Freezer/Food Storage Food

This recipe is probably not new, but I like to think I created it!
I present to you MEXICAN CASSEROLE or LASAGNA or whatever you want to call it.

If you play your cards right you could easily make this from all things food-storage. It also usually makes enough for 2 VERY LARGE casseroles which you then freeze one for later. And it's super hearty, meaning 1 dish will last forever. Between senor and I it's usually around 3-5 days later. (and still good too)

Here's what you'll need (tweak as you like or for what you have available)

* 2-3 chicken breasts (pref with bone and skin on), cooked, shredded (with skin removed and bones gone too)
* 1 onion, chopped (I like using the frozen chopped onion)
* 1 green pepper, chopped (again, frozen is so much easier)
* taco seasoning (or just some chili powder and cumin)
* chicken broth (or water)

* 2-3 roma tomatoes, chopped (you could use canned diced,
drained)
*1/2 bag fresh chopped spinach (totally optional but we like it)

* 1 jar salsa
* 1 box Uncle Ben's Mexican Fiesta rice (or your own preferred brand of mex rice)-cooked per instructions

* 1 can refried beans
* 1 can cream of chicken soup
* 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 pack of 10 count flour tortillas (not the little fajita sized, the next size up; and not the jumbo either--I think last I used was some Mission grande??)
* 2.5 c shredded monterrey or your choice cheese
OPTIONAL SIDES: sour cream, tostido chips, shredded lettuce (if you do not elect to use the spinach)

PREHEAT oven to 375-400degrees F
1. Cook the rice according to directions on box
2. Cook and shred chicken
3. In large skillet heat little EVOO, stir in onions and peppers, cook til soft; add in chicken, taco seasoning (to your liking) and add enough chicken broth to keep things moist and mixin'...friends don't let friends' chicken dry out.
4. In med bowl mix together refried beans and cream of chicken soup (I've also stirred in sour cream and cheese before but I prefer to keep the layer thing going so I don't do this now)
5. Get 2 large round casserole dishes (think Corningware)
6. Chop all your other ingredients, or prepare them for the assembly line!
7. "Ice" one tortilla with a scoop of the bean mixture, place bean sie up in the bottom of the dish; top with scoop of chicken mix, then rice, then salsa, spinach, tomatoes, cheese, repeat. OR however you want to layer it. I tend to make 3 layers but some like to do it so there's beans, tortilla, chicken, tortilla, cheese and salsa, tortilla, etc...you'll need alot more tortillas for that method!! In either case, repeat in each casserole dish (be sure to keep in mind that your ingredients have to be divided into each...think in 1/6ths)

8. The final layer I like is place a tortilla on top, ice with beans, scoop or 2 of salsa and then cheese...yum!
** this one is HUGE because I used all the ingredients to make one casserole, it's much shorter if you make 2...
Now bake one for 30+ min or until it's warmed up through. Cover the other with plastic wrap, then foil (wrap thoroughly) and freeze it. It's good for about 3-6 months and just has to be thawed for approx 4-6 hrs before baking...

Cut like a pie and serve!

For food storage version I was thinking you could use canned chicken, frozen veggies, tortillas from the freezer and then everything else is pretty much canned/boxed. Esp if eliminate the spinach and fresh tomatoes, cheese. I would still want cheese, BUT it could work without it I suppose! You gurus on the topic tell me if I'm way off here. We live in a 1 bedroom apt, the concept of expansive food storage has not quite fit into our sphere yet...so tell me what you would do...

Shortcake

Senor made these lovely shortcakes earlier to go with our 9lbs of strawberry loot! It is a simple recipe and it taste good (although I grew up on angel food cake or yellow cake and actually like those better I think)...but it was nice to try "The real thing"

He can post the recipe later. (it's from Martha)

Dough...Pizza, Stromboli, use your imagination

I have found a wonderful yummy pizza dough and have used it recently for pizza-ettes (personal little pizzas) and stromboli for the last 2 nights.

