A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Halloween 2020: The At Home Family Party that Rocked

      

These two amazing kiddoes are the reason for our at home Halloween party.   Myia, who is  8 and the  cutest Black Panther-ess out there (okay, I might be prejudiced but look, she's  adorable!) had been very concerned about how this whole Pandemic thing was going to affect her trick-or-treating.  But Aunt Gonnie and Uncle Gene (and Uncle Hal) always take care of the kiddoes at Halloween.  We don't have kids ourselves but we've long thought that having our nieces and nephews around gives them people their own age to play with--especially at Halloween.

In our family, there was also a long tradition started by  our Aunt Bessie who always always had Chili on the stove on Halloween, along with  popcorn balls and cookies for  all the neighborhood kids. I loved that tradition so years ago, after Aunt Bessie was no longer able to entertain, I took over making sure at our house there was, and always will be, Chili, popcorn balls, and treats for all the family and friends.

Because the pandemic has changed so much in our lives, we've had to rethink our Halloween get togethers too.  Instead of opening the house to all, we focused on my brothers and sister, and their children, and grand child.   The  youngest are Junior (above, who started out the evening as a Mutant Ninja Turtle, but as he got hot ended up as mostly a naked child running through the house) and Shamyia, whom we mostly call Myia. All together there were 9 of us able to spend the evening together 

Since this is a food blog, I'll go through the food first, but at the end  I'll also talk about keeping everyone entertained which is also part of the fun of Halloween. There are four recipes: Chicken and Homemade Noodle Soup, Spider Bread, Knorr Spinach Dip, and Jello Spider in the Brain.  And then descriptions of three great activities:  Over the Top Large Halloween Word Search, Solo Cup Bowling, and Mini Cornhole.

For 30 years we've always had Chili on Halloween but this year we voted and they chose the lovely, country Chicken and Noodles  for the big pot on the stove.  And I said "No problem!"--fun change for me too.

 One note as you click on my recipe links, for some reason the blog's photo takes about 20 seconds to load so please be patient with it. I apologize. I'm working to solve the technical problem and hope to have that corrected soon.

 Glenna's Chicken  and Homemade Noodle Soup

If you are in a   hurry, I will say that Rheames makes a great homestyle egg noodle in two different shapes so if you're not in the mood to roll out pasta dough...slip over to the freezer section in the grocery store. Other than perfect shapes, no one will know the difference. 

My favorite food part of the night was Knorr Spinach Dip in my own little creation: The Bread Spider. It was a last minute "Hmm...would it work if I..." thought that  turned out to be my favorite foodie thing we had.  This will definitely become a tradition. Who doesn't like a spider than you can pull off his legs to eat dip with?

Whole Wheat & Oat Bran English Muffin Bread

 

 Yes, I confess, I am one of those freaks who likes my sandwich bread square.  No, I have no idea why.  But it is the reason why I own a Pullman Sandwich loaf pan--and LOVE it!  Perfectly square and completely covered it gives me great bread in that childhood Iron Kids bread shape. 

The bread itself is the same lovely dense, chewy bread perfect for sandwiches, holds up well with both white and red wheat, and has the added fiber and cholesterol-busting help of a cup of oat bran. 

the only two tricks I've found that I need to keep in mind when using this pan is to A) spray or grease the inside of the lid and B) Keep the lid cracked during the rising stage so I can see where the bread dough level is.  Not doing those things can cause an "Oops! Re-rise!" moment if the ungreased lid or even the greased lids pulls against dough pressing against the lid when it's opened to check and cause the dough to deflate.  Other than rising technique, no question, it's one of my favorite bread pans.   

The pan is available at several stores including King Arthur Flour (9" or 13") and Bed, Bath, & Beyond.(9"). Mine is the larger 2lb loaf.

 

Whole Wheat & Oat Bran English Muffin Bread

Recipe adapted from Little House Living (check out this blog!).  For the original recipe using white all-purpose flour, please click here:  Little House Living English Muffin Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups Whole White Wheat or regular Whole Wheat Flour can be used as well.  (Most of the flour sold in the grocery store is red wheat, white wheat is a different type of wheat, whole grained, but a little lighter in taste and texture and can be found at specialty mills like War Eagle Mill and King Arthur Flour)

1 cup Oat Bran (Can be purchased from War Eagle Mill, Ben's Red Mill, or King Arthur Flours)

1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast

1/4 cup Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 cups warm milk (110-120 degrees)

1/2 cup warm water (110-120 degrees)

Cooking spray

Directions:

1)  Here's the really fun easy part. Dump all the ingredients into the stand mixer with the paddle (not the dough hook, this dough is too wet) and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Then mix 1 minute longer.  This is long enough to coat all the little proteins in the flour with liquid and start the elasticizing of those protein bonds (check out the photo below) but you don't want to knead it too much. The crumb should come out very dense, halfway between that of yeasted bread and quick bread ...and with lots of little yeast air pockets....like English Muffins.

