Wheat Bread: Multi-grain

Wheat Bread: Multi-grain (Quinoa, 9-grain, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ)

Start with 6 cups of warm water in a Bosch mixer (you can start with the water at about 130 degrees, but do not add the yeast until it is down to about 110 degrees)

Add to the water:
1 to 2 cups of a 9 grain mixture
1 to 2 cups of sunflower seeds (I use a mixture of roasted and raw)
1/2 to 1 cup wheat germ
1/2 to 1 cup Quinoa (go light on the seeds and mixture if you add a lot of Quinoa)

Allow the grains to soak in the water for about 15 minutes
Then start adding whole wheat flour about about 6 cups to get started

Then add:
3 T. Saf yeast
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 T. lecithin (2 globs directly into the dough works best)
2 T. vital wheat gluten

Then continue to add flour until the dough s pulled cleanly from the sides. (This s a mater of preference. I keep my dough a little sticky. Some people add flour until it would no longer stick to your fingers at all.)

Mix or Knead the dough on level 2 or 3 for about 6 minutes.

Add:
2 T. dough enhancer

Mix or Knead for about 2 more minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stray bread pans with olive oil.

put a little oil on a clean surface and on your hands. Then turn the dough out.

Use a dough cutter to organize the dough. Every kind loaf pan calls for a different weight of dough. Find out what your pans call for, and try to fill the pan with that weight of dough instead of thinking "Oh, I have 5 pans, I should divide this dough in to five parts." Instead think, "Here is one pound for this pan and one pound for that pound etc. Extras to the kids."

This dough takes much longer to rise than most doughs with Saf yeast. Let the loaves rise about 1 to 2 hours. The dough should rise above and over the sides of the pan.

Then the dough is risen put in the oven and bake for about 33 minutes.

Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Store in bags for up to 6 days.

Enjoy!


(This bread has a very distinctive smell when it has gone bad. You will know. Trust your gut.)

Gretel's Pumpkin Bread

Gretel's Pumpkin Bread

Preheat Oven 350F

5 cups Flour (Whole Wheat Flour works fine)
4 cups Sugar
4 cups Pumpkin or Banana Squash
1 T. Soda
1 cup Oil
1 T. Cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. salt
1 to 2 cups Chocolate Chips

Makes 15 muffins or about 2 loaves

Little Kitchen on the Prairie

I have been posting a lot of recipes lately. They are for you, yes, but they are mostly for me.

Anyway, I didn't want to get stuck only blogging recipes on this blog, so I created a recipe blog for myself.

You are welcome to check it out, but I must admit, as I have said before, I cook with a lot of dirt. And taste is not the only goal. I like to get all prairie style, grind my own wheat, cook with weird stuff and all that jazz.

visit my recipes at: bandrecipes.blogspot.com

Marinara Dip

1 can corn, chopped in a magic bullet
1 can chick peas, chopped in a magic bullet
1 to 2 cans diced tomatoes
1 onion dices
10 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt
olive oil
oregano

mix on medium heat

add on top of pasta

Thai Chicken Curry

Thai Chicken Curry

1 onion diced
Olive Oil
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 can coconut milk (or 1 to 2 cups milk)
3 Tablespoons yellow curry powder
5 potatoes, cooked and diced
20 mini carrots, diced
1 can pineapple (add juice until mixture is the right consistency)
Salt
Jasmine Rice

Mix it all today. Scoop onto a plate of cooked jasmine rice

Notes: You can add a lot of other items. Other veggies. peppers. Whatever. I like it with beans instead of chicken, but Tim is not a fan.

Santa Fe Stew

Santa Fe Stew/ Chile/ Soup

Santa Fe Soup

2 lb ground turkey breast
1 onion chopped
2 (.5 oz) Ranch Dressing mix
1 pkg taco mix
1 (16 oz) can blk beans undrained
2 (16 oz) cans white corn undrained
2 cups water
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans undrained
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans undrained
1 (16 oz) can diced tomato w/ chilies undrained
1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes undrained

Garnish: sour cream, cheese, green onions, tortilla chips, avocado

Cook turkey and onion together until turkey is thoroughly cooked.
Stir in Ranch dressing and taco seasoning packages into turkey
Add remaining ingredients with juices
Add water
Simmer for 2 hours
if soup is too thick add more water

Garnish and serve with tortilla chips


Notes: This recipe reminds me of my mom. She makes it and loves it, and she got stitches making it when she was in Utah helping me when McKenna was born. In March 2010, my mom and I baked bread all day, and we ate my mom's perfect rustic rolls with this dish.



