Parmesan Rolls With Rhodes Rolls

My Mother in law makes these and they are my favorite roll in the whole wide world, I think I can eat 10 of them! I sometimes I use my own roll recipe or most times I don’t have time so I use frozen Rhodes rolls. These are easy and taste so yummy, a favorite at our house!

Ingredients

-Rhodes dinner rolls

-1 cup of Parmesan cheese

-1 cube of butter

Directions

There is really no measurements, Just Melt butter a cube of butter in the microwave, then add parmesan cheese and stir. You don’t want it too thick, but thick enough that it sticks to the roll…

Roll frozen roll in mixture and put on cookie sheet to rise normally.

Follow directions on Rhodes Rolls Package and Enjoy yummy parmesan rolls.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This picture is a couple years ago in our old house, but we do this madness every year! My mom made this when we were younger. My husbands mom makes the same soup but uses turkey. This soup is great for freezing and an easy meal for later, just leave the noodles out and cook it together with the soup when you are ready to eat it! I love after thanksgiving to use the leftovers and make this soup. We make it everytime we have chicken or turkey and it is yummy and feels so good on the soul! The turkey is not as soft as the chicken but I think the turkey is better because the meat stays together better! I guess it just depends what time of year you make this!

Ingredients

· 1 precooked Roasted Whole Chicken or Turkey with carcass and meat on it

· 5 stalks of celery washed with leaves (will need more for finished soup)

· Whole onion cut in half with peel left on

· 6 carrots peeled and chunked into 3rds (will need more for finished soup)

· 1 T whole peppercorns

· Water to cover

· 1 can of Cream of Celery Soup (to be added later to finished broth)

· Egg Noodles ( I get mine at Costco or Walmart they are called Country Pasta Homemade style egg Pasta)

· Chicken Bullion Cubes to taste

· ¼ cup of sugar

Directions

Use stockpot and put the chicken and first seven of the above ingredients in and cover with COLD water. (If using left over turkey put the turkey carcass in with a good amount of meat on it!)

Put lid on and bring to a hard boil and then just turn down and let boil slowly for 2-3 hours.

After boiling for several hours drain the soup with all the ingredients into a strainer with a pot or big bowl underneath to reserve and to strain your broth. Then you will have a pot of yummy homemade chicken broth.

Throw away all the boiled vegetables and save the chicken on a platter to cool so you can remove the meat.

In the meantime put the broth back on the stove on high. I add a little sugar about ¼ of a cup for flavor and then you need to salt and pepper to taste. I also add a couple of chicken bullion cubes or powder to make it a little stronger. Put the can of Cream of Celery in the broth and mix in. It will take quite a bit of salt; just keep tasting it, throughout the process of making the soup keep tasting the broth and adding salt and pepper as needed in small increments (**do NOT put all the salt you need in the beginning of the process or by the end when some fluid has evaporated our broth will be too salty..just add a bit at a time!

Now add FRESH vegetables..For Chicken noodle soup I just use carrots and celery and I slice them really thin. Be sure to add some celery leaves and chop them up really small and add them to the soup as well.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle take chunks of chicken and add it to the broth with the vegetables.

Bring soup to boil with the vegetables and meat and then you can add egg noodles. Just add the noodles to the boiling broth and let boil slowly for another hour. You can leave this cooking on low for several hours.

You will have a big pot of wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup, tastes even better the next day!

Tortilla Lasagna

This is a favorite of mine. We eat this regularly in our home. It is easy and very yummy, and feeds an army!

1 Lb. ground beef
½ onion chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce 24-26 oz.
16 oz. Cottage cheese
1 egg
½ pound grated Mozzarella cheese
½ pound grated cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 package flour tortilla shells

Brown hamburger and onion in a pan and drain well.
Combine with the spaghetti sauce. In large bowl combine beaten egg, and all the cheeses. Save a little of the Mozzarella and cheddar for the topping.
Put a layer of the tortilla shells in a 9x13 pan. Tear them to fill in all the spaces. Then add a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese. Repeat several times ending with the sauce and a topping of the grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot. On your individual plates top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions and chopped olives as desired.

Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies and Frosting

 

My best friend growing up ERIN and her MOM would make these all the time.  I always got to help eat and make the cookies and I love them!  These cookies are very soft and freeze really well also. 

 

Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe

1 c. butter or margarine, softened

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sour cream

4 1/2 c. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream, and cream well.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add creamed mixture and blend well.  Chill for 1 hour.

Roll our on lightly floured surface, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut as desired.  Baked on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 8 to 9 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Bake until LIGHT golden brown-no more than 10 minutes. When you take them out they will seem underdone but aren't. Let them cool on the pan and they will be perfect and moist. It you like them harder and more crunchy just bake them a little longer.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block) softened
1 tsp vanilla (I used almond extract for half of the frosting)
¼ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk OR LESS
food coloring (if desired)
For frosting combine butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk a little at a time (YOU DO NOT WANT TO MUCH, I usually just add 3 TBSP) and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. You may not need all the milk!

