French bread brought to a whole new level!

One of the recipes I get asked about the most often is my homemade French Bread recipe. This recipe is SO easy and so light and airy. Baking this bread at the high temperature of 450 also gives this bread a crispy outer layer and keeps the inside soft and tender. This bread also can be made and the extra loaves frozen for later. Serve this bread with any pasta dish, turn it into garlic cheese bread, or use as a sandwich like I did below.

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Here is the French Bread recipe (this amount makes 2 loaves):
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar
Add these ingredients together and let sit until bubbly
1 T. salt
1/3 c. canola or vegetable oil
6 c. flour

In a mixer add the water, yeast, sugar, vinegar, and 3 c. of the flour. Mix until combined. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until bubbly and foamy. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour and knead for 5 minutes. Once the dough is combined and has been kneaded, let the bowl and dough sit on the counter until it doubles in size. You can also do the quick method by putting the bowl in your oven on the bottom shelf with a small pot of boiling water. This will help the dough stay soft and rise more quickly. Either method will work great. Once the dough has risen to the top of the bowl, punch it down and let it rise again. You can do this as many times as you have time for (one is only needed though). The more times you punch down your dough, the more air bubbles your bread will have.

Put the dough on a greased counter top and divide into 2 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into long rectangle shapes. Slash the tops of the loaves bread 3-5 times. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled). Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes-until top of bread is golden brown.

Now that you have this AMAZING French Bread recipe you need to try this loaded sandwich. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs and it was de-licious!! It was shown as an appetizer, and that is what I used it for, but it could easily be made for a quick week night meal. Here is my version of the recipe (I made a few changes):

Loaded French Bread

1 loaf french bread, cut in half lengthwise (This mixture for me actually made two loaves worth)
1/2 stick butter, softened (not melted)
2 heaping Tbsp. Mayonnaise (stick with the real stuff, not low-fat)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese (or you could use more mozzarella)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can olives, sliced
20 slices pepperoni, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, sliced, then roughly chopped
2-3 green onions, sliced and chopped
1/2 c. sliced banana peppers (these were my favorite part of the sandwich--the vinegar taste of the pepper was perfect in this mixture)
1 c. grape tomatoes (or regular), cut in half
Garlic powder, basil, Italian seasoning, etc. as desired

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients (except for the bread) using a spatula or wooden spoon.

When everything is mixed together really well, spread the mixture evenly over the bread and bake at 325-degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly crispy. Cut up into individual slices and serve.

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Feta Fun!!

Do you love feta cheese as much as I do? It is probably one of my absolute favorite cheeses. I don't know if it is the salty flavor or the smooth texture I love more--but, boy..it is delightful! I had ground beef thawed in my fridge today and I was dreaming of a feta filled hamburger. I have never had this before, but I imagined it being yummy! So..I did a little research and created my own recipe that was FANTASTIC! I even had a second small helping tonight because it was SO good (late night snacks are okay for pregnant people, right??).

Before I get to the recipe, here is a tip to save money on your bread budget. I didn't want to go to the store for $2.50 whole wheat hamburger buns, so I found an easy way around it. I was making wheat bread this morning and decided to make a few hamburger buns while I was at it. I used the same dough and just formed them into large roll shapes. They cooked up perfectly and made for the perfect INEXPENSIVE hamburger bun--fabulous!

Okay, here is my made up recipe for these fantastic Feta Burgers (play around with the amounts of items, I didn't measure, so these are just estimates):


Stuffed Feta Burgers
2 lbs. lean ground beef (ground turkey would also work great)
Montreal Steak Seasoning (good amount!)
2-3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. garlic powder
2 t. dried parsley
1 egg
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
Large chunk of feta cheese (I prefer the Greek Feta that is sold at Costco in a large square block--it is softer and has better flavor. Feta freezes well if you won't use up the whole package).
1 package hamburger buns (or homemade) Brush each side with a little olive oil or butter and broil for 30 seconds to a minute until golden brown.

Mix all together (minus the feta) and form half of the mixture into 7 patties. Put a large chunk of feta cheese on top of each half of the patties. Put the remaining beef mixture flattened on top of each patty, covering the feta cheese. Grill burgers until cooked through on the grill (dust off the snow on your outdoor grill, it will be worth the effort to have the yummy charcoal flavor!)

Serve burgers on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber sauce (below):

Cucumber Sauce (this is what makes these burgers)
1/4-1/3 c. mayonnaise (not low fat, you don't want a sweet flavor--sorry!)
1/4 c. sour cream
2 t. dried dill weed
1/2 t. garlic salt
Dash of lemon juice
1 small cucumber, peeled and shredded
Ground pepper
1/2 t. parsley
Salt to taste (it should be salty and tangy with the lemon juice)

Mix together and chill until ready to serve with burgers.

Enjoy!

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Delicious version of a family favorite...Taco Soup!

