Loaf Bread

I am on a quest to make all of my favorite kinds of bread.  I am almost to the point where I could supply my family with homemade versions of our favorite breads - crescent rolls are the only ones giving me a problem.

I own a bread machine, but hardly ever use it anymore.  I am much more likely to mix, pound, and roll out my own doughs.  It is NOT DIFFICULT people and oh so rewarding when you get those perfect loaves!  Though I am still partial to peasant or crusty bread, we all need a good, standard loaf bread recipe.

Loaf Bread

• 2 1/2 c Warm Water
• 1 T Dry Active Yeast
• 1 T Sugar
• 7 c Flour
• 2 t Salt
• 1/4 c Butter or Margarine, softened

Got to love a perfectly rising
bread dough!

1. Combine 1/2 c warm water, the sugar and the yeast in your mixing bowl.  Set aside for 5-10 minutes - it should foam.  If it doesn't foam than either your yeast is no good or your water was too hot and killed the yeast.  Try again.  
2. Once the yeast mixture is nice and foamy add in the remaining 2 c of water and 3 cups of flour.  Mix well, it will be thin!
3. Finally add in the butter, remaining 4 c of flour and the salt.  (We mix the flour in stages to keep the salt from affecting the yeast mixture.)  
4. If you are using a mixer with a dough hook, continue mixing the dough for about 5-10 minutes until it is nicely elastic.  If you are mixing by hand you will need to knead the dough on your counter for 10-15 minutes until nicely elastic and uniform.  
5. Return the dough back to the mixing bowl, no need to oil or wash the bowl, cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm draft free spot to allow the dough to rise.  (I place my bowl in the microwave as I am normally using my oven while I am waiting for the dough to rise.)
6. Grease two loaf pans and set them aside.
7. After the dough has doubled in size (about 2 hours) punch it down and divide the dough in half. Flatten each half to about the size of a piece of paper and fold them in on themselves like you would a letter.  Pinch the seams and place in the prepared loaf pans.  Be sure to push the dough down so it touches all the sides of the pan. Return the loaf pans to your warm, draft free, and dry space (not the oven), cover them with the towel and allow the dough to rise once more.  It should take about an hour to double in size.
8. Preheat your oven to 375 F.  
9. Once the dough has doubled in size again place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.  The crust will turn a nice golden brown.
10. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans when taking them out of the oven and set on a rack to cool.
11. ENJOY!

I know it is a lot of steps but it is really simple!  I would give you the calorie count of a slice, but everyone prefers a different thickness to their bread.  I will tell you that the recipe makes 2 loaves with a total calorie count of 3360 - divide as you will!  I am not one to each many sandwiches (PB&J is pretty much it) but I do enjoy toast!  This bread makes some EXCELLENT toast.  I am also thinking it will make great french toast!  As soon as I kick this flu, I will be trying that out.

Here are some links to the many other breads I have tackled lately:

Peasant Bread
Crusty Bread
English Muffin Bread
Pita / Naan Bread

and the sweet breads...

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Double Chocolate Banana
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Apple Bread - my all time favorite!

Iced Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf

I seem to be on a gingerbread kick.  I have always loved molasses cookies (it is my favorite dough to eat!) but lately I have been more of a bar/loaf girl than a cookie girl.  This past holiday season I was completely obsessed with gingerbread bars, I prefer mine without the frosting but they are wonderful.  Seeing chocolate makes EVERYTHING better I figured I would try my hand at a chocolate gingerbread loaf.

I am posting this recipe because it is something different and it has been enthusiastically enjoyed by my sample-crowd (otherwise known as the teachers at Stinkles's school).  I, myself, am not impressed.  I think perhaps if I make it again I will use all oil and regular cocoa instead of dutch process.  Of course the change in oil will increase the calorie count.  I think I will probably just stick with the regular old gingerbread bars that I normally make.  If you try this one out let me know your thoughts.

