Community Corner
Better Than Store Bought
From Rice 'with' Roni to homemade marshmallows, from-scratch treats better than the box.
I’m always looking for recipes that are knock offs of store bought items. The number one reason is cost: If I can make something for less than half of what it costs to buy it, I’m all for it.
The second reason is that, with home-made foods, I know what’s in the food, and I can control things like salt and sugars. When I make something, I know that there are no hidden sugars. As a bonus, I can pronounce all of the ingredients. It’s not that I’m against high fructose corn syrup, but it is hidden in everything.
San Lorenzo native Amanda Nowlin, who runs the blog The Screaming Penny and now lives in Virginia, gave me this first recipe. It is so good, let’s just say I don’t buy boxed rice and pasta anymore, even if it is the San Francisco treat and is made in San Leandro.
This recipe makes three batches, so I store the rice and pasta in a four cup container and the seasonings in a sandwich bag on top of the rice. Then just measure out what I need. It’s just as quick to make as the store bought brand, and you can adjust the amounts to suit your family’s needs.
Amanda’s Rice With Roni
2 C Rice
1 C Orzo pasta or crushed spaghetti noodles
¼ C Dried Parsley
2 tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Thyme or Italian Seasoning
6 Chicken or Beef Bullion Cubes or 6Tbl Bullion Base
Combine the rice and orzo, and put in an airtight container. In a separate container (I just mix everything in a sandwich bag) combine the parsley, onion powder, garlic powder and thyme.
To cook – Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a saucepan, add 1 cup of the rice mixture, cook until the noodles are light brown. Add 2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix, 2 bullion cubes and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes.
You can substitute beef or chicken broth instead of the bullion cubes, but it will taste a little flat, so even though the bullion cubes have more sodium than the broth, it tastes a lot better and has less sodium than the store bought version. You can also add extras like, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, or frozen peas.
Last summer I was visiting family in Washington and my sister-in-law, Rena Teitzel, made the best Ranch Dip I have ever had. It’s so simple, and can easily be thinned to be a salad dressing, and let me tell you, it costs a lot less to make than buying a bottle of ranch dressing.
Rena’s Ranch Dip
1 C Mayonnaise
1 C Sour Cream
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
¼ C Chopped Parsley – You can use either fresh or dried
Mix the ingredients together and refrigerate for at least one hour. This is just the basic recipe, from here you can add chives, black pepper, parmesan cheese or adjust the garlic, onion and parsley to suit your tastes.
If you want Ranch Dressing for a salad, you just thin it down with buttermilk, or regular milk.
While we’re on the subject of dip, let’s add some potato chips. Home-made potato chips are easy to make, and one potato will make almost the same amount of chips as a whole bag, but for pennies instead of $3. The downside, is that they don’t last. Everybody eats them up.
Potato Chips
Thinly slice one potato (I use a mandolin as the slices should be paper thin). Put the slices in a bowl of water. Meanwhile heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees, or put 3 inches of oil in a heavy pan. When the oil is hot, carefully, and slowly add the potato slices. I normally put them in one at a time, other wise they will stick together. Fry the potatoes until they are golden brown and float to the top of the oil or about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Salt if desired.
Finally, for your sweet tooth, here are two recipes that will be a hit. The first is marshmallows. I made these on a whim last summer and they turned out so good, that I haven’t bought a package of store bought marshmallows since. These are easy to make, they just take a little time. It also helps if you have a stand mixer. They have a different texture than store bought marshmallows, much more lighter.
Marshmallows
3 pkts unflavored Gelatin (about 3 Tbl)
1 ½ C Sugar
1 C Light Corn Syrup
1 C Water - divided
¼ tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Powdered Sugar
Combine the gelatin and ½ C of cold water in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and let sit while you prepare the syrup. Put the whisk attachment on the mixer.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and ½ cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick (about 15 minutes). Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. – Note – at this point you now have the marshmallow fluff that comes out of a jar.
Lightly spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Coat the pan with powdered sugar (just like flouring a cake pan), make sure you have a thick coat of powdered sugar.
Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan, it will be VERY sticky. Put some oil on your hands and carefully press the marshmallow evenly into the pan. Dust the top of the marshmallow with powdered sugar. Allow the marshmallow to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours but overnight is better.
Turn the marshmallow out onto a powdered sugar board, and cut into 1-inch squares or into desired size. Toss the marshmallows in powdered sugar to keep from sticking together and store in an airtight container.
You can change the flavor by substituting the desired flavor for the vanilla, or color the marshmallows by adding a few drops of food coloring when you add the flavoring.
My daughter, Erin Johnson, gave me this final recipe. I’m not sure where she got it from, but it is the best chocolate syrup around. Again, you can adjust it to suit your tastes or maybe add a pinch of cayenne pepper to add some spice.
Chocolate Syrup
1 ½ C Water
3 C Sugar
1 ½ C Cocoa Powder
1 Tbl Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp Salt
2 Tbl Light Corn Syrup
In a small pot, bring water and sugar to a boil and whisk in cocoa, vanilla, salt and corn syrup. Whisk until all of the solids have dissolved. Continue cooking until the sauce is slightly thickened. Strain and cool to room temperature. Pour into a squeeze bottle. Store in refrigerator.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my family does. Just remember, it’s fresher, healthier and cheaper than store bought.
If you have a cooking question, are looking for a recipe, or have a recipe to share, please send me a note.