Whole Wheat Bread

This is the bread that I make every week. My kids eat it for breakfast every day.

It makes 3 loaves. I freeze them until we're ready for the next loaf. They freeze great and thaw within about an hour or 2.

In a mixer add:

2 1/2 c. very warm water

1 1/4 Tbs SAF yeast

3 1/2 c. wheat flour

1/3 c. vital wheat gluten flour

Mix 1 minute and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Add:

1 Tbs salt

1/3 c. oil

1/3 c. honey

1 1/4 Tbs dough enhancer

While mixing this all in with a dough hook, gradually add

2 1/2 c. wheat flour

Beat for 6-10 minutes on level 3 for Bosch mixer, you choose for kitchen aid.

Let dough rise until double. Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Shape into loaves and place in oiled (cooking sprayed) bread pans, then put it in the oven and turn the oven off. Let them rise until double again, take them out of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes at 350.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is amazing! My kids scarf it and ask for more until it's gone.

4 c. chicken broth

2 c. water

2 cooked chicken breast halves, shredded or cubed

1 4.5 oz pkg Uncle Ben's quick cooking long grain and wild rice mix

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. butter

2 c. half & half

In a large pot combine broth and water. Bring to a boil and stir in rice (reserving the seasoning packet). Cover and remove from heat.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Stir in seasoning packet until bubbly and turn to low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Whisk in half & half slowly. Cook until thickened, for about 5 minutes. Stir into broth and rice and heat until warmed through, adding your cooked chicken, as well.

I think it's good with a cup of frozen peas, too. I often use a rotisserie chicken and milk instead of half & half.

Homemade Marshmallows

This is the recipe my friend Heidi used to show me how to make these delicious treats.  I just took it right from the website.  is that okay?  we share stuff right out of cookbooks, right.  anyway, here is the link if that will make it official http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/06/springy-fluffy-marshmallows/.



Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows 

Adapted from Gourmet, December 1998

These homemade marshmallows are not only easy to make, they set as perfectly as promised: puffed and lightweight, bouncing off one another as I tossed them in the container. Even better, they toasted like a campfire charm speared on the end of a skewer, and s’mooshed between two graham crackers with a square of chocolate.

Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows

About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe even some food coloring for tinting)

Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.

In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. (Some reviewers felt this took even longer with a hand mixer, but still eventually whipped up nicely.)

In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Do ahead: Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.

there are a lot of instructions, but it really only took 20 minutes to do the whole thing and three hours in the fridge to cool. not that intimidating really. I used food coloring to make them pink and a metal heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut them out.  the possibilities are endless on this one

Cold Cereal

While we were at Gpa's room trying to clean things out, i snatched his copy of GOOD GRIEF, the story of Charles M. Schulz. towards the end of the book the author included Mr. Schulz's contribution to a celebrity cookbook "assembled to raise money for a Connecticut school fund".  he submitted his recipe for cold cereal. i am posting it because it made me laugh and reminded me of Grandpa.

Cold cereal can be enjoyed late at night when feeling lonely and recalling your high school days.  It is also necessary to have something to read while eating.  If books or magazines are not abailable, the printing on the cereal box itself may be read.