Lion House Whole Wheat Bread

I love homemade bread and especially homemade wheat bread. I got this recipe from the new fantastic Lion House Bakery cookbook. I was so happy with how easy it was to make (it takes a while, but each step is easy) and how satisfying and delicious it was with the hamburger soup we had last night. Of course this bread is even better with a shmeer of butter and jam. 

Lion House Whole Wheat Bread 

 1 tablespoon yeast (the recipe calls for 1 package of yeast, but I find at the high altitude that I live at adding a little more yeast works better) 

3 cups lukewarm water 

1 cup rolled or quick oats 

1/4 cup molasses (or honey if you don't have molasses) 

6 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder 

6 tablespoons shortening 

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 tablespoons salt 

2 cups all purpose flour 

 In the bowl of an electric mixer soften the yeast in the 3 cups of water. Add remaining ingredients in the order listed and beat with dough hook until dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Oil a large bowl and place dough in bowl, turning to coat dough with oil. Cover loosely and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.* 

 Punch down dough and shape into 2 equal loaves. Place in 2 well-greased loaf pans; cover with a clean towel and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

 Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until loaves are a rich golden brown color. Turn loaves out onto a wire rack and cool. Brush tops with melted butter. 

 *A good place to let bread rise is in your oven. I preheat my oven to its lowest temp. (170 degrees) turn it off and then set the dough in the oven to rise with the door to the off left open a crack.

Hamburger Soup (Freezer Meal and Crockpot Meal)

Thanks to M. in my freezer meal group for this super yummy soup and recipe! I cooked it in my crockpot all day and it turned out great. I did end up adding a few things that my family likes to the soup like the diced tomatoes just for fun and served it with Lion House whole wheat bread. It was a wonderful and hearty soup for a cold winter night.

Hamburger Soup

1 lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots (or as many as you'd like)
4 cups water
4 teaspoons beef bouillon granuales
1 can cut green beans, drained
1 can corn, undrained
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of garlic pepper blend

Freezer Meal:
Brown hamburger and onion with salt and pepper and drain. In a stockpot add the drained hamburger onion mixture, water, bouillon, potatoes, and carrots and cook until potatoes are almost done. Then add the green beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes. Add ketchup and remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool and freeze. To serve thaw the soup and then heat in a pot or add to a crockpot partially frozen and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Crockpot Meal Directions:
Brown hamburger with onion and salt and pepper, drain. Add hamburger mixture and other ingredients to a crockpot and heat all day on low.

America's Test Kitchen Omelet

I watched the omelet episode of America's Test Kitchen and wanted to make breakfast for dinner right away. So we had these omelets and blueberry muffins the day after I watched the show and wow how good these omelets were (and the muffins!). It is a fussy recipe. But. The omelet turns out so rich and creamy that it's worth the fuss.

America's Test Kitchen Omelet

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 tablespoon butter, divided
1 teaspoon oil

toppings of choice: I used 2 tablespoon shredded Swiss cheese, 1/2 tablespoon sliced green onions, some chopped deli ham

1. Take the tablespoon of butter and cut it in half. Set half of it out at room temp and cut the other half into little pieces and freeze for 10 minutes.
2. While butter pieces are freezing, pour 1 teaspoon of oil into an omelet pan and heat on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Once butter has froze for 10 minutes and pan has heated combine eggs and egg yolk, salt and pepper in a bowl. Beat with a fork for 80 stroked (I know it sounds OCD but it works). Add frozen butter pieces to the eggs.
4. Wipe oil out of the pan with a wad of paper towel leaving a thin film, then add the 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the pan and allow to melt. Add beaten egg mixture to the pan.
   
5. With 2 chopsticks mix around the egg mixture until it begins to solidify (about 1 minute).
6. Remove from heat and smooth out the eggs to an even layer in the pan with a spatula. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit off the heat for 2-3 minutes.
7. Place toppings of choice on the eggs and place on low heat until cheese melts (about a minute).
8. Roll omelet onto a plate and serve. Voila! A wonderfully creamy omelet!
   

