How to: Make Teddy Bread

Bored of making rolls and wanting to branch off from braiding, I decided to make a teddy bear bread out of my lump of dough the other day.  I make bread once or twice a week to go along with dinner.  This was easier than making rolls and definitely a bigger wow factor for the kids!

I used my regular roll dough, it shouldn't matter what recipe you use.  Divide the dough in half and make one half into the belly.  Divide the half in half and make one half into the head.  Divide what is left into 6 pieces and make the legs, arms, and ears.  Proof, stick in raisins, egg wash, bake as usual.  Fun!

Broccoli

My mom passed on this easy way to cook broccoli to me.  I think it is from Alton Brown - who I can always count on to find a new way to cook something better!

You'll need:
Broccoli with stems
1/3 cup water
butter to taste

I usually make two big pieces and that is enough for us.  Trim off the florets and set aside.  Peel the stem and cut first in half lengthwise and then into slices.  Put the stem pieces in the bottom of a pan and pour in water.  Top with florets.  Cook on high for 3 minutes, then on low for 3 minutes - that is, put the pan on the burner, set it to high and set the timer, don't wait for it to come to a boil.  After it cooks add butter (I add about 1 tbsp) and stir to make a light butter sauce.  Serve immediately.  I am still trying to sell the rest of the family on the stem pieces, but I think I like them BETTER than the florets. 

November 29-December 12, 2011

29 T - Mushroom Beef Stew, Egg Noodles
30 W - Savory Black Eyed Peas with Bacon
1 R - Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Rolls
2 F - Breakfast for Dinner
3 S - Chicken Creole, Corn Muffins
4 U - BBQ Ribs, Pasta Salad
5 M - Lentil Tomato Soup with Smoked Sausage, Bread
6 T - Mojo Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, Yellow Sauce
7 W - Everyday Cassoulet
8  R - Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls
9 F - Pizza, Salad
10 S - Red Beans and Rice
11 U - Slow Cooker Beef Stew
12 M - Oven Fried Chicken, Broccoli, Carrots

Some of the linked recipes are from Taste of Home and all of those are subscriber only - since they are from one of the last two issues.  I like to do meal plans directly from the magazine, instead of searching online - especially if I can cook a lot out of one issue, then I don't have to print of 14 recipes!  Taste of Home....I still love the recipes, but the look of it has gotten less homey to me.  It used to be very humble and welcoming.  But now they have lots of celebrity chefs and fancy stuff.  I guess that's what sells, but it isn't what says comfort food to me! 

November 8-21, 2011

T 8 - Moist and Tender Turkey Breast, Oven Baked Potatoes with Onions, Green Beans
W 9 - Left Overs
R 10 - Turkey Encore, Rice
F 11 - Beef Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, Green Beans
S 12 - BBQ Chicken, Broccoli, Carrots
U 13 - Coffee Flavored Beef
M 14 - Philly Pizza, Salad
T 15 - Spaghetti, Rolls, Salad
W 16 - Chicken Enchilada Bake, Pinto Beans
R 17 - Roast Pork Shoulder, Sauerkraut, Dumplings, Apples Sauce, Green Beans
F 18 - BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Carrots
S 19 - Carnitas!!!  Pinto Beans
U 20 - BBQ Ribs, Pasta Salad
M 21 - Garlic Lemon Shrimp over Noodles, Carrots, Green Peppers

It has been too long since we had carnitas.  I think I'd rather have them than Thanksgiving dinner.  Yum, yum, yum.  And super economical - the meat will be leftover from the pork shoulder.  We eat them on corn tortillas which I fry in a little oil and sprinkled with a teensy bit of salt.  Lord willing, I will never buy a box of taco shells again.

October 18-31, 2011

18 T - out for birthdays
19 W - church dinner
20 R - Spaghetti, Salad, Cuban Bread
21 F - Hodgepodge (Rob was out and I didn't have a plan)
22 S - Chicken Stuffed with Broccoli and Cheese, Polenta, Fresh Tomatoes
23 U - Easy Ropa Vieja Stew, Cumin Tortillas
24 M - Lentil Tomato Soup, Bread
25 T - Spinach Mushroom Enchiladas, Pintos
26 W - Spaghetti, Salad, Everything Bread
27 R - Stuffing Crust Turkey Pot Pie
28 F - Pizza, Salad
29 S - Caramelized Onion and Garlic Pasta, Savory Romano Sticks
30 U - Brazilian Chicken Curry
31 M - Cookout at church

Obviously this is already starting to be out of date, but I figured I ought to post it to stay in the habit.  Since we have already eaten some of this stuff, I can stay that the Chicken stuffed with Broccoli and Cheese and the Easy Ropa Vieja Stew were both very good and well received.  The chicken recipe had a recipe for polenta attached.  I keep hearing polenta here and there and somehow got the idea that it was a sort of chic food.  I think it is kind of funny now.  This is the second time I have made it and what humble fare it is!  Cornmeal and water and whatever fixin's you need to have with it.  We have been reading Little House in the Big Woods and Grandma makes it for dinner calling it "Hasty Pudding" - and that is how I sold it to the kids!  The Ropa Vieja (Spanish for "Old Clothes") was super - we ate it all, not a drop left over. 

September 20-October 3, 2011

20 T - Southern Vegetable Stew, Two Tone Bread
21 W - BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans, Scalloped Corn
22 R - Grilled Hot Dogs, Tater Tots, Cucumber Salad
23 F - Omelets, Toast, Fruit Salad
24 S - Spanish Beef Hash, Rice, Carrots
25 U - German Potato Salad with Sausage, Apples Sauce
26 M - Oven Fried Chicken, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Peas
27 T - Miss Stoker's Lasagna, Salad
28 W - Mojo Chicken, Black Beans, Rice
29 R - Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls
30 F - Biscuits and Sausage, Fruit Salad
1 S - Pizza, Salad
2 U - Pork with Potatoes and Onions
3 M - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas

And in a personal effort to get lunch more organized - a repeating menu:

T - Yogurt (with oatmeal and flax seeds sprinkled on top - shh, don't tell the kids it isn't granola!)
W - Left Overs
R - Beans & Rice
F - PB&J
S - Egg Salad
U - Left Overs (actually this is supper, since we've started having Sunday Dinner)
M - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Sometimes when I have "Pizza" on my meal plan, it means a frozen pizza.  Sometimes it means Little Caesar's.  But lately, it has meant homemade pizza - because making yeasty things has become kind of relaxing and rewarding to me and because it is pretty fast to make pizza dough.  Last week I made it with beer - because I had made another recipe with beer and we generally do not drink beer, but I had to buy a 6-pack.  It was really good..and I have 4 more cans - so we will probably have beer pizza dough again this time!

Pintos & Cheese

Lunch.  That's one meal that I really struggle to get under control.  I'll make a detailed meal plan with a grocery list to match and totally forget we have to have lunch every day too.  Leftovers are good, but there isn't always something left over.  So in my (haha) free time, I've been researching lunch options.  I like a hot lunch and making a pot of beans has started to be something that really works for us.

When I was a kid, the only beans I would eat were baked beans, but I love them all now.  Recently I found a recipe for pinto beans that can simmer quietly in the kitchen, while we do our regular morning things.  The only requirement is you have to be home for a few hours to add (like Amelia Bedila) "a little of this and a pinch of that" over the cooking time.  We eat it as a soup with cheese or with some rice or in a tortilla as a bean taco - the kids reeeeeeally like it.

This recipe is similar to the black bean recipe I use:

1 cup pinto beans (soaked overnight or "quick soaked" earlier in the morning)
4 cups water
1 slice of bacon
salt to taste - this can be added later too

simmer the above for about 2 hours, then add:

1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 diced onion and 1/2 diced green bell pepper
1 minced clove of garlic
salt & pepper to taste
cumin (I don't really measure it)
about 1 tbsp sugar

stir, then use the back of the spoon to mash some of the beans against the side of the pan.  How many?  As many as you want - half, 1/3, all of them - any amount is ok.  Then simmer covered 1/2 hour and uncovered the final 1/2 hour.  Really you cannot simmer these too long.  They are great right away and great left over and can be drained and added into something like a casserole as well.

September 6-19, 2011

T 6 – Balsamic Pork Scallopine, Egg Noodles, Green Beans, Carrots

W 7 – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas

R 8 – 40 Cloves and a Chicken, Green Beans, Carrots

F 9 – Creamy Pumpkin Polenta, Biscuits

S 10 – Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Knots

U 11 – Slow and Easy BBQ Ribs, Ranch Pasta Salad, Carrots

M 12 – Best Chicken Fajita Chowder, Sesame Bread Sticks

T 13 – BBQ Meatballs, Basil Baked Tomatoes

W 14 – Pizza, Salad

R 15  - Out for Caleb’s Birthday

F 16 – Breakfast for Dinner

S 17 – Spaghetti, Salad, Everything Bread

U 18 – Stephanie’s Slow Cooker Stew

M 19 – Sloppy Jose Supper, Corn Bread, Carrots

I haven't posted a meal plan for a while for a handful of reasons.  I had been cooking off of a rotating meal plan, but that got monotonous for me.  I like variety :)  Then for a while I made a weekly list, but I think I'd better get back into the 2 week routine.  Meal planning is work.  Planning a month of meals is too much of it!  But now at least I get 2 weeks before I have to do it again! 

Something new, but overdue, we've started having Sunday dinner.  I've been looking for new crockpot meals and when we get home from church our house smells like...well...food! 

BTW, Caleb's birthday is the 16th, but it is football season and Rob will be out every Friday until November - or later, one of the teams is having a stellar season so far, I'm afraid they will go to the playoffs.  So Friday nights for a while will be for experiments or Breakfast for Dinner, which the kids enjoy a lot.