Thin Crust Pizza

Usually when we make pizza together I do the crust and Tall Cool One cuts up the veggies and finds anything and everything that we have leftover to go on it. For some reason, (full moon?) the crust wasn't working for me this time so Tall Cool One rolled out the dough and I did the topping search. (Let me just say, when he gets the toppings, it's way better than mine). You wanna talk about a loaded pizza... you should try one of his. NO ANCHOVIES, please.



However, once we starting eating this one, there was just something different about the crust. Like one of those thin crust pizza's you get at Pizza Hut, but way better. I found later that Tall Cool One added his own twist to the recipe. Here it is:
THIN PIZZA CRUST

2½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
1 pkg .(1½ tsp.) active dry yeast
¾ cup hot water (120º-103º)
1 TBSP oil

In a large bowl combine ¾ cup flour, seasoning, garlic powder and yeast. Blend well. Mix hot water and oil together and combine with flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened then mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add ¾ cup flour to form stiff dough.

On floured surface, kneed in ¼ - ½cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes). Place dough in greased bowl, twirling around to coat; cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80º-85º) four 30-40 minutes or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 400º. Place pizza stone in oven to preheat.

Punch dough down several times to remove all air bubbles. Roll out the dough (or toss in the air…whatever your preference) to form large pizza pie circle; this is when the trick comes in… as Tall Cool One was rolling and pressing the dough out, he added another ½ cup of flour to the dough. It is a good idea to do this on a large cutting board or other movable surface so that you can just flip it on to the pizza stone when you are ready to add the toppings.

After you have added the sauce (this is another recipe), cheeses and any other toppings, bake in oven for 18-25 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes before cutting.
© Crackerberries 2009

Saucy Chicken Cordon Bleu

INGREDIENTS

3 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese
6-8 slices ham (finely chopped)
2-4 tbsp butter or margarine
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp pepper
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 pint (2 cups) ½ and ½ or light cream
¼ cup hot water
½ cup of Italian bread crumbs


DIRECTIONS

Half each chicken breast lengthwise and pound to ¼ inch thickness. Sprinkle the ham with the pepper. Top each breast with a slice of cheese and equal amounts of the peppered ham. Roll up the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Use a little of the light cream to wet the chicken and then roll in the Italian bread crumbs.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter/margarine and brown chicken over medium heat, being sure to roll to all sides, until brown (not to high of heat or the butter will blacken--this is what the extra 2 tbsps of butter is for, just incase). In the meantime, combine the hot water and onion soup mix together first, then add cream and nutmeg. Pour mixture over chicken and bring just to boiling point. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, basting occasionally for 20-25 minutes. Serve with noodles or roasted potatoes.

© Crackerberries 2009

Secret Ingredient Hamburgers

We were in Port Royal, South Carolina visiting Mom and Richard. We stayed in this house called “The Big Pink”. Tall Cool One and I were in charge of din-din one night and we decided to make hamburgers. I told Mom it had a secret ingredient and asked her and Richard if they minded having onions. Both said they didn’t mind. When we sat down to eat, Mom had a fit because they had onions in them. Richard said, “Put some ketchup on it, Mildred.” She ended up giving the hamburger to Richard; the onions are optional.

Ingredients
1½ lb ground 85% beef
1 med onion, diced (optional)
¼ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup mix
¼ tsp garlic powder
4 hamburger buns
Lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles

Directions

Combine the burger, diced onion, bread crumbs, onion soup, garlic powder and egg and mix well. Form meat into 4 good size burgers. Grill over medium heat for 8 mins per side. Serve on burger buns with whichever condiments you choose.

…or as Richard would say, “Put some ketchup on it, Mildred.”

The Scoopmire's Italian Steak

It seems Crackerberries is going in the direction of my new venture... I'm in the process of writing a cookbook as well as trying to make some money at what I love to do... cooking, canning, baking, all that jazz. I've decided to share some of my favorite recipes on my blog...(the new me is going to (try) to post a new delicious recipe each day... okay, okay, so we'll see how things go, huh? :)

The first recipe I'd like to share comes from my friend Leslie. I made this and it was (in true Maine form) "WICKED GOOD"!!!! I did make a couple alterations from her recipe... I didn't exactly know what "round steak" was. Tall Cool One and I were grocery shopping and I asked him, "What's a round steak?" He looked at me funny. I said, "They all look round to me."

