Looky what I just discovered!

A drug rep brought us a treat today...and now I am addicted! UH-OH!

Hot Bread!

Mmmmm...just pulled some delicious homemade bread out of the oven. I have never actually made a loaf of regular bread before. The recipe claims to be "super easy," and I will just add that it was a learning experience!

Since we currently have 2 feet of snow on the ground, which basically means I am homebound, I had to find a constructive way to fill my day. I pulled out all my scrapbooking supplies, but quickly realized that I was lacking inspiration. Then I had the grand idea to make a loaf of bread. It was a small miracle when I realized that I had a packet of yeast in the pantry (how did that get there?) plus all the other necessary ingredients.

Flour was quickly everywhere, I had sticky dough all over my hands and arms and feet (!!!), and I was just thankful there were not any witnesses!

The best part was when the timer finally went off, and I went into the kitchen to see the uncooked loaf still sitting on top of the stove. How on earth did I forget to put the bread into the oven after all that time and effort?!?

The final product:




Super Easy Bread for Beginners

Prep Time: 3 hours

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, approximately

Preparation:

1. In large bowl, add the warm water. Slowly stir in dry yeast. Continue to stir until yeast is dissolved.
   
   
2. Add salt, sugar, shortening, and milk to bowl. Stir.
   
   
3. Mix in the first 2 cups of flour.
   
   
4. If needed, begin adding more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough chases the spoon around the bowl.
   
   
5. You do not need to use up all the flour called for in this recipe, or you may need more flour than called for. The amounts vary depending on many factors, including weather, which is why most bread recipes only give an approximate amount of flour needed.
   
   
6. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead, adding small spoonfuls of flour as needed, until the dough is soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.
   
   
7. Put dough in buttered bowl, turn dough over so that the top of dough is greased. Cover and let rise in warm spot for 1 hour.
   
   
8. Punch down dough. Turn out onto floured board and knead.
   
   
9. Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.
   
   
10. Form dough into loaf and set in buttered bread pan. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
    
    
11. Score dough by cutting three slashes across the top with a sharp knife. Put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.
    
    
12. Turn out bread and let cool on a rack or clean dishtowel.

Fall is here!

To celebrate, I made Shepherd's Pie!

I suppose that some people have recipes for Shepherd's Pie. But when I make it, I just go with whatever ingredients are on hand.

Today I included ground beef, onion, frozen vegetable medley, marinara sauce, instant mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar. Delish!

Crab Quiche

Here is the Crab Quiche I made, inspired by the book Julie and Julia.

It was delicious!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup milk

1 cup crab meat 1 cup diced Swiss cheese 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, mayonnaise, flour, and milk until thoroughly blended. Stir in crab, cheese, and onion. Spread into pie shell.
3.	Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

And my review of the book... 2 out of 5 Stars.

This book was not what I hoped it would be. I hoped it would be a story of a woman exploring the art of French cooking, a la Julia Child, about recipes, ingredients, words she didn't know how to pronounce, dishes that turned out all wrong.

Instead it was just a story of a woman without purpose. Though she found some sense of worth during her year of cooking, at the end of the story, she still seems relatively lost.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been more structured, more focused on her cooking and less on the oddities of her life.

I definitely give Julie Powell's husband props for putting up with her!

Turkey Bean Nachos

I don't know if it is the fact that I am resurrecting this blog, or that I am reading Julie and Julia or that it just looked totally scrumptious, but I felt the need to take a picture of our dinner and post it!

This is my first attempt at using ground turkey. DH said he couldn't even taste the difference. I will be using turkey is more recipes from now on!