Saturday, January 15, 2011

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home BakingArtisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home BakingArtisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
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!
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

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

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

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!