Easter Treat ... Easter Bunny Bread (Made with Basic Bread Machine White Bread)

Next on our Easter list to make was a fun treat to take to the annual 1,000 Egg Egg Hunt my friend host.  I showed you the Bunny Nutter Butter Cookies last week I made for the party.  I saw this Easter Bunny Bread on Pinterest and I knew I had to give it a whirl.  Their's was super cute and I must say I was pretty happy with the one I created.  I must say I can bust out cookies or cakes, NOW molding a bread into a shape was a WHOLE new ballgame for me.

The recipe on Taste of Home called for Frozen Bread.  I decided that I rather make a homemade bread.  I found a Basic Bread Machine White Bread that I MUST say is the BEST bread I have ever made! 

What You Need:

1-POUND LOAF    INGREDIENTS2/3 cup                       water
4 teaspoons                sugar
3/4 teaspoon              salt
4 teaspoons                nonfat dry milk powder
4 teaspoons                butter OR margarine
2 cups                          bread flour
1-1/2 teaspoons         Bread Machine Yeast OR RapidRise Yeast
Directions
Add ingredients to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. 

For the Bunny Bread I started with homemade bread, BUT you can use frozen if you would like.  If you want a great bread machine bread follow recipe above and just set for dough setting.  I doubled the recipe, since I was just doing the dough I knew my machine could handle the 2 lbs.  NOW if you're baking my would only handle 1 1/2 lbs.

What you Need for the Bunny:

Ingredients

• 2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed
• 2 raisins
• 2 sliced almonds
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Dip of your choice

Directions

• Cut a fourth off of one loaf of dough; shape into a pear to form
• head. For body, flatten remaining portion into a 7-in. x 6-in. oval;
• place on a greased baking sheet. Place head above body. Make narrow
• cuts, about 3/4 in. deep, on each side of head for whiskers.
• Cut second loaf into four equal portions. For ears, shape two
• portions into 16-in. ropes; fold ropes in half. Arrange ears with
• open ends touching head. Cut a third portion of dough in half; shape
• each into a 3-1/2-in. oval for back paws. Cut two 1-in. slits on top
• edge for toes. Position on each side of body.
• Divide the fourth portion of dough into three pieces. Shape two
• pieces into 2-1/2-in. balls for front paws; shape the remaining
• piece into two 1-in. balls for cheeks and one 1/2-in. ball for nose.
• Place paws on each side of body; cut two 1-in. slits for toes. Place
• cheeks and nose on face. Add raisins for eyes and almonds for teeth.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45
• minutes. Brush dough with egg. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes

For the Dip I just made a quick Ranch Dip.  I had a small dish that I cut a hole int he bunnies belly and placed it in there and added the Ranch dip inside.  I cut up celery and had mini carrots that I placed around the bunny.

Any Easter Parties or Plans?

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Tuesday’s Friends–Chicken Parm Subs with handmade bun

The other week I made a really good sandwich for our friends.  Of course I came across our meal idea on Pinterest.  This Chicken Parmesan Sub was found on one of my favorite sites Eating Well.  I search Pinterest for their recipes all the time since they are low fat and family pleasing.

The recipe called for whole wheat sandwich rolls, but you know me I rather make my own when I can.  So I found this bread machine roll recipe on all recipes which is another good source.

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread flour (I used whole wheat)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dry milk powder
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Place the bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, water, butter, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove risen dough from the machine, deflate, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces, and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 tablespoons water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Then on to the chicken and making of the subs.  This was pretty easy and man they sure would yummy!

Chicken Parmesan Sub

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts cut into 4 portions or 4 small breasts), (2 large breasts cut into 4 portions or 4 small breasts)
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 6-ounce bags baby spinach
• 1 cup marinara sauce, preferably low-sodium (see Tip)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 4 soft whole-wheat sandwich rolls, toasted

PREPARATION

1. Position oven rack in top position; preheat broiler.
2. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Place chicken between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet or a heavy saucepan until the chicken is an even 1/4-inch thickness. Dip the chicken in the flour mixture and turn to coat.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
4. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add half the chicken and cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and chicken; transfer to the baking sheet.
5. Top each piece of chicken with the wilted spinach, marinara sauce and Parmesan. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve on rolls.

(I just baked my chicken then added the spinach and cheese in the oven, I’m about the easy version.  So I skipped the putting the chicken in the pan on the stove top).

So there you have it an easy meal and something new then just the regular chicken dinner!  Happy Monday have a great day!

Tuesday Dinner Twist on Spaghetti & Apple Pie

We had our Tuesday dinner friend come over tonight and I found some yummy things to try (yes on Pinterest).  I wanted to try this braided bread but the dough it called for I couldn’t find so I made my own!  I found this Italian Parmesan Bread for Bread Machine that smelled so yummy and made the recipe pop!  I put it on the dough cycle and let it do the work for me!

