Weekly Cooking Thread March 26, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | March 26, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 16th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two - or six for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[Errant]

Making your own bread is fun, tasty, saves money, healthy and cuts down on the trips to the store.

Bread machines can be bought for less than $100 and take most of the work and time out of making bread at home.

You basically dump the ingredients into the pan, set the programmer and push start. In about 2 hours, the wonderful aroma of baking bread fills your entire home! In another hour or so, it's ready to be sliced and buttered!

Below is the one that I use. It's less than $70 from Amazon. Click on the image to read more about it.

You can make all types of bread (steakhouse, wholewheat, and many, many more), pizza crust, cinnamon rolls and etc.

I've experimented with a number of recipes and this is my favorite white bread recipe below, which I've developed over time. It lasts at least a week in a bread keeper, has a soft texture and taste, nice crust, and is great for sandwiches and breakfast toast.

Add these to your machine in the order listed:
1.5 tbsp Gluten Flour (3 if you like a stiffer loaf)
2 tsp Bread Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Flakes
1/4 Cup Cooking Oil
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup + 1 tbsp of water

Set your machine for regular white bread, 1.5 Lb loaf and light crust. Hit start!

About three hours later (have butter handy), You've made Bread!

[libertarian27]

You both are added to the ping list

All your recipes belong to us - resistance is futile - you will be cooking

:>)

[illiac]

Poulsbo Bread

This comes from a small bakery in Poulsbo Washington (just west of Seattle). When I first had it at the bakery I had to have the recipe. It is outstanding.

1 1/8 c Water
3/4 c 7 grain mix
2 1/4 c Bread flour
1/4 c Flour, whole wheat
2 tb Sugar
2 tb Molasses
1 ts Salt
1 1/2 tb Powdered buttermilk
1 1/2 ts Yeast
1 1/2 tb Margarine
1/2 c Sunflower seeds, optional

Put all ingredients except sunflower seeds into pan. If using
sunflower seeds, set to “mix” cycle and add add beep. This is a soft
bread and will be difficult to slice when hot. If you are going to
use it in a sandwhich, allow it to cool first.

[Errant]

Thanks! Will give it a try for sure ...

[TheMom]

Pinto Beans

The garlic powder, onion powder, and jalapeño measurements can be changed to adjust to your taste. I have always eyeballed the measurements, so what you have below is not an exact science.

1 lbs Pinto Beans
12 oz pack of Salt Pork cut into cubes (Do Not buy the pre sliced)
2 Tbls Onion Powder
2 Tbls Garlic Powder
1 Tbls Pepper
1/2 Cup Jalapeños & juice

Remove rocks and imperfect beans, wash well and drain.
Put beans in crock pot with water about 2” above beans.
Add all other ingredients.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Then turn to low for 6 hours.
Watch the water level, if it gets to low add more water.

I serve this with rice and corn bread.

[Flamenco Lady]

This reminds me of one of my children’s favorite ham roll ups.

8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
dill pickles
Deli sliced ham

Form the softened cream cheese around the pickle so it makes an evenly shaped roll. Wrap with ham slice.

At this point you are supposed to refrigerate them so the cream cheese gets hard again so they are easier to slice neatly, but my children never wait that long.

Slice them up and you have an appetizer or snack that children love (if my husband doesn’t get to them first)!

[Flamenco Lady]

I make my Lentil Soup with almost the same ingredients as you, but do it on the stove top. Instead of the water I sometimes use stock and I always add some chopped garlic. I leave out the salt until the end as it slows the cooking process of the lentils if you put it in before they are tender. Once the lentils are tender I finish the soup off by adding a can of diced tomatoes and salt to taste. Tomatoes can also slow down the cooking of the lentils, so I wait until the lentils are tender before adding them to the soup pot.

[bgill]

At this point you are supposed to refrigerate them so the cream cheese gets hard again so they are easier to slice neatly, but my children never wait that long.

Same here.

[Twinkie]

I once tried some of those sort of pinkish lentils; didn’t like those at all. The old reliable brown ones are the best, to me.

[mouser]

please add me to your ping list

[mouser]

please add me to your ping list

[libertarian27]

I loved Poulsbo bread - there used to be a commercial bread company, Gold Medal Bakery, that made this bread in New England in the early 90’s, you could pick it up at the average grocery store.

Best toast on earth.

[illiac]

This recipe is just like the original....I like it toasted as well..

[illiac]

I agree...the brown are much better....

[garandgal]

My husband doesn’t like dill pickles...so I have made roll-ups with bread and butter spears and turkey pastrami...they turned out great.

[LasVegasMac]

All your recipes belong to us

LOL

thanks.

[Umanbean]

I love lentil soup. Made some this week. Your recipes are almost the same as mine. Just a couple of additions. My aunt taught me how to make it. She added fresh, chopped spinach or a box of thawed, chopped spinach near the end. Then she would toast slices of dark bread, rye or pumpernickel, and place half of a slice in a bowl. Top with 1/4 c shredded mozzarella then ladle soup into bowls. She also put a stick of butter in at the beginning. Too rich for me.

[MASS-2 FAC]

Here’s the same machine for $63

http://www.cucina-de-parma.com/breadmaker-machine

[handmade]

ham roll ups

Thanks- sounds like a fun thing to make for pot luck appetizers or for when the grands are here. Certainly simple- I like simple plus good.

[Flamenco Lady]

I am looking for good recipes using any kind of dry beans or lentils, including but not limited to garbanzo, kidney, white, black, pinto, black eyed peas, etc. With prices going up on everything I have been stocking up on dry beans and lentils and cooking them more often in order to help keep our family grocery budget as low as possible. Dry beans can almost always be found for less than $1 per pound and many times below 50 cents a pound if you buy them in bulk. They also store well for long periods of time.