Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This bread comes out just perfect - easy to slice, even in thin pieces, and holds together really well. It is so delicious!

Recipe from my dear friend, Jennie Christopherson (who has an amazing craft/food/etc. blog HERE that you should totally check out).

Ingredients:

2.5 c hot water (around 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)

1.25 T yeast

2 t sugar

1 T salt

1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 c sugar (or 1/3 c honey)

1.25 T bottled lemon juice

1/3 c flax seed

1/3 c gluten

5.5 - 6 c whole wheat flour

Directions:

- Mix together the yeast, water, and 2 t. sugar and let rise about 10 minutes (should puff up).

- Mix the salt, oil, sugar, and lemon juice together in a mixer with a dough hook.

- Add the yeast mixture and mix.

- Blend the flax seed in a blender or food processor until broken apart and fluffy.

- Add the flax plus enough whole wheat flour to equal 3.5 cups to the mixer.

- Add the gluten and mix.

- Continue adding an additional 2-2.5 cups of flour until the dough comes cleanly off the sides of the bowl as you knead it with the dough hook. Knead in the mixer about 10 minutes. The dough will be very soft, but will be elastic when pulled apart.

- Preheat the oven for a few minutes to lukewarm and turn off.

- Turn dough onto oiled counter top, divide, shape into loaves, and place in oiled pans.

- Let rise in warm oven 30-45 minutes until the dough fills in and reaches the top of the pans.

- Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes.

- Let cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans.

Yields 2 large or 3 small loaves.

abbie's easier mediterranean-ish salad

I wanted to make THIS salad (saw it via Bloom), but I didn't have all the stuff so I made this one up and it was sooo good and so easy! and it was filling so that's all I made for dinner.

Things you need:

• 8 oz Orzo pasta
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• handful grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup fresh basil (I used my purple basil), finely chopped
• handful of almonds, chopped
• Olde Cape Cod Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cook orzo according to box directions and cool. Layer everything up and top with vinaigrette. Eat and then eat some more and then eat some more.

tilapia with peach salsa

My husband said, "when I saw this I didn't think it would be very good, but it is." I agree.

Make the salsa first:

• 1/2 cup chopped peaches
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup (ish) fresh cilantro, chopped
  
• juice from 1 lime
• a bit of salt and black pepper
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (I used half of a purpley-redish and half of a neon green-yellow. Obviously I am an expert and know the real names of bell peppers)

Mix everything up and put in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

On to the tilapia:

• 2-4 tilapia fillets (I use frozen - still yummy and cheaper)
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp (ish) salt
• 1/4 tsp (ish) black pepper
• cooking spray

Preheat over to 375. Spray cooking spray in baking dish. Put the fillets in the dish. Pour olive oil over the fillets; then spread garlic over the fillets; then shake the basil, salt, and pepper over the fillets. Bake for 8-12 minutes (mine are perfectly flaky at 10 min)

When the tilapia is done, top with salsa. Serve with wild rice and zucchini (not asparagus and potatoes as seen above).

Green Chile Sauce

This recipe makes a great green enchilada sauce. I've started using it in place of the stuff in cans since the price of buying the chiles is comparable, plus I sort of prefer the taste to the canned sauce. So far I've only used it in these honey lime enchiladas, once with chicken and once with pork (both were good).

The recipe is really easy, but does take a little time. Next time I make it I'm going to double or triple it and freeze some for later.

Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, December 2007

6 fresh Anaheim chiles (long, slender green chiles found in most grocery stores)
1 T. canola oil
2 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. salt
1 14-oz. can chicken broth

Preheat broiler.

Place chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil chiles for 14 minutes, or until blackened and charred, turning after 7 minutes. Put charred chiles in a heavy-duty ziploc and seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove from ziploc and peel and discard skin. Cut a lengthwise slit in each chili and remove tops and seeds (I find that they're usually attached, so when I pull off the top the seeds come along). Chop chiles and measure 3/4 c. (I always end up with more than 3/4 c. chopped chiles, but I throw it all in anyway. I suppose you could save the rest of the chopped chile for later and use in place of a can of green chiles or something.)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. (Mine always starts to burn when I add the garlic, so you might try reducing the heat a bit, or stir more often.) Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Add chiles, coriander, salt, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Scoop half of chile mixture into a blender. Remove center piece from the blender lid so team can escape and put a dish towel over the opening while you blend. Blend until smooth. Return blended mixture to pan and stir well. Remove from heat and cool.

Makes about 3 cups sauce.

Turkey Brandy Melts

There isn't any brandy in these. I don't even know why they are called that. I found this recipe on a blog. They are so yummy. The flavors of the mayo, pesto, and peppers combined is melt in your mouth goodness. Try them. You won't be dissapointed.

1 package of soft deli rolls
1 package good quality sliced turkey
2 cans whole green chilies or diced work too.
Mayonnaise
1 T. pesto
salt & pepper
1 granny smith apple sliced VERY thin
Sliced Swiss cheese or provolone

Mix a few tablespoons of mayo with the pesto. Add salt & pepper. You then spread a generous amount of this mayo mixture onto both sides of the deli roll. Put in the broiler for 30 seconds or until slightly golden brown (not too brown!). You then layer LOTS of turkey, apples, and green chilies on the roll. Top with a couple slices of cheese. Put the one side of the sandwich with the turkey on it into the broiler until cheese is melted and golden brown. Put the top of the deli roll back onto your sandwich (I actually made mine open faced to save on carbs-and it worked well). Eat this sandwich warm out of the oven.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

I made this for dinner tonight. It was yummy.

Yields: 2 2 cup servings Ingredients 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion finely diced 1 small sweet potato peeled and diced 2 cloves garlic minced 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Note) 1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste 1 1/3 cups water 1 15-ounce can black beans rinsed 1 cup canned diced tomatoes 2 teaspoons lime juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro. NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 374 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 4 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 67 g carbohydrate; 14 g protein; 15 g fiber; 697 mg sodium; 603 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (410% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv), Iron (30% dv), Potassium (17% dv).

Minestrone Soup

Today was a cold day, and I was craving soup. However, I was low on groceries. I made minestrone with what was in the back of the refrigerator produce bin---and it turned out to be delicious.

pasta pot full of veggie broth
pinch Italian seasoning
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
8 oz dry egg noodles
2 onions, diced fine
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
few grinds of fresh pepper
pinch of salt

Before I get to the recipe, I have to talk about one of my most favorite things. Trader Joe's makes these little packets of concentrated vegetable broth. They come in a small green box. Inside are a dozen tubes of...vegetable syrup? Basically, that's what it is. Really concentrated, thick broth. You add 1 tube to 1 cup of water. They save sooooo much cabinet space, are very light to carry, and are perfect for backpacking meals. Also, they have amazing flavor and are low-sodium. Can you tell how much I love them?
So anyway, that intro is just to say--when I made this recipe, I used a pasta pot full of water with 4 or 5 packets of broth mixed in.

1. Bring the broth to a simmer. Add a small pinch of Italian seasoning ground between your fingers. As the broth is heating, dice the celery, then add it to the pot.

2. Dice the carrots, and sautee them in a tablespoon of olive oil. (Don't skimp on the olive oil, it's the only fat in the dish.) While the carrots cook, dice the onions and garlic.

3. When the carrots are "al dente", add them to the pot, and saute the onions and garlic in the pan. When the garlic and onions are translucent, add them to the pot along with the frozen spinach, and bring the pot to a boil.

4. Add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions. (Mine only took 4 minutes.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

P.S. This was so good that after we ate the whole pot for lunch, I turned around and made another batch before the stove cooled down. Now that is a good recipe.

Pioneer Woman's Carrot and Squash Curry Soup

(Image from Pioneer Woman)

I made PW's Carrot and Squash Curry Soup a few nights ago and my whole family, even my 3- and 1-year-olds, enjoyed it. I had a massive yellow squash from my in-law's garden to use up, and this was a great way to get everyone to eat it.

I think I used 4 cans chicken broth, minus a cup (and no wine). Also, I like curry, but I though 1 Tablespoon of the stuff was a bit heavy in this. I'll add less next time. But really, this is good soup! We ate half of it, and put the other half in the freezer for later.

Ingredients

* 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
* 3 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced Thin
* 4 whole Yellow Squash (sliced)
* Salt To Taste
* 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder (more To Taste!)
* ½ cups Dry White Wine (optional)
* 48 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth
* Heavy Cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and stir to coat. Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, or until they start to get soft. Sprinkle in a little salt.

Add squash. Stir and cook for a few minutes, until squash is soft and tender. After a few minutes, add salt to taste and the curry powder.

Pour in wine if using. Let evaporate for about 30 seconds, then pour in chicken broth. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot, and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off heat.

Puree soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer. Serve hot. If you’re feeling naughty, drizzle heavy cream over the top.

Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken

This sauce for the chicken is so yummy. I served it with a veggie stir fry and it was a big hit.

Recipe from Mrs. Harding Cooks.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
⅓ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ cup water
⅓ cup soy sauce

Directions:

- Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

- Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned.

- Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients.

- Pour into wok and bring to a boil.

- Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Serve over rice, or by itself.

Banana Bread

I've been trying to alter my recipes to be a bit healthier (emphasis on "bit"). Today, I worked on making over my banana bread recipe, and I found it to be pretty satisfying....

Mix together thoroughly:
2 eggs, well-beaten
3/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

In another bowl, combine:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix wet and dry ingredients together well and add:
3 bananas, mashed.

Divide evenly between 2 greased/floured bread pans and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

(Confession: I added chocolate chips...but don't tell).

Bread Maker Wheat Bread

Basically, I took this recipe and halved it (with some minor changes), but it came out GREAT in my bread machine.  YUM.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm-to-hot water
3/4 T. yeast
3 T oil
1/4 cup honey
1 t. salt
1 T. gluten
1.5 cups white flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Directions: 

- Put in bread machine.

- Set timer.

- Wake up to the best smell ever.

- Eat more than you should.

- Repeat as needed.

Wheat Bread

Well, I guess when it rains recipes, it pours recipes. =)

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not good at making bread. AT. ALL. But I can make THIS bread turn out really nicely. That's sayin' something, folks.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm-to-hot water
1 1/2 T. yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
2 t. salt
2 T gluten
3 cups white flour
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix yeast with water. Add the oil and honey. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, gluten, and salt. Stir to combine--work out the lumps.

Add the rest of the flour until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes.

Divide into 2 balls. Form loaves and put into greased pans. Place into warm oven (the lowest temperature on my oven is 170, and this works just fine) for 40-45 minutes until dough doubles in size.

Turn the oven to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Bread is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the top.

(credit for this recipe goes to the wife of my husband's freshman roommate....who's blog I stalk....There. It's all out in the open). =)

Red Bean and Quinoa Chili

(from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair)

2 cans kidney beans, rinsed & drained
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water & drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 can organic tomato sauce, low salt (about 2 cups)
1 cup water

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and sauté until tender. Add salt, garlic, pepper and spices; sauté for 5-10 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce, and water to onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer together 20 minutes. Add beans to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and tortillas.

(Note: If you've never tried quinoa, you should! It's a super-grain that provides a complete protein. You should be able to find it at your grocery store; if not, try a health-foods store.)

Brown Rice and Black Bean Pilaf

(by Ellie Krieger)

Ingredients

* 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
* 2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
* 1 stalk celery, finely diced
* 1 large carrot, finely diced
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
* 1 (15.5 ounce) can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley leaves

Directions

Place rice and chicken broth in a saucepot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook rice, covered, until tender and all the liquid is absorbed, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and fluff with a fork.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, celery, carrot, cumin and chili flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender but not mushy, about 6 minutes. Stir in black beans and cook until just warmed through, about 1-2 minutes.

