I posted a picture of our fab Green Pizza Swirls and promised more info, which I promptly forgot about until today. I was looking up the Pizza Swirls for a friend’s request and saw that I left this undone! Accccckkk!

So, here is the follow-up:

OK, the Pizza Swirls. My family (and friends) have been going crazy over these and the possibilities of stuffings are endless.

Basically, think of a jelly roll, or rolled cinnamon buns made savory.

So, you choose your bread. I really love using  Green Pizza Crust if I’m making pizza swirls. And many, many stuffings work well with her crust. I also use my plain WW bread dough, OR my WW Challah dough.

Next week, I’ll be making some Rueben swirls using rye bread dough!
YUMMMMMMM!!!

OK, so you take about a loaf worth of dough. Anywhere between 1.5 and
1.8 pounds by weight. Roll it out into a rectangle of 16 inches long, by 10 inches wide.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On 1/3 of the rectangle long-wise, (the wide end away from you) leaving a 1-inch lip, spread your filling generously and evenly. I’ll post some fillings below. Starting at the wide end, roll up tightly, jelly roll style, pulling the dough gently to cover the filling and roll to the end. Pinch the ends and the seam. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Place unbleached parchment paper on a large baking sheet. With a sharp serrated knife, (or clean dental floss or thread) gently cut slices from the long roll. Each slice should be about 1 1/2 inches. Carefully move them to the covered baking sheet. If some filling escapes, no worries, just pile it on top of the swirl.

This usually makes about 14 swirls.

When all the swirls are finished, pop the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, the swirls are puffy and the cheese (if using) is melted. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes (the swirls will deflate slightly).

Serve with dipping sauces if desired.

Filling suggestions:

Pizza with sauce
Layer mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, drizzle organic marinara and any other fav pizza toppings chopped finely. Only drizzle the sauce (a few tablespoons) or the swirls become soggy.

Garlic and cheese
Layer mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic

Smoked Chicken and Green Pepper
Layer cubed smoked organic chicken, sauteed green peppers
Cheese if using

Asian Chicken and Veggies
Layer sauteed chicken, roasted Asian veggies and drizzle toasted sesame oil

Veggie Omelet
Layer scrambled eggs, veggies, cheese, if using

Smoked Salmon Spread
BBQ Chicken
Curried Veggies

You see? Endless possibilities!
Our favs though are the Pizza ones and the Garlic Cheese ones. My family wants these every day! The ones I’ve done for my class and for home groups were these as well, and WOW, were they a hit!

I’ve been messing around with this recipe for some time. I have a great version in my newest book, but I wanted to tweak it even more. I think I have achieved exactly what my family wants.  Now, having said that, you may not like the texture of this recipe at all because it’s very “saucy” and creamy. If you like your mac and cheese more “sturdy” and less saucy, simply decrease the milk by 1-2 cups. But, be warned, the texture will firm up the longer it sits and it will firm up after being refrigerated, so try it the “saucy” way first!! I also like to switch the cheese  options and make new flavor combinations, just for fun!

CREAMY CHEESY SLOWCOOKER MAC AND CHEESE

1 pound whole-grain elbow macaroni or rotini, DRY (do not cook!)

6 cups shredded cheese (I use half cheddar and half mozzarella)

6 cups milk

2 large eggs

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard

Salt to taste (we usually don’t use any since cheese is so salty)

Place the pasta in the dry slowcooker.  Add cheese.

Place the remaining ingredients into a large blender (I use a VitaMix) and whiz until completely smooth. It will fill up the blender!

Pour the liquid over the cheese and stir well.

Cover tightly (you may need to place a sheet of parchment or foil under the lid if your slow cooker does not fit tightly) and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until pasta is tender.

*I stir the mac and cheese twice while cooking, just to make sure it cooks evenly, being sure to scrape down to the bottom of the slowcooker to bring up any browned bits.

When pasta is cooked, I sprinkle a little more cheddar over top.

Enjoy!

Updated from our family favorite, Baked Oatmeal comes a wheat-free-dairy-free Oatmeal Blueberry Breakfast Cake.

Wonderful warm for breakfast, room temperature for brunch or a snack, or even topped with ice cream for a simple, delicious dessert.

Oatmeal Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Variation on our family favorite “Baked Oatmeal”

Servings: 15

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible**

5   cups  rolled oats,  or quick oats
2   cups  apricot, orange juice, or apple juice
4  large eggs
1/2 – 1 cup  honey, or organic granulated sugar
1  Tablespoon  baking powder (gluten-free)
1/4 teaspoon  salt
1 teaspoon  almond extract
1 1/2  cups  blueberries, fresh or frozen (sweeten to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss blueberries in dry ingredients and coat well. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until completely moistened.

Pour batter into an ungreased 9 x 13 baking pan.  I like to sprinkle a little organic granulated sugar on top to make it glisten and give it a slight crust. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes, or until center tests done.

Cut into squares and serve warm or cold.

Hey, y’all! Check out my new review at the Real Food Living website! Read the Morningware Infrared Halogen Oven review.

My review includes a recipe, too: Vickilynn’s Whole Wheat Yeast English Muffins/Biscuits.

Thank you for hanging in with me even though my blogging has been sporadic. I hope to update more often.

Because of my physical limitations, I am always looking for ways to make my batch-cooking techniques work for many things so that I don’t cook or bake every day.

This week I made a large Bosch batch of whole wheat raisin cinnamon almond bread, but the dough was softer than usual and I didn’t want to add more flour. The strength was not sufficient for loaves, so I made 2 dozen of my family’s favorite ~ Sticky Buns.

I was faced with what to make next since loaves were out and we had enough Sticky Buns for quite a few days.  With the softer dough, I decided I would make baked muffins, but with a twist. I decided to fill the muffins with fruit filling like doughnuts! All the flavor with none of the fried, sugary doughnut downsides.

To make Fruit-filled Whole Wheat Raisin Dough-fins (yeah, I really thought that one up all on my own! <g>) start with your regular whole wheat raisin bread recipe, or use my recipe for Award-Winning Bread and add raisins and cinnamon to the dough.

Weigh out 4 ounces per Dough-fin and roll each into a ball.

On an oiled surface flatten out the ball with your hand until it is about 4-5 inches in diameter.

Scoop a rounded tablespoon of your favorite (healthy) preserve (not jelly or jam) and place it in the center of the flattened ball.

Pull up all the edges and  pinch at the top,   making sure there are no holes for the filling to escape.

Place the filled Dough-Fin in an oiled muffin tin and repeat until all are filled. Let rise, covered, in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about   30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from tins and place (top side down) on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

My new assignment is as the “Housewares Examiner” for the Charlotte area and I will be writing articles on my Product Reviews. My column addresses Tools of the Trade for homemakers worldwide. For example, my first 2 articles are on the KitchenAid stand mixer and what specific uses I have reviewed it for.

Please subscribe to my column to  receive the new articles when they are published and add me to your “Favorite Examiner” list.

Housewares Examiner

Thank you for reading!

Shalom,

As the new book, Naturally Healthy Cuisine: Real Food for Real Families hits the mailboxes and stores, the feedback is coming in to my mailbox and on the RFD email loop. Here are 2 that we received today:

“Hi Everyone,

Woo hoo!! I got my book today and I AM SO EXCITED!! It is so beautiful and I can’t wait to read it. I’m going to put clear contact paper on it right away because I know this book will be very well read and used a lot! It was so fun to see everyone’s names in it. I can’t even begin to explain how good this feels to get this book. This book has been “in the works” for so long and I know how much Vickilynn and Shonda have wanted it to get published. I am feeling the same excitement today about this book as if I just found out Vickilynn gave birth to a baby and I was the Aunt!

I’m going to tell all the ladies on my food co-op group and even my homeschool group that they need to get this book. This is a book everyone needs to read. I just skimmed through it but it has SO much great information in there. It’s more than a cookbook. It’s like sitting down and having Vickilynn and Shonda tell you everything they know over a cup of tea. I can’t wait to read it!!!!

Lisa B. in NY”

Have your ordered your copy yet?

“YIPPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! I had a surprise in yesterday’s mail. My new book by Vickilynn and Shonda has arrived in Tucson, AZ

I think I ordered the first day the announcement was made… so that may help with guessing when your own might arrive.

A TON of information, have only begun to get a hint of the treasures in this well produced book.

Kathy in AZ”

Shalom Y’all,

Tonight at sundown, we will welcome the Biblical Feast of Passover (Pesach). This is such a rich commemoration of G-d’s faithfulness. For Jew and Christian, Passover is an essential reminder of the sacrifice of the Lamb. Exodus 12

For further reading, I recommend this wonderful site and has excellent homeschooling resources for teaching the L-rd’s holy days as well.   Biblical Holidays

This is all about Passover and how we, as Messiah’s children should celebrate HIM (the Sacrificed Lamb) at this time.
Biblical Holidays Passover

Another website that I recommend is:  Hebrew 4 Christians

Their Passover resources:  Hebrew 4 Christians Passover

Every year, as we celebrate Messiah’s sacrifice when He was crucified during Passover and have a Passover seder (The “Last Supper”) when taking the L-rd’s Table (Communion) was instituted, we make whole-grain Matzah (unleavened bread). Remember, Jesus (Yeshua) was represented in the unleavened bread, for leaven was a symbol of sin and Yeshua (Jesus) was sinless.

Here is my delicious recipe again and I pray you and your families have a blessed Passover celebration as we glorify the Lamb of G-d, YESHUA, sacrificed for OUR sins.

HAYCRAFT HOMEMADE MATZAH

Yield: Approximately 20 round matzot

2 cups hot water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons honey – optional
4 1/2 -5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour — more as need to make a sturdy dough
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix hot water, oil, salt and honey in a mixing bowl and mix well.  Add flour, 1 cup at a time until a sturdy but pliable dough is achieved.

Knead for 6 minutes or until pliable and soft, but not sticky. Weigh 2 ounces of dough and roll into qa ball. Roll out on an oiled surface into small (6 -8 inch) circles, and flatten with palms. Roll thin for crispy matzah, a little thicker for softer ones.

Pierce the circles with a fork to prevent bubbling. Place matzah onto a sheet of unbleached parchment paper. Bake 6- 8 minutes or until golden brown. Flip matzah over and bake 1-2 minutes more. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Per matazh: 108 Calories; 2g Fat (12.9% calories from fat); 4g       Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 227mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Anyone that knows me knows that I really love Pampered Chef stoneware. It is made in the USA and it is promoted to be lead-free. I’ve been using their stoneware to bake my wonderful whole-grain pizzas, cookies, cakes, breads and healthful meals, casseroles etc. for many many years.

I found a stoneware mini fluted cake pan on closeout (YAY!) and decided to try it with my Honey Whole Wheat bread. It came out awesome!

(I’ve also now made Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon bread in these pans and given them as gifts! So pretty!)

Here’s what I did for the Basic:

1. Wash and dried stoneware pan

2. Spread with oil/lecithin mixture

3. Place  8 ounces homemade whole grain bread dough into the well (I made a ball first, then smooshed it into the well.)

4. Cover with a clean towel and let rise 30 minutes.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven.

6. Gently invert pan and remove loaves.

7. Place the loaves on a cooling rack, cover with a clean towel and let cool.

For the Glazed version, for each well:

1.  1 Tablespoon organic butter cut into 4 pieces, placed around the center of the well (indentation) of each loaf.

2.  1 Tablespoon organic sucanat spread around the center of the well.

3. Sprinkle organic dried raisins or cranberries around the center of the well.

4. Add the 8-ounce ball of dough and smoosh it into the well.

5. Follow directions above.

6. Spoon any leftover fruit or liquid over the bread when it comes out of the oven.

It’s Sunday afternoon. There is snow on the ground and a chill in the air. It’s time to B-A-K-E!!!
What is it about home baking that warms the heart as well as the hearth? I don’t know, but I gladly give in to its call!

Today I made an easy, very quick whole wheat chocolate cake with organic sweetened cranberries.

Visit my website for the whole recipe: Quick Vegan Chocolate Cake with Cranberries.