Flour Tortillas

This recipe was found at homesicktexan.blogspot.com (it looked like she had a number of awesome recipes on there). They were really quick to make and my kids loved them because they were really soft and different from the store bought kind. Just roll them out thinner than you might think because they puff up a bit when you cook them. They're good with white whole wheat flour too!


Texas Flour Tortillas (adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)
Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Directions:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.
Slowly add the warm milk.
Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.
Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.
Makes eight tortillas.

Honey Oat Quick Bread

I made this and we really liked it. It's a lot more dense than a yeast based bread but it was kind of a nice change. It was great with homemade jam!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking (not instant) oats divided (I pulsed mine in the blender to grind them up a bit)
  
• 1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour or white whole-wheat flour (see Tip)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 8-ounce container (scant 1 cup) nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup clover honey or other mild honey
• 3/4 cup nonfat or low-fat milk

Directions:

1. Position rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Generously coat a 9-by-5-inch (or similar size) loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats in the pan. Tip the pan back and forth to coat the sides and bottom with oats; set aside another 1 tablespoon oats for garnishing the loaf.

2. Thoroughly stir together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, beat together the remaining 1 cup oats, yogurt, egg, oil and honey in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in milk. Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until thoroughly incorporated but not overmixed (excess mixing can cause toughening). Immediately scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the reserved 1 tablespoon oats over the top.

3. Bake the loaf until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. (It's normal for the top to crack.) Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around and under the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool until barely warm, about 45 minutes.

Tip: White whole-wheat flour, made from a special variety of white wheat, is light in color and flavor but has the same nutritional properties as regular whole-wheat flour. Two companies that distribute the flour nationally are King Arthur Flour (kingarthurflour.com) and Bob's Red Mill (bobsredmill.com).

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This was a great recipe. Everyone loved it! It made really good thick-sliced french toast the next morning. The only thing I would do differently next time is add some cinnamon to the dough itself & maybe a little more into the swirl part. Enjoy!

DOUGH

• 1 1/2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1 cup instant dry mashed potatoes
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 4+ cups King Arthur Bread Flour (King Arthur brand is by far the best, if you haven't tried it, it is worth the money & will change your baking forever!)
  
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

FILLING:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk, potatoes, butter, sugar and salt. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add potato mixture and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Fold in raisins. stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 16-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over rectangles to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under.
3. Place seam side down in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled. Brush with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Most bread will measure 190 degrees when it's done. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Cake Balls

I haven't tried these yet, but I plan to make them when I need a fun dessert to take somewhere. They got good reviews on allrecipes.com. If you look up the recipe online there are also more suggestions for good frosting/topping combos. Let me know if they work out!

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate (or favorite flavor) cake mix
• 1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
• 1 (3 ounce) bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating.

1. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended.
2. Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Freeze for at least an hour. Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. You can also roll in coconut, nuts, sprinkles, etc. Place on waxed paper to set.

Pudding Ice Cream

I just ran across this recipe and I have not tried it yet. I thought I would post it incase anyone had the desire to experiment...The site I got it from said that the oreo cookie pudding was really good in this recipe...

• 1 (3 3/4 ounce) package instant pudding mix, any flavor

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups light cream or half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

1. Combine pudding, light cream and sugar. Beat mixture as directed on pudding package, however, discontinue beating as soon as the mixture begins to thicken.

2. Stir in vanilla and heavy cream.

3. Transfer pudding mixture to ice cream machine maker and process according to specifications.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever?

This was on a friend's blog. I haven't tried it. This is what my friends said: "It came from American's Test Kitchen where they test recipes over and over and and have professional tasters decide what is the best. The cookie recipe they came up with was "perfected" after 48 batches and adjusted every which way. We took them up on their title and sought to compare to our favorites. In the end, we have to agree with the magazine. These cookies are the best CCC I have ever had. Judge for yourself."

1 3/4 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (important that it isn't salted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups sesisweet chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
3. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 table spoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
4. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips, giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
5. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
6. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cook cookies completely before serving.

Soft Granola Bars

These were really good! They were healthy for the kids and Chad even liked them too. I will experiment again to see if I can take the sugar down even lower. We tried cranberries, coconut and white chocolate chips. I think next time we'll try coconut, coconut extract and chocolate chips. Hope you enjoy them!

Basic dough:
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce or vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
---------------------
experiment with any combination of the ingredients below:
3/4 cup raisins or cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate chips
coconut
1/2 cup peanut butter


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl blend wet ingredients then pour into the flour mixture, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. These are good warm or cool but are much easier to cut when cooled.