Sweet Yeast Rolls

These rolls are melt in your mouth delicious, I had to keep guard over them so Little Foodie wouldn't eat them all. I made a batch of these to take to my sisters house for Thanksgiving and I am sure they are going to be a huge hit. The recipe can make up to 5 dozen rolls but I only made about 3 dozen monster size dinner rolls, perfect for filling with Thanksgiving goodness. Enjoy!

1 pkg of active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups all purpose flour

2 TBS melted butter
2 whole eggs
2 tsp salt

Directions:
Soften yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Heat milk for about 2 minutes in the microwave.

Add the warm milk to the yeast and then add the sugar and enough flour to make medium batter and let stand for about 2 minutes

Add melted butter (which has been cooled), eggs, and salt. Beat well. Add the remainder of the flour. Sprinkle small amount of flour on counter and let dough rest. Meanwhile, clean and dry bowl; grease clean surface of bowl.

Knead dough until smooth and satiny. Put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover, let rise in warm place until double in bulk.

Punch down. Turn out on floured board. Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into desired forms. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

I will say this one time Pumpkin Donut Muffins are the most delicious thing you will ever eat for breakfast! Now this is not a breakfast food that you would want to eat everyday since it has lots of sugar on the outside but I do believe in everything in moderation. I adapted this recipe from one found on taskykitchen.com. Enjoy!!

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 cup Canned Pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ½ cups Milk
• ½ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground clove
• For coating after baking- 1 stick Butter, Melted and cinnamon/sugar

• In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and clove, set aside.

  In a separate bowl, cream together 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and egg. Mix in pumpkin and vanilla.

  Add flour mixture and milk alternately to the creamed mixture, beating well.

  Fill a greased mini muffin pan. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

  While muffins are still hot out of the oven, submerge in melted butter, and then roll in sugar ‘n spice mixture until coated. Serve warm.

Teacher Treats- Pumpkin Bread

I love making homemade goodies for Little Foodies teachers! Mini pumpkin bread makes the perfect Thanksgiving Treat and if you attach a handmade card filled with thanks it is even better. I adapted this recipe from one found on tastykitchen.com. Enjoy!

• 2 sticks Butter Or Margarine, Softened
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons Cloves
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Pumpkin (not pie mix)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans or 5 mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

• Cream butter; add sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at the time, to the creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla. Mix together all of the dry ingredients. Alternately add the dry ingredients and pumpkin puree to the creamed mixture. Pour the mix into the prepared pans, dividing evenly and sprinkle tops with sugar (this gives a nice little crunch). Bake at 350 degrees for an 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean.

  
  

For the Love of Mojitos!!!

There is just something about a mojito, they are so refreshing with the mint and lime! This past week I had a friend over and I made some yummy watermelon mojitos and for dinner one night I made original mojitos, they were both super yummy and easy to make. Is it wrong that I grow mint in my garden just so I can use it to make mojitos? The watermelon mojito recipe was adapted from one found on tastykitchen.com.

Watermelon Mojitos

2 whole Large Handfuls Of Fresh Mint Leave

1 cup Water

1 cup Sugar

3 whole Handfuls Cubed Watermelon

Lime Juice (1 Fl. Oz. Or 3/4 Shot For Each Drink)

Light Rum (3 Fl. Oz. Or 2 Shots For Each Drink)

Crushed Ice

Club Soda

First you are going to make a simple syrup, this is key for any mixed drink that you would add sugar to. Place 8-10 mint leaves in a saucepan with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Cook on med/low heat until the sugar is dissolved, let this cool completely before continuing with the recipe. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge.

Place watermelon in a blender and puree until liquefied. If you have texture issues, run this through a sieve to get the remaining fibers out!

To make a single drink: Place 8-10 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a glass and pour 2 shot glass measures (3 fl oz) of watermelon juice over the mint leaves. Use a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the mint leaves and watermelon juice together. Add 3/4 of a shot glass measure of lime juice (1 oz.), 2 shots (3 fl. oz.) of light rum and 1 shot glass measure (1.5 oz.) of the cooled simple syrup. Place liquid with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and give it a good shake. Pour into a glass and fill any extra room in your glass with club soda. Enjoy!

Original Mojitos

Simple Syrup (recipe found above)

Lime Juice

Rum

Club Soda

Ice

To make a single drink get a glass and add as much ice as you like. Take your trusty shot glass and add 2 shots of simple syrup to the glass. Next add 2 shots of lime juice and 2 shots of club soda. Depending on how strong you like your drink add 1 -2 shots of rum. Mix and taste. If you like your drink sweeter add a little more simple syrup or if you like your drink less sweet add another shot of lime juice. Enjoy!!

Finally a break from school!!!

