Where Has This Been All My Life?

Yesterday I clicked on a link for a website called Just a Pinch Recipe Club at http://www.justapinch.com/. While looking through their recipes I found a recipe for Muffin Tin Eggs. It had the most wonderful idea for making eggs given by a lady named Jane Louise. She said she got the recipe from an Amish woman.
You simply take your muffin tins and spray them with cooking spray and then put a little butter (or margarine) in the bottom of each tin. You break an egg in them and pepper and then bake them in a 400 degree oven that has been preheated for 10 minutes.
This seemed absolutely wonderful! Her picture showed these perfectly rounded eggs on an English muffin with meat and cheese. She said you can bake them a little longer to use the eggs for egg salad and that she spices things up by adding goodies to them before baking them. (like bacon bits, salsa, or shredded cheese.
Well, I decided today was the day to give this idea a try. I could just see how convenient these would be on a day with a houseful of company to make them into egg sandwiches, etc. I mean--wow- you could do 24 eggs in 10 minutes!
So, my visiting grandchildren and my own children got to be my guinea pigs. I stuck them in the oven and while they were baking I warmed some deli ham lunchmeat and toasted the thins.
When the thins came out of the toaster I popped an egg on them, put three slices of deli ham on them and a piece of Velveeta cheese. They were an absolute success. Sorry to say I didn't take pictures of them but they looked as good as they were!
The kids liked their McMommy's sandwiches along with a pretty sherbert dish full of fruit for breakfast. I liked how simple it all was! I found myself asking "Where has this idea been all my life?" and caught myself dreaming about how it would work in cutting the time down and making a larger round of egg (for the thins since they're bigger than an English muffin) if I used my large muffin tins....hmmmm....that's for another breakfast!
Anyway, thought I'd pass this wonderful breakfast idea along. Enjoy!

Love,

Mom
p.s. She doesn't say anything about giving the eggs a stir to mix the white and the yolk but I thought the kids would like it better that way so I did. Here's the link to this wonderful website. You also can explore Jane Louise's recipes--she's my kind of cook!
www.justapinch.com/recipe/muffin-tin-eggs-by-jane-louise-lovinspoonful

Homemade bread (low in calories and delicious!)

My mother and grandmother always told me it was the German in my blood, but whatever the reason, I love bread! I love artisan breads, I love huge warm loaves of whole wheat bread, I love focaccia bread (especially on Panera's sandwiches!), I love warm loaves of crusty bread with tender melt-in-your mouth bread inside of the crust--I love bread!

I also love kneading bread. I had a bread machine given to me years ago and it sat unused because I didn't like the texture of the bread and I certainly didn't want a machine taking away the pleasure of standing at the counter and feeling the bread becoming "perfect". Kneading bread and hanging out clothes are two very real therapies in my life. (Anyone care to psychoanalyze me on those?)

With all that said I'll get to this week's bread adventure! Since we moved to Crossville I had tried to make my wonderful, high-rising, Honey Wheat Bread from Weight Watcher's Annual Recipes for Success 2000 book. It is a delicious bread and you can eat a good slice for only 1 Weight Watchers point. It slices well for sandwiches and toast and it is out of this world fresh out of the oven with real butter and honey on it. (the heel please!)

The first time I tried it I was shocked to bring out of the oven a heavy, odd-textured bread. I knew I was in trouble with the feel of the dough and also the lack of quick rising it usually gives me.

I tried it again about two weeks later thinking it was the change in altitude. However, when I read up on that you should be adjusting to the bread rising quicker than normal-not laying in the bowl like a "deadbread"! Sure enough, I had the same sick bread as the first time.

Now I don't like wasting food so it was put in the freezer for making a chicken dressing or some other way of disguising a food that otherwise wouldn't be eaten!

The next time I thought I had it figured out---possibly the fact I'd replaced the half and half with skim milk! (I couldn't afford half and half at the time.) Tried it again and figured the half and half into the food budget. It flopped!

