braided spaghetti bread

When I first found this idea, I thought, "Duh. Why didn't we think of this a long time ago?" but every time I make it, we've always got at least one person who's mind is totally blown. I guess it is kind of cool.

Every so often, my mom and my step-dad will take trips and hire me as a babysitter/chauffeur/chef/entertainer for my teenage sisters. And by hire I mean they buy my plane ticket and leave me with the credit card.

...yeah, it's still not always the best idea, but my sisters get excited about it and the house is always standing when they get back, so...

This particular time I went to Texas, Jeremy came too and worked from his computer, and it was even more fun to spend the week with him around. But it also meant I was cooking for 4 or 5 people instead of 2, and I wanted to make something the girls would be excited about eating (yeah, they're teenagers, but still. It was supposed to be a fun week!). I only spent a couple of minutes searching before I found this one, and it quickly became a staple in my recipe arsenal.

This recipe is adapted from a Rhodes blog, so the recipe calls for a loaf of Rhodes bread dough or 12 Rhodes dinner rolls. I've made it with a Rhodes loaf, but I usually make it with my own bread recipe (which has been especially helpful in the UK where I haven't ever found Rhodes bread), because 1) it takes less time overall and 2) it's usually cheaper. If you decide to make it with a Rhodes loaf, just follow the instructions on the package about thawing (something like 2-4 hours for the loaf or 1-2 for the rolls). I'm going to explain it with instructions on how to use a homemade loaf (you don't have to do every step in my homemade bread loaf recipe, and you don't have to let it raise for quite as long either).

Ingredients

• 1 bread dough loaf
• 6 oz spaghetti cooked
• Roughly 1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz block of mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (if you have grated cheese more easily accessible, that works just as well)
• 1-2 egg whites, beaten
• Parmesan cheese
• Parsley flakes
• Garlic powder

Bread dough loaf ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (roughly)

Follow the instructions for bread-making (found again here) from the beginning through step 4. The dough needs to double in size so that you can fit all of the spaghetti on the loaf. When the dough has doubled, spread the dough on a greased 12x16 baking sheet (or whatever you've got that's big). Leave to rest while you make the spaghetti.

You can do whatever you want with this spaghetti. Use your favorite spaghetti sauce, add some sausage, extra seasonings, whatever you like. You do want to use thick spaghetti sauce because if it's too runny it will just make your loaf soggy. My husband loves spaghetti drowning in sauce, but I don't go overboard because, again, no one likes a soggy loaf of bread. You can be generous without drowning the noodles (or the loaf!). Mix everything into the spaghetti, and then when it's finished, place the spaghetti down the center of your bread dough in about a 4-inch column.

Kind of like this. I had just plopped the spaghetti on for the sake of a picture, but you need to have at least two inches on each side of the spaghetti for braiding (you can get away with an inch on the ends).

This is the sauce I used for this round (in the UK), and it was delicious. So if you're making it in Oxford... I'd definitely recommend it!

After you have the spaghetti down, top with your grated/cubes of mozzarella. Then cut strips about 1 1/2 inches thick all the way down either side (I do this with kitchen scissors. It's infinitely easier than trying this with a knife). Take the bigger pieces at either end and fold them over the spaghetti, then start a braid with the strips by alternating right over left (or left over right, however you want to start). Tuck the last piece under the strip closest to it. 

If you haven't already, beat your egg whites, and then brush the whole loaf with them. If you use a large egg, you may only need one egg, but I use small-medium eggs and always end up using 2, sometimes 3, depending on how generous I decide to be in each section. Season with parsley, parmesan cheese, and garlic powder, and put it in the over at 350 (or 180 and the fan setting in the UK) and bake for 30 minutes, or until it's golden brown. Cool, slice, and enjoy!

