Wonder bread

I decided to try my hand at some homemade bread this week and I don’t mean the kind the bread machine pops out for you. I mean the real-life, from scratch, the way it used to be done kind of yummy bread!

Taken from my hubby’s great-grandma’s recipe box, I tweaked the recipe to fit today’s day and time and here is what I came up with. The recipe looks a little difficult but if I can do it, I promise you can. Plus, your home ends up smelling divine and there is also some kind of sick self gratification that arises from saying you can make homemade bread…at least there was for me : )

Refrigerator Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 oz. packets of active dry yeast
• 1 cup of lukewarm water
• 2 cups of milk
• 2/3 cup of butter flavored shortening
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 4 tsp of salt
• 2 beaten eggs
• 10 cups of bread flour

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.
2. Scald milk.
3. Melt shortening.
4. In a large bowl mix together yeast water, the scalded milk that has hopefully cooled to lukewarm by this point, the melted shortening, sugar and salt.
5. Add eggs to the mixture and beat well.
6. Add flour to make a soft dough and let stand for 10 minutes.
7. Knead your dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. I would happily show you how to knead dough, but since I can’t knead and take photos at the same time, you can go here (gotta love YouTube) to find out more.
8. Place in a greased bowl, greasing the top of the dough as well as the cover of the bowl. Store in the refrigerator.
9. Shape rolls about 1 - 2 hours before serving. To shape you have a number of different options; I chose to tackle two:
• Clover Leaf Rolls (I prefer this way simply because they are prettier – and I like pretty) -
  • lightly grease muffin pans
  • shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls
  • place 3 balls in each muffin cup …it’s obviously time for me to get new muffin tins, if for no other reason than it is highly embarrassing posting photos of them on here.
  • brush with melted butter
• Parker House Rolls -
  • on a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 1/4 inch thickness
  • cut with a 3-inch round cutter
  • brush tops with melted butter
  • crease each circle a little off center, folding around the dull end of a knife and lightly pressing together the ends
  • place on a lightly greased pan and brush again with melted butter
• ****after you have finished with either of these, you will then cover them and let them rise until doubled in size in a non drafty place that is around 85 degrees – I chose to let them rise in the oven.**** …it’s obviously time for me to clean my oven too. I hate cleaning the oven.
• ****When finished with your dough, punch down the unused portion, cover and return to fridge. This recipe should last you for days…unless your family is just as addicted to carbs as mine is : ) ****
10. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

To see what else I’ve been up to besides baking bread and not cleaning my oven, check out the house blog.

Ole

When I share recipes on here, I try, for the most part, to keep them pretty simple. Being a mom, I know how hard it is to always make something from scratch. That being said, the following recipe is as easy as they come. It may not be the prettiest meal, but this is a dish I fix when I really don’t want to cook. The best part: my boys love it. My mother-in-law passed this down to me and it has become a favorite to my side of the family (in particularly my brother) as well.

Fiesta In a Dish

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of hamburger meat
• 1 can of Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 can of Cheddar Soup
• 1 can of Rotel (drained)
• 3 cups of crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. In a fairly large stock pot, brown hamburger meat.
2. Drain fat, then return to pot.
3. Add cans of soup and rotel to hamburger meat and stir until well mixed.
4. Simmer for around five minutes or until completely heated through.
5. Add tortilla chips and stir.
6. Serve immediately.

Hammin’ it up

So Easter is just right around the corner. But instead of giving you a recipe to make for your Sunday afternoon lunch, I thought I would give you a recipe to use with all of those leftovers…that is, if you eat ham on Easter and if you actually have leftovers.

The following recipe is easy and seriously the best sandwich ever. You can use this recipe at Thanksgiving and Christmas too with both ham and turkey and it is equally as delicious.

Sweet and Spicy Sammie

Ingredients:

• Red pepper jelly
• Cream cheese – either the whipped or the regular stuff, just make sure the regular stuff is at room temp.
• Pepper Jack Cheese slices
• Ham
• Pineapple slices – completely optional because it tastes just as good without it
• Bread
• 2 eggs
• Louisiana Hot Sauce

Directions:

1. Gently beat the two eggs in a shallow dish.
2. Add a couple of dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce to the eggs (remember a lot goes a long way) and then stir it until well mixed. Set aside.
3. Next, it’s time to start building your sandwich. Take two pieces of bread.
4. On one slice of bread, spread the cream cheese.
5. On the other slice spread the pepper jelly.
6. Next add the Pepper Jack Cheese.
7. Then add the ham.
8. Then top it off with a pineapple (again, this part is optional because it really does taste just as good without it).
9. Now that your sandwich is built, preheat your flat skillet over medium high heat.
10. Grab your egg/hot sauce mixture and like you would do with French Toast, dip your sandwich coating both sides.
11. Place your sandwich on skillet and cook on both sides until lightly browned.   And there you have it. A very yummy sandwich made from your Easter leftovers. I made this at my parents house omitting the pineapple and adding turkey along with the ham at Christmas and they all begged for it again the next day. It really is that good. 

Going bananas

Even though I am working towards losing weight it doesn’t mean that you all are. Therefore, you should not have to suffer as I am by not partaking of oh-so-sinful treats.

The following recipe is seriously THE BEST banana pudding EVER and the even better news…it’s a no bake recipe. (Wahoo for no bake!!!)

So, go forth and make said banana pudding. Enjoy it to the fullest and then come back here and tell me all about it so that I can live vicariously through you and your pallet.

Not-So-Low Cal Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

• 6 or so bananas (sliced)
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (room temp)
• 1 5 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 tsp. of pure vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream (cold)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk (cold)
• 3/4 of a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• Cool Whip (I like a lot, so I buy the bigger container)
• a box of Vanilla wafers

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.
2. Next, beat in to the cream cheese, the instant pudding mix, vanilla, heavy whipping cream, milk and sweetened condensed milk until thick and smooth (and delicious) and then (as if that isn’t sinful enough) fold in 4-6 oz. of cool whip.
3. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with vanilla wafers.
4. Place A LOT of banana slices on top of that.
5. Next smooth your pudding mixture over the top of the bananas.
6. Then take some more vanilla wafers and line the sides of your dish, pressing them down into your layers.
7. Add another layer of bananas (a little less this time around) to the top of your pudding mixture.
8. Last, but most certainly not least, top the whole thing off with some more cool whip…Mmmmmm cool whip.
9. Of course to add a little more zing to the presentation (not to mention the taste), you can always crumble some more wafers and sprinkle them on top.
10. Place in refrigerator to chill and then dig in…and as you enjoy every scrumptious little bite, please think of me and my growling tummy.