Healthy(ish) Cooking

Carrot Muffins

 

 

It is that time of the year! We are making/buying fudge, cookies, candy, and all the goodness of the holiday season. Normally I have no problem with nibbling chocolate chip cookies and drinking hot cocoa topped with heavenly whipped cream while watching Miracle on 34th Street but every now and again I need a break.  In order to keep up the energy for late night caroling and even later night present wrapping I make these:

 

Carrot Muffins!

 

Okay, so they are still a muffin which isn't exactly a spinach soy smoothie but with lots of modifications over time from a recipe I got 14 years ago they are a spiced filled yummy snack that won't send you into a sugar induced coma!

 

1 cup flour

1 cup wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 scant teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup coconut

2 cups shredded carrot (or carrot pulp from your juicer!)

Optional -  1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup pineapple bits, or 1/2 cup nuts

 

Mix together flours, baking soda, baking soda, and spices. Make a well in the middle (my kids like that part)

Mix sugars, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Add to the well and mix. Fold in coconut and carrot with a spatula.

 

Line 12 muffin tins and add 1/2 cup to each (we like big muffin tops)

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  These muffins are going to be denser then a cupcake (not awful, I can't eat these dense but you do get the feeling that you ate something)

 

This morning we juiced the about 6-8 carrots and saved the pulp for our recipe, then juiced 5 mushy apples that were not quite bad but no one was going to eat. We made the muffins, put pecans on top half so they would be toasty, drank our juice and felt like we were ready to conquer to day!

 

 

Eliora's Broccoli Soup With Dumplings

 This is Eliora. She is 11 but she really acts like one of those goofy, fun, 20 year olds who just has it all put together. She is the oldest of 5 girls and she is a HUGE help to her mom. Tonight she asked if she could cook dinner. She also crochets headbands, writes, babysits, and well.....is more productive then most people I know.

She decided to make broccoli soup with dumplings. (My dumpling got mixed in but that is what is on the spoon) She got down all my cookbooks and started flipping through. She liked one of my broccoli soup recipes better but it had chicken. She is not a big meat fan (she declared herself a vegetarian at 4 years old) so she found another broccoli soup recipe and modified the two. Then she found a dumpling recipe and decided to add that so the little girls wouldn't still be hungry later. She showed what she had in mind to me and I took her shopping. I waited by the oranges while she grabbed her broccoli and onions (the only things I didn't have at home). She then decided to grab a bag of frozen seasoned red potato wedges to throw in the oven while cooking. Then she cooked, all by herself. I'm serious, I didn't help her once. I did answer a few questions and explain a few techniques but I never lifted a finger. The soup was gone. It was SOOOOO good.

Yes, she is that awesome. No, it is not my parenting. She was born that way. :)

Eliora's Broccoli Soup with Dumplings (taken from 3 old church recipes)

6 c. fresh broccoli, finely chopped
1 c. onion minced
1/8 tsp garlic powder
4 1/2 c chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6T butter
1/8 tsp pepper
3 c milk
6T flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 c. medium cheddar cheese shredded

In a large pot combine broccoli, onion, garlic powder, chichen broth, bay leaves, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. While it is boiling......

Make the Dumplings
2 c milk
1 cube butter
7 eggs
2 c flour
2 tsp salt

Scald milk, add salt and butter. Bring to a boil, add flour, beat until it forms a ball (do while still hot). Begg eggs into mixture one at a time (Eliora used a hand mixer). Set aside for a minute while returning to soup.

Back to Soup!

Remove bay leaves. Drop the Dumpling a large spoonful at a time into the boiling soup. She used only about 3/4 of the dumpling dough because of room. Cover the soup and simmer for 20 minutes. While waiting get out a pot. Add melt butter (from soup ingredients), stir in flour until thick and bubbly. Add milk and whisk until smooth.. Add salt and pepper. Add cheddar cheese. Turn off heat and clean up a little while waiting for timer to go off. (This is also when she got her sisters to set the table). Once the timer beeps remove lid from pot. Check on dumplings. If they taste fantastic then gently scoop them out and onto a plate. Add milk mixture to soup. Stir in well, put dumplings back in and serve!

Banana Muffins

We have been making and eating fudge and I still have all those delicious ingredients for the plates to take to the neighbors but sick kids and Christmas shopping has gotten us a little behind. Last night we did take our browning bananas and make the best ever

Banana Muffins!

I got this recipe years ago from allrecipes.com It is my favorite and I have tried a few! It was submitted by Lisa Kreft. You can find the link here!

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins or line with muffin cups. In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. (For this one I add these one at a time to the bowl after creaming all the other ingredients together. I start with the teaspoons and go to the flour with the mixure on high) In separate bowl beat bananas, sugar, egg, and butter. (The bananas are my kids favorite part. We keep them in the peels and my kids mush them lightly instead of mashing them. Then we peel and put them in the bowl.) Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture and spoon into the muffin tins. Don't put in oven yet!!

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon cold butter
Directions:
Mix together brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with two forks until it resemebles cornmeal (small crumbs).

Spoon crumb topping over muffins, place in oven, and bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

Enjoy~

We woke up this morning to discover that our elf was enjoying the muffins as well.



Fancy Dinner Part 2 - Steak, Hollandaise, Asparagus

All the girls in our family agreed that our fancy mousse made in the morning needed a fancy dinner to surprise Daddy. We had previously decided to make rolls, steak strips, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce. Mmmmm

Taste of Home Easy Potato Roll Recipe

There it was, in my fridge, staring at me. The scooped out leftovers of the Potato Skins made here. What to do, what to do. Potato Rolls!

Ingredients:
2 pks active dry yeast (1/4 oz each)
1 1/3 cup water (used separately)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups flour

 Add yeast to 2/3 cup of water. Make sure water is 110-115 degrees. My mom can do this by feeling it on her wrist. I turn on the hot and put a meat therm. under it.

 Yeast should start to fizz and bubble. It is okay to stir it gently to get it all in the water. I use to be scared to do that.

This is my oldest girl mashing our scooped out insides a bit. Not pictured is the sugar. It is measured at 2/3 cup and in my kitchen aid. Next add your 2/3 cup shortening and cream. Add eggs, potatoes, salt, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour. Whisk till smooth. Add remaining 2/3 cup water and replace whisk with dough hook. Gradually beat while adding remaining flour. Don't worry about kneading this dough (I have learned the hard way that not all dough has to be kneaded) but keep it up until you have a soft dough that forms into a ball. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour or Tablespoons of water if needed. Put your ball of dough into a bowl and cover for one hour. Punch down and cut into 15 pieces. My girls helped roll pieces and put them in a dish. Cover and let rise again, about 30 minutes.

Once risen they should look something like this. Give them a quick brush with olive oil or melted butter. Bake in a 375 preheated oven for 20 minutes. I turn mine around halfway through since my oven browns the back half faster.

 While the rolls are cooking we looked up our recipe for mock hollandaise sauce. I'm pretty sure I found this on allrecipe.com a long time ago but sadly did not credit the cook. It is not nearly as good or thick as the original but nice in a pinch and much easier. (I made homemade with my brother over Thanksgiving. It's kinda sad that he's a better cook than me!)

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

 

Ingredients -

Remember the egg yolks you didn't use in your mousse from earlier today? You're gonna need them. Yep, all 6

1 squirt Dijon Mustard

1 Tb lemon juice

2 dash hot sauce (such as Tabasco)

3/4 cup melted butter

 

Blend egg yolks with mustard, Dijon, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Pour melted butter into blender in a steady stream. Put blender in a bowl of hot tap water to keep warm.

 

 

 Asparagus

For some crazy reason my kids love asparagus. I think it is best slightly crunchy and not mushy. To do this wash your asparagus and break off the lower tougher end. It should snap off easily. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add asparagus and reduce to a simmer. A simmer is when the bubbles are just wanting to break into a boil but can't seem to muster enough energy. Parboil 2 minutes and immediately get those babies out of there.



 

 As soon as asparagus is done put it into a water bath. It slows the cooking down and keeps them firm.

Since the oven was still occupied by my potato rolls I decided to pan fry the 1/4 inch thick sirloin steak. Add a little olive oil to the bottom of the pan and turn to medium high heat. Season with whatever you have on hand. I used Adam's Reserve Sear N Crust. Cook 7 minutes on one side, flip, season 7 minutes on the next side. Grilling is really the way to go for steak but if you are pan frying keep checking it. If you push on the top and it feels like the fleshy part of your hand below your thumb it is medium rare - which I think is perfect.

Make sure to get those rolls out of the oven!

