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!!

Oatmeal Spice Raisin (if you want) Cake

s

Got this one from mi mom-in-law. It is one of Senor's favorites and he asked for it last year on his birthday...no I'm not just now getting around to making it!! What kind of person do you think I am?!

I made it again the other night and if you make it sans icing it's relatively healthy. Now, the icing...that's a different story. And senor would NEVER eat it if there were no icing...so just know for the anti-healthnuts out there the icing is crucial!

The RECIPE:
1 c quick oats (I used regular cooking ones just fine so don't panic)
1 c boiling water
2 eggs
1 1/2 c brown sugar (ok so maybe this pushes over the healthy cliff)
4-5 Tbsp butter
1 c flour
1 c raisins (optional but strongly encouraged)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon (don't skimp!)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour boiling water over oats and let them sit for 5-10 min. In a separate large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add the flour, raisins, bkg soda, bkg pwder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Mix well. Add in the oatmeal mixture. Mix even more...it will be very runny. Don't worry.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour 8x8 or bundt pan. Bake for 30-35 min OR until toothpick comes out CLEAN...don't over cook it!

ICING:
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 c milk
1 c brown sugar

1. In sauce pan over med heat melt 3 Tbsp butter; add 1/4 c milk and sugar. Stir until just combined and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and whisk in 1 3/4 c powdered sugar. Quickly pour over cake...this icing hardens quickly! Do not over cook or it will become like pralines. (which isn't necessarily a bad thing?!)

Asian Noodle Salad

Naked Asian Salad

We tried this salad from Pioneer Woman for a multitude of reason. It looked easy and yummy. It looked quite nutritious. We wanted something on the lighter side for dinner. It was very colorful and pretty (okay so maybe only I thought that but it still counts). And if I could just go pluck the veggies for this out of my garden like she does, I would feel I'd arrived; perhaps one day!

Anyways. For senor we added some boiled chicken. Used rice noodles (I would totally recommend that, NOT LINGUINE)--you can find them in your asian section of the grocery store...just boil them like pasta but be careful they only need to cook for a few minutes.

Dressed up Asian Salad with dressing and chicken!

Overall, it was a decent salad. Was not as keen on it for night #2; and there's still a big bowl of it in the fridge...I would recommend cutting into 1/2 or 1/3 if you're cooking for just 2 people.

Tortilla Soup-a

This recipe came from a friend of mine...it's super delish. Not to mention easy and quick. Sorry I don't have pics. I'll work on that. I've never had anyone turn it down or say they didn't like it. Try it...like now, tonight. go!

chicken tortilla soup:
1 med red onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic (I always go for 2-3)
36 oz chicken broth
1 14-oz can corn, no drain
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, no drain
1 can black beans, rinsed, drained (optional, but strongly recommended)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed, drained (again optional, but...)
2 c cooked chicken, chopped
2-3 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp cumin (opt)
dash red pepper or cayenne sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp dried oregano

Optional garnishes:
sour cream
tostidos or tortillas
chopped olives
pepper jack cheese
sliced avocado
fresh chopped cilantro
garlic, Parmesan, butter, parsley sour dough toast (or tortillas--toasted in the oven with little of each sprinkled on top!--then cut into triangles)

To make:
1. in large stock pot heat oil on med hi; sautee peppers, onions and garlic. When onions soft/translucent add tomatoes and corn.
2. Add oregano and chili powder (and cumin)
3. Add broth
4. Decrease heat and allow to simmer for 15 min
5. Add chicken. (and beans)
6. Allow to cook for another 10 min or so...done.

You can put tortillas (or chips) in the bottom of your bowl and put soup over it; or you can leave them to the side and dip in your soup...I prefer the latter.

Now for the shortcuts:
* chicken: OPT #1--you can buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli and chop it up; #2--use canned chicken if you're into that kind of thing; #3--I personally prefer the cheap chicken breasts with skin and bone still on, boil it then cut it up
* onions and peppers--they sell them in the frozen veggie dept all ready chopped and set to go and it saves LOTS of time!! no real detriment to flavor
*buy already minced garlic

IF you buy rotisserie chicken (or canned), frozen veggies and canned corn etc this soup is so easy to throw together!!

Fancy Lemon Tart

I loved lemon bars as a kid. My mom would buy the Krusteaz brand and mix them up...oh they were so good! I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen as was hoping for something a little more amazing I suppose. Other than presentation, they tasted pretty much like the box of lemon bars...I guess they were healthier in that I made it from scratch--including the crust?

you can visit the site if you want the low down on the details...

Granola Crunch Cakes

These came from a dining experience at a place in Austin (Kirby Lane Diner--yummy stuff)...we adapted it at home for an easy (no, seriously...EASY) delicious meal.

1 box Krusteaz blueberry pancake mix
1 container frozen/fressh blueberries (I like using fresh, but if not available using frozen wild blueberries works well too)
1/2-1 c kashi go lean crunch cereal (crushed up in a zip lock bag)
Maple syrup
vanilla yogurt
bacon/sausage, scrambled eggs?

1. Mix up desired amount of pancake mix following instructions on back. Stir in desired amt of blueberries.
2. Heat non-stick skillet over med-hi heat (or use a griddle), coat with butter/oil/nonstick spray
3. Pour amt for each pancake onto skillet...just like regular pancakes so far huh?! Nothing to complicated.
4. Now, take a little scoop of the kashi and sprinkle it on top of the pancake...wait til edges are browning, flip. cook til browned on both sides!

Serve with syrup, yogurt, etc

Another EASY dinner

I am trying to post some recipes that are easy, quick and realistic for most people to "whip together" on a weeknight.

This one is from none other than my fav Debra at Smitten Kitchen. I love that you use a blender to make it.

