French Bread

I have been using this recipe for a few months now, and just doing it in bread pans instead of on a cookie sheet. It's really simple and tastes WONDERFUL.

5 c. hot water
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 T. salt
5-6 c. flour
4 T. yeast 5-6 c. additional flour

Add sugar, oil, and salt to hot water. Add 5-6 c. flour. Add 4 T. yeast on top of flour. Mix well in mixer with kneading hook about 10 minutes. Let rest 5-10 min. Add 4-6 more cups of flour, continue to knead adding flour a little at a time. Knead 5-10 minutes.
Form into loaves (I usually make 4 regular sized loaves with this recipe). Set the timer for 15 minutes, then come back and turn on the oven to 400. Then set the timer for 15 minutes again, and they should be ready to go in the oven! After you put them in the oven, turn down the oven to 350, and bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

This recipe is one of the benefits of being married to a Knapp. I have inherited this recipe and LOVE it. It's super yummy. Dad really likes it, of course, because it's got a fruity taste. Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

Crust
1 c. butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour

Cream butter and powdered sugar together. Add salt and flour and mix well. Pat into a 9" x 13" greased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Filling
4 eggs, beaten slightly
2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. flour
1/4 can lemon juice (I don't really know how much this is...I just squirt some in!)
Rind of one lemon, grated

Mix filling ingredients together and pour over hot crust. Bake at 350 20-25 minutes. When done, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut when cool.

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

So I've never had stuffed peppers before. They always seemed too much work or something, which is completely ridiculous, cuz they are not harder to make than any other dinner. I love main dishes that include a serving of veggies, cuz I struggle getting all my veggie servings, and stuffed peppers is great way to do that! This is the first stuffed peppers recipe I tried, and I loved it. I will probably be trying more!

Ingredients:
-Olive oil (to brush peppers--I don't really know what brushing the peppers does, but I did it cuz the recipe said too. I'm sure there's a purpose....)
-1/2 lb ground beef
-1/2 an onion, chopped
-1 heaping Tbsp taco seasoning
-2 cups cooked rice
-3-4 bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
-1/2 can of whole kernel corn, or frozen corn
-Shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush peppers with oil and bake for 15-20 min. Let cool so you can handle them.

Cook beef, then mix in the taco seasoning and onion. Combine the meat mixture in a bowl with the corn (if using frozen corn, thaw it first) and rice. (The original recipe also calls for salsa to be mixed in, which sounds yummy, but I actually liked it better without the salsa.)

Pack the mixture into the bell peppers. Bake for 15-20 min, adding shredded cheese in the last 5 minutes to melt it. Serve with sour cream and cilantro, or whatever suits your fancy!

Crescent Rolls dough for Pizza Pockets

Geran LOVES homemade pizza pocket things (which really aren't pizza-y at all actually, but that's what we call them) and I've been trying to find a dough recipe that wasn't so thick and bread-ish. We wanted one flakier and more like a pastry. So this recipe is the one I'm most satisfied with. It's probably good to make the actual crescents from it, too, but I haven't tried yet. I'll include instructions for both:

• 2 (4 1/2 teaspoon) packages dry yeast
• 3/4 cup water (100-110 degrees F)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup shortening, cubed
• 1/3 cup butter, cubed
• 4 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted (for the tops of crescents) 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 tbsp of the sugar in the warm water. Let sit until foamy (10 minutes). 

In a separate bowl, combine remaining sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Using the paddle attachment, once yeast is foamy, stir in beaten eggs followed by shortening and butter. Next, add flour mixture using the dough hook. Turn out onto floured surface and slowly add the last cup of flour, kneading to achieve a smooth, elastic consistency.

Let rise in a warm place (85 degrees F) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. I accidentally kinda forgot about the dough rising, and left it for like 3 hours, but it turned out just fine. It wasn't over-risen, so maybe it's good I forgot, though.....

At this point, I rolled it out and cut it into rectangles for the pizza pockets. To make crescents, continue reading:

When done rising, divide in half, rolling each half into a 12-inch circle 1/4 inch thick. Spread with the soft butter and cut each circle into 16 wedges. Roll up each wedge beginning at the largest end and place, point side down, on a greased baking sheet. Curve to form crescents. Cover and let rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.

Bake both the pizza pockets or crescents at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. (Brush the crescents with butter when done for extra yumminess!)

The perfect cold and rainy Sunday snack

Today was drizzly and chilly outside, and after church we always have a snack. Usually it's cold cereal to make my life easier, but today I had banana bread on hand and my toes were cold. So I whipped up some cocoa on the stove to go with the banana bread. It was perfect. So yummy. Delicious. So I had to share.

