About Me!
I'm a busy stay-at-home mommy of a 2 year old monst-- er toddler. This is a blog about stuff I like to cook, including recipes and pictures. <3
recent entries
 Slow-Cooker Black Bean Soup
Giant V-day Candy Coated Sugar Cookies
French Croissants
Stovetop Popcorn - Way Easier Than Pie!
Trying out new things
Classic German Food
Not Exactly the Same Old Pumpkin Pie
Ginger Cookies
So easy its Cheesy... Yaki Onigiri
Little Pies
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Photos, Bagels and Oatmeal
Friday, October 31, 2008 | Time: 11:35 AM
My photos aren't the greatest quality, so I often use photos found from Google Images of what I am making. But today, I am going to post photos of my own! Yay!
I do so few posts of things I make, I generally cook every day but only post every once in a while. Though some things don't turn out as well as others (and I don't have a whole lot of time always for blogging) one reason I haven't actually posted some things is I've been too embarrassed to show off my own pictures, >.<~ Most food blogs have lovely, gorgeous photos that make you want to eat your screen! But I figured it's time I go ahead and post my own stuff. After all, I can't well improve as a food photographer if i don't ever take any pictures! Here are a few recipes I've been working on in the last week or two.
Bagels!
I thought I'd give bagels a try, with the remains of my Sourdough Experiment. I had no idea that you boil bagels, like dumplings, before baking them! I've always loved bagels! You can put practically any thing on them, not just for breakfast of course. I confess, I'm particularly fond of mini bagel pizzas! I have wonderful memories of delicious breakfasts at the bagel shop, picking from seemingly endless piles of the slightly chewy things... I was always particularly fond of the 'everything' bagel, smeared with herb cream cheese. That and a cup of tea, and you have my undying love forever.
Basic Bagel Recipe
From Recipe Source
1 1/2c [Sourdough Starter]
1 3/4c Flour
1t salt
3tb Sugar
3tb Salad oil (i used Olive Oil)
2 Eggs
2tb Sugar in 4 qts boiling water
Let all ingreds come to room temp. Sift 1
1/2 c flour, salt, & sugar into warm bowl. Stir in
salad oil & eggs. Stir in Starter & add
enough additional flour for dough to leave sides of
bowl. Turn dough onto well floured board & knead in
enough additional flour to make dough smooth & elastic
(abt 1/4 c). Place in warm greased bowl, cover & set
bowl in warm 85F spot until doubled in bulk. This will
take abt. 2 hrs. When doubled, punch down & let proof
for an additional 1 1/2 hrs or until doubled in bulk.
Turn dough out onto floured board & divide it into
12-14 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 6-“ roll
abt 3/4 ” thick. Pinch the 2 ends together to form a
doughnut shape. Boil 4 qts water & add 2 tb sugar.
Drop each bagel into boiling water 1 at a time. Boil
only 4 at a time. Cook until they rise to the top &
then turn over & cook for 2 mins longer. [DG NOTE-
don't cook longer than 3 mins or they get tough.]
Remove w/slotted spoon & place on greased cookie
sheet. When all have been boiled, put in preheated
375F oven & bake for 20-25 mins until crusty & golden
brown. Makes 12-14 bagels.
 You could of course add all kinds of things in the dough like cinnimon and raisins, rosemary and garlic, maybe fruit preserves... personally, I think bagels really shine with Toppings.
The ones I used here: Garlic + Dried Basil, Brown Sugar, Sesame + Salt
Some of my bagels, in the boiling process, came undone where I had pinched the edges together after making a circle. Other than that, I had no trouble with this recipe, it was very easy and I was happy with the results.
OH! I forgot to mention - since my Sourdough Experiment didn't turn out so well (I just used the 'starter' for flavor in the end) I did end up using a teaspoon of yeast, to be sure they would rise properly.
Breakfast (so-I-can-stay) In Bed
My sweetheart works long, weird hours, so I often make him lunch and dinner to take with him to work. He usually gets up early in the morning (even before the baby is awake!) so, rather than get up early too and make him breakfast, I like to have something already prepared that he can easily heat up or just eat on the go.
Yesterday I came up with a yummy breakfast which is quicker and easier than making sausage biscuits. I call them Sausage Pockets, lol. Basically, take canned biscuits and roll out each one flat, put a little (cooked) sausage and cheese in the middle, fold them over and crimp the edges together with a fork. Bake like you normally would biscuits, per instructions on the can. These keep for a few days in the 'fridge, so I made a whole tin of biscuits and wrapped them in aluminum foil packets (2 each packet). He can pop them in the oven when he gets up, and by the time he's dressed and ready there is hot breakfast for him, to go. This would probably be even faster and easier with a microwave?
This afternoon I'm experimenting with Oatmeal Bars. Its hard to find a good recipe that is not eaither full of marhsmallows and chocolate (which is nice once in a while, but not for breakfast every day, in my opinion) or too bland and dry. This recipe seems to work really well, and it uses things I already have in my kitchen.
Oatmeal Bars - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup rolled oats
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.
- Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.
 A note by one of the commenters mentioned that if you double recipe and use 1 egg for 1/4 c of the butter - they turn out less crumbly and have the added bonus of not using quite as much butter.
Here's mine! I actually didn't have any jam or preserves in the house so I used a can of mango, smushed up with a fork, with a little added sugar.
There are Alex's little hands! He likes to help Mommy cook!
The end result was very very tasty. Using the fruit, it was alot like a cobbler. I'm sure my Sweetheart will happily gobble them up ;)
I also made a Gluten-free version of these for my allergic friend - just substitute 1c Rice Flour for the 1 c Flour. He is also allergic to citrus, so I used a can of pears mixed with a little cinnamon instead of the mango. Delicious!Labels: baby, bagel, breakfast, cute, gluten free, oatmeal, pictures, sourdough
Lily Pads and Apple Sauce
Saturday, October 25, 2008 | Time: 9:01 PM
My son is *almost* officially a toddler! So he is eating lots of new things. He hates baby food - prefers 'people' food. I can't blame him either, most of it tastes like it smells (think dog food), so I am currently exploring new recipes of fun, easy things for my little boy to eat.
He likes to investigate things with his hands and his mouth, so it cant crumble into pieces but at the same time it has to be soft enough where he wont choke on the great big mouthfuls he likes to take.
Alex likes to watch me cook, because he knows he gets to eat something new! Pancakes have been sucessful for me, so far. A very versitle food, I've made several different variations, attempting to keep it interesting but also healthy.
I recently bought a book on Amazon called The Toddler Cafe. Its got a ton of lovely colorful pictures, you know the kind that makes you want to eat the pages! So far I've only made one recipe from the book [below] but they seem very easy and interesting. And when Alex is a little more interested in cooking [as opposed to eating cooking utensils], I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun with this book. He is doomed to be a foodie. :>
 Lily Pad Pancakes
copied from The Todldler Cafe
8oz [about 1.5 cups] frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable oil, as needed
butter or plain yogurt for serving
Set aside 1/3 cup of the peas.
Add the remaining peas to a blender with the water and egg; puree until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder and gradually mix with a fork or whisk. Stir in the reserved 1/3 cup peas; let the batter rest for 1O minutes while you clean up.
Place about 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan, warm over medium heat until simmering, and drop 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan. Gently cook for about 3 minutes, until you see bubbles forming around the edges. Flip and cook on the second side until very lightly browned. Continue until all the batter is gone.
Serve warm with butter or plain yogurt.
 Potato Pancakes
1-2 [cooked] potato
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil or butter for frying
Applesauce for dipping.
This is a wonderful way to use up leftover potatoes, such as baked ones. You can add all kinds of stuff to this basic recipe - leftover ham, leftover veggies, random spices... its leftover heaven. Also, you can easily microwave a potato for 3-5 minutes until its soft, as a shortcut. That is, if you've been using my recipes. Because its all too yummy to leave leftovers! haha. ok. Done with the cheesy jokes. Promise!
Method -
Take the potato[es] and grate them with a cheese grater. Mix in the egg and spices.
Form into patties and pan fry until brown on both sides.
You could probably bake these too.
