WhichCraft

   All You Need: Pumpkin Filling 15 oz. pumpkin or squash puree (A single can of Libby's works for me) 12 fl. oz. Evaporated Milk 3 large eggs 3/4 cup Splenda (the loose cooking stuff in the large bag, not the packets) 1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 rounded teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 rounded teaspoon ground cloves A generous pinch of ground black pepper Pie Crust I rarely make my own. I use a pre-made store-bought favorite. But feel free to make your own. Make enough to line the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Do not blind bake it! Oven 9-inch pie plate 2 mixing bowls (a large one for the pumpkin and a small one for the spices) Mixing implements What You Do: Preheat oven to 425°. Line pie plate with pie shell. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the Splenda, spices, and salt until well combined. This mix should be very fragrant. In a large bowl, crack and beat the eggs. Then, gentle stir in the pumpkin and spice mixture until well combined. Gradually add and gentl...

 The Wordy Bit I accidentally took over a month off! How did that happen?? Well, to be perfectly honest, I do know how it happened. Here at our house, it has been a summer full of gardening, cooking, baking, prepping, teen drama, and toddler drama. Not to mention, the Mr. is still working from home, and that can impact the daily flow. As such, the daily flow now looks nothing like it did this time last year. I also can't decide which I prefer: then or now. I truly enjoy having him around more, but our little is still having difficulty grasping the fact that Daddy needs to work. I'm hoping that starting preschool in a few weeks will keep her busy enough to even her out a bit.  That's right, I said preschool. I've been stocking up on supplies, and I even purchased a curriculum (The Homegrown Preschooler). I like the fact that it is all hands-on and craft-based. I even like that there are opportunities to include faith-based learning (I swapped their stuff out for my stuff...

All You Need: 1 1/2 - 2 lbs strawberries, fresh or frozen (hulled and halved) 1-2 Tablespoons white, granulated sugar 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened, Condensed Milk 1-2 teaspoons vanilla some sort of storage container, 7 cup capacity freezer food processor or blender a hand or stand mixer helps, too What You Do: First things first, we need to heighten the flavor of the strawberries while also removing the majority of the water from them. I do this in a two-step process:  I started by mixing my strawberries (I've used fresh and frozen) with sugar and placing them in the fridge to macerate. With fresh strawberries, this process can take 8-12 hours (or up to 24). With frozen strawberries, you're also wanting them to thaw, so it's best to give them a full 24 hours.  After they have sat in sugar for 24 hours, drain them as much as possible. But do not rinse them! And blend them in a food processor or with a blender. I have blended them...

All You Need: 3-4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts  4 large eggs, beaten 2 cups breadcrumbs 2 cups all purpose flour bowls seasoning of choice (about 1/4 cup total) baking sheets oven some sort of storage container freezer What You Do: Preheat oven to 350°. Cut chicken breasts into 1" pieces that are about 1/2" thick. Place cut chicken, flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs in separate bowls and line them up in that order. At the end of your little assembly line, place your baking sheets. (Note: if you have a nonstick baking sheet, great! If not, any baking pan lined with parchment paper will work.)  Divide your seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, but any spice mix or simple salt and pepper would work.) between the chicken, flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Mix the seasoning into each bowl completely. Here is a picture of my chicken, and then my assembly line. Using the "wet hand, dry hand" method*, dredge the chicken...

All You Need: Jalapeno (I use 10 large ones at a time) 2 blocks of cream cheese, softened 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese  sheet pans oven freezer broiler What You Do: To Prep: Split peppers and remove membrane and seeds (unless you want them super spicy!). In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and shredded cheese. (I use my hands because it makes it go faster.) Stuff peppers with cheese mixture and lay flat on a baking sheet. Freeze for at leas 4 hours or until solid. This way, you can store them in a bag or stack them in a container without them freezing into a solid lump. To Cook: When ready to cook, remove the amount you want to make. Place them on a microwave safe dish and microwave at full power for 30 seconds. Set your oven broiler to 500°. Once the broiler is preheated, place peppers about 3 inches away from broiler (top rack) and watch. Depending on your oven and your peppers, this can take anywhere from 3-8 minutes. Remove peppers when they start...

All You Need: 12 Russet potatoes, washed Sour Cream 1 lb Shredded Cheese  (I use a mixture of sharp cheddar and the Mexican blend) Olive Oil Salt Pepper 6 oz Bacon bits (homemade or store bought) baking pan aluminum foil oven fork bowl food service gloves (trust me)

All You Need: For 6 Pancakes: 1/2 cup milk 3 eggs 1/2 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoon butter, melted a bowl and whisk (or a hand blender) an oven a non-stick muffin tin What You Do: Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the milk, eggs, flour, salt, and vanilla in the cup of a hand blender. Pulse until smooth. Very slowly add the melted butter.  Once the mixture is well blended, pour into muffin tin cups (fill about 2/3). Pop in the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes.  Serve with fresh (or frozen) fruit and whipped cream. Or syrup. Or eat them plain. They're great no matter which way you eat them. The Wordy Bit My daughter loves watching these bake and puff up! I'm trying to figure out a way for them to better maintain their shape once they're out of the oven...they deflate, and it's a little sad. But these are delicious! I'm experimenting with including my Nutrition information on my recipes, so let me know ho...

The Wordy Bit It's all wordy bit and pictures today. My life has been a whirlwind of projects, illness, wellness, craziness, and chaos since just before Christmas. I've got loads of projects going, and none of them seem to be getting done--at least, not fast enough! My baking experiments have been mostly failures, lately...which is very disheartening but! I'm learning. I'm trying new things even when I fail, and I'm making notes (extensive notes) so that I can track my successes and failures. I teased a sugar-free chocolate cake a while back and never came back around to it....it was a mess, and I ate one piece. My husband didn't like it, and I wouldn't even dare give it to my toddler.  I have a love/hate relationship with Devil's Food cakes, anyway**. This iteration is a modified version of my cupcake recipe. It didn't turn out well, so I made some notes on ways to alter the prep (not the ingredients) and see if that yields better results. ...

All You Need: For the Crust: 1/2 cup (approximately) Coconut flour 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 3 Tablespoons Splenda 1/2 cup butter, melted For the Filling: 4 Blocks of Cream Cheese (8 oz per block), room temperature 3/4 cup Splenda 1/2 can Coconut Cream* 3 large eggs, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla Springform pan or cheesecake pan Oven Optional: 1/4 cup Key Lime Juice (I use this one ) * - instead of buying coconut cream, buy full fat coconut milk (like this) and refrigerate overnight. The cream rises to the top and semi-hardens. Use this and discard the liquid. What You Do: Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix the Splenda, cinnamon, and melted butter. Add coconut flour a tablespoon at a time until crumbly texture is achieved. (Coconut flour is highly absorbent and it doesn't take a lot. However, if you have an opened bag you may need to use more because it won't be as absorbent. Coconut flour is weird and finicky, but it is delicious.) Press crust...

All You Need:

All You Need: 2 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter (chilled) 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

All You Need: Bottom Round or Eye of Round roast (2-5lbs) Beef Broth Salt Pepper  Garlic salt Instant Pot Trivet

All You Need:

What You Need: 1 cup butter (I use salted) 2 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 eggs 3/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt nuts (optional) A brownie pan An oven What You Do: Preheat the oven to 350°, and line brownie pan with parchment paper.  Melt the butter either in a pan or in the microwave. Stir in the sugar until the sugar melts, then add vanilla. Allow to cool (if needed) until just warm, then add the eggs one at a time (mixing between). Carefully add and stir in the cocoa. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined (here's where you'll add the nuts, if you're using them). Pour into brownie pan and bake for 30 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). The Wordy Bit These brownies are the result of a very happy accident. You see in the ingredients list where I specify Hershey's Special Dark? Wel...

All You Need: Rack of ribs (uncut, and 3-6lb works best) Your favorite barbecue sauce  Salt Pepper An oven Baking sheet (with raised edges) Aluminum foil

Chicken Soup, Stage 1 1 3-6 lb whole chicken (either frozen or fresh, depending on method) 4 medium carrots, roughly chopped 1 lb baby Bella mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped 1 quart chicken broth 3/4 cup water 2 Tablespoons dried thyme 2 Tablespoons dried parsley 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1 bay leaf

My musings, my arts, and myself Welcome to Whichcraft! I'm Jess, and here is the place where I am going to share my many loves with you. I cook; I bake; I crochet; I paint; I will hopefully soon learn to knit. You will be able to follow along with my progress through all these crafts, and that means that some posts will celebrate my stunning accomplishments! But, sometimes, I will share with you my incredible failures. When we fail, we learn, and I take that to heart. I also don't take myself too seriously.  All patterns shared here will either be: patterns that I have found from other bloggers (or Ravelry) that I will provide links to, or they will be original patterns that I have created. When I share an original pattern, I will also provide a link to purchase an ad-free, printer-friendly, downloadable version for a very low cost [NOTE: this is coming soon!]. Always, though, the patterns will be available for free here. Recipes, too, will be available for free (or link...