Dinner Updates

I have been making some fabulous dinners. I may sound a little full of myself, but that's because I am. I'm full in my stomach from all these incredible dinners! Get it?! Me neither... But seriously, I need to give some shout outs to where I've been getting my dinner inspirations from. Now, I'm not very skilled at the whole photography thing, so I decided not to take pictures of most of the meals. But I captured a few for you=)

Pizza Mac N' Cheese- This in in my family's top 5 favorite meals I've made! Cassie Craves is such a great dinner resource whenever I don't know that to make. She has never steered me wrong and I love this recipe. It sounds like a heavy dish, but there's a ton of veggies in there surprisingly. I definitely will be making this again.

Chicken with Pesto Mushrrom Cream Sauce- One of the comments we kept saying about this dish was how juicy the chicken was! I don't know if that was more due to the recipe or me, but we loved that. The pesto mushroom cream suace was great and great for dipping breadsticks into. This meal packed so much taste and it reminded me of something you would get at Olive Garden. Thanks again Cassie!

Garlic Breadsticks- I was so excited to make these! I've never thaought about making something like this from scratch and it always seemed impossible. But really, these were incredibly easy. I loved adding butter, garlic, italian seasoning, and tons of parmesan cheese on top. We really personalized them to our tastes. I made them really huge, but that didn't stop me from having seconds=)

Mexican Sour Cream Rice- This was from quite awhile ago but I remember we defnitely enjoyed it!

Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers- These were some fantastic looking burgers! They were so fun to make and I loved the avocado aioli sauce that came with it. I went a little crazy with the red onion, so don't do that. Overall, these were a disappointement. They looked great and had some great components, but the taste just wasn't there. No amount of salt could fix it either, though ketchup helped.='(

Cowboy Quesadillas- These were very easy to put together and since we haven't had quesadillas in awhile, they were much welcomed. I especially loved the bbq ranch dipping sauce, but I am a lover of all dips=) So this gets a thumbs up!

Well these are some of the meals I have been cooking up for my family! It's a little strange for an 18 year old girl to be cooking dinner for her family most nights, but I love it! Hopefully I post up our dinners sooner so I can remember what we thought of them while it's still fresh in my mind. It was one of my New Years Resolutions to cook more homemade dinners for my family, and so far  I think I'm doing fabulously=)

Banana Cinnamon Chip Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Well I've gone a little longer than I wanted to without posting anything. Not good. But I'm back and enjoying a lovely snow day=) I mean I was all for the good weather to start coming, but why not end the snow season with a bang? Is it a bad thing that I constantly check the 15-day forecast on my phone everyday? I don't think so. I just can't wait for the warm weather to start and stay here! But enough about the weather, let's talk about what you really came here for: the food.

This here loaf of bread was a recipe I went searching for. I found a couple good cinnamon chip bread recipes, but they strongly suggested only the use of shortening, and I didn't want to use that. But, lo and behold, I was able to find one and make it and post it here for you! I love using the cinnamon chips that Ingrid sent me any way I can.


Freezing bananas before the go bad is one of my favorite tricks! I can then pull them out of the freezer whenever I need to and let them thaw for me to use. This was exactly what I did for this recipe. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, which is a definite plus.

The cinnamon sugar topping seems like a lot, but it adds the perfect crunch on top. I love taking a bit with crunchy pieces and soft pieces. Because let me tell you, this was a moist bread! It wasn't dry but it left enough room for a generous slab of butter on top;)


Banana Cinnamon Chip Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Topping
from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cinnamon chips

For the cinnamon sugar topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray. Dust it lightly with flour and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add in the flour mixture and carefully stir. Don’t over mix. Add in the cinnamon chips and gently stir.
4. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon.
5. Add the batter to the loaf pan and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping generously over the batter.
6. Bake bread for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack.
7. Let bread cool for 1o minutes and then remove from pan. Cool, slice, and enjoy.

Pumpkin Cornbread

Finally a more savory pumpkin item. Though, not really. I still ate this with tons of butter and maple syrup. Soooo good! The thing about cornbread is how easy it is to make. All the ingredients are pretty standard and it's really a no fuss recipe. And when you get to eat that nice and warm slice of cornbread once it's out of the oven.. yummm.


I'm so happy molasses was an ingredient in this recipe. I love molasses. I forget I love molasses when the fall and winter seasons are over and it's onto more spring/summer seasonal baking. But every time I'm reminded of this love once again when the weather gets chill.


