Pastor Ryan’s Bloomin’ Bread

Thank you Pastor Ryan! The minute I saw the end result I knew that I had to try this recipe and now that I have I have all kinds of variations are running through my head so be prepared to see a new recipe posted.

4 cups bread flour (all purpose is okay, too)
1 cup water
1/2 cup melted butter with chopped herbs of choice (chives, rosemary,basil or thyme)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon active or instant yeast (if active, it would be best to sprinkle yeast over the water to let it start to work before mixing it in)

Combined all ingredients together in a stand mixer with a dough hook (it can be done by hand…it just takes longer). Mix together for about 10 minutes or until a successfully windowpane is achieved with the dough. This is where you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready.

Once this elasticity has been achieved, the dough can sit out with plastic wrap over it for 1-4 hours to double in size. After it’s gotten bigger, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut a large ‘X’ into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom! Bake inside a covered cast iron pan, I didn't have a cast iron pan but it worked just fine as you can see from the picture, after coating the rounded dough with olive oil and sprinkling with kosher salt. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes. (The bread can get brown on the bottom if it’s too close to the heating element; if that happens, just slice it off with a sharp knife.

Refrigerator French Bread

When Steve and I got married we received enough money to purchase an Oster Kitchen Center Food Preparation Appliance. It has since gone to appliance heaven but the recipe book lives on. This is one of my favorites because you can make it first thing in the morning and bake it anywhere from 2 to 24 hour later. It also works well if you need to take a meal into someone because it makes 2 loaves, one for your family and one for someone in need. Today I switched it up a little by replacing half of the flour with whole wheat.

2 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

6 1/2 cups flour - I used 3 cups whole wheat and 3 cups all-purpose flour

2 packages yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

vegetable oil or Pam

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

Heat water and butter to 120 degrees. In large mixer bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and warm water mixture. Mix for 3 minutes. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Knead until smooth and satiny, about 4 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place 30 minutes. Punch down and divide into 2 equal parts. Roll each into a rectangle on lightly floured board. Roll each up tightly jelly-roll style, beginning with long side. Seal edges and ends well by rolling with hands. Place seam-down diagonally on greased baking sheet. Slash top of loaves diagonally at 2-inch intervals with a sharp knife. Brush with oil; cover. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hour. When ready to bake remove from refrigerator, uncover. Let stand 10 minutes. Brush breads with slightly beaten egg white and water. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes 2 loaves.

Whole Wheat 3 Chocolate Chip Cookies

My latest experiment. A tip that I have been doing since losing weight is to cook just the amount of cookies that I need and then I portion out the remainder of the dough onto a cookie sheet and throw it into the freezer. When frozen solid I put the cookie dough in a freezer bag and save in the freezer to when I want or need cookies. This way I don't have a whole cookie jar staring at me saying, "Eat me!" and I can bake just what is needed.

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugars and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add salt, baking soda and flour into butter mixture beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoon full on a cookie sheet and bake 8 - 10 minutes.

Apple Butter Tartlets

This one is for you Melody! At Enrichment Melody shared her Rustic Apple Butter Tart and inspired my version.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 powdered sugar

apple butter

nuts - I used almonds but any kind will work

Mix butter, flour and powdered sugar together. Place papers in your mini muffin pan, easier clean up. Spoon 1 teaspoon of dough into each cup and press down. Bake for 15 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

Spoon apple butter over each crust to coat. Add chopped nuts to the top if desired. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until apple butter is bubbly. Immediately remove from muffin papers to prevent sticking. Makes approximately 36 tartlets.

This recipe will also works well in an 8 x 8 pan or can be doubled for a 13 x 9 pan.

Melody's Apple Butter

We had Enrichment the other night and this is another recipe, original at the bottom of this post, that was shared. I have to admit that I made one recipe last night and there was so much cinnamon, 1/2 cup, in it that I couldn't taste anything else so I made a second batch and mixed the cinnamon batch in and now I can taste the apples. If I make it again I will start with a lot less spices and add to taste.

The good thing about having to make a second batch was that it let me try placing the apples and most of the juice in my crockpot last night and this morning when I got up they were ready to be blended and strained.

6 pounds tart Apples
96 oz. Unsweetened Apple Juice
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
3 cups Brown Sugar

6 cups Sugar
2 - 4 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons Cloves
1 1/2 teapoons Allspice
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Wash apples and then quarter them only removing any bad spots. That means that you thrown the cores and seeds into the pot as well. Cover with juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Place your apples in a blender and then through mesh sieve. Now place apples and juices back into the pot. Add lemon juice and all sugar and spices. Bring to a slow boil then reduce heat to low. Let it cook on the stove for up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to reduce and get a wonderful thick butter. Can pour into sterile jars and process for 25 minutes. Makes 8 pint jars.

