Bread for a Week

I have always loved homemade bread. One of my earliest memories is of being in my grandmother's kitchen while she made her bread. I've been baking bread for a few years now, usually one loaf at a time as an experiment, but with the way we go through it, I knew I had to find a way to keep fresh bread on hand all the time. The answer was in my freezer! By making enough dough for 5 loaves and only baking one at a time, I could do all the work on one day, and only have to actually bake the bread when I wanted it.

I used a variation from Paula's Bread recipe for 5 loaves which can be found here. It's super simple, and with some upper body strength and an over eager 3 year old helper, you can do it without a mixer - like I did.

Here's what you need:

Supplies:

• Heavy mixing spoon
• Measuring spoons/cup
• LARGE mixing bowl (I used a 5.5qt pyrex and just barely made it)
• Knife
• Bread/Pizza stone (preferred), bread pan, or baking sheet

Ingredients:

• 5.5c warm water
• 3Tbsp active dry yeast
• 2/3c Honey
• 2/3c oil
• 2Tbsp Salt
• 15c Whole Wheat Flour (more or less - see instructions)

How to:

• Mix yeast and water in your mixing bowl until all is dissolved and yeast begins to foam. If it doesn't foam, you have one of two problems - the yeast is dead, or the temperature is off (too hot/cold). Sometimes it takes a bit so give it a good five minutes to foam up.
• Once your yeast has activate, mix in the honey, oil and salt. It won't blend completely, but give it a good stir.
• Slowly, one cup at a time, add your flour while mixing. Use your spoon to start, but as you get to  about 8 cups, it may be helpful to have someone else add while you just dig in with your hands. I actually managed to knead one handed while adding flour - don't ask me how, it'll probably never happen again. 
• Knead and add flour until your have a slightly tacky, stretchy dough ball. For me, this was right at 15 c, although some did get left in the bowl and around 8 minutes of kneading. My arms would like to request the day off tomorrow.
• Divide your dough into 5 sections. The easiest way for me to do this was to shape it into a flat round and think of the points on a star. Press a line from that point to the center of the round, and the impression will stay for a bit - long enough for you to make first cuts.

I like to shape my dough into loaves before freezing, but you could theoretically wrap it and freeze it now... I also like to braid my loaves, so the following has instructions for that, other wise, place it in bread pans to bake.

• Take a section of dough and shape it into a long flat loaf - about 1/2" thick and 3" wide. You can round off the edges if you'd like, or square them.
• Using a sharp knife (I used a paring knife), about 1/2" from the top edge, so they're still attached, cut your dough lengthwise into 3 - 1" strips. Braid these strips till you reach the end, then pinch them together and turn them under.
• Double wrap loaves you don't plan to bake right away in Saran and Foil. Freeze.
• Allow bread you plan to bake immediately to rise for about 40 minutes, lightly covered by a towel.

Two loaves, after braiding, but before rising.

When it comes time to bake remove frozen bread from freezer, unwrap, and allow to thaw completely in a warm (not hot or cold!) area. 

• Preheat your oven (with your bread stone, if you have one - I use a pizza stone!) to 350 degrees. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Check for doneness by holding the loaf upside down and thumping on the bottom. If it sounds like you're knocking on a hollow tree (or drywall) it's done. 
• Apparently you can use a thermometer to check doneness as well - 190 degrees is done - but I've never actually used that method, so try it if you want to - let me know how it works for you!

Voila! Enjoy!

This was a hit with everyone in the family. Peanut butter, jelly, butter, or just plain - everyone loved it. The best part? It took me a few hours this morning, and I still have 4.5 loaves left. And it barely cost anything at all... Gotta love that part.

$3 Chalkboard

Lately I have been doing a bunch of stuff to try and organize my life and my house as I've realized having chidren requires organization. I may even get a second diaper bag as was recomended to me so that one is always ready to go. Anyway, back to the chalkboard. I took an old picture frame that bought for $1 from a yard sale. I cut out a piece of thin wood that slid in the back where the picture would go and put the back back on the frame. I got a small bottle of chalkboard paint a Michaels and with my 40% off coupon it was only about $2. It took the whole bottle because I forgot to prime the wood firt. SO, remember use primer first on the wood or the wood will absorb the paint too much. Make sure you change directions each time yo put a new coat of paint on. I sanded it also between layers so that it ended up being nice and flat versus streaky from the bristles. Let it sit 24 hours before you use it. Then use loose chalk dust and rub it all over the surface to prime the chalkboard. Use a wet cloth to clean it.

DIY Word Magnets

I got some sheets of printable magnet paper on clearance fort $5 at the craft store. I typed up a bunch of words to fill the page. I picked words that I felt would be good for leaving messages for my husband and keep us organided related to shopping lists, travel, and work plans. Then I just printed it out on the paper like normal printer paper and cut them apart.

Tilapia

Today my husband came home from work complaining about feeling overweight. He said we eat crappy food and asked for something healthy for dinner. I made Tilapia with broccoli, corn and rice. To make it even healthier use brown rice. I marinated the Tilapia in a vinegrette made of oil, lemon juice, spicy brown mustard and fresh garlic. It only needs to marinate for half an hour because the Tilapia is good at absorbing  flavors being as it is such a mild flavor itself. Also I cooked it in the marinade and used it as a sauce over the rice. I used light oil and s& p on the corn and broccoli. It was fast, easy, fresh and healthy. And I told my husband its not that WE eat unhealthy foods. Its that HE eats snacks and candy all day. Don't lump me in that statement!  :-)

I Made Slime!

Yes, it's been a while. I apologize, but not to worry - we've been cookin' up a storm here. :) I actually did this a few weeks ago which is good; it gave me a chance to test it out AND see how long it lasts.

So - slime.

I tried to lure the husband into doing this one with "Hey hun, I'm making slime by the gallon in the kitchen." He was unfazed. J, however, was all about it. And Matt agreed to let us make our mess because it saves us so much money, especially considering how much laundry we do in our house.

This particular project turned out to be super simple, not require any special stuff, and I only had to go out and find one ingredient. Here's what you'll need:

Tools:

cheese grater

large sauce pot

long handled wooden spoon

measuring cups (1c)

a bucket - has to be at least 4 gallons (pictured) but 5 would be better

Ingredients:

1c. Washing Soda - this is NOT baking soda. It can generally be found in the laundry section of your local grocery store

1/2c. Borax

a bar of soap (I used a bar that was a gift - unscented olive oil base)

This is a bit time consuming, mostly with mixing at the stove. And it will take a day to set up before you can use it.

Alright, let's get started. Boil 4-6c. water in your large sauce pot. That bar of soap? Grate it all down in to little curls. This will make it a little easier to dissolve. You're going to slowly add the soap to the water and stir it to dissolve. If you add the soap too quickly, it'll clump up and end up taking a while to melt. Keep an eye on your heat and keep stirring. If you walk away at this point, your water will boil over.

The water will take on the color of your soap, so if it looks different, don't be alarmed. I used green soap, so my soap soup is green. Once it's all melted, turn your heat down to keep it warm, but not simmering. Add 3 gallons of water to your large bucket. Add your soap soup, washing soda, and borax to the bucket and stir. Then stir some more. Cover your bucket (I used a towel) and let it set for 24 hours.

When you come back to it, it should be a bit of a hard gel - liquid on top, but a very thick jello consistency. I imagine you could scoop from the one giant blob, but I wanted to store mine in smaller containers, and I use an HE washer, so the detergent goes into a dispenser so I needed it a little more fluid. Break out that long handled wooden spoon and start stirring again. I used the spoon to start, but to really get the glob broken up, your best bet is to reach in there with your hands and start squishing. J loved this part - it's extra gross. It took a few minutes, but mine ended up about the consistency of watery scrambled eggs. Using a cut off top of a 2 liter bottle as a funnel, I was able to pour my detergent into just over 3 - 1gal. containers (juice, milk, vinegar, etc.). And that's all there is to it! I use 3/4c to 1 1/2 c per load for clothes, blankets, diapers - everything. Adjust it as needed. It's great for my HE machine because it's virtually suds free. 

Here's the really cool thing though: It cost's just a few bucks to make. The borax and washing soda are about $2.50 each and contain enough to make quite a few loads. I've got a stash of bar soap around that I use to scent drawers, so that was "free" - everything else I had around the house. As I mentioned before, I do a LOT of laundry - at least a load a day, usually 2-3. Diapers alone constitute two washes, and I wash them every other day. So, how long has my bucket o'slime lasted me? Well, it's been over 3 weeks and I've used just over half of it. Normally, I would spend $12-15 a month on Tide. 

But does it work? YES! Did I mention I wash cloth diapers? A lot of diapers? Really yucky ones? I didn't adjust my wash cycle at all - cold with baking soda and detergent, hot with detergent, hot with detergent, extra rinse with vinegar - and they came out as clean and fresh smelling as they would with the off the shelf brand name detergent. If that doesn't tell you it works, I don't know what would!

Well, there you have it - slime making 101.

Enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets!

Yep. Those little chicken things that kids can't get enough of. Well, my kid at least. If Jordan could only eat one food from now until the end of time, you had better believe that girl would say "chickens." That being said, we go through more than a few of them. While Tyson, the brand we usually get, at least uses ingredients everyone can pronounce, when you make them at home, you know exactly what goes into them.

Plus, I had to try out my new gadget...

