Skinny Ms. Down Home Chicken With A Twist

A friend gave me the Skinny Ms. Slow Cooker recipe book this last Christmas. A few days ago (this is April) I finally remembered that I had it! I absolutely love it because there is not 1 complicated or time-consuming recipe in the entire book. Every single one is simple and most of the ingredients are either those I keep on hand or are very easily accessible.

I could not find a photo of the recipe results and as I'm crocking this meal right now, I don't have a photo to show you. I should probably wait but the simple fact is that I don't have time. I've got to go pick up my daughter from school, run to town and wait in line for my 120lbs of chicken I ordered (only 40 is for me), run home to scarf up some food & give my husband a kiss and a quick pat on the butt, then run my darling daughter to our local grange so that my best friend and her husband can teach Hunter's Education to this year's crop of new recruits. That'll last until...

Hey, you're not allowed to fall asleep!!

Anyway, I'm busy. No photo. I'm sure you'll forgive me.

Now, I have to tell you my little twist before we get started. The recipe calls for raw chicken breasts but I don't have any yet. What I've got is a large amount of canned chicken in quart jars because I spent an entire week last fall canning my little fingers to the bone from dawn until dusk after our 32cuft upright freezer decided to retire.

Interesting note, it has now been laid on it's back and turned into a feed bin for my pig feed. Yay repurposing!!

I am going to use 1qt of chicken instead of the 4 chicken breasts. I am going to add it about an hour before I shut off the crock. If you do not have canned chicken, just follow the recipe as it is below. I also don't have fresh carrots or potatoes so I'll be adding a can of carrots and a can of baby potatoes an hour before shutoff as well. No, canned is not as good but it's what I have. I also used water + bouillon and omitted the celery because I don't have any. It's all about using what you've got!

The Recipe

     1 tsp ground black pepper
     1/2 tsp sea salt
     1 tsp garlic powder
     2 bay leaves
     4 carrots, 1/2" slices
     2 large potatoes, 1" cubes
     1 tsp onion powder
     2 celery ribs, diced
     2 C chicken broth (or 2 C water + 2 tsp chicken bouillon)
     2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
     4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir, adding the chicken last. Crock on LOW for 6-8 hours until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Do you have a favorite chicken in the crock recipe?

Bread Machine Egg Bread Recipe

One of my favorite kitchen appliances is my Zojirushi bread machine. It's got a horizontal pan that will bake up to a 2lb loaf. I have the BB-CEC20 and I absolutely adore it. They also make a model that has special setting specifically for gluten-free recipes! These are ridiculously expensive but if you bide your time and consistently check Amazon's Warehouse Deals, you can get one for less than $120.

I wanted to make some bread today and I have never tried egg bread before but with all of the eggs I have, 2 to 4 dozen regularly, I decided to go ahead and make it. Not too long ago I bought BHG's Best Bread Machine Recipes from Amazon and I would suggest buying it to anyone with a bread maker. All of their recipes have a 1 1/2lb version as well as a 2lb version.

This bread could possibly be my most favorite recipe so far from a bread maker! It smells terrific, is fairly light, really soft, and is fabulous sliced and buttered with supper.

The 2lb Recipe

3/4 C Milk
1/3 C Water
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp oil, margarine, or butter
4 C Flour, I used unbleached all-purpose
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast

I'd recommend using your bread maker's instructions as far as setting, etc.

The steps I used according to Zojirushi:

Add the first 4 ingredients to the pan, then add the flour. Place the sugar in one corner, the salt in the opposite corner. Make a dimple in the middle of the flour without breaking through to the liquid below. Put the yeast in this dimple.

I used the 'light' crust control setting and the 'basic bread' setting.

Do you have a favorite bread machine recipe?

Meatloaf Spice Mix - McCormick's Clone

I've got an earlier post on meatloaf but I wanted to very quickly stop in and post the spice mix I now make and use exclusively. It takes just like McCormick's, only fresher.

Ingredients

     2 tsp ground mustard
     2 tsp paprika
     1 1/2 tsp sea salt
     1 1/2 tsp thyme
     1 1/2 tsp basil
     1 tsp ground black pepper
     1 tsp garlic powder
     1 tsp onion powder

If you use 1lb pork sausage plus 1lb elk burger (or beef), you'll add 1 Tbsp of this mix to your meatloaf ingredients.

     ...8 crackers, 1/2 C milk, 2 eggs.  375 in loaf pan for 1 hour

If you use 2lbs of elk burger (or beef), you'll add the entire mix.

If using beef and trying to recreate the rest of my recipe, add 3 more crackers as beef contains more fat than elk.

If you have a last packet of McCormick's to use up and want to try it with pork sausage like I do, you'll use 1/3 of the packet.

If all of this is confusing, raise your hand.

How do you make your meatloaf?

Potato Pen

This year I'm going to try making a giant box of potatoes. It'll be about 288 square feet of potatoes and straw once it's filled. A very good friend of ours gave us about 20 sheets of metal roofing a few years ago and I turned 4 sheets of it into a box last year to keep the Chicken Mafia, Rabbit Gang, Westside Ducks, Street Cats, and Barnyard Dogs out of the veggies. This year I've got 12 blueberry bushes (I got 10 just this year when I traded 2 male geese for them), 80+ raspberry bushes, 3 rhubarb plants from the pioneer days (they came over on a covered wagon!), 5 upcycled tires filled with pickling cucumbers, and I'll be planting more veggies in the weeks to come. 

