Homemade French Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water (not hot)

1 Tblsp. yeast

1 Tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon juice

3-3 1/2 cups Better-For-Bread flour (you have to use the better-for-bread flour or else this bread won't turn out the way that it should)

2 Tblsp. water

1/2 tsp. salt

Place water in mixer, then sprinkle yeast over water.  Let stand for 7 minutes.  It should be all foamy when you get back.  Add sugar & then wait another 7 minutes.  This will activate your yeast & let the bread rise to form into a better loaf.  Add all remaining ingredients except for remaining 1/2 cup of the flour. Mix until the dough starts to come away from the bowl & is no longer sticky.  If it's still too sticky then you'll need the last 1/2 cup of flour.  Remove dough from mixer, form into a large ball & place in an oven-safe dish.  Cover with a dishtowel, place in your oven with the light on (but don't turn on the heat!) & let it rise for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven & roll into a rectangle, as you would for cinnamon rolls.  Roll into a loaf & pinch all seams closed.  Place roll onto a tin foil-lined cookie sheet, cover with dishtowel again & let rise for another 45 minutes in your oven with the light on.  After it's risen for the 2nd time, brush the loaf with the salt & water glaze.  Once you've glazed the loaf, take a knife & make 3 large, diagonal slices on the top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, depending on how dark you like your bread.  For softer bread, wrap the loaf inside the dishtowel as it cools.  For a more crispy, outer crust, just cool on a cooling rack.  This bread can store up to 3 days.

OK, I'm not much of a bread-baker at all.  Let me say that just one more time; for years & YEARS, the thought of baking any type of bread has just intimidated the heck out of me.  I don't know why because I LOVE any type of homemade bread, but the thought of making any from scratch just scared me, especially when I was a newlywed.  However, when my sister Elena, who is the queen of bread-making, brought this yummy French bread to dinner for Easter, I knew I had to conquer my dough-head fears (pun intended) and try it.  Tyler even turned to me & said, "You are going to get this recipe, aren't you?"  :)  This is SO much better than the loaves you pick up at any grocery store.  It gives you the option of making it soft or harder on the outside, yet it's always soft & delicious on the outside.  This recipe wasn't difficult at all.  You may want to add this to your "must-try" recipe list.  :)

Taco Soup

1-2 lbs. ground beef

1 pkg. taco seasoning

2 cans kidney beans, opt.

1 large can tomato juice (not sauce or regular tomato soup)

1 can corn with juice

grated cheddar cheese

Brown beef with minced onions, if desired.  Place in a large pot & then add remaining ingredients except cheese.  Heat thoroughly and top with cheese after serving.

This is a very quick & easy dinner to put together, and my whole family loves this.  I always serve freshly-baked corn muffins on the side.  Yummy!  :)

Fruity Pasta Salad

2 cups mayonnaise

1 tsp. minced garlic (I used 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 to 3 chicken breasts, cooked & diced OR 1 large can well-drained chicken

1 (16-oz.) pkg. tri-colored pasta

2 (15-oz.) cans mandarin oranges, drained (I only used one & for us that was enough)

1/4 lb. sugar snap peas, sliced diagonally

1/2 cup chopped green onions

chow mein noodles (I didn't use these either because I've never liked these things)

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, celery seed, honey, salt and pepper together.  Cover and place in the refrigerator.  Cook the chicken in a pan, then dice and place in a large bowl.  While the chicken is cooking, cook the pasta, then drain and add to chicken.  Add the mandarin oranges, sugar snap peas, green onions, and mayonnaise sauce to the bowl.  Gently mix together until everything is covered with the sauce.  Refrigerate for one hour before serving.  Top with chow mein noodles.  Serves 12.

Just as a heads-up, this is one of the least kid-friendly recipes I've tried lately.  I made this for dinner one night last week & my kids both said they hated it, and even Tyler said it was just OK.  But I thought it was really great.  The next time I make this I'll most likely take it to a family or ward get-together so that more adults can try it.  :)  I got this recipe from a book by Josi S. Kilpack called Key Lime Pie.  I've been loving her culinary mystery series, not just because they're fun to read but because of all the recipes she includes in each novel.

Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup peanut butter (you can use either chunky or smooth but I always use smooth)

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

vanilla, as desired

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips

Cream butters & sugars.  Add vanilla & eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Spread onto jelly roll pan (no need to grease) or large cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips & spread while hot.  Let cool; cut into bars & serve.

This is another recipe that my mom makes all the time.  Whenever we have a family get-together & she's asked to bring a dessert she makes these almost every time because they're so yummy & because they make enough for a big group.  She calls them peanut butter fingers, but I don't like using the word "fingers" in any recipe because it just doesn't sound all that appetizing.  :)

Two-Tone Drop Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

food coloring

Cream together butter & sugar.  Add eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda & salt.  Add flour & mix well.  Half the batter & color each half to desired colors.  Drop the two together and bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

This is a recipe that my Mom received from her Home Ec. teacher when she was in high school back in the 70's.  My kids love these cookies because they say they look like Play-Doh & they love choosing what colors they want them to be.  For this batch, Aubrey wanted pink & Paxton wanted orange.  This is probably why the colors in the picture didn't really show up very well.  :)  These cookies are so nice & versatile for pretty much any occasion; pink & blue for baby showers, green & red for Christmas, other pastels for Easter & spring, darker colors for fall & Halloween.  You can go crazy with ideas & occasions for these goodies!  :)

Beef & Carrot Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup minced onion

garlic salt to taste

8 oz. tomato sauce

8 oz. noodles of choice, cooked & drained

1 cup sour cream

1 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup parsley flakes

1 cup cooked & sliced carrots

desired amount of shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with minced onion & garlic salt.  Add tomato sauce to beef mixture & pour into greased baking dish - I always use a large, glass Pyrex bowl.  In a separate bowl mix together sour cream, cottage cheese, carrots & parsley.  Place drained noodles on top of the beef & tomato sauce mixture, then place the cottage cheese mixture on top of that.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then remove from oven, top with cheese & bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I got this recipe from a cookbook that was given to me as a bridal shower gift from Tyler's Grandma Andersen.  It was one of the best cookbooks I've ever had, because a lot of the women who had contributed to this cookbook were the older sisters in her ward who had gone through the Depression at some point in their lives.  When Tyler & I were newlyweds & when Aubrey was first born, we had very, VERY little money to spend on groceries.  I saw this recipe & thought I'd give it a shot, seeing how it was so inexpensive to make.  Tyler LOVED this & asks me to make it all the time.  Our kids both love this too.  :)

The BEST Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I hate mushrooms so I only use cream of celery for this recipe)

8 oz. sour cream

small or medium egg noodles; approx. 8-12 oz.

2 Tblsp. ketchup

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef with a dash of minced onion.  While meat is cooking, boil egg noodles according to directions on package.  When ground beef is done, mix with soup and heat thoroughly.  Add 2 Tblsp. ketchup, sour cream & Worcestershire sauce.  Mix & heat through; pour & toss over drained pasta.

This is the yummiest stroganoff I've ever had, and it's quick to make.  My Mom made this all the time for my sister Elena & I when we still lived at home.  Usually most stroganoff recipes call for meatballs, but it's a real time-saver to just cook the meat without having to worry about shaping it into balls first.  Both of my kids gobbled this right up.  Paxton even said to me, "Can you make this tomorrow?", which is really sayin' something since he's my pickiest eater at dinner time.