Wheat Bread

I found out my friend Holly bakes her own bread for her family. She gave me a loaf early in my pregnancy when I wasn't feeling well. It was so soft and delicious that I asked for the recipe. I've made it twice on my own and it is fantastic!!! And it's oh so healthy and uses your food storage. The instructions are intense, but read the tips and give it a go. You won't regret it. :)

Wheat Bread
Holly Harwood
(Bosch Kitchen Center)

4 cups Warm (on the verge of hot) Water
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp Salt
3 Tbsp Yeast
1/2 cup gluten flour (available at Macey's and it's called Vital Wheat Gluten)
Wheat Flour (8 to 9 cups--keep adding until it cleans the side of your bowl)

Mix all ingredients and 1/2 the flour until combined. Slowly add the reset of the flour one cup at a time until the dough forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl. Knead on the lowest setting in the mixer for 8 minutes. Remove from mixer and form into 3 loaves. Place in greased bread pans and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise until loaves have doubled in size: approximately 35 minutes. (It took mine longer--probably because it's winter.) Once risen, place all three pans into a cold--not preheated--oven. THEN test the temperature to 350 degrees and the timer to 26 minutes. The loaves should be golden brown on top when time is up--if not bake for a little longer checking it every minute. Immediately remove bread from the pan and place on cooling racks to cool. Once cooled store in bread bags.


Helpful Tips

• Buy the largest container of honey that will give you the ability to pour it to measure--squeezing the little bear takes WAY too long!!
• SAF blend yeast works well. IF you cannot find it, this recipe requires rapid rise yeast. (SAF brand can be found at Bosch Store and Maceys).
• Gluten flour is important because it bonds to the yeast to give the bread a lighter and more airy texture. It also helps the bread maintain its freshness. It too can be purchased at the Bosch store or Maceys. If you can't find gluten or just don't care, simply add an extra half cup of flour at the beginning ant it will turn out okay--it's just not quite as good.
• I like to grind my own wheat because it is a lot less expensive and contains no preservatives. If you want to use freshly ground wheat, but don't have a grinder, you can have it ground at your Bosch store for about 40 cents a pound.
• While freshly ground wheat is the best for this recipe, you may use either whole wheat or white flour--whichever suits your personal tastes. I would recommend only using bread flour because it bakes up differently than unbleached flour. My favorite brand is Gold Medal Better for Bread flour which comes in both white and wheat varieties. If you use white flour, you will need to add more than if you use wheat.
• Don't be intimidated by the vague flour measurements. I add a different amount of flour to every batch of bread I bake. I simply wait for the dough to begin to pull away from the sides of my mixing bowl. It's more about the look of the dough than the precise measurements and it turns out better when I am not precise. Once the kneading is done it should be soft and slightly sticky.
• You can either purchase bread bags at the Bosch or grocery store. The bags at the Bosch store will be quite a bit longer and easier to fit the loaves in.

Ms. Amidey's Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

First of all... Christina... look how obedient I am!!  We just got out of church 40 minutes ago!!

I got this recipe from my daughters dance teacher Ms. Amidey.  It's moist and delicious, decadent and naughty... I promise this frosting will make you say bad words.

The Cake
Beat together:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar

Then add:
1 1/3 cups HOT water from the tap
Beat some more...
Add:
4 eggs
1 TB vanilla
1 1/3 cups sour cream
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt and
1 cup cocoa.

Pour into a large Pam sprayed sheet cake pan.
Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

The Frosting
Melt:
1/2 cup butter
Beat in:
12 TB cocoa
Add:
4 to 6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup sour cream and
1 tsp vanilla.

(Amidey said you can half this recipe for a 9 by 13 or 2 round cake pans - I think she said the cooking time is 15 to 20 minutes.)

Please make this cake... you will feel happy and proud... and a little bit naughty - Just in time for Valentines Day!!!

Tilapia Parmesan

I had frozen tilapia fillets in my fridge and wanted to cook them without just using a premade sauce. I searched allrecipes and found this winner. Brent loved it! I am always thrilled and surprised when that happens. :) I only wanted to do 4 fillets and made the whole recipe. It was plenty to go around. Definitely wrap your pan in aluminum foil.

Also, my broiler doesn't work so I baked the fillets without the sauce for 15 minutes at 450 and then spread the sauce for the last couple of minutes until it browned.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
   
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets
Directions:
1.     Preheat oven broiler. Grease broiling pan or line with aluminum foil.
2.     Mix Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well and set aside. Arrange fillets in a single layer on prepared pan.
3.     Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip fillets over and broil for 2 or 3 minutes more. Remove fillets from oven and cover with Parmesan mixture on top side. Broil until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 2 minutes.

Pumpkin GInger Snaps

These are the ultimate Christmas cookie.  They are soooo soft and yummy and I could eat a million of them! Plus, pumpkin is on sale right now!

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

½ cup of butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
½ cup of pure pumpkin (I used Libby's canned pumpkin)
¼ cup of molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.

3. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Honey Butter Pull Apart Rolls

Okay, I made these tonight for my hubbies birthday and YUM!  I love how they look and taste.  The butter and honey is slathered in and on them before you bake them.  I also thought these were much easier than they look, bonus when bringing a dish to someone's house!  I will be making these little gems for years to come!  Give them a go sometime soon...

