Noonday Collection

When you satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

Your night will become like the noonday.

Isaiah 58:10

I am so excited to share with you about Noonday Collection.

I am friends with a sweet teacher, Erin, who is an ambassador for Noonday and asked me if I would be interested in reviewing a product.  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to help spread word about a company who has the goal of helping others.  I learned more about these sweet people and was blown away.  I couldn't wait to blog about it!

Noonday Collection is centered around the passion for helping oppressed people in countries of the world where sustainable income is hard to come by or nonexistent.  The company was founded by Joe and Jessica Honegger, who, after visiting Uganda and decided to adopt internationally from Rwanda, began selling fair-trade, artisan-made goods in Austin, TX to raise money for the costly adoption process and help support the Ugandan people. This was the first Noonday Collection trunk show- an opportunity for women to gather, purchase jewelry, accessories, and other items made by artisans in other countries, and advocate for women and children.

Now, Noonday collection sells a variety of {gorgeous} items made by Artisans from Ethiopia, India, Uganda, Peru, Rwanda, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Madagascar.  They are sold through ambassadors who style friends at their own trunk shows or through online orders (more info at the end!).  Because these are fair-trade items, Noonday will "pay their artisans a living wage in advance for their products. This means they are often getting an average of 4 times more than others in a similar line of work. By purchasing their items, we enable them to continue to grow their businesses and create sustainable income opportunities for them and their community."  Watch to see a clearer picture of what they do and who they help:

Noonday also advocates for the adoption of orphans.

Noonday advocates for orphans by:

• Providing jobs for Artisans that create a pathway out of poverty for families. A stable income means a family is less likely to abandon their child.
• Help families raise money for their own adoptions. They give 10% of trunk show sales directly to the adoptive family when they host a trunk show.  These can be domestic or international adoptions.
• Aside from donating 10% towards qualified adoptive families, Noonday Collection also gives towards orphan care and prevention.

I have known several people who have chosen to adopt.  Their stories are beautiful, regardless of the road that led them to pursue adoption.  As exciting as it can be to start the adoption process and begin the paperwork and home studies, the financial burden adoption carries can be overwhelming.  One thing I love about Noonday is that, with every sale and trunk show, they have the opportunity to minister to two different families- those in other countries that are able to earn fair-trade wages to support themselves and their families, as well as those who are pursuing adoption and can benefit from financial help to bring their child home. I plan on hosting a show for a friend of mine who is currently in the process of adopting and couldn't be more excited.

Noonday strongly encourages hostesses who want to donate their rewards to adoptive families to do so for a friends or find adoptive parents in their local community.  Walking with someone closely during their adoption process brings such support and can really make a personal impact for both parties.  This personal connection helps to share the vision and passion behind Noonday, and makes room for meeting all kinds of new friends surrounding the family's adoption.  And, what joy for the hostess to finally meet the child they helped to bring home!


Added bonus- this stuff is gorg.  My friend, Erin, sent me the Ancient Ways Necklace from Noonday to review:

This piece is handmade in Ethiopia using recycled nickel, copper, and bronze melted down from previous war weapons. Most of the artisans who created the pieces in this particular set are HIV positive and receive health care and literacy training in addition to job training.  I received it in a little sewn pouch and thank you note, wrapped in a bubble mailing envelope. 
I absolutely love it.  I love wearing it, knowing someone who was in need was helped by this company and can support their family.  I love that I can pray for that person and ask that the love of Christ surround them and their families.  I love that something such as a war weapon from this country isn't a war weapon anymore.  It's around my neck as a beautiful piece of jewelry, made by the hands of one of God's children.
And, I just think it's gorgeous.  
It's heavy.  Not in the I'm-going-to-take-this-off-after-work-as-soon-as-I-get-in-the-parking-lot kind of heavy, but the type of heavy that means it's of great quality.  It's the type of heavy that tells me it was handmade.  It's the type of heavy that reminds me that, although we are never promised a perfect, easy life, the heavy burden of providing for a family has been lifted from someones shoulders somewhere in the world.  I like that.  I wear it with joy.

If you are interested in helping someone provide for their family in an oppressed area of the world, know someone who is in the process of trying to adopt and would like to host a trunk show to help them with the costs of adoption, or just like gorgeous jewelry and accessories, visit Erin's Noonday Website.  You can browse the collection, as well as click on the yellow tabs to read more about how the collections are made and how trunk shows work.
If you live in the Kansas City area and would like to host a show and have Erin come and style you and your friends, send her an email at ecnoonday(at)gmail(dot)com.  On top of being sweeter than sugar, this girl knows style.  You will have a blast with her!
If you have questions, leave a comment and I will steer you in the right direction to get that answered.  Now, go shop!

Best Chocolate Chip Recipe Ever

I was talking to my mother in law the other day about cookies and how both of ours seem to melt instead of bake and then cool flat.  Don't get me wrong, they taste great (I mean, how can butter, sugar, and chocolate taste bad?), but I think it's fair to say a girl likes a good, fluffy, soft cookie.

I had seen a pin on Pinterest about adding corn starch to the cookie dough and I was skeptical.  Pinterest can really be hit-and-miss sometimes.  I used to make an awesome cookie that had shortening in it and they were huge, chewy, and perfectly baked.  I have searched high and low for the recipe and cannot find it.

BUT, I found this recipe at Apple a Day and tried it out.  Perfect.  The dough is a little dry, so my KitchenAid paddle left a lot of flour in the bottom of the bowl that I had to mix by hand.  It's taking all that is in me to not each the whole batch.

Ingredients: 

1.5 sticks butter, softened (I like salty cookies, but you can use either salted or unsalted)

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1.5 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Add 1/3 of the mixture at a time, barely mixing each time.  Make sure it is completely mixed, then stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  No longer.

BEWARE.  So delicious!

DIY Rotel Recipe

I posted in the spring about the huge garden we planted in the backyard.  Well, some plants didn't exactly make it (green beans, lettuce, sweet peppers!), and it looks like a huge weed patch, but boy, do we have tomatoes.  Almost every day we were getting "harvests", as I like to call it, of this size.

I had been giving a lot away and trying to eat my share of them, but we couldn't keep up.  I tried to think of things we like to eat with tomatoes and thought, hmmm, I sure do use a lot of Rotel.  It's easy, full of flavor, and doesn't add any fat to the recipe.  It's not that expensive, but I wanted so badly to make use of our tomato crop; however, I don't can.  So, I looked around for some tips and different recipes and came up with this one.  You can store it in the freezer and eat within the next 8 months.  Because I grew my own tomatoes and cilantro (and had everything else on hand in my pantry), 10 cans of Rotel cost me $1.25 to make-which I spent on fresh peppers.  That is $.12/can!

DIY Rotel
Ingredients:

• 1 gallon ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped 
• 2 large Anaheim peppers, chopped 
• 2 large Poblano peppers, chopped (or use all Anaheim)
• 3 Large (or 5 small) fresh Jalapenos, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• Cilantro to taste (I food process and freeze from fresh, so it was about 3 tbsp)
• Juice of one Lime
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder (not pictures and totally optional)

Directions:

• First, you will need to peel your tomatoes.  Prepare a large pot with boiling water.  Cut a shallow "X" through the skin on one side of your tomatoes.  Place in boiling water for 30 seconds, followed by an ice water bath.  I boiled my tomatoes in shifts and just kept adding them to the ice water bowl.  Every once in a while, I added fresh ice.  Leave them in the water until they cool completely, about 5 minutes.

• Next, peel all of the tomatoes.  It is super easy!  It peels right off.  I peeled and placed them back in the water so that they had a little cushion.  Once peeled, dice all the tomatoes and put into a large pot.

• Next, dice all of your peppers.  I am usually one who will use a produce sack or lunch baggie as a barrier between my hands and the peppers so that I don't have to worry about the oils getting on my hands and then in my eyes.  BUT, since I had a lot of peppers to chop, my cheap self bought a bag of latex gloves for $1.  It looks like a lot of peppers, but don't worry.  It will cook down!
• Place the peppers and the rest of your ingredients in the pot. Cook on medium for about 45 minutes.  It should reduce slightly.  Once done, cool completely.  Store in freezer safe containers in 1 1/2 cup increments and freeze!  Again, enjoy in any recipe that calls for Rotel for the next 8 months.  For more information about freezing tomatoes, I found this article.

 Use in any recipe that calls for Rotel and you will love it!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

For some reason I am far more organized concerning meal planning during the school year than during the summer.  I think I'm one of those people who work better under pressure.  This summer there have been many days when I have completely failed at making certain my husband had a healthy, balanced, home-cooked meal ready when he gets home.  Meh, he will forgive me.

This is a recipe that came to mind as I was cleaning my house yesterday (that is one thing I do not fail at during the summer!) and was organizing our "library" (books crammed into the shelving in the end table).  I had bought a "wraps" recipe book at Goodwill for $.25, mostly because it had great photography of the recipes.  Dumb, I know.  Now that I've gone through it, I can say I really would only eat 5% of the recipes, but it did give me a great idea for dinner!

You can use any cooked chicken you like, but I threw 4 chicken breasts with some water, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper in the crock pot for a few hours so that I didn't have to heat my house with the oven.  I like to buy whole bone-in breasts when they are super cheap and just peel off the skin and cook on the bone.  The chicken is always so much more tender than when I buy boneless skinless breasts and the whole breasts still have the tender attached.  Delicious.  Plus I can make stock with the leftover bones.  Booyah.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• Bacon, cooked and chopped (amount is at your discretion.  I will confess I like to buy the precooked stuff because it's cheaper and we don't need a full pound)
• Lettuce
• Tomato- fresh from our garden!
• Diced fresh jalapenos- fresh from our garden! (obviously can be left out)
• Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Green Onions
• Ranch Dressing (you will want a trough of this stuff.  Seriously.  I put it in my wrap and dipped it!)

