After many years of testing different bread recipes, I've finally found one that my family loves and is soft and light enough for using to make sandwiches. Even though, my recipe isn't 100% whole grain, feel free to use whole wheat flour in place of the unbleached white flour.
Favorite Bread ~ 2 loaves
1/4 c. honey
1 1/2 t. salt
3 T. butter
1 3/4 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. whole oat flour
1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 - 3 1/4 c. whole wheat flour (I use whole white wheat flour)
1/4 c. wheat gluten
1 scant T. yeast
Mix honey, salt, butter, water, yeast, and all-purpose flour in a large bowl and mix with a whisk for about 3 minutes. Stir in gluten and the oat and whole wheat flour. Add enough flour so that the dough just stops sticking to your hands.
On a clean surface (surface may be oiled or floured) knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. This usually takes me a full ten minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and roll it around in an oiled bowl so that the dough will not get dry spots. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, a large plate, or clean, damp cloth. Let it sit until nearly double in size. Squish the dough back down, and let sit (covered) for ten minutes.
Meanwhile, oil two medium sized loaf pans. Divide the dough in half and roll into logs that fit the pans. Place seam side down in the pans and lightly oil the top of the dough. I just spray it lightly with a non-stick spray. Cover again and let double in size.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 27-30 minutes. You may cover the top with foil after fifteen minutes if you like your bread to be just golden on the top.
Take bread pans out of the oven and set on a rack to cool. I leave the bread in the pans and cover it with a clean cloth for one hour. After one hour I place each stil warm loaf into a zip lock bag and let it sit at room temperature overnight. This helps the bread to reserve its moisture. The next morning I put the loaves (still in their bags) in the freezer unsliced.
Whenever I know we are going to need bread, I just take a loaf out of the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature over night. The next day it's just like it's fresh!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Favorite Bread
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Happy Trails!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Passive Solar Yogurt Maker
I had given up on making yogurt for a while because I just can't find a way to keep it warm enough and I refuse to buy another gadget that will make me more dependant on electricity. So today I thought of a new way to (attempt to) make yogurt. I mixed up my ingredients and put them in a quart jar. Then I put the quart jar in a black pot. I had to tip the pot up on its side to fit the jar because the pot wasn't as tall as my jar.
Then I set the pot in a warm sunny place in the house (my bed) and put a towel behind it to insulate. I will have to keep checking the temperature to make sure it isn't getting too hot., but I can just vent the towel side to get the temp where I want it. Once I have that figured out, it should be fairly easy to make good yogurt consistantly. I'll let you all know how it turns out!
Happy Trails!
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Menu System and More
No, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, just taking a break! Life gets awefully busy around this time of year.
Itty Bitty turned two, Little One turned six, and our marriage turned eight! We didn't get to do anything for our anniversary because we were at the local emergency room since Big Girl broke her arm. We didn't mind, though. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
Our chickens are laying eggs like crazy! I'm getting four to five a day, which I think is pretty good since we only have five chickens. Not to mention the fact that yesterday's high temperature was only six degrees, yes that's farenheit! It's a toasty 35 today. But it's supposed to drop back down and we should only have a high of 4 degrees on Saturday! I have a heat lamp on in the hen house during the night. Still I just wonder how long they are going to keep laying.
Well, we got our wood stove hooked up finally! We need a little more pipe up the chimney of our existing fireplace for a better draw, but can't get the damper out. But the house is nice and warm, and I don't fear the chill of the upcoming days!!!
I don't know why we are having such a problem with our camera lately. Sorry it's so blurry!
