Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Great Kid-friendly Bake-off!


I love baking with my kids. We also love watching those cheesy bake shows which make amateur contestants go against each other to see who can make the best (or worst) cake. This past week, my children and I decided to create our own show.

I got out enough bowls, wooden spoons, and equipment for each of my three children, gave them each 2 eggs, and ingredients. I had to film them each coming in to the kitchen, as they love to watch Youtube and wanted to have everything look and be commentated on as if were a real show.

Activity 1: Bake your own signature cake.

Three little hands mixing batter

Then they all got to work. I led them through the basics, but let them do the heavy lifting. They had to grease and flour their own pans, measure and stir their own ingredients, and design their own cakes. It was fun and we had a blast.

My youngest, who is five, took the whole thing really seriously. When asked what kind of a cake he would make, he replied, “A waterfall cake made of chocolate with a Spinosaurus on it.” Not an easy task, if you ask me.

Waterfall cake with Spinosaurus
They all worked really hard, and in the end I was really proud of each one of them. Jonas, who is now 9, made a dinosaur cake with fossils stuck in the frosting; Lukas, who is 8, made a chocolate happy face cake; and Max made his extravagant cake with a waterfall falling down a cliff made of rice cakes into a painted river of frosting.

Here are the final cakes and a recipe for only 1 round cake made with simple ingredients. I hope you enjoy yourselves as much as we did. This was a fantastic way for the whole family to get involved in the kitchen.

Recipe 1 Bake-off cake:

The final three cakes!

Ingredients:

1/2 C Butter
3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 C milk
1/4 C cocoa (optional)

Your choice of frosting and decorations!

How to make the cake:

1. Have children grease and flour a round baking tin.
2. First have children mix together the butter and sugar. Make sure your butter is nice and soft so that the kids can handle it.
3. Show how to break an egg and then let each add 2 eggs to their butter/sugar mixture and mix again.
4. Add vanilla, milk, and all dry ingredients. Mix well.
5. If you are going to make a chocolate cake, add a 1/4 C cocoa to the mix and perhaps a little bit more milk.
6. Bake at 350* F for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool and then decorate to your hearts content.
8. Don't forget to judge the best cake!

Please let me know how your cakes turned out!








Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Easter Basket Zwiebach Frogs



I don't know about you, but my kids get way too much chocolate on holidays. They get a bunny from family, friends, and neighbors as well as from the school, Kindergarten, and the grocery store. We end up swimming in chocolate. I wish more people would offer fun, healthy alternatives. 

If you are interested in making your kids Easter baskets a little bit healthier this year, these Zwiebach animals are easy to make and a lot of fun (What is Zwiebach?).  They would also look great in an Easter nest ready to be nibbled up on Easter morning.

Making Zwiebach Frogs is a great way to combine fun with food.  These frogs are easy to make and this dough requires very little kneading making it a great activity for children. Your kids can make bunnies and chickens, too. Add vegetables or fruit for garnish or lay them out on a pretty plate filled with goodies. Enjoy!
Here’s the how to:

Easy Zwiebach Frogs

1 C warm water
1 ½ T dry yeast
2 T sugar
¼ C oil
3 C flour
1 t salt

For frogs, you will also need string cheese, raisins, and a toothpick

1. Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, then add oil. Blend in flour and salt with a fork until the dough starts to stick together. Use your hands to finish the dough by kneading it a few times, not long, and then forming it into a flat ball. Put dough back in large bowl, cover, and let rise until double in size. If it is still hot where you live, put the bowl outside to make it rise faster.

2. Pull off pieces of dough and roll them in your hand to form golf ball sized balls. These balls will be the frog body. Place them on a greased cookie sheet. Then pull off smaller balls and pinch them around the body to make the legs and feet. Roll very small balls to make the eyes.

3. Now take a toothpick, and poke a hole in the eye piece of dough. Move the toothpick around a little to make the hole big enough to fit a half a raisin. Cut a raisin in half and using the toothpick again, push the raisin into the hole. Do the same for the other eye.

4. Pull off little strings of string cheese. Wrap the cheese around the large part of the body dough ball and then use the toothpick to push in the ends into the dough, so that it stays in place. This part can actually be a little tricky. You may need to wet the cheese for it to hold better.

5. Now let your frogs rise again, about 15 minutes. I have also baked some Zwiebach, which you can also see on the picture. While they are rising, you can turn your oven on to 350 degrees. You may need to push some of the balls back into place, as the rising sometimes will push the balls apart.

6. Place frogs in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve the frogs on homemade lily pads. Cut out green hearts out of paper. I used a plastic flower, but you could also cut flowers out of paper as well. Eat with butter and cheese, but first have your frogs jump around the table.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Simple Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese


After we came back from the US last Christmas, all my son Jonas wanted to eat was Kraft Mac and Cheese.  Unfortunately, the few packets we had brought along didn’t last forever.  And, even though I was thrilled that Jonas finally ate pasta, he refused to eat any other pasta that you put in front of him.

I decided I was going to try to duplicate Kraft.  I soon got the taste down, and found mini macaroni, but I couldn’t get that infamous yellow color.  

Jonas is a very picky eater.  For the past two years it has been almost impossible to get him to eat any vegetables whatsoever, not even carrots (Thankfully, he eats fruit). Adding sweet potatoes to the mac and cheese killed two birds with one stone.  I finally got that bright yellow color and I got to sneak in some valuable vitamins and minerals into Jonas’s diet.

This simple sweet potato recipe has become Jonas’s favorite.  Over time, I have increased the sweet potato without any negative repurcussions.  My first successful recipe contained Velveeta.  However, Jonas often complained of a stomachache after eating it and when I added shredded real cheese instead, his tummy aches disappeared.

One day I found a leftover packet of Kraft  Mac and Cheese.  I made if for Jonas thinking he would be thrilled to have the original again.  He didn’t want it and asked for mine.  I couldn’t ask for a better complement.

Here's the Recipe:

Simple Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

2 C Milk
1 t salt
1 1/2 T sugar
2 T butter
2 T flour
½ to 1 C Sweet Potato puree
1 C shredded cheese
1 C macaroni noodles

1.  In a frying pan, melt the   Add flour and mix until the flour is thoroughly dissolved in the butter. 
 butter.  Add milk and while stirring constantly, bring just to a boil and remove from heat.

2.  Add sweet potato puree, cheese, sugar, and salt.  Mix until smooth.

3.  Add cooked macaroni noodles to the frying pan.  Use a spatula to mix noodles with sauce until completely covered. Give Mac and Cheese to kids and wait for them to say, “Yummy!”


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

15 Min Construction Site Birthday Cake Deco


This year Jonas’s third birthday hit right in the middle of family flu season.  Luckily, Jonas was already over the flu.  Unfortunately, my husband wasn’t, I was on antibiotics for strep, and Lukas was in recovery.  

Talk about multi-tasking!  Between bringing my boys to bed and  taking care of my sick husband, I only had a couple of hours to decorate the house, bake and decorate the cake, and get all of the gifts ready for the birthday party.

I originally had big hopes for Jonas’s birthday cake and had planned on spending a lot more time making it really perfect. As a mother, though, I’ve learned that you often have to make compromises, or nothing gets done.  Luckily, my sister-in-law Regina had given me some construction candles (I'm sure Hotwheels would also work) and I was able to rethink the cake and come up with an idea that was extremely quick and still did the trick. I don't know exactly how long I had to decorate this cake, but I'm pretty sure it was under 15 minutes. 

While I was decorating the cake with my hands full of sticky bright frosting (I couldn’t find my decorating tools, so I had to spoon the frosting into a Ziploc bag and cut the corner cut off) I was thinking - Hopefully Lukas will sleep tonight, instead of waking up screaming of an earache like the last few nights.  Hopefully, my husband won’t be out of order more than a day or two.  Hopefully, Jonas won’t wake up either, and I’ll get a good nights sleep, which I desperately needed.  I’d already come to the conclusion that we mothers really don’t have time to get sick and when we do, we have to do our best to just ignore it and keep going. 
  
Somehow, I managed to get it all done and it wasn’t until I had just laid down in bed to sleep that Lukas started crying.  Nonetheless, in the morning, when Jonas woke up, went down the stairs and saw his cake and gifts waiting for him and he smiled that huge it’s my birthday smile, nothing else mattered. 

“Mama, Lukas can have one half of the cake, and I’ll have the other half.” Turning three really is fantastic.   

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Banana Coffee Cake


My husband and I love coffee cake.  When I was nursing Lukas, I made it about once a week.  However, through all of our travels, I hadn't baked anything in a long time.

The other day I decided that I wanted to make some banana bread.  We had a bunch of bananas that were too brown to eat and nothings better at getting rid of bananas than banana bread.  After having mashed four bananas, I realized that I didn’t have any loaf pans.

