Honey Whole Wheat & Oat Bread

Ok, so there is a reason I don't post bread recipes very often.  If I make it, I eat it.  Home Made Bread is just one of those things that I can't say no to, so my poor family suffers because I will only make bread like twice a year!  I've been eyeing this recipe for about 2 months now because one of the main ingredients is Oatmeal.  No, not oats, oatmeal!  You actually boil water, stick the oats in and let it cook into oatmeal, and then you add it to your recipe.  It's awesome!  And its sweetened with Honey, not sugar.  AND its wheat!  You can actually do half wheat, half white, and it turns out awesome too!  This recipe comes from a friend of mines sisters friend,  Julia! So to a fabulous Friday and eating bread!

Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
½ c. milled flax seed
3 Tbsp yeast
8-9 c whole wheat flour (you can use ½ white if you like as well)
½ c. honey
1 tsp baking soda
4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp olive oil

Oatmeal:
Before you begin, boil 4 cups of water (do not add salt) and once it boils, add 2 cups of oatmeal.  Turn off heat and stir well.  Let oatmeal cool to luke warm before beginning recipe.

Yeast:
Once oatmeal has cooled, mix 3 Tbsp yeast and 1 tsp sugar with 1 cup warm water in a small bowl to proof the yeast.  Let it rise while adding other ingredients to the mixer.

Mixer:

Add oatmeal first, then ½ c. honey, 1 tsp baking soda, 4 tsp salt, ½ c. milled flax seed, 5 Tbsp olive oil.  Add yeast (once proofed) and two cups of whole wheat flour before beginning to mix.  Turn on mixer, and continue to add flour gradually, one cup at a time until dough pulls away from the walls…(usually 8-9 cups total.)  Use whatever ratio of wheat to white you like, but bread flour works best if you decide to use white flour too.  Mix well for a few minutes or until dough begins pulling away from the sides and is “tacky” to the touch but not really sticky.  Remove the mixing blade, cover the dough, and allow it to rise (usually about an hour).  Once dough has risen, divide it evenly into three equal loaves and knead on a floured surface to make three loaves.  Put into greased bread pan and let rise again (about 30-45 minutes).  Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Once out of the oven, butter the tops of the bread and allow it to rest for 10 minutes in the pan before removing the bread onto a cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dream Bars

Oh Me.  Oh My.  There. Is. No. Words.  I think I finally found the mother of all peanut butter desserts.  No Lie.  This will be my new go to recipe for anyone requesting a dessert!  Of course I found this floating around Pinterest hiding away in my Dessert Board drooling over it for months.  But I try not to make desserts too often, because I'm the one sitting at home trying to hide them from myself all day.  But my friend was having a charity bake sale, so heck it was worth every calorie!  I have something similar posted in my Dessert section called PATCH BROWNIES,  that are super good.  But when you combine Sweetened condensed milk and chocolate, that's a lot of SWEET, which the Patch brownies do!  But these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dream Bars combine Sweetened Condensed milk and Peanut Butter, oh wow!  That was the ticket.  Then it's crumbled with Reeses Peanut Butter cups & Chocolate Chips.  I highly recommend buying the King size Peanut Butter cup package, or the holiday Peanut Butter Cups such as the reeses eggs that are out right now, because there is a much higher peanut butter to chocolate ratio that makes it that much more better!  Did that sentence make sense?  Any who....

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dream Bars:

1 Cup Melted Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 1/4 Cup Quick Cooking Oatmeal
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 King Size Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Candy Bar
1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray lighlty with PAM.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, soda, oatmeal, flour & salt until it’s crumbly.

Set aside about 1 cup or a little more.

Press the rest of the crust into prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes. 

While crust is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk.

Once crust has baked, evenly pour and spread peanut butter filling over the baked crust. Be gentle so you don’t pull up the warm crust while you spread the filling. 

Evenly sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top of the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle the chopped candy bars and chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to oven to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until topping is light golden brown and candy bars/chips are melting.

Allow to cool to make cutting and serving easier. 

