Smart Home - Getting Started (2022)

Everything you need to get started

When it comes to making your home smart, it can be confusing. There are so many different products, and systems that it's hard to know where to start.  You need to know which systems you want, what you want your home to be able to do, how to keep it all safe. Sometimes, you feel like giving up. Fortunately, as with many things, if you take it one step at a time, you can make it all make sense. 

Choose Your Core

This is where you start. If you're just shopping and randomly grabbing things that you like, they might not all work together. Instead, a way to do it is like planning a garden. You choose your tools with intention, and that starts by looking at the core. Which system do you want your home to run on? Is it Google's Assistant? Do you want to rely on Amazon's Alexa? Or do you want Apple's Siri? All of these have different toys, tech and background devices that achieve similar functions. Getting them to cross connect though? While it can be done, it's not easy. 

Can Your Home Handle It? 

We don't just mean the electrical grid, although that matters too. Instead, we're going to take a look at your internet. Have you ever had a group of friends over and everyone was on the internet for one reason or another? Maybe you're on because you've got music playing. Your brother is showing you the latest sports news. Your mom and your sister are discussing the latest politics, and your dad is browsing youtube. All of those people on the internet, will typically slow it down some, at least enough that you can notice it in comparison to how it is when you're the only one home. When you add smart devices, they are always on that network. Even if it's only checking in to see if you've said anything, they are always there. Which means that your internet is going to slow down. 

How do you prevent that then? By making sure your internet is at least 200 megabits per second or shortened as Mbps. By having at least that much, you'll be able to handle several devices on your network.

Create That Backup Plan!

What about when you have a blackout? Not like the great snow'pocalypse, but a summer blackout that lasts for a few hours or maybe a day. In that case, you might look into getting a backup battery for your internet modem. Just because the power is out in your home, in your street, in your city, it doesn't guarantee that your internet will be out. (Yes, it sounds odd, but we promise.) So, the best way to handle that is by purchasing a backup battery like these over at The Tool Review. The 10+ Best Battery Backup For Wifi Router Reviews in 2022: Top-Picks, Best Deals| Tool Review

Keeping It Hack Free

How many of these questions can be answered with your password? 

- Your birthday

- Your phone number

- Your spouse's name/birthdate/phone number

-Your favorite pet

-Your favorite sports team

-Your favorite book or tv show

If any of those are part of your password, you need to reconsider how you come up with your passwords.  You /can/ still use a combination of words and numbers, but they need to be ones that can't easily be answered. Grab a thesaurus and go looking for a word you associate with the account. Swap out all the letters you can for letters or symbols. and voila! You've got a strong password. 

Now, DON"T store that beautiful password on your computer. If you're like many people you might have been storing your password in a google docs file, a spreadsheet or a sticky note. No. All of those can be accessed by others. Instead consider one of the following. 

- A  password protection service like Dashlane. 

-A file you keep offline and saved to a USB. 

- An actual notebook for your passwords 

If you're going with the last two, don't tell anyone what they are, or write "Passwords" on the outside. While it's unlikely that someone will want to steal your work passwords, you would be surprised at the number of people who would be interested in stealing your bank or medical passwords. 

Now that we have your home set up and secure, let's take a look at what type of smart devices would best suit you at home. 

What Type of Smart Home Represents You? 

Are you an entertainer? Having friends and guests over most weekends and during the week too if you can? Then you might look into smart lights, a tv and a sound system. This way you can say "Hey Google! Turn the lights on X and play Y." And while you're working on that you can ask google for the contents of your fridge with a smart fridge to make sure that you always know what you have on hand for taking care of your guests. 

If on the other hand you're a homebody, you're more focused on keeping your comfy and secure. In which case, you'll want to add a system for thermostats, sounds, lights, a garage door opener, and a security system. The thermostats, sounds and lights can all be programmed to a 'routine' where once it's a certain time, your home system will turn everything to the settings you choose. The garage door opener isn't much different than a button activated one, but it's nice to be able to say "Hey Google, open the garage" as you're heading out the door. As for smart security systems, while they have many, many different features, one we particularly like is being able to pull up the feed directly on your phone or video hub to see if that was a raccoon you heard or an intruder. 

Our last category is one that many of us have been wanting since we were kids and is now becoming possible. The Jetsons! Although most of the systems won't talk to you or offer witty repartee like Rosie did, you can set up your home system to vacuum and mop for you. While the systems aren't perfect just yet, they definitely make your life easier, and isn't' that the point? 

