Tag Archives: food

French Bread

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Maybe I enjoy making things more difficult, or it may just be the fact that I love making as much from scratch as possible. I enjoy learning new techniques as well as avoiding buying more over-priced foods from Publix, (the money saving makes it even more rewarding for me). I needed to make these for meatball sandwiches, so hopefully they’ll hold up well to the sauce, cheese and of course – the meatballs. This dough was hard to work with because it was so sticky.
Verdict: These were really good with a nice tight crumb so they held up well to the meatball subs we used these for. They have a nice chewy crust too – overall a great choice for future sandwiches. Before adding the meatballs, I hollowed out the bread to make room for easier handling and eating. All the bread guts went into a freezer bag to be used for bread crumbs – waste not, want not! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
French Bread – adapted from The Sisters’ Cafe
  • 2 ¼ c. warm water
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp yeast
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 5 ½ -6 cups flour-stirred before measured

First dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this proof—or sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and beat well (At this point I switch to my dough/kneading attachment on my mixer) Add in 2 1/2 -3 more cups of flour. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too sticky. Knead for a few minutes. Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes and then stir it down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and then allow to rest another 10 minutes. Repeat for a total of 5 times. Then turn dough onto a floured surface and knead it 2 or 3 times to coat with flour. Divide into 2 equal parts. Roll each part into a 9×13 rectangle. Roll dough up, starting from long edge of loaf to seal. Arrange seam side down on large baking sheet that’s been sprinkled with corn meal, allowing room for both loaves. Repeat with second part of dough. With a sharp knife, cut 3 gashes at an angle on the top of each. Cover lightly; allow to rise 30 minutes. Brush entire surface with egg wash (one egg beaten slightly with 1 Tbsp of water). If desired, sprinkle with sesame seads. Bake for 30 minutes at 375. Cool on racks

Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Quick Post: I love balsamic vinaigrette! This one is full of flavor and it’s not too tangy because the sweetness of the honey mellows out the vinegar. This couldn’t be easier and I used one of my favorite kitchen tools to knock this out. Using the stick blender quickly made this creamy and homogenized mixture. I will make this again as soon as this batch runs out, but thankfully I doubled it to fill my 8 ounce Ball jar perfectly. It’s so good! I’m pretty happy that I don’t have to waste money on store bought dressings that are full of junk – this is a dressing I can feel good about using. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Balsamic Vinaigrette – adapted from Jan’s Sushi Bar

  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. If you have a stick blender, use it to blitz all these ingredients together. If not, whisk all ingredients together, pour into a glass, sealable container and place in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to marry. Enjoy over your favorite salad greens 🙂

Orange Almond Coconut Granola

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I’ve never made granola before, but I love the stuff. It’s perfect on top of yogurt, an on the go snack or a hearty breakfast. Most store bought brands have lots of sugar, salt, preservatives and fat…no thanks! This one is great because it’s all natural, easy to make and it keeps well in the fridge or up to a week in an airtight container. While this was baking, the most wonderful mix of orange and honey came wafting out the oven!  I can’t wait to try this 🙂

Verdict: So addicting! The orange zest gives this an aroma and bright, fresh flavor that I have never had in granola before. It was the perfect pre-workout breakfast. Bottom line – I will make this again and again! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Orange Almond Coconut Granola – adapted from Two Blue Lemons

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 cups “Old Fashioned” rolled oats (not the quick kind)
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 1/3 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Zest of one orange
  • pinch of kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/3 cup dried fruit of your choice – I used raisins because that’s what I had on hand*
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients and set aside. (Oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon, zest, salt.)
3. In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients. (Honey, molasses, vanilla, oil.)
4. Pour the honey-molasses mixture over the oats and spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 25 minutes, tossing once in the middle. (Don’t let it get too brown, you want it to still be a little chewy.)
6. Out of the oven, toss in your dried fruit. Makes about 5 cups.

Meatball Sandwiches

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I haven’t made meatball subs since December, and that recipe was really good. I do enjoy trying new recipes, and M mentioned that he’d like the meatballs to be smaller to make the subs easier to eat and less messy. These are baked in a mini muffin tin, so they’ll all be nice and uniform in size. The sauce couldn’t be easier – I basically ignored it for two hours and it just reduced down into a rich marinara. Be sure to keep the heat at low in case you’re anything like me and completely forget it for about 40 minutes! I went next door to share some granola with my neighbor and ended up talking for quite some time 😉

Verdict: The sauce was great but the meatballs were lacking in flavor. The meatballs I made for the subs back in December were much more flavorful. These can be tweaked more to suit our tastes, but what made me want to try these in the first place was that they are baked.

