Whole wheat bread

I made a couple loaves of whole wheat bread. It’s not bad =]

 

Whole wheat bread

Ingredients:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.
2. Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup butter, honey, salt and 2 cups wheat flour in large bowl. Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add 3 cups bread flour, and knead until dough forms a ball. Knead dough 10 minutes. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic towel. Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide dough in half. Roll out each half, and pound out the bubbles. Form into loaves, and place in buttered 9×5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of the dough, and cover with towel. Let rise in a warm area until doubled; about 30 minutes.
4. Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tops are dark golden brown. Butter crusts while warm. Slice when cool.

 

Thanksgiving 2011

So, this Thanksgiving we celebrated twice. On Thursday we had dinner with some friends of ours and their family. But on Friday we had our annual big Navy Thanksgiving (we had it on Friday because some of the guys had duty on Thursday. boooo). Everyone contributed at least one dish. We… kinda went overboard because we both LOVE to cook! Here is what we made

Stephan made

• Pumpkin pie
• home made whipped cream
• Dia’s Cranberry Salad
• A Turduckenhen (2 Cornish game hens inside a chicken  inside a duck inside a turkey.) This was a joint effort between him and Daniel

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I think it looks kind of disturbing, but apparently it tasted awesome!

I made

• Chocolate Bourbon Pecan pie (http://cookwithfarrah.wordpress.com/category/dessert/)
• Lynchburg Apples (now dubbed “Drunken Apples”) (http://cookwithfarrah.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/lynchburg-candied-apples/)
• Mulled Cider Cranberry Sauce (http://cookwithfarrah.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/mulled-cider-cranberry-sauce/)
• Candied Sweet Potatoes (http://cookwithfarrah.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/candied-sweet-potatoes/)

I apologize for the links being out next to each item. For some reason WordPress is not allowing me to make text  links. I will attempt to fix this again in the future.

So that was our contributions to the amazing Thanksgiving  feast! Sooooooooo full. But happy. And tired.

Mulled Cider Cranberry Sauce

I have never made my own cranberry sauce before, so this year I figured I’d give it a shot. Sooooo much better than out of a can! And pretty easy to make. Never buying cranberry sauce ever again, that’s for sure! I got this recipe from RealSimple.com

Mulled Cider Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) package cranberries
• 1 3/4 cup apple cider (apple juice will work, but cider is always better!)
• 1 cup honey (give or take to taste)
•  2 cinnamon sticks (2 tbs (or to taste) cinnamon. Sticks are preferable, but the ground cinnamon will work )
• 1 tbs grated orange peel
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 whole cloves

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the berries burst and the sauce thickens. Be sure to stir occasionally or you will get a lot of pink foam overflowing. Original recipe says about 15 minutes… I cooked mine on low/medium heat for an hour. Granted, I made a double batch. Just something to keep in mind. Take out the cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, and if you can find them, the cloves. Serve warm or cold. Ours was a bit warmer than room temp, and it was stellar!

Raspberry Scones!

Early the other morning I dreamed about fresh, hot, homemade raspberry scones. So obviously the only thing to do is to make some! These turned out wonderfully

Raspberry Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup raspberry jam
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/3 cup or less sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour,sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Mix in butter and raspberry jam. Add buttermilk and milk; mix just until moistened. Fold in raspberries. Form into an oblong loaf and place on a baking sheet. I had to just pour it into a loaf shape, because it was too liquid/sticky to roll. Still worked tho!
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut loaf into 6 wedge shaped pieces. Place pieces on baking sheet and continue baking for 15-20 minutes.

Pull out of the oven, add butter and enjoy! Nom nom nom

Blueberry Buckle

Husband’s schedule is currently such that he is now home during the mornings. So, yesterday I made us some wonderful Blueberry Buckle. It’s somewhere between a breakfast and a dessert, but on occasion, it’s a yummy breakfast, served with a hot cup of coffee and the One I love.

 

Blueberry Buckle

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8×8 inch pan.
2. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8×8 inch pan.
4. To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
5. Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 30-45

Greek Salad

I love Greek salad! This is one of my favourite things to make for dinner. Mmm. And there’s always leftovers, and this is as good (if not better) the next day!

 

Greek Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Taboule or any cooked grain
• 1 can chick peas
• 1/2 onion
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 fresh bell pepper (any colour is good, but red looks really pretty!)
• 1/2 cup  olive oil
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• feta cheese to taste

Directions:

• Cook the grain
• mix all ingredients in a bowl, and let sit in the fridge for at least 1/2  hour, and then serve it up!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do =]

Because He Works Hard

My husband works crazy hard, between 90 hours on a easy week, and 110 hours on a busier week. So because he works so hard, I try to make good food for him. Last night I made sauteed asparagus, sweet potato fries, and Honey Orange Garlic chicken breasts.

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into french fries
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons light olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse the sweet potato fries with cold water and drain. Spread onto a baking sheet.
3. Stir the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, all spice, and brown sugar together in a bowl; sprinkle over the fries. Drizzle the olive oil over the fries.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to serve.

 Honey Orange Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce ( I used this amazing Ponzu ™ citrus soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. To Make Marinade: Combine the soy sauce, honey, orange juice, garlic, oregano, pepper and paprika. Mix all together and pour over chicken pieces. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Remove chicken from refrigerator. Place chicken and marinade in a 9×13 inch baking dish and bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste once.

 

Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was craving something chocolaty, but didn’t want to buy pre-packaged cookies, so I made my own =]

Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool.

These are wonderful! You can also add walnuts if you like =]

Corn Fritters

At my dads suggestion, I made corn fritters for dinner last night. I hadn’t made these in quite a while, and I have no idea why I waited so long! These things are amazing. Husband and I scarfed them up, and he took the rest of the plate to work with him for duty today! I will be making these frequently.
Farrah’s Corn Fritters

Ingredients:

2 cups  plain yellow stone ground corn meal
3 tsp baking powder
apx. 1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 a can corn
2 handful’s shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 chopped onion (or more if you’d like)
several good shakes of garlic powder to taste(many shakes in my case ^_^)
3-7 shakes of chili powder, to taste (I used 7)
Directions:

Heat up a griddle to 400*. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. The “dough” should be thick. Take smallish handfuls of the dough and it into a ball and then smoosh it flat! Then pop it on the griddle! Cook until the back side is golden brown, then flip! Same on the other side. Then serve her up! FANTASTIC!

 

TA DA! Fritters. Damn, I love being  southern.

A vegetarian dinner for sailors?

That’s right! I made a recipe I’d made before, the Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos.  Mmmmm. I cooked up a batch, and served it to my husband and our two enlisted friends. I really wasn’t quite sure how they’d take to it, but they both loved it! Victory for the vegetarian!

So, give it a shot. It’s fantastic.

 

I also made a bowl of hummus, which I served with pita bread traingles

Farrah’s Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (I got this idea from This recipe)
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Tahini
• lemon juice to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Strip rosemary leaves from stems, discard stems, and put leaves in  food processor. Add garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Pour in the garbanzo beans; process until evenly blended.
2. With food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil and tahini, scraping sides of the bowl as necessary. Add lemon juice to taste.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.

 

Mmmmm