2)  Scoop into 1 large greased bread pan, 1 Pullman (square) bread loaf pan, or 2 small greased bread pans, filling the pans about 2/3-3/4 full.

3) Set in a warm place and let rise for 30-45 minutes ONLY. After about 20 minutes pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. You only want the dough to rise to the top of bread pan.  As soon as the dough rises to the top of the pan (but not rounded up over), bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown (dough will rise a little more in the oven.).  Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition per 1/24 of total recipe:  Calories: 102;  Protein: 5;  Carbs: 21: Fat:  1; Fiber 3.

Whole White Wheat English Muffin Bread

 

We love this bread.  Especially for sandwiches. It's that simple. 

What piqued my interest was wanting something dense and chewy, something in the Schlotzky's frame of chewy/tender/denseness.  This is like English Muffins and like Schlotzky's in that it is dense, chewy, and has lots of little (cubby)holes in it to park your mayo, horseradish, and mustard, and is delicious!, but I can't really say that is EXACTLY like English muffins or exactly like Schlotzky's bread...but it's damn good eats!

I called, in my own mind, the second photo here:  "This is your brain on bread" and the first photo (above) "This is your brain on a half roast beef sandwich to "test" the bread quality...that's my story and I'm sticking to it."

A couple of notes about the recipe. As I've said, the point is to have lots of bread bubbles but within a dense, chewy overall texture.  The recipe accomplishes that in a couple of ways that need to be heeded.  First:  yes, you really do need 1 1/2 Tbsp of yeast. The chemical reaction of the yeast within the dough forms the little bubble pockets.  Second, yes you really do need at least 1 Tbsp of sugar to feed the yeast to make that chemical reaction.  Third, the baking soda in other English muffin breads threw me for a second because baking soda only acts as a leavening in the presence of an acid. That's why quick breads like biscuits and cornbread often call for buttermilk and other recipes call for lemon juice or vinegar when using baking soda as the main leavening ingredient.  But then I remembered that even sweet (regular) milk is actually slightly acidotic in nature so the baking soda combined with the milk, again creates the chemical reaction of developing those little condiment holding air pockets.  And fourth, do NOT let this over rise or you lose the dense crumb. It's still good, very good, but it's not just as dense and chewy as what the recipe is designed for.

I made the recipe twice.  The first time exactly as was written on Little House Living blog and using all-purpose flour.  The second time I played with it, using whole white wheat (slightly less since the whole grain soaks up more liquid) and the baking soda.  Both were excellent but since I'm trying to up the amount of whole grains we eat, our preference is my version.  I have also included a link to the original recipe within my version.  Thanks to Little House Living blog for tonight's Roast Beef Sandwich deliciousness!

Slow Cooker/Crockpot Pinto "Brown" Beans & Cornbread Muffins

One of my favorite meals from childhood was "Brown" beans and cornbread.  Funny, I never realized until I started blogging how we never called beans by their real names but by colors: Brown beans = Pintos, White beans = navy, Black beans = Cuban.  Still a favorite meal, I like them just as well meatless as with ham or sausage added and my favorite way to cook them is in the crockpot.  Interestingly, I did a small experiment a few years ago and found that, in the crockpot, soaking the beans overnight doesn't make more than a 15-30 minute cooking time difference.  So I don't bother anymore.  I work nights so usually when I make them, I come in from work in the morning, throw them together in the slow cooker (takes about 5 minutes!) and wake up to the lovely smell of beans and cumin.  Tasty, not to mention so very good for me!

Carrianne's Pumpkin Bread

 This is one of those great recipes passed on by a friend. Carrianne brought a loaf of this pumpkin bread to work one night and, with one bite, I had to have the recipe. One of the things I like about it was that it's less sweet than most sweet breads.  Does that make sense?  I mentioned that and Carrianne said she'd knocked the sugar down by at least a third.  Made a huge batch of this in different pans and froze some to have for the upcoming holidays.  So good!

Interestingly, it's put together in a different method than I've seen before, although it was very easy. The pumpkin and spices are heated in a saucepan on the stove and the rest of the ingredients stirred into it in one at a time.  It works really well, just make sure to start out with a pan large enough to hold the whole batter.  This is my go to pumpkin bread recipe now.  Thanks, Carrrianne!

 

Blueberry Thunder Muffins from Persimmon Hill Berry Farm

  For those of us lucky enough to live in the southwest Missouri Ozarks, yes I am prejudiced!, we have access to great berry places like the Persimmon Hill Berry, Fruit, and Mushroom Farm.  And I was lucky enough to have an Auntie who shared with me a baggy of blueberries, a couple of wonderful muffins, and the fabulous recipe from the farm.

I seem to be on a bundt cake kick this year, she said chuckling.  Well, in my defense...Okay, I have no defense but I really like bundt cakes. They look pretty and taste yummy without being high maintenance like layer cakes.  They're the cake friend you invite over for dinner who doesn't need to be impressed because they love you just they way you are and you know you love them.  You know what I mean? 

