Simply White - and Delicious - Bread

The last time I made white bread in the bread machine it tasted okay but it was very crumbly and drier than I like my bread. It was the recipe from the bread machine book.

This time I decided to try searching on line for a new recipe to try and I found this Simply White Bread on All Recipes.

It is super yummy!

Mine looked mostly like this picture...maybe a little lighter because I set my machine to lighter crust.

This was NOT crumbly or dry...it is moist and delicious. The honey doesn't make it too sweet at all. I will definitely make this one again.

Angel Chicken

In our attempt to live off $200 in June for all our food, I have been working super hard to plan our meals. I was not trained as a cook in any way, shape, or form...so this experience is a challenging learning experience.

Using what we have in our cupboards and freezer has been a goal ... also challenging. We are so used to "finding" things in our freezer that we forgot we had...usually when they're past their prime.

I found this Angel Chicken recipe and didn't have to buy anything extra...we had all the ingredients in stock already.

I didn't cut up the chicken. I probably should have. I used frozen chicken thighs that were probably at the end of their life. Hubby noticed their texture wasn't ideal...if I'd have cut them up he may not have noticed.

I'm not sure if they're the same, but I didn't have anything called "dry white wine" but I did have cooking sherry so I went with it.

I loved the flavor...it wasn't too strong or over whelming. The more sauce we added to the pasta the better it tasted. :)

This isn't an every week meal. Hubby did not have seconds, which is the measure of how successful a recipe is in this house. He did say he liked the flavor and he'd want to try it with chicken breast or some other sort of meat.

Ice Box Muffins

Discovering my grandma's recipe box, means discovering old favorites, like her Ice Box Muffin recipe. These are the tastiest, most wonderfully delicious Bran muffins you will ever taste. Yes, BRAN muffins. Warm with butter they melt in your mouth.

I can't quite read her handwriting but I think her note says it is originally from Janice Deniston...but I could be totally butchering that name.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Shortening (I've experimented with lower calorie options like apple sauce...eh, just ok)
• 1 Cup boiling water
• 1 Cup 100% Bran (she specifies Nabisco)
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 Pint Buttermilk
• 2 1/2 Cups Flour
• 2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Kellogg's All Bran

DIRECTIONS

• Cream together Sugar and Shortening.
• Pour boiling water over mixture.
• Add Nabisco Bran, Eggs, Buttermilk.
• Sift Baking Soda and Salt into Flour and add to mixture, mixing until moist.
• Add Kellogg's All Bran.
• Raisins or cut up dates can also be added (yuck).
• Bake desired number in greased muffin tins 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Makes 2 quarts.
The mixture can be kept covered in the fridge for up to six weeks.

So...fresh muffins every morning should be easy as cake.

A New Recipe - Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

Since we have a new kitchen it kind of seems stupid not to use it more often than the old one, right?

So I've been trying to cook. Trying being the key phrase. Hubby has been somewhat helpful but for the most part I'm flying blind, trying recipes kind of randomly. I've never been a good cook, nor have I ever enjoyed it. But circumstances being what they are, it really is a necessity for me to suck it up and learn to cook more foods.

I had GREAT luck with a White Chicken Enchilada Recipe. It was so amazing that the very next shopping trip I got the ingredients again because we will have it again this week.

There were a couple that I liked but he hated. One was out of a recipe book and I'm starting to notice that I actually have better luck NOT using a cook book but instead finding recipes online that other people have had experience with.

My latest experiment came from HouseParty.com where you can apply to host a party for various products. I had one for DiGiorno that was awesome and I've applied for the Chef Boyardee party so I decided to try one of the recipes.

Using Turkey Pepperoni, which was SO yummy, and two cans of Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs poured over a biscuit type mix (okay, I'm not a professional chef...I do not know appropriate terms when it comes to cooking) it took 10 minutes (less really) to prepare and 20 to cook. Hubby didn't even believe me when I told him it was finished cooking.

Cooking - the Before Dinner Shot

After Dinner - left overs for my lunch.

Needless to say, hubby liked it, Marshal liked it, and I liked it. That means it is a keeper ... and as long as I keep Turkey Pepperoni on hand it's one that I can throw together fast any time.