French Bread

We each have our own thing about food to love. Mine is fresh bread out of the oven, slathered with butter. It has also proven to be one of my biggest 'problem areas' of cooking/ baking and making stuff.  I have been trying to make a light, fluffy bread and the one recipe I have tried several times, finally failed me for the last time. I pulled it out of my 3 ring binder and tossed it in the trash.

I have tried it several times, hotter water, cooler water, let the yeast proof longer, not as long, let the bread rise 3 times, 2 times, skip that throw it in the oven- all different things I have tried and nothing works. At least it hasn't for me. 

So I went back to a blog I have gone to many times before over the years and found this recipe.  One thing I absolutely LOVE about this recipe is the versatility of it.  I made hamburger buns last night and they are good, big, fluffy, mmmmm.... Made baguets from it last week and although it seems you are putting the ingredients in backwards from other recipes- this one worked nicely for me.

French Bread from back in 2008 off the blog- Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I'm not sure if I can post the whole thing here, but if there is a problem, they can let me know and I will pull it, just leaving a link to the recipe.  They are a group of ladies who seem to have a great, easy recipe for everything. Gotta love that!

French Bread

I got this recipe from Lovella G. ( another Lovella, and another great friend) way back when our kids went to the same elementary school. This recipe has become sort of a "staple" kind of recipe for a quick bread, for pizza crust, pizza buns, focaccia bread or baguettes (used for spinach dip etc) As you can see - It is a must have! =)

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp salt
2 cups hot tap water
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
2 Tbsp instant yeast

Method:
Mix in order given, mixing the yeast with a little flour and adding that while dough is still very soft. Add enough flour to make a dough that holds together in a ball shape and is not sticky if you handle it with floured hands. Cover.
Let rise until double, about 1/2 hour. Divide in half.
Roll out to about 12x15” rectangle. Roll up jelly roll style and place on greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Cut diagonal slits on top. Let rise about 30 - 45 min. Brush with mixture of 1 egg and 2 Tbsp milk, beaten with fork.
Bake at 400F for 20 min, or until golden.

For Pizza:
Instead of rolling out the dough, just divide and press onto 2 pizza pans. Bake at 400F until light golden - just done. About 12 minutes.
Spread lightly with pizza or spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with any cold cuts you want . . . ham, salami, pepperoni, cooked hamburger (left over sloppy joe sauce) or cooked chicken, slivered peppers, grated cheese (mozzarella, or assortment). Sprinkle with oregano and basil. Bake at 375, about 15 min.

focaccia bread:
Add about 1 Tbsp of each (fresh if possible) thyme, oregano, rosemary, chopped into tiny bits,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1- 2 tsp garlic powder to the dough, as you're mixing it. Cover and let rise.
Press dough into 2 - 8 X 8 greased pans. Make indentations with end of wooden spoon and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal and rosemary (optional)
Cover and rise 1/2 hour. Bake until light golden, about 25 - 30 minutes. Serve with Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

dipping bread:
Use any kind of combination of flour and grains that you like, roll out to make long skinny loaves (baguettes) and slice at an angle. Great with Spinach dip.
Maybe this is too much information, but it's there to give you ideas on what you can do and I hope you try something new and enjoy it.

Biscuits & Gravy

Sometimes there's just nothing like a good meal. Something that 'sticks to your ribs' and satisfies you for hours during the day. With the weather turning cold, something warm for breakfast is always a nice way to start the day. But who says B & G has to be limited to breakfast?  We had it for dinner last night and I even remembered to take pictures!

1 1 lb chub of sausage
2 packets of country gravy mix
3 cups of water
1 cup of milk
2 cans of biscuits



Pour the 3 cups of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil on the stove. 



Mix the two packets of gravy mix and 1 cup of milk in a bowl. Mix until all lumps are dissolved. Set aside until water boils.



Fry the sausage in a pan over medium heat.



Pop open the cans of biscuits and place on a cookie sheet. 



Cook as per the directions on the can or 13-17 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees.



