New awesome YUMMMY recipe!! Orange Peppermint Bread

This bread I discovered online and I crafted my own version of it! It is tasty and veryyyy simple to make! Also, most of the ingredients are usually found right in the house making it inexpensive!

You Will Need

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp orange zest (or more for more intense orange flavor...I DEFINITELY used more...)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla is also a tasty alternative!)
1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped

Delicious Homemade Peppermint Orange Glaze
A few drops of Peppermint extract

2 teaspoons of orange juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan. To make it easier to remove the loaf from the pan, you may want to lay down a wide strip of parchment paper, along the length of the bottom of the loaf pan, and up the narrow sides. Butter this as well.

2. Beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes on high in an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until completely incorporated after each addition. Beat in the orange zest.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

4. Add the yogurt and dry ingredients by thirds, starting with the yogurt, alternating the additions. Beat only until just incorporated. Mix in the golden raisins.

5. Immediately pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Place in middle rack of 350°F oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes*, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Cool on a rack in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove the loaf from the pan and cool for another 10 to 15 minutes.

7 While loaf is cooling, prepare optional glaze if using. Whisk together the peppermint extract, orange juice, and powdered sugar until smooth and there are no lumps. Place loaf on a serving plate. Use a toothpick or skinny skewer to poke holes in the top of the loaf and drizzle the glaze over the loaf. This helps the glaze not pour alllll over the place!

*If you are using a 5x9 loaf pan, the loaf will be done earlier. Check at 40 minutes. You can use this recipe for muffins, in which case the cooking time should be 20-25 minutes. For me I wasn't sure it was cooking all the way because the skewer wouldn't come out clean. DO NOT PANIC! It just needed more time. The bread didn't burn and it was delicous!

Best served warm and with liberal amounts of BUTTER and cream cheese : ) BON APPETITE!

TNWM

Preparing: Battling the Could Be's and Making Them Will Be's

Today I came to a realization that many of us have grown up with stars in our eyes. These stars are put there from the moment we are born. They are put there by the simple, wonderful dreams that many children have about what they want to be when they grow up. The stars are amazing and dreamlike when you're a child and they are I believe healthy in normal development. Unfortunately, all things have there time. I have found that I still have many of these stars in my eyes. They have now become a nuisance as they cloud my vision and my judgement of how to achieve my goals and dreams. I haven't realized many of my dreams yet because I haven't taken all neccessarry steps required to reach them.

My whole life I've dreamed of entertaining people. Making them smile, laugh, cry, and feel the same realm of emotions I have felt. I have definitely achieved that many times through the many performances I've gotten to do and I'm happy to say that it has left me fulfilled, but yearning for more. I want it on a broader scale. More people, more emotions, higher pay, more experiences outside the collegiate world, and ultimately to be on Broadway. These are dreams that I feel I am ready to fulfill....but I believe I've missed something.

There is an emptiness still deep inside when it comes to feeling really fulfilled. I know that I want to be on Broadway, but I've discovered something else on the way...I LOVE to teach. I love watching kids grow and learn and achieve some of the same things I did when i was in high school and middle school. It gives me such a warmth inside knowing they have learned something positive from me and that I have instilled just a little bit of my personal wisdom in each of them on a different level.

But now it comes to the point....I "could be" a teacher or I "could be" a Broadway star or I "could be" both! I've realized that all these stars I've placed in my eyes have clouded me from making my "could Be's" into "will Be's". It is time to put my childhood dreams in to real time action!

This means I have to get more serious about finishing school instead of feeling like it is a waste of my time and money. I have learned alot and I am ready to learn more. Also, I need to STOP listening to other voices...the nay sayers in my life who told me what I'm doing will never make me money and that its a wasted dream. I WILL MAKE MY DESTINY REALITY! I am ready to take those steps...I am prepared for the successes AND failures. Even when you fail, that doesn't mean you are a failure! It merely means it will just take a little more time and that much more effort to make it happen! If I get down on myself EVERY time I feel like I've failed...i will NEVER succeed!

In short...I WILL be a success....I WILL perform for thousands....I WILL teach my wisdom and experience to the younger generations and I WILL make lots of money doing it! Until this destiny is reached, I am willing to do WHATEVER it takes to get there....two or three part time jobs? MEH it's doable....will i like it? probably not...will I do it?! HECK YES!!! It WILLLL be worth it in the end...

"This is only the beginning of an adventure far grander than any I've undertaken...it will hurt...it will feel amazing....I will probably cry....but in the end every tear I shed is one more step I've taken to achieve my dreams!"

I hope I can inspire anyone else out there who feels they are falling short....DON'T give up! Take the baby steps and I promise you... you will feel fulfillment...Your destiny is chosen...it's up to YOU the paths you will take to get there my friends.

TNWM