Basil and Sweet Pea Soup

from Fav Family Recipes

Notes: Tastes REALLY similar to red potatoes and peas. Want to try it with diced cooked potatoes in it next time. Hadn't thought of having it as a soup. I liked it because it reminded me of growing up and having red potatoes and peas.

This soup pairs great with some sourdough bread or a sandwich.  This gives you your basic roux base.  From hear you can make all types of soups- add broccoli and cheese for a creamy broccoli soup, add corn and potatoes for a corn chowder, and for this particular soup you add sweet peas and basil.

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. butter (not margarine)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried basil)
• 1 (14oz) can sweet peas, drained

Instructions

• In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter then stir in the flour. Gradually whisk in the 3 cups of milk.
• Bring heat to medium and continue to stir until the mix begins to bubble and thicken. Add salt, pepper, basil, and sweet peas (drained) and cook another minute or two.

Mels whole wheat bread recipes

Helpful step by step instructions with pictures

 


from mels

 Darcy

Yield: 5-6 loaves of bread

This recipe used to include a Vitamin C pill, crushed to help develop the gluten, however, I ran out one time and instead used 1/4 cup powdered milk (a tip I had read somewhere else) and I've never gone back. However, if you prefer to use it, it's 1000 mg Vitamin C, crushed. Two other delicious whole wheat bread recipes are below this recipe, just in case you want to try other versions. I alternate between all three (although I make Darcy's bread the most) and they are all delicious.

Ingredients

• 12-15 cups wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 6 1/2 cups very warm water
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2/3 cup honey or sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt

if making 3/4 of recipe (I only have 4 bread pans)

• 9/12 cups wheat flour
• 3/8 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast
•  3/16 cup powdered milk
• 4 7/8 cups very warm water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup honey/sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl (or stand mixer, like the almighty Bosch), mix together 5 cups of wheat flour, yeast, vital wheat gluten and powdered milk. Add the warm water and mix well. Add the oil and honey (or sugar) and mix again.
2. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Add the salt and start the mixer (or mix by hand), adding the remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl to form a soft dough. You may not need to add all of the flour! Judge the dough by feel not by the amount of flour you've used. It might be slightly sticky but should hold it's shape.
3. Let the dough knead for 7 minutes in the stand mixer (or 15 minutes by hand). Form into 5 loaves (for the 8 1/2 X 4-inch loaf pans) and place into greased bread pans. Let rise until the bread is 2 inches above the top of the bread pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (I like to let the bread rise 1 inch above the top of the pans and then put the bread in a cold oven and turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake the bread for 32 minutes).

LuAnn’s Whole Wheat Bread (with my adaptations)

*Makes 4 loaves

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 tablespoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
2 cups white flour
8-10 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:
Lightly spray bread pans with cooking spray and set aside. Mix the water, sugar, oil, yeast, salt, gluten and dry milk together in the bowl of an electric mixer or by hand. Add the white flour and mix well. Continue adding the whole wheat flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and the dough is soft but not overly sticky. Knead for 10 minutes until a soft, smooth dough has formed. Using oil or cooking spray to grease your hands and countertops, form the dough into 4 loaves. Place the loaves into the bread pans and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let them rise until the dough has risen about 1 1/2 inches above the top of the bread pan. Place the bread pans carefully in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out the bread onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before placing in bags to put in the freezer.
Recipe Source: Mel B.’s mom

Bosch Foolproof Whole Wheat Bread

*Makes 6 loaves

Ingredients:
6 cups warm water
2 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
12-15 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:
Mix 8-9 cups fresh wheat flour and 2 ½ tablespoons yeast together in the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large bowl by hand). Add 6 cups warm water and mix to paste consistency. Cover and let sponge 10-15 minutes. Add salt, honey, oil, and gluten. Mix by hand or if using an electric mixer, turn to speed 1 or 2 as motor bears down and add additional flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (be careful not to add too much flour). Let the mixer knead the dough for five minutes. (If using hands, knead for 10 minutes.) Use oil or cooking spray on your hands to form six equal loaves. Take dough immediately from bowl and fill lightly greased (or nonstick) loaf pans ½ to 2/3 full. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap to keep moist. Let the bread rise until doubled, approximately 1 ½ inches above the top of the pan. Place the bread carefully in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 38 minutes. Let cool completely before placing in bags to put in the freezer.
Recipe Source: Bosch Universal

Basic Peach Jam

from Pick Your Own

 Was a great resource as I am just learning how to make jam and has a lot of information and tips as well as step by step instructions with pictures. Is available on site for many other fruits. Will use again. The jam is good but I want to try Mom's spiced peach jam next.

Zucchini Lasagna

from Mels Kitchen Cafe

Notes: Tastes great! Apparently I only make veggie lasagnas since being married Daniel informed me. Oops. You can taste the cream cheese in this. Next time want to try using an electric mixer to mix cottage cheese and cream cheese to see if it will help it blend better. Used store bought marinara sauce and was great and would easily do again to save work (used about 3/4 bottle I think). Didn't know if the zucchini would be very seasoned, but it was. Cottage cheese I used wasn't liquidy and didn't drain it and had no problem with too much liquid.

Zucchini Lasagna

Yield: Serves 4-6 depending on how many sides and who's eating :)

If you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, the lasagna might have a tad bit more liquid while baking. The 10-15 minute rest at the end should help everything firm up (you can lightly drain the cottage cheese before using, if desired). Look for zucchini (or pick them from your garden) that are more small than large - the larger the zucchini, the more seeds and water it will have. Finally, check below the recipe for a concise, step-by-step on cutting the zucchini thinly for this recipe.

Ingredients

Sauce:
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Lasagna:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
• 3 cups part-skim ricotta or cottage cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 small to medium zucchini
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. While the sauce is cooking, proceed with prepping the rest of the ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, ricotta or cottage cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Trim the knobby ends from each zucchini and cut in half lengthwise (see pictures below) and then slice each half very thinly. The pieces should look like thin, zucchini pasta sheets or noodles. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the garlic and oregano and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of each).
5. To assemble the lasagna, spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the pan. It will be a very thin, splotchy layer - that's ok. Spread out a single layer of zucchini so they aren't overlapping but cover most of the pan. A few empty spots are ok as long as it is mostly covered. Layer four no-boil lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping (I use the Barilla brand that calls for overlapping noodles; consult your particular lasagna noodle box to see if you should use 3 or 4 noodles for each layer - some brands say not to overlap; you basically want the noodles to cover the whole area of the baking pan).
6. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles and spread into a somewhat even layer. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the top, one layer of zucchini and sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella. You'll repeat this two more times (4 noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 3/4 cup sauce, zucchini layer and mozzarella). On the final layer if you have more than 3/4 cup of sauce, that's fine, just use it all.
7. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Here’s a little step-by-step on cutting the zucchini for the lasagna: