Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce (or One Awesomely Versatile Sauce)

With the cilantro from last week's CSA share beginning the end of it's journey, I needed to find a way to use up the large untouched bunch sitting on my counter. In most culinary dishes I've made involving cilantro, a large bunch is way too much. I was about to settle on mixing up a cilantro pesto, and throwing it in a pan of pasta and shrimp when I came across a recipe on All Recipes for a Flank Steak Marinade. Hmm... Fajitas? I always buy bulk flank steak, wrap and freeze it, so I had that in the freezer... I had peppers I needed to use, and Boy Wonder (my 8yo)  loves fajitas. Sold!

I mixed up the ingredients in my Cuisinart mini-food processor...

And marinated the steak for twelve hours, making sure to reserve part of the puree as instructed...

As grillin' time grew closer, and I was digging out the fajita ingredients, I came across the CSA lettuce, onion, and squashes I'd been avoiding since picked up from the farm. Hmm... A fajita salad with a side of squash? Well, ok...

So the squashes were sliced and seasoned with a little kosher salt and homemade chili powder.  DH usually grills the steak, and I stay inside (where it's cool *insert devious laugh*), and sauté the onion and peppers for fajitas, but why not grill them too?

While the steak and veggies were grilling, I prepped the salad. Lettuce... arugula... What else? What dressing goes well with fajita meat? Oh yeah! The reserved puree! Why not just make a dinner salad out of everything? And so, another dinner salad was created...

The lime-cilantro puree was perfect as a marinade. It was perfect--PERFECT as a salad dressing. The boys even loved dipping their squash in it, so it was also perfect as a veggie "dip." How much more of a versatile sauce can you get?!?!

The original sauce/marinade is here, and my changes are below. I really only left out the thyme because I didn't have it, and after making it too spicy (for the kids) using canned hot diced chili's, added a little extra honey to offset the spice.

Awesomely Versitile Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce
This makes just under two cups of sauce


6 cloves garlic
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 limes juiced OR 4 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs canned hot diced chili's
1 heaping cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 Tbs honey
kosher salt to taste

Throw everything in a food processor or blender, and puree.
***
7/15/10
Made this again tonight, but didn't have enough onion. Threw in a little onion powder, and still tasted great. I marinated a few chicken breasts then grilled, and also coated Magda squash rounds before grilling. Served them up with a plain ol' wild rice. Oh, and of course, we had more sauce on the side for dipping. Magnifique!

Green Dinner Salad with Pecan Chicken, Goat Cheese and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Two weeks ago I shared this picture of a salad I'd made with my garden blog readers, and promised to share the recipe...

Since then I've been pondering how to present it here. I've gone back and forth, deleted and restarted this post... I've wondered whether I can call this recipe my own creation, or to give you all three recipes that I've combined into one... When is a recipe changed enough to be considered a new recipe with a new creator? So I did what I always do when I have a question... I Googled it. har. "When is a recipe considered original?" My first result was thorough enough in answering the question, and I didn't feel the need to look further. I love Google... Anyway. An article in Washington Post titled, "Can a Recipe Be Stolen?" states...

 International Association of Culinary Professionals focus on giving proper attribution to recipes that are published or taught. The association advises using the words "adapted from," "based on" or "inspired by," depending on how much a recipe has been revised.... The only time a recipe should be printed without attribution, the association contends, is when it has been changed so substantially that it no longer resembles its source.

But what about combining parts of three different dishes that weren't significantly changed into one new dish? And so, I've decided to share the original recipe links with you, but I'm callin' the final result mine, unless someone says otherwise.

This salad has been adapted from Simply Recipe's Mixed Green Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette recipe, Martha Stewart's Crisp Goat-Cheese Salad, and Laura G's Baked Honey Nut Chicken. I may not be great at creating new and original recipes, but I love modifying other's...

Green Dinner Salad with Pecan Chicken, Goat Cheese and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
This can be made well in advance, actually I recommend making it in advance to allow time for the flavors to blend. The dressing also makes enough for several salads/meals.

2 Tbs honey mustard*
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or regular if you can't find white)
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together honey mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes, and vinegar. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture, whisking constantly until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

*If you're like me and don't keep several different varieties of mustard in your fridge, here's an excellent honey mustard recipe: 1/2 Tbs yellow mustard, 1/2 Tbs honey, 1 Tbs mayo (or equal parts mustard and honey, double that amount of mayo).

Pecan Chicken
Marinating the chicken in the egg/honey mix isn't necessary, but it adds a sweetness to the chicken that simply coating the chicken won't provide.

2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup Panko crumbs
4 chicken breats halves, thick part pounded slightly
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
olive oil (I use a spray)

1. In a bowl or ziploc bag, beat eggs and honey together until blended. Add chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. In a seperate bowl, toss together pecans bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.
4. Dredge the egg/honey soaked chicken with the pecan mixture, thoroughly coating. Place on a sprayed pan. Lightly drizzle or spray oil over tops of chicken.
5. Bake approximately 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and coating is lightly crisp.
6. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice into thin slices.

Crisp Goat-Cheese Rounds

I like making these in the toaster oven at the last five minutes the chicken is cooking. You can also make them in your oven while your chicken is resting.

1 egg

1 cup Panko crumbs

8 ounces goat cheese, in a log shape

salt and pepper to taste (optional)

olive oil (I use a spray)

1. Preheat your broiler. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. In a small bowl whisk the egg, salt and pepper. Place the breadcrumbs in a second bowl.

3. Slice the goat cheese into 6-8 rounds. Shape each into a disk. Separate each disk with wax paper or foil to prevent sticking.

4. Dip each disk first in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, coating evenly. Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Brush (or spray) disks lightly with olive oil, and broil until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.

Salad Assembly

Salads, in my opinion, are open to interpretation, and personal preferences. I've always liked carrots, celery, and bell peppers in mine, but hate cucumbers (though I enjoy them overall). So, feel free to add or replace what you like to the ingredients listed below.

1 lb mixed salad greens. I recommend a bitter or bold green like arugula, endive, and/or raddichio, mixed with your favorite lettuce.

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped baby carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 red or yellow bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into 1 inches pieces

Place lettuces in a large bowl or dinner plate, and top with desired salad ingredients. Add approximately half of a chicken breast halve to each salad, and goat cheese. Sprinkle with dried cherries, and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Plum and Loquat Crumble

Another successful way to serve plums! I used baby plums and sweet and sour plums that were a part of two CSA shares, and threw in sliced loquats that were picked from a friend's tree.

This was my first try at working with loquats. They stayed nice and firm, and had a great mild sweetness to them.

The original recipe isn't mine, and didn't include the loquats. I quickly jotted it on a scrap piece of paper, and now can't remember where I found it... I do so many searches for food, and too many recently on plum recipes to count. I try to give credit where due, and don't claim this as my own...

Plum and Loquat Crumble
Makes enough for 3 to 4 single-serve ramekins (depends on your ramekin size)

1 2/3 cup pitted baby plums

roughly 8 loquats, skinned and seeds removed

2 to 3 Tbs packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

6 to 10 gingersnaps

Mix the fruit with brown sugar and almond extract. Distribute evenly into small ramekins. Crush the gingersnaps with a rolling pin and top the fruit.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Plum and Ginger Soda

With so many plums (and stone fruits in general) coming into our home by way of our Santa Rosa plum tree and CSA shares, I've been trying to come up with original ways to serve them to the family. When this Plum and Ginger Soda came up in one of my online hunting sessions, I had to give it a try...

The combination of sweet plums and spicy ginger is so delicious. Throw in a little bit of pear vodka, and you have yourself a cocktail!

These were our "red, white & blue" drinks for the 4th of July.

Before we get to the recipe, I'm going to dissect it a little bit. The recipe states it will make 2 drinks but doesn't state what size glasses to serve them in. As I cook/bake more and more with fresh produce, a specified weight is much easier to work with than a quantity since size varies in nature. I also found it slightly annoying that it didn't say how much plum syrup there should be once completed. That said, I doubled the recipe, adding additional plums since mine were on the small side, and to increase the plum flavor. I then cooked down to 1/2 to 3/4 the original amount. Alternately, you could just use less water...

This will most certainly be made again, and I'll take notes next time on recipe adjustments. For now, here's the original...

Plum and Ginger Soda, from Diana at Appetite for China 

Makes 2 drinks

2 ripe plums, skin on, chopped
2 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 can club soda

Bring water to a boil. Toss in chopped plums, reduce heat, and simmer until plums are cooked and mushy, and liquid is bright red, about 15 to 20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, toss in ginger slices.

Turn off heat and stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Let Cool. Strain liquid and discard solids.

Add ice cubes to each glass and fill with plum syrup to two thirds of the way. Top with club soda, give each glass a stir, and serve.

Farro and Vegetables

I've been coming across a lot of recipes as of late that include farro. Farro cooks much the same way as rice does, with semi-pearled cooking twice as fast as the whole-grain variety. I haven't been able to find it in any of the stores around here (I'm told Whole Foods usually has it, but there isn't one close enough for me to bother), so I ordered some online.