When water boils, add the milk/gravy packet mixture. Stir occasionaly until gravy begins to thicken. 



Add sausage to gravy and stir to combine. 

Cut 2 biscuits in half and place them on a plate. Spoon gravy over them and serve.

 

Variations- My teenaged daughter likes to bip her biscuits in a bowl of gravy.  What can I say? It works!

Chicken Chili

The other day my oldest daughter was at her boyfriends house. They had Chicken Chili for dinner and she liked it so much she wanted to make it for us for dinner.  I have found a few variations online, some calling it White Bean Chili, Chicken Chili Soup and a whole combination of things using those words. The recipes- call for a lot more ingredients.  This one is easy and since the weather is turning, her timing is excellent!

Chicken Chili-

3 chicken breasts with leg meat, diced
1 jar of picante sauce
1 can of white beans (Mediterranean style)
1 lb of Monterrey Jack cheese grated
1 16oz tub of sour cream
1 bag of tortilla chips or corn tortillas

1. In a frying pan, cook the chicken until done.
2. In a sauce pan, cook the beans, then add the picante sauce, 1/2 of the sour cream and 1/2 of the cheese. Stir as the cheese melts and then add the chicken.

Serve in a bowl with added sour cream on top and chips on the side. If using corn tortillas, fry each tortilla in oil until crisp, pat dry and serve as is or in smaller pieces.

Variations- You can add a can of corn and a rice cup of rice to the mix if you'd like.

Rice Junk

This is something my Mom used to make every so often. It never really had a name we just all called it 'Rice Junk'. Since then my oldest brother has adapted it by adding mixed veggies and whatever else, but I make it much the same as Mom always did.

2 packages of Farmer John sausage links
6 handfuls of rice
1 box, 2 packets of Lipton chicken noodle soup mix (I like the extra noodle version and even Ramen noodles work in a pinch)
I package slivered almonds (optional)

Brown and shred the sausage links in a frying pan.

Boil water in a large pot for the rice. When it is boiling add the rice.  As the rice is nearing finished, add the two packets of chicken soup mix.  When the rice has finished cooking, drain the water off using a colander.  When drained, put the rice & noodle soup mix back in the pot, add in the almonds (optional) and the sausage, stir to mix and serve. Done. Simple as that. I made this last night and the girls were all over it. It's better somehow if they 'steal' a bite from someone else's plate.

Pic's to follow later

Thanksgiving leftovers?

Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving on Monday. Some of them may have leftovers they aren't sure what to do with. I recently found a recipe to help with that. Of course I altered it a bit so I wouldn't have to wait until next month to make it...

Thanksgiving leftover stuffed shells.

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups cubed cooked turkey
• 1 1/2 cups leftover stuffing
• 1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups leftover turkey gravy

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the shell pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
3. Place turkey and stuffing in food processor, and pulse until finely ground and combined. Place the ground turkey and stuffing mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer along with the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, and 2 cups of the mozzarella. Mix with paddle attachment on medium-low until well blended.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of gravy on the bottom of the prepared dish. Stuff the pre-cooked pasta shells with the turkey mixture and place in the dish in tight rows. Top with the remaining gravy and the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes until top is browned and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Notes-

• 1 - 6 ounce package of prepared instant stuffing mix can be used in place of leftover stuffing and 1 - 10.75 ounce can of cream of chicken soup can be used in place of leftover gravy.

Alterations-

I used rigatoni shells, chicken instead of turkey and cream of chicken soup instead of gravy. Stuffing the shells is a little trickier, but a teaspoon works well.

Rolled lasagna

Now that we all know how to make our own pasta and ricotta, let's put it together with a few other things for some lasagna....

I found this recipe somewhere online. I forget where, because I would gladly post a link and give them Kudos like I always do.  I love a good lasagna, but somehow layering the noodles doesn't work for everyone including me. Even laying them different directions as you go, sometimes you cut into it and stuff goes everywhere. You are left with a big pile of noodles, cheese, meat and sauce, not resembling much of anything recognizable.

