Simple White Bread!

I've tried many bread recipes over the years and there's a few that I stick to, mainly because they're the ones that I know for sure will turn out well and taste great. This is one of the easiest recipes I have and after realizing this morning that I was completely out of bread, I decided it was the perfect one to use because I don't have to worry about kneading or letting it rise for an hour or two. Surprisingly though, it tastes really good, I think actually one of the best tasting breads I've had in a while. Wow!

 

Simple White Bread

 

2 cups of warm milk 

2 packets of instant dry yeast 

1 whole egg 

1/3 cup of vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 teaspoon salt 

4 cups of all purpose flour 

 

 

With an electric beater, mix the milk, yeast, egg, oil, sugar and salt.  Add the flour  and using a wooden spoon, mix the dough until smooth....the dough will be soft and more like a batter. 

 

Pour the dough into two greased loaf pans, fill about halfway as this dough will rise a LOT. Yes I know, doesn't exactly look like bread does it, more like a cake batter... but don't mock it till you try it....though I admit at this point I was starting to question the whole bread thing, see I'm a lover not a fighter cook not a baker.  

 

 Preheat the oven to 350 º and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (this just sounds more and more like cake doesn't it?) 

 

 Make sure not to open the door of the oven AT ALL while the bread is baking, you don't want to mess it up, or whatever it is that happens when you open the oven door and things turn out yucky. Again I'm NOT a baker!

Cajun Spiced Chicken with Bacon and Cheese!

One of our favorite sandwiches, really they're a meal on their own and you don't even need to make a side dish. If you do want one, you could always serve these with some potato wedges or fries. I first saw this recipe on one of the blogs online and I jotted it down but completely lost the link, so if this is from your site, please let me know. 

 

Cajun Spiced Chicken with Bacon and Cheese

 

 

You will need: 

2 skinless chicken breast fillets - sliced into thinnish strips 

4 rashers of streaky bacon - cut into 1 inch pieces 

1 handful of grated Cheddar cheese 

2 crusty baguettes  

 

For the marinade mix together the following: 

 2 teaspoons of cornflour, 

2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 

2 teaspoons of Cajun spice mix. 

 

 

Put the chicken strips into the marinade mixture for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, drizzle some olive oil over the baguettes or french bread and pop in the oven for about 20 minutes until nice and warm and toasty. 

 

 

In a skillet, fry the bacon until cooked and almost crunchy. Remove the bacon, don't drain the drippings, you'll need it to cook the chicken. This is not exactly a healthy recipe that's why we don't have it very often, but once in a while it's good to throw caution or diet or whatever to the wind and indulge. 

 

Remove the bacon and set to one side. Now drain off the excess marinade from the chicken and fry the chicken in the same pan as you used for the bacon. 

 

Just before your chicken is cooked through, put the bacon back in to heat through. 

 

Pull the bread out of the oven and top with the chicken and bacon.

Sprinkle on the shredded cheese and pop back in the oven for about 5 minutes until it's melted and gooey. ENJOY!

Mexican Potato Casserole!

OH MY WORD is all I have to say. I just had two big helpings, I'm full, more like about to burst actually but it was worth every bite. This recipe got rave reviews from the family, even the kids had two helpings and that is saying a LOT because usually we have days that we can't even get them to eat a bite of their dinner. I got this recipe from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. You should go by there and take a look at the amazing food they have.

Mexican Potato Casserole

 

4 medium potatoes, with peel 

4 Tablespoons butter 

1 envelope taco seasoning 

1 pound lean ground beef 

1/2 cup chopped onion 

2 cups salsa 

1 cup chopped peppers (red, green or yellow) *I omitted the peppers since my kids don't like them* 

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese 

 

 

Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in greased casserole dish. Melt butter...stir in taco seasoning.

Pour over the potatoes and stir to coat well. 

 

Bake uncovered at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Stir...bake 10 minutes longer.

