Bread

I, Linda Marie Aguirre, baked bread! I cannot believe it!!!! Never did I think the day would come that I would be able to bake my own bread. When Mario and I first got married I only knew how to make spaghetti (which he doesn't like) and ......well.....really just spaghetti. Poor Mario! Five years later I have become more comfortable cooking and baking, but have been scared to use yeast. Which is kinda funny since I worked as a chemist mixing concentrated acids, which are way scarier than yeast. Yeah, I'm crazy!

But my first attempt at bread went very well. Rachel, my really great friend from jr. high and high school, was visiting so she got to help and cheer me on.

This is a Kitchen Aid recipe so it is a little different. Here is the recipe:

Rapid Mix Cool Rise White Bread

Ingredients

6 to 7 cups all purpose flour

2 tbs. sugar

3 1/2 tsp. salt

3 packages active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter softened

2 cups very warm water

Directions

Place 5 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 20 seconds. Gradually add warm water and mix about 1 1/2 minutes longer.

Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dought clings to hook and cleans the side of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest about 20 minutes.

Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 9x14 inch rectangle. Starting at short end roll tightly and pinch ends to seal.

Place in greased loaf pans. Brush each loaf with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.

When ready to bake, uncover dough carefully. Let stand at room temp. 10 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans immediatly and cool on wire racks.

SOOOOOO GOOD! This may just make me a regular bread maker!

Chicken and Broccoli Rice

So, we came home from church today VERY hungry....like all Sundays. All our meat is out in the garage freezer and we can't go out there...long story! Read my blog and I'll put the story there. So the only thing I had inside was chicken. So I throw some chicken in a pan and start some rice, without really knowing what I wanted to make. I just kept adding things I had and it actually ended up really good. In fact, Mario says it is one of his new favorites.

Ingredients

Chicken (boneless, skinless, cooked in pan with EVOO and cut up)

Brocolli (I used frozen and chopped, cooked according to directions)

1 Can Cream of Chicken

Few dollops of sour cream

A squeeze of lemon juice

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper (to taste)

onion flakes

garlic powder

Directions

In pan mix together cooked chicken and cooked brocolli, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add some onion flakes, a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add Cream of Chicken and sour cream. Heat through. Serve over white rice.

This is a super easy and quick meal. I served it with a green salad and raspberry lemonade.