Ranch Taco Rolls

Here's a super easy weeknight dinner recipe.  I make all sorts of different rolls with my homemade crescent dough.  My boys' two favorites are pizza rolls and taco rolls.  Tonight I decided to add a packet of ranch to my taco filling.  My boys gobbled these up!  

Ranch Taco Rolls

• 1 lb ground turkey (or you could use beef if you prefer)
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. taco seasoning (I use Trader Joe's or make my own)
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix (I use an organic brand that my store sells)
• 1 recipe crescent dough- or you can use store bought crescent dough
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a large, deep sided skillet, cook the onion, green pepper, and turkey with the taco seasoning and ranch mix until turkey is fully cooked (no longer pink).  Roll out the dough into a large rectangle (about 12 inches by 16 inches).  Sprinkle the dough with half of the cheese.  Spread the turkey mixture evenly over the dough and cheese (whenever I make taco rolls I never end up using more than half of the meat filling, but you can put as much in as you like, just do not overfill or it will make the dough soggy and it will tear), leaving a 1/4 inch boarder all around.  Roll up the dough (as you do when you are making cinnamon rolls) into a log and seal, pressing the dough together to seal it tightly once rolled up.  Place seam side down on a cutting board and cut the ends off to make them even.  Generously grease a 13X9 inch baking dish.  Cut the log into 12 equal slices and place them in rows of 3 facing up in the baking dish. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is starting to bubble.  Top with a dollop of sour cream.  Delicious!

* Note- these can be made ahead of time- just prepare as directed but instead of letting them rest for 30 minutes place them in the refrigerator.  Remove from the fridge 1 hour before you are ready to bake them. 

Until next time, happy and clean cooking!

Brownie Pan Chewies- The Only Cookie Recipe You will EVER Need!

I.  LOVE. COOKIES!  LOVE THEM! Cookies are my absolute weakness.  I absolutely love a good, soft, chewy cookie.  Especially chocolate chip.  When I was in grad school I had a professor who would bring us cookies.  For the life of me I cannot remember her name, what she taught, or even what she looked like, but boy do I remember her cookies!  One day she brought in the most fabulous chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten.  It was big and soft.  It was chewy and chocolaty.  I immediately asked her for the recipe and I've made this cookie ever since.  Being true to myself, I had to mess with it to take it to the next level.  I have used the base of this recipe and changed it up from chocolate chips, to cherries and chocolate chunks, to chocolate toffee bits, to caramel bits.  These cookies are AH-MAZ-ING.  Oh, and did I mention that I bake them in a brownie pan, which gives them a unique square shape and thick, soft texture?  That takes them to the limit of cookie deliciousness!  Don't have a brownie pan?  NEVER FEAR!  You can bake them in muffin tins!  YUM!

Brownie Pan Chewies
(makes 24 brownie pan cookies or muffin tin cookies)

Dark Chocolate Chunk Cherry Chewies

Wet ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup baker's sugar 
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups pastry flour 
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix in ideas (any one of these or combination of these):

• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips (or semisweet or whatever chocolate chips you like)
• 4 oz chopped dark chocolate chunks
• 2 cups chocolate toffee bits
• 1 cup m&ms
• 1 cup caramel bits
• Any other thing your heart desires!
• A small amount of sea salt (for the top)

In a medium sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients together (I like to use my KitchenAid).  Gradually mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully mixed together.  Fold in your mix-ins until well incorporated.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for AT LEAST two hours. A cold dough is VERY important otherwise the dough will not bake properly.  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease two brownie (12 count) brownie pans or muffin tins.  Using a medium cookie scoop or a large tablespoon drop large rounds of cookie dough into each tin (do not flatten). Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a small amount of sea salt - yes this sounds weird but trust me, it is WORTH IT! Bake 15-20 minutes, watching carefully after 15 minutes so they do not over bake.  Cookies will be lightly golden brown and soft in the middle.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Until next time, happy and clean cooking!

