Homemade Pie Crust by Big Sis

Pin It

We weren't raised in a home with a mom that cooked a lot... it's okay mom! Funny though that we both enjoy experimenting with new recipes and trying things out. I have really enjoyed, since becoming a stay at home mom, making our foods from scratch. However, in all this time making pie crust from scratch is not something I dared to try. I have had more than one person tell me on more than one occasion that pie crust is very difficult.... I dare to say it is not! 

Google really is my best friend. I have a cabinet full of cookbooks, but I always go to google when wanting a recipe. This time it was not different. For some reason I went with the first recipe that popped up and man.. it was great. It was so easy and yummy. You can find the recipe that I used here. 

So, as the directions stated I had to cut my butter in small cubes and freeze them. I had never new that would make a difference. But it did. It was very interesting to me to find out that one of the secrets to getting flaky pie crust is to have really, really cold butter. So because of this they recommended freezing, which I did! 

Of course I had my very own helper in the kitchen. He loves to cook with his Mommy. I was busy with my food processor when I hear "Mommy, Look at Me"... he is just too precious. 

What you see below is me mixing the flour, butter, and water in my food processor. It was so neat to me how the small amount of water pulled the butter and flour together and created a crust. You have to really watch it because too little water won't give it the consistency it needs and too much water makes it much too tough... and you do not want that. I am so happy to have my food processor. It is so helpful when I need to bake! This was a wonderful gift from my in-laws a few Christmas' ago ... and it attaches to my Bosch... EVEN BETTER 

Then I had to make disks with the dough, after dividing them into two. You can still see the butter pieces and that is OKAY! Remember, the butter is what helps your pie crust to be flakey.. so if you like flakey... this is your pie crust recipe to use. 

A close up of the dough in the shape of a disk showing you that you can see the butter pieces! 

Now you want to wrap your disks and put them in the fridge for at least an hour... 

The picture below is so pretty to me. Once I pulled my disks out I was able to shape it how I needed it and put it in the pie dish. I was SHOCKED at how easy it was to manage the dough. I expected it to be hard and falling apart... not the case. It was the perfect consistency. 

Do you have a great pie crust recipe that is relatively easy that you love? We would love for you to share it with us... and we would love to try it. 

Please share. 

Check out our Linky Parties page to see where all we are linking this up! 

-Big Sis

Pin It

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Pin It

Who doesn't LOVE Chicken Pot Pie? I remember as a kid how we would always have frozen pot pies and how I loved them. I was always SO very sad at how long they took to cook, but man, I loved these things. I never thought to make my own until we lived in Japan. One of our friends there made a killer homemade chicken pot pie... and I loved it. I loved it so much that she brought us one when our son was born to the hospital with his initials. 

Isn't that so creative and precious. Needless to say, the whole thing was eaten. It is just so creamy and sooo yummy. I love to make chicken pot pies and freeze them. Also, when I am going to make a meal for a family at church or something I always go to the pot pie. It is semi-quick and I know how yummy it is. And the fact that it is so different from the normals of lasagna or spaghetti. I love making it. Just recently, when making the ones below, I actually made THREE of them at one time! They were all so yummy. 

Normally I use the deep dish, frozen pie crusts in the dessert section of your local grocery store. I used them for two of the ones that I last made and then I ventured out to make my own pie crust. This is the one that we kept. Making pie crust has always, ALWAYS intimidated me. But it was not bad at all. I was shocked at how well it turned out and how yummy it was. Now I wish that the two pot pies that I gave away had my homemade crust on it too. In a blog post to come, I will tell you all about making my homemade pie crust. 

It may not be the prettiest thing in the world.. but I still made it myself! SO EXCITING!!! I have a lot of practice to do with my pie crust, but man how it added to the flavor of the chicken pot pie. I wish I could take the credit for my chicken pot pie, but I can't. I honestly have not gotten away from this recipe... and I am glad. Because it is just too great for me to mess up. I will share where I get it from at the end. 

But look at that pure delicious-ness. The thing that takes the longest in this whole process is cutting my carrots, celery, and onions. The awesome thing is if you don't like those veggies, you will probably not even know they are there because they are cut so small and cooked with everything else. If you don't like them, I would dare you to go ahead and add them... and see if you taste them!! 

My next goal is to make personal chicken pot pies and to freeze them. Trying to figure out how to exactly do that though... without breaking them coming out of the individual baking dishes.. tips?

You can find the AWESOME Chicken Pot Pie Recipe that I use right HERE! I hope you will try it out and let me know what you think... 

Check out our Linky Parties page to see where all we are linking this up! 

