Tag Archives: bake

Homemade Hot Pockets

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Yum! These are worlds better than store bought Hot Pockets:) I made several different combinations for these and they all turned out to be really flavorful, cheesy and satisfying. I made a chicken, broccoli and cheese pocket, a pepperoni, sausage and cheese, and ham and cheddar cheese. Next time I think I’ll use a garlic and herb flavored dough to take the flavor up a few notches. We enjoyed the pizza pockets with what else – pizza sauce, drops of Frank’s Red Hot or green Tobasco. I had to stop myself from eating more of these – cheese and bread in combination are my weakness! The recipe below is really just a rough guideline for making these. They’re pretty fool-proof and don’t require any real measurements. I just made sure that I didn’t over-fill the dough. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Homemade Hot Pockets –

  • 4 ounce balls of pizza dough (*I made 9)
  • cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, Parmesan cheeses – odds and ends are great for these
  • pepperoni, ham, chicken sausage, and shredded chicken breast – cut into small pieces
  • steamed broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes – or whatever leftover cooked veggies you have

Directions –

Take one ball of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface so that the long side is perpendicular to your body. It should have a rectangular shape and be only slightly thicker than paper thin. Add about about 1/4 cup of your filling over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the edges of the dough.

Pull the shorter ends toward each other and then pull the longer ends toward the middle. Seal the roll by pinching this last portion of dough against the roll. Smooth out with your fingers by gently pressing the seam. Place the pocket into onto the prepared baking sheet seam side down. If you’d like a crisper crust you can brush the tops with olive oil or egg wash. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 – 25 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Goat Cheese (aka looks gross, but tastes good)

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Quick Post: I assure you this tastes much better than it looks! I could not get a decent picture of this because it was raining the night I made it, so no natural light! I’m also not fond of my flash mode – blah! I’m a little embarrassed to show the picture because pictures “sell” recipes – but this one has  great flavor and I would make it again. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Goat Cheese –
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray an oven-safe saute pan with olive oil or cooking spray and heat over medium-high.
  2. Using a pairing knife, cut a pocket in each chicken breast, cutting as close as possible to the edges but taking care not to puncture all the way through.
  3. Mix the sun dried tomato pesto and goat cheese together in a small bowl then stuff each chicken breast generously with the mixture. I used toothpicks to secure the opening as much as possible.
  4. Season the tops with salt and pepper. Place top down in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, until nicely seared.
  5. Flip chicken, remove from heat, and pop into the oven for 15 – 18 minutes to finish cooking through. Chicken is done when it reaches 160 degrees (*155 is good because of the carry over cooking*)

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

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Yum! In my opinion, cinnamon and raisins got together so well. My husband doesn’t agree – he hates raisins. I cut this recipe in half just to make sure I don’t over do it with this yummy bread. It smells wonderful while baking and the scent lingered until this morning. My only issue with this bread is that it took so long to rise – at least 4 hours for the first one and almost 2 for the second rise. I was bummed that it didn’t rise quite where I had hoped before baking it off; but I was already staying up past my preferred bed time waiting for it to crest over the top of the pan. I even tried proofing it in my oven in hopes that it would speed up the process, and that took an hour. This recipe doesn’t have much yeast in it for some reason (only one packet worth for two loaves), so it probably didn’t help that I cut the recipe in half. Next time I’ll add a touch more yeast or just be extra careful with the temperatures of the liquids I add. I’m not sure what the culprit was, but the flavor is great and the bread isn’t as dense as I feared it might be. It’s not too sweet and it has a great cinnamon spiciness to it. This is the perfect kind of bread for Fall and I’m sure I will make this one or another recipe similar to it. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
  • 1 heaping cup dark and/or golden raisins
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar, divided
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 110°F
  • 5 1/2 to 6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

Combine and heat the milk and butter (on the stove or in the microwave) until just hot to the touch (about 120°F). Transfer to a large bowl and add the raisins or other fruit, oat flakes, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, dissolve the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar and active dry yeast in the water and let sit until bubbles appear. (If you’re using instant yeast, skip this step; simply add all of the remaining ingredients to the milk mixture once it’s cooled to lukewarm.) When the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add the yeast mixture and mix well. Stir in the unbleached flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes by hand, adding additional flour only as necessary to prevent sticking. You can also do this whole process in the bowl of an electric mixer, kneading the dough for 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat it on all sides, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a cozy place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Knock down the dough, knead briefly on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until nicely browned. Near the end of the baking time, if the loaves are getting dark too quickly, cover them with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny-side up. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Twice Baked Potatoes

