Baking Adventures

So, my baking and healthy food adventures continue. The banana bread turned out fantastic! All the kids like it but my pickiest. I'm having a hard time staying away from it, and so will be delivering the leftovers to my in-laws today.


The pizza turned out good, too.

The dough was a little dense for my liking, but the kids ate it up! I'll try letting the dough rise longer than the recommended 30 minutes, and possibly look at other recipes for fluffier dough.

Then (the cooking adventures continue), I fixed eggplant parmesan for the first time (Betty Crocker cookbook again.) The kids tried it under protest, but I was told "it wasn't horrible." Not a bad first response to kids who don't like to try new things. Hubby asked for a second helping, which was definitely a good sign. He's always very honest about how my new recipes turn out - and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Not sure we'll be doing any baking today, but it's hubby's birthday and since we're going out to eat tonight, I might try rolls tomorrow.

Home Made Food Adventures

Today's home-made food adventures include:

Banana bread (using Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe) It took 5 minutes to put together and is cooking as I work on other things.

And... Home-made pizza crust! I have some leftover spaghetti sauce (also made from scratch - 1 lb hamburger, 3 cans tomato sauce, 1 can tomato paste, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Marjoram, and garlic to taste, with a few tablespoons of sugar). My kids love homemade pizza the days following spaghetti. We usually use whatever bread we have around the house, but as I continue to try to make better and better food choices, we're making our own pizza crust today!

Here's the link to the recipe. Will let you know how it all goes!

You Can Bake!

I didn't grow up with a mom who baked. She did lots of other things: chauffered us to events and activities, taught us to cross stitch, read with us, helped us to learn to be responsible around the house. But, she didn't bake.

My mother-in-law did. Constantly. She baked a pound cake every week and rolls, cobblers, and pies in between. I think one of the hardest adjustments my husband has had in marrying me has been that I didn't bake.

Notice, I said didn't. Now, I do. Or, better, am learning.

Several years ago I began doing research on being healthier. Many of the things I learned brought me to seek out eliminating certain things in my family's diet that have no positive benefit (high fructose corn syrup/corn sugar, partially hydrogenated oils, msg, artificial splenda, etc.) While I will be the first to admit that these items have not been eliminated completely, we've made lots of changes.

One of the biggest is me making things from scratch. As I began to read ingredient labels, I was shocked at how many items had one or more of the above ingredients.

At first I started small, making waffles and pancakes using great recipes from www.foodnetwork.com. When I saw how simple it was (instead of using something like Bisquick, all I had to do was add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together before adding my liquid ingredients) I was sold. So simple! And, without all the added, unnecessary ingredients.

I'm still working on the transition, lately baking cakes and cupcakes from scratch. How helpful the internet is in my quest for yummy and easy homemade alternatives!

Just this morning, I fixed cinnamon muffins from a recipe found here. My kids loved it! And, it didn't take me more than 5 minutes to mix it up.

So, even if you're super limited on time (what mom isn't?), don't sell yourself or your family's health short. You, too, can bake!!!

P.S. My next new recipe I'll try is here.

Easy & Delicious Chicken Recipe

I fixed this recipe for a friend with a new baby recently and absolutely fell in love with it. Even the broth that is creates is scrumptious! It was so good, it's what's for dinner tonight for us and my in-laws. So, if I can serve it to my mother-in-law, you know it's good!

I've altered the original recipe some, but it didn't lose a thing.

Sunrise Chicken
2 lb chicken - breast, thighs, tenders (whatever you have)
1 T oil (I use Olive)
salt
fresh ground pepper
2 t ginger
1 c orange juice
1/2 c dry white wine
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t dijon mustard
1 t maple syrup
1/2 t thyme
1 can (15 oz) sweet potatoes, drained
1/3 c slivered almonds (I didn't have these the 1st time)

Heat oil in large skillet over moderate heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in hot oil until light brown on both sides. Mix ginger, orange juice, wine, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, and thyme in small bowl. Add to chicken and stir. Add sweet potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add almonds.

Serve with rice and veggies on the side. Enjoy~!

What to do with Leftover Ham

Wondering what to make for dinner? Need something quick and have leftovers? One of our favorite dishes with leftover ham is chicken cordon blue.

Layer baking dish with bread crumbs, flattened chicken tenders or breasts, ham & swiss cheese. Do two sets of layers of meats and put a top layer of bread crumbs. Regular or Italian work. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Tonight, I'm serving with homemade fried potatoes and whatever veggie I find in the freezer.

