I used several bags of vegetables from my freezer that I had stored since last July. They were a bit freezer burnt, which did not enhance the flavor of the soup. It was still edible, but not Olive Garden quality.
My big fail came with the breadsticks. The recipe only required 1 tsp. of yeast, which didn’t seem like enough for 2 cups of flour. And, the recipe didn’t say anything about the temperature of water to add, so I added lukewarm water to be safe. Now, the recipe could be at fault, or perhaps it was me, or my yeast package that was already open and several months old. Whatever the cause, my sad little breadsticks never doubled in size as they rested; in fact their size never changed.
My husband was hungry, and after waiting 40 minutes for the dough to rise, he suggested I just go ahead and cook them up in the oven. They still never expanded!! They came out as hard little breadsticks that had the texture of a rock.
I was all excited about this meal and was going to post it on my Friday recipe section. I am still posting it today, but as a frugal flop.
I've tried "copycat" recipes that didn't come out like the ones they were trying to copy. I also LOVE Olive Garden and tried the dressing for the salad. It came out pretty well!
Regarding the yeast.. yeah.. probably was the yeast's fault. Whenever you're activating yeast (if you're not using instant active dry) you put it in about a 1cup of warm water (between 105 to 110 degrees.. feels like warm bath water) with 1 TBS sugar or honey and stir just a bit. Wait for about 5 minutes and it will get all foamy. You have officially activated your yeast! If it doesn't get foamy.. it's dead! 🙁
You can use instant active dry yeast and it doesn't need activation. You can add it right to the flour even. That's what I use most of the time now. But you should still use warm water never add your yeast at the same time you add your salt. The salt will kill the yeast.
Sorry to go on. I've just had a lot of bread disasters in my 19 years of baking it!!! 😀
Thanks for the advice! I will have to try it if I ever dare venture to make these again!