Whole Wheat Pita Bread

When I first saw this recipe for homemade whole wheat pita bread I knew I was up for the challenge!  I have been baking bread for years now and there is nothing more gratifying than making your own bread!  Don't get me wrong, the first time I tried to make bread I was pretty intimidated, but I was up for the challenge.  I was so glad I decided to take the plunge and go for it because it was so much easier than I ever thought it would be!  There is work involved in bread  making but most of it is inactive time.  I always plan to do my bread baking on the weekends to allow plenty for plenty of time.  This recipe is so easy to make and the leftover pitas freeze very well.  When I am ready to use them I pull them out of the freezer 30 minutes before dinner  is ready.  I wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them up in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  I hope you take  the time to try this recipe it puts the store-bought pitas to shame!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup warm water

2 tsp. instant yeast

1 tsp. honey

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions


Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached.  Add yeast, olive oil and honey.  Allow the mixture to set for at least 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.  Add flour then salt.  Mix on medium speed for one minute.  Turn the mixer down to low and mix for 5-7 minutes longer or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot in your kitchen (I usually put mine on top of my refrigerator).  Allow the dough to rise until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Position your oven rack to the middle position and place a baking stone on the rack.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and pat down into a round disk shape.  Divide the dough into 16 pieces,  (2 oz. each) and shape into balls.  Cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rise for about 20 minutes.

Dust a clean work surface with flour.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with cornmeal.  Roll the dough into 6 inch circles.  Place the dough circle on the baking sheet and continue to roll the remaining balls into circles.

Carefully place 2 - 3 pitas on the baking stone and bake for 2-3 minutes or until puffed.  Remove with a metal spatula.  Repeat with the remaining dough. Serve the pitas hot or at room temperature.  Once the pitas have cooled, store them in a sealed container for up to 2 days, or freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.

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Recipe Source:  Team Green Planet

Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs

There is nothing better than the classic spaghetti and meatballs.  It is such a great dish, I make pretty often in our house.  The recipe for the meatballs is one that I have used for years and years.  I learned the recipe from my mom.  She never used a cookbook when she made this recipe, she knew it by heart.  One day I need to ask her where she originally got this recipe from and hopefully she can remember. Growing up I never remember my mom or grandmother cooking out of a cookbook, if they did it was rare.  They both always cooked from memory which always fascinated me.  Don't get me wrong, I do have a few recipes I can cook without referring to a cookbook or remembering where I originally acquired the recipe, but that's just one or two. I would watch both of them in the kitchen successfully prepare a full Thanksgiving meal without even a peak at a recipe.  AMAZING!

This meatball recipe always turns out great.  The good thing about this recipe is you can use whatever type of spaghetti or marinara sauce you prefer.  I chose to make one from my favorite Italian Chef, Giada De'Laurentis.  The marinara recipe does take some time to cook but it is so worth it!!  You must give this recipe a try!  You won't regret it!

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef, preferably ground sirloin
1 lb. ground pork
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. garlic power
1/2 tsp. onion powder

For the Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

Directions

To prepare the marinara:
In large pot.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent.  About 10 minutes.  Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper.  Saute until the vegetables are soft.  About 10  minutes.  Add the tomatoes and bay leaves.  Simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.  Remove and discard the bay leaves.  

To prepare the meatballs

While the marinara is simmering prepare the meatballs.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, onions, garlic, eggs, parsley, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Gently mix all ingredients together (I use my hands for this job) until well combined.  Grab a golf ball size amount of the meat mixture and gently roll the meat into a ball shape.  Place the rolled ball on the baking sheet.  Continue rolling out the meatballs until all the meat mixture is used.  I normally get about 24 meatballs from this mixture.  You may get more or less depending on the size you make your meatballs.  Bake the meatballs for 25 to 30 minutes turning the pan half way through the cooking process.  Mean while, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add a small handful of salt to the water (you always want to salt your pasta water to flavor the paste).  Add 1 lb. spaghetti noodles and stir to make sure all the pasta gets into the water.  Boil for 8 minutes or until the pasta is  al dente.  Drain the pasta in a strainer and return the pasta to the pot.  Add the marinara sauce and meatballs.  Mix until combined.  

