Best Poppy Seed Dressing, Ever

Poppy Seed Dressing
adapted from Our Best Bites

1/3 c white (or white wine) vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper (about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 c agave nectar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1/3 cup oil (vegetable if you must, but avocado oil would be healthier)
1 tsp poppy seeds

*I use my immersion blender for this recipe, but a regular blender would work also.

Stir together vinegar, salt, pepper, agave nectar, and mustard. Start blender. With blender running, add green onion, then stream in oil. Turn off blender, and transfer dressing to a jar or carafe. Stir in poppy seeds.

*Delicious on all salads, but especially with the following combination:
spinach
sliced strawberries
chopped green onion
peeled and chopped cucumber
toasted, sliced almonds

Secret to Baking Powder biscuits...

and the secret is... BAKING POWDER! Ok, so your saying to yourself that is not quite a secret. Well, I beg to differ.

Commercial, double acting baking powder loses its effectiveness with age. And how fast do you really use a can of baking powder? So mine is always old and less effective. So to save your pocketbook and make your biscuits extra light and fluffy, mix your own baking powder before you use it!

DIY Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. cornstarch
= 1 tsp. baking powder

You can also make it in larger batches (although still small enough you will use it quickly).
**Hint: cornstarch soaks up moisture so the mixture will store well. You can leave it out if you are mixing it up to use immediately.**

I used it in my last batch and even with whole wheat flour they were light and fluffy!

Baking Powder Biscuits
2 C. flour (I like to use at least 1/2 whole wheat)
1 Tbp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C. shortening
3/4 C. milk

Mix dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers to "cut" the shortening into the dry mix. Add the milk and mix until wet. Knead the dougha few times and roll out on a floured surface until 1/2" thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter or something else to make them nice and round. Bake on 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until browning.

Baking Powder Drop Biscuits
Use the same steps as above but increase the milk to 1 C. and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Cook the same.

Next time I will give you something extra yummy to eat them with!

Chantrelle Mushroom Tacos

Ahh, Oregon mushroom season. I do love you so! Mushrooms are so versitile and nutritious, how can you go wrong?


-high in vitamins and fiber
-dried, ground mushrooms can add flavor to sauces and make good rubs
-they are so tasty!







Currently, chantrelle mushrooms are out in force. We have been eating them in everything. **We pick them wild ourselves but I never recommend that unless you are POSITIVE they are edible. Some will make you very sick or very dead.


Chantrelle mushrooms are very meaty like portabellos. So you can substitute other meaty mushrooms in this recipe.


Chantrelle Tacos

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 poblano chili, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 C diced Chantrelle mushrooms
1 package taco seasoning
Taco sized tortillas (corn or flour)
Favorite taco topping


Directions
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add poblano, onion, and mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes. Add taco seasoning to taste.


Add the mushroom mixtue to heated tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS:

• 4 baking potatoes
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup milk (or as needed)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 egg yolks (beaten)
  
• shredded cheese and bacon bits to top

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes for 1 hour or until soft, and allow to cool. Or, the super fast and easy way... cook them in the microwave in four minute intervals, flipping over after each one. Tonight, I halved the recipe, and it took 12 mins total to cook my potatoes for this first round.
2. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, gently scoop out the cooked portion and place in a mixing bowl. Try to keep the skins intact and set them aside. Add the butter, salt, pepper and sour cream to the potato mixture. Mash well, and add enough milk to make a fairly stiff mixture. Add the beaten egg yolks and mix well.
3. Place potato skins on a baking sheet and spoon potato mixture into the skins. You probably won't use all the skins. For instance, I cooked 2 potatoes, which gave me 4 skins, but after adding the mixture back into the skins I only used 3, cause I liked them to be pretty full.
4. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and bake for approx. 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and serve with bacon bits on top :)

Buttercream Frosting

Great for topping cakes, cupcakes, cookies...whatever your sweet tooth desires.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3-4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
Combine in a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, confectioners sugar, butter, milk and vanilla.
Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.
Makes enough to frost 9x13 inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Lactose Free Ranch Dressing

I find milk is a hard thing to give up. Whether you have a lactose-intolerance or are giving it up for other reasons, it is hard to stay away. So many foods and recipes call for dairy.

But cry no more over missing ranch dressing because here is the recipe- lactose-free!

Ingredients:
1 C. mayonaise (you can use a soy product if you want to go vegan)
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
7 1/2. tsp. soy milk
1/2 tsp. chives
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

-Mix the lemon juice and soy milk and set aside for 10 min. The easiest way to mix the lemon juice and soy milk is to put 1 1/2 tsp. of lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill to 1/2 C. with the soy milk.
-Whisk together your ingredients and refrigerate.

Now you can adjust thickness and spice to your own taste. My husband prefers it a little thicker and with more dill. So experiment away and enjoy your new lactose freedom!

*Hint: The hubby says it is easiest to slowly add the milk last so you can adjust how think the dressing is.

Honey & Milk Balls

Hmmm... Doesn't that look like a tasty tower? These little snack balls are made from 4 simple ingredients and please everyone from my toddler to my husband. My daughter got excited just seeing the picture.

Ingredients:
1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
1/2 C. honey (I find that local honey is the tastiest)
1 C. oats
1 C. non-fat powdered milk (I use powdered soy milk to make these lactose-free)

Throw it all in a bowl. These are the messy ingredients before mixing.


Mix well. Roll into bite-sized balls. Refrigerate for best results. These do NOT need cooked. Just eat and enjoy!

*Hint: This is hard to mix with a spoon so you might as well get down and dirty!
*Hint #2: This is a good toddler snack but it is not recommended to feed honey to children under 1 year old. Then of course you have to beware of peanut allergy.