Because I'm not particularly skilled at guessing serving yields and sizes, I will tell you this: This can comfortably feed 2 adults who are famished or 4 averagely-hungry adults when served with a side salad. It could also easily be served to a crowd as an appetizer if you slice it like a loaf of bread and cut the whole thing in half. If you make three loaves, it will feed 5 jump ropers after a long day of practice and you will have maybe half a loaf leftover. However, when I made a single loaf for my husband, 12-year-old sister, and 14-year-old sister, I ate a single slice, and in that time the rest of the loaf disappeared, and they asked if I'd made another loaf. 

So plan accordingly :)

bacalhau com natas.

One of the things I absolutely loved about Portugal was the food. My goodness. With as much as I felt like I ate all the time because people liked to feed us so much, I'm surprised I didn't come home looking like a balloon. I asked everyone for recipes, but there was one recipe that everyone told me was too hard to make. Bacalhau com natas, literally, "codfish with cream," is a very, very traditional Portuguese dish. You can find it at every restaurant, even some fast food places, it's just the dish of Portugal. And it's so good. The first time I had it I loved it, and I really wanted it whenever I had the opportunity. When I spent a few days in the mission home after my family's car accident, the chef asked me what my favorite Portuguese meal was, and I told her this was it. And she made it for me. So there you have the sentimental factor, added to mission nostalgia, that the only thing I remember eating in the midst of disaster was bacalhau com natas (and chocolate milk, but that's just... a given). 

Just trust me. It's good. 

So when we decided to have a "mission night" for dinner, where all of Jeremy's siblings and I got together and brought a dish from each mission, depending on who had served and where they had served, to help my sister-in-law get ready for her mission, I just wanted to try to make that recipe that everyone told me was too hard. I found a million recipes that only varied slightly, but I read every one and none of them seemed all that difficult to make. It does take a little bit of time, but otherwise, nothing too crazy.

Well, okay, I lied just a little bit. The first real step is to buy salted cod and soak it for 24 hours and change the water a few times. So maybe people telling me it was hard just meant that it took some time. I used cod fillets that had been breaded and seasoned and just needed to be parboiled. It took about 24 hours off the time estimate...

Ingredients:

• 4 fillets salt cod (about 1 lb.)
• 3 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 5 tbsp of oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• fresh parsley

So in case you do choose to get fillets that haven't been prepared with anything, you should soak them for 24 hours, changing the water twice. Keep the cod in the fridge. After the 24 hours, parboil the cod for about 5 minutes in water. Flake the fillets and remove the bones and skin if the cod requires it (you can buy skinless cod). Set aside.

Peel the potatoes, wash, cut in small cubes, and fry with 3 tbsp of olive oil, just until they look cooked. Don't over fry them. Set aside.

Slice the onion in thin rings, mince the garlic, add a bay leaf, and fry all with 2 tbsp of olive oil until soft and translucent (about 5-8 minutes). Add the cod, saute a little bit and then add the potatoes, mixing it all together. Remove from heat and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Sauce:

In a medium skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter and slowly add the corn starch, mixing well. Add the milk and heavy whipping cream and mix until well combined. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has a rich, creamy texture.

Add 2/3 of the sauce to the cod, potatoes, and onion mix and pour into a large baking dish (a 9X13 is about the smallest I would go, it makes a lot!). Cover this mixture with the rest of the sauce and put in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, turn on the broiler and gratin for another 5-8 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn (you want just a golden crust on top). 

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Serve with chopped fresh parsley.

*Note: The first time I made this, I cheated on the amount of potatoes I used. I was in kind of a hurry, and I didn't have 3 lbs. The result was that, even baked, the casserole was a little bit runny. It still tastes really good, but this isn't quite the traditional texture. You might not want to cheat :) all I'm saying. 

why I love clearance shopping.

We were headed up to Logan last week, and we were trying to get out the door as fast as possible.
This never happens. We try, we try to leave by 7PM so we can get there before 9PM, but we always have other things we decided we need to do and we never get there before 11PM. But I had been planning for it all day. I knew what dinner was going to be before I got to work, so I hoped that I would get home and have dinner ready and then we could eat and then leave quickly.

Potato wedges baked in garlic, and chicken marinated in dijon dressing. It was going to be half an hour, probably before Jeremy even got home from work, and we could eat as soon as he walked in the door.

The idea morphed by the time I got home. I don't know why making potatoes seemed like more effort than I was willing to go to, but it was. So I decided to put them together, with a different dressing.
Three ingredients:

1. Red potatoes (given to us by my mother-in-law the week before)
2. Chicken drumsticks (we found an incredi-sale on meat at Smith's one day. 5 drumsticks were $1.75)
3. Sweet vidalia onion dressing (one16 oz. bottle- part of a different clearance rack at a different Smith's. $0.49 a bottle)

I did cut the potatoes in half, but otherwise I was not up for effort. I threw it all into a glass baking pan. I stirred everything around to make sure it was covered in dressing, and put it in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.

So I cheated on the picture a little bit. I didn't serve it with broccoli, but the picture I remembered to take after we'd eaten most of it wasn't as appetizing as I thought. But it looked like this. Minus broccoli. 

It was absolutely delicious. And the whole thing cost us $2.24.

And that's why I love clearance shopping.

on babies and busy schedules- new spin on lasagna.

Jeremy and I have a couple of good friends that just had their first baby, and we were (and still are!) so excited for them. It was especially fun to tease the mom, Kana, about how enormously huge she was not even 5 months into her pregnancy. We were also excited about being able to bring them dinner one night the first week that Kana and her baby came home from the hospital.

Only we weren't actually home the week they came home from the hospital.


Fortunately, there were lots of other great people around to help them get back into the normal routine of things and brought them dinner for a week or two. But Jeremy and I felt terrible for not being around to offer any assistance, nutritional, social, or otherwise, so we decided we'd make it up to them. By texting them in the middle of the week.

"It's already in the works, so don't make anything for dinner tonight."

Both Kana and Ed laughed at us. But as Ed was also in the middle of his last finals, Kana was happy to postpone whatever they planned to eat that night (and yelled at Ed as soon as he started making lunch, "DON'T MAKE DINNER!" Poor Ed. "I was just making lunch!" Kana- "Well... I guess that's okay.").

So I found a great lasagna recipe; it's unlike any other lasagna I've tried before. And it was delicious.

Chili-Cheese Lasagna

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce)
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 3/4 c. salsa
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1-1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 1-1/2 cup Mexican style shredded cheese 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brown beef and garlic in a large skillet. Add next 6 ingredients; stir. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan, then spread 2 cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover with layers of 3 noodles, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and 2 cups of the remaining meat sauce. Repeat these layers twice, and then top with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour- after an hour, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.


Thanks to kraftrecipes.com for the great recipe!

Venison: A Trial of Lots and Lots of Deer Meat

When Jeremy and I went to visit my family for Christmas, Bridian gave us what seemed like a thousand pounds of "meat"- most of it was definitely homemade packaging, some of it said "sausage", some had little boxes on it that a hunter marks (and each had different marks, don't worry), but Bridian explained it was all deer meat, just stored in different ways. She lives in Texas and works with hunters. Go figure.

The conversation preceding us possessing 10 (okay, not a thousand) pounds of venison went something like this:

"Hey, do you guys want some deer meat?"

"...uh. What?"

"Deer meat."

"I heard you."

"It cooks just like ground beef. Except for the sausage. We had that for lunch today."

(I remembered lunch, that it was good and then wondered if I really wanted to remember it being good anymore. I really was very, very hesitant to this deer idea.)

Jeremy said, "Sure!" remembering how much he had loved lunch, and we put it in the back of our car. It was December, so it stayed in the trunk very well preserved until we got home. And I had to figure out what to do with that.

So this is part 1 of what I did with the deer meat. And I have to say, especially to anyone else who is hesitant about venison and not wanting to continue reading this, it's pretty tasty. Good things ahead, I promise. And if you want to just use ground beef, most of the recipes are intended for ground beef. Either is good.

[Just an insert- we finished the deer a while ago, I just haven't posted in a very long time. I don't know if deer really will keep forever or not. So we just... used it.]


Quesadilla Casserole

• 1 lb. ground venison
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2- 8oz. cans tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1 can (8.75 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
• 6 flour tortillas (8-inch)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1. Brown venison and onion in a large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. [Draining is especially important. Deer fat's gross]
2. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn, and green chiles; mix well.
3. Stir in all of the spices except red pepper. Bring to a boil. 
4. Reduce to low heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste.
5. Spread 1/2 cup of the venison mixture on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, venison mixture, and cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

So good :)

A Not-As-Quick-But-Well-Worth-Your-Effort Indian Curry Recipe

So Jeremy's in Africa. Which means I have absolutely no desire to cook. Why go to all that effort for just one person?

Okay, let's be honest, the point of this blog is "minimal to no effort in even less time."

So really what I'm saying is that I'd be okay with food just hopping in my mouth as I walk out the door to work or to study somewhere besides our house.

But on Sunday, my friend Ashley told me she loves to make curry and was missing some random ingredients that I happened to have. So we scheduled dinner for Monday night. But then, Monday night I spent on campus and didn't come home til 1:30. Long before then, I texted her to tell her I was swamped and could we maybe reschedule to Tuesday?

Tuesday was great with them, we were going to eat at 6:30. I got enough done Monday for finals week that Tuesday was a little more relaxed. Tuesday morning we sent several texts back and forth about what things I had, what she had, etc. Then at about 4:30, I get this from her-

Ashley: Ugh. So we may have to move curry to another night AGAIN... Our stove is broken and we're going back and forth with the management company and electricians... I'll keep you posted :/

An hour an a half later-

Ashley: So far it's not looking good. They said the electrician would be here to fix it any time now, but he's still not here. Perhaps closer to 7...

Me: Which works fine for me :) Just keep me updated.

About an hour later, Ashley learned that not only was her oven not working, neither was her dryer, and their electrician seemed like he was just confused about how the lights even came on. I just felt bad, maybe it would've been better if I'd just gone the night before and gotten everything else done on Tuesday, not only was dinner canceled (and she and her husband were SUPER excited about it) but they also had several appliances in their house that weren't working. I thought about offering to cook it at my house and bringing it back (they have dogs that can't be left alone yet) but that seemed crazy. But then...

Me: I'd offer my house, but your dogs can't be by themselves... Let's see what happens with the electrician tomorrow?

Ashley: Can we cook out there and bring it here? I know that's weird but Ismael could stay while we cooked...

Ashley: Meh really whatever is fine. Just rereading that sounds inconvenient for you and that's the last thing I want :)

Me: I was actually going to suggest that but wondered if it sounded crazy :) I'm game if you guys are


They were. So Ashley came over a little while after that and we made curry. Oh my gosh, it was good. And my house still smells like curry, and I love it. Except that I've been eating leftovers (and by leftovers I mean the pizza I bought Monday night when we didn't have curry and only finished YESTERDAY) since then because I'm SO lazy...

Whatever.

Indian Curry

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• (1) 3 Tbsp curry powder
• (2) 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• (3) 1 tsp paprika
• (4) 1 bay leaf
• (5) 1/2 tsp grated ginger root
• (6) 1/2 tsp white sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• (7) 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• (8) 1 cup plain yogurt
• (9) 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (or a few teaspoons of lemon juice, whichever you prefer)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Saute onions/garlic. When brown, add ingredients 1-6 (it's easier if you mix them in a bowl before hand and then add everything at the same time). Stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken. Add ingredients 7-9, bring to a boil. Reduce heat immediately and simmer for 25 minutes. Add lemon and cayenne pepper, then simmer an additional five minutes. Serve with rice.

If you like curry, this is a fantastic recipe. If you don't like curry, it's still a great recipe. Just maybe not for you :)