Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my friend Cara’s house. Her mom made homemade bread for the family every week. She even ground her own grains to make it worth the price. I love her regular bread a lot,but the cinnamon raisin swirl version was AMAZING! I finally was able to get her recipe, and I have made it twice for Grant, and there was never very much left. Below you can see step by step pictures and then the list of ingredients with all of the instructions. I hope you enjoy it!
Here is a really great and easy recipe that is a staple in our family. I prefer Chili with more beans than meat, but Grant isn’t a huge lover of Beans so I have to have a higher meat to bean ratio. 🙂 The things Grant actually cares about crack me up. Before I met Grant, I didn’t realize that people had texture issues with foods. Oh well, him being particular about foods just makes me laugh inside. I love how certain things makes everyone unique.
Here is one of my favorite recipes. There are THOUSANDS of different version of Chicken Salad! There was one that I grew up with that the amazing ladies at my church in Ohio always made, and it had grapes and cashews in it. I have to say that I am partial to a sweeter version of chicken salad. Of the varieties found in restaurants, Panera Bread has the best one hands down in my opinion. Well you can disagree with me and that is fine because little things make a huge difference. My older sister Kira has a great version too. I begged my mother in law, Gail, to ask the amazing ladies at church to give me their recipe. I have to say she did AMAZING!
This is a recipe that I have been making a LOT! I love having a warm breakfast, but it needs to be fast too. I eat at work and so normally it is instant oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich. I love cooked oatmeal better than instant, but as long as it isn’t cereal, I won’t complain. Some mornings I don’t mind cereal either, but something warm is great too. I got a free coupon for the McDonalds maple brown sugar oatmeal. I went and tried it, and of course it was great! The calories aren’t that bad, but it is knowing all of the extra bad stuff that they are putting in that makes me not want to eat it. Also, the price, I can buy everything and make a TON of them at home for much cheaper. So, I was on the hunt for a copy cat recipe and one that was doable at work.
This year I have been trying to make as many gifts as I can without purchasing any. For some of the males in my family,I decided to make pies in a jar; if you are married to a male in my family, please don’t share so it is a surprise. Since guys are always hard to shop for unless you have a lot of money for nicer toys making them happy through their stomach seemed a good idea.
One of my greatest weaknesses are molten cakes! A lot of restaurants carry them; I like them so much that my mother in law will give me Applebee’s gift cards so that I can go lots of times just for the dessert! I don’t get them a lot, but I have always been on a search for a good recipe. The internet is littered with recipes, but I just never liked them. They always tasted to eggy, and just not sweet enough for my taste. I found this recipe, and I gave it my best effort. They turned out wonderful!