Raisin Challah

There is just something about homemade baked goods that brings a smile to my face! I love it! This is a recipe I found on dianasdesserts.com. The bread is AMAZING, especially when it's still warm from baking in the oven. The more raisins, the better - but if you ask my dad, raisins are expensive, so no challah for Dad (just kidding because he loves it so much!). The dough can be turned into one gigantic challah, 2 large ones, or 4 minis! Sometimes I form the bread into a crown, rather than braid it. It's fabulous either way! This freezes really well and is also so delicious when you use this for French toast! Yummy!!

Here's the recipe: "Sweet Honey-Raisin Challah in Diana's Recipe Book"

http://dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/2332/Recipe.cfm

(Use the website for tips)

 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water 
• 2 packages (1/2 oz./4 1/2 tsp./14g) instant yeast or bread yeast 
• 7 to 8 cups bread flour (approximately) 
• 1/8 tsp. powdered saffron or a pinch of saffron threads (optional) 
• 2 tsp. salt 
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup (4 oz./8 tbsp./113g) butter or margarine, melted (or 1/2 cup vegetable oil may be used) 
• 3 whole eggs 
• 2 egg yolks 
• 1 1/4 cups golden raisins, plumped 
•  Egg Wash: 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten and mixed with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. water  

Directions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir the 1 tsp. sugar into the 1 1/2 cups warm water. Sprinkle in yeast and stir well; let stand until frothy or foamy, about 10 minutes.  
2. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 7 cups of the flour, saffron (if using) and salt. Add honey, the 1/3 cup sugar, melted butter (or vegetable oil or melted margarine, if using), whole eggs and egg yolks; stir until dough forms.  
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining 1 cup flour as necessary to prevent sticking (you may need to add more flour if your dough is still too sticky. Add in one tablspoon at a time until the dough is cohesive). Place dough in a greased glass or ceramic bowl, turning to grease dough all over. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap or a warm damp kitchen towel; let dough rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size and indentation remains when dough is poked with 2 fingers, about one hour or so. Punch down dough, transfer dough to work surface, let rest for 10 minutes, then knead in raisins (if using).  
4. To Make Round Crown Loaf: Roll out dough into a 30-inch (76 cm) long rope. Holding one end in place, wind remaining rope around end to form a fairly tight spiral that is slightly higher in the center of dough. Transfer dough to a greased rimmed baking sheet.  
5. To Make a 4 rope Braided Loaf: Divide dough into quarters; roll each quarter into 18-inch (45 cm) long ropes. Place side by side on a greased rimmed baking sheet; pinch ropes together at one end. Starting at pinched end, move second rope from left over rope on its right. Move far right rope over 2 ropes on left. Move far left rope over 2 ropes on right. Repeat until braid is complete; tuck ends under braid.  
6. Cover crown loaf or braid loaf with plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about one hour.  
7. Egg Wash:  Stir egg yolk with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. water; brush over loaf (s).  
8. Bake in center of 350°F/180°C oven until deep golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes before slicing.

Homemade Pizza!

This is one of our favorite meals to make! Homemade pizza! You can add whatever you like on it! I love to pile ours with lots of veggies (the more the better!) - bell pepper, freshly sliced tomato, sliced onion, green olives - and meats - turkey italian sausage and turkey pepperoni. The pizza sauce is a combination of tomato sauce and paste and I sprinkle it with garlic, italian spices, and especially fresh basil! The pizza is topped with generous amounts of mozzarella and parmesan!! Mmmm mmmm mmmm!

The pizza crust is homemade too - I use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour to make this. Just to make this a little healthier! If anyone wants the recipe, just let me know, I need to go find it :)

What's so nice about this pizza too is it doesn't produce as much grease as most pizzas from pizza places! You will enjoy every bite!

Black Bean Veggie Dip

I took a stab at making my own bean dip. It turned out pretty good but I prefer white bean dip over this. I pureed tomatoes, garlic, basil, and a bit of olive oil with the black beans. If i were to make this again, my only change would be to make this a bit thicker - the juice from the tomatoes seemed to make it a little thinner than what I would have liked. This dip goes well with assorted veggies, especially carrots (my favorite!).

Vegetarian Chili

This is what you end up with when your ground beef, that’s been sitting in the fridge, goes bad! I have never cooked with the dry beans, so I decided to give it a shot. Ok, so my first attempt at using dry beans was not a good one but it doesn't mean I won't try again. The beans seemed to be a little undercooked. I boiled them for a good amount of time before making my chili, but unfortunately it was not long enough. I made enough for an army too! It was about 4 or 5 nights in a row that David and I ate chili - yum! Believe it or not we are not even sick of it. Ha!

I really didn't mind that there was no meat in this chili. There were so many different kinds of beans and vegetables, I loved it! David would tell you otherwise, but then again, he is a "steak and potato" kind of guy...

In the mood for something a little different

Delicious! Southern banana pudding a.k.a. Original NILLA banana pudding! Unfortunately I don't have a story to tell with this one, but it is one tasty dish :)

Here's the recipe from http://www.nabiscoworld.com/:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup flour
• Dash salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 45 NILLA Wafers, divided
• 5 bananas, sliced

 Directions: 

1. MIX 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water 10 to 12 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. RESERVE 12 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard onto bottom of 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Cover with layers of 1/3 each of the remaining wafers, bananas and remaining custard. Repeat layers 2 times.  
3. BEAT egg whites on high speed of mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over custard, sealing well to edge of dish.
4. BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Top with reserved wafers just before serving.

The Famous Banana Bread!!!

So far, this is the best banana bread recipe I have found. I should definitely thank a special chef from the Food Network though: Giada De Laurentiis!!
Banana Muffins (or Bread depending on the bakeware you use!):

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed  

Directions

1. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

There are only a couple of changes I make to this recipe. First - the more cinnamon the better! I actually omit the nutmeg and probably use more than a tablespoon of cinnamon (I never measure). Second - before putting the batter in the oven, I lightly sprinkle the batter with raw sugar crystals (Demerara cane sugar). It is delicious!

Just call me Betty!

I just can't get enough of it! I love to bake! Everyday I question why I just don't open my own bakery - come on, it kind of relates to chemistry, right? Haha. I will just keep baking as a hobby for now... you never know what could happen later down the road.

Some sad news, which I previously posted on Facebook... did you know Betty Crocker is not real??? I had no idea! Turns out General Mills made it up... I was beyond surprised... and the only reason why I found this out was because I was thinking of being her for halloween but couldn't find a popular outfit she wore... I'm a goofball, I know.

So here we have it... Carrot Cake from a friend of my Aunt's.... it is absolutely delicious! I have never tasted a better cream cheese frosting!