French Bread

Whenever I'm in a need of a new recipe, I go straight to the Pinterest search bar. Why not? I find the recipe I want with pictures! What could be better? Last week we made an Italian feast and I needed a great french bread recipe. I found this great pin with a recipe posted by justgetoffyourbuttandbake{dot}com. It looked fabulous and I had to try it out. The ingredients are fairly simple and most likely you have any everything you need in your pantry. I like to buy a jar of yeast instead of packets. It's a little more expensive to buy upfront but it last a lot longer and you're able to get the exact amount of yeast you need. The bread came out very soft, chewy and delicious. I like a soft outer crust on my french bread but there's also a neat trick to get a crispier crust. Here's the recipe:

Recipe:

2 1/4 C warm water

3 Tbls sugar

2 Tbls yeast

1 Tbls salt

2 Tbls oil

6 C flour

Place the warm water, sugar in a  large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and let dissolve. You really want to get the yeast activated so really let it dissolve until it starts "bubbling".

Add the salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and mix. At this point change your mixer attachment to your kneader. Slowly add the remaining 3 cups of flour. Add additional flour if the dough is still pretty sticky.

Let the dough sit in the mixing bowl for ten minutes with a kitchen towel on top. After ten minutes turn the mixer on for ten seconds. Repeat this 5 times.

Take dough out and knead a few times on a well-floured surface. Split the dough in half and roll out into a 9x13 rectangle. Roll the dough and tuck the ends in. Cute three gashed on top of the dough. Place seam down on a baking sheet and let rise for another 15-20 minutes. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Preheat over to 375.

Using a pastry brush add an egg wash (1 egg+ 1 Tbls water) on top of the bread. Place bread in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes. If you feel like the top of your bread is getting dark to fast, add a piece of aluminum foil on top 15 minutes into cooking.

When your bread is golden brown and done take out of the over and let rest. You can't tell in the picture but we were already devouring the first loaf out of the oven as we took the second one out. It's really hard to resist which is why this recipe is perfect in making to loaves:-) It is so delicious and perfect with soups and pasta. In fact, we let this loaf cool cut it in half (lengthwise) added butter and garlic and put it under the broler for a few minutes. It was by far the best garlic bread I've ever had!

Enjoy!

Measuring Spoons

I have been baking a lot recently which has proven to be quite difficult. You see in the past few weeks E has been sneaking into my baking drawer and throwing away my measuring spoons without my knowledge. I finally realized this when I unloaded the dishwasher and started baking bread and found that I only have a 1/4 teaspoon and 1 Tablespoon. That's a lot of measuring for something requiring 1 1/2 teaspoons:-) I'm in the market for new teaspoons. Any suggestions?

Homemade Teriyaki Marinade for Grilled Chicken

Grilling season is around the corner and I'm getting so excited. Last Father's Day we surprised K with a grill and it's changed out lives. Haha- okay maybe not changed but definitely enhanced out delicious eats. We've made grilled pizza, steaks, chicken, vegetable and are always open to new grilling recipes. Well, even Southern California has rainy winter days and today was no exception. I saw this marinade on Pinterest (where else?) and made it to throw onto the grill today. Unfortunately, the rain started in the afternoon which meant no grilling. No worries there, instead of grilling a whole chicken breast, we cut the chicken into cubes and grilled it on the stovetop instead. Talk about delicious and full of flavor. I love the tangy soy sauce and limes paired with the sweetness of the honey. Thank you GroceryBudget101.com for the recipe.

Recipe (slightly modified):

3 Tbl Soy Sauce

2 Tbl Honey

1 Tbl Vegetable Oil (though I'm sure you can omit this as well)

Juice from 1 Lime

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Place ingredients into a small bowl and stir well.

Pour into a gallon size ziplock bag and add chicken. Cover chicken in the marinade and place the sealed bag into the fridge until you're ready to grill. Let it marinade for at least 30 minutes but I prefer a few hours.

We marinaded our chicken for about 5 hours which made the chicken super tender. We cubed the chicken and placed it on the stovetop to cook. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Though we didn't get to grill today, we both agreed this marinade is a keeper. The chicken was tender and moist, jammed packed with flavor.  Pair with a side of rice and veggies and you have a perfect meal.

Enjoy!

Lemon Snickerdoodles

I love snickerdoodles. They are my very favorite cookie. Snickerdoodles work for every occasion throughout the year and let's not forget how delicious they are. When I saw the recipe for Lemon Snickerdoodles, I whipped up a batch right away and I'm so glad I did. Can you say divine? I love how the lemon zest gives the cookie a settle hint of lemon that is not overpowering. I found this great recipe at Not So Humble Pie blog and modified it just slightly.

Recipe:

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C Sugar

1 Tbl lemon juice

1 Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1 3/4 C Flour

1/4 C sugar to roll the dough in

Zest the lemon into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and sugar and mix well. Continue mixing while adding the lemon juice, egg, vanilla, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Once mixed together add the flour a little at a time until fully incorporated.

Form the dough into a bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least an hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Take the dough out of the fridge and remove wrap. Form small 1" balls and roll in the sugar. Place on a non-greased baking sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. These cookies just as pretty as they are delicious. I've made two batched within one week and everyone who has tried one just loves them. You'll love them too, promise:-)

Enjoy!

Crockpot Shredded BBQ Chicken on a Homemade Hamburger Bun

My amazing friend, C, brought me dinner the other week when I was sick. It happend to be one of my favorite meals she makes. Yesterday I was craving this deliciousness and contacted C to get the recipe. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make and double checked in case I forgot something:-) The chicken was so incredibly tender with the tangy-ness of the BBQ sauce and with the sweetness of the brown sugar was incredible. The smell was intoxicating and I ended up eating before K got home because I couldn't stand it anymore haha.

Recipe (slight change from C's recipe):

2-4 frozen chicken breast

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

1/4 C brown sugar

3 Tbs ketchup

Add the BBQ sauce, brown sugar and ketchup to your slow cooker. Stir.

 Add the frozen chicken breast and cover with the sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

How easy was that?! Now the fun part begins. I didn't want to run to the store to buy rolls or hamburger buns...blame it on my laziness! So I jumped onto Pinterest to find an easy hamburger bun recipe. I found a great one that I had all the ingredients for. It was very simple to make and most likely you have all the ingredients in your kitchen too. Here's what you need:

Recipe (found at thekitchn.com):

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast

1/2 cup (4 oz) warm water

1/2 cup (4 oz) milk (whole, 2%, or skim)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let dissolve.

In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add to the yeast/water mixture and mix well.

Add the flour to the mixture one cup at a time. I used the hook on my kitchen aid to mix this together. Once the dough forms, take out and knead by hand ten times or until it is smooth and springs back when you touch it.

Oil the mixing bowl and place the dough inside. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for the dough to rise. Let is rise for an hour or longer until it has doubled in size. My house was pretty cold so I turn my oven on low and placed it on top to help it rise.

Once the dough is ready, take out of the bowl and cut it into 6-8 even dough balls. Place on a baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes until they look puffy.

Preheat the oven to 375. Melt the butter in a small jar and brush on the top of each roll with a pastry brush.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the buns are golden.

Let them cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before eating. If you're not eating them right away you can place in a tuber-ware container to keep fresh until you're ready to eat.

Now- back to the chicken. By this time you chicken is probably cooked all the way through and ready to shred. You know my trick by now. Using a handheld mixer, shred the chicken. Continue cooking on low or "keep warm" until you're ready to eat.

Like I said, I couldn't wait any longer so I cut my hamburger bun in half and filled it to the max with chicken. I gobbled that sandwich down in seconds....seriously though it was soo good!!

Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Inspired- Shredded Chicken & Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

My slow-cooker is one of my best friends in my kitchen. With K's work schedule so sporadic, I know that I can throw something in there and once it's finished cooking I can keep it on "keep warm" until he gets home. Last Friday I was really wanting Cafe Rio and though I'm really lucky to have a restaurant 20 minutes away I didn't want to make the drive. Through the help of Pinterest I was able to find this great recipe pinned by Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms. I had all the ingredients which made it even easier (no groceries store runs!). The recipe didn't disappoint! The taste was super close to the real thing, it felt like I did make that 20 minute drive. There's nothing like throwing everything into your crock pot and eight hours later having a delicious meal. Here's the recipe:

Recipe (slightly modified from original post)

2-4 frozen chicken breasts 

1/2 a small bottle of zesty italian dressing

1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 Tbsp. ground cumin

Place all the ingredients into your slow cooker. I put my chicken in frozen, no need to thaw when the slow cooker will do the work for you. Set on low for 8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

 Around 5 hours check the progress of your chicken. By this time your chicken should be cooked. 

The best way to shred your chicken without taking it out of the crock pot is by using a hand held mixer. It's super easy, super fast with no mess. Shred your chicken and continue cooking.

I wanted to make tacos with the chicken, though you can also make a salad or burrito. Since I'm still on a healthier eating kick I didn't want to do a creamy salad dressing. I found a Cafe Rio inspired Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette on the Favorite Family Recipe website. It was perfect and tasted divine.

Recipe:

2 tamatillos
1/2 bunch cilantro

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp. diced jalapeno (canned) --you can use more if you would like it spicy.

Juice of 2 limes

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 c. balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (make sure it is the dressing NOT the vinegar)

Place everything except the dressing into a food processor and blend well. Add the balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing and cover. Place in the fridge for at least two hours before using.

Everything is now set for a delicious dinner. Grab your tortillas, lettuce, sour cream and everything else you want to add. K didn't get home until pretty late but it was worth the wait to eat this delicious meal with him!

Enjoy!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

On Sunday, while K & E were taking naps, I was on Pinterest looking at some of the past recipes I pinned. These homemade soft pretzel looked so delicious and I just had to try them. Thank you Pennies on a Platter for the recipe and great instructions. The pretzel came out so soft and yummy. It was so hard to stop eating them when they came out of the oven. The best part was how easy it was to make them. I can't wait to make these again:-)

Here's the recipe:
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for topping
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil (nonstick) spray, for pan and bowl
10 cups water
2/3 cups baking soda
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)










Using a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, salt and warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let set for a couple of minutes.

Using the hook attachement, add the flour little by little until fully incorporated. Mix with the hook attachment on medium speed until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl. If you don't have a stand mixer or a hook attachement that's okay. Just knead the dough with your hands adding the flour little by little until you reach the same results.

Pull the dough out of the bowl and spray the inside of the bowl with your vegetable oil. I just poured a tablespoon in and used my hand to coat the inside of the bowl. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

Ten minutes before the dough is ready, start boiling 10 cups of water in a large pot. Also, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone. Get your egg wash ready as well by cracking an egg into a small dish and mix in the water.


Once the dough has risen, place on a lightly oiled surface. Cut the dough into 30 equal pieces.  Roll each ball dough into a rope. Taking the ends of the rope in each hand, cross them over each other, twist one turn, then press onto the center of the rope, to form a pretzel shape. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheets.

Now comes a fun part. When the water reaches its boiling point, pour in the baking soda.  Working with two pretzels at a time, place the pretzel dough into the water for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to help with this process. Once the pretzel has been through the water place on the baking sheet.

 Using a pastry brush, brush the water boiled pretzel dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with koser salt. Once all the dough has been boiled for 30 seconds, bake on the baking sheet for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

I swear the aroma is amazing when these are baking. And nothing beats how they taste when they come out of the oven. Have a wire rack ready to place the pretzel on top to cool. Cool for at least 5 minutes before eating. It will be hard but you don't want to burn your tongue right? :-) Enjoy this super tasty treat!!