This week, we’re extending the Extreme Food Storage Makeover to Grandma Lori’s daughter Jasmine! She is Jodi’s little sister, and Julie’s sister-in-law. Jasmine has always been into cooking. She has made her own little recipe book and everything. When she kept hearing her big sisters talk about how whole grains are healthier, she wanted to learn about it… Since the Wondermills are on sale for the summer, Grandma Lori took advantage and bought one so now we get to share some fun recipes with the family.

If you’re new to this project, visit our Grandma Lori Makeover Page for the full scoop, and see the journey as it has progressed so far.

Watch the video as Julie shows Jasmine how to grind wheat, and other grains to make Jasmines regular waffle recipe, a delicious multi-grain version. Jasmine might even have a future on the Food Network – who knows? Oh and please excuse the guest appearance from SPIDERMAN himself. Yes it’s last years Halloween outfit he has worn daily since -luckily he didn’t shoot webs into our food.

Here is the Recipe Jasmine used. The ingredients in the brackets are halved, so she can make small batches for herself and her friends.

Waffles
1 ¾ c. flour (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. baking powder (1/2 tbsp.)
½ tsp. salt (1/4 tsp.)
2 c. milk (1 cup)
1/3 c. oil (2 ½ tbsp.) -replace with unsweetened applesauce for low-fat option
2 eggs ( 1 egg)
Mix all ingredients with electric mixer. Pour batter into waffle maker and cook until done.

Stay tuned as we keep showing our family some fun recipes using their food storage!

When cooking rice, follow your package directions and add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of OIL! That was it, a trick that has worked everytime!

Now for some tips we found on the internet at wikihow:

• Instead of cooking the rice in water, you can use beef stock or chicken broth.
• You may wish to tweak the “rice to water ratio” with experience – for example: for larger quantities of rice, you may find a little less or more than one and a half the amount of water results in better rice.
• One cup of dry rice grains cooked in this way is about sufficient to accompany a meal for 2 adults.
• If the rice is a major component of the dish, you might need up to 1 cup of rice per adult.
• Your base measurement doesn’t need to be a cup necessarily – the key is to add 1.5x as much water as rice, whatever the quantity.
• It works best to use the original lid of the pot you use, since it will seal best.
• When the rice first boils, it might weep a bit or even lift the lid. Keep watch and an ear out for the start of the boil.
• These times and ratios are for white rice (e.g. Jasmine, Basmati, etc). If you are cooking brown rice you will need around 2C water to 1C rice and double the time.
• Water boils at a lower temperature at altitude. If you live at a high altitude it will take longer to cook rice.

Chow Mein Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger, browned with 1/2 an onion chopped
(can replace with 2 cans of chicken chunks and throw in some onion flakes)
1/2 c. brown rice (white rice is great too)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (try the low-fat bean flour variety!)
1 ½ c. hot water (if using homemade cream of chicken, skip the water)
1/8 c. soy sauce
¼ tsp. ground pepper
½ can chow mein noodles (about 3 oz)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Mix all ingredients together (except chow mein noodles). Bake in serving bowl covered with foil for 45 minutes. Take off cover. Pour 3 oz. (1/2 can) of chow mein noodles over top. Cook uncovered for 15 more minutes. Let set for 5-10 minutes after cooking.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni Recipe

from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczy

Ingredients:
2 c. rice
1 c. angel hair, vermicelli or spaghettini pasta, broken into very small pieces
¼ c. parsley
6 Tbsp. chicken bullion powder
2 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. thyme

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and mix well. To prepare: Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a skillet. Add 1 c. of the mix and stir. Add 2 ¼ c. water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

For other ideas for homemade mixes check out the AWESOME Make-A-Mix book.

Rice Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten (can use powdered eggs)
½ c. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 c. milk (can use powdered milk)
1 ¼ c. cooked white rice, cooled (leftovers work great)
½ c. raisins (optional but oh so delicious!)
Cinnamon and Nutmeg to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325o F. Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a greased 1 qt. bowl. Set the bowl in a shallow pan. Pour hot water into the pan about 1 inch deep. Put pan into the oven and bake for 1 ½ hours.