Authentic French Bonne Maman Bûche de Noël

For years I have been trying to make a Bûche de Noël- the traditional dessert that the French serve at Christmas.  When I lived in France, I either bought one from the local bakery, or one of the many French grandmothers I knew made one.  The last time I had a really good one was in 2007 when David and I spent Christmas with my French family  in Paris and Bonne Maman made one.  Since then, I have been trying to replicate the cake without success- until now!  So here's the thing...I SUCK at baking.  I mean, I am terrible at it.  Except bread- I am pretty awesome at baking bread- and cookies.  But cakes? Forget it.  I can never seem to make a good cake.  I think the mistake I have been making all these years of trying is that I have been trying to bake a regular chocolate cake in a jelly roll pan.  So this year, I decided to do some research, I asked some of my French friends and some of my francophile friends if they have a good recipe or if their grandmothers have a good recipe (since most of my friends in France also buy theirs from the boulangerie).  One of my friends was kind enough to ask her "Bonne Maman" (one of the things kids in France call their grandmothers) for her recipe.  I converted it, and it is amazing!  I no longer have to be afraid of making a bûche, and I can permanently make it part of our family Christmas tradition...as I have so desired for so long!  So...here's the recipe!

Authentic French Bonne Maman Bûche de Noël

Sponge:

• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp. almond extract (or you could use vanilla)
• 1/3 cup + 1/2 cup bakers' sugar (like fine granulated) 
• 1/3 cup cake flour (or I used Bob's Red Mill pastry flour)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used a mixture of natural and dutch process)
• 1 tsp. baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper that is sprayed generously with cooking spray (I use a stone jelly roll pan but you can also use metal- note- this is NOT the same as a 13X9 inch baking dish). Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.  Beat egg yokes together with almond extract on high speed until thick and glossy- about 5 minutes.  Continue beating on high speed and gradually add in the 1/3 cup of sugar and continue to beat on high another 5 minutes.  Remove egg yolk mixture to another bowl.  Clean your bowl and whisk and dry.  Beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, then gradually add in the rest of the sugar and continue to beat on high speed until thick, glossy, and stiff.  Carefully fold the egg yolks into the egg whites with a rubber scraper, then sift the dry ingredients into the eggs and very carefully fold them together until just mixed- DO NOT OVER MIX! The mixture will resemble mousse. Pour the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan and spread evenly.  Bake 12-20 minutes or until the sponge lightly springs back when touched and a cake tester comes out clean.  Watch it closely, it will appear under done when it is actually ready and will over bake very quickly.  While sponge is baking, dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar.  When the sponge has finished baking, remove immediately from the oven and turn out onto the kitchen towel. Carefully remove the parchment paper- it is ok if some of the sponge sticks to the parchment paper.  Roll up lengthwise in the towel - DO NOT ALLOW TO COOL or else you will not be able to roll it.  Allow the roll to cool completely- this teaches the sponge to stay rolled once it is filled.  Once sponge is completely cooled (at least two hours) unroll and fill with buttercream frosting (recipe follows), roll back up (don't be surprised if your sponge cracks a bit as it is slightly fragile...it will be covered up so don't worry!) and refrigerate for an hour.  Frost with chocolate ganache frosting (recipe follows) about an hour before serving, and decorate!  In France they decorate usually with little Santa figurines or holly leaves and berries.  I chose to decorate mine simply with powdered sugar and sprinkles.  

Buttercream filling:

• 2 sticks butter at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. almond extract (or vanilla)
• 3 tsp. heavy cream

Whip the butter on high speed using the whisk attachment until light and fluffy- about 3 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium and add the sugar gradually.  When all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high again and whip another 2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and the almond extract until it is soft and spreadable.  