MELODY BARRIE’S APPLE BUTTER 2 WAYS
~In the crock pot:
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 C sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ Teaspoons Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth or use a stick blender on low. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

~On the stove, my favorite!
Enough tart apples to fill a 20 quart Heavy stock pot at least half full
Enough apple cider or apple juice to cover the apples
1 ½ C. Lemon Juice
10 – 12 C Sugar, depending how sweet you like it. Up to 1/3 can be brown sugar
½ -3/4 C Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Cloves
1 Tablespoon Allspice
1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt

Wash apples and then quarter them. Cover with juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Strain and force apples through a strainer (like one used for pasta) then force through mesh sieve. Now place apples and juices back into the pot. Add lemon juice and all sugar and spices. Bring to a slow boil then reduce heat to low. Let it cook on the stove for up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to reduce and get a wonderful thick butter. Can pour into sterile jars and process for 25 minutes.

Carolyn's Homemade Tomato Soup

I found another tomato soup that I love! At the end of this post you will see the orginal recipe but I just don't have a pot large enough to make this whole batch so I cut it down to one quarter and it worked out fantastic. Of course there won't be enough to bottle after we eat it for dinner but I can make another batch now that I know what I am doing and buy myself a bigger pot. Below is my version -

6 pounds tomatoes
4 stalks celery with leaves
1 1/2 onion
1 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
6 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 heaping teaspoon pepper

6 tablespoons sugar

Cut vegetables up into large chunks and put into a large pot. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Then blend it in a blender and strain thoroughly. Next combine butter and flour over low heat until the mixture is smooth. Then add the strained tomato mixture to the butter/flour mixture. Stir in the salt, pepper and sugar.

CAROLYN’S HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP

½ bushel tomatoes (approximately 26 pounds)

One bunch of celery

4 – 6 onions

4 green peppers

2 red peppers

Cut all vegetable up and put into a large pot. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Then blend it in a blender and strain thoroughly. Next combine ¾ pound butter and 1 cup flour over low heat until the mixture is smooth. Then add the strained tomato mixture to the butter/flour mixture.

¼ cup salt

1 ½ tablespoons pepper

1 ½ cup sugar

Pour into quart jars and process for thirty minutes. Makes approximately 7 quarts

Crockpot Beef Stew

Steve has wanted me to make a stew using the vegetables out of the garden. I thought I would check out A Year of Slow Cooking to see what recipes she had for stew. I took her Traditional Beef Stew CrockPot Recipe altered it to what I had on hand.

2lbs beef stew meat
1 onion
handful of baby tomatoes - ran these through the blender / no chunky tomatoes at our house
carrots
green beans
2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 t kosher salt
1 t black pepper
1 t seasoning blend (whatever you have on hand for bbqing, stir-frying, etc.)
1 t Worcestershire sauce
cornstarch
cold water

Wash and chop all vegetables. Put them into the crockpot. Put the meat into the crock. Add dry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Dissolve bouillon cubes in the water and pour into crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours. About a half hour before stew is done mix cornstarch and water together and stir into stew to thicken, replace lid until ready to serve. The more cornstarch added the thicker the gravy.

CrockPot Peach Cobbler

I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and thought it worked wonderfully. This recipe has me wondering about how we make cobbler in a dutch oven and I am going to have to try those ideas and let you know how they work. One thing that I would for sure do differently is to spray my crockpot with Pam before putting in the ingredients.

2 - 15 oz. can peaches with the juice - I used two pints of peaches I had bottled this year
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

I used my 3.5-quart crockpot that I have had for 28 years and it still keeps on cooking. Got to love it baby!!!

Pour the canned peaches into the bottom of the crock. In a separate bowl, melt the butter, then add the dry ingredients and vanilla. Stir with a fork to combine. The topping will be crumbly. Pour mixture on top of peaches. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. The pie is done when it has begun to brown on the edges and the fruit is bubbly and looks like the juice has caramelized a bit.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Everything is an experiment around our house any more. A little over a month ago I had bananas in my house for company and they didn't get finished off. Steve and I were still on our diet and bananas were not on the list of approved foods to eat at that time so I put the bananas in the freeze. I just left them as they were, brown, and put them in the freezer. Today I pulled them out and made banana bread, it worked out really well. Below you will see a banana bread recipe that I have modified to be a little healthier, I substituted applesauce for shortening and milk, used whole wheat flour and used brown sugar for half of the sugar called for in the recipe. I really enjoyed it but you can definitely tell that it is made with whole wheat flour.

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 eggs

2 cups mashed bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 tablespoon flax seed (optional)

In mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside.

In mixer bowl cream sugar and applesauce. Add eggs, one at a time beating until smooth. Add flour mixture and mashed bananas alternately to creamed mixture, beating until smooth after each addition. Gently fold in the chopped nuts and flax seed.

