Success.....redefined!

Bam.  No, wait....let me rephrase that, BAM.  I am on the verge of freeing myself from any need for store-bought food.  Now, don't get too concerned....the McGhees aren't going to escape all civilization and go live in a self-sustaining cabin in the mountains, having no regard for society and the laws of the government.  We would never do that, we live in Illinois, where our citizens have the upmost respect for our law.  Just ask these guys....

The first recipe I want to share for you will rock your world if you have goldfish/cheezit/wheat-thin loving husbands minis.  I got the recipe for homemade cheesecrackers from Heavenly Homemakers. 

Crispy Cheese Crackers

• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ¼ t. sea salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ t. baking powder
• 1 T. cold water

Use beaters or food processor to mix butter and salt until creamy. Add cheese. Mix well. Gradually add flour, baking powder and water, mixing until dough begins to form a ball. Form dough into a ball with hands.

Roll the dough into 1/8 inch thickness onto a cookie sheet. (I find that placing the dough between two pieces of parchment paper helps me to roll them out more easily.) Cut the rolled out dough into 1 ½ inch squares. Bake 15 minutes at 350° or until lightly browned. Turn off the oven and leave the crackers inside to crisp up. Store tightly covered.

**sidenote** My dough was very crumbly so when I was forming it into a ball, I added more water 1/2 TBSP at a time.  I would say maybe 2-3 more tablespoons.

This next recipe is going to save my oldest mini from finding part-time work to support our families yogurt-eating habits.  I got the recipe from Astrid, who is waaaaay ahead of me in most things in life, but loves me anyway.

EDITING TO SAY:  I have since found a cheez-it recipe that we like much better, here's the recipe.

Crockpot Yogurt

• 8 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

1.  Put milk and milk powder in crockpt and turn on low for 2.5 hours.
2.  Unplug crockpot.  Leave the lid on and let it sit for 3 hours.  (Seriously, you do nothing in this step, except unplug your crockpot.  Nobody needs to know this though so if someone asks you to do something, you can say, "I am busy making yogurt" and then sneak away to read a book.  Need book recommendations?  I've got those too!)
3.  When 3 hours has passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warm milk and wisk in 1/2 cup plain yogurt.  I used 6 oz of Fage yogurt. 
4.  Add the milk/yogurt mixture back into the warmed milk.  Put lid on and wrap the crockpot in warm towels to keep it warm overnight.  IMPORTANT:  I use 3 large bath towels.  Wrap your crockpot tight so it stays warm all night.  If it isn't warm, the bacteria won't grow, and you won't have yogurt....you will have a crockpot of thick milk!
5.  The next morning, you will have yogurt!  You can strain it with a yogurt strainer if you prefer thicker, greek style yogurt.
6.  Mix in whatever you'd like to flavor your yogurt....we prefer fruit or honey. 

Complete and total success!!!  Here's where things get interesting...the first time I made both the crackers and the yogurt, they turned out okay.  I made mistakes on both recipes...on the crackers, I rolled them too thin, so when they baked they got a little burnt.  For the yogurt, I didn't have any dry milk powder, so my yogurt turned out really runny, and despite putting it in my fridge for a few hours, it still didn't thinken up.

So, how can I consider these successes?  Because I know what I want to change and do differently next time....and I am really excited about next time.  Honestly, how often do you fail, easily figure out what your mistake was, and then feel excited to go back and correct your failure?  Probably not too often in life, but in the kitchen.....all the time!!!!

I have a great friend who recently gave me some reading materials and today's reading was something I want to share. 

In the short-term, you may be able to hide who you are or pretend to be something you're not.  Inevitably, your authentic self will be revealed.  So stop hiding.  Show everybody the real you.  You'll be surprised how anxious people ar to see who you really are.

The interesting thing about this New Years resolution is that my life has been completely simplified.  I take care of my family, I run, I cook, I blog, and I read.  And I have realized, I am not content with that, I am filled with joy over that.  So, it's really made me think....what started out being all about food, has ended up being a path to far more.  It's shocking, right?  Because we think it's just food.  I challenge you to rethink your attitudes towards the food you buy, cook, and eat.  Because, for me, I am convinced that what we eat is so powerful because what feeds the belly also feeds the spirit.

