debt, Family, Food, money, pregnancy, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women

Simple Homemade Bread Recipe

This bread recipe I have been making for a really long time. I just started to make it again because it is way cheaper, you know all the ingredients and it is super yummy! Homemade bread just tastes SO much better than store bought. In my opinion. It is super easy and there are not a ton of ingredients.

Here are a few tips to start out with: I make it with almond milk. Almond milk? Last night when I made it, I swear it actually tastes better than when I used regular milk. Try it out! I used Silk almond milk Regular. Im sure you can use any kind but that is what I used. If you want to use cow milk that is perfectly fine also, just giving you an option. I also used salted butter last night, I really do not like salt but when I went to Costco and bought butter…..I accidentally bought salted :(((  So if all you have is salted, It’ll still taste yummy! Also, this time around I used unbleached white flour, that was all I had in the house. I have used whole wheat also and it tastes great! If you want to try to have whole wheat flour I suggest starting with 50/50 blend. 50% white, 50% whole wheat. Whole wheat flour bakes a little differently so the bread texture is a little different. I have found that you may need more of less whole wheat flour versus white flour alone.

What you need: 2 bread pans or just cut the recipe in half to make 1 loaf. Easy. Cooking spray or just use butter in the loaf pan(s) so the bread does not stick. And of course the ingredients 🙂

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Silk Almond milk

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp melted butter

5 tsp yeast (I only use fleischmann’s yeast=amazing)

1 cup warm water

7 cups flour

Warm up your mixing bowl by filling the bottom up with warm/hot water. Let it sit for a minute and pour out.

  1. In warm mixing bowl add 1 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tsp of the 3 Tbsp. Set the rest of the sugar aside for later. Let yeast rise for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add melted butter, almond milk, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix until just mixed together.
  3. Add 4 cups of flour and mix with bread hook.
  4. Add 1 cup of flour at a time until your dough is sticky but not stuck to your finger when you touch it.
  5. Once you are done adding the flour mix the dough on low for 10 minutes.
  6. Take dough out and place onto a lightly floured surface.
  7. Grease the mixing bowl, I used butter to lightly grease the bowl. You can also you cooking spray if you like.
  8. Put the dough back into the greased bowl and place a clean and dry kitchen towel over the top. Let it rise for 1 hour. While you are waiting I suggest greasing the bread pans. Again, I use butter to grease the pans but you can use cooking spray. Clean up and relax and drink some coffee while your at it 🙂
  9. Once the hour is up; punch the dough down 2-3 times. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and set one-half aside. Roll one-half of the dough into a rectangle. Make sure the length is not longer than the bread pan. Tightly roll the dough (width wise) and pinch together so there is no seem. Place the bread into the greased bread pan.
  10. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
  11. Cover the bread pans with a clean and dry kitchen towel and let it rise for one hour.
  12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I normally turn the oven on when I have 15 minutes left to wait.
  13. Place the bread carefully onto the middle rack in the oven and close the oven door super slowly so the bread does not collapse.
  14. Bake for 30 minutes
  15. What I’m going to tell you will sound painful but I honestly have never burnt may finger and I’ve done this A LOT. Put spit onto your finger and tap the middle of the pan to see if it sizzles. If it does then your bread is done. I was taught to test bread and rolls that way since I can even remember.
  16. Take bread out of pans right away. Let it cool on a cooling rack before slicing (good luck with that, HA) I love fresh out of the oven bread. Yum Yum

 

Enjoy!! I hope you love the bread as much as we do. We are already more than halfway done with the first loaf and I just made it last night.

Live Simple

Christmas, Family, Food, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women

Mavericks favorite “Santa Cookies”-Recipe included

Yesterday we made cookies for Santa, they are Mavericks favorite by far. They really are the best! Soft and chewy! And So incredibly delicious! We normally just put chocolate chips on them but maverick wanted to add his favorite candy. Maverick is a chocoholic! Chocolate and m&m’s are two of his favorites. Santa ate the cookies we left him but left a little bit on the plate so Maverick knew he ate his cookies and drank his milk. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe ever

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Unsalted Butter (softened) 

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 Eggs 

 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Plain Hot Coffee

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (we put in 1 Cup m&m’s and 1 Cup chocolate chips this time) 
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Dissolve (in a little bowl) baking soda in the hot coffee. Set aside. 

Cream together; Butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. 

Stir in vanilla

 Add baking soda and coffee mixture to the above ingredients and mix. 

Add; flour and salt and mix together. 

Add chocolate chips and mix together, do not over mix. 

Drop cookie batter on parchment paper with cookie scoop.

Bake for 12 minutes and remove. Leave on pan for 2 minutes and then put on cookie sheet to finish cooling. 

Try not to eat them all at once! I hope you get to enjoy these “Santa cookies” as much as we all did! 
Merry Christmas!!! 
Live happy

Live simple. 

Family, Food, pregnancy, St Pattys Day, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women

Irish Egg Rolls and Guinness Dipping Sauce

Just in time for St. Patty’s Day! When I was searching for an appetizer to make for my husbands work I came across this recipe. It sounded good so we tried it. Oh My goodness…they are so delicious. The hubby said these should be a tradition, amen to that! I hope you try this recipe out and love them as much as we do.

Ingredients:

8 Ounces Chopped corned beef

2 Cup shredded steamed cabbage  (Steam the cabbage with the cooked corned beef water to add flavor)

2 Cup diced cooked potatoes (Cook the potatoes in corned beef water)

2 Cup shredded carrots (steam in the cooked corned beef water)

1 Cup thinly sliced onion (steam in the cooked corned beef water)

1 Pack of Egg Roll wrappers

Vegetable oil

 

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil up on the stove in a deep pan. I used a cast iron pan.
  2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients together.
  3. Lay the egg roll wrappers out on a dry and clean surface one at a time. Dip your finger in water to the edges of the egg roll wrapper, put in as much of the ingredients as you like. The bigger you make them the more likely they will rip when you roll them up. Roll the wrapper up according to the directions on the package and wet the edges again.
  4. Fry about 5 at a time if your pan is big enough. Cook until golden brown, the time will vary. Remove from pan and dry on a paper towel.

 

 

Guinness dipping sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 3/4 Cups lightly packed brown sugar

1 3/4 Cups Guinness beer (extra stout or draught)

 

Directions:

Combine brown sugar and Guinness in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until liquid is reduced by half and mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Egg roll dipping sauce

 

 

Enjoy and live simple