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

Sloppy Joe Pizza

This is another family favorite at our house. This is one I just put together myself one day using whatever I had in the pantry. It's funny how it's THOSE recipes that become our favorites. Plus, it's even EASIER when you use THRIVE food.

Since it wasn't a real recipe my kids named it Sloppy Joe Pizza because it looks like sloppy joe meat on a pizza crust. This is one of those recipes that you could add & subtract all sorts of fun ingredients (like veggies) to make it to your liking. This is the way the Potter's like it:

Sloppy Joe Pizza

2 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Ground Beef (you can also use the THRIVE Beef TVP)

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Corn

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce

3/4 cup green onions, sliced

1 cup shredded cheese or THRIVE Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese

THRIVE Iodized Salt (to taste)

1 loaf of Bread. . . we like the Italian Loaves

Rehydrate the corn & beef in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain. In a pan stir the Ground Beef, Corn, BBQ Sauce, Onions, & Salt. Heat through.

Slice your bread & place the bread slices on a baking sheet.

Top each slice of bread with the meat mixture until it's heaping with yumminess.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese (just like a pizza). Normally I use the Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese, but my little chick-a-dees ate my ENTIRE #10 CAN without me knowing. Little imps. (I guess that tells you how GOOD the cheese is). So I used just everyday shredded cheese.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is golden. You're kids will LOVE this. And don't forget to sneak in some veggies. I've done spinach, peppers, broccoli, & others. I make it differently every time, but THIS recipe is the family favorite.

If you would like to purchase any of these ingredients leave a comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Cheesy Potato Soup

This is another one of those - "Grandma's Best" recipes. My grandma can really cook. Everything I cook I learned from her. She is the best cook I know. Here's a recipe we've been eating for years & years, but I tried making with THRIVE food. It was great!

(& I didn't have to peel potatoes!)

Cheesy Potato Soup: by my Grandma Cherry

3 cups THRIVE Potato Chunks

1 qt. Half & Half (I never said it was good FOR you)

1 can condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 cup THRIVE Bacon TVP

1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder, prepared (1/4 butter powder + 1/8 cup water)

First, boil those potatoes for a good 20 minutes. Drain.

Mix the Half & Half, Cheese Soup, & Bacon TVP. Pour over the potatoes. Add prepared Butter & cook for another 10 minutes at a low simmer.

Voila! You're DONE. Dinner doesn't get much easier than that right? And it tastes WONDERFUL. Don't forget a few slices of homemade whole wheat bread on the side. This is definitely a family favorite.

If you would like to purchase any of the ingredients used in this recipe (like the potato chunks so you don't have to peel potatoes all afternoon), leave a comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Chicken Lo Mein

The other night I had some fresh veggies I needed to use up before they went bad, so I decided to whip up a yummy oriental dish. I found some Lo Mein noodles in my pantry & some chicken in my freezer & went to work. I had some onions, celery, & mushrooms to quickly use, but then I started thinking about some of my freeze dried veggies.

"I wonder how they stir fry. . . "

Well, you know me, I tried it out because it sounded fun. Plus veggies make your food SO colorful & delicious so why not?

You could actually use the freeze dried mushrooms, onions, & celery for this as well, but I needed to use up the fresh stuff quickly so maybe next time I'll get to play with those ingredients. For this recipe you can exchange any of the freeze dried veggies for fresh. It's a great way to clean out what's left in the crisper, then use whatever else you want from your THRIVE pantry.

(I LOVE HAVING FRESH VEGGIES ON HAND AT ALL TIMES, especially when I don't have to chop them myself.)

Quick & Easy Chicken Lo Mein:

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Celery

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Onion

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Mushrooms

1/4 cup THRIVE Carrots

3/4 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Peas

1 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Corn

3 Chicken Breasts, diced

~ (& sprinkled with Black & White Pepper, Garlic Salt, Ginger, & THRIVE Iodized Salt)

2 cups Chicken Broth (2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon + 2 cups Water)

Lo Mein Noodles (in the Asian section of the supermarket)

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

1/8 teaspoon White Pepper

1/8 teaspoon Ginger

The first thing you want to do is sprinkle the diced chicken with black pepper, white pepper, garlic salt, ginger, & salt. This is all done to taste. I LOVE flavors & spices so I DROWN my chicken in spices. I especially love the white pepper because it has a little more zing than black.

Stir fry the chicken in a little oil or butter until you get a nice sear on all the pieces. Set aside.

In the same pan stir fry ALL YOUR VEGGIES in some butter or oil. The butter/oil will help rehydrated your veggies. They won't be FULLY rehydrated, but stir fry them about 5 minutes until the smells all mesh together & they start to brown a little bit.

Add the prepared chicken broth & deglaze the bottom of the pan. Simmer the veggies & broth for 5 more minutes (this REALLY rehydrates those veggies deliciously!)

Meanwhile, cook your noodles according to the package instructions. I LOVE Lo Mein noodles.

Add the soy sauce, white pepper, & ginger. (I used 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, but it was quite spicy. We love spicy in our house, but it's definitely too hot for some people).

Mix the cornstarch & water in a bowl. Keep stirring until it becomes liquid. Add the mixture to the veggie mixture.

As soon as the mixture starts to boil, the cornstarch will kick in & the entire thing will thicken. It will have a similar consistency as that at an Asian restaurant. Once, your sauce is thick, add your chicken & simmer until the entire dish is nice & warm.

Drain your noodles. Serve the chicken & veggie mixture over your Lo Mein Noodles. Voila! Quick & Easy Chicken Lo Mein.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the these wonderful PRE-CHOPPED veggies, leave a comment below or go to 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