Posted: November 8th, 2011 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: Mr. J, Store-bought Remix | No Comments »
Mr. J eats a lot of “breakfast bars.” Sweet and Salty Nut Peanut are his favorite. I decided I wanted to take them on as one of my “Store-bought Remixes” after seeing a recipe on Cool Hunting.
I made two batches: peanuts, peanut butter, and chocolate chips for Mr. J and “trail mix” almonds, almond butter, and dried fruit for me. They were delish!
Ingredients…yep, that’s a biscuit in the background photo bombing the picture.
1/4 cup nut butter (peanut or almond)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup puffed grain cereal (I used this from Kashi)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1/3 cup sweet treat (Like chocolate chips/M&Ms or dried fruit) *
pinch of sea salt
*Raisins would be great. My dried fruit mix had dried cranberries, blueberries, and cherries.
Make the glue: mix the nut butter and honey and warm over low heat. Once it’s incorporated and thinned out, pour over remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a baking dish or sheet lined in wax paper or parchment. Use the back of a wooden spoon or your hand protected from the sticky by a small piece of parchment to smooth out the top. Like so…
Turn the block out onto a cutting board and cut into desired-size portions. I wrapped each bar in parchment and sealed in a zip-top bag to keep them fresh.
Notes: They’ll stay fresh for about a week, if they last that long. I used less “glue” than the recipe called for. You can experiment with ratios to find what works for you.
Posted: October 30th, 2011 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: Come Together, Store-bought Remix | 1 Comment »
Photo source
They’re expensive when you buy them at the store. You can pretty easily make them yourself with a little extra time. I bought two huge blocks of cheese from Sam’s: Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack.
First of all, use a sharp knife and be careful! Keep your end shape in mind as you’re making the cuts. You want to end up with a cube, after all. Position the block of cheese horizontally in front of you. If you have trouble eyeballing the size, cut the block in half or thirds until you get to the desired width. Lay these “planks” out in stacks of two or three. Cut into strips. Take a stack of strips and make the final cuts to make them cubes.
Add the cut cheese to a large bowl and add a small amount of corn starch with a sifter (I used 2 T to 4 lbs of cheese). Toss to coat. The cut cheese will release oils and cause the cubes to stick together. The corn starch will absorb the oil and prevent this from happening. That’s what they do to the store-bought cheese. You can barely see the coating after storing in the fridge, and you cannot taste it.
In my estimation, I got twice the cheese for my money by making these myself.
Posted: September 10th, 2011 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: Store-bought Remix, Try Something New | 1 Comment »
Take 5 lbs of carrots.
Wash well, peel, cut off ends, cut in half length-wise, cut top half in half cross-wise.
Steam for 20 minutes.
Remove steamer basket and set aside to cool.
Once cool, process in batches in a food processor to achieve a puree. Add water if necessary to thin. Don’t use the cooking water because it can contain higher levels of nitrates.
Spray ice cube trays with cooking spray, Using a spatula, fill each “cube” with the carrot puree. Scrape along the top to reveal the sections between the cubes. This will make it easier to pop them out. Very GENTLY, tap the tray on the counter to settle any air bubbles. Don’t go crazy or you’ll get carrot everywhere (I speak from experience). Place in the freezer overnight.
To store, pop out the frozen cubes and keep in a plastic storage bag or container. I still had a little remaining puree that wouldn’t fit, so I got nearly a third tray full with this batch. Label and date the contents of the bag.
A few notes: Yes, this is the same process used to make homemade baby food, but I want it handy to drop into recipes to get a little more undetected veg in our meals. The puree is incredibly tasty, and I think it could go head to head with those little jars any day! I’ll be experimenting with uses. I know that it will pair well with tomato based dishes, and I have a friend that uses purees in her tacos (either carrot, sweet potato, or butternut squash). I’ll pop a few cubes in every now and then and report back to you when I’ve found our favorite uses
Also, the orange color is incredibly concentrated so make sure to clean all of your utensils and work surfaces immediately. My ice cube trays are white, and they are stained a little. I don’t really care about this. The cooking spray helps to minimize the discoloration.