Since I've never cooked or eaten it before, I went with a simple recipe. It's a great grain to cook in a large quantity because it stores well in the refrigerator and freezer. In fact, I reheated the leftovers from the recipe below then added steamed broccoli and green beans to switch it up a little...

Farro with veggies adapted from Marx Foods, "Simple Farro"
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups Farro
4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade)
2-3 zucchini, cut into chunks
1-2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
a pinch of salt

1. Rinse the farro and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion until translucent, adding a pinch of salt a few minutes into cooking to "sweat" the onion.
3. Add the farro and toast for a minute or so, stirring frequently.
4. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low.
5. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until farro is as tender as you prefer. Stir occasionally.
6. During the last 10-15 minutes, add the chunks of zucchini and chopped parsley
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Pecan Squares

I've been trying to branch out in my recipe sources, trying to get away from All Recipes as my main source, so I stopped by the library last week and picked up a copy of Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics. I tabbed so many pages, I went out a few days later and borrowed her first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I've read both of these books like novels, trying not to drool on each page...

The recipe on page 188 of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook stopped me in my tracks. Pecan squares. Ina says they're "like pecan pie with a shortbread crust." I saw they're like a nutty, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth explosion of deliciousness.

Perhaps I should clarify my post title a little bit... These are To. Die. For. Pecan Squares. They're like Thanksgiving dessert, any day of the year. My favorite day-after-Thanksgiving tradition is eating a slice of pecan pie for breakfast, and these squares are no exception. I'm sure my cholesterol and blood pressure have spiked from eating too many of these delicacies, but I don't care. They're so stinkin' good!

I enjoy altering recipes to suit my taste preferences, and items I have on hand, but these were made exactly as stated. Boy, I'm glad I didn't tinker with perfection. Well, ok, I think there is one thing I will tinker with next time I make these, and that's cutting the recipe in half. This makes a lot of dessert which is perfect for serving to guests, but with only DH and I eating them, there are just too many...

You can make the shortbread two days before serving to break up the large chunk of time in the kitchen, and the filling a day before serving to give it plenty of time to set. I don't recommend serving these straight out of the fridge. They taste perfect and are easier to chew when barely heated in the microwave. They also taste awesome warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream.

To Die For Pecan Squares
Shortbread crust
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18x12x1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

Pecan Topping
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (my 4 quart pot was almost too small). Cook over low heat until the butter is melted. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan (now worries if this happens. That part tastes awesome). *Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling has set. Allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

*Be sure to protect your oven from drippy overflows.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

We had some friends over this weekend which, of course, is cause for pulling out the fun recipes I am only willing to put in the time for to share with guests. LOL

Ever since we moved to California, I've been eying these Southwestern Egg Rolls on All Recipes. You see, in Virginia, there is a small chain restaurant, Sweetwater Tavern, that serves to-die-for Tex Mex Eggrolls. These were a must-have item for every visit. What better opportunity to try replicating them than when guests are over?

I served the egg rolls with a Cilantro Cream Sauce. An avocado dipping sauce would taste wonderful with these egg rolls too. I also served chips, salsa, and guacamole on the side.

Alas, I'm missing pictures of these delicious eats, but will be sure to update this post when I make them again.

Since I served chicken with dinner, I left it out of the egg rolls which made them vegetarian...


2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup red bell pepper
1 cup unsalted canned corn kernels
3/4 cup low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained OR fresh spinach, trimmed and chopped
1/3 cup diced jalapeño peppers*
1.5 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 pinches cayenne pepper*
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1-2 packages of egg roll wrappers (depends on how much filling you add to each wrapper)
1/4 cup water

*These ingredient amounts will vary depending on your spicy-heat tolerance. I make my chili powder a little spicy, so one jalapeño was perfect for us. Also, you can use the pepper membrane and/or seeds to add more spice. Be sure to use gloves when working with spicy peppers!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Rub 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over chicken breasts. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink, and juices run clear. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in minced onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Dice chicken and mix into the onion and red pepper. Mix in remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook and stir 5 minutes until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese until melted.
4. Remove one egg roll wrapper at a time from package (to prevent the awaiting wrappers from drying out). Use a small amount of water on your fingers or a paint brush, and moisten each side of the wrapper. Spoon a small amount of filling into the wrapper, and roll like this:

5. Place the wrapped egg rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Lightly spray the egg rolls with oil before baking.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

I was able to squeeze 23 egg rolls out of the above filling.

Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche

I've always wanted to try making a quiche, but for some reason, I never had the guts to do so. I don't know why the idea of making quiche intimidated me so much. It's a very straight forward dish. Chop veggies. Cook meat if you want it in there. Throw everything into a pie crust. Bake and serve with a fruit to round the meal out. Now what's so threatening about that?

This recipe was so easy to make and tasted so delicious I'll be making it again this week.

Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped shallot (or about 2 bulbs)
1 cup mushrooms, stem and ribs removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped fresh asparagus
1 (8 inch) unbaked pie shell
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half cream or whole milk
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 egg white, lightly beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, nutmeg and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just cooked. Drain on paper towels, chop and set aside. Don't drain the bacon fat from the pan.

3. Add onions to bacon fat; cook and stir until translucent. Add the mushroom and asparagus, and cook until asparagus is barely tender.  Mix the chopped bacon into the cooked vegetables.

4. Brush the pie shell with the beaten egg white, if using. Place the vegetable and bacon mixture into the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle the Cheddar and feta cheeses over the vegetables. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the vegetable and cheese filling.

5. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned on top. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

*This recipe was adapted from one on All Recipes.

Waffle Wednesday - Gingerbread Waffles

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. One of my earliest kitchen memories was making pancakes for my family. Well, to be honest, I wanted the pancakes for myself, and had to make them if I was going to get them, and my family just happened to benefit from my cravings. I make pancakes all the time. I have a special griddle that I use only with pancakes. But pancakes aren't the topic of this post--stay focused, girl!

Anyway, on Wednesday's, my 8 year old's school starts an hour late. At the beginning of the school year, I decided to start "Waffle Wednesday's" as a way to a) get my baking and sweets fix in, and b) give my boys something besides cereal and oatmeal for breakfast.

I usually just whip up a batch of Bisquick's waffles but I'm getting pretty tired them (and Bisquick in general). I tried another basic waffle recipe that wasn't anything worth writing home about, and then I came across Gingerbread Waffles. What? Cookies for breakfast, and with syrup? LOL Sold!

So where are the step-by-step pictures I've been doing so far, your asking? Well... I did take a few pictures, and they either came out blurry or just not that visually appealing... OK, fine. I'll give you one:

 

DH said they would taste good with powdered sugar. "They'd look good with powdered sugar," I replied... So, the next time I make these, I'll be sure to update this post with more tantalizing pictures.

My 8yo gobbled these up, and the house smells like Christmas! I can't wait to make these again next Waffle Wednesday...

Gingerbread Waffles

3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses (I only had ~1/3 cup, and couldn't tell it was lacking)
1 cup buttermilk ( or 1 TBS lemon juice, fill the rest of the 1 cup with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablepoon (3/4 stick) butter -- melted and cooled (I used canola oil to save time)
Preheat waffle iron to medium.

In a small bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, molasses and buttermilk, then beat.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add to batter and stir until smooth, then add butter and combine.

Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into very hot waffle iron and bake for four to five minutes. Serve hot.

Momma's Slow Cooked Creamy Chicken Soup

In my last post I talked about the egg noodles I made to go with my chicken soup. I've been making this soup for years, and make it a little different every time depending on what's in my fridge that needs to be used up. I don't know what the original recipe is anymore. I just throw a bunch of things together, so I think I can call this one my own creation!

Throw all of your ingredients into your slow cooker. You can use frozen or thawed chicken breasts, but frozen makes for quicker prep work. Stir it all up, put the lid on, and let it cook.

 

Shred the chicken.

 

Put the shredded chicken back in your crock. If you're serving with dumplings, add them to the soup at this point.

 

 Nom!

 

*The quantities and ingredients for this recipe can easily be adjusted to meet your own chicken soup preferences*

Momma's Slow Cooked Creamy Chicken Soup
4 - 5 chicken breasts
2 - 10.5 ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's Healthy Request soup)
Refill 1 emptied can of soup with chicken stock (I use Swanson's Natural Goodness broth), or water, or 1/2 stock or water and 1/2 white wine
3 celery stocks, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 large sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
a few dashes of black pepper
a few dashes of hot sauce or cayenne pepper (optional)
1 can Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits, each biscuit quartered, or noodles or rice


Throw it all into your slow cooker, put the lid on, and cook on low for 8 hours, or medium-high for 4 - 5 hours.

When your chicken is cooked or 30 to 60 minutes before serving, take the chicken out and shred. At this point you can add the quartered biscuits on top of the soup. Replace the lid and let the dumplings cook. If you have an oven-safe crock pot, you can put the crock in the oven at 325 for 5 - 10 minutes to cook the tops of the dumplings. This will give them more of a biscuit-y texture.

