As most of you (maybe?) know, I'm not a big hamburger eater. Give me a steak any day and I'll tear it up, but hamburger? Eh. But.......we have over 30 lbs. of the stuff, so I try to make it work for me in a variety of ways. This past week, I decided to make hamburgers that we could grill instead of using it in tacos (like I do 94.68% of the time). Oh yeah, I also felt ambitious enough to make homemade buns, too.
About the buns. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com that had stellar reviews and (I think) 4.5 stars. Lets just say mine didn't come out looking or feeling anything like the reviews or pictures led me to believe they would. They didn't really rise much, which surprised me because the yeast bloomed like crazy. I noticed, though, that when I was rolling them out, they didn't get the "shiny" outside like the recipe said they would. They weren't bad, they were just kind of flat and dense. Not my favorite recipe (and I most likely won't use it again), but they worked for the burgers that night.
At the end of the grilling process, Buppy topped our burgers with Swiss cheese so it'd melt and get all ooey-gooey. I love ooey-gooey cheese, but really, who doesn't? We finished our burgers with green leaf lettuce, and I think Buppy added mayo to his. To round out the meal, we had homemade potato chips. I actually made sure to bike extra long that day so I could splurge. Way to think ahead, right?? We found that the chips are best cut 1/24" thick (with the NEW MANDOLINE Buppy got me for my birthday!), then fried at 375F for 7+/- minutes depending on how full the fryer is (don't overcrowd). We seasoned some with Old Bay, some with Cajun seasoning, some with seasoned salt and fresh cracked black pepper.......they were all pretty good. Homemade potato chips just rock my socks. Well, most chips do, but I like that I can season homemade ones with whatever I want.
Bread and most things yeast related scare me, less so now that I use a bread machine, but still. There's the rising and punching and rising and . . . well, it's just a lot to handle. What can I say, I get overwhelmed easily. Stop judging me! Today I happened to have everything on hand to make some yummy bread, and I had just found a recipe I wanted to try on For the Love of Cooking, so I was set.
I proofed my 1st packet of yeast, from 2009, and surprise! It didn't work. So I went with a 2nd packet, determined that if this one failed too, I was heading for the store. This bread would be made today, come hell or high water. Luckily it proofed, and I continued on with the recipe as directed. Whew!
No need to detail out the recipe here, because I'd feel redundant since I followed Pam's recipe 100%. My only simple addition was to sprinkle 1 loaf with garlic bread sprinkle prior to baking.
As I said in a previous post, yeast and things that need time to rise intimidate me. With that being said, I miss my grandma's homemade bread (best bread ever!) and knowing what's in my bread. Since I'm currently unemployed, what better time to learn to make bread? I have plenty of time on my hands (not that I need much since I'm using a bread machine), so I got busy. Oh yeah, I also had a large bag of bread flour in the freezer that I bought . . . last year?
Bread Machine Bread
Source: allrecipes.com
1 c. warm water (110F)
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 (.25 oz.) package bread machine yeast
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 c. bread flour
1 tsp. salt
Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. Select "basic" or "white bread" setting and press start.
How simple is this? Buppy & I like this bread, and I'm thinking of adding spices to it in the future. Not sure what yet, but something to jazz it up a little. This makes really great sandwiches, and I bet it'd be good as French Toast, too. I don't really eat French Toast, but I'm thinking Buppy & the kids would enjoy it. Have to try that soon. Good stuff. Enjoy!
Is it really only Tuesday so far? I feel as though this week is dragging by, and yet I’ve only been dragged to Tuesday afternoon. Bah. I suppose the slow, molasses feeling stems from my want for this Saturday’s wedding to be over and done with. Then, onto bigger and better things!
I went grocery shopping last night, mainly to use some decent coupons since one of our local stores periodically runs a coupon special: double coupons from .51 cents to $1, triple anything .50 cents and under. It's pretty handy when you have multiple $1 off coupons. I sorted through some coupons while on my lunch break, made a list, then headed to the store after work. I'm happy to say that the trip was a success and I'm now a black belt coupon ninja. My original bill was $77.03; after coupons and the discount for using several re-usable bags, I ended up spending $35.69. Yup, I saved a total of 54%. And funny enough --- grocery shopping is kind of relaxing for me, so it was a win-win sitch all around last night.
While Buppy’s only been gone for 2 days so far, it’s hard to get motivated in the kitchen when I have only my own mouth to feed. I’m used to at least 2, and often times 4, people to cook for. After he left on Sunday, I managed to make some praline apple bread, which for some odd reason baked out of one side of the pan. Left me an icky mess on the side of the bread pan and in the bottom of my oven. I’ve made that bread twice now, and this is the first mishap I’ve had. Odd.
Tonight I have to finish making split pea & ham soup. I cooked off a ham bone we had in the freezer over the weekend to make the ham stock, and now I have to actually make soup with said stock. I pulled out some turkey ham I had in the freezer to throw in, too; not sure how it’ll be with the turkey ham since I’ve never tried it in soup before, but how bad could it be [knock on wood!]?
I . . . am in love. Fear not though Buppy, it's not with another man. It's with Praline Apple Bread. This stuff is so addicting, yummy, delicious, fantastic and blog worthy I can hardly contain myself! I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started the recipe, but the end results surpassed anything I could have hoped for. The bread has such great apple flavor, stayed very moist and the glaze is . . . oh the glaze! I could eat that with a spoon! I'll delay you no more in your quest for the best apple bread ever. Debbie, bless your heart! (This first picture is of the bread right out of the oven, before the glaze is added. The second picture is of it glazed.) 
Praline-Apple Bread
(Southern Living, Sept. 2009; Debbie Grusska, Hobart, IN)
1 ½ c. chopped pecans, divided
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ c. finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about ¾ lb.)
½ c. butter
½ firmly packed light brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. Bake ½ c. pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6-8 min. or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 min. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 min. or until blended. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and ½ c. toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan. 
Sprinkle with remaining 1 c. chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter. Bake at 350F for 1 hr. to 1 hr. and 5 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Shield with aluminum foil after 50 min. to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 min.; remove from pan to wire rack.
Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 min. Remove from heat and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hr.). Enjoy!I'm linking this recipe up to Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap (baked goods). Check here for other fab baked good recipes!
