Homemade Bagels

A friend of mine has been talking about making homemade bagels. We don't normally eat bagels, but BigM was watching when I was flipping through a magazine and she saw a picture of a bagel smothered in cream cheese and said, "I want to eat that."

So here you go. (And by you, I mean BigM, and you {reading} get to play along.) I used this recipe as a guideline. I recommend you read the reviews, because I learned a lot from them.

you'll need:

1 c water

1 1/2 t salt

2 T honey

1 1/2 c bread flour

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

2 t yeast

(all ingredients need to be room temp except the water)

how you'll make it:

~fill a glass measuring cup with 1 c water and microwave for 45 seconds

~get out your bread machine and plug it in

~put honey in the bread machine

~add the hottish water

~add the yeast

~let it sit for about 10 minutes

~after 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients

~turn the bread machine on the dough setting

~watch it for a minute and add a smidge of water as needed until the dough forms a solid ball. (I had to do this so I imagine you might too.)

~wait until the dough cycle runs out

~remove the dough from the bread machine, cut into 12 equal pieces

~shape the pieces into something that looks like a bagel

~cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours

~boil some water (3 q if you like to measure things)

~add the bagel dough to the boiling water, boiling for 30 seconds on each side

~transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet

~bake at 375 degrees for about 20 - 25 mins

~let them cool on a baking rack and enjoy

the verdict:

these are so good, not only will I never buy bagels again, but I will most definitely start eating them!

Homemade Crockpot Granola

I'm about to make this.

Alone. Because the kids would rather watch t.v.

you'll need:

5 c oatmeal

3/4 c honey

3/4 c melted butter

1/2 c chopped almonds

1 c dried fruit (I used tropical)

1/2 c wheat germ

1/2 c flax seed

how you'll make it:

~put everything in the crockpot

~stir it up

~turn crockpot on high, cover and vent lid with something small and wooden, like a chopstick or a kebob skewer. A popcicle stick would work well too.

~stir every 20 - 30 minutes or it will burn (it might start to burn even if you don't stir it every 20 - 30 mins, just check on it frequently)

~cook for about 4 hours, or until you are tired of stirring it

~dump it all onto a parchment lined baking sheet (one with a lip of some sort)

~let it cool

~store in an airtight container

the verdict:

this is delicious. I can't wait to make some more yogurt so I can eat them together. When the rest of my family tries it, I'll let you know what they say about it.

Homemade Granola Bars

LM loves granola bars, almost as much as she loves eggs. Last time they were on sale at Publix, I bought 20 boxes. (I'm not kidding.) They were BOGO and I had some $1 off coupons and some $1/2 coupons, so I really didn't pay very much for them. That was sometime last summer.

We just ran out.

So I decided to try and make my own, since some of my friends were raving about how well theirs had turned out.

I basically used this recipe.

you'll need:

2 c oatmeal
1 c flour
2/3 c chocolate chips
1 1/3 c dried cranberries
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c wheat bran
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 whole egg, beaten
1/2 c honey (I only had 1/3 c, so here's hoping)
1/2 c canola oil
2 t vanilla extract*

*I didn't have any, so I just left it out. I hope it doesn't matter

how you'll make it:

~preheat the oven to 350 degrees
~line a 9 x 13 baking dish with foil, then spray with cooking spray (I don't use it, so I smeared butter on the foil)
~mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl
~mix all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl
~pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well (use you hands, come on, it's fun!)
~press the mixture into the baking dish
~bake for 15 - 20 mins for chewy bars and 20 - 25 mins for crunchy bars.
~let them cool for a few minutes, then cut with a pizza cutter
~let them cool completely, or they will crumble

The Verdict:

Oh my goodness, these are delicious. The rest of my family may not get to eat any of them because LM and I will probably eat the entire batch before the others even knew we made them. I am hooked! I will probably be making these at least once a week for the rest of my life.

Next time I will add ground flax seed, leave out the cinnamon and use the right amount of honey. I will also spread them in a bigger pan, because they are kind of thick.

Up next, crock pot granola.

Chili Macaroni & Cheese

from More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow (http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/***)

You'll Need:
1 lb lean ground meat (beef, turkey, venison)
1 onion, finely diced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 15 oz can kidney beans* (do not drain)
2 t chili powder*
1 t ground cumin
2 c elbow macaroni
2 c shredded Mexican blend cheese*

How you'll make it:
~brown the meat & the onion in a large skillet on the stove & drain the fat
~put in the slow cooker, add tomatoes & kidney beans
~stir in the chili powder, cumin, uncooked macaroni & cheese
~cover & cook on low for 4 hours, or until the pasta has reached the desired tenderness

*I'm going to use a can of chili beans because I already have them and I don't already have plain kidney beans- so I will omit the chili powder
**Since LM is allergic to yellow cheese, I'll be using mozzarella. No, it won't taste as good, but I won't be changing a nasty diaper the following day. Totally worth it.
***I tried to find this on the website to link the actual recipe, but failed once again. I'm beginning to wonder if some of the recipes in her new cookbook weren't actually created in 2008 for the blog.

