Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

I was looking for a good apple muffin recipe and happened upon this one. I made a lot of modifications so I'm just going to claim this one as mine. I loved how I didn't need flour. I thought my family wouldn't like these because they are "too" healthy but they gobbled them up. I wish I doubled the recipe. :)

Makes 15 muffins

3 cups quick oats
1 cup milk (I used 2% but vanilla unsweetened almond milk would be yummy too)
2 eggs
1/2 cup agave
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 cup diced apples

Mix everything together.  Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

My New Favorite Bread Recipe

 My mom gave me this bread recipe. Not sure where she found it, but it is my NEW favorite!!!

Makes: 5 loaves (enough for a week in my house)
Bake: 350
Bake Time: 30-45 minutes

6 c. warm water (hot side)
2 T salt
2/3 c. coconut oil
2/3 c. agave (sweetener)
2 T. dough enhancer
2 T. Yeast
10 c. wheat flour (I grind mine but store bought works well too)

- Add water and 3 cups of flour to mixer.
- Dump salt, oil, agave, yeast.
- Knead 8-12 minutes
- Grease pans. Let rise and bake!!

My wheat grinder

My husband bought me this wheat grinder (Wonder Mill) for my birthday and I LOVE it. I use it weekly. I like to buy and use white wheat. It makes my bread so soft and moist. I use it in all of my cooking (cookies, bread, pie crusts, everything). 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I've been trying to make bread for my family instead of buying it at the store. It saves money and it so much better for us. The other night I had my dough all ready to put into my bread pans. I was in desperate need for something sweet. My house had nothing that would take care of those cravings. Even my coconut crystals were gone. This is what I came up with. It turned out so good that Ryan said I needed to post it. 

Use my bread recipe or your favorite.

 Roll out the dough like this and spread soft butter, agava, and cinnamon on top. Roll up. Pinch the ends so the agava won't run out into your bread pan. Let rise 20 more minutes under a damp cloth and bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes. Your house will smell so good. I made two of these loaves and they were gone so quickly. This is so easy to make. Hope you enjoy! - Melissa

My one and only bread recipe - The best!!

This is my bread recipe. I use it for everything, my pizza dough, burger/hotdog buns, bread and rolls. It is the best.

1 c. honey or agava 

1 Tbls. dough conditioner (helps your bread to be light and fluffy)

4 c. very warm water

2 Tbls. yeast

2 Tbls. salt

1/2 c. coconut oil

7 c. flour (wheat or white or both)

3 c. more flour

Combine in microwave safe bowl or on the stove. Honey, coconut oil, salt, warm water (Until everything is desolved together and right temp). Not too hot and not luke warm. If it is too hot I place a mettle spoon in the bowl. That helps it cool faster. 

Sprinkle yeast in the warmed mixture. If the yeast is alive (good) it will bubble.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.  

Put everything into bosch. Add the flour until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Let it rise for 1 hour after you cover with a damp cloth. Knead it down and use it as you wish. The sky is the limit with this recipe. Have fun with it. 

Oven: 375

Bake: 
40-45 (if making loaves of bread) After your bread is done cooking pull out of your bread pans onto a cooking rack or towell and rub butter on top to make the crust really yummy.

  

12-15 min (if rolls)

Makes: 2 loaves (16 slices each)

-Melissa

Bread making tips

Wednesday night (5 years ago) I taught a group of teenage girls from our church how to make bread. It was so much fun. After this experience I realized that not very many people know how to make bread. That really surprised me. When I was a teenager my mom was on a mission to teach me how to be a good cook. Unfortunately I kept on telling her that cooking was not my thing (with a flick of my hair). My mom would get so mad at me and I would laugh because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Well, after I got married I really wanted to make a good home cooked meal for my husband. I hurried home from work and started making rolls. I cooked and cooked for a few hours. Somethings turned out and some did not. The most disappointing this about that meal was that our house smelled like homemade rolls but the smell was all we got. They were all in the garbage because I didn't know all of the steps to making bread. The rolls were a flop. What a teaser! I too, like my mom, am on a mission to teach my children how to be good cooks. I eventually learned the art of making really yummy bread but only with many calls home for advise. It would have been easier if I had let my mom teach me while I was at home but sometimes we have to learn things the hard way to appreciate them. My mom could have said I told you so but she lovingly guided me. If you would like to learn, the following steps are the guidelines my mom taught me.

First, you need to make sure that the temperature of the wet ingredients are hot but not too hot. The temperature is similar to how hot a hot tube gets. I know that that is a funny thing to compare it to but it helps me. You can tell that the yeast is good (alive) and that the temp of the water is correct when you combine them and the yeast starts to bubble.