Dip warm pancakes in applesauce! Serve with butter. Yum! Delicious!
I think this is a German recipe?Labels: baby, cute, food, healthy, pancakes, toddler
Enchiladas from Scratch!
| Time: 5:32 PM
 Enchaladas are delicious and fairly quick&easy to make. That is, unless you make practically everything from scratch like I did! The results are very much worthwhile, if you have the time. And it was lots of fun to make the tortillas myself! Mexican food is so rustic, its easy to add whatever 'floats your boat' and still have it come out delicious.
 I made tortillas with Maseca corn flour, which is very easy to find in Texas, in the Mexican food aisle of the grocery. I'm not sure how easy it is to find out of Texas, but I'm assuming most [American] groceries carry at least a small selection of Mexican style food.
The tortillas couldn't be easier to make, though somewhat time consuming. You just mix the corn flour with water to form a soft dough. Roll them into about walnut size pieces, put between some parchment paper and press with a tortilla press. Or failing to have a tortilla press [I don't :( ] you can use a big pot and mush it between parchment or wax paper till it forms a nice circle, about 1/8" thick I suppose. Im not exactly sure on the measurement but its a bit thicker than the store-bought tortillas, about as thick as two or three together.
Then fry them up in a pan [maybe in some butter or oil] for a minute or two each side, till they're stiff, maybe a few scorch marks from the pan around the edges. They are lovely and taste fantastic when made fresh :>
Thats it, it doesn't take as long as pancakes.
Now for the Enchilada part -
serves about 4
For the Chicken:
 
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of chunky salsa
1 chicken bullion [I like Knorr brand, its cheap and gluten-free]
1 onion bullion [also made by knorr]
1 cilantro bullion [ditto]
3-4 cups of water
Put everything in a pot and boil until chicken can be pulled apart with forks. This smells wonderful.
For the Rest:
 1 can of [Old Elpasso] Enchilada sauce - Red, not Green
6-8 corn tortillas
A cup or so of grated cheese of your choice [I like mild cheddar]
A baking dish
Heat oven to 35O degrees F.
Pour sauce into a bowl. Warm the tortillas, this makes it easier to fold them! Working in an assembly line, grab a tortilla, dip it in the sauce with one hand. With the other hand, grab a slotted spoon, scoop chicken up and put into the tortilla. Roll tortilla around meat. Tuck into baking dish. Repeat until you fill the dish up. I usually get about 6-7 tortillas in mine.
Pour the sauce over everything, top with shredded cheese. Bake about 35 minutes until the tortillas mostly soak up the sauce. You can put the broiler on for a minute or so to brown up the cheese if you like it like I do.
The Short Method:
Use store-bought corn tortillas and instead of boiling the chicken, place all the chicken-ingredients in a crock pot [slow cooker] and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Pull apart chicken with two forks. Then it just takes a few minutes to assemble, so there is very little work. You can actually have a social life and a job with this method ;P
Cheers!
Sourdough Starter Experiment # 1
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | Time: 9:01 AM
 Been a while since I've written anything, I've moved and lots of other things and just haven't had the time for my little hobby. Now, things are starting to even out into a more patterned lifestyle for me again, so... I'm back, y'all! :)
Anyways, I've been reading up on sourdough bread. Its a very weird thing. Maybe because its so incredibly simple. I always considered it one of the more complicated breads because its really tasty! ^_-
Although you could certainly complicate just about anything, sourdough bread looks like one of the easiest breads to make, as far as 'yeast' breads go. I mean, there's lots of steps to it, but they're really easy/quick and there's hardly any ingredients!
So today I started my 'Sourdough Starter Experiment # 1', with info from this site - 1 cup warm water, 1 cup flour whisked together and put into a non-metal container. That's it!
Its supposed to sit like this for 24 hours, in a warm place (70-80 degrees. I find on top my refrigerator is a great place, since heat rises, it doesn't get too chilled by the air conditioner). You add more flour/water combo and keep doing that for several days until it gets frothy. Then you can refrigerate it and use it. The flour and water create a kind of yeast by fermenting and gives your bread rise and sour taste. OK, that's the theory, so we'll see how it goes.
I actually used a bit of hot potato water, from cooking potatoes, and some cold water to make my 1 c warm water. Apparently potato starch is a good thing for making yeast. I wonder if I should make a 'control' group with just water and flour and see what the difference is...**evil scientific mind at work >.< ** So, that's that I suppose. I'll continue to post how it goes. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be able to make some seriously tasty sourdough bread! I'll need a great soup recipe to go with it, then I can proudly send my (hopefully) delicious creation to work with my hubby, so he can brag about what a great cook I am ;P For non-sourdough type bread - Check out my previous post - Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
SSE #1 Day 2 - The second day my 'starter' was very bubbly and had a small amount of the brownish 'hooch' liquid on top. I stirred it back in and added the 1c water 1c flour combo.
Day 3 - My starter is a bit funky smelling. Though on closer sniff, it smells alot like sourdough, just stronger. I'm not sure I'd consider it a good smell, like the instructions say (a beery smell) but sourdough is kind of stinky anyway, and it definitely smells like sourdough. Slightly worried about the stink, if its really awful tomorrow, ill throw it out and start over
Lots more bubbles, and the mix is kind of spongy on top. More brownish liquid, this time in the center of the mix. Per instructions, I poured half the mix off and added the flour/water combo.
Since it was kind of stinky today, I think its close to 'done'. I'm not really sure if the bubbles in the mix are considered 'froth', or if they mean like a soda shook up, or just really spongy. I think I'll give it one more day before I refrigerate it. I'm worried about leaving it out longer than that... either way, my 'bakers instincts' tell me one more day should be perfect, so we'll see.
A few weeks later... XD
Well, I've got mixed results. Perhaps I did something wrong? The sourdough was certainly sour smelling, [not FOUL smelling though, just stinky] and I did manage to make a few decent loaves and some lovely bagels, with plenty of sourdough-type taste. Not too overwhelming, just enough to know its 'sourdough'. But I never could get much rise out of the starter. I know its supposed to take alot longer than baker's yeast, yet I still feel I did something wrong. So I ended up using baker's yeast in my dough recipes along with the starter, it really was just for flavor at this point. Perhaps I will try again at some point, but I've got too many other projects to pursue just now :>
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Photos, Bagels and Oatmeal
Friday, October 31, 2008 | Time: 11:35 AM
My photos aren't the greatest quality, so I often use photos found from Google Images of what I am making. But today, I am going to post photos of my own! Yay!
I do so few posts of things I make, I generally cook every day but only post every once in a while. Though some things don't turn out as well as others (and I don't have a whole lot of time always for blogging) one reason I haven't actually posted some things is I've been too embarrassed to show off my own pictures, >.<~ Most food blogs have lovely, gorgeous photos that make you want to eat your screen! But I figured it's time I go ahead and post my own stuff. After all, I can't well improve as a food photographer if i don't ever take any pictures! Here are a few recipes I've been working on in the last week or two.
Bagels!
I thought I'd give bagels a try, with the remains of my Sourdough Experiment. I had no idea that you boil bagels, like dumplings, before baking them! I've always loved bagels! You can put practically any thing on them, not just for breakfast of course. I confess, I'm particularly fond of mini bagel pizzas! I have wonderful memories of delicious breakfasts at the bagel shop, picking from seemingly endless piles of the slightly chewy things... I was always particularly fond of the 'everything' bagel, smeared with herb cream cheese. That and a cup of tea, and you have my undying love forever.
Basic Bagel Recipe
From Recipe Source
1 1/2c [Sourdough Starter]
1 3/4c Flour
1t salt
3tb Sugar
3tb Salad oil (i used Olive Oil)
2 Eggs
2tb Sugar in 4 qts boiling water
Let all ingreds come to room temp. Sift 1
1/2 c flour, salt, & sugar into warm bowl. Stir in
salad oil & eggs. Stir in Starter & add
enough additional flour for dough to leave sides of
bowl. Turn dough onto well floured board & knead in
enough additional flour to make dough smooth & elastic
(abt 1/4 c). Place in warm greased bowl, cover & set
bowl in warm 85F spot until doubled in bulk. This will
take abt. 2 hrs. When doubled, punch down & let proof
for an additional 1 1/2 hrs or until doubled in bulk.
