Homemade Velveeta Cheese

HOMEMADE VELVEETA CHEESE

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin (unflavored)

12 ounces Colby or Colby Jack cheese, grated*

1 tablespoon non-fat or whole dry milk powder

3/4-1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk

Line a 5x4 inch disposable aluminum bread pan with plastic wrap, allowing some plastic wrap to hang over the edges. I just used a small tupperware dish because I am cheap and saw no need to buy disposable pans.

Place water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the top of the water. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Pulse cheese, dry milk, salt, and cream of tartar together in the bowl of a food processor until combined (3-5 pulses). Start with 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Once you have added the milk you can taste it and determine if more salt is needed. I myself thought that 1 teaspoon of salt was a bit too salty for my taste.

Meanwhile bring milk to a boil over medium high heat. Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat and stir in prepared gelatin until dissolved. Pour hot milk into a liquid measuring cup with spout. With food processor running, gradually add hot milk. Process mixture until it is thoroughly combined and velvety smooth.

Immediately pour into prepared pan, folding excess plastic wrap over the top of the cheese mixture. Chill for at least three hours or overnight.

*I used Colby Jack Cheese because it was on sale and Colby was not. It worked just fine, and actually I am sure you could experiment with any number of cheeses when making this to get the flavor you want.

Healthy Fudgcicles

"They really do taste like fudgesicles! I didn't follow an exact recipe (sorry!), but it's easy to adjust the ingredients to taste. It was something like 2 bananas, 2 avocados, couple tbs honey, couple tbs cocoa, 1/2c coconut milk, handful of spinach. Blend in a blender until smooth. It should be pourable, but still thick.

I use coconut milk from Native Harvest, which has no additives and comes in a BPA-free can. You could also use raw milk, almond milk, or any other homemade nut milk. I use organic, fair-trade cocoa powder, which is much higher in powerful antioxidants than the conventional brands."

Veggie Muffins

Power Packed Fruit and Veggie Muffin for Picky Eaters

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients
1 cup	Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup	Flour, All-Purpose
3/4 tsp	Baking Soda
1/2 tsp	Salt
1/4 tsp	Nutmeg
1/4 tsp	Cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup	Sugar
4 tbsp	Butter, without salt
2 large	Egg
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
1/4 cup	Apple Juice
1/4 cup	Applesauce, unsweetened
1 medium	Carrots, raw
1/2 cup (8 fl oz)	Yogurt, Low Fat Plain
2 1/2 cup	Fruit and Veggie Puree
We used steamed broccoli, zucchini, banana, and apple

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. Beat well
4. Combine produce, apple juice, and apple sauce in a food processor and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
5. Combine the puree, carrots, and yogurt, into the butter mixture and beat until mixed.
6. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.
7. Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan
8. Bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes for regular size muffins, and 350 for 20 minutes for mini-muffins. Bake until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean or they bounce back when you touch them with your finger.

These freeze great! Put them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yields: 36 Mini-Muffins or 20-24 regular-size muffins (You can make regular size muffins, but they turn out better as mini-muffins because they are smaller and take less time to bake)

*Nutrition Information is for 1 regular size muffin.  

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Nutrition Information

Energy	103 kcal
Protein	3 g
Total lipid (fat)	3 g
Carbohydrate, by difference	17 g
Fiber, total dietary	1 g
Sugars, total	8 g

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Prep Time	15 mins
Cook Time	20-25 mins
Yield	22

Chinese Rice

2 Cups Rice in Rice Cooker (I used brown rice)

In a very large skillet (or wok)

1 Cup Oil (I used Coconut)

4 Chicken Breasts cut into pieces

1 BULB of garlic (I like to use the minced garlic you buy in jars from Costco. So I used 2 Tbsp of that) Yes, lots of garlic. Yummy.

Cayenne Pepper (I used 1/2 Tbsp. You can use a little less if you are worried about the spice. 1/2 Tbsp is all I can handle. With kids, maybe reduce a little)

3/4 Cup Soy Sauce (I used the Liquid Aminos. I think that must be much stronger than Soy Sauce. So I might have to figure that out better.)

Cook all together until the chicken is cooked. 

In another pan, scramble 12 eggs in a little bit of oil and 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I didn't add any more liquid aminos because it was already so strong. Again, have to figure it out.)

Back to the skillet.

Add 1 pkg spinach (thawed)

6 carrots diced

2 onions

Cook until done

Then add the rice and the eggs and mix all together.

This is SO good!

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

Skinny Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups frozen strawberries
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tbsp sugar free fat free instant cheesecake pudding mix
• 1 tsp truvia (or other no calorie sweetener)

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into a blender. Pulse until smooth and serve. Makes 1 serving.

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Enchilada Sauce

Gather

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons flour

1 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups lower sodium chicken broth

3/4 teaspoons garlic powder

3/4 teaspoons onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons cumin

Step by step

1. In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chili powder and flour whisking constantly to combine. Mixture will be a thick paste (roux).
2. Slowly add in a small amount of tomato sauce whisking until the roux has dissolved. If you don't whisk, it will end up a lumpy mess! Once the roux is combined, add the rest of the tomato sauce and chicken broth. Whisk to combine.
3. Add in the rest of the spices, stir to combine.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and use in your enchilada recipe, or cool and divide into containers for storage.
6. Can be refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen for 3 months.

Quick Quinoa Meal

http://impossiblewriter.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/coconut-oil-and-quinoa/

1/4 cup Quinoa (dry)
1/2 cup Water
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1/3 cup Onion (chopped)
1 Garlic Clove (diced)
1 Baby Bell Mushroom–Portobello (diced)
A few Broccoli Heads, stems chopped off
1 Egg
Salt
Pepper
Okay, so here goes nothing. We take out the sauce pan and place the 1/2 c. Water in there. Measure out the Quinoa, and throw that in there too. Cover it up, put the burner on “High” and wait for it to boil.
When the Quinoa starts boiling, turn its burner to “Medium-Low” or “Low” and keep it that way for about ten minutes. You want the Quinoa to soak up all the water in the pan while it cooks. Depending on your stove strength, you will have to check it and alter this method. Once it soaks up all the water, puffy looking and sizzling a tad, take it off the heat. Make sure it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. We don’t want any sad little Quinoa bits ruined.
As the waiting (for the Quinoa to boil, etcetera) takes place, go ahead and take a small skillet, turn that burner to “Medium” and plop a dollop (1 tbsp) Coconut Oil in that skillet.
Take out your cutting board and dice those onions and that clove of garlic. Tailor the desired amounts to your taste, and place the onions and garlic into the now hot Coconut Oil. Hearing a sizzle of satisfaction from the oil as these ingredients drop in (making sure to coat the onions and garlic with the oil as you stir), smile, and proceed to chopping the broccoli. Throw the broccoli in, mix it around. It’s a party! Okay, no we cut up the mushrooms and toss those in too. Add salt and pepper as the ingredients dance around for a while.
Now, this is the acrobatic part of the whole feat. Take an egg, crack it and toss it into the skillet, immediately scrambling it into the mess of other ingredients. This will look something like an omelet now. When everything’s looking pretty happy and good, then dish out the Quinoa (be sure to keep an eye on this one while you cook the other ingredients) and the skillet omelet. Fork the two together like they were made for each other. And, vjola! You have yourself a tasty, healthy, Quinoa meal in 10 minutes!