-Big Sis

*Don't forget to go enter our GIVEAWAY for some AWESOME Coconut Oil*

Pin It

Cinnamon-Swirl Wheat Bread

Pin It

So....in my recent post, Garage Sale Saturday I showed you all the wonderful $2.50 bread maker that I bought.  So after cleaning it up, I finally had time to get in the kitchen and make some bread....and if you don't know, bread with yeast takes A LONG TIME to make!! Because of all the rising it has to do :-) 

Anyways, I love all things cinnamon, so I wanted to do a cinnamon wheat bread.  So I found a good looking recipe and got to work. Halfway through the rising process, I realized that I couldn't actually use my bread maker ha ha.  Because inside the bread maker it has a stirrer thing, (don't know all the official words).  And since I was making a cinnamon swirl bread, which meant I had to flatten it out and roll it up, if the machine stirred it, it would mess up the roll.  

If anyone is an experience bread MAKER user, please let me know if there is a way to get around this.  Instead of trying and risking messing my 3 hour masterpiece up, I decided just to bake it in the oven and I would later come back to the bread maker.  ha 

So, I made the bread and it turned out wonderfully! It tasted like the Cinnamon Swirl Wheat Bread or cinnamon bagels you get from the store! So yummy! and my husband loved it!! 

Anyways, I wanted to share this great recipe with you....and it's easy, but does take a while.  With the mixing, rising, and baking it took over 3 hours!! 

First you mix the dough

Nice ball of dough ready to rise for 1.5 hours. 

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and it worked great, below with the recipe there are specific instructions on how to use this type of mixture while making this bread! 

Roll it out! 

Nice rectangle of dough, ready for a yummy cinnamon mixture! 

Next time I think I will put chopped pecans in with the cinnamon mixture! 

All rolled up

Dough in the bread pan, ready to rise for another hour! 

Bread all done!

*I didn't take a lot of pictures of the finished product because I didn't have the egg glaze on top, so it wasn't as pretty as it could've been :-) But still tasted wonderful! 

Cinnamon Swirl Wheat Bread Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water

1 (1/4th oz) package of yeast

1/2 cup sugar + 1 tbsp

6 Tbsp softened butter (or earth balance buttery spread) divided

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1.5 Tbsp cinnamon, divided

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 egg + 2 Tbsp warm water

**Instructions**

Combine warm milk, water, yeast, and tsp sugar in a measuring cup and let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy.

While the yeast is resting, combine the flours, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tbsp softened butter, salt and 1 tbsp cinnamon in a large bowl.  

*If you are using a kitchen aid, use a paddle attachment (as seen above), and start to mix slow. Then, drizzle in the water mixture while the machine is running.  Increase speed to high and mix for about 6-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. 

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough ball inside.  Cover it with a towel, and let it rise in a warm area for 1.5 hours. 

While dough is rising you can mix together the remaining 3 Tbsp of butter and the extra 1.5 tsp of cinnamon, and the 1 Tbsp of sugar in a small bowl until smooth.  

When the dough has risen to double it's size, roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface to a long rectangle.  Smear the butter mixture all over the top and roll the dough up tightly. 

Place dough in your greased bread pan, cover with cloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for another hour.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk together the egg and warm water then brush all over the loaf. 

Bake for 40 minutes.

ENJOY! 

Don't forget! Stop by our Naturally-Nifty Linky Party #10 and link up your great projects!! It is up until Friday at midnight!! 

Pin It

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough

Pin It

We LOVE trying new crafts. We especially enjoy making things we can EAT! When I saw that you can make peanut butter dough, I was all about it. I have always taught older kids, so these simple ideas that many have heard of are very foreign to me! I am loving it.... and my new adventures. 

All we needed was:

*Dry Milk

*Honey

*Peanut Butter

*Hands to mix

And mix they did. I let the kids do every bit of this. I helped one of my munchkins because he is just a wee one..... and he did not even want to play with it. My 15 month old just ate it, and ate it, and ate it. My 2 and 3 year old enjoyed playing with it and making it. My 2 year old, which is my child, ate some of it where the 3 year old was not interested in putting it in his mouth. As matter of fact, my 15 month old ended up eating the 3 year olds. 

Of course they loved the peanut butter... so I let them dig it out themselves... and dig they did! :)

I realize in every picture my little handsome looks so messy and homely... His shirt is much too big, but it is from Japan and I love our Japanese shirts! And HE enjoyed the peanut butter. 

Our Peanut Butter Ball.

My lovebird made a snowman... he was so proud of it.. Do you see it?

Do you have any awesome crafts or recipes that you do with kids? If so, I would LOOOOOVE to hear about them. I am always looking for new things to do with my daycare kids!

-Big Sis

Pin It

Brussels Sprouts 'n' Bacon

Pin It

As much as I wish this was MY creation, it isn't... All credit goes to the book Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. 

I post pictures on my facebook of the many awesome foods that I cook. I posted this one and was requested the recipe by many people. So, friends, now you get to see the recipe here!

