Garden Herb Bread

This could quite be my new favorite thing to make! I will make this for every meal for quite some time. It is also fairly easy and low maintenace. It is also made without a bread machine so you will have to hand knead it. It is DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

In large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, and herbs.

Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (120-130 degrees F); stir into dry ingredients. Stir in egg and enough remaining flour to make soft dough.

Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.

Shape into a somewhat round shape. Tuck under edges to keep it smooth on top. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubles in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 to 35 minutes or until done, covering with foil during last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning. Melt remaining butter; brush over loaf. Sprinkle with additional herbs, if desired. Remove from sheet; let cool on wire rack.

Ham and Potato Soup

Seriously, the best ham and potato soup I've ever eaten! So filling and so perfect for a chilly night! I will make this soup over and over again for years to come as I will with most of the stuff I put on this blog. :-) However, I will give you a head's up that this is a semi time consuming soup. It also needs to be served immediately or will be turned into mashed potato soup. With all that said, it is amazing and well worth it!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes 

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

Directions

Combine the potatoes, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Shredded Beef and Cheese Baked Flautas

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs of chuck roast
1 7 oz can of whole green chiles reserve the juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Chili powder
Oregano
Garlic salt and pepper, to taste
4-5 cloves of chopped garlic
1-2 cups of beef broth
Flour tortillas
Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Pre-heat crock-pot on high. Sprinkle each seasoning on both sides of the meat, to taste then rub in with olive oil. Spread the green chiles over the roast. Add beef broth, reserved green chile juice and chopped garlic. Cook 3-4 hours until the beef shreds easily. Check on roast every couple of hours to make sure there is plenty of liquid... if it's low add more broth.  Shred the meat and mix into the remaining liquid. Taste and re season if necessary. Set aside and let cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a bit of cheddar cheese in the center of the tortilla first, then add some shredded beef on top of the cheese; roll. Place, seam side down, on a baking sheet that's been coated with cooking spray. Finish rolling the rest of the flautas.

Place into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes then turn over and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

**Mostly from "From the love of cooking" blog.

Monkeybread

This was the best monkey bread I had ever eaten and my daycare kids loved it!

Ingredients:
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (these are optional and I did not put them in mine)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-10 inch tube pan.
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into halves or quarters and place six to eight biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Shake well.
3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan (I used a loaf pan but normally would use a bundt pan). Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. If you are using raisins, place them among the biscuit pieces as you are layering.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.
5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

**Recipe courtesy of momswhothink.com