Bread

Recipe for Mom's Whole Hard White Winter Wheat Bread

5 c hot water
2 T lemon juice
1 c honey
2 1/2 T yeast
2 T dough enhancer (optional--makes the bread less dense)
1/4 c Canola Oil (olive is good too!)
1 T salt
14-15 c fresh whole hard white winter wheat** (red winter wheat works as well, we just like the white wheat better)

Grind wheat*. Combine all but flour in a mixer with dough hook*. Blend well. Add flour in three parts, mixing well after each addition. Mix until dough cleans itself off the sides of the bowl (adjust flour). Let mixer run 6-7 minutes (I always need more like 10-12). Let rise in covered bowl for 20-30 minutes, or about doubled- it will be a LOT of dough). Punch down and shape into 5 loaves. Last rise in loaf pans in a warm place. Bakes at 325 for 25-30 minutes. "cool" or wait as long as you can before you devour a hot loaf.

*Note: we (my 2 sisters and I) all use L'Equip's Nutrimill to grind the wheat and Bosch Mixers to handle the dough. My mom had her Bosch for her whole marriage and she used that thing well.
**Wheat: the best and by far cheapest place to get white winter wheat is through the LDS Church Bishop's Storehouse/Distribution services.

This makes 5 loaves, which is more than my family can eat at once. I bake 2 loaves and then I freeze the other 3 dough mounds after the first dough rise. I shape the dough into loaves and freeze for 3 hours on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a ziploc bag. I pull them out one at a time as we run out of bread. I stick the frozen dough mound in a greased pan in the morning and by dinner time it is thawed, it has risen, and is ready to go in the oven for a fresh hot loaf of bread that can go with dinner.

Making Ableskivers!

Bright stayed the night with Ryan last night so we could go to the zoo today.  They went to bed WAY (2:34am) late and I woke up kind of early so I decided to make some Ableskivers for breakfast. :-)  I LOVE Ableskivers!  When I was younger, my grandparents had a booth at the Scandinavian Festival.  We worked at the to earn money during the summer.  The booth next to us sold Ableskivers and every morning we would buy a TON for breakfast, so my grandma got their recipe and eventually we all got pans to make them. :-)  If you are looking for  an Ableskiver pan and you are a Salt Lake Valley local, Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan had some.  If you aren't local, you can try to google it, I found some here, you are going to pay anywhere from $15 to $25 for a good pan.  PLEASE don't buy the Pancake Puff Pan.  It is NOT the same and the pan is crappy.  So here we go!

First you need to mix up your recipe

2 c. flour

1tsp powder

2 eggs

1/8 c. sugar

3/4c canned evap milk

1 1/4 c. water

1/4 c. oil

This will yield 18-24 Ableskivers.  You should probably estimate 3-4 Ableskivers per person depending on their hunger level.  If you find a recipe that calls for buttermilk, I would advise against using it.  The Ableskivers will NOT be hollow and will take much longer to cook all the way through.

While you are mixing up your batter, start heating your pan with about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of oil in each Ableskiver form.  Make sure you have seasoned your pan according to the instructions that came with your pan.

After pan and oil are heated, add the batter to each form.  Fill it to just below the rim of the form.

As they cook, the batter will rise up a little.  You can use a large quilting needle or an ice pick to turn them.

Turn them, bringing the cooked side up to allow for more batter to cook in the form.

Turn them one or two more times to create a ball.  You will know if the inside is done if you stick the needle or ice pick in and batter comes off on it.  Continue to turn them until they are cooked through and evenly browned all around.

I keep the finished Ableskivers in a pan in the oven on warm until they are all ready to serve.

Ableskivers are best with applesauce, or any flavor of jam.  Some people eat them with syrup also.

Tear open the Ableskiver (see it's hollow inside!)

Fill with applesauce...

Or jam, strawberry is our favorite!

Dust...or in my case MOUND with powdered sugar!

Then enjoy a YUMMY and fun breakfast!!

