Menu Plan Monday

Hello everyone, I'm back today with my menu plan for the next week. 

I have meals planned until Thursday, Friday we will either eat out or have something super simple, and then Saturday morning I'll be headed to the commissary for my grocery shopping, so you'll see the new meal plan the following week.

 

Skillet Fried Smoked Sausage and Potatoes, Steamed Mixed Veggies

 

 

 Texas Hash

Breaded Fish Fillets, Black Eyed Pea Salad

Shepherd's Pie

Homemade Cheesy Garlic Pizza

Sandwich Bread Loaf

 
I already have a few bread recipes posted, but you can never have enough, at least that is what I honestly believe.

I've had this recipe sitting around for a while and honestly hadn't even given it a thought because my usual go to loaves are the Buttermilk ones.

But I wanted something different today, and this recipe looked easy enough to try.  What I wasn't counting on was the fact that it would turn out to be darn near perfect bread.

Now I've made many loaves through the years, some have been good, some not so great, but I've always gotten a pretty good rise out of the bread.  Or at least I thought, until these happened.

They started rising like crazy in the pan before even going in the oven, and by the time they were done, they had popped up and over.  I was actually shocked at how big they got.

I'm thinking, this may just be my new favorite go to bread recipe.  Super easy to make, perfect rise, perfect texture, and the best sandwich bread you'll find.

I got the recipe from Noreen, you can find her at her blog or on Youtube.

Noreen’s Sandwich Bread Loaf

4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons instant dry milk powder


Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your mixer fitted with the dough hook. 



Allow ingredients to come together in the mixing bowl.  If dough seems too dry add a tablespoon of water at a time if it seems too wet, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough reaches the desired consistency. 

The dough should not be sticking to the bottom of the bowl.  It should move around the bowl and the hook freely.   Allow the dough to knead for 5 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl and oil the bowl and return the dough and oil the dough as well.  

Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for at least 1 hour or until double in size. Deflate the dough gently and turn it out onto a board without additional flour.

Press into a rectangle that is slightly smaller on the short side than your bread pan.  Roll the dough into a log, keeping the spiral tight.

Pinch the seam together and push each end into itself and pull the bottom layer up over each end and pinch to close.

Place loaf into an oiled bread pan and cover. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Allow to rise for an additional 30 to 45 minutes until the dough has double and/or crowned to at least 1 inch above the rim of the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until browned and when tapped, the loaf sounds hollow inside. 

Remove from oven and immediately remove bread from the pan. Allow to cool on a baking rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. 

Bread will slice much better once it has cooled completely.

Belgian Waffles

We all have waffle recipes, some we love more than others, some are plain and simple, others are more elaborate like Waffles with Vanilla Custard, or  Banana Nut Buttermilk Waffles.

But there are times when one wishes to try a good ol' Belgian Waffle.

This recipe is super simple to make, they taste pretty good and they also create a nice crispy edge, which personally I love.

Belgian Waffles

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1⁄2 cup oil
2 cups milk


Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Separate the eggs.

In small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.

Mix together the egg yolks, milk and oil and stir slightly.  Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
Fold in beaten egg whites.

Use 1/4 cups mix per waffle in your hot waffle iron.

Pepperoni Rolls

Hello everyone, I'm sure you're quite surprised to see a post from me.  It's been a while, a couple of months actually but I've missed this little corner of the web, and most of all I've missed having a place for my recipes.

I've often been trying to menu plan only to realize that I have nothing new on the blog to look back on, not even my menu plans.

So, I need to get that fixed and am planning to start up again posting recipes and doing my Monday Menu Plan.  I don't know how many of you are still around, hopefully there are a few left?  If so, leave me a quick comment below so I know you're still here :)

I thought my first recipe back would be these quick and easy Pepperoni Rolls.  I was going to make them for my daughter's birthday last week and ended up not getting around to them because I already had so much food.

These are quick to make, bake up beautifully and are tasty, kids especially will enjoy these.

Pepperoni Rolls

Refrigerated Biscuits
Pepperoni Slices
Block of Cheese
Garlic powder, Italian Seasoning


Flatten the biscuits out, I like to use the palm of my hand for this.

In the middle of each biscuit place a slice of pepperoni and a little square of cheese.  Just cut the cheese into slices and then into squares.  Season with garlic powder and italian seasoning, then gather up the edges of the biscuits into a little pouch.

Place seam side down into a greased baking dish.

Sprinkle on some more garlic and italian seasoning, and last I like to sprinkle on grated parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 for 18 minutes.

Serve with Pizza sauce.  Enjoy!!

Hamburger Buns

I already have a recipe for homemade hamburger and hotdog buns, here on the blog, but this is a different one and I think I prefer this one for the hamburger buns, to be honest.

The other recipe is great for the hotdog buns though, so give that one a try.

Yesterday I was making sloppy joes for dinner and realized that I had completely forgotten to buy the bread.  Good thing about making your own is that you don't have to rush out to spend money, and they usually turn out better, cheaper and more delicious than store bought anyway.

These do take time to rise, but aside from that, they are easily one of the easiest bread recipes you'll find.

Hamburger Buns

Source:  Chef John

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (such as Fleischmann's ActiveDry Yeast(R))
1 pound all-purpose flour, or as needed - divided
1 cup warm water (105 degrees F/41 degrees C)
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk


Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Place yeast into bowl of a large stand mixer; whisk in 1/2 cup flour and warm water until smooth. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk 1 egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt thoroughly into yeast mixture. Add remaining flour (about 3 cups).

Fit a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape sides if needed. Poke and prod the dough with a silicone spatula; if large amounts of dough stick to the spatula, add a little more flour.

Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be sticky and elastic but not stick to your fingers. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
Wipe out stand mixer bowl, drizzle olive oil into the bowl, and turn dough over in the bowl several times to coat surface thinly with oil. Cover bowl with aluminum foil. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.

Transfer dough to a floured work surface and pat to flatten bubbles and form into a slightly rounded rectangle of dough about 5x10 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. Dust dough lightly with flour if needed. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round shape, gently tucking ends underneath as before.

Use your hands to gently pat and stretch the dough rounds into flat disc shapes about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange buns about 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Dust buns very lightly with flour. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the baking sheet (do not seal tightly). Let buns rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Beat 1 egg with milk in a small bowl, using a fork, until mixture is thoroughly combined. Very gently and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash without deflating the risen dough.

Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Buns will stick together slightly where they touch. Let cool completely, tear the buns apart, and slice in half crosswise to serve.