Today I made homemade bread. It has 5 minutes left in the oven and it smells divine. And yes, I made the easy bread...that is white bread. I meant to make whole wheat bread using the recipe over at Preparedness Matters, but when I went to open the container of whole wheat flour it smelled a little off. It has been about a year since we ground whole wheat flour. Ok, not that long. But, it has been a few of months with it setting on top of the fridge right by a heating vent.
Anyway, instead of having Daniel tromp around in the snow to the garage to dig out the wheat grinder, then clean the spiders and dust from it...I modified the recipe.
Whole Wheat Bread in 1:20
Based on the recipe at Preparedness Matters blog
6 cups all purpose flour (I used the white flour from church food storage)
2 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup high gluten flour
3 cups very warm water
4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons honey or sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
Mix 3 cups flour with gluten,yeast and warm water; mix 1 minute. Cover bowl and let sponge 10 minutes.
Add oil, honey or sugar, and salt, Quickly add remaining flour one cup at a time until the dough forms a ball and cleans from the sides of bowl (depending on humidity). Knead 7-10 minutes. Roll into 2 or 3 loaves (depending on pan size). Preheat oven to 200 degrees and put the loaves in. Rise dough in oven until double, 20 - 30 minutes. Leave in oven. Turn heat to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from pans to cool. Coat with butter.
Yum! Simple complex carbs! (Remember when only plain sugar was considered simple carbs? Yeah, I think they now include white bread in the simple carb category.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Freezer(s) Inventory! 1/26/10
Deep Freezer:
Ham Potato Pockets - 9
Banana Bread - 1
Chocolate Chip coffee cake - 1
Steam in the bag veggie mix - 2
Edamame in shells - 2
Broccoli - 2 bags
Green Beans - 1 bag
Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole - 3
Baked Spaghetti - 1
Baked Rigatoni - 2
Farmer's CAsserole - 1
Supreme Pizza - 1
1/2 carton of fish sticks
hamburger - 1lb
ground turkey - 1lb
BLSL chicken breast - 10lbs
Turkey - one giant!
Kitchen freezer:
2lbs yeast
2 cans juice
steamer corn - 2 in butter sauce, one plain
Green beans - 2lb bag
Santa fe blend veggies - 1/2 bag
chicken burritos - 4
Chimichangas - 6
bean & rice burritos - 20
chicken nuggets - 6 or so
pot stickers - 4
Cooked hamburger - 1lb
Salmon Fillets - 3
Pork sausage - 1lb, + on pkg heat & serve links
Hamburger patty - 1
"Beef" Patty - 9
Enchiladas (4 to a pan) - 4 pans
Chicken cordon bleu cass - 1
Farmers casserole - 2
Spaghetti in pink sauce - 1
Hamburger casserole (labeled spaghetti) - 4
In fridge:
bacon - 2 lbs
Crescent roll tubes - 5
biscuits in a roll - 1
Cream cheese - 2.5
Shredded cheese - 3 or 4 bags
American Cheese - 10 slices
1 serving of pasta in pink sauce
salad mix - 2/3 of a bag
1/2 cucumber
1 serving chicken cordon bleu
Pantry perishable:
5 lbs potatoes
3 lb onions
8 lb naval oranges
8lb apples
I didn't include things like pop (cause its not part of a meal and we rarely have any) or milk, since its sort of a beverage and will be easily used without worries.
Ham Potato Pockets - 9
Banana Bread - 1
Chocolate Chip coffee cake - 1
Steam in the bag veggie mix - 2
Edamame in shells - 2
Broccoli - 2 bags
Green Beans - 1 bag
Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole - 3
Baked Spaghetti - 1
Baked Rigatoni - 2
Farmer's CAsserole - 1
Supreme Pizza - 1
1/2 carton of fish sticks
hamburger - 1lb
ground turkey - 1lb
BLSL chicken breast - 10lbs
Turkey - one giant!
Kitchen freezer:
2lbs yeast
2 cans juice
steamer corn - 2 in butter sauce, one plain
Green beans - 2lb bag
Santa fe blend veggies - 1/2 bag
chicken burritos - 4
Chimichangas - 6
bean & rice burritos - 20
chicken nuggets - 6 or so
pot stickers - 4
Cooked hamburger - 1lb
Salmon Fillets - 3
Pork sausage - 1lb, + on pkg heat & serve links
Hamburger patty - 1
"Beef" Patty - 9
Enchiladas (4 to a pan) - 4 pans
Chicken cordon bleu cass - 1
Farmers casserole - 2
Spaghetti in pink sauce - 1
Hamburger casserole (labeled spaghetti) - 4
In fridge:
bacon - 2 lbs
Crescent roll tubes - 5
biscuits in a roll - 1
Cream cheese - 2.5
Shredded cheese - 3 or 4 bags
American Cheese - 10 slices
1 serving of pasta in pink sauce
salad mix - 2/3 of a bag
1/2 cucumber
1 serving chicken cordon bleu
Pantry perishable:
5 lbs potatoes
3 lb onions
8 lb naval oranges
8lb apples
I didn't include things like pop (cause its not part of a meal and we rarely have any) or milk, since its sort of a beverage and will be easily used without worries.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Menu Plan Monday!
I need to start doing this. We recently got a chest freezer and filled it in anticipation of having a baby at the beginning of the year. Well the kid is here, he is 3 weeks old, and I am getting burned out on the freezer meals (too little variety due to miscalculations on how far the food would go).
SO here is the plan...subject to change since it appears we have caught a cold bug and dealing with a newborn and a snotty cranky toddler mean sometimes things change.
Monday: Burgers & fries
We have 3 hamburger patties and half a pound of fries in the freezer. We will eat the burgers on bread. DH and DD will probably have cheese on theirs, mine will be sans cheese but with ketchup. Not high on the veggie list, but again, dealing with sick people so my hopes aren't high.
Tuesday / cub scout night: Frozen sausage pizza, green beans, 1 can mixed fruit or pineapple from pantry
Its gotta be easy on Tuesdays.
Wednesday: Casserole from freezer, corn in butter sauce
I am going to inventory the freezer once DH gets home and I am not covered in children. I think we will eat a hamburger whole wheat pasta dish that DH says tastes like lasagna with less cheese (though I think that is an unfair assessment, its hamburger, diced tomatoes, some cheese and whole wheat pasta).
Thursday / relief society meeting: Mac&cheese and hotdogs (?), peas
I saw a pack of hot dogs in the freezer, and unless DH refuses to eat them now that he is trying to lose weight, I will thaw them and we will eat them Thursday night.
Friday: pizza night!
We have lots of crust mix, spaghetti sauce and cheese. SO I will just have to pull out some precooked hamburger to make hamburger pizza
Breakfasts:
Ham&potato pockets - microwaveable ease
Boiled eggs - I just need to boil some to have on hand
Cereal - we only have nasty sugar cereal left
Toast & peanut butter
Sausage tvp gravy and whole wheat biscuits (saturday breakfast)
Lunches:
Leftovers
Burritos
Whatever is in the fridge
SO here is the plan...subject to change since it appears we have caught a cold bug and dealing with a newborn and a snotty cranky toddler mean sometimes things change.
Monday: Burgers & fries
We have 3 hamburger patties and half a pound of fries in the freezer. We will eat the burgers on bread. DH and DD will probably have cheese on theirs, mine will be sans cheese but with ketchup. Not high on the veggie list, but again, dealing with sick people so my hopes aren't high.
Tuesday / cub scout night: Frozen sausage pizza, green beans, 1 can mixed fruit or pineapple from pantry
Its gotta be easy on Tuesdays.
Wednesday: Casserole from freezer, corn in butter sauce
I am going to inventory the freezer once DH gets home and I am not covered in children. I think we will eat a hamburger whole wheat pasta dish that DH says tastes like lasagna with less cheese (though I think that is an unfair assessment, its hamburger, diced tomatoes, some cheese and whole wheat pasta).
Thursday / relief society meeting: Mac&cheese and hotdogs (?), peas
I saw a pack of hot dogs in the freezer, and unless DH refuses to eat them now that he is trying to lose weight, I will thaw them and we will eat them Thursday night.
Friday: pizza night!
We have lots of crust mix, spaghetti sauce and cheese. SO I will just have to pull out some precooked hamburger to make hamburger pizza
Breakfasts:
Ham&potato pockets - microwaveable ease
Boiled eggs - I just need to boil some to have on hand
Cereal - we only have nasty sugar cereal left
Toast & peanut butter
Sausage tvp gravy and whole wheat biscuits (saturday breakfast)
Lunches:
Leftovers
Burritos
Whatever is in the fridge
Friday, January 22, 2010
Shephard's Pie - Freezer Food Friday
Anyway: this can be made ahead. Makes a great one dish meal if you are lazy, or add a salad and its an even better meal. For more Freezer Food Friday recipes, go visit What A Crock!
Shepherd's Pie - makes a 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans
1.5-2 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced small
1/2 tsp minced garlic (optional)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
2/3 cup beef broth
1 T corn starch
1 lb bag of frozen mixed veggies - thawed
For serving day: make mashed potatoes, or use leftovers
Label freezer bag first! (Freezer instructions at end).
Brown hamburger. Saute the onion with the hamburger until soft (or in a bit of olive oil if bulk cooking). Take off heat. Add mixed vegetables. {NOTE: you can add the frozen bag to the hot meat and it will thaw, but if you cook the meat in bulk just add thawed veggies to the cool meat.} Let cool.
Put meat mix in freezer bag. In a small bowl mix 1/3c beef broth, 1 T corn starch, and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce until corn starch is dissolved. Tip: The corn starch won't clump if you dissolve it in cool broth/water. Pour gravy in bag.
Freeze.
To serve: Thaw meat mix. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes and a little paprika on top. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (potatoes will brown slightly). Let stand 15 minutes and serve.
For the potatoes: Mix up 3 cups of mashed potatoes from instant potatoes. Microwave 1-2 small starchy potatoes to mash and add some texture to the potatoes. (Its optional, but people will believe its all homemade potatoes and you can have some more nutrients from skins.) You can really as as little or as much potatoes as you want, as long as the meat mix is covered. It is also fun to add a sweet potato or some cooked carrots for color or add some cooked cauliflower for more veggies.
In our house, this is a dish that is considered: would be better without onions. But try it with before cutting them. My husband is just really sensitive to the taste of onions. Even onion powder makes things less yummy.
Shepherd's Pie - makes a 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans
1.5-2 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced small
1/2 tsp minced garlic (optional)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
2/3 cup beef broth
1 T corn starch
1 lb bag of frozen mixed veggies - thawed
For serving day: make mashed potatoes, or use leftovers
Label freezer bag first! (Freezer instructions at end).
Brown hamburger. Saute the onion with the hamburger until soft (or in a bit of olive oil if bulk cooking). Take off heat. Add mixed vegetables. {NOTE: you can add the frozen bag to the hot meat and it will thaw, but if you cook the meat in bulk just add thawed veggies to the cool meat.} Let cool.
Put meat mix in freezer bag. In a small bowl mix 1/3c beef broth, 1 T corn starch, and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce until corn starch is dissolved. Tip: The corn starch won't clump if you dissolve it in cool broth/water. Pour gravy in bag.
Freeze.
To serve: Thaw meat mix. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes and a little paprika on top. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (potatoes will brown slightly). Let stand 15 minutes and serve.
For the potatoes: Mix up 3 cups of mashed potatoes from instant potatoes. Microwave 1-2 small starchy potatoes to mash and add some texture to the potatoes. (Its optional, but people will believe its all homemade potatoes and you can have some more nutrients from skins.) You can really as as little or as much potatoes as you want, as long as the meat mix is covered. It is also fun to add a sweet potato or some cooked carrots for color or add some cooked cauliflower for more veggies.
In our house, this is a dish that is considered: would be better without onions. But try it with before cutting them. My husband is just really sensitive to the taste of onions. Even onion powder makes things less yummy.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
No Fuss Chicken Cordon Bleu - freezer meal
This was rather simple to assemble on the big cooking day. But, there are a few modifications we made. The recipe is found here.
