Moisturizer for Toning & Tightening Facial Skin

 This is supposed to be a miracle skin treatment, tightening and toning the skin of the face. I don't know if it does or not but I use it, and because each little batch lasts so long (I only apply a couple drops to my face in the mornings), I always have to find the recipe somewhere on the internet. Finally I'm getting around to including it here so I'll know where it is. 

1 ounce castor oil

1 ounce jojoba oil

10 drops frankincense essential oil

Apply sparingly. 

I put on only a few drops after washing my face in the mornings, and apply a different lotion in the evenings after washing my face before bed.

Cucumber Salad

 Recipes that don't provide actual measurements are never my favourites, as I'm bound to overdo the ingredients, but this one made an excellent salad, even if I had to do some guesswork.

-seedless cucumbers, cut up as you wish
-dressing: apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, kosher salt, whisked together
-mix-ins: red pepper flakes for heat, 2 tablespoons minced onion, fresh dill, sesame seeds, celery seeds, or any fresh herbs. Take your pick.
-can add shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, blueberries
-any dressing will do: lemon vinaigrette or poppy seed, crumbled feta cheese, parmesan cheese, chopped nuts, sliced avocado
-for protein, add blackened chicken, sweet chili salmon, or sweet and spicy grilled shrimp

The salad is best served right away.

This was found online and I didn't note the source.

Vickie's Garlic Butter Croutons

 375F oven
400F air fryer

4 cups bread cubes (old bread)
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley

Toss and bake 12 to 18 minutes, stirring often. Adjust or add seasoning to taste. 
Cool in an airtight container; make sure they're dry or they'll mould. 

Vickie uses heavy rye bread. I use whole-wheat bread crusts that often end up left in the loaf bag; I freeze them until there are at least 4 slices (which usually make 4 cups when cubed).

 Who needs crackers in soup when there are croutons?

Chili Sauce or Ketchup

 I added a small can of tomato paste to this and simmered it till it was thick enough to use in place of ketchup. 

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1/2 cup water

Over medium heat, stir till sugar dissolves and simmer to desired consistency. Remember that it will be thicker when cool. 

If you want to use this sauce to drizzle over shrimp, for example, skip the tomato paste. I didn't strain out the garlic bits, but you might like to. I also was out of chili flakes and substituted chili powder.

Easy Oat Slice

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder

Mix till you can't see the flour. Pack into greased 8"x8" pan. Bake at 360F for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Freezes well. 

I found this recipe on the internet somewhere, sorry don't remember where. 

This is a horrible photo! These were soggy inside when I used an egg substitute (out of eggs that day), and I wonder if that extra 1/3 cup of water was the problem. So I stuck the pan back in the oven for another 15 minutes. They're tasty but were a bit chewy around the edges and hard to get out of the pan. 

I might bake at 375F next time. In any case, these are delicious. 

Moroccan Chickpea Tomato Stew

 

1 tbsp olive oil (I used sesame oil)

1 white or yellow onion, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 lb chopped plum tomatoes or 1x 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes (I used about 4 cups of stewed tomatoes Farmbeau made and froze last fall; it had celery and onions in it as well). You will want to mash them or run some through a blender.
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I used chili powder)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp tahini (I used plain yogurt)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Heat oil over medium heat and saute onion 5 mins till translucent. Add garlic, cook 2 more minutes. 
Add tomatoes, sugar, and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add broth, simmer 10 minutes, uncovered. Stir in tahini. Add chickpeas and vinegar. 

We ate ours with buttered toast, but you might serve it with rice, quinoa, etc. 

The original recipe can be found online here: 
https://www.thefullhelping.com/moroccan-chickpea-tomato-stew/

Brendalyn's Favourite Apple Crisp

 

Heat oven to 350F.

Spread evenly in a square pan, 8"x8":

4 cups sliced, pared apples

Sprinkle with:

1/4 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

With pastry blender, mix till crumbly:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup soft butter

Spread crumb mixture over apples.

Bake uncovered about 40 minutes. 

Serve warm with milk or cream. 6 servings.

Original recipe: Betty Crocker

Banana Bread

  In my trusty box of recipe cards, there are two for banana bread. I've made them both recently, and decided to keep just this one:

3 mashed bananas

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large room-temperature egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan. 

Whisk first four ingredients till well blended. Then whisk in egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Don't overdo it. Place in greased pan.

Bake 75 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool completely on a rack.

Peasant Bread

(This recipe makes one loaf. The three above were made by doubling the recipe and using smaller loaf pans.) 

 

4 cups flour

1½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 cups warm water

 

Whisk dry ingredients together.

Add water and mix with spatula or wooden spoon till shaggy sticky ball and no dry streaks.

