Parmesan Black Pepper and Sesame Seed Crackers – Secret Recipe Club

by Suzanne on May 14, 2012

Parmesan Black Pepper and Sesame Seed Crackers

My SRC assignment this month was Oh Boy! Karen Cooks! by Karen, of course.  That would be silly if it were by Sandy or Roberta.  So yes, Karen is the cook.  And DOES she cook!  It seems there is no limit to what this talented lady can make – and make successfully.  I mean, hells bells, I can cook just about anything, too.  Doesn’t mean it always turns out exactly as I had hoped.  Especially in the baking department, more specifically if it involves yeast.   But Karen has ALL that mastered.  Everything on her blog said, “Try Me! Try Me”.  But when I saw THESE, I knew it was the one for me. Karen found this recipe by Mark Bittman.  They looked so good I just couldn’t pass them by.  There is always something that I want to make that I’ve never made before. And, well, I’m a cracker virgin. I love crackers!  There is something about the light, crunchy texture and the saltiness that is just my style.  Whether with a great cheese or soup, salad or spread, or whether they are a plain saltine or a big multigrain seeded disk, I love crackers! Did I mention that I love crackers? These crackers are crunchy, tender, flaky, and just melt in your mouth.  And soooo versatile you can make them anything you want with just a little imagination. Karen, my hat is off to you!  These will be a “go to” recipe for special occasions and every day munching!  I can’t wait to make more and figure out what other flavors I can make. Parmesan Black Pepper and Sesame Seed Crackers – Secret Recipe Club 5.0 from 2 reviews Print Recipe type: Appetizer Author: Suzanne Collier Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 12 mins Total time: 27 mins Serves: 4 This little cracker has BIG flavor. I’m quite sure it will be the talk of the table when you serve them! Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose Flour ½ tsp Sea Salt ½ cup finely grated fresh Parmesan Cheese 4 T unsalted butter ¼ cup cream or half-and-half 1 tsp fresh cracked Black Pepper 1 tsp Black Sesame Seeds Coarse salt for sprinkling Instructions Preheat oven to 400F degrees Put flour and sea salt in food processor. Add one tablespoon of butter at a time and pulse between adding each tablespoon until mixture appears “mealy”. Turn food processor to the “on” [...]

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Homemade Fabric Softener or Where Have I Been?

April 24, 2012
Homemade Fabric Softener

Where have I been?  Seems that every where I look, everyone knows about homemade fabric softener. Except me. But now, I do. And I want to pass this on to those of you who have been living under the same rock that I’ve been under all these years. Where this “recipe” really started, who knows.  I found lots of people had posted the same recipe on Pinterest with no one giving credit to anyone in particular.   This recipe actually came from One Good Thing by Jillee.  So, at this point, Jillee is getting credit for saving me money and showing me how easy it is to find the “flavor” that I want to smell in a fabric softener. This is a really difficult recipe, so for those of you who have bunions and corns, have a seat.  The rest of you make sure you have carb-loaded before you begin. Ready? Homemade Fabric Softener or Where Have I Been? 5.0 from 1 reviews Print Recipe type: Household Cleaning Author: Suzanne Collier Prep time: 10 mins Total time: 10 mins Serves: 41 a.k.a. “Suzi’s Softener” (Sure . . . give me credit if you want) Ingredients 6 cups of Water 3 cups of White Distilled Vinegar 2 cups of Hair Conditioner (I used a $.99 15oz. bottle of Suave “Refreshing Waterfall”) Instructions Mix water and conditioner in an 8 cup glass measuring cup or large plastic pitcher. You will want to use a container from which you can easily pour. Using a whisk, gently stir until ingredients are incorporated. Pour vinegar into an old gallon fabric softener bottle and then pour in the conditioner/water mixture. Screw the lid onto the bottle tightly and gently shake. This is not a concentrated product so you will not need to add water when you use it in your washer. 2.2.6 You can also make your own dryer sheet by spraying a little softener on a rag and throwing it in with a load of laundry into the dryer. I figure I spent about $2.50 for a GALLON of fabric softener as opposed to $6-$9 for the same amount at the grocery store. If you don’t have a large bottle to store this much softener, reduce the water by half (to 3 cups) and use half as much as you normally use for a washer load. I just finished a load and it needs a [...]

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Mustard Garlic Roasted Potatoes

April 16, 2012
Mustard Garlic Roasted Potatoes

The blog I received for my Secret Recipe Club assignment for this month is one of my very favorites!  The Haggis and The Herring a.k.a. Daniel and Meredith, have recipes with some of the best ingredients, flavorful spices, and just deliciously simple to make.  Not only that, but Daniel is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, which makes me sure that Meredith is one of the nicest ladies you will ever meet, too. Not that I’ve met Daniel personally, but virtually, he is a GREAT guy.  Very helpful and courteous and full of, well, . . . . knowledge! I know, me bein’ from Texas and all, you expected me to say something else. Daniel and Meredith’s blog started as a blog for their wedding.  Then, after some encouragement from Meredith, Daniel took some culinary art classes and became more involved in Mediterranean and regional Spanish cuisine.  His love of cooking started with his uncle, catching and preparing Mako Shark when he was young and his love for cooking never waned.  Meredith is a personal travel agent, knitter and baker.  So, you know when you see something yummy and baked on The Haggis and The Herring, it is most likely a recipe from Meredith. I love looking through the recipes in Daniel and Meredith’s blog.  Many are very international, and most are very simple flavors that are perfect together.  The recipe that I chose is one of the many that fit all of those adjectives. I have roasted potatoes many times, and it is one of our favorite dishes, but I had never thought of using a mustard sauce on them.  The result is heavenly and not “mustardy” at all.  These definitely went to the top of the favorite dishes list! Mustard Garlic Roasted Potatoes 5.0 from 2 reviews Print Recipe type: Side, Vegetable Author: Suzanne Collier Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 4 Fabulous flavor comes from the mustard sauce that you make for roasting these potatoes. But, never fear, even if you are not a fan of mustard, you will still love these! Ingredients 2 lbs. Tri-color or Rainbow Potatoes (reds, purples and whites) about 2″ in diameter each 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Tsp fresh ground Black Pepper 2 Tbsp minced Garlic 1 Tbsp spicy Brown or Deli Mustard Instructions Preheat oven to 400F degrees [...]

