Thursdays Tips

I have run out of a few things this week and I am trying my best to avoid the grocery stores and walmart and all those other places that you almost can't escape with any pennies left in your bank account. I have posted before about my love of DIY recipes for convenience items and seeing as payday is a couple of weeks away,

and school is starting in less than 10 days, and though I am not really agoraphobic, lately I just don't want to leave home. All the more reason to avoid the stores right? This week, I have made home made "hot pockets", Ketchup, and I am just before making my own hershey's style chocolate syrup because I used the last two teaspoons I could squeeze out of the bottle to make a mocha frappuccino for my son. I thought I would share my recipes for my cheaper versions of some of our favorite convenience things.
The hot pockets were really a good surprise. I had some leftover chicken and filling mix from a pot pie I had made so I simply added some broccoli and cheddar cheese to the mixture and wrapped it in an empa~nada dough recipe that I got from my sister so many years ago I'll bet she doesn't even remember. LOL They were easy to make and even though the crust was a little more bread like than hot pockets, they passed the ultimate test, the snack-hungry teenager.
Here is my recipe, feel free to tweek it anyway you like to suit your own tastes and if you make it, let me know how you like it.
Crust:
2 Cups Self Rising Flour
1Tbsp Sugar
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp shortening
2 Tbsp butter/ margarine
1/2 cup water ( I actually used a little more).
Bread dough:
Mix flour, sugar, shortening and butter until the mixture is dry and crumbly, then add the egg yolk and last add the water a Tbsp full at a time until the mixture forms a ball. Knead for 2-3 minutes. Roll out circles 1/8-1/4 inch thick. ( thinner is probably better)

Filling: Stir together
1-2 cups cooked chicken. ( I used leftovers)
1 can cream of chicken soup,
1 cup broccoli ( frozen is good, but I am sure some fresh steamed broccoli would be fine)
1 Soup can milk ( not quite full)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese ( more to taste, I also added some mozzarella and parmesan)

Assembly:
Fill each dough circle with about a 1/4 cup of filling mixture and seal the edges with a fork.
I used the leftover egg white and some water and brushed the egg wash on before I baked them.
Bake at 400F 25-28 minutes or until golden brown.
I let them cool, wrapped them individually and put them in the freezer in a zipper storage bag. We re-heat them in the microwave, just like the regular hot pockets.

This made about 12 hot pockets for just about the same price as 1 box from the store. I suppose if you had to buy all the ingredients, it would work out to about 6 bucks, depending on the price of chicken. The way I figure it, I made them for about $.50 each and they run about 1.25 each on sale. That saved me about $9.00 not bad for about 45 minutes work.


I'm thinking I'll stash all the savings I can and use it to buy some supplies for my jewelry.

I found this recipe for the "Hershey's" style syrup online and I think I will try it tomorrow.
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

l cup Hershey's cocoa
l l/2 cups sugar
l cup hot water
dash of salt
boil for three minutes and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla

Store in refrigerator

For the frappuccino, I mixed some cold coffee, ice, about 2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp of chocolate syrup with some half and half in my magic bullet and blended it until it was smooth and fluffy.
I do not enjoy cold coffee, but the other caffeine lovers here both appreciated it.

I am looking for a better ketchup recipe. The ones I have used seem to be a little flat. Of course they are missing the high fructose corn syrup and all those multi-syllable chemical ingredients that I can't identify so maybe that is the problem. I will keep searching for a good one. I wonder how many times I can refill the bottles before they realize that things just don't ever run out anymore.

To Resolve, or Not to Resolve?

I started this new year around a bonfire with friends, under a blue moon making smores and sharing funny stories. It was an awesome way to spend New Year's Eve! There was no getting around the major question on everybody's mind though, which was "what resolutions are you making for this year?" I pondered this question and thought, okay I resolve not to make any resolutions for this year. ( I think).
It's not that I don't have habits that need changing, or projects that need to be organized, weight to be lost or birthdays to keep up with better this year, it is just more that I feel the need to do these things on a regular basis more than because it is a new year and therefore I must start new habits. Maybe in part it is a rebellion against the "I have to's, or I should's" .Maybe it is just that If I resolve to do something and then don't follow through I will feel as if I have failed at whatever project I was trying to do.
So for 2010, I resolve not to make resolutions.
There are things I would like to accomplish in the new year. Some are simple and others not so much, but they are all important to me in their way.

