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Cheddar Cheese Wafers

February 8, 2012 in Cheese, Crackers, Snacks

 

I made these little wafer crackers for Lily a couple of weeks ago and they were a hit.  She loves cheese (or, chesssss as she calls it), and is obsessed with crackers.  Annie’s Bunnies are pretty much a staple in this house, but – and stop me if I’m wrong – isn’t $4 for a box of crackers a little ridiculous?  Yes, they are organic.  I understand that, and try to stick to mostly organic for the tot, but $4?!  Especially considering half the box ends up on the floor/ in Buster’s belly.  So, I made my own darn crackers.  And Lily liked them just the same (maybe more, if that’s possible).  AND her mom and dad loved the wafers, too, and ended up stealing most of them.  It’s like stealing candy cheddar from a baby…

The best part about these wafers is that you can make them into any shape you want, any size you please, and you can even make cheese straws.  Or, if you want to get really crazy, use a different kind of cheese!  Think pepper jack.  Yum.

Ok, stop listening to my blathering and go make some cheddar wafers!

Cheddar Cheese Wafers

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional – I obviously didn’t put them in for Lily’s crackers)
1 tablespoon half-and-half or cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper (if you’re using it) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Now you can use cookie cutters, a knife, or a pizza roller to shape the dough however you like. Gently transfer the crackers to an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment, leaving at least 1/4-inch between them.

Bake on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

Serve at room temperature. These will keep in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, for two days (if you don’t eat them all!).

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Roasted Corn Guacamole

January 14, 2012 in Appetizers, Avocado, Corn, Snacks, Vegetarian

The Steelers aren’t going to be in the Super Bowl this year (boo!), so food has taken on a much more important role in that day for me.  Snacks are the word.  And what is snackier than chips and guac?  I know that there isn’t much fresh corn around this time of year, but you can lightly roast frozen corn in the oven and it still turns out great.  Which is good because this is the kind of snack that I would eat year round.  And if you happened to freeze corn on the cob, you can just let it thaw and roast it on a stove top grill pan, directly over the flame of a gas grill, or on a real grill if you live somewhere lovely and tropical.

I’ll be sure to post other snacks, too, as the big day (of disappointment) nears and I bury my sorrows in the kitchen.  Have I mentioned how hard it is to be a Steelers fan living in Boston?  I mean REALLY.  Especially when the Pats are doing so well.  And I have a lot of Facebook friends who are Ravens fans: clearly the meanest people on Earth (god only knows why I torture myself) .  They are vile!  But Lily and I won’t let them trouble us!  No no!  Lily shows off plenty of Polamalu love no matter how well the team is doing.

Roasted Corn Guacamole

3 ears corn, shucked
6 whole avocados, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno (I only had pickled but frest is perfect)
1 whole lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Grill corn until it starts to char and has grill marks on the kernels (or if you don’t have cobs, lightly roast in the oven). Allow to cool a bit, then cut the kernels off the cobs. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine corn kernels, diced avocados, diced tomato, jalapenos, minced garlic, lime juice, salt, and cumin. Stir gently to combine. Add cilantro and stir in.  Let it sit for at least half an hour before serving.

Source: Very slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Pumpkin Granola

October 27, 2011 in All Posts, Pumpkin, Snacks

October is the month of the pumpkin.  Unless, of course, you think about pumpkin pie, in which case November is the month of the pumpkin.  But for my purposes here today, October is the month.  So when Lily graduated from the little baby room to the bigger baby room at daycare, I made some of this granola for her teachers as a thank you for keeping her alive every day.  I probably should have given them several hundred dollar bills, but mama is on a budget and thanks to very strict laws regarding how many adults need to care for each child, there were a lot of teachers to thank.
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Cucumber Hummus Cups

June 29, 2011 in Appetizers, Snacks, Vegetarian

 

This is one of those “recipes” that makes my dad call me and say, “You call that a recipe?  You’re just putting stuff together!”  So this, my friends, is an assembly.  Which is just perfect because who wants to sit in a kitchen all summer anyway?  You can throw this snack together in 5 minutes and enjoy it out on a picnic blanket while your kids brush up on their volleyball skills (hey, it’s never too early to start!). 
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Classic Hummus

February 27, 2011 in Appetizers, Snacks, Vegetarian

My brother recently bought 64 ounces of tahini.  64 ounces.  Do you know how much tahini that is?  Evidently, I’m not the only one in my family who makes hummus at home.  And, evidently, I have a brother with way too much cupboard space.
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Peanut Johnnycakes

February 15, 2011 in Corn, Snacks, Vegetarian

I received the book A World of Cake recently and I love love love it.  I am a cookbook nerd.  I read each one front to back like a novel.  All of  them have neon tabs marking recipes that I want to go back to and I always love the recipes that tell the story behind the dish.  And that’s why this book is amazing.  It has cakes from all over the world (it is organized by country), from all points of history, and it tells the story behind each recipe.  But wait!  It also has timelines, charts, field guides, and who knows what else.  I would read this cookbook even if I didn’t bake. (Speaking of worldly: check out my little flamenco dancer). 
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Ham and Swiss Pinwheels

May 19, 2010 in Baking, Cheese, Ham, Snacks

Jake and I are finally back from our 12-hour road trip from Pittsburgh to Boston so I am back online!  My dad, who we were visiting, has decided to simplify his life so he has no cable or internet access at his current house.  Every time I visit I feel like I am completely disconnected from the world.  And it’s actually pretty awesome.  This whole no-immediate-internet-access thing must be what life was like… oooh say 10 years ago.  Practically the middle ages.

So, anyway, we are back online and back in business.  What better way to celebrate than with these salty, savory, oh-so-delicious pinwheels?  Jake loved them.  Loved them.  I brought them all out on a single plate for us to share and the poor guy had to physically restrain himself from eating all of them.  He eats about twice as fast as I do and it was torture for him to sit there and watch me take little bunny bites while he just wanted to polish them off.  I think that for the sake of our marriage, I will dirty an extra plate next time.

What’s odd about this recipe being so good is that you practically make baby food out of the ham.  It just doesn’t sound good.  But it is!  I’m a little bit finicky with meat though, so maybe putting ham into a food processor won’t creep you out as much as it does to me.

Then you spread it all out in layers.  Easy as pie.  But I can’t emphasize enough the need to get rid of the seams in the croissant on both sides.  I only made sure they were joined on one side and as I was rolling it up I regretted my lack of attention to detail.  The seams started to separate and I had to fix them mid-roll.  It wasn’t an ideal situation.

I cut up slices on swiss cheese instead of buying shredded.  For one thing, I couldn’t find shredded swiss cheese.  But also, the sliced swiss from the deli was on sale.  It was a no brainer.

When I sliced the roll and put the slices down on the cookie sheet there were some gaps in the middle, but it wasn’t a big deal in the end.  The cheese melted to fill the holes and crisped up on the sheet.  There was nothing to worry about. 

Please make these.  They are pretty easy to prepare and completely delicious. 

Ham and Swiss Double Pinwheels (from Pillsbury): 

1/4 lb cooked ham, cut into pieces (about 1/3 cup)
1 oz cream cheese (from 3-oz package), softened
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 oz)
2 tablespoons sliced green onions (2 medium)

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In food processor bowl with metal blade, process ham and cream cheese until smooth and well blended.

If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough into 1 large rectangle; press into 13×8-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.

Spread ham mixture over rectangle. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Swiss cheese and onions.

Starting with both short sides of rectangle, roll up both toward center. With serrated knife, cut into 16 slices; place cut side down on cookie sheet.

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Granola Bars

January 5, 2010 in Gifts, Snacks, Vegetarian

Granola bars aren’t just for hippies anymore!  Not that I have anything against hippies.  Or against peace, love, and happiness.  Actually, I like all three of those things.  Maybe I’m a hippie.  But I digress… What I meant to say is that these things are good enough that anyone would love them.  I sent some to my grandparents for Christmas (along with a bunch of candy) and they said that the granola was the first to go. 

I like this recipe because it is a little bit salty and a little bit sweet.  And it is something that you can feel good about eating because there really aren’t any bad ingredients.  Plus, these bars are easy to pack in your lunch or take with you if you are on the run.  A win-win situation! 

Here is the recipe, adapted from Ina Garten

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup craisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 x 12 inch baking pan with cooking spray (like Pam).  Toss the oatmeal and almonds together and then toast them on a sheet pan by baking them for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When you take the toasted mixture out, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the toasted wheat germ.  Then add in the honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt while it is still warm and mix it all together.  It helps to do the mixing with a non-stick spatula, or with a utensil that you have sprayed with cooking spray.  Add the raisins and craisins and stir well. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture evenly into the pan. And I mean PRESS it because if you don’t then the bars will fall apart.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours at room temperature before cutting into squares.