Iced Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf

• 1/4 c Oil
• 1/4 c Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/2 c Dutch Process or Dark Chocolate Cocoa
• 1/2 c Molasses
• 3/4 c Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 c Milk
• 1 c Flour
• 3/4 t Baking Soda
• 2 t Ginger
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1/4 t Cloves
• 1/4 t Nutmeg
• 1 c Confectioner's Sugar
• 1 T Milk
• 1/2 t Vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.  Grease and flour (I use cocoa instead of flour so you don't have a funny colored loaf due to the white flour) a loaf pan and set aside.  
2. Combine the oil, molasses and brown sugar in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute.  Mix well to incorporate all the sugar.  Pour the mixture into you big mix bowl.
3. Add in the applesauce, milk, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.  Once the mixture has cooled sufficiently add in the eggs.  Blend well.
4. Finally mix in the flour.
5. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf bounces back to the touch and a tested inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove the loaf from the oven and place the loaf pan on it's side to allow the loaf to cool slightly before removing it from the pan.  (By placing the loaf on it's side you are helping to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the loaf pan.)
7. Remove the loaf from the pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
8. To make the icing, coming the confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla.  If it is too thick slowly add in teaspoons of milk until the desired consistency is achieved.  Once the loaf has cooled completely pour the icing over the loaf and allow it to set.
9. ENJOY

It really is a very simple recipe.  The calorie count comes in at about 160 calories per slice - if you slice your loaf into 18 slices.  Those are fairly thin slices, if you are looking more for a Starbucks slice thickness you are probably looking at about 320-350 calories per slice.  Everything in moderation, right?

I served the loaf with some cut up strawberries and a side of cool whip.  (In my opinion cool whip goes with everything, even if it is iced :-D)

Day 158

My chosen mantra

And so it continues...

We recently came back from a great vacation in Orlando.  Vacations seem to be the hardest time to stay on track, granted we walk more overall but the days are filled with yummy snacks and glorious meals.  Let's face it, we like to eat and if we are going on vacation for enjoyment then eating will happen!  Popcorn, my main snack weakness, is always in abundance on vacations - you can't walk around a park without some.  As are peanut butter crackers, chocolate and ice cream.  We seemed to do ok with the ice cream this time around, as Stinkles and Brian have taken a liking to froyo.  The popcorn and glorious meals were another issue.  However I am happy to report that Brian and I made it through vacation only gaining 2 pounds each!  And to make the story even better we both lost those two pounds, and then some, within 3 days of being home!

On day 158 I have decided to, like always, reflect on how this journey is going.  I am 20 days away from half a year.  Now if you had asked me half a year ago if I would be 50 pounds lighter and feel good about how it was coming off I would have scoffed at you.  Not that I didn't want to lose the weight, but I had pretty much decided nothing would work for me.  I am happy to say I was wrong.  This vacation just proves how different our lives are now.  We no longer come home from a full day at a park BONE TIRED and collapsing on the couch.  We walk faster, eat less, and crave a good workout - which just happened to be a nightly occurrence of swimming laps.  Instead of gorging on fried foods (others, not me - never have liked fried foods all that much) we had a cooler bag full of fresh strawberries, cucumbers, oranges and of course Stinkles's pepperoni.  We FIT on rides that, last year, there would have been no possibility - we were able to bring Stinkles on kid roller coasters!  We were actually able to buy souvenir shirts!  I know these might not seem like big things to some people, but it is all compounding into great things for us!

As for the numbers:  Brian and I have lost OVER 120 pounds together.  THAT BLOWS MY MIND.  Brian, being a guy and working hard, has completely blown by me in his losing.  He is currently down 69.1 pounds.  WAY TO GO HUN!  I have slowed down considerably but am still moving in the right direction.  I am currently down 51.4 pounds.  So, the numbers break down as follows:  51.4 pounds lost in 158 days.  That is about 0.33 pounds lost per day, 2.28 pounds lost per week, and 9.18 pounds lost per week.  As you can see the numbers have gone down significantly but I am not going to dwell on that right now.  I am still moving in the right direction so I will be happy and keep on trucking.

Finally I will leave you with some picture. (This is a big treat as I am not a fan of pictures of myself!)

This is Brian and I at the Mexican Pavilion in Epcot in January of 2009.

And here we are at the China Pavilion in January of 2013!!

Stinkles and I at Seaworld in January of 2012...

Here I am at our condo in FL in January 2013!

Here is Brian is 2009 at the UK Pavilion...

and Brian at the Italy Pavilion in 2013!!

Just for fun, here is Stinkles enjoying one of the MANY popcorns on the trip!  Can you tell he is a little Star Wars obsessed at the moment?

