Fantabulous Super Quick and Easy Cheesy Crackers

   These are  adaptations from a recipe I got from a link from SouleMama's blog.   The original recipe for Parmasean Cream Crackers is here.
     We made two different variations of the recipe.  One is using Asiago cheese and the other recipe uses sharp cheddar and a little asiago with some good spices.

 1 cup all-purpose flour, more as needed

1/2 teaspoon salt

Spices…like we added a couple of dashes of paprika and garlic powder to the sharp cheddar batch.  Fresh nutmeg would taste nice with some coriander and swiss cheese.  Cayenne and a hint of mustard maybe with monterey jack cheese.  Just a few ideas.  Go with what you know or experiment.  It's not a lot to waste is it tastes less than expected…plus your pets will probably eat them if you don't.  ;)

1/2-3/4 + cup finely grated cheese/s  (the original recipe said 1/2 a cup, but we used about a whole cup on the second batch and the crackers were still awesome)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (can be room temp. or cold)

1/4 cup cream, more as needed

Coarse salt, pepper, sesame or poppy seeds, minced garlic or whatever you like for sprinkling (optional).

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and butter in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup cream and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky. (We added just a 1/4 a cup…slowly…and it worked without ever adding any extra.)

2. Roll out dough, to 1/4 of an inch to 1/3 an inch, on the parchment you are going to use on the baking sheet. Transfer the parchment sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet. Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

(cut the crackers completely and separate them some…this will allow for more even cooking of the crackers)

3. Bake until lightly browned, about 10-14 minutes. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for more than a few days. (as of the posting, ours have been in the cabinet for 4 days and are still awesome)  The crackers around the edge cooked faster, so we removed those then cooked the ones left a couple of minutes more.  

These are the ones we added cheddar cheese and spices to…our second batch

The asiago crackers with some everything bagel topping my son added to a section.  Tasty. 

Do a variety of shapes…let your kids or self go crazy…after all they all end up in the same place.

The War Was Over Big Government, Not Slavery

     Speaking of the Civil War, which coincidentally was not over slavery, as the winning yanks would have you think, but was in fact over the federal government trying to take away the states supreme right to govern itself and the feds were starting to tax like crazy.  Back then all of the wealth was in the southern states…each state was like it's own country and were some of the wealthiest little countries on the planet back then, all from agriculture, like sugar cane.  The feds didn't want all of it's bank roll to leave the union and so they started a war.  Plain and simple.  That is why the european nations were on our side and was the only reason the president signed the bill abolishing slavery was to keep the europeans from coming over and helping the south.  Do some research, you'll see it's true.  But for now, check out this beautiful southern cake!
 We made a General Robert E. Lee Cake recently.  I could not find my other 9" round cake pan and so we had to do square layers. But it is still a pretty cake and turned out really well.  It is one of the types of cakes where you have to separate the eggs and do them separately in the batter.  It also has no butter in it.  So the layers are light and a little spongy, like sponge cake.
    You have a lemon jelly/pudding in between the layers.  My daughter was keen  and did a great job with the stirring while this was in the double boiler.
     Then you have an orange lemon butter icing that has coconut in it and on it.  I only use coconut that is natural with out the chemicals in it.  I buy it frozen in little bags…works great and won't kill you either…lol.
     If anyone wants the recipe I will post it. I got it from an older southern cake book.  It takes a dozen eggs to make this cake…no salt, and no baking soda, either.  Loved the experience of making this, especially with my daughter!  A real blessing from God to be able to do that!
     And no, I am not a food photographer.  Don't want to be one either.

Mini Pecan Pies

     


      I made mini pecan pies this year for Jesus' birthday dessert.  They are really easy to make. I used a double pie crust recipe from my 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I used a recipe for the pie filling from Robb Walsh.  I adapted the filling a tad, too.
      I never use corn syrup in a pecan pie recipe.  I order Steen's Cane Syrup online.  It is inexpensive.  The prices online include shipping.  I bought 4, 25 ounce cans for $26.50!  It is really good on pancakes, biscuits, and ice cream, too!  It is all natural and made the old fashioned way!  Plus it is local and made in America.  Unlike Lyle's golden syrup which is made using a chemical process and is made overseas.

