Whole wheat pizza crust

(From http://www.recipezaar.com/Bread-Machine-Pizza-Dough-With-Whole-Wheat-Flour-137143)

• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast
  

Add ingredients in the order given into the bread machine pan.
Start dough cycle. (On my machine this takes 2 hours).
Once the dough is done remove it from the pan onto a floured work surface.
Roll dough to fit the shape of your pan. This recipe makes two 14 inch round pizzas.
Brush lightly with olive oil and add toppings. You can hold this dough, with just the olive oil, for a couple of hours in the fridge covered in plastic wrap.
Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
This recipe is the large sized recipe. It also comes in small and medium.

Notes:
I made a half recipe (using 1/4 tsp salt), which made one normal sized pizza. It was pretty good but definitely had a whole wheat flavor. For toppings, I used: 80% can of tomato sauce (should have used more), 2 small garlic cloves (use more), ~6 leaves rosemary, 2 sprigs thyme, some basil (more is good), some oregano (more is good), ~0.5 oz grated parmesan, ~2/3 of an 8 oz bag of mozzarella, and a light sprinkling of crushed red pepper.

Provencal Vegetable Soup: Soupe au Pistou

(From http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/wolfgang-puck/provencal-vegetable-soup-soupe-au-pistou-recipe/index.html)

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium leeks, dark green parts trimmed and discarded, light green and white parts thoroughly washed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 8 cups chicken stock
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon whole black and white peppercorns
• 4 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 small sprigs fresh parsley
• 12 green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice

Pistou:

• 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 30 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried

Goat Cheese Croutons:

• 6 to 8 slices French bread, about 1/4-inch thick
• Olive oil
• 6 to 8 ounces fresh creamy goat cheese

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute just until they start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute more. Add the carrots and celery and continue sauteing until the vegetables deepen in color but have not yet begun to brown, 3 to 4 minutes more. Pour the stock into the pan, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt.

Tie the peppercorns, thyme, and parsley in a square of cheesecloth, securing it with kitchen string. Add this bouquet garni to the pan. Stir in the beans, zucchini, summer squash, and tomato. Continue simmering until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the Pistou: Put the garlic and tomatoes in a blender or food processor with about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Begin processing. With the machine running, add the basil leaves, and then pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a smooth, thick, but fluid paste. Transfer about 2/3 of the paste into a serving bowl to pass alongside the soup.

Make the Goat Cheese Croutons: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush the bread slices with olive oil and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn on the broiler. Spread 1 side of each crouton with goat cheese and put it back on the baking sheet. Broil until the cheese is warm and slightly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

When the soup is ready, stir the remaining pistou into the saucepan, ladling some of the hot broth into the blender or processor bowl to swirl and rinse any pesto clinging inside into the pan. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt.

Ladle the soup into individual heated serving bowls. Float a crouton in the center of each bowl. With a spoon, drizzle a little more pistou over the crouton and soup in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing more pistou alongside for each person to add, to taste.

Notes:

I made this once, sans croutons. I definitely used fresh tomatoes but cut back drastically on the amount. Maybe 2 fresh tomatoes for the whole recipe?

Macaroni and cheese

• 2 c. macaroni
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 2 c. white sauce
• 1 TBS butter/margarine

Cook macaroni as directed on package. Place half the macaroni in ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with half the salt, pepper, and cheese. Repeat. Pour white sauce over the casserole. Dot with butter. Cover and bake 30 min. Uncover and bake 15 min longer.

White sauce (makes 1 c. so you'll need to double this):

• 2 TBS butter/margarine
• 2 TBS flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 c. milk

Melt margarine in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smoth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 min.

Notes:
When assembling the casserole, I used less salt. I just sprinkled each layer with salt and pepper from the shaker. The oven temperature was not specified. Most recently, I did 350 for the first 30 min and 375 for the last 15 min. Next time, I'll try 375 for the whole thing.