First, this banana bread is really good. Really good. (Even one of our missionaries, Elder Nester, told Lance that they had been getting a lot of banana bread lately and that MINE was the best. Woot woot!) And to boot, it's really hard to mess up. I've made it with several variations: nuts and chocolate chips, margarine, shortening, butter, egg replacer, whole wheat and all-purpose flour and it has been great every time. And I don't always melt the butter. And sometimes I just dump it all in together. So moist! Should we just get on with it already? Ok:

Whole Wheat Banana Bread (I got this from my friend, Annah Clark, who got this from the Penzy's Magazine)
1/2 c butter or marg
1 c sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed (1 c)
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c whole wheat
1/2 c hot water
1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Melt butter and blend in sugar. Mix in eggs and bananas until smooth. sift both flours with salt, cinnamon, baking soda. Add dry ingredients alternately with hot water. Stir in chopped nuts. Turn into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake @325 for 1 hr, 10 mins (check at 45 mins.)
Me again: depending if I used butter or shortening, the dough is runnier or thicker. If it's runnier, I divide this into two loafs and if it's thicker I stick with one. (I just like to cut down on the baking time, sometimes....)

And now the cocoa: Now that there's a lot of us, it's so easy to just make cocoa on the stove. And if we are making some for Chad, this is really easy to make dairy free by using rice milk. And, I can control how much sugar or splenda I put in it, which is always a plus.
As soon as I drunk this, I was reminded of camping out with David and Cristy's family and drinking hot cocoa and Tang with our breakfast during those cool mornings. That was so fun!

Favorite Hot Cocoa (from the Hershey's cocoa box)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
dash salt
1/3 c hot water
4 c milk
3/4 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in water. Cook and stir over med heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 mins. Stir in milk and heat. Do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Ok, does anyone have the problem of turning the heat too high all the time? I do. I have a rule: only med heat unless I"m boiling water. I didn't follow the cocoa directions either, I just kept it on med heat and stirred until it was heated through. It was yummy. And perfect.

Happy Sabbath!
Rosey

Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cups 

Filling

Mix together:

2 c. peanut butter

2 cubes butter, softened (margarine works, though)

1 lb. powdered sugar

Roll this mixture into little balls and flatten them slightly.

Melt milk or dark chocolate. (In the West, we just bought bulk chocolate from Winco, but we haven’t found it here so we just use chocolate chips. Not quite the same, still yummy). Do not use metal utensils on the chocolate! It disintegrates into a grainy lump. Plastic or wood.

Line a cookie sheet with small baking cups. Coat cup with chocolate. You can brush this on, but I usually just put a little spoonful in because I’m lazy and less aesthetic than I should be.  Place a PB ball in each cup, coat with chocolate. Let them set up in a cool place (not necessarily a fridge unless you must). Enjoy! And share: people will know if you don’t! 

Kim Chee

1 head Napa cabbage, about 1-1/2 pounds

¼ c. kosher salt

½ c. rice vinegar

1 t. sugar

2T. hot chili paste (recommended: Srirachi Hot Chili Paste)

1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 scallions, finely sliced

Directions:

Remove outer leaves from cabbage. Cut cabbage in quarters and remove the tough inner core. Slice across sections into ½-inch slices. Put into a colander, add salt, and mix well. Place over a bowl and let drain, covered, until wilted, about 2 hours.

In a large bowl combine the vinegar and sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the chili paste, ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir. Rinse the salt off the cabbage with a couple of changes of water. Dry well and add to the vinegar mixture; stir well to combine. Put into a sterilized glass jar and pack the cabbage down; add enough water to cover. Close the jar and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This is spicy and gets spicier the longer it sits-add or subtract chili paste to your taste.

Pool Kogi

1 ½ T. sesame seeds

¼ c. chopped green onions

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. salt and pepper

1 T. sesame oil

1/3 c. soy sauce

¼ c. water

1 T. sugar

1-2 lb. beef or pork, sliced thin

Opt: 1 T. each

Grated carrots, turnips, cabbage

Directions: Parch sesame seeds till brown. Combine all ingredients. Marinate several hours. Fry or bake meat. Serve over hot rice.

