Hummus recipe

 Here is the recipe I use for my homemade hummus as promised. I season mine with fresh ground pepper, lots of garlic and some fresh rosemary. LOVE this flavor combination. If you have another flavor you prefer that's fine! Have fun and play around!

To start, I cook the chickpeas myself. I found the recipe and adapted it from in jennies kitchen . If you want to, you could use canned chickpeas. If you want to take the extra time and cook them yourself, I do think it's worth it. Here is what you do:

1 cup dried chickpeas, picked over & rinsed
5 cups water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & smashed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Add all the ingredients to a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and let beans simmer until tender but still toothsome. This will take forty five minutes to an hour. When they are done remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Take out the bay leaf.

 Now put the chickpeas and some of their cooking liquid in a food processor, or high powered blender. Add 4 Tbsp of tahini. Add 1/2 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste and the size of the clove. Add about 1/4 tsp - 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, again according to taste. Lastly add fresh rosemary. I generally add one or two sprigs worth. Process or blend until smooth. This will store around a week or two. It makes pretty big batch, so if you don't have hummus lovers at your house plan to share!

Green smoothies

 So far my morning has been quite busy! It started out early. All the normal tasks of a mom. Showering and getting myself ready. Getting the kids ready for school and lunches packed. Then since it is Tuesday I was off to the breakfast program where I volunteer one morning a week. When I got home I found out my sister was sick, so I offered to go man the phones at my dad and grandfathers lumber mill.

 I am NOT a morning person, but I have to tell you, this morning has been pretty great! It's stunning outside right now. We had our first storm of winter yesterday and the trees all have a coat of ice which has just began to melt. There is a beautiful shimmering white crust on the ground. I tried to get a few photos of the beautiful drive I had to Lucy's school and then to work this morning. I only had my iPhone so I didn't quite manage to capture the magic, but here are some photos.

  The beautiful views this morning really helped put in a great mood. I do however feel like my breakfast deserves a lot of credit too. Since this was such a busy morning full of lots of running around I whipped up one of the green smoothies I told you all about the other day. I wanted to take a photo and show you just how amazing they look! Ok, I know the bright green color might throw some people off, but please don't knock it until you've tried it! The green color was a little scary for me to, at first. Now I can honestly say it's one of my favorite parts of this smoothie. I look and it feel energized. It just looks so fresh and healthy (because it is!). Here it is, my yummy, healthy breakfast.

 For those of you who missed the recipe for this beauty at the bottom of a previous post, here it is.

 Green smoothie:

 1/2 cup pineapple juice

 1/2 cup coconut water

 4-5 frozen peach slices

 4-5 chunks of frozen mango

 2 handfuls of spinach

 1 Tsp flax oil

 Keep in mind that you can play around and make your own variation. Have some fun! You can use Kale or spinach for your green. Fresh ground flax seeds or chia seeds can be used instead of the flax oil. Other veggies are optional and the fruit combinations are endless! My advice? Just keep it simple at first. Enjoy the great health benefits in this quick and yummy breakfast. You can have a glass with your kids (Yes kids love these, honest, I've tested it out on mine) or pop it in a travel mug if you have somewhere to be.



Current favorite snack!

 On  fluke yesterday I decided to heat up some hummus. Actually, it all started with me trying to jazz up some store bought hummus. It was suppose to be garlic flavor, but to be honest I wasn't enjoying it as much as my homemade hummus.

 Sadly I haven't made any in a couple months because my blender cannot handle it and my food processor hasn't fared so well the last couple times. It actually shut off on me. Boo. Anyway, back to jazzing up the store bought hummus. I was going to add some rosemary, then decided to go with cumin because I only have dried rosemary. I have issues with dried herbs such as rosemary and thyme. I find they are stiff and you end up biting into them or getting them stuck in your teeth.

  After adding the cumin and tasting it, I decided it did need some rosemary after all. I think it was mostly because I was remembering fresh homemade garlic and rosemary hummus I made this summer. As most of you probably realize, adding herbs to cold items doesn't lend well for flavor. The herbs don't seem to be able to infuse the food as well as if it were warm. So I threw in some rosemary and some fresh ground pepper (don't worry I hadn't added much cumin) and popped the hummus in the microwave for a few seconds.

