Multigrain Bread

From ourbestbites.com who got it from Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
Optional (I omitted): 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

*If you’re using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.

Instructions
Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours together in separate bowl.

Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter, and yeast and mix on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until cohesive mass starts to form (*note: some at high altitudes have noted they have not needed all of the flour, go by look and feel and stop adding flour if you need to!) 1 1/2-2 minutes; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does. Don’t add more!) continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds (if using) and knead for another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, round ball. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half. Press 1 piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle, with short side facing you. Roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed. Repeat with second piece of dough. Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable il spray. Roll each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared pans, pressing gently into corners. Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes. Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving.

Storage: Bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with additional layer of foil, bread can be frozen for up to a month.

For those without a stand mixer, Cook’s Illustrated recommends: “Stir wet and dry ingredients together with a stiff rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, roughd ball, 15-25 minutes, adding additional flour, if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. Proceed with recipe as directed.”

Baked Potato Soup

4 baking potatoes (2 1/2 pounds)
2 Tbs butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

10 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. Discard skins.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Melt butter in a large dutch oven. Add flour, whisking to combine with the butter. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper, and paprika, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Add additional salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.

(Adapted from "The Best Of Cooking Light" via http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2009/12/baked-potato-soup.html. Picture also from that website.) :)

"Hot Hawaiian" Pizza

Use whatever pizza crust you want. (For recipe night I used the pop-open biscuits and flattened them out for the crust. Then just cook it according to the package directions.) Top with a thin layer of barbecue sauce of your choice. Then add toppings of cooked chicken, bacon, pineapple, jalapenos and cheese. Cook and eat!

Pumpkin Gingerbread

(from allrecipes.com)
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

1 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing mix
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 Tbsp lemon juice then enough milk to fill 1 cup total)
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 small jalapeno (remove seed)
1 cup light mayo
1 tsp lime juice
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Refrigerate until served.

Note: I use this on salads, tacos, burritos, enchiladas... anything Mexican.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 10-¾ ounce cans cream of chicken soup
¾ cup milk
1 10-½ ounce package tortilla chips
4 ounce can green chilies, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, soup and milk together; set aside.
2. In a lightly greased 13"x9" baking dish, layer tortilla chips, half of chicken mixture, green chilies and cheese.
3. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
5. While casserole is baking, prepare a tossed salad to serve with dinner. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
(from www.momswhothink.com)

BBQ Chicken Salad

2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Cilantro, if desired

1. Mix salad dressing and BBQ sauce in bowl.
2. In large bowl add chopped lettuce, chicken, corn and beans. Add dressing and toss.

No-bake Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and margarine in pan on stove. Turn heat to high. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, keep stirring for 60 seconds (time it). Remove from heat. Allow to cool completely to room temperature (you should be able to put your hand on the bottom of the pan comfortably). Do not stir the pan at all during cooling... that breaks the bonds that will later hold the cookies together. Add vanilla, peanut butter and oats. Stir until the mixture loses its glossy look (about a minute). Scoop into cookies. (They will need time to set up completely.)

Chicken strips

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/2 Tb salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 Tb water
2 slices of bread, toasted in toaster and food processed to make crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken breast into strip-size pieces (about an inch wide). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Combine flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper in a shallow bowl. Combine egg and water in another shallow bowl. Combine bread and cheese in a third bowl. Dip chicken into flour mixture (shake off excess flour), then in egg mixture, then in bread crumb mixture. Repeat with all chicken.

Cook at 475 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 14 oz cans corn, drained
2 14 oz cans pinto beans, drained
2 14 oz cans black beans, drained
1-4 chicken breasts
About 1 cup of your favorite salsa

Put in crock pot. Add 1/2 cup water if you want. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

Serve with: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, green onions, whatever you like.