No Knead Rustic Bread

I could get very used to having homemade bread around the house. 

No Knead Rustic Bread 
Makes 1 1/2 pound loaf bread
Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story

• 3 cups AP or bread flour, more for dusting (I used 2 cups AP 1 cup bread)
• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon sugar

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and any flavorings (rosemary, thyme, Parmesan, ect.) Add 1 and 5/8ths cup of water and stir into blended. Dough will be wet and sticky. Cover wtih plastic wrap and let rest for 24 hours (more or less its forgiving).

In hour 8, uncover the dough and fold a couple of times with a spatula.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put in a 6 to 8 quart pot with a lid. 

Once the oven is preheated, remove the pot and sprinkle the bottle with flour.  Add the dough and sprinkle the top with flour and a pinch of kosher salt. 

Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes.  Dump the bread on a cooling rack to cool. Serve warm.

Acorn Squash Breakfast Pudding

I love it when I can surprise Steven.  He had his eye browns raised when I made this giant casserole for our little family but it was all eaten up by the end of the week.  A new favorite for Steven.

Please note the acorn squash shells are clearly visible in this picture. They are not, in fact, edible. So make sure you take the shell off.

Acorn Squash Breakfast Pudding
Adapted from I am a Food Blog

• 1 acorn squash
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 stale baguette, cubed about 4 cups
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 spicy Italian sausages, removed from casing
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

The night before:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cube the squash, ross with oil, and roast on a tin foil lined baking sheet for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside. Once cool remove the shell from each cube.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage and break up in the pan while you cook. Cook until its brown and crispy then remove from heat. Add to the acorn squash and refridgerate in an airtight container overnight.

The next day:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. 

 In a 9 by 13 casserole dish toss the squash, sausage, and bread cubes.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over the dish and top with shredded cheddar. Bake for 40 minutes.

Enjoy hot.

Herb and Caper Crusted Salmon

Man, we eat a lot of salmon around here and by we I mean Steven and I because Henry has refused all foods expect peanut butter jelly sandwiches and cereal. Two year olds can truly be terrible.

Herb and Caper Crusted Salmon
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, pepper, red chili pepper flakes
• olive oil
• 1 pound salmon filet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. 

Add parsley, dill, capers, lemon, garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili pepper flakes to a large cutting board and start chopping.  Chop until everything is finely minced and mixed together.

Place salmon filet on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover the top and sides with the herb mixture.  Bake for 15 minutes until salmon is done.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Tzatziki

We went to three different store to buy dill. Three! This morning was full of fails, and this Tzatziki plus some store bought pita chips were the only successful thing out of my kitchen today.  Oh and a giant mess.  Thank God for yogurt based dips.

Tzatziki

• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Stir until combined. Chill until ready to serve.

Avocado Pasta

For my mom and lactose intolerant creamy pasta lovers everywhere.

Avocado Pasta
Adapted from I am a Food Blog
Serves 2

• 6 ounces of pasta
• 1 avocado, pitted and pealed
• 2 cloves garlic
• handful of cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 fried eggs (optional, but if you're going to do it, let's make them over easy)
• chopped cilantro and arugula to finish (optional) - we didn't have arugula but it would have been nice.

Cook pasta as usual reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, add avocado, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil to a small food processor. Process until smooth. 

Toss pasta with avocado sauce thinning with the pasta water if needed.  Season with salt and pepper, top with fried egg, cilantro, and arugula.

Good leftover, I think the lime juice keeps it from turning brown.

Autumn Granola

I'll be honest with you, this is a pretty expensive recipe to make but its a hell of a lot cheaper than buying already made granola.  I'm not generally a fan of pumpkin but these seeds fit right in. It makes a lot but that was a challenge Steven rose to.  This is his hand finishing up the last bit while we were in the hospital having Wade. 

Autumn Granola
Adapted from Dinner: A Love Store
Makes 9 Cups

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups raw pistachios, hulled
• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
• 1 cup coconut ships
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients until everything is sticky.  Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stir in every 10.  Granola should be golden brown and well toasted. Transfer to a bowl and let cool  Eat immediately or store in an air tight container.

Pot Roast and Sweet Potatoes

Quick updates: Baby Wade is an amazing baby that loves to sleep and cuddle, he has just started to smile.  Henry is slowly accepting his role as big brother and diaper changing supervisor.  That being said, we are still in survival mode.  Luckily its pretty dang cold outside so we have been living off the slow cooker (and amazing friends who keep bringing us meals!!!)

This took me about 2 hours to get everything in the slow cooker due to having to pick up the baby, kiss boo-boos, change the tv show for Henry, change it again, change diapers, and put the baby back to sleep. It should take you like twenty minutes.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of it- but its not that pretty anyway.

Pot Roast and Sweet Potatoes

Adapted from Everyday Slow Cooker

• 1 1/2 - 2 lb boneless beef chuck roast
• oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and quarted
• 2/3 cup beef broth
• 3/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Brown the roast with the oil in a hot skillet on each side. Place onion and potatoes in the slow cooker and top with the roast.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl then pour over the roast. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 hours on low.