Finally, Epcot is our favorite park.  It can be a "journey" nightmare if you let it - i.e. food from ever country pavilion and let's not forget the wonderful food coming out of the Land Pavilion as well - but it is also the park that guarantees the most walking.  My fit bit logged we in for 26,393 steps the day we visited Epcot and it was a short day.  We got to Epcot around 12 and left at about 8 (we did go to Magic Kingdom in the morning, but that is NOT a park for a lot of walking).









UPDATE:  I apparently should have waited until day 159 for my journey update as both Brian and myself officially weighed in this morning.  Brian is currently down 69.8 pounds and I am down 52.9.... that is 122.7 total!

Strawberry Honey Oatmeal Bars

THESE ARE SO AMAZING!!  I am a big fan of Trader Joe's Strawberry Cereal Bars and have been on the lookout for a great "cereal" bar recipe and these (though they don't look like cereal bars) taste very close!

I seem to be in possession of a surplus of oats - I can only make so many granola bars before I start looking for something new.  For a while now I have been contemplating a good oatmeal bar - not a cookie or a crunchy granola bar but a nice soft, cake-like oatmeal bar.  I had found a bunch of recipes for peanut butter/chocolate oatmeals bars, I was looking for something a little lighter on the calorie front.  Time to start frankenstein-ing some recipes - I have to say I am thrilled with the result!

Strawberry Honey Oatmeal Bars

• 1 1/2 c Oats
• 1 c Flour
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 6 T Butter or Margarine, softened
• 1/2 c Brown Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 c Honey
• 3/4 - 1 c Strawberry Spread or Jam (or the fruit flavor of your choice)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and like an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Blend together the butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add in the honey, flour and oats and mix well.
4. Press 3/4 of the batter into the bottom of the parchment lined 8x8 baking dish.
5. Spread the strawberry spread (or jam) on top of the batter in the dish and top with the remaining quarter of batter.  
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting.
8. ENJOY!

I cut these bars into 16 servings.  I ate mine while it was still warm and if I had extra calories for the day I would definitely be eating more!  They come in at about 140 calories per bar - not all that bad seeing they are so YUMMY.  Plus if you compare them to cereal bars they are right on target - most cereal bars fall between 130 - 180 calories.

It might not look like much but it is darn good!

Try them out and let me know your thoughts!

Paintbrush Cookies

Dinner is done, the toys are semi put away and Stinkle's is still bouncing off the walls - an hour before bedtime.  What to do, what to do?  It is cold, dark and snowing outside so that is out... I know - THWOMP cookies!  

As a little girl my mom used to make paintbrush cookies for my sister and I.  Every Easter we would cut out our egg shaped cookies and go to town decorating them before they are baked.  It is the quintessential memory of a wonderful time with my mom and sister in the kitchen.  (Keeping in mind memories can be changed to fit your current mood - if I was angry I am sure I would be remembering Heather and I bickering about one or the other stealing the color the other NEEDED.) 

As we all know I LOVE to bake.  Getting Brian and Stinkles involved is just icing on the cake for me.  So with an hour till bedtime it was just enough time to make and paint some cookies!  Seeing Stinkles is a Super Mario Fan (and I didn't feel like cutting Tie Fighters) we made Thwomps!

Paintbrush Cookies

These can be made with any sugar / shortbread / roll out cookie recipe.  I will give you my sugar cookie recipe but feel free to use your own!

• 1/2 c Margarine or Butter, softened
• 1 c Sugar
• 2 c Flour
• 2 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Vanilla
• 1 Egg
• Dash of Salt

Let the painting commence!

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease your cookie sheets.
2. Combine all ingredients except the flour and beat until fluffy.
3. Slowly add in the flour and mix until a dough is formed.
4. At this point you can chill the dough for a few hours or roll it out and bake it right away.  (I HATE chilling dough so I almost always roll it out and bake it - molasses cookies being the one exception to this rule.)
5. If you aren't chilling the dough be sure to generously flour your rolling surface.
6. Roll and cut out your cookies and place them on your prepared cookie sheets.  Be sure to leave enough room for the cookies to expand.

Paintbrush Cookies Paint

• 1 Egg Yolk
• Splash of Water (about 1 - 2 tablespoons)
• Food Coloring of your choice

1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well.
2. Using a paintbrush*, paint your design on your cookies.
3. Bake until the edges are golden brown
4. ENJOY

Isn't that the simplest thing ever?  An hour of fun for Stinkles - between making the dough, rolling it out, cutting out the cookies, painting them and finally baking the cookies.  We killed the time before bed without making a huge toy mess and he got to make his own dessert!  I hope he looks back on his paintbrush cookies with as much fondness as I do on mine!!

