Every have one of those…”Oh, I just have to stop what I’m doing and make this…now”…moments?!  That totally happened to me this weekend. I stopped what I was doing (rather, procrastinated on what I was supposed to be doing) and made these little goodies.  Best part is the recipe makes plenty…enough to eat and freeze!

Here’s what happened before I had that moment.  I had just grabbed Sandy Coughlin’s new book, Reluctant Entertainer, and I was hoping to find a recipe to try this month.  Wouldn’t you know that I flipped to her “Best Strawberry Bread” recipe…and wouldn’t you know that my mom left for us half full boxes of raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.

How ’bout that.

Mixed Berry Bread it is!!!

I made a few adaptations to Sandy’s recipe…because I wanted to use whole wheat flour, and I also wanted to try it with part-sucanat, part sugar.

Tasty. That is all.

And now for the rest of this week’s Batch Cooking Plan…

• Mixed Berry Bread (recipe below) – done!

• Chicken Enchilada Chili – Double up for lunch or to freeze

• Chorizo and Black Bean Soup – Double up for lunch or to freeze

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

And I leave you with the Mixed Berry Bread.

Mixed Berry Bread

Adapted from Best Strawberry Bread in The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sucanat (substitute 1 cup white sugar)
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 3 cups whole wheat flour (If use all-purpose flour, omit the milk)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups mixed berries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 large loaf pans, or 1 large loaf pan and 8 mini-loaf tin.
2. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add all the wet ingredients and stir for a minute or until well blended.
3. Add the dry ingredients and continue mixing batter until smooth.
4. Turn off and fold in the berries. Pour batter into the greased pans.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes (mini-loaves) or 55-60 minutes for large loaves.
6. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Because I was able to get another box of raspberries for $.98 on Monday, leftover from last week’s sale, I had to get these pancakes made and marked off the “Stock the Freezer” list!  As I was making them, I kept thinking to myself…chocolate for breakfast?  Really?

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for chocolate.  But somehow for breakfast, it didn’t seem quite right.

BUT, if I add in some healthy ingredients like ground flaxseed and ground almonds, THEN it will be OK.  Because they’ve been healthified. Right???

Justify.

Justify.

I made a quadruple batch of the recipe below.  And most of them made it into the freezer (using this method for freezing pancakes)…as a few were eaten as an afternoon snack.

And I don’t think these need any butter or syrup.  That would just be sugar overload!

The chocolate and raspberry combo is perfect and makes them just sweet enough!

July 4th Muffins….Red, White and Blue!

I used my Fruit and Veggie Muffin recipe as a base for these muffins.  Then I topped them with an almond struesel!

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries

Almond Struesel
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Directions
1. In stand mixer or mixing bowl, stir eggs, oil, applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, wheat flour and white flour. Mix until batter forms and is no longer lumpy. Add blueberries and raspberries.

2. Carefully fold in blueberries and raspberries with plastic spatula.

3. In small bowl, mix ground almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine.

4. Add batter to muffin cups and top each muffin cup with 1 tsp of almond struesel.

5. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Let cool on cooling rack. Serve warm with butter.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

The beginning of the summer is just not the best time to learn about a dairy allergy! 

Hello, ice cream???

I have made the boys some homemade popsicles using fresh juice, but I really wanted them to be able to enjoy some ice cream for the 4th of July, as well as for my oldest’s upcoming birthday!

A pint of coconut or rice milk ice cream at the store hovers around $5.  I simply can’t justify that!  For so little!  I can make double that for a fraction of that cost with my ice cream maker.  I thought that rice milk wouldn’t work as well because it is very thin.  So coconut milk it is!

I bought 2 14 oz. cans of coconut milk for $1.24 each and plan to use some of those $1/pint raspberries that I froze. A little extra for the sweetener, and this comes out to be much cheaper than a pint of coconut or rice milk ice cream from the store.  The real bonus is the kids are entertained for 20 minutes watching the “milk” turn to ice cream in the ice cream maker.  (Yes, they both watched the whole time!)

I plan to make this same recipe with strawberries, peaches, and perhaps chocolate brownie ice cream (for DS’ birthday!)…any other ideas for me???

Ingredients
2 14 oz. cans of unpressed coconut milk ($2.46)
2 cups of raspberries ($1)
1 tsp lemon juice ($.03)
1/2 tsp vanilla ($.03)
1/2 cup sugar ($.20) (Substitute agave syrup or honey if desired)

Directions
1. SHAKE the coconut milk cans.  Milk must be nice and mixed!
2. Blend frozen or fresh (and cold) raspberries, lemon juice, vanilla, and sugar with 2-3 Tbsp of the cold coconut milk.
3. Quickly add COLD raspberry puree with COLD coconut milk into the spinning ice cream maker.  (I put my churning arm into the freezer with the base so it’s all nice and cold.  I’ve found that makes the ice cream a bit creamier.)
4. Let “churn” for 20-30 minutes, or according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.
5. Once it forms an ice cream like consistency, transfer it quickly to a freezer safe container. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Cost $3.72 for 2 pints of coconut milk ice cream

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Last weekend I accidentally made this for breakfast…and I couldn’t not share the recipe. It was a total experiment…and I didn’t think it would work. There was just a few raspberries left in one of the freezer baggies (trying to be creative with my $1 raspberries!), so I thought I’d give this a whirl…

Ingredients
5 eggs ($.50)
1/2 cup milk or rice milk ($.10 or $.20)
2 tsp vanilla ($.20)
about 15 raspberries ($.40)
10 slices whole wheat bread ($.50)
Butter ($.20)
Powdered Sugar ($.25)
4 bananas ($.40)

Directions
1. In large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla. Add thawed raspberries and whisk into the eggs/milk mixture. (I smooshed them up with the back of a spoon in an attempt to “spread the flavor about.”
2. Dip each side of each slice of bread in egg/milk/raspberry mixture and place on electric griddle or into a skillet. Let cook about 2-3 minutes on each side. (Time will depend on the heat of your skillet.) Flip and cook on the other side. Cook all the bread slices.

3. Serve with Raspberry Vanilla French Toast with butter and powdered sugar and bananas.

Cost $2.55

Print this Recipe

Note: We did eat this for breakfast, but it would make a DELICIOUS “breakfast for dinner.”

I noticed that the mint plant that I hijacked got from my friend’s yard is really taking off and wondered…hmmm…what can I do with all this mint???  Tea, of course!  And perfect…I’ve got raspberries in the freezer.

Raspberry Mint Tea it is!

Ingredients
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
6-8 mint leaves
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 gallon tea

Directions

1. In saucepan, add fresh or frozen raspberries, mint leaves, sugar and water.

2. Cook over medium heat until sugar and raspberries reduce down to a “sauce.”  Mash raspberries with potato masher.  (You could blend/puree, but that seemed too messy!)  Strain sauce to keep too many seeds from getting in the tea and to remove the mint leaves.

Raspberry Mint Syrup…(Some of the seeds escaped into the pitcher!)

3. Brew 1 gallon of tea as directed on package. Add to the pitcher with the raspberry mint syrup. Stir through.

Come on over and enjoy a delicious glass of this Raspberry Mint Tea with me!  I’ll be home all day!  Just let me know you’re coming…

Ingredients
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 cups of water
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions
1. Add fruit, flaxseed, milk and water to blender. Blend!

Makes about 32 oz. of smoothie…enough for 4 cups!

**Note: I did not add any “sweeteners” to this smoothie. I thought it tasted great and both boys drank theirs right up. If you use not so sweet mangoes or raspberries, you might consider adding 1/2 cup of your favorite sweetener.

What’s your favorite thing to add into a smoothie??? I also like tossing in spinach and making “green juice,” as the boys call it!

Is stockpiling fruit and vegetables really necessary?  Is it worth the time and trouble?

Yes. And Yes.

Raspberries were on sale at my Kroger.  (Yes, it is mine!) For $.99/pint.  Those tiny little things are regularly $3 a pop.  I never buy them…somehow can’t justify spending $3 for 3 handfuls of DELICIOUS, SWEET, SUCCULENT raspberries.  (I had forgotten how tasty they are!) But, for just $.99…I’ll buy a pint.  Or 12. Yep, 12.

What on EARTH are you going to do with 12 pints of raspberries that will start to go bad in 2 or 3 days???

Eat them, bake with them, and freeze them. Of course.

First, we (the boys and I) ate 2 pints.  For a snack.  We like them that much.

Then, I froze 8 pints.  Cause I knew that we’d eat them if I didn’t get them into the freezer. Right away! I rinsed and let them drain for about 10 minutes.  Then placed them on a paper towel to remove excess water.  Then I neatly arranged them gave in to my Type-A tendancies and placed them on a baking sheet.

Popped them into the freezer for a few hours, then transfered frozen raspberries into freezer baggies.  I see Mango Raspberry smoothies in our future!  An antioxident power punch of a smoothie!

Mmmm…don’t you want to reach through the screen and munch on a few?

Finally, for breakfast Saturday morning, I made a Raspberry Coffee Cake, following this Taste of Home recipe but making a few delicious modifications along the way.  I almost made Raspberry Baked Oatmeal, but ended up trying this new recipe!

Here’s my recipe (with how to photos below)…

Share a link for a favorite raspberry recipe!  Smoothie recipe, pastry, whatever!  I want to put these little gems to good use!