Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. I am very lucky to have such a caring and loving Dad, and even if I am 23 and married, I will always be his little girl! Dad came down this week-end to spend the week-end with me, Sara, Matt, and Neal. It was nice to spend some time together, hang out, shop, and eat some great food. In honor of Father's Day I looked though the pictures on my laptop for a few of me and Dad, while the true childhood pictures were before the digital ages I have a few to share.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Amish Friendship Bread
Now I will start off with a warning, this "friendship" bread can cost you friends if you aren't careful. We have all been offered one of these starters before and the first time you make it is great. You have yummy bread to enjoy, and it wasn't that hard. Even though you did have to feed and mush the bag for 10 days leading up to your yummy treat. But the real problem is trying to give out all these starters as each time you make bread you end up with 4 starters.
Now being the planner that I am, as soon as my boss gave me one of these bags I looked for answers on Google (I mean how I did live before Google??). Well the answer to keeping my friends happy was simple, just freeze the starters that you get and defrost when you want to make more bread. You just bake the bread once it defrosts and no 10 day waiting period is involved. Just be sure that once you are down to one bag in the freezer you start the 10 day process over so you end up with more starters to freeze.
Now you don't have anyone that wants to pawn this starter off onto you? Well although the starter is an Amish secret, it has somehow found its way on-line. So you can always just make your own starter. I have never made my own starter as my boss gave me starter. You aren't supposed to use any metal when making this so break out the glass bowels and wooden spoons (read some tips below for the baking process). But here is a recipe to make things simple:
The starter:
1 pk. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. warm milk
To make the original starter: Soften the active dry yeast with 1/4 c. of warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon, not metal. In a non-metal bowl, combine 1 c. flour with 1 c. sugar. Slowly stir in the 1c. of warm milk and the dissolved yeast. Cover loosely and let stand. Mixture will become bubbly.
This is considered day 1
Now everyone has there starter and in 10 days you will be enjoying some yummy bread.
Day 1-Mush the bag.
Day 2- Mush the bag
Day 3- Mush the bag.
Day 4- Mush the bag.
Day 5- Mush the bag.
Day 6-Add 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk. Mush the bag.
Day 7- Mush the bag.
Day 8- Mush the bag.
Day 9- Mush the bag.
Day 10-Pour the mixture into a non-metal bowl. Mix with a wooden or plastic spoon. Add 1 1/2 c. flour, 1 1/2 c. sugar, and 1 1/2 c. milk. (some say 1 cup of each, so whichever you would rather). Fill 4 gallon Ziploc bags with 1 cup of mixture to pass or freeze.
To the remaining starter in the bowl add:
3 eggs
1 cup of oil (I only used 1/2 cup of oil, and it was still very moist)
½ cup of cold milk
1 cup of sugar (again I cut back)
2 tsp cinnamon (left out since i did banana bread, read tips for directions and ideas)
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding (I used one large, different flavors can be used)
Mix all the ingredients together, separate into two loaf pans and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.
Notes and Tips:
* I used my Kitchenaid to mix the bread with no problem, and even baked on loaf in a metal pan. So I wouldn't worry to much about metal when making the bread.*
*This is a very forgiving mixture. You can forgot to mush, or add things a day late or early with no problem. I baked my bread on day 9, because we were going out of a town on day 10. No harm done!*
* I also did my own thing when adding on day 10, I added a little about 3/4 cup of sugar since I felt it might be to sweet.*
*I made banana bread out of mine instead of the traditional type which turned out great, I used banana cream pudding instead of vanilla, mushed two bananas, and left out cinnamon from the traditional one.*
*Next time I make it I think I am going to do a fake coffee cake, using my mom famous Merck's coffee cake crumb mixture. The plan is to put down some bread mixture, the crumb mixture, more bread, and top it off with the crumb.*
*There are tons of web-sites with different varieties so be creative, one of my favorite that has tons of tips is: My Sister's Kitchen*
Now being the planner that I am, as soon as my boss gave me one of these bags I looked for answers on Google (I mean how I did live before Google??). Well the answer to keeping my friends happy was simple, just freeze the starters that you get and defrost when you want to make more bread. You just bake the bread once it defrosts and no 10 day waiting period is involved. Just be sure that once you are down to one bag in the freezer you start the 10 day process over so you end up with more starters to freeze.
