Trader Joe's Hack: Multigrain Hot Cereal

A simple recipe for you Trader Joe's fans out there.  I've been doing this "hack" for almost a year and had to replenish my supply today, hence a blog post about nothing at all related to this blog.

Last fall, we tried Trader Joe's Organic Multigrain Hot Cereal.  We enjoyed it.

But...we didn't enjoy the price.
So we went to our food co-op and came up with nearly exactly the same product for a much lower price.

Off the ingredients label on the Trader Joe's package: "100% whole grain rye, barley, oats & wheat."

I have always heard that ingredients are listed in the order that a product is comprised of.  I don't know if that's a law or not.  And I didn't have time to research, so I just bought my ingredients in a 100:90:80:70 ratio.  *note: at this point in time, I don't bother with ratios anymore and just fill bags with grains and dump it all together.  But at the time I actually did this experiment, I was pretty anal retentive about "the science."

I kept with the organic status, figuring it should be an even "apples to apples" comparison.

At our food co-op, organic rye flakes are $0.99 a pound.  

Organic barley flakes are $2.09 a pound.

Organic Rolled Oats are $1.49 a pound.

Organic Rolled Wheat is $1.59 a pound.

So, if you add up $0.99 for the rye, $1.90 for the barley, $1.20 for the oats, and $1.11 for the rolled wheat, it comes to $5.20, for 54.4 ounces of hot cereal blend. 

Now the lowest price I've ever seen Trader Joe's organic multigrain hot cereal at (online and local) is $2.29 plus shipping for an 18-ounce container.  I think it's usually around $4 in our local Trader Joes.  If you went with this rock-bottom price *without shipping*, you'd be getting a really good deal at 13 cents an an ounce.  But if you went with a homemade version, you'd be at 9.5 cents per ounce.  Oh....and that Amazon link?  19 cents an ounce.

It's economical for us, since I have never ever seen it locally at $2.29. It also helps me to bake with more whole grains, because I trade in our mass-produced breakfast cereal blend for any cookies or cakes that require oatmeal.  The boys don't notice.

The only warning I'd have is this: if your body is not used to eating whole grains frequently, ease into them, especially if you have young ones still in diapers.  That is all I'm going to say about November of 2013.

But dear Trader Joe's, I'm still a fan of your cheap flowers and your pear cider.  So don't worry about losing a customer here.

Life Can Be Delicious (Watercress Sandwiches)

This morning I went to the farmer's market and bought some herbs.  (Michael consequently built my herb box, which will be filled with soil this afternoon.)

And he surprised me with watercress.  How I love watercress.

Watercress Sandwich

Here's my recipe for watercress sandwiches...Adapted from three or four different online versions.


1 package neufchatel (or cream cheese, if you're like that...)
1/2 C walnuts
5 T chopped green onion
1/2 C chopped watercress

Mix in your mixer, maybe throw in 2 to 4 T milk to thin out the consistency.  (I did.)

Spread on bread.  (For our first few sandwiches, I got all fancy and trimmed the crusts.  Then I promptly gave up on that.  Crusts are tasty anyway.)

Eat three or four sandwiches.  Because they're that good.

A Recipe for Your Easter Brunch

had to add a picture.  I'm making progress on my squares!

Want to know what we're making for Easter with the family tomorrow?

Dill Horseradish Biscuits.  (You're welcome.)

1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup cake flour 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into bits 1 cup scant buttermilk (I usually don't have buttermilk on hand, so I just add lemon juice or Apple Cider Vinegar to milk) 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until pieces are size of sunflower seeds. Combine buttermilk and horseradish; briefly stir into flour mixture until sticky ball forms. Using floured hands, lightly roll dough into 10 balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush with additional buttermilk; bake 14 minutes. Makes 10 biscuits. This recipe was from our Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Ritz Cracker Recipe

Homemade Ritz crackers.
MSG free.
Recipe found here.
You're welcome.

Sweet Potato Fry Recipe

Per request, here's our sweet potato fry recipe!

Preheat oven to 450.

We took 3 large-ish sweet potatoes and skinned them and then sliced them into very thin fry-like strips.

We lightly misted a baking sheet with olive oil, placed the sweet potatoes on and then lightly misted the tops of the sweet potatoes with olive oil.  (If you haven't got an oil mister, they're well worth the investment and save you from continually buying aerosol cans. Here's one for $9.99 at Target.)

For the seasoning mix, I just kind of threw together coarse salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and papkria... I would give you amounts, but ours was a tad on the salty side for general consumption, and I'm not really a measuring kind of cook to begin with.  :)

Sprinkle the seasoning on the top of your fries and bake for 20 minutes.  They won't be crispy like french fries, but they will be absolutely delicious. 

My Recipes: Vegan Cornbread

If you have not tried blue cornmeal, you simply must!
Here's a recipe I tweaked to make vegan/healthier.  This was the most moist and sweet cornbread I've ever had, even before I added sugar on top :)  Michael loved it and said it tasted like it should be for dessert.

I went "vegan" for three months in college to prove I could do it.  I have to admit that at that time I was so much less aware than I am now about all of the potential "toxins". I now understand sugar is a debatable vegan topic, because of the animal bone char used occasionally to whiten sugar.  So if you're on the other side of the fence about sugar, feel free to substitute honey (for those who aren't opposed to insect products), agave nectar, maple syrup, etc.  For the record, we're not vegetarian by practice or principle (I love chicken; he loves beef!), but I do try to incorporate a lot of vegetarian foods (other than tofu---which Michael absolutely refuses to eat, but I don't mind) into our diet, simply for health reasons.


