Flat Bread

This flat bread is one of the easiest breads to make. Once it's risen, it just takes about 20 minutes in the oven. It should be called fast bread. If you invest in a little time for the dough to rise you get a really nice, soft bread. If you look on the store bought bread, there is an array of ingredients nobody can even pronounce. Bread should only have flour, yeast, salt, sugar and water in it. Of course you can mix in, or top it with all kinds of great things like nuts, sesame seeds oats, dried fruits or even cheese. There is no limit to your imagination when it comes to what you want to mix in your bread.

I dare you to try this one. Delicious!

Flat Bread:

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 2/3 cups warm water
sesame seeds for topping
1-2 tbs. olive oil 

Dissolve the yeast  and sugar in the warm water. when the yeast begins to foam, you know it's active and you can add the flour and the salt. ( If the yeast does not foam after a while, the yeast is not active and your bread will not rise.)
Knead until you have a soft but not sticky dough. I keep the flour at hand, that way I can add a little at the time in case the dough is sticky.
Cover and let it rise until double in size.
Once the dough has risen, you can punch it down and divide in two parts.

Take a parchment lined ( you can also just grease the sheet ) baking sheet and form two flat, round breads. Brush them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Now you can let then rest again until they are again double in size.

Preheat your oven to 440F ( 220C )  Bake for about 10 minutes, flip on the other side and bake for another 10 minutes or until its nice and golden brown in color.

Green bean, hamburger casserole

It's rainy, it's cold and it is the perfect day for a one dish meal, a casserole. I like this recipe a lot because you can modify it in so many ways.

Green bean, hamburger casserole:

 1 lbs. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of condensed tomato soup ( you can substitute 2 tbs. tomato paste and 1/4 cup water)

2 1/2 cups cooked and drained green beans ( you can substitute 1-2 cans of green beans)

5 medium potatoes
1/2 cup warm milk
butter
salt, pepper and nutmeg

french fried onions for topping

Brown the meat and onions. Season it to taste with salt and pepper. Add the tomato soup and stir well.
Add the beans. Pour this mix into a casserole dish.

Cook the potatoes until soft. Drain. Mash them with milk, butter and spices. ( you can also use instant potatoes, if you like) Spoon in mounts over the meat mix.

Bake in 350 F ( 175 C) oven for about 30 minutes
Sprinkle the french fried onions on top and bake for 5 minutes longer or until onions are crisp.

One dish goodness!

Banana Nut Bread

When I buy bananas, I can be sure that a few always are left with brown spots and that means banana bread. My family will not eat speckled bananas. Yes I know, I like them a little green myself. Lets face it, to make a sweet bread everyone likes, out of brown bananas is better then trowing them out.
You could also fry them in butter and drizzle them with honey and that would make for a fine dessert, maybe with whipped cream or ice cream. Today, however, it's time for banana nut bread.

Banana Nut Bread:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup shortening, melted
2 eggs
2 tbs. milk
1 cup ripe mashed bananas
1/4 cup chopped nuts ( optional)

Mix all the ingredients together, with a wooden spoon. Grease a loaf pan and pour the dough into the pan.
Bake at 350 F oven for about 60 - 65 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Take out of the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!

Waffles

Waffles are not just for breakfast. Sure, you can eat the classic version with maple syrup and butter, or like me, I prefer peanut butter. But have you ever tried them with ham and cheese?
 Many people enjoy them with fruit and a dollop of cream.
I think Waffle recipes are worth exploring.
Years ago, I went to Georgia and for dinner I had a grilled Waffle Sandwich with ham and cheese.
They served a fruity sauce with it and it was sprinkled with powdered sugar.
I had totally forgotten about that, I think I will try to recreate that in the near future.
In the meantime, I made Waffles for our afternoon coffee break.

 Here is my favorite recipe for,

 Waffles:

 2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tbs. baking powder
3 tbs. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients, except the egg white, together until smooth. Beat the egg white until it forms peaks and fold them under the waffle mix. Bake in a waffle iron until they are nice and golden.

I topped these with cherry's and  vanilla whipped cream.  I hope you like them!

Oh, the possibility's!

Pumpkin cannelloni

Here is the perfect recipe for all the pumpkin lovers out there.
I think pumpkin is still a bit underrated. There are so many great things you can do with pumpkins, besides using it as a Halloween decoration.
Pickled pumpkin, pumpkin bread, ravioli filled with pumpkin and pumpkin soup, just to name a few. 
I think one of my favorite dishes to make is pumpkin cannelloni.
It's a vegetarian dish, it surely hit the spot.

Pumpkin cannelloni:

filling:
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup toasted pine-nuts
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
 salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
 
sauce:
3 cups tomato sauce
1 tbs. sugar
oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste

grated cheese
about 18 cannelloni shells, uncooked


Mix pumpkin, ricotta cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese. Chop half of the toasted pine-nuts coarsely, and fold them into the pumpkin mix. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Set it aside and prepare the sauce.

Heat the tomato sauce and season it with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Add sugar to take the bitterness out of the tomato sauce.

Pour half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Now it's time to fill the cannelloni shells. I usually take a zip lock bag or a cake decorating bag, fill it and then cut off one corner and squeeze the filling into the shells. Arrange them side by side on the sauce in your baking dish. When all the shells are filled, pour the other half of the tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts and top with grated cheese.

Bake at 375- 400 F for about 30 minutes or until cannelloni shells are tender.
If the cheese gets too dark, cover the dish with some tin foil.

cake

I personally like cheesecake.
 Last week I felt like experimenting with that. Here is what I came up with. A "no bake sour cream/ cream cheesecake" with gelatin and a crumb crust.
My family loved it, I hope you will, too.

No bake sour cream cheesecake:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs ( here in Germany, I use " Butterkekse")
1 tbs. sugar
1/2 cup butter melted

Mix crumbs, sugar and melted butter together and press in a Spring form pan. Set it aside.

Cream:
1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 pkg. powdered gelatin

1 cup sour cream
1 cup cream cheese
1 can mandarin oranges, drained


Place milk, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Take it of the heat and add the gelatin, stir until it is dissolved. Let it cool off, just a bit.

Mix together sour cream and cream cheese, then add the gelatin mix. Beat the whipping cream and fold it under the rest of the cream. Now you can add the drained mandarin oranges.
Pour the finished cream mix on the prepared crumb crust and let it set in the fridge for about 2 hours.

 

Focaccia bread

This is an easy recipe that fits with a variety of meals. Sometimes we eat the Focaccia bread just by it self, depending on with what you top it with.
Today we made Pasta and Pesto and I thought fit perfect with that.

Focaccia Bread:

2/3 cup warm water ( remember, warm not scalding )
1 pkg. dry active yeast
1/2 tsp. honey
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbs. olive oil ( 2 tbs. for the dough and 2 tbs. for the top.)
 Toppings:
Anything you like
(coarse salt, onions, olives, caraway, sun dried tomatoes, rosemary, fennel seeds and so on......)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water with honey and wait for it to activate ( bubble ), that way you are sure the yeast is still fresh. Then add the flour, salt and 2 tbs. of the olive oil. Knead well, if the dough is sticky, add a little flour and knead until it is nice and soft. Place in an oiled bowl and let it rise until double in size.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and pull it into a rectangle and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Push little dimples in your bread with your fingers. Drizzle the remaining 2 tbs. of olive oil on your bread. Now you can top it with whatever you like.
I used coarse salt and onions.
Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes or until the bread has a nice golden color.