The recipe I needed the bread for was this Braided Spaghetti Bread that was so YUMMY!  I made a few tweaks the bread I made (was half white & half whole wheat flour), I added low fat chicken sausage and used whole wheat noodles.

Last on my list was a yummy dessert that was lower in points and so delish!  Apple Dumplings with Orange Sauce for you weight watcher people this is 5 points.  Enjoy a sweet treat, you deserve it!

Happy Wednesday!  Hope you have a fab day!

Reworking Left Over Brisket w/Fresh Bread

Tuesday’s at our house is a fun time since we have company every Tuesday.  The boys have a friend to play with and a have an adult to talk to and bounce my crazy life and idea’s off of.  I like to find something new to make each time they come over.  I think we’ve never had the same recipe yet!

My dad loves to smoke meat, my favorite is the brisket he does.  My parents had a party at their house the other weekend he made an extra brisket for me to take home.  I like finding new ways to incorporate it into things.  I found this Leftover Brisket Ragu by Rachael Ray. I didn’t have the right type of noodles so I used whole wheat shell pasta.

I of course had to make some bread to go along with it.  I found this Onion Garlic Cheese Bread on All recipes.  I started the dough in the bread machine and then finished it up in the oven.  I baked mine a little too long since the top cheese got a little too dark, but it was still soft and yummy in the middle!

Happy Monday everyone, lot’s to do today I think I’m trying to swim to the top . So what is on your menu tonight?

Not your typical Burger or Brownie

More fun times here .  I made some great meals and happy that everyone like them!

First off, Rick’s fav meal is Chicken parm so when I came across a meal for it in a new way and lighter version I’m on it.  First I had to make the rolls for it to go.  Bread Machine Ciabatta Roll Recipe is where I start!

Then here comes the best part of this recipe is the burger part but NOT your regular recipe.  From my favorite site of course SkinnyTaste.com is Chicken Parmigiana Burger (now I only had chicken breast on hand so I used that instead of chicken patties).

We had a playdate/dinner at the cousin’s house so I whipped up some Cheesecake Topped Brownies.  Now I had the brillant idea to bake them up at the cousins house since I was running late.  That meant that I lost a HUGE amount on the carpet of my floor.  It wasn’t pretty but it did taste good … LOL.  YES I didn’t scoop up the spillage and put it back in I just had to wash my car out when I got home.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

It's a Cheese thing!

We had a yummy dinner the other night and of course my helper Caden was right next to me the whole time. As he drags the stool into the kitchen "I promise mama I won't run over your toe again". YUP he had a little toe issue before ... lol

I'm not sure why blogger hates me but if I try to add in my recipe card widgets so sorry you have to leave my site to see the recipes! Hopefully this will be fixed soon :(.

My Gal Alex @ Ma What's for dinner gave us this recipe.

Until I get the Widgets to work here is the my recipe card HERE.

I made a yummy version of "Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce"

My recipe card is HERE

And for the boys I made Pepperoni Bread!

Recipe card found HERE

I'm linking up to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday,Tuesday at the Table, Delectable Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Totally Tasty Tuesday,Hearth and Soul and Thursday Recipe Swap Meet.

Manic Monday Meals ~ Burger, Fries, Bread & Cupcakes

Happy Monday everyone I'm so behind on replying to everyone please for give me I promise to by later tonight! Hope you find something you may like here :).

Rick is always complaining he wants a burger so here you go, so not exactly what he was wanting but they were so yummy! His friend was even over here and had 2! If you haven't checked out Spark Recipes you must they have great recipes that are lowfat.

And one of my favorites is Baked Sweet Potato Fries, yes I was the only one who loved them!!! That is ok they can have the other stuff I can just eat these for dinner :)

I made some bread to go with some spaghetti I made for the youth group dinner at church. This Crusty French Bread rocks found on For the Love of Cooking!!

And for cupcakes for the youth group, I'm going to have to work on these but they sure were fun! Recipe found on my favorite place (where I make these recipe cards) Key Ingredients.

I'm also linking up to FRIDAY FOOD FIGHT

What a day ... Why do I pack so much into one day?

