Making Cheese and Butter

At last year's Mother Earth News fair, there was a demonstration on how to turn grocery store milk into cheese.  The tent where they were holding the demo was packed, so we could only get a seat in the very back and, while we could hear the explanation of what they were doing, we couldn't see a darn thing.  So, when I saw a local Communiversity class that was being offered on butter and cheese making, I jumped at the chance to get hands-on.

Turning Milk into Butter

The process for doing this is insanely easy.  We started with making butter, which is essentially just cream that's been beaten into submission. 

1. Fill a mason jar with 2/3 cream and add the cap back on tightly.
2. Shake, shake, and shake some more!  This will be a great 10 minute workout, trust me.
3. Drain and rinse the butter.
4. Season and serve!

At one point during the shaking, it will feel like everything is solid.  You'll have whipped cream at that point.  If you want to make whipped cream, add the sugar and vanilla before shaking. 

If you're making butter, keep shaking!  The solid feeling will go back to liquid eventually and that means you're almost done.  Keep shaking until the liquid slides easily down the inside of the mason jar.  If you want, you can open the lid and take a look at it.

Once the butter is ready, pour off the whey liquid. Then add water, shake a couple of times and pour off again. 

Keep in mind, this butter is not seasoned, so you'll probably want to add salt, garlic or any other seasonings that you want.

Turning Milk Into Cheese

Then we were on to the cheese making.  The cheese is commonly called "farmer cheese" and it's great as a spread on bread or crumbled on a salad or pasta.

There were 7 of us, so we needed to make a large amount of cheese.  A gallon and a pint of whole milk gave us about 32 oz of cheese.  If you're doing this at home, you might want to cut the amount down.  Using 1% or 2% milk works, but the amount of cheese will be less than if you use whole milk.  It's all about the milk fat!

Here are the super easy steps for doing this:

1. Add milk to a medium or large saucepot.
2. Heat to just boiling (bubbles around the edges), stirring constantly.  Do NOT let the milk scald or you will taste it in the cheese.
3. Once it is just boiling, add your favorite acid:  2 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice or lime juice.  We used vinegar, but I've read that you can use 1/2 cup buttermilk and it will give you really creamy cheese.
4.  Turn off the heat and let the acid curdle the milk.  It will take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.  Stir it occasionally as it curdles and cools. 
5. At the Fair, they used cheese cloth to strain the curds out of the liquid.  Our instructor for the class, however, said that it's hard to get all the curds out of the cloth.  She recommended using a common kitchen strainer instead.  It's easier to swirl the curds around in the strainer to make a ball, and it's easier to clean.  Just make sure you clean up immediately, as your dishwasher won't get the curds out!
6. Keep swirling, and pressing to get all the liquid out.  Don't press the cheese through the strainer and lose all your hard work!

Still a bit wet...this was before I placed it in a paper towel to wick the moisture out of it.

The great thing about making your own cheese and butter is that you know exactly what the ingredients are.  Both the butter and cheese should be stored in the frig for up to a week, or you can freeze them for up to a year. 

Try it...this is super easy!

Sweets for Your Sweetie

Valentine's Day is tomorrow!  Can you believe it?  If you've got a special someone (or just want to treat yourself), then this is a super quick and easy recipe that might be a great way to start the day.  I'm a cheese danish N.U.T. so, for me, this recipe is really dangerous.  I may have to forget about it before I gain 50 pounds from eating all that cream cheese.

Anyway, on to the recipe...

Fresh out of the oven and ready for icing and my teeth.

Easy Crescent Cheese Danish
Servings:  8 servings    <----- (or one or two, if you're me!)

Ingredients:

Danish
1 package of Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough without perforations (or Crescent Rolls)
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Splash vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla and set aside.  TIP: It's important that the cream cheese is at room temp or you'll have trouble combining everything together.
3. Unroll the crescent roll dough on a cookie sheet.  I like to line the sheet with parchment paper first so the danish doesn't stick.  If you're using regular crescent rolls with the perforations, pinch the rolls together to seal the perforations.
4. Spread the cream cheese filling down the center of the dough in a strip that is about 3 inches wide.
5. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up each side of the dough in the same direction.
6. Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces up over filling from one side and then the other to get a braided pattern. At the ends, fold in the excess dough and then braid.
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the filling is set and the dough is golden in color.
8. Set aside to cool.
9. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and cream to create icing. You may need to add more cream to get the desired consistency.
10. Drizzle icing over danish.

Maybe spice things up by sharing a slice with your sweetie tomorrow for breakfast?  Enjoy!

I've shared this recipe with this week's Home Acre Hop!

An Abundance of Apples = Apple Cake!

