Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup butter

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I used sea salt)

2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp)

2/3 cup warm (105-115º)

8-9 cups all purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

Directions

Combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter and salt in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until butter melts.  Remove from heat.  Allow to cool to lukewarm. (Try soaking the bottom of the pan in ice water to speed up the cool down.)

While the mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in warm water.  Let stand about 10 minutes.  If it doesn't bubble, you'll need to repeat this step.  It is important that the yeast bubbles. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly.  Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. 

Add beaten eggs.  

Stir in the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough.  The dough should be very soft.  It will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will stick to your finger when you touch it. If you add too much flour, the rolls will be dense and heavy. 

Place the bowl in a warm place covered with a towel.  Rise for 1 hour. 

Punch down dough.  Lightly flour your work surface and place dough onto the surface.  Divide in half. 

Spray2  9x13 glass pans with cooking spray.  Roll first half of dough into a rectangle and cut into 12 equal sized pieces.  The dough should be similar to play dough. Share each piece into a ball and place in pan.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cover with a cloth and rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.  When dough has about 15 minutes left to rise, preheat oven to 375º

Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. 

Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. 

Source: Our Best Bites

Bread Sticks

I usually try to keep a box of frozen garlic bread in my freezer for the occasional spaghetti dinner that needs a little something extra.  But recently, for a family dinner, I decided to try my hand at homemade garlic bread sticks.  

I love the recipe because it was so easy and quick!

No more frozen garlic bread for this family!

Bread Sticks

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

 3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients (except the melted butter) in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Knead for three minutes.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. 

Heat oven to 375º.

Spread the melted butter onto an 11x17 baking sheet.  

Roll out the dough about 1/4 to 1/2 inch think and cut into strips.  Be careful not to make them too long.  Twist slightly and place about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. 

Sprinkle with garlic salt and some other herbs of your choice (basil or thyme...or something finely crushed) and some grated Parmesan cheese. 

Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. 

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

The Best Dinner Rolls

Baking anything that is bready is a little intimidating.  Everyone loves a warm, soft, buttery roll so if you get it wrong, it's a big waste of time.    Plus, baking bread takes a really long time.  And I really hate wasting time!  

So I haven't really ventured too far into breadland.  But, I was drawn into these rolls because they seemed so simple. 

I couldn't believe how easy they actually were!  I've made them a few times, and each time they have turned out to be a perfect dinner roll to our dinner entree

The Best Dinner Rolls

 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

2 eggs

3-4 cups flour

butter, melted

Directions

In a small bowl (cereal size) mix yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.  Let stand until bubbly.  (about 10 minutes)

In a medium bowl or the bowl to your stand mixer, mix 1 cup warm milk, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt with a wooden spoon. 

Add 1 cup of flour to mixture and mix well.  Add eggs and beat until smooth.  Add the yeast mixture and mix on high until smooth.  (with the whisk attachment on your stand mixer)

Switch to the kneading hook on your stand mixer and add 3-4 cups of flour to the mixture.  Dough should be very sticky.  Pour the dough into a large bowl.  Cover with a towel and let rise for a few hours or until it has doubled in size.

Punch it down and divide it in half. 

Roll the dough onto a floured surface making a circle about 12 inches in diameter.  Dough should be about 3/8" thick. 

Brush dough with melted butter.  Cut circle with a pizza cutter into 12 pieces (like a pizza). 

Roll each triangle from the rounded edge to the point to make a crescent roll.  Place into a greased pan.  

Cover with a towel and let rise for a few hours until they double in size. 

Bake at 375º until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  

**If you touch the rolls, they should bounce back when they are done.  If they don't, they need to bake longer. 

Brush with melted butter while still warm. 

Try not to eat every. single.one!

Enjoy!

• 
  

Source: Lil Luna

4th Of July Strawberries

I'm aware that Thanksgiving is next week and I'm posting a 4th of July treat.  Not backwards at all!  Somehow this post has been hiding at the bottom of my "drafts" and today, it surfaced!  So, here they are.... a sweet, cool, summer treat you can enjoy.... in 6-7 months from now!

4th of July Strawberries

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of fresh strawberries, tops cut off

1 bag/box of melting white chocolate

blue sprinkles

Directions:

Melt the chocolate and dip the strawberries' tips in.

Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl and roll the chocolate tip of the strawberry in the sprinkles. 

Devour!

Chicken Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ever in the mood for some good 'fried food?  These are fun because they are small and fun to eat.  The star of this dish is the avacado dipping sauce! Pass me a spoon!  I could eat it alone! (But I didn't)

Chicken, Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cans of chicken (yes, cans)

Water

Tortillas

Vegetable Oil (Canola oil works too)

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut up

1/4 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

dash of dried dill weed

dash of Garlic powder

dash of black pepper

Directions: 

TAQUITOS

Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain and chop.

Combine bacon, cream cheese and chicken in a small bowl. 

