Yeast Breads. And then some.

I have never considered myself a successful baker of yeast breads, but I have had some surprising successes recently. Tonight I made, for the second time, homemade bread bowls - amazing! - and broccoli soup. The combination is absolutely heavenly. I thought I would share some of the recipes I have used recently in case any of you are interested in trying such recipes and would like recommendations of recipes that have worked.

First, the bread bowl recipe is found here. I used the 2nd recipe down called "Loz Bread Recipe," and I quarter the recipe because the original recipe makes 8 loaves! And here is the soup recipe I use and love. And as you can tell from the 2nd picture, even the kids loved ate the soup. :)



I recently found this recipe for Not-so-French French bread. It doesn't take an unbearably long time to make, and you do most of the work by mixing it with a spoon, not by kneading, and it still comes out delicious.

I am a huge fan of monkey bread (click here if you need to see a picture to know what I'm talking about). I mean, really, what's not to love? Sugary, buttery, cinnamony goodness - yum, yum!! When I've made it in the past, I've used purchased Pillsbury biscuits that you cut up and use in the recipe. However, I had a hankering on a Sunday and we didn't have any of the biscuits, so I found a recipe to make my own. I will never go back. I can't even describe how incredibly amazing these were, and what a difference the fresh dough makes. I combined 2 recipes when I made this - this one for the yeast bread part, and this one for the sugar and cinnamon, topping, and baking directions. You've got to try this!

Back to tonight's dinner...as I cooked, my kids were entertained with playdough (pictures taken on a different occasion):

I have long thought of myself as a playdough hater, but I recently made a batch of homemade playdough and had an epiphany. I don't care if there is playdough in the house as long as I don't have to play with it because for some reason I absolutely detest playing with it myself. I'm not exactly sure why - something about the texture, the gunk it leaves on my hands, and my inability to really do anything cool with the stuff. In the past, it seemed like if I had the kids play with it, they always wanted me right there with them so I eventually stopped letting them play with it altogether. Well, a new day has dawned!! My kids will sit for a long time and play all by themselves...and I will let them do just about anything if they will do that for a few minutes!

Anyway, recently I read a blog post where the author talked about how we as mothers often paint a picture of the "perfect" mother. We make an image of this mother that includes Suzie's playfulness, Sally's organization, and Sandra's perfectly kept house (ha ha). But we'd do ourselves a favor to recognize that we all have our unique strengths that make us the mother we are. I am a great art project mother, among other things, and it's okay, thank heavens, to not be the playdough mother. :) While I think this philosophy can be taken to the extreme if we start justifying true weaknesses that we need to overcome, I think the majority of us can give ourselves a break and really embrace our individuality as mothers.