 

 At the last minute I fried a few leftover sausages we had. I have to admit to eating a few bites off my plate before remembering to take a pic. There was more green on that plate I promise! The girls loved the rolls and I forgot how much they fill you up! Daddy was surprised and everything was perfect. I do admit that we just couldn't finish the mousse after a meal like this. Everyone ate about half a cup and we put them back in the fridge to be finished tomorrow.



Strombolli

You can't get buch easier than this recipe.
You can even use canned or frozen bread dough if you do not want to make your own.

STOMBOLLI
1 lb bread dough (half of this link's recipe)
1/2 lb salami
1/2 lb ham
1/2 pkg pepperoni
1/2 lb grated cheese
1/4 cup grated parm cheese
italian seasoning
pizza sauce

Roll out dough in rectangle shape.
Layer meats in row down the long side.
Add cheese and sprinkle seasoning on top.
Roll up dough into log shape, sealing edges.
Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
Wait about 5 minutes before cutting.  Serve with sauce for dipping.

That's it!  I sometimes add turkey or pastrami as well, really whatever I have on hand.

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Do you still need a roll recipe for Thanksgiving?  These are so good.  Do not be scared, they don't really taste pumpkin-y.  Just soft and tender.  Sooo good!  You can easily half the recipe.
 

original recipe found HERE.

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Yield: 4 Dozen Rolls

 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk
¼ cup butter, softened or melted (I warm it with the milk above)
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin (I used canned)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup wheat germ or whole wheat flour
10-12 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
7 teaspoons dry yeast

Instructions:

1. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, water, milk, butter, pumpkin, and salt. Mix well.
2. Add wheat germ, 7-8 cups of the flour, and yeast. Mix, and then continue adding flour and kneading until dough is elastic and not sticky.
3. Place dough in greased bowl; grease top of dough, cover with a towel, and set in a warm place until doubled (about 60-90 minutes).
4. Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Divide each third into 16 pieces and shape into balls.
5. Place on greased baking sheets, and grease tops. (I use two 11x15-inch baking sheets, and put 24 rolls on each.) Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until tops are golden. Remove to wire racks and cover with a towel. Brush tops with butter if desired, as soon as rolls are removed to the wire racks. Serve warm with butter.

We've Gone Ape

Remember how I mentioned I was trying to come up with all sorts of new things to feed my family in the mornings?

It's still going well.  No major complaints, except for quiche (Cael), Johnny Cakes (Landry), breakfast meat (Cael), German pancakes (me)... but seriously, it's going really well.

Then I hit a snag.  I didn't have any ideas for today and I didn't plan ahead last night, so come this morning, at 6:30, I was trying to decide what to make.  Then I remembered a Young Women's activity we had a couple of months ago.  So, I thanked the world for my friend Susan, and her friend Paula Deen, and we had Gorilla Bread - the ever-so-decadent cousin of Monkey Bread.

Do you have refrigerator rolls? Check.
Do you have cream cheese? Check.
Do you have sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter? Check, check, check and check.

(seriously, if you do not have these ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator I will cry for you)

In the time it took me to cook some eggs and bacon to accompany our centerpiece it was baked and ready to eat.  Perfect for a rainy (Yes, rainy!) Thursday school day.  Just like oatmeal, but so much better!

GORILLA BREAD
(Originally found here at Paula Deen)
italics indicate changes by me

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon (at our house we have a shaker full of cinnamon sugar, already mixed that I use)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese
2 (12-oz) cans refrigerator rolls
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, and at our house, never used...)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. (today I used a 10-in. tart pan, because I wanted it flat instead of molded to cook faster, it worked great)

Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.  In a saucepan melt butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.  Cut cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.  Press biscuit dough out, place cube of cheese and cinnamon sugar, wrapping and sealing cheese inside dough.  Layer biscuits, nuts and sauce.  (I simply wrap a cube of cheese inside a biscuit, lay them all out, sprinkle tops of wrapped biscuits with cinnamon sugar, then pour sauce over the entire thing.  It's alot easier and tastes the same...)


Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Invert pan and serve.

Birthday Dinners

Birthday dinners are a HUGE thing at our house.  The birthday person gets to plan the menu for their own, very special birthday dinner.  Whatever they want.  In a family of 6 this is a pretty big deal.  Especially when the mom loves to cook what she likes most of the time…

Savannah’s dinner was the most thought out, well planned meal from a six-year old EVER.  She analyzed her options, she thought long and hard, and came up with pretty much the perfect menu.  Each one of the 15 people who ate the dinner would agree, I’m sure.