What do you think? Which category of smart tools do you most want to get? Do you have some that we missed out on? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you! 

If you ended up here not for smart homes, but because of your already smart appliances (or 'dumb' ones, we work on them all) you're still in the right place! Everywhere from Carrollton to The Colony, to Coppell, we'll here for you and ready to help. Reach out to us on our contact page or by calling us at ((214) 599-0055). 

Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa

All the best of chicken soup without the soup

I Don’t Care, Take Me To the Recipe!

March is.. March. We've had snow, we've had rain, and we've had temperatures so cold your blogger thought she might turn into an ice-pop. BUT! This is part of March and we accept it as it is, we just need warm hearty foods to combat it. With that in mind we went digging to see what we could come up with. Chicken soup? We've done it. Stew? We've done that too. What about biscuits? Nope. We needed something hearty and warm that would still give you enough energy to tackle all of the gardening many of us want to do now that it's (theoretically) spring. With that, we bring you something new. Take the best of chicken soup and dumplings and then make it easy to eat on the run. That's this recipe and we know we're already eager for fall to get here so we have an excuse to make it again. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup tricolor quinoa

1 cup water

2 whole carrots or 10 baby carrots

2 stalks celery

1 can campbells cream of chicken soup 10.5 oz 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp parsley flakes 

Tools: Large skillet with lid, stirring spoon, measuring cups and spoons,  knife, cutting board, fine sieve (possibly can opener) 

Measure out your half cup of quinoa. We find it easiest to use a much larger measuring cup for this, as it leave plenty of room for your next step. On top of that it means that you aren't going to have the grains bouncing out of the cup due to static. (We wish we were kidding on that one.) 

Rinse your quinoa and drain through a fine sieve.  Quinoa often has a bitter outer coating (naturally! It's not a byproduct of harvesting or processing - it's there to keep the grain from being eaten) that will throw off the flavor of whatever you're making with it. Just run it under cold water, swirling it around a few times under the water, then remove it and tap until most of the water has drained out. Repeat this until your water runs clear. You can skip this step if the package says "pre-washed" or "pre-rinsed." 

Once your quinoa has been rinsed and drained, drop it into your ungreased skillet and turn up the heat. We use medium-low heat, but feel free to adjust for your own preferences The goal here is to dry the individual grains and lightly toast them. Keep them moving during this step to make sure they don't end up scorched on one side and soggy on the other. A wooden spoon is best for this step so it doesn't transfer the heat the way a metal one will or melt like a silicone one can. 

When you feel your quinoa has been sufficiently toasted, add your water and turn the heat down as low as it will go. Turn your attention to the vegetables. Like the quinoa, these will need to be washed. Rinse all of them in clean, cold water for 30 seconds or so and then pat them dry. No need for soaps or produce washes. 

After your veggies are dry, chop them down to quarter inch pieces. Push them off the cutting board into the pan with the quinoa and water and give everything a stir. We advise doing the carrots first and then the celery to give the carrots more time to cook. Turn the heat up to medium, then measure in your parsley flakes and garlic powder. Give everything another good stir and put the lid on. Allow everything to simmer for five minutes while covered. 

Open up your can of soup. For ours, we used cream of chicken - but you're welcome to use whatever cream soup you'd like - perhaps cream of mushroom to make this a vegetarian recipe. Maybe even cream of shrimp if you're feeling particularly adventurous. We might avoid cream of celery (too much celery is in fact a thing in our opinion) - but maybe celery is your favorite food. Experiment and let us know what you discover! 

Pour your soup over the quinoa and vegetable mixture. We know the water hasn't had a chance to be fully absorbed by the quinoa, and that's fine. It's part of why we're not adding any water to the condensed soup. 

Once again, give everything a stir - but this time, let it simmer uncovered. Continue to stir frequently and watch for the individual grains to uncurl - that's how you know your dish is done.  

Allow it to sit for two to five minutes and stir once more before serving.  

This meal tastes even better the next day after the quinoa has had a chance to really soak up the soup. So, if you're making this as a meal for a  whole week's worth of lunches, you're in for a treat. 

We will add that additional veggies are something we are always going to advocate, so some examples you might consider adding are: pearl onions, green beans, corn, (more) carrots, parsnips, or turnips. Alternatively, you can just double, or even triple the quantities of the vegetables and experiment from there. We will say that if you're going to do that you /might/ need to add more in the way of water to ensure that your quinoa gets enough, but go with caution. 

