Marne's bread

I recently was given a wonderful bread recipe that has turned out EVERY SINGLE TIME! Just look at how the bread looks. YUM! It's nice and spongy and soft too. My kids love it. I think the secret I learned was to sponge the dough (you let it sit for a specified time...see recipe). I hadn't done that before and it makes a huge difference in how the bread turns out!

We are a whole wheat family. I only use white bread on special occasions. Most of the flour is whole wheat that I ground up in my grinder. I usually put a few cups of white flour in the bread though. Here is the recipe. Thanks Sarah for sharing the recipe with me to begin with. Enjoy!

(These are proportions for a Bosch mixer. If you have a Kitchenaid, just cut it in half and I think that would work. It makes about 4 really big loaves or 5 med-small loaves.)

14-16 c. whole wheat flour (10-12 c. unground)
2 rounded T. yeast
1/2 c. high-gluten flour
1/4 c. dough enhancer (or 2 T. lemon juice or 500 mg vit C)
6 c. very warm water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. honey or brown sugar (it turns out better with honey)
1 1/2 T. salt

Directions: Mill wheat so it is fresh and warm. Place 9 cups fresh flour into mixer with kneading arm. Add dry yeast, and gluten and pulse to mix. Add water and mix for 1 minute. Turn off mixer, cover, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes. (this makes the bread have a lighter texture.) Add oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt. Turn on mixer, and quickly add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms a mass and cleans the sides of the bowl. (I generally add a few more cups of whole wheat and then finish it off with a few cups of white flour.) Turn mixer to high and knead for 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead at least 12 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Preheat oven to 150 during this time. Lightly oil hands and counter surface. Divide dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Turn off oven. Place bread in oven, arranging pans with space between to allow heat to circulate freely. Set kitchen timer, and watch closely. Let rise until almost double in bulk, approximately 30-35 minutes. Leave bread in oven and turn heat to 350. Bake for 30-35 minutes until light golden brown. Immediately remove from pans and let cool on wire rack. Store in plastic bags in freezer to preserve nutrients in wheat.

Overnight French Toast

1 Loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut into 8 slices

6-7 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 Tbsp butter

Butter a glass 9x13 pan. Place slices flat in pan. Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into pieces and dot over the tops. Refrigerate overnight. Bake 45-50 min at 350.

Emily's notes: First off, I can't fit it all in a 9x13, I end up using a 9x13 plus an 8x8. Also, I like it best when I refrigerate it overnight and then turn the pieces of bread over and let them sit an hour before you bake it in the morning so both sides really soak up the egg mixture. It is great with maple syrup or with strawberries and whip cream!

Toffee dip for apples

TOFFEE DIP FOR APPLES

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (8oz) bag Heath toffee bits

Mix all ingredients together and serve with sliced apples or refrigerate till ready to serve. Makes about 3 cups.

Naomi’s Rolls (from everydayfoodstorage.net)

1/2 C. Sugar
1 Extra-Large Egg (2 T. Dry Egg Powder + 1/4 C. Water)
1 T. Shortening
1 C. Milk (3 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 1 C. Water)
1 t. Salt
4 1/2-5 C. Flour (enough to make a sticky dough) I usually do 1/4 to 1/2 Whole wheat flour
1 pkg yeast (2 1/2 t. yeast), softened in 1/2 C. lukewarm water

Beat sugar and egg. Scald milk; cool. Then add to sugar and egg. Stir in shortening, yeast, salt, flour. Let rise about 2-21/2 hours. Shape, cut, rise again about 1/2-1 hour. bak. (400, about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 good sized rolls. You may want to double the recipe, as these rolls disappear fast!

Monkey Bread

SUBMITTED BY: Carol Allen PHOTO BY: Jullie F. (recipe from allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 3 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits

DIRECTIONS

1. In a plastic bowl with tight-fitting lid, combine pudding mix, sugar, cinnamon and pecans if desired. Pour the butter into a shallow bowl. Cut the biscuits into quarters. Dip several pieces into the butter, then place in bowl; cover and shake. Remove to a greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Continue until all the biscuit pieces are coated. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Ghostly Pancakes

I found this on Gourmet Mom to Go (fun blog to check out)

Ghostly Pancakes

Your little ghouls will scream with delight when they see this spooky and fun breakfast! You could also use them for a Letter "G" snack!The best part? You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry right now! They're a snap to make and they'll vanish before you can say, "Boo!"Ghostly Pancakes
Ingredients:
Your favorite pancake batter (or simple recipe below)
Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Spread pancake batter in blobs on griddle heated on medium-high heat. Don't worry too much about the shapes, just make sure they aren't circles.

Place two chocolate chips, pointy side down, on the pancakes for eyes and another chocolate chip for the mouth. Cook until bubbles form, flip pancake and cook for an additional 30 seconds-1 minute on the other side.

Remove from pan and serve!

Notes: MothertoMany had a great idea! She said, "A healthier version would be to use some "boo"berries for the mouth and eyes instead of chocolate chips, or raisins, or even craisins." Happy Ghosting!

BASIC PANCAKE BATTER
Ingredients:
2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. milk
3 tbsp. oil
Mix all together. Pour 3 tablespoons batter in skillet. Brown on both sides until batter is done.

Almond and Lemon scented Granola

6 cups (480g) old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup (40g) slivered almonds
1/2 cup (125g) vegetable oil
1 cup (250g) honey
1/2 cup (125g) brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 cups (400g) dried sour cherries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (150 degrees Celsius). Combine oats, oil, honey, brown rice syrup, vanilla, almond extracts, nutmeg, and lemon zest in a large bowl (that’s everything except for the cherries).

2. Spread mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet (half sheet size). Bake for 15 minutes, and stir the mixture with a spatula. Return the mixture to the oven, raise the heat to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius), and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until oats are a golden brown.
3. Remove cookie sheet from the oven, and allow the mixture to cool completely. When it has cooled, break up the mixture in large and small pieces. Place in a large bowl and stir in dried cherries. Serve alone, with milk, or on top of yogurt and fruit. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.

Yummy chocolate chip cookies

Grandma's Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/3 C. butter

1 C. sugar

1 C. b. sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 C. + 6 T. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 C. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix in flour, soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

They are delicious. Sugar and hugs and chubby little babies fix everything-right?

Whole Wheat Waffles

Whole-wheat waffles

1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups wheat
*blend in blender for 2 minutes

add 1/2 cup more milk
*blend for 2 more minutes

add 1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 T. baking pwd.
1 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. sugar
*blend for 30 more seconds

These were so easy and yummy and I just used my bosch blender. Thanks for the recipe mom!

Crock-pot roast

My favorite thing in the crockpot is my amazing Salsa Roast. I buy a big, cheap beef roast and put it in the crock. I top it with 1 packet of dry onion soup mix, about 8-12 oz of salsa, and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. I cook it on high for about 4 hours and then turn to low and cook it until it is falling apart and easily shreds with a fork. We then eat it on buns, in tortillas with burrito toppings, or on top of mashed potatoes or rice. It is SOOOO GOOD!!

(sorry, not sure where this recipe came from to give credit)