Quinn's reading from this week... so proud of him as he has worked hard!

A look back at Quinn's reading...

Breadmaker Doughnuts

This is the first time I have ever attempted doughnuts and they were super easy thanks to my trusty breadmaker. I bought a 25 pound bag of bread flour at Sam's, so I was eager to use some of it as it is currently living on my countertop. Everyone loved them! We will have more unhealthy doughnuts for breakfast tomorrow morning. I just made plain and powdered sugar tonight. Next time, I will try to dip in chocolate or roll in cinnamon/sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• oil for frying (I use Canola)

Directions

1. Place the milk and egg into the pan of your automatic bread machine, and add the butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in that order, with the yeast on top. Select the dough setting, and start the machine.
2. When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough to a floured work surface, and knead a few times to collapse all the bubbles. Cut the dough into 18 pieces, cover them with a damp cloth, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
3. Stretch each ball out into a disk about 1/4 inch thick, and use a small cutter to cut a hole in the center (I used a bottle top). Let the doughnuts rise on the floured surface until doubled, 30 to 40 minutes. Or, (what I did) place them on a cookie sheet and put in a warm oven (130 degrees F) for 10 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F.
5. Gently place a few doughnuts at a time into the hot oil, and fry until they turn golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Flip the doughnuts over, and fry on the other side. Remove from the oil, and drain on paper towels.
6. While still warm, roll them in powdered sugar, or leave some plain.

This was loosely adapted from an AllRecipes.com recipe with the same name.

Chowder, Oat Bars, and Buttermilk Pie

I have found some really yummy recipes this week that I will definitely be making again.... The first is a chowder I made on Monday that Cora LOVED. I served it with Garlicky Cheddar Biscuits (imitated the biscuits from Red Lobster). I have been eating it for lunch every day since and it tastes even better the next day. The other two recipes are super easy desserts that were absolutely delicious!

Fish and Shrimp Chowder

Bacon chopped
2 Small Onions finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
1 large carrot finely chopped
16 oz Chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
2 medium sized potatoes (cubed in 1/4 inch or smaller cubes)
2 tbsp butter
4 tsp flour
1 tsp paprika
1 bunch (about 4 tbsp) minced fresh parsley no stalks (or dried)
1.5 lbs White filet fish
1 lb uncooked shrimp
Salt and Pepper to taste

Makes about 4 large bowls…. or 6 normal bowls

1. Fry bacon. Make sure it is crispy, remove and place on a paper towel to get the oil off. Get rid of the fat drippings from the pan.

2. The onions, carrots and celery need to be chopped fine. Not minced, but chopped fine. The pieces should be about 1/8 inch in size at most. Mix all three together and throw in the pan over the melted butter. Slow sautee this mash until soft. I had mine on medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Once it is softened, sprinkle in the flour and sautee another couple of minutes until mixed. To add smokiness, increase the heat and get some browning on the flour going. Toss in the paprika and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and put aside.

3. In a large pot, pour in water, cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil. As the liquid comes to a boil, while stirring, pour in the onion mixture. Let come to a rapid boil and add the parsley.

4. Turn down the heat and add the potatoes and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

5. Add your Fish, shrimp, and bacon. Let simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through.

I doubled this recipe and they were gone in two days.

Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Instructions:
Position oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter, then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over 2 sides. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and stir with a whisk until well blended. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Turn off the mixer and add the flour-oat mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Using the rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake until the top of the cookie is golden and looks firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven and set it on a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely. Lift the cookie from the pan, dust it with confectioners’ sugar and cut it into 1 x 4-inch bars.

Makes 16 bars.

This literally took 5 minutes to get in the oven.

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup baking mix
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch pie plate.
2. Beat together white sugar, buttermilk, baking mix, melted butter or margarine, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Pour filling into pie plate.
3. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

Quinn dancing with Mickey

Quinn had a lot of fun dancing with Mickey at a neighbor's birthday party last weekend. He was a lot of fun to watch as he is so full of joy!