We even made a Chain-Chomp and some Boo's

*I think it goes without saying that you need to use a CLEAN, USED ONLY FOR FOOD paintbrush.  I actually use cheap watercolor paint brushes that I buy from the dollar store or christmas tree shop for all my cookie and chocolate painting!  I put this in just incase I get an email later on saying "my cookies tasted a little funny, should I have not used that acrylic paint loaded paintbrush?"  

Carrot Cake

Now I am not a huge fan of carrot cake. I think it goes back to my firm belief that carrots make you blind!! I know all you people are saying “no Amy, carrots are good for your eyesight.” Well let me give you my theory: I have loathed carrots from the day I was born. I would flatly refuse to eat them and when I was “forced” I needed to wash them down with a giant glass of milk. I have always had perfect vision. As a matter of fact I had never even been to an ophthalmologist until a few years ago and that was due to pregnancy issues. The rest of my family has been rabbit like in their love of the orange root vegetable. I think my mother would eat them with every meal if given the choice. THEY ARE ALL BLIND! OK not legally blind, but their eyesight left much to be desired. So let’s recap – Amy refuses to eat carrots and she is the only one in the house without spectacles. My ban on carrots continued until I had Stinkles, at which point I determined I needed to be a grown-up and eat the buggers. POOF, glasses for Amy. I would like to point out that I still have great vision, my glasses are for tint and to focus my astigmatism, but I can’t help notice the correlation between my carrot eating and the need for glasses.

OK back on topic, carrot cake. It seems like everyone likes it. I remember being younger and my Uncle was a chef at a local restaurant. I used to complain that everyone ordering carrot cake would get a cute little frosting carrot on their piece of cake but my plain old vanilla cake never had any decoration. Lucky for me, I was spoiled and he used to add frosting carrots to my vanilla cake!! I never understood why people would want a dessert that tasted like vegetables.

In keeping with my open mind attitude for the past year I decided to give Carrot Cake another try. This worked out excellent seeing Brian requested carrot cake doughnuts for his birthday.

My mother has a carrot cake recipe that I have always used so I cracked out the recipe and calculated the calories: 453/slice. AHH! That is more than I normally spend on my entire lunch. Obviously something had to be done. I sat down and racked my brain and came up with the following.

Carrot Cake
• 2 c Flour
• 1 t Baking Soda
• ½ t Baking Powder
• 1 t Cinnamon
• ¼ t Nutmeg
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 c Brown Sugar
• 1 c Sugar
• ½ c Oil
• ¼ c Milk
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1 c Carrots
• Dash of Salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
o 4 oz Cream Cheese
o 1 ¾ c Confectioner’s Sugar
o 1 T Milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease your pans. (This recipe can be made in a bundt pan, 2 8-inch layers, cupcakes, loaf pans – you name and it can do it!)
2. Mix together the sugars, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add in the dry ingredients and blend well.
4. Finally add in the carrots and mix until the carrots are dispersed evenly.
5. Divide the batter evenly into your pan(s) and bake until the edges start to golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (The recipe makes 18 cupcakes if you are so inclined to make cupcakes.)
6. Set on wire racks to cool.
7. While the cake(s) are cooling combine all the frosting ingredients and blend until smooth.
8. Once the cake(s) have cooled, frost and refrigerate until serving.
9. ENJOY!

Seeing doughnuts were requested, I made 6 doughnuts and 12 cupcakes. Therefore the servings size for this batch was 18. The calorie count came in at 230/serving with the frosting and 170/serving without. Compared with 453, I will take it! Please keep in mind if you make a cake you can always make the servings bigger or smaller.

I will now admit that I tasted the batter as well as the finished product. Like with most things, I enjoyed the batter a lot more than the finished product. That being said, I didn’t find the cupcakes to be all that bad. If I was going to make a habit of eating them, however, I would have to use buttercream frosting instead of cream cheese!

All in all I would say that these were a hit! They make EXCELLENT baked doughnuts –just the perfect amount of rise. (I use a Wilton doughnut pan to make my baked doughnuts, it is a great buy for when you want something sweet and want to shake up the standard cupcake/cake format!)

If you give them a try let me know your opinion!

*Sorry for the EXTREME wordiness of this post. I wrote it on a plane and I guess I let my rambling nature take over!