Of course, I could have just made muffins, but I didn’t feel like any.  I remembered that my mom used to make a really great banana cake, so I started going in that direction.  It wasn’t until the cake batter was in the pan, that the coffee cake idea came to me.  I used the crumb topping from the coffee cake in my Zion Mennonite cookbook.

I must admit, I didn’t think coffee cake could be topped, but this one took the cake.  It was so moist and tasted full of banana.  Even Jonas ate it, and oddly enough, he doesn't usually like cake   

I highly recommend it!  Here's the recipe:

Banana Coffee Cake 
4 bananas
1 egg
½ C sugar
½ C oil
1 t vanilla
1 C buttermilk/or milk
2 Cups flour
4 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt

Topping
½ C brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
½ C chopped walnuts

1.  Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork until they are really mushy.  Add the eggs, one at a time and mix them in with the fork.  Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla, and mix until well blended.  Finally, add in the buttermilk or milk and beat well.  If you don't have a mixer, a fork or a whisk works well enough.

2.  Add the dry ingredients and beat for 2-3 minutes with a spoon or a mixer until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

3.  Mix the topping ingredients together in a cup and then sprinkle on cake batter.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5.  Serve with or without whip cream. Eat. Eat. Eat. Enjoy!!!

As you can see from the picture, even my little 12 month old wanted some of Jonas's cake.  

Friday, October 21, 2011

Pumpkin Pie Muffins (Two-year-old Approved!)

It’s been really tough trying to get my two year old to eat vegetables. These muffins started as an experiment to see if I could get my son to eat pumpkin, since he usually crinkles his face up whenever he has to eat any. He loved these muffins and kept yelling for more. Yippee! Another success story.

These muffins have a whole lot of pumpkin in them and are therefore really moist. They taste a lot like pumpkin pie, hence the name, and are so yummy you could almost eat them for dessert, even though they have little added sugar and a bunch of whole wheat.

Remember, if you are putting nuts in for little kids, you will need to either chop them up really tiny or grind them first.

I’m going to make these again soon. If you make them, too, let me know what you think and tell me if your little one also ate them as well.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

1 15 oz can Libby Pumpkin
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C white flour
2 eggs
1/3 C oil
1/2 C brown sugar
Pinch salt
1 t Pumpkin pie spice
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 C milk
1 C raisins
2/3 C chopped walnuts

Topping
1/4 C brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/3 C chopped walnuts

1. Mix the can of pumpkin together with the brown sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. For muffins, you really don’t need to get your mixer dirty. A good wooden spoon usually does the trick. When you are adding the eggs, just beat them in the measuring cup first with a fork.

2. Add the oil, milk, and spices and mix together.

3. Mix together dry ingredients and add to wet ones. Mix well with a spoon.

4. Add raisins and walnuts and then spoon into 12 muffin cups. I usually use two spoons for this, but you can also use a ½ cup.

5. In another bowl, mix together the topping ingredients: ¼ C brown sugar, 1 t cinnamon, and 1/3 cup chopped walnuts. Sprinkle this mixture on top of muffins.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. These muffins take a bit longer than most muffins because they are very moist. When a toothpick comes out nice and clean, your muffins are done.

7. Eat warm with butter and maybe a dab of honey. Enjoy!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Quick Mole, Butternut, and Black Bean Enchiladas

If you have never heard of Mole, let me tell you, it’s a wonderful invention. It’s a blend of Mexican spices like chili and chocolate that just melt in your mouth and heat up your palate. If you don’t think that chocolate can be served for dinner, think again.

Normally, making Mole yourself would take hours. I saw a special on PBS where they made Mole from scratch and it took about 10 hours. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of time. This recipe is super quick and will give you that same taste with under a half an hour of prep time. The secret is in the sauce. Raisins and semi-sweet chocolate are added to the enchilada sauce to give it Mole flavor without much work.

I make enchiladas at least once a week and experiment constantly with whatever I have in the fridge. These were some of my best enchiladas. Even my picky eater liked it and those of you who have toddlers know that says a lot. I hope you like them, too. Here’s the recipe.

