Graham Crackers

These Graham Crackers taste amazing! They are time consuming, but they are well worth it. One batch makes quite a few cookies, so you will have more than enough. The directions call for a food processor. I have never made it without one, but you could try .

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp flour

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

7 tbsp butter cut into 1 inch cubes

1/3 cup honey

5 tbsp full-fat milk

2 tbsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Mix on low to incorporate. Add the hard butter, and mix until it resembles a coarse meal. 

In a small bowl, mix together the honey, milk, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, and pulse on and off until the mixture comes together.

Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap, and dust it with flour. Transfer the dough onto it,  and pat into a rectangle. Wrap it, then chill until firm. About 2 hours, or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough in half, and return half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto your work surface, and roll out the dough. ( The dough is very sticky, and I have to add a lot of flour. Don't be afraid of adding to much.) Roll it out to be about 1/8 inch thick, and a rectangle shape. Cut the dough into about two inch squares. ( It doesn't have to be perfect. The important thing is to make them all approximately the same size and shape.) Place the squares on a baking sheet, and chill in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, or the fridge for about 40-45 minutes.  Put the squares from the freezer into the oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes. The crackers will seem soft, but they will harden. While it is cooling, roll out the other dough and cut into squares. Take the crackers off of the baking sheet, and repeat the process with the other dough. 

Marshmallows

Marshmallows are another one of those things I recently had to learn how to make. We were going to a party, and they were serving s'mores. Of course, there is still such a thing as allergies. I am looking forward to making marshmallow fluff, for things like fudge and a fondant my sister can have. This one takes a while, but there is not a lot of active time, you just have to let it sit overnight. I found this recipe here, and I didn't change it at all. The marshmallows don't exactly brown like the others, so we have found a new way to make s'mores. We now balance our graham cracker on the sticks, put the marshmallow and chocolate together, and top it with another graham cracker. We roast the whole contraption over the fire. The result it now a perfectly cooked marshmallow, with melted chocolate and crispy graham crackers.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup potato starch
1 tbsp butter
1 cup water divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 ounce packets unflavored gelatin
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:
Sift sugar and starch together.  Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar-starch mixture over it.  ( Effectively, this is just like flouring a cake pan. Obviously, it is really important to cover the whole surface, so that your marshmallows don't stick. ) Save the sugar-starch mixture for later. Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl, and empty the gelatin powder into it. Let stand.

Pour remaining 1/2 cup of water plus the sugar into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. When sugar is dissolved and syrup begins to boil, leave it undisturbed for about 5 minutes. 

Carefully pour hot syrup into the bowl, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Mix with a blender, gradually increasing the speed to high. Beat for about 10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in volume and thick, shiny, soft peaks have formed. Add vanilla extract. 

In a separate bowl, pour in the egg whites and a pinch of salt. Mix eggs until they begin to foam.  Sprinkle in the cream of tartar, and beat on high for about 3 minutes until shiny and firm peaks form. Incorporate egg whites into syrup/gelatin mixture.

When mixture is fully blended, after about 2-3 minutes, spread into prepared pan. Sift sugar starch mixture over top of the marshmallows. Allow to set overnight. If the air is dry, cover partly with plastic wrap. In the morning, run a spatula around the edges, and turn out onto a surface that has been covered with the sugar-starch mixture. Cut the marshmallows into 1 inch squares. Don't saw back and forth, use a sharp knife and press down. Coat the marshmallows in the sugar-starch mixture. Store in a covered container in the fridge. They last for 1-2 weeks. 

Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a family favorite. We use this for a lot, picnics, dinners, lunches. You can eat it cold, or you can warm it up. We prefer it cold. Also, this recipe doesn't have to be exact. You may like more or less chicken, broccoli, or carrots. Some people like less dressing than others. We used to add black olives, but my sister is allergic to nickel, which means no canned food. Of course, we can't find black olives not in a can. So, nix the black olives for us.

1 1/2 cups chicken breast
6 carrots
2 broccoli heads
1 box of rotini pasta
Italian dressing to taste

Cook the chicken in the oven. Be careful not to overcook or it will be to dry. Once it has cooled, cut the chicken into small cubes.
Cut up the broccoli and carrots. Put them in a pot, and start the water to boil. Once it starts boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss with the Italian dressing.

Italian Dressing

We make this for salads, and for some other dishes that I will share with everyone.
2 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dried garlic
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried parsley

Mix these in a container, to store. When you are ready to make, mix 2 tbsp mix, plus 2 tbsp water, 2/3 cup oil, and 1/4 cup vinegar. The vinegar can be red wine vinegar, white vinegar, or even raspberry vinegar. You can experiment with different types, I'm sure there is a lot that will taste good. Don't forget to shake before use.

