Italian Bread~Take 2

I made this recipe on Sunday and my it flopped, although it still did taste very good! The only problem I had was it , that it didn't rise. Make sure that your using a good yeast, that is fresh & that hasn't been sitting around either. This time I used rapid rise yeast it work really well with the recipe. The active yeast I used on Sunday didn't work at all, and I just bought it the day before I made the bread!












Here's the recipe:

Italian Bread from Taste of Home

Yields 2 loaves

32 servings.

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast or rapid rise yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoon butter
3 cups warm water 110* to 115///8
8 to 10 cups all-purpose flour divided.
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg, beaten
Melted butter.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, egg, remaining water and 4 cups flour; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hr.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divided in half. Shape each portion into a loaf place seam side down on greased baking sheets. With a sharp knife, make four shallow diagonal slashes across the top of each loaf. Cover and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350* for about 37-42 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Brush with melted butter.

Easy Teriyaki Chicken-Crock pot recipe.

Ingredients

2-3lbs skinless chicken pieces
20-oc can pineapple chunks
dash of ground ginger
1 cup teriyaki sauce

1.Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour remaining ingredients over chicken.
2. Cover. Cook on low-6-8 hours or on high 4-6hrs.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon milk
8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon shortening (coconut oil<----I used coconut oil instead to make it more ( healthy)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk (if needed for moisture) until blended. Shape mixture into two 1/2 pound eggs or make a bunch of smaller eggs. Freeze eggs for 1 hour.
While the eggs are freezing, cut semi-sweet chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler with shortening. Melt over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Stick a long-tined fork in top of each peanut butter egg, dip it in melted chocolate to cover then drain on waxed paper. When the eggs are cooled and set, decorate the eggs to suit your fancy.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Easter-Eggs/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Chocolate Dump Cake

!

Ingredients

1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
2 1/3 cups milk
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Combine chocolate pudding and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring frequently.
Remove pan from heat and add in dry cake mix. Mix together and pour into the lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Evenly spread the chocolate chips over the top of the cake.
Bake at 350 degrees F(175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cake cool and serve.

Home-style Yeast Bread = Amazing..

Here is a new recipe I tried yesterday that I really enjoyed & was super easy to make!


Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
7 cups bread flour
Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide into thirds. Shape into loaves and place in three greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Cough Syrup

Whenever my husband or I come down with a cold, I try to make this cough sryup but don't always get the chance! Today I had that chance I made it! It's not great tasting but it helps stops you from having coughing fits & soothes your throat.


I got it from Amish cookbook called " Recipes from the Heart Yoder Family and Friends. Here's the link to where you can buy it.

http://www.yodersmart.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=185_187&products_id=4688

Cough Syrup

1 lemon, sliced thin
1 cup flax seeds
1 qt. water
1/4 cup honey

Simmer the lemon, flax seeds and water for 4 hours. Do not boil. Strain and add honey. If there is less than 1 pint, add water to make a pint.

Dose 1 Tablespoon 4 times a day after each fit of coughing.

A recipe & a new look.

This is my hope chest that I reupholstered yesterday! I decided that I'm going to use it to store Emma's toys in, so the living room wouldn't look so junky.



My husband reupholstered this stool for me! The fabric I found it at the local thrift shop in town for .25 cents!!



One of my favorite things to do, is taking something & use it to make something else with it! Right now I'm destroying 2 beautiful bed shams that I once used for my bed & turning them into throw pillows! This week I've been working really hard on giving my house a good spring cleaning & dejunking! Man, I can't get over how much junk we have collected over the past almost 3 years!





Then I cut it , filled it & sew it all up. It didn't look as full as I wanted, so I decided to attach the end of the sham, to give it a more fuller look. This step I had to sew on by hand.





My adorable 13 month old!





Oh yes! I promised to post a recipe as well! Well tonight I'm making "Cream Cheese-Filled Coffeecake With Fruit Preserves and Crumble Topping"



ingredients
Original Recipe Yield 1 (9 inch) square cake
Ingredients
Crumble topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted but not hot
Optional:
1/2 cup of your choice - coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds), old-fashioned oatmeal or sweetened flaked coconut
Optional cream cheese filling:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coffeecake batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose bleached flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Optional fruit (or chocolate) filling:
1/2 cup of your choice - raspberry or strawberry jam; peach, cherry, or pineapple preserves; apple butter; orange marmalade or mini chocolate chips

directions
1. Directions 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square metal baking pan with cooking spray. Fold a 17-inch length of heavy-duty foil to 8 1/2 inches wide and fit in the pan bottom and up 2 sides, so you can use the foil overhang as a handle to pull the baked cake from the pan.
2. Topping: Use hands to thoroughly mix ingredients in a medium bowl, pressing together to form large clumps; set aside.
3. Cream cheese filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth; set aside.
4. Cake: Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
5. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer set on medium-high until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until smooth. Beat in half the dry ingredients, then the remaining yogurt. Beat until ingredients are fully incorporated.
6. Spread batter evenly over prepared pan. Spread cream cheese filling over batter. Dollop fruit filling (or sprinkle chocolate chips) over cream cheese filling. Finally, sprinkle evenly with crumble topping, pressing on it lightly to adhere.
7. Bake until batter is fully set and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a thin-bladed knife around the sides, then use foil handles to pull cake from pan onto the wire rack. Cool to room temperature and serve. Can be covered with foil and stored at room temperature for one day.