Baking Bread

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Momzoo

It was a year ago that I decided that I was going to bake all our own bread. I haven’t bought a single loaf this whole year. I will never go back. There are so many things I love about baking bread. Something about providing with my own hands something that is so sustaining to my family. I like that I can provide a healthier bread for less money.

It has been a year of a lot of ups and downs as I have taught myself to bake bread. I have experimented a lot and failed a lot, my poor family had eaten a lot of flat, heavy bread. When I think I have it all figured out, I learn something else and make it better and better. Last night, I baked 6 loaves of bread, 4 came out beautiful and perfect, the last batch was fallen and flat!

Despite all the failures and struggles and hot kitchens on hot summer nights it has been a wonderful experience, and something that I plan on doing indefinitely.

Who else bakes their own bread, what do you enjoy about baking bread?

Neighbor Gifts

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Momzoo

I love neighbor gifts

I love everything about them

I love planning for them, and making them, and giving them and getting them and eating them!

I love going to the door and wishing all my neighbors a Merry Christmas, and nothing is more fun than opening up the door to find happy faces and a plate full of goodies.

I love neighbors gifts

(have I said that already?)

This morning we woke up to this:

It was a surprise, there wasn’t any snow in the forecast. By the time it was all finished we got about 6 inches of wonderful white snow.

This is the left overs of the storm that closed the Las Vegas airport and all the schools.

Babies!

It decided to make its presence known in northern Utah, and us Utahans, we just go about our business. It takes about 18 inches to close our schools. (I am sure those in the north east are saying “18 inches??? Babies!”)

Just because all the schools and roads were “open” doesn’t mean that I felt safe driving around today. I live at the top of a hill, and my city isn’t known for getting that hill plowed and salted promptly. I have on a few occasions slid to the very bottom (scary) and spun my tires all the way to the top (scary and annoying). So I decided to clear my calendar (ahem) and stay in for the day. Since I was now free I dived into my neighbor gift making project.

The gift for this year, fresh bread and homemade raspberry jam in super cute bottles.

I made the jam back in September, so all that was left was the bread and some cute tags.

I decided to make braided Challah bread glazed with honey, it is so pretty and yummy!

Voila

Neighbor gifts

Merry Christmas!

Baked Beans

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Momzoo

Tuesday I decided that I was going to try to make yummy baked beans. I have always enjoyed baked beans, every Easter Sunday as long as I can remember my aunt Beki brought beans to Easter dinner at my grandma’s. Since I have been married I have had cravings for her sweet and savory beans and I have tried to duplicate it with no success. Finally a couple of years ago I got the recipe from her and I have been enjoying them, and I have taken them several times to pot-luck dinners, and have always gotten compliments.

In the last year, as I have been trying to incorporate dried beans into our diet I started to experiment again at making Beki’s baked beans, and several times I failed horribly!

But yesterday, I did it!

and I am going to share with you all how I did it.

(don’t you feel lucky!)

Aimee’s Baked Beans

1 pound dry navy beans (or any other small bean) cooked

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz)

6 Tbsp molasses

bacon or sausage, cooked

2 Tbsp bacon grease (the secret ingredient) or shortening

salt and pepper to tasteI served this with Katie’s Sweet Corn Bread

and it was a hit with 4 out of 7 of us…

(but I loved it so that is what matters)

With beans, as with anything new, you need to keep serving them to your family. Even if they hate them at first the more you serve them, the more they become common place the more your kids (and you, and your husband) will get use to the idea of eating beans. Eventually they will find that they like beans.

I promise,

well, ok, I don’t really promise

but I am pretty sure it will happen….

Mix all ingredients in a dutch oven, bake at 350 for an hour and a half
or
Mix all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 5 hours.

Trying Stuff Out

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Momzoo

I am experimenting

with beans

I want to make a fabulous baked bean recipe from dry beans

I am going to loosely base this recipe on my aunt Beki’s baked beans which are to DIE for!

Wish me luck

White Bean Soup

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Momzoo

Continuing on my series
Cooking Beans

I have another yummy, hearty, down home recipe to add to your collection.

Our Cast of Characters:
3 cups cooked great northern beans
1 onion
2-3 potatoes

2-3 stalks celery
2-3 carrots
4 cubes chicken bullion

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop up your veggies

(or if you are lucky like I am have one of your punk slaves do it)

Put everything into a pot and add water
bring it to a boil
and let it simmer until all the veggies are tender

About 10 minuets before you are ready to serve add your beans so they will warm up.

(I also added some cut up polish sausages, I had some left over from Halloween and thought they would be a good addition, and they were! You could also add ham, chicken or beef)