These crackers are a simple solution for your crunch craving. Made with spelt flour and multi grains they can accompany any healthy meal or light snack. They can also make a great addition to your next potluck along side a tray of cheeses or some dip.

Multi Grain Crackers
Makes about 2 dozen crackers

2 cups Flour, I prefer white spelt
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Warm Water
2 ½ Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
Grains and Seeds of your choice for sprinkling
1 Tbsp Additional Oil For Sprinkling

Combine flour, baking powder, water, oil, salt, pepper. Knead until all ingredients are well combined. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out onto a floured surface. Roll as thin as you prefer. Cut into your preferred shape then brush with olive oil. Then sprinkle with the grains and seeds of your choice. I like poppy seeds, flax seeds, rolled oats or spelt, sunflower seeds or sesame seeds. Place onto greased sheet pan and bake at 425 degrees until golden brown. Depending on the thickness bake 6-8 minutes.

After a summer of experimenting we have our pizza process down. Here are a few quick snaps of our latest experiments…

It is that time of year! No, not Christmas! Corn Season! I love fresh sweet corn and I wait until prime season to eat it on the cob. But when it is the middle of winter and I am craving a taste of summer, all I have to do is open the freezer. Every year I freeze dozens of corn, cut off of the cob in quart portions. It is easy and the process is on that I have helped with since I was little. Now, I am a bit faster at cutting it off the cob, though!

Here is a video of me demonstrating freezing corn on Good Company Today, Cleveland

Freezer Corn

4 quarts Fresh Sweet Corn
1 quart Water
1 cup Sugar
4 tsp Salt

Remove husk from corn. Cut kernels from the cob with a sharp knife. Place in a large stock pot with water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Then add sugar and salt, boil for five more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Divide evenly among quart freezer bags and freeze.

If you like this simple recipe you can find more in my book, Celebrating Simplicity the Starter Kitchen. Get a copy at Barnes and Noble.com

Here are some construction and completion photos of our new wood fired oven.

Keep checking back to see all of the food I am testing out in our new oven!

After quite a long break I am ready to get back into blogging… What have a been up to in my absence? Working on a patio oasis that would rival the best of Rome… well my husband did most of it = ). The best part of it all? My new wood fired oven! With only a few cosmetic additions to go, we are almost ready to unviel it to the world. So, here is a sneak peak of our first pizza in the oven.

This pizza was surprisingly great for our first attempt! The next few attempts, lets just say our beginners luck wore off! As part of a summer series I will be sharing it all, the contruction, the cooking- the good, and burnt. Keep checking in, in a week or two we will be ready to go.

This dessert is so simple, yet so good that it is a must try for anyone with a sweet tooth! Last week we had some folks over for dinner and my husband requested cream puffs for dessert. I was not in the mood to pipe out cute little puffs, so I did this version instead. I have seeen this dessert before with cream filling and chocolate, but thought a little fruit would make it better. When I made it I made a homemade cherry filling for the bottom. But, I think canned cherry filling would be just as good in a pinch. You could also use your favorite kind of fruit, or even jam.

Cream Puff Cake

For cream puff layer:

1 stick Butter
1 cup Water
4 eggs

In a medium sized saucepan melt butter with the water. Remove from heat and let cook slightly. With a wooden spoon stir in one egg at a time. Once all combined spread batter onto the bottom of a greased 13×9 inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

For filling:

1 can Cherry Filling
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 small box Vanilla Pudding
2 cups Milk
2 cups Whipping cream
1 cup Powdered Sugar

Spread canned cherries over the puff pastry shell. Then, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with vanilla pudding powder and milk until smooth. Pour over cherry layer. Whip cream until soft peaks form then add powdered sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding layer.

For Ganache:

¼ cup Whipping Cream
¾ cup Chocolate Chips

In a small saucepan over low heat bring cream to a simmer then stir in chocolate chips to melt. Let cool slightly then drizzle over the top of the cream puff dessert.
Chill completed dessert for a few hours then serve. This dessert is good for up a 3 or 4 days.

It is not often that this gravy lovin’ country girl braves the world of Asian cooking… but when I do- it is oh so good! This past weekend was my Grandma’s birthday. She is a huge fan of sushi and loves Japenese food. I do not eat sushi, but love the challenge of making it. Here are some fun pictures of that good dinner… and a bonus recipe for potstickers. This recipe is a staple at every Asian themed meal I host. I created it a few years ago and I am famous for it now (at least in my small circle of friends!)

Pork Pot Stickers
Makes 30

1 lb Unseasoned Ground Pork
3 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
1/8 tsp Seracha (not sure how to spell, hot sauce)
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Green Onions
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
½ cup Cornstarch (enough pull everything together)
1 cup Finely Chopped Green Cabbage
1 Tbsp Cilantro, fresh, chopped
Wonton Wrappers

Mix ingredients for filling. Lay wonton wrappers out onto the counter, then fill with 1 heaping teaspoon of filling- in the center of each square. Brush edges with egg wash, then fold in half to create a triangle. Then connect the two legs of the triangle with egg wash.
Using a steam insert for a stock pot, steam each pot sticker for 5 minutes. Once steamed, fry pot stickers in a small amount of vegetable oil until crisp on each side. The pot stickers can be stored (steamed) in the refrigerator for up to one week. Or frozen.

