Grandma Aileen's Whole Wheat Bread

Probably like most grandma recipes, it was hard to get Grandma pinned down to write a recipe since it was all about throwing things in here and there. Seems like everyone has a different recipe for all our favorite foods that she would make. Rosaleen came up with this bread recipe using the measuring cups and spoons that grandma used and I've had sucess with the couple of times that I've made it. Some of us remember her putting a few cups of white flour in her bread too, but it's up to you. This bread is better toasted and all of us grandkids LOVED the Old English cheese spread on top. Peanut butter and jelly/ honey was also a favorite.

Grandma Aileen's Whole Wheat Bread

8-10 c Whole Wheat Flour (I used about 9 cups, and you can sub in a couple of cups of white flour if preferred)

3-3/4 - 4 c Water (more water if you use all WW flour)

2 T Salt

2 T Yeast

Put butter on hands to knead. Let rise in bowl for 1 hr. Knead and roll dough into pans and let rise for 1-2 more hours.

Bake for an hour at 375.

Makes 2 loaves

water, yeast, and salt

add flour and knead with butter on your hands

letting the dough rise

grease your pans

let raise

Bake at 375 for an hour

This is how us kids usually ate grandma's bread.

Toasted and spread with Old English cheese! ☺

Egg Rolls

I LOVE egg rolls, but have been very resistant to actually making them. ☺ My sister makes them quite a bit and then Sarah over at Frontier Kitchen posted a recipe for chicken egg rolls and so I finally decided to give it a shot.

So this recipe is kind of mix between Sarah's and what my sister Sharon does.

Egg Rolls

3-4 cups cabbage, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1-2 cups zuchinni, shredded (I subbed chopped broccoli this time)

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

2-3 T minced garlic (I like a lot, so ovbiously you could use less)

soy sauce (I use the low sodium soy sauce and I dump in to taste, 2-4 T)

1-2 eggs

1 package egg roll wrappers

Mix your chopped veggies, garlic, egg(s), and soy sauce in a bowl. Place a spoonful of filling on a wrap, roll up and fry or bake.

Bake at 375-400 for about 20 minutes, or until brown.

Cary likes his filling chunkier than this, but I was feeling lazy and used the food proccessor to chop things up.

with water on your finger, dap the top before rolling or folding over so that it "glues" the wrap together.

Obviously frying in oil tastes the best!

If you are wanting to cut down on calories however, these are good baked too.

Brush some oil over the top and bake at 375-400 for about 20 minutes or until brown.

I have NOTHING good to say about my oven, so I'll just say that I'm sure your oven will cook your egg rolls to look better than mine look.

My sister bakes hers, and they always look and taste really good! ☺

I like to dip my egg rolls into soy sauce, but I think most people like to dip in a sweet and sour sauce.

Marshmallow Fondant

I'm starting to notice a pattern in the short time I've had this blog.

I really don't try new recipes (or cook much) through the months of April-June.

Last year I thought it was because I was about to have a baby, but I sure don't have that excuse this year!

I'll try to be better, but I can't promise anything. ☺

Moving on...

I had never worked with fondant until recently. I've always wanted to use it, but the list of ingredients usually scared me away with things like "glycerin", until I saw this one and thought it was one that could hold my attention long enough to try it.

Let's just say that using this fondant saved my cake (above) in the looks department. I hadn't greased my pan very well so the cake was a disaster.

I didn't take pictures while I was making it, so you'll just have to read the directions carefully. ☺
 

Marshmallow Fondant

1 bag marshmallows

2 T water

1 t vanilla

1 t almond extract

2 lbs powdered sugar

Melt the marshmallows and water. (in the microwave or over the stove)

Mix the melted marshmallows with the vanilla and almond extract in a mixer. (you can use a hand mixer)

Add in the powdered sugar. If you aren't using a powerful mixer, then you will probably have to knead the frosting by hand towards the end after you've added all of the powdered sugar.

Roll out using powdered sugar.

It's best to make this a day before using.

Just pop the fondant in the microwave for a couple seconds when you are ready to use and if it's been sitting out and needs to be more pliable.

Tip: I found that when rolling out for really large cakes (like below) 20+ inches, it was best to smear a layer of Crisco over the top of the counter and then spread the powdered sugar over the top of that before rolling out the frosting.

Use crisco/ shortening for fixing tears and what not. I found having my hands covered in crisco for rolling out the balls or any other hand molding, was very helpful.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

This is an Ina Garten recipe, and I didn't follow it totally since I didn't have all the ingredients and I made a lot less, but it was really good anyway. I also used frozen broccoli, just note that it won't be as crispy as it would be if you use raw broccoli.

Parmesan - Roasted Broccoli

4 to 5 pounds broccoli

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

Garbonzo Bean Meatballs

While watching Biggest Loser the other day, they were talking about making meatballs with ground turkey and mashed garbanzo beans (or chickpeas, same thing) and I was intrigued so I made some. The one thing I wasn't expecting was for the kids to like them, but my very picky eater gobbled down two of them, and Ella liked it too. That's always a nice surprise. ☺

Garbanzo Bean Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)

1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained and mashed

Garlic cloves (I used about 3, but I like garlic!)

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

pinch of red pepper, ground or flakes

Soy sauce, splash

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs, or instant oats (you may need more if it's looking too runny)

Mix and bake @ 400 for 30 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. (It will depend on the size of your meatballs too) ☺

So, not only is it more healthful, it could be a good way to make your meat go farther as well!

Rancher's Eggs

I got this recipe from our health insurance monthly newsletter.

Rancher's Eggs

6- 6 inch torillas (they used corn, I used flour)

1 can black beans, drained and mashed

1 tsp ground cumin

6 large eggs

1/2 cup cheese, grated

6 T fresh salsa

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 6  8 oz custard cups with cooking spray and place on cookie sheet.

Warm up tortillas in the microwave for about 25 seconds or until they are warm and pliable.

Gently press into each cup.

Spray the tops with cooking spray

Mix some cumin in the mashed black beans

Spoon bean mixture into the bottom of tortilla cups dividing evenly.

Crack 1 egg into each cup on top of the beans

Place cookie sheet with egg cups into the oven and back for about 25-30 minutes until the egg whites are set and the yolks soft.

Sprinkle each egg with grated cheese and place back in the oven for an additional minute for the cheese to melt.

Remove eggs from oven and run a table knife around the tortillas and remove from custard cup and onto plates.

Top the eggs with fresh salsa and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

my tortillas were bigger than 6 inches

and I didn't mash my beans. tsk, tsk.

(pretend there is a picture of me spreading grated cheese over cooked egg)

melted cheese over cooked egg

finished product.

Brownies (Alton Brown)

The other day Chandra (my SIL) and I were talking about finding the "right" brownie recipe and she was saying she was on the hunt and trying out different recipes. Well A. that got me thinking about needing to eat a brownie, and B. I realized I hadn't made brownies for some time so I started looking around for a recipe too.

I'm a big fan of Alton Brown, I used to love his cooking show on the Food Network and I'm sad to say that I haven't watched it for quite awhile (like atleast 1-2 years). Sometimes he likes to over complicate things for me, but whatever, so I checked to see if he had a brownie recipe and then made them. This is hands down my favorite brownie recipe and I love that it's simple and traditional.

Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownies

Soft butter, for greasing the pan

Flour, for dusting the buttered pan

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
 
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.


In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.