Fried Rice

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Fauxtisserie Chicken + Chicken stock

Ok, after texting Kathy about chicken, I realized I need to share one of my yummy, frugal recipes with you. Check out this link from OurBestBites.com:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/05/rotisserie-chicken/

If whole fryers go on sale, I usually cook the whole thing in my crock pot and serve with mashed potatoes and veggies, then strip the rest of the meat to freeze. PLEASE do NOT throw out those bones! I usually have a ziploc bag in my freezer and any time I have cut up onions, celery or carrots, I throw the tops/onion skins in the freezer baggie. Or chicken bones. Or lemon peels. Once I have enough bones and veggies in there, I use this recipe from Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love:

Roasted Chicken Stock (makes 3 quarts)
1 4-5lb roasted chicken, homemade or store-bought
2 med sized onions, cut in half, skins on
4 med carrots, quartered
6 pieces of celery, tops on, cut in quarters
1/2 bunch parsle, rinsed
3 garlic cloves, skin on, smashed
1 T salt
4-5 black peppercorns
4 slices fresh lemon
3 quarts water

In a large stock pot, combine ingredients and add 3 quarts of water. On high heat, bring soup to a boil; then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour.
Pour through a colander into a large pot or pitcher to serparate the broth from bones and veggies. Discard bones and veggies. You are left with yummy chicken stock.

Ok, me here again. This recipe is very forgiving, but I have found I like it most with lots of celery. And I've used thyme and rosemary in it before and it was yummy. I usually put a quart jar in the fridge to use for everyday and freeze 15 oz baggies of it in the freezer for soups.

If you do not use stock on a regular basis, prepare to be amazed at how this will change your dishes. You can steam veggies in the microwave with it, make a yummy roux for soup. Replace any water in recipes with stock and your food will take on a whole new richness. And that's what makes this recipe so awesome--you're using stuff you were just going to throw away, so you can't get much cheaper than that. And I know the cans are only .50, but hey, that's a few more quarters in your grocery budget!

Oh, and this makes your house smell really good. Like you are one amazing cook or something...

Mmmm

Can I just say I love popcorn? Has anyone tried to do it in a paper bag in their microwave? I'm thinking I might have to try it...

Asain BBQ Chicken

From Our Best Bites

Asian BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Optional: garnish with sliced green onions

Rosey here. Here's the deal. Chicken thighs or leg quarters frequently go on sale for 69 cents or less a pound here. (Once I even found it for .39/lb! WO!) That makes this meal awesomely cheap and supery dupery good. When I see chicken on sale, you can bet you find this on my menu. As soon as I buy it, I dump it in a plastic gallon bag, lime rinds, garlic cloves and all, and shove it in the freezer. (Yes, shove, because that's the relationship I have with my tiny freezer.) Then, the morning of the day I want to make it, I pull it out and it marinates while it thaws. Usually I just bake it in the oven for 45 mins until juices run clear. It's a hit. Both twins ate two thighs a piece last time and that's a ton of food for them. Enjoy!

Classic Shepherd's Pie

From the kitchen of LaRae Longmore:

1 lb hamburger

1/2 onion

seasonings of your choice

Combine and cook together. Then, dump in a 9x13 pan and add:

1 can tomato soup

1 can beans, drained

Top with mashed potatoes (Enough to feed six. I often make this after I have leftover mashed potatoes to save me a step). You can either have little mounds or smooth them out. Sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese. Bake in oven 350 for 1/2 hour or until cheese is bubbly and potatoes are crisp on edges. Tonight I topped it with green onions. This is a family favorite!

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream

Wo--you have got to seriously check this out! I was super excited to find this (actually, Erin found it for me) and have a new idea of something dairy free for Chad. It was yummy.

http://nuttykitchen.com/2010/06/01/coconut-whipped-cream/

Basically, you refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight. Then, scoop out the firm milk product. (My whole can was cream). Whip it and add vanilla and sugar. Yum!

English Muffins

• These actually look like the real thing, and they are yummy!
  

Chocolate Granola Bars

Chocolate Granola Bars

Here’s what you need:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup local honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup oats (not quick oats)
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Mini work best, but it doesn’t really matter.)

What to do:

1. Melt the butter, peanut butter and honey in a pot over medium to low heat, stirring constantly. Turn off the burner when melted.

2. Pour in the cup of oats and the wheat germ. Stir til combined.

3. Wait til it cools and stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. Or, if you’re impatient with things like this, like I am, go ahead and dump it all right in. The result will be a more uniform chocolate taste.

4. Pour into foil-lined 8 X 8 pan and stick in the fridge.

5. Once cooled, flip out (the bars….not you) onto cutting board and cut to the size you like.

I pulled this from a website and they look really good!

-Tressia

Ham and Egg Cups

Tuna Salad

Ginger Spice Cookies

Honey Butter

Foolproof Rib Roast

Mango Salsa

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Pumpkin Pancakes

Apple Butter

Chewy Caramel Corn

Crispy Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Zucchini Alfredo

Sugar Cookie Truffles

Easy Breadsticks

Welcome

Well, here it is! The soon-to-be-famous recipe blog, brought to you by the Cole sisters! Let's get a-posting, gals! :)