Easy as Pie - Cheese Danish Croissants

I'm a writer, not a cook,

but occasionally, I like to get in the kitchen

and make cookies and such,

as long as the recipe isn't too complicated.

I love cheese danishes. I thought that they looked rather easy to make, so I looked up different recipes and put them together to make my own.

CHEESE DANISH CROISSANTS

Beat together -
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 large egg yolk (save the white)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. lemon flavoring
1/2 cup conf. sugar

Open-
2 pkg. pre-made croissants (8 each)

Spread a tablespoonful of cheese mixture on the wide area. Roll toward the point of the triangles.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 min. (or directed on crescent pkg.)

Beat egg white with a tsp..of water. Brush egg white on hot croissants. Return to oven for 1 minute. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, powdered sugar, or confectionary glaze. (mixing powd. sugar with a dribble of milk)

These are super easy and fast, and any extra filling can be frozen (or used on toast!).

A Simple Snack Recipe

Try this simple snack recipe written by a Polliwog Kid -  

How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. 

 It's making me hungry just reading it. 

This was a writing assignment from  

Lesson Ten - "One, Two, Three" 

(learning about sequences)

Dear Vonnie - Cooking Together

Each Thursday, I will do my best to answer your questions. I don't pretend to be an expert, but I know it's not easy being a wife and mother. It can be frustrating and discouraging, yet very rewarding. I'd be glad to listen to you, pray for you, and share some of my thoughts with you.


Dear Vonnie,

I am babysitting some children (ages 6 and 8) and I would like to cook something with them. What are some fun and easy things I can make with them?

Signed,
Needing Ideas




Cooking with kids is fun. They love to feel grown-up, plus make something to eat.

First have them wash their hands and, if you want, you can tie aprons around them. Ones that cover their chests are best.

A younger child can dump ingredients that you have measured. Older children can help read and measure. If you decide to double a recipe, it might help to pencil in the adjusted amounts. (Let them do some of the multiplying to practice their math skills.) Of course, everyone likes to stir. I found using a timer or a certain number of strokes per child kept the arguments to a minimum.

Children love to roll and cut and sprinkle.
Here's a few fun recipes to try:

MR. ROGER'S PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
1 cup peanut butter
1 Tbl. margarine
3/4 c. nonfat dry milk
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
Mix well. Roll into balls.
Roll in crushed graham crackers.

CINNAMON STRIPS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
4-5 Tbl. cold water

melted butter or margarine
cinnamon & sugar mixture

Stir with fork or mush with clean fingers. (You could also use either a store-bought pie crusts or left over trimmings from making a pie.) Mold dough in a ball. Roll thin with a rolling pin. Cut into shapes or long strips. Brush melted butter on them. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 for about 5 min.
(Watch closely, because they burn easily.)

MONKEY BREAD
3 cans of biscuits
cinnamon & sugar mixture
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar

Cut biscuits into quarters with sharp knife or scissors. Roll quarters in cinnamon and sugar. Put in a large bowl. Melt butter in saucepan, adding brown sugar until bubbly. Pour over biscuits and stir well and pour into a bundt pan or 9x13" pan.Bake at 325 for 1/2 hour. Invert on a plate. Serve hot.

Teach kids safety around the stove.
Make clean-up a fun part of the whole project.
Share the result with others.

Have fun together!
Laugh
Lick the spoon and bowl
Learn new things

Here are some more fun recipes:
Dilly Beans , Jello Popcorn Balls , Ice Cream in a Bag

Also, check out these cool websites:
Captain Cook's Tuck Box
Kids a Cookin
Spatulatta

Dear Vonnie - Summer Snacks

Each Thursday, I will do my best to answer your questions. I don't pretend to be an expert, but I know it's not easy being a wife and mother. It can be frustrating and discouraging, yet very rewarding. I'd be glad to listen to you, pray for you, and share some of my thoughts with you.

So, ask me something... anything...



Dear Vonnie,

Do you have any summer healthy snacks you remember giving the kids?

Signed,
Too Hot to Bake



When the temperatures are reaching the 80's, 90's, or the 100 mark, no one wants to bake cookies. When my kids were home, they were always hungry. Yet, I didn't want them filling up on empty, high calorie foods.



First of all, we didn't buy chips and sugary treats. I tried to have plenty of fruits around: apples, grapes, strawberries, cherries. (the more colors the better)
I often cut up carrots and celery and bell peppers into bite-size pieces and toss a couple ice cubes in the container to keep them crisp.



We froze juice into popsicles. Jello and pudding make good popsicles too. You can make fruity iced tea from berry teas; add wedges of lemon to give it tang. Make your own favorite smoothies with bananas, peaches, avocadoes, strawberries, melons, etc.

There are some good recipes on Tip Me Off , my daughter's blog for household money-saving tips.



I like to freeze bite-size chunks of watermelon and cantaloupe. Grapes taste great frozen also. Frozen blueberries with a little milk and sugar make a nice, slushy dessert.



You can sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two cookies. Experiment with different combinations. In fact, for a special treat on a very hot day, have a strawberry shortcake or banana split supper.



When you go to the grocery store, think cold, think fresh. Have a great summer!

Home-made Ice Cream in a Bag

I'm not really an ice cream person. If I do eat it, it's definitely better in a cone...a sugar cone with sprinkles. I once helped make real ice cream in a bucket with a crank. It was a lot harder that I thought it would be, but the reward was well worth the effort. This recipe is easy and fun for a hot, summer day. Each child can make their own ice cream, adding flavors and colors as they desire.

Ice Cream in a Bag

1 pint-size zipper plastic bag
1 gallon-size zipper plastic bag
1 Tbl. sugar
1/2 cup milk (cream or half&half)
1/4 tsp. vanilla (or other flavoring)
6 Tbl. rock salt
(berries and food coloring, if desired)

Put milk, vanilla, and sugar in the pint-size bag and seal it well.
Fill the gallon bag half full of crushed ice and add the rock salt.
Place the smaller bag inside also and seal it carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes.
Remove the pint bag and wipe off the salty water with a damp cloth.
Open carefully and enjoy!


Last week, I challenged you, my readers, to identify this picture . Sorry, no one even came close. It is of Alum Bay, in England...near the White Cliffs of Dover. My writer friend, Yvonne Lewis, lives near there and sent it to me.

Resurrection Cookies

Here is recipe that gives a good object lesson:



(Read all the way through before attempting.)


*VERY IMPORTANT*
(preheat oven to 300 deg.)

1 cup whole pecans
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vinegar
pinch of salt

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let cildren beat them
with a wooden spoon into small pieces.
Read John 19:1-3
Explain that Jesus was arrested and beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Let them smell the bottle of vinegar.
Put 1 tsp into a mixing bowl.
Read John 19:28-30
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross,
they gave him vinegar to drink.

Add 3 egg whites to the vinegar.
Read John 10:10-11
Explain that eggs represent life. Jesus gave his life for us.

Sprinkle a little salt in each child's hand.
Let them taste it. Sprinkle a little in the bowl.
Read Luke 13:27
Explain that this represents the salty tears of Mary
and the followers of Jesus.

Add 1 cup of sugar.
Read John 3:16
Explain the sweetness of the story
that Jesus died because He loves us.
He wants us to belong to Him.

Beat everything with a mixer on high speed for 10-15 min.
until stiff peaks are formed.
Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3
Explain that the color white represents God's purity
and those who have had their sins forgiven.

Fold in the broken nuts and drop batter by teaspoon
onto waxed paper covered cookie sheet.
Read Matthew 27: 57-60
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb
where Jesus' body laid.

Put cookie sheet in the oven.
Close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a strip of tape
and seal the door.
Read Matthew 27:65-66
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed
by order of the high priest and Pilate.

GO TO BED!
Read John 16: 20-22
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies
in the oven overnight, just like
Jesus' followers were sad when the tomb was sealed.

On Resurrection morning, open the oven
and give everyone a cookie.
Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.
The cookies are hollow!
Read Matthew 28:1-9
On the first Resurrection Day, Jesus' followers
were amazed to find the tomb empty.

HE IS RISEN!

Making Bread

I like to make bread. There's something therapeutic in the rhythm of kneading the warm dough.

I remember the summer that I learned to bake bread. My mother had always made her own bread, and when I was little, I liked to have a little lump for my self to roll around and shape into little loaves. The summer I turned thirteen, my mother decided that I was old enough to make it myself.

There were cottages across the road, where people from NYC would stay every year. She thought I could earn money by selling homemade bread to them. It was a good idea. They bought it everyday, as fast as I could make it. There were days that I was tired of waiting for it to rise and bake. I wanted to go to the lake or on a bike or whatever kids do in the summertime, but I had to wait for the bread. (I'm sure I talked my mother into finishing the job some days.) I made enough money to go to camp.

When my children were growing up, especially when the boys reached the I'm-always-hungry stage, homemade bread filled their stomachs more than store bread. Instead of three sandwiches, it only took one or two with my bread.When one meal took a whole loaf, we had to make six or eight at a time. My girls learned to bake it too, and even got better at it than me.Sometimes we made just white bread, but I liked to add whole wheat and molasses for a darker, more wholesome bread.

One of my favorite things to do with bread is to take a loaf to church or school or wherever I was going the next day. I'd look for someone to give it to. Many, many times it was definitely of the Lord's leading. Sometimes, it was someone that was just wishing for some fresh bread. Sometimes it was a person that needed encouragement. I never planned ahead who I would give it to; I'd let the Lord do that.

Here's a basic bread recipe:

White Bread
6-8 cups of all purpose white flour
3 Tbl. sugar
1 Tbl. salt
2 Tbl. oil/shortning
2 pkg (4 Tbl) dry yeast
2 cups very warm water
(substitute molasses for sugar for dark bread)

Stir the dry ingredients into the warm water and oil. Add the flour a cup at a time, until it is able to be handled. Knead (folding and pressing with the heels of your hand) for 5-10 minutes, until it is firm and springy.
Place in a greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and place in a warm spot. Let it rise for about an hour until doubled in size.
(This is the fun part!)
Punch the dough to release the air. Knead again, and shape into two loaves.
Place into greased loaf pans, cover, and let rise double again.
Bake in a preheated oven (350 deg.) for 40 min.
Turn out of pans immediately. Butter the tops and let cool before eating.
(We never could do that last part!)
Experiment with different flours and recipes.



The Bible has a lot to say about bread. The Jews did not use yeast for the Passover, for yeast is a symbol of sin. Yeast spreads quickly through bread, permeating every part. Spring Cleaning comes from their tradition of cleansing their houses of any leaven. We need to ask the Lord to show us any "leaven" in our hearts, so that we may be cleansed.

They didn't have dry yeast like we use today. They used a pot of "starter", a fermenting lump of flour. If this lump got too cold it would die and not work. They sometime took it to bed with them, to keep it close to their warm bodies. Do we cling to our "leaven" and not want it to die?

Jesus spoke of the church being one loaf. We are not separate bits of bread; we are one piece. If some leaven gets into one part, it is in all of us. Do you examine your heart before taking communion? Do you have something against your brother or sister in the "loaf"? Is there something that needs to be cleansed? Make it right with your brother or sister, and make it right with the Lord, so that the loaf will be pure.

Dear Lord, search our hearts. Show us things that are hidden. Teach us desire pure hearts. Amen.

Apples, Apples, Apples!

September 26th, is Johnny Appleseed Day!

Johnny Appleseed was a very interesting person. From the various books I've read about him, he loved the Lord and was a circuit preacher besides planting apple trees across the country. They say he never carried a gun and made friends with the animals and Indians.

Here's a song that legend says Johnny Appleseed sang;

Oh, the Lord is good to me,
And so I thank the Lord,
For giving me the things I need,
The birds and the bees,
And the appletrees!
Oh, the Lord is good to me!.

I love apples! I love the colors, the fragrance, the taste.
Doesn't everyone celebrate apples?

Here in Maine, you can go to a local orchard and pick your own Macintosh, Red Delicious, or Cortlands. There are usually some kind of apple tree in everyone's backyard. You may not know the type, but they are still good for cooking.

I used to join some friends at their grandparents' house each autumn to make cider. They'd take scrubby, wormy apples, grind them and squeeze them and make the most delicious drink...especially with thick molasses doughnuts!

My mother taught me to make applebutter. When we had to pinch every penny on a pastor's salary, my lunch consisted of a peanutbutter and applebutter sandwich on homemade bread everyday.


APPLE BUTTER

Wash, quarter about 20 apples
Simmer (in 1 cup of water)in a heavy pot, until they are soft
Process them through a food mill or sieve. (Kids love this part!)
Return to heavy pot. (cleaned)
Add 4 cups of sugar and 4 TBL. cinnamon. (or according to taste)
Simmer until mixture becomes thick and bubbly.
Spoon into canning jars and seal.
Enjoy!

Find other things to do with Apples .

So, crunch into a juicy apple and CELEBRATE!

Suggestions Needed

I need some ideas of what to put on Saturdays of my blog.

I began with the thought of offering something for children, but I don't think this is really a kid's blog. I then shifted to writing about things for parents to do with their children, but that could be included with Thursday's parenting page.

So what do you think? What would you like to see posted on Saturdays?

* continue parent/children activities
* poetry
* recipes
* book reviews
* advice column "Dear Vonnie"
* (or something else?)

I'd love some feedback. Thanks

Dilly Beans

My mother loves to grow green beans. No matter where we lived, we always had a garden and lots of green beans. She would sauté them with bacon, can them, freeze them, and give loads away. One of our family’s favorite recipes is dilly beans. Their tart crunch make them great for lunches and snacks.



Dilly Beans

2 quarts fresh string beans 2 cups vinegar
4 small garlic cloves 2 cups water
4 heads of dill ¼ cup salt

Snap ends off beans, leaving them whole.
Wash and pack into 4 pint canning jars.
To each jar add 1 garlic clove and dill head.
Bring vinegar, water, and salt to a boil.
Pour into prepared jars and seal.
Store 6 weeks before serving. (if you can hide them from nibblers)



Thank you, Mama, for giving me some wonderful memories and homemaker skills. Happy Birthday!

Jello Popcorn Balls

This recipe has always been a favorite at our house. Have fun!

Pop 6-8 quarts of popcorn. (1 cup of popcorn cooked in an air popper)
(I haven't tried microwave popcorn. If it works, let me know.)

Melt:
1 stick of butter or margerine (either in microwave or in heavy pan)

Add:
1 pkg of marshmallows

Stir well.

Add:
1 sm. pkg. of Jello (your favorite flavor or color)

Stir well, again.

Pour over popped corn.

Grease palms with shortning or butter.

Form balls (or other shapes)and place on wax paper (or greased cookie sheets) (It cools quickly, so work quickly.)

While cooling, wash bowls and pans and spoons with hot, soapy water.

EAT !!!!

(Try different colors, flavors, and shapes. Tell me about your ideas.)