Meatballs:  Me

Marinara Sauce: Giada De'Lautrntis

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite things to do is turn my leftovers into something spectacular!  I try to do this a lot.  I really don't care for leftovers at all, but I also hate to waste food - so therefore, I have to be creative.  If my leftovers go past 2 days (which is my limit for eating the same dish), I have to try to make them into something different.  On Sunday, I roasted a chicken, and it was delicious!  There are so many things you can do with leftover chicken.  Some of my favorites include:  Baked Chicken Taquitos, Chicken Ranch Pizza, Chicken Noodle Soup, and one of my very favorites, Chicken Tortilla Soup!!  The list goes on and on.  I don't stop at using just the chicken when I make a roasted chicken. You can also use the carcass for homemade chicken stock - more on that later!  This soup is “oh, so good” and soothing, especially on a cold night like we are forecasted to have here in Tennessee.  I will say that simmering this soup for an hour is quite a bit of time for a busy mom, so that's why I make it the night before.  When I get home the following night, I just heat it up on the stove, and if I have enough time, I make some jalapeno cheddar corn bread. Hmmm, I see yet another recipe in my blog’s future!

Ingredients

1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes*

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 chipotle pepper, diced**

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

3 ears of corn, or 1 (8 oz.) package frozen corn

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large stock pot or dutch oven on medium-high heat.  Add olive oil.  Wait until olive oil has had time to heat (about 4 minutes).  Add the onions, garlic and red bell pepper.  Saute until the onion is translucent and the bell pepper is softened.  

While the onions, garlic and peppers are cooking.  Add the 2 cans of tomatoes to a blender or food processor.  Blend well.  Set aside.

Add the chipotle pepper, ground cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper to the pot and stir.  Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, corn, black beans and chicken to the pot.  Mix until combined.  

Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup for about 1 hour.  Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream!

*The original recipe asks you to roast roma tomatoes   I did not have time for this step and decided to substitute with Fire Roasted Tomatoes instead.  

**You can find canned Chipotle Chili Peppers in Adobo sauce in your local grocery store usually in the Mexican Food isle.  Although the recipe only calls for 1 pepper, I freeze the remaining peppers for future use.  They freeze very well.  When I use them for a future recipe I usually don't even thaw it out, I just remove it from the freezer bag and chop it up.

Recipe Source: Pink Parsley

Herb Roasted Chicken with Roasted Potatoes

This is the PERFECT Sunday dinner!  I try to make roasted chicken as often as I can.  It is one of the easiest things you can make, and if you add potatoes to it like I did, you will have the perfect one pot meal.  If you are intimidated about roasting a whole chicken please don't be - it's one of the easiest meals you can make!  In this post I will give you step-by-step instructions to roasting a perfect chicken!

Ingredients

1 5-6 lb. whole chicken
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 springs fresh rosemary
3 springs fresh thyme
2 cloves plus one whole head of garlic that has been cut in half
1 lemon, cut in half
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1 large onion, quartered
1 can chicken broth
1 small bag of small assorted potatoes (about 2 lbs.)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Adjust oven racks to accommodate a large roasting pan.


To Make the Herb Butter
Add the butter to a small mixing bowl.  Using a small microplane grater or the small holes on a box grater,  grate 2 garlic cloves into the bowl with the butter.  Remove the leaves from one rosemary sprig and 2 thyme sprigs and finely chop.  Add the herbs and lemon zest to the butter. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper to the butter and mix until combined.  Set aside.