With all the plants needing protection I've decided to just fence in the backyard/garden area but still build the box, this time to house the potatoes. I chose to use a box so that the straw won't spread with the wind. I can't chance uncovering potatoes too early, they'll turn green and the green part of a potato is actually toxic. Also, at $6.99 pre-tax per bale it isn't cheap. The layer you see in the photo took 1 whole bale and is maybe 3" deep. The panels are about  12' long and 3' tall and I'll be filling it to about the 2' mark. I estimate that'll take at least $60 so these babies better produce at least 30lbs to make it cost effective!

The Layout

My Dear Husband borrowed a tractor and tilled the garden for me last weekend and with no rain I was able to get the straw on before the soil compacted again. 

Tip: if you don't have plastic or straw and your yard isn't as windy as mine, you can lay cardboard over the soil so that rain doesn't compact it before you get a chance to plant. That will also work as a compostable weed barrier!

I regretfully did not get a photo of the soaker hose layout before I added the straw because I was in a hurry. It had been threatening to rain, the DH had just gotten home and I had yet to build a macaroni salad to go with the Ling Cod DH had caught and was planning to cook for dinner. Also, the Chicken Mafia had not noticed the garden construction yet and I failed to submit my application of protection ahead of time. Do you know what a Chicken Mafia will do to anything you're building outside if you don't secure protection from them?? They will inspect it top to bottom and then most likely tear it down and spread the remains like ashes from their fiery temper. It's true.

Anyway, I used 50 feet of 1/2" soaker hose ($20 at my local MalWart) in an 'S' pattern, staking down the rounded bends with 'U' shaped stakes, leaving the hose connection end outside of the box for easy hookup to the main hose. I then covered it with 1 bale of straw.

The Potatoes

Red Norland

I cut some Red Norland seed potatoes into sets today. A set is about an inch of potato with at least 2 eyes on it. You'll want to cut them a few days before you plant them so that the cutside has a chance to dry up. This will give it a better shot at not rotting when you place it in the ground. I'm also going to be planting our favorite type of potato, the Yellow Finn. They taste like buttah! Thin skins, yellowy flesh, great for frying, deep frying, mashing... we use them for everything. They seem to have the most flavor of all the types I've tried but I admit, I haven't tried a whole lot. I sort of stopped when we discovered these!

The Plan

To grow 288 square feet of big darn taters! I read a little about fertilizers and bone meal seemed to be the #1 thing to get a great sized tuber. Do you think I could find any?? No! Everyone seemed to be out. Instead I tossed a little Epsom Salt on the straw thinking that the rain would carry it into the soil. It's raining now, I'm guessing that's happening although I could go lick a piece of straw to find out...

I digress. 

When the sets are ready to plant, I'll just clear a little space under the straw and somewhat snug each piece into the earth a little and cover it back up with straw, making sure to plant them about 12-15" apart and in the middle of the rows created by the soaker hose. As the plants get about 8" tall, I'll cover them with more straw, repeating until they're at the 2' mark.

Why Soaker Hose?

You don't have to use soaker hose, I never have before, but by using it I will be able to water the taters with less effort and the straw shouldn't spread away like it could if I were to spray the top with a hose. My hope is to get a timer and just water them for a few minutes every morning at about 7am. 

Last year I tried using barrels but the material stayed too wet and I think the pine shavings I used created too much Nitrogen and I got poor results. 

Have you tried or heard of any other unusual methods? 

Do you have any tips for potato newbs?

Onion Soup Mix, Hold the Onion

I really hate onions. I can smell an onion a mile away and I gag if one slips through my defenses and into my mouth. It's pretty embarrassing in public but that doesn't happen too often anymore. I've learned to just ask if something has onion in it and it's very sad how much that limits what I eat when I eat out.

Over the last 2 years as I've really begun to cook, I've noticed that a lot of recipes for beef (I always substitute with elk or deer as I can't have beef) call for dry onion soup mix. I use it but I have always dry strained the mix over the bowl so that no sliver of evil dehydrated onion worms it's evil way into my food.

Lately I've been on this MMO (make my own) mix kick and today as I was creating a recipe for Extra Hearty Roast Con Gravy, I thought some onion soup mix might be good. Too lazy to look in the cupboard and excited to try my own, I created this Dry Onion Soup Mix Without Onions!

In the photo, you see Knorr Beef Bouillon which I do use, but this particular batch today was made with beef bouillon from the local co-op. It's just a little more spendy than Knorr in the hispanic aisle of my local MalWart. Believe me, I'd go all uppity and refuse to shop there if I could but the simple fact is that I can't afford to, and the bouillon with spanish writing is cheaper than that with only english. Go figure.

Recipe:

• 1/3 C Beef Bouillon
• 4 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/4 tsp Celery Seed
• 1/4 tsp Sugar

To substitute for 1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix, start with 2 Tbsp of this mix and add as you like.

Ugh, iiiiiif you haaaaave to have stupid evil nasty gross evil onion flakes, you can add

• 3/4 C Dehydrated Onions

and start with 4-5 Tbsp of the mix to replace 1 packet.

But I wouldn't *shudder*

On Becoming a Lioness

I've always been a thinker, far more able to live in my own head than the outside world with real people whom I often don't quite understand and whose groups I just haven't ever seemed to fit into. This last year being off work has really given me the time and luxury to further develop my awareness of self and the biggest realization that I've come to, is that I have always felt late.