I finally have a break from school, 5 whole weeks!!! I am hoping to be able to load a bunch of recipes during my break since Little Foodie is a summer camp and then spending some time with her cousins. Keep an eye out for some new recipes soon!!

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

I always try to keep a bag of blueberries in my freezer, they are perfect for making muffins, quick breads and even coffee cake. I made this for a weekend breakfast and it was super easy and yummy. Little Foodie loved the crunchy topping! Enjoy!!

Cake

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 cup vanilla yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blue berries

Topping

1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar

Butter a 9X13 pan. Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt and in another bowl stir together the sour cream and the baking soda.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture and stir the batter until it is combined well.

Pour the batter into a buttered 9 X 13 cake pan. Sprinkle blackberries evenly on top.

In a small bowl stir together melted butter, flour and sugar until it is sort of dough like and stuck together. Crumble topping mixture all over cake .

Bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer it to a rack, and let it cool. Serve warm or room temperature

Lemon Sugar Cookies

This is another great lemon recipe!! I promised Little Foodie and my husband I would make them a sweet treat while they were at school/work. I have been making a lot of chocolate goodies lately so I thought they might enjoy something different and I was right they LOVED these cookies!! They have a nice little crunch on the outside and the middle is soft and chewy. Enjoy!!

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Zest from 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 2-3 tbsp sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in the flour at low speed, making sure to incorporate all of the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Place remaining 2-3 tbsp sugar in a small bowl
Shape 1-inch balls of dough, roll in the sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until set. Edges should be slightly firm.
Cool cookies on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen

Egg Free Banana Bread

I don't normally look for egg free recipes, but I only had one egg left and my grocery shopping spree will not happen until this weekend. I had 3 very mushy bananas that were in need of some help. The bread didn't turn out as dark as it would when you add eggs but it is super moist and smells delicious! I am sure Little Foodie will be enjoying a piece as soon as she gets home from school. I adapted this recipe from one found on allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine or butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup of vanilla or banana yogurt (we love stoneyfields banilla yogurt)
• 3-4 mashed ripe bananas
• 
  

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Next add the yogurt and bananas. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Spoon into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until bread tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

I love Meyer Lemons they are a nice mix of lemon and orange flavors. I have this weird obsession with purchasing them each time I go to the Whole Foods and then for the next two weeks I look for different ways to use them. Today they were looking a little wrinkly and sad so I needed to figure out how to use 4 lemons fast. I also have a weird obsession with not going to the grocery store to purchase special ingredients in between my regular bi-weekly grocery shopping sprees which means I only make recipes using the ingredients I have on hand. My first thought was to make a lemon ice cream but I had no cream so I went with a lemon sorbet. It tastes like frozen lemon-aid and makes me dream about summer vacation by the pool. Enjoy!

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed juice from meyer lemons (about 3-4 lemons)
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest

1 In a small saucepan on medium high heat, make a simple syrup by heating sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator, or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.

2 Once the mixture has thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a shallow pan and freeze in your freezer until semi-solid. Then take a fork and fluff it up, returning it the the freezer to freeze firm. Then put in a food-processor or blender to process until smooth.

Place sorbet in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

3 Scoop out preferably with a melon-baller. Garnish with mint. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins

In our house we prefer hearty muffins and breakfast breads, we only eat cold cereal as a last resort which means I am always on the lookout for new muffin recipes. This recipe is made with whole wheat flour and oat bran so it contains a lot of fiber and the chocolate chips turn it from bland bran to yummy bites of mini muffin goodness!! Little Foodie went nuts over these, she ate them at breakfast and as an after school snack. I adapted this recipe from one found on tastykitchen.com. Enjoy!

¾ cups Oats, Ground In Blender

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

2 Tablespoons Wheat Bran

½ cups Brown Sugar

¾ teaspoons Baking Soda

½ teaspoons Salt

1 cup Applesauce

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter/Margarine

1 whole Egg

¼ cups Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Sift together ground oats, wheat flour, wheat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce, oil, egg, milk, and vanilla extract.

Add applesauce mixture to dry ingredients, stirring gently to combine. Fold in 1/2 to 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Avoid over-mixing.

Distribute mixture evenly between cups. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

I have this crazy obsession with banana bread. I will actually buy 2 bunches of bananas just so I can let one bunch get really ripe so I can make banana bread. This bread is sooooo yummy and super moist because it is made with sour cream. Little Foodie has been enjoying a piece each day when she gets home from school, I think she will eat the whole loaf all by herself. I saved the second loaf in the freezer and I am going to take it to Little Foodie's school for a teacher breakfast during teacher appreciation week. Enjoy!!

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3 super ripe bananas

1 cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons of baking soda

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas , sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking powder, cocoa powder and flour. Stir in chocolate chips and divide into prepared pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Black Bean Soup

This is not my picture, if you have made black bean soup than you know its pretty unattractive looking and hard to photograph so I am grateful for pictures found on the web! This is a yummy soup that is very filling. We enjoyed big bowls of soup and a side salad and it was the perfect dinner.

4 cans of black beans (no need to drain)

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of chicken or veggie broth

1/2 cup of salsa

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

few dashes of hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in your crockpot, stir and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Top with shredded cheese and enjoy!!

Chicken w/ Prunes and Pine Nuts

Prunes sometime get a bad rap but in reality they are only dried plums and they are very yummy. If you haven't had a prune before it taste sort of like a giant raisin. I have been reading a lot about the Mediterranean diet and I found this yummy recipe at a site devoted to Mediterranean recipes, http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/. Enjoy!

• 6-8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic - peeled
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves)
• 10 prunes - whole
• 1 ounce pine nuts - whole
• 2 cup chicken broth
• Salt

1. Sprinkle salt over the chicken cuts and let them rest for an hour.


2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium-sized casserole pot over medium heat. Add the chicken, garlic, the stick cinnamon, and the bay and oregano leaves. Brown for 5 minutes over medium heat, turn the chicken pieces over, and cook for another 5 minutes.


3. When the chicken begins to turn golden, pour in the chicken broth, and add the prunes and the pine nuts. Turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes.

Ranch Dressing/Dip

I have not purchased salad dressing at the grocery store for at least 3 months! Making my own dressing has been really easy and super tasty if I do say so myself. This dressing is so thick you could use it as a veggie dip or if you want to thin it out just add a little milk or buttermilk. I adapted this recipe from one found on allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 
  

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Homemade Granola Bars

It's been a while since my last post, the blizzard and school have made a mess of my schedule but hopefully I am back on track this week. We are crazy about granola bars at our house, they are yummy and portable but its hard to find healthy bars at a decent price so I found a recipe and made my own. This recipe is super easy to make and you can basically add your favorite dried fruit, nuts, chocolate etc to the recipe. I made a second batch yesterday and they were a huge hit. Enjoy!

3 - cups quick cooking oatmeal 1 - cup unsalted almonds (chopped in the food processor) 1 - cup golden raisins 1 - cup dried cranberries 1- cup of coconut 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips 2 tsp cinnamon 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 - cup butter, melted Preheat oven to 325. Line a 15x10x1 in baking sheet with aluminum foiland spray with non stick baking spray. Stir all the ingredients together ina large bowl. Pour into prepared pan and spread out the mixture.Press down to make it even. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.Cool 5 minutes in the pan then cut into bars. Place the bars on a wire rack and cool completely. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Fish and Chips

This is our version of fish and chips (salmon and sweet potatoes) with a side of brussels sprouts. Little Foodie and my hubby are huge fans of tempura dishes, I usually buy the boxed tempura mix at the grocery store but this time I decided to find a recipe for a tempura-like batter. I adapted this easy recipe for beer batter from one found on allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups beer

In a small mixing bowl add flour, egg, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir in 1 cup beer (you can add more than one cup to obtain your desired texture).

Tacos

I love to try new recipes so I rarely make the same dishes over and over but tacos are a favorite at our house so I make them on a pretty regular basis. The pre-packaged taco seasoning have way too much salt and bad stuff in them so I created my own version of the perfect taco! Enjoy!

Ground Beef

Onion (diced)

Ground Cumin

Black Beans

Salsa

Salt and Pepper

Place the ground beef, sprinkled with a few teaspoons of cumin and onion into a pan and brown, once the meat is brown drain it. Add a can of black beans and half a jar of salsa to the meat, season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes and enjoy with your favorite tortillas and toppings!

Eggs in a Basket

This was one of my favorites when I was a little girl! I made this dish for Little Foodie and my hubby for breakfast and it was a huge hit! It is super easy to make and it is super tasty. Enjoy!

Bread

Butter

Eggs

salt and Pepper

Use a small glass (I used a shot glass) to cut a hole out of the middle of the bread. Butter the bread on both sides and place on a hot griddle. Crack the egg into the hole and season with salt and pepper. Gently flip the bread to cook both sides and you can break the yoke if you don't like a runny yoke.

Baked Potato Soup

This is soup was soooo yummy and very inexpensive to make. I love to make huge pots of soup so we can enjoy some for dinner and put the rest in the freezer but this soup was so good none of it made it to the freezer. Of course Little Foodie was in love with the soup because it has BACON in it! I adapted this recipe from one found on allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

• 6 bacon strips, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup milk
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk and some of the bacon; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with the remaining bacon, cheese and sour cream