Engineer, Turned Baker

Meatloaf

2013-12-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

I've enjoyed this recipe for a while as its easy to make, but a good change of pace from what is normally served on a daily basis. Most of the ingredients can be substituted with just about anything from using ground pork or turkey, adding peppers, etc.

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. For the onion, pepper, etc. I use my mandolin slicer to make quick work of it.

Mix all ingredients together. This can be done by hand or using a mixer. I'm lazy so I always opt for the mixer.

Once mixed together, place into a meatloaf pan or a small bread pan. A meatloaf pan just has hold drilled in the bottom to allow the grease to drain through. The one below was an old bread pan with holes drilled in it.

Once the meat mixture is packed into the pan, top with ketchup or BBQ sauce. Bake at 350F for 60 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Finished meatloaf.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef (Suggest you use lean beef)
1 whole onion, diced
1 whole egg
1/2 sleeve of soda crackers (Can substitute with oats)
1 cup ketchup (extra for glaze; Can be BBQ sauce)

TIP - Weighing is more accurate than measuring

2013-12-12T08:49:00.001-05:00

This time I would like to share a baking time with all of you which I preached to my mother for years and just recently she finally broke down and started following it as well. This tip involves weighing instead of measuring ingredients. While simple, it will make a world of difference in you baking.

This is especially true with flours and other ingredients which can compact. If you scoop a cup of flour out of a bag you can really be adding between 1.5 c. to 2c. due to the compacting when scooping. When baking breads this will lead to dough’s which are extremely dense and never get that light fluffy feeling.

Not only will weighing be more accurate than scooping it is faster as well. You can measure out 5 c. of flour very quickly and even more so when you are weighing ingredients which require compacting such as brown sugar. I weigh everything except small amounts of spices and salt.

All you need to do this is an inexpensive kitchen scale. Below is the same one I use which was one of the cheapest online and has worked well without issue for a few years.

Give measuring a try, you won’t ever go back. I promise.

Applesauce Bread

2013-12-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite treat like breads I often make. While called a bread it is closer to a banana bread more than a wheat bread. This works great as a sweet side to a dinner or lunch. I'm sure all of you will enjoy this as much as I do. And as a plus it is quite simple to make with no rising time.

Cream together the butter and sugar in your mixer.

It should be into a semi-fluffy mixer as shown below. Beat in egg.

In a separate bowl combine all other ingredients other than applesauce, vanilla, raisins and nuts. Slowly add into mixture in the mixer.

Mix until combined.

Mix in applesauce and vanilla.

The mixture minus the raisins and nuts. The reason why you mix those last is to ensure that they stay whole and not beaten to a pulp by the mixer.

Add the raisins and nuts and mix until just combined.

The final mixture.

Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F and bake for 60 minutes or until a cake tester / toothpick comes out clean.

The finished loaf. Once the bread is out of the oven I like to leave it in the pan for 10 minutes then remove.

Enjoy ...

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
6.375 oz all purpose flour
1.5 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
.5 t. nutmeg
.25 t. cloves
.5 t. salt
1.25 c. applesauce
.5 t. vanilla extract
.5 c. raisins
.5 c. walnuts or other nuts of your choice

Homemde Pasta Shapes

2013-11-21T21:19:00.003-05:00

I know its been forever since I have published anything, but I have a good one in store.

I have really enjoyed creating my own pasta over the past year or so with my KitchenAid pasta press. If you look this up the attachment is far from cheap, but it really the only way you an create extruded type shapes such as rotini, macaronni, etc.

All you need to do is to combine the ingredients in a bowl or mixer. The dough shouldn't form a dough ball as if you were making bread, but fall apart as shown in the picture below. It should be very dry this is normal.

Once you have your dough ready, its time to whip out that attachment and get to work. Below is my typical setup I like to use. I place a towel under the mixer to make cleanup easier and have a pan or two topped with plastic mesh used in needlework. This allows the dough to dry without sticking to anything as well as its cheap.

