Substituting Wheat Flour

Whole-wheat flour will make your baked products denser and heavier than all-    purpose flour does. Substituting whole wheat flour for white flour takes a little experimentation, but you will almost always be successful if you use ¾ cup of whole wheat flour to replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

    When making cookies with whole wheat flour, reduce the butter or shortening by     20 percent. When making cakes with whole wheat flour, add another tablespoon or two of liquid. When altering a white bread recipe to become whole wheat bread, you may need another ¼ cup or so of liquid.

If you like the texture of baked goods made with white flour but wish to add more whole grains to your family’s diet, be sure to try white whole wheat flour. This flour—milled from albino grains of wheat—behaves almost exactly like white flour, but provides all of the whole grain goodness of wheat flour.  

White whole wheat flour is beginning to be available in supermarkets, but if you cannot find it, check a natural foods or health food store. You may also purchase this flour at online sources, such as kingarthurflour.com.

One Step Wheat Blender Pancakes

Soak 1 cup wheat and 1 1/2 cups water in your blender overnight.  Add:

1/4 cup powdered milk
1 T oil
2T honey
1 egg
1 T baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Blend well.  Makes 8 pancakes using 1/3 cup batter.

Tetrazzini

I double this recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan.

2 cups broken spaghetti noodles
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/8 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1 1/2 cups cheese, divided

Cook noodles according to directions.  Meanwhile, dissolve bouillon in water.  Add soup, celery salt and pepper.  Drain spaghetti and add to soup mixture.  Stir in meat and 3/4 cup cheese.  Transfer to 8 in.  baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese and bake uncovered at 350F for 35-40 minutes.

Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups margarine
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 large can pumpkin
1 large pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ginger
6 cup flour
12 oz semi-chocolate
12 oz milk chocolate

Mix all ingredients.  Bake at 375F for 12-13 min.

Guacamole for Grilled Quesadillas

From:  Brent and Alisha

8 avocados
2 tomatoes
1 can olives
cilantro, to taste
lime juice, to taste

Grill tortillas with cheese, spread with guacamole, sour cream and ranch.  Top with black beans and lime rice.  May add grilled chicken or steak.

How to Make Perfect Bacon

From About.com:

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 20 minutes

Here's How:

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
2. Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F. Walk away.
3. Come back 17 to 20 minutes later. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.
4. Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat. You can pour the liquid fat into a heat-resistant container to save for other uses. I like to pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out any crunchy bits.

Tips:

1. Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
2. Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.
3. You can slightly under cook the bacon, then cool it and freeze it in a zipper bag. Then, to reheat, cook two slices in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds or so.
4. Variation: Dredge bacon in flour or corn meal before baking.
5. Variation: Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar or freshly ground black pepper before baking.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister-in-law, Regina, makes these.

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Stir the melted chocolate and sour cream into the creamed mixture.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.  Stir in white chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop batter by the tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.  Yield:  5 dozen cookies.