Day 2: Comfort food and more muffins

On Sunday, I wasn't sure if I would spend anytime in the kitchen. I had visions of bumming around and relaxing all day. My impulse to try more recipes was stronger though and the results of my 4 hours in the kitchen were the following creations. Oh yes, and to recreate my kitchen environment, you must have the romantic comedy classic Fools Rush In on in the background, complete with a soundtrack of energizing Mexican music stylings...and Elvis Presley. Neither has anything to do with what I actually made, but the dogs had fun watching me groove to the music.

Schlotzsky's Sandwich Bread

Just the thought of their Turkey Original sandwich on Sourdough makes my mouth water. I searched online for a copycat recipe and came across this.

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3/4 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

Directions

In a small bowl stir together the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir to dissolve and set aside.

In a large bowl dissolve baking soda with the 1 1/2 teaspoons warm water. Add the warm milk, salt, and one cup of the flour. Beat with a wire whisk until smooth. Beat in yeast mixture and remaining flour. Batter should be thick, sticky, and smooth.

Prepare 2 pie pans with non-stick spray. Dust pans with cornmeal. Place 1/2 dough in each pie pan. Batter will spread during rising time. Spray top of dough with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and let rise for one hour.

Repeat spraying of bread with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool for an hour before slicing.

My Review (out of 5 stars): 3 stars; The bread had a good texture

 to it, but I was disappointed in the flavoring. I will have to prowl the web for something with more of their sourdough flavoring. I'd also increase the amounts of the ingredients because filling 2 small pie pans resulted in a thinner than expected bread and the bottom was flimsy once sliced.

Smashed Potatoes

As the blades for our handheld mixer seem to have gone mis

sing, I used a little elbow grease to smash up the potatoes once they were done boiling. It wasn't too bad actually and I don't think there are any lumps. I actually modified this recipe here because when it comes to baking, I measure, but when I'm cooking, I wing it.

Oh and just a PSA, check your grocery store for bargains on potatoes. We got a 10 lb bag for 98 cents at Bashas.

Ingredients:

5 lbs of potatoes, washed and peeled

2 large spoons worth of margarine

1 to 2 cups milk

salt & pepper to taste

Make-Ahead Preparation:

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain.

Add the butter, salt & pepper and 1 cup of the milk. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher (in our house, that would be me), adding the rest of the milk as needed. Continue to mash, adding milk/butter/salt & pepper until the desired taste and consistency

Allow potatoes to cool completely. Put into airtight containers or a covered baking dish and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to two months.

Variations:

-Creamy and indulgent: Cut the milk down to 1/2 cup and add 1 cup sour cream and 6 oz of creamed cheese at room temperature.

-A hint of onion: Subsitute onion salt for the table salt and add in some snipped chives after mashing.

-Wasabi mashed: Add in 2 to 3 tablespoons wasabi powder.

-Cheesy mashed: Add in 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.

-Homestyle: Substitute 5 lbs red potatoes. Scrub them well and leave the skins on. Unde

rmash slightly so there are still some discernable chunks.

Last Minute Preparation:
Allow potatoes to defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until heated through. Give them a stir about halfway through and add more milk for a lighter consistency.

My review (out of 5 stars): 5 stars simply because mashed potatoes are so easy, but because of the boiling time, they're hard to squeeze into the end of the day when 

you just want to get dinner ready. I made these primarily to top the shepherd's pie below and had enough for 3 dinners worth of that, plus two dinners worth of potato side dishes. I made them kind of plain, but plan to modify them depending on what the accompanying dish is. I'd like to make some homestyle red potatoes like this to have in the freezer too.

Crockpot Chili

This is one of those recipes I definitely modify as I go because nothing's exact with chili.

Ingredients• 1/3 packet of chili seasoning

• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans (I used 3 cans of chili beans from Fresh & Easy)

Directions
Okay, this is my modified version because I'm pretty laid back making these kinds of recipes. Tip: We use crockpot bags for less cleanup later--check out ebay for deals!

Dump beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce into crockpot. (The original recipe recommended blending one of the cans of beans, which would probably thicken it up, but that's your call.)

In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add to crockpot.

While meat is cooking, chop onion in food processor.

Add onion and seasonings to crockpot.

Stir together.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

I like to garnish with cheese on top with a little sprinkling of oregano. Best with cornbread.

My review (out of 5 stars): 4 stars; It's a pretty basic chili, but it's filling and hearty.

Shepherd's Pie

Meat, potatoes, and some sneaky veggies you can't taste. What's not to love? I make this recipe a little differently each time. I've previously used brown gravy for the sauce and another time I used a little white country gravy, but I went along with this recipe asking for cream of mushroom soup. Since I cannot seem to locate the recipe and because I'm pretty sure I simplified an already simplified recipe, here's what I did:

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef (for freezing ahead purposes)

1 can of peas

1 small can of cream of mushroom soup

1-2 whole carrots

mashed potatoes to top (I used what I made above)

Directions:

Brown meat in skillet until no longer pink. Drain fat.

Use potato peeler to peel carrot into short, thin strips. Set aside.

Drain can of peas.

Add peas, peeled carrots, and cream of mushroom soup to meat and stir.

Let simmer, stirring occasionally.

Scoop mixture into casserole dishes, cover with mashed potatoes, top with cheese. Put in preheated oven at 375 degrees F to allow cheese to melt and a crust to form on potatoes.

For freezing, I got foil pans from Dollar Tree (3 for $1!) and was able to fill 2 for future meals. This is in addition to the casserole dish of this we're having tonight. I let the shepherd's pie cool in the refrigerator and we're using the food saver to seal it.

My review (out of 5 stars): 5 stars; I'm a little biased. I love this dish, regardless of modifications. In this case, I think the cream of mushroom soup works and almost tastes like a gravy. It's such a wonderful comfort food.

Banana Nut Loaf, Banana Nut Muffins, and Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

As you may have guessed, bananas were on sale too. 3 lbs for 98 cents. I ended up buying more than that so if you're needing a potassium supplement, swing by our house!

Ingredients (I doubled this recipe to make all of the above)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening2 eggs
1 cup very ripe bananas mashed to liquid (usually about 3 bananas)...I used 3 or 4 bananas that were basically black on the outside and then about 4 of the 

new bananas
2 tsp vinegar (or lemon juice)...I skipped this ingredient because I found neither in our pantry
1 tsp vanilla1 t black walnut flavoring (optional)...did not use
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt

a bag of chopped or crushed walnuts

1/3-1/2 bag of chocolate chips
Combine shortening and sugar, then add eggs, mashed bananas, vinegar (optional) & vanilla.
Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, add to mixture--mix well but do not beat as for regular cake.

Fill loaf pan or muffin pan about 2/3 full. If you want to add walnuts, sprinkle on top.

For chocolate chip banana muffins, use remaining mixture and mix in chocola

te chips. I used about 1/3 of the bag for 9 muffins.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes for loaf, about 30 minutes for muffins.

Freezing is the same as the pumpkin muffins--wrap in plastic, put a bunch in a freezer bag and freeze. To eat after freezing, microwave 1 minute. Voila.

My review (out of 5 stars): Unrated until I try them (and then I'll update), but Brady seemed to love them all. They do look awfully pretty, if I do say so myself.

To give you an idea how much I baked...here's the lot minus the Chocolate chip pumpkin bars that disappeared pretty quickly.

I'm planning on trying out a lot more recipes and I'll post the results once I do!