There are nearly 100 ways you can make taco soup, but this version is definitely my favorite! I like the ground beef taco soup okay, but this chicken chili is not only healthier, but I believe tastes even better. The other aspect of this soup that makes it different than other recipes is the vegetables in this soup. During the summer I throw any vegetable I can find into this soup--zucchini from the garden, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. Garden vegetables make this soup even better, but ones from the store also do the trick. My favorite vegetables to add are bell peppers (any color works great), zucchini (and yellow squash if you can find it), onions, and green chiles. I also play around with this recipe and add some more seasoning, double to beans (I like more beans in my soup--plus, it makes the recipe stretch further), and as many canned/diced tomatoes as you would like. This recipe is very flexible and can be adapted to any families needs (vegetarian also works great). Top this soup with fat free sour cream, juice of a lime, a little cheese, and you have a healthy and delicious meal. (For those familiar with Weight Watchers, this recipe is VERY low in fat and high in fiber-only 3-4 points for an entire bowl!) It is the New Year right...we have to worry about things like that-ugh!

Summer Chicken Chili
*This recipes works GREAT as a freezer meal. Double or triple the recipe and put the extra in Ziploc freezer bags for later
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium white onion
1 bell pepper, chopped fine (any color)
2 cans pinto beans, drained
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans corn, drained
16 oz. thick and chunky mild salsa
3 chicken breasts (uncooked)
1/2 -2 T. chili powder
14 oz. cans chicken broth (or 2 c. water and 2 T. chicken base/bouillon)
1 can diced tomatoes
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 garlic, pressed
1t. ground cumin
2 T. lime juice (fresh or from a bottle)

Sauté onion, zucchini, pepper, chili powder and garlic until onions are tender. Add other seasonings and lime juice. Add chicken breasts (cut in half or quarters) and the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes after coming to a boil, or until chicken is tender and begins to fall apart. Take out large pieces of chicken and shred. Return shredded chicken to soup. Simmer until ready to serve. Top with chips, cheese, sour cream, extra lime juice, cilantro, etc.

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Homemade Salsa & Canned Chili

This is one of my favorite fall activities..to make homemade salsa and chili with all of the tomatoes from our garden. The great thing about making salsa and chili at the same time is that they are made with pretty close to the same ingredients, so you save steps my doing them together. The base of salsa and chili is pureed tomatoes (keep the skins ON and just puree them until smooth in a food processor), chopped peppers, onions, garlic, and jalapenos (chop those in your food processor as well). There are two MUST haves when making large batches of chili and salsa..a large roaster pan (I use this for everything, it holds a lot and can cook up to 500 degrees if needed) and a food processor. These two items simplify the process and make cooking time MUCH easier.

For the homemade chili, I don't have an exact recipe (sorry!), I just dump in a bunch of ingredeints, taste it and play around with several different spices. Here is the steps though to making homemade chili (from DRY beans..a GREAT way to use those dried beans in your storage).

First, I cook about 12-15 c. of DRIED pinto beans in my roaster pan with twice as much water as beans. I pour about 1/4 c. of baking soda in with the beans and water (this is supposed to help the beans cook faster and cut down on the 'gasiness' of the beans--or, is that just rumor??) I then boil the beans until they are soft which takes about 4-6 hours (or longer if your beans are older).


(cooking the dried beans)
Once the beans are soft I try to take out as much of the 'bean water' as I can (it gets dark and gray). I then puree about 4 processor containers full of garden tomatoes (rinsed and pureed--with skins on). This is probably about 30-40 tomatoes.


I then puree about 3-4 bell peppers, 3 large onions, 5 cloves of garlic all together in the processor. I then pour the tomatoes and pepper/onion mixture into the beans and let it simmer another couple of hours until the chili begins to get thick (with the lid off). I then saute about 4-5lbs. of sausage and 1-2 lbs. of hamburger (you can use all one or the other, or use turkey burger to make it even healthier...or, omit the meat all together and have a meatless chili).

I then add the seasonings and meat into the chili--thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt & pepper, etc. I then add about 6 cans of tomato sauce and a little water if the chili is too thick. Let it simmer until ready to serve and you are set!

Now..what do we do with all of this chili you ask? Well, my husband has a yearly 'fall kick-off' party at our house where we serve navajo tacos to all of our friends and family, watch a scary movie, and eat lots of 'fall' desserts--pumpkin rolls, cinnamon rolls, and pumpkin cookies...yum! With the chili that is left (there is always still LOTS left), I freeze in gallon freezer bags for later freezer meals. I love having chili in the freezer for quick meal ideas (chili dogs, chili & cornbread, navajo tacos, etc.). Chili freezes great and even gets better and more flavorful the longer it sits. YUM, YUM, YUM!!



If you would like my favorite recipe for bottled and fresh salsa, visit our blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com :)

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