Anyways, on to menus. To help me stay organized, help with grocery shopping, and to not have to worry what I'm going to cook for any given meal, I keep a two week menu calendar hanging on the fridge. To simplify things, breakfast is always the same on the same day of the week. My lunch menu rotates every two weeks. We like a little more variety for dinner. This is what my would be on my calendar;
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
(1st)Sunday - Muffins Mac 'n cheese Beef
(2nd) Hummus and crackers
Monday - Pancakes Ramen soup Soup
Quiche
Tuesday - Oatmeal Tuna sandwich Chicken
Ruben sandwich
Wednesday - Eggs and Toast Nachos Crockpot
Quesadillas
Thursday - French Toast Tortilla Pizzas Pasta
Soup
Friday - Cold Cereal P.B. J's Fish
Turkey Sandwich
Saturday - Eggs and Hash Browns Burritos Whatever
Hot Dogs
So, every Sunday morning we have muffins, Monday we have pancakes, and so on. For lunch the first Sunday we have Mac 'n Cheese and the next Sunday we haveHummus and crackers, and so on. Every Sunday for dinner we have something made with beef (venison actually since I have a freezer full of it!), Monday a soup, and so on. I keep a list of every beef meal (hambergers, meatballs, beef stroganoff, etc), chicken meal (creamy chicken casserole, chicken burritos, fried ckicken, etc), and so on. I have a master calendar that has two weeks worth of breakfasts and lunches already on it. Every two weeks I print off a new one and fill in the dinners according to what day gets what. Sunday may be tacos (beef), Monday - corn chowder (soup), Tuesday - chicken and dumplings (chicken), Wednesday- Pork roast (crockpot), Thursday - spaghetti (pasta), Friday - salmon patties (fish), Saturday - leftovers (whatever). I also have a list of good side dishes that we like, so if I made corn chowder on Monday I might make Irish soda bread with it. I would have baked potatos and steamed carrots with the pork roast maybe. But what ever I choose, I write that on my menu.
For my grocery list, I have a master list for things that I buy every time I go shopping (every two weeks). In this master list will be general things like flour, sugar, butter, etc, and also everything for breakfasts and lunches. Then all I have to do is add what I need for dinners to my list.
I spend a lot less time stressing out about what to make for each meal, and a lot less time putting together a grocery list. And I rarely go to start a meal only to find that I don't have the necessary ingredients!
I don't stick to the menu all the time. I might decide that it would be more convenient to have a crockpot meal on a Monday instead of Wednesday and then I would just swap them, or I might decide that beans and cornbread sound better than tuna sandwiches for lunch. Since I always keep dry beans and corn meal on hand I can just cook that instead and save my tuna for the next two week period.
Well, that's my menu system!
Happy Trails!
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Thursday, November 6, 2008
Oh Deer!
Hubby filled both of his deer tags last weekend! Both are does, and one of them was the size of a buck. She had so much fat on her we could hardly believe it. She was sure ready for winter. We decided to process them ourselves. In the past we have always taken our game to a processor, but we thought we would try to save some money by learning to do it ourselves. Surprisingly, there was not much to learn! You just start cutting meat off the animal and don't stop 'til it's done! We ended up with about 100 lbs of meat!!! Praise the Lord!!! We could have gotten more, but it would have taken a lot of time to be so nit-picky to get every single little tiny scrap of meat. I bought 10 lbs of suet from our local all natural meat store to mix in with the ground meat. We have enough suet left over to add to our elk if hubby fills his bull tag next week. Part of me really wants him to get his elk, and part of me thinks that's being awefully greedy, but it sure would be nice to not have to worry about meat for a whole year!
Happy Trails!
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Welcome to My Kitchen
I got this from Gabbie427's blog. It looked fun!
"WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN"
1. Do you have magnets on your fridge? Yes, only two. They hold up my weekly menu.
2. Do you have a calendar in your kitchen, if so, what's the theme of it? Yes, horses.
3. What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool? My wooden spoons!!!
4. Are you lucky enough to have a pantry of some kind? No ;-(.
5.What is your favorite appliance? My crock pot.
6. Do you have an eat in kitchen (table in it)? No, we have a dining room, but the kitchen is big enough for a table and chairs!
7.Do you have a bread box? No, but I would love one.
8. Do you have a picture of your kids on the fridge? No, I don’t like anything on my fridge if I can help it.
9. Do you ever cook breakfast in your PJs? Rarely. If I don’t get dressed first think in the morning, I tend to fall behind all day.
10. Do you have a favorite cookbook that you use? Better Homes and Gardens
11. Are you lucky enough to have recipes that were passed down from your mom or grandma? Yes, from both mine and my husband’s sides of the family.
12. Whats your favorite food? Mexican, in general.
13. Whats your favorite thing to cook? To be honest, I don’t really care for cooking that much, but I sure love the smell of a freshly baked loaf of bread, so I’ll have to go with that.
