MP) Bread is still high on my thoughts at home lately, but it’s kind of the same old stuff. No new recipes for me this week. Perfecting the Perfect Loaf? Nope, not yet. The kids enjoyed the Perfect Loaf recipe, so we did make it again and this time I measured carefully the ingredients. It was almost perfect, until it was time to take the bread out of the machine. The handle of the pan, scrapes the top of the loaf. 😦 I’ve also had several bananas left over, so one of my ‘snow days’ working from home, I cranked out two loaves of banana bread. I’m loving this mix and bake in the same pan. Less dirty dishes, is a win. The one hack I did learn with the CBK-100 is that after the mixing has completed, you should definitely scrape the edges of the pan, to mix in the flour that did not mix into the dough. The loaf does turn out a lot nicer after that.
We also attempted the Cinnamon Raisin bread again. I was so excited. I got all the ingredients in, and I had decided to not put the raisins in until I heard the beeps of the CBK-100 telling me it was time to add the fruit. So, I’m busy working and mixing and mixing and working, and the beeps go off, and I frantically run over, because I didn’t prepare my raisins (get them out of their little boxes) for the bake. I get them all ready, and I look in to find that the mixing was a farce. The ingredients had not mixed at all. Why is that? Oh, NOoooo, is it broken, how did I mess up again? Oh, wait, I didn’t have the paddle in the pan before putting the ingredients in. Because I had baked the night before, I hadn’t followed my cleaning routine and got the pan prepared for the next cycle before putting it away. In my haste in the morning I had grabbed and started dumping ingredients before being completely awake. I found my poor paddle sitting on the counter, and used it to scoop the ingredients away from the post and jammed it in place. Shut off the Bread Machine and started the cycle over again. When the beeps rang the second time around, I was all prepared and the ingredients looked properly mixed. I dropped in the raisins and went back to work. “The Cinnamon Raisin Bread is even better than The Perfect Loaf,” in the words of my 11 year old daughter. I almost have to agree with her. It is very tasty and much more fun with raisins that are raisin shaped in the bread. 🙂 When in the CBK-100, we are able to mix and bake on the basic setting, as the recipe suggests. Long Loaves, basic, tall loaves, sweet bread.
Since I typically try something new in my bread machine, and I didn’t this time, I don’t want to disappoint with no new recipes. I am sharing with you because I made a “Danger Meatloaf”. “Danger” is something we call something we have never tried before. We often will often post the Danger in front of whatever it is we’re making. Danger Dish, Danger Dinner, so one night it was Danger Meatloaf. Why meatloaf? Because it has bread crumbs in it and I need to get some of the bread eaten and I get to share it on here:). I have to say, Danger Meatloaf is now my favorite meatloaf ever! I’m telling you folks this is a recipe you will want to invest in. My son didn’t want me to put onions in, but I did, and I’m so glad I did. He ate 3 pieces and wanted more, no onions cast aside. My daughter ate two slices, I ate two slices, and my hubby ate 2 and half slices. One piece was left over for me to take to work the next day. I forgot to bring it to work, and we each had something going on the next day after work, so it was one of those nights that everyone fends for themselves. The vultures hovered around me, until mama bird fed each of them a bite of the left over meatloaf. It was a WIN!
JL and CL) JL and CL are still using their bread machine at least 3 times a week. JL Made the Cinnamon without Raisin Bread, (her family is Anti-Raisin) and some of the Cinnamon Honey Butter. As MP was over for a visit, MP got to have a taste! Thumbs up from the neighbor girl. It was also unveiled that because the Cinnamon without Raisin Bread bakes in a slightly smaller size, it does completely fit in the toaster compared to Perfect Loaf slices. Perfect Loaf slices need to be toasted on one side and then flipped when the first toasting cycle is done to toast the other half. Here MP thought that they were cutting the slices diagonally to get the slices to fit in the toaster. Apparently bread eaters in their home would rather have dark middles of toast, rather than have rough edges.
CL had a catastrophic incident, there was an air pocket in one of his “Perfect Loafs”. Loaf after loaf of perfect loaves, there is no room for air pockets. No known cause for the air pocket, and as of yet, there isn’t a mitigation for future loaves. He’s is going to live with that flaw and keep accessing.
CL and JL’s son, BL, is not to be left out of the Bread Machine maddness. He has been involved in the ‘flip’ of the Caramel rolls before, and the removal of perfect loaves from the machine, but never has he been involved in putting ingredients in and mixing and baking before. One day while CL and JL were both away from the house for appointments, they returned and found a loaf of banana bread on the counter. When they left, there wasn’t banana bread, but when they returned, there it was. So JL visiting with MP discovered that MP did not drop banana bread off at their home, that it was still an unknown factor of where the banana bread came from. Low and behold, BL, did ‘Google it’ and made some banana bread in the bread machine. It was promptly ate and was a sure win for his first experience with the bread machine!
Kudos for the croutons! JL made the croutons out of some spare perfect Loaves, buns or rolls. BL decided to put some on his salad for lunch and they were a very positive twist to the salad.
Recipes this week:
Danger Meatloaf
JL made Keto Danger Meatloaf with the following modifications:
Substitute: Breadcrumbs with Porkrines and Ketchup with Sugarless Ketchup.
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