Everyone loves homemade cookies. There’s only one problem with making them. The whole batch seems to disappear in one day. To keep them from disappearing so quickly I usually make a batch, roll it into a log shape and then freeze it. Whenever I want to make a quick treat all I have to do is slice off some of the dough and bake it. Using this method not only keeps me from buying processed store bought cookies but it also leaves some for another day.

While I would never consider any of the cookie recipes I use to be low carb at least they aren’t filled with ingredients no one can pronounce. Controlling the ingredients means I can pass on the trans fats, change sweeteners, use natural vanilla and replace the flour with whole wheat. Even though I’ve upgraded some of the ingredients to things that are a bit healthier cookies are still a once in a while treat.

Molasses Hermits

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Splenda for baking OR 1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Optional: 1/2 cup of raisins and/or 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans

* Preheat your oven to 350 F

* Grease your baking sheet with butter or coconut oil

* If using raisins or nuts use 2 tablespoons of flour to dust them so they do not stick together. You can use just raisins or a combination of raisins and nuts for this recipe

* In a large bowl cream together the butter and both types of sugar. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract and molasses. Mix until well blended.

* In another bowl blend together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir until well blended.

* Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until combined. Add in the raisins or raisin/nut mixture.

You can bake these cookies several ways.

*Molasses Hermit Squares: Grease the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch pan the dough can be spread over the bottom. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.

*Molasses Hermit Drop Cookies: drop a tablespoonful of dough onto the baking sheet. Gently press down with the back of the spoon to flatten a bit. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

* Molasses Hermit Sliced Cookies: spread two pieces of plastic wrap on your table or counter. Divide the dough equally between the two pieces of plastic wrap. Fold one side of the plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Gently roll the dough to form it into the shape of a log. Wrap completely with the plastic wrap and place the logs into a freezer bag. Don’t forget to write the name of the cookies on the bag as well as the baking information. I usually mark the bag “Hermits bake 350F 12-15 min”

To make the cookies remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap. Using a knife cut 1/2 inch wide slices off and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Your cut dough will look something like this:

Slice off and cook only as many cookies as you need. No need to thaw the dough before baking. Since only two of use like cookies with raisins in it I only bake a few each time.

Um….ignore the half a cookie in the back ground. The other half was used for quality control purposes. Ya, that’s it….quality control Wouldn’t want to make someone sick with under baked cookies.

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe that can be frozen and baked later? Why not share a link in the comment section. I can’t possibly be the only one who makes a bunch of cookies now to bake later.

This post is being included in Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Two For Tuesdays Blog Hop over at Health Food Lover

Now that you’ve made some basic crockpot chicken don’t toss out the bones or the infamous “bag of parts”. Save them to make your own homemade chicken broth. Not only is it delicious tasting but, because you control the ingredients, it’s not only low in sodium but it contains nutrient rich chicken fat. Yes the fat is good for you! If that’s not enough reasons to make your own broth how about this one…..it’s extremely cheap!

If you’ve already made your crockpot chicken allow whatever meat is left on the bones to cool a bit. You should be able to handle the chicken wihout it being too hot. No one wants to burn their hands when removing chicken meat. While you can cut the remaining meat from the bones the easiest way is to just use your hands.

Remove all the remaining meat from the bones. If you’ve never done it before make sure to feel around. You will be amazed at the tender meat that you will find in unusual places. If I plan on using the meat within a day or two then put it into a plastic container. If I plan on freezing the meat to use later on then I put it directly into a freezer bag.

As you remove the meat put any bones and fat back into the crockpot. This is what you end up with:

Not to pretty looking is it? Now toss in the “bag ‘o parts” that you saved when making the chicken. I know it’s still not a prett sight but ignore that right now. The taste will be worth it in the end. Here’s some additional ingredients to add to the crock:

Diced onion (or use previously diced and frozen onion)

1 to 2 teaspoons dried garlic

2 bay leaves

Vegetable scraps: carrot peels, celery leaves, etc.

If you don’t have any frozen veggies scraps on hand then add 2 stalks of celery cut into 3 or 4 pieces along with a carrot cut the same way.

I don’t any additional salt or pepper. This way I can add the broth to recipes and season it at that time.