Now you don't have anyone that wants to pawn this starter off onto you? Well although the starter is an Amish secret, it has somehow found its way on-line. So you can always just make your own starter. I have never made my own starter as my boss gave me starter. You aren't supposed to use any metal when making this so break out the glass bowels and wooden spoons (read some tips below for the baking process). But here is a recipe to make things simple:
The starter:
1 pk. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. warm milk
To make the original starter: Soften the active dry yeast with 1/4 c. of warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon, not metal. In a non-metal bowl, combine 1 c. flour with 1 c. sugar. Slowly stir in the 1c. of warm milk and the dissolved yeast. Cover loosely and let stand. Mixture will become bubbly.
This is considered day 1
Now everyone has there starter and in 10 days you will be enjoying some yummy bread.
Day 1-Mush the bag.
Day 2- Mush the bag
Day 3- Mush the bag.
Day 4- Mush the bag.
Day 5- Mush the bag.
Day 6-Add 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk. Mush the bag.
Day 7- Mush the bag.
Day 8- Mush the bag.
Day 9- Mush the bag.
Day 10-Pour the mixture into a non-metal bowl. Mix with a wooden or plastic spoon. Add 1 1/2 c. flour, 1 1/2 c. sugar, and 1 1/2 c. milk. (some say 1 cup of each, so whichever you would rather). Fill 4 gallon Ziploc bags with 1 cup of mixture to pass or freeze.
To the remaining starter in the bowl add:
3 eggs
1 cup of oil (I only used 1/2 cup of oil, and it was still very moist)
½ cup of cold milk
1 cup of sugar (again I cut back)
2 tsp cinnamon (left out since i did banana bread, read tips for directions and ideas)
½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding (I used one large, different flavors can be used)
Mix all the ingredients together, separate into two loaf pans and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.
Notes and Tips:
* I used my Kitchenaid to mix the bread with no problem, and even baked on loaf in a metal pan. So I wouldn't worry to much about metal when making the bread.*
*This is a very forgiving mixture. You can forgot to mush, or add things a day late or early with no problem. I baked my bread on day 9, because we were going out of a town on day 10. No harm done!*
* I also did my own thing when adding on day 10, I added a little about 3/4 cup of sugar since I felt it might be to sweet.*
*I made banana bread out of mine instead of the traditional type which turned out great, I used banana cream pudding instead of vanilla, mushed two bananas, and left out cinnamon from the traditional one.*
*Next time I make it I think I am going to do a fake coffee cake, using my mom famous Merck's coffee cake crumb mixture. The plan is to put down some bread mixture, the crumb mixture, more bread, and top it off with the crumb.*
*There are tons of web-sites with different varieties so be creative, one of my favorite that has tons of tips is: My Sister's Kitchen*
Monday, June 7, 2010
Taco Mac
This has been making it rounds on all the blogs that I read, so some may have seen this one before. It is super easy and is very tasty. While it may not sound like it makes very much, it would easily feed 4 or maybe even 5. We had dinner one night and a few lunches out of it. It re-heats well so it wasn't a problem to get rid of the leftovers. It is similar to the old hamburger helper, only you can control everything that goes into it. I think this one will be cooked many times in our house.
Sometimes I am not the greatest food blogger, as I often don't get a good picture. Which you would think wouldn't be a problem since I LOVE taking pictures. But our kitchen is so dark even in the middle of day it is impossible to get good lighting for a picture, and we normally eat at 7 or after which only complicates things further. Hopefully next time I make it I can get a picture.
Taco Mac from Lauren's Kitchen
1 lb ground beef or turkey ( I used beef, since we had it on hand)
1/2 medium onion chopped
8 oz dry pasta (I used shells, but any type would work)
1 cup reserved pasta water
16 oz jar of salsa
4 tbs. taco seasoning (I just used one packet)
3 oz. cream chesse
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Mexican chesse
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta. Before draining reserve one cup of pasta water.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet, add onion and cook until tender, about 5 min.
Add taco seasoning and salsa, then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream chesse, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Stir until chesses are melted and mixed through.
Simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes, then serve. (you can add more shredded chesse at the end if you want more)
Sometimes I am not the greatest food blogger, as I often don't get a good picture. Which you would think wouldn't be a problem since I LOVE taking pictures. But our kitchen is so dark even in the middle of day it is impossible to get good lighting for a picture, and we normally eat at 7 or after which only complicates things further. Hopefully next time I make it I can get a picture.
Taco Mac from Lauren's Kitchen
1 lb ground beef or turkey ( I used beef, since we had it on hand)
1/2 medium onion chopped
8 oz dry pasta (I used shells, but any type would work)
1 cup reserved pasta water
16 oz jar of salsa
4 tbs. taco seasoning (I just used one packet)
3 oz. cream chesse
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Mexican chesse
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta. Before draining reserve one cup of pasta water.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet, add onion and cook until tender, about 5 min.
Add taco seasoning and salsa, then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream chesse, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Stir until chesses are melted and mixed through.
Simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes, then serve. (you can add more shredded chesse at the end if you want more)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Maymester is Over
So with the close of Maymester, I am greeted with a whole 6 days off of school. I sure do miss summer break, but I guess this is part of being a grown-up. I decided that an overnight trip to the beach was in order, so I got on Priceline and found us a deal for our hotel. I will say that the "name your own price" feature on there web-site has allowed us to go on many week-ends trip. But back to the trip, it was amazing! We did some shopping, ate some local GA shrimp for lunch, and spent hours at the beach. I am normally a little scared of swimming in the ocean as your never know what is swimming near you, but I pushed these thoughts aside and jumped in ! This beach is amazing, you could walk for what seemed like forever before it got deep. I would say we were at least 300 yards out in the ocean and the water was only mid-chest level!! I wish I had pictures of how far out in the ocean we were, but there was no way to take the picture. It was so relaxing to get away for a little bit, and just enjoy each others company. I love going places with Matt, and just getting away to stop and enjoy each others company. Here are a few of the pictures from the trip, I don't have many of beach as I didn't want to leave my camera alone on the beach for so long!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Meatloaf Re-Mix
Meatloaf is one of my husband's favorite meals, but I wanted to change it up a little bit. This had mixed reviews at home (i.e. I loved, and Matt didn't), but I took leftovers to work and everyone that tried it loved it. So I figured even though it might not make an appearance at our house again, I would still share it on here. Just remember it is meatloaf with a little bit of kick, not your grandmother's meatloaf. I made one other change to this so I wouldn't have to heat up the oven, since we are into the warmer weather of south GA. I have 4 ramekins that I love, but don't get to use very often so I broke them out and baked the meatloaf in them. I was worried about the grease but I think using turkey breast help with that concern. It turned out great, and I was able to cook it in the toaster oven!!
Meatloaf Re-Mix
1 lb. ground turkey breast
1/2 med. onion, chopped
2 tbs. olive oil
1 egg
1 packet taco seasoning
1 10oz can of RoTel (drained)
1 cup tortilla chips crushed (I only had 1/2 cup, also used 1/2 cup bread crums)
1 cup shredded Mexican chesse
Taco sauce to brush on top
Preheat oven to 400.
Heat olive oil and saute onions until tender
Mix all ingredients except for taco sauce until well combined.
Spray pan and form loaf. (or divide into ramekins, it filled up 4 ramekins perfectly)
Brush top of meatloaf with taco sauce.
Bake 30-40 min. (took about the same time in the toaster oven)
Meatloaf Re-Mix
1 lb. ground turkey breast
1/2 med. onion, chopped
2 tbs. olive oil
1 egg
1 packet taco seasoning
1 10oz can of RoTel (drained)
1 cup tortilla chips crushed (I only had 1/2 cup, also used 1/2 cup bread crums)
1 cup shredded Mexican chesse
Taco sauce to brush on top
Preheat oven to 400.
Heat olive oil and saute onions until tender
Mix all ingredients except for taco sauce until well combined.
Spray pan and form loaf. (or divide into ramekins, it filled up 4 ramekins perfectly)
Brush top of meatloaf with taco sauce.
Bake 30-40 min. (took about the same time in the toaster oven)
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