Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This was an awesome idea Christy! Right now I'm still dealing with a new baby and all the lack of time and sleep that goes with that so I've taken a bit of a cooking hiatus. In fact I signed up for the E-Mealz menu service Auburn posted on her blog (hopefully you got credit for my referral Auburn since I linked through the banner you put up) so I can't really post any of those recipes but I do have an amazing 100% whole wheat bread recipe to share. Even with the new baby I still manage to find to bake some almost every week because it's just that good and I can't bring myself to go back to store bought bread after being spoiled for so long on homemade. It's actually really easy to make and while it does take a fair amount of time from start to finish most of that time is rise time where all you need to do is let it sit while you do something else. Very little actual effort is required.

100% Honey Whole Wheat Bread
3/4 C Hot water
2 C Milk
1/4 C Olive oil
1/3 C Honey
1 T Salt
4 t Yeast
1/2 C Vital wheat gluten
4-8 C Whole wheat flour

1.  Preheat oven to lowest setting and then turn oven off. Meanwhile combine all ingredients (start with 4 C flour) into a stand mixer with a dough hook or bread machine (I do not recommend attempting to knead the dough by hand). 
2. Use the lowest setting on your mixer to knead the dough. Slowly add more flour 1 C at a time until the dough forms a ball and doesn't stick to the sides of the mixer. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes. 
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then a clean dish cloth and place in the warm oven to rise until double original size, usually a little over an hour (You can skip this step if you like but the dough will be slightly less soft).
4. Punch the dough down and divide into 2 equal portions. Shape each piece into a cylinder or rectangular shape approximately the size of the pan. Try to make sure the tops of your loaves are relatively smooth and even. Spray 2 bread pans with cooking spray and place the loaves in the pan.
5. Return the dough to the warm oven and cover the pans with a clean towel until the bread has risen to 1- 1 1/2 inches above the top of the pans (The original recipe says to let it raise at least 2 inches above the pan but I've never gotten my loaves that big. Maybe because I usually only need 6 C of flour or less).
6. Carefully remove the towel and turn the oven on to 375. After 15 min reduce heat to 350 and cook for an additional 18-20 minutes. Allow bread to sit a few minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Clam Chowder

1 C potatoes, diced

1 C celery, diced

1 C green pepper, diced

¾ C clams (fresh or canned), chopped

1 ½ t salt

¾ T fresh thyme

6 bay leaves

1 t tabasco

¾ C sherry wine (or other liquid if desired)

2 C water

¾ C clam juce (drain from can)

¾ C melted butter

1 C flour

2 Quarts half and half

In large pan combine all ingredients except  butter, flour, and half and half. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile cook butter and flour in baking dish at 325 degrees for 30 min. Stir flour mixture into soup and cook, stirring frequently until almost the consistency of cookie dough. Remove from heat and add half and half. Warm and serve.

Honey Goat Cheese Pizza

Angela seems to like this pizza, and with good reason - it looks delicious!

- Honey goat cheese from Trader Joe’s (If you don’t have a TJ’s, then I would recommend using regular goat cheese and drizzling some honey over the pizza before baking – you gotta get that sweetness in there)

- Caramelized onions

- Fresh Mozzarella cheese (or shredded if that’s what you have in the fridge, but the fresh is just so yummy)

- Fresh parmesan cheese (sorry, this one has to be fresh, folks)

- Olive oil

- Salt & pepper

- Pizza crust (Obviously!)

Make your crust. When it is ready to be topped, drizzle some olive oil on the crust and spread around with your fingers. Sprinkle salt all over the crust, and a bit of pepper. Top with the caramelized onions, honey goat cheese, mozzarella cheese and fresh parmesan cheese. Like I mentioned in the ingredients list, if you can't get your hands on the Trader Joe’s honey goat cheese, I would just drizzle a bit of honey over the pizza before topping with the cheeses and onions.

Bake on a pizza stone at the highest heat your oven can put out until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is browned (or just bake your pizza how you normally bake it.)

Originally found here.

Stuffed Peppers

2 large peppers (red, orange, yellow, or green)

12 oz ground lamb, turkey, or pork

1 oz chopped onion

8 oz canned Italian style tomatoes, chopped

2 oz orzo

1 T fresh basil

½ t ground allspice

½ C water

¼ t salt

¼ t pepper

½ C grated parmesan cheese

Cut peppers in half lengthwise, removing stem ends, seeds, and membranes. Boil 3 minutes. Sprinkle insides with salt and invert on paper towels to drain. Cook meat and drain fat. Stir in tomatoes, uncooked pasta, basil, water, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Stir in ½ parmesan. Fill peppers with meat mixture and place in baking dish with any remaining meat. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 min. Let stand 1-2 min. Serves 4.