Sweet Potato Muffins

Yummy....The kids loved these mini muffs they make a great snack!
1 1/4 cup oats
1 cup whhole wheat flour (or white)
1/3 cup chopped pecans (didn't have any this time)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes ( I used Pumpkin)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Topping
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. pecans ( I used chopped almonds)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
350 18-22 min
I made mini muffins and they were perfect no dry at all!

Stephanie's Kitchen

Heads up to a web site mentioned today on KSL Studio 5. Stephanie's Kitchen, what a fun site full of beautiful pictures and recipes on her blog. The items look mouth watering and yummy. Makes me want to run to my kitchen and get baking. Check her out for some fun ideas. www.stephanieskitchen.com

Getting Prepared

It's the start of a new year...time to get prepared! Each month we will focus on a different items you need to supplement your 72 hour kits, 3 month supply and long-term storage. This will be ongoing, so join in when you can. When we are finished we'll start over again. The items for the month will be posted along the sidebar (right side) and will be added to each month. If you have ideas or recipes that go along with the items focused on each month feel free to share with everyone!

Wheat

For those of you that missed the wheat class (which is pretty much everyone), here is the info we talked about along with some tried and true recipes. Wheat can be intimidating, and we may not know what to do with it if we have it in storage, but it really is easy to incorporate into our diets. Here is some info to help you get started.

• We all know the health benefits of wheat, we have discussed it at a previous enrichment activity (thanks Angie and Pepper). It is an important thing to add to our diet, but introduce it slowly if you don't consume it on a regular basis. I'll save you the details... but wheat will make you very "regular" if you know what I mean, so introducing it gradually will let your body adjust to it.
• Here is a breakdown of some of the wheat terminology so we know what some of the recipes are talking about. The wheat we buy from the store, cannery, etc is called either wheat berries or the kernel. Sprouted wheat is wheat that has sprouted from the kernel after being soaked in water. This can be used in salads, soups, in place of rice or in any other recipe you think would work. Bulgar is wheat that has been soaked and then baked to speed up the cooking time. This can also be served like rice. Cracked Wheat is a wheat berry that has been broken down into small pieces. You can crack uncooked wheat berries in a food grinder or processor.
• The flour we buy at the store has preservatives added to it so it can be stored at room temperature for a long time. When you make your own wheat flour or crack your wheat it obviously has no preservatives, so it won't last as long. If you keep it too long it will go rancid and smell bad. I don't know a definite time, but I have kept it for a few months with no problems. It just won't last years like the flour from the store. Anytime you have cracked wheat or flour and you don't use it all you can store it in the freezer in a sealed container to make it last longer. lds.org says the storage on wheat is 30 years, but it will last MUCH longer than that it will just start to loose some nutritional value after that long. Here is a rule of thumb though, anytime the outer shell is broken the 30 year rule doesn't apply any longer and must be used as discussed above.

Okay, so you have wheat now what do we do with it? There are two types of grinders: electric and manual. Both are just fine, you just need to weigh the pros and cons of each one. An electric is obviously quicker and easier and a manual is great for no electricity and quite a bit cheaper. Don't go out and buy one if you don't have one, I decided to ask for mine for Christmas because I wouldn't have been able to buy one right when I wanted it. If you don't have one there are still options to use wheat. You can soak wheat (sprout it) and make it into a hot cereal or into recipes as discussed above, you can crack it in your processor and also make this into cereal. This is similar to cream o wheat and we just add milk and either brown sugar or honey to sweeten it slightly. There are also a few blender recipes that you grind the wheat berries in. Any recipe that calls for flour would need to be done with a grinder though, so if you know someone with one go borrow theirs if you don't have one of your own.

Wheat Recipes

Okay, so here are the recipes

Whole Wheat Muffins

1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
mix all except flour, then four into bowl containing flour and mix well with spoon. (I do in my mixer and it turns out just fine). Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. (check early). Makes 1 1/2 dozen


Whole Wheat Country Griddle Cakes
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup instant cream o wheat (dry)
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp salt
Cook on greased griddle until golden brown



Whole Wheat Blender Waffles With Coconut Syrup

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp wheat berries
1 cup milk
2 eggs
4 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar or honey
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Blend wheat berries and milk on high for 4-5 minutes until batter is smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend on low for a minute or until Incorporated. cook on hot waffle iron (stir batter before pouring onto waffle iron, because any heavier wheat particles will settle at bottom). Makes about 10 waffles
To make pancakes instead of waffles, use 1 cup wheat berries and 2 Tbsp oil

Coconut Syrup

7-8 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coconut extract
place butter, buttermilk and sugar into pot. Turn on stove to medium heat and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and add flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the fizz to reduce before serving.


Whole Grain Apple Fritters

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup finely chopped and peeled apples
stir dry ingredients then add in wet ones. Fold in apples. Batter will be very thick. Drop by spoonfuls in hot pan with a little oil. Flatten a bit with a spoon and cook on medium heat until golden and flip and cook in the other side until done. Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon. When fritter are done and hot, drop them in powdered sugar mixture and coat both sides, just a light dusting. You can dip them in syrup or eat them plain.

Chocolate Zucchini Mini Muffins

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups grated zucchine, small grater
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips, divided (I use mini and I don't use the full 2 cups)
mix all dry ingredients except for chocolate chips. Add wet ingredients. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into mini muffin tins. Top with last cup of chips. Bake at 375 for 12-15 mintues. You can also bake this in a 9x13 pan or regular muffin tins. Bake at 325 for 9x13. This makes a lot and they freeze great.