Zucchini Cupcakes w/ Carmel Frosting

Yay for fall and zucchini!!  These were sooo yummy. 

3 eggs
1 1/3 C sugar
1/2 C vegi oil
1/2 C orange juice
1 t almond extract
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/12 C shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350.  In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar, oil, juice, and almond extract.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl.  Add the dry to the egg mixture and mix well.  Add the zucchini and mix.  Fill greased or lined cupcake pan 2/3 way full.  Bake 20-25 minutes. 
Cool 10 minutes then frost.

This recipe made 27 cupcakes!!!

Icing

1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 C powdered sugar

In saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, and milk.  Bring to boil over medium heat.  Stir while boiling for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cool until lukewarm.  Beat in powdered sugar and frost!

*  I thought these were great as just muffins too!  Try it as a bread and just increase cooking time to 40-60 minutes.  Yummy!!!

Kim's Amazing Bread

My friend Kim makes this bread from scratch every week, and I love it! Super delicious, and pretty easy to make. :) I love making bread--very therapeutic for me. I had to bake it longer than she suggested, so keep that in mind, and enjoy!

2 cups water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp powdered soy milk (or powdered milk)
1 Tbsp sunflower oil (any oil works)
1 Tbsp honey
2 cups wheat flour
2 cups white flour
3-4 handfuls seeds (I used flax, sunflower, and pumpkin. Cracked wheat is good too.)

Mix all ingredients together-order doesn't really matter. Knead dough for 15-20 minutes until smooth. I ended up adding quite a bit more flour during the kneading process. Put in greased bread pan and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 33 min.

Yellow Cake

I just made the most delicious yellow cake I think I have ever tasted! In my cooking class today, my lab partner and I had to do a ten-minute demo about altitude adjustments. Rexburg, ID has an approximate elevation of 5,000 feet, so we had to demonstrate the proper recipe changes. This morning we made a cake without the altitude changes, and it was dense and dry and crumbly and blah. But the cake we mixed in demo, with the altitude changes, was absolutely to DIE for! It was perfectly dense and moist, not too crumbly, and it had such a delicious flavor! It is probably the only yellow cake I've ever tasted that I didn't frosting with (ask anybody, that's big for me!). In case you're wondering, are some good altitude adjustments to follow in case you live at 3,000 feet or higher:

-Add about 1 TB flour
-Take out 1/8 tsp of baking powder/soda
-Take out 1 TB sugar
-Add about 2 TB of the liquid (milk, water, etc.)
-Increase baking temperature by 10-15 degrees

Now, here's the cake recipe. If yours turns out as good as mine did I think you may explode with joy! ;) The final measurements with altitude adjustments are in parenthesis.

Yellow Cake


Mix and sift together 3 times:
 3 C sifted cake flour (3 C + 1 TB)
 1 tsp salt
 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (2 3/8 tsp)

On medium speed in large bowl, soften:
  1 C shortening

Gradually add:
  1 1/2 C sugar (-1 TB)
  2 tsp vanilla

Mix for approximately 5 minutes. Add:
  4 egg yolks

And beat for 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, adding about a fourth and mixing for 1 minute, adding another fourth and mixing 1 minute, etc. Stir in:
  1 1/4 C + 2 TB milk (1 1/2 C)

Add and mix in:
 4 stiffly beaten egg whites

Pour into two greased 8" circle cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees (385-390)


I know this recipe is written really strangely, but I'm not the author. :) Also remember: don't make the altitude adjustments UNLESS you live at an altitude of 3,000 ft or higher. Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry about the lack of pics. I'll get better!

Pretzels

This recipe was so much fun for girls and I to make on Saturday. I LOVE nacho cheese and just happened to buy a big bulk can of it from Sam's Club so I was trying to find ways to use it. So we made pretzels!
2 pkgs yeast
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 tsp salt
2 T sugar
4 C flour
1 egg beaten
kosher salt

Mix yeast and water in large mixing bowl. Than add salt, sugar, and flour. I used freshly ground wheat flour but white is just as awesome. Knead in mixer until smooth and elastic.

On oiled surface roll dough into snakes, then shape as desired. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled in size. I was REALLY impatient and didn't let them rise, I should have though.
Then brush beaten egg onto each pretzel and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. I let mine bake for only 12 and it was PLENTY long enough the bottoms were burnt.

You could also leave some pretzels unsalted and after they are done baking brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Teach me how . . . to bake bread

My awesome friend Jade has a segment on her blog called "Tell me how . . . " and I think I am going to copy her idea because I have learned so much from her posts! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?

I received a wheat grinder from my awesome husband for Christmas and I have been trying to find the PERFECT bread recipe. So . . . Teach me how to bake bread. I am curious to know what your favorite ingredients and tips are. I will post my recipe below and please critique it and give me tips! Teach me!

My questions:
What type of honey do people use?
-I have been using clover honey and it seems to work just fine, but is there a better honey I should be using?
What else can I use to give it more substance?
What does freezing do to it? I have never tried it.
How do you know for sure that it is done?
Is doughy better?
Is there a certain temperature it needs to be at?
Glass pyrex loaf pan or dark nonstick pan? (The loafs pictured below were made with one glass pan and one nonstick. The glass pan is in the back. Ideas?)Wheat Bread

2 1/2 C warm water
2 TB yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 olive oil
1/4 honey
2 T wheat gluten
5 C+ fresh ground wheat flour
1 T salt
1/4 C flax

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and let sit until bubbly. Add oil, honey, gluten, and 4 C of flour. Mix. Add salt, flax, and remaining flour. I usually use white flour for the last cup. Continue to add flour until dough clings to hook and comes away from the sides. Knead additional 3-5 minutes.

Oil hands and counter with olive oil and break dough into 2 halves and shape into loafs. I like to throw the dough against the counter and I don't know why, but it seems to work for me. I saw my friend do that once and she makes good bread. ha ha:)

Place dough in greased loaf pans, cover with towel, and let rise until desired height.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. I heard once that the bread is done once it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Is this true?

*** I will start adding these teach me how posts from time to time. I am hoping for some good feedback and if I don't I won't post them, so COMMENT and let me know your thoughts!*****

Banana Bread

3 overripe bananas
1 1/2 C flour
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
3/4 stick butter
dash of salt
chocolate chips/m&ms

Mash bananas in bowl. Add flour, sugar, soda, salt, and egg. Melt butter in microwave, add it to bowl, and stir until just blended. Pour into greased loaf pan. Sprinkle choc chips/m&m's on top.

Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Monkey Bread

12 frozen Rhoades rolls
1/3 C syrup
1/3 C chopped pecans
1 stick butter (melted)
½ C sugar
½ C cinnamon

Spray Bundt or tube pan with cooking spray and sprinkle pecans in bottom of pan. Mix syrup and 2 T of melted butter together and pour over pecans in pan, set aside.

Thaw out dough in microwave by flipping and rotating dough after 1 min. Cut dough in 4ths with kitchen shears.

Combine cinnamon and sugar in separate bowl. Liberally roll dough in melted butter and then liberally roll in sugar mixture. Evenly space and layer in pan.Bake at 400 for 23 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. I am usually on the 23 minute side of it. Flip dough upside down on plate, let cool, and serve! Yummy!

Lion House Rolls

These are the yummiest homemade rolls I have ever had, except maybe Grandma Boyer's, but I don't have her recipe - so sad. Anyways, they very easy and always turn out!Lionhouse Rolls*
2 C warm water
1 egg
1/4 C sugar
1/3 C butter, melted and cooled
2 T yeast
2 tsp salt
2/3 C powdered milk
5 - 6 C flour

Dissolve dry milk in warm water completely. Add yeast, sugar, butter, egg and 2 C of flour. Mix briefly then add salt and remaining flour. Dough will be very sticky, but don't add more flour than you need, just until the dough sticks to hook and not sides of bowl.
Leave in bowl and allow to rise until doubled - up to 2 hours!

Roll dough on floured surface into large rectangle until 1/2 in. thick. With a pizza cutter, cut 2"x4" rectangles. Roll up rectangles, pinch sides, and tuck slightly under. Arrange rolls on half baking sheet in 5x7 array.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
Brush with butter when they come out of oven and cool on cooling rack to avoid soggy bottoms. (Nobody wants a soggy bottom) Hee Hee
Shape rolls and allow to rise until doubled or another 1 hour!

*I NEVER have powdered milk on hand so I usually end up using 1 C warm water and 1 C warm milk - it has always worked for me. Maybe that means I need to be better with my food storage.
*I put my rolls in baking dishes this time. This way they are more like pull apart rolls.

(Courtesy of Jessica A's Kitchen)

Garlic Bread to Boot

This is my favorite way to make garlic bread . . .

1 loaf french bread
1/2 stick butter
2 T minced garlic
Parmesan cheese

Cut bread down the middle in half lengthwise. Make sure your butter is soft and spreadable and then stir in your garlic right with the butter. Spread LIBERALLY over all the bread. I use a basting brush I believe. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Broil in oven until golden brown or until you start to smell the cheese. :) Don't burn it like I did, which is why there is no picture.

*My husbands favorite side for anything pasta is just plain sandwich bread broiled in the oven topped with a generous amount of cheddar cheese. Really yummy and the kiddos love it just as much as dad.

Corn Bread

3/4 C corn meal
1 1/4 C flour
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 egg
1/4 C vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400. Blend all dry ingredients. Stir in remaining wet ingredients until combined and creamy. Pour batter into greased 9x9 pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Serve with White Chili (recipe below)