Raspberry-Peach Rolls with a Simply Peach Glaze

So I'd had thoughts of this recipe brewing in my head for some time.  And since I took advantage of the Big Deal Sale we had this month, I finally got my THRIVE Peaches to make it happen!  I had reservations, as this fell under the category of "Hila experimenting in the kitchen" and I'm still a tad new at the whole experimentation game (I do love to follow a recipe!).  But after talking over my idea with my husband and getting his advice...  I decided it was worth a try.  And unless it turned out like charcoal, we'd be eating it!  Can't let those delicious THRIVE Peaches and THRIVE Raspberries go to waste!

Good news!  It wasn't charcoal!  Even better news:  It was a total success!  My husband had 3 big ones.  And is now down for a morning nap ;).

I'll do a step-by-step with pictures at the bottom, but sometimes I know people just want the recipe and I usually hate scrolling through the long version when I'm looking at other people's recipes ;).  So here is the recipe (I am not responsible for making up the dough recipe, though I did THRIVE-alize it a bit.  The original dough recipe can be found here.  But I did develop the "innards" of this ;)).

RASPBERRY-PEACH ROLLS with a SIMPLY PEACH GLAZE

Dough:
1 cup THRIVE Instant Milk (prepared)
1/3 cup butter
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar*
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour* (plus more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt*
3 THRIVE Whole Eggs (3 tablespoons egg powder + 6 tablespoons water)

Filling:
2 cups THRIVE Peaches
1/4 cup THRIVE Raspberries
1/3 cup white sugar*

Glaze:
1 cup THRIVE Powdered Sugar
2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix
3 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk (prepared)

For the dough:  Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it barely bubbles.  Remove from heat and melt butter in milk.  Allow to cool until lukewarm.  Pour into large mixing bowl and add yeast.  Mix and allow yeast to dissolve in milk and butter mixture.  Add sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt, and eggs.  Mix until well-blended.  Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls into a ball.  Turn dough out on floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, adding flour as necessary (this was about another 1/4 cup or so for me).  Oil a large bowl and put dough into bowl, turning to coat with oil.  Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise until doubled in size (anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on temperatures).  Turn dough out onto a clean, dry surface and roll dough out to approximately 11x14-inch rectangle. 

For the filling:  Place peaches and raspberries in a blender or food processor and process until powdered.  Pour into a small bowl and add 1/3 cup sugar.  Stir to mix all ingredients together.

For the glaze (I recommend making this while the rolls are cooking):  Add all ingredients (powdered sugar, Simply Peach, and prepared milk) together in a bowl and whisk until a glaze forms.  Set aside until rolls are done baking.

For the rolls:  Sprinkle filling evenly all over rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2" bare at one "short" edge of the dough.  Brush that bare strip with water.  Beginning with the other short edge, roll tightly all the way and then pinch seams at the wet dough end.  Cut into 12 equal parts (I do this using string or floss, as it prevents flattening) and place into a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, take rolls out of the refrigerator and allow to set for 30 to 45 minutes (making sure rolls have doubled in size...  You may have to let them sit out longer -- but not too long!  Ours were out a little too long ;), hence the popping out rolls!).  Preheat oven to 375.  Bake loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until rolls are done.  Drizzle with glaze while still hot.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So here are some step-by-step pictures:

Filling mixture sprinkled over dough rectangle.

Dough rolled up and sealed.

Cut rolls, covered with plastic wrap and ready for the fridge!

After rising and sitting out for a while in the morning (ours sat out a bit too long, so they over-big!).  I almost forgot to take this picture, hence the inside-the-oven picture ;)).

Simply Peach Glaze is ready to go!

The finished product!  So yummy!

One thing I learned is that I'll probably add a little water to the Simply Peach drink mix in a saucepan in the future to melt the sugar crystals in the drink mix.  The glaze was a little grainy from the sugar that didn't melt as I made it above.  So it was just a little learning thing for me ;).  Still tasty, though!  And a delicious treat for a lazy Saturday morning!

If you're interested in enjoying any of these awesome products to make this recipe -- or a million others! -- contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website:  www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla.

Happy THRIVEing!

Lots of THRIVE!

