Fresh Baked Bread from Frozen Bread Dough Review

To save on trips to the grocery store for something as basic as a loaf of bread, it is handy to have a package of frozen bread dough on hand. You can purchase frozen bread dough in packages with multiple loaves (I currently have one with five loaves in it) and always have it handy whenever bread is needed or you cannot get out to shop.  In addition, you will have the taste of fresh baked bread after enjoying the delicious aroma of your bread baking. 

Making bread from scratch is a fun cooking project for many, but for a quick way to enjoy fresh baked bread, this frozen bread dough is a delightfully delicious product.

Basic Instructions on Package:

Regular Method – 5 to 8 hours

1. Coat a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place frozen dough in pan, and cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to dough while rising.
2. Let dough rise for 4 to 7 hours, until dough is 1” above pan. Actual time depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Carefully remove the plastic wrap.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake bread 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
4. Remove bread from pan at once and place on a wire rack to cool. Brush the top with melted butter or margarine, if desired. Place bread on its side for easier slicing.

Refrigerator Method – 8 to 16 hours

1. Coat a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place frozen dough in pan, and cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to dough while rising.
2. Place frozen dough in your refrigerator 6 to 12 hours before using. Dough will not rise, but will be thawed and ready to use. Set dough out to rise for 2 to 3 hours, until dough is 1” above pan. Actual time depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Carefully remove the plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake bread 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove bread from pan at once and place on a wire rack to cool. 

Brush the top with melted butter or margarine, if desired. Place bread on its side for easier slicing.

*Recommended pan: 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” x 2 1/2” (1lb. loaf pan) 

More Bread Recipes on ReviewThisReviews

Written on 3/28/2020 by (c) Wednesday Elf

*All images are the property of (c) Wednesday Elf

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Doctor Dogs – A Book Review

How Our Best Friends are Becoming Our Best Medicine


We are familiar with seeing eye dogs, service dogs, military working dogs, dogs trained to assist Law Enforcement, and dogs who work in search and rescue.  

Now, more and more as time goes by, scientific studies are finding that dogs can be trained to help people with chronic medical conditions, both physical & mental, and to detect diseases such as Cancer and Parkinson's.

Doctor Dogs, written by Maria Goodavage, relates many of these studies, along with a number of stories of individual canines and the people they are helping.  The emotional element in this book is as powerful as the science.  The book jacket states:

You don't have to be a dog lover to care deeply about what we are learning from these dogs – and if you're not a dog lover, you will be by the end of this book!

Doctor Dogs

Doctor Dogs by Maria Goodavage

Published in 2019, Doctor Dogs relates a globe-trotting journey made by journalist and author Maria Goodavage who visited top research centers around the United States, throughout Europe and England and as far away as Japan.  Through her excellent story-telling we meet many fantastic dogs, learn of their training in various areas and discover how they are impacting (and actually saving, in many cases) the lives of people whose well-being depends on these highly skilled personal MDs (medical dogs).

A Collection of (Trained) Canines in Doctor Dogs

From Angus to Zen......

• Angus (Clostridium difficile-detection dog)
• Baby Boo (cancer detection dog)
• Bob (autism-assistance dog)
• Bud (seizure-alert dog)
• Daisy (cancer detection dog)
• Dexter (seizure-alert dog)
• Duke (crisis-response dog)
• George (cancer detection dog)
• Hank (psychiatric service dog)
• Jedi (diabetic alert dog)
• Leo (educational-aide dog)
• Nina (seizure alert dog)
• Parker (cancer detection dog)
• Sally (malaria detection dog)
• Zen (Parkinson's alert dog)

As you can see from the list above, dogs can be trained to help and assist in many different ways.  The training described is fascinating.  Dogs can learn to 'alert' to impending seizures (giving the patient time to find a safe place to sit or lie down), or alert to diabetic highs and lows, especially helpful in children with Type I diabetes who are too young to recognize when they are in trouble. 

There are Doctor Dogs who can detect cancers and Parkinson's Disease.  There are psychiatric service dogs who have proven to be invaluable to children with autism and people suffering from PTSD, both returning soldiers of war and civilians with trauma-induced PTSD. 

These abilities and feats dogs are being trained to do are just a few of the areas of medicine, and more, being researched at this time. 