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

• 4 oz. high quality chocolate (I use the Ghirardelli semisweet baking bar)
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 1/4  cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream

Melt the chocolate, butter, and heavy cream together over medium heat, being careful not to scorch the bottom or the chocolate will seize (keep stirring with a whisk).  Transfer to stand mixer and mix in powdered sugar until well incorporated and smooth.  If the mixture is too thick, you can add drops of water a little at a time until desired consistency.

Another Bread Post- French Baguettes like from the Boulangerie! But at Home!

One of the things I miss the most about living in France is the bread! Those delicious, golden baguettes that are crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.  I miss going twice a day to my local boulangerie where I would pick up my fresh bread, as is the tradition in France.  In the years since I have lived there, I have tried to find a baguette to match the ones in France- whether it be from a local bakery or making it at home- but I have never found anything even remotely close...until TODAY!  For Christmas I got some Baguette pans and baguette banneton proofing baskets from my husband and sons.  The last year or so I've been working really hard learning how to make bread so that I don't have to buy it anymore.  Not only is it much cheaper to make your own bread, it is also much healthier.  There's all sorts of crazy gross stuff in store bought bread.  Last Christmas David bought me a bread machine, and so I have combined the ease of using the bread machine with baking artisan type breads in my oven on a baking stone.  The result has been beautiful and much easier than I thought once I learned the technique.  The last several days I have been making baguettes with my new equipment and today I perfected the baguette- it's just like in France!  I've made 6 baguettes today  just to be sure I had it right and they all turned out the same! I have found the most successful loaves I made were the ones that used a starter.  There is a specific starter you can make for baguettes or you can just pull out some of my sourdough starter from the fridge (see my sourdough post).  I did it both ways and honestly, it turned out exactly the same.   Also, I used artisan bread flour for these.  I also tried them with regular bread flour and 00 flour.  The artisan bread flour yielded the best results, but the other two flours were also delicious.    So don't be afraid, give this a try!  I promise you, it will be well worth it!  

Now, before I get to the recipe and the process, let me tell you- you DO need to have the correct equipment.  The bannetons were around $25 on Amazon and the baguette pan was around $18.   I also use my bread machine to make the dough.  I know that bread purists would probably scream at me for doing this, but I have found that it makes life easier and why not let the machine do all the kneading and the first rise for me!  I have an Oster bread machine which costs around $60 and I never bake my bread in it, not even my sandwich loaves, I only do the dough in it.  I also have a baking stone in my oven.  The stone is a fibrament stone from Forno Bravo.  To make the baguettes you do not need a stone, but it does help with the distribution and retention of heat in the oven while baking the bread.

Ok so on with it...

French Baguettes

Starter:
1/2 cup water
a pinch of yeast
1 cup bread flour

Mix the ingredients in a clean non reactive bowl (like a glass bowl- not metal).  Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rest overnight (at least 12 hours).  It should rise slightly and become bubbly.  

• Note- You can use 1 cup of my sourdough starter straight out of the fridge.

Bread Dough:

• Starter (all of the prepared starter or one cup of sourdough starter straight out of the fridge, unfed)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups artisan bread flour (like 00 or other good bread flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp. yeast

For Baking:

• 1/4 cup cold water in a clean spray bottle
• 10 ice cubes

1. Place all ingredients IN THE ORDER THEY ARE LISTED in the bread machine and set to dough cycle.  

2. When the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Turn the dough out carefully onto a lightly oiled and floured surface.  Without deflating it, cut it in to three equal pieces (about 6 oz each- you can weigh them using a kitchen scale if needed but it's not essential).  

3. One at a time, press each piece out into a small rectangle with your fingers and preform.  To preform- take the top half of the rectangle and press it into the middle with your fingertips to create a crease.  Bring the bottom half up to the crease and press lightly with your fingertips.  Bring the two halves together and press together with the heel of your hand.  

4. Place each preformed dough piece seam side down on a lightly floured surface and cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.  (note-I only have two proofing baskets and two slots in my baguette pan, so I actually only work with two at a time, forming the third piece of dough into a ball and placing it into the fridge for the next round of baking).  

