Enchiladas and Tamales

 

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

 

2 1/2 cups hot water from tap
**4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour (I use a white flour that is specific for bread, not all purpose)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 honey
2 T molasses
*1 envelope yeast
1 T salt
1 1/2 cup extra wheat flour

Turn oven on warm (I heat my oven to 170 before I start making the dough and turn it off when I put the bread in the oven to rise). Grease 2 bread pans with butter.

Mix 4 cups wheat flour and 1 c. white flour with yeast in a big bowl.

Add to kitchen aid mixer honey, oil, molasses and salt and last the hot water. Mix until dissolved. With the mixer on, add flour/yeast combo little by little. Add extra flour a little at a time while it kneads until the dough has pulled away from the sides and is not too sticky or dry. Let it kneed for about 10 minutes, stopping periodically to scrap the sides of the bowl if needed. Divide dough in half, mold them into loaf shapes and place in bread pans. Cover the bread with a cloth (I use long white chef towels) and place in warm oven, then turn oven off once they are in and let rise for an hour or two. After it’s risen I just keep the bread in the oven (remove cloth of course) and preheat to 350. Cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Half way through cooking I cover the loaves with aluminum foil to prevent the tops from browning too much.

*Last time I made this bread I didn’t use yeast from a packet, but I used a heaping T. of the Instant Yeast from my freezer. The loaves of bread rose much better.

**Our grocery store has an industrial sized wheat grinder. I buy fresh ground hard red winter wheat to make this bread.

Shrimp Pasta Dish

1 pound baby penne
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
2 pints grape tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated (I always just use crushed garlic from the jar)
24 medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined (I use frozen, uncooked shrimp from Costco)
6 scallions, green and white parts chopped on a bias
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cups basil, thinly sliced into ribbons
3 cups baby arugula, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bring a large pot of water over to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain the pasta.

While waiting for the water to boil, place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet (I use a glass casserole dish--less messy), drizzle them with EVOO and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place tomatoes in the hot oven and roast until the tomatoes just start to burst, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, smash them lightly with a fork or a potato masher and reserve.

While the pasta is working and the tomatoes are almost ready, preheat a large-size skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic to the hot skillet along with the shrimp.

Cook the shrimp on both sides until firm and pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add the scallions, cook for a minute or so, then add the pasta, lemon zest, basil, arugula, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Give it a good toss and pour it into a serving bowl. Add the reserved roasted tomatoes, toss to combine and serve.

***This above recipe is the origional recipe from Rachel Ray. My adapted version:

I know I use less pasta, more of the other ingredients. The first time I made this dish I felt there was less color and too much pasta. Use lots of oil, crushed garlic from the jar and salt/pepper to flavor the shrimp. The juices produced from the shrimp cooking is what gives your dish a lot of flavor. Along with the cooked tomatoes. I always make sure to taste the tomatoes after they are cooked and mashed and add more salt/pepper. Every time I saute more ingredients in I continue to season with salt and pepper as needed (you can always add garlic powder towards the end if your garlic taste is week). Fresh grated parmesan cheese to serve is delicious too!

Sunday Brunch #1

 

Egg Nest Cupcakes (carrot cake)

 

Chicken Tacos

 

8-10 uncooked chicken tenders (4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
1/2 large onion
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 bunch cilantro (you may not need the entire bunch)

Combine above ingredients into a food processor (I use a 7 c. FP). Pulse until all ingredients are well blended together. Heat 2-4 T. canola oil (med-high heat) in frying pan with a lid. Add the chicken mixture into frying. Use spatula or wooden spoon to separate chicken so it's not in one big clump. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder. Cover the chicken until the meat is cooked through and tender. Keep seasoning with S&P, chili powder, and cumin until it taste's the way you like it. I sometimes add garlic powder in the end if the fresh garlic isn't strong enough. The end results is the consistency of hamburger meat when made for taco salad.

Serve chicken mixture in corn tortilla's (we lightly fry both sides of the tortilla in a frying pan) with shredded Mexican cheese, fresh avocado, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, fresh limes, etc. Whatever is your favorite toppings.