Cut each tortilla to smaller circles that are about 3 inches in diameter.  Spoon some of the filling of the chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla.  

Roll and secure closed with a toothpick. 

Heat oil in a heay saucepan to a depth of about 3 inches to 350º

Add the taquitos to the oil in batches and cook until well browned on all sides.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

AVOCADO SAUCE

Mash avocado.  Mix with mayonaise, sour cream, milk, vinegar, salt, parsley, onion powder, dill, garlic and pepper. 

Serve with taquitos for dipping. 

Source: Mommy I'm Hungry

Ranch Seasoned Potatoes

I swear I could eat potatoes everyday.  They are so versitile and in the kitchen can be prepared so many different ways; mashed, scalloped, fried, roasted... the list goes on! 

You can eat them for any meal of the day.  I love seasoned potatoes with a big omelette or with a plate of chicken and veggies like we did with these.  

Ok, my mouth is watering...

Ranch Seasoned Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 packet Ranch salad dressing and dry seasoning mix
Olive oil cooking spray
1 teaspoon salt


Directions:

Preheat oven to 425º.

In a large bowl add potatoes and spray lightly with the cooking spray.

Then, add in the Ranch dressing mix and salt. Toss well to coat each potato piece evenly.

Line a baking sheet with foil or spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Pour potatoes onto the baking sheet and spread out potatoes evenly.

Bake in oven until potatoes are cooked through, and edges start to turn very dark brown, approximately 20-25 minutes.

To check to see if they are done, pierce one of the larger pieces of potato with a fork to see if it is soft.

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are an ideal meal for families whose taste preferences vary.  Also, baked potatoes are very filling and you can load them up with lots of broccoli and say it's healthy!  

Yea! 

Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

4-6 large russett potatoes

sour cream

cheddar cheese, shredded

bacon, crumbled

butter

(anything else that sounds tasty on top of a piping hot potato)

Directions:

Preheat oven to about 350º.  Wash potatoes and poke holes with a steak knife on all sides.  Coat with olive oil and roll in sea salt.  Bake directly on the rack (I always put an empty cookie sheet down on the rack below to catch juices...think: clean oven).  Cook until fork tender.  About an hour and a half.  The time really depends on how many potatoes you have. 

Once they are done, use a fork to perforate one side and mash it open.  

Load the open potato with your favorite toppings and dig in!

Slow Cooker Maple Glazed Meatballs

There is something so comforting about meatballs.  The sauce these are cooked in adds so much sweet flavor to them that a little goes a long way.  My family loves these served over rice.  It's such an easy meal to put together (as long as you plan a head of time to allow cooking). And to make it even easier, try the Ready Rice that cooks in the microwave for 90 seconds.  These orange bags have become a staple in our house. 

Recipe used from CrockPot Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes  

Slow Cooker Maple Glazed Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1 cup maple-flavored syrup

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca

1 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon dry mustard

32 oz frozen fully cooked meatballs

1 20oz can pineapple chunks in juice, drained

Directions:

Combine ketchup, syrup, soy sauce, tapioca, allspice and mustard in crock-pot. 

Carefully stir in meatballs and pineapple into ketchup mixture

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours or until meatballs are heated through.  Stir before serving. 

*Serve over rice on on cocktail picks to be served as appetizers

7-Layer Bean Dip

This is the easiest dip to make and everyone loves it.  If you can operate a can opener, you can make this dip. 

I've seen it made by mixing taco seasoning into the sour cream to add another flavor, but I prefer it as is.  I like the taste of sour cream.

Also, if you can, try to make it with homemade guacamole.  It'll take this dip up a notch. But, store-bought is good too.   

7-Layer Bean Dip

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans

1 container sour cream

1 container guacamole (or homemade)

2 cups, shredded cheddar cheese

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 can sliced olives

Directions:

In a glass casserole dish, layer each ingredient in order, beginning with the beans.  

*Serve with tortilla chips or pita bread.  

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you ask me, sweet potatoes are gross.  I just can't bring myself to eat them.  They LOOK good, and I wish I liked them.  So the only reason I decided to make these was for my husband.  He loves sweet potatoes.  

See how much I love him?

So as we are eating dinner, I am looking at these orange potato chunks and encouraging my 5 year old to eat them.  I realize that I can't talk to him about trying out the food that was prepared for dinner if I'm not willing to do it myself.  

I take a few pieces and put them on my plate.  I pick one up.  I take a moment to prepare myself for the yuck I'm about to eat.  I pop it in and chew.  And chew.  And chew.  Swallow.  

Surprise!  These babies aren't bad!  In fact, I enjoyed how they tasted so much I ate 2 more skewers full of sweet potatoes!  I felt like such a big girl, trying out new food!  

Glad I did!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2-4 medium sweet potatoes

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel each potato and cut into chunks.  Place all the chunks in a microwaveable bowl and cover with plastic or a ziplock bag if the bowl will fit inside.  Microwave for 3 minutes, stir, recover and microwave again for another few minutes.  You want the chucks to be tender enough to put on a skewer, but not cooked all the way through.

