Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water

2  T instant yeast

1 ½ T wheat gluten

1 ½ T dough enhancer

1/3 c light olive oil

1/3 c honey or agave

1 T Real salt

7-8 c whole wheat, fresh ground (if possible)

Place warm water, yeast, honey, gluten, dough enhancer, oil, and honey in mixer bowl and pulse to combine.  Add 4 cups of warm, fresh ground flour.  Mix for 1 minute to combine and then allow to rest for 5 minutes.  It will grow and bubble during this time.  Add salt and then add remaining flour one cup at a time until the dough “cleans” the bowl (the dough will stick together in the center; the sides of the bowl will be clean.)  Do not add too much four!  Allow mixer to run for 10 minutes, then immediately shape into desired loaves or rolls (3 good loaves, 9 mini loaves, 2 pans of rolls, or 24 American scones).  Allow to rise for 30 minutes in the oven.  Then turn the oven to 350 and allow baking to begin.  Bake bread for 25-30 minutes (15-20 for mini loaves) until it is brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped.  Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes until completely light brown on top.  Bake American scones in hot oil for 15 seconds on each side.  Immediately remove bread from pan and lie on side.  Enjoy!

Our favorite pizza - Pizza Margherita

Not sure if anybody still uses this blog but here is a recipe we've been using for a few months. In the past we'd get pizza once a week and spend $20. I make this on Thursday nights and then we aren't tempted to order out all weekend. Saves a ton of dough. Pun intended :) P.S. This was originally a recipe I found in a weight watchers book. Sorry it's such a long one, but it is worth all the steps!

Pizza Dough

Makes 4 servings
1 cup warm water
½ t Honey
2 t active dry yeast
2 cups plus 2 T flour
¾ t salt
1. Mix ¼ cup of the water with the honey, yeast, and enough of the flour to make a thin batter. Place the batter in a warm area and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow the batter to sit for one hour, or until it becomes frothy and increases in bulk.
2. Add ½ cup of the water, the remaining flour, and salt to the batter. Knead at medium speed in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, adding the remaining water as necessary until a smooth elastic dough develops, about 8-10 minutes. The dough should cleanly pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; put the dough in the bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. When pressed with a finger, the dough should hold the impression for a few seconds.
4. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured counter; knead briefly to release the air in the dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a baking sheet; cover the balls with plastic wrap and let rise a second time in a warm spot, about 30 minutes.

Pizza Margherita

1 pound plum tomatoes, sliced
2 ½ T olive oil
¼ t salt
5 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
½ t chopped oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup cornmeal
1 recipe pizza dough
¼ pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
¾ cup tomato sauce
4 t parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven at 275 degrees. Toss together the tomatoes, 1 T of the oil, and the salt in a bowl. Place the sliced on a rack in a roasting pan; roast until dry, but still flexible, 2 ½ - 3 hours. Combine the remaining 1 ½ T oil, half of the basil, the oregano, and garlic in a bowl.
2. Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets with cornmeal. With your fingers flatten each pizza dough ball into an 8 inch round. Place the rounds on the baking sheets. Top each with the basil mixture and arrange the tomato and mozzarella cheese around the outer edges. Spread the tomato sauce in the center of each pizza, leaving a 1 inch rim, then sprinkle the remaining basil, and the parmesan cheese. Bake until the crusts are browned and crisp, 7-8 minutes.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp - Rachel Wolfert

*If anyone would like some rhubarb - I've got a lot and would love to give it to you.  You could also get a Rhubarb start for your own garden.   Come get it before I'm gone!

This dessert became an early summer tradition while living in Michigan. We had a huge strawberry patch and a rhubarb plant in the garden. They were both ready to harvest at about the same time. The kids would help pick the strawberries and cut off the rhubarb. Serve this with some good vanilla ice cream. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

3 cups sliced rhubarb (6-8 stocks)
3 cups hulled and sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup butter, melted

1. In large bowl combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, 1/3 cup flour and cinnamon. Put into to greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In another bowl combine remaining 1 cup flour with brown sugar, oats and nutmeg. Add butter and blend well. Sprinkle over rhubarb/strawberry mixture pat gently.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven.

Hot and sweet Salsa - Kathy Jano

2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
1 purple onion diced
2 habenero peppers diced
4-6 small jalapeno peppers diced
1/2 c. sugar (but go with your own taste)
1 tsp. Salt

Simmer tomatoes, onion and peppers for a while until peppers and onions are soft. Add in Sugar and Salt to taste.

