Braided Blueberry/Raspberry Bread

So I made this YUMMY sweet bread, and I thought I'd share the recipe. The first time I made it I used blueberries just like the recipe, but at the bottom it said you can change them for raspberries, it was really good.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid

Makes 2 braids

Sponge
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cup warm milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2-3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Blueberry Filling
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Egg Glaze
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Cream Cheese Filling
3/4 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon egg glaze

For the sponge: mix the sugar, yeast, and flour together in bowl. Pour in the warm milk. Beat until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1/2 hour.

Add the eggs, salt, sugar, and one cup of the flour to the sponge. Beat until smooth. Then add the butter in small chunks and beat well. Add the remaining flour a handful at a time and mix in until a soft but kneadable dough is achieved and the butter thoroughly incorporated.

Knead the dough by hand or with a mixer until it is smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise and room temperature until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Deflate the dough, recover the bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, make the fillings before shaping the loaves.

Blueberry Filling: combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.
Egg Glaze: combine the egg and milk in a bowl and beat until combined.
Cream Cheese Filling: combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined

Once your filling has cooled off, take the dough out of the refrigerator and gently deflate it. Divide it into two pieces. Use a rolling pin to shape each piece into a thin (1 cm.) rectangle.

Spread your fillings in the center of the dough. At an angle, slice the sides of the dough into tabs approximately 1 inch wide. Alternating from side to side, fold the pieces in over the filling. When possible, gentle press on the tabs to seal the folds. After it has been fully folded, glaze the braid with egg wash. Cover loosely with plastic (I place the entire baking pan in a clean kitchen garbage bag). Set aside to rise until doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes. While it is rising, preheat the oven to 350. Just before placing the braid in the oven, glaze it again with any remaining egg wash. Bake on the center rack of the oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, rotating it once after 20 minutes so that it bakes evenly. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for at least half an hour before slicing.

Alternate: use a raspberry filling and sprinkle a streusal on top instead of using egg wash

Raspberry Zucchini Jelly

Raspberry Zucchini Jelly

6 cups peeled, grated zucchini
1 cup raspberries
Cook 15 minutes then add:
6 cups sugar and boil 5 more minutes
2-3oz. or 1-6oz. package raspberry jello

Pour into scalded bottles, and allow to cool until sealed.

This is the easiest and tastiest and cheapest way to make jelly and use up all that garden-fresh or neighbor-given zucchini. The zucchini takes on the raspberry flavor and thus serves more as a filler than those expensive little berries. It is also easier than regular jelly recipes because processing is not necessary. Enjoy!

All the girls wanted a picture kissing grandpa on the cheek. Joe didnt want to miss out either!

Labor day weekend

Picking peaches with grandpa









Picking peaches with grandpa

Jakes first high school football game

Some of you may have heard that Jake is the starting varsity quarterback for Enterprise high as a freshman. He has never played quarterback before so this has been a real challenge for him. His coach is extremely excited about his natural abilities as quarterback and says he could be the best athlete he has ever coached in his twenty plus years of coaching.
He had his first game last Friday in Duchesne and I was really nervous wondering if he would be able to handle the pressure and pain. He did amazing!! We lost because our defense fell apart in the 4th quarter but Jake threw for 3 touchdown passes and it would have been five except for a couple that were dropped even though they were perfect passes. The next 4 years will be a lot of fun to watch him and see him progress. Here are some pictures I took of the game.I am really proud of him and the mental and physical toughness he has shown.

Bathroom Remodel

I'm sure most of you know about the many happenings and changes going on out at the Stout house. Haylee knows most of the details and can tell you lots about what happened. She asked me to post the before pictures and the up till now pictures. (Hopefully she can read this and then go in and edit this post so it has more details. hint hint)

 These are the before pictures. Sadly they took out the mirror and the cabnets before I could grab pictures. Then they took out the counter and the toilet. The wallpaper at the top came down and Ben tore out the shower liner and the linoleum and the damaged floor also came out.

 The things that then went in were: a new vanity with a granite counter top and new sink; new light fixtures; crown moulding, new paint of course; they put in new stuff for the floor; and drywall around the tub so we can put in some tile.

I'm just the one posting because it was my camera that took pictures. haha

I know there is lots more that is going to happen and I'm pretty sure a lot more when into the remodel up to right now. So if you know more info about what happened in the bathroom feel free to update this post. :)

Recipes

I have been gathering several of my favorite recipes for a Ward Cookbook the Relief Society is putting together. I thought I would share them with you. Some of you may already have them, because I got them from you ;-). But in random order....

No Bake Cookies
2 C. Sugar 3 C. quick Oats
6 T. Margarine ½ C. Peanut Butter
1 t. vanilla ¼ C. cocoa
½ c. milk

Melt Margarine, sugar, milk, and vanilla in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Add oats, peanut butter, and cocoa. Mix well. Spoon on to waxed paper to cool.

