Simple 100% whole wheat bread

We got this recipe from our neighbor JOhn Condojani and it is my favorite whole wheat bread recipe by far.  Nate makes this in the bread machine and we love love love it.  This recipe works at altitude of at least 6800 feet. This has much better flavor than my other recipe and has less ingredients so easier for food storage.  However, the other recipe is faster and can be used in a pinch. .

This is for one loaf in the bread machine.  It was converted from a 3 loaf recipe.

3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1.3 oz veg oil (1/6 cup)
1.3 oz Honey (1/6 cup)
1/2 Tbs Yeast
1/2 Tbs Salt
1 1/3 cup warm water

Follow bread machine instructions.

3 loaf recipe

10 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 Tbs Yeast
1 1/2 Tbs Salt
1 Qt hot water (4 cups) 130 degrees

In Large mixing bowl add water, yeast and salt- mix together.  Ad ceg oil and honey and mix.  Graduall add flour.  Mix and then kneed.  1 additional cup of flour may be needed to decrease stickiness of dough.

Let rise in bowl to double in size about 30 to 60 minutes at room temp.  Pull out and kneed down to 3 loaves, place in bread pans and let rise again to appropriate size.  Bake at 350 (370 for altitude) for 30 min.

Read more...

"Grilled" Pizza Dough

1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110 degrees F) water


2 packages dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons good olive oil

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 3 cups flour, then the salt, and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on low to medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the bowl.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it several times to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each one into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature. Roll and stretch each ball into a rough 8-inch circle and place them all on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal.

Brush with garlic olive oil and bake until the center is mostly cooked. Add toppings and bake until warm and cheese is melty.


Heidi found this recipe from Barefoot Contessa and it is SO yummy. We baked it in the oven but it would be great grilled as well.

Read more...

100% whole wheat banana bread

Finding more ways to use my whole wheat in ways that are good.  This is one of those recipes where it really works.  Now if I could only find a chocolate chip cookie recipe that did not suck!

Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:

Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.
½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.
Handy Tip: If you don’t happen to have ultra ripe bananas around and don’t want to wait for yours to get that way, click here for an easy work around. Thanks to Melody for this.

Read more...

Blackened Salmon

We found this recipe on the Real Simple website, and have used it on chicken as well.  We butterflied the breasts to make them thinner and cook faster while doing the oven method, but have also grilled the chicken.  We serve this with frozen corn seasoned with Tony Chachere's original Creole Seasoning (from walmart) and roasted sweet potatoes and green beans.  The kids like the chicken.  Apparently you can buy blackening spice, but this is very simple to make. 

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine the paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
3. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt 2 ½ tablespoons of the butter. Add the lemon juice.
4. Working with 1 salmon fillet at a time, dip the top and bottom halves first in the lemon butter, then in the spices.
5. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon until blackened, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven for 8 minutes.
6. Transfer the salmon to  individual plates and serve with the lemon wedges.

Read more...

Chicken Fried Steak & Gravy

Full instructions here

For the steak:

Cube steak (typically 2 steaks per package, each steak will serve 2 people)
Salt, pepper & garlic salt (to taste)
Eggs*
Milk (about 1 T. per egg)
Saltine Crackers*

For the gravy:

Pan drippings from steak
Oil
Flour
Chicken Bullion
Milk
Pepper to taste

Read the post linked above for full instructions - enjoy!

*I cooked this meal for 11 and it took 1 box of saltines and about 4 eggs to cover all the steaks.

Read more...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Recipes don't get much easier than this!

As you can see, I used canned chicken, which made it even easier since I didn't have to take the time to cook any of the chicken. After grating some cheese and measuring my liquids(so.hard.), I cut the cream cheese into cubes...

I layered the ingredients in a small baking dish. I did shredded chicken, hot sauce, ranch, shredded cheese, then cream cheese on top.

Once everything was in the dish I stirred it up a bit, covered it with a lid (my dish had a lid, you can use tinfoil) and baked for 30 minutes at 350° until it's all warm and melty. Give it a good stir then serve it warm with corn chips! We also had veggies with ranch on the side. Mmmmm

Read more...

100% whole wheat pumpkin muffins

On a quest to find more things to make with my whole wheat flour. These turned out great. Maesyn ate one and liked it this morning, so it is a good kid treat. It has only 2 tbs of oil, so the fat content is low. Honey instead of sugar! I substituted almond milk and a little lemon juice for the butter milk. After I made then I was thinking I could have added Flax seed. I will next time, and maybe even reduce the oil after. I also did not add walnuts or cranberries because I did not think the kids would like them, but pecans would be great in this recipe too.

They are hearty but nice an moist. I think that this will be my new go to recipe for pumpkin muffins.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts
2 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 C. pumpkin puree (I use canned)
2 T. oil
3/4 C. honey
2 eggs
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sweetened dried cranberries (like Craisins)
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a standard size 12 cup muffin tin (I use cooking spray).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, honey, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Divide batter evenly between 12 standard sized muffin cups. Bake 20-23 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Muffins are done when they spring back lightly to the touch or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

http://pinchmysalt.com/2007/11/20/whole-wheat-pumpkin-muffins-with-cranberries-and-walnuts/

Read more...