It’s no secret that I love cheese (see my recipe from two weeks ago – Crispy Cheese Cups).  One of my favorite snacks is Cheez-its®.  I was so excited when I found a recipe for Homemade Cheese-Its from Little House Living.  I pinned it back in February, glanced at it a couple of times but never quite got around to trying it.  Then a couple of weeks ago I found the recipe again and decided to try it.  I messed with it a little bit to get it to my tastes (if you want the original recipe - go here).

So without further adieu, here's my take on Homemade Cheezy Crackers:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. cold butter

2 cups shredded four cheese blend

2-3 Tbsp. water

Directions:

Combine flour, salt and butter in a mixer, food processor, or with a pastry blender, until crumby.  Mix in the cheese, about a 1/2 cup at a time, until well blended.  Add water, 1/2 Tbsp. at a time, until it forms a chunky dough.

Refrigerate the dough for an hour or so.  Then let it sit out for about 20 minutes to soften up.  Flour the ball of dough, the rolling mat and rolling pin.  Roll the dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick to get the same effect as the boxed crackers.   Or roll them a little thicker for more of a breadstick type texture.  Cut the dough into squares with a pizza cutter, or if you have a tiny goldfish cookie cutter - go for it!!

Place about half an inch apart on a well-greased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes if you roll them really thin or 12-15 minutes if you roll them a little thicker.

Check them at the first time listed.  They should be slightly brown and puffy on top.  If not, return them to the oven, checking them every minute until they're done.  Let cool for a few minutes, then remove to a plate.

Enjoy!!

Makes about 50-60 crackers.


I was a little stumped on what recipe to make for recipe Wednesday this week.  I have a list of a few meals I want to photograph and tell you about, but with the move I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house.  I looked through all the recipes I’ve pinned on Pinterest, but didn’t find anything there either.  Then I stumbled across this website called My Fridge Food.  You just check off all the food you have in your refrigerator and the website will give you a list of quick and easy recipes you can make with just the ingredients you have on hand.  I took one of the recipes, fiddled with it a bit, and came up with the Crispy Cheese Cups recipe below.  About 100 calories per cheese cup.

Ingredients:

1 ounce of your favorite type of cheese, shredded, per cheese cup ( I used Mexican blend)

Directions:

Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat.  Spread the cheese out in a thin layer. I recommend turning on the fan over your stove as the cheese does smoke slightly while it is cooking.

Let it cook until it’s golden brown and crispy on the bottom, then flip over with a spatula.

Let it cook for 3-5 minutes more, until golden brown and crispy on both sides.  While the cup is cooking, form a piece of foil into a small bowl.  Once the cheese is done, remove it from the pan and place it into the cup, pushing down with a spoon or small spatula, so it forms the shape of the bowl.

Allow to cool slightly, then remove the cheese from the foil by unfolding the foil away from the cheese.  If you try to remove the cheese directly it might break as it gets brittle as it cools.

Once the cheese cooled, I took some leftover beans and taco meat and using a cookie scoop I put one scoop of each into my cheese cup and topped with one teaspoon of salsa and one teaspoon of sour cream.  So yummy!!

If you try this recipe, or want to try it, please comment  below and let me know what cheese you used and what you put in your cheese cups.

Enjoy!!!

While I was trying to figure out what recipe to make for Wednesday’s Weekly food post, I got a package in the mail.  In it were 3 jars from Fratelli Mantova: artichoke paste, olive paste, and pesto Genovese.  First, let me tell you that I just mixed a teaspoon of each with some pasta and it was so yummy!!

For the first recipe from the trio, I decided to make Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp. butter

about a pound of fresh spinach

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream (or plain yogurt)

1 (6.5 oz) jar of artichoke paste

2/3 cup shredded four cheese mix

Directions:

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and spinach, cook until spinach is soft.  If you haven’t seen it before – here is how amazing spinach is:

one pound of spinach before

one pound of spinach after

Add cream cheese and mayonnaise and cook till creamy.

Add artichoke paste and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and everything is well mixed. Serve with baguette slices or tortilla chips.

Eat in moderation as the calorie count is pretty high on this one!!

I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I purchased the products that I am recommending.

You can find artichoke paste at your local Italian deli or specialty grocery store, or you can buy it by clicking on the link below.

Enjoy!!