Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread

I made a big batch of raspberry jam the other day and wanted to try some this week. We don't normally buy bread at the store and usually I tend to make more of a quick bread or muffins during the week for breakfasts. I wanted to make more of yeast bread to try my jam on and I found this one which sounded absolutely wonderful. It really turned out great! I used my bread machine to mix the dough and let it raise in there, but then took it out and baked it in the oven. I prefer the loaves that come out of the oven versus the squat loaves from the bread pan. This is a really good, slightly sweet bread machine recipe. Great toasted with jam in the morning or with peanut butter as a sandwich for lunch.

Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread
1/2 cup warm water
1 T butter or vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
3 T honey
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup bread flour
1 small banana, sliced
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

Add to bread machine in order listed. Run dough cycle. Watch as dough is mixed and add more water or flour as needed to achieve the right dough consistency. Remove when machine beeps and place in greased loaf pan. Let raise for 30 more minutes in warm place. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Delicious!

Mexican Rice

I went raspberry picking the other night and brought home 12 pounds of berries. So good! They were turned into jam, wine, frozen berries and frozen puree. The picking took a little longer than expected and I didn't have anything planned for dinner. I thought about stopping and picking up something on my way home, but then remembered this recipe from the cookbook that I put together. It was quick to put together which was a relief since my stomach was looking forward to dinner. The longest part was defrosting and browning the beef. This isn't a very fancy dish, but it is filling and delicious!

Mexican Rice From Cooking for a Cure
1 lb ground beef
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can chili style canned tomatoes (I used plain diced tomatoes)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Cooked rice

Brown hamburger and add tomatoes, sauce, beans and spices. Let simmer. Cook desired amount of rice. Serve hamburger mixture over rice. Garnish with sour cream, cheese and a dash of hot sauce if desired.

Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins

I still have last year's pumpkin puree to use up in the freezer. I love pumpkin and the cooler weather gets me excited for fall and leaves changing and the delicious scent of pumpkin pies or muffins cooking in the oven. These muffins are from a Healthy Cooking magazine from Taste of Home and they make a yummy breakfast muffin on these cool mornings. The oat bran and pumpkin bulk up these muffins with 4 g of fiber which makes them pretty filling too!

Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins From Healthy Cooking

1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 T canola oil

In a small bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites, pumpkin, milk and oil until well blended. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray; fill half full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

Mom's Frittata

Ryan and I enjoy eating meat, but once or twice a week I do like to try and make a meatless dinner. It's usually cheaper and often healthier too. This week, I found a recipe for a frittata in Woman's day. I had garden veggies to use up and this was a delicous alternative to the usual dinners. I had to cook mine a little longer than suggested, but I wanted to make sure that the egg was fully cooked (I hate runny eggs).

Mom's Frittata From Women's Day

2 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup diced potatoes (preboiled or baked)
1 cup chopped onion
8 large eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Marinara sauce, heated and chopped basil, optional

Turn on broiler. Heat a T oil in a 11 to 12" nonstick skillet. Add vegetables; saute 5 minutes or until almost tender. Whisk egg mixture in a medium bowl. Pour into skillet, shaking pan a bit to distribute evenly. Cover and cook (without stirring) about 4 minutes over medium-low heat, until set on bottom and sides (it will still be runny in center). Wrap skillet handle with foil. Broil 2 minutes or until center is firm. Serve out of skillet or loosen edges and invert onto platter.

Pork Roast Dijon

My husband and I in our goal to eat more locally produced food, purchased half a pig a few months ago. We picked the meat up from the locker and it turns out that a 1/2 a pig is quite a bit of meat. We have chops, sausage, bacon, hams and roasts filling up our freezer. I figured tonight would be a good time to make one of those good pork roasts.

I found this recipe for pork roast Dijon and we had the best meal. I threw some carrots and potatoes chunked up onto the roaster about halfway through cooking the roast that were cooked nicely and slightly browned by the time the meat was finished. We had a nice side of homemade applesauce as well and it was perfect! A wonderful Sunday meal!

Pork Roast Dijon Modified from Six Ingredients or Less Healthy Cooking

2 1/2 pound pork roast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp rosemary (I cut 4 fresh sprigs off my rosemary plant and used these instead)

Spray a roast pan with cooking spray. Pat roast dry with a paper towel. Place in roast pan. Spread mustard over top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place 2 sprigs over top and 2 sprigs of rosemary on the side of the roast or sprinkle dried rosemary over top. Roast, uncovered, at 375 for 1 1/2 hours or until thermometer reaches 170 degrees. (My roast was frozen slightly so I roasted for about 2 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven. Cover with foil and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Grated Apple Cake

It's almost fall!!! That means that it is once again apple time. Shortly after we moved into our house 2 years ago, we planted an apple tree. Since then, we've also added 3 more apple trees, 3 pear trees, apricot and mulberry trees as well as a few raspberry bushes. We were fortunate to get about a dozen apples from the first tree we planted and they were delicious! I made this apple cake one night for dessert and we enjoyed it for breakfast the rest of the week :) It was even better knowing that the apples were grown by us in our backyard.

Grated Apple Cake From Country Cookin'

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup sour milk (milk with a tsp or so of lemon juice added)
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups shredded raw apples, peeled
1/2 cup nuts
Topping: 3/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Cream sugars and shortening. Add beaten egg, sour milk and soda. Sift flour, salt and baking powder and add to the mixture. Next add the apples and nuts. Pour into greased pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar and nut topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes in a 9x13" pan.

Penne Arrabbiata

I didn't have a lot of time to put dinner together tonight since I was working on making homemade wine. I ordered some grapes from Ace Hardware in town and I got 5 pounds of Frontenac grapes from a local winery. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try. I'll tell you how it turns out in a few weeks!

After all the wine making I didn't have a lot of time to put dinner together so I pulled out this recipe that I had been wanting to make for a while. It looked relatively quick and simple. It turned out Delicious! I enjoyed using our home grown tomatoes for the sauce too.

Penne Arrabbiata From Grandma's Recipe File
3 medium garlic cloves, divided
3 T olive oil, divided
2 T tomato paste
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in juice, chopped (I used about 8 medium size fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 bay leaf
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp salt
1 lb penne, cooked
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Chop 1 garlic clove. Heat 1 T oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes in juice and bay leaf; simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice remaining 2 garlic cloves. Heat 1 T oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just beginning to turn pale golden, 30 seconds. Add parsley, basil and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add wine and boil 30 seconds. Stir into tomato sauce and salt; simmer 4 to 5 minutes.

Toss sauce with hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Drizzle pasta with remaining 1 T oil. Serve with cheese and garnish with parsley and basil.

Fresh Corn Saute

We got some corn from my in-laws and a friend at work and we've been enjoying corn on the cob often around here. I found this recipe in my seasonal cookbook: Simply in Season and it was a delicious change. We are fortunate to have fresh green pepper and onion from our garden to use and yummy South Dakota honey to cook with. The bacon and cheese made this dish extra yummy. We enjoyed this with grilled burgers and squash and some homemade potato salad made with homegrown potatoes.

Fresh Corn Saute
3 T butter
1 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4 cups corn
1/4 cup water
1 T honey
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2 T red sweet pepper (optional)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Melt butter in fry pan. Saute green pepper and onion 2 minutes. Add the corn, water, honey, salt, pepper and red pepper if using and stir well. Cover and cook over medium heat 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese and bacon over top and serve.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

This was another delicious recipe from the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book by Barbara Kingsolver. I had 1 last zucchini from my garden (the vine borers killed off my plants) and this was the perfect way to use up some of it. These taste kind of like zucchini bread in cookie form and were a great treat to bring to work. I cut down on the amount of chocolate chips and they were still yummy!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 T vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips (I used about 6 oz of mini chocolate chips)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in separate , small bowl and then add to the liquid mixture. Stir the zucchini and chocolate chips into the other ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen.

Vegetable Dip

We are harvesting many tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and peppers from our garden right now. I like raw veggies, but my husband is not the biggest fan. He is getting much better and I can sneak chopped up cukes in salads and even tomatoes sometimes and he'll eat them. More often though, he gives me all of the veggies that he doesn't eat from dinner. I found this recipe and whipped this up to enjoy with some cut up carrots, cukes and yellow peppers. Ryan did eat the yellow pepper, but passed on the rest of the veggies. I'll have to just keep trying I guess!

Vegetable Dip From Our Dairy Specialties cookbook

1 cup sour cream
3 tsp onion flakes
3 tsp dill flakes (fresh if available)
1 cup mayo
3 tsp parsley flakes (fresh if available)
3 tsp seasoned salt (or less)

Mix all together at least 1 hour before serving. Good with any vegetable.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

We've had a busy last week and a half with a wedding 2 states away and then trying to get settled back in and keep up with all the veggies from the garden. I've been cooking and baking, just not posting new recipes. I made these cookies on Thursday night and they are amazing. I thought they'd be too rich, but they turned out great. I don't make cookies too often since I like the fact that bars bake all in one pan at one time and also because I really enjoy eating the cookies-too much sometimes!!! They don't always last very long at our house. I know that these definitely won't either. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is really yummy and are sure to be a hit with everyone!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies From Grandma's Recipe File

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. peanut butter chips
2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped peanuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in bowl.

With mixer on medium-high speed, beat together butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and light-brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla until blended.

On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until blended. Fold in peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and chopped peanuts until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Scoop about 1 heaping tablespoonful of the batter into your hands; gently flatten into a 2" disk. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Continue making disks with remaining dough.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly golden and firm. Cool cookies on pan on rack for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.