Once you have cooked and pulled the chicken, heated your tortillas, cooked your bacon, and diced up your lettuce, tomato, green onion, and jalapenos, pile into the tortilla and drizzle with the ranch dressing.
Our only regret was buying small tortillas!  Simple, yet something different you can do with chicken.

Friendship Bread-Recipe

I've come to grips with the fact that I am a very very very bad blogger.  As promised two weeks ago, here is the recipe for Friendship Bread.

In the last post, we talked about the starter.  Follow those directions in order to get to "Day 12".  As explained, separate the batter into 4 one-cup containers.  Save one as your ongoing starter.  This day, or "baking day" as my mom call it, is your new "Day 1".  Follow the same steps as before, skipping Day 1.  Repeat this on every "Baking Day".

Alright, you now have 3 containers that each have 1 cup of starter in them (unless you give one away to a friend like you are supposed to, which means you have 2 containers of starter, making 8 loaves).  Each of these 1-cup containers makes 4 small loaves of bread.  I like to make different flavors from each container, so I mix each container into a bread batter separately.  If you want 12 loaves of the same flavor, I suppose you could mix it all together, so long as you triple the recipe requirements.

The beginning part of the following ingredients is the same for all flavors:

Base Mix:

• 1 cup starter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or almond or lemon if you desire!)

For different flavors, mix the additional ingredients with the base mix.  We love chocolate the most, but you can be creative and play with the flavors. 

Chocolate:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pkg instant chocolate pudding 
• 1 cup chocolate chips

 Mix all ingredients together except chocolate chips.  Pour into 4 small loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, pull out and top with desired amount of chocolate.  Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

When making other flavors, increase the flour amount to a full cup to account for the 1/4 cup cocoa you are omitting.  Other flavor combinations can include:

• Vanilla pudding and cinnamon with raisins
• Cheesecake pudding with fresh berries
• Butterscotch pudding with butterscotch chips
• Lemon pudding with poppy seeds (about 1/4 cup seeds.  VERY yum!)
• 1 cup pumpkin, add cinnamon and keep chocolate chips
• Add coconut

The possibilities are endless!

Friendship Bread- Starter

My mom has made Amish Friendship Bread for as long as I can remember-and everyone loves it.  We usually drop the whole Amish thing and just call it "Mom's Bread", or "Kathy's Bread".  We bring it to brunch and dish it for dessert.  It is so good.  If you aren't familiar with Amish Friendship Bread, it is a sweet, dessert-cake-bread that begins with an ongoing starter that ferments for 10 days until you mix in some final ingredients and bake a few loaves; however, you keep part of the batter off to the side as your next 10-day starter.  You repeat this every single time you bake- or every 10 days.  Yes, this means you have generations of yeast being grown and kept for several "cycles" of bread baking.  My mom has been making this for so long that her starter is from 2002.  Yes, folks, there are 10 year-old yeasties in our bread (although my husband claims this is impossible. I do think its still in there- or at least breading more- you never add a pinch more yeast after the first cycle and my mom hasn't added any since 2002, yet its there).  Weird?  Kinda.  Good?  Oh, yes.  I've got one of her starters now, so the yeast lives on!
Today's recipe is for the starter.  This means that this recipes is what you will start with, from scratch, and let ferment on your counter top for 12 days.  If you keep this particular starter going, each cycle after this one will be 10 days because you already have fermentation going and you do not start from scratch.  Tomorrow I will explain how to turn your starter into yummy bread and how you get ready for your next "cycle".

Ingredients:
4 Cups flour, divided
2 cups warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp if you use the jarred yeast in bulk)
2 cups milk, divided
2 cups sugar, divided

Directions:
Day 1:  In glass, ceramic, or plastic bowl, mix 2 cups flour, warm water, and yeast.  Leave uncovered on kitchen counter.  Do not refrigerate.
Day 2, 3, 4:  Stir well with wooden spoon (rumor is you have to use a wooden spoon.  I'm not going to question.  I think plastic would work just fine, but no metal).  Still leave unrefrigerated.  We cover it with a loose fitting lid.

Day 5:  Stir and add 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, and 1 cup sugar. 
Day 6, 7, 8:  Stir with wooden spoon.
Day 9: Stir and add 1 cup milk, I cup flour, and 1 cup sugar.
Day 10 and 11:  Stir well with wooden spoon.
Day 12:  Separate mixture into 4 containers, measuring 1 cup each.  Use one cup to bake your bread (recipe tomorrow!), keep one for yourself as a "starter" for your next batch, and cover and refrigerate the other 2 and give them away (after all- it is called friendship bread!).  If you don't have time to bake on day 12 (or day 10 after this starting cycle), you can refrigerate the batter until you are ready- my mom always says "It's so forgiving".

If you don't have any friends that want the starter, bake three of the one-cup containers, but always save one for your next round.  Once you do this, repeat the cycle- but this time you can bake on Day 10.  Also, don't be alarmed if you hear a "pop" in the middle of the night and find the lid popped off your container.  This is completely normal and the yeast just doing its thang.
Like I said, I will give you the actual bread recipe next time!  Go get a starter going!

Meat Grinder Love

I know, I claimed to be doing a series on family recipes.  I'm not done with that, I promise.  We just got back home to the Midwest from South Carolina (and I lost my phone in the Atlanta airport.  Boo) and I have been getting our lives back in order, doing 500 loads of laundry, and cleaning.  Not a whole lot of time to make great food.
I posted on facebook that I found this KitchenAid gem at a Goodwill in Charleston for $6.  They retail for $69!

I couldn't wait to get home and use it.  When we lived overseas, we went to an International School and for a few years my mom was our school nurse (best thing ever!).  She taught a healthy cooking class after school and she let me help a few times (no wonder I teach what I teach).  We ground our own chicken with skinless boneless breasts (by hand!) and made garlic chicken burgers.  They were so good that she started making them at home.  I don't really like the taste of ground turkey, and ground chicken is ridiculously expensive.  I finally tried out the attachment on my mixer and it was everything I imagined it would be.  I just had to share!

The directions said to cut up the meat into small chunks for best results.  I defrosted chicken breasts I had bought on sale for $1.29/lb and cubed them.

I attached the grinder to my KitchenAid and turned it on the lowest setting while grinding (note-your mixer is still going to turn, so, if you are like me and store all of your attachments inside, take them out of the bowl so that there is nothing inside).  Stick the chunks in, push them down with the wooden mallet it comes with.  Don't forget to have a bowl ready underneath your grinder!

And done!
If squishy meat sounds don't bother you, here is a video to show you just how easy this is:

I love that the top has a spaces for you to "load" food.  I could put all the meat up there at once and push a little through at a time.

When it cooks, it looks like cooked chicken breast in color:

We had taco salad with black beans and this amazing ranch dressing (Thanks, Susan!) and loved it.  I was able to make 2 lbs of ground meat for $1.29/lb.  Not only is it the healthiest ground meat you can make, but it is far cheaper than beef or pork.  I froze half of it for another time (and thanks to the idea from my friend Jenni-who has an awesome new blog btw, go check it out!- I stored it in an old pasta sauce jar).

If you have a KitchenAid, this attachment is worth every single penny.  It can do meats, vegetables, fruits- raw or cooked.  KitchenAid retails them for $69, but I found it online for $30.  Goodwill, you never fail me!

Kurowski Recipe Series: Gloria's Blonde Brownies

Several of the recipes we consider treats come from my Grandma Gloria.  When we were little, especially around the holidays, she would bake dozens of different little cookies for us to try.  Blonde Brownies were always our favorite.  During my freshman hear in college, she packed an entire shoe box full of them and mailed them to my dorm.
They look like chocolate chip cookie bars, but they taste different.  They have the consistency of brownies, which makes them a perfect mate to a glass of skim milk.  They do not have white sugar-only brown.  My weetle sixth graders always ask me if brown sugar is the whole wheat version of sugar and better for you.  Oh, if only the world worked that way.
My little sister was double fisting these last night at dinner.  You will love them!

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup Butter
• 3 Eggs
• 3 Cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tsp Vanilla
• 3 cups Flour
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/8 tsp Baking Soda
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 1.5 Cups Chopped Nuts
• 1 Bag Chocolate Chips 

Directions:

• Melt 1 cup Butter in the microwave.  Add 3 cups of brown sugar and cool slightly.
• Add 3 beaten eggs and vanilla to the sugar and butter (if the mixture isn't cooled before you add the eggs, you will have scrambled eggs in your brownies). Blend together with a whisk or spoon.
• In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix together.  Add to sugar/butter mixture and mix together (no mixer needed!  Just use your spoon).  Add nuts and stir together.
• Spread in a 9*13 and 9" square pan, greased and floured (I don't know why it bakes that much- that's just what we've always done!)
• Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until set/toothpick test comes out clean.
• Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar.

No matter what we do, they never seem to be as good as Grandma's.  Guess it's all the extra love she puts into it.  Have a great day!

Kurowski Recipe Series

I haven't posted anything in three weeks.  Sorry for that.  Hope has been hard to come by during the last month.  I wish I could be the kind of person that can stare fear, mourning, and disappointment in the face and refuse to let it govern my emotions, but sometimes it just doesn't work.  I am a fallen human.
I'm visiting my parents in Charleston, SC this week and was in the kitchen cooking a family recipe with my mom.  It got me to thinking how fun it is to have family traditions, which ones I do and want to keep as we have our own family, and which ones we will create on our own.
So, I thought, a blog series with a bunch of family recipes would be fun-things we grew up on and things I look forward to eating when we get together.  I will post a few each week in the hopes of having something to do and treats to pass around to those I love.  I hope you can find the energy and time to try a few or call to mind some memories if they are similar to recipes you cherish within your own family.
Tomorrow I will post our first recipe!

DIY Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

We love pizza.
When we were first married, frozen pizza was in our weekly dinner rotation.
Was it because we were poor?  Maybe.
Was it because it was fast and cheap?  Perhaps.
Was it because we love it so much we once tried to share and finish a manhole-cover sized pizza from our college-town pizza joint Gumby's?  You betcha.  (We couldn't finish.  Bummer.  But we quit ordering from them because they wouldn't honor a coupon we got from the phone book.  Hello, fatties.)

This is an awesome recipe for homemade whole wheat pizza crust.  It takes a while to prepare because of the yeast, but it's the sit-n-wait kind of "while".  No bigs.  It's easy to make, handle, and spread (I hate how store bought it so gosh darn hard to stretch across the pan, canigetanamen).  The recipe makes two crusts (or 3 thin ones). 

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I use extra-light olive oil.  It is awesome and doesn't have that olive-y taste)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a floured surface and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. (Or cheat and use your dough hook in the Kitchen Aid for 10 min) Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for normal crust, or cut into 3 for thin. Form each into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.  
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Using your finger tips, spread dough out into desired size.  Place on a well oiled pizza pan. (I baked mine on my pizza stone, dusted with corn meal).  At this point, I sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic on the crust before I bake it. Par-bake crust for about 5 minutes.
5. Take out, put toppings on.  At this point, freeze the whole pizza (baked crust, raw toppings, just like a frozen pizza from the store) or bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on thickness).  Comeon, people.  You should know what done pizza looks like.  

 We usually use 93/7 ground beef (cheaper and better for you than pepperoni), mushrooms, black olives, jalapenos, garlic, and fresh basil/parsley.  Maybe green pepper if I'm lucky.

There you have it!  A cheap, healthy pizza night.  Take that, Gumby.

Chilaquiles Casserole

Mexican Lasagna of sorts.
Mmmmmm.
That's all I can say to start this one.

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for new things to do with chicken... and ground beef... and everything else.  I don't really like to cook with a lot of ingredients, partly because I am cheap (and more ingredients means more moolah), partly because we try to eat meals that are fresh and simple.

The foods teacher that I teach with made this recipe with her kiddos during their international foods unit the day before Cinco de Mayo.  There was a lot leftover, so I was able to have some for lunch and was officially addicted (yep, your thoughts are confirmed.  I do have the best job ever). Might I add that I'm almost certain I ate my weight in guacamole to go with it?

My husband really liked it (even emailed me at work to say how great it was!), and it also allowed me to finally use some of my very own Cilantro that we've been growing.  I am woman, hear me roar!

P.S. You can make this in the microwave.  Helllllo!  I will most likely bake this in the oven on days when I want to feel overly domestic... or make my husband think I actually accomplish something during the summer other than cackle at The View and catch up on Greys.

Ingredients

• 4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans Rotel with juices
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 1/2 small onion, diced (you can leave this out)
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce (confession- I used Louisiana hot sauce and couldn't tell the diff)
• 6-9 Corn Tortillas (I will go out of my way to get to Trader Joes just for their corn tortillas)
• 2 cups Cheese (cheddar, chedda jack, mexi-blend, whatever)

Directions

• Cook and shred chicken (ideas-bake, crockpot, saute or boil).  Chop cilantro.
• Once chicken is finished and shredded, start a sauce pan with some light extra virgin olive oil.  Add onions and cooked chicken and cook until onions are translucent, but not caramelized.  Add rotel, chilies, cilantro, and Tabasco to chicken.  Mix together.
• Spray your pan.  Layer:  Tortilla, chicken mixture, cheese.  Repeat until gone.
• Microwave for 5-10 minutes or bake at 350 for 15 minutes-ish.
• Serve with fresh guacamole/tomatoes/tortilla chips/obligatory vegetable.  I will share my guac recipe later (delicious, healthy, and Aldi had avocados on sale for only $.29 each.  They were so good!).

P.S. Blogger Secret- Whatever is not in the picture is a total disaster.  Check my kitchen:

Ya.  Pigsty.

P.P.S. My bakeware is Temptations from QVC.  It's dishwasher, microwave, freezer, and oven safe and oh, oh so cute.  Comes with trivets and lids too.  You need some, I promise!

