Junkfood Remade: Cheese-its

I’m so excited about this particular recipe because ANYONE can make this.  There are so few ingredients and so few skills involved that my kids basically made it all.  This means you can too.  I’ve been asked a lot lately for “easier meals” or “fast recipes” which is kind of discouraging to me because I feel like I have posted recipes that are both of those things.  But, in an attempt to meet half-way with people who want to start cooking, having never cooked much in the past, I offer you this recipe with love.

So, I had seen recipes before but saw a great look one on Pinterest here.  This recipe had the perfect cheese-it (or cheez-it) flavor if not better, some of my taste testers said.

Cheese-its

(adapted from “Ready Made” and a few other sources)

8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

½ stick or 4 ounces unsalted butter,  room temperature

1 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons water, iced

This recipe has so few ingredients I put them in bowls so my kids could mix them lickety-splickety.

Kids are great at measuring.  Practice makes them understand fractions visibly instead of just in theory.  Makes sense, right?

Yet another awesome kid skill…grating.  When they are little, I think they believe it’s a magic trick and constantly check underneath to see if the trick is working.

Measure the cheese to get 8 oz, if it wasn’t already measured as an 8 oz. block.

Pre-measuring the ingredients helps to maintain the kids attention during cooking.

Cream the cheese, butter, and salt until combined.  Add the flour until it looks like the above.  Then, slowly add the water until the dough forms a ball.  It may take 15 seconds or so for the dough to make the ball after you add the water so be careful not to add much more (I added a T. more).

Pat the dough in a disk and put in the fridge for an hour. Then, roll out the dough until it’s 1/8 of an inch.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Cut them in 1″ squares.  You can see by the lines that i let my kids help cut them out.  They LOVED the pastry wheel.

I put the better looking ones on this tray and saved the weird ones for the next tray.  Poke a hole in them with a chopstick and bake for

12 minutes.

Immediately test your product to make sure they are safe to feed other people, but be sure to actually share them.

If you are new to this space and have enjoyed your time, stick around and find me on:

F a c e b o o k  //  T w i t t e r  //  P i n t e r e s t  //  I n s t a g r a m  //  E m a i l

August 5th, 2011 | 43 comments - (Comments are closed)

Room Made Lovely: My Kitchen

So excited to be finally sharing my kitchen over on Heather‘s “Room Made Lovely“!

I’ve had so many requests so I was glad when Heather asked me to give a tour for her series because it made me set a deadline. :)

Share some love over on her adorable space Life Made Lovely.

You will find great inspiration there!

*update* I added the full post below but don’t let that keep you from checking out Heather’s lovely space.

We have lived in our house for 4 years and have been gradually changing it from not cool 1975 colors, to a fresh and clean look.  We remodeled our kitchen a few years ago and I feel so blessed to be able to design it the way I wanted it.  We definitely splurged on a few things but I do cook almost every meal we eat in this space so it’s a little more justified, right?  That’s what I tell myself, anyway.  I wanted open shelving for easy access to my most used items and to give the space a more open feel.  I also chose most of my lower cupboards to be mostly deep drawers instead of doors.  I love being able to find things better than reaching back into the dark corners of a cupboard.  I also was able to get the oven of my dreams: the double WOLF oven.  So thankful for this piece.  I use both ovens almost every day.  The top of the range also has a french top which is perfect for canning things like strawberry jam in my HUGE pressure cooker.  I highly recommend this range!

I have been collecting fun vintage things for as long as I can remember.  My mom taught me a lot about finding good deals.  Whenever my husband is out-of-town, we still love to go estate sale shopping together on a Friday or Saturday.  I like a mix of handcrafted things and old-time-y, sweet things that carry stories and reflect upon a time that is no more.  My most favorite items have memories or family attached to them somehow.  I use my grandpa’s old clay pot for my utensil storage.  The owl seen in my school area pictures below is one of his creations, along with his brother, for their company, Twin Winton.  I was never able to meet him so these items are very special to me.

A few things and where they came from:

  • If you are a fan of Liberty of London, you probably notice that it’s all over my kitchen.  I went a little crazy when they finally released their prints through Target.  It was a line to remember, for sure!
  • My sink is another favorite.  I was so excited to get the deep sink so it can hide hold many dishes.  (Shaws Sink)
  • My pot rack came from Ebay.  I bought it from a sweet older couple who took salvaged barn pieces and made them into lovely things like pot racks (couldn’t find it online).
  • Block prints from Pike’s Place Market and Victory Garden of Tomorrow
  • My favorite soap product, Caldrea, is always found next to my sink.
  • My most used pans are Le Creuset and All Clad Copper Core
  • Most used olive oil and balsamic vinegar come from St Helena Olive Oil Company
  • old spool for kitchen twine
  • kids drink area marked with washi tape.  They keep their cup on their color :).
  • I re-finished an old door for my pantry door.  I kinda love it a lot, especially the handle.

 When I think of my home, I think of comfortable.  I have always wanted my home to be a place where many gathered.  I like people to feel comfortable, loved, and for their hunger to be satisfied.  Some favorite foods of my guests have been Shepherd’s Pie with Guinness, Oatmeal with Browned Butter, Cheese-its, and the always popular, Monkey Bread!  Food definitely brings people together and I am so happy this happens on a regular basis in my home.  I know cooking can be intimidating, but don’t let it stop you from inviting people over!

You won’t regret that time, even with all of the hours of cleaning it may bring.

Now, for the school area across from the dining room.

We have this random space that has become our school area.  The room isn’t its own distinct space, but more of a walk-through area between our dining room and side patio area. It was too far to walk from the kitchen to put the table there so it sat empty for a while.  Last fall, I started homeschooling and became thankful for this random space.  We have filled it with our nature hike finds, our maps, and our favorite vintage encyclopedia set that we use ALL the time.  The banner serves as our history timeline which has worked out really well.  I’m not a fan of plastering my wall with random papers.

I’d love to keep this party going!  Come find me on my blog, A Golden Afternoon or Instagram:

I’m @agoldenafternoon.

November 15th, 2012 | 20 comments - (Comments are closed)

Sit down and stay a while

Just wanted to give a shout out to everyone who just started coming to my little space here. Welcome and I hope you stay a while!

I am super excited about helping people learn to do things they’ve never done before.  I meet so many women (and a few men too)  who are aching to learn how to cook and just need that little shove to get themselves going.  So, consider this my little shove :)  I’ve seen friends and even strangers, through the catering I’ve done, change their eating habits and try new things that they are uncomfortable with, only to find they love them!  I made turkey burgers for a big BBQ crowd in Vegas and had one lady tell me months later that her family started eating turkey meat in so many dishes.  Their son was apparently hard to please in the food department and ended up loving the turkey burgers and then eventually turkey meat in general.  How awesome is that?  I’ve seen carnivores enjoy vegetarian soups and being satisfied when finished. I love to see people make such good changes!  I knew then that there had to be more people who desperately want to feed their families good food but don’t know how, especially with the convenience of takeout food.

So, this brings me to my plan…

I’m going to be starting this series soon about how to make a healthier version of some of your very favorite foods.  It’s gonna be awesome!  I’ll have a button so you can put it on your own blog or website.

One question I get a lot is about how to bring the kiddos in the kitchen.  I’m going to have a little sticker tucked all over like below to give you ideas on how to get the munchkins involved.

Your job: ideas! 

Let me know what you want to learn how to make so you don’t have to feel guilty anymore about eating the trashy version.  No, I can’t find a way to make sodas healthier but I can suggest a lovely seltzer with crushed fruit and a handful of calories instead.  I could also suggest my favorite drink, ice water, but I’m afraid that would leave me with unhappy readers.  You get the picture.

Here are some of the Junk Food Remade recipes so far:

What’s on your list?

June 7th, 2011 | 8 comments - (Comments are closed)