Best Sugar Cookies EVER!!

This is a staple recipe in our house. These are the BEST sugar cookies you will ever eat. I don't know if it's the shortening or the sour cream, but SOMETHING in them makes them SO SOFT & they will literally last WEEKS. We make these for friends at Christmastime & we had a few friends say they ate theirs 3 weeks after I made them & they were still soft & delicious. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Grandma Cherry's Sugar Cookies:

2 cups THRIVE White Sugar

1 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder reconstituted (or 1 cup Shortening)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

3 teaspoons THRIVE Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

4 Eggs (or 4 Tablespoons THRIVE Egg Powder + 8 Tablespoons Water)

1 cup THRIVE Sour Cream Powder reconstituted (or 1 cup Sour Cream)

6-8 cups THRIVE White Flour

Cream sugar & shortening.

Add soda, salt, eggs, & sour cream & mix well.

Add 6 cups of flour & mix well.

Keep adding flour until the dough forms a large ball & is no longer sticky. . . similar to bread dough. Knead the dough a minute or two & form into a ball.

Roll the dough out & cut with cookie cutters & bake cookies at 375 degrees for 5-8 minutes. The softer the better. But I guarantee these will stay soft for a VERY long time if you cook them just right. I usually cook mine 7 minutes.

This batch I decided to roll 1/2 of my batch onto a pizza stone & baked a GIANT cookie the size of a pizza.

Once my giant cookie cooled, I spread some strawberry cream cheese on top. . . mmmm.

Then added fruit for a FABULOUS fruit pizza.

If you are interested in purchasing any ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website: dani.shelfreliance.com

Chicken Chili Chowder

This is another family favorite in our house. I've had this recipe for so many years that I don't even remember where I got it. I've added things to it over the years & it is now the soup my kids request on cold days. And you want to know the best part? Now I don't have to run to the store if I'm out of veggies because I can just pull them from out of my food storage. Wahoo! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. (You can substitute fresh or canned for any of these ingredients)

Chicken Chili Chowder:

1 pound Turkey Bacon, diced (or use 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Bacon TVP)

1 cup THRIVE Carrots

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Onions

1 can of diced Green Chilies

1 Serrano Pepper, seeded & diced

1 teaspoon Cumin

3 cloves of Garlic, pressed

4 cups Chicken Broth (4 cups water + 4 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon)

3 cups THRIVE Potato Chunks (or 5 fresh potatoes peeled & diced)

THRIVE Iodized Salt to taste

4 Chicken Breasts, diced & cooked (or 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Chicken)

1/4 cup THRIVE White Flour

2 1/2 cups Milk (or 2 1/2 cups water + 1/3 cup THRIVE Instant Milk)

2 cups THRIVE Cheddar Cheese

2/3 cup Green Onions, sliced

First thing you want to do is cook your chicken (if you're using fresh.) Sprinkle it with some salt & pepper & saute it in a frying pan with a little bit of oil. If using our wonderful Freeze Dried Chicken, just soak it in water for 10 minutes & drain. Season with salt & pepper & Voila! you're done! Set aside.

Next cook that bacon until it's nice & crispy in your soup pot. Then set it aside with your chicken. I love the Bacon TVP, but I'm just a total sucker for fresh turkey bacon. I can't get enough of it & if you've never tried it, GO OUT & BUY SOME! You'll never go back to the other stuff. It's better for you & has a LOT more flavor! If you're using the Bacon TVP, just set aside because it doesn't need to cook. EASY!

Now get your veggies ready! When using our veggies, there's no peeling or chopping at all! Simply measure & pour. (Cooking doesn't get much easier than this!) If you're using fresh, peel & cut up all your veggies for the soup.

A small warning about Serrano Peppers. You may want to wear gloves when seeding & chopping these puppies. They may be small, but they have a punch! I wasn't wearing gloves & I wound up wiping my poor little 2 year old boy's dirty mouth with my finger & he started screaming because it burned him. I never even thought about it. The rest of my kids got a kick out of licking my fingers to see who could keep a straight face the longest without getting a drink of water. They're hilarious. These add just the right spice to the soup.

