Bread Machine Plain White Bread

2/3 cup water
2 cups flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp yeast

Combine the yeast, water, and a little of the sugar and let it set for a few minutes to proof the yeast. Put all ingredients in the bread machine and hit start.

Taco Bread

1 tsp yeast
1 1/3 cup bread flour
2 T. taco seasoning
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
4 tsp sugar
2/3 tsp salt
1 T applesauce
3/4 c. warm water

Put everything in the bread machine and set the crust to "light".

Mark's Pizza Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose)
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Mix a little sugar into the warm water.

2. Sprinkle yeast on top.

3. Wait for 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.

4. Pour into a large bowl.

5. Add flour and salt.
   

6. Combine.

7. Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to).

8. Cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes.

9. Prepare two 12-inch pizza pans with parchment paper or use pizza stones.

10. Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal.

11. Divide dough in half.

12. Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan. (Use parchment paper if you don't have a pizza stone to keep crust from sticking).

13. Try to make it thicker around the edge.

14. If desired, pre-bake at 425 F for 10 minutes (I don't always do this).

15. Then spread with pizza sauce and use the toppings of your choice.

16. Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.

17. Makes 2 12-inch pizzas.

18. If you don't want to use all the dough, you can freeze it. Take a portion of dough, form into a ball, wrap in parchment paper, and place it in a freezer bag. When you want to make a pizza, take dough out of freezer and allow to thaw before using.

Mashed Potatoes

Dice potatoes and boil until tender.
Once they are tender, drain, reserving some of the liquid.
Season with sea salt and pepper, using some of the liquid, some soy milk, and a little veggie broth until the consistency is right.

Who needs butter and milk?

Scrambled Tofu

Place 1 block of soft tofu in a pan and cover with water. Heat til boiling and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Drain the tofu pressing out all the water you can, dice the tofu and put in a non-stick skillet.
Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and about 1/4 tsp of tumeric and toss well.
Add some frozen chopped onion, green pepper and some diced potatoes and cook til everything begins to brown.

This is a great breakfast dish and is good on a plate or would be good in a tortilla with some salsa.

Vicki's Easy Hummus

1 - 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
juice and zest of 1 lime
3 Tbl of the chickpea liquid (more or less)
garlic to taste
sea salt to taste

Whirl the chickpeas in the food processor until they are smooth and add the rest.

Quick and easy!

Crunchy Crust Apple Pie

Make a pie crust using Grape Nuts cereal and just enough frozen apple juice concentrate to make the cereal wet and sticky and press the mixture in a pie pan. (probably about 1/3 cup)

Core, peel and dice 5 or 6 apples. I used Red Delicious because that's what I had.
Add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves and 1/4 tsp nutmeg and toss to coat the apples. (I just used whatever I found in the spice cabinet)
Add 1/4 c whole wheat flour and stir again.
I added the juice of 1/2 lemon to keep the apples from getting dark.
Add 1/2 c. brown sugar (I used the Splenda half and half brown sugar) and about 1/4 c. maple syrup to sweeten.

Put the apple mixture in the crust and bake 30 minutes at 350.

Vegan Lasagna

So the menu at Care Group last night was lasagna and I decided that it would be fun for us to have the same thing. I had been thinking I could make a decent lasagna using silken tofu. I did a quick Google search and saw that someone had posted a recipe using tofu instead of ricotta cheese so I put this together. I made a small pan for the 2 of us and enough to share with the curiousity seekers.

8 whole wheat lasagna noodles boiled until tender

1 jar of Wild Oates 365 Brand no fat spaghetti sauce - or make your own.

1 pack of silken tofu - placed in food processer until creamy
add some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, parsley, and egg substitute powder and water equal to 1 egg. Mix well in the food processer until blended.

1/2 pack frozen spinach (cut leaf is what I like) - thawed in the microwave and drained well.

Layer all of the above as many times as you like and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350.

Honestly, all we missed was the cheese on the top. The seasoned tofu really did a good imitation of ricotta.

Faux Chicken and Rice

1 Bag of Morning Star* brand "Chicken Strips"
1 chopped onion
Brown together in a non-stick skillet til onion is tender.

1 cup of basmati rice
2 cups of water (I used half mushroom broth and half water)

Dump all of the "chicken" and the onion into the pot with the rice and water and throw in a few green peas, carrots and other veggies (celery would probably be good if you like it.)

Cook til the rice is fluffy. We added just a little sea salt to our portions on our plates.

The aroma reminded me of Thanksgiving while it was cooking. I had a little cranberry sauce on the side. It was delicious!

*The chicken strips have expeller pressed canola oil as the very last ingredient on the list. It seems pretty negligible to me and since we don't have heart disease, we enjoy these. :)

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c Splenda
1/2 c Brown sugar and brown Splenda mix
1 individual serving size of unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg or egg substitute (for vegans)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/2 c raisins
1 tsp vanilla

Blend together till mixed well. You may need to add about 1 T. of water.
Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes til done.

