Easy Pie Crust

    Easy Pie Crust
  4 c all-purpose flour
  1 3/4 c shortening (also known as lard, Crisco, etc.)
  3 T sugar
  2 tsp salt
  1 egg
  1/2 c + 1 tsp cold water

Directions
  In a cup or small bowl, beat egg into cold water. Chill. In a large bowl, cut together dry ingredients & shortening until crumbly. Stir in egg-water & blend thoroughly. Turn out onto LIGHTLY floured surface. Knead for desired consistency. Roll out dough to pan size.


  *This quick & easy-to-make recipe will make a whole pie (bottom & top crust), unless you are using an extremely large baking dish. Good for deep dish pies, also.

Kayla's Flip-Free Omelets

My daddy used to make omelets when I was a kid. It was always a breakfast (lunch or dinner) that I looked forward to. He hasn't made them in years & I can't seem to make them the same way he did, but I guarantee I'll keep trying! Here's a flip-free omelet recipe for you.

Flip-Free Omelets

8-10 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small can mushrooms
1/2 cup finely cubed ham or turkey breast
3 tablespoons milk (preferably whole milk)
1 medium chopped tomato
2 tsp chopped dried celery
salt
pepper
*also great with bits of just-cooked bacon added to ham or turkey!


Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl, pour eggs from shells; add milk, salt, & pepper. Beat together until well-blended. Coat stove-to-oven capable skillet (cast-iron works!) with cooking spray or margarine. Over low-medium heat, add egg mixture to skillet. Allow to cook slowly for 2 minutes. Sprinkle celery, meat, mushrooms, & tomato into egg, stirring gently to mix, but being careful not to disturb bottom layer of egg (which should be cooked on the bottom). Sprinkle cheeses over top & remove from heat.
Place skillet in oven & bake 25-35 minutes, until egg is cooked through. This can vary because of the amount of liquid in your dish - the number of eggs, as well as the size of them. Just be sure that the eggs are cooked thoroughly & are not runny. Enjoy!

Back in the Kitchen

Here we are at the start of another school year. Somehow, someway, this also means the RESTART for our kitchen. It seems we concentrate more on what we eat in the Fall than we do any other time of the year. In our house, this means keeping an eye on what's in the cabinets & fridge, & making lists as long as my arm for when we go grocery shopping. Every list, all the time, starts out...

milk
bread
eggs
cheese
sugar

These are the ingredients used most in our house. We are big fans of dairy products, apparently. Two adults & one child can go through 4 gallons of milk in a week. Eggs go even faster. Sugar is not lacking in our sweet tea &, of course, we have bread for morning toast or sandwiches.

With the start of this school year, I'd like to focus on healthier snacks (which our daughter has to bring to school every day) & more wholesome meals. Of course, born & raised in the south, I cook like a southerner. Lots of grease, lots of fat, lots of starch. We'll just have to see how this goes!