Frugal Friday recipe- Parmesan & Black Pepper Crackers

In an effort to stay frugal, now that Anthony is the only one supporting us, I am dedicating Fridays to "living well on less." I even bought a book! "Miserly Moms" by Jonni McCoy. I have to admit, most of Jonni's advice I already knew. Unlike Jonni, I came from humble beginnings. Penny pinching was a way of life. Unfortunately, I have found myself accustom to to frequenting Starbucks and other wasteful endeavors. Granted, I've never been a crazy spender. I am pretty low maintenance. But alas, I need to cut back.

Anthony and my biggest money wasters is eating out. As busy as we've been, it is easier to grab something then to plan something. This is changing. Since, I have Friday's off I plan to do some meal planning for the next week. I thought you may be interested in my epicurean discoveries. So, I'm making Friday's..."Frugal Friday's". I'll share my "money saving" adventures every week.

I've been wanting crackers. Kinda silly craving, huh? Unfortunately, I want those really-yummy-expensive-kind-that-you-only-buy-at-speciality markets. I decided to see if I could make some myself. So, I did. They're pretty good.

I made Parmesan & Black Pepper Crackers.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 Tablespoon black pepper

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1/2 cup warm water

3 Tablespoons olive oil

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, parmesan cheese and black pepper. With dough hook attachment in place, add the water and olive oil. Mix the dough until it forms a ball. Add more water if needed. The dough will not be too sticky but not too dry. Once a ball is formed, take out of bowl, rub the ball with oil and let rest for 45 minutes covered with plastic wrap.

After 45 minutes, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then take the dough and cut into 4-6 balls. On a floured surface use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin strip. The dough should be very thin. Next, cut the dough into strips and then squares or any other shape you desire. Place the squares on a greased baking sheet, with a fork poke each cracker several times to prevent air pockets. Brush lightly with more olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt*. Pop into the oven and bake until golden brown approximately 8-10 minutes. I turned my crackers halfway through baking to crisp both sides. Also make sure to watch them because they burn easy. You may find your oven bakes faster or slower than mine.

Enjoy!

*I thought about sprinkling the crackers with parmesan, but didn't. If you do, let know how they turned out.

The original recipe was from 101cookbooks.com. I adapted Heidi Swanson's version.