Jalapeno poppers

Homemade rolls with homemade jam

Tomato/alfredo shrimp pasta bake

Green salad

10 layer rainbow layered jello

Grape soda (we also offered Strawberry)

Strawberry lemonade ice cream cake (just use Strawberry Lemonade mix)

Seriously, so fattening, so time-intensive to make, but oh, so delicious!  Thanks Nannah!

TOMATO/ALFREDO SHRIMP PASTA BAKE

• 16-18 oz. pasta (I use penne, radiatore, or farfalle), cooked as directed on packaging
• Large jar spaghetti sauce (it doesn't have to be fancy, I use Hunts, it's cheap and the spaghetti sauce isn't the star of this dish)
• Alfredo sauce (see recipe below, or you can use a large jar of store bought sauce
• 1 pound medium shrimp, cooked, deveined and tails removed, chopped into bits
• Mozzarella cheese - enough to cover a 9x13-in. casserole

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cook alfredo sauce, if you're making the homemade (and much, much tastier) sauce.  Once sauce is cooked, add the shrimp to it and stir in.  Line 9x13-in. baking pan with spaghetti sauce, just dump it in and spread it out. Add cooked pasta, then pour the alfredo sauce (w/ shrimp mixed in) over the pasta. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until it is bubbly.

Amazing Alfredo Sauce:

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 cup butter

2 tbsp. cream cheese

3/4 c. parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. garlic powder

In a saucepan, combine cream, butter and cream cheese.  Simmer until all is melted and mixed well.  Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder.  Stirring constantly, with a whisk, simmer for 15-20 minutes until thick.

More Bread

This is a wheat bread recipe I got off of allrecipes. It's not whole wheat, but it's a new favorite. It makes 3 loaves, but I only have two loaf pans so I made rolls for the third batch and they were yummy too!
Wheat Bread

Ingredients3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I use Eart Balance Vegan Butter)

Directions
1.In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2.Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

You Ever Heard of Diane Mott Davidson?

She's an author, a great one, who writes culinary murder mysteries. Yes, you read that right.

Culinary murder mysteries.

That means her books are great mystery books, based around the main character, Goldy, who is a caterer. Mystery books which include recipes.

Awesome, I know.

Reading is my outlet, along with cooking. Though honestly, I get to cook more often than I get to read. But while on vacation I renewed my interest in Ms. Davidson's books. So I've decided to start a new feature here on Snow Cookin'. I'm going to review a few of Ms. Davidson's recipes. I've already tried three and I've decided she can write recipes just as well as she writes mysteries.

Seriously, who does that?

So, for my first review:

"What To Do With All The Egg Yolks Bread"

By Diane Mott Davidson

2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tbsp. chopped orange zest

1 tsp. salt

4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sun-dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans

Butter a 10-in. tube pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, one tsp. of the sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Combine the milk, butter, oil, zest, remainder of the sugar, and salt, and stir into the yeast mixture. Add the egg yolks, stirring well. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate the flour thoroughly. Knead 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and satiny. Knead in the cranberries and pecans. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk. Using a wooden spoon, beat down the risen dough for about a minute.

Place the dough into the buttered tube pan and allow it to rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes or until it is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Place on a rack to cool or serve warm. Once cooled, the bread is also excellent sliced and toasted. Makes 1 large loaf.

I loved this bread, but I made a few changes for my families sake. I had no oranges so I included no zest, and my husband doesn't love nuts baked into things, so I left out the pecans too. Sad, I know, but it still turned out awesome! I'm thinking of remaking it (with all of the ingredients) and using the dough for cinnamon rolls, with a nice glazed icing. Delicious!

Recipe Card

Next time you want to make a recipe card you should go HERE and check out Skip to my Lou's free recipe card template!

Here's a recipe for a Blueberry French Toast Casserole. You can click on it to see it bigger. I have made it the night before and just baked it in the morning with just fine results.

Meatloaf 'n Biscuits - You know Southern Comfort Food

You know I love me some good home cookin'. Nothing says comfort and home like meatloaf. As long as you don't really think about the name meat loaf. Meat. Loaf. Bleck, sorry.

My kids even love meatloaf. Seriously. LOVE it.

Plus meatloaf goes really well with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Homemade buttermilk drop biscuits. Mmmm.

So, I tried these new recipes from here. They're awesome and so is her blog.

SAUCY MEATLOAF

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 egg - beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used whole wheat, increases the fiber)

2 oz. tomato sauce

1 medium onion - minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1.4 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

---Sauce---

4 oz. tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. vinegar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. worchestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375°. In a bowl combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, onion and spices. Mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients, don't over mix. Mound into a loaf shape and place into a high sided baking dish, just larger than the loaf.

In the same bowl combine the sauce ingredients: tomato sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, mustard and worchestershire sauce. Mix to blend in brown sugar, then gently pour over the loaf. Bake 60 - 75 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then slice and serve with more sauce on each side.

Serve with mashed potatoes (the sauce is really good as gravy for potatoes).

BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

2 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk - COLD

8 tbsp. unsalted butter - melted and cooled slightly

2 tbsp. unsalted butter - melted for brushing tops

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl combine the cold buttermilk and the melted and slightly cooled butter. Stir until buttermilk forms clumps.

Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from side of the bowl.

Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop level amounts and batter and drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, approximately 12 - 14 minutes.

Brush biscuit tops with remaining butter. Transfer to wire rack or serve.

Tortillas

I really need to work on my taking food picture skills. FLOUR TORTILLAS
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening.
Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned
way and use your hands. I actually just used my paddle in the Kitchen Aid.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do
not need very hot water. You'll need to switch to your bread hook if using a Kitchen Aid.

Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest covered for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

Now you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cook each side just a few seconds on a hot griddle or a skillet.

Marbled Bread

After making tons of junkie snacks (and eating them yourselves) to make plates for other people, don't you get sick of sweet stuff? Then everyone has to bring you a plate of goodies as well. Wouldn't you rather have a warm loaf of pretty bread? When you cut into it, it's such a nice surprise. Doesn't it look delicious? It is. MARBLED LOAF
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs dark molasses
1 1/4 cups rye or whole wheat flour

In large bowl combine 2 cups of the plain flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, oil and salt just until warm (120 - 130 degrees). Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds than high speed for 3 minutes.
Divide batter in half.
To the first portion combine as much of the first flour as needed. Knead 6-8 minutes. Shape into a ball and put in a greased bowl, turning once to coat dough with oil. Cover.
To the other portion of the dough stir in molasses, rye flour and as much plain flour as needed.
Knead dough and place in bowl as you did with the first batch.
Let both rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours.
Punch both down and let rest for 10 minutes.
On a floured surface roll each dough portion out seperately into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Place dark dough on top of light. Roll up starting from short side and place in greased bread pan, seam side down. Let rise until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (I had to cover mine with foil the last 10 minutes to keep from getting too brown). Immediately remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

It is worth it.

Powdered Milk Biscuits

Growing up in the south, I love biscuits. The kind you buy in a can do not compare! I have several biscuits recipes I like, this one is a good tender version. I will post my favorite flakey and buttermilk ones another day.

POWDERED MILK BISCUITS

1 3/4 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
3 tsp Baking Powder
3-5 Tbsp Softened Butter
1/4 cup Powdered Milk

3/4 cup water

1 Tbsp Sugar

Preheat Oven 450 degrees .
Combine all dry ingredients and cut in butter (I just use my Kitchen-aid).
Add wet ingredients to mix. Do not overmix!! The less you handle the dough from now on, the better and more tender your biscuits will be.
Roll out dough onto a floured surface about 3/4 inches thick.
Cut out biscuits with cookie cutter or mason jar ring.
Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Creamed Chicken and Biscuits

You know those recipes you make over and over again for years? This is one of my family favorites.

Creamed Chicken and Biscuits

1/4 lg onion, diced
4 cups chicken, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pimento (1 jar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 frozen biscuits, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 11x7 casserole dish.

Saute onion and chicken in pan until cooked. Combine onion, chicken, soup, sour cream, milk, and pimento in a medium bowl and mix well.

Spoon into prepared dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle baked layer with 3/4 of the cheese, place biscuits on top, sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until biscuits are golden brown and sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes longer.

Serve immediately.

The Best Breakfast Cake

This is seriously our favorite breakfast cake. It is very moist and delicious! This picture doesn't really show the yumminess, just try it.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Cake

A Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook from the 80's.

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Sifted powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and butter with an eletric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add half the flour, the eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat about 2 minutes or until well mixed.