Below shows the typical look for the press with dough ready to be put down the chute above and pasta being pressed out the bottom.

Dough on the drying racks.

Once all the dough is extruded you need to allow it to dry. Once dry, bring water to salted water to boil. Note: the cooking time of your home made pasta will be less than you are used to. Drain pasta and do not rinse.

Finally toss with some homemade sauce and enjoy. Bon Appetit.

Ingredients

5 oz Semolina Flour (Can be substituted with all purpose though dough will be doughier)
5 oz All Purpose Flour
4 oz Water (Warm)

Tilapia & Summer Vegetable Packets

2012-06-25T17:16:00.003-04:00

Barbecued anything in the summer heat is always a hit with me. It is just yummy and has a lack of cleanup. This is especially true for this recipe which is also very healthy and much more flavorful compared to eating grilled chicken and steamed vegetables every day. For those of you who don't like or haven't tried fish, I would highly recommend giving the tilapia try. It is very bland, kinda like chicken, and absorbs flavors of foods cooked with it. Once you try it you can't help but like it. Trust me.

This is another recipe which uses fresh oregano. Again I recommend having a small herb garden for those herbs you use frequently as they are taster than the store bought variety and much cheaper. In the photo below shows the approximate amount you need to pick from your oregano plant for this recipe. You will need to remove the leaves from the stems and mince them in a food processor.

Combine tomatoes, squash, onion, Asparagus, olives, lemon juice, oregano, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

The finished vegetable mixture in the bowl.

To make a pouch, take 2 - 2 feet long sheets of foil. Generously coat the top piece with pam or equivalent.

Place fillet in the center and spoon out a fourth of the vegetable mix on top. This should be just over 1 cup of the mixture.

Next. Fold the short ends together and crease tightly. Close the remaining ends ensuring there is room inside for steam to collect and the seams and pressed tightly closed.

Set heat to medium on the grill. Place foil packets on grill and cook for 7 - 10 minutes or until fillet is easily separated with a fork. The fish should be 'flaky'.

The finished meal once transferred to a plate.

I added some pitted cherries to round out the meal. Enjoy.

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets (~1 pound)

1 cup of Cherry Tomatoes, halved

1 cup of summer squash, diced

1 cup of onion, thinly sliced

10 whole asparagus, cut into 1" pieces

1/4 cup of green olives, pitted, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of fresh oregano

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Pesto

2012-06-23T12:51:00.001-04:00

If you have never tried pesto your are in for a big treat. Its a light oily sauce flavored with basil and garlic. This sauce is quick to make as toss with some of your favorite pasta to enjoy instead of using boring tomato sauce.

This recipe requires fresh basil, NOT the dried variety you find in the spice aisle. I suggest buying a basil plant as it will pay for itself the first time you make this recipe. Separate the leaves from the stems.

Combine basil, garlic, nuts and olive oil in a blender or food processor.

Blend until smooth but do not over blend or the sauce will darken.

Transfer to a bowl.

Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well.

Cook pasta according to the box's directions and drain. Do not wash the pasta. Place the pasta in a frying pan with a small ammount of olive oil and toss with pesto. Heat until warm.

Once warm, serve and enjoy immediately.

Ingredients

3 cups of fresh basil
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup of walnuts or pine nuts
1.5 cups of extra virgin olive oil
1.25 cups of Parmesan cheese, grated
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Chicken Kabob

2012-06-19T11:57:00.003-04:00

I thought I should post an easy summer recipe that is great to enjoy in the heat. Kabobs are on of my favorite things to enjoy out by a pool. They require a little prep work, but are much better than the store bought versions. The prep work is quickly accomplished when you have a helper to do some of the chopping and assembly as I did with my girlfriend.

For this recipe the exact ingredients can be changed to fit your personal tastes. I chopped up onions, red peppers, yellow peppers and chicken.

