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Grandpappy's Basic Recipes

Useful Homemade Items
When Store Bought Items Aren't Available

Copyright © 1976,2007 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.



Baking Powder (from McCormick's Cream of Tartar Label)
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar1/4 tsp. Baking Soda1/4 tsp. Cornstarch
Blend and measure as normal. (Note: If you don't have Cornstarch then increase the Baking Soda to 1/3 tsp.)

Self-Rising Flour
1 cup flour1/2 tsp. salt1/2 tbsp. baking powder
May be used in any recipe that specifies self-rising flour.

Homemade Bisquick Mix
3 cups flour1/2 cup shortening1 tbsp. baking powder
4 tsp. granulated sugar1 tsp. salt
Mix everything together and use in any recipe that requires Bisquick Ready Mix.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk1/3 cup boiling water
2/3 cup granulated sugar1/4 cup butter, melted (optional)
If the optional butter is omitted, then increase the water to 1/2 cup and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup..
Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Store this milk in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Homemade Sour Cream
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk1/2 cup warm water1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice
Add the dry milk to the warm water in a bowl and stir until completely dissolved. Add the vinegar a few drops at a time and continue stirring. Place in the refrigerator for six-hours and the mixture will thicken.

Mayonnaise (Recipe One)
2 egg yolks2 cups salad oil1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. dry mustard3 tbsp. lemon juice
Mix egg yolks with dry mustard and cayenne. Stir in lemon juice. Beat in 1/2 cup salad oil a few drops at a time. Then beat in another 1 1/2 cups of oil more rapidly.

Mayonnaise (Recipe Two)
3 eggs1 cup cream1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. mustard1/2 tbsp. vinegar1/2 tsp. salt
Beat eggs. Add cream, sugar, and mustard. Mix well. Very gradually add the vinegar. Cook in a double boiler until thick (do NOT boil). Add salt after the mixture cools.

Baby Formula (8 ounce bottle)
6 tbsp. nonfat dry milk2 tsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 cup water (safe or boiled)1 tsp. sugar
Mix will. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed. Test a small drop on your wrist before feeding to the baby.
If there are no baby bottles available, feed baby using a spoon or a sterile eye-dropper or a sterile medicine-dropper.
CAUTION: Do NOT use corn syrup or honey instead of the sugar. They both contain potential bacteria which can kill a young baby who does not have a fully developed immune system.

Electrolyte Beverage (Gatorade, Pedialyte)
1 quart water1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Lite salt6 to 10 tsp. granulated sugar
Optional Ingredient: Package of Kool-Aid for color and flavoring.
Mix well. Replaces lost electrolytes due to dehydration (diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating, etc.).

Fruit Pectin (Used in jam and jelly recipes)
10 or 12 green, hard, sour apples (not yet ripe)
Do NOT use ripe apples. Do not peel the apples. Cut the apples into quarters. Do not remove the seeds. Place in a large pot and add just enough water to barely cover the apples. Cover the pot and simmer on very low heat until the apples are fully cooked. Stir every twenty-minutes. When the mixture looks like runny applesauce it is done. Place a strainer or colander over another clean pot. Place a clean cloth inside the strainer. Pour the hot applesauce mixture into the cloth covered strainer so it can drip through into the large pot underneath. It will take several hours for the mixture to drain through the clean cloth. The slimy thick liquid in the pot is the fruit pectin. Refrigerate or freeze it until it is needed in a recipe.
How to Use: Substitute the above apple pectin in any recipe that requires a box of fruit pectin (about 1.75 ounces) by using 3 tablespoons apple pectin with 4 tablespoons sugar.

Homemade Liquid Hop Yeast
1 ounce hops4 tsp. brown sugar1 cup smooth mashed potatoes
2 cups flour4 tsp. salt2 quarts water
Early in the day, boil one ounce of hops in two quarts of water for thirty minutes. Strain and let the liquid cool to the warmth of new milk. Put in an earthen crock or bowl. Add 4 teaspoons each of salt and brown sugar. Now beat up 2 cups of flour with part of the liquid and add to the remainder of liquid, mixing well. Set that mixture aside in a warm place for 3 days. Then add 1 cup smooth, mashed potatoes. Keep near the range in a warm place and stir frequently until it is well fermented. Place in a sterile, wide mouth jug or glass jar, and store in a cool place until ready to use. It will remain active for 2 months and improve with age. Use same quantity as regular yeast, but shake the jar well before using.

Hop Yeast
1 tsp. hops1 tbsp. sugar1 pint pure water (No Chlorine)
1 tbsp. flour1 large potato, diced1 glass bottle
Boil potato, add hops while boiling. Boil for 20 minutes. Strain and cool slightly, add flour and sugar. Bottle and cork tightly. The yeast should work in a few hours if you used a bottle that has been used for this same process (or an unwashed, but recently opened beer or wine bottle). A new or washed bottle will take about 24 hours. Adding a maximum of 1 or 2 raisins (or currants) will speed up the process.
This provides not only the base yeast for great sourdough starter, but also works in a pinch for a yeast substitute. You may use this yeast instead of commercial store bought yeast in your recipes for breads, cakes, or sourdough starters.

Smooth Peanut Butter
1 cup roasted shelled peanuts1.5 tsp. oil1/4 tsp. salt
Note: Omit the salt if you are using salted peanuts.
Note: The oil may be peanut oil, or olive oil, or vegetable oil. The flavor of the oil will be present in the finished peanut butter.
Note: If you have fresh unroasted peanuts, then remove the peanuts from their shells, rub off and discard the paper thin pink skins, place peanuts on a cookie sheet and roast in an oven at 300°F for 12 minutes. Allow the peanuts to cool before using.
Directions: Place the roasted peanuts, the oil, and the salt in a blender and secure the lid. Blend until the mixture becomes spreadable. If necessary, add a few more drops of oil. If necessary, stop the blender and scrape the mixture off the sides of the blender to the bottom of the blender, and then continue blending. Use the peanut butter immediately or store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. If the oil separates during storage and rises to the top of the mixture then stir it back into the peanut butter before using.
Option: For crunchy peanut butter, stir in 1/8 cup of chopped roasted peanuts after blending.


Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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