Add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar

Now fill the crockpot almost nearly to the top with water. Turn the crockpot on low and leave for at least 12 hours. The broth can cook longer but no longer then 24 hours. Once it’s done turn off the crock and allow the broth to cool a bit.

Using a fine mesh sieve, ladle the broth off into plastic containers. Allow the broth to cool a bit further. The containers should not be hot to touch. Place a dish towel in your refrigerator to absorb any heat and set the containers on top. Allow them to cool for at least 12 hours. Once sufficiently cooled transfer the plastic containers to your freezer amd save for another day.

A few additional tips/info:

- don’t want to make broth now simply put the carcass into a freezer bag. You can make chicken broth from the frozen carcass at another time

- adding vinegar helps to pull additional nutrients and minerals from the bones making your homemade broth rich in calcium, phosphorus and magnesium

- unlike water store broths your homemade broth will most likely gel up a bit when cool. This is perfectly fine. I like to refer to it as “gel-ified”. The gel is NOT caused by fat but rather the natural gelatin found in the bones. The minute the broth is gently warmed it will turn back to a liquid. No need to worry about it gelling.

Crockpots…..ultimate cooking tool for the busy woman or man! I can’t think of another tool that allows you to throw some food into it, turn it on, walk away and ignore it for hours only to return to a delicious meal.

If you haven’t tried cooking a whole chicken in a crockpot now is the time to learn. The ingredient list is short and the cooking time is long enough to cook it while your at work. If you prep the chicken the night before then the only thing to do in the morning is put the crock in and turn it on. Easy enough right?

Ingredients needed:

1 whole chicken

favorite chicken seasoning blend

pepper

salt

See what I mean. Nice and easy. The first thing to do is to prep the chicken. Cut and remove the plastic packaging. Stick the chicken in your kitchen sink…..you can put it in a large bowl if you would like:

Stand your chicken up and remove the extra fat around the neck area. See the piece I’m holding? Use a sharp knife or even some kitchen sheers to cut it off.

For those who have worked with whole chicken or other types of poultry before will know enough to remove the bag inside of the chicken containing some of the misc chicken parts. If you’ve never cooked a whole chicken you might not realize it’s in there. If you didn’t know please don’t worry. Your not the only one who didn’t know it was in there. My husband once brought home a chicken to cook on the grill rotisserie. About half way through cooking I asked where he put the bag of “parts”. After starring at me like I was insane he said the chicken didn’t have anything like that in it. Since that’s highly unusual for a whole chicken I checked out the one he was cooking. Seems he had a hard time sticking the rotisserie rod through the chicken because the bag was still stuffed inside. 

After we dismantled the chicken and removed the bag he was horrified. Why in the world would they give you the stuff that’s in the bag? The parts they include are usually the heart, liver and neck. The reason it’s included is it’s used for making some of the best chicken broth around. Don’t want to make broth :(  If you have a dog or cat you can cook the heart and liver for them. They will love you to pieces for it. Anyway, here is the infamous “bag of parts”:

Take the bag out and set it aside for now. Give your chicken a good wash with running water. Don’t forget to wash the inside too. Stick your chicken into the crockpot.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add your favorite chicken seasoning blend. I have several seasoning mixes that were purchased from Penzey’s Spices. If you don’t have a chicken rub or spice blend try adding some garlic powder, onion powder and rosemary.

Turn the crockpot to low, add about 1/2 cup of water to the crock, cover it and cook for about 8 hours. No need to add any additional water or liquid to the crock.

Test the chicken to see if it is done by gently pulling on the leg. Usually the legs will easily pull away from the chicken. You can also stick a thermometer into the breast and see if it registers between 170 F and 180 F. Here’s the finished crockpot roasted chicken:

I usually remove a few pieces of chicken and serve them at meal time. The legs pull off easily. Use a knife to slice and remove the breast meat. After eating, if there is any meat left, I use my hands to remove the remainder of the now cooled chicken. Save it to make homemade chicken noodle soup, chicken salad or for another meal. As you remove the meat leave all the bones in the crockpot for making homemade chicken broth. It’s even easier to make then the chicken!

If you want to cook from scratch on a regular basis then you’ll need to have a well stocked pantry and refrigerator. The fewer trips you need to make to the grocery store means cooking will not turn into a big hassle. It also means you won’t be tempted to skip cooking completely and hit the local fast food joint after starring into an empty refrigerator.

