The Sourdough Mushroom Stuffing Making Kelley

When I was little, I thought stuffing came from one of two places:  Out of a box, or out of the inside of a turkey (Am I the only one who was freaked out by this as a child?!).  Both versions tasted the same to me, and I always decided to skip over them when they were passed around… Unless my mom made me take some.  Since becoming an adult, I’ve had absolutely no reason to eat stuffing.  Until now.

A few years ago I got desperate while looking for vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes (I LOVE Thanksgiving, but it changes a lot after you write-off one of its main food groups.), and I decided to do a search for stuffing.  I had NO idea that there were actually different kinds of stuffing out there.

In the end, I found a recipe that used sourdough bread and mushrooms; two of my absolute favorite foods!  I’ve changed this recipe so much over the last few years, that it is really nothing like the old one (which I lost quite a while ago).  It’s now vegetarian, and pretty low in fat for a Thanksgiving dish.  PLEASE, if you have given up on stuffing, try this recipe this year.  I bet it will change your mind about stuffing forever!

Sourdough Mushroom Stuffing (Makes 4 Servings)

1/2 pound loaf sliced sourdough bread

1 tablespoon butter (I use light I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)

8 ounces mushrooms, cut into thick pieces

About 5 sprigs fresh thyme, (about 2 tsp)

5 fresh sage leaves, chopped (about 2 tsp)

1 3/4 cups low-sodium veggie broth

**Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.**

Rip the bread into pieces that are about an inch in size.  Spread them on a baking sheet and place them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Melt the butter in a medium sized pot over medium heat.

Add your chopped mushrooms to the pot.  Continue to stir and cook the mushrooms until they have expelled their juices and have become much smaller in size (about 8 minutes or so).  You can add water to the pot If you need to.

Add the thyme to the pot.

After about 2 – 3 minutes, chop the sage leaves and add them to the pot.

After about 5 minutes, add the broth to the pot.  Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 – 8 minutes.

Once your bread pieces are toasted, transfer them to a large bowl.

Pour all of the contents of the pot into the bread bowl and stir to mix and coat the bread.

Press the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Allow it to cool down a bit after you take it out of the oven.  Then ENJOY!

-The Sourdough Mushroom Stuffing Making Kelley

P.S.  As always, I can’t vouch for the complete accuracy of the wonderful Sparks Recipe calculator, but here is what it says about this recipe:

The Caramel Corn Cooking Kelley

I thought it might be fun to share some recipes that I think would be great for the upcoming holidays. My husband and I have made this one a few times now, and I think it would be great as a Thanksgiving day snack, or wonderful to put into tins for Christmas gifts (it lasts up to a week of you keep it sealed).

I found the original recipe at Recipegirl.com.  If you’re like me, and you need pictures to cook, I highly recommend this blog!  My husband and I cut back the butter and salt a bit when we make this caramel corn and we don’t miss it at all!  Give it a try, I bet you’ll love it as much as we do!

Caramel Corn

Adapted from Recipegirl.com

3/8 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 cups popped popcorn***

***You may not need ALL 12 cups of the popcorn. Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t.

-The Caramel Corn Cooking Kelley

The Spaghetti Sauce Cooking Kelley

We love spaghetti in our house.  It’s quick, easy, yummy, high in fiber, and all around pretty good for you.  However, I don’t always like buying a jar of spaghetti sauce.  Jared sauce can often be bland, expensive (if you are buying the high-fiber heart healthy ones like we do), and honestly, less personal.  Does that last point sound weird?  I guess it is kind of strange, but when I make a meal, I like to feel like I MAKE it.  It’s nice to sit down to a meal that took some effort, and has personal touches.

All of this means that I have been wanting to make my own spaghetti sauce for a while. So, I finally took the plunge.  I found a recipe and adapted it to our needs and personal preferences.  And now that it has passed the the taste test, I can make up a giant batch and start freezing it for later uses, which will make future spaghetti nights SUPER simple.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

(Adapted from Joy In My Kitchen)

*Makes 4 LARGE Servings

2 cans (14.5 oz each) undrained diced tomatoes, blended

2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

8oz mushrooms, sliced

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 T brown sugar

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 tsp. dried basil

3 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

First things first, chop/slice/mince up those beautiful veggies

***Now, this step includes a matter of preference.  My husband doesn’t like spaghetti sauce with chunks of tomato in it, so I blended my diced tomatoes in the food processor before adding them to a large pot.  If you want to do this, just blend for about 2-3 seconds (really, it’s not long at all), but if you like the chunks then don’t bother blending at all.***

Pour all of your tomato products (diced, sauce, and paste) into a large pot.  Mix them together and place them on the stove-top on a medium setting.

After about 2 minutes, mix your veggies and garlic into the pot.  Then add in all of the spices and the brown sugar. Continue to let it cook on a medium setting for about 5 minutes.  After five minutes, turn it down to the lowest setting and let it slowly cook for about 4 hours.  Make sure to stir it up now and then so things don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. If you need to, you can add a little water during this process.

