Back in the saddle again...

Well. Christmas break has come and gone and I am already in my third week of school. I hope and pray that everything is going well in your lives. So far this semester is off to a good start for me. Nothing TOO major has happened. Its just cold. And if you have been reading this blog for any period of time, you know that I don't like the cold. And the only reason is because I get cold very easily and once I get cold I just can't warm back up. But one thing that helps is food so I have come today to show you some of my new favorite recipes that I want to try. I hope you enjoy them! : )

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Challa

I am not Jewish, but this recipe was just too good not to share with y'all! I don't know much about the traditional bread except that it is an enriched dough (meaning it has eggs in it) and is usually breaded. My Recipe comes from Leah. Her first Challa video shows the actual bread recipe. She has three others showing different shaping methods which can be found on YouTube. And the recipe can be found here.

I used mostly fresh ground flour for this recipe and it turned out wonderful. This is definitely a must try recipe!

We cut the recipe in half and made a large braided loaf with 12 large rolls. Here are some pictures of our Challa.

These were from our first batch.

These were from our second batch.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Merry Christmas!

I hope and pray that each and everyone of you had a blessed Christmas. Today I was fortunate enough to have my family around with good food and presents. I would like to cap off the day by sharing one of our candy(ish) recipes.

Toffee Bars!
36 saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the crackers down in a single sheet. melt the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes then pour over the crackers, spreading evenly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chocolate and let stand until melted. Then spread the melted chocolate over the entire pan. Cool in the refrigerator or at room temperature until the chocolate has set. Store at room temperature. Watch these disappear!

 Toffee bars right out of the oven.

 Mmmmm... Melting Chocolate!

The finished product.

Merry Christmas!
Rachel : )

Christmas-time is here...

Less than TWO days before Christmas. WHAT??? Guess I need to finish my shopping! ; )  But for all of those who are in the baking spirit, here are some recipes from years past plus a new (old) one.

*NEW*
Peppermint bark:
2 packages of vanilla almond bark
1 bag of peppermints, crushed

I'm telling you, this recipe is as easy as melting chocolate and sprinkling peppermints over it. Really, that's it! Melt the almond bark in a microwave or over a double boiler. Spread evenly over a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle the crushed peppermints over the top. Cool at room temperature then break into pieces. So easy yet so delicious!

Homemade Chex Mix: found here

Spiced Tea: found here

Christmas Cookies: found here

Gingerbread House Recipe: found here. Also the tragic event that also happened that year can be found here.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Happy Birthday El!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

 Friday was Eleanor's 12th birthday! Man am I getting OLD! But for her birthday, I told her that she could pick out a recipe and we would make it together. I had never done this before. But to my surprise, she was supper excited to make something with me. (Typically I'm in the kitchen making something and ask her if she wants to join me, to which she quickly and bluntly answers no. But not today!) She picked a super awesome recipe from Christy Jordan at Southern Plate. Easiest Red Velvet Cookies: found HERE



We had so much fun making these. You should try them for your next birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines day, or any other event.



Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Almond Recipes

Hello everyone! I hope that y'all are having a good day!

Its cold here. Almost lunch time and it isn't even above 40 degrees yet. Its been cloudy and gray most of the morning. And windy. There has been a constant, strong north wind. But I love days like this because it makes me appreciate seasons. Think about it for a second. When its cold, we want it to warm up. When its raining, we want it to dry up. When its hot, we want it to cool down. When its dry, we want it to rain. We never seem to be satisfied with what we are given. So next time you start to complain (and I am talking to myself here too) just look for something positive in your situation. If its cold, be thankful that it might snow. If its hot, be thankful that your garden will grow. If its raining, be thankful that you're not having a drought.

Its the little things like this that help me through the day. Speaking of little things, I have three recipes that I found yesterday to share with y'all. I am still at school so I haven't been able to test them out , but they look soooooo good! I hope to try them shortly and you should too! Let me know how they turn out in the comment section below. : )

The first one comes from Anna at Costa Kitchen. It is called Anita's Swedish Braided Bread:



The next two recipes come from Bree at Baked Bree. The first one is the Swedish Visiting Cake:



And finally the Almond Cafe Cookies:




Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Pear, Pomegrante, and Spinach Salad

Since I am at school, and have no way to cook for myself, I bring you a recipe from Jaclyn at Cooking Classy (it can be found here). It is called Pear, Pomegranate and Spinach Salad and it looks AMAZING! Please try it out and let me know how it is. 



Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

2 days {plus a recipe}

2 days

2 days

2 days

We only had 2 days for fall break. Welcome to college...

Officially fall break was from October 11-14. From Saturday to Tuesday.

In my opinion, Saturdays and Sundays shouldn't count for "breaks." And we should get a whole week off instead of 2 days. That is my opinion, but nobody asked me.

On to the recipe:

Over fall break I made HOMEMADE CROISSANTS! I was so proud of myself. There are a lot of recipes out on the internet, so choosing one was difficult. But I ended up making the one from this video:

I felt like he explained the process very well. And here are my croissants. I hope you make some for yourself! If you do make them, tell me how they turned out. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Or do you have your own croissant recipe? If you do, I love getting new recipes! (especially old family recipes!!!) Please share in the comments below. : )

I even put some white chocolate in the leftover dough. It tasted SO good!



Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Sourdough Bread

Here it is! The sourdough recipe! Finally!
(You can find the sourdough starter recipe here)

Sourdough Bread:
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup starter
1 1/2 cup warm water
6 cup flour

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to a larger and greased bowl; turn over to coat. Cover tightly with foil and let rise overnight. (do not refrigerate) In the morning, punch down and knead a little. Divide in 2, knead 8 to 10 times, then place into grease loaf pans and let rise about 5 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

First rising

Second rising

Finished bread

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Sourdough Starter...

Hey y'all! It's cold! Yes, yes, I know it is January and it is still winter. It is just too cold for me!! I am totally a summer girl. 90 degree weather and flip flops are my kind of things! At least it was sunny on this 32 degree day! Maybe some homemade bread will help take the bite out of winter.  ; )   Hmmmmmmm..... Homemade...SOURDOUGH!

F.Y.I. You can't have sourdough without some sourdough starter. And if you weren't handed a jar of starter (like I was) you will have to make your own. This is the same starter that I use. It was given to me by one of my mom's friends.

Sourdough Starter:
1 package of yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
2 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Keep at room temperature for 24 hours then refrigerate three to five days. Feed with the following...

Starter Feed:
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoon instant potato flakes
1 cup warm water

Add ingredients to starter jar and shake well. Set at room temperature for 5 to 12 hours. At the end of the waiting time, take out one cup of starter and return to the refrigerator. If not using for bread, just throw away the one cup of starter.

Sourdough bread recipe is coming soon!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Christmas Recipes {Part 3}

Spiced Tea!!!!! Heaven in a mug!!!!! (if you can't tell, we love this stuff around here!)

Spiced Tea:
2 cups Tang
1 cup lemonade mix
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup instant tea
3/4 T cinnamon
1 t ground cloves

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.To serve, place 2 heaping teaspoons in a mug and mix with boiling water to enjoy!!!  : D


Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Christmas Recipes {Part 2}

Today is the Christmas Cookie day! This is one of my Granny's recipes. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Cream butter and sugar.

 Finished dough.

 El with her cookies...   : )

Finished cookies!

Christmas Cookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
3 cup flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
Combine:
1/4 cup sugar
1 t cinnamon
maraschino cherries

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs one at a time. Then beat in the cream. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate about 3 hours. After it has chilled, roll cookie dough in cinnamon/sugar mixture, make a dent in the cookie with your thumb, and place a cherry half in the center. Bake at 375 F until brown. Try not to over bake them. Enjoy!


Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Christmas Recipes {Part 1}

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Since Christmas is tomorrow, I have decided to break my blogging silence to bring some of my family's favorite holiday recipes! First up is homemade Chex Mix!

Chex Mix:
1 stick of butter
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
almost 1 Tablespoon of seasoned salt
3/4 Teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon of onion powder
3 cups of Corn Chex
3 cups of Rice  Chex
3 cups of Wheat Chex
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup pretzels
1 cup Cherrios

Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Melt butter in a large roasting pan. Stir in seasonings and then the rest of the ingredients. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, and store in and airtight container.


Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

English Muffins {and a SUPER easy breakfast}

Ever dream about the fabulous breakfast you could be eating if you only had the time.You know...eggs, bacon, toast, milk and juice, etc. In this day and age many Americans are constantly on the go. Many skip meals because of the "lack of time". That is NOT a good thing!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Lucky Charms, McDonald's sausage biscuits, and coffee won't give the body what it needs to start the day. So start you day right with an English muffin sandwich!
*Disclaimer* This recipe will take some time due to rising bread dough. DON"T try to make the entire recipe 5 minutes before you have to walk out the door!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c luke warm water
3 T honey
2 T yeast
2 T olive oil or melted butter
2 t salt
4 c flour (more may be needed)

Mix water, honey, yeast, oil, and salt and let it rest for about 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble.

Blend in flour until you have a soft dough. Knead for 8 minutes, and then cover and let rise for about 45 minutes.

Or until doubled in bulk.

Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into 3 inch circles. Let rest for 15.

Bake muffins in an ungreased electric skillet for about 10 minutes on each side, turning once.

YUM!!! Split them with a fork and you're ready to go!

Topping them is the fun part. I like to put scrambled eggs and a cheese slice on the split muffin then broil them in the oven. You can also top them with sliced tomatoes, breakfast meats, etc, or just eat them plain with some butter!

Enjoy!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Crusty Bread

After a long day at work, I decided to bring you a recipe that I have been needing to share for a while. The recipe comes from Janet @ Simply So Good and will probably be the easiest bread recipe you will ever try. No kneading involved. (Really!) Three ingredients. (Yes, only three!) I told you it was easy. The hardest part of the recipe is waiting. After you mix up the dough, it has to sit on the counter for 12 to 18 hours. (talk about fix it and forget it!) With that said, here is the recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, and salt. 

Stir in about 1 1/2 cups warm water. 

Mix until a soft dough forms.

Place in a large, greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 12 to 18 hours on the counter. 

That's it, for now. Come back later. 

And now we're back. Long time, no see! Anyway... Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place you dutch oven in the oven to preheat for at least 30 minutes. 

Dump the dough onto a heavily floured surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Place the dough into the preheated dutch oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes.

Take out of the oven and ENJOY! This bread also makes great french toast!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )