Black Bean Pizza

The other night I decided to make pizza for dinner but I wanted something  a little different than the red sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni pizza that we ALWAYS have over here. When I told my husband I was craving Black Bean pizza he looked at me crazy and said, "That's a pregnancy craving!" and did NOT look too excited about said pizza. In the end he admitted that it was good and different than what he had expected. I think next time we make this we might put more of a Mexican flare to the flavor of the bean mixture by using diced tomatoes with chilies instead of Italian style and add salsa and sour cream on the side.

I have a fail proof, EASY, yummy recipe for pizza dough that I have used for a couple of years now that I will share with you too! Just follow this link.




Black Bean Pizza from Allrecipes


1 can refrigerated pizza crust (or use recipe above, much better!!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup zucchini, finely chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided

Press dough into a greased 15in x 10in x 1in baking pan (I just used the pizza pan pictured above). Bake at 425 degrees F for 4-6 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. (I did this step with the homemade crust too, just make sure you poke holes in the crust with a fork before it goes in and brush it with olive oil if desired).

Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add zucchini; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the beans and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes; drain. Sprinkle 2/3 cup of cheese over crust (I skipped this step). Top with bean mixture and remaining cheese. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until crust is browned and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

This is my "go to" recipe for pizza crust or calzones. The original recipe calls for all white flour but I add some wheat in, so I changed the recipe to reflect that. Either way you have a very yummy, EASY recipe for pizza dough. Enjoy!


Whole Wheat Pizza Crust lightly adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/4 oz packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Place 1 1/2 cups warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in the yeast and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl combine 2 cups wheat flour, 1 cup white flour, and the salt. Make a well in the center, pour the yeast mixture in and stir with a wooden spoon. Add as much extra white flour as needed to make the dough to form a ball, but still be a little bit sticky.

Transfer to a floured work surface and dust with some of the remaining flour. Knead for 7 to 8 minutes, adding flour a little at a time as needed until the dough is smooth and springy. Wash and dry the bowl, then lightly grease with oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a moist dish towel, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour if your room isn't drafty.

After it's done rising turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. If you like "normal" pizza crust, not too thick or thin, spread it into a 9x13 inch pan. If you like thin crust divide the dough into two and use two 14 inch round pizza pans. Or use whatever pans you have in your house! If you like thick crust use the whole recipe on one round pizza pan. Really, this recipe can be so flexible with pan size and thickness, so find what works for YOU!

Before baking use a fork to poke holes in the crust, and if desired brush lightly with olive oil. Now you can either top your pizza and bake 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees, or pre-bake your crust for about 10 minutes before topping it and put it back in for about 5 minutes until your cheese is bubbly and melted.

Ellie's BBQ Pork Chops

My 2 years old daughter and I recently went to "Farm Days" at our local university. She LOVED it. She got to hold a baby chick, pet a lamb, rabbit, and goat; and see all sorts of animals she loves. As I was trying to convince her that yes it really was time to go home we found a table with this on it:

She went crazy over it. "This is my recipe! I'm a make it for dinner." She said this over and over on the way home and was sooo excited to make dinner for us. When she got home and told her daddy about the recipe she told him the baby chick gave it to her. Weeeellll....that wasn't exactly true but close enough in a 2 year old's mind.

So what's a mother to do? We made them! I should mention that Ellie poured all of the ingredients into the bag to marinate them and we told her she made them but, no, I did not let a 2 year old cook them on a hot stove, give me some credit! :)

 They turned out to be pretty yummy. We used Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce which made them slightly sweet. The flavor bbq sauce you use will effect the flavor of your pork chops so make sure it's one you like! They turned out great and they were easy so I am sure we will make them again!

Ellie's BBQ Pork Chops
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp chili powder
4 boneless pork chops

Combine first 3 ingredients in a plastic ziploc bag and squish around to mix (a great job for small hands helping in the kitchen). Add pork chops and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Remove pork chops and place on the skillet. Save the remaining sauce for cooking later.

Brown pork chops on each side for about 4 minutes. Pour the saved sauce over pork chops, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Make SURE not to skip the simmering step, as the sauce will not be safe to eat unless it's simmered!


I would love to say that she ate them up but she didn't. She would not touch them at dinner time. Talk about the weird mind of a toddler, because we can always get her to try a new thing and she usually ends up liking it. Hopefully she hadn't misconstrued it in her mind and she thought we were eating baby chicks...because I wouldn't have eaten them either if I thought that!

