Whole Wheat Bread

Here's a new recipe that I'm very happy about! It's 100% whole wheat, but it's NOT dry, crumbly, and solid like most whole wheat bread. It has weird things like lecithin, dough conditioner and gluten, so I didn't even want to try the recipe until my insistent sister gave me a loaf....and I was sold! I made my first batch and we ate four loaves in 24 hours! So here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it.






                                                100% Whole Wheat Bread

5 cups water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar OR 1/3 cup honey
2 T. lecithin, rounded
2 T. dough conditioner
1 cup wheat gluten
3 T. yeast
5 cups whole wheat flour

Mix and let rest for 12 minutes.

Add:  
          1 egg
          1 T. salt, rounded
          6-7 cups flour

Knead for 8 minutes. You can let it rise or put it directly into pans. Let rise in pans and bake at 300* for 40-45 minutes. Before baking brush with mixture of 1 egg and a little water. 

Desk Makeover...

 Most of our furniture is stuff that I've picked up at yard sales or people have given to us... meaning it fits the need and is not very pleasing to the eye! This trusty old desk has been with us since the beginning of homeschooling and was showing the marks of old age.

I sanded everything and painted it white. Stenciled a J for Judson on top. It ended up looking like an F and the black paint was too harsh....so I painted it white again and...

did this. Much better!

 I'm very happy with the finished product. I now have a piece of furniture that I like...the only problem is, it needs a cute chair to go with it! On second thought, I need to raid the shed. There may be a chair out there that will work! Hmmm...

Distressing detail...=)

Making a Chicken Feeder...

       We needed to do something about a chicken feeder as the one we have is falling apart. I've been doing a little research on different homemade feeder ideas, and liked this one the best! 
      I found this vegetable tray at the Free Thrift Store, so I don't know what one would cost or where to get it. All I did was drill a hole in the very center.

A bucket I got from the Sam's Club bakery. I think it's a 4 gallon.

We drilled a hole in the center, bottom of the bucket. Then holes around the outside edge for the feed to drop down into the tray.

We used a bolt/nut/washers to fasten the tray to the bucket, through the hole in the center of the bucket and tray.

Throw in some feed and we've got a chicken feeder that cost us nothing!

Tyrone was very happy about that! =)

We decided to hang it on a chain about a foot off the ground because the silly chickens like to scratch the feed out and waste so much. We just hung it up this morning and ofcourse I forgot to take a pic. and now I don't feel like marching to the barn in the cold, so you'll just have to imagine the happy look on the chickens faces! =)

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day!

Mmmmmm......
   My family loves fresh, homemade bread! Recently I came across this recipe and everybody was raving about it in the comments. I looked at the ingredients and thought , "yeah right! how can that be good?" But it sounded so simple I decided to try it! I'm hooked!!! I often get Tyrone (11) to mix it up for me. He doesn't even have to get the recipe out, it's so simple! One thing I love about  this dough is that you can use it for so many different things! Sometimes I throw in some garlic/parsley salt and oregano when I'm shaping the loaf for an herb bread. You can also use seeds/nuts or any combination you like!  I've used it for pizza and want to try cinnamon rolls, breakfast pizza, soup bowls, stromboli and pitas.


The recipe....

http://foodplusheat.com/2010/12/baking-homemade-yeast-bread/

I had to go bake this so I could take pictures to show how its done! =)

                                                            Make a rope of dough.

Cut in from one side, almost the whole way through.

Flip every other one the opposite way.

Let rise and bake!

                                          The kids love it 'cause they can just pull off a hunk!

Tyrone said, "lets make pluckems!" So we did. Snip off small peices(watch out for stray fingers) (ouch!) of dough (about the size of a quarter) and roll into a ball. Dip in melted butter then brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Throw in a baking dish. Sprinkle with walnuts or pecans if desired.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Wonderful with hot tea....or coffee...or hot chocolate...or a glass of cold milk!

                                                                        Pluckems!   (unbaked) (they're baking right now and smell amazing!)

And if you would like the book with tons of variations and ideas, they have it on Amazon or you could get it from your library!


Promise me you'll try it! You'll thank me later! =)

Couponing...