Make sure to make the pieces square in shape and not too thick so the chicken can cook quickly on the grill. If the chicken is cut thick, the vegetables will be burned by the time the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Using skewers, pierce the ingredients in any order you want. You can make a mixtures of metal and vegetables and only vegetables if you would like.

Place on the grill on medium to medium high heat.

Cook completely through.

A nice touch to the meal is a salad. I used fresh greens, carrots, yellow peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients

These are VERY flexible for this recipe

1 pound of thin sliced chicken breasts

2 large onions

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

Kabob Sticks

Double Layer Chocolate Cake

2012-05-29T18:39:00.004-04:00

I know it has been forever since I posted something to the blog due to me graduating college and all, but hopefully the wait was worth it for this great recipe. I have made it on two separate occasions and each time even non cake loved told me how good it was. Hopefully it will be a hit for you as well. This recipe was very nice to make with someone special as I had my girlfriend lend me a hand.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.

The mixed ingredients.

Add milk, eggs, oil and vanilla to the mix. Mix for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water.

The mixture at the point will be very, very thin. This is normal.

Pour into 2 9" greased and floured round cake pans. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350F.

The cakes after baking, in this picture they look darker than they actually are. Use a toothpick or cake tester to test if the cake is cooked all the way through.

Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to wire racks. Allow to cool completely.

When the cakes are almost cool, continue on to make the frosting. Melt butter and add to bowl. I know the picture looks like egg yolk, but it is in fact butter.

Stir in cocoa powder.

Measure out Confectioner's sugar and milk. Alternately add them while mixing. Add more milk if needed to get to the right spreading consistency. Once the consistency is correct, pour in the vanilla.

The finished frosting.

Once the cakes are cool, place on whatever serving surface you are going to use to serve the cake with. In this case I used a dinner plate. Frost the top of the cake and place the second layer on top. Frost all sides.

The finished cake. I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I did.

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups of sugar
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 coups of cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of boiling water

Frosting

1/2 cup of butter, melted
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
3 cups of confectioners sugar
1/3 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cooking Items Used

No Knead Crusty Bread

2012-05-01T17:26:00.004-04:00

This is a nice recipe due to the fact that it doesn't require much kneading and changes flavor based on how long you allow the dough to sit. This recipe is large enough to make dough for around 3 round loaves. Enjoy.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix everything together to make a very sticky and rough dough.

The dough half way through the mixing process.

The dough once transferred to a large bowl. Allow to rise in the covered bowl for 2 hours.

The risen dough after 2 hours. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 7 days. The longer you refrigerate the dough the more of a sourdough flavor will develop in the dough.

The dough after being removed from the fridge. Notice it has deflated some. This is normal.

Flour the top of the dough in the bowl and pull out 1/3 of the dough.

Flour the surface and roll dough into ball.

The rough ball shape.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to rise for 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 450F.

When the oven is preheating place another baking sheet (NOT GLASS) on the bottom rack. Have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

After the dough has risen, use a sharp knife and make a 1/2" deep 'X' across the dough. Place dough in oven and pour water in the lower metal pan which has been heating in the oven. Quickly shut the door. This will create steam for the bread. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes.

Once its done cooking, move to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

24 ounces of 105F water
2 pounds of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of salt
1.5 tablespoons of yeast

Swedish Meatballs

2012-04-25T11:21:00.000-04:00

I have always loved the meatballs that IKEA has. Something about them makes them so good and completely addicting. I thought I should try my hand at making them.

First, Dice up your onion.

Saute until translucent, then combine garlic and cook for one additional minute.

Combine breadcrumbs and milk. Allow to soak for 10 minutes.

Once the breadcrumbs have been soaking for at least 10 minutes. Add the previously cooked onions, egg, meat and seasonings. Mix thoroughly.

The finished mixture.

Form into tablespoon balls. You can fry them oven medium heat or baking them on a baking pan. I choose to bake them for 20 - 25 minutes at 400 F.

When the meat is cooking, combine gravy and cream; heat through being careful not to boil.