5. Once the dough has rested, working with one piece of dough at a time, press the air out evenly and gently with the tips of your fingers.  Using the same action as you used to preform the dough, form your baguette.  Cup your hands over the formed dough and gently roll from the middle outwards to elongate the baguette.  Place each roll into floured proofing baskets and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Allow to rise until doubled in size about one hour.

6.  Spray your baguette pan generously with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Turn the risen baguette rolls out carefully into the baguette pan, being extra careful not to deflate them.  Use a very sharp knife or bread lame to make three slashes about 5 inches each along the length of the baguette at about a 45 degree angle.  Use a spray bottle and spray the tops of the baguettes generously with water (this will help create the super crispy crust).  Place the baguettes in the oven and toss the ice cubes in the bottom of your oven (this will create steam and contribute to a crispy crust...and no...it will not hurt your oven).  

7.  Bake baguettes 25-30 minutes until deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees (internal temperature is important because it is what tells us what type of crumb the bread will have- dense, soft and chewy, or light and airy).

Enjoy!  My husband has been eating jambon beurre sandwiches using our leftover Christmas ham!  YUM!   

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any clarification!

Until next time, happy, healthy, and CLEAN cooking!

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough

Today I baked two loaves of Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough.  A few weeks ago my mom's best friend told me about this recipe she'd seen on King Arthur Flour so I went to check it out! The first two times I made this bread, I did it exactly as the King Arthur recipe read, then the third time I made it, I decided to mess with it...in true Elizabeth fashion.  I gave a loaf of my version to a friend of mine and she asked me to blog the recipe, so here I am!  I have made my version two more times, including today and it's SO delicious!  YUM!

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough
makes two loaves

For the dough:

• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup FED sourdough starter 
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey (or you can use sugar)
• 6 cups bread flour
• 5 tsp. yeast

For the filling

• 1 egg + 1 tbsp water, beaten 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup raisins

• 1 tbsp butter to brush on the top after the loaves have baked

Place all the dough ingredients in your bread machine in the EXACT ORDER LISTED and set to dough cycle.  When the dough cycle is done, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Turn the dough out onto a VERY LIGHTLY floured surface and lightly coat your hands in flour.  

Punch down dough. Break dough in half and then form each half into a ball and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  While dough is resting, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl and set aside.  Grease two loaf pans and set aside. Starting with one dough ball,  punch the dough out into a large rectangle with the short side facing you (about 16 X 20 inches).  Brush the egg wash onto the dough with a pastry brush or spread on with a spoon. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture and top with raisins.  Carefully roll up the dough into a log.  Pinch the seam closed and fold the ends over and pinch closed. 

Place in loaf pan seam side down.  Repeat with second dough ball.  Cover loaves with a clean kitchen cloth and allow to proof until doubled in size, about 30 minutes (I like to let my loaves proof on top of the preheating oven).  Place in the oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the loaf reaches 190 degrees (this is important because this will ensure your loaf is full cooked and will not be dense).   Remove the bread from the oven and brush the top with butter (I just use softened butter because it melts on contact with the bread and spread it on with my pastry brush- this gives it a nice soft crust which is good for this type of bread).  Allow to cool 5-10 minutes then carefully remove the loaves from the pans.  

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking!

Fruit Sauce for Yogurt (and whatever else you want to put it on- and you will want to put it on EVERYTHING)