Combine onion-black bean mixture and hot rice in a serving bowl and toss to combine. Garnish with parsley.

Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato Stew

(by Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 cans chickpeas, drained
* 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2/3 palmful
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
* Salt and pepper
* 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
* 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
* 1 cup plain yogurt (optional)
* Warm pita, any flavor or variety, toasted (optional)

Directions

Heat a medium pot with extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Grind the chickpeas and onion in food processor. Add to pot and cook 5 minutes to sweeten onion. Season the chickpeas with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir in stock, then tomatoes. Simmer soup 5 to 10 minutes to combine flavors. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and warm pita for dipping.

(Note: When I make this, I usually just grind one can of chickpeas; I leave the other can whole for some textural variety. I like to serve this stew over couscous, I don't usually do the yogurt and pita thing.)

Lentils and Potatoes with Curry

(from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

1 c. dried brown lentils, washed and picked clean
3 1/2 c. water, vegetable broth, or coconut milk
1 T. curry powder
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
Salt and pepper

1) Combine the lentils, liquid and curry powder in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low so that the mixture bubbles gently, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils start to absorb the water a bit, about 15 minutes.

2) Add the potatoes and cover the pan copletely. Cook, undisturbed, for 10 minutes or so, then stir gently and check to make sure the lentils aren't too dry. If they are, add a little more liquid. Add salt as the lentils become tender.

3) Cover and continue cooking until the lentils are soft and beginning to turn to mush and the potatoes are tender at the center, another 5 to 10 minutes; add liquid if necessary. The mixture should be moist but not soupy. Add lots of black better, stir, then taste and adjust the seasoning and serve. You can garnish with plain yogurt and cilantro, if you like.

(My note: I like to serve this with brown rice or naan bread.)

Cheese Enchilada Chowder

Did I already post this? I thought I had, but I couldn't find it using the search feature. Apologies if it is a duplicate. 

Cheese Enchilada Chowder 

(recipe from B-to-the-Weed)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes

10 oz. frozen corn (or more if you like)

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. chopped bell pepper (whichever color you like...I have used fresh or frozen)

1 large can enchilada sauce

1 can cream of chicken

2 c. milk

cheese

Combine all ingredients in crock pot, except for cheese. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4. Add cheese to individual servings. Also, I like a dollop of sour cream. 

Serve with chips & guacamole, cornbread, whatever.

The last time I made this I added a can of chickpeas, too. Really good. 

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

To give credit where credit is due, I got this recipe at allrecipes.com. Link here. I made this last week, and they were fan-tas-tic. Loved them.

1 (16oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1T cumin
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 T chili powder (optional)
1 t Thai chili sauce or hot sauce (optional)

1. if grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) and lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans until thick and pasty.

3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Stir into mashed beans.

4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, cumin, chili powder (opt) and chili sauce (opt).

5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into 6 patties.

6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

I cooked mine on an electric griddle, at 375 degrees for 10 minutes on each side.

Honey Curry Chicken

Super easy, super good, and pretty healthy too!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces (or 8 drumsticks)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. prepared mustard
1 t. salt
1 t. curry

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up.
3. Combine the melted butter, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder and pour the mixture over the chicken.
4. Cover in foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes and then remove the foil.
6. Cook an additional 30 minutes uncovered.
** Baste the chicken every 15-20 minutes with pan drippings, until the chicken is nicely browned and tender and the juices run clear.

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins

I had a lot of zucchini that I needed to use up and I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. These were SO healthy and SO delicious. Super moist. These were eaten up by my family- by super picky eaters as well.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup oat flour (I just ground some oats in a blender)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 24 muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla. Mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Fold in the zucchini, carrots, pecans, and raisins. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.