The crumb was great in this recipe. It wasn't very crumbly or dry at all. It was moist, but obviously not too moist and springy. I really liked this recipe. I didn't have chili or any main dish to serve this with, though. We primarily had it as a nice snack, but I think this would be good to serve along with a main dish item.




Pumpkin Cornbread
found over at Sugarcrafter

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8×8″ baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible.

Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Bread In Five Minutes A Day

I'm getting behind on my posting again...=( This is never a good thing. But I have big news. I've started doing some bread baking! And it's so amazing. Fresh bread at your fingertips is a great feeling.

I was inspired to do this by my aunt Nancy who owns the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The book is genius and I completely recommend it. The book makes making homemade, fresh bread a breeze. It simplifies the process with NO KNEADING. You heard me. Absolutely no kneading is necessary. It uses a single "cloaking" (folding) method that takes all of 30-60 seconds.

So my aunt allowed me to borrow this book from her and I couldn't wait to get started. I loved reading through all the different kinds of bread recipes given in the book, but I knew for my first time (as is recommended) I should stick to the "master" recipe. It is a simple boule style bread that is your average and easy to make artisan bread. Now the fact that it is the simplest or considered the basic recipe does not mean it is any less delicious.

The bread turned out great! I felt like I didn't even do anything to make it. I just slapped it all together and shoved and in the oven and voila! I couldn't get enough of it. The book suggests letting it sit and there for the bread flavor to develop and the crust and inside to form the proper texture. But who can resist warm bread nice and hot from the oven? Not anyone in my family! We scarfed it down immediately! I thought I would maybe put some spreads on the bread or make sandwiches, but it was just so darn good with butter. Bread and butter. A match made in heaven. Simplicity at its finest.

I am excited to try some other doughs as well. I have only made the basic boule, but the bagel and brioche doughs sound incredible. Unfortunately, my aunt is asking for her book back and I won't have the recipes anymore=( But I think I will just buy the book. It really is that amazing. I can't wait to make more recipes from this book and show you how the turn out!

A bit of an overflow...

If this post really interests you and you have always wanted to be able to make fresh bread fast and easily, consider buying this book. You won't regret it!

Pan Toasted Garlic Bread

Tired.

Confused.

Soo over chemical equations...

Yep. These ridiculous pictures explain my tiredness and frustration. But with reason! A 14 pg chem lab report is no fun over Christmas break. Esters and their formation anyone? Butyl Butyrate? Smells like pineapple. Butyl Acetate? Bananas. Okay enough of that. I handed it in and therefore I can forget allll about it. JK.

But writing a lab report does work up quite an appetite. My mom surprised my be coming home with tons of food, including mini bread slices. Those babies are perfect for mini garlic bread slices. This recipe is an easy way to make cheesy garlic bread super fast.




Pan Toasted Garlic Bread
from Land O Lakes "Treasure of Country Recipes"

1/3 cup butter (I thought this was too much and made the bread a little soggy)
1/8 cayenne pepper
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
6 baguette slices
*I think a sprinkle of paprika adds so much flavor and taste so I added it on top when the cheese was melted.

In a skillet melt your butter until sizzling. Stir in cayenne pepper and garlic. Dip both sides of each bread slice in melted butter. Cook over medium heat until bread is lightly toasted (2-3 minutes). Turn bread over and sprinkle each slice with about 1 tbsp. cheese. Cover and cook to steam the cheese until it is melted.

Fresh Bread Anyone?

So my mom and I have been thinking about getting a bread maker after we saw one at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. They had one on sale for about $46 dollars, and that's after coupons. From what I have seen, that is an incredible price. It is Oster brand and the model is #5838.

Some of the features include:
-A viewing screen so you can watch as your bread is being made
-A jam maker
-60-minute keep warm cycle
-13 hour delay setting to let you come home or wake up to fresh bread
-Able to add in fruit and nuts
-Makes doughs and pasta
-3 crust color settings
-18 bread settings
-And some others...

I guess what I'm getting at here is...

Does anyone own this bread machine or a similar one? Do you use it as often as you thought? Or does it collect dust in your cupboard? Does the machine work as well as it says it will? Do I really need this machine to make good bread?

Also, my mom and I are obsessed with bread, and my sister enjoys it as well. If we bought this, we would hope to replace the white bread my dad uses for lunches. Now my mom and I don't eat bleached white flour or anything, but it's all my dad likes. We're not so sure he will like the white bread the machine will make and therefore we will still have to buy store bread. However, we would like this bread to replace the store bread.

There's a lot of questions we need answered and it'd be great if I could get some feedback!

