27 May 2010

Homemade Bread

Is there anything better than homemade bread? I found this recipe on BettyCrocker.com for a simple white bread. Here is the first couple of loaves I made a couple of weeks ago:


I made them with just plain, all-purpose white flour. They turned out SO tasty! I love it!

Today I made it with one cup of home ground wheat replacing a cup of the white flour. Ya know to kind of work our way up to wheat bread (because it's kind of gross as of right now). I also scored it:It turned out even more delicious than the plain white did! It was SO soft and moist. I buttered the crust with extra butter before and after it baked.
I can't begin to describe...so heavenly!


Here is the recipe:

6to 7 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
3tablespoons sugar
1tablespoon salt
2tablespoons shortening
2packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4cups very warm water (120° to 130°F)
2tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, if desired







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1.In large bowl, stir 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast until well mixed. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

2.Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3.Grease bottoms and sides of two 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray.

4.Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into 18x9-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. (See How to Shape Traditional Yeast Bread Loaves, page 82.) Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

5.Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°F.

6.Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.

*If using self-rising flour, omit salt.

Nutrition Information:

1 Slice: Calories 100 (Calories from Fat 10); Total Fat 1g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 220mg; Total Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 1g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 8% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


20 May 2010

Update

A little update on things in Alpine. We are doing very well. The spring is here and its WONDERFUL! The reservoir is starting to go down a little bit, revealing the sand and marshes for our summer birds that will undoubtedly be here soon!

Jake is still enjoying his job. Its a small office, and they all get along really well. Which always makes a job better. He is still teaching the Gospel Essential Sunday School class. He does it so well and I know I've learned a lot from going every week. Each day I appreciate how hard he works!

I continue to look for a job. I've had several interviews here in Alpine as well as Jackson. I'll let you know if I get any of them! I spend my days cleaning and bird watching out the back windows. With Jake's new job, we have decent insurance now, so I went to the dentist this morning for the first time in many, many (nine) years. I was SO happy when she told me I didn't have any cavities! I had been bracing for the worst news.



We spend lots of time bird watching. We have many feeders in our back yard, and the reservoir is also practically in the backyard. When I go to Jackson with Jake, I spend a good portion of my day with my binoculars. I won't bore you with all of them. But you can check them out at our other blog.


Other than that, it has been very quiet. We have quickly fallen into the slower, more quiet lifestyle of Wyoming. I must say, that we are both a little surprised at how much we enjoy it here. We do miss the people that we used to associate with on a regular basis (thank goodness for facebook, email, telephones and blogs). But we really do enjoy it here! If any of you are ever in the area, we have spare bedrooms!

Thanks for continuing to read!

P.S.- I came across this article that I thought was so intriguing. Its about these bees that live alone, build nests out of flower petals, and only lay one egg. Pretty cool!



14 May 2010

The Accident

Well, my mom and Gordon were in a car accident last weekend. I've been waiting to tell the story, because I was hoping that it would come out on the news, because it was such a crazy story. Well, after sending them the tip, it has yet to be on the news. So I'm going to share it with you. Because it is SO crazy!

My mom and Gordon had gone into Idaho Falls for breakfast last Saturday morning. When they were about three miles from home, they turned a corner. About 300 yards down the road, a truck turned onto the road behind them. As they were going my mom commented that the person driving the truck must have been drunk, because it was swerving all over the road. A bit later, Gordon asked my mom if she was slowing down or if the truck had sped up. She hadn't slowed down.

Well, they came to a stop sign, stopped, and were headed home, about 1.5 miles away now. My mom looked and saw the truck go sailing through the stop sign they had just stopped at. As they approached the house, she turned her blinker on to turn left. Well, thinking that he might try to pass them, she pulled across the street in front of the neighbor's driveway to wait for him to go by.

Well, he didn't go by. He pulled up next to them, stopped and looked at them. Well, the look he gave them scared my mom half to death, so she took off away from him. She turned a corner headed in the opposite direction. He followed her. Which scared her more because, as it turns out, she knew where he lived. Anyway, they're basically running from this guy. Well, he rear ends them. And hard! Into a potato field. Shocked and stunned, he rams them again before they can get their wits about them.

Terrified for their lives, literally, she pulls out of the field and heads back down the road from the direction they came from. Well, he's following them, going fast. My mom's laying on the horn trying to get people's attention. She pulls into the neighbor's house, freaked out, sobbing and honking. Well, the guy comes behind them and rams them again into the neighbor's house! Oh my gosh, right?!! Well, the neighbor comes out to see what was going on, and the guy just drives away home.

911 was called and their truck was taken away, totaled. When the police go to his house they find him drunk passed out in the middle of the floor. The guy has always been a menace to the neighborhood. He has a long history of drug, alcohol and weapons violence. So my 'rents were very lucky he didn't pull out a gun or something. When the police asked him, he said he didn't remember doing any of this, or any idea who they were. But his truck looked just as bad as theirs did.

I can't even believe that some psycho would try to kill these innocent people! He is being charge with double attempted manslaughter, drunk driving, and a long list of other things. So everyone cross your fingers that he gets many, many years! My parents are okay. They didn't have any physical injuries, but as you can imagine, the mental trauma will be with them for a long time.

I'm so glad they weren't hurt worse!

12 May 2010

My New Life




I came across this on another blog. Suddenly, life doesn't seem so bad.


P.S. Here is the link to the video on Youtube.

03 May 2010

Happy Anniversary!!

In seven years we've been through a lot.
Its been a wonderful seven years!
Here are some of our highlights:

7 Years
84 Months
2 Apartments
2 Houses
3 Cities
11 Jobs
4 Cars
1 Cat
12 Pet Fish
3 Pet Hamsters
2 College Degrees
800 Chocolate Chip Cookies
100 Temple Visits
6 States Visited
14 Birthday Cakes
4 Endless Drives
6 Space Heaters
50 Books Read
10 Campouts
12 Callings
50 Bike Rides
2 Car Accidents
4 Airplane Rides
300 Bird Sightings
4 Romantic Getaways
Lots and Lots of Smiles!
Millions of Hugs and smooches!



I love you Jake! Thank you for asking me to marry you so many years ago! I love being married to you, and look forward to spending eternity with you!

MWAG!