As I mentioned in my noodle post, I'd never served them with this soup before, so to avoid ruining them, I cooked them separately. I put them in each bowl, and spooned the soup over the noodles.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Noodle Making

Yesterday I made a slow cooker chicken soup, and instead of adding the usual dumplings on top, I decided to try my hand at making egg noodles. I've never made noodles or pasta before, so I had fun with this task.

Stir the flour and salt, then add the remaining ingredients and mix. You can use your stand mixer or food processor for this step.

I put latex gloves on and used my hands (my nails are long). Mine was still pretty gooey...

 

 ...so on to the floured surface! Our countertop is tiled (so silly) so I use an extra large textured cutting board. I actually prefer this to a smooth surface because the flour spreads out more evenly.

  

 When DH was hanging outside with the boys, he snuck a pic of me.

  

 Separate the dough into sections and roll. The rings on the rolling pin are nice for people like me who are horrible at estimating correct thickness and rolling evenly. I rolled the dough 1/8inches thick.

  

The Better Homes and Gardens cook book gives a few different cutting methods.

  

I didn't really like the roll and slice method. My dough was still sticky enough on the inside that the noodles stuck together. I'm also not the greatest at even slices.

  

Cutting with a pizza cutter gave much better results--except for the uneven noodles lol. Separate noodles and let air dry. Or you can cook right away if you're in a hurry...

  

I wasn't sure how the noodles would turn out if I added directly to the slow cooker, so I cooked them separately. They took about 2 minutes to cook.

 

This was a great change from the usual dumplings!

I chose this noodle recipe because it uses milk instead of water...

Egg Noodles
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter

Stir the flour and salt together. Add the egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough for about 5 minutes. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired lengths and shapes.
Allow to air dry before cooking.
To cook fresh pasta, in a large pot with boiling salted water cook until al dente.

A few storage tips from Better Homes and Gardens:

"Spread on a wire cooling rack. Let noodles dry overnight to until completely dry; place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to three days. Or let the noodles dry for at least one hour and seal in a freezer bag or container; freeze up to eight months."

Homemade Bread

As I get older more mature, I am taking harder looks at the foods I buy and serve my family. I'm not an all natural, all organic fanatic by any means (I think I like my Oreos and my Eddy's full-fat ice cream too much), but with all of the things in the media on an almost hourly basis about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), pesticides, and artificial everything, I have been taking gradual steps to reduce them in our diets.

One of the first things I decided to change was our bread. I took a look at the ingredients in the whole wheat store-bought bread I'd been serving the boys. When I discovered HFCS along with other things I couldn't pronounce, I made the choice to begin making bread from scratch. I mean, if this is a food item my children eat on a daily basis, the least I can do is make it healthier. Fortunately, I already had the bread machine collecting dust at home...

I've been making home made bread for almost a year now, and would like to share our family favorite plus a few tips I've learned on the way with you. I am not a bread expert, and I know some of my methods are perhaps unconventional and nontraditional, but they work well for me...

My Work Horse

Ingredients

You may need to scrape the sides of your bread pan.

Check the dough's texture to see if more flour is needed (like mine did below). I've found that adding vital wheat gluten* to my dough makes the dough slightly stickier overall.

My bread machine has 3 rises so that's what I do (most recipes state bread should rise 2 times before baking). After the 2nd rise, I place the dough on a lightly greased cutting board, use a long serrated knife to cut in half. I grease my hands then place the dough in 2 lightly greased 1.5 quart bread pans.

The dough rises for a 3rd time in a barely warmed oven for 20 minutes before I turn the oven on (leaving the dough in the oven), and bake for 25-30 minutes.

The finished product--almost. By now your mouth is watering, right? Well, take your loaves out of the pans immediately so they don't become soggy. There's a lot of moisture in there that needs to escape.

Also, don't I repeat, DON'T cut into the bread right away. I know, it's sooo hard to resist eating piping hot bread slathered in butter and jam, but if you do, your bread will become gummy. Wait at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
I set my machine to the "two pound" setting.

2 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
1.5 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon active dry yeast

*Vital wheat gluten helps with the elasticity of the dough, and IMO, makes the final product lighter and fluffier in texture.

Welcome!

I've always enjoyed cooking and baking... Growing up, I used to help my mom cook things like tacos and pancakes, but I didn't really start learning about the components of it all until I started cooking for my own family over eight years ago. It brings me great joy in sharing food and culinary tidbits I've learned, so I'm starting this blog as an extension of that.

Most of the things I cook and bake come from others, but I really enjoy altering what I find to suit our tastes and items on hand. I'll be sure to give credit where credit is due.

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for visiting!