Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is from a book my mother-in-law gave me called Make-A-Mix

Cinnamon Rolls

1 TB active dry yeast or 1 (1/4 oz) package
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water 110F (45C)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted margarine
5 to 6 cups HOT ROLL MIX (see below)
2 TB butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins, optional (we don't put raisins in them)
1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional

Sweet Glaze
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
about 4 TB milk

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Blend in eggs and oil or margarine. Add 5 cups HOT ROLL MIX. Stir well. Add more HOT ROLL MIX to make a soft dough. Knead about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth. Lightly butter bowl. Put dough in bowl and turn to butter top. Cover dough with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Grease 2 baking sheets. Punch down dough. Let stand 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 12" x 24" about 1/4 inch thick. Brush surface with melted butter or margarine. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on dough. Then sprinkle nuts and raisins, if desired. Roll dough like a jelly roll and cut into 24 1 inch slices. (We do big rolls and actually cut them about 2 inches, maybe a little less..) Place on prepared baking sheets. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F(190C). Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Prepare Sweet Glaze, and brush on warm rolls.

Sweet Glaze
In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make a thin mixture.

I usually half the HOT ROLL MIX. I don't have a container to hold that much mix.

HOT ROLL MIX
5 lb. (20 cups) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 tsp salt
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Stir together to distribute evenly. Put in a large airtight container. Label with date the contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 to 8 months. Makes about 22 cups HOT ROLL MIX.

Sweet and Sour Drumettes

Sweet and Sour Drumettes

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumettes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• SAUCE
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
  

Directions

1. Dip chicken in egg beat, then flour. Fry in a large skillet until crispy, about 15 minutes. Drain and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, water, sugar and vinegar. Mix together and pour over chicken.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear.

I used drumsticks and served it with rice. Love the sauce with the chicken and rice! Super easy and tastes great! (What more can you ask for in a recipe, right?)

I didn't use a 9x13 pan. It was more like a 4x7. I also only had 5 drumsticks. (but all the extra sauce was used with the rice.)

Christmas Recipes

These are some of the recipes from Kyle's Family that they do every year, which we have started to do every year as well...
I keep forgetting to take pictures while they are still around so I will try to get one and update them..

Russian Punch

1 can orange juice, mixed
2 quarts additional water
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp almond extract
Combine all ingredients and heat until sugar is dissolved. Serve warm.

Date Balls

3/4 stick of butter
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz. chopped dates
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups rice krispies
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut flakes
Mix in frying pan: eggs, sugar, dates, and vanilla. Simmer about 10 minutes. When dates are well mixed, take off of heat and cool. Add nuts, rice krispies, and mix well. Form into balls and roll in coconut. (usually double the recipe)

Kathryn's Corn Bread

When we were visiting our friends down in NC, she made this corn bread. It is awesome! Doesn't stay together so well.. but it's one of the best corn breads I have ever had.

Kathryn's Corn Bread

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cubes of butter/margarine, melted(3/4 cup)
2 cups Bisquick
3 heaping TB Cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar

Mix dry then add wet. Grease pan and bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (She said she usually ends up having to bake it for 30-35 min. for brown and clean toothpick)

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Separate and rinse seeds.
For every 1/2 cup of seeds use 2 cups water.
For every 1 cup water use 1/2 tablespoon salt.
Bring to boil and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and drain.
Spread 1 tbsp olive oil on roasting pan.
Spread out seeds and bake for 10-20 minutes.

Blackberry Pie

We went with a friend to Butler's Orchard and picked Blackberries. They were huge!! It was a lot of fun!! Then the best part.. the PIE!!!

Blackberry Pie

• 4 cups fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar

1. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
2. Bake at 425 degree F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

We actually didn't use the milk and sugar on top, and it was still great!! Instead of the refrigerated pie crust we used the pie crust recipe that I love!! You can also go to my Cherry Pie post and it has the crust recipe and what I do differently than the original recipe.

