Home made bread

When I was a child, my mother would bake home made bread every week. Usually on Friday afternoon, as we would clean the house and get ready for the weekend. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of sitting on my dads lap, the smell of fresh baked bread filling the house, listening to what he did that day while he took off his work boots.

As I got older, things in our family changed, and my mother slowed her bread making to a trickle and then stopped completely before I was old enough to really learn how it was done. Early this summer my husband and I moved into the same house that I grew up in. I've been cooking in the same kitchen that I remember those yummy bread smells coming from, so I had to at least try to make bread from scratch. I looked online and went threw page after page of recipe's that always started out great, but eventually said "Add this all together in your bread machine...."  Oh wait.. I don't have one of those. Nor do I want one. Hmm. SO finally I found a recipe that sounded promising, and after trying it, I'm glad I didn't give up. This bread turned out light, slightly sweet, and very yummy. I cut the sugar in half so I could share it with my diabetic father, who of course loved it as much as I did.

What you will need:
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

I found this recipe and many others over at www.allrecipes.com, if you find a good one that your family loves, feel free to send me a link!

Southern Comfort Bon-Bon's

What you will need:
3 1/2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup Powdered sugar
1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/3 cup Southern Comfort
1 cup pecans (Optional)
16oz Chocolate Chips, Melted.

Mix Vanilla wafers, Cocoa, Sugar, Syrup and Southern Comfort together in a medium mixing bowl until well blended. Roll mixture into bite size balls and dip into melted chocolate chips. Set on wax paper and let the chocolate harden. Serve immediately, or store in an air tight container at room temperature.

Southern Pralines

Here is another recipe from my Grandmother. I don't remember her ever making these, of course, most of my memories from her cooking, I was a child. This recipe is of the "Adults Only" variety! So next time you are having a dinner party, or need a home made gift for an adult in your family, you might try this!

What you will need:
6 teaspoons Southern Comfort
3 teaspoons Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups of pecans
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Mix Southern Comfort, Milk, Butter, Sugar and Pecans in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium to medium high heat, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture up to "Soft Ball" stage (235-240 degree's). Add Vanilla, stir until creamy. Let the mixture cool slightly and drop onto wax paper to set. Let cool completely before eating.

Santa Fe Soup

What you will need:
1 lb hamburger meat, browned and seasoned to taste
1 can of corn, with juice
1 can of "Rotel" (Diced tomatoes and chili peppers)
1 block of Velveeta cheese
1 can of Ranch Style beans, or any of your favorite beans
1 bag of your favorite tortilla chips

Brown and season your hamburger meat, drain well. Put Meat, Corn, Rotel and Beans into a pot, and put over medium heat. Dice the Velveeta into small pieces and add to the pot, stirring frequently to keep it from scorching. When your cheese is melted, spoon mixture over bowls of chips and serve immediately.

This is a recipe my grandmother gave me a few weeks ago. I personally can not eat Rotel because of the tomatoes, so instead, I added a package of taco seasoning to the soup while I was waiting for the cheese to melt. It was very tasty!