Stuffed Crust Pizza

Many months ago I decided to make pizza and I had a few cheese sticks on hand and thought I would try to make a stuffed crust pizza.  I quickly whipped up a batch of my home made Pizza Crust.  I used my caste iron pan as I love how the crust gets nice and golden.

First, I liberally greased the pan with oil and then patted the dough in making sure I had quite a bit going up the side of the pan.  Because I am super frugal, or as others call me - cheap,  I divided the cheese sticks up before rolling them into the dough.

This is what it looked like with all the cheese nicely encased in the dough.

I always like to bake my crust a bit before adding the toppings.  This way it never gets soggy when I add the pizza sauce.

Sorry about the bad lighting in the following pictures.

Some of my favorite toppings are freshly cut green onions, diced tomatoes and green peppers from the garden, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage and bacon.  And of course tons of cheese.

And here is the finished product.

As you can see, the cheese in the crust wasn't extremely gooey and so next time I may not be such a tightwad and use whole sticks of cheese instead of dividing them up.  But, man did this taste good!

Notice how I took a bite before snapping a photo.
I have not self control!

Canning Peaches

My kids love canned peaches, but I hate the fact that they are packed into an aluminum containers (which is most likely sprayed with silicon by the way) and most of the time the sugary juice they are sitting in has some questionable ingredients.  

So I try to can my own when I can, but let me be clear:  unless you or your neighbors have a peach tree in the back yard, canning purchased peaches will not save you money.  Usually I can find canned peaches for around $.88-97 a can.  Last week peaches were on sale - 17lbs for almost $14.  I believe this was an amazing sale for fresh peaches.  After cleaning our fresh peaches and cutting out some spoiled spots we were able to can 16 pints with 8 peaches left over for the kids to eat.  When I figure in the cost of the lids, the sugar (and other minor ingredients) plus my time I did not save money on canning the purchased peaches, but there is a major plus to home canned peaches: they are packed in glass jars (not aluminum) and the only other ingredients are water, sugar and a bit of salt and vinegar.  And for me that is a huge plus.

Ingredients for Canned Peaches

Sugar

Vinegar

Salt

Peaches

First, I meticulously cleaned my kitchen sink as that is where most of the action occurs.  We washed our peaches in water with a cup or two of vinegar for a few minutes in the sink.  This will kill 99% of germs and get the peaches nice and clean.  Once clean, I removed the peaches to a large bowl, drained the water from the sink and refilled it with cold water.  

Second, fill a couple of larger bowls with 8 cups of water, 2 T. of Vinegar and 1 1/2 T. of salt.  This soaking water will help keep your peaches from turning brown.  

Once you have your sink filled with cold water and your bowls ready for the skinned and cut peaches, bring a pot of water to a boil and drop your peaches in it.  I let mine sit in the hot/boiling water for 50 seconds (no more than a minute- you don't want to cook your peaches, just loosen the skins) and then instantly spooned them out and transferred them to the sink of cold water.  

Once the peaches were cool enough to handle (this doesn't take long), we removed the skins.  We decided to only cut our peaches in half and not into small slices.  I found it extremely easy to first cut the peach in half and then remove the skin and finally the pit.  As you can see in the above picture, the peaches are red where the pit was.  We scraped most of this red out not because it adds a bad flavor, but next year the jars will be entered into the fair and we thought they would look better without the redness.  Once you have sliced your peaches, let them soak in the vinegar/salt bath for about 10 minutes and then drain.

While all this was going on, I had the jars in the dishwasher and then I boiled them up along with the lids, funnel and spoons.  I also started the simple syrup.  To make the simple syrup you will use 1 cup of sugar to 3 cups of water.  Let this mixture come to a boil.

Fill your clean jars with peaches.  If cut in half, place the peaches sliced side down.  Then ladle in the syrup, wipe the lip of the jar with a clean cloth and top with the lid and rings.

Hot water bath the pints for 25 minutes.  Let sit undisturbed for a day to make sure the jars have sealed.  Remove the rings and clean the jars with a damp cloth.  Don't forget to label the jars so you will know when you canned them.

Recipe for Homemade Sour Cream

We use a lot of sour cream in our home.  My kids devour it.  They literally lick it off the spoon. Disgusting if you ask me, but they are strange children.  We not only use sour cream for meals, but I use it in baked goods as well as it keeps quick breads and muffins moist.  Since I started making my own yogurt I have substituted the yogurt for sour cream and I have been happy with the results, but my oldest has begun to rebel   I have heard some complaints the last few weeks that yogurt is not sour cream and, therefore, I need to go out and buy sour cream.  Well, I searched the internet for a recipe to make homemade sour cream and I found one I liked: sour cream.  According to this site there are many ways to make sour cream, but one of them is to use yogurt as your starter: basically what you do is add 1-2 T of yogurt to 1 C of cream.