FitBit

If you follow me on facebook or twitter you have recently been bombarded with my FitBit love! It is such a small and simple thing but it has made a big impact in my life.

The road to FitBit started about four months ago. I had just started on my journey and was feverishly downloading calorie and step counting apps. I had used a few calorie counting apps prior but none of them stuck. I decided to give MFP a real try and wanted something to keep track of my daily steps in addition. I downloaded a few pedometer apps for my phone yet quickly realized that was not the way go! They would either drain my battery or be complete JUNK! Now my phone isn't brand new, but without the pedometer program running I have no problem with the battery lasting all day.

So, after many disappointments, I started looking into stand alone pedometers. You would not believe the number of pedometers out there. They all claim to be the best, which do I choose? By this time I was well engrossed in MFP and decided to read some of the message boards to gather some opinions. I was surprised to see an overwhelming number of FitBit users! Don't get me wrong there were WW pedometer users and Fuel Band users but the majority were faithful FitBit users. I took this info and started asking the health conscious friends and dfamily their opinion and found even more FitBit users.

Finally, after all my research I settled on a FitBit One. Three months of contemplating and gathering information had my heart set on a FitBit One and then my head got involved. Why would I spend that amount of money on a STEP COUNTER?!? It seemed frivolous. I really wanted one but I just couldn't justify the expense. Enter Brian in the guise of Santa! The best husband ever supplied the perfect Christmas gift this year!

After some initial problems - the original FitBit I got had some hardware issues so it had to be swapped out for a new one - I am a faithful FitBit user. I am sure that I am still in the novelty period, but I can't wait to check my One at strategic intervals throughout the day.

I use it as a guideline for daily activity. After we put Stinkles to bed I take a gander at my step count and miles traveled for the day, if they are below my goal I need to get my butt in gear! It is actually a great motivational tool. Seeing a low number makes me want to bring it up, and seeing a high number makes me want to beat a previous high! In hindsight, I am kicking myself for waiting as long as I did to get one.

The FitBit itself is small. It comes with a bluetooth dongle, a charging cable, a sleep wrist band, and a carrying clip. It can bluetooth sync with an iphone, ipad or any computer with the required bluetooth technology. It charges completely in about 2 hours and seems to last for about 1.5 - 2 weeks on one charge.

The software for the One keeps track of steps taken,

floors climbed, miles traveled, calories burnt, and your activity level (which is a really cool flower). The One can also track your sleep- I have done this a few times and it seems pretty accurate! FitBit can also sync in with MFP and update my calorie count based on my actual acitvity for each day.

I know it doesn't sound like much but it is great to me! I have decided that the amount of motivation I get from my One was definitely worth the price.

Do any of you have a pedometer or heart rate monitor? If so which ones and why did you choose that one?! I am always curious even though I am thrilled with my One.

Pizza Crescents

Brian's "Work from Home" lunch!

If you have perused all my recipes on here you have probably noticed a reoccurring theme:  pizza.  We like pizza in this house.  We are willing to try any incarnation if the title says "Pizza" and thus pizza crescents were born.

Today I was looking for something to make for lunch.  Brian was working from home and I figured a nice hot lunch is just what we could use.  Looking in the fridge made me drag my feet in making anything super involved.  I was originally thinking pizza muffins but they can be oily at times and I wasn't in the mood for all that pepperoni.  I then contemplated zucchini bites, but I wanted Brian to be happy about lunch so that was vetoed at well.  Finally I settled on something "new".  This is probably the easiest and least thought inducing menu item I have ever made.

Pizza Crescents

• 1 can Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
• 16 slices of Pepperoni
• 4 Light String Cheese Sticks
• Italian Seasoning
• Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Unroll the crescent rolls and place 2 pepperoni slices and half a string cheese on each wedge. 
3. Roll the crescent rolls up like you normally would.  Be sure to pinch all the edges closed to keep the cheese from melting out.
4. Place the crescents on your baking dish.  Sprinkle them with italian seasoning and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
5. Bake until the crescents are golden brown.
6. Serve with pizza dipping sauce and veggies.  ENJOY!

