A Recipe and a Request

I have a request for some good recipes that are yummy, quick and don't use the oven. Any suggestions? Here is one that I like to make when I want to whip up something quick. My kids love rice and I love Mexican food.

Taco Rice Skillet
1 lb hamburger
1 medium onion chopped (or 1/3 cup onion flakes)
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 cups water
2 cups instant rice (we usually use brown)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger and onion in large skillet, add seasoning and water, bring to a boil. Stir in rice, sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.

Garnish with tomatoes, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Meatloaf

I love meatloaf. Good meatloaf that is. I think my favorite lunch is a leftover meatloaf sandwich. The first recipe is a new one that I tried last night for dinner, and that I loved. It came from Allrecipes.com. The second recipe is the meatloaf I have been making for a long time. It originally came from a Real Lemon cookbook.

Bacon Mushroom Swiss Meatloaf

12 oz. chopped raw bacon
1 small white onion, chopped
5 button mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup evaporated milk
6 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the pieces are browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Discard all but 1 Tbsp. of bacon grease. Stir in onions and mushrooms, and cook until soft. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, stir together beef, egg, and milk. Stir in the onion and mushrooms. Mix in about 4 oz. Swiss cheese, and all but 1 Tbsp. bacon. Stir in cornflake crumbs, and mix until well blended. Shape into a loaf, and place in a meatloaf pan.

Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Drain fat, and sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon. Return to oven, and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Glazed Meatloaf

1/2 cup catsup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (about 2 1/2 slices)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. beef bouillon

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine catsup, sugar, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and mustard; set aside. In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and 1/3 cup sauce; mix well. In shallow dish, shape into loaf. Bake 1 hour; pour off fat. Pour remaining sauce over top of loaf; bake 10 minutes longer.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

I only found and started using this recipe a few days ago, but already I've made three loaves of bread and some pizza with it, and it's very good and super convenient. It's originally from a book (and its corresponding website), but I found it via an Instructable.

6 c. water
3 T. salt
3 T. yeast
13 c. flour

1. In a large container with a loose-fitting lid (I use a 9 qt. Tupperware) mix ingredients until incorporated (but don't worry about kneading the dough or getting it super-smooth). The resulting dough will be very soft and loose--that's exactly the way it's supposed to be (the high-hydration is what allows it to keep well in the refrigerator).
2. Put lid on container (leaving a small gap for air to escape) and allow dough to sit on the counter for a couple of hours, then put container in the fridge.

After at least three hours in the refrigerator, and at any time for the next two weeks or so, you can use a portion of the dough as desired.

For fantastic "artisan" bread, do this:

1. Put a pizza stone in the oven, with a roasting pan underneath it, and preheat the oven to 450°
2. On a pizza peel (wooden board with a long handle) or something similar (back of a cookie sheet, cutting board, etc.) sprinkle some cornmeal or a liberal helping of flour
3. Remove dough from the fridge, dust a portion of the surface with flour, flour your hands, and reach in and grab a handful of dough (approximately grapefruit-sized for a 1 lb. loaf), using a serrated knife to cut the dough from the main mass.
4. Gently (trying not to deflate the dough any more than you have to) stretch the surface of the dough (which was exposed in the container in the fridge) around the ball, forming a "gluten cloak", pinching it together at the bottom, then place the ball of dough on the prepared (cornmeal-dusted) peel and let it rest for 30 minutes (while your oven--and the pizza stone--heats).
5. After 30 minutes, dust the top of the ball of dough liberally with flour then slash two or three times in each direction (in a tic-tac-toe pattern) with a serrated knife.
6. Fill a measuring cup with around 1 c. hot water. Open the oven door, and gently slide the dough from the peel onto the hot pizza stone (the cornmeal will act like "ball bearings", allowing it to slide easily, though this may take some practice). Pour the water into the roasting pan (stand back! it will produce lots of steam!) and immediately shut the oven door.
   
7. Bake bread for 20-30 minutes, until it is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
8. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing--if you can manage to wait that long! :) The crust will be perfectly crackly and crisp and the inside as soft and flavorful as the best french bread you've ever had.

Altogether it'll be about an hour from the time you turn the oven on until you take the bread out of the oven, but the amount of time you'll actually spend working on the bread will be less than five minutes (thus the name of the recipe). You can get eight 1 lb. loaves out of the recipe as it's given, and the dough will remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (though it may not rise quite as well by the end of that period, from what I understand).