Warning: you have to make it 24hrs before you need the dough, you can also freeze it for up to 3 months!
(I normally cut recipe in half and it's enough for 2 small pizzas and 1 stromboli)
4 1/2 c APF flour, chilled
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast (I'm partial to Fleischmans)
1/4 c. EVOO
1 3/4 c ice cold water (I keep a gallon in the fridge for this very purpose!)
corn meal for dusting

1. In big bowl mix together flour, salt and yeast. Gradually, using a wooden spoon or one hand mix in the EVOO and water, work dough in a circular fashion until it's mixed well (5-7 min); it should clear the sides but not the bottom, add water/flour as needed for the right consistency. Your dough should be smooth, elastic and slightly sticky (not tacky)...really it's fine if it's smooth and elastic-y...
2. Knead it a little more.
3. Divide dough into 4 equal parts, grab 4 ziplock bags sandwich/freezer size and put a tsp or 2 of EVOO in each one. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and drop one into each bag, be sure the whole dough ball is coated with oil. Put them in the fridge overnight (good for up to 3 days) or freezer (for 3 months)
4. The NEXT DAY: Remove the dough 2 1/2 hours before you plan to need it; remove from bag and place it on a greased piece of aluminum foil, allow it to rest, thaw and rise for 2 hours.
PRE HEAT OVEN TO 500 degrees F!
5. Then cover a part of counter space (or large piece of aluminum foil--recommend this) with corn meal, plop down the dough in the middle and use your hands to moosh it out into a round shape about 1/4-1/2" thick...be sure to push the middle out to the edges it can get thick. You never want a thick middle! (NOTE: IF you're making stromboli do not use the corn meal, simply grease the counter top, roll dough out with rolling pin to a 1/8" thick rectangle and preheat your oven to only 375 degrees F). Allow the dough to sit like this for a few min (15-20) while you get your toppings ready!
6. Place do the dough on a cookie sheet and put thin layer of sauce, your choice of topppings (wait for the cheese). Bake for 3-4 min. Remove, top with cheese and return to oven for 5-7 min more...keep an eye on it!

If you're making stromboli: sprinkle your choice of ingredients over the rolled out dough, think like you're making cinnamon rolls. I do not recommend using sauce or fresh/canned tomatoes. We used shrooms (canned, DRAINED well), onions, pepperoni, fresh spinach and mozarella). then begin on one edge and roll it up like a jelly roll, pinch the seams to seal it, place on cookie sheet and bake 375 F for 30 min or so.

Serve with Salad or marinara sauce or whatever you want!

Oatmeal Bake

If you bake it, they will eat it. Well, at least I'll eat it. I ran across this recipe for Oatmeal Bake in my attempts to find new things and discovered I rather liked it, it heats up well as leftovers for breakfast on morning you don't have time to make anything...and shhhh, it's healthy!

Oatmeal Bake:
(think of oatmeal in a more cakey format)

2 c oatmeal (plain ol' kind)
1 medium apple/pear chopped up
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg if it pleases you
1 c milk
1/2 c pumpkin puree, applesauce or plain/vanilla yougrt (or even 1 mashed banana)
1 egg beaten
Optional: craisins or raisins, pecans or walnuts chopped
Kashi Go Lean Crunch (or the Almond kind)

Topping: (I sometimes perfer to for-go the toppping)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
1-2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix all the ingredients for the oatmeal bake together in large bowl, EXCEPT the Kashi; pour mixture into greased 9x9 baking dish and refrigerate overnight. Top with Kashi if you choose
2. After sitting overnight in fridge, bake in oven 325 degrees F for 30 min, sprinkle on topping (if you want) and bake another 10 min or so...

Remove and eat it, you can serve it with eggs and bacon for a full meal OR just by itself or put some fruit and yogurt on the side...

I personally like it. It's good, quick and easy and is very convenient for the busy mornings!

