Homemade White Bread and the Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who enetered the giveaway! Everybody talked about really great food they like to eat during the holidays. Such great ideas for the perfect time of year!

The winner for the giveaway is:

Ashlee Charles

Congratulations, Ashlee! Since I know where you live I will just be dropping off your winnings to your house. :)

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And now, here is a super simple and delicious recipe for homemade bread!

Have you ever been told by someone that a recipe is really really easy and anyone can do it? Then you totally screw it up? That just happened to me about a week ago! It was my great-aunt's french bread recipe and it turned out like river rock.

However,

this bread recipe really is simple! This is the recipe I use the most and it turns out great all the time. You're sure to get a great loaf of bread from this recipe!

from the kitchen of

Autumn Kirkham

Ingredients

1 c. warm water

1 Tbsp or packet of active instant dry yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 c. flour

Directions (aka what I do step by step)

1. Get your cup of warm water and put it right into the bowl you're going to mix the bread dough in. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.
2. Stir in the sugar, oil, salt, and one cup of the flour. Mix well. (If using a KitchenAid, use your wire beater attachment.)
3. Stir in the remaining flour using the hook beater. (If for some reason you feel like the dough is still too sticky, add a little more. Two and a half cups of flour always works perfectly for me.) Let the dough rest in the bowl for a few minutes, then put a little flour on the countertop and knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Shape the dough into a loaf and put into a large and greased loaf pan. (I like to grease it with butter to give the bread extra flavor. A simple way to do that is to take a paper towel and run it through soft butter. Then rub it all over the pan.)

5. Let the dough rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). Cover it with a towel to avoid drying.

Melt a little butter and brush it over the bread for a little shine and extra flavor (optional but totally delicious.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

And that's it! This bread is seriously so good and really easy to make. Here are a couple more tidbits I have to say about this recipe:

• If you want to make crescent rolls or other rolls instead of a loaf of bread, the recipe makes about a dozen rolls. Bake them at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.


• Prep for the recipe by getting all of your ingredients ready. Put the salt and sugar together in a little bowl, and also the oil in a little bowl. That way you can just throw everything in without having to sit there and measure as you go.


• When baking it is very important to measure everything exactly. Especially the flour. If you put too much in it can be too dry. Not enough will make it sticky and hard to knead.

Christmas Giveaway!

It's time for my first giveaway! I love giveaways, so it's high time I have one of my own!

Here's what the winner will receive:

A few fun things that will be perfect for your holiday cooking! This gift set includes:

• this super cute black and white apron, all ready to be worn to make some goodies for Christmas (PS that is the apron that everything else is sitting on. Kind of hard to tell!)
• a magnet notepad for your grocery shopping needs
• "Simple Tips for the Kitchen" book to answer some of those everyday cooking questions (I flipped through it and there are some really awesome tips in there! I may need to run back to the store and get one of those books for myself! It's seriously awesome.)
• and just for fun, a Mrs. Claus Christmas tree ornament - (she is holding a plate of cookies) :)
  
  Here's what you need to do to win:

1. I want to know what you all like to eat during the holidays. Leave me a comment and tell me all about your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas dish or treat and who it is who makes it (if you aren't the one who does). I want to know what makes that particular dish so good and why you like it so much.
2. I also want to know your name and where you're from. I've had numerous people from all over the country contact me and I've just loved it! So be sure to let me know who you are. And thanks for following!

* I will draw a winner on Saturday, November 27th. I will post the winner that day and I will tell you where you can e-mail me your shipping address.

I'm going to kick things off with one of my all-time favorite Christmas treats:

Gooey Chex Mix

And I can't just not share the recipe!

(Courtesy of my mom, Rhonda O'Connor)

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By the way, this recipe makes a huge party-size bowl of this stuff. If you don't want that much, go ahead and half it!

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In a sauce pan combine:

1 c. karo syrup

1 c. sugar

1 c. butter

Boil for 2 minutes.

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In two large bowls combine:

1/2 box Corn Chex cereal

1/2 box Rice Chex cereal

1/2 box Golden Grahams cereal

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Later you will need:
desired amount of party peanuts

desired amount of pretzels (which I don't ever use)

3/4 c. shredded coconut

desired amount of Christmas milk chocolate M&M candies

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Pour the liquid from the sauce pan evenly over the cereal in each bowl and stir together. Then add the peanuts, coconut, and M&M's and stir. Spread the treat over two greased cookie sheets. Yum!

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* Thanks to Utah Deal Diva for the great Gooey Chex Treat picture!

And good luck to all who enter!

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

Who doesn't love a good piece of barbecue chicken? Especially when all you have to do is throw everything in a crockpot! This chicken comes out really tender and juicy. I served it with green beans. There was supposed to be french bread as well, but the french bread didn't feel like turning out ha ha. That definitely happens sometimes! Enjoy the barbecue chicken!

from the kitchen of

Sheree Allison

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts or 8 chicken tenders

1 c. of your favorite barbecue sauce

1/4 c. brown sugar

chopped or minced onion to taste

Directions

1. Mix the sauce, sugar, and onions together. Place the frozen or thawed chicken in the crockpot and pour the sauce over.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. And that's it!