Meatball Subs – adapted from CookEatLove
Basic Tomato Sauce:
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil leaves
  • 3-6 cloves garlic roasted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • drizzle with olive oil, 5 tbs
  • finally, just before serving add 2 tbs of butter to bring layers of flavor to the sauce.
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add crushed tomatoes and raw quarted onions (big chunks). Add  basil, garlic, salt and pepper. When the garlic is done roasting add this as well.  Let the sauce come to a boil, lower heat to low and stir occasionally until desired thickness. Drizzle with olive oil part way through the simmering to taste (I usually simmer for a couple of hours).  Remove the big chunks of onion and just before serving add the butter.
Meatballs: (makes 30)
  • 1.25 pounds ground lean beef (roughly, does not have to be exact, just about those combinations)
  • 1 pound ground pork *see above note
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
  • 1  tablespoons chopped basil
  • 1/2 clove of minced garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used hamburger buns toasted in the oven then grated in the food processor)
  • lukewarm water just to moisten a little more

*bread crumbs for rolling the meatballs in before putting them in the muffin tray is optional – if you decide to, just make extra from the ones you used for the meat mixture

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Combine beef,  pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, basil, garlic and salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend ingredients together. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water, a bit at a time until the mixture is quite moist. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds  and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

To Assemble:

*6-8 hoagie buns

*fresh mozzarella cheese

Finally, when you are assembling the meatball subs, use a nice crispier hoagie to absorb some of the tomato sauce.  I dig out a small well in the lower part of the bun to let the saucy meatballs sit. I placed mozzarella cheese in the bottom of the hollowed out rolls, place the meatballs on top and then add sauce and cheese . Sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese and then broil the sub so that the cheese is bubbly.  Finally eat.

Basic Baked Eggs

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I knew I would need a heartier breakfast for gym mornings, and I figure the extra calories and fat are ok as long as I’m working hard. Lately I’ve been getting headaches, probably from not having any caffeine or refined sugar these past few days. Thankfully they’re minor headaches and I expect my body to come to terms with the new eating habits soon.

Protein and complex carbs are always good choices pre workout – so I’ve read anyway. I’m no dietician, but it makes sense to me 😉 I’m using some of the leftover roasted veggies that I made the other day to make this even more balanced and substantial. This recipe is for one serving, but it’s easily doubled, tripled, ect.

Verdict: I worked out for two hours after having this breakfast, and it made a huge difference in my stamina, reaction time and my overall “good” feeling. I wasn’t sluggish or tired and I felt great. After my workouts I eat an apple  and 1/4 cup of raw walnuts to refuel so I’m not starving until lunch time. During the day I have more energy, I’m never starving and my body just works better – I’m loving it! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Baked Eggs –

  • 1 egg
  • butter for greasing the ramekin
  • small amounts of roasted veggies, grape tomatoes, spinach, ham, herbs, cheese – whatever you would like
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease your ramekin.
2. Place a few TBSP of your preferred add ins, crack and egg and drop it on top. Bake in the oven 10 – 15 minutes or until just set – if it looks fully cooked in the oven, it will be over cooked later.
3. Serve with fresh fruit and whole grain toast, enjoy!

Blueberry Morning Smoothie

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Quick Post: The name sounds nice, right? Well, there is a really unexpected ingredient in these, but I was willing to try it. PEAS! I needed to about a half cup more almond milk to thin this out for the blender and more banana to sweeten it up. The toast with real fruit preserves helped to get this one down! 😉 It wasn’t that awful, especially when I think of all the nutrition packed in this. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Blueberry Morning Smoothie – (never home)maker

  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup almond milk (plus more if needed)
  • 1 frozen banana
Directions –
1. Blend all ingredients until combined. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables over Bulgur

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Lunch…I’m not always great at lunch. It’s usually leftovers, sandwiches or salads. This is more work, but I get at least 3 meals out of it. I chopped up some zucchini, summer squash, cremini mushrooms, tossed a handful of baby carrots and grape tomatoes on a baking sheet.  Use whatever veggies you love to roast, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper over all. Bulgur cooks really quickly and by the time all the vegetables were finished roasting I had a really healthy lunch ready to be enjoyed. This was surprisingly good! I knew I would love the roasted vegetables, but the bulgur was cooked in plain ‘ol water with a pinch of kosher salt added. It has a nutty flavor and a meaty texture and keeps you feeling full longer because of all the fiber and protein. I felt full for hours but didn’t feel bloated. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables Over Bulgur –

