Irish Bread Braid

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This Irish Bread Braid from Best Yummy Recipes, is super YUMMY! I used their cut finished loaf picture, because my loaf got cut and eaten before I had the chance to grab a pic. I went out on a limb with this recipe, on the search to find something, anything that my daughter will eat other than pizza. Neither my husband nor I are corned beef fans, however, the finished product photo from Best Yummy Recipes looked so delicious, that I just had to taste this bread! My braiding wasn’t too successful, I had to open a separate can of crust to patch holes, but other than that, this recipe was a cinch! The original recipe calls for Pillsbury Recipe Creations seamless dough sheet, which my grocery didn’t have, so I used Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza. I purchased two cans, just incase one wasn’t enough, which it wasn’t. I also substituted the 2 red potatoes for 1 baking potato, because that’s what I had on hand. I’m not a huge fan of caraway seeds, so I negated them from the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza dough sheet
6 ounces sliced corned beef
1 cup cooked fresh spinach
1 large baking potato, boiled, cooled and sliced
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon olive oil
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
Cooking spray

Directions

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Prepare your potato before beginning this recipe to allow for potato to cool. I peeled my potato, boiled whole for about 10 minutes, allowed to cool and then sliced thin.
1. & 2. In a pan heat olive oil, add spinach, cook stirring continuously.
3. Spray cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray, unroll pizza crust onto sheet and add corned beef down the center of the dough.
4. Top corned beef with cooked spinach.
5. Top spinach with potato.
6. Top potato with shredded cheddar
7. & 8. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut 1-inch wide strips on long sides of dough (cut the same number of strips on each side) to within a 1/2-inch of the filling. Fold in short sides, then alternately cross strips over the filling to make a braid. (This is where I fell short, my braid started off well, but then began to not be as tight towards the middle and end. I had to open the second can of pizza crust to ‘patch’ the various holes.)
9. In a small bowl beat an egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush egg wash on top of bread. ( if using caraway seeds, this is when you should sprinkle them on top of your bread.)
10. Bake bread at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the bread is a lovely golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting with a sharp knife.

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I missed a hole on the side of my loaf, so a small amount of cheese leaked out of the side…no biggie;)
Even though my daughter didn’t want to even taste the bread, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Give it a try, you’ll be glad that you did!

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a couple of new throws…

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It’s big girl bed time for Reagan! After several missed attempts at climbing out, Reagan finally climbed out, err…fell out, of her crib.  She’s a pillow lover, so I wanted to find a few extra special pillows for her new setup.

Clockwise from the top:

Sequin Cutwork Pillow from West Elm / Love You Linen Pillow from Layla Grayce / All You Need Pillow from One Kings Lane  / Moon and Back pillow from One Kings Lane / Schoolhouse Letter Pillow from Serena & Lily / Dwellstudio Kids Boudoir Pillow from Layla Grayce

Spotlight On: Favorite Apps 2nd Edition

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Even with thousands of apps out there, I only end up using a select few on a regular basis.  After sharing some of my favorites I wanted to add some others that have been topping the list lately.

Tripit: This app syncs with your email account to make travel much more seamless.  It logs all your reservations/flights/hotels and any other type of confirmation that comes into your inbox into an organized list and it will also automatically update any changes in your reservations.  With a busy year coming up with lots of events to keep track of, this app is a dutiful assistant.

justWink: I love snail mail and handwritten cards more than most but sometimes in a pinch you need to send a forgotten birthday message or last minute good luck wishes, this app has a selection of e-cards that can be texted or emailed on the go.  You can also upload your own photos before you send off that instant love note or congratulations!

Mint: this site and app has completely altered the way I look at spending since I signed up three months ago.  It links to all of your accounts (bank, credit cards, loans, 401k) and tracks them all.  You can set budgets for different categories and even create your own then it will alert you when you are approaching or over budget in individual categories.  The “ordering in”, “weekday breakfast” and “clothing” budgets were the ones that I hadn’t realized how much all the little things add up and it has really curbed my spending in those as well as other areas.

What are you some of your favorites?

Spotlight On: StickyGrams

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In this digital age we live in and with everyone taking so many pictures on their phones, it’s rare that they become something tangible.  As a fan of photos of our loved ones all around the apartment, StickyGrams are a unique way to get numerous pictures out of your phone and in our case, on to our metal front door.  StickyGram uses your Instagram photos, keeps the same sized square shape and filter, and creates matte finished magnets.  Every time we come and go, the pictures are reminders of memories with some of our favorite people.

(Don't mind Hudson's gnaw marks on the sides of the door)

(Don’t mind Hudson’s gnaw marks on the sides of the door)

I ordered ours back in the fall when they were running a 2 for 3 promotion as they aren’t the cheapest option around but after being such a fan of the product I wouldn’t think twice about ordering our next batch outside of a promotional price.  Anyone else love them?

Ezekiel…Bread

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Delicious breakfast that Reagan and I have been hooked on for the past week.

Ingredients
Ezekiel Bread
Organic Apple Butter
Peanut Butter
Honey
Strawberries

Directions
1. Mix desired amount of apple butter, peanut butter and honey together in a small bowl.
2. Cut desired number of strawberries into thin slices.
3. Toast Ezekiel Bread.
4. Spread apple butter mixture on toast.
5. Top mixture with sliced strawberries.
6. Enjoy!!

What is Ezekiel Bread?

What is Apple Butter?

So Yummy!