Isn't that the simplest thing you have ever read?  They took NO TIME to make and were pretty yummy.  The only issue with these is that they aren't exactly calorie friendly if you have a BIG appetite.  I was content with eating 2 rolls and a bunch of cucumbers but if 2 rolls isn't going to do it for you then the calories count could add up!  Seeing there are eight crescent rolls in a pack, I decided that 2 rolls would be a serving size.  The pizza crescents come in at about 265 calories per serving (see what I mean about big appetites having a higher calorie count?!)  I can honestly say that my 2 rolls filled me up plenty though and they weren't oily or overly pepperoni flavored like the pizza muffins can be.

Day 143

Annoyed and slightly discouraged are the words for today.  It has been one day shy of two weeks since I last updated on my journey and I have lost all of 1.3 pounds in two weeks... not an accomplishment at all in my opinion.  I am super thrilled for everyone around me that is losing and making it all work, but this week has been nothing but frustration for me.  

I am regularly putting in 4-5 miles of walking/running a day and I have taken up with my yoga and wii fit again.  I think I am in a rut.  I am going to take my Doc's advice and give myself a free day.  Maybe I will have that popcorn I have been craving.  

The numbers as they are:  48.7 pounds down in 143 days.  That is about 0.34 pounds per day, 2.38 pounds per week, and 10.82 pounds per month.  I am not impressed with those numbers.  

That being said - I have to bring my mindset around to realize that I have lost 48 pounds in 4.5 months and that is good.  I need to remember that I am not looking for a quick fix but a lasting change and I am doing it properly.  Time to remind myself of all the positives instead of focusing on the negatives!  I have a lot more energy, I feel GREAT, I get to buy a new wardrobe, I can regularly jog a mile without passing out, I have brought my step count per day up to at least 10,000 in the hopes of leading a healthier lifestyle.  All these are great accomplishments!  Snap out of it Amy and keep plugging!

When I started this journey I decided to share all in the hopes that it would help others like me.  In keeping with that philosophy I have decided to share a tidbit that I normally NEVER would - my actual size.  At the beginning of this journey I was wearing a size 24 (not my proudest moment obviously).  I need to interject that I have NO hopes of being a size 2.  I am just not built that way - as a matter of fact I am pretty sure I would have to really harm myself to make it that small.  I am hoping for a 10/12 when all is said and done.  I have not been a size 10/12 since I was in junior high, and I am not 100% sure it is attainable but I am going to try.  In all my discouragement these past few days I have slowly become aware of something astonishing - I have dropped FOUR sizes.  While trying on clothes yesterday, I fit into a size 16 (snugly).  I didn't purchase the 16 - it was too snug for my liking and just cause I am dropping weight doesn't mean I will abandon wearing clothes a size or so too big.  The 18 fit - with a little breathing room to spare - but I was still astonished that I was not only able to fit into a 16 but pull them up and button them.  In keeping with this trend I grabbed some old dresses last week that I had left at my parents house.  They were from junior and senior year of high school - THEY FIT ME!  I also have to say that I fill them out a HECK of a lot nicer now then I ever did in high school - tip for teenaged Amy: curves are your friend stop fighting them!!  I could not get over the fact that I not only wear, but look respectable in my junior prom and senior supper dresses.  I guess I do still have a reason to be happy/proud.  

So why is it that I am dropping sizes yet my weight isn't going anywhere?  I think I need to reevaluate my relationship with my scale!

Pita Bread

Don't mind the Penguin Mug Collection in
the background!

I am starting to think that I need a section just for breads.... I will have to look into that!

Our new bread discover is homemade pita bread.  I should clarify that I like to roll mine super thin so they are more like baked naan than pita but boy are they yummy!  The reason that pita bread has that delicious pocket is that the heat at which it is baked, and the heat of the stone it is baked on, is so high that it turns the moisture in the dough to steam and causes air pockets.  Thus a pita pocket!  Now if you roll your dough to less than a quarter inch - yes it is very easy to do that - you get more of a bubbly naan like bread instead of a puffed pocket.  Both are super yummy and SUPER easy to make!

I am also going to throw out there that these can be made in a fry pan ON the stove as well!