Some other additions you might consider, to mix things up. 

Beans - great for additional fiber and protein, as well as making sure you have enough energy for the day. 

Chicken- If you're already adding in cream of chicken, and you have some leftover chicken in the fridge, it's a great way to get that used up and bulk up the meal. 

Diced and sauteed mushrooms - Although we wouldn't advise adding them in during the standard cooking process, we definitely think some sauteed mushrooms would go great with this. 

Shrimp - If you're looking to be adventurous, might as well go all in and add some actual shrimp to the meal. You can get them already pre-cooked in the grocery store for relatively cheap and just heat them back up in the pan before adding them on top. Again, because of how delicate the shrimp can be, we don't advise adding them during the standard cooking process. 

With that, we're handing this recipe over to you! What do you think? Like it, love it, hate it? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. If you end up making it, let us know how it goes, we'd love to hear from you! 

If you wound up here not searching for food, but because your dryer is making  a strange whining sound, we can help. (although we are confused how you ended up on this page and not our post about dryer sounds, we hope you enjoyed the recipe anyway.) You can get hold of us over on our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to choose a date and time that works for your schedule so we can get to the heart of the problem and get your home running smoothly again. 

7 New Ways To Use Wallpaper At Home

We Know They’ll Change How You Look At It

You want to bring color and texture, light and pattern to your home, but you're not sure where to start. Well, the easy answer is to check out wallpapers. Thanks to many different new concepts in the field, we've got a ton of different patterns. You want Asian inspired papers? You've got it. You want something art deco? You can find that too. You want it to look like you're living in a jungle? You can get that too. Small prints, large prints, it doesn't matter. What's better is that there are now removeable papers so that if you end up deciding you don't like it, or you're renting, or you just want to redecorate, you can. The most important thing to keep in mind about wallpaper though? You don't just have to use it in large rooms like your grandparents did. Let's take a look at 7 ways you can bring wallpaper into your home. 

Make A Small Space Larger

So you've got a small powder room downstairs that's really just for guests. Maybe it's tucked under the stairs, and has a slanted ceiling. It's hard to bring light and color to a space like that, but wallpaper and a mirror can help. Bring in a bold design on the upper half of the room, or even along one wall and the slanted ceiling, and a mirror. Together the two of them will open up the space making it feel much larger. 

Image from Tempaper

Although we don’t get why this works, you can’t help but admit that it does. This oversized pattern makes the room feel much larger.

Paper The Ceiling

Image from Tempaper

The pattern in this one echoes the shape of the light fixture, but you don’t have to do it that way.

You were probably looking at us like we were crazy in the last one, right? Wallpaper the ceiling? It's actually a great thing for any room, not just smaller ones. If you're looking for something to bring in a pop of color and texture to a room, but you don't want it on one of the walls, the ceiling is a great way to add that in. Whether your room is large or small, you can make use of wallpaper to add some much-needed movement to a room. 

Light It Up! 

Not keen on the ceiling idea? How are you at crafts? You can use wallpaper to make your own origami lamp, to paper the outside of an old lampshade, or as a hidden touch on the inside on a shade. Any one of these would take no more than a day, and all of them add a pop of color to your home in an unexpected and very custom way. 

Use Small Patterns On Large Spaces

What if you've already got an amazing living room? You want to bring in some color but you don't want to take away from the rug or the wall art that you searched all over for. No worries! This is when you grab a coordinating pattern that's small in size. Using something that repeats the shapes in the room means that the paper will highlight those features instead of battling them. By keeping the pattern small, it fades into the background, just subtly reinforcing it, rather being an obvious and in-your-face attention grabber. 

Image from Tempaper

A small pattern of flowers on a green background, fades into the background allowing the curves of the room to be more prominent

DIY Wall Art

None of these working for you? What about some wall art? If you've got some wallpaper that you love, but you can't choose where to put it, one way to use it is as wall art, instead. This works best with a large pattern, but you can do it with anything, depending on how creative you can get. Start by figuring out how the pattern looks best. Is it a single panel that can fit on one long canvas? Would it be better if it was on multiple canvases? What about broken up on several smaller frames?  There's a bunch of different ways you can use wallpaper as art. We love taking one long panel, painting it and framing it. If you want an indepth tutorial, check out this example from Thrifty Decor Chick for a step-by-step guide. (We started to write our own for the examples above and realized that would be an entire post on its own!) 

Image from Tempaper

Framing your wallpaper like this allows you to have the best of both worlds, a gorgeous pattern that doubles as artwork.