Maria Goodavage, Author

Maria Goodavage
(Source: Wikimedia)

Maria Goodavage is a veteran journalist who has written a number of best-selling books about dogs; two about military dogs, one about Secret Service dogs who protect the President of the United States, and now Doctor Dogs. 

Maria lives in San Francisco with, among others, her yellow Labrador retriever, Gus.

Summary

The dogs trained for these medical specialties are carefully matched to the individuals they will serve and are almost always of a calm nature.  Labrador Retrievers are a popular breed in this field, but just about any breed who is friendly and calm can be trained to be a good Doctor Dog. 

These Doctor Dogs absolutely love what they are doing. They adore and become very attached to their 'people'. 

What is their paycheck for their lifesaving work?  All they need are heartfelt praise and a tasty treat or favorite toy.  I'd say that's the easiest fee to pay any doctor. 

(c) Doctor Dogs Book Review by Wednesday Elf 3/14/2020


Quick Link:

ReviewThisReviews Contributor Diana Wenzel (RenaissanceWoman) has written several articles here about her therapy dog Finn. Click Here to meet this delightful dog doing his own service in this field of special hero dogs.

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Review of Boy's Wolf Union Suit Pajamas by Cat & Jack

My 10-year-old grandson David has recently developed a big interest in wolves. When I visited him last Fall, he was showing me the book about wolves he'd recently acquired and told me how much he liked wolves.  The family had just moved into a new house and David has a new bed.  His parents got him wolf design sheets and a beautiful Wolf comforter.  His whole bedroom is in wolf design.

Amigurumi Wolf
Plush Toy on Etsy

David asked me if I would make him a plush wolf to go along with the other stuffed toy animals I had crocheted for him in the past. I told him I would and he was to look for it at Christmastime. 

This, of course, gave me the idea to add another wolf-related gift to the stuffed toy. 

Boy's Wolf Union Suit

I went shopping for pajamas in a wolf-theme to go along with David's wolf-themed bedroom.  The pajamas I found were a one-piece union suit style with, not only a wolf-design for the pattern on the material, but also an attached hood he can put over his head and eyes, giving him a Wolf appearance!  He absolutely loves these pajamas.

Wolf  Union Suit Pajamas

This Wolf Union Suit is a product of the Cat & Jack line of sleepwear carried by Target.  It is made of 100% polyester of flame-resistant fabric, meeting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sleepwear requirements.  It has a cozy hoodie and banded cuffs and a half-length zipper at the front.   It comes in gray & white and the design is of sporting wolf silhouettes in white and gray shades against a dark gray backdrop.  The hoodie displays a wolf face for a ferocious look for fun. 

Cat & Jack Children's Clothing

Cat & Jack is a children’s and babies clothes line rolled out by Target in 2016.  It replaces it's Cherokee and Circo kids label.  Cat & Jack was begun after getting feedback and opinions from a range of children. 

Target carries a number of animal print and design sleepwear for kids. While looking for the wolf pajamas, I saw a Shark Union Suit and also pajamas in movie themes such as Jurassic and Star Wars, as well as superheros and favorite  sports teams. 

There are also Unicorns and Llamas sets for girls, as well as many other cute & cozy PJs girls will love. 

David's Gift from Grandma

David wears his wolf pajamas as many nights as he can, but I think another Cat & Jack pajama set is in his future as a gift from grandma.  His birthday is coming up in April.  :-) 

David posing in his Wolf-design pajamas
by Cat & Jack. 

Update

The Wolf Union Suit by Cat & Jack is not currently available, but there are many others in fun themes now available.  Check them all out on the Target Website, or in a Target store near you under the Cat & Jack brand.

Quick Links:

• Cat & Jack Sleepwear and Children's Clothing on Target
• Amigurumi toy wolf on Etsy by Coastal Crochet Crafts

(c) Product Review by Wednesday Elf 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Site Review ~ Dinner, then Dessert, a Recipe Website

Source:  Pixabay & Fotojet

The other night I decided I wanted to fix Egg Foo Young for my dinner, as I had some leftover ham to put in it.  I almost always order Egg Foo Young at a Chinese restaurant, as it is my favorite. Since one doesn't often 'eat out', I sometimes fix restaurant favorites at home.  

I have made Egg Foo Young often over the years, but, while good, it just never tasted the same as my favorite at a Chinese restaurant or Chinese Take-out. And I never knew why. So I decided to look online for a new recipe to see if I could duplicate my favorite. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I have been 'cooking' my version incorrectly.  I would beat the eggs and add the ingredients (vegetables, and  sometimes meat or seafood) and cook it all at once like an omelet.  Aha ~ THAT was my mistake.  I discovered you cook individual helpings like a pancake! 

When I did a Google search for a new Egg Foo Young recipe, I accidentally came across a recipe blog called Dinner, then Dessert, and I am SO glad I did.  The author is a trained professional cook who worked as a Private Chef for 10 years, and all the recipes on her site are her own. Not only are her recipes delicious, but her presentation is attractive and easy to follow and her writing is delightful. Her name is Sabrina Snyder. 

Meet Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina Snyder, Professional Chef
Author of Dinner, then Dessert

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years. 

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches, before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef. 

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook a family's entire week of dinners one day a week, including all grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up, and leave them with instructions on reheating each meal.

As a private chef, she cooked for private parties in family homes in the evenings.

Sabrina enjoyed this lifestyle for 10 years, until her life and kids became her priority and  she stepped away from other people's kitchens to stay in her own kitchen.

In  2015, Dinner, then Dessert became an online recipe website where Sabrina began posting recipes she had shared with clients over the years. 

In addition, she still has private chef clients she cooks for.  Sabrina treasures her distinction of being a trained professional  chef. 

Sabrina's Egg Foo Young Recipe

Sabrina Snyder's Egg Foo Young Recipe
Sabrina's Photo from Dinner, then Dessert

Egg Foo Young is a Chinese egg omelet dish made with  vegetables with an easy gravy topping. I share her recipe here:

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total  Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 eggs
½ onion, chopped
½ cut carrots (chopped and steamed)
¼ cup green peas
½ cut green bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup bean sprouts, cut in half
½ cup mushrooms
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

Instructions:

1. Add the eggs, onion, mushrooms, bell pepper,  bean sprouts and soy sauce together in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil at a time for each pancake you cook on medium heat.
3. Add about 1/3 cup of mixture per pancake and cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes on the second side.

Egg Foo Young Gravy

1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Add everything to a small sauce pan and whisk well before the liquid heats up.  Cook and whisk until thickened. 

Recipe Notes from Sabrina about this Egg Foo Young Dish:

Egg Foo Young is sort of the classic leftovers meal made into a restaurant favorite. At our local Chinese restaurant the classic egg version of the dish comes out with a different assortment of ingredients mixed in almost every time we go.

I’ve asked our favorite waiter (who puts up with our circus of a family) why the fillings change and he explained to me that Egg Foo Young is a leftovers recipe and that when they have more or less of certain vegetables they just adjust the filling to what they have.

My Recipe Notes:

Cooking my version of Egg Foo Young
from Sabrina's Dinner, then Dessert site
Photos by Wednesday Elf, using a Fotojet collage

Following what Sabrina learned  about this Egg Foo Young recipe filling being adjusted, I made my recent version using only fresh mushrooms, diced onions and ham diced up from a leftover ham slice. I briefly sauteed the ham, onions and mushrooms in butter prior to adding them to the egg mixture.

I used only 3 eggs and cooked my pancakes one at a time in a small pan, as I was only making enough for myself. I chose NOT to make the gravy, as I like my Egg Foo Young plain. 

I then served the Egg Foo Young pancakes on rice. The  image below is of my result. YUM!

My Egg Foo Young Dinner

PS: In addition to learning the proper way to COOK this dish as pancakes, I think the other secret to getting homemade Egg Foo Young to taste more like a Chinese restaurant version is using sesame oil to cook it in. 

Site Review Summary

Having now discovered this delightful online recipe website by Sabrina Snyder, I will be visiting Dinner, then Dessert frequently to try out several of her other delicious-looking recipes  from her Main Dish, Desserts, Appetizers and Slow Cooker lists. Her 'Easy Chicken Parmesan' recipe is already calling my name! 

Quick Link:

Dinner, then Dessert Recipe Website

For more Chinese Takeout dishes to  fix at home, check out this cookbook:






(c) Dinner, then Dessert Website Review by Wednesday Elf, written on 2/15/2020

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Dungeons & Dragons - Fantasy Role-Playing Game Review

Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Role-Playing Game (Source: Pixabay)

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game first published in 1974. Designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, it is now published by Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast subsidiary. 

What is Dungeons & Dragons?

D&D was originally based on miniature wargames, but departs from traditional wargaming because it allows each player to create their own character to play, who embark on imaginary adventures in a fantasy setting. 

D&D uses polyhedral dice to resolve
 in-game events.
Source: Wikipedia 

A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, maintaining the setting where the adventures occur, and playing the role of the inhabitants of the game world. The characters form a party and interact with the setting's inhabitants and each other where they solve dilemmas, engage in battles and gather treasure and knowledge. 

Today Dungeons & Dragons is recognized as the beginning of the modern role-playing games. It is the best known, and best selling, role-playing game in the US, with an estimated 20 million people having played the game.

D&D Starter Set

My son Greg discovered D&D in 1978 at the age of eight. For several years, all he wanted for gifts and to buy with his allowance were additions to the game in the form of published pamphlets (modules) which typically included a background story, illustrations, maps and goals for players to achieve. He most often played the game with his two best friends, brothers Kevin & Russell.  I remember one night in particular when the brothers were spending the night with Greg and the 3 of them were in his room playing D&D. I went in to call them to dinner and Russell (only 7 years old) said “wait, I can't leave now or my character will be in trouble. I have to finish this play first.” Made me smile. I have to say, as a mother, I really liked this early version of D&D as it heavily encouraged a child's imagination and taught them problem solving skills and strategy.  It also taught them important social skills and how to work together as a team to win the game.

An elaborate D&D game in progress. Among the gaming aids here are dice, a variety of miniatures and a dungeon diorama. (Source: Wikipedia)

Today's version of D&D has evolved to include miniature figures and a grid map and even a dungeon Diorama, among other advanced gaming aids. 

D&D Resurgence

This week, my local newspaper ran a story about the massive resurgence D&D has recently had:

"Paladins, sorcerers and wizards unite. A new generation of players has become ensorcelled by the fantasy role-playing board game “Dungeons & Dragons.”  You don't need to be familiar with the game to figure out “Ensorcelled” means charmed or be-smitten."

Long-time players and newcomers will tell you the game is making a new resurgence with players of all ages, especially younger players. 

I see this resurgence in interest in D&D in my own family. My eight-year-old son is now grown and a father to four sons he is teaching the game to. His sister has joined a group who play D&D a couple Sundays each month. 

In my local community, there are teachers who run such clubs and our local Public Library is hosting Dungeons and Dragons games every Wednesday afternoon. 

D&D is Here to Stay

With technology making so many video games available, it would seem that board games would become a thing of the past. Not so with Dungeons & Dragons, the most popular fantasy role-playing game of all time.






(c) Dungeons & Dragons Review written by Wednesday Elf (1/30/2020)

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Honey Walnut Drops – Cookie Recipe Review

I have an old Church Cookbook from my mother-in-law's collection.  It's the kind many churches put out, especially in small towns, with recipes from church members handed down from one generation to the next. Many of you probably have something similar, acquired the same way.

While browsing through this Garden City (KS) Cookbook one day before the holidays, I found a new (to me) cookie recipe with two of my favorite ingredients ~ walnuts and coconut. I thought it would be fun to share it with you today. 

Honey Walnut Drops Recipe

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1 c. honey
2/3 c. shortening
3 eggs
3 ¾ c. flour
1 tsp. Salt

1 c. commercial sour cream

1 c. chopped walnuts

¾ c. flaked coconut

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. soda

Directions:

Cream sugar,  honey, shortening and eggs. Mix flour (not sifted) with soda, salt. Add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts, coconut and vanilla.

Drop teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.  Top each cookie with walnut half and coconut. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

*Yield not given in this recipe, but I got about 6 dozen cookies from my batch. 

PS: I did not have any extra walnuts, so did not top the cookies with a one-half walnut. Lots of walnuts IN the cookies, though. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This cookie recipe was published in this Garden City cookbook in 1979, so no nutritional information is included of the kind you often find in today's recipes (such as calories, fat grams, carbs, etc.), in case you were wondering. :-). Considering the ingredients, I am sure there are a 'number' of calories in it, but, after all, it is a cookie! 

Old Joke:  Did you know that if you break a cookie in half before eating, all the calories 'fall out'? LOL. 

More About Cookies

For more cookie recipes on this site, check out ReviewThisRecipes.com

In case you want a special day to celebrate baking cookies, December 18th is National Bake Cookies Day. 

Plus, October is known as National Cookie Month, giving you a whole month to enjoy cookies (as if we needed an excuse). :)


Related Posts

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Bake Cookies Day is December 18.

Review of Byrd's Famous Cookies

The Byrd Cookie Company has been an established company in Savannah, Georgia since 1924

Autumn Eats - A Review of Seasonal Cookie Cutters

Seasonal Cookies Cutters make holiday-related cookie shapes for holidays throughout the Autumn (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).

+All images in this article were personally taken by Wednesday Elf

(c) Written by Wednesday Elf on 1/18/2020.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Rand McNally Road Atlas Review

The ultimate road trip accessory

In today's technological world, road maps and directions are available on GPS devices and Smartphones under the Google Maps app. They are also available as built-in accessories to the newer automobiles. Voices announce the turns for us via satellites without the need to read a map.  Other travel information is available on these devices, such as where to locate a restaurant or hotel/motel. You might say that printed maps are no longer necessary. I disagree. 

Maps have been around for hundreds of years, dating back to early explorers when some thought the world was flat and maps stated the edge of the known world with pictures of dragons  (“Here there be dragons”) for the uncharted territory.

Road Trip

Weather Condition Images from Pixabay

On a recent road trip in early November, while traveling north from St. Louis, Missouri to my home in the Quad Cities of Iowa, I encountered first rain, then snow, making the 4+ hour trip quite hazardous. I was using the map app on my Smartphone when ice began to accumulate and suddenly I lost all connection to the internet. I do not know if the cell towers were affected or if the information beaming down from a satellite could not get through, but I was saved by the fact that I had brought along my Rand McNally Road Atlas.  

Source: Pixabay

The most helpful part of the road map was that it showed me where rest stops were located.  Because of the weather, I needed to stop at several rest stops to clean the ice off my windshield wipers and kick the accumulated snow/ice pack from around the bottom of my car. (Many other motorists were doing the same). So much slushy ice & snow was thrown up from the road and from passing trucks that it was becoming packed around my wheel wells due to immediate freezing from temperatures which had dropped into the 20's. Big blocks of it were sticking out touching my tires. And, despite  having new windshield wipers, the ice accumulation on the wipers prevented them from clearing the windshield enough to see well. I had to constantly stop and clean off my windshield with paper towels and water in my water bottle! It was a mess. 

I eventually made it safely home a couple hours later than normal, but I was grateful that I could easily locate each rest area to clean off the car. Luckily I knew what highways to take, having made this trip many times, but it was handy to be able to check the route via my Rand McNally Road Atlas without a working GPS monitor. 

History of Rand McNally

The Rand McNally Road Atlas has been in publication for over 160 years.  The company  began in 1868 when Andrew McNally and William Rand (Rand McNally) took over the Chicago Tribune's printing shop and began to print tickets and timetables for Chicago's booming railroads, which are the nation's premier railroad hub. 

• In 1904, Rand McNally published the very first automobile road map. It was of New York City and it's vicinity.

• On a map of Peoria, Illinois in 1917, the company debuted a new highway numbering system which eventually became the model for the system used across the United States today.  

• The first full-color Rand McNally Road Atlas premiered in 1960.

Throughout the years, the company continued to publish railway tickets and timetables. They have expanded over time to include many products used extensively today by many industries.  By merging with or acquiring other companies in the field, they developed an electronic system for delivery of routing and mileage information to the trucking industries (1980), are now a leading school map and globe publisher (1984), and are a leading producer of consumer and business-to-business maps and atlases (1993).  They also introduced TripMaker® software (1994) and StreetFinder® street navigation software (1996)  for travel planning on personal computers. 

These are just a few of the many products Rand McNally produces today.  Here is a handy link if you want to read all about their interesting history. 

Summary

Source: Pixabay

In 2016, Rand McNally celebrated its 160th birthday and 80th year in the commercial transportation market. I have done a lot of traveling from one side of this great country to the other in my life and have always had a current road atlas.  Even with today's helpful electronics and technology, having a real 'map' I can look things up on is a standard accessory for my 'road trips'. My most recent trip in terrible Midwest weather in November proved to me that the Rand McNally Road Atlas is a travel necessity.

Newest Version of the Rand McNally Road Atlas (2023)

The Rand McNally Road Atlas can be found on Amazon by clicking here. 

*Product Review of the Rand McNally Road Atlas written by Wednesday Elf on 1/4/2020. Updated 3/21/2023 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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