Chicken Taco Cornbread w/ Creamy Cilantro Drizzle

DRESSING
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves


FILLING
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies


CRUST
1 large egg
1 (7 oz.) package cornbread mix (i used marie callendars)
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup crushed corn tortilla chips


TOPPINGS
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded romaine
1 cup chopped tomatoes


Preparation Directions

1. HEAT oven to 400°F. Combine ranch dressing, salsa and 1 cup cilantro leaves in a small food processor or blender. Process until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

2. HEAT olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken, 3 tablespoons cilantro, salt, cumin, pepper and tomatoes with green chilies; simmer 5 minutes. (i just cooked the chicken with the veges and spices, then shredded it up right in the pan. much easier! it took about 15-20 minutes for the chicken to be done)

3. BEAT egg in large bowl. Add cornbread mix and milk; mix well. Place tortilla chips in greased 8x8 pan. Pour cornbread mixture over chips. Spoon chicken mixture over cornbread mixture; sprinkle with cheeses.

4. BAKE 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares. Top with romaine and tomatoes; drizzle with dressing.

Serving size: 6 servings

( i doubled the recipe, used a 9x13 pan and baked for 30-35 minutes. it was wonderful!)

Spinach Ravioli Bake

Ingredients

• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 package (25 ounces) frozen sausage ravioli or ravioli of your choice
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Place 1 cup spaghetti sauce in a greased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Top with half of the ravioli, mozzarella cheese, spinach and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 470 calories, 17 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 67 mg cholesterol, 1,441 mg sodium, 54 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 27 g protein.

Creamy Tomato Basil And Italian Sausage Soup

 

My sister made this for our family dinner a couple of weeks ago and we all LOVED it! She just laughed when she shared the recipe because get this ladies, this soup comes together so fast and easy. I had a pot of it together in less than 20 minutes!!! It tastes restaurant quality in every way. I served it with cheese bread and salad. Serves 4.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. Italian sausage

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 1/2 C. half and half

1 C. water

26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in lg. pot. Add sausage and brown. Add basil leaves, half and half, water and spaghetti sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until ready to serve. Easy as that.

This recipe was found at Picky-Palate. One of my new favorite spots to find new recipes:0)

Papa's Antipasta Bread

This is my dad's most wonderful recipe. I've made it twice and both times haven't mastered the art of releasing it from the bundt pan without it sticking. So heads up, grease WELL!

1 jar (6 ½ oz.) marinated Artichoke hearts

1/3 cup sliced deli hard salami, chopped

1/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, sliced

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (use butter & I end up using about 1/2 of a cup)

4 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

2 packages (11.3 ounces each) refrigerated dinner rolls

Preheat oven to 375.

Place Artichokes on paper towel and pat dry.

Dice the artichokes, salami and red bell pepper (place in a 1-QT. bowl)

Add the sliced olives and pressed garlic.

Mix all the ingredients lightly and set aside.

Melt the butter.

Separate the dinner rolls and cut each into quarters using kitchen shears.

Dip 16 quartered dinner roll pieces in melted butter, then dip or roll in grated parmesan. (I do them one at a time)

Arrange evenly in a Stoneware Fluted pan (or bundt cake pan)

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mixture.

Repeat this twice

Dip remaining 16 dough pieces in butter and parm and place over the last layer of mixture.

Sprinkle with any leftover Parmesan

Bake 27-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. (note: both times I've made this, the bread hasn't been fully cooked in the middle of the dish... maybe 5-10 minutes longer? just watch it closely)

Cool 5 minutes – loosen edges of bread from the side and center of pan

Then carefully invert onto a Nonstick Cooling rack or plate.

I took a pic after assembling, before baking:

Challenge!!

Hello to all the readers of Better Than Drive Thru!!

I have a challenge I would like to put out to all of you.

Post your favorite crock pot recipe within the next few weeks. We haven't had much in the way of posting lately and I think that if everyone will put one up, we can all have a bunch of great new recipes to try.

Ever few months we will be putting up a new challenge, so if there is a certain kind of recipe you have been looking for, let us know and we will put it to the challenge!!

Hope everyone is having a great 2010 so far.