Next thought--"Oh no! I can't bake bread at this house! Something's wrong with the humidity or something here!" Dumb thought, I knew that wasn't true, I've baked bread every house I've lived in with success.

So then I remembered that the bread flour I was using was given to me and it had been stored in a freezer. I've stored flour in a freezer lots of times but never bread flour and I had no idea how long that lady had kept it in her freezer.

So I went and bought a bag of all-purpose flour (couldn't afford bread flour) and got out my faithful gluten that I use in my breads. Researched online and found out I needed to put 1 T. of gluten in each cup of all-purpose flour, I used regular skim milk but added 2-3 T. of butter (need that fat!) and tried it again. Awwww..... it is so good. I wish all of you could have been here and enjoyed that bread with us. The kids love it and we don't feel guilty enjoying it.

Just a little comparison with my other breads. My whole wheat bread (which is so good--my sister Kristi gets the praise for giving me that recipe.) is 2.5 Weight Watchers points per slice. Well worth it if you're not on a diet. Most slices of store bought bread are about 100-110 calories a slice unless you know just what you're looking for.

Even with my adjustments this bread still comes out just 1 point or about 70 calories a slice. (has low fat and a gram of fiber) I intend to play with it more. Try upping the whole wheat (with added gluten) and seeing if we can up the fiber a little more. The picture here you will see it looks like white bread--that's because I am using a white whole wheat flour I got on clearance!

Ok--here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Honey Wheat Bread

2 pkgs. dry yeast (I buy bulk yeast at the Mennonite general store)

1/3 cup honey (ditto-I buy honey by the gallon at the Mennonite Community)

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

1 cup half and half (I've also used low fat half and half and it worked just fine) *I have to limit fat to between 20-30 grams per day for health reasons. (And eat "good" fat.)

4 lg. eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsps. salt

4 3/4 cups bread flour

Cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water in mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add half-and-half and eggs; beat at medium speed of a heavy-duty stand mixer until well blended. Add

whole-wheat flour and salt, beating well. Stir in bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.

2. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).

3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

4. Punch dough down; turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Working with one portion at a a time (cover remaining dough to keep it from drying out), roll each portion into a 12- x 8-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Roll up each rectangle tightly, starting with a short side. Press firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Place each roll of dough, seam side down, in an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

5. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7. Bake bread at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove bread from pans immediately, and let cool on wire racks. YIELD: 3 loaves. 48 servings (serving size 1/2-inch slice).

NOTE: You may use a dough hook and a heavy-duty stand mixer for kneading, if desired.

* My note--don't try to use a mixer unless you have a heavy duty mixer!

**I bake two loaves of bread and make 12 rolls in a round cake pan. They rise so pretty and you get a huge roll with your homemade supper you've made for your family for 1 point (compared to 3-7 points for regular dinner rolls.) I would have pictures but we consumed them with our salisbury steak and gravy supper before I thought of the camera! :)

***If you aren't sure when to stop putting flour in (because the weather really affects this) then stop when it begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl or when it quits being really sticky. However, it's better to stop when it's a little too wet (and knead the flour in) then to let it get too dry.

Well, daughters, that's about it for today. I have the cutest sewing project (mother-daughter) that Cierra and I tackled two weeks ago I keep putting on here--but that's another blog!

Breakfast time on the homeschool range...

This family is a family of breakfast eaters. My husband is of the firm opinion that if a man doesn't eat breakfast it's because a female in the family trained him out of it. He (and almost all our children) wake up with food on their mind.

During the summer no one is sitting at the table ready to eat at 8:00 a.m. However, once school starts I wants breakfast cleaned up and forgotten by 8:30 a.m. so we can get the business of the day in full swing.

Some of the menu ideas we like are:

• Ham, Sausage or Bacon with fried eggs and bread of some kind. (toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins, sweet rolls or biscuits.


