Apple Tarts

Apple Tarts

6-8 apples peeled, cored and sliced

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp mace

½ tsp nutmeg

Combine apples, water and lemon juice in large sauce pan and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, just until apples start to soften.  Stir in sugar and spices and remove from heat.  Let cool while preparing pie crust.

Preheat oven to 375º

Pastry for two crust pie:

2¼ cups flour

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

¼ cup ice water

In medium bowl stir together flour and salt.  Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or fork until pieces are pea size.  Sprinkle water over top stirring to moisten.  Divide dough in half and then in quarters; on lightly floured surface roll out each quarter into a 8x6 inch rectangle.  Fill with 2-3 tablespoons of apple filling.  Fold pastry over and crimp the edges with a fork.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375º 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

© Crackerberries 2011

Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet Potato Muffins

It is week #5 of my sweet potato challenge.  Not as sweet and delectable as the sweet potato cheese cake but very healthy for you.  If you have a sweet potato recipe you want to share or any comments, please email me. 

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

¾ cup milk

¼ cup canola oil

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 400º.  Grease bottoms of 12 muffin cups.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in medium bowl and mix well.  In large measuring cup or another medium bowl, blend together milk, egg, oil and sweet potatoes.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Spoon into muffin tins, sprinkle with a little sugar if desired and bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown; let cool slightly before removing from tins.

© Crackerberries 2011

Chicken Corn Enchiladas

Chicken Corn Enchiladas

1 cup great northern beans

4 cups water

½ cup maple syrup

½ tsp chili powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp celery seed

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dry mustard

1 bay leaf

Combine above ingredients in slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours. Remove bay leaf.

1½ cups diced cooked chicken

3 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 onion, chopped (reserve ¼ for topping)

½ red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp oil

8 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 375º.  Sauté onion and pepper in skillet for 3-5 minutes, add chicken and bacon and cook a few minutes longer.  Add to beans and stir to combine.  Spoon onto corn tortillas and carefully roll and place in lightly greased baking dish seam side down.  Bake at 375º for 20 minutes until slightly crispy.

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium high heat; add flour and stir, pour in chicken broth slowly, stirring constantly until thickened, add cheese and stir to combine.  Pour over top of baked enchiladas and sprinkle with chopped jalapeño and onion.  Bake 10-15 minutes longer at 375º.  Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

2½ tbsp butter

2½ tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 jalapeño pepper, diced

 Crackerberries 2011

Shrimp & Ravioli with Hot Pepper Cheese Sauce

Shrimp Ravioli with

Hot Pepper Cheese Sauce

18 frozen cheese filled raviolis

26 medium shrimp

1¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ cup shredded cheddar

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

2 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup milk

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

Cook ravioli according to package directions.  Peel and devein shrimp.  Sauté garlic and peppers in hot olive oil for about 2 minutes then add shrimp and sauté another 3-5 minutes until shrimp turns pink and opaque. 

In medium sauce pan melt butter and stir in flour, add milk and heat until thick and bubbly.  Stir in Monterey Jack cheese until melted.  Add shrimp and peppers to cheese sauce stir to blend. 

Place nine raviolis each on oven safe plates; pour sauce over and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  Place under broiler for 1-2 minutes just until cheese bubbles.  Serve immediately.

Note:  This is not for those who are watching their weight.  This is an 825 calorie meal.

© Crackerberries 2011

Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits

Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

¾ cup corn meal

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

¾ tsp cream of tartar

½ cup butter flavored Crisco

¼ cup half & half

¾ cup milk

½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400º.  Combine flour, baking powder, cornmeal, cream of tartar, sugar and salt in bowl.  Cut in Crisco until crumbly and create well in center of mixture.  Add cheese and pour milk and half & half in all at once.  Stir with fork just to moisten and combine.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and pat into ½ inch thickness.  Using cookie cutter or glass, cut into circles.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 400º 15-18 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with homemade chili or great with pea soup.

© Crackerberries 2011

Pork Loin Chops

Red Pepper + Chipotle Stuffed Pork Loin Chops

2 Pork Loin Chops (½-¾ lb)

1 red bell pepper, julienned

¼ cup chipotle in adobo sauce

¼ cup pear butter (or applesauce)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Finely chop the chipotle peppers and combine sauce and peppers in a small bowl with pear butter or applesauce.  Butterfly the chops by slicing horizontally through the meat leaving ½ inch in the center; gently pound the chops to ¼” thickness.  Spread with the sauce and roll up chops.  Secure with toothpicks.  Heat oil in large cast iron skillet; season pork rolls with fresh ground pepper.  Sauté the pork rolls on all sides until golden and browned.  Transfer to lightly greased baking dish and pour remaining sauce over top.  Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes.  Slice and serve.

© Crackerberries 2011

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

It is week #4 of my sweet potato challenge.  Last week we had cheesecake bars and they were so yummy I thought, why not try sweet potato cheesecake...even more delectable.  If you have a sweet potato recipe you want to share or any comments, please email me. 

1½ cup graham cracker crumbs 

6 Tbsp butter or margarine

2 Tbsp sugar

16 oz cream cheese softened

¾ cup sugar

2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes

¼ tsp salt

1¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350º

Graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tbsp sugar and melted margarine and mix well.  Press into 9 inch spring form pan and bake in 350º oven for 8 minutes.

In large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until well combined.  Add sweet potato and spices and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.  Mix until smooth.

Pour into prepared crust and bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes until center is set.  Turn oven off and crack oven door, let cool in oven for one hour.  Using butter knife, loosen sides before opening spring. 

© Crackerberries 2011

Bacon Egg & Cheese

Bacon Egg  Cheese Biscuits

3 eggs, lightly scrambled and cooked

4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

½-¾ cup shredded cheddar

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

¾ cup butter flavored Crisco

1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 375º

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt in medium bowl and mix well; cut in Crisco until crumbly.  Form well in center of mixture and pour in milk, mix just until moist.  Divide dough in two.  Press into flat ¼ inch circle and using large mouth glass cut dough into circles.  Place in lightly greased muffin tins and gently press into tin. 

Combine eggs, bacon and cheese together and mix well.  Spoon into muffin tins distributing mixture evenly over dough. 

Using second half of dough, repeat the process by creating tops for the muffins.  Seal with tops to bottoms by pressing gently with fingers.  Bake in preheated 375º for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown.  Remove from tins immediately; serve hot and store leftovers in refrigerator for 3-5 days.  A great breakfast to take on the go.

© Crackerberries 2011

Chow Maine's Baby

Chow Maine’s Baby

Recently Chow Maine was in heat and when she is in heat she is the most loving cat you ever want to be around.  She wants to be on your lap, she wants to be petted, and she wants to be where you are.  Normally she doesn’t like to be held or touched or petted.  In general if you walk by her, she sticks her paw out and swats whatever part of your body she can reach while digging in her claws.

Chow Maine has a lot of toys; catnip filled mice, feather clad birds, plastic balls with little bells, etc.  Her favorite toy, which my husband calls, “her little bacteria trap” is a black stuffed “thing” — I refer to it as a “thing” because I’m not really sure what it used to be — with a pink feather boa around it’s neck.  This is the only toy that Chow Maine will play fetch with as if she were a dog.  We can throw it and she will bring it back and drop it at our feet waiting for us to throw it again.  I’ve always believed she thinks she is a dog.

Sometimes when she is playing with it, she throws it up in the air and then grabs it with her paws only to tackle it to the floor and beat it to death with her hind feet.  It is kind of comical to me, but then I think maybe she is disciplining it, as if to say “bad kitty baby!”

We have to close her out of the bedroom at night otherwise she runs laps around the bed head board and across the bed until someone pays attention to her.  The other night we were awakened by the loudest meow crying we have ever heard.  We opened the door and she was sitting there with her baby on the floor in front of her as if it were dead.  She looked at us and then immediately picked it up and ran into the bedroom under the bed.  She is one crazy cat.

She carries the baby around in her mouth while meowing loudly.  I wonder and think this must be difficult for a cat.  She paces with it for long periods of time and then will suddenly appear in the living room or wherever we are without the baby in her mouth.  If we ask her where her baby is, sometimes she goes and gets it and other times she does not. 

Today I followed her because I wanted to find out what she does with that baby.  After several laps around the house and a stop at Bear’s kennel for some good old fashion dog smell she finally quieted down and ended up on her favorite blanket on the couch where she will sleep most of the day with her baby.

As I brood over this story of Chow Maine and her baby it reminds me of how God is with us.  He carries us around, He leaves us to try to make it alone, and He gives us discipline and lets us go through our struggles that we have brought on ourselves.  When we finally stop to rest, He is always there with His arms around us.  We are never alone no matter how much we think we might be.  He gives us just what we need; be it discipline, be it a struggle, or be it a hug.  God knows just what we need and when we need it.

© Crackerberries 2011

Homemade Dog Biscuits

Fido Bone Treats

Spare the rod, spoil the dog.

2½ cups flour

¾ cup grits

½ cup shortening

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 cups chicken/beef/pork fat, cooked and ground

Combine 2¼ cups flour, grits and brown sugar and mix well.  Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in egg and meat fat until moistened; place on floured surface.  Divide dough into 1½ tbsp portions and using your thumb and forefinger, create dog bones.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and back at 375º 25-30 minutes until crisp. 

I do not know what they taste like, but they smelled real good cooking and the dogs LOVE them.

© Crackerberries 2011

Pork Chops in Strawberry Chipotle Sauce

Pork Chops with Strawberry Chipotle Sauce

¾ lb pork tenderloin chops

¼ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp lime juice

½ cup strawberry fig preserves

¼ cup chipotle in adobo sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Chop chipotle peppers very fine.  Combine lime juice, preserves and chipotles in adobo sauce in medium sauce pan.  Heat to boiling and then reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes.

Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder on both sides of pork chops.  Heat oil in cast iron fry pan; cook chops for about 5 minutes per side on medium heat.  Spoon sauce over chops and serve.

© Crackerberries 2011

Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars

It is week #3 for sweet potato recipes.  If you have one that you would like to share, email it to me and I'll be sure to post it for everyone to try.  This is my own little concoction.

1 cup flour

½ cup brown sugar, loosely packed

¼ cup butter, softened

½ cup finely chopped pecans

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup cooked, mashed sweet potato

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º.  Combine flour, brown sugar and butter until crumbly.  Add pecans and mix well; reserve ½ cup mixture.  Press remaining mixture into bottom of ungreased 8x8 glass baking dish.  Bake 15 minutes and remove from oven.  Cool slightly.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, sweet potato, eggs, vanilla and spices and mix on medium speed until well blended and smooth.   Pour over cooled crust and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake at 350º 30-35 minutes.  Cool completely and cut into squares.  Garnish with pecan halves if desired.

© Crackerberries 2011

Wheaties Chicken -- the supper of champions

Wheaties Chicken

{THE SUPPER OF CHAMPIONS}

1½-2 lbs chicken pieces (legs & thighs)

3 tbsp skim milk

1½ cups Wheaties, finely crushed

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven 400º and spray baking dish with cooking oil.  Dip chicken pieces in milk and shake in zip lock bag with Wheaties and cayenne pepper.  Place in baking dish and bake 20 minutes at 400º then reduce heat to 375º and continue cooking for 40 minutes longer; served here with “Fantabulous Potatoes” and acorn squash.

© Crackerberries 2011

PERMISSION GRANTED

PERMISSION GRANTED

I missed yesterday because I’ve been contemplating about putting this blog on or not.  I am scared.  What will people think?  What if I offend them?  Then I thought who cares what people think?  This is my blog and my opinion and I can put whatever I want to put on here.  This is the word according to Crackerberries.  If it is convicting, then I’ve done my job and maybe you have thought a little bit more about the things I write and do some contemplating of your own.

