Make Your Own Uncrustables

Have you ever seen those "uncrustables" sandwiches that you can buy in the freezer section of your grocery store?  In my opinion, they are pricey and not worth it at all.  I guess you are paying for convenience.  My kids had some free samples at thee grocery store once (thanks a lot, lady!) and really liked them.  So, I decided to make my own... for cheap!

I get bread at a local place called "Budget Bakery" for cheap.  It is hit or miss, depending on what the truck has brought that day, but I can get a loaf of white bread for around 65 cents.  This stuff is not expired, either- so don't think we are eating moldy bread or anything.  I don't go there all the time, but if I need a lot of bread or buns it is worth it.

I figure that you can handle making a good ol' PB&J, but don't get too close to the edges, because those crusts are still good for something... I will post about that later.  Just trust me and save them.

I got this handy little tool at Walmart on an end cap for $1.97 and it seals the sandwich and trims off the crusts all in one push.

I put them on a cookie sheet and "flash freeze" them for a few minutes...

Then I wrap them up in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer.  It makes a nice snack or saves the day in frantic last-minute lunch packing.

Eggplant Parmesan (Freezer Cooking)

One of the best ways to save money (and have better food) is to preserve fresh vegetables when they are in season.  I love to have eggplant already breaded and frozen for a fast, easy meal in the winter.  If you don't have a garden giving you lots of lovely, purple eggplants you can pick some up for cheap while they are in season at a local farmer's market.  Out of two very large eggplants, I got enough for four meals! 

Start out with a fresh eggplant, peel it, and chop the very ends off (that is the most bitter part).

Then slice it about 3/8" thick- yes, I know that seems awfully precise, but 1/2" is too thick and 1/4" is too thin.

Sprinkle both sides with a little salt- the seeds will turn brown very quickly- this is normal and you do not have a rotten or mutant eggplant.

Pour a little oil in a frying pan- just enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan- and turn it on med-low heat.

Get everything else ready while the oil is heating.  You will need a bowl for eggs- I beat two of them thoroughly- and a bowl for bread crumbs.

Coat the slices evenly by dipping first in the eggs (that picture was blurry and I figure that you are smart enough to figure that out) and then in bread crumbs.

 Fry in oil until golden brown, flipping them to cook each side, of course.  The oil will get all yucky and bubbly after a few batches, so you might need to add/change oil partway through cooking.

Place the cooked slices on a paper towel covered plate to absorb the grease.

When they cool off, you can lay the fried eggplant slices flat in a freezer bag and save them for later.  When I cook them, I place the frozen eggplant in a baking dish that has a little tomato sauce spread on the bottom and spread a little more on top of the eggplant.  I bake it at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it is thoroughly cooked and soft (if you don't cook it long enough it will be bitter).  I sprinkle mozzarella on top for about the last 10 minutes and serve it with spaghetti.

Here is how I prepared it fresh, though!  I took a tomato from our garden and put thick slices on top of the eggplant, topped with a little oregano (I just used sauce on half of them for those of us who are a little bit picky).

I baked it for a half hour and then added mozzarella.

  Here was the final result...

Doesn't it look pretty?

I know a lot of people that say they have never eaten eggplant- to be honest I was intimidated by it at first, too.  If you are brave enough to give this a try, let me know how it turns out!

Little Star Quilt

 As I was stitching on the last little bit of the binding, I realized that I pieced this quilt 8 years ago!  WOW!  It isn't even a large quilt- only about 22 inches on each side.  Talk about procrastination!!!

I like the soft sage green and tan fabrics, but there is not much contrast between these colors.  The piecing is not perfect- I have definitely come a long way in the last 8 years!

I machine quilted it "in the ditch" to get get it DONE!  (I rarely machine quilt, but thankfully I didn't have any trouble with this one.)

I will be donating it to a good cause. :)

It also qualifies as another finish towards my 12in2012 goal of finishing half of the UFO list over there on the sidebar and the Quilter-in-the-Gap 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long! Two things in one week! WOOHOOHOO!!

Puffy Petal Flower Tutorial

This week I made something special for my baby girl!  I am sharing the full tutorial over at Fireflies and Jellybeans next week, but here is a little sneak peek...

