Blitz Bread

I wanted a bread for the soup I made the other day and didn't have time to make the divine breadsticks I'v posted before. I remember seeing this on another blog I visit so I decided to give it a try. I could not get two kids to eat it at all. One at the bottom but not the top. Dh and I loved the bread and I can't wait to make it again. I used the Johnny's garlic spread for the herbs. I found the recipe here:

http://realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/blitz-bread.html

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

dried herbs for sprinkling

1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan ( I used non-stick spray), 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. (I used my kitchen aid, but didn't use the dough hook. I used the paddle type attachment. The one I use to mix cookie dough)

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.To make cheese-stuffed bread: Add 1 cup crumbled feta cheese to the dough after it's been kneaded for 60 seconds.

Semi-Minestrone Soup

I started out thinking I wanted to make minestrone soup but I didn't have any canned kidney beans and I forgot to soak the dried ones plus I had some defrosted sausage to use. So I ended up subbing the sausage for the beans and it turned out pretty good. I started with a recipe that I wanted to try but I was out of almost half the ingredients so I guess you can say this is an original recipe. The adults in the house loved the soup. The kids picked the sausage out and ate only that.

1 medium onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

5 carrots, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cube chicken bullion

1 cube beef bullion

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup brown rice

half a head of chopped cabbage

1 pound Italian sausage

5 drops tabasco sauce or less depending on your taste

3 cups water

Cook sausage until brown. Halfway through cooking add onions and celery. Add carrots and garlic. Add water and tomatoes, bullions, and salt/pepper. Bring to a boil and then add cabbage and rice. Bring back to boil then let simmer 3-4 hours. Add tabasco sauce to taste. Serve.

Coleslaw

I made coleslaw from scratch. Totally. I shredded a head of cabbage, some carrots, and green onions. It actually tasted really good. Much better than any other attempt at making coleslaw on my own. Even dh commented on how good this attempt was. So I found this recipe here:

http://thespottedapron.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/seans-pulled-pork-my-homemade-coleslaw/

I didn't use the pulled pork recipe they had posted because I really really like my South Carolina pulled pork recipe. I posted the recipe and a picture a few months ago. I'm copying her recipe although I didn't used the bagged stuff. I chopped all of my vegetables, mainly because I had a huge head of cabbage from a CSA pick up.

To cheat and make the chopping go quicker, I used a bag of broccoli slaw and a bag of chopped purple cabbage in addition to the carrots I sliced on the mandoline. The flavor and crunch were great. But if you want to really slice and dice, use ½ head of savoy cabbage and ½ head of purple cabbage. You can also add fresh parsley or green onions. Adjust the recipe to your taste and what you have in your pantry or garden.
1 ½ tablespoon whole-grain mustard or a good quality Dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 cup sour cream 

1/2 lemon, juiced 

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

2 teaspoons sugar 

1 bag of broccoli slaw 

1/2 head purple cabbage, finely sliced 

2 carrots, sliced on mandoline or julienned
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the mustard, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar and mix well.
Add the finely sliced cabbage, broccoli slaw, and carrots to the dressing. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow the flavors to marinate.
Serve when you are ready, cold or at room temperature.

Green Bean Soup

This is a pretty simple and easy to make soup. It also doesn't have alot of ingredients or pricey ingredients so you can say its a frugal meal. This is a very basic soup and lends itself to whatever your tastes may be. I'm sure there are endless possibilities for making this soup.

2 lbs fresh green beans with the ends snapped off and snapped into bite size pieces

one onion chopped

3 garlic cloves minced (use less if your not a garlic fan because it does taste like garlic)

ham hock, or diced ham, or bacon bits- as much as you like or one ham hock

Place everything in the crockpot and cover with water. Add salt and pepper to your taste. And add about 1 tablespoon paprika. I also like to add about 2-4 drops of tabasco sauce. Cook on high heat for 6 hours or low heat for 8-10 hours. Serve.

Jalapeno Poppers

I love these at resturants and hate the frozen ones. As such I seldom eat these, although I guess that's a good thing considering how fattening they are. The other day though I received quite a few jalapenos in my csa box plus not knowing I was getting them in the csa bought about 20 from the farmer's market. So I decided to take the challenge and make my own. I searched all over on the web and found several interesting recipes including a no breading but bacon wrapped popper. I settled on the recipe I found here:
http://tinamommyx3.blogspot.com/2008/08/texas-jalapeno-poppers.html

Overall they were very good. I ran out of breadcrumbs so I used about 1/4 cup cornmeal. My only problem with the poppers I made is they were very very spicy. I must have had the hottest jalapeno's in the batch. I even took all the seeds and ribbing out.

These poppers were much better than any frozen ones. I think I still prefer the resturant ones over homemade I'll make these at home anytime I get the craving.

12 - oz. cream cheese, softened
1 - 8 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 -2 T. bacon bits
12 - oz. jalapeno peppers, seeded and halved
1 - cup milk
1 - cup all-purpose flour
1 - cup dry bread crumbs
2 - quarts oil for frying

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Spoon this mixture into the jalapeno pepper halves. Put the milk and flour into two separate small bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapenos first into the milk then into the flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Allow the coated jalapenos to dry for about 10 minutes. Dip the jalapenos in milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry, then repeat to ensure the entire surface of the jalapeno is coated. In a medium skillet or home fryer, heat the oil to 375° F.. Deep fry the coated jalapenos 2 to 3 minutes each, until golden brown. Remove and let drain on a paper towel