7-UP Chicken Marinade

This is one of my favorite Chicken Merinade’s. It makes the chicken so yummy and is perfect for grilling!

Ingredients

1 can 7up or 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 Tb horseradish sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Blend all ingredients and add chicken. ( I usually do this in a big zip loc bag) Let marinate over night or at least 6 hours, in your fridge. (You can also marinate chicken then slice it into strips and fry with onions and sweet peppers for fajitas.)

Navajo Tacos in 10 minutes

When we were first married we lived in Davis County, Utah. They had a dick’s grocery store that sold scone dough! It was a staple at our house to have Navajo Tacos, in fact my friends still call and ask if we are having navajo tacos for dinner! We love them, but now that we don’t live by dick’s we make our own dough and you can’t tell the difference, EASY and YUMMY and it is something you always have in the cupboard!

Navajo tacos are often called fry bread, or fried scones that you can pile on the toppings. Even without the toppings, just fry them up and eat them with a little butter or jam.

I, however, prefer mine piled high and drizzled with sour cream and salsa!

The dough is simple enough, I bet you have all these ingredients in your house!

• 2 cups flour (or a little more)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• oil/shortening for frying
• Taco toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, green onions, sour cream, avacodo, or whatever you have in the fridge)
• 1 can of chili

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and mix until the dough comes together. add flour if needed, should form a perfect ball with not being to sticky. Knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth, then let it rest for 5 minutes. I roll them out with a rolling pin or you can stretch it with your fingers until it's the size you want. You'll want it a little bit thinner in the middle so it doesn't puff too much. ( I roll mine really thin, thin with my finger put holes in the middle it frys better) Heat about 1/2 inch to 1 inch oil in a large skillet. Fry it in vegetable oil and turn on both sides. Fry until brown on each side. Let drain on paper towels. Top with taco toppings. Makes about 5-6.

For a dessert, use smaller pieces of dough and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture right when they come off the stove, a yummy dessert!

Vanilla Pudding

I tried this recipe from Sisterscafe and it was excellent! I loved every bite of it and it is nice served warm, warm the soul!

Submitted by Erin ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 c. milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 T. margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks. Blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat; stir in margarine and vanilla. Pour into dessert dishes. Cool slightly and serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 4 servings.

Ham Fried Rice

Seems like I always have a little extra rice after I make a meal or I buy a huge Ham (like I did yesterday..We had ham dinner and I bought an 8 pound ham for just 2 of us, so getting creative and having some different meals with left over ham is so exciting). I LOVE ham fried rice and this is my Mom’s recipe and it is FANTASTIC, great with those pot stickers you get at Costco!

Ham Fried Rice Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 cups of rice/4 cups of water in rice cooker----- You want the rice to be cold so cook it 2 or 3 hours before you start or if you have left over rice that is great (4 C cold rice)

1 small onion

3 green onions chopped

1 1/2 C chopped ham

5 eggs (scrambled small)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of frozen peas

Sauce for Ham Fried Rice:

1 teaspoon of garlic

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of soy sauce

2 T olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon of Powered Ginger

Put all ingredients together and stir for a good minute

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop your onion and ham (I cut ham into chuncks but not to big).

2. Heat up a large skillet and add 1 T olive oil, onion and ham, saute until ham starts to turn slightly brown

3. Add another 1 T olive oil to veggie and ham mixture then add cold rice

Stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients together since the rice is cold it will take a while to get the clumps out.

Add soy sauce mixture a little at at time it should look dry the more you stir the more the white rice will turn lightly brown, then add frozen peas and Stir and cook until all of the rice is heated through and starts to brown just a bit or the peas are warmed.

4. Add scrambled egg and chop to small pieces, keep on warm for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This dip comes from Our Best Bites, and it is great for a party! The men loved it and ate the whole bowl…Good with bread or we ate it with fritos also!

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Our Best Bites

7 oz jar roasted red peppers (about 1C diced)

4 C grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb)

8oz cream cheese (can use low-fat)

3/4 C mayonnaise

2 T minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels. You want to make sure they are dry so they don't add moisture to the dip. Then dice 'em.