 

We're still working our way through those 30 pounds of free apples, so I thought I would use up a couple of them by  making some apple cake for our little Superbowl party today.  Trust me...this cake is so yummy and moist that it won't last until the halftime show. And it's a great way to use up some apples that are past their peak of freshness.

Apple Cake (A La Cranky Puppy)

Ingredients:

Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup oil (substitute of 1/2 applesauce to make this healthier)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups finely chopped apples (about 4 medium-sized apples)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup milk (or apple or orange juice)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Glaze topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Cake

1. In a large bowl: combine the flour, sugar, soda, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl: combine eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon.
3. Chop the apples and nuts. I like to rough chop the apples and then pulse them in the food processor to make this step easier.  Stir them into the egg mixture.
4. Add the egg mixture to dry ingredients, just until moistened. 
5. Spread the batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes.

Glaze topping

1. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and cream.
2. Cook and stir till bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Drizzle warm sauce over cake, when it has cooled for 5 minutes, so it can seep into the cake, keeping it moist.

This cake is so moist that it doesn't really need the glaze topping.  You can bake this as cupcakes or in two 9" round pans as well and it's equally as good.  I didn't have any whipping cream this time, so I substituted what I did have (Reddi-Whip) and it came out perfectly.

So next time you've got some apples that are a little past their prime, don't throw them out.  I hope you'll try this recipe.  Enjoy!

I'm sharing this recipe with this week's Homestead Barn Hop, Down Home Blog Hop and Clever Chicks Barn Hop.  Go check them out!

Warm, Homemade Pretzels

An inch of snow caused havoc yesterday and I was glad to step out of the freeze-your-face-off cold and into the warm house after work.  I'd been craving pretzels all weekend and it seemed like the perfect time to make them.  If you're looking to warm up also, why not try making some of these ooey, gooey homemade pretzels?  Guaranteed to warm up your tummy and your house and they smell yummy when they're baking.  Warm bread and a fire...who needs more?

Soft, Homemade Pretzels
(Makes 1 dozen pretzels)

Ingredients

4 teaspoons active dry yeast (instant yeast is fine; about 1 3/4 packages)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping
1/2 stick butter, for topping

Directions

** I use my Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook to do the kneading, but you can do this by hand as well.  Just be prepared to have your hands hurt because this dough is pretty rubbery.
 

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt.
3. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture.
4. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two more tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes.
5. Lightly oil a large bowl (Pam or other spray is fine), place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets.
7. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in 4 cups hot water; set aside.
8. When risen, turn dough out (do NOT flour the surface of your work space!) and divide into 12 equal pieces.
9. Roll each piece into a rope about 24 inches long and twist into a pretzel shape.  It will seem they are too thin but they will plump up when they're dipped and baked.  Or you can get lazy and just cut each piece in half and do twists (see pic below).  
10. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda-hot water solution (flip so both sides are good and covered by the water-soda solution.  This step is what actually makes them into pretzels and gives you the awesome crunch on the outside.
11. Place pretzels on baking sheets. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
12. Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 8 minutes.
13. Brush with melted butter as soon as they are out of the oven.



A little bit of pretzel feng shui?

I was going for a tic-tac-toe in that picture above but *somebody* ate some of the cross bars.  *cough*  It may have been me... *guilty look*  I couldn't help it!  These are so yummy right out of the oven.  I guarantee all 12 will be gobbled up in 10 minutes. 

By the way, we were definitely lazy and didn't roll these out to 24 inches, which is why they look more like pretzel knots than those nice big mall pretzels.  They taste just the same, though, and there's no harm in being lazy is there?  I mean, no one's looking...

For some fun variations, sprinkle with cinnamon or garlic, or serve with a beer cheese dip or ranch dressing.  I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you come up with any fun variations.

Stay warm, my friends!

Let the Canning Begin!

With the tomatoes and jalapenos outpacing us in terms of what we can possibly eat at one time, I figured it was time to drag out the canner and get to work.  Up on the docket first?  Salsa made from our Early Girl slicing tomatoes.  The recipe we use is always a big hit and I posted it here last year if you'd like to try it on your own.

First the peeling of tomatoes and chopping of the jalapenos.  We didn't have enough jalapenos, we had to use some of those banana peppers that we got from the Farmer's Market last weekend.  As it turns out, we had EXACTLY 4 cups of tomatoes which is what the recipe calls for.  How often does that happen?

Everything goes into a big pot with some chopped onion, garlic, salt, lime juice and oregano.  Then stir it all up and let it come to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Finally, fill the jars (leaving 1/2 inch headspace) and process them in the water-bath canner for 15 minutes.

I've talked to several folks who have said "I could never do that.  I don't know how to can!"  If you want to get started canning, this is one of the easiest things you can make.  Oh, and salsa or other canned goods make great gifts.  Not that I would know, because our salsa seems to disappear around here.  Ahem....

In other news, I won an online auction for several huge tempered low-e glass window panels that J. and I are going to make into a glass greenhouse.  I'm not sure what hotel they were originally intended for, but these are definitely hotel panels, as they have the venting at the bottom where the air conditioner would suck in air.  Perfect for a greenhouse! 

Cranky's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Well, the carrot cake was a hit this weekend at the birthday party, so I think I may keep the "tweaks" that I made to my famous carrot cake recipe.  Everybody is asking for the recipe, so I thought I would share it here for everyone to try out.  While it has carrots in it, you can't even tell they are there so this is a great way to get the kids to eat some veggies.  Or maybe some adults.  :-)

I recommend a 9" x 9" pan for a thicker cake, but you can also make this in two pie pans - just watch your baking time so it doesn't get overdone.  The outcome of having all that apple sauce, oil, buttermilk, and natural water from the carrots is a super moist cake.  Yum!  I hope you enjoy...

Cranky's Famous Carrot Cake

Ingredients

3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (can sub reg milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (sub 1/4 veg oil and ½ cup cinnamon sweetened applesauce)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (sub 3/4 brown and 3/4 white to make the cake darker)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups shredded carrots (small shreds!)
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice (pureed in food processor)
1 cup flaked coconut (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)**

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 9x13 inch pan. *see notes below for other baking sizes.
2. Puree the pineapple in a food processor if you want a smoother texture in the cake.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
5. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
6. Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.  The batter will be soupy but don't worry - that's what makes it a really moist cake.
7. Pour the batter into prepared baking pan, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes. Check with toothpick.
8. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Best with cream cheese frosting below.

Notes
* Additional cake sizes:  Adjust baking time to 45 minutes for a 13” x 9” pan.  Adjust baking time to 40 minutes at 350 degrees for 2 round 9” pans.  Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
**If you add raisins, cover them with orange juice in a sauce pan and bring them to a boil.  Then simmer for a couple of minutes.  Remove from heat, drain and then add to cake for an extra kick!

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 3 cups (enough for a 9” x 13” cake)

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened and room temperature
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese together with vanilla until smooth.
2. Add softened butter a little at a time, beating until smooth.
3. Stir in confectioner’s sugar slowly until blended completely.  Check for taste at 2 cups.  If sweeter is desired, add the rest of the sugar.  
4. Make sure the cake or cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.  If the frosting is a bit runny, store int he frig for 30 minutes to firm it up.
5. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Shared with:  Home Acre Hop

Dreamy, Creamy Mac and Cheese

For years, I've been in pursuit of the perfect macaroni and cheese recipe and have just never gotten it quite right.  Some folks do cottage cheese (yuck!), or add eggs (who wants scrambled eggs in their mac and cheese?) or use only Velveeta (good, but not perfect).  To me, the perfect mac and cheese is insanely cheezy, the cheese sticks to the macaroni, and is oh-so-creamy that it just makes you melt when you eat it.

Well, folks, I think I've finally found it.  We made this last night and J. kept going back for more.  And I'm not going to tell you how many helpings I had.  Like all good home-cooked recipes, it does take a little bit of time to put together but, trust me, it's worth it.

Here we go...

Dreamy, Creamy Mac and Cheese

Total Time: About 1 hour 20 minutes (Prep:  45 mins, Cook:  35 mins)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

3 cups whole milk *

1 cup heavy cream *

2 8-ounce packages sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided   **

1 8 ounce package extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded  **
1 16-ounce package macaroni, cooked

4 ounces Velveeta, cubed in small cubes

 

* If you don't have heavy cream, you can substitute 2 cups milk and 2 cups half-and-half for the milk and cream ingredients
** I use 1 Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp and 2 Vermont Sharp White Cheddar so that it's more white than yellow.  You don't have to use these, but do make sure you  use high-quality cheese and not just the pre-shredded stuff

Directions:

1. Put some water on to boil and prepare the macaroni as you would normally.
2. While the macaroni is cooking, shred the cheese either by hand or in a food processor.
3. In a big skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
4. Whisk the flour in slowly and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth.
5. Cook and whisk continually for 2 minutes.
6. Add in salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic; stir to combine.
7. Gradually whisk in milk and then cream (or milk and half-and-half).
8. Cook and whisk continually until mixture is thickened (about 8 to 10 minutes).
9. Add in half of the sharp cheddar cheese; stir.
10. Add in all of the extra-sharp cheddar cheese; stir until smooth.
11. Add in the Velveeta; stir until smooth.
12. Add 1/2 of the noodles to the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish.
13. Add 1/2 of the cheese mixture onto the top of the noodles and mix it all together so that the noodles are completely incorporated into the cheese.
14. Add the remainder of the cheese and noodles and repeat.  It will look like it won't all fit in the dish, but trust me, it will.
15. Sprinkle with the remaining sharp cheddar cheese. (Optional: if you like a crunchy top, consider topping this with some crushed crackers or crispy onions.)
16. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.

I used rotini noodles because all the folks on the noodle do a better job of capturing all that yummy, cheesy goodness.  And fair warning:  this makes ALOT of mac and cheese. 

If you try it, let me know what you think.  And if you "kick it up a notch" by changing the ingredients or adding something, I'd love to hear about it.  Hope you enjoy this recipe!

I've shared this recipe with this week's HomeAcre hop and Homestead Barn hop.

Well, Butter my Biscuit!

Check these babies out...

Butter, honey, or gravy?  Yes, please!

My honey made those!  And they were oh-so-delicious with breakfast this morning.  If I may opine for moment:  there is nothing better than freshly baked bread or biscuits.  So imagine my surprise when J. yelled up the stairs at me that breakfast was ready this morning and I came down to find this.

Now what has gotten into that man?  I don't know, but it's all good.  :-)

And if making homemade biscuits wasn't awesome enough, he was also making bread for the first time.  Here it is right after coming out of proofing.

Beautiful.  I told him to punch it down so that I could take a picture of him doing it and instead he stuck his hand on it and pushed down.  Can you see the hand print?

Out of this big ball of dough, he was able to make one full size and one mini size loaf of white bread and ten dinner rolls.  The mini loaf got eaten right out of the oven (of course!)

I think he did a great job, especially after my first try didn't come out so well - it tasted great, but didn't rise enough and had way to much crust.  We ultimately discovered it was because of old yeast.

But this bread was pretty darn close to perfect.  He said the one thing he would do is use the Rapid Proofing setting on our oven the second time around.  And over dinner we talked about using real bread flour instead of white processed and the idea of even grinding our own flour.  There may be a post about choosing grain mills in my future!

So we can officially mark this goal off our list from last year (okay, we're a little late, I know).  If you're interested in trying out our bread recipe, you can find it in this post.  If you want to try out J.'s biscuit recipe, well....here it is!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Cranky Puppy's Good Morning Biscuits

Makes 6 grand-sized biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1/3 cup) of butter or butter-flavored shortening
• 3/4 cup milk or buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar (or pulse in a food processor).
3. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times.
6. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick.
7. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used.
8. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
9. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIP for new biscuit-makers:  Any time you make biscuits (or anything that uses baking powder or soda to rise) you want to gently mix the dough JUST until the ingredients are all mixed.  The more you handle your dough the more the gluten develops and the tougher your biscuits, pie crust, etc. will be.

If you make these or come up with a better recipe based on this one, please let us know! 

I've shared this recipe with this week's Mop It Monday, HomeStead Barn, Show and Tell Saturday hops.  Go check it out!

Snowy End to 2012

Look at what greeted us this morning!

I told my staff to work from home today, as most people are on vacation, the weather is nasty and we always leave early the day before a holiday anyway.  Up and about early this morning, I headed out to take the girls a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs.  Fat and wet snowflakes were plopping down all around me and the neighborhood was quiet.  Not a soul was out except for me!  So I paused to take some pictures.

Then it was off to get the turkey ready for its suntan in the oven. We lucked out on a trip to Hyvee on Christmas Eve - they had a surplus of young turkeys and were selling them for $6.00! 

And, yes, that's a big ol' fat pat of butter resting on that birds thigh.  I'm drooling just thinking about yummy turkey dinner as the last meal of 2012.  What a better way to end the year than a night in with my honey, a nice dinner, a movie, a roaring fire and fresh snow falling outside?

 

Before I stuck the turkey in the oven, I wanted to try out a recipe for homemade oatmeal creme pies. To my delight, I discovered that I had 3 canisters of quick oats in addition to the one I just bought last weekend.  That's got to be some kind of mandate that I make a ton of these cookies, right?

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~
Oatmeal Creme Pies

Ingredients (Oatmeal cookies)

•  2 cups brown sugar
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
• 1/4 cup shortening\Crisco
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 Tablespoons boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups quick oats



DING!  Cookies are done!

Ingredients (Filling)

• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar

 

Directions for Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream brown sugar, butter, and shortening.
3. Add eggs and mix.
4. Add salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and mix.
5. Mix baking soda and boiling water, then add to the bowl and mix.
6. Add flour and mix well.
7. Add oats and mix well.
8. Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets so that you have rounded heaping teaspoons.  I used my new cookie scoop.  Look at those perfectly rounded cookies.  I'm in love!)
9. Bake for 10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely.

Directions for Filling:

1. Place milk in a small saucepan on the stove under medium heat. 
2. While stirring constantly, add flour and whisk constantly until thick. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and all sugar grains are dissolved.
5. Add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat it until it resembles whipped cream.  This will take awhile - don't freak out!  Have a cookie while you're mixing.  :-)
6. Scoop a small amount onto cookies, pressing a second cookie on top.

What do you think?  Look yummy?  Right after I took this photo, it was in my belly.  :-)  And, yep, it was num-num-Y-U-M-M-Y!

 

The filling is to die-for, but you can also skip the effort and just use marshmallow fluff.  To keep the filling from oozing, refrigerate before you eat them.  You can freeze them as well.

 

So how are you going to celebrate New Years Eve?

I'm sharing this post with the Farmgirl Friday, Sunny Simply Sunday, Blog Party Sunday, More the Merrier Monday, and Clever Chick hops.

 

Quiet as a Christmas Mouse

Hershey's Christmas Meeces

No mice in the house!  I've waged some pretty infamous battles against the mice that seem to make their way in when the temperature starts to drop.  But I think I'll make an exception to my rule for these cute little meeces!

J. and I are busy finishing up cookies to take to his mom's house tomorrow afternoon and we decided to make some of these.  They were a big hit at my office Christmas party a couple of years ago and get eaten up wherever we take them. This is a great project for kids, as they are insanely easy to make and irresistibly adorable! 

Want to make some of these?  Here's how:

Ingredients:

• Sliced almonds
• Hershey's kisses (any flavor, I used Cherry Cordial Kisses this time)
• Milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips melt better than baking bars)
• Maraschino cherries with stems
• White and red icing in a squeeze bottle
• Parchment paper (or wax paper)

Directions

1. Place a square of parchment or wax paper on the counter as your work space.
2. Unwrap as many Hershey's Kisses as you need.  Don't forget to add at least 5 to the number, because you KNOW you are going to eat some of them while you're making these.
3. Wash and drain the cherries and carefully pat dry.
4. Melt the chocolate in a dish small enough to dip the cherries into.  This usually takes about 15 to 20 seconds, depending on how powerful your microwave is.  Stir it so that it's nice and creamy.
5. Holding the cherry by the stem, dip it in the chocolate until the entire cherry is covered.
6. Place the cherry sideways on the parchment paper.  I like to turn the stems different directions so that each mouse is different.
7. Immediately attach a Hershey's kiss on the opposite side of the stem.  The kiss is the mouse's head.  You may need to hold them together for a couple of seconds until the chocolate cools and attaches the two together. 
8. Dip the ends of two sliced almonds in the chocolate and place them between the kiss and the cherry.  Again, hold until attached.  These are the mouse's ears!
9. Use the white icing to create two little dots for the mouse's eyes.
10. Use the red icing on the end of the kiss to create the mouse's nose.
11. Repeat until you're tired of making these.  And if a few should get eaten, well.....we won't tell, will we?  That's called quality control.
12. Let the mice sit until the chocolate is set up. If you're in a hurry, you could pop them in the frig.

Oh, and one last thing.  If the chocolate starts to seize up while you're making these, here's a trick:  put a drop or two of vegetable oil in it and it will smooth out again.

At the Christmas party, I served these on a bed of coconut, which looked alot like snow.  There are all kinds of fun ways that you can serve that and, actually, there's no reason why you can't make these all year round.

I hope you enjoyed seeing our latest project.  Squeak, squ-EAK! **

** Merry Christmas in mouse-speak.  Or maybe it's "Don't eat me!"

I've shared this recipe as part of this week's Simple Living Wednesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Farm Girl Blog Fest, Farmgirl Friday, and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. 

Easy Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust

How are you coming on your Christmas decs, meal plans, and gift wrapping?  J. and I are a little late because, while the weather has been cooperating with a balmy 60+ degrees every day, we both have both been under the weather.  He woke up Saturday morning with a terrible migraine and sinus pressure that quickly turned into a snot fountain.  I ran the errands by myself on Saturday only to come home with the same thing.  It's kept me home from work both Monday and today with no voice and the snots.  I suspect Kleenex stock is shooting up because of me right now, but I haven't the energy to look.

J., on the other hand, is back at work and he felt good enough last night to put up some of our outside decorations.  He did a good job, don't you think?  I had some of those cheap red outdoor bows and they faded after a year.  I priced some replacements at anywhere between $4.99 and $11.99 not on sale (but who pays retail anyway?!) and decided to buy some big rolls of ribbon and make my own.  The green and red mesh was $1.00 and red and gold ribbon was $5.00 at Old Time Pottery. I have enough to make another entire set next year if these fade or get torn up.  And, for some reason, I'm really into lime and red this year.  If anyone really wants to know how I made these, let me know and I'll post a tutorial.