Permission granted are two words in the English language that used to come as an unexpected freedom.  Now they are two words that when used together, are completely taken out of context.  Permission is taken for granted and if not approved it doesn’t matter it is executed anyways.  Remember that standard old saying your mother or father used to say, “I give you an inch and you take a mile”?  My husband still says it to the dog when we go for our walks and he lets the lead out a little and no matter how much he lets the lead out, the dog pulls it right tight to the end.

Society has become our dog and permission granted has turned into deserved entitlement.  It really bothers me when I see people that use and abuse programs and systems that were put in place to protect and help the underprivileged.  Instead of enjoying the things that come unanticipated, society somehow came to the conclusion that they are owed compensation for being born.  They take advantage of anything and everything. 

I was talking with an acquaintance that was out to dinner with some people from work and could order anything they wanted on the menu.  She went for the most expensive thing; why because work was paying for it why not take full advantage?  I am privy to another story about a lovely young lady whose seasonal job is coming to an end and doesn’t have another job lined up yet.  She spent a large amount of money on a new handbag instead of saving the money.  Why?  Entitlement; taking for granted that a new job will come along when she is ready to take one.

I have to stop watching the news because it drives me crazy at how ridiculous this world has become.  For example, the quarterback for the local college football team failed to live up to the terms of being reinstated and is dismissed from the team for the 6^th time; supposedly permanently this time. I have nothing against the USC football coach or team or people in place that make the decisions.  Not that I know any of the details of the first five times, but hello?  Who is teaching who a lesson here?  What happened to three strikes your out?  Six times; why did he have that many chances; because he was a good quarterback star?  Apparently so and a very slow learner at that; he must be a yellow-dot. 

Then we have those foolish Wall Street protesters hanging out in the big cities making stupid signs, being obnoxious, dressing ridiculously and making a nuisance of themselves.  They complain about corporate greed and economic inequality.  Have you seen the clothes they wear, the laptops and the cell phones they carry around, the tents they camp in, even the food they are eating?  It seems like everyone interviewed has a gourmet coffee in their hand.  And who in the world is paying for the paint and other sign making supplies?  They probably ought to lower their standards and get a job even if it is at McDonalds.  I bet most of them don’t even know what they are protesting for.  Of course the media doesn’t help…who writes the questions they ask anyways?  Have you ever heard anything so pathetic when they interview someone who has just lost a loved one to a tragic death and they ask “How did it make you feel when you got the news?”  Hello?  How do you think it made them feel, idiot?

College graduates are upset because they cannot find a job in the field that they studied for hence making it impossible to pay their student loans.  A college education used to be a privilege and if you couldn’t afford it you couldn’t go.  Now people seem to think they are an heir of entitlement.  Can’t afford it?  Don’t worry, be happy, we’ll give you a student loan and you can pay it back. And then after that you can get a mortgage and buy a house and pay that back too.   Hello? The unemployment situation has had issues for quite some time now; jobs don’t come by easy.  Any student signing up for a college education thinking they are going to find a suitable job to pay back a loan four years later must be a complete moron. 

The people in the world have turned stupid.  A hamburger from McDonalds used to be a treat to enjoy and savor because eating out wasn’t “the norm”.  Now the average person eats out five times a week.  Five times!  I bet some eat out more than that.  That is crazy and it is no wonder people can’t afford to pay their bills.  Try a fried bologna sandwich, people.

Okay so I’ve gone off on my little rant about the world turning stupid and how people think they are entitled to everything and anything.  The only thing they are really entitled to is death.  Permission granted comes from the acceptance of Jesus Christ.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  No one gets to The Father except through Him.  Unexpected freedom comes when He sets one free from their sin.  I plan to take full advantage of that promise of life in eternity.  Forgive me Lord, for going off on a tangent.  It does not matter how crazy this world gets and how stupid people act because one day I’ll be in a place where everything is perfect.

© Crackerberries 2011