Sandra Lee Meets Duncan Hines.....faking Baking.

When I first met fellow Blogger
"Flour Power"
Joyce...
We hit it off immediately...both of us
Italians who love to eat and who love to
Bake...
Only one problem....Joyce makes everything
from scratch....while I use the "doctor" theory of
Baking...
Now as you all know I do bake my own bread and
bake many many things from scratch...
From my Jersey Crumb Buns to
my "signature dessert"
Pistachio Cream puffs....
Sometimes using the easy way out comes
out just fine...
All you have to do it put in a little
extra effort...
I use this same method for banana bread
and blueberry muffin mix....

We refer to each other as Betty Crocker...
And of course I'm Sandra Lee minus the blond hair
I was meeting Joyce for lunch this week and we always
bring something for each other...
I had a box of Duncan Hines
Deluxe Carrot Cake in my pantry so I decided
instead of baking it as a cake....I would make it into
a sweet bread loaf....
I think I even fooled Betty....
She took it on the plane with her to Vegas the
next day and sent me an e-mail asking for
the recipe....

This is what I did....
I followed the instructions on the box to the "T"
"Except" for a few minor additions...

The cake mix calls for you to soak the carrot/raisin
pouch in 1 1/4 cups of hot water...Not draining it
before putting it in to the mix...
I wanted to add pineapple to the loaf so using
a small can of pineapple Tid Bits...I used the
juice and added it to the water...
There was about 1/4 cup of juice...so I added 1 cup of water.
heated in the microwave I then soaked the carrot/raisins.
I then added Golden Raisins.....chopped walnuts....
and about 1/4 cup of the Tid Bits that I cut in half...
My mother always taught me to add just a hint
about 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
when using boxed mixes...
because you don't know how long
the box has been on the store shelf...
it gives that extra boost for it to rise nice and high...

Beaten by Hand until fully mixed I poured it into
a large Emile Henry bread pan.....That I sprayed with Pam.
Here is the Good Part that makes it stand out from
just being a regular old cake...
I added the pineapple Tid Bits down the center of the
Loaf...
I then drizzled a good amount of Honey over the
Pineapple....and finished it off with
Coarse Sanding Sugar...
I actually get the sugar right from the bakery at
Publix...I ask and they always gives me a
container for free!!

The box called for you to bake at 375 degrees
for 40-45 minutes for a Bundt Cake...
The Loaf pan was about the same size in height and depth.
But at 45 minutes it was still wet in the center...
So I lowered the temp to 350...when it started to brown
around the edges.... then I checked it about every five minutes..
It probably was in the oven a good hour...
Joyce said it was very moist
and I suggested she eat it with
Whipped Cream Cheese...

So that's my secret...
Wow them next time by going that little extra step
in taking a plain old box mix and
and letting people think
You baked all day!!

I am linking up this evening with our friend
Penny 
at Comforts of Home
For
Tasty Tuesday #5....
go check out more wonderful recipes...

From Hot Dogs to Hot Rods.....life with the Boss.

I need to Begin this Post by Stating that the only people who aren't going to

Think we have finally Lost our Minds is

John and Ellen Tiene....

Friends and Fellow Blogger from the

Great State of Jersey....

You see her John is as Nutty as my John.....

Where Car's are concerned that is.....

Ellen's John doesn't have a garage....He actually has a

Warehouse to "house" his car's....

So with that Said....

 Let me start Here.....Last Wednesday....
For those of you who missed the Hormone Drama
On Facebook...

I had to run up to Walgreen's  to
pick up my Prempro which I have taken for
Oh....about 12 years....Yes ladies...You can indeed
Have Hot Flashes for 12 looooooong years...
Pulling into the lot....with the Boss at the wheel I
notice and comment on this gorgeous red
sports car that I did not recognize...
Odd...since we are a family of car
enthusiasts and I can usually identify almost anything....

Disregard that you guys can read what this is....

Isn't it a Beauty....
it happens to be the newly designed 2014
Chevy Corvette....
Who knew the Americans could design such a great
looking sports car....

We have been a Family of Corvette Owners since the Boss owned
one back in the 60's......over the years we have owned
Six.....including the one we drove all the way to
Fort Lauderdale when we moved there in 1977 with
Daughter sitting on my lap....
Which could explain why she is only 5 feet tall......
No car seats needed back then....

