~The Bakery~

It seems to me that when I try new recipes and they turn out to be a hit, my family always wants me to make more of the yummy item the very next day ! Honestly it's like I am in a bakery when I'm doing this, but I enjoy it alot and love to bake and cook  for my family, especially when they LOVE it !
A new recipe I tried out was Pretzels. I actually have never made homemade pretzels , but I am sure glad I did! This recipe was a BIG HIT, and so far I have made it twice in 3 days ! :)

 

These Pretzels are so Yummy . My family says they taste just as good as Auntie Anns!

Another big hit in my home is Banana Bread and it always go fast! I usually double or triple the recipe when making this because of that , so it can be around longer than 2 hrs ! That is how it is when there are 5 guys in the house!

Fresh out of the oven is always the best !       

   

Banana Bread     

 I am posting these recipes and hope you enjoy them just as much as our family does

 

Soft Baked Pretzels

 

Ingredients:

DOUGH:
 6 teaspoons instant dry yeast
 3 cups warm water (about 105 degrees F)
 4 tablespoons granulated white sugar
 8 cups all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoon salt
CRUST:
 1 1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons baking soda
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 stick butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and sugar. Add in the flour and salt and knead until smooth (you can use your hands, or you can use a stand mixer with the dough hook for this part).
2. Grease a second bowl with nonstick cooking spray/oil and place the dough into the bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap  and let rise for 40 minutes in a warm place.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease your cookie/baking sheets.
4. Divide the dough into 16 to 20 equal parts. Roll each part into a rope about 24 to 26 inches long and form into a pretzel shape.
5. In a shallow pan/cake pan, combine water and baking soda. Submerge each pretzel in the water and then place on the prepared greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt. Let the pretzels rise for 10 to 20 minutes.
6. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush each hot baked pretzel with melted butter immediately after taking them out of the oven.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
 1 egg
3 bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil
 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 raisins /dried fruit like diced figs or apricots

Directions: In a bowl or stand mixer combine egg, bananas, sugar, cooking oil,baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and mix well for about 2 min. Then add your flour. Once mixed fold in your nuts and dried fruit .

 Pour batter into the prepared greased pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven 50-55 minutes (depending how hot your oven runs) or till a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and cool on rack.

 Hope you all enjoy 

   Until next time ! 

                                                         GIGI

Decluttering and Organization

    The New Year is here and the kiddos are back to school , so it's time for some decluttering and organizing.  It's crazy how much one person can accumulate over a year , let alone a family of 6. This isn't a 1 day project either, especially for us.
   All those school papers that come home with your kids along with those amazing artistic pictures that my boys have made over the last year, I have to carefully go through them and decide a few to keep ,and then take pics of all the rest to store on a disc. I never do this when they are here, due to them becoming very upset if they saw me trashing their art that they made just for Mom.
   It's unbeliveable how quickly my kids closets and drawers full of clothes become very disorganized, even though they are neatly folded and laid on their bed to be put away. I use to put them away myself , but mow they are old enough to be doing it themselves. If they can live with their messy clothes stuffed in their drawers and their closet full of clothes not neatly sized and colorized in order like Mom likes it, then I guess I can live with it for a few months until I start my twice to three times a year organization . I always do short sleeves to long sleeves ,from light to dark, decals to stripes/prints, dress to casual, to play clothes.
    Toys are another task that isn't too hard for me anymore. When they were younger I use to want to keep and store every single toy because of all the memories they held, but  I have learned that it's impossible to do that (unless your a hoarder), which is easy to become if your not careful. LOL Now I just do it when they are gone, because honestly they really never miss it unless they see it. Anything that I know or see that they haven't played with over the past 6 months will go in the trash or Goodwill bag.
   There is so much to do with the Decluttering and Organizing project. I will eventually head to my kitchen next and other rooms throughout the next week, but it will all eventually get completed and I will give a sigh of relief when it is all done. It's something that will keep me very busy and that is something that I enjoy.
   If your in the same decluttering and organizing mode like I am , and you find it hard to get rid of something, just ask yourself the question, is it something that I need and will it/I/kids be using it within the next 2 months.  Things that most people collect and seem to accumulate is clothes, paper/junk mail, toys, books, craft items, containers etc. Happy organizing and decluttering because your house will look better and you will feel better organized as well.

                                      GIGI

 

It's A New Dawn, It's A New Day

    Welcome 2014 . Another year has come and gone and I am  now looking forward to what this new year will bring us ! My family enjoyed ringing in the New Year with some friends and I am sure that me staying up till after 3am will catch up with me sooner or later !

    I know that a lot of people make New Years Resolutions of what they plan to do for that year , but in all honesty how many of us really even keep them. Yes , I know that I am one of those people that have written out my goals of what I will do that year, how I will be better person/Mom, lose weight/stay fit , eat healthy, rid my life of unnecessary things, and the list goes on and on. It usually last for me about a month or 2 and then I am back into my old routines, forgetting about all those resolutions I made at the beginning of the year!
   This year I did not make any New resolutions , but instead I will take the goals that I purposed to do in 2013 and continue to work on them .  I am not a perfect person and  if I don't meet them all , just knowing that me striving to do better at them is all that I need to do. So if you don't meet all your Goals for this Year , don't worry or beat yourself help that you failed, Just purpose in your heart to be yourself and take one day at a time as they come!    
     Happy New Year !
                                                                     GIGI