English Muffin Bread

I saw a recipe for english muffin bread and I thought that it sounds like a great idea.  I love english muffins but who wants to form all of those little muffins and hope to get the big nooks and crannys.  I followed the recipe at Brown Thumb Mama with a few small changes because I wasn't strong enough to not proof the yeast.  I didn't want the bread not to rise and make it all a waste of my time but I wasn't sure if I should use the instant yeast or the other so I went with the instant.

The first step is to sift the flour which I don't normally do but I followed the recipe to the letter.  I don't have a flour sifter but I used my fine mesh strainer which is probably my most used kitchen tool.  My husband actually had to take the plyers and put part of it back together.

Here is what it looks like after the flour is sifted.  I added the salt and the baking soda to the flour into the bowl.

I mixed the milk, water, sugar and yeast to the measuring cup.

I poured the liquid into the flour mixture after the yeast was activiated and the cup was foamy.  It mixed into a perfect dough.

I split the dough into two and put them into the greased bread pan.  With a little water on my hands, I was able to smooth the top of the bread to flatten.

I heated the oven to 200 degrees and then shut off for over 10 minnutes.  I put the two loaf pans in the oven covered with a wet towel to let it rise.  I had to go pick up my son at school so it had a little longer to rise.  It looked really nice but only raised to the level of the pan because of the weight of the towel.  I am not sure if it should have gone higher but I did follow the directions.  Can you see where it stuck to the towel??

I took the bread out of the oven to preheat the oven.  After it was heated, I put the loaves in the oven to bake.  It took a little longer to make the tops browned but they came out beautifully.

Then, I cut into them and I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more nooks and crannies.  But after tasting the bread, it was full of flavor and tasted like a good sourdough bread with a crunchy exterior.

I had it hot out of the oven and later toasted for breakfast and it was very flavorful.  It was well worth the effort and I think that I will try with the other yeast next time.  I hope that you try it out and see if you like the interesting new bread!!  Make sure you check out the inspiration for me trying this bread at Brown Thumb Mama and some of the other great recipes that she has to offer!!

English Muffin Bread

4 tsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
5 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk

Sift the flour, either with a sifter or a strainer.

Measure milk and water.  Heat shortly in the microwave.  Add yeast and sugar to milk mixture.

Add salt and baking soda to the sifted flour.  Dump milk mixture into flour mixture.  Mix everything thoroughly.

The batter might be heavy and too sticky to knead. That's OK! Spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray and put the dough in. If you like the top of the loaf smooth, get your fingers wet and smooth out the batter.

Next, the dough has to rise for about an hour in a warm humid place.  If your kitchen isn't warm enough, place the pans in the oven.  If you have a gas stove, the pilot light will keep the oven warm.  If you have an electric oven, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and shut it off for at least 10 minutes before you place the bread in the oven.  Cover with a damp tea towel.

After rising for an hour, the loaves bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. When they're dark brown, take them out and put on a wire rack to cool.

Shared at Homemade Mondays  and Creative Home Acre
and Swap and Share Sunday and Scratch Cookin' Tuesday

Widow's Walk Book Review

Widow's Walk (Spenser) by Robert B. Parker is #29 in the Spenser series.  I can't believe that I have already read the majority of this series.  There aren't that many books left and I am going to be so sad when I get to the end.  I might just have to start over again.... of course, there are so many other books on my list so I don't know if I have time.

In this book, Spenser is hired to help Rita, his friend the lawyer, with her client, Mrs. Smith who is accused of killing her husband, Nathan Smith.  Mrs. Smith is not very smart and often says things that are contradictory.  As the story goes on, more is uncovered about the lies that are told by all of the parties that make finding the truth on who killed Nathan.  Who was Mrs. Smith before she married Nathan Smith?  Who were her friends?  Where did she live?  All of these issues raised more questions which had Spenser looking everywhere for answers.  The truth finally did come out!!

I enjoy the series and reading through each book in order and this was no exception.  It was a little different than other books because of the way that the mystery unraveled but isn't that the great part about reading the books is that they just aren't the same book and same plot with new characters.  I think that this book was a little unexpected and therefore had you wondering until close to the end of the book.  The end was not great and I feel like there could have been a better way to wrap it up but it was still a great read.  I hope that you check it out and let me know what you think!

Buffalo Chicken Crescent Wraps

I was going to make buffalo chicken sliders the other day for dinner but then I decided to look in the fridge and see if there was anything else that I could make with the same ingredients.  It is always better to use the items in the fridge.  I was excited to see that I still had these giant crescent rolls.  The great news was that I have the ingredients ready and in the freezer.

I had made the buffalo sauce with hot sauce and butter previously (you can mix half and half or a little less butter if you are trying to save the calories).  I also had a bag of shredded chicken which I highly suggest for lots of last minute meals.  I get a package of chicken breasts and I boil them until they are cooked.  After they are done, I remove the skin and the bones and shred the chicken.  Since I didn't plan ahead, everything was still frozen but that isn't a big deal because I just put it in the pan at a low temperature to help with the defrosting.  I added the chicken and the buffalo sauce.

