Quick Cooking with Homemade Mixes

Life has been super busy around here with schooling taking a better part of the day (until 3pm)and the rest filled with household chores, cooking, cleaning, etc. It is at times like these I am especially appreciative of the homemade mixes I rely on to continue providing home baked goodies in a fraction of the time. These are three of our favorites.

HOMEMADE PANCAKE MIX

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda

For Pancakes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

For Blueberry Banana Pancakes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup blueberries

In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. YIELD: about 6 3/4 cups (6-7 batches of pancakes)

To Prepare Pancakes:
In a bowl, combine egg and milk. Whisk in 1 cup pancake mix. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. YIELD: about 6 pancakes per batch

To Prepare Blueberry Banana Pancakes:
In a bowl, combine egg, milk and banana. Whisk in 1 cup pancake mix. Fold in blueberries. Cook as directed above. YIELD: about 8 pancakes per batch

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• I always make a double recipe of the dry ingredients, putting everything into an icecream pail, putting the lid on the pail and shaking until well mixed. You can label the pail with the directions for pancakes.
• When I make pancakes for the whole family, I always make a double recipe of the plain pancakes and a single recipe of the Blueberry Banana. That provides enough for the meal plus a few extra! Hey, we are pancake lovers!
• My personal favorite are the Blueberry Banana pancakes - they taste excellent!
• My mix never lasts 6 months, not even 6 weeks, its that good! :)

When Pepe was only 5 months old, we made a trip to the West Coast to visit Jay's relatives I had not yet met. What a wonderful time I had meeting these delightful family members. I now wish we lived closer so we could see them more often as they have left an indelible mark on my heart! Jay's gracious Aunt L let us stay with her for a while and she always made these muffins fresh every morning. Although I believe they are called 6 Week Bran Muffins, I call them Aunt L's Bran Muffins.

AUNT L'S BRAN MUFFINS

2 cups Nabisco 100% Bran
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 litre buttermilk
5 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups bran flakes cereal
2 cups raisins

Pour boiling water over 100% bran and let stand while creaming sugar, shortening and eggs. Add buttermilk. Add bran/water mixture. Sift flour, soda and salt in separate bowl. Add bran flakes. Fold into wet mixture until moist. Add raisins. Store in ice cream pail for up to 6 weeks in refrigerator. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• You can switch the amounts of the bran and bran flakes cereal if you so desire.
• You can also substitute wheat bran for the 100% bran
• These make excellent snacks throughout the day. I bake about 9 fresh in the morning and they are usually gone by supper.
• These are really really good with peanut butter spread on top! Mmmmm!
• Ideally, after these are mixed, wait to make the muffins until they have sit in the refrigerator for one day. If you make muffins right away, they tend to be really flat and hardly rise at all. Wait a day or more and they turn out much nicer!

Finally, fresh baked buns are such a treat around here but I rarely have time to mix a batch each time we want them! Welcome to the world of refrigerator rolls! Oh, these yummy buns sure hit the spot and take so very little time to prep. I can usually form them during morning recess and have fresh baked buns for lunch or I form them right after school and have fresh baked buns for supper. Now I just need to tweak them a bit to include some whole wheat flour and maybe some ground flax.

REFRIGERATOR ROLLS

2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 pkgs dry yeast (or 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup warm water
2 beaten eggs
7-8 cups all-purpose flour

Mix boiling water, sugar, salt and shortening together and cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in 1/4 cup water and stir into first mixture. Add beaten eggs. Stir in 4 cups flour and beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to make a fairly stiff dough. Place in greased bowl and cover then place in refrigerator. This dough will keep for up to 6 days. When wanted, roll into 24 evenly-sized balls. Place on greased pan and allow to rise until double in bulk, about 1 -1 /2 hours. Bake in a 400F oven for 15 minutes.

CHANTELLE'S NOTES:

• I make this recipe x 1 1/2 then store it in a large Tupperware bowl in the fridge.
• I make 1 dozen fresh buns daily then whatever dough is left over at the end of the 6 days, I make into buns and freeze if necessary (which it hasn't been!).