Mole Chicken, Butternut, and Black Bean Enchiladas

½ C raisins, plus a few extra for garnish
1 C water
½ C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can enchilada sauce
1 C butternut squash (or other sweet veggie)
12 cherry tomatoes
1 C corn (half a can)
1 can black beans, drained
1 C diced (or pulled) chicken
1 C Cheddar, Monteray Jack, or Mexican cheese plus ½ C for garnish
6 Spoonfuls of sour cream
Cilantro
6-8 Tortillas
Cumin, Paprika, and Chili spices

Optional, extra sour cream and guacamole

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. For the Mole, put water and raisins in a bowl and microwave for about 2-3 minutes. Add chocolate pieces and microwave, if necessary, another 30 seconds. Mix until chocolate melts.

3. Add this mixture to a food processor with the enchilada sauce and puree until smooth. If you don’t have a food processor and have a limited budget, think about the Ninja. I love my Ninja food processor. It’s tiny enough to not take up much space, but is perfect for things like Guacamole or chopping nuts. It has two blades that cut up anything. Also, make sure that you use a good enchilada sauce. Some sauces are too bitter. I like Old El Paso because it is a bit sweeter.

4. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with oil and then pour in one cup of the Mole sauce. Now it’s time to make the enchiladas.

5. Lay out 6-8 tortillas on your countertop. Take a normal dinner spoon and add a dollop of sour cream to each tortilla. Spread the sour cream around.

6. Distribute the chicken, black beans, butternut, corn, and cheese onto the tortillas in a line down the middle. Sprinkle on some cilantro. Sprinkle cumin, paprika, and chili spice on each tortilla. Now with the toppings in a horizontal line in front of you, fold in the left and right sides a couple of inches, grab the bottom of the tortilla and roll it up folding the top in under the toppings. Lay the enchiladas fold side down in the pan.

7. Pour the remaining Mole sauce over the enchiladas and use a spoon to make sure that all of the enchiladas are covered with sauce. Add some cheese over the top and sprinkle some raisins down the middle. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and guacamole. Make sure you also spoon a bit of the Mole sauce over the enchilada on your plate. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Banana Brownie Shish Kebabs

This recipe actually came to me in the middle of the night while I was up nursing my son. It’s good to know that my brain not only comes up with some pretty crazy dreams, but can also process recipes at night.

I love adding chocolate chips to my banana nut muffins, so the idea of adding bananas to brownies makes perfect sense for my palate.

These brownies are really rich, chocolately, gooey, and full of banana flavor.

Here’s the recipe:

Banana Brownie Shish Kebabs

1 stick butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (I’m a big fan of Hershey’s)
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup flour
1 t vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts ( I used walnuts and pecans)
½ cup chocolate chips
2 bananas

For Shish Kebabs:
wooden skewers
whipped cream or Cool Whip
1 banana

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put butter in a bowl and microwave about 45 seconds until just melted. Add cocoa and sugar immediately and beat well.

3. Add vanilla and 2 mashed bananas into chocolate mixture and mix again.

4. Add eggs one at a time and mix after each one. Your batter will have a nice shiny look to it now.

5. Add flour and mix on high one final time until batter is as smooth as batter with bananas will be, i.e. slightly lumpy.

6. Pour into greased ( I grease with butter) 9 x 9 or 9 x 13 baking dish. I used the larger dish so that I would have a flatter brownie for the kebabs. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. When cool, cut brownies into 1 inch squares. Layer brownies and banana slices onto skewers with whip cream in between each slice. For a party, take a jar and fill it with something heavy, like whole nuts and then put your finished skewers in the jar like pencils. Enjoy!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Toddler Food Strike Pineapple Tuna Salad

I love to cook. So, why does my toddler refuse to eat everything, even foods he used to love?

I guess, that’s normal. At least, that’s what it says online. Although, it sure is frustrating!

After trying to give him more finger foods, which he would promptly hand back to me and say “Mama” (meaning - Mama, you eat it) or throw on the floor, I tried to feed him myself. But, if it wasn’t oatmeal, he would just push my hand away or spit it out. I was flustered.

I never would have thought that tuna salad would do the trick, but he ate it… all of it! I think the key was, it was thick enough that he could spoon it out himself, soft enough, that the texture didn’t bother him, and sweet enough that he liked it. He could also dip crackers in it, which is a plus. Yeah! Finally something worked.

So, now that I know he likes tuna salad, I decided to try to make a version which is a bit healthier and which adds in some fruit. I like the fact that it has less mayonnaise and some healthy yoghurt instead. I’m sure you could also make a chicken salad that is similar, maybe even with some applesauce. I gave him this pineapple tuna salad for lunch today with crackers and he didn’t complain a bit. He actually said, “Yum!”

Pineapple Tuna Salad (4 toddler portions)

1 6 oz can tuna w/water
1 T plain yoghurt
1 T mayonnaise
1 T sweet pickle relish
1 T crushed pineapple

1 Handful cheese fish crackers, or other crackers for dipping.

1. Open tuna and drain water. Add to bowl.

2. Mix in yoghurt, mayonnaise, relish, and pineapple. Mix well.

3. Add 1/3 of tuna salad to a small plastic bowl.

4. Serve with cheese fish crackers.

This recipe couldn’t be easier. Let me know if your toddler eats it or if you have other great dishes that worked during your toddler’s food strike.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Healthy Mexican Soup

I love Mexican food, especially burritos and nachos. However, sometimes it’s good to have Mexican taste, without all of the cheese and fat that we usually add to our so-called Mexican food.

This soup tastes light and summery with a great hint of lime. It’s great for lunch or a light supper.

Please, do me one favor. If you make this, don’t skimp on the lime, cilantro, or fresh avocado. They really add the necessary flavor. Trust me, your taste-buds will love it!

Mexican Soup

1 chicken breast
1 small onion, diced
3 green onions
1 can red beans
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can water
2 T brown sugar + 1 t brown sugar
1 T paprika, cumin, chili powder
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
Cilantro
Chopped avocado
Lime juice
Tortilla chips (optional)

1. Brown onions in a little olive oil. Then add diced chicken (see step 2) and spices.

2. For this soup, I like to take already prepared grilled chicken. We often grill up a few extra chicken breasts when we BBQ on the weekend, so that we have chicken for salads and other meals throughout the week. You can also brown the chicken ahead of time. Then dice and add to onions.

3. Add all your canned ingredients and the 2 T brown sugar. Cook until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add a few squirts of lime juice.

4. Pour soup into bowls, crunch some tortilla chips on top (or eat them with the soup), and add the avocados as a garnish. I like to chop up the avocado into little pieces, sprinkle with sugar and a bit of lime juice. You can also add a little cilantro as a garnish as well. This soup works great for entertaining.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Yummy Spring Apple Salad with Yogurt Dressing

This is now my favorite salad. It’s so crunchy, healthy, and yummy and you can eat as much of it as you feel like without ever feeling guilty (not like I would at the moment, being 8 months pregnant, but I’m thinking of you readers out there, too). The tangy yogurt dressing gives it a great kick and has no added oil or mayo, like most conventional salads you get at restaurants, and the other ingredients harmonize wonderfully giving this salad a nice spring flavor.

This salad is a healthier mix of two well-known salads, the Waldorf and the Cobb. Being pregnant, I can’t have the yummy blue cheese on the cobb salad and I love the dressing on the Waldorf, but didn’t feel like mayo and I wanted to have this salad as a main course and not a side. I remembered how much I loved the yoghurt dressings they make over in Europe, and thought I might put together something similar. In the end, the salad above is what came out of all this recipe daydreaming.

Recipe:

Salad
½ Iceberg lettuce
2 apples (I used Gala)
½ C chopped walnuts
½ C raisins
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 C diced grilled chicken (optional)

Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon
3 T plain yogurt
3 t sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley

1. Dice all salad ingredients and add to a large salad bowl.

2. For the dressing, I like to use a jar with a lid. Any medium sized jar is fine, including old jars from pizza sauce or jam which have been thoroughly washed in the dishwasher. You can shake the dressing, which is far easier than stirring, and if you have any unused dressing left, you can just pop the jar in the refrigerator.

3. Add all dressing ingredients to your jar, add lid and shake well. Your dressing is ready. You can either pour the dressing directly on the salad and mix it all together, or drizzle it on the salad directly before eating. Remember, because your salad contains apples, if you do not eat the salad immediately after preparing it, you may want to coat your apples in some lemon juice before adding them to the salad so that they don’t brown.

4. That’s all. Super easy, super good. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Asian Butternut Soup

Here’s a really easy recipe for a delicious butternut soup.
Originally, I when I started making this soup, I had an entirely different soup in mind. However, I managed to get one of the least tasting butternuts at the store and had to rethink my soup.

I don’t know if you have ever experienced the same thing with pumpkin, but there is a big difference between a good one and a bad one. I’ve pureed butternut before, where you could eat it pure and it was delicious. This one, however, tasted like nothing with a hint of butternut. Therefore, I had to get creative.