Vegan Spaghetti Squash

Prepare a spaghetti squash by cutting in half, wrapping with plastic wrap, and microwaving for 10 minutes or until soft. Clean out the middles with a spoon, getting all the seeds, then use a fork to separate the squash into spaghetti-like strands.

Top with homemade sauce with lots of garlic - or use your favorite jarred sauce.

3-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe in the World
SINFULL 3 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!

1 Coffee Mug (microwave safe) large in size
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) mini chips would be the best
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (a
bit less time if your microwave is stronger). The cake will rise over
the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now
we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the
day or night!

Shepherd's Pie

1 small onion
1.5 pounds ground beef
Two 8oz cans tomato sauce
2 small cans whole kernel corn
8-10 med new red potatoes
1.5 cups milk
12 tbl butter
Sour cream
2 cups instant biscuit mix

Potato layer: Peel and slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Cook in boiling water about 15 minutes. Whip with an electric mixer, adding about 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup sour cream, and a stick of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.

Beef layer: Saute onion in 2 tbl butter. Add ground beef. After beef is browned, drain. Return to low heat and add tomato sauce and one small can of whole kernel corn.

Biscuit layer: Combine biscuit mix and 1 cup milk. The mix should be thinner than normal biscuit dough, but not runny.

Using a greased 8x11 (or larger) casserole dish, layer the mashed potatoes about half-way up. Next, add the other can (heated) of corn, then the beef layer. Top with the biscuit dough and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, or until biscuit layer is golden brown.

Cake mix cookies

Chrissy and I were at a meeting last night and somebody brought some good cookies. I told her I liked the cookies, and she gave me the recipe. I bet she had no idea it would be on the internet 12 hours later...

1 box Duncan Hines cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tbl water
1 pack chocolate chips (or 1/2 pack choc chips and 1/2 bag Reece's Pieces)

Stir

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Nanny sent this note and recipe along:

Hi Brad, I just made my first Snickerdoodles and if you eat one right out of the oven with a cold glass of milk, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven!.....almost. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup oleo softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbl sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
2 3/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp cream of tartar

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and oleo; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well.

Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, mix until well blended. In small bowl, combine 2 tbl sugar and cinnamon.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls, roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Note: for thinner cookies: place balls of coated dough on cookie sheet and press gently with the bottom of a glass dipped in flour. 4 dz cookies. (they're better than Wal Mart's!)

Butterfinger Cake

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix, baked according to pkg. directions
1 jar Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 oz.) tub Cool Whip
3 regular size Butterfinger bars

Preparation/Instructions:
After cake has cooked and cooled, take a wooden spoon and punch holes all over cake. Open and pour sweetened condensed milk over top of cake. Let that soak in and then pour caramel ice cream topping over it. Top with Cool Whip and crushed Butterfinger pieces. Keep refrigerated.

(This is pretty similar to Nanny's Better Than You-Know-What Cake, which uses Heath Bars and Chocolate Cake.)

Lemon-Lime Cake with Pineapple Frosting

1 box lemon cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding mix
1 cup Sprite
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 lg eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pans with cooking spray.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, Sprite, oil, and eggs in large bowl; beat at medium speed until batter is smooth. Pour batter in pans.

Bake 18-20 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool cake and ice with Pineapple frosting. If stacked, do not frost sides.

ICING:
1 tub of Vanilla frosting.
Add 1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained.
(1 1/4 cups coconut optional)
Mix well.
Hint: If you beat the can of frosting first, it will almost double in size.

Better than you-know-what chocolate cake

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix, baked according to pkg. directions
1 jar Mrs. Richardson's Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 jar Mrs. Richardson's Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Topping
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz.) tub Cool Whip
6 Heath toffee bars

Preparation/Instructions:
When cake comes out of oven, take a wooden spoon and punch holes all over cake. Open and pour sweetened condensed milk over top of cake. Let that soak in and then pour caramel ice cream topping over it. Let that soak in and then pour chocolate fudge ice cream topping over cake. Crush 4 candy bars and scatter over top. When ready to serve top with Cool Whip and remaining 2 crushed candy bars. It is ready to enjoy!

Coffee cake

From Paula Deen, with only slight changes

16 to 18 unbaked frozen dinner rolls
1 (3.5 ounce) package regular butterscotch pudding mix, not instant
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

The night before place frozen rolls in well greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over rolls. Sprinkle brown sugar over pudding mix. Sprinkle chopped pecans over brown sugar. Pour melted butter over all. To prevent the dough from forming a hard crust while its rising overnight, cover with a damp towel or tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Let rise overnight at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn pan over onto a serving platter to remove. Serve by pulling apart chunks with forks.