The finished gravy.

Here are the cooked meatballs after being removed from the oven.

Place your meatballs in a dish and pour over gravy. Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 whole small to medium onion
2/3 pounds of ground beef
1/3 pounds of pork
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
10 ounces of beef gravy
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2012-04-22T18:23:00.000-04:00

I have never had or made a stuffed pepper before this, but have always enjoyed bell peppers on pretty much anything. After finding this recipe it seemed easy and looked delicious. I used Italian sausage instead of beef, but I think you can use pretty much any meat you would like.

Wash your peppers and cut off the tops. Clean out all the seeds and flesh until you have nice pepper bowls.

Fill up a pot with water and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil and place pepper in the water for approximately 3 minutes or until flesh is tender. Set aside.

Cut up the onion and saute in a pan.

Cook until translucent. Add garlic and fry for 1 additional minute then set aside.

If you use sausage in the recipe like I did, make sure to remove the casing from the sausage before using them in the mixture in the following step.

Combine the meat, onion, rice, tomato and spices. Mix well. You can mix by hand or use a mixer. I opted for the easier method.

At this point the cheese hasn't been added yet because I wasn't sure if I was going to layer the meat mixture in the pepper or just mix it in. If you want to layer it, do not add the cheese in the mixing stage. I just mixed the cheese in to streamline the process.

Once the mixture is completely mixed, spoon it into the pepper bowls. Place the peppers on a baking sheet.

Next, we have to make the topping that covers the peppers. Add together ketchup, Worchetershire sauce and hot sauce.

Cover the pepper's with the sauce.

Top with some extra Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 F for 45 - 50 minutes or until cooked all the way through of course since the meat is uncooked.

The finished peppers.

They look really good.

Ingredients

4 bell peppers
Salt
Olive oil for frying
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1 - 1.5 pounds of beef or sausage
1.5 cups of rice, cooked
1 can of chopped tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon of oregano
fresh ground pepper to taste
6 oz of feta cheese
Mozzarella cheese to taste
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce to taste

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2012-04-16T18:05:00.001-04:00

Who doesn't like a cookie. Oatmeal raisin cookies have always been a favorite of mine, just behind white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. These however were great.

Beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, spices, salt vanilla and baking soda.

This mixture should be smooth as shown below.

Beat in the egg, then the honey. The mixture will start to look much creamier after these additions.

Stir in flour, then oats.

Then add raisins and mix until just combined.

The mixed dough is shown below. It should now be covered and chilled for 1 to 2 hours.

Scoop out 1 to 1.5 Tablespoon balls and place on a greased baking sheet or a parchment paper lined baking sheet as shown below. Leave 2" between each ball as they will spread as they cook.

Bake the cookies at 375 F for 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then enjoy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter, unsalted
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 heaping teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
3 tablespoons of honey
3 ounces of all purpose flour
5.25 ounces of oats
7.5 ounces of raisins

Golden Vanilla Pound Cake

2012-04-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

If you have never had pound cake, you do not know what you have been missing. It may look like a bread or corn meal but isn't like either of these. It is like a super tasty, dense cake that you just have to try. I am sure you will like it as much as I do.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9" x 5" pan. In a bowl beat together butter, cream cheese, salt, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract and almond extract until combined. Make sure the egg, cream cheese and butter are at room temperature. This means to leave them out for several hours before starting baking.

The combined mixture.

Add eggs one at a time making sure to beat well after each one. Once the final egg is added beat for 3 minutes. After the eggs are added pour in the milk.

The mixture up to now.

Sprinkle flour in gradually into a mixer spinning at low speed. Mix until just combined.

I would recommend weighing the flour instead of using a measuring cup. Using a measuring cup you almost always grab too much flour. Instead of a cup weighing 4.25 oz a measured cup can weigh greater than 6 or about 1.5 cups.

The mixture after all flour has been added.

Transfer mixture to the previously prepared baking pan.

Now time to make the topping. Combine the sugar, vanilla and water.