Pita Bread

• 2 1/2 c Flour
• 2 t Salt
• 2 t Yeast
• 1 c Warm Water
• Oil for the bowl

1. Mix together your salt and flour in a large bowl.
2. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and let sit for about 5-10 minutes.
3. Combine the yeast water and flour mixture and stir until a dough forms.  Add a little more flour is your dough is too sticky.
4. Lightly flour a work surface (the less flour you use the better) and knead the dough for at least 5 minutes but no more than 10.  The dough will lose it's stickiness and knead up well - it isn't that hard to knead either.
5. Oil the mix bowl and place the kneaded dough ball back in the oiled bowl and roll around to oil the dough.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free place to allow the dough to rise.
7. Once the dough has doubled in size (1-2 hours) punch it down and divide into 10 pieces.
8. Preheat your oven to 450 F and place your baking stone or baking sheet in the oven while it is preheating.
9. Roll out three of the dough pieces into circles about 1/4 inch thick.  Keep the remaining dough pieces under the plastic wrap while you are rolling out your circles.
10. Once the oven and stone are preheated place your three pita circles on the stone in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes.  They won't stick to the stone.  If they are thick enough they will puff up like a pita, even if yours do not puff they are still DELICIOUS!!  You can top the flat pitas with sauce and cheese to make a very yummy pizza!
11. While the first three are baking roll out another three pieces of dough into circles.  Once the first three are done baking, remove them from the stone and place them on cooling racks.  Immediately place the next three circles on the stone to bake for 3-5 minutes.  Continue this until all the dough is used.
12. Store the un-eaten pitas - if there are any - in an air tight container at room temp.  I can't really tell you how long they will last seeing there have never been any left after the second day in my house.
13. ENJOY

I cannot stress how WONDERFULLY DELICIOUS and east to make these pitas are.  I have found myself making batches just to make pita chips.  They really do make a wonderful personal pizza base and at 125 calories per pita you can afford to eat it as a pizza shell.  (That is 125 calories per pita if you divide your dough into 10 pieces.)

What are you favorite things to do with pita bread?  Mine is peanut butter but that isn't really a surprise - peanut butter goes with everything!

Gingerbread Bars

My new obsession!

Forget those gingerbread men, I am all about gingerbread bars!  They are moist, they full of flavor and they do NOT require rolling and cutting prior to baking - woo hoo.  Now I am a fan of molasses cookies (what some others might call ginger snap cookies - though I don't get why seeing there is more molasses than ginger but, I digress) and these bars have all the best parts of a molasses cookie!  They are super simple to make, the only draw back is they are just as simple to eat!  They aren't exactly the most calorie friendly food I have made - everything in moderation!  I prefer mine without frosting, but I am going to give you everything and let you decide!

Gingerbread Bars (or Molasses Bars as I am going to take to calling them)

• 1 c Sugar
• 3/4 c Butter or Margarine, melted
• 1/4 c Molasses
• 2 c Flour
• 1 Egg
• 2 t Baking Soda
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1/2 t Ginger, ground
• 1/2 t Cloves, ground
• dash of Salt
• 4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 T Butter or Margarine, softened
• 2 c Confectioner's Sugar
• 1/2 t Vanilla
• 1-2 T Milk

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9x9, 11x7, or 9-inch pie plate and set aside.  You can also make these in a jelly roll pan, just be sure to grease whatever pan you choose.
2. Combine the melted butter, molasses, and sugar.  
3. Add in the egg and mix well.
4. Finally add in the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and dash of salt.  
5. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes.  **It seems that every time I make these bars it takes a different amount of time to cook.  You want to cook the bars until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  The bars climb the sides of your pan and the sides will be done before the middle.  Also do NOT be alarmed if they "sink" if you are not using a jelly roll pan.  They still taste wonderful!!
6. Set the bars aside to cool slightly.  Once cool to the touch place in the refrigerator.
7. To make the frosting combine the cream cheese, 2 T of butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla and milk.  Mix well until fluffy.  Spread over the bars and return the bars to the fridge.  
8. Allow the bars to cool completely in the refrigerator before cutting.  They also need to be stored in the fridge due to the cream cheese frosting.
9. Enjoy!

I have to say that they so sink.  I bake them in my 10 inch stoneware pie dish.  The middle is never gooey and oozing, but they do sink down when you remove them from the fridge.  No worries, you can frost the middle and serve like a pie!

Like I said earlier I prefer mine without the cream cheese frosting, just a light sprinkle of confectioner's sugar and I am all set.  They are super addicting!!  When I cut them into bars I can get about 24 bars out one recipe.  With frosting that gives you a calorie count of 165 per bar.  I warned you they weren't the most calorie friendly things in the world!  If you omit the frosting you are looking at about 110 calories per bar.  Make them to share with some friends so you aren't stuck eating them all and you will be good!