Cover and let rise till double; 1-1½ hours.

 

⋰

 

Preheat oven to 425F.

Grease 9-inch pie plate or 8½x4½-inch loaf pan.

Put dough in pan.

Let dough rest uncovered 15-20 minutes, till slightly puffy.

 

Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce to 375%.

 

Bake 55 minutes.

Remove from pan when taken from the oven.

 

 ⋰

 

I’ve made some adjustments to the above recipe. I use half whole wheat flour and half white; 2 teaspoons of honey instead of the sugar; I shape the loaves but it seems to me the original recipe allows you to dump the dough into a loaf pan and that works fine; and I bake at 325F for 15 minutes, then 45 minutes or 1 hour at 375F.

 I usually double the recipe and have added chopped green onions to the dough when mixing.

Aaaand ... one last tip if you're new at baking: I slash the tops of the loaves (about 1/2 inch deep) diagonally 3 times so that they can "spring" -- rise -- in the oven without the crust tearing during that first 15 minutes at 325F. 

 

Substitute for Buttermilk

 1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Substitute for Egg

 1 tablespoon milled flax

1/3 cup water

Mix and set aside for 3 minutes.

Omelette Muffins

 

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk 

1 cup grated cheddar

1 cup bell peppers (any colour mix) 

1/2 cup baby spinach, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

2 green onions, sliced thin

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tin.

Whisk eggs and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients.
(I had no peppers, so replaced that measure with a cup of chopped green onions. Mmmm.)
Scoop batter into tin, filling almost to the rim. You should have enough for 12 muffins. (I only got 10.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or till eggs are cooked.

With broccoli for supper

 I found the original recipe here: 

https://kirbiecravings.com/omelet-muffins/

Kirbie offers useful tips and more recipes, and bless their heart for this one. We loved it. 

 

Energy Bites (Melissa)

 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients, then add:

1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup ground flax
6 tablespoons chocolate chips

Refrigerate 30 minutes so they can most easily be shaped into balls. 

That's it. Keep frozen or not, as you like. 

Almond Rocha

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup butter

1 c granulated sugar

3 tablespoons boiling water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Bake almonds on a cookie sheet in a 300F oven for 10-15 minutes, or till golden brown.

Combine butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring till sugar dissolves.

Add water and syrup.

Boil over  medium-low heat, without stirring, to the hard-crack stage (300F).

Pour hot candy mixture over the almond layer on cookie sheet. 

Sprinkle chocolate chips over pan of hot candy. Spread with knife to thin layer.

Cool. Break into pieces.

Yields 1 lb / 500 g

Zucchini Patties

3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini, drained

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 cup biscuit mix

Combine, form into patties, fry slowly in a little oil or butter. 

Makes 6 pancake-size patties.

I have only made these using zucchini that I grated and froze, 3 cups to a bag, in the fall. The first time, I didn't drain it and had to add several extra cups of biscuit mix in order to get a batter I could drop by the spoonful onto a griddle. 

The second time, I drained the zucchini. The batter still wasn't thick enough to form by hand into patties, so again I dropped it by spoon onto the griddle and spread it a bit to flatten it. This is what you see above.

I don't buy commercial biscuit mix, and used the homemade Master Mix instead. It's so handy!

For Egg

 1 tablespoon milled flax

1/3 cup water

Mix and set aside for 3 minutes.

For Buttermilk

 I cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Crustless Quiche

10 large eggs

1 and 1/2 c milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Any assortment of mix-ins, for example:

2 c fresh greens like spinach

1 c cooked veggies like zucchini or eggplant

1 c fresh hash browns or shredded potatoes

1 c finely grated cheese

1 c cooked meat like bacon, ham, sausage (optional)

1/4 c finely chopped herbs such as Italian parsley or chives

Can add garlic powder, onion, cumin, 1/4 c chopped tomato

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.

Whisk eggs. Whisk in milk, salt & pepper till frothy.

Add mix-ins. 

At this point you can refrigerate overnight or freeze. If freezing, thaw overnight before cooking.

Bake 45 minutes, till puffed around edges and tester toothpick in centre comes out clean. 

Sesame Broccoli

 Fancy up your broccoli a little:

Cook till boiling and slightly thickened, then drizzle over 4 cups of steamed broccoli:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tsp vinegar

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

2 tsp sugar

Grandma Benson's Crescent Cookies

 1 c butter

1/2 c icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 c finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream butter and add sugar gradually. Beat until real fluffy. Add vanilla. Sift flour and salt; add to creamed mixture. Fold in the nuts.

Take 1 tbsp dough and shape into a crescent. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes. 

While warm, roll them in icing sugar.