Preparing the Chicken

1. Remove the whole chicken from the packaging.  
2. Remove any chicken parts from inside the chicken (this varies from where and what brand of chicken you purchased).  You will usually find the neck and maybe some giblets (eew I know but it will be over soon just close your eyes and think good thoughts!).  
3. Rinse the chicken with cold water, being sure to rinse the cavity of the chicken.  Pat the chicken dry (I use a few paper towels for this job) and move it to a cutting board.  Salt and pepper the entire chicken, making sure to get a good amount inside the cavity.  
4. Using your index and middle finger (giggle) together,  gently lift the chicken skin away from the chicken breast.  
5. Take some of the herb butter and spread it between the chicken breast and skin you just lifted.  I use about half of the butter mixture for this.  Using the remaining herb butter, coat the outside of the chicken.  Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the lemon, garlic, onion and remaining herb sprigs.  
6. Wash your hands well after handling the chicken.

Roasting the Chicken

1. Using the entire bag of potatoes spread them in the bottom of a large roasting pan.  
2. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil.  Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. 
3. Transfer the chicken to the roasting pan using the potatoes to elevate the chicken.  
4. Pour the entire can of chicken broth into the roasting pan.  
5. Roast the chicken for about 2 hours or when the chicken reaches 160 degrees.  

To check the temperature:  using a meat thermometer insert into the chicken right above the leg into the body of the chicken.  This is the best spot to get the temperature.

Recipe Source:  Me

My Favorite Chocolate Frosting

I titled this post as "My favorite" to let you all know that out of the different variations I have tried that this one (in my opinion) is tops!  If you remember last week I did this with "My favorite" pizza crust recipe because well out of the 5 or so recipes I have tried over the years this one screamed out to me and is my very favorite one.   I am hoping that you trust my taste buds and give these recipes a try!

The reason this particular chocolate frosting recipe is "My favorite" is that the flavor was so creamy and the texture was so silky.  It's not over-the-top sweet or too chocolaty it has all the great quality I want in a chocolate frosting.  You could pair it up with any cupcake flavor imaginable and it would be the star of the show!

Ingredients

12 oz.. cream cheese, softened
1 11/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
18 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions

Beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Sift together sugar, cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; gradually beat into cream cheese mixture. With machine running, pour in melted chocolate in a slow, steady stream. Beat in sour cream until well combined. If frosting doesn't seem firm enough, refrigerate for 10 minutes. Beat before using.

Recipe Source:

Martha Stewart

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Happy Fall!  We just got back from our first vacation as a family and the kids first trip to the beach!  Everyone had a blast! I just couldn't get into the fall mood while I had visions of the beach on my mind!   Now that I am back I am ready for all things fall!  What better way to start off the season than with pumpkin!  I can't believe I have not made these before now.  They are so delicious!  I lightened the recipe up a bit, I thought the original recipe had a lot of sugar.  I hope you enjoy this lighter version, I thought they were amazing!  The recipe makes 2 dozen muffins and they freeze beautifully!

Ingredients

For the filling

8oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

For the muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cups canola oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 cups pumpkin puree

Directions

Filling

In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer.  Combine the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, honey and vanilla.  Mix until light and fluffy.  Transfer mixture to a piping bag.  Pipe 24 equal amounts onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Freeze for at least 2 hours.

Muffins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl.  Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment add the eggs, sugar, canola oil, applesauce and pumpkin puree.  Mix on medium-low speed until well combined.  About 4 minutes.  Lower the speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.

Place 1 1/2 tsp. of the muffin mixture into each muffin cup.  Add one of the frozen/hardened cream cheeses to the center of the muffin.  Add more muffin mixture to cover the cream cheese making sure the muffin cup is 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-22 minutes rotating 1/2 through.  Cool completely before storing.

Recipe Adapted from:

Annie's Eats

Ravioli Bake

This week has been particularly busy for us.  We are prepping for our first family vacation to the beach!  Plus, work is just over the top at the moment, which will make me enjoy this trip that much more!  Needless to say, I have had absolutely no time to dedicate to my blog which makes me very sad.  I have tons of things to share with you, so please hang in there!  With such a busy schedule this week, I have not had a lot of time to cook so this recipe was perfect!  It is so easy to make, and it is also very delicious!  I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. Italitan Sausage, Casings removed (2 sausage links)

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

2 lbs. store-bought ravioli, you can use fresh or frozen

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned.  About 5 minutes.  Add oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.

Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Recipe Source
Martha Stewart