Whisk with a fork until syrupy and set aside.

Place your bread pan on a baking dish to catch any overflow during baking. Bake for 55 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and drizzle topping over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.

The cake after being removed from the oven.

Once it has been removed from the pan after 5 minutes of cooling.

The finished yummy pound cake. Yum.

Ingredients

3/4 of a cup of butter, unsalted and at room temperature

3 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 teaspoons of salt

10.5 ounces of sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of almond extract

5 whole eggs at room temperature

3 tablespoons of milk

7.4 ounces + 2T. of all-purpose flour

Topping:

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of water

Chicken Cacciatore

2012-04-14T18:41:00.001-04:00

I always enjoy any dish that has pasta, and this one with the yummy tomato sauce covering a chicken breast over a bed of pasta is difficult to beat. Its not difficult to make, but it a little hectic at times.

Take your chicken breasts. I cut up a few of the huge ones.

Heat oil in a pan and cook chicken until brown.

When the chicken is cooking, measure out the mushrooms, onion, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and salt.

When the chicken is cooked, push it to one side and and cook for around 5 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.

Add tomatoes with juice and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling and simmer for 15 minutes. Also cook the pasta per the box directions.

When the pasta is done cooking place a bed of pasta on the plate.

Top with chicken and sauce. Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 box of rigatoni
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts
3 cups of mushrooms
1/2 cup of onion
2 whole garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of salt
3.5 cups of tomato (1 - 28 oz can, undrained, chopped)
1.75 cups of spaghetti sauce

Twice Baked Potatoes

2012-04-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

Nothing is quite as good as a twice baked potato and with this recipe they aren't difficult to make in the least. Once you have had one you will never want to go back to any other type of potato again.

Microwave potatoes for 10 minutes per side. Once a fork is easily inserted into the potato, cut in half.

Scoop out potato into a bowl to make potato boats and set boats on a baking pan.

The scooped out potatoes.

Combine all ingredients and blend well.

The now very creamy potato mixture.

Scoop back into the boats and bake at 400F for 25 minutes.

The pan after removing it from the oven.

The final product, yum.

Ingredients

3 large potatoes
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of butter
4 slices of cheese or grated
1/4 cup of chives

Beef Roast

2012-04-11T18:06:00.000-04:00

I am a huge fan of crock pot recipes due to the ease and low hands on time. Its just nice to throw some ingredients together on the way out and have a delicious meal when you get back.

Place the roast in the crock pot. And pour a cup of water over the roast.

Pour the salad dressing packets and the gravy packet over the meat. I tried to evenly layer each one.

Turn to low and cook for 7 - 9 hours. This picture is the steak part way through cooking.

The finished meat.

One slice of the meat cut off. As with many crock pot recipes, the meat is so tender it is hard to cut into a single slice.

Ingredients

4-5 pound meat roast
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
1 packet of gravy mix
1 cup of water

Olive Garden Bread Sticks

2012-04-10T22:01:00.001-04:00

Everyone loves Olive Garden's bread sticks. They are just so good and when I found this recipe I knew I had to give it a try. Mine turned out a little too big and not quite garlicy enough, but these slight issues will be easy to fix next time I make it. And the best part is that they aren't hard to make either.

Add water, sugar and yeast to bowl and let stand for 10 minutes or so.

The yeast bath after standing for 10 minutes. Notice how bubbly it looks. It will also smell nice and yeasty when it is ready.

Combine all other ingredients in a bowl.

Add to yeast mixture and knead into an elastic dough

The finished dough.

Split into 12- 14 pieces. I didn't split them into enough pieces which is why my bread sticks are more like hot dog buns.

Roll dough pieces into 6" snakes and place on baking pan. Allow to rise for 15 minutes at 170F.

After the dough has risen, brush with butter and garlic topping. bake for 400 F for 10 to 12 minutes. Half way through baking brush with remaining topping.

The finished bread.

