fresh, hot yeast dinner rolls......oh my!

Sunday quiche

Sunday quiche...I had already decided yesterday I would make a quiche today. I really like making them and am pretty good at it now...tossing anything I have into the mix. So I whipped one up today. Dill/Parmesan cheese crust....then whatever I had in the fridge, so I had some sweet peppers and onions and spinach and tomatoes from my garden last year, which I saved mostly for the top, and I even added some chopped pepperoni (though you don't ever have to add any meat)....I added some chives and garlic and onion powder....took 2 eggs and a can of evaporated milk along with some low-fat milk....and after putting the ingredients into my delicious crust....and after adding the cheese..I poured the egg/milk mixture on top...sliced some tomatoes and put them on top....then baked in a 375 degree oven until nice and golden brown and my knife came out clean after being stuck in the middle. I thought it looked pretty good but it tasted even better!

homemade artisan bread......quiche and cookies

guess I was in the baking mood

Pan-Kabobs

I sometimes make kabobs in my rotisserie and sometimes on the grill but today I did them loose in the oven. The house smells terrific and I forget how easy and quick it is to make these and how good it is to eat and good for you too!

They are simple. You can use whatever you have on hand or whatever you like.

Today I used:

A handful or so of frozen chicken cubes
1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks
1-2 Yukon Gold potatoes cut into chunks
at least 1/2 Vidalia onion cut into chunks
mix of orange, red and yellow mini peppers cut into chunks

(you can add black olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, anything else you  like)

Line a shallow pan with foil. Place the above on the foil and drizzle with Italian dressing or you can use olive oil and your own spices. Mix well. Put in 370 degree oven till potatoes stick tender.

DELICIOUS and easy and good for you! You can use low calorie dressing even if you want.

The foil makes easy clean up. You can let it all in the oven until it starts to carmelize..the onions and everything become so sweet and tender! You can serve over rice or even salad greens cooled or eat as it is here.

Your house will also smell FANTASTIC!

homemade apple fritters...

Homemade Apple Fritters Recipe: Printable Recipe
1 heaping cup AP flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
1 – 2 tsp. cinnamon (depending on how much you love cinnamon)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup milk + plus more if needed
1 – 1 1/2 cups chopped apple, your favorite kind for eating, peanut sized or smaller

oil for frying
milk and powdered sugar glaze for dipping or just powdered sugar for dusting
(About 1 cup pwd. sugar + 1 T. milk or more) 

Mix all dry ingredients together, slowly add the wet ingredients minus the apple. Carefully mix until well combined but not overly beat,gently fold in apple pieces. The batter should be the consistency of a light cake mix. Once the oil is ready (when a test drop of dough floats to the top of the oil, a drop of water sizzles, or a piece of white bread browns in 60 seconds) then using a cookie scooper or soup spoon, place a 4-5 balls of dough into the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd and watch carefully for the underside to turn golden brown, then gently flip over and continue frying until done. I cooked mine about 35 seconds to 1 minute per side, but they were larger and I flattened them out a bit like what  you get in the bakery – adjust cooking times based on size of fritters and temperature of your oil, ideally around 365° F. It is always a good idea to test one to ensure it comes out like you are expecting.

full size tomato pie with slice...YUMMY!

Oven fried chicken strips and strawberry rhubarb tart

Chocolate Cinnamon Snowball Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
powdered sugar to roll cookies in

Beat butter, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon with mixer until light, gradually add flour, mixing until blended. Form into balls about 1 inch or so..place on cookie sheet (they say greased but with all that butter in the cookies I did not grease my cookie sheets and it was fine)

BAKE at 350 or a little hotter (they called for 400 degree oven and I NEVER use that hot an oven for baking cookies..I used 350 and bake just till brown on bottom or starting to get light brown...

Remove and let cook only slightly, roll in powdered sugar....cool completely and roll in powdered sugar again!

my second rotisserie chicken...rosemary and thyme....wow!

it was delicious! I then decided to make homemade mashed potatoes and fresh green beans..I even made gravy from the juices from the rotisseried chicken! It was one of my best meals and the great thing was I had a lot of leftovers!

homemade tortilla chips...

Before baking....


AFTER baking...


I think I would prefer CORN tortilla chips...so next time I will use CORN instead of FLOUR tortillas...but that was all I had in stock so I used what I had.

I am sure frying these as most would makes these taste richer but...to save fat and calories I baked mine.

I sprayed a cookie sheet with cooking spray...you can use olive oil or butter...whatever you wish.

I stacked my store bought round tortilla shells on top of each other and cut into pie wedges...

I placed the wedges on the cookie sheet...gave them another spray...added any seasonings...and baked at about 375 till nice and golden brown. They are pretty good..but CORN would likely be a lot better. They taste great with salsa...whether they are corn or flour.

Quick, easy snack and you get a lot more than in the bags at the store and it is healthier for you.

Homemade Soft Pretzels.....best ever!

3/4 cup hot water (110 degrees)

1-1/2 teaspoons yeast (I used 1 packet)

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the above together..till all dissolved.

Add:

2 Cups flour

KNEAD on floured surface for 8 minutes...

Form into ball....place in bowl...put some oil on top of dough...olive or vegetable...your preference...and roll ball of dough around to cover with oil....then cover bowl and allow to rise and rest for 1 hour.

Remove dough from bowl and cut into 6 sections. Roll each section into a very long strip of dough.....rolling it out with your fingers like you are using it as a rolling pin....about 20 inches long....then tie into pretzel shape...place on greased cookie sheet....allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees during this 15 minute rest time.

Get a bowl of hot water (110 degrees) and 2 Tablespoons baking soda....mix together.

Place each pretzel from the cookie sheet after its 15 minutes of rest into the baking soda water solution and soak each pretzel for 30 seconds....place back onto cookie sheet.

Melt about 2 to 4 Tablespoons of butter....brush tops of pretzels with butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake till golden brown...does not take long.

WOW they are yummy!

40-minute homemade hamburger buns....

I saw this recipe on YUMMLY.com ...(Go here for the delicious recipe...I can't seem to get my link to work....but copy and paste it!)

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/40-Minute-Hamburger-Buns-Recipezaar

for homemade hamburger buns...and they looked so delicious...and it was such an easy sounding recipe...I thought I would give them a try. I only had enough ingredients to make half a batch...but WOW..they were the best, easiest, quickest recipe for any type of homemade bread I have ever made. They MELT in your mouth and would be good to use even for a hot roll!


INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 to 3-1/2 cups flour

1.In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Add oil and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
4. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 to 5 minutes, adding flour to get rid of excess stickiness.
5. Do not let rise.
6. Divide into 12 pieces and shape each into a ball.
7. Place 3" apart on greased baking sheets.
8. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
9. Bake at 400° for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool.

my mini breakfast casserole.....

This is easy to make:

butter a small casserole dish and toss in about 9 or 10 tater tots

add in minced dried onion, chives, anything else you might want such as crumbled bacon bits, pieces of other meat or not meat, and some shredded cheese. Mix 2 eggs (I use only ONE yolk) and add about 1/2 to 2/3 cup milk...pour over mixture in casserole. Put in 350 to 370 degree oven till center comes out clean when stuck with knife. Let cool...serve. SO GOOD and easy to make!

Homemade cheese crackers.....

a great way to use your mini cookie cutters...or larger ones..or make cheese straws that look like French fries. I made a batch for the first time tonight and WOW...they are the BEST gourmet tasting cheese/spicy cracker I have ever had! I doubt I ever buy store bought crackers anymore! These are soooo good....the house smells so wonderful...and you could make so many varieties! I added cheddar cheese, American, Parmesan and dill seed to mine....AND pepper flakes. WOW!! Here is the recipe:

Here is the main recipe but feel free to change it up to suit your taste!

Cheese straw dough/cracker recipe:

•1 1/2 cups (about 4 ounces) grated cheddar cheese
...•4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
•3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1 tablespoon half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper and process in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half. Process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

(I do not have a food processor but you could use a mixer and/or bread machine ....I just cut in the butter like you do for pastry using a fork)

3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8-X-10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into long, thin strips, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Gently transfer the strips to an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 1/4 inch between them. The straws can be any length, from 2 to 10 inches.

4. Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven, and set on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.
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OR USE your cookie cutters as below directions!!

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s 1/8-inch thick, and cut as many leaves as you can. Transfer the leaves to a baking sheet lined with Silpat®, and chill them in the fridge for three minutes. Then bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are barely browned.

When the crackers cool they’re intensely cheesy, buttery, spicy, crunchy, addictive, drool-inspiring, and yes, lovely.

OH MY ...I cannot describe how GOURMET these crackers taste and how quick and easy they were to make! I did not use half-n-half as I did not have any..I used 2% milk and I used regular cookie sheet with NO Silpat...they still turned out soooo yummy and did NOT stick to my cookie sheets.