Anyway, what else is there to do when you're sick except sit around and wish you could do something else?  I was craving apple pie yesterday and surfing around on the web and found a recipe for cinnamon roll pie crust made with Pillsbury ready-made pie crusts.  It is so easy and SOOOOO yummy, that you have to try it.  Here's what I did:

Beautiful Jonagold and Honeycrisps made their way into my pie. Aren't they gorgeous?

Ingredients for Dutch Apple Pie with Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust

Pie Crust
1 package Pillsbury Ready-Made pie crust (or make your own)
Cinnamon, to suit 

Pie filling
7 to 10 large apples, preferably of 2 different varieties (5 1/2 cups prepped)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (omit if using super-sweet apples)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Streusel topping (optional)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine at room temperature 

Step 1.  Prepare the pie filling

1.  Prep the apples by peeling them, removing the cores and seeds, and then either slicing in thin slices or cubing them.  I've found that small cubes or thin slices tend to fill the pie a little better.

Mixing in the huge Ironstone bowl that J. gave me last Christmas!  Just like my grandma's....

2. In a large bowl, mix the sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon together.
3. Set aside.  Now you're ready to.....

Step 2.  Prepare the pie crust

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare the Pillsbury pie crust.  It needs to be room temperature, so follow the steps on the box if you just took it out of the freezer.
3.  On a piece of parchment paper, carefully unroll one of the pie crusts.  Brush the entire crust with melted butter.
4.  Sprinkle cinnamon liberally over the whole crust.  You can add as much cinnamon as you want.
5. Roll the crust back up as tightly as you can.
6. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 1/4" pieces.  These will look like tiny little cinnamon rolls when you're done!
7.  Press these into the bottom of your pie plate and press them together so that there are no spaces between the pieces.  You can also use a spring form pan to make it easier to get the pie out.  Personally, I like glass pie plates because they seem to bake more evenly.  I just wish I had a deep dish glass one!  (*hint hint* to J. if you're reading this...Christmas is coming up, ya know!)

By the way, I know mine is not as pretty as this one.  But I'm sick and I'm going to eat it anyway. So pppbbbbbbbtttttt!

8.  At this point, you can top the pie any way you like.  I considered doing a lattice top with the other pie crust but then decided that there just wasn't enough sweetness in the pie to cure my cold.  So I made a dutch streusel.  It's much quicker and my recipe is below.

Step 3.  Prepare the topping (optional)

1.  In a medium bowl, add all the topping ingredients together and mix with a fork until coarsely crumbled.
2.  Cover all of the apples evently with the streusel mixture.  The pie is going to look ridiculously tall when you're done but don't worry...it will bake down to normal size.
3:   Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees (or whatever your pie recipe calls for).


While it didn't cure my cold, it did made me feel better while I was eating it.  Warm apple pie with fresh vanilla bean ice cream.  Yum!  I hope you'll give this one a try.

This post was shared as part of the Backyard Farming Connection Hop and Barn Hop.  Go check out what everybody else is up to!

Oh, yoo hoo!

Well, hi there!  My how time flies and I can't believe it's been 5 days since I last posted?!  And it's already the last day of summer.  Time has just gotten away from me.

J. and I have been hard at work on refurbishing the deck on the old house, which entails rolling on deck cleaner, then scrubbing, powerwashing and restaining.  It sounds backbreaking but it's really not that hard - it's more time-consuming than anything else.  We're putting on a new product called Desk Restore, which you roll on with a special textured roller.  This product has sand in it and is really thick, so it does a great job of filling in the cracks.  But the process feels a little like painting with mud.  I'll have pics for you when we're closer to being done.

On top of that, I came down with a nasty cold on Monday and haven't felt like doing anything.  I love fall, but why do I always end up sick?  The weather change, I guess.

Tomorrow, we're taking a break to have some fun, though:   it's Heritage Days in Jamesport, Missouri.  I have been waiting for this all year!  Jamesport is home to one of the strictest Old Order Amish Colony in the world.  These "plain people" use no electricity and use horses for their transportation and in many aspects of their daily lives (even for churning ice cream!)  They are renowned for their beautiful quilts and outstanding handmade furniture.

The highlights of the festival are an open air market with what I hear is wonderful food, live music, and I'm hoping to learn lots from all the "lost arts" demonstrations like soap making, weaving, candle dipping and open fire cooking.  Are these lost arts? I suppose they are among the majority of society.

