How to Make Homemade Pasta

 Making homemade pasta is easier than you think: just a few simple ingredients and a little work, and you'll have fresh homemade pasta your family is going to love.

With help from our grandson Tyler, who loves to bake and cook, we made this fresh pasta on a Saturday for Sunday dinner.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 6 to 8 tablespoons of cold water (or more if needed)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl or on your countertop, add the flour and create a well in the middle.
2. Add the eggs in the middle and begin working the flour into the eggs.
3. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to bring the dough together. 

The pasta dough will look like this. You want the dough firm, not too wet. Cut small pieces and flatten with a rolling pin. Now we use our Atlas pasta machine or, if you have a KitchenAid Stand mixer, the pasta attachment is perfect.

We ran the flattened dough through the Atlas rollers on the number 2 setting. The second time through, we set the knob on the left-hand side to 4 to roll the dough to our desired thickness. Lay these out onto a floured surface.

Now it was time to cut the pasta. We ran the dough through the machine's wide cutters, then laid the pasta on a floured surface to dry.

My grandmother made these all by hand, with no machine. She made the dough, rolled it, flattened it, and cut it by hand, and they were perfect every time. 

Today it's a little easier with the Atlas pasta machine or the KitchenAid pasta attachment.

MARCATO Atlas 150 Classic Manual Pasta Maker Machine, Made in Italy, Chrome Steel with Black Hand Crank. Makes Lasagna, Fettuccine & Tagliolini. Made in Italy3PCS Pasta Maker Attachment for KitchenAid Stand Mixers, Stainless Steel Pasta Roller with Spaghetti & Fettuccine Cutter, 8 Adjustable Thickness Compatible with All KitchenAid Mixers

 

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Spinach and Artichoke Hearts

 Last week, Fran came home from the grocery store with four beautiful portobello mushrooms. We stuffed these with a combination of veggies and cheese for a delicious meal.

These were easy to make, and we had them as a main dish. We had four mushrooms, and I could hardly finish the second one. So, four of these could easily feed four people.

Ingredients:

• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 of a large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 package frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (divided)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mushroom stems, finely chopped

Instructions:

1. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and finely chop them. Scrape the gills from the underside of the mushrooms.
2. Brush both sides of the mushrooms with olive oil and place the cap-side down on a greased cookie sheet. Roast for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.
3. In a non-stick skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, red bell pepper, and mushroom stems. Stir and cook until these are tender, about 6 minutes.
4. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and sour cream with a hand mixer. Fold in the cooked mixture, artichoke hearts, drained spinach,1/2 mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Flip the mushrooms and fill them with the mixture. Top off with mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, until the cheese is browned.

These made a meal for Fran and me all by themselves. You could also serve these as an appetizer if you cut into smaller pieces.

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Homemade Rye Bread Recipe

 This homemade rye bread recipe is so easy to make. It's perfect for sandwiches and my favorite toasted. 

I always have rye bread in the house. Instead of store-bought, I decided to try making my own. This was my first attempt, and it came out perfect. 

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups of bread flour
• 1 1/4 cups of rye flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 package of dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 3/4 cups of warm water
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Instructions:

1. In my KitchenAid mixing bowl, I added the warm water, yeast, and honey. Let this set for about 5 minutes to proof the yeast. 
2. In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and caraway seeds.
3. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the water and yeast mixture.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the water, yeast, and honey mixture. Using the dough hook, I mixed this on low speed with my KitchenAid stand mixer until the dough was formed.
5. Transfer the dough to another bowl and coat with the 2nd tablespoon of olive oil.
6. Cover and let it rise for at least 2 or 3 hours. It will double in size.
7. Grease a 9-inch x 5-inch bread pan. I used softened butter for this.
8. Shape the dough into a loaf, and place it in the bread pan. Cover and let it rise to the top of the pan.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

This rye bread was easy to make and came out just the way that I like it. Try it toasted with some butter and strawberry jam.

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Classic Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

 Texas sheet cake is a timeless favorite. Your family and friends are going to love this. This recipe is moist, rich, and covered in creamy fudge frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa powder
• 1/2 sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Creamy Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons of milk
• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa powder
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine butter, water, and cocoa powder in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the butter is melted, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another bowl, mix together sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Stir this into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the flour/sour cream mixture, then mix until the batter is smooth.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Pour and spread the batter into the jelly roll pan, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Prepare the Frosting:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and butter, and cook over medium heat until the butter is melted. 
2. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until combined.
3. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, stir until all is combined.
4. Pour this over the warm cake and let it cool for about an hour before serving.

This classic sheet cake delivers big flavor with very little effort. You don't have to be an experienced baker; this recipe is a crowd-pleaser you'll want to make over and over again. 

Hersheys, Cocoa 100% Cacao Natural Unsweetened, 6 OunceMartha Stewart Gallen 15 x 10 Inch Nonstick Carbon Steel Cookie Sheet – Cool Grey, Durable Bakeware for Even Baking and Easy Cleanup

 

Stuffed Pepper Soup

 There is nothing better than having a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter day. If you love stuffed peppers, this stuffed pepper soup is a perfect solution. This is all of the flavors of a stuffed pepper, in a soup.

It has been very cold here in Western New York. We have had 20-plus days of below-zero weather. So, Fran decided to make this perfect comfort food for the cold weather.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 bell peppers, chopped (we used green, but you can use red and yellow if you like)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 4 cups beef broth (We use Swanson low-sodium)b
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 cup uncooked Rice
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the beef. Drain the excess grease.
2. Add the peppers, onions, and garlic, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper.
4. Stir in the uncooked rice, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Tip from Fran: We cooked the rice separately and then added it to our bowls. After the soup simmered for 20 minutes, we ladled the soup over the rice.

This Stuffed Pepper soup is comfort food at its best, and full of classic stuffed pepper flavor.

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