English Muffin Bread

English Muffin (Freezable) Bread Loaves

*Makes 2 loaves

3 C. Flour 1/4 tsp. baking soda

2 pkts. or 4 ½ tsp. yeast 2 C. milk

2 tsp. salt ½ C. water

1 Tbsp. sugar 2 ½ C. additional flour

In large bowl mix first 5 ingredients together. In a small bowl mix water and milk (heat in microwave until hot – usually a minute or two). Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and mix well with a spoon. Stir in remaining flour until you have a very stiff batter. Spoon batter into 2 WELL GREASED bread loaf pans. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After bread rises, bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until done. Remove from pans IMMEDIATELY, and let cool completely. Cut loaves into thin slices and store in airtight containers or in freezer bags.

* Once the bread is frozen, it will stay fresh for months, and whenever you want a slice, just pull one out of the freezer and pop it in your toaster -- just like an English Muffin!

My sister made this recipe for us when I was out in Iowa visiting her. Top with fried egg, ham and cheese and melt in microwave..yum!!!

Salmon

This recipe is compliments of http://cuisinenie.blogspot.com/

I've made salmon a lot of different ways, but this is now my favorite.

• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine, or water
• 2 pounds salmon fillet
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. with a rack in the center. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, and white wine until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Cut salmon fillet into 4 equal-size pieces; arrange, skin side down, in a single layer in a baking dish. Pour glaze over the fish, and turn to coat evenly.
3. Bake until fish is opaque but still bright pink inside, basting every few minutes with glaze from baking dish, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

I didn't make this side dish but it sounds delicious:

• 2 cups uncooked basmati rice- {or brown}
  
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in the rice, reduce to a simmer. Cook until rice is tender but still firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain; rinse with cool water.
2. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the pineapple, cilantro, bell pepper, and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Cover, and chill. Serve cooled with lime wedges.

Seven Layer Bars

1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed (1-1/2 cups crumbs)
1 stick butter or margarine

melt the margarine in 9x13 pan while oven is preheating
mix graham cracker crumbs with melted margarine and press down
add:

1 cup choc. chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut
apx. 1 cup nuts (optional - chopped pecans are good)

pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk over all

bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes

note: I have seen people mix up the ingredients here... if you like to experiment try vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers or using a different type of baking chip (vanilla, peanut butter, etc.) Maybe someday I'll try a choc. graham crust with mint chips in place of the butterscotch... hmmmm :)

Southwest Potato-Corn Chowder

I took this recipe from Pillsbury.com. I double the recipe since it said it was for only 2 servings. It is quite filling and very delicious. I also added chopped carrots for an extra dose of color. I just cooked them along with the potatoes.

Here is the recipe for 2 servings:

INGREDIENTS

3 unpeeled medium red potatoes (3/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pinch ground red pepper (cayenne) - (I omitted this since I don't like things very spicey)

3/4 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons chopped roasted red bell pepper (from a jar), well drained

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1/3 cup Greek Fat Free plain yogurt (from a 6-oz container)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 medium green onions, finely chopped (2 tablespoons)

2 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

DIRECTIONS

• 1In 2-quart saucepan, place potatoes. Add water just to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and boil gently (simmer) about 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Reserve 1/2 cup potatoes; return remaining potatoes to saucepan. In small bowl, mash reserved potatoes with fork.
• 2Stir reserved mashed potatoes back into remaining potatoes in saucepan, along with broth, sugar, garlic salt, pepper, ground red pepper, corn and roasted red bell pepper. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 3In small bowl, stir flour into milk with whisk until well mixed; stir into potato mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt, cilantro and green onions. Serve topped with bacon and, if desired, additional green onions.

For a healthier topping to use instead of the bacon, top off bowls of steaming chowder with seasoned croutons or fish-shaped crackers.

You can substitute fresh red bell pepper instead of the roasted red bell pepper.

Oven Roasted Mushrooms and Potatoes

Awesome recipe I had to share. A friend made this for us for dinner when we were at their house, so I don't have a picture. But I have to say I don't usually like mushrooms, and I LOVED this dish! Enjoy!

1.5 pounds potatoes cut in 1/2 inch chunks (about 4.5 cups)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb fresh white mushrooms halved or quartered (about 5 cups)
1 c bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 c sliced green onions
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450. In a large 9x13 pan toss potatoes with oil. Bake uncovered 10 min. Stir in mushrooms, pepper, garlic and bake uncovered until potatoes are nearly tender, about 15 min. Stir in green onions, salt, thyme and pepper, bake until vegetables are tender, about 10 min longer.

I usually leave out the thyme and use kosher salt. You can play with the proportions pretty easily, too, and just bake a little longer or add more oil if it looks too dry.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I can't take credit for this recipe. I got it from a friend's blog and it's delicious so I thought I'd share it.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

• 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 T. chili powder
• 5 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
• 3 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 c. chopped onion
• 2 1/2 T. lemon juice
• 3 c. chunky salsa
• tortilla chips and shredded mexican blend cheese for garnish

Place chicken and onion in a large pot and sauté until chicken is cooked through and onion becomes transparent. Add cumin and chili powder, then remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce burner to low and simmer for 30 more minutes.

To serve, crush tortilla chips into bottom of bowl, pour soup over top, and then sprinkle with cheese and more crushed tortilla chips. Serves 10-12.

I wanted my soup a little thicker, so I dissolved 3 heaping T. cornstarch in a little cold water (like making gravy from drippings) and slowly stirred it into soup that I had brought back up to a boil. Don’t do this until soup is done and you know the end consistency. Also, start by adding half the cornstarch mixture, check consistency, and add more if you’d like.

NOTE: This would work well in a crock pot. Throw raw, uncut chicken breasts into crock pot and cover with remaining ingredients. Leave on low while you’re at work and then when you get home take the chicken breasts out, shred, and add back in.

Chicken Enchiladas

I got this one from myrecipes.com also and it was delish and looked great too with all the yummy toppings.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (8-ounce) bottle green taco sauce
• Toppings: diced tomato, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped cilantro

Preparation

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Coat tortillas with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Stir together sour cream and taco sauce. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.