Whole Wheat Bagels

In our house we love bagels, but we're too cheap to buy them often. So one day I set out to learn how to make them. I have made them several times since and we LOVE them! I usually just leave them plain because we prefer them that way, but this time I dipped some in an "Everything" mixture, and some in poppy seeds. They were all good, but we are plain jane here and will probably just stick to plain in the future. I am a big fan of Allrecipes, and this is another recipe I adapted from that site; orignal can be found here.

In this picture I coated my "Everything" and my Poppy Seed bagels with a tad too much topping, so this picture is a good example of over-coating your bagels ;).

Plain, Everything, Poppy Seed

Whole Wheat Bagels

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups bread flour OR all purpose flour if you add the gluten below
2 Tbs Wheat Gluten (if you used AP flour, leave off if you used bread flour)
2 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs salt

1 Tbs white sugar
Boiling water


In large bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 Tbs sugar in warm water to soften and let proof for about 10 minutes. Add oil, wheat flour, 2 1/2 cups white flour, and salt. Mix thoroughly, adding more white flour as needed until the dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out on floured board and knead, adding small amounts of flour as necessary. Bagel dough should be pretty stiff. Work in as much extra flour as you can comfortably knead. Knead until smooth and elastic, 12-15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a ball, place it in a large oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover and let fully rise until an impression made with your finger remains and does not sink into the dough (about an hour).

Punch down and separate into three equal sized balls of dough. Divide each ball into 4 equal pieces. With each small ball of dough make a perfect ball and poke a hole in the center with your finger. Use both hands to gently stretch the hole in the middle of the bagel until it's about 2 inches across. The bagels will puff, making the hole shrink a lot so make the hole bigger than you would think.

Evenly place the bagels on 2 nonstick baking pans or lightly oiled baking sheets. Cover and let stand until puffy, about 20 minutes.

While bagels are rising, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Now fill a large saucepan 2/3 full with water, and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling add 1 Tbs sugar. When ready to cook, drop 2 or 3 bagels at a time into the boiling water. Boil for about 20-30 seconds on each side.

Carefully lift each bagel out with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Drain momentarily on a dish towel. Turn into a dish with topping, if desired (see my topping recipe below). Evenly space bagels on 2 nonstick baking pans or lightly oiled baking sheets.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven until well-browned, about 20 minutes. If desired, turn bagels once after about 10 minutes to evenly brown both sides, though I only did this the first time and found it to really be unnecessary.

Eat immediately or store in a ziploc bag on your counter for up to a week. You can slice and freeze them to have an easy, quick snack to pop into the toaster at anytime!

Here is what I had on hand to make my "Everything" Bagel topping, you can add and substitute ingredients according to taste and what you have in your cupboard!

"Everything" Bagel Topping
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp flax seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt (or any large granule salt)

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

We tried these for the first time the other night and loved them! I doubled the recipe and froze half of them. See directions below for how to freeze enchiladas without ending up with mushy tortillas. I learned this method from my amazing friend Kim. Thanks Kim! :)

I forgot to take a picture after they were done, but this is right before being popped in the oven

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas from Food.com

1 lb chicken breast, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 flour tortillas, softened (8 inches each)
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese or 1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

1. In a frying pan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done. Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla (I don't measure this, just eyeball it).

2. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.

3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.

4. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chiles; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.

5. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

Enchiladas, sauce, and cheese

Freezer Meal Prep

Line your baking dish with aluminum foil. Follow steps 1-3. Now wrap your chicken-filled tortillas up in the foil. I split mine into two groups of four so they could be stacked into one big ziploc bag.

Pour your sauce into a saved glass jar- old pasta jars work great. If you don't have a jar then let your sauce cool and pour it into a ziploc bag.

Put your remaining cheese into a ziploc bag.

Now take your foil wrapped tortillas, sauce, and cheese and squeeze them into a gallon sized freezer bag. If they don't all fit in one bag then separate them into two bags, just try to keep those bags close to each other in the freezer :).

Make sure to write baking directions on a slip of paper and stick it in the bag, or write the directions right on the bag with a sharpie.

**When you are ready to eat them let the sauce thaw overnight, or thaw in microwave (carefully). Place rolled up tortillas in 9 x 13 baking dish, pour sauce over, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes, though if your rolled up tortillas are still frozen you may need to increase the time!

Texas Sheet Cake

Are you SO jealous of my Texas platter? I got it for my wedding -best present ever!

I am from Texas, it's true. Well, I grew up mostly in Texas and some in Colorado, so I can technically claim BOTH states. Oh yes, I do. And I love them both, but Colorado pride is just not as fun as good ole' Texas Pride. I love to sing  Texas pride songs to my husband and he LOVES it!

So I was feeling in a chocolaty-Texas mood so what better than Texas Sheet Cake?!

This was my first time making THIS recipe and it was delicious! If you're a small family like mine you can freeze the leftovers in individual slices wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in freezer bags. This cake is almost as good straight from the freezer (it's chocolate so, yeah). I particularly like the frosting in this recipe, it has just the right "Texas Sheet Cake" flavor if that makes sense at all.

Texas Sheet Cake from Our Best Bites 

½ c. real butter

½ c. shortening

2 1-oz. squares baking chocolate

½ c. buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

2 c. sugar

1 c. water

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

FROSTING:

6 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. butter (I used salted butter, gives it the flavor I like for this frosting-LB)

2 1-oz. squares baking chocolate

1 lb. powdered sugar

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 x 17 jelly roll pan (you can also use a 9×13 pan, but you may die of sugar shock–there’s something to be said for spreading the love in this recipe).

2. Combine ½ c. butter, ½ c. shortening, 2 oz. chocolate, and water in a small saucepan. Heat until chocolate is melted.

3. In a separate small bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, buttermilk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Combine with chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture and mix very well. Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Five minutes before cake is done, make frosting.

FROSTING:

Combine milk, chocolate, and butter in a large (or medium-large) saucepan. Heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. If desired, add 1 c. nuts (optional, preferably chopped walnuts or pecans). While icing is still warm, pour over cake.

Mmm! Does it make you hungry?!

Soft Pretzels

These beauties were made by my friend Jenny (my batch burned!)

A couple of friends and I love to get together and try new and old recipes and while our kids run around screaming together about once a month. It is a lot of fun and I have learned a lot of things from them over the past year since we started. This month it was my turn to host and I decided to try soft pretzels. I was too scared to shape them by myself because I am a baby so it was perfect to get some friends involved to try it together. After reading waaaay too many recipes, reviews, etc here is what we came up with. The recipe is based on Allrecipes but got changed and tweaked a lot with help from a lot of other recipes and reviews I read, including Alton Brown's recipe.

Soft Pretzels

3 tsp active dry yeast
3 Tbs white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees)
3 1/2-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil

Boil bath:
1/4 cup baking soda
8 cups water

Egg wash (optional):
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs water

Toppings:
Butter
Sea Salt for sprinkling
Cinnamon/Sugar for sprinkling

Dip in:
Cheese sauce
Pizza sauce
Roasted Garlic dip (try this link)

In a small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let proof for about 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl mix 3 cups of flour, salt, and vital wheat gluten. Make a well, add the oil and yeast mixture. Gradually add more flour a 1/2 cup at a time until the mix is soft and not too sticky. I ended up just adding about 3 3/4 cups.

Knead dough until smooth, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rise in a draft-free place for 1- 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or oil well with cooking spray. The best is to use a silicon baking sheet. In a large saucepan put 8 cups of water and 1/4 cup baking soda on the burner to start boiling.

Take your dough ball and lightly pat it into a small circle- just about a foot in diameter or so. With a pizza cutter divide dough into eight even slices (like a pizza!). Or, if you want smaller pretzels, you can divide into 10, 12, or even 16 balls of dough. Next time I will probably roll mine out thinner and do 10 or 12 instead of 8 fat ones.

Keep your dough covered with a damp towel as you work with each ball of dough, to keep it from drying out. Roll each dough ball into about a two foot long "rope".

One pretzel rolled out to about 2 feet long

Now shape your pretzels. If you are like me you have no idea how to shape a pretzel, so I searched around a lot and came up with this method:

Cross your rope at top

Twist one more time

Pull the top ends of your rope down and push gently into the circular part of your pretzel and fix it as needed.

One at a time boil your pretzels in the baking soda water for about 20-30 seconds, and place on your oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. I found it hard to flip them so I just put them in the water and scooped boiling water of the top instead of flipping them halfway through the time.

If you want the tops of your pretzels to be shiny then use the egg wash. In a small bowl beat egg yolk and water together with a fork until well combined and frothy to make egg wash. Brush each pretzel lightly with the egg wash solution, and if desired sprinkle with sea salt or any large granule salt.

Let your pretzels rise/rest for about 10 minutes.

Bake until golden brown for about 10-14 minutes. This will largely depend on your oven, check as early as 8 minutes to see how things are progressing. My oven cooks hot and fast so I had burned my pretzels at 10 minutes! Ouch!

Enjoy with just salt, or dip in butter when it gets out of the oven and dip in cinnamon sugar, or dip in cheese dip!

Whole Wheat Bread

Fresh from the oven (the white dots are the millet)

My mom gave me a wheat grinder for Christmas 2010. At first I looked at it and thought..never gonna use that. Then I decided to give homemade whole wheat bread a try...and I was HOOKED! We have bought maybe 4 loaves of bread since, and those were just for back up when I ran out of frozen loaves and didn't have the time to make more. I scoured the internet for the best recipe and I have to say I found it. It stays moist on our counter in a plastic bag for as long as it takes us to eat it (probably 5 days), it is SO easy to make (especially with my Bosch that my mom also gave me, thanks Mom!), and it freezes well. My husband always loves to be the first to cut into a newly thawed loaf from the freezer because he thinks it tastes the best that way. I am giving you the way that I make this recipe. I realize that it varies depending on person, humidity, altitude, and your horoscope :) so check out the original recipe and make it your own like I did!

Tips: Make sure your yeast is fresh or is fresh from the freezer. It really does make a difference in how your bread turns out. If your yeast has been sitting in the fridge awhile it will need a little longer to rise, and will give you a denser bread.

Lightly adapted from "The Urban Homemaker"  Marilyn's Famous Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread 
Yields 5-6 loaves

2/3 C honey
2/3 C canola oil
6 C warm water
3 TB instant yeast (make sure it's fresh or fresh from the freezer)
2 TB salt
15-18 C fresh whole wheat flour
3 TB dough conditioner or enhancer
1/2 C vital wheat gluten
1/3 C whole millet (optional but we love the crunch!)

 Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 Cups of fresh whole wheat flour in your Bosch. Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, dough enhancer, salt and 13-16 C additional flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. My dough is usually sticky to the touch still, do NOT add too much flour!

Knead the bread 6-10 minutes in your Bosch. I watch it and add more flour if needed, again be sure not to add too much.

Oil your hands up and drop dough into your greased loaf pans. Baker's Joy spray with flour in it works best. The dough is still pretty sticky at this point so what I do is distribute it among the pans and then go wash my hands and put some more oil on them to form the dough. My favorite way to form a loaf is to make a ball and then pull both sides of the ball and fold them under to form a loaf shape with a beautiful top.  Allow to rise in a warm place 30-45 minutes. Do not allow to over-rise, this can happen quickly so check it at 25 minutes! I actually don't let mine rise more than 30 minutes because we like the bread to be dense enough to cut easily. I have let my bread over rise a couple of times and while it doesn't ruin the taste it makes it hard to cut and eat because it has lots of bubbles at the top.

Bake loaves for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Cover the tops with foil for the last 10-15 minutes if you want a lighter brown color on top. Take one loaf out of the pan and tap the bottom to listen for a hollow sound. OR just stick an instant read meat thermometer into the bottom of the loaf and make sure it's at least 180 degrees in the middle (because what does "hollow sound" even mean?!). Eat a slice with honey butter right away and let the rest of the loaves cool. Once cool place in freezer bags and freeze. Or double bag in the cheap cheap twist tie plastic bags from Walmart or the dollar store (what I do because I'm....cheap).

 To thaw: place on counter for at least 4 hours, leaving your freezer bag sealed. If you need to quickly thaw you can (and I often do, though it's not quite as good as letting it thaw naturally) by placing the open bag in the microwave and zapping it on low heat for 15 seconds at a time until you're satisfied.

So good and so good for you!

Note:  I have 3 small and 3 large loaf pans and so that is what I normally use. Or I will use 2 large and 3 small loaf pans and make 12 rolls in a muffin tin. Freeze the rolls and pull out as needed for supper, they really are tasty with meals!

With Love,

Lindsey

Tonsils? Who needs 'em?

Tuesday my 2 1/2 year old got her tonsils and adenoids out. It's been fun for the whole family of course, and in light of all of the fun that we are having I am taking a break from any and all homemaking tasks. Including cooking and experimenting. So we will be eating freezer meals for the next little bit and at least one person in the house will be on Tylenol Codeine as long as...needed. 

Hopefully not too long! Until then, we'll be anxiously awaiting these days to be back soon:

Chicken Pot Pie

Hot from the oven...it's making me hungry again!

In our house we LOVE chicken pot pie. I have been making this recipe for probably 2 years now and it has never failed me. We always love it!

Chicken Pot Pie adapted from Allrecipes

1 lb boneless skinless chicken
1 1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (don't buy it, use the water from boiling your chicken)
1 chicken bullion cube (if you used the water from your chicken)
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon McCormick Perfect Pinch Original Chicken (see pic below)
2/3 cup milk

2 unbaked pie crusts

Start by making your pie crusts or setting out your frozen store bought pie crusts to thaw.

Fill a large pot with water and boil your chicken and carrots together until both are done. About 15 minutes, but I usually forget about it and it goes for a little longer. Toss your frozen peas in for the last 3 minutes or so.

Using a strainer pour the water from boiling your chicken into a big glass measuring cup until you get to 1 3/4 cups, then toss the rest out or save it for another meal. Throw your one bullion cube into the bowl.

Chop your chicken into small chunks and set your chicken, carrots and peas aside.

In the same pot melt your butter and throw your onions in to sautee over medium heat. I like to cook my onions well because we do NOT like crunchy onions in this house! Once they are to your liking add the flour and seasonings. Whisk until you have a nice paste then slowly whisk in your chicken broth (don't worry, your bullion cube will not be completely dissolved, it's fine, it will happen). Using a whisk will to make sure you don't get clumpy flour balls. Now add your milk by the same method.

Start preheating your oven to 425 degrees (no reason to waste energy by preheating it too early).

Cook this over medium heat until thick. If you don't get it thick enough your pie won't set up quite right. Probably cook it for 10 minutes or so, but it will vary so I can't give an exact time. I've had to cook it as long as 20 minutes before to get it right.

Now dump your veggies and chicken into the liquid mixture and stir a couple of times. TASTE and adjust seasonings to your liking. I don't measure usually I just shake in a little more of everything until it's perfect.

If you haven't already go line your pie plate with your bottom pie crust, then pour the chicken mixture into the pie crust. Top with your second pie crust and make sure to cut a few slits on the top to let out steam.

Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. You want your crust to be golden brown and your pie to smell heavenly! Let your pie cool for 10-15 minutes before you cut and serve!

The beauty of this recipe is that you can change the seasonings and veggies to your individual taste! I used these seasoning because that is what I have in MY kitchen, if you don't have the same ones experiment with substitutions! Ultimately you want a savory chicken flavor that your family will love!

My new favorite seasoning. Try it!

•  

What to do with leftover pie crust...

I have been making my own pie crusts ever since my wonderful friend Jenny taught me how and I realized it's really not that difficult (thanks Jenny!). Since then I have had the (fortunate) problem of being left with extra pie crust after finishing my pies. No tears here! I usually just put a little butter on them and sprinkle them like crazy with cinnamon sugar but the other day I decided to change it up a little. I didn't know what exactly to call these so I called them turnovers. If you know their proper name let me know!


Easy Leftover Pie Crust Turnovers

Leftover Pie Crust
Chopped Apples (you want them small so they will cook in the oven well)
Margarine or butter
Cinnamon Sugar

Gather all of your leftovers into one ball of dough and re-roll it out. Shown is the leftovers from making two chicken pot pies (one for the freezer of course!) so I had more than usual.

Cut your pie crust into even segments the size of the tart you want to make. I cut mine into 4ths.

Spread your margarine over the pie crust as best you can then plop even amounts of apples on each section. Now sprinkle the heck out of the apples and the pie crust. I didn't put enough cinnamon sugar because I was worried about overdoing it. Is that even possible with cinnamon sugar? I don't think so.

Fold your turnovers neatly or like mine (messy!).

Cook in your already hot oven from cooking your pie :) at 425 for about 10-12 minutes. I actually didn't really time mine so I'm guessing on that.

Enjoy!

The ingredients

My amazing folding skills

Mmmm...nothing better than sugary cinnamon apples.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

After my success with Homemade Laundry Soap I decided to try my hand at Homemade Dishwasher Detergent. I....stopped using it after a week. It DOES clean the dishes. It also leaves spots on my glasses and plastics. Now, I should admit that I never scrutinized my glasses and plastics before using the homemade stuff so they could have always had spots, but after going back to  normal dishwasher detergent again the spots seem to be slowly going away.

So I have started using it for a scouring powder in my shower. It totally works in that aspect so I can't complain too loudly, but it does stink that I invested in a $20 5lb bag of citric acid and I am left with about 4.75 lbs left now. Anyone have uses for citric acid, I am open to suggestions!

Here are the tutorials I followed: One Good Thing By Jillee and diyNatural.

I used the Dawn idea from One Good Thing and the rest of the instructions from diyNatural. I found the stirring instructions in diyNatural spot on. It was clumpy but after stirring it and stirring it for two days it stayed with the tiny clumps it had and I didn't have clumping problems after that.

