Naan

OK, so I ended up NOT making the Blitz Bread today, but that's because Chris thought I should make traditional Indian bread...and since we decided to invite our neighbors over for dinner, I thought it would be good to serve along with the Indian dish (we had chicken tikka masala).
The bread was outstanding! I used Ener-G Egg replacer for the egg, and it turned out perfect (although I was worried because it was a little browner than we'd had before, but it tasted great!!) It was light and airy, and made a pocket in the middle! YUM! And it was great with the sauce for the chicken! Best part, it was very easy!
I got this one from My Kitchen Cafe as well.

Ingredients:
14 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl by hand), stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients.
2. Increase machine speed to 2 (or by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.



3. Put a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.
4. Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop (mine were more like oval) shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across.
5. Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Remove the naan and lay on a board. Serve warm with a nice curry. (The original recipe says to butter the naan with garlic butter after it comes out of the oven but I did this with the first batch and found it made the bread too greasy for my taste - we much preferred the bread soft and tender without the butter. Follow your tastes and do what you prefer!)

Chicken Tikka Masala

This was so flavorful! We had our neighbors over for dinner tonight, and I was a little worried b/c I hadn't made it before, but it was a big hit! Everyone loved it, even all the kids!
Another super and easy recipe!!!

I got it from My Kitchen Cafe


Ingredients for Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (you can substitute paprika for the cayenne or cut down/omit amount of cayenne!)
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions for Chicken:
1. Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and
refrigerate for one hour. Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade.


Ingredients for Tikka Masala Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Directions for Sauce:
1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for
one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and
cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
2. Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot saffron rice.

Blitz Bread

So, this bread looks like the Focaccia Bread I used to buy...it was a mix that you just added water and oil to and baked it this same way. It was SO good, we ate it all the time. I am so excited to try this one because if it is similar we'll be making it all the time!!!! :-) I'm definitely making this one tonight!

I got it from My Kitchen Cafe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups (14 ¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoons dried herbs (I have an herb medley of oregano, basil, parsley and rosemary that I use)
dried herbs for sprinkling


Directions:
1. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.
2. Combine all of the ingredients, except the dried herbs for sprinkling, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it is puffy.
4. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5. Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6. Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.
7. Bake the bread till it’s golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

When I asked Julie if she would like to help me make some bread today, she got so excited and asked if we could make cinnamon raisin bread...and how could I say no?! :-) She's so adorable!

So, here we go. This is the recipe I'm going to try. Got it from All Recipes, although I think it came from Taste of Home originally. Some of the reviews said it needed an egg to make it a little more moist, so I was going to add some egg replacer. BUT, I forgot when the time came to add it, so I ended up following the recipe as is.

It was so good! we thought it was better than the kinds we have had in restaurants! YUMMY!!! You want a super tasty treat (that is relatively easy to prepare), you should definitely try this one out! I know I'll be making it again and again!

And, what a simple and beautiful (and of course tasty) treat to make for your friends or neighbors as little gifts for them! :-)


Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups raisins
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water

GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/3 cup sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
2. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours.



3. Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide in half. Roll each into a 15-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with water. Starting with a short side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over loaves.




I added a little red sparkly glaze/icing to the top for a cute Valentine's breakfast!

My Own Thai Shrimp Creation

I started out with a recipe, but decided after I thawed the shrimp that it wasn't what I wanted...so I started over. And, this is what we got!
I wasn't sure at first but it turned out really good, and the kids all cleared their plates (Derek even ate 2!).

Thai Shrimp Linguini

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp panang curry paste
1 1/2 cans coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup water, divided
1 pkg rice noodles
2 small green zucchinis, diced
1 small yellow squash, diced

Directions:
1. In large bowl, cover rice noodles in cold water for about 20-25 minutes to soften; drain.
2. In large skillet, combine coconut milk, curry paste, garlic, salt, and pepper. Heat over medium high heat until bubbly. Add shrimp and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until pink. Add drained, softened rice noodles, squash, and zucchini.
3. Add about 1/3 cup water and stir well. If sauce becomes too thick, add another 1/3 cup water. Continue cooking and adding water as needed, until shrimp are done, and veggies are tender.

Pleasing Potato Pizza

OK, so I have to admit, I was skeptical. I LOVE pizza and I LOVED loaded baked potatoes...but together?! That sounded nuts.
It was the award winning pizza recipe from Taste of Home though...so I figured since they've never steered me wrong even once, I'd give it a try. And you know what?! It was fantastic!

Pleasing Potato Pizza

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 pizza crust (homemade or store-bought)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 pound sliced bacon, diced (OR 1 package pre-cooked bacon pieces - I use these!)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
**I also added a minced up jalapeno pepper, seeds and membrane removed
sour cream, optional

Directions:
1. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until very tender.
2. Preheat oven to 550 degrees with large round stone in place on rack in middle of oven.
3. Unroll (or flatten out) pizza crust onto large pizza peel, sprinkled generously with coarse corn flour (to keep from sticking!).
4. Drain potatoes and transfer to a mixing bowl. Mash with milk and salt until smooth. Spread over crust. In a skillet, partially cook the bacon. Add onion and red pepper; cook until bacon is crisp and vegetables are tender. Drain well; sprinkle over potatoes. Top with cheeses and jalapenos.
5. Bake for approximately 7-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is fully melted.
6. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Velveeta Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice

Man, oh man...I don't know why I bother slaving over meals for my kids...this was the easiest and quickest meal to prepare EVER and they gobbled it up like it was a pile of M&Ms! :-) I'll be making this one again for sure!

Velveeta Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
14 oz chicken broth
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
8 oz velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

Directions:
1. Cook and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 5 minutes or until done.
2. Stir in broth; bring to a boil.
3. Add rice, velveeta, and broccoli; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir until velveeta is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

Tip: To quick-thaw frozen broccoli, microwave for about half the cooking time specified on the package.