Homemade Bread

Hello!  I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas!  My Christmas went wonderfully.  Today's recipe is homemade bread!  It is delicious.  The bread is a bit time consuming, so make sure you have a day to do it.

Homemade Bread

1/2 cup warm water(not hot)

2 pkg. active dry yeast

1 3/4 cups lukewarm liquid

7 cups sifted flour

3 T. sugar

1 T. salt

2 T. softened butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 425*.

Combine warm water and yeast until yeast is dissolved.

Add 3 1/2 cups flour, and, with spoon, stir until dough falls from spoon in "sheets".  Add the remaining flour and ingredients and combine with hands until dough pulls away from bowl.  Cover, and let rest 10-15 minutes.

Knead until smooth and blistered(about 10 minutes).  Round up in a greased bowl; bring greased side up.  Cover with cloth.

Let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size(about 1 hour). 

Press two fingers into dough.  It will leave indentations when dough is doubled.  Punch down.  Let rise again until almost double(about 30 minutes).

Divide into two parts.  Round up cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Put two parts into greased 9x5x3 loaf pans.  Cover, and let rise until sides of dough reach the top of pan and center is well rounded(50 to 60 minutes).

Test gently with finger.  A slight indentation shows loaves are ready to bake.  Be careful loaves do not rise too much.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  To test the loaf, tap crust.  It should sound hollow.  If it does not, bake for a few more minutes.

Whew, what a recipe!  I will admit, this was a long one.  I hope you all enjoy it!

Homemade Eggnog

Hello everyone!!!  I found a recipe for eggnog!!!  I am really excited to share with you all, because I LOVE eggnog!  Eggnog is one of the things I look forward to every Christmas season.  I am going to warn you, unless you use whole milk, the eggnog will not be as thick as store eggnog.

Homemade Eggnog

1 egg, well beaten

2 Tbs. sugar

1 cup chilled whole milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Add all ingredients together and combine well!  Enjoy!

I am going to say once again that I love eggnog.  I hope you all enjoy the recipe!

*FOLLOW UP*  After trying this recipe at a friends house, I would suggest using FARM eggs for this recipe.  We used store eggs, and were very disappointed with the result.

Crispy Tossed Salad

This recipe is one of our family's favorites.  It is light, flavorful, and perfect for company.  I like to get the chopping and toasting done ahead of time so that I can throw everything together just before serving.  

This salad can easily serve 4-6 as a side dish, but Koko and I love it so much that we can split it between ourselves!

Crispy Tossed Salad

Dressing:

2 Tbs. rice vinegar (or white vinegar)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Salad:

1/2 bag broccoli slaw

1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or 1/3 cup pieces)

4 green onions, sliced

chow mein noodles (we like rice noodles, which are like           chow mein, only crispier!)

In a glass measuring cup or a small glass bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Microwave for 20-30 seconds; whisk.  (The goal in heating the vinegar is to dissolve the sugar and salt as much as possible when whisking.  This is not necessary, but it results in a much smoother dressing).  Add oil and pepper; whisk again to combine.  Chill.   (I usually toast the almonds and seeds to give the dressing time to set up.  It doesn't have to be cold - just cool.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine slaw and lettuce.  Just before serving, top with seeds, almonds, bacon, onions, and dressing (whisk dressing again just before adding).  Toss to combine, and serve immediately topped with rice or chow mein noodles.

Just as a warning, this salad DOES NOT keep well overnight unless you serve/store the dressing separately.  If you refrigerate the dressed leftovers, you will end up with a watery, undesirable mess.  Thankfully, it is so good that there is ALWAYS a willing volunteer to finish it off right away!

Delicious Peanut Butter Fudge

Merry Christmas everyone! :) For this recipe, I am posting a classic treat for our family at Christmastime. Since Koko posted traditional fudge last week, I thought it would be cool to post peanut butter fudge for this one! I hope you guys make this and enjoy it as much as I did! Happy eating! :) 

                                         Delicious Peanut Butter Fudge

                      1 2/3 cups creamy peanut butter
                      2/3 cup evaporated milk
                      1 jar (7.5 ounces) marshmallow cream
                      3 cups sugar
                      1 tsp. vanilla extract
                      1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
                     
