YUMMY LUNCH TODAY!! :) I Couldn't Wait to Share the BREAD BOWL Recipe!

It has been cold & rainy over the past 30+ hours.... what better meal then a hot chowder! Naturally, in my family we have different opinions of what makes a great soup/chowder! The guys all LOVE seafood chowder (not my favorite thing!) and I Audrey & I enjoy a warm bowl of either corn chowder or broccoli-ham-cheese soup!!

It was my goal for yesterday to make all of this, but it never came to be....  other things became priority, and rightly so! I did get the dough made up for bread bowls and this morning, I let it warm up and rise again then I formed 8 balls of dough while I made the broccoli soup and baked them while I made the seafood chowder!

IT WAS SOOO EASY, I thought you all may want to make them for your favorite stew/soup/chowder too! :)

BREAD BOWLS              (Taste of Home Test Kitchen)

2 Tbsp. dry active yeast

1 Cup warm water  (110*-115* F)

1 Cup warm milk    (110*-115* F)

1/2 Cup shortening

1/2 Cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. salt

6 cups all pupose flour   (I added a little more as I kneaded it)

cornmeal   (to sprinkle on top of bread bowls before baking)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeart in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar. eggs salt and 2 cups of flour. Mix until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in greased bowl turning once to grease top. Cover & let rise in a warm place until doubled.  About 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 pieces; shape each into a ball. Grease 2 baking sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place four balls on each sheet approx. 3-4 inches apart. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake 350* for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from sheets and allow them to cool.

For bread bowls, cut a thin slice off the top of each bread ball/bowl. Hollow out the bottom half, leaving a 1/4 inch shell. Discard the removed bread or save for another use: bread stuffing or bread pudding!) Fill each bowl with your favorite stew, chowder or chili!  ENJOY!!