Late as in, not on time. As in BEHIND. Behind others, to be specific. Who set up this timetable of expectations, anyway? The feeling of having to, the driving need to, accomplish "on schedule" is just plain soul crushing.

At first.

I felt the weight of expectation is just about every pore of my body. From my mother who unfairly equated my B's with my sibling's D's, to my teachers who told me over and over that I had "so much potential". My family just KNEW that I'd be the first to graduate college and become a RAGING SUCCESS STORY!!!!!!!! Nowhere in there was anyone asking what I would like to do, what I thought, what I wanted to accomplish, what my future meant to me. I was saddled and ready to go... with no real tools of my own prepared for the ride.

And so I failed. Well, I felt that I failed. I failed before I could fail so that I didn't end up wasting their time with how badly I was going to disappoint them when the hype turned to dust in front of their eyes. I still have a problem with self-sabotaging but it's getting better.

As I grew up into my late teens and early twenties, I felt like not only had I seriously let all of my cheerleaders down, but that I wasn't equal to my peers. A few had bought homes, had babies, gotten married, moved out of town for longer than six months... and I didn't even have a CAREER yet. Now, it is good to compare yourself with others sometimes. It can be a good source of motivation or affirmation for the way your own life is going, but when you start tearing yourself down... that's when you're doing it wrong.

I did not learn that until a few short years ago. I am 32.

It took me so long to understand that i was not BEHIND. I was not LATE. Do you know why? Because who the hell designed the damn timeline, and there is never a "late" for the brave! There is no keeper of the schedule but you. If you are brave, time is rarely a factor or a limiting agent.

What prompted my amazing realization? My best friend and youngest sister, Samantha. Her little family, farm, and day to day life does not fit a mold, and it's okay. I have always felt that it is okay and defended her hippie ways and then one day, out of nowhere, realized that although I took it as a matter of course that her path was different and okay, I didn't give my own that same respect.

I didn't have to graduate from college. I didn't have to be married before having my daughter. I didn't have to own a house by the time I was 25. I didn't have to be married to the man I lived with. I didn't have to have a fancy career title that my husband, relatives, or friends could boast about when speaking of me. I didn't have to have all of that and a big, new home in order to be a spectacular wife, mother, daughter, sister, or friend.

I didn't have to, because my life is my own. I am where I need to be, I always have been, and that is okay because I said it is.

I wish the burden of other people's expectations, or your own inflated and disproportionate expectations on yourself, to fall from your shoulders too.

It feels good to breathe.

I am a strong person. I am a good person. These, in the eyes of my daughter, husband, family and friends, is what matters to me. Not what I have, what title I hold, or where I am.

It feels good to become a lioness.

Returning to blog... returning to work?

I had quit blogging a year ago due to the fact that I am so rural, I only have internet access via smartphone which is SOOOOoooo not conducive to a well-constructed and beautifully illustrated blog.

I'm finding it ironic that just as google seems to have gotten its blog construction straightened out, I might be returning to work. At least, I really hope I will but we'll see. I'm trying not to get my knickers in a twist waiting for a call. To work or not to work, it's a question best answered when told the salary and benefits package!

**I want knickers**

In the last year, I have slid a little away from crock potting but have really progressed in cooking nearly 100% from scratch. I don't make my own noodles *sob* oh gods, I know.... I fail. I FAIL!!!! Mayhap that failure could be offset by my sweet crafting skills, honed over these last 13 months. I'll be blogging a large paper flower project that I did for my sister Sam's wedding as well as an incredibly easy Teriyaki Chicken Crock dish and maybe even a pretty cool light fixture upgrade!

I know I'm not saying much.... I'm just saying, hang in there. New job or not, this blog shall live on!!

Save Your Plastic!

I've had a harder and harder time throwing away plastic containers because I really don't want to contribute to landfills more than I have to so I've been coming up with creative uses for the bottles I've emptied or that contain products I don't want to use.

I've been reusing vinegar jugs by filling them with the laundry soap I make and sell. I've also used them to make Emergency Funnels and "WHERE-IS-MY-FEED-SCOOP OH-MY-CRAP-THE-ANIMALS-ARE-GOING-TO-STARVE-BECAUSE-I-AM-SUDDENLY-UNABLE-TO-THINK-OF-ANY-OTHER-SCOOP-CURVE-BOWL-TYPE-THING-FOR-FOOD-GETTING" Scoop.

*sigh*

I just love reusing vinegar jugs.

Vinegar IS the only surface cleaner I use so not only do I end up with lots of free jugs, I don't have to pay a big truck to burn diesel into the atmosphere getting another one to an area near me and then burn gasoline to go pick it up..

AAAAANNNNND

...I'm keeping it out of a landfill...

AAAAANNNNND

...it's already cleaned! With vinegar! All by itself!

Vinegar is my hero.

Back to what sparked the return of my blog writing (I've decided that the photos will land where they feel like it and I know you're polite enough to try and understand or pretend to understand the issues I'm having blogging via mobile and won't mention it if they're wonky) which was using my vinegar cleaner on my bathroom mirrors this morning.

You see, I had been given a body spray and although I liked the smell, I coveted the small bottle & pump far more. Also, I really don't wear "Smelly Stuff" (husband speak) that often.

I live on a farm.

I'm a farmer.

With all of the odors here, trying to combat them or balance them with a more pleasant one is like trying to do something really hard.. like coming up with an analogy when you've barely had 1 cup of coffee and one of your eyes isn't even open yet.

(O_e)

So I had this bottle which was in my bathroom amidst the other Smellies and it hit me... VINEGAR!