Baked Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Since we were in Ohio for Christmas, we weren't able to have our traditional cream cheese roll-ups. So as soon as we got back I made sure we had at least a variation of them. The normal recipe is just putting the cream cheese filling into white bread then rolling it up. But I decided to take it a bit further by baking it in a 9 x 13 dish instead.

I'm really not a fan of white bread at all. So I found some interesting bread called paska? I've never heard of it before but I thought it would work out since it was a type of sweet bread. It turned out to be pretty similar to challah, which is what I had been looking for.

Baked Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
adapted from my dad's Cream Cheese Roll-ups recipe

1 loaf of paska bread (or any other bread really)

Cream cheese filling:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 sugar
(combine this in a bowl)

Cinnamon sugar topping:
1 1/2 sticks of butter
sugar and cinnamon (I mixed this to taste with a starting point of 1/2 tbsp cinnamon to 1/2 cup sugar. I thought there needed to be more cinnamon overall though)

I first buttered my baking dish, a 9 x 13 dish. Then I layered slices of the bread evenly on the bottom. Then I spread the cream cheese mixture over top. I sprinkled a generous amount of cinnamon sugar over that. More bread is added to cover the top. Then, I poured the melted butter/cinnamon sugar mixture as evenly as I could over top.

At this point you can refrigerate it over night. If not, place it in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy!

That evening we had a mock Thanksgiving Day feast. My dad loves turkey but we never seem to have any other time than at Thanksgiving. So we went through the preparations and with some Jenny-O turkey we were able to pull it off! No pumpkin pie for dessert, but we have enough chocolate to last us years!

Also, look what I got:

DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER! I am truly in heaven. I honestly ate half of it the very night I got it. I spread it over the last of the paska bread and also added vanilla frosting. Yeah, I know it's weird. Dipping pretzels into it is truly divine!!

I just love that cute little monkey on the side!

Baked Short Ribs and Cornbread

I'm back and better than ever! Preparing these home cooked meals for my family for dinner is so great to do again. They're happy, I'm happy, and so are our wallets.

And, it's a Friday night and what does a high school girl like myself have planned to do? Make dinner of course. On the menu: Baked short ribs in a red wine sauce and buttermilk cornbread with homemade creamed corn. As soon as I got home from school (3:04), I began dinner. I found a "quick" short ribs recipe and had that browning and in the oven in no time. Then I struggled with the side. Eventually a craving for cornbread overtook me, and I went for it. I started by making some creamed corn to put in it since we've had a bag of frozen peas in our freezer for almost a year now...

Making creamed corn is pretty easy and extremely tasty. My mom and I both hate most corn since we're usually given what's out of a can. But we both we drooling for this stuff! Think about making this sometime 'cause its worth it and much better than canned crap.

Well, I didn't actually have any cornmeal. So, when my mom got home she ran out and got some (thanks again, mom!). I whipped the ingredients together real fast in order to get it made in time to eat. Unfortunately, in my rushing I didn't notice you were supposed to keep the wet and dry ingredients separate until the end. Kind of obvious, I know. I just mixed as I went. 20 minutes later we were eating. The cornbread had such great flavor. It had exactly the taste I was looking for. Unfortunately, (and possibly due to the strange why I combined the ingredients), it was very dry. My family and I still devoured it down, with plenty of butter, though.

And of course the main attraction, the meat, was fantastic! I've never had that kind of cut before but it was cheap at the store ($4.75 for a pound, at least I think that's cheap). We use a ton of salt on our foods in my house, but none was needed for this meat.

These were all new dishes for my family tonight, and really out of the norm for us. I'm really glad I went outside of my comfort zone and tried the new and exciting recipes!

In the browning stage

Straight out the oven (Can you see that steam?!)

Baked Short Ribs
found here

Go and get it:
1 pound short ribs
1 tablespoon flour
¼ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup red wine
1 clove garlic

The how-to:
Preheat oven to 300° F.
Roll ribs in flour seasoned with paprika, salt and pepper. Brown in hot fat.
Place ribs in casserole, add wine and garlic. Cover and bake in a slow oven (300° F. ) for two and one-half hours or until tender.

Creamed Corn
from Simply Recipes

Go and get it:
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

The how-to:
In a large saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes until translucent.

Add the corn to the onions and butter in the saucepan. Add 2/3 a cup of water and the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the corn is tender.

