{I first published this as a Google document, mainly because I wasn't going to have any pictures to go with it, and you know I like posts to have pictures. My thought was that this should be something easy for you to print out and put in your menu binder. But now Google has messed with things, so I'm just posting it.}
Go here for Worksheet I: Master Menu List.
Go here for Worksheet II: More on Menu Planning.
Go here for Worksheet III: Actually Making Menus.
Go here for Worksheet IV: Make a Grocery List and Go Shopping.
Go here for Worksheet V: Save-A-Step Cooking.
Go here for Worksheet VI: Bland Diet for When Someone's Sick.
Worksheet VII: Breakfast Recipes
Buttermilk Baking Mix
(I posted about this here.)
Make your own mix, store in the refrigerator! Halve the recipe at first to see how you like it. You can reduce the butter even more than I already have, but just know – this makes the lightest, best pancakes you’ll ever taste!
10 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or just add another cup of white flour, making 11 cups)
1 cup oat flour (process regular oatmeal in food processor or blender until finely ground; one cup of oatmeal will give you one cup of oat flour) or ½ cup oat bran
½ cup bran
¼ cup wheat germ
½ cup flax meal
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons baking soda
6 tablespoons baking powder (I have found myself short of baking powder and used as little as 4 tablespoons!)
3 sticks (12 oz) butter or 2 sticks butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil
Feel free to substitute various flours and meals, using all flax meal if you are out of bran, etc.
You can process your baking soda and baking powder in with your oatmeal to remove any lumps and facilitate distribution into the mix.
Measure all ingredients except butter into a large bowl. Stir to mix.
In the food processor or a large bowl, cut together several cups of the flour mixture and a stick of butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Set aside and repeat with each butter stick, then mix the batches together before you divide for storage or use.
Store in tightly closed covered container or zippered plastic bags with the air pressed out, in the refrigerator.
A large slim rectangular container is the most space-efficient for the refrigerator. I use a plastic container meant for bulk cereals. It holds about 2 quarts or maybe more, and is large enough for all this mix.
To use, spoon, don't pack, the mixture into a cup. Don't leave it out unless you've used all coconut oil, because the butter will become rancid.
(I originally found a mix recipe I thought made sense at Ellen's Kitchen. I have since changed it quite a bit, but I wanted to let you know!)
Now use your mix!
Biscuits and dumplings: No need to measure precisely. About 2 cups mix gives you enough biscuits for 4-6 people. Add buttermilk (and some milk if you like), little by little, until you get the proper consistency, which is somewhat dry and flaky, like pie crust almost — a lot drier than you think (although wetter for dumplings). Knead about 8 times, folding the dough gently, for flakiness.
Pancakes:
For 4-6
2 cups mix
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
Mix as for waffles, below. Ladle by scant 1/2 cups onto sizzling griddle. Allow small bubbles to form on surface, flip, cook until done.
Scones:This mix makes a more fluffy kind of scone. For 3 ½ cups mix, add 2/3 cup sugar, mix in 1 cup or so nuts or dried fruit. Mix together 2 eggs, ½ cup light cream, and ½ cup buttermilk. Divide into rounds, knead several turns for proper flakiness. Cut into wedges. Brush with more cream and sprinkle with sugar (raw sugar gives a good crunch). Bake at 425* until golden brown, 15 minutes (less for convection or if they are a small size).
Waffles:
For 4-6
Preheat the waffle iron.
2 cups mix
1 cup flour
¼ cup corn starch
¼ cup sugar
Mix these ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add 2 eggs and lightly beat them in the well.
Pour on 3 cups buttermilk and 1/2 cup milk.
Stir them together and begin lightly incorporating the mix.
This is the part that is so hard to describe. There are pictures on this post.
You want to fold in the mix so that at no point are you beating it, which will make your waffles (or pancakes) tough. You want to keep the part that's mixed very wet as you pull in all the mix gradually. Stop before you quite feel that you are done.
Your mixture should be lumpy and light and batter-y. Note the wet edges. As you make your waffles (or pancakes) you will be giving it a gentle stir each time you dip in your spoon, so allow for that.
Lightly grease, if at all, the waffle iron (the more you grease, the less crispy the waffles). Pour in a small amount of batter and bake.
