The blog is moving....

Okay so I have been quiet for a few days. That is because we are getting ready to move. I have a domain, have had it for about a year and have a board on it. I have had many boards in the past before the domain and been pretty successful with them but they take alot more time than I have. I have found these past few months that I really love having a food blog. It is not as much maintenance or up keep as a board. I am going to leave the board open in case anyone wants to stop by and chat.

But for now I got a new domain yesterday that is going to be focused on having a food blog. I am switching to wordpress. I have a friend who is helping me get it all set up and right now we are just waiting for the server to propogate.

She said we can import all my stuff from here so I won't have to start fresh thank goodness. I have already picked out the layout for the new blog. One thing that annoys me with blogs is having to scroll down constantly. And if there is a really long post that can get annoying. I love the "click here to read more" feature. I hope you will all join me over there and if you wanted you could actually REALLY join me. I read that we are able to add 35 additional blogs for free. How cool is that?

This is my cinnamon bread!


You can cut yourself a slice of cinnamon bread while we wait. Aren't those big beautiful loaves? That is supposed to be cinnamon raison bread from my new book Bread by Eric Treuille. That was also the day I was baking regular bread, cookies (from the cookie dough I had saved in the freezer)and the stromboli. I was bound to goof something up. Guess what it was? The raisons. hahaha

This bread was really good but I am not much one for sweeter breads. SO I just ate one piece out of two loaves. Good thing. I will have to make this more often! lol I really love how poofy it turned out and just the texture was awesome. It called for bread flour so that is what I used. Here is a picture of it proofing.

Home Made Flour Tortillas

I used my cast iron sklillet. I really like this thing and am looking forward to making corn bread in it. That is the tortilla dough in the pan.

I just used white flour this time. Next time I will use half/half. A few weeks ago I was making chicken tacos for lunch for the kids and we ran out of chicken and my eldest ds wanted more. I thought about taking some cheese and corn tortillas and making a generic quesidilla for him but I thought, no I want to make him something really yummy. I stopped what ever else I was doing in the kitchen and made up fresh flour tortillas.

I even used a new recipe from a cook booklet my eldest dd had gotten me for x~mas. They turned out so good I made more up for dinner. I didn't use any wheat this time but played with the water variations. I hate that when recipes tell you just to add whatever. Grrr... The first time I think I added 1 cup and they were fine but the second time I added 3/4 of a cup and I think they were perfect.

I haven't made tortillas in probably 6 months. I alternated between using my corn tortilla press and rolling them out with my middle dd's mini rolling pin. I may just make some again today. Do you make your own tortillas?

Sonshine's Bagels

Well I tried something I have been wanting to try off and on for a while now. Bagels!

We had extra cream cheese from Christmas we hadn't used. A friend posted a recipe for me to try as the one I originally wanted to do I was missing an important ingredient, malt powder. These turned out great but I got irritated while I was mixing it.

Here is a picture I took of them after baking. I sprinkled them with a tiny bit of sea salt, some with rosemary, 2 of them with minced dry onion. About 5 of them I added a bit of cinnamon, sugar and a sprinkle of green for Joe. He likes "breakfast items" to be sweeter.

I doubled the recipe and my kitchen aid started acting up. This meant I would have to finish kneading it by hand! Arrggghhhh!!! Well Joey was home so I borrowed a pair of strong hands. lol He did a great job on the dough. ;)

Here is a picture of them snuggling in the boiling water. We made 24 and it took about 3 turns in the water to get them all done. It was fun and they turned out really good! I think there is only 7 left and I need to go hide those!

Have you ever made bagels before?

Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Muffins

Well I found online about 7 of the Magnolia Bakery recipes. That is the bakery in New York City where people line up down the block for an hour or longer sometimes just to buy a cupcake. lol Joe was baking with me yesterday and we also tried the vanilla, vanilla cupcakes. I will review those later. These muffins are very good. I used half whole wheat/half all purpose flour. Usually any muffins I do, if I do all whole wheat they come out pretty wheaty tasting.

I am trying to get some baking done now and out of the way for two Christmas parties we have coming up. Blueberry muffins freeze well so that is where they are. I doubled this recipe and already baked 24 and I still have batter left over that I froze. If you like blueberry muffins these are very yummy. Nice and tender too. I will be doing this recipe again.

MAGNOLIA BAKERY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery by Jennifer Appel, Allysa Torey

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries, lightly coated with flour
1 tablespoon sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease well a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Batter may be lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full. Lightly sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until lightly golden or a cake taster inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake.

