Dutch Oven Rosemary Herb Bread

Hands down, this is one of the most delicious breads I have ever made. I found a recipe and tweaked it, as the recipe I found didn't quite work. Tomorrow, I plan on using this bread for a grilled cheese sandwich, but it's wonderful on it's own with a shmear of butter!

Delicious with a shmear of butter or for a sandwich!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Warm Water
1pkg Active Dry Yeast (about 1 & 1/4tsp)
1/4 cup Scalded Milk
1/2 cup Butter, Melted
1Tbs Minced Fresh Rosemary
1/4 Cup Minced Onion
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
1/2tsp Thyme
2tsp Salt
1tsp Sugar
4 Cups Flour
Olive Oil

Knead until dough passes "window pane" test

DIRECTIONS:
Saute onion and garlic in a little oil, add rosemary and thyme. Continue to saute until onion is translucent. Add to melted butter and cool completely.

In bowl, pour warm water, sprinkle yeast on top. Gently stir until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients except olive oil.

If using a Kitchenaid or similar mixer with dough hook attachments - continue to mix and knead until dough reaches and passes the "window pane" test. If mixing by hand, once all ingredients are combined remove from bowl and knead by hand until the dough reaches and passes the "window pane" test.

Lightly oil a bowl, cover and  allow dough to rise until double in a warm area. About 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Once double, punch down and knead to redistribute yeast.

Cut an "X" in the top of the dough

Using olive oil, lightly oil a Dutch Oven. Place dough in center and oil the top of the dough. Cut and "X" in the top of the dough to allow the bread to 'bloom' while cooking. Cover and bake at 450 for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes uncover and cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

Allow to cool and enjoy!

Bake at 450 cover for 30min and uncovered 15-20min

Enjoy!

We've been hit!

By a nasty ice storm! Saturday evening (the 21st) into early Sunday it rained. And then froze. The trees look beautiful! However, the ice is so dangerous! We've lost several branches and part of our fence. We're also without power. Over 100,000 people are without power and several won't have power returned to them after Christmas! 400 powerlines were down in the area, what a storm!

Luckily, we were able to head to my family's home an hour north! Our power is expected to return tomorrow. Hopefully the storm which is supposed to hit tomorrow night won't take out the power, again! 

Our Little Ladybug Turned ONE!

Ms. Emily's first birthday was on the 11th of December, her party was on the 14th. Of course, there was a wonderful snow storm! Only a handful of guest were able to attend, do to the ice and snow. None the less, it was a great party!

I served soup and sandwiches which turned out to be great for such a cold and snowy day.

We had wonderful decorations, set up by yours truly.

A lot of D.I.Y projects. Like the "ONE" pictured here. This was her "year" table, on which I placed her baby book, photo album of pictures I took during the first year, a few onesies, a newborn diaper, and her growth chart.

Since the party was mostly adults, there needed to be some kind of activity. A time capsule was the perfect idea! Each guest wrote a note to Emily which she will open on her 18th birthday in 2030. I also created sheets of the top 10 artists, songs, albums, movies, and price averages of her first year. My dad stopped and purchased a newspaper.

I made these adorable ladybug strawberries

And cake of course!

Overall, I'd say it was a big hit! Emily enjoyed herself, and I had a lot of fun planning! Next year: The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Look at my free stuff!

Recently, I receieved what is called a VoxBox from Influenster. All the contents of this box are free! Which was is totally awesome. In this particular box (the Violet Vox Box) I receieved a Goody Athletique headband, a Soy Joy bar, Triple Shine nail polish from Sally Hansen, Not Your Mother's Clean Freak dry shampoo, and Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Mask.

Oh my, all of these things were all so wonderful! The Soy Joy was surprisingly delicious, the headband was just plain awesome because I love headbands, and the clay mask smelled soooooooo good! Good enough to eat, even!

The dry shampoo was a new adventure for me, I had never used dry shampoo. It wasn't bad! It's probably not something I would use on a regular basis. It made my hair feel very stiff, like I used too much hairspray. It did remove all of the grease from my hair which was uber exciting!

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak...

Recently I received a bottle of Not Your Mother's Clean Freak dry shampoo. I was a little apprehensive. I had never used a dry shampoo and I was skeptical!

I waited a day or two, as I had washed my hair the day I received my sample (complimentary of Influenster in my Violet Vox Box). I let my hair get a little greasier than normal, as I wanted to see how well the dry shampoo worked!

Much to my surprise, it really did soak up the grease! My hair did feel stiff (like I had used a lot of hair spray) and I would not recommend using it anywhere but on your roots. It does the job though, and has saved me a lot of time this past week.

While I might not use this every day, or every week - it would be great for traveling. It's light, so therefore easy to pack. Especially if you're camping or hiking!

Fun part of this dry shampoo, it briefly turns your hair grey before you brush it out, I thought it was super funny!

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spas

Recently I received a sample of Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Mask (Pomegranate and Cinnamon). Cutesy of Influenster.

This mask was awesome! I LOVED the smell. I love all things cinnamon so this was the best scent I could have been sent. The mask was difficult to put on, I wasn't sure which side went against my skin. Also, the holes were too big and parts of my cheeks, nose, and chin were not covered by the mask.

HOWEVER, the mask made my skin so soft and smooth. It was rejuvenating! I would totally buy this product again, especially with Christmas approaching. The masks would make great stocking stuffers!

IT'S COMING!!

Black Friday! It's almost here! Here are a few things I have been doing for maximum savings! 

I follow a few blogs which help match up deals in major chain stores. One popular site is The Krazy Coupon Lady. I also follow A Mitten Full of Savings which is very helpful. She also has a popular Facebook Page. While this blog is more local for me, she also posts online deals and where to find 'freebies' online! online!

Target Chartwheel which gives you 5% or more on items and you can use it more than once. You can use this with your Target red card (gives you 5% off), Target coupon, and a manufacture coupon! 

I also use Ibotta a lot  and you can use this on top of the Target savings, too!  This is one of my favorite apps. You can use this with manufacture coupons ANYWHERE and cash is deposited into your PayPal account! You can also choose to have your money deposited onto a Starbucks or itunes card! 

Retail Me Not has had some awesome savings/codes. And there's an app so you can use it in stores now, too! Go HERE for the mobile app!

For Holiday cards (if you still need them) Shutterfly has awesome deals. I liked they're Facebook page, the post a lot of promo codes. I've had uber savings!

Snapfish has a promo code for 50% off: 50HOLIDAY and it's good through 12/15




Don't forget to check your local ads for Deals. It helps to make a list of what items in the ads you're going to purchase. List which store it's from and the sale price. Go online (and check the apps and sites above!) and match the deals with more savings!

HAPPY SHOPPING!