Christmas Mixes

This is what I made to give this year:

Chicken Noodle Soup Mix in a Pint Jar.
From: Layered Soup Mixes in Jars by Jackie Gannaway

Seasonings: Mix in a small bowl (I just mixed in the bottom of the jar)
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules
1 Tbsp dried celery (actually called for 1 tsp celery powder which I couldn't find)
1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups wide egg noodles (I used medium which I personally like better)
1 (5 oz can chicken) to attach to jar

Place ingredients in jar in this order

Place seasonings in jar first. Seasonings are place in jar loose. Press seasonings down firmly.
Fill jar with noodles
Put lid on jar.
Attach can of chicken to top of jar.
Attach recipe to jarl

Chicken Noodle Soup

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a medium pan.
Add soup mix and chicken. Break up chicken meat well with a fork
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered 12-15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Makes 4-5 cups soup.


Homemade Whole-Grain Pancake Mix
Whole grains are coming on strong, and our aim at King Arthur is to make them easy for you to swallow—literally! The following pancakes are just shy of 50% whole-grain; and they're absolutely delicious, featuring the sweet-nutty taste of oats.

This mix not only makes an exceptional pancake, it's remarkably easy to use. The proportions couldn't be simpler: 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 egg. If you're not in the habit of having buttermilk around, reconsider: you can freeze leftover buttermilk, in 1-cup portions, for future batches of pancakes. You can also use buttermilk in yeast bread, muffins, quickbreads... most anyplace milk is called for, buttermilk is a rich-tasting, creamy-yet-low-fat stand-in.

These pancakes taste wonderful, puff up beautifully, hold in a low oven for half an hour without getting tough or rubbery, and they're more than willing to act as a vehicle for any kind of fruit addition. A partial list of combinations that have made successful appearances so far: peach, raspberry, banana-walnut, cheddar-apple, blueberry, and cranberry-apricot.

This recipe comes from Susan Reid, editor of King Arthur's Baking Sheet newsletter and co-author of The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion and The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. Each Christmas she prepares a giant batch, divvies it up, gift-wraps it, and gives it to family and friends. We've beefed up its whole-grain content with a touch of whole wheat flour, but other than that have left her original pretty much alone. Thanks, Susan!

Pancake Mix

4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 ounces) old-fashioned or rolled oats
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil

To make the mix: Grind the oats in a food processor until they're chopped fine, but not a powder. Put the flour, oats, and all other dry ingredients into a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all of the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it holds together, it's just right. If it won't hold together, stir in tablespoonfuls of oil, one at a time, until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer. Yield: 10 cups dry mix.

To make pancakes: Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk (you can use soured milk, but buttermilk gives noticeably superior results; a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk also will do), and 1 large egg. Don't worry if it seems thin at first: the oats will soak up the milk, and the mix will thicken a bit as it stands. Let the batter stand for at least 15 minutes before cooking.

Heat a lightly greased griddle to 350°F (if you've got a griddle with a temperature setting; if not, medium-hot will do). Drop the batter onto it in 1/4-cupfuls (a jumbo cookie scoop works well here) to make a 3 1/2-inch diameter pancake. If you have English muffin rings, use them; they make a perfectly round, evenly thick pancake. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface without breaking (after about 90 seconds, if your griddle is the correct temperature), turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. Yield: a batch using one cup of the mix will make about ten 3 1/2-inch pancakes.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk in the house, but do have buttermilk powder, try this: In place of the buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder to 1 cup of dry mix, then stir in 1/3 cup water and 1 large egg.

Variation: Add 1 tablespoon orange juice to the dry mix along with the buttermilk. We've found that the acidity and sweetness of the orange juice helps mellow the tannic taste some people perceive in whole wheat flour; while the pancakes won't have any orange flavor, they may taste slightly milder to you, if you're not a fan of whole wheat flour (but still want to get more whole grains into your diet).

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 pancakes, 86g): 16g whole grains, 139 calories, 6g fat, 6g protein, 16g complex carbs, 1g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 44mg chol, 254mg sodium, 155mg potassium, 17RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 67mg calcium, 133mg phosphorous.

©2007 The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Nutrition Information per Serving (2 pancakes, 86g): 16g whole grains, 139 calories, 6g fat, 6g protein, 16g complex carbs, 1g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 44mg chol, 254mg sodium, 155mg potassium, 17RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 67mg calcium, 133mg phosphorous.



Pumpkin Pie Raisin Snack Mix
From: WW Five Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook Winter 2008 (actually they used apple pie spice)

3 cups crispy wheat cereal squares (such as Wheat Chex
1 Tbsp "measures like sugar" calorie-free sweetener (Like Splenda)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1 cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; coat evenly with cooking spray. Arrange in a single layer on foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250 degrees for 18 minutes, stirring once. Stir in nuts and raisins. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup) Points: 2
Per serving: cal 110 (39% from fat) fat 4.8 g, (sat 0.6g); pro 3.2 g, carb 15.7 g, fib 2g, chol 0mg, iron 0.7mg; sod 49mg, calc 15mg

Bread in a Bag
From Centsible Nutrition

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water (125-130° F)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour

1. Combine 1 cup of the flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, dry milk, and salt in a 1 gallon heavy duty freezer bag with a zipper lock. Squeeze upper part of bag to force out air. Shake and work bag with fingers to blend ingredients.

2. Add hot water and oil to dry ingredients. Re-seal bag. Mix by working bag with fingers. Add whole wheat flour; re-seal bag and mix thoroughly. Gradually add enough remaining all-purpose flour to make a stiff dough that pulls away from the bag.

3. Take bread from bag and place on a floured surface; knead dough 2 to 4 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Cover dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll out dough to a 12x7 inch rectangle. Roll up from narrow end. Pinch to seal. Place in a greased loaf pan and let rise 20 minutes or until double in size. Bake at 375° F for 30 to 35 minutes or until brown.

Variations:
Breadsticks- Add 1.2 cup rolled wheat or other rolled grain to bag after mixing in wheat flour. Then, gradually add enough all-purpose flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out dough in a rectangle ½ inch thick. Cut dough into strips ¾ inch wide. Twist strips while placing on baking sheet. Bake at 375° F for 15 minutes or until brown.

Cinnamon Rolls- After kneading allow dough to rest for 10 minutes. Roll dough into 12x7 inch rectangle on floured surface. Spread ¼ cup margarine on dough. Sprinkle with ½ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Add ½ cup raisins or chopped nuts if desired. Roll up dough and seal edges. Cut into 1 inch slices. Place in greased baking pan. Cover; let rise 20 to 30 minutes. Bake at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan. Makes 12 rolls.

Rolls- After kneading, allow dough to rest for 10 minutes. Roll out dough to ½ inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to make rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375° F for 12 to 15 minutes.


Hot Cocoa
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show:Good Eats
Episode:Art of Darkness II: Cocoa

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste (I left this out - we can add if we want)
(I also added 1 cup powdered coffee creamer to the one I am gifting since they will probably want it a bit creamier the one here I left as is since we are fine with it as is)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly.

Use 1/4-1/3 cup per mug (to taste). This also works great with warm milk.

Christmas Dinner

Roast Tenderloin of Beef
Makes about 8 servings

This luxury cut of beef deserves VIP treatment. Here it's brushed with a store-bought browning sauce to give it deep color, and an herb blend to intensify the flavors.
1 Tbsp olive or canola oil
2 tsp browning sauce
1 3/4 lbs beef tenderloin, trimmed
1 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Stir together the oil and browning sauce in a small bowl; brush all over the meat. Combine the herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in another small bowl and rub the mixture all over the meat.
Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour th ewater into the bottom of the pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reaches 125 degrees F (rare), 130 degrees F (medium rare), or 135 degrees F (well done), 15 -25 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Per serving (3 oz), 174 cal, 9 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 57 mg chol, 203 mg sod, 1 g carb, 0 g fib, 21 g prot, 14 mg calc. POINTS: 4

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary: Slice 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp each crumbled rosemary, salt and pepper. Spread on a shallow baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees F until tender, about 45 minutes.
Per Serving (3/4 cup) : 2 POINTS

Green Beans with Pickled Onions: Combine 1/4 c red-wine vinegar, 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 minced garlic clove in a zip-close plastic bag; add 2 small red onions, thinly sliced, and marinate 2 hours. Steam 2 lbs green beans until tender-crisp. Cover with onions and their juice; let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Per serving (1/2 cup): 0 POINTS

White Lily "Light" Biscuits

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Makes: 6 servings

2 cups White Lily® Self-Rising Flour
1/4 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, or butter or lard
2/3 to 3/4 cups milk or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Place White Lily Self-Rising Flour in mixing bowl.
With pastry blender or fork or fingertips, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Blend in just enough milk with fork until dough leaves sides of bowl.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently by folding the dough 2 to 3 times.
Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut with 2-inch floured biscuit cutter (or other size as desired), dipping cutter into flour between cuts
Press cutter straight down without twisting for straight-sided biscuits.
Place on baking sheet 1 inch apart for crisp sides or almost touching for soft sides.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Colonial Gingerbread

2 C All-purpose Flour
1 C Molasses
3/4 C Buttermilk
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter -- softened
1 Egg
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt
Confectioner's Sugar -- for topping

Preheat oven to 325F.
Grease and flour 9" x 9" x 2" baking pan.
Into large bowl measure all ingredients except Confectioner's sugar; mix at low speed and beat until blended, constantly scraping bowl with rubber
spatula. Increase speed to medium and continue beating 3 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.
Pour batter into pan and bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely on wire rack.