Makes about 1 quart

Fresh Salsa - Kathy Jano

*Salsa served at the Mission Home Luncheon

4 sm-med. tomatoes diced fine I used on the vine tomatoes
1 med. purple onion diced fine
2 jalapenos diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper diced
1/2 cup diced cilantro
1 t. salt

Mix
Makes about 1 quart

Sweet and Sour Chicken - Tara Giordano

We made this last night and it was so good and fairly easy. I got the recipe from www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes

***We adapted a bit by using teriyaki sauce instead of soy sauce because we ran out but it was still very good. Also, next time I think I will cut down on the vinegar - maybe just a tad, bake the chicken without the sauce so it's more crunchy, and definitley make a double batch of sauce. Delicious!

Saucy Chicken with Mushrooms - Kathy Jano

3 Chicken Breasts (boneless)
1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 C. Cooking wine
1 Can Mushrooms
2 T Butter (Melted) or Olive Oil
1 t Woschetshire
1 t Rosemary
1/4 t Garlic Powder
I actually didn't put the garlic in because I forgot, but I don't think it was missed.
 
Cook in the crockpot for 4-5 hours on high.

Costa Vida Sweet Pork - Linda Day

1 pork loin ... seasoned to taste. I use Nature Seasons seasoning salt and sprinkle liberally. Same with garlic salt. I then give the pork a little massage to rub the seasonings into the loin. Place in crock-pot and cook on low for 4-5 hrs. Add the sweet sauce and cook for a couple more hours. Then shred the pork.

Sweet Sauce ...
1 (12 oz) can coca-cola (I use diet/decaffeinated to cut sugar and free my conscience)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 - 1 cup br. sugar (I used Splenda br. sugar, and I think 1/4 cup is better to my taste, but used 1/2 cup at the luncheon. It is supposed to be sweet. It is not a barbecue sauce wanna-be.)

Now, serve this with tortillas, cheese, shredded lettuce, ch. onions, ch. tomatoes, black beans - well-drained, corn niblets - also well-drained. You can add olives, etc. if you like.

And then top with this Elixer :

Costa Vida Creamy Tomatillo Dressing ...
1 16 oz jar of mild salsa verde. (This is the green kind in the Mexican food aisle.)
1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1/2-1 bunch cilantro
pinch of garlic salt
1/4 tsp (or more) tabasco

Whirl in blender, and refridge for a couple of hours before using to give ingredients a chance to "marry". Better with time, so make the whole recipe even though you only drizzle it over the tacos. Makes a good salad dressing, a good drizzle on nachos, over a bowl of chili, over enchiladas. Or you can just drink it with a straw !

Praline Sweet Potatoes - Michelle Dalton

4 medium sweet potatoes or yams (1-1/2 pounds)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Wash and peel potatoes; cut into quarters. Cook in enough boiling, lightly salted water to cover for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender; drain well.
2. Grease 8x8x2-inch baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, beat sweet potatoes with an electric mixer on low sped until smooth. Beat in the sugar, the 1/4 cup melted butter, and salt until well combined. Add milk and eggs. Beat until just combined. Spread in baking dish.
3. For topping: In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle topping over the potato mixture. Bake in a 350 degree F oven 30 minutes or until set. Makes 6 servings.

Tortellini Bake

We cut this recipe in half and ended up eating the ENTIRE pan! It was really good.

16 ounce package of cheese tortellini
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces
3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces (1 cup) chicken broth
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream
8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the tortellini for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 1-2minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.

Pumpkin Cake - Rosemary Lyman

2 C Flour
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 t Cinnamon
1/4 t Cloves
1/4 t Nutmeg
1 t Baking Soda
2 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Salt

Combine this in a bowl and then add
4 Eggs
1 C Oil
1 16 oz Can of Pumpkin

Mix well pour onto a sheet cake pan (cookie sheet).
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Spaghetti Pie - Michelle Dalton

Whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup broccoli puree
¼ cup spinach puree
1/4 cup carrot puree
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 cups bottled tomato or spaghetti sauce
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander (Skip this step if you have leftover pasta)
3. In a small bow, mix the ground beef with the broccoli puree, egg white, parmesan and garlic. Form the mixture into 1/2 inch balls
4. In a large bowl, stir the cooked pasta, tomato sauce, cottage cheese, carrot and spinach purees, and salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the pie plate and smooth the top. Scatter meatballs on top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, uncovered until the center is firm and the cheese is bubbly, 25 – 30 minutes.

Note: the basic recipe is from the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, but some of the things in here are my adaptations.

