Try something new

Hello blog readers!
It is a classic Monday full of laundry and other household duties which have fallen to the wayside during the course of a busy weekend.

Today I would like to introduce you to a few of my new kitchen friends. You may have met these happy helpers before, or you may be like me and need to make their acquaintance.
I have a buddy who is an outstanding cook (and all around wonder!) I found it interesting that she is the one who first introduced me to all three of these products over the course of the last few years!
I have so much to learn, and am glad to have friends with more experience to guide me along and to teach me new things!

So, here you have them!


Of course this is in no way a product endorsement or advertisement, this is just stuff I like to use.
Okay, got that out of the way.

I used all three of these things in what I am calling "3 bean chili" that I made yesterday.
I thought about sharing the recipe, but of course I was making it up on the fly and didn't measure a single thing. That makes for frustrating recipe writing!!
It was basically chili with three beans. Ha, ha, ha...helpful aren't I? I was determined to get some nutrition in my family and took the bean route.
I had left over black beans, a can of white kidney beans, and also a can of navy beans.
See... 3 beans.
I also used a can of tomato puree, (love that stuff) and the items found in the Product Highlight Section of my blog.
Don't go looking around for that particular section...I just made that up.
You can actually just keep reading below.
But it sounded cool right? Product Highlight Section...
Maybe you should just ignore my weirdness and keep reading.

Our first product highlight is Kitchen Basics Stock!


This comes in several varieties including chicken (in a gorgeous school bus yellow box), and vegetable (in a fantastic kelly green box). Oh, color how it invades my life!!
It is a staple on my grocery list. I mainly get the chicken stock, but have found that there are times when beef stock is a necessity! I am not a Martha-make your own stock kind of gal. Not that I am opposed to that kind of behavior, I just don't have time or energy in my life for that right now.
This stock is excellent right out of the box. I really like the fact that it doesn't have any crazy weird stuff in it too.
Like what you ask? Well, MSG for one thing.
Autolyzed yeast extract for another...actually that is a type of MSG. Look it up!
I stay away from that stuff cause it makes me feel bad.
I am a feel good kind of gal.

Next up, Wondra Quick Mixing Flour!

I am in theory, opposed to enriched and bleached flour and go out of my way to not use it in my baking where it is the main ingredient in a recipe. However, I do make an exception for this Wondra Flour. I had no idea this was even on the planet until just a few months ago.
This is an outright tragedy for a girl who believes gravy to be a food group.
It is light and airy and fine. It is to flour what powdered sugar is to sugar.
It doesn't clump and glump when you are trying to whisk it in to make something thicker!
If you make gravy or sauces at all, it is a must have kitchen companion!
Yesterday I knew I would want my soup to have a little thickness so I simply added this in to cook with my ground beef a bit after it had browned. When the stock went in, it thickened up nicely!

Last thing to introduce today...
Ancho Chili Pepper


YUM!!! This has a slightly sweeter, milder flavor than classic chili powder.
You know how you get in a rut of just buying the same old ingredients. That is me, I bet that is you too. We know what works and we stick with it.
What a travesty!
What a devastation to all those other miraculous flavors out there waiting to be discovered.
This chili pepper when into my 3 bean chili yesterday too! It was the star of the dish, giving a subtle spiciness and terrific chili taste. Oh YUM!!

To finish my 3 bean chili off I added some corn tortillas cut up in small pieces.
It was a hit and everyone said it should be added to the "hey, you should fix this again" list.

I hope you are getting out there and trying new things....maybe this short list will inspire you to do just that today.
Have a great week!

Be not Bread Dismayed

So, I have spoken to several people who have been trying their hand at bread making.
First let me say... I am so very proud of you! Of us.
We are stepping out of a comfort zone, well at least I am, and will be better for it!!
If your bread is less than you thought it would be, I am so sorry, but I don't want you to be dismayed and give up.
Check your ingredients, make sure you are using the right amounts and following the instructions and give it another go!
Don't give up after one questionable batch okay??

I have probably made about 6 batches now, and my family proclaims that they like this last one the best. Of course they have said that about every subsequent batch, but I tended to agree this time.
I have done a lot more reading on this subject since my first post, and so I have learned more (and hope to continue learning)!
The whole gluten/protein thing is still a great mystery to me, and while I have read about it over and over again and had it explained by my bread buddy over yet again, I still don't truly get it.
I think someone needs to draw me a picture and use lots of color.
I speak color!!

Anyhow, my meager black and white understanding of part of this is that different flours contain different levels of protein which affects the rise they have. And...gluten is important to "the rise".
I truly cannot intelligently say anything more about that. If it really interests you then please read about it where it is spoken of intelligently, because I find myself wanting to use the word thingy here and I am pretty sure that is not appropriate bread speak!
So, because of that (whatever it all means) I have most recently tried bread flour and have also added Vital Wheat Gluten, to help with the rise.

Here is the latest combination of ingredients used, which I have tweaked from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a day master recipe. I have a feeling I will change it up yet again while trying to achieve the best loaf possible for my family!

4 1/2 cups 100% Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 T Yeast
1 1/2 T Salt (Kosher)
4 tsp. Vital Wheat Gluten
4 cups lukewarm water

Your flours should be fluffed up, spooned in and scraped off. Mix the gluten in with the flours with a whisk to get it good and combined. Other than that follow the recipe as was written last time.


If that whole first section got you good and confused, with more questions than answers, then have I got a deal for you!!
How about a really easy quick bread which will delight your family??

Quick and Easy Beer Bread (Printable)
(adapted from recipezaar)

3 cups flour (I like to do half white, half wheat)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar (more or less if you like, this is great for us)
1 12 oz. beer
1/4 cup butter, melted

Fluff up your flour and loosely spoon it into the measuring cup, then scrape it off with a knife. (sound familiar?)
Add the other dry ingredients and sift or whisk them. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!
Slowly pour in the beer and mix until combined.
Pour half of the butter into a bread pan and spread it about. I like to break out my kitchen pastry brush for this, it impresses the children!
Dump the dough into the pan and drizzle the rest of the butter on top.
The original recipe calls for a half a cup of butter....feel free to go there, but it isn't necessary!
In a preheated 375* oven bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until center is done and crust is browned.


I made some homemade flour tortillas yesterday. (yes, we will eventually be talking about that here!)
We haven't had flour tortillas in months due to the fact that all of the store bought ones contain trans fat. boo hisssss
My youngest child ate a whole tortilla, went back for another and proclaimed them to be the best tortillas she ever had.
While I had my doubts about this, the next comment she made sealed it for me.
She said "mmm, mmm... I can taste the love"
And that my friends is why we should cook; so that our families and friends, and those in need can "taste the love".

Check back early next week for Chapter 4 of "The Saga"