Cooking Update

So I've had my Bosch for 2 weeks now and I'm getting used to it.  It is pretty amazing and can mix a ton of dough.  I've only made breads in it so far but since it can make so much I've been tripling all the recipes and freezing it.  My freezer is so full of baked goods.  Just tonight I made 4 dozen (16 cups of flour) hamburger type buns.  We love this french bread roll recipe.  They are so good for sandwiches, sloppy joes, hamburgers, etc.  They are a nice hearty roll able to hold tons of toppings yet chewy and soft at the same time.  I use my largest biscuit cutter to cut them out and they are the perfect size for the kids.  The problem with making all this bread is that it's hard not to eat it right out of the oven.  For instance Neil and I have already eaten two each and they are still calling my name.  So good.

I bought one of those living basil plants found in the produce section of grocery stores two weeks ago and I am in love.  I have added fresh basil to a pasta salad, spaghetti sauce and pizza.  Friday I just didn't want pizza.  I was sick of pepperoni, ham and pineapple, sausage and bbq chicken so I took the basil and put that on the pizza with tomatoes and cheese and it was really good and light.  The only thing that would make it better would be if the tomatoes were garden tomatoes with flavor.  I think this week I'm going to drizzle a little olive oil and roasted garlic on the crust before adding the tomatoes, basil and cheese.  I also plan on making some brushetta this week with the basil.  I can't tell if it keeps growing new leaves but it must because I've used a ton and there's still a lot left.  Definitely worth the $3 and sure beats trying to grow mine own from scratch.

I've added some more recipes to our breakfast rotation.  Steel Cut oats is our new favorite.  Where have these been all my life.  They are expensive at most grocery stores but if you have a Winco you can get them for $.55 cents a pound.  Such an expensive breakfast.  So what's so great about steel cut oats?  What I love about them is that I can cook them in my crockpot on low before heading off to bed and breakfast is ready in the morning. I cook mine using 1 part oats to 3 parts liquid.  The first recipe I tried was this maple and brown sugar version. It was pretty good but the boys didn't think it was sweet enough.  Since then I have just experimented adding apples and spices, or bananas and blueberries, or just berries.  I have found the berries lose alot of their flavor overnight so I add those in the morning and just stir them in.

We also like this baked apple and cinnamon oatmeal.  There is no sugar in the recipe.  It gets it's sweetness from the fruit and really you'd never know it.  I've just cooked it on the stovetop in a pinch to save time.

Another new favorite is a baked omelet roll.  These are so cool and pretty.  It would be great for when you have company you're trying to impress and it feeds alot.  The above recipe is just a starting point.  One tip is you really need to use parchment paper so the eggs don't stick the pan and it makes it easy to roll.  Have you seen that you can get a huge roll of it at Costco for $6.  I've had mine for over a year and I still have plenty left.  Basically your just cooking a bunch of scrambled eggs on a jelly roll pan for 30 minutes and then adding your favorite toppings and rolling it up so when it's cut you have pretty spirals.  We've done ham, bacon and sausage as well as just cheese.  I love having something I can make and throw in the oven for 30 minutes while I exercise and then it's ready and I didn't have to slave over the stove.