 Once I had heated it well I stirred it again to make sure the heat and seasonings were evenly distributed. It smelled A-MAZ-ING. I grabbed my grape tomatoes out of the fridge and dipped away. OH MY! It was so yummy. It reminded my of something. I knew I needed bread. Since bread was out of the question I grabbed a few corn chips and dipped away. Want to know a secret? creamy warm hummus tastes a lot like spinach and artichoke dip. Seriously! Who would have thought? Way less fat, yet just as creamy and delicious!

 My point? Hummus, go get yourself some! Or better yet, cook up a batch! I'll even post my recipe tomorrow. It's delicious. Delicious with everything from carrots and grape tomatoes, to bread or corn chips. Even better? My kids like it, and it's on the list of "safe" foods for them to take in school lunches!

Oatmeal breakfast cookies

 I had a little mishap in the kitchen this afternoon. What was suppose to be a healthy oatmeal cookie took a bit of a different turn.

 After baking a couple batches of sandwich buns and a double batch of granola bars, I decided to make some cookies. As I was getting ready to add the sugar I really looked at the recipe and simply couldn't bring myself to add the one full cup of sugar. I stopped what I was about to do and took a minute to think.

  I studied the recipe and decide to just try something different. After thinking about it for a couple minutes my mind began to race with all the possibilities. I'm pretty happy with what happened. The end result was yummy but not overly sweet. Probably not a great dessert cookie, but perfect for those morning when you need something quick as you run out the door.

  Did I mention that these yummy wholesome bites pack a pretty healthy punch? They have flax which fights cholesterol, Chia seeds which are full of fiber, Omega-3's and protein and oats, which are a great source of fiber among other things.

 So here it is, Oatmeal breakfast cookies!

Oatmeal Breakfast cookies:


1/2 cup canola oil
1 medium banana mashed
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk (or soy, almond, or coconut milk)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups quick oats
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup nutmeg
2 Tbsp flax seeds
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

**If you like your oatmeal sweet, or are looking for a more traditional cookie sweetness, add 1/4 cup brown sugar to your wet ingredients**

 Gently stir together the wet ingredients. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Slowly combine the two mixtures until mixed well.

  Roll one inch balls and flatten to half an inch between your palms. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

  Cool on a wire rack.

 You can enjoy these fresh or freeze them (once they are cooled) and grab a couple on your way out the door.

 Enjoy :)

Bringing the campfire snacks inside!

Tonight's snack was S'mores cups. It's perfect weather for S'mores, but not quite campfire time. I found this little gem on pintrest and thought I'd give it a go. Kids loved it! They had a friend over to play and watch a movie and they all cleaned it :)

I altered this a bit to use just the basics.

S'mores cups:

Graham cracker crumbs
Chocolate (I just used Easter eggs chopped up)
Marshmallows

Layer graham cracker crumbs, chocolate and then marshmallows in a small glass jar. I used small mason jars. Place in preheated oven (preheated to 350) on a cookie sheet, and cook until marshmallows are toasty brown. Remove, allow to cool for a few minutes, wrap glass in tea towel to allow little hands to handle and serve!

Enjoy!

Whole wheat rosemary bread

   A couple weeks a go I went on a baking binge. I made 6 loaves of bread and 2 batches of rolls. One of the things I tried was rosemary bread. All the recipes I found with good reviews used white flour. So I tweaked them a bit and came up with this version. It turned out very good. It's light and soft, but not fall apart fluffy. We have enjoyed it with soup, as garlic bread, as a snack by itself and as a sandwich. I also think it would be awesome for grilled cheese.

Whole wheat rosemary bread:

1 cup water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 tsp fresh black ground pepper

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1 rounded tsp dried rosemary

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

 Place warn water in bowl. Add sugar and yeast and allow to sit until yeast is good and foamy, about 5-10 minutes.

  Add flour, salt, rosemary, oregano, thyme, ground pepper and olive oil. Mix for about 5 minutes, until smooth and combined well.

  Place in a greased bowl and rotate so the top of bread is oiled. Cover and let raise an hour, or until doubled. Punch down.

  Divide dough in half. Shape into two round balls and place on baking sheet (I LOVE my pizza stone and that is what I used), ensuring "seams" are on the bottom.

Allow to raise until doubled in size, around 45 minutes to 1 hour Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Remove from oven to cooling rack and cover with a damp tea towel.

Enjoy :)

Saturday night Snack: Warm Black Bean dip, with a kick!

 You all thought I forgot, didn't you?! I wouldn't forget about my favorite night of the week ;) With the Superbowl today I have been working on perfecting my snack list. I personally am not all that into football, however my dad loves it. Because we love love my dad, my sister and I thought it would be nice to have a Superbowl party for the family to get together.

  Of course, since she doesn't really cook the menu was left up too me! Which of course, I don't mind at all. I decided to do a chicken wing dip (the Recipe is posted here: Chicken wing dip), Pizza, Guacamole and I wanted to do a black bean dip. My dad loves dips and salsa which include black beans, corn, cilantro and lime. They are some of his favorite flavors for dipping. He has not made a warm one yet, so I thought that would be a nice twist. I searched the Internet and came up with some good ideas. When I complied them and added some imagination this is what I came up with.

Black bean dip, with a kick:

1 can cooked black beans (rinsed and drained) OR 1-1/4 cup cooked black beans

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 red bell pepper finely chopped

1/2 jalapeno pepper very finely diced

1 medium tomato chopped

1 small onion chopped

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1-1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp cilantro (paste, or fresh, only 1 tsp is using dried)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 cup mild salsa

1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

1 large clove of garlic minced

In a medium sauce pan saute onions on medium heat until soft.

 Add black beans, corn, jalapeno and garlic. Simmer on low heat until everything is heated through.

Add cumin, chili powder, ground pepper and sea salt, red pepper, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and salsa. simmer for additional 2 minutes.

  Simmer for 3-4 minutes then remove from heat. Let sit 10-15 minutes for flavors to blend well.

Garnish with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Serve warm with hint of lime corn chips (or regular if your prefer!)

Hope you have enjoy the game!

Saturday night snack: pizza pockets!

  Tonight I decided to make something I never have, pizza pockets :) I was even really naughty and used all in bleached flour instead of whole wheat!

To make these, use the basic pizza dough recipe I posted under the pizza post. Like I stated, I used all unbleached all purpose flour. I also used an extra quarter cup of warm water.

Pizza Dough recipe: http://5bulmers.blogspot.com/2012/01/saturday-night-snack.html

My dough looked like this.

After letting it rest for 10 minutes I pinched off 8 round balls of dough.

       Next I flatted them out, not as flat as I would if I were making a pizza..

  Then I put a rounded Tbsp of tomato sauce, you can use more if you can fit it (I just used left over Ragu that was in my fridge), and whatever toppings we wanted. The kids wanted just cheese, Trev had hot peppers and mushrooms and I had hot peppers, mushrooms and green peppers.

*Tip- don't let the sauce run over the edges, it makes it harder to seal them up later.

Then I added our cheese (as much as I could fit, about a Tbsp or less) and closed them up.

Make sure to seal them well!

                               

Then flip them over (These would make the perfect item to freeze for quick cooking in a pinch. You could freeze them at this point).

When you have done this to them all, bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

They should puff up nicely and lightly brown on top.

Let cool and enjoy!

Saturday night snack: nachos

Sorry this ones a little late. Big stuff, our youngest, has been sick for the last several days. This week we had nachos for our weekly snack. I know you've all probably made them before, but here is how I like them :)

Nachos ingredients:

Corn chips
Green peppers (had to use red pepper this time)
Mushrooms
Green onions
Tomatoes
Shredded marble cheddar cheese.
Salt
Pepper
Re fried beans
Salsa
Sour cream

The amount depends on how much toppings you like. I love my loaded, while my hubby likes his light on the toppings and heavy on the cheese. It's all personal preference.

