Cinnamon Rolls

These are delicious cinnamon rolls. I actually found the recipe in a family circle magazine.

1 cup milk
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100-110 deg F)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unsalted melted butter
4 1/2 to 5 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. remove from heat and let stand until cooled to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, eggs and butter. Beat in cooled milk.
3. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, scraping down side of bowl, until a soft dough forms. Turn dough onto a floured work surface. Knead into the dough as much of the remaining flour as necessary, adding more if too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. The dough will be soft.
4. Grease a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Line one 11 x 14 baking sheet with parchment paper (the filling becomes very sticky so I found using parchment paper eliminated much of the mess and the cinnamon rolls came up easy!) Coat paper with cooking spray. Prepare filling: mix butter, both kinds of sugar and cinnamon together in a medium size bowl.
6. Punch down dough. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to an 18 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread the butter-sugar mixture over the dough. Starting on one long side roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch seam to close.
7. Cut crosswise into 12 (I think I only got about 10, we like big cinnamon rolls) equal size pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot until double in size about 30-45 minutes (I actually let them rise for almost 2 hours because we had to run errands and they were SO SO fluffy! sure its a lot longer but it was so worth it!) Or you can cover them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the following morning.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pans and bake rolls until the are golden brown and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes (mine were done at about 27 minutes). Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
9. Cream Cheese Frosting: Mix all of the frosting ingredients together- blend well. Spoon over the cinnamon rolls.

DELICIOUS!

Italian Sausage and pepper sandwiches on homemade hoagies

So this morning while trying to decide what to eat I went through the freezer. We had already had chicken like 3 days in a row so that was out and I wasn't really like eating beef that only left italian sausage. Well, I tried searching for a new recipe that uses italian sausage. Nothing sounded great. So I decided to just go to my standby recipe for italian sausage, sandwiches. Only problem was that I did not have hoagie rolls. My kids were on one today so there was no way I was venturing to the store by myself with them so back to the computer to find a recipe, and I did. I altered it a bit to what I thought would be good and they turned out great! I was pleasantly surprised! And honestly, they probably took me less time to make then had I gone to the store (thats excluding rise time, but they are still a super easy bread to make). Okay, heres the recipe:

Hoagie Rolls (makes about 6-8):
1 package yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp bulk yeast)
1 1/2 cups of water divided
1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tbl salt
4-4 1/4 cups flour

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add in 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
Add remaining water and sugar. Beat in oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour until smooth. I then switched the attachment on my kitchen aid to the dough hook and Stirred in enough flour to form a soft dough. Let mix on medium for a couple of minutes (this helps cut down on the time you need to knead it).
Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (you should be able to pull it a bit before it breaks)
Place in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured board and divide into 6-8 pieces.
Shape into an oval. You can kind of flatten them down a little bit so you get the nice oval shape. They will puff up nicely I promise!
Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Mix eggwhite and water well. Brush onto the rolls and then bake immediately at 400 degrees for 13-18 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool (the egg whites give the hoagie that crustier crust).

Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
4 italian sausages
1 onion halved and then sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced
1 tsp oil

Cook italian sausages until done (I put mine in a pan with a bit of water and let them cook that way). Remove from the pan. I usually do this all in the same pan, but usually wash it before the next step.
Heat oil in pan until hot. Add in bell pepper and onion. Cook until almost soft and carmelized. While that is cooking, slice the italian sausages length wise. Add to the onions and italian sausages so that the sausage can get slightly crispy. Serve on rolls and we like it with mustard.

Chicken Stir fry

So, I made chicken stir fry last night. Delicious! Here's what I do.

1 chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp ginger
red pepper flakes (if desired, i usually just sprinkle a couple in)
stir fry vegetables
1 package top ramen noodles cooked (without the seasoning, I used to buy the actual chow mein noodles, but they are like $3 for a small package. So one day when I didn't have any on hand I used top ramen noodles and they worked great, plus I like the price of them much better)

Mix together soy sauce, honey, ginger and red pepper flakes. Take half of the sauce and pour it into a bowl with the chicken breast. Let it marinate for 30 minutes or longer. Reserve the other half of the sauce.
In a hot pan, put 1 tsp oil. Cook the chicken until its done. Add in your stirfry vegetables (I use the frozen bag from costco and just throw in how ever much I think we'll eat, usually adding in some extra broccoli). Cover and let those cook until hot. Add in the cooked and drained top ramen noodles as well as the reserved sauce. Let the noodles and sauce heat up and its ready to serve. We eat it over white rice. Tasty!

Lion House Rolls- made them on Sunday

I made these on Sunday and they were tasty. I made them as written except instead of the dry instant milk and water, I used 2 cups of warm milk (110-115 deg). They turned out pretty good. I thought that they needed a touch more flavor (maybe a little more sugar and salt) but the texture was perfect! They were slightly dense but still so fluffy and airy. So tasty with the potato soup we had!

Found this recipe here. Can't wait to try it. I LOVE their rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant)
• 2 Tb. dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (butter or margarine)
• 1 egg
• 5-5 1/2 cups flour, all purpose (bread flour can be used if you have it on hand)

Method:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves. Add the yeast to tthis mixture then the sugar, salt, shortening, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand. Add approximately 1/2 cup of flour and mix again. (This can be done by hand or mixer). The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour). Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.) Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size. Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. It is now ready to roll out and cut into desired shape and size of rolls. Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans. Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours). Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Brush with melted butter while hout. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.

Can't wait to make this

I saw this

and can't wait to try them! I want to try using wheat though. We love chicken pita sandwiches. I had NO idea you could make your own pitas (I mean I figured you could, but who does that? Hopefully me soon).

Italian Sausage Pasta Revised

So I also made this again and made some revisions and it turned out even better!

1 package bow tie pasta (or whatever type you have on hand)
4 links of italian sausage, 2 with the casings removed
1 onion cut into quarters and then sliced
5 cloves garlic minced (yeah we like garlic)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained slightly
2 tablespoons italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups of milk, separated
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. Heat a large deep skillet. Cook the two whole sausages until done. Take them out and slice and put in the 2 other sausages with the casings removed. Break them up into small pieces. Cook until brown. Add back in the sliced sausage and onions and garlic. Cook until the sausage is all golden brown and crunchy, and the onions and garlic are soft.
3. Add in the diced tomatoes, 1 1/4 cups of milk, and 2 tablespoons of italian seasoning. Let come up to a boil. Meanwhile, take the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and mix in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Stir into the pot and turn down the heat to a simmer. Let cook for about 8-10 minutes to let all the seasonings come together. 4. Stir in pasta. Let simmer all together for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Quesadilla casserole Revised

I made this recipe last night but made some revisions that we really liked. Heres the new version.

1 lb ground beef
3 tablespoons taco seasoning, about 1 packet (I buy this at Costco because it is SO much cheaper than buying individual packets at the grocery store.
1 onion, diced into medium sized pieces
1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup salsa
1 can black beans (didn't use it last night, but definitely want to- didn't have any)
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups of cooked white rice
8 flour tortillas
3 cups shredded cheese

1. Brown ground beef and onions with taco seasoning. Drain well.
2. Add in tomato sauce, salsa, black beans, and frozen corn. Let come to a boil and get nice and hot. Taste it now and see if it needs more seasoning, if so add some in. Stir in cooked white rice.
3. Take 1/2 cup of sauce, and put it into a greased 9 x 13 pan and spread around. Lay down 3 tortillas. Put half of the beef mixture on top. Then layer with cheese. Lay down 3 more tortillas and layer beef and cheese. Top with 2 tortillas and layer with more cheese. Bake in preheated 350 deg oven for about 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Homemade Corndogs

This is a delicious homemade corndog recipe. It is the perfect amount for 6 regular sized corndogs.

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
dash of salt
dash of pepper
3 tablespoons white sugar (next time I want to try honey for a richer sweetness)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
6 hotdogs
3 wooden skewers cut in half
vegetable oil for frying

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
2. Dry off the hot dogs very well. They need to be perfectly dry so the batter sticks.
3. Heat oil on medium-high heat. You don't want it too hot otherwise they will brown too quickly and not be done on the inside. Put the skewers into the hot dogs (I had the wooden grilling skewers and since they are so long I cut them in half). Dip the hot dogs into the batter. You will probably need to spoon it on as well since it is so thick.
4. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Caramel Corn

With the weather getting cool, it is making me think of all the yummy fall and winter treats. One of my favorites is caramel corn (SO SO addicting so I only make it around Christmas time)

2 big bowls of popped popcorn lightly salted, unpopped kernels removed
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 (5 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat cook the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter, stirring constantly. Heat to 270-290 deg F or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard but pliable threads.
2. Remove from heat and carefully pour in the can of condensed milk; stir until smooth.
3. Pour 1/4 of the caramel at a timeover the popcorn, stirring until all of the popcorn is covered. I like to spread it out onto parchment paper to cool, that way its easier to get pieces of it instead of leaving it in the bowl. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie
1 pound chicken breast cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
2 medium red potatoes (this wasn't in the original recipe but we like potatoes in it)
1/2 cup sliced celery (I didnt have so I didnt use)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion (I didnt have so I used 2 large cloves garlic)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (didnt have so used some rosemary and basil)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (didnt have so used 1 3/4 cups water with 2 bouillon cubes)
2/3 cup milk

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a saucepan combine chicken, carrots, peas, celery and potatoes. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are still crisp but slightly tender (I left my chicken breast whole so I cooked it until it was almost done and then added the vegetables so they wouldn't get too cooked). Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cook onions until soft and translucent (this is when I had put in the garlic and cooked until it was nice and fragrant). Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed (I stirred in the flour and added the salt pepper and herbs later). Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk (this is when I added pepper and herbs- didn't need salt because I used bouillon). Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. (I also put an egg wash on the top crust and edges so it would get a nice golden brown color- definitely recommend doing).
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Taco Soup

Makes a whole crock pot full. Serve with corn chips and cheese (we also like sour cream and guacamole on it as well).

1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 onion diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (drain and then fill can with water while beans are still in it)
1 can kidney beans (drain and then fill can with water while beans are still in it)
1 cup corn

1. Brown ground beef with taco seasoning and diced onion. Drain well.
2. Add ground beef and onion to crock pot. Add diced tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans and corn. If it is too thick add more water.
3. Cook on high heat until heated through. (You can also set your crockpot on low and cook it all day).

Crescent Rolls

These are a delicious sweet dinner roll that go with about anything. You can also use the dough for cinnamon rolls. Makes about 12 rolls.

1 (.25 ounce) package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsps bulk dry active yeast)
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons warm water (110-115 deg F)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl (I do this in my stand mixer). Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until smooth.
3. Scrape dough from side of bowl. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 1/2 hours).
4. Punch down dough. Roll into a 12 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges (I cut the dough in 4ths then each quarter into thirds). Roll up each wedge starting with the wide end. Place rolls with point under on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour).
5. Bake at 400 deg F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Texas Chili

I got this recipe from a friend and it is so Delicious! It is my sister's absolutely favorite and she asks me to make it for her every time she comes out. Another meal that makes a lot but also freezes and reheats well.

1-2 lbs. of stew meat
1 can of beef broth
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans(light or dark), drained
1- 16 oz jar of salsa (any kind)
1/2 cup Italian dressing (i usually use Kraft light zesty Italian)
1/2 large onion chopped
1 T chili power

1. Combine stew meat and italian dressing in large bowl. Let marinate for 30 minutes or so. In a large pan, brown stew meat and onion with italian dressing. 
2. Meanwhile, in your crockpot add beef broth, salsa and chili powder. Once the meat and onions are browned, add that to the crockpot as well (juices and everything). Stir together and put on high for about 6 hours.
3. Drain and rinse beans and add to crock pot. Let cook another 30 minutes or until beans are hot. Serve over rice with tortillas, rice, lettuce, tomato- whatever you desire!

Salsa Chicken

Another crockpot recipe. This salsa chicken is delicious over rice, as tacos/burritos/chimichangas. Very versatile and freezes well. Makes a ton!

1 Can chicken broth
2 cups salsa
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 frozen chicken breasts
1 cup corn (rough estimate)
2 cans drained/rinsed black beans

Combine chicken broth, salsa, cumin, and chili powder in crock pot. Put in chicken breasts and cover with the sauce. Cook on high for about 5 hours stirring occasionally or until the chicken is tender and able to shred easily. Shred the chicken and cook a little longer until more of the juice is dried out. Add in corn and blackbeans cook until hot.

Chili Verde

We love to eat this over rice with lettuce, tomato, cheese and tortillas.

1 lb beef stew meat
Water
1 jar salsa verde sauce

1. Put stew meat in crock pot and cover with water. Cook all day or until meat is tender and can be shredded with a fork.
2. Drain all the liquid. Shred all the meat. Add jar of salsa verde. Cook until hot and bubbly.
Serve over rice or as tacos, or however you desire. 

This is another one that is easily frozen and reheats wonderfully.

Swedish Pancakes

A delicious breakfast treat! Sort of like a crepe but we put butter and sugar (either powdered or granulated) on them. Also delicious to eat with peaches.  Makes about 7 pancakes

1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together. Mix in eggs, milk and vanilla. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet on medium to high heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Using 1/3 cup of the batter pour into pan and spread around entire pan by picking it up and rolling batter around. Heat until golden brown and flip to the other side.

Chicken and dumplings

You can either make this on the stovetop or in your crock pot. I usually throw it all in my crock pot first thing in the morning and let it cook all day. (This probably serves about 6 large portions)

Soup
1 chicken breast
2-3 carrots
2-3 stalks celery
1 onion (whatever you have on hand, Ive even used a red onion and it still tasted delicious)
3-4 cloves garlic
3-4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Water to fill either pot or crockpot

Dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

 Fill crockpot or large soup pot 3/4 full with water. Put in chicken, veggies, chicken bouillon and herbs. Cook on high (for crockpot) all day or if cooking stove top, bring to boil and then turn down and keep it on a simmer. When close to dinner time, take everything out of the broth. If the veggies are too soft for your liking discard those ones and add some fresh chopped carrots and celery. The soup will then need to cook longer as to cook the carrots and celery. Shred the chicken add back to the broth as well. Let cook. 30 minutes before serving make up the dumplings:

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add milk and stir to make a soft dough. Add a little more milk or flour, if dough is too thin or stiff. Let set for 10 minutes. Drop dough from tablespoonfuls onto simmering stew (make sure not to compact the dough). Cover stew tightly and cook for about 15 minutes without removing cover.

This soup freezes really well. Since it makes quite a bit and only 2 1/2 of us eat it, I usually let it cool down and then put into freezer zip lock bags. I lay them flat in the freezer and then they defrost quickly.

Mac & Cheese

2 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni (or any other small pasta)
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoon flour
2 cups milk
4 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 clove minced garlic

1. Cook macaroni in salted water until cooked through but still slightly firm. Drain well.
2. Melt butter in sauce pan. Add minced garlic. Cook and stir until soft. Whisk in flour stirring constantly. Cook for 2-3 minutes to make roux.
3. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in milk. Return to medium heat. Slowly add cheese, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour macaroni into sauce and stir to combine. You can eat it now if you like a runnier sauce, or you can put it in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan and bake at 350 deg F for about 20 minutes. Let it stand for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

4 cups water
4 cups broccoli florets (frozen work
  great too)
2 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1/3 cup flour
5 chicken bouillon cubes (or about 2 tblsp of the powder)
2 1/2 cups milk
At least 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Pepper to taste

1. Cook broccoli in water until crisp tender or however you like it. Drain but save all of the water. Purée half of the broccoli (or If you have the hand stick blender you can skip this part)   With the other half of the broccoli chop any large pieces into bite size pieces.
2. In heavy bottomed pot melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Stir in flour. Cook stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add reserved water and chicken bouillon. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, allow to simmer, stirring constantly until thickened. 
3. Stir in milk (if soup isn't as thick as you want it to be, take 1/3 cup of milk with about 1 tablespoon of constarch. Mix well then add to pot stirring constantly to help thicken). Add grated cheese (add in slowly so it doesn't clump together).
4. If you pureed half the broccoli just add to the pot along with the bite size broccoli and stir well and let broccoli heat up. If the broccoli isn't pureed, add half of it and using your hand stick blender blend the soup until the broccoli is all chopped finely into it. Then add the bite size broccoli. Stir and Let the broccoli heat up. Serve with extra cheese on top if you'd like.

Italian Sausage pasta

1 package bow tie pasta
1 pound italian sausage casings removed
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drain slightly
3 fresh tomatoes seeded and chopped
1 cup heavy cream (or if you dont have heavy cream 3/4 cup milk + 1/3 cup melted butter mixed together)
Salt to taste

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain.
2. Heat a large deep skillet. Cook sausage until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens; 8-10 minutes. (If needed you can always do a couple of tsps of cornstarch in a little bit of milk to help thicken the sauce)
3. Stir cooked pasta into sauce and heat through.

This goes great with breadsticks!

Flaky Pie Crust

This makes one 9 inch pie crust

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
5 tablespoons ice water
1/2 tsp sugar (if it is a sweet pie)

1. Whisk the flour and salt (and sugar if you are using it) together in a medium bowl. Place in the freezer. Measure out the shortening and place in freezer as well as your pastry blender. Let them sit in the freezer for about a half hour to an hour. You want everything SUPER cold!
2. With a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can do this with a butter knife, but I highly recommend getting a pastry blender it is so much quicker! Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons ice water over the flour and toss with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough just comes together.
3. Lay two sheets of saran wrap down overlapping. Pour the dough particles onto the saran wrap. Wrap up tightly and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
4. Lightly flour your counter and roll out dough and put in a pie plate. Fill with desired filling and bake.

Tater Tots

One day, I really wanted tater tots but did not want to go to the store to get them. Having tons of red potatoes from my great grandpas garden I decided to make my own.

8 medium potatoes peeled
4 tbsp all purpose flour
Vegetable Oil for frying
Seasoning salt for after they are cooked

1. Shred the potatoes. I did half of them a fine shred and the other half the larger shred (I like the different textures). Then drain them. I used a couple of paper towels and squeezed the water out.
2. Put potatoes in a medium sized bowl.Stir in flour.
3. Heat 1/4" oil in heavy pan to about 350 deg F.
4. Form into tots, and carefully put into oil. Fry until golden brown, turning once (I think mine took about 5 minutes total, we like them crunchy).
5. Place on paper towels to drain and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Delish! And pretty easy to make. Something kids would enjoy helping with.

Pizza Dough

(makes one pizza crust)

3/4 cup warm water (110-115 deg F)
1 Tablespoon bulk active dry yeast
1 tsp Sugar for yeast
2 tsp sugar for dough
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 3/4 cup unsifted all purpose flour
Olive oil for spreading on dough.

1. Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Let proof for about 10 minutes (you want a nice fluffy foam on top of it).
2. In a mixing bowl stir together with a fork flour, salt, and 2 tsp sugar. When the yeast is done, stir it into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. I usually flour my hands and knead the dough for a couple of minutes in the bowl to help get all the flour and water combined. Cover and let rise for about an hour.
3. Punch dough down. Roll out to form into a pizza shape. Put into a greased pizza pan (I use olive oil brushed onto the pan). Let rise for 10-15 minutes.
4. Cover with desired toppings. Brush olive oil on the outside crust. Bake in a preheated 500 deg F oven on the bottom rack for about 8 minutes. Watch it carefully because it will cook quickly.

Breadsticks

Love these breadsticks! They have a very nice slightly sweet taste.

2 packages active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsps bulk active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon divided
2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees f) divided
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water (I usually turn my kitchen faucet to as hot as it will go and use that). Add the oil, egg, salt, 2 cups of flour, and remaining sugar and water. Beat until smooth (this usually takes a couple of minutes on high speed in my kitchen aid). Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Placed in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes. (A trick I learned was before starting to make your dough, turn your oven on to the lowest temperature possible, mine is 170 degrees, let it preheat and then turn it off. Put your covered bowl of dough in the oven and it will rise quicker. Great when you need things done quickly!)
2. Punch the dough down. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead a few times. Divide into 32 pieces. Shape each piece into a rope. Sometimes I do  shorter breadsticks so they are denser and other times long skinny ones- usually a bit of both. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with softened butter and sprinkle with garlic salt if desired.

Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef
1/2 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
6 hamburger buns

1. In a skillet, cook beef, onion, and garlic, until beef is no longer pink. Drain well. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon onto buns.
(Taken from allrecipes.com, Simple Sloppy Joes by Ona Allen).

Quesadilla Casserole

This recipe was actually from the McCormick seasoning packets. Super easy and super delicious! I will put

2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp dried Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp dried Oregano Leaves
1/2 tsp Crushed red pepper (optional)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
6 flour tortillas
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add diced tomatoes, salsa, beans, and corn. Mix well. Stir in all of the spices except red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste if desired. (I don't add it since the salsa is usually spicy enough and I have little kids).
2. Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on bottom of 13x9x2- inch baking dish sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

New Blog

I've decided to start a recipe blog. I find myself trying new recipes and then sharing them with family and friends, so why not just post them on a blog and then they will be easily found. Many of the recipes I use I find on AllRecipes but then alter to what I have on hand and what my family likes to eat. Hope you enjoy!