April Fool's Day Cookies

Oh what joy this day brings.

Just thinking about pranks thrills me to tears!

I decided to make up a tasty treat for my family along with a few other low-key pranks.

Enjoy!

April Fool's Day Chocolate Chip Cookies:

She wasn't very happy with me when I told her what they were ... she was too keen on these - knew something wasn't quite right and never actually tried one.

Did you figure it out? 

These are baked taters and black beans!!!

Simply delicious if you're expecting garlic, salt, sour cream, and potatoes! 

Here's how:

1. Whip up your favorite mashed potato recipe (I used 3 medium potatoes)

2. Mix in a few drops of yellow food coloring (3 drops was enough for this batch)

3. Stir in 1/2 can rinsed black beans

4. Then drop on a cookie sheet in a 350* oven for 30-45 minutes ... until golden on the top.

These will taste delicious with a little salsa at dinner time! 

By the way: I did make REAL cookies so as not to completely disappoint the family! ;)

For all you Pinterest Fools ..... happy pinning!

*******************************

Not only did I prank today, but we also dyed a few things: 

Julia's Bunny checking out the eggs:

After the eggs were done I hated to waste all that beautiful color - so we dyed rice. Not sure what we'll do with this, but it feels right to have festive rice laying around.

I hope you fully enjoy April 1st - no matter what you get into!

One more thing .... 

if you have any leftover color disks/pellets from the Easter egg kit ... pop one into your kitchen faucet. Makes for a fantastic blast of color when the next person turns on the water!

Black Bean Burgers

Tonight we experiment with our first ever homemade black bean burgers.

I've found recipes as simple as this one and as complicated as this one. Somewhere in between there must be a tasty medium.

I decided to make up my own version ... quite tasty!

Rinse and drain 1 can of black beans
Saute onions, green bell peppers, mushrooms (I added a few other chopped veggies I had left over from a salad; carrots and radishes being some of them)
Add 75% of beans and 100% sauteed mixture into the food processor - pulse until combined.
Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, remaining black beans - stir all together.
Form into 4 patties - VERY sticky.
Pour small amount of olive oil in hot pan, add burgers and let cook 5-8 minutes per side.
After you flip the burger, add slices of your favorite cheese.
Grill your buns lightly on the stove.
Add tomato, lettuce, ketchup & mustard - ENJOY.


I wish there was a list of the essential ingredients necessary for it all to come together.... like ... Pick one veggie from this list, pick two from here, add an egg and bread crumbs - voila. I'll keep trying. It was good enough to experiment with and I'm sure I'll make an even more amazing burger in the future.

If you've never had one, don't expect it to take like a hamburger - expect it to taste like a black bean burger. (If that's not helpful advice I don't know what is!)

Here's how my version turned out:

Plenty of spice, full of flavor, a little too pasty, but very filling. Bake up some sweet potato fries and you've got yourself a Sunday night meal!

Cranberry Lemon Garland

Fruit overhaul: The lemon saga.

(Originally posted 10/2010 on 4jacqs.blogspot.com)

We enjoy fresh food and occasionally buy more produce than we can actually eat in a week. Bananas are never on that list, however. No matter how many we buy we always seem to need more. It happens like this: I'm walking in the produce section with the wobbly cart that keeps veering left ... I've got my list, I'm checking it twice when I see the big sign that says "these are yummy and you should buy two!". So I do (because who wants to fight the sign?) and before we know it a week has gone by and we haven't even touched the yummy two-fers.

Sadly, we've thrown away more produce than I'd like to list. You'd think we had a slew of pigs out back and were insistent they eat organic and what's "in season". Inevitably something goes bad before we get around to preparing/using it in a meal or for whatever it was intended. I guess this is where meal planning would come in handy.

This morning when I realized the bag of lemons we bought well over a week ago was still loitering on the kitchen table I decided to tackle the job of making lemonade. Because, you know ... when life gives you lemons ....




Not only did I have a large amount of juice and pulp, I now had a dozen bright yellow lemon peels with which to tease Martha Stewart. I was certain I would find a gazillion recipes and craft projects on the newest, coolest Martha thing to do with the zesty rinds ... but no! Just some candied treats and the smallest measuring spoon added to your baking. I was in need of a serious lemon solution.

"Why?" You ask. "Because you can't just throw them away! I'm sure they can be used for something!" the hoarder replies.

Yup. I totally get that show. Every single thing CAN be used for something. But ... uh ... I'm in recovery. So ...



So I went off the grid. Running my own show. Crafting like nobody has flickred/blogged/how-to'd before! I'm hoping these last a few months but from the research I've done I'm guessing they'll be ready for the swines in about 4 weeks. If you want these around for Thanksgiving I suggest making them in the beginning of November.



And I'm selling them, too. It's my million dollar idea. Seriously. I was thinking of just hanging them in the doorway but you can hang them on your curtain rod. Only I'd need to make the sign that says "They're yummy. You should buy two."



Hit me up if you'd like to order some for the pigs Holidays.

~Jacqui

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Welcome!

Welcome to our world!

We're a small family looking for ways to enjoy life on a small budget. After a layoff two years into our marriage we had to regroup and rethink how we use, spend, give, and relate -- not only to each other but to this community we live in. Gardens and bread and bees are among the things we're nurturing this year. (THOM is really doing most of that work!) Join us on our journey to grow, dream, and dare!

~ The Hofmasters



Jacqui & Thom Hofmaster pose in their favorite room of the house!

Julia, relaxing on the front porch.