Big Mo's Bread

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 and 7/8 cup Warm Water*
4 Cups Flour
2 Tbsp Oil

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Mix yeast sugar and water and let stand to the side to rise and bubble.

Mix flour, salt and oil then add yeast mixture.

Knead dough until well mixed, it will be sticky -oil your hands to handle dough cleanly.

Place dough in oiled bowl, cover and let sit until doubled in size.

Punch dough into two separate loaves and place on well oiled tray to resume rising.

Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with desired seasoning.

Let bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, until crust is a rich golden brown.

*2 cups water can be exchanged for:
1 cup water and 1 cup milk and 1 extra tbsp oil. Cheese can also be added for addition flavor.

Review: The fact that we finished off one loaf of bread in five minutes should tell it all :)

Curried Carrot Spread

Curried Carrot Spread

Ingredients

3 cups sliced carrots (I used whole baby carrots, worked fine, less work!)
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained*
3/4 tsp. salt


*Without googling it does anyone know what cannellini beans are? I didn't. And neither did three different people at the grocery store. A quick google search revealed that they are just white kidney beans, but since I didn't have those I used Purple Hull Peas since I had them in my pantry. I don't know what difference cannellini beans would make, but the Purple Hull Peas taste good :)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan cook carrots until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in curry powder and Cumin.
3. Transfer carrots and onion mix to food processor, add beans and salt. Process until smooth.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Finnish Pasties

Pastry
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut oil (called for lard)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 tablespoons cold water

- just before rolling it out I had to add a little bit of milk to it to make it roll-able!

Filling
3/4 lb ground beef
2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon cumin*
1/2 teaspoon chili powder*
1/2 teaspoon salt*
dash of pepper*
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce**

* I added way more than it called for, and I think it could've had way more added to it!
** The barbecue sauce didn't do a whole lot for it - it worked well in a meatloaf I made last week, but in this it didn't blend well, so I wouldn't add it again. I'm not sure what should replace it tho!

Directions:
1. Combine pastry ingredients. Chill dough.
2. Combine filling ingredients in another bowl.
3. Roll out dough into circles - I used a bowl to get my shape. Make sure it's rolled flat!
4. Put a bit of filling on one side of each circle - you don't want to over stuff them.
5. Fold over the other side of the dough circle over the filling.
6. Dip a fork in water and seal the edges by pushing the fork down. Cut away any extra dough.
7. Prick the top with the fork to let steam escape.
8. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for about 40 minutes.

REVIEW:
Paul and I both loved this! I was impressed with the pastry dough - I wasn't sure how it would work using coconut oil instead of lard, but they turned out just fine.
As I noted above the BBQ sauce really didn't work, although it wasn't bad either. When I make it again I am going to be looking for something else to add.
I used about half the dough and made 5 pasties. Then I got lazy and decided not to finish making any more :) But I think there is more filling than there is dough, so you may want to cut down on the dough, or plan something else to do with the filling. I am trying to think of a way to make it into supper tonight :)

Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta

Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta

Ingredients:
Pasta
Butter
Grape Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

1. Boil pasta. When cooked drain and place in a dish.

2. Add butter, salt and pepper to pasta.

3. Add cubed mozzarella and halved tomatoes to the top.

4. Sprinkle with oregano.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 ox package vanilla pudding mix (and milk to make it)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6+ cups flour*

*I needed to add almost a cup extra of flour!

Filling:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Mix water, yeast and sugar together until dissolved. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl prepare pudding mix according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt; mix to blend well.

3. Add yeast mixture and blend. Gradually add flour.

4. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until double. Punch down and let rise again.

5. Roll out on a floured surface. Take 1 cup of butter and spread over surface.

6. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, sprinkle over top of buttered dough. Roll up tightly and cut every two inches with a sharp knife.

7. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart, lightly press each roll down. Cover and let rise again until double. Bae at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove when they start to look golden - don't over bake!
Frost warm rolls with a cream cheese frosting.

REVIEW: These are truly amazing!! My best friend discovered this recipe when we were like 14 years old ... we were convinced they were the way to a mans heart. Must be true - we're both married :)

Iced Cafe Mocha

Iced Cafe Mocha
Combine 1/2 cup ground coffee with 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder. (I used the Special Dark Chocolate)
Using a coffee maker brew with 4 cups of water.
Stir in 1/4 cup* sweetened condensed milk, then refrigerate.
Serve over ice.

I read 1/2 cup the first time I made it, so made it with twice the called for amount of sweetened condensed milk. Mmmm. I'd recommend you double it too ;) But I couldn't bring myself to lie to y'all and change the recipe.

Sliced Steak Gyros

2 pounds 1 inch thick sirloin steak (I just used some left over steak from earlier in the week... I don't know what it was. I think chicken would work well too.)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
_
Dip

1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt (I just used reg plain yogurt)
Juice of one lemon (I used lemon juice from the bottle)
1 clove garlic
Oregano - a generous sprinkle
Cumin - a generous sprinkle
Coriander - a generous sprinkle
2 dashes hot sauce (very small dashes)
Salt and pepper - a dash
_

4 large pitas or other flatbread

Toppings
Red Onion
Cucumber
Tomato
Olives


1. Preheat the broiler or grill to medium. Drizzle the steak with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook to how you like it done. Let cool then slice thinly.

2. While the steak is cooking, using a food processor, puree all the ingredients for the dip. Transfer to a bowl and set aside, in the fridge if you'll be awhile.

3. Char the pitas under the broiler or on the grill. Top with the steak and your choice of toppings. Serve with yogurt sauce.

REVIEW: AMAZING!! The flavor of this is incredible! It is easy to make and is so, so GOOD! It is going to become a commonly used recipe now :)
I did follow the above quantities exactly and it made a TON of dip, so I would suggest half-ing or even quarter-ing the dip quantities for two people as I don't know how well it will save in the fridge and the feta is kind of expensive. Seriously tho, you must make this!