Portuguese Sweet Bread

This is one of my all time favorite foods that I can only get when I go home so I finally learned how to make it.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

12 eggs (room temperature) plus 1 for egg wash
4 cups sugar
3 yeast packets
2 Tbs Sugar
½ cup warm water (100º-110º)
1 Tbs salt
5.5 lb sifted flour
½ lb butter
½ lb shortening (19 Tbs)
3 cups milk
1 cup water

- Mix yeast with warm water and 2 Tbs of sugar to bloom
- On the stove melt shortening and butter
- On the stove heat milk and water to scalding
- Combine eggs and sugar with a mixer
- Mix half the flour into the eggs and sugar
- Gradually add butter, milk, yeast and salt
- Alternate flour, butter and milk
- Knead dough until hands start to get clean, and the dough sticks together and pulls away from the bowl
- Sprinkle a large bowl with flour and the top of the dough
- Cover with plastic wrap, put in a warm spot and cover with a blanket
- Let rise for 4 hours or until atleast doubled
- Knead again
- Grease loaf pans
- Separate dough into loaves, each loaf should have about enough dough to fill a cereal bowl
- Let rise again in a war, spot for 1-2 hours in the loaf pans
- Preheat oven to 250º
- Brush loaves with 1 slightly beaten egg
- Bake loaves for 30 minutes
- Increase temperature to 300º and bake until golden



Notes: I make a half batch using about 9 or 10 cups of flour. I used my mixer to knead the dough most of the way and then continued to do it on the counter with my hands. For my warm spot I turned the oven on and set my bowl/pan by the oven to heat the dough and make it rise. I also had to raise the oven temp to 325º to get a golden color on the bread. You may just want to skip the 300º and go straight to 325º for about 10 minutes so it doesn’t dry out too much.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had.

Laura’s Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup margarine (2 sticks)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp salt
4 ½ cups flour
1 bag chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350º
- Cream sugar, oil and margarine
- Add eggs and vanilla
- Combine with baking soda, cream of tarter, salt, and flour. Mix well.
- Add chocolate chips
- Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes

Chicken Caesar Pasta

We had this tonight and it turned out very well so I thought I would share. The original idea was from Joel's mom and I decided to add my own little twist. (I did this a few weeks ago)

Ingredients -
Grilled Chicken chopped(as much as you want)
spaghetti noodles
2 cups spinach
1/2 onion, chopped
one clove of garlic
caesar dressing (your own amount, depends on how much sauce you like - I used about half the bottle - ish)
salt and pepper to taste

Make the noodles.
Saute the garlic and onion for a few minutes and then add spinach until wilted, add chicken and caesar dressing. Then mix in the noodles and serve! You can add other things like tomatoes if you want!

Sorry for the choppy directions and such but I have never written an original! :)
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones

This recipe turned out amazing. We went out on an adventure and tried making scones for the first time. I was a bit hesitant because they seem so daunting. You never know if they will be too dry, too crumbly, or not cook enough. I am so happy we took this trip, because they are amazing.

We only did the spice glaze as a drizzle because we did not want them to be too sweet and it helps cut down on calories.

This recipe is from My Baking Addiction
(I took some pictures of my own, but have not uploaded them yet, so for now here are the ones from her sight)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones
adapted from: recipezaar

Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 large egg
1/2 cup mini cinnamon chips

Powderered Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Directions
to make the scones
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, vanilla paste and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix in mini cinnamon chips. Form the dough into a ball.
4. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into an 8-inch circle and about 1 inch thick. Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 8 equal triangular portions. Place on prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

to make the plain glaze
-Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.
-When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

as the plain glaze firms up, make the spiced glaze
-Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

Fresh Strawberry Bread

Here is an amazing bread that I found from My Baking Addiction. I used yogurt instead of buttermilk along with strawberry cream cheese because it was all I had in the fridge. This is great to do if your strawberries are starting to go bad before you can eat them.

Fresh Strawberry Bread

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinse, dried and chopped

Directions
1. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
3. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.
4. Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

Image taken from My Baking Addiction

baked spinach dip mini bread bowls

That sure is a long name for these small delicious little things BUT I thought I would post because I made them tonight and they were oh so good!

This recipe is from Picky Palate, one of my new fave food websites... check it out!

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls

13.3 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, I used Simply Pillsbury
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 Cup light sour cream
2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Ancho Chile Pepper
1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Garlic Salt
1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Sicilian Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 10 muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Unroll package of french bread loaf and slice into 10 equal size slices, about 1 inch thick. Press each slice into about a 3 inch round, I did this by pressing in between my hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes then add garlic, cook and stir for another minute then turn heat off.

3. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan Cheese, Ancho Chili Powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for 15-17 minutes until just turning brown on edges. Remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from oven.

10 mini spinach dip bread bowls

Beer Bread and Chinese Cheesecakes

For the Super Bowl we wanted to make some fun game day food. After seeing a few recipes online or TV we decided to embark on some new cooking experiences. Scott and I made Chinese Cheesecakes from Guy's Big Bite and Beer Bread from My Baking Addiction with spinach dip.

Chinese Cheesecake

Ingredients

Canola oil, for frying
8 tablespoons cream cheese
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar (1 1/2 for mix, 1 tablespoon for garnish)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
10 thick egg roll skins
1 cup raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries, fresh preferred
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat 1-inch of canola oil in large saute pan, to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl mix the cream cheese, ricotta, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar with a whip, until thoroughly blended.

Beat egg and milk together. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheese mix in center back of egg roll skin and place 4
to 6 raspberries in the center of cheese mixture.

Brush egg wash around edges of skin, fold left and right sides of skin in 1/2-inch, and then roll from back to
front, insuring that the roll is sealed.

Place in oil and cook both sides until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels for 2 to 3 minutes.

Dust with cinnamon and sugar. Serve with whipped cream and raspberries, if desired.

Beer Bread

yields | 1 loaf

Ingredients
3 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces beer {I used Sam Adams Winter Lager}
2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Butter an 8×4 inch loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and beer; mix well. The mixture will be sticky. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes.
3. At the last three minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter and return to oven for the final three minutes of baking.