  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1 small summer squash
  • 5-6 cremini mushrooms
  • handful of grape tomatoes
  • handful of baby carrots
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup of bulgur wheat, cooked to package directions
  • handful of baby spinach
  • zest of one lemon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Clean and prepare your vegetables – slice zucchini and summer squash into coins, slice cremini mushrooms in half and discard stems. Toss baby carrots with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes. Take the pan out, toss the carrots and add seasoned squash and mushrooms to the baking sheet, roast for another 10-15 minutes. Toss in the grape tomatoes during the last 5 minutes. Serve 1 cup of roasted veggies over one cooked up of bulgur tossed with baby spinach leaves for good measure, and sprinkle lemon zest over top of all. Enjoy!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

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When it comes to flavors like these, I don’t have to modify anything. The creator of this recipe was spot on with all the amounts, but I cooked mine differently. The flavor was nice on these, but next time I might add a little more spice and a little less brown sugar. Other than that the shrimp were really flavorful. We enjoyed these in a tortilaa with our favorite fillings. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chipotle Lime Shrimp – adapted from Gimme Some Oven
  • 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
  • 1 lime, juice and zest

Method:

1. Mix the chipotle powder, cumin, brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice and cilantro in a bowl and and let marinate for 20 minutes.

2. In a heavy-bottomed skillet, saute the shrimp until completely cooked through – about 2-3 minutes. Once the shrimp are cooked, add the marinade into the pan and reduce slightly. Drizzle over top the shrimp and serve.

Green Monster Smoothie

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I’m going to be brave and hopefully I will enjoy this. I really need to get more vegetables into my diet! When I eat healthfully, I feel so much better inside and out; and I have so much more energy. I slacked off big time these past few months – food is my weakness. But now that school has started again I have a lot more time to get my workouts in and plan for healthier snacks and meals for me.

Verdict: Wow! Not bad at all 🙂 The more frozen banana the better though, and next time I’ll add some strawberries and maybe some blueberries. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Green Monster Smoothie –

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 large handfulls of spinach
  • 1 frozen banana
Blend all ingredients until perfectly smooth. Drink, enjoy, feel healthier! 😉

Brioche Buns

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Yum – hamburgers with caramelized onions, chipotle Gouda, avocado, and tomato…so good. Up until today, I have never caramelized onions before, but it couldn’t be easier. If you have 15 minutes, onion and olive oil – you’re golden! Just be sure to stir them around every once in a while so they brown evenly. My house smells amazing and I am going to have to make these every time we make hamburgers now – for the smell alone! 😉 Oh, and if that wasn’t enough to make these burgers special, I made brioche buns. These are light, fluffy and slightly sweet buns enriched with eggs, butter and sweetened with honey. The dough is pretty sticky but so light and pillow soft. These burgers had so many flavors going on – sweet, salty, savory and spicy. I am so hooked on caramelized onions now, I’m going to have to find more ways to use them. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Brioche Buns  –  adapted from Home Cooking in Montana
  • 2/3 cup warm milk
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 3 TBS honey
  • 2 ex-large eggs, room temp.
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2 cups bread flour(+ more, if needed)
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 TBS unsalted butter, softened
Topping:
  • 1 egg yolk, for brushing( you can mix the yolk with a bit of water, if you like)
Directions:
1. In the bowl of a mixer add the flours(3 cups first), yeast and the salt. Whisk to combine and add the sliced soft butter.
2. In a glass measuring cup, combine milk, warm water, eggs and honey. Whisk to combine and add it all to the dry ingredients.
3. Place a kneading hook and turn on mixer. Mix on low scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the flour. Increase the speed to medium. Knead for 8 minutes…the dough should be tacky and look pretty sticky. If you feel the dough is sticking to the sides too much add 1 TBS of flour at a time until the dough gathers around the hook and slaps around the sides of the bowl. It may still stick a bit to the sides, but not overly. Don’t be tempted to add too much flour or the buns will be dry.~ I probably added another couple of tablespoonfuls of extra flour.
4. Continue kneading for an additional 2 more minutes… for a total of 10 minutes.
5. Scrape the sticky dough that clings to the sides of the mixer bowl and then form all of the dough in a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until at least doubled in bulk and is nice and puffy… 1 to 2 hours.
6. Plop the soft dough unto a floured countertop… sprinkle a bit of flour on top as well. Using a dough scraper, divide dough into 8-10 equal parts. With floured hands form balls and place on lightly oiled parchment-lined baking sheet. Arrange 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheet as they will rise some more.
7. Flatten the balls down a bit( to about 1 1/2-2 inches or so) and brush with egg yolk. Cover loosely( with oiled plastic wrap) and let buns rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours… or until nicely puffed.
8. Pre-heat oven to 400 deg. F with rack in center. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 10-15 minutes(depending on the size of the bread buns…mine took about 11 minutes.)