Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (Bread Machine)

Finding a whole wheat sandwich bread recipe is a bit tricky.  Most are crazy dense and just blah.  I found this recipe, tweaked it a bit following other peoples recommendations and I think it is fabulous!  

For this recipe I used the whole wheat setting on my machine, 1 1/5 pound, and the medium crust setting.  The bread turned out wonderfully light and soft with a crusty crust, figure that!   

This is NOT a 100% whole wheat recipe.  It is 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 bread flour.  But it is better than no whole wheat!   Feel free to play around with your whole wheat vs. bread flour ratio and let me know what you come up with.  I think this is wonderful though!  

Of course with this being a bread machine baked loaf it ends up being that odd rectangle shape.  Weird looking, but tastes great!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cup WARM water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (I used salted)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (Made for a bread machine)

Directions:

1. Add ingredients into the bread machine as listed, or as your machine specifies.
2. Set machine with these choices:  Whole Wheat, 1 1/5 pound, medium crust.
3. Sit back and enjoy the smell while your bread is baking!

Tips:

• Your water needs to be around 110F.  Too hot will kill the yeast and too cold won't activate it.
• Make sure the salt is added in with the liquid ingredients.  
• Do NOT let the yeast touch the liquid ingredients or the salt.
• In the flour make  a small well and put the yeast in the well.  Do not let the liquid seep through.
• After the machine mixes the dough the first time, quickly open the machine and scrape the edges down.  The machine will go through another mixing cycle. 
• If there is remaining flour in the corners, it will end up being like that on the outside of your loaf and the corner will be a weird floury blob. <--Technical term.  :)

Grab a sharp serrated knife and slice in!  

Enjoy!

Lemony Kale Pasta

I just signed up for my first CSA, Home Harvest,  this week!  I am really excited about all that I received.  The one I signed up for gives you to option to pick and choose what you want, so it is the perfect chance for me to try some new things!

Kale isn't a new veggie for me, but I just thought you would like to know what was going on in my kitchen.

I found this recipe on Annie's Eats and LOVE it.  So yummy.  I have had it a few times just to make sure I got good results every time and I did!  Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

 Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp. kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (Confession-I used Kraft.  It was still awesome)
• 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 2 lemons
• ½ tsp. red pepper flakes (I like heat.  Feel free to reduce this amount)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. penne 
• 1 large bunch kale, rinsed and dried, stems removed

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. 
2. While you are waiting on the water to boil, make the dressing.  Mince the garlic cloves and sprinkle the minced garlic with ¼ teaspoon of the kosher salt. Smash the garlic into a paste with a fork or the side of a chef’s knife.  (Confession time!  I could not get this done to say my life.  I tried my hardest, but still had some lumps.  It was still good.  :)  Don't stress if you can't get it either.)  Transfer the garlic paste, or your attempt, to a small bowl.  Add in the Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Whisk together until well combined.
3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions.  Chop the kale into ½-inch ribbons.  Add the kale to a large bowl and toss with the dressing to coat well.  When the pasta is finished, drain well and let cool a minute or two.  Toss the pasta with the kale and dressing until well coated.  

Enjoy!!

From Annie's Eats

Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese

WHY did I never think of this before??  I like sloppy joes.  I LOVE grilled cheese.  Perfect combo!  Thank you Pinterest for feeding my comfort food obsession!

 So.  I did not use a nonstick pan. VERY BAD IDEA.  This sucker will stick and stick HARD.  That is why the bottom piece looks a bit wonky.  But this sandwich was SO rocking I still posted it.  Yeah...it is THAT good.

Ingredients:

• buns
• cheddar - shredded
• salted butter
• sloppy joe meat at room temperature

Tools necessary:

• NONSTICK PAN
• straw
• spatula

Directions:

 1.  Get your bun.  The original recipe used brioche.  My husband bought these.  Don't 
      know what type they are, but you get the idea.  Large thick buns.
2.  Slice the bun in half and then on the top part, cut off the very top.  Make sense? Eat 
     or discard the top. You want the bottom and the middle.

3.  Get your straw and poke holes in it.  Lots and lots of little tiny straw holes. Poke them
     in the top and bottom.  This is where the cheese will leak out of.  The more holes, the
     better.

4.  Top with cheese.

5.  Then meat on top and then more cheese.

6.  Then you want to take the bottom part of the bun and flip it over.  So the soft inside
     is on top, make sense?

7.  Butter both sides of the bread and put it on the pan.  You want to cook it on LOW 
    heat.Slowly brown it and the cheddar cheese will squirt out the holes and make the 
    bread have a crispy cheese crust on it.  NOM NOM NOM.  Each side will take about 7 
    minutes.This is definitely a knife and fork sandwich.

Enjoy!

Original recipe from The Grilled Cheese Social

Slow Cooker Spiced Vanilla & Apple Steel Cut Oatmeal

Wowza...long title.  Did you get all that?  I am sure I have said this before but I LOVE OATMEAL!  There is really nothing better then a nice big steaming bowl of oatmeal on a brisk autumn morning.  Are you in the mood yet?