Beat in remaining flour on low speed until well mixed. Spread batter evenly into an oil-sprayed 13x9 in pan. Spoon preserves in 8 to 10 portions on top of batter. With a knife, marble preserves into the batter lightly.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar on top. Serve warm.

Hot Buns Coming Through!

I had family coming for dinner last Sunday and I served Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I put a pork roast in the crock pot all day. That afternoon I shredded it, added a bottle of barbeque sauce and served it with these. They were soo good. Will make again, for sure!

Beautiful Burger Buns
Recipe and picture courtesy of King Arthur Flour

3/4 to 1 cup flour (Start with just 3/4 and add more later if needed. I didn't need to)
2 Tbs soft butter
1 lg egg
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs instant yeast

Directions:
1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough. (I used my Kitchen Aid for about 5 minutes)
2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk. (I always warm my oven and turn it off and place my dough in there)
3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.
4) If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (I did butter)
5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

Friday Night is Pizza Night

Family traditions start small. Duplicate a fun event several times and it becomes tradition. We love to celebrate Friday nights with pizza and a movie.

In Utah we ordered the pizza for two reasons - one, I was working full time and by the time Friday night came around I was beat, and two, we had a really great pizza place that I loved.

Here in Texas it's a different story. Friday night comes around and I'm even more beat than I was when I was working "full time", but we haven't managed to find a remarkable pizza place. Thus I've been trying out different pizza recipes. After several attempts I found a winner tonight. This crust was perfect! A few modifications and I made it stuffed crust, topped with ham, turkey, pineapple and monterey jack cheese - it was heaven!

To finish off the "fast food" experience, we completed the meal with sweet potato fries. They were a great compliment to the pizza and the kids ate them up!

Quick Pizza Dough

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tbsp. quick-rise yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup warm water

1 tbsp. oil (I used EVOO)

t tbsp. honey

Preheat oven to 425°. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Separately combine water, oil and honey. Combine with flour mixture. Knead for 2 minutes - it will be stiff and crumbly at first. Roll out. I rolled a little extra big for my pizza pan so that I had extra to roll over the 'stuffed crust'. There is no need to let the dough rise, or to bake it first.

Place on pizza pan/stone. For stuffed crust I added cut cheese the size of small carrot stick around the perimeter of the pan, then rolled the extra dough around the cheese. Add pizza sauce - I used left over spaghetti sauce from yesterday's Eggplant Parmesan. Add any additional toppings prefered by your family and bake in preheated oven for 9 - 12 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. parsley

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. Skin sweet potatoes with potato peeler, and cut into sticks that look like carrot sticks, approximately 1/4" wide.

In a large mixing bowl add olive oil and cut sweet potatoes. Using hands, mix potatoes and oil until all potato sticks are coated. In a separate bowl add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle over potato sticks while mixing with your hands to ensure good coverage. Spread on baking pan, taking care to separate each stick. Bake for 20 minutes and turn with a spatula, then bake and additional 20 minutes.

These are great! They are perfectly crisp on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside!

Sometimes...

Sometimes I really love Albertson's buy one get one free meat specials...

Yesterday's menu?

Pre-seasoned pork ribs cooked all day in a crock pot

Karen's rolls listed here

These jalapeno poppers

and yellow squash from our garden, steamed with chopped onion, garlic and butter

Oh, and because I'm Utahn at heart...and I love jello...

10 Layer Rainbow Jello

5 (3 oz.) packages of jello - I usually use strawberry, peach, lemon, lime and grape. You can alter this around holidays - just look at the colors.

6 1/2 cup boiling water

1 pint sour cream

Place 9 x 13-inch glass pan in freezer on a level surface. Line counter with 2 rows of 5 bowls. In the front 5 bowls pour a dry jello package in each. In each of the back 5 bowls place 3 tbsp. sour cream. Pour 1 1/4 cups boiling water into each jello filled bowl and mix until dissolved. Remove 1/2 cup of each jello mixture and pour into each of the bowls filled with sour cream. Whisk until all mixed.

Take first bowl (you pick the order you want them in the pan) and pour into pan in the freezer. Set a timer for 5 minutes. When first layer is solid (usually 5 minutes) add creamy layer of the same flavor and again set timer for 5 minutes or until solid. Repeat with each flavor, first clear layer, then creamy layer. When placing last layer move pan to refrigerator and let set for 15 minutes. If you let the layers freeze they will separate instead of staying together.

This whole 10 layer jello only takes an hour to make and the kids love it!