Strawberry Scrumptiousness

We made dinner for some friends this weekend. Decided upon a "Thanksgiving" feast since we were giving thanks for the birth of their #2 kid and everyone is happy and healthy. BUT dessert was a venture into the unknown. I had seen this recipe from Deb (smitten kitchen) and thought it looked yummy; what a perfect cake to celebrate a new little girl baby!

It is easy and oh-so-very-amazing. I added a few things to make it even more terribly good (or fatteningly bad). I opted for the simple 2-layer version (2/3rds the recipe) and it was fine. I also put pureed strawberries in the middle layer instead of icing, but you could also do icing like Deb OR MIX the strawberries in with the icing! Now THAT would be divinity.

the recipe:
For the cake--
4 1/2 cups cake flour (Amanda note: if you don't have any don't fret...you can sub 1.75 cups APF + 1/4 c. cornstarch to make 2 cups of cake flour)
3 cups sugar
5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries*--use whole frozen berries, slightly thawed and pureed to make 1.5 c (about 1/2 lb)
8 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using (to make the pink color pop more)

For the cream cheese frosting--
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 small carton of heavy whipping cream (Amanda's addition)

Make the cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350»F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment and butter the paper.
2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point. (Deb note: I must warn you not to try the batter at this point. Not even a smear of it. How unbearably good it is will shock you, and lead to more dipping. Only you can stop this from coming to pass.)
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the atter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorperate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.
4. Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour. (Amanda's note: I like to wrap them loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, it makes them easier to ice)

Make the cream cheese frosting
5. In a small bowl whip heavy cream using beater until it's whipped and stiff

6. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Gently, gradually fold in the whipping cream--fold in just until blended. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Frost and assemble the cake
7. Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter. Tucking scraps of waxed paper under the edges of the cake will protect the board or plate from any mess created while frosting the cake. Spread about 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Add the top layer and frost the top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, reserving a small amount if you wish to tint it and pipe a decoration on the cake. If not, you can decorate the cake top with thinly-sliced strawberries. Remove the waxed strips to reveal and neat, clean cake board.

What would you like?

We're making dinner sometime soon for a family who just introduced numero dos into the world. I am having a very difficult time trying to decide what to make...what would you like if we were bringing dinner to your place?

Honey Wheat Bread

You've probably figured out by now that we're kind of neurotic about our food around here. This weekend at the grocery store we decided we were not willing to pay the $4 for a loaf of artisian bread from the deli for our planned grilled cheeses and tomato soup...we would just make some dangit.

I came home and made this recipe, which I've had stashed away for a while. It is pretty easy as far as bread goes and it is quite yummy. Needless to say, we had to make another loaf last night...I think the rats got into the first one because it disappeared very quickly...

RECIPE:
Makes 1 loaf
3/4 c warm water (warm-hot from the tap is perfect)
2 1/2 tsp yeast (or 1 packet of fleishman's active dry yeast)
3/4 c milk (warmed to same temp as water...few sec in the microwave; don't scald!)
2 Tbsp evoo
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
2-2.5 c APF
2 c whole wheat flour

1. Mix yeast and 1/4 c water in large warm mixing bowl. Stir. Add 1/2 c remaining water, milk, oil, honey, salt and 1 1/2 c APF. Whisk (or use electric mixer, totally not necessary) until smooth. Stir/mix in 2 c wheat flour; as it thickens you may need to use your hands to begin kneading. Gradually (1/4 c at a time) add in the remaining 1/2-1 c APF until dough does not stick to your hands and kneads well. Knead for 6-8 min or until smooth, elastic-y. Place in a well greased bowl, flipping once to grease the top side. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.

2. Plop out onto a well cleaned and lightly floured surface, knead it out into a rectangle. roll up into a log and pinch seams and ends closed, place in a bread loaf pan (greased). Cover and allow to rise for another 1 hour.

3. Bake in preheated oven 375degrees F for 35 min (I like to baste mine every 5 min or so with egg whites and we also toss in some water when we place the bread in the oven to bake to help steam it which makes it much better); when it sounds hollow when thumped it's done! Remove, allow to cool and EAT IT ALL UP!!