easy coffee cake

After looking around for an easy, won't break the bank, coffee cake that I would be able to cook on the wood stove or on top of the wood cook top, I ended up just making my own recipe using bits and pieces of other recipes and then tweaking it to my liking. Although I was a bit weary of how it would taste, it came out quite lovely.

‎1 cup butter

1 ½ cups sugar

4 eggs

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 cups flour

1 quart peaches or other fruit

Cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter

Soften butter, mix with eggs n sugar. Then throw flour, sugar, salt and powder in and mix it up nice. Spread about half the mixture into a greased pan (9x13 or whatever). Drain peaches and chuck over the top of the mixture in pan, shake cinnamon around to your liking. Sprinkle the brown sugar around and spread the other half of the mixture on top. Bake at 350 until tooth pick comes out clean.

for the topping

Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, until it makes coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake

Since I cook over wood, I typically use a large cast iron skillet rather than a baking pan although a dutch oven would also work well. If I was actually baking in an oven I would make a crumble topping but, since I don't, I make a confectionery sugar drool for the top and shake a bit of cinnamon around. Nutmeg is good in place of or with cinnamon.

drool

½ cup confectionery or brown sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp water

squash donuts

Yes really! I was looking for a recipe the other day and somehow ran across a recipe for Malaysian sweet potato donuts made with a yeast dough instead of the traditional tater/flour dough. Manthing has been asking for donuts anyway so I decided to make a batch today but when I was getting ready to make them remembered I had lots more winter squash than I had sweet potatoes. So yes I made winter squash donuts this afternoon and I gotta say, they are the best textured and tasting homemade donut I have ever had and were very easy to make once I translated the measurements and tweaked the recipe to my liking.

donuts
2 1/2-3 cups flour
1 cup squash, pumpkin or sweet potato (cooked & mashed)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup water
2 tsp yeast
oil or lard for frying

Put all dry ingredients in bowl. Heat water and melt butter, mix with dry ingredients. Dough is a soft dough but you don't want it gooey either, add flour as needed and then knead for 3-4 minutes. Raise until double in size. Punch down and roll to 1/4 inch thick and cut donuts. Place donuts on parchment paper or floured surface and let rise 20 minutes. Fry in oil until brown and turn. Remove from oil , cool on paper towel and coat with cinnamon sugar.

peanut butter granola

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

melt first three ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat through, do not boil. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, salt, raisins, cinnamon and oats. Coconut, peanuts and other dried fruits can be added here. Stir until coated well, turn our into a 9 x 13 pan or bake sheet and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. You can also do this on a wood stove top or in a skillet.It should be brown and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool. Break up as needed and store in airtight container. Serve as a cereal,add to yogurt or just eat as a snack.

home made yogurt

While awaiting our blizzard yesterday,I decided to make some home made yogurt. Since milk was back up to near $3.50 a gallon this month at the store I decided to use what we had on hand which was frozen or powder milk. Since I wanted instant gratification, I went with the powdered milk. When milk gets expensive, powdered milk does become the more economical choice. I have never made yogurt from powdered milk before but have made yogurt before so I thought this would be a good experiment.

I used a store bought yogurt for my culture since it has been a while since I used any of my frozen cultures and I thought it would be a good time to replace them.

I am making ours on the wood stove rather than in a crock pot , dehydrator, lamp light or on the counter top.It requires no energy or fuel resources to speed the process up by making it on the wood stove but speeds the process of making it up a bit. Remember I was after instant gratification..

What are some of your ways to make yogurt

here is the recipe I used
3-3/4 cup warm tap water
1-2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk
4 tablespoon store-bought, plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures

In a large saucepan combine the tap water and dry milk powder. Stir it very well, and let it sit a few minutes. Then stir it again. All of the dry milk should be dissolved. Heat the milk over medium low heat until it reaches 180°. This kills off any competing bacteria so that the yogurt will respond better to the acidophilus cultures. Remove from the stove and allow to cool to 115°. If the milk is any hotter than this then it will kill off the yogurt cultures. Add the store-bought plain yogurt to the warm milk. Stir well. Allow it sit for a few minutes and stir a final time. This should dissolve the store-bought yogurt completely.

