Friday, April 17, 2009

Instant Potato Soup

Cooking with Basic Food Storage: Delicious Instant Potato Soup Recipe
from PREPAREDNESS MATTERS by Kerri
I promised that I would provide more potato flakes recipes and this one's a keeper:

INSTANT POTATO SOUP
• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, sliced fine
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 (10 ½-ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 ½ cups milk (or equal parts milk and cream)
• 1 ½ cups instant mashed potato flakes
• Salt and pepper
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Place the bacon in a 2-quart Dutch oven or saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook over low heat until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add milk. Gradually stir in instant potatoes, blending smoothly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gently heat soup to desired temperature; do not boil. Add more milk if soup seems too thick, more flakes if too thin. Serve topped with green onion and reserved bacon. Makes 6 servings.
Per serving: 152 calories (32 percent from fat), 5.4 g fat (2.7 g saturated, 1.7 g monounsaturated), 14.9 mg cholesterol, 7.9 g protein, 18.2 g carbohydrates, 1.7 g fiber, 480.5 mg sodium.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

No-Bake Cookies

2 tbs. cocoa
2 c. sugar
dash of salt
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. peanut butter
3 - 3 1/2 c. oatmeal

Mix cocoa, sugar, salt, and milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes on medium.

Turn off heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter.

Add cocoa peanut butter mixture to separate bowl with oats already in it. Mix well and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Makes approximately 18.

Refrigerate until hard and enjoy!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Sprouted Wheat Bread

Sprouted Wheat Berries
Makes: 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw wheat berries


Directions:

Place the wheat berries in a bowl and add tepid water to cover by 1 inch. Let stand at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.

Drain the wheat berries and rinse with fresh water.

Divide between two 1-quart jars. Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.

Place the jars on their sides in a warm, dark place. Twice a day, rinse and drain the wheat berries with tepid water poured through the cheesecloth.

After 2 to 3 days, the wheat berries will sprout.

Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.





Grind in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. (I used my blender to grind the sprouted wheat berries) Do not overprocess; the berries should be chunky.





Sprouted Wheat Bread
Makes: three 8-by-4-inch loaves



Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 packages) active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of ginger
2 cups whole wheat flour (I'm using freshly milled red spring wheat)
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (105° to 115°)
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sprouted wheat berries, chopped
4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
Wheat germ, for sprinkling
Melted butter, for brushing


Directions:

Pour the 1/2 cup warm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast, sugar, and ginger over the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.





In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the whole wheat flour, milk powder, and salt.






Add the warm water, honey, and 4 tablespoons butter.





Beat for 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and beat 1 minute longer.





Add all the wheat berries





and the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl forms, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.






Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and spongy, 1 to 2 minutes for a machine-mixed dough and 3 to 4 minutes for a hand-mixed dough, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time, just enough as needed to prevent sticking.




Place in a lightly greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap.




Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.





Grease three 8-by-4-inch loaf pans and sprinkle the bottom and sides with wheat germ.





Turn the dough out onto the work surface and divide into 3 equal portions.






Pat each portion into a rectangle and roll into a loaf shape.








Place, seam side down, into the prepared pans.





Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until level with the rim of the pans, about 1 hour.





About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the over to 350°F and position a rack in the center of the oven.





Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crusty and golden.





Brush the tops with melted butter.





Remove from the pans to cool on a rack.




Now it's time to enjoy the finished loaf of Sprouted Wheat Bread!






Here is the loaf with a couple of slices toasted. Mmmmmmm! I could make a meal of just this bread.





I asked my youngest son to taste this bread. He said "It tastes like oatmeal bread". That's a good thing. Both of my sons love oatmeal bread. It's one of the first breads I ever made in my bread machine and it's still one of their favorites. I think we may have a keeper. I know I like it!


Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog. Now, all you need to do is go make some bread for yourself.



We hope you enjoyed learning how to make this bread. Be sure to check back next time when we learn how to make a different type of breakfast bread.

--Cathy

Whipped Topping -from instant nonfat milk

Whipped Topping (from back of Kroger Instant Nonfat Dry Milk box)

Mix 1/2 cup Kroger Instant Nonfat Dry Milk with 1/2 cup cold water. Beat to soft peak stage--about 4 minutes at medium-high speed on electric mixer. Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract and beat 6 to 7 minutes at same speed. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat 1 minute at same speed. Serve as a topping instead of whipped cream.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Chili & Cornbread

Marilyn’s Real Chili Bean Recipe:
Ingredients:

1 lb. lean hamburger 2 tsp. salt
2 c. dried pinto beans ¼ tsp. paprika
8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 lb stewed tomatoes 1 T. oregano
2 T. oil 1 pinch chili pepper flakes
1 large onion (chopped) 3 T. chili powder
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions: Soak beans overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Drain and add to crock-pot. Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in oil until limp. Stir in all seasonings. Add tomatoes and sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Brown beef in small fry pan. Drain and add to crock-pot. Add chili sauce and 5 cups of hot water to crock-pot. Simmer in crock-pot at least 7 hours.

Better Than Jiffy Cornbread Recipe:
Grind: ½ cup of popcorn kernels to make ¾ cup cornmeal
Combine: ¾ c. cornmeal, 1 ¼ c. flour (I used whole wheat), ¼ c. sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. salt
Add: 1 c. milk, ¼ c. veg. oil, 1 large egg, beaten; stir until dry ingredients are moist
Bake: At 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean