A Homemade Friday

What better to do on a really rainy Friday than try out some homemade stuff -- with all on hand ingredients (because who wants to go to the store with three kids in the rain...not that I could go anywhere since the van won't start...)?  :-)

Cheese Crackers

I followed/doubled the recipe.  The only changes I made were to add more water until a good dough formed, and I sprinkled a little natural salt on top before baking.  As a tip, cut parchment paper to the size of your baking sheet.  Roll out the dough to 1/8" thick along your parchment rectangle.  Use a pizza cutter to trim the edges straight and then slice it super quick into as big or little squares as you want!  Prick with fork if desired.  Pick up parchment and plop on baking sheet!  Verdict:  Eden and I really like them.  Elijah's on the fence.  Judah wouldn't even finish one.  They do have a bit of a "flour-y" taste to them, but a nice cheese taste (I used Open Nature medium cheddar).  Perhaps a sharp cheddar would make the cheese flavor pop even more!  And a hint of basil?

Snack Cookies (because we can't figure out what to call them...)

Can you call them "animal cookies" if you don't use animal shapes?  I can't.  I'm too technical.  These, along with the cheese crackers, were super easy!  They taste pretty much like a non-dressed up oatmeal cookie (before you add spices, mix-ins).  After being stored in a container, they are pretty soft rather than cracker like.  A little too easy to eat, if you ask me.  ;-)  They also have a bit of a flour taste.  Next time, I will totally add cinnamon to them!  I followed/doubled the recipe exactly this time.  First tip, if you don't have a food processor, use your blender to pulse up the oatmeal and then mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter.  Second tip, clean your counter, flour it, and roll out all the dough at once.  Use little cookie cutters (if you want to add an hour or more to your prep time) or get that bad boy pizza cutter out and roll away!  They WILL be squares next time.  Shapes will be a treat on occasion!  Whew!

Hand Sanitizer

Does anyone else have a child who has a fetish for "being like mommy" and filling the soap dispensers with water?  The most recent casualty was a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I figured, surely, someone somewhere has made homemade hand sanitizer.  I mean, if it has alcohol, it kills germs, right?  So I found a super simple "recipe" - equal parts real aloe and ~90% rubbing alcohol.  I added 15 drops sweet orange essential oil and a few drops tea tree oil.  Shake it up, shake it up, until it gels together.  It's PERFECT!  My hands were so soft after I used it and not one lick of "medicinal" smell!  I just need affirmation that since half of it is alcohol, it gets the job done.  :-)