I found this recipe at The View from Great Island.  Super easy to make.  Super delicious. 

Go there.  Read her blog post.  Look at her yummy pictures.  Then go make them. =)

Notes:  I left the wax-paper wrapped log in the refrigerator overnight.  I cut them the next morning.  They are very crumbly, but I just mooshed them together in my hands and flattened them out a bit and baked them for 13 minutes.  Yum.  You will definitely want a cup of coffee or glass of milk with them though!

I was in the mood to bake, and had a eensy bit of a sweet tooth.  While perusing Pinterest I came across this recipe at Just a Pinch.   It sounded delicious, and after reading the comments other people had made about its deliciousness, and realizing I had some oranges in there that needed using... I made it. 

*I should note, in case you didn't read through the comments on the recipe there, that people say you should definitely let this cool completely before cutting into it.  Otherwise, it crumbles apart very easily, and while still tasty, is not like eating a piece of bread. 

*Another note:  The original recipe at "Just a Pinch" states to use two pans for this recipe.  I used just one, as we like nice, large loaves.   That said, we then had to cook it for about 15-20 minutes longer, which caused the edges to brown significantly.  While this did not affect the taste really (it was still delicious), you could tell it was cooked longer, and the aesthetic value is not nearly as appealing.  Next time, I will follow directions and split it between two loaf pans.  

Ingredients:

1 8-oz box of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1&2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2&1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Grease and flour a bread pan. 

Mix together the cream cheese and shortening until creamy.  Add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition. 

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk.  Batter will be thick and creamy.   Mix in grated orange peel.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Let cool for ten minutes, then sprinkle the orange juice over top.  Let cool completely before serving.

   Yep, another bread recipe.  But this one actually rises enough to be an actual sandwich type bread.  Many of them are too short to make a really decent sandwich.  This one fixes that.  It's good, and we ate it all up right away.  I'm actually considering making another batch today.  This recipe was found via Pinterest  at Annie's Eats.

I didn't get a picture of it cut, and for that I apologize.  Maybe if I do wind up making more today, I'll get an updated picture of that part.  I may even make myself a sandwich!







Ingredients

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup warm water

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp. honey

2 ¼ tsp instant yeast

Directions:

Put the rack in your oven at the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 200*F.  Once it's reached 200*, let it stay there for ten minutes, then turn it off.  Don't open the door.

Meanwhile, mix 3&1/2 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl of a mixer.  In another bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients (minus the remaining flour).  Start your mixer and slowly add in the wet ingredients.  Increase the speed to medium and let mix for about 10 minutes, adding a tablespoon of flour at a time as needed after five minutes to keep the mixture doughy and not sticky. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and put in the warmed oven.  Let double in size; about 40-50 minutes. 

On a floured surface, work the dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick and no longer than the size of your bread pan.  With long side facing you, roll into a cylinder, pressing the edges together. Turn seam up and pinch closed.  Place seam side down into a bread pan and press gently to touch all sides.   Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to double in size; about 30 minutes. 

Keep one rack in the lowest position, and another in the middle, and preheat to 350*F.   Place a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack (at least 2 cups worth).  Uncover bread and place on middle rack and bake for about 45-50 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  



(left half are peanut butter cookies, right half has chocolate chip minis thrown in!)

I've had this recipe for years and years.  I must say, it is probably one of my favorite cookies to make.  Soft, chewy peanut butter cookies that I almost always have the ingredients for.  I mean, who doesn't usually have peanut butter, sugar, an egg and some vanilla laying around?   This time, I decided to mix it up and make another batch with some mini chocolate chips thrown in. So I guess those would be 5-ingredient cookies.    Super yum! 

They can come out a bit crumbly if you try to take them off the pan too soon.  But, that just means they are broken and must be eaten, right?!  That's my viewpoint, anyway.  =)

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (can use creamy or chunky, based on your preference)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
handful or two of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.   Lightly spray a cookie pan with cooking spray.  
Mix all the ingredients together.  If using chocolate chips, mix the first 4 ingredients together, then stir in chocolate chips until you think you have enough (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup). 
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared pan and lightly press down.
Bake for 5-7 minutes.  They will be super soft and puffy.  Let them sit for a few minutes and cool on the pan before trying to move.  I usually use 2 pans for these, and let one batch cool while the other cooks.