It is much more efficient to keep vinegar in the bathroom (and a great visual reminder to pick it up and use it) but not great to have a gallon plopped right out in the open, all awkward like a coworker at your bachelorette party, everyone wondering why its there.

"Hey, why is Deborah from accounting here?"

Nobody knows.

The solution: I poured my vinegar water (50/50) into the rinsed out bottle and now it hides inconspicuously betwixt the Smellies. Its a great way to hide it, to remember to use it, and also to waste less of it.

Speaking of spraying being more effective...

PUT YOUR RUBBING ALCOHOL IN A SPRAY BOTTLE!

And speaking of spraying in general...

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!

*Neutering as soon as possible has been proven to prevent 2 out of 3 cats from ever spraying!

*In a study conducted by me over a period of 12 years.

-Chubby, Bobby, and Fion were not harmed in the study-

The Six Hour Omelette

Please bear with me, due to DSL not being available in the very rural area where I live, photos will not be ordered nicely and may look like a 5yo started blogging due to the app I have to use not being proficient enough to withstand my awesomeness. Once upon the other day, I had a thawed packaged of sausage that needed to be cooked. The sad little pork sausage was all alone in the fridge and had never been to the crock before. I decided to take pity on the pork and have a party! ....in my crock pot (rhymes with "that's what SHE said...") We grow our own Yellow Finn potatoes which are VERY thin-skinned... (They take everything personally, speak in funny accents, insult you and then run away. Divas, really.) ...and so do very well in a crock setting. I also have 7 wonderful chickens (Bunny, Freckles, Happy, Mescal, Honey, Hazel, and the blond, Marilyn) who have no idea that most of their brethren (sisteren?) stop laying during the winter. Or, maybe they do know and they're rebels. Or, maybe they don't care because they're just so darn happy! They ALL lay an egg every single day. So on this particular day here I am with 30 eggs, a package of sausage, plenty of potatoes.... and I'm thinking PARTY! An omelette is just a culinary party, isn't it?  I think so! Here's what you'll need:      1 pkg Pork Sausage, crumbled & cooked      10 Sm-Med Potatoes      20 Eggs (2 per potato used) 4oz Cheddar Cheese,           Optional: small can of sliced mushrooms, I used unsalted      Grease your crock Crack in all of your eggs Mix in the sausage Toss in the potatoes Throw in some cheese Do the Crocky Pocky and mix it all around THAT'S WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!! Shred ya some fromage (that's french for "cheese". I feel fancy today. Plus, I haven't shaved in about 3 days and its probably time to wax my mustache.) Cook on LOW for about 6 hours (you'll see when the eggs are done) Mmmmmmmmm yummmmmyyy! Feel free to toss in any other ingredients you'd normally use in an omelette EXCEPT FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS because it will spoil being cooked on low for such a long period of time.

Jennifer C's Easy Peasy Crocked Lasagna

I admit, I was a creep. I was one of those nosy, creepy people. I "met" Jennifer C on a Campbell's Soup Facebook posting. She had mentioned to the masses that she had a very easy lasagna recipe and I, of course, am all for making any of my dinners in a lazier (EASIER. Whatever.) fashion so I, along with several other people, requested her to shareth with uth.

Jennifer, being the gracious facebooker she is, DID email me the recipe!  It differs from the other Lasagna recipe on my blog in the sauce and type of noodles so I decided to go ahead and give you this option as well!



 Get you some:

     1-2 pkg Burger, browned. I used 1pkg deer burger and 1pkg elk sausage
     1 lg jar or can Spaghetti Sauce
     1 1/2 cups Mozzrella Cheese, shredded as small as possible
     1 15 or 16oz container Ricotta
     1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded as small as possible
     3/4 of a 16oz container of cottage cheese     1pkg No-Boil or Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles, uncooked
     Italian Seasoning
             or
     Parsley & Garlic


Make sure to drain your burger very well after you brown it. I ended up using about 3/4 of the 2 packages. The other 1/4 I gave to my poor old puppy who was very studiously NOT looking at the food. I feel that using both packages would have resulted in a higher meat-to-sauce ratio than I would have liked. That's a technical term, btw. Used in highly refined french restaurants.

"Louis, I find zees meat-to-sauce ratio is highly unpalatable. You disgust me, you vile pigsnot! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"
*smacks Louis in the face with white glove*

It could happen.


I digress, as always.


I had made chili the day before and had an extra cup or two of crushed tomatoes (I love crushed tomatoes. They go in EVERYTHING.) so I added that to my favorite Francesco Rindaldi pasta sauce. What can I say? I'm a sauce girl.

I'm not sassy, I'm SAUCY!

Add the burger to the sauce and LIGHTLY sprinkle Italian Seasoning over it (you can hardly see the Italian Seasoning in this photo because I'm me and I buried it with garlic salt). Set aside.

You'll want to mix together the 3/4 container of cottage cheese (and if you're like me, pause to eat the rest) with the ricotta cheese and sprinkle a LIGHT dusting of your Italian Seasoning or Parsley over it (and then if you're still me, sprinkle California Blend Garlic Salt over that).

Now you'll want to grate your mozzarella over the cheese mixture. Mix in the parmesan cheese. Use the finest grade of grater (the greatest) because the smaller the shred the easier it will be to mix and spread. Set aside.

I cut off about 1/3 of a brick of mozzarella, shredding 2/3 of THAT and then reserving the last 1/3 for shredding over the final layer of lasagna.

Now we can get to building!!

Can we build it?!  YES WE CAN!

I used my 7qt crock for this and it ended up filling it halfway or just over halfway.

I'm assuming you've protected your crock by greasing it. No one wants to eat from an unprotected crock. You might get burnt. Pieces, that is.

I had never heard of "No Boil" or "Oven Ready" noodles but I really wanted to try it exactly as Jennifer suggested so I found these and decided to give them a go

*NOTE You can crock a lasagna with the regular lasagna noodles, uncooked. Crocking has no loss of liquid so they are cooked just fine with the amount of liquid in the recipe.


Spoon a light layer of meatsauce onto the bottom and cover it with a layer of noodles.  As you see, you can break them to fit. Try not to touch the sides with the noodles if you can. They will burn. Some layers I did a double layer of noodles. I bought 2 packages (just in case) and ended up using 1 1/2 pkgs. The recipe suggests 1 package and that would have been just fine.

Now you'll want to carefully spread your cheese mixture over the noodles. I noticed that with a finer shred of cheese, it didn't conglomo to the layer of noodles after cooking as badly as the larger shred did.

Now you'll continue with repeating sauce then noodle then cheese, (I had about 3 layers total) ending with sauce and then shred the last 1/3 of the mozzarella over the top to make it purty-like.

Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or HIGH for 1 to 2



I put mine together the night before I wanted to serve it and loved how easy it was to do.  I loved the taste! I really think adding the spices to the cheese was a great move. The ONLY thing that I didn't groove on was that the noodles weren't cooked all the way. I had mine on LOW for 3 1/2 hours and turned it to warm for a half hour because the edges of the noodles were starting to burn.

HOWEVER....

When I ate the lasagna the next day, no noodle issue! They must have soaked up more liquid overnight because it was perfect and the flavor was EVEN BETTER!! In fact, I thought about making this one day and not serving it until the next!

Lazy Baked Spaghetti

Pictured with The Best French Bread

Baking spaghetti just does a little something, adds a certain je ne sais quoi, to the flavor and texture. If you love spaghetti as much as I do, you've GOT to try doing this to yours because it's the easiest most lazy way to kick your dinner up a notch!

 
How lazy is it??
 

My pooch Abby

THIS LAZY!! 

If you have a favorite spaghetti recipe, use it and then go to the "AND NOW" step. 

If not, get together:

     Noodles
   
     Spaghetti Sauce I've tried all kinds and I really like Francesco Rinaldi because it is good 

               on it's own but also very good as a base to build on. I'm still refining a recipe to use from scratch and hope to have a post on that soon. Make sure 

               you have ENOUGH sauce. In baking it, too much is better than not enough.

    
     !!Cheese!! I use about a brick each time. One time I did a half brick of shredded sharp cheddar

              plus a half brick of shredded mozzarella. In the photo I used 2/3 brick of shredded sharp

             cheddar and 5 pieces of packaged pre-sliced Velveeta.

My husband calls this recipe "that stupid crazy cheesy baked spaghetti you make". I've been trying to get him back in the late 80's and early 90's where he belongs but. HE. JUST. WONT. GO.

 because he's

dung dung dung dungalunglung
vanilla ice ice baby

AND NOW, you'll want to cook your noodles the normal length of time you like them cooked. When using a crock, we wouldn't cook them as long as usual but for this recipe you'll just pretty much make spaghetti as you would any other time.

While your noodles are boiling, put your sauce in a pan and warm it up. Add SOME of the cheese to it but leave enough to cover the top of the spaghetti when you put it in a baking dish. I normally add 1/3 of the cheese to my sauce, reserving 2/3 for the top.

Use Crisco to grease your baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350*

Mix sauce and noodles together and pour into the dish. Cover with the remaining 2/3 grated cheese.

Insert toothpicks at regular intervals so that foil will not touch and stick to the cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending on how deep your dish is.

The cheese should be nice and melted but not burnt or crisp. If you'd like it crisp, uncover it after 25 minutes, turn the heat up to 400* and bake until it's as crisp as you like.

It will take awhile to cool (at least 20 mins) so while it's cooling, it would be a good time to be baking your loaf of The Best French Bread.

And here's a little prezzie for you, my dearly beloved blog reader!

The Best French Bread

Ah, I see you have arrived via the Garlic Bread And French Bread Dough Recipe.

I'm sorry that I don't have a plethora of visual stimuli to increase your salivatory glands but follow these directions and smell for yourself how amazing this bread is!



You require the following:

     Butter

     Garlic paraphernalia

You've already got your dough (if not, click HERE) and you just punched it down (I am outside watching you) so here's what you want to do next:

Gently roll the dough into a large fuzzy caterpillar.

WHAAAAAAaaaa????

Yes. Just do it. 

Uh-huh. You're seein' it now.

