It’s Monday again.  Time for a recap of a few fabulous ideas from around the web.  All of these sites were featured on my Facebook fan page last week so, if you haven’t had a chance yet, you should definitely check them out.  If you liked them as much as I did you should take a minute and let the content authors know!  Bloggers love comments – so share the love when you stop by their sites.

Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link.  Here are the links from last week…

Sweet Designs: A Blog by Amy Atlas

If you love party planning like me you should take a few minute to browse the brilliant and beautiful ideas on this site.

The Kitchn

Craving a little bacon? Forget the greasy microwave method and try this oven baked option instead. My kids loved the crispy results.

Eighteen25

Share some Easter love with this fabulous and free Peeps topper printable. Those brightly-colored marshmallow confections have never looked better!

Sorry, I know I just posted about this site but I loved this idea for egging your neighbors too. Check it out. It has a great free printable as well.

Family Fun

April Fools Day is right around the corner. If you’re looking to hit your kids with a few surprises this year check out Family Fun’s collection of simple pranks.

I tried out and adapted several different wheat bread recipes and finally settled on this one for three basic reasons.  1 – It’s made entirely from food storage ingredients (no refrigerated items needed).  2 – The finished product is good for sandwiches or toast.  3 – It freezes really well so I can make four loaves in one batch and have enough to last the entire week.

This recipe uses both wheat and bread flour.  If you like your bread more dense, you’ll want to increase your wheat flour.  If you prefer it fluffy, reduce your wheat flour and add a bit more bread flour.  I make mine in my Bosch mixer, if you’re using a KitchenAid you might want to half the recipe.  I’m not sure how much dough those machines can handle.

Ingredients

4 cups warm water (110 degrees or so)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp active dry yeast

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
4 tsp salt
6-8 cups wheat flour
4-6 cups bread flour (you can use all purpose too)

Directions

1. Add the tablespoon of sugar to the warm water and then add the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes
2. Meanwhile, add 2/3 cup sugar to mixing bowl.  Next add oil and then honey (use the same mixing cup – the oil residue will help the honey slip out easily).  Add salt and yeast mixture (it should be foamy) and blend lightly.
3. Add wheat flour one cup at a time and mix well.  I don’t really measure, I just keep adding wheat flour until the dough is thick, sticks to the beaters and starts to look like this…
   
4. Change to a dough hook attachment.  Add bread flour to the mixture half a cup at a time until it cleans the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky to the touch.  Increase motor speed and “knead” the dough for 6 minutes or so (you could also do it by hand on the counter – just increase the time to 10-15 minutes).  Continue to dust with flour as needed.  It will look something like this…
   
5. Turn your oven to it’s lowest temperature (I use my warm setting) and move the rack down to a low position.  Grab a large bowl and coat it lightly with oil.  With floured hands, form a smooth and elastic ball with the dough and drop it in the bowl.  Flip dough ball once to coat the entire surface of the with oil.  Cover the bowl completely with plastic wrap.  It should look something like this…
   
6. Turn your oven off, then place the bowl in warm oven (if you can’t touch your hand to the inside of the door, it’s too hot – open the door to allow it to cool).  Let it rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).  It should look something like this when it’s finished…
   
7. Lightly grease 4 standard size bread pans (I prefer glass because it’s easy to see when the bread has cooked through by checking the browning on the bottom).  Punch down the dough.  Divide it into four even chunks.  Shape the sections into loaves by tucking the dough under itself.  Place the sections in the pans and return them to the warm oven (you may want to warm it up again – just be sure to turn it off before you put the loaves in).
   
8. Let the loaves rise until they double in size or are about 1-2 inches taller than the pans (about 30 minutes).
9. Pull loaves out of the oven and preheat to 365.  Place loaves back in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  If your loaves start to brown too quickly, cover the tops with aluminum foil (I use a disposable oven liner because it’s faster and easier to work with).
   
10. Once your bread is cooked through, take pans out of the oven and place finished loaves on cooling racks.  Allow the loaves to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing (5 minutes if the smell of fresh baked bread is making your stomach growl and you can’t stand to wait any longer).
    

Doesn’t that look delicious?  Just wait until you cut yourself a thick slice in the morning and slather it with strawberry freezer jam.  It’s great way to kick off your day.  I promise, once you get the hang of making this each week, you’re family will never want to go back to store-bought again (as evidenced by my chubby little guy here).

Let me know if you have any questions or improvements on this recipe in the comments area below.  Good luck!  Just thought I’d pass it on.

My family was thrilled with the change but there was a small problem.  Each Monday I’d make four perfectly puffy loaves of whole wheat bread only to watch them be hacked to pieces throughout the week by my family.  It didn’t seem to matter what type of knife we used, we could never get smooth, even slices and my counters suffered from the constant crumbly mess.  I looked on Amazon for bread slicing tools and found several clunky contraptions.  However, none of them had good feedback ratings and they generally had a price tag of $25 or more.

Then, while I was perusing the “as seen on TV” area at WalMart, I came across this handy tool.  It’s a battery operated, twin-blade electric knife and it works like a charm on my bread.  The sharp blades slice without any added pressure so your bread never gets mashed or mangled in the cutting process.  The blades pop out with a push of a button and fit easily in the utensil basket of my dishwasher.  Plus, it’s cordless so it’s easy to use at the kitchen table and stores neatly in my cupboard.  Whether I need to carve up a roast or slice a birthday cake this handly tool is a must in my kitchen.  It’s called the OneTouch Cordless Knife.  I bought mine for $12 because it was marked down at WalMart.  You can also find it on Amazon by following this link.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Are you craving a big batch of Honey Wheat Bread too?  I’ll be posting my scrumptious recipe tomorrow so be sure to check back soon.

So for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday post I’m asking for your help.  I need some fabulous Turkey Day Tips.  What tricks do you have up your sleeve that help you pull off a warm, family-friendly Thanksgiving?  What recipes do you love?  How do you organize your timing to pull everything off?  What traditions do you incorporate into your Thanksgiving celebration? How do you involve your kids in the preparations? Are there any cooking tools or tips that save you time and energy on the big day?

To get you started, I thought I’d share my new favorite turkey recipe.  Last year, I made a maple & sage roasted turkey and I can honestly say it was the most delicious turkey I’ve ever tasted – moist, tender and packed with flavor.  My house smelled fantastic for hours!  I found it on Food Network’s website.  You can find the link here.  The recipe includes a corn bread stuffing but I skipped it and used a box mix instead.  If any of you give it a shot, I hope you’ll let me know if it was worth it.

Now it’s your turn to pass on your favorite Turkey Day Tips.  As always, to those of you who comment, thanks – in advance – for passing it on.