Another great thing to do with leftover ham is make a ham and brocolli ring. Dice the ham, mix with steamed, chopped brocolli (can be either frozen or fresh), and diced cheese (preferably swiss). Mix in 1/8 cup of each dijon mustard and honey mustard.

Lay out crescent rolls on stone or other baking pan in circle or oblong fashion, top with mixture and pull ends of rolls to cover in criss cross. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes.

Hope you enjoy!

Swiss Steak Dinner

I haven't posted recipes in a while, but had a fantastic dinner earlier this week and thought I'd share. The main recipe is one that my mother-in-law acquired from her father, who learned it while in the Army.

Swiss Steak
2 lb cube steak
1/4 c oil
1 cup flour
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c ketchup
1 cup water
1/8 c A1 Steak Sauce
5 shakes Worchestershire
2 T brown sugar

Put the flour on a plate. Take cube steak, one piece at at time, coating both sides. Brown in oil in electric griddle (if available.) Put browned meat aside. Stif fry celery and onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and add meat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Mashed potato casserole
Wash and dice desired number of potatoes. Boil until tender (20-45 min, depending on number and size of dices.) Drain and mash with hand mixer. Add butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Add milk, to make creamy. Put in sprayed casserole dish and cover with shredded cheddar. Bake 300 for 20-30 minutes.

Japanese Spinach w/Sesame Seeds
(allrecipes.com - click above)

Enjoy!

Italian Nachos

Great, quick recipe, courtousy of my hubby.

tortilla chips - top with leftover spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese.
Broil to heat through and melt cheese.
Top with salsa and sour cream.

Chow down!!!

Soup's On!

Okay, so I'm on this new kick. It's to try a new soup recipe every week. I like new recipes, and I like soup. I'd rather have soup than a cold sandwich almost any day of the week. Recently I was at a friend's house (hanging out, just being together and letting the kids play - I'll post more about that soon) and saw that she had a soup cookbook. It's named simply "Soup" by Stephen Knowlden. I began browsing it, and saw some soups that looked fun and new. It definately helped that each page has a full color picture of both the soup and the cooking process to go along with the recipe.

I decided to start in the hot and spicy section - I like hot and spicy. I went to the grocery store to get all the ingredients (well, three grocery stores, with my hubby, on our anniversary - that's what an anniversary is for a couple with four small children) and came home armed with things I'd never bought before, like gingerroot, sherry, shallots, and fennel. Some of the ingredients were for the soup itself. Others were for the homemade vegetable stock I, for some unknown crazy reason, decided I was also going to make.

My girlfriend (the same one I borrowed the cookbook from) came over and she helped me in the kitchen and with the kids as I started the three and a half hour process. Note, the time on the soup was 35 minutes, but I was making my own vegetable stock!

I threw the varied vegetables in the pot with some water and a little over an hour later I had fresh vegetable stock (the recipe for which is also included in the cookbook) and my house smelled delicious. However, after pouring in approximately $12 in ingredients in that said pot (thank goodness I already had a few ingredients on hand) I ended up with 4 cups of vegetable stock. I was thinking, "just buy that stock next time!" My girlfriend shared with me that you can get these handy little packets with the seasonings for pennies on the dollar to what the actual vegetables cost. I'll just add extra water to one of those and let it simmer a little longer next time, much less work, still the great smell.

Once I had my stock in hand (or pot), I tackled the soup for the week: Corn & Lentil. You, like me, may be thinking, "Corn & Lentil soup is hot and spicy?" But, that's where it was in the cookbook, and, afterall, it has ginger in it.

I changed a couple of things: I added extra lentils and used frozen corn instead of canned corn. I didn't garnish it with scallions and red chilis. And it turned out....okay. I'd give it a B. It had great flavor. A nice blend of seasonings. But, hot it was not. The chilis might have helped, but there were only a few sprigs on top of the soup in the picture. Since I added extra lentils and didn't add extra water, the soup was more stew like.

So, will I make it again? Maybe. It really did have a good flavor. I'm not used to lentils, but they don't have a bad texture. They're not as dry as, say, lima beans or kidney beans. If you like corn, lentils, and ginger, you will definately like this soup. It's fairly healthy (171 calories, 30 carbs, and only 2 grams of fat per serving) and not too hard to make, if you have vegetable stock on hand.