After four hours your sauce should look something like this.

We enjoyed it with some yummy whole wheat noddles.  Oh, and adding homemade Wheaty French Bread to this meal makes it extra special

-The Spaghetti Sauce Cooking Kelley

P.S.  As always, I can’t vouch for the complete accuracy of the wonderful Sparks Recipe calculator, but here is what it says about this recipe:

The Applesauce Loving Kelley

I may live in Arizona now, but I’ll always be a Washington girl at heart.  And you know what that means?  It means I love me some apples!  My favorite are by far granny smiths, but I bought some golden delicious a few days ago to add some pretty fall yellow to our home.  Yes I use apples to decorate, I mean just look at these beauties!

Plus, it’s a win win situation.  They made my house look pretty, AND I knew that I could make something yummy with them in a few days.

That day was today.  I am currently eating up some homemade applesauce, and it is good!  Who knew that something with no butter or added sugar could be so yummy?!  You really should give this recipe a try.  A snack that looks pretty, is quick and easy to make, tastes good, AND is good for you?  What do you have to lose really?

Homemade Applesauce

(Adapted from Joy In My Kitchen)

2 lbs. of apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 6 apples)

3/4 cups of water

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 small dash of nutmeg

Peel, core, and chop those apples.

Now, throw them in a big pot with about 3/4 cups of water.  Place over high heat and allow the water to start boiling.  Once the water boils, turn your heat to a low setting, cover the pot, and let those apples soften for about 25 minutes.  Stir them about every 5 minutes.

After 25 minutes, your apples should be soft enough to mash with the back of your stirring spoon, making them look similar to the photo above.  If their not soft enough, just let them simmer a little while longer.

It’s time to get out your lemon juice and spices!

Add a tsp of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, and a tiny little dash of nutmeg to your mashed apple mixture.  Stir it all up! I tasted my apples at this point, and they were pretty sweet, so it didn’t seem necessary to add sugar. However, if you want to, feel free!

Now, scoop yourself a bowl of some YUMMY homemade applesauce!

-The Applesauce Loving Kelley

P.S.  As always, I can’t vouch for the complete accuracy of the wonderful Sparks Recipe calculator, but here is what it says about this recipe:

The Wheaty French Bread Baking Kelley

Remember that yummy soup recipe I posted last week?  It was really good, but the homemade French bread we enjoyed with it made it about a million times better!

I’ve tried quite a few different recipes for French bread, and I don’t know if they just weren’t that great, or if I was just a horrible baker, but they always ended up awful.  The crust would be too thick and dark and the inside was almost all air and very little bread.

This recipe is different.  I’ve already used it to make multiple loaves, and it has made perfect bread each time!  I found the recipe via pinterest, and it’s from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I altered it just a bit by adding some whole wheat flour in with the white flour.

Wheaty French Bread

2 ¼ Cups warm water

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 Tablespoon salt

2 Tablespoons oil

2 3/4 Cups white flour

3 Cups white flour

Put the warm water in a medium bowl and add the yeast.  Let it sit for about 3 minutes.

Add the salt and oil.

Now, add half of the white flour, and half of the whole wheat flour.  Stir well.

Add the other half of both flours and continue to stir.

Knead your dough for a few minutes.  Shape it into a ball and leave it in the bowl to rest.  For the next 50 minutes, punch your ball of dough down every 10 minutes.  Continue to shape it back into a ball after each round of punches.

Split your dough into two parts.  Use a rolling pin to flatten each piece into a shape that is close to a 9 x 13 rectangle.

Now, roll up each of the rectangles along the long edge.  (Roll it ALL the way… this is my half way there picture) Tuck the ends under and place the loaf seam side down.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray and dusting it with corn meal.  Place the rolled up loaves seam side down on the baking sheet.

***The hubs and I CAN NOT eat two loves of bread alone.  So, at this point I didn’t place my second loaf on the baking sheet.  Instead I rolled it up in a couple layers of plastic wrap and put it in the freezer to bake later.  If you decide to freeze your second loaf, just take it out of the freezer a few hours before you want to bake it***

Cut three small slits in your dough.  (Believe me, these slits should be small and not deep… You’ll see why later.)  Cover it and allow it to rise for about 30 more minutes.  If you want to, you can brush the loaf in an egg wash after it rises. I have done it with this and without it, and it works well either way.

Now, put that loaf in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Take your beautiful loaf out of the oven and admire your work. Ha!  The back of mine kind of exploded because I made my last slit a little to deep.  Learn from my mistake

Time to slice it up and enjoy!  (My husband is a WAY better slicer than me!)

We had this with soup one night, and a week later we cooked up the other loaf and ate it warm with strawberry jam for a night time snack!

-The Wheaty French Bread Baking Kelley

P.S.  As always, I can’t vouch for the complete accuracy of the wonderful Sparks Recipe calculator, but here is what it says about this recipe: