This bread’s amazing & this weekend was crazy.

I am in love with this bread. I made it when Britney visited, and I made a double loaf (2 lb.) this morning and another 1 lb. loaf during my lunch break for for a spaghetti dinner tonight with our small group.

I found the bread machine recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Herb-Bread-II/Detail.aspx?src=etaf. And, for once, I didn’t change anything I changed my mind and decided to make a few minor changes – substituted olive oil for margarine, and added garlic and garlic powder. It is so stinkin good!

Italian Herb Bread {for a bread machine}

• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons dry milk powder
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• garlic or garlic powder

It says you’re supposed to put the ingredients in the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer, but since I was too lazy to look in the manual, I just threw it all together {later, my dad said I did the wrong order, but, hey, it worked!}

Then, you just select the loaf size {ingredients listed above make a 1 lb. loaf}, Medium Crust and Basic/White Bread settings, hit start, and go watch LOST or 24. ;)

Or you can be a nerd like me, and watch the bread machine do its thang.

Then, if you’re like me, you wake up at 3 AM to the smell of pizza and freak out that a thief has broken in and made a home in your kitchen. {It seriously took me the entire trip down the stairs to remember that I made this bread!

 

What a pretty little loaf you are!

 

Sliced pieces of delicious, moist yet still crusty on the outside, herbed to perfection, carb overload, heavenly treat!

 

We most certainly ate the entire loaf, and {ashamedly} fought over the last piece…which I {reluctantly on the inside, but happily on the outside} gave to our guest.

So stinkin good.

This weekend was an interesting one to say the least. I worked a wedding Saturday night, and Eugene stopped by to say hey {like the great husband he is}, but by 10:30 pm he got a call saying his brother had to have an emergency appendix surgery asap. His parents planned to leave for a cruise vaca that next day, so it was a bit nuts for a while figuring out who would stay where and take care of what. But we got it all under control, Dillan’s surgery went well, Eugene too his parents to the air port, I brought the sickie home from the hospital {he’s doing well, btw}, and I stayed with Heidi & Rita & Dillan that evening. Eugene & I stayed there last night to be sure all was swell.

Today’s just as nuts, with a to-do list that’s enough to make ya faint, but I’m staying on task and knocking ‘em out. Feed 3 dogs, pick up before I left, drive home, make bread, do a load of laundry for Eugene, tear down 150 chairs and 25 tables, sweep, email/call/make a brochure, eat lunch while making another loaf of bread, walk the dog, feed the dog, cry as he’s locked up again while leaving for work, sheesh…and I wonder why I’m tired!