Try serving this with: An artisan corn bread

Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

This came from a Web site. A student sent me the link.


Sweet and Sour Chicken
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips


Ingredients
* 1/2C butter
* 3/4C brown sugar or raw sugar (I used white on accident)
* 1 egg
* 1C whole wheat flour
* 1/4C unbleached white flour (or bean flour, i.e. Chick pea)
* 1/4C wheat germ
* 1tsp baking soda
* 1 1/4 C mashed ripe bananas
* 1/4C yogurt
** I added ½ to 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Directions

1. Preheat 350
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.
3. Add dry ingredients alternately with banana mixture to butter mixture; stirring just enough to combine well.
4. Turn into an oiled 9x5" loaf pan
5. Bake 50-55 minutes or until done.
6. Cool in pan 10 minutes.
7. Remove and continue cooling on rack
8. (=1 loaf)

Notes: I don't remember this recipe, but I do remember talking with Melissa while I ate it. She liked it enough to ask for the recipe.

Butter Sauce

Butter Sauce:
2 cubes of butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned evaporated milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the butter, sugar, and milk or cream in a saucepan over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, but don't let the mixture boil. Then blend in the vanilla and remove from the stove. Serve the warm apple cake in bowls, topped with the hot butter sauce.

Notes: I got this sauce from Kipper's Snacks. The sauce goes on his apple cake, but we had leftovers and have been putting it on EVERYTHING like syrup.

Apple Cake with Butter Sauce

"The rich butter sauce is what makes this dessert," said Kip from Kipper's Snacks

Apple Cake:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
3 medium apples, peeled and grated
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Mix sugar, shortening, and egg in mixer. Then add grated apple to this mixture and blend again. Finally, add the dry ingredients and nuts and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 8-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. While the apple cake is baking, make the butter sauce to go on top.

Butter Sauce:
2 cubes of butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned evaporated milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the butter, sugar, and milk or cream in a saucepan over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, but don't let the mixture boil. Then blend in the vanilla and remove from the stove. Serve the warm apple cake in bowls, topped with the hot butter sauce.

Bread Pudding

I make this is wheat bread and low fat milk. No big deal. I still love it.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (or 2 cups half & half)
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar (white or brown, depending on taste preference)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.

3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.

4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

If you make the sauce to put on top of your bread pudding, adjust the sugar in the bread pudding recipe, change it to 1/3 cups sugar (the sauce has the other 1/3 cup in it).

Bread Pudding Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. flour
dash of salt

Directions:

Mix everything together and bring to a boil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.

Spiritual Chocolate Chip Cookies

Overachieving with FHE

So, Mormons are encouraged to hold a Family Home Evening every Monday night. It is kind of a big deal around town. Nothing happens on Monday nights. People are encouraged to stay home and have family prayer, conversation, a lesson, a game and a treat all together. Its a nice idea, right?

Tim and I didn't worry about it too much at the beginning of our marriage. Occasionally we would hold a family night. We would invite enough other and a stuff Mickey Mouse that I got as a gift while working for Radio Disney. Tim would talk in a pretend voice and welcome me and Mickey to the meeting. I wanted to slap him, but I went with it.

But we believe that our church doesn't just give us a lot of busy work. There must be something to this Family Home Evening thing. So when we couldn't get pregnant the first time, we gave it a try. Full speed ahead. We never missed a Monday.

And it worked. In a few months we were happier AND blessed by our obedience with the conception of little Kristie Quinn.

We have been very diligent ever since, but we got behind this year because Tim had to work on Monday nights. We tried switching to Thursday, but it just didn't have the same gusto. After 6 months, we are finally back on track.

Now here is the overachieving part: My phone reminds me every Thursday during Quinn's nap time to plan for FHE that night. Yesterday, I went to town and planned lesson called "Baking Spirituality."

I basically assigned a spiritual concept to each ingredient in chocolate chip cookies. Quinn and I made signs and tape them around the kitchen, and then Quinn and Tim had to find the right spiritually building concepts and ingredients as I made the cookies. When we were done, we wrapped them up for a new neighbor and as a birthday gift for an old friend. Seriously overachieving, right?

Here are pictures and the "recipe."

Avery McKenna is ready for family night. Nice to have her awake for the big event.

The kitchen is all ready!!! Each sign says something like, "Personal Scripture Study," "Church," "Tithing," or "Charity."

"Quinn and daddy search for the word "Temple," which is represented by the butter -- the first ingredient -- the Temple has to be the first priority in our lives.

Spiritual cookies ready for baking!

Cookies ready to take to the neighbor!

(Warning: This recipe is for High Altitude Only. Use a regular recipe if you are not in the mountains, folks.)

Making Spiritual Cookies

Family Home Evening

Start by deciding what you want each ingredient in your recipe to represent. Then write the names of each spiritual concept on a piece of paper and let the children decorate them.

Tape the papers in the kitchen based on where the matching ingredient is stored. For example, since the salt represents Tithing, would tape the paper that says “Tithing” on the cupboard where the salt is kept.

When it is time to make the cookies, tell the family "we are going to make spiritual cookies." Tell them to find each ingredient. Say, “First, we need the Temple.” They will go over to the “Temple” sign on the fridge and find the first ingredient. When everyone agrees that butter should go in first, explain the relationship between the temple and the butter. “If we are going to make it to the temple we have to think about it first a lot of the time.”

Continue this way until you have had a nice family lesson and discussion and a nice treat to end the night.

This activity can also be adapted to all age groups, religions and purposes. It can be done as a small lesson for pre-school ages by just making numbered signs and placing them around the kitchen. The child has to identify the number to know which ingredient comes next.

INGREDIENTS (Spiritual Nourishment)

• 1 cup butter or margarine – TEMPLE (Butter goes in first. Put temple worship as a goal BEFORE other activities)
• 1 cup white sugar FAMILY PRAYER (it is pure and sweet and makes the day better)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar FAMILY AND PERSONAL SCRIPTURE STUDY (Scripture study works with prayer)
• 3 eggs FAMILY HOME EVENING (Without eggs, it all just falls apart AND late is better than never. 2 Days Late)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract CHURCH (it’s just a little bit but it gives the cookies a lot of flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt TITHING (Tithing – it is just a pinch, but it makes all the different)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda WORD OF WISDOM (We don’t eat yucky things)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour PRAYER (ADD LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OD PRAYER. Flour and prayer are the bulk of the cookies)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips CHARITY (The chocolate is an important ingredient that gives the rest of the ingredients their purpose. Without Charity, it is not a chocolate chip cookie. Plus, chocolate is sweet, and we should be sweet too.)

DIRECTIONS (Obedience)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until blended, then mix in the chocolate chips so they are evenly distributed. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets spacing 2 inches apart.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges begin to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

Frosted Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Cooking time: 12-15 min

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat together:

1 cup Canned pumpkin (Or blended banana squash)

1 cup Brown Sugar

½ cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Add in and stir together:

2 cups white or whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

1 cup chocolate chips (any kind)

Place large balls of sticky dough about 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Cookies do not spread or change shape while baking.

Cook for 12-15 min. at 350 degrees. (a little longer is also ok)

Recipe from Lindsay

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat together:

8 oz. cream cheese softened

4 T. butter softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Monster Cookies

MONSTER COOKIES -- Recipe Supplied by Kati Kofford

Preheat oven to 350

3 large eggs

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp molasses

1 stick butter, softened

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups chopped nuts

1 cup brown sugar (you can use less if you desire)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter

2 cups freshly ground wheat flour (spelt & kamut will work, too)

2 cups mini M&M's or chocolate chips

Mix until well moistened. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Don't flatten. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Cool on cooling rack.

