Honey Whole Wheat Bread

From Beth Hensperger’s The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. This is my favorite wheat bread recipe so far. Now that I’ve recorded it, I can return the book to the library. Whew.

1/3 C water
1/2 C milk
1/4 C honey
1 large egg
1 Tb butter, cut into pieces

2 C bread flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 Tb plus 1 t gluten
2 t salt

2.25 t SAF yeast or 2.75 t bread machine yeast

1) Place all ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.)
2) When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

**I reverse the ratio of white flour to whole wheat flour and set my machine to Whole Wheat versus the Basic Cycle. This bread is delicious.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes

From the Taste of Home Cookbook.

1/2 C plus 2 Tb quick-cooking oats
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tb vegetable oil
1 C buttermilk

1) In a small bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another small bowl, beat the egg, oil and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

2) Pour batter by 1/2 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown.

Green Smoothies

Thanks to this post on Sarah’s blog, I am completely and hopelessly obsessed with green smoothies. I have had a full blenderful every day this week, and most days I have to hold myself back from making another.(Why do I stop myself? I don’t know. They’re totally good for you, so what’s the problem?) I find it nearly impossible to get the recommended amount of fruits and veggies–especially veggies–every day, but these make it easy peasy.

The wonderful thing about smoothies is that you can experiment to your heart’s content with any combination of fruits and greens (the greens are what make the smoothies, um, green). So far I believe the two keys to making green smoothies drinkable are (1) use enough fruit and/or honey to make them sweet and (2) blend the living daylights out of them. I can see where some would think a third key would be to use enough frozen fruit or add enough ice to keep the smoothie cold.

The basic idea:

2-4 cups fresh or frozen fruit (strawberries, bananas, kiwis, peaches, mangoes, pears, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.)
1-2 cups water, depending on what consistency you like
1-2 tablespoons honey

Blend the fruit, water, and honey.

2-4 cups fresh greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.)

Add a handful of greens at a time and blend well between each one.

So far my favorite combination is this:

1 pear (take the stem off and cut into pieces; I didn’t even know pears had a core–it blends well)
2 kiwis (I left the skin on; you can peel them if you like)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon honey
3 stems kale (use just the leafy part, not the hard stem)
3 big handfuls spinach

Jen’s Dough

This wheat dough comes courtesy of Mrs. Jen Hinrichs, who I believe is quite the homemaking queen. The recipe produces a great whole wheat loaf and can be used as a base for other recipes (cinnamon rolls, etc).

1 1/4 C water
3 T honey
2 T soft butter
3 1/2 C fresh ground wheat flour
1 1/2 t salt
2 t yeast

In order listed, add to breadmaker on Dough cycle. Let rise 20-30 minutes in greased loaf pan, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

**I bake the dough in my breadmaker on the Whole Wheat cycle and it turns out great. Last night I added 4 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten, which gave the finished loaf a higher rise and moist texture.

Chicken and Pasta Primavera

Okay, I admit it, I got this recipe off of the cream of mushroom soup can. It has become our latest “go to” recipe for those nights when there’s “nothing” in the house, since the ingredients are mostly pantry items.

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (16-oz.) bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
4 cups cooked spaghetti

MIX soup, milk, cheese, garlic powder and vegetables in saucepan. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min. or until tender-crisp.
ADD chicken and spaghetti and heat through.

Moriah’s Rolls

Folks, meet Moriah, mother of 3, blogger extraordinaire, and kind recipe-sharer. Moriah is the cousin of my dear friend Bryonie (for those of you who have met Bry). Much thanks to Moriah, who shared this delicious bread recipe with me.

1 egg
1 C milk + 3 Tb extra
1/4 C veg oil
1/4 C sugar
1.5 t salt
4 C bread flour
2 t yeast

Place ingredients in breadmaker in order listed; set to Dough cycle. Roll into balls and bake at 350 for 20 minutes (perhaps less!) or until golden. Eat and enjoy the dense, yummy rolls!