14. Is your coffee pot electric or stove top? Electric.
15. Do you ever make your own bread? Yes, oh yes.
16. Name one thing that you have hanging on your wall in your kitchen. Awooden tray
17. Is there a clock in your kitchen? Just on the oven and microwave, not a wall clock
18. Do you have a bowl of fruit sitting on your table or counter? No
19. What type of canisters do you have? Glass with wooden lids.
20. Does your kitchen have a theme? Not really, but I have red gingam curtains over the window and cast iron skillets hanging on the wall. I guess that’s sort of a theme. Just sorta country-ish.
21. What's for supper tonight? Salmon patties, green beans, and pesto
22. Do you have enough cabinet space? Yes
23. Does your family use paper plates? On Sunday, I take the night off from dishes!
24. Do you have a good set of china picked up? Yes, but it’s not a complete set
25. Do you wear an apron to work in your kitchen? Not very often, but I have some really wonderful aprons that I should wear more!
26. Name one thing, if anything, that you would like to change about your kitchen. That my walls were taped and bedded instead of having seems.
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Cream of Corn Soup
I made a soup for lunch yesterday and my entire family loved it. I thought I'd share the recipe; it is very fall-ish.
Cream of Corn Soup
5 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 1/2 c. chickn broth (or water with bullion)
Blend together in a blender until there are only some little tiny bits of corn.
4 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (or water with bullion)
2 c. milk
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan and stir in the flour until smooth. Stir in broth and milk and continue to stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in the corn mixture and heat until hot. Serve with crackers or bread!
You can do the same recipe with 4 c. canned pupkin instead of corn and add a little ginger or nutmeg for seasoning. Either way it makes a delicious fall soup.
Happy Trails!
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Friday, October 3, 2008
The Homemade Home
We have all been in a friend’s home where everything seemed so warm and inviting. These tend to be homes that are full of things made with love, grandma’s afghan over the back of the chair, flowers picked from one’s own garden, a hand embroidered table runner, and cookies that melt in your mouth. It has long been my desire to make my home inviting to all who come, and especially to my dear hubby when he steps in each evening after a hard day’s work. I have mourned over women who just don't understand why her husband barely gets home from work and is off again for a "guys night." Now, every guy needs the chance to go out with the guys and, well, be guys - shoot rabbits, ride mountain bikes, go on midnight snow hikes, and such.
But for the most part, a man should enjoy being in his home. It should be his place of rest, his sanctuary. It is said that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” And it’s funny how we associate old fashioned hospitality with food! Every time I visited my great-grandmother’s home as a child she was quick to whip up a tray of fresh veggies from her garden, or left over pie with homemade ice cream, or even just a small plate of cookies (which I admit were not homemade, but oh how we looked forward to those strawberry wafer cookies!) The smells and tastes of the food she put out for us were unique to her home. It endeared us all the more to visiting Nana. Another home, one of a good friend, was almost always full of the aromas of “blondies” as she called the cocoa-less brownies, toasting honey granola, or, if you were fortunate enough to show up the week before Valentine’s Day, the most incredible raspberry preserve topped, vanilla iced cookies one could ever imagine! Even now, I cannot help but find a time to stop by in mid-February.
What about your home? When you invite friends over so the children can have a play date or when a friend just “pops in” unexpectedly, what can they look forward to to tantalize their taste buds? I will admit that I am not much of a baker. Oh, I can bake when I need to, but I don’t have fresh chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven every other day, and a busy day cake to me is something that I ask hubby to pick up on the way home when I’ve had too much to do! But I have a recipe for Old Fashioned Tea Cake Cookies that is so quick and simple to whip up, that it is almost a crime not to stick a tray of them in the oven when I know someone is coming over, or even if I don’t know for that matter! I can mix it up while talking to my unexpected company and we can visit while the aroma of baking cookies permeates our senses. And everyone who comes to my home for dinner knows they will be treated to homemade bread served with hand-picked, homemade, wild chokecherry jelly and honey from my own bees.
Make your home a place your husband loves to come home to. A place where he is eager to walk through the front door, waiting to see what aromas tantalize him. Make it a place where anyone who walks through your door can expect your good hospitality! I don't mean that one is not hospitable if she does not have some delicious morsal waiting to be gobbled up every second of the day. But looking back, it really is food that makes my memories relate them to hospitality, even it was just that we got to collect the eggs at a friend's farm (she'd always let us take one home!) or pick fresh raspberries. Somehow for me it does always tie back to food. It's a wonder I'm not twice my size!
Happy Trails!
Oh, and P.S.
Old Fashioned Tea Cake Cookies
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Beat the egg a little with a fork in a small bowl. Mix in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and drop by the spoonful onto a buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookies are just golden.
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Thursday, August 7, 2008
Chokecherries
Ahhh. It feels like the days of harvest have begun. For the month of July, we broke the record (set in 1926) for the least amount of rain in a month at only 3/10ths of an inch! To make up for it, we have started off August with a bang!!! For the last two days it has poured all afternoon and late into the night. The first day, some areas around town reported as much as 3". I think we got even more yesterday, and it looks like the storms around about to start in again!!! Thank you Lord, for the much needed moisture! I am hoping that this will boost the second half of the summer garden production. Despite the lack of rain (until recently) the chokecherry bushes are surprisingly full. There are four places we like to pick wild chokecherries. Last night, in the rain, we picked about half the berries from one spot and this is what we got:
I wash them and then spread them all out on cookie sheets and freeze them. Later I will juice them and can the juice. Then I have juice ready to make jelly throughout the year. Jelly is really the only thing I know of that you can make out of chokecherries. I have heard of making chokecherry wine, but I have never tried it.
On another harvest note. I went to collect the honey from one of the hives I help take care of, but there was almost no honey. I think the drought has really taken its toll on the bees. We will get a little though, and there are more hives to check.
Happy Trails!
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Monday, August 4, 2008
All In a Day's Work
Well, I got it all done, with hubby's help! I couldn't have done it without him.
Four loaves of bread, three quarts of green beans and twenty-seven bottles of wine. We only drink about a bottle a week, so this will last us just about FOREVER!!!
Happy Trails!
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
Homestead Happenin's
Well, I got six pints of glazed carrots put up yesterday, but one of my jars cracked in the canner. I don't think I had the jars hot enough when I put them in. Oh well, it's a lesson learned. The glaze was very simple - just one cup of orange juice, two cups of water, and two cups of packed brown sugar. Even hubby really liked it!
We have a sick chick... I think. I've never had chickens before, so I'm not exactly sure how to tell if a chick is sick. But I have had other sick animals, and they just seem to be not themselves when they're sick. Poor Fur Ball doesn't run all around and scratch and fly and fight over bugs like the others. Today she just sleeps. She will occasionally preen her feathers (which I take as a good sign) and get up and peck around for bugs a little. Her overall appearance is very good. Her eyes are bright and she is still perky looking, even if she doesn't act perky. She likes to be somewhat near the other chicks, but seperates herself somewhat. I was going to seperate her from the others so that they don't get whatever she's got, but she just hollered and hollered when I seperated her, and I didn't want her to give up on life just because she was alone. All in all she doesn't seem too sickly, so I'm taking a chance and leaving her with the rest of them. Any advice anyone?
I've learned that one shouldn't use used frames in your bee hive, that is, unless you've cleaned them up. Otherwise you risk the spread of possible disease to your hives. SO.... We have been spending an hour here and there scraping all the wax off the old frames and pushing out the foudation (the sheet that the bees build their comb on). Then you have to bake the frames at 250 degrees to kill off any bacteria or disease. Each super (box that you stack to make a hive) has 9 or 10 frames and each hive has at least four supers and I have four hives. That 160 frames, ten at a time, one hour per ten frames. We'll be busy for a while!
Here is what the frames look like in my oven. Too bad you can't smell it too! All that bees wax, mmmm!!
Happy Trails!
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Hummus Recipe
Hummus
ingredients:
1 can Garbonzo beans (chick peas)
2 T. Lemon Juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1 t. Cummin
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. Garlic powder
Drain the beans and pour in medium sized mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Take a potato masher and mash a bit. You can skip this part if you have a heavy duty blender. But I don't so I mash it a little and then....
Finish it off with my hand mixer!
Traditionally, hummus is eaten with Pita bread. But it's good on tortillas and great on saltiine crackers!
For a great, healthy lunch serve hummus with saltines, unsweetened applesauce, and string cheese.
Enjoy!
Happy Trails!
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Monday, May 5, 2008
Homemade Vinegar
First of all, let me say that I have never made my own vinegar. But I found these directions for it in a book by Sue Robishaw called Homesteading Adventures A Guide for Doers and Dreamers.
Take your apple cores and peels from whatever apple product you may be making (applesauce, apple jelly, dried apples, or what have you) and put them into a good clean plastic bucket. If you have any other fruit remains such as the pulp from wine making, jelly making, or what-not, put them into the bucket as well. Cover the fruit "generously" with warm water and drape a cloth over the top. Vinegar yeast is naturally occuring in the air, so just set your vinegar bucket in a warmish spot and wait two to six weeks. It will be pretty obvious when it's vinegar. After it has turned to vinegar a "pinkish soft slime will form over the surface. This is the mother. You can usually gently lift/skim this off (it holds together) into a jar and save it in a cool, dark place for future use." You need to store the vinegar in a container with a plastic lid because it is an acid and will corrode metal. This is true of the mother also. And store both in a cool, dark place.
She pretty much stops there, but it is my understanding that your mother is basically your yeast for your next batch of vinegar. So you would start the process over again and add the mother to the top of the water. It would just help ensure that the vinegar yeasts are there.
Sue says that vinegar that is just from apples can vary greatly in strength. She uses the best (strongest) for pickles and salads and the worst (weakest) for cleaning.
Happy Trails!
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Pear Jam
I wanted to try a new kind of jam, and I found a recipe for Pear Jam. It has a really high sugar to fruit ratio, but I decided to try it out anyways. It turned out beautifully! Here's the recipe (from the Ball Blue Book of preserving)
Peach or Pear Jam
1 quart finely chopped, pitted/cored, peeled peaches or pears
7 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 pouch liquid pectin
Combine fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepot. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot hars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Recipe Variation: Add 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice and 1 cinnamon stick tied in a spice bag to jam during cooking. Remove spice bag before filling jars.
I don't use a boiling-water canner. I keep my jars hot in the oven and the lids hot in a not quite simmering pot of water on the stove. I've never had a problem with them not sealing properly. I didn't use the recipe variation either.
I had also made some chokecherry jelly abd applesauce the other day. I tag everthing because, even things seem obvious, after time I tend to forget exactly what each thing is.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Homemade Yogurt Recipe
There are so many benefits of making homemade yogurt. One obvious one is that it is less expensive than buying really high quality yogurt. Another is that you can guarantee that it is full of live, active cultures. I have tried culturing store bought "high quality" yogurts and found that there were no active cultures in it, even though it was listed on the container! You can buy your cultures from www.dairyconnection.com/yogurt.htm or possiblly a local health store. The more kinds of the right live bacteria the better. Follow the directions for making your first batch. From there I follow this recipe:
2 T. plain non-fat yogut (this is the yogurt you made from your cultures.)
1 1/4 c. non-fat powdered milk
2 c. hot water (120 degrees, I just run my tap as hot as it will get)
Mix together in a sterile pint jar. Screw on sterile lid. Keep at 100-120 degrees for 16 - 24 hours. Refrigerate.
I shouldn't say I actually follow this recipe, but it's really more of my starting point. I find that I use a little less that 2 c. of hot water because it just won't all fit in my jar. Everything needs to be sterile because whatever bacteria (from the jar or the stirring fork - a fork works better than a spoon to make sure it is very, very well mixed - or anything else) will culture along with the desired bacteria. I then put a wam rice buddy in a small lunch cooler, put my warm yogurt filled jar on top of it, fill the rest of the cooler with crumpled news paper, close the cooler, and let it sit all day. Then it should be ready. Homemade yogurt will seperate and become runny sometimes because it does not have all the additives and gelatin. I take out 2 T. right away and put it into a sterile jar and put that in the fridge. That will be my starter for next time. The rest of the yogurt I like to flavor with my favorite jam or sweeten with a little bit of fructose or sugar and add some vanilla extract. It will keep for at least a week in the fridge. If you know some one who makes their own yogurt, ask for 2 T. of their plain yogurt and it will spare you the cost of the cultures. Or if you know someone who wants to start, share yours and spare them.
Enjoy!
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Monday, February 25, 2008
Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe
My hubby took me out to our favorite restraunt (is there a spell check somewhere?) a while back and I had the most delicious Broccoli Cheddar Soup. After a few tries I came up with a very comparable soup myself. Here goes....
Nikki's Broccoli Cheddar Soup
2 c. Chicken broth
1 onion chopped
2 heads fresh broccoli florrets (with a little stem) chopped small
Simmer until broccoli and onion are soft. Meanwhile...
1/4 c. Butter
1/4 c. Flour
2 c. Milk
2 c. Chicken broth
2 c. Sharp Cheddar, grated (has to be sharp)
Melt butter in pan. Stir in flour. Stir in milk and broth. Simmer until thick and bubbly. Stir in cheese until melted. Stir in soft broccoli mixture. Viola!!!
Great with French bread. 
Hope you all enjoy!
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
I need recipes!
I am looking for a few different kinds of recipes. I want some casserole style crockpot recipes. I say casserole style because I just cannot buy meat other than cheep ground beef and chicken quarters, and can only use 1/2 to 1 lb of either one in any given recipe. Most crockpot recipes I have call for steaks or roasts or whole chickens or chicken breasts. SO, I need crockpot recipes that don't call for more than 1/2 to 1 lb of shredded chicken or ground beef.
Next I am looking for meatless dinner recipes that use whole grains other than wheat, and vegetarian dinner main dish recipes.
Please send many my way!!!
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Poppy Seed Bread
When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to buy giant, and I mean GIANT, poppy seed muffins. I could only every eat half of one, but it was one of the things I looked forward to most when we went to visit. The first time I found a poppy seed muffin recipe, I was so excited! I think I tried it out the next day, only to be terribly dissapointed. It was bland and dry compared to the kind my grandma used to buy. When I got married, my former employer happened to give me a recipe for poppy seed bread. To be honest, I didn't make that recipe for quite a few years, thinking it would be like the other recipes I had come accross in the past. Finally, I gave it a try. I was astonished. It was exactly the same as the poppy seed muffins I had as a little girl! You can imagine my delight, and now it is my childrens' favorite bread as well. So, here it is...
Dede Beemer's POPPY SEED BREAD
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. poppy seed muffins
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. sugar
Mix together in a large bowl. In another large bowl, mix:
3 eggs
1c. plus 2 Tbs. oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
1 1/2 c. milk
Mix both bowls together. Beat for 3 minutes. Pour into two greased 4x8 in. pans at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Glaze: (I have never made the glaze, but it sounds good)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. orange juice
Mix. While bread is still hot, poke holes in it with a fork. Pour glaze over the top!
Enjoy!
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Saturday, February 2, 2008
Pie crust
I have heard of women who, when they make a pie, they take the pie crust scraps and bake them as little additional treats. I had never done that... until two days ago! I made a delcious chicken pot pie from scratch, and I decided to take the crust scraps and sprinkle them with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar. I put them in the oven to bake while we were eating supper and oh! it was such a delicious and little effort dessert! Now I want to make a pie crust just for sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on! I have to admit, it tastes an aweful lot like the shortbread cookies I made last week! Kinda funny, I thought.
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Easy short bread cookies
Easy Shortbread Cookies
1 1/4c. all purpose flour
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. butter, softened
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until it looks like fine crumbs. Turn out onto wax paper and kneed until smooth. Shape into a ball and roll into an 8" circle directly on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cut it into 16 wedges (pizza style). Bake 25 - 30 minutes, or until edges are golden and center is set. Take out of oven, and recut wedges. Let cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet. (We eat them at this point, or you can...) Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Mmmm, delicious!
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Monday, January 21, 2008
Soup recipes
As the weather hasn't climbed above freezing in, I honestly don't know how long, we've been enjoying more good, hot soup. I thought I'd share a couple of my very own creation soup recipes.
AMESUVA SOUP
6-8 c. chicken broth (or water and bullion)
6 oz. of spaghetti noodles, broken into 2" lengths
1/2 c. cooked ground sausage
1c. frozen broccoli florets, chopped small
4 eggs, well beaten
Bring broth to a boil. Add noodles and sausage. Cook until noodles are soft. Add frozen broccoli. Drizzle eggs into barely simmering soup. Keep at a very low simmer until broccoli is heated through.
IMPROV SOUP
1 can (pop can size) of tomato juice
2 c. beef broth (or water and bullion)
2 cans green beans with juice
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
5 hot dogs, penny sliced
2 c. dry egg noodles
dried onion, garlic powder, and pepper to taste
Mix everything but noodles. Bring to a boil. Add noodles (add more boiling water if needed). Boil 8-10 minutes or until noodles are soft.