Egg Substitute

I heard about this egg substitute and have been experimenting with it in various recipes. It's as follows:

Egg Substitute

5 TB plus 1 tsp water, divided
1 tsp unflavored gelatin

To make one "egg" (for substitution in baked goods), add 1 tsp of gelatin to 3 TB water and stir. Then, add 2 TB plus one teaspoon of boiling water to the mixture and stir.

NOTE: You may need to decrease the liquid in your recipe to make up for the additional liquid in the egg substitute. As a general rule, the reduction would be around 1/4 cup. In what little experimentation I have done, I found this to be somewhat accurate, but it really varies. I usually mix everything up then adjust. For example, in the case of brownies, I added additional flour to thicken the batter. Another time I didn't adjust at all and simply increased the baking time. This method produces very moist baked goods (especially compared to ground flax seed as an egg substitute), but you will need to experiment and adjust as best you can until you get it right.

Whole Wheat Brownies

This recipe is still in the experimental stage. We liked this version, but I think I can improve it further. These brownies were sort of fudgy and dense. If you like to live dangerously, give it a try:

Whole Wheat Brownies

2 1/4 cups whole wheat (I used hard white wheat and ground it myself)
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup cocoa
5 "eggs" or eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the first seven ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until combined. Pour into a 10X13 greased baking dish, sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts, and cook for 35 minutes. Cool for several minutes before cutting and serving.

Tip: My oldest DD highly recommends reheating these in the microwave for a few seconds to fully enjoy them.

Easy Fruit Smoothie

A variation of my favorite drink, the Orange Julius.

Easy Fruit Smoothie

2 cups of OJ
1 frozen banana (because I usually throw them in the freezer when they start to go bad)
1/2 c frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.)
1/2 c powdered milk
1/4 powdered sugar (less if you want)
1 tsp vanilla
4-5 cubes of ice

Add the first six ingredients to the blender and mix. Add ice cubes one or two at a time until totally crushed. Serve immediately. Makes 3-4 servings in our house.

Easy Tuscan Romano Basil Chicken

I am usually a from-scratch kind of girl, so this is out of the norm, but it was a great last minute save for dinner. And, it is Easy with a capital E.

Easy Tuscan Romano Basil Chicken

1 bottle of Wish-Bone Bountifuls Tuscan Romano Basil dressing
2-3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or any other type of chicken pieces)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a pan with nonstick spray. Place the chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer and pour the contents of the dressing bottle over the chicken. Bake until done, probably around 30 minutes. I didn't time it, so this is a guess. :)

I served this dish with rice on the side and a spring mix salad.

Bachelor's Roast

Bachelor's Roast

3-4 lb roast (cheaper cuts are okay)
1 can of Coke (we use caffeine-free Coke Classic)
1 c ketchup

Place all of the ingredients in the crock and cook on low or medium all day (depending on how long you have before dinner). We usually add potatoes and carrots during the last couple of hours of cooking.

Easy Peach Loaves

An abundance of peaches and a few alterations to the original recipe resulted in...

Easy Peach Loaves

2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal (I used quick cooking oats)
1 TB cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 c oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups diced, chopped or pureed peaches

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease two loaf pans. Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl combine the oil and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Add the peaches and stir by hand. (I pureed my peaches, but I missed the big chunks that would have been in the bread.) Divide the batter evenly among the two pans and bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks after about five minutes.

Blueberry Oat Bread

Blueberry Oat Bread

This recipe is based on one that appears in my KitchenAid recipe booklet. I made a few very minor adjustments, though. Enjoy!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 c milk
1/2 c butter, melted
1 TB grated orange peel (optional)
2 eggs
1 1/4 blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9X5X3 in. bread pan (bottom only). Combine the dry ingredients and add all but the blueberries to the bowl. Mix just until ingredients are combined, then add the blueberries, stirring very gently with a spoon. Empty the batter into the greased pan and bake for 55-65 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the bread is done. Allow it to rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then on a wire rack to completely cool.

We Knead the Dough

I found myself wanting a place to store my recipes online where I can easily sort through them. I created this blog for that singular purpose. Where did I get the name? Several years ago I made some goodies for my boss at work. I wanted to put a professional touch on the box I presented them in, so I attached a pretty label printed from my computer that one might find on a bakery's marketing materials. It read,

Ellene's Edibles
We Knead the Dough!

Get it??!! We KNEAD the dough? Similar to We NEED the DOUGH? As in money? Anyway, a blog is born...enjoy!