Ingredients

1.5 cups of water

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of dry yeast

1 tablespoon of salt

2 tablespoons of softened butter

4 - 5 cups of bread flour

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder with 3 tablespoons of melted butter for topping

Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread

2012-04-08T17:28:00.001-04:00

I was given this recipe a while ago from my girlfriend and I thought it was time that I should take the plunge and actually make it. This was my first attempt making a banana bread and though it turned out very nice.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Place bananas in a bowl. They should be 'very' ripe.

Mash the bananas. I used the blender to do this.

Stir in peanut butter, oil, eggs and sugar.

Weigh out 8 ounces of peanut butter cuts and remove the foil.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined.

The combined ingredients.

Fold in peanut butter cups.

The finished dough.

Pour dough into a greased pan and bake for 60 minutes at 350F.

The loaf after baking. Leave in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a drying rack. All to completely cool before cutting.

A pic after I enjoyed my first slice.

Ingredients

3 whole, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1.5 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1.5 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 ounces of Reese's Peanut Butter Mini Cups

Chicken Parmesan

2012-04-07T16:05:00.002-04:00

I thought this would be a nice addition to just having some homemade pasta with sauce and / or meatballs. It is not difficult at all and just requires a few minutes of hands on time and about an hour baking. I really enjoyed it.

Place the eggs in a bowl and whisk.

Next place the bread crumbs in another bowl.

Take the chicken breast and dip it in the egg ensuring it is entirely coated. Next toss it in bread crumbs. Once it is completely covered place it on a greased baking sheet. I wanted to get some pictures in the middle of the process, but as you will find out your fingers get covered in crumbs. Once all pieces are breaded place in oven at 350F for 40 minutes or until cooked.

Next, pour half of the sauce into a 7 by 11 baking dish. I only had a slightly larger dish available so I just poured sauce in a section of it.

When the chicken is done cooking place the chicken on the sauce bed.

Cover with remaining sauce.

Sprinkle cheese over the chicken breasts and place in oven for 20 additional minutes.

During the last 10 minutes of cooking I cooked some home made linguine and topped it with a bit of sauce.

The cooked chicken parm.

The finished meal.

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 ounces of bread crumbs

4 chicken breasts

20 ounces of spaghetti sauce

2 ounces of mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Challah

2012-04-05T17:42:00.003-04:00

I thought it was time that I should try and make this classic bread. It turned out to not to too difficult. This recipe required more hands on time compared to other bread recipes, but the crust and taste was well worth it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

First, combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead into an elastic dough.

Place the dough in a bowl.

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 2 hours.The dough should double in size.

The dough after it has time to rise.

Remove dough from bowl and divide into 4 - 6" logs.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 10 minutes.

Roll each into 20" ropes and allow to rest.

Braid the strands as I have below. I messed up the complicated 4 braid below, but in the end it will still taste and look great.

Place on a baking sheet that is either lightly greased or lined with parchment paper.

Cover and allow to rise for 90 minutes.

In the mean time beat together an egg with a tablespoon of water.

When the dough has risen, brush the glaze over the loaf. The oven should be preheated to 375F.

Nest 2 baking pans to avoid over browning of the bread. Place in oven for 20 minutes. Then tent the bread for an additional 25 minutes.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of lukewarm water 110F
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup of honey
2 large eggs
1.5 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of instant yeast
1 egg with a tablespoon of cold water for the glaze.

Deviled Eggs

2012-04-03T18:29:00.003-04:00

I was feeling in the mood for some deviled eggs, so I thought I would share the recipe with all of you. This recipe doesn't use too much mayonnaise and uses a bunch of mustard and horseradish instead. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Hard boil the eggs.

When the eggs are boiling, place all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

When eggs are done boiling, peel them and cut them in half. I allow them to cool when I am peeling the other eggs so the yolks aren't so hot.

Pop out the yolk out of each egg half ...

and place in the mixing bowl.

Mix until smooth. You can also mix by hand but the mixture will not be as creamy.

