Tag: quick

No Knead Bread stuffed with chili peppers & Cheese! (Pan relleno de chiles y queso!)

After I posted a photo of my homemade bread stuffed with cream cheese and candied chili peppers in a Facebook group, everyone all but demanded I show them how to do it. Of course I agreed happily, as any excuse to make this wonderful bread is welcomed in my house. I have to thank Steve Gamelin off of YouTube who has taught me so much about making bread easily. I have adapted this technique and hope to show you many recipes using the no knead overnight method. If you would like to check out his book, and I HIGHLY suggest you do because it is awesome. Here a link to amazon where it can be purchased or borrowed with amazon unlimited. My No-Knead Bread Cookbook (B&W Version): From the Kitchen of Artisan Bread with Steve.
I decided to make 4 larger sized rolls with this recipe so I used 1/2 block of cream cheese and 4 ounces of jalapenos but you can make 6, just adjust the recipe accordingly.


No Knead Bread stuffed with chili peppers & Cheese! (Pan relleno de chiles y queso!)
 
Prep time
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Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Dough:
  • 3 cups all purpose or bread flour (unbleached is best)
  • 12 ounces of cool water
  • ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Fillings:
  • 1 ounce cream cheese per piece of bread
  • 1 ounce pickled/candied jalapenos per piece of bread
Topping: (optional)
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Suggested Materials:
  • Baking stone that can go at least 450° F
  • Parchment paper cut to the size of your stone
  • Wire cooling rack
  • Bowl/bench scrapper
  • Large glass bowl
  • Plastic wrap
  • Silicone brush
Instructions
  1. At least 8 hours before you want to make the bread, (14 is better), mix the dough ingredients in a bowl like shown in the video. A large glass bowl works best for you. Cover with plastic wrap and let set on your kitchen counter overnight. If your house is cold/drafty place into the oven and close the door. This should help keep it slightly warmer.
  2. Once your dough as more than double in size, scrape it out onto a well floured work surface. Form it into a ball as shown in the video and divide into 4 or 6 pieces. Take one piece of dough at a time and flatten it into about the size of your hand (roughly 6in x 3in). Place your cream cheese and jalapenos on top and pinch it closed. (really watch the video, much easier than describing it)
  3. Place onto parchment paper or baking sheet. Repeat with all pieces of dough. Cover with a flour sack towel or any lint free towel and let rise on your counter for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes get your oven preheating to 450°F and set your timer for an additional 30 minutes. In total dough should rise for 120 minutes (2 hours). If you don't have a pizza stone please see NOTES
  4. After 2 hours, prepare your egg wash by mixing water and egg thoroughly. Use your silicone brush to thoroughly baste the tops of the dough with egg. Cut 2 or 3 slashes onto the tops with scissors and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
  5. Put into a hot oven on a pizza stone for 20-25 minutes. Bread should be nicely browned and when you tap on the bottom they sound hallow. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into them. If you skip the step the dough might not be cooked all the way through... and that would be sad. 🙁
  6. Store in the fridge for 3 days at most for best results.
Notes
Bread can be frozen if desired. Cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Store in a zip top bag and use within a few months.

If you do not have a pizza stone you CAN make this without, you just might not get as good of crust. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or sprinkle down cornmeal on the bottom to prevent sticking. Let dough rise for 1 hour 45 minutes. Preheat the oven for only 15 minutes and baking directly on the tray. Remove from the tray onto rack when done cooking.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bread (4 portions) Calories: 468 Fat: 11 Saturated fat: 6 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 73 Sugar: 1 Sodium: 508 Fiber: 3 Protein: 16 Cholesterol: 83
 

Healthy Cornbread – Whole grain, low fat, and dairy free!

Healthy Cornbread - Whole grain, low fat, and dairy free!
 
This recipe is a culmination of MANY years of tweaking many recipes I have found online. I wanted to try to use something other than sugar and no milk products but yet still have a "tangy" taste. This recipe fits the bill and best of all it only 170 calories per slice!
Author:
Serves: 8 slices
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 5-8 tablespoons maple syrup (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar for sprinkling, optional (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla, optional (see note)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°c. Once preheated add in a large cast iron skillet or a metal baking tray and preheat for another 5-10 minutes.
  2. In a large mixing bowl add in all your dry ingredients, mix well, and set aside. In another bowl mix all your wet ingredients except 1 tablespoon of the oil. Set these aside until your skillet or pan is heated.
  3. After the 5-10 minutes of preheating your skillet, carefully remove it from your oven and add in your 1 tablespoon of oil. Use a brush if available to spread the oil around the bottom and sides to prevent sticking, this also creates a very yummy crust.
  4. RIGHT before adding it to the pan completely mix the wet into the dry ingredients removing any lumps. Add the mixture from a height to remove large air bubbles and make sure it coats the bottom of the pan. Return to oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Let cool in pan 20 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
In this recipe I used maple syrup. You can replace it with honey or another liquid sweetener if you choose. If you would like to use sugar you'll need to add ½ cup to ¾ cup depending on sweetness and another ¼ to ½ cup of water to adjust the consistency. For a mild tasting cornbread only add 5 tablespoons of maple syrup (even then it's slightly sweet), this is great for mixing with spicy chili. If serving as more sweet add 8 tablespoons maple syrup.

I used about 1 teaspoon of sugar to sprinkle on the top because it makes the top crunchy, this is totally optional and usually I don't do it!

I don't normally add vanilla but if you want a more dessert tasting cornbread add 1 tablespoon of real vanilla extract.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 170 Fat: 5 Saturated fat: 3 Unsaturated fat: 1 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 28 Sugar: 9 Sodium: 261 Fiber: 3 Protein: 4 Cholesterol: 26
 

No Oil Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

One thing I want to note, I left this recipe up because some people genuinely enjoy it, BUT this recipe is VERY high in salt. Please try out one of my other pancake recipes if you cannot eat a lot of salt. Personally I don’t use this recipe anymore because the pancakes would come out kinda salty.

No Oil Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes
 
Prep time
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So I already have a couple pancake recipes on this website but I doubt one more would hurt! This is a slightly edited version of the recipe found in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes. While the original recipe is really good I found with a few minor adjustments you can change it up and make it even better. Make sure to try it out with my Blueberry Maple Syrup recipe, it was one of the best breakfasts I'd had in along time!
Author:
Serves: 6 pancakes
Ingredients
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat All Purpose flour (see variation note)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1½ tablespoons baking powder pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon rice flour (or extra wheat flour for thickening)
Instructions
  1. Get your pan preheating over medium heat. You will want a good nonstick pan for this since there is no extra oils added, if you don't have that then get your best nonstick and a SMALL amount of oil spray.
  2. In a mixing bowl, add your flours (minus rice flour), baking powder, pinch of salt, and cinnamon. Stir well to combine. In a smaller bowl (or mason jar) add your water, vinegar, and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk. You do not want any clumps of flour mixture remaining. If your batter seems loose add 1 tablespoon of rice flour, or wheat flour, and set aside for 5-10 minutes. You don't have to let the batter set but as I was making these I noticed the 3 and 4th pancake turned out better than the beginning.
  3. Add ¼ cup of batter to your pan at a time and cook for about 2 minutes. You know it's time to flip when the pancakes are all bubbly onto and the edges are cooked. Cook for 1-2 minutes on the second side and serve warm. These will last in the fridge for about 3-5 days if tightly wrapped but I doubt they will last that long!
Notes
VARIATIONS (as seen in photo) : the variation I made was I used ¾ cup whole wheat all-purpose flour, ¼ cup kaput flour, and 1 cup whole wheat flour. This is not required as Kamut is a variation of wheat but it has great flavor and nutrition. If you can find it make sure to store it in the freezer with your whole wheat flour for best nutrition retention. Any other gluten containing flour could be used instead of kamut, Rye for instances would be a great addition.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 pancake Calories: 170 Fat: 1 Saturated fat: 0 Unsaturated fat: 0 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 39 Sugar: 8 Sodium: 1948 Fiber: 4 Protein: 6 Cholesterol: 0

