Homemade French Bread Rolls

I was SO excited to make my own French Bread Rolls.  I figured I could make them and my family could use them as hamburger buns!  We picked up all the ingredients and some "bulk yeast"--who knew you could buy it that way?!  Well, it turns out that there is a BIG difference between nutritional yeast and baker's yeast.  Nutritional yeast does not contain active yeast therefore will not make your bread rise--OOPS!  Live and learn, right?
Well, I had the whole batch mixed up and put in a warm place to rise--but it didn't.  That's when I pieced it all together.
I searched on the Internet and found that you could substitute baking soda for the yeast in a 1:1 ratio and add a teasoon of lemon juice.  The baking soda was to be mixed with the dry ingredients and the lemon juice was to be mixed in with the liquid ingredients...yeah, that was a problem for 2 reasons.  One, I had already mixed the batch of dough together, and two, I had no lemon juice or lemons in the house.  Out of desperation I juiced an orange and used a teaspoon of that.  Worse case, I would toss the rolls and be out the cost of the ingredients.  Luckily, they didn't turn out so bad!  They could have been a bit "fluffier" and "lighter", but they were definitely edible.  My two biggest critics, my kids, actually liked them--hooray! 
Here is the recipe I used (and botched up) from Food.com!  I'm sure that it will turn out even better if you actually have the correct ingredients on hand!

French Bread Rolls to Die For

1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour

Directions:Prep Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 50 mins

1. Mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and let stand for about 10 minutes.
This is what it should look like except with ACTIVE yeast! 

2. In large bowl, combine yeast mixture with oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour.

Oh, and I had trouble finding organic bread flour, so I used this Arrowhead Mills flour! 

 

3. Stir well to combine.
4. Stir in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

I had some help!

 

6. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough in and turn to coat with oil.

 

7. Cover with cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Twirl and perform ballet while waiting!

 

8. Deflate the dough and turn out onto floured surface.
9. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and form into rounds.
10. Place rolls onto lightly greased baking sheet at least 2" apart.
11. Cover rolls with cloth and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake rolls for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And with all my adjustments, voila!  Here is the finished product!!!

And here is how they looked served with Organic french fries (not homemade) with a mini grassfed beef patty!  Oh, and yes that is Organic Ketchup WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup!!

Enjoy!
=o)
Jen

Slow Cooker Firecracker Chili! Awwww yeah!

Chili is great when it's hot in the Summer and great when it's cold in the Winter!  So basically, Chili is good any time of the year! 
I dug out my Crockpot because quite honestly, with all the craziness of school starting, I just wanted to have a meal that would cook itself and provide me leftovers all at the same time!  The only precooking involved in this recipe is the ground beef, which, quite honestly, I feel is the way to go so you avoid that thick layer of grease at the top.  When you brown it in the pan first, you are insuring that 1) it is cooked and 2) you've removed and drained any unnecessary fat and cholesterol--win win! Plus, by using grassfed beef, you are adding meat that is healthier and lower in fat to begin with!
This recipe is adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes.

Firecracker Chili

1 lb. ground beef (I used grassfed beef)
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1 to 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded, chopped (I used 2!)
1 14.5 oz. can tomatoes, cut up
1 10 oz. can chopped tomatoes and green chili peppers
1 cup spicy vegetable juice
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3!)
3 to 4 tsp. chili powder (I added 4!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese - 2 oz. (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream (optional)

1. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef until brown. Drain fat.
2. In a 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker, combine beef, beans, celery, onion, sweet pepper, and jalapeno peppers. Add undrained tomoatoes, vegetable juice, tomato paste, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.
3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Serve!

Again, I was able to find almost all the ingredients I used in Organic form, with the exception of the can of chopped tomatoes and green chili peppers and the spices. I added an extra garlic clove to my chili--I usually add one more than whatever the recipe calls for because garlic is just that awesome! Also, I added the word "optional" to the cheese and sour cream because quite honestly, the chili is so good that I didn't think they were even necessary.

I used my Pampered Chef Food Chopper for the celery, onions, peppers, and jalapenos--it worked AWESOME! SO quick and easy and so little mess!

The jalapeno peppers that I used were straight out of my garden! I love when I can use produce that I have planted--such a great feeling!
Here are some of the photos that I took of the chili. We served it side-by-side with some Organic jasmine rice.

Jalapenos fresh from the garden!

My Crockpot after 8 hours on the low-heat setting!

Dinner is served!!!

Enjoy!
=o)
Jen

Gluten Free Cheesy Meat Organic Lasagna

I had some frozen grassfed ground beef in the freezer and wanted to make something super yummy with it! I purchased some Gluten Free Lasagna noodles (which I didn't realize you didn't have to pre-boil which is NICE) so I wanted to use those too. I searched online for a lasagna recipe and found one written by Dianne Smith on the Suite 101 dinner ideas web site.
I took pictures of the process the whole way through! I am a very visual person so for those out there like me, hopefully this will help!
First off, here is the recipe I used:


Meat and Cheese Lasagna Ingredients

•1 pound lean ground hamburger meat (I used grassfed ground beef)
•3 cloves garlic, minced (I added 4--you can never have too much garlic!)
•1 tbsp whole basil (I added quite a bit more fresh basil!)
•1 1/2 tsp salt
•28 oz (1 lb 12 oz) canned diced tomatoes (the non-diced can can be substituted and then simply diced. Use the liquid in the can, too)--I had one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes (which gave it a little kick) and one 14.5 oz. can of plain diced tomatoes
•2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
•1/2 to 3/4 cup water, to taste, depending on the lack of dryness desired
•10 ounces lasagna noodles (I used Gluten-Free noodles)
•2 eggs
•4 cups cream style small curd cottage cheese
•1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
•2 tbsp. parsley flakes
•1 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp. pepper
•1 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or grated

All of the ingredients I had on hand were organic except for the GF lasagna noodles and the parmesan cheese which I grated fresh.

Meat Lasagna Recipe Preparation
1.Boil the noodles till tender according to the package directions in boiling, salted water; drain and then rinse. (I didn't need to pre-boil the GF noodles)

2.Meanwhile, brown the ground meat slowly in a large frying pan; spoon off the excess fat or drain it into a container to be thrown away afterward.
3.Add the next five ingredients to the meat and the water.
4.Cover and simmer the meat mixture for 15 minutes, stirring often.

5.Beat the eggs in a medium size bowl; then add the rest of the ingredients except the mozzarella.
6.Layer half the noodles in a 15 x 10 x 2" baking dish (glass Pyrex works great); spread with half the cottage cheese filling; add the next layer of half the mozzarella cheese; add the next layer of half the meat sauce. (I used a 13" x 9" pan)

First , Second, and Third Layers!

7.Repeat the exact same layers.

Ready to bake!

8.Bake at 375* for 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate; bake 45 minutes).
9.Let stand covered tightly for 15 to 30 minutes. (I added some more mozzarella cheese on top before covering it.) Tin foil can be used but be careful to not let the tin foil touch the lasagna as it can adhere to it. Plastic wrap can be used first, then covered with the tin foil to prevent this problem. Serves about 10.

Here is the finished product! 















And...here is my dinner!  We have a LOT of leftovers!!!

Lasagna does take a little bit of prep. time, but the great thing is that it makes such a large amount of food that you are sure to have leftovers!

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Enjoy!
=o)
Jen

Several reasons to eat Organic Meat!

Here is an interesting compilation of articles (see link at the end of this post) that discuss the result of the industrialization of our meat products--not a happy ending.
The relationship between E. Coli and grain fed cows is something that I, even AFTER having a daughter that was infected with this bacteria, and my husband, who has worked in the Food Safety industry for over 15 years, were unaware of! The relationship between a ruminant's diet (which affects the pH of their stomachs) and the bacteria in their gut that thrive there can be extremely dangerous. Not until I watched Food Inc. did I learn (and research more) about the correlation between feeding cows corn, a grain that they are not designed to digest, and the deadly bacteria, E. Coli. There are many reasons for this change of diet and thus the industrialization of the meat industry--mainly, quantity over quality and MONEY become the main issues. If you would like more information about all of this, I suggest you read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He provides a lot of incredible and unbelievable information about our "food chain". You will definitely walk away thinking about things you've never thought about before.
















Please check out the articles below. Whether you agree or not, it is still very interesting and I feel like there is a lot of validity to be found here.
This also helps to explain my passion for all of this. Since watching Food Inc., I have not eaten ANY meat that has not been organic and in the case of beef, grassfed. It is personal to me as the emergence of E. Coli, a bacterial infection that most likely was derived from cattle, has affected and infected my family. The inhumane treatment of feedlot animals is something I find truly disgusting and unsanitary. I could go on and on, but I'll save that for another post! ;o)

http://www.eatwild.com/foodsafety.html

=o)
Jen