Homemade Bread...a Labor of Love...

Can you by cheap bread? Yes, but it doesn't taste like this. It doesn't stay with your kids until they come home from school. It doesn't hold your homemade jam the way your homemade bread can. And I love the people I make it for, so it tastes even better.

1/4 cup warm water
1 T yeast
pinch of sugar
Place in small bowl or cup and stir. Leave undisturbed for 10 min while getting other ingredients ready.
3 T honey
3 T melted butter or oil
1 T salt
2 cups very warm water
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 cup of flour
Mix above ingredients in stand mixer until combined well. Add in Yeast mixture. Slowly add 1/2 cup of flour at a time. Add flour until ball of dough forms and no longer sticks to the sides. (about 6 cups of flour in all)Knead for few minutes until an impression of your finger, bounces back. Place in greased bowl and cover with plastic. Let rise in warm spot until doubled. Punch down and divide into two pieces. shape into loaves and place in two greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until they rise at least 1 inch above the lip. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 35 minutes. The color will be a gorgeous golden color and easily release from the sides. Enjoy!

Harvest Soup

I know it's been forever since I posted on this sight. Not because we haven't been eating, but the energy required to actually remember what I make has been absent for a while. Halloween has been a busy time in our household. We have been eating lots of great things, but unless I write it down, I can't remember what exactly I did to make it so great.
Last night, was a stroke of creative genius that comes only every so often. I usually don't follow a recipe exactly unless it's something I have never tried before. Last night I completely came up with this one on my own...and not a drop was left. Even Anderson ate it!

Harvest Time Soup
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 small sugar pumpkin, peeled and cubed
1 can of creamed corn
1 lb of smoked sausage
4 T butter
1 medium onion chopped finely
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 chicken bullion cubes
salt to taste

Place butternut squash and pumpkin cubes in a bowl and fill with water to cover. Microwave for 10 to 12 min. Drain 2/3 of water and mash with fork. To large pot, add butter and onion and sausage. Saute until onions are translucent and sausage is browned. Add can of creamed corn, squash mixture, and milk. Next, add chicken bullion, sage, pepper and heat until bubbly. Add salt to taste.

This is sweet and savory at the same time. I served it with a salad, and homemade bread. I didn't have to hide the vegetables in this and my kids loved it and my husband who doesn't like squash or pumpkin, loved it!

Rice Krispy Treats

Yeah, you all probably make this one all the time, but my kids are home and it was easy!

Rice Treats
3 tbls butter
4 cups mini marshmallows or 10 oz bag
6 cups rice Krispies
dash of salt

Melt butter in a large saute. Add marshmallows and salt. Stir until melted. Add cereal. Pour onto greased cookie sheet and press flat with greased hands.

Chocolate drizzle
1 cup chocolate chips
4 tbls butter
Melt in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Add additional 15 seconds until melted. Pour into squeeze bottle. Place bottle in hot water while using to keep fluid.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Whenever I want to feel warm and cozy...this soup makes it's way to my table. I serve it with homemade bread or baking powder biscuits.

Chicken Soup
2 Tbls butter
1 medium onion diced
1 large carrot chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
Option 1: 16 cups of chicken stock with 1 can of chicken from Costco
Option 2: 16 cups water with Costco chicken base...4 tbls and 1 can of chicken from Costco
Option 3: 16 cups chicken stock(made by boiling down a leftover roasted chicken...from Costco)with chicken pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp of thyme
Saute onion, garlic, celery and carrot in the butter until tender. Add salt and pepper. Add an Option of your choice... Add bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste. At this point add 1/2 to 3/4 pound of flat or egg noodles. Boil until tender.

Alfredo

Ok, this one is for Aimee! I also used the focaccia recipe for bread sticks and a nice green salad to round out the meal.
If you just want a plain sauce, omit bacon and add 2 tbls butter. Increase the parmesan to 1/2 cup and don't add the peas. This is a great dipping sauce for breadsticks and a good white sauce for pizza as well.
"Alfredo"
1/4 pound of bacon cut into small pieces
2 tbls butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups of milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups of cream
2 tsp salt
2 handfuls of frozen peas or 1/3 cup
In large saute pan, fry pieces of bacon until crispy (you can omit this step and just use Costco bacon bits...1/4 cup and add 2 more tbls butter.) Remove bacon and keep grease in pan. To that add the butter. Saute garlic and onion until tender. Add the flour and combine. When bubbly, add milk. Stir constantly with a wisk (I like the pampered chef sauce wisk) until thickened. Add cheese. When melted, add cream. When it begins to bubble again, add peas and bacon back in. Add salt last (I would do a half a tsp at a time to compensate for super salty bacon or butter.) This recipe makes enough for a good 16 oz to 20oz package of pasta. Enjoy!

