The next time you are in the mood for pizza, instead of ordering out, how about making your own! I want to share a recipe I use that is easy to make, and very good for you to boot.

My Homemade Pizza Crust

Mix together;

2 cups whole wheat flour (I use organic sprouted whole wheat)

1 cup unbleached flour

1 cup rolled oats (I use organic)

2 Tablespoons dried milk (I use regular, raw milk)

2 teaspoons salt (I use Himalayan pink salt)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)

Herb seasonings of your choice, 1 teaspoon each. I like to use dill, oregano, thyme, minced onion, and minced garlic.

I also add 1 Tablespoon of Organic chia seeds. 

In another bowl, stir 1 1/2 cups luke warm water, 3 Tablespoons sugar, (I use sucanat), and 1 Tablespoon yeast together.

Let this mixture set for a few minutes till a foam forms on top.

Mix the yeast and water into other ingredients until all is moist.     

   

Now throw the spoon to the side and dig in with your hands. knead the dough till it becomes an elastic consistency, about 5 to 10 minutes usually. When you've reached this stage, pat into a nice round and cover with a light coating of oil. I let it in the bowl I've mixed it in, and cover with a damp cloth. Put it in a warm place to rise. In the oven with JUST the light on will work fine if you have no other place. 

   Let this rise till about double in size, about a half hour or more.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and knead a few times. Now it's ready to spread on pizza stone or pan. This recipe is enough to make 2 pizzas. I used my pizza stone for one, and my cast iron skillet for my second, to make a pan pizza. Separate the dough into two pieces and press into stone or pan of your choice.

Set the pans of dough back into your warm spot to rise slightly. Now your ready to add toppings. I use my own homemade pizza sauce. Get as inventive as you want with the toppings. For my pan pizza, I went with a meat lovers theme. I used cheese, bacon, sausage, venison burger, and black olives.

For my pizza stone pizza, I used cheese, bacon, pepper rings, mushrooms, onions, and olives. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or till crust is golden brown. Time may vary slightly for your oven. My oven usually takes a bit longer than a recipe calls for. Now don't burn your tongue from eating to quickly when your pizza is done!!! YUM!

... This cake!  

I wanted to share the recipe for this cake I put together for our Easter dessert. It was a big hit! Since fresh strawberry season will be upon us before long, this cake will most likely be made again, in this household!  

The cake recipe:  

4 egg whites (I used 3 whole eggs) 
2 cups flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 cup butter, softened 
1 3/4 cups sugar (I used sucanat) 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/3 cups buttermilk 

Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla till creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and buttermilk last, alternating each, and mixing after each addition. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. The recipe called for 20-25 minutes for two 9 inch greased and floured pans, but it took longer than that for me. Mine was more like 35 minutes, so you may have to adjust for your oven. When they’re finished, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack or plates to cool completely. If you use the same ingredients I did, your cake will not be white in color, but a light brown shade. Tastes absolutely wonderful, but if you want it to be white, follow the original recipe.  

The filling between layers:  

1 pack (8 ounce) cream cheese 
1 stick butter 
Real Maple Syrup 
Powdered sugar 
A hand full of finely chopped strawberries 

Beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add maple syrup to taste. Mix in just enough powdered sugar for a nice spreading consistency. Add chopped strawberries last. Use this as the icing between the layers. I had plenty of this leftover, so these amounts could be cut in half.  

The frosting:  

1 container heavy cream 
Sugar to taste  

Beat the heavy cream with mixer till stiff peaks form. Add sugar to your preference for sweetness. Frost entire cake. 

The garnish (and best part):  

Fresh, sliced strawberries.  

Add fresh, sliced strawberries to top and sides of cake. Now sit back and watch it disappear! 

I want to share a cool way to repurpose old, worn shirts into what I call rag yarn. This “yarn” can then be used to knit, crochet, or even be braided and sewn into various craft projects. Old t-shirts or similar material work very well. I like to use stripes because they are easier to cut evenly, and make interesting color patterns.  Start by laying your old shirt out flat on a table top, keeping the front and back as even as possible.

Next you want to cut the top off, cutting as close under the arms as you can.

Now cut the hem off.

You are left with a nice chunk of material that is basically a tube. Starting at the end, cut from what was the side of the shirt. Cut ¾ to 1 inch strips to within 1 ½ inches of the top.

Do NOT cut completely off.

Repeat this, cutting strips the whole length of the piece.

Now open the piece and lay the part that is still connected flat on your tabletop.Starting from the outside, you want to make DIAGONAL cuts from one slot to the next.

If you cut straight, you will not have one long piece, but lots of unconnected loops! Continue these cuts the entire way, ending the same way you started.

If you did it right, you should have one long, continuous thin strip of material.

Starting at one end of your strip, stretch it. When it is stretched, the material curls, resembling yarn.

After I stretch it, I roll it into rag balls till I think I have enough for whatever project I have in mind.

You can make potholders, chair pads, rugs, and table runners…anything you can imagine!

It’s fun to color coordinate too, choosing shirts with colors that complement each other in your project. The top portion of your shirt can also be cut into rags to be used for cleaning, or for someone like my husband, into disposable grease rags. Give it a try, and see what you can come up with! 

I wanted to share a recipe I made for the first time that turned out really yummy! The original recipe was for carrot nut bread but as I so often do, I changed it up to work with ingredients I had to use up. Very slight, simple changes to just a couple things. I call it Apple Nut Bread. I will give the original recipe, and mark in parenthesis where I changed things. That way, you all could try both if you like! I’m sure the original would be really good too. 

Carrot Nut Bread: 

1 cup grated carrots ( I used = amount of my own canned apple pie filling) 

¾ cup brown sugar ( I used ½ cup of sucanat) 

1 tsp baking soda 

2 ½ tsp baking powder 

2 TBSP shortening ( I used real butter) 

1 tsp salt 

1 cup warm water or milk 

2 eggs 

1 ½ cups flour ( I used unbleached) 

1 cup whole wheat flour 

½ cup chopped nuts ( I used almonds) 

Measure flours, baking powder, soda, salt, and sugar into bowl and mix. Add liquid, eggs, and melted shortening to dry ingredients. Mix well. ( I mixed by hand) Fold in chopped nuts and grated carrots. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Let stand 5 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. ( It only took 50 minutes for me.) 

The original recipe comes from a cookbook I have titled Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking, A Mennonite Community Cookbook. There is a note at the bottom of the recipe that says “Delicious for school lunches”. No matter if you make the original, make the changes I did, or make your own version, give it a try. It is scrumdillyishous! 

This is a very simple recipe for laundry detergent that you can make yourself, and save a lot of money. It works very well, and is especially good for front load washing machines because it is low sudsing. The ingredients you will need are: 

1 bar of Fels Naptha or castile soap

Borax

Washing Soda

Baking Soda

To start, you need to grate your entire bar of soap into a medium sized bowl. Use the fine side of a cheese grater. You want it to be a powdery consistency.

 To this you add 1 cup each of the Borax, Washing Soda, and Baking Soda.

Mix all together, breaking up any lumps that might be in the Borax or Washing soda.

That’s it! This is your laundry detergent. Wasn’t that easy? You just store in a container with a lid. I use a recycled candle jar. Use 1/8 cup per load. That is all it takes.

You could adjust those amounts slightly for extra large, or small loads. This stuff really does work beautifully. My laundry comes out clean, and smells very nice. You can get these ingredients at various places. Our local grocery and hardware store carries all of them, but I can also get them all at Wal-Mart. The money savings is the really great part. You will get multiple batches of your homemade detergent from just 1 box of the Borax, Washing soda, and Baking soda. The price for each of these per box will vary slightly, depending on where you purchase them. The Borax and Washing soda were both a little over $3 a box, the Baking soda I found at $2 a box, and the Fels Naptha I got for .97 cents per bar.

A word about Borax. I’m sure someone is going to say they’ve read Borax isn’t safe. After doing some research, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is just as safe as Washing soda, and I have no problem using it. Here is a link I found that covers the subject pretty good. If you disagree, don’t use it. You have to decide for yourself. I believe that especially today, we have to be diligent in researching many of the products we use and consume. We cannot take it for granted that because someone is selling it, a product is safe. I also believe that you have to look at who did the research, because research can be skewed, depending on how you want the results to be. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in today.

Happy Laundering! 

I saw a picture of these wonderful little beauties somewhere on the internet, and I knew I had to try them. These little edible bowls could be filled with so many different things. I chose fresh strawberries, whipped topping, and shaved chocolate.

This is a scrumptious pound cake recipe that I found on allrecipes.com. It is great by itself, but it’s also wonderful with vanilla ice cream, whipped topping, or plain yogurt with fresh fruit. As I often do, I changed the recipe a bit to better suit with the ingredients I prefer to use.

The Recipe:

3 cups all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3 cups white sugar (I used Sucanat)
6 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used all vanilla extract instead of lemon)
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube pan (I used two bread pans instead). Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

  In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar. This is much easier if you set your butter out ahead and allow it to reach room temperature before starting. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (I added mine all at once cause I’m impatient! ).Stir in the lemon and vanilla extracts. Mix in flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Pour into prepared pan.

  Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes. Do NOT open oven door till after at least 1 hour. When cake begins to pull away from sides of pan it is done. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely. YUM! Enjoy!

I also made a wonderful Salisbury Steak recipe from fellow blogger Cindy. It was delicious, and I would recommend it! I did make one substitution in the recipe. I used ground venison instead of ground beef. My husband and I both hunt, and I had some in the freezer. Thanks Cindy!

Here’s an idea for a great party snack for the Super Bowl, or anytime! This recipe combines two previous recipes I’ve given in recent blog entries. The first thing you’ll want to make is the Herb Bread dough. Make as the recipe calls for, but when it’s ready to bake, spread out as pizza dough on pizza pan or stone. This won’t take quite as long to bake as the bread, Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. It may take less time depending on your oven. When it’s finished, let it cool. When I baked mine, my crust got really thick and I was afraid it wouldn’t hold all the toppings I wanted to put on, so I sliced the whole top of my crust off. This is a judgment call, so if you think yours is too thick, slice away! There would probably be enough dough to divide and make two pizzas if you wish. If you slice, just lay the top aside for now.

On top of the crust I spread an 8 ounce package of cream cheese that I beat with the mixer, adding a little of my own Italian dressing to make it creamy and easy to spread.  Next you will want to chop up your toppings. I used broccoli, onions, tomatoes and my own  Homemade Cheese .

  You could use any number of toppings with this, so get creative! Whatever you choose, just sprinkle your chopped toppings over the cream cheese. That’s it, ready to cut and eat! This was a very big hit with everyone that tried it!

Wait … what about that top I cut off? I buttered mine on both sides and pulled it apart into pieces. I seasoned them, and put under the broiler for 5 minutes, stirred them, then put them back under for another five minutes, and … homemade croutons! They didn’t last long either!

In today’s world, people are becoming more aware of just how important it is to know where their food supply comes from. From heirloom seeds to organically grown fruits and vegetables that we can grow and preserve ourselves, it is very comforting to know that we can be self sufficient, and safe knowing exactly what we’re eating because we grew it! 

  So then, what about the other products that we use daily? It was a rather natural question for me to ask of myself. If I can grow and preserve my own food, why can’t I make the other products that I use? What about soap, shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, and body spray? After all, our skin is living tissue that absorbs the things it comes in contact with. Reading the ingredients list for these products is quite the task.  I can’t even pronounce half of them, and even then, I don’t know what they are! This put me on a mission to find recipes to make all these products myself! Now, I am happy to report, that I do indeed make all these things myself, and more! 

  I want to share a very simple recipe to make your own body spray or cologne. It only takes 2 simple ingredients! That’s it! So easy to do! 

Recipe: 

1/3 cup 100 proof vodka 
Fragrance oil 

You will need a measuring cup for the vodka, an eye dropper for the fragrance oil, and a colored glass container with a lid to put your body spray into. 

   You can buy colored glass containers online from various places. I am a thrifter, so I got mine from local thrift stores or yard sales. I found some really cool, old Avon bottles for just a couple dollars. I brought them home and washed them up. They work beautifully! 

   Measure your vodka into measuring cup. Now add at least 3 droppers full of fragrance oil of your choice to vodka. You can add a bit more than this if you like, but any less than 3 is a little on the weak side for scent, in my opinion. The more you add, the stronger it will be. Use your own nose and judgment!  When you’re satisfied with the scent, pour into colored glass container and put on lid. Now, give it a good shake! You will need to let this set in a dark place for 30 days, shaking it once daily. Don’t worry, if you miss a day, it won’t be ruined! After 30 days, it’s ready! 

  I like to put it into a small spray bottle for ease of use when it's finished. I have a used bottle from another body spray that I had purchased. I just washed it out and re-used.   

  A few words about fragrance oils, they aren’t all the same. You want to make sure that your oils are safe for cosmetic and body products. I wouldn’t go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheap scented oils you would find there. They might be fine for making your home smell good, but not necessarily safe for contact with your skin. I buy all my soap making and body product supplies from this site online, Wholesale Soap Making Supplies and Candle Making Supplies - WholesaleSuppliesPlus 

  They have a huge selection and there prices are very good. They also have free shipping to the U.S. and Canada with a $30 minimum order. 

  Another great place is Mountain Rose Herbs | Bulk organic herbs, spices & essential oils 

  You could also use essential oils instead of fragrance oils in your body spray if you choose. Just remember, some essential oils are stronger than others, so you will need to adjust for scent accordingly.  Also, some people can have slight skin irritation from certain essential oils if they are too strong. I’m sure some people may have an argument as to why essential oils are better, so if you want to, by all means use them! I do use essential oils in other applications; I just prefer fragrance oils in this instance. 

  Once you try this body spray, I predict you will be hooked! My first trial was with a single fragrance, and I loved how it turned out! Now, I’ve been experimenting with mixing multiple scents! Oh what fun!  You can invent your own FABULOUS fragrance! When someone comments,” ooohhhh, you smell wonderful, what is that you’re wearing,” you can reply, “well, DARLING, that’s my own fragrance! I call it_________!” Fill in the blank with your own famous name! 

  I think this would also be a great project to do with young, teenage girls. What young girl wouldn’t love to make her own scented body spray? 

  I’ve also done a masculine, manly scent for my husband as cologne, and that turned out a keeper as well! Now go get that nose workin, and put together your own fabulous, fragrant body spray! 

You know you want some, so go ahead and try it! Oh so yummy!

The Recipe:

Measure 1½ cups luke warm water.

To this add 3 Tablespoons sugar (I use Sucanat), and stir.

Now add 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast and stir again.

Let this set for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, measure into large bowl;

4 cups flour (I like to use 3 cups of unbleached flour, and 1 cup whole wheat.)

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons dry milk or buttermilk (I like the buttermilk)

1 Tablespoon dried onion

1 Tablespoon dried dill

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

  After a few minutes, the yeast in your water should have started to work and look frothy. Add it to your flour mixture and stir until it starts to form a ball of dough. Now, ditch the spoon and dig in with your hands. Start to work the dough, kneading it with your fingers and fists till it starts to have an elastic feel. Form the dough into a ball. Give the ball of dough a coating of oil. Let it in your bowl, and cover with a dampened towel. Let it set in a warm place till it doubles in size. If you don’t have a nice warm spot, you can set it in your oven with ONLY the light on. This will keep it sufficiently warm. When it has doubled in size, you want to punch it back down, and knead it some more, just a little bit. Now you’re going to shape your loaf and place it in your bread pan, baking dish, or on your baking stone. If you are using a baking dish or bread pan, grease it first. If you want to cut a design into the top, now is the time. Cover it once more, place back into the nice cozy warm spot, and let it rise again. When it has once again doubled in size, it’s ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven, till it’s golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush top with butter.

Now let’s just see if you can wait till it’s cool before cutting!

  One small note, when I made this bread, I added about an extra ¼ cup of flour cause the dough seemed a little sticky. When you first knead it, if this is the case for you, just add the extra flour, but don’t add too much or your bread will be dry.

This is a yummy, very simple recipe to make homemade cheese. It is a crumbly cheese,  and is great in salads and stir-fry! Anyone can make this. There is no special equipment required.

