Food Friday - Hamburger Buns

These have a really nice texture and taste. We had them last week with sloppy Joes and they were enjoyed by all: 5 Celery Sticks* from the whole Bamafam.

You can do this either by hand or in a Kitchen Aid (or whatever).

Brew:
1 T Yeast
1 T Sugar
1/2 C Warm Water

Mix:
1 T Butter
1 Egg White (save the yolk)
1 1/2 t Salt

Add:
Yeast Mixture
1 T Honey

Knead in:
1 3/4 C Flour

• Knead by hand for 10 minutes or with machine for 5 minutes. The dough will be pretty soft and sticky.
• Cover and let rise until double in size (60-90 minutes).
• Punch down (use flour to lessen the stickiness).
• Divide into two lumps and then divide each lump into three parts.
• Form six round lumps of dough and place on a greased cookie sheet.
• Using your leftover egg yolk and 1 T of water, make an egg bath and coat your buns generously. (At this point you can also top with sesame seeds, garlic salt, onion salt, or whatever tickles your fancy.)
• Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 f and bake 15 minutes.
• Cool, slice in half, eat.

*Food Friday has a new rating system (as opposed to the old one? I know...). If I share a recipe that we have recently tried, I will let you know how we enjoyed it. Stars just don't seem culinary enough though so we will rate it on a scale of 1-5 Celery Sticks (5 being the best of course). Some day Phil is going to create me an image that I can actually show the ratings but for now you will have to be content to read the ratings.

Food Storage Baby Style

I've been thinking about food storage more lately (along with a lot of others). Two weeks ago we had a really great Stake Conference. It was right as Ike was whirling around our neck of the woods. We were admonished to prepare for more disasters and storms (physical and figurative). I need to do better at getting a handle on our supply and then rotating it (and adding to it).

I think one of the reasons that this is hitting me more is because I am now responsible for someone besides myself. As terrible as it would be to be hungry myself, it would be beyond my imagination to see Eden hungry. How would I explain to her that she couldn't have milk or cheese or dinner before going to bed.

It made me realize that our powdered milk is low-fat and until she is two, she still needs to drink whole milk. I went to the store and found three options:

1. Whole Powdered Milk
2. Toddler Formula
3. Boxed Whole Milk (not dehydrated) - it does not require refrigeration

I chose option 3 for our immediate needs. I will probably also do some of option 1. She is six months away from being able to drink the low-fat stuff so I probably won't go crazy getting tons (she'd probably be fine drinking some low-fat stuff now).

Once again, being a parent totally changes the way I think about things. I am responsible for this adorable, bright, loving, amazing little soul (who, incidentally, calls me "mommy" finally!).

Food Friday - World Bread Day

I found this site and learned of World Day of Bread (third annual!).
Hey Food Friday Folks, let's participate!

Food Friday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake

I got the idea for this from a restaurant in Utah. My mom duplicated it and then I decided to try to duplicate it too. As too many of my "jazz" recipes, this one doesn't have specific measurements but I'll try to give you a good idea of what to do.

1 Chicken Breast - cubed
4-5 Mushrooms - sliced (you can also use a can of sliced mushrooms)
1/2 Onion - chopped
1 T Garlic - minced
1 1/2 C Chicken Broth
1/2 C Flour
2 T Olive Oil
1 1/2 C Milk (or Half and Half)
1 C Dry Penne Pasta
Salt, Pepper, Italian Spices (thyme, oregano, basil) to taste
1 Tomato - chopped
1/2 C Bacon or Ham - cut in pieces (I just use the ready-made bacon bits that come in a bag)
1/3 C Parmesan Cheese
1/3 C Mozzarella Cheese

Saute (in the 2 T of oil) the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Add chicken cubes and seasonings. Next add the 1/2 C flour and mix until the chicken is well coated (it will be pasty). Add the chicken broth and cook until it becomes thickened. Add the milk and stir until smooth (but don't thicken). Remove from heat.

Place the dry pasta in a medium-sized casserole dish. Pour the chicken mixture over the pasta. Mix in the tomato, bacon, and parmesan cheese. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Serve with bread and veggies and a side-dish of fruit.

Food Friday - News Flash

Food Friday is preempted with this exciting news:

She Walks!

At about 3:00 today she came up to me and said, "mother, I believe it is now time to go retrieve the mail." Ok, she really said, "side, may" which of course means, "outside, mail." While we were getting the mail my neighbor walked across the street and began to visit. Eden was standing, holding on to my finger. Well, apparently we talked longer than she wanted and Eden let go of my hand and walked away. Since then she has walked all over the house and outside. Amazing.

Food Friday - Citrus Glazed Pork

I got this from my sister, Heather. We don't have a grill so we just do it in the oven. It is great either way!


1 (8oz) pork tenderloin
1/3 cup orange marmalade
2 TBSP chopped fresh mint (I use dried much cheaper & easier)
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced (2 t)

• Cut tenderloin in half length wise, sprinkle with pepper.
• combine remaining ingredients and stir well. Brush over tenderloin. (I usually marinade it for 4-8 hours).
• Reserve remaining marmalade mixture.
• Place tenderloin on grill over med heat. Cook 8 minutes on each side or until done, basting frequently (not needed if you marinade).
• Place remaining mixture in sauce pan and cook till reduced (I usually add a can of mandarin oranges to the sauce).

If you do it in the oven you bake it (with all the marinade) at 375 for 30 minutes.