Artisan Bread Series: Peasant Loaf

Here it is, what you {should} have been waiting for- the Peasant Loaf recipe.  With a crisp, crusty exterior and soft, nutty crumb, you are going to unbutton your jeans or break out the elastic waste-band pants in eager anticipation while it bakes.  It's great smothered in butter or sliced thinly for sandwiches.  Oh, the possibilities.
If you haven't read any other posts in this series, please do- it will give you some background information and tips (such as what and where to buy!) to bake this gluten goody successfully.
Equipment and Ingredient Needs
Terms and Techniques
Now, let's approach this throne of carb-lovin...

Artisan Peasant Loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups lukewarm water
• 4 1/2 tsp granulated yeast (not rapid rise-just plain yeast!)
• 4 1/2 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea) or 3 1/2 tsp table salt
• 5 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• ½ Cups rye flour
• ½ Cups whole-wheat flour
• Corn meal or extra flour for dusting

 Supplies:

• Container to store dough
• Fork, Hands, or Mixer+Dough Hook
• Pizza peel, "floppy" cutting board, or flat surface for dough proofing
• broiling pan and 2 cups water  

Directions:

•  Pour water into large mixing bowl and add yeast.  Stir until mostly dissolved.
• Add all other ingredients and mix with hands, fork, or dough hook (which is what I use!) until thoroughly mixed.  Do not knead.  The dough will be very wet.

• Keep in this container or transfer to the container you will eventually store it in.  Cover with plastic wrap or the container lid, but do not snap the lid on!  The gases from the yeast need to escape!  Let it sit and double in size for 2 hours at room temperature.  The top of the dough will flatten and some yeast gas pockets will looked to have "popped".

• At this point, you can either use the dough or refrigerate and use any time in the next 2 weeks.  It is-beyond words-easier to work with the dough after it has chilled.
• Once chilled, the dough will look to have "collapsed".  This is fine!
• Once you are ready to bake, dust the top of the dough (and your hands) with flour.  Pull and slice off a one-pound section to make one loaf (if you don't have a kitchen scale, it should be the size of a grapefruit).  If making more loaves, separate out into grapefruit sized sections.
• Dust corn meal (or flour) on a flat surface.  I usually use a floppy plastic cutting board from the dollar store so that I can easily slide off the loaves onto my baking stone.
• Take each section of dough and gently pull each opposite side with your hands, pulling the sides down to the bottom of the dough ball.  Keep turning the dough and repeating this process until you have a nicely rounded dough ball (with a nasty looking bottom!  You won't see it.  Ever.  And anyway, when have you ever heard, "wow, the bottom of your bread loaf looks a little flawed"?  Really?)

• Place each dough loaf on the dusted surface.  Let rise 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, preheat your oven to 425 degrees- your baking stone and broiler pan should be insides while preheating.
• Let dough rise another 20 minutes.  Yes, you read that correct.  Your dough will rise a total of 40 minutes.

• Take baking stone from the oven and slide you loaves on top.  Dust and slash the top of the loaves.  Place in the oven.
• Pour 2 cups of water into the broiler pan (this pan cannot be glass!!  A normal metal pan will work!) and place on the oven rack above or below your bread loaves.
• Shut the oven door, pray the next 35 minutes go by quickly!
• Bake 35 minutes.  For parbaking instructions, see Terms and Techniques.
• Let cook completely before slicing.  Enjoy!

Artisan Bread Series: Terms and Techniques

 Back to that pesky bread series....

There are a few terms and techniques you will need to know in order to successfully make the Artisan Breads.  Not that you didn't know or think of these on your own, but I thought I would share.