Image from Tempaper

Or you could cut apart this panel, and frame the different peonies to look like a gallery wall.

Create Some Custom Trays For Your Home 

What about something entirely unique? You want wallpaper, but you don't want to spend a weekend covering the walls. You don't want to choose just one pattern either.  Alright then, what about making some custom trays? A good tray can be used anywhere in the home, whether it's on the dining table for corralling your napkins and seasonings for the meal, in the entryway for mail, or for when you're making up a quick meal for a day in bed.  So grab (or make) a tray of your own, and then decoupage a bit of wallpaper on the bottom of the tray, both the inside and underside. This way you can be constantly rotating out color in your home, without having to commit to any one pattern for long. We suggest using sample pieces for a project like this. 

Light Up Your Stairs

Images from Tempaper

Look at that amazing pattern! Those colors look amazing and they echo what you see in the pillows to the right.

What about the stairs? You go up and down your stairs so many times per day, why not bring some color in? In one day, or at most a weekend, you can bring in some color to your stairs and give that whole area some new life. Whether you choose a large pattern or a small one, it'll be entirely unique. We do recommend using removable wallpaper here though, both in case you get tired in the future and also so that when you need to inevitably replace a piece, you'll be able to do it much more easily. 

What do you think? Are you excited to dress up your home a bit? Are you going to start looking for sneaky ways to add additional color and design? Let us know over at our Facebook page, we'd love to hear (and see) what you get up to! 

What about those of you who aren't though? You wound up here not for decorating advice, but because you needed help with your appliances. Don't worry, we've got you covered. At Appliance Rescue Service, whether you're in Dallas or McKinney, Plano, or Allen, we've got your best interest at heart. We'll work on any of your major appliances, and work with you to make sure you know what happened to cause the current issue. If that sounds more like what you need, give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or go to our contact page to set up an appointment that works with your schedule. We're here to keep your home running smoothly. 

Clearing Out Clutter

How to take all the clutter down.

Table of Contents

Groups

Labels

Give It A Home 

Cunning Storage Solutions

How many times a month do you end up looking around your house and wondering where all of this clutter came from? For us, it's about once a week. Especially after the last two years of living in quarantine, it's a bit much! It's time to start cleaning and busting that clutter. We've got three 'general' tips that can and should be applied everywhere in your home. Then we'll take a look at different areas of your home where you can sneakily hide things that no one will suspect. Let's get started and get clutter busting. 

Group Like With Like

Technically speaking, this is all grouped together.

Photo by Dimitry Anikin from Pexels

When it comes to keeping things organized, you want to group like with like. Books with books, dishes with dishes, pop tarts with pop tarts. (We can't be the only ones whose children insist on having every flavor.) This root concept is really simple, and the great news is that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you and your household. (We're adding that caveat because getting kids to use a system they don't understand is surprisingly difficult.) Having everything together means that when you want something, it's easier to find it. So long as it's with other things "like it" you'll know where you need to go. 

So, think about how you sort things. Do you have games, books, and out-of-season sweaters all together on one shelving unit? Could you separate them out so that your clothes go elsewhere, leaving the books and games together as 'entertainment' and the sweaters go with other clothes? This is just us though. 

Labels

This one can be intimidating to start, but once you're going, it's easy to maintain. We'll break it down with you to give you some ideas of how you can use labels to make your life easier. Once it's complete you're under self-applied pressure to keep everything on forward momentum to maintain the system. We'll also point out that labels don't have to be just boring black letters on a white strip of paper. You can get very creative with how you want your labels to look dependant on where you're using them. 

  -Kitchen

In the kitchen, you might consider labeling which shelf is for what inside of your refrigerator. Think about all of those pictures you seem in home decor magazines with the perfectly organized fridges. 

- Pantry

Yup, your pantry can be labeled too. Start by sorting things out (there's that 'like with like' concept again.) Then group it together. Some things to consider might be labelling surplus flour, sugar, types of beans etc. Or if you keep a lot of canned goods, you might attach a  note that the newest cans should go at the back.  This one really is only limited by how in depth you want to go. (Your Blogger is dreaming about the day she has a pantry large enough to warrant this.) 

- Laundry

When you have a large family, or a large closet, you almost always end up with different types of detergent for different purposes. Why not label them? 

- Living room

Yup, you can label your living room too. Break down your DVD collection between "kid friendly" vs " Not" for when you have family over. Or you could seaparate out the different games into different cabinets. 

