Chocolate Bread Pudding

This was a bit of an experiment, but it turned out well!

Preheat oven to 350 F., grease a 1.5 quart casserole dish.

Cube about 4 cups dry white bread into 1/2 inch pieces and toss with a generous 1/3 cup chocolate and/or peanut butter chips. In a separate bowl, combine 2 large eggs, 2 cups chocolate milk (I totally just mixed Hershey's Dark Chocolate syrup with skim milk and called it good), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Please note: these measurements are approximate; I'm not the most precise measurer! Pour the milk mixture over the cubed bread and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to the casserole dish and bake at 350F for 50 minutes to an hour, or when a knife inserted in the cente comes out clean.

Be sure to steal a taste when it comes out of the oven by pinching off a cube or two of bread off the top! May be served warm, room temperature, or cold. I like it room temp, Todd prefers it refrigerator-cold, ideally with some cool whip. Delish!

Holla for my Challah!

Last weekend was Focaccia.

Last Wednesday was Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Yesterday was Classic White Bread.

Today was Challah (recipe will be added soon).

What does next weekend hold?

Vote:

1. French Bread


2. Polish Babka


3. Irish Soda Bread


4. Potato Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This is a perfect recipe for a snow day! The house smelled delicious, the bread was good, and the toast the next morning was even better! The original recipe is available at the website below. I made a few adjustments to increase the nutrition a little, such as using a combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour and omitting the icing.


Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

In the bowl of the stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/3 cup sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat with dough hook until smooth. Add raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide in half. Roll each into a 15-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with water. Starting with a short side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnamon-Raisin-Bread/Detail.aspx

Sunday = Omelets for Breakfast!

Omelets, like salads, for Todd and me are a vehicle for leftovers. The unique omelet filling this morning included turkey taco meat, swiss chard, and zucchini in addition to the requisite american cheese slices. Yum! Paired with some blueberry bisquick biscuits and fresh fruit, breakfast was a success. Needless to say, I limited the kids omelet filling to the cheese....I'll argue about vegetable consumption at lunch and supper, but give it a break at breakfast and just give 'em sweet fruits.

Menu Planning

Every Thursday is grocery day. I plan the family menus a week in advance and, usually on Wednesday, I write the menu, check the freezer and pantry, and compile a grocery list. Between Wednesday and Thursday evening, I gather coupons and check the Kroger ads and on Thursday evening after work, I hit the store. Why Thursday? Well, Todd works on Thursday evenings, Amelia is with her dad, and Mike and Gill are at their mom's house. I can take my time at the store and not worry about having little helpers attached to my cart, nor am I thinking that I need to hurry home to the family.

Here is the plan for the upcoming week:

Friday, January 28 (tonight): Veggie Lasagna (containing spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, along with three cheeses: ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella), sauteed swiss chard, and italian bread

Saturday, January 29: Crunchy Turkey Tacos, Guacamole, Roasted Butternut Squash

Sunday, January 30: Bowtie Pasta with Turkey Italian Sausage and Pesto Sauce, Sauteed Collard Greens and Leeks

Monday, January 31: Barbequed Beef Sandwiches, Roasted Red Potatoes, Acorn Squash

Tuesday, February 1: Grommy's Klopsi (big meatballs with brown mushroom gravy), Mashed Potatoes, Carrots

Wednesday, February 2: Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad

Thursday, February 3: Leftovers! and time for a new menu plan and grocery list...

Cranberry Relish

The organic produce delivery service we subscribe to, Door to Door Organics (http://michigan.doortodoororganics.com/), gave us several clamshells of fresh, organic cranberries and I finally got around to using them. Below is the recipe I used for some really tasty cranberry relish. The picture I posted is from the website since mine truly did turn out looking just like it, but doesn’t look as well-presented in the Tupperware container!

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients
2 oranges
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut in fine julienne
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation
1. Peel 1 orange and cut the zest (orange part only) into a very fine julienne, as thin as possible; set aside. Squeeze both oranges for juice; set aside.
2. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small sauté pan. Heat up slowly and continue cooking until the sugar begins to caramelize. If necessary, wash down the sides of the pan by brushing with a little water to keep the sugar from burning.
3. When the sugar is caramel colored, add the julienned ginger and orange zest. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the cranberries, orange juice and pepper. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries are slightly broken but not mushy (frozen cranberries will take about 7 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool. Yields 3 cups. May be frozen for enjoyment throughout the year.

Credits:
Epicurious November 2000
by Jasper White

Homemade Hot Pretzels

Soft Pretzel Recipe
courtesy of Gale Gand via Foodnetwork .com

2 tablespoons warm water, plus 1 1/3 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cups flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Kosher salt
Mustard, as an accompaniment

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 tablespoons warm water with the yeast to dissolve it. Then stir in the remaining warm water and brown sugar. Place bowl on a mixer and using a dough hook, gradually add the flour and continue mixing until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead the dough to make it smooth. Use enough flour on your work surface so the dough is not sticky.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Butter 2 sheet pans. Bring 2 quarts of water and the baking soda to boil in a large saucepan. Cut dough up into golf ball size pieces. Then roll them into 1/2-inch thick worms. Form a U then cross the ends, twisting at the middle. Fold the ends back down to meet the U (which is now an O) and press to secure the dough. Drop it into the boiling water for 30 seconds then fish it out and place it on the greased sheet pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

**I like to sprinkle on a variety of seeds, such as carraway, sesame, poppyseeds, as well as Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash and/or dehydrated minced onions. Also, it is super important to grease the cookie sheets, as well. I haved tried using waxed paper sprayed with oil and it was a mess! Just LIBERALLY spray your sheet pan and the pretzels will come off perfectly. I have used these pretzels in place of dinner rolls with a lot of success. They also work out well sprinkled with cinnamon sugar instead of the salt. Really make your family happy by drizzling powdered sugar icing over the top of the cinnamon sugared pretzels for breakfast or brunch!