Does your family like blueberry muffins? If not what kind do they like?

Chocolate Nut Bread

My buddy Sonshine shared one of her favorite Christmas recipes with me, Chocolate Nut Bread Thank you Sonshine! Oh and that is NOT my picture.

Chocolate Nut Bread

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 1 3/4 cups milk
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
* 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

COMBINE eggs, milk and vegetable oil in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Stir in 1 1/2 cups morsels and nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.

MICROWAVE remaining morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; knead bag to mix. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with additional nuts.

I was going to make this but decided I needed something more chocolatey and with more spices. So I decided to merge two recipes and throw in some extra stuff. Isn't that how most recipes are made? lol To see or make what I came up with click this link: Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Muffins

Okay so I merged two recipes to get a new one. I have a recipe I normally use from my make a mix master mix recipe book that is pretty good but with all whole wheat it comes out pretty wheaty tasting.(To see these pictures better, click on them. The x~mas background is interfering.) Not exactly a bad thing but I kind of want to WOW family and friends around the holidays, not turn them off to whole wheat breads. So I figured I could do half and half. I really wanted a chocolate looking muffin though, not just chocolate chips tossed in. I did go to Walmart and buy two Texas Size muffin pans. I wanted some mini loaf pans as well but did not see any. I should of picked up some mini cupcake pans while I was there so people can sample more goodies. I just may still do that.

The first thing I did was double the Chocolate Nut Bread recipe. The next thing I did was compare it to my other recipe. I noticed the other recipe calls for 3 cups of sugar, this new one only 2. I had to remind myself that the new recipe is actually supposed to be a chocolate bread, not a cupcake. I also love the idea of using less sugar. So I decided to make 4 test batches.

Like I said I changed the recipe up a bit:

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 cups whole wheat flour
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 tablespoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoon Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
* 4 large eggs
* 3 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups (12-oz. pkg.)Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp ground nutmeg
* a splash of vanilla

Directions:
Turn the oven on to 350° F. Spray cooking spray on four 12 cup muffin pans

combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

combine the milk, eggs and vegetable oil in a medium mixing bowl. Add this to the flour mixture; mix it until it is moist. Stir in 3 cups chocolate morsels and any nuts. Pour into waiting cupcake pans.

Bake these at 350 for 18-20 minutes Let cool, remove. Let cool on wire racks if desired.

Okay so I used two 12 cup pans and two 6 cup pans. It wasn't very sweet but I was expecting that. But once you bite into one of the chocolate chips it is perfect. I really like using less sugar. Maybe next time I will drizzle some melted chocolate chips on top like the other recipe suggest. My dh thought they were great, not too sweet. I told him to take a holiday bowl full of them to share at work and get some feedback. When he called me at work he was eating ALL of them. He said he wouldn't share and that he only brought 3. Not enough to share with anybody! Can you believe him? lol

Out back last nite he was talking to the neighbor and I offered him a muffin and he said he didn't want anything to sweet. I told him these weren't too sweet. When I got back from my walk this a.m. I seen him out there and he said they were perfect, not too sweet, just enough. He said it was moist and he had given his son the other one and he it was good. Hooray. These are really good. The half and half was perfect. If you try these and you like them, or even if you don't like them, let me know.

What kind of muffins does your family like?

Hot rolls with dinner!

I made Tammy's bread again. The first double batch of dough I am freezing. An online friend recommended freezing after the first rise and punch down. We'll see how that winds up later in the week. The next batch I made one round loaf of bread in my ceramic kitchenaid pie pan. Another loaf in my ceramic loaf pan. Then the next double batch I made rolls!!

Brown n serve rolls have nothing on these! I used muffin liners to avoid having them stick to the pan. I sprayed the liners but then some of the muffin stuck to the liners. haha Oh well. Just a little bit. They were very, very tasty and every bit as good as the last time I made this bread. Melt n your mouth!! Very soft and tender and not wheaty at all.

Dh called and said he wants some more of my home made buttermilk biscuits! I told him we are all out of buttermilk. (Yes I know the trick with the vinegar and the reg. milk ;) ) And can he wait for a few days? Sure thing. :D I was already in the middle of the 3rd double batch of bread/rolls so hunting down that recipe and whipping up MORE bread just didn't seem like a good idea at the time. lol

Well on Tuesday I am going big shopping for the month. I am usually at the store 1-2 times a week but at the beginning of the month I like to take and get a bunch of stuff at once. I need to make up a list tomorrow. I found a new cooking blog with really yummy recipes. When I seen she added about 3 lbs of butter for her chocolate cake recipe I instantly gained a size! haha

There are alot of new recipes I want to try this month so pull up a chair and stick around. These are on my list of new things to try:

Pico de Gallo

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Cinnamon Rolls

Steak sandwiches

What new recipes are you going to try this month?

