52 NEW RECIPES in 2011 (#4)

Homemade Queso & Tortillas

I have to tell you that the pics are terrible.

I had planned on making chicken enchiladas with

homemade tortillas, but it sort of changed....sort of.

While on allrecipes.com, I found this recipe for QUESO.

Please note:  I made my chicken in the crockpot with mexican

seasonings all day before starting this quest.

Since I had fresh chicken broth, I used it in the queso instead

of water.  I also cut the recipe in 1/2...that cheese

is EXPENSIVE.

 Here are the ingredients for the TORTILLAS.

 4 cups of all purpose flour.

1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup shortening (I used lard)

1 cup lukewarm water w/ 1 1/4 tsp. salt dissolved in it

Mix the flour, baking powder and lard until crumbly. 

 Once it is crumbly, slowly pour in the warm water

and continue to mix with your hand.

It should start making a wetish dough...not

as dry as bread dough.

 Once you get a ball formed, let it rest for 20+ min.

covered with a warm wet towel.

(This is where I started making the QUESO)

 This picture is out of order....but too hard to try to move

it on this post....sorry.

Divide the dough into golf ball size balls.

 Pound the ball flat and then using a rolling pin, begin rolling it

out...ideally, you roll it into a circle.

Ideally, it will be a circle when finished.

Guess what...."ideally" went out the window

with me....they still taste the same!  :P

 Heat a griddle...NO OIL.

Carefully peel up the tortilla dough and place it in the pan.

Let it cook for oh about 15 - 20 seconds and then

flip it over and do another 15 - 20 seconds.

You have to make them enough to figure out how long to cook them.

I cooked mine too long and they were more like chips after they

dried.

Here is my routine:

Roll

Put in pan

While one is in pan, roll another tortilla

1/2 way thru the rolling, turn tortilla in pan

Finish rolling

Take tortilla out of pan

Put new one in the pan

Repeat until finished.

 I used the leftover peppers and onions by

adding them to some chopped up chicken and sauteing them

with a tad bit of butter to put into the enchiladas...or

burritos....I have no idea what they really were.

I used my fancy food processor to make the refried beans.....

I just threw a can of pinto beans in it with 1/4 cup of lard

and hit the pulse button.

I heated on the stove, added salt and pepper.

 I heated the taco chips in the oven at 325 degrees for 10 min.

I topped the enchiladas/burritos with the QUESO.

Topped that with some hot salsa.

Dear husband ate 2 plates of this stuff!

He had to rush out the door and I didn't get a picture

of his "review".

He said he would give it 4 thumbs up if he had 4 thumbs.

 Here is the QUESO.

Cutting the recipe in 1/2 was A LOT of QUESO.

You could easily cut it into 1/4 and have PLENTY.

 The kitchen was a pit!

With practice, this will get quite easy.

From start to finish it took 1 hour and 45 min. to

get the food to the table.

It took another 45 min. to clean the kitchen....GAH!

Will I make it again?

YES!!!

Next time, SOMEONE ELSE will clean the kitchen....

See?  I shaved 45 minutes off that easily!!!

 Regan gave it 2 thumbs up!

She only ate the bean burrito and QUESO.

Homeschool Art @ The Purple Glaze Studio

I know, it looks like a cake.....

but it is a rather large mixing bowl.

A few weeks ago, our church youth group went to

The Purple Glaze Studio to make ceramic crosses to

decorate the wall in the youth room.

 Regan finished her cross and got started on

some dragon goblet.  Of course, she

didn't finish before it was time to leave.....

which meant we would have to make a

return trip to The Purple Glaze Studio.

 Well, if you know me well, you know there

was NO way I was going to just sit and

watch her paint.

I've done this before and was really not that

impressed with how my ceramic piece turned out.

If you don't get EVEN painted layers, they will look

faded in certain areas on the piece.

 The sweet young worker girl showed me EXPLOSION

PAINT.  You just paint 2 coats....it has chunks in it

that will EXPLODE when heated and create

a 60's style effect on the pottery.

 Now THAT excited me enough to want to make an

ASHTRAY.....yah, you heard me right...and ASHTRAY.

No, I do not smoke nor allow anyone to smoke in my house.

I thought it would be way cool to have a 1960s looking ashtray

in my office to

prop my paint brushes on when painting!!!

GREAT IDEA RIGHT????

 Well, that is what I had planned on making when I got there....

until a HUGE bowl kept calling my name......

I think I have a mixing bowl fetish.....

So, I picked up the lonely bowl and picked my paint.

Since my kitchen cabinets are guacamole green,

I choose one that was going to be white with

green specks.

I slapped my two coats of paint on.....

and TAH DAH!!!

 I think it is UH MAZING!!!

This project cost me $25.19....

AND IT ISN'T MADE IN CHINA!!!

 See how I like to keep my bowls at arms reach in the kitchen.

I use mixing bowls all the time.

I just realized that one is actually missing in the picture....

I have a vintage turquoise print one as well.

I know you were worried I wouldn't show Regan's

goblet...well, here yah go!!!  She did an awesome job

on her project and earned an "A".  I'm the

teacher and I can do that!!!

52 New Recipes in 2011 (#3)

Sauerkraut, Kielbasa and Pasta Dish

(Click the recipe title to see recipe)

I was skeptic about this dish because pasta

and sauerkraut just doesn't sound good to me.

However, the reviews made me think it HAD to be

decent.

 Surprisingly, very few ingredients.

Please note:  The recipe calls for white wine, I only had sherry.

I made due because no way was I going to drive all the

way back to town for 1/4 cup of white wine.

 While the pasta water was heating, I chopped all the ingredients.

Look!  Another recipe with fresh parsley....is this a pattern?

Parsley, garlic, red bell pepper, and onion.

 Heat the olive oil.

 When the water boils, it is time to put the pasta into

the water.

 While the pasta is cooking, saute the onions and bell pepper.

I had a HUGE onion....and it was a STRONG onion.

I was sobbing, not crying....WOW....that thing was STRONG!

I only used 1/2 of the onion.

 Add the garlic and kielbasa.

 Keep stirring and mixing the ingredients.

 Add the sauerkraut.

 Add the fresh parsley.

 Mix and cook a bit more.

 When noodles are done and drained.

Add them to the skillet.

 Mix.

The sauerkraut is the scent your house will be

filled with by this time.

 Regan has already come in at this point and said, "You

don't expect me to eat that do you?"

I did make her try a spoonful before she could say she

didn't like it.

She didn't like it.

 Regan ate her 3-Way Chili she had from lunch.

Kids come and kids go in the household.

Husbands stay.

Husband's opinion has more weight on whether this

recipe will be cooked again at The Bakery.

 Notice:  HE IS AT THE TABLE!

We have another SUCCESS!!!

Matter of fact, he kept saying, "This is really good!"

REPEATEDLY!!!

 This recipe does have a lot of chopping....I did it the

old fashioned way....with a knife and my trusted

Pampered Chef chopper.

Even with the amount of chopping, from start

to finish it took exactly ONE HOUR

to get it to the table.

We know that if it took ONE HOUR the first time to

make it, means it will be less the next time I make it.

TWO THUMBS UP!!!

Yes!  I will make it again!!!

52 NEW Recipes (#2)

HOMEMADE PIZZA

As some of you know, yeast scared me to death.

Last year, I vowed to make yeast my friend.

I started making rolls once a week until I got

comfortable with yeast.

I cheat and use a bread machine on the dough machine.

I have two bread machines now.

I can honestly say, my $5.00 thrift store BREADMAN

machine makes the best dough.

This year in my 2011 GOALS, I want to experiment with the

dough I use to make the the rolls.

It is true, if you make something long enough, you

will get more creative.

I added one tablespoon of Pampered Chef seasoning, Parmesan Garlic to the dough before I mixed it.

I was still scared to make a pizza dough.

I had fears.

1.  Would it taste too sweet?

2.  Would it make too thick or thin of a crust?

3.  Would it be enough for one crust or 20?

4.  Could I make it in the morning and cook it in the evening?

5.  Do I let it rise 2 times before putting in pan?

THANK GOD FOR GRANDMA ROSA!!!

After my success with the 15 minutes dress, I turned

to YOUTUBE.COM.

Sure enough, there were plenty of people showing

me the CORRECT (aka THEIR way) to make

a pizza.

I fell in love with Grandma Rosa...she even talks

with an Italian accent....HELLLLOOOO....she

had me at her first word.

I watched the video several times.

SHE EVEN CHEATS and uses FROZEN dough....

which didn't really help me with my delima.

So, I just grabbed the dough out after the first beep.

I oiled my pan like Grandma Rosa did.

I stretched and stretched and stretched and stretched

and stretched and scratched my cheek and stretched

the dough some more.

Grandma did NOT make her dough go to the edges...

and she didn't worry that her dough wasn't all

perfect.

I did.

 Grandma didn't use meat on her pizza.

I did.

I mixed hamburger and Blue and Gold sausage.

Grandma didn't add peppers or onions.

I did.

I sauteed red and yellow bell peppers and 1/2 an onion

in butter.

 Grandma used mozzarella cheese.

I used pepper jack because my

husband likes spicy....why

else would he have married me.

I digress.

Please make note:  I used my food processor

I got for Christmas from my sister, Terri.

THANK YOU SISTER!!!

 Grandma used peeled plum tomatoes.

I used a can of stewed tomatoes.

Grandmas crushed them and tore them

with her fingers.

I DID TOO!!

NO SAUCE on this pizza...which scared me.

I trusted Grandma Rosa!!

I added the meat and pepper/onion mixture.

I added A LOT of cheese.

I let it "rest" for 30 minutes just

like Grandma Rosa.

I baked at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

just like Grandma Rosa.

 HE DID IT AGAIN!

HE SAT IN THE CHAIR TO EAT!

Notice:  He has TWO (2) THUMBS UP!!

(He told me to make sure I noted that he has

2 thumbs up)

My Review:

I will make this again and again!

I guess I could make up more than one dough

and freeze if I need.

Either way, I believe it will take the same amount

of time for the dough.  (Almost 2 hours)

The rest was easy and I froze the leftover meat.

I did make a trial dough the day before and pre-baked

it.....NOT NEAR AS GOOD.

I even thought about baking the dough and

then freezing......NAH.....