BREADelicious!

Focaccia Bread (italian flat bread)

TIME: Prep: 15 Min + rising

BAKE: 20 min.

Ingredients:

3 C. bread flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. rapid rise yeast

6 tbsp. olive oil

2/3 C. warm water (110 F)

1/4-1/3 C. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

dash cumin

1 thinly sliced tomato (optional)

crumbled feta cheese (optional)

sliced olives (optional)

Directions:

• in a large bowl, sift together flour and salt; stir in yeast. Add olive oil and warm water; mix well. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 min. Cover dough and let relax for 10 min.
• Roll dough into a rectangle approx. 7x11 in. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and make about 20 deep impressions in the dough with your fingers. Cover with greased (cooking spray) plastic and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 min. 
• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Pour 1/2 of remaining olive oil in small bowl. Stir in salt, basil, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin and mix. Add tomato slices (and feta and olives) to olive oil and spice mixture and coat well. Brush loaf with remaining olive oil, then top with tomatoes. Drizzle remaining oil and spice mixture over loaf.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Honey Oat Whole Wheat Bread

TIME: Prep: 25 min. + rising 

Bake: 40 min. + cooling

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water, divided
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 packages (1/2 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour (2+ cups white, 2+ cups wheat), divided
• Melted butter, optional

Directions:

• In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup water to boiling. Stir in the oats, butter, honey and salt. Let stand until mixture cools to 110°-115°, stirring occasionally. Heat remaining water to 110°-115°. 
• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the egg, oat mixture and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. 
• Spread batter evenly into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Smooth tops of loaves. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 35-40 minutes. 
• Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Brush with melted butter if desired. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

you are what you eat!!

Found this great article from a neighbor's blog...thought it fit right into our group!!!

“We’ve all heard we are what we eat, but did you know that studies show that every whole food we eat has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and gives us a heads up on what benefits that food might provide us? Here are a few examples:

“A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

“A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

“Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

“A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

“Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

“Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

“Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? ... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

“Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

“Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.”

(Source attributed to David Bjerklie, of TIME Magazine)

EGGPLANT?????

Here are two recipes I have been waiting to try. I got these from allrecipes.com. If you try it...you gotta tell us WHAT you loved...and WHAT you didn't.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

  DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

EGGPLANT SUPPER SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 pound eggplant, diced
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• 3/4 cup sliced celery
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry macaroni
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1 - Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion, beef, and garlic until beef is evenly brown. Drain grease, and mix in eggplant, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Pour in beef broth. Mix in sugar, and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through.
2 - Mix macaroni into the soup, and continue cooking 12 minutes, or until macaroni is al dente. Mix in parsley. Top with Parmesan chreese to serve.

Budget-Friendly Cooking

Check out Recipezaar for inexpensive recipes, make ahead freezer meals, and penny-pinching menus!!

Click HERE for all the details

Menu Plan Monday

Hey friends,
Here is a Menu Plan for the rest of the week :

Tuesday: (simple & fresh day)
Tacos
Refried Beans
Fruit Smoothies for dessert

Wednesday: (make double and freeze for later)
Smokey Corn Chowder (click HERE for recipe)
French Bread

Thursday: ( easy meal day)
Cream of Mushroom Chicken (click HERE for recipe)
Rice
Green Beans

Friday
Pizza ( I make a pizza that we adults like & then I cut up lots of veggies and have the kids make a pizza the way they want it. )
Soda
Popcorn & movie night

Saturday (reheat something from freezer/ or..)
BBQ Chicken - throw frozen chicken in a freezer bag with BBQ sauce and put back in the freezer, pull out to cook in crockpot or on BBQ.
Corn on the Cob / frozen corn
Bread Sticks

Sunday
Roast Beef - Crockpot right before lunch and its ready when its dinner time
Garlic Bread
Salad

Monday
Creme Tuna on Rice
Peas
Salad (leftover from Sunday)


*What does your menu plan for the week look like? Post in Comments

Cheesecake Brownies

Well, I'm home now, home from the bridal shower, and sooo tired, and bummed I didn't make to the christmas craft night, BUT I did make these cheesecake brownies for the shower, so I decided that sorta counts, right? (I'm really posting this, so ya'll will feel obligated to post your goody recipes...is it working??) :)
So here goes:

Cheesecake Brownies

For the brownies I used my mom's recipe (you can also use a box mix if you want):

1 C butter (you can use margarine, but it doesn't taste as good)
2 C sugar
2 t vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 C cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 C flour

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, egg. Mix cocoa and flour in a separate bowl. Add to wet mixture, being sure not to over mix. It may be lumpy, it's okay.

For the cheesecake swirl:
1 pkg. 8oz. creamcheese
1/3 C sugar
1 egg

Pour the brownie mixture into a greased 9x13, pour the cheesecake mixture on top and "swirl" with a spatula.
Bake at 325 for 25-35 min.
Let cool in pan, cut, and enjoy.

Cookie Swap / Craft Night

Hey everyone,
During this time of year I love to BAKE and CREATE!! So why not combine them together for a fun FAB night.






So if you want to join us in the FUN:

This Thursday Dec. 4th, 2008
8pm - very late
OHANA VIDEO conference Area (in back of store)
* Bring some goodies to share & the recipe to swap
* Email or call me for Supplies to pick up to CREATE these fabulous gift ideas.
*Or Bring your own crafts to work on.