Whole Wheat Pigs in a Blanket

A while back, I came across a recipe for pigs in a blanket over at this lovely blog! And while the recipe credit came from another lovely blog, I was grateful for the dinner idea nonetheless!

I must say, while I've never been much of a pig-in-a-blanket kinda person, these have changed my mind completely. Truly a new favorite around here!

Whole Wheat Pigs in a Blanket

Original recipe here! 

 Note: One dough recipe makes enough for one pack {8 count}of hot dogs. Time Saver: Double the dough and refrigerate half for homemade cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls the next day!

In mixing bowl let set for a few minutes:
• 2 1/4  t. yeast
• 1 c. water

With whisk attachment (or by hand) add:
• 1/4-1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 t. salt
• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 1 egg, well beaten

Beat 'til foamy.

Add one cup at a time:
• 2 c. unbleached flour

Switch to bread hook and add:
• 2 c. whole wheat flour (all white flour is fine, too)

Allow bread hook to knead until it reaches a smooth and elastic consistency. Add a touch more flour if too sticky. Allow to rise for 1.5 hours or 'til doubled in size.
Cut dough into (small) fist sized blobs.
Flatten your dough blob, place your DRY frank in the middle, slice a few slits and cris-cross those little dough arms for a nice braided effect. Click here for step by step tutorial!
Let them rise for about 20-30 minutes. If you have the time, brush on an egg wash (whip an egg and add a splash of water) and sprinkle with Kosher salt to make them shiny and pretty.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 5 minutes or 'til golden brown. (Or 350 convection for about 15 minutes.)

Delicious Green Beans

The garden is finally producing (well, not the tomatoes, what's up with that.. anyone else??). I'm embarrassed to admit that I had an "oh dear" moment this week when I realized I was going to have to harvest everything. It's a good problem to have :)

The green beans are going crazy. Part of the reason we planted so many was that Jeremiah loves them, but you can only eat the same thing the same way for so long. So, I'm trying out new ways of cooking them. I really loved these! They are basically P-Dub's recipe, but I changed it up a bit. Sorry, P-Dub, there is no lard in this kitchen.

Isn't it lovely?

I didn't share. Yes. I ate all of these. I'm a bit embarrassed. And to my credit it took me all afternoon. Does that make it any better?? No. Not really.

It was a bad decision on so many levels.

Here we go!

Ingredients:

3 slices turkey bacon, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 pound trimmed green beans

1/2 large tomato, chopped

1 cup hot water

2 t. chicken base

kosher salt, to taste (I used about 1t.)

How to:

Cook the turkey bacon until brown, and then add in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft. Add in the green beans and tomatoes. Mix together the water and chicken base then pour into the pan. Sprinkle with salt. Cover, but leave vented, and let cook about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. I let the water evaporate so that everything would get brown and delicious.

Enjoy!

Ginger Chicken Wings

I got this chicken wing recipe from my friend, and fellow blogger, Rochelle! She toted them as the best wings she's ever had so I begged for the recipe. I'm so glad that I did because our family gobbled them right up! 

Note: I found that a couple added steps made the recipe a lot more conducive for summer cooking. First, I doubled the glaze and used to not only coat the chicken but also to drizzle a bed of iceberg lettuce and carrot slivers. Second, I covered a baking sheet completely in tin foil and cooked the wings outside on my BBQ grill. I don't know about you but the last thing I wanted to do was run my oven for an hour at 400 degrees! They turned out great and my house stayed cool. Total win-win!

 

INGREDIENTS: (Halved from what the original recipe called for)

2.5 pounds chicken wings, cut into 2 sections each, wing tip discarded 

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 

1 tbsp hot sauce 

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour 

non-stick canola oil spray

For the glaze: (half these ingredients if you don't want extra for the dressing)

3 crushed garlic cloves 

3 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional 

1/2 cup rice vinegar 

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

2 tsp soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. or set grill to med-high.

Place the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl, and season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add hot sauce and vegetable oil, and toss with tongs to coat evenly. Add the flour to a large plastic bag, add the wings and shake thoroughly. The chicken wings should be very lightly dusted with flour.

Cover a half-sheet pans with foil, and spray well with the canola oil. Distribute the chicken wings evenly on the pans, and spray the wings with the canola oil to coat. Bake  for 30 minutes, turn the chicken wings over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until browned and crusty OR place baking sheet on grill, checking wings regularly to make sure they don't burn! Grill until juices run clear.

