This recipe, like the Black Pepper Parmesan Cracker recipe, calls for a food processor. And still… I have no food processor but managed to make them anyway. The one problem that may come up is with the pecans – a stand mixer would not pulse and chop pecans up as a food processor would. I used my magic bullet, but if I didn’t have one I would would have used a knife. I love that there are pecans in this mix!

I made the two cracker types on the same day. I was intrigued to make the crackers side by side because they have a similar process but very different ingredients. A peppery parmesan vs. thyme, cheddar, and pecan. Yum… I’ll try both!

Cheddar Pecan Crackers
Adapted from The Other Side of Fifty

½ cup pecans
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (room temperature)
¼ cup butter (room temperature)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1-2 teaspoons milk or half and half (may not need)

Be sure to have your cheese shredded and butter set out to be at room temperature.

Pulse pecans until finely chopped.  I left some bigger chunks in the mix as well. Place in a bowl and add flour. Whisk to combine.

Place cheese and butter in to the mixer/food processor and combine until smooth. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get a nice creamy smooth mix out of it with the stand mixer. I think with both the cheese and the butter being at room temperature it was easier than I thought to combine until smooth. However, it would be some work to do by hand. Add thyme and hot sauce and mix until incorporated. I put twice as much thyme as suggested and I may even put more next time. The original recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon, I added ½ teaspoon. We rarely use dried thyme and we happened to have a jar of it left over from last year’s garden. For hot sauce I used Sriracha as suggested and I made my teaspoon heaping. It had an evident yet subtle spice – really nice.

Add the flour pecan mixture and blend until it comes together. It may be crumbly but it should still stick together. If your mix is too dry add a small amount of milk or half and half until it all comes together – I did not have to do this. Remove dough from the bowl and form into a ball. On a clean work surface roll ball into an 8″ log. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I refrigerated it overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. With a sharp knife slice log into 1/8″ rounds and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. I flipped my crackers half way through baking to brown on both sides, but that’s not necessary. Place them on a cooling rack to cool before stacking and storing.

These crackers were delicious. Light and crumbly like a shortbread cookie. Cheesy with a little spice and beautiful flecks of thyme and pecans. They make a great stand alone snack or of course are delicious accompanied by a dip!

Related Posts:

» Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers
» Poppy Crackers
» Jalapeño Cheddar Bread

Tostadas have to be one of the easiest and quickest meal or snack to make.  We make some sort of variation of a tostada meal at the very least once a week. Whether it’s our huevos rancheros, a simple bean and cheese, or loaded with random delicious it always proves to satisfy.

On this tostada we used almost all home grown vegetables! Starting from the top- straight from the garden, 3 anchos, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil were combined with balsamic vinegar and salt to make a fresh Italian inspired salad. Just beneath baby bella mushrooms sauteed in plum sauce with home grown kale. Below that are black beans warmed with fresh jalapeno from… you guessed it, our garden!  And of course at the base of it all are El Ranchero’s tostadas.

Ingredients : cherry tomatoes, basil, ancho, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, baby bellas, kale, plum sauce, black beans, jalapenos, El Ranchero tostadas, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese.

At the base of most our our tostadas we use some sort of bean, in this one we used black beans- no, we did not grow them. However the jalapenos were fresh cut from the pot, our first actual harvest of peppers all year! We may have picked these jalapenos a little soon, but they have been growing for quite a while & we just wanted to try them. There are plenty more where they came from; our jalapeno & “red” chili pepper pot is growing like crazy. So many peppers to go. Now, if only these supposed red chilis would turn red. Back to the black beans and jalapenos- drain black beans and simmer on low heat with diced jalapenos while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Next prepare your salad for the top.  We used all the red cherry tomatoes from our garden, which was about ten and an additional handful from our organic produce delivery. They were chopped in quarters from the top making small wedges, a perfect bite size for this dish.

3 anchos were hollowed out, sliced in thin rings and then halved. They were the largest of our peppers so far, although they probably would have grown a little bigger; we felt it was time to cut them down as the slender stems could barely hold them up anymore and were not producing any more flowers. They were perfect for this meal though, very crisp and had a nice mild spice to them.  The basil was sliced into thin strips as well. All ingredients were combined and tossed with some balsamic vinegar and kosher salt to taste.  Set aside and refrigerate until serving time.

The last step in preparation for this meal is the mushroom kale layer.  First chop kale into small pieces.  Remove the stem from the center and slice or tear the leaf into small bits.  Set aside and slice the mushrooms, in a large frying pan heat up a 2-3 tablespoons of plum sauce and a splash of olive oil, sautee mushrooms coating them with the plum sauce flavoring.  Toss in kale and saute a bit more. Once they are done cooking it’s time to plate your tostada.  Remove from heat and get ready to assemble your meal.

Joe and I made 4 tostadas, 2 each and it was the absolute perfect amount.  We were both completely full but not even a little bit over stuffed!

To assemble : lay El Ranchero tostadas on the plate, add beans and jalapenos, sprinkle with cheese if desired- we used a mixture of shredded cheddar and mozzarella because that’s what we had. Next make a layer of the mushroom and kale with plum sauce and top it off with your fresh ancho, basil, and tomato salad.

Generally we think of tostadas as being a mexican flavored dish, we still used a lot of the same traditional ingedients (beans, corn tostada, tomatoes, and jalapenos) but introduced some completely different flavors to the dish as well. I really enjoyed this combination because the bottom layer of beans was a bit spicy and totally cooked, the middle layer was cooked a bit but still somewhat fresh with sweetness of the plum sauce, and the top layer of salad was also a bit spicy and flavored with basil but very fresh. It’s an odd mix of flavors but they all add something interesting to the dish and complement each other quite nicely.

Related Posts:

» Huevos Rancheros – B Style
» Salad with Our First Cherry Tomatoes
» Walnut Goat Cheese Pita Pizza

One loaf of this bread takes almost 7 hours to make with only about 20 minutes of your actual attention.  It would have been much easier if we owned a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but with our simple wooden spoon and metallic bowl we managed to get through it just fine.  The bread was delicious both times.  The first loaf turned out well but we thought it should be more spicy so the next time we added more jalepeño and more seeds; we may have put a bit too many peppers the second time even though it was still not very spicy.  The flavor, however, was great in both cases and we will make it again according to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast (less than a 1/4-ounce package)
1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon warm water (105-115°F)
4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeño, including seeds and ribs, plus 2 tablespoons
chopped fresh jalapeño, without seeds and ribs (from 3 medium total)
5 ounces coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3/4 cup)
1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt

* Special equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment

Below are the instruction from the original recipe along with our observations of the process….

Stir together yeast and 1 tablespoon warm water in a small bowl; let mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) °° We did this a few times and it never foamed so we decided to move on.  I was worried that it wouldn’t rise properly since the instructions specifically say to start over.  Well, we did start over and it never foamed for us ;( but it in the end it didn’t seem to matter much at all.
Mix together flour, salt, oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 1x cups warm water in bowl of mixer at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more. Add jalapeño, 1 1/2 cups Cheddar, and 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and mix until combined. °° This is where a stand mixer would have been extremely helpful!

Scrape dough down side of bowl (all around) into center, then sprinkle lightly with flour. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) to keep a crust from forming and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Alternatively,let dough rise in bowl in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours.)

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and gently form into a roughly 11- by 8-inch rectangle with floured hands.

Fold dough in thirds (like a letter) with floured hands (dough will be sticky), pressing along seam of each fold to seal.

Put dough, seam side down, in an oiled 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover pan with same clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough completely fills pan and rises above it slightly, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.

Brush loaf with egg, then sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Cheddar and remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano down center of loaf.

Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen loaf, then remove from pan to test for doneness. °° The Bread turned out to be beautiful after almost an hour of cooking.  I can’t say we tapped on the fresh out of the oven loaf to hear the hollow sound but it looked done to us and it was.

Return bread (not in pan) to oven and turn on its side, then bake 10 minutes more to crisp crust. Cool completely on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours. °° We didn’t do this step on the first loaf but we did on the second; I didn’t notice much of a difference.

We enjoyed this jalepeño cheddar bread all week in many fashions.  We made a delicious grilled swiss cheese with a mustard seed spread, garlic bread, and an eggs Florentine.   A flavored bread is definitely a nice way to spice up your everyday meals.  This makes me want to try more!

Related Posts:

» Jalapeno Swiss Bread
» Sage Bread
» Peasant Bread

B- style rancheros require crispy corn tostadas to be stacked vertically. We use 2 fried eggs, shredded cheese (usually cheddar), homemade salsa, avocado, black beans & spinach.   If you didn’t make your own salsa use another delicious salsa and add some diced tomatoes to freshen it up.

Ingredients : Tostadas, black beans, spinach, 2 eggs, salsa, cheese, avocado,

Begin with preparing your black beans. Drain one can of beans and add frozen or fresh spinach, warm up. Spinach is good for you, add as much as you’d like.  We also like to add a bit of cayenne pepper or black pepper, cumin, and a dash of cinnamon for some extra spice.   Other ingredients to consider are mushrooms, corn, artichoke hearts, and edamame.

Next get your plate ready with one tostada and some cheese on it.   Begin frying your eggs (we fry four at once for two dishes), once eggs are flipped put your first layer of beans & spinach on the tostada.  Place one egg on the first layer of beans.   Add another tostada and repeat with another layer of beans, the 2nd egg and another sprinkle of cheese.  Top it off with some salsa and avocado.  Serve with a glass of orange juice and eat with a fork & knife… or if you’re like me you prefer a Spork for almost everything.

Related Posts:

» Gourstada
» Who Loves Salsa?
» Camp Cooker