Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook Kickstarter and Review

My mother used to bake bread all the time. Her Honey Whole Wheat Bread and sweet roles were my favorite growing up. I loved to watch the dough rise. That heavenly smell and taste of fresh baked homemade bread from the oven always made me happy.

Fast forward to now and I confess that the only bread I have made is sweet quick breads like banana or zucchini and Amish Friendship Bread. Making more breads has been something that I would like to do, but I have made excuse after excuse in doing...my kitchen is super small, it will take to much time, what if the yeast doesn't work, what if the dough doesn't rise, what if I don't knead it enough, etc. These doubts have stopped me from making more breads at home.

Enter the Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook by Laurie Neverman of Common Sense Homesteading. This cookbook is on Kickstarter right now and needs your support to be funded! I received it free in digital format to review.

This bread cookbook is far more than just a cookbook with recipes. In the beginning it has helpful Troubleshooting Tips for Bread Baking. These tips help the hesitation, reluctance, and uncertainty to become confidence and clarity. These tips include the: list of tools/equipment needed to bake bread, flour that should be used and why, water and ingredient temperature for bread making, yeast to use, amount of yeast per package, proper way and order to add ingredients, temperature needed for bread to rise, reasons for bread not rising, reasons for dough being too sticky, position in the oven to place the bread for cooking, amount of loaves that can bake at a time, reasons for overly dense bread, amount you should knead your dough, reasons why your dough smells sour like alcohol, reasons why bread didn't brown, and reasons why your bread collapsed. There are also storage tips, recipes for some of the author's favorite things to eat with bread and recipes that will help you repurpose leftover bread in new ways.

I love that these recipes are all simple, straightforward healthy breads that I can make myself. These recipes don't have additives, preservatives, or ingredients that I cannot pronounce in them. They do have whole ingredients that are both healthy and delicious. I also discovered that my sister that has a gluten intolerance can eat many of these too.

Recipes Included and Some Other Tips:

• Basic Sandwich Bread
• Easy Sourdough Bread and Cultivating Sourdough Starter
• Potato Bread
• Cinnamon Swirl Bread and High-Altitude Bread Baking Tips
• Crusty French Bread
• Pretzel Bread
• English Muffin Bread
• Homemade Seasoned Croûtons
• Betty’s Buttermilk Rye Bread
• Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
• Swedish Limpa Bread
• Dark Pumpernickel Rye Bread
• Green Garden Dip
• Duncan’s “Meat in a Loaf ”
• Duncan's Favorite Sloppy Joes
• Coconut Flour Bread and To Gluten or Not to Gluten?
• Brazilian Cheese Bread and Refrigerating Raw Dough
• Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
• Gluten Free Flatbread and Freezing Dough and Par-baked Breads
• Gram Irene’s Cornbread and Storage Tips for Baked Bread
• Southern Style Cornbread
• Flavored Butters
• Classic Beer Bread
• Beer Cheese Fondue
• Top Secret Banana Quick Bread
• Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread
• Basic Flour Tortillas
• Basic Biscuits
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Pancakes
• French Toast
• Popovers
• "Wheat Thin" Style Crackers
• Kolache and Filling Recipes for Kolache
• Polish Doughnuts
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Monkey Bread

The Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook is the perfect addition to my cookbooks! It is a great resource for everyday breads, quick breads, yeast breads, gluten free breads, & holiday and special occasion breads. I can't wait to try out these wholesome homemade breads and other recipes. I want to start making my own bread at home so that I will never have to buy bread that is bland or preservative-laden again. This cookbook is perfect for someone like me who was intimidated by the whole bread making process. It is also for people who want to save money and avoid the harmful additives and chemicals in most store bought breads.

BUY IT
If you would like to get a copy of your own you can by supporting and backing the Kickstarter for the Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes Cookbook! Only $10 gets you a digital PDF copy and $25 for a spiral bound print copy of the cookbook! There is only 7 days left to go so hurry!!!

 
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Kroger Skillet Meals Review #GotItFree

We received coupons for free product to facilitate this review.

