It's FALL!! Homemade Bagels, Pumpkin Scones, and Quinoa Biscottis!

I LOVE fall!  It is my favorite time of the year!  It means baking, apple cider, sweaters, cuddling up inside and crisp air outside.  My birthday is in September too so that could be part of the love I have for fall... After a summer of avoiding the oven I am ready for the baking to begin.  What is at the top of my list to bake you ask?

WHOLE WHEAT BAGELS!!

I found a great recipe and tutorial for homemade bagels here at The Happy Housewife.  What a great name for a blog.  I love it.  I have never made bagels but always wanted to so this is day.  I plan on making these later today with my kiddos for a homeschool lesson on baking which also doubles as a great math lesson in fractions especially if we double the recipe.

Next on the list? 

Pumpkin scones 

because I love anything pumpkin in fall and who doesn't love scones.

There is a great recipe here at New to Veggie World.  There is an included frosting recipe or glaze, but I prefer my scones with out all the additional sugar.  That may be just me but I am not a big frosting fan.  I actually started to make these the other day but after I got my flour all measured out I realized I had no eggs.  BUMMER!  So as of yet no pumpkin scones for me.  I see them in my very near future!

Now for another treat I am dying to make..

Quinoa Flour Biscottis.

Find the recipe here at the Enlightened Cooking one of my new favorite food blogs.

We all have heard how healthy quinoa is but making it the same way every day can get old so I thought this looked like a fun way to add quinoa to my diet, avoid white flour and get to finally make homemade biscottis! YUMMY!! All this baking talk is making me hungry and making me realize I need to do a workout post soon as all this baking could be detrimental to that healthy body we are all working toward!

Since Pumpkin is a favorite of mine I am sure a recipe post is in order for all things pumpkin.  Like pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie fruit dip... Oh I could go on forever, but I will save that for another post so you can get baking!  What are your favorite fall recipes?

Wheat & Sugar Free Lemon Cranberry Chia Seed Scones...SO GOOD!!!

I have been eating wheat, sugar, and dairy free (except plain yogurt) for almost a month now.  I had my 5th baby in January and am really trying hard to get the last pounds off that seem particularly fond of sticking around.  I must say that giving up these foods (even fruit other than grapefruit) has helped.  I have also been hitting the gym 4-5 days a week and loving it.  In the meantime I would love to tell you that I just don't even care about food. but a foodie ALWAYS loves good food healthy or otherwise.

So while eating wheat and completely sugar free (a temporary thing for me till the baby weight drops off)  I still need a baking fix!  I was feeling like a lemon poppy seed muffin but the traditional recipes are laden with sugar, wheat and dairy.  So I settled on the idea of a spelt lemon cranberry chia seed scone with no sugar and made with stevia, coconut oil and  nutrient packed chia seeds.  I merged and tweaked a spelt scone recipe and a healthy lemon poppy seed muffin recipe.  It was delicious the first time around but I knew I could do better. So after church today I whipped up the recipe once more with a few tweaks.  I love it!

 This is what I came up with....

Spelt Lemon Cranberry Chia Seed Scones

(Wheat and Sugar Free)

4 Cups spelt flour

2 Tbsp Chia seeds

2-3 Tbsp of stevia mixed with fiber I use "Stevia plus"

(Use this link to get a $10 off coupon for "stevia plus" from Vitacost) 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil warmed

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice ( a little more for a stronger flavor)

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup frozen cranberries

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix all wet ingredients including the warmed coconut oil so it is in liquid form, and beat in the two eggs.  Now mix the two together.  Then fold in the cranberries.  If they are large chop them up in to smaller parts.   I use organic ones from "Azure Standard" and they are smaller than conventional ones so I don't bother to chop them.  

Pat the dough into two balls then pat them down into two circles as shown above.

Now slice the raw dough into 8 slices as you would a pie.

Then separate out the scones to bake so that they do not touch.

Bake at 350 for 18-23 minutes till slightly golden brown.

Now just try to resist them... no wait don't worry about it... they are good for you!

They were a  hit with my sugar loving, wheat eating friends as well.  YUMMY!

