No Knead White/Wheat Bread

We don't really buy bread often.  There's only 2 of us at home and we just can't eat the loaf of bread quickly enough (and I HATE throwing food away).

 I got a craving the other day for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich the other day... i'm also lazy and didn't feel like leaving the house to go to the grocery store.  So I made bread from scratch!  (that's a normal thing to do... right?!)

This was totally worth it!  This recipe isn't quick to make but the flavor is great and the crust on the bread is fantastic.

No Knead White/Wheat Bread:
(adapted King Arthur Flour)

3 cups lukewarm water

4 cups white flour

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups wheat flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 packet instant yeast

Directions:

*The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix everything together to make a rough, sticky dough. I used a stand mixer.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days if you prefer a tangier bread.

When you're ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough.  It'll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface and round it into a ball. Place the dough onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top to help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won't appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to settle and expand. Preheat the oven to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass or Pyrex) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

When you're ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2" deep. The bread may deflate a bit.

Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath.

Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown.  Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Yield: 3 or 4 loaves, depending on size.

Broiled Chicken Wings

I love chicken wings.  Mr. T is responsible for that.  When we were younger we frequented many All You Can Eat wing nights, which are a staple of any college town.

I've been trying to learn how to make decent wings at home for a while.  I'm not going to fry wings at home so I was on a quest to find another option.  I saw this recipe on Skinnytaste's website and decided to give it a try for our New Year's Eve celebration this year.  

They turned out really well!!  These aren't fried wings and won't taste like fried wings but they do get crisp in the oven and the flavor is amazing.  I will be making these again.

Broiled Chicken Wings:
(Skinnytaste)

3 pounds chicken wings
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon Frank’s hot sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon oregano
4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt and fresh pepper


In a large bowl combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, vinegar, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and let marinate for 30 minutes.


Place wings on a broiler rack and broil on low, about 8 inches from the flame for about 10-12 minutes on each side. Be careful not to burn the wings and continue to turn the wings in order to get all of the sides crisp.  Make sure the chicken cooked before removing the wings from the oven.


While chicken cooks, heat the remaining hot sauce until warm. Toss the hot sauce with the chicken and arrange on a platter. Serve with celery and carrot strips and blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping.

Dairy Free Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

You made it through Thanksgiving!!  Congrats!  Before you jump into the mountain of leftovers in the refrigerator you'll want something for breakfast. 

My suggestion... PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS! These are easy to make, delicious, and believe it or not much lighter than having a piece of pie for breakfast (not that you would).

I made two trays of and froze the rest of the batter for future doughnuts.

Dairy Free Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts:
(adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
 
Coating Options:
3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar
Coconut


Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don't have doughnut pans, use a standard muffin tin; they just won't be doughnuts.

Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.

Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.

Fill the the doughnut pans about 3/4 full.  I use about 2 1/2 scoops per doughnut.

Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

I made my doughnuts two different ways.  One batch I tossed in cinnamon sugar. 

The other batch I used coconut.  Believe it or not, it was delicious.  All I did for the coconut doughnuts was put some coconut flakes on top of the doughnut batter once it was in the pan.  I stirred it around a little bit to make sure the coconut flakes would stick to the doughnuts.

Asian Peanut Noodles

I've been bored with my dinner options recently.  I've also been on a bit of an Asian food kick so I've been trying to find some new dishes that incorporate my needs.

I found this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I love this recipe.  I always have these ingredients on hand and I was able to whip it up really quickly.  I think that this could serve as a main meal or as a side dish, depending on what you're looking for.

The recipe doesn't call for the vegetable to be cooked at all which is fine, but since I did serve this warm I think next time I'll try to blanch the veggies a little bit.

Asian Peanut Noodles:
(adapted from Cooking Light)

6 ounces whole-wheat linguine or spaghetti
1 teaspoon sirarcha
1 tablespoon reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/2 cup matchstick-cut green onions

Cook the noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain them well.

Combine the sirarcha, peanut butter, soy sauce, and lime juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine well. Add the noodles, carrots, and green onions; toss and serve immediately.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I've been looking at a picture of these cookies for a couple of months.   I love the fact that these cookies only have a few ingredients and are a great gluten and dairy free option for people that need those options.  For the people that just like chocolate cookies... these are great for that too.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies:
(King Arthur Flour)

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good
1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process (European-style) preferred*
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.

Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2" circles; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.

Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.