Honey Butter Pull Apart Rolls

http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2012/10/honey-butter-pull-apart-rolls.html

1-1/2 cups hot water {as hot as you can get it out of the tap.}

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. salt

3-1/2 to 4 cups bread flour {or all-purpose flour is fine)

3/8 cup (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted

3 Tbsp. honey

3/4 tsp. salt


*Note: I did this in my stand mixture with my dough hook and it was the easiest thing ever. Hand mixing should work well too, but I highly recommend it in a stand mixer if you have one!*


Spray a large bowl with cooking spray; set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together water, yeast, and sugar; let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, 2 cups of flour, and the yeast mixture until well combined.

Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in the greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

After doubled, punch down dough and lay on floured surface.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll dough out until about 20 inches by 12 inches.

In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, and salt.

Brush dough with half of the butter mixture.

With a pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into sixths and crosswise into twelfths.

Make stacks of 4 dough squares and place each stack into a greased muffin tin cup.

Brush with the remaining butter mixture.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

Chipotle Tamale Pie

I apologize for my absence lately.  It really is quite easy to get so swamped with life and endeavors that you want to pursue.  Currently, I'm pursuing the development of an App.  Yep, be excited for a really sweet App for both Android and Apple to come your way just before Christmas.

Even with this App excitement I have been baking and cooking.  I can't let my family go hungry.  Last week I made my Chipotle Tamale Pie.  This is a fabulously hearty, delicious, and nutritious meal.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Tamale Pie
From my Diabetic Cooking Cookbook (No, I'm not diabetic, and I'm not sure where I got the cookbook from.  However, there are some good ones in here)

1 lb of ground turkey or ground beef (I use an entire pkg of of the Jennie-O ground turkey so I believe that is 20oz)
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups of diced bell pepper (choose whichever color pepper you prefer)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsps ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of stewed tomatoes, undrained (the recipe says 8 oz, but I use the big can which is 13.75oz or something)
2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (minced)- You can do more here if you like it super spicy
1-2 tsp of adobo sauce from the canned chilies (the more you add the spicier it will be)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of cilantro chopped
and whatever ingredients you need for cornbread whether that is a jiffy mix (egg, milk, and the mix) or your own

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook turkey, onion, bell peppers, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until meat is cooked through.
3. Sprinkle cumin on top of skillet mixture and stir it all in.
4. Add beans, tomatoes, chilies, and adobo sauce; bring to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Remove skillet from heat and stir in cheese and cilantro (sometimes I don't do cilantro, or I used dry cilantro).
6.  I spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.  Then I pour the skillet mixture into the baking dish.
7.  Finally, I make my cornbread (I have a great recipe that I'll share later) and pour the cornbread over the over the turkey mixture.  If you use a jiffy mix for cornbread then just one box of jiffy mix will work great.
8.  Cook the dish uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the cornbread is a beautiful golden brown.

I hope you enjoy this dish.  It is one of our family favorites!

Megs

Pumpkin Carrot Harvest Bars

First, sorry that all of my posts are out of order. This is another recipe from the recipe party I had the other night. There is one more recipe I need to add from the party. Second, sorry for the recipe bombing this morning. As I said in an earlier post, I fell a little behind.

These are my all time favorite fall recipe. I love everything pumpkin and I also love cream cheese frosting! This recipe has both of those! Hope you love these bars just as much as I do! Finally, sorry, but I don't have a source for this recipe because I really have been making it for years.

1/3 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar

Beat together the butter and sugars until they are crumbly. Then add wet ingredients:

2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1-15 oz can Pumpkin puree

Blend until well combined. Add dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (or 1 1/2 flour and 1/2 almond flour)
2 1/4 tsp Pumpkin Spice
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

Stir in:
1 cup finely shredded Carrot
1/2 cup Craisins, optional
1/2 cup pecans, optional

Put batter into a 13x9 pyrex. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Once the bars are cooked and cooled add your favorite Cream cheese frosting. 

Apple Pie Oatmeal

Now that it is the fall and finally apple season again, I have been cooking a lot! One of the first Pinterest recipes I wanted to make was this one. I already love oatmeal and who doesn't love hot apple pie?! This recipe is one of those that perfectly combines two things that I already loved: you get the comfort factor of the oatmeal combined with the hot apples and syrup that make apple pie so yummy. I also love that since this is oatmeal, I don't get hungry before lunch like I do when I eat cereal. Although this was originally a Pinterest recipe, I have changed it here because the original recipe cooked the apples and oatmeal together, but I couldn't get them cooked right at the same time so I make the two parts separately here.

Here's how I make it:

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP butter

I bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the apples, spices and sugar.  Saute everything over medium-low until the apples are soft but still have a little bite. Add your oat to the water. Add more or less water depending on the consistency that you prefer. Top with apples and syrup.
 That's all there is to it. Serve it with a splash of milk if desired.

Note: Ethan and I both liked this with lots of apples, so I make one apple for the two of us. This recipe also duplicates really easily, so I like to make two apples worth and then store the leftovers for later in the week.