I knew that I had some coconut milk in the cupboard for a Thai dish that I like, and I figured Asian spices would help to pep any bland soup, so I went from there. I decided on a bit of coconut, peanut butter, ginger, and Asian spices. In the end, my husband loved it and I was pretty impressed.

Here is the recipe, if you would like to have a go at it. I’m sure you could also add garlic, or coriander, Tabasco, or other spices of your choosing. Enjoy!

Butternut soup

1 whole butternut, cut into squares
1 red onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large apple, chopped
1 t ginger, chopped fine
Spices: paprika, garlic salt, curry, salt and pepper (teaspoon each)
2 T creamy peanut butter
1 can coconut milk
2 T brown sugar

1. Add all ingredients in a large soup pot, add just enough water to cover. Boil about 15 minutes or until tender. Puree smooth.

2. Add all other ingredients and mix well. You may need to add more or less spices depending on how ripe your butternut is. A good butternut hardly needs any spices at all, but a bad one doesn’t taste like much of anything.

3. Garnish with green onions or chopped peanuts.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

No Cabbage, Cheesy Bierrocks

I came up with this recipe, because my husband wanted bierrocks and I didn’t have any cabbage. Also, I love the bierrocks concept.

In comparison to a hamburger, you can actually get some veggies in a bierrock that your kids will eat (you could trade zucchini in this recipe for about any other green vegetable). I actually like this recipe better than the traditional cabbage one, because the inside is a bit creamy and cheesy. My fifteen month old also loved it, so you could call it a great family dish.

Don’t worry, if you have never made a yeast dough before. It’s really easy, and you’d be surprised how good it turns out even if you are not skilled at kneading. I’ve given a few tips in the recipe on how to make things quick and easy. The main thing you need with a yeast dough is a couple hours to make sure the dough has time to rise. The dough itself, only takes about 5-10 minutes to make.

No Cabbage, Cheesy Bierrocks

Dough:
1 C warm water
1 pkg yeast
2 T sugar
½ t salt
¼ C olive oil
1 egg, beaten
3 C flour (2 C whole wheat/1 C white)

Filling:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
¼ bell pepper (any color, depending on taste)
1 zucchini
1 T honey
1 T flour
1 T butter
Circa ½ C milk
1 /c shredded cheese
Spices: celery salt, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper

Makes 12 bierrocks.

1. In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy.

2. Add salt, oil, and beaten egg. Mix well.

3. Add 3 cups flour. First mix with a spoon until you can form it into a ball with your hands. Then knead for a few minutes in the bowl (adding a little more flour if necessary) until you have a nice ball of dough that is uniform. Tip: to knead dough, punch down and forward with the bottom part of the palm of your hand, then take the dough that has been pushed forward, fold it over towards you, and punch it down again…

4. Let dough rise until double in size. Roll out on a floured board until the dough is about ¼ inch thick. Cut into 12 squares with a butter knife.

5. While the dough is rising (beginning point 4), brown hamburger in a frying pan. Drain grease if necessary. I prefer to drain grease and add butter for flavor, but don’t forget, I am pregnant. Add vegetables and cook until slightly tender. Add spices to taste. A tablespoon of honey also really helps to pull the flavor together.

6. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture and mix in well. The flour should attach itself to the fat particles, so that when you add milk it doesn’t get clumpy. If this doesn’t happen, you will need to add more fat. Then add milk, adding more if necessary to make a thick sauce which just covers the meat. Finally, add the cheese, mix well and let your meat mixture cool.

7. Spoon meat mixture onto dough squares (see picture above right). Pull up dough from all corners (see picture left) and pinch shut. The dough doesn’t always pinch shut well, but don’t worry, because this part of the dough goes down on the pan and bakes together later. Place bierrocks on a greased cookie sheet.

8. Let bierrocks rise for about 15 minutes and then bake for about 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. All bierrocks taste great with ketchup, but I’m sure you could eat them plain as well. Enjoy!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Blueberry Pancakes

I make pancakes every Saturday. Sometimes I make them without blueberries, add a bit of vanilla and cinnamon to the batter, and then eat them with peanutbutter and maple syrup. Yum. This morning I made blueberry pancakes at the request of my husband. Nevertheless, my 14 month old son loved them just as much. He decided, however, to tear apart the pancakes until he could pick out all of the blueberries, which he loves the best. He sure did have fun and still has purple fingers.