Turn dough out onto floured board & divide it into
12-14 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 6-“ roll
abt 3/4 ” thick. Pinch the 2 ends together to form a
doughnut shape. Boil 4 qts water & add 2 tb sugar.
Drop each bagel into boiling water 1 at a time. Boil
only 4 at a time. Cook until they rise to the top &
then turn over & cook for 2 mins longer. [DG NOTE-
don't cook longer than 3 mins or they get tough.]
Remove w/slotted spoon & place on greased cookie
sheet. When all have been boiled, put in preheated
375F oven & bake for 20-25 mins until crusty & golden
brown. Makes 12-14 bagels.
You could of course add all kinds of things in the dough like cinnimon and raisins, rosemary and garlic, maybe fruit preserves... personally, I think bagels really shine with Toppings.
The ones I used here: Garlic + Dried Basil, Brown Sugar, Sesame + Salt
Some of my bagels, in the boiling process, came undone where I had pinched the edges together after making a circle. Other than that, I had no trouble with this recipe, it was very easy and I was happy with the results.
OH! I forgot to mention - since my Sourdough Experiment didn't turn out so well (I just used the 'starter' for flavor in the end) I did end up using a teaspoon of yeast, to be sure they would rise properly.
Breakfast (so-I-can-stay) In Bed
My sweetheart works long, weird hours, so I often make him lunch and dinner to take with him to work. He usually gets up early in the morning (even before the baby is awake!) so, rather than get up early too and make him breakfast, I like to have something already prepared that he can easily heat up or just eat on the go.
Yesterday I came up with a yummy breakfast which is quicker and easier than making sausage biscuits. I call them Sausage Pockets, lol. Basically, take canned biscuits and roll out each one flat, put a little (cooked) sausage and cheese in the middle, fold them over and crimp the edges together with a fork. Bake like you normally would biscuits, per instructions on the can. These keep for a few days in the 'fridge, so I made a whole tin of biscuits and wrapped them in aluminum foil packets (2 each packet). He can pop them in the oven when he gets up, and by the time he's dressed and ready there is hot breakfast for him, to go. This would probably be even faster and easier with a microwave?
This afternoon I'm experimenting with Oatmeal Bars. Its hard to find a good recipe that is not eaither full of marhsmallows and chocolate (which is nice once in a while, but not for breakfast every day, in my opinion) or too bland and dry. This recipe seems to work really well, and it uses things I already have in my kitchen.
Oatmeal Bars - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup rolled oats
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.
- Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.
A note by one of the commenters mentioned that if you double recipe and use 1 egg for 1/4 c of the butter - they turn out less crumbly and have the added bonus of not using quite as much butter.
Here's mine! I actually didn't have any jam or preserves in the house so I used a can of mango, smushed up with a fork, with a little added sugar.
There are Alex's little hands! He likes to help Mommy cook!
The end result was very very tasty. Using the fruit, it was alot like a cobbler. I'm sure my Sweetheart will happily gobble them up ;)
I also made a Gluten-free version of these for my allergic friend - just substitute 1c Rice Flour for the 1 c Flour. He is also allergic to citrus, so I used a can of pears mixed with a little cinnamon instead of the mango. Delicious!Labels: baby, bagel, breakfast, cute, gluten free, oatmeal, pictures, sourdough
Lily Pads and Apple Sauce
Saturday, October 25, 2008 | Time: 9:01 PM
My son is *almost* officially a toddler! So he is eating lots of new things. He hates baby food - prefers 'people' food. I can't blame him either, most of it tastes like it smells (think dog food), so I am currently exploring new recipes of fun, easy things for my little boy to eat.
He likes to investigate things with his hands and his mouth, so it cant crumble into pieces but at the same time it has to be soft enough where he wont choke on the great big mouthfuls he likes to take.
Alex likes to watch me cook, because he knows he gets to eat something new! Pancakes have been sucessful for me, so far. A very versitle food, I've made several different variations, attempting to keep it interesting but also healthy.
