My Review

Nothing like a hot piece of French bread to go with a yummy pasta dish or soup. I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com. I have made this two times now and its going to be a keeper.

What I changed

The one thing I have found to be important when using an allrecipes.com recipe is to read the reviews. One person made the comment that they added a tbsp. of sugar to the water/yeast mix so I did the same. The original recipe also calls for 6 cups of flour but I would start with 5 and only add enough to get the dough just right. I also put a pan of water(2 cups) on the bottom rack while the bread bakes gives you an even better crust!

What I liked

This recipe is pretty simple and even a beginner can make this bread. I love the crunchy crust and soft bread inside. Mmmm!

What I didn’t like

I need to experiment with the salt and yeast amount. The first time it tasted to salty and the 2nd time it tasted a little yeasty.

Overall

This is a keeper! It makes two loafs and we eat one and then I freeze the other. I also added some garlic powder the first time I made it which I liked as well. I still have some tweaking to make this a great recipe but over all a good recipe.

My Rating

Recipe Box Worthy

Notes: 1 pg. of active dry yeast = .25 ounces or 2 and 1/2 teaspoons per packet. To freeze 2nd loaf wrap in tin foil and freeze for up to 3 months( if you can!).

I will say that I tried these with whole wheat flour and was not impressed. Also you may want to double the filling. I have not done that yet but it seems like there is never enough of the inside goodness! Over all I think this is a really easy and yummy recipe and make these a lot for snacks for church or special occasions!

Source: Me myself and I

Serves: 2 Loaves

Ingredients

Directions

1. Mix milk(I use dry milk. 1 3/4 cups warm water and 2/3 cup dry milk) with water, melted butter, honey and active dry yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
2. While the yeast starts to get bubbly place the 4 cups of all-purpose flour and 3 cups of whole wheat flour in your kitchen aid mixer(or a large bowl) alone with the salt. Using the dough hook attachment start mixing the flours and salt together(if your not using a mixture use a wooden spoon to mix the flours and salt together). Slowly pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Once you have added all the liquid let is knead and see if you need more flour(still to wet) or water(to dry). If your not using a mixer use the wooden spoon to mix until the ingredients are starting to mix well together and then begin to knead by hand. Once the dough is still soft but not sticking to the side of the bowl let the dough knead for 20-25 minutes.
3. Once the dough is done kneading move the dough to a lightly greased(I use olive oil just a little bit maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp) bowl. Turn the dough over so it gets the olive oil on both sides. I then cover the bowl with a towel and set it on a heating pad(set to high) for 50 minutes.
4. After the first rise remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Using a knife cut the dough into 2. Knead each ball of dough for a few minutes get all that frustration out! Then place each ball of dough into a greased bread pan. Push the bread down and all around so it touches the pan on all sides. This also helps to avoid any air bubbles. Once the dough is in the pans return it to the heating pad and cover again with a towel. Let rise for 45 minutes.
5. 10-15 minutes before the last rise is over turn your oven on to 350. Place a rack on the lowest setting and fill a pan with 2-3 cups of water. Place the pan with water on the lowest rack.
6. When the bread is done rising place on the center rack in your oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. I cook mine for 32 minutes but each oven is different. If you over cook your bread it will be crumbly and will not make as good of sandwiches. So watch is closely.
7. Once your bread is done remove it from the oven and let it sit in the pans for 5 minutes. Then remove them to a cooling rack. If you don’t have a cooling rack be sure to move the bread a few times as it cools for the bottom does not get mushy.
8. I know we all LOVE warm bread from the oven but resist if your making sandwich bread and let it cool completely before you slice it.
9. Storage: Homemade bread does NOT have as long a shelve life so its best to freeze your sliced bread. It can be frozen for 3-4 months. Just remove the slices and pop them in the toaster and they will taste like they are fresh out of the oven!! If you chose to store the bread in open air wrap it good and eat it with in 2-3 days but it will start to dry out pretty fast.
10. Making bread is really not that hard. Yes its a bit of a learning process but so so good and way better then the store stuff! You can also add other things to your dough like flax seed.
11. Bread Machine: I attempted to make this bread in my bread machine. I halved the recipe and added the wet then dry ingredients. I believe it will turn out fine in a higher end bread maker but not all. You need at least 2 rise cycles on your machine and a nice long kneading cycle. I have 2 bread machines. One I bought before I got married and one my aunt gave me. Mine the bread turned out okay but it was to airy and no way could be used for sandwiches. The one in my other machine turned out nice because it had a 25 minute knead cycle and 2 rises. But the top of my bread kept falling right before it would bake and I have no idea why. Its a older model so it could just be that I don’t know. It might turn out perfect in your machine you will just have to give it a try.

