Dehydrating Bananas

Oh what a beautiful snowy day it is today! Great day to stay home and bake, dehydrate, sew and work on websites. Since I finished the Apples last night (oh they are so tasty), I decided that the bananas were the next on my list. My mind is swirling with all these ideas of what I can do with all this fruit in its dehydrated state. But I don't want to give away my ideas, just yet :). As I was looking at the 9 pounds of bananas that I bought the other day, I couldn't decide whether I should make slices or sticks, so I decided to try both! Here they are in all their naked glory! OH I can't wait until these are done!!!

Processing Wheat into Flour

Nutrimill (borrowed from my friend), 2 bags of
recently cleaned whole wheat kernels, and my container to
put the flour in once it is finished processing.

Pouring the kernels into the hopper.

Finishing the last batch of kernels.

Look at those BEAUTIFUL grains! Love that color!
Who needs bleached white flour when you can
have straight-from-the-grain whole wheat flour

2 batches, almost fills the container! So for next time I will do 3 batches
and see where that gets me. But for now, I am excited to use it in my
breads this weekend.

Garlic-Herb Breadsticks

I was cruising through my new Food Network Magazine the other night when I came upon this recipe for Garlic-Herb Breadsticks. They were doing a piece on Glee (the TV show) and decided to make some breadsticks to mimic the shows reference to a fictional date-night hangout called BreadstiX. So having just finished watching the latest episode of Glee on Hulu.com, I decided to make them as well.

Here is the recipe (below recipe are some of my changes)

INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
Chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and/or oregano), for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS
Put 3/4 cup warm water in a food processor. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse until dissolved. Add the flour, olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter and pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Continue to process with the motor running until smooth, about 2 more minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; brush with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces, then roll each piece into a 12-to-16-inch rope. Arrange the ropes 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, rolling them to coat with the oil. Cover each baking sheet with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until the breadsticks double in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the garlic in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, about 1 minute. Brush the breadsticks with the garlic butter; sprinkle with herbs and salt. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

CHANGES
- I used my KitchenAid Mixer instead of a food processor, just as easy.

- I would recommend covering the dough "sticks" with a lightly greased cling wrap instead of the damp towel. The towel stuck to the dough (even though I made sure it was damp).

- Instead of brushing the dough with melted butter in step 3, I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Garlic.

Yummy Cherry Almond Granola

Makes 12 cups

Chock-full of grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and natural sweeteners, granola is easy to prepare, and, when it’s homemade, it’s much lower in sugar and fat than store-bought varieties. This basic recipe can be easily adapted to create many different versions, including the three variations that follow. You can omit the nuts or the dried fruit, as desired. For a vegan option, simply omit the egg whites; the granola won’t be as crunchy but will still be delicious. Freeze granola in an airtight container for up to three months (it thaws quickly), or store at room temperature for up to two weeks.

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 ¼ cups chopped nuts, such as raw almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, or combination (optional)
¼ cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or sunflower seeds
1/3 cup ground flaxseed or toasted wheat germ, or a combination
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large egg whites
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
¾ cup sweetener, such as honey, agave, or unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit, such as sour cherries, cranberries, currants, raisins, apricots, figs, or pineapple

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts (if using), pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites and salt until frothy. Add honey and oil, and whisk to combine. Stir into oat mixture until combined.

2. Spread mixture in even layers on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes; remove from oven, and use a spatula to gently flip the granola and move it from the outer edges to center (to brown evenly). Return to oven, and continue to cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Cool completely on sheets, then transfer to a bowl; stir in dried fruit.

Nutritional info: Per ½-cup serving: 207 calories; .7 g saturated fat; 5.5 g unsaturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 6 g protein; 68 mg sodium; 3.8 g fiber

SUGGESTED COMBINATIONS:

Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, Sour Cherries, and Toasted Coconut
Use 1 ¼ cups chopped pistachios and ¼ cup sunflower seeds in the base. After granola has been baked, stir in 1 cup dried sour cherries and ½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut.
Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Currants, and Puffed Brown Rice
Use 1 ¼ cup sliced almonds and ¼ cup pumpkin seeds in the base. After granola has been baked, stir in 1 cup dried currants and ½ cup puffed brown rice.