Pie Crust

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
mixed together with 1 tsp. salt
Cut in 2/3 cup room temp or cold butter.  Do 1/3 cup first until the pieces are like a coarse grain.  Then do the last 1/3 until those pieces are like large peas.  This makes the pie flaky and tender.
Sprinkle with 4 tbsp. water.
Gather the dough together and press into a ball. Divide in two and wrap each disc in plastic wrap and put in the fridge until ready to use.


Pecan Pie Filling

1/3 cup butter melted over med. low heat with
1 tsp salt, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, and one 1 cup cane syrup until it is smooth.  Stir while cooking it.
Sit mixture in a bowl that will let it cool off.  Then add 3 eggs, already mixed up, and 1-2 tsp. vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of cognac or vsop brandy.  Mix until blended through. (the original recipe says to mix for ten minutes! That is overkill and not needed at all. Thanksgiving I made two pies, one with the crazy mixing and one without.  No difference in finished product except lost time and a burnt out hand mixer...lol.)  If you are making mini pies then add 2/3 cup chopped pecans.  If making a regular pie, add 1.5 cups of regular pecans.  Then mix again by hand.

To make the mini pies, roll out one disc of the dough.  It will make exactly 12 mini pies using a regular muffin tin.  Do not use non stick, as it is dark and will cause the pies to burn on the crust.  Plus non stick is toxic as heck.  Use a shiny pan.  DO NOT GREASE PANS.  Use a biscuit cutter and take the disc and put into the muffin hole and push down and around the sides.  Squish it up the sides and fix any tears you make.  Reroll dough until you are done with the 12 mini crusts.
Next, ladle the pie filling into each crust.  Leave a small amount of head space.  They will expand a small amount.  Then place a few whole pecans on top of each mini pie.  Push the pecans into the filling.
Put the mini pies into a preheated 425 degree oven.  After 5 minutes, drop the temp to 350 and cook until they are done.  They will be firmer to the touch in the middle, not all wobbly dobbly, and when a knife inserted into the middle it will come out with bits that are more solid and less liquidy.  It will take less than 45 minutes, but more than 25.  The pies will not get black on top.  This is over cooked.  The crust will be light brown...maybe a light medium brown.  But they will not overcook either in the muffin tins.  They are really easy to remove, too. You will notice when they are done, the crust starts to pull away from the sides, too.  Just run a knife around the edge to catch any little bits and pop them out.!  Reminds me of the ones I would buy in the store, but so much better tasting and better for you!

I used my extra pie filling, that was left over, with the second disc of dough and made a small pie with a meatloaf pan I had.  Very tasty.

     

Blueberry Jelly Recipe

    This week I made my first ever thing to be canned!  I made Blueberry Jelly!  It was really easy and turned out so well!
     All you do is take approximately 2 quarts of blueberries and puree them in a blender or food processor.  Then you cook them in a pot on the stove with a half a cup of water.  You bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for ten minutes. Stir it occassionaly.  Then you strain the fruit through a  cheese cloth lined colander.  Rinse out the pan and put 3.5 cups of juice into the pan with the one box of powdered pectin and a 1/2 tsp of butter. (The butter keeps it from foaming like crazy)  Mix it with a whisk on high heat until you have a rolling boil.  (The boil will not go away when you stir it)  Add the sugar, 4.5 cups,  all at once and mix and bring back to a rolling boil and boil for one minute.  Then take it off the heat and you are ready to add it to your prepared jars.  Well, if you have any foam scrape it off and eat it, it tastes great!  But the foam looks weird in a jar.
      To prepare your jars you make sure they are clean and have them in your large pot that you will water process the jelly in after you put it in the jars. The jars should be kept hot while you are making the jelly, but not boiling them.  The lids and screws can be in a smaller pot on the stove, being kept hot as well.  So, all in all you have 3 burners busy on the stove.
     Pour the jelly into the jars, it makes about 6 cups of jelly.  After that you wipe the lips of the jars off so they are clean.  You put the lids and screws on. But make sure the screws are not super oober tight. Just enough, but not wrenched on.  Then you put the jelly jars into the water bath pot, the one you had the jars in before you added the jelly, and heat the water all the way up to boiling and boil 10-15 minutes depending on your altitude.  Then let them sit in the water for five minutes to rest before removing from the pot. Then when on the counter do not shake or mess with them for 24 hours, so the jelly sets up the right way.  You can make sure the lid has sealed by being popped down.  But don't let anyone man handle them.  Then wahlah you have the best blueberry jelly ever!

It has a deep purple color and is very flavorful!  

    I really do not know why blueberry jelly is not super popular because mine was to die for good!  Holy Spirit inspired good!

The recipe said it made 5.25 cups, but I had originally 5.5 cups worth of jars and had to add another jar (the old smuckers one) so I wouldn't waste any!

      I can't understand why more people do not can and make their own jelly and jam!  It is so simple!  And takes very little time at all!

Homemade Vanilla Extract and update on us

      I love to make anything I can from scratch.  So when I found out recently that you can make vanilla extract from scratch, I have been itching to get down to it.  When we had the extra money recently I bought some bourbon Madagascar vanilla beans online.  I then went to the local liquor store and got some really cheap vodka...one gallon's worth.
     I decided to make two half gallons of the extract.  One where I split the beans and scraped out half of the specks, caviar, and the other where I just split the beans. I want to see if there is a real discernible difference in the final product.  An experiment of sorts!  I love experiments like this in the kitchen!
     Then I decided to go one step further and since I had some extra beans left over, make some extract with a different kind of liquor.  I stood in the liquor store for quite a few minutes mulling it all over. I settled on Paul Mason's VSOP brandy.  I bought a 750ml bottle for around 20 dollars plus tax.  I know that only makes a quart...but it is a smooth brandy and it tastes good in baking, so I am excited to try it in the vanilla extract.  I think it will taste heavenly!
     I have put all of the jars in a dark cabinet.  You have to shake them regularly for the first couple of weeks or so and then irregularly after that.  They will be done after 4-6 months.  I used approximately 7  seven inch beans for each cup of alcohol.
     I have some photos I will post later so that you can see what it looks like.  I do want to warn people to not rub your eyes or anything sensitive on your body if you have any of the vanilla oil or liquid on your hands.  It irritated my eyes a little.  I had to wash them twice.  I washed my hands a few times only to find it really lingers.  So bear that in mind.  Nothing troublesome, just irritating.  Makes you itchy a little.  It doesn't irritate as badly as cinnamon oil does, though.  You can't leave cinnamon on our skin or it will turn red and be very irritated almost burned.  I don't like cinnamon oils in my goat's milk soaps for that reason.  I love cinnamon and especially in my foods.  But the oil can be a bit much for a lot of people's skin.
      Next I am wanting to make a vanilla extract with tequila or even spiced rum.  But I am going to wait until the next extra bit comes in.  I do not want to get too crazy with it all right now.  I want to make some peanut butter cooky dough to freeze soon.  
     I had the first peanut butter and jam mixed together with crackers with my 19 month old son tonight.  That was a wonderful thing to do!  I remember doing that often times with my mom, when I was growing up.  I really enjoyed those snacks that she would share with me.  Like apples sliced with cheddar cheese....yummy.
     Our daughter is doing a lot better with her responsibilities and her attitude.  She does make mistakes but is quicker to realize and apologize than she ever was before.  My husband and I are becoming for consistent and graceful in dealing with her mistakes.  I am so thankful for what God is doing in my life and my family's life!  My husband and I are doing much better, thank you God, with our accepting one another and respecting one another.  Thank you Lord for helping me to be a better wife and for teaching me everyday how to respect my husband better,,,and love him more like you do all of us!

