Chili and Corn Bread

Last night Greg had two friends come over after work. Three hungry boys seemed like a great night to make the chili and corn bread I've been craving all week. I love chili and have been craving it because it's finally starting to feel like fall and chili and cool weather go perfectly. Needless to say it was a hit, they all loved it and the boys were happy to enjoy a nice home cooked meal because boys living with other boys don't often get that luxury.

Lisa's (MIL) Chili

ground beef
2 cans black beans
2 cans Del Monte tomatoes with jalapenos (I just used crushed tomatoes last night and threw in a few more jalapenos than usual)
1 green pepper
1 onion
3 packets Chili seasoning
1 bottle of beer

If you want it a little hotter add some cayanne pepper and extra jalapenos

-Chop the green pepper and onion and throw them in a pan with the beef.
-Brown the ground beef (the pepper and onion should have enough time to soften up while your browning the beef ... if you're worried you can cook them in some EVOO on their own)
-Put the browned beef, onions and green peppers in a pot and add the black beans, tomatoes, chili seasoning and a bottle of beer
-cook until hot and the strong beer flavor is gone

Sweet Corn Bread

Stolen From allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine the egg, sour cream, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Bread!

In honor of my combination pumpkin and baking phases, I decided to make some pumpkin bread. Tomorrow night I'm planning on making pumpkin ravioli, but Greg took too long to get to the store for me to make the raviolis tonight soooooo I settled for pumpkin bread. It's in the oven now so I'll update you later to tell you how amazing it it (you know it's going to be good) and I promise to take pics, which reminds me I still need to put the pics of last weeks cookie craze up.

I got this recipe from nestie bakingblond, I have no idea where she got it

Pumpkin Bread

1/2 cup oil (canola or vegetable) - I used vegetable
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) ehh I used pumpkin pie filling because that's what I had
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup toasted chopped nuts (optional, like pecans or walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Lightly spray with PAM (or grease and flour) a loaf pan.

In a large bowl wisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmet. Set aside.

In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together the oil, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and eggs until combined. Carefully mix in the flour mixture and stir until well blended. (fold in nuts if using)

Gently pour and spread the battter evenly into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 40-60 mintues or until the top of the loaf springs back slightly when gently pressed. Cool in pan for 10-20 minutes and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Stolen from Beantown Baker

Goat Cheese Bruschetta

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, chopped

goat cheese

~3 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

your favorite crusty bread

Mix the chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro in a bowl.

Add goat cheese to mixture - as much or little as you have/like.

Add olive oil and salt and pepper.

Slice bread and place on cookie sheet. Spoon bruschetta topping onto bread and bake for 8-10 minutes until heated thouroughly.

Poached Garlic Soup with Garlic bread

Stolen From whatscookingamerica.net

Poached Garlic Soup

30 cloves garlic, peeled
7 cups vegetable or chicken broth, divided
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 small new potatoes, peeled, diced and reserved in cold water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
Salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Toasted Garlic-Butter Bread (see recipe below)

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine garlic cloves and 3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth; bring to a boil and poach 15 minutes or until soft. Remove garlic cloves to a small bowl and mash with a fork; set aside for use in make Toasted Garlic-Butter Bread. Cook and reduce chicken broth to a glaze; remove from heat and set aside.

In a large soup pot over low heat, melt butter. Add onion and sauté until soft. Drain potatoes; stir into butter and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add remaining 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth. Increase heat to medium-high; simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes or until the potatoes are softened. Remove from heat and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, puree soup; return to soup pot. Add garlic glaze; stir until well blended.

NOTE: The soup can be made 1 to 2 days in advance up until this stage. Refrigerate until ready to finish.

Stir in heavy cream, milk, salt, and pepper; cook, over low heat, another 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve in soup bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese. Serve with Toasted Garlic-Butter Bread.

Makes 6 servings.

Toasted Garlic-Butter Bread
6 slices sourdough bread, thinly sliced and lightly toasted
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Poached garlic cloves

Preheat broiler. In a small bowl, combine butter and mashed garlic cloves; mash until well blended. Spread garlic mixture evenly over the top of the bread slices. When ready to serve, broil bread for a few seconds or until top is lightly browned and bubbly.

NOTE: Bread can be assembled earlier in the day and placed on a pan. Cover well with plastic wrap.

Stolen From Cooking Light

Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Ingredients

Topping:
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare topping, combine first 4 ingredients until crumbly. Set the mixture aside.

To prepare bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 7 ingredients (flour through nutmeg) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine the pumpkin and next 5 ingredients (pumpkin through eggs) in a bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 209(30% from fat); FAT 6.9g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.4g,poly 2.2g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 31mg; CALCIUM 29mg; SODIUM 252mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2000

Homemade Bagles

Stolen from Baking Bites

Homemade Bagels
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 3/4 cups water, warm (100-110F)
4 cups bread flour (not all purpose)
1 tbsp salt
1 egg, for egg wash

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) combine yeast, sugar and water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir in flour and salt. Mix dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add an additional tablespoon of flour or water, if needed.
If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 8 minutes on a low speed. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and preheat the oven to 400F.

When dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (first quarters, then thirds). Shape each piece into a tight ball as illustrated below, pinching the corners together at the bottom of the piece of dough. When all the balls are shaped, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel.

Once dough balls have rested, the bagel shape can be formed. Using your fingers, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball. Stretch out the dough into a ring with your fingers and be sure to make the hole a little larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as it will shrink slightly while the bagel is expanding during the baking process. Let bagels rest for about 10 minutes.

Working four at a time, drop the bagels carefully into the boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and boil for an additional minute. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer bagels to a clean towel to drain for a moment, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining bagels.
Brush boiled bagels with lightly beaten egg (a pastry or bbq brush is a good tool for this) and bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Slice and toast to serve.

Makes 12 bagels.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Stolen from Baking Bites

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp paking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

10 tbsp butter, cold and cut into 10 pieces

4 tbsp peanut butter

1 1/8 cup milk (1 c + 2 tbsp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add butter and peanut butter and pulse a few times, until mixture resembles very large, coarse crumbs. Add mini chocolate chips.
Combine milk and vanilla extract. With the motor of the food processor running, pour in milk. Stop when the dough starts to come together into a ball. Try not to fun the food processor any more than necessary.
Divide dough into three or four pieces and pat each piece into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle of dough into 4 or 5 pieces, to make 16 triangular scones. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 16-20 minutes at 400F, until light golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container if not eating right away.
The scones are best within two days of baking made.
Makes 16 scones.

French Baguettes

These are really easy and really yummy. The last time I made them I also threw some rosemary into one of the batches which was a nice addition.

The only downside to these is that if you're puppy happens to get a hold of one of the rising loaves your screwed and can expect a $750 vet bill. Yes our wonderful little Puddles ate one, got drunk and shit her brains out at the emergency vets office at 2 am. It was going to be expensive anyway, but in the interest of not getting shit on while we slept Greg and I decided to have them watch her overnight. Of course the poop isn't really why we left her, she was drunk and we wanted to make sure she was going to be ok.

Stolen from Allrecipes.com

French Baguettes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

1. Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle, and press Start.
2. When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.