Valentine's Day Dinner

I am so excited for Valentine's Day! I started planning our dinner way to early, just because I couldn't wait :) I am in love with the menu, so I thought I'd share it. (PS-none of the pictures are mine, they are from the awesome folks I got the recipes from!)

Chicken Kiev

Chantilly Potatoes

Roasted Asparagus

And for dessert ...

Baked Doughnuts

Only of course I'm doing heart shaped holes and a raspberry cream cheese glaze (found HERE) instead of cinnamon sugar.

Now it's just the long wait until V-Day so I can actually make all this great stuff! What are your plans for the 14h?

Whole Wheat Bread

I just made the most delicious homemade wheat bread! I had to share the recipe. It is light, fluffy, soft, and so healthy!

Go HERE to find the recipe (it's the one called Darcy's Whole Wheat Bread), and then go HERE for a step-by-step tutorial (very helpful in not over-flouring the dough. Mine looked different while it was mixing since I made mine in a KitchenAid, but the dough still looked the same when you pulled some off).

One last side note, I halved the recipe (to make 2 1/2 loaves) and substituted a scant teaspoon Fruit Fresh for the crushed up vitamin C pill.

LibriVox--Book Voice

Have you heard of LibriVox? I hadn't until a few weeks ago, and now it is one of my favorite things! LibriVox is a website devoted to audiobooks. All of the books on the site are in the public domain (meaning they were published before 1923, so no one can sue over copyright issues). The neatest part is that it is all run by volunteers and it's all free. People record themselves reading a book, and then you can download and listen to them. Some readers are better than others, but everyone is just a regular person that loves reading. Anyone can volunteer. (I've signed up, but haven't read anything yet). You can read a whole book, or work with other volunteers and just read a few chapters. They also have short stories and poetry.

What kind of books are public domain? The classics: Anne of Green Gables, Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, The Secret Garden, A Christmas Carol, etc. Some of the authors include Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and hundreds more.

I love to listen to books while I do dishes, or while I'm cross stitching. I've had so much fun with this, so I thought I'd share it with you. (If you have any other questions, you can go HERE). Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Bread Bowls

I don't think there is anything more satisfying than eating a delicious bowl of potato soup, and then being able to eat your bowl! I made these bread bowls for dinner last night and they were absolutely scrumptious.

To make them, you will need:

2 packages of active dry yeast {or 4 and 1/2 tsp. if you don't have the envelopes}

1 cup warm water {110-115 degrees}

1 cup warm milk {110-115 degrees}

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

6 cups all-purpose flour

Cornmeal

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. {about 5 mins}

2. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt, and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth.

3. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

4. Turn onto a floured suface; knead until smooth and elastic. {about 6-8 mins}

5. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.

6. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. {about 1 hr}

7. After raising, punch down dough.

8. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.

9. Divide in to eight pieces; shape each into a ball.

10. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal.

11. Place four balls 3 in. apart on each prepared pan.

12. Cover and let rise until doubled. {about 30 mins}

13. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

14. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

To make your bread ball into a bread bowl, cute a thin slice off the top of the bread. Hollow out the inside, leaving a 1/4 in. shell. You can discard the removed bread or use it to dip in your soup, chili, chowder, or stew.

Not only are they delicious, but kids enjoy them too! {at least I did as a kid}

Enjoy!

-Sarah

Sugar Free Strawberry Cobbler

I have been trying to adjust all of my favorite recipes to be sugar and dairy free. I decided to try this one and it was wonderful. Sorry the picture isn't great, and I forgot to take one before I ate some.....enjoy!

Sugar free Strawberry cobbler

¼ cup butter or margarine , softened- I used a dairy free margarine

1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

3 cups fresh strawberries, cut in half lengthwise

¼ cup butter or margarine chilled

Beat ¼ cup softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer.

Gradually add ¾ cup honey, beating well.

Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing well.

Combine 1 ¼ cup flour, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl.

Add to butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon into a greased 8” square baking dish.

Arrange strawberries on top, but side down.

Combine ¼ cup flour and ½ cup Honey Powder.

Cut in ¼ cup chilled butter with pastry blender until crumbly-ish.

Crumble over strawberries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I used a round 9” pie plate instead of an 8” square pan. I want to try it next time with blueberries or peaches. Mmmmmm.

Potato Salad

I am always looking for a good side dish. Whether it's for a party, a neighborhood bbq, or just dinner with the hubs, I feel like I need a good go-to dish that I know will turn out fabulous. Well, my friends, I've found it. I made this potato salad for dinner with our neighbors last night and it was all I could do not to lick the bowl clean. Now, I know there are a BILLION variations out there on how to make potato salad, and  maybe I'm just a little picky when it comes to it, but I was more than impressed with the taste and simplicity of this recipe.

What you will need:

1 cup mayonnaise (I used about 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup water)
2 T vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
5-6 med potatoes, peeled, cubed, and cooked
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 eggs, hard boiled
1-2 T chpped green onions

1. Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Toss gently to combine well.
4. Cover and chill for 2 or more hours.

Enjoy!

-Sarah

Homemade Granola

I made homemade granola for our trip to Bear Lake this past weekend. It was so good, and healthy too! I got the recipe from melskitchencafe.com (all her recipes are truly amazing). I'll post the original recipe and put notes of how I made it in italics.

Classic Granola

(this is her picture as well)

6-1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
2-1/2 cups unsweetened, desiccated coconut (I used basic sweetened coconut)
1 cup raisins (I like golden raisins)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups sliced almonds (or whole, chopped, slivered or a combination) (I used sliced)
1 1/4 cups pecans (whole or chopped to the size you like) (I don't like pecans, so I leave these out and toss in a few more almonds).
1/2 cup high-quality honey
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup flax seeds (I never have these, so I just substitute more sunflower seeds)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

 (I find that I usually need a bit more of the honey/canola oil mixture to get it to clump up the way I like it. Also, if you add about 1/4 cup more honey, you can make granola bars).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well to distribute oil and honey evenly. Spread a thin layer of mixture on two rimmed baking sheets (half sheet pans) lined with parchment paper (I used my silpat liners). Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring mixture and rotating sheets half way through until mixture is an even golden brown. Be careful to watch granola: it will quickly turn from golden to burnt and will continue to cook as it cools when you take it out of the oven. Mixture will be moist when it comes out of the oven but will crisp and clump as it cools. Keeps for 1-2 weeks. (Let it cool in the pans. If you stir or move it too much, it won't clump up very well).

Variations:
• Substitute any of the nuts for other nuts such as cashews, walnuts or peanuts (it’s nice to leave some of the nuts whole as it varies the texture)
• Add additional dried fruit such as apricots or dates
• Add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I always add vanilla)
• For extra-nutty granola increase proportion of nuts

Enjoy!