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.

Donut Muffins

I would be a horrible person if I didn't share this recipe with you.

These are delicious. So much so that...well...

I. Have. No. Words.

Run, don't walk, to your kitchen and whip up a batch of these babies.

My husband and I *might* have just plowed through a dozen of them in the space of about 7 minutes.

(I've taken the recipe from this website. Bless this website for so many reasons. She has some typos in her recipe--I've fixed that).

Ingredients (muffins):

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. milk

1 t. baking powder

1 c. all-purpose flour

Ingredients (coating):

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a mini-muffin tin, set aside.

2. Mix up the 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. melted butter and nutmeg in a large bowl.

3. Add flour, milk, and baking soda and mix together until just combined.

4. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes.

5. While muffins are baking, combine sugar and cinnamon into a bowl, set aside.

6. Melt 1/4 c. butter and place it in a bowl. (I just melted my butter in a skillet and left it there).

7. When muffins are done and cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan. Dip the tops of the muffins in butter and then roll the WHOLE muffin in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let cool and then try not to pig out too badly!!

Side note: This recipe is egg-free...so my nephew can eat them. So for all of you who have adorable nephews with egg allergies, this one's a winner!

Molasses Cookies

This is my favorite recipe for these cookies. It might have something to do with the fact that the butter-to-sugar ratio is so deliciously close. =)

12T butter, melted

1 c. sugar

1//4 c. molasses

1 egg

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

Heat oven to 350

Mix sugar, melted butter and molasses well. Add in beaten egg and mix well.

Mix dry ingredients separately and add to wet ingredients.

Drop by tablespoonful (I use a cookie scoop) onto a lined cookie sheet (with parchment or a silpat or whatever you like). Bake for 9-10 minutes.

**NOTE: these cookies will spread quite a bit and very flat once cooked. I only do 3-across on the pan and 4-down. **

Let sit on the pan for a few minutes while they cool, then transfer to wire rack when they're able to hold their shape.

Now if someone would tell me what to do with the 4 dozen of these that are sitting on my kitchen table, that would be great. Because so far, I've eaten four cookies and I can't afford ANY MORE. =)

Mango Lassi

Have this with the Naan and Chicken Tikka Masala (recipes follow) and you have my favorite meal at Bombay House in Provo!

Mango Lassi

2 ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
6-8 frozen (or fresh) strawberries
handful of ice

Blend all the ingredients until smooth.

Naan

Very yummy with the Chicken Tikka Masala that follows.

Naan
from My Kitchen Cafe blog, I think.

14 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt (I only had vanilla yogurt and while it sounds like a bad substitution, I used it and the bread tasted fabulous!)
1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl by hand), stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients.

Increase machine speed to 2 (or by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.

Put a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.

Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop (mine were more like oval) shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across.

Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the naan and lay on a board. Serve warm with a nice curry. (The original recipe says to butter the naan with garlic butter after it comes out of the oven but I did this with the first batch and found it made the bread too greasy for my taste - we much preferred the bread soft and tender without the butter. Follow your tastes and do what you prefer!)

Chicken Tikka Masala

I'm not sure if I already posted this recipe but I couldn't find it on here. Anyhow, one of my most favorite recipes ever. This is as close as I have found to the Bombay House in Provo. Watch the spiciness! I'd leave out the cayenne and paprika and jalapeño until you've tried it once... then add it if you want it spicier.

Chicken Tikka Masala

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (you can substitute paprika for the cayenne so it isn't too hot)
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I have used powdered too)
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for one hour. Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade

I double the sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped (I de-seed it)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cream (1 ¾ cup when doubled)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
sometimes I add some garam masala spice

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot rice.

Pie Pastry

I just wanted to share my favorite pie crust recipe. It actually comes from the mother of my husband's high school girlfriend. =) She (the mom) has since gone professional with her baking... She's a Southern cook, through and through, and everything she makes is AMAZING.

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 - 1/3 c. sugar
1 c. fat (no really, that's what she wrote)
her preferred mixture is 2/3 c. shortening + 5 T. butter
About 10 T. ice water, more or less

The process is pretty standard from here--with a pastry blender, combine flour, salt, sugar and fat. Then gradually add water until it reaches the right consistency. I'd tell you what that's like, but I don't always get it right.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

This is another recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I'm now 2-for-2 with their recipes, and I'm excited to try more.

