No-Knead Homemade Crusty Bread

If you're a person who is terrified of making homemade bread, I'm talking to you right now: you CAN make this bread! It's so forgiving, and not messy at all, and it's very simple to do! You have to plan a bit ahead so it has time to rise and such, but it's totally easy other than that! I wish this had been the first bread recipe I tried! I'm serious; you should try this out sometime during the holidays... homemade bread is delicious, it makes the whole house smell lovely, and it's such a fancy addition to a meal!

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 3 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp instant yeast 1 1/2 cups water (lukewarm) Parchment Paper
Directions: 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast (no need to "proof" the yeast first).  2. Add in water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. 3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours. 4. Pour dough out of the bowl onto a floured piece of parchment paper, and shape into a ball. Cover the ball with plastic wrap, and sit it on the parchment paper. 5. Place some sort of oven-safe dish with a lid into the oven. This could be a Dutch oven, or a cast iron pot with a lid, stainless steel pot with lid, Pyrex dish with lid, Corningware with lid, etc. I use a 2.5 quart round Corningware dish with a glass lid. It just needs to be somewhere between 2.5 and 7ish quarts. No need to grease or flour the dish at all. 6. Preheat the oven to 450 (letting the empty dish heat up in the oven). While the oven preheats, let the dough just sit on the parchment paper under the plastic wrap. 7. When the oven is preheated, remove the the plastic wrap from the dough. Take the dish out of the oven (be careful and use oven mitts: it will be very, very hot!), and remove the lid. Pick up the parchment paper and drop the dough + parchment paper straight into the dish. Put the lid back on and put it back in the oven. 8. Bake for 30 minutes. 9. Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes. 10. Remove bread from the dish (again, it'll be very hot, so be careful!) and cool on a wire rack before slicing.

(dry ingredients)

(whisking the dry ingredients)

(adding in water)

(shaggy dough)

(cover and let it sit for 12-18 hours)

(this is what it looks like after sitting overnight)

(dough on floured parchment paper, covered with plastic wrap)

(into the hot dish)

(covered, and into the oven for 30 minutes)

(this is what it looks like after the first 15 minutes, when you remove the lid)

(all done!)

(pulling the loaf out of the pan)

(cooling on a wire rack)

(mmm, crusty bready goodness!)

(delicious!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tons of recipes call for a packet of taco seasoning (including the Taco Chili recipe that I posted a couple days ago). You know, the kind that looks like this:

(source)

But the dirty little secret about taco seasoning in a packet is that it's FULL of sodium and lots of other scary things. So I set out to mix up my own taco seasoning that I can use in place of the packet kind! It's a little more healthy, and it means you never have to worry about whether you have a packet on hand in the pantry. Win win! 

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp paprika

1 1/2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp onion powder

1/4 tbsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and store in spice bags or jars.

2. 4 tablespoons of the mixture can be used in place of one "taco seasoning packet." 

(mixing it up)

Ta-da! 

Enjoy! 

Taco Chili

It's finally getting kinda sorta cold in Texas, and it's the perfect time of year for a warm, yummy dinner in a bowl! I always associate stews and soups and chili with fall/winter, and I love changing up my recipes for this time of year! Here's a super easy comfort food recipe that everyone should have! 

Recipe adapted from here. Ingredients: 1 lb lean ground beef 1 15oz can tomato sauce 1 15oz can seasoned diced tomatoes (I use Hunt's Basil, Garlic, & Oregano) 1 15oz can whole kernel corn, undrained 1 15oz can chili beans 1 packet taco seasoning mix (or 4 tbsp taco seasoning mix) Shredded cheese (for topping) Sour cream (for topping) Tortilla chips (for topping) Directions: 1. Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned. Drain to remove fat. 2. In a slow cooker, combine the ground beef, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, corn, beans, and taco seasoning.  3. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.  4. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and/or sour cream. Note: you can freeze leftovers if you want - just thaw in the fridge later and heat up in a saucepan on the stove! 

(these are the types I use) 

(browned ground beef)

(all ingredients mixed together)

(cooking...)

(all done!)

(this is how I like mine - cheese sprinkled all over and crunched up tortilla chips)

(this is how Jeff likes his - a mound of cheese in the middle and whole chips artfully arranged on the sides)

Ta-da! 

Enjoy!

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

Today's the last day to enter my giveaway and get a free $50 gift card to Tiny Prints (which you can use for Christmas photo cards, or whatever else)! Don't forget to enter here by midnight tonight! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After making Indian Butter Chicken quite a few times and loving it, I decided to branch out a bit and try some more Indian recipes. This basil chicken in coconut curry sauce has become a new favorite!

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut into cubes 2 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp chili powder 1 red onion, diced 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and finely chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1 14oz can light coconut milk 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch 1 tbsp dried basil 1/4 tsp ground ginger hot cooked rice 
Directions: 1. In a small bowl, mix curry powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Place cubed chicken in a separate bowl, and sprinkle the curry mixture over the chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Chill coated chicken in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, basil, garlic, and jalapenos and saute over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is tender and translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink. 3. In a separate dish, combine coconut milk with cornstarch and whisk until combined. Add to the skillet and stir vigorously. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. 4. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Serve over hot rice. 

(cubed chicken)

(spices)

(all mixed up!)

(chicken coated with spices)

(sautéing garlic, onions, peppers, and basil)

(coconut milk and cornstarch)

(after adding chicken and coconut mixture)

(stirring...)

(thick and bubbly and done!)

(Mmm, yummy!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Honey Glazed Carrots

First of all, don't forget to enter to win free holiday cards from Tiny Prints here! 

These carrots are a delicious and easy side dish! I rarely make complicated side dishes (I tend to focus on whatever main dish I'm doing), so these are nice and simple and perfect. I love to serve them with Honey Garlic Pork Chops. So yummy! 

Recipe adapted from here. Ingredients: 1 1/2 to 2 pounds baby carrots 3/4 tsp salt 3 tbsp butter 2 tbsp honey 3 tbsp packed brown sugar juice from 1/2 lemon freshly ground black pepper (optional) Directions: 1. Rinse carrots and put them in a medium saucepan. Fill saucepan with enough water to cover the carrots. Add salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook on medium low, covered for 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Drain.  2. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add honey and brown sugar and cook (stirring constantly) until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice and stir in the carrots. Stir until all carrots are coated, then continue cooking until carrots are hot and glazed. 3. Garnish with ground black pepper and serve! 

(carrots in water)

(cooking over medium heat)

(drain and set aside)

(melted butter...)

(butter + brown sugar + honey)

(sugar is all dissolved!)

(adding lemon juice)

(adding carrots and stirring to coat)

(all done!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!