Bread Machine

I bought a bread machine about a month ago with the intention of making a loaf of bread occasionally for us to have.  Bread is the arch enemy and anti-christ to anyone who is dieting, so I'm not sure what my reasoning was for buying it.  "Well, so and so has one!  My sister has one!  I WANT ONE!!!"  Who needs more reason than that?

So, I bought a bread machine and realized that I didn't have all the ingredients that I needed.  I tried my first loaf with some bread flour that I had and the loaf didn't rise AT ALL.  My bread flour was very old.  I think I bought it when we lived in PA, which was about 20 months ago.

So, I bought all new flour and yeast and tried again.  This time, I tried a whole wheat bread.  I like whole wheat bread and I want my children to like it, too.  Dad is gone to Afghanistan, so he won't have to eat any of it.  :)  It turned out better, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.  I need to try to make it again and give the wheat another chance.

This bread machine does it all.  Makes a loaf in 58 minutes, for heaven's sake.  I've not tried that yet. I have tried the dough/pasta setting and have thoroughly enjoyed the pizza dough that this machine cranks out.  The softest dough I've ever felt.   Let's stop for a moment and thank God for pizza.

Moment's up.

Then I discovered this recipe in my book: Oatmeal Date Bread.  It can be made in 80 minutes.  How hard can that be?  And it's got Oatmeal in it - it has to be healthy.

However, I didn't have dates.  Who keeps dates in their pantry?  I did however, have a bag of cranberries, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Oh my good heavens...is this good bread or what?  Dense, with a touch of sweetness from the cranberries and the 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Beautiful loaf of bread, thank you for baking.

Here's the final product...

It's a good thing this loaf of bread is a gift, or you might not have seen it in this perfect state.  You'd have seen about 1/2 of it gone and half a stick of butter gone. 

 Now, go and run 20 laps because you gained about 15 pounds just by looking at this load of bread.

Blessings,

Missy

My boys...

I can't help it...my sons keep me in stitches the live long day.   Let me show you why...


Here's Asher - 10 months old.  He's recently discovered the dog's water bowl and tries to get in it 50 times a day.  No kidding.  I've had to rig a gate across the doorway so he can't get in there. You should see him fight with that gate.  Too funny...

Here's Timothy, just today.  I've had the booster seat out for when company comes over and we need a toddler seat.  But Asher is almost ready to transition from high chair to booster.  Timothy is capable of getting in the booster and buckling himself in.  He's just not able to UNbuckle himself.  He came down the hall like this...

And proceeded to sit in the floor and play whilst still sitting in the booster...

He's such a scream.

I love my kids...

Blessings,
Missy