Crepe Chicken Enchiladas

So right now in this stage of life, I'm always trying new healthy meals that really don't get my kids too excited to eat dinner.  They don't enjoy spicy, veggie filled dishes or salads, and I do.  So I find myself making it for myself and then making grill cheese sandwiches or mac and cheese for my kiddos.  But one thing my kids LOVE and request for breakfast every Sunday is Crepes.  I know these aren't breakfast crepes, but when I saw them while scrolling pinterest, I knew my boys would love them if they just tried them!!!  They are inspired by Six Sisters Stuff Food Blog, but I changed them quite a bit to my liking!  And I thought they were fantastic, and sooo did my kids!

First you start by making a batch of regular good old crepes.  Next time I make these, I will probably substitute my flour for gluten free flour, like oat flour, or almond meal.  That way I wont feel so guilty if I have one.  Or two.

After you stuff them with your filling, and cover them with your sauce you pop them in the oven like regular enchiladas, and there you have it my friends.  YUM!

Crepe Chicken Enchiladas

Yield: 10-12 Enchiladas

Crepes:
1 1/3 Cup Milk
2 TBLSP olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 eggs- beaten
1 1/3 Cup Flour

Mix everything but the flour until fluffy, then add the flour in and mix well.  In a medium size skillet, med heat, add 1/3 Cup of batter and swirl around on pan.  Heat until lightly browned on the underside, then flip.  Cook an additional minute.

Filling:
2 Cups cooked Chicken Breast chopped - I season with Season Salt, Pepper & garlic powder
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
8 0z of Light Sour Cream
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1/2 small can diced green chilis
dash of cayenne pepper
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese - or any cheese you like

After cooking the chicken, set aside and heat up the additional Filling ingredients in pan.  Take about 1/3 of the filling out and set aside.  Mix the chicken in the remainder and fill crepes, roll and set in pan..  With your reserve filling, add:

1/3 Cup of water with 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon dissolved in it.
Pour over top of crepes.

Bake in the oven at 350* for 15 minutes.  Take out and add more grated cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Skinny Chicken Salad

So I'm not gonna lie.  I've kind of been eating the same thing for lunch almost every day for two weeks now.  That would be the Healthy Thai Chicken Salad I posted Last week, and this Skinny Chicken Salad I'm posting today, both from OUR BEST BITES!

This recipe, I've actually eaten tons in the past year but with a little spin on it I'll share with you at the end if you want to mix it up.

Just looking at this salad you feel healthy, right? And it seriously is delishous!!

 You can eat it out of a bowl, or add it to a big peice of lettuce and make it a lettuce wrap.

Yeild:  1 Serving

4 oz, or 1 Cup diced or shredded Chicken
1/4 Cup diced apple (gala is my favorite)
2 TBSP diced green onion
1/4 Cup or one stalk celery diced
1 TBSP light mayo
1 TBSP greek yogurt or light sour cream
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp curry powder
1 TBSP sunflower seeds or sliced Almonds

Combine all the ingredients above and enjoy!  Or combine all ingredients except the seeds or almonds and chill for an hour, then add and enjoy!

The other option I have for this salad is to leave out the curry powder and green onion, but you add 1 cup of shredded cabbage/coleslaw, and no nuts.  It is soo yummy this way as well!!!

Healthy Thai Chicken Salad

 So Happy New Year!  I think this time of year everyone has New Years Resolutions to eat healthier.  I know I do every year.  I can't help but to indulge in the holiday foods that are passed around and baked in my home!  Usually I gain at least 5 lbs from Halloween to New Years Eve, then vow to get it back off by April.  This year, I am happy to report I actually lost 10 lbs in the past 2 months.  It took a lot of self control to pass up the goodies, but I made sure not to deprive myself of my absolute favorites!!
Anyways, onto this Thai Chicken Salad.  Yumm!  I adapted this from of course my favorite food blog, OUR BEST BITES!!  I left a few things out, and changed portion sizes because I recalculated their calculations and they were way off.  They said it was 399 calories and it was way over!  So I made it 373 calories and very satisfying!!!

I use this PB2 powdered peanut butter in place of regular peanut butter to save a LOT of calories.  I use it in my Protein Shakes as well and it tastes great!!