Caterpillar I telled you!

~~~You're still thinking about it, aren't you?~~~

Tuck the ends under, pinch any seams together, and keep all seams under the loaf (touching the pan).

 Cover with the oiled cling wrap and let it rise for about 20 minutes.

Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.

While the bread is baking, make a mixture of butter and your favorite garlic seasonings. I take a stick of unsalted butter, put it into a cup and shake my California Blend Garlic Salt into it, add a bit of minced garlic and microwave it until it's melted. Taste and add garlic as necessary.

Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes.

Cut loaf in half and brush with the garlic butter mixture.

Place both halves back on the cookie sheet (butter up) and broil for a few minutes until it's reached your desired crispiness.

Zis ees zee best French Bread... BON APPETIT!

Barton's Cheesy Buttery Garlic Bread

...you're wishing you could scratch and sniff your computer monitor right now...


Using the Garlic Bread And French Bread Dough Recipe, you've gotten to this point.

You have chosen this option well, Grasshoppa!

What I've chosen to do is to braid my bread so that it becomes pull-apart serving.

You'll need:

     Butter

     Garlic paraphernalia

     Cheese some sort of white, I use mozzarella because I can't find white cheddar locally
  Dough from the  Garlic Bread And French Bread Dough Recipe

To make 2 baguettes: Section the dough into 2 pieces. Roll each out into a long noodle almost the length of the cookie sheet. Wrap the ends underneath and make sure any seams are on the bottom (touching the pan). Lay them both on the cookie sheet a few inches apart. Cover with the oiled cling wrap.

To braid: Section the dough into 3 separate pieces. I've found it easiest to loosely roll the dough and then pinch and twist to separate.

Roll (literally roll the dough, not "use a rolling pin to roll it flat". you're making a strand, here.) each section out to the length you'd like your bread to be. It WILL stretch out a bit more during it's second rising so don't worry.

Fun Fact: Rolling the dough lines up the grains, so to speak. When you pull garlic bread apart you'll notice that the bread all sort of goes one way. Think "string cheese".

It's much easier to have one person hold the ends together while you braid the rest (exactly like hair only less pulling and whining) but if you don't have someone around, just start braiding one side and then go to the other side and braid it out. Make sure to pinch the ends together and tuck them underneath. Try not to pull on the strands too much, it will break them. Cover loosely with the oiled cling wrap.

NOW: Preheat your oven to 350* and let the dough rise for about 20 minutes or so. As the loaf is rising you can very gently lift the ends one side at a time and tug it longer. I do this about 3 or 4 times.

Bake it for about 20 minutes.

I'm sure you've remembered to take the cling wrap off first.

While the bread is baking, make a mixture of butter and your favorite garlic seasonings. I take a stick of unsalted butter, put it into a cup and shake my California Blend Garlic Salt into it, add a bit of minced garlic and microwave it until it's melted. Taste and add garlic as necessary.

Pull the loaf of the oven and brush it with the garlic butter mixture.

Bake for another 5 minutes. It should be lightly browned.

Slice your cheese into 1" squares (one square for every "bump" or inch if baguette)

Take the loaf out and let it cool for 15 minutes. Keep the oven on.

After the bread has cooled, cut slits 2/3 into each bump and down the center in a zigzag (if you've chosen to make 2 baguettes instead of 1 loaf, you would cut a slit about every inch) taking care not to cut down to the bottom.

Use a brush to fill the slits with the garlic butter mixture. Press 1 cheese square into every bump (or inch, if baguette).

DRENCH the loaf with the rest of the garlic butter mixture and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.

SERVE IMMEDIATELY

Garlic Bread and French Bread Dough Recipe

OOoooOOOooOOoo SOOKIE SOOKIE

That's right, it's the bread you've been waiting for!! This recipe is EXTREMELY versatile and I'm going to show you TWO different ways to use this recipe today along with a few Super Tips that you'll be able to use for the rest. of your. culinary. LIFE.

Let's get our stuff together!

     1 C Milk warm

     1 tbsp Honey

     2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast or 1 packet

     3 C Bread Flour  no bread flour? no worry! use regular flour if you need to, it'll be fine

     1 tsp Salt

   

To warm the milk you'll want to use a microwave safe container, microwave and stir in 20 second increments. You don't want to burn the milk or break it down any more than absolutely necessary. If you don't have a thermometer (I don't) you'll know its warm enough when it's not as warm as you'd like to drink your coffee or espresso. You know the temp I'm talking about. The one where you take a sip and make the face because it's all in-between and weird so you head over to the microwave because you were REALLY looking forward to having an amazing sip and it was just TOO gross. THAT temperature. I suppose people call it lukewarm, whatever...

While you're microwaving your milk, put your tightly sealed honey container in your kitchen sink on it's side and run hot water over it. I've found that this is the best way to get my honey moving (other than crying or yelling) and you're doing two things at the same time, you ANIMAL you!

If you're REALLY talented <bowing> you'll also be measuring out the yeast into your mixing bowl.

Just a "real quick" here, use a knife with a flat edge on the back

to flatten out your measurements. Scoop and Scrape, people! 

Scoop and Scrape! 

Except flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup 

and THEN scrape! This will ensure consistent amounts.

So you've got your yeast in the mixing bowl, pour in your NOT-HOT milk and then measure in your tablespoon of honey. Your yeast will be warm and snug and have plenty of food so just let it relax for 5 minutes while you prepare your cookie sheet.

     

Pour a dash of olive oil on your cookie sheet, spread a sheet of cling wrap over it and rub it in well so that the cling wrap has a fine film on it. Peel the cling wrap back to one side and go back to your yeast/honey/milk mixture.

