Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rise Time: 2.5 hours (total)
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

I really wasn't very careful with this recipe and it showed as I ended up with a very squat loaf. However, it is very delicious bread. Part of the prep time is waiting for the oatmeal mixed with boiling water to cool.

I didn't have enough honey and tried to sub in some other sugars (a little molasses and a little brown sugar) to fix it. I also didn't let it really double for the first rise, because I was being impatient and my kitchen was quite cool. Also, then I didn't grease the pan and the bread totally stuck to pan. I also overcooked it a bit, because it was taking forever to get past 185 degrees, so I let it go awhile, then suddenly it was at 195 degrees instead of the 190.

Anyway, the bread is still very tasty and I will make this again. It is a easier than the CI whole grain bread so a nice alternative. It is a sweeter bread, but not too sweet and nice for sandwiches (especially if I had a better rise!)

One small complaint about the cookbook is that they don't always give the best instructions. There wasn't much guidance on how long to knead the bread or what the dough should feel like. I've done enough bread to make an educated guess, but I do prefer CI's more detailed instructions.

Banana Crunch Cake

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Cool Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

I didn't love the other banana thing I've made from this cook book, so I wasn't sure what I would think of this, but it was very good. A nice moist coffe cake with just a little banana flavor and a nice tasty topping. I couldn't tell at all that it was made with whole wheat. It also called for oat flour, which I don't have, so I ground up some of my oatmeal in the food processor until pretty fine, and it worked out well.

Fried Rice

Total Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2001)

This is the best way to use up some extra rice. I prefer the Thai curried chicken fried rice
version, because it is a little more flavorful and substantial for a full meal, but this is easy and quick.

Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (September 2003)

This isn't as great as the Thai-Style Beef recipe, but it is a good stir fry. I have finally learned to clean up between the prep and cooking when I do stir fries and it makes a huge difference. My kitchen doesn't look like a disaster when the food is ready to eat and I feel less stressed when I'm cooking. I think it goes faster too.

Quick Moussaka

Prep Time: 32 minutes
Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (March 2003)

I substituted zucchini for the eggplant and struggled to find enough of it that looked good at the grocery store. I also substituted crushed tomatores, for whole canned (and drained) so my dish was a little soupier than it should have been. But it tasted great. I really like the topping, even if it not really traditional. It is a very flavorful dish and pretty quick considering the layers.

Rieska

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 15-20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

Rieska? I had no idea what this was, but decided to try it because I had some rye flour to use up. This is a great recipe. Super easy, like all quick breads, but different. It is a cross between a biscuit and a quick-bread really. It doesn't use a ton of butter, but enough to give it that biscuit-y taste. And it is all whole grains, so a nice way to get them in when you want something more biscuit like. (I tried making whole wheat biscuits before, and was not that impressed.)

I calculated that my 3x2.5 inch squares (15 from a 9 x 13 pan) had only about 100 calories, which is not bad! I think these would be excellent for serving with soup. I also think it might be great for making little breakfast sandwiches, since the bread is kind of flat.

The recipe in the book, made a huge amount to be baked in a 13x18 jelly roll pan. I made a half recipe, which I will probably stick to. However, if serving a crowd, it might be a good recipe to use if you want to make something to serve with soup or chili.

Actually, looking at the recipe now, I realize that I left out the regular all-purpose flour (it called for 1/2 c. per half recipe) in addition to the rye flour, whole wheat flour and oatmeal. I didn't miss it at all, and might just skip it next time.

Chicken with Feta Cheese

Total Time: 25 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (May 2004)


This recipe was easy to cut into 1/4 recipe for one serving. I used a little bit less of the fats (only 1 teaspoon each of the oil and butter, and could have gotten away with even less oil.) It was pretty good - nothing terribly exciting, but a good easy chicken recipe. It was easy to clean and steam some broccoli while the chicken was cooking for a more complete meal.

Cream Cheese and Molasses Bread

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Bake Time: 55 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

Besides struggling to cut the bread into neat slices, I really liked this bread. It has a good nutty texture and was very tasty. The combo of oats, barley flour and whole wheat flour is very good and the cream cheese and butter makes it very moist.

Skillet Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes (lots of cooking done while prepping)

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (Feb 2005)

This one is not as easy as I thought it would be. I don't know why - just a lot more prep than I wanted, I guess. I really liked the flavor the first time I made it, and the 2nd time I was less impressed. I realized the difference was the first time, I subbed a 1/4 c cream and 3/4 water for the 1 cup of milk. This time I made with 2% milk and it was less rich.

My sub adds calories, (but maybe only 25 per serving) so I might try again that way. The one thing I have to remember with this recipe is to add the broccoli later than the recipe suggest. The broccoli cooks way faster than my pasta and gets overcooked when I used the recipe's times.

Gyros Sandwiches

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10+ minutes

Grade: ??

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2007)

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm not sure I like lamb, so cooking with it was hard for me. The meat smelled a little off, but I wasn't sure how it should smell, so I think that affected how I thought it would taste. It wasn't bad, but I worried that it wasn't good, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I probably would have if I wasn't thinking about the meat being old.

I did really like the Tzatziki sauce, and it was an easy recipe that can be frozen. I think I might try again with ground beef, because I do think it is a good recipe.