Homemade White Bread

Homemade White Bread (from The Best of Cooking Light)
-1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
-1 Tbsp. sugar
-1 2/3 cups warm fat free milk (100 to 110 degrees)
-2 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, melted
-4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
-1 1/2 tsp. salt
-Cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in butter. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 4 1/4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).
2. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down, and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll into a 14 x 7-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting with a short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Place roll, seam side down, in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Uncover dough. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until loaf is browned on the bottom and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove loaf from pan, and cool on a wire rack. Yield :1 loaf, 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutritional Info for 1 slice of bread
162 calories
1.9 g fat (0.4 g sat.)
4.9 g protein
30.5 g carbs
1.1 g fiber
1 mg chol.
1.8 mg iron
219 mg sodium
38 mg calc.

This bread was quite good. I was surprised by how easy it was. I was expecting it to be a really daunting task. It does take some time to make but most of it is just waiting on the dough to rise. It's definitely worth the effort to make yourself. My hubby said this was much better than any store-bought bread.

Pumpkin bread and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

I love pumpkin bread but have never made it before, until now. I was eager to use my new KitchenAid artisan mixer the day we got it, so I found these recipes that I could make with ingredients I already had in the pantry.

Pumpkin Bread

• 3 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 4 cups white sugar
• 6 eggs
• 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

**I cut this recipe and used 1/3 of all ingredients. It made 1 mini loaf and 6 muffins.

I was so ready to taste it that I forgot to take a pic before cutting...and eating a slice.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (This recipe is for bread, but I made muffins instead of a loaf.)

• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans, or three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans.

**I cut this recipe and used 1/2 the specified measurement of all ingredients. I did not use nuts.
With the recipe halved, I made 36 mini muffins and 6 regular muffins.

Both recipes were really yummy. I will definitely make them again soon.

Homemade Pizza

This was our our first attempt at making homemade pizza dough. We opted for an easy version because we weren't sure what we were doing and because we were really hungry. :)
I found this recipe. We followed it exactly. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Casey thought it was similar to frozen pizza. A plus was that we already had all the ingredients in the house. Next time, I will definitely add more seasoning. I will also follow some of the suggestions and proof the dough first. It was fun making pizza together. We will be doing this again soon with our nephew. I'll post how it turns out with our modifications.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water

1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
2. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

We used about half a jar of marinara sauce. I don't like my pizza too saucy.


We topped it with mozzarella cheese. On my half, we added black olives and jalapenos. We both agreed that it tasted better with the toppings.

The finished product

Baked potato soup - in the crock-pot

I love Stephanie O'Dea's blog that is all about crock-pot cooking. I was a little late finding it but I'm so glad I did. Stephanie cooked in her crock-pot EVERY DAY in 2008. I am seriously inspired and want to start using my slow cooker at least twice a week. In fact, we just bought the new stay or go slow cooker with Christmas money, and we love it! We used it to make this soup, which was absolutely delicious. I pretty much followed Stephanie's recipe, with these minor changes...We did not have an onion, so I used onion powder. I also added a splash of heavy cream at the end...because the cream cheese just wasn't fatty and caloric enough for me! Haha! We also halved the recipe since it was just for the 2 of us. This is our version of the recipe below.
I took lots of pics as my hubby and I were making the soup together.

Baked Potato Soup
-4 cups peeled & diced potatoes
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-a little onion powder (I didn't measure.)
-1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-1/4 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
-4 cups chicken broth
-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, to add at the end
-Splash or a few splashes :) of heavy cream
-Assorted toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon, chives, jalapenos...anything you like on your baked potato!

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 7 or 8 hours, or on high for 3 or 4. **We cooked on high, and the potatoes were very tender in 3 hours.
The potatoes should be fork-tender.

This pic is from the very beginning before the potatoes were cooked.

Use a hand-held immersible blender or a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup. We used our new immersion blender and left some potato chunks in the soup.

After smashing the potatoes, add the package of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.

Add whatever toppings you like. We had cheddar cheese and sour cream. I really wanted bacon, but we didn't have any and I wanted to use only what we had on hand...no trips to the store. I will be sure to have bacon next time we make this soup, which I think will be very soon. It was so very yummy...it was a hot, creamy, comforting bowl of goodness!

Yes, I know I could've served the soup right out of the crock-pot, especially since it was just the 2 of us, but I really wanted to use my lovely new soup tureen, as well as the tapas bowls which I used for our toppings. It was worth washing a few extra dishes because it made me smile. :)

Menu Plan Monday - Feelin Soupy

Where did 2009 go?? Seriously it has flown by! We will be visiting family this week and finishing up late Christmas celebrations as well as my mom's birthday. Happy 57th birthday to my magnificent mom!

I really enjoy seeing pics of recipes, so I made sure to add pics to all my links this week. Apparently, I'm feeling very soupy this week. I love curling up with a bowl of soup when it's cold outside. Be sure to check out lots of great menus this week at orgjunkie.

Breakfasts - Pumpkin bread, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

Lunches - Sandwiches on homemade white bread and leftover soup

Sunday - Loaded baked potato soup

Monday - Dinner with family

Tuesday - Christmas dinner/ Mom's birthday dinner with family

Wednesday - Homemade pizza

Thursday - Dinner with family...maybe southwest 3 bean chicken chili and cornbread muffins. A friend made both of these for us to enjoy a few weeks ago, and they were so good.

Friday - Black-eyed pea soup
Black eyed peas are a New Year's day tradition. I really love them, and I think I will love this soup too. I'm noticing I say "love" a lot when referring to food, but I really do love good food.

