dinner rolls

I made these rolls using this recipe on my sister-in-law Natalie's food blog. They turned out pretty good. I think I'm getting more comfortable with breads.

1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup very warm water
1 egg
1 package yeast
4-5 cups plain, all purpose flour
2-3 Tbsp shortening
2 tsp salt

-Mix 3 cups flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with fork until it forms small clumps. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. Add to flour. Beat egg and remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Add to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly. Keep adding more flour until dough is no longer sticky. Once dough is no longer sticky, put on floured surface, and knead until your arms are tired.
-Form into ball, place in bowl, and cover with an overturned plate and towel...the yeast likes warmth. Dough should double in size, about 2-3 hours.
-Punch down and let rise again,or make into 2 inch rolls and put in a sprayed pan to rise for 1 more hour. Bake in center of oven, 375-400' for 15-20 minutes of until top is golden brown.

Turkey Meatloaf

Since being married I have never made meatloaf. Kurt says he doesn't like it. I remembered it being good so when ground turkey went on sale I jumped at the chance to make the Barefoot Contessa's Turkey Meatloaf.

To be honest, I'll admit, it doesn't look that appealing in loaf form:
But it made a pretty yummy dinner. Kurt ate it and didn't complain. I really liked the left overs as a sandwich.

pumpkin french toast

The other day I had some pumpkin pancakes and thought, why not do this with french toast! Kurt's mom always adds a banana to her french toast (mixes it in the blender), so I figured it would be just as easy to add some canned pumpkin. It was, and even tastier!

8 slices of bread (I used whole wheat)

1 cup milk

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and dash of nutmeg and cloves (or you could just use pumpkin pie spice)

Mix together and pour in a pie dish. Dip each slice and fry in butter. Top with maple syrup or whipped cream.

tortilla strips

I made my Chicken Tortilla Lime Soup the other night and found I was out of corn chips. I did have some corn tortillas in the freezer though so I decided to try making my own tortilla strips. They turned out great!

Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips and place a handful at a time in about a quart of hot oil.

You may need to stir them around/ flip them over. Also, take them out before they're as brown as you want them because they seem to get darker after you take them out.

Let drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

In the future I'll still probably just use corn chips since it's easier... and healthier. But it was fun.

Homemade Applesauce

The first time I made applesauce I was in college. A friend taught me how to make it in the crock-pot. It was nothing like applesauce from the store. It was lumpy and we at it warm- it was heavenly! It was like apple pie without the crust (and I never really cared for crust).

This Barefoot Contessa Applesauce recipe is full of spices, very much like apple pie filling. Kurt loved it, but I thought it was a bit strong... so I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum! Next time I think I'll half the citrus called for... but probably still add the ice cream.

(Don't mind that it's in a measuring cup.)

2 navel oranges, zested and juiced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

6-8 granny smith apples, peeled and quartered

6-8 macintosh (or other sweet red apples), peeled and quartered

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (you could probably reduce this if you cut some of the citrus)

4 T unsalted butter (I think I left this out)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2-1 cup water*

In a large pot toss apples in juice and zest. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice. Add some water and cover. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher.

*The actual recipe doesn't call for water since you bake the apples in a Dutch oven, but I don't have one so I just cooked it on the stove and I added some water so it wouldn't burn. You could probably cook it in a crockpot w/o the water.

Another note, the actual recipe says to add the peel while cooking to add color and then remove after. I would say skip it. It was impossible to remove all of it and left you picking peel out while eating it.

TJ's Rice Drink

I haven't been drinking milk for almost 5 months now (I can't believe it's been that long!). The thing I missed most about not drinking milk was eating cereal. So I tried soy milk. Then almond milk which was okay for a while. But I finally tried rice milk and decided it went the best with cereal. It's thin and light and doesn't have a strong flavor- so you just taste the cereal. It reminded me of skim milk. Anyway, it's good and it's pretty cheap at Trader Joe's.

Bread

I've always been afraid of making bread because I don't always have success with the yeast. But I inherited a Costco size bag of yeast from a friend when she moved and decided the only way to figure it out was to practice.

I found this recipe for Amish White Bread at Allrecipes.com. It turned out pretty yummy (it makes two loaves, but I ate the other by the time this picture was taken).

Amish White Bread

• 2 cups warm water (someone told me it should feel luke warm- I always 'proof' the yeast before adding it- just to make sure I don't kill it)
• 1/3 cup white sugar (I reduced this from the original recipe and really it could even be less)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

To proof yeast, put yeast and sugar in warm water and let sit until yeast looks foamy.

Put yeast mixture, salt and oil into a large bowl. Mix in one cup of flour at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or I just mixed it in my Kitchen Aid) until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

yummy yams

Here is a picture of my homemade, from scratch candied yams. Mmm...

I never liked yams growing up. I never ate them at Thanksgiving, but I always thought they should be on the table. Like a decoration. Then a few years ago I went to a mini-enrichment where they talked about cooking thanksgiving dishes and had samples to try. That was the first time I ate and loved yams. This year I finally got the chance to make them myself.

My husband's reaction after tasting them, "You've reinvented yams! This has to be part of our Thanksgiving tradition from now on."

It really is that good. Imagine pecan pie on top of pumpkin pie and you can kind of get an idea. (Probably not as healthy as eating a baked yam, but you just make it once a year.)

YUMMY YAMS

1 can of yams, drained (or I used 2 fresh yams, cut and boiled)

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c butter, melted

1/2 cup milk (I used a 1/4 c of condensed milk I had left over from the pumpkin pie)

Mix together with an electric beater and spread in a 8x8 pan.

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp flour

1/3 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Cut butter into flour and sugar. Mix in nuts and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Next year I want to try and make another recipe I discovered at that mini-enrichment, Summery Succotash. Anyone ever tried it?

Borscht

This is my Grandmother's recipe. She didn't give it to me because she doesn't have it written down. Last time I visited her I had to watch her make it and try to take notes (so that's why it's a little strangely worded). I've tried making it myself but it didn't taste quite as good as when Grandma makes it (isn't that how it always goes). This is one of my favorite dishes. I distinctly remember asking my mom to make me this for my birthday one year (I think that's like the third time I've said that about a dish).

Grandma B’s Ukrainian Borscht
½ onion
1.25 lb beef (chuck stake) w/ bone in - cut off fat before cooking
salt

1 beet (for color)
2 potatoes
1 carrot
1 lb cabbage - cut into 4 wedges then slice
32 oz tomato juice
1 T Parsley
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
paprika

veg. oil

Boil meet with the 1/2 onion in salted water (6-8c) until cooked and tender.
While meat is cooking peel and chop veggies.
Remove beef from pot- discard onion. Pour beef stock in another pot and add veggies. Cook until tender/soft. While cooking, clean (from bone) and cut up meat, then add to pot.
Add cabbage and cook for 5 min. then add tomato juice.

Fry a small onion and garlic in veg. oil with paprika, then add it as well.
Boil a couple more minutes. Garnish with sour cream and pressed garlic if you like.

Tastes even better the next day.