Stir Fry

I was in the mood for this. Something that is fast and easy. So I called my sister and she gave me the recipe that she got from my other sister. It was yummy. I used a stir fry mix that I bought at Costco. You can do broccoli, carrots, whatever sounds good to you. Oh and my own extra touch was the peanut butter and garlic.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into thin strips)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups vegetables

Directions:

In a frying pan heat up oil on medium high, add chicken peanut butter and garlic. Let chicken brown slightly. Next mix italicized ingredients together and pour into frying pan with chicken. Stir together and add vegetables. Stir while cooking on medium low for 5 minutes. Cover for 2 minutes. Stir and serve over rice. Enjoy!

Shrimp Pasta

Comes from a random cookbook that I own.

1 3/4 C chicken broth
2 cloves garlic minced
3 T fresh chopped parsley (about 1 T dried)
2 T cornstarch (flour works too same amount)
2 T Lemon juice
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled
4 C hot cooked pasta (about 8ozs uncooked)

In a medium sauce pan mix broth gralic, parsley, cornstarch, lemon juice, and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat to a boil. Cook until mixture begins to thicken stirring constantly.

Continue stirring constantly while you add shrimp. Cook about 5 minutes more or until shrimp turns pink. Toss with pasta.

Serves 4 with a total cook time of 10 minutes.


I thought it needed a little butter probably 2T not only to give it a creamy texture but to also bring out the flavor of the shrimp. My husband LOVED it as did my 2 year old, though my 4 year old snubbed his nose and told me it was yucky.

White Bread Plus

OK so Sunday night I realized we were out of bread and I didn't want to go to the store. I didn't have any whole wheat flour and so I made this white bread which is very yummy. Can I say the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches have never tasted so good. The recipe comes from the "Joy of Cooking" recipe book I got from someone when my husband and I got married. So I will post the instructions below. Makes 2-3 loaves of bread.

This method of mixing bread dough calls for active dry yeast and an electric mixer. As this recipe requires less yeast and more sugar than does White Bread, and because this bread, started in a cold oven, has a longer proofing period, less yeast flavor is retained.

In a large mixer bowl, mix together:
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 package active dry yeast

Combine:
2 1/2 cups 120-130 degree water
1/2 cup lard, shortening, or olive oil

The shortening does not need to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add to make a thicker batter:
1 beaten egg
1 cup sifted all purpose flour

Beat 1/2 minute at low speed, then at high speed 3 minutes. Stir in to make a soft dough:
3-4 cups sifted all purpose flour

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Allow the bread to rise once in the mixing bowl(about 2 hours) and once in the baking pan(about 2-3 hours). To bake, place loaves in a cold oven. Turn the heat to 400 degrees. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 25 minutes longer. Test for doneness by tapping lightly on bread to listen for hollow sound. Remove the loaves at once from the pans and cool on a rack before storing. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Bread

OK so I have been on a bread baking kit recently. My sister will more than likely look at me and say there is nothing easy about bread. However I have always found this Whole Wheat recipe to be easy, tasty and looking at the ingredients very healthy. All valuable things in making bread. So I hope that you get as much enjoyment from it as I have.

Ingredients:

1 packet yeast or 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp of yeast from a bag
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp salt
3 cups scalded milk
6 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

In a small cup add water and yeast. Stir. Allow to soften or flower as some people call it. Mostly it is just dissolving and growing a little. Next combine oil, honey, molasses, salt, and scalded milk. Cool to Lukewarm and add yeast mixture. Add flour as needed. Shape into 2 loaves and place in greased loaf tins. Let rise to not quite double in bulk (1-2 hours). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Makes 2 medium size loaves.

Below is my daughter helping me roll out the dough to get rid of air bubbles before I shaped it. Really I rolled it first and then let her feel like she was helping.
Cute picture though.

Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream

I have made this a few times, but recently I started adding chocolate to this recipe and the chocolate version almost reminds me of a Chocolate Frosty from Wendy's. I have used this vanilla recipe and added anything from candy to fruit. It has always turned out great. I hope you Enjoy!
Vanilla Ice Cream
4 Quart Recipe

2 1/2 cups milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups half and half
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 cups whipping cream

Mix all ingredients together and freeze according to manufactures instructions.

For Chocolate mix in a separate bowl:
3/4 cup chocolate powder
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk

Pour into vanilla mixture and freeze according to manufacture instructions.

Lemon Cake

I took this recipe from here, and well think it's worth sharing. Since I'll copy and paste most of the recipe I'll just add my own thoughts in italics.

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter (umm yeah I used half butter and half vegetable oil spread came out just fine though I can't recommend less then half real butter)
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here--you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I squeezed 1 lemon and got 2T)
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk (yeah. no buttermilk here I used the substitute of 1T vinegar and enough milk for that to become a cup)


Preheat oven to 325.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don't go skimping here--you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake. (yeah if I had a stand alone electric mixer, a hand mixer worked fine but it did take longer to get the desired results- Don't be afraid to look at the recipe I used to see a picture of how this should look)

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated. (don't just dump them in at the same time it's important to get it all mixed together and all mixed together creamy)

The recipe I used was for cupcakes at 325 (20-25 minutes). I did bake it at 325 but I bake mine in a 9x13 for 35-40 minutes. Be very careful not to over bake.

Also there is a lemon butter cream frosting to top it. For actual frosting wait until the cake is completely cooled and mix the following.

1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 c.

For my cake since my husband prefers a glaze on his lemon cakes I added 1/8c water decreased the amount of butter by half (I just didn't need that much frosting since I was turning it into a glaze) I'm not sure how much sugar I used since I just kept adding it until I liked the consistency. Then I drizzled the glaze on while the cake was still warm.

Personally I thought YUM. This was amazingly light but not airy. The flavor was wonderful it wasn't "just a hint" nor was it overpowering. Perfect for summer because really who doesn't love a citrus dessert in summer? Two thumbs way by from me and my family (birthday boy included).