~Day 19 Betty Feeling Saucy

Today I couldn't figure out what to make. I was going to make soup (poor Franc still  has a cold) but upon further inspection of my refrigerator, I changed my mind.  I had a bunch of spinach that looked like it was nearing the end of its life and some mushrooms and so i whipped up this pasta dish that turned out really well. Here's how I made it:

Saute one half large onion one (or more) Tablespoons of chopped garlic
about a cup of sliced mushrooms
one Tofurky Italian style veggie sausage chopped into small pieces (for the carnivore in Franc)
About two cups (or more) of fresh spinach until it gets nice and wilted
Add about a can and a half of red pack tomato sauce
one can of diced tomatoes with the juice
one half can tomato paste
Table spoon of italian seasoning and a splash of red wine if available (if not a pinch of sugar)
Cook 1lb of penne pasta and add the pasta directly to the sauce. MMMMMMMM !
This is a very hearty dish. I added a little of the pasta water to thin the sauce a bit maybe about 1/4 of a cup
Its extremely filling and even non-vegetarians will enjoy this. Serve with Crusty bread and a salad.

Bettys Spinach & Mushroom sauce

                                                    It's Italian night at Betty and Francs House,
                                                                     Betty

Day 13 - Franc makes homemade bread

Hi All -

I made some quick homemade bread yesterday that really went great with Betty's veggie soup. I'm a dunker so taking a hot slice of bread with some soy butter and dunking it into the soup broth put me in heaven. If you've never made bread before it's actually pretty simple and a lot less time consuming that you would think. Here's a basic bread recipe. I encourage you to try it. Your family will really love smelling it baking and enjoying it hot out of the oven.

Basic homemade bread (makes two small loafs)

4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water

Start by taking one cup of warm water and dissolving 1 table spoon of active bread yeast into the water along with the sugar. Just sprinkle the yeast into the water and let it hang out for about 4-5 min. I think what keeps people away from baking bread is that they get freaked out by using yeast and not knowing what to do. Basically all you need to look for is that the yeast water starts to get milky in color and a little bubbly. Be sure to use warm tap water. If the water is cool to the touch it will be hard to get the yeast going. As long as your yeast gets milky and frothy, it's alive and your bread will rise and be great. If your yeast looks exactly the same as when you dumped it into the water, then your yeast is dead and you need to get some new yeast. Chances are your yeast will be fine. Next add the cup of water with your yeast to your bowl with all the flour and salt in it. The slowly start adding the second cup of warm water to the bowl and begin stirring the whole ting with a  wooden spoon. You may need to add a little more water or possibly use a little less. Your looking for a nice ball of dough not too dry but not pancake batter either. Once your dough has come together you want to cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for about 2-3 hours. The dough will at least double in size. After the dough has risen you want to put the dough on a floured surface and kneed it. Here's where you can add additional flour if the dough is really sticky and wet. You want to kneed the dough for a few minutes until you fell that it's silky to the touch and no longer sticks to the surface your working on. At this point cut the dough in half and shape into two round balls. Place the two loaves on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with a little cooking spray. You can slice a couple of notches in the top of the bread if you like at this point. Cover both loves with a kitchen towel and let hang out and rise a little more for at least another hour. Preheat your over to 350 and bake the bread for 35-45 minutes. That's it! Other than waiting for the bread to rise your actual working time on this is really small and the results will be worth it.

I'm also trying out a no-kneed bread recipe I found online and will let you know how that goes. I'm hoping that this bread will take even less prep time so that it will be even easier to have bread more often - even with a busy schedule. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Take care - Franc

Here's a link to the best type of bread yeast to use and a really good value compared with the small containers at the store.

~Betty Day 13 Zucchini Stew

~Betty Day 13

Its sooooo Cold here today so I decided to make some homemade vegetable soup. I’ve made my soup recipe for years and I always called it Zucchini stew because I started making it in the summer time when I would have so many zucchini and this I one of the recipes that I’d use them in, but really its just veggie soup J

In a large pot use olive oil and sauté:

 Half of a large onion,

2 carrots,

 2 stalks of celery,

 About three cloves of garlic (more or less),

 Two small or one large zucchini chopped into bite sized pieces (little half circles),

Two potatoes (in bite size pieces),

 Allow these to soften a bit in the olive oil and then

Add two cans of red pack tomato sauce and one can of water,

Add a big handful of fresh green beans trimmed and cut in half,

2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

And I like to add ½ tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes for kick (optional)

Also at some point add a dash of sugar to cut down the acidity

I also like to throw in some fresh basil if I have it

Zucchini Stew and Homemade bread

Let this simmer until the vegetables soften and enjoy, now this is a no fail recipe you can add any vegetables that you have left around your house and make it different every time.

 This recipe makes A LOT of soup but it freezes beautifully so make it once and eat it all month. Serve with some homemade crusty bread J

                                                                     

                                                                 Trying to stay warm,

                                                                        Betty