I have a West Bend Homestyle Plus bread maker and it has a great recipe book. Maybe your machine did at one point but got lost? In any case, you should download or buy off ebay a bread maker recipe book. The proportions are probably based on the loaf size of your machine, but if you have the same size as I do, you could just download/buy the same manual/recipe book that I use for great success.
Jim Lahey, Supervisor of the Sunnyvale Trailer Park, wrote a book on baking bread? Was it all Rum based recipes? What about when the shithawks come to steal your freshly baked loaves?
Smoking ribs for the first time tomorrow. Washed, removed membrane, and did a marinade/rub consisting brown sugar, salt, red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and root beer to make kind of a paste. Letting it marinate tonight, and then throwing it in the smoker for any where between 6-10 hours. I don't know, I'll play it by ear. Here's the before:
There are two methods I've used quite a bit in my Big Green Egg smoker. (both recipes are for baby backs) First; de-membrane, rub, etc etc. Set the smoker up at ~325* and cook ribs for 90 mins. Wrap in foil and cook for another hour (I start checking them after about 40 mins) sauce and raise the temp a bit to caramelize the sugars in the sauce. Serve. Makes its almost fool proof and people will love them. This is a variation of the same way my bbq rep does his and he wins local rib cookoffs and does pretty well with state wide contests Second way; de-membrane, rub etc etc. Set the smoker up at 225* and let them babies sit for 5-6 hours while spritzing with apple juice about once an hour. These will have a better smoked flavor but much harder to pull off without drying out. Sometimes I'll put a disposable drip pan underneath with water and apple juice for insurance against drying out These were done the first way and everyone at the party said they were they best ribs they've ever had.
Ill second the foiling method, I do my baby backs 3-2-1, 3 hours in the smoke, 2 foiled up with apple juice, 1 back in the smoke. You will have to adjust this time if you like your ribs with a bit of pull off the bone. Everyone I make them for prefers them to just about fall apart by themselves. Most use 3-1-.5 or so for firmer ribs, all depends on how you like them.
I spray the ribs down with apple cider vinegar before applying the dry rub and let them sit overnight.
I don't usually advocate using box cake mix because I prefer to bake with fresh ingredients, but I was low on time two weeks ago and came up with this. I have to admit...it came out delicious. The cake was gone in a day. 1 box chocolate cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines devil's food) 1 stick melted butter 3 eggs 2/3 cup whole milk Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips I have a stand mixer, but a hand mixer will work just as well - Combine the first four ingredients, mixing on low to combine, then turn to medium and mix for at least 5 minutes. The resulting batter will be thick. Add 2-3 heaping handfuls of chocolate chips, more or less depending on how much you want. Pour into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Make sure you sample the batter because it's just heavenly and salmonella be damned. Bake in a 350 degree oven until done. It took 45 minutes for the knife inserted into the center to come out clean. Let cool. Frost as desired. I used Ina Garten's Orange Buttercream frosting. It's kind of a pain in the ass to make and has god knows how many calories, but it's so freakin' good. The cake should be dense and moist. Heh. Moist.
After: Had to half the rack to make it fit, but they came out great. I agree that the Big Green Egg probably does the best ribs, but this thing did an awesome job for what it is. This is my new toy. Her name is Nellybelle:
So, Blue Dog, can you give me a hot cajun injection? Just to keep this post marginally on topic, I've made this cheesecake recipe twice now: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/honey-ricotta-cheesecake-recipe/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giad ... index.html</a> and it's been a hit both times. I reduce the sugar considerably, though. It's nice because if you use light cream cheese and light ricotta, it's not nearly as heavy as cheese cake normally is, and I actually quite like the texture ricotta gives the cake.
Sorry, you're the wrong kind of Canadian. I only inject the Canadians from our southern border. Made these last night- bought some egg roll wraps, and filled them with a mixture of shredded chicken (I just de-boned one of those supermarket rotisserie ones), chopped spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, mozzarella cheese, greek yogurt, some dried Italian seasonings, and salt and pepper. Coated with non-stick spray, and baked until the wraps were crisp. Served with marinara for dipping.
