Homemade Ezekial Bread tutorial

**(Sorry for the interruptions by my son in the videos! I put a show on for him, but that obviously didn't work. Guess hearing Mom talk to herself was distracting!)

Ezekial bread is not only delicious, but because it is made with legumes and grains other than wheat it is much higher in nutrients and protein than other breads. Adding chia seeds only adds to the nutritional value. You get extra fiber, omega 3, anti oxidants, protein and iron.

***You obviously can't make this recipe without a food mill/grinder. I will also post a wheat bread recipe that you can use store bought wheat flour. If you don't have a Bosch, you can use a Kitchen Aid, but cut the recipe into 1/3 and make 2 loaves.



Homemade Mix:

5 C Hard Red Wheat
3 Cups Spelt
1 C Hulled Barley
1/2 C Millet
1/2 C Green Lentils
1/4 C Great Northern Beans
1/4 C Red Kidney Beans
1/4 C Pinto Beans

Ezekial Bread:

Grind 3 1/2 C Homemade Mix and
3 C Hard White Wheat

Add about half of the fresh flour to your Bosch and add:

6 C very warm water
1 C Honey
2/3 C Canola Oil
1/2 C Powdered Milk
3 Tbs Vital Wheat Gluten
3 Tbs Dough Enhancer
4 Tbs yeast
3 Tbs Chia Seeds (optional)

Mix with whisk attachmet until well blended and then let sit until bubbly (about 20-30 min)

Change to your dough hook and add:
The rest of your fresh flour
2 Tbs Salt
4 eggs

Turn on your mixer to level 1 and slowly add high gluten flour until dough starts to pull away from the bowl (about 4-6 Cups) (Video 1)(very boring, but I want to keep things detailed for you!)

Let mixer run for about 8 min and check dough for elasticity. Check every 2 min if additional kneading is necessary. (Video 2). Under kneaded dough will be very sticky or gooey and hard to work with. Over kneaded dough will be very tough and yield a loaf of brick not bread. So tend to your kneading dough after the initial 8 min.

Oil your hands and your countertop and remove dough from bowl. Knead it a few times by hand and then divide into 6 equal parts. Form into 6 loaves and set in oiled loaf pans. (Video 3).  Cover with a lightweight towel and allow to rise until about 1-1 1/2 in above pan. Dough will continue to rise in the oven.

Preheat your oven to 425* Immediately after putting your bread in lower temp to 325*. Bake for 15 min and then insert a temp probe. Bake until temp reads 185*. Remove immediately from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack before bagging.

Two minute breakfast burrito or sandwich

This is my first time blogging from my phone so we'll see how it goes!! One of my favorite things for breakfast is an egg sandwich. But did you know you can make an egg sandwich without dirtying a pan!? You can microwave your eggs!! And those little Gerber baby bowls that almost all moms have are the perfect size.

Decide what kind if toppings you like and prepare extra for the week. Whether its bacon or diced peppers or whatever you like. I simply like real bacon bits and a little cheese, both of which I usually have on hand. Today I had some leftover chorizo so I decided to make a burrito!

So, grab your add-ins and whip them with 1 or 2 eggs and a tsp of water. If you're doing just whites I'd go with at least 2. Make sure they're nice and foamy (aerated) or they will explode in your microwave! Microwave on high for about 75 seconds. Toast some bread in the meantime and you've got a two minute hot breakfast :)

Funeral Potato Casserole

I love Funeral Potatoes! Yummm!! If you could eat them as a main dish, like me, this is a great way to do it.

Follow THIS recipe and add

*2 cans of chicken, drained (I get mine from Costco). You could even use grilled chicken but I like the quickness of canned.

*12-16oz (your preference) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained. Or add your own blanched, chopped fresh spinach. I blanch about 5 or 6 big handfuls, then whirl them in the blender for a quick second with the ice water, then drain with a mesh strainer.

For an even healthier version use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream.

I like to top mine with corn flakes :)

Bake at 375* until bubbly and hot, about 35-45 min for a 9x9 or 50-60 min for a 9x13. This makes 2 meals for my family of 5, so I make 2 9x9's, I cook one and freeze the other.

Hell's Kitchen Knock off

My favorite egg salad sandwich, the Hell's Kitchen, is served at a deli on the west side of town called Heidi's. Since I don't get over there as often as I'd like I decided to made a similar sandwich for dinner and I must say, it was the biggity bomb :)

For the egg salad bring 8 eggs to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let sit about 10 minutes. Immediately run under cool water to stop the cooking. Allow to cool and peel. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours (at least)

Place your hard boiled eggs in a mixing bowl and add

1/4 C diced green onions (chives)

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (or more to taste)(I like McCormick's because it's not too salty)

about 1/4 C mayonnaise (your preference for moisture)

Mash with a potato masher or pastry blender until desired chunkiness. Switch to a spoon and mix well.