Navajo Tacos- Meat Sauce
1 lbs of ground beef 1 can Kidney beans
1 c. catsup 1 t. Cumin
1 t. oregano ½ t Thyme
½ t. garlic salt ½ t. pepper
Salt to taste 1-2 bay leaves

Brown ground beef, drain, reserving some liquid. Simmer all ingredients in a large pot. Serve over fry bread. Top with Salsa, cheese, sour cream, etc. Can also be used in Taco salad.

Meatballs with Grape Chili sauce
1 jar of chili sauce
1 jar of grape jelly
2-3 lbs of precooked meatballs

Mix chili sauce and grape jelly, pour over meatballs in crock pot or casserole dish. Heat through. Great as an appetizer/finger food or served over rice as a main course.


20 Minute Stew
1 T. Oil 1 lb sirloin, cut in 1 inch cubes 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 can Tomato soup 1 can French onion soup 24 oz bag frozen vegetables

Brown Beef in oil until brown and crispy. Add remaining ingredients, cook 15 minutes.


Creamy Enchiladas
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup 1 soup can of milk 1 can of nacho cheese soup
½ to ¾ c sour cream 1 lg can of diced green chiles 10-12 flour tortillas

Mix Soups, milk, sour cream in a large bowl, reserve ½ c. sauce and set aside. Add chicken and chiles to remaining sauce to create the filling. Add a couple of spoons of filling in each tortilla and roll up placing tortillas tightly next to each other in pan until filled. Spread reserved sauce over filled tortillas, can also top with shredded cheese if desired. Bake 375, 30 minutes. Optional, garnish with tomatoes or salsa, sour cream, olives. Variation: can be made with ground beef and cream of mushroom soup for beefy enchiladas.

Mom’s Cheese Soup
1 C. Butter 1 C. Flour 1 Qt Cold Milk ½ box of velveeta, cubed
Desired proportions of Potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, peeled and diced.
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables Salt and Pepper to taste.

Boil diced potatoes, carrots, celery, onion in separate pan, reserve cooking water. In separate pan, Melt butter, stir in flour, mix well. Heat over medium heat, stir in cold milk-stir constantly, do not burn. Cook until thick, melt velveeta in white sauce. Add vegetables to cheese sauce and gradually add reserved stock until desired consistency. Salt and Pepper to taste.


Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
3 C. Fresh strawberries, sliced 4 T. Lemon juice 1 ½ C. Sugar, divided
1 ¼ C. Whole Milk 2 ¾ C. Heavy Cream 1 ½ t. Vanilla Extract

Combine Strawberries and lemon juice and ½ c sugar, allow to macerate for 2 hours. Strain Berries, reserving juices. Mash or puree half the berries. In a Medium Mixing bowl, use hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining sugar until dissolved, 1-2 min. Stir in Heavy Cream, strawberry juice, mashed strawberries and vanilla. Put into freezer bowl of ice cream maker and churn 20-25 min, 5 minutes before done add reserved sliced berries.



Chocolate Bundt Cake (Sisters Cafe)
1 Box of Devils Food cake (dry) 1 4-serving box size of instant chocolate pudding (dry)
4 large eggs 1 c. sour cream ½ c. warm water
½ c. oil 1 ½ c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except choc. Chips in a large mixing bowl and blend 2-3 min. Stir in Choc. Chips, Pour into prepared Bundt Pan, Bake 45-50 min @ 350. Cool 20 minutes-invert onto serving platter.

Frosting:
8 TB Butter, 4 TB cocoa powder, 1/3 C. Evap. Milk (or 2%), 4 C. sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in med. Saucepan over low heat, whisk in cocoa and milk, bring just to boil, stirring constantly, remove from heat, stir in powdered sugar. Pour warm frosting over warm cake.

Alfredo Sauce

1 Qt Heavy Cream 1 c. butter 4 T. cream cheese
1 1/3 c. parmesan 2 t. garlic Powder (johnny’s seasoning)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In Saucepan melt cream, butter, and cream cheese on med-low heat-simmer until melted. Add Parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 20-30 min on low heat. Serve over Fettucine or any pasta. Yummy with Chicken or Shrimp on top.

Invincible Salad Dressing (Petersons Kitchen)
¾ - 1C Oil 1-2 TB Catsup 3 TB Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
½ t. nutmeg 2-4 TB Cider Vinegar ½ t. dry mustard
1 cut garlic clove 1 t. Italian herbs

Add all ingredients together in jar and shake until well combined. Great over raw vegetable salad.

Poppy Seed Viniagrette
1 C. Oil ½ C. red wine vinegar ½ c. sugar 1 t. salt
2-3 T red onion 1 T. Green onion 1 T. Poppy Seed ½ t. dry mustard

Blend all ingredients in blender, store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Awesome over fresh spinach salad.