Whole Wheat Lite Oatmeal Bread

I make this recipe in my bread machine, using the dough cycle to do all the kneading. After the first rise, I remove the dough from the bread machine and either form it into rolls or place in loaf pans and let the dough rise a second time before baking. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

The first time I tried this recipe I didn't have any vital wheat gluten but I went ahead and made it anyway; the bread barely rose at all. Don't skip this ingredient.

1 to 1 1/4c water (or milk, or veg stock, soymilk, any liquid you want)
1 1/2t salt (I use iodized sea salt)
1 1/2T sweetener (sugar, honey, corn syrup, molasses, whatever you want)
1 1/2T applesauce
1T gluten (or King Arthur's Bread Machine Boost)
1c oatmeal (quick cooking, regular, steel cut or any other grain--I use
it uncooked)
2 1/2c bread flour (I use 2 cups unbleached flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
2t yeast

You'll get best results with lots of machines loading this way--liquid,
dry ingredients, then flour, then yeast. Remember to never let the
yeast and salt touch in your abm for best rising results.

Peasant Bread

This breads texture is a cross between focaccia and English muffin bread. It's wonderful toasted and is so easy to make because it requires no kneading.

2¾ hours 15 min prep
2 loaves
1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water, divided
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Your choice of topping
poppy seed or garlic bread seasoning or parmesan cheese or cinnamon sugar mixture
Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar.
Add the yeast mixture and remaining 1 cup of warm water; stir until combined.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. (About 1 hour).
Stir dough down.
Divide in half.
Place each half in a greased 1 quart round casserole or ovenproof bowl.
Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with topping.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Remove from pans to cool.

Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

The family didn't mind leftover turkey when I used it to create this creamy, filling soup. Right after we finished our Christmas dinner I boiled the turkey carcass to make stock, and refrigerated it for 12 hours in order to easily skim off the fat.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped shallots (I used onions)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (or homemade stock)
1 cup quick-cooking or instant wild rice (see Ingredient Note)
3 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken (12 ounces; see Tip)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots and shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.

2. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in turkey (or chicken), sour cream and parsley and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

TIP: Ingredient note: Quick-cooking or instant wild rice has been parboiled to reduce the cooking time. Conventional wild rice takes 40 to 50 minutes to cook. Be sure to check the cooking directions when selecting your rice—some brands labeled “quick” take about 30 minutes to cook. If you can’t find the quick-cooking variety, just add cooked conventional wild rice along with the turkey at the end of Step 2.

Ground Beef and Lentil Meat Loaf

While going through the freezer clearing out the old to make way for the new, I found a chub of lean ground beef so I decided to try an idea I saw somewhere on the web. I'd give credit if I could remember where I saw it; I read a lot of blogs these days.

Also, I must mention that I am pretty much a fly by the seat of my pants kind of cook and rarely use an exact recipe; a little bit of this, a bit of that and in my book a glob is a measurement. It might have to do with the fact that before I made him move out, my drug-addicted son used all my metal measuring spoons to cook the (stolen) fentanyl he was injecting and I haven't been able to bring myself to go out and replace them....one day I might start blogging about addictions and Alanon and what I had to do to keep myself sane, but I digress....

So, post the recipe already!

Lentil Meat Loaf
1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 bag of lentils, cooked in the 1 quart crock pot until they're very tender
2 or 3 carrots, shredded and added to the cooking lentils
A handful of oatmeal
2 eggs, or one egg and two egg whites
1 onion, chopped fine
salt
pepper
spices of your choice
catsup

Put the lentils in the crockpot and cover them with water. Add the shredded carrot. Cook until the lentils are very tender, because you will be smooshing them into the ground beef mixture. After the lentils are done, turn off the crockpot and let them cool. Place the ground beef into a mixing bowl, add the onion, egg, salt, pepper, spices, and oatmeal. I used basil, oregano, garlic, marjoram, and thyme, but I imagine it would also turn out well with a package of dry onion soup mix. Then comes the messy part; add the cooled lentil/carrot mixture and mix with your hands until the lentils are completely smooshed into the meat and the spices are well distributed. Top with a little catsup. Put the mixture into a pan and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Adding the lentils and carrots stretched this into almost two pounds of meatloaf; enough for one meal, a packed lunch for Hubby and myself, and another whole meatloaf to freeze. We liked it because it was didn't dry out like meatloaf sometimes does and this dish was full of fiber and nutrients. Using lean ground beef, this dish wasn't swimming in an inch of grease like it would be if you used cheap hamburger.