So, if you decide to try it yourself let me know if you're successful. I am going to maybe try this one next Homemade Dishwasher Soap.

Easter Dinner

For Easter this year we decided to try all new recipes and it was all DELICIOUS! We originally intended on steaming some broccoli to go with it but...we had a LOT of food already and there are only 2 adults and one  toddler in the house. We will eat more veggies another day to make up for it.

Ginger Ale Roasted Chicken adapted from Guy Fieri's recipe
(cooked by the hubby, he did a GREAT job!)

I wish I had taken a picture of it before we took it off the Ginger Ale can but oh well, it was YUM!

Twice Baked Potatoes by The Pioneer Woman

Amazing Rolls by What's for Dinner

These take a good 6 hours start to finish but are worth it!

Strawberry Shortcake by Pinch My Salt

Alas, I didn't take a picture of this, but it was yummy, go try it!

Hanging Book Display

Recently I made a few book display slings for my daughter's numerous books. Here is the tutorial I used:

http://pennycarnival.typepad.com/penny_carnival/2009/02/tutorial-hanging-book-display.html

A couple of things the tutorial didn't make super clear:

You will want fairly thick dowels to support the weight of the books and the children who will hang on them. Buy your double rod brackets FIRST and then see what sized dowel will fit in. I believe I ended up with a 3/4 inch x 48 inch and a 5/8 inch x 48 inch rod per book sling.

This sling will hold tall books well, but shorter board type books will get lost. If you want to make one that will fit small or medium sized books you should adjust the measurements. So for board books you might want to half the 42" measurement to 21" or so.

Would I do it again? Probably not. First of all they were more expensive than I had originally anticipated. With all supplies about $20 each. For a homemade project that is a bit pricey for me! Second, they don't hold as many books as I would have hoped. Third, I see the potential for my 2 1/2 year old to hang on and break one.

BUT, they are super cute and we are enjoying them for now!

Homemade Laundry Soap

I did it, I joined the homemade laundry soap craze. And I love it. LOVE it! Not only is it super cheap and gives me a sense of accomplishment, but it works just as well as the other stuff I was using. Sold. Oh, and when I tell people that I make my own laundry soap they are impressed. If only they knew how easy it was, they would probably be less impressed. 

SO, on to the method I used. I searched the internet for several days to find the recipe and method that I wanted to use, and in the end I just used a couple of them as a guide. Most of the recipes are very very similar, so here is what I did and you can certainly change it to your liking. Here are the two I followed: The Family Homestead and The Simple Dollar.

Some Lots of notes before starting:

I may be the only weird one, but I have dedicated everything under the "Supplies" list for ONLY soap making. Yes, soap is clean. Yes, I would normally wash all of these things with...soap...to clean them off. Yes I still feel weird about using the cheese grater I use for soap with cheese. Gross.

You can buy the cheese grater, funnel, measuring cups and wooden spoon at the dollar store. Make sure to get a box cheese grater to make your life that much easier.

Hypothetically you can find a big pot at your local thrift store but we checked several with no luck. We decided to save time and gas money and purchase the cheapest possible we could find on Amazon.com (love it) and call it an investment into our future money saving ventures. I think I paid $10.

You can go to a local grocery store and ask their bakery department for extra frosting buckets to get your 5 gallon bucket. Most will give them to you for free or $1. My favorite place to get them is Harris Teeter. They give them to me for free, they seal very well, they are high quality, and I don't have to wrestle with the lid to get it off. I also use Harris Teeter buckets to store my wheat, flour, and food storage items. Oh, and word from the wise, you will need to wash them out yourself. Unless you like frosting-flavored soap.

DON'T use the type of container picture below with the "all" brand. It is really hard to shake and just frustrating. Maybe if you filled it half full it would work, but probably still annoying to shake.

You can add some essential oil to your laundry soap if you want it to smell lovely. The recipe as stated smells like soap and your laundry comes out smelling just like clothes, no wonderful, synthetic Tide or Downy smell. I am eventually going to get some essential oil but so far I have been too lazy. A friend told me you can find little bottles at Whole Foods so you don't have to spend a fortune all at once.

I found all of the ingredients right next to each other on the laundry shelf at Walmart. I have since seen Fels Naptha soap in at least one other store, so I know it's out there. They were not by the laundry soap, they were actually all by the dryer sheets. Random but that's where I found them.

