Tomato Basil Bread in Your Bread Maker

 

 Tomato Basil Bread in Your Bread Maker

2 to 3 fresh garden tomatoes peeled and processed in your food processor or blender to make 1 cup of liquid.  Heat to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Let set to warm.
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs dried basil
1 Tbs Sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Tomato Basil Blend Seasoning (If you don't have Tomato Basil Seasoning, you can use a pizza spice seasoning or your favorite tomato spice seasoning)
3 cups of bread flour
1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

Place ingredients in order given above into your bread maker and select Basic, Dark Crust, 2 lb loaf and Start.  If your machine makes a fairly good dark crust at the light and medium settings, use one of those to your preference.  Mine makes them very light so I use the dark crust setting. 

Cranberry Orange Bread in Bread Machine

 

 Cranberry Orange Bread in Bread Machine

3/4 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of warm water
3 Tbs Honey
1 Tbs Melted Butter
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp orange zest (optional)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of all purpose flour
One 1/4 ounce package of active dry yeast

Place ingredients in order given above into your bread maker and select Basic, Dark Crust, 2 lb loaf and Start.  If your machine makes a fairly good dark crust at the light and medium settings, use one of those to your preference.  Mine makes them very light so I use the dark crust setting. As you can see, I used the light crust for this bread and the dark crust for the Tomato Basil Bread.

Laurel's French Toast

 

Laurel's French Toast

So I started reading Jason F. Wright's "The Wednesday Letters" the other day and the book is wonderful!  One of the main characters, Samantha was reminiscing about her mom's French toast. "Soaking fat pieces of Texas toast in her syrup batter all night."  That sounded so good to me.  Last night I noticed I had half a loaf of French bread sitting in the fridge and thought, "hmmmm...."  Well, I came up with this recipe idea and served it to my husband, Larry, this morning.  He ate four pieces!   Here is the recipe I put together with the help of Samantha Cooper's description.  If you are reading this and you already have (a) the recipe, please share it in a comment.  I would LOVE to try it!  I just wish I had some of the Virgina ham to go with the French toast. 

8 slices of French bread or Texas toast (I sliced the French bread to 1/2 inch thick)

1 cup of your favorite pancake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of your favorite maple syrup

In a large bowl with a tight fitting lid, combine the pancake mix through the maple syrup.  Mix well.  Add more milk if the batter is too thick.  Place the bread slices into the mix and stir gently to coat.  Place the lid on the bowl and make sure it fits tight.  Turn the bowl upside down to coat the bread well.  Turn the bowl right side up.  Place in the fridge overnight.  In the morning, spray a non-stick frying pan with cooking spray.  (I did this to keep the dish a little lighter, but you can use a skillet with oil or butter if you prefer.)  Heat the pan to a medium-high heat.  Once the pan is hot, place the slices of bread in and cook on each side for a few minutes or until golden.  Turn just once.  Place the heat to medium-low to finish cooking.  It took mine about 15 minutes to get it to where the middle of the bread was not runny.  You can judge by your own stove.  Serve immediately with butter and syrup.  And if you have it, Virgina ham.  

Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken

 

There was a Chinese restaurant in Yuma, Arizona back in the early eighties that served the best tasting Lemon Chicken.  We loved it and enjoyed spending time with family at the restaurant.  I can't remember the name of the restaurant as we left for Okinawa in 1982 and when we returned, it was no longer there.  I was happy that one day before we left, the restaurant had put their Lemon Chicken recipe in the newspaper.  I want to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  

1 package of four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup of cornstarch

3 cups of vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:

1/4 cup of butter or half a stick of butter

2 lemons, juiced and rinds sliced or 1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of water

1 and 1/2 tbs cornstarch

1 cup of sugar to taste

In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the salt, egg and cornstarch.  Mix well.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok on high.  Deep fry several pieces of the coated chicken at a time for one minute or until golden, stirring to separate.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Place the chicken in a serving bowl and keep warm.  You can add stir fried broccoli, onion or any of your favorite veggies if you desire. 

