Bread Recipes

Kim, I'm putting these up for you since you were saying you needed to get my bread recipes.  I actually got both of these online, although the first one I modified a bit since I don't have a bread machine like the recipe called for (thank goodness because I'd make bread every day!).  The second one is the one I did yesterday and it was pretty dang good - it'd be great with pasta or to shape into a pizza crust.


Sandwich Buns 
(I cut the recipe in half to get about 6 good sized buns)

• 1 1/4 cups warm milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 
  
• Warm the milk so it's just hot enough that you can still touch it, then mix with sugar & yeast.  Let sit for 5+ minutes until there is a nice foam going (activates the yeast).  Add the rest of the ingredients, slowly adding the flour last.  This works best in a food processor or large mixer with a dough hook, but you could do it by hand also.  Keep kneading the dough until smooth/rubbery, then place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with damp dish/paper towel to rise until doubled (a warm place is best).  Then cut pieces of dough & form into balls, lay out on a cookie sheet & cover again with a towel for 30 minutes.  Brush the tops with the melted butter & cook at 350 degrees for approx 15 minutes (when they start turning golden, they're done).  
• 
  
• 
  
• Italian Herb Bread
• • 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
  • 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
  • 6 cups bread flour
  
  
• Mix yeast, warm water, and white sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.  Stir olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese, and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next three cups of flour. Dough will be stiff.  Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and rubbery. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp linen dish towel. Allow to rise for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.  Punch dough down to release all the air. Shape into two loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet, or into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about a 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Remove loaves from pan(s), and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Baby Back Ribs

Ribs from Devin's Birthday

Rack of BabyBack Ribs (use as many racks as you need)
Tabasco
Garlic Powder
Pepper


Slather the ribs with tabasco, be generous it cooks off and they won't be hot. Rub the tabasco into the ribs. Sprinkle both sides of ribs with garlic powder and pepper. Again be generous. These ingredients give the ribs all the flavor. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
Grill the ribs until there is a little char on them. They do not need to be cooked all the way through
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Cover deep pan (a cake pan works) with foil. Cook ribs for 4 1/2 hours for a "little tug" or 5 hours for fall of the bone ribs.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce or eat plain.

Baby Back Ribs

Ribs from Devin's Birthday

Rack of BabyBack Ribs (use as many racks as you need)
Tabasco
Garlic Powder
Pepper


Slather the ribs with tabasco, be generous it cooks off and they won't be hot. Rub the tabasco into the ribs. Sprinkle both sides of ribs with garlic powder and pepper. Again be generous. These ingredients give the ribs all the flavor. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
Grill the ribs until there is a little char on them. They do not need to be cooked all the way through
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Cover deep pan (a cake pan works) with foil. Cook ribs for 4 1/2 hours for a "little tug" or 5 hours for fall of the bone ribs.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce or eat plain.

Pork Burritos

2-3 lb. Pork Tenderloin Roast
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups FRESH Salsa (very important to use fresh salsa)
20 oz Vanilla Coke (I usually only use about half of this)

***Adjust any of these ingredients to your liking.

Combine all ingredients together in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once the pork has cooked through (usually for me this is somewhere between 4-5 hours) remove the roast and shred it. Return shredded pork to the crockpot and continue cooking.

Serve in warm tortilla shells (we like the ones you cook yourself from Costco) with your favorite fixings. Our favorites are cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

Tortellini Soup

1 T butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (9 oz) pkg. cheese tortellini

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

½ bunch fresh spinach

3t fresh basil or 1t dried basil

Melt butter in a large saucepan and sauté garlic over med heat for 2 min.

Stir in broth and tortellini. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Simmer 5 min. Add tomatoes, spinach, and basil into soup.

Simmer 10 minutes more. Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve.

Fruit Dip

Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese (room temp)

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

Mix together, and enjoy with any kind of fruit.

You can add walnuts if you like. I don't like nuts so I don't

Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Blackened Chicken

1 T. olive oil
8 oz. gemelli or penne pasta
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dry basil (or 3 T. fresh)
1 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup cream
Handful of spinach (optional)
Parmesan cheese

• Cook pasta according to directions; drain and keep warm.
• Pour tomatoes into a small sauce pan and add dry basil and sugar. (If using fresh basil stir in at the end.) Reduce the tomatoes over medium-high heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Once the tomatoes have thickened, reduce heat and stir in cream. Heat through but do not boil. Toss with pasta (and spinach if you are using it.)
• Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve with grilled chicken.

