Mmm Bread

Focaccia Bread

This is Tyler's recipe from food network.
I used different herbs and no olives !

• 2 teaspoons rapid-rising dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Cornmeal, for dusting

Toppings:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheese
  
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Herbs
  

Directions

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or other warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal. Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and then garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

Delicious Cheese Dip

Ingredients

1 package cream cheese
about 4 scallions
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
dill
parsley
about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix it together then roll into ball on wax paper
dust with finely grated Parmesan cheese
chill
eat with Ritz or Wheat Thins

Beet Salad

Servings: Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

Roasted Beet Salad

• 1 pound beets (3 to 4 medium), scrubbed
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch of sugar
• Bunch of arugula
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large piece of aluminum foil with parchment paper. Place beets in center of parchment. Drizzle with one tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Fold aluminum foil up to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let sit until no longer hot to the touch. Rub off skins and discard. Cut beets into wedges.

In a medium bowl whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons oil, the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the roasted beets, arugula,

Cookies

Oh, this is very important: If you manage to find the sanding sugar, you MUST LINE THE COOKIE SHEET WITH A SILICONE BAKING SHEET, PARCHMENT PAPER, OR WAX PAPER IF THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE. Only skip this step if you want broken cookies. When the sugar melts in the oven, it bonds itself to the cookie sheet that would require a super power to get it free. Trust me, I have tested it too many times without the paper.

lemon butter biscuits with lemon thyme glaze

2 sticks (224g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon (the zest of 2, if you have an extra one lying around)
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup sanding sugar*

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Mix until light and fluffy. Add in egg yolk, and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour and lemon juice until just incorporated. Turn the mixture onto a floured board, and knead gently to ensure all ingredients are well distributed.

2. Shape the dough into 2 cylinders, each about 2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long. Beat the egg white in a small bowl, and brush on all sides of the cylinders. Roll in sanding sugar, then roll up in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can freeze them at this time if you wish.)

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees celsius). LINE COOKIE SHEETS WITH PARCHMENT PAPER OR A SILPAT. Cut cylinders into 1/4 inch slices. Lay flat on cookie sheets at least an inch and a half apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes in the top third of the oven until edges begin to turn a light golden brown. Let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely and drizzle with glaze.

for the glaze:

1 cup (100g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl, adding a small amount of the lemon juice at first, and then adding more, to create the desired consistency.

*Sanding sugar is large granulated sugar available in cake decorating supply stores. Mine was the Wilton brand, called “Sprinkles.” I found it at JoAnn.)

** Don't these look good ? I got the recipe from -

Sophistimom.com

Free Emergen-C

Go Here and get a Free sample !

Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts, Mushrooms and Pancetta

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, plus more for baking dish
• 8 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 large onions, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 pound baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (7.4-ounce) jars roasted peeled whole chestnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 pound day-old ciabatta bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth, plus more if needed
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 15 by 10 by 2-inch glass baking dish.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute until the onions are very tender, about 12 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the sauteed vegetables, the chestnuts, Parmesan and bread. Add enough broth to the stuffing mixture to moisten. Add the cooked pancetta and eggs. Season the stuffing, to taste, with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Stir to completely combine all the ingredients.

Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Bake until the stuffing is heated through and the top is golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis 2009

Free Gain Dish Soap

* I got Ranger Nate to run to Walmart and get 2 bottles of dish soap free! Best deal in weeks! * from P&G today

Target coupons

** My total for this shopping trip was $6.00 ! I did use a 5 dollar off gift card and had 21 dollars in coupon savings! Sweet. **

Home made Mac and Cheese

** This is the recipe that Mema sent me and it's AMAZING! No joke. You can watch a video on you tube on how to make it, I highly recommend watching it. As it will ensure that your end result is as fabulous as possible! I'm going to make this on Wednesday night and watch all the new premiers on ABC. If you want the link email me.
Instructions

How to make gourmet macaroni and cheese

¾ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan Reggiano, grated
7 ½ Tbs Butter
¼ cup plus two tbs Flour
3 cups milk
2 and ¼ cups gruyere grated or comte, grated
½ cup mascarpone cheese
1 and 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
salt and fresh ground pepper

Macaroni

1. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil and add the elbow macaroni. Cook until it’s al dente, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Cheese Sauce - Part 1

1. While the macaroni is boiling, slowly melt 5 1/2 Tbs of butter over medium high heat in a medium sauce pan.
2. Add the flour, stirring, cook together for a minute or so. Do not brown the mixture; you want a blonde roux.
3. Add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring mixture to a boil and continue whisking.
4. Lower heat and simmer for about five minutes until it thickens.