I made some fabric flowers with five petals to match the fabric and embellish her outfit a little bit.  I have made fabric flowers before, but after playing around for a few minutes, this just seemed like an easier way to do it.

Cut a piece of fabric 8" by 4" and fold it in half, right sides together.  Make a template 1" high by 1 1/2" wide and trace on five curves- keeping them tight together to create a scalloped edge.

Sew along the lines you drew, trim around the scallops, clip the curves, then flip it right side out.  It won't lay perfectly flat, which is fine and gives the flowers more poofiness anyway.  Sew a long basting stitch along the bottom about 1/4" from the raw edge.

Pull the thread to gather the petals together.

Sew it by hand to a small circle of felt.  You can pull and shape your petals a little better in this step.  The stitches do not have to be pretty- no one will see this. Then sew a button on top and attach it to your project, a hair clip, or a headband!  (Of course, the button is a choking hazard, so consider yourself warned.)

So pretty and cute! For the larger flower, I sewed each petal individually, which gave me more control over their shape and made them longer, but it wasn't as fast. 

 

Make sure to check out my tutorial over at Fireflies and Jellybeans!  I will update this post with the link when it is up!

UPDATE:  You can see my CUTE Sweet Summer Halter Top tutorial HERE!

Pretzel Buns

When I am feeling particularly ambitious, the kids and I make homemade soft pretzels.  They like playing with the dough to make different shapes and sometimes we use them as buns.

This is a recipe meant to be like those pretzels you get at the mall.  They are awesome!  Here is how we make them...

Sprinkle yeast onto the warm water.  (Ooooh... fascinating!)

Stir to dissolve.

Add brown sugar and mix that up, too.

Then add the salt and stir. (Must be getting boring already!)

Pour everything over into the mixing bowl (or you could have done it all in there to begin with, but I wasn't thinking.)

Add in the flour... one cup at a time.

Let the mixer do the work.  It should sorta' clean the sides by the time it is all mixed up well.

Cover and let rise somewhere warm.  It should double in size- how long this takes depends on how warm it is, but about a half hour to an hour is about right.

Then, get ready to make pretzels!  You will need to mix up the baking soda bath...

...and flour your rolling surface really well...

...and DO NOT FORGET TO GREASE YOUR COOKIE SHEET!  (If the all-caps make you think I am yelling at you- I AM!  I have forgotten this so many times and it is a bugger to get them off of the tray.)

Knead the dough slightly, just until it isn't sticky anymore.

Pinch off bits to roll out- a ball about 2 inches across is a good size.  Roll into a long rope about 1/2" thick and 18 long.  (My 6yo did a good job photographing this step for me!)

Twist 'em, twist 'em, twist 'em like a pretzel! (Sorry, wrestling cheerleading flashback.)

Dunk it in the baking soda bath real quick.  (Keep stirring this bath from time to time in between dunks.)

Then flop it onto the cookie sheet.

They need to rise again to get nice and puffy- about 10 minutes should do the trick. Pop 'em into the oven.

While the pretzels are baking, get your butter ready.

Melt and stir in some sugar - that is key!

All done!  I took these out a smidgen early- you can let them get a little darker if you want.

Dip in the butter (faster than brushing it on).

Sprinkle with Kosher salt (or you can dip them again in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and just gobble them up.  Mmmmmm...)

They are soooooooooooo goooooooooooooood!

With these, I sliced them down the middle and filled them with leftover turkey, bacon, and cheese. About 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven and we had yummy pretzel melts for supper.

A quick thank you to my two lovely assistants...

And now for the recipe...

Soft Pretzel Buns

Pretzels:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup bread flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

Baking soda bath:

2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. baking soda

Toppings:

coarse salt- I use Kosher salt

4 Tbsp. melted butter

1-2 Tbsp. sugar

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl.  Stir to dissolve.  Add brown sugar and salt.  Stir again.  Add flour, one cup at a time, and mix well.  Let rise until doubled (at least a half hour.)

Prepare a baking soda bath with 2 cups of warm water and 2 Tbsp. baking soda- stir often.

After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope and shape.  Bake at 450 degrees about 10 minutes or until golden.  Dip in melted butter and sprinkle with salt.