Rolled lasagna-

When I make the noodles, I make the 2 egg pasta, which makes about 9 lasagna noodles. The 9 noodles will fill a 9X9 pan.   You can also place 1 or 2 rolls in separate pans for single servings- good for lunches...

Lasagna noodles, 1 package if not making your own
ricotta cheese, 8 oz if you are using store bought.
1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
grated Parmesan cheese- optional
1 lb Italian sausage- optional
1 jar of pasta sauce

Cook the meat if you are using any, shred or crumble, drain any grease off and set aside.  Cook the noodles in boiling water until they float. I usually cook one or two noodles at a time.  Taking one out to cool, slipping another one in and going along from there until the noodles are all cooked.

Place a small amount of pasta sauce in the bottom of the 9X9 pan, this will keep the noodles from sticking when you bake.  As the noodles cool enough to handle them, place a spoonful of pasta sauce on the end of the noodle, smear it the length of the noodle if you choose. Spread some ricotta cheese on the end of the noodle, sprinkle some meat, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on the end or full length. Roll the length of the noodle and place the roll in the pan. 

When all of the noodles are rolled and in the pan, use the rest of the sauce over the noodles. Use the remainder of the mozzarella and Parmesan to sprinkle over the top of the noodles as well. This can now either be frozen for later or baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I try to make Italian bread, garlic bread or at least bread sticks to go with this.   Enjoy!

*Edited to add- Lasagna Alfredo Roll Ups, same thing sort of, but stuffed with spinach instead and covered with alfredo sauce... I gotta try this one.  All recipes also has a few other variations- Lasagna roll ups. Turkey, tofu, veggie, southwest sausage, chicken, seafood, crab... I guess it depends on your tastes. 

Ricotta Cheese

Now that everyone knows my recipe for homemade pasta, I will put this one up for ricotta. I haven't tried it out yet, but I hope to soon.  I found this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen back in June.

I can only imagine how much different (to read Better!) lasagna will taste with not only the homemade pasta, but also the ricotta being used... and I have an easy recipe for rolled lasagna that I will be sharing soon too.

From the SK website-

Rich Homemade Ricotta
Inspired by Salvatore Ricotta, via Tasting Table

I made this ricotta three different ways: with all milk, as the Salvatore recipe suggested (we found it a bit dry), with 3 cups milk and 1 cup heavy cream and with 3 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Guess what? The last two ricottas were virtually indistinguishable.The extra cream did indeed add an even richer edge, but the one with less cream was also very indulgent. I imagine I’d use the richer version for toasts, for putting out at a party and the almost-as-rich one for pastas and things where I might need a larger, sturdier quantity. I’ll leave it up to you which way you go.

Makes about 1 generous cup of ricotta
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (see Note above about using less)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Turn off the heat [Updated] Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.) Discard the whey, or, if you’re one of those crafty people who use it for other things, of course, save it.  Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve: On 1/2-inch slices of baguette that have been run under the broiler until lightly bronzed. Serve it simply [as shown in the top photo, left to right] with honey and a pinch of flaky sea salt, a couple grinds of black pepper, pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil, and/or a few droplets of an aged balsamic. Or with zucchini ribbons [as shown in the last photo], I started with about half a pound of miniature zucchini my mother-in-law had found at Trader Joes. Larger ones will work just fine, but you might want to first cut a big one in half lengthwise. Peel them into ribbons and toss them with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and let them drain in a colander for a while (this wilts them), about 20 minutes. Rinse and pat them dry. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper to taste. Arrange in piles on ricotta crostini.

Do ahead: I keep mine only 3 to 4 days; the really fresh milk I used doesn’t last long. However, Salvatore also uses really fresh milk, and theirs appears to keep closer to two weeks. In conclusion? Shelf lives will vary. Use your nose to judge freshness. Or your partner’s nose, because who doesn’t like hearing “Hey honey, sniff this for me?”