Prepare  a 9x13 pan by lining it with wax paper. 
Spray a heavy saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. 
In your saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk, and heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Reduce to a lower heat and add the peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and vanilla extract. Continue to stir until everything is well combined and the mixture is smooth. 
Pour the mixture into your 9x13 pan and cool in the refrigerator until set. Cut into little squares and enjoy! 
I hope you all liked this recipe! 
I will not be posting next week, since it is Christmas. I hope you all have a great holiday! :) 

~Nutmeg

A Happy Fail

Making today's recipe was a fun trip down memory lane, but it was pretty much a "FAIL".  When I was growing up, it was always a treat when Mom made cinnamon rolls.  They were the crumbly Bisquick kind that were more sweet biscuits than the ooey, gooey rolls that we are used to now.  I found a recipe very similar to the ones Mom used to make while paging through my vintage Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook this morning.  I forgot all about the quick bread recipe I was looking for and set to work making a variation of these rolls for the family.  I wanted something a little orangey, but I probably should have decided between the orange and the cinnamon.

Now don't get me wrong - these were okay.  No one complained.  Next time, however, I would skip the sticky mess and just make a crumbly cinnamon coffee cake!  Maybe that can be another post....

Orange Spice Swirls

2 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. shortening (or coconut oil)

grated rind of 1 orange

1/3 cup orange juice, plus extra for sugar cubes

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

4 Tbs. softened butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

sugar cubes, halved

Preheat oven to 425*F.  In a blender (blenders are great for making biscuit dough smooth!), blend together flour, powder, salt, and shortening until mixture is all the same and shortening is well incorporated.  

In a medium bowl, combine rind, milk, juice, and vanilla; stir briefly.  Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring to make a soft dough.  Round up lightly on a well floured surface.  Knead lightly, about 30 seconds.  Roll or pat out to a rectangle about 1/4" thick.  Spread with softened butter.  In a small bowl, combine sugars and cinnamon.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over buttered dough.  Roll up tightly, as for a jelly roll, starting at the wide side.  

Cut roll into one inch slices.  Place cut side down on a greased baking sheet or in muffin cups.  Before baking, top each slice with half a sugar cube dipped in orange juice.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

Fantastic Fudge

When my mom was my age, my grandmother used to give out fudge to friends and neighbors for Christmas.  She would make individual tins and wrap them for teacher and service gifts as well.  Over the years she made many different varieties, but this was her go-to recipe for classic chocolate fudge.  It cooks very quickly, so you can make many batches in an afternoon.

Candy making of any kind can be a bit tricky, so don't get frustrated if it doesn't turn out perfect the first time.  My mom ruined 3 batches before she finally got the hang of it, but that is another story!

Grandma's Christmas Fudge

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup butter, plus extra for greasing pan

1 (5oz.) can evaporated milk

1 (7oz.) jar marshmallow fluff

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1 (12oz.) package chocolate chips

Generously grease a 9 inch square pan or dish*; set aside.  In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk, fluff, and salt.  Bring mixture to a soft boil over medium heat, stirring for 5 minutes.   You will notice traces of caramel color when stirring. This should bring the candy to the soft ball stage (235-245 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer).  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and then vanilla, stirring only until combined. (Over handling will change the texture of your fudge!).  Pour into prepared pan before it begins to cool.

*Note:  If you are making small tins to give out, you can pour directly into tins when ready.

If you want to decorate the top of your fudge right after it has been poured in the pan/tin,  you can top it with m&ms, nuts, or sprinkles! 

Ranch and Cheese Bean Dip with Homemade Chips

Hello everyone! As I was trying to figure out a recipe to post on the blog, I had the idea to make a bean dip with some homemade tortilla chips. I mixed together some things and came up with this amazing and very simple bean dip! This would make a good snack for when you have company. I hope you like it as much as my siblings and I did! Happy Eating! :) 

      Ranch and Cheese Bean Dip with Homemade Chips

          Bean Dip:
                       1 can of refried beans (12 oz.)
                       2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
                       1/2 package spicy ranch dressing mix

          Chips:
                      1 package small corn tortillas
                      oil, for frying

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the beans, cheese and dressing mix until the cheese is melted and the mixture is warm. 
Heat up some oil in a large pan, and cut the tortillas into quarters with a pizza slicer. Fry them in the oil until browned on both sides and crispy. 
Serve with the bean dip and enjoy! Yummy! 
                 
~Nutmeg