Saturday, July 23, 2011

Swheat!

I came up with this recipe one day while trying to use up my wheat. This is honestly the best wheat bread, or rolls! I was always very optomistic about previous ventures with whole wheat and there have been a few tries that were ok especially within the first 24 hours after baking, but then the next day dry as Texas? It was my goal to get wheat bread that would rivel Subways and I'm here to say mission accomplished!


1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs sugar
Mix and let sit for 10 min till it gets nice and foamy

add 3 cups whole wheat flour and knead in mixer to create a sponge.
Cover and let sponge rise till doubled.


In microwave safe bowl, melt 1/2 cup butter;
add 1/2 cup milk to the butter to cool it (don't add hot butter to the sponge, it will kill the yeast)
Add 1/2 cup honey to the butter and milk mixture and then pour over sponge.


Add two more cups wheat flour, and one cup white (ok, ok, its not quite whole wheat, you can do all three cups whole wheat but I think the white gives it good texture)
Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and knead in mixer for 10 min.


Cover and let rise till double. Punch down and pull off palm size chunks and shape into rolls by pulling all sides into center. Place on a greased sheet pan,(don't make fun of my pan, I love that thing, it's been through the war haha)









Let Rise till doubled.
Bake at 350 for 18 min and get your HoneyButter ready!


It makes about 22 rolls, or 3 french bread loaves, or two regular loaves.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

R&R

It was so nice to have daddy home for two weeks! now we can bring the total up to 4 1/2 months we have been together in the past two years lol. I'm just really glad this is almost over! Can't beleive we have pretty much made it through a deployment. I never want to do that agian!!!! I know, I know we are in the army and it's inevitable but I hope we are together at least for a little while.



Thursday, June 16, 2011

My Pizza Tutorial

I decided to do a step by step pizza tutorial with pics. I get so many people wanting my recipe and I have given it out a lot but many have said that it's not quite the same. It's really an art and its taken me 9 years to finally come up with a pizza crust that I deem worthy but hopefully with my pics and explainations we will all experience pizza success without the years and years of trial and error.

Pizza at my house is a two day process.
DAY 1
In a medium sized bowl wisk together:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar

add:
1 1/2 cups water, might need more to to make sure that all the flour is incorporated all the way.


then mix together, I use the old fashioned method of wooden spoon and a little elbow greese but you can do it in a mixer too. make sure that all the flour and liquid is well combined. The dough will be really wet, if the flour isn't combining all the way you may want to add water a tbs at a time (don't worry about adding too much water, in this recipe you want a very hydrated dough, thicker than pancake batter but not by much, you don't want it dripping off your spoon but pasty)




then cover your bowl with plastic wrap or tinfoil and leave on counter for at least 12 hours (I have left mine sitting out for more than 2 or 3 days before and I'm still alive, its somewhat like a sourdough process or ciabatta)

Day one is complete! Go put your feet up you've worked hard today!

DAY 2

When you uncover your bowl, your dough should have risen and will have a ton of tiny bubbles all over it.


Liberally flour your worksurface and pour your dough out onto it. Then with flour dusted hands fold edges in toward the center of the dough. keep going around, folding the edge into the center until it somewhat stays in a formed ball (blob). Then take it and flip, so that the smooth surface is facing up. Let it sit for 20 min.





adjust oven rack to 2nd to bottom position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Take your pizza pan (I recommend a DARK non-stick pizza pan) and pour a 1-2 Tbs olive oil right in the center.

With oiled hands place dough ontop of oil, right in center of pan, then still with oiled hands press dough out.



Once you have it pressed out fold over the outer edge all the way around to form the crust (at this point you could place string cheese cut in half lengthwise around the edge and fold crust over that to create stuffed crust) then add your toppings. When adding the cheese I make sure to sprinkle it around the crust too, it gives it that restaurant look and then lastly I sprinkle more cheese on the toppings before putting it in the oven.




Then bake for 20 minutes


Your mouth is drooling isn't it! Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing it so the toppings don't slide off. That's it! not that hard maybe a little time consuming but well worth it.

Oh and one last thing. If you happen to have leftovers please I beg of you DO NOT microwave unless you want to commit pizza murder. Just do yourself a favor and warm it up in the oven for 10 min at 350.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Big Things Come in Big Packages!

You know that part in "The Christmas Story," when Ralphie's dad wins a prize and it arrives at the door in a big box. I couldn't help but think of that when this box arrived at my front door. "It could be anything!"



Fortunetly, I was well warned previously on the content, but the kids were not so they were so excited to open it up. Can I get a drum roll please!



If you're asking yourself, is that what I think it is, then you're thinking correct folks. That right there is a Donkey Kong arcade machine. It's Tim's baby and on that note, our newest addition to our family. Just look at Tegan's face. Like father like son!!

It's really too bad the coin slot isn't in working order. I would have kept it out on my front porch. With all the neighborhood kids around, I could have really made some money.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Random Sampler

The kids are playing soccer this year for the first time ever. They are super excited about it. Tegan started wearing his shin gaurds and cleats around the house 3 weeks prior to practice, and when the day of first practice finally arrived he ran out there and started kicking the ball around before I could even say "ok go." Ryleigh on the other hand needs a little more coaxing as always, but once she got out there she got down to business. Unfortunetly I forgot my camera at Tegan's practice but remembered it for Ry's.





Here is a shot of Tegan, who can't help but smile at this kid?


And last but not least, Mckenna. This girl can fall asleep anywhere, it's really quite a talent.


soccer practice


Dinner


During the middle of something


Bowling Alley, and it's loud in there!


She just didn't quite make it to her room

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Circus Circus


Decided to take the kids to the circus. Never been to a circus before and from the spirited words of the ring master, it was going to be show where physical and mental strength would be pushed to the limits. Now, I'm not saying that there wasn't some really cool presentations, I especially liked the contortionist girl that could shoot a bow and arrow with her feet while standing on her hands, but over all I wasn't that impressed. This bothered me, and I had to think about why i'm not so easily entertained. My conclusion was that we are amazed by people on a daily basis. I few quick clicks of your mouse and you'll be thoughly entertained for hours with You-Tube videos. Am I wrong? I can see how the circus may have been the most excited show on earth back before television but half way through the show I was thinking to myself, where is the bearded lady?