Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe

This homemade wheat bread is light and soft and absolutely perfect. Since it's part wheat and part white flour, it's NOT heavy or dense. It's my new favorite bread recipe.
Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe
I have been wanting to make homemade wheat bread more for my family. The problem is that I don't really like it. I prefer white bread. I know, I know, wheat bread is SO much better for you. So I'm starting out small, with only a couple cups of wheat flour for now. Each time I make it I plan on replacing more of the bread flour with wheat flour to help ease me into it.

The Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe


Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe
I started out with my mom's wheat bread recipe and just changed a couple things. It turned out AMAZING!  It was light and soft and exactly what I was wanting it to be.

Afraid of making bread because you don't know how to work with yeast? Check out my old fashioned dinner rolls post. It will walk you through everything. Then you will want to make all the breads, like cinnamon bread, bread bowls, and even this fancy daisy bread.

Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe



Best Homemade Wheat Bread Recipe
Go try it, I'd love to know how you like it.


The Best Homemade Wheat Bread

The Best Homemade Wheat Bread

Servings: 30
Author: Rachel Nielsen
Prep time: 2 HourCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 2 H & 30 M
This homemade wheat bread is light and soft and absolutely perfect. Since it's part wheat and part white flour, it's NOT heavy or dense. It's my new favorite bread recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 c. warm water
  • 2 T. yeast
  • 1 t. sugar
  • 2 c. warm water
  • 3/4 T. salt
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 1/4 c. oil
  • 5-6 c. wheat flour {I use a combination of 2 c. wheat flour and 3-4 c. bread flour}
  • 1 T. vital wheat gluten
  • 1 T. dough enhancer

Instructions

  1. Mix together 1/2 c. warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. 
  2. Combine the rest of water, salt, honey oil, vital wheat gluten, dough enhancer and 3 c. of wheat flour. (If you are using part wheat and part bread flour like I did, make sure that you add the wheat flour now)
  3. Add the yeast mixture. Mix together and let sit for 10 minutes. Don't skip this step. This allows the gluten to develop. 
  4. Add 2 more cups of flour. If needed add more flour 1/4 c. at a time, but no more than 1 extra cup in total or your bread will be dry. 
  5. Knead 10 minutes.
  6. Let raise 30-40 minutes. 
  7. Shape into loaves and let raise about 30 minutes. 
  8. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

188.35

Fat (grams)

2.90

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.34

Carbs (grams)

34.85

Fiber (grams)

1.51

Net carbs

33.34

Sugar (grams)

3.44

Protein (grams)

5.35

Sodium (milligrams)

256.82

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

Nutrition information is automatically generated and is not guaranteed to be correct

best homemade bread, wheat bread, part wheat bread,
Bread
American

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Ivory and Gold Bracelet

I just love the clasp on this bracelet. It's the nuts and bolts toggle from Prima Bead. It's perfect for a diy girl like myself.  I also really like the beads - they're called bicone mirror beads and they come in all different colors. Half of the bead has a reflective coating. It gives it a nice shimmery effect that I LOVE!

Ivory and Gold Bracelet


 I took some pictures while I was making it, but they turned out awful. Plus, I didn't take them of the whole process. I'm not sure what I was thinking. So I hope the instructions are clear enough that you can make it without step-by-step pictures.



Ivory and Gold Bracelet

Designed by: Rachel

Materials:                                                                                                              
Metal Toggle Clasp
Cream Bicone Mirror Beads   
Large Hole Star Mix
 .8mm Stretch Cord
Crimp Tubes


Tools Needed:
Wire Cutters
Crimping Pliers

Instructions:

1 - Cut (4) 12” lengths of stretch cord.

2 – Using 4 crimp tubes attach each cord to the toggle end. Clip excess cord .

3 – String 12 beads onto each cord

4 – Thread a gold star large hole bead onto all 4 of the strands.

5 – String 12 beads onto each cord.

6 – Thread the other gold star large hole bead onto all 4 of the strands.

7 – String 12 beads onto each cord.

8 – Attach each strand to the other toggle end with its own crimp tube. Be sure to keep the strands tight and even with each other.  Get all 4 crimp tubes in place before clamping down. Clip excess cord. 



 I am a Prima Bead Blog Team Member. I receive product from Prima Bead. In return, I create jewelry pieces from that product, and share about them through my blog and other social media outlets. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bar Recipe

If you're looking for the perfect recipe for no-bake granola bars, you've come to the right place.  These bars a crispy, sweet, and oh-so-good.

I recently saw some amazing looking homemade granola bars.The problem was they had peanut butter in them. My oldest is allergic to peanuts. So after looking through a few recipes, I came up with my own version. And I must say it's delicious. My kids just gobble them up. You can whip them together in no time, too.

Chocolate Marshmallow Granola Bar


I love the extra crunch the rice crispies bring to it. And I love how you can add just about anything to it, depending on your mood. I first made the Cherry Almond granola bars.They were so good, I loved the chewy cherries and crunchy almonds.

Cherry Almond Granola Bars

Then my kids requested chocolate chip granola bars. I was hesitant to try the chocolate chips with it. You see, several years ago, I tried granola bars {different, but similar recipe} and the chocolate melted right into everything and we basically had chocolate bars. They were still good, but I didn't want them to turn out that way this time.

Homemade no-bake granola bars


So what did I do? Put the chocolate chips and the marshmallows into the freezer for an hour before making the granola bars. Why had I never thought of that before? You will have to work quickly because they will still melt. But it gives you just enough extra time to get them mixed in.

MORE DESSERT BAR RECIPES



Click Here for a Printable Recipe

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bar Recipe


4 c. quick oats
2 c. rice crispies
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. honey
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
desired add in's

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add honey, brown sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Add oats and rice crispies and mix until coated. Stir in desired add in's.  Pour into a 9x13 pan {either greased or lined with wax paper} Press firmly. I like to fold over the wax paper to cover the bars and then place smaller pan on top and press down with it. This helps get them nicely compacted and even. Place in fridge and chill for 20 minutes. Then cut into bars. Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap.

Add in's:
Chocolate Chip and Marshmallow
3/4 c. mini chocolate chips
2 c. marshmallows
Put them in the freezer for an hour before making granola bars. This will help them from melting too quickly.

Cherry Almond
5 oz pkg dried cherries
1 c. slivered almonds

Blueberry Almond
5 oz. pkg. dried blueberries
1 c. slivered almonds

Other add in ideas: {I haven't tried these yet, but I would start with 1 cup of the add in's you desire, except where noted}

raisins
peanut butter chips
coconut
walnuts
peanuts
dried cranberries
dried apricots
maple syrup {try replacing some or all of the honey with syrup}
1/4 c. peanut butter {add this after you've boiled your mixture, but before you add the oats.
honey bunches of oats {try this in place of the rice crispies}


What will you put in your granola bars? I'd love to get some more ideas!

You may also like: Banana breakfast





Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Beadboard Hearts

Do you remember my beadboard hearts? I wanted to get one more Valentine craft in before Valentines, but I haven't had time, so I thought I'd share these fun hearts I made a couple years ago.

Beadboard hearts

For the heart pattern click here.
Just trace it to the back of some bead board and cut out with a jigsaw.  Sand the rough edges down and paint.  
These are the colors I used:
Deco Art - Antique White
Delta Ceramcoat - Lisa Pink
Americana - Rookwood Red

These were all colors I found in my paint bucket. I don't know if they are still made or not.

Then I just modpodged some coordinating scrapbook paper on.
Beadboard Hearts



To see how I made the stand, check out my Reversible Bead Board Pumpkins post.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Eclair Pie Recipe

I love cream puffs and Eclairs! Especially homemade ones with real homemade pudding inside. Sometimes I don't have the time to make homemade pudding and mess with individual little cream puffs.

Eclair Pie Recipe

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art


Today's project is a tabletop Valentine's art made from scrap wood and vinyl. It's super cute and fairly simple to make. It's the perfect project for a beginner wood worker.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art
Add caption


There are a few power tools involved in this project, but that just makes it fun!



I first got this idea over at Shanty2Chic.  I don't have time to read a lot of blogs, but every couple months I'll try to catch up on a few favorites. Shanty2Chic is definitely one of them. They love to build things and I love to drool over what they've made. And occasionally I make one of their projects. Or in this case, change it up a bit.

 Want to make your Valentine's art?



You will need:
5 1/2" X 5 1/2" board {I cut down a 1X12 that I had, but you could easily use a 1X6}
3 1/2" X 2 1/2" board {Cut from a 1X3 board}
saw {you could use a hand saw or a power saw}
Kreg jig
2 screws
vinyl / silhouette

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art
To begin, cut your pieces to size. This project is easily changed to meet your needs. I wanted a square piece. Change it up to fit your style and ideas. You could also use a 2X6. Then it would stand on it's own without the small piece.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art

Next, I opted to stain my wood. I used Minwax Espresso. After letting the stain dry thoroughly, I sprayed on a couple coats of lacquer. It wasn't quite warm enough to be spraying lacquer, so I ended up with a few bumps. I just grabbed a piece of steel wool and rubbed it all over to smooth it out.

Oh, I forgot. Before staining, I drilled two holes in the small board with my Kreg jig.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art
Line up your small board at the base of your larger board. Draw a line with a pencil.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art

Now move the small board up using the line as a guide to keep it straight. Screw the screws in the pre-drilled holes.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art
Look at that! It makes the perfect little stand.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art

Now let's dress up the front...

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art
Using my silhouette, I created this.

I found a heart I liked that I already had. I just had to ungroup it. I started by sizing my page and then using the grid. There's a function in that says snap to grid. That's what I used to get all the hearts to line up perfectly. Then I wrote the word "love" with the font A Gentle Touch. It's a free font, just click the link.
Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art

Use some transfer paper to adhere your vinyl art to your wood.

Wood and Vinyl Valentine's Art

 And there you have it!

I'm really loving the simplicity of it. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these for the different holidays.




Monday, February 3, 2014

How to Make Yarn Pom Poms

Learn how to make yarn pom poms. You don't need any fancy tools, just some yarn, your fingers and some scissors. They're super easy to make!

These adorable little balls are irresistible. Once you make one, you won't be able to stop. Believe me, I ended up with over 20 of them.
how to make yarn pom poms