Carefully pour the mixture(keep a half cup out as your next starter, these can be froze and used ) into a very clean, quart-sized, wide-mouthed canning jar, or another clean, quart-sized container.cover with a cloth and incubate the yogurt in a warm spot for 6 to 8 hours, or until it is set almost as thick as store-bought yogurt. Chill and eat. Add fruits, make smoothies, parfaits, use as sour creme. If you drain drain the liquid , you have what is sometimes referred to as greek yogurt, yogurt cheese or yogurt cream cheese. The remaining liquid is whey and can be used in breads and other recipes.

The yogurt turned out very creamy, thick and non bitter.It made a very nice yogurt. Total cost of the quart of yogurt about 1 dollar. Had I not wanted the instant gratification, I could have thawed a gallon of goat milk out and used that and cost would have been nothing.

I made a nice caramel apple parfait topped with skillet granola for dessert

universal muffin mix

Since we are on the subject of food and using storage or "prep foods" here is another good batch of recipes. I feel there is nothing better than being able to make a whole slew of recipes from one base mix so when I find recipes such as this it is like finding treasure.

This is for those of us that are either lazy or enjoy making large batches of mixes and then storing away for future use. Keep in mind this is a huge batch of muffin mix but if you have some half gallon mason jars or a few leftover coffee containers this could make great use of them. Again we make a base mix and then add to it later on when we go to make them into what flavor we want at the time.

Base mix

18 cups flour
5 cups sugar (or equivalent substitute)
2 1/4 cups dry buttermilk or nonfat dry milk powder
6 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Combine ingredients and break up any lumps.
Store in a large airtight container labeled with the date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Shelf life: 6 to 8 months. Makes enough for about 5 batches of 24 muffins each.

To make 24 regular-sized muffins:.

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat:.

3 to 4 eggs.
3 teaspoons vanilla.
2 cups water.
UP TO 1 cup oil or butter.
Stir in 5-1/2 cups muffin mix and any additional ingredients (listed below) just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
Fill muffin tins full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.

So you want some flavor in those muffins do you?

Applesauce muffins: 1 cup applesauce omit oil.

Apple muffins: 3 cups raw grated apple 1 teaspoons gr. cloves 1 cup nuts or raisins, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture before baking.

Apricot muffins: 1 cup chopped dried apricots.

Banana muffins: 2 mashed bananas 1 cup walnuts (optional).

Blueberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen rinsed blueberries.

Bran-molasses muffins: Use only 3 cups of muffin mix. Stir in: 4 cups bran cereal 1/2 cup molasses 1 cup raisins.

Butterscotch muffins: 2 (12 oz.) bags butterscotch chips 1 cup chopped nuts.

Carrot muffins: 2 cups grated carrots 1 cup raisins 1-1/2 teaspoons allspice.

Cashew muffins: 2 cups unsalted coarsely chopped cashews.

Cherry muffins: 2 cups fresh or dried pitted cherries.

Chocolate chip-fudge muffins: 1-1/2 cups cocoa 1/2 cup sugar 3 cups mini chocolate chips.

Coconut muffins: 3 cups toasted flaked coconut (reserve some to sprinkle on the top).

Cranberry-orange muffins: 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries 1 cup nuts 1/2 cup orange juice 2 Tb. orange peel.

Currant muffins: 1-1/2 cups currants 1 cup chopped nuts.

Date nut muffins: 1 cup chopped dates 1 cup chopped nuts.

Eggnog muffins: 4 teaspoons rum extract 2 cups eggnog (omit water from recipe) before baking, top with mixture of: 2 Tb. sugar 1 teaspoons nutmeg 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Fig muffins: 2 cups dried chopped figs 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Fruit muffins: 2 cups dried diced fruit.

Garden fresh muffins: 1 cup grated carrots 1 cup grated zucchini 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves.

Gingerbread muffins: 2 Tb. ground ginger 1/2 cup molasses 2 cups raisins.

Granola muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add: 1-1/2 cups granola. Top with additional granola before baking.