While the chicken wings are baking, add the glaze ingredients to a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off and reserve. When the chicken wings are done, transfer into a clean bowl while still hot, and pour over the glaze. Toss until all the chicken wings are coated well, and transfer onto a serving platter or onto a bed of greens. .

Pesto Pasta

This is our go-to summer pasta. It's fast, fresh and so healthy. As a bonus, my toddler and husband love it! We like it with chicken, tomato and fresh Parmesan, but it would be wonderful with any combination of ingredients. There are no set amounts, I just throw in what I have so all measurements are approximate.

Ingredients:

1 recipe pesto

1 box of whole wheat pasta, cooked

2 chicken breasts, cubed

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

fresh Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients together and serve! It's delicious warm or cold.

Pesto!

I have a lot of basil. If this wasn't enough...

I have this...

And isn't this lovely???

I've been waiting and waiting to use it. Seeing howI have so much I shouldn't be waiting at all, but I've been rationing it, afraid it would run out. It's silly, but true! In the last week, however, it started to flower. I had no choice but to bust out the food processor and get to work!

My mother in law has an excess of spinach in her garden so we were thinking that next time I make some pesto I'll add 2-4 cups of spinach in. It will make it that much healthier and will still be delicious!

And don't be fooled into thinking that you have to use pine nuts. Almonds, peanuts and walnuts all work wonderfully! I'm a big fan of using walnuts!

Ingredients:

2 cups of basil leaves, packed

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cups nuts

2/3 cups oil (you can use slightly less)

1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I don't add the cheese and it's still wonderful!)

salt and pepper to taste

How to:

Pulse the basil, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add in the oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese.

*If you don't want to use the pesto right away only add in about 1/2c of oil and don't add in the cheese. Once the pesto is processed put it in an air tight container and pour the rest of the oil over the top to prevent browning. When you're ready to use stir together and add the cheese.

*If you want to freeze the pesto add in all of the oil, but not the cheese. I pour the pesto in an ice cube tray and freeze then transfer to a freezer bag. It will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.

**Update! Tonight I made this with 1/2 cup olive oil, one clove of garlic and a handful of spinach (and kept the rest of the ingredients the same.) It was wonderful and this way I was able to sneak spinach into Mo's dinner!**

Great Grandma Pearl's Angel Food Cake

I can honestly say that this cake recipe falls into my top five dessert recipes! It is just THAT GOOD! Last summer, I came across it in the very, very back of a Food and Wine Magazine. There was no picture and the size of the recipe almost seemed more like they were trying to fill a spot than sell their reader on a old family recipe. Alas, some very ripe peaches spurred me to try it and I was instantly wowed! While quite a bit more comprehensive than just your average box mix, the end result is worth it!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups egg whites (from about 16 large eggs
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
5 peaches, sliced into thin wedges (any fruit could be substituted)
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

For a quick tutorial on whipping egg whites click here!

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in 2 1/2 cups of the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, until smooth and glossy, about 4 minutes.
2. Transfer the egg whites to a large, wide bowl. Using a fine sieve, gradually sift the flour over the egg whites, gently folding in the flour with a spatula. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts. Scrape the cake batter into a 10-inch angel food cake pan. Using a table knife, slice through the cake batter several times to release any air bubbles. Tap the cake pan once or twice on a flat surface.
3. Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350° and bake the cake for about 35 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert the pan onto the neck of a wine bottle and let the cake cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, toss the peaches with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until juicy, for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
5. To loosen the cake, run a thin-bladed knife around the side and tube of the pan. Unmold the cake and transfer to a platter. Cut the cake into wedges and serve with the peaches and whipped cream.

The Quest For a Cereal Bar

Right now, one of the most highly prized snacks in our house is the Kashi TLC Cereal Bar. My boys would eat them all day, every day, if I let them! As much as that would not suffice nutritionally, it would also not work financially. Being that those sweet little treats run anywhere between $3-$4.50 a box, it works out to be about $.50-$.75 a bar! That habit can get expensive quick! So I did what any mom with internet access would do. I Googled it. And so began my quest for a cereal bar recipe.

While these bars are not anywhere CLOSE to the beloved cereal bar, they really were good! They sort of boasted a little bit of shortbread, which paired deliciously with the preserves! So while I was a little bummed that they seemed to lead me astray, I guess you gotta start somewhere...and there's not a one left!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter {softened}
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 teaspoon almond extract
16oz. preserves of choice

DIRECTIONS:
Cream margarine and sugar. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Add almond extract. Press 3/4 of crumb mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread with preserves. (*Use Strawberry, raspberry, peach or other favorite). Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350* for 20-25 min. Cool and cut into bars.