Flour Tortillas

I have a lot of things on my to-do list and these have been on it forever. You know what’s not on my list? Trying to get my darn, evil cat who has escaped outside and positioned herself under the windowsill with only about a 4 inch clearance between the house and the landscaping with rocks twice in a day. But alas, that’s what I found myself doing. She has never been an outdoor cat but still tries to take every advantage to slip by me when going out the back patio door. I think I made it worse by having the windows open all day…must have made her yearnings that much stronger. I’m starting to get a little bump so I didn’t feel comfortable laying on my stomach in an attempt to grab her so it took patience to get her out of there. And then once she was out, she was off. I’m sure the neighbors were quite amused by the bobbing and weaving moves I used to catch the brat. Twice. Just making sure you remembered.

These were a lot more fun to mark off the to-do list and didn’t result in embarrassment. But I kind of do regret finally making them homemade because now I will never want to buy them again.

They are so soft and chewy and amazing. They make the store-bought version taste like cardboard. They will be happening again very, very soon. Make a double batch and freeze the leftovers so you can have them anytime the mood strikes.

Flour Tortillas
recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp, baking powder
1 heaping tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. shortening, lard, softened butter, or olive oil*
3/4 cup warm water

1. Dump the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a food processor which has been fitted with a dough blade. Add in whichever fat you have chosen to use and pulse until the mixture resembles course sand.

2. Turn on the food processor and slowly pour in the water until the dough forms a ball and moves around the bowl (you may need more or less water).

3. Leave the food processor running for 30 seconds to knead the dough. When the dough is ready, it should soft, not too sticky and clean the bowl. If you do not have a food processor, all of this can be done by hand.

4. Flour a flat surface and divide the dough evenly into 12 balls, about 2 ounces each if you have a kitchen scale. Cover with a towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

5. Over medium-high heat, warm a skillet (needs to be dry – no spray, olive oil, butter).

6. Dust a bit of flour over each dough ball then roll thinly into circles. Individually, place each tortilla into the hot pan and flip once they have bubbled and browned a bit, about 20 seconds per side.

7. Place on a clean plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep them warm. Serve immediately. Eat within 3 days or freeze for future use.

*I used butter.

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

Did I have you at no-knead? Well, if I didn’t keep reading because I will have even more perks that will totally convince you to whip up this simple bread right away.

This bread dough literally comes together in less than 5 minutes because of the use of instant yeast which doesn’t have to set in warm water to activate. All you do is throw the ingredients in your mixer or in a mix bowl and stir it up. Then you are done. For reals. Well, besides the rising time. But that can be done in the fridge if you have to head to work or bed.

Another amazing perk? This recipe makes enough for 3 or 4 loaves and the dough can be refrigerated for up to a week. That means fresh bread every few days with only a few minutes of work! I whipped this up on Saturday and so far we have had fresh bread Saturday and last night. I’m holding off on the last bit for Saturday to see how tangy the dough gets after refrigerating for 7 days.

If you can’t use up all the dough with the week, it can be frozen too! Just thaw it out and then bake as directed below.

Have I convinced you yet? I sure hope so because this bread is amazing and incredibly easy!

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread
recipe from King Arthur Flour via Cogs and Cupcakes
yields 3-4 loaves

3 cups lukewarm water (about 105 degrees F)
6 1/2 to 7 1/2 unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket or a stand mixer.

2. Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don’t have a mixer, just stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

3. Next, you’re going to let the dough rise. If you’ve made the dough in a plastic ice cream bucket, you’re all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you’ve made the dough in a bowl that’s not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it’s going to rise a lot. There’s no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it’s time to bake bread (I sprayed mine with non-stick spray).

4. Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. (If you’re pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it’ll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it’ll rise, then fall. That’s OK; that’s what it’s supposed to do.

5. When you’re ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It’ll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

6. Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don’t fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

7. Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you’re going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

8. Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won’t appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it’ll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you’re using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

9. When you’re ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2″ deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that’s OK, it’ll pick right up in the hot oven.

10. Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It’ll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

11. Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it’s a deep, golden brown.

12. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread + 1,000 Followers!

Yep, you read that right. You didn’t think banana bread could get any better did ya? But adding peanut butter and peanut butter cups totally does. I got this recipe from my wonderful friend Molly who made this for us while we were going through a hard time last year. Not only was it a sweet gesture but it also opened me up to a whole new world of banana bread.

As you all know, I am kind of obsessed with anything involving the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. So, throw in the banana’s and it’s pretty much a guarantee that I will love it.

This is a quick bread to throw together and I love that the recipe yields just one loaf of bread. So many make two loaves which we never eat in time and it just adds a lot of baking time since I only have one loaf pan. Sure, I could go get another pan but I just can’t really justify it.

It has the perfect amount of bananas, peanut butter and chocolate to make it a delicious after dinner dessert or an indulgent breakfast.

On a random side note, I hit over 1,000 followers this weekend! I am so thankful to each and every one of you that have enjoyed my site enough to sign up to receive emails and read my posts every week! When I started this blog I thought it would just be my way of storing recipes and sharing them with family and friends. I never imagined strangers would want to see what I was cooking every week! You guys are the best and you give me so much inspiration! Thank you so very much!

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz bag of Reese’s Mini cups

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Grease your loaf pan with butter or shortening. (I used butter)

3. In a medium bowl whisk together your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.

4. In a large bowl stir together your bananas, peanut butter, oil, egg and sugars.

5. Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.

6. Fold in your Reese’s Mini cups and spread batter into prepared pan.

7. Bake for approx 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges of the pan with a knife and remove from loaf pan, transferring bread to a cooling rack.

Hamburger Buns

So the day I made this delicious Hawaiian Pulled Pork it was really cold and dreary. Just one of those days that you just don’t want to go outside. But I needed buns but it was cold outside…I had quite the dilemma going on. I decided to check out my saved recipes to see how difficult it would be to make some homemade. I have always had quite the hatred towards dough. It takes forever to make and it gets my hands all disgusting and sticky. But then I found this recipe, which kneads the dough in my KitchenAid and doesn’t end up sticky. It still takes awhile to rise so make sure to plan for that.

My first attempt at these came out a bit dense. I think it was the combination of not warm enough water/milk (they didn’t rise as much as I would have liked) and super old bread flour. I don’t even know when I bought that darn bag of flour…it had to have been at least 3 years old. When I went to throw out the bag of flour, I checked the expiration date to see exactly how bad it was….the date was the day Noah was born 7/19/2010. Over 2 1/2 years past date. Ooops. I definitely bought new and tried them again. And they turned out perfectly light and fluffly. Just what you want in a hamburger bun!

Thank goodness it was so nasty outside that day because these not only tasted delicious (even with the expired flour) but I know and can pronounce every ingredient in them unlike the ones from the grocery store. I will definitely be doubling the recipe in the future so that I can freeze the extras for future meals.

Hamburger Buns
recipe from Pennies on a Platter

3 tablespoons warm milk
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 package)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

For topping:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
sesame seeds

1. Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix in the bread flour and all-purpose flour. Once incorporated, mix in the butter. Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead on low speed until the dough is somewhat tacky, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Transfer dough to a bowl lightly brush with olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, between 1 to 2 hours.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts (if using a kitchen scale, 3.9 oz each). Gently pull back the sides of each to form a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when nearly doubled.

4. Fill a large metal pan with a shallow layer of water and set on the lowest rack of the oven. Move the other rack to the center position. Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake buns for about 15 minutes, until golden brown, rotating halfway through. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Almond Poppyseed Bread {Christmas Tray 2012}

I came across this recipe via Pinterest and it went to the top of my “to make” list immediately. I love love love almond flavoring and it looked so moist (and it was). This recipe came from a blog I follow and absolutely adore, The Girl Who Ate Everything. If you aren’t familiar with it, you need to check it out asap.

Although I love making cookies, I wanted to give you all a variety of options to bake for the upcoming holidays. Sweet breads are great to give away at Christmastime because they last for several days and are a nice change to the traditional treats. Plus, you can buy cute mini loaf pans to bake them in so it’s like a double gift. I found cute ones for $1 each at Michael’s last year (I haven’t looked yet this year).

I loved the combination of the almond and citrus flavors in this bread. I replaced the orange with lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges and I loved the zip the lemon gave the bread. I do think it would be amazing with the orange juice and will be trying it that way next time.

Almond Poppyseed Bread
recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Bread:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups cooking oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp butter extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice (I subbed lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavor extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

For the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured baking pans. Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for large pans and less for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature. I overdid this batch a little bit because I used a dark pan. I like the disposable foil bread pans the best.

For the Glaze:

Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze over warm bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I absolutely love banana bread and have several different recipes in my arsenal. My favorite is Cream Cheese Streusel Banana Bread but this new one is definitely towards the top of the list. It just depends on if you are in a streusel or oatmeal chocolate mood.

I love the unique texture that the oatmeal and wheat flour add to this bread. And it makes it healthier right? I really enjoy cinnamon and chocolate together so that lent a nice flavor to the bread in addition to the banana.

I made a regular size loaf and 3 mini loaves out of this recipe. I was planning on freezing 2 of the mini loaves but that didn’t end up happening. It’s funny how easy it is to eat an entire mini loaf before realizing what you have done. The slices are so much tinier so you have a couple slices (or more) and then it’s gone. Oops. But like I said, it’s healthy right?

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
recipe from Shugary Sweet
yields 2 loaves or 1 regular sized loaf and 3 mini loaves

1¼ cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick oats
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs
¼ c. butter, melted
1 cup bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 bread pans with parchment paper on the bottom, brush with canola oil.