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I was inspired to make these while watching The Pioneer Woman’s show on Food Network yesterday. Now, I wouldn’t mind trying her recipe, but I’d rather stay away from all those extra goodies and try to make these a little more healthy for my family. I’m adding broccoli and cooked chicken to mine, while my husband will have lots of cheese, butter and sour cream on his to go along with his rib eye steak tonight. I’m serving mine with a green salad. The kids aren’t fans of mashed or baked potatoes (cause they’re a little weird – I still love them, though) so hopefully the leftovers will heat up nicely for a quick dinner later on this week.
Verdict: These were so tasty and well worth the wait. I have all kinds of add in ideas now that I will have to try soon. My favorite thing about this is the skin on the bottom of the potato. It became crisp almost like a chip because of the olive oil – it was perfect!  Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Twice Baked Potatoes – adapted from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine
  • 4 large Russet Potatoes
  • Olive Oil to coat (*and kosher salt if you’d like)
  • 4 TBSP Butter
  • a splash of half and half
  • Heaping spoon of Sour Cream
  • Paprika to taste
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded – plus more for top
  • 2 cups cooked Broccoli Florets
  • 1 cup cooked chicken
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes well and poke a several holes in the potato with a fork. Coat in olive oil and bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Let cool at least 30 minutes before handling.
2. Slice off top quarter of potato. Scoop out as much of the potato as you can without breaking the skin and place in a bowl.
3. Add the butter, sour cream, half and half, broccoli, chicken, and cheese to the mashed potato, and mash until everything is melted, and smooth. Add the paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Spoon your mashed potato mixture into the potato skin – be really generous here. Sprinkle the tops with extra cheese if desired.
4. Bake for 3o minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melted.  I turned on my broiler for a few minutes after they were finished baking, just to brown the tops a little – keep a close eye on them. Enjoy!

Soft Garlic Knots

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Soup needs bread! 😉 I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients that these knots required, but thankfully my improvisations didn’t ruin these. The dough improver is a necessary ingredient though with all the shaping these required. It prevents the dough from snapping back easily and rolling these out and tying them up would have been a pain with out it. These were fun to shape, but I didn’t roll them out like in the directions. I made sure that all my 16 pieces were at least 1.5 ounces each before shaping so I could make sure that they would all bake evenly. I took each ball and rolled it into about 11 inches (think of Play Doh snakes!) and made the knot, then tucked in the ends per the instructions. I baked off all 16 but only buttered half of them so I could store or freeze the rest. My family enjoyed these and they were a perfect accompaniment to our chicken noodle soup. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Soft Garlic Knots – adapted from King Arthur Flour

Dough:

  • 3 1/4 cups (13 3/4 ounces) Mellow Pastry Blend or 3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) Baker’s Special Dry Milk
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour (*I used a couple TBSP of potato flakes)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 3 tablespoons King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver (optional)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor (*I didn’t use this)
  • 2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) olive oil
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water*

*Add an additional 2 tablespoons water in the winter, or if you live in a very dry climate.

Glaze:

  • 2 to 6 cloves peeled, crushed garlic
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pizza Seasoning or Italian seasoning, optional (*I used parsley flakes)

Directions: 

Dough: Whisk the dry ingredients together to prevent the potato flour from clumping when liquid is added. Stir in the olive oil and water, then mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to form a smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s doubled in bulk.

Shaping: Divide the dough into 16 pieces, and roll each into a rope about 11 inches long; tie each rope into a knot, tucking the loose ends into the center. Place the knots on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes to about an hour, until very puffy looking.

Glaze: Whisk together the melted butter and garlic. Set it aside.

Baking: Bake the knots in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be set, but only very lightly browned. Remove the knots from the oven, and brush or drizzle them with the garlic butter. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning, if desired. Eat the knots warm. Yield: 16 garlic knots.

Kid Friendly Dinner – Baked Chicken Strips

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This is a perfect meal for our busy Wednesday nights and the kids love foods like these, and I doubled the recipe so we would have plenty of leftovers. I used three chicken breasts that were 9 ounces each, which I pounded and cut into roughly 3 ounce strips. You could buy chicken tenders, but those are so expensive. The other day my buttermilk expired so I substituted by taking one cup of milk and adding one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. It curdles and thickens really quickly – it’s pretty cool how it looks so much like the real thing. I’ll keep this in mind if I don’t feel like spending the extra money for the buttermilk later.

The kids loved these and my daughter even said she’d eat these for breakfast – I’m pretty sure she meant she’d eat the leftovers. Hubby M reminded me “Well, there are Corn Flakes on them.” 😉 The faux buttermilk tenderized the chicken so well we could cut the meat with a fork – no knife necessary! Next time I’ll season the crumbs and maybe try some other seasonings in the marinade. Hot sauce in the buttermilk would be a good addition, but Little Girl wouldn’t be too happy if I did that. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Baked Chicken Strips – adapted from Simple Bites

  • 1 lb chicken tenders
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (* I substituted 1 cup milk + 1 TBSP lemon juice)
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 cup corn flakes, crushed into fine crumbs
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • salt & pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix buttermilk, salt, pepper and paprika. Add in fillets and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Mix corn flakes and panko together on a plate, season with salt & pepper.
4. Place one or two pieces of chicken at a time on plate, thoroughly coating each piece in crumbs.
5. For best results, bake on a greased metal cooling rack set atop a baking sheet. This allows the hot air to crisp all sides of the strips, instead of just one side. If you cannot get this set up, simply spray a baking sheet with baking spray and place strips directly on sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. (*Mine were finished in 20 minutes because I didn’t use chicken tenders*)

Slightly-Less-Bad-For-You-Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I recently bought some whole wheat pastry flour because I wanted to try some healthier baked goods without using regular wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour has less protein than traditional whole wheat flour so it’s well suited for cookies, cakes, quick breads and pancakes. Using this will result in a more tender and fluffy product. I’m wondering if my family will notice and objectionable difference than my usual AP flour and butter cookies.

Verdict: The kids and I even enjoyed the subtle coconut flavor or the raw cookie dough. These smell faintly of the coconut oil and taste a little like it too. These are pretty tasty, not too sweet and not too wheaty. The wheat pastry flour is slightly nutty and chewy but not unpleasant in our opinion at all. Even my health-food-hating husband liked the flavor of these and was surprised at how good they are – not bad at all for an unconventional chocolate chip cookie. Score one more for mom! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie – adapted from Stedded

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together coconut oil and sugar, then beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. If dough is looking too runny, add a little more flour until it resembles standard cookie dough.
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake approximately 10 minutes. They spread a lot, so be careful to not put the cookies too close together on the pan.

Quinoa and Veggie Egg Bake

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This is so good and I’m glad I found another use for my cooked quinoa. It’s a simple dish and a great way to clean out your fridge of all the little bits and pieces that would otherwise go to waste. Baked egg dishes are so easy and versatile and this one is a great example of that. The quinoa adds a pleasing texture and flavor to this and ups the protein and fiber content of this tasty breakfast. I will make these again, and again. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Quinoa and Veggie Egg Bake – adapted from Edible Perspective
    • 5 TBSP cup cooked quinoa
    • 1/8t salt
    • black pepper
    • 1 egg + 1 egg white
    • baby spinach, chopped
    • 2 pieces roasted portobello caps (*leftover from this)
    • 4 grape tomatoes, quartered
    • 1 or 2 mini bell peppers, chopped fine
    • crumbled feta (optional, but yummy)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400* and lightly butter an 8 ounce ramekin. In a small bowl, whisk your egg and egg white. Mix in quinoa. Stir in salt, pepper, spinach, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes until just combined. Pour into your ramekin and bake, uncovered for 20 – 25 minutes or until set. Serve with fresh fruit, enjoy!

Light Wheat Bread

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Quick Post: I’m always on the lookout for new sandwich breads and have experimented with several. I’m not searching for the “perfect” loaf, I just have fun trying new ones. This bread is slightly wheaty with a nice chewy crust and dense crumb. I used a different technique (business letter fold) to form this loaf and I think that’s why it’s so tall, but my husband appreciated that for his sandwich today. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Light Wheat Bread – adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

  • 2 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
  • 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz.) white whole-wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (.75 oz.) raw sugar or honey
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (.38 oz.) salt
  • 3 tablespoons (1 oz.) powdered milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (.17 oz.) instant yeast
  • 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) water, at room temperature

1. Stir together the high-gluten flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar (if using), salt, powdered milk, and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the shortening, honey (if using), and water. Stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients form a ball. If there is still flour in the bottom of the bowl, dribble in additional water. The dough should feel soft and supple. It is better for it to be a little too soft that to be too stiff and tough.

2. Sprinkle high-gluten or whole-wheat flour on the counter, and transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more flour if needed to make a firm, supple dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky. Kneading should take about 10 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The dough should pass the windowpane test and registers 77 to 81 degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and press it by hand into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 8 to 10 inches long. Form it into a loaf by working from the short side of the dough, rolling up the length of the dough one section at a time, pinching the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. It will spread wider as you roll it. Pinch the final seam closed with the back edge of your hand or with your thumbs. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch bread pan; the ends of the loaf should touch the ends of the pan to ensure an even rise. Mist the top with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

5. Proof at room temperature for approximately 60 to 90 minutes (as in, original recipe says 90 minutes, I walked into the kitchen at 60 and said “whoa!” as it had almost risen too much; clearly final rising times vary), or until the dough crests above the lip of the pan.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

7. Place the bread pan on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the oven. The finished loaf should register 190 degrees F in the center, be golden brown on the top and the sides, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

8. When the bread is finished baking, remove it immediately from the loaf pan and cool it on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours

Citrus Salmon

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Quick Post: Coho salmon was on sale at Publix so I had to pick some up. Wild salmon is a healthy treat for us – all except my daughter – she has an aversion to fish (she’s my picky eater). I baked the salmon in foil again – it is a fool proof method. Maybe one day I’ll try something new, but when it comes to using an expensive food like this, I go with what I am most comfortable with. This time I used orange and lemon slices to season my fish along with some cilantro that I had leftover from making this to give it an herby kick. We enjoyed this with this garlic rice pilaf and a green salad. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Citrus Salmon –

  • 1 – 6 ounce piece of Coho salmon
  • 2 slices lemon
  • 2 slices orange
  • cilantro leaves
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ready a piece of foil on a baking sheet.
2. Place the salmon on the foil, season with salt and pepper and lay the citrus slices across the top of the fish. Place dots of butter on top and lay the cilantro leaves over all. Gather the sides of the foil to create a package – don’t seal too tightly or you may tear the foil. Place on top of a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes (depending on the size and thickness).