A friend was asking how to get started with couponing so I thought I would post it here for anyone else who is intrested.

Before I started couponing I would make a list of items we were nearly out of, then go to Walmart and buy the cheapest brand. Now I check the blogs that match coupons to the sales at local grocery stores, Make a list, Clip coupons and get good deals!
          Grocery stores run good sales every week. For instance, Colgate toothpaste is on sale this week at King Soopers for 99cents. Last Sunday there was a $1.00 colgate coupon in the Red Plum. (comes in the sunday paper) So there you can get free toothpaste! Now to make it really worth it you want to have several coupons so you can buy (get it free) enough to last until the next good sale. That is called 'stockpiling'.
     So to get started you need to find several blogs in your area that do the coupon match-ups. They take the sales from your local stores and match coupons to those sales, getting you really good deals! There are tons of couponing blogs, so do what I did....read, read, read! Most of them have very helpful info on how to coupon.
 Ok, I just found this page that puts it in a nut shell! 
http://thethriftycouple.com/how-do-i-start/
and here...
http://www.bargainblessings.com/couponing-101-your-guide-to-getting-started-with-couponing/
and here...
http://www.momsthriftydeals.com/p/couponing-basics-and-tips.html
and this will give you lots to read!
http://thethriftycouple.com/our-blog-roll/


Here are several links to find blogs in your area. I like to follow several blogs, because sometimes one will miss something.

Go here and click on your state.
http://www.becentsable.net/store-deals/

or store
http://athriftymom.com/grocery-stores/




Where to get coupons? The Sunday paper has coupon inserts. If you go here http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/ and subscribe, they will send you an email every week telling you what coupons to expect in next Sundays paper. BTW, set up a separate e-mail just for couponing! You'll be glad you did! :) And incase you don't know, it is illegal to copy a coupon. Yes, you can print them from your computer, but you may NOT copy them. If you want to know where I get most of my coupons you can message me! :)

Here are links to printable coupons:

http://www.coupons.com/

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.bettycrocker.com

www.pillsbury.com

I've been couponing for a year now and am still learning new things! It takes time to learn the ropes, so be patient and just start small with using a few coupons at a time 'til you feel like you know what you're doing. Oh yes,  one of the most important things is to watch the register!!! You have no idea how many times something rings up at regular price instead of sale price! Pick up a sale flyer at the door, just in case this happens.
      I know I'll think of something later that I should have covered, so if you have any questions just ask!

Chalk Board

Kitchen chalkboards are so cute and  I've always wanted one! Recently I discovered chalkboard paint...the most amazing thing ever invented....seriously! :) So, after doing a little research, I gave it a shot.
    This tacky mirror was left in our house by previous renters. You can't really tell on the picture, but the frame is cheap plastic. I like the curved top and it's the perfect size for the wall where I want to hang it

So take it apart and paint the frame white.

 

Paint the mirror! I've discovered that when you use chalkboard paint it's best to give whatever you're painting a good coat of regular black paint before applying the chalkboard paint. 

When the frame was dry I put on a layer of Dark Walnut Stain. (Love that stuff! It makes everything look amazing!) When it's was about half dry I wiped it down with a rag, 'till just the right amount was left. Left it to finish drying then gave it two coats of Polycrylic.

So there you have it! It really doesn't look that great in the pic, but on my wall it's so adorably,cute!

The corner of the frame where you can see the detail a little better.

Skirt Makeover

 Someone gave me a really cute skirt, but when I put it on it was just wrong. It was mid calf length and should have been longer or shorter to look right! Hmmm...what to do to 'fix' the skirt? Inessa needs skirts more than I do so I decided to give it a try. I didn't know if it would work because the side is so flared. Didn't think to take a pic before I cut it up, so I put the pieces back together. This is what it looked like. 

I just cut straight up the center till the skirt was long enough, then cut off the top.

Two little skirts!

All I did was sew the side seam and put elastic in the waist!  I had an old pair of jeans with a flower applique on them. I cut around the flowers and zig-zaged it onto the little skirt.  

So...be inspired! Go look at your closet and see if there's something you can 'remake'!