Recipes

Easy Fudge Bits

3 cups chocolate chips (I like half semi and half milk chocolate)
1/4 cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Place all ingredients in glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stir. Microwave until totally melted. Pour into decorating tube, cake decorating bag or cookie press. Pipe onto parchment paper. Chill. (May also pour into an 8"x8" square pan.)

E-Z Batter Bowl Peanut Brittle

In 2 quart glass mixing bowl (no lid) mix 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup & microwave 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup peanuts (salted or unsalted) and microwave 2 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and El teaspoon butter and microwave 2 more minutes. Add 1 teaspoon Baking Soda and stir well. Let it finish bubbling. Spread quickly to desired thickness on parchment paper. (This part is a bit tricky.) Takes about 1/2 hour to fully harden. (This recipe works perfectly on a 1000-watt microwave, adjust times if yours is higher or lower.)

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Substitutions & Conversions

1 Cup Buttermilk	=	1 cup Milk + 1 TBs vinegar or lemon juice
1 Cup Heavy Cream	=	3/4 cup milk + 1/3 cup melted butter
1 Cup Half-n-Half	=	7/8 cup milk + 1-1/2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar	=	1/2 cup granulated sugar + 2 Tbs molasses
Powdered Sugar	=	Whir 7/8 cup granulated sugar + 1 Tbs cornstarch in blender
1 T. mustard	=	1 tsp. dry mustard
3 medium bananas	=	1 c. mashed
1 lb. butter	=	2 c. OR 4 sticks
2 c. sugar	=	1lb
2/3 c. honey	=	1 c. sugar plus1/3 c. water
1/2 c. corn syrup	=	1 c. sugar plus 1/2 c. water
1 t. baking powder	=	1/2 t. cream of tartar plus 1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. cake flour	=	1 c. flour minus 2 T.
1 c. self rising flour	=	1 c. flour plus 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 t. salt
1 fresh clove garlic	=	1 t. garlic salt OR 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
juice of 1 lemon	=	3 T.
juice of 1 orange	=	1/3c. to 1/2c.
15 oz can tomato sauce	=	6 oz can of paste plus 1c. water
1 box of powdered sugar	=	3-3/4 c.
1 c. sweet milk	=	1 c. buttermilk plus 1/2 t. b. soda
1 c. buttermilk	=	1/2 c. plain yogurt plus 1/2 c. milk
1 c. butter milk or sour milk	=	1 tsp. vinegar and fill with milk to 1c. mark
1 c. fruit juice	=	1 c. spicy brew tea
1 c. beef stock	=	1 c. water plus 2t. soy sauce
1 c. sugar for baking	=	1/2 c. honey plus 2 T. flour
1 egg ( for a cake)	=	2 T. mayonnaise (for each egg)
1 square unsweetened choc.	=	3 T cocoa plus 1 T. butter
1/2 c. butter	=	7 T. shortening
Cake Flour: 1 pound	=	4 3/4 cups
Cake Flour: 1 cup sifted	=	7/8 cup sifted all-purpose flour
All-purpose Flour: 1 pound	=	4 cups
Oil: 2 cups	=	1 pound fat
Orange:1 medium-sized	=	6 to 8 tablespoons juice
Raisins: 1 pound	=	2 3/4 cups
Rice: 1 pound	=	2 cups uncooked
Rice: 2 cups uncooked	=	6 cups cooked
Sugar, Granulated: 1 pound	=	2 cups
Sugar, Brown, packed: 1 pound	=	2 1/4 cups
Sugar, Confectioner's: 1 pound	=	3 1/2 to 4 cups
Tomato sauce: 2 cups	=	3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
Yeast, Active dry: 1 package	=	1 tablespoon
Yeast, Active dry: 1 package	=	1 cake compressed

Kitchen Tips

Microwave your lemon for 30 seconds before juicing. You'll get double the juice out.

Microwave your garlic for about 10 seconds, the peel will slip right off (just pinch it).

Don't store potatoes with onions, moisture from potatoes can cause onions to sprout.

Did you know you can freeze applesauce? Buy the big jars & separate them down to small serving sizes in containers (or even freeze in your ice cube trays), then pack them for lunch, they will usually be defrosted by the time lunch comes around.

This idea is a variation of the previous one (learned both making baby food years ago). We make pizza nearly every week and buy our sauce in the giant cans at Sam's Club for about four bucks. We freeze all of it in ice cube trays and put the cubes in large freezer bags (1 can = 2 gallon-size bags). We use 4 cubes per pizza.

Put your unfilled pie crust in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to reduce shrinkage and to hold fluted edges in place.

I dip my apple wedges in 7-up (or any lemon lime soda - regular or diet) to keep them from browning. The citric acid in the pop keeps them from browning for several hours and doesn't leave them sour like lemon juice.

If you only need a small amount of tomato paste, take the remainder and freeze in a plastic ice cube tray. When frozen, they can be put into a small freezer bag. Be sure to label the bag. Once cube equals about 1-1/2 Tablespoons.

Onion Math

1 small = 1/3 cup chopped
1 medium =1/2 cup chopped
1 large = 1 cup chopped
1 green onion = 2 tablespoons sliced

Have your eggs gone bad? Here's a way to test: dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda in a quart of water. Good eggs will sink, spoiled eggs will float.

Look at the button on the bottom of an apple. If it's closed, it's a fresh apple. But, if it's open, it's been picked too long.

"Speed-chill" bottled drinks, (including wine) by completely submerging them is a bucket filled with half ice and half water for about 20 minutes. This method is much faster than using ice alone. (Want to make it even faster? Keep the water to a minimum and sprinkle salt all over the ice. Just be sure folks know to rinse the edges before the drink.)

Storing candles in the fridge or freezer will help them burn slower and drip less.

A long wooden skewer or piece of dry spaghetti makes it easy to light several candles at one time without burning your fingers.

Tossing nuts, raisins and other chopped dried fruit in flour will help keep them suspended in cake batters (so they won't drop to the bottom of the cake.)

Whenever a chocolate cake calls for greasing and flouring the pan, grease it, then dust with unsweetened cocoa powder instead of flour, you won't have the white edges.

If you don't store bread at room temperature, then freeze it. Bread turns stale fastest when stored in the fridge. (Refrigerators these day are nearly always frost-free which absorb moisture--to keep the frost away.)

To eliminate bits of shell in freshly hulled nuts, turn the nuts into a large bowl of cool water. The shells will float and can be poured or skimmed off. Drain and dry the nuts thoroughly before using.

Toasting nuts before using in recipes intensifies their flavor and adds crunch.

Don't throw out soft, overripe fruit. Peel if necessary, cut off any bruised spots, then puree or chop finely and use as a topping for ice cream, pancakes or waffles or for shortcake.

For lighter eggs, add 1 tablespoon water per egg. Adding 1 tablespoon sour cream for every 2 eggs makes rich, creamy scrambled eggs and omelets. Adding 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch per egg before eating will make scrambled eggs and omelets fluffier.

Keep non-fat powdered milk on hand for cooking so you don't have to run out to the store if you run out of milk.