America's Test Kitchen Best Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are simply wonderful. They have a great muffiny crumb rather than tasting like cupcakes with blueberries added. And they are not hard to make at all. I used frozen blueberries because that is what I had on hand. I also made a couple other alterations, the original recipe has a lemon sugar topping and I left that out because I'm not a fan of crunchy sugar on my muffins (personal preference). The recipe makes 12 muffins.

America's Test Kitchen Best Blueberry Muffins

2 cups frozen blueberries, divided (can use fresh of course)
1 1/8 cups sugar (8 oz) + 1 teaspoons sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup oil (I used a canola oil blend)
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 T. vinegar + enough milk to equal 1 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 and spray a standard muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Bring 1 cup of blueberries and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/4 a cup - about 6 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature for 15 minutes.

Rinse the remaining cup of frozen blueberries under water and then dry the berries with paper towels and allow them to sit on a layer of paper towels.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl whisk together 1 1/8 cups sugar (that's 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar) and eggs until thick and creamy - about 45 seconds of good whisking. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined.

Put the 1 cup of whole dried blueberries into the flour mixture and toss to coat them well with the flour. With a rubber spatula gently add the wet mixture to the flour mixture folding until just moistened with a few small spots of dry flour (you don't want to overmix).

Scoop muffin batter evenly into muffin tin cups - a ice cream scoop works great. Muffin tins should be almost full to the top. Take 1 teaspoon of the cooked and cooled blueberry compote and place in the center of each muffin cup of batter. Take a skewer and gently swirl the compote into the batter in a figure 8 motion. Bake for 16 - 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking to ensure even baking. Finished muffins should be golden and just firm. Cool muffins in the muffin tins for 5 minutes. Then transfer to wire racks and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Seasoned Fries

I got this recipe from Real Mom Kitchen and it was a great accompaniment to the patty melt sandwiches I made the other night (patty melts = skillet cooked hamburger patties, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese slices, all grilled on rye bread - YUM!). This is a nice way to add flavor to frozen fries.

Seasoned Fries

1, 28 oz bag frozen steak fries or other frozen fries
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fajita seasoning (I used McCormick Fajita Seasonin)

Take frozen fries from the bag they are in and put in a gallon size ziplock. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over fries and shake, drizzle remaining tablespoon of oil over fries and shake. Add 1 teaspoon of fajita seasoning and shake, add last teaspoon of fajita seasoning and shake. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, stirring fries halfway through cooking time.

Crockpot Sloppy Chicken Sandwiches (Freezer Meal)

This was a great freezer meal crockpot kit from my friend Stacey. We had them on homemade wheat rolls with my sisters famous strawberry jello salad and chips and guac. It was a delicious dinner that the whole family loved.

Crockpot Sloppy Chicken Sandwiches (Freezer Meal)

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (less if you don't want it spicy)
3 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Put all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with a spatula in the crockpot and stir well in the sauce. Serve on split rolls or hamburger buns.
Freezer Meal Assembly:
Combine garlic, red pepper flakes, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and cider vinegar. Put chicken into a ziplock bag, pour sauce over and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
Thaw (does not have to thaw all the way) and dump in crockpot. Heat on low all day and shred chicken in crockpot, stir into sauce. Serve on split rolls or hamburger buns.

Crockpot Meat Sauce for Spaghetti

This is a great crockpot spaghetti sauce. It tastes like a great traditional meat sauce. I might even add a little cream next time I make it just to switch it up a little. I got this great recipe from Real Mom Kitchen (it's her "Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce"). It made the house smell so good as it was cooking!

Crockpot Meat Sauce for Spaghetti

2 pounds ground beef (could use 1 1/2 lbs beef and 1/2 lb Italian sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, minced
3, 14 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained (reserve tomato juices to thin sauce if necessary before serving)
2, 14 oz cans tomato sauce
2, 6 oz cans tomato paste
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Brown beef in a large skillet until browned. Transfer to crockpot and combine with other ingredients, mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (stirring occasionally through out the day). Add reserved tomato juices from diced tomatoes to thin sauce if desired. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta with grated parmesan cheese on individual servings. I saved half of the sauce and froze it for another dinner.