That One Dip

I really don’t know what to call this. It’s kind of a dip. It’s kind of a salsa. It’s fresh-tasting and pretty.

1 can (16 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed (actually, it’s better to use fresh tomatoes if they’re available)
1 big handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
2 tablespoons (or so, maybe up to 1/3 cup) red wine vinegar.
1 medium avacado, diced

Mix all ingredients except the avacado together in a large bowl and refrigerate. Add the avacado just before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Freezing your own spinach

In Japan, there are often small farming plots throughout the city, intermixed with houses and businesses.  Most of them are rice paddies, but in our neighborhood, there are quite a few produce fields.  About five blocks away is a really nice, little shed that holds the produce of that particular plot of land — we’ve found such fresh treasures as “mikans” (small orange-like fruit that is much sweeter and easier to peel), green onions, broccoli, leeks, watercress, yellow onions, and spinach, all for 100yen per bulging package (about $1).  I decided to take advantage of the cheapness and freeze some spinach for dips or soups later on.  Here’s what I found out about it..

What you’ll need:
Spinach (not of the pre-packaged variety)
Pot of boiling water
Tongs
Strainer
Paper towels
Freezer bag

1. Wash the spinach — cut/tear them as you like, for whatever you’re planning on using them for after they’re frozen.  You can also leave them as they are.
2.  Boil a large pot of water.
3.  “Blanch” the spinach by placing in the water and using tongs to submerge the leaves.  You should be able to get one whole package of spinach in one pot of water.  It shrinks A LOT when this is done.  Blanch for about 1-2 mins.
4.  Use the tongs to take the spinach out of the water and into strainer (or just pour into strainer if you aren’t going to use the water anymore).  Run cold water over the spinach to cool it — THIS IS IMPORTANT.  I don’t know why, but the spinach needs to be cooled.
5.  Once it’s drained, place the blanched spinach on a paper towel and pat some more moisture off of it.
6.  Place in a freezer bag and freeze.  Take out and thaw to make something like spinach dip or Spinach & Spaghetti.

Parent and Child in a Bowl

..or otherwise known as “Oyakodon” in Japanese. This is one of my favorite meals, and very quick to make — in fact, it was the first meal I cooked in our new home in Shizuoka! All of this should be available at a local Asian market or perhaps larger grocery stores (HyVee and the like).

Fish stock (a must-have in most Japanese dishes)
Mirin (sweet cooking sake)
Shoyu (soy sauce)
Sake (regular cooking sake)
1 medium onion
2-3 chicken breasts (parent)
3 eggs (child)
Rice (cooked)

**Note: the skillet you use for this dish must have a lid. If you don’t own a skillet with a lid, borrow one from a pot — I’m certain it won’t mind. :)

1. Thinly slice the onions and cube the chicken. Break the eggs into a bowl, beat, and set aside.
2. Sauce: not an exact science, and it will cook away as you simmer the meat, so don’t worry about it. Stir together some stock and water. Add about two parts soy sauce to the mirin and sake. Sip — does it taste a little fishy? It should.. but you can add more water/shoyu/whatever you like to get the taste you desire.
3. In a skillet, add chicken, onions, and sauce — bring to a slight boil, then lower the temp and simmer away about 1/2 to 2/3 of the liquid.. AND make sure the chicken is cooked through.
4. Take the beaten eggs and pour around the WHOLE SKILLET (I often forget this and just pour it into the middle — bad idea, but can be salvaged). The idea is to have egg over the top of the entire mixture. Cover the skillet with the lid of your choice and leave on the heat till the egg is cooked.

Serve over white rice.. and while you enjoy, ponder which came first: chicken or egg?

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

A return to cooking, to hosting community dinner, and to blogging on Needs More Butter! This recipe is easy, easy, easy (hence why I thought I could swing it for community dinner). The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and I made only the slightest modifications (added more chicken, green pepper, and onions; nixed pimentos). Go to her site to see pretty pictures.

3 cups cooked chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 finely diced green pepper
1 finely diced onion

3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make three cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.)