• Sausage gravy and biscuits


• English muffins with egg, meat of some kind and cheese made into a sandwich


• A big skillet of scrambled eggs topped with cheese and served with Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits


• Omelettes made to order


• Quiche


• Overnight Breakfast casserole


• French toast

If you make breakfast you know how long it takes to make waffles or muffins or coffee cake in the morning. Here are a few of the things I do to make shortcuts and not have to get up at 4:00 a.m. :) to have a good breakfast for the family.

• Keep ziplock bags full of diced peppers in your freezer and a ziplock bag full of diced onion in the fridge. When you're making omelettes it's just as simple as getting the bags out and sprinkling what you want on each person's omelette.


• Have all the items for quiche ready to go the night before where you just put them in the pie shell and stick it in the oven at the right time.


• Make the cinnamon rolls from Pioneer woman's site (they're wonderful) and keep them in your freezer. The night before set them out to thaw and the next morning warm them in the oven. (It makes 7 round pans of them!)http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/ Any yeast bread will do fine being frozen ahead of time. (Have I mentioned my all time favorite sweet bread called Cream Cheese Braids?


• When you make biscuits double or triple your recipe and freeze the extra ones. Then use them just like the ones you buy at WalMart and pay too much money for!


• Prefry your sausage for the sausage gravy and stick it in a freezer cup for when you need it. Put it in the fridge the night before and your good to go!


• Make up powdered milk and stick it in the fridge for cooking. I use it for gravies too.


• Make a double batch of waffles (just keep baking them during breakfast) and put the extras in gallon freezer bags. Then on a busy day you can just toast the frozen ones! (and don't forget to do all kinds of varieties with the waffles. Our last ones had banana, nuts and cinnamon in them.....mmmm.

Breakfast is brain food. Starting the day with a good meal is a good habit to get to develop for the family. It also starts the day around the table together. It makes good memories for the children. (Later they'll realize how special this really was.)

With fall coming I'm already pulling out the recipes for Pumpkin Drop Doughnuts, Monkey Bread, Apple Cinnamon Rolls and other fall favorites. Start a breakfast file in your cookbook today!

Neal's Bakery...Mmmmm, it smells good here!

When I'm baking I think I love baking more than any of my household chores, but then when I'm sewing I think that's my favorite part of homemaking. This week I've spent my evenings finishing the handwork on a beautiful baby dress, (Adalyn gets this one!) but I've spent just as much time in the kitchen making wonderful baked goods and oh my, the house has had the most wonderful aroma. I love it when people at my door comment on how they could smell the warm breads before they got to the door!

Monday I made my usual batch of sourdough bread. They're getting better all the time. Practice does make perfect! The sourdough bread is what I'm allowed on my diet and one round loaf lasts me all week. (I even share some!)

Tuesday was the homemade wheat bread. It's for the children to have for healthy snacks. I'm not sure how healthy it is after they warm it and put butter and jelly or honey on it, but it's better than candy, that's for sure!

Then I decided to try a new recipe for Cinnamon Rolls that I got from the internet. They caught my attention because they looked like the good old fashioned cinnamon rolls that I love and because they made seven pans of rolls! Perfect! I can bake some for eating and put the rest in the freezer for mornings when I just want to make up a skillet of scrambled eggs with cheese and warm some cinnamon rolls. I could tell the frosting was maple frosting and we all love that.

I love to roll dough out on my breakfast bar, I love flour on my apron (and the floor), I love the feel of the dough under my hands. I believe that the only way to get good at breads (rather it is biscuits or yeast breads) is to make them and make them. The reason I believe this is you learn to know the feel of the dough--it will tell you rather it's going to be good or not! I know exactly when the biscuits are going to be perfect by the feel of the dough. Yeast breads are the same way.

It thrilled me to see seven pans of cinnamon rolls lined down the breakfast bar. Not only were they pretty everyone agreed they were the best cinnamon rolls that I had ever made. They even thought they were better than my copycat Cinnabun recipe!