That's the recipe I followed, I didn't use grass fed beef, I got the normal crap from the local butcher. Also I unfortunately have an electric stove so no flame was involved. It was delicious though. I ate it 6 times the week we made it, lost 1.3 pounds from my average that week.
We used about two jars of it (I left out the seasonings above- whoops) when we were cooking down the onions, so I guess I'm for it. Great flavor and thickening agent. I don't use it every time, but if I have it I throw it in. Another thing- I usually make my roux in my big pot, and then cook all of my veggies in the roux. Since this was about 5 times more roux than I've ever made at one time, we thought it better to make it on the side in a cast iron pot to help prevent burning, then added it later. Worked great, and made things a little easier for us.
I made a recipe based on Blue Dog's egg wraps. Filled them with finely ground beef, diced onion and bell pepper, and mozzarella cheese. So good. This weekend I'm going to try the chicken, but I'll have to sub something else for the artichokes and spinach.
The Wife asked me to make these for her this weekend, and they came out pretty damn tasty. Finished product: Served them with sliced NY Strip, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and smothered squash, zucchini, and vidalia onions.
Something The Wife requested: Asian Beef Noodle Salad Bowls. She doesn't care as much for beef, though, so I made some with chicken as well.
Much cooking last night. Both of these are tasty and healthy, while remaining fairly cheap. They're also absurdly easy to make. I wouldn't serve them at a dinner party, but as quick(ish) weeknight meals / lunches they are ideal. Savoury Mince-Stuffed Capsicums (Peppers). (This is an adaptation of the recipe Shimmered posted earlier in the thread. Cheers Shimmered!) Ingredients 4 x capsicums (bell peppers), halved, for stuffing. Cheese and taco sauce for topping if desired. 800g lean mince 1x large onion, diced. 1x leek, sliced. 1x head broccoli, cut into florets (i.e. the small tasty pieces, not the worthless stalks). 1x can corn kernels 1x Potato, diced. (optional, you don't need it if you are looking for a low carb offering) 1x 800g can diced tomatoes. Seasonings Chili powder Cumin Garlic Bay leaves Worcestershire sauce Salt/Pepper Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 180deg. 2. Fry all the ingredients (other than capsicums and canned tomatoes) until mince is browned and onion is soft. Add can of tomatoes, then stir in seasonings to taste. Leave to simmer while you... 3. Place capsicum halves in oven. Once the skin starts to turn brown (5 minutes or so), flip them once. 4. Place a few spoonfuls of the savoury mince mixture into each capsicum half. Top with cheese and taco sauce if desired. Bake until cheese melts (or, if you're using feta, until you figure out that feta doesn't melt). Serve with garden salad. Random Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients 800g skinless chicken breast (get butcher to cut it into stir fry strips for you) 1x bunch radishes, diced 1x onion 1x potato, sliced thinly 1x head broccoli, cut into florets 1x can baby corn spears 1x can bamboo shoots 1x bunch spring onions 1x bunch bok choy 1x can champignons Seasonings 2x tbsp thai red curry paste 2x tbsp palm sugar syrup ~4x tbsp fish / soy sauce 3x tbsp lime juice Kaffir lime leaves Method: (This might be an odd method, but it was 9pm at this point and I was making shit up as I went. Turned out well at any rate) 1. Stir fry your onion, radish, potato, broccoli, corn, and bamboo shoots until just beginning to soften. Remove from wok. 2. Fry up your curry paste in a little oil. Once it smells delicious, add in your chicken and cook until white all over. Add in all your vegies from step 1, as well as the spring onions, bok choy, and champignons. 3. Add in the seasonings. Let them combine for a minute or two, then taste. Aim for a balance of spicy, salty, tart, and sweet. Add more of whatever you need. (Take care with the lime juice though. The other ingredients have counters, but if you make it too sour it's hard to recover.) Enjoy!