Gingerbread Waffles with Lemon Whipped Cream

3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup melted butter
Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping for serving

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Spray the waffle iron and cook waffles in batches. Keep warm in the oven(200 degrees). Serve with lemon whipped cream, butter and powdered sugar.

Lemon Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp powdered sugar
4 tsp lemon juice

Pour the heavy whipping cream into a large bowl. With a hand mixer set on high, whip the cream. Once cream is starting to thicken slightly, start adding the powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time while mixing. Once powdered sugar is incorporated, add lemon juice. Mix until cream is thick. Serve over waffles

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 pound dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Ranch dressing/dip

Ranch Dip

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Note:  use butter milk in place of sour cream for Ranch dressing.

This is A LOT cheaper than making the store bought ranch packet, and just as good if not better.

Hawaiian Meatballs

1 pound ground beef

½ cup breadcrumbs, moistened with milk (I’ve never moistened them with milk)

1 beaten egg

1 clove garlic, pressed

2 tsp. dry mustard

1/3 tsp. ginger

½ tsp salt

1 TB soy sauce

Form 1 inch meatballs and sauté until brown in:  2 TB oil. 

Have a paste of the following ready:

                2 TB cornstarch

                ½ cup chicken broth

                2 TB soy sauce

Melt in a heavy pan:

                2 TB butter

                Add: 1 cup chicken broth

                         ¾ to 1 cup diced green peppers

                        6 slices pineapple, diced (I use pineapple chunks or tidbits)

Cover and let simmer 5 minutes)

                Add the cornstarch paste and the following ingredients to the peppers and pineapple:

                                ½ cup vinegar

                                ¾ cup pineapple juice

                                ½ cup sugar

                                ½ tsp salt

                                ¼ tsp ginger

                Simmer  stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Serve with Rice.

 

English Muffin Bread

We LOVE this bread!  We use it for french toast and breakfast sandwiches and just about anything else you may need bread for.  We've tried several English Muffin Bread recipes and this one tops them all.  It freezes nicely...in case you like to make all your bread at once as I am prone to do.

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups warm milk (120° to 130°)
• 1/2 cup warm water (120° to 130°)
• Cornmeal

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes.
• Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Slice and toast. Yield: 2 loaves.
  

Buttery Soft Pretzels

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Navajo Tacos

We've had Navajo tacos before, however we've never made them until tonight.  Stuart found a fabulous recipe online that actually gives the story behind Navajo Fry Bread as they call it.  If you'd like to see the site, click HERE. 

Navajo Fry Bread:

1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump. 

 

Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

 

Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter.   

 

Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in whatever you choose to fry your bread in.

 

Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take about 3 to 4 minutes. 

Making it into Navajo Tacos:

We made Chili with small red beans and no meat (this was one of our meatless meals) so just use your favorite recipe for chili.  We then added lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream to taste.  It was WONDERFUL!  We quadrupled the recipe, however each fry bread is enough for one person.  It's very filling!