Homemade White Bread

4 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast*
4 cups lukewarm water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 to 11 cups all-purpose flour

*yeast: one 1/4 oz. package = 2-1/4 tsp. of bulk yeast; therefore to make recipe for 4 loaves, you will need 9 tsp. bulk yeast if not using packets.


In a measuring cup, dissolve yeast in water.

Transfer to large mixing bowl; add in sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 6 cups of flour; beat until smooth. (I use my Kitchenaid mixer with the bread hook and it does great on this step.)

Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured work area; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down.

Transfer dough to floured surface. Using a pastry cutter cut dough into quarters.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into rectangles (the shape does not have to be perfect) and then roll dough towards you to shape into loaves. Place into greased loaf pans with seam side down. (My dough rose very well so I was actually able to get 5 loaves out of this batch.) Deuteronomy 28: 5 "Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store."

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

At this point you can brush the tops of the bread with melted butter if you want; which I did.

Bake at 350* for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans. Tap bottom of loaf. If it makes a hollow sound, bread is done. If not, return loaf to pan and bake for a few minutes longer. Cool on wire racks.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Homemade Seasoning Mixes

All purpose black pepper seasoning
1/4 c. black pepper
1/4 c. salt
1/4 c. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

All purpose red pepper seasoning
1/4 c. cayenne pepper
1/4 c. salt
1/4 c. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Bean seasoning
1/2 c. ground cumin
1/2 c. chili powder
4 Tblsp. salt
1-1/2 c. dried minced garlic (or garlic powder)
4 Tblsp. black pepper
1-1/2 c. dried minced onion

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Taco seasoning
3/4 cup dried minced onion

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup chili powder

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

2 Tbsp. each cornstarch, crushed dried red pepper, dried minced garlic, ground cumin

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

To Use: 2 T Mix, 1/2 c. water & 1 lb ground beef, simmer altogether. Add 2 Tbsp. dry mix to 1 lb. ground beef and 1/2 cup water. Heat through.

Chicken fajita seasoning
1 Tblsp. corn starch
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. sugar
1 pkg. chicken bullion powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder (or dried minced onion)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Homemade Dry Italian Dressing Mix
1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tblsp. onion powder
2 Tblsp. dried oregano
1 Tblsp. dried parsley
1 Tbslp. sugar
1 Tblsp. salt (can be decreased for your salt needs)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. celery flakes

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

To mix for salad dressing: Combine 2 Tblsp. dry mix to 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 Tblsp. water & 1/2 c. olive oil.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Sweet Texas Tea

Do you like iced tea? I sure do, but the thing I dreaded the most was waiting for the pot of water to boil on the stove so I could boil my tea bags. It seemed like the old saying was never more true than when I made tea...."A watched pot never boils!" It seemed like it took forever.

So I looked over one day at the coffee pot sitting there and thought to myself, "shall I dare try it!?!" I dared and have never looked back since. Mr. Coffee has a new job around our house.

Evening Shade Morning Latte's Sweet Tea

Take 1 large family size tea bag, (I use Tetley or Luzianne but any tea brand of your choice will work), and place the bag into the coffee filter receptacle.


Fill coffee carafe with water, as if you were making a full pot of coffee. Then pour into the water tank of the coffee maker. Place carafe onto the warming plate and turn coffee maker on and let it perk away.


In no time at all, you will have a full pot of tea.


Using a gallon size pitcher, add 3 full spoonfuls of sugar. I use a large cooking spoon to measure out my sugar.




Pour hot tea into pitcher and stir to dissolve sugar.


Fill pitcher with enough water to make a full gallon. Stir to mix well.


Let stand until cooled and then refrigerate. Serve chilled and enjoy!


Click HERE for printable recipe

Walnut Pumpkin Pie

This was a recipe that I made at Thanksgiving. This recipe originated from the Country Woman magazine many years ago. It was a great way to combine both the traditional pumpkin pie and the pecan pie. I made it before and got rave reviews but just hadn't made it since. (No real reason.) I changed things up a bit in the recipe and used what I had on hand. I used walnuts I had in the freezer to make this instead.

Walnut Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin layer:
2 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. canned pumpkin
2/3 c. evaporated milk
1 9-inch pie pastry

Walnut layer:
2 eggs
1/2 c. light corn syrup
2 Tblsp. light brown sugar
2 Tblsp. molasses
1 Tblsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts


Place uncooked pie pastry into a deep pie baker. Set aside.

For pumpkin layer:

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugars, flour, pie spice & salt. Beat until smooth.

Pour in pumpkin and mix well.

Beat in milk, adding a little at a time.

Pour mixture into prepared pie pastry.

Cover edges with a pie shield or foil and bake at 425* for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350* and bake for 15-20 minutes.

For walnut layer:

In a separate bowl beat eggs until foamy.

Add in corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, flour, vanilla and salt. Beat well.

Remove pie shield or foil and pour mixture over pumpkin layer in pie plate.

Layer walnuts on top of pie.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until set. Allow pie to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Pear or Apple Spice Bundt Cake

This recipe originated from Mrs. B -- Thank you dear one for sharing it!

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (TB's note: I like to sneak as much ww wheat as possible into our diets. If you don't have ww flour use 2c. all-purpose)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 qt. pear OR apple pie filling
3 eggs, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt (or loaf) pan.

Combine dry ingredients and mix well.

Stir in pie filling and eggs. Mix well.

Evenly pour into bundt pan (or in my case the bread pans.) I made an extra small loaf to have as a sample.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Top with spiced glaze, below...

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 tbsp. milk

Combine powdered sugar and cinnamon well. Stir in milk and beat with fork until smooth. Drizzle onto cooled bundt cake (or loaf.)

Click HERE for printable recipe