Salmon Baked in Foil

Since Aaron caught 6 salmon the other day I thought I'd better find some new recipes.  I found this one on the Food Network website.  I followed this pretty closely except that I had one full filet, so I cut it into about 7 pieces with the skin on.  I sprayed the foil and placed them skin down, rather than put the topping on the skin side.  It was very moist, there were a lot of juices inside the foil.  Nothing really spectacular, but still delicious. 

Salmon Baked in Foil

Ingredients

• 4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
• 2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.
Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape (like you would twist a candy/taffy wrapper). Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

Canning Salsa

I canned salsa a while ago, but I thought I'd post the recipe here. I would make a few changed next time.  I would use very little sugar, and to make sure they stay good for longer (according to USDA regulations) I should use lemon juice instead of vinegar.  Oh, and 1 cup of jalapenos doesn't make it very hot.  It you want spicy up the peppers by 1/2 cup or more.

The Best Salsa Recipe for Canning

30 tomatoes peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
10 cups chopped onions
10 cloves garlic
4-5 yellow banana pepper or 1 cup chopped jalapenos
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
2 cups vinegar
8 teaspoons pickling salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 large cans tomato paste

Simmer 1 1/2 hr, stirring often, at the end of cooking time add 1/2 bunch of cilantro if desired.
Jar and process, 35 minutes for pint jars and 45 minutes for quart jars.
Makes 17 pints

Grilled Bread

This is a recipe we found about 3 years ago.  We always have trouble locating when when we need it.  So I finally decided to post it on the blog.  Most of the time Aaron makes this from start to finish, although I have made the dough a few times, and he grills it.  I think it originally came from the King Arthur website.

Grilled bread
2 teaspoons dried or fresh minced garlic mixed with 2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup (6 ounces) lukewarm water
2 cups (8 ½ ounces)  Flour
1 cup (5 7/8 ounces)  semolina (we just use more flour)
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk

1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast 

Directions

1. Use the flat beater paddle of your mixer to combine all of the ingredients till they hold together.
2. Switch to the dough hook, and knead for about 7 minutes on medium speed, till the dough is smooth. Of course you can do this in a bread machine set on the dough cycle, or do it by hand.  Whatever kneading method you prefer is the one you should use.
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and let it rise for 45 to 60 minutes, till it’s very puffy.
4. Divide the dough into four pieces, and place them on four greased pieces of parchment, about 9” x 12” each. You can easily make this size by tearing a half-sheet piece of parchment in half. You can put them on waxed paper or plastic wrap instead. We just set them on the greased counter and cover them with a towel.
5. Flatten the pieces of dough so they cover most of the parchment; they’ll be about 1/4” thick (or thinner). Spray them with olive oil spray, or brush lightly with oil, so they don’t dry out.
6. Let the breads rise for 30 to 60 minutes, while you heat your outdoor grill to about 400°F. You can bake these in the oven. They won’t have the grill marks or the charred/smoky flavor. Preheat your kitchen oven to 425°F.  
7. Grill for about 2-3 minutes per side.  We typically grill something else and put these on just before we eat.

Chocolate Ganache

It think I might be using this recipe a lot.  So easy, so yummy.  I used about 1/4 of this for the brownie recipe I just posted.  This is taken almost completely word for word from Jamie's website - I took out the witty parts because face it, I'm not witty, at least not when I blog.

12 ounces (2 Cups) semi sweet chocolate chips
12 ounces (1 1/2 Cups) heavy whipping cream
dash salt
1/4 t vanilla 
  
1. Put chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and pour the whipping cream over the top of them. 
2. Stir for a bit and place your bowl in the microwave and heat it up for 30 seconds.
3. Stir the mixture together and place it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds. 
4. Stir the ingredients together again. The chocolate should be melting a bit by this point. Don't be alarmed if it looks a little bit creepy and chunky at this point. Smooth chocolate bliss is in your future.
5. Place the bowl back in the microwave again for 30 seconds then stir. By this point the ingredients should begin to combine nicely and beautifully. Whisk it together until it is nice and smooth.
6. Toss in a dash of salt a little splash of vanilla and stir to combine. 
7. At this point your Ganache will be very thin. It works well in this form as a dip. 
8. As the Ganache cools it will begin to thicken. If you are planning to use it as a glaze over cake, cupcakes or cheesecake you will want to let the Ganache cool so that it resembles the texture of thin pudding. Ganache at this "pudding" like texture is perfect for covering cakes or cheesecakes and letting a portion of the Ganache roll over the side of your dessert. Begin by covering the top of the dessert with a generous helping of Ganache. Then with a spoon, gently push some of the Ganache over the sides of the dessert. It should slowly creep down the sides and most often (if you push it over slowly) it will begin to set up as it drizzles down the sides. This makes for a beautiful presentation. 
9. Left over Ganache stores well in the refrigerator. It will set up and become fudge like. (That's nothing to complain about, now is it!) The Ganache can easily be returned to its glossy, glaze like state by heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds. 

