Category Archives: Bread

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups

Bread, Dessert, Fun Stuff March 19, 2014 Leave a comment
Cinnamon Cream-cheese Roll-ups

Cinnamon Cream-cheese Roll-ups

Sometimes we just need something quick to prepare to satisfy that sweet tooth.  These decedent desserts are made with bread believe it or not.  Dough is dough. The best part is you can make them for unexpected guests and pop them in the freezer. Very quick and easy.

My dad used to bring home hot, fresh out of the oven glazed doughnuts every Sunday morning as a treat after church.  Not healthy, but yummy and the funny thing was, we were not over weight as children. I guess that was because we were outside playing a lot.  We burned off those calories quick.  So before you indulge your sweet tooth, consider your lifestyle, if you are active, walk, hike, or exercise maybe a treat once in a while isn’t so bad.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups

Ingredients

  • 20 slices quality white bread, crusts removed (you can find high fiber white bread)
  • 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Alternative ingredients might be jelly or jam, or lemon curd – make a “jelly roll-up”, bake and drizzle with a sugar glaze. Recipe below

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

  1. Roll out bread slices with a rolling pin until flattened; arrange on work surface
  2. Beat together cream cheese, egg and 1/4 cup sugar
  3. Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or pie plate
  4. Divide cream cheese mixture onto bread, spreading about 1 level tablespoon on each
  5. Roll up bread to enclose filling
  6. Brush rolls all over with butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Arrange on prepared baking sheets. (To make ahead, prepare to this step and cover baking sheets with aluminum foil. Freeze. Do not thaw roll-ups before baking.) Bake until the roll-ups begin to puff, 15 to 18 minutes
  7. Serve warm.

Sugar Glaze
Mix Together:

  • 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Beef Bourguignon

Bread, Dinner Ideas, Side May 3, 2013 Leave a comment
Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon

Beef bourguignon is one of many examples of peasant dishes being slowly refined into today’s haute cuisine.  Most likely, the particular method of slowly simmering the beef in wine originated as a means of tenderizing cuts of meat that would have been too tough to cook any other way.  Over time, the dish became a standard of French cuisine. The recipe most people still follow to make an authentic beef bourguignon was first described by Auguste Escoffier. That recipe, however, has undergone subtle changes, owing to changes in cooking equipment and available food supplies. Julia Child‘s Mastering the Art of French Cooking describes the dish, sauté de boeuf à la Bourguignonne, as “certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man”.  I have to agree!

Well it is still snowing here in Montana and it is the weekend, finally.  After a week of salads and sauteed chicken breasts, I need some comfort food.  To me a big pot of beef stew and crusty homemade bread is just a bowl full of comfort goodness.  This is a BIG recipe, but really, once you get your prep work done (all the chopping and measuring ahead of time) it comes together fairly easy.  The bottle of Pinot Noir adds such a wonderful flavor.  I buy a pot roast chuck and cube it – it makes the best stew meat because it becomes tender the longer it cooks.  This “stew” does not have potatoes in it – but if you must, add baby red potatoes. Print this out and keep it in a safe place, next winter you will want to make it again!

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  • 8 ounces bacon, diced
  • 2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes (buy a pot-roast chuck and cube it)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
  • 2 yellow onions, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
  • 1 (750 ml.) bottle Pinot Noir (or other dry red wine)
  • 1 can (2 cups) beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 pound frozen whole onions (sometimes hard to find, but you can buy a bag of frozen peas & onions)
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms thickly sliced  or quartered, set aside – added almost at the end of cooking

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
  2. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned.
  3. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.  
  4. Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
  5. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned.
  6. Set aside.
  7. Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned.
  8. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
  9. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices.
  10. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat.
  11. Add the tomato paste and thyme.
  12. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 2 hours (or more) or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. (you can also put this together in the morning and put in your slow cooker for the whole day)
  13. Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew.
  14. Add the frozen onions.
  15. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew.
  16. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Granola

Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner Ideas, Fun Stuff April 28, 2013 Leave a comment
Granola

Granola

With milk or yogurt, this home-made granola gives you a hearty start to the day. Made with walnuts, almonds, coconut, and sunflower seeds, this cereal has a healthy dose of protein wrapped up in a sweet maple-honey flavor. Serve it with warm milk on cold winter days for a great alternative to oatmeal.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1-1/4 cups bran flakes
  • ¾ cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • ¾ cup salted sunflower seeds
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
  • ¾ cup honey
  • ¾ cup canola oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  1. Prepare two baking sheets by covering with parchment paper and grease paper with cooking spray.
  2. Combine oats, bran flakes, coconut, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix maple syrup, honey, and oil; add to dry mixture and stir until well combined
  4. Divide the mixture between each prepared cookie sheet; spread evenly
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown, tossing granola halfway through baking time to keep edges from burning.
  6. Let cool completely before storing.
  7. Yields ½ gallon

*Great gift idea, store in mason jars

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Bread, Breakfast January 8, 2013 Leave a comment

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits – (Medium ease)

Nothing like the taste and smell of homemade biscuits.  Here are a few tips & hints to help you biscuitsalong;

  • Do not over-bake.
  • The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough.
  • The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits.
  • I have been told that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there’s less chance of over mixing.
  • If not using a food processor – Use a fork to mix the wet ingredients into the dry – do not stir to mix – just “fluff” together
  • Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit, use your hands to pat the dough out
  • You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze freeze them, place in plastic bags when frozen for up to a month.
  • When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder ( use one without aluminum)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
  • 1 cup buttermilk ( approx) * You can make your own buttermilk: Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. (if possible use whole milk or heavy cream). Let stand for five minutes. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
  3. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal, using a pastry dough cutter or two knives.
  4. Add the buttermilk and using a fork mix JUST until combined, do not beat.
  5. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be wet.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
  7. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick. Use flour to dust the board or counter if dough is sticking.
  8. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
  9. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
  10. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
  11. If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
  12. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.

What do do with the biscuits when they come out of the oven; drizzle with honey, biscuithoneyspread butter, or jam on your biscuit, eat naked, or squirt some whipped cream on each half and add fresh fruit on top.  Or my fav, Biscuits and Gravy – post to come.

Hint; Never cut a biscuit with a knife, always break in half.