I really like the idea of journaling about the things that make me happy each day. So many of our best memories aren't days of our lives, but simply moments that made us happy. I've noticed, that as I get older the days go faster. My grandma told me it would happen that way, but somehow it still took way to long to get to my birthday, or Cristmas. Now it happens so fast I wonder where I was while the time was evaporating.
Yes, I would love to be more organized and less cluttered this year too. I hope to accomplish, that a little at a time, but soon, very soon. Being more organized and less cluttered for me reduces stress and free time up for other things.
I would also like to work more on plants and jewelry and find some much better vegan recipes for my son.
I am off to a good start on the vegan recipes, it turned cold here today, so it was a great day for potato and broccoli soup.









I "veganized" my normal recipe and discovered it was really good and tasted much better than I imagined it would be.

Here is the recipe I made up today:

Vegan Potato & Broccoli Soup with cornbread

6 medium sized russet or white potatoes

1 head fresh Broccoli

8 cups vegetable broth

1Tbsp vegan margarine ( Earth Balance is very good)

1 cup of silk creamer ( original flavor soy creamer)

Salt and Pepper to taste, I also added some cajun seasoning and garlic powder to taste.


Peel and boil potatoes in vegetable broth just until tender and add the broccoli. Simmer until potatoes have finished cooking but are not mushy. Add the butter and soy creamer and season to your liking. Simmer until the broth is warmed again and serve with cornbread.

Vegan Cornbread "jiffy style"

1 cup yellow corn meal
2 cup self rising flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of plain unflavored soy milk.
1/3 cup vegetable oil.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. spray cake pan or similar sized baking dish with pam spray.

Mix all ingredients well and pour into prepared pan, bake approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown and the edges have pulled away from the pan sides. Serve warm with soup. Enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the soup and cornbread, maybe next week, I will get started on my journal and jewelry projects.

Boy Time sure flies....

Wow!
I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted. This summer brought many changes into my little world. My son became a vegan in June, so I feel as if I am failing cooking school. It is really not easy to adjust to cooking with no animal products whatsoever especially when you have never cooked without them. Most of the things I have made have been okay, but not wonderful, some not edible and very few that were requested more than once. I am spending lots of time searching the net for recipes and tips and tricks that will make things look and taste better and if they can be a little more convenient.... ( well I can dream right). I had planned to post some recipes and pictures of things we have made, but I just haven't gotten to it yet.Hopefully pictures and recipes will come soon.

Another thing that changed for me this summer, was I revisited an old craft. I took copper working classes in school and have fiddled with it on and off since then. I have a great friend who is a fine jewelry designer and who makes the most beautiful jewelry and she has shown me some methods of forging and soldering metals and so I have branched into silver as well as copper. You can follow this link to her website and see why I am so crazy about her designs. Barbara Umbel Jewelry Designs . I have made many earrings as well as a few bracelets and I will list them in my etsy shop soon.

I am hopelessly addicted to plants. Most people who know me, don't bother to question the fact that I have an extra refrigerator for seeds, but it is quite a pleasant addiction. I have heard it said that "Good things come to those who wait" and 2 nights ago good things did. I have amassed an extensive collection of Epiphyllum (orchid cactus) ( some started from refrigerated seeds) and 1 bloomed for the first time. These are nocturnal cacti and the blooms don't even begin opening until late in the evening. By morning, the blooms have finished and they only last for 1 showing. The variety that bloomed for me this week is Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. Also known as Queen of the Night. She put on quite a show and although I was too tired to stay up all night watching, I was able to see bloom. Here she is in all her glory.


Thanks for stopping by and look for updates on a regular basis real soon.

My Soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Luke 1: 4-6