My homemade soap in reused containers. As noted do NOT use the style picture with the "all" brand logo

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients:
1/2 bar Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 cup Borax -20 Mule Team Brand
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda -Arm & Hammer Brand
2 gallons plus 4 cups water (36 cups)

Supplies:
5 gallon bucket
Big pot (mine is 8 quart, no smaller than that)
Cheese grater (not the tiny tiny holed one)
Wooden Spoon to stir
1/2 cup measuring cup
Old camping plate or paper plate
Funnel
Empty laundry soap containers or milk jugs
      --about 3-6 depending on the size you use, you will ultimately need to hold 2.5 gallons of soap
(when not in use store all of the above -your pot may not fit- inside your 5 gallon bucket in the garage.)

Start by filling your bucket up with about 2 gallons of water. In case you are doing this without empty milk jugs (which is waaaay easier than measuring it out) that's 32 cups.

Now put 4 cups of water in your pot on the stove top on med-high. While you are waiting for that to get hot grate your 1/2 bar of soap. Do it on a paper plate, old camping plate, or any plate you feel comfortable washing and using to eat on. Once your water is almost boiling throw your soap in and stir it with your wooden spoon. You want to be frequently to constantly stirring it.

You don't really want it to boil, just get hot enough to melt the soap. If it boils no big deal, this is not a science. The main reason not to boil it is that you don't want it to boil over the top of your pot and get all over your stove. That would be one hot mess!

Once the soap has melted (10 minutes maybe? I didn't time it) and your entire house smells like SOAP throw the borax and the super washing soda in and stir to dissolve.  This should take like 1 minute or less. If you want to add a few drops of essential oil now would be the time.

Carefully pick up your pot and pour the contents into your pre-filled bucket of water. Stir, stir, stir. Stir again  until you feel like it is a smooth mixture. It will be thin. And probably a weirdish color, mine was. Oh well.

Now call your spouse, older child or friend into the room. Set out your cleaned milk jugs or empty laundry soap containers and fit a funnel into the top of one. One of you hold the funnel and jug while the other picks up the bucket and slowly dispenses the liquid into the funnel. Repeat until your bucket is empty.

If you are alone and it is 10 o' clock at night and you are too impatient to wait for your husband to get home and the only child you have is asleep and 2 years old (like ME) use a big glass measuring cup or other scoop you have and scoop it from the bucket into the funnel tediously and carefully.

Put the lids on the containers and wait 24 hours. After 24 hours give them a good shaking and use about 1/2 cup per load. Or if you are using empty laundry soap containers just use the lid, about the same amount you would if it was store bought soap.

You will probably need to shake it every time you use it unless you do laundry every day, and then probably just twice a week. It is kind of a weird, slimy, slightly clumpy mess when it comes out. That's FINE, it goes into a washer machine that agitates like crazy so it doesn't have to be perfectly shaken beforehand.

You're done! Go watch some TV or eat a bowl of ice cream as a reward for your hard work.

My next project? Homemade fabric softener using hair conditioner. I will report back!

With Love,

Lindsey

Homemade Frozen Burritos

I have a husband who likes to eat things like frozen burritos and chicken nuggets for lunch. Who am I kidding, I love them too! Since we all know frozen burritos from the store carry approximately  0% nutritional value I went searching for something better. I saw some recipes here and there, then looked into my fridge and decided to just use what I had. I've made three batches of these now, each time just using things like leftover rice, beans, meat, salsa, and cheese. Each time they taste a little different and each time we love them! You can use any type of bean: refried, black, pinto, kidney are just a combination of what you have, and any type of meat: taco meat, fajita meat, pork or beef roast, you name it! The first time I made them I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap before freezing them. I haven't done it since, saves time and money and it's not necessary! I completely guessed on how much of each ingredient I threw into these burritos, and it honestly changes each time. Sometimes I fill up all 20 tortillas and sometimes I only have enough filling to get 17 or so.

These are perfect for a quick lunch, snack, or dinner!

Homemade Frozen Burritos
All ingredients listed are "optional" and can be substituted for anything you want!

20 tortillas
1-2 cups of cooked rice, any flavor
About 2 cups of beans
About 1/2-1 lb of meat
1/2 cup of cheese
1/2 cup of salsa

Throw all of the above into a big bowl and combine it together. I learned this quickly after the first time (pictured) where I spent way to long evenly distributing each ingredient. Lay your tortillas out 10 at a time or all at once, depending on how much (clean) counter space you have and load them up! Fold them at the top and bottom and then roll them like...a burrito. Stash them in the tortilla bag they came in or in a gallon sized freezer bag and freeze. To eat- microwave them about 2 minutes, depending on your microwave and enjoy!