Serve on thickly sliced sourdough sandwich bread with bacon, avacado and lettuce (and tomato if you'd like, just not in this house). Are you drooling?!?! This was sooo yummy!! Makes 3-4 sandwiches.

Baggie Trick

This is another one of my favorite tricks. If you ever need to get anything into a baggie but need two hands, stuff the baggie into a large cup and wrap the top around the rim.  This particular instance I needed to get frosting into the bag. But I also love to do this when making marinades, for leftover soups, or portioning the huge bag of Costco cheese into smaller bags.



Hope it comes in handy for you :)

March!!

February went by sooo fast! (I think I said that about January too...) I was able to get my menu done today. Hopefully you have been working on yours too. It's a long month; lots of meals, not so easy. Here it is! My freezer meals are the Pasta Faggioli, Honey Lime Enchiladas, Swedish Meatballs

Chicken spinach balls
French Dip
Honey Lime Enchiladas
Butternut Squash Soup and homemade croutons (Loooooved this last month)
Tortellini Pasta Salad (I switch red bell peppers for the tomatoes and add spinach)
BBQ Pork
Stir Fry
Spicy Chicken Sandwiches
Homemade Mac N Cheese
Broiled Fish/Chicken Nuggets
Beef Taquitos
Pesto Wraps
Pasta Faggioli
Rosemary Lemon Pork
BBQ beef sandwiches
Thai Curry Coconut noodles
Stuffed Pistolettes
Crockpot Cordon Bleu
Homemade Pizza
Chicken Pitas
Rice soup
Fondue
Meatballs
Generals Chicken
Pot Pie
Tacos
Grilled Salmon

Couponing

First things first. You're gonna need one of these; an ice cold beverage. With caffeine. ;)

I get three newspapers weekly. One from a subscription, two from the Dollar Tree.  My favorite grocery store (Fry's) values all coupons at $1 (up to 3 of the same, that's why I only get 3 papers. Coupons over $1 are worth face value) so if I use 3 coupons total in a week, the papers pay for themselves. At least that's how I figure it. You could even do more if you wanted because it really doesn't take much more time.

 Pull out your coupons inserts and group the pages together from all 3 papers. So, you'll have 3 of each page stacked together.

 Check folded pages for coupon layouts before cutting all 3 of the same page right down the middle. I use a paper trimmer, it's very time efficient.

 Make a pile of coupons. Your 3 like-coupons usually stick together pretty well.

 Make a discard pile. I DO NOT clip/save all coupons. For me, it's all about getting it done quickly. If I have no need for an item (like Depends or Centrum Silver...) there's no need to keep it, in my opinion. Some people would argue that sometimes products come up free with coupons. If you have the time to shop for and donate free items, more power to you.

Start putting your coupons in your binder. I will thumb through each category as I go and pull out old expired coup's. I also keep like-coupons (same product) together despite their expiration date, but the newest will go behind the others. Some coupons will need to be folded, just try to keep the product and expiration date visible.

This is a baseball card binder from Target. However, I have thought about switching to a regular 3- ring binder with pockets in the cover because it would be useful. If I were to do it over I would just buy a 3-ring binder and the card refill pack.

Here are my categories (divided by cheap Staples dividers).

Baby
Baking
Beauty/Fem
Bread/Tortillas
Breakfast (excl frozen)
Candy/Gum
Canned (excl soup)
Condiments
Dairy
Drinks
Freezer
Hair Care
House Care
Office supplies
Oral Care
Paper products/food storage
Pasta and sauce
Pets
Pharmacy
Produce
Refrigerated and Meat
Shaving and Deoderant
Sides and Rice
Skincare/Lotion
Snacks
Soap and Bodywash
Soup

(in the back)
Rain Checks/Store Credits
Restaurants

As for shopping there's not much of a strategy since most stores' coupon policies have become more strict.  The main thing is to try and use your coupons when an item is also on sale, thus maximizing your savings. Once again, my favorite website to reference is www.thecentsableshoppin.com for AZ peeps. She will help you match coupons to sales.

Yes, couponing takes a little time. BUT my friend who showed ME the ropes (thanks Lanae ;)) told me that when you're saving money it's like a job. Not spending=earning. Kinda.