Let me just say here that I strongly advocate the use of whole, raw milk, or as I prefer to call it, REAL milk, instead of "fake" milk, aka, that other stuff that most all grocery stores carry, but either one will work. ( The argument for why raw milk is better is a whole other blog entry!)  

To start, you simply pour your milk into a heavy saucepan and heat on the stove top on medium heat.

As far as amount of milk, you can use any amount from about a quart up to gallons if you want. There is no specific measurement here. The more milk you use, the more cheese you get. The ultimate goal is to separate the curds from the whey, the curds being the cheese.

Heat the milk on medium heat, stirring occasionally, till it starts to simmer. At this point you are going to add something to separate the milk. You can use a couple things to do this. Vinegar works well, but I like to use lemon juice. I use the bottled stuff, but freshly squeazed would work as well. 

Add a Tablespoon at a time and stir. Keep adding till the curds separate from the whey. You will be able to see when this happens. The curds are white and clumpy, and the whey is watery looking. It happens rather quickly. When it does, remove from heat. 

Now you want to strain the whey from the curds through a cheesecloth or muslin lined colander.  

You can set your colander inside another larger bowl or pan to catch the whey if you want to keep it, or put your colander right into the sink and strain if you don't want to keep it.

Whey still contains vitamins that are good for you. It can be used to soak dry beans in to reconstitute, or used in soup bases.  

After dumping your curds and whey into strainer, let the curd rest and drain for a few minutes. After it has cooled some, fold the ends of the cheesecloth up and twist to get out even more excess liquid. Don't be afraid to twist it hard enough to get out most of the whey. 

That's it! This is your cheese!  

Now the fun part, seasoning! Dump your cheese into a bowl. Here are some suggestions for seasoning, but don't be afraid to try your own combos! Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Add some sea salt, dill, chives, garlic, and chopped fresh, or dried onion to taste. Crumble the cheese apart with a spoon and mix. 

Cover this, and let it set for 24 hours in the refrigerator, or just go ahead and eat it if you can't wait! Enjoy! Also good would be oregano, rosemary, thyme, a small amount of liquid smoke, or better yet, smoke it yourself. The combinations are endless, and you've made it yourself!

Posted by chickadeezl at 12:53 PM  

The weather around these parts has been pretty nasty the past couple of weeks! Snow, ice, and wind have made for some pretty tough traveling conditions at times, especially the ice.

At one point we were without power for 2 days. Thank goodness we have a generator for back up on these occasions!

So what to do when the outdoors isn’t fit for man or beast?!

Why, you bake of course! I decided it was the perfect time to try some new recipes, and experiment with others. I opened my trusty copy of “GRIT’s Guide to Homemade Bread” to find which recipes would be the lucky candidates to try! The first I chose was the Cheesy Herb Bread found on page 44. This is not a yeast dough, is very easy to make, and soooo worth it. I actually made 2 batches. The first I made in a normal loaf pan.

The next batch I baked in a pie pan. When it was finished I made deep dish pizza out of it. The cheese and herbs in this bread make it really good. Simply add some pizza sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings your family happens to like, then put it back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. A very easy meal your family will thank you for!

The second recipe I chose to make, I’ve made before so I decided to play with it some and changed it a bit. I used the Rustic Wheat Bread with Savory Herbs and Onions recipe found on page 41. I followed the recipe with everything it calls for except I didn’t add the herbs or the onions, and I didn’t use the cornmeal to coat it with. Instead, I replaced the herbs with cinnamon and ginger. I also had to add a little extra water when mixing the dough because it was very dry for some reason, but the end result was wonderful.

I baked it as called for. When I removed the loaves from the oven, I buttered and sugared the crusts. I can’t tell you how good this smelled while baking! Absolutely heavenly! I got 3 nice sized loaves from this recipe, enough to share with family! I also made French toast with this bread and topped with real maple syrup and walnuts! Delicious! Don’t be afraid to change up your recipes. Try some different spices and seasonings! Who knows, you might just come up with a winner that is requested over and over again!

Now that you have freshly baked, homemade bread, why not sit back and enjoy a few slices while relaxing and watching the birds!