Corn Bread

Tis the season for my favorite.....Corn Bread! This is a yummy very quick and very moist recipe.


Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
2 jiffy corn bread mixes (or 1 large box of another brand)
(oil, milk and eggs according to directions on both packages)

Directions:

Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix box.  Combine cake mix and corn bread mixes in a large bowl.  Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions.  (replace all water with milk)

Mix together according to cake mix directions.

Divide mix between one 9 x13 pan plus one 8 x 8 inch pan.  Bake according to the times and temperatures on the cake mix box. 

French Toast Roll-Ups

 French Toast Roll-Ups (otherwise known as Crack Sticks)

These are the most delicious deserts I have made in a very long time!! We did an Iron Chef activity with our youth group.  (12-17 yr old boys and girls) Our ingredient that we were to use was strawberries and we only had an hour.  This was THE best!!

Ingredients:

Loaf white sandwich bread
Strawberries 
8 oz package of cream cheese softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Nutella

Directions:

Mix cinnamon and sugar in shallow dish and set aside.

Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.

Remove crusts from bread and roll flat using a rolling pin.  Spread small amount of cream cheese or Nutella (I did half Nutella half cream cheese.  Both DELICIOUS!) mixture on each slice of bread.  Add small amount of strawberries and roll up tightly.

Dip in melted butter then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at *350 for 20 min until golden brown.

These are delicious warm or cold!!

Pistachio St. Patrick's Day Bread

I made this for St. Patrick's Day and it was so yummy! Even Steve liked it and he isn't a big fan of pistachio flavored things. :)  I took one loaf to work and everyone loved it!
 



1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp water
1 (3 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp green food coloring
1 Tbsp almond extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. 

Easy peasy!! Enjoy!

Garlic Breadsticks

If you love the Olive Garden's breadsticks as much as I do, you need to make these right now!  They are soooo good!

Do you want to know the very best thing about them?  They are super easy to make!  No need for a mixer, and they're ready in about an hour.

We have made these quite a few times in the last year.  I tried them once without the garlic, just for a change and they were still very good.  However, my family has voted they like the garlic ones best.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS butter or margarine, melted

Topping:
1/2 cup butter (8 TBS), melted
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
oregano (I just sprinkled some in)

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and salt to yeast mixure, stir.  Add melted butter and knead with hands until well combined.  Add a little flour if dough is too sticky.  Do not over-knead.

Oil palms and divide the dough into 16 pieces.  (I just break dough in half, then keep dividing in halves until I have about 16 fairly similar-sized balls.)

Roll dough into long strips.  Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Cover and let sit in a warm place until breadsticks rise slightly, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake for about 6 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove breadsticks after 6 minutes, brush with topping mixture. Continue to bake an additional 5-6 minutes, or until golden. (Watch closely.)

Remove from oven and brush with more topping mixture.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love going to my Bunco group because every time I get the best recipes!  This one was from my friend Brooxie from Martha Stewart's web site.  And OOOHH so good!  My kids devoured it! (after burning their mouths and having to wait a few minutes first.) oops

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, diced medium
5 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup frozen peas (she used green beans but we don't love green beans at our house)
2 cups diced cooked chicken
salt and pepper
1 sheet thawed puff pastry (found in the freezer section near the pies)
1 beaten egg

 Directions: 

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in peas and chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Divide filling among four 8-ounce ramekins. Roll out 1 sheet puff pastry and cut 4 rounds to fit ramekins. Cut a small X in center of each to vent, then place on top of filling. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 375 degrees until filling is bubbling and crust is golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

#17

The 17th day of Christmas treats…  (wow only 8 more days till Christmas)  I have never made cinnamon rolls from scratch, I always make the easy Rhodes 30 min frozen ones.  This year I am going to make these!  I will do it on Christmas eve so they will be ready Christmas morning! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, so I don’t know how good they are, but the reviews were great!  247 people couldn’t be wrong, right?  And 18,517 people are eventually going to try it some day if they haven’t already! Hehehe……   

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/2 cup white sugar

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

FILLING:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

GLAZE:

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons half-and-half cream

Directions:

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle.

Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, combine the corn syrup with the vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze; set aside. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve.

CINNAMON TWISTS

YUM YUM YUM! That's all I can say. I could seriously eat the glaze plain. Haha

I made these from scratch, like the recipe, but you could use any refrigerated store-bought dough.

*

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c hot water

1 TBS sugar

1 tsp salt

1 TBS butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

4 c flour

1 TBS yeast

melted butter

cinnamon/sugar mixture (1/2 c sugar, 1 TBS cinnamon)

*

Butter Glaze:

1/2 c butter, melted

4 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 TBS milk

*

Directions:

In a large bowl, add hot water, egg, 1 c flour, sugar, butter, then yeast. Mix for 2-3 min, then add remaining flour. Knead for about 8-10 min.

*

Divide dough in half, roll each into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. With a pizza cutter, cut dough in half lengthwise and then into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide. (you can get about 18-20 strips from each rectangle) Roll in melted butter, then cinnamon/sugar mixture. Twist, fold in half, then twist ends together. Place in pan & allow to rise for about 20 min.

*

Bake at 400* for 10-12 min or until very lightly golden.

Drizzle with glaze while still warm. Remove from pan.

*

Makes about 40 twists

RESURRECTION ROLLS

These rolls are all over the internet right now - and I've seen two different ways to make them. You can either have the cinnamon/sugar on the outside of the roll. (above) Or you can have it on the inside - your choice. I would just make half of each & let your family decide. :) Either way - YUMMY!

Here's what you need:

Bag of frozen Rhodes rolls

Large marshmallows

2 TBS each of cinnamon & sugar (mixed together)

1/4 c butter (melted)

Put frozen rolls on a greased cookie sheet, let thaw about 1 hour. Once thawed, flatten each roll, dip a marshmallow in melted butter & roll in cinnamon/sugar. Place in center of roll and wrap dough around marshmallow making sure to pinch seams tightly before returning to cookie sheet.

Let rise for 1 hour.

If you wanted the cinnamon on the outside, now is the time to roll the dough in the butter & cinnamon/sugar.

Bake at 350* for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. ENJOY!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c white flour

1 c whole wheat flour

3 c sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 c canola or veg oil

4 lg eggs

2/3 c water

1 c semi-sweet choc chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 2 9x5" loaf pans or 3 8x4" loaf pans.

In large bowl, mix flours, sugar, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt together. Set aside.

In med bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and 2/3 c water until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in choc chips. Pour batter into pans.

Bake 60-70 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven & let sit for 10-15 min. Turn bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*This bread freezes beautifully. After cooling, wrap bread in layer of plastic wrap & then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze up to 2 months.

PEPPERONI ROLLS

The first time I made this recipe my family fell in LOVE with it.  Now we seriously make it a couple times a month.  YUMMY!! You can't see it very well but the seasoning on the top is to die for!

They leak out a little in spots, but still taste excellent.

I have tried these with pizza sauce inside, but I didn't like it as much as with just cheese and pepperoni. They are really spicy and delicious! :)  Sometimes when I'm in a hurry, I've used ready-made dough from the store, (Some stores sell dough balls in the deli.) and it works just as good.

Dough:
1 T shortening
2 T sugar
1 T salt
1 c hot boiling water
1 c cold water
1/3 c luke warm water
1 T yeast
4-5 c flour

Filling:
2 pkg pepperoni
6 c grated cheese, combination of cheddar & mozzarella

Topping:
1 egg, whisked until frothy
McCormick's "Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder"

To make the dough, fill a Pyrex measuring cup with 1 c hot water from tap, then place in microwave & heat for 2 minutes. This will get it boiling.

In a separate cup dissolve yeast in 1/3 c warm water. Just enough to dissolve.

In mixer, mash sugar, salt & shortening together with a fork. You want it to be well incorporated.

Pour the hot water over the shortening mixture. Then pour the cold water over it. Finally, pour the yeast/water mixture in.

