Category Archives: Breads

From sweet to savory, yeast to unleavened, find all sorts of baked goods here!

Breads, Recipe, Soup

Chicken Vegetable Soup & Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Leave a comment
Perfect for a cool (or cold) evening’s dinner. Fresh vegetables, dark meat chicken, stock, and Cheesy Garlic Biscuits (instead of crackers) make this a satisfying meal for any member of your family!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 quarts chicken stock
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 large carrots, cut into coins
3 ribs of celery, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, peeled, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

In a 350F oven, roast off chicken thighs. Remove and allow to cool, then cut into bite size pieces.

In a soup pot, heat olive oil until just smoking. Add onions and garlic, and toss to coat. Cook 2 minutes, then add celery and carrot. Stirring occasionally, cook for 4 additional minutes. Add potatoes, Italian seasoning, and stock. Bring to the simmer and add chicken. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves: 8.                        

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup Mozzarella/Cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese blend, shredded
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 450F.

In a mixing bowl, place flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Add milk, mayonnaise, sugar, and beat on high speed until batter is smooth. It should not be pourable thin , it should be spoonable. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 3/4 cup cheese shreds.

Lightly grease 12 muffin tins (you may also use the liners if desired, or a silicon muffin pan). Spoon enough batter to fill each tin no more than 1/2 way (they WILL expand as they bake).

In a small bowl, combine melted butter and garlic powder. Using a brush, lightly paint the top of each biscuit with mixture. Then, using the reserved cheese, sprinkle the top of each biscuit.

Place on rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before removing from pan. Serve warm with soups, roasts, stews, or broiled meats.

Makes 12 biscuits.

Loading

Breads, Desserts, Recipe

Gingerbread with citrus sauce

Leave a comment

Gingerbread (sauce recipe below)

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, again, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the molasses until incorporated.

Dissolve the baking soda in the boiled water. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternately w/ the boiling water. Mix only until blended, making sure not to over mix the batter.

Spoon into a greased 9 inch pan and bake at 350 F 45-55 minutes (until cake tester comes out clean).

Cut into squares and serve warm w/ a lemon sauce (below).

Lemon (or lime, or orange) Sauce:

½ cup sugar
2 tbsp Corn Starch
1 cup water
¼ cup butter
1 tsp lemon peel (finely grated or lime or orange depending upon the citrus you are using just substitute it for the lemon)
¼ cup lemon (or lime, or orange) juice

In small pan bring water to a boil over medium heat. Add the sugar and cornstarch, stirring well to avoid lumps. Reduce heat and stir until mixture is thick and translucent (5 mins.).

Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Cool slightly and serve over the warm Gingerbread.

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Leave a comment

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 cups raisins
8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Heat the milk in a small saucepan just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy (proofed). In your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, and raisins with the proofed yeast. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.

Knead dough for three minutes in the mixer, then turn out on a lightly floured surface. If overly sticky, kneed in a little more flour. Be careful not to overwork the dough and develop the gluten, however. Place in a large, greased mixing bowl. Roll the ball around to completely grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a cloth, and place in a draft free area. Allow to rise until doubled, which should take about 45 minutes.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll the rectangle up tightly — the finished roll will be about 3″ thick. Divide in half, tucking under the ends. Place loaves into greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly spray the tops of the loaves with cooking spray. Allow to rise again for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350, and bake for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans, and allow to cool before slicing.

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Double Chocolate Apricot Muffins

Leave a comment

Double Chocolate Apricot Muffins

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch Process Cocoa (sifted)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
2/3 cup dried fruit

Topping
2 tbsp granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients and incorporate. Fold in chocolate and dried fruit. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake in oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 22 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in a pan on wire rack.

Yields 12 muffins

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Cranberry Sage Stuffing

Leave a comment

Cranberry Sage Stuffing

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5 large celery stalks, chopped (if you have the leaves, chop them too)
2 cups dried cranberries
4 cups white bread, toasted and cut into cubes (or, if dry enough, just crunched up)
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, separated

In a large skillet melt the butter with the olive oil, and then sauté the onion and celery together for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Add dried cranberries, and 1 cup of vegetable stock. bring to a simmer for 2 minutes to help replump up dired cranberries.

Transfer everything to a large mixing bowl, and then add toasted bread, sage, eggs, and pepper. Toss together and use just enough of the remaining stock to hold everything together so that it is moist, but not dripping.

Spray an 8×8 baking dish with non-stick spray, and turn out the stuffing, patting down to make sure all the stuffing is level.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until heated through and brown on top.

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Rustic Herb Bread

3 Comments

Rustic Herb Bread

2 1/2 cups Warm water
1 pkg Dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Herbes De Provence (or Italian Seasoning)
7 cups Flour
1 Egg white, lightly beaten

Stir the first five ingredients together to dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt. Stir in the flour. Knead 10 minutes. let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk. Punch down, knead three or four times to remove air, then divide in four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a long loaf and place in a well greased bread pan; slash the top. Brush the loaves with the egg white and let rise until doubled.

Bake 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 400, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on racks. Wrap in aluminum foil and freeze if desired.

Loading