There are so many days that we are just super busy and after it's all said and done we only have minutes to make a meal for our family. Enter Kroger Skillet Meals, which are easy to make meals that are ready in just ten minutes! They contain at least two servings per bag and contain 20 grams or more of protein! These are found at all Kroger Family Stores (including Fred Meyer, Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Food4Less, King Soopers, Smith’s, PayLess, etc.) and come in the frozen section of the store. These come in a variety of authentic Italian flavors including NEW Tuscan-Style Penne, Sausage Rigatoni, Penne with Grilled Chicken and many more! They also are available in delicious NEW Asian and Mexican varieties like Shrimp Lo Mein or Chicken Fajitas. You can create a complete meal when you add your favorite sides to go with it, such as Kroger Garlic Bread, and Fresh Selections Salad Kits.

Because I am a member of BzzAgent I received word of the BzzCampaign for the Kroger Skillet Meals. I received a free coupon for one Kroger Skillet Meal, a Kroger Garlic Bread, and a Fresh Selections Salad Kit to facilitate this review. We went to our local Fred Meyer to get this. We got the Tuscan-Style Penne. It was very yummy, but with a family of 6 the pasta meal just wasn't too practical unless you also made something else to go with it. We loved the pasta with garlic sauce, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and big chunks of chicken. It was easy to prepare and fast. Just place it in a skillet and simmer together. This meal was very yummy, but it was gone too quick. One bag only really is supposed to make 2 servings. I was wanting more because it was so good.

We also got the garlic bread and salad kit to go with it. The bread and the salad were a good pairing and went well with the meal. The garlic bread is also easy to make, just pop it in the oven bag and all for a bit to warm it up. I love garlic bread, but this was not as garlicky or crunchy as I would have liked. I usually over garlic my dishes because I love garlic. Maybe if I would have taken it out of the bag and let it brown in the oven a bit more it would have been better. You have to admit the convenience of not having to wash another pan is nice though. We picked the Field Greens salad because, from looking, it had the most dark leafy veggies in the mix. This Fresh Selections Salad had romaine lettuce, endive, carrots, and radicchio. As salads go it was just OK, but it did give the plate a lovely garnished look.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received coupons for free product to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Emerson Creek Pottery Artisan Bakeware Review

All Emerson Creek Pottery is Eco-Friendly: Made in the USA, Non-Toxic, Lead-Free, Made by Humans, Made of Natural and Earth-Friendly Materials, Packed in Eco-Friendly Cornstarch Peanuts, Shipped in Recycled-Fiber Boxes, and they Never Mass-Mail their Catalogs! Their pottery is safe for daily use, serving, baking, storing, dishwasher use, microwave use and oven use. Their pottery is completely and lovingly crafted, handmade and hand-painted using non-toxic, natural materials, right here in the USA in Virginia since 1977. Read more about their non-toxic, eco-friendly pottery here.

Emerson Creek Pottery Artisan Bakeware is one-of-a-kind among their entire pottery catalog because, unlike their other lines of handcrafted ceramics, these pieces are unglazed. Unglazed ceramic pottery is perfect for your best professional-quality baking. These pieces are hand-painted with a beautiful creeping thyme pattern. Their complete line of handcrafted artisan bakeware pieces include their: unglazed oval baking dish, unglazed loaf pans, unglazed pie plates, and unglazed bread pots. Their unglazed pottery is priced well below many import ceramics!

When you just want to bake a small loaf of scrumptious artisan-quality bread, give Their small unglazed loaf pan a try! This is a simple, less expensive ceramic bread loaf pan that bakes up beautiful homemade breads. It makes a beautiful showpiece for your collection and is 3" x 5" x 3". You can purchase it at $11.00 online.

I received one of these small unglazed loaf pans for free from Emerson Creek Pottery and I had trouble finding a recipe I could use it for because of the very small size. I, however; love the beautiful scalloped edges and simple painted design. It is lovely and if I ever do find a recipe to use this loaf pan for I will not hesitate to show you all how I used it. I have used unglazed pans before and I love them! Just remember you'll get best results from your unglazed bakeware if you lightly grease it before each use with olive oil.

Like their small loaf pans? See their full line of small ceramic loaf pans for even more variety to choose from!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Foodie Friday Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups (3-4) mashed overripe bananas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Mix banana mixture and flour mixture together until all flour mixture is mixed in. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes. Check center of loaf with a toothpick to see if done. If toothpick comes out clean it is done. Let bread cool in its pan for 10 minutes and then place on wire rack out of pan to cool more.

Makes one loaf.