The Best Whole Wheat Bread ever!!!

Okay so I use strictly whole wheat for my recipes. I am no expert so sometimes it is a matter of trial and error. When I started baking alot earlier this year, I found a good recipe on recipe zaar which called for half/half. We hadn't gotten the grain mill yet so used white flour and it was the softest most delicious bread you ever tasted.

Once we got our wheat it was still good. But as you know WW only is easy to taste "wheaty", quite a bit on the rougher side. Last week I baked a few loaves and I did goof by having the oven on too high or something and , well, they were pretty disappointing. VERY WHEATY as well.

I decided to try a new recipe from Tammy's Website. Oh my!!! It was perfect!!! Very soft and tender, melt in your mouth. I can honestly say it reminded me of when I had made those first loaves many months ago with white flour! That is how good it was. I am definately making this again and again. I think this will be my new "main bread" recipe and occasionally I will try others.

I made chicken breast and mashed potatoes and broc., carrots and cauli. for dinner. I served up a loaf of the bread fresh out of the oven and everyone ate two entire loaves!!

If you use WW flour only and are looking for a very tasty soft bread, I urge you to try this. The only thing I can say additionally is that the wheat we use is soft white wheat. Normally people recommend hard red wheat for bread. But I find this soft white wheat very tasty. :) I used EVOL. I also have a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook so I let that do the kneading. Their book recommends when the dough is in a ball and it all clings to the hook then it is done kneading. This happened yesterday and the end result was amazing. I have heard that the secret to great bread is in the kneading so I just wanted to share what worked for me. I look forward to trying more of her recipes!

Tammy's Homemade Wheat Bread

Description:

A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
Instructions:

1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

The oil,water,honey,sugar,salt, and milk mixture.



The dough



Ready for the oven



I smeared butter on the tops



Too bad you can't smell it!



Sliced up in my bread basket



I need to make up 9 batches at once and stick 3 in the freezer. I wonder how that will work freezing the dough after it has risen? Do you like to make bread?

Wholesome Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Wholesome Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread

3¾ hours 3 hours prep
2 envelopes yeast
4 cups water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups whole-wheat flour
4 cups white flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. In a large bowl, combine butter, molasses, honey and salt and mix well.
3. Add yeast mixture and then gradually add flours.
4. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth.
5. Place in buttered bowl and let rise until double.
6. Punch down and let rest for a few minutes.
7. Divide dough into 4 parts and shape into loaves.
8. Place in greased pans and let rise for about an hour.
9. Bake at 375* for 35 to 40 minutes.

Okay this bread is delicious! This is the one I have been making since I got the grain mill. There is one other recipe I use but I have to find my hand made recipe book. I haven been on a break with my baking and it must of gotten tossed in a box some where. Anyways. This is a great recipe!

I use just whole wheat so mine is a little grainier but I have tried it both ways. I do admit the white flour taste better, softer. I am thinking of trying a dough enhancer. Some women add that to their recipes.

I do have one more recipe, the one my mom taught me how to bake when I was growing up but I haven't used that one in a few years.

Anyhow here are some pics. I left it in the oven a bit too long though. :( We made 4 loaves and there is only 1/2 a loaf left so it wasn't too bad. lol I think I will make more tomorrow.

Oh and by the way do not buy yeast from the store. They charge a fortune. I think I pay $3.50 or so to get a 2 lb bag of yeast from Smart N Final. At the store they charge like $2.00 for 3/4 of an ounce!

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

Quick and simple buttery bread sticks -- garlic or cinnamon recipe variations included!
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups flour (I use part whole wheat, part unbleached)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4-1 cup milk

**See additional notes for ingredients and instructions to make garlic breadsticks or cinnamon breadsticks from this recipe!
Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butter and oil in 9x13 pan and put in oven so butter melts as the oven heats up. Be careful not to let it burn!

2. Stir dry ingredients together, and gradually add milk, stirring until dough forms and leaves sides of bowl. I don't bother to actually measure out the milk - just add it gradually until there's enough.

3. Knead 5-6 times in bowl; place on floured countertop and roll out into 9x13-inch rectangle.

4. Lay dough in pre-heated 9x13-inch pan, atop the melted butter/oil. Cut into 1/2" strips. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Additional Notes:

Variations:

Garlic Breadsticks (shown above)

1 + 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder and 1 tablespoon parsley flakes to the dough. Then, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the melted butter before placing dough in the pan. Breadsticks may be sprinkled with parmesan cheese before baking.

