My secret to keeping 8 people satisfied at meal time

Sometimes I think about turning my blog into some kind of foodie blog.

You know, delivering new and amazing daily recipes along with detailed photographic tutorials.

Then I realize that there are 444,444,444 other food blogs on the web.

And when I actually browse other food blogs I realize that I'm not as much of a foodie as what I once thought I was.

I'm actually a bit too practical to be a true foodie.

 I love food. True.

I love preparing food.  { mostly true}

1. As long as it doesn't take TOO long.

2. As long as my family not only approves but can't stop eating the food I prepare.

VERY. VERY TRUE.

So. I have this little trick that I am going to share with you for ensuring 100% satisfaction from your family no matter what dish is set before them.

B. R. E. A. D.

Yes. I said 'bread'.

 If  just the mere thought of carbs  causes your state of consciousness to be altered  in a negative way then you may be better off not reading the rest of this post.

But to the rest of you, Learn to make good bread.

Your family will forgive a multitude of culinary experiments and mistakes if you consistently provide unlimited quantities of fresh bread and real butter.

Now it is important that you learn how to bake several different kinds of  bread so that your family will not quickly catch on to your trick.

I'm going to share two of my favorites today.

This first recipe is what I call  European bread even though the site I've linked here  calls it something more boring like 'no knead bread'.

If you've ever traveled or lived in a European country you will never think about or experience bread in the same way again.

There was a reason that I gained weight during my first extensive stay in Europe. I couldn't stay away from the  bread.

This recipe is perfect for when you're out of nearly every ingredient in the house except for flour and water.

While this recipe is super simple to mix up, it does require some advance planning as it requires extensive rising time.

This bread is perfect served with soup.

A slice of this bread toasted is just flat amazing.

What gives this bread its special European twist ( the super crunchy crust but soft  interior) is the long resting period, the high baking temp. and the water bath.

My family of 8 has been known to eat an entire loaf of this bread in one setting. That was the time of course when they each ate like 2 teaspoons of the entree.

These Honey Rolls are a close runner up to the European bread here at our house.

I love these because they're so stinking easy to mix up.

You may have noticed by now that I do not like to knead bread.

In fact, I don't like to even get my mixer out.

I am not sure why but I really get a kick out of mixing ingredients together by hand.

Anyway, folks (my family included) always rave over these rolls.

I slather them with honey butter before and after baking them.

I usually whip up some extra honey butter to serve with them at meal time.

So. When all else fails..............bake a loaf of bread.


*please accept my apologies for not having the correct photos to go with the recipes I shared today. The pictures are of another one of my all time favorite bread recipes.