Back to the hormones.....I went in to Walgreen's and got 
sticker shock when the Co-Pay on my insurance went from
$40.00 a month to $85.00 a month...
Thank you Obama-Care...
Being Frugal I refused the pills figuring after 12 years
of Hot flashes one of these days I am sure to just get used to them..
It was the principle of the thing....
My extra $45.00 was not about to pay for some
college kids birth control pills....

 We left Walgreen's and drove over for a Dog at the Varsity....
An Atlanta institution...
and the Boss' Idea of a Fancy dinner out....

After some Fine Dining he suggested we stop by our local
Chevy dealer just to take a little "Peek" at the new Vettes...
Okay...I'm a sucker for window shopping....
And Shiny Cars.....
BUT.....by now you all know the Boss is a Sucker....
for purchasing Cars......

The Dealer had not a one 2014 to be had.....
They are in the process of remodeling their showroom floor
and had two 2013's left....

Having an un-diagnosed Sinus Infection.....Hot flashes....
And....a stomach full of Chili "Dawgs" as they call them
down here...
I was not totally excited to "Car Shop"....
after all this was just to be a quick stop in and Peek....
I've been married to this man for 43 years....
Who was I kidding....

Well....the moral of the story is the Boss has been wanting
a "427" Corvette since the 1960's.....
The Better question would be is there anything he hasn't wanted???

This car happened to be the 60th Anniversary
Heritage Collection
"427"
Convertible....
Only 2400 made.....only for one year.....
SURELY....to be a collectible and worth money
when we hit about 80......
Or someday when we are long gone Daughter will be
parlaying the Car Collection into a fortune at the Barrett Jackson
Car Auctions....


My Only Question was.....
"Your going to put that where???"
How do you get 8 cars into a three car garage....
You don't.
Another Lift perhaps??
Nope....Sue might run into it trying to pull in her car....
Five in three is our limit....
shown here.....
You can only Stack Um so High....
But this is how you get
five cars in a three car garage....
In case you wondered....
It seems this is a Guy Thing....
I..... on the other hand... feel like I'm at a parking
Garage on the West Side of New York.....
Every time I leave the house I expect to have to Pay for the time
My Car was parked....
That would be my Nazi-Box parked all the way on the
Right....

Industrial Strength Auto Lifts....
They can Hold up to
Nine Thousand Pounds....

"This is the Buy of a Lifetime".....
"Don't worry we will figure out the Logistics at a later time...."
To Make matters worse our car salesman
Was like something out of a Tyler Perry Movie.....
All he did was laugh....He was very nice...
He thought we were some sort of Two Man comedy Team....
No....this is just how we react to each other....
Snarky Comments....Wise remarks....
This is what we do....


So making an Offer the Boss couldn't Refuse.....
"We"
are  now the Proud Owners of.......

He has a New Car....
I have indigestion (from the Hot Dogs) and the Hot flashes are getting worse.....
Still Refusing to fork over $85.00 I was also getting tired of
waking up at night with my head
Inside a Pizza Oven....

So after speaking with our Beloved Dr. H.....
He found two Generic hormones....
That taken together are the exact same dosage as the expensive
Prempro....
Cost.....$7.36 for a month....for both....

SCORE!!
Watch out with saving like that I might just have to go look
next week at the New 2014 V.W.'s
Nah..........I think We Have finally
Reached our Limit....

BAKING CHALLAH..........

Daughter called a few weekends ago
and They were having a
Saturday of Making Soup and Baking
Bread...
Challah bread to be exact and interested in how they
were going to make soup and have bread ready all at the
same time she told me how easy the bread was to make...
I was fascinated that it had an extremely short rise time...
For years I shied away from bread baking because I
thought it took hours and hours of kneading and
rising...and kneading and rising...
An all day process.....
So I went online and found something called
"EASY CHALLAH BREAD"
a bit different then daughter's version....I liked the
ingredients....and it made just one loaf...

with a Total prep time to
assemble the dough of about 15 minutes....
And a total rise time of about an hour....
I figured I would give it a try...
I had just come off an all day bread baking class at
the Viking School and for all the work we did and the time
it took I was a bit disappointed how quickly the bread went bust...
This recipe sounded way easier....

It came out of the oven looking very professional....
I added a good handful of golden raisins and a healthy
dose of egg wash to give it that great shine....
It's something I will make often to eat Hot out of the Oven...
I am even thinking of using the dough recipe and
adding the ingredients to make
Hot Cross Buns for Easter.....