GERMAN PANCAKES:
(makes 2 9" pancakes)
4 eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c flour
2/3 c milk
2 Tbsp butter, softened

Preheat oven 400 degrees. GREASE WELL 2 9" tart/round pans.
In a blender, stir/mix eggs til they're yellow. Add the remaining ingredients and "mix/blend" for 1-3 min until smooth, scrape down the sides as needed.
Pour 1 c of mixture into each pan and bake for 15-20 min; decrease temp to 350 degrees and bake for another 5-10 min (it will be all poofy!)

Remove from oven, place on plate and eat it all up!! We like ours with fresh fruit, pure maple syrup and vanilla yogurt, but you go with whatever blows your skirt up!!
** for "a complete meal" for your male companions, you can serve with bacon/sausage and some toast/english muffins

Thai Spring Rolls

Have you ever been to a Thai restaurant? Have you ever ordered those cute little appetizers called spring rolls? We have, and we do quite often. I came across this recipe (sadly I don't recall from where) and it was actually really easy. We paired it with our usual peanut sauce and done! Easy, yummy dinner.

You'll need:
Spring roll wrappers (we used BANH TRANG-it has a huge red rose on it)
1/2 c bean sprouts
1/3 head green/purple cabbage, shredded thinly (or buy a bag of coleslaw mix in the salad section)
5 green onions, chopped
1 c thin rice noodles, pre-cooked (We used SARAP rice sticks, you just put them in hot/boiling water til they're tender--maybe 5-10min, then drain)
1/4 c fresh cilantro, basil or mint, chopped
1/4-1/3 c carrots julienned (you can buy them already thinly cut near the baby carrots)
1 Tbsp lime juice (maybe more?)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (again, more?)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated optional...increase?

OPT: add in some cooked, chopped chicken (short-cut: buy it from the lunch meat section)

For the sauce:
3 Tbsp peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp hot sauce ** optional
1 clove garlic minced (or 1/8 tsp garlic powder)
1 Tbsp oil (sesame is best, but veggie will work too)

For the sauce:
stir together pnut butter and honey, add 2 Tbsp hot water, mix til smooth. Add soy sauce, lime juice, hot sauce, garlic. Mix well. Slowly stir in oil; mix til smooth and refrigerate

For the rolls:
1. Fill a pan (9x13) with HOT water.
2. ** you can keep your veggies separate and stack them neatly or you can mix all veggies, cilantro, soy sauce, lime juice and ginger in a large bowl.
3. Take 2 wrappers and submerse them in the water. hold them there for 15 sec or until they're translucent (like jelly fish)
4. remove from the water, place on large clean working surface (our cutting board worked well)
5. place a small handful of veggies--2 Tbsp? (or stack them) approx 1/3 way towards top, in the center.
5.5 top with small amount of noodles
6. Fold in R side, Fold in L side
7. Keeping your thumbs on the bottom side and pushing up, reach up and grab the top flap and pull it tightly over the entire bundle. con't to roll til it's sealed...
You're done!

Quick and Easy

We do make alot of complicated recipes, I personally like the challenge. But we also have nights where things need to be quick, easy and still delicious. One thing we tried last night which was really good was Smitten Kitchen's blacked bean tacos. (with feta and coleslaw). I was quite skeptical of the combination of flavors but found they played off each other very well...

All you'll need are a few easy to find ingredients.
-1 15-oz can black beans (I used a can of Goya black bean soup we had floating around)--DRAIN optional...if you're using soup I would drain, if regular beans, don't
-1 4 oz container feta crumbled (again, it's Sunday so we used our sun-dried tomato and herbs blend)
-flour tortillas (probably 4-6)
-1 bag coleslaw mix or shredd your own cabbage-- you'll need 1-2 c total; the shredded cabbage mix is usually sold near the carrots and salad bags in produce
-green onions (2-3) sliced (OR if your us...chop approx 1/4 c regular onion finely)
-fresh cilantro--1 bunch--(1/3 c chopped)
-lime juice
-olive oil
-salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder
OPTIONAL add-ins: chopped chicken (you could use the stuff from the lunch meat section), shredded cheese (we used some Mozarella we had left over), sour cream, avocado (wish we'd had some!)

From there, this takes about 15 min to fix.
1. put cabbage, cilantro and onions in a bowl, add 2 tsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp lime juice...mix it all together
2. Stir in approx 1 tsp cumin, 1-2 tsp chili powder into beans; add 1 tsp olive oil; stir up. Heat beans in skillet (or in microwave) until hot, smash them up a little with fork...I personally think the bean soup worked well for this
3. in med skillet heat little oil on med-hi til hot, add 1 flour tortilla, let it brown on one side, flip, add shredded cheese, beans, slaw; fold in half...remove when it's browned on outside

That's it. Really easy, very very good. It made about 5 tacos for us last night which was perfect...2 for me, 3 for senor.

She Drives a Vegetable Car

I made 2 things of yumminess tonight. My taste buds were in a haze of pure culinary delight. About a month or so ago, we visited some friends for dinner who made a most wonderful Cauliflower soup (now you must keep in mind this is the vegetable-loving girl talking, not my vegetable-skeptical husband) for us to nosh on, all the way home I thought about the soup. I meant to ask for the recipe and forgot. Fortunately for me, my friend PW came to the rescue a few days later!

She made this, and she made this one time as well which was part of my amazing meal tonight too...I'll let her give you the recipe she demonstrates it so well; just know I decreased the butter called for by half...didn't use the sour cream. It was still AMAZING. And I also used 1 big head broccoli + 1 head cauliflower instead of only Cauliflower, chopping them in pretty big chunks so they didn't cook into mush.

I present to you:

Butternut Squash Puree (I keep it pure...no butter or syrup) and
Cauliflower (with broccoli) soup!