Some of the eggs as they are filled with the whipped egg mixture. Fill all eggs until all of the filling is used.

When the eggs are filled, apply a dash of paprika to the top of each egg.

Ingredients

6 eggs, hard boiled
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of horseradish
1/2 a teaspoon of dill weed
1/4 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1/8 of a teaspoon of salt
a dash of black pepper
a dash of paprika

French Toast

2012-04-01T15:07:00.004-04:00

Being the weekend I feel that having a nice breakfast is always in order. French toast is something that is easy to make and much nicer than most of the normal breakfast foods out there.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly until the mixtures is nice and frothy.

The finalized mixture should look like this.

Heat up you pan or griddle. Once hot, soak each side of the bread in the egg mixture. I recommend using some thick sliced, slightly stale bread. For this recipe I am using my, white sandwich bread which can be found following this LINK.

After one side is soaked flip over the bread and allow it to soak the egg mixture in. Once coated, place on griddle and cook.

Enjoy with syrup and butter.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
a dash of nutmeg
thick, sliced bread

White Sandwich Bread

2012-03-30T12:45:00.000-04:00

I ran out of sandwich bread this week and thought, why buy the bread when I can just make it. For this I wanted to just try a plain bread which can be used for egg and cheese sandwiches or french toast. The loaf turned out a little mis-shapened, but that was my fault due to the fact I allowed it to over rise.

Combine all ingredients into a nice dough.

When the dough is being mixed, lightly oil the bowl where the dough will rise.

The kneaded dough.

Place dough in the bowl.

And cover the dough. I use a shower cap. Allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours.

The dough after it has risen for 1 - 2 hours.

Roll into a log and place into a bread pan. Allow to rise 1" above the edge of the pan and place in an oven at 350F for 20 minutes.

The dough right before being placed in the oven. I allowed it to over rise and had to squish it down which caused this weird shape.

After baking for 20 minutes, tent for 15 - 20 minutes to keep the dough from over browning.

The finished loaf.

Another view of the loaf.

Ingredients

1.5 cups of warm milk
1 heaping tablespoon of honey
1 package of dry yeast
1.75 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoon of unsalted butter, softened
4 cups of all purpose flour

Linguine

2012-03-29T11:20:00.000-04:00

It always seemed like making pasta would be a very difficult and time consuming activity. However, making it by hand isn't difficult and makes that special touch to any meal. However, I have found having a pasta roller makes the process much, much easier.

First, combine all ingredients and knead into a dough. You may need to add water, but don't add too much.

The finished pasta dough.

Place the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for 1 hour.

The dough after resting for one hour.

I cut the dough up into quarters to make the rolling process easier.

I flatten each quarter into a fat disk in preparation for rolling with the pasta machine.

Use the pasta machine to roll into thin sheets.

The pasta sheets in the process of being rolled into nice thin sheets.

The sheet as it has begun to thin.

Once the sheet is sufficiently thin, use the cutters on the back of the machine to cut it into noodle slices.

Once the noodles are cut, they need to be placed on a rack to dry for several hours.

All of the noodles on the drying rack.

Once the noodles are dried, bring water to boil and salt to taste. Boil the noodles until they are soft. For me in 6 minutes they are soft enough for me.

Top with sauce and a slice of bread or biscuit and enjoy.

Ingredients

3 cups of all purpose flour

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

2012-03-28T12:21:00.000-04:00

I always enjoy biscuits with dinner and thought it was time to try another recipe. This is a quick, painless way to make yummy flaky biscuits.

Combine all dry ingredients.

Cut softened butter into cubes.

Cut into butter into the dry ingredients until the consistency is that of of course meal.

Add buttermilk until just combined.

Once dough is just combined, place dough onto floured surface.

Gently pat until 1/2" thick. Fold 5 times and press to 1" thick.

Cut into biscuit rounds or squares.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes at 450 F.

Enjoy the biscuits.

Ingredients

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of buttermilk