In a crock pot, add:
1 pound chicken (I used frozen chicken breasts)
1 large can black beans (is that the 28 oz can? I can't remember)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
1 (16oz) jar salsa
1 1/2 tsp cumin

Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

At the very end of cooking, I shredded the chicken and stirred in the 3/4 can of fat free refried black beans that I had taking up space in my fridge. The recipe doesn't call for them, but I couldn't think of another way to use them.....they ended up thickening the soup nicely, so I think I'll add them next time as well.

Serve with:
shredded cheese
avocado
sour cream
chopped cilantro

Sooooooooooooo delicious. (And also with minimal effort. Which, for me, is a necessary bonus).

Lemon Curd

We love lemon curd in our family. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out. =) It's basically a condiment you can use on toast....or as a sauce on cake or ice cream. Basically, you can use it anywhere you can use jams or syrups. It's yum, yum, yummy--especially if you're a lemon fan. MMMMM. This is the best recipe I've found.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6T. butter

Directions:

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Strain lemon curd through a fine sieve into a container and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Original recipe from Epicurious.

Traditional Pizza Dough

Pizza (and breadsticks) Dough
1 1/2 C very warm water
1 packet yeast
1 t sugar
4 C flour
3 T olive oil
1 t salt

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 min or until yeast foams. Gradually add flour. Add oil and salt. Knead for 5 min. Let rise for 30 min. Roll out dough. For breadsticks: After rolling out dough, prick with fork several times. Cook in 450 degree oven for 8 min. For pizza: After rolling out dough, top with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings. Cook in 450 degree oven for 10 - 12 min.

Canneloni, My Old Faithful

This is a best friend of a recipe. This is my go-to guy. This is what you will receive from me if you're sick or just had a baby. Toss a little garlic french bread, salad and corn with it and you're golden. It's great for kids-nothing they're offended by. Also meatless, so again, it makes it unoffensive to people. It doubles nicely and reheats like a dream. It's just an all around good guy to have around.

With that introduction, I present to you:


Canneloni

16 oz cottage cheese
2 T butter
1 egg (even when doubling)
8 oz cream cheese
2 T chopped green onions-I always leave these out. But just so you know that the recipe calls for them
8-10 flour tortillas
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 small can sliced mushrooms

I also add a little Parmesan cheese and basil to the filling mix. Recipe doesn't call for it, but I'm a wild kind of gal. :)

Kay, and I'll also be honest again-I use varying amounts and ratios of cottage cheese and cream cheese. Just as long as the filling isn't too runny, you're in good shape.

Grease a 13x9. Blend cheeses, butter and egg (and parmesan and basil and onion, if you want). Spread down the center of a tortilla, then roll. Place seam side down in pan. Spread spaghetti sauce over the whole thing. Sprinkle with canned mushrooms-again, if your family isn't offended by such a thing. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I've been meaning to post this on here for months, but just came across it again. I'm not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes cooked...well...sweetly. (I'm more of an oven-fries kind of girl).... So when I was assigned sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, I panicked a little. Bless AllRecipes.com, though, where I found this recipe. It got lots of compliments, and even I enjoyed it! (That's saying a lot, for the record). =)

casserole
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

topping
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Boil or bake sweet potatoes until soft. In a large bowl, mash.
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. To the mashed sweet potatoes, add salt, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream {I MIGHT have added an extra splash or two of cream...and it MIGHT have been mighty tasty to do so}. Mix together thoroughly.
4. Spread mixture in a lightly greased 9x13" pan
5. In medium bowl, combine butter, flour, brown sugar and pecans. Mix with a pastry blender to the consistency of coarse meal. Sprinkle over potato mixture.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Yummy soup!

Mmmmm, just thinking of it makes my mouth water. Do any of you like the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden? It is one of my favorite soups. Well, I found the recipe online and tired it out and it was amazing! I got it off of allrecipes and you can print it here.

Here is the recipe:

Zuppa Toscana

1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage (I used turkey sausage)

2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices

3/4 cup chopped onion

6 slices bacon

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded

2 tablespoons chicken soup base (I just used a quart of chicken broth)

1 quart water

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2.	Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices.
3.	Place onions and bacon slices in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
4.	Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
5.	Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Granola Bars (A.K.A. glorified rice crispies)

This is a revealing recipe. It changes all you think you know about granola bars. It will change the way you think when you call someone a "granola". Anyway, with that disclaimer I would also like to add that this is a very dynamic recipe. You can change it however you want and still get decent results.