I am too cheap to buy cream, but I figured I could use whole milk instead.  And, I reasoned, why not kill two birds with one stone and just make the sour cream the same time as I do my yogurt?  So after my milk temperature dropped from 180 degrees Fahrenheit to 110 I removed 1 C of warm milk and added 2 T of sour cream, transferred it  to a clean jar and let sit uncovered in a warm oven for 18 hours.  There was a bit of whey on the top which I poured off, but the end result was a pretty good tasting sour cream.  I think it is a bit sweeter than the sour cream you purchase in the store and so next time I might try adding a bit more yogurt to get the "tart" taste, but I am pleased with the results and so is my oldest.

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Fresh Homemade Yogurt

I love yogurt and a few years ago saw a yogurt maker at a garage sale and bought it.  It had the directions and everything and so I started a batch and waited in anticipation - and the next day all I had was warm, runny milk.  I never tried it again and the yogurt maker was sent to the local thrift store.  This was quite depressing not only for me, but for my children as well, as they would devour yogurt in great quantities if I allowed it.

About a month or so ago I was on Pinterest and saw a link to a site that stated they had a recipe for fool-proof yogurt and I thought maybe I should give yogurt making another try.  The recipe called for you to heat the milk in a crock pot with some powdered milk thrown in to make it thick like Greek yogurt.  Into the crockpot went the milk and I waited for it to reach a temp of 180 degrees.  A few hours later I had milk burnt to the sides of the crockpot, the rest of the milk was a nice yellow color due to the burnt milk and the temp never did get even close to 180 degrees.  I thought to myself, "Great, another yogurt failure!"  But I figured I would try to salvage it and so I poured it into a pot and heated it up on the stove to the required 180 degrees and then following the rest of the directions.  And, miraculously, I did end up with yogurt: though a strange yellow colored yogurt, but yogurt none-the-less.  And even more miraculous was it tasted fine!  So I tried it again, but this time just heated it on the stove and again I had success.  Well, after a few more batches I wondered if I truly needed to add the powdered milk and so I left it out and what I ended up with was amazing:  it was some of the best yogurt I have ever had.  And so here is the recipe.

Ingredients for Homemade Yogurt:
4 C Whole Milk
1 T. Yogurt (If purchasing from the store make sure it has live cultures, but after you make your first batch you can just use your homemade yogurt.)

Heat the milk in a heavy duty pot on your stove to 180 degrees Fahrenheit stirring constantly.  This takes about 20 minutes.

The warm milk gets a bit frothy after 20 min. of stirring.

Pull off the burner and leave uncovered until the temperature drops to 110 degrees.  Remove a bit of the warm milk and add the yogurt to it and stir until dissolved and then add back to the pot and stir well.

Then transfer to your container.  I use wide mouth quart jars.  Leave uncovered and place in a warm oven (I turn the oven on for a minute or two to get it warm) with the light on for 12 hours.  I do this the night before and the next morning I have yogurt.

I set my jars in a warm oven right next to the light overnight.

After 12 hours in a warm oven.

My favorite way to eat it is with some strawberries and a bit of sugar.  One of my children loves it with blueberries or with bananas and a bit of honey.  Even my husband who isn't a fan of yogurt has come home from work and requested it.  It really is that yummy.

Some Extra Advise On Yogurt Making:
If your yogurt fails, don't despair.  You may have had the milk too warm when you added your yogurt starter or your starter does not have live cultures.  Just start over by reheating your milk to 180 and let drop to 110.  Add your 1 T of yogurt starter (if you think it failed due to a "bad" starter use a new one) and let sit in a warm place for 12 hours.  You should have yogurt this time.

I usually double or triple the batch, but the ratio is always 4 C of milk to 1 T of yogurt starter, but if you like your yogurt extremely tart or sour add more yogurt starter.  I have seen recipes for up to 1/4 C of yogurt starter to each 4 C. of milk.  

Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe

I use taco seasoning in so many dishes.  Tacos of course, but I have a great dip that uses it.  My oldest loves it so much it was a birthday dish request this year.  I put a dash or two of it in my homemade re-fried beans and in a hamburger helper knock-off I created, but what I don't love about it is the extra ingredients that are added to the packets you buy in the store.  I've made a few mixes at home, but so many of them are a bit too spicy for my kids or the flavor is just a bit off, but then a neighbor gave me her recipe and it tastes just like the packets you buy.  This one is a winner in my book.

