BREAD!

i am so excited about this post. it's been a long time coming... but it's finally finished. a good friend taught me how to make homemade sourdough bread and believe me... it's delicious. granted, it's a long process but it's super fun. so here it goes:
1. feed the starter. after feeding the starter you have to let it sit for 8 hours. this completes the first step.


2. the next morning you have to make the bread. after combining flour, sugar, salt, oil, starter and warm water you mix all the ingredients together (with a wooden spoon) and let it rise for 8 hours.





3. after the dough has risen pour it out on a floured surface and knead. then separate the dough into three loaves. don't forget to spray the loaf pans! let the dough rise again until it doubles or for 8 hours.





4. it's finally time to bake it! you put the bread into a COLD oven (do not preheat it!) Bake @ 350 for 35 min. then here's my FAVORITE part- take it out of the oven and ENJOY! i put butter on one piece and then butter and jelly on the other. i honestly like it so much better with just the butter. the bread has excellent flavor by itself.





i plan to continue making bread! it's fun to eat and give away!
so thank you to my good friend and mother of 6 for teaching me how to make this!

three things.

1. an invitation.
mom and i (and mom's friend) hosted a wedding shower for my best friend b. i was really excited about making the invitations because i love making new things. these turned out cute and were extremely simple. so being wedding season and all, i figured i would post it just in case anyone need a simple idea.
supplies:
one solid color of scrap book paper (i used card stock)
one fun color or pattern
ribbon (the ribbon with wire works best)
single hole punch
you simply cut the patterned scrap book paper to the size that you want the invitation to be then you cut the solid sheet a little smaller. line the paper as you want it and punch two holes in the top center of the paper (about 1/2 inch from the top). cut a piece of ribbon (about 2 inches) and feed it through the holes by place each end of the ribbon through the front of each hole, pull the ribbon through on the back side, cross the ribbon and thread it back through the front on the opposite side. that may sound confusing but you are just trying to get the two pieces of paper to stay together. then if you have the wire ribbon scrunch it together a little to make it cute. these are extremely cheap (i made 30 invitations for about $9) and they do not require any other adhesives (i hate glue!)

2. a book.
i am reading an incredible book by david platt called radical. it is challenging to say the least. it challenges believers to take back our faith from the american dream. platt discusses how we as american christians have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences instead of being a true disciple of Christ. i encourage everyone to buy this book and read it... but don't read it if you are not ready to be challenged and changed.

3. cookies.
i had to make a simple (and quick) dessert for an engagement party the other day and i decided to not go out and buy anything new... i was determined to use something that i already had in the pantry. so i found a box of devil's food cake and looked up recipes for cookies to make with the cake mix. i found a simple and DELICIOUS one.
1 box devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
some chocolate chips of your choice (i used white chocolate chips, others said they use peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips, get creative!)
you simply mix all the ingredients together (with a spoon). the dough is very thick but great to work with. then you roll dough into balls at place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 375 for 9-11 min. they are great! it made 2 dozen cookies.



i am starting a new fun project today so i hope to be posting it soon.

my goals.

i really like making goals. long term, short term, goals for the day/week, anything. i enjoy having a set list of things i want to do or complete in a given amount of time. so that's why i set four goals for my summer:
1. explore new recipes and try them out
2. make new crafts
3. get in shape
4. become a coupon expert
to add to this list i will be catching up on some reading, spending quality time with my husband (J), finding a place to live come september, and saving money like crazy. this blog is simply to keep me on track and help document my progress. i will post pictures, share good deals/coupons that i find, record recipes that are successful and give my opinion about books that i read. i'm excited.

so what have i done so far to begin reaching my goals? well i have gone through, cleaned out and organized ALL of my craft supplies (paint, scrap booking materials, ribbon, jewelry making supplies, sewing kit, etc), j and i have walked three days (for three miles) in the last week, i invested in some 5 lbs. weights to do some mild arm toning exercises, and tonight we made a new vegetable recipe. it was delicious and i give all the credit to the hendricks family. here's the recipe:
Feta Peppers

yellow bell pepper
red bell pepper
garlic
salt
olive oil
feta cheese
preheat oven to 400. cut the bell peppers into strips and put in mixing bowl. coat peppers with olive oil, salt and garlic (i didn't have exact amounts for any of the ingredients and it still turned out great. just add to taste) Bake for 12-15 min. then remove from oven and add feta on top. bake another 5 min. ENJOY.
we ate them with roast and it was the perfect balance of flavors.

this will be a great summer.