The dough also makes a wonderful pizza crust--just cut off a hunk, roll it out, put it on a cornmeal-dusted peel, top it, slide it onto a hot stone, and yum. :)

Of course the dough could also be shaped into baguettes, rolls, etc.

I understand that over the course of a week or two the dough will also "sour" slightly, so later breads will have more of a sourdough flavor. I think I've noticed that in my most recent loaf, though it wasn't incredibly strong. Hopefully it will continue to develop as the dough ages. I've read that many people will mix new batches of dough without washing the container between batches, so as to preserve the sour flavor that develops.

My next batch will probably contain some percentage of wheat flour. I've read that this method of breadmaking lends itself very well to wheat breads. Typically wheat breads are denser than white because the bran tends to cut the threads of gluten, limiting the dough's ability to rise. Since this method includes virtually no kneading or working of the dough, there is much less opportunity for the developed gluten to be damaged by the bran, so wheat breads (should) be lighter.

Anyway... So far we've all loved being able to have fresh bread with very little work and much less advance notice than would normally be required. Hope you all enjoy it too! :)

Bumbleberry Pie

This is a recipe from Allrecipes.com. It is one of my family's favorite pies. Come on over--we are having it for dessert tonight!

Bumbleberry Pie

2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 cups thinly sliced apples
1 cup raspberries
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces

Stir sugar and flour together in large bowl. Add apples, raspberries, blackberries, and rhubarb.
Toss together, and turn into pie shell. Cover with pastry top. Trim and seal edges. Cut vents in top. Bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes, until crust is brown and apple is cooked.

Bret's Tom Kha Gai

This soup is so yummy. Bret tries Tom Kha Gai every time he goes to a Thai restaurant and it is always different. He took his favorites ingredients and made his own variation. He usually makes a double batch because it is even yummier as leftovers.

Bret's Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Chicken Soup)
(4-6 servings)

2 qt chicken bouillon
3-4 carrots, sliced
1-2 red Thai chili peppers, split in half*
3 limes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium sweet onions, sliced and quartered
1-2 tbsp olive oil
3 large chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
3 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp minced ginger root**
1 tsp black pepper
2 cans (~14 oz each) 100% coconut milk
salt to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chives or chopped green onions (optional)
dry crushed red pepper to taste



In a large stockpot, lightly boil Thai pepper(s) and carrots in chicken bouillon until the carrots begin to soften, reduce heat and simmer. Remove pulp and juice from limes and add to bouillon. In a large fry pan, sauté onions, until tender and brown, then add to bouillon. In the same fry pan, brown chicken in olive oil, together with garlic, ginger, and black pepper, being careful not to overcook the chicken, then add to soup and remove from heat.

Add coconut milk and salt (if desired) and stir until fully mixed. Do not boil after adding coconut milk. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, chives/green onions, and crushed red pepper just before serving.

* If Thai peppers are not available, dry crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper can be used as a substitute (season to taste)
** When mincing ginger root, be sure to cut into slices first to prevent long root fibers

Variation: substitute chicken with medium to large cocktail shrimp

Wheat Bread

This is one of my favorite bread recipes. Scott's mom got this recipe from a woman who works at the Bishop's Storehouse in Omaha, NE. The great thing about it is that it is so quick to make. Once it is kneaded, it is done in an hour. I use flour made from the white wheat sold by the Church. It has very mild wheat taste.

Wheat Bread

2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup gluten
1/2 Tbsp. salt
4-5 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all ingredients together and add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl. You want a thicker dough. Knead for 9 minutes in the mixer.Form into loaves and put in 2 regular loaf pans. Let rise 30 minutes.Put into a cold oven and turn on oven to 350. Bake for 30-35 minutes. (Bread will rise more as the oven heats up.)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

This is one of my very favorite cookie recipes. I got it from Allrecipes.com. Whenever I think of these cookies I think of a term used in England. They are very "moreish." This word is used to describe something you always want more of! This is another cookie recipe Marsha uses all the time. I think they are Dad's favorites.

I use a scale to weigh shortening and peanut butter. It saves the effort of cleaning out the measuring cups. I've included the weight measurements in case anyone else uses a scale.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (96 g)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter (256 g)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just light brown.