turns out well I will definitely share it!

Recipe from:

Bridal Shower Cake

My good friend Carmen is getting married in June (I'm honored to be one of her Bridesmaids), and tomorrow is her much anticipated Bridal Shower. I spent the better part of today making the cake and 2 dozen cupcakes for the event. I thought I would share some of the pictures with you. The cake is made from scratch using this recipe (Minus the frosting) and it's a triple decker cake.

I wish the lighting was a lot better in my dining room- hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get better pictures in the daylight.













One of the 3 trays of cupcakes to go with the cake

I have always wanted to be able to decorate cakes, and this is the most elaborate cake I've done so far. Huge thanks to my Mom for icing the cake with the vanilla icing so I could finish putting together a few extra flowers and the leaves.
And a Huge thanks to my husband for lending a hand with everything today.

Now back to the kitchen to finish up the last of the pepperoni rolls for tomorrow!

Dark Chocolate and Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Two of my favorite things together are dark chocolate and cherries. One of my kids' and husband's favorite treats is oatmeal cookies. So I thought I should put the two together and get the perfect treat for our family. While the littlest one napped this afternoon my two biggest girls and I did just that! And the results were delicious!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine softened ( I used Earth Balance)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
3/4 cup dried cherries




Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.In a mixing bowl with electric mixer combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter and mix well.


3. Add egg and vanilla extract and continue to mix on medium speed.


4. By hand mix in oatmeal, cherries, and chocolate so that it is mixed well.



5. Loosely form dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. I use parchment paper to prevent sticking.


6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.


7. Let cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!