Note: 2 servings means 2 loafs. I did it that way so it would be easer to half or double the recipe etc.

View recipe at plantoeat.com

This week the topic is a fun recipe that you can make with your kids. I admit I have not cooked a lot with my kids so I was not sure what I was going to post here. I settled on this.

I love home made play dough. So do my kids. Not only is it fun to play with its fun to make. Its very easy and kids would have a blast mixing it and making them pretty colors.

• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 tbsp cream of tartar
• Food coloring
• 1 cup flour

Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last for 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand. Store this dough in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag.

I make two batches at a time. With younger kids you would want to mix it a little and then dump it on a floured surface and let them knead it adding more flour as needed. I have found I need more then 1 cup of flour to get it just right.

I store them in Ziploc containers.

I think my kids have more fun with the homemade stuff then the store stuff.

Do you have a kid friendly recipe you love to make with your kids? Link it up and join me and Spoons, Spades & Stitches

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I don’t know too many people who don’t love pizza. There are tons of great recipes out there. It has taken me 6 years to find the right pizza that my family loves. Pizza is my husbands favorite food so that was not an easy task. Both my kids eat it well too so its a keeper. I make the dough in the bread machine but it could easily be done with out one. Just mix it all together and let it rise.

Source: Abs Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes Rise Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

• 1-1/4 cups water(75-85 degrees F)
• 3 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups flour
• 2 heaping tsp sugar
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1/4 heaping tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 heaping tsp onion powder
• 2-1/4 tsp breadmaker yeast(1 packet)
• 2 tbsp cornmeal

Add all ingredients except cornmeal into the bread machine in the order given. Set to dough setting and start. I always watch my bread machine while it mixes to make sure the dough turns out okay. Sometimes I have to add a little water or flour.

Turn your oven on to 450 degree’s. Once the dough is done punch it down. This dough makes 2 good size pizza’s. Divide it in half sprinkle the pizza pan with cornmeal and a little flour. Roll dough out onto pizza pan. If you want let the dough rise again for 5-10 minutes. Put a small layer of pizza sauce on the dough and bake for 7 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce to the pizza’s and all your favorite toppings. Return to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. If you bake both pizza’s at the same time like I do set your timer to 10 minutes and switch the pizza’s every 10 minutes. I keep one rack in the mild position and the other rack one lower. Remove pizza’s when the top is golden brown and cheese is nice and bubbly. Let sit for 3-5 minutes and then cut with a pizza cutter and enjoy.

Yields: 2 15 inch pizza’s

The crust comes out perfect this way. Cooking it first and hot is the key I have found. This gets it nice and crisp with out over cooking your toppings.

I meant to post this recipe earlier this summer. This is a quick tasty treat.

Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com

Prep/make Time: 20 minutes

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 plain or strawberry yogurt
• 1-1/2 to 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp  vanilla extract
• 6 ice cubes crushed

In a blender combine strawberries, milk, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Toss in the ice. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into glasses and serve.

Yields: 2 servings

My kids love this smoothie and I like to make it on hot days to go with supper. My daughter does not eat a lot of fruits so I like to make this for her. It does take quite a bit of sugar the recipe calls for 3 tbsp but I think I may try quite a bit less next time the last time it was a bit sweet I might also try honey instead. It also depends how sweet the fruit is. I buy the frozen mixed fruit at the store but you could use fresh as well. The mix I buy has blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and red raspberries. I also like to make it and then let it sit in the freezer for a little while.  I make 2 batches which is just enough for all 4 of us.