In a bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave so it will be easier to stir. Add in mayo, onion, garlic, and dijon. Stir to combine and then add in grated cheese and the diced peppers. Place in an 8x8-ish dish (pie plate works). At this point you can pop it in the fridge if you're going to cook it later and you can even make it a couple of days ahead of time. Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes. Baking time depends on the dish. It will start to bubble and brown on the outside edge, and you want it to be bubbly all the way through to the center. It will be nice and golden brown on top, especially around the edges. Mine usually takes 40-45 min. (I made mine a day ahead, then brought it to room temperature and baked. I also doubled the recipe for a 9 x 13 pan and cooked it for the same amount of time)

Serve immediately. If the dip is done and your party hasn't started, just keep it warm in the oven. If you're eating left-overs, or you cooked it ahead of time, reheat in the oven as well. Funky things happen in the microwave. You can serve it with anything that sounds good- tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers (choose a plain flavored one) or veggies. However my favorite is soft, warm baguette slices.

Yummy and Easy Brownies

These seriously are the perfect brownies in my opinion. They are fudgy and delicious so easy to make. You only use one bowl and a wooden spoon! We had these twice this weekend. cream again instead. He actually made them himself and his teacher told him that it was her favorite dessert:) He was thrilled!

Perfect One Bowl Brownies

submitted by Melanie from Sisters Cafe

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

4 eggs

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 cup chocolate chips (although I never measure--I just sprinkle them on top)

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl melt butter in microwave, then stir in oil, sugar and cocoa. With a wooden spoon stir in the remainder of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Spread into a 9x13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. If your toothpick comes out clean you have cooked them too long! DO NOT OVERCOOK!

THE BEST Wheat Bread

We Love bread and are always looking at finding a good recipe. We have tried many upon many and came across this recipe and LOVE IT! I think bread is a little tricky so I have written some secrets to make the perfect wheat bread recipe! This makes 3 bigger loafs

Favorite Wheat Bread recipe

Add the following in this order:
4 cups hot water
1/3 cup of oil
2/3 cup of honey or sugar but honey is very good or you can add just a little more 2 tablespoons to get more sweetness
2 ½ tsp. salt
¾ cup dry milk
1/3 cup of lecithin (this is a preservative and is great when you don’t eat your loaf very fast, the recipe is still good without it.)
8 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix all of these together well (we use our kitchen Aid mixer)
After it is all mixed let it sit for 15 minutes with towel over bowl. I use a Kitchen aid mixer so after this part change your hook to a bread hook.

In a bowl add ½ cup of warm, needs to be about 110 degree water not to much higher or lower
1 ½ tsp of quick yeast, if it is not quick yeast wait until carbon dioxide bubbles are forming all over top of liquid, Add this to your bread mixture

Then add 2 cups of bread flour
Mix well and then start testing for moisture level.

HOW TO CHECK FOR MOISTURE LEVEL?? Depending on the day the dough may be have varying degrees of moisture level i.e. if it is a stormy or a sunny day.
You check the moisture level by inserting your finger into dough; it is just the right level when you have a little ring of dough with a dry small circle in the middle. You adjust the moisture level by adding more water or flour ( this will not affect the taste but will make all the difference in the way your bread turns out.

*****After this we always add more like 1 cup more of wheat and I cup more of bread flour, sometimes more just check if your finger comes out without anything to sticky on it……

When you get the moisture level right knead the bread for 3-4 minutes in your mixer with the dough hook (or we like to take it out and knead with our hands because we don’t want to blow up our machine!, we just spray some cooking spray on the counter, NOT FLOUR). Kneading it for the right amount of time develops the gluten strands and will make the difference in soft chewy bread instead of dry crumbly wheat bread.

*******GLUTEN----Gluten are the strands of amino acid proteins that bind together in a bread dough after the mixture of water, and the creation of longer and stronger chains of gluten through mechanical mixing (kneading). The higher the protein content, the more gluten can be developed. These chains of gluten are important for bread, as they are what allow the dough to capture the created gasses during the cooking and leavening processes, and expand from dense to light.

You then take the bread out of the mixing bowl and place on a sprayed grease counter; you do not want to put it on a floured counter because you finally have the moisture level.
You knead it into a smooth ball and then carefully lift the ball and place into a large greased glass bowl. (This will make the difference in having bread with a smooth top.

Let this rise in bowl until it doubles in size. When it has doubled in size you carefully put dough on greased counter and divide into 4 equal parts (for small loaves or 2 equal parts for big bread pans).
You then knead the 4 equal parts into loaves by bringing the dough into the center into a rectangle shape. Just knead into the center to get rid of the air bubbles. You won’t knead very long this will make the dough tough.

Place dough into greased loaf pans.
Let rise for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Picture is before rising and after rising

Make a little slit in the top of the bread with a sharp bread knife.

Immediately place into a 370 to 375 degree oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
Pull out of oven when finished and let sit in pan for several minutes, then slip bread from pans and place on cooling rack. Wait to cool before cutting bread and if you can’t wait just dive in and eat it.

Brush with butter to make the crust soft and then eat this delicious, healthy wheat bread and share with those you love most!