The Verdict:

Okay, I'm not trying to hate on crockpot365, because I too have an unnatural obsession with my crockpot, but well, the nice way of saying it is this did not turn out well, at all. It could be because I put it in the fridge for a few hours. The pasta not only disappeared, but it turned into glue. It tasted fine, but DM asked me if he could have a knife to cut it. BigM ate it and LM did not. (But she rarely eats supper so she's not a good judge.)

My advice to you would be to make this recipe in the oven. Go ahead and cook the noodles and mix the meat, tomatoes, beans and spices together. Grease a baking dish and layer noodles, meat mixture and cheese- repeat until you get to the top, but end with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

I hope you have better luck with this than I did.

Honey Garlic Chicken

from More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow (http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/*)

You'll Need:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 t dried basil
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c ketchup
1/3 c honey

How you'll make it:
~in a slow cooker, line chicken in the bottom
~in a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, pour over chicken
~cover & cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours

*I tried to find the recipe on the blog to link it, but I failed miserably and quite honestly, have more pressing thing to do. I tried, really I did.

The Verdict:

I am the only one who didn't dislike this meal. I ate it, but I am not picky as long as something doesn't taste gross. BigM said it tasted like cat food (then I wondered how she would know that, seeing as no one we know even has a cat.) I thought it was too sweet and the ketchup was very overpowering.

I still ate the leftovers for lunch the following day.

Homemade Baby Wipes Solution

I found a great website here (and there are lots of them, so google it!) that gives a million different ways to make homemade baby wipes solution. We cloth diaper, but only recently did I make the switch to reusable cloth wipes. I'm not sure why it took me so long.

I like the one they call Easy Peasy, because it uses stuff I always have on hand.

You'll need:

1 T oil (I use olive)
1 T baby wash
3/4 c water

(don't worry, I have 4 more bottles of Olive Oil in my basement)

How you'll make it:

~mix all ingredients in a container
~shake it

I got this awesomely cute spray bottle at Wal-mart for $0.97 and it fits just perfectly in an old disposable wipes container with my cloth wipes. Couldn't be easier, I tell ya. Having done it both ways, I'll never understand why people don't cloth diaper. I don't judge, but I don't get it.

Yogurt in Review

I finally got my yogurt maker, and don't I just love it!

According to the directions, you'll need:

42 oz milk
6 oz plain yogurt

How you'll make it:
~heat the milk on the stove to boiling (180 degrees) and let it boil for a couple of minutes

~turn off the heat and remove about 1 1/2 - 2 c milk

~let both cool to about 110 degrees
~add yogurt to removed milk and stir until smooth
~add remaining milk and mix well
~pour the mixture into the 7 jars
~start the machine


(I used whole milk the first time, which takes 7 hours. I used skim milk the second time, which takes 10 hours. I'm going to try 2% next, because I loved the texture of the whole, but not the fat content. The skim was a little runny for my taste, so hopefully the 2% will be somewhere in between.)
~when the timer goes off, remove the lid from the yogurt maker and screw the lids on the jars.
~let the jars sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours before you eat it (my end time has been around 9 - 10pm each time, so mine gets to sit for about 8 hours)

~enjoy, cause it's awesome.


get a 32 container's worth of yogurt (and pretend like I bought it) from the 6 jars (have to save the 7th for the next starter) and I was paying about $3 for a container of organic yogurt. A gallon of organic milk is about $6, so I'm probably paying about the same, but there are no extra ingredients, and I can sweeten it with honey rather than sugar. Deal? I don't know, but it sure is fun to make it.

You can do the same thing in your crockpot if you follow this recipe. I haven't tried it, but the comments speak for themselves. All 393 of them. I only read the first 10 or so but I'm sure they are all great.


Please don't tell DM I didn't technically need an actual yogurt machine. He was excited, because I told him I thought it would save us money.

***I've been thinking about this, and on the crockpot365 blog, one of the commenters figured out the cost of Yobaby compared to homemade. That is an huge savings. Something I also want to note is, according to my Eat This, Not That book, one teensy itty bitty 6 oz container of YoBaby yogurt has more sugar than an ice cream bar. I never bought that stuff, but if you do, you're definitely going to come out way ahead if you make your own.