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How to Make Homemade Bread

I keep getting requests for how to make homemade bread and more specifically, for bread machine tutorial videos. I get it #becausebread. I have done these types of tutorials many times on Instagram, but I finally got around to a full three-part series about how I make homemade bread in the bread machine for our YouTube channel.

But that doesn’t mean you should jump over to YouTube just yet. Let’s cover some basics in this article first which will really help you know the tools and method better.

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How to Cook Steak in a Skillet (on the stove)

I’ll be the first to tell you, cooking steak was never my forte in the kitchen. I had never been good at it – and grilling is also a skill that I haven’t acquired because I don’t spend enough time trying to learn the ins and outs of it. But you always should experiment – and so I set out to learn how to cook steak in a skillet on the stove.

I knew it could be done because my friends did it – and I knew that butter HAD to be the answer. I mean, isn’t butter the answer to most of life’s problems?

Dry? Butter. Tasteless? Butter. Old? Butter. Stuck? Butter.

And while we’re on that topic – can we all agree that REAL butter is way better than the cheap garbage that was made in some chemistry lab or factory? Okay…moving on.

So to Google I went – on my quest to research the elusive steak-at-home perfection! Let me just tell ya – there’s about forty trillion tutorials for this on Google. But let me save you a bunch of time so you can just get to the good stuff. Keep reading. 😉

The Steps to an Amazing Steak in the Skillet:

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Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

I think this is the place where bananas come to die. We LOVE them. But no matter how many I buy, at least 4 are always in a state of decay. I’m not talking: eh, those are a little gone. I’m taking: if you pick it up, it will smush in your hand. Banana pancakes are one of the solutions to use such “smushy” bananas. 😉

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Miss Sally’s Chocolate Cake

When we had Ruthie, our church delivered several meals to our house – because they’re holy like that. And we love them. Our pastor’s wife, Miss Sally, (I know, I know, it is technically “MRS. Sally”, but the name Miss stuck) is the most amazing woman of God you’ll ever meet. She’s gentle. She’s kind. She just casually dropped off a chocolate cake. Like it was no big thing. And friends, I had never had Miss Sally’s cake before. But I can tell you, I never want to be without it AGAIN. 

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Baked Potato Nachos

My hobby, during the hotter months of the year, is to avoid turning on the oven whenever possible. However, the people like to eat in our home – and they LOVE nachos. Baked potato nachos are super easy, and a nice alternative to the standard pub fare. That said, you have permission to save this recipe until it’s not the temperature of Hades each day if you feel like I do about using the oven during summertime.

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Best Ever Blueberry Muffins: An Ode to Tammy’s Recipes

Years ago, there was an awesome blog called Tammy’s Recipes. She had the absolute best ever blueberry muffins recipe on there. Seriously, best EVER. Sadly, Tammy is no longer blogging and her blog has gone away (sadness). 
Honestly, her blog’s disappearance has given me some kind of Recipe PTSD.  Friends, this is EXACTLY why you should print ALL recipes that you find online…the ones that you enjoy, anyway. 

You never know when recipe Armageddon will occur and they’re all be gone in a flash. I once had an AMAZING recipe for ciabatta bread. It was my fave…and then POOF! See – Recipe PTSD. It will NOT happen with these blueberry muffins!

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Cornbread Salad

You know how you have those pivotal moments in life? Moments that you remember with astonishing clarity? In my life, I have a few of those moments. One of them was all about Cornbread Salad. I remember where I was, the table, my plate… I remember it all. That Cornbread Salad changed my life. From hence forth, I was a Cornbread Salad connoisseur.
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20 Crock Pot Pumpkin Real Food Recipes

In just yet another area of life, I feel like a rebel. Why? Because if I can I confess something here.. I’m just “okay” with pumpkin recipes. I like it well enough, but I don’t scream and jump up and down when Pumpkin Spice Lattes are hitting the local Starbucks. I can eat pumpkin any time of year – and I do! – but I’m not cuckoo over it.

I will admit though, there is something about turning leaves and crisp mornings that makes me crave pumpkin just a little bit more. Even I can’t deny that something about pumpkin combined with spices makes me want to put on wooly socks and flannel pajamas. And I know I’m not alone in this. In fact, I’ve been seeing yummy pumpkin foods and cozy fall posts all over Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for weeks now!

But seriously… what is it with pumpkin anyway?

From Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Pumpkin Milkshakes to Paleo Pumpkin Pancake Mix – pumpkin flavors are LITERALLY turning up everywhere and in everything. What is it about this fall flavor blend that gets everyone so fired up? The world may never know…

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10 Portable Meals On-the-Go to Save Time and Money

In the Spring of 2014 we officially became a soccer family. And you know what time spring soccer games for 9 year old girls happen? If you guessed dinnertime, you are right! As a mom, and a frugal mom at that, I quickly realized that if we were going to avoid the Taco Bell Drive-Thru, I was going to have to think ahead and get some portable meals going.

Seriously, it adds up going through the drive-thru. Don’t deceive yourself thinking that you are buying something from the dollar menu. Each and every dollar adds up. You get in debt dollar by dollar, and you also get out of debt dollar by dollar. You can go buy a pack of tortillas, and a can of beans for a couple of dollars. And even though you can buy these foods pre-made, if you use these convenience foods to make burritos, it is WAY cheaper than buying a bean burrito at a fast food restaurant. You could make about 10 burritos for the cost it takes you to buy 2 or 3 in the drive-thru. [Read more…]

The 13 Best Muffin Recipes of all Time

Let’s be honest here. Muffins are just a way to get more butter into our bodies. We can’t just sit around eating spoonfuls of butter without looking like lunatics. But, smear that butter on a muffin? Totally acceptable!

I love a GOOD muffin. I make muffins at least once a week for breakfast and sometimes more often so that I can offer them as snacks to the kids. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that they top my baking list and show up often. I like to use Trina Holden’s hashtag #buttervehicle as much as humanly possible.

Notice my emphasis on GOOD. Nasty muffins are just…nasty. Not even worth the butter you might waste on them. Boycott nasty muffins! [Read more…]