Berries n' Cream Brownies

I was inspired by this recipe, but really I made it my own.  So simple so delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 box brownie mix (plus eggs, oil and water needed to make it).
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used part semi-sweet part dark chocolate)
• whipped cream (either from a can or whip it up yourself with vanilla and a bit of sugar)
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• chocolate ganache (I used Jamie's recipe)

Directions

1. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions.  Mix in chocolate chips. 
2. Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish.
3. Bake according to package directions. (350 F 24-28 minutes). Let cool.  
4. Cut into squares - what ever size you want.
5. Assemble dessert with a serving of brownie, whipped cream, then strawberries and drizzle with the ganache - so yummy!!!

Teriyaki Chicken

Here's another great recipe from Jamie!  I  made this a while ago, and made it again tonight and thought I should post it.  So easy and so good!  I only used 3 chicken breasts for our family of 5.  I served it over rice, and doused it in the sauce. Click on the link for awesome photos!

Teriyaki Chicken 

Yield: 5-6 servings

Time: 40 minutes, give or take a bit.

5 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch pieces

2 C water

1/3 C soy sauce

1 1/2 t garlic powder

3/4 C brown sugar

1 1/2 t rice vinegar

1/2 t ginger

1 t sesame oil

1/4 C cold water + 4 T cornstarch

green onions (optional)

1. Place all ingredients but the 1/4 C water and cornstarch into a medium sized sauce pan.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside.

3. Take the chicken out of the liquid and set aside on a plate.

4. Mix the cold water and cornstarch in a small cup until smooth. Pour it into the sauce pan and stir to incorporate. Turn the heat up and bring to a boil. The sauce should thicken up nicely for you. 

5. Remove from the heat and add the chicken back into the sauce. Serve over rice and enjoy! You can sprinkle with green onions as a pretty option. 

Lemon Zucchini Drops

I was looking for a cookie with zucchini in it.  There were several, today I tried this one.  Really good, but Amy didn't like it.  I omitted the raisins, but I did use walnuts.  I wished I'd had a fresh lemon for the zest, but I just put a little lemon juice in the cookie dough.  They are cookies with a cake like consistency.

Lemon Zucchini Drops

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

LEMON GLAZE:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, zucchini and lemon peel. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For glaze, combine sugar and enough lemon juice to achieve a thin spreading consistency. Spread or drizzle over cooled cookies.

Vegetarian Penne

Here's another Zucchini dish with pasta.  I thought this was really good.  I did happen to have some whipping cream, so it might work with just milk, but I haven't tried it yet.  I used more like 1/3 cup of cream.  I also used 1 cup of mushrooms instead of 1/2 cup.  I didn't have yellow summer squash, just lots of zucchini.

Vegetarian Penne 

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne or medium tube pasta
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onion, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic in butter until tender.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, seasonings and cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta and add to vegetable mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Angel's Pasta

Yet another awesome zucchini recipe! This time with pasta.  I didn't have any ripe tomatoes, so I used a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Next time I will use fresh - mmm!  I also don't have any fresh basil :(.  I need to get some. 

Angel's Pasta

Ingredients

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 12 leaves fresh basil
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute 2 minutes, then mix in tomato and cook a few minutes more. Chop basil and add to vegetables right before mixing with pasta.
3. Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Blueberry Zucchini muffins

This was a zucchini bread recipe, but I turned it into muffins.  It makes a lot of muffins, so fill those cups up!  I added a crumb topping before baking them. 

Blueberry zucchini bread

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190degrees C). Lightly grease muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared muffin tins. 
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. 
   
4. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven.  Let cool 5 minutes in tins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Zucchini Parmesan

This is not really like an eggplant Parmesan (it doesn't even call for Parmesan cheese), but it is really good.  I've always just made my own spaghetti sauce (but a jar would work nicely here).  I didn't slice mine really thin, maybe 1/4 inch.  And it was a pretty big zucchini (that's what happens when you leave for 5 days).  We sprinkled Parmesan on top for fun.

Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large pot boil the zucchini until tender; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is tender.
3. Combine the zucchini, onion and garlic in a 9x12 inch casserole dish, and mix well. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the mixture and stir well. Top with mozzarella cheese (use more or less depending on your preference).
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Zucchini Bread

With the dozens of zucchini (not exaggerating) we have harvested this year I have had to come up with a lot of zucchini recipes.  So get ready for a plethora of zucchini recipes  All of them have come from allrecipes.com - Love that site!  Links to original recipes are included.  I can't believe I haven't included this recipe before now.  I love it!  So easy, and tasty.  I follow it as is, although you could easily substitute whole wheat flour in there, or applesauce for the oil.  I usually omit the walnuts though. 

Mom's Zucchini Bread

 (I don't know whose mom created this recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Blueberry Muffins

Since we had a lot of blueberries I thought it appropriate to post a blueberry recipe.   Blueberry pancakes are pretty obvious (just add blueberries after you pour the batter on the griddle), but I wanted to make blueberry muffins with a struesel topping.  I'm out of walnut and pecans right now, but this one was great.  I reduced the topping recipe by a lot.  The recipe shows what I usually do.  The recipe as is makes 12 regular muffins, or 8 large muffins.  I often double it.

Blueberry muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Topping

• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar,  flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

 We got some fresh asparagus at a produce stand, and so I searched for a good recipe.  I found one here, and it was delicious!  I didn't do the lemon juice, but everything else was great!  Simple, and fast.  A perfect veggie side dish!

• 1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

Danish Potato Soup

 I made this with the leftover ham bone from Easter.  It was so good!  I used 4 potatoes, and I only had a couple of green onions, and only dried parsley.  I have heavy whipping cream, so I diluted it with milk.  It was really easy, and delicious.  Lots of veggies!
Danish Potato Soup

• 1 ham bone
• water
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 green onions, sliced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup light cream
• ground nutmeg

In a soup kettle, bring ham bone and 2 quarts water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until meat pulls away from the bone. Remove ham bone. When cool enough to handle, trim any meat and dice. Discard bone. Return ham to kettle along with potatoes, onions, celery, parsley, cabbage and carrots; cook 40 minutes. Stir together flour and 1/4 cup cold water. Slowly pour into the soup, stirring constantly. Bring soup to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cream. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg on each bowlful just before serving. 

Vegetable Quesadillas

I made these on Thursday night.  I didn't have any peppers or yellow squash, but it was so good.  I can't wait to try it with the full recipe!  Granted I used full fat cheese, and white flour tortillas, but mmmm!!!
Vegetable Quesadillas

• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow squash
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• cooking spray
• 6 (9 inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese

1. In a large nonstick pan, cook red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until just tender. Remove vegetables from pan.
2. Coat the same pan with cooking spray, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over tortilla, and layer 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of cheese on the vegetables, and top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot.

Cream Cheese Brownies with Chocolate Frosting

I found this recipe on Jamie's blog. She has so many great recipes! I brought this to a garden get together. I really like fudgy brownies, so maybe next time I would use 3 eggs. I used a completely different frosting recipe because I didn't have enough cocoa powder. I thought they were delicious. My marbling didn't turn out well, I mixed it too much. But it still tasted great. for awesome step by step pictures check out Jamie's post.

Cream Cheese Brownies with Chocolate Frosting
BROWNIE BATTER:

1 C butter, softened

2 C sugar

4 eggs

8 T cocoa powder

1 1/2 C flour

dash salt

CREAM CHEESE BATTER:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/2 C sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

dash salt

FROSTING:

1/4 C butter

1/2 C cocoa

4-6 T milk

1 1/2 t vanilla

3-4 C powdered sugar

1. To make the brownie batter, beat the butter, sugar and eggs until creamed together nicely. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa and dash of salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and mix until all is well combined.
3. Spray an 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread about 2/3 of your Brownie Batter into the pan.
4. Let's make the Cream Cheese Batter! Beat your cream cheese until nice and smooth. Add the other ingredients and beat for about 3 minutes.
5. Pour it right on top of your Brownie Batter.
6. Spread it all around.
7. Take the rest of your Brownie Batter and spoon it onto your Cream Cheese Batter.
8. Spread the top layer of Brownie Batter around just a bit. You don't want to mix the two batters up too much. They just need to be marbled a bit.
If you stick your knife strait up into the air you can make pretty patterns like this. But seriously...it doesn't matter much. They just need to be marbled together.
9. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean out of the center.
10. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
11. To make the frosting melt your butter in a glass measuring cup.
Pour the cocoa into the melted butter and stir well to make a thick paste.
12. Pour just 2 T of the milk into the chocolate paste and stir until smooth.
13. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 C powdered sugar, the chocolate paste, vanilla and 2 more T milk. Beat the frosting. As it begins to come together add more milk until it is smooth and glossy. If it's too runny add more powdered sugar and beat well.
14. Spread the frosting over the top of your cooled brownies.