• Warming Your Water.  I'm too lazy to grab a thermometer.  As a good rule of thumb, your water should be slightly warmer than body temp.  I always think to make it a little warmer than room temp.  Too hot of water will kill your yeast.
• Adding Yeast.  You don't need to let it sit or add sugar.  Just stir until most of it is dissolved.
• Mixing in the Flour.  Mix all of the flours in at one time.  You can use your hands, but I use my KitchenAid and dough hook attachment.  Mix until it's a uniform mixture.  Do not knead. 
• Let your Dough Rise.  Yes, it's bread in 5 minutes, but that reflects the time you have to actively invest on baking days.  When you prep the dough, it takes a few minutes to mix and then it will need to proof.  Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for at least 2 hours at room temperature.  You can let it rise for up to 5 hours.  Once done, you can use the dough right away, but it's really hard to work with.  Put it in the refrigerator, covered but not airtight, until chilled and then it will be much easier! 
• Prepping for Baking.  When you are ready to bake, you will need to separate the dough into "loaves" (as described specifically in each recipe).  Many loaves should be 1 pound of dough, or the shape of a grapefruit.  Only take out what you want to bake that day.  Stretch the dough a little and pull the ends down to the bottom center to make a "ball".  Do this, turning the dough clockwise each time you "pull".  It will make a perfect little ball (with a hot-mess of a bottom.  It's okay!)- this is called the "gluten cloak".  The cloaking action should only take 30-60 seconds.  Let it rise for 40 minutes before baking on a corn-meal dusted plate (the book calls for a pizza peel, I use a floppy cutting board from the dollar store.  Either way, it works best to be able to slide the dough off onto your stone when ready to bake).    
• Oven Preheating.  Preheat your oven, stone and broiler pan inside, 20 minutes before baking so that both are hot when the dough is baked.  The dough needs 40 minutes to proof, so I always set a timer for 20, preheat the oven, set another 20, then bake.
• Dust and Slash.  Before the loaf goes into the oven, dust liberally with flour and, using a serrated knife, slash a scallop or tic-tac-toe pattern 1/4 inch deep.   
• Steam.  Pour warm water in to the broiler pan that was preheated below your stone.  Set the dough on the stone, and hurry up and get that door shut! 
• Bake.  Times will vary with recipe.  Let the bread cool completely before cutting, or you will smoosh the crumb and have gummy bread.  Store in a brown paper bag.
• Parbaking.  You can parbake loaves of bread by baking it until the center is set, about 90% of the baking time.  Let cool completely, then freeze.  To reheat, let defrost completely at room temp, then bake at 450 for another 10-15 minutes. 
• Yield.  Yield indicates how much the recipe will make.  Each recipe has a different yield.  The breads that are intended to actually be a part of your daily meals yield more, where as the dessert recipes yield less.  These doughs are awesome.  Because they can be stored for so long in the refrigerator (and you will be fighting the urge to bake it all at once), prepare enough dough to bake fresh bread for your family for at least one week.  The first time I baked this recipe, I made one full recipe.  It lasts about a week and a half, but it's mostly used for my husband's sandwiches (and my picking fingers!).  If you have more people in your family, try one full recipe, then adjust as needed.  Keep in mind- it's called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  You aren't supposed to be making the dough every other day, just preparing and baking!

Now that you are familiar with some of the basic baking steps, you are ready for some Artisan Bread!  I promise  I will post the recipe tomorrow.  You will not regret it!

Chicken Shiitake and Wild Rice Soup

Not that anyone noticed or cared (except my mom), but I haven't been on my blog since March 26.  That was almost 3 weeks ago.  It feel like it's been longer.  To be honest, I haven't had the desire to do anything related to it, even contemplated deleting it.
Why?
Maybe it's the nicer weather.   Maybe it's the end of the school year and I am tired.  Maybe it's getting darker later and we, like so many other people, have managed to pack even more things into the day.  It's been an emotional season of life for us, so maybe that it.  Maybe it's just a combination of everything.
I know I started a series with the hopes it would force me to be more consistent with blogging, but it didn't.  I'm going to commit a blogging sin and ditch the bread series.  I will still post the main bread recipe (because it is oh.so.good), but I won't be making the rest. Sorry.  If I ever bake the rest, I will post them.

My thoughts are everywhere, on so many things, with no real rhyme, reason, or organization.  Okay, within reason, but they are just all jumbled up.  I'm not even going to start to try and write them out.  One day soon.

In the meantime, here is a recipe for ya.  We loved it, it's healthy, and it cost very little to make.  Story of my life.

Shiitake has two i's.  I made the mistake of putting in one and then saved it wrong and couldn't go back and change it.  I pasted in another I.  Can you tell?  Deal with it.

You can use any pre-cooked chicken and broth you like, but I put a whole chicken in the crock pot while I was at work and took the meat off when I got home.  I love to use whole chickens for soups or meals with shredded meat.  For some reason, it pains me to use whole skinless, boneless breasts that are so pretty when whole.  I always discard any fat or skin.  I used the chicken stock I made and froze a few weeks ago as my broth (those bones from this chicken are making more stock as we speak!).  Instead of wild rice, I used regular brown rice I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion
• 1 tbsp flour
• 8 cups (64 oz) fat free low sodium chicken broth (stock)
• 1 cup water
• 2 chopped carrots
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 celery stalks
• 4 cups chicken
• 1.5 cups Wild Rice Blend (I used Brown!)
• 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced (I used button.  You won't know the diff)
• 2 tbsp light sour cream
• salt and fresh pepper

Directions

• Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat, add onion and saute until soft nut not browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and saute another minute.
• Add chicken broth, water, carrots, garlic, celery, and chicken, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add rice, mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and simmer on low, covered 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add sour cream and more water if too thick, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yum.  We dipped some whole-wheat multi grain Pita bread in it and devoured.  Perfect on a rainy spring night. 

Artisan Bread Series: Equipment and Ingredient Needs



Welcome to the first post in the Artisan Bread Series.  This post will give you some up-front information about what equipment you will need to buy (if any) for most of the recipes, as well as some basic ingredients that are used in most of the recipes.  You can use any brand of the supplies and ingredients that you like- I will share what I was able to find in the Midwest and where I purchased it.