Now, before you start, let me warn you, while this one is easy, it's a mess. Don't do it when the baby is screaming or the toddler would like you to open every piece of halloween candy she got (or both, like I did). Also, go big or go home. If you do it, I recommend doubling or tripling (or more) the recipe for a larger yeild. You'll only have to clean up the mess once, but you'll have way more reward. In addition to the ingredients, you'll want to make sure you have an apron or mess towel (I use a towel when I'm working with raw meat just to wipe my hands before going back to the same stuff - DON'T use it to wipe anything that won't be washed before eating off of, like clean plates, or your hands after you wash them). And you need some sort of a food processor or grinder.

I like to gather all of my gear and ingredients before I even start. Here's what you'll need:

Equipment:

• Decent Knife (for cutting raw chicken into strips or cubes)
• Cutting Board
• Food Processor/Grinder
• Mixing Bowls
• Spatula
• Fork
• Plates
• Large, Heavy Frying Pan
• Paper Towels

Ingredients:

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. oil for frying

You can toss all of those spices in one small bowl - they're all going in at the same time anyhow. It should look something like this when you have everything:

So, now that you have everything, let's get started. Put the oil in the skillet and heat it over medium to medium high heat while you prep so that it's ready to go when the nuggets are. Keep an eye on it though; if it starts to smoke at all, turn it down. I'm not sure of an exact temperature you're shooting for here, but we'll get to that later.

Cut your chicken in to strips or cubes depending on what your processor reccomends, and then use the processor to grind the chicken into a large mixing bowl. You'll want it to have a paste consistency so make sure its set for fine grinding rather than coarse. Once all of the chicken is ground, mix in the spices. Use a fork to fluff it up and really make sure they're well blended. I tried to actually run mine through the food grinder again with the spices to make sure they were all blended, but it didn't help much and made more of a mess, so I wouldn't bother with that.

Here comes the messy part: See that ball of sticky paste? Roll it into smaller balls. I got 24, but you could easily get 32 depending on the size. I would say about 1" diameter is about right. Now take those balls and roll them in flour, dip them in egg, then toss them back in the flour. If you manage to do this without accumulating half of your egg and flour on your fingers, please, please tell me how. Also, I have to note that it was at this point that Harper decided it would be a nice time to eat, and Jordan needed her candy. But I digress... Flatten out the balls as you set them down; they should be starting to look like nuggets now.

Time to check your oil. Remember I said if it's smoking, it's too hot? Well, toss a little flour in it. Does it bubble up right away? If not, it's too cool, so turn it up a bit. When you toss in the flour and the oil immediately reacts, you know it's at the right temperature. Go ahead and start putting in the chicken. Cook them 5-10 minutes on each side. They'll have a nice golden color when they're done cooking.

Once your nuggets are done, move them from the skillet to a plate covered in paper towels. It'll absorb some of the oil while they cool. Serve with honey, Heinz Ketchup, BBQ sauce... however you like.

Surprisingly tasty, if a little messy, these homemade chicken nuggets are well worth the work. For just over $10, I can make a few more than come in the bag (at the same price), and the homemade ones kill the freezer section ones in taste. You just can't beat fresh...

Greening Your Cleaning

How much do you spend on cleaning products over a year? Do you know what's in those bottles? Why not try some tried and true natural (and cost effective!) methods to spruce up your space?

Cleaning Product Basics:

White Vinegar - I use this stuff like crazy. It's especially useful to neutralize any pet urine smells. It actually has about a bazillion uses - enough for an entire post!

• All Purpose Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner - Mix vinegar and water 1:1 in a spray bottle. Great, mild, all purpose cleaner for sinks, stoves, floors, walls - almost anything! I've even put this in my rug scrubber to deep clean and deodorize pet spots.

• Clean soap scum from your tub by pouring a generous amount of white vinegar into HOT running water as it fills the tub. Allow it to soak on any "soap ring." The dirt should wipe right off after soaking for a few minutes. 

• Vinegar at full strength will help to dissolve hard water deposits on fixtures and clean and deodorize a stinky toilet.

• Use some in your laundry to help break down detergent and rinse cleaner. It gives a fabric softener effect without the chemical side effects.

Baking Soda - stain removing, odor absorbing, bathroom scrubbing - baking soda does everything that vinegar doesn't.

• Baking Soda can be sprinkled onto a sponge or surface to help remove heavy soils from counters, sinks, toilets, and tubs. 

• Make a paste of baking soda and water to pretreat stains.

• Toss a tablespoon in with your laundry to help remove stains (this is a MUST for cloth diapers!).

Lemons - Great scented and sanitizing too

• Mix olive oil with lemon juice 2:1 for a nourishing furniture polish. Straight olive oil rubbed into "glass rings" (the sooner the better) will help to hide them.

• Toss your lemon rinds down your garbage disposal to disinfect and deodorize even the smelliest drains..

• Use a lemon cut in half with some salt to clean spots from copper.

So there you have it. With just a few products that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge, you can clean your house top to bottom!