Sauce

1 tsp Honey
½ tsp Garlic
1 Tbsp Mustard
1 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
¼ cup Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
¼ tsp Ginger, grated fresh
¼ cup Soy Sauce
Cilantro, for garnish
Mix all ingredients for sauce and let chill for at least an hour before service.

For the sushi I made… Spicy Tuna Roll, Marinated Shrimp Roll and some sushi wrapped in rice paper- for those who don’t like Nori (me!)

Other items on the menu included: marinated shrimp, chicken and beef skewers, which were cooked at the table. Soy Pork Noodles with stir fried vegetables. Sticky Rice. Wasabi Slaw- which was the favorite item of the day. And fortune cookies which my mom made with little sayings on the inside. She is much better than I am at making things that involve patience!

My Asian themed table.

And here I am snapping a quick shot of the sushi before it was gobbled up!

These simple appetizers are so easy they can be whipped up in minutes. They also use ingredients that most people have on hand.

Swiss Cheese Crostini

1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Swiss Cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp Italian Dressing Mix
Hearty Italian Bread

Combine sour cream, mayo, cheese and Italian dressing powder. Slice crusty bread and spread with cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

For more simple recipe ideas please be sure to check out my cookbook- Celebrating Simplicity, The Starter Kitchen. They are available on Barnes and Noble.com

With snow coming down and winters chill settling in to stay, I think of comfort food. Recipes that my mom used to cook on snowdays when we came in from sledding. Food that is flavorful, yet simple and brings together the family. Meatloaf is one of those main dishes for me. It is neither fancy, or exciting- but somehow meatloaf just works. This recipe for meatloaf comes from my cookbook Celebrating Simplicity.
I was inspired to break out this recipe by my new friend Claire. Claire is 11 (or so I am told) and received my cookbook as a Christmas gift. Her family was nice enough to send some pictures my way. The most interesting thing here is that I think I was just like her at age 11! For Christmas at that age my mom gave me a chef coat with my name written in puffy paint. That year I began cooking dinner parties for my parents and their friends. I remember the menu of my first dinner party like it was yesterday!

Chicken Breast Diane (just your basic wine sauce and chicken)
Steamed Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
Rice Pilaf
Apple Crisp (the recipe for which I got out of a Richard Simmons cookbook!!)

Here I am setting the mood for my little party!

Seeing these pictures of Claire brought back fond memories of that time for me. So, thanks Claire for giving me a walk down memory lane and for inspiring me to dust off my recipe for meatloaf and enjoy some comfort food!– and thanks to my Aunt Marsha for sending the pics!

Meatloaf with Sweet Pepper Sauce

1 cup Ketchup
2 Tbsp Sweet Pepper Jelly
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
½ cup Brown Sugar
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

½ Small Onion, chopped
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 lb Ground Beef
1 tsp Garlic, minced
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg
1 cup Bread Crumbs

In a small saucepan, combine ketchup, pepper jelly, vinegar and brown sugar. Simmer mixture on low for at least ½ an hour, stirring frequently. The sauce will darken in color and thicken slightly.

Sauté onions in a small sauté pan with olive oil on medium heat, until translucent. In a medium mixing bowl combine ground beef, sautéed onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, egg and bread crumbs.

Mix the meat ingredients with your hands, until well combined.

Press meat mixture into a greased medium sized baking dish. Be sure to press tightly so the meatloaf does not dry out and cooks evenly.

Bake meatloaf at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, spoon sauce over meatloaf and bake for another 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

In honor of the Ohio State Buckeyes playing in the bowl games let’s make some Buckeye Candies! How many other sports teams do you know of with their own custom candies?

Buckeyes
Makes: 40 - 1inch Candies
1 ½ cups Peanut Butter, creamy or chunky
1 cup Softened Butter
½ tsp Vanilla
6 cups Powdered Sugar
4 cups Chocolate

Combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a hand mixer until mixture is crumbly, but moist. Form in 1 inch ball shapes and place on a wax paper lined pan. Freeze for ½ an hour before dipping.

Melt chocolate (shavings or chips) over a double boiler. Dip peanut butter into chocolate with a toothpick. Cover only ¾ of the ball. When buckeyes reach room temperature pat down the tops with your finger to hide the toothpick hole.

Here are some behind the scenes photos of the NBC3 Good Company Set in Cleveland, Ohio. I demonstrated these Buckeyes for all the OSU fans to try.

Please be sure to check out Barnes and Noble.com to get a copy of my how to cookbook Celebrating Simplicity!