Cinnamon Breadsticks (shown below)

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of breadsticks before baking. Tastes like cinnamon rolls!

This recipe and photos were submitted by guest chef Abigail Paul. She credits Maggie's Buttery Bread Sticks as the original recipe inspiration source.Abigail notes, "I usually make one batch of garlic breadsticks and one of cinnamon - saves time to make two at once. The garlic ones are pretty much gone by the end of the meal, and we save the leftover cinnamon sticks for snacks or breakfast. Very tasty. :-D"
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Okay so we tried these on a Sunday, back in March. Joey wanted to help roll them out, shape them etc. They turned out really good and next time I want to do 4 pans at once and flash freeze so next time we have some for a lasagna nite. I can just pull everything else and bake! Anyways, we didn't have the new wheat yet so they were pretty wheaty and thick so I am really looking forward to seeing how much better they will taste with the lighter flour! ~ Jasmine

Here are 2 pics of our bread stix!

Pipin' Hot Bakery Whole Wheat Tortillas

W.W. Tortillas

Pipin' Hot Bakery Whole Wheat Tortillas
Recipe #7417
14 ratings

These flavorful tortillas were used at the bakery for our breakfast burritos, which had scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, fried potatoes, and sour cream. I also use them to make bean burritos, quesadillas, and as an accompaniment with a bowl of pinto beans.
by Troy A. Hakala

servings:8 tortillas

time to make 10 min 10 min prep

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons canola oil
2/3 cup water

1. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt.
2. Stir in the oil and water all at once, using mixer or a fork, and toss quickly.
3. When dough can be gathered into a soft mass, turn onto floured surface and knead a few times.
4. Form 8 balls of dough, dredge in flour, and store in a plastic bag to prevent drying until ready to be used.
5. Flatten first ball of dough into a disk.
6. Roll out dough on floured surface until 7 inches or larger with even strokes that do not reach to the edge, turning over frequently.
7. Place tortilla in ungreased, frying pan that has been preheated to medium-high heat.
8. Cook 30-40 seconds on one side, turn over with spatula and cook 30-40 seconds on other side., First side should be pale and sprinkled with brown spots and the other side will be blotched.
9. Repeat process with other balls of dough.
10. Stack tortillas on a plate as they are cooked and cover them with a dish towel, which will keep them soft.

Okay so I made these the first time back in January. They were really good! I have made them many times since. I substitute the white for wheat flour though and the canola for olive oil though. They looked funny the way I rolled them out and I need practice but they were really yummy! I originally made 8 for the 5 kids and I and they said that was NOT enough! They wanted more! haha

Okay so this is my normal recipe now. I would still like to tweak it a bit. They taste GREAT! But sometimes they break when folding. *taps foot* So alot of times we fold them in half like a taco. When I make the kids quick stuff to eat like scrambled eggs and cheese burritos, or chili and cheese burritos, I flash freeze them and then put in a container or freezer bag. The kids eat them up quick! I need to do another pot of chili tomorrow.

Anyhow I take two, lay one flat and put ingredients in, then lay another one on top and seal the edges with a fork, flash freeze etc.

On Sunday I even got Kass in there to help! We made 48 and had chicken breast & cheese quesadillas for lunch. We had bought an $8.00 tortilla press. They are supposed to be a press for corn tortillas but I heard women saying they have one for their flour tort. on another forum. (SO you don't have to roll out) I notice without a press they come out very poofy and one thing is there was burnt flour all over it seems. But when I used the tortilla press, no bubbles and no burnt flour! You may need to add a bit extra flour before putting on tortilla press as they do tend to stick! Oh I forgot to add earlier when we were making the food to flash freeze, instead of warming them up individually in the skillet, we took them straight from the press, filled with ingredients and sealed with a fork, put them on cookie sheets and baked in the oven. We let them cool, then flash froze, etc.

For our quesedillas, we coated them with butter and cooked in pan. The kids will microwave the frozen ones later.

Anyhow I have pics w/out tortilla press and with. Enjoy!

BRB with pics

These first two pics were as the recipe calls for 8(small)tortillas.

This second pic is when I took the 8 recipe and made them twice as big.
laug
These last two are with the tortilla press . As you can tell no huge poofy bubbles and they are shaped round like they are supposed to be! Very cute and they look like corn tortillas!

Have you ever made h.m. tortillas?