Check out Persimmon Hill's web site for directions, picking seasons, gourmet products, and additional recipes.

Butter & Honey Angel Biscuits

 

  When I was first married and still trapped in the idea of being "the perfect wife", not that I was ever perfect, just that I tried to be what I thought  would make Gene think I was the perfect wife... boy, was there ever a more loaded psychological statement than that one?  Yes, I know.  I'm still not perfect but I do, at least, realize with 23 years hindsight that Gene loved me for who I was, and am, not because of some baggage in my head.  Anyway, back then one of my goals was to make a gorgeous, perfect, from-scratch meal every single night including homemade bread. I did it most nights but it required hours of planning in advance and a couple of hours in the kitchen every day.  And that was just for dinner!

 While I loved, and still love, to cook real life came crashing in and I soon realized that even though real food, from-scratch cooking, is always the ideal, to accomplish that even for a majority of time requires a few kitchen hacks.  Back then I had two for bread:  the bread machine and the angel biscuit. 

The beauty of angel biscuits is that you can make a huge batch and just pull off what you need for dinner, roll them out, let them rise for 20 minutes to come to room temp and bake them off.  Using both the leavening action of traditional bread: yeast, and that of the biscuit:  baking powder, plus baking soda and buttermilk. 

Baking soda is activated by acid which is why most biscuit recipes call for buttermilk.  A kitchen hack I learned in my Mom's kitchen is to use "sour milk" when buttermilk isn't available.  You simple add 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to each cup of regular or what my Nannie (Grandma) would have called "sweet milk". You simply mix the two together and let stand for a couple of minutes until it thickens and curdles:  buttermilk!

The one real drawback to angel biscuits that we didn't know about 23 years ago is shortening.  My Mom was a cake decorator, back in the dinosaur days of no other option but Crisco and powdered sugar frostings, so we had huge, multiple cans of shortening at our house.  I have a confession.  Even though I know shortening is a heart attack waiting to happen, we all know the evils of trans-fat, I think I actually drooled on myself a little in the theater when we went to see The Help and Minnie fried that lovely chicken in that big cast iron skillet full of Crisco.  Yes, ignorance was indeed bliss. I miss that shortening fried chicken!

But I wasn't willing to completely write off the angel biscuits.  You can make traditional biscuits with butter instead of shortening, they're just a little more finicky, a little more crumbly if you're trying to knead and roll them out by hand.  But with angel biscuits I don't have any problems at all.  I cut the butter in by hand (and use half the amount of it than called for in most biscuit recipes) and then put the dough together in the mixer, using a two bowl method, wet and dry, and it comes together quickly and beautifully. The texture that bakes out is tender, with a crumb exactly midway between a biscuit and a dinner roll.  Perfect for any meal but very convenient for work night dinners.  (Great with sausage gravy for breakfast too!)

Pinterest Recipe: King's Hawaiian Roll Mini Baked Ham Sandwiches

I've been seeing this recipe for King's Hawaiian Roll Baked Mini Ham Sandwiches for a long time. It looks and sounds great, but to be honest, I've been burned on some Pinterest recipes. The more loudly it proclaims "Best (fill in the blank) ever and only (fill in the blank) ingredients!" the more I now tend to ignore it.  But. I will say that this recipe is delicious.  I've seen several versions on Pinterest but I went straight to King's Hawaiian Rolls web site itself to get the recipe and it came out nicely.  The baked on sauce adds a little zing, a little salty crunch, and a little savory to the sweetness of the rolls. Yummy!

9th Annual World Bread Day: Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls

At our house, the only thing better than cinnamon rolls are warm, drizzly cherry sweet rolls. Filled with cherry pie filling, cream  cheese, and almond paste, they're just as yummy for breakfast as they are for dessert or even a midday coffee break.

Sharing bread recipes from around the world, come back later in the month to be linked to all the breads in our world basket from this year's 9th Annual World Bread Day.  Sharing foods, sharing cultures, sharing breads that adorn all of our tables!

Hot and Cheesy Bacon Dip with Milton's Original Multi-Grain Crackers

       

 All we really need here are two words:  "bacon" and "cheese".

If pushed, I could probably say a few more words: like yummy to the tummy Milton's snack crackers.  I've been a fan of their gourmet line for many years but the beauty of the snack cracker line is that that crackers are smaller so you get the crunch, the whole graininess, and the slight sweet in a smaller version so you also get bacon and cheese with every bite--that's a win every way there is to win!

Out of the six flavors Gene and I, and lots of other family members, tried these were our favorite flavors:  Original Multi-Grain, Honey Multi-Grain, and Honey & Corn, all yummy on their own or as a great base for chips or chicken and tuna salad.

In this area, southwest Missouri, they can be found at Wal-mart, Target, and Sam's Club.