The next day it makes for great French Toast too!!
Here is the Recipe....
So easy...
So Good...
and if you leave out the raisins it would make
fabulous Grilled Cheese....
Give it a try...
No special equipment needed....

INGREDIENTS

1 PACKAGE OF ACTIVE DRY YEAST
1 CUP OF WARM WATER (100 DEGREES)
2 TABLESPOONS OF HONEY
1 TEASPOON OF SALT
3 BEATEN EGGS
3 1/2 CUPS OF ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
MORE FLOUR FOR KNEADING
1 BEATEN EGG YOLK
OR 
1 TABLESPOON OF MELTED BUTTER FOR
A SOFTER CRUST.

DIRECTIONS....

1.) IN A LARGE BOWL, STIR THE YEAST INTO THE WATER AND LET STAND UNTIL A CREAMY LAYER FORMS ON TOP...ABOUT TEN MINUTES.
STIR IN THE HONEY AND SALT UNTIL DISSOLVED, THEN ADD THE BEATEN EGGS. MIX IN THE FLOUR, A CUPFUL AT A TIME, UNTIL THE DOUGH IS STICKY. SPRINKLE THE DOUGH WITH FLOUR AND KNEAD UNTIL SMOOTH AND ELASTIC...ABOUT 5 MINUTES...
I USED MY KITCHEN AID WITH THE DOUGH HOOK TO MIX THE DOUGH BEFORE KNEADING...

2.)FORM THE DOUGH INTO A COMPACT ROUND SHAPE, AND PLACE IN AN OILED BOWL. TURN THE DOUGH OVER SEVERAL TIMES IN THE BOWL TO OIL THE SURFACE OF THE DOUGH. COVER THE BOWL WITH A DAMP CLOTH AND LET RISE IN A WARM AREA UNTIL DOUBLED IN SIZE...ABOUT 1 HOUR.
I USED A HEAVY DISH TOWEL OVER THE DAMP TOWEL TO KEEP OUT ANY DRAFTS...

3.)PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH AND CUT INTO 3 EQUAL PIECES. WORKING ON A FLOURED SURFACE ROLL THE SMALL DOUGH PIECES INTO ROPES ABOUT THE THICKNESS OF YOUR THUMB AND ABOUT 12 INCHES LONG. THE ROPES SHOULD BE FATTER IN THE MIDDLE AND THINNER AT THE ENDS. PINCH 3 ROPES TOGETHER AT THE TOP AND BRAID THEM. NOT LOOSELY...I BRAID JUST LIKE YOUR BRAIDING HAIR. TIGHTLY SO YOU GET A LOT OF BRAIDING. 
PINCH THE ENDS TOGETHER AND FOLD THEM UNDERNEATH FOR A NEAT LOOK. USE YOUR HANDS TO MAKE THE LOAF COMPACT.

4.) PLACE THE BRAIDED LOAF ON A  BAKING SHEET LINED WITH PARCHMENT PAPER AND BRUSH THE TOP WITH THE BEATEN EGG YOLK...FOR A SOFTER CRUST YOU CAN BRUSH WITH THE MELTED BUTTER INSTEAD I USE THE EGG WASH AND IT COMES PERFECT.
5.) PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES  6.) BAKE THE CHALLAH IN THE PREHEATED OVEN UNTIL THE TOP BROWNS TO A RICH GOLDEN COLOR AND THE LOAF SOUNDS HOLLOW WHEN TAPPED...ABOUT 30-35 MINUTES, COOL ON A RACK BEFORE SLICING

I ADDED ABOUT A CUP OF GOLDEN RAISINS THAT I SOAKED FIRST IN VERY HOT WATER...I DRAINED THEM AND LIGHTLY FLOURED THEM BEFORE ADDING THEM TO THE DOUGH WHILE IT WAS BEING MIXED IN THE KITCHEN AID.

I LOVE HOT CROSS BUNS AND THIS BREAD HAS THE SAME TASTE SO I WILL TRY ADDING CANDIED FRUIT AND RAISINS AND MAKE THEM BUN SIZE WITH 
THAT CRISS CROSS OF POWDERED SUGAR ICING ON TOP
THE NEXT TIME I BAKE.....I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THEY COME...

THIS RECIPE IS SO SIMPLE AND YOU'LL FEEL LIKE A
PROFESSIONAL BAKER WHEN YOU SEE THE RESULTS....
HAVE FUN AND TRY IT!!

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