Have a great wheat and sugar free recipe?  Share it with us in the comments below!

What To Do With 6 Gallons of Ready To Expire Milk

I know this is a crazy dilemma but some of you money saving mamas out there must have run into something similar.  Here is how it happened to me...
I answer the phone and a friend says she has some extra milk from the soup kitchen and would I like some.  I say "sure!".  I get off the phone assuming I have an extra gallon of milk.  In actuality she shows up with her husband behind her carrying a CASE, yes a case of milk.  Six gallons of milk packed into a milk crate soon made their way to my table.  I was grateful for the thought so I smiled and thanked them as they walked out the door.  After they had I left I stared at my table for a while... I use almond milk, and at my house we don't drink milk we just use it in cereal for the hubby and sometimes the kids.  I love free food though as our grocery budget is a tight one with 6 people. What was I going to do with 6 gallons of milk that by the expiration date were supposed to be drunk in the next few days!!

A friend just stopped by as I was writing this post.  Perfect I sent her home with 2 gallons!  That just leaves 4!  Now if you have a large enough freezer you could just freeze them all.  Some people complain that fat free milk separates a little after being frozen.  You can shake the milk as it is freezing every 30 - 60 minutes to try to stop that from happening.  I never have a problem with 2% or higher fat milks separating.

As far as the freezer goes though it doesn't work for me at the moment because I have been processing apples from a friends tree and have filled it with several bags of apple pie filling.  So I could only cram in 2 gallons after much rearranging.  With two in the freezer that leaves 2 to use up.  I am thinking a creamy soup like chowder for the majority of one gallon.  Since we are a family of 6 we always make a double batch of soup.  The other gallon is in my crock pot making Homemade thick and creamy yogurt.

Ok it is 1% milk so it will not be as thick as the yogurt I usually make, however it will be yummy drinkable yogurt for the kids, and handy for making Ranch Dressing from Scratch (recipe here), used as buttermilk in pancakes

( I LOVE the healthy delicious Oatmeal Pancakes we make) and other baked goods.  You can make a huge batch of pancakes if you have time to cook them all up and then freeze them for an easy breakfast.

I also will use some in place of half of the fat in homemade biscuits or scones .

 I also use yogurt as a great addition to my smoothies (my recipe here) (my recipe here) to add some tanginess and a protein boost.  Anytime you have ready to expire milk on hand it is a great idea to make yogurt because the fermentation process extends the life by at least 2 weeks or so.

Need a  few other ideas to use ready to expire milk?  How about making rice pudding, cooked pudding, baked oatmeal to eat and one to freeze, quiche, cream of whatever soup from scratch to use in recipes ( you can freeze it), or bread pudding like my delicious pumpkin bread pudding recipe!  Making flan would be a good use as well of any extra milk.  How do you use extra milk when you find it on super sale at the store or have some that needs used up soon?

DIY Pumpkin Spice Lattes & Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate!

It is that time of year...I love fall and one of my favorite things about it is..PUMPKIN madness.  Everything comes in pumpkin flavor!  Pumpkin scones, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup...

Here are a few pumpkin flavored hot drinks to take the chill off those chilly mornings!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Photo courtesy of  flikr

makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of  Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)

2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)

Directions:

In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy or just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.  Even better?  

Use your french press to froth all of it!

You just pour the milk mixture into the french press and pump it up and down vigorously until it is just as frothy as you would like.

Now pour into a large mug and add the espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

This great recipe from http://www.thekitchn.com/   

If coffee is not your thing try this delicious pumpkin pie white hot chocolate recipe from Closet Cooking.

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate 

from Closet Cooking

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 ounces white chocolate (roughly chopped)

pinch salt

  

Directions:

Just heat everything besides the hot chocolate then mix in the chocolate once it has reached a steady simmer and take it off the heat while you add the chocolate and stir it until it melts.  

Want it frothy like a steamer?  You just pour the milk mixture into the french press and pump it up and down vigorously until it is just as frothy as you would like.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

YUMMY!! I can't wait to try these!  Hope these drinks take the chill off and help you enjoy fall!