Add the flour 1 c at a time, while mixing.
Once you have enough flour, let it mix for about 8 min. The dough should have a nice elasticity to it.

After the dough has mixed enough, separate it into 6 equal parts and let it rest for 5 min on a sprayed cookie sheet.

Spread dough out into a rectangle. Don't go too thin or it will explode - trust me.

Lay out pepperoni all over it, add about 1 cup worth of cheese over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan if you want.

Roll up like a cinnamon roll. Be sure the dough gets wrapped around it well. Place seam side down & tuck edges under.

Cut some slits in the top of each loaf. (not too deep)
Whisk your egg until frothy, slather all over the top & sides of loaves.

Grind seasoning over the top.

Bake at 400* for 10 min, or until top starts to get golden brown - then turn the oven down to 350* cook for another 8 min.

Let loaves rest for about 5 min. before you cut into them. Enjoy!

Pita Bread

Pita Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups bread flour (plus extra for dusting)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 packet dry active yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Combine yeast, sugar and 1/3 cup very warm water-give a quick stir and set aside for 5 minutes to activate yeast.
3. Make a well in the flour/salt mixture and add the yeast, 1 cup warm water and the olive oil.
4. Gently stir to gather dough into a ball-you may need a touch more water-depending on where you live, altitude.
5. Turn out and knead for 10 minutes.
6. Put into a LIGHTLY greased large bowl, cover and place in a warm spot for around 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
7. Punch down and knead to smooth.
8. Cut dough into 12 pieces, form into rounds, roll out and place on a dusted baking sheet, cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 500F degrees.
10. I use my pizza stone for this part, so I place it in the oven and when really hot I place in two pitas and let bake for around 3 minutes-you can broil for 1 minute if you like, just to get the tops browned.
    
11. I wrap the cooked pitas in a slightly damp tea towel for a minute or two-then cool and place in plastic bags.
12. This process can also be done on a cooking sheet.

I changed the flour to whole wheat and mixed it in my Kitchenaid with the dough hook. It turned out so yummy! I cooked a few in the oven and put the rest in the fridge to save for later. They are better freshly cooked. I also tried frying them in oil alone and also with pizza filling inside and folded in half. It was as close to a Bambino that I have had in years!

Rhodes Buttery Breadsticks

I know you can all get these off the Rhodes dinner roll package, but I was just reminded at how wonderful these babies are.

Ingredients:
12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh or grated)
garlic salt (optional)

Directions:
Roll each roll into a 16-inch rope. Roll each end in opposite direction about 3 or 4 times. Pick up and pinch ends together. Place butter and cheese in shallow bowls. Dip each breadstick in melted butter and then in Parmesan cheese.
Place on a sprayed baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350* 15-20 min or until golden brown.

Monkey Bread

Yummy!! .....That's all I can say......

Ingredients:
3/4 c sugar
2 cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c margarine (melted)
glaze ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Cut biscuit dough into quarters with scissors. Mix sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Roll dough quarters in cinnamon and sugar. Place half of the biscuits into greased bunt cake. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the melted butter. Top with remaining biscuit quarters and melted butter. Top unbaked loaf with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake at 350* 40 to 45 min or until golden. (After removing from oven, let stand in pan for 5 min)

While cooking prepare glaze. Beat 4 oz cream cheese, softened, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add 1-2 Tbsp milk, beating until desired consistency. Spoon over warm loaf.

MACARONI GRILL BREAD

Okay, I also stole this from Deals to Meals. This bread is soooo amazing!!!! My family literally scarfed it down - and wanted more! We had it with the linguini, but I will make it for any Italian meal from now on. It was really easy, too. Tastes just like you're in a restaraunt - seriously, I can't say enough - try it NOW!

1 TBS yeast
1 TBS sugar
1 cup hot water

Let sit and rise

Add slowly:
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups flour
1 TBS rosemary
1 tsp salt

Let rise in bowl until double the size. Roll dough into one large round loaf, or two small.
Bake at 400* 15-20 min. or until top is golden brown.
When out of oven, melt butter over top & sprinkle salt.