Macadamia Nuts with Crystallized Ginger and PineappleUse 1 ¼ cups chopped macadamia nuts, and molasses as the sweetener in the base. Add ¾ teaspoon ground ginger to the oat mixture. After granola has been baked, stir in ¾ cup chopped dried pineapple, ¼ cup chopped crystallized ginger, and ½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut.
Reprinted from the book Power Foods by the editors of Whole Living magazine. Copyright © 2010 by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ham & Cheese Biscuits with Homemade Butter

I love making homemade, from scratch biscuits. But my hubby still loves the ones you get from the big yellow box - that's right Bisquick! They are the ones he grew up on! So I don't fight it :) I embrace it and make him the BEST darn Bisquick biscuits he's ever had! This morning - being Valentine's Day - I made him Ham & Cheese Biscuits with Homemade Butter. And jazzed it up with heart shaped ham on top and heart shaped butter slices. Here is the recipe for the biscuits

2 cups Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup ham (chopped to small bits)
1/2 cup mozerella (shredded)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 slices of 1/8" thick cut ham
small heart cookie cutter (about 1")

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a 9 cups in a muffin pan with cooking spray, then set aside.

In a medium size bowl, combine the Bisquick mix, ham and both cheeses. Mix well. Add the milk and mix until combined (do not over mix).

Divide the dough, evenly, into the cups of the muffin pan. Press dough lightly into the cups and top with a heart shaped piece of ham (optional).

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes 9 biscuits.

For the heart shaped butter, I placed a small amount of butter on a piece of wax paper, placed another piece of wax paper on top and rolled it out with a rolling pin. Make sure to keep the butter cold - or it will turn into melted hearts. Then use a small heart cookie cutter and stamp out the hearts. Set the cutouts on a plate and put in the fridge to harden.

Just like the Market - Sugar Cookies (but better)

Every time me and my hubby go to the market he is always drawn (like a magnet) to the Sugar Cookies at the front of the store. So light and fluffy with just the perfect amount of icing! So I decided to find a recipe so I could make them for him at home! This recipe was perfected by Betty Crocker®.

INGREDIENTS

Cookies
1 box Betty Crocker® Super Moist® white cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4  egg whites

Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon yellow gel or paste food color
1/4 cup candy sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

- Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheets). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, and egg whites with spoon until dough forms.
- Onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart.
- Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until puffed and almost no indentation remains when touched. Cool 1 minute; before removing from cookie sheet. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and shortening with spoon. Stir in milk and vanilla until smooth. If necessary, stir in additional milk, a few drops at a time, until smooth and spreadable.
- Generously frost cookies using rounded tablespoonfuls of frosting. Immediately decorate with sprinkles; pushing in gently if necessary to make sure they stick to the frosting. Store loosely covered.

Fun night of Holiday Cookie Baking!

Last night my friend Britney took me out for my Christmas gift surprise! She had been building up the suspense for a few weeks and I couldn't wait to find out what it was! So after spending an entire day working on Christmas presents I headed over to her house all excited to find out what my surprise was! First we went to the Dollar Store - that in itself is awesome! Then we went to dinner and then to the community college in Sterling, Colorado. That's where I found out that she was taking me to a Holiday Cookie Baking Class! How fun is that! As we entered the room I got even more excited! We were going to bake Gingerbread Cookies and Sugar Cookies. The instructor, who is a Pastry Chef, told us all about the history of the cookie. Fascinating! Did you know that are 7 categories of cookies?

- Drop cookies are made from a relatively soft dough that is dropped by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough spread and flatten. Chocolate chip cookies (Toll House cookies), oatmeal (or oatmeal raisin) cookies and rock cakes are popular examples of drop cookies.

- Refrigerator cookies are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated to become even stiffer. The dough is typically shaped into cylinders which are sliced into round cookies before baking.

- Molded cookies are also made from a stiffer dough that is molded into balls or cookie shapes by hand before baking. Snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies are examples of molded cookies.

- Rolled cookies are made from a stiffer dough that is rolled out and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Gingerbread men are an example.

- Pressed cookies are made from a soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press into various decorative shapes before baking. Spritzgebäck are an example of a pressed cookie.

- Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie, while Rice Krispie treats are a bar cookie that doesn't require baking, perhaps similar to a cereal bar. In British English, bar cookies are known as "tray bakes".

- Sandwich cookies are rolled or pressed cookies that are assembled as a sandwich with a sweet filling. Fillings may be with marshmallow, jam, or icing. The Oreo cookie, made of two chocolate cookies with a vanilla icing filling is an example.

We were then set up at our station where our group made Sugar Thumbprint Cookies with Candied Cherries. I have to say, our cookies turned out the best :) So pretty and uniform on the baking sheet, lots of color, and baked just slightly underdone so they were soft and chewy and melted in your mouth!

The other 3 groups made:
- Sugar Coated Sugar Cookies
- Ginger Bread Cookies with Toffee and Chocolate toppings
- Sugar Coated Ginger Bread Cookies

We got to take home a sampling of everyone's cookies! It was such a fun night and the best part is I got to do it with my BFF!

Pumpkin Pie Brioche

Looking in my fridge this morning - wondering what to do with all of this wonderful fresh pureed pumpkin. Also the need for making bread, led me to this recipe on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes site. Oh I can't wait to try this! I don't have a brioche pan so I decided to use a loaf pan.

Here is the recipe:


Pumpkin Pie Brioche:
3 cups white whole wheat
4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup neutral flavored oil or unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (freshly roasted or canned)
Egg wash for brushing on top
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

These directions are abridged from the book, for more detailed instructions go to page 284 in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Mixing and storing the dough: whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a 5-quart Food Storage Container, fitted with a non-airtight lid. Combine the liquid ingredients and add them to the dry with a wooden spoon. Mix thoroughly, until there are no more dry bits of flour. The dough will be quite loose when you are done.

Cover the container and allow the dough to rest on the counter for 2 hours. Once it has risen refrigerate for at least 2 hours before baking or it is too difficult to handle. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

On baking day: Grease a Non-Stick Brioche Mold. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe size) piece of dough. Dust with more flour and quickly shape into a ball.

Place the ball of dough into the prepared pan with the smooth side up.  Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap for 1 hour 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 with the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

As you can see it didn’t rise that much during the rest. That is normal for our dough. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash using a pastry brush and sprinkle it with the raw sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then turn it out and form a thick ring with a clean kitchen towel and invert the brioche onto the towel so that the dome of the brioche is supported by the towel. This will prevent the top or bottom of the loaf from getting crushed as it cools. Let the dough come to room temperature before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Apple Walnut Muffins - Sugar Free

If you like muffins but don't want all that sugary taste that goes along with some of them, then you will love this recipe! It is full of apple flavor and not over powered by too much sugar.

I changed the original recipe to include a very important step that adds more apple flavor. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup apples, chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup Splenda (for the non-SF version use 1/4 sugar)
1 egg
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt 

Topping
1 cup apples, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Splenda (or sugar if you prefer) 

Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners

- In a small sauce pan add 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 cup of apples, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp Splenda (or sugar if you prefer). Stir on Medium heat for 6-7 minutes (or until mushy). Set aside to cool.

- Mix the remainder of the ingredients (except for the topping) together using a wooden spoon. Batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Take a teaspoon of the Topping and place into the center of the batter of each muffin cup.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Make 1 dozen.

Ooey Gooey Apple Butterscotch Cake

After making the Sugar Free Apple Cake yesterday, I decided to make the full sugar version with Butterscotch chips and nothing healthy for my hubby and the guys last night. Here is the recipe for the ooey gooey version. Enjoy!

Ingredients
 
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 cups apples chopped (I left mine unpeeled, but you can do it either way)
2 cups Butterscotch chips

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan

- In a medium-sized bowl, sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

- In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, just until blended; stir in nuts and apples.

- Sprinkle butterscotch chips on top of the batter. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan; invert onto a rack to finish cooling.

Apple Cake - Sugar Free

Ingredients
 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups Splenda
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 cups apples chopped (I left mine unpeeled, but you can do it either way)

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan

- In a medium-sized bowl, sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

- In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, just until blended; stir in nuts and apples.

- Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan; invert onto a rack to finish cooling.