Enjoy!

Herbed Pork Roast

I had defrosted a pork loin to make this fabulous meal, but then realized I didn't have any beans. So I went in search of another recipe. I found this one on Allrecipes.com. I didn't have a 5 lb roast - it was just under 3 lbs. I still used about the same amount of rub. It was so good and moist. Although I put it in a baking dish and covered it with foil while it sat in the fridge, and then I didn't take the foil off. I wish I had made potatoes to go with it because there were some great drippings to make a gravy. Because my roast was smaller It didn't need 2 1/2 hours to cook I baked it at 350 for 1 hr and 45 minutes. So delicious! Some reviewers suggested adding garlic to the rub. It would have been good, but I think it was great as is.

Herbed Pork Roast

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin roast

Directions

1. Combine the first seven ingredients; rub over roast. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 2-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160-170 degrees. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Refrigerate or freeze remaining pork (may be frozen for up to 3 months).

Pita Bread

I've been wanting to make pita bread for a while now. I finally did last night. some recipes said to let the bread rise after rolling out, and some said bake it immediately. I compromised and let it rise for about 15 minutes. It turned out fine. 3 of the 8 didn't get puffy in the middle, but the rest did. I don't know what made the difference. The original recipe called for the use of a bread maker. Since I don't have one I changed the directions. I also substituted 1 cup of flour with whole wheat flour - so good!

Peppy's Pita Bread

• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt oil and half of the flour. Mix well. Add remaining flour and knead (by hand or with dough hook in mixer) until smooth and elastic and not sticky. Place in bowl coated with cooking spray, cover with towel. Let rise until double (about 45 minutes).
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack.* Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

* I put a cookie sheet in the oven as it preheated. I cooked them 2 at a time on the cookie sheet - a pizza stone would work as well.

Orzo and Potato Parmesan

This was a pretty good dish. Although it is more of a side dish than a main dish. It was too salty though, so I would suggest going light on the salt, and reducing the Parmesan cheese as well. I only used 3/4 cup of Parmesan, and it was more than enough. Oh and I used chicken bullion instead of vegetable bullion.

Orzo and Potato Parmesan

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups water
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in orzo and garlic, and saute until lightly browned. Place potatoes, carrot, and onion in the saucepan. Continue to cook and stir until tender. Season with dried Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
2. Mix water into the saucepan. Stir in vegetable bouillon until dissolved. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes, or until orzo is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Easy Batter Fruit Cobbler

I made this last night for FHE dessert. It was really easy and tasty. I used about 1 1/2 cups of frozen peaches and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries. I thought it turned out really well.

Easy Batter Fruit Cobbler

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups of sliced fresh peaches or nectarines, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of fruits (or a 12-ounce package of frozen berries)
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven.
3. Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into pan, then scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar.
4. Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Oatmeal cookies with add-ins

I wanted to make some cookies for a friend's birthday. I've had this recipe for years and have never tried it. I think I got it from a newspaper, but I can't remember which one, or maybe it was a news program - I can't remember. There are so many different way to make these. Today I chose white chocolate chips and crasins. So good!

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. softened butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. rolled oats

Add-ins - pick one or two
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. crasins
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. pecan gems
1/2 c. macademia nuts
1/2 c. cashews
1/2 c. dried apricots

I didn't write down directions, but I imagine this would work:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until mixed well. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients just until combined.
Drop by rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

Sweet Pork

I found this recipe on Jamie's recipe blog. I've been wanting to try it for some time, and I finally did. It it really good. It makes a ton, so we have plenty of leftovers, and I can even use it in a salad later, if there's still some left. It was really easy. The only change I made was that I used one 8 oz can of tomato sauce in place of 1 cup of salsa - I didn't have enough salsa and I was worried about it being too spicy for the kids. I think the spice level probably would have been fine, so either way it is great!

Sweet Pork

Yield: 8 servings

• 1 3 lb pork loin roast (be sure the roast is completely thawed)
• 1 16 oz jar Salsa (2 C salsa)
• 1 can green chilies
• ½ C brown sugar
• 1 can black beans, undrained
• Tortillas
• Cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomato

1. In the bottom of a large crock pot mix salsa, green chilies, brown sugar, and black beans.
2. Add the pork roast and cook on high for 4 hours.
3. Take the meat out of the Crockpot and shred it up with a fork.
4. Return meat to the Crockpot and cook 1 more hour.5. Serve on tortillas with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.