So to kick things off, how about a recipe for Amish Friendship Bread?  The idea behind this is that you make the starter, then give some to your friends so that they can make their own.  And, of course, when they make that bread, they share it with their favorite cranky puppy, whoever that might be.  (What?  It's me, of course!)

Amish Bread Starter

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 3 cups milk

Directions:

On Day 1: Dissolve the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes.  In a large glass or plastic bowl, sift together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Make sure this is thoroughly mixed or it will get lumpy when you add the milk. Using a wooden or plastic spoon, slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture.  Cover the bowl loosely with paper towel, cloth, wax paper or plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature (do not refrigerate).

On Days 2:  Do nothing.

On Days 3 & 4: Using wooden or plastic spoon, stir the mixture once a day.

On Day 5: Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon until everything is well-mixed.

On Days 6, 7,8 &9: Using wooden or plastic spoon, stir the mixture once a day.

On Day 10: Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup milk. Remove 3 cups of mixture and give 1 cup each to three friends. Save what is left for yourself and make.......

Amish Friendship Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
• 2/3 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
2. Divide the dough evently into two well-greased and floured (or sugared) 9"x5" bread pans.
3. Bake in 350° oven for 40 to 45 minutes.
4. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans.

TIP:  You can have some fun trying different additions to the batter before baking.  How about adding raisins, chopped apples, drained and crushed pineapple, candied fruit, coconut, mashed banana, dates, chopped nuts, and/or chocolate chips?  If you decide to add, use 1/2 cup of the add-ins.

Enjoy! 

 

I'm sharing this recipe with this week's Farmgirl Friday hop.  Go check out what other folks are up to!

Treat Time: Gruyere Cheese Puffs

Don't those look yummy?  I'm a cheese lover, so when I saw Gruyere cheese on sale last week, a lightbulb went on.  Let's make gougères!  What the heck is a gougère, you say?  That's just a fancy name for cheese puffs - slightly crunchy on the outside but all steaming cheesy airiness on the inside.

You can make these with just about any cheese, but Gruyere has a certain.....je ne sais quoi.  I think that means "great taste" in French.  Or "stupid American". I'm not sure which.  (Just kidding.)  If you've never had it, Gruyere cheese has a really nice flavor, slightly sweet, a little salty, without being overbearingly sharp.  It's really great to bake with and melts nicely.  The downside?   It's really pricey if you don't find it on sale. 

NOTE:  If you don't have Gruyeye on hand, you can substitute other cheeses in this recipe.  I wouldn't use cheddar or any other oily cheese, however.  It needs to be a variety that melts nicely.

So let's get started on thoose cheezy poofs:

Gruyere Cheese Puffs
Total Time: 35 minutes (10 minutes prep, 25 minutes baking)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water (can sub 1/2 cup milk to make these a little denser)
• 1 stick salted butter, cut into 8 tablespoons
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 8 oz Gruyere

Oops!  I'm missing my 4 eggs from this picture.  :-(

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Adjust the rack into the lower third of the oven.
2. Either shred the Gruyere or cube it into 1/4" cubes and set aside.
3. In a pan, combine the water, salt, and butter and bring to a rolling boil.
4. Immediately add all of the flour at once, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth (about 2 minutes).
5. Remove the dough from the pan and place it into a bowl to cool slightly (about 3 to 5 minutes). 

The dough resting in a bowl right before adding the cheese.

6. Add the eggs one at a time.  Using a wooden spoon, stir briskly as you add each egg.  
7. Add the Gruyere cheese and mix into the dough.
8. Use a tablespoon to place the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet .  I usually make mine about the size of 2 tablespoons.  (Some folks dump the dough into a pastry bag and make pretty mounds of dough.  Who has time for that?  Not me.  I want some cheese puffs!)
9. Optional: Sprinkle the top with a little shredded Parmesan for an added kick.
10. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
11. Enjoy!  These are best when right out of the oven.

You can freeze these for up to a month.  Just remove them from the freezer and then defrost in a 350° oven for 8 minutes.   I've got quilting class tonight but will hopefully be able to focus on some the garden and the "honey do" list for the weekend after that.  My pinless peepers have arrived for the chickens, so the bad girls are not going to be happy to see me.  And J. and I have to get back to work on the house so that we can get it on the market.  The plan is to spend all weekend painting inside.  Joy!  

Hope y'all enjoy these cheezy poofs and have a great day,  

I'm sharing this delicious recipe with the following hops:  Share Your Cup, Thursdays Are Your Days, Delightfully Inspiring Thursday, Eat.Make.Grow.

When Life Gives Your Cucumbers, Make Cucumber Soup

My cukes are just about the only thing left in my garden that hasn't keeled over in this heat and drought.  That and the Romas.  But, despite that fact, I have tons of blooms but no cukes!