Fruit of the Vine

Tomatoes are definitely a fruit! I can't get enough of these heirloom brandywines! They are huge, sweet, and melt in your mouth. I have done so much with them...but I will give you my recipe for Roasted Tomato Sauce


Quarter about 6 lbs of tomatoes (or cut smaller if you like.) Slice one red or yellow onion. Peel 4 garlic cloves. Place on bar pan or cookie sheet with a lip. Drizzle with olive oil and Kosher salt. Place in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until skins are golden and some onions are a little charred. Let cool enough to handle. Put vegetables and a handful of fresh basil in food processor or blender and blend until smooth...or chunky(whichever you like.) One full cookie sheet makes 2 pints of sauce. I freeze mine. It's a great base for tomato soup or any dish that calls for tomato sauce.

Red Pepper Soup

Ok, so I am sick, but I had to stay warm today...so I cooked all day. The grape juice got done. My house smells like a winery. I made the Spaghetti sauce for the previous recipe. I made Shepard's Pie for dinner with beans from my garden and a wonderful roasted tomato sauce that is too die for...and I made a batch of Red Pepper soup before the peppers went bad. I am not a penny pincher by any stretch of the imagination, but I hate to see something go to waste. It's painful to me. So I made some creamy soup

Red Pepper Soup
3 to 4 red peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 T butter
Saute above vegetables with the butter for 5 to 10 minutes or until tender.
24 oz of Chicken broth
1/2 cup of cream
dash of cayenne pepper
Add broth and vegetables together and simmer for 30 min. Use immersion blender or regular blender to puree mixture. Return to pan and add cream and cayenne. Heat another 5 min or until heated through. Serve with a dollop of Sour Cream. Makes 4 servings.

"The Summer Sauce"

This is straight from Rachel Short...thanks a ton. I have so much produce to get rid of!

Summer Bounty Spaghetti Sauce
1 sliced zucchini
1 sliced yellow squash
1 sliced white or yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
Saute veggies in 2T olive oil and then add one pound of browned and drained Italian Sausage.
Add I large can crushed tomatoes and 1 can diced tomatoes. Add 2T balsamic vinegar and 2T sugar.
Mix well, cover and simmer for about 15 min.

I think I am going to make a bunch and freeze it. I will use tomatoes out of my garden and she used
Angel hair pasta or Thin spaghetti. This is a chunky delight!

Skillet Potatoes

Nothing original about Monday, Hot Dogs and French Fries. I had to use them up, before they went bad in the fridge. Tuesday is dine and dash day. Hurrying home from piano, I concocted a menu plan and ended up making Waffles, Sausage and Potatoes. Breakfast is so great when you only have a few minutes... The potatoes were washed and cubed. 1/2 chopped onion and 1/2 chopped green pepper were added to a hot pan with a few tbls of oil. Salt and Pepper to taste. They take about 10 minutes to cook. Of course Patrick picked all the "green thingies" out but that is his problem. It tastes fabulous and fresh.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Sunday was crazy! I think I spent the whole day doing laundry. Folding a "Mountain." Makes you want to let your kids have 5 outfits, one for church, 1 pair of pjs, and that is it! Crazy...It took all day. So much for a day of rest...well I did manage to make Peanut Butter Brownies for lunches and loaves of bread for the week. We had a simple dinner of Sauteed chicken breasts, pounded thin with Grandma's special spices, Sauteed Zuc's and Stove Top...not too original, but very easy and quick. I had to get back to the mountain...

Peanut Butter Brownies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup white sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp baking powder

Cream peanut butter and butter together in mixer. Add in one at a time; sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until fluffy. Ins medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder,and salt. Stir into the peanut butter mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 min in a 9x13 pan. They will be done when the top springs back. These are dense and not too sweet. For the finale, I put 2 cups of chocolate chips on the hot brownies and then spread evenly making a chocolate layer on top. Cool overnight or stick in the freezer if you just can't wait until the chocolate hardens!

Herbed Focaccia

Friday is "Fend for Yourself" day at our house. Thursday, I experimented with a potato soup that was really good. Unfortunately, I had no recipe for it, so next time I make it, I will remember to write it down. Saturday, we met Kip and Jen at the "Elephant House" park by the Zoo. The kids had a great time and we chatted about the impending wedding. Of course, I had to make bread for the sandwiches, so I thought I'd try something a little different.

Herbed Focaccia
2 c warm water
4 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar or honey
5 to 6 cups of flour
4 tbls olive oil
1 tsp salt
Place water, yeast, 2 tbls of the flour, and sugar in a bowl. Mix and let foam for 15 min. Meanwhile, measure 2 cups of flour and the salt into electric mixer. Add the yeast mixture and combine until smooth. Add olive oil. Mix. Continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Place dough onto floured surface and kneed for a few minutes until springy (it never takes too long if you have made the dough in a mixer.) Place in a oiled bowl and cover until it has TRIPLED in size. (about an hour on a hot day or 1 1/2 hours on a cool day.) Punch down and press into a greased, large, cookie pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise till doubled. Dimple the top with your finger and drizzle 2 to 4 tbls of olive oil with herbs of your choice onto the top (I used rosemary since I have 3 large bushes in my garden.) You can use oregano, basil, sage that is fresh or dried. Sprinkle top with course or Kosher salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes depending on how brown you like it.