Yeilds: 1 serving
373 calories using the PB2 rather than creamy peanut butter

1 Cup shredded cabbage
3/4 Cup cooked shredded chicken
1/4 Cup cooked and cooled Quinoa
1 Green Onion - Diced
1/4 Cup - diced celery
2 TBLSP- chopped cilantro

Dressing:
1 TBLSP - PB2 (powdered peanut butter) or creamy Peanut Butter
1 tsp - olive oil
1 TBLSP- rice vinegar
1 tsp - soy sauce
1 tsp - agava or honey

1 TBLSP- chopped cashews
1 lime wedge

Combine the top salad ingredients.  I like to bake my chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic at 350 for about 25-35 min, depending on size of chicken breasts.  And precook them by golly so your not having to wait soo long for lunch!!  The quinoa as well.  Pre-cook and store in refridgerator.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whip it until well combined.  Pour it over your salad and toss to combine.  Top with your cashews and a squirt of lime.
That my friends, is a good, healthy salad!!

Pumpkin Rolls

So I know, its been like months since I've posted a new recipe!  I blame it on the combination of having a cute little baby around, AND trying to operate a new computer!  Anyways, I made these yummy pumpkin Rolls for BUNKO this month and not only did my mouth water over them, I had MANY people begging for the recipe so they could make them for Thanksgiving!  Aren't they just darling!!!  And they really don't take that much more time than rolling up plain old circle!!  I wish I would have taken pics during the process, but I've been soo out of the loop about blogging my food,  until THIS BLOGWORTHY yummy pumpkin roll!  Which of course I found on Pinterest with a way cooler picture than mine!

Yield 30 Rolls:

3/4 cup whole milk, scalded

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 packages active dry yeast (1/2 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon white sugar

1/4 cup lukewarm water

5 cups all-purpose flour

15-20 pecan halves, sliced into 3 vertical sections

1/4 cup melted butter, optional

Directions

1. Pour hot milk in a mixing bowl, add butter and stir to melt. Add sugars, pumpkin puree, salt to the milk and combine well.
2. In a small bowl proof yeast in a lukewarm water with a teaspoon sugar. When it gets foamy add to the pumpkin mixture, and add the egg, mix well.
3. Add in flour gradually until well combined. The dough will be sticky.
4. If using electric mixer, attach a dough hook and beat the mixture until the dough itself pulls from the side of the bowl.
5. Turn the dough out to your table or  board dusted with a little flour. Knead with hand for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball shape, place in a greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hr.
6. Punch the dough to deflate and knead it for a few seconds on a board. Cut the dough in half. Cut each half into about 15 pieces.
7. Roll each piece into a ball shape with your hand. Flatten the piece with palm of your hand a little. Using a knife, give 8 cuts on the edge to mimic flower pedals but the leave center uncut.
8. Poke the center with your finger to give a deep indentation, and repeat the same procedure to all the other pieces.
9. Place them, 2" apart, on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or baking mat, and let them rise again to be doubled, about 45 minutes.
10. Preheat oven 350ºF for 20 minutes.
11. If the center indentation is not obvious on the rolls, poke them again with your finger.
12. Brush with egg wash, if you wish, and bake for 9-12 minutes until the top gets slightly golden.
13. Brush the rolls with melted butter or a little honey diluted with water to make it shine if you wish.
14. Insert pecan slices on top for your pumpkin stem.

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake Brownies

 Can you say YUM??  Ok, we all know I have a peanut butter obsession, but I can honestly say even if you don't, you will LOVE these!!  Just look at how ooey gooey these things are!  And it doesn't have that dry, stick to the top of your mouth peanut butter, it is a really smooth and  melt in your mouth texture!  A must try!  I brought these to a ward party and then to a BBQ and had many people asking for the recipe,  so here goes.  And the sad thing is, I've had this recipe hanging out on my email that my sister sent me months ago to try and it took me this long to get to them!!  There is also another recipe floating around pinterest, but after looking at the ingredients of them both, this one  won my heart!!

Cake:
1/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown sugar
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
3/4 Cup butter
6 TBLSP buttermilk
1/2 Cup peanut butter
3 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 TBLSP vanilla

Preheat Oven to 375*,  In a medium pot add the Peanut butter, water and butter and bring to a boil..  Remove from heat.  In a seperate mixing bowl, mix the sugars, flour, salt and baking soda.  Add the peanut butter mixture to it and mix well.  Add in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and mix well.
Pour into a gread cookie sheet pan with an edge.  Bake for 15 minutes.

For the Frosting:  in a small pot bring the butter, buttermilk and peanut butter to a boil.  Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Whip it really good and fast to make it creamy rather than runny..  Let the cake rest for about 15 minutes, then pour the frosting over the warm cake and spread.