Second, adding flour. One of my favorite bread recipes calls for 6 cups of flour. I add it slowly until the dough is the right consistency. The dough should be sticky but not sticky enough that the batter comes off on your fingers when you touch it. This sometimes means that you don't add all of the flour it calls for. When I am making bread I don't use measuring cups. I just dump until the dough is to that perfect consistency.

Third, After you have all of your ingredients together don't forget to knead the bread for a good 5 to 10 minutes. Then stick the dough in a bowl next to the warm oven and cover with a clean damp cloth. The heat from the oven will help the bread to rise and the damp cloth will keep it from drying out.

Fourth, Let your bread rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The longer you let it rise the lighter your bread will be.

Once you master bread you can make so many different things. You can make cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, Pizza, dinner rolls, pigs in a blanket, orange rolls, scones, etc. Bread is one of my favorite things to make. - Melissa

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Makes 12 servings

1 3/4 c. All-purpose flour

7 1/3 Tbls. Sugar

5 tsp. Poppy seeds

2 tsp. Baking powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 c. Milk

3 Tbls. Olive oil

1 Tbls Grated lemon rind

1 Tbls Fresh lemon juice

1 egg, Lightly beaten

Combine everything into a bowl and mix well. Pour evenly into muffin tins. Bake at 400 deg. for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

They go really well with breakfast or soup and salad. My family loves these. So yummy!! - Melissa

Whole Wheat Scones

So last Sunday my husband's 5 sisters and mother (they are the best) came over for dinner. I always feel nervous making dinner for others. My kids and husband love it when I cook but hey that is all they know. We made a pea bisque (My husband's fav), green salad, scones (my family calls them finger bread) and my sugar free peanut butter cookies with hersy kisses (not sugar free) on top. Everything was delicious. I had so much fun listening to everyone talk about how good everything tasted. The scones tasted just like donuts so I thought I would post that recipe. So So Yummy! - Melissa

1 Cup Honey

1 Tablespoon Dough Conditioner

4 Cups water

2 Tablespoons Yeast

2 Tablespoons Salt

1/2 Cup Oil (Coconut Oil)

3 Cups of whole wheat flour (best if fresh ground)

5-8 Cups More Flour

Mix Honey, Water, Salt and Coconut oil and microwave for around 2 min. Careful that it is very warm but not too warm otherwise you will kill the yeast. Then add Yeast and let sit for 5 min. Put 3 cups of flour in Bosch first, then add the warm mix. Start the Bosch on slow and keep adding flour until the dough comes off the Bosch. You want it sticky but so sticky that it sticks to your fingers if you touch it. Once it is mixed and ready, pull it out and place in bowl. Place a damp towel over it and place by warm stove. Let it rise for an hour and Bake at 350˚ for 20 min if its bread. 17 min if its rolls. Or fry to your liking as scones (I used Canola Oil for frying). Enjoy!!!!!

Bread Wraps (No sugar/No yeast)

I got this recipe from my dear friend Laura. My sister Jessica and I both have candida. It is crazy the foods you have to eliminate on this diet. Laura made me this bread wrap and I couldn't stop eatting it. Even my kids said that they liked it. - Melissa

1 1/2 c. Water

2 c. Brown rice flour (sweet rice flour works just fine)

1 c. tapioca starch

2 T. Potato starch

4 t. xanthan gum

1 t. salt

2 t cider vinegar

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Slowly combine wet and dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer on high for 4 minutes. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. (spray paper with pam and the wraps come off easier).

Pour dough onto the parchemnt paper and spread out as thin as possible. Bake immediately or place dough in warm spot and let it rise for 35-40 minutes.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until top is slightly browned (watch close since it will brown quickly!) Let cool for 15-30 minutes. Don't refrigerate or it looses it ability to roll. Just store in ziploc bag.

Some people use them in place of hot dog buns, or gyros. You can add spices on the to and have a flavored bread. They would make a good flat breadstick if you topped with butter and parmesan cheese and maybe some Italian seasonings. The possibilites are endless!!!

Zucchini Bread - Aunt Susan's Recipe

I made this for dinner the other night. It was so easy to put together and I got such a great response from my family. If you are like me with lots of zucchini in your garden or needing something yummy to complete a meal. Try this!! - Melissa

Mix Together

3 Eggs

1 c. Oil

2 c. Coconut sugar, or Honey

Add

1 t. Salt

3 t. Cinnamon

1 t. Baking Powder

2 c. Raw graded zucchini (take out seeds if too big)

3 c. Whole wheat flour

350 1 hour

makes 2 loaves.