Wheat Thins

So I was talking to  mom on the phone while I was making my daily batch of crackers, and she thought I should share the recipe with everyone else. My kids really like these, and I add things like flax seed, wheat germ, and chia seeds. I forgot to add salt one time, and I like them better without salt. One of these days I plan to use honey to sweeten it instead of  brown sugar. Oh, and I don't use the buttermilk or buttermilk powder. Since Ollie has an intolerance for milk, I just use water.

If you like the Wheat Thins you buy from the store, give these a try. They're really good!! Almost identical, but better.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 TB brown sugar
1 1/2 TB dry buttermilk powder*
2 TB sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 cup water
3 TB oil or melted butter

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, buttermilk powder and seeds (if using). Add water and oil or melted butter and stir together just until the flour is absorbed to make a soft dough. It will be very sticky. Don't over mix!! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the dough in half. Take an 11x15-inch baking sheet (jelly roll pan) and flip it over. Grease thebottom of the pan and place half the dough on the greased pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and roll with a rolling pin right over the wrap. One half of the dough will cover the pan entirely. It will be very thin. When smoothed out, remove plastic wrap. Lightly score the dough into cracker squares with a pizza cutter. Sprinkle dough generously with sal and extra seeds, if desired. Bake fore 14-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. They might be slightly soft right out of the oven, but should crisp up as they sit. Store in an airtight container.

Note: If you would rather use frest buttermilk, leave out the powder and use 1/2 cup buttermilk in place of the water.

New Recipes

I've been trying out some new recipes that were a big hit here at my house. I thought I'd share them with y'all. These are both quick to make, using veggies that are currently in-season. My favorite was the quesadillas, but they're both good.

Veggie Primavera

Serves 6 comfortably

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz package bow-tie pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 zucchini, washed and diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3 tomatoes, cubed
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in skillet.
3. Saute zucchini and onion for 3-5 min, or until soft.
4. Add tomatoes, garlic, and parsley and cook for 5-7 min.
5. Drain pasta.
6. Add vegetable mixture to pasta.
7. Toss and serve.

The recipe also says you could saute some portobello or snowcap mushrooms with the veggies. Another suggestion is to add feta cheese to the top. It is also says you could skip all the other veggies except the tomatoes and eat it that way.

Zucchini Quesadillas

Serves 5 comfortably. (This one is hard for me to gauge because my kids didn't eat a whole lot due to a snack too close to dinner... Dan and I were both way full off 3/4 of a quesadilla each, though.)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 chopped green pepper
• 2 diced zucchini
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 8 flour tortillas
• cheese

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Heat oil in skillet and saute onion and garlic for 5 min on med-high heat.
3. Add zucchini and peppers. Cook 5 min or until soft.
4. Mix in salsa.
5. On a cookie sheet, layer it like so: tortilla, cheese, veggie mixture, a bit more cheese, another tortilla.
6. Cook at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

You could stretch the recipe by not filling the quesadillas as full of the veggie mixture. You'd just need more tortillas. Instead of doing it in the oven, you could also do it in the microwave. (Though, I like the little crunch the baked tortilla gives.) The recipe also says to give it a bit of pizzazz, you could add 1/2 teaspon cayenne pepper and/or 1 teaspoon chili powder to the salsa mixture and top the quesadillas with some diced tomatoes, black olives, shredded lettuce, sour cream, etc. I guess if you added the toppings it would stretch the meal to feed a bit more.

Sister Trip

So I was talking to Felicia about a friend I have and how they do a "sisters trip" every year. So I was thinking that we should do that. Maybe not every year, but every other year, what do you think? What they do is rotate through where a "sister" lives and do something for a long weekend.  They usually do it at Christmas time, but Felicia and I were thinking that an off time of the year would be better for 2 reason, airfare would be cheaper and husbands wouldn't have to take time off from work to watch kids. Talk it up.

Weekly Menu- Desi

Monday-Cajun Kielbasa (last weeks menu.  We didn't eat it, we had left overs)
Tuesday-Burgers & Fries
Wednesday-Shepard's Pie
Thursday-Left Overs
Friday-Mexicali Chicken
Saturday- Breakfast/Left Overs
Sunday-Honey Lime Enchiladas (Sisters Cafe)

Broccoli Chicken Divan

1 Rotisserie Chicken(Or More if you like)
1 Can Cream of Mushroom
6 slices Sharp Cheddar Singles
Broccoli (as much as you like, we do a thin layer)
1/2-2/3 can of Milk (use the soup can)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Can French's Fried Onions

1. Shred Chicken and place in a 9x13 pan
2. Layer Broccoli, then Cheese
3. Mix Milk, Soup, S&P, then pour on top
4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
5. Then add Onions and bake for 5 more minutes

Weekly Menu- Desi

So along with what Cherstin wrote here is our weekly menu. 

• Monday- Broccoli Chicken Divan & French Bread
• Tuesday- Tacos
• Wednesday- Lasagna, Cesar Salad, & Garlic Bread
• Thursday- Left Overs
• Friday- Cajun Keilbalsa
• Saturday- Puffy French Toast/Breakfast
• Sunday- Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Weekly Recipes: Are You Game?

Hey all!

Firstly, I want to say how we had SUCH AN AWESOME time with you guys this last week. For the first few days at home my kids wandered around so confused as to be just us five again. I guess they got used to all the craziness. *wink* I'm really grateful we all took the reunion seriously and enjoyed time together. I hope everyone else enjoyed the reunion as much as we did.

Secondly, Desi and I were on the phone this afternoon and we both were discussing our need for variety in our menus and dinner planning. I'm sure some of you just feel like we recycle a lot of the same meals over and over or groan when you think about making a menu or what's for dinner. (C'mon...'fess up! I can't be the ONLY one who gets bored with it all...) So, I thought maybe we could partly use this blog to share meal plans? Then we'd be able to find new recipes that are tried and enjoyed by others and also remember the old-time foods that we don't always think of. We could just pick a day that I will post here with my menu and then everyone else can chime in in a comment, or post your own new post or what have you. Waddya think?