When it starts to defrost, you can mix the meat and the sauce and coat it all.  Add the blue cheese so that it has a chance to melt.

Lay the crescent rolls on the pan that you are using in the oven.  Place the meat mixture on the large end of the crescent.

Roll the crescent the same way that you would normally do the rolls and if you want to fold in the edge, feel free but it isn't necessary.

Top with cheddar cheese (just for looks so skip if you don't have it).

Bake per the package directions.  When they are nicely browned, put on a plate and eat!!

Buffalo Chicken Crescent Wraps

Ingredients:

Shredded chicken

Hot Sauce (like Franks Red Hot)

Butter

Blue Cheese

Package of crescent rolls

Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

Mix hot sauce and melted butter in equal parts in bowl (or measuring cup).  If you don't want to use as much butter, make sure you add enough to make the mixture a little orange instead of red as it comes out of the bottle.  It will make sure that the hot sauce isn't too spicy but you get all the flavor.

Heat the shredded chicken in a skillet.  Add the sauce to the pan and mix.  When mixed and heated, add the blue cheese crumbles until slightly melted (or all the way).

Unroll the crescent rolls on the baking sheet.  Add a spoonful of the chicken mixture to the large end of the roll and roll it up .  If you want, you can seal the edges or flip them up but the chicken doesn't need to be enclosed in the roll.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese (optional). 

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until browned or follow the package directions on the rolls to ensure that they don't burn.

Shared at Homemade Mondays

Pot Shot Book Review

Potshot (Spenser) by Robert B. Parker is the next book in the series.  I had a little break with a few books from Robyn Carr and now I am back to my Spenser series.  Putting a few different books stretches out how long I am with all of the characters :) Right??

In this book, Spenser is hired to go to the town of Potshot and find the person who killed Steve Buckman.  He goes in and talks to different people in the town and causes quiet a stir with the criminal element in an area called the Dell.  He is hired by a group of towns people to clean out the criminal element in the Dell.  He goes around the country to get all of his trusted friends to come and help him. 

It is a much more in depth than the normal novels with a strange plot twist of two jobs working at the same time.  The writing style and the character development is different in this book than others.  It is written in such a way that you can see it being a movie.  There are a lot of characters and a lot of action which is not usual of a Spenser novel because they are usually just a few characters with more conversations.  It was a nice change of pace and I really enjoyed reading it.  I hope that you check it out and all the other books in the Spenser series.

I really enjoy the Robert Parker books and this one was another interesting read.  I hope that I can get the next few from the library soon.  I better go on and reserve them soon since I am starting the next book in the series tonight!!  Of course, I still have a pile of books that I need to read first so I guess we will see what is going on with the rest of the pile of books :)  I hope that you check out this and all of the other Robert Parker books.

Menu Plan Monday 4/1

Monday- Spiedies Chicken with white rice
Tuesday- Mini Shells with homemade sauce
Wednesday- Sweet and Sour Chicken stir fry
Thursday- Chicken Paninis
Friday- Homemade Pizza with sausage and pepperoni
Saturday- Leftovers/Leftovers
Sunday- Burger and Leftovers/Leftover Chicken Fingers with tater tots

I worked a little bit on April's meal plan during March but I didn't get very far.  I know that there are a few more things that I need to add into the fridge and freezer that I don't have and need to have a full meal plan for the month.  I am hoping to finish up the rest of the plan with the missing days later in the month as the groceries start coming in :)  Until then, it is going to take a little creativity on the unfilled days :)  Here is hoping that I find something good in the cupboards!!!

March Budget Review

I did a lot of overshopping last month so I was on a strict budget this month of little to no spending.  Since I was way over last month, I was hoping to spend between $50-$60 in March.  I had to get a package of pull-ups for nighttime for my little man which I got early in the month at Target.  The total OOP was $7.39.

I made it to the middle of the month without spending another dime.  I was pretty proud of that fact!!  Then, I realized that we were running out of some perishables like eggs, milk and lunchmeat.  I decided that I would use my $10 monthly credit at Giant to get these things and the most exciting thing happened!  A gift card for Giant showed up in the mail for a recipe contest that I entered.  I knew that would spend the $10 credit wisely and not have to pay any money out of pocket because I would use my gift card to pay any remaining money.

With list in hand, I went to Giant to get some essentials to last us through the rest of the month (or at least a lot of it)!!  I didn't have the best of trip (more details here) after having issues with a promotion that Giant was running.  But I used my $10 community credit and my gift card so it was no money out of pocket.