I recently bought a book on Amazon called The Toddler Cafe. Its got a ton of lovely colorful pictures, you know the kind that makes you want to eat the pages! So far I've only made one recipe from the book [below] but they seem very easy and interesting. And when Alex is a little more interested in cooking [as opposed to eating cooking utensils], I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun with this book. He is doomed to be a foodie. :>
Lily Pad Pancakes
copied from The Todldler Cafe
8oz [about 1.5 cups] frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable oil, as needed
butter or plain yogurt for serving
Set aside 1/3 cup of the peas.
Add the remaining peas to a blender with the water and egg; puree until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder and gradually mix with a fork or whisk. Stir in the reserved 1/3 cup peas; let the batter rest for 1O minutes while you clean up.
Place about 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan, warm over medium heat until simmering, and drop 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan. Gently cook for about 3 minutes, until you see bubbles forming around the edges. Flip and cook on the second side until very lightly browned. Continue until all the batter is gone.
Serve warm with butter or plain yogurt.
Potato Pancakes
1-2 [cooked] potato
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil or butter for frying
Applesauce for dipping.
This is a wonderful way to use up leftover potatoes, such as baked ones. You can add all kinds of stuff to this basic recipe - leftover ham, leftover veggies, random spices... its leftover heaven. Also, you can easily microwave a potato for 3-5 minutes until its soft, as a shortcut. That is, if you've been using my recipes. Because its all too yummy to leave leftovers! haha. ok. Done with the cheesy jokes. Promise!
Method -
Take the potato[es] and grate them with a cheese grater. Mix in the egg and spices.
Form into patties and pan fry until brown on both sides.
You could probably bake these too.
Dip warm pancakes in applesauce! Serve with butter. Yum! Delicious!
I think this is a German recipe?Labels: baby, cute, food, healthy, pancakes, toddler
Enchiladas from Scratch!
| Time: 5:32 PM
Enchaladas are delicious and fairly quick&easy to make. That is, unless you make practically everything from scratch like I did! The results are very much worthwhile, if you have the time. And it was lots of fun to make the tortillas myself! Mexican food is so rustic, its easy to add whatever 'floats your boat' and still have it come out delicious.
I made tortillas with Maseca corn flour, which is very easy to find in Texas, in the Mexican food aisle of the grocery. I'm not sure how easy it is to find out of Texas, but I'm assuming most [American] groceries carry at least a small selection of Mexican style food.
The tortillas couldn't be easier to make, though somewhat time consuming. You just mix the corn flour with water to form a soft dough. Roll them into about walnut size pieces, put between some parchment paper and press with a tortilla press. Or failing to have a tortilla press [I don't :( ] you can use a big pot and mush it between parchment or wax paper till it forms a nice circle, about 1/8" thick I suppose. Im not exactly sure on the measurement but its a bit thicker than the store-bought tortillas, about as thick as two or three together.
Then fry them up in a pan [maybe in some butter or oil] for a minute or two each side, till they're stiff, maybe a few scorch marks from the pan around the edges. They are lovely and taste fantastic when made fresh :>
Thats it, it doesn't take as long as pancakes.
Now for the Enchilada part -
serves about 4
For the Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of chunky salsa
1 chicken bullion [I like Knorr brand, its cheap and gluten-free]
1 onion bullion [also made by knorr]
1 cilantro bullion [ditto]
3-4 cups of water
Put everything in a pot and boil until chicken can be pulled apart with forks. This smells wonderful.
For the Rest:
1 can of [Old Elpasso] Enchilada sauce - Red, not Green
6-8 corn tortillas
A cup or so of grated cheese of your choice [I like mild cheddar]
A baking dish
Heat oven to 35O degrees F.
Pour sauce into a bowl. Warm the tortillas, this makes it easier to fold them! Working in an assembly line, grab a tortilla, dip it in the sauce with one hand. With the other hand, grab a slotted spoon, scoop chicken up and put into the tortilla. Roll tortilla around meat. Tuck into baking dish. Repeat until you fill the dish up. I usually get about 6-7 tortillas in mine.
Pour the sauce over everything, top with shredded cheese. Bake about 35 minutes until the tortillas mostly soak up the sauce. You can put the broiler on for a minute or so to brown up the cheese if you like it like I do.