A bunch of cheaters

So, I've gotten a few emails that read something like this, "Heids McGhee, not that I am planning on doing this, but if someone were to cheat, what would you recommend?"  Sheesh, people, you all are about as discreet as Mr. McGhee.  So, I am torn on this....I don't want to make it too easy for you to rush to the store and pick up some acceptable "cheats", however if your other option is to give little Timmy an all-beige-deep-fried-complete-with-a-happy-meal-toy dinner than I'd rather you cheat.  But promise me these are for desperate times only.  Remember, we are trying to go unprocessed here.

Bread....oh my, people really love their bread, don't they?  I am totally committed to finding an easy, delicious, whole grain bread recipe.  Why haven't I done that yet, you ask?  I've been too busy perfecting my muffin recipe.  Tomorrow, I will tackle bread.  I promise.  If you must buy bread from the grocery store, please read the label.  If there are many ingredients, it's not what you are looking for. Remember, more ingredients=more processed.  Ingredient #1 must be.....WHOLE wheat flour.  Do not get fooled and buy a bread made from wheat flour.  And for crying out loud, do not buy bread with enriched or bleached flour.  It makes Heids McGhee nervous when people eat that stuff.  And your bread needs to have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

If you MUST cheat on bread, and you happen to live near a Great Harvest Bread Company your life just got a whole lot easier.  Here are the reasons why you should buy the honey wheat bread from Great Harvest.

1.  They only use 5 ingredients in their honey wheat bread.
2.  They grind their own flour daily.
3.  The employees wear really cute shirts that say "professional loafer" and "flour power".
4.  They say things to you like, "sweetheart, while you are waiting for me to slice your fresh baked bread, do you want a free sample of something?"  And, when you say no thank you, they say, "are you sure, not even a small taste of a scone?"
5.  It is, hands down, the best bread I have ever had.  If you try it and don't like it, let me know.  I want to know which of my readers are impossible to please.

Pancakes....my middle mini is a pancake lover.  And my middle mini has big, brown eyes that can melt anyone, so when he comes downstairs in the morning rubbing those eyes and asking for a koala hug and pancakes, that boy is getting pancakes.  I use this recipe for his pancakes, which I got from king arthur flour website.

4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour

1 cup King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil

1.  Grind oats in food processor until fine, but not a powder.
2.  Put the flour, oats, and all other dry ingredients into a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running.

3. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

4. Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk (you can use soured milk, but buttermilk gives noticeably superior results; a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk also will do), and 1 large egg. Don't worry if it seems thin at first: the oats will soak up the milk, and the mix will thicken a bit as it stands. Let the batter stand for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

5.  Cook on a slightly greased griddle or a nonstick skillet.

SERVE WITH 100% pure maple syrup.  Or fruit, fruit works too.  My middle mini loves the syrup, though.

If you're reading that and thinking, "Heids McGhee, not happening.  That's too much work in the morning", here's a solution.

It's a premade mix.  Add some milk, oil, and an egg.  Easy peasy and a decent option.

Tortillas....these were a tip given to me by my friend Jennifer, whom I think could single-handedly run the marketing department at costco.  I will say these are by far the most unprocessed tortillas I have seen with only 5 ingredients.  However, ingredient #1 is wheat flour and not whole wheat flour.  So, it's a tradeoff.  These are raw tortillas, which means you have to cook each side for about 30 seconds on an ungreased skillet before you can eat them (it's so simple, you really don't even have to clean the skillet after you've used it...not that I have done that, but just saying...you could."

And, since these are at Costco, you can buy more tortillas than you could eat in a month for $7.

Crackers....the most unprocessed cracker you can find is Triscuits.  Personally, I want to eliminate crackers from our diet, but my minis love crackers.  And they usually pair them with hummus and cucumbers to make little sandwiches, so I do let them have Triscuits.  I suspect they secretly close their eyes and pretend they're eating Cheez-its.

Cereal....we have covered breakfast already.  And if I could just get everyone to change ONE meal a day, with breakfast being the easiest meal to change, I would be a happy Heids.  But, some people insist, they need cold cereal.  The only option out there for an unprocessed cereal is Post Shredded Wheat which I have a feeling after you have one bowl of that, you'll be whipping up a batch of my granola  ASAP.