Add the sugar, nutmeg, and cream to the corn. Cook, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Buttermilk Corn Bread with Creamed Corn
from here

Go and get it:
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 cup creamed corn
2 tablespoons canola oil
optional bread crumb topping

The how-to:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and creamed corn, whisking together to combine thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. If the batter will not pour, add more buttermilk to the batter. Add bread crumb topping if interested.
Spread canola oil along your baking dish. Pour the batter into the dish. Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon the touch, about 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl

We've now hit November, we've turned our clocks back, and our thoughts are towards Thanksgiving. But pumpkin recipes are still in their prime. I'm thankful this canned pumpkin shortage I keep reading about hasn't affected me in the least. But what to make now? There are so many options out there and so many I hope to try. Pumpkin scones, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin cheesecake swirl bars, pumpkin fudge, and many other pumpkin treats are all on my list.

Unfortunately, homework and other school related obligations interfere. Phooey. And so only the lucky few will be chosen. After cupcakes, biscotti, and coffeecake, I've now moved to bread.

When layering the cream cheese and pumpkin, I thought it better to have more pumpkin on the bottom of the cream cheese than on top, right? Wrong! My bottom of my bread was really tough and overcooked so I had to eat around it. If I had put the cream cheese lower and added more pumpkin batter to the top I think it would have kept it a tad moister and allowed for a shorter cooking time. I did have to leave the bread in for over 2o mins longer because the inside still wasn't getting cooked.



Overall taste: The cream cheese layer wasn't very noticeable. It came out in a thin swirl and only on the top. I assume it must have mixed in with the pumpkin which was very moist on top. It had a great pumpkin flavor and was extremely moist. However, I was really hoping for a pronounced cream cheese swirl which unfortunately didn't happen. Oh well, there are still plenty of other recipes to try!

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl
from about.com



8 oz. cream cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, egg and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Set aside.
3. In another small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.
4. In a large bowl, beat the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, buttermilk, egg and spices together until smooth.
5. Add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining pumpkin batter. With a knife, cut through the batter to create a swirl effect.
7. Bake 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

Pecan French Toast

Quick fancy breakfast. Pecan French toast.

No real recipe. Just make french toast then smash some pecans on it. Of course, Texas Toast is preferred, but use what you have. Add some cinnamon sugar to the pecans as well.

I work at King's Family Restaurant, and they make this beautifully! It is by far my favorite thing on the menu. =)

Ezekiel Bread

So have you heard about ezekiel bread? Well now you have, and you must try it! It's made by Food For Life Baking Co.. They have all kinds of products (bread, english muffins, tortillas, cereal, pasta, buns, etc.) , truthfully, I've only tried the english muffins, but they are extremely good.

Basically, the bread they make is composed of freshly sprouted certified organically grown live grains and contains no flour. The Food For Life breads, made from these sprouted grains, are richer in proteins and vitamins than baked breads with dry grains. Not only does the sprouting process significantly increases the amount of valuable nutrients and vitamins, it also makes the proteins and carbohydrates easier for the body to use. they are just all around much healthier for you. And extremely tasty too. the thing is, you just feel so good about yourself after eating because you know it's actually healthy.

One thing you should know about this bread is that it is not meant to be eaten as your typical sandwich bread or hot dog bun. It is intended as being the integral part of your meal. It's not meant to be the after thought or light enclosure of whatever you're eating. It is a hearty grain which you can accompany with sweet or savory toppings. Personally, I think it's best eaten as an awesome breakfast item with sweet toppings. There's no refined sugar, preservatives, artificial color or flavoring, shortening, or cholesterol. The Food For Life line also accommodates dietary needs by creating special categories which include organic, flourless, sprouted grain, high fiber, wheat-free, gluten-free, low sodium, unsweetened, fruit juice sweetened, dairy-free, low-fat, and yeast-free baked goods.

The company president says the idea of ezekiel bread was inspired by scripture. The verse, included in the title of all their sprouted grain products, is Ezekiel 4:9:
"Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it."

IMPORTANT: All of the products are meant to be kept frozen. With live active grains you want it to be fresh when it's time to eat it.



I would describe the taste of the regular english muffins as having a hearty, slightly sour doughy taste. Personally, I think they are best when popped in the toaster, or even in the oven if you'd like. The key is to not microwave them or else you lose almost all the nutrients and vitamins intended. For your first experience with this bread, I would toast it and lather it in butter, jams/jellies, or peanut butter. I think having it plain comes as an acquired taste, especially if you don't toast it. Of course, since you are storing them in the freezer, they'd need to be kept out a while to thaw, which I never have much patience for. So usually I'll pull one out of the freezer, put it in the oven for a few minutes to thaw it, then slice it and pop it in the toaster. My favorite topping would have to be putting first a layer of butter on, then adding some pumpkin butter or strawberry or blackberry jam over that.

So next time you're in the freezer section of the grocery store, look for these awesome products and you won't be disappointed.