Tag Archives: whole wheat

Healthier Lasagna Soup

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Veronica

If you haven’t seen recipes for lasagna soup all over the web for the last couple years, then you don’t follow as many blogs as I do-lol! It is everywhere. It’s taking over the blogging world. If it wasn’t so delicious, it might scare me a little, but now that I’ve made it I totally get it.

Everyone has their own variation and I just took the one from Suzie’s blog and made it a little healthier. I have to tell you that Biz is actually the reason I finally made this soup because I think she’s made it (and raved about it) 55.7 times since Suzie posted it and I just couldn’t resist any longer.

So glad I gave in–this soup is completely frabrilis! I mean hello, lasagna in soup form? Frabrilosity!

P.S. A lot of things went wrong with my pictures and I do not care to explain the unattractive, cold plops of cheese and how thick this is because you would scoff at me and I’m not in the mood for your scoffing beyond the scoffing you’re doing at my cheese plops. :D Just follow my directions and you will have frabrilis soup that looks as delicious as it tastes.

Healthier Lasagna Soup

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (19.5 oz) package lean sweet Italian turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 oz. broken up whole wheat lasagna noodles or other pasta of choice
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the cheesy goodness:
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese or ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Remove sausage from casings and add to skillet along with the onions and cook, breaking up into bite-size pieces, for 5-10 minutes, until meat is cooked through. Add garlic, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.

Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Don’t over cook or let soup simmer too long, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the broth.*

While pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy goodness by combining the cottage cheese or ricotta and Parmesan together in a small bowl. To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy goodness in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

*Note: If you are anticipating leftovers, it’s best to cook the noodles separately and add them to the bowl along with the soup, then store them separately, drizzled with olive oil so they don’t stick together. They will become mushy if stored in the broth.

Recipe source: slightly adapted from Two Dogs in the Kitchen.

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Posted in Italian, Soups & Stews and tagged cooking, healthy, lasagna soup, recipe, turkey Italian sausage, whole wheat, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey Whole Wheat Beer Bread

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Veronica

Sheesh, I know what you guys are thinking. That with all the alcohol-laden recipes I’ve been posting lately, I must be a secret raging alcoholic! Well, I promise I’m not. While I will take a sip once in a while, I generally dislike it on several levels. Besides the taste, and abstaining for scriptural reasons like not wanting to cause a brother to sin against their conscience (1 Corinthians 8:9-13), I’ve seen firsthand the effect it can have on a person’s health and on a family if abused, and I steer clear of alcohol so that I don’t continue that legacy.

However, while I have a personal distaste for it in its pure state, I do have quite a fondness for adding it to my baked goods. A little bit can really intensify the flavor in a recipe, and the baking (and cooking) process eliminates the alcohol content so that it will not have an intoxicating effect on your body. Win-win!

Because of my fondness for baking with it, you really might think I had an alcohol problem if you took a look in my cupboard! I’ve got rum, bourbon, and brandy upstairs (great for so many things, including a fantastic fruit cake recipe I’ll be sharing come October–it takes two months to make), and I keep a few beers in the basement. Beer is my least favorite alcohol, but I make sure I always have a few on hand because one of my favorite breads happens to be beer bread. Go figure.

Beer creates magic when you put it in a quick bread, supplanting a yeasty flavor that quick breads lack, and it’s just so delicious! I’m very excited about my newest variation on beer bread (I can not believe this is my fourth beer bread post! Stop the madness!) because it is not only delicious, but healthy!

My favorite beer bread has white flour, butter, and white sugar in it, but I wanted something more wholesome this time so I used white whole wheat flour, canola oil, and honey. I was so delighted when I sliced into this loaf and took my first bite! I couldn’t believe how soft, tender and moist it was, and the flavor was incredible. Very yeasty, with a mild sweetness. I think that honey and beer were meant to come together in bread!

You may remember the leftover Guiness I was going to throw out because I’d already made cupcakes and brownies and couldn’t take it any more. I’m so glad I decided to use the last of it to make this bread because it added a much more intense yeasty flavor to the bread than what I usually get from the lighter colored beers I use and it was quite lovely! But if you have a lighter beer, don’t make a special trip to the store, it will work just fine here and your bread will be much lighter in color (if you use white whole wheat flour like I did), and you might fool healthy-phobic people into thinking it’s white bread.

And lest you think that the beer-haters in your family won’t dig this, just remember I hate beer, and it literally makes my husband gag to even smell it. (Remember when he threw up after I served him vodka sauce on his spaghetti? Yeah, alcohol and him do not mix!) But we both love this bread. I think you will too.

Honey Whole Wheat Beer Bread

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder, such as Rumford
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
¼ cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) beer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or oil a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a smaller bowl, beat the egg until uniform in color, then whisk in the oil, honey, and beer. Pour into the larger bowl and whisk well to combine. Pour into prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes prior to cutting. Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap or keep in a Ziploc bag with the air pressed out. This bread freezes well too, just slice it before you freeze it and you can take it out slice by slice, as you need it.

A Veronica’s Cornucopia Original

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Posted in Bread and tagged beer bread, healthy, honey, natural, whole wheat, wholesome. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Veronica

Somehow with my car breaking down along with the microwave and Dennis finding out he needed to have oral surgery to remove a cyst, I completely forgot to blog this recipe, despite the fact that it was one of the small things that got me through the week. Bake up a couple loaves yourself and see what kind of magic good, fresh bread can work on your life.

https://i0.wp.com/a4.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/32/b87b822dfd73470aba8f9e23bca3cb99/l.jpg

This. Bread. Is. Very. Good.

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread
from the back of a Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour bag

2 packages regular active dry yeast
1/4 c warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1/2 c honey
1/4 c butter or margarine
3 t salt
2 1/2 c very warm water (120-130 degrees F)
4 1/2 c Gold Medal whole wheat flour
2 3/4 to 3 3/4 c Gold Medal all-purpose flour

In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. in large bowl, mix honey, butter, salt and very warm water; cool 5 minutes.

To cooled honey mixture, beat in 3 c of the whole wheat flour with electric mixer on low speed, scraping bowl frequently, until moistened. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour and dissolved yeast. With spoon, stir in 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 c of the all-purpose flour until dough pulls cleanly away from side of bowl.

Place dough on floured work surface. knead in remaining 1/2 to 1 c all-purpose flour; continue kneading 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees F) 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Generously grease 2 (9×5) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough with rolling pin into 18×8 inch rectangle. Starting with one 8-inch side, roll up dough tightly, pressing with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal; pinch each end to seal. Fold ends under loaf; place seam side down in pan. Cover; let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. uncover dough; bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Makes 2 loaves (16 slices each)

Veronica’s Notes: You can use whatever brand of flour you happen to have. Just don’t tell Gold Medal I told you that. :)

I used my usual quick method, as follows: substitute rapid acting yeast & omit the first 1/4 c water. Mix the yeast with the whole wheat flour. Combine the honey, butter, salt & water in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Cool until warm to the touch, then add to the flour & yeast mixture and mix according to directions. Skip the first rise and as soon as you’re done kneading, shape into loaves and place in pans to rise for 1 hour. Bake according to the recipe.

P.S. We got my car working and now just need a new microwave. Den has his surgery on Thursday and we now have the money for it.

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Posted in Bread and tagged Bread, honey, whole wheat. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey Whole Wheat Cornbread

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Veronica

This is my favorite cornbread and I make it more often than any other kind. Hearty and rustic, it is excellent smeared with butter and paired with chili or stew.

Honey Whole Wheat Cornbread

Makes one 9×13″ pan or 24 muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups corn meal
4 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
2 cups milk (I usually use skim)

Combine the corn meal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, honey & milk. Stir into the flour mixture just enough to moisten the batter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan or 24 greased muffin cups. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-35 minutes or until golden brown.

*Due to the large quantity of baking powder in this recipe, I recommend using an aluminum-free baking powder, such as Rumford, to avoid a funny after-taste. (If you weren’t aware, most brands have aluminum in them.) If you bake often, I’d recommend investing in an aluminum-free baking powder to ensure the best taste in your quick breads and cakes.

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Posted in Bread and tagged cornbread, honey, whole wheat. Bookmark the permalink.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Veronica

I have long been of the opinion that if pizza is on the menu, it’s best to order it from Pizza Hut and not mess with a good (well, perfect) thing. Why waste time making my own crust and chopping vegetables when I can just sit my butt down in a chair and wait for someone else to make it? Or, better yet, just stay at home and wait for it to be delivered?

That is until I decided to give a recipe for whole wheat pizza crust a try. Now I find myself making pizza at home more often than dialing for a delivery. It may not be the best recipe out there, but it’s the only one I’ve tried because for me, it was love at first bite. (And the added nutrition form the whole wheat is a bonus too!)

The cool thing about pizza is that you can put pretty much anything between the crust and the cheese and it’s going to taste fabulous. And no matter how much you healthify it–whether it be with a whole wheat crust or tons of veggies–it still tastes like junk food. And if you can stick to one piece (yes, it is possible), then it can be on your diet plan AND it lasts longer that way. It takes Den and me 3 days to eat a large pizza.

Today I used what I had on hand–marinara for the sauce, red onion, mushrooms, green peppers, some leftover hamburger, about a cup of chopped basil and oregano from my backyard and a generous sprinkling of mozzarella. And as always, it was delish!!!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Adapted from a Hodgson Mill recipe

1 package active dry yeast (I use rapid rise/instant*)

1 cup warm water (115 degrees if you’re measuring…I don’t)

1 ½ cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Put water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, olive oil and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Knead in remaining flour by hand and continue to knead for about 5 minutes (the dough will be smooth and elastic).

Coat the bowl with oil, place dough in the bowl and turn to coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a towel and set it in a warm place and allow to rise for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 degrees while you’re waiting.

Spray a large pizza pan (or two small) with no-stick cooking spray. Stretch pizza crust (I press it from the center outward) to fit pan and flute outer edges of dough to hold fillings. Brush on some olive oil, then put on your sauce & toppings. Bake until cheese is melted, about ten minutes. Slice it up and serve it hot!

*If you use rapid rise/rapid acting/instant yeast, skip the dissolving step and just mix it in with everything else. I usually mix it with the dry ingredients, then stir in all the liquid before kneading in the remaining flour. Easy peasy!