Equipment

1. Oven Thermometer.  The book recommends that you purchase an oven thermometer to calibrate the oven and ensure it is baking at the correct temperature.  My oven is only a few years old and I have never had a problem with it under-baking or over-baking according to recipe times, so I skipped this step.  If you do suspect something going wrong in your oven, these thermometers are inexpensive and can usually be found anywhere kitchen furnishings are sold. 
2. Baking Stone.  This is one thing you cannot go without.  The baking stone in these recipes will ensure your bread loaves are nice and crisp on the outside (especially on the bottom) without falling soggy.  Stones are porous and will absorb any extra moisture in your dough while baking.  These doughs are considered highly "wet" doughs, so this is important.  It will also ensure even heating throughout the oven.  These stones can range anywhere from $15 to $50.  I purchased the Bialetti 3-Piece Pizza Stone from Target for only $14.99, and it even came with an extra pizza cutter (something we can always use!) and a metal rack to set it on.  It works fantastic- I have zero complaints. In fact, I couldn't be happier with it.  Please read the manufacturers instructions on washing before using.  Like I said, the stone is porous, so it will take on detergents and soaps. 

3. Large Tupperware/Container.  You will need a large container that can hold your risen dough in the refrigerator.  I like to use my KitchenAid Mixer to mix my dough, but I put it into a large, shallow tupperware to rise and store (I'm a little weird about my kitchen being "put together".  Can't be without my mixing bowl for a whole week or two!).  It will need to covered, but not airtight.  I place plastic wrap over mine and call it a day.
4. Boiler Tray or Metal Pan.  This pan needs to be placed in the oven (along with the stone) during oven preheating.  Place it on the rack below the stone.  When putting in your dough to be baked, you will need to pour a few cups of warm water into the metal pan (glass will shatter, which my friend Jenni and I learned the hard way! duh!), which will create steam in the oven.  This will make your bread nice and crusty, giving it a nice, caramelized crust.
5. Serrated Bread Knife.  When cutting your bread, that last thing you want to do is destroy your pretty creation.  A bread knife will cut (in a sawing motion) through the crust and crumb (inside) without compressing.
6. Measuring Tools.  Obviously.  Cups and Spoons.  Some of the recipes call for 1/2 tablespoons, which are hard to find in spoon form.  Just remember that there are 3 teaspoons per tablespoons, so 1/2 tablespoon would be 1.5 teaspoons.

Some of the specialty breads (particularly dessert breads) require a special mold, but many of them are just loaf pans for fluted pans, which many bakers, such as myself, already have.


Ingredients
 These are the standard ingredients for many of the recipes.  If a recipe calls for anything else, I will explain it more in that particular post!

1. White, All Purpose Flour.  Everyone has it.  Don't try and substitute or change the proportions of white flour in the recipes because the gluten content will be thrown off, not to mention the crispiness of your crust.  The book says to only use non-bleached flour because of unnecessary chemicals and loss of protein, but I used bleached in a bind and the bread turned out great.  Use what you like.  If you substitute bread flour, the bread will be extra chewy and you will have to decrease the amount of flour.  Don't use it, don't care.
2. 100% Whole Wheat Flour.  Whole wheat flour is, clearly, the whole grain kernel.  It contains the germ and bran, which is removed to make white flour.  It's taste is nutty and provides fiber.  The germ has natural oils that prevent a crackling crust, so some of the recipes use only 1/2 cup.  The book does include (and I will bake them) a few recipes that are whole-wheat breads, but they have a soft crust.  I use Hudson Cream Whole Wheat Flour, which is $2.60 for 5lbs at our local grocer.

3. Rye Flour.  Don't fear if you're thinking, "Uh, but I hate Rye Bread!".  You need it, trust me.  You will only use 1/2 cup in some of the recipes, too.  I use Hodgson Mill Stone-ground Whole Grain Rye, which was $3.50 at Walmart and $6.50 at the local grocer.  Uh, I will be going to Walmart!

4. Corn Meal.  I found several brands (even store brand) for less than $1.50.  If you let your dough rise and bake on the corn meal, it will transfer to and fro more easily.
5. Yeast.  You can find yeast anywhere.  I use the regular (not instant) yeast from Fleischmann's.  You can buy envelopes or a jar, but I prefer the jar.  It is cheaper and easier to measure.  After opening, keep the jar in the refrigerator.  I found this 4 oz. jar at Target for about $3.50.

6. Water.  Use whatever water you drink at home- tap or filtered.  It needs to be lukewarm, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 
7. Salt.  The recipes call for Kosher Salt, which is coarser than table salt.  I've substituted sea salt and it worked perfectly.  If you are using finer table salt, decrease the volume in the recipe by one-quarter.

 Wednesday, we will talk about various tips and techniques.  Happy shopping (or gathering)!