* Depending on how big the pieces of chicken are, you may want to add a little water to the bottom of the crockpot about halfway through the cooking process to avoid burning or drying the chicken.

Chicken Parmigiana

I love homemade Italian! Probably one of my favorite things to make and eat. (Besides chocolate, that is.) This chicken parmigiana is a great dinner idea for your family, and the preparation is easy! Another great thing about this dish: it's baked and not fried, unlike other versions of chicken parmigiana. Much healthier!

from the kitchen of

Rhonda O'Connor

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Ingredients

6-8 pieces of chicken

2 c. bread crumbs
3/4 c. parmesan cheese

1/4 c. parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp oregano

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Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, excluding the chicken. Place in a shallow dish to dip the chicken.
2. Dip the chicken in beaten egg then coat with the mix. Place on a cookie sheet covered in foil and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
3. After the chicken is done, sprinkle each piece with parmesan cheese and place in the oven to melt.

* This chicken is so good when served with a side of spaghetti and tomato sauce. For an extra bit of flavor, top the chicken with some tomato sauce after the cheese is melted.

* I used three boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them in half, since there are only two of us to feed. We had about half the breading mix leftover. I just put it in the fridge and will use the rest sometime this week. Perfect!

Billy's Chili & Sweet Cornbread

My mom has made this for Halloween dinner as a family tradition for years. This recipe is that of her best friend's, and is named after that friend's husband and son. (Thanks again, Teresa!) This chili has a bit of sweetness to it that really makes it perfect. Enjoy with a slice of sweet cornbread and you've got yourself a meal! Now that it's starting to snow outside I think we could all use a bowl of chili!

from the kitchen of

Teresa Bush

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Ingredients

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans pork 'n beans

1 can stewed tomatoes

2 Tbsp sugar

1 lb cooked ground beef

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 chicken bouillon cubes (can also use paste or granules)

2 cans water

1 pkg chili seasoning

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Directions

1. After cooking the ground beef and draining the liquid, put everything in a crock pot. Simmer for three hours on low or for one hour on high. That simple!

This cornbread is the perfect side dish for your Billy's chili. It has such a soft and fluffy texture and simply melts in your mouth. Do I have your mouth watering yet?

from the kitchen of

Albers Corn Meal

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Ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. yellow corn meal

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 c milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

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Directions

1. Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in a small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture and stir just until blended.
3. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm with butter and honey for that extra bit of yumminess!

* For muffins, bake 18 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

** And big thanks to Google Images for the pictures! My pictures of chili and cornbread weren't that great so I needed to borrow some.

Carino's Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Pasta (Copycat Recipe)

My favorite dish at Carino's is spicy shrimp and chicken. So I was thrilled when I found this copycat recipe. One of my all-time faves! I have posted the recipe for this dish before and it received a lot of great comments. It is so delicious! A family favorite for sure!

from the kitchen of

Sooz Cooks via recipezaar.com

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Ingredients

2 - 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

3 Tbsp butter

20 medium raw shrimp, peeled, tail removed and cleaned

1 c. fresh button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 c. sundried tomatoes, sliced

2 green onions, chopped

2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. romano cheese, grated (Italian blend cheese works great too.)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

13-16 oz dry penne

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Directions

1. Add the sliced chicken to a saute pan and cook through. When it is cooked, place the chicken on a separate plate or in bowl and set aside.
2. Begin cooking the pasta according to package directions.
3. When the pasta is close to being finished, add butter to the same saute pan used to cook the chicken and melt on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, onions, salt and pepper.
4. Saute the mixture until shrimp and mushrooms are cooked. Shrimp should be pink.
5. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the excess water but don't rinse it. Set aside. In the empty pot used to cook the pasta, add the cream, Romano cheese, and cayenne pepper. Let the cream reduce by half while stirring frequently.
6. Add the meat and veggie mixture to the sauce and stir together. Add the pasta and stir all together. Serve and enjoy! Makes 6-8 servings.
   

* The sundried tomatoes can be substituted for diced roma tomatoes if preferred. This dish will still be good if items such as the mushrooms or onions are left out. The sauce is awesome! PS Even the cayenne pepper can be left out if you don't like the spicy kick!

** The reason for not rinsing the pasta after draining it is so that starch stays on the pasta. It allows the sauce to stick to the pasta better and helps the sauce thicken up a little bit.

* You can add more cheese to the sauce if you'd like. The last time I made it I added about 1/3 c. more to make the sauce a little cheesier. It was so good!

Spinach Dip

I just brought this yummy dip to a Halloween party and it was a big hit! It is perfect to bring to a party, especially with the holidays coming up. If you like a good chilled spinach dip, this is a winner!

from the kitchen of

Lipton/Knorr brand soups

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Ingredients

1 envelope Lipton or Knorr vegetable soup mix

1 - 16 oz container sour cream

1 c. mayo

1 - 10 oz bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 - 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)

3 green onions, chopped (optional)

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Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill for two hours. Serve with favorite dippers such as corn chips, bread pieces, or rolls.