Our New Favorite Smoothie!

Strawberry Orange Smoothies 12 whole frozen strawberries
2 cups orange juice
1 cup milk
12 ice cubes
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
2 tsp vanilla

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. There ya have it! This is actually only a half batch, but it fills up my blender. You can portion it out into individual serving sizes and freeze in quart size bags. Just get it out and let thaw until slushy and enjoy!

I thought my pictures were looking kinda puny compared to Becky's... so I sneaked outside, peering both ways hoping nobody would be walking past or peeking out their windows. I felt totally idiotic! So I don't know if I'll do the "smoothie on the sidewalk" look very often :D. It just feels weird in the city! So stay tuned for more puny-looking pictures from me!!

Oh yes... I got the recipe from Once a Month Mom based on Heavenly Homemaker's recommendation!

Butter Pie Crust

Hi. It's me again. Becky.
I have ceased purchasing shortening as of a couple years ago. I have found healthier (for me anyway!) alternatives to do as well or better...except in the dreaded pie crust department. I have spent a few YEARS working on that one. Pies are a little time consuming, and I want them to be totally 100% worth it, and I wasn't getting that. At all. Until I bravely tried a barely ever commented on recipe on Food.com (formerly recipezaar). Scary!

This crust is so good that I, who have never like pie crust, really like this stuff! Not that I make pies much oftener now, but they are very much worth it when I do!

Remember that the less you handle your dough, and the colder (within reason!) your ingredients are, the better your crust will turn out. Warm hands = melting butter = tough pie crust = blah.

This recipe makes 2 crusts, so cut it in half if you only want 1.

1 c butter
2 1/2 c flour
1 t of salt (I leave most of this out if I'm using salted butter, cuz it's a bit too salty for me, but salty crust with a sweet filling is supposedly fashionable now.)
1 T sugar
3 T sour cream
1/3 c + ice water
Cut butter up into 1/2 cubes and place in freezer for 10 minutes precisely. Although 9 or 11 would most likely work too. In food processor combine flour, salt, and sugar. Toss the butter in and process in 1 second bursts about 10 times or until butter is in small pieces.

Mix 1/3 cup water with sour cream. Pour half into flour. Process in 1-2 second bursts 3 times, add remaining water mixture. Process in several more short bursts.

If everything is a dry floury mess, add water by the tablespoon or so with short bursts of processing until it begins to come together. At this point I have to dump it out into a bowl and use a fork and my hands to finish the flour to dough transition.

Pat it together and divide in half. Flatten into 2 disks, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to 24 hours. Freeze if you want to keep it longer.
I'm always in a hurry, so I just sick my dough in the freezer for a few minutes while I get my rolling pin out, or make my filling. Let fully chilled dough warm on the counter for 10-15 minutes before attempting to roll out. Roll out on lightly floured surface.




I have found that a pastry mat is a wonderful invention. I got mine 2nd hand. : ) This crust has yet to tear for me or behave badly. That's why I love it! Oh, it tastes good too! And it makes just enough for kids to make a little pie out of the scraps, so that's why they like it. : )

Brownie Pops

Have you heard of Cake Pops? (Becky speaking here.)

There are some pretty amazing cake pop makers out there! Bakerella was my introduction to their world. Amazing! She is an artist extraordinaire!

We have had a fantastic time making these for special occasions. Some of you have been recipients. I hope you liked them! Abby has done some of these too. And liked the results. Um, right Abby?

We did cupcake pops for Amanda's birthday once. Apparently I did not take pictures (?!?). Anyway, I'm not wasting any more time looking.

I did 2 tier "wedding cake" pops for our 14th anniversary. With chocolate hearts on the tops. And carrot cake with cream cheese frosting inside. Yum!

I don't know if brownie pops are common or not, but I haven't seen them. At least not done cake pop style.