Lentil Soup - Michelle Dalton

3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 large potato or 2 medium
1 onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes (28 ounces), with juice, chopped
1-2 cup lentils
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoons dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1 Tblsp. Dried basil
4 cubes beef bullion
4 squirts worshtershire sauce
1 tsp. hoisen sauce

Fill a large pot 1/3 full with water, heat over high heat and bring to a boil. Add carrots, potato, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes to give them a head start on softening. Turn down heat to medium and add all remaining ingredients. Cook until vegetables and lentils are soft, about 20-30 minutes.

Note: If your lentils are canned, rinse and follow this recipe as is, if they are dried, soak the lentils over night or 6-8 hours before beginning.

Puerto Rican Bean Soup - Michelle Dalton

1 c. chopped onion
½ c. green pepper
3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
½ c. cilantro
½-1 c. ham
olive oil
salt and pepper
¼ tsp. cumin
2 cans red or black beans (I use black)
1 can tomato sauce (small 6-8 oz ones)
water (or chicken broth)
1 potato, handful of squash, 1-2 carrots (optional , but recommended)

Saute onions, oil, pepper, garlic and ham. Add cilantro and garlic,
saute a little longer and then add tomato sauce, bean, 2 cans of water,
salt, pepper and cumin. You can then add veggies. Bring to a boil and
simmer for ½ hour until everything is hot and soft.

Chicken Enchiladas - Michelle Dalton

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 small can chopped Green Chilies
1 can Green Enchilada Sauce
½ cup Milk
2 cooked, shredded Chicken breasts
Couple dollops of sour cream - optional
Shredded Colby jack or cheddar cheese
4 soft wheat tortilla shells
1 cup frozen sweet corn

Mix cream of chicken soup, chilies, milk, sour cream, cheese, corn, and chicken in bowl. Pour enchilada sauce on plate. Lay tortillas in enchilada sauce on both sides and fill with soup mixture. Roll and put in glass baking dish. Repeat with all 4 tortillas (or however many you can make with the amount of filling you have). Pour left over sauce from plate over rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle with a little more cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes - just until is an even temperature.

Note - I also like to put vegetable purees in this one - several heaping tablespoons of mashed squash, yams, or even some spinach or peas add a lot of nutrition and don't detract from the flavor.

Sweet Pulled Pork - Stake RS Broadcast Dinner 09

2 and 1/2 pounds pork loin
1 cup salsa - your choice of heat and brand, we used Ortega chunky salsa medium heat
1/2 cup of brown sugar

Combine all three ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 5-6 hours. Remove fat from pork loin and then shred pork with two forks.

Serve on tortillas with lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream

German Chocolate Cheesecake - Tara Giordano

1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
FROSTING:
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS
1.Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
2.Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top; spread to edge of pan.
3.Bake at 325 degrees F for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
4.For frosting, combine sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks in a heavy saucepan. Cool and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Guadalupe-River-Bottom Pie - Rachel Wolfert

1st Layer
1 cup flour, 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts work well), 1/2 cup melted butter
Mix together, put in greased 9x13 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

2nd Layer
12 oz softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup cool whip
Mix together and smooth out over 1st layer.

3rd layer
1 large and 1 small box instant chocolate pudding
2 3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix together, pour over top of second layer.

4th layer
Cool whip
sprinkle chocolate curls on top

Assemble and let chill in the fridge until your ready serve.

Judy's Carmel Corn - Jackie Beauchamp

4 quarts (16 C.) Popcorn - popped
1 C. sugar
1/3 C. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. corn syrup (light or dark)

Mix all but popped corn and boil 5 minutes. Pour over popped corn, carefully stir, spread onto cookie sheet. Place in oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 15 mins. Spread out onto wax paper to cool making sure to break apart so that it doesn't stick together to much.

Microwave directions:

Mix all but popped corn in microwave safe bowl. (This will bubble up so allow extra room for expansion.) Microwave on high 3 - 4 minutes, stirring every minute. This will be bubbly and VERY hot. Pour over popped corn, carefully stir, put into a paper sack. (I put the popcorn into the sack after popping it, and pour it over into the sack and stir it there.) Roll down top of bag to fit into microwave. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Shake bag. Microwave another minute. Shake bag again. Repeat one more time or until it is hot through. Be careful not to do it to many times as it will burn. Spread out onto wax paper to let cool, breaking apart so that does not cool into one massive chunk!

Cinnamon Pumkin Pancakes - Jackie Beauchamp

Ingredients:

2 C. whole wheat flour (all-purpose will work)
2 TBS. br. sugar
1 TBS. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
2 C. milk
1/2 C. pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 lrg. egg
2 TBS. oil

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Slowly stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until blended, it will be slightly lumpy.
Cook on a griddle until cooked through.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

If you like nuts, try adding to this recipe either in it, or on top with your syrup! I have used tried walnuts and pecans, both were very good.