  Since the Rosemary Olive Oil Bread turned out so well, I was inspired to take a shot at another type of bread.  My boyfriend requested a Honey Oat bread, so I found a recipe at Epicurious that looked promising and decided to make a go of it. 

 Once again, it came out superb.  I'm so glad I finally got over my fear of bread!  It's my new found toy.  This one came out light, and delicious.  It's another one that the kids really enjoyed, as did my boyfriend and myself.  It makes great sandwich bread.  Or, it's delicious warm with melted butter and jam.  Or honey!  

I will definitely be making this bread again. 

Ingredients:

1&3/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2&1/2 teaspoons salt
about 5 cups flour

1 large egg, beaten
additional oats


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
2.  Mix in remaining water, oats, honey, oil and salt. 
3.  Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.  I used probably 4 cups, maybe a bit more. 
4.  Coat a large bowl with cooking spray.  Transfer dough to bowl, and turn to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap, then a towel, and let stand until doubled in size.  About 1 hour.
5.  Oil 2 bread pans.  Punch risen dough down, and, using remaining flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, form into 2 small loaves. 
6.  Place 1 loaf in each pan.  Cover again and let rise until doubled- about 20 minutes.
7.  Preheat oven to 350*F.   Brush the tops of risen loaves with the beaten egg, and then sprinkle additional oats over top. 
8.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until tops are golden and a tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

I finally broke my bread-making cherry.   Not just fiddled around with it a little, but actually broke it.   We're talking yeast, kneading, punching, and everything!  

 If you've read my blog before, you probably know that I am a big fan of the Artisan Bread that I've worked with in the past.  It's a yeast bread, but requires no kneading or punching- the two aspects of bread making that have daunted me the most.   It is a very tasty bread, and makes a superb pizza crust.  However, I had made it enough times that I was starting to get bored, and all of these recipes for all of these super tasty breads kept popping up everywhere- making my mouth water and my hands itch to make them! 

 I found this recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Bread and, being the huge rosemary fan that I am, I had to try it.  I had everything right there in my kitchen, just begging to be used.  I read through the recipe a few times and thought, "It really doesn't sound that difficult."

 I was so right.  *high five*

It was absolutely delicious.  Even my kids ate it up!  It seriously didn't last more than a couple of days.  It has a very strong flavor- I will warn you.  Of course, I probably put in a tad bit more rosemary than the recipe called for.  But, if you are a fan of rosemary, you will adore this bread. 
Make sure to wrap it when not in use though.  It did get a little tough when left out overnight (once cut open).  But, not enough to keep us from munching it right to the crumbs!  It would be absolutely divine with some soup.  I'm thinking some Zuppa Toscana.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

So, seriously-  If you've wanted to try your hand at baking bread, but have been put off by all the kneading and punching and stuff, (and you like rosemary) try this bread.  Super easy.  Super tasty!

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, or 2 teaspoons dried
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour, + more for kneading
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon water
extra rosemary


Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the water, sugar, and yeast.  Let sit for 10 minutes.
2.  Stir in the salt, rosemary, seasonings, pepper, and olive oil.  Add the flour and stir until the dough forms a ball.  Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes.
3.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 
4.  Punch down the dough and form into a round loaf.  Cover and let rise until doubled; about 45 minutes.
5.  Preheat oven (and pizza stone) to 400*F.  When dough has risen, combine whisked egg with the water, and brush overtop the dough.  Sprinkle with extra rosemary.  
6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until top is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped. 

  I had some canned salmon on hand that I had absolutely NO idea of what to do with.   I'd never really eaten it before, so wasn't really sure how you were suppose to prepare it, or what you were really even supposed to do to it.    So, I went online to search of course!   I found this recipe at Cooks.com.  I adjusted it to use the ingredients I had on hand, and to suit my taste buds. 

The base mix tasted like it might actually be pretty good as it was, on a warmed roll or bread perhaps.  Or even as a dip for crackers.  So I'll have to keep that in mind for the other can of salmon I have in there!


Ingredients:

for the cakes:
1 can of salmon (mine was about 15oz)
1 egg
1/4 cup light sour cream
1-2 tablespoons minced onion (or 1 small onion, minced- I was too lazy to cut one up)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the breading:
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Progresso's Italian flavor)
1 teaspoon dill


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Combine all of the cake ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  Form into small cakes- it should make 8 small cakes. 

