moms wheat bread.

this is the bread i grew up eating.

unfortunately i can never get it to taste like my moms bread because she always used freshly grinded wheat flour. there is just no beating that.

i know i'm not the only one who grew up with buckets of wheat in the basement, right? do people still do this?

this bread recipe is simple, straight-forward, and is fairly accepting of additions/tweaks. i dialed the sugar back a bit last time i made it because i don't want to oversugar my 39 weeks baby baby (i'm sure baby gets enough sugar from the halloween candy i've been eating this week), and it tasted great. next time i might to try to replace some of the sugar with honey.

moms wheat bread

1/2 cup warm water - mix in 1 T. sugar and 1 package yeast. Let rise for about 10 minutes.

Mix together in large bowl:

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup melted butter (margarine)

Add yeast/water mixture from above and 2 cups warm water. Stir together.

Add 4 cups wheat flour and 4 cups white flour (I usually put in about 3 cups flour at first,

then keep adding more until it gets to the right consistency.) Knead for about 5-10 minutes

(OR put it in your Kitchenaid)

Lightly grease with oil the large (clean) bowl you mixed the dough in.

Let rise until doubled.

Punch down and divide into 2 loaves. Put into greased bread pans.

Let rise to size of loaves you'll want. it will only rise a little bit more while cooking.

Bake 350-375 for 30-40 minutes.

After I take the loaves out of the pans, I put them on a wire rack to cool and butter the tops of the loaves so the crust isn't tough. Plus, butter.

Lentil Tacos

tonight for dinner, i was craving tacos. like taco bell, yellow cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce old school tacos. since i don't eat red meat, i was super excited to find this recipe for spiced lentil tacos.

amazing! delicious! and lentils are so good for you!

satisfied the craving and even my meat eating husband had great things to say about the dinner.

Preparing the lentils:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed

1 package (2.25 ounce) taco seasoning (or if you prefer less sodium, 2 TB chili powder, 2 Tsp cumin, 1 Tsp coriander, dash of oregano

3 cups vegetable broth

Toppings:

sour cream

8 taco shells

shredded lettuce

chopped tomato

shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and salt until onion begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lentils and seasonings. Cook until spices are fragrant and lentils are dry, about 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover lentils and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash with a rubber spatula (i didn't mash - i prefer a little texture). Spoon 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and whatever else you can dream up.