Place 5-6 pieces on a skewer.  Lay all the loaded skewers on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Use a brush to coat all sides of the potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Preheat the outdoor grill and grill the potato skewers for about 5 minutes on each side.  Cooking time may vary, so just grill until the potatoes are cooked through.  

Twice Baked Potatoes

Talk about a crowd pleaser!  I don't know anyone who doesn't like a twice baked potato! I may or may not have eaten one of the leftover potatoes for breakfast the day after I made these.  

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-6 medium russett potatoes

1/2 c sour cream

1/4 c butter, melted

2 c shredded cheese

1/4 c bacon bits

To bake potatoes:

olive oil

sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º.

Coat potatoes with oil and cover with salt.  Poke 3 holes on each side of each potato with a steak knife.  Place directly on oven rack with a cookie sheet below to catch any drippings.  Bake potatoes for 1 hour.  

When potatoes or cool, cut in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, scoop out most of the potato, leaving about 1/4 and inch of the potato inside the skin.  

Set the scooped out potatoes aside. 

Brush each potato skin inside and out with butter.  Place skins on a cookie sheet, face up and broil for about 6-8 minutes.  

Use a potato masher to mix the remaining potato, sour cream, cheese and bacon bits and scoop into the skins.  Sprinkle shredded cheese and extra bacon bits over the tops. 

Broil for about 2 more minutes. 

EAT EAT EAT!

Lynn's Pasta Salad

During Teacher Appreciation Week one of my favorite parents brought this pasta salad to our "Feed Your Teacher" potluck.  Of all the varieties of goodies brought, this dish was devoured first.  Everyone kept asking, "Who made the pasta salad?!  It's sooo good!"  I knew this was a recipe I HAD to have!

The secret is in the salad dressing.  This is the brand you'll want to try to find.  Any other brand and you'll comprimise the deliciousness of this pasta!

Lynn's Pasta Salad

***This makes A LOT!  If you are going to serve it for dinner, I suggest cutting the recipe in half.  Otherwise, this is ideal for potlucks!  A real crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

2 boxes farfalle pasta (bowtie), cooked

1 container each grape tomatoes, red and yellow, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 large can sliced olives

1 small container feta cheese, crumbled (Garlic and Herb)

1 bottle Brianna's Home Style Real French Vinaigrette salad dressing

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours so you can serve it chilled. 

***SEPTEMBER 7th, 2013***

I made this today and after going to two seperate stores looking for the amazing mircale dressing for this salad, I couldn't find it.  I decided to take my chances on another dressing.  I settled on Girard's Greek Feta Vinaigrette.....

Luckily, I scored and the pasta is just as yummy.  

Whew!

Heavenly Potatoes

Each year for my birthday (or other special occasions) my mom would let me choose what I wanted for dinner that night.  She would make whatever I chose.  I think I picked Heavenly Potatoes almost every single time.  You can't go wrong with creamy, cheesy potatoes.  They are meant to be a side dish, but I could eat them alone as a meal on their own!

Heavenly Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen hash browns
1 tub of sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken
4 c shredded cheese (2 c reserved)
salt and pepper (to season)
onion salt (to season)

Preheat oven to 350º.

Mix all ingredients (only 2 cups of cheese) together in a large bowl.  Spread half of the mixture in a 9x13 dish.  Cover with 1 c of cheese.  Spread the rest of the mixture over the cheese.  Cover with the remaining cheese.  

Cook until heated through. (about 30-40 minutes)

Creamy Corn

My brother made this for Thanksgiving this year.  Since then, we've made this at least 3 times (Thanksgiving was 3 weeks ago!)  It is so sweet and creamy!  Yum!

Creamy Corn

• 
  
• 
  
• Ingredients
• 
  
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn, defrosted
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Salt, to season
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or more if you like. 

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. When butter is foamy add the corn stirring to coat with the butter. Cook stirring frequently for 1 minute. Add sugar and cook for 2 minutes more. Increase heat to high and add heavy cream-continue to stir so corn won't stick to pan. Add salt and pepper. Cook corn until most all of the cream has absorbed about 5 minutes more. Remove and serve hot.

Rose's Potato Salad

I started making potato salad because of my husband.  His mom makes this and out of all 6 of her kids, I think he always eats the most.  When we moved away, I called and asked for her recipe.  It's simple, but it hits the spot!

Potato Salad

Ingredients


8-10 russett potatoes
8-12 hard boiled eggs
Miracle Whip
Onion salt 
Paprika

Peel and chop potatoes.  Boil until fork tender. Be careful not to cook too long or the salad will become mushy.  Use and egg slicer to slice the eggs (reserve 2-3 eggs).  Mix together with the Miracle Whip until you reach the desired consistency.  Spread the reserved 2-3 eggs over the top and sprinkle with Paprika.

*I like to add a dab of mustard to my bowl to give it a little kick.