Combine the bread crumbs and dill in a shallow bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  Roll the cakes in the crumb mix, or hold the cake in your hand and liberally sprinkle the mix over the cakes (which is what I did).  

Place on a baking sheet.  If it is not a non-stick pan, coat with a thin layer of cooking spray.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Earlier in my blogger postings, I showed you how to make the Artisan Bread  and then just recently was the Alfredo Sauce .    Last night we combined these two with some diced chicken and spinach to make a wonderful pizza.   It was oh-so-yummy.  I couldn't stop eating, and will probably need to spend a couple hours on the treadmill today to make up for it. 


For the bread this time, I used 5 cups white flour and 1&1/2 cups wheat flour, and then threw in about a 1/4 cup of honey.   The dough came out very sticky, but we never got to the point of putting it in the fridge, either, since it was made specifically to make pizza dough. 

Grab a big handful of the dough and form it into the ball as it says.  However, then immediately throw it onto a floured surface and roll it to your desired size for pizza.   Pop it into the oven at 450*F for about 5 minutes to give it a nice little prebake.  You don't have to prebake it, but we like the texture it gives the finished pizza.

Make up the alfredo sauce, and spread over the prebaked (or not-prebaked) pizza.  Sprinkle with mozzarella.  Top with chicken and torn spinach leaves.  Sprinkle with just a little more mozzarella to give a little seal.  Put back in the oven (at the same setting) for another 8 minutes or so.  If you did not prebake the pizza, it may need to be around 10-15 minutes to completely bake the bread.  Keep checking it.  =)

And there you have it.  Delicious pizza.  Of course, you can add whatever toppings you like!   Enjoy!

 My family loves cinnamon rolls.  Me?  Eh.  I'm not a big fan of cinnamon.  However, I had a bug to bake the other day, and while looking through my Cooking Light Cookbook I came across the recipe that follows.   Now, I've never made cinnamon rolls before, and the process always seemed complicated to me.  After reading through the directions, though, I realized it really didn't seem very difficult, so decided to give it a try.

  The results were great.  The entire 2 pans were gone within a day!  They ate cinnamon rolls all day! I even tried one, and it wasn't too bad.  Not a ton of cinnamon flavor, so I could enjoy it. 

 The cookbook supplied an icing recipe, which I will include, but I must say that though the rolls themselves were awesome, I will not use the icing recipe again.  The flavor was just too much powder sugary for me.  I think I will whip up a cream cheese icing next time.  =)


Ingredients: 

Dough:
1 package dry yeast (about 2&1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (100*F to 110*F)
1/2 cup warm low-fat milk (100*F to 110*F)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3&1/2 cups flour, divided
cooking spray

Filling:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions:

1.  Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl.  Let stand 5 minutes. 
2.  Add milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, salt and egg; stir with a wooden spoon until combined (batter will not be completely smooth)
3.  Add 3 cups of flour and stir until a soft dough forms.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  Add enough of the remaining flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
4.  Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; turn to coat top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.  *If you press two fingers into the dough and the indentation remains then it has risen enough.
5. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.  Roll the dough into a 15x10-inch rectangle.  Brush with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over top, leaving about a 1/2-inch border.  Beginning with a long side, roll the dough up jelly-roll style.  Pinch the seams to seal, but leave the ends open.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
6.  Unwrap roll and cut into 3/4-inch slices (you'll get about 20).  Arrange slices about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until doubled in size. 
7.  Preheat oven to 350*F.
8.  Uncover dough and bake for 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown.
9.  Drizzle with glaze (recipe follows, or create your own!) while still warm.

Glaze from cookbook:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine ingredients and stir well until smooth.  Drizzle over warm rolls.

   For the longest time, I thought "coffee cake" was a cake made with coffee.  I mean, it's right there in the name, right?   Well, it's been a while now since I learned that "coffee cake" is cake you eat with coffee.   However, this is the first time I have actually made one.  

 It turned out moist, and delicious.  The topping had just enough of a crispness to it.  The blueberries melt in your mouth.   I ate it with my coffee this morning.  Superb.    It was also super easy to make.  All of the ingredients were ingredients I already had on hand, which is why I decided to make it when I saw the recipe.   I ate it the morning after I made it, after it had cooled down, and it was very good.  I imagine it is even better warm!


I made 2 of them.  One to keep here, and one to take to a birthday gathering I was going to.

I got it out of "Gooseberry Patch Christmas: Book 13", which I checked out from my library.  You can see it (and buy it!) HERE.   =) 


Ingredients:

Cake:
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract  (I used lemon juice since I didn't have extract, and it came out fine)
1 cup plus 1 tablespoons flour, divided
1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries
4oz cream cheese, cubed

Topping:
2 tablespooons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

*Next time, I want to try using brown sugar for the topping instead of white sugar.

Directions:

For cake:
Preheat oven to 375* F.  Flour the bottom of a 9" baking pan.
Blend together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Blend in egg and lemon.
In a seperate bowl, combine 1 cup flour baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add alternately with milk to sugar mixture.  Blend in cream cheese.  It will be a bit lumpy, that's okay.
Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour.  Fold into batter.
Pour into prepared pan.

For topping:
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter in a food processer.  Grind until coarse crumbs.  Or, cut butter into ingredients until coarse and crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly overtop the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cake tests done.  Serves 6. 

 

I've been craving cookies for a few days now.  Okay- weeks.  Not just any ol cookie, but chocolate chip cookies.  Tonight I broke down and made some.  Okay- had my daughter make some.  But she wanted to.  I didn't force her! 

I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com.  It seemed pretty basic, used ingredients I have, and  had a whole bunch of really good reviews, so I decided to try them out. They came out lightly crisp, with soft chocolatey insides. They do not get puffy, nor do they fall flat.     Now, my picture isn't the greatest and I apologize for that.  My boyfriend (who is a photographer) had to take my son to karate class, and I was afraid there wouldn't be any left by the time they got back!  They are so good! 

I will say, 100%, that my craving is sated! 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract                   
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Combine butter and sugars.   Beat until smooth.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each one.  Add vanilla.
4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.  Add to bowl.  Add salt.  Stir until well blended.
5. Add in flour, one cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop by teaspoon (or tablespoon or whatever gives you the size cookie you like) onto a baking sheet.  I always very lightly spray mine with cooking spray, else I never get them back off. 
8. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Yesterday I got a baking bug and made another Caramel Apple Cheesecake and another Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie.   Our family is in nummy-love with those two desserts, I think.  And the kids just discovered how easy it is to make the homemade caramel.  I have a feeling I am going to have to stock up on sweetened condensed milk, butter, and brown sugar now!! 

The recipe for the gingersnap pumpkin pie calls for just one-half cup of canned pumpkin.  In my last stock-up of pumpkin, I had only bought the large 15-oz cans.  So, that left me with LOTS of pumpkin left-over.  I needed something to use up the rest of that.   Enter my daughter, who saw me baking and immediately wanted to bake, too.  I told her that we had all of this pumpkin left-over, so maybe we could find a pumpkin cookie recipe.  She eagerly agreed, so I hunted and found this one.

Well, my daughter wound up finding some unused clay while I was looking, so her baking bug left her for clay works.  I wound up making them myself.  But she thoroughly enjoyed them nonetheless- enough for me to go ahead and offer them up here!  They came out very cake-like, with a smooth pumpkin-pieish flavor to them. 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin (mine was missing 1/2 a cup, but it didn't affect it any)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I used about half that, since I don't like a lot of chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Lightly spray cookie sheet(s) with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips.  Beat on medium speed until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Cool for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. 

  Another dessert item I decided to take with me for Thanksgiving were these little cookies.  Okay, they really aren't little, but they sounded interesting none-the-less.  I needed to use up that big ol' can of pumpkin I had opened, and who doesn't like snickerdoodles? 

Ingredients:

for cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1&1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2&3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon and 3 teaspoons sugar (can be white or brown) mixed together for rolling.


for filling:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

for cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. In a medium bowl cream sugar and butter together until fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
4. In a separate bowl stir together dry ingredients except cinnamon and extra sugar together.
5. Add to creamed mixture and combine well.
6. Chill dough for about 20-30 minutes.  (I chilled mine overnight and it was just fine)
7. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating evenly.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and soft. 

for filling:

1. Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.  Adjust sugar to taste (I completely left out the white sugar). 
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  This I also refrigerated overnight with no negative consequences.

to assemble cookies:

1. Remove cream cheese mixture from refrigerator.
2. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture onto the flat side of a cookie.
3. Press another cookie onto it to make a sandwich.
4. I then stored these in the fridge until we ate them!