These pancakes are really easy and taste great. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1 C white flour
½ C whole wheat flour
¼ C sugar
3 ½ t baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
¼ C oil
1 ½ C buttermilk
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
Butter for frying
Maple syrup (get the real stuff!)
Makes enough pancakes for two hungry adults and one baby.

How to:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. You can use all white flour if you like, or more whole wheat, however, the white flour will make the fluffiest pancakes.

2. Add egg. I usually just beat the egg in the measuring cup and then use the cup for the rest of the ingredients. It’s less to wash later. Add oil and buttermilk. Mix well.

3. Add blueberries to batter. Fold or barely mix in.

4. Let batter sit 10 minutes. This lets the baking powder begin to rise and makes your pancakes even fluffier. You can also let it sit longer, but a few minutes does make a difference.

5. Using medium heat, add a little bit of butter to the pan. I just use a simple Teflon covered frying pan. Use a ladle and pour about four pancakes into the pan. When they start to bubble in the middle, flip. Leave in pan another couple minutes and put on serving tray.

6. My husband and I like them with maple syrup. But, I’m sure whip cream or powdered sugar would also taste great. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Nursing Mother's Muffin


Nursing a 10 month old sure can make me hungry. So that I don't reach for sweets too often, I try to bake up a bunch of healthy snacks as often as I can. These muffins are a good combination of sweet and healthy. The fiber also helps to keep you going, which I need since my baby is now learning how to stand up and walk.

Here's the recipe:

The Nursing Mother’s Muffin
Banana, Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Grape Nuts


1 C flour
1 C Grape Nuts
¼ - ½ C Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
4 t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 t cinnamon
¼ C oil
1 egg
¾ C milk
1 ripe banana
1 C walnuts
1 C chocolate chips

1. Mash ripe banana with a fork in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Add sugar and oil and mix thoroughly.
4. Add flour, Grape Nuts, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. I like to mix the dry ingredients a bit on the top before I mix it into the liquid underneath.
5. Add milk (add more if needed) and mix well.
6. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Yummmmmm!!!!!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Homemade Crispy Crust Pizza Dough


Last night I decided to make some homemade yummy pizza using the great pizza pan that we got at our wedding reception from Rachel Epp Buhler (Thanks again!). Having often ended up with dough that wasn't done in the middle or crispy enough, I was so excited for it to finally turn out the way I had hoped. This time, it turned out so good, that I thought it would be a shame not to post the recipe.

The how to:

Pizza Dough:

circa 2 C flour
3/4 C warm water
3 T sugar
Plenty of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Parsley flakes

1. In a big bowl, mix yeast, sugar, and water and let stand until foamy.
2. Drizzle some olive oil over the top and lightly mix in.
3. Add spices.
4. Add flour. Knead until you get a soft semi-sticky dough. You may need to add more flour, but don't add too much or your dough will get too dry.
5. Form into a ball, cover, and let stand until twice the size.
6. When dough is ready, flatten, pull or do what you need to do to get it to cover a medium pizza round pan or baking pan.
7. Let rise again if possible for about a half an hour.
8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and take out.
9. Using a barbecue brush, brush entire surface of crust with olive oil. Let sit.
10. Now add your tomato sauce (I used leftover ragu yesterday and it tasted great). Here's a little tip. If you buy the already portioned pizza sauces from the store, use only half. If you use it all, your dough gets too soft and doesn't cook through.
11. Now add your favorite toppings and bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
12. Enjoy!!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Guacamole for Baby and Mama

Having grown up in Kansas, I never knew that not only do babies love avocados, they are also very healthy and good for them. I love guacamole and make it often, although my version is sweeter than what you get at most restaurants.

The other day I decided to make two kinds of guac, one for my husband and I and one for the baby. Since Jonas wants to try everything we have at the table, it was a great way for him to take part at dinner. You can see in the picture just how much fun he was having!

Here are the recipes:

Baby Guacamole

Half an avocado, a fourth of a banana, cilantro, a few drops of lime juice

1. Mash avocado together with banana until nice and mushy.

2. Add finely chopped cilantro and lime juice.

3. (Optional) Puree all ingredients until smooth


Mama and Papa Guacamole

2 avocados. 1 T brown sugar, cilantro, about 1/8 to 1/4 cup lime juice, some salt and pepper, a fourth of a red onion, a dash of cumin

1. Add all ingredients to a food processer or puree until smooth.

2. (Optional) Add finely cut tomatoes