Pepperoni Pretzel bread

A few weeks ago a couple of girlfriends talked me into joining Pintrest. Once I discovered the beauty that is virtual pinboards I wondered why on earth I hadn't joined sooner. For the first time, probably ever, I can say that something on the internet has actually made me MORE productive. The recipes I've found have truly inspired me, and that is what brings you tonight's post, pepperoni pretzel bread - and it is delicious.

Here's what you'll need. (This makes TWO rolls!)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet of yeast has about 2.5 teaspoons, so be sure to measure)

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

5/8's cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) (to figure this out easier, it's 1/2 a cup, and 1/8 cup *which is half of 1/4*)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

1 stick of pepperoni (you can buy the pre-sliced stuff, but I prefer thicker chunks)

1 1/2 cups of mozzerella

1 1/2 a cups of cheddar cheese


Start by making the dough.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt.

Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture.

Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add two tablespoons of water.

Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes (or about 5 minutes in a Kitchenaid mixer).

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

**Tip: If your house is cold, turn on your oven to it's lowest setting. Once it's preheated, turn it off, open the door for a about a minute, then put your bowl (topped with a damp towel) in for the hour.**

While the dough is rising cut your pepperoni into thickish quarters. You want it at least double the thickness of a pre-sliced piece. If you're using pre-sliced, you should still cut the pepperoni, but you certainly can leave it whole if you prefer.

Once it's doubled in size, remove from the oven and turn the oven on to 450 degrees. Cut the dough in half and roll out each section into a long rectangle. Sprinkle half of each the cheddar and mozzerella towards the center of the dough, then the pepperoni.

Bring the side of the dough that's furthest from you over the cheese and tuck it under to make a long looking roll.

Turn it over so that you can get to the seam and pinch it entirely closed (this is important!)

In the widest sauce pan you have boil the 4 cups of water with the baking soda - once it begins to boil CAREFULLY add the roll to the pan, let it sit for about 30 seconds, again very carefully (and with a pair of tongs or two) flip to soak the other side for another 30 seconds. Carefully remove and set the roll on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) cookie sheet. Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter and brush it over the top of the roll, sprinkle lightly with kosher/coarse salt.

Bake for about 8 minutes or until browned. To serve simply slice. I hope you enjoy!

Pride and Prejudice

I'm sorry to disappoint some of you, but this will not be a blog post based on the beloved novel (and possibly obsessed over by yours truly, but I digress.) This is a post about the kind of pride and prejudice we see in America today. You may or may not have seen this picture graphic gone viral on facebook.

Some people responded in enthusiastic agreement, others less so. The general consensus was that this kind of attitude is okay for people who are REALLY poor. You know, maybe the war veteran's quadriplegic widow and now single mother of 5. Maybe even the orphaned teen girl living on the streets, I mean she could probably get a job, but we're feeling sympathetic. But that twenty something high-school drop out who just doesn't seem to grasp the concept of birth control? No way. They are obviously lazy worthless drains on the society, milking the system for all they can get, and are in absolutely in no way worthy of MY hard earned money. In fact, I know there's a bible verse that talks about exactly that.

Right?

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

It is a matter of prejudice. God does not tell us to judge who is poor and who is not, we are simply called to give to those who are in need. We know there are some people who do take advantage of the kindness and charity of others, but they are not the majority. We are also not charged with judging for ourselves who is deserving - we are simply told to give. God will hold others responsible for what they do with the gifts they are given... kind of like us! WE will be held responsible for what we choose to do with the gifts God has given us.

Which brings us to Pride. The idea of it being OUR money is not only prideful, but it's inaccurate. All things belong to God, we have nothing good that has not been given to us. The most important of which being our salvation. Jesus gave us a gift freely - a gift we could never earn. WE are leeches on Gods system of grace, we add nothing of value to him or his kingdom, and the vast majority of us do relatively little to show our gratitude. And yet he DIED for us to give us a free gift of eternal life, simply because he loved us. He is not asking us to die for anyone, he is telling us that if we have more than what we need, to help others do the same. Why do we then feel like we have the right to decide that we're in a position to override that? Because of our selfishness, nevertheless?

This is a national heart issue, and I am guilty of it. I don't mean for this to sound preachy, although I'm sure it does - but this is something that is near and dear to me. We need to get back to the heart of Jesus if we ever hope to serve him here on earth.

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9

It was a dark and stormy night.... and mama wanted cookies!

Have you ever had a craving so strong that you just can't get it out of your head? That you would do things that you wouldn't normally do in a state of sanity, just to fulfill said cravings? No? You're obviously not a woman. Needless to say, I had such a craving. Actually I've had this craving for about a week now, but for some reason haven't had the ingredients necessary to complete it - until today. I went to the grocery store and picked up the missing ingredients, came home, and my husband took the car to work. And then I realized that I forgot flour. FLOUR! Pretty much the main ingredient. Alas, I no longer had a car. My brother in law's car was here, but it's a two door car that didn't have car seat bases - and besides, it was 7pm and I had put the girls down for an early bedtime, since they seemed fussy, and on top of it all it was storming. The cookies would have to wait.

7:15 - it's no big deal, I can just make them tomorrow..

7:30 - afterall, it would really be far too much hassle to go out NOW

7:45 - The girls are still chatting away with themselves, so I took a peek into their room and find them jumping on their cribs (yes, they really do this) - proudly declaring that I was silly to think they were tired. Didn't I know that they weren't the least bit sleepy, and more than likely would never be sleepy again as long as they lived?

7:46 - I was packing the girls into their car seats to make the trek to the store. In the storm. With the two door car.

This part was easily a 10 minute ordeal. I ran to the car to open the doors and move up the seats, then ran back to the house to collect baby #1, and ran BACK to the car to strap her in (which, by the way, I am convinced that in order to strap car seats into the back of a 2 door car, you need to be a contortionist). Lather, rinse, repeat.

We then made a 5 minute car ride to Wegmans, I loaded the girls into a shopping cart, grabbed the flour, and checked out. Back into the car, another 10 minutes to strap the car seats in, 5 minutes home, unloading the car, setting everything back in order, and putting the girls to bed.

And then I began making my cookies. Now this was a recipe I had attempted to half and bake a few weeks ago, and it turned out horribly. So this time I used the whole recipe. Let me tell you a little about this recipe - it requires an entire package of butter and 6 cups of flour. This batter almost broke my poor little 5 qt mixer - it worked it's little motor off, but it got the job done.

They are currently in the oven, and I just have to say, for all the hassle this has been - these had better be the best cookies. EVER.

The best meatballs ever. Seriously.

I love comfort food, and to me, there is nothing more comforting than pasta and meatballs. It's just such a homey food that nearly everyone enjoys. So I am always on the search for the perfect meatball. I don't like them hard, like a hamburger, I prefer them to be moist and tender and melt in your mouth - and today, I think I found my perfect meatball! And good things are meant to be shared, so here we go :)

Cheesy Italian Crock-pot Meatballs

- 1 1/2 lbs of a beef, pork, and veal mix (it comes pre-mixed at my grocery store in the meat section)
- 1 cup of steel cut oats
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- A handful of basil leaves minced (or 1 tablespoon dried)
- 3 sprigs of thyme minced (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 2 Tablespoons mustard
- A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- Black pepper to taste
- Kosher salt to taste (I suggest around 1 tbspn, give or take)

Pre-heat the oven to 375

In a small bowl pour milk over the steel cut oats - they should be entirely saturated, add more milk if necessary - and let it sit and soak while you complete the next steps.

In a larger bowl mix the meat with all other ingredients

After the oats are saturated, mix in with the meat mixture - incorporate very well.

Rub a baking sheet with a tiny bit of oil, form your meatballs, and bake for about 15 minutes

Meanwhile, add the sauce of your choosing (homemade, store bought, whatever. The meatballs are going to flavor the sauce) into your crock pot. I use'd Mid's sauce, and needed 3 jars or 3 quarts.

Remove meatballs from the oven and transfer from the sheet to the crock pot with a slotted spatula and mix the sauce so that all of the meatballs are completely submerged/covered with the sauce. Cover and let cook on high for 5 hours or on low for longer.

Serve over pasta with garlic bread! Mmm enjoy!

Frugal in Forty: Update!

I have not abandoned my mission or forgotten about it - but things have been a little hectic and busy the past week or so, and I haven't had the time I need to blog about it. Don't give up on me though! I'm hoping to do some catching up soon!

Frugal in Forty: Day 12 - Meatless Mondays: Making Meals Multiply

Meat is without a doubt the biggest expense in our food budget. I spend easily more than half our weekly alotment on it. This is because meat is, by and large, the most important part of my meals. Growing up my mother always made a 3 section meal - meat, a starch/carb, and a vegetable. Obviously there were meals like spaghetti that excluded this, but as a general rule of thumb, you could count on there being meat at every dinner. This is something I have carried with me throughout my entire adult life - a dinner doesn't feel like a meal if it doesn't involve some kind of meat. However, I've decided to try and change that, one step at a time.

Enter, Meatless Mondays. I am going to attempt to make one meal a week sans meat. I chose Monday because I like the alliteration we usually indulge over the weekend, be it grill outs or family dinners or restaurant gatherings - so Mondays are a good time to give ourselves a break.

Tonight I made chili, and I used hamburger - which is what spurred this idea - I could have very easily omitted the hamburger from this dish. If I would have removed the cost of the meat, I would have had about 6 quarts of chili, packed with a ton of different types of beans (the secret to stretching meals like this!) and veggies for around $7.00. That is, in my opinion, a good deal any way you slice it! Not only does that break down to 3.50 a person, but this meal can easily stretch into three meals and a lunch of leftovers. Throw the chili on a baked potato, over some rice, mixed in with some salad, eat it with tortilla chips as a lunch or snack, the possibilities are endless.

The benefits here are not only financial, as we know that an excess of meat is not good for health either.

I will be spending time over the next few days brainstorming meals to replace on Monday's that are meat free. This won't make a huge dent in our bill, but I know that we must start with a single step before we run - after all, slow and steady wins the race - I hope to eventually cut our meat costs in half.

Do you have any meatless meals that you find you are able to make cheaply?

A letter of intent

When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand? Not on a computer, or a blackberry, or an iPhone - but on paper, with ink? This is becoming a thing of the past. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, it cannot be disputed that computers allow for much more efficient work - added bonuses like spell check and backspace make our lives lazier easier.

But it makes me sad to think that handwritten letters have fallen completely to the wayside. There's something so personal and endearing about hand writing a note. It takes intention and thought and extra effort.

This was something I realized today when I went to go write my Compassion Children a note online -- you no longer need to hand write notes, you can send emails and they will be delivered. I stopped short of "send" and decided that, instead, I wanted them to know that they are worth the thought, they are worth the extra effort.

There are other people in my life who I would live to convey that to as well. So I have decided to sit down and write today - to everyone that is on my mind. I understand that maybe not everyone will appreciate the sincerity in a hand written letter like I do, but maybe they will. Just maybe.