Crusty Bread - PROVEN

I realize that hte vast majority of my blog posts involve food.  Well, that's simple to explain, really.  Since my life is so busy (who's isn't, right?) cooking and baking are things i would notmally be doing regardless of whether or not I was publishing a blog.  I figured it's still a great use of this myth busting/pin busting platform since so many things i see on Pinterest involve new recipes. I wonder how many of those recipes actually get tested?

Well, folks, I really try to test all of mine, and it's about time I shared this one with you!

Crusty Bread!!!!!

Ahh, gotta love it, fresh and hot from the oven to soak up your soup, juices from a roast, just to rip off and eat or any way you can imagine!!!

This recipe is awesome.  I have had to modify it here and there to get my dough consistency correct.  It should be sticky, not too thick and not runny in order to get the proper rise and baking result!

This does require a small cast iron dutch oven. My wonderful Mama purchased one for me on sale, I believe it was at Meijer!

The recipe calls for unbleached flour, which is what I buy anyway because...who wants their flour to be bleached?? It's right in with the regular flour and costs about the same!

I don't always let my bread rise for the recommended amount of time.   The recipe calls for 12-18 hours of rise time, but I usually don't make the dough in time in order to eat with dinner the following night, so I have to rush this process. I have let it rise for only 9-10 hours before and the results were the same.

ENJOY!!!

CAN YOU SAY DELICIOUS?!?!?

Reindeer Cupcakes - PROVEN

My good friend, Amanda Benn found this super cute recipe online and sent it to me.  From the first time I saw it I knew we would have to try it as soon as possible.

These reindeer cupcakes were very easy and really fun to make!!

We doubled the batch so we would each have 2 dozen to share with friends and family, or to devour ourselves!

Okay, hold on to your hats and get ready to laugh at me, but I have never made cupcakes before, ever.  Not that I recall anyway, I am sure I have watched and "helped" my mom when I was a child but not in my adult life. 

We used Sixlets for the Reindeer eyes

I was no expert on filling the cups, I got cake mix everywhere at which point Amanda took over for me.  I was just making too much of a mess!!

I recommend making sure that ALL the cupcakes are completely done cooking.  When it came time to frost them, there were about 8 (out of 48) that were crumbling and falling apart, so we decided just to eat those and not decorate them! DARN! :)

We used red peanut butter M&Ms for the noses!

 

I think that they turned out amazing!  It was an awesome time with my great friend, Amanda and we got these delicious and adorable treats!!

 



We liked them better as Rudolphs!

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular - PROVEN

Ok, another recipe I didn't originally find on Pinterest, but it's on there now because I put it there!  Found this one, yet again in Southern Living Magazine (have I said how much I adore that magazine??)

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Before I added the Gingersnaps

This recipe is over the top, out of this world fantastic!!!

Pecans needed are a bit pricey, but totally worth it.  I made this a couple years ago for the holidays and I probably should have made a few more because it was gone in minutes!!

It's creamy and rich, it's almost like a pumpkin cheesecake, but not really. You will have to try this one for yourself and with the holidays rapidly approaching I thought it would be a good time to share.

Topped off with Gingersnaps!

Enjoy, bookmark, pin or print this one, whatever you need to do to remember!  It's amazing!

Eggnog Pound Cake - PROVEN

Sorry that most of these posts so far are recipes but, I love to cook and a lot of my Pinterest experiments have a lot to do with cooking!  So here goes another one.

Eggnog Pound Cake

I originally found this in Southern Living Magazine (I know I live in Michigan, but this magazine is amazing)

I pinned on Pinterest because it is just SO DARN GOOD!!!  Wonderful flavor (even for those who aren't huge fans of the thick and creamy 'nog) it's moist and delicious every single time.  Perfect for the upcoming holidays and super easy, so I wanted to share!

Breakfast Muffins - PROVEN

Pinterest recipe for Breakfast Muffins looked interesting.  My husband had a pot-luck coming up at work so I decided to try these out since they say they can be eaten warm or room temperature.

I believe he ended up heating them in the microwave for better flavor but they went over good at the pot-luck!

Mixture with Peppers

Made Pepper and Jalapeno Breakfast Muffins