 

How to make: Vanilla Extract

 

How to make: Vanilla Extract
 
Have you ever wondered how they make vanilla extract, or been curious why they can taste so different from brand to brand? Well some brand actually use chemicals in the processing of their extracts, leading you ingesting poisons you would rather not have, but I have a solution for you! Just make you own like I do. Now that might sound confusing and borderline scary, but once you try this I promise you'll never buy the junky overpriced stuff in the store.
Author:
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 10 long sized (6-7") vanilla beans (see notes)
  • 14-15 ounces clear and unflavored vodka
  • 16 ounce GLASS container , amber works best
  • scissors
Instructions
  1. If your beans are older you can snap them, otherwise, use your scissors and cut 10 beans into ½ inch - 1 inch pieces and put them inside a glass container that's at-least 16 ounces and has a tight fitting lid. Pour in 14 - 15 ounces of a clear unflavored vodka. I just use the cheapest vodka at the store, but if you want you can use the more expensive stuff. The important part is to not get flavored vodka or a mix vodka, this will ruin the final flavor and is a waste of good vanilla beans.
  2. After you add the vodka, put on the cap and shake gently to help the process along. You will notice that it will already turn a slightly browner color and you might see little black specs, this is normal and is what will make your homemade extract 100 times better than store-bought in the end. Put your extract in a darker place, away from direct sunlight. An amber bottle will help with this, but since they're hard to find, storing away from sunlight works best. For the first week, try to shake it once a day, I find this helps give the best results.
  3. Minimum time for soaking is 2 weeks, this will give a weaker flavor, but still comparable to something in the store. One month is best for a full flavored extract that is slightly stronger than double strength at the store.
  4. At this point you can strain out the vanilla pods in a coarse mesh strainer (you want the seeds to fall through) or you can leave them in there. After about 2 months time, the extract will not get any stronger. At this stage you will have something super flavorful that makes this more than worth your while. As seen in the video it bests VERY dark and wonderful. The smell is something that cannot be described and the taste is nothing like vanilla from a bottle in the super market.
Notes
Some of you might be saying to yourself that making homemade vanilla extract would cost a small fortune, and you very well could be right. If you go to buy vanilla pods in the store they're usually 2 pods for 10 dollars USD, however, I have been using vanilla beans purchased off the Internet for years now with no issues. I purchase mine on eBay from a VERY well known and respected seller,CLICK HERE, please note that I am NOT being paid to advertise these people, I just like their products. I use grade B or extract grade vanilla, planifolia aka Madagascar bourbon beans. You can use grade a but it does not yield any better results, I have tried it. You can also use Tahitian vanilla but they do tend to be more expensive. I always suggest buying a pound of beans, this saves you a lot of money on shipping and the final product. After shipping it only costs about 31 dollars and will last you many years. Over time they dry out and are only good for extract, but I am on 3 years and the beans still produce an amazing flavored extract. Store vanilla in a tight fitting container, like a quart sized wide mouth mason jar away from direct sunlight. If your vanilla gets white mold of them , obviously throw them away or compost them.
 

S.M.A.R.T : Tomatoes Week – Bruschetta

So for this weeks SMART meal we were given the topic of tomatoes, wonderful! Tomatoes are such a versatile fruit to use in just about everything from curry, to condiments. Let’s not forget the old stand-by of pasta sauce, but my favorite way to eat tomatoes is raw. About a month ago I did a recipe on bruschetta and I knew I had to make it again because it’s just that tasty.
In total this cost me about $6.00 to make and you could easily get 6 servings, making it only $1.00 a serving.

For the original recipe go to: HERE
The only variation between this and that is I didn’t have fresh parsley this time, so instead I used some dried oregano. Would have been better with some fresh basil or parsley, but sometimes we need to make due without.