In a medium saucepan, add all of the sauce ingredients except for the lemon rind. Heat over medium high heat.  Let it come to a boil, stirring.  Once it has thickened, add the lemon rind and stir.  Pour over the chicken pieces.  Serve with steamed or fried rice. 

 

Chocolate Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Chocolate Pineapple Upside Down Cake

So I had all this sliced fresh pineapple after our Hawaiian Luau and decided to make this cake.  The original recipe was found on Cooks.com.  I tasted a bite and it is good. 

3 Tbls Margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 large can of sliced pineapple or fresh sliced pineapple
Maraschino Cherries

Follow the cake mix directions and set aside.  In a 13" x 9" pan, melt the margarine in a 350 degree oven.  Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the melted margarine.  Arrange the pineapples and cherries over the brown sugar layer.  Pour prepared cake mix over the top of the fruit.  Bake about 35 to 40 minutes and use the toothpick test as directed on cake mix box.  When done, set for about 10 minutes and then turn the pan upside down onto a cookie sheet.  If you wait too long to cool, the sugar will harden and be difficult to remove.

Crunchy Pepper Jack Cabbage Casserole

This is so good!  I made this tonight and my husband, who normally doesn't care for cabbage dishes, ate it up.  It's easy to make too.

2 cups of coarsely cut cabbage
Salt to taste
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup light cream or half and half
20 Ritz Crackers, crushed
3 Tbls butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the cabbage with the cheese and cream or half and half.  Stir in the salt and pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Sprinkle with the crackers and dot with butter.  Bake for 35 minutes or until golden.

Serves 4

Hobo Burgers

Photo courtesy of therealfoodmama.com

Hobo Burgers

Wonderful at home or camping.

2 hamburger patties
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
3 tsp of butter, divided
2-3 carrots, sliced
1 medium potato, cubed
1 small sweet onion, diced
aluminum foil
Pam no-stick spray



Take two large pieces of aluminum foil and spray with Pam cooking spray.  Place each hamburger patty one on each of the foil pieces.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic.  Divide and add the diced onions, carrots and potatoes between the two packages.  Salt and pepper both of the whole packages again and place 1 1/2 tsp of butter on top of each patty and vegetables.  Wrap up the aluminum foil tightly and place on coals or on the grill.  It takes about 45 minutes to an hour, turning once.  These hobo burger packages can be made ahead of time at home and then just pop them out of the cooler and place on the coals for an instant yet satisfying full meal.  You can also bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  For added flavor, add diced bacon to the patty.  Serves 2

Mama's German Chocolate Pie

This recipe is for 2 pie's. 



Meringue Shell:

Ingredients:

Butter or margarine
4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Grease 2 pie pans with margarine.  Do not use cooking spray.
In a large glass bowl, combine the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar.  Beat until foamy and egg is doubled in size.  Add the sugar 2 tbs at a time beating after each until sugar is blended.  Continue beating until mixture stands in stiff peaks.  Fold in the vanilla.  Spoon meringue into pans making a nest like shell building up the sides to 1/2" above the edge of the pans.  Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.  Cool at room temperature.

German Chocolate Filling:

Ingredients:

2 (4 ounce each) packages of Baker's German Chocolate
1/4 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla
1 Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream 

Place the two packages of Baker's German Chocolate in a saucepan with the water.  Melt over very low heat stirring until chocolate is completely melted.  Cool to thicken.  Add the vanilla.  Be sure chocolate is completely cooled but still creamy before adding to the whipped cream.  Don't let the chocolate harden too much.  

In a glass bowl, whip the whipping cream until it's the consistency of Cool Whip.   Add the chocolate and continue beating until the chocolate is blended through.  Don't let your filling get too thick.  Pile into the meringue crusts and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. 

Bowled Over By Chocolate

This recipe is from the Pampered Chef.  I am excited to make these this summer.  

You can check Laura Avery's Pampered Chef page on Facebook at
 
https://www.facebook.com/ChefLauraAvery?ref=ts&fref=ts

She has wonderful recipes, ideas and Pampered Chef products.