Turn batter into 2 lightly greased loaf pans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on wire rack.

This recipe also makes 5 small loaf pans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean.

End of Summer Harvest Soup

I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and on $5 dinners. I loved it because almost everything came out of my garden. I made a couple of changes and it turned out really good and the best part was that when I got home from working all day, it was the first day of the month, I didn't have to think about "What's for dinner?" it was done. Next time I make this I will add more squash and maybe some carrots.

4 cups chicken broth (vegetable stock is fine!)

1 cup water

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 zucchini, washed well and sliced in 1/4-inch rounds

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (I had red and yellow)

2 cups green beans

Handful of fresh basil and parsley from the garden

1/3 cup dry Great Northern beans - Cannellini beans were recommended but Albertsons didn't have them

1/2 cup pasta (to add 20 minutes before serving)

salt and pepper to taste

garnish with Parmesan and Romano cheeses - didn't use this but might next time

Wash squashes well and slice in rounds. Place into slow cooker with diced onion, green beans and tomato wedges. Rinse your beans in hot water, and add to cooker. Add broth, herbs, and water. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until beans have reached desired tenderness. 20 minutes before serving stir in raw pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan and Romano cheese.

Salsa

Mom has always had the best tasting salsa and when I was visiting a couple of weeks ago I had her teach me how to make it. It was so easy tomatoes, vinegar and Mrs. Wages Salsa Mix. I just couldn't leave it as simple as that and I know that Steve likes food that he can chew so I added a few extra items and he loves it!

6 lbs. fresh tomatoes - I pureed mine because my family hates tomato chunks

2 large onions, chopped coarsely - approximately 5 cups

2 cans whole kernel corn

3 (15 oz.) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (4 oz.) package Mrs. Wages Medium Salsa Mix - I found this at Wal-Mart

1/2 cup white or cider vinegar

Wash fresh tomatoes. Scald 3 minutes in boiling water. Dip into cold water. Cut out cores, remove skins and chop coarsely.

Combine tomatoes, vinegar, onions, corn, beans and salsa mix in a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Pour hot salsa into clean, sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Cap each jar when filled. Process 40 minutes* in boiling water bath. This recipe made 10 pint jars.

* Processing time listed is for altitudes less than 1000 feet. At altitudes of 1000 feet or more increase processing time 1 minute for each 1000 feet of altitude.

Crockpot Granola

I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and wanted to give it a try. I knew that I would be home most of the morning but had to run an errand and thought I would only be a few minutes but that turned into 45 minutes so when I got home my granola was a little more done in some places than in others but it tastes so yummy! I am attempting another batch today and changing the recipe up just a little to work for me and that is the recipe that I have put below.

5 cups oats

1/2 cup steel cut oats - I put this in just because they were in the house, can be omitted

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 T flax seeds

1 1/2 cups almonds - I didn't cut them up because we like to eat them just the way they are

1 cup Craisins - it was what I have in the house but you could use any dried fruit

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut - I put this in for Steve but he better not get used to it, can be omitted

Put all the dry ingredients into your crockpot. You'll need at least a 4 quart crockpot (I own two crockpots and I used the smaller one last time and it was hard for me really stir it and so I am using the bigger one today and it works a lot better).

Melt the butter in the microwave, add the honey and applesauce. Pour over dry ingredients and toss well.

Cover but vent with a chopstick or wooden spoon, this is so that the moisture escapes and the granola dries out. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often until a golden brown. If you can smell the granola cooking, go stir or it will burn if you don't keep an eye on it.

Dump out on some parchment paper and let cool. Eat with milk like cereal, warmed with milk like oatmeal, or as is. Seal well in an air-tight container or in a Ziploc. Granola freezes well.

In my search to learn more about homemade granola I ran across an article in the USA Weekend that listed other ingredients that could be add to the basic granola recipe.

1. Classic Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon You can replace the 1/4 cup of honey with 2 Tbs. each of maple syrup and molasses.

2. Crunchy Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 Tbs. sesame seeds, 6 Tbs. currants Flavoring: none

3. Granola with Tropical Flavoring Add the coconut along with the cashews and banana chips. Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted cashews, 1/4 cup chopped banana chips, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

4. Granola with Cherries and Almonds Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dried cherries Flavoring: 3/4 tsp. almond extract

5. Trail Mix Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup dark or golden raisins, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips* Flavoring: none *Stir chips into the granola only after it has completely cooled.

6. Orange-Berry Granola with Pecans Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped pecans,1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup dried blueberries Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

7. Pear Granola with Hazelnuts and Vanilla Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries, 1/4 cup chopped dried pears Flavoring: 1 tsp. vanilla extract

8. Orange-Flavored Granola with Pistachios, Mangos and Dates Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped dates, 1/4 cup chopped dried mangos Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. allspice