"Making Do" without Missing A Thing--(Master Mixes/post one)

   So I shared with all my FB friends that I would be starting the year of  2012 out with a bang by beginning a new series on cooking from scratch, and how to make your grocery budget stretch.

   I am the mom of three busy girls, two under the age of two. And one of the hardest things is finding the time to keep all the "plates spinning". We are talking housework, laundry, feeding my family, homeschooling my oldest daughter, and teaching 22 piano students a week.

   But I am able to do it because I have learned some tips and tricks from other experienced moms who have been privileged to do the same things over the years. Whether you are able to be a stay at home mom like myself, or if you have to work, this series will be worth your time.

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   Kurt and I have been married for 14 years and he can tell you, when we first got started, I had no idea how to cook, run a kitchen, or anything. He still laughs about the first biscuts I made, and I still laugh about how one of the first meals I made was a huge pot of rice and beans that he absolutely refused to eat. Talk about two different worlds colliding! My husband was a home-grown meat-and-potatoes-are-the-two-food-groups kinda guy, and I was from a world where we ate meat about twice a week. Somehow, in our year+ time together before our marriage, and eating and talking and growing closer, that food fact did not settle into either one of our heads. He was from the frozen north, and I was from a blooming orchard valley in the West.

  Long story short, it was a tough first year.

   But I began to learn, first by learning the basics, then adding more and more knowledge and putting it into practice until here we are 14 years later. He recognizes all food groups but rice, and I occasionally eat a steak (and rather enjoy it). I cant imagine where we will be in another 14 years. :)

  We moved here, to the prairie almost 8 years ago now, and I was immersed in a culture of strong, care-for-yourself (but willing to give another person the shirt off your back) people. I was introduced to canning more than strawberry jelly, worked side by side with women who have been growing food and feeding their families for generations, and taught that animals, as cute and fun as they are, are raised for meat, that you then consume. THAT story is one for another time.

   But suffice it to say that over the last 8 years our income has shrunk, our family has grown, and even with things in our economy, Kurt and I are still able to cling to the promises we made one another when we said I DO, one of which was me staying home with the kiddos.

   So out of necessity that last 8 years, I have learned many ways to "Make Do without Missing A Thing" and would like to share some of my tips with you. I hope something I share inspires you, or encourages you as you are starting on this path with your family. I hope if you are a busy mom, working a 40 hour a week job, you will learn something here that will cut a little bit of your time in the kitchen out so you can spend it with those children you adore. And if you are a dad who is trying to hold it all together, work, home and kids, then welcome and know I have a lot of ideas that can make things easier for you too. :)

   Today I am going to start by sharing with you my first mainstay in my kitchen. It can be referenced in my cookbook by the tab "Master Mixes". I have a few of them, and will be sharing them this week, but today I am going to share the two that I use frequently. Master Mixes are batches of dry goods that you keep mixed up in your cupboard or fridge that makes it possible for you to make a batch of something in a very short time. You cut out most of the preparation time that keeps you in the kitchen longer, and has a treat or whatever on the table in less time than it takes for you to think about the process. There are many out there, and many links to some, which I will be providing on Friday this week for those of you who love the idea and want to pursue it. As I complete this series I will trying to give out more of those for each topic.

    The first Master Mix I am sharing with you is called "Master Cookie Mix". All of my master mixes are stored in either old coffee cans (yes, we go through a lot of coffee at the Estey house), or in the big plastic jugs you can get from places Kmart, or Walmart in the home section. I personally love to use the coffee cans because they hold one batch of master mix exactly AND I can write the ingredients in the mix on the outside (or a recipe card taped to the top), so when it becomes empty, I dont have to search for a recipe to make it up again. Saves me ten minutes looking for either my binder of recipes or through my recipe file.

   Master Cookie Mix

In a large bowl combine the following and whisk until thoroughly combined:

9 cups All purpose flour

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Salt

3 Cups sugar (white)

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

   This is your basic cookie mix. Now here is the shocker. Did you know that you can make over 50 different types of cookies just with this mix and by varying the ingredients you add to it? Think about it. A bakery puts out all different kinds of edible goods, and yet, if you were to go behind the scenes, they have huge bags of mixes for this and mixes for that. Or think of going to the grocery store and seeing all those packets of cookie mixes you pay an arm and a leg for in the baking section. What you are really paying for is convenience, and yet here is a recipe that will give you that same convenience at your fingertips, and save you money. It is also healthier for you and for those that you love because when you make up a batch of cookies, it does not have added preservatives to keep it sitting on the shelf until someone decides to buy it.

Here are three basic cookie recipes that use this mix, and many people make in their own homes: Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate Chip, and  Gingersnap.