Taco Seasoning - Makes 1 Packet

1 T Dried Onion Flakes
2 t Chili Powder
1/2-3/4 t Salt
1 t  Garlic Powder
1 t  Cornstarch
1 t  Cumin
[1/2-1 t. Cayenne Pepper (I omit as it is pretty spicy as is, but if you like it spicy go ahead!)]



Since pulling out various spices to make just one packet of seasoning is a great waste of time in my book, I make up a large batch of this and then store it in a couple of jars. I buy my hamburger in bulk and repackage it, but I never get it divided into precise 1 lb packages. Due to this I never measure out the seasoning when I use it. After browning and draining my hamburger, I just spoon some in and taste test it. Then I add a 1/4-1/2 C. water and simmer it until it thickens.


Taco Seasoning - Makes 16 Servings 

1 C. Dried Onion Flakes
1/2 C + 2 T + 2 t Chili Powder
3 T Salt
1/4 C + 1 T + 1 t  Garlic Powder
1/4 C + 1 T + 1 t  Cornstarch
1/4 C + 1 T + 1 t  Cumin
(3 T Cayenne if you want it spicy!)

Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Quite a few years ago a friend of mine brought me over a loaf of her homemade bread and I knew right then and there I needed to get the recipe and start baking, because it was amazing: it was probably the best bread I had ever had!  And then I found out why - she had a grain mill and ground her own wheat into flour.  I was a bit bummed because grain mills were (and still are by the way) expensive and we lived on an extremely tight budget.  So I began to save and about 12 months later I purchased one.

I am not sure where she got her bread recipe and if someone who reads this post knows the source please let me know so I can give them credit.  I hope you enjoy this bread as much as my family, friends and neighbors do.  I even have people trying to pay me to make it for them on a regular basis.  It really is that good.

Whole Wheat Bread
4 C. Hard Red Wheat Berries - grind it on your finest setting
2 C. Warm Water
1/2 C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Molasses
1/4 C. Honey - I think clover is the best
1/3 C. Gluten
2 T. Lecithin Granules
1 T. Yeast
1-2 t. Salt

I first add the liquid ingredients and the yeast to my Kitchen Aid Mixer and let sit while the wheat is grinding.  Then I add the rest of the ingredients and let the mixer knead it until it forms a ball.  This is quite a sticky dough, but don't worry about that - do NOT add extra flour.  Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with a a moist towel and let rise in a warm oven for about 1-2 hours until it doubles.

Spray 2 large loaf pans or 6 small loaf pans with oil. Punch down the dough and form into loaves.  Let rise again in the warm oven until double: about 1 hour.  Be careful as this bread can fall.* Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake the large loaves for 30 minutes and the small for 25 minutes.  Let cool for about 1/2 hour and then transfer to a rack.  Store in zip-lock bags.
*(I never have good luck making it on a rainy day.  Don't ask me why, but every time it deflates.)

The first few days are the best, but even when it gets old just toast it slightly and it tastes almost as fresh as the day you baked it.  I have had this bread only mold on me a couple of times and that was in the middle of the hottest part of summer and it probably sat for more than a week.

Also, this bread makes the best grilled cheese ever. Even the pickiest of kids will eat it - I know I have some friends whose kids won't eat anything, but have eaten my grilled cheese.  I also think it is great for bread crumbs.  My favorite, though, is fresh from the oven with a bit of butter on it.  Yummy.

Fruit Leather or "Fruit Roll-Up" Recipe

A few years ago a friend of mine started to make her own fruit leather. It tasted OK, but I thought it was too thick and chewy.  Then last year I checked out the book The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery from the library and I came across her recipe for fruit leather.  I made a few changes to it and the result was amazing.  If you are about my age (close to 40) and remember what fruit roll-ups used to taste like, then you are in for a treat, because this is exactly what this recipe produces!



Fruit Leather

1 Pint Applesauce - I have even used crab-applesauce I canned after making crab-apple jelly and it wasn't too tart.
1/2 to 3/4 C. Fruit of your choice - I love it with strawberries from my garden
2 T. Sugar - Optional
Puree and then heat in saucepan to almost boiling.

Spray jelly roll pan with oil and pour the mixture onto the pan.  (I make two batches since my oven will be going almost all day.)  Bake at 170-180 degrees for about 6-8 hours. Check periodically and cut out what is done with a knife.


I store it in the fridge between sheets of plastic wrap and in a zip-lock bag, but this may not be necessary.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.