French Bread, Hoagies, and Buns

(from http://www.ourbestbites.com/)

1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4-5 1/2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg, separated
2 Tbsp. cold water

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk (set white aside for later) and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer (my personal and very lazy choice) for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour 45 minutes.

Punch down dough. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. For a loaf of bread, shape into loaf and place on greased cookie sheet. For buns or hoagies, divide equally into 8-10 (or even 12, if you want smaller buns when you're done, and let's face it, who doesn't want smaller buns??) pieces and shape as desired. Use a scale if you have one to get equal-sized buns.

It's okay if they touch (or will touch after having risen). Cover and allow to rise another 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours or until doubled. Keep an eye on things--if they seem like they're getting so big that they might collapse, hurry and get them into the oven.

Preheat oven to 375. Mix egg white with water and brush over dough. Bake for 10 minutes and repeat brushing the dough with the egg wash.

Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until bread is golden brown and your house smells like heaven.

My changes: I cut back on the sugar a little and add the whole egg, I don't like the sticky feeling of the egg wash. So far they've always come out great, except the time I did let them rise too long.

The Best Pizza Dough

(from eatliverun.com)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 packet yeast (a little under a Tablespoon)
• 1.5 tsp sea salt

In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water and yeast.
Stir in the salt and flour and mix on medium high speed on your KitchenAid for 5 minutes. While the mixer is going, drizzle in the olive oil.

When the dough is soft and elastic, take out of the bowl, rub with olive oil and then place back in the bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise for one hour.

After the dough has doubled in size, cut in half to make two large pizza doughs or make mini doughs. You could also do what I like to do and freeze the dough in a plastic baggie for another time! When you are ready for your pizza, roll out the dough, cover with your toppings and bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.

**You could also make this dough without an electric mixer…..just knead by hand for about 8 minutes and then follow above steps! I’ve made it by hand many, many times and it always comes out right.

Sample March Menu

Sometimes I love planning the week's menu. Most of the time, I wish I could just use someone else's menu and I liked everything on it and my grocery store had all the ingredients to boot. So, I thought I'd post this week's menu, because it cost me $76 and was all fresh. Of course, I have friends who feed their families for $25 a week and I wish I could do it. $76? It's a leap for me so I'll take it as a small victory. At the beginning of the week, my fridge was chocked full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and breads. I know I'm not the only person in this world who inevitably throws out seemingly half the stuff that she initially had grand ideas for.

Well, I'm impressed with myself this week and I don't care who knows it. It's the end of the week, and I've actually used just about everything in my fridge that I had an idea of. I can't believe it. And I even made pretty good food this week. Really, I just want to be a good cook for my family. A healthy cook, an economical cook, with some comfort cooking thrown in.

I posted some of the recipes I used if they were keepers. The mac and cheese not so much, so it isn't here. But find your favorite mac and cheese recipe and use it. I'm still looking.

Monday
b: fruit parfait (vanilla yogurt, strawberries, granola)
l: grilled cheese, salad
d: blt's, salad, strawberry shortcake for dessert

Tuesday
b: lemon poppy-seed pancakes
l: spinach wrap with hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, drizzled with vanilla yogurt
d: fonina baked pasta, asparagus

Wednesday
b: cereal
l: leftover pasta
d: spiced pork chops, artichokes, roasted vegetables

Thursday
b: granola, honeydew
l: hummus wrap with roasted vegetables
d: savory shrimp fajitas

Friday
b: oatmeal
l: turkey sandwich
d: pizza with tomato, basil, and provolone

I think it worked this week because I was disciplined enough to start dinner in the morning. Morning, bring out any frozen items that need to thaw. Mid-morning to afternoon, chops vegetables and prep. Late afternoon, final clean on daily grunge in the kitchen and set out all items to cook with, begin marinades, etc. By 5pm, I was just throwing stuff together and cooking. Maybe that's how I accomplished minimal cleanup after dinner too. I'd been prepping and cleaning all day. It just felt way less stressful.

My weekly menus follow a similar format each week. From the Food Nanny, I like how she has a comfort food night, mexican, italian, american, asian night. That gets me started. Next, to cut down on food cost, I don't do meat every night. At least one meatless night. Maybe more if I'm feeling more frugal.

Steamed Artichokes

I never really had an artichoke - like, in its entirety on my plate - until I met Jared and his family. They opened my eyes to something glorious: steamed artichokes dipped in mayo. Sounds gross? Maybe, but you would be wrong. Here's how you steam an artichoke. One of these days, I'll be more conscientious about posting pictures, but since this is really a blog for myself and anyone is welcome to it, I keep those images in my little head. But I should post pics. I will. Eventually. Really.

Ingredients
Artichokes (one per guest?)
garlic
lemon
water
large pot

Prepare the artichoke. Cut off the steam and the spines on each leaf (that's only that top tip that's prickly). Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the flower of the artichoke too.

Fill a pot 1-1/2 to 2 inches with water. Squeeze some lemons or include a couple of slices and the garlic. Place artichoke stem down in water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, and simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. You know it's done when the outside leaves come apart easily. Serve whole with mayo on the side or other side or alone. You eat the artichoke from the outside in, by hand, biting the meaty ends of the leaves that were attached to the artichoke. Make sure to remove the "furry" center before eating the artichoke heart. So good. Enjoy!

Savory Shrimp Fajitas

This week I'm on a roll with good recipes. This is another recipe found on one of my favorite sites, finecooking.com. Sometimes their recipes are a little too fancy, but this one went together so fast and again, the cleanup was minimal. The marinade for the shrimp was delicious and we loved the poblano peppers. I think leftovers will be twice as good tomorrow. Believe me. Try 'em and love 'em. If you like shrimp. And onions. If you don't like either, well, this recipe isn't for you.

Oh, side note. Have you ever tried the frozen tortillas that you get at Costco? They are very good and no preservative or natural flavors. Just wheat flour, yeast, water.

1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. crumbled dried oregano
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1-1/2 lb. large or jumbo shrimp, shelled, deveined, rinsed, and drained
1 large yellow onion, sliced through the stem end into thin wedges
2 medium fresh poblano chiles or bell peppers (4 to 6 oz. total), cored, seeded, and sliced into thin strips
Warmed flour tortillas
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut in wedges
Sour cream (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, garlic powder, pepper, salt, chili powder, brown sugar, and oregano. Put the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium bowl and stir in all but 1 Tbs. of the spice mix. Add the garlic and shrimp; toss to coat.

Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat, and, when hot, add the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the sliced onion and sauté until they’re softened and fragrant and starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the chiles or bell peppers and continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Add the remaining spice mixture and sauté until the onion and chiles are tender but not mushy, another 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Return the skillet to medium high heat and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables; toss to combine and reheat. Transfer to a large serving platter. Serve with the warmed flour tortillas, cilantro, lime wedges for squeezing, and sour cream, if using.

Spicy Pork Chops with Applesauce

I like pork chops. They're a good, lean meat that often costs a little less than other meats at the market. Chops are easy to cook, and with this rub - delicious.

Last night I cooked up these chops and served them with apple sauce, roasted root vegetables, and steamed artichokes. The great thing about this meal is it cost about $5 a person, was a full meal, healthy, mostly vegetables, and - using a Foreman Grill - had very little clean up. It's a meal you could use when you have company and it looks great, but not too expensive. Jared even called it a Biggest Loser meal (is that good?).

(adapted from Chris Schlesinger from finecooking.com)

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. cumin seeds (or normal cumin)
1 Tbs. freshly cracked coriander seeds (or whatever coriander you have in your cupboard)
1 Tbs. ground dried chile (chipotle, ancho, or mild chili powder works too)
1 Tbs. kosher salt (to cut down on sodium, you could take this out, so I use somewhere in between)
1 Tbs. freshly cracked black pepper
4 bone-in center-cut pork chops (1 to 1-1/2 inches thick)
2 Tbs. or more of olive oil (no need if using a grill)
1 jar of organic applesauce

Combine the cumin, coriander, chili, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and rub each side evenly with the spice mixture.

On George Foreman: You know how this works. Slap 'em on there and let them cook for probably 15 minutes. This would be a great meal grilled outside (sans Foreman) in the summer too!

On stovetop: Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chops until well browned on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until meat is done, 2 to 4 minutes. To check for doneness, make a small cut near the bone and look inside—the pork should have a hint of pinkness. If it's still red, cook for another minute and check again. Transfer the chops to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 3 to 5 min. before serving with applesauce.

Spice-rubbed Roasted Salmon with Lemon-Garlic Spinach

It's been a while since we had salmon, and I always want to try to do something different with salmon. I came across this recipe from Cooking Light and it looked so quick and easy and had great reviews.

I tried it. It was delicious! And was seriously a snap - maybe 15 minutes top - to prepare. We'll definitely make this again. Great for weeknights or a little fancier with company. Oh, to have a house to throw a big party in and cook up some salmon too!

Salmon:

• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground coriander
• 1/4  teaspoon  paprika
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (2 1/4-pound) skinless salmon fillet
• 2  cups  thinly sliced onion
• Cooking spray

Spinach:

• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  (6-ounce) packages fresh baby spinach
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• Remaining ingredients:
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• Lemon wedges (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare salmon, combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over fish. Place onion in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place fish on top of onion; bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

To prepare spinach, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute. Add half of spinach; cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add remaining spinach; cook 4 minutes or until wilted, stirring frequently. Sprinkle spinach mixture with rind and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in juice; remove from heat.

Place salmon on a platter. Arrange onions and spinach evenly around salmon. Sprinkle salmon with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.