A Change (For Now)

So, I have decided to add something new here--I will also be posting my cooking/baking endeavors. I have recently been trying new recipes, both simple and slightly challenging. I keep a camera in the kitchen so I can take pictures of everything (I do so much faster if I don't have to run looking for the camera😋) but what point in taking pictures if I don't share them? So here goes!

TONIGHT:
I found a yummy looking creamy crockpot white chicken chili recipe that I have been meaning to try. It is really easy, and really good. And being a crockpot recipe, you make it in the morning and smell it all day long.
         A few changes I made:  

1. I skipped the green chili and white corn. These are not ingredients that we keep on hand. 
2. I added a third can of beans as our family likes "beany" soup. 
3. For onion powder, I used 1/2 chopped onion. Just because I like chopping onion. 
4. I used red pepper instead of cayenne pepper, and regular pepper rather than white.
5. And finally, I used one chicken bouillon cube in place of the chicken base. 

We have been looking for a really good white chili recipe, and this is it! I think it could also be made in a kettle on the stove if your chicken is already cooked. 

BUT THE REAL TREAT OF THE DAY.......

    CHRISTMAS STAR TWISTED BREAD.

Seriously, this is really not as hard as it looks. Plus, it is terribly fun to make. The striped look comes from layering jam between the dough before you bake it. 

This is a very nice and pliable dough; easy to stretch the top layers to match the bottom. 

Ready to twist. Now for one small question---HOW??

All twisted. PLEASE rise like you're supposed to!

Wow! It turned out right! (This is always amazing,
and sends warm fuzzy tremors through one's self.) 

Nice stripey layers here. 

We almost decided this was too pretty to eat, but then we did. It tastes like a strudel, surprisingly. We also agreed that it also looks like a Christmas Snowflake. The recipe calls for raspberry jam, but I used strawberry. The raspberry is darker and looks a little nicer, but I am quite pleased with this. I want to try it with a really dark jam, like grape, and see how that looks. I would also sift my powdered sugar next time to get a finer finish.

Well, that's all till next time!