We sliced the Focaccia and put turkey, tomatoes, cheese and avocado between the layers. It's yummy. Have fun with it!

Chicken Enchiladas

Normally, I serve a chicken enchiladas that have a sour cream sauce instead of the traditional red, but I thought I would give this one a try.
Dinner tonight:
Chips
Homemade fresh salsa (thanks Afton!)
Refried beans (we actually use the church cannery ones and they are my kids favorite)
Chicken Enchiladas

Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
2 cans of chicken, drained and shredded (from costco) or two chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1/2 of large onion chopped
1 jalapeno cored and seeded then finely chopped
1 tbls chili powder
1 heaping tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Saute onion and jalapeno in a little oil. Add chicken. Heat thoroughly and add spices. Remove from heat.
18 corn tortillas
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
Mix this together in small bowl
2-3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese or Colby jack
Large can of Enchilada sauce 20 oz+
To assemble; soften tortillas in the microwave wrapped in a wet towel. Put a spoonful of meat mixture, spoonful of cottage cheese mixture and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll and place into a large casserole pan that has a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom. Add remaining enchilada sauce and rest of shredded cheese over the filled pan. Top with olives if you like (my family does not.)
Place in 350 degree oven for 30 mins.

Hints: You can use taco seasoning in place of the chili powder and cumin if you want, but I prefer the cumin flavor with chicken. The recipe called for a can of green chilies, but my family wont eat them. I added a jalapeno instead and it was very mild with a little kick. Don't let the cottage cheese fool you, you can't even tell and it gives a great flavor.

Tuesday is Crazy day!

On tuesdays, in addition to Scouts and YW at 7:00pm, we have 3 piano lessons. Needless to say, not much cooking got done. We had soup and crackers and pears that my daughter cooked.
I did attempt a new recipe out of America's Test Kitchen which my kids loved. They took it their lunches today, and had some for a snack yesterday. It's not bad, but it didn't blow my socks off...

Banana Chip Snack Cake
makes one 8 inch cake

2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 stick of softened butter
2 large eggs room temp
2 ripe large bananas, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup milk at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl, set aside. Beat sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy...yes it does get light and fluffy! Beat in eggs until incorporated(I used my eggs from my chickens and their yolks were a bright orange! It was kinda cool.) Beat in bananas, milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and incorporate until no flour streaks remain. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into greased pan and bake 55 minutes or until center is cooked. Let cool on wire rack and serve.

It's not dense and moist like banana bread, but it isn't exactly fluffy either. It's a great treat for the kids and it keeps well wrapped in plastic.

Fun with friends

We had friends over tonight to plan a fun and scary Halloween Party in the barn. So tonight, all I provided was the bread and salad. Rachel made an amazing spaghetti sauce that I am going to get the recipe for...very fresh with zuc's and summer squash. It was really yummy! We also had deer sausage that the Updikes brought. It was really good. And I don't like deer. Evidently deer in Oregon eat good green stuff so it tastes a lot better than the stuff in Utah. I will post the recipe as soon as I get it...still waiting...

Kid's Favorite Things

Most kids I know love Mac and Cheese, carrots and applesauce...well that is what we had tonight with a little twist:

Brown Sugar Carrots
5 large carrots cut into cute pieces
2 tbls brown sugar
2 tbls butter
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dill
Cover carrots with water and add salt. Boil until tender. Drain. Add sugar, butter and dill. Yumm!


Way Better than Kraft Mac and Cheese
1lb elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
3 to 4 cups half and half or milk
1/4 cup flour
2 tbls butter
1/2 lb Hickory Farms sausage
1 Tbls salt
Bring water to boil with salt added. Cook Macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, cut sausage into bite size pieces and saute' until crispy on the edges. Remove from pan and leave grease(that's the best part!) Add butter, add flour and stir until bubbly. Add half and half and whisk until thick. Add cheese a handful at a time. Thin to desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Add macaroni and you are done! This recipe feeds 5 hungry kids and two adults with leftovers.

Hope your family likes it as much as mine. Can you see why we want a cow!! All that cream and milk...

Did you ever wonder What's for Dinner?

I am doing this blog mainly because we eat as a family every night. Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut and we all need new ideas to keep us from falling into the Take Out bandwagon. I plan on posting our menu for the day and a few recipes to go with it. I would love to have my friends post what they eat for dinner too...

Last night it was simple.
Pancakes
Blackberry syrup
Bacon
Grapes
Milk
For Dessert: Blackberries and Cream