Honeyville Farms - Cookin' Cousins

One Day Sale-Retail Stores

2012-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 28th the Retail Stores are having a ONE DAY SALE!!!! You won't want to miss these incredible savings! Each Store has particular items on sale, so you will need to contact your local store for items on sale and pricing.

For the future, would you like to receive e-mails about what is on sale and pricing? If you don't already receive these e-mails, click here, and fill out the info sheet and then you will be added to the e-mail list. They send out e-mails when new sales start, so you will always be informed.

Enjoy shopping tomorrow!

Guest Post: Amazing CHEF TESS! Low Carbs

2012-01-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

Greetings my glorious Honeyville family! I'm excited to be here today guest blogging with my darling friends Tenille and Callie with Honeyville Farms! What a treat. Wow. I just said, "What a treat "just like my grandma. Now that's...cute. I'm going with cute because if I say it's geekish to say "What a treat"...undoubtedly some darling, sweet, and amazing person who says that particular phrase all the time will think they are using an out of date phrase, when in fact the rest of the natural world should start back in saying "What a treat!" Oh Goodie! Now we have a goal! Let's bring "What a treat" back! I'll start. (Officially, I'm now a trendsetter instead of a geek...right?) For the record, I'm here as a guest to share some outstanding ideas for those who are struggling with carbohydrates. Food and science have come a long way. Hold on a minute. I need to put on my geekish lab coat (and sky-blue hair net). Okay...now I have the proper ceremonial garb to talk techno-rocket-chef. Take a walk with me, if you dare, into my secret lair. Yes. I did rhyme right there. I'm winking at you. Do you see me? Okay. Now. Are we ready to be serious?

I'll start off sweet. There's been a lot of talk in the media and in blood-sugar news (Do you think the blood sugar news delivers on Sunday? With comics?). For the most part the thing that the publications can agree on is the fact that sugars that are broken down in your body from starches that you eat will have an impact on the "blood glucose" level in your body. For diabetics and those wanting to control their blood sugar level, the use of foods that have a minimal effect on how fast your blood sugar levels rise is a really happy idea. I have a sister that I call Auntie Em. I've loved her my whole ding-a-dang life and have seen her struggle with type 1 diabetes. It's a frustrating disease with fatal side effects if not taken care of properly. So, can I start out in all seriousness, by saying that though I'm silly sometimes, I know that this is a very important post. It can effect a lot of people to have some idea of how to eat to help control their blood sugar levels. If you're not diabetic, when someone says they are diabetic, it is not something to take lightly. When their blood sugar levels get too low or too high, the results could land them in the hospital. However, controlling your blood sugar is not only a concern for someone struggling with diabetes, but also for anyone wanting to lose weight. Period. It's a proven fact. If you eat food that keeps your blood sugar levels at a nice even rate, you will burn fat. Now do I have your attention? What a treat.

Revolutionary Ideas

A few years ago, Auntie Em had me read a book called "The Glucose Revolution". I had a paradym shift my thinking when it came to carbohydrates. I no longer used the the term "complex carb" like I had in school. The evidence was put clearly enough for me to know that my line of thinking when it came to carbs was one that needed to be re-visited. Since that book there has been a lot of research on how blood sugar is effected by carbohydrates. There is now a lot of evidence supporting a method of tracking the impact carbohydrates have on your blood sugar using a chart called the Glycemic Index. "The Glycemic Index is a numerical Index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body). Glycemic Index uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose serves as a reference point, and is given a Glycemic Index (GI) of 100." For more information on the science behind this index, go here.

Switch it Out

For the most part, I found that I could easily change how I looked at carbohydrates. By choosing ones that were low on the Glycemic index, I could still eat carbohydrates and lose weight. For Auntie Em, this meant that she too could eats some carbs more than others and still control her blood sugar levels. It made a huge impact on my family and my life. So, that's what I'm sharing today. Generally I try to keep my GI under 55 on the index. I still eat carbs, not in excess, but found some result really amazing for foods I thought were "complex". In general, grain that is kept whole, cracked or rolled will have a lower GI than those that are milled into flour. The only exception is Almond flour, it's high in protein and very low GI. Even so, whole grain flour, because of it's fiber, will be lower on the GI. I've also discovered the benefits of using a lot more fiber in my diet! Wow does fiber effect...a lot of things...um...including your colon health. How's that for being tactful right there? What a treat.

In all reality there are other factors, but the one that most excited me was seeing what the common foods were that I used, that could easily be changed or replaced with lower Glycemic index foods to help me. You will want to read about the Glycemic Load and how you don't have to entirely avoid all high "GI" foods. Here's a chart that I found helpful. Portion size does matter. Darn it...you still can't eat until you pop...but at least you can feel great knowing you're taking care of something very important to your health.

Glycemic Indexes and Glycemic Loads for Common Foods

GI and GL for Common Foods
Food	GI	Serving Size	Net Carbs	GL
Peanuts	14	4 oz (113g)	15	2
Bean sprouts	25	1 cup (104g)	4	1
Grapefruit	25	1/2 large (166g)	11	3
Pizza	30	2 slices (260g)	42	13
Lowfat yogurt	33	1 cup (245g)	47	16
Apples	38	1 medium (138g)	16	6
Spaghetti	42	1 cup (140g)	38	16
Carrots	47	1 large (72g)	5	2
Oranges	48	1 medium (131g)	12	6
Bananas	52	1 large (136g)	27	14
Potato chips	54	4 oz (114g)	55	30
Snickers Bar	55	1 bar (113g)	64	35
Brown rice	55	1 cup (195g)	42	23
Honey	55	1 tbsp (21g)	17	9
Oatmeal	58	1 cup (234g)	21	12
Ice cream	61	1 cup (72g)	16	10
Macaroni and cheese	64	1 serving (166g)	47	30
Raisins	64	1 small box (43g)	32	20
White rice	64	1 cup (186g)	52	33
Sugar (sucrose)	68	1 tbsp (12g)	12	8
White bread	70	1 slice (30g)	14	10
Watermelon	72	1 cup (154g)	11	8
Popcorn	72	2 cups (16g)	10	7
Baked potato	85	1 medium (173g)	33	28
Glucose	100	(50g)	50	50

The table below shows values of the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) for a few common foods. GI's of 55 or below are considered low, and 70 or above are considered high. GL's of 10 or below are considered low, and 20 or above are considered high.

Learning More
Additional information and values for Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load can be found at www.glycemicindex.com.

The good news, is that we can still have bread. We just need to use a lot of whole grain with fiber and protein. In this battle I employ Vital Wheat Gluten very often as a lean protein boost. For those who are really concerned about impact carbs...this is a bread that I think you'll really like that is also lower on the GI...and at 5 net carbs a slice, even the diabetics will call it their new best friend! What a treat.

Aimee Krey is also diabetic and remarkable. If you don't know her, she is one of the Instructors at the Honeyville retail store in Salt Lake City who also has a food blog and is a guest on Studio 5. Aimee inspired me with her low carb bread recipe. Aimee Krey's Low Carb Bread (for the bread machine). Aimee told me she had struggled getting the bread to work out of the bread machine. I didn't use one. Here's my adaptation of that recipe. Thank you Aimee! Yields one loaf of low carb bread (12 slices at 5 net carbs each). I'm with Aimee, I adore the texture the seeds give the bread.

Chef Tess' Low Carb Bread

4 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

3T olive oil

1 1/4 cup warm water (no hotter than 115 degrees)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup Honeyville Granular Erythritol

1 cup Honeyville Vital Wheat Gluten

1 cup Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour

1/4 cup Honeville Flax seed

1/4 cup Honeyville Corn Bran

2T Honeyville Sesame Seed

1/4 cup Honeyville Teff

In a gallon size bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, Erythritol, Vital Wheat gluten, almond flour, Flax seed, corn bran, Sesame Seed and teff.

In a medium bowl combine the yeast, sugar, olive oil and water. Set aside until yeast mixture activates and bubbles. Add to the dry ingredients and knead by hand about 3 minutes until a mass of seeds can be seen safely nestled in a mesh of vital wheat gluten. Form into a ball. Cover and allow to raise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down. Transfer to a counter top that has been lightly misted with water. Form into a loaf (tutorial here). Lightly coat the top of the loaf with a misting of oil. Cover loosely with plastic and allow to raise 45 minutes longer.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread 35-40 minutes (until over 165 degrees internal temperature).

There you go! What a treat! Happy baking. Happy new world of carbs!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Pasta with Sausage and Veggies Recipe from the Food Nanny

2012-01-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

We had the great opportunity to have Liz Edmunds, aka The Food Nanny, come to our Salt Lake Store to teach a class. She shared her methods of simplifying meal planning and the importance of having family dinner together. Liz also shared some yummy recipes. I had never even thought about combining pasta with red potatoes but this recipe she shared (and I went home and later made it with food storage items) opened my eyes and filled my belly!

Penne with Sausage and Veggies
Adapted from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner

Ingredients:
2 cups Penne Pasta (uncooked measurement)
4 medium Red Potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Sausage, rehydrated
2 tbsp Honeyville Dehydrated Onions, rehydrated
2 small Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Shirley J Chicken Bouillon
1 cup Water
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Butter
3 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Green Beans
1 tsp Dried Parley Flakes
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional-Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling

Directions:
Steam or boil potatoes until tender. In a separate pot, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. (Mine took about 9 minutes). During the last 30 seconds of cooking pasta add the Freeze Dried Green Beans to rehydrate. Drain.
In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat saute Garlic and Onions in 2 tsp Olive Oil. Saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add Sausage, Water, and Bouillon and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in remaining Olive Oil and Butter until melted.
To the skillet add Green Beans, Pasta and Potatoes. Season with Parsley, Salt and Pepper. Decrease heat to low and sprinkle cheese over top. Cover and continue cooking a few more minutes until cheese melts.

The Salt Lake Store Manager, Lisa, had the idea to drizzle a bit of Balsamic Vinegar over the top. I totally recommend doing this I thought it took it over the top. My husband liked his without--to each their own! With veggies and meat and pasta all in one dish I didn't feel like I needed any side dishes. Honeyville's Freeze Dried Sausage isn't overly spicy so if you like food with more heat try adding a pinch of Red Pepper Flakes. Another variation is you can make it meatless and substitute in Honeyville Sausage Flavored TVP.

What dish do you like to make to bring your family together?

Happy Eating!

Product Spotlight: Freeze Dried Yogurt Bites

2012-01-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

We've got a new product in our retail stores! Introducing...

Freeze Dried Yogurt Bites!

Shown: Freeze Dried Strawberry Yogurt Bites

They come in 2 delicious flavors: Strawberry and Blueberry. The size of can is the size of a small can of cocoa (not a #10 can).

You can rehydrate them with milk or water but personally I just like to eat them straight from the can. They are soo creamy and immediately melt in your mouth! It is a snack that I like and so does my 1 year old-no need to pack something different for each person in the family. I love that I can have yogurt on the go without the need of refrigeration or have to remember to pack a spoon.

If kept in the original oxygen-free can they are shelf stable for 3 to 5 years. Once opened use within 3 months. (Trust me, once you try them you'll go through a can WAY before the 3 months!)

Look for this new product on your next shopping trip to the retail stores...and ask for a taste of these yummy yogurt bites!

Happy Friday!

Pancake Muffins Recipe

2012-01-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

A reader (thank you Joesph P.) send us an e-mail with a great idea using Honeyville Pancake mix. He said that one morning he needed a new idea and took our Pancake mix, added some eggs, and fruit preserves, raw cane sugar and made some yummy muffins! So I took this idea and tried it one morning and as Joesph said, they were fast, easy, and yummy! So here is the recipe that I tried:

4 cups Honeyville Pancake Mix

1/4 cup Honeyville Powdered Eggs + 1/2 cup water (or 2 eggs)

2 cups Water

1/2 cup Sugar

Freeze Dried Fruit of your choice (I used Strawberries becuase my kiddos LOVE them!)

Powdered Sugar

Mix pancake mix, powdered eggs, water, and sugar together. Add Freeze Dried Fruit. Put batter into greased muffin tin and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bake at 400 degress for about 18 mins (my oven ALWAYS seems to cook faster, may need to adjust cooking time)

And there you have it! An easy muffin recipe. Now you can grab your muffin as you are running out the door in the morning and eat on the go!

If you ever have a good idea or recipe send them our way!!

Enjoy!

New Retail Store Sales

2012-01-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

Was eating healthy part of your New Year's resolution? Did you sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a whole grain New Year!" We did! Honeyville is offering some of our most popular and hearty whole grain blends on sale to benefit your health this year and in many years to come. Adding our whole grain cereal blends to your life can be one of the best choices you make for lowering your blood sugar levels, strengthening your body and enlivening your heart. It's a Whole Grain New Year! In fact, it's a whole grain new life! Keep moving forward on your goals. We're here to help.

Sale good through Saturday, January 28th

50 lb and 25 lb Cereal Mixes*

This includes:

Farina, 6 Grain Rolled Mix, 9 Grain Cracked Mix, 4 Grain Mix and Cracked Red Wheat

(*Call your local store to see what is available in 25lbs and 50lbs)

Honeyville Farms Regular Milk Substitute 32 lb BUCKET

Honeyville Farms Chocolate Milk Substitute 35 lb BUCKET

Honeyville Farms Powdered Butter 2.25 lb can

January Group Buy items:

Freeze Dried Beef Chunks*-$10 OFF each can

*must purchase at least 12 cans to receive the discount

Yellow Cornmeal*, 4 lb #10 can -over 19% off each can

*must purchase at least 6 cans to receive the discount

Have fun shopping!

Quinoa Vegetable Salad Recipe

2012-01-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

At this time of the year I crave something a little more healthy. I just got done shoving every little piece of junk food possible into my mouth for the holidays and I go to bed full and completely feeling overly stuffed with all the food I had consumed during the day. So usually January is my time to feel better about myself, stop consuming all the chocolate, cookies, candy, etc..... So if you are in anyway like me (come on! There are a few of you, right? I can't be the only one who feels like they need to cleanse their body of all the sugar intake?) here is a simple, fast, health-ish salad for you:

Quinoa Vegetable Salad

1 cup Honeyville Quinoa

2 cups Water

1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Onions

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Broccoli

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Peas

1 1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Sweet Potatoes

1 Tbls. Garlic Powder

1/2 cup Almonds

2 Tbls. Soy Sauce

optional: 1 cup Craisins (these are not pictured below, but I did try it and it adds a wonderful flavor to the salad!!!)

Directions:

Bring the Quinoa and water to a boil, reduce to low heat, cover, and let it simmer until the Quinoa is soft and tender (about 15 minutes). Let it cool

Rehydrate Onions, Broccoli, Peas, and Sweet Potatoes according to instructions. Drain.

Mix all ingredients together. Eat immediately or let it chill

Eat it up! And feel good that you choose a healthy meal in place of a piece of pie and ice cream!

Internet's Biggest Sale EVER!!!

2012-01-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Okay guys this is HUGE! I don't ever remember seeing an offer quite like this before. We just got notified that the E-Commerce Department launched a GINORMOUS sale this afternoon:

Save 20% on your entire order* from Thursday, January 12, 2012 through Tuesday, January 17, 2012.

Stock up and save on all of your favorites, and try some new things too! Simply enter coupon code 2012 during checkout. The coupon field is on the second page of the checkout process and don't forget to click on the "Apply" button to activate your savings!

They've added the Gourmet Soups (Broccoli Cheese and Creamy Potato Cheese) to the online offerings. My husband loves the Creamy Potato Cheese. The soups come in #10 cans and have a shelf life of 3 to 5 years in the sealed can.

Also new are the Freeze Dried Meat and Poultry Supply from Wise Foods. These are cool kits. Each one has a variety of 60 servings of Freeze Dried Meats that are conveniently packed into 4 serving Mylar pouches. A great buy on some premium protein. Click HERE to see all of the new additions.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/

*20% off discount does not apply to our already low flat-rate shipping fee of $4.49. Discount valid for INTERNET ORDERS ONLY placed from Thursday, January 12, 2012 through Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 6:00PM PST. For assistance call, toll-free, (888)810-3212.

Happy Shopping!

Mexican Haystacks Recipe

2012-01-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

Need a quick, easy, yummy recipe? This one fits that category perfectly! It is easy to make, you can make it for 1 person or you can feed a party! And our family LOVES IT! We call it Mexican Haystacks and here are the ingredients we chose to use, but of course, add your own favorite topping to yours. And I used the NEW Quick Cook Dehydrated Black Beans (oh, how I LOVE them!).

Mexican Haystacks

Amounts according to your needs:

Honeyville Rice

Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn

Honeyville Quick Cook Dehydrated Black Beans

Honeyville Freeze Dried Chicken

Honeyville Freeze Dried Green Onion

Honeyville Powdered Sour Cream

Honeyville Freeze Dried Cheese

Avocado

Tomatoes

Cilantro

Chips

Choice of Dressing

Prepare rice, beans, chicken, and sour cream according to package instructions. Re-hydrate corn, green onions, and cheese.

Scoop up desired amount of rice, and top with; corn, beans, chicken, green onions, cheese, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, chips and choice of dressing

I think one of my most favorite parts of this meal is the colorfulness of it!! Ha, ha....I seriously believe that when meals are colorful they taste better!

Enjoy every bite!

Taco Soup

2012-01-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I am SOOOO excited about the NEW Quick Cook Dehydrated Red and Black Beans! They are AWESOME! So in celebration, if you will, here is the first recipe that I tried with the Quick Cook Red Beans:

Taco Soup

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Ground Beef

1/2 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Onions (you could use Freeze Dried Onions too!)

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Peppers

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn

1 16oz. can Diced Tomatoes

3/4 cup Honeyville Quick Cook Dehydrated Red Beans

1/2 cup Honeyville Tomato Powder + 1 cup Water

1 3/4 cup Water (more or less as desired)

1/4 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 package Taco Seasoning

Re-hydrate beef and beans according to package instructions. Mix tomato powder and water together. Mix all ingredients together and heat.

Garnish with Honeyville Powdered Sour Cream, Honeyville Freeze Dried Cheese, chips, avocados, and cilantro

Is it not the time of the year for soup? I love having a chilly day and coming home to a nice warm bowl of soup. Awwwhhhh....it sounds so nice now (yes, I am hungry!).

Enjoy your soup!

Give-Away Closed

2012-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

The recent Give-Away has ended and we have 4 lucky winners! See the original post for the winners and each one has been e-mailed with further instructions. Thank you to EVERYONE for all your wonderful comments. We truly love reading each one of them, they are all so nice and uplifting.

Keep working on your food storage and we will have more give-aways in the future!

Retail Store Sales and News

2012-01-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's CASE LOT SALE time in the Retail Store on all of our Fruits & Vegetables in the #10 can!!!

This sale is a customer favorite! You get to mix and match your own case and get a discount! There are a lot to choose from. I would start listing my favorites and give you the reasons why, but seriously it would be almost the whole list! So just trust me when I say that if you like the fruit/vegetable on a normal basis, you will like it out of the can too! This sale is good through Saturday, January 14th.

Freeze Dried Fruits - Apples, Apricots, Banana slices, Blackberries, Blueberries, Grapes, Mangoes, Peaches, Pineapple, Raspberries & Strawberries

Dehydrated Fruit - Banana Chips

Freeze Dried Vegetables – Asparagus, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Corn, Green Beans, Mushrooms slices, Peas, & Zucchini

NEW Freeze Dried Vegetables – White Onions, Celery

Dehydrated Vegetables - Carrots, Celery, Green Onions, Onions, Potato Flakes, Potato Dices, Potato Slices and Potato Shreds.

Mix or Match any 6 #10 cans of Fruits or Vegetables to receive your discount! Call your local store to find out what your discount is and to make sure they have received their shipment of new items.

New this year.....Group Buy Items!!!

Each month there will be a couple of items listed that you may purchase at a greater discount. These will be listed for the whole month, but must be purchased in the amounts listed to receive the discount.

January items:

Freeze Dried Beef Chunks, 24 oz #10 can - $10 OFF each can – must purchase at least 12
cans to receive the discount

Yellow Cornmeal, 4 lb #10 can- over 19% off!- must purchase at least 6 cans to receive the
discount

Current Coupon:

Make sure you print it here before you head into the store.

Enjoy your Case Lot Sale!!!!

Give-Away!

2012-01-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

***This Give-Away is now CLOSED***

Congrats to the following winners:
Basic Combo Pack: Teresa
Basic Combo Pack: vmoak1
Quick Cook Black Beans: Wendy C
Fruit/Veg Combo: Barbara D
All winners have been notified by e-mail

Happy New Year!!! We thought it would fun to celebrate the New Year with you by having a Give-Away!! And I am sure you all have New Years Resolutions to build up that food storage (ha, ha....you do, right???) and we want to help you! So, with this give-away there will be FOUR winners.

Two lucky winners will get a Basic Combo Pack

A Basic Combo Pack comes with (all #10 cans); 5 lbs. Hard Red Wheat, 5 lbs. Hard White Wheat, 5 lbs. Pinto Beans, 2 lbs. Quick Oats, two cans of Long Grain White Rice (5 lbs. each)

This is the perfect starter kit to any food storage! It has your basic grains and it's all long term storage if stored correctly.

One lucky winner will get a case of the NEW Quick Cook Black Beans

That is six #10 cans of Quick Cook Black Beans!

This is a new product in the Retail Stores as of last week. These beans are fabulous!! Not only do they taste amazing, but you throw them in boiling water for about 20 minutes and you have beans! They are very easy to use. We will be posting recipes using these beans soon.

and the last lucky winner will get a Fruit & Vegetable Combo

This combo includes one of each in a #10 can; Potato Slices, Freeze Dried Peas, Dehydrated Carrots, Freeze Dried Apples, Freeze Dried Banana's, and Freeze Dried Strawberries

A nice little combo for you so you can get a taste of several of Honeyville's products. My kids love eating the apples and strawberries right out of the can. And the peas and carrots are perfect in any soup that you are making.

Here's how to enter and a few rules:

1. Email us at blog@honeyvillegrain.com

2. Leave a comment on THIS post. Be sure to leave your email so we can contact you when you win, otherwise we will have to re-draw. Comments will not be published so your email will not be displayed. If you are reading this post in your email inbox be sure to visit the blog (http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/) and leave a comment on the actual post!

3. Only one entry per person.

4. Winner will be selected at random.

5. The give away will end FRIDAY, JANUARY 6th at 5:00PM Pacific Time.

We will never sell or give away any e-mail address that we receive.

Good Luck!

2 Classes to Finish out the Year

2011-12-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

**Class Update! Fri. 12/30 Creative Containers has been cancelled due to Jill is out sick! We'll reschedule this fun class soon. Hope you feel better soon Jill!

Hey guys! I'm taking a quick break from "vacationing" to post a quick reminder that we've got 2 more classes at our Salt Lake store to finish out the year:

Thursday, December 29 11AM-Kids Cupcake Decorating with Wendy Paul
Wendy Paul, author of 101 Gourmet Cupcakes, will be teaching a fun cupcake decorating class for kids ages 6 to 12. Class is free but the size is limited so call now (801)972-2168 to reserve your spot!

Friday, December 30 11AM to 2PM-Creative Containers with Jill Evans

Jill will be here teaching fun ways of using empty cans and turning them into fun things like snowmen, penguins, and some new year items as well! Come anytime during 11-2 and create something new.

So regardless if it is the kids or you that need to get out of the house for a little bit come on over to our Salt Lake store and learn something new and have fun! Classes are free.

Be sure to check out our "Classes" tab to see what we've got planned for January.

Okay back to my vacation (and by vacation I mean eating a treat and reading while the kiddos are taking a much needed nap!)!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

It is here....Merry Christmas!!!!

Make sure you make one last stop at your Retail Store on Saturday the 24th for your last "Deal of the Day!"

Remember the Retail Stores have Holiday hours for the next two weekends:

December 24th: closing at NOON

December 25th & 26th: CLOSED
Saturday, Dec. 31st: closing at 3pm (Rancho: 2pm)
Jan. 1st & 2nd: CLOSED

We hope that you enjoy your holiday time. Relax, eat, sleep, bake, or whatever makes you happy! Callie and I will be enjoying our holiday time to the fullest. We will be taking some time off until after the New Year to play with family, eat (we love to eat...ha, ha!!), and sleep!

But watch for us to return after the New Year as we will be starting off with a GIVE-AWAY!!!!

Have a great week and MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Chef Tess on Fox 10

2011-12-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chef Tess was on AZ Fox 10! In case you missed it or don't live here we wanted to share it. Chef Tess you did a fabulous job, we LOVE watching you!

No Guilt Christmas Cookie Recipes: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Chef Tess has the recipes and pictures for you on her blog:

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2011/12/whole-grain-for-holidays-cookies-and.html

New Retail Store Sales

2011-12-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away! Anyone else think this month has flown past their eyes?

Another sale period has started with the Retail Stores. This sale goes through Saturday, December 31st (Oh, by the way, remember the stores do have Holiday hours for the next two weekends. Check out the right side of the blog for those times). The following is a list of items that are on sale for all the stores. There are more items for each store, so if you didn't receive the sale e-mail , then call your local store for the complete list of sale items.

Small Bag/Box of Pancake, Scone and Brownie Mix

Farina-5lbs. can

6 Grain- 2.8lbs can

9 Grain-3.75lbs can

Honeyville Freeze Dried Scrambled Eggs

Honeyville Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese

Fire Box Stoves

Bosch Universal Mixer

Remember, call your local Retail Store for the complete list of Sale Items and make sure you shop your "Daily Deals" for additional savings!

Enjoy your week getting ready for the Holidays!

Quick Holiday Gift

2011-12-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

It's just about a week before Christmas. Need a quick, easy, inexpensive gift for a neighbor, co-worker, teacher, friends, a gift exchange? I have a great gift idea that is honestly pretty quick and easy.

Homemade Heating/Cooling Pad

Super Easy Instructions:

1. Get some material-either leftover that you have laying around your home. Or I went to my local store and picked up the above fabric. $1 a piece!

2. Cut into desired shape and size. It's hard to tell from the picture, but all three are different. I didn't follow a pattern, use a ruler, nothing! Just cut out a square, small rectangle and longer rectangle.

3. Place the design sides of the fabric together. Sew with machine or by hand the open edges, leaving about 1/2 inch-1 inch open.

4. Turn fabric right side out with your open space.

5. Fill with whatever food storage grains you have at your home: wheat, oats, whole corn, rice, barley, beans, flax seed. You don't want to fill it the whole way, leave some space so that it will be able to form when the heating pad is in use (I used rice in one and wheat in the other two)

6. Sew up the opening that was used to fill the bag.

7. Then put a "Merry Christmas" tag on it and it's ready to be gifted!

*To use: put in microwave for 1-3 minutes. Make sure you shake the bag before applying to skin to make sure it isn't too hot.

*Freezer: Stick in freezer. Use when needed.

Some "extras" you can do:

You can get plain fabric for the actual heating pad part then your "cute" fabric you can make a removable cover so that it can be washed if needed.
You get add some aroma to it by putting in spices, herbs, or essential oils. A tip: put desired choice of aroma and your choice of filling in a zip lock bag or bowl and mix before putting in your heating pad.

Just an idea for you. Might help you rotate some food storage that is becoming old or not being used fast enough. And if I should say myself, the heating pads are AWESOME! Especially this time of the year when I can't seem to get warm.

Merry Christmas!

(Thank you to the Chandler Retail for this idea!)

4-Grain, Coconut, Chocolate-Chip Cookies Recipe

2011-12-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Since it's Holiday Time doesn't that also mean yummy goodies, treats, chocolate, no diet, appetizers, baking, no dieting, cookies, etc? Well let me throw this recipe in with your mix....4-Grain, Coconut, Chocolate-chip Cookies!!! They are sweet and moist and I personally like to think they are low fat because I used freshly ground flour AND the 4 -Grain Mix!!!
Recipe:
1 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Honeyville Powdered Shortening + 1/3 cup water

1/4 cup Honeyville Powdered Whole Egg+ 1/2 cup water

2 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Milk (you could use powdered milk here, I just wasn't thinking correctly)

2 cups of ground Honeyville Soft White Wheat (or 2 cups flour)

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

2 cups Honeyville 4-Grain Mix

1 cup Honeyville Coconut

Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat shortening and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, milk and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add 4 grain, coconut and mix. Add desired amount of chocolate-chips.

(yes, your dough will seem a little thin and runny, it's okay!)

***Refrigerate for 2-3 hours***

Bake for 10 mins on a greased cookie sheet

You wonder why it needs to be refrigerated for a couple of hours? Because of the ground Soft White Wheat, the 4-Grain Mix, and the Coconut it needed time to soak up all the extra moisture. Once the moisture is soaked up the cookies will look like "real" cookie dough, taste delicious, and come out nice and moist!

Remember the 25lb. bags of 4-Grain is on sale at the Retail Stores through Saturday, December 17th.

Enjoy your cookies....they are delicious!

More with Pineapple-Mango Salsa

2011-12-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

As promised we used the amazing, mouth-watering, Pineapple-Mango Salsa with a number of meals last week.

1. First and foremost: enjoyed some chips and salsa!

2. We had some Ham/Salsa over Rice:

Put the following in a Crock pot:

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Ham

1-2 cups water

Desired amount of Salsa (I think I ended up using about 2 cups)

Cook for 1 1/2-2 hours on high. Check on water level about half way through. Serve over rice.

Okay, everyone....YUMMY!!! It really was delicious! I like the Honeyville Freeze Dried Ham. But the Ham in this recipe was very tasty, it made me fall in LOVE with it!

3. Use some Honeyville Freeze Dried Cheese and whip up a quick Quesadilla....the perfect dip!

4. We made Nachos with it

5. We had scrumptious burritos (so much so, I forgot to take a picture! sorry!)-These were my favorite probably! But you know us, we can put anything in a tortilla and LOVE it!

6. We had some leftovers of the Ham/Salsa, so we whipped up some eggs and made Breakfast Burritos (see I told you we like putting anything in tortillas!)....hmmmm....mmmmm. You could use the Ova-Easy Eggs or the Honeyville Freeze Dried Scrambled Eggs.

See what I mean??? I wasn't joking when I said we used it for multiple meals ALL week long!!! Ha, ha!!!

Enjoy, enjoy!

Pineapple-Mango Salsa

2011-12-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

Going to a party this Holiday season? Need to take an appetizer? This is the recipe for you! It is the perfect mix between sweet and spicy! After I made it my hubby replied with, "Now, this is good, we need to make this again !" We have used it for about 4 straight days on everything and today when we ran out he was ready to make more! I will share the recipe and then next week will go into what else we have used it with and how many different delicious meals is has been added to.

Pineapple-Mango Salsa:

1 1/2 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Pineapple

1 1/2 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Mango

1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Peppers

1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn

2 cups Honeyville Black Beans (cooked)

1/2 cup Red Onion-chopped

1 Tbsp. Honeyville Dehydrated Green Onions

6 Tbsp. Cilantro

3 Tomato's-diced

2 Limes

3 tsp. Jalapeno Peppers

1 Tbsp. Honeyville Granulated Honey

Salt and Granulated Garlic to taste

Prepare beans according to package instructions. Re-hydrate pineapple, mango, peppers, corn, green onions according to package instructions. Chop red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers. Mix all the ingredients together, sprinkle with lime juice, granulated honey, garlic, and salt. Mix well. Eat right away or chill until later.