***This recipe reminds me of the penne rosa from noodles & co.

No Bake Cheesecake

No Bake Cheesecake

1 8 oz package cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup sour cream (room temp)
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz cool whip (thawed)
1 pre-made graham cracker crust

Using a hand mixer cream sugar and cream cheese. Then mix in sour cream. Fold (use a spatula) in cool whip. Put cream cheese mixture into crust and let set in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Kabob Marinade

Awesome Kabob Marinade

1 1/2 cups oil

3/4 cup soy sauce (can use low-sodium)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste I use seasoned salt)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes

1 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1/2 cup wine vinegar

1 -2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or to taste, I use lots!)

1/3 cup store-bought teriyaki sauce

1/2 cup honey 

2 small green onions, chopped (optional)

Put all ingredients into a blender (except the green onions, if using add them in after blending). Blend for 30-40 seconds. Mix in in green onions. This recipe makes 3-1/2 cups of marinade, but may be stored in the refrigerator tightly covered in a glass container for up to 3 weeks.

*NOTE* marinate the beef, pork or lamb for 8 hours or up to 24 hours chicken up to 8 hours.

Mindy's Chicken Pesto Sandwich

Chicken Pesto Sandwich

2 pkgs refrigerated French Bread dough (I used 1 store bought French bread)
2 Tb olive oil, divided
3 Tb grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, or use kettle cooked turkey breast or rotisserie chicken
salt and pepper
2 medium red bell peppers
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup prepared basil pesto
1/4 tsp Lemon Pepper seasoning
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemmed

Place dough, seam side down on a large baking stone or silpat covered cookie sheet. Use serrated knife to make 4 diagonal cuts, 1/2 in deep, on top of each. Using a pastry brush lightly brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 26-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Immediately remove bread to cooking rack and cool completely. (If you use store bought French bread, you can skip all of this.)
If grilling the chicken heat grill to medium temperature. Brush chicken with 1 tsp of olive oil season lightly with salt and pepper. Slice bell peppers into 1/2 inch strips and toss with remaining 1Tb of oil. Place chicken and bell pepper slices on grid of grill. Grill uncovered for 12-15 minutes turning as needed until chicken is cooked and bell peppers are tender. Remove from grill and cool slightly. Cut chicken into thin strips. Combine mayo, pesto and lemon pepper. To assemble sandwich, cut bread in half horizontally. Spread half of the presto mixture over cut side of bread bottom, cover with spinach leaves. Arrange chicken evenly over spinach; top with bell pepper strips. Spread remaining pesto mixture over top half. Cut each loaf into 4 sections. Enjoy!

Carly's Spinach Salad

Spinach Salad

Ok, I don't have an exact recipe for this. I usually just throw everything together.

Sugared Pecans (or almonds, or walnuts, whatever you have on hand is fine)

 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 - 2 cups nuts

Put nuts in sauce pan on medium high heat, add sugar and cook until sugar melts and crystalizes onto the nuts. Watch this VERY carefully. The nuts toast very fast and can burn in a second! I do not walk away, I just stand there. It only takes about 5 minutes.

Salad

Bag of spinach, washed and stems torn off (the stems are personal preference)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup nuts

Toss salad and add dressing. I use a raspberry vinaigrette or a white balsamic vinaigrette by Girards. But you can use any brand. The white balsamic is only a Girards dressing. 

Again, I don't have an exact recipe for the salad so just use as little or as much of the ingredients you like. This is just for a general guideline.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons

Crispy Southwestern Wontons

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup frozen corn kernals
1/4 cup canned black beans, drained
5 oz (1 cup) chicken, shredded
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp (1/2 pkg) dry ranch dressing
24 wonton wrappers
canola or vegetable oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and salt and saute for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add corn, beans, and chicken and stir to combine. Move the chicken mixture to a bowl and season with pepper, then stir in cheese and dry ranch dressing. Begin heating about 1/2 inch of canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, scoop 1 teaspoon of chicken mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper. Rub some water on two sides of the wrapper, then fold over to firmly seal, forming a triangle, and gently press out any extra air pockets. When the oil is hot, place 6 wontons at a time into oil. Cook about 1 minute per side until golden and crispy.

I got this from a blog, Kevin & Amanda. She has alot of great EASY recipes. Super Yummy!

New Recipes

Hey Guys!
Just thought doing a recipe blog would be a good idea. Mindy and I were discussing it and thought it made sense. That way everyone has access to the recipes.
When you add a new post make sure you tag or "label" it as far as if it's a soup/salad, side, chicken, beef ect. I am not sure if you will be able to be able to put them into different categories or if I will have to do it. I will look into that.
Hope you all enjoy Homemade by the Octagon!