Bread Crumb Topping

1. While the milk is simmering, combine 2 Tbs butter and the bread crumbs, and melt together in a a separate pan.
2. Add the Parmesan Reggiano cheese. This adds another layer of flavor so it’s not one-dimensional. Just cook until the butter is melted.
3. Remove from heat.

Cheese Sauce- Part 2

1. When the milk is ready, add the mascarpone cheese. Marscarpone is an Italian fresh creamy cheese, but it isn’t cream cheese. It is a dense, rich and slightly sweet fresh cheese. It adds another layer of flavor, and richness. It makes the saucer creamy, rich and yummy.
2. Then add gruyere cheese and whisk it in, and as soon as until it’s melted, remove from the heat. This will happen quickly because the gruyere cheese should be grated and at room temperature.
3. Season with salt and black pepper and whisk to combine. Normally you don’t use black pepper with a white sauce, but Terrance Brennan loves the robust flavor and does not mind the black specks in the white sauce.

Assemble The Gourmet Macaroni And Cheese

1. When the macaroni is cooked, strain it, making sure to shake out all the water. Excess water will dilute the cheese sauce and make the macaroni too runny.
2. Add the macaroni to the cheese sauce, mix it well, and when it’s nicely incorporated, spoon it out into a cooking dish. This recipe makes two main courses or four side dishes.
3. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on the top, using your hands to pat it down to make sure it’s nice and evenly dispersed all over the surface. The topping becomes very crunchy when it bakes.

Cook for about 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and bubbly.
You want a golden crust with bubbly sauce on the sides.

Kraft Cheese

** I used my Kraft $5 off 5 @ target yesterday and got a $1.50 off more Kraft cheese Catalina. The cheese was $2.24 so I got them for 1.24 ... not amazing but still a good deal. Sweet! I was also able to find a few more Morning star products that contain a $1.00 off one Morning star product! I love those coupons! The box says "Valuable coupon inside". I usually get the "Chicken Nuggets" and they are so yummy and much better for you than real chicken.

Black Bean Brownies

I know it sounds weird! Mema told me about this recipe. I promise you won't ruin anything just follow the recipe and enjoy!

* 1 can of black beans & all the liquid *
Put it in the blender or food processor. Puree
*Mix in brownie mix and bake like normal!
Nothing but the beans! Yummy and Healthy

I'm going shopping today

** I'm finally going shopping today! I haven't been for a whole week now! It feels like I'm going through coupon withdrawals. Only trouble is I can't decide if I should go to smiths or target? Both! Yes that's what I'll do! I'm also going to post some recipes... I promise!

PS- I cooked beets for 2 hours yesterday * I guess that's what happens when you nap while cooking!

Summer Produce

Of all the summer produce, Tomatoes and Beets are my favorite! I make a beet salad at least once a week and bruschetta. Get a crostini from Harmons to eat with the bruschetta. Fabulous! Beets from our garden our done and tomatoes got such a late start they will be done this week! Lucky for us Grandpa's garden had been awesome this year!

Last shopping trip of August

**Here it is my first post of my last shopping trip in august-

New Budget

** It's almost September and I am starting a few new things.

1. Budget my grocery shopping (I'm not good at this)
2. Cook some meals using on sale items of the week.
3. Blog about it - duh


** I will post about shopping trips to different stores, great deals I find and the delicious food I intend to make with it!

Oh I almost forgot - What is my budget ? I wanted to try $100.00 for the whole month but I'm going to start at $150.00 and see how it goes! Wish me luck!

Swedish Veggies

Swedish Veggies -
Carrots
Potatoes
Broccoli
Mushrooms

Cream
Flour
Milk

Cook the veggies to El dente
Saute mushrooms and dust with flour
pour milk and cream over - cook till thick
season with salt and pepper

Add veggies to baking dish
pour mushroom sauce over and bake for 10

Red flower pasta

Ingredients -
Cauliflower
1 Red pepper
Mushrooms ( I like a lot )
some grill seasoning
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Butter

Cook the veggies in the oil and
Add the grill seasoning
Cook the pasta and combine all with butter
Toss and sprinkle with cheese

My favorite winter breakfast

Cut Fruit in half

Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon

Broil for 5

Enjoy