Start off by stir frying your onions, carrots, chilies, peppers, garlic, & cumin in the leftover bacon grease. Cook for about 5 minutes or until your onions are translucent. Add your chicken broth & deglaze your pot.

Add your potatoes & salt, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, & simmer for 15 minutes.

Add your chicken & cook an additional 10 minutes. Combine flour & milk to make a smooth paste. Add it to the soup mixture & stir until thick (about 5 minutes.) Remove from heat. Stir in bacon & cheese until melted.

When you finish you want to see if a wooden spoon will stand straight up in your chowder. I like my chowders THICK & YUMMY. If your spoon stands up by itself, you know it's going to be DELICIOUS!

Serve hot with sliced green onions on top. Enjoy!

If you are interested in purchasing any of the ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers

I have to admit. . . graham crackers bought at the store really aren't that bad for you. They don't contain a ginormous amount of processed foods, but I still thought it would be fun to make some of my own. Can I say FABULOUS? I'll continue making them because they taste almost like a cookie when you make them yourself. I loved it.

I used the recipe straight out of the THRIVE Cookbook. Normally I like to change things up & do it my way, but really this was the perfect recipe & why mess with perfection right?

Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers:

2 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup THRIVE White Flour

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda

1/2 cup Butter, softened (or do 1/2 THRIVE Butter Powder + 1/4 cup Water)

1/2 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar, packed

1/3 cup Honey

1/2 cup THRIVE Powdered Milk, rehydrated (1 1/2 Tablespoons powder + 1/2 cup Water)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons THRIVE White Sugar

Sift together the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, & baking soda. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, & honey until light & fluffy.

Stir in the sifted ingredients alternating between the milk & vanilla..

Cover dough & chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the chilled dough into quarters. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out one quarter at a time into a large rectangle. (just like rolling out sugar cookie dough) The recipe says to roll it 1/8 inch thick, but I though the thicker grahams (1/4 in thick) turned out yummier. So it's up to you. Divide into smaller rectangles with a butter knife.

Place rectangles on ungreased baking sheets. Mark a line down the center of each one without cutting through the dough, & prick the tops with a fork. Combine cinnamon & white sugar & sprinkle over dough before baking.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

These are SO GOOD. I don't know why I expected them to be not as good as the store bought kind, but they're seriously like eating a cookie. FABULOUS. They're even better with ice cold milk. Mmmmm. The kids LOVED them too. In fact, my little two year old kept sneaking into the kitchen to eat more when I wasn't looking. He almost ate the entire batch the little stinker.

If you'd like to purchase any of the ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Banana Nut Crumble Muffins

These are

THE BEST MUFFINS YOU WILL EVER EAT!

I made these the other day & we ate them ALL at one sitting. They were SO good, I had my sweet husband BEGGING for another batch.

Basically, I just started throwing things together & combining some old recipes I had & this was the end product. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Banana Nut Crumble Muffins:

1 1/2 cups THRIVE White Flour

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

3 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Bananas (or 3 brown bananas)

1/2 cup THRIVE White Sugar

1/4 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Tablespoon THRIVE Egg Powder (+ 2 Tablespoons Water in wet ingredients)

1/3 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+ 1/4 cup Water in wet ingredients)

1/2 cups Chopped Walnuts (optional)

1/3 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons THRIVE White Flour

1 Tablespoon THRIVE Butter Powder (mixed with 1/2 Tablespoon Water)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups (or use liners). Let your Freeze Dried bananas soak in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes until they are soft & ready to be squished. Then drain out the extra water.

While your bananas are soaking, mix your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.

Add your powdered egg & powdered butter to the dry ingredients. I know it sounds SO strange, but you have to trust me. It works out & bakes just fine. It's hard to get used to, but it makes your food DELICIOUS.

In another bowl beat the bananas, vanilla, sugars, & 1/4 + 2 Tablespoons water (to make up for your powdered egg & powdered butter. . . again, trust me on this.)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & mix thoroughly. Add your nuts & stir until evenly distributed. Scoop into the muffin cups until 2/3 full (or even a little more).

In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, flour, & prepared butter powder until you have a nice little crumble. (I had to make two batches of this because I ate most of the first one.)

Sprinkle the cupcakes GENEROUSLY with the crumble. Put a TON on them. It's SO good.

Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes until baked all the way through. We ate them HOT out of the oven & all 12 were gone in minutes.

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I've always loved baking. I can make just about anything from cakes to cookies. But bread? Not so much. I've NEVER been able to make a loaf of bread. I've tried about 15 times

(I'm not kidding)

to make rolls, bread, cinnamon rolls, you name it, & unfortunately it ALWAYS winds up in the trash. My sweet husband always smiles & TRIES to eat it, but then I tell him to just throw it away. Then he lets out a breath of relief & starts spitting it in the garbage. Poor guy.

People have always told me that with bread you have to find a recipe that suits you & your skills. Even with a good recipe you have to adapt it yourself because only YOU can make your PERFECT LOAF OF BREAD.

I know, discouraging for us not-so-good bread makers.

But. . . . . I've FINALLY FOUND IT! MY perfect loaf of bread. I took several bread recipes & mixed & matched things & adapted it to MY skill & I am ACTUALLY making 4 loaves of bread each week. I haven't purchased bread from the store in WEEKS. My kids LOVE my homemade bread & I must admit, I do too. This loaf is specifically for sandwiches as it slices thin PERFECTLY. It makes great toast in the mornings & wonderful sandwiches in the afternoon. I can usually get about 12 pieces from each loaf & have to bake 4 loaves a week to keep up with my growing family of 7. Most people could probably get away with 2 loaves depending on how often you eat bread. (We eat it A LOT.) Plus it has a sweet taste to it from the honey. Enjoy!

Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread:

3 teaspoons Yeast

1 teaspoon THRIVE White Sugar

1/2 cup warm Water

(Mix & sit for 10 minutes until mixture is doubled & foamy)

12 oz. of Evaporated Milk (9 Tablespoons THRIVE Powdered Milk + 1 1/2 cups Water)

1/4 cup melted Butter (1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder + 2 Tablespoons Water)

3/4 cup Honey

2 teaspoons THRIVE Iodized Salt

2 1/2 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

3 cups THRIVE White Flour

Butter

First, mix the yeast, sugar, & warm water & let sit for 10-15 minutes until doubled in size & foamy.

Mix the milk, butter, honey, salt, & wheat flour. Mix in the yeast mixture & let the whole thing rest for 15 minutes in the mixing bowl.

(I love my handy-helpers in the kitchen!)

Add the white flour & mix until a ball forms (because of the stickiness of the honey, I usually add even more flour to the mixture until it forms that good soft ball of dough that you're looking for.) Knead it for 10 minutes. YES, I do this by hand instead of in the mixer because it's therapeutic for me. But you can knead it in your mixer if you prefer that method.

When done kneading you should have a BEAUTIFUL ball of dough that is soft & fluffy.

Place your dough ball in a BUTTERED bowl & turn the ball until it's coated in the butter. Cover with saran wrap or a damp towel & let it rise for at least 1 hour or until it's doubled in size.

Cooking Tip: Let your dough rise in a glass bowl. You can mark the height of the dough by placing a rubber band around the outside of the bowl. With a glass bowl you will be able to see if it has doubled by looking at the height of the rubber band & the height of the dough after an hour.

Punch your dough down (my kids' favorite part) & divide your dough in half. Roll each half like you would roll pizza dough. This is a VERY AIRY bread & you want to really pound out those air bubbles or your bread will have holes throughout it.

(Trust me on this one. . . I know because I was lazy & didn't do this step & my bread was HOLLOW in parts.)

Form into 2 loaves

(wrap your flat dough around into a tube [almost like a burrito] & fold over the sides. Put all seams on the bottom of the pan.)

& put into buttered loaf pans. Spread butter on the tops & let rise another hour in a VERY warm place. [You can do the 2nd rise in your oven at the lowest temperature.]

Put a small glass pan of water in the bottom of your oven. (This adds SO MUCH MOISTURE to your bread.) Bake your bread at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Cover your bread with foil if the crust browns too quickly. Butter your crusts while they're still warm.

Then it's proper to eat a slice STRAIGHT out of the oven. It's always the VERY BEST slice in the whole loaf. ENJOY!

If you'd like to purchase any of the ingredients listed in the recipe above, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com