Wednesday, April 29, 2009

newsletter

In this morning's newspaper, I read about this newsletter you can sign up f0r at http://www.servingsupper.com/. The author is a certified personal trainer and nutrition and weight loss counselor. The article says: "It's full of healthy dinner recipes, menus and grocery lists to help families save money, save time, eat better and live lighter... " One dietitian said, "Nutritionally, the suppers average 25% fat and every meal has vegetables in it, promotes whole grains, etc.The only thing I would add are more vegetarian meals."

I haven't signed up yet, but I might.

Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves. This bread turned out amazing!! I saw this demonstrated on a food storage website. The combination of gluten, potato flakes, and vinegar make the bread soft and springy like store bought bread. Usually my wheat bread is very fragile, falls apart easily, and doesn't last for more than a couple days, so I am excited to have this awesome recipe!

2 1/2 c warm water
2 T yeast
1/2 c honey (or 1/4 c molasses or 2/3 c brown sugar)
5 1/2 c whole wheat flour (may need to add 1 c more [or so])
1/2 c gluten
1 T salt
1/4 c powdered milk (non instant)
2 T butter, or oil
1/2 c potato flakes (or use 1/2 c water to dissolve yeast in, then use 2 c potato water)
2 T vinegar

*Don't use potato pearls, needs to be flakes. I saw some potato starch at the health food store, so I just bought some of that and used about 1 T. But saving the water you boil potatoes in will work just as well.

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit until foamy. Add other ingredients and mix well. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Cover and let rise until double. Use the "poke test" to check to see if the dough is ready...if the indentations stay it's ready. Punch down dough. Form into a ball and divide dough by cutting down the center of the ball. Roll dough with a rolling pin into a 9X18 rectangle. Roll the dough up (this gets rid of baked air bubbles and makes bubbles more uniform); "karate chop" the ends closed and fold under; seal the long edge by pinching the dough together. Let rise in greased loaf pans for about 1/2 hour (again you can use a gentle "poke test"). Bake 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees. (I left min in for 30 minutes, but after about 15-20 minutes I set a piece of tinfoil over the tops so they wouldn't get too brown.) Test the loaf to see if it's done by removing loaf and tapping bottom. If it sounds hollow it is done. Cool on wire rack.

Cinnamon Rolls

I used half whole wheat flour for this recipe and it turned out really yummy! The kids were clueless...they ate them and asked for more! This is just the "Lion House Dinner Roll" recipe which is my favorite for rolls too.

2 T dry yeast
2 c warm water
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c shortening (or use oil)
2 1/2 t salt
2/3 c nonfat dry milk
5-6 c flour
1 egg

filling:
4 T butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
*Mix butter in with a fork until crumbly.

Combine yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, shortening (or oil), salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add 2 more cups of flour, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add about one more cup flour, 1/2 c at a time until well mixed. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and satiny (I just let my mixer knead if for me). Return dough to an oiled bowl and cover to let rise until about triple in size. Use last of the flour as needed on the board for rolling and shaping the dough into a rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough, roll up and pinch the seam closed. Use a knife (or I always use a piece of thread to cut through the dough) to cut out cinnamon rolls. Put on a greased pan and let rise for 30-40 minutes (until doubled). Bake 375 until light brown about 15-20 minutes. Frost with a glaze or your favorite frosting.

Nana's Banana Bread

I got this on a recipe card in the mail (trying to entice you to order more recipe cards). It was SO yummy!

5 T butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c mashed, very ripe bananas
1 3/4 c flour
1 t bakinig soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 c heavy cream (I just used milk)
1/2 c chopped walnuts

You mix it up like you would for cookies. Mix the dry ingredients together and add it to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Spray bottom only of loaf pan. Bake 350 for about 1 hour 15 minutes (mine didn't take that long) or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

I got this recipe off My Kitchen Cafe and it turned out yummy!

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts)
1 c canned coconut milk
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t pepper
1 t red pepper flakes

Mix the above ingredients and marinate chicken in it for at least one hour (she let hers marinate 4-5 hours). Grill on barbeque (we have a grill attachment on our stove which was nice).

Glaze:
3/4 c rice vinegar
1/2 c sugar
3 T soy sauce
1 t red pepper flakes

While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat. Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.

Sidenots: The blog suggested using the extra coconut milk left in the can as part of the liquid in the rice. It made the rice mildly sweet and went well with the chicken.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Pizza Hut Pizza Sauce

3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 T. tomato paste
1 T + 1 t. sugar
1 t. dried oregano leaves
1/2 t. garlic powder
pinch of ground black pepper

In a bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to blend well. Store in an airtight plastic container for up to 5 days. Makes about 1 scant cupt, enough for 4 Personal Pan Pizzas or 1 large.

(Another Devin Alexander recipe)

Spaghetti Sauce (short method)

1/2 c. onions, chopped
1/4 c. green pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove crushed
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

Saute vegetables and seasoning in a little olive oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer about 10 minutes.

Mostly Mom's Marinara Sauce

1 t. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c. minced onions
2 T. minced garlic
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 T dried oregano
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t. salt

Saute first 3 ingredients together in non-stick sauce pan over medium heat until tender, 7-10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cook over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, about an hour. Makes 6 1/2 - 7 cups. (From The Most Decadent Diet Ever, by Devin Alexander.)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Spaghetti Casserole

1/2 lb ground beef
1 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can of corn, drained
cheese
12 oz spaghetti noodles (cooked)

Cook the ground beef thoroughly, drain excess fat. Cook approximately 12 oz of spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

In a casserole dish, mix all the ingredients together except the cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350*F for about 30 minutes.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I am sure it is incredibly easy, but I am wondering who has a yummy recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce and homemade pizza sauce. I think I would like to try at making my own but am not really sure where to start.

Glazed Carrots--I don't really know what they are called.

Two 16 oz bags of baby carrots
Two 1 oz packets of ranch seasoning
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Boil carrots for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Drain carrots and set aside. In a sauce pan, melt butter and add the brown sugar and ranch seasoning, stir until blended well. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes.

Simply Yummy Chicken

I don't know what else to call this. It's simple and so yummy.

4-6 chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheese

Place chicken in a casserole dish. In a bowl, mix both soups and the cheese together. Pour soup/cheese mixture over the chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until chicken is fully cooked.

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