Baked Ziti

16 oz Ziti
1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
basil -to taste
1 1/2 cups sour cream
26 oz of marinara sauce
10 oz mozzarella (or more if you like lots of cheese)

Preheat Oven at 350 degrees.
Boil Ziti to Al Dente
brown beef, onion, and garlic together.
add basil and marinara sauce
simmer for 15 minutes

In a 9x13 baking dish layer half of the following: pasta, marinara sauce, sour cream, and then cheese. Then repeat.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese starts to brown slightly.


UPDATE: We have started to just mix every thing together cooked noodles, marinara sauce, sour cream, and half the cheese. Pour in baking dish and cover with the rest of the cheese. Tastes the same less work!

Open Face Tuna Melt

Every once in a while I crave a good ol' tuna melt!

Banana Bread

We have been doing banana bread on birthdays so here is our recipe.

Cathy's Banana Bread

1 cup smashed banana

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Combine sour cream and banana and set aside. Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. after mixed stir in banana mixture. Combine all dry ingredients in separate bowl. Then combine together. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Makes 1 9x13 or 2 7x3 pans.

Monster Cupcakes

For Adam and Gabe's birthday party I made Sesame Street cupcakes.

Cherry Pie

I am personally not too fond of cherry pie, however my husband loves it. My mom bought some cherries and I had the brilliant idea to make a cherry pie. It was so good!!! I had to share!! and i am going to try this recipe with other fruits sometime to see if they are as good too!!! (I will let you know how it is when I do it.)

Cherry Pie

2 pounds sour cherries, pitted
1 1/8 cups white sugar
3 1/2 TBS cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all in a bowl and let them macerate for a few minutes. Pour into pie shell. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. make several small slits in top to allow steam to escape. Place on aluminum foil lined tray. Bake 45-55 minutes until crust is lightly golden brown. ( the recipe says to cook the cherries but after ready some comments I tried it this way with a different crust, so without having a hot filling I baked it closer to the 55 minutes.)


Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water

whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons ice water (I used 3 TBS both times I made it.) over flour. Toss mixture with fork to moisten. Gentle gather dough into a ball. Place on between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll out dough. Put in pie plate. (this recipe is for a bottom or a top, so I did it twice for a top and a bottom.) My mother-in-law said you can put a little bit of vinegar (tsp) in the water to make it flakier. I hadn't used the vinegar and I found it was flaky and I was happy with what I had. But if you want to make sure it's flaky go for it!!

Sourdough Pancakes

Here is a website that will help you make a sourdough start

Sourdough Pancakes

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups hot water

1 cup sourdough start

Mix together, cover and let sit overnight or at least 6 or more hours.

Take out 1 cup sourdough for your sourdough start.

add: 2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix well.

In small bowl combine:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp sugar

Fold in gently.

Allow to raise about 5 minutes.

Bake on Hot griddle.

(375- 400 degrees depending on griddle)

Thanks Mom!!!!

What's for dinner tonight???

One of THE Best Burgers!!!!

I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com You can click on the name and it will take you to the site were you can read the reviews and such if you want.

Chinese-Style Cheeseburgers

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
3/4 cup cubed Cheddar cheese
1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chile sauce
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
3 teaspoons soy sauce

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, water chestnuts, cheese, onion, chile sauce, mustard and soy sauce. Mix together well and form into 6 patties.
Using a griddle or skillet, cook the patties over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

I did substitute teryaki sauce for the soy sauce. The smaller the cheese the easier to make the patty. I also used about 1/4 cup of oats to help bind it. And I would suggest maybe cutting a little bit of the onion... unless you love A LOT of onion. If you don't want crunch in it don't add the chestnuts. We also used cheese and/or onion buns from Reams, also really good!!

Grandma's Spaghetti Sauce

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion

1 can tomato paste

1 TB sugar

40-45 oz diced tomatoes(or until desired consistency)

dash of garlic salt

1 can cream of mushroom soup undiluted

sweet basil

Instead of garlic salt I put in minced garlic and then I added some italian seasonings.

Brown meat, drain. Add remaining ingriedients. Simmer.