Saturday - Stuffed peppers

Homemade Gifts

This year, we gave lots of semi-homemade gifts for Christmas. We chose to do this since we didn't have extra money to spend this year, and we had a lot of fun making the gifts together. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the gift baskets I made my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. I noticed that one of them happened to be in the corner of another pic, so it will have to do.

Like I said, this basket just happened to be in the corner of another pic and I just cropped it the best I could, so it's not the best. The coloring sheet was not part of the basket. :) I got this idea here. My mother-in-law loves pink, so I did everything pink in her basket..a pink and white potholder, pink and white silicone spatulas, pink silicone heart shaped baking liners, and a pink recipe box. I filled the box with recipes that use cake mixes that I made in a Word document and printed on pink cardstock. I did a screenshot above of one of the recipe cards. I tied on ornaments with her initials with pink ribbon. I really wish these were facing the right direction. They are decorated to look like iced sugar cookies. I chose one recipe that I knew she'd love, German chocolate bars. I put in the dry ingredients for the recipe (cake mix, choc chips, and frosting...all of which I already had stockpiled from great sales!) and attached the recipe to the cake mix box with ribbon. This was a very affordable gift and fun to make. I think she really liked it too. She loves to cook and loves pink, so I knew this should be a hit! :) My sister-in-laws was the same, except in a Christmasy basket, and everything in her basket was red, red Kitchenaid spatulas, red potholder, red baking liners, etc. I did rocky road bars in hers which I also had all the ingredients for in my stockpile.

One of my gifts from my mother- and father-in-law was tied up in a big green Williams Sonoma canvas bag. This is what was inside! Yes, that's a hot chocolate maker! I've been making homemade hot chocolate at least a few times a week lately. Now I have my own hot chocolate pot with a frother! How fun!! I also have the ingredients and lots of yummy treats to enjoy with it!

Great minds think alike! I love that we gave each other baskets of cooking stuff! Neither one us had any idea that we were both doing this. It's seriously scary sometimes how much we are alike! I love it though. We get along great and have lots of fun together!

We made a coupon book for our 6-year-old nephew. We filled it with things that we are going to do with him over the next year from day trips to the aquarium to making a homemade pizza. I will try to take and post pics of some of the individual pages when we have him over later this week. He seemed really excited about all the fun things we are going to do together. I think this was the perfect age to give him this. He's in kindergarten and is reading really well, so he was proud to show off his reading skills to find out what each coupon was for. He still loves to color, and each coupon has a coloring page that Casey added that goes with the theme of the coupon. We are really looking forward to a fun-filled year with Andrew!

The first coupon in the book is for making Gingerbread together. I gave Andrew one of my favorite books from my personal collection, Gingerbread Baby. I actually had 2 copies of this, so I gave Andrew one and kept one for my classroom. I wrote a note inside the front cover. I made Gingerbread cookie mix and put it in a jar and tied a gingerbread man cookie cutter around it and attached the recipe. This was a very fun and affordable gift. It will be even more fun when we make and eat the cookies together!

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, we slept in...I accidentally turned off my alarm instead of hitting snooze. Oops! It was actually a nice way to start the day because I truly love to sleep! Haha! We hurried over to Casey's parents house for brunch with family that had just gotten in town. Of course, everything was delicious, as always! My in-laws are awesome cooks! I was thankful that only one dish was egg-based. I was a little nervous because I don't like scrambled or fried eggs...I know it's weird. We had ham, grits casserole, cheese apples, biscuits, hash brown casserole, and Casey's aunt and uncle's famous black bottom pie. We spent a few hours visiting with family and then headed back to our house.

Casey & I read the Christmas story together and prayed together to thank Jesus for coming to Earth to save us! I really got overwhelmed reading the story aloud. I know I've read it so many times, but the older I get, the more I am truly in awe at how much my Lord and Savior loves me...even at my worst moments! I was reminded of this as I got caught up in rushing around and trying to make everything perfect and caught myself being anxious and having a bad attitude. Then I stopped and said, "Thank you, Jesus, that you came to save me and you love me even when I act like a brat. Thank you for reminding me that it's not about everything being perfect or about me at all. It's all about you!"

Casey & I opened our presents from each other, and I actually didn't think to take pictures of us opening our gifts. We did our stockings on Christmas Eve night. I got Casey a new video game that he had been wanting. He got me a new board game called Last Word. It's kind of like Scattergories with a chosen letter and categories and is lots of fun. We played last night. Playing games is one of my very favorite things to do, especially word games. He also gave me a cake stand with a lid. I had been wanting one of these for a while. 2 of my best friends always have theirs on the counter filled with goodies. I think it's really homey (cozy...not like chillin' with my homey haha).

I was so excited to use it that I washed it right away and filled it with goodies that I made on Christmas Eve, oreo truffles and ritz cookies.

He also gave me an air mattress for when we want to camp out in the living room. This has recently become a fun weekend date for us.

This is our real mattress from our bed. Casey recently painted our bedroom and moved the mattress into the den. We slept in there that night to keep from breathing in the fumes. We had so much fun "camping out" in the living room that we actually moved it another weekend and slept in the den just for fun. The air mattress will be a little easier than moving our big mattress every time we want to go camping. :)

I made chicken pie for dinner. Yummy! Casey's parents gave us a set of these great soup bowls for Christmas. We had been wanting some, and I was excited to use them for chicken pie! After dinner, we relaxed together, played games, and watched Christmas episodes of our favorite TV shows. It was a great day! Happy birthday Jesus!