Kitchen Quickies

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No, not that kind of quickie. I mean the kind in which you don't have to spend forever in the kitchen making meals. Ever since I had Sweet A, the last thing I've had any motivation to do was spend any time in the kitchen. Heck, let's be honest here, I've never been motivated to spend time in the kitchen. Unless I'm baking. At any rate, since having the babe, I really, really don't want to waste what precious little time I have cooking. Mr. H and I recently decided that we need to cut back on all the delivery and take out we've been consuming (seriously though, after having a baby, returning to work two months later, AND moving three months later, delivery and take out has been SO convenient). Fortunately, winter is upon us, not that you could tell with the temperatures we've been having around here. In my mind, winter is the perfect time for crockpot meals. I can through a bunch of stuff in the pot Monday morning, and Wha-zam! Dinner for the week (unless Mr. H decides to take it for lunch, which he's done to me before). We mainly stick with chicken recipes. Right now I've got this recipe brewing, Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie. I'm typically not a fan of "convenience" foods or ingredients like condensed soup, but I was willing to overlook it for this dish.

Basic white sandwich bread

As much as I'm loving the Crockpot right now, there's another machine I'm obsessed with, the bread maker. I never would have thought I would own a bread maker. I remember when they were all the rage in the 90s. My mom had one, and she used it for a bit, but then the novelty wore off and the loaves of bread became few and far between. Well, my dad came to visit for Christmas and he came bearing a bread maker as a house warming gift for us. At first I was skeptical and appreciative, but not sure if I would ever use it. You see, I love baking, but as a rule, I avoid anything that requires yeast. If a recipe requires that a dough rise, I immediately move on while thinking back to my Amelia Bedelia days. I've never had any success with yeast breads, rolls or doughs. When I bake, I barely measure anything precisely and I'm constantly substituting ingredients. From my experience with real bread, precise measurement is a must and substitution is a no-no.

Peanut butter bread

One morning I decided to get out the bread maker and give it a shot. My dad had provided us with some of the starter ingredients after all. Well, I was right, measurements need to be exact, but I was wrong in thinking that I would fail at even bread machine bread. My first loaf came out so well, I whipped up another one later on that afternoon. Who knew bread making could be so easy? Just toss some ingredients into the machine, push some buttons, and walk away! You don't even have to mix it! My Crockpot isn't even that convenient. Well, three loaves later and I'm a fan. Mr. H recently picked up the ingredients necessary to make a whole wheat sandwich bread that he can take to work. Now if only I could find a machine to wash the bathrooms for me.

*Bread made but not pictured: Vanilla sour cream