First off, we would be fine leaving the ham out. Next time I will probably not make it with ham.
Second, we used 8" cake pans, and I think somehow in the conversion process things got confused. The original recipe says to use 2 cups sliced carrots for a 9x13 pan, and I thought the recipe at OAMM (once a month mom) said to use 2 cups of sliced carrots in each 8" pan. Needless to say, we had tons of extra saucy stuff, and since we had extra chicken breasts thanks to a great sale on them, we used some frozen green beans to make a couple extra. We ended up with 8 8" pans of the stuff, and honestly we like the kind with green beans much better.
Third, maybe I was in pregnant brain, but we didn't bread the chicken at all, and it was totally fine. So here is the modified recipe.
Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe
* no cooking before freezing*
Makes 4 8" casseroles (3 if using deep dish) or 1 9x13 casserole in a lasagna pan because it makes a LOT.
6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
8 cups sliced vegetables (frozen green beans are our fave, or sliced carrots)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp paprika (paprika went MIA in the middle of assembling so I used white pepper, but in the future I will use paprika)
1 1/4 c shredded swiss cheese (accidentally used mozerella since we had more than one bowl of white cheese out during cooking day, tastes fine)
1/3 cup sliced ham (if using diced see instructions)
Put 2 cups vegetables in the bottom of each of the 8" pans.
Mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, lemon juice and paprika together. If using diced ham, add it to the mix. Divide among the pans (about 1 cup in each). Top with 1-2 chicken breasts (frozen is fine) ham (if used slices) and shredded cheese.
Plastic wrap then foil. Keeps for 2+ months in the freezer.
To serve: Thaw in fridge (takes mine about 2 days to thaw completely). Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes* until chicken is cooked.
*Perhaps if I had not used frozen chicken and pounded the chicken flat I could have baked it in less time, but since I used frozen breasts they were not pounded flat.
First off, we would be fine leaving the ham out. Next time I will probably not make it with ham.
Second, we used 8" cake pans, and I think somehow in the conversion process things got confused. The original recipe says to use 2 cups sliced carrots for a 9x13 pan, and I thought the recipe at OAMM (once a month mom) said to use 2 cups of sliced carrots in each 8" pan. Needless to say, we had tons of extra saucy stuff, and since we had extra chicken breasts thanks to a great sale on them, we used some frozen green beans to make a couple extra. We ended up with 8 8" pans of the stuff, and honestly we like the kind with green beans much better.
Third, maybe I was in pregnant brain, but we didn't bread the chicken at all, and it was totally fine. So here is the modified recipe.
Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe
* no cooking before freezing*
Makes 4 8" casseroles (3 if using deep dish) or 1 9x13 casserole in a lasagna pan because it makes a LOT.
6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
8 cups sliced vegetables (frozen green beans are our fave, or sliced carrots)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp paprika (paprika went MIA in the middle of assembling so I used white pepper, but in the future I will use paprika)
1 1/4 c shredded swiss cheese (accidentally used mozerella since we had more than one bowl of white cheese out during cooking day, tastes fine)
1/3 cup sliced ham (if using diced see instructions)
Put 2 cups vegetables in the bottom of each of the 8" pans.
Mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, lemon juice and paprika together. If using diced ham, add it to the mix. Divide among the pans (about 1 cup in each). Top with 1-2 chicken breasts (frozen is fine) ham (if used slices) and shredded cheese.
Plastic wrap then foil. Keeps for 2+ months in the freezer.
To serve: Thaw in fridge (takes mine about 2 days to thaw completely). Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes* until chicken is cooked.
*Perhaps if I had not used frozen chicken and pounded the chicken flat I could have baked it in less time, but since I used frozen breasts they were not pounded flat.
Hmmm...less than steller updating here
Yes, its been the holidays. And I am 39 weeks pregnant. Can you imagine hosting Christmas during a blizzard while 38 weeks pregnant? I did it, and thankfully didn't go into labor.
We haven't been following a specific menu lately, but I have done a crazy cooking day with the assistance of my sisters back when I was only 37 weeks pregnant. I know, I was pushing it. Next time I will make sure to do it earlier, then I will only need a mini session to boost the freezer before having a baby.
I pretty much used the plan from http://onceamonthmom.com except not the entire menu. You see, I didn't send any food home with anyone because both of my sisters were/are moving during December. I have tried several of the things and am glad we made some of the changes we did. I also wish we would have made other changes, but I had never made the recipes before so its not a surprise that it was a little hard going.
Anyway, we expect the baby to come in the next week. And we have enough meals for about 2 months in our family, so we have started eating from the freezer. Not all the food we used was bought at Aldi, in fact the majority was bought elsewhere or we already had on hand. We spent about $200 (plus food we already had) to make 36 casserole dishes, 8 loaves of quick breads (chocolate chip cream cheese and banana breads), and 24 hot pockets. After we ran out of freezer room (we have a 20lb turkey and we had a ham in there at the time) we bagged and froze the rest of the cooked meat, and nixed a couple more dishes. The biggest thing was that many of the meals made much more than we expected.
We haven't been following a specific menu lately, but I have done a crazy cooking day with the assistance of my sisters back when I was only 37 weeks pregnant. I know, I was pushing it. Next time I will make sure to do it earlier, then I will only need a mini session to boost the freezer before having a baby.
I pretty much used the plan from http://onceamonthmom.com except not the entire menu. You see, I didn't send any food home with anyone because both of my sisters were/are moving during December. I have tried several of the things and am glad we made some of the changes we did. I also wish we would have made other changes, but I had never made the recipes before so its not a surprise that it was a little hard going.
Anyway, we expect the baby to come in the next week. And we have enough meals for about 2 months in our family, so we have started eating from the freezer. Not all the food we used was bought at Aldi, in fact the majority was bought elsewhere or we already had on hand. We spent about $200 (plus food we already had) to make 36 casserole dishes, 8 loaves of quick breads (chocolate chip cream cheese and banana breads), and 24 hot pockets. After we ran out of freezer room (we have a 20lb turkey and we had a ham in there at the time) we bagged and froze the rest of the cooked meat, and nixed a couple more dishes. The biggest thing was that many of the meals made much more than we expected.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Apple Stuffing Pork Chops
This is a recipe I would have never come up with on my own or even considered looking up for that matter.
1 can apple pie filling
1 box stuffing - prepared
6 pork chops
Use no stick spray in bottom of 9x13 pan. Pour in can of pie filling and spread evenly. Arrange pock chops on top. Top with prepared stuffing. Bake at least 30 minutes at 375 until pork is cooked.
We took the food out of the oven at 30 minutes and it was boiling hot, so we assumed the meat was done. Nope. It went back in for 20 more minutes after it cooled. I would guess it needs at least 40 minutes.
As for taste, it was surprisingly not bad. DH said there was too much stuffing, I said there was too much apples. I don't know if we will eat this again, but it was simple, and relatively inexpensive.
Pie filling 1.19
Whole wheat Stuffing mix .99
1 lb pork chops .99 (bought at local grocery on sale, not Aldi)
There was supposed to be sides, but while waiting for dinner to cook we ate dessert (brownies) and some saltines because we were hungry. Poor poor us.
Eat again? Maybe. But not likely.
1 can apple pie filling
1 box stuffing - prepared
6 pork chops
Use no stick spray in bottom of 9x13 pan. Pour in can of pie filling and spread evenly. Arrange pock chops on top. Top with prepared stuffing. Bake at least 30 minutes at 375 until pork is cooked.
We took the food out of the oven at 30 minutes and it was boiling hot, so we assumed the meat was done. Nope. It went back in for 20 more minutes after it cooled. I would guess it needs at least 40 minutes.
As for taste, it was surprisingly not bad. DH said there was too much stuffing, I said there was too much apples. I don't know if we will eat this again, but it was simple, and relatively inexpensive.
Pie filling 1.19
Whole wheat Stuffing mix .99
1 lb pork chops .99 (bought at local grocery on sale, not Aldi)
There was supposed to be sides, but while waiting for dinner to cook we ate dessert (brownies) and some saltines because we were hungry. Poor poor us.
Eat again? Maybe. But not likely.
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