Sunday Eats!

Sadly, the weekend is over for us. The boys are in school today for a snow make up day. After cleaning all day Saturday and just generally enjoying the day, the illustrator and I decided on fried rice for dinner. It was the perfect end to the day (we actually cooked the rice earlier in the day and let is get cold in the fridge...makes perfect fried rice). We cooked together with the windows open and the music on. That is how you spend a perfect Saturday!

Sunday, was a good one too, but unfortunately, the illustrator worked all day. I decided to bake bread...and a lot of it.

I made a loaf of my gluten free bread for the illustrator to enjoy with some country ham that his parents sent back with him last weekend.

I also baked rolls for the boys lunches this week. They prefer sandwiches on buns or rolls for lunch and since I did not have any, I decided to make some. The bright side is that these rolls are a perfect texture (super chewy on the inside with a slight sweetness) and I love the flavor (oh, and the boys love them), but the down side is that we ate quite a few of them tonight...OOPS!

No worries, they are really easy to make and pretty quick to bake off.

The illustrator made a crockpot blackeyed pea and country ham soup for the boys yesterday. He loves to cook and he wanted to play around with the country ham. So, I made myself a vegetable soup. I have to be honest, I am kind of obsessed with vegetable soups lately. Really, if you have a good base (I will share mine tomorrow), you can put anything you have on hand in there. It's more of a method thing where the ingredients can change to accommodate what you have on hand. Literally, this was a pot of random stuff in the fridge and it totally hit the spot.

Easy Wheat Rolls

1 cup warm carbinated water (I used seltzer)***

3 cups white wheat flour

3 TBSP raw sugar

2 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast (bread machine yeast)

1/4 tsp baking powder***

1/4 tsp salt (you could add a little more, but I am cutting back on salt)

1 TBSP Flax meal mixed with 3 TBSP hot water

1/4 cup Smart Balance Light, melted (coconut oil would be good here too)

3 drops vanilla NuNatural's Stevia

Preheat your oven to warm and then turn off. ( I do 200 degrees)

Combine the flour though salt in a mixer (or a bowl) and mix to combine. Add the water, smart balance, flax egg and stevia to the flour mixture. Mix in the mixer for 5 minutes, the dough will come together and then eventually get softer. Spray the top with a little oil and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish and form into 10 rolls (you can make smaller rolls for dinner rolls if you like - I did this for a little sandwich size for the boys) - also, I wet my hands when I make bread, so the dough does not stick to my hands. Spray the tops with oil, cover and allow to rise in the warmed oven for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Then turn the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top.

***The carbonated water and baking powder help give home baked yeast breads an extra lift and chewiness in my opinion. I highly recommend it.

Do you bake yeast breads or are you afraid of them? I used to be afraid, but once I got the hang of it and found a method I like, I am addicted!