Today started off GREAT, and if you believe that then well I don't have anything but you're sure gullible. So you remember how I said my computer was acting up? Well of course 6am comes around I try to log on, no problem until 25 minutes into my shift the whole computer freezes. Not only does it freeze it won't boot back up, I tried at least 6 times and nothing would work. Know the girls are really counting on me and I can't even log back on. I have a full out panic and call my dad's cell phone praying today will go my way and dad will answer. No luck I leave a message which I'm sure was hardly audible since I was in full panic between high pitch voice and tears. Yup I was a mess, I don't it had to do anything with those lovely 4 hours of sleep I got. Then my phones ring it's mom thank heavens she's up this early, she even went and woke Dad up. Well it turns out that I'm a dork! My dad put our old hard drive in and he told me this key was to turn it on to get the stuff off it. Well hear is the dork who turns OFF the new drive and doesn't even do anything to the old drive. So an 1/2 hour late I pull out the old drive turn back on the new drive and log back on. Guess what the show is over and I'm not needed any long for the morning. So I'm up it's now 7am and guess who's up too, Caden. So my luck that when it goes bad it goes bad. So I run around do some housework (where is the maid, oh wait that would be me). I get the boys bathed and in the car, I still need to pick up the gift for the shower. Since I was a dork and didn't go yesterday like I said I would, no I'll go the morning of the shower. I gave Rick a call with the items on her list thinking I could get them at his store this way I could get a more expensive gift, but with his discount it would be the lower amount. Well of course his store is getting ready for Christmas (I know it's September) and most of the kitchen items are put away. After a few calls he did find me a bread maker, which I know she'd love since she makes bread every Sunday. And it's a huge score regularly $180 and with his discount and the no sales tax it brought it down to $80 which is what I had left over. I even splurged and had it wrapped, well it was more because I didn't want to take all 3 boys shopping for wrapping paper and then have the pleasure of wrapping it with those 3 boys. Score, now all I have to do is go home and iron my clothes.

After a brief few minutes oh ok 45 minutes we're in the car and heading up to Tarra's house. She was so kind and said she'd watch Cole and Roy while I went to the shower of course with Caden who freaks if I leave him anywhere. We pull up just as Tarra and Heather are, I give my good-byes and hop in the car. Now I'm thinking ok this will be simple it's just in Seattle and that shouldn't take more then 40 minutes. RIGHT? I know stop rolling your eyes @@, I did it again thinking everything would go my way. After driving past Seattle and over the Ballard Locks I think I'm almost there which is Magnolia (I'm not in Kansas anymore). Those who know me know that me and a stick with the GIANT hills in Seattle is so not my friend. I'm sweating which is so not an attractive thing to do when you're about to go to a party. I'm so silly I only brought the directions (which didn't have the address), so I think there will be balloons no worries. Well no balloons, this is so not that type of party this reminded me of a VERY formal wedding. I get there, and try to unload the presents along with Caden. My 3rd trip to the house, which was Caden in a sun stroller, I'm greeted by a very nice lady who is VERY nicely dressed. Yikes Toto I'm so out of my league. I walk in this amazing house pushing my sun stroller, yup I was looking high class! The girls were so sweet, bringing me a nice plate of food. Now when I say nice I mean, hello it was CHINA with REAL silver fork and knife. Now the only time I break out the China is for Thanksgiving or Christmas, oh wait that's a lie my China is still in their boxes in the cabinet in the kitchen (well at least I think it is, I haven't looked since we moved in 5 year ago). So here's a picture I'm in nice slacks and a button down shirt trying to balance this CHINA on my lap while giving Caden little treats. I look down at my shoes, well at least there black nothing to write home about especially since I've entered the clinked clack world, you know the world that all woman were those pointy 6 inch heels that clicky clack every time the walk. Can I sink into this chair and melt out the door? It's not happening, I politely put my plate with the uneaten lamb Popsicle (hey I learned that on Food Network) since wasn't sure how I was going to eat it with out it going down my lap. I stroll me and Caden to the immaculate kitchen, where I meet the one lady that you know is not happy I brought my son. Now to Caden's created he didn't make a peep, well he laughed but no screaming we were so golden! Oh yeah I got the look like that lady in Trader Joes got the other day. Not only did I get it once by maybe 4 times I stopped counting after that. I politely stayed for her to open her gifts and headed to the door as quickly as could. I do want to thank a very sweet lady who told me she had a 9 month old, she brought me food and even talked to me the whole time. It was great since I think I forgot to mention that it was an almost all Greek shower. Remember in my "Big Fat Greek Wedding" were his dad says "It's all Greek to me" since the whole ceremony was in Greek. Well most of the lady's talked back in forth in Greek, I was so out of my league. Between suits that I swear were Armani, to Pointy Clicky shoes and Greek speaking I was so lost. I hoped in the car and got us on the road. Now don't get me wrong everyone was so sweet to me (minus one evil looker) but it was just more classy then I've ever been too. One good thing no stupid games!

I pull up to pick the boys up and find out the Cole not only had 1 but 2 mistakes in his pants. Yup add to the fun day I'm having, guess I'll be doing laundry yet again! I got everyone to bed and even took a little nap myself before getting on the computer to start job #2 again. I'm happy to note that the computer only froze up one time and was only extremely slow towards the end of the night. Hopefully I didn't peeve off the guy that I asked to call back since my computer completely crashed before I could finish his order! Cross your fingers tomorrow will be better!