La Grâce du Ciel

Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps

This photo is from the internet.

Jessica's boyfriend loves gingersnaps. One day we were joking around and came to the conclusion that the only thing missing from gingersnaps was chocolate. We remedied that. These are wonderful cookies. Neil made himself positively ill from overeating these cookies. Jessica is under orders to limit the times she makes these. Stopping is a problem once you begin eating them.

Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps dipped in White Chocolate

2 cups all purpose or white whole grain flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger (found at world market or whole foods.)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (yes, black pepper)\
1-2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mild molasses
1 large egg
1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark chocolate is best. Milk chocolate seems to get lost in the other strong flavors.)
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted (bakers white is best)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and salt.

In Kitchen Aid, cream together shortening and sugar. When creamy, beat in the vanilla, molasses and egg.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Follow with chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls and roll in sugar. Set cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let cookie sit on cookie sheet for not more than a minute, then remove to a rack to cool and crisp. When cool, dip 1/2 of the cookie in the melted chocolate. Set on wax paper to dry.

Best Ever Biscuits

This is a light, fluffy biscuit. It's nice and quick to make in the mornings for breakfast, or with soups or stews for lunch and dinner. I make them, and before I bake them, I flash freeze. Thaw them in the fridge the night before, and bake the next morning.

Biscuits/Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use a mix of white wheat and all-purpose)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup butter ( I prefer shortening in the biscuit and butter on the biscuit)
3/4 cup buttermilk (5 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp powdered milk, 2 1/2 teaspoons vinegar and add water until measures 3/4 cup. Let stand for 5 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the food processor bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter (shortening) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in buttermilk until it comes together into a ball. It may not need the whole amount of buttermilk. Stop adding when it comes together in a ball. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, roll out into an 8 inch round. Cut in half and half again twice. You will have 8 biscuits/scones. Do not separate. Dot with butter on top of biscuits.

Cover and let stand 10 minutes.
Bake 15 min or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Separate and serve.

This is the base recipe. You can add herbs such as garlic and rosemary for a savory biscuits which are great with soups and stews. You can sprinkle with a cinnamon/sugar mixture for a sweeter scone. You could also add fruit (blueberry, cranberry, apple and lemon or orange zest for a scone.

Teriyaki Sauce

So after a very busy day, I needed something quick for dinner. It also had to use items that I had on hand. I had meatballs in the freezer, so I looked around for a new sauce recipe. Thanks to www.melskitchencafe.com I found a great one.

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water

For the sauce, in a medium bowl mix the soy sauce, 1 3/4 cups water, ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar, and honey together. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch into the 1/2 cup cold water. Set both bowls aside.

Pour the sauce ingredients over the meatballs and gently turn the meatballs to coat them in the sauce. Heat the sauce until just simmering and add the cornstarch/water mixture, carefully mixing so as not to break apart the meatballs as you combine the cornstarch mixture with the teriyaki sauce. Simmer the meatballs and sauce over medium heat, maintaining a constant simmer but not cooking at too high of a boil, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick and smooth (if the sauce becomes overly thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time to thin), about 10-15 minutes, turning the meatballs every two or three minutes to ensure even cooking. Serve over rice.

I can see many meals using this recipe. I think I'll try this sauce with pork chops and chicken. Maybe next time, I'll throw some chicken in the crockpot. Pour this sauce over it and cook on low.

The great part is that this sauce is made using food storage items.

2 Great Frosting Recipes

Sometimes, I make cakes from scratch, however, most times I use a mix. I can rarely make a scratch cake as light as those from the box. I do make frosting homemade though. I can't stand the flavor of the store bought frosting. The first recipe is a cooked chocolate frosting. It's quick, easy and really yummy. Cake mixes are on sale this week for .98 cents a box. for Betty Crocker and .88 cents a box for Pillsbury at Wal-mart. This is a good time to stock up.

Chocolate Cake Frosting-recipe is from http://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com/
1 stick butter, 3 ½ T. cocoa, 1/3 c. sweetened and condensed milk, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Add 1 lb.-powdered sugar (or a little less, depending on how soft you want your frosting), 1 t. vanilla and ¾ c. chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans (nuts are optional). Beat well and ice cake while it is still hot. Serve cake warm or cooled.

The second recipe is for Cream Cheese Frosting. This frosting is simple and awesome. (You can make this a chocolate cream cheese frosting by adding in cocoa powder.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

2- 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1 stick butter ( don't skimp, butter is best)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix until creamy.

We had carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It was yummy.

Pizza

We love homemade pizza. We have pizza almost every Friday because Jessica is usually out so it's all about Logan. Pizza is easy, especially if you have a pizza cooker. http://www.amazon.com/Presto-03430-Pizzazz-Pizza-Oven/dp/B00005IBXJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1276915273&sr=8-1 I love this thing. We use it almost every day for everything from pizza to chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fish sticks, and even cookies. We found ours at Goodwill, and are actively searching for another. Logan has laid claim to this one.

Melanie's Quick Pizza Crust

2 1/2 cups flour (I use at least some ground white wheat)
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic
1 Tbsp. rosemary, crushed

I throw it all in the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook. Knead until the dough pulls away from the sides, 5-8 minutes. (You can also throw this in the bread machine if you use the dough setting.) Turn the Kitchen Aid off, cover with a paper towel. Set your timer to 15 minutes. Walk away. When the time is up, take the dough out and cut into half. Roll each half, and place on the cooker. Add sauce and cheese and toppings of choice.

Pizza Sauce

8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
red pepper flakes, to taste
pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic, or 1 clove minced
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Now, I'll be honest, this recipe is really just an estimate. I just dump until the sauce tastes right to me.

Dinner on the table in less than 35 minutes. The pizza guy can't even get there that quick.

72 Hour Kit Continued

This morning I really felt God's prodding to get serious about our BOBS. Hurricane Season is forecast to be really bad this year, so I want to be prepared. After searching the internet for menu plans and weighing what my family would eat, I made a menu. Each meal will be packed in a gallon size baggies and stored in each family member's backpack.

72 hour backpack menu

Day 1
Breakfast
Nutrigrain Bar
Cocoa
Fruit strips

Lunch
Tuna Pouch
Crackers
Applesauce

Dinner
Ronzoni Bistro Pasta
Pudding cup
Trail Mix

Snacks: Peanut Butter Crackers, granola bar

Day 2:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal to go bar
Fruit cup
Apple Cider

Lunch:
Jiff to go Peanut butter
Jelly pkg.
Crackers
Noodle Soup

Dinner:
Baked Beans
Applesauce
Granola Bar
Pudding Cup

Snacks: crackers and cheese, hard candies, beef stick.

Day 3:
Breakfast:
Nutrigrain Bar
Fruit strips
Cocoa

Lunch:
Ramen
Cheese Crackers
Fruit Cup

Dinner:
Ravioli
Granola Bar
Dried Apples/Mangoes/Pineapple/Bananas of choice

Snacks:
Beef stick, mixed nuts, yogurt raisins

I'm not saying this is a perfect menu. This is for us to use when we are traveling. I have a larger kit planned for when we reach the RV.