All loaded up

Folded top and bottom

Rolled like a burrito

It's not necessary to wrap in saran wrap but you can if you want!

With Love,

Lindsey

Homemade Ding-Dongs

The other day I had a sudden and intense pregnancy craving for ding dongs. But not the slightly-stale grocery store variety. I wanted a luscious, cream filled chocolate cupcake that would melt-in-my-mouth.  At first I could only find recipes that included coffee, which we do not drink in our house. I was getting slightly discouraged and decided to scan the recipe index of one of my favorite cooking websites- Our Best Bites. I found the PERFECT recipe. The filling is unbelievably delicious and the entire cupcake just tastes amazing! I made 12 and between my husband and I we polished them off in 24 hours (we even grudgingly shared one with our 2 year old!)


Most of the recipe from Our Best Bites

Do this first, it can take a looong time to cool down:

Chocolate Ganache Topping (recipe by me)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half  (it is what I had, I've also used whole milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Combine chocolate chips and half-and-half in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is well combined. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt if needed. Stick it in the refrigerator and stir it occasionally until it is cooler and thicker. It really can take a long time for it too cool down enough, though you don't want to leave it in so long that it becomes a solid, otherwise you will have to stick it in the microwave and start over with the cooling process.

Do this second and let them cool on a wire rack:

Devil’s Food Cupcakes (Our Best Bites)

1 C Flour

1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar

4 T unsalted butter at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 C luke warm water

1/4 C buttermilk

Position rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with liners. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the water and buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium high speed just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not over beat.

Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups. Do not fill more than 2/3 full, it is better to throw a little bit of batter away then to end up with overflowing cupcakes that are hard to get out of the pan. I learned this the hard way!

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Do this while the cupcakes are baking:

Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling (Our Best Bites)

3 T Flour

1/2 C milk (whole milk is best)

1/2 C real butter

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 t vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat.

Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan.   Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of pudding.

Put mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely, it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all. As it’s cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You’ll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer if you have one, instead of the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating!  Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies.  Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.

I added even more filling the second time I made these (not pictured)  because it is THAT good

I have made these TWICE in the last couple of weeks. Yumm!

With Love,

Lindsey

Cleaning Mini-Blinds in the Bathtub

After picture (I was too embarrassed to take a "before" picture)

It is worth mentioning that I am a mediocre housekeeper, and I'm okay with that. I try to keep my house reasonably presentable but let's be honest, it's not always possible. I also HATE to clean bathrooms. So they may go longer than they should between cleanings. There, I said it, now the world knows.

So, being the excellent neglectful housekeeper that I am, I have not cleaned our blinds once since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. And I'm not going to lie, there were three sets in particular that were pretty horrendously dirty when we first moved in, and have only gotten worse since then. Luckily most of the other blinds in the house were brand new when we moved in.

So cleaning the blinds has been on my list of things to do for...2 1/2 years. Yesterday I finally did it. I started with some Windex and paper towels. That lasted about 3 minutes. Waste of time, it would have taken me all day. I had heard of cleaning blinds in the bathtub before and I was a little skeptical, but I figured it couldn't possibly make them worse than they already were so I gave it a go. It worked, and with minimal effort! Hallelujah! After scouring the internet here is how I did it:


Cleaning Mini Blinds in the Bathtub

Start with a dirty tub, you will have to clean it again afterwards otherwise. Fill bathtub with hot water. While it's filling add lots of squirts of dish soap until it's bubbly, and then pour in some vinegar, about 2 cups I would say.

Take your blinds down (or have your husband do it like I did). Make sure they are fully extended and the slats are in the "open" position. Carefully lower them into the bathtub. I did three sets all at once, right on top of each other. Swish them around a bit and then leave them for at least an hour.

Put on rubber gloves (I didn't do this and have three cuts on my hands to prove it. Trust me, those suckers are sharper than they appear). Swish your blinds around again and grab the top of the blinds and slowly pull them out looking for any majorly gross parts. Just rub the dirty spots off as you go. This probably isn't necessary if you don't have years of grime on your blinds like I did.

Turn the shower on and rinse the blinds until you can tell all of the soap has come off. Turn the shower off and give the blinds a good shake. You don't have to be overly gentle. Rehang your blinds and separate any slats that are sticking together. Then take a paper towel and wipe any dirty spot you see. They will come off quickly and easily.

Repeat all steps with each set of blinds. Leave your blinds extended until dry, mine took 2-3 hours. Enjoy your sparkling clean blinds (and kick yourself for not doing it sooner)!

With Love,

Lindsey