What's on the Menu?

Teryiaki Venison Kabobs

This was a super great recipe for using up my leftover Sunday deer roast! I cut up the roast chunks into chunks and let them marinade in teryiaki sauce for about half an hour. Then I put them onto skewers with pineapple and red peppers and grilled them for a few minutes. DELICIOUS!


Super Quick Breadsticks

So these breadsticks weren't my absolute favorite but for how fast they are made they were awesome! I'll definitely be using this recipe again. This recipe listed is for 12 breadsticks.
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
2 cups bread flour
1 2/3 teaspoons yeast

Directions:

1 Make dough using your favorite method- bread machine, mixer or by hand.
2 Roll out into a 10x12 inch rectangle.
3 Cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide.
4 Give each strip a twist and place on a greased cookie sheet.
5 Let rise for at least 20 minutes or more if you have time.
6 Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.
7 Brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.

Bacon Bowtie Pasta

Ingredients

• 1/2 (16-oz.) package bow tie pasta
• 1/2 pound bacon $
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened $
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 2/3 cup milk $
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. 1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Keep warm.
2. 2. Cook bacon according to package directions; drain well, and crumble.
3. 3. Beat cream cheese, butter, and Italian seasoning in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl at low speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add milk, beating until mixture is smooth.
4. 4. Microwave cream cheese mixture at HIGH 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, whisking every 30 seconds. Pour cream cheese mixture over warm pasta, tossing to coat. Top with crumbled bacon and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Lightened Bacon Bow Tie Pasta: Substitute reduced-fat or turkey bacon, 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, and 2% reduced-fat milk. Proceed as directed

BBQ Pulled Venison

These turned out super yummy! I just put a venison roast in the crock pot with a little water, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and season all. I let it cook for about 8 hours on low, pulling it into chunks after about 6 hours. This made the meat really tender and easy to pull later. Then I dumped a bunch of bbq sauce on it and let it heat up. I toasted some yummy rolls I got from Smith's and viola! delicious meal I had to spend virtually not time on!

Blueberry Muffins

This recipe is compliments of the lovely Sister Whipple formerly from Marysville, OH. And they are so good!

Topping:
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 t grated lemon zest

Muffins:
2 c fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 c +1t sugar
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 large eggs
4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c butter milk (i used 1/2 c half and half and 1/2 c milk because I didn't have buttermilk and didn't want to run to the store)
2 1/2 t vanilla

1. For the topping: stir sugar and lemon zest together in a small bowl until combined, set aside.
2. For the muffins: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with vegetable oil spray (I actually used a JUMBO muffin pan) Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 t sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing the berries with a spoon several times to stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to 1/4 c, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large 1 bowl. Whisk the remaining 1 1/8 c sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture and the remaining 1 c blueberries into the flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be very lumpy with a few spots of dry flour. Do not over mix.
4. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin cups. The batter should completely fill the cups and mound slightly. Spoon 1 t-1 T of the cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter (I actually just mixed this in with the batter so my muffins were purple!!!) Using a chopstick or a skewer, gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure eight motion. Sprinkle the the lemon sugar evenly over the muffins. (I didn't have lemon, so I just used sugar and it still turned out good. It is better with lemon though).
5. Bake until the muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17-19 minutes (about 5 minutes longer for a jumbo pan), rotating the muffin tin halfway through. Cool the muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool 5 more minutes before serving.

Yields 12 muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.

Bread Bowls

 this recipe makes super tiny bread bowls.  I originally cut it down to make 3 bread bowls (the recipe says it makes 8) but they were tiny, and if you read it it describes them as "tennis ball" size. So not what I want! So I doubled that. If you stay with the original recipe, it would probably be great for 2 normal sized bread bowls. A lot of the reviews on the website actually mention that they are smaller than expected. Guess that's what we get for not reading all the directions! ha! But by the time they were baking they turned out pretty big.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 cups hot water (not boiling)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 -5 cups flour
cornmeal (optional)

Directions:

1 Using a Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer, put yeast, sugar, salt, hot water, and olive oil in the mixer.
2 Gradually add the flour until the dough has sufficiently scraped everything off the sides of the mixing bowl. Continue to mix on low for 8-10 minutes.
3 Remove and cover with plastic wrap - let the dough rise until doubles in size (about 30 minutes).
4 Grease 2 cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal.
5 Punch down the dough and make tennis ball-size dough balls (about 8-12, depending on how large you want your bread bowls).
6 Place on cookie sheet with no more than 6 to a cookie sheet (don't let them touch). Let them rise for another 30 minutes.
7 Bake each cookie sheet at 400 for 18 minutes.

In the breadbowls I put a stew I made. Wes says it's kindof like sloppy joe.

