1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8  teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons ice water

Measure flour, sugar, and salt into a gallon-size plastic bag.  Seal and shake the bag to [...]]]> Easy Crust in a Bag

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8  teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons ice water

Measure flour, sugar, and salt into a gallon-size plastic bag.  Seal and shake the bag to combine.  Add the chilled butter pieces and shortening to the bag. Make sure the pieces are cut into individual pieces and no big clumps go on (well, no clumps bigger than a raspberry).  Press down on the bag with your palms.  The goal is to flatten the butter and shortening and coat them with flour.  Open the bag and add the ice water.  Reseal then press and shake until the dough holds together.  (Add more water if necessary.)   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it together.  Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the disk on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle that is about 12 inches in diameter.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough, trimming any extra dough from the edges with a sharp knife.  Return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pie.  Makes 1 crust.

Our first lesson consisted of a brief introduction (Hi. My name’s Mrs. [...]]]> This week I began teaching a foods class to a local school. During that hour, I had more fun than…oh wait, I had a really fun summer so it hasn’t been that long since I had that much fun.

Our first lesson consisted of a brief introduction (Hi. My name’s Mrs. Snow. I love to cook. I’ve been cooking since I was 4.), a funny story (about the time I forgot about some homemade cookies that ended up in a moldy container in my 5th grade classroom. Long story), a safety tip (washing hands is the first thing you do before you cook), and finally–a lesson on pancakes.

The recipe is below. This is a great first foods lesson for junior high aged children. There were able to follow the directions and had so much fun dropping in different items into their pancakes.

(almost healthy) Oatmeal Pancakes (from scratch)

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 ½ cups buttermilk

¼ cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, measure all dry ingredients. (oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt)

2. Using your hands, make a well or a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil)

3. Preheat electric griddle to medium heat. If using a stove, place pan over medium heat. Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.

4. Using a large metal fork, quickly whisk eggs into buttermilk and oil. Once egg yolks are combined into the wet ingredients, use rubber scraper to mix batter together.

5. Begin cooking pancakes. Drop ½ cup of batter onto hot pan. Drop any “mix-ins” into cooking batter. Wait for small bubbles to appear on cake. (These bubbles are important and indicate when a cake is ready to be flipped.)

6. Flip pancake when bubbles appear and “pop.” Once flipped, cook cake on the other side for 45 seconds. Slide onto plate and enjoy with your favorite syrup!