  I have always wanted to make fresh bread, but have always been highly daunted by it.  The thought of having to knead, punch and let it rise just right always scared me enough to keep me at bay.   It was one of those things I always told myself I would get to- one day. 
 
Then my boss brought in some fantastic homemade bread for Homemade Bread Day (which is November 17th, by the way).  I had expressed to her my desire and she shared with me this unbelievably easy recipe, which was the one she had used.  It uses just 4 ingredients that I always have on hand.  I cannot believe I have never made bread before!  We just pulled it out of the oven about 10 minutes ago, and it is already gone!  Granted, I started off making a small loaf, but it was devoured!   I cannot see myself NOT making this bread every day now!   

Now, the name is a bit misleading, as it does take more than 5 minutes.  Well, I guess it only takes a few minutes to mix everything together.  But, on baking day give yourself about an hour. 

To give credit where credit is due, this came from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.   There is a YouTube video here.

This recipe makes about 4 1-pound loaves.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm (room temperature) water
• 1&1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1&1/2 packets)
• 1&1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• 6&1/2 cups flour
• (cornmeal for the pizza peel)

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl mix water, salt and yeast.  Add flour. 
2. Stir until just mixed.  I used a KitchenAide mixer with the bread hook.  You can use just a wooden spoon.
3. Cover loosely and let sit for about 2 hours at room temperature.
4. You can use the dough at this point, or put in the fridge for up to two weeks. The longer you let it sit in the fridge, the more of a sourdough taste it takes on.

To Bake:

1. Prepare pizza peel (or the back of a cookie sheet, which is what I did, since I do not have a peel.  It has been added to my wish list, though!) by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the loaf from sticking.
2. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour.  Cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit sized) piece.  Hold in your hands and sprinkle with more flour to keep from sticking to your hands.  Gently pull the sides down to the bottom.  You may want to view the video to see the way to do this, as it sounds much more complicated then it really is.
3. Place the ball on the pizza peel and let rest, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
4. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450*F with a baking stone on the middle rack.  Place an empty broiler tray underneath to hold water.
5. Dust the top of the loaf with flour and slash with a serrated knife.
6. Slide loaf off the peel onto the baking stone.  Quickly pour about a cup of water into the broiler pan.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned and firm to the touch.
7. Refrigerate remaining dough in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next two weeks.  Dough can be frozen, just pull out the day before baking and defrost in the fridge.

  I have a love affair with banana bread.  It may not seem that way, because I do not make it often, and when I do, most of it is usually thrown away, uneaten.  Despite this, I do love banana bread.  However, I've also been searching for ways to use up those old, rotting bananas that my family will also enjoy.  Enough so that I am not throwing the majority of my work down the trash can's gullet at the end of a couple weeks.  You'd think I'd have grown more acquainted with my freezer, and I very well should, but at this point I have not. 

 I found this recipe today when looking for ideas on using the bananas that sat blackening in my fruit basket.  It sounded interesting, and I thought maybe the cake-like appearance would appeal to my children more.  So I gave it a shot.  It turned out pretty tasty.  Time will tell whether or not it is eaten up or left for the garbage man.  I am thinking it very well might get eaten, though!

Ingredients:
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup shortening
1&1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 5 small ones)
1&1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
slivered almonds (optional)

Directions:
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Now, I have no idea what the heck this means, so I just beat the heck out of it for a couple minutes and called it good.  Set aside.
In a large bowl cream shortening and sugar.  Beat in egg yolks; mix well.   Mix in bananas.
Combine flour and baking soda.  Add to creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. 
Add vanilla and egg whites. 
Pour into a greased 13-in by 9-in baking dish.  Sprinkle with slivered almonds. 
Bake at 350*F for 45-50 minutes. 

Nutritional info: 
Cut cake into 12-16 servings.   1 piece equals 1 serving.  Nutritional info approximate.
Calories:  213
Fat: 8g (2g saturated)
Cholesterol: 27mg
Sodium:  89mg
Carbohydrates: 31g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 2g

  I found an absolutely easy and fabulous sounding recipe online a few weeks back.   Two simple ingredients that many households already have on hand:

•   a box of yellow cake mix, and
•   a 15-ounce can of pumpkin.   

I had both.  :)
I only had one of the huge cans of pumpkin, so I guesstimated on half.

Combine.  

Bake at 350*F for about 20-25 minutes. 

The batter is super yummy.  I'm hoping the muffins are as well.  I'll let you know in about 30 minutes!

*Very cakey.  Yummy and squishy.  They are more of a dessert muffin than, say, a breakfast muffin.  Super tasty though!  I'll definitely make them again.   Great one for the kids to try their hand at baking!

    I had a lot left over after filling my muffin pan, so I used the rest to make a mini loaf.  We'll see how that turns out.  I'm betting pretty scrumptious.  I plan on taking it to work.

   A friend of mine's daughter had her birthday yesterday.  She requested a luau themed party.  Unfortunately, the 85 degree weather did not stick around, and the day was met with a 30 degree drop, along with wind and rain.  Regardless, we had a grand time, with fabulous food, good friends, and a nice warm fire to congregate around.

  The party was potluck style, and since the meat was all being provided, I was hard pressed to find something to bring that would fit in with a luau style.  Then I saw this recipe for Hawaiian sweet rolls.  These are my favorite type of roll.  I mean, who doesn't love these things?  Sweet, light and flaky...  what says luau better than these?

  Now, I had never attempted any kind of bread that required yeast.  Something about working with the yeast, the constant waiting and punching, is daunting to me.  However, I had been determined to try, and this seemed like a good reason and time!  This recipe does not require kneading or punching, but does require lots of time to let the dough rise. 

  I had to have my boyfriend do the rolling for me, because the dough is quite sticky, and I have some huge gross-out factor to that kind of stickiness.  His little trick of spraying his hands with cooking spray was a good idea, though, and that might help me for next time. 

  The smell of them baking was divine.  Many comments were made about "What smells so good?" as they were baking.  They came out delicious.  Everyone raved about them, and I was asked to pass the recipe along, so here it is!  They are a bit more subtle in the sweet department than the store bought kind, but I think that can be easily adapted to fit your specific tastes..  I forgot to brush the butter on before baking, and believe that if I had remembered to do that, they would have been even more fantastic.  Maybe mix a little honey into that butter for an even bigger sweet pop?


Hawaiian Sweet Rolls:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup melted butter, plus more for brushing
• 1 tablespoonful dry yeast
• Salt (the recipe I found did not specify.  I just did a couple of shakes into the bowl)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla
• 6 tablespoonsful sugar
• 3 cups flour

Directions:

1.  Combine water, juice and butter in a large bowl.  Sprinkle in yeast.   Add salt, egg, vanilla and sugar.   Stir to mix.  Add flour one cup at a time, stirring between each addition.  Mix with your hands if the dough becomes too stiff.  Luckily for me, I was able to completely mix with just a wooden spoon.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

2.  If baking later, place covered dough in the refrigerator.

3.   Spray baking pan(s) with cooking spray (I used a cake pan).  Roll dough into balls and place in pan.   Cover and let rise  until doubled, about another 2 hours.

4.  Preheat oven to 350*F.   Brush rolls with melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

  While perusing stuff to bake on Taste of Home's website (I use the crap out of that site!), I came across this recipe for a basic bread mix.   It is a base for making different types of non-yeast breads.   This particular recipe mentions blueberry, zucchini, and cinnamon breads.  It has a great base batter, and shows you how to divide it so as to make a mini-loaf of each type.  In my household, I've found that muffins go over better than breads, so I used a standard 12-cup muffin pan instead of the mini loaf pans.  I also used all of the batter to make one type of muffin.  The base mix made a full 12 muffins of perfect size.

  Let me start off by telling you that the base batter is delicious!  I think it would make a nice muffin or bread all on it's own!  I think I ate 2 muffins worth of just batter on my first try...

   Since I had a bunch of blueberries that had been sitting in my fridge for awhile, and were starting to get saggy (but still edible), I decided to start with the blueberry recipe.   It whips up very easy, and the resulting muffins were superb!  They were gone within 24 hours, and that's really saying something in this house.  They were sweet, and had a hint of a cornbread texture.   I would change absolutely nothing about this recipe.