2. In large bowl, mix together flours, oats, sugars, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add in milks, eggs, butter, vanilla and banana. Stir until combined and fold in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into prepared pans bake for 50 minutes.

Sweet Cornbread

This is my go to cornbread recipe to accompany any soup, chili or southern meal. It has an amazing sweetness that my whole family just adores. The best way to cook cornbread is in a heavy, cast iron skillet. It adds a crispy crust that is just amazing (be sure to preheat your skillet before placing the batter in it).

Sweet Cornbread
recipe from Food.com

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Grease 8-inch square baking pan or cast iron skillet.
2. Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk, eggs, oil and butter in small bowl and mix well. Add to flour mixture and stir just until blended.
3. Pour into baking pan or skillet. Bake for 35 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean.
4. For corn muffins, spoon batter into muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans.

Recipe linked to Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday and Fusion Friday.

Cheesy Bread

Delicious dough, topped with butter and tons of cheese….what’s not to love? We are big on pizza in our house. It’s Joel’s favorite food and I’m pretty sure he would eat it everyday if I let him. Whenever we go out for pizza, cheesy bread always pulls me in and gets me every time. I know it’s just sauceless, topping-less pizza but it’s soo ooey-gooey good. I just can’t resist it. And making it homemade is so easy and delicious. It’s now a must when we make homemade pizza or spaghetti!

Cheesy Bread

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough, thawed
1 -2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 – 2 cups mozzerella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, seperated (I love Olde Westport’s Pasta seasoning, it’s amazing)

1. Roll thawed dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and place on preheated pizza stone (or greased cookie sheet). Mix butter and 1 tsp. Italian seasoning together then smear over the dough. Sprinkle with cheeses and remaining Italian seasoning.

2. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes then slice into strips.Recipe linked to Fusion Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and These Chicks Cooked.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Joel absolutely loves Cinnabon but sadly we don’t have them around these parts. So that means whenever we are waiting at an airport or cruising a mall in a new city the hunt is on for Cinnabon (my hunt is for Chick-a-Fila but that’s a whole other story for another time). So when I came across this copycat recipe I knew it was a must try. And I am so glad that we did because they were the best and easiest cinnamon rolls I have ever made.

By now, you all know my debacle with doughs and pastry crusts. Well, this dough rolled out like a dream. Yep, that’s right…a dream. From now on, I will always use this dough recipe for sweet breakfast rolls of all kinds (mmm, now I’m dreaming of caramel rolls and orange rolls).

They were tender, gooey, cinnamon-y, sweet and sticky. Everything you hope for in a cinnamon roll. I think the addition of chopped pecans to the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture would be to die for and I think I will try that next time on half of the rolls (picky Joel doesn’t like nuts). You just have to try these. They melt in your mouth and stick in your brain…I’m still dreaming about them and I made them weeks ago!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
recipe from food.com

1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup margarine
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

FILLING:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine , softened

ICING:
8 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.

2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well (I used my Kitchen Aid for this step).

3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.

4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size (I rose mine in the oven after preheating the oven to 400F and then turning it off).

5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.

6. It should be approx 1/4 thick.

7. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

8. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.


9. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

10. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan. Rise rolls again until about doubled in size (I placed them in the oven again and let them rise for about 30 minutes).

11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

12. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.

13. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. Spread over hot cinnamon rolls.

Gratitude Rolls

These Gratitude Rolls are another amazing Pinterest find. See, good things do come from obsession. The idea is you write what you are thankful for on a little piece of paper then roll it up in your roll of choice and bake. I have also seen them over at The Girl Who Ate Everything where she wrapped the paper in foil before baking.

We always have Thanksgiving with close family friends and they started a tradition years ago of passing around a basket with a dried ear of corn. Each of us pick off 3 kernels and say 3 things we are thankful for. Most of the kids (although we aren’t kids anymore) usually grumble when the corn comes out but it really is a great tradition to verbalize how lucky and blessed we all are. This is just a fun twist on our usual tradition. Have guests arrive before baking the rolls and ask them to write down a few things they are grateful for then you all can read them as you devour.

I chose to make Taste of Home’s roll recipe because they never let me down. Shape your rolls in any way (crescent, twists, knots, rosettes), we chose to do cloverleaf rolls. Then place your foil wrapped messages somewhere in the rolls where they will be hidden once they bake.

Bake and rip open to find the gratefulness. Then enjoy your roll in the best way ever, drenched in gravy.

Taste of Home’s Best Dinner Rolls
recipe from Taste of Home Magazine
yields 2 dozen

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. butter
2 eggs
1 egg, lightly beaten
topping, optional (recipe follows)

Everything Topping:
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. dried minced garlic
1 tsp. minced dried onion
1 tsp. kosher salt

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add 2 eggs; beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 portions. Divide each of those portions into three and roll into balls. Place 3 balls in each greased muffin cup. Place foil wrapped message in between balls.

4. Cover with a clean, lightweight towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with everything topping.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.