The Short Method:
Use store-bought corn tortillas and instead of boiling the chicken, place all the chicken-ingredients in a crock pot [slow cooker] and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Pull apart chicken with two forks. Then it just takes a few minutes to assemble, so there is very little work. You can actually have a social life and a job with this method ;P
Cheers!
Sourdough Starter Experiment # 1
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | Time: 9:01 AM
Been a while since I've written anything, I've moved and lots of other things and just haven't had the time for my little hobby. Now, things are starting to even out into a more patterned lifestyle for me again, so... I'm back, y'all! :)
Anyways, I've been reading up on sourdough bread. Its a very weird thing. Maybe because its so incredibly simple. I always considered it one of the more complicated breads because its really tasty! ^_-
Although you could certainly complicate just about anything, sourdough bread looks like one of the easiest breads to make, as far as 'yeast' breads go. I mean, there's lots of steps to it, but they're really easy/quick and there's hardly any ingredients!
So today I started my 'Sourdough Starter Experiment # 1', with info from this site - 1 cup warm water, 1 cup flour whisked together and put into a non-metal container. That's it!
Its supposed to sit like this for 24 hours, in a warm place (70-80 degrees. I find on top my refrigerator is a great place, since heat rises, it doesn't get too chilled by the air conditioner). You add more flour/water combo and keep doing that for several days until it gets frothy. Then you can refrigerate it and use it. The flour and water create a kind of yeast by fermenting and gives your bread rise and sour taste. OK, that's the theory, so we'll see how it goes.
I actually used a bit of hot potato water, from cooking potatoes, and some cold water to make my 1 c warm water. Apparently potato starch is a good thing for making yeast. I wonder if I should make a 'control' group with just water and flour and see what the difference is...**evil scientific mind at work >.< ** So, that's that I suppose. I'll continue to post how it goes. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be able to make some seriously tasty sourdough bread! I'll need a great soup recipe to go with it, then I can proudly send my (hopefully) delicious creation to work with my hubby, so he can brag about what a great cook I am ;P For non-sourdough type bread - Check out my previous post - Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
SSE #1 Day 2 - The second day my 'starter' was very bubbly and had a small amount of the brownish 'hooch' liquid on top. I stirred it back in and added the 1c water 1c flour combo.
Day 3 - My starter is a bit funky smelling. Though on closer sniff, it smells alot like sourdough, just stronger. I'm not sure I'd consider it a good smell, like the instructions say (a beery smell) but sourdough is kind of stinky anyway, and it definitely smells like sourdough. Slightly worried about the stink, if its really awful tomorrow, ill throw it out and start over
Lots more bubbles, and the mix is kind of spongy on top. More brownish liquid, this time in the center of the mix. Per instructions, I poured half the mix off and added the flour/water combo.
Since it was kind of stinky today, I think its close to 'done'. I'm not really sure if the bubbles in the mix are considered 'froth', or if they mean like a soda shook up, or just really spongy. I think I'll give it one more day before I refrigerate it. I'm worried about leaving it out longer than that... either way, my 'bakers instincts' tell me one more day should be perfect, so we'll see.
A few weeks later... XD
Well, I've got mixed results. Perhaps I did something wrong? The sourdough was certainly sour smelling, [not FOUL smelling though, just stinky] and I did manage to make a few decent loaves and some lovely bagels, with plenty of sourdough-type taste. Not too overwhelming, just enough to know its 'sourdough'. But I never could get much rise out of the starter. I know its supposed to take alot longer than baker's yeast, yet I still feel I did something wrong. So I ended up using baker's yeast in my dough recipes along with the starter, it really was just for flavor at this point. Perhaps I will try again at some point, but I've got too many other projects to pursue just now :>
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You could of course add all kinds of things in the dough like cinnimon and raisins, rosemary and garlic, maybe fruit preserves... personally, I think bagels really shine with Toppings.
A note by one of the commenters mentioned that if you double recipe and use 1 egg for 1/4 c of the butter - they turn out less crumbly and have the added bonus of not using quite as much butter.