Add in 1 C of the flour, stir once or twice.

StoryTime Break: one day I only had 1 1/2 C of my bread flour left so I used that along with 1 1/2 C of my all-purpose unbleached white flour. It turned out JUST FINE. The bread flour has more gluten in it which makes it stretchier and chewier but no one (including me) noticed a difference. The End

Add the teaspoon of salt, stir once or twice.

-option at this point: add a dash of garlic powder (NOT garlic salt or minced garlic) to the mix-

Add 1 C of the flour, stir once or twice. 

Add the last C of the flour and stir (or use the "fold" option on your mixer. I love my Cuisinart) until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.

By Hand: knead for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is no longer sticky and stretches well.

By Stand Mixer: mix on LOW (2) using the dough hook for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is no longer sticky and stretches well.

Wrap the dough into a ball with any seams being on the bottom. Pinch seams together.

Roll the ball on the oiled cookie sheet until the outside is covered in a layer of olive oil.

 Cover the ball of dough loosely with the cling wrap. Too tight will cause the ball to not expand as well.

Let the dough rise for about an hour until it is doubled in size.

Peel back the cling wrap and push the dough flat with your hands. I love this part!

Now you have a few choices as to what you can do with the dough! Click the links to find directions for the choices.

1. Make Barton's Cheesy Buttery Garlic Bread

OR

2. Make The Best French Bread

  

     of which I do not have a "Fully Cooked" photo of because my sweet loved ones at home consumed it before it could be taken.

Either one of the recipe's would go well with my Baked Spaghetti (pictured is The Best Garlic Bread)

No matter what you decide to make with it, for a loaf this size you'll want to bake at 350* for 25 minutes with the Barton's Cheesy Buttery Garlic Bread having a few more steps after that initial bake time.


As always, PLEASE leave any comments, questions or suggestions as I am motivated by the feedback I receive.

Stock Your Kitchen - Foods & Spices

It hasn't been a year yet (barely 6 months) since I've truly started cooking (true cooking involves a recipe, a plan and actually caring about the food you're making) and I've noticed that there are quite a few recipes that use the same ingredients. There are also at least 3 meals I can think of this second that I can make in an emergency because the ingredients are those that won't perish quickly and so I always make sure to have them on hand.

Also, when I got my first apartment I really could have used a guide when I went shopping to stock the cupboards. Had I been able to find one, I probably wouldn't be so late in starting my culinary fixation.

C'est la vie!

However I got here, here I am, giving you a guide that I could use myself. Please remember that this is great for my family and the foods we regularly eat (and recipes I am attracted to making) so feel complete freedom to add your own ingredients or spices if I have left your favorites out.

*I wish I were a pro and had everything organized by location in the grocery store, but instead I'm listing them as I find them in my own kitchen. Welcome to the layout of my pantry & spice rack!*

     Green Beans
     Peas
     Mixed Vegetables (great for emergency meals & pot pies)
     Sliced Carrots (great snack kids love, emergency meals, filler)
     Olives
     Pineapple
     Pinto Beans
     White Beans (use in place of Great Northern)
     Tomato Sauce (not to be confused with spaghetti sauce)
     Tomato Paste
     Diced Tomatoes (with AND without italian spices)
     Canned Mushrooms (sliced or whole in jar)
     Chicken Broth
     Beef Broth
     Cream of Mushroom Soup
     Cream of Chicken Soup
     Cream of Celery Soup
     Beefy Mushroom Soup
     Cheese Soup (or Nacho Cheese Soup)
     Spaghetti Sauce
     Spaghetti Noodles
     Elbow Noodles
     Egg Noodles
     Instant White Rice
          Secondary less used rices would be converted white & wild
     Saltine Crackers
     Barley (buy it once and it will last a long time)
  **Brown Sugar
     White Sugar
     All Purpose Flour (the bit healthier unbleached if possible)
          Secondary less used flours would be wheat & bread
     Baking Soda
     Baking Powder
     Iodized Salt
     Ground Pepper (I use only in recipes calling for measured amounts of pepper)
     Peppercorns (use in place of ground at each opportunity)
     Pure Vanilla Extract (splurge, you'll notice the difference)
     Cornstarch (!!!!! Makes anything thicker & does not dilute flavor)
     Parsley
     Basil
     Whole Bay Leaves (always use 1 in place of bits, just pluck out before serving)
     Oregano
     Thyme
     Paprika
     Cinnamon
     Ground White Pepper (cannot see it in food & is MUCH stronger)
     Onion Powder (I use in place of onions *shudder*)
     Chicken Bouillon (adds flavor or broth in an instant)
     Beef Bouillon
     Italian Seasoning
     California Seasoning Garlic Salt (my fav spice bar none)
     Garlic Salt (the kind with Parsely is our go-to spice)
     Garlic Powder
     Minced Garlic
     Dried Onion Soup Mix
     Packaged Spices I Can't Live Without:
          Meatloaf Seasoning
          Country Gravy Mix
          Mild Chili
          Taco Seasoning
     Lemon Juice
     Honey
     16oz Brick Cheddar Cheese
     Butter Sticks
     Worcestershire Sauce
     Soy Sauce
     Ketchup (I prefer Heinz. This is a base for a lot of great sauces)
     Pickles
     Applesauce
     Tuna
Buy in bulk & vacuum seal:
     Burger of some sort
     Ground Sausage
     Chicken Breasts

The majority of the list are things that you should pounce on during store sales! I'm that crazy lady you see with 25 cans of Pinto Beans in my shopping cart. When they're on sale for a dollar apiece, I don't mind the weird looks I'm given! Pinto beans are good for almost anything... soups, tacos, burritos, chili, dip....    

With this list you can easily make a last minute wonderful dinner or a gourmet slow cooked delight.

**not recommended to innocently holler "where's my brown sugar at?!" When frustrated in the middle of a newly renovated Target filled with black people.

A Quick Catchup

Hola! I've been so busy with Christmas to-do's that I haven't really cooked anything this last week! I've been refurbishing? upcycling? a dresser that I found at my local Goodwill. I lucked out and was able to purchase and pick it up just days after they marked it down to the bargain basement price of $19.99!

I'm not going to say more on that just yet because I'm intending on creating a post specifically of my work on the dresser *SQUEAL* wait until you seeeeeee!

My major project (other than the dresser but inspired by it) was to completely makeover my daughter's room. In buying our beautiful hunk of land I call The Farm (currently rabbits, chickens, horses, cats & dogs), along with 10 acres (we lease an additional 80 acres) we are proud owners of a barn, a shop (with a kitchen, canning room & freezer room!!!) and a singlewide 1980something trailer... so household space is tight and will be for another 4-5 years when we get our 2 story farmhouse (I swoon at the thought) built.

The Point: everything HAS to be functional and space-saving! Luckily, mama here played a lot of Tetris in her day and also worked for UPS (until I got hurt. I loved that job *tear*) so I KNOW how to stack me some stuff, m'kay?? I know how to fit almost anything anywhere.

The Problem: I am sentimental. I am soft-hearted when it comes to Things and Things My Daughter Wants To Keep. I didn't have much growing up and I know that's the reason. Now, I am not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination, so don't get that idea! Its just tough to let go. HAVING to let go makes it easier.

Little house = not really a choice.

So I decided when I saw the dresser that I would makeover Aly's room, not in some googly pretty fantastical showpiece way though. More like a "hey, this is really functional compared to what was here and its also sort of cute" kind of way. I've been working on it every day.

I have learned 2 things:

     1. My daughter is more creative than she lets on.

     2. Taffy DOES rot.

I will get that posting up of the dresser soon but for now I'm going to see if I can make biscuit bowls using bisquick and a cupcake pan! Will it be possible?! In the immortal and breathless words of Lea Thompson in Back to the Future, "I don't know... but I'm going to find out!"

*NOTE* I made a ham and bean soup with the leftover ham with my last posting from a recipe I found online. I chose the recipe because I had all of the ingredients on hand... yeaaaah... I should know better than to choose a recipe based on that. It called for 2 tsp of Italian Seasoning WHICH MADE IT STINK AND TASTE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING so don't ever do a recipe for ham & bean soup that calls for Italian Seasoning! I am a fan of Italian Seasoning but combined with the ham & beans it was more like Italian Armpit Hair Especial. *shudder*

Kid Friendly Holiday Candy Craft Gifties!!

I was looking for a holiday craft that my 8yo daughter and I could do together and I didn't find anything to suit us; either it involved too much time, money, or really wasn't cute. Finally when I stopped looking for "crafts for kids" I found something!

This is our version of what I saw. You may want to figure out how many of these you'd like to make before you go buy supplies!  I bought enough supplies to make 40 giftie bags and spent less than $10 (dollar store marshmallows & bagged round peppermints, ya'll!)

*cute interruption: I just got a text from my husband that says "I love you wife." awwwww*



Note: an average bag contains 40 marshmallows which makes about 10 gifties (4 per bag)
         an average box of hot chocolate contains 10 packets which makes about 5 gifties (2 per bag)
           
 Buy 2 boxes of hot chocolate for every 1 bag of marshmallows

    Kid Friendly Holiday Candy Craft Giftie

 

Water

Ribbon

 Marshmallows
Powdered Sugar
Hot Chocolate Packets

Skewers -found in most baking sections

Cellophane Baggies -You want to show off the pretties!
Peppermints or Candycanes -I found mints cheaper than canes

I did not take a picture of every step because it's just. that. easy.

Unwrap your mints or canes and place them into a gallon sized resealable bag. Place it on a hard surface and

LET THE KIDS WHACK IT!

You can have them use the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, hammer, can of vegetables or (the less fun because there's no whacking) a rolling pin. Bigger chunks sure would be prettier but don't even waste your time stopping the whackification process to try out the big chunks on the mallows. They just won't stick as good and there will be big gaps in between the chunks... NOT pretty.

Make an edible glue by mixing a TINY amount (start with a teaspoon) of water with powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar and mixing until it's about the consistency of that school glue your remember.

Holding the ends of the marshmallow, coat it in the "glue" and then when the dripping has just about stopped, roll it in the crushed candy. Don't bother with getting the ends coated in candy, you'll need to be able to stick skewers through them later.

Set the coated marshmallows on waxed paper or freezer paper (at my house we ALWAYS have at least 3 rolls of freezer paper handy) using your keys, wallet, corner of a crock and a brass mouse as paperweights. That configuration is super important.

HAHAHAHA!!!!

While the marshmallows are drying, fill each cellophane bag with 2 hot chocolates (it's always nice to share with a friend. If you only put one set per bag, you're pretty much telling the recipient that you believe they are a lonely individual that has no one to share a cup of hot chocolate with and you don't want to give that message do you?).

If your glue is thick it will only take about 30 minutes to an hour for the candies to dry. Place 2 on each skewer (I had to trim about 3 or so inches off each skewer to get them to fit properly in the bags. Wire cutters work great for that) and then place 2 skewers in each bag.

Tie the bags with a lovely piece of ribbon and TADA!!!!!!


Now, not only do these LOOK GREAT but they TASTE GREAT TOO!!! Aly and I taste tested these ourselves to make sure we wouldn't give our friends and family ishy treats.

We taste tested them a couple times.

You know, to be SURE sure.

ENJOY!!!!