P.S. The name comes from the shear size of these huge cookies. Biggest I've ever made and so fun.

Dirt Brownies

Peggy’s Best Zucchini Brownies

Serves 24—Can be doubled to fit jelly roll pan
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
2 T vanilla
1/2 cup oil
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
Combine dry ingredients. Add vanilla, oil and zucchini and mix well. Bake in un-greased 9x13 pan at 350 for about 30 min-utes. Frost with the following:
Boil 1 square butter and 1/2 cup milk for 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup cocoa and enough powdered sugar for spreadable consistency.

Notes:
You know I am always in the market for a good recipe that tastes yummy when hot and a little like dirt when cooled. These actually never taste much like dirt. I will not hold that against them...

Plus, there are Zucchinis everywhere around here.

Gretel claims that grated apple works instead of zucchini, too. Decrease sugar in the recipe since apples are sweeter.

Kenna's Teething Crackers

Teething Crackers for Toothless Babies

Preheat Oven to 325F

2 1/4 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
about 2/3 cup milk

Mix together dry ingredients. Then add beaten egg. Then add enough milk to turn to mixture into one dough ball.

Turn onto a floured surface and flatten into a rectangle that is about 1/2 an inch thick

Cut the dough into piece about 1 and 1/2 inch by 3 inches. (This seemed big to me, but it is important that the baby can really hold on to them ... or else what is the point.)

Cook in the oven for about 60 - 70 minutes. It is important to have rectangle piece that are even thickness so you bo not get overly browned edges. The crackers should be very hard and very dry.

Sweet Slop

Sweet Slop
(Sweet Shredded Beef Burrito/ Taco filling)

Combine in a large skillet:

2 T salt
2 T olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 can roast beef (mostly drained)
1 small can diced green chiles
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 can diced tomatoes (Mexican flavored works well)
1 can pinto beans
1 can great northern beans
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups cooked brown rice


Serve on warm tortillas with avocado and sour cream


Notes: For years I have been making a food that a band member named, "Slop." It is intended to be a burrito mix. We keep it in the fridge and freeze and scoop it on the tortillas with cheese, sour cream or whatever is in the house.

Slop started as a chicken burrito dish. Then then we went veggie, I took the chicken out and stuck to beans. Now I am adding meat back it with canned roast beef. This is a great use of canned meat for those of you who keep it for food storage.

This Sweet slop was created on a day that I could not get to Costa Vida, but I wanted a sweet pork type dish. When I want it to taste like I am out on the town, I no not add the rice into the slop. When we are back to normal, the rice goes in which makes the mixture last a lot longer. Lately, I have loved adding sliced avocado to my slope burritos.

Wheat Bread: Quinoa and Squash

Banana Squash Bread: First Try

6 cups of hot water
1 and 1/2 cups Quinoa
3 T. Saf yeast
2 T. Salt
2 T. dough enhancer
1 to 2 cup blended banana squash
2 T. Soy Lethicen
1/4 to 1 cup honey
12-15 cups of flour

Make Bread

4 bread pans

350F

33 minutes

Notes: I really like this bread. It was an accident because I ran out of the ingredients for the multigrain. The best part of this bread is that it is squishy and soft. It also makes pretty good cinnamon rolls.

German Oven Pancakes

Jan's Recipe for German Oven Pancakes

In a blending, blend:
1 and 1/2 cups Milk
3 eggs
1 c. flour
up to 1/4 c. sugar

Heat the oven to 410F
Place two pie pans in the oven with a T of Butter in each one
When the butter is mixed and the oven preheated, pour half of the mixture into each pie pan.

Bake 20 minutes


Top with sour crean, brown sugar, fruit, butter sauce, syrup or whatever

Review: I made this is wheat flour. Tasted great to me, but Tim sort of rolled his eyes. I think he would prefer is taste just like is mom makes. But the white flour is in the garage, and it is cold out there. Wheat it was. Quinn loved this too. She ate hers with butter sauce.