EVER AFTER - MY WAY: Saturday Scraps

Showing posts with label Saturday Scraps. Show all posts

Mar 17, 2011

Thursday Thoughts.

I had big plans today. As soon as I got up, I got ready and started to make bread, I underestimated how much flour I would need and ran out of flour half way through. So, I set it to it's first rising and ran out and got flour to finish.

After I was done, I started going through our storage space. I got through that and was bunning down the bread when someone came to give us an estimate on possibly helping us with our move. I hadn't gotten around to tidying up the kids' mess when she got here (which I hate), but that's all I could do. I can only move so fast.

I am making some muffins after the bread comes out of the oven.

(I don't know if I told you, but Prince Charming has a job interview out of town, so that would possibly speed up our move)

Blueberry Muffins

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 cup water
4 tablespoons applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries (I use frozen)

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, water, applesauce and vanilla; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Although I tend to do my bread making mostly by how it feels, here is the recipe I use as a starting point:

Basic White Bread

Baking Time
25-30 minutes.

Ingredients

2 tsp sugar
1 cup water, warm
2 envelope active dry yeast
2 cup milk
4 tbsp butter or margarine
4 tbsp sugar
3 tsp salt
1 cup water, warm
10 - 11 cups White Flour

Preparation

DISSOLVE 2 teaspoon sugar in 1 cup warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle in yeast. Let stand 10 minutes, then stir well.

HEAT milk to lukewarm. Stir in butter, 4 tablespoons sugar, salt and 1 cup warm water. Add milk mixture and 4 cups Robin Hood Best For Bread Homestyle White Flour to dissolved yeast mixture. Beat with wooden spoon or electric mixer until smooth and elastic.

STIR IN remaining flour gradually. If necessary, add more flour to make a soft dough which leaves sides of bowl. Turn out on floured board. Round up into a ball.

KNEAD dough, adding more flour as necessary, until dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky (about 10 minutes).

PLACE in lightly greased bowl. Turn dough to greased top. Cover with greased waxed paper and tea towel.

LET RISE in warm place (75°-85°F/24°-29°C) until doubled (45-60 minutes).

PUNCH DOWN. Turn out onto lightly floured board and divide into 2 equal portions. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

SHAPE each portion into a loaf. Place seam side down in 2 greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" (1.5 L) loaf pans. Cover with tea towel.

LET RISE in warm place until dough rises 1 1/2" (3 cm) above top of pan in centre and corners are filled (45 to 60 minutes).

BAKE at 400°F (200°C) on lower oven rack for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Brush top crust with butter if a soft crust is desired. Cool on wire racks.

Mar 10, 2011

Thursday Thoughts.

I did another scrapbook layout today. I really like how it turned out. It captures her angelic quality pretty well.

I was supremely tired yesterday so we had an easy day with homeschooling. One thing we did that was a lot of fun was watch some video clips and some experiments on sound waves. We had a blast and she was able to explain sound to me when we were done. Even Prince Charming popped in with his input. She becomes so much more engaged as well as learning and retaining so much more when she can see and touch science.

I finally got through pretty much all the kids clothes. I have Princess Belle's narrowed down to about 12 outfits and I have pretty much narrowed down the clothes for both the girls. There is some crossover in their clothes right now so I am working on how to approach that. But it is good to get it done this far. I would say we have another two large bags of clothes to donate to goodwill.

I made pancakes today as a treat. I wanted to make a different kind, so I tried these Apple Oatmeal ones. I have to say the chili con carne the other day was FABULOUS!! It was so yummy, Prince Charming was on the phone telling his mother about it and giving her the recipe as soon as he finished eating!

Tonight I am making a Lazy Bolognese-Style Lasagna I got from Rachael Ray. I may make biscuits to go with this again, if the mood strikes me. I am thinking of making cookies for the girls sometime soon too.

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
14 serving

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated apples
1/2 cup raisins (I used pumpkin seeds and added some flax seeds as well)

Preparation:

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, oats and cinnamon.

In separate bowl, beat together egg, milk and melted butter or vegetable oil; add to dry ingredients and mix just until lumpy. Add apple and raisins; mix just until incorporated.

Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat; brush with vegetable oil. Pour in batter by 1/4 cupfuls (50 mL) for each pancake, spreading with spatula if necessary. Cook for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until underside is golden and bubbles break on top. Turn and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until underside is golden. Serve hot with vanilla yogurt and cinnamon.

Lazy Bolognese-Style Lasagna

Ingredients

* Salt and pepper
* 1 pound wavy lasagna noodles, broken into irregular pieces (I used macaroni noodles)
* 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated
* 1 spring of rosemary, finely chopped
* A sprinkle ground cloves
* 1/4 cup tomato paste
* 1 cup white wine
* 2 cups beef stock
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 rounded tablespoons flour
* 2 cups whole milk
* Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
* Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used grated cheddar cheese)

Yields: Serves 4 to 6

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
In a Dutch oven, heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown well. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, rosemary, cloves and lots of salt and pepper and cook until tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then stir in the wine for 1 minute. Stir in the stock and simmer for a few minutes longer.
Preheat the broiler and position a rack in the center of the oven. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, then the milk, and let thicken enough to coat a spoon; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Toss the pasta with the meat sauce and arrange in a casserole. Pour the béchamel sauce over the top in an even layer. Top with a layer of cheese and broil in the oven to brown the top.

Sep 22, 2007

Little Artist -- Saturday Scraps

Scroll down for Saturday Photo Hunt!

It is time for Saturday Scraps! It’s a chance to show off your scrapbook layouts either traditional paper or digital. Everyone is welcome to join in. If you post your layouts, be sure you link to click on the pic to link to the Official Saturday Scraps, so your friends can join us. She also has a Mr. Linky up, so we can all visit your beautiful scrapbook page.