  Next off I tried the zucchini recipe.  I had a big zucchini out of my garden that was begging to be turned into something scrumptious, so I figured to try this base with the zucchini.   Again, a delicious muffin.  Even my kids went back for more.  Same light cornbread texture, with a sweet nutty taste.




Basic Mix:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoonful baking powder
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/4 teaspoonful baking soda
1 egg
2/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.  In another, whisk together the egg, juice and butter. Pour into the flour mixture.   Mix well.


For blueberry muffins:

Mix one cup fresh or frozen blueberries into entire mix.  If dividing batter for multiple loaves or types, divide accordingly.  Bake at 325*F for about 30 minutes.  While baking, whip together 6 teaspoons honey with 6 teaspoons of orange juice.  Pour over muffins upon removing from oven (I did not do this part, because I forgot.  However, they still came out perfectly tasty.. I can only imagine that this step would transform them to heavenly.)

For zucchini muffins:

Mix 1 cup shredded zucchini,  3 teaspoons grated orange peel and 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter. Again, if dividing, divide accordingly.    Bake for 325*F for about 30 minutes.




I am not a fan of cinnamon, so have not made that kind.  However, I just may with fall coming upon us.  I think it sounds like it might be yummy to add some chopped apple to it.  If I do, I will let you know how that turns out.  If you make them, let me know!   (The recipe is in the link.. remember to multiply the amounts by 3 for the full pan if you are using the entire base for one recipe.)

 This morning I got a baking hair up my butt, so decided to make these.   The recipe has been taped up to my kitchen cabinet for a few months now.  I was looking at it while refilling my coffee cup, and realized I had all of the ingredients, especially that sour cream, which needed to be used before it went bad.  I grabbed all my little containers and began to make a mess.

 
  The recipe says it yields 6 muffins.  I used my standard 12-cup pan and had just enough batter to do so.  So, use whichever pan bakes the size muffins you like! 

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I used sweetened coconut)
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips (I used regular sized)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
additional sugar (I forgot that)



Directions:


1.  In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2.  In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, butter and almond extract.

3.  Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until moistened.

4.  Fold in coconut and chocolate chips.  I also folded in about half of my almond slices, too.

5.  Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full.  Sprinkle with almonds and additional sugar.  Bake at 375* F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

  *Notes:
   The muffin is a bit pasty.  While I do like the almond and coconut together, I don't think I care for the chocolate chips.   Both my boyfriend and I agree that it would be a great lemon-blueberry batter.  Or even just add blueberries instead of the chocolate. 

 

Is there really any better way to start off a food blog than with cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake cups?  Do I have your attention yet?  These little morsels are a cupcake-wrapper full of heavenly sin.  As a matter of fact, in the time it took my boyfriend to take these delicious pictures, I had devoured 3 of these bad-boys.  I will pay for that on the treadmill later, but my-oh-my are they worth it.  

  I guess this recipe is originally from one of Martha Stewart's cookbooks (go figure), but I found it here.   It is super easy to make, and absolutely divine.  I halved the recipe, and used a standard 12-cup muffin pan.  The halved recipe gave me 18 cheesecakes.  I think I may have found a new family-gathering dish.

Ingredients:

• 42 Oreo cookies (or any similar cream-filled cookie), 30 left whole and 12 crushed
• 2 pounds cream cheese (according to my math, that's 4 8-oz boxes), room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt

Directions:

  1.  Preheat the oven to 275*F.   Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.  I don't know how well this would turn out without liners.  If you try that, let me know!  Place one whole cookie at the bottom of each liner.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high speed until creamy, scraping the edges as needed.  Add sugar, and beat until combined.  Add vanilla.

3.  Add eggs a bit at a time, and beat well, again scraping sides as you go.  Add in sour cream and salt and beat until mixed.  Stir in crushed cookies by hand (well, with a big spoon or something.. I wouldn't recommend using your hands, although you'd have lots of yummy gooeyness to lick off!)

4.  Spoon cheesecake batter over cookies in cupcake pan, filling cups until they are almost full.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until cheesecake is set (it doesn't wiggle when you jiggle it).  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Transfer to the fridge and let set for about 4 more hours or more.  I highly recommend you go find something outside to do during this time, since the anticipation can be insane!

5.  Devour.