Place corn chips on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Top with cheese (half of what you want) veggies (except green onions) then remaining cheese. Place some re fried beans on the side.

Place in oven preheated to 350. Bake until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with green onions.

       Place on plate an top the received beans with salsa and sour cream. Serve and enjoy.

Saturday Night Snack

  Saturday night means something in our family. In our house, Saturday's official title is  "Movie night". It's the night we play wii, watch movies, play board games and have snack foods. The kids, look forward to this night. Trev and I do as well. You might remember that as part of our goals for the new year, our rules on junk food got stricter. Only on weekends is the new rule. By only on the weekend we mean, only on movie night.

  I'm sure that you all have a snack night too. in an effort to have a little more direction, and write in my blog more I thought I would start doing a  "Saturday night snack" post each week. This week it was pizza. I know that homemade pizza, although delicious, can be a pain to make. It's certainly not hard to make, however the process is very long. As a busy mom I don't always have an hour and a half to wait for the crust to be done. This was one of those times. It was 5pm and there was no way I could wait until 6:30pm or 7:00pm to serve dinner! I went in search of a recipe for a quick crust.

   I found a pretty good one, and adjusted it a bit. I modified it to use half whole wheat flour. This of course meant adjusting the yeast and I found I needed some more water. You could use all whole wheat flour if you want. I probably will next time. Also I should mention that this crust was fairly thick. I made a 15" pizza with it. I could have easily made two 12" pizzas by spreading the crust thinner. Here's the recipe:

Basic pizza crust

1-1/2 Tsp Active dry yeast

1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp sugar
1/4 Tsp sea salt
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached flour

Pizza toppings of your choice.

    Place 1 cup warm water and yeast in a bowl. Allow to process for about 5 minutes. Add the oil, sugar, sea salt, and flour. Mix until a smooth and fairly elastic dough has formed. If your dough is too dry add some of the remaining 2 Tbsp water until dough is the right texture. Don't worry if you add a little too much water and the dough gets sticky. Just sprinkle in some extra flour and that will fix the problem.

  When dough is finished sit on an oiled pizza pan, or a pizza pan and allow to rest about 10 minutes. The dough will not really raise. That's ok. After 10 minutes spread your dough on pan. Bake at 400 (425 if your oven runs on the cooler side) for 8-10 minutes; until lightly browned. I would recommend watching the dough and poking a few holes with a fork if it's bubbling a lot. A huge air bubble tried to form in my crust.

   Remove from oven. Top with your favorite pizza toppings. We used 1/2 jar of pasta sauce, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. We often also add olives, pineapple and tomatoes. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and ground pepper, then top with about 1/2 a large brick mozzarella cheese, shredded.  Bake an additional 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool 5 minutes. Cut and serve.

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Orange Vanilla Granola

Last night I made a batch of granola I had primised to my gram at Christmas. I used a recipe given to me by a family friend as the base recipe. Of course I couldn't help tweaking it a bit and giving it my own little twist. It turned out SO yummy! I made a second batch for myself today! I give this recipe to you with a word of caution. It's addictive!

Ingredients:

5 cups large flake or old fashioned rolled oats.
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup brown sugar ( you can use less if you wish)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

*Optional*
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Measure out oats and sit aside

Combine all other ingredients ( except optional ones) and mix well.

Stir the oats into the wet mixture. Ensure they are coated well. If there is some excess liquid that's ok.

Mixture should now look like this.

Pour onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

Bake In a preheated oven in 200 (250 if your oven runs on the cooler side) for 2-3 hours. Stir at least twice, waiting until at least an hour to stir the first time. This will ensure you get some good clusters of granola. Remove from the oven when granola is ALMOST at your desired crunchiness/ dryness. It will harden some more while cooling.

Once granola is done baking and you have removed it from the oven, stir in almond slices, coconut and dried cranberries if you wish.

Store in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy as a snack on its own, as cereal with milk, or with yogurt.