Place cooked waffles on a rack, briefly, to allow to crisp up. Transfer to a warm oven or to a waiting plate. These waffles are light, crispy, and tender.
Other recipes:
Night-Before Breakfast Casserole
There are a million recipes like this out there. I prefer mine somewhat on the substantial side, so I like this one.
Use a large lasagna pan, buttered well.
Take enough bread, cut into pieces, to fill the pan to within a inch of the top. I use about a pound and a half of homemade bread. Raisin bread is lovely.
Add any amount up to a pound of cooked crumbled bacon or sausage. This is a good way to use leftover breakfast meat (in the unlikely event you would have any). Even a sprinkling of bacon bits is appreciated. A good hearty portion of sausage is heaven.
Whisk together:
12 eggs
2 ½ cups whole milk (add more milk for a lighter texture; I like mine substantial)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pour this mixture over the bread, distributing the cheese evenly.
Cover with foil and keep in fridge all night.
In the morning, put in a 350* oven. No need to preheat. Bake for 30 minutes convection, 40 regular, or until the casserole is puffed and browned.
Serve with maple syrup.
Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator and microwaved for a quick breakfast the following day.
Granola
Don’t be afraid to regard these amounts as approximate.
8 cups oats (fill extra large bowl 2/3 full of oats, using about 3/4 of your oatmeal box if you buy it in one of those round containers)
1 small package of sweetened flaked coconut, about 2 cups
2-4 cups chopped nuts – I like the larger amount
Mix together.
In a saucepan, bring to boil, simmer for 5 minutes:
1 ½ cups brown sugar (this does seem like a lot, but this recipe makes many servings. You can start with a smaller amount at first if you like. You can also substitute honey, molasses, or maple syrup)
1 cup water
¾ cup oil – try coconut oil for a delicious flavor!
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp. salt – don’t omit! Salt is important to wake up the taste buds.
1 tsp. almond extract if using almonds
The object is to dissolve the sugar and slightly thicken the syrup.
Pour sugar mixture over ingredients in bowl, mixing well until all oats are coated.
Pour into shallow pan (a lasagna pan works well) and bake at 325* stirring every 10 minutes, until the mixture is evenly browned, about 30-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Add in any combination to total 2 cups:
dried cranberries
chopped dates
raisins
Chopped apricots
Stir, cool completely, store in airtight containers (can be frozen).
Oatmeal Porridge Like Mother, Like Daughter
This method is similar to the way I cook all grains (except pasta), namely, with a bit of fat at the beginning to coat each grain and produce a delectable separateness and lack of stickiness in the texture. Try the same method with rice, couscous, or bulgar.
It’s easy to stock up on the different grains and keep them in jars or zip bags in the freezer.
If you are using steel-cut oats, soak the night before.
1 cup oats (if steel cut, soak in 2 cups water)
½ cup Cream of Wheat (Quick cooking)
¼ cup Wheatena (do you have this where you live? It's basically toasted finely cracked wheat)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil (use half if using soaked oats). Add butter and salt.
Add oats, sprinkle in other grains, stirring.
Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring. If the consistency is too thick, add water; if too thin, add more Cream of Wheat. However, I like to make the consistency quite thick so that cold milk can be added at serving. This cools the porridge down and adds protein.
Add sugar. I like to sweeten the porridge in the pot to a moderate degree of sweetness so that only a little needs to be added at the table. I have found that if I serve it completely unsweetened, children over-sweeten it.
Serve with maple syrup and milk. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter or chopped pecans. The nuts will make this breakfast last until lunch!
Papa Special
I have found out that many families have something they call Papa's Special, or Daddy's Special — and it's just this:
English muffin
Butter
Honey(use real local organic raw honey — grocery store honey can contain corn syrup! Of course, if you have a child under one, don't use honey)
Peanut Butter (use real peanut butter made from ground up peanuts — big brands have a lot of junk in them!)
Toast your English muffin. Butter both sides (technically, this makes it a Mama's Special, because Papa doesn't butter the peanut-butter side). Put honey on one side and peanut butter on the other. Put together into a sandwich and enjoy!
{This post has all the menu-making worksheets linked! There are a lot!}