Part 1: The sticky stuff

1/2 C. Peanut Butter or other nut butter
1/4 C. Karo Syrup
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
4 lg. Marshmallows
1 t. vanilla (add a bit later)

If you grease up all of your cooking stuff before you do this, it makes cleanup much easier. Make sure you at least do the bowl you mix the sticky stuff in though. Without marshmallows and vanilla, nuke it in your microwave 1 minute. While it's melting follow part 2. Mix thoroughly when done add marshmallows and nuke 1 minute more. When done, add vanilla. (Although I forgot this once and nobody noticed.)


Part 2: The Filling stuff.

2 C. Regular Oats*
1 1/2 C. Crispy Rice Cereal
1/4 C. Chocolate Chips

Mix everything together and press into a 9 in. pan. Allow to cool. Cut into bars. As long as you have 3.75 C. of stuff, it really doesn't matter what you put in your granola bars. Other ideas include but are not limited to: rasins, cranberries, other dried fruit, ground flaxseed, flaked rye, cheerios, other cereal. (I used Oats, Golden Puff cereal, flaxseed, cranberries, and chocolate chips in the ones I made for Tori's birthday party.)

Makes about 2-12 bars. :)

*I would recommend using this much oats every time you make it though.

Zucchini Cakes

I am talking Zuchinni Cakes like crab cakes, not zuchinni cake like carrot cake. You know what I'm saying? I know a lot of us follow P-Dub's blog, so some of you maybe have already tried these...but, if you haven't, give them a try. This recipe is so easy to make and really good! There are step-by-step instructions and photos on P-Dub's blog, so I am going to have you click over there rather than type it out. Here's the link--try them out!

Virgin Mint Julep

My sister in-law, Shara, gave me her AMAZING recipe for this drink. And not only is she a real born-and-bred Southern girl, but she's also a KENTUCKY girl--so she knows her mint juleps. I personally tasted this when I was down there two weeks ago, and I can attest: it'll brighten up ANY party!

Virgin Mint Julep

4-5 mint sprigs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cold water
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 1/2 qt ginger ale
Thinly-sliced lemon slices (for garnish)

Rinse the mint and discard the stems. Place sugar, water lemon juice, pineapple juice in a medium-sized bowl, mix, and stir in the mint leaves. Allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Fill a large pitcher with ice cubes. Strain the liquid over the ice. Add the ginger ale and lemon slices and serve. Definitely a Southern party favorite! Thanks, Shara!

Baked Zitti

(By Rachel Ray)

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can crushed tomatoes
salt
pepper
Basil
1 lb Zitti noodles
3 T Butter
3 TB Flour
Nutmeg
3 Cups Milk
1/2 cup Asiago cheese **
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese**
1 cup cubed Mozzarella cheese

** I get the Parmesan blend (which includes Asiago and other cheeses) that comes in those shakers, and add a full cup.

Directions:

1. Start cooking noodles. Remove when slightly chewy.
2. Saute garlic for 2 minutes.
3. To garlic, add tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add 1/4 TB Basil and simmer another 10 minutes
5. To create a white sauce, heat a separate pan and melt butter and whisk in flour, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Nutmeg. Whisk in milk and bring to a bubble. Stir constantly and don't let sauce stick to bottom of pan. Cook 4 minutes, or until thickened.
6. In a casserole dish, mix noodles and tomato sauce. Press down slightly with wooden spoon.
7. Poor white sauce over the top BUT DO NOT MIX.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and then top with Mozzarella chunks.
9. Broil on Low until cheese on top is melted and slightly browned. (approx 7 minutes). If broiled on High, watch carefully, remove after approx 3 minutes.

Congo Bars

Totally a family fave.

Congo Bars
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 1/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cup flour
1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbsp. water

Mix all ingredients and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees in a greased 9x13 pan.

(I don't know if it's my oven or what, but I usually have to bake them 30-35 minutes)

Grandma's Banana Bread

5 large ripe bananas

4 eggs, well beaten

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix up banana, add shortening and sugar, mix.  Add eggs and flour.  Fold in nuts.

Grease bread pans well with shortening.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes (sometimes more than an hour), until toothpick comes out clean.