Basic Whole Wheat Bread

This is simple, basic, delicious, hearty whole wheat bread. I got this recipe from my mom and I've made it a lot. Sometimes I do part wheat, part white flour depending on what I'm in the mood for. Any way you make it, it's delicious. (Usually I do all wheat, but the last time I made it, I did half and half just to switch it up and it was great!) Enjoy!

Revision

I just revised the recipe for these amazing hamburger buns so it's easier to follow if using a mixer. I made them again today and they turned out great! Just FYI. If you were considering not making them before because you thought they had to be done in a bowl with a wooden spoon/your own two hands, think again! They are now easier and just as delicious.

Creamy Orzo with Mushrooms, Asparagus, & Red Pepper

So if you follow "My Kitchen Cafe", you know that Melanie just posted this recipe on Monday. But if you don't, I am happy to introduce this delicious dish to you. So, as luck would have it, I was planning our meals for the week on Monday before I went to the grocery store and saw this and really wanted to try it. I made it that very day and it was delicious! Red peppers were super expensive so I only put one in instead of two (I splurged buying the one) and I also added asparagus because it's delicious, it's in season, and it was super cheap; but other than that I followed the recipe and it was sooo good. (Oh and in my haste I accidentally bought Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, but it tasted great and was 1/3 the fat, so that turned out to be a good thing).

Easy, no-fuss Brownies

I've been trying to eliminate boxes from my life. Meaning mixes. As in brownie mixes, cake mixes, etc. I figure, I usually make my own bread, why was I using a box for brownies? Silly. So I've gotten rid of all the cake and brownie mixes, and once I did that I needed to find a great brownie recipe. I only tried a couple because I found this one and loved it! It's so fast it's barely harder than using a box, and it's so much better (and better for you, I'm sure). It only uses one bowl and you just throw everything together and mix it up. I whipped these up on Friday night because my sister and her roommate decided to stop by, and everyone loved them! The gooey chocolate chips make them divine. Yum!

No-crust Quiche

Mmm. Another great way to use the leftover Easter ham.

I love breakfast foods. All of them. And I love to eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. (We had this for dinner). I got this recipe from my mom, who got it from a lady at church. My mom made a few of these for my baby shower last year and they were a hit! The great thing about this is that you can make it into whatever you want. I put ham, broccoli, cheddar cheese, and green onions in mine, but you could really put whatever you want. Sausage, bacon, swiss cheese, mushrooms, spinach, etc., etc. I'm looking forward to making this again and trying something new! If you make it, let me know what you put in it and if it was good!

Best Hamburger Buns

**I recently revised this recipe to be more mixer-friendly. If you'd like to make it with a wooden spoon/your own two hands, see the original recipe (link at the bottom).

I saw these buns over at Smitten Kitchen and I knew they would be amazing. They aren't any harder than any other bread and they are so good! I know it probably seems silly to make hamburger buns, but I love making bread in any form, and I likewise dislike buying bread, so I thought I would give these a try. The recipe makes 8 buns. These are tasty and if you're looking to make burgers better than any restaurant, this will help you get there.

Easter leftovers - Breakfast Burritos

So if you're like me and you hosted Easter dinner at your house and have gobs of ham leftover, you're trying to think of all the things you could make with it. (Besides the obvious yet delicious ham sandwiches). Well, I also had some leftover potatoes and eggs, so I decided to make a bunch of breakfast burritos and eat one and freeze the rest. I always feel guilty when I don't make my husband breakfast in the morning, so this was a great way to ease my guilt and have something delicious for him to pop in the microwave and eat on the way to work.

"Gourmet" Potatoes

I. Love. These. Potatoes.

These were a tradition when I was growing up for every Christmas and Easter. They are NOT your average "funeral potato". I really hate that term anyway. Who wants to eat something called funeral potatoes? Yuck. Anyway, my mom always made these and they are super delicious. They come from my Aunt Marilyn who is an amazing cook (that's where the title comes from; I didn't name them). We had these on Easter, but I was too busy getting ready that I forgot to take a picture that day, so these are the next day when we had leftovers (they don't look quite as cheesy and melt-y and delicious, so use your imagination).

Prize Winning Carrot Cake

This recipe again comes from my mother-in-law. It earned its title from when Jeremy's aunt entered into the county fair baking contest and it won first prize. :) It really is very delicious. I had never been a huge carrot cake fan but every time I've made this it has been fantastic and I've loved every bite. In the past I've made it in a 9x13 pan, but for Easter I made it in two 9" rounds and it worked great! Either way is delicious.

Baked Oven Fries

I've mentioned previously that my dear husband loves good old-fashioned burgers and fries. About 90% of the time we go out to eat, he orders a hamburger. :) But lately, I've been making them more at home, which is much healthier and extremely delicious! In the past, I've made oven fries, but they haven't been all that great. However, I recently tried this recipe and it is soo good! The fries are nice and crisp and flavorful without being fried (do you still call them fries? i don't know). Stay tuned for the best hamburger bun recipe that we also enjoyed with these fries.

My favorite Lasagna

I love lasagna - especially good lasagna. When I met Jeremy he said that was his favorite food and I see why. This recipe comes from his mom and it is delicious! I've made a couple of little changes, but other than that, it's the same. Homemade lasagna is so much better than frozen (in my opinion) and it's really not that hard. It's a little time consuming to simmer the sauce, but just make it on a day that you can be home for awhile. I usually assemble the lasagna in the morning and then just keep it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to bake it. I've also cut this recipe in half many times and it works great (in an 8x8). Sometimes I'll do the whole thing and freeze half for later and that works great too! Just double the baking time if it's frozen.