Even if you do not like brussels sprouts, you will LOVE this! If you have never cooked brussels sprouts, you can COOK this! It is so easy and oh so yummy. I have been trying many different recipes from this cookbook and everything I have cooked has been fab! Just look at the awesomeness in this picture:

YUMMO! 

Seriously! This is so great! 

Ingredients:

       6 bacon strips                                 1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 pound brussels sprouts                Black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Dice bacon and cook in a skillet until crispy.

3. Steam the brussels sprouts for 4 minutes, cut off stem, and quarter.

4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the brussels sprouts with the bacon, bacon grease, garlic powder, thyme, and black pepper. Spread evenly in a glass baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir once half way through cooking time.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 5

Seriously, how easy is this. I have made it as a side for dinner and also just as a lunch meal! 

Happy eating!

-Big Sis

Pin It

Guest Post & GIVEAWAY

Pin It

Bread + 6 kids??

WHO DOES THAT!?

I have been wanting to make some more homemade bread for a few weeks.. but life and all these munchkins have just held me back. I have wondered... how am I going to make all of this bread with 6+ kids at my house? I am suppose to be teaching them new things everyday, not making bread for my own pleasure! By the time the kids leave and we have had dinner... and Noah has gone to bed.. well quite frankly, I don't want to mess my kitchen up again! 

Today it hit me!! I'll turn our baking bread experience into a lesson that we all do together! Dare I say.. it was fun? We had such a blast! The kids listened to me and actively participated as we went through each step. We felt each texture and I told them everything we were doing.. They had so much fun. 



We began by grinding our whole wheat in our wheat grinder, courtesy of Nutrition Lifestyles. The kids LOVED this. The loud noise, plus being outside, being able to put the wheat in the grinder themselves, watching it grind, and seeing the end product was TOO MUCH fun! After we did that, I moved my Bosch, also courtesy of Nutrition Lifestyles, to the kids table and we used it to mix and knead our bread. Then we used oil and made our loaves.. then baked them!! YUMMY! If you want my recipe, just ask.. it is also courtesy of Nutrition Lifestyles. It is a great website with great kitchen tools. A lot of my kitchen is from there.... and yes, it is my mother and father in laws business! Check them out. 



In the end we had 6 beautiful loaves of bread + four small loaves that the kids got to do for themselves! It was so fun. Oh and SOO yummy! Of course AFTER we make these six loaves of bread- I REMEMBER!! I still have some frozen waiting for me! :) At least we had fun. 



Next time you feel too busy to do that project that you want to do... remember you can engage your child(ren) with you... because they can HELP! You will three birds at once..keeping the kids busy, TEACHING the kids, and getting your project completed! 

Hooray for Fresh Bread & Happy Children! 

Pin It

Save $$: Homemade Household Cleaner

Pin It

So I don't know how it is at your house....but in my kitchen, the counters and table-tops only get cleaned off when I do it.  And to me, my whole kitchen can be clean, and if the counter-tops are dirty I feel like it is so nasty.  So I am constantly cleaning my counter-tops off.  When I first got married, for several years I used Lysol to clean my cabinets.  If you don't know, a normal can of Lysol spray costs about $4 each. And when you use it every day, maybe multiple times a day to clean up after your family, it goes quickly.  

You see at my house, it is myself and four boys.  My husband is pretty good at cleaning up after himself, but wiping the counters off after cooking something is still not in his clean-up routine.  As for our three host-sons, (read about them HERE), they have gotten better at cleaning up after themselves, but it is still a constant reminder for them to put their dishes up and not just leave them in the sink.  It is even harder to get them to wipe off the stove after cooking noodles or something.  

So after continually using Lysol to keep my kitchen clean, my sister from Natural-Nurturer informed me of how much money I was wasting.  She then introduced me to this amazing all-purpose household cleaner.  I now use this recipe to clean all throughout my kitchen! It is so handy, I still use Lysol sometimes when we have had raw chicken on the counter or something, but my homemade household cleaner mixture works amazing for everyday use.  

 

The great thing about this cleaner is that the total costs of all the supplies (and I bought bigger bottles) is that it is only $6.50.  I would guess that you could make up to at least 5 bottles of this cleaner, if not more from all of the supplies.  Here is what you need. 

So quit wasting your money on all the expensive household cleaners and start making your own with this simple recipe! 

Another Helpful Hint: Add a little vinegar to your washing machine when washing towels to help take the mildewy smell out of them! 

Hope this is helpful for you all, and let me know if you make the recipe and how it works for you and your cleaning needs! 

Keep an eye out for more of these helpful cleaning recipes, and also don't forget to go to my facebook page, Natural-Nester and like it.  Also join my blog! Natural-Nurturer and I will be doing an awesome GIVEAWAY soon!!

Pin It