Awesome Mexican Casserole

     There are no pictures because it all got eaten...lol.  But I made a really awesome mexican casserole yesterday for dinner. Here is the run down of what it was made of.


Buttered 13 by 9 dish
2 cans of salsa or petite diced tomatoes (no salt added kind) made into salsa, see below
over 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese shredded (shred the block yourself tastes better than pre shredded)
fajita size flour tortillas
seasoned ground beef about one pound to 1.5lbs, recipe below

      I took one can of the petite diced tomatoes and put in my food processor (use blender if needed) and added about 1/3 to a half of a sweet onion that has been diced.  Then I added about a teaspoon of salt.   I added the juice of one lime and a little cilantro and about 1/3 of a can of green chiles.  I did a little shake of garlic powder and onion powder and oregano.  Then I blended it until it was pureed.  Wahlah!  Awesome salsa!
     So I put the salsa on the bottom of the pan.  A nice even layer.  Then I add the tortillas.  Nicely lay them out over the salsa.  Then I layer all of the ground meat.  That is listed below.  Then I added 1/3 of the chiles and about a cup and a half of cheese maybe one cup.  Then I added more salsa.  I top with 6 flour tortillas and the rest of the salsa and the cheese.  I made sure the top was totally covered in cheese!  It was awesome!
     To season the meat I adapted a recipe for a chorizo casserole in a mexican cookbook.  I often use this for taco seasoning as well.
      1 tsp cinnamon
      1/2 to 1tsp ground clove (to taste)
      2 tsp. oregano
      1 tsp. salt
      2 tsp. sugar
      1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
      a couple of tablespoons of anejo tequila or cognac or whisky
      2 or 3 crushed cloves of garlic
Basically, you cook your meat (I don't have to drain mine because it is pasture raised but drain and rinse your beef if you use some from the grocery store.  Rinsing is important!  Rinse it in the strainer/collander.) then you add about a half of a cup of water and the the seasonings and mix it and simmer it until it has almost no liquid.  You do not want to burn it. A tiny amount of liquid is ok and will thicken upon standing.  Awesome meat!
     I went ahead and made an extra thing of salsa and I ended up putting it on my salad it was so good!  Instead of salad dressing! It tasted so good with the shredded cheese on my lettuce!  Yummy Num Num!
Let me know if you try the recipe and how you like it!
God bless!

Prayers Answered and Fruit Flies Bye-Bye

    Well, tonight we had our prayers answered from God.  This happens regularly, our prayers being answered.  This one is just really important.  It says in the bible not to forsake yourselves from gathering with other believers.  Hebrews 10:25   We need the edifying and the support and comfort of being with fellow believers when you are still in the beginning stages of getting your momentum going and are in the beginning stages of setting the course of your lives in your family, too!  God brought us together with another family that follows Andrew Wommack and they have two kids like us.   They started a bible study and were very kind and open with themselves tonight. It was awesome to meet them!
     I had been praying for a good friend for my daughter...someone for her to be herself, a Christian, with and someone who is her age and kindness.  That was answered, too, praise God!  Their daughter is our daughter's age and into similar things, too.
     I am still wanting to homeschool my daughter next year and so tonight I have been looking for all kinds of math resources online to teach her some things this summer.  I am excited about that.  We are being more forgiving, thank you Holy Spirit, and giving more patience to one another...so it has really been an enjoyable time this week, with her.
     We had a small fruit fly problem in our kitchen and I got fed up with them. I did not know how to kill them without squashing them, which rarely works for me.  So, I looked online and a lady online said to use apple cider vinegar with liquid soap, a dash/few drops in it to break the surface tension.  It causes the flies to drown.  I now proudly have 5 dead ones at the bottom of the cup.  Yay!  I believe the lady was on about.com or a frugal living site.  Great cheap advice. I had just bought a gallon of that vinegar the other day.   Not a usual purchase.  Another one of those God things, where the Holy Spirit tells you that you will need them and you do later on.
    And believe it or not, I burned a batch of cookies today. I was going to bring oatmeal raisin cookies to the bible study.  But I over cooked them.  Not black, but too crunchy and dark brown.  Hopefully we will be able to bring them something in the future.  Maybe communion bread and wine?
     It is late, good night.