Heather's Vegan Cornbread

1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C blue cornmeal
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 T sugar (or natural sweetener equivalent)
1/4 C coconut oil, melted
1 C milk
2 T ground flax/6 T water mixed together (in place of eggs)

in a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Grease a 9x 1-1/2 inch round baking pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl combine flax, water, milk, and oil.  Add liquid mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Top with sugar or sweetener.
Enjoy!

Pinteresting: Recipes Tried

Ahem.
I almost forgot about posting my pinterest discoveries for this week.
We're preparing for a minor surgery for Million tomorrow, amidst our family celebration of Christmas.
If I'm already forgetting by the first week, I'm likely doomed to fail at some point.
But I'm here.
I made it.

I may or may not feel like my sixth grade self who forgot to turn in a piece of homework, and then the teacher made me sit in the hall, and then she forgot to call me back in, and then she scolded me when I didn't let myself back in the class.  And I cried.  During 6th grade.  And I still hold it against her.  So much so that even run-on sentences and fragments can't express my rage/shame.

Okay.  It's not that bad.
I'm just feeling a little sheepish I have no actual photos to share.

This being the first post and all, I suppose I could catch you all up to speed.  This week I'll catch you up on recipes.  Next week, I'll catch you up on crafty ideas, for which I will ACTUALLY have pictures.


Because of Pinterest, I've made the following recipes.
Onion soup mix.  No thoughts to report yet, as I haven't actually used it.
Buffalo Chicken Strips that were out of this world.  I might have thought about making them twice in one day.
Homemade Graham crackers. Mine were a little thicker than they should have been, but they tasted wonderful.  It was nice thinking to myself that Million wasn't consuming high fructose corn syrup in every bite.
Apple Cider caramels.  I liked them, and Michael liked them.  My dad and some others didn't, mainly because they couldn't get their brains used to thinking "apple cider" when they saw caramels.
Homemade Wheat Thins.  The first pan was good.  I accidentally burned the second pan.  More trials needed.
Caramel and Sea Salt on Shortbread.  These were amazing.  When Michael is home more to save me from consuming the whole pan, I will make them again.
Oreos inside chocolate chip cookies.  I died after eating one.  Unfortunately, they don't make fair-trade Oreos that I'm aware of, and I wasn't extraordinarily impressed with the recipes for "make your own oreos" that I've tried--so this one is mostly for your benefit.
Crockpot chicken taco chili.   I just made this yesterday.  Ask me when there aren't leftovers in the fridge.
Homemade tater tots.  These worked the time I made them with red potatoes but not with russet potatoes.
Little delightful crescent roll jalapeno poppers.  I've only made these about six or seven times.

I've tried and deleted two or three recipes (a blueberry lemon breakfast cake and one other thing I can't remember) that just didn't work for us.  Oh, it was egg-roll wrapped mozzarella sticks.  My mind kept on smelling Chinese, and the mozzarella just didn't mingle well, in my opinion.

I've also pinned about four cream of chicken and wild rice recipes that claim to taste like Panera's.  I've tried two of them (and stupidly forgot to mark which ones---gah!) that didn't taste like Panera's.  I'm on a mission from God and will find that soup someday.


Finally brethren, in the spirit of Christmas, I'm about to be extraordinarily kind to you.
So kind.
I'm about to post a link to a recipe that has literally taken me three (nearly four) years to find.
And thanks to someone posting a link to an Ethiopian crock-pot recipe on Pinterest... my curiosity got the best of me, and I once again started up my hunt. (And the reason I couldn't find it for three years is because of a variation in the spelling and a shortening of the name.  Wonderful.)   I now need to just remember to pin some of my old recipes.

It's here.
It's beautiful.
We made it today along with this recipe and some home-made injera.

Three or Four Tasty Recipes From Today

I had some sweet moments to myself yesterday.

Gloriously, the internet was not working.  (Some days I like to pretend Al Gore never invented the internet.)

So I had some moments to either read or work on crafts. And I chose both.

Here's a bit of something I've been working on.  I looked at it all set out nicely on the floor and decided that, no, I'm not going to just be done.  I'm going to make it bigger.   It was just going to be a lap afghan, but it's looking much more likely to be a size twin when I'm done.

 BonAmi thought he was being helpful.

This next picture isn't necessarily a "recipe."  It's more of a helpful hint.  If you ever need almond flour, don't buy it.  You'll pay at least three times what you could by just making your own.  Buy whole almonds and just grind them in your coffee grinder or food processor and then put through a metal sieve.  There you have it.  Almond flour. 

  

First recipe of the day sounded really questionable from the title, but is a phenomenal tasty surprise.  It was these cottage cheese muffins with cheddar and scallions. 

 They have the consistency of a quiche or an egg bake.  Million scarfed them down like there was no tomorrow. (He's a huge cottage cheese fan.  We go through about 3 pounds every other week.)

 The next recipe I don't even want to give to anyone, it's so good.  I have great ideas of hosting a picnic in our back yard and putting these babies out for the beverage.  

 Okay...this last one I'll actually include the recipe for, since the original link was in Russian.  (Thank you Google translator.) Macaroons with lemons embedded.

I would maybe make the cookies a little thicker next time, and use 2 egg yolks instead of 1.  And the baking time on the recipe was a little under what I baked them for.  But you'll get the idea.

Ingredients:
3/4 C butter

1 T lemon zest

1 C ground almonds

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 C flour

1 T lemon juice

1 egg yolk

3/4 lemon 

sugar for sprinkling

powdered sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter.  Pour in ground almonds, powdered sugar, flour, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix well.  Divide dough in half and form a sausage with a diameter of 5 cm.  Put in wax paper and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 355 degrees.Cut the dough into a thickness of 4 mm.  Place on baking sheet and brush with egg yolk.  

Cut the lemon into very thin slices (1 to 2 mm) and put on top of the cookies.  Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  

And lastly, because he's just so cute, here's our superhero of the day.