Your personal list of items will be based on your family’s likes and dislikes as well as any special dietary needs. After shopping keep any meat you may purchase in the refrigerator is you expect to cook them within 2 or 3 days. Freeze any meat, poultry or fish if you won’t be using them within that time.

Here’s some items you may want to have on hand:

Basic oils and fats such as butter, coconut oil, olive oil, lard, canola and vegetable oil. Personally I pass on soybean, sunflower and corn oils. Also solid shortening, margarine or any oil/fat that says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil or those containing transfats.

Vinegar: balsamic is a must along with another type such as white, cider, wine or rice vinegar.

Condiments: dijon and yellow mustard, ketchup, mayonaise, relish, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce

Spices: salt and pepper of course along with curry powder, cumin, chili powder, dried onions and garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Those are just the basics for me. Since discovering Penzy’s I’ve gone a bit over board in the spice department. Once I had multiple kinds of cinnamon I realized that I had a little spice problem. I’m attempting to cut back and just use what I have on hand.

General pantry items: chicken and beef broth base (for those times when you don’t have homemade broth on hand). Peanut butter, jelly and/or jam, several sizes/shapes of pasta (ziti, elbow, spaghetti), rice, cornmeal, dried beans, lentils, red and white wine

Baking items: flour (all purpose and whole wheat), oats (quick or rolled and steel cut, my favorite!) granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate chips, nuts and vanilla extract

Canned items: canned beans, crushed and whole tomatoes, tuna, olives and your favorite canned veggies

Meat, Poultry and Seafood: ground beef, steak, boneless chicken, whole chicken, pork chops or a roast, Italian sausage (hot and sweet), linguica (Portuguese sausage), bacon, ham, tilapia or other white fish, salmon and shrimp

Freezer items: your favorite frozen veggies which, for us, includes kale, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli and corn. Bread, frozen fruits and berries.

Refrigerator items: fresh veggies especially salad veggies, potatoes, onions, milk, eggs, butter, yogurt, pickles and a variety of cheese. I would suggest keeping some basics such as cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan. I’d tell you what I currently have on hand but my cheese problem is a bit bigger than my spice problem. At last count we had 16 types of cheese and most of them live happily in my freezer until needed.

Freezer bags: these need a category all their own. Without great freezer bags I would not be able to store many of the items that I do in order to make meal time quick and easy. My personal favorite is Glad.

These are just some of the basics I keep on hand. How about you? What are some of the items you need to keep on hand?

It’s time for the food pyramid to be updated in 2010. Here is the link to the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Right now they are in the process of reviewing and approving changes to the current pyramid which is shown above. Some of the changes suggested include eating more vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits and seafood. They are also recommending increasing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet – not a wise thing to do for many pre-diabetics as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Carbs need to be limited in order to help control blood glucose levels.

Personally some of the other recommendations will just continue to confuse the average person. Limiting “added” sugar sounds like a good idea right? It doesn’t really explain that there are lots of foods that contain “naturally occurring” sugar such as dried fruits that should be limited. Do you include natural sweeteners on that list such as honey or will people just think they are talking about white granulated sugar only? Hmmm…..there’s something to think about.
They are also recommending lowering the amount of salt, cholesterol and certain types of fat. How exactly will people work those recommendations into their current diet of highly processed and fast type foods? If the previous recommendations didn’t work before to help reduce obesity how will the even lower amounts work now?
Since all the past pyramids didn’t do much to help things why not do the one thing that really stands a chance at working – TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO COOK FOR THEMSELVES! 
We live in a time where food has gone mainstream with whole TV networks devoted to cooking yet fewer people actually seem to be cooking. Sure there is a segment of the population who watches Food Network and cooks but, from what I’ve seen, the majority think that cooking from scratch takes too long or requires difficult recipes. This is far from the truth.
The 2010 food pyramid isn’t officially out just yet. When I graduate from school it will still be in effect. I will be expected to use it as one of the many tools available for registered dietitians to use when counselling their patients. I’m very doubtful that it will be useful especially if people lack basic cooking skills. Pictures of pyramids and vague nutritional information won’t help. Real food (not processed/packaged junk) and cooking skills are the key.
How helpful do you think the new changes to the food pyramid be when it comes to helping people eat better? If you think it won’t effect things then what possible might help?