The other day I used a lot of THRIVE to make dinner and dessert!  It was a lot of fun trying new things :).

Pictured above was dinner, drink, and dessert from that day -- and, being that I don't get super motivated these days until after 2 p.m., that's when I started working on all of this!  Definitely couldn't have done that much without my THRIVE!

First up:  drinks!  The truth is, we are mainly water drinkers in my household.  But every once in a while, a yummy fruity drink sounds really appealing.  So I can understand why experts recommend having some juice mixes as part of your home store.  I have used this THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix for a variety of juices as well as putting it into my smoothies.  I needed the juice for the dessert I'd decided to make, so I went ahead and made up a full batch and enjoyed some of the juice with dinner :).  Simply follow the guidelines on the #10 can (2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach to 1 cup water) and oila!   You have a simple, but yummy juice.  It's a real treat for my toddler when she can have juice with dinner.  And she gulps it down fast.

What I love?  IT HAS NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!  That's such a win, when so many powdered drinks are full of artificial colors!

Next up:  dinner!  It was one of those "what am I going to make for dinner?" days...  I mean, I had my menu list all planned out -- like I do most pay periods.  But I flat out forgot to pull meat out to thaw.  And this is one of the reasons I love my THRIVE meats.  They are ready to use, even at the last minute.  So I found a recipe on the THRIVE Life website for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  You can follow that link and get the original recipe.  You can even make this as a jar meal.  Here's how I did it (with what I had on hand):

CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO
1 heaping cup shell macaroni
1/2 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
1 cup THRIVE Broccoli
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese*

Place all ingredients except Parmesan Cheese in a saucepan with 4 1/2 cups water.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in Parmesan Cheese until melted and incorporated.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So the things I loved about this dish: 
1.  It was all in one pot.
2.  It was easy to throw together.
3.  I didn't have to worry about thawing meat, etc.

But I have to be honest...  I personally didn't especially like this meal.  I think it was the Italian Seasoning.  Granted, I don't have THRIVE Italian Seasoning, so maybe that makes a difference.  But I just didn't enjoy that flavor.  My toddler really didn't like it.  My husband, however, said he didn't think it was bad.  So I guess it's all in personal preference.  But I have to share my true feelings, and those are that I don't plan to make this again.

For some reason, anytime I make pasta, I feel like I need bread to go with it.  Clearly, I did not start my meal-making in time to do a yeast bread.  And even throwing together scratch biscuits seemed like a lot of effort (lazy, huh?).  But then it occurred to me I could do the next best thing!  Sort of scratch biscuits!  I grabbed my Honey Whole Wheat Mix and decided to try making biscuits with it!  A quick glance at the ingredients told me it already had shortening in the mix, along with flour and salt...  Basically I just had to add a leavening agent.  And that was simple enough with baking powder!  So here's my recipe:

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT DROP BICUITS
2 cups THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/4 cups milk*

Place the dough mix into a medium bowl and add baking powder.  Stir well to combine.  Add milk and mix.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.  (I got 9 biscuits.)

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

You can add less milk if you want to make "cut out" biscuits.  But I like the drop biscuits, because they are fast.

And finally...  What I did for dessert ;).  Which was just a random idea I had, so I ran with it.  And it's also a pretty decent snack for a toddler!  I'm calling them Strawberry Peach Jiggly Squares :).

STRAWBERRY-PEACH JIGGLY SQUARES
4 cups THRIVE Simply Peach, prepared (this is 4 cups water plus 8 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix)
4 packets unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup coarsely chopped THRIVE Strawberry Slices

Bring 3 cups of prepared juice to a boil.  Place one cup of prepared juice in a large bowl.  Sprinkle all 4 packets of gelatin over juice. Allow to sit for a minute.  Pour hot juice into the bowl and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in THRIVE Strawberry Slices.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I usually spray with cooking spray for even easier release later!).  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

Again, one thing I really love about this is that there are no artificial colors!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not great at staying away from all the artificial colors.  And who doesn't love Jell-o Jigglers?  But if I can come up with something just as fun and kid-friendly without the fake stuff?  I'm totally in!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing around and trying new things.  And I just really love how THRIVE Life has often come to the rescue on those days when I am not as prepared as I could be to make dinner ;)!

Happy THRIVEing!  And, as always, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order to help your meal-times not be a conundrum when you forget to thaw the meat ;)!!!

"Frankenmuffins"

As I've mentioned before, I'm always looking for new yummy ways to get vegetables into myself and my toddler!  I recently came across this recipe for "Frankenmuffins" in a Family Fun magazine my friend Lea gave me.  I knew I wanted to try it out (even if it isn't quite Halloween-time yet ;)), and THRIVE gave me the incentive to do so one day when I realized I had all the ingredients necessary -- thanks to THRIVE Chopped Spinach!  So I tweaked the original recipe a bit, as the original called for fresh baby spinach, and I figured I wouldn't need as much spinach while using my THRIVE.  Below is the recipe as I made them.

FRANKENMUFFINS
1 cup white flour*
1 cup whole wheat flour*
3/4 cup sugar*
2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk*
3 cups THRIVE Chopped Spinach, rehydrated
1 large ripe banana
2 teaspoons THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 16 muffin cups with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and stir with a mix until well combined.

In a blender, add the oil, milk, and spinach.  Puree until smooth.  Add banana and vanilla and blend until all is well combined.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until completely mixed (I used my stand mixer).

Fill each prepared muffin well two-thirds full.  Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes (mine took 17).

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I seriously cannot say enough good things about these muffins!  They are delicious!  And they freeze amazingly well.  We will be making another batch of them tomorrow, because we ran out!  My toddler and I love to eat them as a snack, but I think they could even be used as breakfast.  And I just love that I'm getting extra veggies into both of us in a delicious way!  And I really love using my THRIVE Spinach in this recipe.  It's so super-easy to just scoop my spinach into the blender and add the liquids and blend!

Make-Ahead Golden Cornbread!

I've mentioned on other personal blogs before that our family tries to keep meal prep to a minimum on Sundays.  And this past Sunday, THRIVE Life helped me do just that with some make-ahead cornbread!  Because I had all the ingredients on hand -- and they were all dry ingredients! -- I made my cornbread mix Saturday night, put it in an airtight container, and just added water on Sunday!

The results?

Delicious!

GOLDEN CORNBREAD
1 cup THRIVE Cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar*
1 cup white flour*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
2 tablespoons powdered milk*
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder
1 teaspoon baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 cup water (to add when ready to prepare)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until completely combined.

To prepare:  Preheat oven to 375.  Grease an 8x8 baking pan.  Add 1 1/2 cups water to dry ingredients and whisk together until batter is smooth.  Pour into greased pan.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes.  Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

This cornbread was delicious!  I love that it can be prepared ahead of time and all I have to do is add water!  This makes for a great gift -- just add a pound of THRIVE Express Hearty Chili with Beans!  It's also great for once-a-month cooking, though I would recommend having it sealed pretty well in that case.  And even if you just know you're going to have a busy day the next day and you want your meal to be hassle-free, this is a great option for a side dish!  Prep it early and have it waiting for water, baking and eating!

Below is a picture of the mix I made Saturday night.  I just put the lid on that bowl and let it sit and wait for me until Sunday evening :).

And here's a close-up of the deliciousness!

Would you love to have ingredients on-hand to make your own mixes?  THRIVE is full of those handy ingredients!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll help you get what you need!

Honey Whole Wheat Rolls

During December, the THRIVE specials were all about making baking a cinch!  I don't know about you, but I tend to do a lot of baking during the holidays.  I also need as many things as possible to make my life easier.  As you can probably guess, due to my infrequent updating of this blog, I was a busy bee for the last several weeks.  Baking, shopping, cooking, visiting, prepping for 9 people in our 1000 square foot apartment for a week (yikes!)...  It's a busy time of year for me (and probably for everyone else as well!).  Thus, when I saw all the bakery yumminess on sale in December, I stocked up!  And last night, we enjoyed some Honey Whole Wheat Rolls with our pasta dinner :).

The preparation instructions for the bread (whether in loaf form or rolls) is on the can.  Basically, you put warm water and yeast in a bowl and add the required amount of Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix, and you're well on your way to some yummy, moist, and soft rolls! 