Grape nuts muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add: 2-1/2 cups grape nuts and 1 teaspoons allspice.

Hazelnut muffins: 2 teaspoons ground cardamom 2 cups chopped hazelnuts.

Incredible Cream Cheese muffins: combine: 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs. Drop this mix by Tb. onto top of muffins before baking.

Jam muffins: 1-1/2 cups jam or preserves (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry) 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).

Kisses and hugs muffins: 1-1/2 cups cocoa 1/2 cup sugar after filling muffin tins 3/4 full, drop one Hershey’s kiss into the center of each muffin, pushing down slightly until kiss is covered. Ice cooled muffins with confectioners sugar and water glaze.

Lemon muffins: omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice use 4 eggs, 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Lemon-poppy seed: 2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant lemon pudding mix 2 T poppy seeds, use 4 eggs, omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice.

Mandarin muffins: 2 (8-1.4 oz) cans crushed mandarin oranges (undrained) reduce water to 1 cup 1-1/2 cups shredded carrots.

Maple muffins: 6 Tb. maple syrup, reduce water to 1-1/2 cups

Marmalade muffins: 1-1/2 cups orange marmalade, 1 cup chopped nuts (opt), 1 cup orange juice (omit 1 cup of the water).

Mincemeat muffins: 1-1/2 cups mincemeat.

Nutty muffins: 3 cups peanut butter chips 1/2 cup chopped peanuts.

Oatmeal muffins: reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add 1 cup oats; use 4 eggs and up to 2 cups raisins or grated apples

Orange muffins: 2 cups sour cream,1 cup nuts or coconut (opt), 2 cans (11 oz. each) mandarin oranges, drain; use 4 eggs.

Peach muffins: 2 cups fresh or one large can (drained) chopped peaches.

Pear muffins: 2 cups fresh or one large can (drained) chopped pears.

Peanut-butter banana muffins: 1 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup chopped peanuts 3 mashed bananas.

Peanut-butter & jelly muffins: 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts; drop 1 Tb. jam into each muffin before baking.

Pecan muffins: 2 cups chopped toasted pecans, 1 teaspoons maple extract.

Pineapple muffins: 1 teaspoons ground cloves, 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained 1 jar (7 oz. or about 1 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped.

Pineapple carrot raisin muffins: 1 cup each: grated carrots, crushed pineapple, drained and raisins 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional).

Prune muffins: 1 to 2 cups chopped prunes 1/3 cup poppy seeds.

Pumpkin muffins: 2 cups or 1 can solid pack pumpkin 1 Tb. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 cup each chopped nuts and raisins.

Raspberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen whole, unsweetened raspberries.

Rum raisin muffins: 3 teaspoons rum extract or 3 tablespoons rum before baking, top with mix of: 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg.

Sesame seed muffins: 1 cup toasted sesame seeds before baking, top with mix of: 1/2 cup nuts 4 Tb. brown sugar 4 Tb. sesame seeds 2 Tb. flour 1/2 teaspoons each cinnamon/nutmeg.

Sour cream muffins: omit one cup of the water and add: 1 cup sour cream 2 cups nuts 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (opt.).

Strawberry muffins: 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped.

Sweet potato muffins: 1 Tb. allspice 4 Tb. dry orange peel 2 cans (10 oz each) sweet potatoes, mashed, well drained (about 2-1/2 cups).

Tropical treat muffins: 1 cup dried mango or papaya, chopped 1 cup chopped banana chips or 2 fresh mashed, 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped 1/2 cup coconut 1/2 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated.

Vanilla muffins: 2 packages vanilla chips.

Walnut muffins 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts.

Wheat germ muffins: 2-2/3 cup wheat germ use 4 eggs 1/2 cup extra water before baking, top muffins with mix of: 1/2 cup wheat germ 2 Tb. sugar.

Yogurt muffins: reduce water to 1-1/2 cups and add: 2 cartons (8 oz each) yogurt -- plain or flavored.

Zucchini muffins: 2 cups grated zucchini 2 Tb. cinnamon 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).

Plum muffins: 2 cups fresh or canned plums; chopped.