Homemade chocolate milk, the easy way

    I was looking recently online for a recipe for homemade chocolate milk.  All of the recipes called for heating the milk and sugar and cocoa up, then cooling it.  Well, I did not want to have to heat my milk up and wait for the chocolate milk.
    Well the Holy Spirit brought to my mind a solution!  Simple sugar syrup!  You take equal parts of water and sugar and heat it until the sugar dissolves and cook it a few more minutes.  Then put it in a glass  jar in your fridge.  BAM!  You have sugar to add to any cold beverage that does not need to be dissolved!
     This is great for chocolate milk, iced coffees, iced teas...any cold beverage.  You could even add it to a cocktail to sweeten it up!
    So, to make a tall glass of homemade chocolate milk, just add a heaping spoon full of cocoa and sugar syrup to taste.  You will need to whisk the daylights out of it...lol. But it is oh so good!  I use hershey's dark cocoa.  It is my favorite reasonably priced cocao.

Unbelief and Black Bean Burgers

      Well, I am asking God to help me with my unbelief.  My daughter has had hand foot and mouth disease this week.  She has felt fine, but had the rash on her hands and feet and a couple of non painful sores under her tongue (thank God they are not causing issues with eating or drinking).  She has been quarantined.  Her rashes are going away.  I feel badly because I have not really felt led to pray over her for her healing.  Usually, I am much more on the ball with that.  I know God heals us.  He gave us His word to heal us ("He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. " Psalm 107:20).  Jesus took upon himself our disease and sin on the cross.  ("Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 2 Peter 2:24)  God is His word.  ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1)  So I know in my heart that God has healed us all, that we just have to confess and believe and relax and it will be so.  I need prayers for my doubt to be gone and for my belief in God's love to be strengthened.  I want to rest in God's peace.  I want to have peace of mind like in this verse "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3.  And in this verse  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"  2 Timothy 1:7!  That is what I am yearning for in this life of mine, especially right now.  I want to know it is in God's hands and feel comfortable with that!  
      I would get so afraid when my daughter would get sick because she had had febrile seizures once as an infant and it scared me, a lot.  I am having to trust God more and not fall into the devil's trap of fear when my children show symptoms.  I do not worry so much now that my daughter is older.  But my son, being a toddler, I am having to trust in the Lord more now.  I want to break down this fear strong hold the devil has tried to put into my heart about my son and his health.
      On a lighter note,  I made a really good lunch today while my son was napping, before he woke up with a low grade fever.  It is a new recipe that I adapted.  I have the adapted one below.  I do not really measure everything when I cook.  So, bear that in mind.  I am giving rough estimates of some ingredients. 

Nicole's Black Bean Burgers

Makes 4 big ones

1 can of blackbeans rinsed and drained

Just shy of a cup of cooked rice

1 egg beaten

1/4 of an onion minced or a few scallions chopped

2-4 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

salt to taste

garlic powder to taste

a few shakes of cayenne pepper

a shake of black pepper

1/4 cup or a tad more of dried bread crumbs  (I broiled/toasted some and then food processed it)

Puree/mash the beans and then add with a spatula  or spoon add the rest of the ingredients.  It will be soft and wet.  It will stick to your hands.  

Heat up a cast iron skillet with oil in the bottom over medium high.  I used olive oil, but any oil will work.  Once the pan is heated up then mound the burgers in your hand and slap them into the pan.  This flattens them all you need.  Wait three or so minutes, flip the burgers, and wait three minutes more and done.  Once done, put on the bun or bread on the plate.  Then repeat with rest of the burgers.

These are really tasty and a great use of leftover rice or beans. Economical and high in protein and fiber.