Four of the pans went into gallon freezer bags and were put away for another breakfast and three of them stayed in the kitchen for sampling and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

If you want to try them here's the recipe link:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Then it was time for my next Spring Sunday dinner dessert. I dug out the Strawberry Cake recipe that I found last year. It is so yummy but very simple. You use a strawberry cake for your base and add jello, strawberries, etc. and then make a wonderful cream cheese frosting and put on it. Gary says that it runs a close second to Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting, which has always been his favorite. Now that's saying something!

So, that's the news from Neal's bakery for this week. We've been told that about 400-700 dump trucks will be going by our house as they carry the ash sludge out and I told the family I'm seriously considering putting a sign out in front of the house advertising what I've baked that day with the cost per serving and offer it with a nice hot cup of coffee. Who knows I might get rich off of something I love to do! :)

When I became a wife I decided to be the best I could possibly be at every facet of my job. So I've worked hard at learning to do the highest quality job I could afford to do rather it was laundry, cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, decorating or sewing. I often tell my children how wonderful and varied my chosen calling and "career" is. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole wide world.

So, what's going to be baked at your house this week? Put on your apron and give your family something to enjoy. You'll be glad you did!

Yummy Muffins...

At each season change I pull the cookbooks out and begin to dig. I'm looking for old favorites and some new ones to try. Spring always has me digging out salad recipes, lighter desserts, recipes with ham, (Easter leftovers), and recipes with lots of color. Some of the tried and true that will be marching onto our plates will be Spring Strawberry Layer Cake, Lemon Torte, Quiche Lorraine, Iced Shortbread cookies, and homemade chicken strips.

This time I'll be looking for pea salad, some new breakfast rolls and muffins, new sandwiches to try and digging out the barbeque recipes because the grill is coming out of hibernation!

This week's "new recipe" was some wonderful muffins called Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins. John bought me a jumbo muffin tin for Christmas and so I've been on the quest for recipes that taste as good as Perkins restaurants muffins. This recipe was a definite "we'll be doing this again..and again...and again..." success.

Here's the link so you can print it off:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simply-sinful-cinnamon-muffins-recipe

The recipe sounds complicated but it isn't. It also is one that you can play with. I used white chocolate chip morsels instead of cinnamon or butterscotch morsels. If you get a chance try out these delicious muffins. You're family will thank you.

Breakfast Time...

I love breakfast meals. They are a wonderful way to start the family's day. The Proverbs 31 woman believed in them too. She actually started hers before the sun came up. I've not reached that goal in following my #1 role model yet! :) However, my family does eat a hot breakfast more than not.

I love fixing overnight casseroles, biscuits and gravy, (that's a special day), bacon, eggs, and toast, scrambled eggs with cheese melted on them with Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits, meat, eggs and waffles or pancakes, coffee cakes, and the list could go on and on. Mmmm..breakfast.

Today we had some delicious bacon that smelled like maple syrup, (Thank God for UGO and it's wonderful surprises at 99 cents a lb.!) Then I fixed fresh country eggs and I sliced up some rapidly-going-stale sourdough bread and dipped it in eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon and fried it up in the bacon grease. It made some of the best French toast this family has ever sunk their teeth into. You know you did good when the kids thank you more than once for breakfast.

So, if you don't cook breakfast why not make a plan to just cook breakfast twice this week? Plan on making the presentation so nice that even if hubby doesn't normally eat breakfast that he'll decide to set down and dig in!

Family time is so sweet and the meal table is the best place to start drawing them together. Take every chance you get to gather your family around delicious homemade food.

On a regular basis (probably at least once a day) I ask myself what memories I want to leave my family. I want them to associate me with meals, my kitchen, an apron, the sweet aroma of good food, and a table that always draws them home. I have had more than one man delivering a package to my door tell me "Something sure smells good in there!" Food is a key to a man (and your family's heart). Use it to draw the family together and to the Lord!