This oatmeal is SO good, yet not that pretty.  So therefore, no pictures.  Hope you understand. 

I made this oatmeal around 3pm.  It takes a recommended 5-6 hours in the slow cooker.  I am NOT waking up to start breakfast, so I made it late enough so I could have a small bowl for dessert before bed.  The steel cut oats retain their shape, I guess you could say, so you can reheat it just fine.  I added a touch of milk and an extra sprinkling of brown sugar before I heated it in the microwave.

The recipe I started with said it made 3 to 4 servings.  If you eat oatmeal on a regular basis I am sure you have seen how small the portion sizes are.  So I doubled the recipe.  I shouldn't have done that.  I now have a TON to eat.  So this will easily make 6-8 servings.  This would be a GREAT holiday morning breakfast!  Easy to make a feed a gang!

Let's do this thing.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups steel cut oats
• 8 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 2 apples, cut into bite size pieces with the skin still on.  Just make sure to wash well.
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook LOW 5-6 hours.  NO LONGER.  
2. Stir and Enjoy!   If reheating add an extra splash of milk and an extra sprinkle of brown sugar never hurt anyone.

Recipe inspired by Sweet Treats & More

Mexican DORITO Casserole.

Doritos.  Comfort food at it's finest.  There is nothing healthy about this recipe.  But it is SOOO good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I did a mixture of Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
• Bag of Doritos (I used original)
• 1/2 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top (I used more monterey jack)

Directions:

1. Cook and dice chicken.
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.
4. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, except the Doritos and the 1/2cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top.
5. Crush and sprinkle Doritos to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.  About 2 cups.
6. Cover Doritos with half of the chicken mixture.
7. Crush and sprinkle another two cups of Doritos on top.
8. Cover with remaining chicken mixture.
9. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
10. Cover the casserole and cook about 30 to 35 minutes until bubbling and heated through.

Enjoy!

Original recipe from Jam Hands

Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I LOVE cooler weather because that means OATMEAL!  I found a great blog with 100 oatmeal recipes.  I am going to be scrolling through there, trying them out, and posting my favorites.  The first one to be included is Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.  

Yes, you read that right.  PUMPKIN PIE OATMEAL.

And NO added sugar.  The only sugar comes from the PURE maple syrup.  Please do not top this with pancake syrup.  Not the same.  AT ALL.  Spend the $6, get a small bottle and once opened KEEP IN THE REFRIGERATOR!

This recipe makes a generous size.  I halved the original recipe that said it made 4 servings.  So, this will either make a very filling breakfast, or split it with someone!  According to the Quaker Oat site I made the correct amount for one serving.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Oatmeal cooked, I used Quaker Instant, steel cuts oats would be fabulous!
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree NOT pie filling (VERY important)
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, no sugar added
• pecans for serving on top, I used pecan pieces
• REAL maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cook oatmeal to package directions.  If you are like me, I lost my box, so I included the link to the Quaker site for you.  It has cooking directions.
2. If not using instant, stir in the pumpkin and pie spice about 5 minutes before it is finished cooking.  If using instant, just pour it in after it has cooked for a whole whopping 1 minute. 
3. Sprinkle with pecans.
4. Top with the maple syrup to your liking.  Pure syrup is really sweet.  Add SLOWLY.

Enjoy!!

Original Recipe

The BEST apple pie you will ever eat...seriously.

I go to the Farmers Market every Saturday.  I have a booth there.  There is a little old lady next to me named Selma.  Every week she talks to me about food.  Whether it is tomatoes, corn (her favorite), or lately apples.  This got me thinking about apple pie.

I like apple pie.  It is decent.  But it never really does it for me...until now.  This recipe I found is phenomenal.  Seriously.  The apples cooked to perfection and there was a caramel syrup you poured over....SO GOOD.  Not your traditional apple pie.  No seasonings involved.  AT ALL.  So if you want a pie, but your pantry is lacking, this recipe is for you.

 Ingredients:

• A pack of refrigerated pie crust.  (I used Pillsbury sheets. If you are adventurous you can make your own crust.) 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 apples peeled, cored, and sliced (Pie quality.  I used Fuji.  I also adore Pink Ladies)

Directions:

1. Place 1 crust in the bottom of your pie plate.  
2. Spread your apples into the crust, mounding slightly.
3. Top the apples with the second crust lattice style.  (I used pie crust cutters from Williams Sonoma and cut leaves out.  Basically you just want something to allow steam to escape and to let your caramel  seep into the pie.  )

4.  Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar 
    and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes. 
5. Pour the caramel SLOWLY over the crust allowing it to drain down through the holes.

6. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes.  
7. Reduce heat to 350F and continued baking for 35-45 minutes.  You want it to be 
    browned and bubbly. Place tin foil around the edges of the pie, or use a crust shield to 
    prevent over browning.

Enjoy!

Original recipe