I used all my leftover ground hamburger from previous meals, a can of Hunt's meatloaf starter, a can of Hunt's chili starter, and a can of kidney beans as well as some garlic and cayanne pepper. I think corn in it could also be really good...hmm... I put a piece of swiss cheese on the bottom of the bowl before I put the stew in and then put shredded cheese on top. YUM!

Zucchini Brownies

Instead of the frosting on the top I put some milk chocolate chips and some semi sweet chocolate chips and let them melt and spread around and topped it with powdered sugar. and it turned out really good! My cousins, who are the pickiest eaters EVER loved these brownies even though they had zucchini in them. Once they found out what was in them, I didn't think they would want more...but they did!

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 
  
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

30 Minute Dinner Rolls

Like the quick breadsticks...not my favorite, but still good when you are in a rush.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups flour (either bread flour or all-purpose will work) I used freshly ground wheat flour!! yum!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water, oil, yeast, and sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Mix 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the egg into the yeast mixture using a dough hook. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time.
4. Shape dough into 12 balls and place in a 9x13 pan. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are just golden brown.

This makes 12 rolls, but I only made 6 and then turned the rest into cinnamon roll bites by putting small pieces into a bundt cake and putting melted butter, cinnamon and sugar on it. They were pretty good, but next time I will put a LOT more butter, cinnamon and sugar and not just put in on top and bottom but in between the bites too.

Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles
This was all Wesley's idea! So we found this recipe and it was AMAZING! super happy with how delicious and soft these turned out! Sorry I don't have a picture!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons white sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3.	Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4.	Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets. well, that's all for this week. stay tuned next week for steak fingers, ribollta (how to use leftover bread), dorito chicken casserole, and more! ps... how to make mac and cheese fun!

Major Catch Up Part 2: COOKING!!

So I have really enjoyed having my own kitchen and being able to make whatever I want whenever I want and keep it looking how I want it. Plus I'm super lucky to have an amazing husband who helps me clean it all the time. Like every night.

I've been on a big "why should I buy it" kick. So I've been making lots of yummy treats including...

CHOCOLATE BERRY CAKE

This is actually one of my favorite cakes. I discovered it on accident. One Sunday for a break the fast I had like nothing in my house. So throwing together this and that...this is what I came up with. It's super good! First, make a basic white cake and put it in a pan. Make a compote out of whatever berries you like. I use mixed berries raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Take the juice from the compote and swirl it into the cake, like a marble cake. Melt some dark chocolate. When the cake comes out of the oven and cools, brush the top with dark chocolate, then put the berry compote on top. Cover with whipped cream, top with berries and dark chocolate. Super moist, yummy cake!

GRANOLA BARS

This recipe is courtesy of the lovely MELISSA SKAGGS! They are super delicious and we prefer them to store bought ones any day!
1/4 c butter
1/4 c honey
1/3 c brown sugar
2 c quick oats
1 c rice krispies
1/2 t vanilla
2 T+mini chocolate chips

In large bowl combine oats and rice krispies, set aside. In small pot melt butter, honey, brown sugar over medium-high heat til it bubbles. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry mixture and mix. Press into lightly greased dish (about 12x8) sprinkle and press chocolate chips on top. Let cool 2 hours.

I double the recipe and make them thick! This last batch I made I mixed IN the mini chocolate chips as well as mini marshmallows and crushed up graham crackers for s'more granola bars. They are SUPER delicious!

JERKY

My amazing sister MEGAN gave me these recipes, I think she got them from our dear family friend Colleen. I made the lemon jerky with all the optional ingredients and the teriyaki jerky and some other jerky where I just threw some of the ingredients together. We have really enjoyed it! I used venison instead of beef. MMMMM!

Lemon Pepper Jerky

Morton's tender quick
Lemon pepper

optional seasonings:
garlic salt for powder
Worcestershire sauce
liquid smoke
soy sauce
cayenne pepper

Cut meat in strips. Use a plastic container with lid-- 
layer meat- sprinkle ingredients on each layer as you go. repeat until done.

Refrigerate 24-48 hours. Dehydrate or dry for 6-8 hours. Store in airtight container.


Teriyaki Jerky (Sweet/hot) (From Dave Black)

Ingredients per pound

1 Tbsp. Morton tender quick
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
3/4 c. brown sugar (or less)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
course black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl or into Ziploc bag. place meat into Ziploc bag, knead seasonings into meat. mix or knead every few hours. Let soak in bag at least 12 hours. Dry or smoke!

DRIED FRUIT

Pretty self explanatory...cut up fruit, put it in a dehydrator. These are just the last batch of peaches I made, they are my FAVORITE!!! I have also made mangoes, strawberries, bananas, apples, and nectarines. Seriously though...dried peaches...AMAZING!

FRUIT LEATHER

This has been a work in progress for me! The first few I made were just too thin, they still tasted awesome, but were a little crumbley but I think I've about got it now! Just puree whatever fruit you want. I don't usually add sweetner but the first batch I did add honey. YUM!

NO BAKE COOKIES

This one is ALL Wesley. The recipe is his favorite from his mama.

2 c sugar

1/2 c milk

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 T cocoa

1/8 t salt

3 c quick oats

1 t vanilla

Combine sugar, milk,  butter and cocoa in saucepan. Bring to boil and let reach the soft ball stage. Add vanilla and then pour over oats. Scoop out onto wax paper. 

BAGELS

This is probably the one I am most proud of. I really wanted bagels but really didn't want to buy them sooo I made them instead! Here is the recipe I used http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/10/new-york-style-bagel-recipe/

Bagel Recipe

Ingredients:2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups of warm water (you may need ± ¼ cup more, I know I did)
3 ½ cups (500g) of bread flour or high gluten flour(will need extra for kneading)
1 ½ teaspoons of salt

Optional Toppings:Caraway seeds, coarse salt, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh onion, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds. (Everyone in my house prefers plain bagels, but I have no preference, so I just went with the plain, so no one could complain.)

Preparation:1. In ½ cup of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.

3. Pour half of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup of water. You want to result in a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.

4. On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.

5. Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

6. Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I used a scale to be extra precise, but it’s not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.

7. Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.

8. After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF / 220ºC / Gas Mark 7.

9**Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you’d prefer a chewier bagel (results will give you a more New York Style bagel with this option).

10. If you want to top your bagels with stuff, do so as you take them out of the water, you may use the “optional toppings” (listed above) to top the bagels and if you’re risky like me, make a combination of the toppings to top the bagels with, but before hand, you will need to use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before putting the bagels into the oven.

11. Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet.

12. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

13. Cool on a wire rack (or if you’re impatient like I am, slice one of these babies open, and spread some softened butter on it. Take a bite… Oh babyyy!)

They are super delicious! I made plain ones but am excited to experiment with different kinds. Like blueberry! 

**The one suggestion I would make to the recipe is if you boil them for 2 minutes, set them on a wire rack and let them drain for a bit before you bake them or the bottoms take longer than the tops. If you only boil them for 1 minute they are just fine.

Well that's pretty much it for the baking for now. I hope to blog more soon! I made some delicious kabobs for dinner...that's something I'll have to blog about soon! Hasta luego!

Major Catch Up Part 1: The Wedding

Wow, So I'm definitely behind on here. So much has happened in the last 3+ months since I last blogged. First and most importantly...I GOT MARRIED! My name is Mrs. Annie Lamae Bradford! And I couldn't be happier!

On April 23, 2014 Wesley escorted me into the Mt. Timpanogos Temple where we were married for time and all eternity. It was the happiest day of my life. We were surrounded by family and friends and beautiful weather! The lovely Audrey Livingston did our photography and we had a blast with them! Serious pictures, fun pictures...and Wes ate his boutonniere.  Thank goodness I have an amazing Uncle that does flowers and he fixed it.

What a silly husband I have. :-) Our receptions were so much fun! Absolutely perfect for us and we are so grateful for all the love and support that was shown to us! We went on an amazing 10 day honeymoon! The first 5 days was spent in Park City at a resort. It was great because it was between seasons so there was practically NO ONE there. The last 5 days we went camping! We stayed down by St. George for 2 nights, at beautiful Bryce Canyon, in Hatch (a tiny town in Southern Utah) and back in Cedar City. 

Like I mentioned in my last post, Wes and I were buying a house. After many many delays...the day finally came! We got into our house much later that day than we expected...around 8 at night. It was a looooong day, all I wanted was to be in my beautiful house! And finally, we were!!! So here are some pictures of our slowly coming together house :-)

The door to our Garage...

Which really is a toybox...

But that's how we like it!

Storage under the stairs

Of course we have some antlers, these ones in the entryway

The cute "B" made of our engagement pictures

MY KITCHEN!! yay! I love it :-)

The spare bedroom, still a little messy but it's a work in progress

Our very empty room, I have pictures...they're just not up yet. Currently displaying the quit that my amazing grandpa made for me!! He's so cool!

Our bathroom. I didn't put a picture of the other bathroom because... I didn't take a picture of it

My personal favorite...our CLOSET!!! I sure do love it!

I also realized I didn't include any pictures of our living/dining room. Oops. It's very pretty though! Hopefully I'll get a picture up soon. Better yet, come visit us! :-) Because let's be real...if you're reading this...you must love me very much and so I would want you to come! The complex we live in also includes a swimming pool, clubhouse, movie theater, and gym. Come play! Check out part 2 for the yummy food I've been making in my new kitchen!! :-)