So I was really  happy when Hen House ran the special earlier this week for locally grown cucumbers for just 25 cents each.  I picked up 4 of the most mammoth cukes you have ever seen.  In fact, I should have weighed them before I set to work on making the most delicious cold cucumber soup.

Have you ever tried this?  If not, you must!  I had it for the first time earlier this Spring and fell in love.  It's creamy, it's cold, and so light on your tongue.

CrankyPuppy's Cool-Me-Down Cucumber Soup
Easily serves 4 with leftovers; prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

3 large cucumbers (or 4 medium-sized)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (I often omit this)
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (or 1/2 tablespoon dried dill)
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pint buttermilk
1/2 pint plain or Greek yogurt
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

1. Peel the cucumbers (they're so slick, it's easier to use a potato peeler than a knife.)
2. Cut them in half and remove the seeds. My technique is to use a paring knife to get most of it, then use the tip of a spoon and the rest scrapes right out.)
3. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and let them stand 30 minutes. This will draw some of the water out of the cukes.
4. Drain the excess water off.
5. Chop the cucumbers coarsely and put the pieces in the blender along with scallions, dill, lemon juice, buttermilk, and yogurt. Blend at high speed.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Chill well before serving.  I like to top each bowl with chopped scallions, sprigs of mint, or fresh shrimp. 

The flavors continue to blend as this soup sits, and it hits peak max flavor at about 2 days after you make it.  But you can eat it as soon as it's chilled also.  It's so light that it's really more of an appetizer or snack, though.  Also, you can substitute sour cream for the yogurt or heavy cream for the buttermilk and add more dill for taste.  I'm not a huge dill fan, so the recipe above is what I use and it's quite "dilly" enough for me.  ;-)

By the way, my cost to double the recipe and feed up to 8 people was just $4.37!  ($1.28 for 1 quart of buttermilk, $2.09 for 1.5 pint plain yogurt, and $1.00 for cucumbers; everything else was fresh from the garden or in my pantry).

So, if your garden is doing great and you end up with more cucumbers than you know what do with, this is a great way to enjoy them. 

Hope you enjoy!

I'm sharing this yummy recipe with Tuesday Garden Party,  Farm Fresh Friday, Farmgirl Friday, LHITS DIY Linky Party, {Green Day}, Inspiration Friday, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Ole Saturday Homesteading Trading Post, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Simple Things Sunday and the Homesteading Blog Carnival..

Beat the Heat: Watermelon Slushies

Is your mouth watering yet?

I'm sure you're tired of hearing me and all the other bloggers talk about how darn hot it is - I know I certainly am tired of talking about it.  It's not going anywhere, so let's move on to a slightly cooler topic, shall we?  I thought I would talk about one of the ways that I like to stay cool and refeshed on a hot summer day.  Watermelon smoothies!

These are a perfect way to use up extra watermelon that you might have in your fridge.  And they're completely healthy to boot.  Watermelon is full of antioxidants and is about 92% water, so it will help keep you hydrated and flush out .  My recipe will fill 3 pint jars.

Watermelon Slushies

 Ingredients

• 5 cups watermelon (seedless or seeded, depending on your preference*)
• 10 ice cubes (optional if the watermelon is frozen ahead of time)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp honey (optional - personally, I don't like the taste of honey with watermelon)
• Sugar (to taste if the watermelon is not as ripe and sweet)
• Mint leaves for garnish
• Red sugar (if you want to sugar the rims of the glasses)

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve in your favorite glass with a sprig of mint and a garnish of leftover melon. 

*Did you know that watermelon seeds are supposed to help reduce bloating? The food processor will grind these up, so you won't even know the seeds are in there.

This is the simple recipe that I use, but there are also all kinds of variations.  You might consider trying one of these add-ins:

• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt to make it creamier
• 1 cup lemon or lime sherbet
• 1 can ginger ale or citrusy soda like Sprite or 7-Up
• 12 oz container of frozen lemonade or limeade
• 1 cup strawberry ice cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• whole strawberries - replace 1 cup of the watermelon with strawberries for a sweeter taste

I promise I won't tell if you slip a little something something in there.  Like an ounce of voka or Everclear?

And here are a couple of other ideas:

Watermelon sorbet:  Freeze the slush mixture and then reblend it for a nice sorbet with dinner.
Melon pops:  Pour the slush into popsicle molds for a sweet treat for the kids.

Trust me, watermelon slushies are really good.  I hope you'll try this recipe out and, if you come up with any interesting twists on this recipe, I'd love to hear them.

This post was shared with:  You Capture!, Homesteader Blog Carnival, Barn Hop, Raising Homemakers, Home is Where the Heart Is, Encourage One Another, Wow Us Wednesdays and Farmgirl Fridays.