Oatmeal Raisin:  Into a bowl scoop 2 1/2 cups of the above mix. Add 1 cup of Oatmeal (quick cooking), 1/2 cup of shortening, 1/4 cup of butter or margarine, 2 eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 3/4 of a cup of raisins. A quick note here, I also want my raisins nice and plump, so I actually soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes before putting them into the mix. Preheat oven to 375* and when mixed, bake for 8-10 minutes.

Chocolate Chip: into a bowl scoop 2 1/2 cups of the above master mix. Add 1/2 cup shortening and 1/4 cup butter, then one egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 3/4 of a cup of chocolate chip cookies. If dough seems a little stiff for you, add 1-2 TBS of milk. Preheat oven to 350* and when fully mixed, bake for 8-10 minutes.

Gingersnap: Scoop 2 1/2 cups of the master mix into a bowl. Add in 1/2 cup butter (dont do shortening!), 2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, and cloves. Next add in 1/2 cup of molasses, 1 egg and 1 tsp of lemon juice. Oven at 350*, and bake for 8-10 minutes. These are our absolute favorite around here and everyone asks for the recipe when they come over.

   I have 47 other recipes that can go with this, and so if you have a favorite cookie you are interested in, just ask and I will post it in another blog post.

   My second Master Mix is for Muffins. I am starting you all out easy with very enjoyable things that everyone likes. I find that muffins are a quick breakfast or snack during the days where I am very busy. I keep both this mix on hand, and also frozen muffins in the freezer so that on the REALLY busy morning while I am running around making sure everyone is dressed and my twins' crazy hair actually looks like someone combed it..well, the oven is doing my work for me. Just trying to show you how you can take these mixes from two steps to one simply by adding your freezer into the process. But you'll get there! :)

                                                           Master Muffin Mix

6 cups WW flour (Whole Wheat)

6 cups All purpose Flour

2 cups Sugar

4 TBS Baking Powder

3 tsp Salt

~~~this mix is larger than the cookie mix, so you will most likely need a larger container than just the old coffee can. I store mine in one of the larger plastic container mentioned above or a gallon glass jar on my shelf. Even if you cant write the recipe on that container, you can still tape a recipe card to it, right? :) Each option uses a basic 2 3/4 cups of this mix, and makes 12-18 muffins depending on your muffin pans. I have used every single one of these options in the freezer for quick muffins, and had great success.

Here are six options for this mix, and I have plenty more if you are interested: 

Option one: Applesauce muffins: 1/4 c oil, 1/4 c Applesauce (great for using up what is left in the jar at the bottom), 2 eggs, and 1 cup milk. Add in 1/2 tsp of Apple Pie Spice or Cinnamon. You can add as an alternative 1/2 chopped apple and decrease the milk to 1/2 cup.

Option two: Almond Poppyseed: add 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, and 1 cup yogurt (plain--sour cream works well here too). add 2 tsp almond extract, 2 Tbs poppy seeds, and when well mixed and placed into the cups, sprinkle sliced almonds on the tops of the muffins.

Option Three: Cheese/Onion: add 1/4 cup oil, 1 egg, and 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk. To this add 1/4 tsp of pepper, 1/4 cup chopped chives, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shreds, 1/4 cup of diced onion and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. (other options to add if you want to switch things out would be scrambled eggs or sprinkling bacon bits/ pieces on top of the muffins)

Option four: Berry Muffins: add 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 egg and 1 cup buttermilk or milk. Add I cup fresh or frozen berries to the dry mix before adding the wet ingredients above. This helps the berries stay suspended in the batter. Add in 2 tsp of lemon juice. (this can be added to the milk to sour it and make it buttermilk too) but if you like a stronger berry flavor just add this in to the batter.

Option five: Banana Nut: use any of the above wet beginning ingredients (in red): butter/ oil, egg(s) and (butter)milk. Stay with the ratios written together above. To that add: 1 large mashed banana and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, as well as 1 tsp cinnamon.

Option Six: Chocolate Chocolate Chip:(same as five, use the ratios of wet ingredients to your master mix then add:) 3 Tbs Baking Cocoa, 1/3 cup additional sugar, and 1/3 cup mini or regular chocolate chips.

*****if your batter seems really stiff, try adding a TBS of milk or water at a time until it is smoother and easier to stir. :)
****the muffins will bake in a 350* oven for around 12-15 minutes. Some ovens run hotter than others, so try checking at 10 minutes, and when you tap the top of the muffin it should spring back into place, not dent in. That is how you know they are done. Thanks Deanna for pointing this out!

Well folks, that's a lot of info, but a great beginning. I know how much our family enjoys cookies and muffins, and I love the fact I can get it from bowl to table in a very short time by having these mixes ready. I hope you will be able to take something away from this that you can use to cut your time in the kitchen, and save on the grocery budget.

Any questions please let me know and I will try to answer what I can! :)