I have gotten to pull together the Mother's Day gifts our church gives out for the last few years. I have a ton of fun with it! This year I snagged a slew of pretty teacups at second hand stores and wanted to fill them with ...something. One thing I ended up using was these brownie pops. My kids love them, but James LOVES them and can't stop talking about/eating them. : ) He thinks they should be used in everything. Doing someone's graduation cake? Fill it with brownie pops instead of frosting or my favorite filling. And so on.

This is easy.

Ingredients:
Brownies
Chocolate frosting Dipping chocolate/chips
1. Bake a pan of brownies. Use a mix, your favorite recipe, or mine (without the PB). : )
2. Cool, trim off hard/crispy edges and corners.
3. Crumble into a mixing bowl.
4. Add a spoonful or 2 chocolate frosting, mix until you have a smooth, fairly stiff brownie "dough", adding frosting as needed. I like really fudgy brownies, and I learned that they DO NOT require much frosting to become brownie play-dough. If you are using cake, and making cake balls, you use a batch/can of frosting (start with 2/3 or so and add as needed) to one cake (9x13 sized). Brownies being naturally gooier, need less frosting. It is possible that I learned this when I had to make a second batch of brownies to firm up my "dough". : )
5. Roll into balls (or any other shape), chill in the fridge or freezer until firm.
6. Eat.
7. As an alternative to step 5, Melt dipping chocolate, or chocolate chips with a small amount of coconut oil or shortening added to thin.
8. Stab onto sucker sticks or wooden skewers (I used these so my sticks would be longer) and dip balls into chocolate, tap off excess, stand sticks in drinking glasses, or lay on waxed paper until hardened.
9. Decorate with melted contrasting colored chocolate in a zip bag with a VERY tiny corner snipped off. You could also decorate with sprinkles before the original coat hardens. My favorites were decorated with tiny light cocoa flowers with white chocolate dots in the center. Did I remember to take pictures of them? NO! I'm still burdened with sorrow over this. : )

Rooster Bombs

AKA "Chicken Bundles". What a boring name, right? So, in a family re-naming session "Ruseter Bombs" won. Do you think that our high boy to girl ratio may have been a factor? Perhaps???

These freeze nicely before or after baking, so they can be a handy "convenience food".

If you cook the chicken while the bread is mixing/rising, it is cooled and ready to go into the filling by the time the bread is ready. The original recipe (which I have never followed, remember I'm cheap?) calls for 2 tubes of crescent rolls, but I have always thought that would be too rich and a bit skimpy/unsubstantial in this recipe. Abby has done it the "real way" so maybe she can make a comment on her results.

6-8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-4 T butter, optional
4 c. cooked chopped chicken
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 T chopped chives
garlic, salt and pepper to taste
1 batch bread dough or 2 tubes crescent rolls

Mix cheeses, seasonings, and chicken in a decent sized bowl so you don't spray it all over. Press/roll out bread dough into an 18x24ish inch rectangle. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes so it doesn't shrink when you cut it. Cut into squares using a pizza cutter. I do about 5 by 6 most often, but you can do bigger ones or even little snack/appetizer sized ones. The original crescent roll recipe makes 8, just for reference. Divide the filling up among the dough squares. When I'm in a hurry, I visualize the squares, plop the filling on, and by the time that's done the dough is well rested and ready to be cut. Pull the edges all together around the filling and pinch to secure. Place on a baking sheet (smooth side up) and either freeze then transfer to a bag or container, or bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes depending on size, until bread is done. Brush with butter. Serve or cool and freeze for a quick reheat-able meal.

These have worked well for me for potluck food (make smaller) or for times when I'm taking a meal to someone. If the recipient is overwhelmed with food, it's easy for them to toss them in the freezer for later. These can make a great travel meal or handheld lunch too. They are best warm, but are still good cold. Hey, I could even eat one for breakfast and not suffer feelings of loss!

These are all bagged up and ready to go to friends.
I wanted them to have some quick and easy meal choices for their freezer.