We ended up with a chuck roast and cut it up in cubes and marinated it in Robusto Italian dressing for ½ hour prior to cooking. Instead of the EVOO, I cooked it right in the Italian dressing. Also 1½ tsp. of pepper was plenty spicy enough for our taste buds. We had it over spaghetti instead of rice and we added a little mozarella cheese as well as the parmesan. It was a definite keeper so that is why I'm sharing it with you. Here it is served with bread sticks on the side:

Italian Steak
1 round steak, cubed
1 onion, diced
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1-2½ tsp black pepper
1½ cups beef broth
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 zucchini squash, sliced
Parmesan Cheese
Cooked white rice

Brown steak in EVOO {Extra Virgin Olive Oil}; add onion and garlic; cook until onions are translucent. Add beef broth and remaining seasonings. Bring to a boil and add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Once mixture comes to a boil again, add zucchini, turn heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
© Crackerberries 2009

No Fair!

April 30, 2009

I keep telling myself that I'm going to write I'm going to write I'm going to write. That's what I want to do ... write, write, write. Unfortunately my plan and what God has planned doesn't appear to be the same plot. Everytime I get to a point where I can say, "Okay, I'm gonna sit down and write today," something else comes up and gets in front of my writing.

Spring Cleaning

There are 5 gigantic totes out on the porch waiting for me to go through. They are filled with clothes ... both summer and winter. The plan was to only have summer clothes in storage and winter clothes in the closet. Then in the spring, the winter clothes go into storage and the summer clothes go into the closet. Some where along the line, I accumulated more winter clothes than will fit in the closet ... I tell Tall Cool One that I'll rotate the stock and wear the ones in storage the next year. For some reason it just hasn't seemed to work out that way. So my project at hand is to get rid of the clothes I don't wear. I mean seriously, I bet I have 35 pairs of jeans ... okay so some are two sizes too small (I keep telling myself I am going to wear them again), some are two sizes too big (Lord, please don't let me need those again), some I just don't like how they fit (but they're nice jeans to wear out ... you know we go out so often). And here I am writing instead of sorting.



Which brings me to my thoughts. Boy, am I easily side tracked! An understatement at least! I was reading one of Ray Comfort's Gospel tracts about "Depraved Indifference". Depraved indifference focuses on the risk created by the defendant’s conduct, not the injuries actually resulting. Meaning, me, as a Christian will be punished for not sharing what I know about heaven and hell. It is my responsibility to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations ... to share what I know. Depraved Indifference has nothing to do with the fact that if you choose to continue to live in your sin and do not accept Jesus Christ into your life that you will spend eternity in hell. You have heard about hell, yes? Hell is an endless lake of fire, with billions of people screaming because of the horrendous pain they are suffering. It is where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and there is no rest day or night.



Whew, see what I mean about getting side tracked. Wow, hell sure isn't a place I want to visit. Life is short, eternity isn't. I don't even want to get close to it ... so listen to me when I tell you. Choose Jesus over sin!



Back to my original thought on spring cleaning. Just like cleaning our closets, bureaus, drawers, cupboards, etc., sometimes our minds need a cleansing too. I've been thinking about people I used to be close too and how the relationships became strained or distant or plain old non-existent. I kept thinking that part of what God's Word says wasn't meant for me. I kept telling myself my relationships with people would be different. It isn't. Time to spring clean my mind ... out with the old in with the new. God cannot lie, not any part of His Word is untrue. We can't just pick and choose the parts that we like ... it is all or nothing. I have decided to let go of the relationships I have struggled with to keep going. It's not in my hands anymore. Sometimes we have to let go of the things we are closest to, be it a cool pair of jeans or an old friend.

Everyday Things

I have been working on a blog all week. It's pretty intense and my "WOM" teacher suggested that perhaps I am a "rabbit chaser". Unfortunately, I have to agree. I have a really hard time staying focused. Anyways, I decided to take a break from that project and write this.

Everyday things....

• Everyday my mother calls and tells me about how buried she is at work and how she is never going to get caught up. I remind her that her in-box will never be empty and she should look at it as job security. I am thankful that my mom is still around to call me up and complain about her job.

• Everyday I sign on line via dial up and complain to my dog about how slow it is and "it's taking forever". Then I realize how lucky I am to have a computer and dial up. Kind of hard to write a blog without it.

• Everyday my sister doesn't respond to my emails, phone calls or letters I think about how old she is getting by holding a grudge (it takes more out of an angry person than it does a happy person). As much as I don't want to sometimes, I keep the line of communication open by continuing to email and write letters, and pray that one day she will talk to me again (in a nice way).

• Everyday I miss my kids and imagine how things would be if they lived closer. Then I realize if they lived closer I probably wouldn't miss them as much and am satisfied with being able to talk to them on the phone and email them.

• Everyday I write a note of encouragement for Tall Cool One's lunch box and sometimes I can't think of anything to write. Then I realize how special he is because God created him for me and me for him and a simple "I love you" means everything. We should never take our soul mate for granted, ever. When God puts two people together, we should never miss an opportunity to let that person know how thankful we are for them.

• Everyday I wake up to the crowing of our rooster and some mornings I want to drive his crowing neck into a bail of hay and make him shut up. Then I think, he is so happy to have another morning. It might not sound good to me at 4AM, but to God, it is one of His creation's song of praise. I can't sing, but I try to when we have worship time Sunday morning and Wednesday evening because God wants to hear us praise Him whether we can sing or not (perhaps He will tell me different when I get to heaven).

• Everyday I read my Bible and some days I don't understand what I'm reading, but then later something will happen, and what I read will be revealed to me. God's word will never return void. It's amazing.

• Everyday there will always be something that you can look at in a negative way. It only takes a second to turn that perspective around. Ultimately the good will triumph over evil in the end.

25 Things

Okay, so I keep seeing these "Notes" on Facebook or "Bulletins" on MySpace about how you are supposed to make a list of 25 things about yourself to share with your friends. Okay so I'm probably doing this whole thing wrong and it doesn't really matter anyways, I'm just doing it because I thought it'd be fun to see if I could actually come up with 25 things. Ready? Let's see:

1. Once you let God lead, amazing things happen.


2. After living in the south, temperatures below 70 degrees are cold to me.


3. My blind dog is smarter than most dogs that can see.


4. I married my high school sweetheart after I referred to #1.


5. The customer is not always right, although most places let them think they are in order to keep their business.


6. It took me 40 years to give my parents the respect they deserved.


7. I know what my grandfather was talking about when he referred to "the glory of wood".


8. I don't share my faith like I am taught because I hate rejection.


9. I am one of the few people that actually enjoys writing an old fashion letter.


10. I always thought I'd live in a double wide and have eight dogs when I grew up.


11. Sometimes I have too many glasses of red wine.


12. I think boys are easier to raise than girls.


13. It made me sad when I realized church has "clicks" just like high school.


14. A friend wrote in my yearbook not to always follow the well beaten path, but to start one...I finally referred to #1.


15. Tall Cool One thinks surveys like this are a little gay-eee and usually I agree with him.


16. I love chocolate with my coffee in the morning.


17. Most people give kids more credit than they deserve.


18. I thought it was going to be a lot easier to come up with 25 things.


19. The reason most people do these things is to get attention... (I am no different).


20. So, I think I'm a pretty good person, do you think you are?


21. I've told plenty of lies, have you?


22. I've stolen lots of things, have you?


23. I've looked with lust in my heart (which Jesus calls adultery), have you?


24. I've created a God that would forgive me for all my sins, have you?


25. Click here and see if you are better than me. www.needgod.com/004.shtml

You Might Lose Your Signal

We've been hearing this quote for quite a few months now. One would think that most people took heed of the warning and prepared for the analog signal to be turned off by purchasing the converter box. Last May I wrote of our experience securing the ever so famous converter box...that was going to make a world of difference in picture and sound. Funny thing about purchasing it...actually a couple of funny things. First we acquired the $40 coupon, proceeded to Radio Shack, it seemed like every store we went to was out of the boxes. Radio Shack had plenty. We asked how much the converter box cost. The customer service person told us $40. Wow, that was awesome because we had a coupon for $40! Once he heard we had the coupon, he said, "Oh, the box is $59.95". Imagine that? Then we got home, plugged the box into the rabbit ears and found we could get three channels at the quality of a scratched DVD as opposed to the six channels we got before at a constant snowy effect. Crazy, huh?

Now we hear the date that "you might lose your signal" has been pushed out. Apparently the budget for the $40 coupons has expired ... how about that? I wonder, will people pay attention to the warning this time? I assume some will, but there will be some that do not.

God is patient. He does not want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to heed His warnings and grab onto the opportunity for eternal life. Some people ignore or reject what He has given. Unlike the end of the analog signal, we do not know the date of His return. We just have to be ready. Are you?

When Something Bites

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

This morning something came to light that upset me quite a bit. In typical pagan fashion I was ready to lash out and rectify the issue at hand. I was angry, I was hurt and I was disappointed, to say the least. A person I thought I could trust did something not very trustworthy. I prayed and I asked God to forgive me for the ill will I felt against this person that I thought wronged me. I also asked Him to give me wisdom and guidance on how to handle the situation. You want to know what his response was?

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Personally I don't even think this person knows they jeopardized my trust in them. I also think God took His answer a little too far, but He is God and He is perfect in all ways. Therefore, I did not retaliate as I would have B.C.. I wish our pagan friends would understand that just because we are Christian doesn't mean we are inhuman and we don't share the same emotions as everyone else.

"New Years Resolutions"

Resolution: The act of resolving or the state of being resolved (to convert or be converted).

Ever notice the lists of things people want to change about themselves?

• Loose weight
• Quit smoking
• Cut back on shopping
• Stop gambling
• Quit drinking

Every year at this time hundreds of people make lists of things they want to change about themselves. Tall Cool One says, "If it's not important the other 364 days of the year, why should it be important on this one?" He makes a very good point.

When you look at the things people want to change, ever notice how just about all of them revolve around narcissism? Jenny Craig and Oprah are having a field day right now because thousands of people are signing up to loose weight or are shopping for one of Oprah's self-help books. I bet the sale of Wellbutrin sky rockets in January.

My point of this isn't to put down New Years Resolutions. It is to tell you to put your faith into someone other than the money-making gimicks. Talk to some people that are born again Christians. They know what it is like to make changes. They are the lowest of low and they will tell you the truth of how hard change is. Being born again doesn't make them perfect, in fact they are far from it. But if you make a mistake, eat that box of cookies at midnight or smoke that pack of cigarettes on your way home from work, or go out on a Friday night drinking binge, they won't chastise you. They will be your shoulder to lean on and they will comfort you. Transition is hard. Once you accept Jesus, everything changes, everything is novel. It doesn't mean that it gets any easier, but there is a peace and the Holy Spirit is deep within you. The things that once were addictive are no longer an issue and you know at the end all is well because your salvation is secure.

When all else fails, try Jesus. The cure-all for anything.

Operation Shoebox

WOW... I have to say we had the most amazing experience ever. We had the opportunity to be an intregal part in the ministry of Operation Christmas Child. The boxes we handled were shipping to Zimbabwe, Lebanon and Bangladesh that night. The hundreds of volunteers in just the one shift we worked were able to process 106,000 shoeboxes out of the Charlotte, NC distribution center. It was an incredible experience to know that our hands touched part of a package that a child will open and be blessed with it's contents. What an awesome way to celebrate the reason for the season!

We were all truly blessed to be part of this program. Not only was it a great time sharing the experience with each other, but just knowing that thousands of children and their families will be blessed this year when they get one of these shoeboxes. Praise the Lord!

Schedules and Comfort

Okay, so I haven't written in ions or so it seems. Not that I haven't had any ideas mind you ... it's just that, well I've been on a tight schedule lately. You see, I felt like I was wasting a lot of my days not doing anything constructive. Not that I feel writing is not constructive, it is very constructive in my own little mind. But, I just felt like I wasn't getting anything done and the things that I did get done didn't really make me feel like I had accomplished anything.

I started this little regimen that came from the discipleship ranch facility that our church offers. Let me just say when I first decided that I was going to do this, I thought I could do the men's ranch schedule because it looked to be so easy. Big surprise, it is not easy and the women's schedule for the day starts an hour later than the men's. There is a lot of Bible Study time and a lot of work details (I gave myself writing as one of my work details today).

My heart goes out to the women in the ranch. God Bless those women that stay in the program. I have no addictions to speak of and it is hard for me to stay on the schedule that they work on. I also make a list of my own chores and work details for the day. I have no idea what their chores or work details are, but I know some of the ones I give myself, at the end of the day ... I'm tired. It gives me great satisfaction at the end of the day to look at everything I have accomplished. It has also made me realize how important our time on earth is. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Since I have been on this schedule and taking the time throughout my day to study, I find that things that used to bother me, are trivial. I used to watch one soap opera every day and I gave it up in order to do this regime effectively. When you become comfortable in any situation, that is when you know it is time to get uncomfortable. Change your schedule. Truly, it makes a world of difference and will give you greater appreciation of the things you have.