First off I know I have slowed to a snails pace with posting recipes. The month of June has been busy and I admit to not trying a lot of new recipes the last few months. When the weather gets nice I want to be outside not in the kitchen. I have tried a few new recipes but some of them I feel need some tweaking before I put them up here.

Spaghetti is  a favorite in my family. I have posted a few recipes that have gone over pretty well before. I have been trying to make my own sauce but so far have not found one we all like. So I have take a break and have been using store bought sauce. I have though been tweaking that and have come up with a recipe I am happy with and wanted to share. My husband puts his nose up at this because he likes his sauce plain and I like it with some added veggies. The kids like this though so I told him to pick them out then! :p

Source: Abs Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes to a few hours

• 1lb ground hamburger
• 1 small to medium onion diced
• 1 medium green pepper diced
• 3 or 4 fresh mushrooms sliced or diced
• 1 67oz jar of Prego traditional Italian sauce
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• Hot cooked Spaghetti noodles

Brown the ground hamburger with the onion, green pepper and mushrooms. I also add a few shakes of the red pepper flakes as well. Drain off fat. Add Prego sauce and more red pepper flakes(I like my spaghetti with a little bite) if you like. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for at least 30 minutes. I  tend to let it simmer for a few hours. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.

Yields: 6-8 servings

Its very simple but I love adding the extra veggies. I add the red pepper flakes to give it a nice little bite. You can play around with it and add as much or as little of the veggies and red pepper flakes as you would like. I also like to let it simmer all afternoon because I think the flavor is a bit better but I have also only cooked it for about 30 minutes and its still comes out great. You can of course use any spaghetti sauce you want but we really like the Prego flavor.

My son loves pancakes and would eat them every morning if he could. Thankfully at this point he likes them covered with flavored yogurt rather then syrup which makes them a little healthier. Normally my husband makes us breakfast a few times a month on Saturday and I then give my son the leftover pancakes through out the week. A few weeks back my daughter wanted pancakes for supper and I wanted to try some homemade ones other then the Bisquick ones my husband normally makes. I had this recipe that I had bookmarked from a food blog so I gave it a try. I love how easy they where to make and how healthy they really are. My son loves them and I plan to make a double batch soon so I can freeze some.

Source:   “B” dubs cafe

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼  cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

Combine milk and flour and beat in a blender on high speed for 2 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and beat on high for 2 more minutes.  Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, pour pancake batter on hot griddle and cook until lightly browned on both sides.  Serve with butter and warm syrup

Yields: 10-12 pancakes

I also love how I had everything I needed to make these pancakes no buttermilk required which is good since I don’t keep that in my fridge a lot. I am thinking about adding a little cinnamon the next time I make these just to change them up a little.

I admit I love cookbooks. So its always hard for me to pass them up when I find one for sale. My MOMS Club has one and I bought it last year not long after I joined and I am just now starting to try recipes from it. I love using a cookbook that I know the recipes are tried and true! This recipe is fast and tastes great.

Source: Local MOMS Club Cookbook

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

• 2lbs ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 onion or a dash of onion powder
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 8 oz plain cream cheese
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 6-8 oz pasta

Cook the pasta while you brown the meat and onion. Drain. Mix all ingredients. Enjoy. Freezes fine and reheats well.

Yields: 4-6 servings

Yeah its that easy and you all know I love easy!!

Not the best picture I know but I was in a hurry this morning. I first had this recipe a few months back at a MOMS Club activity. I kept meaning to make it but never did. This morning I had a MOMS Club activity to go to and needed something fast and yummy and this recipe fits that bill perfectly.

Source: A fellow mom.(Thanks Katie!!)

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time 15-20 Minutes

• 1 stick margarine or butter
• 1 cup oatmeal(I used the quick cooking kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups hot boiling water
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• powdered sugar to dust the top

Mix butter and oatmeal and add boiling water. Stir and let cool. Slightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture alone with the vanilla.  Mix the Dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Pour into a pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Super easy and my kids love it.