Go grab a bag of chips and enjoy!!

New Retail Store Sales and Coupon

2011-12-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Time to switch those Sale Items up in the Retail Stores! Through Saturday, Dec. 17th we have a list of items on sale that would be perfect for gift giving or personal use. Please call your local store for pricing and availability:

Honeyville Farms Yellow Popcorn 25 & 50 lbs

Honeyville Farms Yellow Popcorn 5 lb can

All Shirley J Products

Victorio Grain Mill

Honeyville Farms 4 Grain Cereal Mix 25 lbs

(I love to use the 4 grain to substitute in my recipes that call for Oatmeal...LOVE IT!!!)

Microwave Popcorn Popper
(This is one of my most FAVORITE items to give as a gift! It makes the best bowl of popcorn quickly and mess free! Make sure you grab one for yourself too!)

The BOSCH Universal Mixer
(Can't live without mine!!)

Only in SLC, Brigham City, and Rancho:

Honeyville Farms Assorted Muffin Mixes
(Check this post out: Muffin Loaves for a great gift idea!)

Honeyville Farms Assorted Hot Cocoas

Regular, Marshmallow Motherlode, Raspberry, Orange, Irish Crème, Mint, French Vanilla, Hazelnut & Mexican Style

Honeyville Farms Sugar Free Hot Cocoa

you could gift them like this:

(those are Mugs on top, from the Dollar Store!)

Only in Chandler, AZ:

Honeyville Farms Potato Flakes Bucket 10 lbs

Honeyville Farms Potato Shreds Bucket 10 lbs

Honeyville Farms Potato Slice Bucket 10 lbs

Honeyville Farms Potato Dices Bucket 15 lbs

All Baking Mixes, Bouillon, Slow Cooker spices, Pizza & Pasta seasoning, all Sauce mixes.

And make sure you print this coupon off before you go shopping.....it's a GOOD coupon!

**This coupon expires on Dec. 15th**

Hope you are enjoying your Holiday Shopping!

Introducing the Amazing Honeyville 4 Grain Cereal Mix Quartet

2011-12-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

Okay guys we are really excited about this new thing we'll be doing on the blog. It's EPIC (that's a hint), get excited, because...

Chef Tess will be guest posting for us from time to time!

For the lucky ones that were able to see and learn from her in Salt Lake during the Emergency Fair or if you've been to her classes in Chandler you know that she is AWESOME! So without further ado, take it away Chef Tess!!

I am so very excited to be able to be a guest blogger with the Cookin' Cousins! I have adored Honeyville for many years. When they approached me about trying some of the 4 grain cereal mix that would be coming out to the Honeyville retail stores in bulk bags and asked if I could come up with some delightful recipes I started to squeal. Yeah, that's not normal. Just so you know. I may be a little too enthusiastic about grain. I've been accused of being somewhat of a grain geek. I prefer the term "master grain geek-o-glory" if you want to call me a geek to my face, at least make sure you add the "o-glory" phrase. At any rate. I bet you want to pick my giant ~~grain~~ er...um...brain. Let's talk. Here's what I've discovered in my chef-like play-fest in the kitchen about the 4 grain mix.

Oats, Barley, Rye and Wheat are an amazing quartet of harmonizing rich nutty flavors in this cereal blend. I could just stop right there and ask my in-home barbershop quartet dressed as giant pieces of grain to start singing "Down By The Old Mill Stream". However, I don't think you'd really hear them. Plus, if anyone rich and nutty is in my house singing I'm not typing...I'm squealing like a teenage girl and chasing them with a pen asking for an autograph. Now there's a visual. I know. I shouldn't run with a pen. Back to the giant grain.

Honeyville 4 Grain Cereal Mix is a quick “rolled cereal” that can be used anywhere one would use quick oats but would like to add the nutrition of barley, rye and wheat as well. It has a mildly nutty flavor and lends itself nicely to sweet and savory baking. It's also a wonderful addition to long term food storage. You may however find yourself so addicted to it's nutty rich flavor that sings to your culinary soul, that you use it every day.
Here's how you can use it:

It's perfect for hot porridge and cold breakfast cereals like homemade granola.
Try it in apple and fruit crisp dishes.
Replace 1/5th of flour in your favorite bread with the uncooked 4 grain cereal mix for a nice chew and texture.
It's delightful in muffins and cookies.
4 Grain cereal mix is also exceptional in meatloaf, meatballs and as a new delicious taste and texture in soups and stews.

Now. Admittedly the soup and stew idea may seem a little "far out there". Am I right? Well...look. It's one of the most comforting and amazing soups I make. The secret is toasting the grain in a little oil in the first step. This makes the grain starches stick together and lend an almost meaty texture to the light broth. Plus, it's loaded with happy dancing vegetables that also will sing to your soul. Oh have mercy when the grains and vegetables get together and sing. Nobody start running with pens.

Chef Tess' 4 Grain soup

3 T butter or olive oil
1 onion, minced fine (about 3/4 cup)
1 carrot, minced
1 stock celery, minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 cup Honeyville 4 grain cereal mix
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp Chef Tess all purpose seasoning
1/2 tsp dry tarragon
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh spinach

Combine the butter, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and oats in a one gallon pot. Cook until grains are toasted and vegetables sweat, about 5 minutes. Add stock, seasoning, parsley and spinach. Simmer 3-4 minutes until grains are tender.
Serves four generous portions. The grains take on a nice nutty flavor and texture. I love it.

Now, a more conventional recipe.

Chef Tess Bakeresse' Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snap-Crisp Mix

This is an apple crisp that's loaded with whole grain nutrition, crunchy toasted nuts and a kiss of exotic spice with just a hint of lemon. It's buttery and divine on fruit...but especially gorgeous on Apples! The apples are drizzled with a Honeyville jam and baked to a golden bubbly perfection! I must confess. I've made it with the Honeyville caramel honey sauce and almost passed out from total peace and happiness. It was probably a sin. I'm pretty sure hiding in the closet with the caramel honey sauce was something I should never admit to doing...wait...I...am not admitting anything...ever.
It's Christmas time. Go crazy! Give the Apple-snap-crisp mix in a baggie tied with rafia or funky ribbon and nestle it next to a jar of freeze dried apples and it makes an amazingly thoughtful and personal gift! Do. I mean it. DO top that gorgeous sweet and nutty fruity confection with some caramel cashew ice cream...Ready? Go!

For the Crisp Mix combine well:

4 cups Honeyville 4 Grain cereal

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups Honeyville Powdered Butter

1T Chef Tess Bakeresse Wise Woman of The East Spice Blend

1 tsp nutmeg (ground)

2 tsp ginger (ground)
2 cups toasted sliced almonds or chopped pistachio

1T dry lemon zest (or 2T Honeyville Lemonade Powder)

1T salt

Combine all ingredients. Divide into 2 1/2 cup portions in wide mouth pint jars or zip-sealing sandwich baggies (yield 4 mixes).

To prepare ONE crisp you will need:

4 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried apples (hydrated with 4 cups hot water 10 minutes and drained well)

1/2 cup Honeville Jam (any flavor)

Directions:

Combine hydrated apples and jam and place in an 8 inch by 8 inch casserole.

Combine the Apple-ginger-snap crisp mix with 1/4 cup water. Mix until well crumbly. Spread over the top of the apples mixture.. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes until apples are tender.

Serve with ice cream if desired.

Gift Basket Idea:

In a basket or using an 8 inch by 8 inch pan as your gift box base:

1 crisp mix in a gift baggie tied with raffia

1 quart size mason jar with Freeze dried apples

1 jar Jam

Attach a gift tag with the following directions:

Combine Ginger-Apple-Snap Crisp mix with 1/3 cup water in a bowl. Pour 4 cups boiling water into the quart jar of apples. Allow to hydrate 10 minutes. Drain well. Pour apples into an 8in by 8 inch casserole and coat apples with ½ cup Honeyville jam. Top Apple Mixture with the crisp mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream if desired.

Now. Here's a killer variation. Prepare to be dazzled (insert mental picture Chef Tess making jazz hands and sportin' a giant cheeeesy grin). No, I'm not going to tap dance. Stop asking. I will however show you this amazing piece of divinity. I made this crisp recipe (above) but used 1 cup of the Honeyville freeze dried blackberries in place of one of the cups of apple. Then I drizzled it with the ~~Devil Sauce~~ Honeyville Chocolate Buzz sauce. Yeah...it's totally evil.

I probably shouldn't have shown you that picture huh? You know what else? I shouldn't type this small and unwittingly cause you to put your cute face so close to the computer screen so you can lick the picture. Right? Why are you reading this?!

Next I would like to bring to your attention the fact that you can use cereal as cereal. There's a no-brainer. Seriously though. I know a lot of folks who spend way too much money on hot cereal packets. My very own darling father couldn't figure out how his mother, my grandmother, could ever eat hot cereal for breakfast ever single day of her ever-lovin'-life. Yet she did. I say he couldn't understand. He does now. I, Chef Tess, have officially pushed my father into the Land of Happy Porridge (It's a real place I swear!). There are singing grains and dancing fruit...crazy chefs. I got my darling dad to start making these homemade gourmet instant cereal packets. Yes, and the 4 grain cereal mix has been the star! {More jazz hands.} Homemade packets aren't brain surgery. Grain surgery maybe. As a random side note, did you know that I teach grain surgery classes for Honeyville? You know I'm getting a T-shirt made that says,"What's a little grain surgery among friends?" It will hang in my closet next to my hot pink shirt that says, " Use your Giant Grain!" We need a grain fashion line. Do you think the grain quartet would sing for the commercials? I know they're singing in my breakfast bowl!

Honestly though. I have some hearty eaters in my family who want whole grain breakfast with the added benefits of fiber! This is a sure fire way to add some nutrition and also have a quick grab-n-go breakfast! I put each of my cereal mixes in snack size zip-sealing baggies. Two baggies will fit in a pint jar for longer term storage. One serving stored in a half pint jar is perfect for when I want to have breakfast in a convenient container ready to add boiling water and enjoy! It's like the "oatmeal on the go" canister...but it's a lot more cost effective, nutritious and outstandingly tasty!

One plain packet you need:

1/3 Honeyville 4 Grain cereal mix

1T Honeyville Oat bran or Flax seed

To prepare: Add 1/2 Cup boiling water and allow to sit for 3-4 minutes. Use more or less water depending on how thick or thin you like you cereal.

Flavor-Add-In Variations for each plain packet

Berries and Bavarian-lemon cream 4 Grain cereal packets:

add 3T freeze dried berries of your choice (I crush them up a bit before I measure them)

2T Honeyville Wild Berry Smoothie Mix

1 tsp Honeyville lemonade powder

To prepare the berries and cream cereal: add 2/3 cup boiling water and allow to sit for 3-4 min.

Spiced Peaches and Cream Cobbler 4 grain cereal Packets:

3T Honeyville freeze dried peaches,

2T Honeyville Peaches and Cream Smoothie Mix,

1/4 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend.

To Prepare the Spiced Peaches and Cream Cobbler Cereal: add 2/3 cups boiling water and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.

Maple-Cranberry Pecan 4 grain cereal Packet:

2T Honeyville dehydrated honey,

¼ tsp Mix-a-Meal powdered maple flavor,

3T chopped toasted pecans,

2T Honeyville dried cranberries

To Prepare: Add 1/2 cup boiling water and allow to sit 3-4 minutes.

Spiced vanilla-orange roll Oatmeal Packet:

¼ tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend,

2T Honeyville vanilla Pudding powder,

1T Honeyville granulated honey

1/2 tsp dry orange zest (or 1/4 Mix-a-Meal powdered orange flavor)

To Prepare: Add 1/2 Cup boiling water and allow to sit 3-4 minute.

Banana-nut Bread 4 grain cereal packet:

3T Honeyville dehydrated honey

1 tsp Mix-a-Meal butterscotch powder

3T Honeyville Freeze Dried Banana

1T toasted chopped walnuts (optional)

To Prepare: Add 2/3 cup boiling water to contents and let sit 3-4 minutes.

Tropical White Chocolate Macadamia Nut 4 Grain Cereal Packet:

2T Honeyville Tropical Monsoon Smoothie Mix

1T white chocolate chips

1 T chopped Macadamia nuts

To prepare: Add ½ cup boiling water to contents and let sit 3-4 minutes.

For my final ~~magic trick~~ recipe, I want to share something classic. Cookies for breakfast. I'm the coolest mom on earth times infinity-google-plex. My son said so.

I grew up with breakfast cookie-muffins! A cookie-muffin is basically a muffin top. It's a muffin batter made using a little less liquid and a great low fat alternative to a traditional cookie! I must share the joy and convenience of these little love buttons. Mmmm. Love buttons. These are moist and chewy. They're loaded with wholesome goodness and you'll be the hero for making cookies for breakfast! We keep these in our cookie tin and the kids grab them as a snack. I don't feel guilty serving these low fat goodies!
Chef Tess' Jam-Filled 4 grain Buttermilk Cookie-Muffins
1 cup Honeyville buttermilk pancake mix
2 cups Honeyville 4 grain cereal
2 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup Honeyville dehydrated honey
2/3 cup water or reconstituted buttermilk powder
Honeyville jam or apple butter of your choice (amazing with choke cherry...you name it!)
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Directions: Combine all ingredients except jam until just mixed. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick coating. scoop 1/3 cup cookie batter onto cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart in a mound. With your finger, hallow out a hole in the center, being careful not to go all the way through the dough. Dot a tsp or two of jam in the hole. Continue until all the piles of dough have a dot of jam in the middle. Bake 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown.

Well. That's it. The singing grain quartet decided run out. I need to go pick them up. In my mind, I'm totally normal. Really. Thank you for joining me in Happy Porridge Land!

Here is the link to the printable recipes for the apple crisp mix, gourmet hot cereal packets and the cookie-muffins.

Attachment: 4graincerealmix.recipecards (1).pdf
Attachment: 4graincerealmix.recipes (4).pdf

There you go. "There you go" is Chef Tess code for..."Now it's your turn! Go make something magnificent." Seriously...why am I typing this so small? Hey. Are you really reading it? Wow...That's nuts. I'm making a T-shirt for you that says, "I read all the fine print with my Giant Grain." Ha!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Thanks Chef Tess for joining us on the blog today! We can't wait to try all of the deliciousness you just served up. The 4 Grain Cereal Mix is on sale in the retail stores (brick and mortar locations) until the December 17th and it comes in a 25 lb bag. But don't be afraid of the size--did you see all those fabulous things you can do with it?

Happy Eating and Learning Everyone!

Holiday Mix Making-Class Highlights

2011-12-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

This week Chef Tess had another amazing class in Chandler, AZ. It was a Holiday Mix Making Class and what wonderful ideas she had! All I can say....your neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. are going to LOVE you this holiday season! And really, these ideas can be used year around for ALL Holidays, including Birthday presents!!

Here is a quick review of her class:

Why make mixes?

They are budget friendly, creative gifts to give (and receive), you choose what goes in them, saves time and may help a friend or neighbor with their food storage. Not to mention, they do make up delicious meals or snacks!

How do you package mixes?

Lots of creative, useful ideas!

Then Chef Tess gave some amazing recipes! They are all her recipes and use Honeyville Products.

Chef Tess' version of Bisquick
5 Ideas on how to use Honeyville Pancake Mix and "spice" up your morning pancakes
Magic Fudge Mix
Cookie Mixes (4 kinds to choose from)
Brownies (4 mouth watering variations)
Gourmet Chocolate Cake Mix
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Sun-Dried Cherry-Almond Cookies
Macaroon Bar
Jam Crumble Bar Mix
Wise Woman's Snickerdoodle Blondies
Butterscotch Pistachio Scotchies Mix
Candyland Bars Mix
Gourmet Paradise Oatmeal Mac-nut Cookies
Christmas Mulled Apple Cider Bundt Cake Mix with Lemon Glaze
Creamy Tomato Soup Mix
Country Style Beef Stew
Taco Soup Mix
Creamy Potato Cheese and Ham with Rosemary

Thanks to Chef Tess she has some PDF handouts that you are welcome to check out! Thank you Chef Tess!

To see the class notes AND recipes, go here

To see the mix labels, go here

And to top it off, Chef Tess was on Fox 10 this morning with some more...

Easy Christmas Gift Ideas : MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Video Courtesy of myfoxphoenix.com

Way to go Chef Tess! You looked great and you are amazing!!!

To get recipes as a PDF from today's Fox10 Segment click HERE, for labels for you gifts click HERE.

Enjoy your holiday gift making!

Holiday E-Commerce Sale!

2011-11-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hope the Holidays find you in the company of friends and family. We know your Inbox is probably bulging from all of the retail offers from Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Spend-Money Thursday so we'll make this quick! From Wednesday, November 30, 2011 through Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 6:00PM PST you can save 10% off your entire order*. To receive your instant discount enter the coupon code HOLIDAY in the coupon code field on the second page of the checkout process. Be sure to click on the Apply button to activate the discount. Act now as this discount is only good from Wednesday, November 30, 2011 through Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 6:00PM PST.

Click HERE to start shopping and saving!

We appreciate your business and strive to offer quality products at affordable prices. Should you have any questions or concerns, or just want to say hello, give our E-Commerce Department a call toll-free at (888)810-3212 or send an email to webmaster@honeyvillegrain.com.

*10% off discount does not apply to the already low flat-rate shipping fee of $4.49. Discount valid for INTERNET ORDERS ONLY placed from Wednesday, November 30, 2011 through Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 6:00PM PST.

Vegetarian Chili

2011-11-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

Around my house this weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving--eating lots, spending time with family, eating some more, battled coughs and colds, and ate some more! In fact one of the best things about Thanksgiving is the Leftovers. However, I only want to eat Turkey so many meals and days in a row. So today we are going vegetarian. This Vegetarian Chili is a great option on these cold, blustery days to warm up and bonus it's a one pot dish!

Ingredients:
2 (14.5 oz) cans Stewed Tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans Vegetable Broth
2 cups Water
2/3 cup Pearled Barley
1 1/2 cups cooked Black Beans
2 cups cooked Kidney Beans
2 cups cooked Anasazi Beans
1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Vegetable Mix
1 1/2 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Zucchini
1/3 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Onion
2 Tbsp Honeyville Tomato Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tb Chili Powder (or season to your taste preference)

Directions:
Add all ingredients EXCEPT Freeze Dried Zucchini together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Freeze Dried Zucchini and continue simmering for 10 minutes or until zucchini is hydrated and pearled barley is soft.

We had this in bread bowls but go ahead and use those leftover Thanksgiving rolls or try it with some yummy (and fairly easy) Homemade Whole Wheat French Bread.

Happy Eating!

Yummy Thanksgiving Ideas

2011-11-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving just a day and a half away, I can't believe how much my appetite is growing by the minute!!! I seem to be craving more and more food, snacks, candy, sweets, etc....everyday! Oh, I love the Holidays!! Of course, that would be for the eating part, DEFINITELY not for the standing on the scale part....ha, ha!

We thought it would be fun to pull up some of our last year posts and ideas that may be helpful and yummy for you this week:

Chocolate Banana Pie

Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Dressing

Apple Crunch Pie

Mixed Berry Pie

Green Bean Casserole

Peanut Butter Pie

Gluten Free Pumpkin Squares

And Chef Tess just did a 5 Day Sweet Roll Dough.....it looks delicious!!! You will have to check it out:

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2011/11/5-day-sweet-roll-dough.html

Enjoy your Holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Retail Store: In-Store Specials Nov 21-Dec 3

2011-11-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

Some great items on sale and can sure help in your Thanksgiving dishes! Also see below for our Thanksgiving holiday hours.

Honeyville's Freeze Dried Green Beans

Honeyville's Dehydrated Hash Brown Potato Shreds

Honeyville's Freeze Dried Sweet Potatoes*

Honeyville's Freeze Dried Strawberry Slices

Honeyville's Vital Wheat Gluten

Honeyville's Strawberry Milk Alternative*

Honeyville's Cornbread Muffin Mix*, Honeyville 5 lb Scone Mix, Honeyville's 7 lb Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix*, Honeyville 4 lb Brownie Mix*, Potato Pearls 1.75 lbs, Emergency Toilet Kits, Personal Emergency Toilet Kits, Rocket Stoves, Sun Oven*, and BOSCH Universal Mixer!

*Please call your store to see if this item is on sale or available. Each store varies.

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours:

Chandler, AZ will be closed at 3PM on Wed. Nov. 23 and all day Thur. Nov. 24.

Rancho Cucamonga, CA will be closed at 2PM on Wed. Nov. 23 and all day Thur. Nov. 24.

Brigham City, UT will be closed at 3PM on Wed. Nov. 23 and all day Thur. Nov. 24.

Salt Lake City, UT will be closed at 3PM on Wed. Nov. 23 and all day Thur. Nov. 24.

Class Highlights: No Wheat Grinder Wheat Recipes

2011-11-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

Cindi Van Bibber from cindislifestyletreasure.blogspot.com came to our Salt Lake Store and taught this YUMMY class. I was really interested in what you can do with wheat besides grind it to flour and have it be edible too. She has recipes for Main Dishes, Meat Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes, Breads & Cereals, and Dessert!

Cindi was a great teacher! She made the whole process totally approachable and I left the class with a determination to incorporate Whole Wheat into my cooking on a regular basis. Wheat isn't just for bread anymore folks! You'll get the nutritional benefit of using whole wheat but don't forget about the financial savings you get when using your wheat to extend dishes! Winner winner chicken dinner :)

All of her recipes include what she calls "Wheat Base". It is basically boiled wheat. To make, she uses 1 part of a mixture of wheat (4 parts Hard White Wheat and mixes 1 part Hard Red Wheat, but you can use whatever blend or single wheat type you prefer) and adds 3 parts water to a pot. Bring it to a boil and let it boil for 15 minutes. Cover, turn off heat and let sit overnight. When you check it in the morning you'll want to have some of the wheat kernels to have popped open. (If none have popped, try boiling for another 15 minutes and let it sit for an hour or so.) Drain off water.

Crockpot Method: Put wheat and water in a crockpot and turn on high for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.

Wheat Base or aka Boiled Wheat

I found that it about tripled in size (but I think I should have boiled my wheat a smidge longer to get more "popped" kernels). My batch of 2 cups raw kernels came to 6 cups wheat base. Cindi usually gets for 1 cup raw becomes 4 cups wheat base. She recommends making a big batch, as wheat base freezes well. I thought my 2 cups raw was going to be oodles as I was starting out. Um, I've already gone through 2/3 of it because it's been yummy and fun creating and experimenting with it.

At the class Cindi made Wheat Pancakes and No Flour Cake with Coconut Frosting.

Just looking at this picture I can smell the hypnotizing goodness of those pancakes...mmmm :)

Wheat Pancakes
Recipe by Cindi Van Bibber

2 cups Wheat Base
3/4 cup milk
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Raw (UNcooked) wheat
2 Tbsp Oil

Add the above ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add to the mixture:

1/4 cup Rolled Oats
1 Tbsp Sweetener (ie Molasses, Honey, Brown Sugar, Sugar)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
OPTIONAL up to 1/8 cup flax seed meal

and blend on low until just combined. You may have to stop the blend and scrape the sides down. Let the batter sit 5 minutes. It is a thick batter. Scoop batter and cook on griddle until golden brown. It makes about 12 pancakes.

I didn't take a picture because I was busy eating these delicious bites during the class. Then I made them for breakfast and again I didn't want to leave my plate, no not even for a second for a picture. My daughter ate 3 of them! These pancakes had a great flavor to them and didn't make me feel bogged down and too heavy either.

No Flour Cake with Coconut Frosting
Recipe by Cindi Van Bibber
Click HERE to see her instructional video!

CAKE:
2 cups Wheat Base
3 Eggs (I used 6 Tbsp Honeyville Powdered Whole Egg plus 3/4 cup Water)
1/4 cup Oil
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Molasses
1/4 cup Water

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until all kernels are ground up and mixture is smooth about 3 minutes. Add the remaining dry ingredients:

1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Honeyville Instant Non Fat Dry Milk Powder
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
OPTIONAL 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

and blend until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. (You can use a 9x13 pan, just decrease cooking time to 25-30 minutes).

When I made this at home I didn't have all the ingredients on hand for the coconut frosting (recipe below) so I just dusted it with powdered sugar. Not too shabby! You could even drizzle a little bit of honey, but really the coconut frosting is super tasty!

COCONUT FROSTING:
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Honeyville Instant Non Fat Dry Milk Powder
1/4 cup Water
1 cup Coconut (she likes the Sweetened stuff)
1 tsp Vanilla
OPTIONAL 1/4 cup Chopped Nuts

Add all ingredients to a sauce pot and over high heat bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil for a few minutes stirring consistently. Mixture will thicken as it cools, but you can pour onto cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.

This frosting is divine! I'm not a huge coconut fan but I'd swim in a vat of this if I could. DELICIOUS!

I had been talking about this class for a few days and told my husband that I had planned on making some things from class. When he got home from work, I had him try a bite of cake. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said (very cautiously), "Is this the wheat cake?" but after he took a bite and started chewing I could see he was becoming a believer too! His words were "Surprisingly not bad, it's pretty good!" Remember he's not a sweets kind of guy either. The cake to me was very comfy--made me feel good eating it and my house smelled so good making it. It was a great way to welcome the fall weather and do you dare be so bold and replace a Thanksgiving pie with this yummy cake?

What are your favorite wheat recipes?

Happy Eating!

Store Scoop

2011-11-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Retail Store Shoppers, tomorrow is the start of a 3-DAY PRE-THANKSGIVING SALE!!! Each of our locations has a list of items on sale. It varies by store, so if you didn't receive the e-mail, give your local store a call to get that list and then sign up for the e-mail list here to get the notifications in the future. AND.....for each of the three days the first 25 customers will get a FREE GIFT!!! Start your holiday shopping now!

Also, the Retail Stores have their yearly Gift Baskets available! Each location varies slightly, but here are a few examples for you to see. Talk to your store to find out what variety they have to choose from

Love, Love, Love it!!!

Another tid bit for you.....the Retail Stores have Gift Certificates! The perfect gift for a co-worker, neighbor, friend, family member, etc!

And before you go shopping, remember to print your coupon here.

Have fun shopping those Pre-Thanksgiving Sales!

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-11-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like a good ole Chicken Pot Pie??? I love that in the fall I love to make "oven" foods and let my house smell so delicious! Summer is good too....but I am more in the mood for salads, and let's be honest...it doesn't leave a nice aroma in your home like putting a food dish in your oven to bake. So here is the recipe I tried last week.....and for the record, I had family visiting, so I had quite the taste-testing panel. My brother was a little hesitant since it was all food storage, but I saw him helping himself to seconds and maybe thirds!!! Two thumbs up for this recipe:

1 15oz. package pie crust (or of course, you can make your own)
1 10 3/4 oz. can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Chicken
1/4 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Potato Dices
1/8 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Onions
1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Celery**
1/4 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Peas
1/4 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn
1/4 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Carrots
1/8 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Ground Sage
1/4 tsp. Rosemary

*All Freeze Dried and Dehydrated product amounts are BEFORE re-hydration. Curious on how I knew how much to use? This little handy chart has the answer for you.
**Rumor has it Freeze Dried Celery should be hitting the stores very soon!...no set date yet...we will announce when it is here. But I LOVE the product already! In the meantime, you can use Honeyville Dehydrated Celery.

Directions:
Re-hydrate all Honeyville product according to package instructions. Drain. Combine all re-hydrated products, soups, herbs, and spices. Unfold pie crust and fit into pie pan. Fill with mixture and cover with second pie crust. Press edges with fork. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for an additional 40 minutes.

Top: Potato Dices, Peas and Corn, Carrots

Bottom: Chicken, Onions, Celery

I separated mine like this because I didn't want to combine any dehydrated and freeze dried products, knowing the re-hydration time differs. I also don't like to mix my onions with any other product. And of course, the potatoes and chicken need boiling water. My way is not the only right way, so feel free to combine to use less bowls

We ate this for leftovers today and it was still delicious!

Enjoy!

Chef Tess' Cranberry Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Sauce

2011-11-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

You know from the title this is going to be good! And then you see the picture and you know it'll be moist and delicious and oh so taste bud terrific! Chef Tess will be serving it as dessert at the Chandler, AZ class tomorrow (Sat. Nov. 12 10AM-Amazing Side Show Stoppers-Thanksgiving Side Dishes Using Food Storage). Have you signed up for it yet? Call 480-785-5210 to reserve your spot-Class is FREE!

If you aren't in Arizona click HERE for a class schedule at our other retail stores. (Our Salt Lake Store has 2 classes tomorrow with Cornaby's. At 11AM it's a Mexican Fiesta and at 1PM they'll be demonstrating delicious cookies and pies). Both classes are FREE!

Cranberry Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Sauce
Recipe by Chef Tess

Cranberry Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups (5.5 oz) Honeyville Dehydrated Carrots
1 cup (4.45 oz) Honeyville Dried Cranberries
2 cups Boiling Water
1/2 cup (1.65 oz) Honeyville Powdered Whole Eggs
1 cup (6.8 oz) Sugar
1 cup (3 oz) Honeyville Powdered Butter
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or double strength vanilla
1 tsp Rum Extract
1 cup Cool Water
2 cups Cake Flour
1 Tbsp Chef Tess Bakeresse Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Real Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a quart size bowl, combine carrots, cranberries and boiling water. Allow to hydrate 20 minutes. Pulse in a food processor a few times to break up the berries and carrots if desired. In a medium sized separate bowl, combine the egg powder, sugar, butter powder, vanilla, and rum flavor with the 1 cup of cool water. Whisk until smooth. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add the carrot mixture to the egg mixture and stir well. Add the flour mixture to the carrot-egg mixture and stir by hand 100 turns. Pour into two greased 9 inch cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean (9x13 inch oblong cake pan takes about 40-45 minutes). If using your Solar Oven about 1 hour.

Lemon Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Honeyville Lemonade powder
1 Tbsp Honeyville Powdered Butter
1/4 cup Honeyville Sour Cream Powder
3 Tbsp Ultra Gel

Directions:
In a bowl with a two cup capacity, combine the lemon sauce ingredients. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water while whisking ingredients. Whisk until creamy smooth (about 2 minutes).

Bonus for you retail store shoppers because the Dehydrated Carrots are on sale through November 12th! So let's get baking already! I say there is nothing wrong with a healthy slice of this cake for lunch. It has veggies in it so totally appropriate :) And major kudos and thanks to Chef Tess for sharing!!

Happy Eating!

Crepes-Shirley J

2011-11-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

It's 10pm and my hubby and I wanted a little snack. So what do we do.....we whipped up some fast, easy, yummy Crepes made from Shirley J's Sweet Roll Mix. They hit the spot and fulfilled that craving we were having!

Here is the original recipe:
1 cup Shirley J Universal Sweet Roll Mix
3/4 cup Milk
4 Eggs
1 Tbs. Sugar

Here is my "Honeyville" way:
1 cup Shirley J Universal Sweet Roll Mix
3/4 cup Water
2 1/2 Tbs. Honeyville Powdered Milk (the substitute or non-fat powdered milk)
1/2 cup Honeyville Powdered Egg + 1 cup Water
1 Tbs. Sugar

Combine all the ingredients together and mix together until smooth. Take 1/4 cup and pour onto a buttered griddle. Flip to make sure both sides are cooked until brown.
Fill crepes with desired fruit, creme, pudding, syrup, etc...

We chose to make Honeyville Chocolate Pudding and throw some whip cream on it. But my mind was spinning and I thought you could re-hydrate the Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, or even use Callie's Fruit Syrup Recipe.

It was delicious!!

Easy Peanut Butter Honey Spread

2011-11-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

I love Peanut Butter and Honey sandwiches. Love them. Using Honeyville Powdered Peanut Butter and Granulated Honey I can have the taste I love but it's even easier. How does a PB&H get easier? Well for one it is way less sticky, it is more manageable, and I can adjust the thickness of the mixture so it can be a dip or a spread easy enough. And am I the only one that has issues squeezing the honey bottle sometimes? Well that is no longer a problem.

Okay let's get to the recipe already!

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Honeyville Powdered Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Honeyville Granulated Honey
1-1 1/2 Tbsp Water

Directions:
In a small bowl mix ingredients gradually adding water until the desired consistency is reached. I liked it with just a smidge more than 1 Tbsp Water. If you like a thicker spread use less water. Mine was pretty thin.

I used the spread this morning on top of some homemade bagels my husband made the night before. Seriously the spread was made before the toast was done!

After that my mind started going and I grabbed some soda crackers and spread it on those. Another favorite snack of mine. I liked the mixture of the salty cracker with the sweetish spread. At one time I thought I had invented that combination. I won't tell you how old I was, because then instead of a cute story it is just a sad one.

Then I got out some celery and apples and suddenly I had a yummy dip. Another great pairing--great for an after school snack or just because! Because the mixture was thinner than your typical peanut butter my apples or celery had no problems being dipped and scooping without breaking.

Here's some info about Granulated Honey:

Granulated Honey is an all natural product.
Granulated honey is simply the process of crystallizing honey.
Here are some other recipes that use Granulated Honey: Blender Wheat Pancakes with Zucchini, Thai Peanut Noodles, or Blender Wheat Pancakes.

So tell me what's your favorite use of Honeyville's Powdered Peanut Butter or Granulated Honey?

Happy Snacking!

Blender Wheat Pancakes with Zucchini

2011-11-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

So remember when I posted about Blender Wheat Pancakes? Well I got an idea from Chef Tess and thought I would give it a shot in my recipe. And it has moved to #1 in my house this week! It is so flavorable, delicious, and filling! I can easily eat 5-6 Blender Pancakes or 6-7 (shhhhh!!!) Honeyville Pancakes (those are hmmmmm...mmmm...good too!!!), but these pancakes, I eat 3 and try to squeeze down 4 cause they are so good. They really are filling!

So here is the original recipe:
1 cup Honeyville wheat kernels, washed*
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 c vegetable oil (you can substitute 1/3 cup of Applesauce-I use the applesauce)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar (if desired)
Wash wheat and drain. Place in blender with milk and blend on highest speed for 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and blend 1-2 minutes longer. Make your pancakes.

Here it is "Food-Storage-ized:"
1 cup of Honeyville Wheat Kernels, washed

3 Tbsp. + 2 1/4 tsp. of Honeyville Powdered Milk + 1 1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp. of Honeyville Powdered Eggs + 4 Tbsp. of water

1/3 cup of vegetable oil (you can substitute 1/3 cup of Applesauce-I use the applesauce)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. of salt

1 1/2 Tbsp. of sugar or Honeyville Granulated Honey (optional)

PLUS:

1/2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Zucchini

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Re-hydrate Zucchini. Wash wheat and drain. Place wheat in blender with milk and blend on highest speed for 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and blend 1-2 minutes longer. Make your pancakes.

* Wheat Tip: DO NOT SKIP this step!!!! Washing your wheat is SUPER important!!! As we have mentioned before, wheat LOVES water and will soak it up! So, I might have, one time, skipped this step because of laziness and might have almost burned my blender out because the wheat soaked up all the liquid so fast that the mixture was too thick it couldn't blend anymore. PLEASE learn from my mistakes and DO NOT skip washing the wheat. In fact, I put my wheat in a bowl and just let it soak while I am gathering the other ingredients, then I rinse it. (Also, I have used both Hard Red and White Wheat for this recipe)

Give these pancakes a shot! You'll get your kiddos to have some veggies and they don't even know it! They really are scrumptious!

Enjoy!

Class Highlights: Fun Ideas with Popcorn

2011-11-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

Chef Tess did a fun craft night in Chandler, AZ with Popcorn Topiaries and our SLC Store manager, Lisa Barker did a similar class this week in Salt Lake. They totally opened my eyes and imagination to what you can do with popcorn, both in flavor combinations and crafts!

Bonus for everyone we've got a video segment from Phoenix Fox 10 of Chef Tess demonstrating the popcorn topiaries and recipe:

Popcorn Ball Topiary: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

So fun right?!?! Here's the recipe for basic popcorn balls:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Honeyville Popcorn (unpopped measurement) or 9 cups popped corn
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Honey
1/2 cup Honeyville Fruit Gelatin (any flavor) or Jello (1.3 oz box, any flavor)
1/2 tsp Real Salt

Directions:
Pop popcorn (use an air popper or the nifty Microwave Popcorn Popper or do it stove top. Stove Top Directions: Over high heat, pour enough oil into the sauce pot to cover the bottom of the pan and be about 1/4 inch deep. Place three kernels into the pan and then cover. Once the three kernels have popped, add the remaining kernels. Listen closely to the pan. Once you hear the popping slow substantially, the popcorn is done. Remove from the burner and pour the popped corn into large bowl.) Transfer popped corn to a large bowl. Season the popcorn with Real Salt.

In a heavy saucepan, combine Granulated Sugar, Honey, and Gelatin. Stir slightly and bring to a full rolling boil over medium high heat. Remove gelatin mixture from stove top and pour over the popcorn. Toss well, until all of the popcorn is coated. Allow to cool a few minutes before shaping into popcorn balls.

Shape popcorn into balls using lightly oiled hands, or leave fruity popcorn as is. To make a topiary, pierce popcorn ball with a bamboo skewer and tie a ribbon at the base of the ball. You may insert them into other popcorn balls or brownie-cupcakes for a stand alone topiary or just enjoy a popcorn ball on a stick!

Now let's talk flavor combinations! You've seen the fun Mix-A-Meal flavored powders in our retail stores so let's put them to use. (After you take your Gelatin mixture off the stove just stir in about 1 Tablespoon of powder to the mixture and continue following the recipe).

Cherry Cordial
Use Cherry Flavored Gelatin and then add some Vanilla and Chocolate Powder.

I'm not usually a fruit and chocolate fan but this was really good. Good balance of flavors.

Peanut Butter and Jelly
Use your Strawberry or Raspberry Gelatin and add 1/4 cup of Honeyville Powdered Peanut Butter. This picture shows a heavy coating because we used about 7 cups of popped corn instead of 9 cups.

Again really good!

Coconut Lime
Lime flavored Gelatin some Pineapple and Coconut powdered flavorings.

"Put the lime in the coconut..." Feel free to dance as you toss :)

Some other ideas:

Got leftover Halloween candy? Coarsely chop them up and toss them in! (I'm thinking some Peanut Butter cups would be super yummy in the PB&J one).
Experiment with flavored honeys too!
Add Honeyville Freeze Dried Fruit--they'll add nutrition and flavor!
If you don't want to make popcorn balls try just popping the popcorn and drizzle with some melted butter and add your favorite spice. For a savory snack, sprinkle on the Wayzata Bay Spice Co. line "Whatever" blend. Yum!

Lisa made an AMAZING White Chocolate Rootbeer Popcorn. Divine! Delicious! Superb! I can't say enough good things about it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Honeyville Popcorn which equals about 9 cups of popped popcorn
1 cup of melting White Chocolate
8 drops of Rootbeer Oil (NOT rootbeer extract)

Directions:
Pop your popcorn. Transfer popcorn to a large bowl. Melt your chocolate. (Lisa prefers using the microwave and stirring after 20 second intervals until melted and smooth). Stir in about 8 drops of Rootbeer oil to the melted chocolate. Pour chocolate over the popped corn. Toss to thoroughly coat. Let sit 30 minutes before eating or putting into gift bags.

Lisa made this for neighbor gifts last year. It was such a hit that some even came back and asked for more! When you open the treat bags it smells just like a rootbeer float. This one was my favorite that we sampled at the class. I took a little extra to save and have my husband try it. Well I had the intention of having him try it but I ate it before I got to the car. Oops! Lisa mentioned that it is important to use air popped popcorn, not the stuff you can buy in bags, use melting chocolate not just white chocolate chips, and you need to use Rootbeer OIL, not rootbeer extract. If you don't use flavored oils with the chocolate it can make the chocolate mixture too hard and it'll crack and break.

This was a really fun class (and yummy too!). It would be a really fun family activity. Become "mad scientists" and see what flavor combinations you can come up with. Give movie night some added pizazz with some rockin' popcorn.

Good news our Gelatins are on clearance right now so stop in one of our retail stores or order online and start having FUN!!

Enjoy!

Retail Store Sales

2011-11-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe another 2 weeks have gone by! It's time to switch up those Retail Stores Sales. The sale started yesterday and will go through Saturday, November 12th.

All of our 10 and 20 lb Pasta is on sale – 15% OFF the regular price

Parmesan Shakers 3 oz

Herb & Garlic Parmesan Shakers 8oz. (not all locations)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 Gallon tin (only in Brigham City)

Honeyville Farms Tomato Powder 3.25 lbs

Honeyville Farms Freeze Dried Beef Chunks 1.5 lbs

Honeyville Farms Freeze Dried Peas 1 lb

Honeyville Farms Dehydrated Carrots 1.5 lbs

Honeyville Farms Freeze Dried Raspberries 8 oz

Honeyville Farms Freeze Dried Peaches, diced 1 lb

Honeyville Farms Powdered Margarine 3 lbs

NutriMill

(on sale through November 20^th)

BOSCH Universal Mixer

End of Season BLOWOUT – all of our Canning items are on Clearance (** Only in SLC***)

For Brigham City Shoppers: November 3-5, there are a few Overstock Items that will be on sale. All-Purpose (bleached and unbleached) Flour-25lbs, and Bakers (bleached and unbleached) Flour-25 lbs. Only while supplies last.