I love that these rolls have whole wheat...  I know it's a healthier option for my family :).  I'm looking forward to trying this mix out for some whole wheat cinnamon rolls in the not-too-distant future, so stay tuned!

Make Ahead Monday: Baking Powder Biscuits

I have neglected this blog for far too long!  I promise my reason is a good one:  I'm growing another human.  And as a result, I have been exhausted and feeling kind of yuck many afternoons.  So I have become re-acquainted with the advice to new moms:  sleep when the baby sleeps!  Only, in this case, my baby is now a toddler.  Nonetheless, I nap when she naps.  Which means I get very little done.  Today I'm trying to play catch-up!

And what better way than to show you how you can have some Baking Powder Biscuits just hanging out in  your pantry, waiting for water to be added! 

To be honest, I didn't have these made ahead this time.  However, they include all powder ingredients (and can be made with 100% THRIVE Life ingredients!), so they totally work well as a make-ahead recipe.  And even if only saving me 5 minutes of time...  Sometimes those 5 minutes are golden moments.  And I know myself (especially these days)...  If I know I can just add water -- not dirty a bunch of extra dishes -- well, I'm sold! 

So here's how you make these biscuits:

1/4 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder
2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour -- I use 1 cup of each)*
1 tablespoon sugar*, if desired
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 teaspoon salt*
3 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk powder

Either layer all ingredients in a jar, or mix all ingredients in a large bowl and then transfer to a jar and seal.  Use within 1 month.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE Life.

When you are ready to prepare:  Add 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup water (depending on whether you want drop biscuits or cut-out biscuits -- more water for drop biscuits).  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

I usually make the drop biscuit recipe (because it's faster).  However, as was true today, I'm often making the biscuit(s) for a dish called Tomato Biscuit & Cheese, which I got from my mother-in-law.  It's especially awesome for that summer harvest of tomatoes!  (Our tomato plants were a little ambitious this year, so we actually got 3 littles off our plant this past week, and I was able to use those plus a huge store-bought one).  Anyway, I say all that because, when I'm making the biscuit for that...  I make only one huge rectangular biscuit.  Again, because it's faster :).

So in case you're interested in trying out the Tomato Biscuit & Cheese recipe, here it is:

8 biscuits (or one large rectangular biscuit)
8 slices tomato (or enough to cover the rectangle)
1/2 to 3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste
1 to 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Place the biscuit(s) on a baking sheet.  Cover with one tomato slice.  Sprinkle tomato slice with salt, pepper, basil, and oregano.

In a small bowl, mix together cottage cheese and mayonnaise.  Spoon over seasoned tomato slices.  Sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese over cottage cheese mixture.

Bake at 450 until cheese is melted and tomato is hot.

I don't know why, but there is something really satisfying for me about this dish.  And it's an easy one to throw together -- especially if you have made-ahead biscuit mix!

By the way, the THRIVE Instant Milk is the Q-Pon item for this month!  It's a great time to stock up on your milk supply.  I love that we can get powdered milk :).  I think it's an important part of food storage!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you want to stock up!

Sweet Potato Muffins

At the end of September, I had the opportunity to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and do a mini-THRIVE "party" for my mother-in-law at a Stampin' Up get together!  It was a fun evening, and I enjoyed learning more about crafting -- and getting big a little by the card-making bug!  If you're into card-making, you should check out Stampin' Up here.  I flipped through the catalog and found so many things I wanted!  They were so stinkin' cute!  Being that I'm not super-crafty, my sister-in-law (who is incredibly patient -- she reminds me of my mom with how patient she is!) "held my hand" and helped me make the cutest "pop-up" card.  Which I was able to use as part of a house-warming gift just this past weekend.  So fun!

Anyway, I was also able to meet several awesome ladies and learn a little bit about them.  One sweet lady was particularly interested in how THRIVE Life Foods can help her eat healthier while on the road.  She drives a truck with her husband, and she said it can sometimes be challenging to eat well when their refrigerated space is quite limited and they are on the road for weeks -- and sometimes months -- at a time!  I am always excited when someone finds a way THRIVE Life can benefit their life's circumstances in new ways I'd never thought of before!