Brown and crumble beef; add onion and cook until soft...then drain. Stir in salsa and chopped peppers.

Pour over potatoes. 

 

 Top with grated cheese. 

 

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. 

 

Menu Plan Monday October 20

Hey Ladies, come on into my kitchen and see what I'm cooking this week.

MENU PLAN

Monday 20th

B: Biscuit Donuts
L: Chicken Soup
D: Portuguese Bean Soup

Tuesday 21st

B: Cereal, Milk
L: Lean Pocket, Veggies
D: Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Wednesday 22nd

B: Toast w/ Blackberry Preserves
L: Soup, Yogurt
D: Cajun Spiced Chicken w/ Bacon and Cheese

Thursday 23rd

B: Cereal, Milk
L: Salad
D: Shepherd's Pie

Friday 24th

B: Sausage Biscuits, Apple Juice
L: Grilled Cheese and Tomato
D: Cornish pastries w/ potato wedges

Saturday 25th

B: Scrambled Eggs, Sausage
L: Sub Sandwiches
D: Spaghetti w/ bacon and mushrooms


Sunday 26th

B: FFYB (Fend for yourself breakfast)
L: Chicken Nuggets, Mac & Cheese
D: Portuguese Chicken and Rice

Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings

Beef stew is glorious on it's own but when it's paired with potato dumplings then, oh then, it's just beyond words.

One of my favorite blogs is Marie's, she has some of THE best recipes I've ever seen, so when I found this one while browsing her older posts, I immediately bookmarked it to try.

I veered off her original recipe a bit, mainly because this calls for the stew to cook on the stove top but I was going to be out of the house all day, hence, I dumped it into the Slow Cooker.

*Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings*

Credit: A Year From Oak Cottage
Serves 5

A delicious rich gravy full of tender pieces of beef and tasty vegetables, this is a meal that generally cooks itself. Except for the potato dumplings it takes very little effort at all, but my oh my, is it ever good when it is done . . . not to mention quite economical.

1-1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into bite size chunks
4 slices of streaky bacon, chopped
1 TBS butter (I used a little oil instead of butter)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 TBS flour
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 of a swede, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cupful) (I didn't add this, it's turnip BTW)
1 (10 1/2 oz) tin of condensed beef broth
1 TBS vinegar

For the dumplings:
1 egg
3/4 cup soft white breadcrumbs
1 TBS flour
1 TBS finely chopped onion
1 TBS snipped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
2 1/2 cups finely shredded raw potato

I use my electric skillet for this. Melt the butter in the skillet on high heat until it foams. Throw in the meat and bacon. Stir around and cook until it begins to brown. Throw in the onions and cook until the onions are quite tender. Stir in the flour and mix around until it is absorbed by all the drippings. Stir in the broth, 3/4 cup of water and the vinegar. Add the carrots and the swede. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer, covered, until quite tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours make the potato dumplings. Combine the beaten egg, breadcrumbs, flour, onion, parsley and seasonings in a bowl. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from out of the potatoes and then stir them into the mixture, combining everything really well. With floured fingers shape the mixture into ten 2-inch balls. Dust lightly with more flour before dropping on top of the simmering stew. Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes.

Spoon out onto warm plates allowing each person 2 dumplings and enjoy!

***********************************************

I added a little oil, then the meat and onions, cooked it for a little until the meat turned brown and added the bacon. Cooked it for a few minutes longer.

Stir in the flour and mix around until it is absorbed by all the drippings. At this point, I moved my crockpot dish into the base.

Stir in the broth, 3/4 cup of water and the vinegar.I also added the carrots at this point.

I set my crockpot to cook 6 hours on LOW.
About an hour before the stew is done, combine all the dumplings ingredients in a medium bowl.

When you have 30 minutes left on the crockpot, spoon dumplings into the stew.

Spoon out onto warm plates allowing each person 2 dumplings and enjoy!