Then, a toilet paper promotion came up at Harris Teeter and I also had a coupon which doesn't happen very much anymore with toilet paper so I went a little crazy.  Cottonelle 12 pack ended up being under $5 each (original price $10.15 each).  I bought two on my card and my mom bought two on her card and we used my mother in laws card to buy two more!!  I waited until the very end of the day so I was super excited that they had stock and that I could get all that toilet paper.  See the original post here.  The total OOP was $30.84.

We made a quick trip to Target where I got another package of Pull-ups and a dozen eggs.  They were on supposed to be on sale for $1.59 but my mom had an issue with her check out so I didn't pay as close attention to my check out and they didn't ring up on sale!!!  I was not a happy camper and I almost headed back to return them but I knew that it wasn't worth the effort to go out of my way (plus I knew that my husband would think I was crazy).  I don't think that the return person would be as upset by my egg return as I was at the fact that the item didn't ring up at the right price. Total OOP $9.45

I had already spent $47.68 for the month so there wasn't a lot left in the wiggle room for the month that I wanted to spend and I knew that we were going to need some more milk soon.  I decided to use the gift card at Giant to buy it so I only spent $1.48 OOP.

It was starting to shape up to a good month with only $49.16 spent for the month and only 4 days left in the month.  I did find a rebate that expired at the end of March for the furnace filters we use which would save $3 per filter.  I was on a mission to try to find them even though that would mean spending an addition (at least) $50 for the month that I wasn't counting on.  Getting a $12-$15 rebate would make it worth it in the long run so I went to Walmart twice looking for the filters and they didn't have them!!! UGH!  I had to find another Walmart near the things that we were already doing and only 4 more days in the month.  Mission accepted!

Ending the month with my purchase of 4 high end furnace filters that will last for the next year.  I have to get the rebate done to make it all worthwhile and cross my fingers that I get the rebate.  Total OOP $70.90

Then, I had a last minute trip to CVS after receiving a $10 ECB from doing a survey online.  I looked at the ad and there was a great deal on Pull-ups!  Really, after buying two this month already at the higher price because I was sure we were done with these but we still need them for nighttime.  I decided to stop fighting it and get the three packages needed for the deal.  They were $10 each.  I used three $2 coupons and my $10 ECB so the total was $15 OOP with tax and I got back $10 to use next time.  I was super happy with my great deal because even without counting the money back, they were $5 per package!!!

Total Monthly OOP $135.06
Total Savings $61.08 (plus $10 giant gift card)

Lower than my monthly budget but more than I had want to spend this month but I am still really happy with the total and what was purchased for the month.  Lots of toilet paper and pull-ups so we won't have to get them again for a long time.  I hope that you had a great month and got everything you were looking for under budget :)

Started my list for somethings that I need for April:

Main Items
Ground Beef
Cheese Its
Butter and Margarine
Vegetable Oil
Olive Oil
Vegetable Shortening
Flour (yup, I bought 10 lbs last month and my mom brought be 10 lbs this month and I am still going to need more because we are running low!!)

Perishables
Ham
Turkey
Lettuce

Hopefully with a trip to Giant, Wegman's and Aldi's, I should have the month under control pretty quickly but it doesn't mean that it will be over :)  As most months go, I find a deal that I can't pass up!!  Happy April!!

Forbidden Falls Book Review

Forbidden Falls (Virgin River Novels) by Robyn Carr was the next book in the series came into the library at the same time as the previous one and it was begging me to read it so I put off the next book on my list yet again for the third book in the row!  I can't believe that I am having so much trouble getting back to the Spenser series by Robert Parker since I love them but with one trip to the library, I brought home so many books that I know I have enough to keep me busy for a long time but I am still reserving books at the library with more coming in every day.  I am going to try to stop the reserving process until I get caught up with the pile that I already have at the house but I can't promise anything.  The great thing is that this books usually only take a day or two to read and then I can try to get back to the other book that I was supposed to pick up :)

This book was about the new pastor, Noah, coming in to town and remodeling the old church.  He started doing a lot of the things himself and didn't get a lot accomplished.  He decided to hire an assistant who would help set up the place and then help him after the church was up and running.  He interviewed three applicants and one was too old and frail to help with the work, the second was too mean and the third was a young lady who was dressed too provocatively.  He decided that he would try his search again until he went into Jack's for dinner and she was there crying and he got the rest of her story.  Ellie became the new assistant and helped transform the church and helped Noah heal from the loss of his wife.  The town grew to love Ellie and she grew to need them.  I don't want to spoil things but read the book and you will see how great all of the relationships grow in this book.

As always, Robyn Carr doesn't disappoint!  It was a heartfelt book that had me flipping through the pages.  I really need to find something else to get me to stop reading because all of the other chores are going by the wayside while I sit down to read.  I can't believe how many books I have read already this month and it is only half over.  I might be in trouble trying to get this reading under control.  I am really not sure how I passed up books all these years while I was too busy working but I know that I am making up for it now!!  Please do me a favor and pick up a book, even one a month, and I know that you will appreciate how much I love being back to reading!!!