Venison Shish Kebob and homemade pita bread

For supper last night Jacob and I were adventurous and made something neither one of us had ever cooked before--shish kebobs. It was due largely in part to our pastor's message Sunday night--he talked about shish kebobs and had the entire congregation's mouths watering. We decided immediately that was what we were having for supper the next night. Aaahhhh, the power of suggestion!

 I had some venison backstrap in the freezer from a whitetail deer Jacob shot last year. I let it thaw then marinated it for several hours in and oil and vinegar dressing, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of steak seasoning. I know, the spice combination may not be very authentically Middle Eastern, but this was an experiment. I cut up yellow and zucchini squash, onions and bell peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Lessons learned: Next time I'll slice the squash thinner and use cherry tomatoes. Everything else was perfect.

I made some almost whole wheat pita breads. They would have been 100% whole wheat, but I didn't realize that I was almost out of whole wheat flour. So they are 75% whole wheat :) Jacob LOVED them and called them "Bible breads". He especially loves them with peanut butter.  I was glad because he hasn't cared for some of the whole wheat things I've made in the past. I'll share the recipe in a minute.

Here are some photos of our evening for you to drool over:

My manly man manning the grill :) Notice our brand on the truck?

 

 Hungry yet?

Almost whole wheat pita bread

1 T yeast                                               1 T honey

1 1/3 c. warm water                               1 T oil

2 t. salt                                                 3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water. Stir in salt, honey, oil and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat til smooth.

 Stir in 1 cup flour. Knead in as much of the remaining flour to make a smooth and elastic dough. Cover and let rest  for 10 minutes.

  Punch dough down. Knead until smooth and elastic. Wash out bowl and grease with a little oil. Place dough in greased bowl and turn to coat.. Cover and let rise til doubled.

  Punch dough down and divide into 8 equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for 30 minutes.

  On a lightly oiled or floured surface, roll or pat each piece into a 7 inch circle. 

 Preheat oven to 500* F and place an upside down pizza pan on bottom rack of the oven. Let breads rise for approx. 30 minutes. When bread is ready to bake, gently place one or two breads on the hot pizza pan. Bake for four to seven minutes or until lightly golden and puffed up into a ball.

  Cool on wire racks, but cover them so they do not dry out. If not using right away, store in plastic bags.

Enjoy!

Encourage One Another Link Up
Raising Homemakers Link-up #58 

Overnight Whole Wheat Bread/Rolls

This is one of the easiest bread recipes I've ever made. It isn't fast, but you can start it and forget it. It has a very nice sourdough taste without the work of keeping a starter. It can be shaped into loaves or rolls. You mix it up the night before and finish it the next morning. I've even started it early in the morning and finished it that evening for supper.  Hope you enjoy!


For the overnight dough:

2 cups lukewarm water
1 T honey
2 T yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour (my favorite is Golden 86 or Prairie Gold, or just a hard white wheat)
1 1/2 T salt

Dissolve honey in warm water and stir in yeast.
Place flour and salt in a large bowl and stir well. Add the yeast liquid and stir until well combined. (Don't knead the dough at this point.)
Cover and let rise at room temperature overnight.

Morning mixture to add to the dough:

2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 T honey
2 T yeast
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter

Dissolve honey in water. Stir in yeast, let stand til frothy. While yeast proofs, melt the butter.
Add three cups of flour, melted butter and yeast mixture to the overnight dough. Stir to mix well.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead til soft and smooth. Use as much of the additional half cup of flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

For loaves: Divide dough into two portions. Shape and place in 2 greased loaf pans or on a greased cookie sheet for free form rolls.
For Rolls: Divide dough into 18 pieces and shape into rolls. Place on floured cookie sheets, two inches apart, and let rise til doubled, approx 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light brown and the loaves sound hollow. Note: when you remove the bread/rolls from the oven they may have a very strong yeasty aroma. This will fade when the bread cools.

Whole Wheat Brownies

This is a great brownie recipe that my mom created. It uses 100% whole wheat flour, so you don’t feel quite as guilty indulging in them, but I wouldn't consider them a health food ;) They are wonderful with vanilla ice cream, or just by themselves with a big glass of milk. They can be made even healthier by using homemade butter, freshly ground flour, and fresh yard eggs…

Whole Wheat Brownies

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

5 eggs

½ c. cocoa

1 t. vanilla

1 c. whole wheat flour*

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients and pour in a 9inX13in baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

You can also stir in nuts and chocolate chips when you add the flour.

*We normally use the Golden 86 or Prairie Gold varieties. White flour can also be used.