- Bathroom

Does your SO have towels that are only theirs? Or maybe you have a set of towels that you want to keep for when guests come, and keep your kids from using? Label where you keep them. You could also apply a sorting and labeling system to the underside of your sink, keeping things from getting lost or shoved in haphazardly. 

-Bedrooms 

Whether it's your space or your child's space, labels can be very useful. We advise talking about a system before you implement it into your kids room though, this way they know what you're expecting. 

Not only means you know exactly what you’re looking at, they also make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Begone clutter!

Give It A Home

That last point leads right into another key organizing concept. Remember how we were talking about having your books and your sweaters together? Take a look at that same idea, and takes a closer look at why you're putting things in certain places. Do you always put on your comfy sweater while you're reading? Or maybe you come in the front door and go straight for your mugs to pour yourself a cup of tea, and you end up with your keys and mail on the counter. These are 'homes' that we unintentionally create for things. 

Instead of unintentionally doing it. try to do it intentionally. If you know you're going to go straight for the tea, consider putting a mail sorter and a basket underneath. This way when you come in, you can sort your mail, have a spot for your keys, AND still stick to your routine. 

For this concept you want to look at what routines you already have that you're willing to change and those that you're not. If you have other areas that you have clutter collecting that you're /not/ happy with, you need to start by understanding /why/ it keeps landing there before you can change it. Would putting a hamper in the bathroom save you from socks all over the floor? What about putting a tray for drinks in the fridge to keep from losing them behind leftovers? Or putting out of season clothing in clear bins so that you can know what you have in between seasons? So grab a pen and paper and check out where you have clutter piles and why they might be there. 

This beautiful pantry from Good Housekeeping is our dream. Look at how organized everything is!

Cunning Storage Solutions

How many places can we find to store things? The answer? Many. SO many. 

Mind the Gap! 

There are two options here, depending on how you're looking at things. A gap that exists already, say around furniture, behind door or above things. Or you might be looking at floorboards and the bottoms of cabinets. 

Do your cabinets go all the way down to the floor, or is there a gap where they rise about 3 inches? There are kits that can turn that into storage. It's great for stashing cutting boards, cookie sheets and cooling racks, as well as any strangely shaped plates you might not want to keep in the 'normal' cabinets.

You can also make use of the space between your cabinets and appliances, unless you're already reveling in a smooth, no-gap kitchen. If you're not though, consider having a custom built, pull out cabinet.

Watch it Stud! 

Behind your bathroom mirror is a great place to turn into a storage area. Some of us already have pop out cabinets, but many of you prefer the look of a flat mirror. Fortunately, you can carve out a space in between the studs and turn that into a set of shelves to get things off of your counters. 

Or you might take a look a full length mirror or piece of art that you have elsewhere in your home and do the same thing elsewhere. 

Doors Go Both Ways

 Look at your doors. Can you hang an organizer on the back of them? Whether you're creating an organizer (thank you Command Strips) or you have one already picked out from Crate & Barrel, doors are a great spot to store things and keep them off the floor.  

Use Space Wisely

We mentioned it before, but putting extra organization into cabinets is very useful. Whether that's stackable boxes or open sided bins, there's all sorts of ways to maximize the space within your cabinets that you might not have thought of. The same concept can be applied to drawers. The most common idea is using a silverware tray so that all of your silverware is sorted "like to like." (There it is again!) 

Avoid this! Put our tips to good use, and bust that clutter!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Are you starting to look at your home a bit differently? What about the open spaces versus the piles of clutter? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you. :) 

If you're here not because you need to declutter but because your appliances have gone on the fritz, we can help! Head on over to our contact page and we'll work with you to set up a time that works for you or you can call us at ((214) 599-0055 )! 

Additional Reading

Getting Your Home Clean, Month By Month

Making Cleaning More Fun

10 Crazy Dupes For Household Cleaning Supplies

Organizing Your Fridge For Efficiency And Safety

Decluttering The Kitchen

The Five Most Common Types Of Clutterbugs

Buffalo Bread

 Spicy, sweet and delicious bread to get you through the day. 

Spicy, sweet and delicious bread to get you through the day. 

I Don't Care, Take Me To The Recipe! 

Pre-made meals, freezer meals, meal planning, they're all great ways to try and make lunch easier on us. Lunch is supposed to be a midday meal that gives you enough energy to get through the day without burning you out or leaving you so full you're tired and want a nap.  For many of us though, we don't look in the fridge in the morning and think "oh! I'll take this, I'll feel great after eating it." Instead, we're standing there thinking "what do I have so I can grab it and go?"  Then you end up eating whatever, which could be anything from a salad you had last night, to a giant serving of pasta or rice (1.) Which can be great if you're working out in the afternoon or doing an active job, but for those of us working in an office, not so much. Fortunately, there are ways to make a VERY simple food ahead of time, have it taste amazing and have energy for the rest of the day. What is this sorcery? Chickpeas. 

No! Wait, don't run away on us. It sounds weird, but if you like cornbread, you're going to love this recipe. Chickpeas actually blend into the background so all you taste is the cornbread and buffalo sauce, but you get all the benefits of the protein, iron and fiber of the chickpeas. Win-Win! 

 Ingredients

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix (8.5 oz) 

1 cup cooked chickpeas  

2 stalks celery 

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup Buffalo sauce (any brand and spice level is up to you.) 

Tools: Mixing bowl, fork, spoon, knife, cutting board, measuring cup(s), aluminum foil, loaf pan, food processor 

As always, begin by washing your hands and then your produce. You don't need to use soap or a veggie wash, just 30 seconds under cold water will do just fine for your veggies.  After you've done that, set them to the side and preheat your oven to 400*F. 

Rough chop your celery. Smaller pieces are better, as we'll want this to mix in well, but they don't need to be uniform. Because your celery will be a bit stringy, rocking the knife as you chop may help some. We don't suggest using a 'chopper' tool, as they don't stand up to celery well. 

At this point you've got a choice to make, you can either grab a can of chickpeas or you can make them from dried. Whether you use canned or cook them yourself, make sure to thoroughly drain them before you use them. Set aside the aquafaba (or bean water) as you can use it for other recipes. 

Measure out your chickpeasa and add them to the food processor. 

Then scrape your chopped celery into the food processor and give it two or three quick pulses.  

Pulse until you have a chunky paste. 

Once your celery and chickpeas have been mixed together, set them aside. 

Turn your attention to the box to the corn muffin mix. Empty it into your mixing bowl and use a fork to break up the biggest clumps. No need to break out the sieve at this point. A few are fine - your batter will be a little lumpy no matter what you do- but definitely give it some attention before adding any of your wet ingredients to avoid overmixing. 

After you've broken up the worst of the clumps, add an egg and 1/3 of a cup of milk. Stir only until barely combined. 

Add your chickpea and chopped celery mixture and pour your measured buffalo sauce over the top. 

Again, stir only enough to make sure everything is thoroughly combined, and you've blended all the sauce in (we want to avoid hot spots after all.) 

Line your loaf pan with aluminum foil - please do NOT skip this step, the loaf will crumble without it- or sub in a muffin tin and paper muffin cups if you prefer. 

Transfer the batter from your mixing bowl to the foil- lined pan with a spoon and smooth the top. You can also give the pan a few taps against the counter to get rid of any air bubbles, that's up to you. 

If you're using a loaf pan, you'll want to bake your bread for 35-45 minutes, checking at 5 minute intervals after the 35 minute mark with a toothpick. 

If you're using a muffin pan, you'll want to bake them for 15-20 minutes, again using a toothpick inserted into the center most muffin to test for doneness. 

Allow it to cool before using the foil to lift it out of the pan.  

Bend back the foil and cut with a sharp knife. Serve with ranch or bleu cheese dressing if desired. 

If you choose to take slices of the bread for lunch, we suggest toasting it in a toaster oven for 2 minutes a side first to reheat it and then to add some crispness to the top. 

An unexpected, but important warning. Do Not eat too much of this at once. 1-2 slices is the most your body is going to be able to handle, no matter how delicious this is. Not because of the spice, but because of the amount of fiber in the chickpeas. You can actually make yourself rather ill if you eat too much. So, instead of packing 3 or 4 slices of this delicious bread, we advise adding a salad or something like a stir fry to the side. You could even go really Southern and add collard greens to the side if you feel the urge. 

Let us know over on Facebook how yours turned out! If you made it with mild sauce (go you for savoring flavor!), or if you made it so hot Scoville is shocked by your tolerance, let us know! 

If your oven died while you were attempting to make this week's recipe, one, we're sorry. We swear it's not a result of the spice. Two, we can help! If you give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or head on over to our contact page, you can set up a service call that works with your schedule. We service all major appliances, not just ovens though. So if your dishwasher is giving you hell, or your refrigerator is being stubborn, we're ready to help.