Ranch Dressing

Obviously, this will not be a normal ranch recipe. I worked on this for months to get it right. We now have a pretty good tasting recipe, and everyone in our family can enjoy it. One thing I would suggest, crumble up your spices really fine so you don't have a gritty feeling, and use dried garlic, like the recipe calls for. If you use fresh garlic, the dressing will have a bite to it, and it is very strong.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp Granulated Garlic
pinch of dill
3/8 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp pepper
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp milk
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Make sure to have your spices extra fine, to avoid a gritty feeling. If you would rather have dip, don't use milk.

Flour Tortillas

I was amazed at how simple these are! They take a while, but it is well worth it. This recipe makes approximately 8 tortillas. If I need to stretch them out, or if I am making chips, and the tortillas need to be thin, I can make twelve. If I need more than that, I double it.

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp oil

3/4 cups milk

Start the milk warming. I measure it into a bowl, and then put the bowl into  bigger container filled with hot water. Once the milk is warm, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and oil. Slowly add the warm milk. Stir until a loose sticky ball is formed. 

Knead for 2 minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft. ( Kind of contradictory isn't it? What I mean is that you should be able to press a finger into the dough, but it should bounce back when you release your finger. ) 

Place dough into a container, and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls, place them on a plate, ( make sure they aren't touching )  and then cover balls with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. ( If you don't let the dough rest, it will be like elastic and won't roll out to the proper thickness and shape. )

After the dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out in a four inch circle, then roll with a rolling pin until it is 8-9 inches in diameter. Don't overwork the dough or it will be stiff. 

In an iron skillet heated on medium, cook the tortillas. It should start to puff a bit when it is done. The first one takes the longest, and then they take about thirty seconds on each side. 

Keep tortillas in a ziploc wrapped in paper towels, in the fridge. You can reheat them in the skillet again if you have leftovers. 

Bread!!!

So, I wasn't entirely motivated to make bread. I mean, it was something that would be nice, but was not entirely necessary. Until . . . We figured out that Angelica has allergies. A LOT of allergies. Just some of the items on her food list are corn, and tomatoes, and corn, and mushrooms, and corn, and spinach, AND corn. Do you get my drift? She has a lot more allergies, but corn is the biggest. It is also the hardest to avoid. Corn is in everything! I mean seriously, how many forms of corn can there be? Let's see, corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil, corn flour, and don't forget corn meal. So, unfortunately, or maybe not unfortunately, there was corn in the bread. After 1 month without bread, I am entirely motivated now. Still a bit unsure if I can handle it. (You know, I've only been trying for a year or more.) To my delight, It worked! I will definitely be using this recipe in the future. Probably about once a week. Start to finish the recipe takes about four hours, so it takes a good portion of the day, but it is well worth it.

Bread
6 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (about 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups warm water

Combine 2 cups of the flour with sugar, salt, yeast, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

Gradually add warm water and stir well. Mix in one more cup of flour.

Slowly mix in the remaining 3 cups flour, kneading until well mixed. ( The dough may seem a little on the sticky side, do not add more flour. Also, be careful not to over knead. Once the dough is no longer sticky, and everything is mixed in, it is time to stop kneading.)

Preheat the oven to 350. (I preheat the oven now so that I can provide a warm environment for the bread to rise. I also close all windows and doors into the kitchen. Yes, it becomes very hot, but it is important that the room be warm when the bread is rising 

Grease a bowl, to set the dough in. roll the dough around, and make sure it is greased on all sides. Cover and let rise for 1 hour and 45 minutes. If the dough rises to more than double, you can move on to the next step.

Punch down and let rest for 10 minutes.

Punch down again and let rest for 10 more minutes.

Divide dough into halves, place in two greased bread pans, and let rise for 1 hour, until double.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Funnel Cakes

Actually, they are mini funnel cakes, just so we are clear. I found this recipe here, but I don't quite follow the instructions. They are a lot easier than you might think, so I would encourage you to give it a try.

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Wet Ingredients
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix all of your wet ingredients together. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, and stir until a thick batter forms.
In a small pan, (I use an iron skillet about 6 inches in diameter) heat about 1/2 inch of oil ( I use peanut oil.) Scoop batter into a small funnel, and hold it closed with your finger. When the oil is hot, allow the batter to drop in the pan. Take it easy, don't rush. I like to make a circle and then fill it in. Make sure to criss-cross the batter a lot, to avoid your cakes falling apart. Let the cakes float in the oil.
The cakes are ready to flip, anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. The edges will look almost golden brown. Flip the cake, and let float for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

I usually have a helper, so as soon as I am ready to take them out, I put them on a plate with a paper towel, and she sprinkles powdered sugar on them.

I have never had them any other way, so I don't really know how they would taste with anything else. You can experiment if you want, or you can just eat them as is. We usually have them at dinner, but they would be good as breakfast too. So far, we have paired them with bacon, or sweetened apples.