Hiding chicken and yummy bread

These two recipes came from a friend. She brought them for a sunshine meal when Ezra was born and the kids love them. Phoebe especially likes the 'hiding' Chicken.

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

http://www.marthastewart.com/332311/roasted-chicken-and-butternut-soup

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and diced medium
• 1 small yellow onion, diced medium
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, toss together chicken, squash, onion, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until squash and chicken are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

2. Transfer chicken to a plate and let cool. Transfer squash and onions to a medium pot and add broth, cumin, and coriander. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. With a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon, mash some vegetables until soup is thick and chunky. Discard skin and bones from chicken; cut meat into small pieces and add to soup. Stir in lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Braided Brigit Bread from "Circle Round"

2 Tbl yeast

1/2 cup warm water

pinch of sugar

1 cup milk (I used rice)

1 egg (I used flax meal)

1/4 cup sugar ( I would reduce a little. It seems too sweet to me)

1/4 cup vegatable oil

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, finely minced or passed through garlic press

1/2 tsp each dried oregano, thyme, and basil (I would add a little more, but that's just me)

4 Tbl tomato paste

water

5 - 6 cups unbleached white flour (I subbed whole wheat for 4 cups)

1 egg yolk beaten (I skipped this step)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water sprinkled with the pinch of sugar. Combine the milk, egg, sugar, oil, salt, garlic, and herbs in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, place the tomato paste and add the water until it reaches the 1/2 cup point. Pour into the milk mixture and stir well. Add the yeast mixture.

Begin adding flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough can no longer be stirred. Turn out onto a floured board and knead, continuing to add flour to keep the dough barely dry. This is a loose and soft dough, so be careful how much flour you add. Don't let it get stiff. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it over to coat both sides. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down, Cut the dough in half, divide each half into thirds, then roll into thick coils. Braid three coils into a loaf and pinch the ends together. Set on a lightly oiled baking sheet .Repeat with the other three coils. When the loaves have doubled in size, paint all surfaces with the egg yolk (or not) and bake for 35-40 mins in a preheated 375 deg oven or until internal temp of bread measures 200 deg.

NOTES as of 5/2011: I used tomato sauce instead of paste and the bread was still awesome.

banana bread

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=26374.0 (I made with sugar and omitted the flax)

Beautiful Banana Bread

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

nonstick spray
3 bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add applesauce, maple syrup, sugar, and flax seeds; mix to combine.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix thoroughly. (Or you don't have to do this step if you don't feel like it, it works just as well to just dump all the dry ingredients into the wet without mixing first.)

3. Add the dry to the wet and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add nuts if you're using them. Pour into prepared loaf pan, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf starts to turn golden brown and the toothpick test is successful.

4. Remove loaf pan from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool completely, or as long as you can wait.

Slice and enjoy.

Source of recipe: I came up with this recipe after mucking around with other banana bread recipes, trying to find one that suited my tastes.

Makes: 1 Loaf, Preparation time: 15 minutes

Sheri's Awesome Soup & Stew

Jamaican Spinach Soup

3 tbsp olive oil 1 1/4 tsp allspice
1 cooking onion, chopped 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 stalks celery, chopped 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups chopped zucchini
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger 6 cups Roasted Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp raw unrefined sugar Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp sea salt 1 cup chopped fresh spinach (packed tightly)
1 1/4 tsp turmeric 1/2 red pepper, minced

l. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, garlic, ginger and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
3. Stir in salt, turmeric, allspice and nutmeg. Cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add potatoes, zucchini and Roasted Vegetable Stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer
10 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
5. Remove from heat. Add cayenne pepper and spinach.
6. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. (If you are using a blender, let the soup cool before
blending, then reheat.)
7. Garnish with minced red pepper and serve.

* I omit the red pepper and cayenne. I do not wait for soup to cool before blending, I blend it while it's hot. After blending the soup I add one can of coconut milk and cooked potato chunks to make it a little more hearty (and E loves potatoes).

Chickpea stew
1 Can of Chickpeas
1-14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger grated
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Garam Masala

Add veggies to taste (optional)
Saute onions, garlic and ginger for about 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients except Garam masala to the pot and cook on simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving, mix in Garam Masala
When I double the recipe I only use 1 tsp of salt.

Valentines Project 2011

Valentines Project 2011
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

We're a bit early this year, but I wanted to get our valentines cards in order before the new baby showed up. Here are three of the 17 that Lillian made. The hearts are covering lollipops.

Knit hats

I wanted to make something special for my friend who is going to have a baby soon & I wanted to use the yarn that we used for her motherblessing. So after some trial and error I made this hat. The little one was the size that it was originally (thin yarn- I hadn't increased the size enough) and the larger one is the finished project. I'm going to give the mini one for the big brother to have a doll hat that matches his new baby sisters.

For reference, I used size 2 needles with size 1 thin wool/bamboo yarn - I cast on 144 stitches for the big one and 72 for the little one. I k2/p2 for a few rows to get the ribbing, knit up 4.75 inches for the big one (would increase to 5 next time), and 2.5 for the little one (increase to 3), then decreased using this pattern:
row 1- k6, k2tog
row 2 & all even rows knit
row 3 - k5, k2tog
row 5 - k4, k2tog
row 7 - k3, k2tog
row 9 - k2, k2tog
row 11 - k1, k2tog
row 12 - k2tog
thread needle through remaining loops & tie together.

and this: http://www.purlbee.com/heirloom-hats-for-newborns/ was very helpful

My first knitting project 12.2010

My first knitting project 12.2010
Originally uploaded by LMN and Friends

I finally broke down and taught myself to knit. Here is my first project- a child's scarf. As you can see I have yet to sew in the strings but otherwise it's done. I would've liked it to be a bit longer but I ran out of yarn.

No-Bake Fudgy Snow Balls

These are really yummy, easy and great to make together with kids (Lillian loved shaking the confectioners sugar on using a closed container. Must keep in mind for next year's cookie exchanges!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/no-bake-fudgy-snow-balls.html#more

No-Bake Fudgy Snow Balls
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 21 • Serving Size: 1 cookie • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 69.5 • Fat: 3.8 g • Carb: 9.2 g • Fiber: 2.2 g • Protein: 2.1 g

• 15 pitted dates
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup whole roasted unsalted almonds
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp water (or more if needed)
• 3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

Add almonds to your food processor and pulse until ground. Add dates, cocoa powder, honey, and water. Mix until it forms a sticky mass. If it seems too dry, add a little water, 1 tsp at a time. Wash hands and using damp hands (keep sink running) measure 1 tbsp and roll into a ball with the dough. Set balls on parchment paper.
Put confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Roll balls in your hand and then roll in sugar.
Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.