Bailey's Irish Cream Bread

(From http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/30/163246.shtml)

• 1 1/3 c. water
• 2 TBS Bailey's
• 3 c. flour
• 1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
  
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. quick oats
• 1/2 tsp salt (or less)
  

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix well. Let rise 1 hour.

Put dough into a greased and floured loaf pan. The dough will be very elastic. Push it into the corners of the pan. Let it rise 10 min more.

Bake at 350F for 40 min or until done.

Notes and adjustments:
This doesn't like to rise much, but I got it to rise pretty well. I foamed the yeast in 1/3 c. warm water, and I warmed the rest of the water to the temperature recommended on the yeast package. The first rise was at least an hour, and the second rise was about an hour also.

Last time I used regular oats instead of quick oats, and I soaked them in the warm water for ~5 min. This seems to have cooked them and led to a smooth bread instead of one with discernible oatmeal bits.

I did not knead the dough or flour the bread pan.

Easy Beef & Spinach Lasagna

(Adapted from http://www.cooksrecipes.com/gmeat/easy_beef_&_spinach_lasagna_recipe.html)

• 1 pound lean ground beef or ground white meat turkey (the kind of ground turkey with the lowest fat content)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 jar (26 to 30 ounces) prepared spaghetti sauce (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 carton (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 package (10 ounces?) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and well drained (Use your hands to squeeze out the water.)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 box brown rice lasagna noodles (or regular ones)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, or however much you want

Heat oven to 375°F. In large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef/turkey over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Pour off drippings. Season beef with salt; stir in spaghetti sauce and red pepper; set aside.

Boil lasagna noodles until cooked.  There will be a few extras; you won't actually need the whole box.  Drain and use immediately.  (Otherwise they will stick together.)

Meanwhile in medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.

Spread some beef sauce over bottom of a square baking dish (8x8"? 9x9"?). Arrange lasagna noodles lengthwise in single layer, tearing them as needed to fit in dish.  Spread entire ricotta cheese mixture over noodles; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and top with more beef sauce. Arrange remaining noodles in single layer; press lightly into sauce. Top with remaining beef sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. [Note:  I think these directions were for layering in a 9x13" pan. For the square pan that I use, I think it's layered as follows:  beef, pasta, half the ricotta, mozzarella, beef, pasta, other half of the ricotta, mozzarella, beef, pasta, last of the beef, last of the mozzarella.]

Bake in 375°F oven 45 minutes or until cooked. Let cool for a bit before serving.

Pumpkin Muffins

(From http://www.pioneerthinking.com/pumpkinmuffins.html)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 3 each eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cups melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 1/2 cups pastry flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Add all ingredients into large bowl and mix together until well blended. Batter will be lumpy. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pan. Sprinkle generously with topping mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Yields 1.5 dozen.

Comments:
I don't remember if I've made this before. It's not the definitive recipe from home.

Aztec Soup (aka Tortilla Soup)

(From http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Soups/Aztec.Soup.html)

• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 tomatoes, roasted and peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small white onion
• 2 quajillo chiles, seeded and soaked in hot water 15 minutes
• 4 epazote leaves (optional)
• 4 corn tortillas
• shredded cheese
• sliced avocado
• Mexican crema or sour cream
• oil as necessary

Put the tomatoes, garlic, onion, chiles, and epazote in a blender with just enough of the chicken broth to allow the blades to move and make a smooth puree. Heat about 1 Tbls. of oil in a medium saucepan and fry the puree for about 15 minutes. Add the remainder of the broth and cook another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.Cut the tortillas into Frito-size strips and fry them in oil until crispy; drain on paper towels. Serve the soup garnished with the tortilla strips, cheese, avocado slices, and cream. Shredded, cooked chicken may also be added as a garnish.

Comments:
I made this once. The flavor was decent, but the broth was very thin. I have a better recipe somewhere. The tortillas don't need any oil to fry if using a non-stick pan.