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Tortellini Salad da Country Gal – Secret Recipe Club

March 19, 2012
Tortellini Salad da Country Gal

I know you are asking, “What in the heck is Suzanne thinking? Does she even know what she wrote for the title of this post?” I’m just a country girl from the, well, country. I’m Texan through and through. But somehow this salad needed a little more refined title than just “A Country Gal’s Tortellini Salad” simply because it is out of this world good! So, I added a very refined, “da”. The recipe comes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures and is one of the best food blogs of all times! Amy admits that she grew up in her mother’s kitchen watching her cook but she didn’t really learn a whole lot. What she did learn was via osmosis. However, the important lesson she took away from her time in the kitchen watching her mom was that families need a time to sit down together and talk about their day, their problems, and their successes. There is something so comforting in sitting around a table of lovingly prepared homemade food and sharing it with those you care about most, something we both have in common for sure. OK, enough or I’m going to start “tearin’ up”. *sniff* I had such a huge number of Amy’s recipes that I wanted to make, but when I saw her Balsamic Tortellini Salad I stopped dead in my tracks. I hurried to the kitchen and put on a pot of boiling water right then and there. Time’s a’ wastin’! Insalata di Tortellini da Suzanne 4.0 from 2 reviews Print Recipe type: Salad, Main Author: Suzanne Collier Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 10 This will make a fabulous appetizer, entree, or side dish for your next family gathering. It makes a lot, but it will be completely gone before you can say “Tortellini!” Adapted from Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Balsamic Tortellini Salad Serves 6-8 as a meal and 12-16 as a side dish Ingredients 1 20 oz. package of 3 Rainbow Cheese Tortellini, prepared and drained 10 large spears of fresh Asparagus, parboiled 1 14 oz. can of Artichoke Hearts in water, drained 4 Tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice 1 Tbsp Sugar 4 cloves of fresh Garlic, rough chopped 3 Spring Onions, thinly sliced using both white and the green 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, julienned 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, [...]

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Slovakian Pound Cake – Babovka Secret Recipe Club

March 13, 2012
Slovakian Pound Cake

I am SUCH a ditz sometimes. Some would say more than just “sometimes”. But you know, it usually works out well in the end.  I’ve learned not to stress too much.  Just fix it and move on. So, I’m fixing it and I’m moving on.  But not before telling you about this great recipe and my friend, Heather over at Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks. I already know that Heather is kind and forgiving (read – I screwed up).  But she also has a LOT of fabulous recipes, loves to cook, bake and read.  She also has this great nickname that her husband and a friend of his, Mojo, came up with for her “rock ‘n roll” name several years ago – and it stuck, thus the name “Hezzi-D”.  I love to cook, read, and have a great nickname that one of my husband’s friends gave me about 28 years ago, “Vivisue” – a combination of my first and middle names.  But what we don’t have in common is a “love” for baking.  It’s not that I don’t like to bake, I just don’t think I’m very good at it.  I’ve really been in the mood for a bundt cake, and when I saw Heather’s recipe for Babovka, I knew I had found exactly what would calm the Craving Beast inside me! By the way, I told my Mountain Man that he couldn’t slice into the cake because I hadn’t taken pictures yet . . . . and I thought he was going to, well, you know . . . cry. Shhhhhhhh, don’t tell him I told you that. Slovakian Pound Cake 5.0 from 4 reviews Print Recipe type: Dessert Author: Suzanne Collier Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Serves: 12 Ingredients 4 Eggs, separated 1 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar 1/3 c. Grapeseed Oil 1/3 c. Apple Butter 2/3 c. Hot Water 2 tsp Vanilla 1 1/4 c. Flour 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Baking Powder 6 oz semi-sweet Chocolate Chips 1 c. chopped Walnuts 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder Extra powdered sugar for dusting Instructions Preheat oven to 350F degrees Grease and flour your bundt pan. Separate the eggs. Put the yolks in a large mixing bowl and the whites in a small bowl. Beat the yolks with your mixer and add the sugar. Incorporate well. Slowly add the oil, apple butter, and [...]

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Great Banana Nut Power Muffins – Secret Recipe Club

March 12, 2012
Banana Walnut Power Muffins

This is really going to be a surprise for Heather, the lady whose blog I received for my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month. You see, last month Heather from over at Healthy With Heather was orphaned for SRC reveal day and so I volunteered to make a dish from her blog and made Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Stew.  Having NO idea at the time that she would be my assignment for March.  Then, when I saw her blog was mine for March, I was thrilled.  Heather is a health-conscious, pregnant, 20-something who has a love of all things “fitness”.

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Donna’s Mirror

March 9, 2012
Donna's Mirror

My husband’s cousin, Donna and her husband, David, have been remodeling a house.  They are VERY industrious and creative.  Donna recently turned this grubby gold filigree mirror into THIS stunning masterpiece. I think it is just fabulous and red is my favorite color!  I’m showing this off just for her. She’s a sweetheart.

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