Remember, before you go shopping, click here to grab your printable coupons on select items.

Have fun shopping!

Recipes from Milliken's Anniversary Sale

2011-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

If you were lucky enough to attend Milliken's Anniversary Sale a few weeks ago, you got to try some of these amazing recipes! We wanted to give you all the recipes so you can have them for your own home and enjoy the delicious-ness of them!

Chef Stephanie Petersen's

Pumpkin & Spiced Peach Pecan Sticky Buns-o-Glory

1 cup warm milk (not too hot now)

2 tsp active dry yeast (1 pkg)

1 tsp salt

1 cup packed canned pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

4 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp almond extract

2T Chef Tess Wise Woman of The East Spice Blend

3/4 cup sugar free peach spread

Topping:

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup honey (caramel honey sauce or peach amaretto honey are amazing here)

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

Put the milk, yeast, sugar, pumpkin in a mixer with a whisk and mix until smooth

Add remaining ingredients. Mix with a dough hook until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes (by hand about 300 turns). Put dough in a covered bowl and raise about 1 hour until doubled. Lightly flour a counter top and roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness, 12 inches by 18 inches rectangle. Spread jam or honey over dough and sprinkle with spice blend. Roll tightly and pinch seam. Cut into 2 inch wedged

Make the topping. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and honey over low heat; stir until sugar and butter are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9" x 13" pan and sprinkle pecans on top. place one inch apart

Allow to raise until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake buns until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately invert onto a serving tray or baking dish. Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.

Chef Tess' Sweet Potato and Corn Skillet Fritatta

1 cup (.85 oz) Honeyville Freeze Dried Sweet Potato

1/2 cup (.9 oz) Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn

1/2 cup (.25 oz) Honeyville Freeze Dried Mushrooms

1/2 cup (.2 oz) Honeyville Freeze Dried Bell Pepper

1/4 cup (.7 oz) Honeyville Dehydrated Onion

12 scoops (equal to 9 eggs) OvaEasy egg crystals (1.3 oz)

1 cup (3 oz) Freeze Dried Colby Cheese

1 tsp chef tess Southwest Seasoning

1/2 tsp dry Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper or ancho chile powder

2T all purpose flour

2T instant milk powder

1T dehydrated sour cream powder

Combine 3 cups cool water and the contents of the jar in a 2 quart bowl and allow to hydrate about 10 minutes. Whisk a couple times after 5 minutes to be sure everything gets moist. Lightly oil a 10 inch skillet with a tightly fitting lid (or your solar oven casserole pan). Heat pan on low for two or three minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan. Make sure heat is low. Cover with tightly fitting lid and allow to cook 15-17 minutes on very LOW. Do not uncover. If you are using your solar oven it will take 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn off heat. Do not uncover. Allow to carry-over-cook another 5-7 minutes Covered. Remove lid and slice as you would a pizza. (I rehydrated the Sweet Potatoes with hot water and then drained and added to the rest of the products)

Marks Honeyville Nine Grain Rye Bread

Preferment:

1 cup Water (about 90 degrees)

1 cup Honeyville's Summit Artisan Bread Flour

1 teaspoon Honey

1 Tablespoon Yeast (this item was missing from original recipe)

Mix and let it sit until ready to use

Make your preferment at least 4 hours before. This preferment helps in developing texture and speeding rising time. It will also last in the fridge for a week. So if you bake this bread often you may want to double or triple it and then refrigerate the rest.

Bread:

2 cups Honeyville's Summit Artisan Bread Flour

3 cups Hard White Wheat Flour

1 TBSP Honey

1 TBSP Salt

2 teaspoons Yeast

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 cup Honeyville 6 Grain Mix

1/2 cup Honeyville Sunflower Seeds

1/2 cup Honeyville Brown Flax Seed

1/4-1/2 cup Honeyville Whole Caraway Seed (depending on how bold a rye taste you like)

2 TBSP Honeyville Dough Conditioner

1/2 cup Honeyville Powdered Milk (+ 2 cups Water) (equivalent to 2 cups milk)

Add your preferment

At this point all your ingredients should be in the mixer. Knead on low for 5-7 minutes. Watch your dough. If it seems too dry, add water or milk 2 TBSP at a time until it's kneading smoothly. This is a moist dough.

Remove from mixer. Oil your hands as this dough is a sticky dough. Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover over with kitchen towel. (the customer found that a plastic bowl works better since it will keep the heat from escaping)

Let dough rise until double. 1 1/2-2 hours. Form ball again. Let it rise another 30-40 minutes. Divide and shape into 2 loaves and let it rise about 15 minutes. Then slash tops with sharp knife, dip in water or oil, and let it rise another 30-45 minutes.

Place 9 inch tin pie plate on bottom of stove filled with water. Heat oven to 425 degrees. The customer bakes his bread on a Pizza Stone so he does this during the last 30 minutes of the rise to pre heat the stone. He places his loaves on Parchment Paper in French Bread Loaf pans for final rise and then places in oven to bake for 15 minutes. Then he slides from pan and paper directly on the stone. He then drops the temp to 375 degrees for another 30 minutes until brown. Place on a cooling rack for 1 hour.

Peach and Pecan Upside Down Cake

Topping:

½ cup butter softened, not melted

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

Mix these together and then pour into greased cake pan 9”.

40 or so pecan halves and 2 med peaches peeled, halved , pitted and cut into wedges. Make a circle around the outer edge of cake pan with pecans. Make a circle with the peach slices to make a circle in the center

Mix a white or yellow cake mix according to package directions, pour over pecans and peaches. Place in oven and bake until cake is down. Toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Invert the cake on a plate and let set for about 5 minutes and then lift pan off. Serve with Whipping Cream or Ice Cream.

This was baked in the Sun Oven, but could be done in a camp dutch oven also.

Wheat Bread by Cathy O'Leary

2 cups warm Water

1/3 cup Oil

1/3 cup Honey

1/4 cup Cooked Wheat Berries

3 cups of Whole Wheat Flour (Red, White or Spring)

1 TBSP Salt

2 TBSP Honeyville Vital Wheat Gluten

2 cups Bread Flour

2 TBSP Yeast (SAF Instant)

Pour wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour first 4 ingredients in bowl and starting mixing. Slowly add remaining ingredients and flour until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Mix for 6 to 10 minutes and then pour dough into greased bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes. Pour out onto work surface and form into loaves. Should make about 2 loaves. Put into bread pans and let it rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Class Highlights-Cooking without Power by Chef Tess

2011-10-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Our Arizona readers were lucky enough to attend this class in person. We figured we'd better share the fun and do some class highlights for everyone else!

Chef Tess is sooo cool that she can bake bread on a grill--seriously mad skills this lady has!

You can tell that Chef Tess really enjoys teaching and she's great at what she does.

During the class she covered:

Cooking using the "haybox", "wonder-box" or heat retention method and food safety
Using the Global Sun Oven as a heat retention cooker
Dutch Oven Baking (pie and bread)
Grill and Stoves including the Stovetec and Volcano Grills and how to use them to bake bread
Tips for baking and cooking with the Global Sun Oven

and cooked:

Rice in a retention cooker
Taco Soup on the Stovetec Stove
Tomato basil crusted Italian bell pepper and mushroom pizza (all food storage) using the Volcano Stove's oven power
Tropical Mango-Blackberry Cobbler in the solar oven
Rotini and meat sauce with the Butane Stove

As with any cooking it is super important to remember to follow food safety rules. Be sure to keep foods at safe temperatures, cooked to the right temperatures, avoid cross contamination, etc. You really should have a food thermometer and USE it. It can help keep you and your loved ones safe from food born illnesses.

Chef Tess has graciously shared the class notes as a PDF version and has shared some of her yummy recipes too. Click on Powerlesscooking101.pdf to get your copy of the class handouts.

Chef Tess Taco Soup Mix
Chef Tess also uses this as one of her Food Storage Convenience Meals. Add the ingredients to a quart sized jar and add one oxygen packet and seal jar. Good on the shelf in a cool place for 5-7 years.

Ingredients:
2 cups instant Red Beans (or use Honeyville Dehydrated Refried Beans Flakes)
1 cup Honeyville Taco Flavored TVP
1/2 cup Honeyville Dehydrated Onion
1/3 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Mixed Bell Peppers
3/4 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Corn
1/2 cup Honeyville Tomato Powder
1 Tbsp. Chef Tess' Homemade Taco Seasoning

Directions:
Place ingredients in a gallon pot in a solar oven or on the stove. Add 2 quarts of water and simmer 20-30 minutes until veggies are tender. Serve with nacho chips, sour cream, and hydrated Honeyville Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese.

Chef Tess Tropical Mango-berry Cobbler
It's a lightly sweet dessert amazing with vanilla ice cream or drizzled with Honeyville Caramel Honey Sauce. Top with toasted macadamia nuts and you might just die of happiness!!

Filling
Ingredients:
2 cups Honeyville Freeze Dried Mango
1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Strawberries
1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Blackberries
1/4 cup Honeyville Lemonade Mix
1/2 cup Ultra Gel
1tsp Make a Mix Almond Powder
Directions:
Combine fruit mixture with 4 cups water. Mix well. Simmer over low heat 10 minutes until fruit is tender and mixture is thick. Allow to cool about 10 minutes more.

Tropical Lime Cobbler Topping
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cup Honeyville Buttermilk Pancake Mix
1/4 cup Honeyville Tropical Monsoon Smoothie Mix
1/4 cup Honeyville Powdered Butter
1 tsp Dehydrated Lime Zest
Directions:
Combine the cobbler topping ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine topping mixture with 2/3 cup coconut milk (or prepared strawberry milk substitute) just until combined. Do not over mix. Preheat your solar oven to 350 degrees. Put the thickened mango mixture in a solar oven 2 quart casserole (this comes with the solar oven). Drop the cobbler topping mixture on the fruit mixture. Bake in a pre-heated solar oven in direct sunlight 55-60 minutes until well cooked.
At the class it was served warm, drizzled with Honeyville Caramel Honey sauce. Yum!

Chef Tess shares some more step-by-step instructions on her blog post here. Thanks Chef Tess for sharing your knowledge and fun!

Happy Eating!