I read an article recently that a yogurt cup has more sugar than a Krispy Kreme donut.  YUCK!  I DEFINITELY do not like Krispy Kremes, I've never been a donut person, but I really don't understand all the hype about Krispy Kremes...maybe it's all the sugar.  Anyway, when I found this out it made me sick.  And then I found out that a lot of brands, including the ALL NATURAL and ORGANIC brands add Carrageenan to their yogurt!  What is Carrageenan you ask?  It's an "all natural" ingredient that is added to certain products like yogurt, milk, and ice cream to provide a smoother texture and make "less fat" products seem fuller.  Here's the deal, it comes from red algae, so while it is all natural, it's not meant to be eaten!  It has been linked to gut irritation, digestive problems, and even certain types of digestive cancers!  It causes inflammation of the gut which can lead to ulcerations and bleeding.  This is scary to me because I suffer from a form of severe Irritable Bowel Disease, something that caused me to have a bowel obstruction and almost die 10 years ago.  Since then I have been SUPER vigilant about my diet and making sure I am eating things that don't irritate my gut, which is the main reason why we are such clean eaters in my house.  So, a few weeks ago I started having a flare up of my IBD and could not figure out why.  On my last trip to Costco I bought some Activia, which I don't usually buy because I don't like to support companies like Danone, but I bought it because it was on sale and David likes it.  My symptoms continued to get worse and could not figure out what it was!  And finally, I was reading about Carrageenan and BAM I checked the ingredients label of Activia and what's included?  CARRAGEENAN!  In a yogurt that is SUPPOSED TO PROMOTE GUT HEALTH!  What a crock!  SO...I started thinking about this, I love yogurt, my family loves yogurt, I don't want all that sugar, and I don't want the carrageenan.  Here's my solution.  Plain greek yogurt with this delicious fruit sauce poured over it.  You can use berries, you can use peaches, you can use fresh fruit, you can use frozen fruit...whatever you like!  Daniel likes it so much he calls it his "special sauce yogurt." I make my own yogurt cups by placing some berry sauce on the bottom of a small mason jar and topping it with yogurt.  I then pack these "cups" in David's and Daniel's lunch boxes.  YUM!  Give it a try!  You will want to eat it by itself it is so good!

Fruit Sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen berries of your choice (or peaches)- I used a berry mix.
• 1/4 cup honey (if you like it sweeter add a little more, if you don't like it very sweet add a little less)
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water

In a medium sauce pan, stir together the ingredients over medium high heat until hot and starting to bubble.  Turn down heat to low and allow to cook down for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally breaking up the fruit.  You will know the mixture is ready when it is slightly thickened.  Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, CAREFULLY (it splatters and is very  hot) puree the mixture.  Place back on low heat and allow to bubble another 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. I store this sauce in mason jars in the fridge.  It will keep for about a week.  

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking.  

Coffee Creamer

I have been working really hard to eliminate all the processed foods from our home.  To be fair, we don't eat a lot of processed foods, but there are certain things I DO buy, like ketchup, mustard,  and coffee creamer.  Lately I've been working really hard to learn to make these things because not only does it save money, it is cleaner and healthier.  After a bit of trial and error, I have come up with this delicious coffee creamer and the best part about it is that I KNOW WHAT'S IN IT!  It also cost me about half the amount to make a 16 oz bottle as it does to buy it at the grocery store.  And it also tastes way better than that other gunk too, if I do say so myself!  

Coffee Creamer

• 1 cup milk 
• 1 cup cream
• 2 tbsp sweetener of your choice (for example- sometimes I use maple syrup, sometimes I use honey, sometimes I use raw sugar.  If you like it a little sweeter, add a little more, if you like it less sweet, add a little less).

To these ingredients add the following depending on which kind of creamer you want to make.  My favorite is salted caramel vanilla.  

Salted Caramel Vanilla 

(note, for this recipe I take out the sweetener because the caramel sauce has sugar in it)

• 2 tbsp homemade salted caramel sauce (I use the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction)
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Classic Vanilla

• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Maple Cinnamon

• 1 tsp cinnamon (you can add more if you like a strong cinnamon flavor)
• 1 tsp pure maple extract

Almond Mocha

• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

Pumpkin Spice

• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree 
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Peppermint Mocha

• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

In a small saucepan combine all ingredients.  Whisk over low heat until steaming (do not allow to boil) and continue to whisk for 2 minutes after it starts steaming.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Store in the fridge in a glass container with a tight lid.  Will keep for 10 days.  YUM!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking.