Cheese Bread!

wahoo!

2 1/2 cups warm water (about as warm as you'd make a bath)
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup honey
5 to 6 cups of flour
2 1/2 tsp salt


1. Make a sponge. Combine water, yeast, honey, and 3 cups of flour. Mix in a metal bowl (it will hold it's temperature better). This will be a runny, spongy mess. Let it sit for 1 hour.

After 1 hour it should be nice and bubbly.


If you use a mixer, dump the sponge into the mixer. Add the remaining flour and salt. Add a cup at a time until you get the desired consistency. It should pull away from the sides. It should be soft, but not sticky.


After you get the desired consistency, add the cheese. I just cut up medium cheddar cheese into 1" cubes. I use about 1 pound. You can add anything you want at this point. Raisins, cinnamon, nuts, berries, anything!


Let the dough rise for about 2 hours. I let this one rise, then I added more cheese. Then I let it rise again. So it looks kind of strange because the cheese broke up a lot more. It made for a really soft bread though, so it was great.


Shape the dough into the desired shape. I like rounds. You can make loaves if you want. You can make them bigger or smaller.


Let the oven warm to 330 degrees. Let the loaves proof near the warming oven. They should get a little bigger feeling bigger, but not puffy to the touch.


Bake for about 35 minutes. Don't forget about the bread after the timer goes off, like I did! These are a little over done. At the bakery we would try to take the bread out when it was exactly done or just underdone and let it bake a little longer on the rack. I have a hard time reaching that level at home. There is an internal temperature you can test for, but i can't remember what it is! If you don't like your loaves to run together, don't put them close together. I LOVE the spots where the loaves are running together so that's whey I keep this method.



That's it!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Another recipe I haven't tried yet, but probably will today.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 Cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter (use natural PB, it works great)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oatmeal (I use old-fashioned because I like the texture it adds, but quick-cooking are fine too)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
2. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Baked Oatmeal

I saw this recipe online and want to try it, but haven't yet. just saving it here!

Fruity Baked Oatmeal (Taste of Home magazine jan/Feb 2007)

3 C quick cooking oats

1 C brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt ( I omitted this)

1/2 tsp cinnamon ( I used more)

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 C milk

1/2 C butter, melted

3/4 C chopped tart apple

1/3 C fresh or frozen peaches

1/3 C fresh or frozen blueberries

In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Combine eggs, milk, and butter; add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the fruit. Pour into a 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes. Serve with milk.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts in large chunks
2 chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 red onion chopped
1 pound mushroom, quartered and soaked in 1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup half and half or milk
1/2 shredded swiss plus more for top

Saute chicken in 2 Tb butter and 2 Tb olive oil and place in baking dish. Add shallots, onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add soaked mushrooms and flour to onions. Cook 1-2 minutes, then add broth and milk and 1/2 cup cheese. Mix well and pour over chicken

Top with more swiss and bake 375 for 45 minutes

Serve with Angel Hair pasta

Chicken Vessuvio

I got this recipe from Giada on the Food Network. It works great in the crock pot as well.

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (halved if they're large)
4 cloves minced garlic
2/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts
2 Tablespoons butter
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 450

Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Sprinkle chicken with s & p. Brown chicken on all sides working in batches if needed. Transfer chicken to baking dish.

Add potatoes to same pot and cook until golden brown...about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and scrape bits from bottom of pot. Add oregano and thyme and pour over the chicken. (This is when it could be placed in a crock pot for 3-4 hours on low)

Bake about 20 minutes and then add the artichokes and dot with butter for another 10 minutes of baking, or until chicken is tender.