I wanted to be able to share some of the deliciousness that can be accomplished with THRIVE Life foods, so I made Sweet Potato Muffins!  I found the recipe on the back of the #10 can of THRIVE Sweet Potatoes, but it can also be found on the THRIVE Life recipe site.  I adapted it a bit to fit what I had.

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS
1/2 cup THRIVE Sweet Potatoes
1 1/4 cup water, boiling
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk
1/4 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Honey Crystals
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
1/2 tablespoons baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup THRIVE Powdered Butter
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Soak sweet potatoes in boiling water until soft (about 10 minutes).  Do not drain water.  Add potato mixture to blender and puree with apple juice.

In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together.  Add puree mixture and blend until almost mixed.  Add in butterscotch chips and mix until barely incorporated.  Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.  Makes 16 muffins.

* Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE Life.

These were so yummy!  And they were a hit at the party :).  In fact, my sister-in-law may have temporarily broken her diet for them... ;).

THRIVE Golden Cornbread Mix

On Sundays, my family tries to keep dinner prep to a minimum.  This often means we eat leftovers for dinner on Sunday evenings.  This past week, however, we had my nieces joining us for dinner; and I knew we wouldn't have enough food!

THRIVE came to the rescue once again!  I had some of the delicious THRIVE Golden Cornbread Mix, so I whipped up a batch of cornbread to accompany all the other things we had leftover.  It was so easy and so fast!  Just add water, mix, pour, and bake!

This is a very moist and delicious cornbread!  My nieces gobbled it up -- and so did we!

And the cornbread freezes well!  My mom bakes up a batch and freezes all but what she needs, since it is just she and my grandma at home.  Then she is able to take out a couple pieces at a time and enjoy them with dinner for several days!

If you want a quick, no-fuss side-dish that is delicious as well, this THRIVE Golden Cornbread is definitely something you want to try!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to order some!

Using THRIVE Butter Powder Again!

Having THRIVE butter powder in my home store is exciting to me.  Mostly because I like the idea of a longer-term store of butter.  But I'll be honest when I say I am not always great at remembering to use it.  Particularly because I do a lot of sauteing, and I've read other blogs which indicate the butter powder does not saute well.  I've tried it out as a spread, and I thought that was great.  I've even made cookies with it -- and that worked out well (and the cookies were delicious, so that's really what matters most!).  But I like versatility -- and I like knowing I can use my butter powder in a variety of ways!

So today, I remembered to try out my THRIVE butter powder in two new ways!

1.  Kraft {Blue Box} Macaroni and Cheese.  Okay, so I like this stuff.  To tell the truth, I prefer the Velveeta... But one day I noticed the sodium content of Velveeta and decided I'd go with the Blue Box.  Not much better, but a little bit.  I know it's not the best stuff.  Which is why I don't give it to my daughter...  Yet I eat it.  (Probably an unwise choice...  But oh well.)  So, the preparation for the macaroni and cheese calls for butter, right?  Well, today I decided to use THRIVE Powdered Butter and see how it went!  I added a tablespoon of the powdered butter along with the milk and the cheese packet and just stirred!  It worked out great :).  I probably should have added a bit more milk, but I never actually measure the milk anyway, so mine usually comes out a little drier than it could be.

2.  For dinner I made Tomato Biscuit and Cheese.  This is a recipe my mother-in-law gave me -- which she got from her mother-in-law :).  I think that's pretty cool.  There is always the option of buying English Muffins or pre-prepared biscuits.  But I usually make mine from scratch.  I didn't have any shortening (and dog-gone-it...  My THRIVE shortening powder only just shipped today with my host benefits order from my launch party, so I didn't have that either!).  So I decided to use butter powder instead.  I just added the butter powder right into the dry ingredients!  I will post the recipe -- as I made it -- below.  (By the way, I just got rave reviews on the biscuits from my husband -- and he had no idea I made them with butter powder!  And he is generally my best gauge for anything new I try ;)...).

Baking Powder Biscuits
1/4 cup THRIVE butter powder
2 cups all-purpose flour* (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat)
1 tablespoon sugar*
3 teaspoons baking powder*
3/4 teaspoon salt*
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk* (you may want to add more milk -- up to 1/4 cup)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Place THRIVE butter powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine.  Add milk and stir until just blended.  Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet
and cook 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

*Denotes ingredients available through THRIVE Life.