I'm baking bread

Okay, I've made two different batches of bread with a very simple recipe I got from a friend. The first time I was ecstatic. The bread actually looked and tasted like real bread.

Just yesterday I made my second try at loaf bread. My mom was here to offer guidance and this one tip that made all the difference in the world. She suggested I do my kneading on top of a large kitchen plastic bag instead of the counter top. Oh how much easier it made the task.

Moms truly do know best.

The second try with the easier kneading technique produced a really high loaf of bread. It was a very happy occasion. My mom and the rest of the family loved the bread and cinnamon rolls.
We used one loaf today to make a PB & J sandwiches for lunch.

Making bread is really fun!!

Wheat Rolls - Yum, Yum

The smell that permeated throughout the house was delightful. It was the buttery, nutty smell of fresh baked wheat rolls. I found a recipe that immediately took the intimidation I felt about baking bread away. It said, "90 Minute Rolls". I thought, "I can do that".

I tweaked the recipe a bit by substituting the butter for olive oil and used whole wheat flour for the last 1/2 cup of flour. The changes worked out fine and the family loved the rolls.

Next time... I'll go for making a loaf.

Dumplings and Tortillas

I did it. Yes, with the help of my kids - we did it. Last night we tried our hand at Chicken and Dumpling using an online copycat version. We simplified it quite a bit by using chicken breast and a little cornstarch to thicken. The kids enjoyed cutting the strips of dough and preparing the dinner.

My mother in love (my husband's mother) absolutely loves chicken and dumpling so it was only natural to prepare a little care package for my husband to drop of to her on the way to work. I called her and she was raving about how good it was.

In return, she sent us one of her specialities - a strawberry on strawberry double layer cake. Oh my, it was delicious. Okay, I did cut it tonight. I'll share with the kids tomorrow.

And then there were the home-made tortillas we made tonight. We were going to stop with just buttered tortillas and a salad but the inspiration was there so we rolled out a full Mexican fare with ground turkey enchiladas, cream cheese black beans mixed with sweet corn and couscous. I did make the salad but in the end we forgot to add it to the table. Well, we'll have it tomorrow.